To Run A Hundred Miles In The Cold.by KlondikeChaptersThe Morning Of The Race - The Paparazzi Is Already There.The Start Line Is Too Crowded - Too Many Runners Look Alike.Replacement Runners - Is that even allowed?Batter Up! - Wait! This Isn't Baseball!Wild Pitch! Knockout! - Still Not Baseball Dammit!Running the Bases - Working as a TeamHomerun! - Fraternizing with the enemy!Morning Stretches - Nothing Like A Good Warmup!The Morning Of The Race - The Paparazzi Is Already There.The walk towards town had been a long one. Everything was covered in a layer of fresh snow, so your pace had been a bit slower than usual. Admittedly though, you’d be lying if you said part of it wasn’t due to the fact that you pulled something. But still, the long held adage of “walking it off” still held true in Equestria. Or so you kept telling yourself along the way. The slow pace though, had given you plenty of time to think about a few things as you observed the beautiful snow covered scenery slowly pass you by. Applejack had firmly been the base of a lot of your musings seeing as after your morning, um, workout per say, you had not been able to get her out your mind. And you really didn't want to. You had left her warm, tired, and content as was evident by the way she snuggled your pillow and smiled with a deep blush adorning her features. The mere recollection of her so happy like that gave you great joy because deep down, you knew that what you saw, was a side of her that nopony else would ever see. You knew that that side of her, was solely reserved for you, the one she loved. And just because of that, you had been very tempted during your entire trip into town to just forget the whole thing and crawl back into that warm bed with her. But as luck would have it, as these thoughts permeated your mind, more than once you had found them segueing into thoughts that perhaps, you were wrong about this whole entire plan of yours. And you knew all too well why you thought as such. Applejack didn’t care about things like fancy dinners, sophistication, or such. This was obvious to anypony that spent at day around her, let alone a whole year like you had. You knew this all too well. You knew that instead, Applejack cared more about practical things. She didn’t care if a dinner was fancy as long as it was good and hearty. And she didn’t care if the dinner was at an expensive restaurant as long as she was spending time with her family and friends. And in truth, that was one of the things you loved about her. She cared about her family and spending time with them, and she tried to do everything possible to show them just how much they meant to her. And in truth, wasn’t that the reason you wanted to go through with this plan of yours in the first place though? To show her a good time and show her how much she meant to you? Even though that had already been established, with your crazed run through a town filled with horny mares and what not, a reminder now and then was always nice. Or at least that had been your experience back on Earth before you found yourself in Equestria. More than once a relationship had gone south because you had overlooked that slight detail. You didn’t want this one to end like those had. No, your mind was made up. And as you finally reached town and trudged further through a layer of snow and turned a corner to head to your shop, you felt nothing could make you turn back till your task was done! “You’re late!” Crud… Your mind yelled out as you did an about-face turn and began walking back the way you came. “Hey wait!” Too soon did the sound of crunching snow and hooves reach your ears as you felt something grab hold of the sleeve of your jacket. There was no way of avoiding it now. “Do you really need to take more notes Lyra? I swear you have more than enough for your book.” You let out with a heavy sigh as the sea foam colored unicorn stopped biting down on your sleeve. “Two books actually. Now I just need pictures!” Without warning, a flash of light suddenly blinded you as soon as you turned around and saw a camera float out of her saddlebags. You had to rub your eyes a bit as you tried to see again, and you couldn’t help but remember how you came to meet the obsessed unicorn in the first place. Oddly enough, it had been a little bit after you arrived in Equestria that you first came into contact with her… Your body felt strangely alien to you as you came to from a deep sleep and felt the unfamiliar texture underneath you that in no way resembled your mattress. It felt more like dirt than downy soft bed sheets, and the earthy smell that permeated your nostrils made you wonder if you had fallen asleep outside like the last time you worked yourself to exhaustion. You began to vaguely recall having spent most of the prior day working in your backyard, trying to turn it into something more than just an area with spots of grass and a bench or two. If you were honest with yourself though, a green thumb was sorely missing in your skill set. But it didn't matter though, it had just been an effort to take your mind off recently frustrating events that had taken place not too long ago. Except, last time though, you had fallen asleep on one of the benches you put up, exhausted, after building the most awesome wooden deck ever. This time, you must have rolled off the bench and not even woken up when you hit the ground. Yeah, that must have been what happened… You thought to yourself as you forced yourself up and found yourself to be slightly disoriented. You could feel the dirt firmly clinging to your face as you managed to sit up, and began to try and will your eyes open. Everything was a blur. But even in such a state, one thing was clearly obvious to you. First off, you were wearing you pajamas, which was strange since you doubt you would had been doing yard work with them to begin with. And secondly… This doesn’t look like my backyard. I don’t recall putting up so many, or for that matter, any colorful lawn decorations… Your mind voiced out as your eyes adjusted and took in the throng of pastel blurs. However, as you lazily raised a hand to rub your eyes and opened them again, the obvious became clear as day. You were in some unknown park, surrounded by little horses. They were all looking at you with what strangely resembled big expressive eyes, all of which expressed shock and fear. You could only blink as you took in the sight and turned your head slightly to look around, your attention being drawn to one that was sitting on a bench looking at you rather intently. There was something off about the sea foam colored horse. Horses don’t sit like that, right? Wait, horses don’t sit on benches at all… Without warning, three of the horses screamed in what your mind doubtfully registered as being English, and you soon found your legs pushing you up in fear as you joined them. “KYAAAAHHH!” “Wait! Don’t run away!” The one on the bench suddenly yelled out as it jumped of it and ran at you. “TALKING HORSES! AHHH!” You replied, screaming as whatever doubt you had about them speaking English vanished, and you immediately stopped dead in your tracks and started running in the opposite direction, away from the horse. You ran directly through the fountain in the center of the park you had just woken up in. The dirt covering the legs of your pajama pants was now nothing but mud. Not surprisingly though, that was the least of your worries as you ran through the sudden throng of screaming pastel colored miniature horses, mortifyingly aware that you were still being chased by one of them. “Oh wow! You speak Equestrian! I’m Lyra… and we’re ponies, not horses.” “AAAHH! KEEP AWAY! WAIT, WHY AM I GLOWING PURP-WHOAAHHHHH!” You slightly shook your head as you finished recovering your sight and looked at Lyra. From that point on in your memory, everything was sort of a haze, filled with panic and fear. At most, you had a vague recollection of the sea foam unicorn following you as you hovered through the air, talking excitedly to you and the purple horse, which you now knew as Twilight the unicorn pony. She had effortlessly captured you and prevented the spread of further panic through town during that time. However, you couldn’t remember a single word, or anything, Lyra or Twilight had said at that time. Fear and panic in such a situation were funny like that. For a long time after that, the sea foam colored unicorn stalked you and eventually interacted with you in ways that didn’t involve her staring at you through a window or from a bush. After a bit though, once it was obvious she wasn’t entirely crazy, you kind of had to admit she grew on you and eventually, somewhere along the way, you two became friends. And by then, when she approached you asking for your help in writing a book about your species, you had no reserve about helping out a friend. Although, as you rubbed your eyes trying to regain your sight for the third time since you encountered her, you couldn’t help but be glad it was almost over with. “Lyra, stop taking pictures! If you don’t, I’m not going to be able to open the door.” “Sorry... it’s just that...” She sheepishly apologized while her gaze fell on your hands. You were trying to work the key into the lock on the door. As you did though, out of the corner of your eye, you could have sworn she was blushing a bit. Or perhaps, that was just because of the cold. Or maybe, that was just your imagination. Either way though, you quickly cast any thoughts about that aside as you felt the key go into the lock, and began to turn it before pushing the door open. “Well…” You let out contently as you motioned for her to walk into the shop. “If you’re going to be stalking me today, might as well do it indoors where it’s not freezing cold.” “Hey! It’s not stalking! It’s research!” Another flash of light blinded you before your eyes could adjust to looking into the dark interior of the shop. You staggered a bit in place as you heard her trot on in past you, and you were left with not other option but to begin fumbling blindly with the CLOSED sign. After a bit of struggling with the sign though, and actually being able to foggily distinguish what the heck you were reading on it, you managed to grab it and turn it so that it faced OPEN out the window next to the door. Okay… you can do this. Just one customer and you can go back home and spend the rest of the day with Applejack… You thought to yourself as your eyesight recovered fully once again, and you looked out your door. Ponyville was wide awake now and as vibrant as always. “Oh yeah, this should be done within the hour.” You managed to voice out before you turned around, and quickly lost your sight again as another flash of light from Lyra’s camera hit your retinas like a baseball bat. Son of a… Author's Note So if you read the prior story, you'll noticed that it kind of had a slow start to it. Well, at least it felt to me as it was a slow start. Could be that slow starts are relative to those whom read them. *Shrug* Anyhooty! Next chapter is ACTUALLY almost done with. If by almost you mean 2/3's of it that is. Disclaimer - All characters presented in this work of fiction are owned by their respective creators and owners. In short, all the wubs go to Hasbro. The Start Line Is Too Crowded - Too Many Runners Look Alike.Two hours had gone by since you opened your shop, and not one single pony had walked into it. Lucky for you though, you were rather resourceful in such times. So, for the better part of these two hours, you had done the only thing possible in such a situation. You had stood behind the counter while leaning over it, holding your head up in your hands as you rested your elbows on top of it... bored out of your noggin. Unfortunately for you, the beam of sunlight that glided across your wooden floors could only hold your interest for so long. “Why has no pony come in?” You asked yourself for what was perhaps the fifth time. “I turned the sign to OPEN, right?" You had honestly lost count of how many times you had asked yourself that. However, as you turned to look over at the sign on the window, it was obvious the answer was the same regardless of how many times you had asked yourself that before. “Yup, the sign is still correct…” “Ugh, this is boring…” Your attention was suddenly drawn to the unicorn next to you as you heard her let out a sigh for emphasis. You saw that she was still in the same position as the last time she had voiced her boredom. Lyra, having been so determined to get photos of you using your hands, was still up on a stool, leaning over the counter with her head in her hooves, imitating you as her camera lay off to the side. The sight honestly made you crack a smile that lingered for a bit before it vanished. You couldn’t really help it though. She was the only other pony you had seen make use of a stool like that. It had been odd when you first saw her like that, but after a while, it became odd NOT to see her sitting like that. Well, I have seen stranger things since coming here… You thought to yourself as you slowly turned to look back out at the repair shop. True to your word, you had done everything you had told Applejack you would do to turn your old home into a repair shop and a store. In front of you, off to a side near the opposite wall, you could see a small counter set up with two spouts gleaming while they protruded from it. The store had been packed during apple cider season and had been quite a success, if not completely chaotic. Especially when Rainbow Dash kidnapped you one night, right out of your bed, just so that you could open the store early for her. Would have probably worked too, if not for the line of ponies already waiting outside your door that is. You really wished she would have at least let you get some pants on beforehand though. Some mares still gave you scary looks, like the ones you had seen during the heat. Off to the other side, next to the wall that divided your workshop for from the front of the shop, a large bin took up a good portion of it. The bin had been meant to hold apples for sale, and it had. Every kind of apple that Sweet Apple Acres produced had been set on display and sold. However, the store ended up being more of an appeal to ponies that didn’t feel like going all the way to the crowded market just for some apples. Which, in turn, meant there was still a demand for apples to be sold at the open market for ponies that still felt like fighting through the throng of ponies. Unintentionally, and much to Applejack’s delight, you had increased demand for apples from Sweet Apple Acres. Which was great for the farm and the Apple Family. It required more effort than before though, but you had been glad to take up a good chunk of it. And thanks to that hard work, you had had enough apples to make other apple goods, such as the jars of apple jam that rested on the shelves behind you, behind the counter. Applejack kept telling you that your jaw would drop once you got a taste of Zap-Apple jam. Sadly, you had still to taste it seeing as it wasn’t a yearly thing, which you thought was rather odd. But seeing as they were magical fruit, you supposed it was to be expected. Honestly, by now though, you had learned not to question the oddities of your new world too much. It made for fewer headaches sometimes. “Hey?” Your focus on your surroundings was suddenly startled out of you as you felt a hoof tap you on the shoulder and you jumped slightly. You turned around to see Lyra looking at you rather intently. She was blushing again for some reason and she was now fidgeting on the stool as her hoof fiddled with her camera. “Hey, umm… I-I wanted to as-ask you about som-something.” “Umm, okay?” For some reason, perhaps because of the way her voice sounded, warnings began to flare our across your thoughts as soon as those words left your mouth. And with what she was doing, it really wasn’t helping. She was quiet, too quiet. It was almost as if she was really considering something important, but was unsure of following through with it or not. You were suddenly becoming aware of a lump in your throat that wasn’t there before, and you tried to swallow to get rid of it. “I-I’ve heard, n-no, I’ve seen how… how fle-flexible your ha-hands are…” Lyra was breathing rather hard as she said this, and that lump you felt in your throat became even harder to swallow. Only one word ran through your mind now as you looked at her. “Crud…” “Huh?” “What?” Okay, apparently your mouth decided to word out what was running through you mind. Well done treacherous face hole… Oh good, that time it actually stayed inside your noggin as you blinked at Lyra. Lyra was simply staring back at you, silently, as she continued to fidget. You were desperately trying to compose yourself, failing to subdue some of the warnings popping up in your thoughts. She was a friend after all, and she knew you were with Applejack. Maybe you were still a bit paranoid because of what had happened during the heat. Yeah, that was it. You were over thinking things and letting your imagination run wild. You began to smile at Lyra, and immediately, you saw her brighten up as she blushed redder and smiled back. “Okay Lyra, what did you want to know about my hands?” You asked her in a confident sounding voice… which quickly disappeared with what happened next. In one quick motion, Lyra had jumped up on the counter and brought her face up to yours, not even an inch away as she held it in her hooves. You could feel her hot breath radiate across your face, across your lips as you saw your reflection in her half-closed, glistening eyes. You could clearly see your own eyes open wide in shock. Your gears were working overtime, trying to grasp the situation, if only to give you a way out of it. Sadly though, all that came to a screeching halt as you heard her swallow and saw her gingerly lick her lips. “I-I want…” You blinked as you found your lips dry and fought the urge to lick them, not wanting to invite her to do what you knew she was about to do. “I want to… I want to…” She closed her eyes as she steadied herself and took a deep and shaky breath. You were suddenly aware you were sweating. “I WANT TO FEEL YOUR HAND IN MY-” OH CRUD!... Was the only thought that ran through your mind at that exact moment when you heard her request. Many other thoughts had found their way into your mind since then. “Oh-oh wow…” Okay, admittedly, it was mainly the constant reminder that Lyra was a good friend of yours, and you were doing this for her and her book. “AHH! I-I didn’t know you c-could do that with your hand!” Which was kind of hard to do with her being so loud and… vocal. You were seriously starting to doubt it was all for research purposes. “Mmm-AH! That tickles!” “Lyra, don’t put my hand there, your hairs make my fingertips itchy.” “Sorry, it just feels so… so nice and good.” Also, the brightness from her flaring horn was a bit distracting, and it was starting to make your eyes hurt a bit. Which maybe meant you should stop looking at it before you went blind. Well, at least it couldn’t get any more awkward… Or at least, that’s what you thought as you heard the door open and turned around to see a familiar red stallion walk in and stop immediately while staring at you and Lyra. He was a green and red scarf around his neck, somehow fitted above his traditional harness. “Oh hey Big Mac, how you doing? I didn’t expect to see you here today.” “Ah’m fine and uh… Applejack asked me to come see if yah ready to head on home and uh…” Big Macintosh went silent as he continued to look at you and Lyra behind the counter. You couldn’t help but follow his gaze until your own gaze fell back on the oblivious sea foam unicorn. Lyra was sitting on her stool, leaning over the counter with a gleeful smile on her face as she held your arm between your forelegs and looked intently at your hand. From your elbow up to the tip of your fingers, your arm was encased in a golden magical aura. Your fingers and wrist were moving on their own as Lyra’s magic manipulated them and they danced in front of her, her eyes glued to every movement they made. She had been doing this for the better part of half an hour, experimenting with every range of motion your hand could produce. You looked back at Big Macintosh and only let out a sigh as you tried to focus on keeping that arm limp so that you didn’t have to struggle against her magic too much. “She’s doing ‘research’ on my hand.” You answered his unspoken question as you used your other hand to make quotation marks in the air on the word research. It was unclear though if he understood what that gesture meant as he simply switched his straw from one side to the other in his mouth. It was however obvious that he was in deep thought, so oddly enough, you felt you needed to elaborate a bit more. “She’s just really ‘excited’ to see how my hand works. It’s for her book… well, books.” You added as you did the quotation gesture again, this time on the word excited. Big Macintosh though, simply continued to stare at you as you looked back at him. Maybe you should stop doing that quotation gesture. “Hey! It’s not my fault you’ve never let me see them!” “Yeah, I wonder why…” You let out in jest as you heard the sea foam unicorn defend her argument for wanting to see your hands. “Yeah? Well…” Lyra though, went silent as she looked at you with a pout and blushed a bit, before immediately going back to fiddling with your fingers. “Well… it’s very bendy, that’s all!” “Yes Lyra, it’s very bendAHH!OW!OW!MYFINGERSDON’TBENDTHATWAY!” Okay, admittedly you had that coming. And the grin on her face as you looked at her after she had bend your fingers so far back you thought they might break only led you to believe she had done it on purpose. “Ah-hem…” “Hmm?” However, before you could give your rebuttal to her assault on your hand, your gaze was drawn towards Big Macintosh as he cleared his throat and looked at you with his traditionally stoic gaze. You had spent enough time with the giant stallion to know that look meant he was done thinking, and something was going on behind the scenes. And after a bit, he proved you right as he eventually put forth what was going on through his thoughts. “Is this why yah didn’t stay home ta’day?” The question caught you off guard. Not because of the question itself, but because of the tone behind it. The way he spoke reminded you of when you first helped out on the farm. It was skeptical and analytical, with an undertone of disbelief. “No, not at all. I’ve wanted to go home all day, but I haven’t had any customers come in.” “Then why not just go’on home then?” “I can’t, not yet.” That was obviously not the answer Big Macintosh was expecting as one of his eyebrows rose and his jaw lightly set into place. You both stared at the each other, waiting for the other to speak first. Eventually though, Big Macintosh’s silent gaze whittled you down, and you began to speak as you let out a loud sigh. “Listen Big Mac, I’m going to let you in on a secret and I’d like you to keep it that way… please?” The big red stallion looked right into your eyes as you said this, obviously considering what you had asked. But after only a few seconds of this, a smile broke out across his face as he answered you with confidence. “Alright then, but if its sum’thing idjet like, and Applejack be needing ta’know, yah know mah answer.” You only blinked at the stallion, this time being your turn to disagree with his answer seeing as he just insinuated you were up to something dumb. Big Macintosh only laughed a bit as he looked at you, sat on his haunches, and raised his forelegs in defense. “Now hold on. Yah know dang well as ah do that Applejack will tan mah hide if ah kept sum’thing like that ah secret from her. Specially if yah might end up hurt.” You took this into consideration as you nodded your head and smiled at him. “Okay, fair enough Big Mac. So you’ll keep this a secret then?” “Sure ah can.” You both smiled at each other as he looked at you with a hint of merriment in his eyes. “Though can’t rightly speak for her and her friends.” The merriment in his eyes invaded his voice as he nodded his head towards Lyra. You followed his eyes and turned to look at the sea foam unicorn. Lyra was still sitting on her stool, studying your hand as a quill floated in her magical aura and… “Lyra?” “Hmm?” “D-did you just draw faces on my fingertips?” “Uh-huh.” “Why?” “Well, you said your fingers have names, so now they have faces too!” You could only stare dumbfounded as she smiled at you and then turned around and began to draw a face on her hoof too. You had felt something ticklish on your fingers, but you assumed she was just tickling her chin like she had before. The laughter from the giant red stallion quickly made you turn around to look at him with an unamused expression, which only seemed to make him laugh a bit more as he tried to speak. “Ah don’t-hehe- Ah guess we ain’t got to-heh- to worry about her friends. They seem-hehe- seem like the quiet sort ta’me.” Your still unamused expression at his joke only seemed to make him laugh a bit more. However, as you had found out from Pinkie Pie, laughter was contagious, and you soon found yourself sharing a small chuckle with him. “Okay, hehe, yah better go on and tell me what yah up to then.” “Alright Big Mac, heh, you better lean in so I can whisper this to you.” Admittedly, a blank stare was not what you had expected Big Macintosh’s reaction to be like when you told him your plan. You had divulged as much information as you could to make sure he understood what you were trying to do. And, seeing at it was simply gathering bits to take Applejack out to a fancy dinner while in Canterlot. You felt the plan was rather self explanatory after that. However, his aforementioned blank stare had started to make you feel like you had perhaps left something crucial out of your explanation. Whatever that was, you didn’t have the faintest clue. “Yah know you’re an idjet, right?” “Okay, you’re going to have to elaborate a bit more than that.” “He’s saying you aren’t very smart.” Lyra suddenly spoke up as she continued to fiddle with your hand, seemingly impossible for her to get tired of it. You had assumed she hadn’t heard anything of what you told Big Macintosh, so it was a bit unexpected that she had, but not completely out of the realm of probability. Especially when you cast a cursory look at her direction, and found out that one of her ears pointed in your direction said otherwise. "Yes Lyra, thank you for-" However, what was completely unexpected was what you saw when you looked at your hand in her hooves. “Lyra…” You spoke as you wrestled control of your fingers for a bit to wiggle them. “Please tell me you didn’t glue those little paper hats to my fingers…” “Well, they wouldn’t stay on.” She replied innocently as she went back to playing with your hand. The palm of your other hand automatically flew to your face as you let out a deep sigh, and looked at Big Macintosh. “Yes, you're right, I am an idiot…’ The giant red stallion simply remained quiet for a while as he looked at you and the straw in his mouth shifted from one end to the other. Once the straw had settled though, he simply shook his head and let out a sigh as he looked at you, and then around at the inside of the shop. “Heh, sorry, didn’t mean to offend yah or nuh’thing. It sounds like a grand’ol time. It’s just… Ah know yah doing this cause ya love mah sister. But ah imagined that by now, yah at least had an idea of what mah sister likes. Seeing as you’ve been with her for a few months now.” “Well, I do… At least I think I do.” “Then yah know she ain’t all that into ah fancy dinner at ah fancy restaurant, so why go with such ah plan in ta’first place?” Hearing Big Macintosh say this made you think about your own doubts about your plan. You had thought the same thing, but hearing it from somepony else, helped to put it into perspective. Simply put, he was right. He confirmed what you already knew since the idea popped up in your mind. Applejack wouldn’t truly enjoy the fancy dinner, it wasn’t her thing. She’d love it because it was a gift from you, to show her how much you loved her. But beyond that, she’d feel out of place throughout the whole dinner, and not say a word. And you knew this, simply because that was just the kind of mare she was. Applejack was special to you. She was so different from the girls you’d been with before, back on earth, and that there was the main issue with your idea for the whole thing. You were not on earth anymore, and you were approaching this whole issue as if you still were, as you always had before. Because that was the only way you knew. “Wow, old habits die hard I guess…” “Huh?” “No it’s just…” You paused as you tried to figure out what you were trying to say. It was kind of hard not to feel a bit disappointed in yourself at that moment, seeing as you had wasted so much time gathering the recommended bits for such an endeavor. The whole realization simply made you hang your head a bit. “I guess I fell back into some old habits, from back when I-” You stopped suddenly as you felt something bump you on the shoulder and remain there. You turned to look, and found a giant red hoof resting on your shoulder, which was attached to the giant red pony across from you, smiling. “Applejack has been mighty concern about yah lately. Told us ya been ah bit distant. But also told us ya lately had this look about yah as if ya was homesick, though ah guessed that was just ah small part of the issue.” For a few seconds, you simply stood there, looking back at Big Macintosh’s hoof on your shoulder as your mind worked through everything, as it all fell together. There was a reason you had fallen into those old habits from back on earth. Why your subconscious kept throwing them into your new life. And that was because those habits, those actions, had a purpose. Back on earth, they had been actions that could have led to a desirable ending. To a desirable goal. You hadn't even realized, or for that matter thought about what your relationship with Applejack meant to you. How all that effort you had put into your plan, and the plan itself. How It had never really struck you as a form of being homesick. But as a form of you dealing with realizing you had made up your mind, long ago, perhaps even before that day when you woke up in Applejack's bed after escaping Ponyville. Your old life would be a memory. And you wanted nothing more than to do everything possible to make your relationship with Applejack work. Simply because in this new life of yours in Equestria, you wanted her to be a part of it... For the rest of it. Heh, who would have thought it?... Marriage, huh?... Your thoughts rang out before you began to feel an all too familiar smile spread into your lips. You hoped it wasn't too evident what that smile was about as you eventually turned up to look at the giant work horse. “Nothing gets past you or Applejack, does it?” “Nnope. And seems tah'me like yah found what yah want..” “Heh, yeah, and what I want right now is to go home. And, well, home is where the heart is. And right now, I’m homesick for Applejack.” There was a long pause as you continued to smile and felt Big Macintosh’s hoof drop from your shoulder as he stared at you. His expression was one of disbelief, and a hint of him almost trying to hold back a gag. “Now that there was mighty cheesy...” “Yeah, you’re one to talk. I’ve heard you and Fluttershy going at it, shmoopy-doo.” Well, that was a rare sight to behold. You didn’t think the red stallion could get any redder as his eye darted to the sides as if checking if anypony else had heard that. Lyra though, did her best to hide her giggles. And after a bit, slowly, he began to shake his head and chuckled as he began to smile. “Yeah, yah got me. Funny what ah purdy mare can do to ah fellow.” “Eeyup!” You both broke out laughing and it took a bit for both of you to settle back down. Eventually though, you two regained some form of composure as ye fell silent once more. With the exception of the occasional chuckle that is. “So on that note, how’s Fluttershy doing?” “Well, mighty excited ah’d say, in her own way that is. She’s starting to show ah bit now too.” That was to be expected. After all, you would have been rather surprised if after everything, Fluttershy didn’t end up with a foal. Although you had been more surprised to see Big Macintosh had survived the process when he stopped by out of the blue to deliver the news. Touching moment for you as friends, to see the other had survived. Though, you did have some choice words for him about leaving you at the mercy of Pinkie Pie. Ah, fond memories… Terrifyingly, fond memories. “She’s back at the farm with Applejack. We was gonna have a family lunch so they sent me on down ta’drag yah home. Applejack gave me permission to tie yah up and drag yah if ah have to, but ah told her she’d have to do that herself.” Oddly enough, you couldn’t help but smile at the imagery of Applejack waiting with a rope. And a pair of boots… And a corset. And your mind just kept on wondering till you knew you had a dumb smile on your face. The end image made you feel your face a bit hot as you cleared your throat and tried to act casual. “Yah was thinking sum’thing about mah sister, weren’t yah?” “W-what?! No!... Nothing like that.” Damn mind reading horse. “Uh-huh.” “No, seriously, I was just thinking it was about time I went home and enjoyed our vacation time. Besides, I may not have what I set out to get. But I'm pretty sure I just thought of something even more worth wild to use those bits towards.” Big Macintosh only shook his head as he chuckled a bit and looked at you across the counter. “Then lets go on home, before Fluttershy and Applejack come get us.” “Alright Big Mac, just let me steal my hand back from-” Before you could finish that sentence, a noise you had been hoping for all day rang out as three ponies stepped into your shop ad made their short way to the counter, pushing past Big Macintosh. To your surprise, you immediately recognized two of the ponies, Thunderlane and Caramel. The third pony though, a unicorn with a snow white coat, blue mane, and green eyes was completely unknown to you. Big Macintosh simply arched an eyebrow at the unknown unicorn, and then looked over at you. Lyra, for her part, remained on top of the counter with your hand in her hooves, no longer playing with it as she looked at the ponies in the room. “Caramel, Thunderlane, long time no see! Haven’t seen you since the heat! Welcome to Apple Barn Repairs and Goods!” All three ponies simply looked at you, unblinking, before Caramel and Thunderlane broke off their little small group and began to look around the store while walking around. Their behavior was a bit odd, to say the least, but not as odd as the unknown unicorn that remained at the counter, looking at you. “Umm, okay, can I help you?” “You’re the human, right?” The unicorn finally spoke, his voice sounding rather odd, almost as if it had a hiss to it. Instinctively, you looked around to see if he was referring to someone else. “You’re not from around here, are- Hey! Caramel! Please don’t go in there. That’s my workshop.” You interrupted your conversation to call out as your attention was suddenly drawn to Caramel as you saw him push open the door to what had once been your room. At the same time though, out of the corner of your eye, you caught sight of Big Macintosh turning around to look at Thunderlane, who was standing in front of the door with his wings extended, looking oddly smug about something. And off to your side, you caught a barely audible gasp from Lyra as you felt her grab on tighter to you arm. You couldn’t help but to turn to look at her as well. She looked angry, with a slight hint of fear. “Okay you three! I don’t know what the buck is going on but-” “Hold still.” “Huh?” No sooner did you turn to look at the strange unicorn, when his horn suddenly flared and something smashed into the back of your head. There had been no time to react. Sound seemed to drop a few decibels, and you sluggishly heard Big Macintosh call out your name before the faint sounds of a struggle breaking out drowned everything out. Your legs suddenly felt like wet noodles as your vision wasted no time in beginning to fade, and your arms uselessly grasped at the counter as you fell to the wooden floor. You could faintly smell the sweet smell of apple jam. That bastard unicorn had smashed one of the jars from the shelf behind you into the back of your head. Your mouth opened as you continued to fall behind the counter, barely holding on to consciousness. You were going to call that smug looking face of his insults that had never before been heard in Equestria before. “You mother board… potato yam… down your coat!” Oh right, jar of jam smashed to the back of the head. Coherency was out the window. The unicorn’s rather confused expression right before being tackled by Lyra was the last thing you saw as you lost your fight against gravity and let go of the counter. The wooden floor greeted you with that traditional hardness that you’d come to expect from things around you when you really needed them to instead be soft and not concussion inducing. You could still faintly hear bouts of the struggle sounding out around you as your vision faded into black shadows that seemed to engulf everything before slightly retreating. Almost immediately, without warning, the sound of something slamming against the wall behind the counter was the last sound you heard as the struggle died down. It was quickly followed by something soft and furry landing on you with a pained yelp, before going still. Painfully, you managed to force the shadows back for only a bit, just enough to see Lyra on top of you, while somepony loomed over your head. It was the white unicorn, but… A flash of green fire was all you saw as the unicorn was suddenly replaced by a black figure. You couldn’t make out what it was, but you immediately recognized the same hissing voice. That thing was the white unicorn. “THRow THeM in tHE cARt!” “You…” A black hoof across the face was the last thing you remembered as the words left your unconscious lips. “… ass” Author's Note AH HA! Another chapter! This one took me a while but I managed to get it moving along. I already had about two thirds of it done, but after reading it. Well, it was much too slow paced and headed in a completely different direction than what I wanted it to. So, I re-wrote some parts and fixed up a bit. Well, tried to fix it. Too many awesome things kept getting in the way and I get distracted easily. But yes, new chapter after a whole month of nothing. If you notice, its a bit less comedy and more action-like. Even if only a little. Trying to work on a better balance, so hey! You lot get to be tortured by-I mean, you lot get to be entertained by it. Next chapter coming as soon as I can get it done! Disclaimer - All characters presented in this work of fiction are owned by their respective creators and owners. In short, all the wubs go to Hasbro. Replacement Runners - Is that even allowed?Applejack had at one point told you about creatures that were black and looked like giant pony bugs. It had been part of a conversation where she had told you about an attempt on Canterlot by these very same creatures that had ended with her and her friends attempting to fight them off, only to be saved by the bride and groom of the wedding they were attending. It truth, it had been a fascinating story at the time. And you honestly wished that you had paid more attention to what she said about those creatures. But you hadn’t. Reason being, simply because by the time she told you this story, when you two were still beating around the bush, you had already come into contact with various creatures that seemed out of the realm of mythology or fantasy. And not all of these encounters had been pleasant ones. So what was one more to add to the list? Even by the time your first month in Equestria had come and gone, you had become quite aware that unlike your world, Equestria was a world that was abundant with a multitude of intelligent species. Besides the ponies that had taken you in, the world was filled with griffons, donkeys, dragons, and even cows that could speak and hold a decent conversation. And, during the weeks that followed your first month in Equestria, you had had the pleasure of speaking to many of them. Admittedly, every time you spoke to a cow, you felt you had to apologize. But honestly, it was not your fault that they were so tasty back on Earth. Because of that though, you were also quite aware that not all species would be peaceful. Nature had a set order, and even in a land filled with magic, there had to be a set chain of predators and their pray. Unfortunately for you though, this theory of yours was never clearer than when you were nearly eaten in the Everfree Forest during the start of your new life in Equestria. Which would have obviously made it a rather short life at that. Your short lived adventure in the Everfree Forest though, led Twilight Sparkle to teach you about the different species that could hurt you, and or, eat you in one bite. She, being your teacher at the time for all things Equestrian, had been rather eager to lay book after book in front of you as she talked at great length about the subject. And, after a few headaches, worn out eyes and glazing over many books to the point that they all blended together, you had come to the conclusion that you really hoped you never came into contact again with any of them. At least the ones you could remember and if you could avoid it, of course. “Ugh… my head.” Especially if they were sporting jars of apple jam as weaponry. Equestria sure loved to put you through some rough lessons. “Ow…” Your eyelids felt too heavy to open just yet as you slowly began to regain consciousness. You could faintly feel something as it dripped on the back of your head, before the sensation increased and it felt more like if you were holding your head under a faucet of water that would open and close at random intervals. Your other senses were slowly beginning to wake up the more this continued. Involuntarily, you took a deep breath and your nose was assaulted by the faint damp and musty smells that lingered in the air as whatever dripped on the back of your head began to feel incredibly nice and cool. You felt the liquid, water as far as you could tell, run down the sides of your face before reaching your neck. Some of it went down you back, and stopped as it soaked into your clothes. Sounds began to filter into your ears as well. You could hear wood creaking, as the sound of wind against a structure reverberated all around you. Most predominant though, was a faint buzzing sound that seemed to linger in front of you, before vanishing for a bit and then coming back. It seemed to be in tune with whatever was dripping on your head. The sound though was becoming incredibly annoying to the throbbing lump on the back of your head. However, as you stirred a bit more and became more aware, you realized that there was something far more annoying than the buzzing sound and the throbbing in your head. You realized that, for the second time in your life, you found yourself shackled to a wall against your will. “Ow, Celestia… what the buck was that about?” You managed to mumble as you tried to put some weight on your feet to relieve the strain on your arms, only to stop as you felt something push against your shoulders and heard a feminine voice speak softly to you. “No, don’t. Stay still, don’t try to stand up yet.” And whoever she was, she was dead on. You didn’t listen, and immediately, nausea overtook you and your body went limp as you tried to hold back the sensation. A pained groan was the only indication you could force out that said you had not slipped into unconsciousness again. “Best if yah listen to her, seems to know what she’s doing.” A familiar voice called out to you, and a smile, although sickly looking, slowly spread across your lips as you continued to try and let your body recover a bit more from your attempt to stand up. This time, a single nod with your head was the only indication you could give that said you had heard him. It didn’t take much time though, and after a minute or two had passed, you found yourself feeling confident enough to at least try to open your eyes. And slowly, you forced your eyelids open and gingerly tried to blink away the blurriness that filled your vision. You were in some kind of room, if the wooden floor beneath you was any indication. You could hear the wind outside beating against the walls. However, you could immediately tell that it was not a room you were familiar with. It was not your shop in Ponyville. Or for that matter, a place you knew or had visited or had been allowed to see before. The floors were too beaten and old, riddled with the signs of age. Hoofprints were clearly visible in some areas where dust and dirt had decided to accumulate. Wherever you were, either the owners did not bother to invest in upkeep. Or the place had been empty for a long time. After a few more blinks, and confidence that you would not feel nauseous again, you instinctively turned your head in the direction of the familiar voice you had heard. It took a bit for your vision to adjust further, but once it did, you tried to make sense of what you were looking at. As expected, Big Macintosh was there, looking at you with his ever present stoic expression… except there was one thing wrong with the scene in front of you. “Big Mac, we have to stop hanging out like this…” The red stallion just kept looking at you, quietly, as he remained strapped to a table, bound with some kind of straps of green goop. He did not seem amused by your joke. But after a bit, a relieved smile crossed his features as he lightly shook his head and shuddered a bit as if your joke had dredged up some memories from that time in the shed. He had to close his eyes as you heard him breath, apparently trying to calm down some unforeseen fear or panic from breaking out. It was strange to see that from him, you didn’t think it was possible, but that only made you realize just what kind of situation you were in. He must have sensed something, or saw something when he opened his eyes again. Big Macintosh soon returned to his stoic nature, and grinned lightly at you again. “Good. Yah still an idjet… Thought yah head got scrambled with that glass jar yah took. Yah been out for close to ah day as far as ah can tell...” You grinned back. “Yeah, no… I okay think I am…” “…” Big Macintosh simply stared at you, the look on his face conveying just how unsure he was if you were joking again or if you were being serious. You weren’t too sure yourself. However, before he could get a clear answer, something interrupted you. “Wow, I didn’t think she hit him that hard.” The same feminine voice you heard before commented from somewhere in front of you. But, when you turned to look at its owner, you found the area in front of you empty of anypony. The only thing you could see was the room you were in. It was smaller than you first thought. There were two windows in the room moldy looking curtains there were slightly drawn. One on the wall to your left and the other on the wall to your right, right behind Big Macintosh. On the wall opposite to you, perhaps a good 10 feet in front of you, you could see a closed door. Some picture frames were hanging on that wall as well, but their contents had long since been covered in dirt or removed. Off to the side, towards one of the corners of the room, there was a table with the only source of light in the room. A sort of lamp filled with fluttering fireflies sat next to a bowl with a moist looking rag dangling off its side. At least you knew what had been dripping on the back of your head before. However, what you hadn’t been able to figure out yet though, was whom that voice belonged to. No pony was there. Well, with the exception of one… “Thunderlane?!” Thunderlane looked back at you with a look that could only be interpreted as shock as he stood next to the table. Though, being there was obviously not his choice. His hooves were held firmly to the floor boards by the same green goop that held Big Macintosh to the table. Around his torso, more of that goop held his wings tight against his sides. And around his muzzle, a generous amount of it had been applied with gusto. Your eyes remained on his for a few seconds, conveying an equal amount of shock as his did before he turned his head off to the side. You followed his gaze towards what he was looking at, and found another occupant of the room. Caramel stood rooted to the floor as well, the only exception being that it was just his feet that were bound with the green goop. His muzzle, like Big Macintosh’s and your own, was not bound shut. “Caramel?! Okay, enough, would somepony tell me what the hay is going on here?! And where’s Lyra?!” You suddenly snapped at those around you as your previous nauseous condition gave way to a clear frustration and anger in your voice. “Yah best better off asking her ah think. Cause ah’d like to find out mah-self too.” You turned as you heard Big Macintosh speak calmly and saw him looking at the ceiling. “Her? Who’s her? And what the hay are you… looking… at…” The words slowly left your lips as you turned your head up to look at whatever Big Macintosh was looking at on the ceiling. “Hello…” The thing waved meekly as it stared down at you. “How’s your head fee-” “KYAAAAHH!” “AAAHHH!” The black figure crawling on the ceiling among the rafters suddenly began to scream as soon as you did too. You had never seen anything like it before! Not it real life at least. It was black with a small crooked horn and wings that looked like they belonged on an insect. Which was rather appropriate since the creature looked like some cross between a pony an insect with a black carapace and a green scaled band around it torso. No sooner did the both of you stop screaming that the insect/pony creature scrambled to hide behind one of the rafters. The action itself confused you for a fraction of a second, but if your experience with ponies hiding in the ceiling was worth anything, you weren’t about to let your guard down. You didn’t want a repeat of what happened with Fluttershy in the shed. Carefully, you kept your eyes fixed on the rafter it had scrambled towards and kept your muscles tense, ready to defend yourself. Your hands may have been bound, but you could still try to kick it. Slowly, a pair of pink eyes peered around the rafter, and slowly, the rest of its head came into view. It was looking at you… fearfully and disapprovingly? “What the…” For whatever reason, your body suddenly relaxed as you kept looking at those pink eyes. They didn’t look like the kind of eyes you’d find on a creature ready to tear a pony, or for that matter, a human into bite sized pieces. “Why are you screaming?!” It suddenly asked you as it noticed you had relaxed a bit, if only for a few seconds. “Because you started screaming.” “Wha-huh? I only did it because you screamed at me!” “WELL, DUH! YOU KIDNAPPED US! What do you want with us?!” The anger that you felt for having been attacked in your own shop, your old home, and waking up in such conditions crept into your voice without you meaning for it to. The creature visibly shrunk and trembled a bit. Almost as if you had struck it with your voice. Immediately, you felt something tug inside you and you bit your lower lip in regret for having allowed such an outburst. Even though it had kidnapped you, you knew you had to try and keep calm if you hoped to figure out what was going on so that you could escape. So that you could get back to Applejack. And yet, even if that was the case… “Look, I’m sorry…” You spoke sincerely as you kept looking up at the creature in the rafters. “Today really hasn’t been a good day for me at all.” Slowly, the creature stuck its head out from behind the rafters, and looked down at you for a second before turning to look away. Those seconds turned to minutes as you kept looking up at it, but eventually, you felt it was pretty obvious that it wasn’t going to come down. It was easy to understand your surprise when it did. As slowly as before, the creature crept further out from behind the rafter it was hiding behind of, and with a slight jump, began to hover down to the floor. It landed on the ground in front of you, as light as a feather, not even disturbing the dust around it. It still wasn’t looking at your face directly, not since you yelled at it. But with a shaky breath, that changed as it set its pink eyes on your own, and spoke. “No. I’m the one that’s so sorry about all this…” Its voice rang out in a low mournful pitch. “She-I mean, we, need your help…” There was only silent inside that room as you stared at it in confusion. “Not tah offend Miss, but smashing ah jar of our apple jam against the back of his head seems ah might poor way to ask for his help.” You turned to look at Big Macintosh as his voice seemed to snap you out of your confused state and you turned to look back at the bug-pony creature. “Miss? You’re a miss?” She simply nodded her reply. “Wow… okay, yeah, I can see it now. I think. But he’s right! If you needed my help, you could have just asked instead of trying to crack my head open.” “But it’s not me that-I mean, we, she-” “They intend to use you to conquer Canterlot and Equestria…” Everypony in the room turned to look at Caramel as he spoke and looked at the bug-pony. For some reason, he looked sad as he stared at her. “And they don’t care who they hurt along the way…” The bug-pony looked at him, opened her mouth, but didn’t say anything as she saw him cast his gaze towards the floor, away from her. She looked sad as she did the same. The whole scene made it impossible for you not to look at the both of them strangely, right before you turned to look at Big Macintosh. His expression was a mirror image of your own. Something else was going on here. “Um, oh-kay… I’m sorry, use me for what now?” “To take over Canterlot…” The female bug-pony replied without even looking at you. “And the rest of Equestria.” Yup, your ears did not deceive you. Still sounded rather strange the second time around. “How the hay are you going to use me for-” You did not get to finish your sentence as you attention was suddenly pulled toward the only door in the room as it was flung opened, and two more bug-ponies walked inside. “By my future rule! What’s going on here?!” That voice. It was the same voice as that of the unicorn that nearly bashed your head in. It sounded more feminine than it had before. But you still recognized it as those two bug-ponies made their way further into the room. The one’s whose voice you recognized had pink eyes, like the one already in the room. The other one, had blue eyes and seemed to be slightly smaller than the female sounding one. And now that you looked at them, you realized that both female sounding bug-ponies were about the same height. But that only mattered for about a fraction of a second as you immediately began to struggle against your binds. “YOU! Why I ought to-what in Celestia’s name happened to your face?” The bug-pony with the blue eyes just looked at you with a scowl. One of its eyes was puffy and bruised, and it was missing a fang. Its horn was in no better shape as it looked a whole lot more crooked than that of the other bug ponies. It was almost as if somepony tried to tie it in a bow. You couldn’t pull your eyes away from it. And, the more you looked at it, the more the bug-pony seemed to get angry till its scowl turned to rage and it reared and looked at Big Macintosh with malice in its eyes. Or at least it looked like malice. It was honestly kind of hard to tell with its eye so swollen shut. Big Macintosh, to his credit though, simply smirked, and the bug-pony let out a yelp as it tried to hide behind the other one. The one whose voice you recognized. “Ah…” You let out in acknowledgement as the one with the voice you recognized looked at you disapprovingly, and the one that had been in the room originally, hid a giggle under her hoof. “QUIET!” Her disapproving gaze suddenly turned to anger as it lashed out at the one next to you, and pointed a hoof at you as her anger continued to boil over. “And you! How DARE you insult me like that! We are Changelings! Not donkeys!” You only blinked. “Um… what?” The changeling only glared at you harder than before and approached you with stomping hooves till she was only a foot or two away from you. “We’re changelings! Not donkeys! When we captured you, you dared call me a donkey when I’m obviously a beautiful changeling!!” You blinked again as it took you a second or two before you realized what she was referring to. Oddly enough, you never ran into that sort of misunderstandings with your neighbor ponies. But then again, you didn’t really run out onto the streets screaming profanities. “You mean when I called you an ass?” “YES!” “Yeah, no, trust me on this one. You’re an ass!” “I. AM. NOT. A. DONKEY!” Without warning, a green fire burst out of nowhere around her, beginning at her hooves and engulfed her as it spread upwards. You’d be lying if you said your jaw didn’t drop as within seconds, the fire extinguished itself and before you stood a very angry looking donkey. “This is a donkey!” It shouted at you before it turned around, reared on its forelegs and shot out its rear legs square into your stomach. The pained sound you let out as you tried to double over from the impact was joined by the collective gasps of everypony in the room, including the female changeling that had been in the room first. The green fire from before burst forth again, engulfing her once more, and the changeling stood before you once again, smirking triumphantly. “We are changelings! You best remember that because now that we have you, I will soon be the new queen and your ruler!” For a couple of moments, you simply dangled by your arms as you tried to catch your breath. You stomach felt horrible thanks to her kick and every breath you pulled in made you twinge with pain. “Yah okay there?” You heard Big Macintosh ask you with a hint of worry in his voice. You were only able to nod a reply before a very dumb idea made its way into the forefront of your mind. “You’re… you’re a female, ri-right?” “Of course I am! Are you still so ignorant as to not see my beauty?” “Then you’re a bitch to-OOF!” Okay, even you had to admit you asked for that hoof across the face. Even if you weren’t entirely sure if she thought you called her a female dog or understood the insult. The sting across your face told you it was likely the latter. Mercifully though, before the second hoof came across your face, Big Macintosh’s voice stopped her in her tracks. “ENOUGH! If yah needed him, then why yah beating the apple stuffing out of him?! What’s your plan anyhow?” “That is none of your business!” The bruised changeling yelled out as if watching the other one beat the stuffing out of you gave it some courage. Big Macintosh though, simply looked at him and raised an eyebrow at him. “Sweet mercy, don’t hit me!” Well, so much for that bravado of his. You were pretty sure it was a he anyways. The other female changeling though, the one that had yet to beat the stuffing out of you, gently placed a hoof on your leg, and you opened your eyes to look at her. She was looking up at you with worry. You were starting to get the feeling she was not like the other two. At least, she didn’t act like them. “I’m sorry-” “Be quite you weak parasprite!” She withdrew her hoof and visibly shrunk at the other female’s outburst. You could feel your jaw set tightly as you raised your head to look at the one that had kicked you and yelled at the one that had been nothing but nice to you since you woke up. “So…” You spoke as you exhaled and tried to keep your voice even. “You plan to use me to take over Canterlot. I’m very happy to tell you that you are one crazy delusional changeling if you think I’m enough to do that. Or, for that matter, that I’m going to help you in any way.” The look on her face was priceless as she stared at you with her mouth opening and closing, as if trying to force her words out. It was short lived however as she mumbled something under her breath and stared at the other female again, rage clearly evident before staring back at you. She was now looking decidedly angrier than before, but something seemed to be working behind the scenes as she considered something, and a smile slowly crept into her muzzle. Her angry stare slowly turned smug as she narrowed her pink eyes at you, and approached you before putting a gentle hoof on your thigh, extremely close to another part of your anatomy that you really hoped wouldn’t become involved in this. “My… you are not as stupid as you look. Or at least, you were able to make her treacherous tongue work in your favor.” She spoke in a sultry tone as she stuck out her incredibly long tongue and let it dangle, flicking at your crotch before pulling it slowly back into her muzzle. Her grin spoke of some rather lewd intentions as she let her hoof linger for a bit, before she began to rub your thigh, and slowly allowed it to migrate up. Uh oh… Your mind was quick to react as you suddenly remembered something from not too long ago. But against what you would have expected, she pulled it away and began to pace in front of you a couple of times before she saw it fit to continue with whatever she was going to say. “Since you already have some idea of what my plans are, I see no harm in telling you the rest.” She paused and looked at you over her shoulder. “It’s not like you can do anything to stop me from way out here.” Your eyes narrowed at her as she continued to pace back and forth in front of you. “You see, this here treacherous parasprite…” She pointed a hoof at the changeling female next to your leg. “Did something right for once when she infiltrated your disgusting little town.” “Hey!” She ignored everypony's outburst and kept going. “I was surprised to learn that the ponies had found a new species. So, I ordered her to observe it. See if I could use you somehow.” “You mean use me?” “Do not interrupt me again, HUMAN!” There was only silence in the room as the changeling glared at you for a couple of moments before she continued to pace back and forth again. For some reason, she had added a rather noticeable sway to her hips that was hard not to notice. “Yes, you, my ill-mannered captive… You see, after our former queen’s failure to conquer Canterlot, some of the more ‘influential’ changelings…” She paused and brought a hoof to her cheek as she looked at you over her shoulder. “Decided that it was time for her to step down and let a new queen take her rightful place.” “You mean you?” “Of course me! Who else would be better suited for such a grand position?!” “Since you are here, off the top of my head? I’d say your competition.” The knowing smirk you gave here did not go over so smoothly if the growl she let out in your direction was any indication. You were pretty sure she was going to hit you again. But instead, she seemed to take a moment to calm herself down and turned fully to look at you from head to toe. “Well, you just keep surprising me with how you’re not as stupid as you look… But yes, I’ve had some competitors crawl out of their holes to try and take what’s mine. I dealt with most of them, but some refused to be stepped on like the parasprites they are. So, instead of dragging out a long civil war, we decided that our new queen would be the one to surpass our old one…” “By doing what she couldn’t. Take over Canterlot…” You finished for her as you closed your eyes and shook your head in disbelief. “And you think having one human is going to make a difference this time around? You’re delusional, you know that, right?” “Oh, it’s not just you…” The sound of a familiar swirling fire reached your ears and you opened your eyes again only to have your jaw drop as a familiar and dear pony now stood in front of you. “It’s also me, sugahcube.” Your reaction was immediate, but the restraining goop binding your arms above your head held firmly as you tried to lung at her and pulled against them. And you weren’t the only one. You could hear Big Macintosh struggle against his own bonds as he trashed against the table that held him firmly. “DON’T YOU DARE BRING HER INTO THIS!” “But yah right yah know. Guess ah’d have tah be pretty delusional t’love something…” The green fire burst forth once again and the anger you felt towards the changeling only increased as realization hit you. “… like me.” You now stood in front of yourself. A perfect copy of you, down to your clothes, almost as if you were standing in front of a mirror… with one exception though. “Whoa! AH!” Your double lifted a leg to take a step towards you, almost bringing its knee up to its chest in an incredible display of lacking bipedal coordination. You had to admit, watching yourself fall face flat onto the floor both hurt and helped turn that anger you felt into amused shock. You couldn’t help but to laugh a bit as you observed, well, yourself, rolling on the ground grabbing your face... Its face. This was going to get confusing… “HAH! Harder than it looks, huh? You might want to consider walking on all four limbs. I’m sure nopony will find it that odd compared to you falling flat on my face.” The glare you got from yourself on the floor only made you smirk. It was a mistake. Without warning, your doppelganger burst into a moving ball of green fire that shot towards you. Before you could react, as limited as you could, a familiar black hoof came across your jaw and your head swam with the impact as you felt your legs wobble a bit before you composed yourself and looked at the female changeling that now stood before you again. You tasted iron and copper in your mouth. But you both just stared at each other, angrily, for what felt like minutes, before Big Macintosh’s voice broke the silence. His voice sounded angry as you continued to stare at the changeling. Neither of you wanted to give the other the satisfaction of having looked away first. “Just what do yah plan to do with mah sister?!” She only smirked as her pink eyes remained glued to yours, and yours to hers. “I’m going to use you to lure her into a trap. And once I replace her, as an element of, heh, harmony, I’ll have direct access to Princess Celestia… and then, well.” Your stare became harder and that only seemed to give her more satisfaction. You were all too aware that you didn’t care what she did or used you for, but now that you knew she was going to use Applejack for her plans, you were finding it impossibly hard to keep your voice even. “So… I’m the bait?” “Well of course. It’s much simpler to get ponies to do what you want when you threaten the ones they love.” “And what do you mean by that? Did you leave a ransom note demanding she meet you to guarantee my safety?” “Oh no, that would imply something has happened already. No need to put her on alert. As far as she knows, you simply took a trip out of town.” “What…?” “Applejack, I left to go to Canterlot for a job. I’m bringing you back a surprise. Come meet me near the edge of the Everfree Forest in two days. Come alone. Love, …” Applejack blinked once and slowly lowered the letter back onto the counter as her face became a scowl and she turned to look at Fluttershy. They were both standing inside the repair shop, confused as to why neither you nor Big Macintosh were there. Fluttershy for her part, blinked as well and looked around the shop, letting out a quiet gasp as her hoof flew to her mouth. Applejack turned to look away back at the letter she had just read, and her scowl only grew to the point that the innocent piece of paper might have suddenly burst into flames. “AH CAN’T BELIEVE THIS!” The anger and stated disbelief rang clear in her voice as she turned around to look back at Fluttershy just as the piece of paper actually burst into flames. Fluttershy for her part was quick to grab the fire extinguisher you kept near the counter and put out the small fire as a deep worry made its way into her voice. “Oh dear! Oh my! Applejack please calm down… if you want that is.” However, Fluttershy’s plea fell on deaf ears as Applejack paced back and forth a few times before she let out and exasperated grunt as her voice rose in decibels with each syllable that began to leave her lips. “Only a few days away from the Hearth's Warming Eve pageant and that idjet-” “SWEET MERCIFUL CELESTIA LADY! Do you have any idea how much trouble I’m in because of you?!” The changeling only stared at you in a somewhat uninterested fashion with a hint of amusement at how increasingly panicked you had suddenly become. She seemed to savor it for a bit before dismissively waving a hoof in the air and turning to look away from you to look at the rest of the captives sharing the small room with you. “I’m sure whatever lover’s quarrel you two are having won’t affect my plans too much. Not like it will matter once I have her in my trap…” The laugh she let out quickly became a full blown cackle that resonated across the room and in your ears to the point that it made you wish you could cover them. It did not help that the changeling with the blue eyes slowly joined her as he too began to cackle until both of them seemed on the verge of insanity. However, as loud as those two changelings were being, a simple fact was not lost on you. The other changeling with the pink eyes, the one near your leg, was not laughing. Instead, you felt her discretely tug on your pants and you looked down at her to see her staring up at you intently. She was nudging her head towards Big Macintosh. She was mouthing something out too as she did it, and you only arched an eyebrow for a few seconds until something clicked into place. You focused intently on the window behind Big Macintosh. It was covered in dirt, but even through it, you were able to make something out. A pair of barely visible golden eyes stared back at you as you vaguely made out a sea foam colored figure crouching below the windowsill outside. Your height gave you the advantage of being able to see outside at a different angle, being still a bit taller than the changelings in the room. For whatever odd reason, at least as far as the rest of the ponies in the room were concerned, you joined the two other changelings in their laughter. Everypony in the room simply looked at you as if you had lost it. You only hoped you had guessed right about what the changeling was trying to communicate. “Wow, heh heh , that’s some plan you got there.” Both changelings simply looked at you more confused that when you first burst out laughing, their laughter having died almost instantly as yours began. “I mean, you spied on me, caught me off guard, kidnapped me, replaced me… and you even left a letter to explain my absence while this all took place and you lured her in…” The female changeling’s confusion quickly vanished, and instead, a smugly smile replaced it as she looked at you triumphantly. You were really getting tired of that. “I see you finally understand your position. Maybe now you’ll show some respect to your future queen.” “Yeah… I guess I should huh? One thing though. Say, Big Mac? What time did you tell Applejack we’d meet her in Canterlot tomorrow?” Your sudden statement clearly confused Big Macintosh as he looked at you with a blank stare for a second or two. But as expected, the stoic stallion wasted little time in realizing what you were doing and his expression gave way to a sort of satisfied amusement, with an undertone of hope that it would work. “Ah think ah told her we’d be spending tah night up in Canterlot tah get things ready for the surprise you’d planned for her. Then we’d meet her close to sunset near tah waterfalls tah following day.” “Surprise? Canterlot?!” The female changeling suddenly let out in as she turned back and forth to look at you and Big Macintosh, and eventually settled on the other changeling with the pink eyes and shrieked. “What surprise in Canterlot?! This was not in your report!!” The other female changeling cowered in fear at the outburst, but remained quiet as she covered her head with her hooves. You weren’t sure if she was playing along, or truly afraid. You really hoped this wasn’t going to backfire. “Heh, looks like your spy missed some important information.” You smiled at her as you recalled something Big Macintosh had mentioned early on. “Good thing I haven’t been unconscious for close to a day now. If that were the case, Applejack might already be making her way to Canterlot to be there early… especially if you left such a contradicting letter behind.” The soon to be new changeling queen was no longer looking at the other female, but instead, she was looking at you pure rage in her features. “My queen…?” The changeling with the blue eyes carefully approached her, extending a hoof in a calming gesture. And for his troubles, he quickly found himself encased in a green magical glow before being thrown clear across the room against the wall next to you with a resounding crack. You watched him slum against the wall before trying to pick himself up on trembling hooves. “YOU!” Her hoof trembled as she pointed at you. “YOU AND YOUR WHORE WILL NOT COME BETWEEN ME AND MY CROWN!” Your angry glare made it clear to all in the room that you did not care for her words… just as she did not care for your glare either as she ignored you. And instead, she pointed a hoof at the other female changeling. “AND YOU! YOU PARASPRITE! DO NOT THINK THIS WILL GO UNPUNISHED!” Too little too late did the other changeling become aware of what was about to happen to her before she too found herself enveloped in a field of green magic. Her horn started to glow in a pink hue before it was engulfed and extinguished by the other’s green magic. And effortlessly, she was flown up into the air, slammed against the ceiling, and then slammed against the floor before she was dragged towards the enrage female across the wooden floor. She let out a pained cry as a black hoof settled on her head and pressed down. You could feel the joints in your arms protest in pain as you pulled and opened your mouth. “LET HER GO YOU BITCH!” That outburst did not come from you though. And everypony in the room looked at the one whom it had come from. Caramel stood stock still, pulling against his restraints with all his might as he stared intently at the enraged female. No pony in the room had expected that. The atmosphere in the room was so thick, you cut with a knife. Yet, you swore you caught a glimpse of something, out of the corner of your eye, sparkling on the prone female’s face. It had almost looked like a tear, but you could not have been sure. Her face was too turned away from you as she looked at Caramel. Slowly, the enraged female seemed to lose her momentum, and her hoof slid off of the female’s head as she turned around to make towards the door. Everypony in the room seemed to let out a collective sigh as you all observed her move further away from the female that was barely now standing back up on her hooves. “COME. You will lead me back to town on the fastest route, and from there we’ll head to Canterlot. My plan will continue as is…” Both the blue eyed and pink eyed changelings slowly followed her out the door. Both of them were limping. It was your turn to mouth the words “I’m sorry” as you observed the pink eyed female walk out last, and stop at the door as she turned to look back at you, and smiled sadly. The door closed with a resounding click, and you heard the sounds of retreating hooves slowly fade away. Nopony said a word for what felt like hours, but in truth, it could not have been more than a few minutes. You were the first one to speak as your voiced sounded clear and oddly calm, given what had just happened. “Caramel?” “Y-yes?” “What is she to you?” The question not only stunned him, but everypony else in the room as they all looked at you, and you in turned looked at all of them before settling your eyes on Caramel. He seemed to consider you for a few seconds, and in the end, he didn’t say anything as he turned to look away at the floor. “Right... so here’s the plan. We escape. Make our way to Canterlot. Warn every guard we see along the way. And we stop Queen Crazy before she hurts Applejack or Caramel’s marefriend whom I’m pretty sure now she’s on our side.” “W-what? She’s not my marefriend!” “Uh huh... listen, I nearly got blown up by a rainbow colored nuclear explosion trying to get to the pony I love. You ain’t fooling nopony. You still care for her.” “I-I, but she…” “Given what we all just saw, do you think she had a choice?” “… But…” You only arched an eyebrow at him, daring him to say otherwise, before you turned your gaze towards Big Macintosh and found him looking at you intently. You knew too well what that stare meant, and only smiled at him before he smiled back and nodded his head at you. “Haf’tah admit, never thought yah’d be smart enough to pull that off. Or lie like that about me telling Applejack to meet us anywhere...” “Yeah, guess those hits to the head I took a few months back knocked something loose in a good way… really glad you played along.” You paused to consider something for a second before you spoke again and your voice took on a more serious, yet honest tone. “I’d never forgive myself if something happened to Applejack…” Big Macintosh simply nodded at you and let loose a confident smile before he began to look around the room. After a few seconds though, you heard him let out a sigh through his nostrils as he pulled against his restraints and closed his eyes. “So, don’t suppose yah planned out far enough ahead to tell me how yah plan on getting us out.” “Still working on that part…” You looked back out the window, hoping you could see the figure you had seen before still hiding there. But instead, what you saw beyond the window sill was nothing but a few patches of freshly falling snow as you heard the wind pick up and bang harder against the side of the building. With everything that had happened, you had forgotten that you still didn’t have any idea where you were being held. All that you knew was that it was some building in the middle of an increasing snowfall. You let out a sigh as you hung your head and tried to focus on a plan. Maybe what you had seen was nothing more than an illusion caused by a dirty window and falling snow. “Celestia all mighty…where’s my stalker when you need her?” “I am not a stalker!” Everypony suddenly turned to look up at the ceiling, through the rafters as the familiar voice rang throughout the small room. “I’m a researcher!” And with a flash of golden light, Lyra appeared in front of you looking a bit angry as she looked up at you. “And this researcher’s got a bone to pick with those changelings!” You only smiled encouragingly at the sea foam unicorn as she looked up at you and beamed with confidence… and then watched in horror as she trotted towards the door. “Um, Lyra? Where are you going?” “Like I said! I got a bone to pick with the Changelings!” “Lyra! NO! WAI-” And like that, Lyra was out the door and you slowly watched it close behind her. Everypony in the room simply remained silent as they all looked in disbelief at the door, and a single thought ran through your mind. Maybe I should stop invoking Celestia, it never seems to work out okay for me… Author's Note Well, I can't believe I got this done before the month was out. I actually sort of stuck to what I said I'd do. I feel accomplished. Now back to writing the next chapter. Disclaimer - All characters presented in this work of fiction are owned by their respective creators and owners. In short, all the wubs go to Hasbro. Batter Up! - Wait! This Isn't Baseball!Life, as we all know, is filled with surprises that can come in many shapes and sizes. Sometimes, these little surprises that life throws our way can end up being wonderful memories that stick with use for the rest of our lives. Other times, theses surprises can instead turn out to be things that we would much rather soon forget, usually through means of lots of alcohol consumption or other depending on your preferred method. Your life in Equestria had thus far been no different. And often time, it felt as if it spared no expense when it decided to execute such said surprises in your life. “Hey… why are you looking at me like that?” Take for example, that one time long ago, when you opened the door to leave your house in Ponyville for a morning jog on a day off, and found the town ablaze as a dragon flew over head and a throng of screaming ponies ran past your door. In those few seconds of shocked surprise, you had simply blinked, closed the door, waited a second or two, and then opened the door again to let in the chaos from the outside flood into your home once again. You had been rather surprised at how well done the sound proofing for your home was. That dragon attack on the other hoof though, had been the third one that month. Something about a migration, or revenge, or something like that. But honestly, you’ve see one dragon attack, you’ve seen them all. “It’s not my fault! Please don’t look at me like that!” Now, there was also that one time in the early hours of the morning at Sweet Apple Acres, when in the middle of pleasant dream, you had suddenly found yourself fully awake and unable to move anything from your waist down. As surprised as you were at your sudden predicament, you had been even more surprised when you lifted the covers and found a guilty looking Applejack winking at you... right before she continued with the first part of your day-long birthday present. Best surprise birthday present. EVER. “Fine! I’m sorry, okay? I honestly thought that I could take them!” So, when compared to those surprises, it was easy to see why Lyra’s actions had come up short in the surprise department. Because honestly, anypony could have seen the end result of her walking out into a hall filled with Changelings, coming a mile away. Though, you supposed to her credit. No pony, or Changeling for that matter, could have anticipated having a raving mad unicorn tackle them from behind, in a hallway, and bite off a good chunk of their mane. Surprise! Instant beard! “No, Lyra, it’s just… spit that out so that we can be seriously about this… please?” The seafoam colored unicorn looked a bit dejected as she relinquished her beard, and watched you turn away from her. You were trying not t be angry at her, so you focused on something else, such as how to get out of your current predicament. There had been a sense of hope. A ray of light in the dark as Lyra appeared in front of you when the Changelings had left you and your friends alone in the room. That hope however, had quickly turned to despair and disbelief as you saw her leave to seek revenge, and immediately after, heard a commotion and screams on the other side of the door. Needless to say that when you saw her dragged back inside, and get shackled on the wall next to you, that sense of hope had quickly turned into a nice ball of despair that settled in the pit of your stomach. And that only made things worse as it added to the already growing sense of worry. None of which, was for your own well being… “I’m-I’m worried, Lyra, okay? I’m worried sick about what might happen to Applejack and honestly, you were our only ticket out of here.” “But-” “And now, not only do we NOT have somepony on the outside. But we now have this asshole here watching us!” The Changeling in the room narrowed his blue eyes at you as you said this, and let out a growl that showed his fangs. You were not too sure, but it looked like he was missing another one now, which you supposed must have been the Queen’s doing seeing as Lyra didn’t come back inside with a new pair of dentures. She seemed to keep what she defeated. Kind of like your boxer shorts. “Oh hush you asshole. That’s a term of endearment where I come from.” The Changeling simply narrowed his eyes further and growled louder. It didn’t look like he was buying it. “It-It is?” Lyra on the other hoof… “Luna, help me…” You let out in a sigh as you hung your head and allowed your body to go limp and dangled from the restraints on your wrist. The slight pain that shot up your arms from your shoulders was a welcomed distraction, though still rather distant when compared to everything else at the forefront of your mind. “I-I don’t know what to do to get out of this now…” You let out in a shallow breath and heard the Changeling let out a small laugh as the rest of the room went silent. Well, sort of silent. “H-hey…?” It hardly even registered that Lyra was calling your name, but you still managed to react enough to turn slightly to the side and look at her. She was looking at you with worry in her eyes as she lightly bit her lower lip. She looked as if she was trying to decide something important, but eventually, she made her decision and took a deep breath to steady herself. “I… w-we could just wait.” For obvious reasons, everypony, and Changeling, in the room looked at her with a raised brow and evident confusion in their expressions. “Not to offend Miss Lyra, but that there seems a rather poor way to save mah sister.” You couldn’t help but nod your head slightly in agreement as Lyra looked at Big Macintosh with a sad smile and then turned to look at you, her expression unchanged. Her breathing began to sound ragged, as if she was about to start crying and spoke again. “If-if we wait, I’m su-sure they’ll find us..” “They?” You blinked as a slight dab of hope painted your words. “Who’s they Lyra?” Lyra’s eyes suddenly began to blink faster as they watered a bit and she began to chew on her lip. “Th-there’s a backup pl-plan…” She finally said. “Y-you see, I…” “I just don’t know what’s wrong with him…” Earlier that day, two ponies walked down one of the snow covered streets of Ponyville as they conversed with one another and the snow crunched beneath their hooves. One of them wore a blue scarf around her neck, while the other wore a gray scarf around hers. Both ponies were wearing white ear mufflers to keep their ears warm, and they stepped aside for a bit off the road as a covered cart being pulled by Thunderlane and followed by a white unicorn went past them. “He seemed happy all this time and now, well, he’s just so distant.” “Well, your relationship did start with you tying him to your bed and trying to rut his brains out.” “But he loved that!” “Yes, I know, you didn’t stop bragging about how you broke the bed.” “Mmm, yes…” “And, there was also that time with the riding crop and hot candle wax.” “Yes, and that one he really enjoyed too!” “No. YOU enjoyed the bucking. What HE enjoyed were third degree burns.” “But it wasn’t my fault, Cloud Chaser!” “Not the point, Flitter! You set his coat on fire and burned his-” Whoops! Wrong conversation… “Ah just don’t know what’s wrong with him lately…” Another pair of ponies walked down a different snow covered street in Ponyville as they made their way towards a familiar repair shop. One of them, an earth pony, wore a green scarf as her Stetson hat settled comfortably atop her head. The other one, a pegasus pony with a slightly rounder midsection, wore a red scarf and pink ear mufflers that blended with her mane. Both of them continued walking down the street, completely unaware of anything passing on by only a few blocks away. “I don’t think anything's wrong with him, Applejack. At least I don’t think so… I mean, if you don’t mind me saying. I mean, sorry I-” Fluttershy suddenly found herself quieted by an orange hoof placed over her muzzle and Applejack’s smiling face in front of her. “Sugahcube, Ah told yah you don’t haf’ta keep apologizing like that.” “Bum Abblejack, ham sorry, ha don’t hunt to be ha loud mouth…” Fluttershy managed to mumble out around Applejack’s hoof. Applejack simply chuckled as she removed her hoof and began walking towards the shop again. “Sugahcube, yah family now. Been family for over ah year. Heh, Ah don’t mind if yah but in and speak what’s on your mind every now and then.” The shy pegasus simply smiled lightly and nodded her head as she joined her walking down road towards the repair shop. They both walked quietly for about a block, the only sound now being that of the snow beneath their hooves, before one of them felt compelled to speak again and finish what she wanted to say. A warm smile was clearly visible on her face. “You know he loves you dearly, right? He’d move a mountain for you if he could. Anypony can see that…” No immediate reply came from the Stetson wearing pony. But instead, she stopped and looked straight down at the ground. The worry of having said something she wasn’t supposed to, immediately became evident on Fluttershy’s face as she rushed to apologize to her friend and sister-in-law. The words though, never left her lips as she got a look at Applejack’s face. A huge smile adorned Applejack’s muzzle as she turned up to look at her. “Ah know Fluttershy…” She replied with a slight giggle to her voice as she remembered the events of that morning, and began walking again towards the repair shop, her smile seeming to just grow wider as she walked along. Fluttershy visibly relaxed and fell in next to her as they continued walking down the road again. “Ah guess ah’m just kind of worried mah idjet might actually be trying sumthing like that. He’s sure been kind of distant these past few days to make me think he’s up to sumthing.” Her friend only giggled at this as she nodded her head and paused for a second in her stride. “Oh dear, that would be worrisome! I mean, where would you even put a mountain if he gave you one?” The round of laughter that burst from both ponies was enough to get a few stares from the other ponies on the street. Neither of them paid any attention though as they allowed it to ease the stress of having to come into town to drag their respective coltfriends home for lunch. “Maybe, heh, maybe ah can put it in the living room, heh.” They both continued to laugh even up until they turned a corner and the repair shop came into view up ahead. And, as they walked up to the door, their laughter finally began to settle. “Though, heh, yah know Fluttershy? If mah idjet’s up to sumthing like that, as sure as Celestia raises the sun, mah idjet brother is right there with him. Thick as thieves them two are, yah might just get your own mountain too.” Applejack finished with a hardy laugh as she placed a hoof on the door to push it open. She had to pause though as she turned around to look at her friend who had suddenly gone quiet. “Fluttershy? Yah okay sugahcube?” “Applejack, please don’t joke like that. I don’t want Mackie to get hurt trying to get me a mountain. I mean, he’s going to be a daddy and-and…” The pegasus finished lamely as her ear pulled back and laid flat on her head. For her part, Applejack simply took a step towards her and placed a comforting hoof around her withers. She often forgot pregnant mares were prone to emotional swings, though she really didn’t think their running joke would be a trigger for it. “Ah sorry sugahcube, ah’m sure both of them are fine.” “You *sniff* really think so Applejack?” “Of course ah do sugahcube. Ah’m sure of it! Yah don’t see any moving mountains do yah?” “N-no…” “See?” Applejack replied as she gave her a firm hug and moved back to the door, and pushed it open to walk inside the repair shop. “Ah’m sure both of them are fine. Ah’d even bet they’re both behind the counter talk-” She stopped dead in her tracks as a now far more cheerful pegasus took up the space next to her inside the door, talking as she went. “Oh dear, what a relief. I mean, I wouldn’t even know what I’d do if Mac-” Both ponies now stood still and silent as the light from the outside poured into the dark repair shop and cast their shadows into the empty interior. Neither of them could find the ability to say a single word as they stood still for a couple of seconds, and then walked inside in unison. Their eyes scanned everything in the room back and forth, hoping that something would explain what they were seeing. Applejack’s eyes eventually spotted something on the counter, a piece of paper, and she walked over to it. Her hoof settled on it as she let out a breath she didn’t even realize she was holding in, and picked it up. “Applejack, I left to go to Canterlot for a job. I’m bringing you back a surprise. Come meet me near the edge of the Everfree Forest in two days. Come alone. Love, …” Applejack blinked once and slowly lowered the letter back onto the counter as her face became a scowl and she turned to look at Fluttershy. She simply blinked back at her and looked around the shop, letting out a quiet gasp as her hoof flew to her mouth. Applejack turned to look away, back at the letter she had just read, and her scowl only grew to the point that the innocent piece of paper might have suddenly burst into flames. “AH CAN’T BELIEVE THIS!” The anger and stated disbelief rang clear in her voice as she turned around to look back at Fluttershy just as the piece of paper actually burst into flames. Fluttershy for her part was quick to grab the fire extinguisher kept near the counter and put out the small fire as a deep worry made its way into her voice. “Oh dear! Oh my! Applejack please calm down… if you want that is.” However, Fluttershy’s plea fell on deaf ears as Applejack paced back and forth a few times before she let out and exasperated grunt as her voice rose in decibels with each syllable that began to leave her lips. “Only a few days away from the Hearth Warming Eve pageant and that idjet gone n’gotten himself in sum’kind of trouble!” “Oh dear, Mackie!” Fluttershy immediately dropped the fire extinguisher and began to fly frantically around the shop, the word trouble apparently being the key word needed for her to begin to panic. Applejacks disbelief and anger at the situation quickly gave way to concern and worry as well. And, though not as panic stricken as Fluttershy, she too began to take in the state of the shop in more detail as a heavy sensation of dread formed in the pit of her gut. The entire inside of the shop was trashed. Areas of the floor were broken, holes, smashed into the ground through pieces of broken floorboards as if somepony had rammed their hoof through them. The wall separating the workshop from the shop itself had the full body outline of somepony that had been thrown clean through it into the other room. The door that led from that room was off its hinges and lay on the floor, seemingly kicked down by whoever had been thrown through that wall. And everywhere else, more evidence of an extremely one sided fight littered the shop. Even the ceiling was not without some sort of damage. Applejack had to take a step back and try to convince herself that neither her stallion, nor her brother had been on the receiving end of everything she was seeing. In fact, she was pretty sure if anypony was capable of this, it was her brother. Her stallion on the other hoof… She leaned against the counter and put her hoof on it as she tried to think about what might have happened. However, no sooner did her hoof touch the counter that she immediately brought it in front of her face. It was covered in something sticky, and she felt her heart skip a beat as she rushed to draw open a curtain and shed light on what she had just placed her hoof in. What she saw then, made that feeling of dread in the pit of her gut turn into a steadily rising anger. There was apple jam splattered across the top of the counter. But it wasn’t the jam she was focused on… but the figure outlined by it. She could clearly make out the outline of a pair of shoulders and a head, together with what seemed to be drag marks in the jam caused by a pair of arms dragging over the counter as if trying to hold on to it. She knew of only one creature in the whole of Equestria that could leave such a body print. Her mouth opened and immediately closed as that steadily rising anger forced its way out through clenched teeth. “How. DARE. THEY!” The sudden outburst from Applejack and the rumbling of the walls was enough to cause Fluttershy to stop in her panic stricken flight around the shop, and dropped to the floor. “They? Who’s they?” The panicked pegasus asked in a hopeful voice as a maddened glint suddenly made itself apparent in her eyes. “HO HO… This gonna get good. NO PONY hurts mah stallion!” Applejack declared as she began making her way to the door. “Ye-yeah!” “When ah find out who’s behind this they’re gonna be in for a world of hurting! Come on Fluttershy! Don’t know what’s going on, but looking at this mess, we gonna need sum’help!” “YEAH! I’ll go get the things from my shed!” Both earth pony and pegasus stopped on their way to the door as one looked at the other in confusion. “Uh, what sugahcube? What sh-” “Hormones!” The suddenly twitchy eyed pegasus blurred out bringing a hoof to her mouth and cleared her throat. “Oh! Excuse me… I’m sorry Applejack. I’m a bit emotional because of the hormones and Mackie not being here.” “Um, okay sugahcube. But what-” “OH! We should get Twilight and the girls to help get our boys back!” Applejack could only stare at her, confused, while Fluttershy simply smiled innocently at her, even though she had just blatantly tried to change the subject. After a few seconds though, she decided to indeed chalk it up to hormones, and started walking towards the door. “Uh, alright then, let’s go!” Both ponies left the shop intent on getting their respective stallion back and beating the stuffing out of whoever was responsible. And, as they walked towards the library, no pony walking outside dared stand in their way. “An-and that’s why *hic* when-when they left and took you away *sniff* I-I used my ma-magic to return everything to how it was.” “You did WHAT?!” The Changeling suddenly demanded in a shrill voice, but no pony paid him any attention. What Lyra had just divulged was of much greater importance than the only Changeling in the room flipping its lid. And what she had told you had obviously caused her some sort of distress. Why though, you did not completely grasp. But, little by little, she had begun to break down and cry throughout her retelling of the events that led to her being outside that window in the first place. Apparently, after you had been knocked out, she pretended to be unconscious as well while she lay on top of you. The noises of the struggle stopping had not been because Big Macintosh had been overpowered. In fact, the Changeling trying to subdue him never stood a chance. But instead, he had been forced to stop and surrender in order to keep you and Lyra unharmed. Once he had been properly subdued, you were all loaded into a covered card and taken away, leaving behind one Changeling to cast a spell to fix the shop so as to avoid suspicion. Lyra had almost immediately teleported out of the cart, unnoticed, and waited till the Changeling left behind was done cleaning. It had been the kind one, the one with the pink eyes. And when she confronted her… “So, my hunch was right…” You said loud enough for Caramel to clearly hear you. You still weren’t sure what his and the Changeling’s story was, but you felt he needed to hear this clearly. “She’s on our side.” “And that worthless parasprite will pay for betraying our Queen!” Again, the Changeling shrilled, but still, no pony paid him any attention. “Uh huh *hic* without her, I wouldn’t ha-have known *sniff* how to undo the magic used to fix your shop.” “Sweet Celestia, Lyra! Do you realize what this means!?” The sudden joy in your voice was mirrored on the hopeful smiles of everypony present. Well, except Thunderlane, it was kind of hard to tell if he was smiling or holding back a sneeze with his muzzle so tightly bound with the green goop. “N-no? Maybe?” “Lyra, it means that if anypony found that mess, without a doubt, Applejack will immediately suspect something is wrong with that letter! And, if she involves the other girls…” A grim and sinister smile took hold of your lips as unspeakable images played out across your imagination while you looked off into the distance. It must have been quite a sight, because out of the corner of your eye, you managed to catch a slight movement as the Changeling took a step back from you. “Oh, th-that. I know *sniff* that’s why I-I did it…” And yet, that murderous look quickly left you as you turned around to look at Lyra. She was still crying, and her tears had left clear marks across the fur on her cheeks. “Lyra? But then, why are you crying though? What you’ve done is phenomenal!” “I-I know *sniff* it-it’s just that…” More tears left her eyes as her lower lip began to tremble and she tried to take in a deep, but shaky breath. For whatever reason, the room seemed much more quiet than before, which was surprising seeing as it was almost as if the wind and snow outside put itself on mute as well. “I-I wanted *sniff* to-to save you by myself…” Lyra finally let out with a quiet so that pulled at your heart, and you felt your mouth dry out a bit. “I thought that maybe *sniff* maybe then you’d want to… want to be w-with me more…” Everypony, and even Changeling, in the room suddenly turned to look at you with wide eyes. You had honestly not expected anything like that, and you could only blink as you tried to select your words carefully. The seconds of silence threatened to turn into minutes, but eventually, you found something the resembled a correct answer. “Lyra…” You paused to make sure you had her attention, and you did as she looked at you with big, round, and hopeful eyes. You could only give her your best smile, and… “Lyra, we already hangout a lot though.” And everypony in the room facehoofed, or they would have at least if they weren’t bound, as what Lyra just confessed to you went clear over your head. “By the Queen, you are thick…” The Changeling chimed in, and you only arched a brow at his direction as you continued. “I mean, I’m sorry I missed out on that book signing you wanted me to accompany you to a while ago. But you and I are good friends already, so you don’t have to prove anything to me.” You said with a smile that slightly faltered by Lyra’s disbelieving look. “And uh, well, this is kind of, you know, too serious an issue to have tried to do it on your own like that.” You continued talking but ended with a smile. “I’m just glad you didn’t get really hurt.” Lyra only blinked at you as her mouth opened and closed repeatedly. You were having a really hard time reading her reaction, but something told you that you may have said something wrong. “Lyra? Are you-” “I’m fine…” She interrupted you as she finally managed to get her jaw to work for her and gave you a smile. Although somewhat forced. “Really? Cause you look kind of gassy…” “I said I’m fine…” She once again smiled at you, though this time it looked a bit more genuine. It was enough to make you stop asking her. And instead, you began to look around the room and at everypony else in there with you. For whatever reason, they were all looking at you with bewildered, and disbelieving looks. All of them were silent as they looked at you like that… Well, all of them, except for Big Macintosh. “What’s on your mind Big Mac?” You asked knowing full well by now what that stoic stare of his meant. Big Macintosh however, only stared at you, like he always did, and even did the motion of switching his piece of straw from one side of his mouth to the other. He didn’t have his piece of straw, but apparently old habits die hard. A second passed by before he closed his eyes and shook his head as he let out a sign and finally spoke. “Just wondering if yah came up with a way out of this here predicament we all having. Applejack may have seen the shop by now, but it don’t mean she knows where we are at.” “HA! That’s right!” Everypony finally turned to look at the Changeling that until now had been ignored with his outbursts. He visibly reveled in the sudden attention he got, and sneered at you as he took a step closer to you. “That “bitch” mare of yours will never find you!” That insult stung, and your jaw set so tight as you glared angrily at the Changeling that you were certain you would crack a tooth. But you didn’t care, not for long as an idea quickly formed in your head, and you returned his sneer. “Oh yeah you asshole?” The expected effect was immediate. It was now the Changelings turn to glare angrily at you as he took a few more steps closer to you. “You filthy creatures don’t stand a chance against us!” “Big words coming from a bug! And don’t you DARE speak about my marefriend like that again!” “Heh, or what, human?” “Or you’ll never even see my plan coming…” “Your plan? Don’t make me laugh! What plan?” “Revenge.” “Reven-” The Changeling’s question only made it out so far as he nearly bit his tongue off thanks to your foot connecting squarely with his jaw. You had waited for him to get close enough to you to be in range and that he was sufficiently distracted. And, at the opportune moment, you threw out your leg in an arching high kick. The impact was tremendous, and the anger fueled force behind it was enough to lift him off the floor, and fling him clear across the room into the table in the corner. You foot and knee exploded in pain from throwing such a kick, but that mattered little as you pulled yourself up off the floor with your arms, and pushed your feet against the wall behind you. “Celestia’s flowing mane! What are you doing!” You heard Caramel’s panicked voice call out to you as you strained against your bonds. “I’m *huff* coming up with a plan on the fly! *hurk* May not break this green goop, but *huff* maybe with my weight and a bit of effort, I can break off a piece *hurk* of this old wall behind me!” Everypony in the room just stared at you as if you had lost your marbles. However, that didn’t last long before they all immediately began to struggle against their own binds as well. Well, almost of them with the exception of Lyra. Lyra instead remained motionless for a few seconds as she looked at you with a sense of wonder in her eyes. “I-I didn’t know humans could throw a buck like that!” She suddenly commented as she threw some experimental kicks with her hind leg like you had. “Yeah *hurk* not really *huff* hurt like Tartarus… *hurk* Help me with your magic Lyra!” “Huh? Oh! Right!” Lyra stopped mid kick and her horn flared with a golden iridescence as a golded hued magical field enveloped you. It didn’t feel very helpful, but she strained harder as she tried and her horn flared even brighter. You heard shallow creaking noises coming from the wall against your back. It was slowly working. “Come *huff* on! Just *hurk* a bit mo-” “YoU FIlthY HuMAN!” Your concentration lapsed for a fraction of a second as you turned to look at the Changeling. He was slowly picking himself up of the floor, his eyes burning with a green magical fire as he wobbled his way out of the remains of the broken table. “I’vE hAd enOugH of YoU INFERIOR CREATURES!” “Oh yeah bug boy! *huff* Come here and say that to my…” Your voice left you as the Changeling suddenly burst into a giant ball of green fire that tore through some of the rafter and punched a hole clean through the ceiling. Your jaw dropped at the spectacle and you stopped struggling against your binds for only a second before you doubled your efforts with every passing second of the unfolding sight in front of you. Wings, red and leathery, burst through the green fire as a deafening roar burst from within it. “Lyra! Hurry up!” “I’m trying!” “Try *hurk* harder!” Too late. The ball of green fire exploded outward with enough force to take away your breath, and let loose a wall rattling roar from the creature that now stood in front of you. The red leathery wings were attached to a creature with the head of a lion, the tail of a scorpion, and the horns of a bull. You had seen it before in one of Twilight’s books, and what you recalled from it was enough to fill you with fear as you felt you face drain of color. “I-I didn’t know they could turn in-into non-pony like creatures! Maybe you shouldn't have insulted him...” “Oh hey, guess you're right, you can add that to your book and-LYRA HURRY UP AND HELP ME OFF THIS WALL!” “I’m-I’m *hng* trying!” “Lyra!” “Hold on!” “Lyra! Hurry-” With a ferocious roar, the Manticore leapt at you as it flung a giant paw into the air, claws gleaming like devilish steel, and brought it down on you. The world seemed to go into slow motion. You closed your eyes at the sound of breaking wood filling your ears, and the world spun as your life flashed before your eyes. That all came to a screeching halt as you felt the sensation of claws digging into your flesh… Applejack let out a pained gasp as something inside her chest suddenly felt as if it had been hallowed out, and her head was inexplicably drawn towards one of the windows of the library. Outside, she could see the snow covered scenery of Ponyville, and beyond it, off in the distance, she could see the Whitetail Woods. They were covered in snow, and it looked like a heavy snow storm had been scheduled for that area. Clouds were already overhead and were slowly beginning to unleash their fury. Those clouds had not yet been placed there hours ago when they had first found the destroyed shop. “Applejack?” “Huh?” Her ear twitched as her attention was called back to her group of friends in the library. And slowly, she looked at each of their faces, and every single one of them showed a deep concern. Looking to her side, Fluttershy still remained there looking back at her. She looked like she was about to break down crying, but was trying to put up a strong front. Things had not turned out like she and Fluttershy had anticipated. They had expected a full out charge to recover their loved ones, just like they had when Rarity had been kidnapped by Diamond Dogs. However, the situation was much different from then, and nopony, or dragon for that matter, had seen who or what had caused the damage to the repair shop. And when they asked around, nopony could tell them if they had seen her loving human or brother leave the shop. This time around, they had no idea where to even begin looking. And because of that, they had been forced to take into consideration a different course of action. “Twi-Twilight…” Applejack finally spoke as she looked at her friend and placed a hoof on her own chest, over her heart. It was beating a mile a minute and that hallowing sensation had only grown. She had to close her eyes and take a steady breath before she felt she could speak again. “Ah-ah love him Twilight… Ah can’t see mahself without him. An-and y’all saw the shop…” She paused as she swallowed her fear, and gently patted her chest. “And sum’thing in here, in mah heart, is screaming at me that he’s in sum’kind of danger.” Twilight’s gaze only fell away as she listened and her ears pulled back in shame. But she looked back up when she felt Applejack place her hoof on her shoulder, and spoke to her. “But yah right… we don’t know where to look for them, and that letter we found proves that whoever left it has got a bone to pick with me… Th-the best thing we can do now…” She paused again as she felt she had to swallow a whole ocean this time, and prepared to do what she had no mind to do in the first place. “The best thing we can do right now… is to go to Canterlot and ask the Princesses for help in finding mah kin.” “No way! Are you sure about this AJ?!” Applejack only turned to look at Rainbow Dash, and nodded as she met her eyes before she turned to look at Fluttershy. “Ah’m sure… Besides, if he and Big Macintosh are together, they’ll watch each others’ backs.” She said with a reassuring not at the pegasus and smiled. If Fluttershy could put on a strong face, then by Tartaurs so could she. Even if it was just for Fluttershy’s own sake. “Neither of them s’gonna let nuh’thing happen to the other.” A small tear rolled off of Fluttershy’s cheek, and she slowly cheered up. “You’re-you’re right!” Fluttershy let out with a whisper of strength in her voice that rapidly grew. “They’ll-they’ll protect each other! They’ll watch each others’ backs because they’re-they’re as thick as teeth!” “Thieves.” Applejack corrected with a gentle smile. “Right! They’re as thick as thieves!” She finally squeaked out loudly as she took, or tried to at least, take a page from Applejack’s earlier comment at the shop. “And Mackie would never miss the birth of our foal… Or else, no matter how many times he yells banana, nothing will save him from me punishing him!” Nopony in the room was sure what that whole comment about the banana was about. But unanimously, they all silently decided to chalk that up to pregnancy hormones as they all now suddenly found themselves a whole lot more determined to do whatever they had to do. “Spike! Go ahead and send a letter to Princess Celestia to let her know what has happened and that we are on our way to Canterlot! You’ll stay here in case something new comes up.” “Yes Ma’am!” Spike replied with a salute as he rushed off to get a quill and piece of parchment. “Are you sure about this, Applejack? I mean, I am only suggesting this because I think it’s the most logical course of action for us to take given the circumstances. I mean, if you still feel that-” Twilight stopped rambling on as Applejack gently placed her hoof over her mouth, and smiled at here. “Sugahcube, ah thank yah kindly for this here. But ah trust y’all to do all what y’all can to help Fluttershy and me out with this. Ah know yah doing your best Twilight.” “Thank you, Applejack…” Twilight replied with a smile once Applejack had removed her hoof. “We got him back to you in one piece once already… We’ll do it again, I promise. Applejack only kept smiling as she turned towards the door and began walking towards it. “Ah know sugahcube, but ah also know it wasn’t just thanks to y’all he pulled that off. If his mind’s set on sum’thing, then he’ll do it. So if he ran through ah town of mares in heat just to say he was sorry… Ah’m sure nuh’thing s’gonna stop him from getting back to me from wherever he’s at.” You were stuck. You were literally stuck to the wall as the sensation of claws digging into you only intensified as the Manticore tried to pull them out. “Ho-holy buck Lyra…” You managed to force out as Lyra only grinned at you through the clear strain on her face. Sparks were falling from her horn as it burned a hot white, like a piece of steel, with sheer magical energy she was pushing through it. There had been a simple explanation as to why you felt as if Lyra’s Magic was not helping you get off that wall. She had not been focusing on you alone. Instead, through whatever logic she saw fit, she had focused her magic on both you and the section of wall behind you. At the last possible second of the Changeling Manticore attack, Lyra had torn a human sized section of wall, with you still on it, and left a huge hole to the exterior of the building you were in. She had then turned you face back, and swung the wall and you around to intercept the Manticore’s attack so that the wall faced it, and you faced her. The Manticore’s claws had gone through the wood of the wall, and torn through your jacked and into your side. The end result of how that could have played out instead would have been much worst given the circumstances. “You-you’ve been practicing, huh?” “Ye-yeah… Twi-twilight’s a good teacher.” “I can see that.” “Heh, hold on…” “Okay-wait, what do you mean hold onAHHHHH!” You felt the claws of the Manticore get yanked out of your side as in a horrible turn of events, Lyra’s magic held you immobile against the wall as she swung it around. You kept screaming as the sheer force behind the motion made you sick to your stomach, but stopped immediately as a very confused looking Manticore came into view, and a horrible realization dawned on you. A section of the wall right next to your head exploded into pieces as it made contact with the Manticore’s head and it let out an pained roar… Lyra was going to use the section of the wall she had torn off, and by default you, to beat the crap out of the Changeling masquerading as a Manticore. “Oh Goddesses! Lyra! What the buck are you doing?!” “Trust me!” “No! Lyra! StoAHHHHH-KYAHHHHH!” Words could not describe the pants soiling terror that ran through you as she pulled you back, and used you to defend herself from the Manticore’s scorpion tail… which immediately exploded through the wall between your legs, missing your precious bits by the fabric of your pants. The tip of the tail stopped only an inch from her face, right before she grinned at the Manticore, seemingly ignoring your screams of panic. “LYRA! STOP!” “Trust me!” The scorpion tail withdrew from the wood, readying another attack, and in some part in your fear addled mind a voice told you that you should trust her. But that was quickly ignored as a much louder voice in your head screamed that you were about to die as she raised you up, and swung you down in an arching motion. A pair of horns exploded through the wood on either side of your head, one right next to your neck and the other next to you eye, as she brought you down like a baseball bat on the Manticore’s head causing it to let out another ear splitting roar. You yourselves felt the impact radiate through the wall, almost as if you had been the one hit, and stars filled your vision. “Ly-lyra, please…” You managed to force out right before the horns withdrew and the sickening sensation of being raised into the air again filled you with dread. “I know what I’m doing!” Lyra yelled out right before she brought you down again on the Manticore’s head. This time, the horns burst through the wood above your head, nearly impaling your arms. The Manticore let out another roar, much more pained than before as it was forced to the floor from the impact. You didn’t have much time to do anything but scream right before you were lifted into the air a third time. “I’M NOT GOING TO LET YOU GET HURT!” “KYAHHHH-OOF!” “ROAR!” This time, the horns missed your neck, right before she lifted you into the air a fourth time. “SO WHY DON’T YOU JUST BUCKEN BELIEVE-!” “KYAAHHH-OOF!” “ROA-OOF…” And a fifth time... “THAT I’M NOT JUST SOME CRUMMY-!” “KYAH-OOF…ugh…” “Ughh…” And a sixth time… “STALKER, YOU JERK!” “OOF!...” “…” And on the seventh, you rested from your screaming as she once again lifted you into the air, but instead swung you around in a wide arch. Time slowed down as you flew through the air, taking the time to see everything that came across your vision. Falling snow had poured in through the hole Lyra had torn out of the wall. There was a storm brewing outside and it seemed like it would only get bigger from there out. Big Macintosh came into view, and you were able to see that he was still bound to his table. His eyes were as big as saucers as he watched you sailing through the air. Lyra’s magic faded from you as the section of the wooden wall behind you exploded into pieces when it reached its destination and a ball of green fire erupted with it, and engulfing you as you flew through it. Still in slow motion, the kind that only seemed to grip those in the last moments of life, you could see pieces of burning wood flying in every direction. But that mattered little as your eyes came to rest on a most peculiar site. The blue eyed Changeling came into view, unconscious, as he too soared through the air with you from the sheer force of the impact. Lyra had literally beaten the transformation out of him… and she had used you to do it. It had been a game ending home-run swing. Hmm, I can't help think that last part was directed at me. I wondered if she’s angry about something… Those were the last thoughts that ran through your head, right before you and the changeling hit the wall on the other side of the room in a pile of unconscious limbs, rapidly fading green fire, and smoldering wood. Author's Note Happy New Years to you all! Disclaimer - All characters presented in this work of fiction are owned by their respective creators and owners. In short, all the wubs go to Hasbro. Wild Pitch! Knockout! - Still Not Baseball Dammit!“Hard work is its own reward.” Someone had told you that once a long time ago, when you still lived on Earth. You couldn’t recall who it had been though. Maybe it had been your mom or dad, or perhaps a teacher from school. Or, perhaps it had even been that one crazy cat lady that had lived down the block from you with her crazed cat traps when you were younger. Honestly, you couldn’t remember who it had been, but whoever it was, those words had stuck with you. You always tried to work hard to get things done. No matter how trivial the task at hand was. You supposed that your determination, or stubbornness as some had called it, had gone hand in hand with this ideal rather well. So well that, rather to an unfortunate extent, it sometimes blinded you and made you oblivious to the things around you. Which at this moment seemed to be nothing in particular as you floated through the relatively familiar darkness of unconsciousness. “Well, I got knocked the buck out… thank you Lyra.” “…” “Huh? D-did somepony call my name?” Your voice sounded distant as you heard your name called once again, and the darkness around you began to lift. You suddenly felt ground beneath your feet, and for a moment it felt as if you were walking up a wall. “…’ The voice called out your name again, but although you heard it clearer than before, you didn’t turn towards it. Instead, you focused on your hands. You were holding something. Something round that was slightly heavy. Your arms stung a bit, tired, exhausted, and you once again heard the voice call out your name as the darkness cleared. You blinked, and you suddenly found yourself in the barn at Sweet Apple Acres. In your hands, you were holding a basket. There was stack of similar baskets only a few paces from you. You were standing next to a cart, unloading the last basket as you felt a drop of sweat linger on your brow before it fell and landed on your hand. “I… I remember this.” Your thoughts called out as you began to move, the motion coming on naturally as your mind recalled more of this particular event. Slowly, you walked towards the stack of baskets and placed the last on next to it. Your back stung a bit as you raised yourself back up to full height, and used your arm to wipe the sweat from your forehead. It had been a long day working at your newly opened store. “Alrighty then, yah asked for it!” “Huh?” You finally turned around to look at the source of the voice, only to recoil in shock as your eyes fell on a certain orange pony soaring through the air straight at you. “Yee-haw!” “KYAHH-OOf!” Applejack’s hooves wrapped around your neck as the rest of her body followed. Your arms wrapped around her in an attempt to catch her, barely managing to take one step back before the back of your knee hit something. You both fell backwards, Applejack riding you and giggling like a school filly as you toppled over a bale of hay into a pile of, well, more hay. It took a moment for you to recover your bearings and realize that you had not been knocked into a pile of buckets. It took only another fraction of a second to realize that a pair of beautiful emerald green eyes were looking back at you as Applejack’s weight settled comfortably on top of you, right before she pressed her nose against yours and she smiled at you with her eyes. “Yah know it ain’t polite to ignore your mare, right sugahcube?” “Pretty sure it’s not polite to tackle your stallion either.” You suddenly felt Applejack’s lips press tenderly against yours as she relaxed further on top of you. It was really hard for you not to relax as well, and your arms wrapped tighter around her. Her coat was covered in sweat and her scent was neither offensive nor off-putting. In fact, it was rather alluring. She had endured a day of hard work as well. But then again, this was Applejack. Your Applejack. What else could you expect? Your tender kiss came to an abrupt end as she pulled away and smiled down at you. Her green eyes were laden with something primal, something that you were all too familiar with, and you wondered if your own scent was as alluring to her, as hers was to you. “Ah’m sure yah’ll forgive me on account of how happy I am to see you.” “Forgive I do, for happy too am I.” You felt her hoof hit you lightly on your chest as she giggled and dove in for another kiss, a bit more heated than the last one. However, before anything could advance down that venue, Applejack pulled away again and sat up as she straddled your stomach and put her forelegs on your chest. Automatically, your arms moved down her barrel, caressing her, all the way down to her hind legs. “You know, I don’t think you’ve tackled me any other day when I got home. What’s so special about today?” “Well…” She spoke softly as she began to move one of her hooves around in a circle on your chest. “Ah don’t think ah need ah reason to be happy to see you, besides that ah love you.” You could feel a smile tugging on your lips as you looked into her eyes. All you could see in them was the honest love she had declared. And, well, something else too. Something that made you want to tease her a bit. “Really now?” You commented with a bit of mischief in your voice as your hands moved down to her haunches, and without warning, began to grope them. Applejack immediately went rigid on top of you, right before she closed her eyes, relaxed, and enjoyed the sensation of you massaging her rear. “I think you need to be a little bit more honest with yourself, sweetie.” Applejack paid you back in kind. Without warning, she dropped on you and wrapped her hooves around your neck and hugged you tightly right before she kissed you. Hard. Your lips smashed together as if she was trying to consume you. Her hips had begun to grind against yours, your hands never letting up as you enjoyed the sudden primal desire she was displaying. It felt like hours before she pulled away and allowed you breathe. You felt dizzy as she pressed her forehead against yours. She was still sweating, and her hot breath felt wonderful as it cascaded down your neck. “Sugahcube…” She managed to speak as she fought to catch her breath. “Ah love you. Never doubt that.” “O-okay…” Not surprisingly, you too were a bit out of breath. “But... you’ve been working so hard this past month… ah hardly get to see yah until yah get home all spent and tired.” “Applejack, I’m only doing it to-” She didn’t let you finish saying what you were going to say as she silenced you with another kiss, and lingered on your lips till she was sure you weren’t still trying to speak. When she finally pulled away though, your lips followed hers till she giggled and put up her hoof to stop you. “Sugahcube…” She spoke tenderly as she moved her hoof away from your lips and began to caress your cheek. “Ah know why yah do it. And ah love yah for it. But… ah love yah more because of who yah are, not cause of what yah do…” You felt her lips gently touch yours again before pulling away, and her tail began to gently twitch and bat against your legs. “And right now… ah miss yah, sugahcube.” You only smiled as you brought your hand to her hoof and took a hold of it before you placed a gentle kiss on it. “Well, I guess I am pretty awesome, huh?” Applejack only giggled and booped your nose with her other hoof as she rolled her eyes. “Guess ah can forgive ah lack of modesty seeing as even now ah know ya’ll work… hard.” The hard grinding motion she suddenly employed as she spoke only served to emphasize what she meant. Your hands immediately moved back to her haunches, but, what you did next was obviously not what she expected as she suddenly turned to look at you funny. “Why yah stop me sugahcube?” “Because Applejack, sweetie, no matter how much I want to and tease, I’m tired, sweaty, and dirty right now.” No sooner did those words leave your lips that the buttons on your shirt exploded in various directions as Applejack ripped it open. Damn, and it was a new shirt too. “Umm, okay… uh, Applejack?” “Yes sugahcube?” “What if somepony walks in on us?” “Ah really don’t care right now sugahcube.” Her grinding began anew, even with your hands trying to hold her haunches still. “The only thing ah care about now…” She ran her tongue across your exposed chest, her eyes locked with yours. “Is how much ah…” She reached your neck and gave it a hard nip, before letting her hot tongue run along the spot. “Need you…” The way her hot breath and tongue caressed your neck set a fire down below, and you suddenly found yourself helping her with her grinding instead of trying to stop her. The slowly growing wet spot on your groin nearly doubled in size as she slowly shuddered on top of your chest, and moaned rather loudly into your freshly nibbled neck. That fire quickly turned into an inferno. She was right. You had been working too hard. So, why stop there? “Applejack?” “Uh huh?” “I thought you said you missed me, not needed me?” Your voice became laden with a new kind of mischief. “Uh huh, one and the same right about now sugahcube.” She moaned again as you began to match her grinding with your own hips. “You really want it then, huh?” The only reply you got was another loud moan as she began to grind even harder into you. “Good…” “Huh-HEY!” Without warning, and with a great risk to your well-being, you moved your hands from her rear towards her sides and rolled Applejack off of you and onto the hay. You immediately stood up, removing and flinging what remained of your shirt into a corner. Applejack’s legs flayed above her for a fraction of a second before she righted herself and glared daggers at you. She was now covered in hay. “What the hay are yah doing?!” “If you want to have a roll in the hay, you’re going to have to work hard for it and look the part–GAH!” Specs of hay filled your mouth, making you close your eyes from the assault carried out by Applejack’s tail flinging hay at you. Your ears caught three quick stomps before there was a second of silence, and something slammed into you, forcing you to take a few steps backs. Hooves wrapped around your waist, back, and head as an eager mouth connected with yours, and an equally eager tongue forced its way in. You welcomed it with your own equally eager tongue and a moan as one of your arms wrapped around her back and you forced her lips harder against yours while groping her well toned haunches with the other. The lustful moan she let out was all you needed to force her tongue back into her mouth, quickly followed by yours. Her tail had wasted no time in undoing your belt and quickly working on the button and sipper of your pants. She never ceased to amaze you with what she could do with her tail, but then again, she had had a lot of practice since you two became a couple. And so had you… Your hand quickly left her haunches and found the base of her tail, right before giving it a quick and forceful tug. Applejack quickly went limp in your arms as she let out a cute moan and broke the kiss before melting further into you, twitching lightly. It only took you a fraction of a second to realize your pants were down around your ankles, and that your boxers were now soaked. She had cum simply by you tugging on her tail, and she now lay limp against you with only the one hand grabbing her tail and the other pressed against her back holding her in place. You knew that was one of her weaknesses, but never to that extent. “Well, somepony is sensitive.” “That ain’t… fair, sugahcube.” Applejack managed to mumble as she pulled herself up a bit with her hooves and rested her head over your shoulder. Whatever fight she had had at the start of your little game seemed like it had quickly left her. “I said you’d have to work hard for it, sweetie.” Your voice was practically dripping with mischief now as you adjusted your hold on her, dropped your boxers, and moved both hands back to her haunches to support her. You didn’t need to look down to know your arousal had awoken and was hard as steel right now, ready to give your mare what she wanted. But, only if she was willing to work for it… “So, love…” Applejack moaned again as you spoke and kissed her shoulder, and worked your way to her neck. “Why don’t you show me how hard you’re willing to work for it, hmm?” You finished your request with a hard nibble on her neck and a strangled moan from her throat. Without any other noise but a mumbled promise you’d pay for it later, Applejack’s hooves trembled as she slowly lifted herself up and barely managed to look down as she aligned her dripping arousal with your own pulsing arousal. You couldn’t deny it. You were as eager as she was. And without any more delays, both of you got what you wanted as you felt her let go and drop down against you. The sensation made your head spin. The sudden rush of being enveloped by her velvety walls in one motion as she impaled herself on you was more than what you were prepared for. Neither of you said a word or dared to move as you both waited for the heavenly sensation to die down. Minutes must have passed before either of you felt able to move. And, the first motion nearly sent you over the edge. “Sweet Celestia!” “Mmm-ahh!” Applejack didn’t even lift herself up very much, choosing instead to leave her head resting on your shoulder as she let out a needy moan. In one fluid motion, Applejack’s hips had pulled away and thrust back, taking you deep inside her tightening marehood, hitting against her core. You grunted as you moved your hands to grab her hind legs and gave her more room to work. She didn’t falter as she repeated the motion again, and again, until she had a rhythm going. It was hard. One fluid, hard motion, in and out. You could feel her heart beat faster against your chest as she moaned in abandonment with every wet impact of your hips. And, with every moan that reached you ears, you felt yourself sub-come to more primal urges as you felt yourself near your peak. “Uh, uh uh, nngh AH! Ah ah ahh!” “Ap-applejack? Ha ha, you close sweetie?” “Ah nngh, uh huh, ah… BUCK-AHH! Mmm!” Something fell off the wall as you took two big steps and slammed her against the wall of the barn, right before you began thrusting into her with abandonment. Her moaning reached a new crescendo as you moved one of your arms away from her hind legs and snaked it around her back to better support her as she suddenly went limp in your arms. The wall behind her was creaking in protest with every hard thrust that you gave her, only caring to make her cum over and over again. “Ah! Uh, uh uh, Celestia, mmm-ah, cum for m-me sugahcube! Ah ah, nngh, please m-make me cum! Ah’m-nngh ah, almost- ah, ah ah AH!” The sudden trembling of her moist walls and gush of nectar was all you needed as you pushed yourself deep into her and coated her womb with you seed. Every trembling spasm from her as she milked you sent your body into ecstasy as you gave your mare more and more of what she wanted. You kept yourself pressed into her, your thoughts drowning in that heavenly sensation you both had denied your bodies for so long. You could scarcely feel the mixture of your primal love making dribble down your legs as you fought to catch your breath. You suddenly felt dizzy as you slowly registered that you were still hard as a rock while you remained buried deep against Applejack’s core. Something that she too, did not allow to go unnoticed… “More…” “Ha… ha… Applejack?” “More… harder… again…” You felt her slowly, sluggishly kiss your shoulder as you slightly became aware she had drooled on it, and she began to slowly make her way towards your neck. Each hot kiss she placed on your skin felt like white hot iron, burning you. And with every kiss, she repeated what she wanted from her stallion. “More… more… give me more, sugahcube.” Those last words and the hard bite on your neck was all it took for your mind to go blank with lust. It had indeed been too long, for the both of you. Before you realized what you were doing, you had pried her off the wall, and carried her towards your workbench. With one motion of your arm, you cleared off the top of it, sending the clutter of tool to the floor, right before you laid her on her stomach on top of it. Her hind legs dangled limply off the side of it, and she quickly let out an excited giggle that quickly turned into a needy moan as you laid yourself on top of her and pushed your still buried arousal harder into her. You felt her hind legs twitch weakly against your legs as you kept yourself tightly pressed against her and began to nibble on her ear. You moved your arms under her forelegs and across her chest. And, with one hand, you began to caress her cheek as you gently tilted her head towards you, and kissed her. Even though what you were about to do was nowhere near gentle, the kiss was a different story. Through it, you could feel the love she felt for you, and she could feel in turn the love you felt for her. Neither of you wanted to break the kiss as you felt her forelegs wrap around the back of your neck and head, and you heard her sigh in satisfaction. That was all you needed to know she was ready, right before you lifted her upper body off the table and gently pulled out, leaving only the tip of your arousal inside. You held her like that for a few seconds more before your kiss finally broke, and she cuddled the side of her beautifully flushed face against yours. “Sugahcube… yah made ah mess of your workbench.” “Not yet I haven’t, love.” “Mmmhmm…” Applejack draped her head back against your shoulder and turned to meet your lips again… right before you slammed yourself into her. The workbench groaned in protest, right before you pulled out and slammed yourself into your mare again, and again. You had her lower half pinned between you and the workbench as each hard thrust sent her dangling hind legs swaying and made Applejack kiss you with more fevered want and lust. You could feel your mixed fluids from before leak out of her with every thrust of your hips, which only grew fast and harder until Applejack broke away from the kiss and screamed out as another orgasm took her. The new gush of fluids only added to the lewd sounds of your union, and only spurred you on as you kept thrusting into her. “Ah, uh uh, mmm, sh-sugahcube! Don’t stop, don’t stoAHH!” Applejack came again as her sudden moan slowly died at its source and her head draped back down onto your shoulder like a rag doll. Every thrust now pushed out of her a small, lewd, and delighted whimper as her walls contracted with every third or fourth thrust as she reached her orgasm over and over again. With every new orgasm, her slick and silken walls felt like they got tighter and tighter the more they spasmed around your thrusting rod, quickly pulling you to your peak. You couldn’t hold out much longer. And, as more things began to fall off the workbench, you gave one final thrust as you gave your mare’s womb a second coating of your seed, calling out her name. Applejack’s voice broke into a silent moan as her body spasmed, and she went limp in your arms. You could feel her cumming over and over again as her walls greedily milked you for every last drop. Your legs felt suddenly weak as your head spun, and it became a tremendous effort to gently place Applejack’s limp form on the table, right before you fell to the ground and pulled your still spurting arousal out of your satisfied mare. Two pearly white ropes landed on her slowly reddening haunches as you sat on the ground with a thud, and looked at the spectacle. You could see her chest slowly rise and fall as her marehood continued to spasm and wink while it remained agape, and pushed out dribbles of your seed onto the floor. There was a lot. Now, you had made a mess. “Sugah-cube?” You snapped out of your trance like state as Applejack’s weak voice reached you and you looked up in time to see her trying to get off the workbench. You were quick to act as you barely moved to catch her, just as she fell off the workbench, and you slowly sat on the floor of the barn again while you gently laid her against your chest. Her coat was drenched in cooling sweat, just like you, and as you wrapped your arms around her, you felt her relax further into you. “We… we ain’t gone at it like that since, ha ha, since-” “Your heat?” “Hehe, yeah…” Nothing else was said as the both of you remained like that, basking in each other heat and scent, and allowed your bodies to cool down. You could hear Applejack’s breathing and your own grow ever shallower, signaling you were about to tumble into a very pleasant slumber. That wouldn’t do any good at all, seeing as anypony like Applebloom, or Big Macintosh could just walk into the barn any minute. “Applejack? Sweetie?” “Mmm?” Her reply was laden with sleep, and it was hard not to yawn as your body protested what you were about to do. “We should go clean up. The lake’s nearby. We could probably sneak there if we went around the barn.” “Alright then, but waist down feel all nice n’tingly, and… mmm, full.” The sensual sound of her voice as she said those last words made you simply arch an eyebrow as you looked down at the orange pony nestled against your chest. The huge content and coy smile on her while her eyes looked hungrily at you made your face redden, and your hand moved of its own accord to caress her cheek, and guided her into kiss. Your tongues wasted no time in dancing with one another and you felt your arousal gain new life, reading for what you knew was yet to come. “Not now sugahcube. Wait till we get to the lake.” “Well! Up we go then!” Applejack giggled like a school filly as you stood up without warning and hugged her close against your chest. It was a side of her that only you could bring out. One that you knew she’d never share with anypony but you. She loved you, and you loved her. And, as you moved your head down and kissed her with a passion only love can bring, you knew that your mare meant everything to you. That you’d never kiss another mare like you kissed her right there and then. It was a good memory to have while knocked out. And, one that you wish you could wake up to as you felt yourself begin to stir… and opened your eyes. “Whoa…” You heard a voice echo out in the darkness as sound filtered into your mind and you felt sensation filter back into your limbs. Thanks to your dream, you felt warm and tingly all over. Which honestly was a good way to wake up compared to every other time you had awoken from being out cold. “If fate wants to keep beating me up like this… I don’t mind as long as I keep waking up feeling like this.” You heard your thoughts ring out as you continued to cherish the sensation. The lingering warmth of an event form so long ago. The tickle of a silk-like coat pressed tightly against your bare chest. And the sensation of your lips pressed against your mare’s lips as the scent of mint oddly intertwined with nutmeg filled your nostrils and- Your eyes shot open as your mind crashed into a wall like an out of control car, killing all dream like thought. You were in a cave. That much you could tell because of the rock ceiling about you. There was a fire crackling calmly on a few feet from you as it gave off a pleasant heat… And a pair of golden hued eyes met yours. Shock was the only thing you could see in them as everything else began to register as your mind staggered out of the wreckage it had been in. Lips, actual lips were pressed tightly against yours, trembling, unsure of how to react. You could feel heavy breathing against your face as your hands registered your grasp around its owner’s neck and back. A chest was heaving against your own as a heart other than yours beat so fast it felt like it would explode. And perhaps, the most sobering sensation of all was that below your waist. You we wearing your boxers… and your dream had left you at full attention. Poking right against something that made you and the sea foam colored pony on top of you blush furiously. Lyra managed to pull away from your lips and looked down at you with an unreadable expression. Which when compared to yours was rather odd, seeing as you were pretty sure your own expression conveyed nothing but pure shock. Your mind suffered another car crash as Lyra’s expression changed to one of joy and she dropped her head against the side of your cheek, and began to squee as she nuzzled against you. You stuttered, unsure of what to say in your shock. But that all quickly changed as shock gave way to fear when an enormous shadow suddenly loomed over you. “You’n ah need to have a talk’bout sumthing… outside. Now.” The voice said as it echoed off the walls of the cave, and caused your chest to reverberate with its weight. It carried no anger in it, or promise of demise. Just that simply weight of an order given without a chance for compromise. Your body was already pushing the content unicorn off of you as you sat up, and turned to look at Big Macintosh as he walked towards what you assume was the exit of the cave. Your mind was blank, not wanting to think about what you knew was about to happen. Author's Note Happy Hearts and Hooves day! ... I stand by statement! Disclaimer - All characters presented in this work of fiction are owned by their respective creators and owners. In short, all the wubs go to Hasbro. Running the Bases - Working as a TeamEveryone makes mistakes. And when you do make them, they can be little or small ones. Thing is, when you do make mistakes, they can and sometimes are like a snowball rolling down a hill. They may start off as small and insignificant things but, once they get going down that hill, other mistakes begin to pile on top. And pretty soon, before you know it, you end up with some poor cartoon cat, duck, coyote, or off-season hunter running for their dear life right before being steamrolled by a house sized ball of oh buck. It was an interesting way to put things into perspective, given the season and all. And, as far as you could tell though, you were pretty sure if you got steamrolled by such a thing, you wouldn’t be able to inflate yourself back up. So that only helped to put your current predicament in a more surreal light. Odds were good you weren’t going to walk away uninjured from this ever growing snowball of yours. Aside from the ever growing headache you were now enjoying, that is. You couldn’t really explain what had happened back there. One minute you were being swung around like a baseball bat, the next you were having a very salacious dream, and before you knew it… you were kissing Lyra. A pony that you counted among your best friends, right there in front of everypony, your lips against her lips, seconds from introducing your tongue into her mouth. And the oddest part of it all… was that she had been overjoyed by it. Big Macintosh at that moment had told you to follow him out of the cave. And you’d be lying if you denied feeling a bit of panic reverberate through you. You had followed the giant workhorse without a sound, stopping only to pick up your jacket, pants, and sweater that had been used as a makeshift pillow for your thumping head. Your side had been bandaged up with what you could only assume was once the t-shirt you had worn underneath. And, as you looked at your injury, and then turned to look at the ponies in the cave, it did not fair well for you. The looks you got from everypony, including Lyra, as you rounded a corner towards the cave exit made it seem like they were watching somepony being led to the gallows. And it might as well have been the case, if not for what you saw when you rounded the corner. You were pretty sure death marches didn’t usually involve leading the captive through a gorgeous cavern. The cave, or better yet, cavern, was bigger than you realized at first. The area where you woke up seemed to only be a small section that opened up into a much bigger area. Everywhere you looked, the cavern was adorned with spirals and columns of rock that shot up from the ground and down from the ceiling. Some, even formed giant columns that glittered with the faint light of the fire you left behind. And everywhere you looked, you could see the faint glimmer of crystals and minerals that had formed into outcrops that attempted to fill every empty space. All in all, it was beautiful, to say the least. And, as you walked further into it, following Big Macintosh away from the warmth of the fire, you felt your mind beginning to race a bit as you tried to take account of everything that had happened. You felt you had enough time to allow as much as you followed a few feet behind Big Macintosh along a small trail hugging the wall that lead to a light at the end, to the outside. Your metaphorical snowball was rather large. And your headache felt like it just kept growing to match it the more you thought about it. To start off, the initial mistake had been your brilliant gift idea for Applejack to celebrate your first Hearths Warming Eve together as an official couple. In your determination to make it a reality, you had distanced yourself from her a bit, constantly working and spending less time with her. It was not intentional, of course, but as far as you knew, she didn’t know that. And you desperately wanted a chance to explain what you had been doing, and set things straight. But instead, you had been kidnapped. That there brought you to the next issue your mind felt it needed to attack. You and your friends had been captured by Changelings, which in and by itself was perhaps the most unlikely thing you could have ever imagined happening to you. Let alone how quick, brutal, and utterly unprovoked the attack itself had been. Who seriously knocks out a person with a jar of apple jam? The answer was simple. The wannabe Changeling Queen had a plan in mind. And that plan was, without a doubt, the biggest issue on your mind capable of shoving everything else out. The Changeling wanted to gain the crown by any means necessary. And that meant replacing you in order to get close to Applejack. After which, she would replace her to get close enough to Princess Celestia. But Applejack… You had to pause your thought process for a slight moment to try to reign in your emotions. You could feel your fist clench as that thought ran through you aching mind. So much so, that you didn’t even notice as you began moving up a slightly steeper slope while you continued to follow Big Macintosh. Your head was now thumping something fierce. That Changeling was going to harm Applejack to get what she wanted, and who knew how many others. Applejack… You had to force yourself to take a deep breath and unclench your hands. You could feel the indentation your nails had left on the inside of your palm. You were not an angry person, no more than any other individual. Some would even say less. But, this was something intimately personal to you. She was threatening the one you loved, and she was going to use you to do it. How could you not be enraged by it!? Again, you forced yourself to take another deep breath as a pang of pain from your head made you clench your eyes shut in discomfort. Getting worked up was not helping your headache, at all. You needed to take one thing at a time. No matter how much you wanted to solve everything immediately and at once so that you could go back home and just pretend like today had never happened. But you couldn’t. Not yet at least. You felt yourself let out a sigh as some clarity finally came to you and your headache seemed to diminish a bit. It gave way to a question that, for obvious yet odd reasons, was the one you needed to focus on first. That is, if you wanted to survive what came next. “Why was Lyra so happy back there with the kiss? It was an accident. I-I don’t get it, but it was so strange. It felt no different than when Applejack kisses me. I mean, she was eager, and Applejack’s always so happy and eager too when we kiss, and... I mean it’s not like Lyra likes m-“ Your thoughts came to an abrupt end as you reached the most obvious conclusion there was. A lump had quickly formed in your throat and you could feel yourself sweating underneath your jacket as your eyes grew bigger and bigger, and your mouth worked to force out the only words it could. “OH SON OF A BITCH!” “Eeyup.” You nearly jumped out of your skin as the last voice you wanted to hear came from right next to you. Your heart was pounding in your chest but, as you took a few deep breaths to try and calm yourself, you realized something was off. The air you were breathing had gotten colder, and there was a howling in your ears. You had reached the exit to the cave, and you now easily stood in five inches of snow. You hadn’t even realized it since you had been too lost in your thoughts. Which now, thanks to the sudden spike in your probability to have a heart attack, had all but been scattered about while your mind raced to make sense of what was going on. In front of you, the snow storm outside was fierce, and you were rather surprised you had been able to hear Big Macintosh at all over the howling wind. You could barely see about 20 feet out of the cave entrance, barely being able to make out the trees among the windswept snow flurries that hid the world beyond. No pony in their right mind would be venturing through that without risking getting lost and freezing into a popsicle. Nopony was going anywhere until it died down. And, by the looks of the dimming light, the storm would last well until it was night time. “Ah reckon we ain’t moving anywhere in this…” You heard Big Macintosh comment while he stood right outside the cave entrance, next to you, looking out into the snow storm as the wind swept through his mane and coat. He was covered with a bit of snow, but beyond that, he looked like he always did. Calm and stoic. For whatever reason, that made you unwillingly drop your defenses a bit, and you stood next to him without thinking of moving away. You drew your jacked tighter around you, and your mind continued to work faster and faster. Both of you remained silent for what felt like an eternity, until finally, Big Macintosh felt it was the right time to speak again. “Eeyup, nopony is going anywhere in this here storm.” He let out this reaffirmation in a puff of steam that quickly vanished in the wind, right before he turned to look at you. You could see him out of the corner of your eye, but you barely allowed it to register and you did not turn to look at him. “So, why don’t you n'ah talk about what happened back there…” Your thoughts seemed to throw on the brakes, again, and you found your head drooping forward as if from the momentum. You tried to put what you were feeling and thinking into words. You had kissed Lyra, plain and simple. In front of three eyewitnesses, you had kissed your friend, and she had enjoyed it immensely whether it had been intentional or not. And the explanation for that was now as clear as daylight. Lyra wanted to be more than friends with you. What she had said while you were all prisoners suddenly made so much more sense. “Big Mac, I-I really don’t know what happened back there. But believe me when I say that Applejack is-” You found your words cut short as the giant work horse waved a dismissive hoof at you, before looking straight into your eyes… And smiled at you. You blinked, confused. “Ah ain’t angry at yah…” “I…w-what? But, I kissed Lyra! How can you not be angry about it?” “That’s Applejack’s right t’be when she finds out. So, it ain’t mah place to be angry with yah, nor deny mah sister the, um, pleasure to resolve it if n'how she sees fit.” He finished saying with a chuckle and a shake of his head at the ground. “Was nice knowing yah though…” Again, you blinked. Still rather confused but taking it in strides. You supposed that made some odd, sort of sense. Applejack was a grown, mature mare, after all. And form the stories she told you, she could handle almost anything that came up. She didn’t need her brother to fight her fights for her. She’d murder you herself for this when she found out. And she would. Once you told her, that is… “Oh horseapples…” You mumbled to yourself as images of a very pissed off Applejack danced across your imagination. More specifically, as she danced atop what little bits remained of you. You didn’t need a mirror to know the blood was draining from your face. “Eeyup… That’s the look of sum’pony who knows that he’s in ah heap of trouble.” His straw moved from one side of his mouth to the other, as his expression suddenly became unreadable to you. “So… guess maybe yah gonna keep this quiet from her, huh?” “What? Of course not! What kind of suggestion is that?!” Your sudden outburst left you with little time to react, right before you found yourself pulled and wrapped in a tight hug against the giant red horse. And another hoof immediately descended upon your head, ruffling you hair. “That’s what ah was hoping to hear from yah. Nuh’thing but honest, and nuh’thing less from what ah’ve come to expect from you. “Uh… Whu?” “Yah know yah could have been kissing Thunderlane if yah had woken up a minute earlier, right? He and Miss Lyra had just switched watching over yah! Ha! Must admit, would have been mighty hilarious if yah had!” “…” You didn’t say anything, confusion quickly giving away to eye twitching anger as you turned to look at Big Macintosh. A subtle realization suddenly hitting you like a truck, which in retrospect, it wasn’t so subtle of a realization. “Ar-are you insane?! You were testing me just now?! NOW of all times?!” Big Macintosh suddenly began to laugh, hard, loud enough even to be heard over the howling snowstorm. You could see him trying his best to get it under control, which you realized he was horrible at… right before he let go and fell onto the snow, laughing and kicking his hooves in the air. “You’re a horrible, horrible pony! You know this right?!" “A-ah know yah -haha- didn’t do it on purpose. So don’t worry –oh Celestia– ah’ll back yah up with Applejack –hehe– as long as ah'm –haha– out of harm’s way.” “AH!” In retrospect, tackling a prone horse on the snow covered ground fit in rather nicely along with all your other ill though out actions for the day. Big Macintosh, with his hooves already kicking merrily in the air, was able to quickly react and hold you back. “HARM?! Applejack’s the only one in harm’s way and you’re out here testing my loyalty to her?!” “Now yah hold on ah’n apple picking minute and let me expl-” “Explain wha-OWW!” The pain you felt shoot through your side was enough to double you over and cause you to roll off of Big Macintosh. With a calculated motion, he had moved one of his hoofs towards your injured side, where the Changeling had clawed you, and simply allowed you to trash against it, effectively and painfully pocking yourself against it. You were down, and before you could recover, a tremendous weight fell on you and buried your face down into the snow, not allowing you to so much as lift an inch to escape. Big Macintosh was now lying on top of you, using his weight not to crush you, but to simply hold you down. “Yah need to cool your head a bit and calm down so we can talk.” You were pretty sure he couldn’t make out the string of obscenities you let out through a mouthful of snow, but if he did, he didn’t react. For that matter, he didn’t say anything else, and the world around you slowly grew quieter as all sound vanished into the howling wind. You too became silent after only a few seconds. And, after a minute or so of heavy breathing and the cold from the snow digging into your face, you slightly turned your head to the side, and managed to peer up at Big Macintosh through the snow that kept falling. You were not expecting what you saw. Big Macintosh was looking down at you with a clear sadness dominating his features. “Big Mac?” No immediate reply came as his green eyes bore into yours, and a cloud of steam left his nostrils as he let out a defeated sounding sigh. You kept looking up at him, ready to ask again. But, before you could say anything, you were mentally halted as he lowered his head, and laid it next to yours as he continued to lay on top of you. His eyes were now staring off into the distance as he let out another puff of steam in a sigh, and furrowed his brows. Your own brows furrowed, and your mouth opened. Trying to speak… “Dag’nabit… Fluttershy’s a whole lot better at this than ah’am... Yah know yah injured, right?” Only for it to close again as he spoke to you. “Ah can’t let...Yah can’t just run off with ah, ‘all Tartarus be damned’ attitude to save Applejack. Them Changelings mean business, and they ain’t looking to pull their bucks to get what they want. Yah need t’go into this with a clear head and… ah though maybe make ya laugh about something as trivial as kiss would of helped ah bit but ah went and bucked that up, and... and dag'nabit, its gonna happen again…” You simply kept looking at him, waiting for him to continue for almost a minute, only to see and hear his expression and voice become sad and grim. “Yah know, ah didn’t believe at first what Fluttershy told me yah went through to make things right with Applejack back then. Heck, no stallion had evah been dumb enough to do what yah did. And ah thought yah got a few bruises and bums simply cause that was you being you. But… da’gum, yah pulled it off and damn near blew up the whole town doing it.” “Well, technically, that was Rainbow Dash…” You meant it to be a joke, to try and lighten the mood but, no sooner did these words leave your mouth, that you saw a sad smile splay across Big Macintosh’s muzzle, right before he let out yet another sigh. “Eeyup, that she did… But you, yah caused that, yah know? Yah pushed n’pushed and no matter how hard them mares pushed back, yah didn’t stop even though your body wanted to, and you got through to Applejack. And then…” Another sigh left the giant work horse as a deeper sadness showed itself and replaced that small sad smile from a second ago. Truth be told, it was a side of him you had never seen before. “Horse apples… ah escaped Fluttershy ah second time, yah know? Made mah way to the house through the orchard at night and thought ah’d hide in Applejack’s room. Last place Fluttershy would check, or so ah thought… W-wasn’t expecting to see what ah saw. Y-yah didn’t look right. Bandages all over yah as mah poor sister Applejack slept in her bed with you, hugging yah so tight ah doubted even Celestia could have pulled yah away from her.” He had to pause for a second, closing his eyes before he continued, and hopefully before you could see a tear form and roll down his cheek. You didn’t say anything, and only listened. “Ah was so dumbstruck ah didn’t even react when Fluttershy came up from behind me and placed her hoof on mah back. Heck, didn’t even notice Nurse Redheart sleeping in the chair in the room. Fluttershy, she had found out about what happened to yah in the morning after, just as the sun came up. Applejack had dragged yah from the orchard to the house, and once she made sure yah were still breathing, she shot off to get her cause we were closest…” This time around, Big Macintosh didn’t even make the effort to hide the new tears that shone on his eyes. “Fluttershy volunteered t’spend the first night there, keep Applejack company while she watched over yah. Th-that’s why she wasn’t at our cottage when ah let mahself out… she didn’t tell me cause she didn’t want me to worry. Cause she new ah’d blame mahself cause ah ran out on yah when Miss Pinkie Pie jumped out at us.” “Big Mac…” You found yourself saying before he continued. “You weren’t at fault. At that moment, against Pinkie Pie, a part of me honestly viewed it as survival of the fittest… at least until Fluttershy tackled you. Then she became the fittest.” That caused him to chuckle a bit. But it didn’t last as he closed his eyes again and shook his head, his sad expression and voice refusing to leave him. “That… that ain’t an excuse though. Not at that moment and not now. Ah told yah back then ah thought of yah as family, and that ain’t changed since then. And family not only cause of yah being with Applejack, but… Thing is, ah’ve come to think of yah as mah own brother, and ah hope yah will be someday. Though, yah a mighty weird looking thing. And… and ah abandoned yah when yah could of needed me. Family don’t do that. And cause ah did that… mah sister had to suffer as she watched over yah.” Things became quite as you both continued to look at one another. You had known him for a long time. He had been a constant friend since your earlier days in Equestria, after you began living at Sweet Apple Acres. And if there was thing you understood without a doubt about him, it was that he loved his family and would do anything to keep them out of harm. And truth be told, you too had come to consider them as family yourself. But hearing it from somepony else, beside Applejack who loved you unconditionally, made you realize how fortunate you were to have met them, and just how much they all meant to you. The thought of you ending up like before, and Applejack having to go through that again, was not something he was going to allow. “You’re an idiot Big Mac. Get off me.” Which was perhaps one of the couple of reasons why Big Macintosh’s expression changed and turned to one of offense and annoyance. He however did as you asked, and he removed himself from on top of you, and sat down a bit away from you. That look on him though, didn’t last long as you wasted little time in standing up and walked over to him before throwing your arms around him to pull him in for a hug. For the first time, ever, since you had known him, he flinched. “A simple, ‘sorry for ditching you back there’ would have sufficed. And honestly, you’re an idiot for thinking any of that was remotely your fault, and an idiot for thinking I can just brush off that kiss with Lyra as ‘trivial’. I know it’s going to come back to bite me in the plot later. But... your idiocy aside...thank you, Big Macintosh.” You said with a smile as you pulled away and moved your hand to his shoulder before giving it a heartfelt pat. “Thank you for trying to help me clear my head... brother.” There was nothing but sincerity in your voice as you told him this, and you felt him give you a similar pat on your shoulder with his hoof. “So, ah take it yah ain’t gonna stop at nuh’thing to keep Applejack safe in all of this.” “Well, wouldn’t you pull out all the stops, or go that far, no matter what, for Fluttershy?” “Eeyup.” “Heh, then I guess we’re both idiots, true and true.” “Heck, ah think ah caught mah idjet from you.” “Nah, you don’t catch my degree of idject. You have to earn it.” “Well, then ah suppose we’re all gonna earn our idject titles after this.” Big Macintosh’s expression was finally back to its stoic self as he spoke and you nodded in agreement. A comfortable silence had quickly settled around the two of you, and it was now darker than before, making it rather clear that this conversation had gone on for a while. And honestly, the sudden realization that you weren’t alone in all this. That at least one other pony was going to be doing everything to help you save Applejack, made this conversation well worth every second. Even if nothing had honestly been resolved. “I guess though, I should at least try and solve one problem, and set things straight with Lyra before we go stop a crazy Changeling.” Strangely enough, at that moment and with everything that had just happened, you honestly expected more support from Big Macintosh instead of him just shrugging his shoulders before turning around to look out into the snowstorm and around the cave entrance. “Well, maybe it won’t be so bad for yah. Equestria is ah might different from where yah came from.” “Yeah? How so? Are females more forgiving?” “Well, ah can't say for sure. But for starters, ah doubt yah’d see ah Changeling heading towards yah through ah snowstorm.” “Oh yeah, you definitely don’t see-wait, what?! Oh sh-” Some of the lights from Ponyville were still visible through the trees as the train made its way up the mountain towards Canterlot. It was still a ways away. And, although the falling snow gave the scenery a new face through the dark of night, the pony staring out the window of one of the passenger cars found little interest in it as she absently pet the mane of the pony that slept next to her. She had been silently staring at the fog on the window she created each time she breathed. And each time it fogged up, it revealed an odd looking stick figure with two legs that had been crudely drawn not too long ago. As she breathed on it again though, and the window fogged up, she redrew the figure with her hoof and added another figure with four legs next to it. A small smile formed across her lips as she looked at the window, and on her next breath, she added a few more figures to the window. “Applejack? Dear?” “Hm-huh?” Applejack barely reacted as she heard her name called and turned to see Rarity sitting on the seat across from her. She hadn’t even noticed when she sat down, let alone for how long she had been there. “Howdy Rares…” She gave Rarity a small smile. “What’s on yah mind?” “Well, not so much my mind, but rather, what is on your mind, darling?” “Huh?” Applejack followed Rarity’s gaze towards the window and felt a tad bit silly for having drawn such foalish things. “Heh, sorry, guess ah made a mess on the window. Ah’ll clean it before-” “Don’t darling, it’s… unique.” Applejack could only stare at the white unicorn while one of her eyebrows climbed up further and further till it almost disappeared under her hat. It was rather hard for Rarity not to quickly notice this, and she cleared her throat in the most lady-like fashion she could muster before she spoke again. “Your family, is unique, Applejack.” She said with a genuine smile as she turned to look back at the fading picture on the window. What she now caught a glimpse of, was a figure with two legs, one with four legs and a hat that stood next to it, a big figure with a smaller figure with wings on its back, and a small filly like figure that stood next to one with crooked legs. Rarity couldn’t help but let out a giggle as she turned back to look at Applejack. “Though I guess your art skills are a bit rudimentary, dear Applejack. Perhaps it would be best if you all got a picture taken together once we resolve all of… this.” She finished with a twirl of her hoof to emphasize what she meant. It had its desired effect though, and that suggestion got a smile out of Applejack. Applejack’s hoof had come to a stop as she felt Fluttershy fidget a bit while she still slept on the sit. Her family had grown indeed, and it was still growing. And she’d be damned to Tartarus if she allowed anything to get in the way of that. “I’m certain they are fine, Applejack.” Rarity commented as if reading her friend's thoughts. “Ah know, Rarity, n’ah hope that we are all correct on thinking that. But, ah just…” She stopped and shook her head as she rubbed her temples underneath her hat. “Ah just wish ah knew why he was so hard set on going to the shop today, or for that matter, these past few weeks. This all ain’t of happened if he stayed home. But, it were almost like he were up to sum’thing and-” The strangled noise that emanated from Rarity was loud enough to cause Applejack to pause and turn to look at the white unicorn sitting across from her. Rarity was looking off to the side, her face scrunched up as she apparently now found the ceiling of the passenger car the most interesting thing in Equestria. “Rarity? What was tha-” “You know darling, I think we could use some snacks to help carry this lovely conversation forward.” The scrunchiness on Rarity’s face only intensified as she finished speaking. And Applejack’s eyes narrowed dangerously underneath her hat as she focused on the sweating unicorn. “Um, yes, quite… And now I am rather parched, so I think I’ll go see if I can find that snack trolley for us and-” Rarity’s valiant attempt to vacate her seat and walk towards the aisle was halted by a much faster moving Applejack dead set on keeping the unicorn from going anywhere. It was like watching a deer freeze in the lamp lights of an oncoming carriage. “Rarity, yah ain’t leaving till yah tell me-HEY!” The sudden blue hue that coalesced over Rarity’s horn was quickly, and quite literally, slapped away as Applejack’s tail shot out in a swipe to flick at it. The sudden interruption broke Rarity’s spell and she suddenly found herself pressed against the window as Applejack drew closer to her, her green eyes portraying nothing but focus and determination to get what she wanted out of her. Panicking, the unicorn tried again, and was met with the same results. “Quit it! Don’t ya think for a second I don’t recognize ah teleportation spell when ah see one, Rares. Besides, this here’s ah train. Not many places to hide, so unless ya want to flee into the forest, yah best start talking” Rarity pondered this for a second as she turned to look behind her, out into the passing forest and mountain scenery, and then back to look at Applejack’s determined expression. She paused for another second or two before she turned back to look out at the scenery again, and then took her time to turn back and focus on Applejack’s now deadpan and unamused expression. “Really, Rarity?” “What? I’ll have you know that I am quite capable of, ‘roughing it’ in the woods.” “Uh huh…” There went that eyebrow again. And, with a sigh of defeat, Rarity had no other choice but to succumb to it and sat down hard on the floor. “Fine, but…” She looked around, scanning to see if anypony else was listening in on then. Only after she felt certain, she motioned for Applejack to get closer. “You have to promise you will still act surprised when the time comes.” “What in Equestria are yah going on about Rarity?” “Well, it’s just…it’s supposed to be a secret. And, even if I didn’t Pinkie promise, I-” Rarity stopped when she notice Applejack take her hooves into her own, and gave her a pleading look. “I… he-he was at my shop a few weeks ago for measurements and, well, while conversing he mentioned that he wanted to do something special for Hearth’s Warming Eve and mentioned something about dinners being a custom or such back where he’s from… and I may have, sort of, slightly suggested this one rather expensive restaurant in Canterlot.” “A-A restaurant?” “Oh yes! But I doubt this has anything to do with this. The one I suggested is perhaps the most expensive restaurant in Canterlot. Quite luxurious and the food is simply divine. He seemed rather taken with the suggestion and nearly left right there and then to go make the reservations. Though, I do believe the price was rather shocking to him once I mentioned it and-Applejack, darling? Are you okay?” Applejack hardly reacted when Rarity spoke to her again. She was too busy trying to prevent a small tear from making its way down her cheek, only to fail and having to bring a hoof up to wipe it away. “Oh dear, Applejack, I had no intention of upsetting you. Like I said, it is very unlikely this has anything to do with what happened to his shop, or to him and your brother. I simply thought-” A set of strong hooves prevented her from finishing that sentence and Rarity suddenly found herself in a tight hug with Applejack. It took her a second or two to process what was going on and, once her well manicured hamster began to spin its wheel, she wrapped her own hooves around the farmer pony to return the hug. “Thank you, Rarity.” “Whatever for, Applejack?” “For making me realize ah’m being an idjet. Heh, ah guess trying t’make sense of all this has made me ah bit silly.” “Oh Applejack, don’t be, well, silly. I think you are well entitled to such, uh, silliness given the situation.” “Heh, ah guess so. Though, ah’m a might angry at him now…” Rarity pushed away from Applejack, her expression being nothing short of confusion and uncertainty of whether or not she had heard her right. However, as she looked at Applejack, she couldn’t help but feel that her smile was rather, contrary to the sentiment she had just conveyed. “I- I am afraid I don’t quite understand, darling…” “Well, cause now that ah know this, after we find’em… Ah’m gonna have t’ask yah to make me ah fru-fru dress for that fancy dinner that idjet planned.” No mare should be allowed to squee in such delight as Rarity did at that exact moment. Which oddly enough worked rather well for Applejack since the fashionista wasn’t able to hear her mumble to herself, how she was going to use that dress to strangle a certain human with it for having made her go through all this. A cold vibe suddenly shot down your spine, and you nearly lost your footing as your head was forced to look behind you, into the snowstorm. You slowly scanned the area around you to make sure nothing was watching you, waiting for you to drop your guard. Something primal, as primal as self-preservation could get, told you that if you did, it would not end well for you. “Yah okay over there?” “Huh? Oh yeah, sorry. It’s just…” You paused as you readjusted your position and gave one last glance behind you. “You ever get the feeling you’re in trouble, but don’t know why yet?” “Yah kidding, right?” Big Macintosh spoke while he gave you a deadpan look, which in itself was rather impressive seeing how none reactive his face always looked. “With the day you n’the rest of us are having, ah’m surprised it took yah this long to realize we’re in a heap of trouble.” “Heh, funny, funny… been kind of a weird day for me, okay? So I get a pass. How’s your day going?” Big Macintosh didn’t reply, stopping only to look at you and readjust his position. “Okay, fine. Quiet time. Let’s get her inside before we both turn into popsicles.” “Eeyup.” “One, two, and… *hurk*” You didn’t realize how much your side was beginning to hurt. But, with a bit of effort, you were able to lift the unconscious Changeling onto Big Macintosh’s back, and adjust her until you were sure she would not slide off. Once you were certain of that, both you and the red stallion began to make your way back into the cavern, and down into the cave. “Yup… strange day indeed.” You mumbled to yourself as you pondered how smart it was to bring in a maybe enemy, maybe ally, into the place where you and your friends were hiding. “Eeyup…” Good thing you had a brother that agreed with you. Author's Note Drama, drama, drama, drama-llama~ Ah bit of drama and feelings never hurt anyp-OH CELESTIA! MY HANDS! WHY?!" Disclaimer - All characters presented in this work of fiction are owned by their respective creators and owners. In short, all the wubs go to Hasbro. Homerun! - Fraternizing with the enemy!“I hate today…” “Eeyup…” “It just keeps getting more complicated and annoying…” “Eeyup…” “I should’ve just stayed in bed with Applejack…” “…” The sudden lack of reply from Big Macintosh made you turn away from the scene playing out in front of you and look at him instead. His face conveyed a bit of unease at the image your comment had most likely summoned. “Hey, as far as I’m concerned, you’ve more than given me your blessing… Bro.” The groan that left him only added to your mirth at the sudden opportunity you had for getting back at him for more than a few prior jabs at your expense. “We were all nice and toasty under those blankets. Getting comfortable, while she smiled and basked in the sensation of me running my hand across her-OH GODDESSES MY SIDE!” The pained voice that echoed through the small enclosure, helped you realize, from your new position on the floor lightly rolling as you clutched at your injured side, that you may have taken the joke a bit far. Honestly though, it wasn’t like you were about to go into full detail. That’s perhaps a story for another time. “Ow… stop doing that you ass!” “Now now, don’t be an idjet. Yah know ah ain’t ah mule. Besides, it’s just a small scratch.” It was now Big Macintosh’s turn to smirk at you, right before he turned to look away and settled his gaze back at what you two had originally been looking at. After a few seconds of you laying prone on the ground, you eventually managed to stand back up and joined him in looking at the ponies in front of you. Caramel sat on the other side of the cave, looking sadly at the creature that lay in front of him, wrapped in your jacket. He was as stiff as a statue, and, although he looked sad, it was still kind of hard to fully read his expression. However, if you had to venture a guess, you’d have said it looked like he was struggling with a mixture of worry and sadness that every now and then traded places with a deep doubt and an urge to flee. Caramel had been like that since you and Big Macintosh came back in from your little chat, carrying an unconscious Changeling. More precisely, the one with the pink eyes. The one that had helped you. While you and Big Macintosh had been talking outside, she had made her way through the snow storm, somehow stumbling upon the two of you. You supposed that a big red object like Big Macintosh, standing outside in a field of white snow was something easy enough to see. You’d have to wait to find that out later however. As soon as Big Macintosh noticed her making her way towards you, she collapsed and let out a barely audible plea for help. Both of you had not really stopped to think about the possibilities of it being a trap, and ran towards her as fast as you both could through the snow. Big Macintosh reached her first, and had stopped dead in his tracks, looking at her. You immediately understood why he had once you reached her too. What you saw told you it wasn’t a trap. “Sh-she found ou-out… sh-she wasn’t happy…” She had managed to let out in a whimper, right before she fell unconscious. You had seen bugs that had been stepped on, repeatedly, that looked a lot better than she did. Even through the snow that had gathered on her, you could see cracks all over the chitin that covered the Changeling. Some parts on her even had chips or pieces missing entirely. But, what had shocked you the most about how she looked was that these, along with some of the nastier looking cracks, gave off a sort of glowing green dust that rose into the air a few inches before fading away. When you and Big Macintosh examined these closer, you could faintly see a sort of gray, fuzzy looking skin through the rising green dust and missing pieces of her carapace. Understandably, you had been hesitant to touch her. But, when you passed your hand through the glowing green dust, that hesitation vanished. Warmth and a deep longing immediately filled you. It swept up through your arm and spread to every extremity of your being. You had to stop there and then to try and catch your breath as a different kind of warm sensation ran down your cheek before growing cold in the wind, and a single thought overtook your mind and blocked everything else. Applejack. As quick as that warmth and sense of longing had come, it had vanished. Swept away by the sound of Big Macintosh’s voice piercing your ears. His hoof had also come into contact with the green dust and, as you both blinked at one another, both realizing the other had felt the exact same thing. Love. Neither of you two wasted any more time in bringing the Changeling inside and pushed the matter far back into your minds. The dust had no other effect on you when you touched it again. And it would be something to discuss at a later time. Once inside, a bout of panic streaked through the ponies gathered around the campfire. That however, came to an abrupt stop with the echoing sound of Big Macintosh’s voice. A space was made by the fire and with Lyra’s help, you gently removed the Changeling off of Big Macintosh’s back, and wrapped her in your jacket. She was still giving off the green smoke, and when Lyra’s hoof came into contact with it, you observed a similar reaction as you had experienced. She had not been able to take her eyes off you as a tear broke free of her golden eyes. You had wanted to say something then, to talk to her about what had happened earlier. But your attention had been wrenched away once you paid closer attention to the Changeling. Much to your surprise, some of the smaller cracks and holes looked slightly smaller than before. But, in the small amount of time that it took you and Big Macintosh to make it back inside, she appeared to have begun struggling to breath. That was when Caramel quietly approached and stood watching over her, much as he did now. Not saying a single word. Almost an hour had gone by since then. And now, you were certain that your guess back in that old house, that there was something going on between Caramel and the Changeling was dead on. And by the looks of it, he was having a very hard time dealing with it even now. Not much different from your current predicament, it seemed. “She-she really hasn’t moved much since you dudes brought her in. Think she’s alright?” Thunderlane suddenly asked, snapping you out of your thoughts and recollections. Lyra had asked you the same thing only a few minutes ago. So, you gave the only response you felt was adequate given how repetitive that particular question had become. “Dammit Jim! I’m a repairman! Not a doctor! Plus, I’m wearing a red shirt…” The collective silence from everypony present reminded you why you had stopped doing that in the first place. Still, you supposed that an inside joke, even if you were the only one laughing on the inside, was good for the soul every now and then. “Whut?” Thunderlane asked as he flew up into the small space and hovered in front of you. “It means I’m not a doctor, a pony doctor, or a bug-pony doctor… and that my only function is to fix things and to boldly go where no man-err, pony has gone before and not return to the ship because I fell victim to something unexpected… Like a peanut allergy or something.” The silence that permeated the cave again was palatable. At least that was the case until Lyra suddenly began to giggle. She was the only one you had ever bothered to explain to some of the more, perhaps ‘quirky’, aspects of human culture. It had been after all, for her book she was writing. She had even made the comment once of wanting to try and put together a ‘comic-con’ of sorts. “Lyra! What gives? You seriously broke him with that stunt back there!” Thunderlane suddenly interrupted Lyra’s giggling fit as he turned and pointed an accusatory hoof at her. To Lyra’s merit though, that only made her giggle a little more. “I did no such thing! He was already broken when I found him!” “Hey!” You protested, suddenly wanting to take that merit back. “Eeyup, sounds about right.” Big Macintosh decided to chime in, and earned a reproachful stare from you, which of course only seemed to heighten his enjoyment of the conversation. “See? Even Big Mac agrees! Poor guy even thinks my name is ‘Jim’ or something!” “Well, you sure act like him.” You interrupted, and raised your hands in front of you to signal him to stop before his mouth opened up again. “Remind me again why your mouth was glued shut with that green goop?” “Huh? What?” Thunderlane stopped to look at everpony in confusion, knowing Caramel had explained this to everypony while you were all still captives in that old abandoned house. “It was-it was because I hit on that one Changeling. The mean one, the one with the um… the um… nice curvy plot.” To his credit, he at least blushed a bit. “Right, and that’s why you’re Captain Jim Kirk… To boldly hit on anything that remotely looks female and has a pretty smile, no matter how crazy she is.” There were only a few second of silence before the cave fell victim to the laughter that erupted from both Lyra and Big Macintosh. You didn’t waste any time in joining in as well. And, after a few seconds of stunned silence, even Thunderlane joined in too. It was honestly something everypony needed right there and then. A bit of laughter. “Well –heh- you know what dude? I at least got game! –haha- No mare, pony or bug, is immune to my charms!” “Ha! He’s got, uh, game, Thunderlane!” Lyra suddenly chimed in as her laughter died down a bit. “All the mares in Pony wanted a piece of him… and he’s so weird looking!” She finished as she nuzzled your thigh, as to prove her point. “Geez, thanks Lyra for calling me weird…” You responded through a bit of chuckling as you placed your hand atop her head and began to pet her and scratch behind her ears. Lyra visibly froze for a fraction of a second at your touch, and a deep blush overtook her just as quickly. She began to relish the sensation, and pushed further into your hand, her eyes closed in blissful satisfaction. You didn’t pull you hand away, enjoying the feel of her fur and the welcome warmth that filled your chest as you looked down at her. Her eyes slowly opened, revealing an emotion you had seen countless times before, from another mare, and her eyes slowly met yours. You held her gaze and her blush only deepened as that warmth in your chest grew and grew, and a series of stray thoughts coursed through your mind. Applejack loves me, and I love her beyond anything, and that will never change. She loves me for who I am, no matter what. But Lyra… I’m glad she gets my dumb jokes every now and then, even jokes that only a human might get. She’s such a curious little thing. She asks so many questions about me and “what” I am… about where I was. It’s hard to feel truly homesick around her. Around Applejack and her. Lyra’s so cute when she blushes, and she does have a very sexy plot. Your eyes suddenly bulged wide open and your hand stopped moving, Lyra seemingly content to just continue rubbing against it. The sensation of sweat rolling down your forehead was immediate, your mind having suddenly changed gears as new thoughts shot through it at breakneck speeds. What the heck was that!? What was I just thinking of!? Sweet Celestia and Luna! Applejack’s never going to want to see me again if I don’t reign this in and- “She’s waking up!” You pulled your hand away and abruptly stepped forward, nearly causing Lyra to fall to the side. You didn’t stop to check if she had or not as you continued to look at the source of the voice, Caramel, right before your gaze dropped down to look at the stirring form wrapped in your jacket. You were barely able to make out a shallow groan from her, right before the Changeling’s head rose up, and her eyes fell on Caramel, who towered over her. “Cara-Caramel?...” Caramel looked away, visibly chewing on his lower lip, and the Changeling’s gaze lingered for a bit before it too looked away as a tear fell onto your jacket, sparkling for a second in the fire’s light. “Ah think its best w’all go outside and give’em sum privacy.” Big Macintosh quickly said as he began to make his way out towards the cave entrance. Your mouth opened to protest, but it quickly closed and you turned to look back at Lyra. She was still looking at you intently, that blush still evident. Her breathing looked and sounded heavier than it should have, and her tail was hiked up slightly. You needed to clear your head. Cool it down. It was cold outside. That would work. You immediately did a full about-face turn, and walked quickly towards the outside of the cave, again. You overtook Big Macintosh, your pace only getting faster as the sound of hooves on stone quickly filled in behind you. You were barely able to make out Caramel’s shallow voice as it echoed from within the cavern. “Wh-why did you do it, Morning Mist?” “We both seem to be asking something similar, aren’t we, Caramel?” You quietly told yourself as the cold coming from the outside grew. “Why did I do that?” “Uh, what are you doing?” “Mum huming do wool mah head…” “… Whut?” You pulled your head out from the snow, and shivered like crazy as you ran back towards the cave entrance where you found a spot just beyond it where the cold and wind could not reach you. It was mildly above freezing. “I said that I was trying to cool my head.” You replied again and hugged your arms around yourself, and dropped to the ground. You were trying to shrink yourself into a small, warm, ball. You had left you jacket behind, the sole witness to whatever conversation Caramel and the Changeling, whom you assumed was called Morning Mist, were currently having. The sweater you had on honestly did little to hold back the cold. But at least, it helped keep your mind lukewarm as you focused on not freezing, and allowed a little chant to play out in your head. I am not attracted to Lyra… I am not attracted to Lyra… I am not attracted to Lyra… That’s not true… Shut up brain! Come on, be honest with yourself… Okay, fine! Will you shut up if I admit she’s cute?! Perhaps I will… That is the truth after all. Well tough luck! I’m not going further than that cause I love Applejack, okay?! That is also true… … “Why am I arguing with myself?!” “Arguing about what?” Big Macintosh’s voice suddenly filled your ears along with a welcome warmth that nestled next to you. You had to do everything possible not to scream like you usually did, and instead, settled for coughing as you nearly swallowed your tongue. “Whoa there now.” Big Macintosh’s voice sounded next to you once more as his hoof patted your back. “Can’t have yah chocking till after we sort that Changeling out n’make sure Applejack and Fluttershy are okay.” “Um, yeah, about that…” Your attention turned toward Thunderlane. “So, what’s the deal with you and Applejack? Are you-” As if on cue, a new warmth filled your other side, and you turned to watch as Lyra laid next to you and contently pushed her head underneath your arm. “Uh, are you all…” Thunderlane tapped his forehooves together, trying to imply something that you quite didn’t understand. “You know, together?” You blinked at him, a bit of confusion clearly etched along your face. “For, uh, a while now, yeah. Since the heat season ended.” “Really? Wow, congrats dude! How was the heat this year? You didn’t get too banged up, did you?” You blinked again at him, the confusion from before only having grown. They had said they’d been held captives for a while, but… “Thunderland, how long were you there for?” “Huh? What? Why?” “Well, last time I saw you, it was when you escaped those mares and flew towards the flock of male Pegasus-” “WHAT?!” The evident shock in Thunderlane’s outburst sent him flying into the air right before he pushed forward and began to hover an inch or two from your nose. “He did what?!” “Uh… He?” “That Changeling! The one with the blue eyes!” “Uh… you mean to say that wasn’t you?” “NO! Oh horseapples! They’re going to ban me for good this time!” “They? Who’s they? Wait, this time?” “The Flock! We have protocols! Rules to survive the heat!” “Uh, okay, like?” Thunderlane stopped in his half crazed rambling and looked nervously at Lyra. She was obviously too content with nuzzling into you to care, but that didn’t seem to be enough for the panicked Pegasus. “I… We don’t talk about it.” “What? Why? Is this like, Fight Club??” “Wh-what? No! Dude, we’re not fighting! You and I are cool, dude!” “No, I meant… nevermind. So you mean to tell me that wasn’t you up there?” “No!” “You mean to tell me you’ve been held captive this whole time?” “Yes!” “And what about Caramel? When he get kidnapped?” Big Macintosh asked, having taken a sudden interest in the conversation. “At the same time as I was. He wanted to introduce me to his marefri-” He paused and his gaze shifted toward the cave entrance, and remained there for a bit before he began biting his lip and turned back around. “I-I guess what he thought was his marefriend at the time…” No pony said anything else after that, perhaps visualizing or wondering just what kind of conversation was taking place back down in the cave. You blinked a few times before you realized that like everypony else, you had inadvertently turned your head to look behind you. You felt a sense of sadness for the poor guy. Admittedly, he was a bit of screw-up at times, but still, he was a nice guy all around. To get played like that was just… “Wait…” You spoke softly and shook your head to clear your thoughts. “That seems… You mean to say that all that time you were both held captive, they never talked it out? I mean he must have been furious. At least, yell it out?” “Well, for a good part of that time, it was just the one with the blue eyes that watched us. Guess she was ordered to stay in Ponyville to keep tabs on you and Applejack. Caramel was convinced she had been kidnapped too. At least, that was until…” Thunderlane paused, and in a rare moment, at least in the little time you had known him, he brought up his hoof to his chin and appeared to be in deep thought. You swore you heard a few seconds from an invisible clock tick on by from somewhere in the cavern. “At least, that was until a few days ago when they all got together to plan your capture. She showed up looking like a Changeling. We didn’t know it was her until… until the big mean one ordered here to change into her disguise. She refused at first, and, well, you saw how the mean one is towards her. She didn’t want to, but in the end… Caramel, poor guy, he took it hard.” Again, no pony said anything for a while, the only sound being that of a dying wind. The snow storm was finally starting to die off. Or so it seemed. It was hard to tell, but you would have wagered you had all been outside for close to an hour or more. She didn’t want him to know she had betrayed him... and by the looks of it, she really did fall for him. A sigh escaped you as a now noticeable tiredness overtook you. If the snow storm was finally dying down, you’d be able to move out soon. You had been through worst. A little lack of rest and cold weather wasn’t going to stop you. “Maybe I should go check to see if they’re done talking.” You commented while you moved to stand up, but stopped when you felt Thunderlane’s wingtip brush past you as he flew on ahead. “Nah, I got this dude. I’m as worried about him as you guys are, so I’ll go make sure he’s okay.” You smiled and settled back down to wait. Because honestly, what else was there to do until the snowstorm fully died off? All you could do was get comfortable and allow for your mind to wonder a bit. And, almost immediately, many new and old thoughts ran through your mind, trying to make the best use of the time you had. At some point after a few minutes had gone by, you had begun to absently run your fingers through Lyra’s mane. It sounded like she had fallen asleep, and had done so being content that she was nowhere else, but where she was now, with you. “Looks like yah still be need’n to figure out what yah gonna do, huh?” Big Macintosh asked you while his eyes remained closed, apparently having pretended to be asleep while you mulled over your thoughts. You couldn’t help but let out an exasperated sigh as you too closed your eyes, and followed his lead. “One thing at a time, Big Mac. Besides, I’m still trying to figure out some old things, and new things that just sprang up.” “Oh? Like?” You paused while you mauled the question over, and tried to figure out a way to word what was on your mind. Years of watching movies of varying genres back on Earth, had given you a basic idea of how evil should behave, at least in movies that is. “It just that…” Eventually, you figured out that straight to the point was the best choice, as opposed to trying to explain a lifetimes worth of movie plot knowledge. “The heat was months ago, and they kept those two hostage for all that time… and none of us knew it till it was too late.” Your head hung a bit low as you began to accept just how serious a foe you were up against, how organized they were, or rather, had been. And just how outmatched you were. “How do we stop them? I mean, you’re right… they aren’t going to pull their punches. And if Applejack is in the crossfire, I don’t know how I’ll keep her out of danger.” Your gaze slowly fell on Lyra, and there was no hesitation in what came out from your mouth next. “How can I keep them both out of harm’s way?” “Ah honestly… don’t quite know.” Your head turned to look at him, the disappointment in his words clearly etched on your face. That was not the reply you had come to expect from Big Macintosh, especially if his sister was involved. He always had a suggestion. Some idea, some cryptic comment that held some of that seemingly sage-like knowledge he could tap into from time to time. And now, when you needed it most, as the snowstorm died, right before you lunged head first into danger… he had nothing to give you. For a fraction of a second, it felt as if the rug had been pulled from underneath your feet. “But what ah do know…” He continued as he turned to look out into the storm. “Is that it shouldn’t ah take this here long for Thunderlane to go check on Caramel’n that changeling.” “Ahhh!” As if on cue, you heard the echo of a scream from within the cave and bolted upright before immediately dashing off to see what was going on. Lyra only lagged a bit behind, her sudden rude awakening slowing her down bit before she caught up with the two of you. “AHHH!” “Ha! See? I’m not the only one that screams like a filly, Big Mac! Thunderlane does it too!” You commented through a couple of hard breaths, the scream echoing out louder as you got closer. Whatever was causing Thunderlane to scream out like that, was not letting up as you heard it again, and then again, in rapid successions. You could only imagined what had happened to poor Caramel. Had he been the first victim of the Changeling’s trap? Deep down, you felt a pang of guilty for having brought here in from the cold, to where your friends were. But you also felt a deep well of sadness, for her not having been an ally in all this. “Ahh… ahhh… AHHH!” Big Macintosh suddenly slowed down in front of you, nearly causing you to bowl right over him. You managed to dodge him at the last minute, and quickly passed him as you turned back to give him a confused glare. “Big Mac?! What the hay?! We’re almost there, right around this-“ No sooner did the words leave your mouth, that you suddenly found yourself colliding with something. Both you and it tumbled into the ground in a wreck of limbs, and one or two obscenities, before finally coming to stop with whatever you had hit resting on top you. It took you a moment to clear your spinning head, only to have your injured side flare up in pain as Thunderlane suddenly tried to push off you and pressed down on it with his hoof, one of his rear legs pushing into your stomach. “What the buck Thunderlane?! What’s wro-“ “SHHH!” He hushed you and placed his hoof over your mouth as he looked at everypony that had gathered, signaling for them to keep quiet as well. “I don’t understand, what’s going on Thunderlane? Why are you hush-” “AHHH-mmm, Yess!” Everpony present turned to look at the little hole in the wall you had all been using as shelter within the cavern. What you heard coming from within it was no scream for help, but instead… “AHHHHH!” “Oh my…” Lyra let out in a shocked whisper as she finished her sentence, and another moan echoed out into the cave, quickly followed by what could faintly be distinguished as a very low slapping sound. “Thunderlane… are they-“ “They seem to have made up…” He interrupted your question as he swallowed hard and looked at the source of where the noise was coming from, not bothering to get off of you. “Mmmm-yes… just like that Caramel!” “Eeyup, sure does sound like it.” Nopony else said anything, perhaps not really sure what to say in the first place. Everypony had rushed to what they believed was the sound of Thunderlane in need of help, and had instead come upon a scene that, given all that was happening, was perhaps not the most beneficial to the group. “Oh Goddesses… Mist, I’m close!” Aside from Caramel that is, who sounded to be in much better spirits than before. “Wait a second Thunderlane… How long have they been, “making up” for?” Thunderlane suddenly began to shift his gaze to look at everything else without making direct eye contact with any pony, or human, present. Your eyes quickly fell on his wings. They were extended. “Uh, well, you see, thing is… uh…” “Where you down here spying on them?!” Lyra suddenly asked him in a silent, yet accusatory hiss as she approached him, eyes wide in shock and a light blush across her muzzle. “What?! No! I wasn’t spying on them! Uh, well… that is… not long!” “Now that there ain’t right Thunderlane… Spying on mah cousin like that.” “No! Big Macintosh! It wasn’t like that, hones-“ Thunderlane didn’t get to finish his sentence as he turned his body towards Big Macintosh, and stopped when the same thing from before poke and dug gently into your stomach. Even from your position on the ground, you could see his eyes grow wide. “Thunderlane…” You spoke quietly, not wanting to look at what you really hoped was not what you thought was poking you in your stomach. “That better not be what I think it is…” Thunderlane didn’t reply, but instead slowly removed himself off of you and walked shamefully, and rather awkwardly, off to a corner. You didn’t say anything as you sat up, and rubbed the bridge of your nose, which proved rather pointless in quelling your ever growing headache. “Celestia, Luna… I just want this day to end on a happy note, please.” You let out in an exasperated whisper, as you tried not to think about why there was a cool wet spot on your shirt now. “Caramel! I love you-AHH!” “Oh Mist, I’m cu-“ Everypony present suddenly found the floor beneath their hooves to be the most interesting thing in the world as the crescendo of echoes coming from within the cavern suddenly came to a standstill. And, after a few seconds of silence, you all assumed the awkward moment you had all been forced to listen to had passed. “Heh, uh, guess Caramel had his day end on a happy note.” Lyra commented as she came to stand next to you, and rubbed her foreleg over the other one, the blush from before still quite evident. “Uh huh…” Was all you were able to force out in response, your fingers still doing their best to rub away the headache. “Say, uh, weren’t she using your jacket as ah blanket before w’all stepped out?” “…” Sometimes it was hard to tell when Big Macintosh was trying to be helpful or just relishing in your discomfort. Author's Note It's been a while, hasn't it? But worry not, I won't bore you with the details. Just know that I intend to finish this story. Disclaimer - All characters presented in this work of fiction are owned by their respective creators and owners. In short, all the wubs go to Hasbro. Morning Stretches - Nothing Like A Good Warmup!Time can pass in the blink of an eye. Or so the saying goes. For some, a single year could seem like such a long time. However, once you reached the end of that one year mark, it could often not be helped but to look back and wonder where all that time went. It was almost as if time itself had slipped like fine grained sand through the fingers of an open palm, never really figuring out where it went after it fell. Perhaps, that’s where the idea for hourglasses came from. You really didn’t know though. What you did know though, was that as time passed, so did came with it life changing events that smacked their victims like runaway trucks. Or, seeing as there were no trucks in the world you now lived it, perhaps a runaway carriage or wagon would be a better analogy seeing as time had made no exceptions on how it treated you. Within the blink of an eye, life for you in Equestria had changed, sometimes for the worst, and sometimes for the better. Since the moment you found yourself face down in the dirt after arriving in Equestria, to the time you celebrated your first Hearth's Warming Eve, followed by the time when you first slept alone in your own home, and the time you found yourself running from a mob of heat crazed mares… There had always been a lingering doubt in the back of your mind. One that you could not simply shake off and toss into a closet to be forgotten till you felt like dealing with it again. Where was your life leading you to, and what would be the outcome of all this when it was said and done? Things had happened. Some traumatizing, others magnificent. The latter had made the former almost non important. Or so you liked to think. Fate had thrown so much at you through the course of a year, more so on that fateful day that it had all seemed almost impossible and hopeless. Yet, you had come out on top. You had survived an impossible event of which you had no natural right of being involved in the first place. And yet, you had done it… and in the end had managed to gain something precious along the way. It was honestly rather easy for you to be lured into thinking that fate had run out of challenges for you. You should know better though. Fate liked to hit people when they had their guard down. And as it so happened, the time for a new challenge had reared its ugly head again. Lucky for you though, this one was one you had grown accustomed to over the past week or so, as you began to stir from your slumber and joined the rising sun for a new day. You could feel the morning rays of the sun begin to warm your back as you slept on your side, facing away from the window. The more you stirred, the more you took notice of a slight nip in the air that you breathed. It was to be expected though, seeing as it was well into the winter season. Unlucky for you though, you were nice and toasty under your blankets, so that made it difficult for you to want to get up out of bed. However, luckily for you, that heavenly warmth that called you to stay in bed not only came from the bed sheets, but from the form that lay nuzzled against your chest, embraced tenderly in your arms. It made it easy for you to want to open your eyes, and partake in an all too familiar morning routine as you pulled the warm form closed to you and opened your eyes. A curtain of gold was the first thing that greeted you as your eyes adjusted and you breathed in an all too familiar scent, cinnamon and apples. You couldn’t help but smile as you began to hear her breathing and felt her side rise and fall lazily as you embraced her from behind. Her tail was wrapped around you leg, and you relished the sensation of it. You had to admit, you loved waking up to this, to the sight of the one you loved, to the sight of Applejack resting so peacefully. It made it worthwhile to wake up no matter what the weather outside was like. Perhaps that’s why the following was always so difficult. Gently, you began to inch away from her to give yourself a bit of space to work with. You didn’t want to wake her up. She deserved to rest. Almost every day of the year she would wake up at the crack of dawn and work till dusk as hard as she could. She always worked so hard. And, although she wasn’t alone, especially with you being around more now… you knew she never let up. With the exception of the winter season that is. Winter was the only time of year when the workload diminished considerably at the farm, and the Apple family could take a break. It was the only time of the year that Applejack could sleep in for just a little bit longer. You’d be damned if you were going to deprive her of that. Slowly, you continued to inch your way away from her, careful not to disturb her as you began to pull your away from her. She was lying on your other arm and her tail was wrapped around the opposite leg. It was almost like playing a game of Twister with how you had to contort and adjust yourself as you continued to pull away from her. It was a shame, really. You were already starting to miss her warmth. But you had somewhere to go to, so… “Yah promised sugahcube.” So that would have to wait as you suddenly heard her sleepy voice and felt her forelegs hold on tighter to your arms. Her tail lazily coiled around your other leg. She had you trapped. “Morning sweetie… sorry about waking you up.” You said as you pulled her towards you and placed a kiss on her neck, sacrificing whatever precious ground you had gained in your bid for extraction. It felt good to feel her warmth against you again though. “Mmm, yah ain’t gonna get off the hook that easily.” You heard her reply through a smile that she hid from you as she pressed her back further into you. By the sound of her voice though, and the unlady like yawn she let out, she was still obviously rather sleepy. You could only remain silent as you heard and felt her breath, and paid attention to the ticking sound of the clock in the room. If you waited a minute or two, she might fall asleep again, and you could try a second attempt. But damn, you were starting to feel sleepy again yourself. It was way too early to try for a second attempt, but… Carefully again, you began to pull away, but Applejack tightened her grip and you ended up dragging her along for the ride. “Ah’m still awake sugahcube.” You heard her say in a sleepy singsong voice. “Yeah, sort of figured that…” You waited quietly again for a few more ticks of the clock and tried again after you had counted more than sixty. “Nnope.” You could hear her smile as she teased you, no longer sounding as sleepy as before. “Yah promised and ah’m gonna hold yah to it… literally by the looks of it.” “I know Applejack, but I did say one more week and today is technically the seventh day of that week.” “Nnope, yesterday yah said you’d spend the whole day home today.” “I miscounted.” “Ain’t mah’fault you don’t know mathematics.” There was a long pause as the both of you remained silent. You had promised her yesterday that you would spend the whole day at home. Yet, you had made plans. In less than a week, the Hearth's Warming Eve pageant and celebration would take place in Canterlot. And like the year prior, during your first Hearth's Warming Eve, Applejack was going to play the part of Secretary Smart Cookie. The difference though, was that this time around you and she were together. Something that thanks to your ignorance the year prior, she had not been able to enjoy. You planned to make up for it this time around. You were going to take her out wherever she wanted to in Canterlot. You knew she wasn’t all that into the sophistication and high class that oozed out of every corner in Canterlot. But any mare would love to be treated out to a fancy dinner once in a while, right? Right. However, that plan required bits to pull off and you had been setting aside a few here and there from your work at the repair shop. You only needed one more day, just one more customer, and you’d have enough bits to make sure everything went off without a hitch. Especially since she didn’t know what you were up to. It was supposed to be a surprise after all. And apparently, so was what she began to do with her tail as it lazily uncoiled and traveled up your leg towards… “Oh?” “Mmhmm, wouldn’t yah rather stay here with little’ol me sugahcube, where it’s nice n’hot? Yes. The answer was yes. Or so your thoughts screamed out at you as you smiled and used your hands to massage her stomach before pulling one back to run down her side, caressing her as it slid down towards her haunches and… “Appljack?” “Mmm?” You heard her coo softly as you whispered into her ear from behind and continued to embrace and caress her. “Today is the last day sweetie…” Her tail suddenly stopped moving and pulled away from you. “I promi-” “Fine…” “Huh? KYAAH!” Some things never change. The cold wooden floor suddenly greeted your backside as you were pushed clear off the bed by Applejack’s well toned rump. Your body reacted immediately as the cold slapped you fully awake and you stood up trembling. You should really start wearing more than just your boxers to bed. “Sweet Celestia it’s COLD!” “Ah know.” You immediately turned to look at the culprit as you trembled uncontrollably and wrapped your arms around you for some form of warmth. She was in your spot now, hogging all the blankets as she looked back at you with an overly content smile considering what she had just done. “Ap-Applejack? What-what gives sweetie?” “Well sugahcube, if yah don’t want to stay here with me n’keep me warm, then ah’ll have to settle for yah warm spot and your pillow.” She declared nonchalantly as she nuzzled your pillow and inhaled deeply. You could only stand, trembling, as you watched her. You had to admit, although you were doing this for her, you had been a bit… distant during the past week. But, you were going to make up for it and then some. Or so you hoped at least. But, then again… “Applejack?” You called as you leaned over her and rested your hands on the mattress around her. “Can’t hear yah, ah’m asleep.” She replied rather cheerfully for a pony who was supposedly sleeping while snoring rather loudly. A smile was the only thing that showed on you face as you leaned further down towards her, and stopped less than an inch from her ear. “Well, perhaps a kiss will wake you up then…” “Yah can try sugahcube, ah sure as hay won’t stop yah.” “Perfect…” Without warning, you wrapped your arms around her, blankets and all, and fell on her and rolled around the bed while peppering her with kisses. She immediately “woke up” in a fit of uncharacteristic giggles as she tried to fight back, and only managed to tangle the both of you in the blankets. You couldn’t help but feel it was just what she wanted. “No! Stop yah varmint! Haha! No! Not there! OH! Definitely there though!” In a matter of seconds, the struggle for dominance over the warm bed lost its momentum as Applejack retaliated and began to rain down her own kisses upon you while her hooves wrapped themselves around you. Unfortunately though, you ran out of bed, and you both suddenly found yourselves on the floor, buried in a mess of blankets. And rather undeterred, as you both continued to kiss each other. You ended up on top of her, and slightly pulled back teasingly as she tried to kiss your lips again and pulled your hips against hers with her hind legs. She instead settled for a smile as she began to kiss your neck and nibbled on it. Suddenly, getting kicked out of bed didn’t feel like such a bad punishment. “Yah gonna be late sugahcube.” You heard her whisper as she let out a pleasant sigh against your neck. “Don’t matter sweetie, I can be a little bit late.” You replied as you pulled her closer against you and pushed your hips harder against hers. You could hear her let out a cute moan as she breathed hotly against your freshly kissed jaw, and worked her way towards your lips. “Aw sugahcube… yah gonna be a heap more than a bit late.” The way she bit her lower lips when you looked down at her after she said this, said a heck of a lot more about just how serious she was. And you were perfectly fine with that. Besides, what’s wrong with a little bit of fun before work? Not like I can fire myself for being late to my own store. Author's Note Welcome one and all to the second race of the year! I hope you are ready for it. This is the sequel to a prior story of mine. So, if you're a bit confused as to what the hay is going on, then I would suggest you go read the other one first. Read the first first and then come on back to the second with the knowledge you gained from the first. Wait... what? Well, doesn't matter. ENJOY! Disclaimer - All characters presented in this work of fiction are owned by their respective creators and owners. In short, all the wubs go to Hasbro.
The Morning Of The Race - The Paparazzi Is Already There.The walk towards town had been a long one. Everything was covered in a layer of fresh snow, so your pace had been a bit slower than usual. Admittedly though, you’d be lying if you said part of it wasn’t due to the fact that you pulled something. But still, the long held adage of “walking it off” still held true in Equestria. Or so you kept telling yourself along the way. The slow pace though, had given you plenty of time to think about a few things as you observed the beautiful snow covered scenery slowly pass you by. Applejack had firmly been the base of a lot of your musings seeing as after your morning, um, workout per say, you had not been able to get her out your mind. And you really didn't want to. You had left her warm, tired, and content as was evident by the way she snuggled your pillow and smiled with a deep blush adorning her features. The mere recollection of her so happy like that gave you great joy because deep down, you knew that what you saw, was a side of her that nopony else would ever see. You knew that that side of her, was solely reserved for you, the one she loved. And just because of that, you had been very tempted during your entire trip into town to just forget the whole thing and crawl back into that warm bed with her. But as luck would have it, as these thoughts permeated your mind, more than once you had found them segueing into thoughts that perhaps, you were wrong about this whole entire plan of yours. And you knew all too well why you thought as such. Applejack didn’t care about things like fancy dinners, sophistication, or such. This was obvious to anypony that spent at day around her, let alone a whole year like you had. You knew this all too well. You knew that instead, Applejack cared more about practical things. She didn’t care if a dinner was fancy as long as it was good and hearty. And she didn’t care if the dinner was at an expensive restaurant as long as she was spending time with her family and friends. And in truth, that was one of the things you loved about her. She cared about her family and spending time with them, and she tried to do everything possible to show them just how much they meant to her. And in truth, wasn’t that the reason you wanted to go through with this plan of yours in the first place though? To show her a good time and show her how much she meant to you? Even though that had already been established, with your crazed run through a town filled with horny mares and what not, a reminder now and then was always nice. Or at least that had been your experience back on Earth before you found yourself in Equestria. More than once a relationship had gone south because you had overlooked that slight detail. You didn’t want this one to end like those had. No, your mind was made up. And as you finally reached town and trudged further through a layer of snow and turned a corner to head to your shop, you felt nothing could make you turn back till your task was done! “You’re late!” Crud… Your mind yelled out as you did an about-face turn and began walking back the way you came. “Hey wait!” Too soon did the sound of crunching snow and hooves reach your ears as you felt something grab hold of the sleeve of your jacket. There was no way of avoiding it now. “Do you really need to take more notes Lyra? I swear you have more than enough for your book.” You let out with a heavy sigh as the sea foam colored unicorn stopped biting down on your sleeve. “Two books actually. Now I just need pictures!” Without warning, a flash of light suddenly blinded you as soon as you turned around and saw a camera float out of her saddlebags. You had to rub your eyes a bit as you tried to see again, and you couldn’t help but remember how you came to meet the obsessed unicorn in the first place. Oddly enough, it had been a little bit after you arrived in Equestria that you first came into contact with her… Your body felt strangely alien to you as you came to from a deep sleep and felt the unfamiliar texture underneath you that in no way resembled your mattress. It felt more like dirt than downy soft bed sheets, and the earthy smell that permeated your nostrils made you wonder if you had fallen asleep outside like the last time you worked yourself to exhaustion. You began to vaguely recall having spent most of the prior day working in your backyard, trying to turn it into something more than just an area with spots of grass and a bench or two. If you were honest with yourself though, a green thumb was sorely missing in your skill set. But it didn't matter though, it had just been an effort to take your mind off recently frustrating events that had taken place not too long ago. Except, last time though, you had fallen asleep on one of the benches you put up, exhausted, after building the most awesome wooden deck ever. This time, you must have rolled off the bench and not even woken up when you hit the ground. Yeah, that must have been what happened… You thought to yourself as you forced yourself up and found yourself to be slightly disoriented. You could feel the dirt firmly clinging to your face as you managed to sit up, and began to try and will your eyes open. Everything was a blur. But even in such a state, one thing was clearly obvious to you. First off, you were wearing you pajamas, which was strange since you doubt you would had been doing yard work with them to begin with. And secondly… This doesn’t look like my backyard. I don’t recall putting up so many, or for that matter, any colorful lawn decorations… Your mind voiced out as your eyes adjusted and took in the throng of pastel blurs. However, as you lazily raised a hand to rub your eyes and opened them again, the obvious became clear as day. You were in some unknown park, surrounded by little horses. They were all looking at you with what strangely resembled big expressive eyes, all of which expressed shock and fear. You could only blink as you took in the sight and turned your head slightly to look around, your attention being drawn to one that was sitting on a bench looking at you rather intently. There was something off about the sea foam colored horse. Horses don’t sit like that, right? Wait, horses don’t sit on benches at all… Without warning, three of the horses screamed in what your mind doubtfully registered as being English, and you soon found your legs pushing you up in fear as you joined them. “KYAAAAHHH!” “Wait! Don’t run away!” The one on the bench suddenly yelled out as it jumped of it and ran at you. “TALKING HORSES! AHHH!” You replied, screaming as whatever doubt you had about them speaking English vanished, and you immediately stopped dead in your tracks and started running in the opposite direction, away from the horse. You ran directly through the fountain in the center of the park you had just woken up in. The dirt covering the legs of your pajama pants was now nothing but mud. Not surprisingly though, that was the least of your worries as you ran through the sudden throng of screaming pastel colored miniature horses, mortifyingly aware that you were still being chased by one of them. “Oh wow! You speak Equestrian! I’m Lyra… and we’re ponies, not horses.” “AAAHH! KEEP AWAY! WAIT, WHY AM I GLOWING PURP-WHOAAHHHHH!” You slightly shook your head as you finished recovering your sight and looked at Lyra. From that point on in your memory, everything was sort of a haze, filled with panic and fear. At most, you had a vague recollection of the sea foam unicorn following you as you hovered through the air, talking excitedly to you and the purple horse, which you now knew as Twilight the unicorn pony. She had effortlessly captured you and prevented the spread of further panic through town during that time. However, you couldn’t remember a single word, or anything, Lyra or Twilight had said at that time. Fear and panic in such a situation were funny like that. For a long time after that, the sea foam colored unicorn stalked you and eventually interacted with you in ways that didn’t involve her staring at you through a window or from a bush. After a bit though, once it was obvious she wasn’t entirely crazy, you kind of had to admit she grew on you and eventually, somewhere along the way, you two became friends. And by then, when she approached you asking for your help in writing a book about your species, you had no reserve about helping out a friend. Although, as you rubbed your eyes trying to regain your sight for the third time since you encountered her, you couldn’t help but be glad it was almost over with. “Lyra, stop taking pictures! If you don’t, I’m not going to be able to open the door.” “Sorry... it’s just that...” She sheepishly apologized while her gaze fell on your hands. You were trying to work the key into the lock on the door. As you did though, out of the corner of your eye, you could have sworn she was blushing a bit. Or perhaps, that was just because of the cold. Or maybe, that was just your imagination. Either way though, you quickly cast any thoughts about that aside as you felt the key go into the lock, and began to turn it before pushing the door open. “Well…” You let out contently as you motioned for her to walk into the shop. “If you’re going to be stalking me today, might as well do it indoors where it’s not freezing cold.” “Hey! It’s not stalking! It’s research!” Another flash of light blinded you before your eyes could adjust to looking into the dark interior of the shop. You staggered a bit in place as you heard her trot on in past you, and you were left with not other option but to begin fumbling blindly with the CLOSED sign. After a bit of struggling with the sign though, and actually being able to foggily distinguish what the heck you were reading on it, you managed to grab it and turn it so that it faced OPEN out the window next to the door. Okay… you can do this. Just one customer and you can go back home and spend the rest of the day with Applejack… You thought to yourself as your eyesight recovered fully once again, and you looked out your door. Ponyville was wide awake now and as vibrant as always. “Oh yeah, this should be done within the hour.” You managed to voice out before you turned around, and quickly lost your sight again as another flash of light from Lyra’s camera hit your retinas like a baseball bat. Son of a… Author's Note So if you read the prior story, you'll noticed that it kind of had a slow start to it. Well, at least it felt to me as it was a slow start. Could be that slow starts are relative to those whom read them. *Shrug* Anyhooty! Next chapter is ACTUALLY almost done with. If by almost you mean 2/3's of it that is. Disclaimer - All characters presented in this work of fiction are owned by their respective creators and owners. In short, all the wubs go to Hasbro.
The Start Line Is Too Crowded - Too Many Runners Look Alike.Two hours had gone by since you opened your shop, and not one single pony had walked into it. Lucky for you though, you were rather resourceful in such times. So, for the better part of these two hours, you had done the only thing possible in such a situation. You had stood behind the counter while leaning over it, holding your head up in your hands as you rested your elbows on top of it... bored out of your noggin. Unfortunately for you, the beam of sunlight that glided across your wooden floors could only hold your interest for so long. “Why has no pony come in?” You asked yourself for what was perhaps the fifth time. “I turned the sign to OPEN, right?" You had honestly lost count of how many times you had asked yourself that. However, as you turned to look over at the sign on the window, it was obvious the answer was the same regardless of how many times you had asked yourself that before. “Yup, the sign is still correct…” “Ugh, this is boring…” Your attention was suddenly drawn to the unicorn next to you as you heard her let out a sigh for emphasis. You saw that she was still in the same position as the last time she had voiced her boredom. Lyra, having been so determined to get photos of you using your hands, was still up on a stool, leaning over the counter with her head in her hooves, imitating you as her camera lay off to the side. The sight honestly made you crack a smile that lingered for a bit before it vanished. You couldn’t really help it though. She was the only other pony you had seen make use of a stool like that. It had been odd when you first saw her like that, but after a while, it became odd NOT to see her sitting like that. Well, I have seen stranger things since coming here… You thought to yourself as you slowly turned to look back out at the repair shop. True to your word, you had done everything you had told Applejack you would do to turn your old home into a repair shop and a store. In front of you, off to a side near the opposite wall, you could see a small counter set up with two spouts gleaming while they protruded from it. The store had been packed during apple cider season and had been quite a success, if not completely chaotic. Especially when Rainbow Dash kidnapped you one night, right out of your bed, just so that you could open the store early for her. Would have probably worked too, if not for the line of ponies already waiting outside your door that is. You really wished she would have at least let you get some pants on beforehand though. Some mares still gave you scary looks, like the ones you had seen during the heat. Off to the other side, next to the wall that divided your workshop for from the front of the shop, a large bin took up a good portion of it. The bin had been meant to hold apples for sale, and it had. Every kind of apple that Sweet Apple Acres produced had been set on display and sold. However, the store ended up being more of an appeal to ponies that didn’t feel like going all the way to the crowded market just for some apples. Which, in turn, meant there was still a demand for apples to be sold at the open market for ponies that still felt like fighting through the throng of ponies. Unintentionally, and much to Applejack’s delight, you had increased demand for apples from Sweet Apple Acres. Which was great for the farm and the Apple Family. It required more effort than before though, but you had been glad to take up a good chunk of it. And thanks to that hard work, you had had enough apples to make other apple goods, such as the jars of apple jam that rested on the shelves behind you, behind the counter. Applejack kept telling you that your jaw would drop once you got a taste of Zap-Apple jam. Sadly, you had still to taste it seeing as it wasn’t a yearly thing, which you thought was rather odd. But seeing as they were magical fruit, you supposed it was to be expected. Honestly, by now though, you had learned not to question the oddities of your new world too much. It made for fewer headaches sometimes. “Hey?” Your focus on your surroundings was suddenly startled out of you as you felt a hoof tap you on the shoulder and you jumped slightly. You turned around to see Lyra looking at you rather intently. She was blushing again for some reason and she was now fidgeting on the stool as her hoof fiddled with her camera. “Hey, umm… I-I wanted to as-ask you about som-something.” “Umm, okay?” For some reason, perhaps because of the way her voice sounded, warnings began to flare our across your thoughts as soon as those words left your mouth. And with what she was doing, it really wasn’t helping. She was quiet, too quiet. It was almost as if she was really considering something important, but was unsure of following through with it or not. You were suddenly becoming aware of a lump in your throat that wasn’t there before, and you tried to swallow to get rid of it. “I-I’ve heard, n-no, I’ve seen how… how fle-flexible your ha-hands are…” Lyra was breathing rather hard as she said this, and that lump you felt in your throat became even harder to swallow. Only one word ran through your mind now as you looked at her. “Crud…” “Huh?” “What?” Okay, apparently your mouth decided to word out what was running through you mind. Well done treacherous face hole… Oh good, that time it actually stayed inside your noggin as you blinked at Lyra. Lyra was simply staring back at you, silently, as she continued to fidget. You were desperately trying to compose yourself, failing to subdue some of the warnings popping up in your thoughts. She was a friend after all, and she knew you were with Applejack. Maybe you were still a bit paranoid because of what had happened during the heat. Yeah, that was it. You were over thinking things and letting your imagination run wild. You began to smile at Lyra, and immediately, you saw her brighten up as she blushed redder and smiled back. “Okay Lyra, what did you want to know about my hands?” You asked her in a confident sounding voice… which quickly disappeared with what happened next. In one quick motion, Lyra had jumped up on the counter and brought her face up to yours, not even an inch away as she held it in her hooves. You could feel her hot breath radiate across your face, across your lips as you saw your reflection in her half-closed, glistening eyes. You could clearly see your own eyes open wide in shock. Your gears were working overtime, trying to grasp the situation, if only to give you a way out of it. Sadly though, all that came to a screeching halt as you heard her swallow and saw her gingerly lick her lips. “I-I want…” You blinked as you found your lips dry and fought the urge to lick them, not wanting to invite her to do what you knew she was about to do. “I want to… I want to…” She closed her eyes as she steadied herself and took a deep and shaky breath. You were suddenly aware you were sweating. “I WANT TO FEEL YOUR HAND IN MY-” OH CRUD!... Was the only thought that ran through your mind at that exact moment when you heard her request. Many other thoughts had found their way into your mind since then. “Oh-oh wow…” Okay, admittedly, it was mainly the constant reminder that Lyra was a good friend of yours, and you were doing this for her and her book. “AHH! I-I didn’t know you c-could do that with your hand!” Which was kind of hard to do with her being so loud and… vocal. You were seriously starting to doubt it was all for research purposes. “Mmm-AH! That tickles!” “Lyra, don’t put my hand there, your hairs make my fingertips itchy.” “Sorry, it just feels so… so nice and good.” Also, the brightness from her flaring horn was a bit distracting, and it was starting to make your eyes hurt a bit. Which maybe meant you should stop looking at it before you went blind. Well, at least it couldn’t get any more awkward… Or at least, that’s what you thought as you heard the door open and turned around to see a familiar red stallion walk in and stop immediately while staring at you and Lyra. He was a green and red scarf around his neck, somehow fitted above his traditional harness. “Oh hey Big Mac, how you doing? I didn’t expect to see you here today.” “Ah’m fine and uh… Applejack asked me to come see if yah ready to head on home and uh…” Big Macintosh went silent as he continued to look at you and Lyra behind the counter. You couldn’t help but follow his gaze until your own gaze fell back on the oblivious sea foam unicorn. Lyra was sitting on her stool, leaning over the counter with a gleeful smile on her face as she held your arm between your forelegs and looked intently at your hand. From your elbow up to the tip of your fingers, your arm was encased in a golden magical aura. Your fingers and wrist were moving on their own as Lyra’s magic manipulated them and they danced in front of her, her eyes glued to every movement they made. She had been doing this for the better part of half an hour, experimenting with every range of motion your hand could produce. You looked back at Big Macintosh and only let out a sigh as you tried to focus on keeping that arm limp so that you didn’t have to struggle against her magic too much. “She’s doing ‘research’ on my hand.” You answered his unspoken question as you used your other hand to make quotation marks in the air on the word research. It was unclear though if he understood what that gesture meant as he simply switched his straw from one side to the other in his mouth. It was however obvious that he was in deep thought, so oddly enough, you felt you needed to elaborate a bit more. “She’s just really ‘excited’ to see how my hand works. It’s for her book… well, books.” You added as you did the quotation gesture again, this time on the word excited. Big Macintosh though, simply continued to stare at you as you looked back at him. Maybe you should stop doing that quotation gesture. “Hey! It’s not my fault you’ve never let me see them!” “Yeah, I wonder why…” You let out in jest as you heard the sea foam unicorn defend her argument for wanting to see your hands. “Yeah? Well…” Lyra though, went silent as she looked at you with a pout and blushed a bit, before immediately going back to fiddling with your fingers. “Well… it’s very bendy, that’s all!” “Yes Lyra, it’s very bendAHH!OW!OW!MYFINGERSDON’TBENDTHATWAY!” Okay, admittedly you had that coming. And the grin on her face as you looked at her after she had bend your fingers so far back you thought they might break only led you to believe she had done it on purpose. “Ah-hem…” “Hmm?” However, before you could give your rebuttal to her assault on your hand, your gaze was drawn towards Big Macintosh as he cleared his throat and looked at you with his traditionally stoic gaze. You had spent enough time with the giant stallion to know that look meant he was done thinking, and something was going on behind the scenes. And after a bit, he proved you right as he eventually put forth what was going on through his thoughts. “Is this why yah didn’t stay home ta’day?” The question caught you off guard. Not because of the question itself, but because of the tone behind it. The way he spoke reminded you of when you first helped out on the farm. It was skeptical and analytical, with an undertone of disbelief. “No, not at all. I’ve wanted to go home all day, but I haven’t had any customers come in.” “Then why not just go’on home then?” “I can’t, not yet.” That was obviously not the answer Big Macintosh was expecting as one of his eyebrows rose and his jaw lightly set into place. You both stared at the each other, waiting for the other to speak first. Eventually though, Big Macintosh’s silent gaze whittled you down, and you began to speak as you let out a loud sigh. “Listen Big Mac, I’m going to let you in on a secret and I’d like you to keep it that way… please?” The big red stallion looked right into your eyes as you said this, obviously considering what you had asked. But after only a few seconds of this, a smile broke out across his face as he answered you with confidence. “Alright then, but if its sum’thing idjet like, and Applejack be needing ta’know, yah know mah answer.” You only blinked at the stallion, this time being your turn to disagree with his answer seeing as he just insinuated you were up to something dumb. Big Macintosh only laughed a bit as he looked at you, sat on his haunches, and raised his forelegs in defense. “Now hold on. Yah know dang well as ah do that Applejack will tan mah hide if ah kept sum’thing like that ah secret from her. Specially if yah might end up hurt.” You took this into consideration as you nodded your head and smiled at him. “Okay, fair enough Big Mac. So you’ll keep this a secret then?” “Sure ah can.” You both smiled at each other as he looked at you with a hint of merriment in his eyes. “Though can’t rightly speak for her and her friends.” The merriment in his eyes invaded his voice as he nodded his head towards Lyra. You followed his eyes and turned to look at the sea foam unicorn. Lyra was still sitting on her stool, studying your hand as a quill floated in her magical aura and… “Lyra?” “Hmm?” “D-did you just draw faces on my fingertips?” “Uh-huh.” “Why?” “Well, you said your fingers have names, so now they have faces too!” You could only stare dumbfounded as she smiled at you and then turned around and began to draw a face on her hoof too. You had felt something ticklish on your fingers, but you assumed she was just tickling her chin like she had before. The laughter from the giant red stallion quickly made you turn around to look at him with an unamused expression, which only seemed to make him laugh a bit more as he tried to speak. “Ah don’t-hehe- Ah guess we ain’t got to-heh- to worry about her friends. They seem-hehe- seem like the quiet sort ta’me.” Your still unamused expression at his joke only seemed to make him laugh a bit more. However, as you had found out from Pinkie Pie, laughter was contagious, and you soon found yourself sharing a small chuckle with him. “Okay, hehe, yah better go on and tell me what yah up to then.” “Alright Big Mac, heh, you better lean in so I can whisper this to you.” Admittedly, a blank stare was not what you had expected Big Macintosh’s reaction to be like when you told him your plan. You had divulged as much information as you could to make sure he understood what you were trying to do. And, seeing at it was simply gathering bits to take Applejack out to a fancy dinner while in Canterlot. You felt the plan was rather self explanatory after that. However, his aforementioned blank stare had started to make you feel like you had perhaps left something crucial out of your explanation. Whatever that was, you didn’t have the faintest clue. “Yah know you’re an idjet, right?” “Okay, you’re going to have to elaborate a bit more than that.” “He’s saying you aren’t very smart.” Lyra suddenly spoke up as she continued to fiddle with your hand, seemingly impossible for her to get tired of it. You had assumed she hadn’t heard anything of what you told Big Macintosh, so it was a bit unexpected that she had, but not completely out of the realm of probability. Especially when you cast a cursory look at her direction, and found out that one of her ears pointed in your direction said otherwise. "Yes Lyra, thank you for-" However, what was completely unexpected was what you saw when you looked at your hand in her hooves. “Lyra…” You spoke as you wrestled control of your fingers for a bit to wiggle them. “Please tell me you didn’t glue those little paper hats to my fingers…” “Well, they wouldn’t stay on.” She replied innocently as she went back to playing with your hand. The palm of your other hand automatically flew to your face as you let out a deep sigh, and looked at Big Macintosh. “Yes, you're right, I am an idiot…’ The giant red stallion simply remained quiet for a while as he looked at you and the straw in his mouth shifted from one end to the other. Once the straw had settled though, he simply shook his head and let out a sigh as he looked at you, and then around at the inside of the shop. “Heh, sorry, didn’t mean to offend yah or nuh’thing. It sounds like a grand’ol time. It’s just… Ah know yah doing this cause ya love mah sister. But ah imagined that by now, yah at least had an idea of what mah sister likes. Seeing as you’ve been with her for a few months now.” “Well, I do… At least I think I do.” “Then yah know she ain’t all that into ah fancy dinner at ah fancy restaurant, so why go with such ah plan in ta’first place?” Hearing Big Macintosh say this made you think about your own doubts about your plan. You had thought the same thing, but hearing it from somepony else, helped to put it into perspective. Simply put, he was right. He confirmed what you already knew since the idea popped up in your mind. Applejack wouldn’t truly enjoy the fancy dinner, it wasn’t her thing. She’d love it because it was a gift from you, to show her how much you loved her. But beyond that, she’d feel out of place throughout the whole dinner, and not say a word. And you knew this, simply because that was just the kind of mare she was. Applejack was special to you. She was so different from the girls you’d been with before, back on earth, and that there was the main issue with your idea for the whole thing. You were not on earth anymore, and you were approaching this whole issue as if you still were, as you always had before. Because that was the only way you knew. “Wow, old habits die hard I guess…” “Huh?” “No it’s just…” You paused as you tried to figure out what you were trying to say. It was kind of hard not to feel a bit disappointed in yourself at that moment, seeing as you had wasted so much time gathering the recommended bits for such an endeavor. The whole realization simply made you hang your head a bit. “I guess I fell back into some old habits, from back when I-” You stopped suddenly as you felt something bump you on the shoulder and remain there. You turned to look, and found a giant red hoof resting on your shoulder, which was attached to the giant red pony across from you, smiling. “Applejack has been mighty concern about yah lately. Told us ya been ah bit distant. But also told us ya lately had this look about yah as if ya was homesick, though ah guessed that was just ah small part of the issue.” For a few seconds, you simply stood there, looking back at Big Macintosh’s hoof on your shoulder as your mind worked through everything, as it all fell together. There was a reason you had fallen into those old habits from back on earth. Why your subconscious kept throwing them into your new life. And that was because those habits, those actions, had a purpose. Back on earth, they had been actions that could have led to a desirable ending. To a desirable goal. You hadn't even realized, or for that matter thought about what your relationship with Applejack meant to you. How all that effort you had put into your plan, and the plan itself. How It had never really struck you as a form of being homesick. But as a form of you dealing with realizing you had made up your mind, long ago, perhaps even before that day when you woke up in Applejack's bed after escaping Ponyville. Your old life would be a memory. And you wanted nothing more than to do everything possible to make your relationship with Applejack work. Simply because in this new life of yours in Equestria, you wanted her to be a part of it... For the rest of it. Heh, who would have thought it?... Marriage, huh?... Your thoughts rang out before you began to feel an all too familiar smile spread into your lips. You hoped it wasn't too evident what that smile was about as you eventually turned up to look at the giant work horse. “Nothing gets past you or Applejack, does it?” “Nnope. And seems tah'me like yah found what yah want..” “Heh, yeah, and what I want right now is to go home. And, well, home is where the heart is. And right now, I’m homesick for Applejack.” There was a long pause as you continued to smile and felt Big Macintosh’s hoof drop from your shoulder as he stared at you. His expression was one of disbelief, and a hint of him almost trying to hold back a gag. “Now that there was mighty cheesy...” “Yeah, you’re one to talk. I’ve heard you and Fluttershy going at it, shmoopy-doo.” Well, that was a rare sight to behold. You didn’t think the red stallion could get any redder as his eye darted to the sides as if checking if anypony else had heard that. Lyra though, did her best to hide her giggles. And after a bit, slowly, he began to shake his head and chuckled as he began to smile. “Yeah, yah got me. Funny what ah purdy mare can do to ah fellow.” “Eeyup!” You both broke out laughing and it took a bit for both of you to settle back down. Eventually though, you two regained some form of composure as ye fell silent once more. With the exception of the occasional chuckle that is. “So on that note, how’s Fluttershy doing?” “Well, mighty excited ah’d say, in her own way that is. She’s starting to show ah bit now too.” That was to be expected. After all, you would have been rather surprised if after everything, Fluttershy didn’t end up with a foal. Although you had been more surprised to see Big Macintosh had survived the process when he stopped by out of the blue to deliver the news. Touching moment for you as friends, to see the other had survived. Though, you did have some choice words for him about leaving you at the mercy of Pinkie Pie. Ah, fond memories… Terrifyingly, fond memories. “She’s back at the farm with Applejack. We was gonna have a family lunch so they sent me on down ta’drag yah home. Applejack gave me permission to tie yah up and drag yah if ah have to, but ah told her she’d have to do that herself.” Oddly enough, you couldn’t help but smile at the imagery of Applejack waiting with a rope. And a pair of boots… And a corset. And your mind just kept on wondering till you knew you had a dumb smile on your face. The end image made you feel your face a bit hot as you cleared your throat and tried to act casual. “Yah was thinking sum’thing about mah sister, weren’t yah?” “W-what?! No!... Nothing like that.” Damn mind reading horse. “Uh-huh.” “No, seriously, I was just thinking it was about time I went home and enjoyed our vacation time. Besides, I may not have what I set out to get. But I'm pretty sure I just thought of something even more worth wild to use those bits towards.” Big Macintosh only shook his head as he chuckled a bit and looked at you across the counter. “Then lets go on home, before Fluttershy and Applejack come get us.” “Alright Big Mac, just let me steal my hand back from-” Before you could finish that sentence, a noise you had been hoping for all day rang out as three ponies stepped into your shop ad made their short way to the counter, pushing past Big Macintosh. To your surprise, you immediately recognized two of the ponies, Thunderlane and Caramel. The third pony though, a unicorn with a snow white coat, blue mane, and green eyes was completely unknown to you. Big Macintosh simply arched an eyebrow at the unknown unicorn, and then looked over at you. Lyra, for her part, remained on top of the counter with your hand in her hooves, no longer playing with it as she looked at the ponies in the room. “Caramel, Thunderlane, long time no see! Haven’t seen you since the heat! Welcome to Apple Barn Repairs and Goods!” All three ponies simply looked at you, unblinking, before Caramel and Thunderlane broke off their little small group and began to look around the store while walking around. Their behavior was a bit odd, to say the least, but not as odd as the unknown unicorn that remained at the counter, looking at you. “Umm, okay, can I help you?” “You’re the human, right?” The unicorn finally spoke, his voice sounding rather odd, almost as if it had a hiss to it. Instinctively, you looked around to see if he was referring to someone else. “You’re not from around here, are- Hey! Caramel! Please don’t go in there. That’s my workshop.” You interrupted your conversation to call out as your attention was suddenly drawn to Caramel as you saw him push open the door to what had once been your room. At the same time though, out of the corner of your eye, you caught sight of Big Macintosh turning around to look at Thunderlane, who was standing in front of the door with his wings extended, looking oddly smug about something. And off to your side, you caught a barely audible gasp from Lyra as you felt her grab on tighter to you arm. You couldn’t help but to turn to look at her as well. She looked angry, with a slight hint of fear. “Okay you three! I don’t know what the buck is going on but-” “Hold still.” “Huh?” No sooner did you turn to look at the strange unicorn, when his horn suddenly flared and something smashed into the back of your head. There had been no time to react. Sound seemed to drop a few decibels, and you sluggishly heard Big Macintosh call out your name before the faint sounds of a struggle breaking out drowned everything out. Your legs suddenly felt like wet noodles as your vision wasted no time in beginning to fade, and your arms uselessly grasped at the counter as you fell to the wooden floor. You could faintly smell the sweet smell of apple jam. That bastard unicorn had smashed one of the jars from the shelf behind you into the back of your head. Your mouth opened as you continued to fall behind the counter, barely holding on to consciousness. You were going to call that smug looking face of his insults that had never before been heard in Equestria before. “You mother board… potato yam… down your coat!” Oh right, jar of jam smashed to the back of the head. Coherency was out the window. The unicorn’s rather confused expression right before being tackled by Lyra was the last thing you saw as you lost your fight against gravity and let go of the counter. The wooden floor greeted you with that traditional hardness that you’d come to expect from things around you when you really needed them to instead be soft and not concussion inducing. You could still faintly hear bouts of the struggle sounding out around you as your vision faded into black shadows that seemed to engulf everything before slightly retreating. Almost immediately, without warning, the sound of something slamming against the wall behind the counter was the last sound you heard as the struggle died down. It was quickly followed by something soft and furry landing on you with a pained yelp, before going still. Painfully, you managed to force the shadows back for only a bit, just enough to see Lyra on top of you, while somepony loomed over your head. It was the white unicorn, but… A flash of green fire was all you saw as the unicorn was suddenly replaced by a black figure. You couldn’t make out what it was, but you immediately recognized the same hissing voice. That thing was the white unicorn. “THRow THeM in tHE cARt!” “You…” A black hoof across the face was the last thing you remembered as the words left your unconscious lips. “… ass” Author's Note AH HA! Another chapter! This one took me a while but I managed to get it moving along. I already had about two thirds of it done, but after reading it. Well, it was much too slow paced and headed in a completely different direction than what I wanted it to. So, I re-wrote some parts and fixed up a bit. Well, tried to fix it. Too many awesome things kept getting in the way and I get distracted easily. But yes, new chapter after a whole month of nothing. If you notice, its a bit less comedy and more action-like. Even if only a little. Trying to work on a better balance, so hey! You lot get to be tortured by-I mean, you lot get to be entertained by it. Next chapter coming as soon as I can get it done! Disclaimer - All characters presented in this work of fiction are owned by their respective creators and owners. In short, all the wubs go to Hasbro.
Replacement Runners - Is that even allowed?Applejack had at one point told you about creatures that were black and looked like giant pony bugs. It had been part of a conversation where she had told you about an attempt on Canterlot by these very same creatures that had ended with her and her friends attempting to fight them off, only to be saved by the bride and groom of the wedding they were attending. It truth, it had been a fascinating story at the time. And you honestly wished that you had paid more attention to what she said about those creatures. But you hadn’t. Reason being, simply because by the time she told you this story, when you two were still beating around the bush, you had already come into contact with various creatures that seemed out of the realm of mythology or fantasy. And not all of these encounters had been pleasant ones. So what was one more to add to the list? Even by the time your first month in Equestria had come and gone, you had become quite aware that unlike your world, Equestria was a world that was abundant with a multitude of intelligent species. Besides the ponies that had taken you in, the world was filled with griffons, donkeys, dragons, and even cows that could speak and hold a decent conversation. And, during the weeks that followed your first month in Equestria, you had had the pleasure of speaking to many of them. Admittedly, every time you spoke to a cow, you felt you had to apologize. But honestly, it was not your fault that they were so tasty back on Earth. Because of that though, you were also quite aware that not all species would be peaceful. Nature had a set order, and even in a land filled with magic, there had to be a set chain of predators and their pray. Unfortunately for you though, this theory of yours was never clearer than when you were nearly eaten in the Everfree Forest during the start of your new life in Equestria. Which would have obviously made it a rather short life at that. Your short lived adventure in the Everfree Forest though, led Twilight Sparkle to teach you about the different species that could hurt you, and or, eat you in one bite. She, being your teacher at the time for all things Equestrian, had been rather eager to lay book after book in front of you as she talked at great length about the subject. And, after a few headaches, worn out eyes and glazing over many books to the point that they all blended together, you had come to the conclusion that you really hoped you never came into contact again with any of them. At least the ones you could remember and if you could avoid it, of course. “Ugh… my head.” Especially if they were sporting jars of apple jam as weaponry. Equestria sure loved to put you through some rough lessons. “Ow…” Your eyelids felt too heavy to open just yet as you slowly began to regain consciousness. You could faintly feel something as it dripped on the back of your head, before the sensation increased and it felt more like if you were holding your head under a faucet of water that would open and close at random intervals. Your other senses were slowly beginning to wake up the more this continued. Involuntarily, you took a deep breath and your nose was assaulted by the faint damp and musty smells that lingered in the air as whatever dripped on the back of your head began to feel incredibly nice and cool. You felt the liquid, water as far as you could tell, run down the sides of your face before reaching your neck. Some of it went down you back, and stopped as it soaked into your clothes. Sounds began to filter into your ears as well. You could hear wood creaking, as the sound of wind against a structure reverberated all around you. Most predominant though, was a faint buzzing sound that seemed to linger in front of you, before vanishing for a bit and then coming back. It seemed to be in tune with whatever was dripping on your head. The sound though was becoming incredibly annoying to the throbbing lump on the back of your head. However, as you stirred a bit more and became more aware, you realized that there was something far more annoying than the buzzing sound and the throbbing in your head. You realized that, for the second time in your life, you found yourself shackled to a wall against your will. “Ow, Celestia… what the buck was that about?” You managed to mumble as you tried to put some weight on your feet to relieve the strain on your arms, only to stop as you felt something push against your shoulders and heard a feminine voice speak softly to you. “No, don’t. Stay still, don’t try to stand up yet.” And whoever she was, she was dead on. You didn’t listen, and immediately, nausea overtook you and your body went limp as you tried to hold back the sensation. A pained groan was the only indication you could force out that said you had not slipped into unconsciousness again. “Best if yah listen to her, seems to know what she’s doing.” A familiar voice called out to you, and a smile, although sickly looking, slowly spread across your lips as you continued to try and let your body recover a bit more from your attempt to stand up. This time, a single nod with your head was the only indication you could give that said you had heard him. It didn’t take much time though, and after a minute or two had passed, you found yourself feeling confident enough to at least try to open your eyes. And slowly, you forced your eyelids open and gingerly tried to blink away the blurriness that filled your vision. You were in some kind of room, if the wooden floor beneath you was any indication. You could hear the wind outside beating against the walls. However, you could immediately tell that it was not a room you were familiar with. It was not your shop in Ponyville. Or for that matter, a place you knew or had visited or had been allowed to see before. The floors were too beaten and old, riddled with the signs of age. Hoofprints were clearly visible in some areas where dust and dirt had decided to accumulate. Wherever you were, either the owners did not bother to invest in upkeep. Or the place had been empty for a long time. After a few more blinks, and confidence that you would not feel nauseous again, you instinctively turned your head in the direction of the familiar voice you had heard. It took a bit for your vision to adjust further, but once it did, you tried to make sense of what you were looking at. As expected, Big Macintosh was there, looking at you with his ever present stoic expression… except there was one thing wrong with the scene in front of you. “Big Mac, we have to stop hanging out like this…” The red stallion just kept looking at you, quietly, as he remained strapped to a table, bound with some kind of straps of green goop. He did not seem amused by your joke. But after a bit, a relieved smile crossed his features as he lightly shook his head and shuddered a bit as if your joke had dredged up some memories from that time in the shed. He had to close his eyes as you heard him breath, apparently trying to calm down some unforeseen fear or panic from breaking out. It was strange to see that from him, you didn’t think it was possible, but that only made you realize just what kind of situation you were in. He must have sensed something, or saw something when he opened his eyes again. Big Macintosh soon returned to his stoic nature, and grinned lightly at you again. “Good. Yah still an idjet… Thought yah head got scrambled with that glass jar yah took. Yah been out for close to ah day as far as ah can tell...” You grinned back. “Yeah, no… I okay think I am…” “…” Big Macintosh simply stared at you, the look on his face conveying just how unsure he was if you were joking again or if you were being serious. You weren’t too sure yourself. However, before he could get a clear answer, something interrupted you. “Wow, I didn’t think she hit him that hard.” The same feminine voice you heard before commented from somewhere in front of you. But, when you turned to look at its owner, you found the area in front of you empty of anypony. The only thing you could see was the room you were in. It was smaller than you first thought. There were two windows in the room moldy looking curtains there were slightly drawn. One on the wall to your left and the other on the wall to your right, right behind Big Macintosh. On the wall opposite to you, perhaps a good 10 feet in front of you, you could see a closed door. Some picture frames were hanging on that wall as well, but their contents had long since been covered in dirt or removed. Off to the side, towards one of the corners of the room, there was a table with the only source of light in the room. A sort of lamp filled with fluttering fireflies sat next to a bowl with a moist looking rag dangling off its side. At least you knew what had been dripping on the back of your head before. However, what you hadn’t been able to figure out yet though, was whom that voice belonged to. No pony was there. Well, with the exception of one… “Thunderlane?!” Thunderlane looked back at you with a look that could only be interpreted as shock as he stood next to the table. Though, being there was obviously not his choice. His hooves were held firmly to the floor boards by the same green goop that held Big Macintosh to the table. Around his torso, more of that goop held his wings tight against his sides. And around his muzzle, a generous amount of it had been applied with gusto. Your eyes remained on his for a few seconds, conveying an equal amount of shock as his did before he turned his head off to the side. You followed his gaze towards what he was looking at, and found another occupant of the room. Caramel stood rooted to the floor as well, the only exception being that it was just his feet that were bound with the green goop. His muzzle, like Big Macintosh’s and your own, was not bound shut. “Caramel?! Okay, enough, would somepony tell me what the hay is going on here?! And where’s Lyra?!” You suddenly snapped at those around you as your previous nauseous condition gave way to a clear frustration and anger in your voice. “Yah best better off asking her ah think. Cause ah’d like to find out mah-self too.” You turned as you heard Big Macintosh speak calmly and saw him looking at the ceiling. “Her? Who’s her? And what the hay are you… looking… at…” The words slowly left your lips as you turned your head up to look at whatever Big Macintosh was looking at on the ceiling. “Hello…” The thing waved meekly as it stared down at you. “How’s your head fee-” “KYAAAAHH!” “AAAHHH!” The black figure crawling on the ceiling among the rafters suddenly began to scream as soon as you did too. You had never seen anything like it before! Not it real life at least. It was black with a small crooked horn and wings that looked like they belonged on an insect. Which was rather appropriate since the creature looked like some cross between a pony an insect with a black carapace and a green scaled band around it torso. No sooner did the both of you stop screaming that the insect/pony creature scrambled to hide behind one of the rafters. The action itself confused you for a fraction of a second, but if your experience with ponies hiding in the ceiling was worth anything, you weren’t about to let your guard down. You didn’t want a repeat of what happened with Fluttershy in the shed. Carefully, you kept your eyes fixed on the rafter it had scrambled towards and kept your muscles tense, ready to defend yourself. Your hands may have been bound, but you could still try to kick it. Slowly, a pair of pink eyes peered around the rafter, and slowly, the rest of its head came into view. It was looking at you… fearfully and disapprovingly? “What the…” For whatever reason, your body suddenly relaxed as you kept looking at those pink eyes. They didn’t look like the kind of eyes you’d find on a creature ready to tear a pony, or for that matter, a human into bite sized pieces. “Why are you screaming?!” It suddenly asked you as it noticed you had relaxed a bit, if only for a few seconds. “Because you started screaming.” “Wha-huh? I only did it because you screamed at me!” “WELL, DUH! YOU KIDNAPPED US! What do you want with us?!” The anger that you felt for having been attacked in your own shop, your old home, and waking up in such conditions crept into your voice without you meaning for it to. The creature visibly shrunk and trembled a bit. Almost as if you had struck it with your voice. Immediately, you felt something tug inside you and you bit your lower lip in regret for having allowed such an outburst. Even though it had kidnapped you, you knew you had to try and keep calm if you hoped to figure out what was going on so that you could escape. So that you could get back to Applejack. And yet, even if that was the case… “Look, I’m sorry…” You spoke sincerely as you kept looking up at the creature in the rafters. “Today really hasn’t been a good day for me at all.” Slowly, the creature stuck its head out from behind the rafters, and looked down at you for a second before turning to look away. Those seconds turned to minutes as you kept looking up at it, but eventually, you felt it was pretty obvious that it wasn’t going to come down. It was easy to understand your surprise when it did. As slowly as before, the creature crept further out from behind the rafter it was hiding behind of, and with a slight jump, began to hover down to the floor. It landed on the ground in front of you, as light as a feather, not even disturbing the dust around it. It still wasn’t looking at your face directly, not since you yelled at it. But with a shaky breath, that changed as it set its pink eyes on your own, and spoke. “No. I’m the one that’s so sorry about all this…” Its voice rang out in a low mournful pitch. “She-I mean, we, need your help…” There was only silent inside that room as you stared at it in confusion. “Not tah offend Miss, but smashing ah jar of our apple jam against the back of his head seems ah might poor way to ask for his help.” You turned to look at Big Macintosh as his voice seemed to snap you out of your confused state and you turned to look back at the bug-pony creature. “Miss? You’re a miss?” She simply nodded her reply. “Wow… okay, yeah, I can see it now. I think. But he’s right! If you needed my help, you could have just asked instead of trying to crack my head open.” “But it’s not me that-I mean, we, she-” “They intend to use you to conquer Canterlot and Equestria…” Everypony in the room turned to look at Caramel as he spoke and looked at the bug-pony. For some reason, he looked sad as he stared at her. “And they don’t care who they hurt along the way…” The bug-pony looked at him, opened her mouth, but didn’t say anything as she saw him cast his gaze towards the floor, away from her. She looked sad as she did the same. The whole scene made it impossible for you not to look at the both of them strangely, right before you turned to look at Big Macintosh. His expression was a mirror image of your own. Something else was going on here. “Um, oh-kay… I’m sorry, use me for what now?” “To take over Canterlot…” The female bug-pony replied without even looking at you. “And the rest of Equestria.” Yup, your ears did not deceive you. Still sounded rather strange the second time around. “How the hay are you going to use me for-” You did not get to finish your sentence as you attention was suddenly pulled toward the only door in the room as it was flung opened, and two more bug-ponies walked inside. “By my future rule! What’s going on here?!” That voice. It was the same voice as that of the unicorn that nearly bashed your head in. It sounded more feminine than it had before. But you still recognized it as those two bug-ponies made their way further into the room. The one’s whose voice you recognized had pink eyes, like the one already in the room. The other one, had blue eyes and seemed to be slightly smaller than the female sounding one. And now that you looked at them, you realized that both female sounding bug-ponies were about the same height. But that only mattered for about a fraction of a second as you immediately began to struggle against your binds. “YOU! Why I ought to-what in Celestia’s name happened to your face?” The bug-pony with the blue eyes just looked at you with a scowl. One of its eyes was puffy and bruised, and it was missing a fang. Its horn was in no better shape as it looked a whole lot more crooked than that of the other bug ponies. It was almost as if somepony tried to tie it in a bow. You couldn’t pull your eyes away from it. And, the more you looked at it, the more the bug-pony seemed to get angry till its scowl turned to rage and it reared and looked at Big Macintosh with malice in its eyes. Or at least it looked like malice. It was honestly kind of hard to tell with its eye so swollen shut. Big Macintosh, to his credit though, simply smirked, and the bug-pony let out a yelp as it tried to hide behind the other one. The one whose voice you recognized. “Ah…” You let out in acknowledgement as the one with the voice you recognized looked at you disapprovingly, and the one that had been in the room originally, hid a giggle under her hoof. “QUIET!” Her disapproving gaze suddenly turned to anger as it lashed out at the one next to you, and pointed a hoof at you as her anger continued to boil over. “And you! How DARE you insult me like that! We are Changelings! Not donkeys!” You only blinked. “Um… what?” The changeling only glared at you harder than before and approached you with stomping hooves till she was only a foot or two away from you. “We’re changelings! Not donkeys! When we captured you, you dared call me a donkey when I’m obviously a beautiful changeling!!” You blinked again as it took you a second or two before you realized what she was referring to. Oddly enough, you never ran into that sort of misunderstandings with your neighbor ponies. But then again, you didn’t really run out onto the streets screaming profanities. “You mean when I called you an ass?” “YES!” “Yeah, no, trust me on this one. You’re an ass!” “I. AM. NOT. A. DONKEY!” Without warning, a green fire burst out of nowhere around her, beginning at her hooves and engulfed her as it spread upwards. You’d be lying if you said your jaw didn’t drop as within seconds, the fire extinguished itself and before you stood a very angry looking donkey. “This is a donkey!” It shouted at you before it turned around, reared on its forelegs and shot out its rear legs square into your stomach. The pained sound you let out as you tried to double over from the impact was joined by the collective gasps of everypony in the room, including the female changeling that had been in the room first. The green fire from before burst forth again, engulfing her once more, and the changeling stood before you once again, smirking triumphantly. “We are changelings! You best remember that because now that we have you, I will soon be the new queen and your ruler!” For a couple of moments, you simply dangled by your arms as you tried to catch your breath. You stomach felt horrible thanks to her kick and every breath you pulled in made you twinge with pain. “Yah okay there?” You heard Big Macintosh ask you with a hint of worry in his voice. You were only able to nod a reply before a very dumb idea made its way into the forefront of your mind. “You’re… you’re a female, ri-right?” “Of course I am! Are you still so ignorant as to not see my beauty?” “Then you’re a bitch to-OOF!” Okay, even you had to admit you asked for that hoof across the face. Even if you weren’t entirely sure if she thought you called her a female dog or understood the insult. The sting across your face told you it was likely the latter. Mercifully though, before the second hoof came across your face, Big Macintosh’s voice stopped her in her tracks. “ENOUGH! If yah needed him, then why yah beating the apple stuffing out of him?! What’s your plan anyhow?” “That is none of your business!” The bruised changeling yelled out as if watching the other one beat the stuffing out of you gave it some courage. Big Macintosh though, simply looked at him and raised an eyebrow at him. “Sweet mercy, don’t hit me!” Well, so much for that bravado of his. You were pretty sure it was a he anyways. The other female changeling though, the one that had yet to beat the stuffing out of you, gently placed a hoof on your leg, and you opened your eyes to look at her. She was looking up at you with worry. You were starting to get the feeling she was not like the other two. At least, she didn’t act like them. “I’m sorry-” “Be quite you weak parasprite!” She withdrew her hoof and visibly shrunk at the other female’s outburst. You could feel your jaw set tightly as you raised your head to look at the one that had kicked you and yelled at the one that had been nothing but nice to you since you woke up. “So…” You spoke as you exhaled and tried to keep your voice even. “You plan to use me to take over Canterlot. I’m very happy to tell you that you are one crazy delusional changeling if you think I’m enough to do that. Or, for that matter, that I’m going to help you in any way.” The look on her face was priceless as she stared at you with her mouth opening and closing, as if trying to force her words out. It was short lived however as she mumbled something under her breath and stared at the other female again, rage clearly evident before staring back at you. She was now looking decidedly angrier than before, but something seemed to be working behind the scenes as she considered something, and a smile slowly crept into her muzzle. Her angry stare slowly turned smug as she narrowed her pink eyes at you, and approached you before putting a gentle hoof on your thigh, extremely close to another part of your anatomy that you really hoped wouldn’t become involved in this. “My… you are not as stupid as you look. Or at least, you were able to make her treacherous tongue work in your favor.” She spoke in a sultry tone as she stuck out her incredibly long tongue and let it dangle, flicking at your crotch before pulling it slowly back into her muzzle. Her grin spoke of some rather lewd intentions as she let her hoof linger for a bit, before she began to rub your thigh, and slowly allowed it to migrate up. Uh oh… Your mind was quick to react as you suddenly remembered something from not too long ago. But against what you would have expected, she pulled it away and began to pace in front of you a couple of times before she saw it fit to continue with whatever she was going to say. “Since you already have some idea of what my plans are, I see no harm in telling you the rest.” She paused and looked at you over her shoulder. “It’s not like you can do anything to stop me from way out here.” Your eyes narrowed at her as she continued to pace back and forth in front of you. “You see, this here treacherous parasprite…” She pointed a hoof at the changeling female next to your leg. “Did something right for once when she infiltrated your disgusting little town.” “Hey!” She ignored everypony's outburst and kept going. “I was surprised to learn that the ponies had found a new species. So, I ordered her to observe it. See if I could use you somehow.” “You mean use me?” “Do not interrupt me again, HUMAN!” There was only silence in the room as the changeling glared at you for a couple of moments before she continued to pace back and forth again. For some reason, she had added a rather noticeable sway to her hips that was hard not to notice. “Yes, you, my ill-mannered captive… You see, after our former queen’s failure to conquer Canterlot, some of the more ‘influential’ changelings…” She paused and brought a hoof to her cheek as she looked at you over her shoulder. “Decided that it was time for her to step down and let a new queen take her rightful place.” “You mean you?” “Of course me! Who else would be better suited for such a grand position?!” “Since you are here, off the top of my head? I’d say your competition.” The knowing smirk you gave here did not go over so smoothly if the growl she let out in your direction was any indication. You were pretty sure she was going to hit you again. But instead, she seemed to take a moment to calm herself down and turned fully to look at you from head to toe. “Well, you just keep surprising me with how you’re not as stupid as you look… But yes, I’ve had some competitors crawl out of their holes to try and take what’s mine. I dealt with most of them, but some refused to be stepped on like the parasprites they are. So, instead of dragging out a long civil war, we decided that our new queen would be the one to surpass our old one…” “By doing what she couldn’t. Take over Canterlot…” You finished for her as you closed your eyes and shook your head in disbelief. “And you think having one human is going to make a difference this time around? You’re delusional, you know that, right?” “Oh, it’s not just you…” The sound of a familiar swirling fire reached your ears and you opened your eyes again only to have your jaw drop as a familiar and dear pony now stood in front of you. “It’s also me, sugahcube.” Your reaction was immediate, but the restraining goop binding your arms above your head held firmly as you tried to lung at her and pulled against them. And you weren’t the only one. You could hear Big Macintosh struggle against his own bonds as he trashed against the table that held him firmly. “DON’T YOU DARE BRING HER INTO THIS!” “But yah right yah know. Guess ah’d have tah be pretty delusional t’love something…” The green fire burst forth once again and the anger you felt towards the changeling only increased as realization hit you. “… like me.” You now stood in front of yourself. A perfect copy of you, down to your clothes, almost as if you were standing in front of a mirror… with one exception though. “Whoa! AH!” Your double lifted a leg to take a step towards you, almost bringing its knee up to its chest in an incredible display of lacking bipedal coordination. You had to admit, watching yourself fall face flat onto the floor both hurt and helped turn that anger you felt into amused shock. You couldn’t help but to laugh a bit as you observed, well, yourself, rolling on the ground grabbing your face... Its face. This was going to get confusing… “HAH! Harder than it looks, huh? You might want to consider walking on all four limbs. I’m sure nopony will find it that odd compared to you falling flat on my face.” The glare you got from yourself on the floor only made you smirk. It was a mistake. Without warning, your doppelganger burst into a moving ball of green fire that shot towards you. Before you could react, as limited as you could, a familiar black hoof came across your jaw and your head swam with the impact as you felt your legs wobble a bit before you composed yourself and looked at the female changeling that now stood before you again. You tasted iron and copper in your mouth. But you both just stared at each other, angrily, for what felt like minutes, before Big Macintosh’s voice broke the silence. His voice sounded angry as you continued to stare at the changeling. Neither of you wanted to give the other the satisfaction of having looked away first. “Just what do yah plan to do with mah sister?!” She only smirked as her pink eyes remained glued to yours, and yours to hers. “I’m going to use you to lure her into a trap. And once I replace her, as an element of, heh, harmony, I’ll have direct access to Princess Celestia… and then, well.” Your stare became harder and that only seemed to give her more satisfaction. You were all too aware that you didn’t care what she did or used you for, but now that you knew she was going to use Applejack for her plans, you were finding it impossibly hard to keep your voice even. “So… I’m the bait?” “Well of course. It’s much simpler to get ponies to do what you want when you threaten the ones they love.” “And what do you mean by that? Did you leave a ransom note demanding she meet you to guarantee my safety?” “Oh no, that would imply something has happened already. No need to put her on alert. As far as she knows, you simply took a trip out of town.” “What…?” “Applejack, I left to go to Canterlot for a job. I’m bringing you back a surprise. Come meet me near the edge of the Everfree Forest in two days. Come alone. Love, …” Applejack blinked once and slowly lowered the letter back onto the counter as her face became a scowl and she turned to look at Fluttershy. They were both standing inside the repair shop, confused as to why neither you nor Big Macintosh were there. Fluttershy for her part, blinked as well and looked around the shop, letting out a quiet gasp as her hoof flew to her mouth. Applejack turned to look away back at the letter she had just read, and her scowl only grew to the point that the innocent piece of paper might have suddenly burst into flames. “AH CAN’T BELIEVE THIS!” The anger and stated disbelief rang clear in her voice as she turned around to look back at Fluttershy just as the piece of paper actually burst into flames. Fluttershy for her part was quick to grab the fire extinguisher you kept near the counter and put out the small fire as a deep worry made its way into her voice. “Oh dear! Oh my! Applejack please calm down… if you want that is.” However, Fluttershy’s plea fell on deaf ears as Applejack paced back and forth a few times before she let out and exasperated grunt as her voice rose in decibels with each syllable that began to leave her lips. “Only a few days away from the Hearth's Warming Eve pageant and that idjet-” “SWEET MERCIFUL CELESTIA LADY! Do you have any idea how much trouble I’m in because of you?!” The changeling only stared at you in a somewhat uninterested fashion with a hint of amusement at how increasingly panicked you had suddenly become. She seemed to savor it for a bit before dismissively waving a hoof in the air and turning to look away from you to look at the rest of the captives sharing the small room with you. “I’m sure whatever lover’s quarrel you two are having won’t affect my plans too much. Not like it will matter once I have her in my trap…” The laugh she let out quickly became a full blown cackle that resonated across the room and in your ears to the point that it made you wish you could cover them. It did not help that the changeling with the blue eyes slowly joined her as he too began to cackle until both of them seemed on the verge of insanity. However, as loud as those two changelings were being, a simple fact was not lost on you. The other changeling with the pink eyes, the one near your leg, was not laughing. Instead, you felt her discretely tug on your pants and you looked down at her to see her staring up at you intently. She was nudging her head towards Big Macintosh. She was mouthing something out too as she did it, and you only arched an eyebrow for a few seconds until something clicked into place. You focused intently on the window behind Big Macintosh. It was covered in dirt, but even through it, you were able to make something out. A pair of barely visible golden eyes stared back at you as you vaguely made out a sea foam colored figure crouching below the windowsill outside. Your height gave you the advantage of being able to see outside at a different angle, being still a bit taller than the changelings in the room. For whatever odd reason, at least as far as the rest of the ponies in the room were concerned, you joined the two other changelings in their laughter. Everypony in the room simply looked at you as if you had lost it. You only hoped you had guessed right about what the changeling was trying to communicate. “Wow, heh heh , that’s some plan you got there.” Both changelings simply looked at you more confused that when you first burst out laughing, their laughter having died almost instantly as yours began. “I mean, you spied on me, caught me off guard, kidnapped me, replaced me… and you even left a letter to explain my absence while this all took place and you lured her in…” The female changeling’s confusion quickly vanished, and instead, a smugly smile replaced it as she looked at you triumphantly. You were really getting tired of that. “I see you finally understand your position. Maybe now you’ll show some respect to your future queen.” “Yeah… I guess I should huh? One thing though. Say, Big Mac? What time did you tell Applejack we’d meet her in Canterlot tomorrow?” Your sudden statement clearly confused Big Macintosh as he looked at you with a blank stare for a second or two. But as expected, the stoic stallion wasted little time in realizing what you were doing and his expression gave way to a sort of satisfied amusement, with an undertone of hope that it would work. “Ah think ah told her we’d be spending tah night up in Canterlot tah get things ready for the surprise you’d planned for her. Then we’d meet her close to sunset near tah waterfalls tah following day.” “Surprise? Canterlot?!” The female changeling suddenly let out in as she turned back and forth to look at you and Big Macintosh, and eventually settled on the other changeling with the pink eyes and shrieked. “What surprise in Canterlot?! This was not in your report!!” The other female changeling cowered in fear at the outburst, but remained quiet as she covered her head with her hooves. You weren’t sure if she was playing along, or truly afraid. You really hoped this wasn’t going to backfire. “Heh, looks like your spy missed some important information.” You smiled at her as you recalled something Big Macintosh had mentioned early on. “Good thing I haven’t been unconscious for close to a day now. If that were the case, Applejack might already be making her way to Canterlot to be there early… especially if you left such a contradicting letter behind.” The soon to be new changeling queen was no longer looking at the other female, but instead, she was looking at you pure rage in her features. “My queen…?” The changeling with the blue eyes carefully approached her, extending a hoof in a calming gesture. And for his troubles, he quickly found himself encased in a green magical glow before being thrown clear across the room against the wall next to you with a resounding crack. You watched him slum against the wall before trying to pick himself up on trembling hooves. “YOU!” Her hoof trembled as she pointed at you. “YOU AND YOUR WHORE WILL NOT COME BETWEEN ME AND MY CROWN!” Your angry glare made it clear to all in the room that you did not care for her words… just as she did not care for your glare either as she ignored you. And instead, she pointed a hoof at the other female changeling. “AND YOU! YOU PARASPRITE! DO NOT THINK THIS WILL GO UNPUNISHED!” Too little too late did the other changeling become aware of what was about to happen to her before she too found herself enveloped in a field of green magic. Her horn started to glow in a pink hue before it was engulfed and extinguished by the other’s green magic. And effortlessly, she was flown up into the air, slammed against the ceiling, and then slammed against the floor before she was dragged towards the enrage female across the wooden floor. She let out a pained cry as a black hoof settled on her head and pressed down. You could feel the joints in your arms protest in pain as you pulled and opened your mouth. “LET HER GO YOU BITCH!” That outburst did not come from you though. And everypony in the room looked at the one whom it had come from. Caramel stood stock still, pulling against his restraints with all his might as he stared intently at the enraged female. No pony in the room had expected that. The atmosphere in the room was so thick, you cut with a knife. Yet, you swore you caught a glimpse of something, out of the corner of your eye, sparkling on the prone female’s face. It had almost looked like a tear, but you could not have been sure. Her face was too turned away from you as she looked at Caramel. Slowly, the enraged female seemed to lose her momentum, and her hoof slid off of the female’s head as she turned around to make towards the door. Everypony in the room seemed to let out a collective sigh as you all observed her move further away from the female that was barely now standing back up on her hooves. “COME. You will lead me back to town on the fastest route, and from there we’ll head to Canterlot. My plan will continue as is…” Both the blue eyed and pink eyed changelings slowly followed her out the door. Both of them were limping. It was your turn to mouth the words “I’m sorry” as you observed the pink eyed female walk out last, and stop at the door as she turned to look back at you, and smiled sadly. The door closed with a resounding click, and you heard the sounds of retreating hooves slowly fade away. Nopony said a word for what felt like hours, but in truth, it could not have been more than a few minutes. You were the first one to speak as your voiced sounded clear and oddly calm, given what had just happened. “Caramel?” “Y-yes?” “What is she to you?” The question not only stunned him, but everypony else in the room as they all looked at you, and you in turned looked at all of them before settling your eyes on Caramel. He seemed to consider you for a few seconds, and in the end, he didn’t say anything as he turned to look away at the floor. “Right... so here’s the plan. We escape. Make our way to Canterlot. Warn every guard we see along the way. And we stop Queen Crazy before she hurts Applejack or Caramel’s marefriend whom I’m pretty sure now she’s on our side.” “W-what? She’s not my marefriend!” “Uh huh... listen, I nearly got blown up by a rainbow colored nuclear explosion trying to get to the pony I love. You ain’t fooling nopony. You still care for her.” “I-I, but she…” “Given what we all just saw, do you think she had a choice?” “… But…” You only arched an eyebrow at him, daring him to say otherwise, before you turned your gaze towards Big Macintosh and found him looking at you intently. You knew too well what that stare meant, and only smiled at him before he smiled back and nodded his head at you. “Haf’tah admit, never thought yah’d be smart enough to pull that off. Or lie like that about me telling Applejack to meet us anywhere...” “Yeah, guess those hits to the head I took a few months back knocked something loose in a good way… really glad you played along.” You paused to consider something for a second before you spoke again and your voice took on a more serious, yet honest tone. “I’d never forgive myself if something happened to Applejack…” Big Macintosh simply nodded at you and let loose a confident smile before he began to look around the room. After a few seconds though, you heard him let out a sigh through his nostrils as he pulled against his restraints and closed his eyes. “So, don’t suppose yah planned out far enough ahead to tell me how yah plan on getting us out.” “Still working on that part…” You looked back out the window, hoping you could see the figure you had seen before still hiding there. But instead, what you saw beyond the window sill was nothing but a few patches of freshly falling snow as you heard the wind pick up and bang harder against the side of the building. With everything that had happened, you had forgotten that you still didn’t have any idea where you were being held. All that you knew was that it was some building in the middle of an increasing snowfall. You let out a sigh as you hung your head and tried to focus on a plan. Maybe what you had seen was nothing more than an illusion caused by a dirty window and falling snow. “Celestia all mighty…where’s my stalker when you need her?” “I am not a stalker!” Everypony suddenly turned to look up at the ceiling, through the rafters as the familiar voice rang throughout the small room. “I’m a researcher!” And with a flash of golden light, Lyra appeared in front of you looking a bit angry as she looked up at you. “And this researcher’s got a bone to pick with those changelings!” You only smiled encouragingly at the sea foam unicorn as she looked up at you and beamed with confidence… and then watched in horror as she trotted towards the door. “Um, Lyra? Where are you going?” “Like I said! I got a bone to pick with the Changelings!” “Lyra! NO! WAI-” And like that, Lyra was out the door and you slowly watched it close behind her. Everypony in the room simply remained silent as they all looked in disbelief at the door, and a single thought ran through your mind. Maybe I should stop invoking Celestia, it never seems to work out okay for me… Author's Note Well, I can't believe I got this done before the month was out. I actually sort of stuck to what I said I'd do. I feel accomplished. Now back to writing the next chapter. Disclaimer - All characters presented in this work of fiction are owned by their respective creators and owners. In short, all the wubs go to Hasbro.
Batter Up! - Wait! This Isn't Baseball!Life, as we all know, is filled with surprises that can come in many shapes and sizes. Sometimes, these little surprises that life throws our way can end up being wonderful memories that stick with use for the rest of our lives. Other times, theses surprises can instead turn out to be things that we would much rather soon forget, usually through means of lots of alcohol consumption or other depending on your preferred method. Your life in Equestria had thus far been no different. And often time, it felt as if it spared no expense when it decided to execute such said surprises in your life. “Hey… why are you looking at me like that?” Take for example, that one time long ago, when you opened the door to leave your house in Ponyville for a morning jog on a day off, and found the town ablaze as a dragon flew over head and a throng of screaming ponies ran past your door. In those few seconds of shocked surprise, you had simply blinked, closed the door, waited a second or two, and then opened the door again to let in the chaos from the outside flood into your home once again. You had been rather surprised at how well done the sound proofing for your home was. That dragon attack on the other hoof though, had been the third one that month. Something about a migration, or revenge, or something like that. But honestly, you’ve see one dragon attack, you’ve seen them all. “It’s not my fault! Please don’t look at me like that!” Now, there was also that one time in the early hours of the morning at Sweet Apple Acres, when in the middle of pleasant dream, you had suddenly found yourself fully awake and unable to move anything from your waist down. As surprised as you were at your sudden predicament, you had been even more surprised when you lifted the covers and found a guilty looking Applejack winking at you... right before she continued with the first part of your day-long birthday present. Best surprise birthday present. EVER. “Fine! I’m sorry, okay? I honestly thought that I could take them!” So, when compared to those surprises, it was easy to see why Lyra’s actions had come up short in the surprise department. Because honestly, anypony could have seen the end result of her walking out into a hall filled with Changelings, coming a mile away. Though, you supposed to her credit. No pony, or Changeling for that matter, could have anticipated having a raving mad unicorn tackle them from behind, in a hallway, and bite off a good chunk of their mane. Surprise! Instant beard! “No, Lyra, it’s just… spit that out so that we can be seriously about this… please?” The seafoam colored unicorn looked a bit dejected as she relinquished her beard, and watched you turn away from her. You were trying not t be angry at her, so you focused on something else, such as how to get out of your current predicament. There had been a sense of hope. A ray of light in the dark as Lyra appeared in front of you when the Changelings had left you and your friends alone in the room. That hope however, had quickly turned to despair and disbelief as you saw her leave to seek revenge, and immediately after, heard a commotion and screams on the other side of the door. Needless to say that when you saw her dragged back inside, and get shackled on the wall next to you, that sense of hope had quickly turned into a nice ball of despair that settled in the pit of your stomach. And that only made things worse as it added to the already growing sense of worry. None of which, was for your own well being… “I’m-I’m worried, Lyra, okay? I’m worried sick about what might happen to Applejack and honestly, you were our only ticket out of here.” “But-” “And now, not only do we NOT have somepony on the outside. But we now have this asshole here watching us!” The Changeling in the room narrowed his blue eyes at you as you said this, and let out a growl that showed his fangs. You were not too sure, but it looked like he was missing another one now, which you supposed must have been the Queen’s doing seeing as Lyra didn’t come back inside with a new pair of dentures. She seemed to keep what she defeated. Kind of like your boxer shorts. “Oh hush you asshole. That’s a term of endearment where I come from.” The Changeling simply narrowed his eyes further and growled louder. It didn’t look like he was buying it. “It-It is?” Lyra on the other hoof… “Luna, help me…” You let out in a sigh as you hung your head and allowed your body to go limp and dangled from the restraints on your wrist. The slight pain that shot up your arms from your shoulders was a welcomed distraction, though still rather distant when compared to everything else at the forefront of your mind. “I-I don’t know what to do to get out of this now…” You let out in a shallow breath and heard the Changeling let out a small laugh as the rest of the room went silent. Well, sort of silent. “H-hey…?” It hardly even registered that Lyra was calling your name, but you still managed to react enough to turn slightly to the side and look at her. She was looking at you with worry in her eyes as she lightly bit her lower lip. She looked as if she was trying to decide something important, but eventually, she made her decision and took a deep breath to steady herself. “I… w-we could just wait.” For obvious reasons, everypony, and Changeling, in the room looked at her with a raised brow and evident confusion in their expressions. “Not to offend Miss Lyra, but that there seems a rather poor way to save mah sister.” You couldn’t help but nod your head slightly in agreement as Lyra looked at Big Macintosh with a sad smile and then turned to look at you, her expression unchanged. Her breathing began to sound ragged, as if she was about to start crying and spoke again. “If-if we wait, I’m su-sure they’ll find us..” “They?” You blinked as a slight dab of hope painted your words. “Who’s they Lyra?” Lyra’s eyes suddenly began to blink faster as they watered a bit and she began to chew on her lip. “Th-there’s a backup pl-plan…” She finally said. “Y-you see, I…” “I just don’t know what’s wrong with him…” Earlier that day, two ponies walked down one of the snow covered streets of Ponyville as they conversed with one another and the snow crunched beneath their hooves. One of them wore a blue scarf around her neck, while the other wore a gray scarf around hers. Both ponies were wearing white ear mufflers to keep their ears warm, and they stepped aside for a bit off the road as a covered cart being pulled by Thunderlane and followed by a white unicorn went past them. “He seemed happy all this time and now, well, he’s just so distant.” “Well, your relationship did start with you tying him to your bed and trying to rut his brains out.” “But he loved that!” “Yes, I know, you didn’t stop bragging about how you broke the bed.” “Mmm, yes…” “And, there was also that time with the riding crop and hot candle wax.” “Yes, and that one he really enjoyed too!” “No. YOU enjoyed the bucking. What HE enjoyed were third degree burns.” “But it wasn’t my fault, Cloud Chaser!” “Not the point, Flitter! You set his coat on fire and burned his-” Whoops! Wrong conversation… “Ah just don’t know what’s wrong with him lately…” Another pair of ponies walked down a different snow covered street in Ponyville as they made their way towards a familiar repair shop. One of them, an earth pony, wore a green scarf as her Stetson hat settled comfortably atop her head. The other one, a pegasus pony with a slightly rounder midsection, wore a red scarf and pink ear mufflers that blended with her mane. Both of them continued walking down the street, completely unaware of anything passing on by only a few blocks away. “I don’t think anything's wrong with him, Applejack. At least I don’t think so… I mean, if you don’t mind me saying. I mean, sorry I-” Fluttershy suddenly found herself quieted by an orange hoof placed over her muzzle and Applejack’s smiling face in front of her. “Sugahcube, Ah told yah you don’t haf’ta keep apologizing like that.” “Bum Abblejack, ham sorry, ha don’t hunt to be ha loud mouth…” Fluttershy managed to mumble out around Applejack’s hoof. Applejack simply chuckled as she removed her hoof and began walking towards the shop again. “Sugahcube, yah family now. Been family for over ah year. Heh, Ah don’t mind if yah but in and speak what’s on your mind every now and then.” The shy pegasus simply smiled lightly and nodded her head as she joined her walking down road towards the repair shop. They both walked quietly for about a block, the only sound now being that of the snow beneath their hooves, before one of them felt compelled to speak again and finish what she wanted to say. A warm smile was clearly visible on her face. “You know he loves you dearly, right? He’d move a mountain for you if he could. Anypony can see that…” No immediate reply came from the Stetson wearing pony. But instead, she stopped and looked straight down at the ground. The worry of having said something she wasn’t supposed to, immediately became evident on Fluttershy’s face as she rushed to apologize to her friend and sister-in-law. The words though, never left her lips as she got a look at Applejack’s face. A huge smile adorned Applejack’s muzzle as she turned up to look at her. “Ah know Fluttershy…” She replied with a slight giggle to her voice as she remembered the events of that morning, and began walking again towards the repair shop, her smile seeming to just grow wider as she walked along. Fluttershy visibly relaxed and fell in next to her as they continued walking down the road again. “Ah guess ah’m just kind of worried mah idjet might actually be trying sumthing like that. He’s sure been kind of distant these past few days to make me think he’s up to sumthing.” Her friend only giggled at this as she nodded her head and paused for a second in her stride. “Oh dear, that would be worrisome! I mean, where would you even put a mountain if he gave you one?” The round of laughter that burst from both ponies was enough to get a few stares from the other ponies on the street. Neither of them paid any attention though as they allowed it to ease the stress of having to come into town to drag their respective coltfriends home for lunch. “Maybe, heh, maybe ah can put it in the living room, heh.” They both continued to laugh even up until they turned a corner and the repair shop came into view up ahead. And, as they walked up to the door, their laughter finally began to settle. “Though, heh, yah know Fluttershy? If mah idjet’s up to sumthing like that, as sure as Celestia raises the sun, mah idjet brother is right there with him. Thick as thieves them two are, yah might just get your own mountain too.” Applejack finished with a hardy laugh as she placed a hoof on the door to push it open. She had to pause though as she turned around to look at her friend who had suddenly gone quiet. “Fluttershy? Yah okay sugahcube?” “Applejack, please don’t joke like that. I don’t want Mackie to get hurt trying to get me a mountain. I mean, he’s going to be a daddy and-and…” The pegasus finished lamely as her ear pulled back and laid flat on her head. For her part, Applejack simply took a step towards her and placed a comforting hoof around her withers. She often forgot pregnant mares were prone to emotional swings, though she really didn’t think their running joke would be a trigger for it. “Ah sorry sugahcube, ah’m sure both of them are fine.” “You *sniff* really think so Applejack?” “Of course ah do sugahcube. Ah’m sure of it! Yah don’t see any moving mountains do yah?” “N-no…” “See?” Applejack replied as she gave her a firm hug and moved back to the door, and pushed it open to walk inside the repair shop. “Ah’m sure both of them are fine. Ah’d even bet they’re both behind the counter talk-” She stopped dead in her tracks as a now far more cheerful pegasus took up the space next to her inside the door, talking as she went. “Oh dear, what a relief. I mean, I wouldn’t even know what I’d do if Mac-” Both ponies now stood still and silent as the light from the outside poured into the dark repair shop and cast their shadows into the empty interior. Neither of them could find the ability to say a single word as they stood still for a couple of seconds, and then walked inside in unison. Their eyes scanned everything in the room back and forth, hoping that something would explain what they were seeing. Applejack’s eyes eventually spotted something on the counter, a piece of paper, and she walked over to it. Her hoof settled on it as she let out a breath she didn’t even realize she was holding in, and picked it up. “Applejack, I left to go to Canterlot for a job. I’m bringing you back a surprise. Come meet me near the edge of the Everfree Forest in two days. Come alone. Love, …” Applejack blinked once and slowly lowered the letter back onto the counter as her face became a scowl and she turned to look at Fluttershy. She simply blinked back at her and looked around the shop, letting out a quiet gasp as her hoof flew to her mouth. Applejack turned to look away, back at the letter she had just read, and her scowl only grew to the point that the innocent piece of paper might have suddenly burst into flames. “AH CAN’T BELIEVE THIS!” The anger and stated disbelief rang clear in her voice as she turned around to look back at Fluttershy just as the piece of paper actually burst into flames. Fluttershy for her part was quick to grab the fire extinguisher kept near the counter and put out the small fire as a deep worry made its way into her voice. “Oh dear! Oh my! Applejack please calm down… if you want that is.” However, Fluttershy’s plea fell on deaf ears as Applejack paced back and forth a few times before she let out and exasperated grunt as her voice rose in decibels with each syllable that began to leave her lips. “Only a few days away from the Hearth Warming Eve pageant and that idjet gone n’gotten himself in sum’kind of trouble!” “Oh dear, Mackie!” Fluttershy immediately dropped the fire extinguisher and began to fly frantically around the shop, the word trouble apparently being the key word needed for her to begin to panic. Applejacks disbelief and anger at the situation quickly gave way to concern and worry as well. And, though not as panic stricken as Fluttershy, she too began to take in the state of the shop in more detail as a heavy sensation of dread formed in the pit of her gut. The entire inside of the shop was trashed. Areas of the floor were broken, holes, smashed into the ground through pieces of broken floorboards as if somepony had rammed their hoof through them. The wall separating the workshop from the shop itself had the full body outline of somepony that had been thrown clean through it into the other room. The door that led from that room was off its hinges and lay on the floor, seemingly kicked down by whoever had been thrown through that wall. And everywhere else, more evidence of an extremely one sided fight littered the shop. Even the ceiling was not without some sort of damage. Applejack had to take a step back and try to convince herself that neither her stallion, nor her brother had been on the receiving end of everything she was seeing. In fact, she was pretty sure if anypony was capable of this, it was her brother. Her stallion on the other hoof… She leaned against the counter and put her hoof on it as she tried to think about what might have happened. However, no sooner did her hoof touch the counter that she immediately brought it in front of her face. It was covered in something sticky, and she felt her heart skip a beat as she rushed to draw open a curtain and shed light on what she had just placed her hoof in. What she saw then, made that feeling of dread in the pit of her gut turn into a steadily rising anger. There was apple jam splattered across the top of the counter. But it wasn’t the jam she was focused on… but the figure outlined by it. She could clearly make out the outline of a pair of shoulders and a head, together with what seemed to be drag marks in the jam caused by a pair of arms dragging over the counter as if trying to hold on to it. She knew of only one creature in the whole of Equestria that could leave such a body print. Her mouth opened and immediately closed as that steadily rising anger forced its way out through clenched teeth. “How. DARE. THEY!” The sudden outburst from Applejack and the rumbling of the walls was enough to cause Fluttershy to stop in her panic stricken flight around the shop, and dropped to the floor. “They? Who’s they?” The panicked pegasus asked in a hopeful voice as a maddened glint suddenly made itself apparent in her eyes. “HO HO… This gonna get good. NO PONY hurts mah stallion!” Applejack declared as she began making her way to the door. “Ye-yeah!” “When ah find out who’s behind this they’re gonna be in for a world of hurting! Come on Fluttershy! Don’t know what’s going on, but looking at this mess, we gonna need sum’help!” “YEAH! I’ll go get the things from my shed!” Both earth pony and pegasus stopped on their way to the door as one looked at the other in confusion. “Uh, what sugahcube? What sh-” “Hormones!” The suddenly twitchy eyed pegasus blurred out bringing a hoof to her mouth and cleared her throat. “Oh! Excuse me… I’m sorry Applejack. I’m a bit emotional because of the hormones and Mackie not being here.” “Um, okay sugahcube. But what-” “OH! We should get Twilight and the girls to help get our boys back!” Applejack could only stare at her, confused, while Fluttershy simply smiled innocently at her, even though she had just blatantly tried to change the subject. After a few seconds though, she decided to indeed chalk it up to hormones, and started walking towards the door. “Uh, alright then, let’s go!” Both ponies left the shop intent on getting their respective stallion back and beating the stuffing out of whoever was responsible. And, as they walked towards the library, no pony walking outside dared stand in their way. “An-and that’s why *hic* when-when they left and took you away *sniff* I-I used my ma-magic to return everything to how it was.” “You did WHAT?!” The Changeling suddenly demanded in a shrill voice, but no pony paid him any attention. What Lyra had just divulged was of much greater importance than the only Changeling in the room flipping its lid. And what she had told you had obviously caused her some sort of distress. Why though, you did not completely grasp. But, little by little, she had begun to break down and cry throughout her retelling of the events that led to her being outside that window in the first place. Apparently, after you had been knocked out, she pretended to be unconscious as well while she lay on top of you. The noises of the struggle stopping had not been because Big Macintosh had been overpowered. In fact, the Changeling trying to subdue him never stood a chance. But instead, he had been forced to stop and surrender in order to keep you and Lyra unharmed. Once he had been properly subdued, you were all loaded into a covered card and taken away, leaving behind one Changeling to cast a spell to fix the shop so as to avoid suspicion. Lyra had almost immediately teleported out of the cart, unnoticed, and waited till the Changeling left behind was done cleaning. It had been the kind one, the one with the pink eyes. And when she confronted her… “So, my hunch was right…” You said loud enough for Caramel to clearly hear you. You still weren’t sure what his and the Changeling’s story was, but you felt he needed to hear this clearly. “She’s on our side.” “And that worthless parasprite will pay for betraying our Queen!” Again, the Changeling shrilled, but still, no pony paid him any attention. “Uh huh *hic* without her, I wouldn’t ha-have known *sniff* how to undo the magic used to fix your shop.” “Sweet Celestia, Lyra! Do you realize what this means!?” The sudden joy in your voice was mirrored on the hopeful smiles of everypony present. Well, except Thunderlane, it was kind of hard to tell if he was smiling or holding back a sneeze with his muzzle so tightly bound with the green goop. “N-no? Maybe?” “Lyra, it means that if anypony found that mess, without a doubt, Applejack will immediately suspect something is wrong with that letter! And, if she involves the other girls…” A grim and sinister smile took hold of your lips as unspeakable images played out across your imagination while you looked off into the distance. It must have been quite a sight, because out of the corner of your eye, you managed to catch a slight movement as the Changeling took a step back from you. “Oh, th-that. I know *sniff* that’s why I-I did it…” And yet, that murderous look quickly left you as you turned around to look at Lyra. She was still crying, and her tears had left clear marks across the fur on her cheeks. “Lyra? But then, why are you crying though? What you’ve done is phenomenal!” “I-I know *sniff* it-it’s just that…” More tears left her eyes as her lower lip began to tremble and she tried to take in a deep, but shaky breath. For whatever reason, the room seemed much more quiet than before, which was surprising seeing as it was almost as if the wind and snow outside put itself on mute as well. “I-I wanted *sniff* to-to save you by myself…” Lyra finally let out with a quiet so that pulled at your heart, and you felt your mouth dry out a bit. “I thought that maybe *sniff* maybe then you’d want to… want to be w-with me more…” Everypony, and even Changeling, in the room suddenly turned to look at you with wide eyes. You had honestly not expected anything like that, and you could only blink as you tried to select your words carefully. The seconds of silence threatened to turn into minutes, but eventually, you found something the resembled a correct answer. “Lyra…” You paused to make sure you had her attention, and you did as she looked at you with big, round, and hopeful eyes. You could only give her your best smile, and… “Lyra, we already hangout a lot though.” And everypony in the room facehoofed, or they would have at least if they weren’t bound, as what Lyra just confessed to you went clear over your head. “By the Queen, you are thick…” The Changeling chimed in, and you only arched a brow at his direction as you continued. “I mean, I’m sorry I missed out on that book signing you wanted me to accompany you to a while ago. But you and I are good friends already, so you don’t have to prove anything to me.” You said with a smile that slightly faltered by Lyra’s disbelieving look. “And uh, well, this is kind of, you know, too serious an issue to have tried to do it on your own like that.” You continued talking but ended with a smile. “I’m just glad you didn’t get really hurt.” Lyra only blinked at you as her mouth opened and closed repeatedly. You were having a really hard time reading her reaction, but something told you that you may have said something wrong. “Lyra? Are you-” “I’m fine…” She interrupted you as she finally managed to get her jaw to work for her and gave you a smile. Although somewhat forced. “Really? Cause you look kind of gassy…” “I said I’m fine…” She once again smiled at you, though this time it looked a bit more genuine. It was enough to make you stop asking her. And instead, you began to look around the room and at everypony else in there with you. For whatever reason, they were all looking at you with bewildered, and disbelieving looks. All of them were silent as they looked at you like that… Well, all of them, except for Big Macintosh. “What’s on your mind Big Mac?” You asked knowing full well by now what that stoic stare of his meant. Big Macintosh however, only stared at you, like he always did, and even did the motion of switching his piece of straw from one side of his mouth to the other. He didn’t have his piece of straw, but apparently old habits die hard. A second passed by before he closed his eyes and shook his head as he let out a sign and finally spoke. “Just wondering if yah came up with a way out of this here predicament we all having. Applejack may have seen the shop by now, but it don’t mean she knows where we are at.” “HA! That’s right!” Everypony finally turned to look at the Changeling that until now had been ignored with his outbursts. He visibly reveled in the sudden attention he got, and sneered at you as he took a step closer to you. “That “bitch” mare of yours will never find you!” That insult stung, and your jaw set so tight as you glared angrily at the Changeling that you were certain you would crack a tooth. But you didn’t care, not for long as an idea quickly formed in your head, and you returned his sneer. “Oh yeah you asshole?” The expected effect was immediate. It was now the Changelings turn to glare angrily at you as he took a few more steps closer to you. “You filthy creatures don’t stand a chance against us!” “Big words coming from a bug! And don’t you DARE speak about my marefriend like that again!” “Heh, or what, human?” “Or you’ll never even see my plan coming…” “Your plan? Don’t make me laugh! What plan?” “Revenge.” “Reven-” The Changeling’s question only made it out so far as he nearly bit his tongue off thanks to your foot connecting squarely with his jaw. You had waited for him to get close enough to you to be in range and that he was sufficiently distracted. And, at the opportune moment, you threw out your leg in an arching high kick. The impact was tremendous, and the anger fueled force behind it was enough to lift him off the floor, and fling him clear across the room into the table in the corner. You foot and knee exploded in pain from throwing such a kick, but that mattered little as you pulled yourself up off the floor with your arms, and pushed your feet against the wall behind you. “Celestia’s flowing mane! What are you doing!” You heard Caramel’s panicked voice call out to you as you strained against your bonds. “I’m *huff* coming up with a plan on the fly! *hurk* May not break this green goop, but *huff* maybe with my weight and a bit of effort, I can break off a piece *hurk* of this old wall behind me!” Everypony in the room just stared at you as if you had lost your marbles. However, that didn’t last long before they all immediately began to struggle against their own binds as well. Well, almost of them with the exception of Lyra. Lyra instead remained motionless for a few seconds as she looked at you with a sense of wonder in her eyes. “I-I didn’t know humans could throw a buck like that!” She suddenly commented as she threw some experimental kicks with her hind leg like you had. “Yeah *hurk* not really *huff* hurt like Tartarus… *hurk* Help me with your magic Lyra!” “Huh? Oh! Right!” Lyra stopped mid kick and her horn flared with a golden iridescence as a golded hued magical field enveloped you. It didn’t feel very helpful, but she strained harder as she tried and her horn flared even brighter. You heard shallow creaking noises coming from the wall against your back. It was slowly working. “Come *huff* on! Just *hurk* a bit mo-” “YoU FIlthY HuMAN!” Your concentration lapsed for a fraction of a second as you turned to look at the Changeling. He was slowly picking himself up of the floor, his eyes burning with a green magical fire as he wobbled his way out of the remains of the broken table. “I’vE hAd enOugH of YoU INFERIOR CREATURES!” “Oh yeah bug boy! *huff* Come here and say that to my…” Your voice left you as the Changeling suddenly burst into a giant ball of green fire that tore through some of the rafter and punched a hole clean through the ceiling. Your jaw dropped at the spectacle and you stopped struggling against your binds for only a second before you doubled your efforts with every passing second of the unfolding sight in front of you. Wings, red and leathery, burst through the green fire as a deafening roar burst from within it. “Lyra! Hurry up!” “I’m trying!” “Try *hurk* harder!” Too late. The ball of green fire exploded outward with enough force to take away your breath, and let loose a wall rattling roar from the creature that now stood in front of you. The red leathery wings were attached to a creature with the head of a lion, the tail of a scorpion, and the horns of a bull. You had seen it before in one of Twilight’s books, and what you recalled from it was enough to fill you with fear as you felt you face drain of color. “I-I didn’t know they could turn in-into non-pony like creatures! Maybe you shouldn't have insulted him...” “Oh hey, guess you're right, you can add that to your book and-LYRA HURRY UP AND HELP ME OFF THIS WALL!” “I’m-I’m *hng* trying!” “Lyra!” “Hold on!” “Lyra! Hurry-” With a ferocious roar, the Manticore leapt at you as it flung a giant paw into the air, claws gleaming like devilish steel, and brought it down on you. The world seemed to go into slow motion. You closed your eyes at the sound of breaking wood filling your ears, and the world spun as your life flashed before your eyes. That all came to a screeching halt as you felt the sensation of claws digging into your flesh… Applejack let out a pained gasp as something inside her chest suddenly felt as if it had been hallowed out, and her head was inexplicably drawn towards one of the windows of the library. Outside, she could see the snow covered scenery of Ponyville, and beyond it, off in the distance, she could see the Whitetail Woods. They were covered in snow, and it looked like a heavy snow storm had been scheduled for that area. Clouds were already overhead and were slowly beginning to unleash their fury. Those clouds had not yet been placed there hours ago when they had first found the destroyed shop. “Applejack?” “Huh?” Her ear twitched as her attention was called back to her group of friends in the library. And slowly, she looked at each of their faces, and every single one of them showed a deep concern. Looking to her side, Fluttershy still remained there looking back at her. She looked like she was about to break down crying, but was trying to put up a strong front. Things had not turned out like she and Fluttershy had anticipated. They had expected a full out charge to recover their loved ones, just like they had when Rarity had been kidnapped by Diamond Dogs. However, the situation was much different from then, and nopony, or dragon for that matter, had seen who or what had caused the damage to the repair shop. And when they asked around, nopony could tell them if they had seen her loving human or brother leave the shop. This time around, they had no idea where to even begin looking. And because of that, they had been forced to take into consideration a different course of action. “Twi-Twilight…” Applejack finally spoke as she looked at her friend and placed a hoof on her own chest, over her heart. It was beating a mile a minute and that hallowing sensation had only grown. She had to close her eyes and take a steady breath before she felt she could speak again. “Ah-ah love him Twilight… Ah can’t see mahself without him. An-and y’all saw the shop…” She paused as she swallowed her fear, and gently patted her chest. “And sum’thing in here, in mah heart, is screaming at me that he’s in sum’kind of danger.” Twilight’s gaze only fell away as she listened and her ears pulled back in shame. But she looked back up when she felt Applejack place her hoof on her shoulder, and spoke to her. “But yah right… we don’t know where to look for them, and that letter we found proves that whoever left it has got a bone to pick with me… Th-the best thing we can do now…” She paused again as she felt she had to swallow a whole ocean this time, and prepared to do what she had no mind to do in the first place. “The best thing we can do right now… is to go to Canterlot and ask the Princesses for help in finding mah kin.” “No way! Are you sure about this AJ?!” Applejack only turned to look at Rainbow Dash, and nodded as she met her eyes before she turned to look at Fluttershy. “Ah’m sure… Besides, if he and Big Macintosh are together, they’ll watch each others’ backs.” She said with a reassuring not at the pegasus and smiled. If Fluttershy could put on a strong face, then by Tartaurs so could she. Even if it was just for Fluttershy’s own sake. “Neither of them s’gonna let nuh’thing happen to the other.” A small tear rolled off of Fluttershy’s cheek, and she slowly cheered up. “You’re-you’re right!” Fluttershy let out with a whisper of strength in her voice that rapidly grew. “They’ll-they’ll protect each other! They’ll watch each others’ backs because they’re-they’re as thick as teeth!” “Thieves.” Applejack corrected with a gentle smile. “Right! They’re as thick as thieves!” She finally squeaked out loudly as she took, or tried to at least, take a page from Applejack’s earlier comment at the shop. “And Mackie would never miss the birth of our foal… Or else, no matter how many times he yells banana, nothing will save him from me punishing him!” Nopony in the room was sure what that whole comment about the banana was about. But unanimously, they all silently decided to chalk that up to pregnancy hormones as they all now suddenly found themselves a whole lot more determined to do whatever they had to do. “Spike! Go ahead and send a letter to Princess Celestia to let her know what has happened and that we are on our way to Canterlot! You’ll stay here in case something new comes up.” “Yes Ma’am!” Spike replied with a salute as he rushed off to get a quill and piece of parchment. “Are you sure about this, Applejack? I mean, I am only suggesting this because I think it’s the most logical course of action for us to take given the circumstances. I mean, if you still feel that-” Twilight stopped rambling on as Applejack gently placed her hoof over her mouth, and smiled at here. “Sugahcube, ah thank yah kindly for this here. But ah trust y’all to do all what y’all can to help Fluttershy and me out with this. Ah know yah doing your best Twilight.” “Thank you, Applejack…” Twilight replied with a smile once Applejack had removed her hoof. “We got him back to you in one piece once already… We’ll do it again, I promise. Applejack only kept smiling as she turned towards the door and began walking towards it. “Ah know sugahcube, but ah also know it wasn’t just thanks to y’all he pulled that off. If his mind’s set on sum’thing, then he’ll do it. So if he ran through ah town of mares in heat just to say he was sorry… Ah’m sure nuh’thing s’gonna stop him from getting back to me from wherever he’s at.” You were stuck. You were literally stuck to the wall as the sensation of claws digging into you only intensified as the Manticore tried to pull them out. “Ho-holy buck Lyra…” You managed to force out as Lyra only grinned at you through the clear strain on her face. Sparks were falling from her horn as it burned a hot white, like a piece of steel, with sheer magical energy she was pushing through it. There had been a simple explanation as to why you felt as if Lyra’s Magic was not helping you get off that wall. She had not been focusing on you alone. Instead, through whatever logic she saw fit, she had focused her magic on both you and the section of wall behind you. At the last possible second of the Changeling Manticore attack, Lyra had torn a human sized section of wall, with you still on it, and left a huge hole to the exterior of the building you were in. She had then turned you face back, and swung the wall and you around to intercept the Manticore’s attack so that the wall faced it, and you faced her. The Manticore’s claws had gone through the wood of the wall, and torn through your jacked and into your side. The end result of how that could have played out instead would have been much worst given the circumstances. “You-you’ve been practicing, huh?” “Ye-yeah… Twi-twilight’s a good teacher.” “I can see that.” “Heh, hold on…” “Okay-wait, what do you mean hold onAHHHHH!” You felt the claws of the Manticore get yanked out of your side as in a horrible turn of events, Lyra’s magic held you immobile against the wall as she swung it around. You kept screaming as the sheer force behind the motion made you sick to your stomach, but stopped immediately as a very confused looking Manticore came into view, and a horrible realization dawned on you. A section of the wall right next to your head exploded into pieces as it made contact with the Manticore’s head and it let out an pained roar… Lyra was going to use the section of the wall she had torn off, and by default you, to beat the crap out of the Changeling masquerading as a Manticore. “Oh Goddesses! Lyra! What the buck are you doing?!” “Trust me!” “No! Lyra! StoAHHHHH-KYAHHHHH!” Words could not describe the pants soiling terror that ran through you as she pulled you back, and used you to defend herself from the Manticore’s scorpion tail… which immediately exploded through the wall between your legs, missing your precious bits by the fabric of your pants. The tip of the tail stopped only an inch from her face, right before she grinned at the Manticore, seemingly ignoring your screams of panic. “LYRA! STOP!” “Trust me!” The scorpion tail withdrew from the wood, readying another attack, and in some part in your fear addled mind a voice told you that you should trust her. But that was quickly ignored as a much louder voice in your head screamed that you were about to die as she raised you up, and swung you down in an arching motion. A pair of horns exploded through the wood on either side of your head, one right next to your neck and the other next to you eye, as she brought you down like a baseball bat on the Manticore’s head causing it to let out another ear splitting roar. You yourselves felt the impact radiate through the wall, almost as if you had been the one hit, and stars filled your vision. “Ly-lyra, please…” You managed to force out right before the horns withdrew and the sickening sensation of being raised into the air again filled you with dread. “I know what I’m doing!” Lyra yelled out right before she brought you down again on the Manticore’s head. This time, the horns burst through the wood above your head, nearly impaling your arms. The Manticore let out another roar, much more pained than before as it was forced to the floor from the impact. You didn’t have much time to do anything but scream right before you were lifted into the air a third time. “I’M NOT GOING TO LET YOU GET HURT!” “KYAHHHH-OOF!” “ROAR!” This time, the horns missed your neck, right before she lifted you into the air a fourth time. “SO WHY DON’T YOU JUST BUCKEN BELIEVE-!” “KYAAHHH-OOF!” “ROA-OOF…” And a fifth time... “THAT I’M NOT JUST SOME CRUMMY-!” “KYAH-OOF…ugh…” “Ughh…” And a sixth time… “STALKER, YOU JERK!” “OOF!...” “…” And on the seventh, you rested from your screaming as she once again lifted you into the air, but instead swung you around in a wide arch. Time slowed down as you flew through the air, taking the time to see everything that came across your vision. Falling snow had poured in through the hole Lyra had torn out of the wall. There was a storm brewing outside and it seemed like it would only get bigger from there out. Big Macintosh came into view, and you were able to see that he was still bound to his table. His eyes were as big as saucers as he watched you sailing through the air. Lyra’s magic faded from you as the section of the wooden wall behind you exploded into pieces when it reached its destination and a ball of green fire erupted with it, and engulfing you as you flew through it. Still in slow motion, the kind that only seemed to grip those in the last moments of life, you could see pieces of burning wood flying in every direction. But that mattered little as your eyes came to rest on a most peculiar site. The blue eyed Changeling came into view, unconscious, as he too soared through the air with you from the sheer force of the impact. Lyra had literally beaten the transformation out of him… and she had used you to do it. It had been a game ending home-run swing. Hmm, I can't help think that last part was directed at me. I wondered if she’s angry about something… Those were the last thoughts that ran through your head, right before you and the changeling hit the wall on the other side of the room in a pile of unconscious limbs, rapidly fading green fire, and smoldering wood. Author's Note Happy New Years to you all! Disclaimer - All characters presented in this work of fiction are owned by their respective creators and owners. In short, all the wubs go to Hasbro.
Wild Pitch! Knockout! - Still Not Baseball Dammit!“Hard work is its own reward.” Someone had told you that once a long time ago, when you still lived on Earth. You couldn’t recall who it had been though. Maybe it had been your mom or dad, or perhaps a teacher from school. Or, perhaps it had even been that one crazy cat lady that had lived down the block from you with her crazed cat traps when you were younger. Honestly, you couldn’t remember who it had been, but whoever it was, those words had stuck with you. You always tried to work hard to get things done. No matter how trivial the task at hand was. You supposed that your determination, or stubbornness as some had called it, had gone hand in hand with this ideal rather well. So well that, rather to an unfortunate extent, it sometimes blinded you and made you oblivious to the things around you. Which at this moment seemed to be nothing in particular as you floated through the relatively familiar darkness of unconsciousness. “Well, I got knocked the buck out… thank you Lyra.” “…” “Huh? D-did somepony call my name?” Your voice sounded distant as you heard your name called once again, and the darkness around you began to lift. You suddenly felt ground beneath your feet, and for a moment it felt as if you were walking up a wall. “…’ The voice called out your name again, but although you heard it clearer than before, you didn’t turn towards it. Instead, you focused on your hands. You were holding something. Something round that was slightly heavy. Your arms stung a bit, tired, exhausted, and you once again heard the voice call out your name as the darkness cleared. You blinked, and you suddenly found yourself in the barn at Sweet Apple Acres. In your hands, you were holding a basket. There was stack of similar baskets only a few paces from you. You were standing next to a cart, unloading the last basket as you felt a drop of sweat linger on your brow before it fell and landed on your hand. “I… I remember this.” Your thoughts called out as you began to move, the motion coming on naturally as your mind recalled more of this particular event. Slowly, you walked towards the stack of baskets and placed the last on next to it. Your back stung a bit as you raised yourself back up to full height, and used your arm to wipe the sweat from your forehead. It had been a long day working at your newly opened store. “Alrighty then, yah asked for it!” “Huh?” You finally turned around to look at the source of the voice, only to recoil in shock as your eyes fell on a certain orange pony soaring through the air straight at you. “Yee-haw!” “KYAHH-OOf!” Applejack’s hooves wrapped around your neck as the rest of her body followed. Your arms wrapped around her in an attempt to catch her, barely managing to take one step back before the back of your knee hit something. You both fell backwards, Applejack riding you and giggling like a school filly as you toppled over a bale of hay into a pile of, well, more hay. It took a moment for you to recover your bearings and realize that you had not been knocked into a pile of buckets. It took only another fraction of a second to realize that a pair of beautiful emerald green eyes were looking back at you as Applejack’s weight settled comfortably on top of you, right before she pressed her nose against yours and she smiled at you with her eyes. “Yah know it ain’t polite to ignore your mare, right sugahcube?” “Pretty sure it’s not polite to tackle your stallion either.” You suddenly felt Applejack’s lips press tenderly against yours as she relaxed further on top of you. It was really hard for you not to relax as well, and your arms wrapped tighter around her. Her coat was covered in sweat and her scent was neither offensive nor off-putting. In fact, it was rather alluring. She had endured a day of hard work as well. But then again, this was Applejack. Your Applejack. What else could you expect? Your tender kiss came to an abrupt end as she pulled away and smiled down at you. Her green eyes were laden with something primal, something that you were all too familiar with, and you wondered if your own scent was as alluring to her, as hers was to you. “Ah’m sure yah’ll forgive me on account of how happy I am to see you.” “Forgive I do, for happy too am I.” You felt her hoof hit you lightly on your chest as she giggled and dove in for another kiss, a bit more heated than the last one. However, before anything could advance down that venue, Applejack pulled away again and sat up as she straddled your stomach and put her forelegs on your chest. Automatically, your arms moved down her barrel, caressing her, all the way down to her hind legs. “You know, I don’t think you’ve tackled me any other day when I got home. What’s so special about today?” “Well…” She spoke softly as she began to move one of her hooves around in a circle on your chest. “Ah don’t think ah need ah reason to be happy to see you, besides that ah love you.” You could feel a smile tugging on your lips as you looked into her eyes. All you could see in them was the honest love she had declared. And, well, something else too. Something that made you want to tease her a bit. “Really now?” You commented with a bit of mischief in your voice as your hands moved down to her haunches, and without warning, began to grope them. Applejack immediately went rigid on top of you, right before she closed her eyes, relaxed, and enjoyed the sensation of you massaging her rear. “I think you need to be a little bit more honest with yourself, sweetie.” Applejack paid you back in kind. Without warning, she dropped on you and wrapped her hooves around your neck and hugged you tightly right before she kissed you. Hard. Your lips smashed together as if she was trying to consume you. Her hips had begun to grind against yours, your hands never letting up as you enjoyed the sudden primal desire she was displaying. It felt like hours before she pulled away and allowed you breathe. You felt dizzy as she pressed her forehead against yours. She was still sweating, and her hot breath felt wonderful as it cascaded down your neck. “Sugahcube…” She managed to speak as she fought to catch her breath. “Ah love you. Never doubt that.” “O-okay…” Not surprisingly, you too were a bit out of breath. “But... you’ve been working so hard this past month… ah hardly get to see yah until yah get home all spent and tired.” “Applejack, I’m only doing it to-” She didn’t let you finish saying what you were going to say as she silenced you with another kiss, and lingered on your lips till she was sure you weren’t still trying to speak. When she finally pulled away though, your lips followed hers till she giggled and put up her hoof to stop you. “Sugahcube…” She spoke tenderly as she moved her hoof away from your lips and began to caress your cheek. “Ah know why yah do it. And ah love yah for it. But… ah love yah more because of who yah are, not cause of what yah do…” You felt her lips gently touch yours again before pulling away, and her tail began to gently twitch and bat against your legs. “And right now… ah miss yah, sugahcube.” You only smiled as you brought your hand to her hoof and took a hold of it before you placed a gentle kiss on it. “Well, I guess I am pretty awesome, huh?” Applejack only giggled and booped your nose with her other hoof as she rolled her eyes. “Guess ah can forgive ah lack of modesty seeing as even now ah know ya’ll work… hard.” The hard grinding motion she suddenly employed as she spoke only served to emphasize what she meant. Your hands immediately moved back to her haunches, but, what you did next was obviously not what she expected as she suddenly turned to look at you funny. “Why yah stop me sugahcube?” “Because Applejack, sweetie, no matter how much I want to and tease, I’m tired, sweaty, and dirty right now.” No sooner did those words leave your lips that the buttons on your shirt exploded in various directions as Applejack ripped it open. Damn, and it was a new shirt too. “Umm, okay… uh, Applejack?” “Yes sugahcube?” “What if somepony walks in on us?” “Ah really don’t care right now sugahcube.” Her grinding began anew, even with your hands trying to hold her haunches still. “The only thing ah care about now…” She ran her tongue across your exposed chest, her eyes locked with yours. “Is how much ah…” She reached your neck and gave it a hard nip, before letting her hot tongue run along the spot. “Need you…” The way her hot breath and tongue caressed your neck set a fire down below, and you suddenly found yourself helping her with her grinding instead of trying to stop her. The slowly growing wet spot on your groin nearly doubled in size as she slowly shuddered on top of your chest, and moaned rather loudly into your freshly nibbled neck. That fire quickly turned into an inferno. She was right. You had been working too hard. So, why stop there? “Applejack?” “Uh huh?” “I thought you said you missed me, not needed me?” Your voice became laden with a new kind of mischief. “Uh huh, one and the same right about now sugahcube.” She moaned again as you began to match her grinding with your own hips. “You really want it then, huh?” The only reply you got was another loud moan as she began to grind even harder into you. “Good…” “Huh-HEY!” Without warning, and with a great risk to your well-being, you moved your hands from her rear towards her sides and rolled Applejack off of you and onto the hay. You immediately stood up, removing and flinging what remained of your shirt into a corner. Applejack’s legs flayed above her for a fraction of a second before she righted herself and glared daggers at you. She was now covered in hay. “What the hay are yah doing?!” “If you want to have a roll in the hay, you’re going to have to work hard for it and look the part–GAH!” Specs of hay filled your mouth, making you close your eyes from the assault carried out by Applejack’s tail flinging hay at you. Your ears caught three quick stomps before there was a second of silence, and something slammed into you, forcing you to take a few steps backs. Hooves wrapped around your waist, back, and head as an eager mouth connected with yours, and an equally eager tongue forced its way in. You welcomed it with your own equally eager tongue and a moan as one of your arms wrapped around her back and you forced her lips harder against yours while groping her well toned haunches with the other. The lustful moan she let out was all you needed to force her tongue back into her mouth, quickly followed by yours. Her tail had wasted no time in undoing your belt and quickly working on the button and sipper of your pants. She never ceased to amaze you with what she could do with her tail, but then again, she had had a lot of practice since you two became a couple. And so had you… Your hand quickly left her haunches and found the base of her tail, right before giving it a quick and forceful tug. Applejack quickly went limp in your arms as she let out a cute moan and broke the kiss before melting further into you, twitching lightly. It only took you a fraction of a second to realize your pants were down around your ankles, and that your boxers were now soaked. She had cum simply by you tugging on her tail, and she now lay limp against you with only the one hand grabbing her tail and the other pressed against her back holding her in place. You knew that was one of her weaknesses, but never to that extent. “Well, somepony is sensitive.” “That ain’t… fair, sugahcube.” Applejack managed to mumble as she pulled herself up a bit with her hooves and rested her head over your shoulder. Whatever fight she had had at the start of your little game seemed like it had quickly left her. “I said you’d have to work hard for it, sweetie.” Your voice was practically dripping with mischief now as you adjusted your hold on her, dropped your boxers, and moved both hands back to her haunches to support her. You didn’t need to look down to know your arousal had awoken and was hard as steel right now, ready to give your mare what she wanted. But, only if she was willing to work for it… “So, love…” Applejack moaned again as you spoke and kissed her shoulder, and worked your way to her neck. “Why don’t you show me how hard you’re willing to work for it, hmm?” You finished your request with a hard nibble on her neck and a strangled moan from her throat. Without any other noise but a mumbled promise you’d pay for it later, Applejack’s hooves trembled as she slowly lifted herself up and barely managed to look down as she aligned her dripping arousal with your own pulsing arousal. You couldn’t deny it. You were as eager as she was. And without any more delays, both of you got what you wanted as you felt her let go and drop down against you. The sensation made your head spin. The sudden rush of being enveloped by her velvety walls in one motion as she impaled herself on you was more than what you were prepared for. Neither of you said a word or dared to move as you both waited for the heavenly sensation to die down. Minutes must have passed before either of you felt able to move. And, the first motion nearly sent you over the edge. “Sweet Celestia!” “Mmm-ahh!” Applejack didn’t even lift herself up very much, choosing instead to leave her head resting on your shoulder as she let out a needy moan. In one fluid motion, Applejack’s hips had pulled away and thrust back, taking you deep inside her tightening marehood, hitting against her core. You grunted as you moved your hands to grab her hind legs and gave her more room to work. She didn’t falter as she repeated the motion again, and again, until she had a rhythm going. It was hard. One fluid, hard motion, in and out. You could feel her heart beat faster against your chest as she moaned in abandonment with every wet impact of your hips. And, with every moan that reached you ears, you felt yourself sub-come to more primal urges as you felt yourself near your peak. “Uh, uh uh, nngh AH! Ah ah ahh!” “Ap-applejack? Ha ha, you close sweetie?” “Ah nngh, uh huh, ah… BUCK-AHH! Mmm!” Something fell off the wall as you took two big steps and slammed her against the wall of the barn, right before you began thrusting into her with abandonment. Her moaning reached a new crescendo as you moved one of your arms away from her hind legs and snaked it around her back to better support her as she suddenly went limp in your arms. The wall behind her was creaking in protest with every hard thrust that you gave her, only caring to make her cum over and over again. “Ah! Uh, uh uh, Celestia, mmm-ah, cum for m-me sugahcube! Ah ah, nngh, please m-make me cum! Ah’m-nngh ah, almost- ah, ah ah AH!” The sudden trembling of her moist walls and gush of nectar was all you needed as you pushed yourself deep into her and coated her womb with you seed. Every trembling spasm from her as she milked you sent your body into ecstasy as you gave your mare more and more of what she wanted. You kept yourself pressed into her, your thoughts drowning in that heavenly sensation you both had denied your bodies for so long. You could scarcely feel the mixture of your primal love making dribble down your legs as you fought to catch your breath. You suddenly felt dizzy as you slowly registered that you were still hard as a rock while you remained buried deep against Applejack’s core. Something that she too, did not allow to go unnoticed… “More…” “Ha… ha… Applejack?” “More… harder… again…” You felt her slowly, sluggishly kiss your shoulder as you slightly became aware she had drooled on it, and she began to slowly make her way towards your neck. Each hot kiss she placed on your skin felt like white hot iron, burning you. And with every kiss, she repeated what she wanted from her stallion. “More… more… give me more, sugahcube.” Those last words and the hard bite on your neck was all it took for your mind to go blank with lust. It had indeed been too long, for the both of you. Before you realized what you were doing, you had pried her off the wall, and carried her towards your workbench. With one motion of your arm, you cleared off the top of it, sending the clutter of tool to the floor, right before you laid her on her stomach on top of it. Her hind legs dangled limply off the side of it, and she quickly let out an excited giggle that quickly turned into a needy moan as you laid yourself on top of her and pushed your still buried arousal harder into her. You felt her hind legs twitch weakly against your legs as you kept yourself tightly pressed against her and began to nibble on her ear. You moved your arms under her forelegs and across her chest. And, with one hand, you began to caress her cheek as you gently tilted her head towards you, and kissed her. Even though what you were about to do was nowhere near gentle, the kiss was a different story. Through it, you could feel the love she felt for you, and she could feel in turn the love you felt for her. Neither of you wanted to break the kiss as you felt her forelegs wrap around the back of your neck and head, and you heard her sigh in satisfaction. That was all you needed to know she was ready, right before you lifted her upper body off the table and gently pulled out, leaving only the tip of your arousal inside. You held her like that for a few seconds more before your kiss finally broke, and she cuddled the side of her beautifully flushed face against yours. “Sugahcube… yah made ah mess of your workbench.” “Not yet I haven’t, love.” “Mmmhmm…” Applejack draped her head back against your shoulder and turned to meet your lips again… right before you slammed yourself into her. The workbench groaned in protest, right before you pulled out and slammed yourself into your mare again, and again. You had her lower half pinned between you and the workbench as each hard thrust sent her dangling hind legs swaying and made Applejack kiss you with more fevered want and lust. You could feel your mixed fluids from before leak out of her with every thrust of your hips, which only grew fast and harder until Applejack broke away from the kiss and screamed out as another orgasm took her. The new gush of fluids only added to the lewd sounds of your union, and only spurred you on as you kept thrusting into her. “Ah, uh uh, mmm, sh-sugahcube! Don’t stop, don’t stoAHH!” Applejack came again as her sudden moan slowly died at its source and her head draped back down onto your shoulder like a rag doll. Every thrust now pushed out of her a small, lewd, and delighted whimper as her walls contracted with every third or fourth thrust as she reached her orgasm over and over again. With every new orgasm, her slick and silken walls felt like they got tighter and tighter the more they spasmed around your thrusting rod, quickly pulling you to your peak. You couldn’t hold out much longer. And, as more things began to fall off the workbench, you gave one final thrust as you gave your mare’s womb a second coating of your seed, calling out her name. Applejack’s voice broke into a silent moan as her body spasmed, and she went limp in your arms. You could feel her cumming over and over again as her walls greedily milked you for every last drop. Your legs felt suddenly weak as your head spun, and it became a tremendous effort to gently place Applejack’s limp form on the table, right before you fell to the ground and pulled your still spurting arousal out of your satisfied mare. Two pearly white ropes landed on her slowly reddening haunches as you sat on the ground with a thud, and looked at the spectacle. You could see her chest slowly rise and fall as her marehood continued to spasm and wink while it remained agape, and pushed out dribbles of your seed onto the floor. There was a lot. Now, you had made a mess. “Sugah-cube?” You snapped out of your trance like state as Applejack’s weak voice reached you and you looked up in time to see her trying to get off the workbench. You were quick to act as you barely moved to catch her, just as she fell off the workbench, and you slowly sat on the floor of the barn again while you gently laid her against your chest. Her coat was drenched in cooling sweat, just like you, and as you wrapped your arms around her, you felt her relax further into you. “We… we ain’t gone at it like that since, ha ha, since-” “Your heat?” “Hehe, yeah…” Nothing else was said as the both of you remained like that, basking in each other heat and scent, and allowed your bodies to cool down. You could hear Applejack’s breathing and your own grow ever shallower, signaling you were about to tumble into a very pleasant slumber. That wouldn’t do any good at all, seeing as anypony like Applebloom, or Big Macintosh could just walk into the barn any minute. “Applejack? Sweetie?” “Mmm?” Her reply was laden with sleep, and it was hard not to yawn as your body protested what you were about to do. “We should go clean up. The lake’s nearby. We could probably sneak there if we went around the barn.” “Alright then, but waist down feel all nice n’tingly, and… mmm, full.” The sensual sound of her voice as she said those last words made you simply arch an eyebrow as you looked down at the orange pony nestled against your chest. The huge content and coy smile on her while her eyes looked hungrily at you made your face redden, and your hand moved of its own accord to caress her cheek, and guided her into kiss. Your tongues wasted no time in dancing with one another and you felt your arousal gain new life, reading for what you knew was yet to come. “Not now sugahcube. Wait till we get to the lake.” “Well! Up we go then!” Applejack giggled like a school filly as you stood up without warning and hugged her close against your chest. It was a side of her that only you could bring out. One that you knew she’d never share with anypony but you. She loved you, and you loved her. And, as you moved your head down and kissed her with a passion only love can bring, you knew that your mare meant everything to you. That you’d never kiss another mare like you kissed her right there and then. It was a good memory to have while knocked out. And, one that you wish you could wake up to as you felt yourself begin to stir… and opened your eyes. “Whoa…” You heard a voice echo out in the darkness as sound filtered into your mind and you felt sensation filter back into your limbs. Thanks to your dream, you felt warm and tingly all over. Which honestly was a good way to wake up compared to every other time you had awoken from being out cold. “If fate wants to keep beating me up like this… I don’t mind as long as I keep waking up feeling like this.” You heard your thoughts ring out as you continued to cherish the sensation. The lingering warmth of an event form so long ago. The tickle of a silk-like coat pressed tightly against your bare chest. And the sensation of your lips pressed against your mare’s lips as the scent of mint oddly intertwined with nutmeg filled your nostrils and- Your eyes shot open as your mind crashed into a wall like an out of control car, killing all dream like thought. You were in a cave. That much you could tell because of the rock ceiling about you. There was a fire crackling calmly on a few feet from you as it gave off a pleasant heat… And a pair of golden hued eyes met yours. Shock was the only thing you could see in them as everything else began to register as your mind staggered out of the wreckage it had been in. Lips, actual lips were pressed tightly against yours, trembling, unsure of how to react. You could feel heavy breathing against your face as your hands registered your grasp around its owner’s neck and back. A chest was heaving against your own as a heart other than yours beat so fast it felt like it would explode. And perhaps, the most sobering sensation of all was that below your waist. You we wearing your boxers… and your dream had left you at full attention. Poking right against something that made you and the sea foam colored pony on top of you blush furiously. Lyra managed to pull away from your lips and looked down at you with an unreadable expression. Which when compared to yours was rather odd, seeing as you were pretty sure your own expression conveyed nothing but pure shock. Your mind suffered another car crash as Lyra’s expression changed to one of joy and she dropped her head against the side of your cheek, and began to squee as she nuzzled against you. You stuttered, unsure of what to say in your shock. But that all quickly changed as shock gave way to fear when an enormous shadow suddenly loomed over you. “You’n ah need to have a talk’bout sumthing… outside. Now.” The voice said as it echoed off the walls of the cave, and caused your chest to reverberate with its weight. It carried no anger in it, or promise of demise. Just that simply weight of an order given without a chance for compromise. Your body was already pushing the content unicorn off of you as you sat up, and turned to look at Big Macintosh as he walked towards what you assume was the exit of the cave. Your mind was blank, not wanting to think about what you knew was about to happen. Author's Note Happy Hearts and Hooves day! ... I stand by statement! Disclaimer - All characters presented in this work of fiction are owned by their respective creators and owners. In short, all the wubs go to Hasbro.
Running the Bases - Working as a TeamEveryone makes mistakes. And when you do make them, they can be little or small ones. Thing is, when you do make mistakes, they can and sometimes are like a snowball rolling down a hill. They may start off as small and insignificant things but, once they get going down that hill, other mistakes begin to pile on top. And pretty soon, before you know it, you end up with some poor cartoon cat, duck, coyote, or off-season hunter running for their dear life right before being steamrolled by a house sized ball of oh buck. It was an interesting way to put things into perspective, given the season and all. And, as far as you could tell though, you were pretty sure if you got steamrolled by such a thing, you wouldn’t be able to inflate yourself back up. So that only helped to put your current predicament in a more surreal light. Odds were good you weren’t going to walk away uninjured from this ever growing snowball of yours. Aside from the ever growing headache you were now enjoying, that is. You couldn’t really explain what had happened back there. One minute you were being swung around like a baseball bat, the next you were having a very salacious dream, and before you knew it… you were kissing Lyra. A pony that you counted among your best friends, right there in front of everypony, your lips against her lips, seconds from introducing your tongue into her mouth. And the oddest part of it all… was that she had been overjoyed by it. Big Macintosh at that moment had told you to follow him out of the cave. And you’d be lying if you denied feeling a bit of panic reverberate through you. You had followed the giant workhorse without a sound, stopping only to pick up your jacket, pants, and sweater that had been used as a makeshift pillow for your thumping head. Your side had been bandaged up with what you could only assume was once the t-shirt you had worn underneath. And, as you looked at your injury, and then turned to look at the ponies in the cave, it did not fair well for you. The looks you got from everypony, including Lyra, as you rounded a corner towards the cave exit made it seem like they were watching somepony being led to the gallows. And it might as well have been the case, if not for what you saw when you rounded the corner. You were pretty sure death marches didn’t usually involve leading the captive through a gorgeous cavern. The cave, or better yet, cavern, was bigger than you realized at first. The area where you woke up seemed to only be a small section that opened up into a much bigger area. Everywhere you looked, the cavern was adorned with spirals and columns of rock that shot up from the ground and down from the ceiling. Some, even formed giant columns that glittered with the faint light of the fire you left behind. And everywhere you looked, you could see the faint glimmer of crystals and minerals that had formed into outcrops that attempted to fill every empty space. All in all, it was beautiful, to say the least. And, as you walked further into it, following Big Macintosh away from the warmth of the fire, you felt your mind beginning to race a bit as you tried to take account of everything that had happened. You felt you had enough time to allow as much as you followed a few feet behind Big Macintosh along a small trail hugging the wall that lead to a light at the end, to the outside. Your metaphorical snowball was rather large. And your headache felt like it just kept growing to match it the more you thought about it. To start off, the initial mistake had been your brilliant gift idea for Applejack to celebrate your first Hearths Warming Eve together as an official couple. In your determination to make it a reality, you had distanced yourself from her a bit, constantly working and spending less time with her. It was not intentional, of course, but as far as you knew, she didn’t know that. And you desperately wanted a chance to explain what you had been doing, and set things straight. But instead, you had been kidnapped. That there brought you to the next issue your mind felt it needed to attack. You and your friends had been captured by Changelings, which in and by itself was perhaps the most unlikely thing you could have ever imagined happening to you. Let alone how quick, brutal, and utterly unprovoked the attack itself had been. Who seriously knocks out a person with a jar of apple jam? The answer was simple. The wannabe Changeling Queen had a plan in mind. And that plan was, without a doubt, the biggest issue on your mind capable of shoving everything else out. The Changeling wanted to gain the crown by any means necessary. And that meant replacing you in order to get close to Applejack. After which, she would replace her to get close enough to Princess Celestia. But Applejack… You had to pause your thought process for a slight moment to try to reign in your emotions. You could feel your fist clench as that thought ran through you aching mind. So much so, that you didn’t even notice as you began moving up a slightly steeper slope while you continued to follow Big Macintosh. Your head was now thumping something fierce. That Changeling was going to harm Applejack to get what she wanted, and who knew how many others. Applejack… You had to force yourself to take a deep breath and unclench your hands. You could feel the indentation your nails had left on the inside of your palm. You were not an angry person, no more than any other individual. Some would even say less. But, this was something intimately personal to you. She was threatening the one you loved, and she was going to use you to do it. How could you not be enraged by it!? Again, you forced yourself to take another deep breath as a pang of pain from your head made you clench your eyes shut in discomfort. Getting worked up was not helping your headache, at all. You needed to take one thing at a time. No matter how much you wanted to solve everything immediately and at once so that you could go back home and just pretend like today had never happened. But you couldn’t. Not yet at least. You felt yourself let out a sigh as some clarity finally came to you and your headache seemed to diminish a bit. It gave way to a question that, for obvious yet odd reasons, was the one you needed to focus on first. That is, if you wanted to survive what came next. “Why was Lyra so happy back there with the kiss? It was an accident. I-I don’t get it, but it was so strange. It felt no different than when Applejack kisses me. I mean, she was eager, and Applejack’s always so happy and eager too when we kiss, and... I mean it’s not like Lyra likes m-“ Your thoughts came to an abrupt end as you reached the most obvious conclusion there was. A lump had quickly formed in your throat and you could feel yourself sweating underneath your jacket as your eyes grew bigger and bigger, and your mouth worked to force out the only words it could. “OH SON OF A BITCH!” “Eeyup.” You nearly jumped out of your skin as the last voice you wanted to hear came from right next to you. Your heart was pounding in your chest but, as you took a few deep breaths to try and calm yourself, you realized something was off. The air you were breathing had gotten colder, and there was a howling in your ears. You had reached the exit to the cave, and you now easily stood in five inches of snow. You hadn’t even realized it since you had been too lost in your thoughts. Which now, thanks to the sudden spike in your probability to have a heart attack, had all but been scattered about while your mind raced to make sense of what was going on. In front of you, the snow storm outside was fierce, and you were rather surprised you had been able to hear Big Macintosh at all over the howling wind. You could barely see about 20 feet out of the cave entrance, barely being able to make out the trees among the windswept snow flurries that hid the world beyond. No pony in their right mind would be venturing through that without risking getting lost and freezing into a popsicle. Nopony was going anywhere until it died down. And, by the looks of the dimming light, the storm would last well until it was night time. “Ah reckon we ain’t moving anywhere in this…” You heard Big Macintosh comment while he stood right outside the cave entrance, next to you, looking out into the snow storm as the wind swept through his mane and coat. He was covered with a bit of snow, but beyond that, he looked like he always did. Calm and stoic. For whatever reason, that made you unwillingly drop your defenses a bit, and you stood next to him without thinking of moving away. You drew your jacked tighter around you, and your mind continued to work faster and faster. Both of you remained silent for what felt like an eternity, until finally, Big Macintosh felt it was the right time to speak again. “Eeyup, nopony is going anywhere in this here storm.” He let out this reaffirmation in a puff of steam that quickly vanished in the wind, right before he turned to look at you. You could see him out of the corner of your eye, but you barely allowed it to register and you did not turn to look at him. “So, why don’t you n'ah talk about what happened back there…” Your thoughts seemed to throw on the brakes, again, and you found your head drooping forward as if from the momentum. You tried to put what you were feeling and thinking into words. You had kissed Lyra, plain and simple. In front of three eyewitnesses, you had kissed your friend, and she had enjoyed it immensely whether it had been intentional or not. And the explanation for that was now as clear as daylight. Lyra wanted to be more than friends with you. What she had said while you were all prisoners suddenly made so much more sense. “Big Mac, I-I really don’t know what happened back there. But believe me when I say that Applejack is-” You found your words cut short as the giant work horse waved a dismissive hoof at you, before looking straight into your eyes… And smiled at you. You blinked, confused. “Ah ain’t angry at yah…” “I…w-what? But, I kissed Lyra! How can you not be angry about it?” “That’s Applejack’s right t’be when she finds out. So, it ain’t mah place to be angry with yah, nor deny mah sister the, um, pleasure to resolve it if n'how she sees fit.” He finished saying with a chuckle and a shake of his head at the ground. “Was nice knowing yah though…” Again, you blinked. Still rather confused but taking it in strides. You supposed that made some odd, sort of sense. Applejack was a grown, mature mare, after all. And form the stories she told you, she could handle almost anything that came up. She didn’t need her brother to fight her fights for her. She’d murder you herself for this when she found out. And she would. Once you told her, that is… “Oh horseapples…” You mumbled to yourself as images of a very pissed off Applejack danced across your imagination. More specifically, as she danced atop what little bits remained of you. You didn’t need a mirror to know the blood was draining from your face. “Eeyup… That’s the look of sum’pony who knows that he’s in ah heap of trouble.” His straw moved from one side of his mouth to the other, as his expression suddenly became unreadable to you. “So… guess maybe yah gonna keep this quiet from her, huh?” “What? Of course not! What kind of suggestion is that?!” Your sudden outburst left you with little time to react, right before you found yourself pulled and wrapped in a tight hug against the giant red horse. And another hoof immediately descended upon your head, ruffling you hair. “That’s what ah was hoping to hear from yah. Nuh’thing but honest, and nuh’thing less from what ah’ve come to expect from you. “Uh… Whu?” “Yah know yah could have been kissing Thunderlane if yah had woken up a minute earlier, right? He and Miss Lyra had just switched watching over yah! Ha! Must admit, would have been mighty hilarious if yah had!” “…” You didn’t say anything, confusion quickly giving away to eye twitching anger as you turned to look at Big Macintosh. A subtle realization suddenly hitting you like a truck, which in retrospect, it wasn’t so subtle of a realization. “Ar-are you insane?! You were testing me just now?! NOW of all times?!” Big Macintosh suddenly began to laugh, hard, loud enough even to be heard over the howling snowstorm. You could see him trying his best to get it under control, which you realized he was horrible at… right before he let go and fell onto the snow, laughing and kicking his hooves in the air. “You’re a horrible, horrible pony! You know this right?!" “A-ah know yah -haha- didn’t do it on purpose. So don’t worry –oh Celestia– ah’ll back yah up with Applejack –hehe– as long as ah'm –haha– out of harm’s way.” “AH!” In retrospect, tackling a prone horse on the snow covered ground fit in rather nicely along with all your other ill though out actions for the day. Big Macintosh, with his hooves already kicking merrily in the air, was able to quickly react and hold you back. “HARM?! Applejack’s the only one in harm’s way and you’re out here testing my loyalty to her?!” “Now yah hold on ah’n apple picking minute and let me expl-” “Explain wha-OWW!” The pain you felt shoot through your side was enough to double you over and cause you to roll off of Big Macintosh. With a calculated motion, he had moved one of his hoofs towards your injured side, where the Changeling had clawed you, and simply allowed you to trash against it, effectively and painfully pocking yourself against it. You were down, and before you could recover, a tremendous weight fell on you and buried your face down into the snow, not allowing you to so much as lift an inch to escape. Big Macintosh was now lying on top of you, using his weight not to crush you, but to simply hold you down. “Yah need to cool your head a bit and calm down so we can talk.” You were pretty sure he couldn’t make out the string of obscenities you let out through a mouthful of snow, but if he did, he didn’t react. For that matter, he didn’t say anything else, and the world around you slowly grew quieter as all sound vanished into the howling wind. You too became silent after only a few seconds. And, after a minute or so of heavy breathing and the cold from the snow digging into your face, you slightly turned your head to the side, and managed to peer up at Big Macintosh through the snow that kept falling. You were not expecting what you saw. Big Macintosh was looking down at you with a clear sadness dominating his features. “Big Mac?” No immediate reply came as his green eyes bore into yours, and a cloud of steam left his nostrils as he let out a defeated sounding sigh. You kept looking up at him, ready to ask again. But, before you could say anything, you were mentally halted as he lowered his head, and laid it next to yours as he continued to lay on top of you. His eyes were now staring off into the distance as he let out another puff of steam in a sigh, and furrowed his brows. Your own brows furrowed, and your mouth opened. Trying to speak… “Dag’nabit… Fluttershy’s a whole lot better at this than ah’am... Yah know yah injured, right?” Only for it to close again as he spoke to you. “Ah can’t let...Yah can’t just run off with ah, ‘all Tartarus be damned’ attitude to save Applejack. Them Changelings mean business, and they ain’t looking to pull their bucks to get what they want. Yah need t’go into this with a clear head and… ah though maybe make ya laugh about something as trivial as kiss would of helped ah bit but ah went and bucked that up, and... and dag'nabit, its gonna happen again…” You simply kept looking at him, waiting for him to continue for almost a minute, only to see and hear his expression and voice become sad and grim. “Yah know, ah didn’t believe at first what Fluttershy told me yah went through to make things right with Applejack back then. Heck, no stallion had evah been dumb enough to do what yah did. And ah thought yah got a few bruises and bums simply cause that was you being you. But… da’gum, yah pulled it off and damn near blew up the whole town doing it.” “Well, technically, that was Rainbow Dash…” You meant it to be a joke, to try and lighten the mood but, no sooner did these words leave your mouth, that you saw a sad smile splay across Big Macintosh’s muzzle, right before he let out yet another sigh. “Eeyup, that she did… But you, yah caused that, yah know? Yah pushed n’pushed and no matter how hard them mares pushed back, yah didn’t stop even though your body wanted to, and you got through to Applejack. And then…” Another sigh left the giant work horse as a deeper sadness showed itself and replaced that small sad smile from a second ago. Truth be told, it was a side of him you had never seen before. “Horse apples… ah escaped Fluttershy ah second time, yah know? Made mah way to the house through the orchard at night and thought ah’d hide in Applejack’s room. Last place Fluttershy would check, or so ah thought… W-wasn’t expecting to see what ah saw. Y-yah didn’t look right. Bandages all over yah as mah poor sister Applejack slept in her bed with you, hugging yah so tight ah doubted even Celestia could have pulled yah away from her.” He had to pause for a second, closing his eyes before he continued, and hopefully before you could see a tear form and roll down his cheek. You didn’t say anything, and only listened. “Ah was so dumbstruck ah didn’t even react when Fluttershy came up from behind me and placed her hoof on mah back. Heck, didn’t even notice Nurse Redheart sleeping in the chair in the room. Fluttershy, she had found out about what happened to yah in the morning after, just as the sun came up. Applejack had dragged yah from the orchard to the house, and once she made sure yah were still breathing, she shot off to get her cause we were closest…” This time around, Big Macintosh didn’t even make the effort to hide the new tears that shone on his eyes. “Fluttershy volunteered t’spend the first night there, keep Applejack company while she watched over yah. Th-that’s why she wasn’t at our cottage when ah let mahself out… she didn’t tell me cause she didn’t want me to worry. Cause she new ah’d blame mahself cause ah ran out on yah when Miss Pinkie Pie jumped out at us.” “Big Mac…” You found yourself saying before he continued. “You weren’t at fault. At that moment, against Pinkie Pie, a part of me honestly viewed it as survival of the fittest… at least until Fluttershy tackled you. Then she became the fittest.” That caused him to chuckle a bit. But it didn’t last as he closed his eyes again and shook his head, his sad expression and voice refusing to leave him. “That… that ain’t an excuse though. Not at that moment and not now. Ah told yah back then ah thought of yah as family, and that ain’t changed since then. And family not only cause of yah being with Applejack, but… Thing is, ah’ve come to think of yah as mah own brother, and ah hope yah will be someday. Though, yah a mighty weird looking thing. And… and ah abandoned yah when yah could of needed me. Family don’t do that. And cause ah did that… mah sister had to suffer as she watched over yah.” Things became quite as you both continued to look at one another. You had known him for a long time. He had been a constant friend since your earlier days in Equestria, after you began living at Sweet Apple Acres. And if there was thing you understood without a doubt about him, it was that he loved his family and would do anything to keep them out of harm. And truth be told, you too had come to consider them as family yourself. But hearing it from somepony else, beside Applejack who loved you unconditionally, made you realize how fortunate you were to have met them, and just how much they all meant to you. The thought of you ending up like before, and Applejack having to go through that again, was not something he was going to allow. “You’re an idiot Big Mac. Get off me.” Which was perhaps one of the couple of reasons why Big Macintosh’s expression changed and turned to one of offense and annoyance. He however did as you asked, and he removed himself from on top of you, and sat down a bit away from you. That look on him though, didn’t last long as you wasted little time in standing up and walked over to him before throwing your arms around him to pull him in for a hug. For the first time, ever, since you had known him, he flinched. “A simple, ‘sorry for ditching you back there’ would have sufficed. And honestly, you’re an idiot for thinking any of that was remotely your fault, and an idiot for thinking I can just brush off that kiss with Lyra as ‘trivial’. I know it’s going to come back to bite me in the plot later. But... your idiocy aside...thank you, Big Macintosh.” You said with a smile as you pulled away and moved your hand to his shoulder before giving it a heartfelt pat. “Thank you for trying to help me clear my head... brother.” There was nothing but sincerity in your voice as you told him this, and you felt him give you a similar pat on your shoulder with his hoof. “So, ah take it yah ain’t gonna stop at nuh’thing to keep Applejack safe in all of this.” “Well, wouldn’t you pull out all the stops, or go that far, no matter what, for Fluttershy?” “Eeyup.” “Heh, then I guess we’re both idiots, true and true.” “Heck, ah think ah caught mah idjet from you.” “Nah, you don’t catch my degree of idject. You have to earn it.” “Well, then ah suppose we’re all gonna earn our idject titles after this.” Big Macintosh’s expression was finally back to its stoic self as he spoke and you nodded in agreement. A comfortable silence had quickly settled around the two of you, and it was now darker than before, making it rather clear that this conversation had gone on for a while. And honestly, the sudden realization that you weren’t alone in all this. That at least one other pony was going to be doing everything to help you save Applejack, made this conversation well worth every second. Even if nothing had honestly been resolved. “I guess though, I should at least try and solve one problem, and set things straight with Lyra before we go stop a crazy Changeling.” Strangely enough, at that moment and with everything that had just happened, you honestly expected more support from Big Macintosh instead of him just shrugging his shoulders before turning around to look out into the snowstorm and around the cave entrance. “Well, maybe it won’t be so bad for yah. Equestria is ah might different from where yah came from.” “Yeah? How so? Are females more forgiving?” “Well, ah can't say for sure. But for starters, ah doubt yah’d see ah Changeling heading towards yah through ah snowstorm.” “Oh yeah, you definitely don’t see-wait, what?! Oh sh-” Some of the lights from Ponyville were still visible through the trees as the train made its way up the mountain towards Canterlot. It was still a ways away. And, although the falling snow gave the scenery a new face through the dark of night, the pony staring out the window of one of the passenger cars found little interest in it as she absently pet the mane of the pony that slept next to her. She had been silently staring at the fog on the window she created each time she breathed. And each time it fogged up, it revealed an odd looking stick figure with two legs that had been crudely drawn not too long ago. As she breathed on it again though, and the window fogged up, she redrew the figure with her hoof and added another figure with four legs next to it. A small smile formed across her lips as she looked at the window, and on her next breath, she added a few more figures to the window. “Applejack? Dear?” “Hm-huh?” Applejack barely reacted as she heard her name called and turned to see Rarity sitting on the seat across from her. She hadn’t even noticed when she sat down, let alone for how long she had been there. “Howdy Rares…” She gave Rarity a small smile. “What’s on yah mind?” “Well, not so much my mind, but rather, what is on your mind, darling?” “Huh?” Applejack followed Rarity’s gaze towards the window and felt a tad bit silly for having drawn such foalish things. “Heh, sorry, guess ah made a mess on the window. Ah’ll clean it before-” “Don’t darling, it’s… unique.” Applejack could only stare at the white unicorn while one of her eyebrows climbed up further and further till it almost disappeared under her hat. It was rather hard for Rarity not to quickly notice this, and she cleared her throat in the most lady-like fashion she could muster before she spoke again. “Your family, is unique, Applejack.” She said with a genuine smile as she turned to look back at the fading picture on the window. What she now caught a glimpse of, was a figure with two legs, one with four legs and a hat that stood next to it, a big figure with a smaller figure with wings on its back, and a small filly like figure that stood next to one with crooked legs. Rarity couldn’t help but let out a giggle as she turned back to look at Applejack. “Though I guess your art skills are a bit rudimentary, dear Applejack. Perhaps it would be best if you all got a picture taken together once we resolve all of… this.” She finished with a twirl of her hoof to emphasize what she meant. It had its desired effect though, and that suggestion got a smile out of Applejack. Applejack’s hoof had come to a stop as she felt Fluttershy fidget a bit while she still slept on the sit. Her family had grown indeed, and it was still growing. And she’d be damned to Tartarus if she allowed anything to get in the way of that. “I’m certain they are fine, Applejack.” Rarity commented as if reading her friend's thoughts. “Ah know, Rarity, n’ah hope that we are all correct on thinking that. But, ah just…” She stopped and shook her head as she rubbed her temples underneath her hat. “Ah just wish ah knew why he was so hard set on going to the shop today, or for that matter, these past few weeks. This all ain’t of happened if he stayed home. But, it were almost like he were up to sum’thing and-” The strangled noise that emanated from Rarity was loud enough to cause Applejack to pause and turn to look at the white unicorn sitting across from her. Rarity was looking off to the side, her face scrunched up as she apparently now found the ceiling of the passenger car the most interesting thing in Equestria. “Rarity? What was tha-” “You know darling, I think we could use some snacks to help carry this lovely conversation forward.” The scrunchiness on Rarity’s face only intensified as she finished speaking. And Applejack’s eyes narrowed dangerously underneath her hat as she focused on the sweating unicorn. “Um, yes, quite… And now I am rather parched, so I think I’ll go see if I can find that snack trolley for us and-” Rarity’s valiant attempt to vacate her seat and walk towards the aisle was halted by a much faster moving Applejack dead set on keeping the unicorn from going anywhere. It was like watching a deer freeze in the lamp lights of an oncoming carriage. “Rarity, yah ain’t leaving till yah tell me-HEY!” The sudden blue hue that coalesced over Rarity’s horn was quickly, and quite literally, slapped away as Applejack’s tail shot out in a swipe to flick at it. The sudden interruption broke Rarity’s spell and she suddenly found herself pressed against the window as Applejack drew closer to her, her green eyes portraying nothing but focus and determination to get what she wanted out of her. Panicking, the unicorn tried again, and was met with the same results. “Quit it! Don’t ya think for a second I don’t recognize ah teleportation spell when ah see one, Rares. Besides, this here’s ah train. Not many places to hide, so unless ya want to flee into the forest, yah best start talking” Rarity pondered this for a second as she turned to look behind her, out into the passing forest and mountain scenery, and then back to look at Applejack’s determined expression. She paused for another second or two before she turned back to look out at the scenery again, and then took her time to turn back and focus on Applejack’s now deadpan and unamused expression. “Really, Rarity?” “What? I’ll have you know that I am quite capable of, ‘roughing it’ in the woods.” “Uh huh…” There went that eyebrow again. And, with a sigh of defeat, Rarity had no other choice but to succumb to it and sat down hard on the floor. “Fine, but…” She looked around, scanning to see if anypony else was listening in on then. Only after she felt certain, she motioned for Applejack to get closer. “You have to promise you will still act surprised when the time comes.” “What in Equestria are yah going on about Rarity?” “Well, it’s just…it’s supposed to be a secret. And, even if I didn’t Pinkie promise, I-” Rarity stopped when she notice Applejack take her hooves into her own, and gave her a pleading look. “I… he-he was at my shop a few weeks ago for measurements and, well, while conversing he mentioned that he wanted to do something special for Hearth’s Warming Eve and mentioned something about dinners being a custom or such back where he’s from… and I may have, sort of, slightly suggested this one rather expensive restaurant in Canterlot.” “A-A restaurant?” “Oh yes! But I doubt this has anything to do with this. The one I suggested is perhaps the most expensive restaurant in Canterlot. Quite luxurious and the food is simply divine. He seemed rather taken with the suggestion and nearly left right there and then to go make the reservations. Though, I do believe the price was rather shocking to him once I mentioned it and-Applejack, darling? Are you okay?” Applejack hardly reacted when Rarity spoke to her again. She was too busy trying to prevent a small tear from making its way down her cheek, only to fail and having to bring a hoof up to wipe it away. “Oh dear, Applejack, I had no intention of upsetting you. Like I said, it is very unlikely this has anything to do with what happened to his shop, or to him and your brother. I simply thought-” A set of strong hooves prevented her from finishing that sentence and Rarity suddenly found herself in a tight hug with Applejack. It took her a second or two to process what was going on and, once her well manicured hamster began to spin its wheel, she wrapped her own hooves around the farmer pony to return the hug. “Thank you, Rarity.” “Whatever for, Applejack?” “For making me realize ah’m being an idjet. Heh, ah guess trying t’make sense of all this has made me ah bit silly.” “Oh Applejack, don’t be, well, silly. I think you are well entitled to such, uh, silliness given the situation.” “Heh, ah guess so. Though, ah’m a might angry at him now…” Rarity pushed away from Applejack, her expression being nothing short of confusion and uncertainty of whether or not she had heard her right. However, as she looked at Applejack, she couldn’t help but feel that her smile was rather, contrary to the sentiment she had just conveyed. “I- I am afraid I don’t quite understand, darling…” “Well, cause now that ah know this, after we find’em… Ah’m gonna have t’ask yah to make me ah fru-fru dress for that fancy dinner that idjet planned.” No mare should be allowed to squee in such delight as Rarity did at that exact moment. Which oddly enough worked rather well for Applejack since the fashionista wasn’t able to hear her mumble to herself, how she was going to use that dress to strangle a certain human with it for having made her go through all this. A cold vibe suddenly shot down your spine, and you nearly lost your footing as your head was forced to look behind you, into the snowstorm. You slowly scanned the area around you to make sure nothing was watching you, waiting for you to drop your guard. Something primal, as primal as self-preservation could get, told you that if you did, it would not end well for you. “Yah okay over there?” “Huh? Oh yeah, sorry. It’s just…” You paused as you readjusted your position and gave one last glance behind you. “You ever get the feeling you’re in trouble, but don’t know why yet?” “Yah kidding, right?” Big Macintosh spoke while he gave you a deadpan look, which in itself was rather impressive seeing how none reactive his face always looked. “With the day you n’the rest of us are having, ah’m surprised it took yah this long to realize we’re in a heap of trouble.” “Heh, funny, funny… been kind of a weird day for me, okay? So I get a pass. How’s your day going?” Big Macintosh didn’t reply, stopping only to look at you and readjust his position. “Okay, fine. Quiet time. Let’s get her inside before we both turn into popsicles.” “Eeyup.” “One, two, and… *hurk*” You didn’t realize how much your side was beginning to hurt. But, with a bit of effort, you were able to lift the unconscious Changeling onto Big Macintosh’s back, and adjust her until you were sure she would not slide off. Once you were certain of that, both you and the red stallion began to make your way back into the cavern, and down into the cave. “Yup… strange day indeed.” You mumbled to yourself as you pondered how smart it was to bring in a maybe enemy, maybe ally, into the place where you and your friends were hiding. “Eeyup…” Good thing you had a brother that agreed with you. Author's Note Drama, drama, drama, drama-llama~ Ah bit of drama and feelings never hurt anyp-OH CELESTIA! MY HANDS! WHY?!" Disclaimer - All characters presented in this work of fiction are owned by their respective creators and owners. In short, all the wubs go to Hasbro.
Homerun! - Fraternizing with the enemy!“I hate today…” “Eeyup…” “It just keeps getting more complicated and annoying…” “Eeyup…” “I should’ve just stayed in bed with Applejack…” “…” The sudden lack of reply from Big Macintosh made you turn away from the scene playing out in front of you and look at him instead. His face conveyed a bit of unease at the image your comment had most likely summoned. “Hey, as far as I’m concerned, you’ve more than given me your blessing… Bro.” The groan that left him only added to your mirth at the sudden opportunity you had for getting back at him for more than a few prior jabs at your expense. “We were all nice and toasty under those blankets. Getting comfortable, while she smiled and basked in the sensation of me running my hand across her-OH GODDESSES MY SIDE!” The pained voice that echoed through the small enclosure, helped you realize, from your new position on the floor lightly rolling as you clutched at your injured side, that you may have taken the joke a bit far. Honestly though, it wasn’t like you were about to go into full detail. That’s perhaps a story for another time. “Ow… stop doing that you ass!” “Now now, don’t be an idjet. Yah know ah ain’t ah mule. Besides, it’s just a small scratch.” It was now Big Macintosh’s turn to smirk at you, right before he turned to look away and settled his gaze back at what you two had originally been looking at. After a few seconds of you laying prone on the ground, you eventually managed to stand back up and joined him in looking at the ponies in front of you. Caramel sat on the other side of the cave, looking sadly at the creature that lay in front of him, wrapped in your jacket. He was as stiff as a statue, and, although he looked sad, it was still kind of hard to fully read his expression. However, if you had to venture a guess, you’d have said it looked like he was struggling with a mixture of worry and sadness that every now and then traded places with a deep doubt and an urge to flee. Caramel had been like that since you and Big Macintosh came back in from your little chat, carrying an unconscious Changeling. More precisely, the one with the pink eyes. The one that had helped you. While you and Big Macintosh had been talking outside, she had made her way through the snow storm, somehow stumbling upon the two of you. You supposed that a big red object like Big Macintosh, standing outside in a field of white snow was something easy enough to see. You’d have to wait to find that out later however. As soon as Big Macintosh noticed her making her way towards you, she collapsed and let out a barely audible plea for help. Both of you had not really stopped to think about the possibilities of it being a trap, and ran towards her as fast as you both could through the snow. Big Macintosh reached her first, and had stopped dead in his tracks, looking at her. You immediately understood why he had once you reached her too. What you saw told you it wasn’t a trap. “Sh-she found ou-out… sh-she wasn’t happy…” She had managed to let out in a whimper, right before she fell unconscious. You had seen bugs that had been stepped on, repeatedly, that looked a lot better than she did. Even through the snow that had gathered on her, you could see cracks all over the chitin that covered the Changeling. Some parts on her even had chips or pieces missing entirely. But, what had shocked you the most about how she looked was that these, along with some of the nastier looking cracks, gave off a sort of glowing green dust that rose into the air a few inches before fading away. When you and Big Macintosh examined these closer, you could faintly see a sort of gray, fuzzy looking skin through the rising green dust and missing pieces of her carapace. Understandably, you had been hesitant to touch her. But, when you passed your hand through the glowing green dust, that hesitation vanished. Warmth and a deep longing immediately filled you. It swept up through your arm and spread to every extremity of your being. You had to stop there and then to try and catch your breath as a different kind of warm sensation ran down your cheek before growing cold in the wind, and a single thought overtook your mind and blocked everything else. Applejack. As quick as that warmth and sense of longing had come, it had vanished. Swept away by the sound of Big Macintosh’s voice piercing your ears. His hoof had also come into contact with the green dust and, as you both blinked at one another, both realizing the other had felt the exact same thing. Love. Neither of you two wasted any more time in bringing the Changeling inside and pushed the matter far back into your minds. The dust had no other effect on you when you touched it again. And it would be something to discuss at a later time. Once inside, a bout of panic streaked through the ponies gathered around the campfire. That however, came to an abrupt stop with the echoing sound of Big Macintosh’s voice. A space was made by the fire and with Lyra’s help, you gently removed the Changeling off of Big Macintosh’s back, and wrapped her in your jacket. She was still giving off the green smoke, and when Lyra’s hoof came into contact with it, you observed a similar reaction as you had experienced. She had not been able to take her eyes off you as a tear broke free of her golden eyes. You had wanted to say something then, to talk to her about what had happened earlier. But your attention had been wrenched away once you paid closer attention to the Changeling. Much to your surprise, some of the smaller cracks and holes looked slightly smaller than before. But, in the small amount of time that it took you and Big Macintosh to make it back inside, she appeared to have begun struggling to breath. That was when Caramel quietly approached and stood watching over her, much as he did now. Not saying a single word. Almost an hour had gone by since then. And now, you were certain that your guess back in that old house, that there was something going on between Caramel and the Changeling was dead on. And by the looks of it, he was having a very hard time dealing with it even now. Not much different from your current predicament, it seemed. “She-she really hasn’t moved much since you dudes brought her in. Think she’s alright?” Thunderlane suddenly asked, snapping you out of your thoughts and recollections. Lyra had asked you the same thing only a few minutes ago. So, you gave the only response you felt was adequate given how repetitive that particular question had become. “Dammit Jim! I’m a repairman! Not a doctor! Plus, I’m wearing a red shirt…” The collective silence from everypony present reminded you why you had stopped doing that in the first place. Still, you supposed that an inside joke, even if you were the only one laughing on the inside, was good for the soul every now and then. “Whut?” Thunderlane asked as he flew up into the small space and hovered in front of you. “It means I’m not a doctor, a pony doctor, or a bug-pony doctor… and that my only function is to fix things and to boldly go where no man-err, pony has gone before and not return to the ship because I fell victim to something unexpected… Like a peanut allergy or something.” The silence that permeated the cave again was palatable. At least that was the case until Lyra suddenly began to giggle. She was the only one you had ever bothered to explain to some of the more, perhaps ‘quirky’, aspects of human culture. It had been after all, for her book she was writing. She had even made the comment once of wanting to try and put together a ‘comic-con’ of sorts. “Lyra! What gives? You seriously broke him with that stunt back there!” Thunderlane suddenly interrupted Lyra’s giggling fit as he turned and pointed an accusatory hoof at her. To Lyra’s merit though, that only made her giggle a little more. “I did no such thing! He was already broken when I found him!” “Hey!” You protested, suddenly wanting to take that merit back. “Eeyup, sounds about right.” Big Macintosh decided to chime in, and earned a reproachful stare from you, which of course only seemed to heighten his enjoyment of the conversation. “See? Even Big Mac agrees! Poor guy even thinks my name is ‘Jim’ or something!” “Well, you sure act like him.” You interrupted, and raised your hands in front of you to signal him to stop before his mouth opened up again. “Remind me again why your mouth was glued shut with that green goop?” “Huh? What?” Thunderlane stopped to look at everpony in confusion, knowing Caramel had explained this to everypony while you were all still captives in that old abandoned house. “It was-it was because I hit on that one Changeling. The mean one, the one with the um… the um… nice curvy plot.” To his credit, he at least blushed a bit. “Right, and that’s why you’re Captain Jim Kirk… To boldly hit on anything that remotely looks female and has a pretty smile, no matter how crazy she is.” There were only a few second of silence before the cave fell victim to the laughter that erupted from both Lyra and Big Macintosh. You didn’t waste any time in joining in as well. And, after a few seconds of stunned silence, even Thunderlane joined in too. It was honestly something everypony needed right there and then. A bit of laughter. “Well –heh- you know what dude? I at least got game! –haha- No mare, pony or bug, is immune to my charms!” “Ha! He’s got, uh, game, Thunderlane!” Lyra suddenly chimed in as her laughter died down a bit. “All the mares in Pony wanted a piece of him… and he’s so weird looking!” She finished as she nuzzled your thigh, as to prove her point. “Geez, thanks Lyra for calling me weird…” You responded through a bit of chuckling as you placed your hand atop her head and began to pet her and scratch behind her ears. Lyra visibly froze for a fraction of a second at your touch, and a deep blush overtook her just as quickly. She began to relish the sensation, and pushed further into your hand, her eyes closed in blissful satisfaction. You didn’t pull you hand away, enjoying the feel of her fur and the welcome warmth that filled your chest as you looked down at her. Her eyes slowly opened, revealing an emotion you had seen countless times before, from another mare, and her eyes slowly met yours. You held her gaze and her blush only deepened as that warmth in your chest grew and grew, and a series of stray thoughts coursed through your mind. Applejack loves me, and I love her beyond anything, and that will never change. She loves me for who I am, no matter what. But Lyra… I’m glad she gets my dumb jokes every now and then, even jokes that only a human might get. She’s such a curious little thing. She asks so many questions about me and “what” I am… about where I was. It’s hard to feel truly homesick around her. Around Applejack and her. Lyra’s so cute when she blushes, and she does have a very sexy plot. Your eyes suddenly bulged wide open and your hand stopped moving, Lyra seemingly content to just continue rubbing against it. The sensation of sweat rolling down your forehead was immediate, your mind having suddenly changed gears as new thoughts shot through it at breakneck speeds. What the heck was that!? What was I just thinking of!? Sweet Celestia and Luna! Applejack’s never going to want to see me again if I don’t reign this in and- “She’s waking up!” You pulled your hand away and abruptly stepped forward, nearly causing Lyra to fall to the side. You didn’t stop to check if she had or not as you continued to look at the source of the voice, Caramel, right before your gaze dropped down to look at the stirring form wrapped in your jacket. You were barely able to make out a shallow groan from her, right before the Changeling’s head rose up, and her eyes fell on Caramel, who towered over her. “Cara-Caramel?...” Caramel looked away, visibly chewing on his lower lip, and the Changeling’s gaze lingered for a bit before it too looked away as a tear fell onto your jacket, sparkling for a second in the fire’s light. “Ah think its best w’all go outside and give’em sum privacy.” Big Macintosh quickly said as he began to make his way out towards the cave entrance. Your mouth opened to protest, but it quickly closed and you turned to look back at Lyra. She was still looking at you intently, that blush still evident. Her breathing looked and sounded heavier than it should have, and her tail was hiked up slightly. You needed to clear your head. Cool it down. It was cold outside. That would work. You immediately did a full about-face turn, and walked quickly towards the outside of the cave, again. You overtook Big Macintosh, your pace only getting faster as the sound of hooves on stone quickly filled in behind you. You were barely able to make out Caramel’s shallow voice as it echoed from within the cavern. “Wh-why did you do it, Morning Mist?” “We both seem to be asking something similar, aren’t we, Caramel?” You quietly told yourself as the cold coming from the outside grew. “Why did I do that?” “Uh, what are you doing?” “Mum huming do wool mah head…” “… Whut?” You pulled your head out from the snow, and shivered like crazy as you ran back towards the cave entrance where you found a spot just beyond it where the cold and wind could not reach you. It was mildly above freezing. “I said that I was trying to cool my head.” You replied again and hugged your arms around yourself, and dropped to the ground. You were trying to shrink yourself into a small, warm, ball. You had left you jacket behind, the sole witness to whatever conversation Caramel and the Changeling, whom you assumed was called Morning Mist, were currently having. The sweater you had on honestly did little to hold back the cold. But at least, it helped keep your mind lukewarm as you focused on not freezing, and allowed a little chant to play out in your head. I am not attracted to Lyra… I am not attracted to Lyra… I am not attracted to Lyra… That’s not true… Shut up brain! Come on, be honest with yourself… Okay, fine! Will you shut up if I admit she’s cute?! Perhaps I will… That is the truth after all. Well tough luck! I’m not going further than that cause I love Applejack, okay?! That is also true… … “Why am I arguing with myself?!” “Arguing about what?” Big Macintosh’s voice suddenly filled your ears along with a welcome warmth that nestled next to you. You had to do everything possible not to scream like you usually did, and instead, settled for coughing as you nearly swallowed your tongue. “Whoa there now.” Big Macintosh’s voice sounded next to you once more as his hoof patted your back. “Can’t have yah chocking till after we sort that Changeling out n’make sure Applejack and Fluttershy are okay.” “Um, yeah, about that…” Your attention turned toward Thunderlane. “So, what’s the deal with you and Applejack? Are you-” As if on cue, a new warmth filled your other side, and you turned to watch as Lyra laid next to you and contently pushed her head underneath your arm. “Uh, are you all…” Thunderlane tapped his forehooves together, trying to imply something that you quite didn’t understand. “You know, together?” You blinked at him, a bit of confusion clearly etched along your face. “For, uh, a while now, yeah. Since the heat season ended.” “Really? Wow, congrats dude! How was the heat this year? You didn’t get too banged up, did you?” You blinked again at him, the confusion from before only having grown. They had said they’d been held captives for a while, but… “Thunderland, how long were you there for?” “Huh? What? Why?” “Well, last time I saw you, it was when you escaped those mares and flew towards the flock of male Pegasus-” “WHAT?!” The evident shock in Thunderlane’s outburst sent him flying into the air right before he pushed forward and began to hover an inch or two from your nose. “He did what?!” “Uh… He?” “That Changeling! The one with the blue eyes!” “Uh… you mean to say that wasn’t you?” “NO! Oh horseapples! They’re going to ban me for good this time!” “They? Who’s they? Wait, this time?” “The Flock! We have protocols! Rules to survive the heat!” “Uh, okay, like?” Thunderlane stopped in his half crazed rambling and looked nervously at Lyra. She was obviously too content with nuzzling into you to care, but that didn’t seem to be enough for the panicked Pegasus. “I… We don’t talk about it.” “What? Why? Is this like, Fight Club??” “Wh-what? No! Dude, we’re not fighting! You and I are cool, dude!” “No, I meant… nevermind. So you mean to tell me that wasn’t you up there?” “No!” “You mean to tell me you’ve been held captive this whole time?” “Yes!” “And what about Caramel? When he get kidnapped?” Big Macintosh asked, having taken a sudden interest in the conversation. “At the same time as I was. He wanted to introduce me to his marefri-” He paused and his gaze shifted toward the cave entrance, and remained there for a bit before he began biting his lip and turned back around. “I-I guess what he thought was his marefriend at the time…” No pony said anything else after that, perhaps visualizing or wondering just what kind of conversation was taking place back down in the cave. You blinked a few times before you realized that like everypony else, you had inadvertently turned your head to look behind you. You felt a sense of sadness for the poor guy. Admittedly, he was a bit of screw-up at times, but still, he was a nice guy all around. To get played like that was just… “Wait…” You spoke softly and shook your head to clear your thoughts. “That seems… You mean to say that all that time you were both held captive, they never talked it out? I mean he must have been furious. At least, yell it out?” “Well, for a good part of that time, it was just the one with the blue eyes that watched us. Guess she was ordered to stay in Ponyville to keep tabs on you and Applejack. Caramel was convinced she had been kidnapped too. At least, that was until…” Thunderlane paused, and in a rare moment, at least in the little time you had known him, he brought up his hoof to his chin and appeared to be in deep thought. You swore you heard a few seconds from an invisible clock tick on by from somewhere in the cavern. “At least, that was until a few days ago when they all got together to plan your capture. She showed up looking like a Changeling. We didn’t know it was her until… until the big mean one ordered here to change into her disguise. She refused at first, and, well, you saw how the mean one is towards her. She didn’t want to, but in the end… Caramel, poor guy, he took it hard.” Again, no pony said anything for a while, the only sound being that of a dying wind. The snow storm was finally starting to die off. Or so it seemed. It was hard to tell, but you would have wagered you had all been outside for close to an hour or more. She didn’t want him to know she had betrayed him... and by the looks of it, she really did fall for him. A sigh escaped you as a now noticeable tiredness overtook you. If the snow storm was finally dying down, you’d be able to move out soon. You had been through worst. A little lack of rest and cold weather wasn’t going to stop you. “Maybe I should go check to see if they’re done talking.” You commented while you moved to stand up, but stopped when you felt Thunderlane’s wingtip brush past you as he flew on ahead. “Nah, I got this dude. I’m as worried about him as you guys are, so I’ll go make sure he’s okay.” You smiled and settled back down to wait. Because honestly, what else was there to do until the snowstorm fully died off? All you could do was get comfortable and allow for your mind to wonder a bit. And, almost immediately, many new and old thoughts ran through your mind, trying to make the best use of the time you had. At some point after a few minutes had gone by, you had begun to absently run your fingers through Lyra’s mane. It sounded like she had fallen asleep, and had done so being content that she was nowhere else, but where she was now, with you. “Looks like yah still be need’n to figure out what yah gonna do, huh?” Big Macintosh asked you while his eyes remained closed, apparently having pretended to be asleep while you mulled over your thoughts. You couldn’t help but let out an exasperated sigh as you too closed your eyes, and followed his lead. “One thing at a time, Big Mac. Besides, I’m still trying to figure out some old things, and new things that just sprang up.” “Oh? Like?” You paused while you mauled the question over, and tried to figure out a way to word what was on your mind. Years of watching movies of varying genres back on Earth, had given you a basic idea of how evil should behave, at least in movies that is. “It just that…” Eventually, you figured out that straight to the point was the best choice, as opposed to trying to explain a lifetimes worth of movie plot knowledge. “The heat was months ago, and they kept those two hostage for all that time… and none of us knew it till it was too late.” Your head hung a bit low as you began to accept just how serious a foe you were up against, how organized they were, or rather, had been. And just how outmatched you were. “How do we stop them? I mean, you’re right… they aren’t going to pull their punches. And if Applejack is in the crossfire, I don’t know how I’ll keep her out of danger.” Your gaze slowly fell on Lyra, and there was no hesitation in what came out from your mouth next. “How can I keep them both out of harm’s way?” “Ah honestly… don’t quite know.” Your head turned to look at him, the disappointment in his words clearly etched on your face. That was not the reply you had come to expect from Big Macintosh, especially if his sister was involved. He always had a suggestion. Some idea, some cryptic comment that held some of that seemingly sage-like knowledge he could tap into from time to time. And now, when you needed it most, as the snowstorm died, right before you lunged head first into danger… he had nothing to give you. For a fraction of a second, it felt as if the rug had been pulled from underneath your feet. “But what ah do know…” He continued as he turned to look out into the storm. “Is that it shouldn’t ah take this here long for Thunderlane to go check on Caramel’n that changeling.” “Ahhh!” As if on cue, you heard the echo of a scream from within the cave and bolted upright before immediately dashing off to see what was going on. Lyra only lagged a bit behind, her sudden rude awakening slowing her down bit before she caught up with the two of you. “AHHH!” “Ha! See? I’m not the only one that screams like a filly, Big Mac! Thunderlane does it too!” You commented through a couple of hard breaths, the scream echoing out louder as you got closer. Whatever was causing Thunderlane to scream out like that, was not letting up as you heard it again, and then again, in rapid successions. You could only imagined what had happened to poor Caramel. Had he been the first victim of the Changeling’s trap? Deep down, you felt a pang of guilty for having brought here in from the cold, to where your friends were. But you also felt a deep well of sadness, for her not having been an ally in all this. “Ahh… ahhh… AHHH!” Big Macintosh suddenly slowed down in front of you, nearly causing you to bowl right over him. You managed to dodge him at the last minute, and quickly passed him as you turned back to give him a confused glare. “Big Mac?! What the hay?! We’re almost there, right around this-“ No sooner did the words leave your mouth, that you suddenly found yourself colliding with something. Both you and it tumbled into the ground in a wreck of limbs, and one or two obscenities, before finally coming to stop with whatever you had hit resting on top you. It took you a moment to clear your spinning head, only to have your injured side flare up in pain as Thunderlane suddenly tried to push off you and pressed down on it with his hoof, one of his rear legs pushing into your stomach. “What the buck Thunderlane?! What’s wro-“ “SHHH!” He hushed you and placed his hoof over your mouth as he looked at everypony that had gathered, signaling for them to keep quiet as well. “I don’t understand, what’s going on Thunderlane? Why are you hush-” “AHHH-mmm, Yess!” Everpony present turned to look at the little hole in the wall you had all been using as shelter within the cavern. What you heard coming from within it was no scream for help, but instead… “AHHHHH!” “Oh my…” Lyra let out in a shocked whisper as she finished her sentence, and another moan echoed out into the cave, quickly followed by what could faintly be distinguished as a very low slapping sound. “Thunderlane… are they-“ “They seem to have made up…” He interrupted your question as he swallowed hard and looked at the source of where the noise was coming from, not bothering to get off of you. “Mmmm-yes… just like that Caramel!” “Eeyup, sure does sound like it.” Nopony else said anything, perhaps not really sure what to say in the first place. Everypony had rushed to what they believed was the sound of Thunderlane in need of help, and had instead come upon a scene that, given all that was happening, was perhaps not the most beneficial to the group. “Oh Goddesses… Mist, I’m close!” Aside from Caramel that is, who sounded to be in much better spirits than before. “Wait a second Thunderlane… How long have they been, “making up” for?” Thunderlane suddenly began to shift his gaze to look at everything else without making direct eye contact with any pony, or human, present. Your eyes quickly fell on his wings. They were extended. “Uh, well, you see, thing is… uh…” “Where you down here spying on them?!” Lyra suddenly asked him in a silent, yet accusatory hiss as she approached him, eyes wide in shock and a light blush across her muzzle. “What?! No! I wasn’t spying on them! Uh, well… that is… not long!” “Now that there ain’t right Thunderlane… Spying on mah cousin like that.” “No! Big Macintosh! It wasn’t like that, hones-“ Thunderlane didn’t get to finish his sentence as he turned his body towards Big Macintosh, and stopped when the same thing from before poke and dug gently into your stomach. Even from your position on the ground, you could see his eyes grow wide. “Thunderlane…” You spoke quietly, not wanting to look at what you really hoped was not what you thought was poking you in your stomach. “That better not be what I think it is…” Thunderlane didn’t reply, but instead slowly removed himself off of you and walked shamefully, and rather awkwardly, off to a corner. You didn’t say anything as you sat up, and rubbed the bridge of your nose, which proved rather pointless in quelling your ever growing headache. “Celestia, Luna… I just want this day to end on a happy note, please.” You let out in an exasperated whisper, as you tried not to think about why there was a cool wet spot on your shirt now. “Caramel! I love you-AHH!” “Oh Mist, I’m cu-“ Everypony present suddenly found the floor beneath their hooves to be the most interesting thing in the world as the crescendo of echoes coming from within the cavern suddenly came to a standstill. And, after a few seconds of silence, you all assumed the awkward moment you had all been forced to listen to had passed. “Heh, uh, guess Caramel had his day end on a happy note.” Lyra commented as she came to stand next to you, and rubbed her foreleg over the other one, the blush from before still quite evident. “Uh huh…” Was all you were able to force out in response, your fingers still doing their best to rub away the headache. “Say, uh, weren’t she using your jacket as ah blanket before w’all stepped out?” “…” Sometimes it was hard to tell when Big Macintosh was trying to be helpful or just relishing in your discomfort. Author's Note It's been a while, hasn't it? But worry not, I won't bore you with the details. Just know that I intend to finish this story. Disclaimer - All characters presented in this work of fiction are owned by their respective creators and owners. In short, all the wubs go to Hasbro.
Morning Stretches - Nothing Like A Good Warmup!Time can pass in the blink of an eye. Or so the saying goes. For some, a single year could seem like such a long time. However, once you reached the end of that one year mark, it could often not be helped but to look back and wonder where all that time went. It was almost as if time itself had slipped like fine grained sand through the fingers of an open palm, never really figuring out where it went after it fell. Perhaps, that’s where the idea for hourglasses came from. You really didn’t know though. What you did know though, was that as time passed, so did came with it life changing events that smacked their victims like runaway trucks. Or, seeing as there were no trucks in the world you now lived it, perhaps a runaway carriage or wagon would be a better analogy seeing as time had made no exceptions on how it treated you. Within the blink of an eye, life for you in Equestria had changed, sometimes for the worst, and sometimes for the better. Since the moment you found yourself face down in the dirt after arriving in Equestria, to the time you celebrated your first Hearth's Warming Eve, followed by the time when you first slept alone in your own home, and the time you found yourself running from a mob of heat crazed mares… There had always been a lingering doubt in the back of your mind. One that you could not simply shake off and toss into a closet to be forgotten till you felt like dealing with it again. Where was your life leading you to, and what would be the outcome of all this when it was said and done? Things had happened. Some traumatizing, others magnificent. The latter had made the former almost non important. Or so you liked to think. Fate had thrown so much at you through the course of a year, more so on that fateful day that it had all seemed almost impossible and hopeless. Yet, you had come out on top. You had survived an impossible event of which you had no natural right of being involved in the first place. And yet, you had done it… and in the end had managed to gain something precious along the way. It was honestly rather easy for you to be lured into thinking that fate had run out of challenges for you. You should know better though. Fate liked to hit people when they had their guard down. And as it so happened, the time for a new challenge had reared its ugly head again. Lucky for you though, this one was one you had grown accustomed to over the past week or so, as you began to stir from your slumber and joined the rising sun for a new day. You could feel the morning rays of the sun begin to warm your back as you slept on your side, facing away from the window. The more you stirred, the more you took notice of a slight nip in the air that you breathed. It was to be expected though, seeing as it was well into the winter season. Unlucky for you though, you were nice and toasty under your blankets, so that made it difficult for you to want to get up out of bed. However, luckily for you, that heavenly warmth that called you to stay in bed not only came from the bed sheets, but from the form that lay nuzzled against your chest, embraced tenderly in your arms. It made it easy for you to want to open your eyes, and partake in an all too familiar morning routine as you pulled the warm form closed to you and opened your eyes. A curtain of gold was the first thing that greeted you as your eyes adjusted and you breathed in an all too familiar scent, cinnamon and apples. You couldn’t help but smile as you began to hear her breathing and felt her side rise and fall lazily as you embraced her from behind. Her tail was wrapped around you leg, and you relished the sensation of it. You had to admit, you loved waking up to this, to the sight of the one you loved, to the sight of Applejack resting so peacefully. It made it worthwhile to wake up no matter what the weather outside was like. Perhaps that’s why the following was always so difficult. Gently, you began to inch away from her to give yourself a bit of space to work with. You didn’t want to wake her up. She deserved to rest. Almost every day of the year she would wake up at the crack of dawn and work till dusk as hard as she could. She always worked so hard. And, although she wasn’t alone, especially with you being around more now… you knew she never let up. With the exception of the winter season that is. Winter was the only time of year when the workload diminished considerably at the farm, and the Apple family could take a break. It was the only time of the year that Applejack could sleep in for just a little bit longer. You’d be damned if you were going to deprive her of that. Slowly, you continued to inch your way away from her, careful not to disturb her as you began to pull your away from her. She was lying on your other arm and her tail was wrapped around the opposite leg. It was almost like playing a game of Twister with how you had to contort and adjust yourself as you continued to pull away from her. It was a shame, really. You were already starting to miss her warmth. But you had somewhere to go to, so… “Yah promised sugahcube.” So that would have to wait as you suddenly heard her sleepy voice and felt her forelegs hold on tighter to your arms. Her tail lazily coiled around your other leg. She had you trapped. “Morning sweetie… sorry about waking you up.” You said as you pulled her towards you and placed a kiss on her neck, sacrificing whatever precious ground you had gained in your bid for extraction. It felt good to feel her warmth against you again though. “Mmm, yah ain’t gonna get off the hook that easily.” You heard her reply through a smile that she hid from you as she pressed her back further into you. By the sound of her voice though, and the unlady like yawn she let out, she was still obviously rather sleepy. You could only remain silent as you heard and felt her breath, and paid attention to the ticking sound of the clock in the room. If you waited a minute or two, she might fall asleep again, and you could try a second attempt. But damn, you were starting to feel sleepy again yourself. It was way too early to try for a second attempt, but… Carefully again, you began to pull away, but Applejack tightened her grip and you ended up dragging her along for the ride. “Ah’m still awake sugahcube.” You heard her say in a sleepy singsong voice. “Yeah, sort of figured that…” You waited quietly again for a few more ticks of the clock and tried again after you had counted more than sixty. “Nnope.” You could hear her smile as she teased you, no longer sounding as sleepy as before. “Yah promised and ah’m gonna hold yah to it… literally by the looks of it.” “I know Applejack, but I did say one more week and today is technically the seventh day of that week.” “Nnope, yesterday yah said you’d spend the whole day home today.” “I miscounted.” “Ain’t mah’fault you don’t know mathematics.” There was a long pause as the both of you remained silent. You had promised her yesterday that you would spend the whole day at home. Yet, you had made plans. In less than a week, the Hearth's Warming Eve pageant and celebration would take place in Canterlot. And like the year prior, during your first Hearth's Warming Eve, Applejack was going to play the part of Secretary Smart Cookie. The difference though, was that this time around you and she were together. Something that thanks to your ignorance the year prior, she had not been able to enjoy. You planned to make up for it this time around. You were going to take her out wherever she wanted to in Canterlot. You knew she wasn’t all that into the sophistication and high class that oozed out of every corner in Canterlot. But any mare would love to be treated out to a fancy dinner once in a while, right? Right. However, that plan required bits to pull off and you had been setting aside a few here and there from your work at the repair shop. You only needed one more day, just one more customer, and you’d have enough bits to make sure everything went off without a hitch. Especially since she didn’t know what you were up to. It was supposed to be a surprise after all. And apparently, so was what she began to do with her tail as it lazily uncoiled and traveled up your leg towards… “Oh?” “Mmhmm, wouldn’t yah rather stay here with little’ol me sugahcube, where it’s nice n’hot? Yes. The answer was yes. Or so your thoughts screamed out at you as you smiled and used your hands to massage her stomach before pulling one back to run down her side, caressing her as it slid down towards her haunches and… “Appljack?” “Mmm?” You heard her coo softly as you whispered into her ear from behind and continued to embrace and caress her. “Today is the last day sweetie…” Her tail suddenly stopped moving and pulled away from you. “I promi-” “Fine…” “Huh? KYAAH!” Some things never change. The cold wooden floor suddenly greeted your backside as you were pushed clear off the bed by Applejack’s well toned rump. Your body reacted immediately as the cold slapped you fully awake and you stood up trembling. You should really start wearing more than just your boxers to bed. “Sweet Celestia it’s COLD!” “Ah know.” You immediately turned to look at the culprit as you trembled uncontrollably and wrapped your arms around you for some form of warmth. She was in your spot now, hogging all the blankets as she looked back at you with an overly content smile considering what she had just done. “Ap-Applejack? What-what gives sweetie?” “Well sugahcube, if yah don’t want to stay here with me n’keep me warm, then ah’ll have to settle for yah warm spot and your pillow.” She declared nonchalantly as she nuzzled your pillow and inhaled deeply. You could only stand, trembling, as you watched her. You had to admit, although you were doing this for her, you had been a bit… distant during the past week. But, you were going to make up for it and then some. Or so you hoped at least. But, then again… “Applejack?” You called as you leaned over her and rested your hands on the mattress around her. “Can’t hear yah, ah’m asleep.” She replied rather cheerfully for a pony who was supposedly sleeping while snoring rather loudly. A smile was the only thing that showed on you face as you leaned further down towards her, and stopped less than an inch from her ear. “Well, perhaps a kiss will wake you up then…” “Yah can try sugahcube, ah sure as hay won’t stop yah.” “Perfect…” Without warning, you wrapped your arms around her, blankets and all, and fell on her and rolled around the bed while peppering her with kisses. She immediately “woke up” in a fit of uncharacteristic giggles as she tried to fight back, and only managed to tangle the both of you in the blankets. You couldn’t help but feel it was just what she wanted. “No! Stop yah varmint! Haha! No! Not there! OH! Definitely there though!” In a matter of seconds, the struggle for dominance over the warm bed lost its momentum as Applejack retaliated and began to rain down her own kisses upon you while her hooves wrapped themselves around you. Unfortunately though, you ran out of bed, and you both suddenly found yourselves on the floor, buried in a mess of blankets. And rather undeterred, as you both continued to kiss each other. You ended up on top of her, and slightly pulled back teasingly as she tried to kiss your lips again and pulled your hips against hers with her hind legs. She instead settled for a smile as she began to kiss your neck and nibbled on it. Suddenly, getting kicked out of bed didn’t feel like such a bad punishment. “Yah gonna be late sugahcube.” You heard her whisper as she let out a pleasant sigh against your neck. “Don’t matter sweetie, I can be a little bit late.” You replied as you pulled her closer against you and pushed your hips harder against hers. You could hear her let out a cute moan as she breathed hotly against your freshly kissed jaw, and worked her way towards your lips. “Aw sugahcube… yah gonna be a heap more than a bit late.” The way she bit her lower lips when you looked down at her after she said this, said a heck of a lot more about just how serious she was. And you were perfectly fine with that. Besides, what’s wrong with a little bit of fun before work? Not like I can fire myself for being late to my own store. Author's Note Welcome one and all to the second race of the year! I hope you are ready for it. This is the sequel to a prior story of mine. So, if you're a bit confused as to what the hay is going on, then I would suggest you go read the other one first. Read the first first and then come on back to the second with the knowledge you gained from the first. Wait... what? Well, doesn't matter. ENJOY! Disclaimer - All characters presented in this work of fiction are owned by their respective creators and owners. In short, all the wubs go to Hasbro.
