The morning had turned to noon and all of Ponyville's residents were bustling about, including Rainbow Dash and James Crossland. They strode through town on their way to Sugar Cube Corner to find something to eat, and then later on to Applejack's apple orchard. Clouds were brewing off in the distance, slowly bubbling up and growing darker as they began to form into cradles of rain.
"Hey Rainbow, how is the weather looking for later on today? Looks like we might be getting some rain over on the east." James said to his cyan companion trotting by his side.
"Well, later on we're calling for some rain, how bad though I don't know." Rainbow Dash replied.
"Looks like a storm might be rolling in here in a few hours." James stated. Rainbow looked up and scanned the skies in the direction James had pointed out.
"Hmm, yeah maybe there will be some rain later, I didn't have weather duty today so I'm kinda' out of the loop." Dash agreed.
"It rained a little last night too, you think it will continue like this for the rest of the week?" He asked trying to keep the conversation going.
"Maybe... I dunno though, maybe with you being here you're messing up the weather pattern!" Dash joked with him. The two shared a laugh as they continued walking down the stone streets. As they walked, James still could not help himself but look around in admiration at the beauty of Ponyville. They soon made their way to Sugar Cube Corner for a quick bite to eat. They approached the front door of the bakery, James held the door open for Rainbow and she walked followed by James. She waited for him to catch up, then went over to the front counter where the Cakes were serving a customer. The two waited for a few minutes as the customer and the Cakes haggled over the price for the catering service the Cakes provided, but decided to just find a seat and wait for them to be done.
They made their way over to an empty table, and as they walked, they spotted Pinkie in a back room tending to the Cakes' two foals, Pumpkin Cake, and Pound Cake. James made a disgusted face when he saw the two babies, Dash caught him making it. "What was that for?" She asked very confused by his expression.
"I hate babies, I just simply cannot stand them." He stated.
"Why though? I mean, look at them, they are so cute, especially Pumpkin Cake, he's the pegasus." Rainbow proclaimed with sheer delight in the two foals.
"They're nasty, they smell bad, they drool, and.... do I really need to continue?" He asked with a deadpan tone. They had finally sat down at their seats; James took off his rucksack and slung off his rifle.
"Well no, but still, I don't get how somepony could not like little kids or babies?"
"I'll crawl through the nastiest, stagnant water there is and not care. Hell I will mouth siphon gasoline to get a vehicle moving if need be, but I will not handle a baby." He continued, trying to further state his point.
"I don't know what gas-oh-leen is, but you are the strangest and only human I've ever met."
"You're the first other speaking species I've ever met." James half joked. He scooted back slightly in his small, disproportionate chair, hitting the stock of his rifle and causing it to fall over with a clattering sound. However, it wasn't loud enough to make the ponies at the front counter notice. James quickly set it back up, making sure that it wouldn't fall again.
"Hey James, what did you call that thing again?" Dash asked, breaking the slight silence that had fallen upon them.
"The name I gave her, or the actual thing it is?"
"Both. I know it's a gun from what you've told me about that stuff before, oh, and what's that big thing on the end?" She replied.
"Well it's an M4A1, it shoots a bullet five point five six millimeters in diameter. I gave it the name Loranda a long time ago as a joke mostly, but it just stuck, so I kept it. The big thing on the end is a sound suppressor, and just like the name says, it makes the shots a lot quieter, although it's really just to disguise it to sound like something else." He happily explained to Dash.
"Really? Wow, does this one shoot really fast like you told me about before, or is it like the pistol?" She inquired.
"Excellent question, it does both actually." He said as he took the weapon off the floor, then collapsed the polymer stock to make it fit on the table for the demonstration. He turned it over to show the side of the receiver that housed the fire selector switch. "This little lever switch right here is what makes the weapon able to shoot, aside from the trigger. Flick it once and it's on semi-auto like my pistol; flick it twice and you get full-auto, one pull of the trigger keeps the system going." He lectured.
"Wow, humans have made some really cool stuff without magic." She complimented him on his specie's achievements.
"Oh hell, this isn't anything compared to all the other things we've done, just like the vehicles we send into space I talked about before."
"I still can't believe you can do that." She stated once more, her ears slightly tucking back against her head in astonishment.
"I love it when you do that." He slightly flirted.
"Do what?"
"When you tuck your ears back, it's cute." He chuckled.
"Shut up, no it isn't!" She quickly said as her face flushed a slight shade of red.
"Oh come on, those cute, little, blue, fuzzy ears are too cute when they twitch." He teased her with a wink. As he finished his sentence, Pinkie appeared right next to Dash, slowly coming up from the underside the table.
"Hi!" Pinkie shouted at the two of them. They both recoiled with a slight startle, they had not noticed her approach the table at any time since they had sat down; however, they quickly regained their composure.
"Hello Pinkie." James answered, "You gave us quite a scare!"
"Yeah you did!" Dash agreed, both her and James laughed, then Pinkie joined in.
"I saw you two come in and sit down and just thought, oh I have to say hi! And well, HI!" Pinkie shouted with glee at them.
"Well once again, hello Pinkie. How are you doing this afternoon?" He greeted the pink mare, "Wait, it is afternoon right?" He asked as he took a quick look at his watch, it read 12:36.
"Umm, yeah I think so. What are you two going to do today huh!?" Pinkie inquired with a large grin as she put her hooves on the table.
"Well, I believe we are going over to miss Applejack's to help her pick apples, right?" He asked Dash as he took his rifle off the table, and set it back up on the floor of the bakery.
"Yeah, we were gonna' head over there after we got something to eat. Speaking of which, do you think you could get us two slices of coffee cake, and two cups of hot cider?" Dash ordered for the two of them.
"Sure! Anything for two of my bestest friends! Well actually, you two are two of my bestest friends, but so is everypony else-"
"Pinkie! Could you please?" Dash asked, cutting her off. She nodded her head then shot off her mark into the kitchen. Dash and James sat quietly as Pinkie created the coffee cake then baked it in the oven. James gazed out the window next to him, taking in the wonderfulness of the peaceful town and it's residents. He stared out of it for a while, then a brown coated stallion trotted by the window and quickly glanced in. James looked at the unknown pony and he stared right back, the two looked at each other for a few seconds, then James quickly turned his head away from the window and looked around the bakery. After that, he noticed the light brown stallion had begun to leave the window, he looked back again and got a glimpse of his hourglass cutie mark. After a moment more of staring, he was quickly snapped out of his daze as Pinkie came back and practically threw the plates of light, fluffy cake on the table.
"I'll be right back with the cider, don't go anywhere you two!" She said with a giant grin on her face. Just a moment later, she returned with two mugs of hot apple cider, steam slowly rolled off the top of the light, caramel colored liquid. Pinkie stayed where she was for just a moment, waiting for them to try the brew. Dash was the first. She put her hoof through the handle and picked up the mug, pressing it to her lips for a quick temperature test. Deeming it was okay, she took a sip.
"Mmmm, that's pretty good Pinkie! These taste like apples from AJ's orchard." She exclaimed.
"That's 'cause they are silly filly!" Pinkie replied, bouncing up and down slightly as she spoke. "Well, I'll let you two eat, I just wanted to see how the cider turned out, I've never made it before." She continued, then simply turned and trotted away.
"Hey miss Pinkie Pie, wait up a second!" James said to her after taking a drink of the cider himself. She quickly ran back over in the blink of an eye.
"Yeesss?" She asked.
"I'd like to apologize for my actions yesterday, I shouldn't have gone off like that. I'm sorry for any upsets I caused you." He said as he slightly dropped his head down in shame.
"It's okay, I forgive you, you're not the first pony er human, well actually the first human, but either way you're not the first I've seen get mad before, it's okay." She said forgiving him. She then happily turned and trotted back over to the cakes' foals to play once more. James looked down and took a piece off the cake he had been given, then dunked it in the cider.
"Whoa, that looks good!" Dash said breaking the slight silence that had befallen them.
"What? This? I just dipped it in here is all, nothing special." He said with a shrug.
"Well I don't have hands like you, and I'm not a unicorn so that's out of the question."
"Well here, try a piece." He offered. He picked off another piece and dunked it in once more, then motioned for her to lean in closer. She didn't hesitate. She opened her mouth and James popped the warm, soggy piece of cake in. She relished in it, taking her time to savor every little bit. She came back to reality a minute later, James was looking at her. "Enjoy it did you?" He asked with a smile.
"I did very much." She said back in a flirting tone, her cheeks flashed a faint shade of red.
"I can tell, want another piece?"
"Yes please." She immediately said. James repeated the same thing, and Dash once again savored the wonderfulness of it. The two sat and finished their late brunch, then asked Pinkie how much the meal would cost. It was only four bits for the whole thing, Dash paid and James apologized for "being broke" as he put it. They got up and James put his ruck sack on, then slung his rifle back on, checked to make sure he had everything, then the two walked out the door with a wave to Pinkie and the Cakes.
"Over to miss Applejack's now? Or do you need to stop anywhere else?" He asked as the two strode through town.
"Nah, I don't need to, unless you do or something?" She asked right back. He shook his head no. The rain clouds in the distance had moved closer in, still growing larger and darker as the neared.
"We better get this posse moving if we're gonna get anything done before we get drenched." He said as he pointed to the clouds.
"I thought you were the big bad Marine who would 'go through the nastiest, stagnant water, and siphon gasoline' as I recall? But you're scared of a little rain." Dash quipped.
"Hey, shut up!" He joked back. "I'm not just for the record. When I was stationed in Okinawa, Japan, there was a massive rain storm coupled with a mud slide that buried almost twenty people in an apartment complex. The majority of the base went to dig them out and help all of the other people in trouble, with nothing more than our E-Tools, and it still rained like a mother the whole time! Got everyone out though."
"Wow, really? That's amazing! How big was the apartment?" She asked astounded.
"It had two floors, each floor was about thirty thousand square feet. It was right up against a pretty good size hill, so when it rained, it all came down onto that complex." He continued for her.
"So what happened? I want to hear the rest." She asked getting very excited and lifting into the air.
"Well, the whole damn building practically turned itself around, split in half, and was sitting at a steep angle. First we dug out a hole where we figured one of the exterior windows was, then got a couple of guys ready repel down the long corridor it let in to. At this point we were all drenched, but it wasn't anything we hadn't been through before, hell, in Japan the heat never ends and typhoons only seemed to come on weekends!"
"What's a typhoon, and where is Japan? And what is an E-tool?" She asked trying to get a better grasp on what he was saying.
"Mind if we hold up a sec? My boot lace came untied." He asked her, they stopped and happened to be by a bench, surprisingly as James was telling his story, they had walked almost halfway to Applejack's orchard. He sat down and began to retie his boot as well as checking the other one just in case. The sun was shining down on the two as the incoming rain clouds slowly marched on. They had grown from heavy gray, to a sinister looking dark purple, and were getting thicker by the minute. "Alright, as I was saying, we had guys coming up to repel down the corridor of the building, we went in with six teams, two guys in each one. One corpsman, and one guy to go along with him." James continued. they got back up and resumed walking to the orchard, James' boots now tied and ready for anything.
"You didn't answer my question though." Dash interrupted.
"Oh right, sorry about that. Japan is an Island with a very large population, and a typhoon is a tropical storm that will bring in floods, fast winds, and one hell of a problem for anything in its path. An E-tool is a shortened way of saying entrenching tool, a tiny spade shovel really." He answered her.
"Oh I see, and you lived in Ja-pan for a while?" She said, sounding out the syllables in the name.
"Affirmative. As I was saying before, what we did was go down into the hallway of the second floor on this place. We sent in a couple guys before one of our corpsmen, Chuck, and myself went in. We dropped probably twenty glow sticks in there I swear, then we put our head lamps on, some of the guys brought night vision, but we all had our preferences. Anyway, my teammate went up to the window and dropped down to an open doorway where we then met up. We had to be sent down some crowbars so we could get into the rooms where some people were at. The funny part about this whole thing I thought, was that we had to swing on our ropes so we could hop down to the rooms, we would swing, jam the bar into the door frame, then check to see if the rooms were clear. We cleared about six rooms then came upon our first victim, it was a man with a broken leg, and a really badly broken arm. Getting him out was difficult because he was trapped under the bed, and the entertainment center, so we had to muscle that off of him."
"Wait, hold on, you had to lift practically half a room off of him!?" Dash asked with her mouth agape.
"Pretty much."
"You are something else, you know that?" She asked with a smile.
"Thank you Rainbow Dash, you're definitely something different all together I must say." He said back with a smile just as big as hers.
"Please continue, I kinda' like hearing you talk, especially about these adventures that you have been on."
"Is that right? Don't think I've ever had that said to me before, usually it's 'don't talk and move your ass' instead. Well, anyway, where was I? Oh yes, we got to this guy who had no idea what was going on, luckily my corpsman could speak some Japanese and told him to calm down. We threw the television off of him, then the entertainment piece, then the bed and all of that. The one saving grace we had with us was an injured personnel carrier, or IPC. We lifted up the guy and strapped him into the loops on the rig, then pretty much wore him like a back pack. So after we got him packed away, my corpsman got ready to climb up and I had him on belay because the guys at the top were unable to do it safely, then he began his awkward climb up. He managed to get up there though; I got to serve with him on one tour before I came here, definitely a dude I would go into battle with any day. After he got the guy up to the surface and he was treated, he came back down and we continued the search. We found six more people on our floor and the guys on the lower level found the rest. The person in the worst shape had a chunk of steel go through the left side of their chest, and got a really nasty burn on most of their body. None the less though, it brought the Marine Corps and Japanese community closer together." James said, finishing his story.
The whole story had taken up most of their walk over to Applejack's apple orchard. James looked down at his watch to try and gauge when the impending rain clouds would take over the sky above Ponyville. It read 15:23. James thought to himself and figured the clouds would move in in about two hours. He told Dash what was on his mind and she nodded her head, then they picked up their pace until they got to the front gate of Applejack's property.
No one of the Apple family was anywhere to be seen so they walked to the front door, James knocked on it. No one came to the door so he knocked once more. Still no answer. "You think they're home at all?" He asked Dash, she only gave a shrug. He knocked a third time, and just as he finished a light green mare that looked like she had seen many events in her lifetime appeared at the door.
"Oh hello there sonny boy! You must be that new fella' in town I've been hearing about from Applejack! How do ya do stranger, I'm Granny Smith."
"Hello ma'am, I'm Captain James Crossland of the United States Marine Corps. How do you do?" He asked with a hearty smile.
"Oh ah'm doin' just dandy, ah suppose ya'll are lookin' for Applejack?" Granny Smith asked the two.
"Yes ma'am, is she here today? We were going to give her a hand with her work." He stated.
"Yeah she's out in one of the fields, ah think in the fourth one, over on the east side, if ya see Big Mac he can show ya where. That's nice of ya ta come and help us out, especially a new thing like yerself!" Granny Smith told James with a smile.
"Excellent, thank you very much, if there is anything else I can do to help you out, don't hesitate to ask me." He said with a friendly smile.
"Well thank ya sonny, ah appreciate a pony, er, what are ya again dear, I'm sorry." She asked with an embarrassed expression.
"I am a human from earth ma'am, you can refer to me me as a person in what you were about to say, or somebody in another case." He told her.
"Alrighty there James the human, person, somebody, thank ya'll for the help!" She said before shutting the door and walking over to her chair for a nap. James and Dash walked off the front porch to find their friend. James was unsure of where Granny Smith was talking about, even though he knew which way east was, so Dash just led the way. The trees in the first field were completely barren of apples, but flourished with healthy green leaves.
"Damn, today is just gorgeous!" James said aloud as he looked at everything that surrounded him. The trees were healthy and stout, the sky was clear of clouds except for the ones off in the distance, the sun was shining bright and yellow and warmed everything it touched.
"Yeah it is, it's a great day to fly too!" Dash acknowledged him.
"And I get to spend it with my favorite pegasus." He said as he turned his head to Dash, then gave her a wink. She only looked back with a cute smile. She walked a little closer to him afterwards. The two weaved in and out of the rows upon rows of trees as they went to find Applejack; the trees had gone from being cleared of apples, to ones with some apples that were mostly small and still growing, then to ones with big red, yellow, and green apples dangling down from the tops of the trees. Whack... plop plop plop. "What was that!?" James said as he quickly spun in the direction of the abrupt noise, slightly forming into his fighting stance and putting his right hand on his rifle that lay slung on his back.
"It's okay, it's just AJ, I'd recognize the sound of her bucking apples anywhere." Dash reassured him.
"You sure?" He asked still looking around for the source, slowly putting his hand down from his weapon.
"Yes James, it's okay, nothing to worry about."
"You're probably right. Sorry, I'm just always suspicious of unknown noises, they tend to be bad every time I hear one. Plus with this new threat that we have to face from this Chrysalis chick, so you can see where this was going." He apologized.
"No big deal, I'm not mad or anything, just do be careful not to hurt somepony is all."
"Don't worry, I identify my target before I pull the trigger, nothing bad would happen to a friend of mine or yours, that's a promise." He informed her. They walked in the direction of the noise and sure enough, Applejack was there with two barrels of apples on the ground, Big Macintosh was with her. Applejack ran up to the tree the barrels were placed under, then reversed her stance and let her powerful legs fly into the still tree. It waved back and forth, then the tree rattle back and forth, dropping the bright colored fruit perfectly into the barrels.
"Hey AJ, hey Big Mac! What's up?" Dash asked the brother and sister as she and James approached.
"Well howdy miss Rainbow Dash, mister James, how are ya'll doing?" Big Mac's deep voice boomed.
"Good." They both answered. "We came over to offer you some assistance, what can we do?" James continued.
"How good are ya'll at bucking apples?"
"I've never bucked apples before, in fact the only thing I've done that comes close to bringing down a tree full of apples the way you do is kicking down a door. I can sure as shit lift those barrels though!" He told Mac.
"That'll work just fine, Dash ah know ya'll can buck apples, so if ya don't mind getting started on that I'll show James here where to put the apples at." Mac said, laying out the plan for the four of them. They all nodded their heads in understanding. Big Mac motioned for James to follow him. They walked off over to a nearby cart, on the way they conversed. "Ah do appreciate the two of ya coming out and helping us, 'specially a stranger like yerself James, shows me that ya'll are a good character."
"No problem mister Macintosh, anytime when I can help someone out I gladly will." He told him.
"Good, we could always use a hand 'round here, 'specially now that we have been losing some of our apples."
"How do you mean? Not able to keep them watered and they're dying out, or what?" He asked concerned.
"Not a problem with keeping them alive, ah'd actually rather have that be the problem because then ah would know that ah could fix it. But no, the problem is that somepony keeps stealing them at night, hay even just last night we had some go missing!" Mac told him the problem.
"Have you found any reoccurring signs that may hint at what the problem is?"
"Well before we get into that, this is where we put the buckets of apples when they're ready." He said as he pointed to the wooden cart they had walked over to.
"Alright, I'll put them here when they're ready to go."
"Good, now as ah was sayin' before, they usually go missing during the night, and when ah find out they have gone somewhere, there are usually patches of dirt that have been riled up, but they look like they may have been holes before, then were covered up." He told James whom listened closely to the details.
"Sounds like you have a vermin problem, possibly a mole or some other burrowing animal judging by the holes in the ground?"
"If so it's a big mole, ah'll tell ya that; here ah'll show ya how big the holes are, follow me." He told James. They strode over to where the crime had taken place the previous night, and sure enough, three large, filled in holes were visible around the trees. The two of them walked over to where the earthy, brown holes were and inspected them closer. Two of the holes measured about two and a half feet around, and one about three and a half feet lay just a few yards away. "Ah asked AJ if she knew what they could be, but she didn't really know. She thought it could have been diamond dogs, but was unsure because she had run into them so long ago. She remembered the holes being higher though she said." Mac told him. James simply nodded his head.
"What are these diamond dogs you speak of?" He asked.
"They're animals that stand upright like ya do, but they look like a dog does, only bigger." He told him as they then headed back to help out, seeing as though they couldn't do anything about the problem at the moment. James tried to conjure an image in his mind of a large dog walking on two feet. They walked back, Big Mac slightly bobbed along as he strode with James; they soon got back to the mares that were bucking the trees. James broke off from Big Mac to set down his equipment on a nearby tree, he set down his rifle and propped it up against his pack which he leaned up against a tree. He turned around and saw Big Mac muscle one of the barrels of apples onto his back and begin the short trek to the wagon, James quickly went to grab the other barrel, then joined Big Mac for the walk.
The four of them all worked away for an hour clearing the rows of trees, not saying much except for every now and then when they needed help with something. After James took back the last barrel of apples to the cart, they all took a break for a minute to admire their work and to get something to eat. Applejack slightly bucked another tree, causing about six apples to fall down.They all picked up an apple and began to munch on the sweet fruit. They ate in silence. As James ate he could not stop thinking about the animals that could have made the three large holes next to the trees, but his train of thought was interrupted when he heard Big Mac coughing. He looked up from his apple and saw that the large, red stallion was choking on part of his apple, Dash was standing still, staring at him, unsure of what to do, Applejack was attempting to assist him, but due to his size was unable to do so. James immediately snapped out of his daze and went over to help Macintosh. He pushed Applejack out of the way, told Macintosh to lean back and muscle through his coughing, then wrapped his arms around where he suspected the stallion's midsection to be, and squeezed hard a few times, causing the piece of food to dislodge from his throat.
"Ughhuhuh! Ghuh! Thank- thank ya fer gettin' that apple outta' me!" Big Mac thanked James for saving him.
"Not a problem guy, but do be more careful when you eat next time." James teased.
"That's a mighty fine idea!" Macintosh laughed with him. Everyone laughed and was thankful that it was over.
"Yeah, 'cause if ah can't help ya, then ya might be in a little bit a hot water!" Applejack teased him too, they all shared in a laugh again. "Alright now ya'll, play time's over, we gotta get back to work before those clouds roll in, at that point we'll be bobbin' fer apples rather than buckin' 'em." She continued, leading the way and getting back to work.
"I almost forgot about the weather coming in, I agree, let's get this party moving." James said. All of the barrels had been used up so they had to bring the cart back to the barn near the house for storage; James went and grabbed his pack, rifle, and other gear that was laying on the tree, then joined the three ponies as they walked back to the barn, not wasting anytime. Big Mac pulled the cart easily along without showing so much as any sort of strain, James looked on at him in awe from his brute strength. They walked on for a few minutes longer and finally got to the barn, then emptied the barrels as fast as they could so they could get another load in before the weather came in to shut the day down for work. The barn was large on the outside, but on the inside it was a completely different realm. The roof went up to almost thirty feet, and was lit inside by a few windows. As James' eyes adjusted, he could see that there were three levels to the barn: the main floor, the second floor tool storage, and the third floor hay loft. All three floors were connected by a flight of stairs that went up to the next one, a five foot by six foot rectangle was cut into the floors which allowed one to see up into the areas above.
The four of them stepped into the barn and were immediately hit by a wall of warm air, and the smell of hay, dirt, and dust encircled their noses. James was still in awe by the size of the barn and moved very slowly, taking in the sight of wooden beams that crisscrossed around the inside structure; he became so lost in the sight that he had not noticed the other three had gone to the back storage area, and began unloading the barrels of apples. He snapped out of the trance and went back to work, but still looked around when he could. They unloaded all of the barrels and went back to work.
"Hey Macintosh, do you mind if I put my stuff down in the cart for a bit?" He asked the red stallion pulling the cart.
"Nope, go ahead!" He replied. James quickly slung his stuff off once more and loaded it evenly in the cart, then resumed walking with the group on Applejack's side. When they got outside of the barn, the colder air had came back to them, even though it was a wonderful seventy degrees James thought. He looked down at his watch and back at the clouds again, he figured they had about forty five minutes or so until the clouds were on top of them. They were holding back a large amount of water, and off in the distance a gray mist was seen coming down from the deep purple thunder clouds, covering the ground with water.
"We should pick up the step a little if we're gonna' get this done guys! Those clouds are gonna be on top of us in about forty five." James hollered at them to pick up the pace. They all shifted into a higher gear and got moving to get it done quickly and efficiently. They made it back to the spot they had been working in before and started working right away, Applejack and Rainbow Dash bucking the apples while the two males heaved the barrels into the cart, working as a well oiled machine, something James was all too familiar with.
After a hard working half hour, they had gotten all of the barrels filled and were taking them back to the barn once more. As they walked back James poked Applejack on the back and motioned for her to follow him behind the other two ponies. She followed, leaving her brother's side. "What's the matter James? Somethin' wrong?" She asked concerned what it could be.
"Yes, something is. It's about yesterday when I stormed out like a teenager angry at their parents. I'm sorry that I acted in such a manner that was unbecoming of myself, really I am. I feel bad about the whole thing and I want to apologize for my childish behavior." He stated.
"It's alright sugar cube, ah understand why ya'll did what ya did, hay, ah'd be as mad as a cowpony with no rope during a rodeo if ah found out that ah was supposed to be somewhere that nopony else had ever been before! Ah forgive ya, don't worry about it from now on ya hear?" She told him with a serious look in her eyes.
"Very well miss Applejack, as you wish, let's bury the hatchet and be done with it." He agreed.
"Sounds mighty fine to me mister James." She concluded. They both nodded to each other then caught back up to the other two. James walked back to the side of Rainbow Dash who was walking along and enjoying the current state of weather that was soon to cease to be. A few minutes later they made it back to the barn and began unloading the barrels of apples. Crack... CRA-CRACK.
"Well it looks like we made it here just in time!" James shouted out of the loud boom of thunder.
"Yeah we did!" Rainbow concurred. The lightning and thunder kept crackling in the sky and lighting up the world with its bright, white light, but the rain had yet to come. They kept unloading the barrels until it got too dark to see. The problem was soon fixed by James who took the flashlight positioned underneath his gun off the mounting rail, then used that to light the way for them all. Soon enough they were done and ready to go, but the large amount of rain that was soon to come down, it was going to be a bother for James and Dash to go home, although the rain didn't bother James very much.
"So what are ya'lls plans for this evening? Ya'll are more than welcome to stay here if ya like, you can rest up in the guest bedroom." Applejack offered Dash and James.
"Honestly for me the rain is no big deal, I could walk back with no problem and get a fire going at home. But Dash I don't know what your plans are." James said as he put the flashlight back onto his rifle. As he turned back up to see what his cyan friend was planning to do, they were interrupted by a younger voice that James could not recognize. A few seconds later a small, darkish yellow filly with a light red bow in her mane trotted in.
"Hey sis! Granny Smith wants to know if everypony is gonna' stay for supper." Apple Bloom yelled to them at the entrance of the barn. "Wait... who in the hay is that down there with ya sis? Somepony new?" She asked, unsure of what to make of the new stallion standing with them.
"Who ya talkin' about, James here? Well yeah, he's new, come on down here so ya can meet him Apple Bloom!" Applejack shouted back to her younger sister. "So, are ya'll gonna stay for supper or do ya'll have other plans this evening?" She asked James and Rainbow.
"I don't really have any plans, although I was planning on just going home to do some work on the house, the water line is still busted. Plus I need to think about our little up coming event with this Chrysalis thing the princess spoke of. So I will have to respectfully decline this time, take a rain check maybe, no pun intended." He told Applejack with a chuckle. She nodded her head in acknowledgement.
"I don't really have any plans either, just gonna' go home and hang out with tank I guess, maybe go with James back to his house to make sure he gets there. Maybe next time AJ?" Dash told her friend.
"That's alri- Crack... that's alright, no problem. Well ya'll may want to get a move on before it starts rainin' apples out there! But before ya'll go runnin' off, this is Apple Bloom, Big Mac and ah's sister." She announced to James who started throwing on his gear again. Apple Bloom walked up to him hesitantly.
"What, you never seen anybody like me before?" James asked with a small chuckle as he dropped to a knee. She stepped back a little ways and didn't talk for a moment.
"Applejack, Big Mac... is this the pony you were talkin' about before, the uh... the... the human?" She asked still hesitantly.
"Sure is little sis, he's a mighty fine fella' in my book. James, I'd like ya'll to meet Apple Bloom; Apple Bloom, this is James Crossland." Applejack said, introducing the two.
"Well hello there Apple Bloom, how do ya do?" He asked politely with a friendly smile.
"H- howdy there mister James." She said quietly. A silence fell over them quickly.
"So uh, how old are you?" He asked, trying to get rid of the silence that loomed in the barn.
"Ah'm ten and half, h- how old are you?" She asked still hesitant of what to make of the new creature.
"You're the first pony that's asked me, you know that? Well, I'm thirty eight to be exact, turned that old about four months ago!" He exclaimed.
"Wow really? You're kind of old."
"Apple Bloom!" Applejack snapped at her sister for being rude.
"Hey it's okay, no harm no fowl, actually that's the first time I've been called old! Well either way, pleasure getting to meet your acquaintance, you better run back inside and tell Granny Smith that we won't be staying before you forget." He said as he stood back up, towering over the little filly. She quickly turned around and did what she was told.
"Do you think she likes me?" He asked after she had gone.
"Ah'm not really sure what to make of it. It was a little bit of a shock to all of a sudden see a new pony of some other kind standing in front of her. She'll warm up to ya sure enou- CRACK... sure enough. Well you two should be gettin' home soon before it rains. Thanks for the help this afternoon, it really made a difference today." Applejack said as they started for the barn door, James led the way with his rail-mounted flashlight, they then turned and walked away from one another after Macintosh locked up the doors.
"Good night ya'll!"
"Good night miss Applejack, mister Macintosh!"
"See ya AJ!" Dash shouted back as they all bid their farewells. Dash and James began a hurried walk back to James' house to get some shelter before it started to rain.