Recluse

by FlufflesAndCuddles

Rating: mature
Tags: Romance, Human, Anthro
Length: 12155

I'm not antisocial, I just find it very hard to live here with these walking ponies.

Most, if not all main female ponies have been r63'd since I'm kind of tired of seeing 80% of human clopfics having male protagonists.
It's been four years since I've been living in this place. Four years of just staying at home and doing what I can to pass the time. I've even learnt the language 'equestrian' just to read all these books that I keep getting from that nerdy pony who visits me from time to time. If he wasn't so shy and fidgety when he speaks to me then I might actually have some one… or some 'pony' to talk to.

Why am I here? Well, it's obvious: I can travel through time. I control it sometimes, but after watching too many Back To The Future movies I've decided to stop using them for a while. The last I used it got me here, a couple million years into the future. Are you still here to listen to me? or have you left already because you've realised that I'm batshit insane?

Eh, call me that if you want. It'll make it easier for you to avoid me so I can live my life in peace and quiet.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2015-09-07 21:17:58 UTC

Daily Routine.

Every time I open my eyes, I always wonder if I'm actually still dreaming and that I'm back at home. Wondering if I'm back at my own time period: 2013, from what I can remember.

It's the morning, I think. That's what the light peering through the crack between the curtains says. I curl myself up into a ball, holding the covers tight as I yawn deeply. It's warm in this room, I think it's summer. The musky scent of my covers and my pillows lull me to stay in the bed, but I have things to do and people to meet before I can go back and maybe read another book or two.

I sit up, rubbing my eyes and straightening my bed-ridden hair. The mornings are always the worst, since I have to do things whilst my body is still tired. I usually don't get enough sleep since I spend most of my night time reading books or playing with myself under the covers, but what do you expect? I don't get a lot of entertainment around here.

I get my fourteen year old glasses and look at the mirror. Ugh, I look terrible. My avocado coloured shirt has stains on it and my shorts have them too. My brunette hair looks all raggedy when I tie it all up, I can even see some split ends here and there. My mouth has small splotches of brown coffee and myself in general feels quite shitty.

I walk around my room, passing the coffee table where 4 or so mugs of dried up coffee have been sitting for days, producing a reek smell. I can wash that later when I get back home I guess. I pass by the rack of books that I fill up with each day and take out two or three of them, placing it by the nightstand for me to read when I get home. The sink beckons to me with the pile of plates that I've never given attention to. I'm going to have to wash those as well aren't I?

I can't even find a spare clean cup to put some water on, so I drink directly from the tap instead. It saves me from cleaning a cup anyway. I hear someone knocking on the door as I wipe my mouth clean of any liquids.

"....Who is it?" I spoke calmly. I'm not even sure if that sound made it past the door.

"E-Eliza! It's me! Dusk-Dusk Shine!" His stuttering shouts prick my ears. "I've got today's shipment of books for you!"

Sighing, I reached the door after dusting myself and opened it slightly, sternly staring at the first pony I see in the morning. A wave of cologne washes over me, forcing me to pull my face back. Dusk Shine is a librarian of some sorts, and he was one of the first ponies who found me when I got here. His tall build and smart clothing impressed me a bit, not to mention that he was a male pony...or stallion. Unfortunately, my image of him shattered when I found him stuttering madly and staring at my breasts when we got to his treehouse of a home.

"G-Good morning, Eliza." He speaks.

"Just pass me the books and go." My hand pops out from the cracks, waiting for the guy to pass them over. He does what I tell him and passes it, managing to feel my fingers as he does so. He does this all the time, it's like he's a scientist whose all giddied up about a new species speaking before him. His ears perk up and his nose flares. It looks like he's found out what I've been doing last night because those red patches where his cheeks should be are starting to become obvious.

"Y-you smell nice." He smiles, sniffing me again.

"Thanks." I look away, half ashamed.

"So when are you coming over to my house?" He asks. "I have more books there and we can also discuss...um...discuss your biology and such!"

"When I feel like coming over." I reply coldly.

"Oh come on! Please? You're really special, and not to mention beautiful..." He added.

I close the door on him, having enough of his half-assed attempts to flatter me. With that kind of shyness I doubt he'll even find a woman to speak to, let alone me, for more than five minutes.

"Come back tomorrow, Dusk Shine." I say over the door.

"I most certainly will!" He replies through the door. Sometimes I just picture him pressing his face on it just so that he can be louder or something. Anyways, I walk over to the book case and slot the two books between some free spaces, filling up a row. I feel some sort of accomplishment every time I see a row of books being filled, even if some of them are basic reading books and night time stories for children that contain the most basic forms of equestrian for me to read.

I hear Dusk shine's hooves clop away from the door, signalling me that he has left. Sighing, I open wide the curtains at look away from the glare. The warm sun touches my body and I smile a bit, feeling at peace when I'm alone. I take off my shirt carefully and hold up my breasts as I throw the shirt in the dirty laundry pile, which strangely is not in a state of neglect like my sink and the coffee table.

I remove my shorts and my shorts only since I don't really wear any panties at all. The temperatures here are so high that I might sweat my underwear, which in turn sweats through my shorts, so I just try to stay as cool as possible.

I walk into the shower and put myself into the tub. The room is quite small and the shower and bathtub are in the same place, but I don't really complain since I like small and cozy rooms. I sit in the bath tub and pull the cord of the shower head onto my body, I turn the water on and jump at the freezing temperatures, but I slowly accustom myself to them whilst the water gets warmer.

I grab my daffodil shampoo and start scrubbing, closing my eyes and enjoying the moment while it lasts. My mind wanders off to ponies again, specifically naked ones. I mean, I've never actually seen a stallion in this world naked before, but I can familiarise to why women like them back in my time, I guess.

After spending too long in the shower, I get out and dry myself. I search for another shirt and shorts in the wooden drawers beside my bed and find a red shirt and grey shorts for me to wear for today. I reach the door and look back at my unkempt apartment one more time before I leave for work. I hate leaving the comfort of my home, but if I want to pay the rent then I guess I'll have to endure the pain of not curling up and spending the day at home for now. The weekend is near anyway.

I head myself over to the Apple's state farm. Their employer, Applejackson, hires any willing earth pony to work with him so he can finish his harvests. His older sister, Big Bertha, was even lazier than me. Her name wasn't really Big Bertha, but actually Bailey, the name of the apple she first ate. The whole 'Big Bertha' started when a few stallions decided to mock her heavy build compared to theirs. That, and the fact that she was taller than most of them.

Applejackson sees me walking past the gate and waves from his front porch. I nod as a reply whilst I hold my towel over my neck with both of my hands.

"Mornin' to ya Elizabeth." He shouts.

"It's Eliza." I shrug off. It's not that I like him calling me by my full name, but rather that I don't want others to think that we're closer than we seem. To me I'm just an employee and he's my boss, nothing more, nothing less.

"You sure look peachy today." He jokes.

"Yeah, right." I reply. "Still having breakfast?"

"Ya came right on time. Come in." He opened the door and the alluring scent of apple-baked foodstuffs invade my nostrils. I guess the upside to working here means that I get free breakfast. Sometimes, I wonder if I could just rewind time so I could savour eating breakfast again and again. But then I realise that going back or forwards in time have done nothing good for me or my health.

It's weird, it's like having superpowers that you might never use because it can harm you.

I have breakfast with the Apples and get straight to work after I help washing the dishes. Applebloom, Applejackson's younger sister, always tries to flatter me with her big brother's achievements, which causes the latter to blush furiously and shut her up. I tend to ignore most of them, opting to nod and groan out a response or two in the least offensive way possible. Sometimes I just say "Oh really?" In a sarcastic tone sometimes when I feel like I'm tired of replying.

I leave the cozy home with Applejackson by my side whilst we walk towards the orchard field.

"Ahm sorry ya had to hear my little sister yappin about me." Applejackson mumbles.

"It's fine, if she told it to any other mare then I'm sure you'd have one pining for you or something." I half-heartedly reply.

"Ah guess, but I'm not really lookin for a mare like that." He said.

"Wait, are you gay?" I stop and look at him.

Applejackson shakes his head. Shame.

"Lets just say that I'm more towards mares that can hold their own. A mare that can be hardworkin and be beautiful at tha same time." He forces a smile, blushing like before.

"There's like, more mares than stallions out here Applejackson, you can't be picky like that." I reprimand him.

"Sorry ma'am."

"Don't call me that, I'm not a million years old."

"Sorry...Eliza."

I smirk.

"That's better. Now lets get to work, I want to go home soon."

Flattery Gets You Nowhere.

The afternoon sun beats down on my skin, making me sweat like a pig in my short clothing. Turns out that I can't really do much but to accept it when it comes to scorching hot weather in this place. I'm currently picking off of the twelfth tree on my 1st row, whilst Applejackson has already reached his fourth row. He looks back at me to check if I'm struggling or not.

"Are ya alright there Eliza?" He shouts. I'm fine, thank you. Besides, you always ask me this every time we start working, and every time it's the same answer.

"Peachy." I reply sarcastically.

The barrel beside me is half full, but I'm not sure if I'm actually able to haul that thing all the way back to the barn. Sometimes I usually leave this part to my boss, who could pretty much carry about three of them at once. How much do these things weigh? probably more than 40 kilograms, I'm not sure. Either way I start picking my twelfth tree clean, taking out the final three apples left dangling on the branches.

My back tingles as though I'm being watched as I stretch to get the penultimate apple. I peek back at my peripherals to catch a glance of Applejackson standing still with his gaze towards mine. Either he's going to ask me a question again or he's looking at something else that's on my body.

"Back to work, Jack." I say nonchalantly. "You're wasting time gawking over here."

"Y-yes ma'am." He stutters.

"Again, call me Eliza."

"Got it."

After picking all of the apples that could be found on the tree, I drag the partially full barrel over to the next tree. I take an apple out of it and bite it, cherishing the sweet liquid and the refreshing taste. Damn, that's good. I pick another one out and throw it over to Applejackson.

"Let's have a snack." I munch loudly on the apple, preferring to ignore eating politely. "This tastes fucking awesome."

"Ah'm fine thanks." He chuckles. "Just don't eat too many now, we need that ta make cider."

I nod whilst I continued working with one hand free and one hand on the apple. I finish it quickly, rubbing the wet juice on my shirt before it dries up and gets sticky on my fingers.

We managed to clear 20 rows before dusk came rolling in, that just left another 30 more to do in a few days time after the weekend. I close the top of the barrel and roll it along the ground, taking two with me whilst Applejackson carries four: two on each of his arms. I can hear him grunting and panting as we came to the barn to load off the barrels.

I place mine against the stack of barrels to the right side of the barn, whilst Applejackson places his on the left side, where even more stacks of barrels are held, some even forming a pyramid of some sorts. He places his barrels down and takes a breather, panting heavily as I count the number of barrels that I've done throughout the week.

"Nine...ten...eleven...twelve...thirteen. Okay, I landed in thirteen this week." I said. That means I get roughly 130 bits for this week, which is more than enough for me to last for a while if I'm more conservative with my spending.

"Ah...okay...just, just let me rest for a bit and I'll get ya the bits ya earned." Applejackson sat on a hay bale, looking at the floor.

I looked at him and sighed, he probably shouldn't have carried four barrels. Maybe it was to impress me? I don't know. I walked towards him and unwrapped the towel that was wrapped around my neck like a cape. I urged him to scoot over as I sat next to him on the hay bale. I quickly feel the hot sweat and odour hit me as I sat closer to him. He must be sweating madly because his golden skin looked slippery and wet.

He looks at me, panting all the while.

"Sorry." He says.

"Sorry for what?" I ask.

"Sorry if ah gross ya out. Ya can probably smell me from that distance." He half-heartedly smiles. To be honest, I'm not really put off by the body odour. It kind of smells strange, but spicy for some reason, musk-like. It's not like I like it, it's more...hypnotic, I guess.

"That's alright, now just straighten up." I hold the towel on one hand and touch his back on the other. I felt his scalding hot skin and my hand recoiled from the heat, but I pressed against his back again and held it there. Applejackson obliged and sat straight up whilst I got out of my seat and kneeled in front of him. "Take off that shirt, Applejackson." I said.

"O-okay." He blushes. He removes his gravy coloured tee shirt (which I have to mention is covered in spots of sweat) and reveals his glistening chest. I get up and close the barn door to block out annoying light and also any watchers. I don't want people seeing this, or else I'd die of embarrassment.

"It's your damn fault for stressing yourself too much, Jack." I sat down in front of him again, holding my towel in my hands. "You're probably too tired to do this yourself, so you can thank me later."

"A-alright." He gawks at me, panting lightly.

I press my hands on his chest, letting my towel get soaked by his sweat. I try to look away from his rather impressive build, but as I rub my hands across his bumpy chest, I can't help but wonder how firm his muscles are. I rub his chest softly, rubbing the sweat off the abdomen and his sides. I avoid eye contact just for the sake of seeing him blush.

"Just...keep quiet and let me do this." I mumble.

"Mhm." Applejackson nodded. "Ah will."

My hands sensually moved upwards past his pecs. I turned my towel into a necklace as I went on his shoulders, swaying my hands back and forth. His warm, velvety skin was nice to touch when it wasn't covered in sweat, I have to say that. As I reached his neck, I squeezed it lightly. Applejackson snorted as I did so, making me giggle for a bit.

I look at his face for the first time and immediately see a pair of eyes that clearly want what's in front of it. The dilated pupils were more than enough for me to know how he felt about this, and as he inched his face closer to mine I couldn't help but breathe in the same air he expels.

It smells like apples, like I expected.

Finally, my hands and the soaked towel move across his face and to his cheeks, rubbing them lightly. Applejackson closes his eyes and smiles, folding his ears down as he did so. Soon enough I could feel his arms snake across my back and slowly pull me towards him. I didn't feel like resisting so I let him do what he wanted.

The spicy scent of his body began to fill my nostrils more and more as I involuntarily press my body against his. His large arms wrap my back like a warm cocoon. I look at his muzzle, and he looks at my face. He takes the towel form my hands and lays it beside him.

"Jack.." I whisper.

"Mm?" He looks at me with a smile.

"I can...feel you." I look away, furrowing my brows whilst a large blush sports across my face.

"Wh-what?"

"Your...um...'friend'." I move away one of my hands to push myself away from him, but it unfortunately presses against his scalding hot member. I momentarily feel the fleshy appendage twitch upon my touch, causing Applejackson to gasp. He pulls back from me, leaving his cock to stand erect between us.

As fate would have it, the tip touches the bottom of my breasts, causing my to feel its flared head. Despite me being a little bit short than Applejackson, who is roughly six feet, it surprises me that he has such a long...uh...penis. It was roughly the length of the bottom of my breasts to my own genitals, who were touching his sheath.

"Ah-ahm really sorry!" Applejackson panicked, causing his member to twitch again.

I looked away in embarrassment. "I-its fine." I say. It's not all bad, I guess. At least I have more knowledge to think about when I go in the shower, so thanks for helping me.

"Sorry! Sorry!" He folds down his ears as he apologizes. His member twitches again, brushing against my breasts once more. I move back a bit and stand up. Applejackson follows and stands up as well, causing his cock to erect like a tower as I stood in front of him. He shamefully hides it by using his hands, but he unintentionally masturbates it in the process, causing him to moan lightly.

"Again, ahm sorry. It's been a while since I've had any...uh...release." He forces a smile.

I glare at him, grumbling all the while.

"I guess I'll have to use it this time."

"W-what did ya say?" He speaks up once more.

"Just stand there. I'll fix this." I turned away from him, taking my towel and using it to wipe his precum off the bottom of my breasts on my shirt.

I bring up my thumb and I open my mouth, placing the thumb under my incisors as I bit down hard, hard enough to spill blood onto my mouth. My mind focuses at the moment when I sat next to Applejackson, and all I do is wait.

"Eliza, ahm really sorry!"

".yrros yllaer mha, azilE"

".siht xif ll'I .ereht dnats tsuJ"

"?yas ay did tahw-W"

".emit siht ti ot evah ll'I sseug I"

".ouy leef...nac I"

".siht od em tel dna teiuq peek...tsuJ"

".kcaJ ,hcum oot flesruoy gnisserts rof tluaf nmad ruoy s'tI"

"Sorry if ah gross ya out. Ya can probably smell me from that distance." He half-heartedly smiles.

I hide my thumb under my soaked towel and smirk a reply.

"You smell like apples, Jack. You're fine." I said.

"Ya really think that?" He brightens up.

"Yup. Now would you mind telling me what all this panting is about?" I ask him.

He forces out a chuckle as he rubs his mane. He looks away as I try to face him as I sit by his side.

"Ah guess ya aren't that impressed." Applejackson mumbles.

"About what? the barrel lifting?" I reply.

He nods.

"Aww, sweetie, flattery will get you nowhere, especially with me." I pat on his back as he looks back at me. "If you really wanted to impress me, you could have given me a larger paycheck for the barrels I brought in."

He looks back and smirks, looks like he's back to his old self.

"Ah'll give ya a larger paycheck once ya help out with cleanin tha dishes when ya come for breakfast." He gives a counter offer.

"I'll wash only twice in a week, final offer." I narrow my eyes. After scrunching up his muzzle at the ludicrous offer, he accepts, promising to raise my paycheck by 15 more bits.

Applejackson and I leave the barn and head for his home, where he pays me the bag of bits that I've rightfully earned. I declined the offer for dinner and I started walking home during sunset, 145 bits richer. The way back I visit the local nurse for a small roll of bandages and I finally get back home with some snacks and some food in a bag, whilst the rest of my money is tucked inside my breasts.

I check around to see if anyone is nearby before I open my door quietly, not wanting to alert the nearby neighbours. I feel a sense of ease when I come back home, which is something I really needed after such a frustrating day.

I set down my groceries on the reeking coffee table and I take out the roll of bandages. I look at my thumb and see a large, scabby cut. Blood that hasn't gone back inside the scab before it hardened turned into black, solid blobs that clung to my skin. My left thumb felt like it was being stabbed by a nail each time I touched it. I guess I was a bit too hard on myself there, I only needed to draw a little bit of blood to travel back a few minutes.

I sigh, wondering how long this injury will take and hopefully guess that it will heal within the weekend. It's a small price to pay for almost ruining my relationship with my employer. I know he means well, but I'm not that willing to almost have sex in a barn, where his family might come in and see us, no matter how alluring his...cock....was.

My shirt was stressfully removed with one hand whilst I held the soaked towel with my injured hand, avoiding contact with the towel and my thumb in the process. My breasts were finally freed (and so were the bag of bits that fell on the floor) and soon my shorts were also taken off. I felt too lazy to take a shower, so I just shuffled my sweaty body into bed. I'll have to change the sheets soon, as well as everything else that I promised to do this morning which I haven't done yet. But before that I managed to close the windows and move the coffee table away from the source of light. My groceries were on there and I wasn't going to let it get heated up and go rotten when the light from the window hits it when it's morning.

I held the towel in my injured hand, but just before I decided to move it to my nightstand, I took a small whiff of it. Again, my nose was hit by the spicy...and musky scent of Applejackson. Oh it smelled so nice. My memories soon return to his large member, and how stiff and erect it was. His large chest and his heavy build...he could truly get any mare he wanted if he just showed his body.

I think I wiped his precum on this towel.

And sure enough, I found it.

....I guess I can spend one day without reading books for tonight....I just feel like...having fun and fantasizing for a while...

God that smell...so heavy...and...

Oh, my fingers aren't going to rest tonight.

Cleaning Duty

What day is it? I think it's Saturday. It's supposed to be the weekend so I'm assuming that it's Saturday in this world. My sense of smell quickly notices what I've been doing last night, and I can quickly assume that my non-injured hand has itself lodged some of its fingers inside my 'happy place'.

Oh god, this place smells awful. The towel I used last night is still covering my mouth like a mask and my covers and bedsheets feel slightly wet. I take off the towel and throw it on the nightstand, throwing away the alluring scent from my nose. I yawn loudly, rubbing sweat and other body fluids off my naked body with my duvet. I'm washing this later anyway, so I might as well make use of it as a towel.

There are other things that I also need to clean, such as the coffee table, the sink, my 'work' towel and my bed. Ugh, so many things!

I get up and out of bed, heading for the windows before I suddenly stop myself from spreading the curtains wide. I keep forgetting that I'm naked and I have to wear some clothes before I open these curtains. Unfortunately for me, I don't really have any 'clean' clothes. I'm going to have to ask Elusive for more so that I don't have to run into problems like these. But it doesn't matter, I've been neglecting my own home for a while so I'm just going to have to suffer and deal with it by doing more manual labour.

I could ask for help, but I don't really want other people snooping around and not doing things as I want them to be done. I'm rather finicky when it comes to dealing with matters that belong to me. Do something wrong and I'll probably shout at whoever did it or I'd just never ask them to do help me again.

As fate would have it, someone comes knocking on my window.

"Blitz, go away." I shout at the window.

"Are you still asleep? It's the weekend! Not to mention it's noon. You're wasting time in there." His muffled voice comes from the window.

"I like it here, and besides, I'm naked. Come back when I've dressed myself." I say nonchalantly.

"...Is someone else in there with you?" He pauses.

"No." I reply.

"Oh, okay. Good." He mutters the last part.

Grumbling, I drag all of my clothes from the laundry pile and head to the bathtub to clean them. I leave Rainblow Blitz behind at the window, ignoring his morning speech about why I should be outside right now. It's always the same thing: Fitness, yadda yadda, healthy life, strong muscles, all that crap. I'm already exercising myself when I work at the farm, so there's no point doing extra on my days of rest.

I bring out a basket whilst I start filling the bathtub with water for me to enter in. I chuck in some thick bath soap to ready the water whilst I chuck in a bar of daisy soap in the basket, hoping to not mix the two up when I start cleaning my clothes. I put the shower head on the black plastic basket for a bit to fill it up with water before I move it back to the bath tub.

I squat down, mocking myself for looking like an idiot for being in this mess. At least the light from the window will keep my back warm in this cold room whilst I clean the laundry. After that, my reward for finishing it is the bath tub.

"Eliza! are you here? Where'd ya go?" Blitz says.

"Come back later!" I shout at him.

"Where the heck are ya? You've only got two windows so wher-" He stops abruptly.

Fuck.

I don't even have time to vent my frustration as I thoroughly scrub my clothing. Instead, I just keep going, keeping my back to the window and my ass as low as possible.

"If you say anything, or do anything...or even keep watching from that window... I swear I will pull off your wings the next time I see you." I quickly threaten him, gritting my teeth in the process.

"Uh, yeah. Okay! So...uh...I'll just wait somewhere else. You're kinda busy, heh." He moves his shadow away from the window, ensuring that he did move away.

"Fucking......moron...." I mumble as I scrub furiously, paying close attention to my injured thumb whilst I did so.

After completing the laundry and my bath, I come out of the bathroom with my red bath towel wrapped tightly on top of my breasts. My hair was too wet to put into a bun so I just let it flow free and straightened it a bit to keep it look tidy. I quickly hear the fluttering of wings outside my bedroom window and quickly realise that Rainbow Blitz is still there, waiting for me.

I pull back the curtains and open the windows, peering out to find that he was somersaulting in the air around my apartment window.

"Why are you still here?" I speak to him. He stops abruptly and stares at me.

"Because I'm your personal fitness trainer, of course. That, and well...you're the first person I go to when I'm bored." Blitz said.

"So I'm a last resort for you." I tilt my head.

"Nono! I didn't mean it like that!" He hastily replies. "You're...entertaining?"

"So you like watching me from my window." I add in.

"No! It's...I...you are.....dammit Eliza! Stop it!" Blitz frowns angrily "You're doing those mind games again!"

I laugh before I move away from the window.

"Eliza? Eliza?" Blitz shouts. "You're not leaving me again are you?"

I take out a wet shirt and shorts and bring it to the window. I present them to Rainbow Blitz, tightening up my bath towel at the same time. He looks puzzled, but he's quite a useful clothes dryer when he needs to be.

"Here, fly around town with these in your hands. The sun and wind should dry them quickly if you do it right." I hand out my clothes to him. "The quicker it dries, the quicker I can wear them. Also, they've been cleaned, so there's no point in sniffing them when I leave them with you."

Blitz crosses his arms, maintaining flight all the while.

"I'm not some errand boy Eliza." He says.

"But if I get those clothes quicker, I can get out of the house quicker, if that's what you want me to do." I take out the two books that I left on the nightstand to read for last night and start reading them on my bed. Before that, I threw my covers in the laundry pile, leaving me to realise that my bedsheets have some really large stains on it, stains that I know came from me.

Like a flash, he took the clothes hanging from the window and left immediately, leaving a large jet sound to let me know that he has left.

Drying the clothes should take a while, so I probably have time to let myself dry and hopefully finish one book if I read fast enough. I mean, it's a children's story in equestrian, so there's not going to be many words anyway. Half of the pages are filled with images anyway so it might not take a while to finish this book.

I cross my legs and spend some quality time at home. I'm not making any promises on leaving anyway, even if Rainbow Blitz begs to leave. I've got my groceries still there, I have more shit to clean, plus I've got snacks. I'm not going anywhere so I might as well start cleaning the rest of what I needed to do yesterday.

Everything was nice and quiet here, the birds chirping about are a bit annoying, but I can live with it. I could also hear the distant booms that Rainbow Blitz is probably doing in an effort to dry my clothes faster.

The first book was about some pony who lost her doll, I think. Some boy managed to find it down a well and gets it back for her, and that's the end of the story. What I'd do in that scenario, is to probably ditch the doll. I mean, who wants a doll that's probably reeking of whatever's been down that well? Not to mention the germs and all that crap on it. Washing it would only remind you that it was probably in the soggiest, dirtiest place ever.

Eh, what do I know? I'm not an author. Whoever wrote this probably wrote it on their experience, so they probably still have that doll with them today or something.

Just as I start reading into the second book, which is about mythical creatures, I hear the fluttering of wings coming close to my window. It looks like I predicted right.

That reminds me, I could have just fast forwarded in time to avoid this crap, but then I realised I'd have to do more self-harm and miss out on a book. Oh well, at least I'm not shedding blood to let my clothes dry out faster. That's a bit too much.

"Eliza!...Eli-Eliza!...hah...that was too tiring..." I hear Blitz crashing on the stone outside of my apartment, momentarily shaking the room a little. "I dried the clothes for you! They should be wearable, I think."

I dragged myself out of the bed and went to the window once more, taking the wrinkly clothes from his hands.

"Nice." I thank him. "You can go now."

"Wait what?" He said. "I thought you said that you would leave the house?"

"I said that I can get out of the house quicker if they dry. I never said that I wanted to get out of the house though." I replied. "I said I can, if I wanted to."

Rainbow Blitz growled. Oh boy.

"All that's left for me to do is to do housework, and unless you want to spend time with me cleaning dirty dishes and dry coffee mugs, you're welcome to help." I said. It's not like he'll ever do it anywa-

"Alright."

"Wait what?" I look back at him.

"I'll do it." He said. His ears suspiciously flick straight up for some reason.

And, like an idiot, he starts crawling through the small window. The small window that is too small for his bulky size. Of course, he goes in head first, which causes him trouble when he eventually gets stuck on the window when his arms start fitting through. This guy is as wide as a door. My window is half that width, so when you see a large, bipedal stallion shove it's head and one arm through a window that's clearly too small for him, you're going to start laughing.

"Not through the window!" I giggle at his misfortune.

"It's not my fault it's small." He mutters.

"Go through the door, you fucking moron." I slowly calm down. "And wait a sec or two, I'm getting changed."

And with that, I pulled the curtains on him, regardless if he is stuck there or not. I just hope he doesn't break it when he tries to get out, or else the landlord will get mad.

"Alright, start with taking those mugs out of the coffee table and take out the bag of groceries I left there." I start working on the dishes.

"Alrighty," Rainbow Blitz walks over to the cofee table. "Your house is really small."

"Thanks, I can't really afford much unlike you." I dabble the waters.

"I-I didn't mean it like that."

"Just leave it alone."

"Okay."

Rainbow Blitz catches sight of my bed, noticing the stains. He slowly hovers towards it whilst I busy myself with the dishes. He lands quietly on the bed, already noticing the smell coming from it. He sniffs a bit, stops, then sniffs a bit more. Before you know it, his snout is lightly pressed on the bed, his ears flickering about and his wings fluttering erratically.

He passes by the nightstand, passing Eliza's 'work' towel.

"You really do spend a lot of time here...don't you?" He said.

"Get your nose out from where I sleep." I shout.

"That's not all you do." He mutters.

"It's not like you don't do the same thing at your own bed. You probably soak the entire sheets."

"...Shut up."

Feelings.

"Mornin' Eliza."

"Mm."

It was Monday in this world, and it was just another morning for me. Applejackson catches me opening the wooden gates to his family's property and waves at me. I bought a new face towel yesterday after I spent three hours cleaning the cum rag that Fluttershy almost spotted when I was in the bathroom. She didn't mind washing the bedsheets whilst I only cleaned a rag, which was awfully kind of her. I had to throw away my previous work rag before she could notice the smell so I threw it in the trash chute. She did manage to catch wind of what I was doing with the bedsheets, though she admits to me that hers would have been the same if she was in heat. Rainbow blitz left when I got to Fluttershy's. His only explanation was that he felt 'uncomfortable' around lots of women. I called bullshit, but he left before I could utter those words. I spent the night cuddling Fluttershy like a teddy bear until we left in the morning to clean my sheets.

Applejackson kept a large grin as I walked towards him.

"New rag?" He said.

"Yup." I replied.

"Why though?" He asked.

"Someone else used it." I muttered.

"....Alright. Do women in your world often panic about who's touched their belongings?" Applejackson opened the doors to the barn-like house.

"Yep." I said.

I entered the household to be immediately attacked my Applebloom, who jumps into my arms. She screams out "Ellie!" right in front of my face as she dives for my breasts. I couldn't force her off without it looking mean so I decided to just roll with it and hug the ball of pony fur that clung to my body. I helped out with making the table and I promised to help out with cleaning after breakfast to honour the deal Applejackson and I made.

Breakfast was the same as always, which were apple-flavoured dishes. You'd be able to pass off a caramel apple into the mix and they'd consider it as breakfast. Granny Smith had her own mushy apple servings due to her age and because of her teeth. I ate what I could before my appetite started to hate the taste of apples. Applejackson sat next to me in a large wooden table whilst Applebloom sat on my other side.

I occasionally saw glances from him every now and then, but I ignored it.

After eating what I could before the taste of apples ruined my appetite I started to gather the empty plates to the sink. I felt a little bit embarrassed to see my own plate have some leftovers  whilst the others have it practically clean, but obviously I'm not accustomed to it like they are. I grabbed the nearest soap bottle so that I could start the dishes when Applejackson came to my side.

"Breakfast good?" He asks.

"It tastes of apples, like always." I reply.

"So it was good?" He peers closer.

"I guess." I mutter.

"Thanks!" He smiles.

I look back at him, raising a brow in confusion. He stands there with a goofy smile. "I made breakfast today." He adds. Oh, that's it? Why would you be so happy about that? I start making progress on the plates, scrubbing them like a pro. Applejackson took the liberty of drying the plates that I recently washed, making it easier for them later on in the day. Applebloom watched us from behind with a dreamy look on her face. That kid has a strange obsession about me getting together with Jack for reasons I don't know yet.

"Let's hurry Eliza, noon's risin'." Applejackson nudges me.

We head out to the fields, staring at the rows upon rows of orchards. I always feel a bit of pride when I know that I've helped in clearing such a large row of trees. It's that sense of accomplishment that you feel when you've read a big book or if you've finished a game. I guess that's the only thing I can get my hopes up for in this place unless I find a better job.

Applejackson removes his shirt, placing it on a nearby fence as he approached the nearest full orchard. I look at him, wondering why he took his shirt off. I approach the tree next to him, getting to business. I wondered for a few seconds whether his amber skin would reflect the sun's rays, but then I quickly dismissed it when those thoughts crossed over to thinking about his body...which obviously managed to slip in an image of his cock from the last time I saw him.

I tried to clear my head of those thoughts, getting horny on the job will do nothing good.

"How was your weekend?" Applejackson tried to initiate some small talk.

"Okay, I guess. I met Blitz and we did stuff." I replied.

"W-what kind of stuff?" He said, freezing for a bit.

"Well he saw me naked and offered to help me clean my shitty apartment. He really didn't do anything except sniff my bedsheets." I casually slipped the details out.

"W-what?" Applejackson flicks his ears up in surprise. "Na-naked?"

"Yeah, but he's a child so he'll probably forget it with his 10-second memory span." I reached up to get the last apple.

"How are you so tolerant?" He questioned.

I got down from the tree and threw the apples in my barrel. I look over and see that Applejackson has made no progress whatsoever. Normally he should be a barrel ahead from me by now, but he's done jack shit since he started talking about how my weekend has been. He's still looking at me, waiting for me to answer his question.

"I just am, now are you going to get working or are you just gonna stand there like an idiot? I'm doing more than you right now." I grumbled.

"R-right, sorry." Applejackson resumed his work.

My own boss is doing less work than me, which I definitely don't expect since he's a hulking monster who could probably snap a skinny pony in half. Something's wrong with him today, but I don't really get what it is. We continue as the day goes on, clearing row after row of orchards whilst having some breaks in between. Applebloom came by with snacks and drinks for us to use, which helped a lot. After the break we resumed the work in silence.

The atmosphere felt strange today, it wasn't like all the others. Applejackson hasn't been this mouthy ever since a few days ago at the barn. What was it that he said again? I don't remember. All I know was that he was trying to impress me for reasons unknown.

"Jack." I spoke out as we walked with the barrels.

"Yeah?" He said, carrying one in each arm.

I look at him to ask a question, but I quickly get stunned at the sight in front of my eyes.

His stetson is hanging low, showing his sly emerald eyes and his beguiling smile. His broad shoulders and strong arms beckon to me, which is something that I never expected. The sweat on his chest  make it shine and the scent of apples from his heaving breath oddly charm me in some way.

It was happening again, like last time. This stupid instinct inside me that makes me feel like I want him to ravish me. I've always had a weakness for strong men, what with their ability to hold me in their arms and keep me in their bear-hug embrace. The feeling of their hot body touching mine in a cold winter's night could be enough to get me going.

It's not my fault I have these feelings. Cavewomen would have the instinct to breed when a strong caveman came walking around, I'm no less different except for the breeding part.

I look away from him, calming myself down whilst I gripped the barrel hard. Pain has always been a cheap way to calm your mind, in my case.

"What's with you?" I face away from him.

"Whaddya mean?" He said.

"Why are you acting so strange?" I replied. "You're doing things that you've never done before, such as this." I take a moment to poke his half-naked body, relishing his soft skin before I had to force my finger away.

"Ahm just..hot, ya know?" He chuckles.

"You'd never have done that a few weeks ago." I flip the barrel over and I start rolling it instead of dragging it.

"Y-yeah, ah guess." His tone lowers. "Are ya mad at me?"

"Of course I am, I don't like change." I force out.

"Why not Eliza?" He stops carrying his barrels and moves in front of me, forcing me to stop. "Why don't you like change?"

I furrow my brow and I keep my sights away from him.

"I don't want things to suddenly change alright? I'm terrible at adapting to it." I start to move around him, but he grabs hold of my shoulder.

"You'd be terrible at adapting to me taking an interest in you?" He frowns.

Of course I fucking would, I'd have to deal with compliments day in and day out. Every day I'd have to work with another Applebloom, only with more muscles.

"Yes." I reply.

He lowers his hat, covering his eyes. He slowly walks away, leaving the two barrels behind. Ugh, I've done something wrong haven't I?

"Jack." I call out. "Come on." I follow him and grab his hand. "Why are you so sad?"

He sighs.

"Eliza, Ah just need some time to myself, alright?" He stares at me, red eyed.

"Are you crying?" I look closer.

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Ah don't wanna tell ya." He said as he continued walking.

"Quit being such a foal and tell me!" I shouted.

He grips my hand tightly, causing me to yelp.

"Do ya wanna know? huh?! Fine!" He shouts.

"No need to shou-"

"Ah like ya Eliza! Ah've liked ya ever since ya met me all those years ago! You've been the only mare that's ever helped me at work without ogling me. You're not like the others, but that's why I like ya. For once somepony was brave enough to actually answer the poster that I've been littering around town years before you ever came." His tone calms down as tears rushed to his eyes.

"I know, I get it bu-"

"Do you know how it's like to be the envy of every stallion? Do you know what it's like to be every mare's dream? All ah've ever wanted is a pony that I could actually speak to without them tremblin in fear or in awe." He hold both my hands. "But when you came...I was too scared to even speak to ya, because I was afraid you just be one of those mares. But then you actually did what I wanted...and you just worked without a single peep."

"Am I really worth that much to you?" I asked.

"More than anythin in the world, Eliza. I've been tripping myself doing these stupid things in hopes of you actually lookin at me in a different light." He smiles deeply. "Ah have feelings for ya, and that ain't gonna change. All I ask of you is to acknowledge them."

But I don't want to.

"If I did that, then you'd act different." My lips purse. "And I honestly don't like the way you act towards me right now, sorry."

"W-whaddya mean?"

"I mean..." I sigh.

I know that something will happen when I say this, but goddammit I just can't handle a lovestruck pony interrupting my daily life.

"...I mean that I prefer the Applejackson who worked silently and gave a smile every now and then. I prefer the one who was my boss and not some friend." I cross my arms.

Applejackson lets go of me, surprised.

"I should have told you this before....but I just see you as a boss and myself as an employee, just like your 'Help wanted' poster said all those years ago." My body feels like it's getting pulled by something, but I just can't pin down what it is. It's been there ever since we started this conversation.

Applejackson stand there, mouth agape and with eyes wider than I've ever seen before. It wasn't long before they glared at me. He walks away.

"Elusive was right. You're just a penniless mare who cares more about herself than the friends around her."

Do-Over.

"Elusive was right. You're just a penniless mare who cares more about herself than the friends around her."

Applejackson walked away, huffing as I stood there.

My chest felt like it was being stabbed and my eyes felt irritated. I touch them, feeling a wet liquid streaming from my eyes. My hands were shivering, though it wasn't particularly cold outside.

I was crying.

Though, I felt more angry than sad. All I could do was to just stand there and watch as he leaves me alone. My eyes dart, finding the apple barrel that I left on the floor. I throw off the lid letting loose a few apples from it's innards. I pick up one, barely. I threw it at Applejackson with all my might despite me having a terrible aim. I fell forward as I disregarded the strength of my throw, landing on the grassy floor.

The apple hits hard on Applejackson's back, causing him to flinch. He glares back at me, but quickly eases when he saw me on the floor, sobbing. His angered, stoic face drastically changed to fear for what he has caused.

I stayed on the ground, face first with the Earth. I don't know why I'm feeling like this. I don't know how one thing could ever cause so much harm. It tore me open, leaving me as a weak and feeble version of my former self. I could hear the pitter-patter of Applejackson's hooves approaching me. I picked myself up, covering my face and wiping it at the same time.

I didn't want to see him nor his stupid voice. I felt so ashamed.

"Eliz-"

Before he could speak anymore, I blindly ran away, tripping as I did so. I reached the barn and forced it open. Applejackson was right behind, closing the distance. I got inside and shut the barn doors, locking them so that he couldn't get in. My legs stumbled around in the increasing darkness, causing me to fall on top of a hay bale.

I bawled my eyes out, drowning away Jack's sounds as I wallowed in what I thought was misery.

"Elusive was right. You're just a penniless mare who cares more about herself than the friends around her."

"Elusive was right. You're just a penniless mare who cares more about herself than the friends around her."

"Elusive was right! You're just a arrogant mare who cares more about herself than the friends around her!"

"Get it! Get it out of my damn head!" I screamed as I curled up into a ball.

It was like acid to my heart, and I couldn't find anything to get rid of it. I rolled around not knowing what to do. Everything felt so dark and so cold. My legs were burning and my hands were aching. Hatred and sorrow corrupted my own body.

I hate him.

But why am I feeling like this? What is wrong with me?

He's just a stupid moron who thinks that his body can fool me. It nearly did too. I don't have any feelings for him, I know that.

"Eliza! Open the door!" He shouts.

"Fuck off and die in a fire!" I spewed out from my gritted teeth. My hair fell down and clung to the stream of tears that ran down my eyes. Everything looked so blurry that I couldn't distinguish what was in front of me anymore. My back hits the mountain of barrels, swaying it slightly.

"Please...Open the door." He pleads as he bangs the large barn doors, shaking the lock.

I never wanted this to happen, it was his fucking fault that he has feelings for me. If only he never had them. If only.

My blurry sights catch a shining object in my peripherals. It was a rusting knife that was probably used to open up old barrels. I scuttle towards it, crawling on the floor with absolutely no dignity. My right hand grabs it tightly, forcing the iron into my flesh. It was blunt, and I couldn't feel any blood dripping.

So I squeezed harder.

The pain slightly distracted me from my suffering, which I was thankful for.

"Applebloom, find the crowbar and help me open this damn barn!" I could hear his muffled shouts.

There's no point doing that, since I'll be gone before you come in.

I hold the knife close to my chest, spilling it with my blood. The pain grew more and more, to where I couldn't take it anymore. It hurt so much, but it was better than what I felt before.

I drew blood.

So much blood.

The knife digs deeper and deeper into my right hand, caressing the nerves inside it. I felt so much pain that I started to regret what I had done. My injured thumb soon rips itself open as it accidentally presses on the rugged iron. I lay my back on something smooth, giving me some form of comfort.

The blood covers my right hand like a glove. It cascades down to my shirt, filling my nose with the rich scent of metal that was my blood. I finally let go, wondering whether it was enough to jump back in time. It was probably more than enough, but I just wanted to be sure.

I lay there, sniffling with eyes so irritated from my tears. I couldn't wipe them with my hands as they were covered in a pretty gruesome liquid, so I was left with a blurry vision. My hands grew cold and exposed. My chest was eroding from the consistent pain that I felt from before. I felt like I was going to die.

I wanted to die. It'd be a lot easier. But then I'd be ruining the reason as to why I came to this new world. My eyes start to close from them being tired throughout the day. I just hope I don't die when I sleep. My thoughts race.

They find Applejackson...I could remember his surprised face when he saw someone answering to his stupid poster.

If only I never met him.

"Ah don't think anyone's coming, Bailey. They all look the same anyway: darn scared of me."

"Eeyup."

"Ah mean, mares come too. But they just stand there ogling me like ah'm some kind of candy! They're meant ta work, not stare!"

"Eeyup."

"Are ya gonna say anything else?"

"Go easy on 'em little bro."

"Ah am!"

I could hear him speaking behind some doors. I think I'm still in the barn.

I don't think I'm in the mood to get up. My hand stings like hell and I look like a murder scene. I unwrap my work rag from my neck and wrap it around my hand, ignoring the gaping gash that I just made. It's a rather painful price to pay for going back in time, but at least it's better than dealing with confrontation. The pain takes my thoughts away, making it easier to calm myself. I sometimes wonder if I'm starting to become a masochist.

I prop myself up, standing weakly. I need to find some disinfectant or else I'll die from whatever alien infection faster than I can travel back in time. Fortunately this barn is used to store barrels of apples which can be turned into cider or something else, so there's no animals and shit particles floating around here that can enter my wound.

I trudge towards the large barn doors, pressing my eyes against the cracks to see if anyone is nearby. I saw a glimpse of Applejackson and his sister working in the far fields, giving me a chance to get out of this place. I unlock the inside of the barn and carefully push the doors out, peeking out to see if anyone else is nearby.

"Whatcha doin'?" Comes a young voice.

"Gah! shit!" I tense my hands as they slammed on the door, causing me to hiss in pain after I flinched.

"W-what's that on your...hoof?" I look to see an oblivious Applebloom, who looked a bit concerned from the rag that wrapped my hand. It was splotched with red blood, giving off a metallic smell.

"I'm a bit injured, can you help me Bloom?" I put up a friendly face for her, hoping that she'd help me find some medical attention for my injury.

"Have you been crying?" She asked further.

"That's not the time right now sweetie, I really need some help." I pleaded. She nodded fervently and trotted away, prompting me to follow her.

I kept my eyes away from Applejackson. Just a glance would just remind me of what happened recently, and I'm in a bad enough shape thanks to what he's done. Applebloom got into the house before me and managed to bring medical supplies with her before I reached the front porch. You gotta love how earth ponies are the most underrated type in this world.

"I brought the bandages!...uh..." Applebloom tilted her head. "What's your name again?"

"Sweetie, now's not the time." I grabbed the roll of bandages from her. "Pass the disinfectant."

"...Alright." She willingly handed it to me, keeping her face puzzled for some reason. I unwrapped the rag, hearing the sticky sounds of my blood clot ripping themselves away from my wound, stinging my hand even more.

It looked gruesome. Purple marks coloured the background whilst a diagonal, crimson gash stretched from the gap between my index finger and my thumb. The topmost rings around my fingers had been slashed too, looking redder than the other two. Scabs had started to form around the edges of my wound but it was just too wide to cover the whole of it. Therefore it just left the rich, shiny flesh riddled with liquid and solid blood in the middle. The whole thing looked so disgusting that I could see Applebloom gagging a bit from the sight.

I opened the bottle of disinfectant with my mouth and spat the cap off, taking care to not get that in my mouth. I dumped all of its contents onto my hand, thinking that the more there is, the better it will do.

What felt afterwards for the next 5 seconds was like acid eroding my hand to the bone. It was like holy water on a vampire's eyes. I was like the witch that was dying from the bucket of water that Dorothy threw at me. I wanted to scream, but it would just attract attention. Instead I just puckered my lips and bit them hard, drawing blood as I whimpered in front of a kid.

The sizzle of the hydrogen peroxide searing my flesh and leaving behind bloody foam as a product is reassuring. There are better ways to treat an infected wound, but it doesn't feel comforting unless you see the it get cleaned.

"Thanks." I smiled. "You just saved me from dying a horrible death."

"You're welcome?" She replied.

I slip the bloody rag in my pocket, taking my leave as I did so. Applejackson will have to wait later, I'm too tired to do anything at all. Time travel can really take a toll on you, depending on how far you go.

...My heart still aches, though it wasn't as painful as before.

"Um, hello?" Applebloom "Are ya gonna stay for lunch?" The filly shouts out as I walk away.

"See ya Applebloom!" I shout out.

Ponies start recognizing me and my bloody shirt, but I quickly hide in the alleys for safety. Sneaking around is gonna be harder since it's currently noon around here.

On my way back to my home, I found some posters hanging around the walls to the large apartment complex. I saw a glimpse of the landlord staring at one that his daughter was holding. It was yellow with an apple decoration in one of it's corners. If it's some another apple festival that Applebloom's family is holding that I missed in the morning, then it can wait later.

I pry open my crusty door, closing it and landing on the bed, face first. Going back in time to this afternoon really hit me hard. I don't why it did, it's usually the longer time travel trips that drain me.

Well, at least I'm going to avoid what was going to happen in the next few hours.

My Face Is Always Like This.

Whilst I finished the last of these five day old dishes, Rainbow blitz looked over to my book rack and stared at the variety of books that I read. They ranged to heavy encyclopaedias all the way to children's stories. It's rather Dusk Shine's fault for sending me the easier books, but I don't really mind what they are so long as I have something to do in the evening.

"I never knew you were a fan of Daring Do." He said.

"I'm not, it's just one of the books Dusk Shine sends me everyday." I reply back.

"So, is he like your personal librarian or something?" He looks at me. "Like, he gives you the books that you ask for?"

"No. He's just someone who comes here every day to give me what I need for the evening." I wipe the sink clean of any fluids, using the wire wool to erase any grime that has accumulated over the months. I dry my hands, looking at the bag of groceries that I placed down on the coffee table. If I remember correctly, I think there's some sugar, some carrots, a bottle of milk and a random assortment of sweets and cupcakes in there.

I move over to the bag, dipping my hand in to fetch the box the cupcakes were held in. I bought them over from Bubble Berry's workplace. What was it called...the Sugarcube corner? I think that's it. The cupcakes have slightly smudged the transparent front of the box, but that's not much of a problem. I can happily lick that off anyway.

I open the box and take out two cupcakes that looked the least damaged. I handed one over to Rainbow Blitz and one for myself. "Here." I said. "You'll get another one if you actually do some cleaning this time."

"Heh, sorry." He said, rubbing his mane. "But it's fine, I'm good with only one of these because I stopped by the Sugarcube corner for one earlier in the morning."

"What? Are you on a diet or something?" I jeered.

"No! I just have a terrible sweet tooth, that's all." He replies defensively.

"Fatty." I smirk. He pouts.

He starts clearing out the other contents of the brown grocery bag, laying them on the clear and clean side of the kitchen sink. I quietly scarf down breakfast with my injured hand whilst I grab all the mugs I can with my other hand. I managed to get four, which only left me with 2 rotting coffee mugs to put by the sink and wash another day.

"Blitz, wash these mugs." I place the mugs by his side.

"Dude, I'm not touching that. It smells of bad coffee and it's probably sticky." He instinctively moves away from it.

"Well someone has to do it." I said.

"And that won't be me." He replied.

I sighed.

"Fine, just wipe the damn coffee table and let me do it. If you can't even do that, then I'm kicking you out." I grumbled.

"That's not nice." He mutters.

"You know what's not nice? having a moron not help you out when you ask him to. The most you've done here is eat one of my cupcakes." I returned to the sink and grabbed the wire wool.

"I dried your clothes." He said.

"Only because you came around. Otherwise I'd still be naked." I said. "Just do what I've told you and be quiet for a bit, I'm not in a mood to talk right now."

And so, we cleaned in silence.

Peaceful silence.

We managed to clean most of my apartment, and by 'we' I mean '90% me, 10% Rainbow Blitz'. I ate the rest of the cupcakes whilst Blitz took a carrot or two from me. He apologized after I finished the mugs, which is what he usually does when he knows he's done something wrong. That's one thing I like about him. He's already manlier than most of the testosterone-built men I've met.

I still haven't washed the bed, so I might try and look somewhere else to crash, hopefully Fluttershy's. I'm too tired to wash the entire duvet and bed sheets and my hands have been poorly working ever since I woke up. I just hope I haven't infected my injury whilst I washed the mugs and plates. Keeping them wet is always a bad idea.

"So, what're ya going to do now?" Rainbow Blitz said.

"I don't know. I might head over to Fluttershy's place with some books." I replied.

"That's boring." He said.

"Not to me." I said.

I grabbed two books from the 'unread' row and grabbed my keys. I adjusted my shirt and pulled up my pants whilst Rainbow Blitz observed in silence. I found my hairband and carefully tied a large percentage of my hair into a ponytail. I couldn't tie up the rest so I left them hanging on my fringe and my ears like some weird hybrid hairstyle.

"So where are you heading? I'm going off to Fluttershy's." I say as I open the door.

"Uh, I don't know." He replied. "I usually follow whatever the heck you do when you go outside."

Oh, alright then.

"You can tag along, but we're not going to places where there might be a lot of people. I'm not used to those things." I opened the door and stepped out, blocking my eyes from the bright sunlight. Rainbow Blitz follows and grabs the railing in front of my door. He vaults over it, falling through 2 stories until his wings take action and soften his landing.

I closed my apartment door and locked it, though there wouldn't be any sense in locking it in the first place since there's really nothing valuable in there. I looked down at Blitz, who was looking at me.

"Catch!" I threw the books at him, to which he promptly dodged them as they crashed on the floor.

"What are you doing?!" He shouted.

"I said catch you moron!" I replied.

"Eh, it doesn't matter, they're just books." He said as he picked them up from the floor. One of them had doggy-eared three quarters of its pages, whilst the other remained perfectly fine, if not for a bit of dirt on the pages. I leisurely walked down the building, stepping down the stairs and sliding down the rails until I got to the bottom floor. Rainbow Blitz was cleaning one of the books and gave the other one to me. We started walking towards the town center, but I managed to steer our course away from it.

People- I mean ponies saw us as we walked, but none of them minded, save for the select few who whistled or whispered behind our backs as we walked through. Blitz seemed fine with it, smiling all the while whilst I pretended to read the blurb from one of my books.

"This is why I hate walking where there's a lot of people. There's too many women talking about me behind my back." I grumbled.

"Relax, you're some weird alien creature. Obviously ponies are gonna start talking about you." He replied, patting my back. I look back at him and his face, it looks like he's smiling. "I mean, the way we're walking right now, it's now wonder they're gossiping about you."

"What do you mean 'the way we're walking right now'?" I said.

I noticed that we were a bit too close to each other as we walked, and that the arm that Blitz patted my back with hasn't really left it. In fact, it was groping my left shoulder, instinctively pulling me in closer to him. His wings also flared up, and a slight hint of a blush wiggled under his pony cheeks.

I held my books close, pushing them up to my breasts as I slowly pulled my body away from him.

"Looks like you finally noticed." He chuckled.

"I'm glad I did, I don't want others looking at us like we're a couple." I faced away from him, staring straight ahead.

"That's a bit harsh."

"How so?"

Rainbow Blitz stopped, his mouth agape but with now words coming out of it. He stuttered a few sounds until he started to clear his throat.

"N-nothing, nevermind." He forced a smile. That's weird, he's acting a bit funny.

"Dude, did I do something wrong?" I ask.

"It's nothing, just leave it, yeah?" He rubbed his mane.

There he goes again, rubbing his mane. I think he did that when he apologised. Is he saying sorry? It doesn't feel like it. Or is this another way of saying sorry? But what did he do to make him apologise? Argh!

"Let's just keep going. Maybe get an ice cream along the way." I continued to walk, causing Blitz to follow.

We walked in silence after that, which I kind of enjoyed a bit. Though, what happened earlier still bugged me. I can ask Fluttershy about it when I get to her place anyway. We decided to walk through some alleyways to pass through the ponyville square and plaza, and we took up a small bite at a local cafe for lunch. I paid the bill, of course.

That reminds me, my landlord's gonna come at me for my rent, which I think is due in three days.

We walked past an ice cream stand and Blitz raced past me when he saw it. I shouted at him to get me a vanilla ice cream, and he did. It looks like he DOES have money, after all. He's probably even poorer than me if he couldn't man up to pay back at the cafe. He got me a double-headed vanilla ice cream cone, whilst he got himself a blueberry flavour ice cream with rainbow sprinkles and blue syrup. I giggled a bit when I saw the mixture of colours scattered around his ice cream.

"You look like a child when you hold that." I mocked him.

"Is that the only face you make, Liz?" Blitz said. "You were giggling a second ago, but your face doesn't really say so."

"Hm? My face is always like this." I reply. "Anger, sadness, happiness, when I injure myself, when I come, it's always the same. What's different is what I say afterwards."

"So, is your face stuck like that because someone used magic on it?"

"Nope."

"Well, I'll try my best to change this stupid look of yours."

"Good luck trying, kid."