Ch. 5 New Job

I woke up feeling very rested and ready for a hard day of farm work. I looked through the skylight window above my bed and saw that it was still dark outside. I remembered that Applejack had told me to show up around daybreak for work. As it was too early to leave I wondered if I had time to meditate before heading over to her farm. I remember her mentioning that the farm wasn’t that far from Twilights house. I wish I had a clock to know what time it was.

I was hit by the sudden realization that I had been carrying my phone around in my pocket the entire time I was in Equestria. I reached in my pocket and pulled it out. Dead. Well that figures. I lamented the fact that I forgotten of it’s existence until just now. If I had remembered earlier I could have turned it off and saved a small reserve of it’s power for an emergency. But considering there was no nine one one emergency hotline in Equestria I guess it’s emergency features would have been limited anyways.

I placed my phone on the nightstand next to my bed and figured I could ask Twilight about a possible power source later. Now I really needed to meditate before I went to work on Applejacks farm. If I had forgotten about my phone perhaps there were other things that I had missed that also needed to be addressed. I allowed my body to relax into it’s normal meditative position on the bed and started running through recent events.

I ran over my interactions with the ponies yesterday. I regretted that I had let panic control my mind and reacted so extremely to the fear of betrayal. With all the lessons of my people in mind it’s hard to trust and go back to the carefree life I lived before I started protector training. That’s also something that needs to be addressed while i’m here. The level of exhaustion I displayed yesterday after releasing my energy was truly disappointing. I’d seen my mother maintain insane levels of physical performance for much longer without even breaking a sweat. Of course as she was tasked to protect the humans she had a lot of practice with her abilities.

Mother always pestered me to train my abilities along with my body's physique. I suppose I never really did as a small part of me thought the job of being a protector wasn’t that big of a deal. After being violently ripped from my world and deposited into Equestria the realities of my duties were now very apparent to me. Hmmmmmmm. Very well. I will need to start training myself much harder than I had before. I’ll need to find somewhere secluded to train myself away from prying eyes.

I recalled another vision of my people. The protector in this vision was extremely conceited and always trained in public places so that others could see his amazing abilities and well toned physique. These actions eventually came back to haunt him as the enemies on his planet had been watching his training sessions for many days. They eventually learned all of his body's limits and came up with various counters for his abilities. In their confrontation with him his boastful claims of unending power proved to be false. All of his attempts to fight the aggressors were systematically defeated by their collected knowledge. He was then publically beheaded and his death caused the world to fall into further chaos.

Shivering I remembered the feeling of being beheaded in the vision. Yes I would definitely need to find a place to secretly train. The foolish interactions of the dead protector with his planet's people made me think on my interactions with the ponies so far. I realized that I had become rather physical with a lot of the ponies around here. I usually didn’t touch or hug others that often back on Earth, let alone people that I had only recently become friends with. Ahhhh and there’s another thing. I called them friends without even thinking about it.

I may not have known them that long but I believe I would call the six girls from last nights party my new friends. It’s amazing how fast these girls have wormed their way into my heart. It’s hard to not want to become friends with such cute and cuddly ponies like those girls. Even if they had rather quickly become my friends I don’t think that my friendliness or physicality with them is necessarily a bad thing. Everypony around here seems to be the touchy feely cuddly type. Mother had always told me the reason I could never get a girlfriend was bec-

Wait did I just think everypony instead of everyone? Jesus their weird dialogue was already starting to take root in my vocabulary. Thinking on it, I guess my shifting vocabulary isn’t really something I need to be concerned about. You know what they say, ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do.’ Although in this world it’s probably, ‘When in Ponyville, do as the Ponies do.’ I suppose that’s what i’ll do then. And as ponies go to work I need to end this session and get going.

I opened my eyes and looked up out the window to try and visually deduce the approximate time. The sky appeared to have a small amount of light very slowly creeping into it. I wondered what sunrises look like here in Ponyville. I decided that I was going to find out. I wanted my first sunrise in Ponyville to be special so I figured I should see it from a clear vantage point. I was hoping Twilight’s roof could provide such a place.

I had noted before that the skylight appeared to have a latch that indicated the window could be opened. Deciding to test this out I reached up and flipped the latch. Thankfully as ponies were relatively small I could just barely reach the window by standing on my tiptoes. The window fell open downwards. As there was no ladder or easily moveable furniture that would help me reach the window ledge I decided to solve this problem by using my body's abilities. My meditation session had left my mind calm and made it easy to focus. I shifted a small portion of my core’s energy into my legs.

Coiling my muscles and jumping up I easily reached the roof through the window and landed on one of the tree houses branches. I had originally thought that the top of Twilights house would be a collection of branches and leaves, like a normal tree. Now that I was on top of it I found that this was not so. Next to the window nestled in between the tops of the tree branches was a decently sized wooden platform. Pleased with this revelation I jumped from my current branch and landed on the platform. Looking around myself I was again pleased to note that the branches and leaves were just low enough that I could probably sit down and see in all directions.

I sat down criss cross to test this theory and turning in a circle realized I was correct. What a charming viewing platform. The platforms existence was very well hidden by the surrounding leaves and branches. It gave the viewing platform a very nice feeling of seclusion. I looked to my right and saw the sun was going to crest Ponyville's skyline pretty soon. I uncrossed my legs and sat back to enjoy the view.

Before I could get comfortable in my new position I saw a flashy rainbow accented pegasus flying across the sky. It moved rapidly towards groups of clouds and upon reaching them would somehow kick them out of existence. The pegasus was popping the clouds as one would a balloon. Fascinating. How in the world do these ponies have these amazing ingrained abilities within them? I wonder if it was always like this or if the natural magic of the land imbued them with these abilities slowly over time.

As fascinating at these ideas were I was pulled from my thought process by a loud, “Hey Cicero! What’cha doing up here?” I jumped in surprise when I saw that the cloud popping pegasus from before was rapidly flying over to me. As she got closer I recognized her as Rainbow Dash. It dawned on me that she was most likely working right now. She had mentioned her position in the Ponyville pegasus weather team when we had first met.

“So what are you doing up here on top of Twilight's house? How did you even get up here?” Rainbow Dash said as she finally reached me.

“I noticed that the skylight in her upstairs guest room had a latch on it. As I woke up before the sunrise I realized that I had yet to see it here in Equestria. I figured that the best place to view such a spectacle would be the clearest view from the highest point. Thus the reason I’m now sitting here waiting for said occurrence. I was also observing you working. It’s one thing to be told that you pegasus can control weather but it’s another thing entirely to actually see you kicking clouds out of existence.”

“Heh, yeah we pegasus are pretty awesome!” She boisterously said.

“So do you always wake up this early for weather duties?”

“Naw we weather pegasus usually have pretty random work hours. I just happened to be assigned for early morning cloud clearing today. The weather for the day is going to be clear skies!”

“Excellent. The perfect viewing conditions for a sunrise.” I looked into the sky and saw that their were no clouds remaining over Ponyville. Rainbow Dash must truly be fast to have cleared all of the clouds in Ponyville's vicinity that quickly. “Would you care to watch the sunrise with me Rainbow Dash? Even though i’m sure you’ve seen it before most experiences are better when shared with a friend.”

“Well I’m not usually one for anything that involves waiting around… but I guess I can make an exception. I wanted to ask you some questions anyways.” I was pleased to hear her response and I patted a spot next to me on the wooden plank. Rainbow Dash took the hint and zoomed over to my right, plopping down next to me. I looked back towards the skyline and figured it would be about 3 minutes or so before it came up.

“You’re a strange pony Cicero, you know that? I can’t figure you out. For someone that was thrown into a strange new world you sure handle yourself pretty well. I don’t think i’ve seen you freak out or complain even once since you got here.” Rainbow Dash had a strange tone to her voice that I was having trouble identifying. She didn’t sound angry per se but I think I could hear small inflections in her voice hinting at…. accusation perhaps? I guess I’ll just respond to her implied question and eventually the true question will come out.

“Well for one thing I suppose I might seem like a strange pony because i’m not a pony but a person.” I said correcting her past statement. “As i’ve mentioned before in most scenarios i’m a rather calm person. It’s just how I am. One other large factor that makes me so calm here is the fact that I feel just as out of place here as I did on Earth. It’s not as if I was an outcast in my society. I just never felt a strong emotional attachment to anything on Earth.” I caught myself and thought on what I had just said.

“Ok well I guess that’s not necessarily true. I had a mother and a father that I loved very much. The issue was probably all others, besides them, who I interacted with. While I had a few friends that I liked and enjoyed spending time with I always felt my interactions with them were forced. I knew what to say and how to have a good time with them but a small part of me always felt that I was playing a role that wasn’t truly me. I was never comfortable enough to just act without analyzing and overthinking everything. As every interaction with them felt slightly alien to me I eventually started to internally think of myself as a visiting alien on Earth.” I turned and looked at Rainbow Dash.

“So for someone who felt like they were an alien on their home planet now that I am an actual alien on yours I almost feel more a sense of belonging here then there. There's no expected interaction between you ponies and myself. I can truly act and feel as I wish without being constrained by societal expectations. This, coupled with Equestrias paradisiacal looking lands, has given me a sense of relaxation and peace I didn’t feel on Earth.” I chuckled. “It’s ironic that while on Earth I was supposed to be a normal human and yet felt I was an unnatural alien. Now here I have truly become an alien and I feel more at home than I had on my own planet.”

I looked back at the sunrise now eagerly awaiting it’s coming. “Sorry for that long monologue Rainbow Dash. I actually hadn’t realized a few of those things until I just said them out loud right now.” To my surprise Rainbow Dash had no flashy response to my words. If anything she seemed a bit introspective at the moment. Finally she spoke.

“While I can’t say I understand exactly what you’re feeling I have had a similiar experience. When I was a lot younger, before I found my cutie mark, I used to fly all of the time. The problem was that even though I really loved flying I constantly kept crashing into things. Eventually this lead to others continually making fun of me. I started becoming really self conscious about my flying skills. It felt like something was wrong with me as a pegasus. I adopted a brash attitude and boasted about my skills constantly to cover up my insecurities.”

“I kept my outward appearance the same as always but my emotions were tearing me up on the inside. However one day I saw two bullies picking on Fluttershy and decided to beat them in a race to defend Fluttershy. I was so determined to win the race that for the first time in my life I went fast enough to create a sonic rainboom. The speed of that race and the exhilarating feeling that came with it changed me that day. After that I finally realized I didn’t care what others thought about my skills. I was proud of what I could do and I loved flying.”

Interesting. So the proud Rainbow Dash was not always the confident mare I see before me now. Rainbow Dash turned to look at me. “Alright I’ll trust you for now. I can understand the pain of not feeling like you belong and your story seems true enough.” She then looked me directly in the eye. “Just know this. If you ever hurt my friends you better be prepared for the world of pain i’m going to beat you into.” Ahhhh I see. So her question was due to her suspicion of me. She was trying to protect her friends. I smiled in return to her statement. This seemed to throw her off for a second.

“You truly are a wonderful mare. Loyalty is a sadly underappreciated quality for friends in my world. I can see the love you hold for all of yours simply by the fire in your eyes.” I then bowed my head to Rainbow Dash. “Have no fear Rainbow Dash. You and all of your friends have shown me nothing but kindness. Not to mention the empathy you have just shown towards my plight.” I raised my head. “I will not hurt your friends and while I can’t say how long i’ll be here I promise to defend you and them from any and all threats.”

Rainbow Dash smiled at me. “You can count yourself among my friends big guy!” I smiled back and returned to looking at the horizon. How strange. The sun should have been up by now judging by it’s previous pace. Thankfully I didn’t have to wait long before the situation remedied itself. In an unnaturally rapid movement the sun crested the skyline and lit up the sky. It was a very surreal experience to see the sky shift from dimly lit to radiating with light as fast as it had. It was as if someone had flipped a light switch.

“Celestia’s sunrises are always nice. Though I suppose if you’d had 3000 years to practice that would make sense,” Rainbow Dash speculated out loud. I had forgotten that Twilight mentioned that their princess Celestia controlled the sun's orbit. The suns unnatural movements most likely confirmed her claims. It truly was a marvelous site. The sunrises on Earth couldn’t hope to compare to the light display that Equestrias was putting forth. Most likely due to the levels of pollution in our atmosphere’s air. How disappointing. I turned to Rainbow Dash to voice my agreement to her claims and stopped when I saw her.

I had called her appearance flamboyant before but only now did I understand that it wasn’t a detriment to her looks. Her unruly rainbow colored mane seemed to reflect the sunlight in a way that made is shimmer with her untamed beauty. Her whole personality perfectly fit her wild looks. “Yes it’s truly a beautiful site.” I said still looking at Rainbow Dash. Quick as lighting realization coursed through my body and I tore my eyes away from her form.

WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT. Those thoughts came out of absolutely nowhere. Alright calm down, panicking has never helped me think through anything. Let’s be logical about this. Rainbow Dash is a female so it’s not unexpected that I might find her beautiful. ‘Yeah but she’s a pony’ A small voice said at the back of my mind. Shut the fuck up. She’s sentient, don’t you dare compare her to a pony on Earth. I harshly mentally chastised myself for even letting such a thought cross my mind. Besides i’m an alien on Earth so finding ponies to be attractive would logically be as wrong as finding humans to be attractive.

So if the difference between species wasn’t what caused that panic, what was? Hmmmmm perhaps it was the fact that I had called the tomboyish Rainbow Dash beautiful? No that couldn’t be it. Even one as inexperienced with love as me realized that every type of women held their own innate beauty. It only took the right person to realize it. Fuck, what was it? I’ve never panicked about thinking someone was beautiful before. I concentrated on my thought process just a moment ago to try and find out what had been going through my mind.

And then it hit me. It’s not the fact that I had found Rainbow Dash’s appearance beautiful. It was the fact that the thought was a raw unfiltered response that had instinctively come to my mind. There was no thinking about what humans found attractive. No being influenced by human societal norms of beauty. No ads to influence me into thinking her appearance was perfect. Her form had instinctively forced my brain to recognize her beauty.

Rainbow Dash thankfully didn’t seem to notice my panicked actions and was continuing to take in the sunrise. I will need to meditate on these thoughts later. For now I need to remove myself from this confusing situation and get to work. I gazed out at the beautiful landscape created by Celestia’s sunrise one more time. “Rainbow Dash I thank you for sharing this magical moment with me.” I saw her looking to me and I smiled. “Unfortunately I offered to help Applejack on her farm and I need to start heading to work.”

“It’s cool. I need to get back to clearing clouds in other places around here. We should hangout again sometime Cicero. Your an interesting guy so far,” she said fluttered into the air.

“I fear the next time we meet it will be in a harsh competition Rainbow Dash. None the less I appreciate you spending time with me this morning. Farewell,” I finished while giving her a wave. Rainbow Dash quickly flew off towards Ponyville's town center. What a strange new feeling. I’ve found human females pretty before now but I’ve only ever done so if I realized it was the expected human male response at the time. The natural feeling of attraction was a surprising and slightly unnerving reaction. Oh well, I suppose i’ll have time to think on this later. For now I need to back inside and hopefully find some food in twilight's kitchen. Doing hard work on an empty stomach was a very bad idea.

Jumping over to the guest bedroom skylight I fell back through it and landed on my bed. I saw my destroyed shirt next to my bed and remembered that I still didn't have any replacements for it. Rarity said she’d be done with my extra clothes today. I guess I should really take a shower before breakfast and leaving though. I opened the door to my guest bedroom and started silently making my ways downstairs. It wouldn’t do well to wake my generous host on the way out.

As I reached the second floor I saw Twilight still peacefully sleeping in her bed. I also noted that Spike was next to her bed in a small basket bed. Damn that little guy is so adorable. He’s like a happy little fire breathing puppy. I smiled at the site of the two simultaneously kicking in their sleep. Both must be having an interesting dream. Not wanting to rouse them from their slumber I looked around and noticed what appeared to be a bathroom right past the stairs. I silently crept my way over into it and shut the door. I noted that there was no lock on the door but didn’t think on it much as the ponies were very trusting and it was most likely a societal thing.

My predictions had been correct and there was a tiny shower in this bathroom. I looked around for some towels and saw a few folded ones in a pile by the sink. I hoped Twilight wouldn’t mind terribly if I used one. I disrobed and hopped into the shower. One thing I hadn’t noticed before I got in the shower was how tiny it was. Well I guess that makes sense considering how incredibly tiny these ponies are. Oh well, a shower is a shower and I desperately need one right now.

I turned it on and had to do some strange maneuvering to get my body under the full stream. I did the best I could and eventually decided that I was clean enough. Getting out of the shower I grabbed a towel and started to dry myself off. I noticed the soft scent of lavender wafting off of my body. Ahhh her soap must have a lavender scent. I had noticed Twilight had a delicate lavender scent across her coat whenever I got close enough for my nose to pick it up. What a nice smell.

As I raised the towel to my head to dry off my hair I heard a sound that froze me mid action. The sound of the door slowly creaking open. I sighed out loud and slowly pulled the towel off of my head to see if my suspicions of who was there were correct. Oh course they were. There with an extremely suprised look on her face was Twilight motherfucking Sparkle. I suppose this is my fault considering I hadn’t asked to use her shower before now.

I saw Twilights eyes wander downwards towards my nether regions. I guess she was naturally curious as that was the one part of me I had refused to show her yesterday. I decided that if this was going to be embarrassing I could at least have a good time with it. Even though I knew it was a slight misuse of my abilities I stimulating the blood in my cheeks to force a very heavy blush. I then looked her in the face and said, “I know that I said I would reveal myself for science on day Twilight but I didn’t expect you to be so forward about it.” I then used my arms to poorly cover my stomach and chest while saying, “Please don’t stare too hard. It’s my first time and your lecherous gaze is embarrassing me.”

These last words snapped Twilight out of her stare as her cheeks somehow impossibly became redder than mine. “I-I-I Imsosorryigottago!” She quickly dashed out of the bathroom using her magic to slam the door. I dropped my arms and gave a hearty chuckle at her hasty retreat.

“Hope I didn’t scar the poor girl. Oh well, I’ll ask her later when she’s calmed down.” Not wanting anymore unscheduled peep shows I quickly put my pants back on. I hung the towel I had used on one of her racks and walked out of the bathroom. I walked over to the stairs and noticed that while Spike was still sleeping in his bed Twilight was nowhere to be found. Well I guess i’ll just talk to her later.

I walked down the stairs and went into the kitchen. I was hopeful that I could find something to eat before work. I didn’t ask Twilight specifically the other day but I believe the ponies here have the same dietary requirements as ponies back on Earth. I opened Twilight’s refrigerator and ruffled through it to find something edible. “Apples, carrots, lettuce, squash cherries. I guess it makes sense that ponies would eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. It’s been quite some time since I had a salad so I guess I’ll go with that.

I quickly rummaged around the of the kitchen and found some croutons, cheese, and thankfully salad dressing. I threw all of the salad ingredients into a bowl and proceeded to satiate my hunger. I felt kinda guilty for using all of Twilight's stuff and not having contributed anything that would justify my using them. I decided that whatever money I first got would be given to Twilight. That and I would make sure to answer whatever questions she wanted today. Well within reason I suppose. She’d most likely question me all day if I gave her free reign.

Finishing my salad I went over to the sink and started washing the bowl. Once again the sink had been made with short creatures in mind. It was kind of annoying that everything around this place was built for short ponies. I finished washing the dishes and walked into the living room. It was bereft of the Twilight Sparkle I had hoped to find before leaving for work. Guess she still needs to cool down. I shrugged and walked over to and out of Twilight's front door, crouching as I exited through its small frame.

I looked over towards the path in front of Twilight’s house. I remember Applejack saying all I had to do was walk right along the path to get to her farm. Well let’s hope it’s actually that simple and she wasn’t just overstating the ease of finding her farm. Granted her farm was rather massive so I doubted I would be unable to locate it at all. I started walking down the dirt path in the aforementioned direction.

I was pleased to see all of the animals scurrying about the various trees and shrubbery near the path. I took a mental note of all the little critters I saw as I walked past. If mythical creatures existed in these lands perhaps there were some strange unknown animals I had never heard of before. Unfortunately for the 5 or so minutes I walked down the dirt path I didn’t note any strange new animals among the normal ones. Squirrels, frogs, butterflies, ducks, rabbits, and various birds were all I had seen.

I wasn’t sure if I was disappointed or not at this discovery. On one hand the first new creature I had met while in the woods was a manticore trying to make me it’s dinner. On the other hand I had been hoping to see some other creatures of legends such as phoenix's or fairies. Perhaps I should ask Twilight for a book detailing all of the creatures in this land? I’m sure she would enjoy hearing about what animals exist on Earth in comparison to which exist on Equis.

I stopped mentally recording the various animals when I noticed what looked like the edge of sweet apple acres on the horizon. I shifted my pace from walk to jog as I was eager to find Applejack and get started today. As I got closer to the farm I noticed a white picket fence on the outer border of the farms lands. The dirt path led me through a small gap in the picket fence line and I continued on towards the red structure that I assumed was Applejacks house.

Upon closer inspection the red house actually appeared to be a barn that someone had repurposed into a house. The outside of the house was red and white just like the other barn I had stayed in a few nights ago. Multiple troughs of varying flowers were hooked to every window on the upper floor of the barn. It appears that whomever is responsible for the upkeep of the house takes their job very seriously. While the flowers gave the house a nice look what really made it shine was the bright red paint adorned with obviously hand drawn black vines snaking around the outside of the house.

“Morning Cicero! Glad to see ya made it here alright.” I turned to see Applejack walking her way over to my location in front of the red house.

“Morning Applejack. I’m pleased to say that finding your farm was just as easy as you had said it would be.” I turned back towards her house and said, “Might I say you have quite the beautiful house. It has a very charming rustic feel to it. Also not to be insulting but is your house a repurposed barn?”

“Shoot that’s mighty kind of ya to say Cicero,” Applejack said as she removed her stetson and put it across her chest. “And to answer yer question, yes it was originally a barn that my ma and pa decided to repurpose and add small sections onto as needed.” She put her stetson back on her head and gave me a smile. I smiled back and then peered over her head to see a large red stallion that looked awfully familiar. I tensed up shortly after seeing him when I remembered that he was the other pony that had chased me off Applejacks farm.

Applejack noticed my strange actions and turned around to find out what I had seen. “Hey Big Mac! Come over here and meet our newest employee Cicero!” Oh man I really hope she explained my situation to that red pony. I didn’t want someone with his strength to to get angry at me. Much to my relief he seemed to have a neutral expression on his face as he sauntered over to us. As he reached us Applejack spoke up.

“Cicero this here's Big Macintosh ma brother. He also works and lives here on the farm with me. Big Mac this is Cicero. He’s the alien I mentioned meeting the other day.” I decided to speak up before Bic Mac did, just in case he was still mad about the other day.

“Hi Big Mac I just want to say that I’m sorry about that incident the other day. I hadn’t meant to sneak onto ya’lls farm and steal Apples. I hope we can get along and get a lot of work done today.”

Big Mac sized me up and down and then simply stated, “Eeyup.” He then nodded at us both and simply walked back to what he had been doing before. Well that response was a lot more muted that I thought it would be.

“Heh don’t worry about Big Mac sugarcube. He’s not mad at ya or anythin, he’s just a stallion of few words.” Interesting. The first male i’ve actually met around here. I wonder if I get him talking at some point during work. I’d like to ask him some questions about the strange male to female ratio i’d seen in this town so far. Based on the fact that there seemed to be a lot more females than males in Ponyville and that the rulers of the country were a female diarchy I wondered if this society was matriarchal instead of patriarchal like on Earth.

I suppose I could have asked Twilight to explain the situation to me but I was worried that her answers might be biased. While Twilight was an intelligent and fair mare I worried that being a female in what I believed was a matriarchy would subconsciously taint her responses. I guess the same could be said for any male member in a matriarchy but if I had to pick one to ask I’d rather question the gender I could identify with easier.

“Anyways let me tell ya what you’ll be doing today. As I don’t know what strengths or skills ya have I’ll start ya with something basic today. Eventually i’ll assign ya various tasks around the farm but for today you’ll be bucking and storing apples from the North fields. Ya ready to get started?”

“Of course Applejack. I came here to work not meander around your farm, even as nice as it is.”

Applejack smiled at me and said, “I think you’ll do just fine here. Follow me then. You’ll be collecting braeburns today.” I followed silently behind Applejack towards the North fields. It’s amazing that Applejack and her brother can remember where everything is considering the size of this farm. I hope I don’t get lost out here in these fields. I looked back the way I had come, slightly hesitant to continue walking further into these endless apple fields. Thankfully when I turned around I noticed that a wind vane atop Applejacks house easily stood above the trees. I guess if I get lost I can just follow that spire.

After a good minute of walking I noticed the familiar reddish-gold color of braeburn apples. Applejack walked over to one of the trees with a large circular wooden tub in front of it.

“Now this hears how ya buck an apple tree.” I watched as Applejack turned her butt to the apple tree and leaned forward slightly. Quick as lightning she violently bucked the tree and a large bundle of apples fell straight out of the tree directly into the bucket. What the hell? Why did they all fall directly into that one bucket? Also once again I’m terrified at the strength that these Earth ponies contain.

“Applejack why did apple's only fall into that tub?” I said a little confused. She opened her mouth to respond and then stopped. A confused expression went across her face as she continued to think.

“Huh. Now that you mention it that is awful strange ain’t it? I don’t rightly know why. I was taught to buck by my ma and pa and the apples have just always fallen like that if ya put a tub down next to the tree.” I facepalmed at this knowledge. Damnit even the earth ponies are inherently full of magic. Oh well I guess i’ll just have to find my own way to do this. Perhaps I can combine their way with something of my own. Hmmmmmm. I’d need to test my suspicions first.

I’m guessing that since Applejack kicked that tree with as much force as she did these trees are definitely stronger than the ones you’d find on Earth. I suppose I should see just how much these trees can handle. Even if I don’t have pony magic maybe I can still buck them off the branches with enough force.

“Applejack do you mind if I test something on one of your trees?”

“Well I don’t see why not. Go for it.”

“Excellent.” I grabbed another tub that had been lying around the first and walked over to another apple tree. I made sure to set the tub down next to the tree just like Applejack had. Unlike Applejack I faced the tree and got into a slightly crouched stance. I forced a small amount of energy into my legs muscles. I also made sure to use a bit of energy to reinforce my bones. It would be pretty unfortunate if I kicked so hard I broke my bone. Taking a quick step I kicked the tree as hard as I could.

Much to my disappointment the tree completely ignored my efforts and just sat there. Alright perhaps a little more strength then. Forcing a bit more strength into my leg I wound myself back up and kicked the tree significantly harder this time. Again the tree didn’t even slightly budge. Man I kicked that tree pretty hard how much is this going to take. *snicker*. Oh hell no. I looked behind myself to see Applejack trying to contain her laughter at my ineffectual kicking. Alright you stupid tree prepare to meet your maker. Adding a significant amount more energy to my leg I stepped back and violently thrust my leg out to kick the tree.

I was hopeful when I saw the tree shiver slightly. Sadly the only visible results I noticed besides that were two or three leaves falling from the branches. “Fuck this stupid indestructible tree. Jesus what do you ponies use to make these things so strong?”

“*snicker* You know some ponies just aren’t meant for apple bucking sugarcube. Not everyone has enough muscle for the job.”

I looked at Applejack and narrowed my eyes. Oh it’s on now you damn tree. I had been trying to slowly measure exactly how much force was needed but I would not be emasculated by this miniscule mare. I let the energy in my core flow outwards towards the rest of my body. I heavily reinforced my abdominals and chest muscles to give me a more solid core as I kicked. I also sent a massive amount of energy throughout both my legs. Flexing all of my muscles I viciously threw my foot out and made contact with the tree.

*CRACK* Apparently I had put enough force into my kick to not only snap the tree in half but also send it flying a few feet away. Standing back up triumphantly I flexed my muscles and yelled, “Cicero 1 asshole tree 0! Take that you little bastard!” Not to long after my victory flexing I remembered that I was supposed to be bucking apples not snapping trees in half. I let out a weak, “fuck….” as I turned to look at Applejack.

I was not surprised when I found Applejack staring at me with her mouth wide open. Well at least she doesn’t look angry….. yet. I watched her look to the tree and the back to me still looking shocked and confused. She started running her eyes over my body seemingly looking for something. After letting this go on for a little bit I was further confused when I saw her lick her lips. What the hell? Why isn’t she mad at me yet?

“Errrr sorry about that. I think I was a little over eager with that last kick. I understand if you dock that apple tree from my pay.” I said full of remorse. Applejack jumped at my words, as if she had forgotten I could talk.

“Uhh it’s uhh ok sugarcube. I was just surprised is all. We have quite a few apple trees here so one destroyed one will be ok. I don’t think i’ve ever seen anypony kick a tree in half before.” She looked at my bare chest as she said, “You're a lot more muscular than I gave you credit for.” Again she had a strange look in her eyes as she glanced over my body. I wasn’t positive what it was but I could have sworn it resembled….. hunger perhaps? How peculiar. I guess it doesn’t matter, I’m just glad she’s not angry or going to fire me.

“Right, well you don’t mind if I try again with another tree do you? I promise i’ll be much more careful this time.”

“Go right ahead. I’ll just stay over here and watch you….” Applejack said. Something about how she said that made me a little uncomfortable but I didn’t think on it long. Grabbing the empty tub next to the apple tree stump I had just made I dragged it over towards another. After a few attempts at kicking the new apple tree I was pretty sure I had finally found the amount of strength required. However the real trick to apple bucking was all in how fast you kicked and then retracted your leg.

Confident that it would work this time I flexed my abdominals and struck the tree as a snake would its prey. The fast retraction of my food did the trick as almost all the apples in the tree suddenly shook loose and hit the ground. As I suspected the apples didn’t fall neatly into the tub below the tree but instead landed everywhere and started rolling around in random directions.

Fascination. This implies the earth ponies have magic that can somehow directly manipulate the trees when they come in contact with them. I wonder if this ability can affect all things that grow or just a specific subset like trees. The more interesting question is how far can they manipulate the things they touch? I would have to ask Twilight about this. There are a lot of interesting possibilities with magic such as this.

I turned back to Applejack only to catch her staring at my chest again. When she realized I had caught her staring she blushed and looked away. My eyes widened in shock when I recognized the physical signs her body was giving off. She couldn’t find me attractive, could she? These ponies seemed very accepting and open minded so far but I figured my form would just be a strange fascination to them. I’m probably just putting too much thought into it. Look at me getting all cocky and shit about my appearance. Come on Cicero we’ve seen what narcissism can do to a protector. I shivered and grabbed my neck as I remembered that protectors beheading.

Alright time to get to work. “Well I think i’ve gotten the hang of apple bucking for now. Although it appears I don’t have the level of finesse you do.” I looked back at the scattered apples on the ground. Hmmmmm. “Applejack you don’t happen to have two large tarps, do you?”

Applejack finally looked back at me and said, “Sure do. Do ya need them for something?”

“Well considering using buckets would be ineffective with the wide spread of my bucking technique I was hoping I could use tarps for now. I’ll think of a better solution later but for now tarps will do.” Recognition passed across Applejacks face.

“Well alright then. I need ta show ya where to put the apples ya buck. We’ll grab tha tarp on tha way there. Follow me.” We started walking back towards Applejacks house at the front of the farm. However before we made it all the way there Applejack took a sudden detour to the right. A short ways away I saw what looked like two cellar doors resting on the ground. Applejack walked over to them and used her mouth to pull them open. After she opened the doors I peered over the edge and noted that it was quite dark down there.

Applejack either didn’t notice the darkness or didn’t care as she quickly descended the staircase. I hesitantly followed her making my way down the stairs slowly so I didn’t trip. As there was still light streaming in from outside I could barely make out what appeared to be large containers filled with apples of every kind. There had to be at least 20 of these massive containers.

“Holy cow Applejack! Are each of these containers a different type of apple?”

As my eyes started to adjust I saw Applejack puff out her chest and say, “Yep! We’re not called the apple family for nothin!” I was amazed at the sheer number of apples found in this cellar.

“How on Equis can you even utilize this many apples without them going bad?!” Wait Equis? Another word has surreptitiously slipped into my common word associations.

“Well we don’t just sell apples in the ponyville market. We have pony merchants come by every couple of days to take cartfulls of apples to their town to sell. Not ta mention we also ferment tha apples to make alcohol.” Amazing. I had mistaken Applejack for a simple farmer when she was obviously a shrewd businessmare. I nodded and bowed slightly at her words.

“It appears I have misjudged you Applejack. I took your calm demeanor and easygoing attitude for that of a uneducated rube. I can see now by your business plan and established supply routes that you are much more of an intellectual than I gave you credit for. It appears your cute looks aren’t the only thing you have in spades.”

Applejack blushed at my compliment and said, “Shucks ya done gone and made me blush.” Internally I was screaming at myself. FUCK AGAIN! What the hell. I’m not usually this flirtatious with anyone. Jesus this is the second time today the words have just naturally flowed out of me. The slowly lessening grasp on my tongue and mental barrier were starting to frighten me. Applejack didn’t let me dwell on my thoughts long though.

“Well I appreciate the compliment Cicero. You're not to hard on the eyes either sugarcube,” she said giving me a wink. I blushed slightly at her admittance. I was no match for her cute freckled smile. I coughed to neutralize the situation.

“Yes, well. Now that I know where you store the apples what is the procedure to storing them?” She gave me a knowing smile and laughed at my obvious deflection.

“Well each container of apples is separated and labeled by type so all ya need to do is dump the apples ya bring down here into the top of the container and close it back up. The apples come out through the bottom of the container so each of the oldest ones always leave first.”

“A very efficient system. Now about those tarps I mentioned earlier. As I feel guilty for smashing one of your trees I was hoping we could go get that so I could quickly get to work. I promise i’ll make up for it by the end of the workday.”

“Awww sugarcube I already told ya it’s not ah big deal. We got hundreds and hundreds of apple trees.”

“Perhaps so Applejack but to me the problem isn’t that I destroyed the tree. I was thinking illogically and let my emotions control my actions. I went overboard and destroyed your tree. One should always be in control of their emotions and thus their physical actions.” I frowned at my own admittance.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself Cicero. Everyone gets a little heated at some point or another. It’s not going to hurt anyone if ya lose control every once in awhile.” Her words triggered a memory in the back of my mind.

A protector stood before a field of carnage breathing heavily. He looked around wildly yelling guttural noises. “J-john?” a voice hesitantly called. John the protector turned rapidly and faced the unknown voice. A unnaturally tall bipedal creature stood in front of john wearing armor and was flanked by a group of others in similar armor.

“A-are you ok? I don’t think i’ve ever seen such savagery from you before John.” said the unknown voice again. John didn’t seem to have heard it’s words as he stepped forward with a crazed look on his face. The other creature noticed his look and took a step back. “No. Somethings not right here. What’s going on Jo-*RIP*” The creature never got to finish it’s words as John had lunged forward and violently thrust his hand through the creature's stomach.

The wounded creature tried to speak as John viciously threw it to the side giggling insanely. The others that had been standing behind the first creature all took hesitant steps backwards. One had the common sense to brandish his spear and yell, “Halt John. I don’t know what’s going on here but you just murdered a commanding officer. Stand down or we will use deadly force!” The others quickly mimicked the lead creature's actions as they brandished their spears.

John simply looked up and screamed. He dashed forward with the intent to slaughter once more. The other soldiers weren’t having any more of this insanity as they pierced John with their spears. The last part of the vision was John coughing up his own blood as he laughed and laughed and laughed.”

Mother had told me John was revered as an extremely skilled fighter in our society. However his skill in combat often lead to him to constantly seek out battles. Eventually mother told me he had enjoyed the feeling of killing and fighting so much he reverted back to his baser instincts and lost his mind. ‘Control your emotions lest they control you’ she had always told me. ‘As protectors we don’t have the luxury of not being in control of our emotions.’

Being in constant control of my emotions was always one of the harder lessons of my people for me to follow. The tension of no release would build up and often I found myself getting drunk at random night clubs just to relieve myself. I could never fully make my mind up about this lesson from our people. Surely there were some situations where emotions could behoove oneself? The ability to feel and use complex emotions were what made us alive. I suppose further thought on the subject would have to wait for another day as Applejack was staring at me.

“Perhaps you’re right Applejack. Maybe your words are those of a wise man.” I paused for a second and then said a little harsher, “Or maybe they’re those of a fool. I suppose only time will tell.” With that said I walked up the cellar stairs and out into the sunlight. I raised my head to the sky and felt the warm sun against my face. Damnit I just did it again. In my effort to prove my point I had done just the opposite. The stress of always remaining in control forced me to loose control. I internally sighed. Applejack didn’t didn’t deserve those harsh words. I shouldn’t have taken my frustration out on her.

I heard Applejack emerge from the cellar and close the doors. As she walked over to me I said, “Applejack I’m sorry for that little faux pas just a moment ago. That’s a touchy subject for me and I shouldn’t have said such things. I apologize for my actions and was hoping we could just forget that little moment of mine.”

“Fo what now? I don’t know what that is but don’t worry sugarcube. I didn’t take any offense to your words. Do ya want to talk about it?” I thought on her offer. I suppose collaborating with her might produce a solid decision as my individual thinking on the subject hadn’t so far. But not today. Maybe i’d take her up on that offer one day. I didn’t know her well enough to feel safe talking about who I was.

“Thank you for the kind offer Applejack but I’ll have to decline. I’d really like to get started apple bucking if you wouldn’t mind.”

“No problem Cicero. Let’s go get you those tarps.” She started walking off and I silently followed. Not to far away was the barn I had slept in the other day. As we made our way over to it i saw that half of the barn door was cracked in half. Well there's another thing to feel guilty about. She really did smash that door in half trying to chase after me. The power these earth ponies had, relative to their size, was truly mind boggling.

“I see i’ve caused the destruction of another piece of property on your farm.” I said forlornly. Applejack looked confused and then realized she had just walked past the broken barn door.

“Ahhh Cicero don’t you worry about that. That there was my fault. As I just said not a few moments before we all lose control of ourselves sometimes. In the heat of the moment I overreacted and decided to smash the door down. *heh* not one of ma finer moments. Big Mac darn near had ma hide for that hairbrained maneuver.”

“Well I know that arguing with you over this would be futile so i’m just going to have to find another way to make it up too you. I promise i’ll work extra hard today as a start.” Applejack just smiled and shook her head. She then used her mouth to pull two large tarps in front of me.

“Will this work Cicero?”

“Yes these will do fine for today. Thank you Applejack.” I scooped up the two tarps into my hands and walked out the barn back towards the fields.

Applejack called out to me as I walked away, “I’ll come get ya around noon for lunch. Don’t be afraid to come get me if ya need help. Oh and make sure to stay hydrated. We have a pump near the Apple cellar.” Not wanting to be distracted from work any longer I simply waved over my shoulder and kept walking. Eventually I made it back to the trees I had been bucking before. Alright I owe Applejack a lot after what she’s done. Time to get to work.

First things first I need to get rid of this destroyed tree. I figure since working in these apple trees is relatively secluded I could do some training while I work here. Keeping a steady flow of energy from my core into the rest of my body is an excellent way to practice my stamina control. I pulled a large amount of energy out of my core and evenly dispersed it amongst my body. Once I felt that the flow from my core was coming at a steady pace I walked over to the tree and picked it up.

I grunted as I put it between my arms and chest. Even with a steady flow this tree was heavy and unwieldy. I started a pretty fast run towards what I hoped was the edge of the property. After a good 3 minutes or so I hit the edge and set the tree down outside of the property. I’m not sure what they wanted to do with the tree but having it between the apple groves tightly placed lanes would just get in the way. As the lanes were pretty straight I easily made it back to the spot I had been previously.

Alright let’s see if this tarp is going to help at all. I laid the two massive tarps on each side of the apple tree. Winding up I kicked the tree with the same force I had before. Apples fell and scattered around as before but almost all of them stayed on the trap. Excellent. Grabbing the sides of each trap I pull them together and bundled the apples up in the tarp as best I could. Damn Applejack wasn’t kidding about her apple trees, these tarps are practically bursting their so full.

Throwing each tarp over a shoulder I started jogging back towards the cellar Applejack had showed me before. Reaching the doors I flung them open and slowly descended the stairs. I barely fit down the stairs with my full tarps. Walking over to the Braeburn apple enclosure I slowly dumped both of my tarps into the apple vat and closed the top. Jumping out of the cellar I closed the doors and jogged back to the apple trees from before.

Assessing my physical state I realized that my cores energy flow had become a bit disrupted from shifting between activities. I readjusted the flow and evened it back throughout my body. Well as far as training goes that wasn’t too bad. Mother had definitely tried to put me through worse back home. But it had been a while since i’d voluntarily participated in her daily exercises. I figured I could keep up this pace until lunch. I smiled to myself, “let’s do this.”

Around 5 or so hours later I was nearing the end of my energy reserves. Working on a farm was hard enough but steadily pushing my cores energy outward was exhausting. Luckily as I was exiting the cellar doors from one of my trips I was stopped by Applejack.

“Howdy there Cicero. Sweet Celestia! Your sweating harder than a diamond dog in a gem museum. You alright their partner?” I looked down at myself. Well she’s definitely right about that. It’s been awhile since i’ve sweat this hard. That’s what I get for neglecting moms training. Wait diamond dog?

“Applejack what’s a… you know what nevermind. I’m just too tired right now for questions. Anyways yes I’m alright Applejack. It’s just been a while since I’ve pushed myself this hard physically. Was their something you needed?”

“Ahm here to tell ya it’s lunch time. From the looks of it you could definitely use a good meal right now.”

“You have no idea. Just let me wash some sweat off at your pump and I’ll be ready to go.” As the pump was near the cellar I quickly walked over and splashed some water over my chest. My pants were getting wet, but they were already so soaked with sweat it didn’t matter at this point. I didn’t care enough to wash off my whole body as I was ravenous at this point. One side effect of protectors using their powers were that we had to replenish it somehow. The more we used our powers the more our bodies craved food to replenish itself.

“Please lead on Applejack, i’m practically starving.”

“I’ll bet,” she laughed. “This way.” Applejack led me over towards a picnic table in front of her house. Once I got closer my eyes practically sparkled in delight. The table was completely inundated with a massive variety of food. Pies, fritters, beans, corn, salad, apples, watermelon, and so much more was laid out before me. I’m not proud but I definitely started to noticeably drool at the sight.

“Well if looks like someone appreciates my cooking! See Applejack! I told ya ah didn’t make too much. The poor feller looks half starved.” Said an unknown female voice. I looked over to see an old green mare smiling at me.

“Ha! I guess you were right Gran. This is Cicero,” She said pointing at me. “He’s the help I mentioned hiring yesterday.” Applejack then turned to me. “Cicero this is Granny Smith and she made today's delicious looking lunch.” I smiled at Granny Smith. A farm wouldn’t be the same without some home cooking.

“Well thank you for today's meal Mrs. Smith. It looks phenomenal!” I said excitedly.

“Please yougun, just call me Gran. By the looks of ya, you done a hard day's work out there. I’d say you’ve earned this meal. Go on sonny dig in!”

“Don’t mind if I d-”

“WAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! Applejack, Gran, Big Mac look out! There’s a huge creature next to ya!” A high pitched feminine voice yelled. I spun around looking for the voice and noticed Big Mac approaching the table from the direction of the fields. It couldn’t have been him. Where on Equis did that come from? I didn’t have to wait long for an answer. A tiny yellow mare foal with a red tail and mane quickly skittered over to me.

“A-ah don’t know what ya are but I’ll p-p-protect ma family!” The little foal stuttered out. OH. MY. GOD. If I had thought derpy was cute yesterday this foals cuteness was on another level entirely. Her tiny body, her shaky stance, her cute southern drawl, and the biggest most precious red bow on top of her head. It was too much, I couldn’t handle it.

“HHNNNNGGG!” I grunted out letting my knees hit the ground.

“Applebloom! Ah told ya about the new help coming to the farm today. Remember when I mentioned he was a different creature than you’d ever seen before?” She scolded Applebloom, who now looked slightly ashamed at her overreaction. Applejack looked in my direction and said, “Ya alright there Cicero?”

“I knew out of all the places i’d seen in my life someone had to have done it and now I finally have proof. You ponies are the first species I’ve ever met who’ve effectively weaponized cuteness!” I then spread my arms and flung my head back in a dramatic gesture. “If I have to die by your cute hooves then so be it! Go ahead I won’t fight you!” To my delight I got the reaction i’d hoped for and heard the tiny foal laugh. I looked back down to see her smiling.

“You're a weird creature mister! What are you?” Applebloom said brimming with curiosity.

“Well little one I most likely seem weird to you because i’m not of this planet. My names Cicero and I’m a human from a planet called Earth.”

“You’re an alien!?” Applebloom yelled in shock! She then started to excitedly hop around in a circle. “OH MY GOSH! This is so amazing! Ya have to help me and ma friends get our cutie marks Cicero! Think of all the cool new things we could try with an alien ta help us.”

“Applebloom for goodness sake simmer down!” Applejack said in exasperation. Applebloom only calmed down enough to stop bouncing around in a circle as she bounded over to me. Using her forelegs to hold herself up against me she started to bounce up and down while wagging her tail, just like an excited puppy would.

“Please say you’ll help us Cicero! Please Please Please!” She said with wide excited eyes. Satan himself wouldn’t have been able to say no and disappoint this adorable little foal. I scooped her up in my arms and snuggled her while I said, “I’d love to help you and your friends Applebloom. I don’t really know what you want or what a cutie mark is but I promise I’ll do my best.” Applebloom looked up at me with shock on her face.

“How can ya not know what a cutie mark is? All adults have one don’t they?” She said with a concerned face. I didn’t know what she was talking about so I just hugged her tighter trying to alleviate her concern. Applejack spoke up to cover for my lack of knowledge on the subject.

“All adults have cutie marks Applebloom. Everyone gets one at some point while they’re growing up. You and your friends will get yours when the time is right.” She then looked at me. “As you’re not a pony I ain’t surprised ya don’t know what a cutie mark is.” Applejack turned to her side and pointed at the tattoo on her rump I had noticed before. “This here’s ma cutie mark! It’s apples to show my love of eatin and growin them.” I set Applebloom down as this was something that had interested me for a while.

“So you ponies tattoo something of special meaning to you on your bodies as a right of passage?”

“What the hay is a tattoo?” She responded quizzically.

“A tattoo is something humans do that I figured you ponies did as well. To give a quick explanation it’s when someone takes a needle and systematically uses it to inject ink underneath your skin. These colored inks are generally injected in a pattern so that they depict a symbol, picture, or words that are important to whomever is getting the tattoo. I figured that’s what your cutie mark was.” Applejack did not take this explanation well.

“That sounds awful! Why in Celestia’s name would anyone do that to themselves!?” Celestia’s name? Do they revear the princess's as gods here? Twilight had always seemed reverent when she talked about the princesses, especially Celestia. Hmmmm I suppose I’ll have to find out when I meet them. The ponies actions around the princesses would confirm my suspicious better than questioning them would.

“Most of the time the reason people get a tattoo is because the thing they’re getting tattooed on their body means a lot to that person. So much so that they want a constant physical reminder of it. However there are those that choose to get tattoos as fashion statements instead. Personally I’ve never understood the fascination with tattoos,” I said giving a shrug. “Alright so if you ponies don’t use tattoos then how do you get your cutie marks?”

“Well they just sort of appear when ya find what you’re suppose ta do,” She said shrugging.

“Appear? As in they magically show up on your flank one day without any assistance?” I asked incredulously.

“Yeah that sounds about right. Usually they show up right after ya find your calling.”

“HOLY HELL! That’s amazing!” These marks appear on each ponies flank and tell them what they're supposed to do for the rest of their lives!? I couldn’t even begin to describe how much I envied their situation. I’ve always had the hardest time trying to find my purpose and here these ponies just had theirs thrust upon them. I could definitely understand why Applebloom and her friends wanted theirs as soon as possible. In a strange way I guess this little foal and I were much more similar than I had initially believed.

“So where’s your cutie mark cicero?” Applebloom asked.

“Well as far as I know humans don’t get cutie marks so I guess I don’t have one now or ever will.” I said a bit disappointed. “I’ll admit knowing that I won’t get one is a bit of a let down. On the other hand humans have always decided their own fate without Cutie Marks so it’s not like I can’t still find my purpose. Anyways, Applejack these cutie marks interest me greatly. Do you mind if I study yours a little closer?”

“Sure! I don’t see why not. Go ahead.” Walking over to Applejack I dropped to my knees and began scrutinizing her cutie mark up close. The mark appeared to be attached to her skin and coat at the same time. Intriguing. What happens when their coats grow out? Does the skin it grows from change the hair's color? Or maybe these ponies don’t grow longer coats like the ponies on Earth. I reached out and prodded Applejacks mark with a finger. This made Applejack jump in surprise and I realized I should probably have asked her first before poking her.

“Oh! Sorry about that Applejack. I didn’t mean to startle you with my sudden actions. You don’t mind if I touch your mark do you?”

She laughed. “It’s alright Cicero. Ya just startled me is all. I can understand you being a might bit curious seeing as humans don’t have one. Go ahead.”

“Thanks,” I said absentmindedly as I got back to observing her apple cutie mark. I poked all of the apples to see if It felt any different from the rest of her skin. To my surprise the feelings of her cutie marked coat and normal coat were indistinguishable from each other. Hmmm I guess it’s not a scar or biological change of the skin. I quickly rubbed my hand across it a few times to see if I could get some of the color to come off or smear. This still produced no results. Perhaps these marks are just something I can’t explain.

I noticed Applejacks tail starting to swish a little faster as I continued to poke her mark. As it wasn’t in my way I decided to ignore it for now. Maybe the mark is a result of something biologically changing beneath the skin? I started kneading my fingers into the area in and around her cutie mark. I tried feeling around for anything that might seem out of place for an equine. I was distracted from my observations when I heard a soft “oooohhhhh” from Applejack. Was…. was that a moan.

I looked up to see Applejack blushing and looking away from me. It then occurred to me that I had accidentally been feeling up Applejacks butt for a while now. So that tail swishing was…. Shit. Damn my curiosity. I stood up and took a few steps back from Applejack who was still looking away in embarrassment.

“Errrr sorry about that Applejack.” I said awkwardly. “Sometimes I get too curious for my own good. I really like to question things and come up with my own theories on how they work. I didn’t mean to let my curiosity get the better of me.”

“I’m not mad Cicero, just a little embarrassed is all. Those things of yours sure are strange but I have to admit it they felt mighty nice. Almost a little too nice.” She finished, mumbling the last part. I smiled at her embarrassing admittance.

“Well as I told Twilight before I’d be happy to give you a back or belly rub if you want. Shoot everyone, me in included, loves a good rub. Especially if you have a hard time reaching that part of your body. As you ponies don’t seem too terribly flexible I can definitely understand wanting to be scratched or rubbed where you can’t reach. But anyways the rubbing session will have to wait as I’m still ridiculously hungry.”

I looked over to the food table with eager eyes. I made note of the fact that gran was standing next to the table with a smile on her face as she looked at Applejack. I also noticed that big mac was looking at me through narrowed eyes. Poor Applebloom just seemed to be looking at everyone in confusion. Hope I didn’t offend her family or something like that. Especially since they just hired me to work here. My stomach reminded me that I was still hungry by letting out a loud, *grumble*. Well I’ll think about that later, I need food badly.

Standing next to the table I grabbed a plate and loaded it up with some of everything. I didn’t waste any more time as I rapidly got to work eating my food. Man everything I eat here always tastes better than the last and I’m not just saying that because I’m starving. I thought about stopping to tell Gran that her food was wonderful but my body's lack of energy demanded that I continued to scarf down this food. I got about a minute or two into eating before the good times had to end. Everyone had been standing around eating their food as well when Applejack said, “So Judging by the speed that you're currently putting away all that food and the exhausted state I found you in earlier I’m assuming that you got a lot of work done today.” Common courtesy demanded that I stop eating and answer Applejack so I very sadly put down the piece of pie I had been eating.

“Yeah I’m not sure how much you guys usually do in a day but I tried my hardest today. I wanted to show you that hiring me was a good choice. I’m very excited to get back to work.” I paused for a second to think. “Although you might want me to start collecting some different apples besides Braeburn, unless you have another container for them. The one you showed me this morning is pretty much completely full. Applejack and Big Mac both froze at my words.

“What do ya mean full Cicero?” Applejack asked. I raised my eyebrow at her question but answered none the less.

“I mean full, as in the opposite of empty. The container most likely can only take a few more apples before I won’t be able to close it next time.” Applejack and Big Macs eyes grew wide as they looked at each other and then back to me. I just stared back confused. Quick as lightning both shot off towards the direction of the cellar. As they had startled me I just watched them go. After a few seconds I said, “What was that all about?”

“Beats me youngun, I just do the cooking and cleaning around here. Ya might wanna go see what’s got them in such a tizzy though.” Gran said. I really wanted to figure out what just happened but I also really wanted to keep eating Gran’s delicious lunch. My head swiveled back and forth between the table of food and the apple cellar.

Gran, noticing my plight, laughed at me and said, “Don’t worry Cicero the food will be here when ya get back! Go on now.” I gave a quick salute and started walking back towards the apple cellar. As I walked towards the cellar doors I started to hear two voices conversing loudly with each other. Seeing that the cellar door was ajar I started my way inside.

“How is it even possible!? It takes the two of us three full days to fill one of these containers and somehow he’s done it by himself in six hours!” My chest filled with pride at Applejacks words. I was now well on my way to paying Applejack back for her kindness. I was quite pleased that I had found a way to make myself a useful employee. Unfortunately my happy thoughts were crushed by her next words.

“What are we gonna do with all these apples? I didn’t think he’d collect nearly this much. Shoot I didn’t he’d even be able to buck half as many as us.” Dammit! I was overzealous in my apple bucking today. I didn’t think about whether they could sell these many apples. I guess I had been thinking about the farms on Earth when I had been bucking. They always had a buyer they could sell to somewhere. I guess in a small town it would be harder to find as many.

I walked over to the braeburn apple container and said, “Yeah my bad on that one guys. I didn’t even think about how many apples you’d have to sell before they went bad. I was just really eager to help you guys out and I guess I went overboard.” Applejack and Big Mac both jumped and spun around to face me when I spoke.

“Ahh it’s alright sugarcube, I didn’t mean ta make ya feel bad fer working hard.” Applejack said. “I’m just surprised ya managed to buck so darn many apples. I’m sure Big Mac and me will find something ta do with them.” She said sounding unsure of her own words. Thankfully Big Mac came to both of our rescues.

“Actually I have a plan you two.” He turned to Applejack. “The pony merchants that travel past our farm always ask for more apples when they come by. We always told them no as we only had enough other apples for the ponies in town. Now we can sell multiple carts full of apples to them and have enough left over for the ponies in town.”

“Big Mac you’re a genius! Think of all the apples we could sell to everypony.” Applejack excitedly reared up and said, “Now everypony for miles around Ponyville will know about the apple family's apples!” She then landed and looked at me. “That is if you think you can buck this many apples again.”

“Of course! I’d be happy to help in any way I can.”

“Yeehaw! This is gonna be great! Bic Mac and I can buck a variety of apples every day for the ponies in town while ya buck a specific type of apple each day. We’ll be able to rotate shipments of different apples each day so no one will ever get tired of tha flavors.” Well that went way better that I expected it too. I turned to Big Mac and gave him a thumbs up. As ponies don’t have hands he just furrowed his brow in confusion at my actions. I laughed at his confused face and looked back to Applejack.

“As excited as I am about this news I’m still really really hungry. So if it’s alright with you two could we discuss any further plans over lunch?” I asked clutching my grumbling stomach.

“Well a course! Wouldn’t want gran’s lunch to go to waste.” Applejack joyously trotted towards the cellar entrance. I made to follow but was stopped when Big Mac got in front of me. Before I could ask him what was wrong he spoke up.

“Thanks fer your help Cicero. Applejack has always been worried she couldn’t run tha farm as well as ma and pa did. Hopefully this new venture will show her otherwise. I’m happy to have ya as a co worker on that farm.” Bic Mac let a wry smile cross his face. “I’ll also forget about ya feeling up ma sister earlier….. fer now. Ya watch them hands of yours in that future ya here?”

I coughed nervously. “Yes….. well…. I’ll be sure to be careful.” I then walked past Big Mac towards the cellar door. I couldn’t help but take a small jab at him as I quietly added, “Next time I touch Applejacks butt.” I swear I could hear Big Mac’s head snap to my retreating form. I laughed at his reaction as I climbed the cellar stairs. Truth be told I had no intention of feeling up Applejack again, I just couldn’t help but mess with Big Mac. Nothing's better than tripping up the stoic ones.

As I walked back towards the picnic table from before I thought back to my actions while I was observing Applejacks cutie mark. These ponies had deceptively soft coats for as short as they were. I remembered that as I had kneaded Applejacks hips I noticed how well toned her flanks had been. Not to mention she had that cute freckled farm girl look going for her. Now that I actually think about it I wouldn’t mind feeling it agi-. I stopped walking and facepalmed.

Again? Really Cicero? Jesus I’ve been acting like a hormonal human teenager all day! What is wrong with me? It’s like I’ve lost all semblance of mental control since I came here. My thoughts were getting more and more ridiculous as the day went on. I will definitely need to meditate on this tonight. I suppose these thoughts aren’t necessarily a problem but they are an annoyance. I find these uncontrolled thoughts and my lack of mental discipline rather frustrating.

I removed my hand from my face and continued walking back to the lunch table. I’ll deal with this later. I need to go make sure Gran kept her promise when she shooed me off earlier. To my delight I reached the table and saw someone had refiled my previously empty plate with second helpings. I looked up and saw Gran smiling at me. I smiled back and dug into my now full plate.

A little while later Big mac rejoined the table and everyone went back to eating as if nothing had happened before. After finishing my second plate of food my appetite was finally starting to slow down. Applejack noticed and took this opportunity to talk. “Alright Cicero you’re done working for today. We’ll need ta contact the pony merchants that come by tha farm ta let them know about our offer. We probably won’t need any more extra bucking done for a few days as what you’ve done today should last us. I’ll contact ya in a few days when we’ll need ya ta start buckin again.”

“I’ve only been working here for one day and I’m already being let go,” I said jokingly.

“HA! Fat chance partner. With your apple bucking techniques our farm could thrive! I hope ya decide to stick around Equestria.”

“I suppose how long I stay around these lands depends on your princesses. I don’t know how I got here or how to go back. From what Twilight has told me they seem to be the only ones with the knowledge or power to possibly send me back.”

“Don’t you worry Cicero. If anyone knows how ta get ya out of this pickle it’s the princesses. Anyways I’ll go get your pay for the day now. Ya’ll just wait here, I’ll only be a second.”

While Applejack walked off I figured now would be a good time to compliment Grans cooking. “Gran I just wanted to say thank you for this delicious meal today. I look forward to the next time i’m on the farm if not just so I can have your splendid cooking again.”

“Ha! I’m happy ya liked it Cicero. Judging from the pep in Applejacks step I’d say you’ll be back here eating ma food in no time.” She smiled at me. I smiled back as I saw Applejack coming out of the house holding a large bulbous bag in her mouth.

She set the bag on the table in front of me and said, “Here ya go Cicero! For a hard day's work.” I looked inside the bag and saw a combination of those yellow, white, and brown bits I had seen Twilight use the day before.

“Well as I’m not used to your monetary system here in Equestria yet I can’t be sure If I should be excited by this amount or not. No matter how much it is thank you for the job you’ve given me Applejack.”

“Ha! Trust me Cicero it’s a fair amount. I look forward ta seeing ya again in a few days.” Sensing I was being dismissed I grabbed the money sack and waved my other hand in farewell. Started back on the dirt path towards Twilight's library I figured they most likely had a lot of work to still do after lunch. You’ll never run out of things to do on a farm. As I started walking I realized in all of the commotion I never had a chance to talk to Big Mac about the gender disparity in this town. Oh well, I’ll just ask him next time I see him.

After a few minutes of walking I was nearing Twilights house. I was almost in her front yard when I remembered that Rarity mentioned she would finish my clothes today. Looking down at myself I realized that my pants were on their last legs after being worn continually. Even if I’m tired I really should go get some clothing before tomorrow. First things first though. I’m really thirsty and I doubt Twilight would mind if I stopped by for some water.

Making my way over to her door I figured I should probably knock as I was just a guest right now. I rapt on her door decently loud, hoping that she was downstairs reading a book or something. My faith was rewarded with a, “Coming,” from a very Twilight-ish sounding voice behind the door. The door opened and before me stood Twilight levitating an open book to her side. I opened my mouth to say hi but never got the chance.

As soon as Twilight laid eyes on me she let out a loud, “EEP,” and disappeared in a flash. I stood there for a second trying to figure out what the hell just happened. The events of this morning came flooding back into my mind and realization dawned on me. I guess she’s still embarrassed about earlier.

“Twilight?” no response. “Twilight?” I said a little louder. Still no response. Damn I didn’t think she’d still be embarrassed. Lo and behold my calling produced a little purple and green dragon rather than Twilight.

“Hey Cicero! What’s with all the yelling for Twilight? I thought she was down here reading a book.” Spike said confused.

“Errr yes…. Well she was for a little bit. I actually came by to get some water before heading into town. I need to retrieve some clothes that Rarity made for me.” At the utterance of the name Rarity, Spike’s concentration seemed to loosen as a dreamy expression crossed his face. Ahh well that’s not a hard reaction to identify. Puppy love. I had seen a few of my younger friends back on Earth get the same dreamy expression on their face when we talked about certain girls.

“Got the hots for Rarity eh Spike?” I said unable to keep a small bit of mirth from my voice. Those words seemed to light a fire under the poor dragon as he hopped up with a stupefied expression on his face. Before he was able to form a coherent response to my teasing I laughingly said, “Don’t worry Spike your secret is safe with me. I couldn’t help but mess with you. The dreamy look on your face when I mentioned Rarities name made your feelings rather obvious.”

Spike seemed relieved at my words but said, “How did you know I hadn’t told her my feelings yet?” A surprisingly astute observation for one as young as he. I figured i’d give him the truth.

“It was an educated guess actually. I’ve seen many young males on Earth with the same expression on their face when I mentioned older females they were pining after.”

“H-how did it turn out for those guys?” Spike hopefully asked. Ah shit. I didn’t want to be the one to break this kind of news to the kid. Puppy love was fun while it lasted. Unfortunately I feel as though I’d be doing him a disservice if I didn’t answer him with the truth. He most likely wasn’t going to get the raw harsh truth from Twilight and her friends.

“First before I answer you Spike know that what I’m about to say is only from my experiences and it’s meant to help you. Do you understand?” He hesitantly nodded at my grim words. “Alright well the truth is that most of the time when young ones such as yourself think they love an older person it usually isn’t real love.”

“What?!” Yelled Spike! He seemed indignant that I would declare his love for Rarity to be anything but pure.

“Hold on there Spike! Let me finish before you start getting angry. Remember that I’m only telling you these things from my experiences, ok?” He grumbled at my word but seemed to calm down. “As I was saying before usually the young men i’m talking about would grow up and realize that what they felt for the older women wasn’t actually love. When you’re younger you tend to filter out all of the bad qualities of those who interest you and only focus on the good ones, such as looks.”

“But Rarity is really pretty! That’s not a bad thing!” Spike said back.

“I didn’t say it was a bad thing Spike. I’m just saying that a lady, or I guess mare in this case, has more to her than her looks. Think of all the interactions you’ve hard with Rarity. If you think about most of them can you honestly say you found her perfect in every situation?” My words caught Spike off guard as he swallowed the next words he had been about to defend Rarity with. He put his claw to his chin and looked like he was deep in thought. After a little bit I saw his face continuously flitting between a frown and a smile. It looks like he’s actually taking my advice and thinking on it.

“Now I’m not saying that the person you love has to be perfect. If perfect is your idea for an ideal mate then you’ll be alone your whole life as absolutely no one is perfect. All i’m saying is give my words some thought and think on it. Who knows, maybe you’ll decide that you actually do really love her after thinking on it. I’m not saying young love can’t become true love I’m just saying you need to be sure before you pursue it.”

Spike didn’t answer as he still seemed to be deep in thought. I needed to go get my clothes so I figured I’d leave him be for now. What I had said was a lot for any pers- I mean dragon to take in. “Well I can see you need some time to think Spike. I’m going to go grab some water and head into town.” I made my way towards the kitchen and forewent getting a cup as I drank straight from Twilights sink. Don’t judge me, I was thirsty and didn’t want to try finding the cups.

As I exited the kitchen and made my way towards Twilight's front door I saw Spike had sat down and was still thinking hard. Not wanting to interrupt I passed him by and crouched out the front door. I stood straight up and started walking in the direction that I remembered going yesterday to get into town. Hopefully it would be as easy as following the path to find Rarity’s boutique. As I was tired and in no hurry I slowed my walk down to a saunter and enjoyed the wonderful atmosphere of Ponyville.

A part of me really wanted my coming here to just be a fluke that the princesses could easily correct and send me on my way. But another part of me had grown fond of this village and it’s ponies and wanted to stay. Unfortunately if I really was meant to be here then a part of me felt really guilty for wanting to stay. Whenever A protector showed up it usually heralded a period of great turmoil in that planet's history. Even though protectors were tasked with fighting against any evil we were sadly seen as the harbingers of it’s coming.

I was proud of what my people did. This had been our fates since before our civilization had developed any form of record keeping to tell the future generation what we did. In a small way I felt robbed of a purpose by this fact. While becoming might seem like a great destiny to some it was in fact something that most of my people did. Unlike these ponies our fate didn’t divulge what made us special or unique. It was ironic that I knew what my future would most likely hold but not what I was supposed to do.

I looked up at the sky to try and stop myself from brooding on this subject any longer. As I raised my head I realized I had arrived at Rarity’s boutique without even noticing it. As her house doubled as her business I simply walked in the front door of the shop. Like last time I had been here I heard a bell go off followed by “Coming!”. I heard the sounds of hooves clopping down the stairs followed by the appearance of Rarity.

“Ahh Cicero! How wonderful to see you again! Come come follow me. I finished up your redesigns earlier toda-” Rarity stopped talking and opened her eyes wide. I saw her gaze flow over my form. I looked down and remembered what a messy state I was in. I had been working on Applejacks farm all day and had never cleaned myself up properly. Hosing myself down earlier had only added to the shabby appearance I was sporting at the moment.

Shit I forgot how much of a lady Rarity was. To an outsider it probably looked like a filthy hobo had just wandered into her fancy clothing store. I better utilize whatever proper etiquette I know quickly, lest I offend her somehow.

“Rarity please forgive my rather disheveled appearance. I was working on Applejacks farm earlier and didn’t have any presentable clothing to change into before coming to you. I apologize for my thoughtfulness in entering your adobe in such a filthy state. If you wish I can extricate myself from the premises until I’ve found a way to rectify this situation. I’ll come back once I’ve changed my appearance to one that’s fit to be in the presence of a lady.” I started turning around to leave when Rarity stopped me.

“How could a lady, such as myself, not offer to help a gentlecolt in need? Come now I won’t make you leave when this situation is obviously not your fault. Although I must insist you use my shower to freshen up. I’ll bring you one of the new outfits I created for you.”

I bowed slightly and said, “As the lady wishes. Might I enquire as to the direction of your bathroom?”

“But of course! It’s at the top of the stairs to the right. You can use my towels and whatever other cleaning materials you can find in there.” She said happily. I smiled and climbed her stairs to finally start getting clean. While I didn’t show it often I actually hated the feeling of being dirty. It’s not as if I was completely against being filthy at any time I just didn’t want to be dirty when I wasn’t in a situation that required it. I’m actually quite happy Rarity offered to let me use her bathroom. It will be nice to finally get some fresh clothes after getting clean.

I easily found her bathroom at the top of the stairs and went inside. Again I noted that the bathroom door didn’t have a lock on it. I wasn’t worried about a repeat of this morning as Rarity knew I was in here. Still, no locks on bathrooms seemed like a strange societal norm to me. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that ponies are mostly naked at all times. Either way I grabbed a towel hanging off the wall rack and turned on the water.

Just like Twilight's shower I had to do some twisting and turning to get mostly under the shower head. Once I was situated I used Rarity’s bar soap to clean the filth from my body. God if felt good to be clean once again. Nothing like a hot shower after a long day's work. I reached for a shampoo to finish the job only to find a distinct lack of shampoo in the shower. Hmmm strange. You’d think a person like Rarity would have shampoo. Well she did mention I could use whatever I found.

I stepped out of the shower and toweled off a bit of the water on me so I could check her bathroom cabinets for any extra shampoo. She had a row of cabinets from the floor practically to the ceiling. I started at the bottom and worked my way up. Bandades, ointment, q-tips, cotton balls, soap, more towels, a pink dildo….. At this point my brain split into two distinct entities.

Angel: Ok moving on nothing to see here. Maybe if we call Rarity she c-

Devil: Woah woah woah woah hold on there buddy. Let’s go back to that last item on that list for a second. So did you say Dildo?

Angle: *sigh* Yes I said dildo. It’s not unexpected for a girl to have one. We should respect her privacy and just move on.

Devil: Uhhh you do realize that you just found a hidden pink horse dildo right? Come on! Aren’t you curious at all? How can you not want to at least see what it looks like!

Angel: Because It’s most likely Rarity's and you know how ladylike she acts. It would be rude to pry into such a ladies private matters.

Devil: COME ON! The fact that it’s the ladylike Rarity’s makes me want to see it even more! What if there’s some really kinky shit hidden behind it up there. Besides it’s our duty to look.

Angel: D-duty? What do you mean?

Devil: What if we are truly stuck in this land as it’s protector? What if we can’t go back home? We’ll need to learn everything about this land and it’s people. Including their body structure.

Angel: I-I guess you have a point. I mean it’s for a good reason right?

Devil: Of course buddy of course. Remember Twilight’s wise words, “FOR SCIENCE!”

My two halfs having reconciled sent the order up the chain and I was forced to go back to the cabinet with the dildo I had seen before. As I had noticed before it contained a decently sized pink dildo in the normal shape of a horse's member. I hesitantly pulled it out and beheld all 8 inches of the strangely flared pink pleasure plunger. I’ll admit I had expected it to be slightly bigger as horses and ponies were generally known for their relatively large members. But I suppose if I actually took relativity into account it did made sense considering the size of these ponies on Equis.

Jesus how did it come to this. I’ve been cast into an unknown world of innocent talking ponies and now I’m secretly rifling through their cabinets to find their pleasure toys like some common pervert. “IT’S FOR SCIENCE!” my inner devil and angel argued. Quiet you two. Seeing as I was feeling slightly guilty I was about to put the offending item back in it’s hiding place when I heard someone knock on the door. In my panic I fumbled the dildo and managed to smack myself in the eye with it.

“FUCK!” I yelled in pain clutching my eye in one hand while I angrily held the dildo in the other.

“Cicero dear are you ok? Should I come in!” Rarity worriedly asked.

“NO!” I yelled. “Uhhh I mean no Rarity I’m completely fine. Just stubbed my toe is all.”

“Stubbed your toe?” She asked confused. Fuck. Ponies don’t have toes.

“It means I just hurt myself accidentally. Sorry I was trying to find some shampoo in your cabinets.” FUUUUUUUCK! WHY DID YOU MENTION THE CABINETS YOU DUMBASS!?

“Is there none in the shower? Oh wait I remember now. I had recently run out of shampoo for my tail and mane. I use a rather special one to keep them luscious and styled. I was about to order some mo-.......” Rarity stopped rather abruptly.

“Cicero…. Dear….. You’re rather tall aren’t you.”

“Yes. Yes I am Rarity.”

“You…. you didn’t happen to search any of the upper cabinets did you darling?” Here it comes. I’m fucked no matter what I answer now. Even if I lied she would just notice the strange displacement of her toy later. Well If i’m going down I’m taking her with me.

“It….. it was a rather pretty shade of pink lady Rarity.” A few moments of silence and then *thump*. “Rarity?” I waited for a response. “Hello? Rarity are you there?” Still nothing. I sighed and facepalmed. Unfortunately I forgot I still had the dildo in one of my hands and once again slapped myself across the face with the offending phallus. “DAMNIT!” I yelled throwing the troublemaking dildo back into its cabinet. Hesitantly I opened the door a crack and saw rarity lying on the ground, out cold.

“Wow. I really did take her out.” I saw my clothing next to her downed body and reached out to pull it back into the bathroom. I quickly turned off the shower and dried the rest of my body off. Hanging up the towel and putting on the clothing I noted that it was now a much more tasteful design. She had managed to take the completely amethyst covered shirt from yesterday and simplified it down to 3 squarish gems in the middle of the shirt. Minus the colors it almost looked like Rarity's cutie mark. I have to admit I was very impressed with the full overhaul she had completed overnight.

I would have to save the admiration of my clothing for later as Rarity needed my help right now. With these recent events I was beginning to wonder if I would ever be able to safely take showers here in Equestria. Putting that aside I walked out of the bathroom to see Rarity still laying on the ground out cold. I figured the best option at this point was to get her into a more comfortable position before attempting to resuscitate her. I bent down and pulled Rarity into my arms as I held her against my chest.

I walked back down the stairs and noticed a couch to the side of the stairs. Walking over to it I gently set Rarity upon it. I noticed that even passed out her mane and tail still looked elegantly styled. I wonder how much work she puts into preparing herself every day. Anyone could see that a hairstyle like Rarity's would require a lot of daily dedication. It’s strange that a vibrant color like purple can so perfectly accent her pristine white coat. She looks so delicate… so beautiful…..

*Sigh* And there I go again. I’m beginning to think there’s something funny going on in this land. Controlling my thoughts has never been this difficult before. Perhaps the ponies here naturally release pheromones and my body is reacting to them. Normally as a different species this wouldn’t be a problem but protectors bodies were extraordinarily adaptable. I really do need to stop and meditate on this sometime soon. I’ll make it my first priority later. I need to get back to the task at hand.

I placed my hands on Rarity and gently tried to shake her awake. This produced no results so I shook her shoulder a little harder. Still nothing. I tried calling her name at varying levels of loudness. This also produced no visible results. “Hmmm she’s really out cold. Maybe if I’m lucky she won’t even remember the bathroom incident when she wakes up.” While that was wishful thinking it was still nice to hope. I put my hand to my chin and pondered what I could do next to rouse Rarity.

The front door swung open as a squeaky voice called out, “Rarity I’m home!”. A little white unicorn foal with a light pink and purple mane walked in the front door. “Rarity!” The foal called again. I figured I should probably say something.

“Hey there little one. My name is Cicero and your sister is over here on the couch.” The foal jumped when she heard my words coming from behind her. She turned to see me sitting on the couch next to her sister.

“Wh-who are you! What did you do to Rarity!” the foal said in a squeaky panicked voice. God I’ll never get over how adorable all of these creatures are. And following with tradition this new pony was even more adorable than the last one I’d seen.

“Woah! Hold on there little one. I mean no harm. I simply came by to try on some clothes that your sister made for me. Unfortunately as I was trying them on poor Rarity seemed to pass out cold.” I figured there was no reason to spread the true story and embarrass Rarity further. “Poor dear looked like she worked herself to hard recently.”

The little foals face lit up as she said, “I know who you are! Rarity mentioned making clothes for a tall alien the other day! That’s you isn’t it?”

“Well as I doubt there are many aliens walking around Ponyville I would say most likely yes.”

“Well my names Sweetie Belle and Rarity is my sister!” She then trotted over to her sister and nuzzled her face with her own. “I’ve always told Rarity that she works too hard when a deadline is coming up.” Sweetie Belle said with a concerned look on her face.

“Well I’m sure she’ll be fine with some proper rest and relaxation Sweetie Belle. I wouldn’t worry too much and I’m sure she’d tell you the same.” Sweetie Belle Smiled. “Unfortunately I have been unable to wake her up as of yet and I have prior engagements today that I need to keep. Would you mind terribly if I continued on to them and left you to watch over Rarity here?”

“Sure! No problem mister! I’ll make sure Rarity gets plenty of rest when she wakes up.” I smiled at her enthusiastic face and stood up. Sweetie Belle took my place next to Rarity and nestled in close to her Sister. “One last thing Sweetie Belle.” She looked up at me. “If you wouldn’t mind could you deliver a message to your sister when she wakes up?” Sweetie Belle nodded her head. “Let Rarity know that I’m grateful for the clothing she made and that I’ll be back for the rest of it tomorrow. Also let her know that I’d like to talk to her about placing an order for other special clothing.” I then pointed to Sweetie Belle. “Oh and please just call me Cicero.”

“Got it Cicero! I’ll make sure she gets the message.” She said while giving me a small salute. I walked towards the door and called out, “Thanks Sweetie Belle,” as I exited the Carousel Boutique. I felt bad leaving Rarity unconscious on the couch but I’m sure Sweetie Belle would take good care of her. I needed to get back to the library and talk to Twilight. I promised her that I would tell her about a neat human invention today. I hope she’s gotten over the embarrassment of this morning by now.

Setting a quick pace I made it back to Twilights house in no time. I knocked on the door to see if anyone was home. After a few seconds I heard Spike call “Coming!” from inside the house. A few clicking sounds from clawed feet was followed by Spike swinging open the door. “Hey Cicero!” he said. Twilight, who had been reading behind Spike, suddenly froze at my name but didn’t disappear as she had twice before. Well that’s definitely an improvement over her actions from before.

“Hey Spike.” I said walking into the house. “You look a lot better than when I left you earlier.” Spike put his claw on the back of his head.

“Yeah you definitely gave me a lot to think about earlier. I’m kinda confused and don’t know how I feel now to be honest.” He finished sounding disheartened.

“Sorry about that Spike. I didn’t meant to fill your mind with doubt. I was only trying to help you. The faster you can recognize what it is you truly feel the faster you can decide what course of action you take. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about women in all of my life it’s that most of them at the very least respect confidence and decisiveness. A lot of them find those attributes attractive actually. As embarrassing as it sounds I only want to help you listen to what your heart says.” I was never especially good with talking to children so I worried that I had perhaps said the wrong thing to Spike.

“It’s ok Cicero. I could tell from your words earlier that you weren’t trying to confuse me. I understand that you’re trying to help me. I’m probably going to need some time before I decide what it is I want to do though. Is that ok?” I was impressed that Spike was able to grasp such complex emotions considering his age. His hesitant question at the end however showed that he was still a confused child at heart. I smiled. What an interesting enigma of a dragon Spike was.

“Yes Spike it’s definitely ok. While decisiveness is a desirable quality so is thoughtfulness. Hastily rushing to a decision is almost worse than not deciding at all.” I ruffled his head fringes. “And take your time man. You’re still young and have a long time to think about things.” Spike seemed pleased with my response.

“Thanks Cicero! You’re a cool guy.”

“No problem bro.” I held out my fist to Spike expected him to fist bump it. Spike seemed confused at first but quickly realized what I was going for. He bumped his claw against my hand and cheerfully scampered off to some other part of the library. As I watched him go I thought about how pleased I was to have met Spike. He was cool enough as a fire breathing dragon but now I realized he was also a really nice guy. I hoped I would be able to hang out with him in the future, especially when he got a little bit older.

“What was that all about,” Twilight asked as she watched Spike disappear into the kitchen. Oh wow she’s actually talking to me. Awesome, I guess she’s already forgotten about this mornings embarrassing situation. Of course right as I thought that she also appeared to remember the same incident and looked back to her book with a blush. I answered her question anyways.

“Oh nothing much. I just had some guy talk with Spike earlier today about some things.” I said non specifically. It’s not like I didn’t want Twilight to know what we had talking about. I figured if Spike wanted her to know he’d talk about it with her.

“I-I s-see,” Twilight stuttered out badly. I sighed. Dammit let’s just get this over with.

“Twilight you’re not still embarrassed about this morning are you?” I asked. The blush spreading to her ears told me all I needed to know. “Look Twilight I already said it’s ok. I’m not such a private person that I’ve never been seen in the nude before. It’s really not a big deal.”

“I-I-I….” she stuttered out again. I left out another sigh. I guess her over the top reaction does make sense for Twilight. She’s probably an introvert like Fluttershy. Though most likely not on the same level as Fluttershy, I’m guessing twilight doesn’t have very much experience in dealing with these types of embarrassing social accidents. Well if she wasn’t going to listen to my words then another options that usually works is just to shock her system and get over the embarrassment. I made my way over to Twilight and scooped her up into my hands.

“Ci-cicero what are you doing!?” She said struggling a little bit.

“Well seeing as you won’t listen to what I’m saying I figured the fastest way to get you over the incidents of this morning was just to help you relax and get the embarrassment out of your system. Don’t worry I’m just going to keep a promise I made to you yesterday.” I walked over to a green couch that was lying against the wall near the staircase. Sitting down I flipped Twilight on her back.

“Cicero I don’t know what you’re doing but I just feel more emb-ooooohhhhh!”

I cut Twilight's words off by running my right hand in a circular pattern around her stomach. HA! Her reaction proves my theory. Everyone enjoys a good belly rub. I felt Twilight struggle to maintain her bodies tension but eventually my continual rubbing won out and she relaxed her muscles.

“So what do you think now Twilight? Still embarrassed?”

“I know I should be but it’s so hard to be anything but relaxed when you keep rubbing my stomach.”

“Belly rub Twilight. I mentioned it yesterday to show you what my fingers were capable of. So what do you think of them so far?”

“Hhhhhmmm they’re wonderful. So soft yet so precise in their actions. Ahhhhhhhh I could really get used to this.” I chuckled at her honest response.

“Well since you’re letting me stay here for free you’re welcome to my belly rub services at any time.” I said enthusiastic to pay her back. “Oh by the way I forgot to mention that I got payed by Applejack this morning. I’ll need you to help me understand how much I actually have and what I can do with it. Not to mention I want to give you some for letting me stay here and eat your food.”

I felt Twilight stiffen her stomach muscles so she could raise her head to most likely protest this offer. Unfortunately for her I wasn’t going to have her deny my generosity and as such I redoubled my hands efforts. “Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhh.” She lead out a contented sigh and relaxed her muscles again.

“You see Twilight? You’re no match for my belly rub techniques. You’ll just have to accept my generosity without complaining otherwise i’ll be forced to triple my efforts.

“Oooohhhhh very well Cicero, have it your way.”

“Damn it feels good to win.” She snorted at my proclamation of victory but didn’t move from her spot on my lap. “Alright Twilight another thing I promised you yesterday was that I would tell you about a neat human invention. Do you still want to do that?” Predictably Twilight once again shifted to try and get up, most likely to get her notes this time. Again I redoubled my efforts at her actions and eased her back down.

“I’ll take that as a yes then. However as I’m rather tired and comfortable right now you’ll just have to relax and write down what I tell you later. You ponies are very soft and rubbing you is comforting to me.” Twilight just nodded her head in agreement and satisfaction. “Hmmmm well I guess I should go over something less technical today that way it’s easier for you to remember.” I thought on our discussions from the past day and smiled when I realize what I wanted to teach her today.

“Alright since you expressed interest the other day how about I teach you about all of the gods and religions humanity has invented? The diverse range of religions and deities humanity has created is truly impressive.” Twilight was apparently so relaxed she didn’t feel like talking and instead chose to just grunt in approval. I chuckled once more. “I’m assuming that grunt was your approval. I can’t say that I’ll get all of humanity's religious history correct but I suppose we can start with some of the more textually recorded older gods.

For about an hour I regaled Twilight with the long history of humanities gods. Even relaxed I could tell she was listening intently based on her facial expressions. However because of her relaxation I was not surprised when she finally succumbed to my ministrations and fell asleep in my lap. I stopped talking and simply watcher her small chest rise and fall. Twilight always seemed to hyper and eager to learn about everything when she was awake. Seeing her relaxed and innocent face brought the familiar thoughts of beauty that had been creeping their way into my head all day.

I was too tired to fight it and think on this issue for now. I really needed to meditate tonight but I’ll admit the tendrils of sleep were beginning to creep into my mind. Since I don’t have to work tomorrow I suppose I can just do it in the morning. With this concern taken of I instinctively pulled Twilight closer to me into a huge and fell asleep.

Perspective: Unknown

Hate. How I hated all of the disgusting ponies that frolicked through the lands of Equestria. The same thought had plagued my mind for the thousands of years I had been stuck here. Ever since those filthy alicorns had trapped me deep below the ground I could do nothing but let my rage fester. While it pains me to complement those vile alicorns I must admit their use of the planet's core to power their magic was an ingenious move. But they couldn’t keep me trapped forever. I saw the realization in their eyes as the life fled from their bodies. They knew that even their combined power could only keep me here so long.

While I had been stipped of my powers, I knew in a land like this they would eventually replenish themselves. And so I waited. I felt a rumble near me. I smiled. Finally. I may not have regained my physical form yet but I had enough power within me to at least interact with my earthen prison. For millenias I had studied the magical flow around my prison. The magical shield was modeled after the movements of this planet's liquid core. Always flowing in a never ending sphere.

Therewithin lied the strength and weakness of this prison. While the direct mimicking of the cores fluid energy had made a very tightly compact prison for me it also introduced the weakness associated with liquids. All I needed was just enough energy to puncture the shield slightly and disrupt the natural flow. The energy would rapidly follow the puncture and I would be free of this prison.

The thought of getting to the surface and destroying everything those wretched alicorns had held dear filled me with an emotion I hadn’t felt in a long time. I shivered at the sadistic pleasure filling my mind. “Yyyyeeeeesesssssss…..”. I would once again bask in the delicious fear of the mortals. Finding horribly creative new ways to kill the mortals had always been one of my favorite pastimes. As i’d had an overabundance of time to think I was looking forward to trying out some of the more creative ideas I’d come up with. But I didn’t want to get ahead of myself. Escaping came first.

I had been leaching the small dregs of magic I could find in this prison for a long time. Now that I could physically affect my environment it was finally time. If this didn’t work I would be done here for a long time to come. With this critical thought in mind I realized that I could not allow failure. I would escape this damn prison. I WOULD make the ponies pay. I WOULD HAVE MY REVENGE! Letting my rage guide me I slowly drew all of my energy into one small pinpoint attack and violently thrust it towards the closest edge of the magic barrier.

*THWUMP* *CCCCRRRRRACCCCCKKKKKKKK* As soon as I saw the barrier crack the magical energies of the earth outside the barrier started to flow into my prison. “HAHAHAHHAHAH YES!” I greedily drank in the magical energy and felt my reservers begin to fill once more. “I hope you ponies enjoyed your time of peace. I will soon walk amongst you. In my wake I will leave nothing but despair and destruction. Your parents might be dead but you will pay for their actions. Celestia and Luna, I’m coming for you.”

Author's Note

I am aware of the disparity between chapter lengths. This is a problem I am actively attempting to resolve. As suggested I'm attempting to put more logical time skips in my chapters but as the story is still in it's beginning phases sometimes I feel greater levels of details are needed. To any who continue to read though, I thank you.