The Wrong Stallion

They had finished the ‘Trojan apple’ and Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell left to return home before any-pony realized they were gone. Applebloom and Wright sat on the clubhouse steps and looked at the giant apple. “Scootaloo said she’d convince Rainbow Dash to pull the wagon… so ah guess you’re all ready to go” Applebloom said in a somewhat saddened voice. “What’s wrong?” Wright asked but Applebloom switched the subject “We’d better get back before muh sis or brother finds out that we’re gone” she told him and they stood up.

Applebloom was terribly exhausted and could barely even walk straight, Wright stood up onto his hindlegs and picked up Applebloom in his forelegs. “Thanks” she whispered and Wright walked back to the farm house.

He snuck inside quietly and made his way up to Applebloom’s room. He tucked her in and was about to leave when she whispered out to him “Wright?”. “Huh… uhh yeah?” Wright asked curiously as he trotted back over to the side of Applebloom’s bed. As soon as he was close enough Applebloom lept up and gave him a tight hug “Promise yah’ll come back” she whispered and Wright could feel tears trickling onto his shoulder. “I uhm” Wright stuttered.

Applebloom tore away from the hug “But you promised” she whimpered. “Listen Applebloom… what I’m going to tell you won’t be easy to hear but…” Wright trailed off and Applebloom sat in full attention. “Listen tomorrow when I go to fight Flim and Flam we won’t simply just be fighting each other… we’ll be killing each other” Wright said in a saddened tone “If he kills me then I won’t be coming back… ever” Wright said and a lone tear trickled down his face.

Applebloom grabbed him and held him tightly “Ah don’t want yah tah go” she cried softly. Wright rubbed her back with his hoof and sighed “Yeah I hear yah kid… I don’t want to go either” Wright sighed. “Then why don’t yah just stop… stay here?” Applebloom asked, Wright broke away from the hug “Because if I don’t do it then no-pony will” he told her in a saddened tone.

He laid her down, “Now let’s just go to bed and try and forget about it alright?” Wright said as he tucked Applebloom in. He smiled to her and rubbed his hoof through her mane “Goodnight, sleep tight don’t let the bedbugs bite” Wright said soothingly and went to get up but Applebloom grabbed his foreleg and wouldn’t let him go. “Wait… Wright?” she asked and Wright turned back to her “Yeah?” he asked back. “Could you give me a kiss goodnight?” she asked. Wright was taken off by the comment “I uhm… uhm” he stuttered and Applebloom looked to him with hopeful eyes “Muh sis doesn’t mind kissin me goodnight but Big Mac is too shy tah kiss me goodnight and well… ah’ve never really had a fatherly figure” Applebloom told him.

“Applebloom I… I’m not exactly the greatest pony to call a fatherly figure” Wright told her but her expression didn’t change. He sighed and leaned forward, kissing her on the forehead. “Goodnight Applebloom… when I’m done I promise I’ll come back and be like a father to you… as best I can” Wright promised and Applebloom lept up and squeezed him tightly “Cross your heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in your eye?” she asked, “yeah… I promise” Wright promised her. He tucked her back in and kissed her on the forehead once again “Goodnight Applebloom” Wright told her and gave her a nod and left her room quietly.

He staggered down the hallway, absolutely exhausted and opened the door to a bedroom and flopped himself down on the bed and immediately passed out, the bed seemed comfier than before.

* * *

He woke up and felt a little groggy and felt a body underneath his foreleg. He immediately jumped back as he saw the face of Applejack right beside him. “GAH” Wright gasped as he lept off the bed, “Mornin sleepin beauty, was wonderin when yah’d get up” she chuckled and Wright was struck in confusion.

“I am sooo sorry… I uhh must have fallen asleep in the wrong room” Wright apologized as he staggered back. “No worries, yah were up late last night… and ah was gonna get outta bed but yer foreleg was wrapped around me like I was some kinda stuffed animal and I didn’t want tah wake yah… yah kinda looked cute when yah were sleepin” she said as she got out of bed.

Wright let out a sigh and rubbed his eyes. “Don’t worry none, honest mistake… but ah heard what yah promised tah Applebloom… and yah better keep yer promise” she told him as she left the room. Wright leaned up against the wall and slid down the wall and sat against the wall. Big Mac passed the doorway which was still open and gave Wright a curious look “Nothing happened so don’t get any funny ideas” Wright muttered. Big Mac nodded “Eeyup”.

Wright sat there for a few minutes then got up and trotted downstairs where Rarity was talking to Applejack. “Oh dear Celestia, no offence sweetie but I can smell you a mile away. You must have a bath… and I’ll give you a shave as well” Rarity said, well more like ordered. Wright nodded and he could smell eggs being cooked and his stomach grumbled. “Okay fine after breakfast, but you are not putting on these clothes until you’re properly bathed and cleaned, I spent all night fixing these and I will not have them soiled by your stench” she scoffed and trotted off into the dining room.

They all sat down at the table and ate breakfast. Wright was barely even done eating when Rarity grabbed him by the foreleg and began to drag him upstairs to the washroom. “Hey… save me” Wright joked, Rarity gave him a little nudge and tossed him a towel, “and don’t forget to wash behind your ears” she ordered. “Yes MOM” Wright chuckled and she closed the door, ‘Jeeze was she ever picky’ he thought to himself as he hoped into the shower and began to wash himself off.

He finally decided he was clean enough and dried himself off. He walked downstairs, his mane was still quite wet and Rarity looked to him “Now don’t you feel refreshed?” she asked. “I feel wet” Wright joked and Rarity rolled her eyes “Outside, we’ll cut your hair and give you a shave” she ordered and Wright obliged.

She hat a chair set up outside along with hair cutting tools. Wright sat down and Applebloom ran up “Can ah help?” she asked and Rarity thought for a moment. “Well dearie… it is a rather complicated process and” she began but Wright cut her off “Yeah sure, go ahead” he said with a wink and Applebloom squealed with delight and grabbed the scissors and began to cut away at his hair.

Rainbow Dash soon arrived with Scootaloo and began to howl in laughter “Ha look at his hair… he looks like Frankenstein” she laughed, Applebloom gave a look of sadness. “I like it” Wright said, and Applebloom smiled. “Well Applebloom I hate to say it but could you let Rarity cut my hair, I need it done short and she is real good at cutting hair” he asked with a warm smile. She nodded and handed the scissors to Rarity who looked at his hair which was cut terribly uneven and there were patches of hair that were way longer than any other spot on his head. He kind of looked like an old 80s hipster.

“How do you want it?” she asked, “short, maybe a number 2” he told her and she nodded and cut the rest of his hair away and made it look very respectable. “And your beard?” she asked and he rubbed his excessively long beard. “Cut it off” he told her and she took out a can of shaving cream and lathered his beard with it and took out a straight razor. “Now hold still” she said and began to shave away his beard.

All that was left was a small patch of beard on his Adams apple. “Hold your chin high and try not to move, this is the hardest part” she said and shaved the last bit of beard away. She took out a wet cloth and wiped away the leftover shaving cream and took out a mirror and showed him his new look. “Look like a true gentle-colt” she commented and Wright rubbed the side of his mane, where the grey hair was clearly visible. “Yeah, an old gentle-colt” he muttered, when his hair was long no-pony could see the grey but now it was clearly visible.

“Oh please dearie you aren’t that old” Rarity said with a laugh. “Yeah only 45” Wright chuckled, Applejack placed her hoof on his shoulder “Don’t worry, we’re all in our twenties and you barely look older than us” Applejack reassured him. Wright chuckled “You’re a bad liar” he laughed. “No, actually she never lies, well almost never… so if she says you look young then you probably do” Rainbow Dash stepped forward. Wright looked forward at the mirror, minus the grey hair he actually looked fairly young and a pony might mistake him for late twenties.

He got up “Yeah, you’re right Dash… heck I look younger than you” he joked. “Hey… not even, I’m way younger and cuter than you, I’m not even 23 and I got the look of a young teen” she argued and Wright chuckled. He looked to see the carriage was waiting in the yard. “Well… I guess we should do what we need to do” Wright said and they nodded. As Wright was putting his duster coat on Applebloom ran up and grabbed him in a tight hug. “Be safe” she said and Wright returned the hug “I will, cross my heart… hope to fly and stick a cupcake in my eye” he said, resaying his promise that he made before.

He broke away from the hug and stepped into the wagon, he gave the group one final glance “Doesn’t matter what happens, whether I die or not… they’ll know that they messed with the wrong pony” he told them and closed the hatch on the carriage. “Okay, when we’re ready I’ll tap the side, give me a few seconds to get out of the firing zone then bust outta there” Rainbow Dash told Wright the plan.

* * *
For the next 2 hours Wright sat and waited, holding the Gatling gun’s crank. It was quite unbelievable that 3 fillies had simply found this thing at an abandoned military base along with ammunition. “Alright stay quiet back there, we’re approaching the headquarters” Rainbow Dash whispered loud enough that Wright could hear her.

She stopped and she was obviously talking to some guards. “Yeah I’m on behalf of Sweet Apple acres, they’re sending this as a token of friendship” Rainbow Dash lied, she was a better liar than Wright and they let them through.

Rainbow Dash stopped the carriage and unhitched herself. “What is this thing” a pony asked and Rainbow Dash lied again. “A token of friendship” she lied as she tapped the side of the metal carriage. Wright waited a full 20 seconds and heard Rainbow Dash trot away. Pushing on a rod that would bust the carriage open he revealed himself, none of the ponies were quite expecting it. They were all armed with some sort of firearm, whether it be a simple handgun or a full sized assault rifle. He mounted the Gatling gun and began to twist the crank.