I Used To Be A Heroby AJs RangerChaptersA Warm WelcomeIntroductionsUnto DawnAwkwardA Warm WelcomeThe screeching against tracks and sudden deceleration made me wake up from my nap. With groggy eyes, I looked over to the mounted clock that hung from my sleeper cabin wall. It read 2:36. Thinking aloud, I said slightly annoyed at myself, "Ughh...I was hoping to stay awake for the ride. That was a lot quicker than I expected." And indeed it was, for as large and hectic as Manehattan transit was, the small and quaint Ponyville Express line always seemed to run on time according to the ticketmaster. "Huh, on time.....something I'm definitely not used to..." Sitting up comfortably, and patting my ever scruffy looking mane into something a little more presentable, I gathered my belongings, or what little I brought really, and made my way to the train car's exit. Immediately after stepping off the train, a sweet earthy smell hit me. I'd say it was something relatively new, but I had visited the Equestrian country side before. I just never really bothered to take in scents, since back in Manehattan, a pony never really knew what kind of putrid smells could be lurking just around the corner. Looking around, I also took notice of my new visual environment: Wide open spaces, small cottages, huts and buildings, all with thatched roofs. In the distance, I could see an open marketplace of sorts where ponies all seemingly pranced about their business, each with a smile on his or her face. The sun, unobstructed by tall skyscrapers, shined down on the town, making everything light up, magically. Yeah....definitely a long way from home. I made my way off the bustling platform, careful not to get my hooves too dirty from the lack of paved roads. Opening my saddlebags and searching around the clutter for what seemed like an hour, I pulled out a really saggy piece of parchment. "Great, my stupid canteen is leaking again.....Hey, wait a sec!..." My blue eyes widen with horror. "Nonononononono, these are the directions to my new place!" Placing the parchment on the ground, I began to blow on it, hoping to dry it out. But it was no use. The writing on it was already faded and blurry to begin with. Nervously, I began pacing in a circle. "Now what? I don't know where to go! Umm....uh.....quickly, find somepony and ask for directions genius!" "Hello!" "Hi," I responded back without paying too much attention, "sorry, but I'm trying to find somepony to help me out." "Oh, well maybe I can help!" Quickly, I turned around and found myself face to face with a lavender unicorn mare. Her mane a dark purple with a brilliant rose streak, and her cutie mark, a star with surrounding smaller stars, almost resembling a compass. Big, violet eyes looked at me intently behind an even bigger smile. Sheepishly, I responded, "Geez, I'm sorry I didn't notice you there. My mind tends to lose itself a bit when I'm panicky about things....not that I...you know, panic...or anything...." My eyes broke from hers as I glanced around. She giggled as my cheeks turn a crimson red. Wait, am I blushing? Really Blaze? I think to myself. "It's okay," she answered back with a smile, "I'm sort of guilty of the same thing myself...Anyway, I'm Twilight Sparkle! It's nice to meet you.....?" She held out a hoof. The traditional pony greeting. I slowly held out mine in return, and we shook for a split second. "Oh, uhh....I'm Blaze! Pony extraordinaire!" I blurted out jokingly as I puffed out my chest. Twilight held back a small laugh as she said, "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Blaze, Pony Extraordinaire!!" Thinking to myself, I said, Oh ponyfeathers! Blaze you moron, what in the hay was that?! You've been in this town for what? Five minutes now? And already you've managed to leave an idiot's impression on a mare you just met! Speaking of which....she's pretty cute....ok, wait, what now? Besides, she's just a random, really friendly mare who seems to want to make conversation. Definitely a little out of the ordinary coming from Manehattan... Or maybe, she's just trying to distract you while her friends close in on me and mug me! No, look at her! She seems sincere in what she's doing right? RIGHT? Yeah, so do drug addicts when they're asking for money! HEY BLAZE, STOP BEING AND IDIOT AND STAY POSITIVE! "Umm...are you okay Blaze?" Twilight asked as she cocked an eyebrow. I shook my head and tried to stop fidgeting as much as possible. "Huh, yeah! I guess I'm just tired from the train ride over. I don't usually travel much. My old job kept my schedule a bit tight." Twilight's interest seemed to pique as I said this. "Ooh, where did you work?! Was it at a university, or maybe a laboratory of some sort? I know, you're an author aren't you? I know I've seen Blaze somewhere on one of the books at the library!" This time, it was I cocking an eyebrow. *Ahem* I cleared my throat to get her attention. "Sorry! I tend to get carried away..." She looked down at the ground sheepishly, with a clear blush showing through her coat. "Hey, it's okay!' I said. "But umm...no unfortunately. Not that I don't consider myself a scholar or anything. I graduated from Manehattan University almost at the top of my class, but I never took an interest to plopping myself behind a desk all day writing! I'm an earth pony, so as you can well imagine, I like to work! That's why instead, I joined the ranks of the great Fire Department of Manehattan! Like most of my family before me." I finished quietly. Instantly, Twilight's eyes lit up again. "A Fire Pony!" she said. "I've always wanted to meet a fire pony! Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" She started to prance around in a circle, eyes closed happily. Amused, I let out a small chuckle. "Umm...it's not that a big deal is it?" "But of course it is! All the brave stallions and mares, risking their lives to save people they don't even know! That's more than a big deal, that's amazing! And an earth pony like yourself! Strength, bravery, dedication! I'm sure you feel a lot more rewarding than any pegasus or unicorn for that matter when out on the job. You have to rely on your crew and work as a team!" I cringed at the word 'crew'. Luckily, Twilight was too lost in her own little world to notice. I cleared my throat again to get her attention. "There I ago again! Sorry Blaze....well umm.....how about that help you needed? Sorry we got so off topic again." "Sure," I remarked smiling, happy that I wasn't being probed any more. Holding up the piece of soggy parchment, I mentioned, "These were the directions to my house...and well..I uhh...don't really know where to go. I have the address, so I was hoping somepony could point me in the right direction." "Of course!" she exclaimed happily. "I happen to have a spare map or two of Ponyville back at the library, if you'd care to come with me. I'd be more than happy to give you one as a small welcome gift!" I nodded and smiled in appreciation. And with that, both Twilight and I set off into the heart of town, quickly coming upon a large tree. It seemed odd to me that somepony had managed to turn such a colossal tree into an inside living space. Even more odd that every single wall inside was occupied with neatly organized bookshelves, each one filled with novels, textbooks, guides, and just about every text that was known to ponies. When Twilight had led me to the middle of town where the tree house stood, I didn't think much of it, maybe that she was using it as a landmark to make our way around town, but not that it happened to be the Ponyville library, and much less her home. Then again, what would I know about small town accommodations. The lack of tall buildings and abundance of sunlight and fresh air would take a little getting used to. "Spike!" Twilight called out. No Answer. She sighed and called out one more time, in a tempting voice: "Spiiiiiiiiiike! I've got a biiig, tasty ruby for you!" I heard a quick scurrying of what sounded like little hooves coming from the upstairs room, and then the creaking of a door being open. A few seconds later, a pair of scaly feet and claws, not hooves, appeared at the top of the staircase and began their descent, slowly revealing what could only be a small, purple, baby dragon. "Whoa....", I exclaim out loud. "Is that a....." "A dragon?" Twilight finished, with a grin on her face. "Why yes it is, and also, it is my assistant here at the library! Right Spike?" "And IT, is a HE, and that HE is SPIKE!" shouted the dragon, groggy aggravation clear in his voice. With droopy eyes he looked at me for a split second and then back at Twilight. "Hmmph, I should have known you were kidding about the ruby. Come on Twi, that's the fourth time you've woken me up this week! What super important, fate of Equestria, thing is going on now?" Twilight rolled her eyes and points a hoof at me. "We've got a guest Spike! Just arrived in Ponyville not too long ago, and I was hoping to make some friendly introductions so he wouldn't feel too bad about not knowing anyone, but I guess that's as good as any that I'm getting!" "Hey," I interrupted, "it's cool really. I'm just surprised to see a dragon so far away from the dragon realm." I turned to look at Spike. "Hey Spike, I'm Blaze. Pleasure to meet you!" From the bottom of the steps Spike looked at me cautiously, and squinted his eyes as if trying to get a closer look at me. His eyes finally widened, and he quickly sprinted back up the stairs. "Umm....I didn't do anything wrong, did I?" But before Twilight could answer me, Spike came racing down and stopped directly in front of me, holding what looked like a newspaper. We stood there looking at each other, both of us with a surprised expression, until he finally spoke up. "Dude! I knew I'd seen you before, I just didn't remember where! And then it hit me, about this story I read like a month ago in the Equestria Daily paper!" Spike lifted up the paper just enough for me to see the headline. DECEMBER 18 - EQUESTRIA DAILY SPECIAL EDITION TRAGEDY STRIKES MANEHATTAN FD AS FOUR FIRE PONIES LOSE THEIR LIVES IN BUILDING COLLAPSE The picture underneath showed the faces of four ponies, my former mates, each smiling as if nothing had ever happened. All of their smiles forever etched in my head. "Hey Blaze, come here! I want to introduce you to someone!" I looked up from my task of filling the air tanks and turned around to face Captain Pike, a sly smile across his face. Next to him standed a scrawny looking earth pony stallion, probably no older than 18, with a powder white coat and light brown, short cropped mane. Fresh out of recruit school. "Oh fun!" I say, a bit over-excited. "Fresh hooves to push around?" "You know it B!" responded Captain spike, sounding just as enthusiastic as I am. "I need you to show him the ropes and whatnot. Let him know what he needs and doesn't need to do around the firehouse." He faced the probie and said, "Take it easy kid!" A hearty laugh escaped him as he leaves the garage. Looking at the kid, slightly unimpressed, I spoke up. "What's your name again?" "Uhh...Bonfire." He held out a hoof. I just stood there, with a stern look on my face, but secretly laughing on the inside. "Sir." I said. "Pardon?" "Sir. From now on, everyone else in this firehouse shall be referred to as 'sir', got it?" Slowly, Bonfire lowered his hoof to the ground as all the color flushed from his already white face. I contemplated on continuing my small tirade, but I'm usually not a mean pony, so I give it up. I start laughing. Bonfire looked at me, with a surprised look. "Cheer up kid! There's something you should know! Never try and take anything too seriously when we boss you around, unless it's a direct order. So just relax, eh?" "Sorry sir, you really had me going." "Damn straight I did! Anyway, I'm Blaze in case you didn't hear. I'm guessing you've already met everypony else since the Cap has me babysitting you now? "Yes sir." "Awesome. Alright, let's get down to it then, shall we? There's a few rules here in the firehouse you should know. Just keep in mind these only apply to you. Number one: Everyday you work, you're the first one here, and the last one to leave. Two: You weren't hired to have a voice and give opinions. This isn't a democracy, so unless you've got a legitimate question, keep your snout shut and keep your ears open. Three: You're here to work, not relax. If we're not out on duty, then you're hear doing what needs to be done to keep this place in working order, or studying. Light's out when we say it is. And that brings me to the fourth and final rule: Any and all responsibilities, including but not limited to cleaning, cooking, dishes, washing, checking the equipment, etcetera, are now your best friends. That's all on you buddy. We good on that?" The probie looked at me, with mouth open, and slight disbelief in his eyes. "So....I'm basically a...housemaid....?" "Aww come on kid," I said while laughing. "I wouldn't call it that." I hoofed him an air tank and said, "You know what to do!" before walking out. "Blaze! Are you ok?!" Upon opening my eyes, I saw Twilight, and the dragon, Spike, standing above me, worry showing across their faces. I blinked a few times and stood up, trying to gain my composure, but my knees were too shaky to do so. My mane was soaked apparently, from a cold sweat. My head, buzzing. I feel....depressed...again. In a very low and shaky voice, I asked "Wh...what....h...happened?" Twilight drew in onto my side, helping me to get up. "Blaze, are you ok?" She looked like she was on the verge of tears. "You kinda blanked out for a sec...and then you just....collapsed and...started to twitch a lot..." I raised a hoof up to my head, rubbing a very specific spot, buried underneath my mane. "Oh..." is all I managed to say. "I'm so sorry dude....I didn't know that would happen....I mean...I should have known that you would react in a bad way, especially since it wasn't so long ago." "I'm okay Spike, really, and you too Twilight. I just...." Unable to stand up fully, I felll back on to my haunches. I struggled to get back up, but a pair of hooves kept me grounded. "No, no you need to rest Blaze. I can't have you walking around in the state you are, so please, take all the time you need." Twilight now faced me, a sincere look in her eye. "Please?" After what seemed like hours of silence, I finally resigned to taking Twilight's offer. Slowly, I stood up with help from both her and Spike's help, and made my way to a couch in a corner of the library. Strange I thought to myself, I don't even know this mare and she's more than happy to help and feel with a complete stranger. And yet, I made some impression there. Breaking down in the middle of her home, and now I feel horrible. But I'm really in no condition to go anywhere....what the hell was that anyway?! .....No, nothing. Just push it back....just push it back.... I turned my attention to Twilight, silently resting on the ground next to me. "That usually doesn't happen you know...I'm sorry to scare you like that." I said. She gave me a soft smile. "As long as you're okay." "Maybe." I muttered under my breath. "Huh?" "Nothing. Listen, I don't mean to overextend your generosity, you know, by walking into your house and then passing out on your floor, but I do think I should get going, before the sun sets." "Are you sure you're feeling up to that?" Twilight asked with a worried tone. "Yeah, definitely. Besides, I only came for a map remember?" I smiled at her, as best as I could. She smiled back. "Well, okay Blaze, but if you ever need anything, anything at all, you can always come by the library and I'd be more than happy to lend a hoof. Also...one more thing. Tomorrow, my friends and I are having a small get together in Ponyville Park, around noon, and well, you're more than welcome to come. I'd love to introduce you to everyone." "Oh...umm....yeah, sounds great!" I guessed it wouldn't be so bad meeting some new ponies. "Great!" Twilight whispered something to Spike and the dragon bolted into the other room, and came back a few seconds later holding up a rolled piece of parchment. He walked over to me and placed the parchment in my saddlebag hanging over the couch. "I'm really sorry dude..." Spike trailed off. "Don't worry yourself over it okay? Things happen and it wasn't your fault, so we're cool! Brohoof?" "Brohoof!" We both laughed as hoof and fist connected. As I made my way to the door, Twilight came over to me and gave me a quick hug. Huh, well wasn't expecting that, but it was nice. "See you tomorrow Blaze!" "You too Twilight! Thanks for watching out for me. I really appreciate." As I turned the corner and left sight of the library, I thought to myself, I wonder if all the ponies in this town are equally as nice, or normal for once, for that matter. IntroductionsThe next morning, I set off, map in tow, to find a proper place to shop for baking goods. Normally, I wasn't much of a cook or a baker at that, but after what Twilight had done for me yesterday, it was really the only thing I could think of for repaying her generosity. Soon, I found myself in Ponyville's open air market and began purchasing all the essentials necessary to bake a cake. Within the hour, I was back at my home, working hard on a triple chocolate delight cake. Eventually, the mix went in to the oven....and came back out, looking nothing at all like the picture in the baking book. Wonderful. "Jeez, she'll be ever so grateful for the huge, round, chocolate-looking thing." I said dryly, while scrutinizing my work, or rather what could barely pass as something edible. With about thirty minutes to spare before noon, I left my still relatively empty house, in search of the park. It was a beautiful day, Celestia's sun shining high in the sky, and a slight breeze blowing through the streets. After wandering around aimlessly, even with the map and help from some of the locals, I finally found the park. It seemed a bit like Manehattan's Central Park, just much smaller in scale. In the center stood a fountain, surrounded by benches, where a few mares sat, talking amongst themselves, while their children played in the distance. The scene really was calm and serene, which truthfully, is exactly what I set out to find. Trotting through the park, I noticed a group of six ponies, and what was unmistakably a baby dragon, setting up a picnic site under the shade of a great tree. "I guess that's my group for the day." "Blaze, over here!" called out Twilight, waving a hoof while walking towards me. "I'm so glad you could make it! We've been waiting on you to start!" She was wearing a huge smile on her face. "Hey, yeah, thank you so much for the invite! I wouldn't miss this for the world. I umm...brought you something, but....well, it's not really made very well." I pull out the cake thing from my saddlebags and let Twilight take it from me with her magic. Twilight took a look at the cake and then back up to me, a slight blush on her face. "Heh, why thank you Blaze, that's really kind of you, but really, you didn-" "OOH! Is that a cake?! Yummy! I love cake! Looky, I brought some baked goods of my own!" "Pinkie..." "I've got cake and cupcakes and muffins and all that! Hmm...maybe next time I'll bring cookies and-" "Pinkie!" Twilight yelled out in frustration! "I think he gets it..." I looked over at the pile of expertly baked desserts, behind the two mares, and then at the pink earth pony standing in front of me now. Ow.. I think to myself. Way to instantly get upstaged by somepony you've never met. Then again, I wasn't really expecting much with this stupid cake. The pink pony stared at me for a second, then scurried in even closer to my face. Her left eye looked as if it was protruding from its socket, inspecting me up and down. Instinctively, I backed away, but she seemed to follow me. After a very uneasy moment of silence, she finally spoke up. "Hey, I've never seen you before! Sooo, that means you're somepony new, which means, I've got to throw you a welcome party!" She began to bounce around, a huge grin on her face, extending from ear to ear. "We'll have streamers and balloons and music! I know, we can get Vinyl Scratch to DJ for you! She's just absolutely, positively, the bestest music pony ever! Oh, and I'm Pinkie Pie by the way! Ponyville's premier party pony! Oh, and also, I work at the local bakery, Sugarcube corner!" All this, she said, while still bouncing around and on a single breath. She finally stopped to gasp for air afterwords. Dumbstruck, I stood there, not knowing how to respond to that. Maybe these ponies are as equally crazy as the one's back home... "Umm...." The five other ponies around us and Spike began to laugh. My head hung slightly and my ears laid themselves back. Twilight finally stepped up to me. "I'm sorry about that Blaze! Pinkie can be really...eccentric, but that's what makes her special. And sorry about the laughter. We weren't laughing at you, we were laughing at Pinkie and her craziness! So I hope that didn't make you feel bad or anything?" Instantly, my ears sprung back into place and I said, as reassuringly as I could, "No no, of course not! I just wasn't expecting the barrage from her." I looked at Pinkie, who was now standing there, humming to herself, a silly smile plastered on her face. "Well, it certainly is a pleasure to meet you Pinkie Pie! I'm not usually one for parties, but if you're going to throw me one, then I suppose I have no objection to that." I said, as cheerful as I could. Pinkies eyes lit up even more, as if that were even possible and she began to toss and bounce around, all the while continuously shouting "Yay! Yay! Yaaaaaaaaay!", over and over again. My attention turned back to Twilight as she took center stage again. "You kind of get used to that after a while, so don't mind her, she's just being Pinkie Pie. Anyway, allow me to introduce you to the rest of my friends!" One by one, the other ponies stepped forward as Twilight called their names. "This is Rarity, Ponyville's resident fashion designer! if you ever find yourself in need of an outfit, she's the unicorn to go to!" A unicorn with a clean, shiny white coat, radiant blue eyes, expertly done mane and tail, and three diamond cutie mark stepped forward, and bowed to greet me. "It certainly is a pleasure to meet you Blaze. Twilight was mentioning to us earlier that she would be having someone come to meet us." The beautiful Rarity took a step back. Twilight called out again. "Rainbow Dash here is Ponyville's weather pegasus, and-" "The fastest flier in all of Equestria!", interrupted a cyan and rainbow colored pegasus. "And I hear you were a fire pony! That is so awesome!" She was clenching her cheeks together with her hooves, pushing her muzzle out. I restrained myself from laughing at the silly face Rainbow Dash had made. "Great to meet another adrenaline junkie so far out in the country. Unfortunately, my days of fire fighting are way behind me..." I trailed off, my voice getting quiet. Rainbow Dash stared at me, until Twilight came and nuzzled her away, but not before giving me an apologetic look. I guess she left 'that' part out. I thought to myself. Next to Rarity, I could see Spike was also a bit sad looking, as his head hung low. No need to ruin the mood. Let's just get this right along. I turned to look at the one remaining pony. Wait, weren't there six ponies? She had a light orange coat with a long, blonde mane and tail, both held back by two red bands at the ends. On her head, she wore a brown Stetson. I took notice of her cutie mark: Three red apples. Wow, she's beautiful...and oh so familiar... "Hey, you're Applejack" "Ah don't reckon we've met before, mister?" replied Applejack. Confusion shown across her face as she furrowed her brow. "Oh, right..." I could feel myself going red. I looked off to left. "Well, I mean, I've seen pictures of you before. I happen to be good friends with your aunt and uncle Orange back in Manehattan. They tended to sponsor the fire department quite often, and we found ourselves taking a liking to each other. They invited me over to their parties quite a few times actually, and that's where they spoke of you! Although, all that high class stuff doesn't really suit me." From the back, Rarity groaned. Applejack smiled. "Well then I s'pose that makes two of us then! It's a mighty fine pleasure to meet friends o' the family!" "The pleasure's all mine Applejack!" I sounded giddy. And I'm still freakin blushing! She let out a small giggle. Cute.. "Say," Applejack spoke up again. "Being new an' all to Ponyville, Ah imagine ya don't have a proper job?" "Well, no. I mean I just got here yesterday, so I haven't really thought about it." "Hmm...well, if ya'd like, the Apple's could always use an extra hoof down at Sweet Apple Acres! Ah'm sure Big Mac would always appreciate the help! So whaddya say? We'd be more than happy to throw ya a few bit's for all yer hard work and whatnot!" I contemplated for a few seconds, raising my hoof up to my chin. Being the city pony that I am...or was now, I didn't know how well I would fit in on a farm scenario. I could see myself using a plow to try and corral all the small animals there. But perhaps I could give it a shot. I did need the money after all, and what better way to get to know Applejack - er, I mean more ponies here.....Why the hay not. "Alright Applejack, you've got yourself a deal! "Yeehaw! Sounds like a plan mister!" she said while rearing, and kicking her front legs about, a huge grin on her face. That certainly is a mighty cute smile she's got. My head trailed off. Wait, really...."mighty cute"? Seriously Blaze, you've been here a day and all this country stuff is getting to you already. But, that Applejack sure is something....Oh Celestia, shut up head. "Alrighty Blaze, ah'll let ya know all them little details later." I nodded slightly, keeping my head down, so as to make sure she didn't notice that I was still blushing a bit. Eventually, Twilight brought up my attention. "Say, has anyone seen Fluttershy? I know she was here just a second ago" At this, Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and pointed towards Rarity, or not Rarity, but behind her. Sure enough, almost cowering, stood a yellow pegasus, her face burrowed in her pink mane. "Hey, Fluttershy! Care to meet our new friend?" "I...umm...ok..." said the yellow pegasus, in a squeaky and barely audible voice. "Hi," I said first, smiling gently at her. I knew ponies just like her. My sister had been just like her back when she was a filly. "My name's Blaze, and I'm new in town, so I was hoping I could meet some ponies to help me not feel so lonely around here." I looked at her, expectantly. She just sank back into her mane. "Don't worry about it, she's like that with everypony she meets for the first time. She'll get used to you." whispered Twilight into my ear. "Soooooooo, who wants cake!?" I looked over to Pinkie Pie who had already begun to devour her own baked goods, frosting and bits and pieces of pastries, covering her face. Gee, I sure know how to pick friends. But at least they seem nice. The rest of the day was spent talking amongst each other, listening to music, playing a few games, and eating overall. Pinkie took up her time by planning out what seemed to be an overly elaborate party, which would be attended by all of Ponyville. Fluttershy and Rarity were talking fashion, which was way out of my league, and I was still surprised to see Fluttershy speak. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were off at the edge of the park racing, and Twilight and Spike were both sitting right next to the tree trunk, reading. As the sun set, and the few final goodbye's were made, I stood alone in the park, contemplating the day. It had been the most fun I had had in a quite a while. I had made seven friends now, on my second day in this new town. Not bad Blaze, not bad. Not to mention I already had a job lined up, as a farmhand over at Sweet Apple Acres, where ever that was. I'd have to look it up later. At the thought of Sweet Apple Acres, my eyes lit up just a bit. I would be working with Applejack, the beautiful country mare who offered me the job in the first place. I could just imagine myself looking into those big, green eyes and her calling out to me, "Sugarcube!" No need to get all mushy, with the nicknames. "Helloooo! You okay here sugarcube?" I turned to face Applejack, a look of concern on her face. Oh crap, I thought. "I uh, didn't say anything out loud did I?" "Well, ah think ah would've heard ya if you did silly." she chuckled lightly, her expression softening. "But ah just came back to ask ya when it is ya want to start working?" I shot up immediately. "As soon as possible!" Unto DawnLadder. Battalion. The ever recognizable alarm tones rang through every corner of the station. Dispatch reports fire at the corner of Coltree St and 49th Avenue. "Oh great, what freakin' time is it?" The lights switched on in the bunk room, and around me I could hear the groans of the rest of the fire crew. The clock on the wall read 1:57 A.M. "You've got to be kidding." As quickly as possible, I slid off my bed and into my already waiting bunker gear. While I pulled my coat over the top half of my body, from the corner of my eye, I could see the probie struggling to put his own gear on. "Hey kid, come on! We gotta get a move on!" After what seemed like an eternity later, the crew made their way down to the hangar and onto the carriage. The sirens were turned on, and we were on our way. "So probie, you excited?" asked Smokey, one of the other fireponies. "Yeah, definitely! I mean, this is what I've been waiting for after all sir!" Captain Pike looked back from his shotgun seat, a stern look on his face. "You remember what you learned in training and what we taught you kid? Don't go getting all heroic, lone ranger on us. That kind of idiocy gets ponies hurt or killed. We're a crew, so we work together, we stick together. Whoever I assign you to, you stay right behind them. Got it?" "Got it Captain." Bonfire began to mutter something inaudible to the rest of us. No one else seemed to see or mind that he was visibly shaking. "You okay Bonfire?" I asked. "What? Oh..yeah, I'm all good, j...just a bit nervous is all sir" he responded, looking straight down at the cabin floor. "Don't worry about it kid, happens to the best of us, especially on your first fire. Thing is to not let it get to your head so much. Try to keep your thoughts elsewhere until we get there, since it's usually the build up that gets most people. Once we're actually there, training and instinct kick in and every other little feeling you had seems to melt away. Figuratively, of course." The Captain turned back once again to address me. "Jeez Blaze, when did you become all philosophical? At least I know if I Section 8, I can go to you for some mental tips and whatnot!" At this, most of the guys laughed, but given that Pike and I had actually been friends since before I went through academy, I was always looking for an opportunity to make some snide remark that would make the rest of the crew "Ooh" and "Ahh" at my apparent bravery, without them knowing of our outside friendship of course. "Aww, come on Cap," I responded quickly, "If that's what you classify as philosophical, then you should probably consider going back to grade school. Pretty sure there's more philosophy in those old Mother Goose nursery rhymes." "Bah!" was all he could say. With victory fresh on my face, I turned to Bonfire. "Alright, just stick with me kid, I'm sure old Pikey would have wanted that anyway. But don't you dare leave my side for a sec." After getting an approval from the probie, my gaze turned to the blur of the street going by. At this time of night, the streets were mostly empty, save for the few stray ponies here and there. The wailing of the sirens filled the relative silence of the night and the lights from atop the carriage illuminated the otherwise dark and gloomy streets of nighttime Manehattan. The cold September air felt good on my face, as I opened up the window just a bit. Saturday night in the biiig city. But then again, that was every night. I could never see myself anywhere else. "Alright, hustle up ladies!" Captain Pike yelled back to us, "We're here and it looks like this one's going to be an all nighter." As the crew and I exited the carriage, we found ourselves face to face with a raging, smoking....dumpster fire. "Whoa, probie, stand back, you might get hurt on this one." said Smokey, in a very sarcastic tone. The crew laughed, but Bonfire held a solemn look on his face. "You good kid?" "Eh, I guess I was expecting something a little....larger, sir." I stared at him for a good few seconds, unsure of what to say. "Well, it's not all blazing inferno's and heroics kid....not to say our job isn't exciting or boring, because by Celestia, we know it's definitely not, but sometimes we just tend to have some slow days, and trust me, you're going to learn to be patient during said days. Heck, I remember when I was a probie, not too long ago, I'd have tours where all I might have gotten was a single call a day and even then it was for some foolhardy pegasus who sprained a wing doing a stupid trick or an over-reacting mom balling her eyes out because her foal got a little scrape." Bonfire loosened up a bit and chuckled. "Well, okay I guess, but I plan on being the first one in when we get to a real fire sir!" "Good to know kid, but you'll be the second in if anything, right behind me. But right now, we're missing quality dumpster time." "Right. Shall I rescue the trash and rats sir?" I cooked an eyebrow and said to him dryly, "I like you kid, but don't push your luck just yet with that thing you call a sense of humor." BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. "Shut the hay up, stupid thing!" Unwilling to move, and with my eyes still closed, I smack my hoof around on the nightstand next to my bed hoping to strike the off button on my alarm. After a minute or so of flailing, I finally decide to open my eyes, if only halfway, and strain to see where the off button is. There. "Ahh, finally, sweet silence..." Normally, I'd have no problem waking up early, but my now concurring restless nights and new night owl habit had made it all but impossible to rise before the sun. Today though, was the first day on the new job, and as Applejack had been so keen to offer it to me, I had to do my best not to disappoint the Apple family. To show them how hard a worker I am. To show them my capabilities. To show her my dedication. "Whoa buddy," I spoke to myself as I finally crawled out of bed. "Getting a little creepy there, don't you think? Besides, it's just a farm job. Simple, easy stuff....with the most beautiful mare in all of Equestria...Oh Celestia, this lack of sleep is driving me crazy." Hauling myself to the small bathroom in my room, I take my time grooming myself and stretch out just a bit to limber up before what I was guessing would be a hard day. "Looking good Blaze, looking reeeal good....idiot." After getting some breakfast, and grabbing my trusty map, I set off towards Sweet Apple Acres. There wasn't anypony on the streets yet, and Celestia's sun would not rise for another hour. The country air felt nice and clean, as I prepared myself mentally for what would be my first day of work in months. Finally finding myself at the edge of town, I took my first view of Sweet Apple Acres off in the distance. There stood a hen house next to a well, and behind those two, a red barn house with a purple roof, surrounded by a few small fields of crop. As I approached closer, the sweet smell of apples hit my nostrils. Amazing, compared to the smells on the streets of Manehattan. Halting at the barn door, I prepared to knock before noticing another stallion coming out from around the corner of the house. His green apple sliced in half cutie mark immediately tells me that he must be part of the Apple family. He seems weathered and strong, but friendly nonetheless. "Hello there! I'm Blaze. I'm not sure if Applejack told you and your family that I would be your new farmhoof?" "Eeyup." he returned with a smile. "A.J.'s been speakin' about you non stop since last night. Name's Big Macintosh by the way. Good to meet ya." "Pleasure's all mine Big Macintosh. And....w-wait what? Applejack's been talking about me?" I asked incredulously. "Eeyup. Said she met an awful nice colt yesterday and offered 'im a job" "Oh, right..." I said sheepishly. Big Mac chuckled. "Well, I don't suppose you could take me to her? Unless you need help with something first of course? I'm here to help everypony, of course." "Not at the moment, so let's go show A.J. yer here." "Sounds good! I think I can find her on my own though, if you're busy?" "Hmm...normally that'd be fine with me, but ah think you should follow me to her fer today at least." As we came around the house, I finally took notice of all the trees in front of me. ALL of them. Apple trees as far as the eye could see, all in neat rows. There could be thousands for all I knew. "T-these are all the trees right in the orchard right?" "Course not! This is just the South field." Oh crap. Keeping quiet as we walked through the scores of apple trees, I took in how beautiful this place truly was. The sun was beginning to come up, and in the distance I took notice of something I hadn't before: The royal city of Canterlot. Having never been to Equestria's capital, I had always wanted an opportunity to go, and since I was this close now, I might have to plan a future trip. Eventually, Big Mac and I reached a small clearing where I spotted Applejack hauling a cart full of apples towards the barn. Judging by the full cart and her face full of concentration, I could tell she had already been out working for a while. "Mornin' big brother! Mornin' Blaze! Glad to see ya could make it!" A smile spread across her face. I responded swiftly. "Wouldn't want to be anywhere else!" "Good ta hear!" She faced Big Mac. "Alright, thanks fer showing 'im to me Big Mac, ah'll take it from here." As Bic Mac made his way back to the barn, Applejack unmounted the cart from herself and trotted over to me. She then did the last thing I expected. She gave me a quick hug. Taken by surprise, all I could do was simply stand there and bow my head to prevent her from seeing me blush. Oh, Celestia, she smells like the sweetest apple. "Hope ya slept well sugarcube. We've got a looong day ahead of us, and ah've got plenty a things to show ya." Applejack began to make her way back to the cart, but I darted right past her and mounted the cart onto myself. "As a gentlecolt from the fine city of Manehattan, I believe it my duty to assist a lady in any way possible." I said almost nonchalantly. "If ya say so, Blaze, Pony Extraordinaire!" she sneered in a playful manner. "Oh...I guess Twilight told you about that...." I could feel my face burning with embarrassment. "Well," she laughed, "duh." AwkwardTwo weeks had now gone by since I moved to Ponyville, and in those two weeks, I found myself adjusting to the country life a lot easier than I would have expected. Not that I didn't miss home, but here, the ponies were friendly, the scenery beautiful, and my new friends, always a pleasure to be around. Sure, my job at Sweet Apple Acres had taken its toll on me at first, due to being so out of shape now, but I didn't mind it. It felt good to be working again, and I had gotten the hang of what I was doing. Or, at least I wasn't constantly missing the apple trees I was trying to buck. Regardless, things in my life had been much better. I had even managed to successfully be-friend Fluttershy without her going into hiding, and even more surprisingly, she was who I was with today, on my day off. Striking up conversations on animal care and fashion (both of which I knew absolutely nothing about), Fluttershy and I happily walked through Ponyville's open air market, shopping for groceries so she could feed her critters. "Oh my," said Fluttershy as returned from one of the fruit stands. "I can never seem to get here in time to buy cherries, and even when I do, they're so pricey!" "Aww come on Fluttershy. I'm sure there's a few more stands around that might have some left. Come on, we're not done yet!" I placed a hoof on her shoulder for reassurance. "But, you've been with me all morning Blaze...I don't want to take up your entire day off..." "Nonsense! It's not like I have anything else of importance to do today, or anypony to see!" "I...well....okay, if you say so. But...." she paused. "I'm sure youd r-rather be with Applejack right now...right?" I flushed. And apparently Fluttershy had caught what she had just said as well, her face turning a bright, noticeable crimson, as she stared down at the ground. "WHAT?!" I shouted a little too loudly. Fluttershy whimpered, and I noticed I was beginning to draw looks from a few of the ponies around us. I lowered my voice to a whisper. "I uh...umm....well...umm....no?" Fluttershy now looked straight into my eyes, and I felt frozen, unable to move, and a slight fear began to wash over me. She spoke, with a very critical voice. "So you don't like her?" "Gah, what? I..I..never said that! I just so happen to be having a nice time with you, is all!" I responded quickly. And it was true. I was having a great time with Fluttershy, but, thinking about it, I suppose my mind had occasionally filled with thoughts of a certain orange mare throughout the day. Not that I had shared that, or would share that with anypony for that matter. So then why had Fluttershy said that? Her gaze had not left mine. "Uhh...maybe we should go somewhere a little less populated if you want to talk?" I asked nervously. "I suppose you're right." Fluttershy squeaked as she took notice of all the eyes on us. "Maybe we should go back to my cottage? My back could use a break from carrying around these heavy groceries." She nudged her bursting saddle bags to show me. I simply nodded my approval, still left a little dazed by the stare down she had given me just a second ago. The walk to her cottage at the edge of the Everfree Forest was awfully silent, and awkward, as expected. Fluttershy and I had walked side by side, without so much as glancing at each other. As soon as we arrived at her front door, I let her open it and go on in. On the other hand, I stayed glued to my spot just outside. Now's my chance to run! I'm not a coward though! So what if she knows, big deal! Oh this is going to suck... "So," I heard directly in front of me. "Are you coming in?" "Well uh...I uh...m-maybe...go...to..uh...h-home?" I stammered. Fluttershy walked up behind me and began to push me inside her home. I resisted, but found her to be unusually strong at the moment for some reason. Knowing how this would turn out, I relaxed myself as best I could while she pushed me inside, and closed the door behind her. Quickly, she dropped her saddlebags on the floor and then came straight up to me. "You never did directly answer my question." said Fluttershy, rather assertively. "About?" I asked, as innocently as possible, pretending to look at all the trinkets on the counter tops and tables. "About you know exactly what!" I sighed, and faced her, making sure to avoid direct eye contact again. "Applejack?" "Yes." "Uhh..." I could feel myself fidgeting around, but couldn't seem to stop. Suddenly, the room felt five thousand times hotter as sweat began to develop on my brow. "Well...maybe...I d-do like her...j-ust a bit...?" I somehow managed to whisper. Finally looking at Fluttershy, I was surprised to see a smile forming on her face. Letting out a small squee first, she exclaimed, "Oh, how wonderful!" I knew from the beginning! Well, we all knew, but, then aga-" "Wait," I interrupted. "You all knew? You mean everypony else knows too?!" Fluttershy retreated back, her voice returning to it's normal silent squeakiness. "It was k-kinda obvious." "I...well....really?" "Just a bit." Had it really been that obvious? With the way we met, and all the meetups, had everyone seen how I looked at Applejack, how I talked to her? Not to mention all the time I spent with her even when we weren't working. I guess I had been too carried away with my thoughts and fantasies to take notice of how everypony else was viewing the whole situation. My eyes widened in horror as a thought came to my mind. "Please, please, please don't tell me that Applejack knows!" "Oh, no. Not at all as far as I know. But, I wouldn't be too surprised if she ended up finding it out on her own. I mean, the way you look and talk to her just shouts your feelings out! It's umm...cute" she added with a slight blush. Full panic set in. "Oh nononono! Crap, what if Big Mac or Granny Smith or Applebloom found out? They'll probably think I'm weird and end up firing me! I mean, I've only been there two weeks! That'll probably get the attention of everypony I did business with while working the Apple's cart in town! And THEN A.J. will find out and she'll probably say something like 'What kind of a loser starts takin' a likin' to a pony they just met not too long ago?' And then, and then..." I noticed that I was pacing quickly, but that for some reason, Fluttershy had a gentle look on her face. Come on Blaze, you're starting to sound like Twilight when she has one of her signature freakouts! Keep. It. Together. "I'm thinking it wouldn't be the best idea to tell you that Big Macintosh already kinda...knows?" "Then why'd you tell me?!" "I thought you should know..." she said quietly. "But it might not be so bad..." "What? How could it not be so bad?!" "Maybe I shouldn't say...and let things...run their course. B-but, it could help." "Fluttershy. Tell me." I moved in closer to her. Instinctively, she backed away, but couldn't go any further as she had trapped herself in a corner. "Umm...well...Big Macintosh said...that he really thinks you're a great colt and all...and that....he thinks you and Applejack seem to fit in almost...perfectly...." I blinked a few times. "Wha? Huh?" was all I could manage to say. I shook my head as a mixed feeling of emotions raced through my mind. "Oh, who am I kidding? She'd never go for somepony like me...I mean, really, I'm a city pony and she's a country mare. Our differences are too vast to even begin to describe!" Fluttershy gave me an interesting look, but a gentle smile appeared on her face. "Listen to yourself, Blaze. You're worrying too much about this. You should stop looking at the negative and take some time to reflect on the things that matter. For example, when you think about it, you and Applejack aren't as different as you make it seem. Sure, you both grew up in different environments, but you're both hard working earth ponies with similar likes and dislikes. And truth be told, I and the rest of our friends can see you both together in the future." It took me a minute to process all the information Fluttershy had just told me. I finally relaxed enough to compose some rational thought. "You...really think so?" "I know so." she said genuinely. Regaining my confidence, I grinned at Fluttershy. "Jeez, when did you get all emotionally supportive and stuff?" "Oh...I umm...I don't know." My moment of happiness didn't last too long though. As much as I understood and took to heart what Fluttershy had said, there was still one thing that everypony didn't know, except Twilight and Spike. One thing that could potentially ruin the trust I had built up with all my new friends and interest. My past. "Fluttershy?" "Yes?" "I don't suppose Twilight has told you anything about me?" I asked. "Oh...other than that you used to be a Manehattan Fire Pony?" "Yeah, but did she ever tell you why I left the job or Manehattan in the first place?" Fluttershy shook her head. I took a deep breath.... "Oh my gosh Blaze! I'm s-s-so sorry..." Fluttershy struggled to say in between her tears. "I had no idea..." She came up close to hug me, and I hugged her back, my solemn expression not changing a bit. I stared into the distance, my thoughts elsewhere.
A Warm WelcomeThe screeching against tracks and sudden deceleration made me wake up from my nap. With groggy eyes, I looked over to the mounted clock that hung from my sleeper cabin wall. It read 2:36. Thinking aloud, I said slightly annoyed at myself, "Ughh...I was hoping to stay awake for the ride. That was a lot quicker than I expected." And indeed it was, for as large and hectic as Manehattan transit was, the small and quaint Ponyville Express line always seemed to run on time according to the ticketmaster. "Huh, on time.....something I'm definitely not used to..." Sitting up comfortably, and patting my ever scruffy looking mane into something a little more presentable, I gathered my belongings, or what little I brought really, and made my way to the train car's exit. Immediately after stepping off the train, a sweet earthy smell hit me. I'd say it was something relatively new, but I had visited the Equestrian country side before. I just never really bothered to take in scents, since back in Manehattan, a pony never really knew what kind of putrid smells could be lurking just around the corner. Looking around, I also took notice of my new visual environment: Wide open spaces, small cottages, huts and buildings, all with thatched roofs. In the distance, I could see an open marketplace of sorts where ponies all seemingly pranced about their business, each with a smile on his or her face. The sun, unobstructed by tall skyscrapers, shined down on the town, making everything light up, magically. Yeah....definitely a long way from home. I made my way off the bustling platform, careful not to get my hooves too dirty from the lack of paved roads. Opening my saddlebags and searching around the clutter for what seemed like an hour, I pulled out a really saggy piece of parchment. "Great, my stupid canteen is leaking again.....Hey, wait a sec!..." My blue eyes widen with horror. "Nonononononono, these are the directions to my new place!" Placing the parchment on the ground, I began to blow on it, hoping to dry it out. But it was no use. The writing on it was already faded and blurry to begin with. Nervously, I began pacing in a circle. "Now what? I don't know where to go! Umm....uh.....quickly, find somepony and ask for directions genius!" "Hello!" "Hi," I responded back without paying too much attention, "sorry, but I'm trying to find somepony to help me out." "Oh, well maybe I can help!" Quickly, I turned around and found myself face to face with a lavender unicorn mare. Her mane a dark purple with a brilliant rose streak, and her cutie mark, a star with surrounding smaller stars, almost resembling a compass. Big, violet eyes looked at me intently behind an even bigger smile. Sheepishly, I responded, "Geez, I'm sorry I didn't notice you there. My mind tends to lose itself a bit when I'm panicky about things....not that I...you know, panic...or anything...." My eyes broke from hers as I glanced around. She giggled as my cheeks turn a crimson red. Wait, am I blushing? Really Blaze? I think to myself. "It's okay," she answered back with a smile, "I'm sort of guilty of the same thing myself...Anyway, I'm Twilight Sparkle! It's nice to meet you.....?" She held out a hoof. The traditional pony greeting. I slowly held out mine in return, and we shook for a split second. "Oh, uhh....I'm Blaze! Pony extraordinaire!" I blurted out jokingly as I puffed out my chest. Twilight held back a small laugh as she said, "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Blaze, Pony Extraordinaire!!" Thinking to myself, I said, Oh ponyfeathers! Blaze you moron, what in the hay was that?! You've been in this town for what? Five minutes now? And already you've managed to leave an idiot's impression on a mare you just met! Speaking of which....she's pretty cute....ok, wait, what now? Besides, she's just a random, really friendly mare who seems to want to make conversation. Definitely a little out of the ordinary coming from Manehattan... Or maybe, she's just trying to distract you while her friends close in on me and mug me! No, look at her! She seems sincere in what she's doing right? RIGHT? Yeah, so do drug addicts when they're asking for money! HEY BLAZE, STOP BEING AND IDIOT AND STAY POSITIVE! "Umm...are you okay Blaze?" Twilight asked as she cocked an eyebrow. I shook my head and tried to stop fidgeting as much as possible. "Huh, yeah! I guess I'm just tired from the train ride over. I don't usually travel much. My old job kept my schedule a bit tight." Twilight's interest seemed to pique as I said this. "Ooh, where did you work?! Was it at a university, or maybe a laboratory of some sort? I know, you're an author aren't you? I know I've seen Blaze somewhere on one of the books at the library!" This time, it was I cocking an eyebrow. *Ahem* I cleared my throat to get her attention. "Sorry! I tend to get carried away..." She looked down at the ground sheepishly, with a clear blush showing through her coat. "Hey, it's okay!' I said. "But umm...no unfortunately. Not that I don't consider myself a scholar or anything. I graduated from Manehattan University almost at the top of my class, but I never took an interest to plopping myself behind a desk all day writing! I'm an earth pony, so as you can well imagine, I like to work! That's why instead, I joined the ranks of the great Fire Department of Manehattan! Like most of my family before me." I finished quietly. Instantly, Twilight's eyes lit up again. "A Fire Pony!" she said. "I've always wanted to meet a fire pony! Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" She started to prance around in a circle, eyes closed happily. Amused, I let out a small chuckle. "Umm...it's not that a big deal is it?" "But of course it is! All the brave stallions and mares, risking their lives to save people they don't even know! That's more than a big deal, that's amazing! And an earth pony like yourself! Strength, bravery, dedication! I'm sure you feel a lot more rewarding than any pegasus or unicorn for that matter when out on the job. You have to rely on your crew and work as a team!" I cringed at the word 'crew'. Luckily, Twilight was too lost in her own little world to notice. I cleared my throat again to get her attention. "There I ago again! Sorry Blaze....well umm.....how about that help you needed? Sorry we got so off topic again." "Sure," I remarked smiling, happy that I wasn't being probed any more. Holding up the piece of soggy parchment, I mentioned, "These were the directions to my house...and well..I uhh...don't really know where to go. I have the address, so I was hoping somepony could point me in the right direction." "Of course!" she exclaimed happily. "I happen to have a spare map or two of Ponyville back at the library, if you'd care to come with me. I'd be more than happy to give you one as a small welcome gift!" I nodded and smiled in appreciation. And with that, both Twilight and I set off into the heart of town, quickly coming upon a large tree. It seemed odd to me that somepony had managed to turn such a colossal tree into an inside living space. Even more odd that every single wall inside was occupied with neatly organized bookshelves, each one filled with novels, textbooks, guides, and just about every text that was known to ponies. When Twilight had led me to the middle of town where the tree house stood, I didn't think much of it, maybe that she was using it as a landmark to make our way around town, but not that it happened to be the Ponyville library, and much less her home. Then again, what would I know about small town accommodations. The lack of tall buildings and abundance of sunlight and fresh air would take a little getting used to. "Spike!" Twilight called out. No Answer. She sighed and called out one more time, in a tempting voice: "Spiiiiiiiiiike! I've got a biiig, tasty ruby for you!" I heard a quick scurrying of what sounded like little hooves coming from the upstairs room, and then the creaking of a door being open. A few seconds later, a pair of scaly feet and claws, not hooves, appeared at the top of the staircase and began their descent, slowly revealing what could only be a small, purple, baby dragon. "Whoa....", I exclaim out loud. "Is that a....." "A dragon?" Twilight finished, with a grin on her face. "Why yes it is, and also, it is my assistant here at the library! Right Spike?" "And IT, is a HE, and that HE is SPIKE!" shouted the dragon, groggy aggravation clear in his voice. With droopy eyes he looked at me for a split second and then back at Twilight. "Hmmph, I should have known you were kidding about the ruby. Come on Twi, that's the fourth time you've woken me up this week! What super important, fate of Equestria, thing is going on now?" Twilight rolled her eyes and points a hoof at me. "We've got a guest Spike! Just arrived in Ponyville not too long ago, and I was hoping to make some friendly introductions so he wouldn't feel too bad about not knowing anyone, but I guess that's as good as any that I'm getting!" "Hey," I interrupted, "it's cool really. I'm just surprised to see a dragon so far away from the dragon realm." I turned to look at Spike. "Hey Spike, I'm Blaze. Pleasure to meet you!" From the bottom of the steps Spike looked at me cautiously, and squinted his eyes as if trying to get a closer look at me. His eyes finally widened, and he quickly sprinted back up the stairs. "Umm....I didn't do anything wrong, did I?" But before Twilight could answer me, Spike came racing down and stopped directly in front of me, holding what looked like a newspaper. We stood there looking at each other, both of us with a surprised expression, until he finally spoke up. "Dude! I knew I'd seen you before, I just didn't remember where! And then it hit me, about this story I read like a month ago in the Equestria Daily paper!" Spike lifted up the paper just enough for me to see the headline. DECEMBER 18 - EQUESTRIA DAILY SPECIAL EDITION TRAGEDY STRIKES MANEHATTAN FD AS FOUR FIRE PONIES LOSE THEIR LIVES IN BUILDING COLLAPSE The picture underneath showed the faces of four ponies, my former mates, each smiling as if nothing had ever happened. All of their smiles forever etched in my head. "Hey Blaze, come here! I want to introduce you to someone!" I looked up from my task of filling the air tanks and turned around to face Captain Pike, a sly smile across his face. Next to him standed a scrawny looking earth pony stallion, probably no older than 18, with a powder white coat and light brown, short cropped mane. Fresh out of recruit school. "Oh fun!" I say, a bit over-excited. "Fresh hooves to push around?" "You know it B!" responded Captain spike, sounding just as enthusiastic as I am. "I need you to show him the ropes and whatnot. Let him know what he needs and doesn't need to do around the firehouse." He faced the probie and said, "Take it easy kid!" A hearty laugh escaped him as he leaves the garage. Looking at the kid, slightly unimpressed, I spoke up. "What's your name again?" "Uhh...Bonfire." He held out a hoof. I just stood there, with a stern look on my face, but secretly laughing on the inside. "Sir." I said. "Pardon?" "Sir. From now on, everyone else in this firehouse shall be referred to as 'sir', got it?" Slowly, Bonfire lowered his hoof to the ground as all the color flushed from his already white face. I contemplated on continuing my small tirade, but I'm usually not a mean pony, so I give it up. I start laughing. Bonfire looked at me, with a surprised look. "Cheer up kid! There's something you should know! Never try and take anything too seriously when we boss you around, unless it's a direct order. So just relax, eh?" "Sorry sir, you really had me going." "Damn straight I did! Anyway, I'm Blaze in case you didn't hear. I'm guessing you've already met everypony else since the Cap has me babysitting you now? "Yes sir." "Awesome. Alright, let's get down to it then, shall we? There's a few rules here in the firehouse you should know. Just keep in mind these only apply to you. Number one: Everyday you work, you're the first one here, and the last one to leave. Two: You weren't hired to have a voice and give opinions. This isn't a democracy, so unless you've got a legitimate question, keep your snout shut and keep your ears open. Three: You're here to work, not relax. If we're not out on duty, then you're hear doing what needs to be done to keep this place in working order, or studying. Light's out when we say it is. And that brings me to the fourth and final rule: Any and all responsibilities, including but not limited to cleaning, cooking, dishes, washing, checking the equipment, etcetera, are now your best friends. That's all on you buddy. We good on that?" The probie looked at me, with mouth open, and slight disbelief in his eyes. "So....I'm basically a...housemaid....?" "Aww come on kid," I said while laughing. "I wouldn't call it that." I hoofed him an air tank and said, "You know what to do!" before walking out. "Blaze! Are you ok?!" Upon opening my eyes, I saw Twilight, and the dragon, Spike, standing above me, worry showing across their faces. I blinked a few times and stood up, trying to gain my composure, but my knees were too shaky to do so. My mane was soaked apparently, from a cold sweat. My head, buzzing. I feel....depressed...again. In a very low and shaky voice, I asked "Wh...what....h...happened?" Twilight drew in onto my side, helping me to get up. "Blaze, are you ok?" She looked like she was on the verge of tears. "You kinda blanked out for a sec...and then you just....collapsed and...started to twitch a lot..." I raised a hoof up to my head, rubbing a very specific spot, buried underneath my mane. "Oh..." is all I managed to say. "I'm so sorry dude....I didn't know that would happen....I mean...I should have known that you would react in a bad way, especially since it wasn't so long ago." "I'm okay Spike, really, and you too Twilight. I just...." Unable to stand up fully, I felll back on to my haunches. I struggled to get back up, but a pair of hooves kept me grounded. "No, no you need to rest Blaze. I can't have you walking around in the state you are, so please, take all the time you need." Twilight now faced me, a sincere look in her eye. "Please?" After what seemed like hours of silence, I finally resigned to taking Twilight's offer. Slowly, I stood up with help from both her and Spike's help, and made my way to a couch in a corner of the library. Strange I thought to myself, I don't even know this mare and she's more than happy to help and feel with a complete stranger. And yet, I made some impression there. Breaking down in the middle of her home, and now I feel horrible. But I'm really in no condition to go anywhere....what the hell was that anyway?! .....No, nothing. Just push it back....just push it back.... I turned my attention to Twilight, silently resting on the ground next to me. "That usually doesn't happen you know...I'm sorry to scare you like that." I said. She gave me a soft smile. "As long as you're okay." "Maybe." I muttered under my breath. "Huh?" "Nothing. Listen, I don't mean to overextend your generosity, you know, by walking into your house and then passing out on your floor, but I do think I should get going, before the sun sets." "Are you sure you're feeling up to that?" Twilight asked with a worried tone. "Yeah, definitely. Besides, I only came for a map remember?" I smiled at her, as best as I could. She smiled back. "Well, okay Blaze, but if you ever need anything, anything at all, you can always come by the library and I'd be more than happy to lend a hoof. Also...one more thing. Tomorrow, my friends and I are having a small get together in Ponyville Park, around noon, and well, you're more than welcome to come. I'd love to introduce you to everyone." "Oh...umm....yeah, sounds great!" I guessed it wouldn't be so bad meeting some new ponies. "Great!" Twilight whispered something to Spike and the dragon bolted into the other room, and came back a few seconds later holding up a rolled piece of parchment. He walked over to me and placed the parchment in my saddlebag hanging over the couch. "I'm really sorry dude..." Spike trailed off. "Don't worry yourself over it okay? Things happen and it wasn't your fault, so we're cool! Brohoof?" "Brohoof!" We both laughed as hoof and fist connected. As I made my way to the door, Twilight came over to me and gave me a quick hug. Huh, well wasn't expecting that, but it was nice. "See you tomorrow Blaze!" "You too Twilight! Thanks for watching out for me. I really appreciate." As I turned the corner and left sight of the library, I thought to myself, I wonder if all the ponies in this town are equally as nice, or normal for once, for that matter.
IntroductionsThe next morning, I set off, map in tow, to find a proper place to shop for baking goods. Normally, I wasn't much of a cook or a baker at that, but after what Twilight had done for me yesterday, it was really the only thing I could think of for repaying her generosity. Soon, I found myself in Ponyville's open air market and began purchasing all the essentials necessary to bake a cake. Within the hour, I was back at my home, working hard on a triple chocolate delight cake. Eventually, the mix went in to the oven....and came back out, looking nothing at all like the picture in the baking book. Wonderful. "Jeez, she'll be ever so grateful for the huge, round, chocolate-looking thing." I said dryly, while scrutinizing my work, or rather what could barely pass as something edible. With about thirty minutes to spare before noon, I left my still relatively empty house, in search of the park. It was a beautiful day, Celestia's sun shining high in the sky, and a slight breeze blowing through the streets. After wandering around aimlessly, even with the map and help from some of the locals, I finally found the park. It seemed a bit like Manehattan's Central Park, just much smaller in scale. In the center stood a fountain, surrounded by benches, where a few mares sat, talking amongst themselves, while their children played in the distance. The scene really was calm and serene, which truthfully, is exactly what I set out to find. Trotting through the park, I noticed a group of six ponies, and what was unmistakably a baby dragon, setting up a picnic site under the shade of a great tree. "I guess that's my group for the day." "Blaze, over here!" called out Twilight, waving a hoof while walking towards me. "I'm so glad you could make it! We've been waiting on you to start!" She was wearing a huge smile on her face. "Hey, yeah, thank you so much for the invite! I wouldn't miss this for the world. I umm...brought you something, but....well, it's not really made very well." I pull out the cake thing from my saddlebags and let Twilight take it from me with her magic. Twilight took a look at the cake and then back up to me, a slight blush on her face. "Heh, why thank you Blaze, that's really kind of you, but really, you didn-" "OOH! Is that a cake?! Yummy! I love cake! Looky, I brought some baked goods of my own!" "Pinkie..." "I've got cake and cupcakes and muffins and all that! Hmm...maybe next time I'll bring cookies and-" "Pinkie!" Twilight yelled out in frustration! "I think he gets it..." I looked over at the pile of expertly baked desserts, behind the two mares, and then at the pink earth pony standing in front of me now. Ow.. I think to myself. Way to instantly get upstaged by somepony you've never met. Then again, I wasn't really expecting much with this stupid cake. The pink pony stared at me for a second, then scurried in even closer to my face. Her left eye looked as if it was protruding from its socket, inspecting me up and down. Instinctively, I backed away, but she seemed to follow me. After a very uneasy moment of silence, she finally spoke up. "Hey, I've never seen you before! Sooo, that means you're somepony new, which means, I've got to throw you a welcome party!" She began to bounce around, a huge grin on her face, extending from ear to ear. "We'll have streamers and balloons and music! I know, we can get Vinyl Scratch to DJ for you! She's just absolutely, positively, the bestest music pony ever! Oh, and I'm Pinkie Pie by the way! Ponyville's premier party pony! Oh, and also, I work at the local bakery, Sugarcube corner!" All this, she said, while still bouncing around and on a single breath. She finally stopped to gasp for air afterwords. Dumbstruck, I stood there, not knowing how to respond to that. Maybe these ponies are as equally crazy as the one's back home... "Umm...." The five other ponies around us and Spike began to laugh. My head hung slightly and my ears laid themselves back. Twilight finally stepped up to me. "I'm sorry about that Blaze! Pinkie can be really...eccentric, but that's what makes her special. And sorry about the laughter. We weren't laughing at you, we were laughing at Pinkie and her craziness! So I hope that didn't make you feel bad or anything?" Instantly, my ears sprung back into place and I said, as reassuringly as I could, "No no, of course not! I just wasn't expecting the barrage from her." I looked at Pinkie, who was now standing there, humming to herself, a silly smile plastered on her face. "Well, it certainly is a pleasure to meet you Pinkie Pie! I'm not usually one for parties, but if you're going to throw me one, then I suppose I have no objection to that." I said, as cheerful as I could. Pinkies eyes lit up even more, as if that were even possible and she began to toss and bounce around, all the while continuously shouting "Yay! Yay! Yaaaaaaaaay!", over and over again. My attention turned back to Twilight as she took center stage again. "You kind of get used to that after a while, so don't mind her, she's just being Pinkie Pie. Anyway, allow me to introduce you to the rest of my friends!" One by one, the other ponies stepped forward as Twilight called their names. "This is Rarity, Ponyville's resident fashion designer! if you ever find yourself in need of an outfit, she's the unicorn to go to!" A unicorn with a clean, shiny white coat, radiant blue eyes, expertly done mane and tail, and three diamond cutie mark stepped forward, and bowed to greet me. "It certainly is a pleasure to meet you Blaze. Twilight was mentioning to us earlier that she would be having someone come to meet us." The beautiful Rarity took a step back. Twilight called out again. "Rainbow Dash here is Ponyville's weather pegasus, and-" "The fastest flier in all of Equestria!", interrupted a cyan and rainbow colored pegasus. "And I hear you were a fire pony! That is so awesome!" She was clenching her cheeks together with her hooves, pushing her muzzle out. I restrained myself from laughing at the silly face Rainbow Dash had made. "Great to meet another adrenaline junkie so far out in the country. Unfortunately, my days of fire fighting are way behind me..." I trailed off, my voice getting quiet. Rainbow Dash stared at me, until Twilight came and nuzzled her away, but not before giving me an apologetic look. I guess she left 'that' part out. I thought to myself. Next to Rarity, I could see Spike was also a bit sad looking, as his head hung low. No need to ruin the mood. Let's just get this right along. I turned to look at the one remaining pony. Wait, weren't there six ponies? She had a light orange coat with a long, blonde mane and tail, both held back by two red bands at the ends. On her head, she wore a brown Stetson. I took notice of her cutie mark: Three red apples. Wow, she's beautiful...and oh so familiar... "Hey, you're Applejack" "Ah don't reckon we've met before, mister?" replied Applejack. Confusion shown across her face as she furrowed her brow. "Oh, right..." I could feel myself going red. I looked off to left. "Well, I mean, I've seen pictures of you before. I happen to be good friends with your aunt and uncle Orange back in Manehattan. They tended to sponsor the fire department quite often, and we found ourselves taking a liking to each other. They invited me over to their parties quite a few times actually, and that's where they spoke of you! Although, all that high class stuff doesn't really suit me." From the back, Rarity groaned. Applejack smiled. "Well then I s'pose that makes two of us then! It's a mighty fine pleasure to meet friends o' the family!" "The pleasure's all mine Applejack!" I sounded giddy. And I'm still freakin blushing! She let out a small giggle. Cute.. "Say," Applejack spoke up again. "Being new an' all to Ponyville, Ah imagine ya don't have a proper job?" "Well, no. I mean I just got here yesterday, so I haven't really thought about it." "Hmm...well, if ya'd like, the Apple's could always use an extra hoof down at Sweet Apple Acres! Ah'm sure Big Mac would always appreciate the help! So whaddya say? We'd be more than happy to throw ya a few bit's for all yer hard work and whatnot!" I contemplated for a few seconds, raising my hoof up to my chin. Being the city pony that I am...or was now, I didn't know how well I would fit in on a farm scenario. I could see myself using a plow to try and corral all the small animals there. But perhaps I could give it a shot. I did need the money after all, and what better way to get to know Applejack - er, I mean more ponies here.....Why the hay not. "Alright Applejack, you've got yourself a deal! "Yeehaw! Sounds like a plan mister!" she said while rearing, and kicking her front legs about, a huge grin on her face. That certainly is a mighty cute smile she's got. My head trailed off. Wait, really...."mighty cute"? Seriously Blaze, you've been here a day and all this country stuff is getting to you already. But, that Applejack sure is something....Oh Celestia, shut up head. "Alrighty Blaze, ah'll let ya know all them little details later." I nodded slightly, keeping my head down, so as to make sure she didn't notice that I was still blushing a bit. Eventually, Twilight brought up my attention. "Say, has anyone seen Fluttershy? I know she was here just a second ago" At this, Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and pointed towards Rarity, or not Rarity, but behind her. Sure enough, almost cowering, stood a yellow pegasus, her face burrowed in her pink mane. "Hey, Fluttershy! Care to meet our new friend?" "I...umm...ok..." said the yellow pegasus, in a squeaky and barely audible voice. "Hi," I said first, smiling gently at her. I knew ponies just like her. My sister had been just like her back when she was a filly. "My name's Blaze, and I'm new in town, so I was hoping I could meet some ponies to help me not feel so lonely around here." I looked at her, expectantly. She just sank back into her mane. "Don't worry about it, she's like that with everypony she meets for the first time. She'll get used to you." whispered Twilight into my ear. "Soooooooo, who wants cake!?" I looked over to Pinkie Pie who had already begun to devour her own baked goods, frosting and bits and pieces of pastries, covering her face. Gee, I sure know how to pick friends. But at least they seem nice. The rest of the day was spent talking amongst each other, listening to music, playing a few games, and eating overall. Pinkie took up her time by planning out what seemed to be an overly elaborate party, which would be attended by all of Ponyville. Fluttershy and Rarity were talking fashion, which was way out of my league, and I was still surprised to see Fluttershy speak. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were off at the edge of the park racing, and Twilight and Spike were both sitting right next to the tree trunk, reading. As the sun set, and the few final goodbye's were made, I stood alone in the park, contemplating the day. It had been the most fun I had had in a quite a while. I had made seven friends now, on my second day in this new town. Not bad Blaze, not bad. Not to mention I already had a job lined up, as a farmhand over at Sweet Apple Acres, where ever that was. I'd have to look it up later. At the thought of Sweet Apple Acres, my eyes lit up just a bit. I would be working with Applejack, the beautiful country mare who offered me the job in the first place. I could just imagine myself looking into those big, green eyes and her calling out to me, "Sugarcube!" No need to get all mushy, with the nicknames. "Helloooo! You okay here sugarcube?" I turned to face Applejack, a look of concern on her face. Oh crap, I thought. "I uh, didn't say anything out loud did I?" "Well, ah think ah would've heard ya if you did silly." she chuckled lightly, her expression softening. "But ah just came back to ask ya when it is ya want to start working?" I shot up immediately. "As soon as possible!"
Unto DawnLadder. Battalion. The ever recognizable alarm tones rang through every corner of the station. Dispatch reports fire at the corner of Coltree St and 49th Avenue. "Oh great, what freakin' time is it?" The lights switched on in the bunk room, and around me I could hear the groans of the rest of the fire crew. The clock on the wall read 1:57 A.M. "You've got to be kidding." As quickly as possible, I slid off my bed and into my already waiting bunker gear. While I pulled my coat over the top half of my body, from the corner of my eye, I could see the probie struggling to put his own gear on. "Hey kid, come on! We gotta get a move on!" After what seemed like an eternity later, the crew made their way down to the hangar and onto the carriage. The sirens were turned on, and we were on our way. "So probie, you excited?" asked Smokey, one of the other fireponies. "Yeah, definitely! I mean, this is what I've been waiting for after all sir!" Captain Pike looked back from his shotgun seat, a stern look on his face. "You remember what you learned in training and what we taught you kid? Don't go getting all heroic, lone ranger on us. That kind of idiocy gets ponies hurt or killed. We're a crew, so we work together, we stick together. Whoever I assign you to, you stay right behind them. Got it?" "Got it Captain." Bonfire began to mutter something inaudible to the rest of us. No one else seemed to see or mind that he was visibly shaking. "You okay Bonfire?" I asked. "What? Oh..yeah, I'm all good, j...just a bit nervous is all sir" he responded, looking straight down at the cabin floor. "Don't worry about it kid, happens to the best of us, especially on your first fire. Thing is to not let it get to your head so much. Try to keep your thoughts elsewhere until we get there, since it's usually the build up that gets most people. Once we're actually there, training and instinct kick in and every other little feeling you had seems to melt away. Figuratively, of course." The Captain turned back once again to address me. "Jeez Blaze, when did you become all philosophical? At least I know if I Section 8, I can go to you for some mental tips and whatnot!" At this, most of the guys laughed, but given that Pike and I had actually been friends since before I went through academy, I was always looking for an opportunity to make some snide remark that would make the rest of the crew "Ooh" and "Ahh" at my apparent bravery, without them knowing of our outside friendship of course. "Aww, come on Cap," I responded quickly, "If that's what you classify as philosophical, then you should probably consider going back to grade school. Pretty sure there's more philosophy in those old Mother Goose nursery rhymes." "Bah!" was all he could say. With victory fresh on my face, I turned to Bonfire. "Alright, just stick with me kid, I'm sure old Pikey would have wanted that anyway. But don't you dare leave my side for a sec." After getting an approval from the probie, my gaze turned to the blur of the street going by. At this time of night, the streets were mostly empty, save for the few stray ponies here and there. The wailing of the sirens filled the relative silence of the night and the lights from atop the carriage illuminated the otherwise dark and gloomy streets of nighttime Manehattan. The cold September air felt good on my face, as I opened up the window just a bit. Saturday night in the biiig city. But then again, that was every night. I could never see myself anywhere else. "Alright, hustle up ladies!" Captain Pike yelled back to us, "We're here and it looks like this one's going to be an all nighter." As the crew and I exited the carriage, we found ourselves face to face with a raging, smoking....dumpster fire. "Whoa, probie, stand back, you might get hurt on this one." said Smokey, in a very sarcastic tone. The crew laughed, but Bonfire held a solemn look on his face. "You good kid?" "Eh, I guess I was expecting something a little....larger, sir." I stared at him for a good few seconds, unsure of what to say. "Well, it's not all blazing inferno's and heroics kid....not to say our job isn't exciting or boring, because by Celestia, we know it's definitely not, but sometimes we just tend to have some slow days, and trust me, you're going to learn to be patient during said days. Heck, I remember when I was a probie, not too long ago, I'd have tours where all I might have gotten was a single call a day and even then it was for some foolhardy pegasus who sprained a wing doing a stupid trick or an over-reacting mom balling her eyes out because her foal got a little scrape." Bonfire loosened up a bit and chuckled. "Well, okay I guess, but I plan on being the first one in when we get to a real fire sir!" "Good to know kid, but you'll be the second in if anything, right behind me. But right now, we're missing quality dumpster time." "Right. Shall I rescue the trash and rats sir?" I cooked an eyebrow and said to him dryly, "I like you kid, but don't push your luck just yet with that thing you call a sense of humor." BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. "Shut the hay up, stupid thing!" Unwilling to move, and with my eyes still closed, I smack my hoof around on the nightstand next to my bed hoping to strike the off button on my alarm. After a minute or so of flailing, I finally decide to open my eyes, if only halfway, and strain to see where the off button is. There. "Ahh, finally, sweet silence..." Normally, I'd have no problem waking up early, but my now concurring restless nights and new night owl habit had made it all but impossible to rise before the sun. Today though, was the first day on the new job, and as Applejack had been so keen to offer it to me, I had to do my best not to disappoint the Apple family. To show them how hard a worker I am. To show them my capabilities. To show her my dedication. "Whoa buddy," I spoke to myself as I finally crawled out of bed. "Getting a little creepy there, don't you think? Besides, it's just a farm job. Simple, easy stuff....with the most beautiful mare in all of Equestria...Oh Celestia, this lack of sleep is driving me crazy." Hauling myself to the small bathroom in my room, I take my time grooming myself and stretch out just a bit to limber up before what I was guessing would be a hard day. "Looking good Blaze, looking reeeal good....idiot." After getting some breakfast, and grabbing my trusty map, I set off towards Sweet Apple Acres. There wasn't anypony on the streets yet, and Celestia's sun would not rise for another hour. The country air felt nice and clean, as I prepared myself mentally for what would be my first day of work in months. Finally finding myself at the edge of town, I took my first view of Sweet Apple Acres off in the distance. There stood a hen house next to a well, and behind those two, a red barn house with a purple roof, surrounded by a few small fields of crop. As I approached closer, the sweet smell of apples hit my nostrils. Amazing, compared to the smells on the streets of Manehattan. Halting at the barn door, I prepared to knock before noticing another stallion coming out from around the corner of the house. His green apple sliced in half cutie mark immediately tells me that he must be part of the Apple family. He seems weathered and strong, but friendly nonetheless. "Hello there! I'm Blaze. I'm not sure if Applejack told you and your family that I would be your new farmhoof?" "Eeyup." he returned with a smile. "A.J.'s been speakin' about you non stop since last night. Name's Big Macintosh by the way. Good to meet ya." "Pleasure's all mine Big Macintosh. And....w-wait what? Applejack's been talking about me?" I asked incredulously. "Eeyup. Said she met an awful nice colt yesterday and offered 'im a job" "Oh, right..." I said sheepishly. Big Mac chuckled. "Well, I don't suppose you could take me to her? Unless you need help with something first of course? I'm here to help everypony, of course." "Not at the moment, so let's go show A.J. yer here." "Sounds good! I think I can find her on my own though, if you're busy?" "Hmm...normally that'd be fine with me, but ah think you should follow me to her fer today at least." As we came around the house, I finally took notice of all the trees in front of me. ALL of them. Apple trees as far as the eye could see, all in neat rows. There could be thousands for all I knew. "T-these are all the trees right in the orchard right?" "Course not! This is just the South field." Oh crap. Keeping quiet as we walked through the scores of apple trees, I took in how beautiful this place truly was. The sun was beginning to come up, and in the distance I took notice of something I hadn't before: The royal city of Canterlot. Having never been to Equestria's capital, I had always wanted an opportunity to go, and since I was this close now, I might have to plan a future trip. Eventually, Big Mac and I reached a small clearing where I spotted Applejack hauling a cart full of apples towards the barn. Judging by the full cart and her face full of concentration, I could tell she had already been out working for a while. "Mornin' big brother! Mornin' Blaze! Glad to see ya could make it!" A smile spread across her face. I responded swiftly. "Wouldn't want to be anywhere else!" "Good ta hear!" She faced Big Mac. "Alright, thanks fer showing 'im to me Big Mac, ah'll take it from here." As Bic Mac made his way back to the barn, Applejack unmounted the cart from herself and trotted over to me. She then did the last thing I expected. She gave me a quick hug. Taken by surprise, all I could do was simply stand there and bow my head to prevent her from seeing me blush. Oh, Celestia, she smells like the sweetest apple. "Hope ya slept well sugarcube. We've got a looong day ahead of us, and ah've got plenty a things to show ya." Applejack began to make her way back to the cart, but I darted right past her and mounted the cart onto myself. "As a gentlecolt from the fine city of Manehattan, I believe it my duty to assist a lady in any way possible." I said almost nonchalantly. "If ya say so, Blaze, Pony Extraordinaire!" she sneered in a playful manner. "Oh...I guess Twilight told you about that...." I could feel my face burning with embarrassment. "Well," she laughed, "duh."
AwkwardTwo weeks had now gone by since I moved to Ponyville, and in those two weeks, I found myself adjusting to the country life a lot easier than I would have expected. Not that I didn't miss home, but here, the ponies were friendly, the scenery beautiful, and my new friends, always a pleasure to be around. Sure, my job at Sweet Apple Acres had taken its toll on me at first, due to being so out of shape now, but I didn't mind it. It felt good to be working again, and I had gotten the hang of what I was doing. Or, at least I wasn't constantly missing the apple trees I was trying to buck. Regardless, things in my life had been much better. I had even managed to successfully be-friend Fluttershy without her going into hiding, and even more surprisingly, she was who I was with today, on my day off. Striking up conversations on animal care and fashion (both of which I knew absolutely nothing about), Fluttershy and I happily walked through Ponyville's open air market, shopping for groceries so she could feed her critters. "Oh my," said Fluttershy as returned from one of the fruit stands. "I can never seem to get here in time to buy cherries, and even when I do, they're so pricey!" "Aww come on Fluttershy. I'm sure there's a few more stands around that might have some left. Come on, we're not done yet!" I placed a hoof on her shoulder for reassurance. "But, you've been with me all morning Blaze...I don't want to take up your entire day off..." "Nonsense! It's not like I have anything else of importance to do today, or anypony to see!" "I...well....okay, if you say so. But...." she paused. "I'm sure youd r-rather be with Applejack right now...right?" I flushed. And apparently Fluttershy had caught what she had just said as well, her face turning a bright, noticeable crimson, as she stared down at the ground. "WHAT?!" I shouted a little too loudly. Fluttershy whimpered, and I noticed I was beginning to draw looks from a few of the ponies around us. I lowered my voice to a whisper. "I uh...umm....well...umm....no?" Fluttershy now looked straight into my eyes, and I felt frozen, unable to move, and a slight fear began to wash over me. She spoke, with a very critical voice. "So you don't like her?" "Gah, what? I..I..never said that! I just so happen to be having a nice time with you, is all!" I responded quickly. And it was true. I was having a great time with Fluttershy, but, thinking about it, I suppose my mind had occasionally filled with thoughts of a certain orange mare throughout the day. Not that I had shared that, or would share that with anypony for that matter. So then why had Fluttershy said that? Her gaze had not left mine. "Uhh...maybe we should go somewhere a little less populated if you want to talk?" I asked nervously. "I suppose you're right." Fluttershy squeaked as she took notice of all the eyes on us. "Maybe we should go back to my cottage? My back could use a break from carrying around these heavy groceries." She nudged her bursting saddle bags to show me. I simply nodded my approval, still left a little dazed by the stare down she had given me just a second ago. The walk to her cottage at the edge of the Everfree Forest was awfully silent, and awkward, as expected. Fluttershy and I had walked side by side, without so much as glancing at each other. As soon as we arrived at her front door, I let her open it and go on in. On the other hand, I stayed glued to my spot just outside. Now's my chance to run! I'm not a coward though! So what if she knows, big deal! Oh this is going to suck... "So," I heard directly in front of me. "Are you coming in?" "Well uh...I uh...m-maybe...go...to..uh...h-home?" I stammered. Fluttershy walked up behind me and began to push me inside her home. I resisted, but found her to be unusually strong at the moment for some reason. Knowing how this would turn out, I relaxed myself as best I could while she pushed me inside, and closed the door behind her. Quickly, she dropped her saddlebags on the floor and then came straight up to me. "You never did directly answer my question." said Fluttershy, rather assertively. "About?" I asked, as innocently as possible, pretending to look at all the trinkets on the counter tops and tables. "About you know exactly what!" I sighed, and faced her, making sure to avoid direct eye contact again. "Applejack?" "Yes." "Uhh..." I could feel myself fidgeting around, but couldn't seem to stop. Suddenly, the room felt five thousand times hotter as sweat began to develop on my brow. "Well...maybe...I d-do like her...j-ust a bit...?" I somehow managed to whisper. Finally looking at Fluttershy, I was surprised to see a smile forming on her face. Letting out a small squee first, she exclaimed, "Oh, how wonderful!" I knew from the beginning! Well, we all knew, but, then aga-" "Wait," I interrupted. "You all knew? You mean everypony else knows too?!" Fluttershy retreated back, her voice returning to it's normal silent squeakiness. "It was k-kinda obvious." "I...well....really?" "Just a bit." Had it really been that obvious? With the way we met, and all the meetups, had everyone seen how I looked at Applejack, how I talked to her? Not to mention all the time I spent with her even when we weren't working. I guess I had been too carried away with my thoughts and fantasies to take notice of how everypony else was viewing the whole situation. My eyes widened in horror as a thought came to my mind. "Please, please, please don't tell me that Applejack knows!" "Oh, no. Not at all as far as I know. But, I wouldn't be too surprised if she ended up finding it out on her own. I mean, the way you look and talk to her just shouts your feelings out! It's umm...cute" she added with a slight blush. Full panic set in. "Oh nononono! Crap, what if Big Mac or Granny Smith or Applebloom found out? They'll probably think I'm weird and end up firing me! I mean, I've only been there two weeks! That'll probably get the attention of everypony I did business with while working the Apple's cart in town! And THEN A.J. will find out and she'll probably say something like 'What kind of a loser starts takin' a likin' to a pony they just met not too long ago?' And then, and then..." I noticed that I was pacing quickly, but that for some reason, Fluttershy had a gentle look on her face. Come on Blaze, you're starting to sound like Twilight when she has one of her signature freakouts! Keep. It. Together. "I'm thinking it wouldn't be the best idea to tell you that Big Macintosh already kinda...knows?" "Then why'd you tell me?!" "I thought you should know..." she said quietly. "But it might not be so bad..." "What? How could it not be so bad?!" "Maybe I shouldn't say...and let things...run their course. B-but, it could help." "Fluttershy. Tell me." I moved in closer to her. Instinctively, she backed away, but couldn't go any further as she had trapped herself in a corner. "Umm...well...Big Macintosh said...that he really thinks you're a great colt and all...and that....he thinks you and Applejack seem to fit in almost...perfectly...." I blinked a few times. "Wha? Huh?" was all I could manage to say. I shook my head as a mixed feeling of emotions raced through my mind. "Oh, who am I kidding? She'd never go for somepony like me...I mean, really, I'm a city pony and she's a country mare. Our differences are too vast to even begin to describe!" Fluttershy gave me an interesting look, but a gentle smile appeared on her face. "Listen to yourself, Blaze. You're worrying too much about this. You should stop looking at the negative and take some time to reflect on the things that matter. For example, when you think about it, you and Applejack aren't as different as you make it seem. Sure, you both grew up in different environments, but you're both hard working earth ponies with similar likes and dislikes. And truth be told, I and the rest of our friends can see you both together in the future." It took me a minute to process all the information Fluttershy had just told me. I finally relaxed enough to compose some rational thought. "You...really think so?" "I know so." she said genuinely. Regaining my confidence, I grinned at Fluttershy. "Jeez, when did you get all emotionally supportive and stuff?" "Oh...I umm...I don't know." My moment of happiness didn't last too long though. As much as I understood and took to heart what Fluttershy had said, there was still one thing that everypony didn't know, except Twilight and Spike. One thing that could potentially ruin the trust I had built up with all my new friends and interest. My past. "Fluttershy?" "Yes?" "I don't suppose Twilight has told you anything about me?" I asked. "Oh...other than that you used to be a Manehattan Fire Pony?" "Yeah, but did she ever tell you why I left the job or Manehattan in the first place?" Fluttershy shook her head. I took a deep breath.... "Oh my gosh Blaze! I'm s-s-so sorry..." Fluttershy struggled to say in between her tears. "I had no idea..." She came up close to hug me, and I hugged her back, my solemn expression not changing a bit. I stared into the distance, my thoughts elsewhere.
