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Chapter I: Breakthrough... Literally2,787 words
Chapter II: Accidents Happen. . .?5,710 words

Chapter I: Breakthrough... Literally

Having parents divorced at a young age is heart-breaking. And there’s always a moment in that child’s life, where they learn the importance of having a mother or father, and they don’t have one. They’re supposed to be there to look out for you, but they’re just gone. Usually all that person needs is a friend, but for most people, there are no friends for them, just the small things that make you happy. I guess that’s life though. Some people will say that in life the only way to achieve happiness is through suffering. Now I find that hard to believe. I’m no ‘man of god’ but I know the difference between what’s fact, and what’s just downright stupid.

“Life is a kind of Chess, with struggle, competition, good and ill events.” ~Benjamin Franklin.

I've always hated chess.

“Andersen’s Dairy and Baked Goods,” read the sign posted above the gated entrance to my family’s property. I pulled the truck into the garage and took some groceries from the bag. There was a variety of meats and cheeses to use for cooking, and some necessities such as gas for the grill. The first one to greet me was our Border Collie, Rusty. “Hey boy, how’s grandpa been?” I asked as I scratched behind his fur-covered ears. My Grandfather has made very nice work of the farm. He’s been an experienced farmer since he was a child. Although he did grow up on a Texas farm, he said that “It ain’t so different round here.” He’s been trying to fix the ‘issue’ we’ve been having in the crops. The crops have been dying, but we could never figure out what the cause was. Whether it was diseases, drought, pesticides, or the soil, we had no leads. I walked into the house and set the grocery bags onto the crusted wooden table. One thought keeps running through my head nonstop. My grandfather wants me to take over the farm after he passes. I know he asked me over a year ago, but I can’t shake the stress. I’m not ready to run a farm. I’d much rather look into another job. But he just made my heart sink once he said “It’s what your mother would want.” I set the groceries in the fridge and went to tend to the cows out in the barn.

The barn was in pretty good condition, good enough condition to sell anyways. I scanned over it as I entered through the ten foot tall doors. With a fresh coat of paint, this barn could easily be passed off as recently built. We had a total of eight cows. Not really enough to make a big business out of, but they got the job done. Their milk was the only product we could still sell that wouldn’t poison the consumers. The sun was just beginning to set onto the horizon. I let the cows graze for about an hour and locked them in their pens for the night. I’ve been repeating the same god damn process for the past fifteen years. Well, ever since I could carry a pail of milk that is. I glanced at my wristwatch. The time was 7:56 P.M. I had noticed some storm clouds in the distance. I had heard of possible showers this evening. I wasn’t worried about the animals much. They’ve been through tons of storms. “Shouldn’t be much of an issue, right Maddie?” I asked and glanced at the cow to my left. The cows always had the same confused look on their face. Just a subtle “Moo” was all I got in return. Well that’s what you get for talking to the animals. Living your life on a farm can take its toll. Maybe that’s why I haven’t been able to make any friends? I can’t relate to the rest of them? I don’t know. I closed the barn doors and placed the wooden boards to seal it.

Grandpa was in the bedroom, working on the bills. You could feel the tension that surrounded him. He constantly rubbed his forehead and let out an occasional groan. The door was already wide open. I knocked on the wood framing that encased the scratched door. He immediately turned to me and a smile was plastered over his wrinkly face.

“Ah, Scotty, so good to see you. So tell me, how did it go?” He asked, quickly turning back to his work. I wasn’t sure what he was referring to at first, but I assumed he meant my daily chores.

“Well, I emptied the pens, replaced their water, let the cows-,” I was suddenly cut off by his hoarse voice.

“Not the chores, I meant how was your day?” He asked. I was speechless. The question was odd, in the sense that he hasn’t asked that question before. I couldn’t provide an answer, which caused him to sit up from his position at the desk. This got me excited; I wasn’t sure how to react. He approached me and put two comforting arms around my body. He retreated the embrace and looked at me with hands on my shoulders. He was about the same height as I was, but then again I hadn’t exactly finished growing yet. “It’s good to see you Scotty,” He said and smiled as he walked downstairs. I suppose the farm issues had taken its toll on all of us. Life was definitely different around here since mom passed away. I can only imagine what changes there would be around here if she suddenly reappeared. I chuckled. It’s a sight that I would gladly embrace.

Rusty took his usual place on my bed as I stood in the entrance to my bedroom. The only thing to use was a radio on my bedside table and occasionally, if the power managed to reach my bedroom, you could use the laptop. I sighed and slid into the flimsy covers on my mattress. I turned on the radio and listened to whatever music was playing. The radio ran on batteries, so power wasn't much of an issue. I never played an Instrument; or never learned to play one that is. My parents could never afford any lessons. Neither of them had played an instrument either, so they couldn’t teach me themselves. I guess the dream of playing music was lost with my parents. Rain began pelting the glass window in a mesmerizing pattern. I heard grandpa call from downstairs. Uhg, I should really stop calling him grandpa around others. I’m starting to think it makes me sound childish. His full name is Harold Lloyd Andersen, father of my father.

“Scott, turn that racket down!” He called from the living room. I rolled my eyes, ignoring his command.

“Sure Harold,” I responded with a hint of sarcasm in my voice. He grunted at my rudeness and returned to his business. I rolled onto my side and focused my vision on the little metal toy soldiers that were positioned very neatly on my nightstand. “Strange,” I said to myself. Those toys weren’t there before. They looked like they were hand-crafted though. I picked one up and rubbed the polished, metal coating around it. I guess grandpa was just looking out for me. The time was about 9:30 and I was wide awake. Grandpa was still downstairs reading the paper from two weeks ago. He was always a slow reader. I sat up and ran my hand through my hair. Rain still pounded the rooftop and drowned the soil of our farm. The radio had been cut off from the pouring rain. My legs began hurting. I got up and walked downstairs to get my raincoat. I checked on grandpa, who had fallen asleep with the newspaper over his chest. I smirked, and headed out the door, with the truck keys in my grasp.

I was angry. Like really angry. I pounded the horn at drivers who didn’t go 70 like I was. Music was blaring in the truck as I raced down the two-lane freeway. At 10:00 in the country-side most people were sleeping. Road rage was never my thing, but that’s what I thought had happened to me at the time. I tried to calm myself down, but thoughts kept racing through my head. “Should I end it here? Make my suffering end? I’ve suffered for eighteen fucking years and haven’t achieved anything!” I kept shouting to myself. The rain had intensified as the windshield-wipers were working as fast as they could. My vision was limited as I passed the red tail-lights of other cars. I can’t take the stress anymore. I still had one decision to make at that moment, to live or die.

The clock was ticking. I could live out my miserable life on this world, or experience the lush fields of heaven. The thoughts escaped me as I watched lightning fiercely strike the asphalt that surrounded my tires. I felt a large bump as I drove over electrified road. Well at this point I was practically sliding over the oil-covered asphalt. I couldn’t stop, my brakes were failing. “This is a nightmare!” I thought as I began to panic. All I could do was steer and pray that I didn’t turn right into a tree or animal. I suddenly feared death, as I had from the moment I was born. I didn’t want to die! The fear of not knowing what happens when you die is scarier than the life I have now! The car continually sped up across the water. But I stopped flailing. I had braced my arms on the steering wheel and tried to control the swerving. I noticed a small light about a yard in front of me. I didn’t know what it was, but I wasn’t about to find out. There was no way to avoid it. The light slowly grew in size as I got closer. There was nothing I could do, so I simply clenched my teeth and braced myself. “I’m sorry mom,” I whispered as I grew inches away from the strange orb of light. I closed my eyes and prayed everything would be okay for me. I heard screeching, and then everything was silent.

I thought for sure I was dead. Probably because of all the peacefulness that surrounded me. Then noises came back to me. The screeching tires suddenly were muffled by the sound of dirt underneath the tires. I opened my eyes and was met with the sun’s glare and hundreds of trees flying past the sides of my truck. The side-view mirrors were smashed as the trees scraped the sides of my vehicle. I heard screams of people that came from a distance. That’s when I realized I was still alive. I was still in a panic as the truck raced out of control towards an unknown destination. Then I noticed a small orange figure that was a few feet in front of the moving vehicle. Once I saw it was an animal it was too late. I had hit the animal head on at an unknown speed. The car was brought to a complete halt as I collided with the animal, which caused it to lift up on its front two tires, and come back down. I jerked forward and cracked my head on the windshield of the car. My vision blurred as more screams came closer to my location. I tried to speak, but I had already passed out in the driver’s seat of my grandpa’s truck.
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“Applebloom! Where in the hay have ya been all day?” Applejack asked with a stressed expression. “I told ya we can’t be havin’ ya wonder off like that when you know we need your help!”

“But Applejack, the girls and I have been plannin’ this event for months! Can’t ya let it slide just for today? Please?” Applebloom’s eyes widened with a sad expression that took Applejack completely off guard. She grunted, and then sighed.

“Oh, alright. But ya’ll better hurry back now!” she called as Applebloom took off towards the clubhouse. She rolled her eyes. Nothing could ever stop that pony from missing one of her precious club meetings. Applejack trotted back towards the barn where Macintosh and Granny Smith had already begun construction. The barn has been in desperate need of some repairs, but to fix the repairs individually would cost too much, so they just did a full reconstruction. They had to get an early start if they wanted to get the barn rebuilt before the next Apple family reunion. Applejack scanned the sky constantly while helping Macintosh carry the loads of lumber from the shed. She was looking for Rainbow Dash, who promised to help build the barn. “Now where in the hay is Rainbow?” she whispered to herself. She squinted and saw her moving clouds in the sky a few yards away. Her and a few other pegasi were moving some rain clouds into position.

“Oh fiddlesticks!” shouted Granny Smith.

“Gosh Darnit!” Applejack yelled, “Well, I guess it’s too late to do anything about it right now. C’mon fellas, let’s start packin’ up.”

“Eyup,” Macintosh chimed in. Well the Apple Family reunion wasn’t until a few more days, so they still had time. The three of them began rolling up the blueprints and covering the plywood. The rain clouds were beginning to form overhead as they finished packing everything. The rain slowly began to intensify with each minute as they trotted back towards the house. There wasn’t a call for a storm, just some mild rain. Guess there’s been a change of schedule. She saw Applebloom racing home from her clubhouse meeting. Her mane was soaking wet and her bow was drooping.

“Hey Applejack, what’d I miss?” she asked with a smile. Applejack rolled her eyes and grabbed a towel to dry her little sis off with. “Thanks Applejack!” she said with a yawn.

“I think its bout time you hit the hay there sugarcube,” Applejack suggested with a slight grin.

“Okay Applejack, goodnight,” she responded and trotted off to bed. There were small lightning strikes outside the house. The storm only seemed to be getting worse. In the trees Applejack could see a small light. She squinted as the light grew larger. Her eyes widened with horror.

“What in the…” she was cut off by a sharp flash and was forced to cover her eyes and turn away. She looked back to the window and lowered her hoof. She didn’t see anything and let out a sigh of relief. But then Rainbow Dash began pounding on the window she was looking out of. Her eyes were wide with fear. Applejack became startled and jumped back. She opened the door and let Rainbow in. “Rainbow what the heck ya gotta scare me like that for?” She asked with a serious look. Ranbow giggled for a second but still had the same worried expression.

“I was watching from the clouds and saw that flash of light! But there’s something moving through your apple trees Applejack!” she exclaimed. Applejack’s first impression was that there was somepony stealing her apples. She took off into her apple orchard and noticed a large figure moving fast between the trees, too big to be a pony. Rainbow followed at a safe distance as they pursued the darting figure.

“I’m gonna try and cut it off, you keep a bird’s eye view on the thing, make sure nopony is in the way of that thing,” she commanded. Rainbow saluted and flew up into the clouds. Applejack stopped and looked around. She had lost sight of the figure, but could hear it clear as day. She raced towards the sound as it grew louder and louder. She suddenly stopped and looked to her left. To her horror she was met with a bright pair of lights that looked like eyes to her. They approached her at a speed only Rainbow could match. Applejack instinctively faced the opposite direction and placed her rear legs out to brace herself from the impact. She closed her eyes and felt nothing but numbness as she flew into the air. She could feel somepony catch her and prevent her from hitting the ground, but everything after that was a blur.

Author's Note:

So... what did you think? Constructive criticism is what I'm all about, so don't hold back or be shy to tell me what your opinion is.

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Trail-Blazer

Trail-Blazer #1 · Aug 20th, 2013 · · ·

Probably the only thing I'm worrying about right now is not knowing whether this story will make it to the feature list or not I'll be asleep for the next 10 hours! But I guess that's not something I should worry about anyways. I don't know how long those stories are kept there until they're replaced. But I guess we'll see