//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 // Story: Of Mares and Machines // by Razalon The Lizardman //------------------------------// The day before Mavis was scheduled to return to Sodor started off extremely awkward. Mavis got up, did her morning routine and descended the stairs, all while the events of last night played out repeatedly in her mind. She felt awful for ruining the date, but even more so for whatever discomfort she might have caused for Big Mac; he hadn’t looked particularly happy when she tried to kiss him. What ate at her even more than that, however, was the nagging question of her true feelings for Big Mac. All these feelings of love and romance were still so new to her, so she was at first tempted to ask Applejack more about it, but quickly realized doing could end up revealing what happened last night, so the thought was discarded. Breakfast had already started by the time she entered the kitchen. An assortment of foods was spread out on the table with everyone digging in. “Mornin’ Mavis!” Apple Bloom said when she noticed her walk in. Mavis smiled at the youngest Apple. Applejack and Granny Smith acknowledged her presence with similar smiles before returning to their food. Big Mac was facing away from her so she couldn’t see his reaction, but the fact that he didn’t turn around to acknowledge her hurt a little. Thankfully, the last remaining seat at the table was two chairs away from him. Mavis took the seat and began putting food on her plate. Breakfast went by quietly, save for the occasional time where Apple Bloom decided to say something about school or her friends. Mavis didn’t pay much attention to what the filly said as she chewed her food and even if she did most of it would mean nothing to her. Every now and then her eyes drifted over to Big Mac, but the stallion was always busy eating his own food whenever she looked. That was probably for the best. By the time breakfast was over, she’d come to a decision. She might have had a crush on Big Mac, or maybe she didn’t — talking to Applejack again would likely help her better understand her feelings — but whatever the case, her true feelings for him meant nothing as far as her work on the farm was concerned. She was leaving the next day, so all that mattered right now was continuing to work hard and be useful. Coming to this decision brought a much-needed sense of relief to her, strong enough that even now she could look Big Mac’s way without feeling guilty. He only looked at her once as everyone left the table and she, him, and Applejack headed outside to begin their work for the day; his expression wasn’t happy or sad or cross — it was calm. What that meant, she didn’t know, but what mattered was that he wasn’t sad or cross with her. While Big Mac headed into the orchard, Applejack and Mavis made their way around the house to the pig’s pen to begin the daily chores. They’d reached the gate when Mavis said, “I can do these chores all by myself.” Applejack looked surprised to hear that. “Really? Ya sure?” Mavis nodded. “I’ll even harvest your section of the orchard as well as my own.” Applejack’s surprise grew before she looked uneasy. “Land sakes, girl, you lookin’ ta steal my job or somethin’?” Mavis shook her head. “I just want to be as useful as I can be.” Applejack appeared to think for a moment before she tipped her hat off to Mavis and said, “Well, I s’pose there’s a few other things I could tidy up around the house.” She turned and headed back the direction they’d come from. “Good luck!” she called back, waving a hoof. The next hour or so went by routinely. Mavis worked diligently to complete her chores quicker and more efficiently than previous days. More than a few times she wound up getting a little too reckless and bumped or scraped herself against something, not to mention all the mud and muck that clung to her lower body; that part never got any more bearable. Upon completing all her chores she practically galloped over to the hose to wash off— it made her feel so good that she managed to forget all her prior troubles. The next round of apple bucking was going to be exhausting since she was doing Applejack’s work as well as her own, but she was more than up for it; she wouldn’t have offered otherwise. Big Mac was working in a section of orchard far to the north today while she and Applejack had to work in a section near the front gate. She had a grand total of forty trees to buck before lunchtime. Easy! Mavis didn’t waste any time; she walked straight up to the first tree from the house. She bucked it hard and quick, shaking it enough to send every single apple down on the first try. This filled her with pride as she’d truly come a long way in harnessing her earth pony magic since she first arrived. The following task of gathering the fallen apples and putting them in the nearest barrel was more time-consuming than hard, but Mavis didn’t mind at all. She then moved on to the next tree and repeated the process. And then the next one, and so on. Whenever a barrel got full she lifted it up onto her back and brought it down to the wagon to unload. The sun was high in the sky by the time she finished all the work. She’d worked up a good sweat and her throat was parched. Once she unloaded the last round of apples into the wagon she went back to the hose. She turned it on, put it up to her mouth, and drank until her thirst was quenched. An amused smile split her muzzle at the thought that this was as close as she’d ever get to be a steam engine. Then again, if Twilight could turn her from a diesel into a pony, then maybe she could turn her from a diesel into a steam engine. That was an interesting thought. She set the hose down and turned back around the house toward the front door, intending to fetch Applejack and let her know they could head to the market. She hadn’t made it to the front steps when she heard little hoofsteps scurrying behind her and a familiar voice saying, “Heya, Mavis!” Mavis turned to see Apple Bloom running up behind her with a friendly smile. “Why aren’t you in school?” she asked. She hadn’t seen the youngest Apple at all during this timeframe over the week. “It’s Saturday,” Apple Bloom said plainly, then quickly changed the topic. “So, how are things goin’ with you an’ my brother?” “What do you mean?” “You knooooow—” The way she grinned made Mavis uncomfortable, like she knew Mavis had done something bad and was going to tease her about it. But instead of anything like that she said, “Your crush on my big bro. You two kissed yet?” Mavis huffed and turned around, continuing her trip to the house. “I don’t love him.” “WHAT!?” Mavis continued onwards, ignoring Apple Bloom. Right now she didn’t need any distractions to her work. But Apple Bloom was persistent. “But you two’ve been head over hooves since you met!” She ran up to Mavis’ side, keeping pace with her while staring at her with big, sparkling eyes that Mavis would’ve been discomforted by if she weren’t so annoyed. “Did the date last night go bad or somethin’?” Mavis stopped. She turned to Apple Bloom with the intention to mouth off, to tell her she should stop being a fusspot and go mind her own business. But the hard realization that Apple Bloom was correct sapped Mavis of her resolve; saying the date hadn’t been a disaster would be lying. But she couldn’t admit that. She sighed and turned back to face the door. “I don’t know what my true feelings are for him,” she said. “Really?” Apple Bloom said. “So ya don’t wanna get hitched to my big bro?” “I may not know what my true feelings are, but I do know that I don’t need to know in order to be hard-working and useful.” Mavis glared at her. “Right now, you’re being a distraction.” Apple Bloom apparently didn’t care. “But you two didn’t get into a fight, did you?” she asked. Mavis sighed and shook her head. “Okay. Whew.” Apple Bloom looked mournfully at Mavis. “But you still care about him, right?” Mavis was about to tell her to buzz off, but the filly’s words caught her interest. “What do you mean by that?” “Like, do ya hate seein’ him sad or hurt?” “Of course.” “Does yer chest feel all funny when ya see him?” Mavis hadn’t felt that since last night, but she still said, “Yes.” “Do ya wanna spend the rest of yer life with him?” Mavis hesitated for a moment. The truth was she wouldn’t mind being with him for the rest of her life, but she wasn’t sure if she would actually choose to if given the choice. “... Yes?” she said, hesitantly. Apple Bloom beamed. “Then ya do wanna get married!” Mavis’ mind went blank. Apple Bloom kept on talking, but nothing she said registered with Mavis. It took a short while for her brain to understand what Apple Bloom had just said, but when she did all she was left with were more questions. Caring about someone meant you wanted to marry them? But there were lots of people, both engines and humans, she didn’t like seeing hurt or unhappy yet had no desire to marry. But those two things directly related to marriage, according to Applejack and Rarity. Did the same hold true for caring? She came out of her thoughts just as Apple Bloom finished talking. “—Well, I gotta go. I’m meetin’ up with Sweetie Belle an’ Scootaloo for some crusadin’.” She ran off toward the front gate, leaving Mavis speechless. “I’ll be a flower filly at your guys’ wedding!” she called back while waving a hoof. Mavis watched her retreating form until she disappeared over a hill. Confusion had an iron grip over her. All her bad feelings from earlier started resurfacing, but a deep surge of anger directed at the filly took root alongside them. She came out of her blank state with a furious scowl aimed in the direction Apple Bloom went, but it quickly disappeared, replaced with a defeated expression. Things weren’t making sense right now, but there were more important things to focus on than her resurrected questions about her true feelings for Big Macintosh. She entered the house, quickly finding Applejack working in the apple cellar. After a brief exchange, they prepared themselves and set off to the market with their cartload of apples. Mavis was tempted more than once to ask Applejack if what Apple Bloom said was true, but decided against it, preferring instead to try putting it out of her mind again. All she needed right now was to focus on her work. Things went about the same as always in the marketplace. Applejack let Mavis run the stall the entire time while she did some shopping and other errands. It wasn’t the kind of work that Mavis would’ve expected to be good at before coming to Equestria, but she’d certainly proven herself competent. That would be another thing to boast to Toby about. One thing Mavis was starting to notice that she hadn’t realized before was that the townsponies were growing more curious and friendly towards her. The former was a problem, as some of them would come up to the stall and ask about where she came from while making their purchase, making Mavis nervous while she told them she wasn’t comfortable answering. Most of them, thankfully, were understanding and dropped their questions when asked. She did like how friendly they were as it helped take her mind off of her troubles from earlier. A part of her would miss this when she returned to Sodor, but even so, she was greatly looking forward to returning home. As usual, Mavis bid farewell to Applejack at the end of the market shift to head to Fluttershy’s cottage. That was another job that Mavis wouldn’t have expected to be so good at before coming here. Most of her work involved simply cleaning up after Fluttershy’s various animal friends (which itself was a concept Mavis would never be able to understand, she was sure), or helping the pegasus administer medical treatments to them. The former was simple enough, but some of her animal friends, as she’d learned upon her first visit, really didn’t like getting ‘shots’. Just the other day, she’d had to pin a beaver down to the floor with her hooves while Fluttershy inserted a ‘needle’ into its arm and pumped it full of something that was hard to pronounce; its screams were unbearable to listen to. In a way, that made this job even harder than working at Sweet Apple Acres, but she was happy to help all the same. The sun’s position indicated it was mid-afternoon when Mavis reached Fluttershy’s cottage. Fluttershy wasn’t out front like she was most of the time. She walked up the front steps and knocked on the front door, but she got no answer after a few moments, so she tried again. Still nothing. She frowned, wondering if Fluttershy was asleep or something? She knocked a little louder and shouted, “Fluttershy! It’s me, Mavis! Can you hear me!?” No answer. Mavis was getting worried now. Something didn’t feel right. She looked behind her to see if Fluttershy had gone out and was returning home up the path, but saw nothing. She made her way around the house, peering in every window to try to catch a glimpse of the pegasus. She spotted a number of animal friends in the living room, but only small ones, and still no sign of Fluttershy. Mavis was about to knock on the back door when something near the edge of the property caught her eye; something white stuck in a green bush. She trotted over and the object revealed itself to be a feather. Mavis bent over to inspect it closer. It looked awfully similar to the feathers on Fluttershy’s chickens. But what was it doing in the backyard rather than the front where the coop was? Then Mavis remembered her encounter with Fluttershy the other day where she was scolding her chickens for running loose. Her eyes swept the immediate area before landing on another feather just next to the bush. Moving over to it revealed a third feather a small distance away. Then another one just on the outskirts of the Everfree. Everything made sense after a moment and Mavis let out a sharp, horrified gasp. If a chicken went into the Everfree, then Fluttershy must have gone in after it! That meant she was in danger! She still didn’t know everything about the Everfree, but her encounter the other day, despite there being no real danger, convinced her the ponies knew what they were talking about. Mavis took a step forward to go in after her but hesitated when she remembered her promise not to enter the Everfree again. She imagined the scolding she’d get from the ponies if she broke her promise. They would tell the Fat Controller and no doubt she’d be locked up in the shed again for misbehaving so much. She turned around and took off in a sprint around the cottage, intending to head back to town to tell everyone what happened. She didn’t make it very far before a nagging worry took root in her mind, slowing her down before eventually bringing her to a full stop. She looked back to the Everfree with concern. If she took too long to get help, then something might happen to Fluttershy before she got back. If she could get in and quickly find Fluttershy before something bad happened then everything would be okay. She was torn between the two options. For a couple of minutes, she tried to figure out the right decision to make. Every time she thought one decision might be preferable, a small voice in the back of her mind that she couldn’t ignore said it was wrong. Mavis growled with frustration, wanting to do the right thing, but also realizing that the longer she did nothing the greater chance that something would happen to Fluttershy. ... I can’t let anything happen to her, she eventually decided. Mavis returned to the edge of Fluttershy’s property, right at the treeline. She hadn’t been scared of it before, but now, realizing the dangers that lurked within, her nerves were sapped. She’d gotten lucky before, but entering now could see her encountering a dangerous creature that wouldn’t hesitate to eat her. The same could also happen to Fluttershy if she wasn’t quick enough, however. She breathed a deep, resolving breath and exhaled before marching into the forest. Every step she took was hard to make, but she trudged onward at a steady pace. She had to find Fluttershy and make sure she was safe. She committed to memory every oddly-shaped rock and tree she passed to use to follow back since she wasn’t on the dirt path. She knew she was going the right way, too, as she found a couple more chicken feathers lying on the ground. Every now and then she heard the distant cry of some animal and each one sent a spike of fear through her. The chicken was absolutely silly to wander into such a dangerous place! She stopped after about a quarter kilometre into the forest. She’d made it to a small clearing surrounded with prickly plants and snags and one more feather lying in the middle. Something told Mavis this was where the trail ended; the best possible place to find Fluttershy. “Fluttershy!” she called. “Fluttershy! Can you hear me!? It’s me, Mavis!” No answer. The forest was eerily silent now; no animals made their presence known. Fear coursed through Mavis, but she steeled her courage and called again. “Fluttershy!” Still nothing. Mavis began walking the edge of the clearing, checking for any sign of Fluttershy or her lost chicken. Wisps of mist were rising in the distance among the snags like little ghosts. Nothing moved, either, whether an animal or the wind blowing the trees. Everything was still as statues. She made several laps around the clearing, her fear rising with each pass and struggling to keep her courage. It didn’t take long for her to realize how very exposed she was like this— if a monster or something bad showed up, she was far away from the safety of Fluttershy’s cottage, possibly too far to outrun anything that came after her. She made a fifth lap around the clearing and still didn’t see any trace of Fluttershy. She could either venture further into the forest in the hopes of finding something, or she could turn back and seek help in town. She wanted to keep searching, but the part of her that had wanted to go get help was back and was starting to make more sense. She didn’t know the Everfree Forest as the ponies did, so they’d be preferable to have along in her search for Fluttershy. Confident in her logic, she turned back in the direction she came from. She was shocked to see a chicken peeking out from behind a snag! Its eyes were closed and it was oddly still, but it was definitely Fluttershy’s missing chicken. “You should’ve stayed in your coop as Fluttershy told you to,” Mavis scolded the chicken as she closed the distance between them. The chicken didn’t make any reaction. Mavis stopped a few steps in front of it. “Let’s go back to the—” The chicken’s eyes opened and Mavis was startled to see they were crimson red. She gasped in shock, stumbling back a bit. Then the chicken stepped out from behind the tree and Mavis saw that it most certainly wasn’t Fluttershy’s chicken. Attached to the chicken head was a sickly green, scaly body with a long, spike-covered tail. It opened its mouth to reveal two rows of sharp, menacing teeth. Mavis tried to lift her hoof to step back, but it refused to move. Panic gripped her and she tried again, but still nothing. She looked down and her eyes bulged with shock upon seeing that all four of her hooves were turning to stone! Slowly but surely, before her eyes, the fur was being transformed in a sparkly veil of what must’ve been magic. Her heartbeat began picking up as fear completely overtook her. She tried with all her might to make her legs move, but no amount of effort was making it work. The creature took a step closer to her, drawing Mavis’ attention back to it. One look in its eyes was all it took for her to realize it was turning her into stone!. The magic had covered all her legs by now and was creeping across her flanks and chest. Mavis couldn’t move any part of her body now. “Someone!” she screamed. “Help me! Please!” No one came. The creature continuing turning her into stone, unmindful of her cries. The strange magic had finished with her chest and was working its way up her neck now while the rest of her body had been completely turned. Tears streamed from Mavis’ eyes, but for what reason, she wasn’t sure; even they turned to stone against her body as they fell into the magic’s reach. She should’ve gone for help in town. The magic reached Mavis’ face. Her mouth was quick to turn, leaving her unable to scream for help anymore. She swept her gaze back and forth, searching the surrounding area for any sign of help; her heart sank when she saw no one coming. The magic reached her eyes and everything went completely dark. Next was her ears— the sound of the creature’s breathing muted. All of her senses were gone, leaving only her thoughts intact, and even those she could feel slipping away as the creature’s magic continued working on her head. She was completely trapped. The last thing she thought before she lost all sense of self was how very silly she had been.