//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: The Legion's First Hearts and Hooves Day // Story: The Adventure of the Apex Legion // by DeffBwade //------------------------------// Previously on The Adventure of the Apex Legion Apparently Headmare Twilight arranged for us to have a field trip in order to learn about tee-am work. "Professors, admit it. We're lost," I said at loud. "I wouldn't say lost, just...confused?" Professor Applejack defended. "So we're lost," I said. "N-no. We're just...taking the long and scenic route," Professor Dash defended. "A route that takes more than an hour and a half to go through?" "Y-yes?" "Uh huh...so that means we're lost." "U-um...I...yeah, we're lost," Professor Dash admitted, to which we all groaned out of annoyance. "Bileomeogeul (goddamn it)," I mumbled. We then heard the sound of a beast growling, a wolf's growling to be specific. My eyes turned to pinpricks as the beast finally emerged out of its cover. It was...I don't even know what it was. It was indeed a wolf, but it was bigger than what you would expect. Its eyes glowed green as it practically stared into my soul. The freakiest part, however, was that it didn't even look like it was made out of fur and flesh, but instead an amalgamation of a bunch of wood and leaves. "A timberwolf in the Whitetail Woods?!" Sandbar panicked. "But that's impossible!" Professor Applejack said, "They only reside in the Everfree Forest! What's it doing here?! Before anything could happen though, Rainbow and AJ could've sworn that they saw something in the Timberwolf's eyes. It was only for a brief second, but it was enough to put a slight chill up their spines. Some sort of shimmer. Something...dark...and evil. "W-why is it looking at me?" It then started to slowly approach me...before it suddenly lunged, to which I jumped up into the air, my wings flapping in the breeze of the supposedly serene woods. It was a fight or flight situation at this point, and seeing as there was no way I could be capable of killing a wolf made of wood... I choose flight. Literally. Time seemed to slow down as the wolf got into a pouncing position, ready to catch its prey. I closed my eyes and waited for it to deliver the final blow. As I heard the Timberwolf pounced, my memories shifted to those of my friends. How they always put a smile on my face, how much fun we had. Well...it was fun while it lasted. "At least I know that they're safe." At that thought, I felt something. Not the feeling of claws and teeth tearing my flesh apart. Not the feeling of the wolf tackling me down to the river below. It was instead kind of a feeling of warmth enveloping me, but only for a split second. And after that... Nothing. "Are you okay Legion?!" Ocellus asked out of concern. "Besides being a little shaken up from what just happened, I think I'm fine," I answered. "A-are you sure?! I-I mean...when the Timberwolf started chasing you, I got so worried," Ocellus said as her voice started to quiver a bit, "I thought...I thought..." I then walked up to her and placed a hoof on her shoulder with a small smile adorning my face. Well...I don't know if quadrupeds even have shoulders, but you get the idea. "Ocellus. I'm fine," I said, "But...thanks for worrying about me." "Where is the Timberwolf anyway?" Sandbar asked. "Well...simply put...it fell," I admitted. "Beg your pardon?" Professor Applejack asked. "I...honestly don't know myself," I shrugged, "I must've missed me when it lunged at me." "Huh?!" Silverstream yelled. "I mean...it doesn't really matter to me," I shrugged, "I'm alive. That's what matters." "Ah it's just a flesh wound professor. I'll be fine," I said, but then I winced a little at the pain, "But in all honesty, I think I need to go to the hospital. Please tell one of you found the way back." Smolder then flew up into the air to get her bearings. She must've spotted Ponyville because she flew back down and said, "We can get back to the school before dark if we cross the ravine." "Good," I said with a sigh of relief. Just before the Timberwolf was about to dig its claws into Legion, the young pegasus, in the blink of an eye, disappeared and reappeared in a flash of light a meter or two to the left, just outside of the Timberwolf's range. The young pegasus didn't seem to notice what just happened though. "It appears the hero of the story is starting to get in touch with his...'special'...kind of magic," he said as his yellow and red eyes backed off into the darkness. The Adventure of the Apex Legion Written by DeffBwade Chapter 8: The Legion's First Hearts and Hooves Day Essays are total bitch at times. Most of the time I just spew bullshit in order to meet the length requirements. For this one, I had to write about the history of...something. You know what? I don't fucking care anymore. I finished it, so now I can forget. God I stayed up till midnight writing it, and it's Friday so I have work today. Wait, what? What? You do realize that Headmare Twilight made it due next week. ... ... God damnit, I'm a fucking idiot. Oh well, at least it's one thing I don't have to worry about over the weekend. Yeah. You just have to worry about not falling asleep during school or work. Eh. I'll manage. As Celestia's sun shined through my window, I slowly opened my eyes before rubbing them and letting out a yawn. I sat up and stretched my hooves in the air like I just don't care. I guess that's one advantage to having hooves. They're much easier to stretch than human arms and hands. I then got off my bed and started stretching my hind hooves and my wings before wincing in pain from my bandaged wing. After me, my friends, and the professors got back to Ponyville, Professor Dash took me to the hospital to get my wing checked. An earth pony mare named Nurse Redheart, who had brilliant sapphire blue eyes, a light amaranthish gray mane in a bun and tail, a white coat, and a cutie mark of a red cross surrounded by hearts, bandaged my wing and told me to let it heal for a few weeks, as well as other stuff you'd expect like change the bandages every so often and try not to get them wet. At first I was in disbelief that it would only take a few weeks to heal, but apparently pony bones heal much faster than humans, so I suppose that's another pony advantage. I gathered up my supplies and placed them in my saddlebag After looking at myself in the mirror and messing with my mane a bit, I looked at the clock. Sleeping at midnight really messed with my sleep schedule because there was only about 20 minutes until class begins, meaning I won't have time to get some breakfast at Sugarcube Corner. Oh well. I'm sure I can survive for a few hours until lunch. I should probably get a quick snack when I start my shift as well. For now, I guess I'll just walk around the school until class starts. I put on my saddlebags and exited my room and out into the hallways. As I walked around, however, I noticed some decorations set up. Some were red and pink streamers, and others were of...hearts? In fact, now that I look around, I can see ponies here and there giving somepony of the opposite gender cards with blushes forming on their faces. What is going on? "What is this? Valentine's Day?" "No, silly. It's Hearts and Hooves Day," a familiar, cheery voice said, starling me. "Gah!" I jumped and turned to Professor Pinkie, "Professor, please don't do that again." "Okie dokie lokie," she said with her same happy smile. "Anyway, what did you just say?" I asked. "I said it's Hearts and Hooves Day," she said as she then started to hug herself, "You know, the day where you get all romantic with your special somepony and give them hugs and kisses, as well as chocolates! Ohh, I love chocolates. I'm hungry." Okay. So it is Valentine's Day. Good to know I guess. "So Legion, do you have anypony on your mind that you wanna ask to be your special somepony? Somepony with whom you want to give a good old smooch on the cheek or lip and let love blossom in the air?" she asked, which I admit, made me blush a bit, and by that I mean a lot. It's a good thing I have dark colored coat. "No," I simply answered, but she then leaned a bit closer to me, a huge grin on her face. "Are you sure~?" she asked, making me a little bit more nervous. "Yeah?" I said, to which she backed off after a few seconds of silence. "Okay then. Maybe love will blossom between you and your special somepony at a later date," she cheered before going into a whisper, "Spoiler alert, she lives here in Ponyville." "I am so not following you," I said with confusion, "What do you mean by that?" "You'll find out eventually, but right now you should head to class before you're late," she said before hopping off, "I'll see you in class and at work Legion!" Weird mare. Eh. It's just Professor Pinkie being Professor Pinkie. I learned not to question just a few days after I met her. Although there are times where I question whether or not she's some sort of goddess. I shrugged off what just happened and headed off to class. ... Wait, did she just read my mind? The school day was more or less uninteresting, so let's skip ahead to my shift at Sugarcube Corner. Mrs. Cake offered to teach me how to make cupcakes, and of course I accepted. Granted, I'd rather learn how to make cookies, but in due time perhaps. "Thanks again for teaching me how to do this Mrs. Cake," I said as I took the cupcakes out of the oven. "Oh, it's no problem dearie. I'm glad to teach somepony my ways," she said with a smile, "But I'm kind of surprised that Pinkie didn't teach you yet. Isn't she a teacher at you school?" "Yeah, you see..." I whispered after checking around a bit for any pink ponies, "...don't tell her I said this, but that mare needs to be less...hyper...from time to time, especially when she's doing something like teaching." "I can teach you if you don't know how to make cupcakes Legion. It's really, really, really easy," Professor Pinkie said with a smile, to which I nodded, before... "First you preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line the cupcake pans with paper liners. Then you toss flour sugar baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Add shortening milk and vanilla for flavor and taste. I personally put in a little bit of candy as well to make them sweeter. Beat for 1 minute then scrape the side of the bowl with a spatula cause we want to salvage as many cupcakes as we can from the mix!" Now imagine all of that but spoken in about a million and a half words per second. "First-you-preheat-the-oven-to-350-degrees-and-line-the-cupcake-pans-with-paper-liners-Then-you-toss-flour-sugar-baking-powder-and-salt-in-a-mixing-bowl-Add-shortening-milk-and-vanilla-for-flavor-and-taste-I-personally-put-in-a-little-bit-of-candy-as-well-to-make-them-sweeter-Beat-for-1-minute-then-scrape-the-side-of-the-bowl-with-a-spatula-cause-we-want-to-salvage-as-many-cupcakes-as-we-can-from-the-mix!" ... ... U-umm... And she said all of that with smile as if it's how she normally talks. Bless her heart, but holy shit. "O-okay...so I take the uh...something...and um...what?," I asked with absolute confusion. "I mean, don't get me wrong. Pinkie's a good pony, but I think she gave me a headache from that explanation," I explained as I put the cupcakes on the counter. "That's just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie. You'll get used to it eventually," Mrs. Cake waved off. "I got used to it a few days after meeting her...as well as several brain aneurysms," I said, "Anyway, I'm guessing the next part is to add the frosting?" "Mmhm," she nodded as she gave me the frosting...dispenser...I don't know what it's called but whatever, "Decorate it in anyway you'd like." As I started to think of a design to make, I heard the doors to Sugarcube Corner open followed by a voice. "Hello? Is anypony here?" asked a mare's voice. "I'll see who that is. You go ahead and decorate," Mrs. Cake said as she exited the kitchen. "Okay Mrs. Cake," I said as I turned my attention back to the bare cupcakes. What to do? What to do? Dude you should totally draw a penis. That would be so hilarious. That would be funny, but I'm kind of scared that it would get me fired if one of the Cakes catch me drawing something inappropriate, and I gotta earn some bits somehow. I don't wanna do something too complicated nor too simple. Maybe I should just be a basic bitch and draw smiley faces or flowers. God I can't tell whether or not this is just my innocent nature or that this cartoonish world is starting to get to my head. Fuck it! I gotta go back to my roots and get back my fucked up mind! I'M GONNA DRAW A BUNCH OF PEN- I am so childish, aren't I? In reality, I stayed a basic bitch and drew innocent designs. Unfortunately, I never used this frosting thingie before and I ended up making a bit of a mess, with each smiley face looking like they belong to a disfigured face. Again, you can't really blame me. This is the first time I've done this. "A for effort?" I asked myself before calling out, "Uh...Mrs. Cake? I finished decorating the cupcakes." "Oh that's good dear, and how did they turn out?" I heard her ask. "Um, to be honest, not as good as I intended them to be. And I may or may not have made a bit of a mess," I admitted. "There's no need to worry. There's always bound to be a mess when it comes to baking," Mrs. Cake said before she reentered the kitchen, "Listen Legion, is it alright if you watch the store for a little while?" "Hmm?" I perked up, "What for?" "There's this pony asking me if I can give her a tour of Ponyville and who am I to say 'no?'" she answered. "Was it that mare I heard a few minutes ago?" I asked to which she nodded. "Mmhmm. Her name is Sugar Belle. I'll be sure to introduce you to her when we return. So can I trust you to watch the store while I'm gone?" Mrs. Cake asked. What about Mr. Cake or Professor Pinkie? Mr. Cake is doing cake deliveries across town and Professor Pinkie is doing...Professor Pinkie things. I'd honestly rather not question what that mare does in her free time. I'll take your word for it. "Of course," I answered simply to which she smiled and started to walk away. "We'll be back in about an hour," she called out. "Okay," I called back. To be honest, I don't know what the fuck I'm doing. I'm literally just gonna wing it, like I do with a lot of things. Thankfully the lunch rush has passed. 1 hour later Spoiler alert, nopony came as I was watching the store. Not that I'm complaining or anything, but it got boring quite fast. That's mainly because this world doesn't have phones to watch YouTube on. Sigh. Oh well. Gotta make do with what I've got I guess. Maybe I should at least see if they have handheld video game devices. That should occupy my time. As I sat at the front counter just thinking about how vast the universe is and how small and insignificant our lives our, the front door opened, jolting me from my deep thinking. I looked back to the door and saw Mrs. Cake, along with a unicorn mare whom I assumed to be Sugar Belle. She had a moderate magenta poofy mane and tail, a pale cerise coat, moderate cerise eyes, and a cutie mark of a cupcake. "Thanks for the tour of Ponyville Mrs. Cake. It's such a lovely place," Sugar Belle said, confirming my thoughts as I recognized her voice as the one I heard earlier. "It was my pleasure," Mrs. Cake said before she turned her head to me, "Oh, Sugar Belle, I want you to meet Apex Legion. He also works here at Sugarcube Corner." "Eh, just 'Legion' is fine," I said before turning my attention to the pink mare, "Nice to meet you Sugar Belle." "Nice to meet you too Legion," she said with a smile. Not gonna lie. This mare is kind of adorable. "Well Mrs. Cake, I'm off to surprise Big Mac with the news," Sugar Belle said. "Big Mac?" I asked. "Seriously? There's someone named after a McDonalds burger in this world?" Why am I not surprised? "He's my coltfriend. Oh I can't wait to see the look on his face when I tell him..." Sugar Belle said before putting on a serious face and saying in a serious tone, "...we need to talk." "Wait, what?" I asked out of confusion and slight shock, "A little context please?" "Oh. It's about my cousin. You see, I have this wacky cousin who's never been on his own, but I have to let him run my shop on weekends. Which is why Big Mac no longer has to travel to my village in order to deliver me stuff anymore. Because I'll be here apprenticing with Mrs. Cake, who does that two days a week...or is it three days a week?" Sugar Belle explained. "Uhhh...got it." I said, "...I think. But...word of advice...maybe you shouldn't tell Big Mac that 'you need to talk' in a way as if you're about to break up with him." "That's what I told her the first time," Mrs. Cake said. "Break up with him?! Never!" Sugar Belle exclaims out of shock, "Why, without my favorite delivery pony I couldn't imagine being happy ever again. He knows that." "Good. Save you mix-up for cake batter, that's what I always say. Hehehe," Mrs. Cake chuckled. "You never said that, but okay," I said. "He's a good listener, that pony. He's also so sweet, and funny, hardworking, and I'm not gonna lie if I say that he's pretty muscular," Sugar Belle said dreamily with a blush. "You really love him, do you?" I asked. *Sigh* "I do," she responded. "...huh." "Anyway..." she said with a shake of her head, "I promise, no mix-ups." All of a sudden, with a flash, this pony just appeared out of nowhere, and I'm not lying. This pony literally appeared out of nowhere. I was about to say something, until... *Gasp* "Big Mac!" Sugar Belle said happily. "So this is Big Mac. Damn, Sugar Belle wasn't lying when she said he was muscular." I'm pretty sure I saw this guy a few times around town selling apples or just walking around. He was an earth pony colt...er, stallion (which is basically the term for an adult colt, like mare is an adult filly) with a brilliant amaranth coat, a brilliant orange mane and tail, light yellowish gray hooves, moderate sap green eyes, I'm pretty what's around his neck is called a yolk, and a cutie mark of a green apple. Why does he look like he has depression though? Shit if I know. "Sugar Belle. We need to talk," Big Mac said in a serious manner. Oh shit. My eyes widened a bit at his tone alone. "Jesus, this guy sounds intimidating." "I know why you're here," Big Mac said with anger clearly evident. "You do?" Sugar Belle responded cheerfully, somewhat oblivious to his anger. "I have something to tell you first." "Oh, can I go first? I'm gonna be-" "Stop," Big Mac interuppted. "Oh, why don't we tell each other on three?" "Um?" I muttered. "One-" "It's over," Big Mac firmly said. "What's over?" Sugar Belle asked, still oblivious to what's going on. "You. And me. It's over." *Gasp* "W-what?" Sugar Belle asked sadly. "Huh?" I couldn't see her face, but I could tell that tears were starting to leak from Sugar Belle's eyes. "We're breaking up," Big Mac said as he started lean against the door in a way that I consider cursed. "Why is he leaning like that?" "I...I don't understand. Why are you breaking up with me?" Sugar Belle asked sadly, "And why are you leaning like that?" "Heh...lol." "I-I...don't know!" Big Mac responded. "Don't know about what?! The reason you're leaning in a weird way, or the reason you're breaking up with this mare?!" "Big Mac, please talk to me," Sugar Belle pleaded. "I...you...GAH!" Big Mac yelled before he stormed outside with tears forming in his eyes, "This is why I don't like talking! Words can hurt! Words hurt! Goodbye, Sugar Belle." And with that, he ran off. ... Well...that just happened. Once I heard Sugar Belle start to cry, I slowly approached her before, with a bit of hesitance, I placed a hoof on her shoulder. She turned and saw my sorrowful expression. "I-I'm sorry Sugar Belle," I said to her. "We both are," Mrs. Cake said as she too approached. *Sniff* "D-don't be. It's not your fault," Sugar Belle responded. *Sigh* "Yeah...I know, but still..." I said, "I only wish Big Mac told you the reason why he decided to break up with you. Talk about out of context." "Yeah...me too." Sigh. Damn. I feel so bad for her. I mean, what could I have said to make her feel better? Should I have chased after Big Mac and demand an explanation from him? In hindsight, it's a good idea, but in the heat of the moment, I didn't think about it. I was more focused on consoling the sad mare, and I don't know where he lives. Now that I think about it, did he also have a country accent like Professor Applejack? Eh, whatever. Where's Professor Pinkie to cheer someone up when you need her? You know her. She can just be...unpredictable. I mean, no offense to her or anything. After a few minutes of trying to cheer up the poor mare, Sugar Belle decided that she needed some alone time and went off to talk through Ponyville. Mrs. Cake and I respected her wishes and just let her go, leaving us to do our own things. Eventually, Mr. Cake returned from cake delivery and Mrs. Cake started to explain everything to him, while I continued my cleaning duties. Needless to say, we all obviously felt bad for Sugar Belle. We weren't mad at Big Mac per say, but we were disappointed. Not that he decided to break up with Sugar Belle if that's what you're thinking. Break ups are just something that happen on a common basis, like child birth...or crime (I mean that on Earth. Apparently crime is quite rare, or at the very least, uncommon here in Equestria. Why can't Earth be this peaceful?). We were disappointed because Big Mac didn't give some kind of explanation. He just said 'it's over' and left, with no context whatsoever. When Sugar Belle returned, she told us that she felt like it would be too upsetting if she stayed in Ponyville, and that she decided to move back to her village. Sigh. Welp. It was nice meeting her, I guess. I mean, obviously, we tried to get her to change her mind, but her mind was made up. I couldn't blame her though. I wouldn't feel comfortable living in a small village where an ex also lives, not that I had one if that's what you're thinking. It was later in the evening, and my shift ends in about 10 minutes. At this point, I just want to go home...er...back to my dorm room, and sleep away all this tension. I wasn't as sad as I was this afternoon, but you get the idea. As I was cleaning the tables, however, I happened to glance outside and saw... "Is that...Sugar Belle and Big Mac?" I said getting a closer look, "It is!" Indeed. Outside I saw Big Mac pulling a cart with Sugar Belle riding on top of it, both with happy expressions on their faces. "And by the looks on their faces, I believe they worked things out," I said as looked over at Mrs. Cake, who was at the counter. "Oh thank goodness," Mrs. Cake said happily, "I was hoping that they'd get back together. Sugar Belle couldn't stop talking about how much she loves Big Mac during the tour. Not that I blame her or anything, what with it being Hearts and Hooves Day." "Once again...huh." I bet that in the future, they're gonna look back on this day and say...lol. I don't think 'lol' is a term here but okay. "What about you Legion?" I heard Mrs. Cake ask. "Huh? Wha?" I asked, snapping out of my thoughts. "Do you have a special somepony for Hearts and Hooves Day?" she asked. "Oh, nah," I responded, "I'm not really in a rush right now to find my significant other." And that's the truth, I'm fully content with being single right now. It's not like my parents are the type that keep asking me 'do you have a girlfriend yet?' Or something to that extent. That's more or less my grandpa's job, not that I'm annoyed by it or anything. In fact, none of my friends have girlfriends, at least to my knowledge, and we're not the type that talk about getting one or which girl in school we think is cute. We're all perfectly fine with the single life. But at the same time, I wouldn't mind getting a girlfriend. I'm the kind of guy that just goes with the flow. If I'm single, then I'm fine with being single. If a girl has a crush on me and asks me out, and I think the girl is cool, then I guess I have a girlfriend. I chuckled a bit at that second thought though. "A girl having a crush on me. That'll be the day." Earlier that day There was about 15 minutes before class starts. Some students were in the processing of waking up or finishing some of their homework at the last minute, and others were just walking around and wasting time before class starts. Among the students just walking around was a certain changeling. The only changeling at the school actually. As Ocellus walked through the halls of the school, she had a small blush on her face as her eyes shifted around. She noticed many ponies giving each cards or chocolates in honor of today's holiday. In her saddlebags, she had her own card, meant for somepony whom she believes is special. As she continued to walk around, she finally saw him. A gray pegasus with a spikey black mane and tail, chocolate brown eyes, and a cutie mark of a weird...smile. In all honesty, while she does know what cutie marks represent, she had no idea what this particular pony's cutie mark means. Regardless, her blush became more apparent as her breathing became a bit more rapid at the sight of him. Apex Legion. For all her life, despite knowing all about love, she never actually felt it for anyone, nor has anyone felt love for her. And she could feel whenever the latter happens if she concentrates a bit, or if the feeling is really strong then she can just feel it naturally. But Legion is different. Normally those around her aren't that interested in the scholarly types. In fact, they tease her a bit for being so into books, even Smolder and Gallus, but she knows those are just playful jokes, so she can't be too offended. For Legion though, he enjoys her book worm side. He himself is a bit of a book worm, just not as much as her. Along with being a bit of a brainiac, Legion is also kind, funny, to the extent of almost being a goofball like Silverstream, he's always there for his friends, he's perseverant, and if Ocellus is being honest to herself, he is kind of cute. And he was right there, currently talking to Professor Pinkie. He didn't see her yet due to his back being turned to her. All Ocellus had to do was talk to him. Just give him the card and ask him to be her special somepony for Hearts and Hooves Day. And if he says 'yes,' then he could be her very first coltfriend and she would be a very happy changeling. Easy peasy. ... But what if he said 'no?' What if instead of accepting her feelings, what if he says that he's not looking for a relationship right now? What if he says she has a marefriend already? What if this damages their friendship? What if...what if he laughs at her?! What if he says that he would never date a changeling because he thinks they're vile for trying to take over Equestria?! No. Ocellus has known Legion for quite a while. He's not the type to say something like that. Right? I mean, he did stand up for her when Chancellor Neighsay said those harsh words about her. Nothing will go wrong. ... Right? Out of fear for what could happen, Ocellus started to slowly back up. Once she thought she was at a reasonable distance, she quickly turned and started to head to her first class. On the inside though, she slapped herself for being scared once again.