Mysteries Behind a Pony

            Welcome to the next chapter of Mysteries Behind A Pony. Hope your enjoying it so far, and I also hope you enjoy what's to come. And again please feel free to like, favorite, or COMMENT any time.

The green stallion made his way into town, eager to do something to help the pony that had been as generous as to let him stay at her home.

" I couldn't just mooch off her like that," he reasoned with himself, " Even if it means i'm going to have to get off my lazy ass..."

He sighed bracing himself for the work to come. He could remember the way farms had been worked back in his own world, and he knew that they required hard, willing, diligent, and decent  workers. Which of course he wasn't any of the above. He kept on though, checking the map from time to time. On his way over to the farm, Brad looked around to all the ponies being cheerful and happy with each other, even downright friendly.

" This is going to take some getting used to..." he sighed as he trotted along.

Eventually he found himself on the dirt roads that led out of town, and with the help of the map that the yellow pegasus had given him, he could find his way to wherever this Applejack girl and her farm was.

After about 15 minutes of trotting along the dirt trails, Brad finally found Sweet Apple Acres, but before he could even get two steps towards the barn or the house next to it, a rather big and burly red horse stood in his way. The horse had a calm expression on his face, but Brad couldn't help but feel like if he rubbed this horse the wrong way he wouldn't live to regret it.

" Can I help you with something?" the red stallion asked.

" I-I'm here to see, uh, Applesack?" Brad asked trying to remember the name that Twilight had told him. A look of playfulness spread on the red stallion's face, and even though the stallion's face may have looked harmless Brad couldn't help but feel intimidated by the red stallions shear size.

" I'm guessing you mean my sister, Applejack?" he asked.

" Yeah, that's it, Applejack." Brad said as he chuckled nervously.

" Big Macintosh!" another orange pony said trotting out of the barn, she had a brown stetson hat, emerald green eyes and a blonde mane that had been tied into a pony tail, " Do ya' know where you put the-" the pony started but then she saw the green stallion standing next to her brother,   " Who's yer friend, Big Mac?"

" Twilight sent me actually..." Brad said quietly.

" Oh so yer the pony that Twilight found in the forest!" she exclaimed in a thick southern accent.

" Yeah, how did you find out about that?" Brad asked.

" Oh Twilight just sent me an' the girls some letters about it this mornin'. So what brings you to Sweet Apple Acres?" Applejack asked, tipping her hat in his direction.

" I was just wondering if I could help out around here for a few bucks." he responded.

" Well, we could always use a hoof around here, except I can't promise that big of a paycheck at the end of tha' day." Applejack said.

" You can pick the jobs he'll do," Big Macintosh said, " Im'a stay down in the south orchard."

" Alrighty Big Mac take care now ya hear?" she said to her big brother.

" Eeeyup." he said as he hooked himself up to a wagon and started his way down onto a trail.

" Well it's time we get to the work around here, tha' name's Applejack by the way its nice ta' finally meet ya' partner." she said making her way to the barn and motioned Brad to follow her.

" Nice to meet you too, Applejack. My name's Brad," Brad said trotting behind her, " So what kind of work are we going to be doing?"

" This here's an apple farm, so the main thing we're gonna' be doin' is bucking apple trees." Applejack said getting a couple of baskets from the barn.

Brad took a gulp of air, " Bucking, as in kicking?" he asked testing his injured leg.

" Of course as in kickin' what else could it mean?" Applejack said chuckling at the thought, but then she saw his bandage covered leg, " Oh im mighty sorry, I didn't see the shape yer leg was in."

" It's fine, I'm not completely useless,here look." Brad said galloping to the nearest tree, he looked at it and tried to judge a place to hit it. He trotted around the tree and found a spot to kick. He reared on his hind legs and was about to push out with his front hooves and hit the tree with all the force he had, but Applejack spoke up from behind him.

" Yer facing the wrong way." she chuckled.

" Right of course, just checking if you knew..." he muttered as he blushed and turned the other way. Although Brad was a bit reluctant to test how his leg had been healing, he didn't want to come all the way out here for nothing. He reared up on his front hooves and kicked the tree as hard as he could. He hear a couple of thumps on the ground and a smile of satisfaction came across his face, but then a spike of pain shot up through his leg and he had to crouch to the ground to take the weight off of his injured leg.

" That was a good buck and all Brad, but it looks like it took a lot out of ya."  Applejack said as she trotted over to help the green stallion up.

" You kidding," he said pausing for a breath, " Im just getting started."

" Now now, ya' don't need tah push yerself that far. How bout I do tha buckin, and you catch and carry the apples. Sound alright?" she asked.

" Sounds good." he said staggering back to his hooves.

" If ya need ah break just say so and we'll stop and rest for a bit." Applejack said as she strapped the buckets onto his back.

" Okay let's do this." Brad said as he stood beneath the tree that Applejack was about to buck.

Many bucked trees later! (About 4 or 5...)

" C'mon this is getting a bit awkward, try to make some small talk." Brad thought to himself as he darted around catching all of the apples that fell from the tree.

" So the big red guy is your brother?" Brad asked as he shifted the baskets on his back into a more comfortable position.

" As far as I know he is!" Applejack said a little out of breath from all the bucking.

" So are you two the only ones on this farm?" he asked as he moved under the next tree.

" No, there's Granny Smith, and Applebloom. Although me and Big Mac are usually the only ones that tends to tha' trees, they're the ones who handle cleaning, and cooking for the family." she said wiping off some sweat with her hoof.

" So it's only the four of you?" Brad asked.

" Well, Twilight and some of my other friends come over to help, but yeah we're usually the only ones on the farm. Why do yah ask?" Applejack replied.

" Well, its just in really good shape, I wouldn't have been surprised if you said a whole army worked here." he said looking around to the vast amounts apple trees that covered the land.

" Aw shucks, thank ya for the compliment but it ain't that much to take care of in all honesty." Applejack said blushing.

" To take care of a farm this big? I may not be the biggest farmer but I know what takes a lot of work when I see it." he replied.

" It hasn't been that easy to keep up with everything on the farm, but," Applejack started with burning red cheeks, but then a high pitch scream rang out through the air.

Applejack's emerald green eyes lit up with fear. A few seconds went by as the scream echoed through the orchards.

" Applejack!!!" the voice screamed again,

" Applebloom!" Applejack shouted as she turned around and galloped full speed towards the scream.

" Applejack wait a minute!" Brad shouted as he dropped the basket on the ground and started after her.

Brad had finally adapted to his limbs, and his injury never really slowed him down that much when it came to galloping , but no matter how much he had gotten used to moving around on four legs, he could barely keep up with Applejack as she charged deeper into the forest. She moved though the trees as an orange flash and was only getting faster.

" She should be somewhere in the olympics, not on some farm." Brad thought as he kept barreling full speed after her. He jumped over tree roots, fallen logs, and charged through small streams of water. Brad knew that there would be some problems for his leg if it got wet but he also knew if he lost sight of the orange mare then he would be alone in the middle of a forest with little to no chance of finding his way out again.

Minutes of galloping went by and just as Brad's leg started to give out, he ran into an open clearing of land. He looked around to see that it had just been a small patch that had been either spared or just was forgotten by the tall apple trees surrounding it. He almost stood there in awe of the massive size of the farm. Almost.

He had caught up to Applejack, but he only caught up to see her squaring off with that lion eagle thing from the couple of nights before. He quickly looked around and saw three small ponies shaking in fear as Applejack stood between them and the lion.

Brad took in a deep breath and puffed his chest out.

" You really are an idiot for doing this..." he thought.

" Hey big, furry, and ass ugly! You want someone, then come and get me! Or did you forget me already?" he shouted to the lion.

The lion turned his head over to the new voice that had entered the clearing and as his eyes fell upon the green stallion he roared with rage.

" Oh goodie," Brad gulped, " He remembers."

The lion took to the air and circled once or twice around the clouds, he then took on a full dive towards the green stallion. Brad barely had enough time to roll to the side as the Manticore missed him by inches and hit head on into the dirt. Brad quickly made his way over to the three frightened ponies and Applejack.

" Fer a minute there, ah thought you were talkin' to me." Applejack said, but even as she tried to lighten up the mood, they all could tell she wasn't as cool headed as she lead on.

" Give you a six for effort, but right now we got bigger things to do right now." Brad said as he turned his head to see the Manticore pulling his head out of the dirt and shaking the earth out of his mane. " Listen you need to take them back to the farm, I'll keep kitty busy."

" Are you crazy!" Applejack shouted, " With yer leg it'll be like trying to use a rubber needle in a sewing conte-" Applejack started but Brad interrupted her.

" It will be fine, just get them to the farm. I promise I'll be right behind you when i'm done here." he said looking her dead in the eyes. Moments of silence went by.

" C'mon Applebloom..." Applejack said quietly with her hat over her eyes.

" But sis!" Applebloom said.

" I said c'mon Applebloom." Applejack repeated sternly. The three little ponies lined up behind Applejack and they all headed back into the woods without another word.

Brad turned around to see the Manticore still angry and getting ready for another charge, except this time the Manticore had it's eyes set on where Applejack had taken the crusaders to the farm. Brad saw that the lion's attention was elsewhere, so he decided he had make a comeback on the menu. He picked up a rock from the grass and chucked it at the lion.

" Oh no you don't, you got a score to settle with me remember?" Brad yelled at the Manticore. The rock hit the Manticore dead on between the eyes and he looked to Brad with new found anger. " That's, you know you want the green piece of meat." Brad thought as he readied himself to roll from another charge. The Manticore roared as it took aim and charged again. Brad easily dodged, but this time the Manticore had its tail at the ready and tripped the green stallion onto his back, and was on top of him before he could recover from the fall. The Manticore raised it's palm with claws extended, but before he could manage to bring it all the way down the green stallion had bucked the lion in the stomach. Even when he had managed to get a clear blow to the Manticore though, a gash fell upon Brad's cheek. Brad rolled over on his side and stood up again, and he could also feel the shooting pain that ran through his leg, but this time it had been blocked out by adrenaline. The Manticore recovered quickly and it stayed back, knowing now that the stallion still had some kick in him, but the Manticore also knew that his prey could not stay kicking forever.

" That kick," Brad panted, " Hurt me more than it hurt you...Literally..."

" Why am I trying to strike up a conversation with this thing..." Brad thought, " Maybe i'm just losing my mind."

Before he could keep on thinking about his mental well-being, the Manticore was on the move. It stalked the green stallion with patience as it made sure there was no form of escape from it's claws. It circled around him, watching him intently.

" I know that it can't keep up in trees, and there sure are a hell of a lot of those." Brad thought as he looked around for a path to take, but the only path he could see had been on the other side of the clearing and that was definitely not an option with a flying lion staring you in the face. Brad decided he would have to chance it by running straight into some of the trees, without knowing any way out.

He waited until the Manticore passed his imaginary path, and when it did, he bolted straight through with more speed than he thought he had. As Brad jumped root over root and tried to keep up his speed he heard the lion roar behind him. The thrill of the hunt had taken the Manticore, and it was now determined to taste this stubborn stallion's tender flesh in between its teeth. Brad raced through the trees and just when he thought he had gotten away from the lion, a thick brush of branches and leaves bursted open to a paw, or the lions full head as it tried to knock the stallion unconscious.

" This is getting me nowhere..." he thought as he turned sharply away from another assault by the Manticore. Before continuing down the path Brad was running, he stopped and sat behind a tree. He waited a few grueling, and long seconds before he heard a big thud as the Manticore landed on the ground. The Manticore sniffed the air, and somehow seemed sad that the chase had been over. Brad heard the flapping of wings and after a couple of minutes, he decided to take a look, but just as he took a look the Manticore took a swing with its paw and cleaved the tree he had been hiding behind in two.

Before Brad could scramble away, the Manticore had set it's other paw on his tail and he had just been yanked backwards after his attempt to flee. With no other option, Brad kicked up some dust into the Manticore's eyes making it cringe in pain. He took this open window and bolted through the forest again as the Manticore kept roaring as his prey escaped him for the second time.

Aching, tired, and bleeding, Brad had barely kept himself walking. He had a terrible head ache, and his muzzle had been turned red from the blood of his gash. He knew he had lost the Manticore, but now it seemed that he had lost all of his bearings in the large orchards. After a couple of minutes of aimlessly walking, Brad found a small house built on a tree. His eyes widened with joy at the sight of the small house. He knew that no one had lived there, but he did know that this meant he at least had a place to hide if the Manticore came looking for him again, and if Applejack was looking she would know that  the house was an ideal place to hide. Wouldn't she?

" No, I can't think like that, she has to know." Brad thought to himself as he stumbled up the ramp and into the house.

The house was indeed small, but it was at least big enough for him to stand up straight. The place had been very well kept, and it looked as if it had been newly repaired. When he looked around further he saw that there had been "CMC'S ONLY" sign on a nightstand, a little map that had been nailed to the wall that had 'Town Map' painted on the bottom with a little key box with that had 'X For Potential Cutie Mark Location'. Almost all of the crudely drawn buildings had an X over them. 'O For Failed Attempts'. Almost all of them had O's around the X's.

Brad sat with his back to the wall. His eyelids were heavy. His head was numb. He couldn't think straight.

" I know..." he thought lazily, " I'll...just take a...a nap..." Already his mind was being enveloped by the darkness.

" Just...a nap..." he murmured as he went under.

Brad had been put back into his own mind again, and just like the last time, he couldn't control his actions. The last one had been clear and slow moving, but this time everything went by in a blur. He saw himself in a small bed in a dark room. His head shifted over to an alarm clock that said a different hour each time. 11:00 P.M, 1:00 A.M, and so on. Then it all blurred again as he saw himself get dressed and take a quick shower. He had said nothing, he didn't even sing in the shower. It was if he had been a zombie.He walked down the stairs of what seemed like an apartment complex and an old man had said good morning, but he just shrugged him off with a wave and a nod. He saw himself get on a bike and he rode off. His vision blurred yet again and this time he was somewhere different. He didn't recognize any of the faces around him, but they all looked at him with curious eyes, as if they had wanted to know something, and he was the only one that could answer. His visions continued to a series of blurs as he saw himself trash his apartment. He threw his bike out of rage. Then he had flashed to himself crying in a corner, but before he could continue the memory, a dark shroud fell over his eyes and a deep yet raspy voice called to him.

" Nah ah ah," the voice chuckled, " You can't remember just yet." the voice said as it let out an evil laugh, and a flash of white blinded Brad.

" Applejack! Applejack!" A distant high voice called, " She found him, she found him!" The voice had a southern accent, but it seemed to be somehow familiar.

Brad could feel a wet tongue extend to lick his face repeatedly.

" Winona~!" he heard another voice call, although this time he could tell that this voice had belonged to Applejack, " Oh sam hill, he looks hurt." he heard her say, " Big Mac get in here, I think ya' could carry him easy. We need to get him help righ' now."

He heard the thump of hooves and a low, "Eeeyup" and he felt himself being lifted and put onto something. Something furry.

He opened his eyes groggily as he bumped along with whatever had been carrying him.

" W-what happened...?" he murmured.

" It's alright sugar cube," Applejack said in a soft tone as she trotted along side him, " Everything's fine, your safe now."

" Those three...are they alright?" Brad asked again barely conscious.

" Yes they're fine, please just get some rest." Applejack replied softly.

" Don't have to tell me....twice." Brad muttered as he fell asleep on Big Macintosh's back.

" He's quite the hoof full, ain't he?" Big Macintosh said as he carried the green stallion along.

" He's a hero is what he is." Applejack said defensively.

" What was that?" Big Mac said, craning his neck to his little sister.

" N-nothing." Applejack blushed.

Big Macintosh just chuckled and continued to walk  back to the house with his little sister at his side.

Brad woke up again with a stinging sensation on his cheek. He looked around to see he was in an old room that had it's wall paper chipping, and yet it somehow seemed to make the room more comforting. He saw that there had been a tray on the nightstand next to him with a sandwich with some kind of flower sticking out of the edges and a glass of water. Brad quickly, and yet gingerly, picked up the glass with both of his hooves and gulped down the cool water. He then decided to chance the sandwich, after all, all he had to eat was a protein bar, he had been hungry for quite some time now. He took a couple of bites into the sandwich and he found it to be quite good. Almost better than a peanut butter and jelly disspite it's awkward appearance. He finished the sandwich and slowly climbed out of bed. He walked around and found a mirror and was shocked at what had looked back at him.

He never really had the chance to look at himself through a mirror ever since coming to this ponified world, but even he had caught a glimpse of himself he doubted he would have recognized himself in the mirror. Where the Manticore had nicked him with his paw a patch of clothe had been tied over it, but the white clothe still had a unmistakable slash of red across it. He saw that just above his eyes and just below where his hairline had started, there had been a swollen purple bump that covered almost half of his forehead. He must've gotten it from one of the branches the Manticore had broken in an attempt to kill him. He had deep brown eyes, but under those eyes he saw that bags had started to form from exhaustion. His hair, or mane, had been in a complete mess as it branched in almost every direction. He saw that he had dark green fur as opposed to most of the other more colorful coats around the small town he had just begun to live in. He also saw that he wasn't that far behind of Big Macintosh in terms of size, but it still had been clear on who was the bigger stallion.

After Brad was finished checking himself out in the mirror, he decided to find the Apple Family and learn what had happened to him. He opened the door and was instantly tackled by one of the small ponies that had ran away with Applejack.

" Now Applebloom, no rough housin' he's had enough on his plate for the past couple of days." Applejack chuckled as her younger sister hugged the green stallion.

" Oh righ' sorry mister." Applebloom said releasing her grip and taking a couple of steps back.

" It's fine don't worry about it." Brad said with a warm smile as he regained his balance, " What happened anyway."

" After a couple of hours of waiting for you back at the farm, we got Winona to track you. We found the clearing again and saw where ya' had escaped from the Manticore." Applejack said.

" It wasn't really all that hard seein' as how you made a mess of half of the forrest." Applebloom chimed in.

" After that, we found a small trail of yer blood leading to mah sister's club house and Winona found you passed out in a cold sweat." Applejack said finishing the story.

" That was really brave of ya mister." Applebloom said, " The way you saved me and my friends, almost like somethin' out of a book."

" Don't mention it, and in all honesty," Brad said as he knelt down on all four legs and leaned in closer to Applebloom, " Between you and me, it was more stupidity that bravery." he whispered.

Brad had a quick laugh and Applebloom giggled.

" Well, I should probably head out. Twilight is probably wondering where I am." Brad sighed as he stood back up.

" You sure you okay for walking?" Big Macintosh said in a calm tone. " I could carry you, if ya like." he chuckled as he added the last part in.

" No, I think I'll be able to make it on my own." Brad said with a large grin.

" If you say so." Big Mac added.

Brad said his goodbyes to the Apple Family and he thanked them for letting him do the little work he did on the farm. He also thanked Applejack for finding him in the woods, and Big Mac for carrying him back. Finally, he started his way back to the small pony town.

" Hey sugarcube ya forgot somethin'!" Applejack called to him as he made his way down the path. She came galloping out of the house with a small bag in her mouth. " It's yer pay for the day."

" Applejack, I can't accept this. I barely even did any work." Brad said, drawing on every ounce of his willpower to not grab the bag.

" But you did save mah little sister, and that deserves some kind of reward." Applejack said putting the small bag on his back.

" If you insist..." Brad sighed, unable to put up any more of a fight. " Thanks again though, for the whole saving me from dying in that club house."

" Well it wasn't as brave as the stunt you pulled with that manticore." Applejack said as she blushed.

" That 'stunt' would've gotten myself killed if you didn't find me." Brad added.

Moments went by in silence as Applejack looked down to the ground.

" If you don't like workin here cause of today's happenings, I understand completely..." she said silently.

" You kidding?" Brad said in disbelief.

Applejack looked up to him in confusion.

" That had to have been the most entertaining thing I've done since I got here. Besides, I would hate to think about what would have happened if I wasn't here." he said.

Applejack looked up to him with gratitude,

" Yeah, I reckon I'd hate to think about that too." she said.

" I'll be back some time tomorrow okay?" Brad said as he turned around and started down the path again., " Don't miss me too much!" he called again as he soon was gone from Applejack sight.

" A pony can only try." Applejack thought.

After finding his way to the small town again, Brad set out for the library. He opened the door and took a couple of quiet steps inside, trying not to disturb anyone. He made it about halfway to the stairs before Twilight appeared in a flash behind him, effectively startling him.

" Where....have.....you been." Twilight said with a short temper.

" Work took longer than expected?" he said scratching his mane.

" What exactly happened, where did you get that cut on your face, why are you so la-?" Twilight said, her temper on the edge of snapping.

" Look, I know i'm probably going to get the ass chewing of a life time because of this, but today was very tiring. I promise I'll tell you the details." Brad said putting his best, ' I can barely move a muscle' face for Twilight. She eyed him over intently.

" Fine, but it's first thing in the morning okay?" she said.

" That's fine with me." he said as he trotted up the stairs to his room, already thinking of ways to avoid telling her about the little memory he had when he passed out. He remembered the raspy and yet deep voice he had heard, and the way it had laughed. " Great, more nightmares." he thought as he climbed into bed and shut his tired eyes.