//------------------------------//
// No Harm In Havin' Fun 
// Story: The Element of Concord 
// by Loyal Defender 
//------------------------------//

It didn't take long to finish the other chores, including washing the fence (I was shocked by how old and peely it was on the sides...eeugh), though it was taken off of my mind with the several times Apple Bloom playfully sprayed me with a hose when we washed down the excess, so before we knew it, we were deciding what kind of stuff we should do for real fun (they said REAL, because, coughchorescough), and I attempted bringing up my strength competition. Everypony seemed to be fairly interested in that, even after sharing their ideas. Maybe it was my rant that put them in an even more cheerful mood, maybe they just liked the idea of the possibility of Applejack's bare hooves slamming my arm onto a table, but either way, it seemed to delight everypony. I knew it was because how fun it would turn out to be, if it did. You never knew because of how dangerous having fun in public could be, risking attracting thieves and whatnot. But I didn't mind. I wasn't scared.

There was already a small table set up for the two of us. But first, I had to make sure Applejack was in. I'd understand if she wasn't. Not everypony had to follow my interests. "So, Applejack, if there's nothing else regarding work to do, are you still up on the arm-wrestle?"

"Heh, I don't see why not!  Fair warning, though, I may not be as strong as Big Mac, but I'm still plenty strong anyways!"

"Awesome! We already found a nice table and got it set up for our match." I said. "This way." I led her out to the front of the barn, where a sturdy, brown wooden table stood. It was just big enough to fit two separate hooves. So it was enough space for us. Granny, Apple Bloom, and Big Mac all sat in their seats that they'd brought out. They knew that when it came to strength, AJ was purely teflon.

I sat down at one side of the table, and rolled up my sleeves.

"I'm ready for ya." I said. I was so ready to take on what would end up amounting to be a pony almost as strong as Big Mac.

"You sure about that?"  Applejack asked, raising one hoof onto the table.

"Have I ever been one to chicken out?"

"Fair enough!  Alright, let's do this!"

"You're goin' down, farm girl..." I teased, propping my arm up.

"Not likely..."  Applejack muttered, with a smile.

As we fastened a grip on each other's hoof (or hand, if you wanna call it that), I could feel the tension rising around us.

Granny got up and carefully tied a bandanna around our...graspers, let's call it, because it's easier. "When I count to three and blow this whistle.." She said, holding up a small whistle. "The match begins."

She finished tying the bandanna, and waited a few moments. "Iffen yer both ready....Three....two.....one......" Granny counted, and blew the whistle.

AJ struggled to push her hoof against Loyal's arm, working it toward the table.  She was careful, however, not to exert herself TOO much...

My muscles almost instantly got to work, and my arm began pushing back against AJ's hoof. She pushed it back a few times, and I pushed her hoof back a few times as well. "You know, it'd be funny if we were nearly as strong as each other! That'd be a hard match for you to win!"

As  I continued struggling, I started feeling AJ's strength..I felt how strong she really was. "Good God, how strong ARE you?! It's not possible to last this long!"

"You surprised?  Heh, this is nothing!"

Applejack nearly pushed my arm all the way down a few times, but I managed to fight back, but with some difficulty. I slowly started feeling a bit of adrenaline, and managed to push her hoof down quite a bit. "I'd just been going easy on you up until now, but let's kick it up a notch!" With that, I started to push back a bit harder, closer to victory.

"Victory is within my grasp!" I declared.

"Oh, we're being serious now?  Sorry, I didn't get the memo."

I managed to get Applejack's hoof about two inches from the table, but for some reason, it was almost like a force was stopping it. "Are you...serious?! It won't....go.....down!" She had a trick up her sleeve, I was guessing. If Applejack really was resisting like this, it was totally cheap. I pushed harder, and harder to try and push it down. But nothing was happening. In the background, I could hear Granny laugh. "It wasn't how strong she was you'd have to worry about, sugarcube! It was how *resistant* she'd end up being."

"So, this is what you had planned, isn't it, AJ? You'd easily resist if I managed to overpower you?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

I just chuckled. That girl had planned ahead, and everything fell perfectly into place. "Well, you definitely planned everything well! But it won't last forever..."

Eventually, I decided to shift more of my strength into my arm, and I pushed a bit harder. But her hoof wouldn't go down.

I was so focused on trying to beat Applejack, that I didn't notice my arm getting tired. Slowly, it lost the strength to push back. "Oh, no, that's not good.." I said.

"Hmm?  Somethin' wrong there, sugarcube?"  Applejack asked, smiling.

"N-No! There's nothing wrong!" I said, as I was losing the war in pushing back.

I was unable to push her hoof back, and my arm slowly descended towards the right half of the table. But there was something I knew that she didn't. If she was mostly focused on trying to push my arm back, then the rest of her mind would be wandering...which gave me an idea. Just moments before my hand was about to touch the table, I smirked. "Well, Applejack, I must say, you've done well. But, really, this match is over....for *you*."

"I beg your pardon?"

I directed all of my remaining strength into my hand and arm, and quickly began to push back upwards, at a decent speed. I made sure I tightened my grip on AJ's hoof, to make sure she wouldn't try to resist again. It slowly went up, and began leaning towards the left half of the table. I pushed harder, and it went down faster. To be safe, I pushed as hard as I could, in case I could break through even a tiny bit of resistance Applejack might have mustered up in time. I pushed hard until......*thump!*

Applejack's hoof had touched the table. Thanks to strategy, I had won the match. I had a feeling she'd stop resisting if she thought my arm was tiring out, since there was no need to resist against an exhausted arm. I didn't really count strength as the reason, but if I was strong enough to just barely avoid losing in a match like that, then I was just as strong as her, most likely.

"Wh- How did...?"

"I used strategy." I replied plainly. "I figured you would lower your guard if you saw my arm was getting tired, so I saved some of my strength, and when the time was right, I used it all to push your hoof back, and onto the table."

Granny Smith came over and removed the bandanna from us. "I have ta say, that was a mighty fine save you did there, Loyal.”

Starlight watched silently from a distance. She felt really proud of Loyal. He didn't just use strength....but he used his wits, his brain. He was a pretty smart person to be able to pull something like that on the one pony who was a lot more skilled than even him on this farm. She decided that Loyal was definitely ready to learn the truth. She just needed the right timing...

As Apple Bloom and Big Mac got up, they started to walk towards the barn, possibly to think of or plan other activities. But Granny Smith had other ideas. "Applejack, could you come over here a minute?"

"Y-yeah?  What's up, Granny?"

Granny looked around, before lowering her voice. "I'm sure you're wanting to cover up a loss like that, right?"

"What...?  Why would I want to do that...?"

"You used all of your strength in that match, and still lost...even on your own territory. I understand you'd probably accept that, but isn't a part of you wanting to prove Loyal different?"

"Not exactly catchin' your drift, Granny..."

"An Iron Pony Competition. Challenge him to several events that can't easily be won. Show him you're still as tough as you look!"

"Well.... I dunno.... I suppose....?"

"Come on, darlin'! Just give it a try! You never know what'll happen!" Granny said, looking at Loyal, as he walked back towards the barn. Seems he was probably going to relax.

Applejack gave a sigh.  "I guess it's worth a shot."

"That's what I like to hear! I'll go set up the scoreboard, while you go find our old equient."

"Should I, I dunno, send him off somewhere?  Buy us some time or somethin'?  Or are we just gonna, y'know, bank on the hope he stays inside for a few hours and doesn't look out the window?"

"Well, I'm sure he'll want to do SOMETHING to relax after today, right?"

"Which means he might not come out for awhile."

"Well, yeah..."

"Actually...one thing I'm sure he wouldn't mind doing would be seeing how your friends are doing. Aren't they still near the entrance of the Everfree?"

"I dunno, Granny.  I'da thought they'dve gone home last night..."

"Well, one thing to keep in mind, is none of them came by at all to check on Loyal. Didn't ya notice that?"

"...Actually, now that you mention it...."

"If none of them even tried coming by, even if they were tired, then it could mean they're still in there!"

AJ had to admit, Granny made a good point. The girls cared much about Loyal. If not even one of them stopped by yesterday or today, then they'd surely have been stuck in there.

"Besides, it'll take him about half an hour to get there, and another to get back, most likely. So, what'dya think?"

"Well.... That's fair, I guess."

"Alright, then. You go ahead and let 'im know, while I go get things set up."

I was just busy relaxing on the couch, trying to enjoy my nice free time. About a minute later, Applejack walked inside and up to the couch. "Oh, hi again. Is there something you need to tell me?" I said, since she walked right up to me.

Applejack gulped, unsure if Loyal would actually listen to her.  "I gotta tell you somethin'."

I didn't even take that much time to hustle to the exit of Sweet Apple Acres. After finding out that the girls possibly hadn't returned, I was out the door. I had to hurry to see if they were alright. Hopefully they'd fended off the plant monsters that had attacked me before. I wasn't even sure how they'd survived in the nighttime.

I practically sprinted towards the Everfree, not stopping for anything. I had to find out if they were okay. If they weren't, a new Weed Whacker would be in town. It didn't take me long to find the entrance to the Everfree I had taken. I sprinted into the forest, through the path I had also taken, and quickly found myself in front of the familiar Poison Joke field. I didn't hesitate to sprint through, following the path of burnt and killed Joke.

When the path ended in the middle of the field, I got confused. Where had the girls gone? They couldn't have left the forest, right? They would have come to see me if they had. So what else could have happened to them?

I soon spotted something blue on the ground, and I bent over to pick it up. It was a cyan feather....NO. It couldn't have been...

At that moment, the ground rumbled, and familiar black bulges burst out of the ground. It was the plants I'd been ambushed by before. They were going to pay for what they had done.

"COME AT ME YOU WICKED WEEDS! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR THIS!" I roared. NOPONY messed with, or even killed the girls on MY watch if they thought they'd get away with it.

One plant lunged at me, but I quickly dodged and grabbed its stem. I pulled along the stem with all my might, slowly uprooting the plant. IT let out a shriek, then wriggled and squirmed violently, before falling flat and limp. One down...four to go.

The next plant tried striking from above, chomping down onto me. But with my newfound strength, I managed to split its mouth wide open, and I ripped it apart. Another shriek, and another plant down. The third was kind of tough to beat. It teamed up with the fourth and fifth to try and wrap me up, possibly to squeeze me to death. The three plants lunged at me from all sides. Thinking quickly, I grabbed one plant, and hoisted myself onto its horizontally positioned head, and slammed down onto it, bringing it onto the ground. I slammed my fists into it, causing it to shriek. But it wasn't down yet. It was just weakened. I had to focus on the other two plants now, and I had to make sure I didn't mess up....and that I got my revenge...

*meanwhile, not too far away*

The girls were actually completely fine. They had fought the Plunderseed Plants for hours, and eventually became exhausted, and unable to keep fighting. But a mysterious silhouetted Pegasus flew in out of nowhere and put the hurt on the plants, driving them away. That Pegasus was none other than Daring Do, the pony Loyal and Rainbow had met a year ago. And of course, Rainbow was overjoyed. She'd spent an adventure with them, and she didn't seem to happy about even being with them. She worked alone, that rule she stuck with. But it didn't hurt helping them when she wasn't adventuring. She was leading them to the entrance of the forest they'd used. Spike had his mind on Loyal the whole time...he was worried.

"Do you think Loyal's recovered by now?" He asked.

"I don't know, Spike.  He was beat up pretty badly, but he's a tough guy."

"Well, whatever he's doing, it's got to be better than what we dealt with. I can barely make a spark by this point." Spike replied, trying to breath a burst of fire to prove it. All that came out was a pathetic little puff of smoke.

It wasn't long before the girls (and Daring, what with her heightened senses) heard what sounded like screams and yelling). "Do you...h-hear that?" Spike said. Something about the faint sound of the screams kind of unsettled him.

"Uh... yeah.  Totally," Rainbow said.

A little bit further, and the girls were shocked at what they saw.

There I was, beating the living hell out of the fourth plant. I was tying its stem into a gigantic knot, and tightening it. "How do YOU like being beaten and punished?!" I shouted. "This is what happens when you mess with MY friends! With MY family! With my LIFE!" After squeezing the knot one last time, the plant let out a shriek and died.

Now, the fifth plant...

"I...I can't believe what I'm seeing! Please tell me I'm not the only one seeing this!" Spike exclaimed. He thought Loyal would be back at Sweet Apple Acres, resting up...but here he was, beating the life out of a Plunderseed Plant.

"I-Is that Loyal?!"

For the fifth plant, I was delivering strong punches to the stem and head. Eventually, it opened its jaws, and I punched hard into the center, causing it to quiver and shriek...and eventually die. "And STAY down!" I exclaimed, panting heavily and hard. "The nerve of some plants....the girls would have been proud that I'd avenged them.."

And, at that moment, I heard a familiar voice speak.

"Loyal!  What the HECK?!"

I turned to my right to see Twilight and the others standing there, mouths agape. It hadn't yet clicked that they weren't actually...gone, so...

"You're the spirits of my friends...I had to avenge their fates caused by these sick, twisted weeds!" I said, approaching them.

"You know we're not DEAD, right?"

"The only thing I found was one of Rainbow's feathers. That was the only thing left...it could have implied that the girls had been....killed."

".....Oh. Uhh..." Well, this was a little bit awkward.

Wait....so they weren't even....dead. They were completely fine. "Then....how are you ALIVE?! I thought you'd have been done for eventually if you spent hours trying to fend off the plants!"

"Well, we're experienced with these things, but... we did have a bit of help..."

"....Who, exactly?"

At that moment, I noticed that among the girls, there was one other pony with them. She had on a pith helmet, a safari jacket, and a gold-and-green compass rose Cutie Mark. Something about her looked....familiar. I stepped a bit closer, trying to rack my brain for the last time I'd seen this pony. "You look....kind of familiar. Have we met before?" I asked.

"Maybe a little bit." She said.

*'A little bit?'* I thought. She looked very familiar, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. It was rather bothersome, because I KNEW I'd seen this pony. 'Wait, wait....what's your name? That might ring a bell."

"Do. Daring Do."

I thought for a moment, and soon, it hit me. I DID recognize her. "You're..." Where had I seen her? I thought back, and a memory flashed into my mind. "You're that pony we saw in that ruin a year ago when we were escaping Sunny Town!"

"Yeah, that was me." The Golden Pegasus responded. She hadn't actually expected to run into this...thing a second time in her life. It seemed like something you'd only ever catch a glimpse of, but never see again.

"Well, it's quite a surprise seeing you here! I'm guessing you're the one who helped my friends survive in the Everfree?"

"That's right.  Saw them and figured I'd return a favor."

"Return a...favor? They know you, too?"

"Sure they do.  Figured out who I was and where to find me.  Smart girls."

"From what I know, they've been featured in one of her books!" Spike said.

"Oh, so you're a writer! Very good hobby." I said, and realized I hadn't introduced myself.

"Oh, but where are my manners? My name is Loyal Defender, but just Loyal is fine."

Upon hearing that name, Daring unaudibly gasped. Ever since hearing about him, she'd been wanting to find him. But she knew it was official: this was the one...this was him. She had been looking all over for him, and here he was, in her sights at last. But she didn't think now was the time, especially not after what just happened with the Plunderseed Plant thing. She'd have to plan for tomorrow, when she wasn't busy, thankfully.

"What are you doing back in here?" I asked. "It's dangerous, ya know."

"Oh, believe me, I know danger better than... let's say most ponies." Daring answered. Thankfully, the fool had made two answerable remarks, so she could loop around the first question.

"For the past few days, I'd faced nothing BUT danger. Including a knife-wielding mannequin-like dummy."

"Pardon me?"

"It's kind of a long story. And one I kind of wish I didn't experience." I said, looking back at the far-off entrance of the Everfree. "Oh, before I forget, Applejack sent me to retrieve you girls since you hadn't left the Everfree since yesterday."

"Celestia knows HOW anypony could survive a night here..."

"Pretty easily actually, Zecora spends most of her day in there!" Pinkie chimed in, happily.

'Uh....Zecora?"

"She's a friend of ours.  She's a zebra," Twilight explained.

"AND she speaks in rhymes!"

"Why would she live HERE?"

"It confuses us too but she has reasons.  I think she finds herbs here for potions?"

"Hmm. MY guess is she's some kind of shaman, then." That said, I focused my mind on what recently happened. "Well, I'm glad everything worked out here, especially since I survived the brutal attack from yesterday. I just hope that our failed quest to find Silver won't disappoint Diamond.." And then, I remembered. "Oh, shoot, I totally forgot about Diamond! Where is she?"

"Oh, no, no, no, this is bad. I know I left her on the other side of the Poison Joke field, but I don't see her! She couldn't have wandered off, right? She'd know better! UGH, what the *hell* was I thinking?! I knew I should have left her in Ponyville when I tried convincing her to stay! It's one unfortunate event after another, with no sign of stopping!" I didn't realize it, but I had actually gone into a panic attack. "First, Silver's missing, then the Plunderseed attack, then you all got stranded here, and now Diamond's gone!"

"Ever since we got back from Manehattan, things had gotten out of hoof. Not long after getting back, Starlight was acting erratic and secretive, like there was something she was trying to hide from the world. She wouldn't even tell me what it was. Then, while I try to enjoy my time with Diamond, we get a letter saying Silver's gone missing. I try convincing Diamond to stay, but she ended up convincing me to bring her along. And then I get ambushed by Plunderseeds, I end up leaving her behind, and now she's missing! Why can't I make any sense of any of this?! Why is any of this happening? I just wanted to spend some time in a peaceful environment, but apparently, that's hard to earn here!" I walked up to a random tree, and faceplanted into the trunk.

I don't know why I was having a panic attack, but I just wanted to enjoy my time. But with so many things happening so fast, it was hard. "Not to mention, I'd pretty much endangered a filly. I shouldn't have left her like that...I was supposed to look after her and keep her safe...I can't even do THAT..."

I stepped away from the tree, and slumped down against it. "It's almost like I'm losing my sense of protection...like I'm just slowly becoming nothing. This isn't the me I know...this is the me I didn't want to become. Why couldn't I prevent that?"

I had never felt more....down. I was supposed to be Equestria's protector....but intead I was slowly putting it in danger. What kind of hero would do that? My skills were slipping, my mind was wandering, and my confidence was crushed. I hadn't done anything right in the past few days. I just ended up screwing everything up.

"Wow....I'd never seem him like this before...." Spike commented, unsure what to do or say. Loyal was being pretty harsh on himself, and it wasn't exactly pleasant to watch. Somepony had to say SOMETHING to cheer him up or something. Or even tell him he was wrong.

"Well, uh, hey...  It's not like, y'know, that thing about us getting stranded is really that bad...  I mean, we're pretty much heroes ourselves....  We've faced those plants before and it turned out alright, so no harm, no foul there, right?"  Dash said, awkwardly.

"But it was I who caused it in the first place! Nopony should have to endure that!"

"No matter what you say, this is my fault! I was irresponsible, brash......and not protective."

"I... guess...?"  Twilight said, scratching at her head.

"Okay. I'll go on a bit ahead. I'll see you at the entrance. " I said, starting off. "And don't worry about the Plunderseed Plants. I pretty much destroyed them." At that moment, one plant tried to get up, but I socked it in the mouth, knocking t out. "See?"  And with that, I started off. "He seems....different. "  Was all Spike could say.

As we headed out, I noticed out of the corner of my eye Daring stopping Spike to seemingly ask or tell him something. The only word I got out was "message". Whatever that meant.

After the girls and I reached the entrance, we organized a bit of a plan. I'd head back to Sweet Apple Acres for today, to try to relax, and tomorrow, I'd head back to the castle to discuss my....options on how to deal with our problem: Finding Diamond was our top priority. It seemed to take a lot longer to reach Sweet Apple Acres, possibly because of how many things I thought about. But it gave me time to think about how much more responsible I could have been, or could be.

But eventually, I made it back. Applejack was outside, placing boards of some kind on the ground. Lucky for her, I was not curious why.

"Well, I got the girls out safely." I said. "It was dangerous for me, though."

"'s that so?  Everything alright?"

"I had to, uhh.....I had to deal with the Plunderseed Plants. It wasn't pretty, either. And believe me, you'd be surprised to learn I made it out alive. Fighting FIVE Plants." I added. Honestly, I didn't think I'd live, either. I actually THOUGHT they had......fallen Twiligt and the others, because when I got to the spot they had been at, all I found was one of Rainbow's feathers, so I thought they had been eaten, or worse. Turns out, it had molted off, and they were completely fine. A Pegasus named Daring Do rescued them.

"Oh, is that so?  So miss Do's doin' well I presume?"

"Well, I wouldn't exactly know...I didn't really ask her, and I was kind of eager to get back. I get the feeling she might want more to do with me, though. I just get this feeling. But what I wanted to know was what kind of adventure did you all have with her?" I  asked. I was kind of curious as to how the girls knew Daring Do....well, better than I did, anyway. She didn't seem like somepony you'd commonly see.

Applejack gave a chuckle.  "Well, it's actually kind of a funny story.  Started out with Dash wantin' to get a word with Ms. Yearling about her upcoming Daring Do novel.  We went all the way out into the forest to visit her, only for her to not be there.  She got home right quick, but things took an unexpected turn when some gruff sorts came out of the woods after we left.  Turns out, Ms. Yearling is actually Ms. Do herself!  You, uh, didn't hear that from me, by the way.  Anyways, she didn't want our help at first, but after Dash actually wound up savin' her, it turned out she hadn't exactly accounted for a single little detail about what she was tryin' to do.  In other words, if it wasn't for Rainbow, Ms. Do may have actually LOST that time!  We went our separate ways afterwards, but turns out, she wrote us into the book, too - I haven't exactly gotten around to readin' it yet, but I gotta assume she gave us aliases to keep it from gettin' out that we were involved, which would, y'know, reveal that Daring Do is real."

"Wait, so you're in an adventure novel now? And it was because you helped a famous author? Do I have that right?"

"Yep, exactly right."

"Hmm. That sounds like one hell of an adventure. Well....beats my escape from Sunny Town. Which is also how I met Daring before. But that's for another time. For now, I'm gonna go rest and relax, those plants exhausted me. And so did the panic attack. See you in a while, AJ." I said, heading towards the barn.

"Alright, fair enough!"

I had to prove I could've been more responsible. More focused, more mature and not the fool I was. But how? The answer lay in wait, but I had to be patient to find it. For now, resting on the couch with a certain young filly asking how my walk was was the only thing I needed. Heh, sweet little Apple Bloom. Her smile alone cheered me up when I was worn out.

I headed inside the barn and into the living room, plunking myself onto the couch. And lo and behold, Apple Bloom came right up to me and asked:

"How was your walk?"  Apple Bloom asked, and gave a big smile.

Man, she was good. "The usual. Only a bit of butt-kickers, exploration, and a small realization panick attack. But don't worry, it's been resolved. What happened while I was gone?

"Nothing too exciting, really."  Apple Bloom sat down on the floor nearby.  "We don't have any Cutie Mark appointments today.  I've been thinkin' of something to do."

"Hmmmmm...my ideas were either hide and seek, or Go Fish."

"Well, that sounds alright."

"But... well, both of those games sound more fun with more friends, y'know?"

"Good point...hmmm..."

Apple Bloom scratched at her head.  "I mean...  Hide and Seek would just be us lookin' for each other, and Go Fish would just be us askin' for cards back and forth."

"We could go find Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle I guess.  I think Diamond Tiara's off in town somewhere, too..."

"Uh, not exactly..."

"Wait, she's not?"

"Let's say she's not in town." I said. Now was not the ymr to freak her out. I had to be subtle until Di was found. I didn't need AB worrying sick. I was already doing that. "She is just not in town, from what I know."

"Oh, is she on a trip?  Is she visiting someone in Canterlot?"

"Well, I get the feeling she's with sow one familiar to her. But I'm sure she's fine."

"Alright, if you're sure.  That still leaves Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, though."

"Will those two still be enough?"

"Four's better than two!"

"Alright! Where should she look first?"

"I'm gonna say Sweetie Belle.  It'd be better to know if she can or can't play since I'm almost positive Scootaloo can."

"Okay. Is there a spot she's usually at?"

"Well, she likes sweets - like most ponies - but lately she HAS been more of a salad girl.  She also goes to Rarity's sometimes since they don't have a lot of time to spend together lately so what time they DO have is precious."

Is it odd that I'm foreseeing an episode where Rarity is busy with boutique stuff and the Mane  need her help, but nobody understands because "Twilight is an alicorn, can't she handle this by herself or at least hold on until you've got a moment?"

Nope.

"Hmm. Well, we could check the boutique. Considering. The girls joined me in my walk in the Everfrree, Rarity went back, she might be there."

"Though I'll Frel bad if I end up interrupting their quality time unknowingly."

"Well if Rarity and Sweetie are hanging out, Rarity's probably free.  Rarity could join too if she's feeling up to it.  If not, that's why I wanted to check with Sweetie first.  That way we know if she can play or not."

"Well, let's go."

It was a little late when we got outside. I hadn't noticed, but it didn't mean I wasn't gonna pass up a game of hide and seek or Go Fish with the fillies. The silence of our trek made the moment more beautiful. "You know, I might have to actually set up an appointment with you girls." I said. I had a good reason, too.

.

"Huh?  Why's that?"

"Lately, I haven't bee feeling like my usual super tough, grave self. I feel like my sense of skill and adventure is slipping. That can't be good for me or my reputation. I'm meant to protect, but not if I let a number of moves and decisions slip my mind. But nopony is as adventurous as you three."

"I figure. If you can be that adventurous, mahaps you can figure out how to help me feel like my old self again."

"Hmm.  Well, we could schedule an appointment with you tomorrow I suppose, or some other time if tomorrow doesn't work."

"Well,it'll depend on if I can get any other hints out of the day. But we shall see." I had to get some other things sorted out first. But I prayed it wouldn't be too long.                          I approached the Boutique door, took a deep breath, and knocked on it.

"Rarity? Are you home?"

"One moment!  I will be right out!"

I was a bit nervous. If she hadn't been doing anything, I would have nothing to worry about.

Soon, Rarity opened the door.  "Oh, why hello, Loyal, Apple Bloom! Is there something I can do for you two?"

"I was wondering if Sweetie Belle could come out."

"Oh, unless you two are spending quality time together by if you are the totally fine and understandable!" I added quickly.

"Oh I trust you, don't worry!  You all have fun now!  And be careful!"

"We will!" I said, and all three of us started off towards wherever Scootaloo went. "His will be so much fun!"

"So, I hear you're spending whatever time you can with your sister, Sweetie Belle, how's that going?"

"Things been going swell?" I felt like Sweetie was really maturing and all that. It was kind of nice.

"Oh, yeah, things are going really well!  Rarity's getting the hang of the fact that I'm growing up.  I know how hard that can be since Apple Bloom went through it before I did, and Applejack was WAY more overbearing than Rarity is.  At least Rarity knows I don't need to be watched all night long."

Hi again.

"Of course not! You're mature and responsible to look tou for yourself, aren'tcha?"

"Well yeah, that's the point I'm trying to make.  Up until recently, Applejack treated Apple Bloom like a little filly."

"Let's not discuss that point in my life ever again for the rest of time," Apple Bloom said, flatly.

"Okay, yeah, it sounds bad."

"Hey, Scootaloo!"  Apple Bloom called.

"I'm also proud that you're maturig. Reminds me of me in my youth." I said, honesty feeling happy for her. Soon enough she'd be making a lot of progress in life. "I fact, I--" I began, but was stopped when I saw something reddish orange flying towards us. In midair. Somepony had made a jump. "Duck and cover!"

I ducked as low as possible to avoid getting clocked by a flying scooter. At least, I think that's what I it was.

"Well.  That was quite the jump, Scoots."

As the scooter landed, it slid a bit before halting to a stop. "It's a work in progress. Were you guys looking for me?"

"Actually yeah, we were!  What's up, Scoot?"

"Well, things are gettin' kinda quiet on the farm this evening, so Loyal and I were thinkin' we could all do somethin' together."

"Oh? Like what?"

"Like... I dunno, Go Fish, or Hide and Seek, or... well, anything you guys want to do."

"Hide and seek sounds fun!"

"Have you decided on a place to play?"

"Hmm...  I dunno.  What do you think?"

"I guess we could go back to the farm, but... what do you guys think?"

"Well....I was gonna suggest the schoolhouse, but that works too!"

"Playing hide and seek at the schoolhouse...?"

"I figured the playground would provide all kinds of hiding spots!"

I really respect Trash Queen and CK and the other mod for not being all aggressive in response, and also for having all that representation.

"Well I guess we could..."

"It's up to you to decide where to go. I won't mind!"

"I guess we could go to the schoolhouse, then."

"Alright!" Scootaloo sounded excited for th. I had the strongest feeling she'd be hiding well if she suggested there. "Shall the four of us get going?" I added.

"Ready whenever you guys are!" Sweetie chimed in.

Chapter 10: An Intense Game

As we headed towards the schoolhouse, I felt s bit excited myself. It had been ages since I'd played a good game of hide and seek. "This is kind of exciting for me. I can finally experience my own youth again!"

Apple Bloom gave a light chuckle.  "Well, being young is exciting!  We're trying to make it last as long as we can, since we're not going to be young much longer, y'know?"

"Of course! You're only young once! Now, which one is going to be the seeker?"

"...That's an excellent question."

"Heh, one nopony can snswer. I assume?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Well...hmm." This was a bit of a pickle. What could see do to decide? "Hmmmm....I've got it! We'll guess a number one through ten. Whoever is closest goes first!"

"Well, that sounds fair, I suppose."

"Okay! So.....I thinking of s number one through ten. What is it?" I asked. "Four?" Scootaloo guessed.

"I'm guessing six," Sweetie said.

"Three?" Apple Bloom questioned.

It was seven. Sweetie Belle was closest." I said.

"Oh, so I'm it then?"

"Yup. We hide, you count and seek!"

"Alright!"  Sweetie turned towards the wall of the schoolhouse, covering her ears and closing her eyes, then began counting.

Thinking quickly, as Apple Bloom and Scootaloo dashed off to find a place to hide, I already thought of s decent spot. I ran up to the slide and hid under it. There were sidebars down the bottom of the slide, so they could hide me unless somepony walked up to one side to look at it.

"Just count to ten. Then come find us!"

"....TEN!  Here I come!"

I held my breath to avoid making a sound. I felt like I was invisible. 'Don't look here.' I thought.

Sweetie Belle wandered around, looking for her friends.  So far, no luck.

In my mind, I was laughing. This was so intense and so great! I hadn't had this much fun since Hearth's Warming. I decided to taunt her a bit. Not to be mean, but to make it more fun. I made sure my voice sounded distant but close by. "No luck so far?"

"You guys are good at this, let's just put it at that."

"Heh, she doesn't even know..." I said to myself.

Scootaloo was also well hidden. She was hiding on top of the little roof covering the slide. She's been careful not to fall off. "She'll never find me up here...' She thought.

Sweetie, meanwhile, continued searching.  She couldn't shake the feeling that they were all hiding someplace fairly obvious and she was just missing it.

Scootaloo might have gotten a little too confident, because her hoof eventually slipped, but as she caught herself, a few rocks fell off of the roof, right near Sweetie Belle. 'Oh, no...'

Sweetie Belle gasped, looking up.  "Is someone up there?"

"Scootaloo, I recognize your voice, y'know."

"You don't see me, so I'm not up here! I mean, up there!"

Sweetie started climbing up the playscape.  "I'll bet I get up there and you're on top of it."

"I promise you, I'm not anywhere up there!" Scootaloo said, trying to find s place to jump down  without her seeing.

brb im gonna have some cookies

"Scoot's clearly been found. No way she's escaping." Was my only thought.

"You could look for somepony else!" Scootaloo suggested. She did not want to be found this easily.

"Nope, I am DEFINITELY coming up there!"

I looked over, and saw Appleblook hiding behind a nearby tree. Typical. Well, hopefully she wouldn't be as easily found. Scootaloo braced herself as Sweetie Belle climbed up. "Heh....hi?"

"Gotcha!"  Sweetie smiled, reaching out and tagging Scootaloo on one wing.  "So that's one of you.  Now where are Loyal and Apple Bloom, I wonder..."

"Nowhere you can see us!" I teasingly called out.

"Sounds like they're over there." Scoot said, pointing near the slide, obviously not seeing Loyal.

"Ohhhh, Loyal!  Are you around here anywhere?"

"Maaaaybe! But can you track me down is the question!"

Okay, so maybe I was overdoing it with speaking. But I. Wa having fun. "I can hear you...."

I looked to my left to see if she was around. Nope. I looked to my right. Nothing. Okay, that was freaking me out a bit. "Okay? You don't know where I am.." What I hadn't known was that Scootaloo had made my location more obvious to Sweetie than I thought. So when her voice sounded close by, I worried just a bit.

"Are you SUUUUURE I don't know where you are?"  Sweetie asked, giggling playfully.

It doesn't You know what's absolutely ridiculous?

"......yes?"

Sweetie wandered around, keeping an eye out for Loyal and Apple Bloom.  "You guys know I'm gonna find you eventually, right?"

"Oh, Sweetie, Apple Bloom may eventually be found, but I'm invisible. You won't find m--" I stopped myself as I turned around to see Sweeetie standing there, smirking

"What was that you were about to say?"  She asked, as she reached out and tagged Loyal on the arm.

"You would find me...?"

"Should I make it easier by hinting where AB is, or just let you do it?"

"Let me see if I can find her myself," Sweetie said, looking around.

"Alright, best of luck."

Sweetie kept looking around, determined to find Apple Bloom.  She seemed to be having a bit of trouble, but she didn't want to give up.

I looked towards the tree AB was behind. "Careful..." Was my only comment.

Scootaloo just watched as Sweetie would get closer and farther from Aplebloom's spot.

"Apple Bloooom.... you're around here somewhere... I know you are!"

I knew she would'evenually b found. So I prayed she lasted a bit longer. No such luck. I already saw Sweetie approaching AB's tree.

Sweetie Belle quietly walked up to the tree and knocked one hoof on it.  "Oh, Apple Bloom... are you nearby....?"

Before any pony could answer, it was too late. Sweetie had found Apple Bloom. which I knew had no escape.

"Gotcha!"  She reached out and tagged Apple Bloom on the snout.  "Guess I win~!"

I stepped one from behind the slide, applauding Sweetie Belle. "Nice job. You found us all in our great hiding spots!" I decided a few more around S couldn't hurt, so....After we played a few more intense rounds of hide and seek, we decided to call it a day and head to our homes. I took Scootaloo back to wherever she wanted to go, I took Sweetie Belle home (where she embraced me and thanked me for giving her and the girls a fun time) and I took Applebloom home. I told the Apples if they needed me for anything else to just let me know.

"You sure ya don't wanna stay overnight again? I'm makin' Apple Stew again." Granny said. "It's tempting, but I gotta get to my home, read some books, and get a good nights rest."

"Well, come on by anytime ya like."

And with that, I headed towards the Castle of Friendship. Twilight would be happy to hear I had a good time.

As I made my way up the steps, I knocked on the door. After about a moments, Spike came and opened the door. "Well, you look like you've had quite a moment!" He said, referring to the dust and grass on me. I might have fell and slid a few times. "I did. I played with the CMC. I never knew it was so intense when a small filly was looking to find you in a game of hide and seek."

Spike led me inside and up the stairs, where Twilight was waiting for me. "Nice to see you this evening, Twilight!”

"Nice to see you, too, Loyal.  How was your day?"

"I had a great time playing with the CMC! We played several intense rounds of hide and seek!"

"It was exhausting, however.  Especially since I had to think a lot for plenty of good hiding spaces. I'm gonna grab a hot, steamy shower, read a book, then rest up for tonight. Oh, but before I forget, there's something I wanted to show you. I've been meaning to show this since I got out of the Everfree."

"Hmm?  What is it?"

I took out the Poison Joke in my pocket, and held it up, making sure not to come in contact with Twilight using it. "I figured we could study this sometime, see how it works and why it causes pranks?"

"Hmm...  Well, that would be interesting to know.  Maybe I could get Zecora to come to the castle so she could study it some more.  She knows more about this plant than I do, but I'm sure there's always more she could learn."

"Hmm. Perhaps. Well, we'll see what happens. I'm gonna go get ready for bed. See ya in there morning!"

"Alright, see ya tomorrow, Loyal!"

With that, I headed back down the hall, and into the bathroom. I turned on the shower, got ready, the and stepped in. Showers were my favorite part of any evening, really. It felt like being in a spa, but ten times better.

After my shower, I put on a towel to dry myself off with, dried off Thoroughly, and went back to my room. I opened my drawer and pulled out some nice pajamas Rarity had made a month back. They were still the pair I wore most nights, because by Celestia, they were comfortable. I neatened the covers, crawled into the bed, and got out one my favorite books, Pony Jackson and the Lightning Thief. It was such a good book in the series. I began quietly reading aloud from the chapter I was on, chapter four.

Meanwhile, Starlight had also gotten ready for bed. She decided that tomorrow, the first time she saw Loyal, she'd tell him how she felt. It wasn't love. It was admiration. Plenty of admiration. She couldn't wait another day. Well, she could, but no longer than that.

Her time was drawing near.