//------------------------------// // Never a Day Off // Story: Painted Mirror // by Lord of Turtles //------------------------------// Raj never got along with the water pump, that morning especially. He grunted and pushed at the lever, forcing it down with stubborn creak. The device slowly went down, giving up a burst of clear, chilly water as it did so. He grimaced in triumph and hauled it back up, preparing to repeat the action. It rankled him how much trouble the pump always gave him. Macintosh and Applejack were able to work the thing with their mouths, and Applebloom could get it going by herself on occasion. Even Granny Smith could work it when the mood struck her. But every time he needed to get a bath ready he worked up a sweat and almost snapped the handle off getting the thing going. After a few more hard-won pumps it was flowing freely. He took a step back and glanced around in an effort to take his mind off the unfair device. The sun was not yet high, the bottom edge of it almost gracing the horizon still. Even though it was still early, it was already warm enough to have some sweat beaded on his brow. He heard the barn door creak open and short bark of laughter rolled from the structure. He glanced towards it and saw Applejack and her brother trotting out trailing carts full of empty baskets. Applejack was laughing at something her brother had said. He caught her eye and she gave a tip of her hat in a distant greeting. Raj waved back and returned to his pump. He hadn't meant to look, but he still caught sight of the thin lines running down her side. Just two days of semi-rest and they were the only souvenir she still carried from her night of violence. By the next day there would be no proof at all of her ordeal. Maybe that was why she'd been so insistent he keep it to himself. Wounds like that probably meant less when it took so little time to heal and there didn't seem to be any risk of long-term damage. Why get worked up by something that would only be an impediment for a few days? He flexed his back and felt a sharp tug on the pink scars over his wounds. Two weeks of downtime had given him time to heal, but he wasn't done yet. He reached back and felt the tough, stippled arcs that marred his shoulder blades. He could see the appeal. Seeing the subject of his deception fading right before his eyes definitely made the lie more palatable. It'd been surprisingly easy to hide Applejack's secret. He'd actually told them the truth about her injuries, just not the whole of it: he'd been woken up by Applejack falling down the stairs and went to investigate. Applejack confirmed the story with mute nods and the Apples seemed to accept it and go about their day. He immediately understood why she wanted to keep the truth from them. He'd seen up close and personal what happened to anything that threatened a member of the Apple family. He rubbed at the formerly broken point on his forearm, the grievous injury now just an echo of agony. Applejack and her brother disappeared into the southern orchard. The trees there were heavy with fruit, but by the end of the day not a single apple would hang from their branches. Whatever the Apples would do to the thing that hurt her, he was sure they deserved it. “Heya Rajrishi. How's it going?” chirped a merry voice from behind him. Raj shook his grim thoughts from his head. “Nothing kid, just thinking.” He turned to the smiling little pony “What's up, what're you doing?” She giggled and shook the little pack slung on her shoulder “Ah got school today silly.” “Right, of course.” “You wanna walk with me?” Raj flicked his gaze to the buckets stacked nearby and decided he needed a break. “Sure.” “Cool.” Applebloom grinned happily and bounced in a circle around him as they headed down the path toward the farm's gate. Applebloom asked “Water pump giving you trouble again?” Raj's face soured “I am choosing not to talk about that wretched device.” Applebloom giggled “It's just a water pump silly. If ya need to, just get some from the rain barrel next to the barn. Nopony will mind.” “No, if I do that then the pump wins.” Raj said with a faux-serious expression. Applebloom set into titters “Yer funny.” “If you say so.” he shrugged. They walked in companionable silence for a few minutes, Applebloom trotting along and humming something upbeat to herself. Raj smiled and watched her go until something caught his eye to his side. His head jerked to it and he caught the faintest edge of something fading behind a tree. Raj squinted and said “Did you see-” “Do you like oranges?” “Wait, what?” “Oranges?” reiterated Applebloom, blissfully unaware Raj started to ask her anything. “Do you like 'em?” He focused on the spot the movement came from and saw nothing out of the ordinary, just a blank patch of dirt. He cautiously answered “...Sure, I like them well enough. Why?” “Cause Aunty 'n Uncle Orange sent a big ole' box of 'em from their plantation. Ah tried to eat one but these little stringy bits got stuck between mah teeth. Is that normal?” “Yeah, that's just a thing about oranges.” he confirmed. “Oh.” her muzzle crinkled “Ah don't think ah like oranges much then.” “Seems appropriate.” She tilted her head in confusion for a moment and then realization hit her “Oh, you mean cause ah'm an Apple.” “That is what I was getting at, yes.” Applebloom laughed and returned to her song and skipping along the path. Raj smiled a bit, warmed by the filly's exuberance. He was about to join in on the cadence of it when something caught his eye again, this time on the other side of the road. He managed to make out a shape this time, something too big to be a bird or other small critter, before it faded behind a tree. He pointed at it. “Did you see that?” “Huh, see what?” Her head darted around Raj scanned the trees and bushes around. The odd presence was gone, or at least hiding. He shook his head. “Nothing, nevermind. So, uh, what are you up to in school?” Her face brightened “Ms. Cheerilee's gonna take us on a fieldtrip to Ghastly Gorge to study flowers this week! Today we're s'posed to learn about all the neat plants and stuff we'll find, like Blue Gems, Lillies, Fire Daisies...” the little filly continued to rattle off the exciting things she would be up to in the coming days Raj listened as best he could while searching the orchard around him for stalking things. * * * The dinging bell above the schoolhouse signaled the beginning of the day and the the gaggle of multicolored little ponies filtered into the wide double doors. Raj barely made out Applebloom waving a hoof at him, little more than a yellow smudge at the distance he stood at, before she disappeared into the tall building. His escorting duties taken care of, he started to leisurely stroll back to the farm. The day was pleasant enough, a light rain during the night kept the air from being dry without getting oppressively muggy. It would've been a good day for stomping the Everfree, he realized. But he couldn't. Not yet. Shortly he strolled past the gate to Sweet Apple Acres. He slapped a hand against the overhead arch just because he could and hummed the addictive song Applebloom had gotten stuck in his head. He walked with a bit of a bounce in his step, his mood noticeably lifted from his morning's sulk. Such was the pleasant feeling he almost didn't notice the squat shape bound from the boughs of a tree at him. Snapping to attention, Raj hopped back and landed in a fighter's crouch. The low creature turned to him and snarled, glaring with hooded eyes. One look at it and he immediately knew it was a canine of some sort. The head and coat were right for it and the back legs were stifled like a normal dog, but the front limbs werethick with muscle despite the thing's size and it rested on its knuckles. If Raj had to guess he'd say it was a cross between a gorilla and a rottweiler. “What the-what, why?” He asked, confused about this thing's sudden appearance. In response the dog-creature bared its fangs and lunged, tearing at the ground with its heavy claws. It drove close and tried to chomp at his ankles but came up short as Raj danced away. He snarled and lashed out a foot, catching the thing in the chest and making it crumple with a pained whine. “That was unexpected.” He said, staring at the prone creature in front of him. “I'd have thought they'd tell me if there was a weird monkey-dog thing on the property, but I guess it slipped their mind. Let's get you to Doctor Flummox.” He crouched down to grab at him. “Away not-pony!” The creature skittered back and growled. “Ah, so you can talk. Neat, that'll make this next bit easier.” Raj stepped at the thing menacingly “Why did you attack me?” “I not tell you anything not-pony!” The creature lunged, trying to snap his jaw on his calf. Raj shuffled back but not far enough, the creature's teeth catching his foot. Pain flared there for a second before he lifted a leg and stomped, driving a heel into its back and slamming it to the ground. The force blew the thing's jaws open and it squirmed and growled underneath him. Raj ground his foot into the creature's back. “I'll ask again, why did you attack me? For that matter, why have you been following me all morning?” The creature struggled a bit and then did something Raj never expected. It started to rapidly claw at the dirt road, cleaving through the packed earth like it was made of pudding. In a bit more than a second the entire front half of the creature was underground. Raj's balance was thrown and he staggered back. He lost a moment to surprise at seeing the creature's unique method of retreat, but quickly shook it off. He ignored every screaming instinct in his mind and dove, reaching into the dark, growling hole with his bare hand and grabbed blindly. He felt something fleshy hit the palm of his hand and he pulled with a grunt of exertion, ripping the dog-beast from its hole in a burst of dirt and dust. He lifted the bewildered creature up to chest height and held it out and away. It dangled like a fish on a line by its knobbed tail and yelped and spit as it struggled in his grip. “Put me down not-pony, put me-” The thing was interrupted when Raj jacked his fist directly into its face, causing it to sputter and its eyes to roll obscenely. “I won't ask you again.” He pulled his hand back again. “No, please don't hurt,” the thing shied away and sputtered in fear “I-I'm sorry, sorry!” “Keep talking mutt.” It nodded feverishly “I attack because I not get pony I sent to get.” “You mean Applebloom, the little yellow pony?” He asked. The dog nodded “Yes, that one, with big bow. I supposed to get her.” Raj growled “Why?” “Don't know, just told to, not question.” Raj glared “So you followed her to school.” The dog continued nodding quickly “Yes, but not-pony go with. I watch, wait for you to leave yellow-pony alone, but you not leave alone. I get mad, I attacks. Makes sense, right?” “So if I hadn't been there, you would have attacked and made off with a helpless little kid?” “Uh, yes?” The thing said with a sheepish grin. Raj tightened his grip on the thing's tail and pulled back a hand back to strike again. The creature yelped and raised its claws to defend itself, whimpering slightly. It was the first time Raj got a good look at the thing's paws. They were caked with dirt and small stones from its attempted escape, but the unmistakable shape of claws protruded from the mess. They were short, stubby things that curved like shovels, ideal for digging but also likely good for fighting. The form of them reminded him of something he saw earlier that day, a trio of close set cuts that were wide but not very deep. It clicked in his head after a second “You're one of the things that attacked Applejack two nights ago, you beat the crap out of her and slashed her side.” he said, his voice icy. The dog-creature's eyes widened and it waved its paws in front of it “No, no, I not hurt orange apple-hat, I never hurt anypony. I good dog, good dog!” Raj cocked his head to the side and sneered “Yeah, cause good dogs kidnap children, no questions asked.” The creature started nodding again but then stopped itself, its eyes darted to the side. “Uhh... yes?” “No.” Raj punched it again, his fist burying in the creature's gut. The thing let out a breathless whine and curled up. He lifted it up to his face level and hissed “If I ever see you again, on this farm or anywhere, I will beat you to death with my bare hands. Is that understood.” The creature mutely nodded, its face screwed up in pain. “Good, now try and roll when you land.” the dog-creature's face screwed up in confusion before Raj hiked an arm back and wheeled the thing around. He grunted and swung his arm, hurling the dog creature into a high arc over the lanes of trees. Raj stood still, listening, and after a few seconds heard a distant splash when the creature hit the stream five rows over. He was surprised, he didn't think he could hurl the little beast that far. Satisfied, he flexed his cramped hand and rubbed at his shoulder. The thing had been smaller than Banjo but weighed even more. Holding it aloft had been surprisingly hard and chucking it even harder. None of that mattered then, he needed to find Applejack. * * * Finding her proved to be surprisingly easy. All he had to do was follow the loud whumps. As he drew near Applejack slammed her hooves into the tree of golden delicious, shaking the fruits down into waiting buckets. Macintosh grabbed one in his mouth and tossed it into the packed wagon. Applejack wiped her hoof across her brow and shook her mane out before throwing him a friendly wave. Raj did not return it. She trotted up to him. “Heya Rajrishi, what brings you around these parts?” “Why did a little mole-dog try to kidnap your sister ten minutes ago?” he asked flatly. She sputtered back at him. “W-what, is she okay?” His tone going harsh “She's fine, and at school. Now I ask again, why did a little mole-dog try to kidnap your sister ten minutes ago?” “Keep yer voice down!” She hissed, glancing over her shoulder at her brother. Macintosh looked up from his baskets and shot a grunt their way through on held in his teeth. “Whazzat?” “Nothin' Big Mac, just keep mindin' them apples, ah'll be right back.” when she looked back at Raj her look was smoldering “You come with me.” she grabbed his wrist in a hoof and started pulling him away. Once they were a few rows away Applejack threw his arm down and hissed “What're you doin', saying those things where Macintosh can hear?” “So glad that's your first concern.” “Why, you...” Applejack's face flushed in anger but she suppressed that quickly. “Fine, ah'm sorry. Just tell me what happened.” “I walked with Applebloom to school and noticed something following us. Every time I tried to catch it, it disappeared so I thought I was seeing things. I wasn't, some strange mole-dog was following your sister and wanted to snatch her. The only reason he didn't is because I was there.” Applejack let out a relaxed sigh “Okay, good, thank Celestia that's all. “They would have gotten her too if I hadn't been there. It was pure luck she asked me to walk her to school.” He crossed his arms “Now why was that... thing after her in the first place?” “Don't you worry none about that, its something ah need to tend to. Wait...” Her eyes narrowed “If you never caught the thing, how do you know it was after mah sis?” “Because the thing attacked me on my way back and I beat the tar out of him.” Applejack stiffened “What?” “The mean little beast was mad I kept him from getting to Applebloom so he tried to jump me. I thrashed him good and he told me all this.” Applejack blanched, her face stricken with horror “No, no, no nononono. What have you done, What've you done!” she flopped down and held her head in her hooves “Ah can't, why did you...” she trailed off into incoherent mumbles. “Applejack, what do you-” He stepped closer. Applejack shoved him back. “Get away Rajrishi, you miserable bastard!” Tears streamed from her eyes “Why, why'd you have to go and do that fer?” Raj looked back and forth helplessly before a deep voice sounded from the next row over “Don't blame him AJ, ain't his fault.” “Macintosh!” Applejack wiped at her eyes “How, uh, how long you been listenin'?” The big pony stepped into the clearing “Long enough to know Rajrishi here didn't do nothing wrong. He was just protecting Applebloom the way anypony should. He didn't know.” “Didn't know what, what did I actually do?” Macintosh looked to his shuddering sister and frowned. He looked Rajrishi in the eye and sighed before saying “Welp, you mighta just destroyed the farm Rajrishi.”