I wake up at around four, the fucks up with me and gettin' up early? Anyway I figure since I'm up I might as well get ready. The apples' were still fast asleep they should be getting up in about two hours.

I tip toe my way into the bathroom, brush my teeth and comb out my hair before putting it in a tight braid that reaches down to the middle of my back, I take out Rarities clothes and admire them, they really were a work of art, simplistic and functional, exactly my style.

I slip on the denim pants, they're snug in the waist but other than that they're a perfect fit! Damn Rarity! One and done! I then throw on the white shirt and button it to the second to top button, I step back and admire myself in the mirror, the white button up tucked into my pants with no trace of a wrinkle on either....damn! I'm saying it a lot lately but Rarity does good work! I look fine as fuck!

After admiring my ass in my new pants...don't give me that look! You damn well know you've all done it before! Anyway, after I did that I left the house into the brisk morning air outside, the wind lightly touching my face seemed...different today, like there were words being whispered into my ear. I look up from where I was standing and saw the lone apple tree on the hill I used to sit under when I first started working here

'perfect'

I make my way over too the tree all the while the whisperings were getting louder and clearer, a familiar voice rides on the wind, and I give a faint smile

I take a seat under the tree and relax, I close my eyes to let the wind speak to me. A few minutes pass, I slowly open them and I take in a familiar face: A man with long black hair, reddish olive skin and crimson eyes filled with mirth smiles back down at me, he was wearing a long green and red cape, a green feathered loincloth, a macuahuitl in his right hand and a shield in his left.

"Hello, great spirit Quetzalcoatl, ruler of the skies, master of the winds, and almighty king of-"

"Enough, guardian, you know how I feel about those titles" he laughs a wispy, airy laugh

"Oh thank god! I was running outta breath" we both share a laugh, the spirit of wind, Quetzalcoatl, one of the few spirits that was known to interact with humans, even daily, though most couldn't see him, he was a good friend of mine, one that always had my back

"It is nice to speak to you again guardian, I wanted to ask you something" in an instant the mirth left his eyes, replaced by a somber look, he still wore the warm smile though

"Yeah what'd you wanna talk about?" I lean back on the tree

"You are troubled, I can feel it, you are hurting inside and I also know where this pain comes from" I look up at him, confused

"The choice that was given to you, a choice of life in service or freedom in death, you are making this decision much more difficult than you should" My eyebrow raises at him, I can feel a bit of annoyance rising, easy? EASY!? This was not fucking easy!

"Hmm, you are getting angry, you are very predictable"

"And what does that mean? Oh great and wise spirit!? Please explain yourself cuz I'd really wanna fucking know how this is supposed to be easy!?" ...ok, kinda blew my top screaming in a spirits face like that, oh shit...

But the wrath of a disrespected spirit wasn't what I got, instead his smile grew and the softness returned to his eyes

He holds up a hand "Your anger is not misplaced, and I did not mean to offend, I do understand that this choice is hard, but I stand by what I said, that you are making the choice far more difficult and do you want to know why?" He asks squatting down to look me in the eyes

I nod my head with a frown, I wanna hear this

He places his hand on my shoulder and speaks softly, "Because you desire change, change is chaos, it happens slowly or quickly and, most of the time, it happens violently, it demands painful sacrifices,some that you have given and others...that were taken, and while many of the spirits might not understand or agree with your actions, I understand them well enough to know that what you did, you did in the planets best interest, there was nothing else you could have done, but the spirits like to think of themselves masters of their universe, when in reality, at times we can be just as blind or as arrogant as those of the flesh"

My hard look was gone, replaced by one of awed contemplation, I was astounded, Quetzal was always one of humility but this...this was incredible! He stands and turns to look at the sun that has risen a few more inches into the sky and he smiles

"Well I would love to stay and talk more but I must leave you, before I go I want you to know something"

I look up and nod to him

"While the spirits may forsake you for now, know that the wind will always be listening, just ask, and the wind will come, this I swear" The moment he says this I feel a gale rush passed him and envelope me, lifting me up on the air, the feeling was...incredible my senses heightened I could feel whispers on the wind, like the secret places of the world were open to me, eventually the wind places my feet back on the solid ground yet I still felt lighter like I was perpetually floating on the tips of my feet, I look over to Quetzal with a grateful look on my face, he nods and places a fist over his heart in a salute, to which I stand and return the gesture, I felt honored by his trust. I look to wards him one final time to see his body slowly begin to disappear with the a gentle breeze he looks me in the eyes and speaks one last time

"This is where I leave you, you will not see me till the day you make your decision, but until then think about this..." He smiles one of the warmest smiles had ever seen, like a proud father counseling his son, "Life is one of strife, and sacrifice but eventually change will come and one who is in pain will know peace, but death brings peace immediately while leaving no room for change letting your problems become the problems of others"

"One must choose whether life with chaos or death with regret is better...which will you choose?" and with that he disappears, becoming one with the wind

I stand there in awe and smile, that really took a load off my mind, at least I know that not all the spirits hate me, I sit back down to take in what just happened, however I notice something on the branch above my head, one of the most luminous, luscious and most delicious looking apple I have ever seen, the red of its peel glistening with morning dew, and decided, I'm gonna eat the hell outta that! I go to climb the tree to get to my prize when I realize that I have the power of the wind at my finger tips. I take a step back and call the wind to my fingers, a small gale of air swirls and dances around them, I look back at my target and flick my arm in a wide arc, immediately a blade of condensed air flies from me slicing through the stem of the apple, letting the apple fall into my waiting palm without so much as a leaf following after...heh still got it!

As I stood admiring my prize I heard the faint creaking of the front door I turned my head to see a groggy looking AJ walking out of the house and towards the tree, she seemed to be really lost in thought, so I just relax and let her do her thing.

As she gets closer I can hear her mutter things under her breath

"What is the matter with ya' girl? Get your head straight!" hmm?, "Ya' need to relax, I don't know what was with that dream last night, or why he was in it..." Oh! Interesting..., "but, it was so nice...it felt amazin' even if it was in my head" ok now I gotta know

"So who was it?" I ask on my stomach with my head in my hands about an inch away from her, I also had a huge smile on my face

I can't explain just what happened, but I'll try: Her whole body turned a shade of red that put my apple to shame, her eyes shrunk to pin pricks, She jumped a good foot in the air and her hoof shot out towards my face at a surprising speed and since I wasn't ready for it my vision and senses were soon clouded by the sudden appearance of the almighty pain train to which there was no brakes! The next stop? MY FACE! The hoof connected with my nose and with it, a sickening crunch followed, she broke my goddamned nose!

I fall back and grip my bleeding nose, holy shit! How strong is this chick?!

"Oh mah stars! ah'm so sorry Mark! are ya'll okay?!" She yells rushing to me to look me over, she takes one look at my nose and her hooves cover her mouth...that's not a good sign

"How bad is it?" I ask through tear filled eyes...I'm not crying! It's literally a natural biological response to blunt force trauma to the nasal cavity so no being a dick!

"*gasp* Oh sweet Celestia! A-ah mean uh it's nuthin' to worry about, ya' look fine..." after saying this her face scrunches up and her eyes dart from right to left...my god, I've known some terrible liars but...wow...

By this time the rest of the Apple family headache out of the house, probably due to the yelling

"AJ what in tarnations goin' on out he- Mark what happened your face?!" Granny Smith, just as tactful as always

"It's like somethin' outta a scary story!" Apple bloom...why?

I look over to Big Mac and notice his red coat had turned a shade of green, ok that's enough of that. I quickly cover my nose, stand and start to walk back towards the farm stead.

I look myself over in the bathroom mirror and ... what the, it ain't even that bad?! What was with all the "What happened to your face?!" Schtick

I noticed my nose was bleeding but barely, it was a little off center but nothing too bad...strange, seems like people aren't all that into violence, I guess it's to be expected from a race of herding, herbivorous mammals.

"Ok here comes the fun part..." I place my hand on the bridge of my nose, "One...two..."

"Hey Mark ah just wanted to see if ya'll were all right-"

"THREE! *Crack* OOOOHOOHO! That's brisk!"

"*Thud*" I look behind me and see AJ passed out cold on the ground

I sit on the couch with my hand running through AJ's mane she's been out for a few minutes, I hope I didn't scare her too bad, I have to remember that no matter how tough these equines are they still new to how humans handle things

"...mmm...that feels nice..." Hmmm? Oh she's coming around

Her eyes flicker open and fix on me

"Hey sleepy head" I smile with a little wave

She's just laying there staring at me...this is getting awkward...then she blinks and shakes her head rolling off the couch

"*Ahem* how long was ah out?" She asks with her eyes closed

"Not long, a few minutes"

"Well, let's get going'" She says as she marches out of the house...ok?

We walk side by side the dirt path leading toward the cider stand it's relatively quiet and peaceful

"Hey...Mark?..."

"Yeah AJ?" I answer back

"Ah wanted to apologize-"

"AJ enough...It's cool, I don't blame you, especially since I did startle you, and besides, it wasn't even that bad"

"That bad?! It was awful! I completely broke your nose! There was blood everywhere! It was so crooked it looked like it was upside down! It was awful!" ok didn't need to be descriptive but alright

"Well i'm tougher than I look, a lot tougher" I say with a grin, yay! Alluding!

"Yeah ya'll are, even a stallion as big as my brother would be outta commission for a month in traction if I hit'em with a buck like that!" She gives one of her laughs, then I start to laugh, a real genuine laugh, no sarcasm, nothing forced, just mirth and it feels amazing, I don't know what it is but her laugh just seems to put me at ease...

"Oh, hey ah just noticed, yer wearin' new clothes" Finally someone notices!

"Yeah Rarity made them! Don't they look awesome!?" I say as a gust of wind blows my braid over my shoulder as I flex...amazing...

"Yeah they...sure do..." Aj says with a strange tone

I look towards her, her cheeks are red and her eyes were half lidded...is she sick?

"Hey Apple Jack...Ya'alright?" I wave a hand in front of her face, she blinks and shakes her head

"Huh what? What happened?"

"I'm not sure you just blanked out you feeling alright?" I ask concerned

"Y-yeah ah'm fine" She says, her face takes on an even redder hue, I can even see little beads of sweat forming on her brow

I kneel down and look her in the eyes, she stops abruptly and stares back, her breath hitching

"Look AJ if your not feeling good I can handle the work load, I don't want you to hurt yourself, just let me know if you need anything, I'll be there" I smile, she worries me sometimes she's strong but a little too hard headed, heh this comin' from me...

"A-alright then" she doesn't look any better and her ears have folded back against her head but I'll trust her judgement she knows her body better than I do and besides we got more pressing matters.

We eventually make it to the stand with a line just as long as the one yesterday, off to the side I see the Apple family members preparing for the day.

"Hey Mark! Yah fixed yer face!" Apple bloom yells earning some giggles can be heard from the crowd

"Yeah yeah i'm fine, it wasn't as bad as it looked" I say as I walked over to two buckets of apples and lift them onto my hips

"Well how'd ya fix it?" Big Mac asked

Without looking back I replied, "I snapped it back"

Silence I looked back at the two siblings to see their stunned faces they both look to AJ who just nods in confirmation, that's right I snapped my nose back in place like a goddamn man!

"YEEEEHOOOO! Now that's what I like tah hear! We got us a real work horse here!" Granny Smith yells while slapping a hoof on the back of my legs

I give a little laugh and put on a smile

"Alright everypony! ya'll ready?" AJ says, apparently having recovered from her episode, she puts her hoof on the little closed sign

I look around and everyone smiles and nods

"Yeah let's get started!"

And then the day begins

Wow, I am out of shape, I mean I am drenched in sweat, I'm breathing hard I mean damn! Apparently I proved something to Granny Smith since instead of giving me suspicious looks everytime I walk passed her and limiting me to picking apples, she gives me a small smile and sets me out to work anywhere that needs a extra push so she had me running everywhere, helping Big Mac on the treadmill, carrying apples with Applebloom, selling the cider with AJ and helping her with sorting when her eyes got tired, overall we were able to put out double the amount than yesterday. The clothes really helped though, unlike my orange cryo suit this thing actually breathes and looks damn good too!

However...

"Alright! That's it! Sorry every pony, that's all for today!"

We polish off our stock and there's still ponies in line that didn't get any, damn! there didn't seem to be this many ponies in ponyville to begin with...

"Oh come on!" wow, Rainbow Dash still didn't get any....i really shouldn't be smiling right now

"What's this we hear" How the fuck did they get here so quick!?, I turn and see Flim and Flam leaning back on their machine's built in couch, lazy little fucks

"Out of cider once again? tch tch tch how typical depriving those good people of what their hard working souls deserve" Flam sings

"Yes brother, while we can supply enough cider right here and now to serve three ponyvilles, so let's here it! What do you want?!" Film yells out to the crowd and they answer back deafeningly

"CIDER!"

"Well you heard them brother! Let's give them what they want!" and with the flip of a switch the machine roared to life collecting apples from the Apple family orchards

"Now hold on just a dern second!" Everyones attention turns to Granny Smith who marches right up to the smiling brothers

"Those 'er Apple Family Apples your usin' and we didn't give ya'll no consent to use whats ours" She growled

"Ah but Granny Smith you allowed us to use your apples yesterday-" Flim began to say before I stepped in next to Granny Smith matching her glare with my own

"That was then this is now, and if you two ever want to use those arms again I'd suggest you don't go touching that what ain't yours" My threat gained a lot of surprised looks from the crowd, and a wicked grin from Granny Smith...I like her more and more every second I'm around her

"Oh such violence brother" Flam spoke, oh I'll show you violence

"How barbaric" Flim responds with a smile their starting to bug me

"We see you apples no longer wish to be civil about this so I say we make a wager" I raise an eyebrow

"A race, whoever makes the most cider at the end gets the exclusive rights to sell cider her in Ponyville as well as ownership of Sweet Apple Acres" A gasp of surprise rings across the crowd and unsure looks appear on the younger Apples faces but Granny Smith stayed resolute

"No, we don't need ta' prove ourselves to you, we've done so year after year ever since my family first settled down here and ain't about ta' put my family through sumthin' so ridiculous as a silly race" and with that she turns and starts to walk away, that's right, droppin' the mic now let's get back to-

"What's the matter Granny Smith...Chicken?" ...

"What did ya' just call me sunny?"

"If you have confidence in your cider in then what's the-" He didn't finish his sentence, why? Because I had just snatched Flim and Flam up by their collars, with an intense look in my eyes, my teeth bared I shoved them against the metal of their machine

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HER LIKE THAT!" My voice rings out across the crowd rattling them to their bones, I'm not messing around anymore

"SHE'S WORKED HARDER AND LONGER THAN EITHER OF YOU PUT TOGETHER TIMES TEN!" Their eyes wide with fear at being held up by me, struggling to pry me from them...it's not working

"NOW SHE AND HER FAMILY HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE PEOPLE THEY'VE COME TO SEE AS CLOSE FRIENDS ABANDON THEM WHEN THEY NEED THEIR SUPPORT THE MOST FOR SOME SHINY NEW TOY!?"

I feel a hoof on my leg I look down and see Granny Smith looking up at me with gentle eyes

"That's enough sunny, I can handle it from here" without a second thought I release the two and they fall unceremoniously to the padded couch of their machine

She calmly walks up to the two brothers and glares at them "Tomorrah' mornin' right here, ya' can use our apples cuz its the last time ya'll are ever gonna touch'em"

"*cough* fine, so long as-"

"You keep your pet ape on a leash"

I just growl, they'll pay for that in time

"On one condition" I say holding up a finger"

The two brothers look at me as well as the Apple Family and I can also feel the eyes of the crowd on me as well

"If you win you get the farm and ponyville, if we win, the apples get their way of life back and I..." I grin "get the rights, ownership, and patent of the super speedy cider squeezy 6000 for my own reasons"

The two brothers look at each other and share a nod

"Agreed" Flim growled at me as he and his brother rub their sore throats, how cute

"Oh you sound so confident" I say as Granny Smith and I walk back towards the surprised looking Apple family, we walk past a large Apple tree with a lot of fruit and buckets around the trunk

I look back at them giving them a small glare that makes them stiffen, I snarl as smash my fist into the tree causing all but one of the apples to fall into the buckets, I hold out my hand as the last apple falls and I catch it "It'll make it all the more delicious when I break you" I growl as I take a bite and pick up the buckets, I give the brothers one last discreet look, their faces were ones of worry...heheh damn I'm good

I make my way over to the Apples' as Granny Smith tells the town to clear out

"Uh ya'll wanna explain what that was all about?" said Applejack

I put the Apples with the rest of the cider supplies

"...Sorry, but it needed to be said" Though now that I think about it that was a bit violent...FUCK I DID IT AGAIN!

'Normally I'd agree but...they are insufferable assholes'...wow...even my inner voice agrees with me...

suddenly I feel two big red hooves wrap around me pulling me into a playful headlock I look up to see Big Mac with a big smile on his face and Apple Bloom hopping around my feet

"That was awesome! You lifted them varmints up over your head like they were nuthin'! could you have thrown them?! I bet you coulda' thrown'em!" I could...why didn't I?...

While I stand there a little bewildered at their reaction to my outburst I feel another hoof on my leg, I look down and see Granny Smith smiling at me...now I feel the warm and fuzzies

"Ya'll did good today sunny, ya worked hard and showed your worth but above that you stood up for us and I can tell...ya'll are quite the scrapper ain't ya?!" The apples laugh

"Yeah, well come on they totally asked for it" I look around and see the crowd dissipating but a certain group of ponies and dragon walk towards us as we start to pack everything up. The First to reach me was Twilight Sparkle who gave me a small smile and was about to greet me before ...

"MARK! PREPARE TO MEET DRACONIC JUSTICE!!!!!" Spike leaped from his place on Twilight's back brandishing a wooden spoon...no...

He grips my collar and starts to strike me on the head with the weapon of mass destruction, honestly it didn't really hurt at all but just the action brought back very painful memories and I acted accordingly

"OH GOD HELP ME! GET'EM OFF ME! GET'EM OFF ME!" I jump and struggle but the little dragon has a death grip on my collar and wont let go

"NEVER! FEEL THE WRATH OF A CHEF SPURNED, HEATHEN!" out of my panicked haze I can see the laughing faces of my friends but there's no time for that cant they see that I'm in mortal peril?! Out of the corner of my eye I see the spoon coming and I act

"REVERSAL!" I yell knocking the spoon out of his hand, it twirls up in the air and I catch it....oh the power.... I gaze at Spike with a crazed look, his whole demeanor changes, confidence was replaced with fear as I stand over him with my new weapon

"REVENGE!" I yell and snatch up the young dragon and proceed to gently strike him on the top of his scaly head

"OK ok ok I give I give!" Spike says and pretending to faint, I lift his limp body over my head and scream to the heavens

"VICTORY! Victory for Mark! The greatest warrior to ever exist or ever will!" with a breeze rolling in and the setting sun made my hair blow and my silhouette, it was just...amazing...

"Well 'great warrior' you mind putting him down?" I look down and see Twilight who's wearing a smile and wiping a tear from her eye, I look over to the rest of my friends who were all hiding giggles except for Rainbow Dash who was still rolling on the floor how dare they laugh at my pain! But I set Spike down and he climbs back up onto Twilights back, she rolls her eyes and walks over to AJ and talks to her along with the others and I just start to pack up and get ready

"Hey" I look up to see Rainbow

"Wassup?"

"Look, that was really cool what you did, standing up for Granny Smith" I was surprised, I thought Rainbow would still be kinda mad about the other day

"And about what you said, about how 'us not being there for the apple's when they need us'...well you were...rrriiiuugh....." she mumbled the last part but I know what she was trying to say, so I just smile

"Rainbow it's cool, you don't have to say anything" she looks up at me with a raised eyebrow

"But-"

"No but's, look I gotta get ready for tomorrow, so I gotta leave now, but personally I believe actions speak louder than words, so you know what you should do if you wanna make it up to them, cuz it wasn't me you guys wronged" and with that I walk away

Me and the Apple's start to haul all the equipment back to the barn and all of us were discussing on how to go about the race, we reach the barn and deposit all the equipment, we start to walk back towards the house to get a good nights rest on the way there I kept noticing AJ stealing glances at me, hmm maybe the broken nose was still showing. She starts to walk closer to me, none of the other family members notice so I assume she wants to tell me something important

"Yeah AJ wassup?"

"Hey, ah uh, ah just wanted to let you know that I really appreciate you standin' up fer granny today, not alotta pony's around here would do that"

"Well then it's a good thing I'm a human...gotta a bit more backbone" a say with a grin and she laughs

"Yeah ah can say we're mighty glad to have ya here...especially me..." she mumbled the last part of her sentence and I wasn't able to hear it

"What was that last part AJ?"

Her head snaps up to look at me, as if I heard something I wasn't supposed to her emerald eyes meeting mine and her eyes grow wide and soft, the air around us gets a bit heavier, strange, she wants to tell me something very important I can tell

"W-Well... a-ah just wanted tah'-"

"Oh hold on AJ" I notice that we've made it to the barn and everyone else had already left the equipment inside and started to make their way towards the house so I remove the stuff I had carried with me and set them down and I wanted to give her my full attention so I kneel down and so as to look her in the eyes. When I do so though she takes a few steps back, startled at my movements, why though?

"So what did you want to tell me?"

She just stare at me, with a troubled look on her face, what's the matter with her? her face suddenly changes from troubled to frustrated

"Look, ah'm not good with this kinda thing, ah'm a dern cowpony born and raised on the farm, told to be strong and not tah let nopony get to me..."

Then her head turns to me with a scrunched up look

"Then ya'll come along and make mah whole go upside down and it's right tickin' me off" with that she stomps her hoof down and I fall back on my ass...she genuinely startled me right now, I've only had one woman in my life get that reaction outta me besides my grandmother and that was...wait...

Her eyes meet mine and the whole world seems to fade away

"Look Mark..."

"Y-yeah AJ..." The world goes quiet

"..." She turns her eyes from me and gains a red hue on her cheeks...now I ain't the sharpest hammer in the breadbox but I am about seventy to seventy-five percent sure of what she's gonna say...and I don't like it...

Her face turns back and me and it wears an ironclad look of resolve

"AH GOTTA TELL YAH, THAT AH THINK YOU'RE!-"

"HEY WHAT'RE YA'LL YELLIN' ABOUT?!" Suddenly a wild Applebloom appears!

I look at Applebloom then back at AJ whose face is that of complete and total devastation and relief, but now I want to know

"Hold on Applebloom I want to know what AJ was going to say" immediately all the color from AJ's face drains of color

"All right ah just came to tell you that granny said that if ya'll don't come to dinner soon ya'll are gonna go to bed hungry cuz Big Mac is gonna eat it all"

Immediately I forget all about the previous moment and turn to the crisis at hand, me getting no food? BLASPHEMY!

I stand and take a deep breath

"BIG MAC! SO HELP ME GOD! IF I GET UP THERE AND MY FOOD IS GONE IMMA CUT MY DINNER OUTTA YOUR HIDE!"

silence then I see the door to the farmstead burst open and I watch as that big red son of a bitch trips, falls on his face and take off into the orchard

"OH HELL NO!" I take off after him leaving the two sisters at the barn

"DON'T YOU RUN! COME'ER AND TAKE THIS WHOOPIN' BOY!" I yell after him.

The day was long and eventful, and I once again cause more trouble then I was supposed to but I'm sure it'll turn out well, and something else happened...something important...it had to do with AJ...what am I doing?! I gotta focus, my vengeance needs slating...

Author's Note

Mother of God, this was a long time coming and I gotta say...I'm not too happy with it...and I feel I've let you guys down and I'm sorry for the wait and if any of you out there feels this wasn't worth the wait. I have been focusing on my schoolwork but on the Brightside I passed all my clsses and am now on Winter break so now I can try to dedicate more time to my writing so I can try to put out more chapters of better quality and as always any constructive criticisms are welcome, Tlazocamatli