“Good morning, Applejack.”

Like yesterday, Minerva’s voice was the first thing Applejack heard, just seconds after she woke up. Unlike yesterday, she sounded a little less excited.

“You didn’t level up, I’m sorry to say.” Maybe that explained it. “You do have new Quests, though.”

Glancing at the window, Applejack saw that she’d woken up earlier than yesterday. The sun hadn’t even fully risen yet. She knew she wouldn’t go back to sleep, even if she was inclined to try. Instead, she got up, got dressed in the clothes she’d worn the day she arrived, and went about her morning ablutions, before going downstairs. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do, but she figured the bakery, at least, would be open.

“Applejack, good morning.” Rehema said, waving at her from the table where she and her family were eating breakfast. “Come here and meet my husband, Alder.”

“Morning.” the dryad next to her said, barely looking up. He had grey, slightly rough skin and bayou moss1 hanging halfway down his back.

“Don’t be offended, dear. Alder’s not very good with strangers. That’s why he mostly sticks to the kitchen.” Rehema said, playfully slapping his arm. “Would you like some breakfast?”

“Ah wouldn’t want to impose.”

“It’s no imposition.”

“We always make extra.” Sauda added. “Most of our guests don’t get up until later, but it’s not unusual for some of the single folk in the village to stop by.”

“In that case, what’s on?”

“Fried potatoes and chevon with gravy, and grits and cherries.”

“Alright, Ah’ll take a plate.”

“Pick a seat and I’ll fix you a plate.” Sauda said, getting up. “Milk?”

“Sure.” Applejack said, before remembering that it would be goat milk. She sat down a couple tables away from the family, for mutual privacy. “What’s chevon?” she asked Minerva, figuring she could eat around it if she didn’t like it.

“Goat meat. But like most Equestrian creatures, goats aren’t sapient here.”

“Goats are kind of a grey area in Equestria, too.” Applejack told her. “They’re kinda borderline, but most ponies prefer to err on the side of caution.” A moment or two later, a mug, a bowl, and a small plate that was covered in gravy was placed in front of her. “So much for eating around it.” she said to herself, as she pulled out four copper coins.

Applejack couldn’t bring herself to try the meat yet, so she started with the grits. They dried cherries added a tartness that contrasted nicely with the sweet, creamy corn. But after a few bites, she steeled herself and tried a spoonful of meat and potatoes. It was strong, but not unpleasant. It might take a little getting used to, and it would probably never become a favorite, but one plate wasn’t too much to deal with.

Applejack steadily cleaned her plate, before cleansing her palate with the grits. As she was finishing, four people came into the pub. A young man—human, she thought—a slightly older woman—also human—with a young child, not even as tall as her waist. The last person was also female, and one of the Furred Races. Maybe a badger or a wolverine, Applejack wasn’t sure which. Though she was rather petite, only reaching the woman’s shoulder, so if she had to guess, Applejack would go with badger.

As the new group greeted Rehema and her family, Applejack tentatively sipped her milk. It was thicker than she was used to, but that wasn’t a bad thing. And the faintly grassy taste was nice, too. So she spent a few minutes sipping it slowly, as she planned her day. She wanted to get out to the orchard and finish fixing the fence. She also couldn’t forget to stop by the herbalist for the birth control. Both for last night and hopefully for the future, too. She’d prefer to get started on work early, but that depended on when she could talk to the herbalist.

Setting her empty mug aside, Applejack got up and took her dirty dishes to the bar, since the family was still sitting at the table. Except the twins, who were getting the four visitors breakfast. She almost bumped into them as she headed for the door. Mosi paused for a second as he passed.

“Oh, Applejack. The herbalist sees people just about any time.” he told her. “She lives down the street from the guildhouse.”

“Thanks. Ah’ll stop by this evening.” Applejack figured that while the herbalist probably wouldn’t mind an early morning visit for an emergency, birth control probably didn’t count. She knew enough biology to know it took a day or so for sperm to find an egg, and then even longer to root itself in the womb, so there was no rush.

Leaving Mirembe, Applejack headed straight for the village’s south gate, where she found two dwarves standing guard. One looked like Kildrik, with the same waist-length beard and the same spear with a hook, though his visor did make it hard to tell. The other was a little shorter, but had even more muscle. His head and face were both shaved, with just a hint of stubble. He had guns sitting on both hips, and one more slung across his back. At least, Applejack though it was a gun. It had a trigger, but the holster was a lot longer than the others. And the handle was different, too.

“Good morning, Miss. It’s good to see you again.”

“Good to see you, too…Kildrik, right?” Applejack was usually pretty good with names, but his name was so unlike a pony’s, she wasn’t as confident as she’d normally be.

“That’s right. And this is my son, Balgrom.”

“Morning.”

“Morning.” Applejack said in return. “Ah’m headed for Elias’s orchard. Ah’m planning to be back sometime this afternoon.”

“You know the drill, huh.” Kildrik said.

“Ah came through here yesterday. Anything new?”

“According to Guildmaster Rucker, reinforcements will be here in a couple weeks. Most of Silberwald’s hunters are dealing with outbreaks elsewhere.”

“Sil…silber…voled?” Applejack asked, mispronouncing it.

“Silberwald.” Kildrik said. “It’s the town north of here. The dryads named it that because of all the silver birch in the area. It’s also the only settlement within a month’s travel with hunters to spare.”

“What about guards?”

“Between gate guards and road patrols, there’s not many of us to spare, this far from the capital.”

“In most places on this continent, guards are hired by the kingdom or province, not the settlement.” Minerva explained. Applejack nodded in understanding.

“That makes sense. Anyways, Ah should get going.”

“See you around.” Kildrik said.

“Safe travels.” Balgrom added as Applejack equipped her jerkin and transformed. She tried to wave, but her leg wouldn’t even twitch in the right direction, so she just started galloping.

“That was a gun Balgrom had on his back, right?” she asked Minerva a moment later.

“It’s called a rifle or a long gun, which is also the name of the Skill. Rifles are the longest-range personal weapon. Some of the top-end ones are accurate from up to a kilometer. 1000 meters.” Minerva added, sensing Applejack’s confusion. “Only a few siege engines and spells can exceed that distance.”

“And what was that spear-thing Kildrik was carrying?”

“It’s called a glaive. The hook is for pulling riders off their Steeds. Minerva explained. Applejack was confused for a second or two, before she thought about how Spike sometimes rode Twilight’s back. Imagining him in armor like the guards wore, she understood how it would work.

When Applejack arrived at the gate, she returned to her anthro form, before ringing the bell. While she was waiting, she remembered to transform into her humanoid form.

More than a minute later, Yanagi came out of the house with her daughter. Not Clarissa. This girl was younger. Or so it appeared at first. But as they got closer, Applejack realized the girl was actually a full-grown, but very short, woman. The curled horns on her head and the furry legs marked her as a Manimal, though she didn’t know what kind.

“Minerva?”

“She’s a goat Manimal, called a satyr.”

“Yes, how can we…” Yanagi started, before trailing off as she got close enough to see Applejack’s ears. “Applejack? This is a nice surprise. You here to finish working on the fence?”

“Yep.”

“Then come with us to get some supplies. This is Elias’s and my wife, Hannah, by the way.” Yanagi said, and the two exchanged hellos.

About an hour later, Applejack was putting the last nail in a fresh board when a green creature waddled out of the underbrush.

“What in Equestria?” she wondered, squinting at the thing. It didn’t make the creature any more identifiable. “Scan.”

Hodag – Lv. 1

“Hodag? Never heard of that before.” Applejack muttered, before drawing her gun.

The Hodag didn’t come straight at her, though. Instead, it wandered around the tree line for a while, moving in and out of the underbrush, occasionally croaking like a giant bullfrog. After watching this for ten minutes, Applejack was seriously considering hopping the fence, but the big fangs and bigger spines down its back were a good argument for keeping a barrier between her and it.

A couple minutes later, something smallish and furry broke cover, running fast towards the fence. But the Hodag was faster. Its lizard-like waddle may have looked awkward, but it was fast enough to catch the… ground squirrel?… in seconds. Whatever it was, it was about the size of a small beaver, but it didn’t have a flat tail. Or any tail at all, once the Hodag caught it.

Applejack had to look away as the Hodag ate the critter. Which didn’t help very much. The crunching, growling, and lip-smacking were terrible on their own. And folding her ears against her head barely muffled them. Fortunately, the Hodag’s big mouth allowed it to finish eating in only two or three bites.

When the noises died down, Applejack looked at the Hodag and saw its blue tongue licking its chops clean. So she aimed her pistol and fired. The Hodag opened its mouth wide and hissed in pain, as blood poured from its leg. Applejack aimed and fired again, but missed. She fired a third time as the hodag charged, cracking one of its spines, but her fourth bullet found its mark, killing it.

Once the Scan-panel disappeared, signaling the Hodag’s death, Applejack reloaded her pistol and bagged the spent shells, since Minerva had told her they could be reused. “Four shots? Ah guess Ah must not be a beginner anymore.” Applejack thought wryly, approaching the Hodag’s body to get a better look at it.

It had a broad head, big eyes, and big mouth like a toad, but with lots of big, sharp teeth, including two huge fangs that had been visible even when its mouth had been closed. It also had a big, thick, slimy, blue tongue. Like a lizard, the Hodag’s legs were splayed widely, with five big claws and a sharp dew claw. Also like a lizard, its multi-hued green skin was dry and pebbly. Except for the toad-like warts that ran the length of its body.

The most prominent feature though, was the line of huge, pointed spines down the center of it’s back. Some were over a foot long. There was another line on each side of the central one, but they were only about half as long. Except for the last pair, on the tip of its tail. They looked like an earwig’s rear pincer and were almost two feet long.

As Applejack touched the Hodag—carefully, in case its skin was poisonous—she noticed her second shot had grazed it, after all. And once she bagged it, Applejack picked up the Hodag’s Soul Crystal. Then she went looking for the critter’s Soul Crystal, and was surprised to find a blank white pyramid.

“Why’s this look so different? Is it because Ah didn’t kill it?” she asked Minerva.

“Not all Soul Crystals give bonuses. Most smaller critters, like rodents, most fish, and creatures like that will leave Blanks. They’re only useful for summoning or powering magical appliances.” Minerva said. “It’s not perfect, but a good rule of thumb is if it doesn’t naturally present a fatal threat to a sapient, it’s not worth mounting.

“What do you mean, ‘naturally present a threat’?”

“If it can kill a grown sapient with its own claws, teeth, venom, whatever. An example of a non-natural threat would be rabies. Rabies is potentially fatal—even though it can be cured—but it’s not a natural part of any creature. So that marmot would’ve left a Blank Soul Crystal, even if it had rabies. And most bugs don’t leave a Soul Crystal at all, unless they’re really big, like a goliath tarantula, or poisonous, like a brown recluse.” Minerva added.

“That’s good to know. So what’s the Hodag’s Soul Crystal do?” Applejack asked, holding up the variegated green orb.

“I’m not really supposed to tell you that kind of thing.” Minerva said slowly, looking uncomfortable. “I can tell you things you don’t know and can’t find out for yourself without too much effort. Or without raising suspicion about where you’re from. On the other hand, if it is something you can figure out easily, I’m limited to giving you hints. Like mounting that on your armor is useless.”

“So it’s for a weapon, then. And since the fire rat gave me fire resistance, maybe the hodag… It has lots of sharp points, so maybe my sword?” Following that logic, she drew her sword and mounted the Soul Crystal on the ring on the pommel.

“All I can say is when you level up your Scan spell, you’ll be able to see what effect that has.” Minerva said, when Applejack looked at her.

“Ah can use scan on items?” Applejack asked. “Oh, right. Leticia used Scan on the Soul Crystal last night. Would it tell me if these boards are rotten?” she asked, practical as usual.

“Not at your current level.”

“Oh well.” Applejack said to herself before returning to work.

The next few hours were uneventful, apart from one level two Huge Rat. Applejack spent much of that time carrying as much as she comfortably could, trying to increase her strength.

A little before noon, Applejack found herself back at the front gate, so she headed for the house, hoping to find one of the owners. She didn’t have much hope, but maybe they took lunch early. But as she stepped up on the front porch, she heard raised voices.

“Yanagi, I do not need a guard to go into the village!” Hannah shouted.

“I know you don’t need one, but I’d feel better if you had one, anyway.” Yanagi insisted. “With the spider swarms—”

“They’re all north of the village. At least two or three miles north!” Hannah argued. “Besides, I’m a better fighter than you or Elias.”

“Which means you know better than I that swarms are best fought in groups. ‘Fight numbers with numbers,’ remember?”

“Even so, who do you suggest I take with me?”

A second of silence followed, before, “Applejack appears to be done with the fence.” That made Applejack, who’d been trying to quietly sneak away, cringed as she froze in place. “Come on in, Applejack!” Having no way out of it, Applejack turned back towards the door.

“Ah’m real sorry, ladies. Ah wasn’t trying to listen in.” Applejack apologized, as she opened the door.

“Don’t worry about it.” Yanagi said, waving her hand dismissively.

“As loud as we were, you’d have had to try not to.” Hannah groused. The hard look she was giving her wife made Applejack think she was more upset with the faun than Applejack.

“But since you did hear, what do you think? You willing to escort my wife to the shops—and back?” Yanagi added, returning Hannah’s hard look.

“Hold on a moment.” Hannah protested. “First of all, Applejack, are you done with the fence, or are you just here for lunch or more supplies?”

“No, Ah was coming to let you know Ah finished the fence and ask if there’s anything else you need me to do.”

“There is.” Yanagi said, as Hannah said, “No.”

“Yes, there is.” Yanagi insisted.

“No, there’s not.”

“Hannah.” Yanagi said, in a tone that Applejack had used many times with Apple Bloom. It was the tone of a mother who’d reached the end of her patience with her child. Or another loved one’s childish antics. “Yes. There. Is.” she stated, looming over the satyr.2

Hannah, however, was a trained fighter, not a misbehaving child, so she just stared up at her wife. But after a long moment, she snorted.

“Fine!” she snorted, throwing her arms up. “For you. Just don’t expect me to ride her.”

Applejack could only stare, too shocked and offended to say anything.

“You couldn’t ride me anyways.” she eventually managed. “Ah can’t transform for a few more hours, yet.”

“You ready to go?” Hannah asked, getting right down to business.

“Ah need to put the fence supplies away first.”

“Then let’s get going.”

“Hannah, the poor mare’s been working since seven. At least let her grab some lunch.” Yanagi scolded.

“It’s alright. Ah snacked a bit while Ah worked.”

“No, no, Yanagi’s right. If you’ve been working for five hours, you need to eat. Come on back to the dining room.”

“Elias is making pierogies and gyros.” Yanagi said. Applejack had no idea what either of those were, but when she tried the cheese and potato stuffed ravioli, she liked it. She wasn’t as keen on the gyros, though. Flatbread was never her favorite, and the sauce wasn’t great, either. She was also still getting used to the taste of chevon, so she wasn’t going to hold that against it.

The cherry cobbler they had for dessert was unquestionably excellent, however.

An hour or so after finishing lunch, Hannah and Applejack walked into Cerise’s shop. Despite being referred to as a greengrocer, the shop also sold dry goods and sundries. So while Hannah tended to the orchard’s business, Applejack looked around. And when Hannah finished, she bought twenty coppers worth of fruit and veggies. She considered picking up some cheese, too, but she didn’t recognize any of the brands on offer. She wasn’t even sure how to pronounce most of them. She’d have to come back later, on her own time.

The next stop was the butcher. Applejack was a little taken aback by all the meat sitting out and hanging. And by the smells of meats and spices.

Like before, Applejack looked around the shop as Hannah conducted her business. She’d tried the rabbit jerky earlier, and while she’d found it to be tough and chewy, the smoky flavor had been pleasant. So she was willing to stock up on more jerky, and maybe even something fresher, if it sounded interesting. Rat sausage did not, however. No matter how heavily spiced it might be. She considered the venison, until Minerva told her what it was. Goats were potentially not sapient, but deer unquestionably were, and Applejack wasn’t comfortable eating meat from one.

Ultimately, Applejack bought a pound of smoked chevon before they left for the bakery, where Applejack bought a fresh baguette. When they finished there, it was time to head back to the orchard.

The walk back was as quiet as the walk to the village had been. When they arrived, Applejack asked if there was anything else they needed her to do. Elias told her she’d done enough for one day and paid her 27 coppers.

“That’s too much.” Applejack said.

“You got here at seven, and now it’s sixteen-hundred. That’s nine hours.” Yanagi said.

“But Ah really only worked until noon. You don’t need to pay me for walking Hannah to the village and back, since nothing happened.”

“That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get paid. You spent your time doing something for us, at our request.” Elias pointed out.

“Ah suppose.” Applejack conceded with a sigh. “But you don’t have to pay me for the hour we spent in the village. And especially not for the lunch hour.”

“I’ll still pay you for all three hours you were with Hannah, because something still could’ve happened in the village, but if you really don’t want me to, I won’t pay you for the lunch hour.”

“Deal.” Applejack agreed, accepting the 24 coins.

By the time Applejack arrived at the Hunter’s Guild, her legs were starting to get tired, and her feet felt sore and swollen. Since Mr. Rucker wasn’t up front, she went to the bar instead.

“What can I get you?” Leticia asked.

“Ah’ll have whatever’s on tap.”

“Oh, Applejack! I’m sorry, I didn’t recognize you in the flesh. Light or dark?”

“Light, please.” she answered. Then she opened her Menagerie.

MENAGERIE – TROPHIES
O ALL
CRITTERS
O Marmot

BEASTIES
O Huge Rat (Fire)
O Huge Rat (Water)
O Huge Rat (Earth)
O Huge Rat (Wind)
O Hodag

“In the flesh?” she asked Minerva, as she pulled out the Soul Crystals she wanted to sell.

“In the flesh is slang for a Furred Race’s humanoid form. In the fur is slang their anthro form.”

“That’ll be…” Leticia trailed off as she noticed the Soul Crystals. Setting the beer in front of Applejack, she took them and scanned them. “One copper for you.”

“Thanks.” Applejack said, taking a long pull from her drink. “Mr. Rucker in another meeting, or with a hunter?”

“He’s back there with Marcus. They’re old friends, so it may be a bit before they come out.”

“Thanks.” Applejack said again, taking a smaller drink.

A few minutes later, Mr. Rucker and another man came up front. They were still talking, so Applejack stayed at the bar, working on her drink. Eventually, Marcus came over to the bar and started playfully flirting with Leticia, so Applejack finished the last few swallows of her beer and walked over to the guildmaster.

In the appraisal room, Applejack started with the dappled rat. She’d needed two bullets to bring it down, since the first had hit a rib. The second hit its gut, which had slowed it enough for her to catch up and finish it off with a less than graceful stab to its face. The damage to its hide meant it sold for only nine coins.

“A hodag, huh?” Mr. Rucker commented, when Applejack pulled out the beastie. “They’re rare, but not worth a whole lot.”

“Really?” That seemed almost counterintuitive to Applejack.

“The hide makes terrible leather. And even though the meat’s not poisonous, you’d never know it from the taste.” he explained. “The only useful parts are the claws and the spines. They make good weapons. But other than that, these things are really only good for fertilizer. With this many spines, in this condition, I can give you…thirty…let’s say thirty-six.”

“Ah thought you said they ain’t worth much?” Applejack blurted out, shocked.

“They’re not. Not compared to some of the wild creatures found in the wild around here.” Mr. Rucker told her. “You’re just used to weak little, level one and two Huge Rats. Their meat and pelts are a lot better, but they’re still low quality. And they’re too common to be worth much, anyway.”

Applejack blinked once or twice, trying to wrap her mind around the oxymoron of a little Huge Rat.

“So all together, it’s 46 coppers.” Rucker summed up.

“Could Ah give you four coppers and get a silver coin?”

“That would be a lot more convenient all around.” he agreed, opening his inventory.

With her business complete, and Taki nowhere in sight, Applejack walked straight out of the guildhouse. Halfway down the next block, she suddenly remembered she needed to see the herbalist. So she turned around. Fortunately, all the drying plants hanging in the windows and on the porch made the place easy to find.

“Hello?” Applejack said, stepping in and glancing around. She was in a hallway, with stairs at one end, two closed doors on the right, and a set of double-doors on the left.”

“Come on in.” an older, female voice called from the left. Stepping through the open doorway, Applejack found herself in a room with dried plants hanging everywhere, and pots with live ones on every flat surface. And yet, somehow, there was only a mild scent of greenery in the air. It probably had something to do with the Soul Crystals glinting on every line. There was even a short willow tree behind a couch.

“How can I help you?” the willow asked—in a voice very much like Granny Smith’s—straightening up and turning to face Applejack. The elderly dryad narrowed her eyes at the startled young mare. “Mistook me for a real tree from behind, din’cha?”

“Yes’m.” she answered automatically. The dryad kept up her hard stare for a moment more, before breaking into a smile.

“You ain’t the first one, youngin’.” she said with a laugh. “And you ain’t gonna be the last. My name’s Weide—Willow, in Continental, and you can call me that, too. Now, how can I help you?”

“Ah need some birth control.”

“Before the fact or after?”

“Both.”

“You’re an equine, right?” Weide asked. And when Applejack confirmed she was, the dryad started moving around the room, collecting various parts from the plants. Then she grabbed a cup and dropped some of what she’d collected in it.

“You need to let these steep for no less than five minutes before drinking the infusion.” she told Applejack, pouring hot water into the cup. Weide then ground the rest up with a mortar and pestle, before going out to her garden to get the last ingredient. She didn’t come back until Applejack was finishing the tea.

“I forgot to ask how much you need. Too used to the folks in town.” Weide said as she came in.

“Well…” Applejack started, looking at Minerva, in case she had anything to say on the matter. Surprisingly, she did not. “Ah paid for a week’s stay at Mirembe, but Ah haven’t decided what Ah’m going to do, then.”

“Then I’ll start you with a week’s worth.”

Weide pulled out several bulbous roots and handed Applejack three, explaining how to prepare them.

“One nodule a day, as near to the same time as you can manage, and bag the remaining nodules immediately. Cut it up as fine as you can, boil it in the most purified water you can manage for ten minutes, then drink one cup while it’s still hot. Don’t mix it with anything else, or you can ruin its effectiveness, so I hope you like liquorice. If you don’t, you could try your luck in Silberwald, since this is the only plant I’ve got that works on equines. Alder’s family doesn’t mind it, and they’re the only equines in the village.” Weide added apologetically.

Applejack brushed it off. Licorice was far from her favorite flavor, but she could tolerate it for the week, ten days she’d be in season. But she did think it was strange that she didn’t feel like she was in heat. No near-constant urge to urinate, no unusual warmth or swelling in her hindquarters. “Lower-quarters?” she briefly wondered. She was thinking about sex more than usual, but not as much as she normally did while in heat. And not without reason.

Then again, ponies sometimes got pregnant out of season. Like Granny and Mrs. Cake. Not that she could say she was unhappy about the lessened inconvenience.

Either way, Applejack paid Weide the fifteen coppers she asked for, before leaving.

“Hey, Minerva. When and how long is my heat?” she asked, as she stepped out the front door.

“Actually…” Minerva started, before spending the rest of the walk back to the public house explaining a menstrual cycle. Which is what every person in this world had. Even the Furred Races and the Manimals. Applejack found the whole thing strange and confusing. She was relieved when Minerva mentioned that if she got pregnant someday, she could still use her Transformation Skills safely. And she was even more relieved to hear that her contraceptive also minimized symptoms of her period.

When Applejack walked into Mirembe, she saw Subira behind the bar and Taki at one of the tables. She didn’t see any sign of Flamme, but didn’t think much of it. She went to the bar to order supper—which was a veggie stew, with chevon—and a glass of milk to go with. A moment later, she left six coins on the bar, as she got up to move to a table.

“Applejack. Come join me.” Taki invited, and Applejack obliged.

“You okay?” she asked after a moment. He was slouching like he’d already emptied the tankard in front of him a few times, but his eyes were clear.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” he said. “Just tired. I woke up earlier than usual today3, and I spent the day training with the guards.”

“With the guards?”

“Yeah. I don’t know about other nations, but here in Waldheim, especially in settlements that don’t have a dedicated training hall, off-duty guards are usually willing to help other people train. For a price, of course. I just spent a couple hours more than I should’ve practicing my sword work.” Taki explained, as Subira brought out a large bowl of stew and several slices of crusty bread.

“And where’s Flamme?”

“He’s enjoying some downtime.” Taki said, waving his right hand to indicate his Ident Bracelet. “But enough about me. How was your day?”

“Pretty good.”

“Anything interesting happen?”

“A Hodag showed up while Ah was fixing the fence on the orchard.”

“A Hodag? Eurgh.” Taki opined, shuddering. “Those things are nasty.”

“You have a bad experience with one, or something?”

“When I was thirteen, one of my friends dared me to try it.” he started. “He paid me three coppers for three bites. It wasn’t worth it.” he finished flatly.

“Is there any chance it was the way it was cooked?” Applejack asked.

“I cooked it myself, so I know that wasn’t it, but it was still slimy. And sour. Like green gooseberries4.”

Applejack’s lips puckered, remembering the last time she’d eaten green gooseberries. Ironically, she’d done it to dare Dash into trying them. She’d had a good laugh at how the pegasus had nearly fallen out of the sky. “That does sound terrible.”

“I wouldn’t eat it again unless I was literally starving.” Taki agreed. “Neither will Flamme. About the only thing that will eat hodag meat regularly is another hodag.”

“Are all beasties cannibals?” Applejack couldn’t help asking.

“Not really, but it’s not at all unusual. Hodag claws and spines do make decent weapons, and they’re not bad summons.”

“Do you know what their Soul Crystals do?”

“They add damage to piercing attacks. I’m not sure how much.”

Applejack and Taki spent almost an hour talking about the local creatures. Applejack mostly listened to Taki as he told her about red deer, moose, lynx, panthers, bears, and wolves. Also Huge Rats, Giant Rats, Huge Foxes, Greenskull Spiders, and a few other beasties.

Eventually, Taki excused himself, deciding to bed down early. Applejack decided to take a bath before heading up to her room. After soaping up and rinsing off, she refreshed the hot water and just sat and soaked for a while. The idea of masturbating in the bath crossed her mind, but she wasn’t anywhere near comfortable doing that.

Eventually, Marjani came into the room, leading the elf from the night before last. She gave Applejack a quick wave as she stated drawing the bath, before turning around and pulling her patron into a deep kiss. As they made out, Marjani started undressing the elf. As his body was revealed, Applejack noticed that he had no hair except on top of his head, and very little muscle tone. He even had a little bit of a paunch. Once Marjani had the elf naked, she turned the water off and they climbed into the tub.

Applejack wasn’t a voyeur, so when the cat-woman settled herself on the elf’s cock, she closed her eyes and ears. Hearing them whispering to each other soon got to be too much though, and Applejack got out of the tub. She tried to be nonchalant about her half-hard cock as she dried off, cast Clean on her clothes, and got dressed. The pair completely ignored her, which helped.

Heading upstairs, Applejack detoured to the restroom before checking the time. Since it was almost 20:00, she cycled through her transformations, ending in her anthro form. She then returned to her room and bagged all her clothing before pulling out her sword and gun to Clean and maintain them. And when she was done with that, she spent half an hour practicing loading and reloading her gun, just like the last two nights. By the time her fingers started cramping on her, Applejack felt confident enough in her ability to start wearing the cartridge holder.

Moving to her bed, Applejack grabbed her cock and started stroking it. Remembering last night, she was hard in seconds, and she spent some time just stroking her shaft. After a few moments, her precum was flowing steadily, and Applejack ran her tongue over her head. It felt as great as the last time, and after a few more licks, she took the head between her lips and started sucking. And while she started slow, her head was soon bobbing quickly, pushing her towards orgasm rapidly.

A minute or two later, Applejack felt her tip flaring and sped up her stroking hand. A couple seconds after that, her mouth was full of cum, and she was desperately swallowing. She still couldn’t get more than half her load down before her mouth overflowed.

“Congratulations!” Minerva said a moment later, as Applejack caught her breath. “You completed some quests, and even got some new rewards. Would you like to check now?”

“Let me clean up a bit, first.” Applejack said, before starting to scoop up the cum in her coat. Once she’d licked the last drops of the bitter goofrom her hand and cast Clean on herself, she touched the blue button on her left wrist.

Day 5 – 4147 AA
20:54
TOTAL SKILL POINTS: 15
TOTAL SPELL POINTS: 3
QUESTS
Suck a Cock
1 Skill Point + 1 Skill Point (No One Said It Couldn’t Be Your Own!)

Swallow a Load of Cum
2 Skill Points + 2 Skill Points (No One Said It Couldn’t Be Your Own!) + 3 Spell Points (Triple Bonus Score!!!)

Masturbate
1 Skill Point

Feeling in the Feline Mood
2 Skill Points*

“Triple Bonus?”

“It’s for getting the same bonus three times in a row.” Minerva explained. “You can’t get it again for that same bonus, unless you go at least a year without getting that bonus.”

“Huh. Good to know.” Applejack said, thinking about how she wanted to spend her points. Clean was useful, and it would be more useful when it leveled up. But after a little thought, she realized she was using it at least a dozen times a day, so she didn’t really need to help it along. Scan would be more useful once it was leveled up too, but she didn’t use it nearly as much as Clean.

“In that case, Ah’ll level up Scan and my Transformation Skills.”

“That would leave you with Six Skill Points and one Spell Point.” Minerva told her.

“Ah’ll stick with that for now, and save the rest for later.” Applejack said. “Night, Minerva.” she added, getting under the blanket.

“Goodnight, Applejack.”

Author's Note

1. This is supposed to be Spanish moss, but I couldn’t think of any way to ponify Spain/Spanish.

2. And since Yanagi is half a head shorter than Applejack, while Hannah—like any satyr—is about the same height as a dwarf, she could loom very effectively.

3. He actually got up around six-thirty, hoping to meet up with Applejack, but that didn’t work.

4. Fun fact: I had a gooseberry bush growing in my yard as a kid, and I always ate them green. I was in my twenties before I learned they aren’t ripe until they’re purple and mushy. Even a decade on, I still exclusively prefer them green.