Applejack

December 17/Equestria/Ponyville

So I fell off the side of a cliff and hit what appeared to be a giant slab of blue liquid. What? Yeah I know It's called a friggin' lake but what the hell? Can't a guy try to add a bit of...I don't know. But yeah, I was running from the castle of winged crazy ponies...who were firing arrows at me. I feel like the arrows were an insult to injury really, since that blue-maned Unicorn forced me through a fuckin' window and bounced me down the side of a damn mountain! But I'm getting off track here. Sorry I keep going on about being attacked but you're not the one sitting in a barn, waiting for the dust to seep into your open wounds. What's up? How the hell did I go from falling into a lake to lying in a barn? Well calm the fuck down and let me explain.

"You're running out of time Ace." The voice was whispering to me again. That happens to me periodically. It's been something with me since I was little. I have little to no idea when I first started hearing the voice but I've only really started to notice it since...I don't really think I'm comfortable talking about that event. People I've spoken to claimed I was mad, hearing the voice of a woman, whispering inside my head. Nine times out of ten, doctors claimed that the voice was just a by-product of my...problem. Sorry I'm not really accustomed to talking about my medical issues. At times, the voice is harsh and commanding whilst at other times it is soft and relaxing. Most of the time, the voice has a tone, rather like a person visiting a sick patient. "Time to wake up now Ace." The voice whispered, coupled with a soft tinkle of laughter. With a groan, I finally opened my eyes.

I think I might've blacked out when I hit the water. Lord knows how I survived the fall, considering the speed and the amount of other wounds I'd suffered. Arrows and spears being stuck into me...bloody hell. Sorry, I'm getting off track again. My head ached worse than ever and there was a horrible stinging pain all over me. Blinking my eyes open, I could see that, instead of drowning...luckily, my body had come to rest upon a small, craggy beach. I groaned as the pain burned through me, trying hard to roll over onto my back. With quite a considerable effort I managed it, to find myself looking up at a clear blue sky, with barely a cloud. Turning my head about I could see a wall of what appeared to be...(Sorry. Bit embarrassing here. I think I may have almost cried with happiness.) Apple trees. There were so many large, red juicy apples hanging from the trees that in my haste, I tried to stand up and stumbled, my injuries hampering my progress.

It was then, I had the sense to actually check myself. My trousers were completely fucked. The left leg had been torn at the knee, leaving a gash, several inches deep, across my knee and down my leg. Through the infinite amount of tears and rips my right leg had suffered, I could see small rivers of crimson blood, mingling with the river water, staining the leg. My jacket had gone, leaving me in just a long-sleeved black t-shirt, though with the right sleeve missing. Then of course, there was the twin, matching holes in both shoulders, made by the arrows and spears. I think it's a fuckin' understatement to say that I was in a fuck-tonne of pain. Turning my head back to the water, I could see a large cloud of brownish red liquid, floating away from the shore. I'd pulled myself out of the water some minutes ago and the blood was still pouring out into the river. Swearing weakly under my breath, I stumbled out of the water ans slumped against one the trees, trying hard not die leaning against a tree.

"Aw c'mon Sis?!" The voice, young, female and high-pitched, cut through the air, making me jump. Turning my head, I saw what appeared to be two ponies, ambling down to the river from a small distance. The taller of the two had Orange fur and green eyes, with small eyelashes...Yes I did say eyelashes.. Just like that Blue-maned stallion, this pony had three red-Apples, seemingly tattooed on both her flanks. To complete the image, the Orange mare had a blondish tail and mane, though the mane was slightly obscured by the large, patched Stetson hat perched upon her head. Slung over the orange mares back was a pair of what looked like saddlebags. The small of the two had light yellow fur, orange eyes and a crimson mane and tail. Perched atop this filly's head was a small red bow. Unlike the other ponies I'd seen, this filly didn't appear to have a tattoo on her flanks. They'd appeared out of the trees, talking in such loud voices that I was surprised I hadn't seen or heard them before. The smaller of the two was staring up at the Orange mare, wearing an expression akin to a child's pleading

"I've told ya before Apple-Bloom." The stetson wearing Mare said wearily, shrugging off the saddlebags and stepping closer to the river. This Orange Mare had a strange, slightly southern accent. "I don' want ya goin' anywhere near the Ever-free Forest. That place is dangerous, 'specially for a young-un' like you." The Orange Mare, who I assumed was Apple-Jack, stepped slightly into the water, tossing off the stetson, so it came to rest on-top of the bags. "Sides." AppleJack said, fixing the filly with a stern-glare. "I wouldn't forgive mah-self if somethin' happened to ma little sister." The smaller filly, Apple-Bloom, moved over to join her sister in the shallows, giving another childish huff. Pushing myself off the tree, I moved closer to the bags, trying hard to keep my steps light. I had eyes only for the pair of saddlebags. Keeping my ears open for the conversation between the two sisters.

"AppleJack, ah'm not a baby!" Shouted Apple-Bloom, splashing about in her anger. My bleeding hands slipped on the clasp of the saddlebags, trying hard to pull open the lid. "Ah can look after mah-self. What about when Ah found Zecora's place all on mah own?" The filly shouted. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see AppleJack gently pawing at the river stones with her hoof, the orange fur around the base. The filly on the other hand, was pacing around the shallows, kicking at loose river rocks, sending water flying in all directs. AppleJack sighed, looking both tired and annoyed. "Don't you sigh at me!" Shouted Apple-Bloom, practically seething with anger. "Ya always treat me like-a baby. It's not fair!" Whilst this family dispute was going on, I continued to search through the saddle bags, fumbling in my haste. From what I could see, whilst trying hard to keep an eye on the pair, the bags contained 2 red apples each, a long beach towel and a long coil of fine rope. The apples were good but the beach towel was the real prize for me. I could've used it to bandage my wounds...Could've at any rate.

"HEY!" Shouted a voice. Looking up, I saw that both AppleJack and Apple-Bloom had stopped their splashing about and arguing. Both were staring at me, expressions of shock and surprise on their faces. Shit. Grabbing the towel, I turned to run. Funny. For a self-proclaimed Master-Thief, I also seemed to have a short memory since I forgot that I was losing a large amount of blood and had lost even more during my search. Twisting round cost me a dizzy spell and a giant burst of agony through my chest. I must admit right now, this time, I defiantly screamed like a baby, stumbling forwards and dropping the beach towel and falling to the ground. Blackness tugged at the edges of my vision, consuming all color, turning the trees into blurred squiggles. A pair of orange hooves stepped up in front of me and a pair of stern green eyes bored into mine as I rolled onto my back, trying to control the pain. "Hey, Hey, Hey. What's all this about now?" Said AppleJack just as something hard conked me on the head.

So yeah, I was in pretty bad shape. I don't really remember much about what happened after that since whatever hit me knocked my senses out of wack. Anyways, yeah since waking up, I've found myself to be sitting in a barn, with my wrists tied together. Though whoever brought me here must've bandaged my wounds so I hope that they're benevolent. Though I'm not sure where I am, I can only hope I'll get some answers tomorrow.