Working Ponies

Apple Bynx

Bynx began looking around, to see if anypony was watching them. Surprisingly enough, nopony had come running to see what the explosion was, causing a mix of feelings in Bynx. He brushed them aside and focused on the now sleeping mare he had battled not five minutes ago.

She didn’t seem like an evil pony, nor did she sound like it when she had mumbled something about monkeys… no wait it was mandarins… oh what had she said...? Bynx could feel his mind’s gears shifting from what had just occurred. In only a few short moments he was at the test of his life, with everything on the line, to suddenly having his life threatened, and now he was trying to remember some words barely whispered on what seemed like borrowed breath? Bynx shook his head and began pacing; suddenly realizing he had completely forgotten Flitzer.

He had to assume she was okay, he couldn’t leave the mare, lest she explode into that fire beast again… But he couldn’t just leave Flitzy alone… Bynx’s heart felt like it was being rattled apart, with pieces of rationalizations for each argument slowly growing in it until the point of bursting. Bynx let out a large heavy sigh, pushing apart a few clouds that had settled near his face. He chuckled as he thought of just flying straight up and out of this situation, and taking a nap on the clouds until this all passed over. But he was quickly interrupted by the mare making a strange noise, and began rapidly sneezing out little puffs of what looked like dragon smoke.

“Oh don’t even think about it” Bynx said to the mare, even though she was still unconscious on grassy hill. Bynx decided he would fly as fast as he could, straight for the Wing Shifter’s building, grab Flitzy, and rush back out. He stood up and pushed with all his might to gain speed and altitude, then began rapidly throwing his wings, hoping no one would be around to catch him flying into a destroyed building, only to scoop up a mare and fly out.

Bynx looked back to see if the mystery mare had shifted. Seeing that she actually looked peaceful on the hilltop, Bynx turned back around towards Flitzy, pushing away the air in front of him with a hoof extended just like Superpony. As he pulled up to the building he noticed royal guardponies assessing the damage. Quickly dashing behind one of the pillars, he began scanning the room, looking for where Flitzer had been when she had collapsed. She, of course, wasn’t there.

“Ugh that’s just like you isn’t it Flitzy, always making things a little bit harder…” Bynx whispered angrily into the pillar guarding him from the guards. He began scanning around, noticing there was also a lack of judges. Bynx then decided to move in a little further, perhaps the guards had moved the bodies underneath a section of building that didn’t look like it would crumble. Bynx used the height of the structure to his advantage, stealthily gliding over the guards, he easily snuck by them and began to check high and low for his friend.

After ransacking a few rooms, a kitchen, and what looked like a tool shed, Bynx found nothing he needed, no hint or scrap of evidence that Flitzer had been moved. He had hoped he wouldn’t have to talk to the guards, in fear that they would take him in for questioning, but they could have Flitzer, and that’s all that mattered right now. Bynx calmly trotted out heading straight for the guards with a plain face, hiding his fear of what was about to happen.

“You there! Halt!” Bynx had seen this coming from miles away, rolling his eyes ever so slightly. Bynx tried to reason with the guard, feeding him lies about how he had been sleeping and wondered what had happened, and where the judges were. The guard bought in, telling him there were no ponies at the site of the battle when the guard had arrived. Bynx eventually convinced the guard he would need some air, and trotted towards the door, ignoring the guard warning him about some new gang or cult, sounding silly as he said it. Bynx began the trip back to the mare he had left on the hill, praying to Luna that she would still be there. She may be last thing that could help him find where Flitzy could be.

When Bynx finally arrived, he saw that things had changed, the mare was up and about, but seemed okay now, with her mane fixed and skin bruise free, she was skipping around, singing to the flowers on the hill around her. Bynx approached her cautiously, fearing she could snap back with any provoking from anything.

“Hello Miss… Oh I never did get your name,” Bynx tried to put on an innocent façade, as if they hadn’t fought, but simply had exchanged pleasantries.

“Oh hello Bynx or should I say Apple?” Her voice questioning, with a touch of ice in her tone. Bynx was thrown off by her knowing his name, and shot back,

“Bynx is fine, now about that name?”

“Oh I’m nopony important dearie, in fact, I stopped being a true pony years ago…” The cyan pony’s mouth jerked up, it was now obvious whoever this poor mare was, this was not being done by her design, something had taken her and was driving her to do evil.

“Okay… mind explaining that one to me then?” Bynx needed to get all the info he could, if this… thing… had Flitzer, he needed to know how to get her back.

“Oh sweetie, forget about Flitzer, she is simply mine now, a new soldier for the army.” Bynx was one again thrown off by this creature’s words, had she… it… read his thoughts? And if so, how far could she reach? What would he do now? What if he couldn’t save Flitzer? What if… What if…

“Oh would you stop it? All your babbling is making my head hurt, waaah my life is confusing, waaaah why didn’t I do this, why didn’t she do that waaaah, so boring, the lot of you.” The creature pushed the pony towards Bynx, the pony trembling as she walked. The creature pushed the pony within whispering distance and nudged Bynx with a coy smile, then pushed the pony ever closer to Bynx. Shutting his eyes and back away slowly, Bynx began to get frustrated with this game the creature was playing, obviously leading him towards a trap or some other twisted design.

“Now look… are you going to tell me what you’ve done with Flitzer, or am I going to have to beat you out of that poor po-…”

Bynx suddenly couldn’t hear the words coming from his mouth, and instead heard the same sounds he had often heard when he would try to talk with a mouth full of food, or trying to talk over a crowd of overexcited fans. Looking down, he saw that the pony had been pushed into him, and they were sharing kiss, the pony’s lips were like the sweetest fruit he had ever tasted, and the taste was beyond anything he had sampled before. Bynx couldn’t help but enjoy himself, nor could he move away.

As quickly as it started, it was over, but now the situation was worse. The mare in front of him seemed to wake up, eyes exploding open to see what was happening. She pulled herself away as fast as she could, seeming both astonished and suddenly shy. What had happened to the creature controlling the beast? Had the kiss pushed it away? Perhaps it was just playing games again, tricking Bynx into thinking he had a weapon against it.

“Wh… Who are you and what am I doing out here, why were we kissing… oh I’m so confused…” The cyan’s mare voice had changed, and now she was rapidly belting out questions, rather than Bynx.

“I… uhh… What I mean to say is…” Bynx couldn’t find his words, both lost in his mind and his lips he simply couldn’t put two and two together. Finally the mare had had enough and walked up, pressing her lips against his again, but with more gusto than the creature had had her do before. Now Bynx was truly in el cuidad de las locas personas. He contemplated pushing her away, but she had stolen his first kiss, and he couldn’t fight her, He thought about sharing more with her, but couldn’t bring himself to do it, rather he simply let the mare do as she wished, enjoying the bliss of ignorance for the time being.

With some time, the mare finally pulled back, panting and looking deep into Bynx’s eyes. Bynx finally was able to mutter through his quivering lip,

“Wow Miss… You wouldn’t believe the story of how you actually ended up in this mess… I’m not sure I even have all the pieces myself.

“Call me Vanilla Sunburst, or just Nilla for short, a bit silly I know… but my parents loved it, just please, not Miss.”

“Okay mi~ sorry, Nilla, that was just… something else my head is still spinning is all…”

“Hehehe… thanks, you weren’t too bad yourself, oh silly me, I didn’t get your name…”

“Bynx, so Nilla, if you didn’t know where you were, why did you go back to kissing me when you woke up?” Nilla stopped and seemed to seriously consider what Bynx had plopped in front of her, why had she continued kissing this coffee colored colt? Where was she? So many questions left unanswered…

“Right I uhh… I don’t know really, when I woke up I was suddenly outside and kissing you… and it felt so right, like I was supposed to be there, pressed up against you.”

Both of their faces turned red, glancing away from one another, Bynx worked up the words from beneath his flattered gut to ask the last place Nilla remembered being.

“Oh I uhh... some of it is leaking back in." Nilla looked up at the sky, some pegasi were busy darting about, most likely playing a game. Then she looked deep into her memories, still keeping one eye half open on Bynx, unable to look away, not knowing what drove her to stay with him. She remembered it had started like any other day, she got up, did her routine and set off for the day. She remembered seeing a shadow, then woke up. Nilla filled in Bynx quickly and bumped his nose with hers once more when she finished. Bynx smiled and let out a content sigh, telling Nilla of what had transpired during her time of unconsciousness.

Nilla listened to Bynx with mouth agape and completely focused, it seemed to her as if Bynx was telling her a filly’s bedtime story, but she believed it to be true, she had in fact woken up kissing Bynx, as he explained blushing all the while.

“Right, so that’s my side of it, are you sure you don’t remember anything? At all? I really want to find my friend Flitzer, I’d be lost without her… well that and I need her to help pay the rent” Bynx was happy to finally share a joke, it eased the tension of the day, more than welcome after the fights and romance.

“Uhh nope, sorry” Nilla let her head droop a little, feeling a pang of sadness unable to help her new coltfriend.

“Oh it’s totally fine! Really! I’m sure something’ll come back to you” Bynx was saying through a smile, trying to convince himself more than the pretty pony in front of him. The sun was beginning to give way to the moon, and the first bits of the sky began to change with it.

“Oh shoot, Bynx, this might be a little forward, but may I spend the night with you? I don’t want whatever shadow had gotten me before to get me again at my house, and I truly don’t even know which way my house is from here…” again, Nilla’s head drooped a little, which she suddenly felt a pair of hooves lifting.

“Yeah sure, you just have to promise me one thing, okay?” Bynx said looking at cheerful as he could, already having decided he’d more than love to have Nilla over, she could steal Flitzer’s bed for the night. Bynx’s smile quickly faded and a serious pang came over him. “You have to promise we WILL get Flitzer back, first thing in the morning, we set out, alright? Everything else can wait, there is a mare on the line, and maybe missing judges as well, can you imagine the job I’d get if I saved them from whatever has them? They’d never give me the janitor position!” again Bynx shared a laugh with whom he hoped to be Flitzer, but instead was met with the sweet giggling of Nilla… Vanilla Sunburst… just who are you…

“Sure Bynx” Nilla yawned, “Anything bud, in the morning, first thing”

Bynx smiled and they walked back to their house, looking just as normal as the day Bynx had set out with Flitzer and returned with Nilla… an oddity to say the least. Bynx began to think about it, and wanted to sleep in the same room as Nilla, for safeties sake. If the shade took Nilla from Bynx, what would he have to go on? He’d be left stranded on an island in an ocean of knowledge, impossible to find what he needed amidst the waves.

“Say Nilla, I have to ask something… and don’t worry! I mean we have two beds! We don’t have to push them together! Oh that sounded terrible… I mean…” Bynx quickly met his face with his hoof, and tried to start again. He looked at Nilla, who seemed to have already understood.

“Sure Bynx, you wanna move your bed into here so that way you can keep watch so I don’t get stolen right? I’m cool with that, if you are that is…” Nilla feared whatever that thing was. She was scared to pieces that the next time, it wouldn’t just use her, but perhaps do things much worse… albeit she was okay with where she had ended up for the time being.

“Right! Haha thanks… sorry it’s just from what happened today… I didn’t want to seem suggestive.”

“Not at all bud, I totally understand” Bynx was ecstatic that Nilla seemed to speak Bynx, whether it be his jokes or his silly ramblings, she hung with it, rather than give the usual puff of frustration that most ponies did. Bynx pulled his bed into Flitzer’s room and set up for the night, keeping his old skyball bat near his mattress.

“Good night Nilla, see you in the morning… first thing in the morning we set off right?” Bynx said through a half yawn and half an attempt to be encouraging.

“Right first thing in the morning, let’s make us a deal, we set out for Flitzer and don’t stop until she’s back”

“Deal” Bynx had felt himself slip out the last word as his eyelids collapsed.