A Chance At Life

by Rizzlepony

Rating: mature
Tags: Comedy, Adventure, Tragedy, Dark
Length: 10349

When you meet five ponies and your life takes an adventurous turn, how far would you go?

Meet Razor. A pretty normal Earth Pony, as far as they go. Living a casual life with no goals, no challenges. That all changes when he meets five others, all of them with a different story. During his time with them, he's been through more than he'd want, sometimes putting his life at risk. But that's what friends are for.

Cover Art by: Cotton Chance
(Mature for language and violence)

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2013-12-29 21:19:36 UTC

Introduction

Introduction: Meeting Razor.

"A lifelong friend can become an enemy in the blink of an eye."

Welcome to Equestria. Most, if not all of you ponies should know about it. Nightmare Moon, the Elements of Harmony, and plenty other stories are what most immediately think about when they hear the name. These tales are also what founded our nation, becoming legends to those who believed in them. It's all true, for the most part, although there are those who try to deny it. Despite all the things you hear, Equestria is, for the most part, a peaceful land so long as you don't go looking for trouble. That's harder than it sounds, especially in my case. If anything, trouble seems to hunt me down on a daily basis, challenging my sanity. Hell, I've been kidnapped, stabbed, poisoned, nearly drowned, and a ton of other things that gave me a new definition on the word "pain". Not like my friends have been through any better, some of them actually went through worse. Still, I get by.

Before I go any further, I should introduce myself. My name is Razor, I am an Earth Pony stallion, born in Manehattan. My coat is chalk white, opposing my black mane with white streaks. My cutie mark, an Ace of Spades, couldn't really be defined just from looking at it, and to be honest, sometimes even I wondered what it meant. If I had to guess, it represented my luck, which to me seemed to change on a constant basis. As silly as that sounds, it was all I had to go by. It wasn't until later that I learned the true meaning of it, and even now it seems foreign to me. Although I am an Earth Pony, I'm not exactly "muscular", unlike most. Don't get me wrong, I am in no way scrawny, yet at the same time not an athlete. It doesn't bother me much, I can still do the same thing as other Earth ponies, bucking trees, pulling wagons, and the like, so I'm fine. I do admit to being jealous of Unicorns and the Pegasi, as it seems both of them are strategically better. Still, I accept my race, with (slightly arrogant) pride, because I know that, despite my disadvantages over the other pony races, they would essentially be nothing without us. Earth Ponies are like the gardens of Equestria, without them, there would be no crops, no food, no.. nothing. I make sure to point this out as much as often, just to prove to myself that I am useful in a way. That doesn't stop the jealousy though. Imagine my reaction when I met my friends, most of them who could do what I did and then some. Needless to say, I was (and still am, actually) shamefully pissed.

Not like I'm complaini- on second thought, maybe I am. Even so, these ponies are my best friends, and I'd do anything for them. They saved me from more things than I can count, and I owe them for it. I like to think that meeting them was fate, bringing together a group of ponies that would, eventually, be willing to sacrifice themselves for each other. We've gone through more than most ponies ever will, well, second to the Element Bearers. Sure, we've had arguments, but what's life without a little fighting? It ends happily, mostly, and we still treat each other like family.

A very fucked up family.

Sometimes though, things change. We forget who we are, forget everything about what we used to be. A lifelong friend can become your worst enemy in the blink of an eye, all it takes is the right push. Eventually, you will have to face them, and as much as you want to reason with them, to remind them of how they used to be, it's worthless. No mater what you do, no one is leaving the same way they entered, not by a long shot. You can hold on to that false hope, lie to yourself despite knowing the truth, but it will always haunt you. You can try to make things better, pour your very soul into fixing your wrongs, hoping it isn't too late. This is the foundation of friendship, it's what flows through our veins. Deny it as you wish, call me crazy, but it is the truth. Friendship, in all its glory, can easily be broken, twisted, and split. There's something about my friends though.. no matter what we've been through, we can always forgive each other. It's like Discord himself couldn't keep us apart, even if he was at his best.

Then again, these ponies are crazy. They'd probably free Discord just to see if they could. Luna bless us if they ever get that idea.

Regardless, that isn't important right now. If I'm going to tell my story and explain how these ponies changed my life, I'm going to have to start at the beginning, back before I met them all, and before things starting heading completely downhill. My story begins in Manehattan, my birthplace. You'll be finding out a lot about me, everything I've done these past few years, and eventually, what's going on at the moment, which made me create this journal in the first place. During this time, I've made some.. regrettable choices, some that will follow me for the rest of my life. Feel free to judge me, I know that my actions were foolish. But remember this- Despite my decisions, I still managed to find friendship in the form of five ponies, and they accepted me, even when they learned of my flaws and I am eternally thankful to have them.

So, without further ado, here is my life story. Enjoy the read, friend.

Chapter I: Late. Again.

Chapter I: Late. Again.

"Don't beat yourself up over something you can't control."

Sleep.

Most ponies like it, embracing it happily. They slept knowing that there would always be something better waiting for them the next day.

"Wake up, dipshit."

I wasn't one of those ponies.

As I opened my eyes, my body screaming at me to go back to sleep, I looked over to see who had interfered with my nap. Of course, it was my brother, Laser Blast.

Before I continue, I should explain my wonderful family. Laser is, as I said, my brother. Like me, he was born in Manehattan, home of all things that wouldn't really pass as "good" in normal society. Our mother, Celestia bless her, was about the nicest mare you'd ever meet in Manehattan. She made sure we never went hungry, while also raising us as best as she could. Without her, I can't say we would have survived for long in that cesspool of a city.

Our father was a different story. He managed to bring out the worst in ponies, even if they were already pretty upset. How he got a mare like mom always lingered in my mind, though I'd never ask her that. I.. didn't really like him, and with good reason. Don't get me wrong, he wasn't abusive or anything like that, he was just.. Bad. Negative. I can't ever remember seeing him smile, not even when Laser managed to come second in the Best Young Fliers Competition when he was eight. No matter what we did, he'd always give us this look, as if we would always be failures to him. To be honest, I wonder if Laser and I were accidental births.

Oh, and he was an earth pony, just like me. Woohoo. Laser was fortunate enough to end up as a Pegasus, the lucky bastard. Like mom, he was a bright orange color, akin to the sunset. Also like our mother, he had a blood red mane, with eyes to match. That was where their similarities ended, however, and he started taking after dad. Arrogant, occasionally stubborn, the list went on. Still, he was my brother, and we looked out for each other.

"Dude, you alive?"

I shook my head, getting rid of those memories. Now wasn't the time to dwell on the past, I was a fully grown stallion, I had a life to live. Once we had gotten old enough, we'd moved out of our parents' home, hoping to start a new life in good ol' Ponyville. Unfortunately, we weren't that lucky, and had to settle for Appleloosa. It was a decent enough town, though there was rarely anything interesting happening. I'd managed to score a job with Braeburn, working at his orchard. Laser had gotten a job as.. something, I couldn't even remember anymore. Whatever it was, it paid pretty good, and combined with what I earned from Sweet Apple Orchard, Braeburn's farm, we were doing pretty good in terms of living.

"Sorry Laser, was just thinking." I said, rubbing my eyes.

"Think later, I have to go meet up with Ruby at the market later, and if I'm not mistaken, you have work, so get up!" I didn't know who Ruby was, but at the word "work" I had jumped to my hooves, wide awake. Checking the clock beside my bed, I noted that it was now one in the afternoon.

Speaking of which, I was supposed to be at Sweet Apple Orchard by twelve. Fuck my life.

I ran out of the room, ignoring the shouting of an angry Laser, who I had pushed over on my way to the door. Making my way downstairs, I glanced at the kitchen, wondering if it mattered whether or not I chose to make something to eat. Seeing as I was already late, I really didn't want to piss Braeburn off even more than he probably was by telling him I'd decided to stop and eat. Hell, I'd seen his cousin, Big Macintosh. That behemoth could probably crush me with a flick of his hoof.

With that thought in mind, I shuddered and opened the front door. I was greeted by Celestia's sun, shining brightly in its place in the sky. I didn't really care for it, seeing as I was more of a nighttime pony. Something about the moon just.. fascinated me. One day I hoped to meet the fabled "Mare in the moon" and tell her just how much I loved her night sky. Walking through the residential district of town, I would occasionally look around, spotting ponies who, like me, were headed to work. There weren't many jobs in a place like Appleoosa, it was more of a farming town than anything else. It wasn't hard to get by, all it took was a bit of hard work. Looking away, I could see the market area from here. While some ponies were headed to work, others were in little concession stands, selling food and other goods to various customers. I spotted one in particular, a light turquoise Pegasus mare, who's mane was a hot pink and  had what appeared to be navy blue eyes. I couldn't get a good look at her cutie mark, then again it was probably for the best. I didn't want her to turn around and think I was staring at her flank, that would have been REALLY awkward.

Then again, maybe I could get away with a little staring...

No brain, focus. I have a job to do, dammit. With an exasperated sigh, I continued down the path, eventually making my way to the entrance of Sweet Apple Orchard. Who came up with that name, I'll never know. Pushing my way through the gate, I was greeted by a sight I was fully expecting, but still not prepared for.

Braeburn was waiting for me, and he was furious.

At that moment, I was pretty sure I was about to be beaten to a pulp, aggressively raped, or fired. I REALLY hoped it wasn't the second one, losing my virginity to some farm pony was not how I wanted to go out.

Luck seemed to be on my side for once, however. Braeburn's angry look quickly morphed into a cheerful one, if not slightly exaggerated.

"Howdy! Looks like you're a tad bit late, eh pard'ner?" He said, his eyebrow raised in what appeared to be an amused expression.

"Er.. yeah, sorry about that. I kinda overslept...again." I replied, lowering my head slightly. Braeburn had only asked me to do one thing when I was hired, "Work hard, and come on time." I was hardly ever on time, and when I was, I would knowingly slack off. I felt a ball of guilt building up in my stomach, the weight of what I had done practically crushing me.

Braeburn must have sensed my unease, putting a hoof on my shoulder and looking me right in the eyes.

"Now look here-" He started, a look of determination on his face "-don't beat yourself up over something you can't control. We all make mistakes, and it's our job to learn from them. Sure, you've been tardy on occasion, but that doesn't bother me none, I know you'll show up, ready to work hard!" Based on his tone of voice, I could tell this was what he really believed. It did nothing to help, only making that ball of guilt grow to the point it was almost sickening. Braeburn had believed in me, despite how bad of a worker I was. He had held on to the belief that I was really trying my hardest, when in reality I was barely doing a thing. I felt unworthy, I didn't deserve to work for this pony. But then I realized: He had believed, really BELIEVED, that I could do better. And I'd be dammed if I wasn't going to try. For Braeburn.

With that, I smiled, nodding at him as he released me.

"Now if ya'll excuse me, I have to go help muh' cousin Ruby with the cattle. You'd think a unicorn would know how ta' milk a cow.." And with that, he turned and left. Ruby.. I'd heard that name somewhere, but from who?

Whatever, I'd remember later. For now, I had work to do.

As I approached rows upon rows of apple trees, I was pretty sure I had a LOT of work waiting for me. Looking down, I was glad to notice that there were buckets placed beside the trees, made to store any apples that were knocked down. I wondered who the unlucky pony was that had to carry all of these back to the farm, and laughed as I tried to imagine a pony like Laser struggling to carry a basket full of apples on his back. Shaking my head, I turned away from the tree and reared up my hind legs. Hopefully I could get more than a leaf to fall this time...

*FWUMP!*

With a well placed kick, more than half of the apples came tumbling out of the tree. I mentally gave myself a congratulatory cookie as I began placing the fallen apples into the bucket. This, I realized, actually wasn't as bad as ponies would think. If anything, I could be done in less than an hour! As I set the bucket down, I smiled and got ready to move...

...And then I looked to my right, the row of trees stretching into the distance and practically disappearing into the horizon.

"This is going to take much more than an hour." I said to myself, groaning.

Chapter II: Stampede.

Chapter II: Stampede.

"There's never anything to do here!"

It had been a week since I'd helped Braeburn at the orchard. After nearly three hours of bucking trees, I had given up and gotten my money from him. Goddess knows I wanted to quit, but it wasn't like I had any other choice at the moment. The pay was decent enough, three bits per tree, plus an extra two if I could haul the apples back on my own. I'd managed to do pretty well, earning around seventy five bits before I left. After buying myself a cupcake from an extremely odd pink earth pony (Who promised me I'd be seeing her again, as creepy as that sounded) I headed straight home, practically passing out on my bed.

The days after that had been a blur, with me waking up, eating breakfast, and making my way to work. Sometimes I'd look around for that Pegasus mare I saw at the concession stand, but never managed to spot her. Oh well, I was sure we'd be meeting again, maybe even face to face.

Sadly, that meant I couldn't look at her plo- NO BRAIN.

Pervertedness aside, today had been pretty uneventful. I woke up, took a shower (for once) and headed for work. It wasn't until I reached the front gates and spotted all the ponies that I realized today was officially Rodeo Day, when all the farmers would participate in events like calf roping, barrel racing, and even bull riding. From what I had heard, the event had gotten so many participants, along with viewers, that it had to be hosted at Sweet Apple Orchard. This also meant I had a few days off, as they had to clean up the aftermath once everything was over.

Honestly, it felt like a shitstorm waiting to happen. Then again, I could always be wrong. Who knows, maybe it could actually be fun.

“RAZOR!” A voice, all too familiar, was calling my name.

Scratch that, this wasn't about to be fun at all.

I turned around; facing the pony who had decided that yelling was the new talking. Of course, it was Laser. Almost immediately, he approached me, holding what looked like an apple in his hooves.

“Dude, did you hear? It’s Rodeo Day! Finally, something interesting happens in this town!” He exclaimed, a smile on his face as he bit into the apple.

“It’s kinda hard not to notice when the event is being held where I work, bro.” I laughed to myself before continuing- “And what do you mean by ‘something interesting’? What’s wrong with Appleoosa?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Nothing’s wrong, it’s just.. Couldn't we have moved to Fillydelphia? I half-glared at that, he knew we didn't have the bits for a place like that. I opened my mouth to say so before he interrupted.

“Appleoosa’s great and all, but there’s never anything to do here!” He sighed, shaking his head. “Whatever. So are you going to the rodeo?”

That was a good question. Should I? I hadn't really planned on it, to be honest. Had I not run into Laser, I probably would have just headed home and slept the rest of the day away.

Might as well, this was pretty much the only enjoyable thing about Appleoosa. With a nod, I confirmed that I would, in fact, be going. This earned a smile from Laser, oddly enough.

“Awesome, Ruby'll be there too. I’ll finally be able to introduce you two.”

Ruby.. I kept hearing that name, but had yet to actually see them. Was it a mare? Had Laser actually gotten himself a special somepo-

I quickly crushed that thought, and then locked it away in the darkest corner of my mind. The idea alone was terrifying.

“Right.. I’ll be looking forward to meeting them.” I replied, my mind wandering elsewhere. The main focus was getting home, but with the rodeo starting soon that wasn't an option. Instead, I turned around and got in the line of ponies waiting to enter and see the show. I was surprised that there were so many, I didn't even recognize a few of them. Some were talking to each other, others simply stood there, moving with the line as they got closer to the gate. There wasn't much to occupy myself with, so I began listing all the things I planned to do once this was all over.

Let’s see.. I’d go home, fall asleep, and… huh, that was it. Did I really have NOTHING else to do? Not even a hobby? That’s it, once I left I’d go find something fun to do, maybe check out the Everfree Forest. When Laser and I first moved to Appleoosa, we were given two main rules: Be kind to your fellow ponyfolk, and no matter what happened, stay AWAY from the Everfree. I had always wondered what was inside, and had even tried to enter once, only to find that it was blocked off by a massive fence that stretched off as far as I could see. It only took a poke (and an electric shock) to find out that the fence was protected by magic, most likely to keep little fillies and colts away, along with overly-curious adults. I made a note to ask Laser to fly me over it one day, I had to see what was in there that they were hiding.

“Sir?” I blinked, looking ahead. I must have been out of it for a while, because I’d somehow ended up right at the gate, a light blue unicorn with a spell book as his cutie mark greeting me.

“Sorry, got lost in thought.” I smiled weakly, embarrassed at how easily I could forget my surroundings.

He chuckled, waving his hoof “It’s alright, I do it on occasion. So, you’re here for the show?” I nodded my head “Well then, that’ll be twenty five bits.”

I reached into my saddlebag, pulling out the requested amount of bits. The stallion’s horn glowed a transparent blue, enveloping my bits and placing them in a satchel around his neck. He then gave me a nod, pointing to the gate. I assumed this meant I could enter, which I did.

Inside, I could see ponies of all races walking around. Some were at little stands, buying snacks and the like. The rest were further along, forming a large crowd. They were circled around a large arena, and from what I could see an earth pony was doing his best to cling to a VERY angry bull.

Going forward and making my way to the crowd, I slipped in, managing to get a decent view of what was happening. I was also lucky enough to spot the bull-rider as he was bucked off, sliding across the dirt. I couldn’t help but laugh as two ponies, each wearing ridiculous outfits ran into the arena, distracting the bull while the pony who’d been kicked off hobbled to safety. As soon as he got away, a bell rung, signaling the end of the event. The ponies watching, me included, cheered as the same two who had distracted the bull helped pull him away, taking him to the barn in the distance.

Next up was Calf Roping, where a pony had to tie down a baby cow as fast as possible to prepare it for branding. As they brought in the calf, I spotted the other cattle, cheering from their place in the barn. Surprisingly, none of them seemed upset that their children were being used for sport. If anything, they looked proud. Maybe being chosen was an honor of sorts?

Looking back at the arena, I saw the calf running away from a medium sized stallion, a lasso as his cutie mark. It had been two minutes and if anything, it looked like the calf was winning.

And then everything went to hell.

With a roar, the stallion picked up speed, slamming into the infant cow and knocking it to the ground. Everypony gasped, this was definetly not how this was supposed to happen. We all watched as the buck stomped on the calf’s hind leg, an audible snap and a wail of pain signifying that it was more than likely broken. He proceeded to tie the rope around its legs, grinning as it struggled to get away. Braeburn and the unicorn I’d met at the front gate ran towards him, but it was too late.

With a snort, the cattle who’d been watching from the barn broke through their pens, bounding toward the arena. The crowd went apeshit, screaming and running off in all directions as the cows tore through them. I managed to catch Laser before he was swept up in the chaos.

“Come on, we have to get out of here!” I yelled at him, my voice blending in with the shouts of ponies as they did their best to avoid the stampede.

“Not yet, we have to help!” I facehoofed, now was not the time to try and play hero.

“There’s nothing we can do, now come o-“ An odd warping sound rung in my ears, and as I turned I spotted the blue unicorn, his horn lighting up as he wrapped a group of cattle in a field of magic, pulling them away and back into the barn. Tilting his head, he repeated the process, dragging more and more of the rampaging cows away from the arena. After grabbing them all, he turned his attention to the barn itself. With a visible grunt, he concentrated on the doors, slamming them closed and blocking them with a large plank of wood. At this point there were hardly any ponies remaining, those who were still there either packing up their stalls or looking for loved ones who they’d lost once shit has hit the fan.

Laser flew past me, heading towards the (surprisingly talented) unicorn that had stopped the madness. He landed in front of him, giving him a brohoof.

“Ruby, that was awesome!”

Wait, what?

“Ugh, thanks. It wasn’t easy..”  The unicorn, who I now knew was “Ruby” replied, a hint of exhaustion in his voice.

“That was some mighty fine magic ya’ used there cous’!” Braeburn approached us, grinning at Ruby, who returned his look with a small smile.

“Thanks Brae, hopefully I won’t have to do anything like that anytime soon though.” This earned a laugh from Braeburn, and a slightly forced one from me. During the conversation, Laser had flown off, most likely to see if there was anything he could do to help. At the very least, I hoped he’d fly around and make sure there that all the cows were accounted for. I sighed mentally, knowing that I hadn’t done anything but watch, not even attempting to help anypony. That made me frown as I turned my head and focused back on Ruby and Braeburn, the two of them deep in conversation.

“Anyways-“ Braeburn started, his full attention on Ruby “-we should probably check around, make sure none o’ the cattle managed to stray off in the stampede.”

Ruby didn’t reply to that, choosing instead to give a simple, yet firm nod. Coincidentally, Laser choose that moment to speed towards us, a frantic look on his face.

“Guys, a few of the cows managed to break through the fence surrounding the forest!”

Great, could things get any wors-

“-I saw a mare following them in!”

Celestia, you bitch. How dare you curse us with bad luck? I looked from Braeburn to Ruby, both of them seemed horrified. That didn’t really improve my opinion on what was in the Everfree, not at all. As the gears whirred in my mind, slowly formulating a plan, Braeburn spoke out.

“Well, that’s it then, ah suppose.” At that, my plan, as crappy as it was, came crashing down. Was Braeburn seriously giving up? From the tone of his voice, it was like he didn’t even care. I made sure to vocalize this.

“What do you mean, ‘that’s it’? You can’t seriously be thinking about leaving her in the forest, can you?” I wasn’t even given the gift of a response, only a slight nod.

I was completely baffled, a mare had gone in to help, to try and fix what an overly competitive stallion had caused, and this is what she got in return? Braeburn was dead set on this notion, he really planned on leaving her in there.

“Well, why the fuck not?” There was no way in Tartarus we were leaving her, screw Braeburn.

“Because, ah can’t have ya’ll riskin’ yer lives for a dead mare.” Dead? What?

“Dead?” At my questioning look, he continued.

“Yep, plenty o’ ponies have gone in that forest, some trying to help, others just got a bit too curious. Ain’t had a single one return.” Oh. Damn. That didn’t make me change my mind, not in the slightest, but it did make me think.

“Lookie here, Ahm not sayin’ ya can’t go, just that if ya do it’ll be the last choice you’ll ever make.” Ah, so that’s what this was about. Braeburn wasn't trying to stop us; he was trying to warn us. If I had to guess, we wouldn’t be the first to ignore his slightly misguided advice, and we definitely wouldn’t be the last.

“I’ll take that risk. I refuse to stand here, knowing that somepony needs my help out there.” Actually, that was ironic, seeing as I was doing exactly that.

At this point, Laser and Ruby decided to pitch in with a simultaneous “I’m going with you.” Thank the goddesses, I’d need all the help I could get if the things I’d heard were true.

Giving Braeburn a pat on the shoulder, I turned and faced Laser. “So, which way did they go?” Eagerly, he flared his wings, propelling himself into the air. He looked at something I couldn't see, eventually waving his hoof at Ruby and I to follow before taking off, flying deep into the orchard.

Reaching him was pretty easy. It only took about five minutes, if I had to guess. On our way to him, Ruby and I had attempted conversation, but to no avail. Probably because of my one-word replies to anything he asked, which made the walk extremely awkward for both of us.Eventually, I was able to spot Laser through the thick trees, standing next to what used to be part of the fence that blocked access to the forest. What caught my attention, however, were the two cows crumpled up next to it. From what I could see, they were the first to hit the gate, the electric shock temporarily disabling both of them. The force from their assault had been enough to drain the electric field, the other cows slamming into the section of the fence and practically tearing it apart. Hoof-imprints were here too, the mare had been close behind them when they’d gotten through, trailing however many there were left.

And now, here we were, going after all of them. My curiosity was really getting to me, I had to know what was so dangerous about his forest. Ruby was the first to go in, then Laser, and finally, me. As I made my way through the hole, I looked around, seeing nothing but trees. As we went forward, I stepped in.. something.

What I saw when I looked down will probably haunt me for the rest of my life.

Chapter III: Lost and Found.

Chapter III: Lost and Found.

"We should leave. Now."

The Everfree was pretty much exactly what you'd expect. Dark, eerie, most likely full of things that were out for your blood. Sure, it was easy to say it, but to actually witness it was a completely different story. It lived up to its name though; there were plenty of trees in every direction. They surrounded us, blocking out the sun's rays like a shield. Honestly, it scared me. Not the dark, but the realization that we could be ambushed at any time by the forest inhabitants. Probably explained why I was being held in a magical bubble by the only unicorn with us, Ruby. Laser was right in front of us, occasionally glancing back at me with a glare that promised death once we got out of this goddess-forsaken forest. We'd stopped more than once when there was a distorted growling coming from ahead of us, making my mane stand on end. After the last encounter, there was a long moment of silence before Ruby decided to speak up.

"So.. Of all the things you could have freaked out over, you chose a spider?" He looked at me, half amused and half pissed off. I didn't even dignify that with a response, maybe because I was too busy covering my face in embarrassment. In my defense, it was a big spider, probably bigger than my head!

"Hardly even the size of your hoof, at that.." Okay, maybe I overreacted, but it was still big! It was certainly a surprise to find out, and as soon as I realized that I'd crushed a creature from my nightmares, I'd promptly freaked out. Ruby had to seal me in a bubble just to get me to calm down, and even then I'd been hyperventilating. I was ready for anything, but spiders crossed the line.

I shuddered, just saying the word 'spider' was creeping me out. Making a mental note to bleach my brain once we escaped (IF we escaped, right?) I focused on where we were. There wasn't much of a change in scenery other than the trees, which had thickened and made the path even more narrow. This also meant that my round fortress was smacking into branches, forcing Ruby to stop and put his concentration on keeping me in the air. The bubble itself was.. soft? I didn't really know how to describe it better than that. There wasn't much room to move around in though; I could hardly move my head to see where we were going. As comfortable as it was to not have to walk, I was tired of being floated around like a rag doll. With a grin, I raised my hoof, tapping the wall.

*tap tap*

*tap tap tap*

A few more taps, and I finally got Ruby's attention. He stopped, floating me beside him. "What is it?" He looked strained; clearly it was taking a lot of energy to keep me in the air.

"Put me down." He gave me a flat look at that, then shook his head and resumed walking. Well, two can play this game. I lifted my hoof.

*tap*

*tap tap*

*taptaptaptap*

His eye twitched in annoyance, I was making progress. We stopped again and he turned to face me. I hid my smirk, opting instead to give him the most innocent smile I could. "It wasn't me, it was the muffin mare!"

"Derpy doesn't even-" He caught my smirk and facehoofed. "You're terrible at jokes."

"As if you could do any better." I tapped the bubble again. "So, freedom?"

"I don't think so." At my disapproving look, he continued. "If you can't even handle a spider, then how do you expect to deal with whatever else is in here?" Well played, but I wasn't giving up that easily. I made sure he was looking at me before raising my hoof again.

"Don't-"

*TAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAP*

"STOP-"

*TAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAP*

"ALRIGHT! FINE!" Suddenly, Ruby's horn stopped glowing as the magic failed to find a source. This gave my body plenty of time to introduce itself to the ground.

*THUD* "Ow.." I could hear him laughing, that little bastard. Spitting out the dirt in my mouth, I was finally able to stand on my own. A small part of me already regretted it, wishing that I'd stayed in the safety of Ruby's magic. Looking to my right, I saw Laser watching me, laughing. I'd kill them both and say it was an accident, I swore I would, nopony could doubt it. My revenge plan in motion, I turned my head and spotted Ruby messing with.. were those flowers? This rescue mission had officially gotten strange.

"I've never seen a plant like this before.. Fascinating." Looking closer, neither had I. The plant, which was actually a bundle of tinier ones, glowed a bright blue, illuminating the dirt around it.

"What the hell..?" I'd seen plenty of plants before, but none of them GLOWED. This was definitely foreign, maybe it only grew in the forest?  Wonder what else was around here..

While I was lost in thought, Ruby had chosen to uproot the bundle with his magic, hovering it in his face. "Hm.. Maybe we can bring these back to Appleoosa for analysis. I'd love to find out what causes the glowing effect, and why it grows so far out here. Maybe it's a form of elemental magic.." He rambled on, not realizing that I didn't have a clue what he was talking about. At the moment I was preoccupied with more important things anyway. Like why a butterfly was on my nose.. I scrunched up my face, it didn't move. I shook my head a bit, it clung to me like glue. Didn't it understand that I was a force to be feared? I- the destroyer of all things evil, the element of heroism, the savior of ponykind, the-

I sneezed. My heroic banter was immediately silenced as the demon insect flew off, landing on a nearby tree. Huzzah! Take that, criminal! I raised my head, proud of my victory. The pride was instantly shattered when I felt something sliding down my nose- EW.

I hadn't seen Ruby look when I wiped my nose on my hoof. I also didn't see him grimace as I scuffed my hoof in the dirt to remove the snot. I did, however, hear him when I licked the same hoof.

"What the hell is wrong with you..?" I looked at his disgusted expression and flushed red, embarrassment was turning into a thing for me lately.

"Uh... Bless you?" I said dumbly. Hoof, meet face. Please, feel free to remove the idiot part of my brain, I won't stop you. Moving my hoof, I saw Ruby staring at me. On the plus side, he no longer looked ready to throw up. For now, all I saw was confusion.

"I.. Thank you?" He looked down, and I could hear him muttering. "Of all the ponies I had to meet.." Ouch. Love you too Ruby. This was going to be a tough friendship. He looked up again, giving an awkward little cough. "So.." He got up."We should get moving. Where's Laser?" We both looked around; Laser was nowhere to be found.

"Dude, where are you?" There was no answer, save for the rustling of leaves as they moved with the wind. That was never a good sign.

"Maybe he went on ahead to see if he could find anything?" I shrugged, at the moment it was the only option we could go with. Ruby led the way as we walked, a little ball in front of him lighting up our path. The sun was lowering and I wasn't sure how much time we had before we were plunged into darkness. I shuddered; we really didn't need to be out here at night, and neither did the ones we'd come to save. Ruby rounded a corner, going through a particularly thick patch of trees. I followed.

"Laser?" No response. I frowned, something was very wrong here. We kept moving, the path was long gone, all we could do was move forward and hope for the best. My brain had other ideas, forcing me to question myself. What if something had grabbed him? What if he abandoned us? What if-

A twig snapped in front of us. We stopped and Ruby waved his magical lightbulb around us. I hadn't noticed it before, but he was sweating. His horn flickered for a moment while his legs wobbled, he was fighting just to stand up.

"Ruby? What's wrong?" The light was dimming, and fast.

"M-my magic..." That was all he could choke out before the light went out completely. He coughed, collapsing to the ground. I wasn't sure what had happened, but I ran to his side.

"Ruby! Are you okay?!" Stupid question of the day goes to Razor. His breathing was heavy, he was very far from okay. No injuries were visible, so what had happened? From the way he was shaking, he was lucky to even be conscious. I looked at the sky and sighed, It wasn't night just yet, but without any source of light it would be considerably harder to find anything at this point. I looked down just in time to catch him trying to tell me something.

"Burn..out.."  Burnout? What the hell did that mean? Ruby didn't look like he could stand, yet alone move. Time to improvise. I slowly nudged my way under him and hefted him unto my back. Not too heavy, but I didn't plan on carrying him forever. We still had to find Laser, the mare, and hopefully, the cattle. Easy, right? The dark side of my mind casually replied with a flat 'no', but I wasn't listening to it just yet. I held on to that hope as I moved forward, looking around for any clue of where we were headed. Another twig snapped, this time behind me. Whatever it was, it was toying with us.

And then, suddenly, something was pulling at my back. Ruby hadn't moved, likely unconscious. I turned around.

A pair of red eyes stared back at me, locked in a frown. I felt like I was looking into hell itself and one wrong move would be the last thing I did.  Its body was a shadow, blending in with the darkness around us. I froze, and I didn't dare blink. Neither did it. I tried to move back; it followed me. Could I run? How fast was it? Would I get away? The questions stopped at one realization; this was it, I was going to die. Shame, I hadn't even been able to meet that mare from the market. I closed my eyes..

And then it spoke. By the goddesses, it spoke. I couldn't make out the words, but I could bet that they revolved around murder. I opened my eyes and stepped back, it didn't follow. Instead, the creature tilted its head, inspecting me. And then it spoke again.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I was being asked that a lot lately. Wait.. I recognized that voice.

"L-laser?" The 'creature' moved closer and indeed, it was my brother. I'd gotten overly-dramatic for nothing. I would have facehoofed if it wasn't for Ruby, couldn't risk knocking him off. Instead, I simply sighed and laughed at my stupidity.

"What happened to Ruby?" He said, a touch of concern in his voice. I glanced over my shoulder, Ruby was still out cold. At least he was breathing.

I turned to Laser. "No clue. He said something about burnout then.. passed out." I shrugged slightly, judging by Laser's expression, he was just as confused as I was. One thing was certain though, Ruby needed help, and we couldn't get any out in this forest. We had to hurry up or this would all be for nothing.

Laser was glaring at me. "We should leave. Now. This was a bad idea in the first place." My eyes widened as he spoke.

"What? No! We still have to help them!" He couldn't be serious, it was why we were here! We couldn't just leave!

He shook his head. "Face it, they're either dead or too far gone. We can't help." A small part of me wanted to agree, to get out of this dammed forest and back to my comfy bed, but I couldn't. We'd made it too far, I wasn't backing out now.

"Go if you want, take Ruby with you. I'm staying here. I can't just leave her." And then I stopped. Her. That was it, wasn't it? It wasn't about the cows, I'd hardly even thought of looking for them. It was the mare, the one who had tried to help. The one who was probably dead because I..we were too slow. It made me feel selfish. I was so eager to help a pony I'd never met just because she was one of us. The animals were secondary, just because they weren't the same species. Was this really how I felt? Non-ponies were just dead weight? It made me feel sick of myself. I frowned.

Laser spoke up. "No. I'm not leaving you here, you're my brother." And if I wasn't? Would he have left? I hoped not, I prayed he was better than that. But now I had to make a choice; leave or stay. Leave, and I could go home, forget everything that had happened, and go back to my normal life. Stay, and I may find her, or the animals. Then we'd have to bring her.. them, back. Hopefully all alive. Only one downside, something else could find us first. Decisions, decisions..

I turned and started walking. I'd be dammed if I left anypony behind. Laser sighed and followed, wondered how long that would last.

~ ~ ~

A few minutes had gone by, and we still hadn't had any luck. Ruby had stirred once, pushing me to look harder for any sign of the missing group. Things weren't easy, we'd lost the track hours ago, along with the hoof imprints in the dirt. At this point, we'd have to wing our way out of here-

"AHHHHHH!!"

"Holy fuck!" My fur was standing on end, whoever or whatever had screamed was extremely close by. I looked at Laser and bolted towards the source. There, in a clearing, was the mare. Her coat was a dark grey along with her mane, which covered her only visible eye. Two dead cows were behind her, fresh blood oozing out of gashes on their sides. Circling her were a pack of wolves; four in all, but something was.. Off. Their fur was all brown, and it looked.. wooden. Looking closer, those were definitely leaves coming out of their skin. The tails were no different, ending in little branches with the same blue plants Ruby and I had seen. They were getting closer to her as she screamed again.

Laser flew past me, racing towards her. One of the wolves spotted him and leaped into the air, tackling him to the ground.  There was an odd ripping sound, a pop, and a buck's yelp of pain. "LASER!" I moved towards him as he kicked the wolf off, slowly standing up. His right wing was bent at an uneven angle, bleeding heavily. The wolf he'd kicked away had gotten back up, feathers and blood around it's mouth. The rest had noticed us as well and abandoned the mare, striding towards us instead. Things were going downhill fast!

Two of them lunged at me. I acted on impulse, flinging Ruby off and praying to Luna they didn't notice him. One managed to sink his teeth into my front hoof, making me cry out and fall over. The second leaped over him and lunged for my neck, going in for the kill. I moved just in time and he slammed into the dirt, snarling. I tried to force my hoof from the first one's mouth, all that did was make it bite harder. I couldn't see Laser, but I hoped he was faring better than I was. I tried to stand, but they were having none of that. The second wolf smacked me with his tail, giving me a faceful of the blueish flower. Instantly, my face felt itchy, like something was trying to claw its way out of my eye. All I could do was scream.

And the the mare practically tackled the one who had hit me, throwing it down with so much force I could swear I heard bones crack. That left the one sinking its teeth into my hoof. I out all the strength I could into my right hoof, hitting the wooden monstrosity right in its eye. I heard a whine; it hadn't let go yet, but it loosened its jaw enough for me to push it away and free myself. I staggered to my hooves, careful not to put any pressure on my left one as blood seeped out of the wound. Laser was fighting two of them on his own, barely keeping them at bay. Scratches were visible across his face and torso, he wouldn't last longer. The charcoal colored mare was actually doing better than both of us, she was barely injured as she held the wolf who'd lunged for my neck in her hooves. With a roar, she tossed it at the pair closing in on Laser, causing all of them to fall over and roll back. That left.. Aw fuck. I raised my one good hoof just in time to block the remaining wolf's bite, at the cost of my mobility. It pulled back and I fell over, faceplanting into the dirt. Then, it did the worst thing possible.

It twisted my hoof, an audible snap signifying it was broken.

I screamed as pain I didn't know was possible washed over me, my entire body refusing to move. The wolf twisted again, bending my hoof in an unnatural angle as a fresh wave of pain overcame me.  I could't move, everything hurt. Just when I thought things could get worse, there was a sharp 'crack!' and the wolf flew back, slamming into a tree. Laser stood beside me, his hoof outstretched as a scowl stretched across his face.

My vision was blurring, a dark cloud slowly forming over me. I heard someone talking. They sounded panicked. I felt a hoof smack my face, along with more shouting. Why were they yelling? Oh well, I'll just... take a.. nap...

The loss of blood and the shock finally got to me, and I passed out.

Chapter IV: Best Hearth's Warming Eve Ever.

Chapter IV: Best Hearth's Warming Eve Ever. (Late Christmas Special)

"Ah, how I hate mares."

There are a lot of things that happened after what we now call the ‘Everfree Event’.

Our mystery mare disappeared the moment she lugged us all to town, practically rendering our mission useless. No one could identify her, and no one really wanted to, to be honest, so we let it be.

Ruby, Laser, and I were admitted into Appleoosa’s shit excuse of a hospital.

Ruby was unable to use magic for nearly a week, meaning we had to help him at the farm. In my case, ‘help’ may have been pushing it a little.

Laser’s wing was pretty messed up; moreso because he’d tried to show off while the healers were working on it and ended up fracturing a few bones. They don’t know when he’ll be able to fly again. Hasn’t stopped him, though,

As for me? Well, like I thought, my hoof had been forcibly broken in the encounter with the Timberwolves, twisted in an angle that actually made one of the nurses cry. Would have been funny if I wasn’t screaming as they tried rearranging it. They gave me a few painkillers and did what they could to brace it, but Appleoosa only has so much in terms of medical supplies. All in all, it wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been.

Oh, and I now had a red eye.

Apparantly, the blue flowers we’d found in the forest were magically altered to play a prank on anyone who came in contact with them. Imagine my surprise when I found out they were what most call 'Poison Joke’, (and what I call the Asshole Plant.) Now, imagine my reaction when I found out my little ‘mutation’ was permanent.

Took three days and plenty of sedatives to get me to calm down after that one. Yeah, fuck flowers.

Granted, I didn’t get too many looks for it. Either ponies were too nice to stare or they simply didn’t care. Some of the colts actually think it’s pretty cool, which helps a bit.

Looking back, I can’t help but chuckle at that rhyme.

It’s been a month since that little fiasco, and things are returning to normal, thankfully.

The weather’s been a bit weird though.. We shouldn’t be getting snow in July. Maybe the princesses were trying to give us hard workers a break?

…Nah, doubt it. Still, I’d rather have snow than pass out from the infamous Appleoosian heat.

Of course, this meant a lot more was in store for me. If I’d known what I was in for the next day, I probably would have jumped off a cliff. On fire. While stabbing myself.

~  ~  ~

I was having a pretty good dream at the moment, the legendary plot of a mare I’d yet to meet staring back at me, calling me towards it. I did not hesitate, running ahead to claim my long-awaited prize. I was so close.. I could practically see her big, round plot staring back at me, her tail moving to reveal- -

*BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP*

“SON OF A BITCH!”

~  ~  ~

Disposing of my newly broken alarm clock (It was an accident, I swear!) I quickly made my way out of the house. There was little to do in terms of breakfast; neither me nor Laser could exactly earn money in our conditions at the moment. We still ate, mind you, just.. Not as much. We didn’t have too many bits saved up after paying for our hospital bills, so we had to buy sparingly. Looking around town, I could see that wouldn’t be much of a problem.

Every shop, house, and even a pony or two had some type of weird decoration. Banners promising discounts hung from most of the shops, properly advertising what was for sale. It was honestly a bit confusing. Wasn’t Nightmare Night months away? Maybe things were starting early this year?

Whatever the case, I shrugged it off and left the thought for future me to handle. It was probably nothing, right?

Coming up on Braeburn’s little section of town, I pushed my way past the wooden gate leading to the farm. Moving through the impressively large orchard, I pushed open the second gate surrounding his house.

Sadly, I’d forgotten a very important detail. Big mistake.

As soon as the gate opened, an apple whizzed past my face, impacting on the wood behind me with a thump. Surprise played across my face for a moment before I dived, narrowly avoiding a second apple aimed right where my head had been.

“Now I told’ja you weren’t allowed here anymore! Git outta’ mah farm!” Through the shock of nearly being beheaded, I simply stared up at Braeburn, who returned the look with an apple right in the face.

I don’t know if you’ve ever been smacked in the face with an apple, but damn that hurts!

Covering my muzzle with a hoof in hopes of dulling the pain, I bucked my hind legs forward, forcing myself to stand. It didn’t deter Braeburn, for I had to roll and avoid yet another apple.

“Come on! We did what we could!” I shouted at him, jumping as he tossed the entire fucking ‘basket’ at me.

Realizing he was out of things to throw, he snorted, narrowing his eyes at me. “Now listen here” He started, a low grumble making its way through his accent. “Yer’ lucky I don’t buck you to next week for what ya’ did, or better, what ya’ didn’t do. Ah’ oughta send ya right back to the darned hospital for hurting’ a member of my family. Now, I told ya once and I’ll say it again..” At that moment, his tone matched somewhere between fury and outright finality and he took a step towards me. I simply watched him, honestly too scared to even move.

“Get out of my farm, or I swear to Celestia you won’t leave here alive.”

I fucking bolted, not once looking back in case he was following. In my mind, I couldn’t help but think..

‘Today’s gonna be awesome.’

~  ~  ~

Today was not awesome.

After escaping with my life (and my virginity) I’d managed to get myself lost in a part of town I was- amusingly enough- familiar with.

I blame the massive crowd that filled the roads coming and going through the area, leaving me to wade through them in a desperate attempt to get out, go home, and promptly go back to sleep.

If only it had been that easy.

During my little escape attempt, I’d accidentally bumped into a light blue mare sporting an equally light purple and pink mane and hazel eyes, with a music note over a plaster of colors as her cutie mark.

“Oh, I’m sorry miss-“

My apology was cut short when she pulled her hoof back and fucking uppercutted me.

“What do you think you’re doing?! Pervert!” She yelled out. A few ponies were starting to focus their attention to us, creating a mini circle in the ever-growing crowd.

“Ow! What the hell, lady!” I managed to say, working my jaw to make sure it wasn’t broken.

“You were trying to feel me up! Pervert!” She repeated that line, her eyes locked on mine. There were dozens of ponies watching us now, a lot of them beginning to whisper to one another.

“W-what? I wasn’t even-“

“Pervert! And on Hearth’s Warming Eve, too!” She all but screamed, pointing a hoof at me accusingly. The crowd expressed mixed feelings; some of them gave me a gentle smile, silently apologizing for the situation I’d wrongly been put in, as for the others..

They looked ready to tear into me at the drop of a hoof, glaring and shouting insults back to back. I, of course, had one very important thing to say..

“It’s Hearth’s Warming Eve?” Sure, I hadn’t payed much attention to the calendar, seeing as I had little to look forward too, but I had no clue on how to tell the seasons or their holidays.

That may have been a bad thing to ask.. Any trace of compassion I’d gathered was gone, replaced by absolute loathing.

“He doesn’t know its Hearth’s Warming?”

“Maybe he’s posed by windigoes!”

“Pervert!”

“Get him!”

They all yelled in agreement.

I stepped back.

They charged.

I turned and ran for all I was worth, an angry mob of hick ponies hot on my tail. Of course, they hadn’t just been in one direction; I’d ended up running right through the crowd behind me, a mass of confused and increasingly irritable bodies that, in their confusion, had simply let me pass. Granted, I didn’t escape without my fair share of bruises from where a few had gotten lucky, and i certainly wouldn’t try and fight back.

Looking back, there was a literal flood of ponies barreling down upon me, raving and screaming in what I assumed wasn’t just for fun. A large number of them had broken off into fights of their own, presumably just looking for a reason to attack someone.

Making a turn into a empty narrow alleyway, I hopped around a corner and hugged the wall, praying to Luna they wouldn’t think to search here. Sure, they hadn’t been too far behind, but I was able to make a good distance between us before cutting into the alley. Suddenly, I heard hoof steps shake the earth as they approached my location. In a swift (and eerily comical) movement, they all came to a halt where I’d entered, wondering where I’d gone.

‘Ohpleasedontfuckinglookdownhere’ I fearfully thought, chancing a peek around the corner.

They simply stood there, looking around in confusion for their target who’d apparently vanished into thin air.

“Where did he go?”

‘Maybe he flew away?”

“He’s an earth pony, you moron.”

“Well.. What if he went down there?”

One of the ponies, a stallion who’s features were entirely red from head to hoof, pointed down my hiding spot.

“Doubt it. Maybe he ran further down the road?”

A few nods from those who were listening encouraged him. Grinning, he made his way to the front of the crowd, gaining their attention.

“Alright everypony! I think I know where he’s gone! Let’s git’ him!” A victorious roar from the mass was his answer and he led them away, giving me the perfect opportunity to get away.

“Phew..” I muttered in relief, moving off the wall and, after making sure no one was around, stepping out into the open roads. I couldn’t help but shiver slightly when a cool breeze passed me by, reminding me that I needed a jacket. Carefully, I made my way home, thankful that everything had gone my way for once. Taking one last look into the sky, I smiled..

That smile immediately dropped when I met the mare who’d started all this eye to eye as she hovered in the air a few feet away, where she’d likely been searching for me. Her lips twitched into an evil, almost sadistic smirk as she stared me down.

“Don’t do it.” I whispered.

Her smirk grew, and for a moment I feared she’d call them back. Surprisingly, she made her way towards me, her wings flapping every second or so to keep her airborne. I stood back while she landed in front of me, still staring me down.

“Nice place.” I noted her Ausmareian accent, but otherwise said nothing.

“I’m Melody Skies, but you can call me Melody. What’s your name?” This was.. surprising. One moment she led an angry mob against me and now she was acting as if it had never happened. Needless to say, it scared the everlasting shit out of me.

“Bitch.” She must have heard my mumble, for she snorted and started to giggle.

“Interesting name, Bitch.” She managed to get out before falling on the ground, her giggling turning into full blown laughter. I, for my part, watched her with suspicion and thinly veiled amusement.

“Right.. What do you want?” Smooth.

She picked herself up on the ground, shaking the dust off her back. Her smirk returned, and I reflexively put my hoof on the doorknob behind me.

“Oh you know, just looking for some fun.. Speaking of which..” She turned around, giving me a nice view of her assets (I meant her mane, you sickos!) and yelled.

“HE’S OVER HERE!”

Ah, how I hate mares.