Rob's New Beginnings

by Ohm Machre

Chapters

Bio (pre-story)
Act I
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Act II
Chapter 4

Bio (pre-story)

Character Bio

Rob

Born: 27th of September

Age: 19

City/Town of Residence: Stalliongrad

Appearance: average-sized earth pony. Coat is an amber yellow color. Mane and tail are red-brown in color. The tail appears to be forked, splitting into two near the end of it. Eyes are a maroon color.

Cutie Mark: two gears interlocked, one small, the other about medium.

Interests: the workings of machinery of all kinds: mechanical, electrical, steam-powered, etc. etc. Loves the taste of exotic fruits native to Neighsia, whenever he could get one when they shipped over to Stalliongrad. Also likes some light classical music. Not too into the heavy symphonies yet. Enjoys the DJ PON-3 broadcasts.

Dislikes: he finds that a lot of other genres of music don’t quite catch his ear, except for DJ PON-3’s things. Does not like crabs (as a little colt, he went to the beach when he and his parents visited the boardwalk, and got chased down by a mob of crabs. He forgot he was carrying a baby crab on his back (Yes, this is QUITE silly, which is why it’s in here!)). He also doesn’t find Stalliongrad too great.

Other notes: did we mention he’s into machinery? The reason for this, and his mark: he was walking home from school one day, and stumbled upon a construction site. The huge construction machines caught his eye instantly, and the workers kept him entertained by explaining what each one did, and how it worked. He even got to operate a few! He dedicated his remaining school time studying everything he could about machines, and this is seen by disdain from his parents. They wanted him to follow in his great-grandfather’s steps and become a sea merchant, since both his father and grandfather passed up on the “offer.” They are trying to push Rob into doing this…

Rob's father is currently employed as a low level accountant and Robs mother is currently unemployed.

Both parents are roughly 35-45 years old.

Act I

Chapter 1

A loud hiss could be heard as the 7:50 A.M. train pulled into the station. Ponies on-board began to gather their things, ready to end their trips of varying lengths, and step into the town of Ponyville. An earth pony of average size, amber yellow coat and red-brown mane and an slightly-forked tail, with a pair of gears - interlocked, and one larger than the other - resting on his flank, stepped off the train and onto the station, his maroon eyes taking a glance around, taking in the new and unfamiliar town, and the bright, warm day.

Slowly, almost timidly, he walked down the station steps and onto the gravel paths that ran through the town. After standing around for a couple minutes and gathering his thoughts, he stepped to the side - so as not to obstruct other ponies trying to get off the station and into the town - and pulled out a brand-new journal. The cover read:

The Journal

Of Rob

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Keep Out!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

This Journal Purchased on the 13th of September

He took a few minutes to record his first entry: riding the train into town, details included. Rob took one last look around, and spoke to himself.

“So, this is Ponyville. Much different from the cold dampness of Stalliongrad.”

After another minute of standing, mulling his thoughts, he began to trot off, much more confident than before. "Time to find a good sized tree. And perhaps some lumber,” he again spoke to himself.

‘A good 6 days spent on the train, and I think they were a tad slow, too,’ he thought, letting his body loosen as he started to explore the town. All he knew was he wanted to be as far from the seaside city as possible, and the train brought him here - it didn't seem to him that there was any place more remote from Stalliongrad than Ponyville.

'This is a new town, a new area, pretty much a new life! So why not act like a tourist and sight-see? I just might find what I need!' he thought. The whole time, however, he couldn’t shake off the feeling that ponies were watching him… ‘Stop that!’ he thought. ‘You’re just being paranoid! Heck, the time spent in Stalliongrad made you jumpy.’

Minutes later, his eyes glanced over a very peculiar-looking building indeed - too short to actually see the structure well, but still it caught his attention. Backtracking a few steps to see the structure better, the first thing he thought to himself was: ‘candy!

'That whole building looks like it is made out of candy and baked goods!’ After what seemed like several minutes of staring at this oddity, the sound of stifled coughing. Spinning around, he found himself nearly nose-to-nose with a white unicorn - three diamonds on her flank, and purple and poised mane.

“Darling, you must be new in town, or else you wouldn't be staring. Well, I suppose you still might stare, but by then you would be used to it.” She spoke with an air of decadence.

“That’s Sugarcube Corner, home of the local bakery and bakers!” This new information stunned Rob quite a bit. The mare giggled at his confusion, and commented, “why don’t you stop in there for a treat?” before trotting off, still giggling to herself.

After a minute or so, Rob shook himself out of his trance, and, remembering what the unicorn just said, made a mental note to visit the bakery sometime. Looking around to make sure nopony was staring at him - and relieved to find nopony was, in fact, not - he proceeded to see more of the town.

After walking around for a while, he somehow got lost, because he had passed Sugarcube Corner at least four times now! Confirming his direction, and making sure it was a different one, he moved on. Eventually, he saw a rather large tree in the distance.

Enticed by its abnormal size, he moved towards it. As he got closer, he was surprised to see… windows? And bookshelves? His confusion cleared when he read the sign sitting off to the side, depicting an open book.

‘How clever! It’s a library!’ he mused. Seeing the door standing open, he assumed it was open, and tried to enter. All of a sudden, there were feathers and wings in his face!

“Gah!” he shouted, and, without realizing what it was, turned and fled. Only when he stopped panicking did he realize that his assailant was just an owl, and that he more than likely made a fool of himself. ‘Luckily, no one saw that.’

Walking back towards the center of town, he passed a baby dragon, covered in purple and green scales. Trying to give him a courteous nod, as if to say “hello” as he passed, Rob moved on to find someplace to have lunch.

Meanwhile, Spike looked after the passing colt, and wondered, ‘Is he alright? And did he just twitch?’

Journal open to record his events thus far, Rob sat at a table with a daffodil sandwich in front of him. As he glanced around, taking in the activity of commerce that arose due to lunch break, he spotted a trio of young fillies - a unicorn, pegasus, and earth pony - carrying what appeared to be a length of heavy fabric.

Before he could ponder what it was for, he heard a familiar voice shout, “Return that fabric at once! I need it to complete an order!!” and a second later, the white unicorn from earlier ran past, appearing distraught and more than upset. ‘Nnnnot sure what just happened, but alright.’ Rob put away the journal into his saddlebag, ready to continue his search.

After a few more hours of wandering the town, taking in what there was to see and looking for a suitable tree for his needs, he finally found one. The tree stood several heads above him - farther than he could reach with his forehooves stretched to the skies - with a sturdy trunk and full-looking branches.

“This is just about perfect!” he surmised to himself. Taking a good look around, making sure sure he wasn’t on any pony's private property, he decided to make his home here. “Good! Now I only need tools and lumber to get started.”

Taking another glance, he noticed two things: one, that he was near a path that led into a nearby forest… a rather large one, seemingly surrounded by, and certainly filled with, imperceptible darkness; and two, that he could see chimney smoke over a small group of hills. ‘Must be somepony’s home over there,’ he noted in his head.

Rob then walked over to the tree, attempting to take a peek inside the foliage by climbing the trunk.

“Looks perfect in here too! There are a good amount of branches, and it’s practically a hollow ball of green leaves and branches!” he exclaimed. “Now… about getting down…”

After three botched attempts to climb down, he finally gave up... and promptly fell. With a loud -thud!- he hit the ground below, dazed and dizzy.

“…never do that again,” he mumbled. More than eager to get started, he stood up - and wobbled about while his head cleared - and turned towards the town to a place to obtain some sturdy lumber.

He finally stopped, exhausted from three hours of searching. Not having found lumber, he reminisced on his so-called “easy life” back in Stalliongrad. ‘Bah, don’t think of that now,’ he chided himself. ‘Remember, what they wanted of you was definitely not what you wanted, Rob.

'You had clearly expressed your interest of machinery, and they scolded you for it - ever in control of your life, even in your adulthood - saying you were to become a bloody sea merchant! And that’s why you’re here now: to make your own life as you see fit. Get back to looking, Rob. Night approaches.’

As sunset approached, turning the horizon into a magnificent blend of pastels, Rob was tired and weary - no luck in finding the lumber he needed. “Where is there a sawmill when you need one?” he asked himself.

‘Well, I suppose the town wouldn’t have such a thing, seeing as how it is not a major city.’ Giving up for now, he went off to eat dinner.

He jingled the remaining bits he had, hoping that the measly amount would last him. ‘I should have tried to save more… I know I needed just enough for the train ticket, but I didn’t really think past that. I especially didn't plan for meals...’

Walking towards the outskirts, he once again passed Sugarcube Corner… except this time, he could feel a pair of eyes watching him.

‘Okay, that’s normal... if a little bit creepy... am I really the only pony out here?’ Indeed he was: the street was empty, save for him. Reminding himself to try to not make these walks common, he moved on.

Eventually, he stumbled upon what looked like a ranch. Looking it over, he saw a medium-sized barn, a small home, and a large field… he wasn’t sure. It was hard to make out such things in the dark.

Trying to make out any more details, his eyes settled on a pile of objects which he eventually recognized as planks of wood. He finally found some lumber!

‘But, I can’t just take it… that’s thievery,’ he instantly thought. As he was turning away, the door to the barn opened, and light spilled out. A shrunken form walked over to the gate to see who this random colt was.

When the pony was close enough, Rob spoke out.

“Hello. This is a rather nice ranch you have here.” The stooped-over figure continued to approach, and Rob saw the pony before him - an older pony, that much was sure... but the dark wouldn't give out any more details.

The elder pony stopped and said, “Why hello there. I don’t get many visitors, especially at this time of night. What brings you by?”

“I was hoping you would be willing to part with even a portion of that lumber sitting over there,” Rob replied in kind. The elder stood there, giving Rob a look-over.

“50 bits,” he said after a couple minutes of silence. Rob was taken aback.

“I don’t… have that money,“ he said, defeated.

Rob nearly turned around to head back to his would-be home, when the elder spoke out suddenly. “Unless you would like a job? I could use another helping hoof around here.”

The words shocked Rob; he thought, ‘he’ll actually give it to me?’ Almost instantly, he exclaimed, “I-I’d be glad to! I could use some bits, and the lumber is mighty important to me!”

Humored by his attitude, the elder chuckled and proceeded to say, “Very well then. You may have most of the lumber - I still need some for repairs around here. I’ll expect you here tomorrow to learn what it is you’ll be doing around here; for now, you can take the lumber you need, along with this sack to get it to wherever you are going.”

Rob thanked the elder colt many times, loading up the sack with some of the piled lumber. The two then parted ways, Rob heading to his home - which now seemed all the more possible thanks to the elderly pony - and the elder going to go relax in his home before he fell asleep.

As Rob was dragging the lumber along, he realized all of a sudden that he never asked to borrow some tools. “Oh bother.” He was more than halfway back to the tree, so he told himself to put it off until tomorrow.

Finally back at the tree - the lumber sitting at the base - he rested on a limb with journal in lap, Rob began to record his third entry: of what he’d done, what he’d seen, and who he had met. All of a sudden, a loud clatter could be heard, and the quill and ink well fell from the branches… Rob went out like a light, completely wasted from his long day.

End of Chapter 1

Chapter 2

A new day was beginning in Ponyville. Rob, having simply passed out, was still asleep, in the same spot throughout the night. This didn’t last long, however, when he was abruptly awoken by a very loud and strong gust of wind. Trying to maintain his balance was turning out to be a losing battle, however, and he eventually tumbled from the branch, to the rough ground below.

Wincing from all this, he suddenly noticed that the gust had stopped, and that calm had replaced it… the only trace of anything being there was a straight rainbow mist… Rob straightened himself out, before searching around the tree, only to find his journal (which remained undamaged), his quill, covered in a few strands of grass, and his ink well, now nearly empty due to a crack. “Great. Now I’ll need a new well… might as well start early, I suppose. Also, I’ll need some kind of ladder to scale the tree… ow.”

After purchasing his new well, Rob made his way down to the ranch he had visited the night before; at this point, however, he was relying on memory to get there. When he arrived, the elder colt from the previous night hailed him, and Rob could see his appearance for the first time: slightly hunched over, skin taught against his body, with a saffron coat and dusty gray mane; his features betrayed his age. The elder colt’s titanium-colored eyes rested upon Rob’s, before speaking.

“Th’ name’s McCloy. We never got the chance to introduce ourselves last night.” McCloy extended a hoof. Rob took it in his own, saying, “Name’s Rob. I’m pleased to meet you.” The elder pony stopped shaking and asked: “no last name?” Rob, rather quickly, contested with: “I’d prefer not to use it… just Rob is fine.” McCloy chuckled at this, appealing to calm Rob’s slight temper.

He turned after opening the gate, and proceeded to say, “now, the job, or rather, jobs you’ll be doing are directly linked with mine. Essentially, a second-hoof assistant, if you want to call it. I can pay 5 bits to the hour.” Immediately, Rob’s face brightened. He’d heard of similar pays for jobs much more demanding! ’Well, that has yet to be determined, doesn’t it?’ he thought. He calmed a bit before speaking, trying not to betray his excitement, “that’s great. That’ll give me enough, thank you!” Chuckling again, McCloy dismissed him for the day, seeing as how there was nothing to be done.

Before he forgot again, Rob asked if the elder colt had any construction tools. “They’re over in the barn. You’ll find a hoof-saw and a hammer.” Rob replied, “These will do, thank you again!” McCloy walked over to his house, chuckling the whole way. When he was out of Rob’s earshot, he remarked under his breath, “what an interesting young colt!” With the knowledge of his job and tools for his home in his saddlebag, Rob trotted back to his home.

Later, Rob, after realizing he didn’t know how to start such a task, decided to go to the information center of the town: the library! Silently hoping that the owl wasn’t there, or, at the least, wouldn’t bother him, he didn’t notice that he’d walked straight into an apple cart. “Got som’thin’ on yer mind, sugarcube?” immediately remarked the mare behind the cart. “Nah, just wasn’t watching where I was going,” replied Rob, turning to see the speaker.

“Name’s Applejack,” the earth pony stated. She had an orange coat and a bright yellow mane and tail, both tied with a strap at the end. She was also wearing a hat that Rob had seen many times before in Stalliongrad. He tried to recall the name, but it wouldn’t appear; he only knew that they were a) really good at keeping the sun out of your eyes, and b) somewhat a fashion statement in Stalliongrad. “Nice to meet you, Applejack. I’m Rob,” he said.

“Say, one of those apples looks really appealing right about now. How much for one?” “Ya sure you just wan’ one?!” spoke up a voice from behind the cart. “Now shh, Applebloom, he can’t even see ya!” remarked Applejack in a low voice to the mysterious source. “I can fix that, easy!” said a young earth pony, one of the trio of fillies from yesterday. She was a pale cream color, with an apple red mane, and a large pink bow in her mane.

“Hey, I remember you from yesterday. You and a couple other fillies had some sort of fabric,” stated Rob. “Yeah, we needed that fer a trampoline we were makin’,” replied the filly. “Well, I remember being asked to fix one of those back where I’m from, so maybe I can mak--.” Before he could finish his sentence, an apple was stuffed into his mouth, shutting him up. “Well, Ah think it’s about time fer a certain filly ta head on home.” “But why?? Ah ain’t a baby!” whined said filly. Having finished the apple, Rob asked, “So how much again?” “Jes’ two bits. Lemme get that apple fer ya,” Applejack replied. As he walked away, apple in the saddlebag, both Applejack and Applebloom said, “Welcome to Ponyville!”

Rob began to slow his pace as he approached the library, unsure of whether the owl was still there or not. Again, the door was open, but he had the common sense to knock on it before entering. “Oh! There’s somepony here!” called out a voice. Trotting could be heard, as a lavender unicorn with a dark mane stepped to the open doorway. “Hello there! Need a book?” she asked with genuine earnest. “Oh, um, yeah, I do. See I’m building… a… treehouse, and I wanted to see if you had one on woodworking,” replied Rob, working the words around the ‘home’ part.

“Oh, yes! We have a lot of books here. Spike, there’s a--” she began, before stopping herself. “Nevermind, I forgot he was out. I’ll get it myself.”

“Um… alright?”

“Let’s see… ah! Here it is!” she muttered, before settling on a book that looked new. ‘Must not be used a lot nowadays,’ he thought. “Thanks, this will be mighty useful,” he spoke. “Well, that’s what the library is for. Unfortunately it seems that most ponies don’t need books nowadays…” she said with an inflection of sadness.

“Well, I’m sure I’ll need more books later, so I’ll make sure to stop by, heh!” remarked Rob, trying to liven the mare up.

“Great! I don’t think I caught your name,” said the unicorn.

“Oh, it’s Rob. I just got here from a long ways away.”

“Well, I would suggest avoiding Pinkie Pie for now. She knows everypony here in town, so if she gets word, she’ll be all over you, trying to learn about you.”

“Um, who?”

The unicorn chuckled. “Nevermind, just, don’t worry about it now. Oh! Never told you who I was! My name’s Twilight Sparkle.”

“Nice to meet you. Well, I better get going. Work to do, and all…”

“Okay, nice to meet you too! Take care now, and welcome to Ponyville!” replied Twilight.

“Thanks! And thanks for the book again!” called Rob as he left. Walking down the path, he passed by the dragon from yesterday, his arms full of assorted goods. “Oh, pardon me,” was all the dragon said in passing. Rob nodded in compliment, though he wasn’t sure the dragon could see it or not. As Rob turned around to look at the tree again, he saw the owl fly through the door and perch next to the window. He swears to this day the owl was burning laser sights into the back of his head.

Rob finally had everything he needed to get started. As he was working, though, about halfway through the pile of wood, he thought he heard… a spring compressing? He looked around, but there was nothing. As he got back to work, he heard the sound again, and could almost see a blur of… he wasn’t sure. He almost turned around, intent on finding this… noise, when all of a sudden--!

“Oof!” was all he managed as he was tackled by a pink earth pony. “Ohwowsoyou’rethenewresident!It’ssooooonicetomeetyouaftertryingtofindyouforforEVER,afterbeingmentionedbyRarity,andthenApplebloom,soIknewIhadtoFINDyou--!”

“C-can you at least let me breathe?” wheezed Rob. It took the pony a second to realize she was standing on top of him.

“OH! Sorry about that. Sometimes I get carried away, well, that’s what everypony says, but I can’t tell, I guess because I’m sooooo happy all the time!!” exclaimed the pink pony.

“Well, can you at least let me know who you are?” asked Rob.

“Well!! I’m surprised you don’t already know who I am, I mean you DID visit Twilight!”

It took him a moment, but he finally got what Twilight had said earlier. “So you’re Pinkie Pie, eh?” “Yup!” she replied. “Well it’s good to meet you. Unfortunately, I’m kind of busy--.” Was all Rob could say before Pinkie went off again. “Omigosh I have to throw you a party now! There’ll be cake and streamers and music and cake and balloons and cake and punch and CUPCAKES!!!” she started on and on. In the middle of this, she went from next to Rob to on the ground, then up on TOP of the tree, before ending up with Rob’s head in a headlock. As she went on, Rob had to interrupt her. “I’m sorry, Pinkie, I’m not much of a party person… time spent where I’m from will do that to you.”

Pinkie suddenly went into serious mode, her eyes narrowing until they were almost slits, staring at Rob intensely. “By the end of the month, you WILL go to a party, or my name isn’t Pinkamena Diane Pie!” As suddenly as she started, she stopped, and went back to bouncing. “Well, I see you have a house to build! Oops! I mean, treehouse! Haha!” Pinkie giggled.

“Yeah. Well, I ought to get back to working on this…… treehouse.”

“Okie dokie lokie!” she giggled, and jumped off the tree. Before Rob could say anything, she was back in the air. He finally looked over, and saw a trampoline. Sighing and shaking his head from all the excitement, he struggled to find his journal, before realizing that it was in his saddlebag, down by the base of the tree. When he turned to go get it, the bag struck him in the head. “There’s your saddlebag!” yelled Pinkie, somehow knowing he was going to retrieve it.

With Pinkie finally trotting (or rather, bouncing) away (Rob watched her the whole time to make sure she didn’t sneak up on him again), he relaxed as he opened up his journal to recount the day’s events.

Heading back to town to have dinner, Rob passed by a stage, where it appeared someone was setting up for something. ‘Hope it’s something nice going on,’ he wondered. He continued walking, but before he could step onto the patio of the restaurant, he was nearly trampled by the trio, each of them yelling at the top of their lungs, “CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS: APPLE SELLERS!! (In response to which could be heard, “Oh no ya don’t!!” belonging to Applejack) YAY!!!” Not bothering to understand, he entered the restaurant, ready for a nice salad.

Making his way back home to finish up the pile of lumber, he was on the ground for the second time today, tackled by the pink pony, for the second time today. “I wasn’t sure if you met my friends, but if not, they want to meet you!” she said rather bubbly. “Standing on me again…” he tried to say. She got the hint though, and swiftly stepped off. As Rob stood up, he recognized three of the five other ponies standing there: Applejack, Twilight, and Rarity, who simply said, “Pleasure to see you again, darling.” Then there were the other two mares.

The first one he instantly recognized from the multicolored mane as the pony who woke him up this morning. “Name’s Rainbow Dash. Sorry ‘bout this morning, I was just practicin’ my flight moves!” she stated as the cyan pegasus flexed. “Well, it was very… loud, is all I can really say. I’ll try to wake up earlier, to avoid this from happening again.”

Rob then shifted his attention to the pastel-colored pegasus trying to hide from him… Seeing his confused face, Rainbow spoke: “Oh, that’s Fluttershy. She’s really shy. I mean really shy.” All the hidden mare could utter was, “u-um, h-h-hi,” before hiding again. “Great! Now that you met my friends, what about that party?” asked Pinkie again. “Heh, still gonna have to refuse for now, Pinkie.”

Pinkie only glared back, eyes squinting again. Rob could almost feel the words hanging in the tension: “You will relent.” As suddenly as she had stopped, she abruptly went back to bouncing. “Okie dokie lokie!”

As they each said their goodbyes to one another, Rob suddenly turned to Twilight. “Hey Twilight. You know that owl? Could you maybe ask him to not try to kill me?” She laughed at this question. Answering his confusion, she replied, “oh, you mean what happened yesterday? Yeah, that was Owlowiscious’s way of trying to say ‘hello’ to a new friend!” Still giggling, she trotted off, presumably heading back to the library. ‘His way of saying hello? Spooked me out of my mane!’ he could only think.

As he was heading back home, he realized he needed more ink. ‘Gonna have to get some before they close shop.’

On his way home, Rob passed by the stage again, except there was music emanating from it. Really beautiful music. He had to see what and who was making it! As he approached the stage’s audience, he saw the source of the enchanting music: a mint green unicorn, holding a lyre with her magic. As he stood there, surrounded by the music that permeated the dead silence, he realized what few audience members were actually there… and, apparently, so did the musician, tears in her eyes, already saddened by the low turnout.

As she finished, he made sure to applaud just slightly louder than the rest of the audience members, giving her his encouragement. She smiled subtly at this, and slowly walked off. Rob could remember the last time he’d heard such gorgeous music… it was the last thing he ever heard on the radio set his family owned, before his parents sold it due to ‘not using it enough.’ He even recalled the title of it, and the composer: it was the second movement of Pyotr Tchaikhoofski’s Symphony no. 1. He slowly walked away, humming the evening’s last remaining melodies.

Back working, Rob realized that he had completed the floor’s base and supports, and gotten a small area of actual flooring in place, plus a portion of two of the wall’s bases started. He reached down for a piece of wood, only to find none. Rob was surprised that it had even lasted this long, though he had that book to thank: it gave a tip to halve each plank, keeping each new plank strong while doubling the amount of usable wood. Glad about this turnabout, Rob situated himself directly below the thickest portion of canopy, trying to shield himself from tonight’s impending downpour. With a startle, he tried to locate the journal, before remembering that he uncovered a small section of flooring to make a cavity for the library book and journal. Head at ease, he went to sleep, hoping he didn’t get too wet.

End of Chapter 2

Chapter 3

“Well, this has been a weird day.”

Indeed, for the McCloy Ranch, it was a weird day. At least, for Rob, who just had an encounter with a slightly off-normal Pinkie, and a rather troublesome insect. But, if you took a look at the damage to the ranch, you’d know, in a second, what it was…

Trying to get some rows plowed and tilled for a special crop, McCloy was more than focused. Rob, having nothing to do yet (McCloy asked him in advance to prepare the crop’s seeds), is not. Starting to lose attention, he began a brisk jog around the inside of the fencing. Coming around to the barn, he heard a faint buzzing, and… munching… intent to see what it was, he moved quietly to the barn. Before he got there, a round insect (rather, that’s what it looked like to him) popped out of nowhere… with the cutest facial expression a pony ever saw. Taken slightly off-guard by its appearance, he spoke to it, “Well, aren’t you just the cutest thing. Never seen a feller like you back in Stalliongrad.”

He went to push it aside, but encountered the weirdest feeling ever- pure static. “Ah!” he sharply exclaimed, not expecting it at all. “What the- h… how?” Now quite interested, he went to touch it again, and felt… fur. “Oh. That’s how! My, cute on the outside, and fuzzy and soft to the touch. I bet the mares just wanna hug you ‘til you can’t take it any more!” retorted Rob; clearly, the insect had cemented his interest solidly. If only he’d actually seen the other side of the barn… Instead, he brought the creature over to McCloy.

“Hey McCloy! You seen one of these things before?” Rob asked of the elder. After looking the insect over multiple times, he simply replied, “I might have. Can’t seem to recall it at the moment.” At that moment, the creature let out a cooing noise to try to garner affection. Looking around, Rob noticed that it wasn’t alone… and that there were 3 others heading over… he turned to ask McCloy about the new arrivals, but the elder was nowhere to be seen. The cooing intensified as all four floated around the field in almost a dance-like pattern…

“Oh, nonononono! Rob, get away!” was all he heard, before being tackled to the ground. “Hi, Pink,” he managed to say. “Why didn’t you call me sooner?!” she practically screamed. Seeing his confused expression, she remarked, “the Parasprites?! Ya know, eat non-edible objects, multiply like mad, become a living terror?!”

Still confused, all Rob uttered was, “…non-edible… objects…?”

Pinkie finally gave up on trying to explain to him, and began humming an all-too-familiar tune. As if in a trance, the few Parasprites there (which had quickly grown to 12) began lining up behind her. Rob could only stare, trying to comprehend what the hay just happened. On her way out, Pinkie gave Rob a glare, trying to say, “you’re welcome.”

Rob watched the procession until the pony-and-sprite parade was out of sight. He then rushed over to the barn to see that, in fact, ‘non-edible objects’ included wood… which the barn was now missing a lot of. ‘It’s a wonder it’s still standing,’ bemused Rob, as he saw it slowly listing.

Walking back to the house, he caught sight of McCloy, apparently having entered the home. “What did you go do?” he inquired. The elder only replied, “I knew what those things were after I heard its noisemaking.” Connecting two and two, Rob figured he must have called Pinkie, knowing something Rob probably didn’t want to.

“This has happened before?”

“Yup.”

“When?”

“I don’t quite recall, but it was a mess. They ended up wrecking the whole town.”

“…ouch.”

“Well, it was a while back… all I know is, apparently, Fillydelphia suffered the same fate as us… same day too.”

“Good thing I wasn’t here or there at the time, then,” Rob tried to chuckle off. McCloy gave a chuckle himself, and the two set off to find some wood… the barn’s not gonna fix itself.

While McCloy checked locally, Rob went out farther, checking all over the town. He returned with nothing. “I’ll get on ordering some from Fillydelphia or Manehattan,” sighed Rob. “You do that, and I’ll try to keep the barn from tipping any further,” McCloy said in reply.

‘Well, no lumber in town means I’ll have to wait on that order to ship before any more of my house gets finished… might as well go back and check on things,’ Rob silently mused, already thinking of the implications this could have if things didn’t get completed in time… Thinking past today, he realized he would need to stock up on ink once again.

“…well, this has been a weird day,” he said to himself, humming the tune he heard from Pinkie.

A week has passed, luckily with not much more trouble. Pinkie had told McCloy that the Parasprites found the other day were the only ones around town, because of his call to her. The lumber ordered from Fillydelphia has not arrived yet, so the barn is still in disarray. The whole week, Rob has been attempting to keep himself amused; having nothing to do, especially since it used to be filled with house-working, leaves one scrambling for activities… and excuses.

If he counted correctly, he was asked to at least 9 different parties… or was it 11? Either one, he had to make up everything from an excuse, to a reason, and anything he could just plain think up, to avoid something he apparently dreaded. He figures it’s from the time spent in the frigid North, where it’s not very likely that any hosted party was either for those of his age group (singling them out further), or done so in a… respectable… manner. And, each one apparently made the party pony all the more steeled to get him to go.

Waking up, Rob silently wished today would not be one of those days. Stretching out from another night with no solid bed (he had, however, moved up from ‘bare floor’ to ‘comforter’ in the last couple weeks), he noticed a pegasus pony flying his way. As she neared, however, he noticed four things: the mare was carrying a mailbag, her coat was a light smoky gray, her eyes and mane were a (stark) contrast of amber-yellow, and those same eyes were crossed.

She landed on the floor of the home (since there still was no roof to speak of), and brightly proclaimed, “Hi there! I’m the mailmare, and you have mail!”

Rob could only garner, “I have… mail.”

“Erm, yeah, everypony gets mail!”

“Then how have we never met?” he inquired.

“Simple, you’ve never… had… mail… before…” she finished slowly, realizing the implication. “Oh, muffins! I must have mixed up your mail, or I lost it! Oh, no, what if I did?”

Rob almost let her carry on before stopping her. “It’s alright, I really have had no mail yet... as far as I know. I’m surprised that you received mail for me, and that you knew where I was.”

She paused to think, before saying, “Oh! That’s right! Pinkie asked me to give you this!” while pulling a bright pink envelope out of her bag. “She also told me where to find you.”

“Ah, I see.” Rob gingerly accepted the envelope, before asking, “by the way, what is your name, since this is our first time actually meeting one another.”

“Ditzy Doo!” she brightly replied.

“Well, it was nice to meet you, Ditzy. I hope I get more mail, heh.”

“Well, if you ever do, not saying you won’t, I’ll deliver it with… what was the rest of the motto…? Oh yeah! With 80% guaranteed delivery!” She then flew off, ready to deliver the rest of her mail.

Chuckling slightly, having met somepony new (and somepony slightly entertaining at that), he opened the envelope. When he saw the inside, however… his gut clenched, his lungs ached, his brain shut down, and his throat closed up, threatening to choke Rob… for inside, was something he had never encountered once in his life before: a written invitation. To a party. And, not just any party, but a birthday celebration. In his own name.

Struggling to come to terms with this, he read it through multiple times.

20th Birthday Celebration

Of Rob, on the 27th of September,

held at the Sugarcube Corner,

at 7:30 pm sharp.

Music hosted by DJ PON-3

Hostess: Pinkie Pie

Just as his brain finally kicked back into place, he read a small hand-written note near the bottom that threatened to shut down his mind once more:

You better be there, or I will haul you over myself. And yes, I mean it.

-Pinkie

Finally, after about 20 minutes, all he could manage to say was, “…how did she know my birthday? I haven’t told a soul!”

Finally glancing over to the clock, he exclaimed. “I have to be at work in 40! I haven’t eaten breakfast, so I need to do that, oh blast, do I need more ink?” In his confusion, which was only aided by his trying to untangle his bag from his hooves, Rob stumbled over the edge of the flooring, making it the second time he’d fallen out of his own home under his own free will. “…ow.”

Working his way through town, he was thinking of what he ought to be getting for breakfast, instead of watching the growing dust cloud rapidly approaching him. With a loud clatter, the two collided. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he noticed that the object in question was actually three: the pegasus, earth pony (who he immediately recognized as Applebloom), and unicorn trio.

They immediately sprang to their hooves, trying to apologize over one another. Chuckling, Rob calmed them down, saying, “hey, woah, it’s alright… nopony's hurt, right?” They gave themselves a look over, each proclaiming “nope!” “Sorry, mister, again, fer runnin’ into ya,” Applebloom started up again. Rob could only chuckle this off.

After a minute, though, the young pegasus's eyes betrayed a glint of recognition. “Hm? Got something to say, um… erm…”

“Scootaloo.”

“Ah, thanks. Scootaloo. Got something to say?” Rob inquired with a smile.

“Well… I was talking to somepony the other day… and I think I recognize you.”

“Oh?” Now his curiosity was piqued. “Well, who was it, and what were they saying ‘bout me?”

“Well, she was telling me about how much--” Scootaloo never got to finish this sentence, as Applebloom and the unicorn filly tackled her to the ground. Her retorts were muffled by hooves.

“Aheh, Ah'm sorry, Rob, Scootaloo here was about to blurt out ‘nother pony’s secrets!” Applebloom said rather sharply, more towards Scootaloo than Rob. Having broken free of the two fillies' restraints, she replied, “Says who, Apple??”

Then they broke out into another dust cloud, this one mostly immobile, as they began tussling with one another. Rob could only back up, trying to stay out of the ‘brawl.’ The dust cloud would spit out words and phrases occasionally, like, “That’s not a good thing, dodo! You don‘t spill secrets!” and “Don’t use words I don’t know!!” One might have found this humorous for a while, had they not been Rob, who was now trying to get to the ranch for work, all the while thinking… ‘Who said what about me?’

The next day, things at the farm were relatively peaceful. At least, until about 2 o’clock.

As Rob and McCloy were about to finally get working on fixing the farm (the wood they were waiting on finally arrived), the sky darkened imperceptibly at first, then slowly darkened to a serious storm. “Funny, nothing about this from the weatherponies,” remarked both McCloy and Rob. Then, whack! as an object struck Rob sharply in the head. He bent to pick it up, and, looking at it, he noticed it was a piece of… “…hail?”

Almost at his beckon, the storm broke out. A severe wind picked up, threatening to pick up McCloy in a comedic fashion. “Down, baaad wind. I said bad!” he retorted, as he was slightly lifted. Following that, the rain let loose, soaking anything under it well within a minute. Rob could barely see through the rain. He struggled to get over to McCloy, who was back on terra firma. “C’mon! We need to get to somewhere dry!” he yelled at the elder.

“Why’s that? It’s just rain and wind!”

“Because it’s not going to be just that…”

A loud clattering confirmed this, as hail started to drop without mercy. “C’mon, McCloy!” Hobbling through the stinging hail and rain, they finally managed to get to the house. The storm blew over in a couple of hours; during its run, however, the rain, wind, and hail gouged the farmland, ripping topsoil and freshly-planted seeds and tossing them to the crosswinds. The hail managed to punch out some more of the barn’s remaining roof, and knocked out a couple windows in the house itself.

After the storm finally dissipated, they stepped outside to view the damage. They were greeted by a slightly-bruised Rainbow Dash.

“Eheh, sorry about that guys… a freak storm blew over from the Everfree, and we tried to subdue it before it hit town.”

“Wait,” asked Rob. “Wasn’t just us?”

“Nah, dude, it hit a good portion of the town… though it didn’t hit nearly as hard. We couldn’t work our way over here, you were near the eye,” responded Dash.

“Well, I suppose we will have to get back on this tomorrow, Rob. For now, there’s nothing else to do,” mused a slightly solemn McCloy. “Pay’s on the table. Dash, if you’d care for a drink or some tea?” Rob headed in with the other two, Dash slightly wincing, and headed out shortly after, pay in his bag, feeling like nothing had been gained today. Reminding himself that he had a book to return, and a party to prepare for, he set off for town.

Continued in Chapter 4...

Chapter 5

“WHAT?!”

Rob was visibly seething, trying his best to not stare down the medical pony before him, to little avail. Pacing back and forth angrily, with a look on his face that betrayed great pain, all he could think was, ‘What? How, when? And why him…?’ “You’re sure this isn’t a really really bad joke.”

“I’m sorry, but it’s the honest truth…

“McCloy has been diagnosed with pneumonia at the Belleview Hospital in Manehattan at 5:34 yesterday evening.”

Autumn was hitting the town of Ponyville in full swing. The air was rapidly approaching chilly, and the fillies and colts of young were winding up for Nightmare Night, the best holiday (at least, at the time) to the children, mainly because of two things: candy, dressing up, and candy. Unfortunately, none of that joy was being felt by Rob right now, hit hard by the news.

“There’s nothing more I can say, sadly…” the doctor said to Rob; both were within McCloy's ranch house, the doctor sitting at the table with two mugs of coffee, one halfway finished, the other untouched. A clock on the table read 10:25 am.

“How did we not see it sooner, though? Aren’t there any visible signs?” a greatly befuddled Rob asked.

“You mean you didn’t notice sooner? There are obvious signs…”

“Well, I guess we were too busy trying to harvest those pumpkins out there, and I just didn’t pay too much mind to it; I knew about the coughing, but whenever I asked if he was fine, he shrugged it off, and worked harder,” Rob stated, unease and anger tinting his voice ever so slightly.

“Unfortunately, with the older and younger ponies, it’s much harder to fight off…”

“So you’re saying he could… he could…” he didn't dare think the worst.

“Afraid so.” The doctor stood up, apparently with things to get around to within the town, before heading back to Manehattan.

“And you’re sure of the diagnosis?”

“Again, yes… I made the diagnosis in the first place.” The doctor put a hoof on Rob’s shoulder, as if to say, “I’m sorry,” before walking out the door… leaving Rob in the ranch house, empty of life, and void of all sound.

After several minutes of standing in the same spot, Rob finally shook himself out of his stupor. He began to look around the home to find any notice McCloy might have left right before leaving. Quickly, he found the note:

“To Rob, one of the best ranch heads I have had in a long time:

I will be away from the ranch for a while… I’m expecting at least 5 days. Until I get back, you’ll be ranch owner provvisorio until I return. I expect those pumpkins uprooted and sold by then! I’m sure Pinkie has been awaiting at least one! Do me proud, boy. I left you the 5 days’ average pay in the second right-hoof drawer next to the stove.

Take care,

Frank McCloy”

Reading the letter made him realize that he never knew his first name… Rob always called him McCloy, and he almost always insisted it. “Alright, Frank, I’ll get these pumpkins sold, lickety-split just for you!!” Rob stated out loud, ready to take over for McCloy… possibly permanently. He could only ponder upon this fact… with nothing else to do until those pumpkins were matured, he set about fixing some holes in the barn's roof.

As he was exiting the ranch house, he noticed a less-than-normally-bouncy Pinkie standing by the gate. “Heya Rob! Where’s McCloy?”

As if he’d been stunned, he just simply froze, looking into Pinkie’s eyes with sadness abound within his own. Noticing this, Pinkie stopped bouncing, instead, opting to stand still.

“…what? What aren’t you telling me, tell me now!”

“Pinkie… first off, I’m going to need you to… try to be calm.”

“…sure, I can try…”

“Second off, you are not going to like what I’m about to say, most likely… so, come on in. It's chilly out.”

“…alright? But, isn’t this McCloy’s home still?”

Rob responded with silence as he up the porch steps.

Slowly coming to a halt in front of the door, Rob began to speak. "Pinkie… I'm afraid McCloy is… Well… He might be gone…"

Pinkie looked at Rob, "Well where's he gone? Oh! Is he on vacation?" Rob's point and tone weren’t getting through to her.

Rob shook a confused face off and replied, "No, Pinkie like, gone gone."

Pinkie snickered. "What do you mean by that?" she asked in her normal high-pitched voice. The two walked inside, Rob thinking how exactly to explain.

Rob looked grimly up, and sighed. "I'm afraid he's caught a disease of sorts…" he managed to mutter, hating himself for talking about McCloy in this way, the stallion he'd come to love like a father, the one who helped him set up the roots of his new life in Ponyville.

Pinkie's eyes changed, "A-a disease? What disease?" she asked her voice winding down.

Rob sighed, and closed the front door. "It's called 'pneumonia…' It's a lung disease caused by a bacterial infection in the lungs. It takes a heavy toll on the carrier, laboring their breathing until..." he stopped abruptly, knowing the pink mare finally got his point.

Pinkie looked up, "So he‘s…" she said lowly.

Rob nodded, "I'm afraid so… He might not ever come back..." he finished grimly, still holding his melancholy tone and his hate for himself for not noticing McCloy's condition before.

His heart nearly shattered, however, when he saw the pink mare collapse in anguish, sorrow, and tears…

Rob could do nothing except freeze, as his mind began locking up with stray thoughts from all directions and venues... some as abstract as the fancy art you might see hanging on a wall. After a half-minute, the fog of his mind cleared, with a single thought resting within the clarity: comfort.

He slowly walked over to the fallen mare, wrapping his forelegs around her back, trying to give her solace. She returned the gesture, and hugged him tightly, the tears still flowing…

They sat there for what felt like hours to them. Eventually, Pinkie Pie stopped crying, and began to speak, if only to just talk… another hour or so passed, before Rob noticed she had crashed from exhaustion. He then glanced over at the clock on the table, noting it was already past 7, meaning he’d been here for half the whole day. He brought Pinkie up onto his back, and began walking towards Sugarcube Corner.

Eventually, he got to the Corner. He figured it was about 8 or so, so he knocked louder than he usually would on the front door. Almost immediately, it opened, Mrs. Cake seemingly right there, waiting for somepony eagerly.

“Oh, thank goodness she’s alright. Where was she?”

He tried to bury his emotion, and calmly said in response, “she’s been with me the whole time, don’t worry. Something… happened to McCloy,” he continued, traces of his sadness seeping through his façade.

“Oh… well, no need to explain, dear. I’m sure it’ll be fine.” She tried comforting Rob with these words, with little effect. She didn’t notice, and continued on. “Thank you for bringing her back. You can set her on the couch, and I’ll get her something so she doesn’t freeze through the night.”

“It was the least I could do…” he replied, still trying to hold his emotion in check. After sliding her off of his back gently, he waited for Mrs. Cake to return with a thick comforter, before saying, “if you would, please be gentle with her in the morning… she was hurt, hearing about McCloy…”

“Oh, well, no problem, dear. I’m glad to see you caring so much for her,” she replied, holding a smile on her face. Rob looked away, trying to hold back a shy grin.

“I-it’s not that, I just… don’t want to see her broken… again…” he managed to say, his only emotion from before now mixing with others.

“Well, it’s still a nice thing. Thank you,” she stated, a little confused by his words.

After taking goodbyes from the Cakes (the Mr. walked down the stairs sometime after Rob set Pinkie down on the couch), and turning down a couple of cupcakes, Rob walked out of the door, intent for home, trying to put together everything that has happened today.

Slowly trotting up to the tree, he noticed something at its base… “What is… oh.” He got a good look at it, before he found a note tied to its handle.

“Winter’s coming, so you’ll probably need one of these lanterns.

-Twilight Sparkle”

He smiled, knowing he would have to get a few… but Twi just made his job that much easier. He smiled again, feeling happy for possibly the first time today.

He climbed up into the still-unfinished home, lantern in mouth. He knew he would need something to hang it from, or else the heat from the lantern could ignite the wood. Looking around, he realized that he had some wire lying about (he used it to attempt to secure his bed in case of really strong winds). He gathered some of it up, bundled it as tight as he could manage, then twisted it until it formed a hook. At the other end, he fashioned a cross base, slid it into a wormhole in the ceiling (the lumber used there was a little aged), and hung the lantern.

Checking to make sure the metal wouldn’t heat up from the lantern’s heat, he lit it, and climbed into his bed. After just a couple minutes, he noticed a change: the lantern was working, probably better than it should normally, and was filling the area with an even heat. It was then he noticed a particular aura emitting from the lantern. ‘Heh, she really does think of everything, doesn’t she?’ he thought, watching the aura turn purple in color, resembling Twi’s own magic. He lingered on this thought, then mused, ‘I’m gonna have to learn metal-working. It’ll help, I’m sure.’ Not long after thinking this, he fell into a long-needed sleep.

The next morning, Rob woke up early. He thought about breakfast, but this thought didn’t last long, as memories from yesterday flooded his mind. Shaking his head to clear it, he remembered: pumpkins. They needed to be plucked off their stalks, and shipped to town. ‘It’s going to be a long day, but this is what Frank would want,’ he thought bitterly, but adamantly. Walking into the barn, he heard a creak… followed by a crack. Startled, he ran towards the source, which was one of the support beams holding up what little of the roof that was done. It appeared to have been chewed through. ‘Add repairing that beam to my list.’

Sighing, he got out a recently-constructed cart, and headed out into the fields, where 4 large, fresh pumpkins awaited his arrival. “Now, if *grunt* I remember this *grunt* right,” he said out loud, pausing to buck the stems just hard enough to snap the stem, “two pumpkins need to *grunt* get to Sugarcube Corner, *grunt* and two to Sweet Apple Acres.” He then turned around, where the rest of the pumpkins lay. Much smaller than the four, but much more numerous, Rob continued to kick the pumpkins’ stems. “Then, of course, these need to be distributed around town.”

As he passed the smaller pumpkins, after kicking the stems to free the fruits, he picked them up, one by one, to place in the heavier-by-the-pumpkin cart he was pulling. “I’m sure the townsfolk will be glad to see these!” he added, trying to brighten the mood… of which nopony else was around to enjoy. He muttered a curse to himself, then continued his work. Eventually, he reached the large pumpkins. He knew these were going to be the trouble-makers, and, knowing full well the size they would get, McCloy insisted that the two of them load each one together… however, he remarked that, when it was just him, he had a thick piece of plywood to roll the pumpkins into the cart with.

Rob entered the barn to look for the makeshift ramp. Seeing nothing but hay, he almost left… when he noticed a corner of wood raised out of the sea of hay, not unlike a fin. Dusting off the hay, he found it to be a long piece. “Heh, probably to reduce the work load,” Rob surmised, thinking back to school, where he had taken a physics class. It stated that the angle of a ramp determines the force and energy required to scale it… that didn’t make his job easier, though.

He set the ramp in place, after unhooking one of the cart’s sides, and went to tip one of the pumpkins over… he found himself short of breath very quickly. Catching his breath, he remembered another physics topic: fulcrums and pivots. Looking for a very sturdy beam, he amused himself. “McCloy must have been mighty strong to do this on his own…” Saying this, however, brought a lump to his throat, and he quickly dashed the thought.

Finally finding a beam that he thought would do the job, he set about looking for a good-sized rock. Luckily, there was one near the set of pumpkins. Setting up the makeshift seesaw, he readied himself to tip the pumpkin. With a short heave, he pushed. Very quickly, he expected things to go very wrong, because the beam bent at a nearly awesome angle… it proved its sturdiness, however, when the pumpkin was suddenly sitting on its side, waiting to be rolled. Rob sighed in relief, and proceeded to push the heavy fruit into the cart, trying not to squish the smaller ones. He then repeated this process for the others.

By the time he finished, the sun was beginning to ride high into the sky, and Rob was extremely winded. He almost went into the ranch house, but decided hastily against it. ‘I’ll get some water in the town. I’ll make my first stop to the Corner,’ he decided. With a pull and some flying dirt, he was off, proud of himself for doing this task on his own. He quickly reached the Corner (seeing as how the farm was relatively uphill from a good portion of the town), and went to knock on the door. It opened before he could even tap, and, a surprised look on his face, was blinded by pink; before he knew it, he was on the ground, Pinkie embracing him.

“Hi Rob! I was just thinking about you!” This brought the slightest of blushes on his face. A long gasp could be heard from the mare, as she saw the pumpkins in the cart. “Oh WOW! These are this year’s pumpkins?? I bet we could make a lot of pumpkin pies with these! Oh-oh-oh, I wonder how good they’ll be as cakes and cupcakes?” she said, all in one breath, while running around the cart several times. This did allow Rob to stand back up, but not for long, as he was back down.

“Oh my, these look great, Rob! Must have been tough to get them here!”

Rob chuckled, and replied, “Yeah, but they were tougher to load. Listen, can I… ya know… get back up? We do need to get these where you’ll need them.”

Pinkie only turned a slightly darker shade of her normal pink self, as she got back up, and began to lead Rob to where the pumpkins would go.

“Here, they can go here.”

“Thanks. Now, let me get the ramp.”

“Oh, good idea. I mean I can’t imagine you or really anypony holding that on your back at all!”

“Heh, yeah, I did not want to try that, however… fun… it might be,” Rob said, a slight smile on his face.

With two of the large pumpkins unloaded, Pinkie turned to Rob and started up again. “Oh thank you, I bet these will make great cupcakes and cakes, what else can I make? I’ll think of something, haha!”

“I bet you will, and I can’t wait to try one. We need to get to Sweet Apple Acres, or we’ll never make it. There’s also the many small pumpkins we need to distribute around town.”

“Ooh! Can I come with?”

“Sure, I’m not gonna hold you back.”

“Yay!” she only yelped, as she dashed onto one of the pumpkins in the cart, having as much fun she could. Rob only shook his head, holding back laughter of his own. He slowly lumbered towards the farm, Pinkie apparently playing Pirate Ponies with the pumpkin serving as the crow’s-nest.

When they showed up, they were greeted by cheers, as the Apples waited diligently outside the farm for the pumpkins to arrive.

“These shure are big, no doubt ‘bout that,” Big Mac drawled, impressed by this year’s crop.

“Yeah, you wouldn’t imagine what it took to load them up, heh.” Rob looked close to collapsing.

“Say Rob, would you like a drink?” Applejack asked, noticing his slump.

“Yes please!” he quickly replied, having forgotten to ask back at the Corner.

“Heh, I’ll be right back out.”

“Well, let’s get these unloaded lickety-split, shall we?” Big Mac said slowly. It always seemed to Rob that he pondered on everything he said, is saying, or is ever going to say.

“Yeah, sure, lemme catch my breath a little.”

“Well alright.”

Instantly, laughter filled the air, as Pinkie hired a second-hoof mate to join her pirate crew, and Applebloom was the very pony for the job. Everypony there began to laugh at these antics, and AJ soon joined in, returning with the water.

Back at the ranch, Rob and Pinkie were placing the cart back where it was, when suddenly, Pinkie got a mischievous idea. Very quickly, she tapped Rob’s shoulder, and yelled “Tag! You’re it!” before running off giggling. He couldn’t help but give chase, laughing the whole time, this sort of amusement much needed at the time. When he reached the gate, he found it closed, Pinkie apparently reading his mind, and he simply leaped over it.

By the time Rob caught up to Pinkie (which only happened because Pinkie wasn’t running at Pink-warp; the chase still led all the way around town), they had reached the Corner, and it had gotten dark. Rob finally got what some might call revenge by taking down the pink mare in a tackle of his own. They could only laugh and laugh, as they realized what had happened… while a pair of bakers watched from the window, not wanting to disturb the two, with nary but a grin on their faces.

Eventually the laughter died down, and they stood up, shaking off the dirt they’d collected from rolling on the ground. As Rob looked into Pinkie’s eyes, he saw what must have been the truest form of happiness he’d seen since at least the day before last. Pinkie broke off the stare with a swift hug, and a whisper into Rob’s ear: “thank you.” Just as quickly, she entered the Corner, while Rob only smiled, knowing she was happy. As he turned away to walk home, he thought about the embrace… and recalled the smell of flowers. ‘That was a familiar scent… I don’t know from exactly where, though,’ he mused.

He headed home quickly, ready to end the day, for he realized: tomorrow was going to be pretty hectic… a couple of nights from now was Nightmare Night.

End of Chapter 5

Chapter 6

The town began to calm down after the events of the 31st, a week ago to the day. That night had some ponies proclaiming ‘sanctuary,’ while others had been at a loss as to what had happened; needless to say, a lot of the town was reeling from the recent Nightmare Night. That didn’t mean, however, that they hadn’t enjoyed themselves.

The pumpkins that the McCloy ranch had provided for the pies, cakes, and even cupcakes ended up being stuffed to their brims with the gooey matter inside them, allowing the farm and bakery to make many products of each confectionery. There ended up being a surplus, bringing a little extra revenue to Sweet Apple Acres and Sugarcube Corner. The treats sold clear through the week up to the 5th, when they finally ran out (and for good measure; sales had actually slowed down near that point).

Rob, having had a very fitful night of sleep, was awoken by the sound of hooves trotting up the path leading towards his tree-home, and the edge of the Everfree Forest. He lay still in his bed, trying to collect his thoughts. ‘How early is it? It’s barely bright out,’ he wondered.

“Hello? Is this the residence of… Rob?” a voice called out from below the tree’s canopy.

“O-one second, let me get up first,” he hastily called out. He shook himself awake, and climbed down the ladder attached to the trunk of the tree. “What can I do for you?” he said, trying to put a cheery business-like tone into it.

“I take it your Rob, right?” one colt of a pair said. Both were dressed in slightly off-black colored suits… which put Rob off quite a bit.

“Yes…”

“We… um, we read the sign attached to the ranch home’s front door, telling us that we could find you here.”

Recalling having made the sign, Rob replied, “yeah, I put it up in case anypony needs me when I’m not working.” He then noticed the grim looks on their faces. “What can I do for you…?”

“We’re not quite sure how to put this, and we want to break this to you as gently as we can…”

His comment garnered nothing but silence… for a few minutes, Rob didn‘t speak a word… but it was evident from his paling face that he was about to react just as they had seen, possibly countless times before.

When he did respond, it came out of his mouth shakily.

“…please… don’t… don’t say what I think you are about to…” Rob could only stumble out, his mind beginning to lock out all other thoughts, undergoing a complete mental lockdown.

“I’m sorry… Rob… but Franklin McCloy the Second has passed away.”

Nothing but the wind answered them, as Rob lapsed back into silence… but the tiny tremors his body occasionally gave were clear enough to them.

Fighting back strong tears in his eyes and the harsh biting taste of bile, he muttered, “…when?”

“The doctors who were running diagnostics estimate it was very early the morning of the 5th… it was a peaceful passing, they say.”

This last bit was not heard by Rob, however. He couldn’t think… he seemed to him that he couldn’t even speak, to respond…

Finally, after a few minutes, Rob managed to speak to the pair of gentlecolts. “Thank you for… for letting me know…”

“It was the very least we could do… I personally know how it is to lose your father to an illness…”

Rob nodded, as if in thanks, and the gentlecolts meandered off. When they left, Rob thought to himself, ‘they thought I was Frank’s son?

‘Come to think of it, did he have children?’ Letting his mind wander, he began to think about things to be done due to this. ‘I’ll have to talk around town, see if he did have children… notify them, set up a funeral, then… actually have the funeral…

‘We’ll have to talk about the ranch, the property… my job… and what might happen to it all.’

Priorities in mind, he set about town, trying to not let on his intentions… but as he passed by the Corner, he was… standing. Pinkie apparently picked up on his feelings, and decided against pouncing him.

“Hey, Rob… why the low mood?” she asked.

“……I’d rather not say right now…”

“…oh… can I come with you, then?”

He gave much consideration to this, before responding, “I guess… you were bound to find out anyway.”

“…find out what?”

“…” Silence was all he gave the pink mare, wrapped up in his emotions, while thinking of what to ask some of the town’s folks.

They walked on, Rob intent on finding somepony who knew more about McCloy, Pinkie intent on finding out what was distressing Rob so.

Eventually, the duo stumbled upon Nurse Redheart. ‘She might know something,’ Rob thought. “Excuse me… Nurse Redheart?”

“Yes, dear?” she responded kindly.

“I was wondering… if you could help me with information…”

“Probably dear… but about what? Or who?” she inquired, a little confused.

“It’s… it’s about McCloy…”

The pink mare next to him froze up.

“Well, what about him, dear? I haven’t seem him around in a while.”

Rob shifted slightly, unsure of what to say to either mare hanging onto his words. “McCloy… Frank, I should say… he’s…”

“Dear, you shouldn’t hesitate… please, tell me what’s wrong.” Redheart sounded worried.

“Alright… Frank is gone.”

“What?”

“He’s passed away… a pair of gentlecolts, probably from Manehattan, told me this morning.”

“Oh, dear! From what??”

“He had pneumonia…” Pinkie replied to her, having not spoken the whole conversation.

“Oh, dear… I was afraid it would come back eventually,” Redheart said with a hint of sadness.

“He had it before?” Rob was surprised to hear this.

“Yes. It was only months ago… I didn’t have the proper medication at the time, so I could only halt its progress… I told him to come back, but he never did…”

“Why do you think he never came back?” Rob could only ask.

“Well… you know McCloy… too proud of himself, and a little too stubborn. He was convinced that it was truly nothing, and he said he needed to be working, not resting… so he might have blown it off… I’m so sorry, dear…”

Rob was slightly stunned by this. The fact that McCloy had denied treatment… just to work. “Thank you, Nurse… but the ponies from earlier didn’t tell me anything more than his… condition… I was really wondering, do you know his immediate family?”

Nurse Redheart had to think of this, before responding, “well, I’m a little shaky on details, but I believe he did have a son in Manehattan, and maybe one in Fillydelphia. I might have contact information on the Manehattan son. I’ll have it to you when I get around to it, but for now, my break’s almost over… again, I’m terribly sorry dear…”

Rob felt the acrid taste from earlier, and with difficulty, responded, “it’s alright… I’ll be fine… thanks for your help, Nurse Redheart.” With this, she trotted off, getting back to her station. It was then that he felt pressure on his side. Rob looked over to see Pinkie leaning heavily on him as he talked.

“Pinkie… are you alright…?”

“I’m fine, Rob… are you?”

“…I will be… eventually…”

“You know I… just want you… you to be happy…” she tried to say, with great difficulty, as if she were trying to admit something.

“Thanks, Pinkie… I appreciate it…

“I need to get working on other things… you’re welcome to join me, if you would like…” Rob stated, to nopony in general, but towards Pinkie.

“That’d be nice… but right now, I need to get back to the Corner… I’m sure there’s a whole line of customers right now!”

“Heh, well, better get there now, then. They might be hungry!” Rob put a false sense of enthusiasm in his voice.

“Heehee, yeah! Gotta go!” she said, with a little renewed energy, despite what she heard about McCloy. Rob watched her go before turning towards the one place he almost definitely did not want to be at the moment.

Approaching the ranch, he was surprised to see a pony awaiting his arrival. As he stepped into view, the colt, dressed in a business suit, much like the two from this morning, approached Rob.

“Is there anything I can do for you?” Rob asked with earnest.

“Appropriately, yes. You’re Rob, I presume,” the colt asked, with a voice that sounded high pitched, but not ‘feminine‘ high… it also had a sense of clarity to it. From what Rob could see of the pony before him, the gentlecolt bore a coat color like Frank’s, but lighter, and a mane that was nearly pure white.

“You are the…” He paused to think back to this morning. “…third pony to ask me that today.”

“And with good reason. I’m Francis McCloy.”

Rob stood there stunned. “Really now. I was just trying to contact a McCloy, actually-”

“Presumably so. From what I’ve heard, I was the second notified about his death-” at which Rob slightly winced, not wanting to hear this again- “and wanted to find the first pony told about this… I’m a little surprised.”

“About what?”

“You’re not related to him at all, are you?” he inquired forcefully.

“…can I venture a guess, and say that you are from Manehattan?”

Francis only stared. “…how would you know that?”

Rob replied rather quickly, “well, it’s your behavior, the way you dress, and your accent.”

“Really? I have an accent?”

“Well, not so much of an accent, but lack of one. See, having worked under your father as a ranchhoof for… a month and a half now, I’ve heard the way he talks… and he has an accent. Cloplin, I presume?”

The colt stared on. “You’re good.”

“Well, I lived in Stalliongrad. You learned to pick out accents, especially if you yourself was devoid of one,” Rob replied.

“Hm, it’s cold there huh. Anyway, so, you said my accent, my dressing habits, and my attitude. Let’s talk about the ‘dressing’ part. What makes you think I’m from Manehattan based on that?”

“Simply put, you dress like a big business man. That’s not common at all here in Ponyville, or even Stalliongrad. In fact, two places that I know of where it is, is Manehattan, and Fillydelphia.”

The colt looked surprised, if just a little bit. “Clever. I do in fact work at a business in Manehattan. Fourth seat of power.”

Rob’s turn to be a little surprised. “Wow, fourth? In what?” Before Francis could reply, Rob stopped him. “Hm… it’s not fashion. You’re too fancily dressed-up for power. I’m gonna say finances.”

“Heheh, strike one, kid. I actually am in the power industry. Gotta control the controllers of power if anypony wants running water.”

Rob shook this off. “Mm, I was close.”

“Now… what about my behavior?”

“You wanted to get right to the chase, like you were rushing, but I know you aren’t in any particular rush to visit our town. Probably because it takes a bit to reach Ponyville from Manehattan, so you had to set aside a few days to get here, take care of business, and get back..”

“You’ve got some talent there, kid.”

“Would you knock it off with the ‘kid?’” Rob said, slightly frustrated. “I really only guessed… and I’m not some dumb rural hick.” Almost immediately, he regretted his words, and, under his breath, said, “sorry, AJ, even though you didn’t hear what I said.”

Back at Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack’s nose itched, then she let out a soft sneeze.

“Somepony’s talkin’ ‘bout you, sis,” Big Mac drawled on.

“I reckoned.”

“What was that, erm… what’s your name again?”

“Rob.”

“Right, Rob. Anyway, I… suppose you’re right, you’re definitely not stupid. But I wasn’t sure of your connection to Pop.”

“Which I’m sorry to hear about… honestly.”

Francis looked at Rob as if he’d been hit. “Why would you be sorry, exactly? I don’t recall you being more than his ranchhoof,” he lashed out, the sorrow beginning to crack through his thick citypony exterior.

Rob was taken aback. “If you would care to know a little about me, then listen.

“I was his only ranchhoof he had in a while, according to him, and it was him that had given me what I needed to even live in Ponyville! He gave me the wood which now makes up my house!” Rob was more than a little miffed at the tone the Manehattan colt had given him.

Francis McCloy started fumbling his words before he finally found his voice… but it was a soft tone, rather than the sharp bout he had just belted out. “I’m sorry about that… I really am. I’m mighty upset about Pop… you, as well, it seems…”

Rob took his time in responding, not wanting to set off the colt again. “It’s alright… while we weren’t related by blood, I thought of him as a fatherly figure… like I said, he helped set my roots here… he gave me a job, and materials and even tools to build my home.”

“Well, why were you building your home in the first place?”

“Still am, actually.”

“Well… why?” Francis was curious to know.

“Well… I didn’t technically ‘move’ from Stalliongrad… rather, I ran from it.”

This piqued Francis’ interest. “And why is that?”

Rob only sighed… “This is something I’ve told very few ponies about… but you see these gears on me?”

“Yeah, what about them?”

“Well, I got this mark after discovering my love for mechanical things… levers, gears, pulleys, currents, flows, the works. I even studied all I could possibly attempt to! But my parents had others plans for me. They saw my behavior, and reacted with pure scorn. They wanted me to follow the path my great-grand-dad had, and become a fisherpony. A sea merchant!

“They wanted me to follow this path because both my father and grand-father didn’t go down it… they did what they thought was good for them, which ended up not being much better for them anyways… but I knew that what I was wanting to do was right for me…”

“Jeez, ki- Rob,” Francis said, stopping himself before calling him a ‘kid’ again, “you responded to that by running away? Seems a little… drastic.”

“You don’t understand… they had been talking about me being a sea merchant for years, even before I had my mark! They were making my destiny! You can see how wrong that is, right?”

Francis sighed before speaking. “That I can… that I can.

“To tell you the truth, I’ve been shaping my own son to follow in my own steps… and didn’t realize how uncomfortable it must be making him.”

“Well, I can’t really say what you should do, so…”

Francis thought for a while, making the silence seem more and more awkward. But before long, Rob felt a pony step next to him, and there was Pinkie, as bouncy as normal. “Heya Rob! Who’s this?”

“Oh, hi, Pinkie. Meet Francis McCloy…”

“Oh… hi…”

“Hey, kiddo, don’t be scared of me. I’m just his son, is all. At least, one of them.”

Rob asked in response, “so how many sons does-- did he have?”

“Just two. You’re looking at one. The other, who lives in Fillydelphia, is named Franklin McCloy the Third.”

“…and Frank was the second one, eh?”

“Yep, first one was Pop’s great-great-grand-daddy. He was named after the man, who fought valiantly in the Royal Guard, may he rest in peace.”

“What does your brother do in Fillydelphia?”

Francis’ face scrunched up a bit. “Technically, half-brother… and, he’s a police officer, following the steps of the great colt generations before him.”

Rob then looked at Pinkie, and asked, “hey, Pinkie, you alright?”

“Mm, sure, I feel fine… just worn down… is all.”

“You sure? I don’t want you to break down again.”

“I said I’m alright!” Pinkie said in exasperation. “When did you start worrying about me so much?”

“Well, I… didn’t like it when you… broke down a week or so back, and… it made me nervous.”

Francis chuckled. “Well, seeing as how you’re preoccupied, I’ll be heading to where I’ll be staying tonight. We can talk after the funeral… seems there are matters to discuss…”

Rob, hearing these words, and trying to make two and two work in his head, said, “Wait, discuss what?”

“Like I said, Rob, after the funeral… Ciao.”

He started walking away, before turning around, and saying, “ya know, you two make a cute couple.”

Both mare and stallion turned away from Francis in great embarrassment, Rob turning a dark red, and Pinkie going nearly maroon. Francis chuckled as he walked away from the pair, both still reeling in shock from the words ‘cute couple.’

It took him a few minutes, but eventually, Rob calmed himself down to the point where he was comfortable talking. He turned around, and saw… nothing. Pinkie had vanished. ‘That random mare,’ Rob could only think, before remembering some of Francis's words: “We can talk after the funeral.”

The thought put a chill in his chest. It occurred to him, also, that Francis never mentioned what time it was at. Rob set off, ready to face what he thought would be a difficult event.

The skies above Ponyville were light gray, almost promising rain, but giving none of the sort; almost oblivious to the event transgressing below them, they waited patiently.

Not a lot of ponies showed up to the funeral of Franklin the Second, but those that were there included some of the townsfolk, there to pay their respects to a neighbor and, to some, a friend; the two sons, Francis and Franklin the Third, along with Francis’s wife, preaching safe departure for their father to the Heavens; and Rob, mostly there against his own will, having forced himself to attend, and Pinkie Pie, for reasons unknown, but in a state of sadness.

The event passed with little ruckus, but with a clear undertone of dismay from everypony in attendance…

As if on their own cue, the clouds opened up what little rain they contained, but it wasn’t much, to pretty much everypony’s surprise.

It almost seemed like a good omen, as if they said, ‘things will be alright, things will be just fine. We will take mighty good care of Frank.’

Almost everypony left the funeral without saying a word.

The next day, Rob was yet again awoken by the sound of hooves. But this time, his inability to sleep was created by the previous day’s events transpiring.

“Hello, up there? Robby-colt?” the voice of Francis floated up to his ears.

“Y-yeah, just a minute… hold on.”

After climbing down the ladder, his mane disheveled, he asked, “What can I do for you?”

“Well, we need to talk.”

“…about?” It was here that Rob noticed Frank III standing off of the path.

“The ranch, sport.”

“….and what about it?”

“Well, we were wondering if… if you’d be willing to work there as a permanent employee.”

Rob was almost aghast, if his shocked appearance wasn’t apparent enough. He kept silent for a moment too long.

“…sport, what’s wrong?” Francis asked out of concern.

“N… nothing. I’d love to…

“But I’m not sure I’d be able to live down what happened there…”

Francis nodded his head in understanding. “I meant you no trauma in asking, but we needed somepony to at least look after the ol’ ranch for us.

“Neither of us, living in such distant cities as we do, are capable of doing so ourselves, and besides, neither of us-- well, maybe excepting Frank,” he added, under a powerful glare from the latter pony, “--are strong enough to run it.”

“…I see.” Rob thought to himself for a while.

“I suppose I could check on it every so often, just to make sure no plant ponies sprout and try to invade,” he responded, adding a fleck of humor into the end.

Francis, and even Frank, broke out into laughter. “Ahahaha!! I like you, kid! I needed that laugh, too!

“Well, I’m glad you are at least willing to do such. I’ll make sure to wire your monthly check.”

“Wait, wait, wait-- I can’t be paid for something so simple! It’s not right!”

The businesspony only chuckled. “Sure you can… I’m paying you, Rob, to run a job for me, Francis, involving my property, the ranch land and house. If that is not legal, then somepony strike that from our fair list of legalities!”

“……I wouldn’t feel right doing so…”

“Robby, Robby… I understand… but I wouldn’t feel right denying you a legal obligation. Just, please… you worked so hard for him… and it would not be right to no longer pay his only employee.”

“…I suppose you have a valid point.”

“Damn right he does.” This was the first Frank had spoken in the last few days. His voice had a tinge of gravel to the svelte baritone undertones that boomed out whenever he spoke. “I’m a cop, kid, remember that. I know all about legalities and obligations just as much as this hothead here.”

“Ey, who are you calling a hothead, Frank??” Francis retorted.

“You!!”

“Alright! I get it,” Rob almost yelled out.

“Fine, I’ll take it… seeing as how it ‘isn’t right.’”

Francis clopped his front hooves together. “Wonderful. I’ll expect a letter every month, listing any charges needed to keep it in condition?”

“And why would I need to do that?” Rob wondered out loud, directed to Francis.

“Because, I plan to move out here with what little I have.”

This shocked Rob even further. “But… why? Why leave the fair city of Manehattan?”

“Well, kid,” Francis began to reply, sighing his way through it, “sometimes, the city life gets… harrowing. Theft, general crime… even the strict and by-the-painted-line style and life of business.

“And seeing this beautiful, quiet town made me realize it wasn’t for me.

“Me and my son are moving in in a few months. Please don’t let the ranch go to dismay.”

Rob was amazed… here was a city pony giving up his life, which Rob had thought was good, for a simple town. And more importantly, for Rob. ‘If I hadn’t taken that job, would this have transpired?’ he wondered.

“And you’ll receive 300 bits every month until we move, then 150.”

“‘Rob nearly fainted right there and then--’ oh, who could that be?” remarked the author, hearing a knock on his front door. He trotted over… only to find…

‘A raven?’

He turned around and, closing the door, returned to his parchment. Just as he began writing, he heard a voice…

‘Nevermore…’

Looking around, he found the raven perched upon his fireplace mantel! Staring at it, he watched it say, ‘Nevermore, Mister Machre. You will find, at this rate, to have no more viewers…… nevermore… nevermore…’

“Argh, shut up, you wretched bird! Is that the only reason you chose to visit me?!” Macre screamed in anguish! “I’m writing as fast as I possibly can, but ideas… they block the flow…”

‘Much like now?’

He stopped, thinking about this. “Y-yes, just like… now…” Thoroughly spooked, in what was a tiny, but substantial, cracking of the fourth wall, he set about writing once again.

‘Nevermore, Mister Ohm Machre… nevermore…’

Rob nearly fainted right there and then, but managed to hold on to consciousness, and possibly his sanity.

“I… I can’t thank you enough, Francis… this will last me quite a while!”

“I’m fairly sure of it, Robby… it’s well-deserved, as I’m sure you kept our father happy through his final weeks.”

Fighting back a few tears, he managed to reply, “Yes… I am sure… I did… again, I cannot thank you enough.”

“Then stop thanking!” Frank spoke up yet again, obviously of little words until it counted. “Start doing!”

“Heh, you’re right… I shall.”

“Then we’ll be off. Frank’s vacay for the half-year is almost over, and I have to plan.

“Au revoir! And may we meet yet again!” Francis said in goodbye, Frank III giving a curt, but generous nod, before the duo trotted off.

Rob watched them go, before his mind collected enough thoughts to make one:

‘Life is fortunate,

‘simultaneously, most

‘unforgiving, too.’

And indeed, life can be both good and bad.

Rob set off to begin his daily tasks. First off: he needed some sugary treats.

End of Chapter 6

AN: Hey all! I hoped you enjoyed this! I made it quite quite QUITE lengthy (sorry for that!) to make up for my profane nonexistence!

I may or may not continue them at this length. It depends on how much information I’ll need to express with my fair readers!!

‘Nevermore…’

SHUT UP YOU BLOODY BIRD!!

……

Ahem.

Welp, time for Chapter 7.

‘Nevermore…!’

ARGH!!! SOMEPONY HELP ME, I NEED SOME HELP!!!

...also, 'The Raven' is a work of literature by Edgar Allen Poe.

Just.... want to avoid trouble... eheh.

Chapter 7

Fair warning about this chapter: because of its material, this chapter will be rather jumpy compared to the last ones, and the length might not hit everyone’s and everypony’s fancy. I try to apologize in advance...^~^

Chapter 7

The last week's time was mostly spent frivolously trying to complete these walls so he could get a proper roof in place. With what little money remained in his account, Rob bought a good sized amount of lumber, which had to be shipped in from Fillydelphia, through Manehattan. A certain mare was quite surprised to find out her and her team were to deliver lumber!

While working on it one pointedly bleary day, Rob heard hooves heading up the path up to his home. How, he figured, he didn’t know, because of the noise the wind made as it scraped through the tree’s branches, and the sound of the hammer driving nails home. He looked down, and saw the mailmare… walking.

A tad perplexed, he called out, “Hey, Ditzy, why are you walking?”

“Oh, hiya Rob! I’m walking ‘cause of this awful wind!

“It’s a particularly blustery day, huh?”

Sensing she was trying to hint at some piece of literature he most likely hadn’t read, he simply replied, “Yeah, and it’s making my job a touch harder.”

“You shouldn’t be talking, you silly colt!” she said, not out of anger, but fun. “Anyways, I have a package for you.”

“……let me guess, sender--”

“--unknown, yeah.”

“Alright, well, let me get down from here, so I can take it, eh?”

He climbed down rather quickly - he was getting better at not falling out - and began to take the package, before noticing its size. “Well, what could be in here?”

Ditzy shrugged, before commenting, “beats me! It’s really light too, and thank goodness, I don’t think I could take on too much heavy things, what with the weight of paper and muffins.”

“Heh, yes, I would think so. Well, thank you Ditzy! I’ve got to get back to work now, heh.” He left it at that, and climbed back into the tree as Ditzy walked off. Standing near his bed, he set down the package, but had to hold it down, as the wind nearly picked it up and blew it away!

He carefully opened it, before getting a good look at its contents: a scarf! ‘Somepony must be thinking about the winters coming soon,’ he wondered. It was a really nice looking scarf, too… the entire thing was a red color, not dark like his own mane, but not too bright that it hurt to look at it. The lacing was done in almost Boutique-like quality and fashion; the warp and weave were intricate, leaving very little spacing, but not so much that it wouldn’t stretch, and even the ends were in-lined with a touch of golden-colored wool.

‘Gives it a wonderful touch,’ he noted, before noticing something else he did not notice before: it was giving a fairly familiar scent… like that of flowers. He felt around the scarf, before touching a round orb. He brought it to eye level - or, at least, as close as he could, what with the wind blowing about - and saw those aromatherapeutic beads one would see all the time down at the Spa. He even knew, finally, the scent he had been doggedly pursuing an answer for - lavender and cherry blossoms. ‘I’ve seen these beads being displayed in the shop, just waiting to be bought. Well,’ he surmised, ‘it seems somepony finally did, and for a purpose.’

He wrapped the scarf around his neck, and immediately took notice to the scent that arose from the simple action.

‘Whoever made this, they knew about this scent, and must have known how I like it so.’

One part of the mystery of the letters from nopony solved, he got back to finishing this wall. Then it was time to lay supports for the roof. However, for now, he was going to leave the walls and roof slightly incomplete. The corner they would make - the part of the home that stuck out of the foliage - was to be a temporary window. Plus, it gave him a wonderful view of the area’s mountains, and where the mountain, town, and Everfree met.

The next morning was met with the sounds of quiet, still air, sounds of nature awakening to meet the new day with vigor... and a small intruder inside Rob's home...

……’mmm? What’s there…?

‘It’s… I can hear it, but not where it is… sounds like… claws.

‘And scales against the floor...

‘Alright, Spike, you rascal, you want some of me today, don’t you??’

Rob awoke rather suddenly as he felt his tail under attack by a great amount of pressure! He began to run around the room, before falling, yet again, out of the tree. ‘Dammit!! Isn’t this the fourth time?! Or is it the third?’

He quickly got up, and spun around to get a look… sitting on the end of his tail was--

“Gummy!!”

Erm… Pinkie… could you let me tell the story?

“And why would I do that? I mean, I am a character!”

Yes, but you’re not the narrator. That’s my job.

“Aww! You get the fun job…”

…anyway.

“Gummy! Where have you run off to?!” Pinkie yelled out, trying to locate her suddenly-missing pet.

“Pinkie, he’s right here,” Rob clarified, before the pink blur narrowly avoided tackling him for the umpteenth time this month.

“Gummy! You know better than to run off like that!” she mildly scolded the alligator, knowing he probably wasn’t able to comprehend what she said… the alligator just stared off into space, as was usual. “Sorry about that, Rob, I really hope he didn’t startle you,” she apologized, sighing.

Rob chuckled, before replying. “Nah, he just woke me up was all… and good thing too, I needed to be up right now.”

“Well, still, I hope he wasn’t any trouble.” Pinkie looked away, most likely thinking of further along today. “I’m going back to the Corner now, cupcakes need to be made! Heehee!”

“Well, you enjoy that. I’m off to… hm, I don’t think I have much to do today, actually. Gotta check on the ranch… and that’s about it.”

“Great! Then you’re coming to tonight’s party!”

“Another one? What’s this one about?”

She shrugged. “Just to throw a party, I suppose!”

Rob barely avoided not laughing at this comment. “Well, that is standard from you, so… sure, I might be able to come tonight.”

“Oh, wonderful!! See you at 8 then!”

“Alright, take care! And try not to mix up the hot sauce and drinks again!” He remembered back vividly to a few parties ago, where all the punch was somehow replaced with a very hot brand of pepper sauce… needless to say, fireponies were called to the Corner.

“I’ll try not to! Heeheehee!” She bounced off, Gummy clenching onto the back of her mane for his life. Rob shook his head, before proceeding to the ranch, sure that everything, like the last time, was alright. He was thinking the whole way over, however, how the little gator managed to find his way over here.... without having ever been here before, as far as Rob knew... it seemed, to him, that anything associated with Pinkie had their own mysteries, and it spooked him a little.

A little later in the day, Rob began to work on the roof once more… what he didn’t notice was the aura beginning to emanate around the tools he was using. With no warning, the hammer he was currently using was ripped out of his mouth, and it, along with the others, floated out of the house!

“Get back here!” he yelled, forgetting that a) nopony was even around to hear him, and b) the tools were inanimate.

Charging after the flying tools, he noticed they were rapidly approaching the Everfree Forest. ‘Oh, great… I cannot afford to lose these tools anywhere in here!! I’d never get them back!’

He never noticed the rather amused mare hiding behind a row of shrubs, her horn aglow with the same aura surrounding the tools, with a couple of voices desperately trying to silence their laughter.

Deeper and deeper he ran, avoiding all sorts of objects, from branches and roots, to spiderwebs and pits, and even a ferocious creature! He dared not slow down, in fear the lion-bat-scorpion-thing would actually catch him; he was not about to become lunch.

Eventually, a low hut came into sight. The tools charged at it provocatively, and followed them did Rob.

Inside, a zebra was in the middle of her daily meditations… calmly, she balanced on a pole resting freely upon the floor. Most interesting was the way she balanced. It wasn’t as some ponies might think. She was cross-legged - well, as far as an equine could be - and upside-down, balancing on the top of her head.

Her loose state of trance was shattered, just as her window was, as an angry hammer flew through it. Her door followed not soon after, as an unknown colt crashed through it! ‘What is this world coming to?’ she thought in anger.

“Halt there, fair stranger!

“Do you pose me any danger?”

The colt, confused by the situation he was experiencing, thought about this statement quickly, before realizing the implication.

“No, no no, I do not. I was just following these tools, which began their unexpected trek through the air on a whim, it seems.” He said all this quickly, before stopping himself to pick up the tools, and try to at least help clean up the glass.

“I can feel the magic off of the tools which it does flow,

“And it seems you were just made a foal of, though…

“Even though we have not ever met, and, against the lack of better judgment,

“I can tell you are not of malicious intent.

“I am Zecora, and this is my home.

“Tell me, if you wish, your name and where you do roam.”

The colt began to think again, before deciding that he would speak.

“My name is Rob, and… um, I presume ‘where I roam’ means where I live?” Getting a nod in reply, he continued: “I’m a resident of Ponyville. I must say, I never expected anypony - or zebra - to be living so far into the Forest.”

Chuckling she replied, “Ah, truly nopony does, and some even think me mad…

“But you have yet to tell me why you hail from Stalliongrad.”

“Wait… how’d you know that?” Now he was really perplexed, but astounded and even intrigued, as well.

“I didn’t. I simply made a guess.

“And it seems I was not amiss.”

Fumbling for words, the colt took a while to reply. He did, after a while of trying to figure himself out, it seemed to her.

“Yes, I do originally hail from Stalliongrad… but I’d like to leave it at that, for reasons I wish to not be known…”

“You do not have need to hide things from me, Rob McRaec. I know more than you might wonder.” Not allowing him a chance to retort, she continued on.

“Of course, you might be upset at them, but it’s not their fault at all.

“What I must say to you will have cause to ponder,

“But know this: the Ponies which Drove You Out will eventually fall.”

And indeed, Rob fell silent, thinking about what she just said.

It took him a few minutes of contemplating silence before he began to ask, “how do you know this? Why do you know this? And how did you figure out my name?”

She chuckled, and replied rather swiftly, “It was not hard, for I have met many a pony, yet quick,

“that did hire your own father to keep them in front of the bar and brick.”

“And how did you know it was my father?”

“Simple. Your mannerisms, although you may try to hide,

“are just like his, as if you were by his side.”

Rob only turned his head, as if hiding a blush; in truth, he was hiding a scowl. Zecora took no notice, however, and continued to speak.

“While here, would you care for tea?

“Whichever you choose, I’ll let you be.”

Rob turned back to her, and, trying to hide any discomfort, replied, “I’d be grateful, but I really must get back. I’m not even sure of the time, and I’ve heard more than one thing about this forest.”

Chuckling again, she claimed, “when as affluent in potions and magic as I,

“those mystic creatures have sense to let one by.

“It still doesn’t hurt to be wary, if one is to be sure,

“for there is always more to harm oneself, which may not be in sight.

“When the occasional lost soul stumbles in, not sure how to endure,

“they are given, often than not, a perilous plight.

“But do not be afraid, dear Rob, for I’ll give you this:

“an enchantment, which will last until you are out.

“If for any reason should things seem amiss,

“you know where I live.”

“Well, then. It was nice to meet you, Zecora,” he said in departure, realizing, shortly after, she did not rhyme.

“Be careful when you are out and about.”

‘There it is,’ thought Rob, smiling that she did finish it after all.

Walking back through the Forest, Rob was astounded, not at the fact that nothing was bothering him, due to Zecora's enchantment, but by the very intimate nature of the woods. The untamed growth did so in such a way that it seemed like it was given a directed, but unguided, hand in its development. It was, simply put, just a lot to take in.

So much, in fact, that he didn’t notice that he was back at the edge of the Everfree, right near his home. When he looked around, he saw the row of shrubbery that he passed on his way in. Standing behind it, of course, was a very tall colt clad in a dark colored cloak, with a dark metal helmet upon his head. The helmet itself was adorned with some kind of darkened cloth or moss, and a pair of massive antlers. Seeing Rob, he began to speak to him. “Halt!!”

Noticing the strange pony talking to him, he responded. “Erm, yes?”

“I cannot allow you to pass!!”

“Oh? And why not?”

“Because, we are the guardians of this pass!”

‘We?’ he thought. “We?” he asked.

Suddenly, he was surrounded by normal-sized ponies, each similarly clad as the giant one.

“We are the Knights who say Ni! and we require something for you to pass!”

“Okay, first off, I’ve never even seen you lot before, and, what would you need?” Rob was quite confused, but it was like that one word… what was it - ni - pierced his mind.

“We require…… a shrubbery!!”

Somewhere in the background, a rather sharp dramatic chord played.

Rob only stared in amazement, as if the Knight had revealed a profound discovery.

“…a shrubbery?”

“Yes, a shrubbery!!”

“You’re standing right in front of some!!!” He tried to hide his annoyance, but ultimately failed.

Looking down, the giant pony said, “oh. So there is.

“Very well, then!! You may pass!!!”

Still quite annoyed, and, simply shrugging it off as some kind of reference or plot device, Rob walked the short distance to his home… but not before noticing a set of little hoofprints, adorned with some markings, which looked like they belonged to a miniature set of wings, brushed along the ground... ‘I think I know just who was making my tools move…’ he thought. ‘I’ll have a talk with them… as soon as I know where they are…

‘Why, of all the days they choose not to be everywhere at once, did it have to be today?’

End of Chapter 7

A/N: Well, there it is. The unobtrusively (and somehow obtrusively) short chapter.

I don’t think I’ve written a chapter this short since the first few, but it was mostly side events.

“Events?! Just events?!? Nay, sir, We cannot allow this to sit that way!!!”

Oh… no… GET BACK IN THE STORY, NOW!

“NEVER!! Now you will continue this story… or we, the Knights who say Ni will be forced to say……!

“NI!!”

I SAID BACK. IN. THE. STORY. NOW!

“NI!!”

Go on then!!

“NI!!!”

Shut up!!

“NI!!!!”

Alright!!! Alright!!!

I’ll continue the story…

“Very well, then! Knights!! We’re off!”

……next chapter.

“NAY!! We said for you to CONTINUE the story!”

I AM! Just not this chapter!

"……We concede defeat. Stupid loopholes…

"Quickly Knights! We must find some shrubberies!!"

End of Act I

Act II

Chapter 4

“…ugh, my head feels like… like someone bucked it. And pretty hard.” This was all Rob could think, after yesterday‘s highlight. Cursing himself, hoping it would end his pain, cursing over and over, he tried to recall the events of the previous day…

The first thing that came to memory easily was what that orange-ish pegasus filly, what was her name… Scootaloo, said: “she was telling me about how much-” was all she said, and yet it permeated his mind like a sore spot’s pain often does… much like his pounding head.

The second thing that came to mind was the freak storm. ‘That sucked pretty badly, actually,’ he reminisced. ‘No wonder I can think of it pretty easily.’ And then the third and fourth things that he remembered: the invitation, and the party.

“Oh, that party… I knew… ugh, scratch that. What happened…?” he mumbled, his mind still fuzzy... he had to know what happened. Working his way down the gravel pathway, he went to go see if Twilight had anything to say about this.

On his way out, however, the previous evening sprang to his mind, leaving no question what happened:

After he left the ranch after the hectic storm, he made his way over to the library to return his book on stone structure. He didn’t need this book, necessarily, because he was working with wood, but he got it anyway, mainly because he was interested, and because he wanted to see if there was any good structuring that could be implemented for his own home; having no solid ground to sit on, he was going to have to rely on extra-sturdy framework and structures to keep it aloft in the branches.

The tips the book gave concerning stone were very marvelous, he found! And, not only that, he tested a few, with a little of the lumber shipped to the ranch the other day, and found that they would work. He then set himself on memorizing the structure’s layouts for future use. Once that was done, he really didn’t need the book anymore.

Reaching the library, he mused, ‘Odd that Twi would have these books that I needed. Whatever, I’m pretty glad she does.’ Entering the library, Twilight offered him some tea, which he accepted, ready to dry out a little from the rains. They ended up talking for about an hour about various things (ones that could not be remembered right now), and by the time they realized this, Rob had to finish his day’s tasks before the party.

On his way out, he asked Twilight, with earnest, “Tell me, is there something about this party that I should… worry about?”

She giggled, almost openly, at this, seeming to know something he didn’t. “Oh, I wouldn’t worry about it… now…” As she giggled a little, Rob felt more confused on his way out, while feeling more determined to find out the message‘s underlying context.

Seeing the Carousel Boutique, for the first time purposefully, made Rob realize that the building he’d seen at a glance was really Rarity’s workshop and home. But alas, even with this realization, Rarity was no more helpful than Twilight; she gave almost the same answer that Twi had when asked the same thing by Rob: “darling, it wouldn’t be a secret if everypony knew, right? Ah, but for the time being, don’t fuss about it. Tata~! And, next time you’re around, I might have a use for you…”

That confused him even further. Fluttershy was of no use either. He found her while trotting through the market. When asked, she had nothing to say… only a slight blush on what little of her face could be seen. She was too embarrassed, trying to hide her face from Rob’s, to give a straight answer… before he left, she simply squeaked out, “I dunno, i-it wouldn’t be quite right to say…” Now a little upset at the turn of events so far, he made his way to Dash’s place.

Which ended up to no avail, seeing as how she wasn’t even home!! ‘There’s no reason to get upset at her, though,’ he rambled internally, ‘she’s probably out practicing her flying again.’ That left him the only place to go, where he desperately hoped he would get the answers he needed: Sweet Apple Acres. Trotting quickly, as time was beginning to run out, neither he or AJ would realize how interesting the conversation would get.

“Howdy, Rob! What brings ya here?” asked Applejack, finishing her chores.

“I was wondering, and I’ve asked the others the same: is there something I ought to expect from this party?”

“…well… hm… uhm…”

Noticing she was struggling for an answer, Rob settled back, intent on waiting. He was surprised however:

“What do ya mean, pardon my askin’?”

“W-what? Like, any kind of… not-normal events?”

“Well, this is Pinkie we’re talkin’ ‘bout…”

“Yes…?”

“Uhm… Ah really can’t say fer sure.”

“Wwwhy not?” Clearly, this was irritating Rob a little.

“Well… ya see… erm…”

“. . .”

“…I’m honestly obl'gated ta not say anythin’, because it’s not mah place to…”

“C’mon, you’re killing me here, AJ.”

“…well…”

This banter was interrupted by Big Mac’s booming voice: “Dinner’s on, AJ, git on in here.” And, clearly, this was exactly what AJ was hoping for, much to the chagrin of Rob.

“Well, gotta go eat, I’ll seeya at the party, bye now, take care,” she rushed out of her all at once, rivaling Dash for speed getting to the front door.

After he walked off the property, Rob then proceeded to shove bark bits into his forehead.

“Oh well. What happens… happens, I suppose,” he finally spat out at the tree, knowing it wouldn’t respond. He gave it one last headbutt, and was shocked to have an apple fall on his head.

Walking up to the Sugarcube Corner, Rob was stunned to see just how much it could change in a matter of, well, not even a day! He was about to walk away, when Pinkie Pie spotted him from within the window. “Oh, there he is! C'mere Rob!!” she said as she dragged him into something he thought he would regret. As he stepped inside, however, that feeling began to pass away, being replaced with a slight anxiety.

“Aren’t you glad you came now, huh Rob?” shouted Pinkie over the music.

“Heh, now that ya mention it, yeah, a little bit!”

“Hm, glad to hear!! Oops, cupcakes are done, I’ll be right back!”

Wondering how she heard that over the noise, he walked around, trying to absorb the atmosphere… it was unlike anything he’d ever known back in the Northern lands, a very unique experience. He finally felt himself relax a tad, knowing he just might enjoy this night.

Moving over to the punch bowls, he noticed there were two… and that slightly tipsy ponies were ladling their drinks out of one. ‘Avoid that one,’ he mentally noted, taking some of the other punch. He then found a seat over by a table. Coincidentally, Twilight and the others were sitting there as well, sans Dash, who was over on the dance floor.

“Hey there, Rob, enjoying yourself?” asked Twi, a slight edge of amusement in her voice.

“A little bit, yeah. It’s just… different,” he could only reply back.

“Well, when Pinkie throws a party, she sure throws one!” remarked AJ.

“Yes, darling, you must try to attend more!”

“I’ll try. I really will.” With that, Rob was suddenly pulled away by Pinkie; she was trying out some new recipes, and felt that Rob ought to try at least one or three, and oh, he had to have some of the cake… on and on.

After finally breaking away from the party pony, wanting to sit back down and relax, he found himself back to the table he was just at, with the others there, including Dash, acting… nonchalantly? Raising an eyebrow slightly at this, he took a sip of his punch, which he left because of Pinkie’s abruptness. ‘Hm,’ he thought, ‘it tastes more apple-y. Was it always like this?’

Shrugging this off, he finished the glass. He then got back up to try to mingle with the crowd… to little avail. He walked outside, to get some fresh air (the sweets can really get to you after a while)… but once out there, he felt a slightly familiar buzz… and it was almost as if someone were lowering earmuffs on his head… little by little…

“I freel… I freel… fuuny…” was all he managed to say, before he was pushed back in by other ponies… too drunk to notice them.

“OH CELESTIA!” he screamed out loud, despite the pounding. “I was drunk! Drunk off my flank, and didn’t do anything about it!!” This continued on like this for a bit, before he finally collected his senses. “Okay… I have to go see Twilight about this headache… and surely, she’ll have answers as to last night…”

Reaching the library, he was immediately greeted by Twilight, who looked like she had spent some time worrying.

“Oh thank Celestia you’re fine, you’re alright, it was nothing more than a minor prank, and oh goddess we were all involved, do you feel alright, are you mad, I hope you’re not mad--” she was cut off by Rob, giving a shake of the head, apparently flooded by all the words.

“Please… start at the top… slowly, and calmly. Yes, I’m fine, I just have a minor headache.”

“I know what'll help that, I’ll be right back…”

Returning with an herbal tea, she began her explanation: “Seeing as how it was your birthday, and your 20th at that, Pinkie thought it a good idea to… spike your punch with some of AJ's cider. She thought it would loosen you up, but hopefully not too much. What happened? You had only the one glass, and you were out in an hour! Heh, poor Dash, she had to fly you home.”

“Well… I guess I have an intolerance to alcohol. Wow, that’s all, huh? Cider’s strong stuff, I hear.”

“Yeah, it didn’t seem like a great idea, but Pinkie… insisted.”

“Alright. Now, exactly what did I do?”

“…well, nothing.”

“Come again?” he asked, quite confused.

“Nothing happened. Your words were increasingly slurred, but that’s about it. You didn’t go through some huge attitude swing, you didn’t get… erm… restless, I guess some ponies could say about others… and, you just crashed within the hour.”

“Heh… guess I know now. ‘Stay away from hard liquor,’ haha.”

“Heh, yeah… the others apologize profusely, too…” she apologized again, “especially Pinkie… this was her idea after all…”

“Tell them that I’m not upset… after all it was in good-natured fun, and besides, you didn’t know… I’m heading over to Pinkie’s. Thanks for the tea, it did help a little.”

After their goodbyes, Rob set out to talk to Pinkie about the night, with no anger in his step, and as much of a smile as he could muster on his snout. Reaching her home, however, he was surprised to be greeted by Mrs. Cake.

“Oh, hello there, dear. You’re Rob right?” A nod confirmed this for her. “Oh, Pinkie’s been worrying herself sick about you, I’m sure she’ll be back down. She’s been checking with us every five minutes, always asking about you…”

Hearing this from Mrs. Cake only supported Twi's explanation, and supported his unvoiced claim on how she might have felt about the whole thing. ‘How is she going to react? Will she break down, much like Twilight almost did? Or will she just be plain down?’ he asked himself, expecting one or the other…

Within no time, however, Pinkie practically flew down the stairs and tackled Rob, her eyes brimming with tears; however, she had a smile on her face, and she felt just as energetic as normal… if only a little toned down. “Oh, Rob, I didn’t mean to hurt you, I just wanted you to loosen up, and-!” she began, but was interrupted by Rob.

“Don’t worry, Twi explained. And, I’m not upset… well, I guess I’m miffed at this headache, but I’m not mad at you, or anypony, really…”

“Really? You mean it?” she asked, with a bit of concern in her words.

“Yeah… I know you guys meant well. The thing was, there was no such thing as a ‘party’ for the younger ones back in Stalliongrad.”

“That’s… that’s party suicide!” she gasped, surprised that there could be ‘no such thing as a party.’

“Pretty much… it was either you weren’t old enough, or you weren’t of class, or simply not invited. So, I genuinely thank you for that invite… even if it was my own birthday party.”

“Okie-dokie-lokie!” she replied, all the tears gone.

“Can I ask two things?”

“Sure!!”

“…you’re still on top of me, for one.”

She nearly blushed at this (‘At least, I think it was a blush,’ he thought), and got off him so he could once again stand.

“The other thing is… how’d you know it was my birthday? Nopony else but myself knew!”

“Oh, I broke through the 4th wall and checked out your Bio, silly!”

“The what, and the what??”

“Oh, nothing… haha!” she merely giggled, sending Rob, once again, into confusion. But it was a happy confusion this time.

After Rob left, having bought a few cupcakes, and Pinkie trotted up the stairs to do whatever it was Pinkie did, Mr. Cake turned to Mrs. Cake, and said, “Well, would you look at that.”

“What, dear?”

“You ever seen Pinkie so happy?”

“What do you mean? She’s always happy, isn’t she?”

The Mr. just chuckled. “I mean, with Rob around.”

It took her a few seconds, but she finally replied, “Oh, yes… I did notice, now that you mention… I think they look sooo cute together.”

“I reckon you’re right, dear.

“…

“I don’t think he’s noticed, however…”

“Oh, hush. He will eventually…”

Fall swings into Ponyville swift, but not roughly… with it, it brings cool autumn air; the festive of the Running of the Leaves, as well as Oktobearfest; and delicious pies and cupcakes of all assortments, made by the Cakes and Pinkie. It also brought its share of problems to the McCloy ranch.

One such problem? Wild hares. With the storm a week or so back, the only crop McCloy wanted to grow so late, pumpkins, had been uprooted by the fierce winds and rain. Having tilled and planted once again, things looked fine on the surface… as Rob was checking out the crops one afternoon, however, he found himself falling through a hollowed-out section of ground… “Oh no!! Where’d all these hares come from?!” exclaimed McCloy, making Rob realize that he must have broken open a hare’s den.

“Don’t sit there, boy! Help me round these fellers up!” the elder spoke, a bit of wheeze in his voice.

“On it!” Rob exclaimed, chasing down a pair of the lupines. However, they got the better of him, disappearing a hole near the fencing, leading Rob to run smack into a post. “…ow.”

“Plug up the holes!”

“On it, McCloy!”

Finding a shovel right near the holes, he began sifting any un-tilled top soil into the holes, blocking routes of escape, both in and out. “Got these!”

“Great! There’s a pair over on the other side!”

Rob sprinted over, shovel in his mouth, and quickly found the holes. “They’re filled!”

“Alright… I think we have them!”

“What‘re we doing now?” Rob asked back.

“What we’re gonna do is, I’ll wait at the den, and you’re gonna stomp the tunnels to shake them out!”

“What?”

“Jus’ trust me boy! Done it all me life!” snapped McCloy, though not in a harsh tone; the end of his sentence was rattled by a nasty cough. “Alright, if you say so, starting!”

McCloy's plan was working! The hares began scattering out of the den, right into a fenced hallway, leading right out of the ranch!

“Where’d you find the fencing?” Rob asked.

“Some old chicken coop I used to have! This is what was left!” hacked out McCloy. “We got them out! Hooray--!” More hacking…

“Um… are you alright, McCloy?”

“Y-yeah, I’m fine. A tickle in my throat.”

They went back to work, trying to fill in the den the hares had made. But not 20 minutes later, the hares were back, and in force!

“Oh, not again!!” screamed Rob.

“Rob. Go get Fluttershy.”

“Ugh… alright.” Rob trotted off, intent on getting back to work.

He returned about a half-hour later, Fluttershy in tow. Within five minutes, she had the ranch rid of the hares. “Whew… that took a bit out of me, Robby. I’ll be right back out… need some water. In the meantime, finish up the barn; we’re nearly done.”

“Glad to almost be done with it too. That was a bad couple of weeks.”

“Agreed; get to it, sonny. Be right back out.” He left in a fit of coughing, planting a small nagging worry in the back of Rob's head.

After work, Rob had essentially nothing to do, so he decided to head to the Quills & Sofas. On the way, though, he was hugging his best friend, the ground (AJ‘s cart wanted a hug too), as a pink blur did what she did best: tackling. “Hi Rob! Heard you and Gramp McCloy had a… ‘hare’-y problem, heehee!”

“Haha, that was clever!” Rob could only laugh out.

“Hey, you alright, Rob?” AJ asked. “Ah may need th’ two of ya t’ move, so Ah can run mah bus'ness, if ya don’ mind?”

“Oh! Um, of course, AJ…” Rob could only muster out, realizing that he’d been tackled right in front of a customer. “Pardon me sir… eheh.”

“Now, Pinkie, what was it… you… wanted.” She was nowhere to be found.

‘Confound that mare sometimes… she’s so random,’ he thought, a smile adorning his face.

Finally back at his place (which was shaping up nicely: the surplus of wood and lumber coming to the ranch was helping him finish his house: one wall was paneled and had proper supports, and another wall was near complete; a third has been started up, and the roof’s basics were forming), he found Ditzy there with yet another letter. It was just like the previous ones (‘This makes five, doesn’t it, within two weeks, huh?’ he thought), the only thing changing about it the color of the envelope.

“Hiya Ditzy! Another one, eh?” inquired Rob.

“Yup! Somepony must had a MAD crush on you.” She giggled as she said the last bit.

“U-um, I really wouldn’t know,” he nearly mumbled; it was the truth though. He had no idea where and whom they were coming from.

“Ohh… she must be MADLY MADLY crushing, ‘cause she’s using fragrance!”

“Wait, really? Lemme have it real quick.” Indeed, it smelled of fresh flowers… he didn’t know of anypony in town who used such a fragrance. “Smells like the last four, now that I recall, Ditzy. Don’t you agree?”

“Oh yes. It’s a nice smell, though! She must--”

“Yes, yes… ‘have a MAD crush on me.’ But why make things difficult?”

“Silly! Where’s the fun if she told you outright?”

“…good point. Goodbye, Ditzy, thanks again.”

“Heheh, no problem,” she said before flying off.

With nopony to chat to, and nothing to do, Rob leaned back on his bed (yes, he finally has a bed!! (don’t ask how it got up there though)) and began thinking about who the letters could have come from… his thoughts, in a bizarre twist, led to McCloy. Rob began thinking seriously about the coughing and hacking he heard… ‘I’ve never heard someone who looked so healthy cough like that! I hope he’s not caught something…’

He decided to not reminisce too much about it. ‘Worrying is the last thing you need to do, Rob. Best thing to do is pick up some of his work, in case he does fall ill.’

With his mind set, he resumed working on his house.

For the next few weeks, not much has changed in Ponyville. Pinkie continues to host parties, and Rob has been attending many of them. The pumpkins are growing in strong, and just in time for the 31st. The barn is patched over, having suffered quite a bit during the early bits of the month. Rob continues to receive the mystery letters, and eventually received not only the letters, but a small basket of flowers (which smelled quite similarly to the fragrances used on the letters... the flowers themselves weren't the kinds they smelled like, however) as well.

Work continues the same as it has been, with the exception of McCloy needing his plow repaired; Rob ended up building one from scratch, seeing as how aged the old one was. Big Mac even asked Rob if he could take a look at his plow’s blade, seeing as how he got McCloy's to run with the refurbishing.

The last weeks of October were happy.

End of Chapters 3 and 4