All seven of them were sitting in a room, which they never seen until a few minutes back, still confused about the situation and of course their new bodies. None of them had any idea of what was happening or why. Loosing their wings and horns didn’t help either. What should they do? Where should they go? Sitting there wouldn’t help anyone but they didn’t have the mood to even stand up. That is, except for one
„Hey girls, look! Look! This is so awesome!“ said Pinkie while hopping all around the place, completely oblivious to the fact, that her new form brought some new „features“ aswell
„Pinkamena Diane Pie! You sit down this instance! That’s not how a lady should behave you hear me? “yelled Rarity angrily
„O-k. “said Pinkie sadly and sat down with her knees under her chin
„Pinkie, maybe we should first get you some clothes before you start doing that again?” said Dash with a smile „For some reason, I have this feeling, that this is not how we should be running around. “
They looked around the room, trying to find anything that could be used as clothing but unfortunately, there was nothing of that sort that. Disappointed, they started standing up one by one to explore the room further. Maybe there was something interesting there they couldn’t see. First to get up was Twilight.
“What do you think this might be?” said Twilight, now standing only a short distance from a circle shaped machine. Trying to recall every detail of the last few minutes, she realized one think. She quickly turned around, as if looking for something specific.
“Twilight? Are you ok?” asked AJ
“This is what we saw before.” she replied after finding what she was looking for
“See that?” she pointed into a corner of the room. It was the red light they saw in the pebble
“I think we might have been teleported to the other side.” she said now with a sad tone. She couldn’t help but to think that all this was only her fault. Why didn’t she contact princess Celestia first? She would have warned her about the spell or prevent this from happening.
“So if were here, then where are those four we saw before?” asked Dash but received no answer
“Let’s go look around. Maybe we’ll find someone who can explain this to us.”
“And maybe some clothes too.” added Rarity
They left the room, Dash and AJ in the lead and Spike with Fluttershy at the back. Right outside the room was a corridor with two ways to go, left or right. Since splitting up was a bad idea, on which they all agreed, they decided to start with the right way, checking every room on the way for anypony?
Luckily for them, the very first room they stumbled upon was some sort of laboratory. And as each laboratory, this one too had a few spare coats for each of them.
“Here girls, these look like our size.” said Twilight, giving everyone a coat, Spike too
“Here you go Spike. This one might fit you too.”
Spike stood in front of her, no longer a baby dragon, but a boy in his teenage years. He didn’t accept the coat though. He just stood there quietly, looking at the floor with his hands crossed in front of him, and with a minor blush on his face.
“Spike, are you alright? You don’t look so good.” said Twilight with concern before noticing his hands “Did something happen to you? Show me!” she said while reaching out to him only to be stopped by AJ
“Whoa there sugarcane, I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
“And why not?” said Twilight a bit confused
“Because he’s a colt.”
The words hit Twilight like a cold shower. How could she have forgotten something like that? Face red as much as her new body was possible, she quickly turned around while keeping the hand with the coat behind so he could take it. After he got dressed she turned back around and apologized for her mistake. Spike just smiled at her and replied with an “Its okay.”
Now that they were all dressed, at least partly, they went further down the corridor. The hallways seemed to be endless, which seemed weird because from the laboratory, they were only able to find two more doors, both locked and sturdy enough so none of them could break them down. The next one wasn’t.
They almost overlooked it. The door was a different shape and color then the other three they passed. This one was wider, and it looked as if it was in the middle of the frame instead of one side. Its surface was metallic, just like the walls around it, making it blend in. Something else was different about it aswell. There was a sound coming from the other side.
Applejack grabbed the handle and started slowly opening the door while the rest stood in a circle around her. Once partly opened, she peaked inside. It was another laboratory, but this one was different from the first one. Instead of various chemical glasses and equipment for experiments, this one had many screens with different texts on them and stacks of paper lay on most of the tables. Besides that, the room was empty so they entered.
Finding the source of the sound wasn’t hard at all. They found it by one of the screens. It was a printer, currently printing stacks of paper with various calculations, texts and graphs that none of the girls understood. Determined to find more, they spread out over the room, trying to find anything that might explain at least one thing. Spike was the first one to hit gold.
“Twilight I found something.” he said while holding a big book in his hands “It’s an anatomy book.”
“Let me see. Hmmm... So humans is it?” she said while reading a page after another
“What are humans Twilight?” asked Fluttershy
“We are. Or at least at the moment are. Look!” she turned the book around to show the rest. Inside it were various drawings of human anatomy, each part described in detail with information about each organ and bone. She turned the book back to herself and continued to read.
Besides the book, there were many other anatomical books, some for humans, others for different animals, some of which have none of them seen before, not even Fluttershy.
The papers on the tables were mostly useless. Almost all of them had the same stuff on them as the pile that was still being printed, only with different numbers.
The screens themselves were useless for them. All they were showing were endless calculations and they kept away from them just in case. Who knows what would happen if any of them stopped working.
And then the door opened.
Instantly, without thinking, Applejack who was at the left side of doors and Dash, who was not far from it on the right side, both tackled the man standing in the door, causing him to drop the cup of coffee he was holding. Both now pinning the man down just smiled and looked at him to make sure he wouldn’t try anything.
“Well girls. It seems its time for some answers.” said Twilight while slowly walking towards them
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“Argh. How come it takes so long to get somewhere when you’re a damn pony? I mean aren’t horses made for this kind of stuff?” said the orange pony, annoyed from the long walk
“Would you shut up already? We’ve only been at it for a few hours so chill out already.”
“You’re no fun. You know I can’t just be quiet.” replied the orange one with a frown “Now gimme that map so I can try to find out where we are.”
“Jax. If you touch that map Ill cut your hand off and stuff it in your mouth.” said the black pony, completely calm but with danger seething from his eyes.
“You wanted to say hooves.” was the oranges smirk remark
“What did you just say?”
“Nothing, nothing….”
The sun was slowly setting, the day was almost over. The four were still walking in the direction which their map indicated. They didn’t have that much of a problem with carrying their equipment as they thought they would, since now they were “build” to carry heavy things. Jax was wondering, why they even needed most of that stuff, even more now when they had no fingers to use them, but he knew that asking had no point. Their boss had his reason for bringing it with them, and what he thought was basically a rule for him, whether he liked it or not. He just had to endure it somehow.
And then night finally came.
They managed to gather enough wood to make a fire and set camp around it. They brought lots of equipment and gear with them, food as well, but not one thought they would appreciate blankets as much as they did now. The gray pony prepared a simple meal for each of them, to replenish some energy and to chase away hunger. Once finished, they made a patrolling schedule, with the cyan pony as the first. The rest of them lay down close to the fire and tried to fall asleep. Except that one of them just couldn’t stand it any longer.
“Wow guys. Have you ever seen a sky this clear before. I mean most of the time you’d see planes or smoke blocking the way, or even those damned street lights. Hate those things. But look now. Nothing. This is so awesome.” the words came out so fast that it was hard to keep up with them. Jax didn’t seem to mind his way of talk, he didn’t even know how fast he could talk when he was excited. And lying on grass, looking at a wide clear sky covered in stars he had never seen didn’t help with calming down even in the slightest.
“Jax, seriously man. I know you love to ramble about everything, but we walked for hours. Can’t you shut up for a second? Or at least till I fall asleep? “the gray pony replied, now obviously annoyed... Again.
“But then you wouldn’t hear me.” said Jax with smile, trying hard to hold his laughter inside
“One day Jax. One day ill seriously hurt you.”
“No hurting before were done here you got that?” said Boss with a calm tone
Feeling the weight of fatigue creep onto him, Jax finally shut his mouth, as well as his eyes, and went to sleep. So did the other two. Not even a few minutes later, a silent snore could be heard coming from each of them, except the cyan one who silently watched over them.
The peaceful night passed faster then they thought it would. Now packed and ready to move further, the four set out in the direction the map indicated. This time with more energy and an idea in one of their heads.
“Guys. Guys listen. See these?” said Jax and pointed at his wings “Why didn’t I realize I had these yesterday. Think I could actually use them?” he didn’t even finish the sentence and he already tried moving them around, which was much easier then he had thought it would be. He was so amazed at the wings that now grew from his back that he forgot to look where he was walking and that’s why he landed with his ear first onto the ground.
“Ouch. Ouch. Dangit.” he stood up, flapped his wings a bit to test them out just a little bit more and then he tucked them back. Satisfied with his “initial body tests”, he now walked proudly in the middle with his head raised as high as he could, but now watching what was under him.
“You know, for the first time you might be actually useful.” said the gray pony
“Thanks mate ….. HEY! Wait a second.” said Jax with a frown after understanding what his friend meant. Knowing he has won this fight, and that he would get at least five minutes of quiet, the gray pony was the one with his head high now.
The walking took them once again long enough for the sun to sire and once again set behind the horizon. Once again they set up camp with a simple fire in the middle and once again were their blankets the best thing in the world. And once again Jax just couldn’t rest his mind.
“You know, I was thinking…” he started with a serious tone
“You can actually use your brain for thinking?” asked the gray pony with a smile
“Oh would you stop teasing me for a second and listen?” Jax replied, not changing his previous tone at all “Look. We came here with a plan. But what if she refuses or something else fails. Do we have a plan B.? Or even plan C. And what after that? I know we prepared for this for a long time but common, don’t tell me this didn’t cross your mind.” he finished and waited for a response. Any response actually.
“First we get there. Then we go with plan A just as we discussed. If that fails we come up with a new plan on the spot. Its not like we are idiots or that anyone here could actually stop us.” said Boss calmly
“As you say Boss.” he replied but his mind was not set at ease. He knew that this world was much more different than any of their team thought. But still, however this would end up; it would be a hell of a story later on.
Another peaceful night. Another day of walking. But according to the map they had, today would be the day they would reach their destination. Or so they thought. The map they had wasn’t a real map like any normal person would use. What they had was a compilation of places they managed to scout out through various methods, which they then placed into places they knew they were supposed to be at and at the distance they could only estimate and not measure. It wasn’t hard figuring out where they landed and which way to go. The problem they had the first day was how long it would take them to reach it. That’s why, around noon, they all thought Jax was about to start rambling again when he opened his mouth. But it was rambling what he said.
“Guys look at that.” he said and pointed in front of him “Can you see that?”
“What are you talking about? There’s nothing there.”
“No I’m serious. Look!” and he grabbed his head turning it in the direction he was pointing at before
“I don’t see any….. Oh my. For once you’re right. Good job.”
How he was able to see it before the rest, he didn’t know. Maybe his new body was the cause since he was a different pony then they were. He didn’t really care. He was right and he was proud of it. Their destination laid not much further from them and if they tried they would reach it the very same day. The only thing left in his head now was, what then.
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“Aw man, my head.” he said as he tried to massage his head with his hooves, only to realize that his forehead no longer hurt, but instead the back of his head was being the problem. So he turned around and saw something he didn’t notice before.
What he lay on before he woke up was a completely smashed cart with lots of trash on it, no scattered all over the place.
“Oh. That’s why I smell so bad. Heh.” he smiled and looked around once again. The place he was now at was really familiar to him and yet he couldn’t figure out where he knew it from. And then he was spotted.
“Mate, are ya alright?” a brown pony came up to him, seemingly concerned for his well being.
“Yeah, yeah I’m alright don’t worry.” he said while still massaging the back of his head
“What happened to ya anyway? I didn’t see anything but I heard a loud crash so I came to check it out.” he said, now smiling and he raised one hoof up to him “Name’s Marksman by the way. Nice to meet ya …”
“Mark.” he shook he hoof “Nice to meet you too.” Mark smiled and put his hoof back on the ground “And I have no idea what happened. I just know I woke up here with one hell of a headache.”
“Maybe something happened while ya were flying over the town?”
“Flying?” How a pony could fly he thought but then he realized that he now had wings too. So he was a pony with wings, a pegasus. “Could be. It’s just that I don’t really remember anything before.” Mark said, knowing that if had said that he was a human before, everyone would think he hit his head too hard.
“Hmmm. Could be from the fall. Why don’t ya come stay with me for a while? Until ya get yer memory back at least.” he offered
“Why not? It’s not like I have anywhere to go.” he said and laughed
“Yeah.” Marksman smiled back “Lets go then before they’ll force ya to clean this up after yerself.” he pointed at the trash and then they quickly left
Marksman didn’t live that far. What stroke Mark, was that fact the house was really plain. No decor, no plants, nothing.
“I just moved in, in case yer wondering.” he said after noticing the stares “It’s been what, two days that I’m here? Unpacking isn’t fun to do alone ya know.” he smiled
“Don’t worry, we’ll get everything where you’ll want. It’s the least I can do to thank you.”
“That’s nice of ya.” he looked at him “But first ya need a shower. You smell really badly.”
Behind the house was a small well they could use to get water from. It wasn’t really cold so Mark just took a bucket and dosed himself with the water while Marksman brought some soap from his house.
“Whoa mate. How come you don’t have a cutie mark?” asked Marksman after coming back
“My cutie, what-now?” he asked but almost instantly realized. Talking ponies, a pegasus and now cutie mark? He was in Equestria, in Ponyville to be exact. For some reason he now was in a kids tv show.
“Oh you see, I can do many things but none of them better then the other so I still have to go around as a blank flank.” he tried to explain, even though he knew it wasn’t true. Humans don’t have cutie marks so it was normal that he wouldn’t have one either.
“Are ya sure that’s even normal? I mean little fillies have cutie marks and ya don’t look little at all.” he said, still sounding confused
“Beats me… I kinda got used to it by now. One day maybe?” Mark said and grabbed the soap Marksman brought him “Time to get this stench off.” he said and started washing him self properly, while still watching Marksman from the corner of his eye. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to let it slide just like that but that didn’t concern him at the moment. Actually, nothing did. He was in Ponyville. Most likely was this just a dream and he would wake up eventually, so why not play along for the moment.
Getting cleaned and drying took longer then expected. The stench could be smelled even with the soap, so a few more rounds of soaping and scrubbing had to be done. Drying wasn’t easy either. Mane does dry longer then human skin, as he found out.
Marksman’s house was just as empty as he said it would be. Besides the furniture that was inside, but still not in its place, only boxes covered the floor. Some were open and even more were just stacked on each other by the wall. Only the most necessary stuff was unpacked, like plates and cutlery for the kitchen, some blankets for the bedroom, some hygienic items like soap, shampoo and toothpaste, but besides that nothing.
“Ugh. You have lots of boxes in here.” Mark said while looking around the place “Are you even sure you can keep so much in here?”
“I used to live in a bigger house before, so I do have lots of things. But don’t worry though, they’ll fit. Somehow.” he replied with a smile
Mark looked out the window. The sun that woke him up before was now only a small smudge on the horizon. He didn’t even realize how fast the day had passed.
“So…Where will I sleep?” he asked while looking for a couch or something else where he could lay
“Upstairs. I have a guest room prepared for when my family would come visit. So far they didn’t so ya can have it.”
“And what if they come tomorrow?” he asked
“There should be a couch around here somewhere.” Marksman said jokingly while lifting a crate up.
The night was really quiet. At first it was a bit creepy. No street light, no music from a nearby disco or party, no cars either. Only thing that would sometimes make a sound was a dog barking here or there, which didn’t happen more then twice though. Unable to sleep, Mark walked over to the window, trying to see something in the dark Ponyville he was now in. He could notice only a few details here and there but nothing else. The town was sleeping. He looked up... The sky was as beautiful as it ever could be. Nothing was blocking the sight and everything could be seen clearly, which amazed him to the point where he started thinking. How could he be seeing all these things just like that and even have control over himself? He never saw these parts of the city in the series neither the pony who was his host. If this was really just a simple dream, then it was the best dream he had in a while and for a second, the thought came up that he could stay here forever. But it was just a thought. He knew that such things don’t happen and that his life was waiting for him.
He lay back onto his bed in the only position he could imagine himself sleeping, and while looking through the window at the sky, he slowly drifted off to sleep.
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The poor man didn’t even realize what was going on, that’s how fast they were at binding him up his coat. He didn’t even understand how that could be done with a coat but he had time to wonder later. The seven now stood in front of him.
“Who the hell are you people and what are you even doing here.”
“I don’t think you’ll get to ask any questions just yet.” said Twilight with her arms crossed over her chest
“Tell us where “here” actually is. What is this place?”
“This “place” as you call it is a research and development facility which spreads underground all over
America.” he said with a proud voice “How can’t you know where you are? This is a high security facility. No one just gets in.” he asked, realizing that whoever they were, there wasn’t something normal about them
“Ameriwhat?” asked AJ “Never heard bout that.”
“Say what?” he asked confused “What cave did you crawl from that you don’t know what America is?” now he knew they were weird
“Cave? How dare you call our home a cave? Were from Equestria, just so you’ll know, and comparing it with a cave is a disgrace.” said Rarity with anger in her voice. Never before has she heard someone insult their homeland like that
“What? Equestria?” he looked at them and waited for a smile or a smirk or anything to indicate they were joking. Nothing came “Are you telling me you’re from Equestria? “ he now started laughing. This was surely a joke. A really bad one.
“What do you think is so funny about that?” snapped Twilight. None of them seemed to understand, why the man was laughing so hard
“Because Equestria doesn’t exist. It’s just a made up country from a kids show.” his laughter continued, but not for long. It was suddenly interrupted by a loud thud and then a bang. Applejack just couldn’t stand the man any longer and she was sure he wouldn’t be able to help them either. None of them had a problem with her action. They just left the now unconscious man down on the floor.
The six had to talk. What did he mean by a kids show? They all were real, so were their friends, their homes, all the memories they had and shared. And what was this America he was talking about.
“This is really weird. At first I thought we were just teleported to the other ponies that we saw and that this form was just a joke but now….I don’t think were even in Equestria anymore.” said Twilight
“So you’re saying…?” asked Fluttershy
“Well, I think we might be in a completely different world from ours.” she replied
“Then how in tarnation are we going to get home then?” asked AJ
“Yeah, it’s not like you can cast your spells here without your horn.” said Dash leaning forward so she could be heard well. This for once proved to be a mistake. Dash, still not used to her new body, couldn’t hold her balance and fell forward. But she didn’t hit the ground; neither did any of them catch her. She stopped only a few centimeters from the ground. Even without her wings, she was able to levitate. And if she could levitate without her wings, that would mean she could also fly. Not wasting a second she tried to move herself, but with nothing to control the flight she just hovered a bit higher.
“This might take a while.” she said from underneath them. But even if she couldn’t fly yet, she didn’t manage to do something. Give the girls hope they so far didn’t have.
“Dash if you can fly then that means that Fluttershy can as well, and that me and Rarity could use our magic as well.” said Twilight, now full of renewed energy “How did you even do it?”
“How should I know? I just didn’t wanna fall.” she said, now standing up and trying to levitate from an upright position
“Seems like well just have to figure it out ourselves.” said Twilight, still determined to do her best
“But I think we should find someone else. Maybe one of those four we saw before? They seemed to know what they were doing. Even the spell came from them, so if they had that, they might have something else too.”
“But darling, how do you want to get around this place. He did say it had a high security.” said Rarity
“Maybe he has something on him that might help.” said Twilight
“Already done.” said Spike proudly; showing the rest what he had taken “He didn’t really have much besides this watch and this weird card.”
Spike kept the watch for now and gave the card to Twilight. It was rectangle shaped and had information about the man and his security clearance on one side, and a black line on the other.
“This might be useful. Good job Spike.” she praised him, causing a minor blush on his face
“So shall we go on?” she asked, looking for approval from them. She didn’t wait long
“Let’s gooooo!” Pinkie screamed and turned around to leave the room, only to stay still for a moment and then suddenly jump. If Dash could fly why couldn’t she hop around like she was used to? At first it didn’t go so well because of her new body but she quickly got used to it and was now hoping around like always. This just proved to the girls, that no matter how they looked, they would always be the same inside. And so they continued their exploration.
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As they approached their destination more and more details started to show, and the closer they got, the clearer it was to them, that they were in the right place. Even from far they could see the shapes of the trees, which were completely twisted from roots to the top branches, which didn’t have a single leaf on them. They were only dark or completely black. Even the ground has been scorched by something, still green in places, not from grass, but from a weird substance they had no idea what it was from that far. Even the sky was different. The closer they got, the hazier it was. Their vision was mildly obscured by a greenish fog that was present all over the place. And then one more thing. It was completely silent. They didn’t even notice it because of hot the place looked, but once they got close it was really clear that the place was deserted by all kinds of life, plant or animal.
But it was the right place. This is where they were heading and this is where their target was. Now to only find it.
“Woah. Can you believe such a place even exists? I mean look at it. It’s completely dead. And what’s this green gooey thing?” Jax spoke up once they were inside the dark forest, checking the place out and pointing at various things
“Again? We can all see it. Were standing two meters from the damn trees. And I dare you to touch that…slime.” the gray pony said, once again irritated by Jax’s rambling
“Dare me as much as you want. I ain’t touching that stuff.” Jax looked at the good with disgust “Who knows what it is. Cant we just analyze it or something, just to be sure its safe?”
“It’s not important. Just keep walking and be quiet for once.” Boss said while looking around as if he had heard something. Once Jax stayed quiet he noticed it too. The forest was as silent as it was when they entered, but now he could sometimes hear a weak buzzing sound. He couldn’t pinpoint where it was coming from, but he was sure it wasn’t just him because now all four of them where trying to locate it.
“I think you got us the attention we needed.” said Boss once again, now with a smile “Lets continue.”
They continued along something that looked like a path between the trees. They could clearly see it branching on both sides, but never was the path bigger then the one they were on, which gave it the appearance of a main road.
The buzzing sound could still be heard, only in the distance, just as before, but now more frequently and with no source.
As they walked along the path the forest was slowly turning darker, the trees even more twisted, in some places cracked, the ground completely bare and the fog now thick enough to block out the sun completely, giving the forest a mild green glow. How could a place become like this was one of the things Jax had on his mind right now. Unable to speak out, he had to at least say something to himself. Luckily for him he didn’t have to stay quiet for much longer.
“Stop!” Boss ordered “I think they’re ready.” he said calmly and looked around, only to stop and look at one point. The rest looked in that direction as well. He was right, just as he always was. The buzzing sound became clearer and louder, the source of it approaching them from it hiding place among the trees. And then they could see them.
There were five of them. All of them were fully black, only their eyes blue and something that looked like a cape on their backs. Their wings, which were the source of the sound, were transparent, not unlike those of a fly. Their bodies looked ragged and with holes in places, as if someone had shot them several times. Their heads were completely emotionless, the dark skin hiding any movement their faces would make but clearly giving away the two fangs they had. Their head had one last feature, and that was a horn. The four have just met who they looked for since the start. The changelings.
The five of them landed right in front of them. Boss, now in the lead and the other three behind him, spoke.
“Hello there my friends. We came to talk to you. With your queen to be precise.” he sounded confident and with a grin on his face waited for a reply
The five looked at each other as if discussing something, but the four were unable to understand anything nor read from their lips. Not only was their color mixed with the dimmed light perfect for hiding their faces, the four couldn’t yet read from pony lips properly.
Then one of them spoke.
“Very well then. Follow us.” He then turned around and started walking along the road they were on; the rest of them spread into the forest around them and continued watching them just as they did before.
The four followed, satisfied with how their plans were going, Jax showing his happiness by starting his endless speeches once again. This time he wasn’t stopped by anyone. They were all happy and not even he could ruin it for them. Plan A was now in full operation.
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Once again, he woke up from sun shining straight into his eyes. But he didn’t get up just yet. He didn’t want to. Instead he covered his head with his blanket and tried to fall asleep again.
“Oh man. I kinda wanna go back into that dream I had.” he thought. Although he was there for only one day, not even a whole one at that, he felt better there. But sleep did not come. So he opened his eyes and noticed something strange about his blanket. It wasn’t the one he always used. He quickly threw it of himself and looked around. He wasn’t home. He was still in Ponyville, everything just as he had left it the day before. A smile emerged on his face. He was still here.
And then the realization hit him. How was this even possible? If this wasn’t a dream, then this world was real. And if he was now here, he had no idea why or how, nor how to get back. What would he do? He knew noone, he had no job, simply nothing. First thing though would be to get something to eat. The rest could come later, since he now had all the time he never expected.
When he got downstairs he already smelt something good. Apparently Marksman got up earlier then he did and was already preparing breakfast.
“Morning Mark. Slept well?” he asked once he saw him
“Oh, hey there. Awake already? And yea I slept quite well.” he replied with a smile.
“Yeah I have to. I’m going to try and get a job at a local orchard and ya should never be late for stuff like that.”
“Whatcha cooking anyways? I smelt it all the way upstairs.” he said while looking into the kitchen
“Food mostly.” he replied with a laugh “You want some?”
“Sure! I’m starving.” and without a single moment to spare he took as much as his plate could carry. Toast, two eggs and some apples and a glass of apple juice. A simple breakfast and yet it all tasted great. That’s when he realized that his previous thought was correct.
“Listen. Think they would take me on that orchard as well?” he asked while sipping his apple juice
“Hmmm... Why would ya want to get a job? Yer memory might come back in a few days and you’ll be off in no time.” Marksman said while also finishing his drink
“Well, you don’t know that. What if it won’t return for months, or never? You can’t take care of me forever and this way I could be useful.” he said with the most convincing tone he could muster.
Marksman just laughed.
“Yeah, yer right. Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to get hit on the head again and you’ll get yer memory back.” he said and finished his juice. Once the dished were cleaned they both went to the orchard.
The walk didn’t take long, maybe only 10 minutes, and although the sun was already up, most of the town was still asleep or in their houses getting ready for work. He didn’t have to worry about not having a cutie mark yet. First he had to get the job.
And then they arrived.
“Here we are.” said Marksman “Sweet Apple Acres. Pretty big if ya ask me.” he waved his hoof, as if introducing the orchard and went in first. Mark didn’t need to be introduced to the place. He already knew it, as well as the ponies living and working there. He wondered why they needed help since only the Apple family used to work there but he didn’t really care. As long as he got a job that is.
Once they got closer to the farm they noticed a big red stallion, already waiting there for them, or at least Marksman, since he was there unannounced. Once he spotted them he started walking in their direction.
“Hey there Big Mac.” Marksman greeted the stallion
“Hello Marksman. It’s good to see you again.” he then looked at Mark “Who’s your friend?”
“Long story short, he’s a friend in need of a job. If you want the longer story, we could tell ya that too if ya want.” he looked at Mac with a smile
“Maybe later.” he looked at Mark and pointed a hoof at him “Nice to meet you. I’m Big Macintosh.”
Mark shook his hoof.
“My name’s Mark. It’s nice meeting you too.”
Big Mac then looked at both of them
“You’re both lucky. Applejack just went missing with her friends and applebucking season is around the corner. If she doesn’t come back I will need all the help I can get so you both get the job.”
“Applejacks gone?” asked Marksman surprised “I saw her only two days ago. Where would she go?”
“Another adventure I presume. She’ll tell us once she’s back, but now we need to get to work.”
The first day at the orchard wasn’t as hard as he had thought. His new body was stronger then his human body ever was, and even though he was now a pegasus, he still had what was needed for the work. Even his blank flank went unnoticed, or simply ignored, because Big Macintosh didn’t ask or comment it once during the day. Once they had prepared and done everything that was needed for the applebucking season, buckets and crates for the apples mostly, they did some work around the farm and its animals they both went home. Neither of them even noticed how late it had gotten, and neither of them had a problem with it. They both had a job now, and they both proved that they were capable of doing it properly which made them happy. One less problem to solve in the coming days of their new lives. One in a new town and the others in a completely new world