Author's Note

ITS STILL SUNDAY FOR ME! THIS COUNTS!

Good Evening everyone.

This chapter is a bit smaller, but had some things I had to rework a couple dozen times. Which is why it was late getting to my editor. Then my final examination (which I am positive I missed something I'm sure one of you will see) took even longer.

But I dudits! So enjoy, and leave a comment if you would like. Hope to see you guys again in a couple of weeks.

Thanks for reading, peace!

Heartland

She had been so proud when her son had built that fence around the family shed. It was his first big project as a colt.

The leftover chicken wire for their chicken coop was just enough to cover the small section of land around the even smaller building. The equipment shed had been the last thing her husband, Cider, had built before his passing.

It had been originally and still was, for the most part meant for evening repairs of tools. The idea had been at the close of a day’s work. Last-minute repairs could be made on tools or equipment that may have worn or broken down, all while waiting for the dinner bell to chime. But with the addition of Winona, it had also been converted into a puppy rearing shed.

Now its only defense was being beaten down like butter in a churn.

Applejack's whimpers broke her heart. Her granddaughter had been so excited when they had received Winona from the Burrows.

That excitement had to turn to pride as the little pup had begun to take to her lessons with remarkable progress.

All that was over now.

There was a loud wet thump and a shout. The timberwolf halted its attack on the fence, cocking its head to the right. Granny was confused. "What by the Tree was that?"

It had only taken a minute for Pear Butter Apple to make the decision to remove the nullring from his horn.

Power flooded into him immediately as he pushed the shutters aside and climbed out onto the roof. And Orion nearly slipped right off instantly.

That should have been his warning.

Instead, he steadied himself, one hand on the side of the house. Gingerly making his way toward the rear, toward danger.

Looking out, he could see the ugly abomination of tree and glowing parts continuing its assault on the shed, viciously ripping at the chicken wire. Something wasn’t quite right about it, but Orion couldn't quite figure out what.

He shook his head, sending a spray of water that was quickly swallowed up by the continued downpour.

"Doesn't matter; get to the edge, snatch the pup, haul ass back inside. No heroics." Looking, he barely saw Winona in the darkness. With evening and the rain, it was difficult to spot the mutt. "Did it have to start raining? Now?"

It was agonizingly slow going. His efforts to not lose his footing, or make a noise, made the task even more difficult, but soon enough, he was standing at the edge of the awning overlooking the backyard toward the forest.

He hoped he was close enough.

"Okay, now to snag the little shit…" Reaching out with his magic, he formed the spell for capesso. What plopped into his hands was not a dog. He tossed the stick aside and reached out further, straining the limits of his range.

A green ball, tufts of grass, a scarf. No bundle of fur ended up in his hands to reward his efforts.

Orion grit his teeth in frustration. This was becoming ridiculous. Each failure made him inch a little close to the very edge, hoping the mere difference of a few centimeters would be enough.

The rain buffeted him, carried by the driving winds of the storm above, making his eyes squint in frustration.

"Come…on…..come on!" He hissed through clenched teeth, trying desperately to push past the restrictions of his second birth. He took another slight step forward, lost his footing completely, and plummeted to the muddy ground below.

Laying there, as rain pelted him in the face, he wondered if he should try and play dead. Act like a branch. A discarded farm implement.

The snarl from behind him said that was a terrible idea.

Leaping to his hooves and spinning around, he didn't remain on them long. He dove to the side as violent vegetation swiftly occupied the space he had been in not seconds ago.

"Fuck me, he's fast!"

Pivoting his right hoof in the mud brought him upright and facing his four-legged foe.

Orion had been right. The Timberwolf was bigger than him. Much bigger. Its hide made of bark, leaves, and corded branches gave it the look of exposed flesh that had been converted to foliage.

A strange green bioluminescent light pulsed in its eyes. Open gaps along its body held the same glow.

The snarl on its face morphed.

"Is this sonvabitch grinning at me?!"

The denizen of the Everfree was, in fact, grinning at the stunned colt. Rough wooden tongue lolling out of its mouth as green saliva dripped to the ground.

Things clicked for Orion at that moment. The creature's size and the way the fence had buckled but never truly gave out should have been a dead giveaway. That had been what struck him as wrong.

The timberwolf had never been trying to get Winona. It had been baiting the occupants of the house out. It knew that someone would want to try and save the dog.

"You bastard…you played me…." That grin seemed to widen for a moment before the snarl returned, and the beast leaped for him.

Had it not been for the rain and mud, that would have been the end of it. With a startled yelp, Orion took a step back and slipped, dropping onto his ass as his death sailed overhead. Crashing into a thicket of rose bushes behind him, the beast howled in frustration.

"No dog is worth this!" Scrambling once again to his hooves, he bolted for the porch. "Climb up the awning, get my ass back inside!"

That plan was dashed before he had even made it to the second step.

The timberwolf bodied him from the right, sending him sprawling into the mud. With no time to agonize over how much that actually hurt, the unicorn struggled to stand again and swung his head toward the one that had collided with him.

There were two.

To his left and a little behind was the first one ripping its way from the roses, snarling and snapping. The second was just in front of him and to his right. He wanted to groan.

"Of fuckin' course they are pack plants…."

Orion wasn't going to be able to run from this. Lightning flashed, and thunder rumbled. Nature was mocking him for sure.

"Bright Mac, that ain't gunna hurt no sun blighted timberwolf. Put that away!" Hiss Granny.

Her son had gone into the kitchen and retrieved her biggest knife. Now he was trying to get around the old mare so he could rush out the door. She understood his stance on the situation, and she agreed with him. But the kitchen utensil was little more than a butter knife compared to the tough hides of those wolves.

"But, Ma?! He's gunna die out there!" He made no effort to quiet himself.

"Hush you, foal. Yer gunna draw 'tention ta us."

Granny couldn't understand how their guest had managed to get outside, or remove the nullring that he had on him since his arrival. Not knowing anything was making her angry and short-tempered. She'd have to apologize later.

Turning back to the window, she could see the wolves circling around Orion Falls between the gap of shutters.

Just what had he been thinking?!

Occasionally, one of the beasts would snap at his cannons, driving him back toward the forest and away from the safety of the house.

This was a terrible situation, and all Granny could do was think to keep her own family safe.

"Why are ya out there, ya dumb colt?!"

A creak of wood from behind her jerked her around as well as somepony physically doing so.

Pear Butter stood there looking incredibly guilty. Tears were making tracks down her face.

"What did ya do, Pear?!"

Her daughter-in-law's hand rose and opened. There in her palm was Orion's nullring.

"P-p-pear?! Why?!" Bright asked, disbelief in his eyes.

"He….he said he could 'port Winona into his arms and get back…back inside." The yellow mare weakly replied. "Then…he fell and I…I jest couldn't…I…." Grief ladened her voice, and she struggled to remain standing under Granny’s domineering glare.

"Did ya at least 'member to lock the winder?!" The now silently bawling mare could only nod.

She huffed in annoyance and turned back to the window again.

"At least that covers the "what and why", but how is Orion gonna…."

Granny Smith's mouth fell open.

The fuckers were driving him to the forest.

It was apparent they were planning to make a meal of him. Any idiot could see that. But they were doing so slowly.

"Likely trying to bait more out of the house."

They had passed the dog shed a couple of minutes ago. Winona was nothing more than a ball of trembling fluff in which the timberwolves took no interest in. They had their prize as far as they were concerned.

How was he to get out of this? The couple of attempts he had made to skirt around them was met with nearly a bitten-off leg. He couldn't keep track of them and had no time to activate the radar enchantment in his mane to give him a better idea of where they were at.

He had deactivated all of the jewelry he had made just before the guards had taken him in. The nullring had kept him from reactivating them since. Orion had wanted to avoid any chance of Celestia, or someone else, from possibly detecting anything wrong. He even forcefully misaligned his secondary "horns" as an added precaution.

Those had been the only thing he had fixed before stepping out into the hell he was in now.

He had tried casting a presence spell manually several times, but the wolves were either sentient or had learned from previous interactions with other ponies. Each time he had begun, they lashed out, disrupting his concentration.

Judging by the way they would stop and grin at him, he suspected a little of column A, little of B.

Getting to the forest would not be safe either. Judging by how fast they were, he wouldn't be able to just climb a tree and wait them out till morning.

"I'm truly fucked…."

It was a sobering thought. All he had done, survived, and accomplished, was worth nothing. He was about to be plant food.

"Fuck this!" He suddenly shouted.

That startled both creatures as they suddenly stopped circling, each looking at the other.

Orion didn't waste any time. With the pair distracted, he decided if he couldn't run, he was going to fight.

The myriad of spells he still had no name for, blossomed in full view of anyone who cared to look and understand what they were seeing. The light drove the rogue plants back, turning their heads in order to avoid the worst of the suddenly searing blaze of his horn.

"FUCK YOU! FUCK YOUR PODLING ASSES!" He roared and threw a fist into the face of the nearest wood wolf.

Punching Forager had been like hitting an anvil with a thick layer of slightly frozen jello around it.

Striking one of these things was like someone had simply removed the jello.

Blood, his, splattered on the ground, and he barely resisted the urge to howl with the beast as it shook its head and stumbled away, stunned. Orion's left hand had split open across the knuckles. Red fell with the rain that still beat them all down.

The timberwolf he had punched now sported a cracked cheek where his fist had connected. However, around the crack, and now covering most of the body, were rows upon rows of rose thorns. Big black gnarled things far twisted from your average rose bush.

"Great! They can fuckin' mutate!"

It must have been the one that had fallen into the bushes. The other wolf did not share its companion's new adornments. It was likely that they could take on the attributes of plant life that they brushed against.

That was terrifying to the black colt. "I hope they haven't run into hemlock on the way here…."

Whatever he had gained from the surprise assault was all he was going to get. Instead of backing off and reevaluating their approach, they leaped as one at him, jaws snapping.

"Fireballs you idiot. You can cast them with your hands, moron! Plants burn!"

The moment the idea popped up into his brain, he started launching them, stopping his opponents in their tracks in bursts of fire. Unfortunately, no vegetation was burned this day. The brilliant idea left out one tiny fundamental problem. It was raining like Noah's flood was coming.

This only seemed to serve to piss the already angry wolves even further.

"Shit."

The chase was on.

Having access to his magic, Orion was able to quickly put distance between himself and his would-be devourers. Setting a course for the house, he took long strides, praying and hoping that whatever god was listening wouldn't let him slip.

With the spells coursing through him, he had more than enough speed and power to skip climbing entirely. All it would take is one leap, and he would be home free.

One of the timberwolves slammed into his back, sending him crashing into the shed they had been faking a break-in with.

"MOTHER FUCKER!" He roared into the night. Throwing one of the broken wood slats at a charging wolf, tripping it up before it could reach him with the twisted teeth of its jaws.

Winona rushed into his arms, trembling.

"NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR PETS!" He screamed and jumped to the roof of the shed, one arm wrapped around the dog, the other snagging an old-looking hand scythe from the ground and simultaneously slashing the other creature in the face. The blade had been kept sharp and cut deep, splattering bioluminescent blood into the air.

The resident of the Everfree roared, a bellow that rattled Orion's own teeth in his head.

"So, they can feel pain."

He nearly fumbled his grip on the struggling, squirming family pet. This was not going to work. He couldn't fight with the ball of fur in one hand and ancient farm equipment that could fall apart at a moment's notice in the other.

"Oh, please don't turn into a pile of steaming blood mush." His horn's light picked up in intensity.

Capesso was designed to pull objects to the caster. A kind of mini teleportation. Orion had figured if that was true, that the inverse was also possible.

Experiments had proven that…with mixed results. One in four items that popped into existence some few feet away were as expected, as they had originally been. The failures, however, had been twisted versions of themselves.

It was a gamble. The results he wouldn't see till after the fact, but he saw no choice given his, their, current situation.

Dashing off the top of the shed, he bolted for the house. The wolves moved to intercept and collided with one another when he suddenly pulled up short. The colt didn't need to be that close, just fifteen feet from what he thought was open space within the home.

"Please don't haunt me if this doesn't work." With a pop and a sizzle, the puppy vanished from his arms. His horn throbbed with the effort of supporting and working so many spells all at the same time.

He hoped that it worked, but concerns for Winona's fate were pushed aside for the sake of his own. The wooden abominations had disentangled themselves relatively quickly and were now resuming their original positions at the start.

Once again, they began their mock attacks and circled to push him back.

"Naw, I'm done with this cat and mouse bullshit!" He was going to kill at least one of these fuckers. The questions were how and which one.

Dodging a series of feints and attacks. Orion thought about how he was going to go about it.

The rose-thorned one was an obvious no-go. Most of his attacks would be physical, especially with the downpour that was still coming down. Lightning flickered above them occasionally, accompanied by the rumble of thunder.

"With this fucking rain, I'm never going to be able to...wait. If I can't fry them from the outside, maybe I can cook them from within instead. Shit, no! I can get through their skin…." He hefted the hand scythe in his hand. "Yeah….that'll work."

The one he had slashed had been the non-thorny wolf. Its face now bore a deep cut across its left eye, oozing bioluminescent liquid that he had to take as blood. Maybe it was actually tree sap. But how did it glow like that?

Orion shook his head. He was distracting himself, and if that kept up, it was going to get him killed. Instead, he focused on how to lure the cut one in for some real damage.

He waited, trying to show a little of his exhaustion. It was bound to take the bait eventually. With a yelp of alarm, Orion stuck his hoof into a hole in the yard and fell backward. Panic filled him as with a sickening realization, he was exposed openly to attack in a position no one would want to be in.

The thorny one jumped on top of him, and he only barely had time to shove his arm into its neck to keep the snapping jaws from his face, the creature's thorns digging into his forearm. The scythe had been knocked from his hand.

Placing his other hand against the struggling wolf's chest, he ignited a candlelight spell as high as it could go. He screamed in rage, pain, and fear as the magic began to burn a hole in the chest of his foe.

The snarling above turned to shrieks of pain, but the bastard did not stop trying to chew his face, and Orion didn't stop trying to force flames into the not-animal bearing down on him.

Even when the char from the expanding wound started burning his own hand, he kept up his feeble attack, eyes rolling in search of the other timberwolf.

"Where's the other one?!" Some still rational part of his mind screamed that question. Why hadn't it pounced him too?

"That….sh…should be enough!" He hoped it was. This was his only chance.

Ceasing his cast, he balled his fist and punched the spot he had been trying in vain to burn through. The sound of a crack echoed in the small space between them. His hand throbbed.

Orion grinned.

Another short punch, more sounds of wood splintering met his ears. His punching became relentless and in quick bursts. The timberwolf howled in pain as green glowing goop began to plop onto his chest in wet splats.

With a final thrust, he drove his hand and arm straight into the beast's chest cavity. Opening his fist, his palm brushed against something that pulsed wildly, and he closed his fingers around it and yanked in an attempt to make room for the fireball spell he was about to unleash inside.

For the tree of four-legged violence, that must have really hurt. It practically hurled itself off the colt, bellowing into the rainy night.

Looking at what he had claimed, his stomach turned.

A pulsing, not quite a crystal, not quite the pupae of an oversized bug, sea green lump of flesh sat in his palm. Strange twisted roots like veins embedded themselves in various places throughout the fleshy mass.

"It kinda looks like a…did I just rip out this thing's heart?!" Looking up, he saw a pitiful sight.

The timberwolf was no longer the intimidating creature of death he had been fighting only a moment ago. Now, it dragged itself across the ground, its greenish blood oozing from its eyes, ears, and even the mouth. Not to mention from the hole he had made trying to kill it.

Its wails of pain and agony were now pitiful whines.

A quick glance right found the other one, its single eye wide in what Orion could only imagine was shock.

Looking back to the thing in his hand, he crushed it savagely while igniting another candlelight spell. A blackish blue, green flame erupted from his clenched fingers, causing him to curse and drop the burning mass of wood flesh. In the smoke and that impossible flame, something arose and wailed. It was a tiny, pitiful sound, and then it all vanished. Plant heart and all.

The clatter of wood made him jump and look left again.

The once mighty timberwolf was not just a pile of wood and green sap. The sap no longer glowed.

"Holy shit…I…actually killed it…." Getting to his hooves, he rounded on the other, who had yet to move. It just stared at what was left of its companion.

"So that's how I kill you fucks." His throat hurt, but it was loud enough to get his second opponent's attention instantly. "How about it fuckstick, care to try your luck?"

Its ruined eye oozed; the other, Orion could swear that he could see it was contemplating the odds. With a howl of rage, it bolted for the forest, soon becoming lost to sight in the foliage and darkness.

All strength fled him as he dropped on his ass, sudden and manic laughter filling the air. He did not stop, even when Granny Smith's hand shook his shoulder.

He was going to get PTSD from this for sure.

Turning the tab on the spigot, she poured herself a small glass of apple brandy.

Bright Mac had to lug it out of the cellar for her just before he went to bed with the rest. Orion was now sleeping quietly in the guest bedroom across from her own. Poor colt was just plum tuckered out.

His wounds had been dressed after a good scrubbing in the tub. The burns on his hand needed ointment and careful wrapping, but it should be alright by morning. The rest were mostly surface cuts, and one bite mark was barely more than a scratch in terms of severity, yet he somehow complained like a foal getting a shot every time they applied more stingweed powder.

His clothes were ruined, so she had Big Mac dig through his castaways to find something that would fit. She had been correct, he certainly has more muscle than your average city stallion.

AJ had tried in vain to stay awake, but Granny had seen through the adrenaline rush and sent her to bed with little Winona. The pup's sudden appearance in the air before her granddaughter had been a sight to see just before the battle's sudden end.

She turned the cup in her hands. She was avoiding it. Hiding from the fact that a colt, at this point she considered him more of a stallion, capable of the same violence as her grandsire once had, was now sleeping beneath her roof.

Her ears perked up, somepony was coming down the stairs.

Moments later, Pear walked in, thick red flannel bed robes wrapped around her tightly. It was a chilly night with the rain and all. Try as they might, they could not plug every draft in this old farmhouse.

"Now wut do ya think yer doing, filly? Why ain't ya in bed like the others?" She asked pointedly. The foolish mare was messing with her alone time now.

"Couldn't sleep, Granny. Thought I'd sneak a tot ta see if that'll work." She came to sit before her, after getting a small cup of her own. The cask stood between them, and she gave a questioning look as if asking for permission.

"Fine, can't say as I blames ya. Night like tonight…well, maybe I oughta not partake alone." She sighed heavily.

After Pear had filled her cup, they sat staring into them for a long moment. The old mare was still a might bit miffed at the younger. She had acted foolishly, in her opinion. Taking off that nullring like she did had just been plum stupid.

"I…I thought all he was gonna do was teleport the pup. That's what he said he'd do. Kept cusin' up a storm though, inching further and further out like that." She explained, though no question had been asked.

Granny snorted derisively.

From what the two had said, both Pear and Orion, he had convinced her to slip the nullring off his horn so that he might use a spell known as "Capesso" to whisk the poor farm pup away from danger.

However, for reasons she couldn’t understand, he had begun inching closer and closer toward the edge of the awning of the back porch. Complaining how he wasn't close enough or some such nonsense.

Granny would have laughed had the situation not been so dire. Because as he crept farther and farther along, he ended up slipping on some loose tile that Bright had not gotten to securing, and plummeted to the ground near the shed and timberwolf.

Rather than try to run, which she demanded to know why that had not been an option for him. He had stated:

"At that point, I was kinda pot committed. Had to play the cards as they were dealt, ya know? Besides, I did try and get back to the house at one point."

She had seen it all from her vantage in the kitchen, and while he had made an effort to avoid injury and danger, he had still placed himself in harm's way to begin with. That had been a conscious choice.

Orion's answers, more like excuses, did not sate her. The old mare slammed the ring back on his head much harder than she had meant. He groaned, but otherwise didn't protest.

He was supposed to be wearing it at all times anyway. So now Granny had to go into town in the morn and hope that the local Magistrate wouldn't attempt to make a pig pen mess out of the breaking of the Princess's edict. Though she had some sway in that regard.

"Wat's done is done. No use in crying over the basket being spilled. Just pick up the apples and sort what still can be good out of the pile." She muttered, finally taking a sip of the brandy. She hummed in approval. This had been the best yet.

"This…is really good..." muttered Pear.

"I'd hope so, Cider's last batch. Got two more, and that's it." She murmured.

"Wait, this is…?"

."Yep, muh husband's greatest, and last distillation. This is what a 'undred years of practice gits ya." She chuckled. "Oh Cider, 'ow I would trade all the brandy ya ever did make for yer comfert right now."

Pear coughed.

"Not ta change the subject, but wat are we gonna do 'bout Orion?" She asked after a moment.

"We?" Granny cocked an eyebrow. " "We" nothing, young lady. Y'all are gonna stay 'ere and clean up the mess. Tryin' fix that durn fence and shed. Make it better. I'm gonna head inta town tomar'ah and explain to the Guard why he wasn't back in his cot tanight."

"...and wat he said?"

Her cup had paused halfway to her mouth, she remembered.

"Granny, this wasn't just happenstance." Orion had paused at the base of the stairs, one hoof on the first step. His face was tired and worn, but there was still alertness in his eyes. A similar fire there that she had seen blossom from his hand.

"Wat'cha mean?" It had taken an hour just to get him to agree to go to bed. He had been standing by the windows, occasionally peeking out to the forest behind them. Concern etching his features.

"I mean that this wasn't just a random walk by of animals attracted by the smell of rot and decay coming from the compost heap. That f…that wolf could have easily ripped through the wire." He looked back toward the windows again. "All it was doing was using its body like a battering ram. That's it. Why didn't it bite and tear at the fence?"

"Are ya sayin'..." She had begun to piece together what he had been implying.

"Yeah, it was bait. Only one showing itself. The next coming out of the shadows to attack me from behind. Might have been more watching from the woods too, though that might be unlikely." He sighed and raked a hand through his mane. "I read about them, and all records say they are just a bunch of dumb animal-plant hybrids. But that…that right there was a planned attack. Be careful from now on, Granny. This isn't over." And with that, he made his journey up to the guest room.

She hadn't realized that she had moved to the window till she was peering out into the darkness, towards the woods. The same window that he had stood at not a few hours prior.

"I'm gonna inform the guard is what I'm fixing to do."

"I'm sorry, Darling, but are you sure?"

Rarity had a delightful morning. She hadn't gone to bed too late the night before, the patter of raindrops easing her into dreamland in a most wonderful way. The outfit she had chosen today went swimmingly with her natural colors, and the new manestyle she had decided to try had really given her a posh look that she enjoyed greatly. Even her project was going well, if a little more than she had anticipated. Still, the ends would most certainly justify the means.

Her tea had been particularly good as well, mint with blueberries, which had been paired with several fruit tarts she had made the night before. She might have been a bit glutinous, but she felt she deserved a little reward for all her hard work. And her walk to school had been graced by the Princess's sun and clear skies. Despite the autumn season, the weather was blessedly warm.

Yes, today had a glorious start indeed.

That's why the scene that greeted her on the journey to the Ponyville Schoolhouse had been not quite jarring or wrong, just bizarre.

There was Applejack, strolling up the road from the farming district, with Orion Falls of all ponies, as a companion. Just yesterday, the farm filly had been vowing to ruin his visit here for the entire month of his suspension from Canterlot, now this strange turn.

Instead of the angry glares she would have expected, her friend since foalhood was laughing and TOUCHING him in a rather familiar way. That raised the fashionista's eyebrows in surprise.

"What under Celestia's Sun happened? Why is he walking with her? Where did he get that shirt? What is up with all those bandages?!"

She didn't particularly hate the colt. Indeed, he had a roguish charm that she found striking.

But his manner and criminality, confessed from his own lips no less, made him less of an ideal potential partner. She had been on the lookout for her Prince since she was a filly. Having to dismiss him as a potential was regrettable in her book, but a mare had to have her standards. The flannel shirt he now wore hugged a much less soft form that hadn't been there in the horrendous baggy clothing he wore the day before.

It was an earthy look that he pulled off well.

Rarity wanted to know what had happened to cause such a shift in attitude between yesterday and today with her friend. She had left class early the day before, so she had no point of reference for the change. But she did remember that Orion had been rather cross with her dear Applejack just before the final hour.

Though he had just cause in her opinion.

The burgeoning fashionista had chosen to stay out of the whole mess of yesterday, and rightly so. He was already being punished, so the idea of making it worse didn't make sense to her, but her friend had a fly in her ear about it. Her little plan had failed in quick order, though. The black colt had proven far more deft in coercion of the foals in class than even she would have believed, and without threats or bribes.

It was really quite a surprise. The fact that, other than his nails being dragged across the blackboard, there was no outburst seemed to clash with the self-made report on his actions at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. He had been very…controlled.

It wasn't until lunchtime that she had gotten the chance to pose her questions. He was inside preparing for his teaching hour, and she would be remiss if she did not admit her own interest in the subject, if a bit more idle than anything else. Volcanoes were not something the average pony knew much about.

The answers to her questions were vastly different than what she had expected.

"He fought and killed a Timberwolf?! Chased another away?!" That thought rattled around in her skull in a loop that seemed to steal the limelight every time it came back.

Applejack was not prone to lies. In fact, she was terrible at it. Her friend was so bad at it that if she did something wrong, whether intentional or not, the guilt would give her away without anypony needing to know of the why.

This made the orange filly and honest pony by default, and she wore it with a sense of pride.

So it was understandable that the cowfilly looked offended at the question.

"Am I sure? Of course, I'm sure, Rares! Muh kin saw it happen with me!" She had not shouted, but it was a very near thing.

Fortunately, they had taken refuge from the sun under one of the oak trees in the play yard away from the jungle gym, where all the other foals were spending their time.

"I am sorry, my dear, but you must understand my skepticism. The idea of a lone pony, even a guard, taking on an individual Timberwolf is almost impossible without preparation. There is a reason that the Princess's Guard tends to use smother tactics when dealing with hostile forces like them."

It was a well-known fact in town that her father, Hondo Flanks, was a bit of a military fanatic.

In his youth, he had tried repeatedly to join them himself. But he had been rejected every time. Not because of his lack of physical ability, but due to the fact that at the time, a mandate kept a strict limit on how many stallions were allowed to join the armed forces.

By the time it was lifted, her father had already begun his textile business ventures and was beyond the age of recruiting besides.

Now the stallion that raised her lived vicariously through the paraphernalia of old battles. The records, the pieces of gear from ancient sites, and especially the tactics used, were the stallion’s only outlet. Being his only daughter for so long, she bore the brunt of those endless conversations on what worked, what could have been done better, and fantasy acting of great moments in history.

Because of all that, she had taken a liking to it as he did. Rarity was more subdued about it, of course, but tactics of battle always held a special place in her heart. It was why she enjoyed chess so much, or matching wits with anypony she believed was her equal.

"It don't matter wut the guard does. It's wut Orion did, and that is that!" Oh, Applejack was in a stubborn mood, that was for sure.

But last night had been particularly dark with the storm overhead. Surely there was no possible way she had seen what she claimed.

Her friend's face scrunched up in agitation. The fashionista's face must have been obvious in her disbelief.

"Fine then. Ya can come over and ask my ma and pa. Even my brother. They'll all tell ya the same thang I said." She huffed, crossed her arms, and looked away.

Rarity would absolutely love to ask her brother anything. The stallion was nothing short of a hunk. With those muscles and that gentle face, it was enough to make any mare sigh. The problem was he never looked at her twice. Worse, never said more than a few words at a time, even in familial company. A graveyard was noisier than he was.

"I will have to, I suppose." She winced as Applejack seemed to stiffen, and the purple-maned mare sighed once more. She had injured her friend's pride and would have to work hard to smooth things over.

She smiled.

"So, Darling, you said his clothes got ripped up in his battle, and that's why he is wearing your brother's hand-me-downs?"

The cowfilly looked at her for a few minutes, likely trying to figure out where she was going with her questioning, before answering with a shake of her head.

"Yeah. They was so torn up that even you couldn't have fixed it. Why?"

Rarity was impressed. That was almost proper Equish. Only the country twang would have given her away for the rural pony that she was.

But that was not her focus.

"So that means, you know what he looks like under those baggy clothes he seems to favor." Her smile morphed into a grin as her friend blushed and spluttered, trying to explain without impugning on his honor.

Much better.

"AJ, I can't come back to the farm with you." Orion laughed.

School had let out only a few minutes ago. The talk of the kids as they streamed by him and her was an excited babble about his lesson after lunch. Some of them waved their goodbyes to him.

He smiled in spite of himself. Their enthusiasm was infectious. Much better than the kids in his orphanage back home.

His reputation, such as it was, kept those there at a distance. It was only when they were desperate as hell did they attempt to approach him, and they came with bribes in the way of stolen snacks from the kitchen when they did so.

Those moments were fun in their own right, but he couldn't help but feel a little guilty about the fear they had. In part because he did little to quell them.

Still, this was its own joy and no guilt attached. This lot seemed to soak up anything he said like a sponge. It was a shame that he had to tailor the lessons to a lie. Though fortunately, the moon had a lesser effect on tectonic forces, it still galled that he was still contributing to what he believed was one of the great lies Celestia had going on. He would prove it false. There was just no way in hell one person had that much control over something so massive.

At least he was almost positive it was all a lie. How could one being move a celestial body as large as a sun?

He shook his head. No need to go off on a tangent, and judging by AJ's face, he had missed a question.

"Sorry, what did ya say, Applebottom?" The frown deepened.

"I told ya ta call me AJ, 'Rion." She snarked back at him. Since last night she had become friendly, downright chummy. Butchering his name seemed to be par for the course.

"I'll call you MuddButt if I want. Now, what did ya say?" He could only laugh as she glowered at him.

"I asked ya, "Why not?", and ya just stared at all the foals."

"Sorry, I kinda got lost in my own head there. And to answer your question, I have to build two large faux volcanoes tonight, and I'm gonna need to go and buy or find the materials. Besides, I'll just embarrass you by helping you with your chores." She flushed. She had been hoping to get him to help her with her farm work after all.

"What'd mean?"

"As in, I would make you look like a joke doing your job better than you."

"Want ta place sum bits on that?" It was her time to look amused, her eyebrow cocking up slightly, all smug confidence.

"No, as of right now, I'm busy, plus, I'm injured. Now, begone thot! I have shit to do." He nearly ran away as she just spluttered behind him. He ignored the barely heard question of what a thot was and rushed on, giggling to himself.

At the Tee in the road, he noticed the only other older filly in class watching him from down the road toward the farms.

Rarity hadn't been precisely cold, but neither had she been warm either. Always with her head in some fancy magazine or together with AJ, talking about whatever, she hadn't said much to him, which was probably for the best.

Prim was a word to describe her. So it was a small surprise to see her on the farm road rather than heading into town like himself. On top of that, she was looking at him in a rather odd manner. As if puzzled by something.

He groaned.

"AJ, you little shit stain! Of course, you'd go and tell her ass everything!"

The events from last night hadn't been a secret per se, but she looked like a gossip queen. Which meant it was going to be all over town before nightfall.

"Goddamnit."

The damage was done. There was really nothing he could do about it, save murder, and that thought made him uncomfortable to consider. The fact that it had even popped into his head for what was essentially just a teenager was enough to send a chill down his spine. He didn’t even like thinking about it.

Proceeding into town, through the market district which was closest to the farms, he found himself with a rather odd reception.

His first notion that something was wrong was when a mare, with arms the size of his head, slapped him on the back as she passed by. A smile and a nod. No words. With a questioning shrug, he proceeded on till the next oddity cropped up.

A stallion had stepped out of his smithy, wiping his hands off with a rag—another nod, respectful.

"The hell is going on?"

This continued on till he got to the Guard station behind Ponyville Hall. Back smacks and nods of approval. Mares pointing him out to their daughters, who in turn gave him appraising looks.

He didn't like it. Not one bit.

It wasn't till he reached for the door's handle that he put two and two together. Granny came bustling out, and he yanked his hand back. Then he used that same hand to rub his eyes as the realization hit him.

"Well, at least I know where Applejack's snitching behavior came from." He muttered.

"Wat now?" She asked briskly, adjusting an apple-patterned green scarf around her neck.

"You're the reason everyone in town seems to know who the h…" He bit his tongue, "who I am." He finished lamely.

It wasn't that he felt like he couldn't curse. The problem was, unlike Mrs. Evergarden or Miss Sapphire, the old mare in front of him had a forceful way about her. She was willing to leave bruises in order to get her point across with him. With others, he knew how to push; with her, she wouldn't let him push at all, and he had no real defense against her. Not unless he wanted to strike back, which would likely go over as well as a bucket of feces dumped into someone’s bed.

"I felt that everypony should know 'bout how you risked yer neck savin' one of our own." She smiled cheerily. Clearly not seeing what he saw as wrong. Didn't he have enough notoriety as it was?

"It was a dog, and I was stupid." This morning's reflections and nightmares from his fitful sleep had made it clear that he had been dumb as hell in doing what he did. Over a puppy, no less. The only thing he could chalk up his stunt to was the fact that he couldn't stand the tears in their eyes as the realization that Winona wasn't going to make it last the night. And maybe his own ego was at play, who knows.

"That is true too. But Winona ain't just some dog. She is a family member, and so are ya." He blinked in surprise at her.

After last night he had been under the impression that he had thoroughly scared the fuck out of them all, and they wouldn't want such a dangerous person like him around after all that. He had been shocked that they hadn't shied away from his carnivorous needs like others before them.

Perhaps he should have expected something like this as well.

"Even after last night?" He found himself repeating his thoughts out loud.

"As my grandson would say, "Eyup"." She chuckled. "All ya done showed was yer a stallion that's willin' ta stand by yer principles. That ya ken take care of yerself. Ya know wat ya done was foolishness, but ya did it anyways, an for the reasons you thought wer right."

He sighed and rubbed his face. "But did you have to tell everyone in town?"

"Why, of course I did. How else is everypony gonna know ya did right by me and muh kin? Said as much before." She gave him a soft smile. "I ken tell how much ya not likin' the limelight and all that. But folks round here are a touch judgemental. 'nd word was already gettin' 'round about yer problems back in Canterlot. Ponies here needed ta know the otherside a ya." She patted his cheek. "Now I think I've been jawin' enough. Better git on back ta the farm and make sure Bright fixed that fence right and proper. I set Pear to makin' sure he does, but knowin' those two like I do, likely gettin' on ta making foal number four if they git a chance." She chuckled wryly.

"Foal number four? There's only Applejack and Diesel."

"Ah, that's right!! Ya never got ta meet Applebloom." She chortled. "Pear had put her down ta bed just before ya arrived. With everythang that happened last night," she shrugged her shoulders. "No matter, I'm sure ya be around soon enough." She patted his shoulder and meandered around him. "Make sure ta not be a stranger now."

He was floored. "They have another fuckin' kid?!" He shook his head and pushed the door open. He had enough on his plate that he didn't need to worry about mysterious babies sprouting from the ether.

The ass chewing was just that. Sergeant Green was more than a bit pissed at him. Not only had he broken curfew, but he violated Princess Celestia's edicts about the nullring staying on. To the furious stallion, that was the more egregious of the crimes he had committed.

Or, at first, that's what it seemed like.

The moment a particularly tight-faced mare in polished plate armor left the station, he broke into a grin and started laughing at Orion's expression.

"The look on yer face, colt. I swear to the Tree ya looking like both yer hands were caught in the pickle barrel." He wiped tears from his eyes.

"Wait. Hold the fuckin' phone." He held up his hands, dizzy from so many mental blows—First Granny, now this guy.

"Hold the what now?" The stallion asked, perplexed.

"Expression. I thought I was in trouble."

"Hah, only as long as Lieutenant Colonel Armstrong was still around. I'm upset about the whole nullring thang, but I can understand extraordinary circumstances. Still, don't do nothin' like that again, ya hear me?" Green roared with laughter again.

These people were crazy.

"I think I should be in a bit more trouble than, "don't do it again", don't you?" He replied.

"And I think, that ya learned that lesson while gitten all bitten and clawed up like ya did. Now, I do need ya to clarify some thangs with me. Most notably what ya said ta Granny last night." He pulled out a notebook and sat down at his desk, looking expectantly at him.

They were all insane. Either that, or unicorns and earth ponies had an entirely different set of parenting mindsets.

He shook his head, sat down and began to speak of his suspicions about what had happened last night and what it might mean.

The rest of the week flew by despite how awkward it was to walk through town. At any given time of the day, there would be someone with a question that would just make the entire ordeal awkward.

They started out simple enough. Always the same question or near to it, yet before long he would end up defending his situation and why he had done what he had done. It wasn't as if they faulted him for getting involved at all, but they seemed collectively miffed because of how it had come about.

"If ya knew ya couldn't teleport something more than ten or so feet away, why risk somethin' like that? Whut were ya thinkin'?" Had been Honey Rose's pointed question. A variation on the same as Walnut Haze had made three hours before her. He had tried to smack him. That stallion was definitely one of the, "it takes a village," crowd. It was annoying in Orion's view.

He had no answer for them in any case. A growing theme in his life, and he suspected he knew the source, seemed to be stepping in for others. Before his arrival in this world, he had never done dick for anyone in his entire life, and had made one mistake that costed more than he could ever imagine. That guilt had to be what drove him.

Now, the moment he saw someone in trouble, he would just go into action mode. By the time he had realized what he was doing, he had wadded hip deep into the issue and couldn't find a quick way out.

It annoyed him to no end as well, he had been attempting to keep a low profile at this early stage in his life. That was pretty much pointless now as he was in the sights, if not full attention, of the most powerful mare in the kingdom.

With the approach of the end of the week, the bandages were removed, and to his surprise, there weren't even any scars. Just what was in that stuff that slathered onto him? Burned like hell, but even the burn mark on his knuckles had vanished. Leaving behind just a light dusting of fur that would eventually fill in once more.

Friday was fun, even if it didn't turn out like he had hoped it would. It had taken him hours to get the right items to make his fake volcanoes. He had chucked the idea of making half of the one merely because of how time-consuming it would end up being. Besides, the local glass maker, Frit Flame, had raised a stink over what he wanted two of her wide-mouth bottles for. She ended up charging extra for the insult to her pride. He could only imagine what would happen if he asked for one of them to be cut in half lengthwise.

Oh, the humanity. Or was it ponity? Another question for the scholars.

His first thought to use sand was quickly cast aside as well. Ultimately using clay instead so that he could show the class how lava would take alternative paths to get out of the magma chamber by making little holes with sticks during the crafting process was the more straightforward approach.

They got a kick out of it—almost as much as they did when he got hit full in the face with the first example.

Rarity was the only other unicorn in class that he felt capable of making a shield spell. He had to coach her through because he couldn't show her with his horn still locked down with the nullring. The whole point was so that they could build pressure in the chamber and let it all out in spectacular fashion.

Instead, only one-half of the spell had dissipated, resulting in the flood of the red foam to come spewing out right into his astonished face.

Rarity was beside herself with apologies, or so it seemed at first. He had caught more than one smirk on her face when she didn't think he was looking. If it was intentional, he figured it was a damn good prank, and he might have done the same if he could. Still, that was a side of the prim filly he didn't think actually existed.

All in all, the kids had a blast, Mrs. Sunflower was ecstatic, and he had another assignment in mind for next week, learning about refraction. Walking out the door at the end of the day, he realized he was going to have to deal with the glassmaker again. He groaned in annoyance as he waved goodbye to the teacher and headed to the barracks.

He needed to change and then go for a run.

Sweat poured off of him in what felt like a waterfall. The creak of axles turning made him want to kick the whole cart back down the hill in annoyance. He had been listening to it most of the day.

Orion really wanted a shower.

With each step, his legs and hooves reminded him of how bad an idea it was to kick anything at this point.

"That run was a terrible idea. Why the hell did I take this bet?!"

Adjusting his grip on the pair of shafts coming from the cart with difficulty, his arms reacted with all the speed of a slug in jello. He redoubled his efforts for the last ten yards to the barn's entrance. Big Mac had just walked out and was now waiting on him to get the last load in for the evening, a slight smirk on his lips.

"Oh sure, easy for you to just sit back and do jack shit. Let's let the city boy do all the labor. Not like you were born and raised here or anything!" He mentally snarked, far too tired to actually utter what he thought.

Applejack had been no better. As the day had worn on, she had piled more work for him as she pranced off to do whatever she had been assigned.

A thing he had learned early on, she was an absolutely terrible liar. When she tried to set him up for failure, she had been unable to even deflect. Thus, it had been easy to catch her up in it.

But now, she seemed to be genuine when she asked him to do something labor intensive such as carrying in the baskets just after lunch. Those baskets must have been forty or fifty pounds!

There was no lie in her saying it would help them get done sooner. So with much grumbling, he fell to the task with little enthusiasm.

If he still had access to his magic, Orion may have been able to supplement some of the needed strength to relieve some of the workload. He wouldn't have been able to go full bore, as he only had about forty-eight seconds before his stamina gave out on him. Still, a mild boost to strength would have been appreciated.

Instead, he got to watch Big Mac one arm three or four baskets as if they were nothing.

"Just what in the absolute hell are they feeding you?!"

His sister wasn't that far behind, hauling a basket in each arm herself with no signs of strain.

Not to be outdone, he had done the same, which was why his arms were in the sorry state they were now.

"Why in the blue fuck did I take this bet?!"

Finally, and at long last, he had managed to top the low rise and pull the cart to the barn entrance. His legs trembled, but he remained strong. It was supposed to be such a lovely Saturday too. He was going to nap in the park and read. But no, he had been woken up at the ass crack of stupid, just before the first rays of sunlight peeked above the mountains, by a grinning Sergeant Green telling him he had a visitor. The fucker was in on it too, he was sure.

Had he been fully awake, he would have told her to go fuck herself. Instead, she had managed to bruise his ego, and his pride in his body would not let him let it go.

Orion's legs shook again, and he wordlessly threatened them with amputation if they failed him now.

"Why in God's name did I take this bet?!"

The bet had been that he could do the same amount of work that she could. If he lost, he'd have to do what she said for an entire day. If he won, she would have to wait on hand and hoof for him instead for the duration of a single day.

Oh, had he but known what the devious little bitch had planned. How and why did he fall for such an obvious trap? After the rebellion fiasco in school on the first day of teaching, he thought he had her pegged.

He shook his head and glared at Big Mac. The stallion still just stood there watching him with a frown. His thoughts had been running in circles. Had he missed a rarely spoken sentence from Mount Muscle?

“Ya just gonna look at me all day, or we gonna get the damn apples in the barn?” Red raised an eyebrow at him. “No, I don’t give two shits if Granny can hear me. Don’t give me that look, Diesel. It’s been a long fucking day, and I am tired of watching you do all this shit like it's typical fucking Tuesday. Grab some baskets, and let's get this Hercules cursed task done.” He couldn’t be sure, but that snort just might have been laughter. Or he was delirious from overwork.

“Whatever.”

While he, and the largest of the Apples, hauled in the fruity produce, a sudden realization struck him. A terrible one. He was beginning to sound like one of them. The southern drawl he once shed so long ago was returning, if only slightly at the moment.

“Ooohhh no, no no no. I have to get out of this fucking town!” He didn’t whimper, but it was a close thing.

Orion had moved, more like escaped, from Buck Creek long ago. It wasn’t south south, but the people there had always carried the southern twang on their lips, and he had moved to Florida to get away from all that. Somehow he had come full circle. He shook his head as he picked up another basket, no, he hadn’t come full circle. These people were worse in some respects. The accent was so thick he had to listen carefully to be sure he understood some of them. He was just lucky the Apple Family seemed to have modernized their tongue somewhat.

The mental distraction of realizing his linguistic predicament served to help him ignore the burning ache in his body until he was outside in the failing light of the evening sun, and of course, it all came rushing back to him. A twinge in his back made him seize up, and he stumbled to a crouching halt. “Oh god, that hurts….”

“Y’all alright, Orion?” Said a deep baritone.

He would have jumped if his back hadn’t decided to give out on him. Big Mac, had spoken. He felt like the heavens should quake, or at least some choir should be singing. Something.

“Just...wishing I hadn’t fallen for your sister's cattle prod to my ego...” He groaned. Pain had the unfortunate side effect of making him more honest. “Man, for a while, I was thinking you had turned into a freakin’ mute. Heh heh…ow….”

“I find I hear a lot more if I jest listen to others talk. Somethin’ about being quiet helps others, I think.” He grinned wryly at Orion. “Looks like ya hurt ya back. Let me see if I can do something about it.” He walked behind him and started to lift him up.

For his part, he didn’t struggle as the big red stallion picked him up like a toy. He was too shocked by the fact that not only had he spoken, but he sounded less southern than the entire family. Other than a little twang in his voice and speech, he could have fit in Manehattan.

Abruptly, he forgot about the mystery of Big Mac’s conversational capabilities. A sudden pop and a rush of pain made him gasp in surprise. He had not realized he had been twisted like a pretzel till he was being unwound. Getting back to his hooves, he gingerly tested his back and realized there was hardly a hint of what had been. Only the dull ache of a day working the fields remained, and even that was mitigated.

“The hell? Where did ya learn to do that?!” He only got another one of those snort-laughs and a cocky smile. “Alright, keep your secrets.” He chuckled himself.

A ringing went off in the distance near the house on the other hill.

“Oh, dinner time?” Big Mac nodded, looking excited himself. “Back to the silence thing, eh?” A smirk. “Heh, fine. Let’s get going. I’m so hungry I could eat a….” He had to stop himself there.

Saying a horse would make them only think he was talking about a whore. Which is disgusting. He couldn’t say a cow either, as he had recently learned that cows were a sapient species in this world.

Officially known as Bovinians, he could only roll his eyes. They were what you would expect of a cow race. On a level height with the average Earth Pony, the race of people was a mix of the traditional white and black, to the all blacks, and everything in between. The males, the bulls, were large, broad-shouldered, and lazy as hell. The females were known as heifers. They were a bit taller than their male counterparts, and instead of udders at the midsection, they possessed the largest breasts he had ever seen on anyone. Celestia couldn’t compete in the boob department at all.

They all wore overalls of various colors and nothing fucking else. A simple people, really.

Apparently, they were an offshoot of Minotaurs, or the Minotaurs were the offshoot of Bovinians. No one was sure who came first, but each had taken to a different continent some time in the past, and to this day, the two races had very little to do with each other.

Over the millennia and centuries, the Bovinians had figured out that selling their milk, which the heifers made in plenty, was rather lucrative when it came to the pony tribes; to this day, trade still went on. In fact, they lived in small “reservation communities” in the farming lands around the nation. They weren’t big on city life and sought out the more rural towns and villages to become a part of. Sweet Apple Acres being one such, as they had allotted land for themselves. In return, the Apple family made a small profit on the distribution of the milk they received from them. The cows got some of the crop yields each year in payment. They didn’t care too much for bits and jewels, though they kept a small portion just in case.

They were a friendly group too, and despite their near nudity, rather prudish. He couldn’t understand that, considering twice he had caught one of the few bulls just go ham on a heifer’s insides as if his life depended on it out in their fortified section of the fields. That had been an accident, but educational nevertheless.

“...an ass out of a slow-moving Indian.” He finished lamely after far too long of a pause. Big Mac could only stare at him bewilderedly as the pair made the trek back to the farmstead. The sun was now touching the tip of the Bright Fire Mountain range in the west. “Yeah, that one wasn’t a good one, I know….” The bewildered look turned into another rueful smile.

Getting to the porch, he found that he could get up the steps with little more difficulty than that morning. Just dull aches all around his body. Apparently, Dr. Mac was a miracle worker.

Before he could open the door, Applejack popped out with a slam.

“So Big Mac did ya see him drop?!” She asked excitedly. Clearly, she had doubted him. Or at least hoped he would fail.

“Eeeeenope.” He said somberly. Oh, that spluttering made Orion far too happy.

“How?! Ya neva done a days honest work in all yer life!” She exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger at him. “Ya used yer magik didn’t ya?!”

“Other than earlier this week, I have not had the opportunity. Face it, Applebottom. Your ass belongs to me now.” He said darkly, making the cowfilly take a step back in fear. He had no plans to be cruel. He actually had no idea what to do with her. But he wanted to make it memorable whatever he ended up doing.

“Now, whut did ya say, colt?” Granny’s voice cut through his mirth like a hot knife through butter.

Not to be cowed by the older, much shorter mare, he responded. “I said her ass belongs to me.” He made sure to emphasize the ass portion of his sentence. Orion had gotten tired of censoring himself around the elder pony the last few days, and had finally decided on open defiance. “Go ahead and hit me, I don’t regret it a bit.” He braced himself.

It wouldn’t be the first time he had been struck by the old nag. That had been the night he killed the timberwolves. It wouldn’t be the second, as that had been during Friday afternoon when he had been looking for fish in the local marketplace. He had gotten so pissed off he uttered the word “Goddamnit”, somehow Granny had materialized to thump him on the head with a stick.

It had even happened twice today as well, out in the field. He was certain he would have permanent lumps on the back of his head.

The old mare eyed him sourly. “As muh grandson would say, “Eeeenope”. It is clear ta me, ya jest don’t respond ta pain like a normal pony. Though muh hand be itchin’.” She grumbled. “But if ya stickin’ yer hooves beneath muh table, ya gonna curb that tongue of yers now, colt.”

He was hungry. Really hungry, they had eaten apples during the day to keep energized, but that was no meal for a hungry teen like himself.

“Can we keep it just to the house at least? Otherwise, I’ll never be allowed to set hoof on the property again.” It was a pathetic case, but if Granny held to her standards, there was no hope.

For a moment, he thought she was going to refuse him outright. Then she sighed, longsufferingly.

“Fine, but ya best be on yer best behavior here. Ya understand? No cursin’.” She reaffirmed.

“Absolutely. I will hold my tongue till the barracks tonight.” Giving a scout’s salute.

She huffed. “We’ll see about that, won’t we? Besides, yer staying here tonight.” She raised a finger when his mouth opened. “That’s what Collard Green asked a bit ago. Seein’ as how you’nd Big Mac took yer time gettin’ in the rest of the harvest. Though I’m mighty impressed. Ya got done with all of it before Sunday. That’s not bad at all.”

His transfer of nightly boarding forgotten, he asked, “What do you mean, gotten all the harvest done?”

“Why, didn’t AJ and Big Mac tell ya? Y'all done near abouts half a weeks worth of werk in a day.” Her eyebrows raised in surprise. “Ya didn’t know?”

His head slowly turned at the two now bashful ponies. “No. I did not know that. Was that why I was doing so much?”

“Eeyup!” She gave a throaty laugh. “I swear I didn’t know you city ‘corns knew so much about hard werk. I’m mighty impressed ya kept up as ya did.”

His mind worked furiously. All the carts, all the baskets, the kicks till his knees screamed at him. They had been pushing him. “You little bbbbbaaaaa……” He trailed off under the withering glare of Granny. “I mean to say…YOU SHITHEADS!!” His head rang a little. “Oh, come on, Granny, they used me!” He exclaimed, one hand clasped to the back of the head, the other gesturing erratically. “That's not right, and you know it.”

“I do know it. But I’ll remind you. Again, that I don’t tolerate that language.” She turned from him to the now bashful farm ponies. “Is whut he sayin’ true?”

Big Mac turned his head to the side, sorrow on his face. Sorrow at getting caught, Orion was sure. Applejack fired off quickly, “But I did ask him for help! I did right!”

“But you didn’t tell me any of the particulars.” He shot back. “I thought this was a normal day for you. It’s one thing to ask for help. It's an entirely different thing when you hide what you were trying to do. Hell, I get it. Ya guys wanted a day off tomorrow. It’s clear to me as it is to anyone. But you have to be upfront with anyone ya go and ask.” She was looking well and thoroughly scolded by that point. Then Granny stepped in.

“Orion is right. Y’all knew better’n to go and hide the truth from ‘im. It’s just as bad as lying when ya not being honest. Haven’t I an yer parents taught ya better’n that?”

“Yes, Granny.” They said in unison.

“Now, whut’s this I hear about ya ownin’ Applejack?” The topic had swung so fast that Orion could only blink in an attempt to catch up. He was going to get whiplash from this old mare.

“Oh, that." He said neutrally. "Your granddaughter made a bet that I would collapse before the day was out. If she won, I’d have to do everything she wanted in a day, within reason, of course. Same if I survived. Which I did, by the way.”

"Not gunna make her do anythin' ta shame the Tree, are ya?" She asked in a level tone.

"Naw… Embarrass her? Oh yes. But nothing too arduous." He waved his hand in a dismissive gesture.

Granny nodded firmly. "See that ya don't. Now all y'all get your little tails inside. Food is gettin' cold while we out her jabberin'." She shooed them in with a towel he had not noticed she had.

Piling into the dining room, he couldn't help but grin in anticipation. The spread was what one would expect from down country cooking, minus any meat products.

As they sat down, he couldn't help but take in the entire family.

Granny was bustling around the table, making sure everyone had something to drink and a napkin. Applejack was already diving into the salad that had been placed before her.

Big Mac, the mountain of red muscle himself in a very tight flannel shirt, was daintily sipping from a teacup of all things as he eyed what he was first planning to devour.

Bright was already slathering a biscuit with enough butter to drown someone in, and his wife, Pear, was busy trying to get little Applebloom to sit correctly so she could feed her some mashed-up apples and peas. He couldn't blame the baby for the struggle, it sounded like a terrible combination.

As he watched, not yet touching his own plate, he was swept up with a painful desire. A wish he knew would and could not be granted.

As a child, both as a human child and a pony one, he had always made claims of not being bothered by the fact that he had no need for a family. And really didn't care.

His grandparents had been good to him but couldn't really connect with him as anything more than just that. Though Grandpa Joe did a fantastic job teaching him the ins and outs of metalworking and survival. And Grandma Bev was a wiz in the kitchen. She had a penchant for French and Italian cuisine he had picked up by osmosis.

But that's all they were, his grandparents. He had kept things from them. Took advantage of their less sharp instincts in their older age. Yelled and raged when he was caught in whatever bullshit he had been doing that he shouldn't have.

He had barely graduated, and had run the moment the diploma touched his fingertips. Keeping only the bare minimum of contact with them afterwards.

What a shithead he was.

Oh, how he wished he would have done the right thing now. Now, he was again on his own. By choice alone once again. Though this time, he thought the decision was a better one for what he was. Still, the moment he graduated, he knew he would run again.

Maybe that's one of the reasons why he threw himself into conflict with others so readily. He ran. Had always run away from every problem, and took the easy path for himself.

He was, and in his own mind is still, a coward.

"Orion? What's wrong, sugarcube?" Granny’s voice startled him from his reverie. Tears had leaked from his eyes. Had he been crying? Again?!

The others were looking at him too. Concern plastered on their features. However, he wanted to laugh at Applejack's. Her cheeks bulged with food.

"Uh…sh…I just…I just…" He couldn't finish. What could he tell them? What thoughts he had once believed locked away had somehow wormed their way back into his conscious mind. No, no, he would not burden them with that. "I just was reminded of something. That's all."

It would have to do, and Granny didn't press. He was grateful for that respect for his privacy. He dug into his meal, the spinach leaves weren't half bad.

Evening was a welcome time. Their bellies were full to bursting, and their bodies were cleaned of the day's grime and grit. Granny bid her family and their extra addition goodnight.

He was back in the guest room, though she was beginning to think of it as his room.

"That colt…has a lot more on his mind than he shares with others, don't he, Cider?" She fondly fondled the hand-painted image of her late husband. It had been sitting on the wall when she had first walked into Cider's study.

Now it sat on her knee. His green eyes reflected brightly in the candlelight. Having it done in oils had been a good choice, the painter had really caught his best looks.

She took a long sip of apple brandy. Yet another cup she had poured herself. Granny could only chuckle ruefully at herself. She hadn't drank this much over anything since she caught Bright Mac and Pear fooling around behind a hay pile in the west fields. That had been years ago.

Those had been simpler times now that she could reflect upon it.

Watching that foal silently cry, staring at nothing, really shook her. Her family too, the way they had all gotten quiet. He had never presented himself as a simple colt. But tonight reminded her that he was far more than a foul-mouthed pony with a work ethic to match her kin.

"How I wish you was here with us now." Cider Barrel Apple, had been the only pony she knew that could see through the heart of the matter in any situation. It was why she pursued him all those years ago. He was no-nonsense, straightforward forward, and strong. He was everything she was looking for in a partner.

And it looked like their granddaughter; Applejack had that gift of his as well. Still unrefined, and used only when she actually thought about it. But still there. She would be a fine mare when she got older.

Still, she missed her husband, especially at times like these. He might have been able to connect with Orion in some way she could not.

"That colt, is not done causin' trouble. I jest hope he don't do nothin' as foolish as takin' on some wood wolves again."

Her gaze drifted upward toward the windows. Had there been a hint of dull green light somewhere out in the darkness? She shook her head, and went about buttoning up the house, just in case.