//------------------------------// // Buck-it! // Story: The Check-Up Blues // by XSomeGuyX //------------------------------// [Buck-it! “Pinkie!” Applejack called out to her friend as she walked through the darkened apartment. “Pinkie, I know you’re in here. You don’t have to be scared, sugarcube!” Continuing into the apartment, the farm pony saw that Rarity’s handiwork end as the she began to step on all sort of items scattered across the floor. Most notably, many rubber ducks that squeaked as she stepped on them. She continued on only to never hear a response from her pink friend. “Pinkie, I don’t want to have to do this,” Applejack said through her clenched teeth as they held her lasso. Hearing a noise, Applejack quickly roped the source only to find that she had caught a fallen chair. Laughing it off, Applejack paced the room. Looking under every little nook and cranny as best she could in the dark, the blond Earth pony found nothing, at least nothing she could see. The silence in the apartment was becoming a bit unnerving, even for the toughened earth pony. “Pinkie, please come on out, sugarcube,” Applejack called again but to no avail. Walking into Pinkie’s living area, Applejack noticed the scurry of hoofsteps as a shadow moved across the room in an instant. “AH-HA! I GOTCHA NOW!!!” Applejack exclaimed as she swung her lasso at the figure. She managed to rope yet another chair; this one came with a bucket filled with turnips. “Hehe… Gettin’ a little jumpy.” “I thought you had nerves of steel,” the bucket bounced. “Uh… Come again?” the farmer asked as she lifted her Stetson hat to scratch her head. Suddenly, her hat was snatch right out of her hoof by seemingly nothing. “What the hay…?” Then throughout the house, Applejack chased her hat that always knew to jump out of her reach whenever she got in range. Of course, the earth pony knew it had to be the work of Pinkie Pie but what she did not know was why. She continued chasing her hat but it was all in vain as she eventually ended up back in the same room. “Got ya!” Applejack yelled as she jumped on her hat. “No. We got you!” the bucket of turnips said as the country pony was scooped up off the floor. In a blink of an eye, Applejack’s hooves were tied together and her herself suspended in the air by some sort of rope. “Sorry to leave you hanging, Applejack, but you won’t be taking me to the doctor’s today!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she appeared before the blond pony with flattened mane and tail. “Pinkie Pie! Get me down now!” Applejack ordered but it only fell onto deaf ears. “Sorry, Applejack, not until my doctor’s appointment is over,” the pink pony said as she began walking away. Oblivious to Pinkie Pie, the farmer began swinging herself in a final attempt to put an end to this nonsense. “Sorry to do this, Pinkie. YEE-HAW!” Applejack yelled as the rope snapped. She flew towards the pink pony, still ignorant to the fact that Applejack had broken free from the trap. “WHOA!!!” Pinkie screamed as her friend landed on her. Unfortunately for Applejack, the crash had caused one of the floorboards to sink in which, in turn, caused the opposite side to spring up. The floorboard launched Mr. Turnip into the air. Both ponies watched in awe as the bucket flew, eventually crashing down onto Applejack’s head and knocking the poor pony unconscious. “Good job, Mr. Turnip! She almost got me there,” Pinkie smiled. “No problem, Pinkie,” the pink pony provided the bucket’s voice. “Now, what to do with Applejack…?” Pinkie asked herself as she rubbed her hoof under her chin. _________________________________________________________________________________________ The purple unicorn was up and about outside, finally recovering from her long sprint. Unfortunately, she only heard bad news from her friends once fully reenergized. Her two friends already “defeated” by Pinkie, one unable to return and the other not willing. “And Applejack’s in there alone!?” Twilight basically screamed her assistant’s head off. “Yeah…” Spike answered as he poked his ear with one of his claws. “Come on! What are you ponies waiting for? We have help Applejack,” Twilight began charging towards the sweets shop. “But Twilight…” Spike said as they both looked at the sobbing mess that was Rarity. “My perfect hair… RUI-I-INED! I used to be beautiful… but now look at me… I’M HIDEOUS!” the dress maker ranted on as she dragged a couch from nowhere to collapse on to. “Alright, fine! You stay here, Spike, and…” Twilight paused, only to hear her friend’s overly-dramatic cries. “Comfort Rarity…” Spike saluted the purple unicorn as a sign that he was prepared for the duty assigned to him. Fluttershy, in the meantime, found herself a nice hiding place in a bush, only to be given away by her uncontrollable shaking. “Fluttershy, you’re coming with me,” Twilight ordered. “Well… actually, I was thinking that maybe I can stay here with Spike…” Fluttershy said quietly, only one eye open. “You can’t be such a scaredy-pony, come on!” Twilight told her, trying to push her towards the apartment. “FLUTTER-SHYYYY…” The terrified, yellow Pegasus froze up in fear, making herself into immovable object. No matter how hard her friend pushed or pulled, she was not giving an inch. “But it’s just so dark in there, Twilight…” Fluttershy commented, still not budging. “Who knows what could be in there!?” “The…” Twilight began, still attempting to drag the Pegasus to Pinkie’s apartment. “The only thing that’s in there… is two ponies---and maybe an alligator.” “Just leave Fluttershy with us, Twilight,” Spike interjected. “I’m sure between you and Applejack; you’ll be able to get Pinkie Pie out.” “Oh alright!” Twilight yelled in frustration, giving up her effort to push the Pegasus. “THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!” Fluttershy hugged the young dragon tightly. “You’re… wel-come…” Spike said, struggling to breathe. The lone, purple unicorn galloped towards the pink pony’s lair, ignorant to the fact that the farm pony had already been captured.