//------------------------------// // Chapter 02 - PonyVille Diaries - First of Many // Story: The Adventures Of Henry Hoof In Equestria // by destinedjagold //------------------------------// Chapter 2 - PonyVille Diaries - First of Many ---------- 1. Welcome Back ---------- The train from Fillydelphia arrived in PonyVille's train station in a cloudy afternoon. As the train's doors opened, passengers exited the train, but after no other pony seemed to exit, nor enter, the conductor of the train was about to enter when a fast green blur came out from the doors. Startled, he quickly turned to where it went, but spotted nothing out of the usual, except of a wobbling wooden barrel with a white hat on the cover. He shrugged and went inside. The lid of the barrel opened, and a green hoof came out, slowly taking the hat, and after it got a hold of it, it quickly pulled it back inside and the lid closed. Then, the barrel lifted up, showing four green hooves, and slowly worked it's way away from the station, and heading straight to the town's most noticable giant tree a few meters ahead. Ponies in the area awkwardly stared at the walking barrel, unsure of what to do. The barrel unknowingly and softly bumped on Cheerilee, who was awkwardly staring at the thing. The lid slowly opened, making the confused earth pony look at what's inside. In the darkness, she saw a set of brown nervous eyes. "Oh, sorry Cheerilee..." the mysterious creature in the barrel slowly whispered. "Henry," she replied, "what on earth are you doing?" "Shhh..." he turned left to right, as if he would see his surroundings from the thing. Cheerilee gave him a flat annoyed look as she stepped to the side. The lid closed and the barrel slowly walked onward, leaving Cheerilee shaking her head as she walked away. Finally, the barrel bumped on the giant tree's door. As if by magic, the door knob was glowing brown, turned, and the door mysteriously opened, giving entry for the moving barrel. The barrel however, stopped after taking a few steps inside. "Wait..." echoed the voice from inside the barrel, "why is the door unlocked?" Henry poked his head out of the barrel and instantly, the lights went on as a little pink pony jumped right in front of him and shouted "SURPRRRIIIISSSEEE!" making him jump from the suddeness, and making the barrel and him fall to the floor as confettis flew around and party horns echoed in all corners of the library. The little Pinkie Pie jumped on top of the barrel with a very wide smile and faced the annoyed-looking green alicorn. "Nice costume!" And she jumped off of the barrel and greeted the other welcomed guests as Henry went out of the barrel. Henry saw the little pink earth pony shaking hooves with some of the ponies he met inside the train. He sighed in relief, for at least he's not the main focus of the party this time. He went towards the pink pony and suddenly lifted his hoof and rubbed the poofy pink mane of the filly. She turned to him with a smile. "So, do you like it?" Henry returned his hoof and looked around. Party banners were everywhere, confettis were on the floor, and some even worked their way in between the books, on the small space of the shelves. A lot of cleaning is needed here today. He looked back at the earth pony, who was still waiting for his reply. He smiled, "fun as always." She bounced in place a few times after getting his reply. "Though..." she stopped, eager to listen, "...I do wonder how'd you manage to get this up so quickly." He once again looked around the place. He now noticed a few number of tables that weren't originally in the library before he left. On the tables were cakes and other pastries and two bowls of orange and purple punch. "Well," she said with her happy voice as Henry looked back to her, "I just set these up a few hours ago!" She bounced again. "It was no biggie!" A few hours ago? Henry didn't believe it, but he smiled. "If you put this party up that quick," the little Pinkie Pie was eager to listen once again, "then you have probably used a cannon blowing party stuff around the place." He once again looked around, looking at the ponies chatting to each other, and even talking to the new ponies that arrived in PonyVille. They were sharing some small talk, some laughs, and some cheers. He brought his attention back to the little filly and, to his horror, the little Pinkie Pie's eyes went wide and sparkled like the evening stars with her wide smile like some great realization just hit her. 'Uh-oh...' Henry swallowed a huge lump of fear. He's not going to like the next party set-up. --- The party lasted for an hour and a few minutes before the last of the pony guest left, carrying with him two slices of cake, saying that he wants to give some for his little fillies. Pinkie simply nodded, and now, Henry and Pinkie were left alone, cleaning the whole place up. Pinkie, as usual, is talking, like she's not running out of energy, about how happy she was for meeting new friends, how happy she was to see him again, how happy she was that the party was a success, how great it was to see everypony smiling, and so on and so forth... Henry just listened to every word the jolly and cheerful earth pony said as they cleaned the entire library that took them half an hour. He left the barrel outside, beside the mailbox of the library. And after the whole party items were now inside Pinkie Pie's little wooden box (Henry wondered how'd everything fitted in the small thing, even the tables!), she waved her hoof goodbye with a smile on her face, went to the door, helped herself out and closed the door. Henry, now alone in the library, sighed in relief. As he started to walk up to the second floor, he wondered why he didn't use his magic instead to clean the library. It would have saved him a lot of time. He sighed in disbelief. As he reached the second floor, he noticed the table had a piece of paper and a slice of brown chiffon cake on a plate. The white circular plate was pinning the paper down. He walked towards the items and looked at the paper. It has a mouth-drawn tree and a large 'WELCOME' word on the top of the leaves, and 'BACK' below the root of the tree, and on the lower-right corner of the paper was a pink head of a pony wearing a smile. That made Henry smile as well, and he slowly stared at the cake. "Yep..." he chuckled. "...too much cake..." ---------- 2. Daring Do ---------- Daring Do, a golden-yellow pegasus pony with gray mane and tail has swiftly landed outside the forest of, from what she learned, was the forest homed by the forest guardian, Ahuitzotl. She would not go inside the forest if it weren't for the news that reached the pegasus' ears of the guardian's plot. In order to save the world, she has to... "It sounds a bit rushed..." And with that, Henry used his magic to erase what he just wrote on the paper floating in front of him. It's been four days since Henry came back to PonyVille from Fillydelphia. And he's back to his regular daily routine of being the town's librarian, but he's not yet bored in the slightest. In fact, he's excited to go to work, since he is now also working on his...'their' book. He just finished writing the 'author's notes' and 'dedication', but he is having difficulty in writing a 'prologue'... He is sitting in front of his desk on the first floor of the library, leaving the door open so he would no longer need to stand up to open the door or use his magic to do it. If anypony needed something, they'll just have to enter the already open door. The gloomy morning haven't offered him any customers for two hours now, to his relief, for he could focus on his book. Earlier when he arrived, he just simply used his magic to remove every dust and dirt in every inch and corner of the library. He normally wipes the dust and dirt off of the things, but now that he's busy with his book, he needed to finish cleaning as quickly as possible. He already wrote a summary of how the story will go, but never did he expect that it would be difficult to actually start writing the story. He looked around, trying to find inspiration, even though he still has a lot in him, though some were already wasted. He took a deep breath, and exhaled, and then he went back to writing again. Daring Do, a young gol--- It started raining, and outside the wide open door, Henry can see the ponies were rushing back to their homes. Henry, with his magic, closed the door without moving away from his desk. He sighed, and slowly smiled. At least he got the whole library to himself, and, since it's raining, nopony will probably need to be in the library. He lifted his paper and quill back and started to formulate some words in his head. ---den-yellow pegasus pony, with gray-colored mane and tail, has finally landed outside the forest that she needs to enter to reach the legendary temple that was long lost and forgotten in time, until now. "Hm..." Henry re-read what he wrote, and sighed. To him, it sounded like he already started the story, and not the prologue. Maybe the story doesn't need a prologue? This is the first book of Daring Do, so, no prologue it is! Finally, as determination grew inside of her, she confidently flapped her wings, and soon, she is high above the sea of leaves to see...the sea of leaves. She landed back onto the ground, scratching her head in confusion. The temple should be sticking out of the trees, or maybe inside a clearing, but she saw none of those. She looked ahead, doubting to enter the forest, but somehow, it was inviting her to enter. Will she? Of course she will. What could possible happen? She is, in fact, Daring Do. Henry stopped writing after feeling like the story is starting to sound a bit off for him. He re-reads it again, trying to figure out where is needed to be fixed. "Somehow..." he whispered to himself, "it feels like it's been written by that Rainbow Dash filly..." He scratched his head. 'Oh well', he thought. Daring's personality does resemble the filly, from her sister's written notes. She entered the forest, full of confidence. And he added some details of the forest. The forest in mind was the one that he took from the lone mountain to PonyVille. He stopped writing after every bits of detail were written. Re-reading it to see if he didn't put too much detail that could bore the readers. He smiled, feeling satisfied of what he has written so far. But suddenly, he forgot to describe the weather in the story. He re-reads it again to see which part of the story could he insert the weather's description. "Daring Do, a young golden-yellow pegasus pony, with gray-colored mane and tail, has finally landed outside the forest that she needs to enter to reach the legendary temple that was long lost and forgotten in time, until now." He smiled. Maybe he could insert a new sentence after that for the weather. The summer sun has worked its way to the young adventurer, but she payed it no mind. "A bit lame..." he said to himself as he erased it, returning the used ink back to his ink bottle. Despite the cold wind above, the summer heat has weakened her during her flight, but now that she's here, the energy that she lost somehow came back all at once. He smiled. It fits perfectly. "Now, onward..." Daring Do has been walking through the forest for ten minutes when she started to feel like she was being followed. At first, she thought that it was just her imagination, but as she worked her way deeper into the forest, she started to hear like something just walked pass the shrubs behind her, but there was nothing when she turns around to see her pursuer. She still continued her journey, but is now alert to anything that might come out. She remembered the rumors that, aside from herself, there is someone who is also looking for the treasure in the ruins. Satisfied, he puts the paper on the table and lifts his notebook towards his face. Now he needs to add a little chase that would accidentally disable her from flying. He formulated some words inside his mind as he both slowly puts his notebook down on the table, and lifts the paper back in front of his face. Finally, he smiled, and started to write again. She suddenly saw a shadow on the corner of her eye, but when she turned to see what it was, there was nothing but the forest. A trick of the light, she thought as she continued, but as she turned her gaze back to where she was going, she was sure that what was in front of her was no trick of any kind. "And for Ahuitzotl's intro..." 'Weird name...' Henry thought. Seemingly from out of nowhere, a grayish blue four-legged creature, almost twice her size, has appeared right in front of the young adventurer. As surprised as she might be, she quickly shook herself back and managed to jump back right before the creature's tail smashes onto her. As the creature regained its momentum, Daring noticed that its tail had a hand on the end of its tail. Not wanting to waste precious time, she leaped up with full force, evading another bone-breaking swing of its tail. She flew up to the leaves, and continued to fly higher than the trees, and planned to land to the other parts of the forest, preferably, away from the mysterious creature. As she glided a few meters above the trees, unknown to her that the creature was swinging through branches, following her. And as she stopped after she was satisfied that she was away, a large tree branch suddenly flew out of the sea of trees, and hit Daring Do on the head, losing her consciousness as she fell. She quickly regained her conscience, and was immediately greeted by a sharp pain coming from her wings. She was now back in the forest floor as she took her bandages and wrapped her aching wings. She suddenly heard a snapping twig. Daring has no time to spare. She needs to move on. "Hm... Maybe I could turn this into a prologue." Henry smiled as he puts it down on the stack of other already-written papers. Now that he has a prologue, he can finally start writing the story. He lifted another clean sheet of paper and began to write. "Chapter one, the forest." As Daring Do trekked through the tropical jungle, the wet heat sapped her energy and slowed her every step. If only she could escape this oppressive atmosphere and fly up into the cool blue sky. But her crash landing in the jungle had injured her wing and she was grounded for a few days. The mosquitoes buzzed loudly. The macaws cried from the high trees. Yet all of these distracting noises were not enough to cover the sound of the predators following her every step. ---------- 3. Spring Cleaning ---------- Two weeks have passed, and things are going smoothly for Henry as he continued his daily routine, with an additional writing of his and her sister's first book. His writing didn't become an obstacle for ponies who wanted to borrow books from time to time. All except for the little Applejack, who told him that staying indoors for a long period of time isn't healthy. He just gave her a smile as he promised her that he'll help them in their farm soon. He also visits the cottage near the Everfree Forest to check on the little pegasus filly, named Fluttershy, at some days after he closes the library. The little filly, despite her young age, has been really helpful to the animals in the area. Even the scary predators learned to respect the little pegasus. It would seem like she is able to take care of herself, but the cottage was starting to smell like...Henry couldn't find a not-so-hurtful word to describe such an awful smell, or stench... Has the little yellow pegasus filly gotten used to this kind of smell? Maybe that was the reason why nopony else ever cared of going here. He no longer even noticed the rainbow-maned pegasus filly around the place. Henry decided that this Sunday, he'll visit the cottage, and will try his very best to help the young filly clean the place, and hopefully, remove that awful stench. --- As the Sunday morning sun started to rise, the sleepy town of Ponyville was still blanketed by the silence of sleep. All are still under the spell of dreams except for a green alicorn pony, wearing his glasses and his white hat, and is walking through town, heading towards the edge of Everfree Forest. Ever since he settled down in this peaceful town, he has heard quite a number of terrifying stories about the forest. Should he be afraid or not, he doesn't really know unless he sees the stories he heard himself, but never found the time to explore the forest. Besides, if it really was that scary, then why does a shy and scardy-pony like Fluttershy lives on the edge of the said forest? She doesn't seem to be afraid of the forest, or does she? Finally, he can see the cottage from afar, and he could already see the filly flying around as she feeds her animal friends with bird seeds and whatever else other animals eat. He was now meters away when the horr---the unplea---the very ba---oh, the stench hit his nostrils. His happy smile immediately died and fell down and turned into a frown. He holds his breath. "Oh, why hello Mister Henry sir..." greeted the young pegasus with the sweetest smile ever. Now if only the smell could also match up... Henry could only wish. "G-good morning, Fluttershy..." he managed to crack a forced smile, despite the protest of his nerves. "You're up early." She simply nodded as she flew down to her chicken coop. "Well, I need to wake up early," Henry slowly walked towards the fence of the coop as a little white rabbit was also hopping towards it. "I wouldn't want my friends to be hungry." "T-that's..." he needed air, "...so, nice of you..." He felt something soft was poking his forehoof. He turned his head down to see the little white rabbit. Now that it got his attention, it gestured him to go inside the cottage. The air inside the cottage would probably be at least a bit...pleasant...than out here. If he says another word, he might run out of air and would probably inhale the...air...outside the cottage, so he quickly went inside without asking for the little pegasus' permission, and finally permitted his lungs' request. The air inside the cottage was somehow a bit better than outside. It was probably because of the hanging leafy vines on the ceiling and the small plants inside, transforming carbon dioxide into breathable oxygen air. Though, inside could use some cleaning. The wooden brown walls looked like they're screaming for it. The living room has a soft maroon-colored carpet, a large wooden table on the center, a yellow sofa on one corner, a wooden stand-thing that has bird's nest on every extension, and the little white rabbit bouncing on the sofa, probably trying to get his attention. He held his hoof up at the rabbit, hopefully, it'll understand that he meant to give him a moment as he walked to the window to look outside. The outside seriously needs cleaning. Fallen decaying leaves everywhere, and animal business all around the ground. Luckily for him, he didn't stepped on any of the land mines lying outside. He then turned and went to the sofa, and he sat down on the sofa next to the rabbit. Soon, the yellow pegasus went inside the already opened door, and was startled a bit when she saw the green alicorn was inside. "Is something wrong?" he calmly asked. "Um...no..." she softly shook her head as she softly landed near the doorway. "It's just...um..." Silence fell... Henry blinked while the little rabbit was looking annoyed at her. Fluttershy lowered her head, making her mane cover her sight from seeing them as she slowly scratch her front hoof with the other. Silence... More silence... Even more silence... The rabbit had enough and fell on its back on the sofa. "Okay..." Henry finally broke the silence. "This is getting awkward..." He moved out of the sofa and faced the yellow filly, who was now slightly looking at him. "Fluttershy..." he took a deep breath... "The cottage smells," she rose her head a bit and blinked. "...bad." and he exhaled. "Oh..." as if a miracle, she finally spoke! "...it does?" Both Henry and the white rabbit, who was now standing on the sofa, nodded three times. "Fluttershy," he began with a friendly smile, "you have a lot of animal friends here that could help you..." He trailed off on purpose, thinking that the little filly might get the idea. "That could help me with what, Sir Henry?" She scratched her hoof again and lowered her head, "...if, you don't mind me asking..." He sighed. "Let's get outside." The white rabbit hopped on his back as he went outside, immediately greeted by the awful stench, which broke his face. Fluttershy followed him and stopped beside him, wondering. The three of them then looked around the cottage. The birds were flying around, chirping their melodies in the air. The chickens walked around the fenced chicken coop. Rabbits and beavers were around the ground. Squirrels are playing on the trees around the cottage, while the lazy bears are using the trees to scratch their backs. The wolves are sniffing around. And other animals doing other animal stuff. "It's spring, right?" He saw Fluttershy nodded in agreement. "Well, have you ever heard of 'Spring Cleaning'?" He looked at her as she shook her head. He sighed in disbelief. "This is going to take a while..." he whispered. --- After Henry explained what Spring Cleaning is, he asked the little filly to call her animal friends to group together. Henry tells her the instructions of what each animal may be able to do, and Fluttershy 'translates' it to her friends, while the white rabbit was on her head, busy delivering the instructions through body language. Henry wondered if she could actually communicate with the animals, or the rabbit does the communication. He shook his head to dismiss the thought. As soon as the animals (to Henry's surprise) all nodded, confirming that they understood, they spread out and started 'cleaning'. Henry then took a shovel with his magic and started digging a hole a few meters from the cottage's right. The bears, with their paws, took the...animal business...on a wooden wagon. The birds are picking up the dried leaves on the cottage's roof. The wolves are helping Henry in the digging site. The small rodents were busy cleaning the inside of the cottage, wiping the walls, stairs, picture frames, and clearing (abandoned) cobwebs. Fluttershy and her rabbit are cleaning the chicken coop, for the chickens were the only ones who somehow didn't understand what they're suppose to do. Some of the deers were inside the cottage, and on their backs were squirrels, holding a broom as they swept the floor. The deers outside also have squirrels, holding a wooden rake to gather up the fallen leaves, for bears to take and put on the wagon. When the front yard was clean, wolves started to pull the wagon towards their dug-up dump site. The larger birds, who were standing on the right fence of the cottage, started flapping their wings to blow the awful stench away as Henry and the wolves started to cover the dump site with the earth they dug. Henry wiped his sweating forehead with his hoof, leaving a trail of dirt in the process. Cleaning was done, and he couldn't believe how quick it took them to finish. Fluttershy landed beside him, wearing a smile, for she too, couldn't believe how clean the cottage is now. The air around the cottage is finally breathable, to Henry and the rabbit's relief. "I just hope 'Spring Cleaning' didn't mean that you will only clean the place during spring." he joked, though he did mean it. He looked at her, who was still amazed. He feared that maybe she'll only be cleaning once in a while, but he saw the rabbit on her back, assuring him that they'll clean the place. At least, that's what Henry understood from the rabbit's gestures. Henry now needs to do one more thing. Go home and take a shower. ---------- 4. Rivals ---------- Another sunny Sunday, and Henry has nothing to do, since Sunday is his only day off. Spring is almost over, and the temperature is starting to heat up. Summer is Henry's most hated season. He hates the heat. It drains him to even dare empty the ocean. He could stay home and continue the book, but even writing bored him. He bought a Daisy Bread at Sugarcube Corner for breakfast, where Mr. Cake was on the counter, telling him that the hyperactive Pinkie Pie is still sleeping. To Henry, that was news. Last night was the school's annual talent show, and Pinkie had a blast. Henry wasn't able to watch the talent show last year, and he wasn't able to watch it last night. He was tired from a full day writing, and immediately fell asleep when he got home. The green alicorn is now on his way to Sweet Apple Acres to help the Apple family with apple bucking. Apple bucking is usually done when spring is almost over. The harsh summer heat will destroy the apples. He was greeted by the little Applejack, who just made her way out of the red barn to help her big brother. "Mornin', Henry sir!" "Good morning, Applejack," he greeted her back. They soon went to the apple farm where Big Macintosh already filled quite a number of barrels. He remembered the first time he helped them with harvesting apples. They told him not to use magic, for it somehow destroys the fine quality of the fruit. He didn't believe them though, so he compared a magically-picked apple with the bucked one, and tasted the truth. Strangely, magic does ruin the quality of apples. It made him want to know why, but he never got the answer from the books in the library. "Well, howdy Henry sir!" greeted Big Macintosh who just finished bucking the tree behind him and apples started falling to the two barrels lying on the ground next to the tree. Henry lifted his hat with his hoof and bowed. "Good morning, Big Mac." He puts his hat back on. "Hey," Applejack poked his hoof, "how come you ain't bowin' to me when you greet me?" Henry was about to answer when they heard a grunting sound from above. The three of them looked up and saw a small puff of cloud slowly falling towards them. As the cloud gets nearer to the ground, the sound is also getting louder, and soon, the cloud landed in front of the three, where a blue pegasus filly with rainbow-colored mane was sweating as she kicks and pounds and punches the cloud with a merciless look. The three looked at each other with confused looks on their faces, and then they returned their gazes back to the young blue filly. "Um... Rainbow?" Henry managed to ask. Rainbow took a glimpse of where the voice came from, and saw him, and she stopped momentarily to have a good look at him, and then she went back to torturing the cloud. "Oh, hey Henry," she said in between her punches and kicks, "what are you doing up here?" Henry and Applejack both arched an eyebrow. "Rainbow, what in tarnation are you doin' with that cloud?" Applejack asked. "What does it look like I'm doing?" Rainbow replied without stopping, "I'm clearing this cloud!" "It doesn't look like it's been cleared yet." said Applejack. "Yeah, well, just you wait and..." Rainbow Dash stopped after realizing that it was Applejack's voice. She immediately turned and face her. She couldn't believe her eyes! "How'd...!? How did you get up here!?" "Gee, I dunno Rainbow..." she replied sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. She then pointed at the tree. "Ya might wanna ask this tree how'd it got 'up' here as well." Henry and Big Macintosh chuckled. Rainbow, haven't realized the obvious yet, opened her mouth wide open in disbelief. "How did that get up here!" And finally she came to her senses. "Wait a minute..." She walked over the edge of the cloud she was standing on and leaned her head over and saw the green flat earth. She pulled herself back and let herself fall into a sitting position in the middle of the cloud, blushing. "Uh... Oops?" Applejack started laughing a bit. "Well," Applejack said after laughing, "since it's down here, might as well try and see how a cloud feels like." And she then brought a hoof to touch the cloud, but it went through, and she immediately felt cold. She took her hoof back and noticed that it was a bit wet. "Looks like clouds really are made of water." Henry smiled. He did wonder if he could also walk on clouds as an alicorn, like Princess Celestia, so he lifted his hoof above the cloud's height, and tried to step on it, but his hoof just went through to the ground. "Hm... Looks like I couldn't walk on clouds..." he said, disappointed, as he shook the water off of his hoof. He then brought his attention to the blue pegasus. "Why are you beating the life out of this poor ol' cloud, anyway?" "For the weather team of course!" Rainbow Dash said proudly as she flapped her wings. "The weather team is---" "Yeah, yeah, we know what those airhead ponies do in the sky." Applejack interrupted the blue pegasus with an annoyed tone in her voice. That however, annoyed the pegasus filly, especially the chosen words the young farmer had said. "Applejack!" Both Henry and Big Macintosh said in unison. Both looked at each other, and Henry lifted his hoof as a gesture for Big Macintosh to speak first. The red stallion nodded his head and looked at his little sister, who seemed to be clueless as to why they both yelled at her. Henry then faced the blue pegasus. "Now Applejack, that was not a very nice thing to say." The stallion said to her little sister, looking angry. "I'd like to apologize for what Applejack said, Rainbow." Henry bowed to the annoyed and hovering pegasus pony. "But, what did I say?" Applejack asked, having no idea what she did wrong. "That's nice of you, Henry, but I'd like it hear it from her." The pegasus said as she crossed her front hooves. Applejack looked at the blue pegasus with a confused look, while the pegasus stared at her with a narrowed angry look, waiting for her apology. Applejack slowly opened her mouth, raised her hoof, and immediately stomped the ground angrily, startling the others. "No!" she started, "I don't need to apologize to nopony!" "Now Applejack, be reas---" Henry said, but she cut him off. "No!" she shook her head in anger, and then glared at the annoyed pegasus. "I don't see reason why I need'a say sorry!" "Hey," Rainbow Dash said calmly, though she's about to burst as well. "just because we're always up in the sky, doesn't mean we're dumb!" "I said nothin' 'bout you bein' dumb!" Applejack stepped forward. "Oh, sorry," she rolled her eyes as she hovered closer to her, her hind hooves already touching the cloud. "but I thought I heard you saying that we pegasus ponies are 'airheads'!" Henry and Big Macintosh, who was biting his lower lip, looked nervous at each other. "Well, I didn't thought it was a hurtful word!" Applejack said in all honesty, though angered. Rainbow Dash, however, didn't believe her. "Likely story!" She landed on the edge of the cloud and leaned her head closer to the earth pony. "I bet you just said that 'cause you're jealous." She said with an angry grin, annoying the yellow earth pony. "Jealous!?" she snarled as she leaned closer, their heads now pulling against each other. "I need no wings like yours to puff a cloud!" "Oh yeah!?" "Yeah! Muscle is al'ya need!" Rainbow quickly brought her head up, making the yellow earth pony drop herself forward through the edge of the cloud, and to the ground. The pegasus grinned as she angrily brought herself up to face her. "Prove it." "Now Applejack..." Henry said slowly, but Applejack already lifted her forehooves, and immediately stomped the cloud as the pegasus flew high to evade her, and the instant the earth filly's hooves went through the cloud, it began to split through and became two smaller clouds and disappeared seconds after. The blue pegasus, couldn't believe what she just saw, dropped her jaw as Applejack, feeling proud of herself, turned to face her with an accomplished smile on her face. Henry prayed that this whole argument would end now. The blue pegasus, after recovering herself, landed in front of her, looking annoyingly defeated. "Muscle, huh?" Applejack nodded. "I bet I have enough to match yours!" "You couldn't even puff a cloud." Applejack confidently said as she went pass her to her brother, furthering the pegasus' annoyance. She turned to her as she stomped her forehoof on the ground, catching her attention, but not enough to wipe her smile. "I can prove that I'm as strong as you! Maybe even stronger!" "Prove it." Applejack dared her with a grin. Rainbow accepted her challenge with a grin. "How?" "Yah know how to buck these apple trees?" The earth filly then looked around them, staring at the trees. "Yeah... So?" "So..." she looked at the pegasus. "Whoever bucks the most apples in one hour wins." "What? Is that it?" the blue pegasus smiled as she threw her hoof around. "Pfff..." Henry and Big Macintosh looked at each other once again, both looking nervous and uncertain how things will turn out. They could try and stop these two, so they could save the apples from whatever harm the two fillies will do, since they're preparing for the annual Apple Cinder Season, but... They sighed, they know too well that once these two agrees on something, it'll be almost impossible to turn things around. --- Henry, as what Applejack asked, used his magic to lift the barrels that her brother already filled as Big Macintosh went back to the barn to get their hourglass. Henry then puts up barrels next to each tree in the farm. And after everything was ready, both Henry and Big Macintosh stood a few feet behind the two fillies, who are both ready to run to the nearest tree in their designated side of the farm. "Just to be clear..." Rainbow Dash said as they looked at each other. "I could use my wings here." "Heh," Applejack grinned, "you sure that's all ya need to win?" "Er..." Henry, with the hourglass in between him and Big Macintosh, lifted the hourglass with his magic and turned it up-side-down to start the countdown. "Start?" And with that, the two fillies quickly went to the nearest apple tree. Rainbow Dash, with the help of her wings, was the one who got to a tree first and quickly punched the tree with her forehooves a few times before giving up. Angered, she looked at Applejack, who just got to a tree and quickly turned her back and used both her hindhooves to deliver a back kick, shaking the tree and apples started falling and filled the barrels. Applejack gave her a grin before she ran to the next tree. Now that she figured out how to do it, Rainbow Dash immitated her and gave a mighty kick, making the apples fall as well, but the barrel was only half filled. She kicked it again, and finally, the barrel was full. She quickly flew towards the next tree. Henry and Big Macintosh just sat on the same spot when the fillies little competition started, staring blankly at them. "So..." Henry started, "you have an idea who will win?" "Nnnope..." --- Ten minutes passed, and Henry was wondering something. "Hey, Big Mac..." "Hm?" They started talking without taking their gazes away from the two fillies. "Applejack seemed to be clueless about the word 'airhead' that angered Rainbow Dash..." "Uh..." Big Macintosh started to scratch his head. Henry then looked at him. "I was wondering if you knew why...?" He noticed the stallion was looking a bit uneasy. He got his answer immediately. "You know..." he started as he looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Siblings immitate their elders." Big Macintosh immediately stood nervously and started walking to the barn. "Comin' grandma." He shouted. Henry swore he didn't hear anyone calling the stallion. He sighed. --- Twenty minutes passed, and they were still going. Big Macintosh's grandmother left them with tea. "So..." Henry started again, breaking the silence. "you have a mare that you've been seeing lately?" "Yyyep." "Aside from Applejack and your grandmother?" "Nnnope." And they fell quiet again as they watched the two fillies still determined to defeat the other. --- Another twenty minutes passed, and both were still going, but they have already slowed down. The tea was already empty, and Henry wished he brought along his notebook and quill. "Do you have any paper and quill back in the barn?" Big Macintosh brought a hoof on his lower lip and gave it a thought. He then brought his hoof back on the ground as he shook his head. "Nnnope." "Okay..." --- Only a few more minutes left before the whole competition thing ends. The two fillies are beyond tired, but still were going on, even though none of the apples were falling down from their very tired and painless kicks. --- Henry was feeling sorry just by looking at the two of them. He turned his attention to the hourglass where only a few more seconds left. And finally, one full hour passed. "Game over!" He shouted in relief, and immediately, the two fillies let gravity pull them down to earth. Oh, how their bodies ached. They turned their heads and found themselves lying a few feet from each other. Though tired, they both flashed victory-yet-tired smiles. "Never...thought...you had it...in you...partner..." Applejack said to the pegasus in between her deep inhales and exhales. "Heh... Told you..." The pegasus smiled. Henry, with his magic, lifted the barrels and separated them by two as Big Macintosh counted them. Henry then used his magic to lift the two fillies near him while Big Macintosh was still busy counting. "Good job, you two." he smiled as he looked at the apple farm. Both the two fillies bucked quite a lot of apple trees. He grinned. He thought that Big Macintosh now has less apple trees to worry about. The two fillies were still too tired to bring theirselves back on their hooves. "Sorry 'bout what I said earlier, Rainbow..." Applejack said sincerely, and Rainbow Dash sensed it. "Aw, it's nothing." She smiled. "But... That doesn't mean we're friends." Both grinned. "Rivals then?" Applejack suggested. Rainbow spat on her forehoof and extends it to her with a grin. Applejack did the same and, hoof to hoof, they were now rivals. Finally, Big Macintosh finished counting and announced who had won, only to be hushed by Henry as he points his hoof at the two fillies, both have fallen asleep. As Big Macintosh, with his sister on his back, went back to the barn to put her to her bed, Henry, with the pegasus asleep on his back, flew up to the nearest puff of cloud and put her on it. Afterwards, he landed in front of the barn and said goodbye to the red stallion, and after an exchange of goodbyes, Henry walked back to PonyVille. ---------- 5. For A Gem ---------- A week after the Summer Sun Celebration, Henry was feeling grumpy from all of this heat. He's just lucky that the sun was still rising when he goes to the library, and the sun already setting when he goes back home. The giant library tree was cool inside, enough for Henry to manage to keep a cool head. Though it became a bit hot inside. But Sunday, he'll be stuck inside his oven-like-house. He could go to the library, but... Wait, there are no 'buts'! So what's stopping him? He wore his glasses, his hat, and his sidebag, and finally went outside his house, only to stop himself after seeing the little Rarity, who was wearing a very 'fashionable' saddlebag, and who seemed to just arrive in front of his doorstep. "Oh, hello Rarity," Henry smiled, "what brings you here?" But before Rarity answered, he remembered the cape she gave him, and immediately used his magic to put the cape hanging on the upper bed from being his pillow case. "Good morning, Mister Henry." she smiled back. "I'm going to Rocky Fields to find some gems. Wanna come?" An out-of-the-blue invitation. Henry blinked. "What, you mean now?" Rarity nodded happily. "But, why me?" "My parents are away again, travelling the world." She rolled her eyes with an annoyed tone. "And I need someone to go there with me." Henry wasn't quite sure if he has to go. Rocky Fields. Fields. Fields. Under the summer heat. He twitched. "Mr. Cake and Ms. Cheerilee are busy today, and Big Macintosh as well, so that leaves you." She smiled widely. Henry sighed. "This is for one of your 'fashion projects', is it?" Of course it is, Henry thought. "Of course!" Rarity sang. --- Rocky Fields was on the other side of the tree-filled hill in between the fields and PonyVille. They went over the hill, to Henry's relief. At least the leaves shielded them from the rising sun, but as they got to the other side, the almost-black fields was full of dirt and rocks, but no trees. The field was surrounded by other tree-filled hills. Henry sighed. But hey, they only need to get some gems, right? This will be over quickly, he hoped. "How did you know about this place, anyway?" Henry asked as they walked through the fields. He never knew about this place. "A little research, of course." she smiled. "This is my first time here." she turned to him, "My parents didn't want me to come here," She then turned and continued to walk. "But now that they're gone, I can go here, with someone watching me, of course." Henry looked at her with an annoyed look on his face, but it was useless. She wasn't facing him, anyway. Soon, Henry saw some magic aura on the ground in front of them. With her magic, Rarity dug the ground and a green gem, wrapped with magic aura, floated in mid-air, but then it fell back to where it was as soon as the magic aura that surrounded it vanished. "That was a gem, right?" Henry asked the obvious. Rarity nodded. "Yes, but it was not the one I am looking for." She walked on. "Green is such an awful color." Henry stopped as he arched an eyebrow, and Rarity quickly realized what she just said, and quickly turned to him with an apologetic look on her face. "Uh, the gems, I mean..." "Right..." he lowly replied sarcastically. "Eheheh..." she weakly laughed as she thought for something to escape. "Uh, oh, we're wasting time standing here," she said with different tones as she awkwardly turned, "we must go and look for the perfect gem!" "Whatever you say..." Henry sighed. --- As Rarity went on with looking for her 'perfect' gem, Henry was starting to ask himself why she dragged him all the way out here. To look after her was the only thing on his mind, and he was convinced by it earlier, but now he's doubting it. "Why am I here, anyway?" He asked her calmly as she examines a baby-red ruby. "Oh, because I asked you to be here, darling." 'Darling?' Henry arched an eyebrow. He sighed. That was an automated response from her if ever she's busy doing something. Finally, she brought the ruby back to the ground, he asked her again. "Oh, because I need someone to look after me, of course." She replied without looking back to face him, nor stopping from walking. She stopped yet again as a sapphire erupted from the ground and she started examining it. --- Henry got tired of following her around in circles, so he sat down on the ground with a large leaf above him to shield himself from the sun, as he concentrates his magic to another leaf to hover above the little white unicorn filly. To look after her. He wondered, from what? There seems to be nothing here, except for the birds flying above the fields. --- Rarity was meters away from the lazy-sitting alicorn. Henry yawned. What felt like hours, Rarity finally found a black gem, an Onyx, if Henry recalls the gemstones correctly from the book he read. She then made her way towards him after she puts the onyx inside her saddlebag when something huge emerged from the ground behind her. Both were startled, and Rarity noticed that whatever was behind her, she was under its huge shadow. Without looking back, she screamed as she ran as fast as she can towards Henry. Henry, as he ran towards her, immediately slapped the large leaf to the creature's face to blind it for a little while. Henry stopped after he reached her, who also stopped behind him, shaking from fear as she poked her head behind his hindhooves. Henry recognizes the creature as a Diamond Dog, twice his size when it was standing on all four, and from what he read, they collect gems for unknown reason. It wasn't clear in the book as to why they attack, but it was rare for them to go out in the surface and attack other creatures. Lucky for them to get this rare chance, he sighed. He looked around as the dog stood in all four, preparing to run at them. Henry could only use the rocks around. He hoped it'll be enough to scare the dog away. As the creature started charging towards them, Henry, with his magic, lifted the nearby rocks and threw them at the dog, managing to land some nasty hits, but none managed to slow it down. If this keeps up, it'll ram them, so just before that happens, Henry blasted a brown bolt of beam from his horn, sending the dog rolling a few meters back. "How did you do that?" Rarity asked behind him, her tone clearly amazed. He didn't answer as he quickly looked around, and spotted quite a number of dug-up gemstones. Diamond Dogs love gems, so he lifted them as the dog went back to its feet and began charging back again. Henry grouped the gems into one and gently puts it in between them and the dog, but it just rammed intself through the small hill of gems, and continued running towards them. "Shouldn't you be running now?" Henry asked the unicorn filly as he blasted another beam, which this time, the dog easily dodged. Startled, Henry received a nasty punch to his side, and with the dog's other hand, it grabbed Henry by the throat and slammed him to the ground without letting go. Henry's lungs ran out of air in an instant as the unicorn filly was petrified by fear. Sensing the alicorn no longer holds a threat, it then dragged him as it turned to the unicorn, who was now starting to randomly summon gems from the ground and throws it at the creature, yet she accomplishes nothing as it grinned and started walking towards her. Rarity slowly walked back as she continued to throw gems at the dog. Its mouth was watering with it's saliva as it grinned. It stopped after it felt the alicorn was trying to struggle. It looked at him, only to see another Diamond Dog. Startled, it immediately let its comrade go. Rarity screamed as she fell to the ground. Two Diamond Dogs, how in Equestria will she save herself? As the other Diamond Dog catches its breath, the other turned back to the filly. Henry, now recovered his strength a bit, and currently disguised as a Diamond Dog, grinned as he went to his feet. With his magic, he lifted a very large boulder in silence and slowly lifted the boulder above the hungry creature. The heavier the object, the more magic force Henry needs. He struggled to keep it afloat, his four hooves started shaking. He met Rarity's eyes, and he immediately brought his hoof in front of his mouth, telling her to keep quiet. Soon, the boulder was above the dog's head, and it noticed its shadow was casted on him. Curious, it looked up. "RUN!" Henry shouted as he dropped the boulder on its head and as Rarity ran for her dear life, escaping both the boulder and the unconscious dog. A dust cloud swallowed both the dog and the boulder. She stopped beside Henry, who was too tired now to put his disguise up. Henry dropped himself to the ground. She is a bit startled to see him as a Changeling, but she knew who he is, deep inside, that he was still the Henry she knew. The dust cloud cleared. Breathing deeply, Henry managed to smile as they both stared at the unconscious creature lying down on the ground, pinned by a boulder. "Promise me not to come here again..." And she slowly nodded. "I'm...sorry..." "Not your fault, kid..." He laughed weakly. "At least you got your gem." Rarity, despite feeling guilty, flashed a small smile at him. "What's it for, anyway?" Rarity took the onyx out of her saddlebag as Henry used his small amount of magic to bring the two large leaves above them to sheild themselves from the sun. "It's for a gown I'm making..." Henry arched an eyebrow. "A gown? For who?" Rarity looked at him and her smile became natural. "For Mister Cake's fiancé, of course!" Henry blinked two times. "He's getting married? When?" "Well," Rarity puts the onyx back inside her bag. "I don't know, but they came to me yesterday, asking to make his chubby marefriend a gown for their wedding." 'Chubby?' Henry arched his eyebrow again. He smiled as he slowly stood up on all four. "C'mon, let's go back home." Rarity nodded and walked in front as he changed his disguise back. He smiled. Today wasn't as boring as he thought it would be. They heard the dog's weak moan, making them rush back to the forested hill. ---------- Originally Written on July 15, 2012 Updates... - September 18, 2012 - Added AppleJack and Rainbow Dash Image - September 24, 2012 - Added Pinkie Pie and Henry Hoof inside the library