//------------------------------// // Assistance // Story: No More Draws // by onekface //------------------------------// Chapter 6: Assistance (CHS) Apple Bloom and her friends peeked in around the corner of one of the school’s many classrooms. The school bell had rung in a few minutes ago which signaled the end of class. She spotted her brother by the window, packing his things and getting ready to head home. Her sister called in during lunch time asking for assistance in some delicate matters. She wasn’t quite sure why but Applejack asked her to keep Big Mac out of the house for the evening. A rough guest would say it had something to do with that new look she was trying. She won’t say this out loud but Applejack looked pretty darn tootin this morning. The gal was downright gorgeous in all the right ways. Even Granny Smith admitted that she turned from a beautiful apple to a stunning one. “Alright fellas. Applejack said that we needed to keep my big brother busy for the evening. So no matter what, we have to find a reason for him to go anywhere but home. Anyone here got any ideas?” “Maybe we can get his O & O gang to play a long adventure game.” Sweetie Belle suggested knowing the boy’s gaming habits with his friends. Apple Bloom shook her head in reply. “I already tried that. But it looks like he and the gang only meet every Thursday and Friday. We need to distract him now. Something that’ll keep him occupied.” “Well. What does he like? We don’t exactly know much about your brother. In fact… I don’t think I’ve heard more than two words out of his mouth.” “Well… he likes that silly board game.” Apple Bloom recounted. “Oh! And he’s also in Rarity’s singing troupe. And uh… he likes… cider?” “Apple Bloom… all your family loves cider. We need something else.” They turned their heads over to Scootaloo who laughed at their feeble attempts of planning. “What are you laughing about?” “You guys are too simplistic.” Scoots stated with a smug grin. “Your method of thinking are outdated. If you want someone out of the picture, you need to think outside the box.” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked at one another before looking back at the third member of their group. “I take it you have a plan?” She nodded. “Leave everything to me. I call this plan The CMC Rush Job.” (The CMC Rush Job) Big Mac strolls by the hallway innocently enough, whistling into the air with nary a worry, thinking that the day was going to end in blissful normality. His thoughts wandered to home where he’d think of what Granny was making for dinner. He reached his locker and opened it, preparing to stow his books inside, only to pause when he found three pair of eyes glaring back at him from within. Without warning the CMC burst out of his locker and jumped him. “GET HIM!” “I got his legs!” “Gag his mouth!” “RARRR!” The poor boy screamed like a little girl that he never was, terrified out of his mind as he was thrashed to the wall and then to the floor before he was blindfolded, gagged, tied up like a cattle and then thrown to the janitor’s closet and locked in for the night. The CMC then got together and high-five before departing to the nearest ice-cream parlor to celebrate a job well done. xxxxxxxxxx “Eh? Ehhh~?” Scootaloo winked, seeing her friends’ shocking expressions. “Pretty good, right?” “Wow~~~” Apple Bloom droned. “That was… terrible.” “I agree.” “WHAT!? Why? That was a perfect plan! Big Mac’ll never see it coming.” Apple Bloom folded her arms. “No offense Scootaloo, but I think hurting my brother is going a wee bit too far for a distraction. We need something less…” “Traumatizing?” “That’s it.” Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement. “Besides, Big Mac is strong. Like… crazy strong. When he volunteered to be the school mascot last year, he carried the whole football team and cheerleading squad on his shoulder while he was eating a sandwich in one hand inside the costume. I can’t exactly see any of us tackling him to the ground, much less gag him and bag him.” Scoots opened her mouth to protest but decided that they were right. Big Mac was insanely strong for a high-schooler. Taking him down would be like taking down an elephant with a plushy toy. “Alright alright.” She submitted. “I suppose I didn’t take some equations into account. But luckily for you girls, I always have a backup plan. I call it: Winner Winner Turkey Dinner.” “I think you mean chicken dinner.” Sweetie corrected. “No. Turkey! Why in the world would want a small chicken when you can have a whole turkey all for yourself? It’s way more logical to… no never mind. Anyway…” (Winner Winner Turkey Dinner) Big Mac strolls by the hallway innocently enough, whistling into the air with nary a worry. His thoughts wandered to home where he’d think of what Granny was making for dinner. He reached his locker and opened it, preparing to stow his books inside, only to pause when he saw a small pink envelope laying idly by, begging someone to open it. The bright color and the heart shape plastered the front was far too enticing to resist. His name was also written in big bold letters so he was sure that it was addressed to him. There was a hint of perfume on the parchment which made it even more alluring. He looked around, making sure the hallway was clear. Hungrily and curiously he opened it thinking that it was coming from a crush or a secret admirer. But the moment he popped the envelope open, some strange dust puffed to his face making him cough and wheeze. He slowly begins to feel drowsy. That’s when Scootaloo drops in Mission-Impossible style, dressed in spy attire, and shoots a dart from her blowgun, nabbing right onto his neck sending a non-lethal dose of sleeping poison into his systems. “This is Short Wing. Tango is down. Moving on to phase two.” Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom then come in and roughly put Big Mac into a wooden crate hammering it tightly before putting it on a trolley then rolling it to the back of the school where a mail van was conveniently waiting for them. The Mailman and Scoots meet up, doing a secret handshake while they load the cargo into the van, putting a stamp that says ‘Deliver to Yakyakistan’. The mailman then pays Scoots a wad of cash and shuts the van before drives off into the distance. Scootaloo flaps the cash in hand like poker cards, grinning evilly. After making sure that the van was gone, the girls celebrate with a well-deserved ice cream. xxxxxxxxxx “WHAT THE HECK Scootaloo!?” Apple Bloom exploded. “You got something against my big brother?” “What? It sounds cool! Don’t you ever wanted to do something spy-like before?” “Yeah but not to hurt him.” “Where are gonna find climbing gear and poison darts anyway?” Sweetie Belle asked. “That’s easy.” Scoots replied holding said gear and poisoned darts. “I got these from Pinkie Pie.” Her friends’ jaws dropped. “Yeah. You wouldn’t believe what kind of stuff she has lying around. She said she used this for a birthday job. Or… did she say break-in? It’s hard to tell when she’s yapping all the time. Anyway, pretty sweet, right?” “And who’s that mailman at the school loading dock?” Scoots shrugged. “Eh… a friend. I smuggle some stuff through her a few times. Where do you think I get my new scooter?” Her two friends shivered at the thought. “Anyway, it’s an awesome plan. I’d say we try it.” “No.” Apple Bloom put her foot down on the matter. “We are not poisoning my brother, or writing him a fake love letter or shipping him Yakyakistan. Besides, it’s way too complicated for a quick job.” “And dangerous.” Sweetie added. “Not to mention we don’t exactly have a lot of time to set all that up. We need something simpler.” “Fine!” Scootaloo threw her hands up in air. “You want simple? I’ll give you simple!” (…Simple) Big mac walks to locker. Scootaloo walks up to Big Mac with a baseball bat. Scootaloo says hi. Big Mac says hi. Scootaloo whacks his head with said baseball bat. Big mac falls down. Scootaloo repeatedly whacks Big Mac till he’s unconscious. Scootaloo walks out of school happy. xxxxxxxxxx “Now you’re just being lazy.” Apple Bloom shook her head letting out a disappointing sigh. They then returned their gaze back to Big Mac who was just about to leave the room. “How do we get him to stay away?” And luckily enough, they didn’t have to. The CMC froze when they saw a pair of hands snake behind Big Mac’s cheeks. (Road to Applejack’s Farm) Applejack couldn’t help but squirm. There was a strange feeling building inside of her chest. A feeling she never knew she could even have. She didn’t know she could feel this way being so close to another guy. Normally when she rode on someone else’s ride she’d feel right as rain. But when it was HIS car, the middle child of the apple family couldn’t help but develop a sense of vulnerability. This was probably the first time she rode on Flash’s car. The vehicle was slicked and decked to the max, matching the driver almost perfectly. You can feel the engine roaring on the front. The amount of horsepower on this baby was probably 10 times stronger than whatever her family could come up with. And don’t even get her started with the décor. The paintjob on this thing alone must’ve cost time, effort… or a lot of money. Heck even the inside of this thing looked downright fancy. There were so many buttons and knobs she didn’t even have a clue to what half of them did. She wouldn’t be surprised if she pressed that big red button and the car would sprout wings and fly over the city. Apple Bloom would find that really cool. But those petty things did little to distract her from the situation she was in. She watched a dozen movies and cheesy romantic series on TV before and riding on a boy’s car can often lead to unprecedented results. In those cheesy scenes, the driver would often engage in a typical seduction technique. Two people trapped inside a metal box going at 40 kilometers an hour? The sky was the limit. If they were a couple, they’d probably be making out right here and now and no one would see a darn thing through these tinted windows. Applejack also made a mental note on Flash’s actions as well. While the boy tried to hide it, she could tell that he was giving out passing glances at her. More precisely… her bare, unprotected legs. Damn it Rarity. Why in the world did you have to make my skirt two inches shorter? Those knee socks practically covered nothing. Did he find them weird? Sexy? His constant blushing suggested the latter which only made the girl even more conscious about her features. Was it possible to sexually harass someone just by looking? Because the other students back in school practically did the same. The boys in particular, scanned her body from neck to foot. Some in a blissful daze while others were… less gentlemanly. She tried to pull her skirt down to cover just a little more but it exposed a bit of her waist in the process which only made Flash’s gaze turn a little upward. Oh god. She was getting anxious. What was she to say? What was she to do? Rarity made no mention of an aftermath. Granted, this was partly her fault for inviting the boy for a well to do dinner but that was just the spur of the moment. Now they were alone, both dressed to the nines and she had absolutely no idea what to do. And this dreadful silence lingering between them was killing her. “So…” She opened up finally which was somehow interrupted by a beep from her phone. It startled them but she caught it. “Uh… oops. Sorry.” It was a message from Apple Bloom. ‘No need to worry about Big Mac.’ Atta girl. She didn’t know how she did it but hopefully her brother will be out for the rest of the night. Applejack smiled and took a mental note to reward her little sister later when she gets back. You can really count on her when the chips are down. But now she needs a way to break this silence. She needed to seal the deal and give him more to work on. What did Rarity say in her lessons again? “The imagination of a young healthy boy can be very useful. You only need to give him some fuel to work with.” “Thanks again for helping me out with the harvesting Flash. I don’t know what I’d do if I go at it alone.” He shrugged. “Don’t mention it. I take it something like this happens a lot in your home?” “Pretty much. Normally we’d do it over the weekend when we have plenty of time. The whole process takes a lot out of us, and I can work up quite the sweat.” “Really?” His ears perked up. “That sounds exhausting.” “Tell me about it.” Applejack stretched her arms upward pushing her chest forward. Her whole body stretched over the shirt which enhanced her frame. “Back in the summer, it got so hot that I had to take out my working overalls. I had to pick up the rest of it with just my shirt and shorts. It was a doosie.” “Ah… ahuh.” He gulped. “But nothing cools down a hard day’s work than chugging down a bottle of my family cider, straight from the cooler. And a nice cold shower back home.” Was it getting hot in here or was his face turning a shade redder than normal? “Y… yeah. Sounds… g…great.” Oh he was down for the count. “Are you talking about apples or something else?” The boy pressed on the accelerator. xxxxxxxxxx They arrived at the farm not a few minutes later. Granny Smith was there looking rather impatient. “Well it’s about time you got here.” She whined. “Was about to think you were about to skip on your chores.” “Wouldn’t dream of it Granny.” Applejack chuckled as her driver exited the vehicle. “Who’s that red fellow?” “That’s Flash.” The boy in question waved back politely though his face was a bit red. “I brought him over to help out with the harvest. Big Mac and Apple Bloom are uh… tied up at the moment. Let me…” She turned to Flash, giving a flirty wink. “… get changed for a second… and I’ll come help out.” Flash let out a breath which felt hotter than usual. Granny didn’t seem to notice or perhaps she chose to ignore her granddaughter’s changed in attitude. “Well whatever. Just hurry on now and you can help out with the extra labor I brought with me." Extra labor? “Awww… dang it! Granny Smith… a little help please.” No… it can’t be. Applejack turned to the source of the new voice only to find a girl dangling by one of the trees. Their eyes locked and the hanging gal let out a childishly awkward smile. “Oh… hey there AJ.”