//------------------------------// // Harmony Days VIII: Caballo Day // Story: Sometimes They Call Me Super // by KorenCZ11 //------------------------------// Applejack         “Uh… Okay, Ah guess. Nice ta meet ya too?” Ah replied nervously ta the mare in my forelegs. The rainbow maned cyan pegasus kept up her insidious smile, not even fer a second takin’ her eyes off me. It reminded me of one of the cartoons Ah’ve seen playin’ in Fluttershy’s room at the castle. It was in Umanese, but the subtitles were what struck me. ‘Boku ga Kira.’ or ‘I am Killer.’ All she needed to do now was laugh hysterically ta finish the scene and everythin’ would have fallen inta place.         “So… I don’t really know what’s going on here… but ponies are staring, so could you two just kiss and get it over with so we can leave?” Scootaloo said. Ah felt a quick surge of heat run through my cheeks and Ah dropped the mare on the ground.         “Oww...” she said, rubbin’ her head where it hit the skateboard. Applebloom popped Scootaloo across the head and let out a puff of air.         “Ya dumb ass, that’s my sister, not one of Tiara’s lesbians.” Scootaloo rubbed at the back of her head.         “I call it like I see it. Besides, that’s my sister that yours was so romantically holding for a few minutes, staring deep into each other’s eyes like they were about to go at it in a tongue tornado.” Applebloom frowned and gave her a different look, then started ta walk off, whippin’ Scootaloo in the face with her tail.         “Piss off Scoots. Come on guys, we’re gonna miss the fair.” Scootaloo rubbed at her muzzle, then picked up her skateboard in put it in her backpack.         “Learn to take a joke, geez.” She she caught up ta Applebloom, and Ah didn’t bother makin’ sure Rainbow was okay and caught up with my sister as quickly as possible, probably a little faster than Ah should have on account of already almost blowin’ my cover once today. Ah didn’t really appreciate the gay joke, but Scootaloo has kept me out of hot water twice today and it’s only been a few minutes since she showed up.         “Man, you guys suck, you know I’m not very fast.” Ah heard the slightly raspy young-ish voice say behind me. She looked like she was kinda winded from runnin’ with that Skateboard under her wing. Is this the Crow? Really? There’s no way her stamina is that bad. She fumbled with it until she caught up ta the rest of us and shoved it in the violet colored backpack she was wearin’. She finally finished with that, then came up and brushed her flank against mine. And gave me a different smile. One that reminded me of Goose’s harem girls. Volt Switch was her name Ah think? Ah immediately pushed her away as far as my foreleg would travel.         “Personal space, thank ya kindly.” Ah felt that heat in my cheeks again, and Ah was ready fer that ta stop. Rainbow rolled her eyes.         “You can’t take a joke either. Come on, my mane is literally a rainbow, how many times a week do you think I get hit with the gay jokes?" Considerin' yer line of work, probably as long as ya can stand ta not kill the offender. "So what are you? I think I missed some the conversation when you dropped me on the concrete.” Ah shrugged. Well, ya didn't seem ta care all that much when Ah flattened yer ass inta the wall the other day.         “Sorry. Reflex. Ah’m Applebloom’s older sister. And y’all are…? Ya don’t exactly have many traits in common with Scootaloo.” Ah asked.         “I’m… her guardian. We call each other sisters though,” she said, like she was distracted. Well that isn’t somethin’ ya see every day. She can’t be much older than me, if at all. How long has that been goin’ on?         “Huh. You two been together fer a long time?” She nodded.         “I’ve been alone for a long time now, and I met Scootaloo about four years ago. I was pretty good at feeding myself by that point, so I got her out of a bad situation. She’s only legally been mine for about two years now though.” A memory came ta mind. “...she told me that she fell off of Cloudsdale seven years ago.” That’s right. Uncle Orange was talkin’ about her, wasn’t he? But… Should Ah really say anythin’ about him? If Ah think she’s the Crow then… should Ah let her know who my family is? There’s no way she doesn’t recognize my voice right? But then again, we’re with our sisters. If she’s anythin’ like me, Ah bet she wouldn’t tell Scootaloo about what she does fer a livin’.         “Oh yeah? Ya know, Ah think ya know my uncle. He asked me ta say Blood Orange says hi.” Her ears perked up at the name and she looked at me all wide eyed.         “Y-your uncle? Uh, I mean, y-yeah I know him. Uh, thanks, I guess. Are we at the park yet? We should hurry up, so we don’t miss anything...” Her eyes darted all around, then she retrieved her skateboard from her backpack and started ta roll down the sidewalk past Scootaloo and Applebloom. What was that about? Why would she be afraid of Uncle Orange? Or maybe… somepony associated with Uncle? Argent maybe? But he said they weren’t friends, so… hmm. Somethin’ ta think about fer sure. The girls started ta run after Rainbow, and once Ah was far enough behind, Ah did too. Ah made sure not ta run too fast because last time, Ah felt my hooves start ta dip inta the concrete. A good five minutes of runnin’, we finally made it ta the park, and the whole place was covered in decorations, rides, booths, and restaurants.         A mariachi band lined up on the outdoor stage composed of an accordion, two violins, three trumpets, two trombones, a percussion player, and a dancer played one piece after the next almost robotically without pause, dancin’ along with the dancer in her flowin’ red dress that spun and flew as she moved. The ponies around were sellin’ cotton candy, roasted corn with chili powder on top, tacos, taquitos, margaritas, tamales, among other thin’s from or associated with Caballo. Ponies were everywhere doin’ all manner of thin’s but once Ah saw the rides Ah figured-         “Ooh, let’s go ride the roller coaster first!” Applebloom exclaimed. Yep.         “Ah figured as much. You two up fer it?” Scootaloo nodded vigorously, and Rainbow sighed.         “Well, so much for avoiding that. At least I haven’t eaten anything today. Let’s just get this over with.” Okay, there is no way she isn’t the Crow, but this… this is about the opposite of what Ah expected from her personality.         “Rainbow, if you don’t want to, you don’t have to ride with us,” Scootaloo said. Rainbow rolled her eyes.         “You will never let it go if I don’t, so don’t you give me that crap.” The filly shrugged.         “Well. You’re not wrong. Come on, let’s go before a line builds up.” As we approached the bright green tangled mess of steel pipes, Ah heard Rainbow groan.         “That bad huh?” Ah asked.         “You don’t even know. I have chronic anemia, so I get sick and tired really easily. Trying to keep up with Scoots is a chore sometimes.” Ah just about scrunched my face thinkin’ of how one would get like that.         “You have AIDS or somethin’? Not ta be insensitive or anythin’.” She shook her head.         “Kinda. I have sickle cell. My body produces mostly malformed blood cells at about two thirds the normal rate, and I also happen to be O-, so getting transfusions is really hard. I was actually really lucky to come across Scoots because she shares blood type with me. In a way, she keeps me alive just by being around, so I take care of her in return. Oh no, we’re at the front of the line.” She said as she stared at the next set of ponies entering the Roller coaster train. There was noise all around as ponies had conglomerated behind us waitin’ ta ride the shootin’ metal contraption, but as she pointed out, we were next in line.         “Bah, this don’t look that fast. Fair rides are usually disappointin’ but Ah’d hoped this would be special since it’s the first Caballo day in two years,” Applebloom said, dismayed with the current speed of the roller coaster.         “Geez, talk about never satisfied. Nothing is good enough for you, is it?” Scootaloo asked. Applebloom rolled her eyes.         “No it isn’t. Ah need ta get better friends too, it seems.” She stuck her tongue out and Scootaloo laughed.         “Yeah, good luck with that, ya cunt. You couldn’t make friends even if you tried. It’s not like you made friends with me anyways. I made friends with your sorry ass out of pity.” Scootaloo wrapped a hoof around Applebloom’s neck and they both laughed as the next train came in. The passengers departed and the set of ponies were told ta board.         “Let’s sit in the back so Rainbow doesn’t make a mess. I made that mistake the first time we went to Equestria's Flags.” Scootaloo said as she shook her head and flicked her wings, “Never again.” Ah ended up next ta Rainbow at the back and Scootaloo and Applebloom sat just in front of us. Rainbow crossed her hooves and shook her head.         “I really hate these things. It’s never as fun as I remember flying and I always feel like I have no control.” The overhead harnesses started to come down and stopped after pressin’ inta each of our chests.         “Well, just look away from me if ya start ta feel sick. Ah’d prefer ta not have ta clean throw up outta my coat fer the rest of the day.”         “I already feel sick. If I just keep my eyes closed, I should be fine. I think.” She tilted her head ta the edge of the car and waited fer the inevitable jerk that would signal the beginnin’ of the ride. An all clear from the operator and the lightnin’ bolt painted coaster train began ta move. At first Ah thought it was gonna more tame than it actually was. The wheels were slow ta get us goin', but once we caught em, it was like we turned inta a bullet. It wasn’t the normal agonizin’ wait ta the big drop, this thin' had what amounted ta speed boosts all along its track which shot us up, down, left, right, and sideways. We had come ta the end of the assault of G-forces until finally it had slowed down and the train returned ta facin’ upright.         Ah don’t normally get dizzy with thin’s like this, especially considerin’ my line of work, but this was somethin’ else. The girls were both laughin’ and discussin various parts of the ride with each other, since they’re both speed demons when they want ta be, and Rainbow was bent over the side of the cart, not really movin’ much at all. She jerked up straight when the cart latched itself inta place fer the next set of passengers.         “Gah! I didn’t pass out!” she said as she took in all her surroundin’s. Her wing looked like it was about ta reach fer somethin’ at her side and there was a thin haze of red around the same spot. She looked at me, then the girls, and finally she relaxed. The haze evaporated and she put her wing away.         “I really need to learn how to say no. Scoots teasing me for a while versus passing out on a roller coaster, the choice should be clear. Let’s get the hell out of here.” The restraints raised back ta the up position, and Scootaloo and Applebloom wobbled out out the car. Ah just walked out bein’ used ta bein' thrown around and all, and Ah ended up helpin’ Rainbow get out too.         “Guys, we should get back in line! This coaster is the shit!” Scootaloo said. Rainbow pulled her feathers together and flicked one at the center of Scootaloo’s forehead. “Ow! Damn it!”         “Watch your mouth, there are kids around. And no, I will not be doing that again. Can’t we just go play games or something?” Scootaloo shook her head and Applebloom decided ta answer fer her.         “Ah don’t see why not. The coaster was fun, but Ah still wanna see all of the fair. The park is pretty huge after all, and just about everywhere up until the forest should have thin’s ta do.” Scootaloo shrugged.         “I guess. I still wanna second go around before we leave. Also, ‘Yes, mom.’” Rainbow grunted and rolled her eyes before headin’ toward the general area where food vendors stopped and arcade games started. We all followed her until we reached a large tent that had about a real arcade’s worth of games set up. Most of the booths outside were cheap carnival games that gave ya cheap knockoff prizes or cheap plushies of some ridiculous size that had no place ta be carried around, much like the big banana sittin' in Applebloom's room, but here were actual video games.         “Whew. Ah haven’t seen some of these games since Ah was a filly. Is that Marevel versus Comcap!? Ah haven’t seen that since Ah was seven!” One of the few remainin’ memories of bein’ a family with dad was playin’ Marevel versus Comcap with him and Macintosh and... somepony else. Ah always liked ta play the stallion in the white and red since he looked like Red Hooves back in the early days. Ah wasn’t very good at it, and Macintosh always smoked me with his Umanese mare that liked ta kick, but it was always fun. Ah feel like there was somepony else we played with, yet... Ah shook my head. Maybe Ah'm just goin' crazy. Ah went ta my saddlebag ta get some bits when Ah remembered all that Ah had on me.         “I could go for a round if you’re up for it. You got cash?” Rainbow asked. Scootaloo and Applebloom had already gone off ta play some racin’ game, somethin’ thunder or whatever and Ah was alone with Rainbow again.         “Uh… well, ya got change fer a black?” She reared her head back.         “A black? What do I look like, a money changer? How much are you carrying around?”         “More than Ah should be. Ya don’t see a changer around here do ya?” She shook her head.         “Don’t worry about it, I’ll cover the games if you cover the food, deal?” Ah nodded and she went ta the lone token box and threw in some copper bits. She came back with about twenty tokens and off we went ta the Marevel cabinet. The game looked as Ah remembered it, all with pixel sprites of a buncha burly stallions and poorly clad mares, the gravely sound effects, the poor quality recorded voices in comparison ta now. A good bunch of memories back from when we lived in that house together came floodin’ back and Ah watched ‘em all until that day finally showed up.         “You okay?” Ah shook the memory away just as the buildin’ started ta fall, blinkin’ the tears away.         “Yeah. It’s just… nostalgic. Well, what are ya waitin’ fer? Pop a coin in and let’s get at it.” She shrugged and did exactly that. The choose your fighter screen came up and Ah immediately went fer my guy, and she went fer Captain Equestria.         “I’d say Scoots has just about forced me to ‘git gud’ at fighting games since I bought her that friggen Pony Station 4, so don’t be too surprised if I wipe the floor with you, alright?” Ah popped my neck at one side and back.         “Ya might remember that what ya do with Scootaloo is about the same as what Ah do with Applebloom when we hang out. Ah might be rusty, but that don’t mean Ah don’t know what Ah’m doin’ in a game like this.” Ah could feel a smile buildin’ on my face that mirrored the one she started ta form.         “Oh really? We’ll just see about that, now won’t we?” We both turned ta the screen as the stage and characters loaded.         “Get Ready, Fight!”         Well, that could have ended better. We ended up spendin’ almost two silver in total tryin’ ta one up each other in every other game at the arcade. Ah won half the fightin’ games, she won the other half the fightin’ games, and there were an even number of those, so we moved on ta the next cabinets and started racin’. Ah won half of those, she won the other half. Slaughterin’ zombies? Even. Killin’ demons in a carnival? Even. Even runnin’ through almost half of Bracer, the dark legacy, we still ended up havin’ the same stats by the time the girls forced us ta leave and go get food. As a final show of who was better at what, Ah made her play a punch meter which Ah ended up destroyin’ just ta prove a point. Ah may have let my competitive side get the best of me, and it probably wasn’t the smartest decision Ah made all day.         “Holy shit. Dude, what the fuck!?” Rainbow said, lookin' at me, then back ta the machine that had a hoof shaped imprint on what remained of the top half. It had mostly caved in on itself, and Ah only realized my mistake as Ah was throwin’ the punch. The glass shattered, the machine was destroyed, thankfully it was only my sister Rainbow and Scootaloo around, but they were all starin’ wide eyed at me in the evenin’ light.         “So… me saying she was strong earlier was probably an understatement at this point, huh?” Scootaloo noted.         “No shit Sherlock. Good goddess. Applejack, how long have ya been capable of this? Ya know normal ponies can’t do stuff like that, right?” Applebloom asked.         “Hey! What was that noise!?” We heard somepony yell in the distance.         “Now’s not the time, let’s go find a diner or somethin’!” We all ran away from the scene, leavin’ the smashed punch meter fer somepony else ta deal with. After a good ten minutes of runnin’ from the now closin’ fair, we made it ta a diner across the street on the east side of the park that was relatively empty. Most ponies who’d gone ta the park had their fill at the fair. We on the other hoof, spent all day playin’ arcade games immediately after a single roller coaster ride. It was a quiet place, looked like it’d been around fer a while what with it’s red and white decor and sparkly red vinyl chairs and booths. We found a booth and Ah sat on one side with Applebloom, and Rainbow and Scootaloo sat on the other.         “Alright, let’s have it. What was that? Rainbow asked, shortly after our order was taken.” Ah narrowed my eyes at her.         “Ah don’t know. Why don’t ya tell me what that red mist was earlier? When ya woke up from yer little blackout on the roller coaster, ya reached fer somethin’ at yer side like, Ah don’t know, a sword maybe, and the whole spot was covered in said red mist. Didn’t look natural ta me.” Rainbow closed her mouth and made the same face at me. There was silence until the girls spoke up.         “Uh… Rainbow? What is she talking about?” Scootaloo asked.         “Applejack, can’t ya just tell me the truth fer once in yer life? What was that?” Applebloom asked.         “Just drop it for/fer now, we’ll talk later.” Rainbow and Ah said in unison, not lookin’ away from each other. It seemed like the whole diner went silent at that point, only fer the spell ta be broken by some old music.         “Ah~ look at all the lonely ponies. Ah~ look at all the lonely ponies...” The food arrived from a waitress who could read the air and didn’t say a word. A hay burger for Applebloom and Ah, a carrot dog for Rainbow and Scootaloo, served with fries and a soda.         “Well, uh… man am I sore from running. Are you still sore from working out yesterday morning? My forelegs are killing me,” Scootaloo said. Applebloom’s ears perked up and she went wide eyed in the middle of a bite. She just about dropped her burger back on the plate.         “Holy shit, why would you say that!? Ah specifically told ya not ta say anythin’!” Scootaloo’s ears flattened and she cowered away a little.         “Oh, crap sorry.” She looked toward the window, casually munchin’ on a fry ta avoid Applebloom's death stare.         “Workin’ out? You’ve been workin’ out? Why?” Ah asked.         “Oh, fer fuck’s sake,” Applebloom said amid puttin’ her hooves ta her temples.         “What? What aren’t ya tellin’ me that ya didn’t want me ta know about?” Rainbow answered.         “Oh, you didn’t know? She, Scoots, and their other friend joined Junior Guard.” Ah almost thought there was a hint of sarcasm in that.         “Junior Guard? Wha- Why would ya do that? Yer not really thinkin’ about goin’ inta the military are ya?”         “Ah don’t know, maybe? Ah wanted ta try it out and Ah kinda like it. Who knows! Maybe Ah will.” She said it almost like she was bein' interrogated or somethin'.         “Well, Ah mean, Ah’d rather ya didn’t, but why exactly? Ya know there’s more ta that than just workin’ out all the time right?”         “Yeah, girls, military life sucks,” Rainbow followed.         “You're in fights constantly.”         “Your boss always yells at you and is usually an asshole.”         “Ya come home with new scars every day.”         “You’re bruised and tired all the time.”         “Ya don’t get the luxury of havin’ time off whenever ya want.”         “You can’t ever stop, even if you try to quit.”         “There’s the constant memory of the creatures ya watch die.”         “And there’s the blood. It never comes out of your uniform.”         “Speakin of, if yers gets damaged, ya have ta pay fer a new one, and that’s never cheap.”         “And the worst part,”         “More than anything else,”         “Is making/makin’ friends with ponies you’ll end up fighting/fightin’ later,” we said in unison. We looked at each other, then away from everypony.         “Ah... think it’s about time we went home,” Ah said.         “Yeah, me too. Come on Scootaloo. Thanks for the food, I uh… I’m sure I’ll see you… soon.” Rainbow made eyue contact with me once, then got up and headed fer the diner exit.         “I... have no idea what just happened here. Um, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow morning then?” Scootaloo said. Applebloom nodded.         “Uh, yeah. Bye Scoots.” Applebloom said. The waitress, sensin' the change, brought our check quietly, almost ta the point that Ah didn’t notice her as Ah watched them leave. The air in the diner had felt like a rubber band stretched ta the point where it was gonna break, and now it was easy ta breathe again. Ah let out a breath Ah didn’t know Ah’d been holdin’ and finished the remnants of the fries on my plate. Ah threw a black bit on the check and said,         “Ah’m ready ta pay,” before the waitress could move. She took the bit and returned with six and a half silver, but Ah just left the coppers on the table fer her. Goddess knows she thought Rainbow and Ah were gonna break out inta a fight. Applebloom and Ah left the diner in silence most of the way home. The sun had set over the city and the orange hue of evenin’ light had spread over all the windows in the city. Ah always loved ta look at the town like this. Every one of our skyscrapers was practically made of windows, so the yellow, orange, and red colors of the sun danced across ‘em like fire.         “So… ya know Ah haven’t forgotten right? Ah know a lot happened today, but… At least tell me somethin’. Ah don’t know what’s goin’ on with you and Rainbow, and Ah don’t know why either of ya would know so much about a life in the military when you’re not in it… unless ya are. Yer stronger than anypony should be, ya reacted ta Rainbow like yer used ta stuff like that happenin’, and it almost looked like ya were gonna fight with Rainbow fer real. Applejack, what’s goin’ on?” She ran around and stopped in front of me. Most ponies had gone home or relocated ta the bars and clubs by this time today, so the streets were particularly vacant at the moment.         “Applebloom, ya know how Ah said dad died twelve years ago? Well, it wasn’t in an accident or anythin’ like that. Yer father died when the trade center collapsed on his body.”         “What? What does that mean? Why would you know that?” Ah could tell she was beginnin’ ta connect dots.         “There was a stallion runnin’ around who called himself the Mirror. The Mirror killed a lot of heroes in the single week he was around, and in the end, he killed dad before he disappeared too.” The gears were turnin’ and it was pretty clear she didn’t like what she was hearin’.         “Applejack, what are ya sayin’? Yer not tellin’ me that dad was Red Hoof are ya?” Ah nodded. “What the? But… then… wait… that means, not just you, but we should all...” Ah nodded again.         “If ya know ya have one, and ya know what ya can do with it, then that’s fine. Use it ta yer advantage, but don’t take advantage of anypony else with it. Ah’m not in the military… sort of. But the reason Ah’m makin’ all this money now is because Ah have ties ta the royal family. Ah have a, quote unquote, ‘job,’ like what Ah did before, but it’s just about the same work with a better reward. There are thin’s Ah can’t tell ya fer other reasons, but fer now, just know that Ah’m my father’s daughter.” The gears in her head paused and she just looked at me.         “You’re… but… ya can’t be, right? There’s just… ya… Oh goddess, why did Ah ask? Ah shoulda left it alone. Ah shouldn’t know any of this, why did Ah ask… Then… at the tailor, ya dropped off yer ‘work clothes’ right?” Ah nodded.         “He made dad’s ‘work clothes’ too. Now, you’re not gonna say anythin’ about this ta anypony else right?” She nodded quietly and spent the rest of the trip processin’ everythin’ that Ah told her.         “So… Ah think Ah get it now. You’ve been doin’ this fer us right? All this time?” Ah nodded.         “If Ah’m self sufficient, that means Uncle Orange can spend money elsewhere.”         “Well… Ah’m sorry. Fer, bein’ so rude earlier. It can’t be easy… doin’ all that on yer own.” Ah shook my head.         “It isn’t. And up until a week ago, Ah didn’t have any friends either. But now there’s at least seven ponies who know the truth, includin’ yerself. That is, provided Rainbow isn’t who Ah think she is, but that’s just about impossible at this point. But don’t worry too much about that, and don’t ask her or Scootaloo about it either. As ya now know, some secrets are best left unsaid.” Ah turned the key ta the apartment, and we spent a quiet night at home with everypony, enjoyin' the cake Applebloom had made. After all, today was the anniversary of when we moved in, oh so long ago.