Day at Work

It was very early in the morning when Artorias woke up from his peaceful slumber. 'That was one of the best sleep, I've ever had' he thought while getting up and stretching his body; relieved when he heard the popping sounds of his joints. Then he walked to the window, opened the curtain; and saw his great gray wolf companion still fast asleep with her sword clamped in her jaws.

He smiled softly at the sight, 'I will let her sleep in for once, but now...' he trailed off while taking his leather tunic off; revealing his perfectly toned and muscular body. 'I have to stay in shape'

With that, he began his morning exercises which included warm-ups, stretching, one thousand times of push-ups, sit-ups, and back-ups, coupled with more various exercises and a cooling down session. An hour later, he was finished and sat back on the couch.

"So much for that..." he said quietly while wiping beads of sweat from his forehead. "Taking a bath it is..." he trailed off while grabbing his tunic, a towel Twilight gave him last night,and headed towards the bathroom.

"So, Twilight; what happened last night?" Spike voice echoed from upstairs.

"Artorias dealt with a large Timberwolf and we have a new big friend" Twilight chuckled.

"Seriously?" Spike asked.

"Come on, I will get you two know each other when we got downstairs" Twilight said with a cheery tone.

"Speaking of which; where is--?" Twilight was cut off when she saw the bathroom door opening.

"Good morning!" Artorias greeted them with a warm smile.

"Good morning Artorias!" they said in unison with smiles planted on their faces.

"So, how do you sleep last night?" Artorias asked while walking back to the couch.

"Best sleep I have ever had; thank you. How about both of you?"he asked.

"We slept like rocks" Twilight said while rubbing the sleep out of her eyes "and then some"

"So, who do you want me to meet Twilight?" Spike asked with a smile on his face.

"Why don't you look out of the window?" Twilight smirked.

'Why is she smirking?'Spike shrugged but complied nevertheless, when he opened the curtain; he saw a massive sleeping gray wolf with an equally massive greatsword clamped in its jaws.

"WHOA!!!" Spike exclaimed while jumping away from the window.

Artorias and Twilight laughed at his reaction. "Lets get you two acquainted shall we?" Artorias asked with a smile.

"It's okay Spike, she may seem big and scary but she is not dangerous; to us at least" Twilight said with a sheepish smile.

Spike reluctantly obeyed and went out with Artorias and Twilight to meet with the great gray wolf. Once they were outside, Sif opened her eyes, got on her paws and let out a yawn before yipping happily when she saw her friends. "Spike this is Sif, my great gray wolf companion and one of my best friends." Artorias said.

"U-u-um h-h-hi?" he stuttered nervously only to be licked right in his face.

"Aww, she likes you!" Twilight said with a chuckle.

Spike chuckled "S-so,b-breakfast?" he asked still stuttering.

"Apple Pie sounds good!" Twilight suggested "Artorias?"

"Of course, let's--"

*BEEYOOOOWWWLLL* a thunderous grumble echoed through the air.

"Umm, what was that?" Spike asked while raising his eyebrow "that wasn't me"

"I presume Sif is getting hungry" Artorias smirked while walking inside to the library to pick up his satchel and strapping his boots. And no doubt, Twilight and Spike's eyes widened to an unimaginable size; but before they could react, he saw this and chuckled "Worry not my friends, she can also drink milk as an alternative"

"Oh, we can go to Applejack's! she usually stock up a lot of milk." Twilight said with a cheeky smile "But first, would you mind if Sif leave her sword at my library?"

Artorias nodded, and glanced at his wolf companion; who gave him her greatsword which was surprisingly proved to be wieldy enough for Artorias although a sheer amount of extra muscle fibers were required to lift it. After moving his armor and both greatsword to the basement; so that it won't cramp the library they made their way to Sweet Apple Acres.

Moments later, Sweet Apple Acres

Applejack drew her breath before exhaling it; her eyes stared fiercely at the apple tree before her, so far she bucked more trees than the rest of her family; heck the only pony who could match her was her big brother, Big McIntosh. A few days on Canterlot was enough to make her bucks dwindle a bit and she was sure she don't want that to happen; or at least that's what she thought.

'You think a few days off would make me lose mah edge?!' she thought with fierce determination visible in her eyes. One swift buck was all that it took, a solid thud cracked through the air and apples fell into the baskets below.

'And that's it fer today'she thought with a smirk on her face.

"Very impressive" a familiar masculine voice spoke up, she turned around and saw a certain knight, a great gray wolf, a lavender unicorn, and a baby dragon standing behind her "Hello Applejack" Artorias said with a warm smile.

"Howdy y'all!" she greeted them with a wide smile "What brings you here today?"

"Um, breakfast?" Twilight and Spike said in unison with smiles planted on their faces.

Artorias chuckled "We can get to that later, but first..." he said while glancing at buckets of freshly bucked apple underneath the trees " those Apples are not going to store themselves you know."

Applejack tipped the brim of her stetson "That's right partner! if you want some o' them apple pies; you gotta earn it"

"Sure, let's help AJ, get some breakfast and start the training!" Rainbow Dash smirked while landing beside her earth pony counterpart; Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie also came with her.

"With extra hoofs 'round here thangs should wrap up in a jiffy!" Applejack said with a wide smile on her face.

"Alright Applejack, tell us what to do"

With that, Applejack told them every single piece of tasks that were needed to be done at the acres before. Artorias and Sif will do the muscle works; while the rest of the girls and Spike will handle the packaging; when those were done, they moved the apples in sorted barrels into Applejack's underground storage.

"And that's the last one" Artorias said while putting the last barrel down.

"Mighty good job everypony! now, lets go and git sum bites!" with that, the girls and Spike cheered and trotted to Applejack's house. Artorias was about to go as well but he stopped when he felt a tug on his leg; he turned around and saw Applejack holding a beet red apple with her right hoof with a genuine smile on her face.

"Take it; ah can't let somepony who helped 'round here go unrewarded. Ah know you maybe have heard this like a billion times; but thank you." she smiled while offering the apple.

Artorias smiled and took the apple from her hoof with his right hand "Thank you very much Applejack, it's my pleasure to help." and took a bite.

As his tongue made contact with the juicy flesh of the red apple, he knew exactly what type of pony that worked in the orchard. The perfect taste and texture was enough to tell him that Applejack and her family were truly devoted and hard working ponies; something that he deeply respect.

He quickly finished the apple before smiling on her "That was the best apple I have ever had, it has been far too long since the last time I have ever eaten something like this."

"Aw shucks, thank ya kindly Artorias" she said. With that, they trekked to Applejack's house but suddenly she stopped.

"Y'know Artorias, you still amaze me 'till now."

"Oh?" Artorias looked at her with a surprised expression.

"Y'are a knight, somepony with high dignity and standards. Ah thought for being a knight, you'd chose to stay with them high-class ponies than comin' down here with us village ponies; much less workin' on a farm." Applejack said while walking beside him "But you did the opposite."

Artorias smiled "Being a knight does not mean you have to live your life with luxury or things like that...true, we knights defend our honor; but that didn't stop us to mingle with the 'lower-class' citizens; although most of the nobles consider the opposite. I personally think that whether you are a proud noble or a humble villager, you should treat each other equally" he paused "Don't misunderstand me Applejack; I do enjoy working on a farm and besides, you girls are my friends now; and I don't leave my friends behind."

Applejack chuckled "Ah can tell that you are being honest sugarcube, and Ah'm grateful fer that." she paused "Unlike what Prince Blueblood did to Rarity" she said while gritting her teeth.

"Excuse me, but who is Prince Blueblood?" Artorias asked

"Princesses Celestia and Luna's distant nephew; ah still can't believe Rarity fell in love fer that rotten stallion. Hay, he even got disgusted when he saw mah apple fritters" annoyance building within her.

Artorias chuckled "If we meet him sometime, remind me to teach him a lesson or two", Applejack gave him a stare of confusion "Er, not that kind of lesson of course" he smiled sheepishly before the two erupted into a full blown laughter.

"Ah guess Ah should start bakin' some o' them pies, speakin' of which; what does the big fella gotta eat? Ah mean, Ah don't stock up on meat."
Applejack said while glancing at Sif who were playing with her dog, Winona; "Ah see she made a new friend" she chuckled.

Artorias glanced at his great gray wolf companion and chuckled "Do you stock up on milk?"

Applejack nodded "Yeah, good ol' Daisy Jo and her friends kept the milk supply runnin'. Why do you ask partner?"

"I will need a lot of them"

Applejack motioned Artorias went inside her barn and started to unload more and more jugs of milk into a nearby manger for Sif to drink. After pouring the milk, Artorias whistled and in an instant; Sif with Winona in tow got before them and started to lick the manger dry of it's milky content.

"Lets go Artorias, lets leave them to their lickin' business" Applejack chuckled

Artorias nodded and walked with Applejack to her house.

"Jeez AJ! where did you go?!" Rainbow Dash crossed her hoofs with an impatient look on her face as Applejack with Artorias entered the threshold of the house "You two went on a date or somethin'?" she said with a mischievous smile.

"Knock it off Dash" she retorted with a glare.

"Sooo?" Pinkie Pie zipped next to the cowpony "Shall we begin?"

"Alrighty, breakfast--er, brunch comin' up in a jiffy!" She said with a sheepish smile after noticing that it was far from the morning. With that, both bakers moved to the kitchen with chatters and jokes emanating from the background. Mostly, they filled the chat with Artorias telling them hilarious mishaps from his life and missions and the girls told him theirs. Some of the stories were so hilarious, that Pinkie and Applejack could be heard laughing from the kitchen.

"And, after falling into that large mound of dragon feces; me and Ornstein were quarantined for a week due to the awful smell." Artorias said between laughs while wiping a tear of laughter away from his eyes; receiving 'ew's from his friends. Needless to say, they were out of their breaths due to the intense amount of laughter.

"Sound familiar Twi? " Spike asked while holding his sides to keep him from wetting himself.

"Hey!" she retorted with a slight blush on her cheeks when she remembered that particular skunk incident; only to make the girls laughed louder.

It was not long before the mouth watering scent of freshly baked pies filled the air. Shortly, Applejack and Pinkie Pie walked out from the kitchen with each of them carrying a tray on their backs with a large pie on each tray accompanied with eight glasses of Applejack's famous apple cider.

"C'mon, dig in" Applejack said with her typical smug, and of course Pinkie was the first to (quite literally) dug into the first pie; finishing it on one big gulp.

"I am super-stuffed!" she said while patting her bulging belly.

The girls and Artorias chuckled before splitting the rest of the pie to eight-even-large pieces and munched on them happily.

"So, Arty" Pinkie said while bouncing next to him.

"Yes Pinkie?" he replied

"Are you going to take Dashie as your padawan?" she said with a huge grin.

"My what?" he said while raising his eyebrow.

"You know, your student?" she replied, this caused the others to stare at him.

"Well, yes of course" Artorias said proudly, the others smiled at him; particularly Rainbow.

"Artorias, darling" Rarity spoke up "After you are finished with Rainbow's training, would you mind if you come over to my boutique? do not get offended darling but your tunic is getting oh deteriorating" she said dramatically.

"I don't mind, but that will be un--" he was silenced when Rarity raised her hoof.

"I don't take 'no' for answer darling, and do not even think about money" she smiled.

Artorias smiled at her generosity "Thank you very much Rarity; I can't thank you enough"

She smiled back at him "Don't mention it darling, it's the least that I could do"

With that, they continued eating. After washing down the pie with the apple ciders, Artorias asked Twilight about something that had been gnawing on his mind since yesterday.

"Excuse me,Twilight?"

"Yes Artorias?"

"Is it possible for me to get some meat around here? Not that I object in eating vegetables and cakes and I know I said before that I won't eat meat if your law or tradition forbids it; but since Sif has arrived here, well; she can't just rely on milk forever." he told her.

Twilight placed a hoof on her chin and seemed to be deep in thought, ignoring hints of disgust from her friends. "Oh! I guess you could talk to Princess Celestia about that, on diplomatic occasions Griffon and Minotaur diplomats would visit Canterlot. And since they are carnivorous; she usually stock up on meat for their meals." she said with a wide smile.

Artorias smiled "Thank you very much Twilight, I suppose you can get me in touch with her?"

She smiled back at him "We are friends Artorias, and friends take care of each other; and yes I can get you in touch with her." her friends nodded in agreement; smiling.

"Uhm, not to interrupt here Twi; but we are supposed to open the library in five minutes" Spike said with his eyebrows raised.

Her eyes widened on the revelation quickly snatching Spike to her back "Gottagogirlsartoriasbye!" with that, her horn glowed and she was gone in an instant; leaving a very confused/shocked/amused knight and ponies.

"Well..." Rarity spoke up "I have to open my boutique too" she said while getting up from her seat "Thank you for the pie and cider darling" she said to Applejack, smiling.

"You are welcome sugarcube" she smiled back at her. With that, they thanked her, said their goodbyes and went on their separate ways for the day. Artorias headed towards the field near Fluttershy's cottage with Rainbow Dash and Sif in tow to begin her training; as they exited the gates of Sweet Apple Acres, they crossed paths with a large red stallion with a harness on his neck ;pulling a cart, and an elderly green mare.

"Howdy partner, howdy Dash" the red stallion greeted them in a heavy masculine voice.

"Hello there" Artorias replied politely.

" 'sup Big Mac? hello Granny Smith" Rainbow greeted them back.

"Howdy Rainbow" Big Mac greeted her before turning to Artorias "You're the knight everypony's been talkin' 'bout?" he asked "The name's Big Mclntosh. But you can call me Big Mac, Ah'm Applejack's older brother. This here's mah grandma, Granny Smith." he extended his right hoof.

Artorias took his hoof and shook it with his right hand. As they shook each other's hand and hoof respectively, Artorias could feel raw power from the stallion; twice more powerful than Applejack's.

"My name is Sir Artorias the Abysswalker, but please call me Artorias. A pleasure to meet you" he said with a smile "This here is my great gray wolf companion, Sif" he said while glancing at his great gray wolf companion. Hearing her name, Sif yipped in response.

Artorias turned to Granny Smith who were eyeing him curiously "Excuse me, madam. Is there something wrong?" he asked politely.

"Oh ain't nothin' wrong sonny" she said with a smile "Just ain't prepared to meet with the hero head on"

Artorias smiled "I am not a hero madam, I am just doing my duty" he said politely.

"Handsome and well mannered? Now Ah now why mares in town were talkin' 'bout you like there's no tomorrow." Granny Smith chuckled.

"*ahem*" Rainbow hovered next to him.

'Oh, right'

Artorias smiled to them,"It's nice meeting you all; but we have to go now. Until we meet again" Artorias bowed politely.

"Eeyup" Big Mac responded while pulling the cart towards the farm with Granny Smith waving them off.

With that, they strolled through an alternative route to avoid catching attention in Ponyville; heading to the same field where they found Sif the night before.

"Tell me Artorias..." Rainbow flew next to him

"About what?" he stopped and turned his head towards her.

Rainbow inhaled then exhaled slowly "How are you going to train me actually?"

Artorias raised his eyebrow "What do you mean Rainbow?"

"Well, isn't it obvious? I mean look at us, we are different in oh so many ways"

Artorias placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look into his crystal blue eyes "Listen Rainbow, just because we are physically different doesn't mean I can't train you. Of course I will need to change some techniques, but that will be no problem; as long as you are willing of course" he said with a smile.

Rainbow couldn't help but to smile herself and give him a quick hug which he returned.

"So, race you to the field?" Artorias smirked. 'I am just trying to lift her spirit back up; and do some analysis on her'

Rainbow's ears immediately perked up when she hear the word 'race'.

"Oh you wanna race me? you are so on!" she said while smirking back to him. "Eh, wait; how about Sif?" she said while glancing at the massive wolf.

"Oh don't worry about her" he said while motioning his wolf companion; who complied and disappeared into a nearby trail "she will take the subtle path"

With that, the pegasi and the knight got into their position. And in the next instant, both competitors shot up at blistering speeds; this time Rainbow decided not to use her wings and went on four legs against Artorias' two legs. Even with four legs, she was fast and swift...evading obstacles with ease; but Artorias got a trick on his sleeves. Using aerodynamic acrobatic movements he got over obstacles as easy as Rainbow did.

Moments later, they arrived at the field; draw.

"Heh, not bad for the fastest flyer in Equestria" Artorias smirked.

"I would have definately won if I used my wings!" she retorted.

"Well, technically she is the winner" he said while pointing his thumb at Sif who were lying in the field, staring at them with her ever so happy expression.

"Wha? but how?!" Rainbow exclaimed disbelievingly.

Artorias shrugged "she....has her ways" he smiled sheepishly.

"But, that was fun! we should do it again sometime! at least you are somepony who stood a chance beside AJ." she replied.

Artorias chuckled "Yes, but save it for later. We, well; you have some training to do" he paused "catch your breath"

After Rainbow catched her breath, Artorias made her run fifty laps on the field (25 with legs and another 25 with wings) as a warm up, a hundred time of push ups, sit-ups, back-ups, and pull ups on a tree branch (or Wing Ups on her version, totaling four hundred times of muscle exercise), and finally Artorias taught her how to use the Uchigatana (while she tried to use her mouth earlier, she got used in using her front hoofs; and got quite good with it) whilst adding some lethal and non-lethal techniques to her martial arts arsenal such as the neck breaker, joint locks and bone breakers with some equine adaptations in the process. But what Rainbow seemed to adore the most was when Artorias taught her how to use her wings to deliver melee attacks using rapid acceleration, and even adding a new sword-like combat technique with them; he even thought about fashioning her wings with retractable blades when the time comes. Two and a half hours later, they were done.

"That *pant* was the best *pant* training *pant* ever!" she exclaimed while dropping on her back into the soft grass of the field. "So...tired" she said while stabilizing her breath.

Artorias smiled at her "I am amazed Rainbow, above all the knights I have trained in the past; you understand and learn things quickly." he said while helping her to get on all four hoofs "don't let it go to your head" he ruffled her mane playfully.

"H-hey stop that!" he glared at him playfully, with that said Artorias chuckled and stopped ruffling her mane.

"So, what do you want to do now?" She asked him.

"Well, I guess I will be going to Rarity's boutique" he told her "do you want to come with me?"

"Sure, since I have nothing better to do" she replied with a smile "Um, Artorias...?" she trailed off.

"Yes Rainbow?"

"Um, I know this may sound awkward; but..." she blushed slightly "could you give me a piggyback ride? I am kinda tired" she said while scratching the back of her head.

Artorias smirked but nevertheless lifted her to his back 'This is just like taking care of a sister' he thought.

"Hold on tight" with that, she locked her front hoofs to his chest and he sprinted back towards Ponyville with Sif in tow; unaware that three certain fillies had just breached the forest behind them.

Moments later, they arrived at Ponyville. It wasn't long before Artorias and Rainbow realized something.

"Artorias, is it just me or everypony is staring at us?" she whispered into his ears; still latched on his back.

"I assume you are correct Rainbow" he kept on walking and adjusting her position on his back before turning towards the crowd "she is just tired folks" the crowd shrugged, and dispersed like ants.

Five minutes later, they arrived at the Carousel Boutique and opened the door while Sif stayed outside; again due to the cramped space.

"Welcome to the Carousel Bout-- my,my isn't that just adorable!" she smiled mischievously.

"She is just tired" Artorias smiled while putting Rainbow down on a couch.

"Thanks" she smiled while giving him a quick hug.

"You are welcome Rainbow" he said while giving her a pat to the head.

"If you two lovebirds are done, can we please get started?" Rarity said while taking out her measuring tape.

Artorias chuckled and walked towards Rarity who done her glasses and start to slither and coil her measuring tape all over his body using her magic. Five minutes after measuring and noting down his size, the door of the boutique burst open; revealing Applejack, Twilight, and Fluttershy with concerned expression on their faces.

"Rarity, is Applebloom here with Sweetiebelle and Scootaloo?!" Applejack asked with a concerned tone.

Rarity's eyes widened at the realization "N-no darling, I thought they were at your farm."

"Where could they be!? we searched everywhere for them!" Twilight added.

Artorias pondered for a moment "Rarity, do you have anything that has her body scent attached to it?"

Rarity frantically rushed into her sister's bedroom and come out moments later with a blanket on her magic grip.

"Will this help?"

He nodded, grabbed the blanket, and rushed back outside with the girls in tow. Once outside, they found Artorias was giving the blanket to Sif to sniff on. After a moment of sniffing, she got up and pointed at a direction; a direction leading to the Everfree Forest.

"Come on girls, Sif has got her scent" he said whilst placing the blanket on his satchel and sprinted with Sif as his guide.

The girls, not caring for whatever dangers that may lurk inside the dark forest followed him suit, all hoping for the best.

Author's Note

And that was another chapter!

Please don't hurt me for the cliffhanger (and delay)

Oh, and I want you guys to know that I am currently planing to write two more stories. One will be a crossover with Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and another one being a slice of life fict.

So, tell me your thoughts!

And that's all from me for now; thank you for those who supported and stayed with me along the way, I can't thank you guys enough *manly tears*

You guys know that reviews and favorites are greatly appreciated, and until then I will see you in the next one

-Lightning Spear