The sounds of shouting woke me up. It wasn’t bad shouting, or mean shouting, or angry shouting. They were more like ‘helpful’ shouting or something like that, which was usually followed by more shouting that may or may not have been insults. Whatever the case, because of all the shouting and the other noises coming from outside the ship, sleeping was proving to be a very difficult endeavor to continue.
It was then that I noticed that there was something moist between my hooves. Looking down, I spotted Pinkie Pie’s head pressed up right against my chest. Somehow in the middle of the night I had turned around and hugged her in my arms (hooves?) and she had drooled on my chest, her mouth wide open silently snoring. I couldn’t help but chuckle as I gently closed her mouth.
She smacked her lips and opened her eyes looking up at me and giving me a lazy, sleepy smile, “Mrrning.” She muttered.
“Morning. Rise and shine.”
“Five more minut-” She turned around and tried to doze off.
With my body free from mares, I sat up and looked out the window. The Intrepid had most certainly docked somewhere, but as to where, I couldn’t tell. And even if I could tell, I probably wouldn’t know where, so any further speculation on that would have been pretty pointless. What I did notice was that the airship was inside some sort of wooden wall, I could see the light of day shining through the grooves and cracks in the wood. Down below I heard a ‘thump’, followed by some more shouting. Whoever was making that racket was right underneath us in the cargo area.
How could Pinkie sleep through this fracas was beyond me. I just shook my head, I pulled the sheets off of her, “Don’t you work in bakery?”
“Forest...” She turned over and moaned, covering the back of her head with a pillow
“Shouldn’t you be used to waking up early?”
After a moment she sat up on the bed, and heaved a long, loud sigh. “Okay, okay. I’m up.” Her hair was a mussed up, poofy mess She stretched her hooves as far as she could reach and smacked her lips again.
There was no way I could resist her mop, so I reached over and gave it a good rub down. She allowed it for a few seconds before batting my hooves away with a giggle.
Having my dose of fun, I grinned at her, “Let’s go for some breakfast.”
“Okee dokee...” She fell face-first back onto the pillows and started to snore.
“Pinkie!”
Eventually I managed to get her to really wake up, which was an arduous project in of itself. Waking Pinkie up should qualify as a workout, that was just how difficult she was, but at the same time I couldn’t get angry or annoyed with her. Every time I managed to get her out of bed, she’d find a way to sneak back in and under the covers. Eventually I had to resort to hiding the bedsheets in the closet, only then did Pinkie give up.
As we left the room my jaw dropped to the floor as I spotted the mare walking towards us.
“Fluttershy?” I couldn’t believe it.
“Oh. Hello.” She said lowering her head a little.
“W-w-what are you doing here?”
She looked like she was mumbling to herself for a moment before standing up tall. “You shouldn’t have run away...” She lowered herself again, “was that too loud?”
“Oh, hey Fluttershy!” Pinkie said, still a little groggily.
“You’re not surprised to see her?” I asked.
“No. Should I be? Are they throwing a surprise party?” Pinkie’s eyes opened wide, “Did I spoil the surprise?” Pinkie then looked extremely disappointed and sad; clearly spoiling the surprise party that was never planned in the first place had gotten to her.
“There was no surprise party, Pinkie.” I reassured her, “I’m asking how are you not surprised that Fluttershy is here in the first place!”
“Oh? Oh yeah!” Pinkie looked at her friend, “How’d you find us, Shy?”
“Well, we...” Fluttershy began, but already alarm bells rang in my head.
“‘We’?”
As if on cue, another voice shouted from behind me, “Forest! How could’dja?”
Oh no...
“Applejack!” I exclaimed fearfully, while Pinkie exclaimed delightedly.
“Oh, mornin’ Pinkie Pie. Forest, you got some serious ‘splanin’ to do!” She said angrily, “If Atom hadn’t told us you were leavin’...”
“Atom?” I asked.
“Sorry, Forest, I tried not to say anything,” and indeed, there he was hiding behind Applejack. I couldn’t tell if he was hiding behind her because he was afraid of me, or afraid of the orange mare in front of him. Probably the latter, “but Fluttershy did ‘The Stare’, I couldn’t resist!”
“The... ‘Stare’?” I was now confused.
Atom, seeing my confusion, ignored it completely and continued, “Well, yes... anyway, they’re all here... except for Rainbow and Rarity.”
“Good morning,” Twilight’s voice said from behind me, “glad to see you’re awake.”
“Twilight!” Aw, crap. She’s going to let me have it...
“As annoyed I am with you for not telling me that you were leaving, I’m glad that Spike has found a good friend like you.” She said as she nuzzled me, “You’re kinder than you give yourself credit for.”
Her touch made me shiver with delight. “Thanks, Twi.”
She blushed, “That’s... that’s the first time you’ve called me that.”
“You like?” I said leaning in closer unable to resist teasing her just a tad more.
She giggled and pushed me back a little. “Yes.” She whispered.
“Okay, you two. Enough of that.” Applejack stated, putting herself between the two of us. “He’s taken, Twi. You best accept that.”
“Or?” Twilight said, looking a wee bit more aggressive that I thought was appropriate.
Applejack looked at her friend, more than a little surprised at her tone of voice. “I just don’t want ya ta get hurt, okay?”
“You don’t have to worry about me, I’ll be fine!” Twilight retorted.
What was going on? “Girls! Please. This is ridiculous. You’re best friends! You can’t fight each other over some... stranger.”
The two looked at me then at each other.
“Forest, no offense, but we ain’t fightin’ over you.” Applejack stated bluntly.
Of course not. Once again, I’ve proven myself to be an idiot.
“I’m sorry, Twi. But I really do mean what I say. I don’t wanna see ya get hurt.” Applejack said looking down at the floor. “I’m just really concerned for ya. I know what it’s like havin’ a broken heart.”
Atom and I shared a look. What went through his head, I didn’t know, but I felt like an asshole.
“I know, Applejack. I’m sorry.” Twilight replied.
They hugged each other and giggled, “I’m sorry as well. I shoulda known better. Yer my best friend after all. ‘Sides, I think you can find a better stallion than Forest.”
“I’m right here, you know.” I muttered.
The two mares laughed at my expense. After the humor died down, I put on my serious face. “How’s Spike?” I asked.
“Not good. He’s taking it real hard.” Twilight sighed. “Maybe following you boys wasn’t the smartest thing; he really wanted to get away from me.”
I looked at her face, the frown really getting me down. What was it about sad mares and this overwhelming feeling of protective I felt? Whenever I saw them frown, I just had to do something to snap them out of it. “That’s not true, Twilight. He just probably wanted some ‘boy-time’. You know, hanging out with ‘the guys’ and just being... around guys... doing guy stuff... and guy things...”
“Eloquent as usual.” Aiden spoke up as he was walking down the ramp from the upper deck. Did he just insult me? He walked over to me and looked at Twilight who turned her head away from him, to which he just let out an exasperated sigh. “We’re in Appleloosa, so unless you want to say goodbye to Equestria, this is our final stop. The captain’s informed me the next stop is in Zebrica.”
“Zebrica? We can’t go?”
“Well, we could. It’s just a long trip. Would take us a week to get to the continent, and another week to get to the city where they’re scheduled to stop. Why? You planning on staying aboard? The life of a sailor suddenly appealing to you?” He grimaced at me, “Please say no. I love Equestria. Don’t really wanna leave it.”
“I was just curious. You don’t have to come with me.”
“Well, yes, I do. If you did wanna go, then I’d have to come with, and you’d have to say farewell to Twilight and the rest of these lovely ladies. After all, the Elements can’t leave Equestria. I guess Sweetie Belle could come along, although I don’t think her sister would approve of that.”
“Who says we can’t go?” Applejack demanded.
“He’s right, Applejack. We have a duty to Equestria. We can’t just leave. And even with my magic, teleporting that distance is kinda...” Twilight didn’t need to finish.
I smiled, “Well, I wasn’t really planning on going any further anyway. Shall we... I dunno... take a look around... Appaloosa?”
“Appleloosa, Forest. Appleloosa.” Applejack corrected me.
My mouth froze. Stupid, Forest. That was real stupid.
“Well, since we can’t go any further by ship, we kinda have to get off here and look around.” Twilight put a hoof on her chin thinking about something, “Maybe following you guys isn’t such a bad idea afterall. Maybe we can use this chance to discover something about you, Forest.”
“That’s a great idea, Twilight. Forest might recollect somethin’ about who he is. Anyway, it’s been awhile since I met my cousin Braeburn.” Applejack smiled, “Not since his weddin’. I’m gonna be an aunt real soon, y’know.”
“Congrats!” I exclaimed. “Then, what’re we waiting for? Let’s go.”
As we all walked up the ramp towards the upper deck, I noticed that the ship looked like it was in a large barn with four walls and no roof. Above us the clear, bright blue sky didn’t have a single cloud obstructing the sun’s fierce glow. There were very few crew members around, and even the captain was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps they had all gone on ‘shore-leave’. I looked around for Blue Breeze, but didn’t spot him.
The dock was actually a raised platform, about two or three stories high. From my vantage, it was obvious that the keel of the ship would have been on or just above the ground. The docks themselves looked as if they could be raised or lowered, much like a giant elevator. There were gigantic ropes and pulleys located at strategic areas around the platform, while similar, smaller pulley systems seemed to control numerous gangways at specific ends of the docks that reached different parts of the Intrepid. For example, there were four gangways that leaned up against the deck where we were standing on, two on the starboard side, and two on the port side. Two led up onto the main deck, where we were all standing, while the other two were leaning on the upper deck behind us. Other gangways led downwards into the cargo hold, where we could see ponies working together to load and unload large boxes and crates.
The heavy lifting was mostly done by Earth ponies, and the smaller boxes were being handled by Unicorns and their telekinetic powers. There were a few Pegasi floating around, but most wore belts with tools attached to them and didn’t bother helping the Earth or Unicorns. A few flew downwards and I walked over to the side and peered over, the feeling of vertigo reminding me that I was supposed to be scared of heights as I saw the sandy ground below. Before I drew my head back, I noticed that the Pegasi were floating around the ship slowly, keenly inspecting the hull itself.
The height wasn’t all that high. I mean, it still would still have been an unpleasant fall, but at least I wouldn’t leave a great big bloody crater.
Oh, why did I have to think of that... I reprimanded myself as the feeling of surviving a near-death experience flooded by body, making me lethargic. My knees wobbled, almost forcing me to sit down.
“You okay there, Forest?” Atom asked, pushing against me before I felt down.
“Yeah. Just kinda forgot I was supposed to be scared of heights...”
“You really are an idiot.” Atom laughed lightly to himself.
“Oh yeah? Well... you’re ugly.”
“Nice comeback.”
“I try...” I replied, grinning.
There was the distinct sound of hammering, sawing, drilling and other woodwork related noises being made from various locations in and around the ship. The balloon-like thing was deflated and furled in a loose roll above us, while the sails at the sides had been rolled up and folded inwards so that they rested against the ship just below the bulwarks. It was ingenious what these ponies came up with, and I wondered why we didn’t have anything as cool back on Earth.
Probably has something to do with magic... I mentally grouched.
A couple of sailors stood ‘guard’ at the top of gangplank, lazily laying on the deck looking bored out of their minds. It was clear that they were not happy about being there. Pinkie darted past me and started singing a song about smiling to the two ponies. To her credit, they did smile, although I think it was because they were laughing at her. Or maybe she did actually made them smile; I know that I couldn’t help myself as I plastered a wide, toothy one across my mug.
This time I didn’t need any help down the gangplank. With the confidence that I wouldn’t die if I hit the sandy soil at the bottom, coupled with the fact that I no longer had that bracelet on, it was actually no trouble at all. I still stayed as close to the middle as possible, but that crippling feeling of fear was no longer there. I got halfway down the ramp before I stopped and planted my hoof against my face. Once again I had left my saddlebag in my room.
“Forgot something?” A sweet voice asked from behind me.
“Yeah. My saddle-”
Sweetie Belle turned to the side showing off something. “You mean this?”
There, on her flank, was my bag!
“Thanks, Sweetie!”
“It’s a nice saddlebag. But it’s kinda heavy. What you got in there?” She asked.
“Some rope, a bracelet, one of those snowglobe thingies, a crown with three wishing stones...” I didn’t mention the dagger.
Sweetie Belle took the bag off and handed (hoofed?) it to me. “‘Snowglobe thingies’? You’re a strange colt, Forest.”
“Stallion, Sweetie. I’m a stallion.”
“No. You’re an idiot.” Atom reminded me once again as he walked past me laughing his head off.
“Shut up, Ugly!” I shouted jokingly.
“That really the best you can come up with?” Atom asked, laughing even harder.
I just muttered under my breath as I slipped the saddlebag on. It felt good to have it sitting on my haunches once again. Gotta stop forgetting it. The run-in with the Ursas was still fresh on my mind. If I had my bag with me, and Spike’s dagger... maybe things would’ve turned out differently. Anyway, there was no way I could have predicted that would happen. That was besides the point as well. It was Spike’s, I didn’t really have a right to use it.
A cold shudder ran through me when I remembered what he had asked me to use that dagger for.
“Something wrong, Forest?” Sweetie Belle asked as we resumed walking down the gangway.
“Yeah. I just remember something I didn’t want to.” I replied, “Say, where’s Scootaloo and Applebloom?”
“I don’t know. Scootaloo is with her new fiancé in Canterlot, Applebloom and Dinkie went out to one of the clubs. I would’ve gone with them if I hadn’t seen Atom looking suspicious.” Sweetie Belle smiled to herself, “He looked really sad, for some reason. When I talked to him about it I knew something was off, so I asked Fluttershy to help.”
“And?”
“Oh, he sang like a canary.” Despite Sweetie’s sugary smile, I could sense a sadistic overtone to it. Not overtly mean, but subtle satisfaction that they had managed to make him talk.
“I get that you didn’t go to the club, but you’re not expecting me to believe that you saw Atom acting all and and convinced yourself something was up. You would’ve had to have been looking for him.” I was actually talking more to myself, so I surprised when Sweetie replied.
“Actually, I wanted to ask Spike to join us. I mean, I really wanted to him to get out of there before he saw Rarity with... her date.”
“Yeah,” I replied to Sweetie, “a little too late there, dear. He saw them.”
“Oh, I know.”
We walked to the exit of the roofless docking building and pushed open a small pedestrian door that was made inside a larger one. Immediately the sun made me squint and I had to blink a few times to adjust my vision. What greeted was one of the most wonderful things I had ever seen.
The town of Appleloosa was exactly like one of those old Wild Western towns. A long road in the middle with buildings on either side. At the very end of the main street was the train station, the tracks running parallel to where we were standing. Beyond the station the landscape caught my breath. In the distance tall cliffs and unique rock formations dominated the horizon, while dry desert sand was painted across the ground. It was... gorgeous!
We slowly walked down several flights of stairs, well it was more like me holding onto Sweetie like my life depended on it while she tried to lead me down. Eventually we reached the bottom and spotted the others talking with Blue Breeze, who looked like he was on his way back from town. I used the moment to catch my breath, not because I was tired, but because my heart was beating hard in my chest. I kept telling myself to calm down, but in my defense, the stairs weren’t exactly the sturdiest looking things. The constant dread of falling through them or them breaking apart had kept playing in the back of my mind.
Blue Breeze greeted me with a wide smile and a nod. His saddlebags were full of stuff. I could make out books, papers, inkwells, and other writing related paraphernalia. He was just finishing laughing from something one of the girls said, “Well, looks like this is it. It was a pleasure seeing you all again, especially you, Pinkie. I never really got a chance to thank you properly for throwing that farewell do for me.” He turned his head and pulled something out from there. A small present and handed it to the her, “Just a small token of my gratitude. I hope that you don’t mind that I didn’t get the rest of you anything.”
“No, that’s okay, Blue.” Twilight replied on behalf of the rest of us, “Just be careful out there, okay?”
“I will.”
Pinkie eyes and mouth opened wide as she took it from him. Instantly she tore off the wrapper revealing a small notebook. It was pink with her Cutie Mark prominently displayed on the cover.
“To write down your recipes, stories or whatever you feel like,” Blue Breeze smiled, “or your thoughts. You take care of yourselves. I’ll drop by Ponyville in... a year or two.”
“Breezy! Thank you!” Pinkie hugged him, “Don’t forget to write.”
“When I can, I will.” He replied and nodded to the rest of us. He stopped next to me, “Try not to plummet to the ground in a bucket, Forest.”
“Sure. I’ll keep that in mind the next time I decide to ride up one.” I replied sarcastically. “And I expect a huge present when you get back!”
He chuckled to himself, “Sure. If you don’t mind waiting for a couple of years.”
You will never see me again. “I can wait. Just... be safe. I can’t always be there to save your flank.”
He laughed and patted my back, “Same goes to you.” With that he headed up the stairs. At the top he gave us one last wave before he walked towards the doors of the docking area.
As we wandered through the town, I noted that most of the ponies here were in cowboy attire. Some wore leather jackets, those hats, boots, and a few sported some impressive moustaches. It was actually really cool to see something like this. We were walking along the sidewalk, which was essentially the front porch of the buildings. Some ponies just walked on the road, which looked a lot more convenient, if it weren’t for that brutal sun.
“Wanna eat breakfast in here?” Applejack asked.
I looked to the side and saw a shoddy looking establishment. The windows were dirty, the walls were chipped and the paint was peeling off. At the top was a faded sign, the only word visible was ‘saloon’.
“A saloon? Breakfast?” I asked.
“Appleloosa ain’t like those other towns. They don’t get those rowdies here. Most folks are the pleasant sort.” Applejack reassured me.
“Don’t worry, Forest. I’ll protect you.” Aiden grinned slapping my back much harder than usual, before shoving me through the spring-hinged doors.
I lost my balance and landed on my face, the doors still flapping back and forth behind me. Pushing myself up from the ground, I got a good look around before climbing to my feet. The meanest, toughest, ugliest, roughest ponies I had ever seen were all staring at me. They kept their eyes on me as I walked over to the nearest unoccupied table and sat down. Aiden followed moments later, the laughter dying in his throat. The girls were still chatting as they entered, but their conversation also stopped as they took a look around. Finally Atom entered and he gave an equally vicious glare right back at them. They all stared at us with varied expressions, but the Atom’s and Aiden’s faces were enough to detract any troublemakers. It was strange how they could look at the girls with just gentle and friendly expressions one moment, then turn their heads and glare with vicious ferocity at the others. Pointless, really. Twilight could probably beat them all up with her eyes closed.
“Not the friendliest bunch.” Atom commented, “And I do get the distinct feeling that we’re not welcome here.”
Applejack muttered, “I can’t believe this is the same ol’ Appleloosa from before. Everythin’s so...”
“Welcoming?” I asked as a large black pony walked over to our table.
He stood there and stared at us all one by one. He was huge! Almost a head taller than me, and a body that would have made Big Mac look like a foal. His Cutie Mark was a pickaxe and a shovel crossed over each other with a lantern over both. Almost like a skull and crossbones, if the lamp were the skull and the crossbones were the pickaxe and shovel. He had a much, much thicker accent that Applejack. “What kin I get’ya?”
“Hi there... um... where’s Latigo?” Applejack asked.
The large pony guffawed, “Latigo? Latigo left town near on half-a year ago. He dun sol’ me this here saloon and left faster’n ya could say ‘git’. I reck’n you must not be Appleloosa regulars on the count that I ain’t seen none of you b’fore. This ain’t the same town it were last year. Thin’s a changed.” He laughed mirthlessly, “Now, what kin I get’ya?”
“Breakfast!” I exclaimed, “Something good.”
“We dun do breakfast.” The saloon pony said. “This place is where ponies come to ferget the world. They don’ take kine’ly to happy folk.”
“Oh well. Then we’ve wasted both our times. Shall we go?” Twilight said gesturing to the door.
As we got up to leave, the black pony placed a hoof on my shoulders, “Fair word of warnin’ ta you and yer frens. Appleloosa ain’t safe no mo’. Best get outta town soon rather than late.”
The others didn’t hear this warning, but I turned and nodded. “Thanks. I’ll keep it in mind.”
He nodded, “Best you do.”
With that, he loosened his grip and I walked out the door.
The outside was a heavy contrast from the gloom in the saloon. In fact, I had to turn around just to make sure that I hadn’t somehow got myself accidentally transported to another part of Equestria. Indeed, out here the colors were bright and happy. The sun was high in the sky and the locals all looked like the usual nice, gentle ponies that I’ve got used to. In the saloon, however, it was dark, dingy and — well, scary! As brave as I was (which really isn’t that much), I couldn’t help but feel that those ponies inside were... hostile. Not sad, or angry, but downright mean. Maybe with the exception of the owner.
Still, it was not a happy place.
“I just don’t understand it! What’s happened to this town? It used to be so... so... less rowdy.” Applejack couldn’t find the words. She looked around, “I mean, she’s grown since we were here last, but...”
“Things change, Applejack. Towns like these tend to grow, and bring in the... less desirable sort. It’s just the way things are sometimes.” Twilight replied smiling at her friend. “But, yeah, I think you do have a point. It’s become a lot rougher. Now, where’s Spike?”
As if on cue, the purple dragon walked out of one of the stores in full cowboy regalia. Complete with hat, shoes, vest, jacket and pants. He saw us and mosied on over. Unable to resist, he placed one leg on the steps and leaned over his knee, tipping his hat. “Howdy.”
“My, my, aren’t you lookin’ good.” Twilight beamed at him, “Just like a regular cowpony.”
“Wouldn’t he be a cowdragon?” I asked.
Atom shook his head and placed a hoof on my shoulder, “Forest. No.”
“Aw.” I bowed my head in shame, playing along with Atom.
That made the Dragon laugh, “Nice to see that you’re all awake. Although I’m still a little annoyed that the girls are here. I just wanted to take a quick vacation, is all.”
“Spike, you’re a part of my family. I just was worried about you...” Twilight replied defensively.
“I know, Twilight. That’s why I tried to run away. The last time I ran away, you guys followed me. I was kinda glad that you did, and I learnt a lot about Dragons in general, but you can’t keep on babying me, Twilight. I appreciate it, and I love you, but you’ve got to stop.”
“That was awkward.” I muttered, frozen in place.
Atom just nodded, while Aiden made a show of pretending he wasn’t listening. The girls, on the other hand... other hoof... didn’t bother hiding the fact that they were all listening, but even showed Spike and Twilight that they were there for them should they need a shoulder to lean on.
Twilight stood there clumsily, and Spike gave her a hug, “Thanks for everything, Twilight. Really. I do love you. You’re the closest thing to family I’ve ever had.”
The look on Twilight’s face broke my heart, and she returned Spike’s embrace.
“Well, what’s done is done.” Spike pulled himself back, Twilight struggling to let him go. The Dragon removed his hat and brushed the scales on his head, “Might as well enjoy ourselves while we’re here.” Spike looked around, “Wanna go to the saloon?”
“No!” We all exclaimed together.
“That bad, eh?” Spike laughed. He looked around again, “Then how about that café over there?”
“That sounds swell.” Applejack nodded, and we all headed there.
As we entered, the locals stopped what they were doing and looked over to us. They recognized the Elements on the spot and were all very welcoming. A little too welcoming, I thought. They were fawning over the four of the Elements. I hadn’t ever seen them given this kind of treatment before... or perhaps I just never noticed.
Regardless, we had a great breakfast consisting of just about everything you could imagine. Honey, oats, bread, milk... everything! It was delicious. Not to mention that apple juice. That was yummy. Must have drank at least two gallons of the stuff.
“Well, let’s head down to the orchard. I really wanna visit my cuz.” Applejack got up and started to leave, practically skipping on her way out.
“I’ll get this,” Aiden stated threw some bits down on the table.
“Why does Aiden pay for everything?” I asked Atom as we left.
“As your guardian, he gets a stipend every month...”
“What?” I exclaimed, “You mean that... I didn’t have to work?”
“Now, Forest, just because Aiden can pay yer way, doesn’t mean you should take advantage.” Applejack gave me a look.
“Yes, ma’am.” I replied dejectedly.
Is it ‘Scold Forest Day’’ today or something?
The walk to the orchard was pretty uneventful. I blamed it on Celestia’s sun. It was hot as hell, and as much as I enjoyed sunlight, I was beginning to wish that Luna would raise her moon already. It was just too damned hot that even thinking seemed to be a project. After what seemed like hours, the first signs of the farm came into view. The house wasn’t that far away, according to Applejack, and we were glad when we could see it. The road leading up to the main house was surrounded by tall apple trees that provided much needed shade. Applejack trotted on ahead clearly excited at the prospect at meeting her relatives.
As we arrived, I saw a pony hugging her. A... something... was next to them, sitting on a large chair on the porch, smiling away. She wasn’t a pony. No. She was something else.
“Hi Braeburn!” Twilight said aloud as we approached, “Hi Little Strongheart!”
“I don’t feel ‘little’ at the moment, Twilight.” She said, getting up slowly.
“Please, don’t get up,” Twilight rushed over to her and setting her back down on the chair, staring at her huge belly, “we don’t want anything to happen to the foal... calf... baby.”
“Nothin’s gonna happen, and I need to stretch my legs,” Strongheart replied standing up, this time with Twilight’s assistance.
Fluttershy fluttered over to her, “Oh, congratulations. How long?” She asked.
“In three months.” She beamed. “Although I wish it’d happen sooner at this point. I’m tired of lugging this weight around.”
“You look lovely,” Fluttershy said smiling, “you’re going to be a wonderful mother.”
The girls chatted about baby stuff, along with Braeburn, while the boys hung back. It was nice. This was nice. Having family was nice. Having friends was nice. Having shade was nice. Yes, shade was very nice. Just needed a nice cold glass of something to...
“So... what’s the plan?” Aiden asked quietly.
“The... plan?” Atom asked.
Spike looked at the two of them and lowered his hat over his eyes, “Forget it. Might as well enjoy the extra company while it’s there. If we try to ditch them again, they’ll just find us and be angrier than they are.”
“They’re angry?” Didn’t seem like it to me.
“Clueless.” All three of them said together.
“Oi!”
“You didn’t see Twilight last night, Forest. You had fallen asleep, but she wasn’t just angry. She was the worst kind of angry.” Spike explained. “She was sad-angry.”
Aiden shuddered, “Don’t remind me.”
“So... how’d she find us?” I asked. “I don’t recall telling Atom where we were going.”
Aiden shuddered again, “Don’t remind me.”
“She didn’t need to guess. She knew what we were up to once Atom told on us...”
“I didn’t tell! They tortured it out if me! You’ve got to believe me! You don’t know how scary Fluttershy’s Stare is!” Atom defended himself.
Aiden and Spike shushed him, he had raised his voice a little too loud, which made the girls briefly look over our way. I let out a rancorous laugh, followed by a ‘good one, Spike, that was funny’. The lie worked, and the girls resumed their conversation for a few more minutes before they started making their way into the house.
“Nice save,” Spike commented me, “that surely didn’t raise any suspicions.”
“Are you being sarcastic?” I asked.
“Yes.”
The three of them laughed at my expense again while I grumbled. They were really going after me today.
When the ladies had all gone inside, I turned back to them, “But how did they find us? We didn’t go to the train station.”
“Actually, we did. We went to the train station, and they had split up and literally asked every single pony who worked there if they’d seen a purple Dragon with you, Forest. You’re pretty famous, y’know. There’s nopony in Canterlot that doesn’t know what you look like.” Atom looked down, “And... well, when you weren’t there, Twilight figured that you’d either run out of town or take another form of transport. And considering that you just ran the race of a lifetime hours before, she sorta guessed that you’d take the transport. That meant either a stagecoach, or the ship. She surmised that a stagecoach would have been too slow, so that left the ship. And it didn’t take long to guess which one.”
“That’s Twilight.” Aiden chuckled. “Smart and beautiful.”
“The way she shouted at us...” Spike shuddered, “you’re really lucky you weren’t awake, Forest.”
Aiden shuddered again, probably from thinking back on it.
“Wouldn’t have mattered anyway. As far as Twilight was concerned, it was all Spike’s fault.” Atom stated bluntly.
“Oh yeah. Blame it on the Dragon.” Spike pretended to be offended.
We all laughed. I really loved this. The more time I spent with these guys, the closer I felt to them. Really, I did. It was great. I was beginning to even think of Spike as my best friend at this point. He was always there for me when I needed him. We knew how to cover each other and just in general be there. And despite our differences, Aiden was cool. Despite the fact that the mare he was crushing on was crushing on me, Aiden was the second stallion that I got along with. Although, I had to admit that I had mixed feelings about Atom. He was certainly a good friend, but he was also the guy who sorta took the mare of my dreams. I think. I wasn’t sure. Well, at least I hoped that both of them thought of me as a friend, especially Aiden. It was hard to tell after the things he said.
“So, you boys wanna come in for a spell, or do you want to stay outside and bake?” Applejack shouted from the porch, holding the front door open.
“Coming!” Atom shouted in response, and skipped along towards the door.
The three of us watched him go, and laughed.
“What is Braeburn’s wife, if you don’t mind me asking?” She wasn’t a pony, that was for sure.
“A buffalo.” Aiden replied as he walked past me without pausing, “Isn’t that obvious?”
“No...” I muttered to myself.
Aiden was undoubtedly still mad at me, and I seriously doubted that would change anytime soon, considering that Twilight was now my somewhat official marefriend. Still couldn’t wrap my head around that for some reason.
As I entered Braeburn’s home, I noticed that it was almost an exact clone of Applejack’s. There were stairs leading up from the entrance hallway. To my left was the dining room, and to my right was the lounge where all the girls were sitting and chatting away. There was an entrance to the kitchen at the far end of the den. As we all entered the lounge, the girls barely acknowledged our presence. Atom and Aiden took a few steps forwards, while Spike and I hung back and observed. It was clear that all their attentions were all on the happy couple as they told the us the names they’d come up with for their little one.
“Hey Spike,” I whispered, “if a buffalo and pony have a child... what would it be? A buffony?”
Spike barely managed to contain his chuckle. “A ponfallo.” He whispered in response.
“Ooh, I like that one. Ponfallo. Catchy.”
The two of us started laughing quietly.
Pinkie suddenly popped out from behind us, “What’s so funny.”
“N-nothing!” Spike spat, giving me a look telling me I should keep my trap shut. Uncanny how I knew that.
“Aw. Tell me! Tell-me-tell-me-tell-me-tell-me-tell-me-tell-me-tell-me-tell-me-tell-me!” Pinkie pleaded as she bounced around us.
I patted her on the back gently, “Maybe when you’re older.”
Pinkie stopped bouncing and lowered her head, making her ears droop, “Aw. Okay...” Then a lightbulb went off in her head, “Hey!”
Braeburn spoke up then, thankfully interrupting us, “You’re all welcome to stay here for the night. We’ve got enough room, but I’m ‘fraid the boys might have’ta sleep in the barn. I also recommend you get out of town soon. Appleloosa ain’t what it used ta be. It ain’t safe here no more. We’re actually planin’ on sellin’ the farm and movin’ out to Dodge Junction, or settle up near where Little’s tribe are.”
“What happened to this place?” Sweetie Belle asked, “It wasn’t this bad when we came here for your wedding.”
“It all started about three months ago. Trouble comin’ from down south. We’ve heard that a lot of other frontier towns had been gettin’ trouble from Diamond Dogs.”
“Oh no.” Twilight spoke up.
“Wha-what kind of trouble?” Fluttershy asked.
“Dis’pearences. Ponies have been missin’. Takin’. All strong ones too, thankfully not foals. It’s been happenin’ more and more frequent. A couple weeks ago Mud Tail vanished, and before that Rough Boulder went missin’. Ponies are usually inside by dusk now, and although we’ve got some Royal Guards patrollin’ the town, there’s still a lot of tension in the air.” Braeburn sighed and looked at us, “If this keeps up, I’m ‘fraid there’ll be no frontier towns south of Connemara.”
“Connemara is...?”
Braeburn looked at me as if I had brain damage. “It’s the biggest frontier city. All trains stop there on their way to the other towns. You must’ve come through there on your way here.”
“We came on the Intrepid.” Applejack put in.
“Oh? Oh! That there fancy ship from Canterlot that arrived this mornin’? Wow, Cuz. I’m impressed. Well, stranger...”
“Forest.”
“Well, Forest, the only town equal to Connemara in size is maybe Dodge Junction, but I don’t rightfully know. This here’s my home, and I’d hate to leave it. I’ve planted most of those trees myself, but it’s gettin’ too much to handle as is. Lotta unneighbourly folks have been movin’ in, pushing all the decent fam’lies out. I ain’t got any help now, and buckin’ all those trees on my lonesome is pretty hard work.”
“Why haven’t I heard any of this? I mean, this is really big! I’m surprised that Princess Celestia hasn’t told us about it.” Twilight was visibly angered and shocked by what she had just heard.
Braeburn looked uncomfortable, “Aw, Twilight, but frontier towns don’t always have it easy. I’m not sayin’ that things back in Equestria are, but out here we never know quite what to expect. We make do with what we got, and with Celestia’s help, we grow as a community. We’ve made peace with our neighbors, we’ve learnt ta live together and help one another, so problems like this... it’s beneath the concerns of the Elements and the Princesses.”
“Ponies goin’ missin’ is our concern, Brae!” Applejack stood up, raising her voice, “We’re the Elements, for Celestia’s sake. Protectin’s what we do!”
“I know ya mean well, Cuz. Really, I do, but you gotta understand that ponies dis’pear all the time out here, and it ain’t just from Diamond Dogs. It’s just the way thin’s are out ‘ere. It ain’t common, but it ain’t rare neither. I guess what I’m sayin’ is: we never actually understood jus’ how bad it got till now.”
“What are Diamond Dogs?”
Everypony turned to look at me.
“I’m just kidding.” I replied quickly.
“Oh... kay... anyway, since we’re here, what do you girls say about looking around town? Ask some questions and get some answers?” Twilight asked her friends.
“Sounds good. Let’s get to the bottom of this.” Applejack replied.
Braeburn looked at his cousin, “Actually, AJ, I was wonderin’ if ya could help me a bit, I need some help buckin’ some of them apples down by the river. I’ve still got a couple a’ orchards left.”
“Aw, you don’t need my help, Cuz. Why, Forest here can build you a harvester. You could easily buck them orchards by today, if ya let him.” Applejack gave me a look that made my heart flutter.
Anything for you, Applejack. I sighed in my mind. “I’ll certainly do my best!” I said out loud.
She must have seen something on my face because she gave me that near-blush smile that she wore when we were dating. That brought a little growl from Atom. My blood froze and I felt beads of sweat roll down my face.
“Well, alrighty then. Forest, let’s head on out.” Braeburn led the way out of the front door.
“Forest, wait...” Twilight trotted up to me and kissed my cheek, “I’ll be thinking of you.”
I felt my cheeks get hot, and I couldn’t resist giving her a quick hug, “Twilight. I... it’s going to take me time to wrap my head around this, okay? I can’t promise anything other than: I will try. Okay?”
She looked a little disappointed, but she gave me a nod as she understood. “A maybe is still better than a no.”
That face, that frown. Why are you so damned cute? I shouted at her mentally. As everypony left the house, Twilight stood by my side. Then, just before she left the house, something came over me. Something I knew I’d probably regret later, but I couldn’t allow the Unicorn to feel sad. Just before she walked out, I quickly, and sneakily, pecked her on the cheek. “I’ll see you later, okay?” I whispered gently in her ear before sprinting off after Braeburn, not daring to look back. It took all my effort not to. Couldn’t let Aiden see. He’d literally hand my flank over to me on a silver platter.
“Twilight, you okay? Your face is really pink.” I heard Sweetie Belle’s voice.
Must not look back. Must not look back.
“It’s just the sun, Sweetie.” Twilight replied. I could feel her eyes on me and I fought the rushing wave of blood in my cheeks.
Braeburn, Atom and Aiden were sitting inside the barn, while Spike had gone on ahead to the orchard to take a look around.
With the help of the three stallions, and more specifically, Aiden’s magic, we built the harvester in no time at all. All the while my mind kept replaying that stupid, stupid, stupid kiss on Twilight’s cheek. It was fun, exciting, but utterly stupid thing to do. Not only because I knew that it nine days, I’d be gone, but the fact that if Aiden found out, I’d be in a world of hurt. After all, Aiden was a war hero. Even without his magic, I doubt I’d be able to do anything other than run away really fast.
After we had finished building the new harvester, we paused for a quick lunch. Unlike Applejack’s apple-themed dishes, Braeburn had his wife feed us hay sandwiches with a sweet corn spread. It was delicious. His wife even brought out some delicious apple juice for us to drink. Spike had to make do with some jewels, some green ones, but he didn’t seem to mind.
Braeburn was very impressed with the efficiency of the harvester and we were done with the orchards by the time Celestia’s brutal sun was setting over the horizon. The guys gave me grief for not being able to buck trees with them, but the doctor said no running. I doubted that he’d be happy if he found out that I was using my injured hooves to buck trees with all my strength.
Eventually we took the full carts (we had made three harvesters) back to the barn. The farmer was so happy that he even offered to pay us for our work. Politely, we all refused, although it was tempting to accept his offer. I felt really guilty for taking advantage of Aiden all the time, but I also understood that Aiden wouldn’t have gotten all that money if it weren’t for me. So, in a strange way, we were even.
“Howdy, boys.” Applejack’s voice cooed as we were unloading the second harvester and placing the yellow colored apples into smaller crates, “Done already?”
“Heya, Cuz. You were right about that there harvester! It’s one fine contraption. I’m done for the season.” He looked over to us appreciatively, “Now I can sell the apples, spend more time with my wife, and decide what to do.”
“Glad we could help!” Spike said, hefting another box on top of one that Atom had just placed on the ground.
“Well, just wanted to let you know that dinner’s on. Little wants y’all to sit at the table and partake in a home cooked meal.”
We all smiled and nodded. Braeburn was the one who spoke up, “Let’s go before it gets cold.”
As we entered his house again, we all headed into the dining. There the ladies were already sitting at the table. At the very far end sat Little Strongheart, so that she faced the front of the house. To her left sat Applejack, behind her was the doorway to the kitchen. Next to Applejack sat Twilight, who smiled and waved at us, but she gave me a kittenish smile, that made my face feel hot.
Oh no! Don’t tell me I’m falling for her! Stop it, Forest! Stop it right now!
Next to Twilight was Sweetie Belle, and next to her was an empty seat. Spike walked on over and plopped himself there, as right in front of the place was a large selection of precious and semi-precious stones. Immediately next to him sat Atom, who leaned forward to flash Applejack a smile. She returned the gesture with a smile of her own, which made me feel a little jealous, but the feeling was a lot smaller than before. Maybe I was getting used to the idea.
To Little Strongheart’s right sat Fluttershy, who shyly waved to me and Aiden. Next to her sat the pink pony, who gave us a wide grin. Aiden walked over and sat next to Pinkie, and I followed and placed myself in the chair next to the green Unicorn. Finally, at the head of the table sat the stallion of the house, Braeburn. Twilight and I kept trying not to look at each other, but it was really difficult, considering that she couldn’t stop laughing, and I could resist making faces.
We thanked Celestia for the food, and started to dig in. There wasn’t much variety, but what we did have was fantastic! Delicious! The conversation started off about the boys working the fields before it evolved around the girls finding out more about the disappearances around town. They were talking about what they had discovered, but most of it was speculation. I still felt a little left our because I had no idea who or what the Diamond Dogs were, but they seemed like really despicable creatures.
“The last time I ran into the Dogs was years ago. When they took Rarity.” Spike sighed, “The rescue mission was a success, no thanks to me...”
“You were only a foal back then, Spike.” Sweetie put her hoof on his claw, “You tried your best.”
Spike smiled and nodded, “Thanks, Sweetie, but I was still pretty lame.”
Dessert was chopped raw sugarcane sticks in a large bowl of ice, which we all munched on. It tasted great, but I couldn’t eat more than two strips. The juice was too sweet for me. Atom, on the other hand, had a huge pile of debris on his plate as he tore through as many as he could. He really had a sweet tooth. Spike was happily licking a transparent stone, which he savored for a while before eventually consuming it in one large bite.
Eventually Applejack confiscated the remaining strips of sugarcane from the boy’s end of the table, seeing as the girls had finished theirs, which brought a moan from Atom. I found that immensely amusing. I couldn’t decide whether it was because Applejack stole his favorite dessert, or his expression of misery that he could no longer have any sugarcane. Hey, I was still a teeny bit jealous. Just a teeny bit.
“Can I sleep in the barn with the boys?” Pinkie suddenly asked Little Strongheart.
“I... guess...” She hesitantly answered.
“Don’t worry, Little. She don’t mean it like that. She just likes snugglin’ up to Forest. He’s like her stuffed toy.” Applejack explained.
“Are you calling me fat?” I cried, feigning offense.
“Why don’t we all stay in the barn, then? I mean, we all dropped by unannounced, it would be impolite to impose.” Twilight suggested.
“Well, I guess that’s okay with me,” Little Strongheart said, clearly amused by the strange request, “honey?”
“It’s fine by me...” Braeburn replied, “although I do find it strange you’d prefer to sleep in the barn than in a warm bed. Although, it is Pinkie. I think you ought to ask somepony else.”
“Well? Forest?” Pinkie asked.
Everypony looked at me. “Um... I don’t mind...”
With that, the matter was settled.
We all sat in the barn, Twilight and the girls were all quietly chatting away at the far end of the barn near where the comfy hay was, while we were crammed together on the other side where it was not comfy at all. The light from Twilight’s horn gave off a warm, yellow glow and we could barely hear whispering.
“Do... do you guys wanna spy on the girls?” Atom asked. He had this huge hopeful smile on his face.
“Not me. Twilight’s over there.” Aiden replied, “But you guys go on ahead.”
“I’m with Aiden on this one... I’m going to just hang back here, if you don’t mind.”
Spike was already gone. We could see him crawling towards the girls.
“We’ll report back what we hear.” Atom saluted us and then crawled off after Spike.
I looked at Aiden, “They’re going to get caught, aren’t they?”
“Spike might. Atom... well, he’s got military training. He might be able to hide his presence from Twilight. I doubt she’s had the kind of training needed to find ponies hiding themselves purposely.” Aiden look over to me. “Since we’re alone, Forest, I want to ask you something. Do you like Twilight?”
“As a friend, yes. As something more? Honestly, I don’t know.”
“Look, I know that for the past few days I’ve been a total jerk, but I love Twilight. I know it’s a one sided love, but I still love her. If being with you makes her happy, then I’m happy to step aside.” Aiden looked at me, his eyes narrowing, “But if you hurt her, so help me Luna, I’ll rip your heart out of your chest.”
“Pleasant.” I replied, and laughed nervously. “But as I said, Aiden, I’m not sure how I feel about her, so if I do hurt her, it’s only because I don’t know if I can reciprocate her feelings.”
Aiden looked at me, then sighed, “You don’t know how lucky you’ve got it. I mean, you’ve got Twilight’s heart, and you had Applejack’s. Atom’s a nice guy and all, but I doubt that Applejack still has those kinds of feelings for him. He’s trying to win her back, but... well, things change. It’s clear that she’s not over you, and Twilight’s making it... awkward.”
“Applejack still has feelings for me?” I asked, my eyes opened wide.
Aiden smacked his face with his hoof, “You really are a clueless idiot.”
“Oh yeah, well...” My voice was cut off when I felt something grab me. I looked up at Aiden, but he was gone.
I opened my mouth again, but something was preventing me from shouting, and the next thing I noticed was that I was being dragged downwards as dirt was piled over me.
It felt like I was going down a really dark, really rough elevator. The grip on my mouth was firm, and no matter how hard I struggled, I couldn’t free it. After a few more minutes, the darkness abated and before I could do anything, I was shoved into a cage. I could barely see Aiden there with me.
“Hang on.” He said before his horn started glowing gently.
“What...”
“Diamond Dogs.” Aiden answered my question, “They dragged us down while we were talking.”
My eyes turned to see about a dozen dog-like creatures staring at us. They all looked like canine gorillas, their forelegs longer and bulkier than their rear. Two of them wore clothing, while the rest wore armor and helms. Those two must be the leaders.
“Three strong ones we found,” one of lesser Dogs said, groveling at the well dressed Dog’s feet, “there were many others, but we found a Dragon as well. Yes. A Dragon.”
“Spike! Spike!” I shouted, “You okay?”
“Yeah. We’re fine. Atom’s with me. We got caught.” Spike shouted back. “Don’t worry, Twilight saw us get dragged under, so they should be safe.”
“Thank Celestia,” I heard Aiden mutter.
“Silence!” The Diamond Dog leader shouted, “You are prisoners! You will work the mines, dig for jewels. Take them away!”
The tunnels stretched on and on and on. It was clear that these were not dug out by these canines, but rather they had taken advantage of a rather large and complex underground series of natural caves. I could tell because I watched nature shows back home. And who said you couldn’t learn anything from television?
“Why is it this keep happening to me?” I asked, “It’s almost like I’m a character in a story, and the author enjoys putting me through all sorts of nonsense for his own personal amusement.”
Aiden chuckled, “Would be a pretty hilarious story.”
“You don’t know the half of it.” I muttered. “So, what do we do?”
“We sit back, and wait. We can’t do anything while in these cages, they’re magic proof. I can’t cast outside the bars, and you’re here with me. You might get hurt if I try.” Aiden leaned back and closed his eyes, “Something tells me this is going to be a long trip.”
And he was right. It was.
By the time we stopped again, it was probably close to midnight. The dogs pushed our prison into a stone cliff where the was a roughly cut indent that matched the size and width of our cage. Spike’s and Atom’s was shoved into the recess next to ours.
“You guys okay?” Aiden asked.
“Okay? Okay! Can you guys smell that? I can’t breathe!” Atom shouted, “It smells like... urine!”
He was right. It did. And here I was trying to ignore it.
“Guys, look.” Spike said. If he was pointing, I couldn’t see, but I instinctively looked out and around.
Cages everywhere. It looked like hundreds of ponies were here, all trapped in similar cages. The cave here was like a prison center, with three or four floors full of ponies. We heard some shouting, the sounds of whips, some cries of pain, then silence. That visibly upset Aiden, who bared his teeth in anger and was about to shout when a dog hit the cage with a large stick, which surprised the two of us.
“Back, pony! Get back!” The guard Dog demanded.
Moments later a large, bulldog-like creature stood in front of our cages. He was huge! Immense! Far bigger than any of the other dogs around, and he had a very deep voice. And the tiniest legs! It was so disproportionate. I stifled a giggle, this was not the time. Long tendrils of saliva dribbled halfway down his chest, oozing onto the floor. His arms were as thick as my torso, and those eyes were terrifying. All humor I had evaporated when I saw those eyes. He stood there for a moment before pointing to me and Aiden, “They will carry the gems,” he then pointed to Spike and Atom, “they will dig.”
“Yes, sir.” The two Dogs that had captured us earlier nodded, “It shall be done as you say.”
“Can’t be...” Aiden said pressing his face up against the bars, which prompted the guard dog to hit the bars again. Aiden backed off out of reflex.
The bulldog walked away, an entourage of females behind him, as well as several dozen guards.
“Atom. Atom.” Aiden said out loud.
“What?”
“You know who that is, don’t you?” Aiden looked over to me. I shook my head. I had no idea.
“Eeyup. I know who that is.” Atom replied. There was a long moment of silence. “This is a lot more serious than just a few disappearances, isn’t it? Aw, and here I thought I’d left this all behind when I left the Guard...”
“Atom, keep that on the down low until we know more.” Aiden said back.
“You mean being in the Guard? Yeah. That’s probably a smart thing. Will do.”
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“That’s Tyrant Rex. He’s incredibly dangerous. He’s got a thing against ponies and believes that the Diamond Dogs should rule Equestria, with him as the king.” Aiden sighed, “He’s been nothing more than a joke in the beginning, but he somehow managed to raise an army. When I was still serving the Kingdom, we ended that before it had a chance to really get started, but we failed to capture Rex. And now, here he is! This isn’t good. If he’s forcing ponies to mine for gems, that only means he still hasn’t given up his plan for Equestria.”
“What plan?”
“Dragons. He was planning on using the gems to get Dragons to attack Equestria.” Aiden looked at me, “I know that both Princess Luna and Celestia can defend Canterlot against a lot of them, but an entire army... I don’t know. I doubt Canterlot would remain standing, but worst of all, a lot of ponies could die. We need to report this, get word to the Royal Guard.”
“But how?” I asked.
Aiden smiled, “I don’t know. Right now, we wait, and do as they say.”
“You mean play along?”
“Exactly. We observe, learn and when the time comes, we do what needs to be done. If worse comes to worse, there’s always the Elements of Harmony.”
“Worse comes to worse?” I asked.
“You don’t know how strong they are. One in particular.”
"Twilight?”
“Twilight.” Aiden’s smile made me actually feel sorry for the Diamond Dogs.
Just how powerful was the Element of Magic?