The Badlands

“He did WHAT?!” Rarity yelled out in horror. Oh, a little insight. This was that night, right after me and Ms. Cheerilee got into a fight. She still called her up because Rarity’s my “legal guardian” or something. So now, I was in front of the teacher’s desk next to Rarity and mini-Rarity, who looked as bored as me.

“Rarity, I was in class too. It wasn’t that big of a deal.” Mini-Rarity said, playing with her hoof.

“Not that bad?! He cursed out your teacher and broke her jaw!”

“It’s self-defense! She fuckin’ hit me with her ruler first!” She shuddered again at my “profane” language, which made me smile.

“You are not allowed to talk! I took you in for one day and you do this! I am trying to teach you how to act proper in society! But apparently, you can’t do that. So, I asked a friend to help me with tough lov- What are you doing?” She asked at me. I was making the “blah blah blah” motion with my hoof, resting my cheek on the other.

“You can see why he’s a bit of a problem.” Ms. Cheerilee interjected.

“Don’t worry a thing Ms. Cheerilee. I swear to you that by next class, he’ll have learned.”

“Ah wouldn’t bet on that.” I smiled, giving a hoof bump to Sweetie.

“Come on then little foals… I have a surprise for you.” Rarity said with an evil grin. I knew what this grin meant: She wanted to fight. As I said earlier, I don’t back down from fights. She took us outside but when we got there, there was Applebloom and some large earth mare. She was orange, like, my color but brighter. She had a cowboy hat on and a rope in her mouth. That meant that she was gonna catch something. But… There were no cows around… And Sweetie Belle didn’t do anything… The surprise! I realized this too late and got caught up in the rope like a hog.

“Hey! The fuck ya think yer doin’?!”

“Ah’m helpin’ Rarity by teachin’ you somethin’”

“Ugh… All these damn ponies in this stupid town. Whatever Apple Butt. Let’s get it over with.” I knew the force of a rope and how hard it was to get out of one. On my poor strength, there would be no way to get out of it. So I just waited. The orange mare began pulling the rope, dragging me along with it as she headed in the direction opposite of town. After a long while of just being dragged and dragged, we got to a barn. Finally! Something familiar.

“Great. We made it. Now exactly how do ya think you’ll change me?” I asked, bored out of my mind.

“Well Ah’m gonna have you start by going over ta those trees and buckin’ the apples out of them.” The orange mare said pointing to apple trees next to the barn.

“What happens if ah don’t?” I asked plainly with a shrug.

“Well then ah guess ya’ll have ta go home without any supper,”

“”And wha do ya got ta eat here?”

“Mash potatoes with gravy, buttered bread rolls, and apple pie.”

“Wow… Ya got me Apple Butt. Yer lucky ah ain’t ate fer days. Let me at them. Ut ah ain’t gonna change, keep that straight.” I said crossly, tired of these stupid ropes.

“Ah ain’t tryin’ ta make ya change, Ah’m just puttin’ ya ta work.” the orange mare said as she untied me.

“Ya know, child labor is illegal in some places ya bitch.” I grumbled, standing and stretching some. I looked out onto the farm and saw a stallion bucking trees. Maybe I could take him.But it would be good to make him look stupid.

“Start wherever you’d like ta start.” The orange mare said ignoring my comment. I sneered at her and went up to a random tree. As I trotted, my stomach felt drained.

“If’n ya like ya can have a few apples but if Ah catch ya eatin more than a few yer gonna get less fer supper.” The orange mare called.

“Yeah yeah… Fuckin’ bitch.” I grumbled as I approached the big red guy.

“Hey… That’s mah sister!” the big guy said to me, bucking down a tree.

“Well, yer sister’s a fuckin’ bitch.” I replied, figuring the best way to buck the tree.

“Well… Eeyup.” He snickered.

“Ah knew it.”

“She can get a little angry at times. She’s just tryin’ to help ya out the best she ca- What ‘re you doin’?” He caught me doing the “blah blah blah” motion with my hoof.

“Yer talkin’ too much. Ah’m starvin’! Now, ya got two choices. Ya either help me figure this shit out or ya go down.”

“Go… Down? Ah don’t really know wha-”

“Just help me!”

“What do ya need help with?”

“Buckin’ the trees dumbass. Ah ain’t ate nothin’ today!” I yelled at him.

“Ain’t anypony teach ya about good work ethic?”

“Ehhh…. Nope.” I said simply.

“Well… Ah’ll teach ya then so that ya can earn that food.”

“Just do it ya cry baby! Ah need food. Nothin’ else. Ah plan to ditch this 2 bit town ASAP!”

“Ya gotta earn yer food.” He said simply

“Explain how ah can eat without nourishment!” I snapped. We continued this argument for a good hour before a bell rung.

“DINNER’S READY COME N’ GET IT!” The orange bitch who brought me here yelled.

“Well… ah guess ya get off free fer this meal.” The red one grumbled.

“Eeyup!” I chuckled happily and ran inside. The red one caught up to me soon after as he said,

“Ah’m usually the only one that says Eeyup… where did you start sayin that from?”

“Ah dunno. Ah just do. Yer not the only one who says shit!”

“Ya also look pretty similar ta mah pa….. It’s actually pretty scary how much ya do.”

“Well then ah’m yer pa’s reincarnation Let me eat, ya dick.” I joked as I ran inside. The orange bitch was just setting the food out on the table as I came in

“‘Bout time ya got in here.” It sounded like she was attempting to make a joke.

“Oh ha ha ha. What ya make?” I asked as I took a seat.

“Ah made mash potatoes with gravy with an apple fritter on the side.”

“Oh… Shit! That sound fuckin’ awesom- Hey!” I was pulled out of my seat by a little yellow hoof.

“That is Mah seat.” the yellow one said as she got in my face.

“Ah don’t see yer name on it!” I yelled back, hoping that there was not actually a name on the chair. To my surprise, there literally was.

“Yes there is ya half wit!” She yelled pointing to the name I just saw. I tried to think of a way to not sound stupid.

“Ah see the name Apple Bloom, not pointless yellow bit… Punk!” I couldn’t be that mean to that cute face.

“Yer calling me useless? Ah could say the same fer you since you were out there arguin with mah brother fer an hour instead of buckin the trees!”

“Ah can’t BUCK without food! I can do somethin’ soundin’ like buckin’ though.” I took a sly grin.

“Yer a pig! Ah can’t believe ya’d say such a thing!”

“Hey, don’t get used to it. Ah’m leavin’ after ah eat.”

“Ah can’t let you do that Blaze, Rarity told me tah take care of ya and help ya learn ta not be so crud or somethin.”

“That BITCH!” I yelled angrily, bucking the table over, causing all the food to splatter on the ground.

“Consarnity Blaze! Ya need tah get a control on that temper of yers! Yer almost as bad as Big Mac.”

“Ah’m NOt stayin’ ‘ere! Ah hope yer life fucks up!” I yelled as I punched a hole through the floorboards and ran off.

“What should we do?” The orange one asked.

“Ah’ll go after him.” The red stallion said as he went after me. Well, at least that’s what they told me happened. Anyways, I ran into a park. It was dark and the sprinklers just finished, leaving the ground wet enough. I was desperate and decided to take a bite of the grass. I was so hungry and it was so good… Until I heard the thud of country stallion hooves. I recognized them from all the stallions running around in the Badlands. That meant trouble.

“Blaze! Where did ya go!?” was all I heard befor the red stallion came into my sight and I suppose he saw me too, since he came running toward me.

“Ugh… What do ya want?! Ah just wanna go back home! At least there ah can eat the meat off rats!” I said with a shudder, remembering just how many rats I ate.

“That is the most unhealthy thin’  Ah’ve ever heard! Ah ain’t about tah let some colt go back tah wherever your home is so ya can yet rats.”

“Well try to stop me Ah can take down a stallion 5x my size!”

“Ah could do that and a little more when ah was yer age easily.”

“Oh really? Well then why ‘re you a bitch now?”

“Ah’m far from it ya little shit.”

“Prove it.” I said simply.

“Name yer game.”

“Put ‘em up!” I said as I weakly put up my hooves. I was starving but I wasn’t gonna go down easily.The red one raised his hooves.

“Agh… Ah’ll.. . go down with a fight!” I went for a running buck on him, but I was way off as I hit a tree with my buck. Unfortunately, all the fruit in the tree fell, looking like Apple Bucking.

“That wasn’t too bad of a kick right there… shoot if Ah didn’t know any better, Ah’d say that was an Apple family buck.”

“Don’t get yer hopes up. Ah ain’t gonna join yer family no way no how!”

“I’m not tellin ya ta join my family! Ah’m just saying that looked like a buck I would see from one of mah family members.

“Well even if ah was, ah wouldn’t know. Ah grew up alone.”

“Really? Why is that?”

“Ah was an orphan. Then ah ran away because it was drivin’ me crazy. Ah wan for months then ah turned up in a place ah call ‘The Badlands.’ What’s it to ya?”

“Well… ya just seem like such a great colt Blazing… ya remind me of myself when ah was younger.”

“R-Really?” I don’t know if it was my hunger or my tiredness, but I felt a little piece of him in myself.

“Yes, ya seem so strong an independant but ya have a caring and soft side hidden away.”

“Ah… Ah ain’t a nice guy. Ah’ve done a lot of bad things to some… Worse stallions.but ah’ll give yer family another chance. At least fer dinner. Maybe a buck er two tomorrow.”

“Ah appreciate ya givin them a chance… ah know AJ gets really annoyin but she is just tryin her best.”

“Ehhh… Ah guess. Come on. Ah need some food. Lead the way ya overgrown tomato” I joked.

“Okay ya sun burnt orange.” He joked back. We joked back and forth with each other with these nicknames and began to walk back to the farm until…

“HEY! Stop right there!” A grey stallion called from behind us.We both turned to see the stallion. He was heav built and had a dark black moustache. He had a bunch of blue on with weapons. A cop. Great…

“What do ya want?”

“Now officer we don’t want any trouble… we were just on our way back to Sweet Apple Acres.

“Well well well… Big Macintosh huh? I never pinned you as the bad kind. Yet you associate with him? I got reports of assault, misuse of language in the presence of minors, public indecency, breaking of private property, public destruction….” He pointed to the grass I ate earlier.

“Basically, you’re going to jail.”

“Come on Officer he is just a colt, isn’t it a mite unfair tah send him ta jail?”

“Also, he’s not a citizen of Ponyville.” He stepped up and tasered me, dropping me to the ground. OW! It stung like shit. I was frozen. I wasn’t scared, but i was in a panic. I grunted and slowly pushed my hoof out, going against the tazer’s property.

“Officer isn’t that overdoing it quite a bit? Again he is just a colt so there is no need for that.

“Mac! I need you to back away. NOW!” He kept tasering me until finally, I just blacked out. That was it. I was worried I was gonna die. Fortunately, I awoke a few hours later. But when I did, I saw the inside of what looked like a crystal castle.