Author's Note

Woot, another chapter and in record time? Glad that I am starting to feel a bit better trying to do daily exercise but man just small stuff leaves me feeling so sore. But hey since my body needs some rest I just went and finished up this chapter! even through my arms and chest feel so sore I cant turn around or lift my legs much :/ either I am out of shape or I am dying.

also checked the analytics on the story and I wanted to say thank you all! I am on 100 of your lovely 'bookshelves' in some way I only hope the story continues to be enjoyable for you!

Act 11 - Second To Last Day of Fall

The wind felt cool against his hot skin sitting under the summer sun. He could hear the light creak of the trees next to him as he waited on shore for the boats to come in. The light smell of last nights campfire still hung in the air, the wind still kicking up smoke from the smoldering pit.

The Leaves and tall grass were making the smallest noise as the wind rippled through them. Then finally, after what felt like the entire day. The boat came back, its bottom sprayed with an ugly safety orange, peeling off into the water revealing an old ugly green.

Leo slowly stood. His body cracking, pleading for him to lay back down and sleep. Although he was tired, he was excited for work. To be able to do something besides sit and wait. Although if that ended up being the case, he wouldn't complain.
Yawning he felt his hair pushed around him in the wind. The breeze felt almost like it was pulling his breath away, it was so serene it felt like a vacation.

KLANG KLANG KLANG KL:ANG KLANG

With a start Leo's body jolts, his legs comically going stiff as his blanket rockets off his body and his hand reflectively slams into the makeshift alarm clock. It was an odd thing, a circular clock with some discarded metal noise toy welded to the back of it to make that awful noise to ensure Leo wouldn't be late to work. After starting a habit of having a few too many drinks before bed, followed by a few to many mornings filled with a 'The Importance of Showing up on Time' monologue. He decided that sleeping in wasn't worth loosing his job. Standing up off the desk he make shifted into a bed with plenty of blankets he cracks his back.

A few short days of what he started to affectionately refer to as 'digging', he had managed to get himself a great many necessity's for living. However, the nature of his procurement resulted in every single item not matching in the slightest. Turning on the 'Little Filly's First Science Kit' hot plate and placing his purple coffee pot on top he hurried into the bathroom to do the morning ritual. Managing to grab some stale donuts, no doubt left sometime in the night by Pinkie, on a broken footlocker that was made a functional living room table by the addition of a quite fantastic blue sequence cloth draped over it. Giving it the appearance of a table. As he turned to his fridge he stopped for just a moment, slowly opening the door. As he opened it to find it unchanged from last night a breath he didn't realize he was holding was slowly hissed out. Quickly adding the creamer to his drink he rushed off to work with his coffee pot and bread in hand, glad that Applejack started just before dawn. It gave him sometime to adjust his eyes and stave off the impending light sensitive hangover headache that always came.

Whistling as he filled another basket of apples up on the cart. The heft of the cart didn't bother him. As the day went oh however, the sun sapped his strength slowly as the bushels filling the cart only got heavier as he grew more and more worn from the day.

His ear twitched as he heard movement in the nearby bush. Sighing as he moved onto the next tree. It wasn't the first time he heard it, and he figured out what it was pretty quickly. Seeing as the white, yellow and orange furry bodies were not hidden by the foliage that easily. He left them be, knowing that even if he told them to leave the would just do it again. Better to feign ignorance, in the case of one of the ponies showed up. 'Better to seem oblivious then get chewed out for talking to them."

How they even were out of school at this point made no sense to him. Applejack said winter break was starting soon, but it still looked like it was the dead of fall.

Apple Bloom and her little friends liked to spy on Leo for some reason. Unfortunately for him his attempts to shoo them away only seemed to work for minutes until they tried to hide outside his vision once they thought it was safe again.

He had really been trying his best to stay away from the children. ‘“Dammit” he Cursed under his breath as his distraction caused him to drop the empty barrel on his foot. ‘I am not going to lose what little I managed to build for myself here’.

So he continued on his work filling up the carts with apples before he knew it, it was already near the end of the day so he started to walk back towards the farm. Those three little stalkers only now running away to their clubhouse knowing he was soon to be off to his home. Looking at the the dark colored leafs and wondering just how in the world they hadn’t fallen off yet.

“Hey there Leo, looks like you’re on time for once.” Applejack teased calling out to him as she saw him pulling up to the sorting barn. “And you even managed to get all the trees we marked by the looks of it! Good on ya.” She said through a very uncomfortable looking smile.

“Okay, whats going on?” He asked as the cat creaked under its weight being placed in the barn.

“Going on? Just giving you a much earned compliment.” The smile on her Face growing small. Small as the beads of sweat she has running down from just under the brim her hat. It could have been from a long days work, but Leo knew better.

“Okay, thanks. Now say what your leading up to.” His tone was curt but not rude. He legitimately wanted to know what she was getting at. He had found a nice 'digging' spot the other day and was hoping to try it again tonight.

“Now what makes you think there is somethin' being lead to?”

“Because.” He started wiping his face on his shirt trying in vain to get the gross feeling of sweat off himself. “Whenever you have to tell me something you think I might not like, you sugar it up with something beforehand.”

She stopped for a second, like she was a child caught in a lie. Eyes darting to the floor before looking back up. Meeting his eyes she becomes quite as she takes of her hat and wipes her forehead. “Do I really always do that?” Leo nodded.

“Not just with me, you do it with Big Mac. Right before you make him go do something, or right before he has to go and delivery you cant do.”

She stood silent until Leo snapped his fingers bringing her attention back to the world around her. “So what is it? I wanna get home so I can shower off the smell of apples.”

Placing her hat back on top of her head she stands on all fours. “Well the weather team got back to us today. Seems like they planned the snowfall for this Friday. So this is you only have the rest of this week. This weekend is the running of the leaves and then. We will be up to our heads in snow. Well, most of us.” She tried to chuckle on the joke she shoehorned at the end.

Leos face scrunched up, ‘So they control the weather? Just go with it. You have a little saved up. You can make it.’

“Oh, okay. Guessing that means next payday is my last huh?” She nodded.

“Yeah, then we will have hearthswarming at the end of the month. Which means by the time your back from the ‘ahem’ trip. We will have a little work for you, but not as much as we got right now.”

“Well I’ll just have to last till then huh?” Leo said as he walked out. Calling out a see you tomorrow as he walked back toward town.

He lamented as he thought about the trip. The very thought of having to spend probably a week or two with Twilight irritated him. The only thing that kind of brought a small smile to him was the fact that he did manage to have a cure for this growing headache waiting for him at home.

Then out of the corner of his eye he saw a mare taking out her trash bins for the morning. Leaving a nice looking trunk next to it. He’d have to keep that in mind for tonight. Even if it was pink, he could always throw a blanket over it. Use it to store the ripped apart kitchen appliances he had found, he was going to get a working toaster one of these days. Or fix one of the 5 broken ones he had found.He knew nobody was going to come back asking for it and it was something he needed. Or well in this case he can use it.

"That was the rule, only if you need it." Grumbling as he thought back to the last few times his home had visitors.

Saying to stop asking how he started getting stuff, apparently, wasn’t a way to get Pinkie nor Brandywine to stop asking how he had managed to get these things. They did seem to drop it pretty quickly when he started getting mad, so that was a win.

Finally making it home he walked in and fell on the half of a bean bag he was using as a chair. His arms and legs resting on the floor as just his body was held by the small cushion. Damn thing still smelt like hot chocolate, no matter how much he scrubbed.

After laying there for about an half hour he heard the familiar three quick knocks on his door. Followed by said pony entering. Then poking him, no doubt trying to get him to move. Did he promise to go do something again and forget? Probably.

It was odd Seeing Brandywine just pop in at his place every now and again. He understood why Pinkie did it, some strange need to make the world smile or something. Plus she made it a mission to figure out how to get Leo to laugh. She had yet to succeed. Although, when she popped out of his fridge spilling the raspberry tea on the floor and gave giving him a full blown panic attack, she stopped with the surprise tactics.

No, Brandywine was the unknown here, she would often stop in after she was done with work. Trying to give him, then relenting to selling him discounted things that would go bad if not eaten. At first he refused, strongly. Not soon after the odd things started to happen. She would sneak it into his fridge or his pantry. It started out as small things that he Just barley noticed, but it quickly became noticeable. Day one, she sneakily added a few eggs to a half full carton, by day three there was an whole extra carton of eggs.

She poked him again. “Leo I know your not asleep. I want to ask you something so face me dammit.” He hated how she started to use his words against him.

His first plan was to get locks on everything. Keep them out and his life simple. However, that fell apart when he learned the only way to get a lock was from a smith. Which Ponyville apparently didn't have. So unfortunately he couldn't get any real locks for himself, all the ones he found in the trash where always missing their keys. It wasn't that big of a deal though, it wasn't like he minded her company. It was just, odd. At least the two ponys that liked him where somewhat tolerable. Or did they become tolerable over time?

“Ouch!” Leo jolted as he felt a small bite on his leg.fliping himself around to be met with a very serious looking red mare. “Okay fine! What is it?”

“Right." She started sitting down on her haunches, keeping her neck straight and looking directly at Leo. "Running of the leaves is this weekend. And you should go.” She said moving stray hairs out of her face and re straightening herself. Her head holding up her stern expression, doing its best to leave no negotiations.

“I don’t even know what that is? It's a holiday right? If the towns gunna be out partying id rather be here away from all that.”

“That is exactly why you should go. You need to get Ponys to warm up to you so you can get a real job. One that doesn’t leave you dead tired, maybe even one that will make you happy?” her sternness fading ever so slightly at the last of her words as she breaks eye contact for a second.

Grumbling to himself as falls onto his stomach and crawls on the floor over to the fridge. Growing A little smile as he takes out a bottle from the bottom drawer. Too much thinking wouldn't do him any good. “Fine, but the second you look away I can’t promise I wont come right back here. And just sleep the day away. Like I was planning to.”

"That's no good silly, and besides if you do that you'll miss my commentary! Spike and i do it every year now!" Jolting to his feet and turning to see the pink mare already on his kitchen table he shouts in response. "When did you get in here!"

"Oh! I came in with Brandy, just went straight to the kitchen to make sure you got those doughnuts!" She said excitedly holding up the empty box. Before continuing with a sing-song voice. "I see you ate them this tiiiiime." clearly gleeful that her kindness was accepted. Before tossing the box into the cardboard box Leo had designated his recycling.

"Yeah, I don't like having food go to waste." He mumbles as he rights himself. "So if I have to go to this leaf running care to explain what it is?"

Taking over the bean bag Brandywine siting down and getting comfortable. "Well, its a race that ponies do to get the leaves to fall from the trees. so we can start winter." Leo couldn't help but shake his head, "So leaves don't just FALL off the trees do they?"

Brandy shook her head, "Guessing they did back home then huh? your world just sounds stranger the more you talk about it."

"I think the same thing about here." Settling onto the floor leaning up against the wall in his make shifted living room. The hard concrete compelling him to grab a pillow. "You look real comfy on my chair by the way."

Leaning down into the soft cushion she teases. "I do, don't I?" Her forelegs tuck under her and she has fully loafed. 'No chance of getting my seat back now.' "So its a fun thing to go and watch and my sister will be running in it. So I wanna show her support."

"Support? do you win something for coming in first?" She shook her head no.

"She has just been feeling dejected. Lately it seems Rainbow Dash and Applejack have been taking first and second in everything. Shes always been the sporty type, and lately she feels like she can't break down a wall. I just wanna be there for her you know? Show her its okay? I don't know."

Half paying attention Leo gets the main idea finishing his drink. He places the empty bottle on the table, chewing his inner lip as a way to punish himself for drinking it so fast. He has been limiting how much he drinks each day.

Brandy wont sell him more then two a day anymore. He needed to make sure to have enough for later, and Berrypuch was catching on to him.

Who knew this town had such strict laws about how much booze you could sell at one time. Even though no one seemed to chide Berry-punch for drinking whole barrels on the street.

"What do you think Leo?" Pinkie asked bringing him back to a conversation that seemed to just go on without him.

"Your going to have to run that by me again. I wasn't paying attention." With a huff Brandywine repeated herself.

"There is a new place getting set up in Ponyville just in time for the running." Her eyes seemed to expect something from Leo.

"What kinda store?' He asks slowly.

"They said it was called an arcade!" Pinkie said excitedly, "The owner talked to me because they are a BIG spot for little colts birthdays in Canterlot. So he wanted to get to know the local party planner!"

"Well that's very good for you Pinkie. Sure to get you both great business." His tone staying even, he knew where this was going. So he felt content to let it play out as it had the last few times those two mares tried this.

"Sooo, he said he needed some staff to cover the snack bar and maybe a technician. Aaannnnd I may have said I knew a man who might be qualified." Her excitement was ruining the aloft demeanor she was trying to hold.

"I'll meet with him." Leo watches as the two hoof bump as if they have won before he continues. "But Its gunna go like the last few. I'll show up and then he'll freak out or play along. let me know that I just don't seem right and I'll be right back where I have been."

"OR! You two could hit it of and you'll show him that your an invaluable asset and you'll have a real job!" Pinkie squees before looking at the mangled alarm clock just behind Leo. "Gosh! Is it that time already! Sorry got to go! Lots of things to get ready for this weekend!" Then in a flash she is gone out the door. Leaving Leo staring at Brandywine.

"I am not getting off this chair. Too comfy." She rests her head down giving pleading eyes.

"Fine, I'll get the chessboard." Her smile nearly rivaled Pinkies.