“Rise and shine, sleepy head!”
SPLASH!
A waterfall came crashing straight down onto the unconscious human from the non-existent ceiling above.
He shrieked, jerking awake from the sudden splash of cold water. “W-what the fu—”
Disoriented and confused, he coughed and sputtered. He blew his nose to get rid of any foreign substances up his nose and gave a quick rub on his eyes to reaffirm his status.
With his vision returned, he immediately took in his surroundings. Everywhere was dark, or rather, it was all black and the only thing that had light was his own body. There was literally nothing around him no matter which direction he faced.
That was until he finally looked up and stared at an inconceivable creature before him. He blinked and rubbed his eyes once more, but to his annoyance the illusion didn’t disappear.
It was a large serpent-like creature floating above him, but after taking a closer look, the human saw it was a fusion of different animal parts; making the hallucination all the more preposterous.
The creature stared down at him with a toothy grin on its face and its arms crossed. It was terrifying, but if it wasn’t the monstrous appearance that scared the disoriented human, then it was the devilish smirk that sent shivers down his spine. Then, as if by instinct, he quickly got to his feet and started to run away from the creature, that is until he slipped and fell from the leftover water on the floor. But as he landed, the floor stretched far lower and bounced him straight up. It then opened up beneath him, which the human thought was plainly ridiculous considering the entire room was just black. But then he shook his head realising the impending danger as he fell right into the abyss.
“Oh shoot, he fell in,” the creature said as it looked down the trapdoor.
He was screaming, spinning around in the air as he awaited the inevitable outcome. And as he looked around himself there was still nothing, only the blackness of the abyss. Yet the human still tried to cling onto something, anything, to prevent him from becoming a bloody pancake. Then with a thud he fell into a wooden fixture, which seemed so precise the human easily recognized it as being a chair. It almost felt uncanny.
“So are you comfy there?”
“GAH!” The human jumped but was still fixated on his seat. He seemed to be trapped which caused him to panic further while glaring at the creature before with the same evil smile he had on before. “Where am I? Who are you? What the fuck are you? What the fuck is going on? Why can’t I—mrph mrph.” Derek was cut off mid sentence as his mouth was zipped shut with an actual zipper.
“Shush, shush, shush. So many questions, so fast. You should breathe between words and calm down,” the creature suggested, snapping his paw and restraining the human further with binding straps.
“Mrph mrph mrph,” the human muffled in panic.
“Huh, what that you say?” The creature leaned in, cupping its ears with his talons. “Yes, I suppose the first three questions are important. My name is Discord,” the creature said, standing back, displaying a large neon light above him that read ‘Discord’, “and I’m a draconequus, the details of which are not important. And as for where you are, you are in my realm. Did that answer your questions, Derek?”
Derek could only stare at the creature and mulled over what it just said. Where the hell did that sign come from? What the hell is a draconequus and what did it mean by realm? How did he know my name? Derek tried to calm down to find a simple solution to this madness, but his mind drew a blank.
“Oh, do you perhaps think you're dreaming or going crazy? Well, you might be going a tad bit crazy, but I can assure you this is no dream.” Discord pinched Derek in the arm. Derek’s eyes grew large at the short pain, proving to him that this wasn’t a dream or hallucination as he hoped.
“Now, if I unzipped your mouth and untied you from your chair, will you promise to stay calm?”
Derek slowly nodded his head.
“Good, here we go.” Discord pulled the zipper off and untied him. Much to Discord’s delight, Derek was willingly calm.
Derek tried to open his mouth, but found that his mouth wasn't there. Derek jumped up with panic as he trace his face for his mouth opening. Nothing was there, it just felt like smooth skin where his mouth should be. Derek looked at Discord in panic, pointing at his mouth to the draconequus.
Discord first looked at Derek then looked at the zipper, he looked back at Derek then back at the zipper, a playful grin growing on his face. “Oh, it seem your mouth came off with the zipper. Here let me fix that.” Discord said, slapping the zipper on Derek’s face then peeling it off slowly like a cheap tatoo, leaving Derek’s mouth behind this time.
“What the fuck did you do to me?!” Derek screamed as soon as he was able to speak. “Stay away from me you… you… you monster!”
“Ouch, your words wound me so.” Discord snaked above Derek’s head and pretended to faint.
“I don’t care, just get me the fuck out of here or take me back home. I don't care which.”
“Oh, is this how you treat someone who saved your life?” Discord asked, hanging upside down near Derek’s face.
“What? Saved my life? You?” Derek asked in disbelief. He contemplated Discord’s statement and admittedly realized he had no recollection what happened to him before ending up in this place. But as he observed the freakish monstrosity before him, he couldn’t help but feel somewhat ominous. This creature, Discord, looked absolutely sinister, so why would he even save his life?
“Yes, you was about to go splat or even crunch. Here let me show you.”
Before Derek could respond, the room had morphed into a movie theater and that he was now sitting next to Discord, who had in his possession a pair of opera binoculars and popcorn.
“How did we… when did you?” Derek stammered as he looked around his new setting. Seeing the abomination of a creature was one thing, but transporting to a movie theatre in a blink might have been overkill, Derek pondered. And he had a feeling this wasn’t over yet.
“Magic my dear boy. Now hush, the film is about to start.”
Derek wanted to argue that magic didn’t existed, yet there was no explanation as to what was going on or how this creature was doing all of this. Derek couldn't even justify how this creature was even talking to him in the first place. A huge part of his mind told him that magic was indeed the best explanation for all of this, and the more he thought about it, the more he was inclined to believe it.
The theater lights started to dim as a black and white video showed up on screen. It had one of those old-fashioned three-two-one countdowns iconic in historic films. Derek simply surrendered, and just sat back and watched the screen.
“Meet Derek. He is our average seventeen year old teenager.”
Derek leaned in closer as he couldn't comprehend what he was being presented before him. It was almost like a documentation on him, presented by a deep and mature male voice.
“Today, Derek decided to go to a party at his friend's house. Even though Derek is underaged, he decided it would be a good idea to have a few drinks of liquor, like most normal teenager would. Derek had fun at the party, laughing and joking around with his friends. Later in the night as the party was ending, Derek figured it would be a good idea to drive back home. Derek wasn’t too drunk, as he made sure he only had a few beers, but he had enough to impair his vision. Driving down the road, Derek soon came to a turn. But seeing the turn far too late, Derek found himself sliding on the turn as if he was drifting. Without knowing how, Derek’s car skidded off the cliff.”
Derek’s eyes widened as the memory of that night finally came back to him. He soon started to pat his body down, wondering how he even survive that crash with no injuries.
“But as our young lad was falling to his doom, his savior, Discord, appeared!”
The entire screen was occupied with an almost cartoonish representation of a smiling majestic creature, and that was putting it lightly according to Derek. Discord was dressed up in a stereotypical latex superhero getup, fitted with a large fluttering cape, boots, tight underwear worn outside and belt, plus a large ‘D’ emblazoned on his shirt. A bright halo was shining behind the unorthodox hero while a orchestral brass fanfare was playing in the background.
“Creating a large bean bag with a snapped of his finger. The car crashed into it without any damage done to it. Yet our young driver managed to hit his head on the steering wheel and knock himself out, giving himself a concussion. Discord, being the nice draconequus that he was, took the young lad out of his car and brought him to his realm, where his injuries would be quickly healed by magic. Discord then also took the liberty to turn the car gently upside down and draw a crude ,smiling face on the door before escaping into the portal with the young teen on a gurney. Once again our hero saves the day!”
Derek watched as the video came to an end and credits started to rolled. The lights in the theater came back on, but Derek stayed watching the screen, unable to comprehend what he just saw.
“Well, what did you think? It was quite… smashing, wasn't it?” Discord said with a chuckle.
Derek put a hand to his forehead, where he remember hitting himself at before blacking out. “So... that's what happened?”
“Every motion,” Discord answered.
“...Why did you flip my car upside down and drew a face on it?”
“No reason. Just imagine the authorities’ faces once they arrive to the scene.” Discord snapped his talon and was now wearing a police uniform with a magnifying glass. “Won’t they be surprised.”
“Officer, we do not understand. How do a car fly off a cliff and lands upside down without a dent or scratch on it? And where is the driver, the door doesn’t look like it was broken in? And… is that a face drawn on the door?” Discord said with a stern voice, then he buckle over and started to laugh. “They will be so baffle and confuse for months, maybe even years.”
Derek only looked at Discord with mild amusement. While he did think that was pretty funny and would have joined in on the laugh, right now, he wasn't in the mood for any jokes. “Well, thank you for saving my life, but I really must get back home. Can you take me back to my car or take me home and bring my car back with you?”
Discord stopped laughing and raise one eyebrow at the question. Snapping his talon, the room change into that of a business room. Derek was now sitting in front of a large desk as Discord turned around in his chair from behind the desk.
“My boy, you must know as well as I do that not everything in life come free of charge,” Discord said, folding his talon and paw. “Including life.”
Derek looked at Discord to see if he was joking, and if he was, then Discord had one hell of a poker face.
“Okay, so what is it that you want? In terms of saving my life that is,” Derek asked, raising an eyebrow
“Oh, nothing too big. All I want is to play a simple game with you.” A smile grew on Discord’s face.
“A game?” Derek queried, eyeing Discord with suspicion.
“Oh yes, a simple game of hide and seek.”
“Hide and seek? Why do you wanna play a kids game like that?”
“I can assure you that this is no mere game for little kids.” Discord brought out a deck of cards and started to shuffle them.
“How so?”
“Simple, it's a game for your life.”
“My life?”
“Yes, your life. Since I saved you, your life now belongs to me.”
“Wait a minute? What the fuck are you on about?! It don’t work like that!” Derek yelled, now standing up with both his hands slammed on the desk, glaring at Discord.
Discord gave out a hearty laugh as lighting flashed in the background, even though it wasn't raining. “All righty then, let's make a better deal then.”
“What kind of Better Deal?” Derek eyes were firmly fixed on the draconequus before him.
“This kind of deal: We will play a game of hide and seek with your life at stake. If you win, I will give you back your life.” Discord placed a King of Spades on the table. “I’d then send you home with your car,” Discord placed a Queen of Spade on the table, “and you’ll also get one free wish.” Discord concluded by placing an Ace of Spades on the table.
Each card had a image of what Discord mentioned. The King had a picture of a ghost on it, the Queen had a picture of him and his car, and the Ace had the words ‘One Free Wish’ on it.
“And if you win, you just get my life?” Derek asked sceptical.
“Not just your life, my boy. See if I win, not only do I get your life,” Discord placed down a King of Diamonds, “you will also become my servant,” Discord place a Queen of Diamonds down, “and you won’t be able to return to your world, forever,” Discord concluded by placing down a Joker. “As far as others know, you are already dead.”
Derek saw the room shift into a grey liquid fog that swirled around them. His eyes were then set upon the two set of cards on the desk.
“And if I choose not to play your little game?” Derek asked, weighing his limited options.
“Well, I can leave you stuck here for all eternity or turn you into stone. Or better yet, turn you into a cloud and make you my personal pet. There are so many things I can do, but I’m not evil…” Discord drawn out. “Not anymore at least.”
The hairs on the back of his neck rose as Derek heard that last bit. “So where are we gonna play this game?”
Discord picked up the six cards and reshuffle them into the deck. Splaying the cards out fully on the desk which then changed into pieces of a map that suddenly snapped together, creating a holographic image of a town and forest.
“This game will take place in a different world, within a small town called Ponyville.” Discord pinched the map smaller as it now showed a full fledge map. “The world you will arrive in is called Equestria.”
“Another world?” Derek mumbled to himself as he watched.
“Since the game will take place in Ponyville, there will be a bubble placed over the town and a nearby forest call The Everfree Forest. If you so happened to walk out of the area, the game will be over. I will be hiding somewhere within the confined area. If you can find me, you win. You have one lunar cycle to find me, that's thirty days if you don't know. If you can't find me within that amount of time you lose, simple as that.”
“Thirty days? Will that be enough time to find him? The town does look small and Discord isn't small, so it should take me no longer than a week.” Derek said, under his breath in a self conversation. “What are the rules of your little game?”
“Ah yes, the rules.” Discord pulled out a scroll from nowhere and unfurled it. “The rules are loose but firm: Do Not Leave The Area.” He displayed the scroll to Derek with those exact same words.
“Is that the only rule?” Derek asked, suspicious laced in his voice.
Discord grinned mischiefly. “Being precautious are we? All right, the rules are as such,” Discord said taking a step back. He then snapped his talon causing the scroll to disappear and summon a whiteboard. Discord was also now wearing a military outfit with a pointer stick in his paws. “Do not leave the confined area,” Discord said, smacking the board with his stick, large red letters appeared that read what he said. “No mentioning of this game in any way.” Discord smacked the board again as more words appeared. “You get thirty days to find me.” Another smack followed by more words. Everything else is free for your use, that's including friends and magic.”
“Okay, that sounds—”
“But,” Discord cut in, “you will be in a new body.”
“A. New. Body?” Derek said, each word leaving his lips as though they was alien to him.
“Why yes, this is a different world, and as such, you will need a body to match it.”
“What type of world is this where I need a new body?” Derek yelled.
“Hmm?” Discord put a talon to his chin as he floated near Derek. “A magical world.”
“So what, I’m I going to be an elf or dwarf?”
“There are no humanoids in this world. Well, I’m not too sure about minotaurs, but anywho.” Discord snaked around Derek like a shark. “In this part of the world, you will become a pony.”
“A pony?”
“Yes, a pony. They are not that different from you and I in many ways, but they are nowhere near the same.”
“What? That makes absolutely no sense.”
“It makes perfect sense,” Discord said, laughing.
“So you're telling me that this world is run by ponies?”
“No no no, not just ponies but other races as well, but don't let that boggle your little mind.” Discord said, bopping Derek on the head. “Now, back to the main topic. I will change you into a pony, there are three different types of ponies: unicorn, pegasi and regular earth ponies. Each race has its perks and weaknesses, and for this game I will allow you to change between the different types.”
“So I can change anytime I want to between the three pony types?”
“Yes, and no.”
“What?”
“You can switch whenever you want to, but you can only switch a certain amount a times a day, and they do not roll over to the next day.”
“So how many times can I switch?”
“Four times. You can only get four times to switch before you are stuck in that type for the rest of the day.”
“Four times, three types of ponies.” Derek pondered that as he walked around the room, being mindful to not touch the liquid fog wall. “Ok let me get this straight. By accepting this game, I will be sent to a different world, I must not leave the area or mention anything about this game. I get thirty days to find you and I can switch between the three types at will, but I can only do it four times a day. Is that right?”
“Ding Ding Ding,” Discord announced, ringing a bell. “You are correct, and here is your prize my fine good lad.” Discord held out a prize box with a large red bow on it to Derek.
“Seriously?” Discord only shook the box as to prompt Derek to take it. Tentatively, Derek took the box and pulled the bow string. The box exploded in his hand in puff of smoke and confetti, when the smoke was cleared, Derek was holding a bright blue deck of playing cards in his hands. “Playing cards?”
“This is nothing but a game within a game my boy, and those cards will help you.”
Derek open the fresh deck of cards and slide them out of its box. Spraying the cards out in his hands, he saw that the cards was no different than that of a regular deck of playing cards. Derek looked up at Discord who had kept a grin on his face.
“Wait, what if you just started hopping around the place everytime I get close? How will I know you will stay put?”
“Are you accusing me of future cheating? I will do no such thing. Where’s the fun in that? I promise you on my chaotic magic that I will not leave my hiding place.”
Derek looked at Discord with an inkling suspicion. “You promise?”
“Why would I make a game only to cheat in it? I’m purely doing this for the fun of it, but you have my promise, scout's honor,” Discord said, placing a paw across his chest and and tried to make himself look dignified. “So, are you game?” Discord stuck his paw out for an agreement handshake.
Derek looked at Discord’s paw, spotting the joy buzzer Discord was holding. He weighed his options in his mind before giving an exasperated sigh. “Well, it’s not like I have a choice, do I? Ok, I’m game. I got nothing to lose at this point.” Derek reached out his hand to give a confirmed handshake.
“That's the spirit!” Discord said with an evil grin, gripping Derek’s hand in a tight shake.
“Gah!!!” Derek scream, feeling a jolt of electricity coursing through his veins. As soon as Discord let go, Derek felled to the floor on his knees, gripping at his smoking right hand. “What the fuck was that!? That wasn’t no joy buzzer!”
“That my boy, was our deal, sealed with a magical sigil.” Discord said, shaking the smoking joy buzzer away.
“A what?” Derek asked, turning his hand over. There branded on the palm of his hand was a red circle, with several disorientated lines. Derek watched as the lines started to rotate within the circle. The mark glowed yellow as the lines moved faster and faster, and with a small yellow spark, the mark on his palm was replaced with an image of a raging grey tornado with two yellow eyes at the top.
“Do you have any other questions?” Discord asked.
Derek shook his head with a ‘no’, his eyes never leaving the palm of his hand.
“Good, and what luck, Celestia is about to raise the sun. This is a perfect time to begin our game on the break of day, on a new month. Get ready, the game has just begun.”
“Huh?” Derek looked up at Discord, as he loomed over him.
SNAP!
With a snap, Discord teleported Derek out of the realm, a bright kaleidoscope of colors invaded his vision. His body swirled, vertigo hitting him with full force, as the disorientation took hold of his perplexed mind. Too soon did the hallucinating mindscape finally ended, as he dropped onto a patch of luscious grass and soil. Disorientated, dizzy and a throbbing headache, Derek passed out the moment he landed on the lush fill grass.
A bright light flashed next to Derek’s body, followed by a cackle that reverberated within the forest. “Now lets see how you fare yourself in our little game, in a new life,” Discord said, mulling over the knocked out human pony. “Hmm, the name Derek won't fit you here? I know! Let's give you a new name, shall we?” Discord put a talon to his chin as he thought about possible names for Derek. “Oh I just got the perfect name for you.” Discord snapped his talon and a notepad and pencil appeared. “Oh silly me, I forgot one more rule. I’ll just leave it on here.” Discord ripped the paper off the pad and taped it on Derek’s face. Smiling with satisfaction, Discord snapped his paw and teleported out.
Author's Note
This story has been formatting inside of GDoc for almost 6 month. I am so happy to finally get it out, despite that it been in GDoc, I only written up to chapter 2, sorry. Anyways, this story will be taking turns into the known and maybe unknown. I hope you pony stick around for the trouble that will confront Derek and this game.
Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter, leave a comment down below as I do enjoy reading them. 
Time to get up.
Derek’s body shivered as a sudden cool breeze washed over him. He groaned as he woke up, oblivious to his own predicament for a few moments as he stretched. With a final wide yawn, Derek took in his surroundings.
“What the…” Derek said, trying to hop up on his feet, but then stumbled onto his stomach the moment he tried to stand.
With a mixture of dizziness, incoordination, and a draining sensation, Derek couldn't even find the strength to stand up on his own two feet. Looking down at his hands, Derek could only stare owlishly at the two things in front of him: a note, and a dark grey fur limb. Speechless with mild terror, Derek read over the note first before the panic started to kick in.
Hello my boy, I hope you are well rested because our game has just begun. I hope you like your new pony body. Along with your new body, I took the liberty to also give you a new name. Your name will be Silver Line. Just a last minute point of info to go along with the rules, you must try to learn and act as a regular pony citizen to evade suspicion. Have fun!
Guess I need to learn my new name now. Derek sighed as the recent events of what happened earlier came back to him.
Looking down, he couldn't help himself to try and shake his hands, only to find that the limb moved instead. He tried to curl a fist, yet the front hooves bent inwards.
“Where am I?” Derek asked himself. He looked around and found himself filled dread as he noted where he had woken up at.
Derek had found himself, what seemed to be, within a large forest, but only at the edge and not deep within it. The large, formidable, dark trees looked damp as both the branches and leaves hanged limp in the air. Thick moss and large vines covered the majority of the trees, as the canopy blocked out any form of direct sunlight from the sky. Ferns and bushes grew wild around him, with some of the bushes even having thorns thicker than those found on roses sticking out. With the small amount of light protruding from the forest edge, Derek could tell that there was a weak, thin, opaque fog just above the forest floor.
“I swear, if a motherfucking headless horseman comes waltzing out of the bushes, I’m going to smash a branch on top of someone’s head.” Derek mumbled under his breath as he attempted to stand once again. “If I don’t run first.” He squeaked from the sudden chill down his spine.
Taking a few, slow, testing steps, Derek managed to get a bare understanding of walking on all fours. After soon walking around for a bit, Derek felt his movement were becoming close enough to natural, as natural as could be to him anyway. Looking out through the fog, Derek managed to spot, what he believed to be, Ponyville in the far distance.
“Guess that’s where I’m going to go play this damn game…” Derek mumbled to himself as he headed towards the unfamiliar town. “I wonder if they are hostile.”
***
Derek found himself speechless to what he saw. Unicorns, Pegasi, and regular ponies had coats and manes of pastel colors. He watched in surprise as the ponies went about their daily lives, chatting amongst each other like any human would.
Derek shook his head as he had to correct himself. These ponies, as far as he could see, were more lively, more social, and seemed much friendlier than any human he ever knew back home. Every where he looked, ponies were laughing amongst themselves with not a care in the world.
“Wow,” Derek said breathless. “This place seems so… surreal.”
Derek had to catch himself when he stumbled back as a bit of anxiety took over him. After taking a couple of deep breaths, he slapped himself to get his mind back on track. Once again calm, he noted the sheer size of Ponyville. It wasn't as small as he had originally thought it would be.
Alright, this town isn't as small as I first thought. Still, it shouldn't be too hard to find a Draconequus here. He seems to be the odd one out from all these ponies, Derek thought as he looked left to right.
Choosing a random direction, Derek started to trot down towards a mass of ponies. Taking the moment for sight seeing, he stopped into a nearby shop and examined exactly what the ponies were eating. To both his amusement and surprise, he found some ponies drinking tea and eating cookies.
As he headed out, Derek stopped once he noticed his appearance for the first time upon the reflection of the glass door. His coat was a dark shade of grey, with golden yellow eyes, and his mane was snow white. He put a hoof to his head, seeing if he could stroke his mane down low enough to see it himself.
“I don't think I’ll get use to this,” Derek mumbled as he pushed the door open and walked out.
Walking past some of the other shops, Derek found, again to his amusement, the ways ponies carried their stuff. Pegasi carried bags in their hooves, Unicorns with, what Derek could only conclude to be, in their magic. But the funniest of them all was the earth pony. Earth ponies had to pick or hold things in their mouths before placing them inside their bags. Still, he was awed how nopony really fussed or complained upon the way they done things. Walking past a pastry shop, Derek halted, as he inhaled the sweet aroma coming from within.
“Mmm, that smells good,” Derek noted, as the smell of cake and donuts filled the air. It was then his smile dropped as he realised he had no money. He didn’t even know how the currency worked here, and so with a sigh, Derek opted to just keep walking around.
After spending some time, occasionally keeping an eye out for Discord amongst the masses of ponies, Derek came to a horrifying realization. He had no idea where to start or how to even look for Discord. He didn't even know what Discord was capable of doing, or how magic even worked. Keeping to himself as to not to draw any attention, he began to observe the unicorns using their magic. That proved to be fruitless when majority of the time the unicorns around him only ever used their magic to pick up certain items and nothing else. Furthermore, Derek came upon the fact that he had nothing to eat, no money for food, or even have a place to stay. While he wasn't too bothered upon the thought of sleeping outside, seeing as how the weather was more than pleasant, it was the idea of starving for the night that bothered him the most.
Derek walked out towards the far end of of town. He spotted a few ponies who had been attending, what looked like to be, market stands. While some stalls seemed to be selling various things, it was one stall that caught his attention the most. This stall was selling apple, apple pies, apple ciders, and other various apple-made products. But what really attracted Derek to this stall was the fact that everything was out in the open. He scanned around to find no one was paying close attention to the stall, nor did he see the stall owner.
Man, I wish I had some money right about now. Derek thought as his stomach grumbled. I wonder…
Looking around more closely, Derek spotted at least three different escape routes. He wasn’t much of a thief, but he wasn't against the idea of stealing. And though he considered himself a good fighter and being able to hold his own ground against someone, he had no idea how to fight in his current body. While Derek prefered to get what he needed earnestly, right now, he felt he was in no place to be judging ethics. If this was his word, not many would think second about stealing, and he learned that the hard way. Casually walking up to the apple stand, he began to eyed a potential target.
Lets see, when no one is looking, I’ll grab the apple pie and- At the mere word of ‘grab’, Derek’s mind stopped as he looked down at his hooves. There’s no way I’ll be able to steal a pie like this. How would I even grab it, let alone, run with it?
A moment of thought ran past his mind as he remembered how the ponies carried their items. Looking back to the stand, Derek shook his head, knowing he wouldn't be able to run with a pie stuck in his mouth. Looking towards the stand, he decided he was better off snagging a few apples and dropping them in his bag. Walking up to the stand, Derek reached a hoof out and scooped up four apples then dropped them into his bag.
“Hey!” A female pony screamed out.
Without looking back, Derek turned on his hooves and started to run, kicking the stand by mistake.
“What in tarnation? Where do ya think yer goin?” He heard from behind. “Get back here.”
Without thinking, he turned towards an open field as he tried to outrun the pony who was vastly catching up. He turned to look behind him and saw an orange earth female pony wearing a stiletto hat chasing him. He quickened his pace in fear of what he saw the pony had in her mouth. A lasso, and from the looks of it, Derek knew she knew how to use it.
“Don't think yer goin to get away,” Derek heard her shout before seeing her ran past him.
Just as Derek turned on his heels to run the opposite way, the rope went right in front of his face. With the most manliest of yelps he could muster, he found all four of his legs caught within the rope as he fell on his face. “Fuck!”
Unable to move, Derek laid on the ground with a daze from the fallen impact. He groaned and shook his head as the female pony walked up to him. Looking up to the pony, he only found an impassive looked on her face as she looked down at him. He continued to stater as he tried to shift his body away from her.
“So what do we have here?” She asked in the most southern accent Derek ever heard. “Now ah know Sweet Apple Acres’ apples are delicious, but ah never seen a pony go an’ try to steal ‘em before.” The female pony placed a hoof over one of the apples as she rolled it near her. “Now, who are ya, and why’d ya tried stealin’ mah apples? Ya even broke mah stand tryin’ to flee.”
Derek open his mouth to respond, but shut it when he didn't know exactly what to say without breaking any of Discord’s rules, if he hadn't done so already. Not even a single day has passed and now Derek was positive he had just failed the game. So he kept his mouth closed, waiting for Discord to show up and declare his loss. Except he never showed.
“Hey partner, ya okay there? Ya didn't go bustin’ yer noggin from the fall ya took just now, did ya?” The pony asked, her concern crossing her face.
“No,” Derek groan, slowly shaking his head, “Just a little dizzy.” He stated, taking a deep breath. “And probably a little winded as well.”
“Ah see.” The pony sighed, holding the rope in her mouth that held Derek’s legs tight. “If that's the case, then how ‘bout ya answer me some questions then. What’s yer name?”
“My name, it’s D-” Derek stopped himself before the words could leave his lips. A strange sensation washed over him, reminding him that he couldn't use his real name. “Its um…” Derek faltered for a bit, trying to remember the name he was given. And as if someone was whispering in his ear, the name came back to him. “It’s Silver Line.”
“Silver Line, is it?” The pony questioned, somewhat perplexed. “For a moment there, ah thought ya had amnesia or somethin’.” The pony chuckled, her eyes fixated on Derek’s. “So, why did ya steal mah apples?”
Derek turned his eyes away from the pony with a heavy sigh. “Well, I figured no pony was watching, or would mind me taking a couple of their apples. I mean, they’re just apples.”
The pony glared down at Derek, causing him to metaphorically sweat. “Even if they’re jus’ ‘apples’, ya shouldn't go around taken things that don’t belong to ya, or without asking. So, why ya take ‘em?” she asked again, with Derek noticing she wasn’t wearing a look of anger, but curiosity.
“I was hungry,” Derek said under his breath.
“What was that now? Ah couldn't hear ya.” The pony moved closer to emphasize her point.
“I was getting hungry, okay!” Derek said louder, with a edge to his voice. “And I don't have any money as well.”
“Oh,” the pony said, taking a step back. “Well, why didn't ya say so? Ya could've just ask for some, Ah wouldn't mind givin ya a couple.” She flicked her hat up as she eyed Derek. “You could've just traded somethin’ or even worked out a deal. Ya didn't have to go and steal ‘em.”
Derek couldn't even respond to her. The situation was already weird enough to him just being caught. He never expected his pursuer would try talking things out with him, and get a better understanding of what happened. Derek knew the laws and streets of his world, and getting caught stealing by someone would have you ended up in a fight or arrested. There was never a time to just talk things out if you weren't a little kid, yet here he was, explaining himself.
The pony began to look him over, her eyes searching every part of his body. “Now that ah gotten a better look at ya, yer not anypony ah seen around here. Are ya new in town?” The pony asked with a tilt of her head.
“You could say that,” Derek replied, noticing the rope loosening around his legs. “I’m more of a…” He let the words die on his tongue as he tried to quickly come up with a excuse. “A stray wanderer you could say. Going between city to city, town to town, no place to really stay or call my own.” Derek stated, standing up with a limp. “Ow. I think I sprained my hoof.”
“Sorry ‘bout that.” The pony said, letting go of the rope in her mouth. Walking over to one of the stray apples, she kicked it over to Derek. “Now Silver, I’m goin’ to take yer word for what ya just said,” she said, walking back over to Derek. “But Ah’m not gonna let ya get away with breaking mah stand and ruining all of mah stuff.”
Derek reeled back from the glare the pony was giving him, sending dread right down his body. He wasn't prepared for a fight, and he knew he stood no chance of winning against this pony. Yet, instead of a fight, she said something else that took him by a bigger surprised.
“And since ya don’t have any bits on ya to repair mah stand, or all of mah wasted apple products from the fall, Ah’ll just have ya work it off.” She gave him a sly smile.
Of course, have me work off a debt since I have no money to pay, but Bits? Is that what they use as money around here? What do they even look like? Derek thought, leaning down to pick up the kicked apple while trying to keep the weight off his leg.
“So I just have to work off the payment for the stand and wasted food?” Derek asked after taking a bite out of the apple. “Oh, this is juicy, and delicious,” he complimented as he swallowed.
The pony gave him a smug smile as she observed his face. “Of course they’re good. Grown ‘em mahself. Ah don't mean to brag, but Sweet Apple Acres has the best apples in Ponyville, if not all of Equestria.” She stated, taking an apple for herself. “And for how long it’ll take ya to work off that small debt, Depending on what ya can do around the farm, it shouldn’t take ya longer than say a week, probably less.”
“A week.” Derek grimaced, noting that he only had four weeks until his game was up.
The pony gave him a sideway stare. “It’s not a bad deal, ya know?” She said, walking over to look at his hoof. “Mah family is rather nice, and we have more than enough room to spare for a single guest.”
“Wait,” Derek said, stopping the pony before she could continue. “Are you saying I can stay at your house while I work?” He wondered how anyone or anypony could let a complete stranger stay at their house.
“Of course,” the pony answered, confusion plastered on her face. “Ya said ya have no place to stay or call yer own. Plus, this way Ah can make sure ya don't run off.” She added with a smile. “But ya seem like an honest stallion, and look at the bright side, if ya good enough, we might actually offer ya a job. That is, if ya looking for a job and a place to stay.”
Derek couldn't help but look at the pony slack-jawed. Is this pony stupid? Why would she even consider the idea of offering someone, who just robbed her, a job? Closing his eyes, he gave off a small smile. This world is definitely a lot more nicer than mine, or is this some sort of ruse?
“So, what do ya say partner? Sound like Ah fair deal to ya?” The pony stuck out a hoof in the sign of a handshake.
Using his springe limb, Derek weakly shook the pony’s hoof. “Sounds good to me. I was in the wrong anyways.” He added under his breath, but loud enough for the pony to hear him.
“Well I’ll be. If ya can be honest with yerself like that, maybe we can find ya a place amongst mah family,” she said, with a expression of respect. “Now, let’s get ya back to the farm so we can get some ice on that leg there.”
“Yeah…” Derek mumbled, making sure his bag was on tight and nothing was lost from the fall. “So, how far do we have to go before we come to the farm, Miss…” He trailed off, not knowing the pony’s name.
“The name’s Applejack, and it ain’t Miss or any of that fancy stuff, jus’ Applejack,” she started, walking over to scoop up the last of her apples. “Mah family’s farm is just on the outskirts of Ponyville, so it ain’t that far from here.”
“Alright, let's get going then.”
