//------------------------------// // Settling Into Routine // Story: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Magic // by Strayan Phoenix //------------------------------// CHAPTER 10 [Club Sierra, Manehattan, unknown time] "Baaaarrrrkeeeeep!" Trixie slurred, "Moooooaaaaare special stuff!" "This is becoming ridiculous," the barkeep shook his head, "Nearly every time you order a drink for your new friend, you end up drinking it instead! I think you can stop at number twelve, miss". "Faaaarrk oooorrrrfff!" She looked uneasily in the barkeep's general direction, "I haven't touched a drop! Yer seein' things!" Connor thumped his head repeatedly against the counter in agitation, "I swear I've never met this crazy bitch before in my life". "It's four thirty in the morning and your brain is clearly more mixed up than something straight out of a blender," the barkeep pointed out, "If you don't leave at some point, I will notify security and make you leave". "Go ahead!" Trixie frowned, "Why don'cha fuckin' make me?!" "See what you've gone and done?" the barkeep looked at Connor crossly, "Now she's using an 'f' instead of a 'b' in her swearing". "You were the one who went and gave her the extra five cocktails," Connor shrugged, "Don't look at me". "That's my job," the barkeep retorted, "Doing fellow colts a favour with the mares since forever, and by the way, you're welcome. The drinks were supposed to be for you, but you only had the second drink I gave you. All the others, she beat you to the punch, in both senses. And now her bill is incredibly high as it is..." "In hindsight, I probably should've gone for those drinks," Connor sighed. "Hey! You! Get yer flank to the dance floor!" Trixie suddenly yelled at Connor, "STAT!" "What? I don't even..." he blinked in surprise as the dishevelled magician simply hauled the Zorua/Pony off his stool and towards the centre of the party. "Carn' hot stuff! Show us what you got!" Trixie grinned as she started dancing around to the beat. Needless to say, she looked ridiculous, as well as more than a little unbalanced as she disappeared amongst the crowd of dancing ponies. "Ugh, I can't believe this," Connor sighed, trying to track down where the drunken mare went, "That idiot is going to be nothing but a nuisance in her intoxicated state..." Against his better judgement, he dove in amongst the crowd to track her down. With so many ponies moving about erratically in such a small space, locating the intoxicated mare was easier said than done. Eventually, she found him first, and for several seconds he stood completely still as she danced away to her heart's content. The music was at its loudest in the centre of the dance floor, where the directions of the loudspeakers were concentrated, dashing any hope of verbal communication. Trying to shout over the noise was pointless, so Trixie physically grabbed him by the front hooves and started dragging him about in her rather strange routine, mostly comprised of swaying and jumping about with little to no cohesion. After several minutes of this strange nonsense, he shook his head and edged his way back towards the bar. For a short while, he stood by the counter in silence, considering whether to just ditch her there and run or not. The roaring cacophony of voices and music was making it difficult to think straight. Before he could come to a decision, the magician suddenly burst back out from the crowd with a panicked look on her face. He frowned in confusion as the mare suddenly dashed around behind him, chattering frantically, but otherwise inaudibly under her breath. "Trixie, what the hell-" Several other ponies had followed her out: two of the plain no-wings-or-horn variety, as well as both a Unicorn and a Pegasus were standing just a few feet away, with rather angry glares on their faces. Connor took notice of the foremost stallion's lime-green colouration and dark-blue mane, which contrasted to his bright yellow eyes. "Help me!" Trixie wailed like a small filly. "Trixie, what did you do?" Connor asked hesitantly, keeping his gaze on the irate ponies before him. "She had the nerve to insult the integrity of not only my marefriend, but myself," the stallion snorted, "We have a right mind to put her back into place". I leave her for just a few moments and she picks a fight with someone?! "I apologise, but she's had more than a few drinks tonight, and she's not exactly in the best mental shape..." Connor shrugged sheepishly, "You know, smashed off her tree and all that jazz". "What, so now you're going to make pathetic excuses to try and cover for her worthless hide?" the stallion had none of it, stepping into Connor's face, "Get the hay out of our way, freak!" "Hang on now, there's no need to get worked up-" *Crack!* Connor flinched reflexively as the pony slugged his Illusion across the face, forcing him to reel back accordingly to keep the Illusion real. Several other patrons abruptly stopped dancing in shock, startled by the sudden outburst of violence. Trixie winced slightly with the realisation of what she had just dragged Connor into. "I said get out of our way," the pony snarled, "Our patience is at the end of its tether for idiots not only like her, but you". "So you want to play that card," Connor couldn't help but let a manic grin appear on his Illusion's face, "By all means, you're welcome to try that again, and see where it gets you". "So you suddenly think you're tough all of a sudden?" the pony growled as his friends wordlessly spread out to surround him, "I think you came to the wrong neighbourhood for that, motherbucker". Oh, if you only knew, Connor thought as he stretched his neck about, "Four-to-one, that's a bit unfair don't you think?" "You should've thought of that before you let your little filly wander around insulting other ponies like that". "Hmm, I'd say you'd need at least a couple more guys, and then we'll be on even terms. Trixie, what exactly did you say to them?" asked Connor. "Erm..." Trixie shuffled uncomfortably, before abruptly looking up, shouting "Protect me!" and bolting off into the crowd. Connor's eye twitched as the other ponies all closed in on him, "I swear I've never met her before in my life". Wielding multiple illusions at once to conceal himself, Connor quickly ditched his Pony Illusion and dashed out the circle as the agitated ponies kicked it to the ground and started pounding it in a frenzy. He couldn't help but wince as his Illusion was reduced to a battered pulp in a matter of seconds under a withering barrage of hooves and kicks. The lime-green pony spat in the Illusion's face, "Faggot". "Satisfied?" They all turned at once to see the target of their animosity suddenly standing, apparently unharmed only a few feet away behind them. "What?" the ponies looked back at their fallen quarry on the floor, which was no longer there. "How...?" Connor's new Illusion smirked, "My turn". Before he could make his move, he was suddenly surrounded by a khaki-brown aura, courtesy of the Unicorn among the thugs, "Get 'im fellers! He ain't going anywhere this time!" Connor initially struggled against the magic hold, and blinked to find that escaping it was ridiculously easy. The aura suddenly closed in on itself as he simply stepped out of it, causing a few gasps of alarm and shock. "What?!" the four thugs all looked stunned, no-one more-so than the Unicorn who cast it. "You're in my playhouse now," Connor emitted a rather evil-sounding cackle, very much enjoying the new revelation that whatever they just tried failed miserably, "Your rules just went out the window". The thugs all took a step back in sudden fright as a black misty aura suddenly started seeping from the Illusion's body like wispy smoke. The blaring music suddenly lowered in volume as the DJ, from her heightened view from the podium, stared incredulously at the events unfolding before her, shouting "Hey look! A bar-fight!" "Sweet Celestia, what is this?!" the patrons all started panicking and backing themselves as far away as possible. The four would-be assailants suddenly found themselves clasped to the floor by thick clunky chains, preventing their escape. As much as they tried, they were stuck fast. "An Earth-Pony using magic..." the other patrons whispered uneasily amongst themselves, rather rattled by the scene unfolding before them. The whispers spread like wildfire, and within a few moments, nearly everypony present in the vicinity was watching the spectacle, if not at least trying to get a view. "N-Now settle down dude!" the lead pony stammered, "W-We're happy to let it all go! Absolutely buckin' everything! Just get away from us and leave us alone!" "That's odd," Connor smirked and spoke in a low voice, "All of a sudden, your bravado has disappeared. I wonder where it went..." He stepped to within a few inches of the frightened stallion's face, putting on the most threatening tone he could muster, "Now listen here buddy, I don't give a shit what that mare said to you, that is not a good enough reason to go around bashing anyone up!" He leaned right into the stallion's ear, "Now, you go run along, little colt, and perhaps I'll forget this little incident ever happened". The pony suddenly found that the chains were gone. Wasting no time, all four of them dashed for the nearest exit, leaving their respective distressed marefriends behind in a panic. Watching from her hiding spot under the stairs, Trixie's eye twitched as she tried to comprehend as to what exactly just transpired. Everything broke into a flurry of motion as several ponies wearing bright yellow shirts with the word 'Security' on either side in bold black letters forced their way into the crowd towards the black stallion. "What's going on here?" one of them shouted angrily. "It's all cool, fellers," Connor's black aura suddenly disappeared without a trace as he grinned, "Just some goons letting their alcohol talk for them, but it's all sorted out now. Nobody got hurt". "Alright, well in future, just settle down and walk away sir," a guard grunted. They turned about to return to their posts, before one of them turned back around with a confused expression on her face, "I don't remember seeing you walk in the front door. When did you first arrive?" Inside, Connor felt his stomach drop, "A few hours ago, actually. Why?" The guard's demeanour turned from confused to suspicious, "I think I'd remember seeing a mane-style that that as it walked through the front gate. What was your name, sir?" "Erm... Shadow Runner," Connor quickly made something up on the spot. "Alright Mr Shadow Runner, was your ID checked by Security on your way in?" the guard pressed. "I believe so," Connor shrugged, "I wouldn't be in here otherwise..." The guard turned to her comrades, "Anyone recognise this stallion?" The other guards shook their heads in unison. "Alright wise guy, let's see your ID," she gestured with a flick of her head. Connor looked about in a puzzled fashion, "What sort of request is that? I don't even have any pockets". "So, in other words, you have no ID?" the guard glared dangerously, "How did you get inside this club then?" "Same way I'm getting out again," Connor shrugged, realising that it could only go downhill very quickly if they continued along this line of conversation. "What-" In the blink of an eye, he was gone. The guards all looked about. "Where'd he go?! He couldn't have teleported, could he?" "No sir, there wasn't any magical fluctuation," a Unicorn guard nearby shook his head, "Whatever the case, there is something wrong about this... pony, if we dare to call it that". "Cover the door!" the lead guard shouted, "Nopony is getting in or out!" A swarm of more guards filled the area, startling the patrons as the building suddenly went into lockdown. The music suddenly came to a grinding halt. "Attention all patrons!" the guard in charge shouted, "We apologise for the inconvenience, but there is now a rogue fugitive loose in the building! If you see him, please notify security! He's a black stallion- Oh who am I kidding? You all saw what he looked like! Please co-operate with us and keep an eye out for him!" In her little hiding spot under a stairwell, Trixie huddled up in fright. Frightened by the sudden turn of events. Frightened by the fact that the entire club had entered lockdown for the first time in the history of Equestrian nightclubs. Frightened by the fact that just moments ago, she was planning a way to try and seduce what is possibly a highly-dangerous individual, even if he was devilishly handsome... "Well, that could've gone better," a voice right next to her muttered, causing her to jump. Trixie blinked incredulously as her alcohol-fried brain desperately played catch-up with what was sitting next to her under the stairs. "Connor! How did you get here?" she hissed, "What the hay is going on here?!" "These guys are all wired up over a misunderstanding," Connor huffed in annoyance, "I probably slipped up a little too much, but still..." "W-What? Whadda ya mean, you slipped up?" Trixie looked befuddled. "Here and now is not a good time for a story. Right now, I need to find a way out of this place," Connor murmured urgently, "If anyone asks, I wasn't here". "Trikshie demands to know as to what you're blabbering on about-" Suddenly, he was gone again. "By the goddessh, just what are you?" Trixie whispered under her breath, looked about incredulously. "Wouldn't you like to know?" Connor's voice whispered back softly in her ear, startling her. "Make way!" a voice spoke up loudly, "Princess Luna coming through! Make way!" "Oh dear," Trixie's pupils dilated. Standing easily a head taller than everyone else in the club was the graceful form of the Princess of the Night herself, scanning around the room with her sharp eyes. Everypony present gave the Princess a wide berth as she entered. "What did you say it was?" Luna demanded flatly, looking at the head of security. "We're not too sure ourselves, your majesty," the guard shrugged sheepishly, "Guards on sight say it was an Earth-Pony with the magical abilities of a Unicorn". "That sounds a bit farfetched," Luna frowned, "Earth ponies can't use magic, unless they're wearing an amulet". "Well, this one appeared to have the ability of not only invisibility, but it was briefly radiating with a very... black and ominous aura, for a lack of better terminology, and we're not quite sure what it was," the guard continued, "There are several witnesses who were saying that this creature was immune to telekinetic spells, saying that it completely shrugged off a magic hold like it wasn't even there". "Immune to magic, you say?" Luna inquired, "Are you sure?" Very few creatures she knew of were resistant to magic, let alone not be affected by it at all. Unfortunately, her knowledge of such creatures escaped her as she desperately ransacked her own memory to try and figure out what this pony was describing. "The only other thing we could gather about this creature is that its coat was dark-grey, with a red funny-looking mane and a black tail," the guard said in an almost apologetic tone. Luna frowned. Nothing she could think of off the top of her head matched that description. "You are sure you have this complex completely sealed up?" Luna glanced at the guard. "Tighter than a noble's pocket," the guard nodded briefly with a smug grin. "And you have set up a magic barrier to prevent anypony from teleporting outside?" Luna pressed. "Absolutely". "Then the hunt begins," she looked about at the crowd of ponies before her. In her trademark Canterlot Voice, she proclaimed, "ATTENTION EVERYPONY! I'M AFRAID THAT THIS PARTY IS TO BE SHUT DOWN, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY. THIS CREATURE WHICH HAS INVADED OUR PRESENCE IS LOOSE SOMEWHERE IN THIS BUILDING, AND ALL WE REQUIRE YOU TO DO IS TO STAY EXACTLY WHERE YOU ARE FOR THE TIME BEING. IF YOU SEE ANYTHING SUSPICIOUS, PLEASE ALERT US IMMEDIATELY! THANK YOU". Luna shut her eyes in concentration as she activated a scanning spell, hunting out any and every sign of life in the vicinity. Immediately, she could identify the signs of everypony present in her line of sight, as well as the guards spreading out behind her guarding the only way out. She was puzzled as to why there was nothing else out of the ordinary around here. Usually, every living thing gave off some sort of sign of life, whether it be their body heat, their movement as they milled about, or even the faintest traces of magic all ponies possessed regardless of their race (only unicorns possessed it in significant-enough quantities to do anything with it). Whatever this creature was, stealth and remaining undetected was obviously its forte, as Luna probed about with her magic in a game of cat-and-mouse with her unseen foe. Several tense minutes passed in complete silence, save for the soft beeping pulse of Luna's magic scanner. Slowly, she opened her eyes and frowned, yelling out at nopony in particular, "ALRIGHT CREATURE, WHATEVER YOU ARE, IF YOU CAN STILL HEAR ME, YOU WIN... FOR NOW. CONSIDER YOUSELF LUCKY I CANNOT USE ANY SONIC FREQUENCIES TO FLUSH YOU OUT OF HIDING. NEXT TIME, YOU WON'T BE SO LUCKY!" "W-What do you mean?" the head of security was alarmed. "I'm afraid all trace of our fugitive has simply disappeared," Luna shook her head regrettably, "I threw out every possible type of scan I could think of: Heat Detection, Movement Detection, Magic Detection, even ultraviolet and infrared vision, but alas, nothing has turned up. It is highly likely that this creature either knows an advanced type of magic we are somehow unfamiliar with, or we are in way over our heads here in something completely new to Equestria. Something like..." Her eyes widened at a thought which suddenly crossed her mind. "So..." "You can lift the lockdown now, sergeant," Luna sighed, "I need to inform Celestia of this revelation. I have complete faith that you are telling me the complete truth about what you claim to have witnessed, and I assure you that we will get to the bottom of this, one way or another". "Yes milady," the guard nodded and got to work. Luna muttered something incoherent under her breath as she disappeared in the bright flash of a teleportation spell. ... Trixie slowly stumbled outside as the crowd dispersed, disappointed that the night had come to an abrupt end. Finding her sense of balance was almost impossible with the amount of alcohol she had consumed over the course of the night, and she almost tripped over her own feet numerous times as she aimlessly drifted into an alleyway. "How 'ash my life come to thish?" she clutched her head with her hoof morosely, "Shpendin' the last of me bits like that... it's amazin' I even have any left..." She sat down on her haunches in the corner between a dumpster and a tall building, leaning her head against the harsh brickwork of the wall behind her, using her hat as a pillow. "All I wanted in life... wash ta be happy... and appreciated," she sniffed, wiping something from her eye, "Ish that too much to ask? Even for little ol' me?" "Well, that makes two of us with major problems," a voice came from on top of the dumpster, "I don't even know where I am, I have somehow accidentally antagonised a Royal Princess of all things, and to top it off, you should never be drinking alcohol again". "Connor?" Trixie looked up, "W-What... How did you...?" "A true magician," Connor's Pony Illusion peered over the edge with a sly grin, "never reveals his secrets". "... Are you followin' me?" she looked perplexed. "Right now, you're the only pony in the entirety of Equestria who I can connect both their name and face, as well as the only one I can trust right now," Connor shook his head, "You are small and inconspicuous, and you also know your way around this city better than I do". "...Yeeeeeaaaah, riiight," a sly grin briefly appeared on Trixie's face, "Yer jus' irresishtibly enamoured with the Great 'n' powerful Trikshie, aren' ya?" Connor stared at her flatly, "...You're a drunkard who can think about as straight as she can walk. What's 'enamouring' about that?" "Deny it all you want!" Trixie sniggered, "I mean, I can't blame you fer falling for a mare as dashing ash the Great 'n' Powerful Trikshie!" "Drunk and delusional," Connor mused, mostly to himself, "I'm never letting you touch that stuff again". "I... I think that thish ish a bit much to ask of you at a time like thish..." Trixie suddenly shifted about uncomfortably, "But... do you 'ave any bitsh you could spare? I really jush' wanna get off the streets, for even jush' one night... Trikshie doesn' wanna be a bother... but..." A small pain in the back of his head started swelling up. He grimaced slightly in discomfort. My Illusion Ability must be starting to cook itself from extended use, He thought, Resting up for the night will be the most wise decision at this point. Connor sighed with a nod, "Well, I don't have any actual currency per say. But I'll tell you what, I have the next best thing. Come on, let's go find a place to stay for the night". Trixie attempted to drag herself up, with no success. "Erm... a little help here?" she held her foreleg out pitifully. "Ugh, we need to find you a new hobby," Connor reached down and pulled her up, "Binge-drinking is going to be the death of you if you're not careful..." [Sometime later, at a random hotel, somewhere in Manehattan] "I can't believe you just pulled a bag of bitsh out of yer assh like that!" Trixie chuckled, lying flat on her back on the nice, comfy bed with her hat tilted forward over her face, "Where'd you even get that money? I thought you shaid you were flat-broke and without pocketsh?" "As I said, a magician never reveals his secrets," Connor smirked, looking around the room. It was a fairly small and simple layout, with almost everything crammed into one space, with the exception of the bathroom, which took up the opposite corner of the room from the door. There were a few dressing draws lined against the wall adjacent to the door, and there was a double-bed set opposite to them. Trixie's head churned like a blender as she tried to comprehend how her fortunes whiplashed about over the events of the night. One moment, she was attempting to drown her sorrows, then suddenly this strange stallion appears out of the blue, kicks up a shitstorm, and now she's suddenly spending the rest of the night with him in a hotel room using money which was probably made out of thin air. It was all so... surreal to her, and her poor frazzled brain struggled to digest it all. "Erm, where will you shleep?" Trixie looked about hesitantly, noticing that there was only one bed between them. "I'll improvise," Connor swiped a pillow from the bed and curled up on the floor. "I-If you don't mind my ashking," Trixie looked at him, "How did you ever evade Prinshesh Luna'sh detection shpellsh? It's like you jusht vanished inta thin air..." "If you really must know..." Connor murmured, "I managed to find the scanner's blind spot, directly underneath her". Trixie's eye twitched as she connected two and two together, "Wait... so, you were in between her legsh the whole time... and she didn't know any different?! Oh, you cheeky colt, you..." "Yep," Connor chuckled, "Initially, I thought it would be a rather funny and ironic place to hide, and it turned out to be quite helpful in the end. Bloody hell, my head hurts..." "... You don' 'ave a hangover already?" Trixie's expression was somewhere between confused and disgusted, "You didn' even have that much..." Connor buried his face in the pillow, "No... I don't think it's that..." She tilted her head slightly as she closely scrutinised the black pony, "Maybe it was somfin' the barkeep put in those drinksh... He said somefin' about each one bein' different from the ovver... P'rhapsh he put somefin' he shouldn've into one of 'em... Maybe he-" "Can you do me a favour?" Connor interrupted her. "W-What ish it?" Trixie looked perplexed. "Whatever you see here in this hotel, stays between you and me, alright?" "Connor, what on earf are you talkin' 'bout?" His prone form suddenly disappeared in a bright red flash, causing her to reel back and shield her eyes. "Dude, are you alright? What the hay happ... ened?"She stared incredulously at the creature now lying on the floor. Where there was once a dark-grey pony with weird mane-style and a funny cutie mark, was now occupied by a ball of fur, no bigger than her head, with a disturbingly similar colour pallet and appearance. It was small enough to lie comfortably on the pillow without the rest of its body lying uncomfortably on the floor. "Connor... what jusht happened?" Trixie gingerly leaned forward, unsure of what to make of this... thing. "I'm not actually a pony," he said softly, his fatigue starting to take hold, "I'm a Zorua, a species of Pokémon". "I don' get it," Trixie looked perplexed, "I don' wanna think too much here..." "At this time, it's necessary to hide any details about my identity," Connor sighed, "I just want to blend in and move about unnoticed as I go about my travels, so I used my powers to distort everyone's visual perception of me. If we're going to be travelling together, we need to be able to trust each other, otherwise my plans won't work, so here, I'm stepping out on a limb by trusting you with these facts". "What do you mean?" "You have no home or money. I'm looking for treasure here in Equestria. So, it'd make sense if we teamed up. I'm offering you a chance to potentially make a fortune and provide a home for yourself. We'll divide up whatever we find between each other, and you'll have a roof over your head. It's a win-win scenario". "You... want to go... treasure-hunting? In Equeshtria?" Trixie looked at him blankly. "That's why I'm here," Connor shrugged. "And yer ashking me to jusht shimply tag along wiv' all thish?" "Yep. As I said, it's potentially a win-win scenario if we find anything". "The Great 'n' Powerful Trikshie... will conshider your offer," Trixie sighed, ready to fall sleep at any second, "Maybe after her head shtops pounding so hard... I'll shleep on it an' let ya know in the morning. Good night". Reaching out with her magic, she doused out the candles providing light, blanketing the room in darkness. [Ponyville Library, Ten Days after finding Darkrai in the Everfree...] Twilight Sparkle had seen quite a few weird and wonderful things so far during her time in Ponyville, so there were certain oddities and quirks that her dulled sense of surprise could now handle upon first sight. Living within a ten light-year radius of a certain Pinkie Pie tended to have that effect on you. Nevertheless, she lost her train of thought in shock when Zappo of all creatures practically waltzed into the Library out of the blue, grabbed a book off the shelf and actually started reading it. During her brief association with the Explorer, the last thing she honestly expected to write in her notes about him was the word 'Literate', and yet here he was, nestled comfortably on a cushion in the corner and reading a book much larger than she anticipated him to be able to handle. Out of curiosity, she briefly glanced at the cover of the book, titled 'An Adventurer's Guide to the Everfree: Survival in Equestria's Harshest Environment'. "I didn't know you liked reading," she commented as she shifted her posture to look over his shoulder at the page, "Do they have books back where you come from?" "Literacy is quite a common skill, believe it or not" Zappo replied, keeping his gaze on the book, "It's mostly used to write messages for communication, but there have been Pokémon who transcribed out certain events in our history, for those who are interested, and there still are. It's a handy skill when you find an ancient relic with stone carvings in it. I must admit, the written language here in Equestria is a bit hard to get used to, but there are many similarities I've so far been able to pick up on, and figure out the alphabetical analogues". "So uh, what brings you here?" she asked. "We've been able to negotiate a system regarding our use of Applejack's barn as a temporary base of operations," the Raichu replied, "As of last Thursday last week, we have started working part-time for the Apple Family on their farm as a method of paying rent, along with a weekly fee of around two hundred and fifty bits to cover any inconveniences. Between us, we have organised a three-day routine. While one of us takes a day to rest, today being myself, the other two members of Team Valkyrie will help AJ and Big Mac with their chores. Tomorrow, CJ will have his turn for respite, and then Archie the day after that, then another one for me, and so on. While the Pokémon on his day off is on standby in case of any emergencies, he is otherwise free to do as he pleases, within reason of course. All weekends are automatic days off so that we can carry out our official expeditions around Equestria". "I must admit, that's an interesting set-up," Twilight mused, "So, what do you plan to do today?" "Learn a bit about this place for a start," Zappo answered, "I'd be an idiot if I didn't first do some research about my new environment first". Twilight grinned, rapt that she had discovered another potential avid reader such as herself, "If you're interested, there are several other books about Equestrian History and topography. This book in particular was the last one that the author ever wrote. Unfortunately, she passed away shortly after the book was published". "What happened?" Zappo looked up, "I wouldn't be surprised if an adventurer such as herself slipped up too close to a Hydra or something like that". "No, actually she became afflicted by a nasty case of Poison Joke, and in a freak accident, she choked on her own quill," Twilight answered, slightly sombre. Zappo raised an eyebrow, "That's a pretty ironic way to go. Spends all her life nearly throwing it away in the jaws of danger, only to be undone by a feather of all things". "Those can be quite dangerous objects when not handled properly," Twilight frowned, "And being afflicted by Poison Joke is not a laughing matter at all. I should know..." "What exactly is it?" Zappo asked, "I'm not up to that section yet". "Poison Joke in itself is a blue flower that only grows in the Everfree Forest," Twilight explained, entering her 'Lecture mode', "Coming into direct contact with it can produce a wide-range of side-effects which are completely magical in nature, and they almost always afflict and create hindrances to your daily life, ranging from minor annoyances to life-threatening disasters. The symptoms are always different and always handicapping in nature. In fact, just last week, the girls and I had a rather nasty experience when Zecora came to town. We followed her into the Everfree Forest, while looking out for Apple Bloom, and we stumbled into a Poison Joke patch. The next morning, we were all affected in strange ways. For example, my horn wouldn't work, and thus I couldn't use magic; Applejack shrank down to the size of a bit; Rarity's hair grew out and made her look like a cave-pony; Rainbow's wings stopped functioning properly; Pinkie Pie's tongue became swollen and gave her a nasty speech impediment; Fluttershy experienced a severe case of vocal dissonance disorder..." "Strewth, you almost talk as much as Pinkie Pie when you get the chance," Zappo commented under his breath, tuning her voice out as he continued reading, "Now where was I...? Oh yes, Timberwolves..." It took Twilight several minutes of rambling to realise that she no longer held Zappo's attention. She huffed in annoyance. Now I know how Spike feels when he's trying to keep me listening... "Uh, speaking of Zecora, I've been meaning to ask you, what was it you said to her when you first met her? I couldn't make out what you were saying from where I was, but you had the largest smile on your face, and she looked like she wanted to die from shock". Zappo started grinning in a rather cheeky fashion, "Since the town was deserted, and it'd be a bit mean if I gave her the real reason as to why, I simply made up an excuse for you. I believe my exact words were: 'Considering that ninety percent of the town's population is female, I'd hazard a guess that everyone's gone on the rags at exactly the same time, and they're all avoiding each other in shame'. To be honest, I don't think she bought it, but I certainly found her reaction funny regardless". There was the sound of snapping wood as Twilight's jaw suddenly plunged through the floorboards. "... YOU SAID WHAT?!" "Well, to be fair, it was nicer than outright saying 'Everyone hates you, Zecora', and far more amusing too," Zappo defended. "Funny? You think that's FUNNY?!" Twilight fumed, "You can't say stuff like that! It's rude, crass and offensive! I can't believe you got away with that!" "That's exactly why it was funny," Zappo replied, "Besides, no-one else was in the street anyway at the time, so there wasn't anyone else to be offended by it. I got my kicks and she got a reason why everyone was avoiding her, even if it wasn't the correct one". "B-B-B-But..." Twilight's words escaped her as her brain went into emergency shutdown. "After that, the gang and I went for a trip into Whitetail Woods, being a Saturday, to go looking around for anything interesting. Turned out there's nothing there," Zappo finished, rather flippantly. Deciding that continuing this topic of conversation would be detrimental to her sanity, Twilight turned about and walked off, "Well, if you ever need anything, I'll be upstairs. Don't hesitate to ask. Oh, and one last thing, you didn't happen to see Spike on your way in, did you?" "Yeah, I think he said something about going to hang out with Rarity for the day," Zappo replied off-handedly. "Of course," Twilight sighed and trotted up the stairway out of sight. "... That's interesting," the Raichu mumbled aloud as he continued reading, "Timberwolf packs usually have a matriarchal-based pecking order... " [Sweet Apple Acres] If Applejack were to be honest with herself, four days ago she was rather skeptical about having an oversized mouse, a large serpent and a dragon of all things working alongside her on the farm. Considering that the mouse didn't particularly look cut out for heavy lifting, the serpent had no limbs at all, and the dragon was a walking fire hazard in a dense field of highly valuable (and highly flammable) trees, her initial doubts were at least partially justified. On the first day, for the sake of politeness, she gave them the benefit of the doubt and began assigning them tasks she felt were within their capacity. CJ lacked the capability to buck trees or move the heavy carts around, however he proved to be experienced in the art of numbers, business and handling finances, and was able to fill in the niche at the market stall selling product in town while the others could concentrate on the more physical side of farm work. Trial and error quickly revealed that Archie meanwhile also possessed an unsuitable physiology for apple-bucking, so Applejack instead relegated him to assist Big Mac haul the apple carts to-and-from the orchards, provided he didn't enter within a five yard radius of any trees for safety's sake. Both Pokémon took to their assigned tasks with vigour, and both Apple siblings gave a sigh of relief for the eased workload. When Zappo started work the next day, they found that while he also wasn't physically capable of bucking the trees per say, he was able to improvise a technique by simply Focus-Punching them, producing the same result of falling apples all the same. He revealed that he also had experience with handling money and supplies, although not quite to CJ's level, and thus was also able to be placed at the market stall in town if required, making him an effective all-rounder who could competently handle almost any task she gave him. The extra workers really helped speed things up, and they found that the day's chores were being completed in record time, with more spare time in between jobs. Applejack certainly wasn't about to complain about it; All three members of Team Valkyrie gave her their utmost attention and respect, never challenging anything she asked of them and following her instructions to the letter, but the decrease in exertion left her slightly let down. She was used to working hard to achieve the desirable results. Living on a farm always required around-the-clock attention, and nothing was ever easy. With the extra help to get things done quicker and more efficiently, she found herself... bored and unchallenged. To occupy herself during the longer breaks, Applejack found herself more often than not conversing with her guests about various issues and important topics which crossed her mind, such as what Pokémon did in the ways of agriculture and feeding their apparently enormous populations back home. She was surprised to learn that food was all straight off the land, with no-one nurturing it or looking after it. CJ explained that Pokémon had simple lifestyles, only taking what they needed to sustain themselves. It helped that fruit and berries grew at astonishingly quick rates back home, with just a single, albeit sizable forest of apple trees comfortably able to feed several towns regardless of the time of year. He had to admit though that even a Perfect Apple, the rarest and most delicious variety of apple back home, would struggle to hold its own against its Sweet Apple Acres counterpart in terms of quality and taste, something Applejack found herself smirking in smug pride about. Four days (six, including the two-day weekend) later, and it seemed that Team Valkyrie had settled into the routine nicely. Being Zappo's second day off, he had decided to spend the morning in the Library reading up about Equestria. His announcement to the others about his plan of action initially surprised the farm pony, considering that his favourite pastime involved bashing somepony else's head in. She never pictured him to be the studious type, much less being able to even read, and as she went about her work that morning, her mind perpetually insisted on wondering about what other assumptions and first-glance thoughts she potentially got wrong about him. Yes, he was crass, borderline insensitive and potentially psychopathic to the tenth degree, but at the same time, while he hadn't the foggiest inkling about a simple thing called 'manners', he used other ways of showing respect to somepony, mostly with simple things such as paying attention and offering small gestures of kindness every now and then. He was always honest (particularly with his opinions, if somewhat brutally) and loyal to a fault, not to mention quite intelligent for his appearance and otherwise short temper. It made things very difficult for her to gauge which side of his character was the true one, something which frustrated her internally to no end. While she was on this topic of thought, it came to mind that CJ was also a surprising character. As far as snakes go, the big ones always gave her shivers, and she wisely decided that he should never stray anywhere near the herd of cows which lived nearby. Deciding that CJ was no ordinary snake, she took the plunge and opened up a conversation with him during the afternoon of their first day. Their conversation went from simple small talk, to things like how CJ found it weird that Celestia and Luna controlled the Sun and Moon respectively. By the time the next chore arose, Applejack figured that her assumptions about CJ were wrong as well. Far from being the simple and rather straight-forward creature she initially made him out to be, CJ proved himself to be the closest thing to 'docile' of the three Pokémon, and arguably the most open, intelligent and considerate of them as well, making up for what Zappo lacked in manners. He did admit however that he had a tendency to avoid taking up a position of any major leadership if he could help it, preferring to let Zappo handle the decision-making. He explained that during their early adventures as a team, Zappo always took charge of any missions while CJ handled their finances and supplies. It was a set-up that worked in practice, and he was happy with the way things were. His kind and reserved disposition also reminded her of Fluttershy to an extent. Late that afternoon, shortly after Apple Bloom returned home from school, Applejack wandered across the orchards to find Archie, curious as to what surprises he had locked away. It turned out Archie was quite similar to Spike in many regards. Both were quite sociable as far as dragons go, with both of them sharing a slightly sarcastic and relaxed demeanour. She sighed in relief that he and her brother Big Mac were able to get along well and work together. One thing she learned which defined Archie from the others was that he had a very observant eye for detail and an uncanny knack for reading body language. Even after being around them for just a few days, he claimed he was able to point out whenever she was cheerful, indifferent or agitated just by watching her expressions and more subtle movements. Applejack never considered herself one for subtlety, always priding herself on being blunt and getting straight to the point, and to have this pointed out to her made her feel a little more than just slightly miffed. Unsurprisingly, Archie picked up on her reaction to that too, chuckling that she was easier to read than bold letters in a book. Her response was to pout and complain under her breath something about 'sorcery' and 'a load of horse-apples'. Some of his more negative quirks she instantly picked up on was that he had a concerning indifference towards using combat and violence as a means to solve interpersonal problems, much like Zappo, and she wondered as to whether the majority of Pokémon held violence in this regard. On top of that, he had a frightening fondness for heat and anything fire-related, which only added to her worries about him 'accidentally' burning their entire crop of trees down. He assured her that such an occurrence would never happen on his watch, promising that he also knew how to be responsible with his pyrotechnic powers. She also noticed that Archie didn't particularly like it whenever she confused Charizards and Dragons, reminding her several times that they were two different things. All in all, she came to the conclusion that Archie was otherwise a decent Pokémon to hang around, and confidently stated she was glad to have him on the team. If they ever needed warmth during the winter, they knew who to talk with. Today, Applejack had a new series of tests in mind for her guests. Today, she would see for herself as to what these two were truly made of. She grinned smugly in anticipation. "Alright you two, listen up!" she barked as they stood to attention, "Today, we are going out to the top paddock, and we're going to have ourselves a little competition! You two claim to have athletic ability, and I want to see for myself as to what sort of ability we're dealing with here! Early this morning, I set up a series of challenges for you to complete, with assistance from my buddy Rainbow Dash". The Pegasus in question could be seen relaxing on a cloud some distance away. "... And my brother Big Mac". The red stallion stood patiently at the far end of the paddock near a wooden table. Applejack led them towards the first challenge. It was simply two sets of cones spread out roughly a hundred metres apart. "First up is a sprint, to test how fast you are! Not too hard for ya, is it?" she motioned for them to step up to the starting line. Rainbow Dash hopped off her cloud and landed at the finish line, holding a stop-watch in her hoof. "CJ, you're up first," Applejack beckoned. The Serperior reluctantly took up a starting position, coiling up like a spring. "Three... two... one... GO!" CJ launched forward in a blur, slithering forward with surprising pace for his size. Before they knew it, Rainbow had stopped the watch as he crossed the line. "Phew," He breathed a heavy sigh, "I never really liked mad sprinting..." "Eleven point nine seconds," Rainbow whistled, "Not bad". "Archie, you're up next!" Applejack pointed at him. The Charizard crouched down and flared his wings out to their full length, tense in excitement. Rainbow almost forgot to reset the stop-watch as she marvelled at the display. "Three... two... one... GO!" If CJ launched forward like a blur, then Archie blasted off like a bullet, putting enormous amounts of power into his first down stroke off the line, requiring only a second and third flap to keep him airborne before clearing the finishing line a few seconds later. "WOAH!" Rainbow was knocked off her hooves by the violent surge of air that followed Archie in his wake, dropping the stop watch in the process. Recovering quickly, she scrambled for the watch and gave it a once over, to find that she hadn't pressed the button, leaving it still counting. "I call bull crap!" she shouted angrily as she stood up on her hind legs and pointed at Archie as he banked around, "You! A race to the Carousel Boutique and back! NOW!" "What for? I thought AJ was running the events here," he replied in confusion. Rainbow took flight and hovered up to his altitude, "If you think you can pull a hundred yard dash in less than four seconds and get away with it, then you've got another thing coming!" "AJ, please translate," He looked down. "She sees you as a threat to her pride," Applejack sighed, "She holds the firm belief that she's the fastest thing in the skies, and she doesn't take too kindly to anypony who challenges that". "I don't see the point, but whatever. I'll bite," Archie shrugged, descending back down to the starting point. Rainbow Dash settled down next to him with a determined scowl. Both racers took up position several metres apart. "So, just for confirmation, which direction is the Carousel Boutique from here?" Archie looked back over his shoulder. "Directly that way," Rainbow pointed in the direction of Ponyville, "You shouldn't really get that lost when you have me leading the way!" "Braggart," Archie muttered under his breath. "What was that?" Rainbow glared at him dangerously. "Nothing," Archie got into the same starting position as he had before, tensing his wings up for the initial launch. Rainbow mimicked the posture, tensing up and ready to go. "On your marks," Applejack called out, "Get set..." Rainbow shivered in anticipation. "GO!" No sooner had the sound left her mouth, the two competitors blasted forward at tremendous speed. They were but twinkles in the distance within seconds. "I sure hope your friend knows what he's getting into," Applejack shook her head worriedly, glancing at CJ. Archie had to admit that this blue Pegasus certainly wasn't bluffing about her claims of speed, neither was she pulling any punches as they flew at break-neck speeds, hurtling towards Ponyville. Archie could quickly pick up on their differences as their target waypoint rapidly approached. Because Rainbow's wings were much smaller than his, she had to pump them at a blindingly-quick rate to keep achieve her current speed, whereas he could pull the same amount of power in a single stroke as she did in ten, meaning he had the advantage not only in outright strength, but stamina and energy-efficiency as well. As they banked around the domed roof of the Boutique, Rainbow was able to turn inside him and gain a critical edge through superior manoeuvrability. Archie spotted that Rainbow wasn't pacing herself as he did, and he estimated she would start overexerting herself anytime soon and run out of steam. Sure enough, Rainbow could feel the muscles in her back starting to burn up in protest at the workload she was forcing on them, but with the finish line in sight in the distance, Rainbow silently urged her body to hold out just a few more desperate seconds. She could practically feel Archie breathing down her neck as he ever so slowly began to pull alongside her, with each of his wing pumps sounding akin to blasts from a cannon in a steady beat. Come on! She put the entirety of her remaining energy into one desperate push as a mach cone started forming around her outstretched form. The finish line flashed underneath as they passed overhead, almost right next to each other. Applejack found herself on her back as the blast of air caught up with them. "Goodness, that was tight," CJ cringed, "I couldn't tell who was in front from here". The two competitors circled around overhead to burn off excess speed before landing next to Applejack, or in Rainbow's case, crashing in an exhausted heap. Archie stretched out his wings to relieve the tension, slightly winded from his efforts, "So, who won that?" "I'm sorry Archie," Applejack shook her head, "There was only an inch in it, but she beat you fair and square". "YES!" Rainbow exclaimed amidst her ragged, heavy breathing, lazily pumping her fore-hooves into the air, "That's right! Still the best there is!" "I don't know," Archie shrugged with a smile, "If we were going to Canterlot and back, I'd leave you for dust". "Is that a challenge?!" Rainbow shot up, "Name the time and place! I'll take you on any day! Just not today..." She slumped back over as her chest heaved up and down in deep gulps of precious air, "Maybe... once my wings don't feel like... they're catching fire..." "You're a sprinter," Archie replied in a serious tone, "You're good over short distances and in the turns, but if you're not careful, you burn yourself out too quickly. Over high speeds and long distance, my energy consumption would be far more efficient than yours, and by the time we reach Canterlot, I'd be carrying your comatosed form in my arms". It wasn't spoken in a haughty, greater-than-thou manner, nor was he trying to degrade her in any way, and as much as she hated to admit it, he had a point. "Well, if that's my part done," Rainbow gingerly sat up and trotted off, "I need to go find a cloud to recuperate on... particularly a nice soft and fluffy one would be nice..." "Now," Archie looked at Applejack, "What was the next challenge you had in mind?" "Well, the next challenge is a test of agility!" Applejack pointed towards a series of poles lodged in the ground, each with a mug of cider sat precariously on top of it. "The challenge is to weave in and out of this here obstacle course, going up, circling around the farthest pole, and coming back, all in the shortest time possible. Every mug you knock over, whether by accident or on purpose, is a two-second penalty added to your time". "Now hang on, that's not fair," he frowned. "How so?" Applejack raised an eyebrow, "That's the rule of the challenge". "If I were to somehow knock them all down, but at the same time still blitz it, that's not truly reflective nor accurate of the time in which I completed it," He huffed. "Maybe not," Applejack defended, "But you were dumb enough to knock 'em all down in the first place! That's the point of the penalties, to discourage you from screwing up!" "... Touché," he muttered. "And for that little remark, you're going first, now git up there!" she smirked. Reluctantly, the Charizard took up position on the starting line. Applejack reset the stop watch. "Three... two... one... GO!" Archie had to restrain himself from launching off like he did the previous times. Barrelling straight through would knock the entire row down, so he had to make broad banking turns in and out of the poles in order to make the corners without touching them. "You seriously couldn't set these a little bit further apart?" Archie frowned, slightly miffed as to how slow his progress was coming along. "Quit complaining!" Applejack yelled, "You're almost halfway done!" Archie lazily arced about the end pole before repeated the same broad weaving pattern on the way back. For someone who was able to keep pace with Rainbow Dash, he was certainly taking it slowly here. Eventually, he crossed the finish line. "Forty two seconds dead," Applejack announced, resetting the watch, "So agility isn't your strong point. No biggie. CJ, you're up next!" The Serperior steeled himself up and took a deep breath. "Three... Two... One... GO!" CJ launched forward with the same rapid pace he had last time. Compared with his companion, CJ ducked in and out of the poles seamlessly with the grace of a dancer, cutting very close to the poles, but at the same time with enough space to avoid hitting anything. The Grass Type's speed and precision were nothing short of spectacular to watch as he whipped around for the dash home. Applejack clicked the timer as CJ whizzed past. "Sixteen point two seconds!" she exclaimed, "That's gotta be a new reco- " She was interrupted by a soft thud nearby. Glancing aside, she saw that the mug from the first pole in line had tipped and fallen, spilling its contents into a sizable puddle. "Well, make that eighteen point two seconds, but still an impressive feat!" Applejack grinned encouragingly from ear to ear. "I must've clipped it as I went by," CJ mused with a tinge of disappointment, "Oh well". "What's the third thing on the to-do list?" Archie glanced at Applejack. She pointed towards a pit muck and slosh, still with the broad grin on her face, "My personal favourite: a test of strength! Here on the farm, we decide that with a good ol' round of mud wrestling!" Archie shook his head instantly, "No can do, I'm afraid. I'm calling 'pass' for this one". "What? You're not scared of a little mud, are ya?" Applejack had a sly grin, "Worried about getting dirty?" "Absolutely terrified," Archie replied flatly, "No, actually dirt and mud are bad for my health. Don't look at me like that, I'm dead serious! My tail could be extinguished if I stuck it in that! And if that happens, it's lights-out for me too!" "Well, there goes Plan A..." she sighed in resignation, before perking up again, "Plan B is over here!" She gestured with a hoof towards the inconspicuous wooden table where Big Macintosh sat idly, playing Solitaire with a deck of cards to pass the time. "Game over, big brother!" Applejack spoke up as they approached, catching his attention, "We're going with Plan B". "What is Plan B, exactly?" asked CJ. "Hoof-wrestling!" Applejack replied cheerfully, taking a seat across from her brother. "The rules are simple: You simply have to overpower your opponent and push his arm into the bench, like so". Applejack and Big Mac propped their arms up against each other at the elbow and started trying to push down against the other to demonstrate. Applejack put all the strength she could muster into her arm, struggling to get an upper hoof, with no success. After several seconds, the red stallion yawned and slammed his sister's hoof down with little effort. "... And that's why he's the Equestrian hoof-wrestling champion!" Applejack cringed and rubbed her hoof gingerly, "The challenge is to verse him in a hoof-wrestling match, and see how you fare". "Seems simple enough," Archie shrugged, sizing up his opponent as Applejack shuffled across to give him room. Sitting on the bench was out of the question due to the size comparisons, so he had to rest on his knees and lean forward to prop himself up correctly. Grabbing Big Mac's hoof in his claws, he waited for the signal to proceed. "Three... two... one... GO!" There was a thud as Big Mac's hoof struck the wood in an instant. He blinked in surprise at how rapid it was, not even giving him a fraction of a second to even react, let alone support himself and make a counter-attack. "That's it. Do I win?" Archie looked up expectantly. Applejack rubbed her eyes in confusion, unsure of what just unfolded in the past few, brief seconds. Big Mac was not normally one to be competitive, but Archie could quickly pick out the spark of excitement ignite in his eyes, possibly triggered by... rivalry? Competent opposition? He couldn't tell. Something in the red stallion caused him to perk up, and Archie decided to flash him a smug grin. "What's that? You reckon a Round Two sounds good?" "Eeyup," Big Mac replied with a determined nod. "With pleasure," the Charizard stared his opponent in the eye, "When you're ready, AJ". "Uh... go!" she tossed her hooves up out of indifference. Big Mac was ready for him this time, and what Archie presumed was to be another quick and simple win very rapidly descended into a bitter, titanic struggle for supremacy as the two red powerhouses sat unwaveringly still, locked in a stern, trance-like state as both CJ and Applejack crowded around on either side, watching with intense anticipation. For a moment, it looked as if neither one of them was actually doing anything, save for a soft shudder of brief instability here and there as they each struggled against the other for power. The wooden table perpetually creaked and groaned under the weight and pressure. A good three minutes into the match, Applejack spotted a drop of sweat drip down the side of her brother's face. Amidst his concentration, Archie could hear the faint sound of grinding teeth, possibly coming from Big Mac. He was stunned by how much effort was required just to keep himself from keeling over and losing, let alone make a push towards victory. It didn't help that his opponent was also willing to see how long this would drag out, in a fierce contest of stamina. CJ glanced across at the orange-coated mare, "I think this might take a while..." She glanced up at the sun, taking note of its position in the sky. "It must be coming up to lunchtime soon," she mumbled. "I'm gonna go into town and grab a bite to eat. Did you want anything from the shops while I'm there?" CJ gestured, "I have a feeling we're not gonna miss much while I'm gone. Don't worry about payment, I'll shout". She glanced uncertainly between her brother, in the midst of waging a desperate battle for his pride, and CJ, who produced a bag of bits from behind his back with a vine. She sighed in resignation, "Sure, why not. Can you get me a hay smoothie and a... " She paused in thought, "... and one o' them 'truffle' things from Sugarcube Corner? I hear they're pretty delicious". "Sure thing," CJ nodded and slithered off. As the serpent disappeared in the distance, she heard him say something along the lines of "Oh hey Zappo!". She turned about and spotted the Raichu approaching them, passing CJ along the way. He was carrying something under his arm. "What's happening?" Zappo glanced at the stalemate which was the hoof-wrestle match between Archie and Big Mac. "We're having a hoof-wrestling challenge," Applejack replied, "It's a supposed to be test of strength, but this one has been going for about four minutes now". "Interesting," Zappo murmured and continued walking towards the barn. "What's that you have there?" asked the farm pony out of curiosity. "It's a book I borrowed from Twilight," he held the cover in front of her face for her to read. "With this, I'll be able to study up on everything there is to know about the Everfree Forest". "You know, what is it with you and the Everfree Forest?!" Applejack looked incredulous, "Do you have a death-wish or something? Nopony goes in there for a good reason: Very few of them come back alive!" "And that's why it'll make the perfect practice arena for me to hone my skills while I'm in Equestria," Zappo returned brightly, "Equestria's supposedly most lethal environment will be a good way for me to gauge where I'm at in comparison to my surroundings, and whether any further training is required to improve myself". "B-But you're in Equestria!" Applejack exclaimed, "We pretty much embody pacifism here. Leave the fighting to the Royal Guards. That's what they sign up in the first place for!" "It's better to have and not need, than to need and not have, you know that right?" Zappo tilted his head. "What's that supposed to mean?" "It means that even if my services are not required now, they might be at some point in the future, and I want to be in top condition at all times, just as a precaution. No-one can predict the future, so that's why we have to anticipate and prepare for the worst-case scenario," he answered sagely, "It's not a matter of if something will go wrong, but when". There was a loud snap and a heavy thud, startling them from their conversation. They turned about to see that the wooden bench had caved in underneath the weight of the two competitors, with both hoof-wrestlers lying in a heap across from each other, clutching their respective faces in pain. "I suppose we'll call that a 'draw', then?" Zappo remarked dryly as he walked away, "If you need me, I'll be in the barn". An idea crossed Applejack's mind, "As a matter of fact Zappo, yes there is something I'd like you to do for me..." Before he could object, Zappo found himself dragged off his feet in the direction of the mud pit. "I don't get it. What's going on?" he asked tentatively. "My initial challenge of strength involved a round of mud wrestling!" Applejack exclaimed gleefully, "I'm gonna test to see how strong you are in a simple contest, where the point is to subdue your opponent while carrying half of your own body-weight in sediment". "Doesn't sound too hard," Zappo shrugged, "What are the rules?" "That's the fun part: The only rule is that you must avoid outright injuring your opponent. The point is to grapple and subdue them, not kill or maim them," Applejack grinned, "And so far, I haven't yet met a single pony who can beat me!" "Challenge accepted then," Zappo smirked, dropping the book and jumping over the fence, landing with a soft squelch. He stomped around a bit, experimenting with the slight increase in difficulty of movement. All this mud will render my electric powers useless, but since I can't purposely injure her, they're off the table anyway, He thought as the farm pony jumped in alongside. He quickly noticed that the pony which was abhorrent to violence as a means to solve problems just a few days ago was suddenly carrying a rather predatory grin plastered across her face as she slowly started to circle around him. "I don't want to get these dirty now, do I?" He swiped the sunglasses off his face and placed them next to the book, giving Applejack a good look at his dark-brown eyes for the first time in their brief history of knowing each other. They carried an unflinching stare as the two combatanants circled about, waiting for the other to make the first move. He briefly paused and dropped down into a quadruped stance, resting on his front paws for support, before continuing the circling-motion on all four limbs. One could see the fur on his back stand up straight in tense anticipation. Big Mac and Archie watched with intent interest from the sidelines, as the latter made a comment under his breath, "Huh, I've never seen him make a stance like that before..." Deciding that running in circles was getting them no-where, Applejack pounced first, and the wrestling match officially began... [END CHAPTER 10]