//------------------------------// // A Heated Fight // Story: Chestnut Mare // by Shakespearicles //------------------------------// After her second night sleeping in the barn, the next morning was hot, even before the sun was up. Applejack roused from her sleep extra early, unable to get a restful sleep. The summer temperatures usually didn't affront her. But when it affected her sleep, that she could do without. The stables had a window at each end, wide open. But there was naught for a breeze, and the hot air hung stale in the enclosure. She contemplated trying to just let herself out. She was about to unlatch the door to her stall when she heard the stable gate swing open. She dropped back down into her stall. "Morning' Chestnut. I guess I'm not the only one who couldn't sleep, huh?" He made his way over to her, glancing across the aisle. Buck was snoring in his heap of hay. "Heh, that ole boy could sleep through a stampede, I tell ya." He undid the latch and opened her gate, stepping inside to affix her lead. As he wrapped his arms around her to do the clasps, he could feel the warmth positively radiating off of her. He pulled her into a hug. "I thought I almost lost you the other day, girl. I buried the rabid wolf a ways downstream, so it shouldn't attract any more predators." Applejack shuffled her hooves impatiently. "Chestnut, are you feeling okay?" he asked. She shook her head, trying to pull away from him, anxious to get outside. "Alright alright now. Easy does it." He held her fast, putting his hand to her cheek and forehead. "Do you have a fever? Or is it-" he trailed off. "Wait here." He turned and closed the gate on her again. Applejack was literally chopping at the bit to get out and cool off. All of the commotion had actually awoken Buck, as he stirred from his bedding. After a couple of minutes, Arthur returned with a small, long case. He could see that Buck was getting agitated as well. His nostrils flared and he knocked against the gate with his hooves and reared up. "Oh, I see what's going on here." Arthur said knowingly. He stepped back inside AJ's stall, turned her around and tied her lead to the posts at the back of her stall. He walked around behind her. Tied as she was, she couldn't see what was going on. He opened the case and pulled out a long thermometer. "This may be a mite cold." He warned as he lifted her tail. Applejack's eyes went wide as she felt him take her temperature, but not in a place that she would have expected. He was checking somewhere else. "Yep, no wonder you're so restless," he said after removing the thermometer a moment later. "Yer in season." Applejack knew what he meant. It explained her... localized discomfort, and anxiousness. It was her annual heat. She was looking forward to getting back down to that river and cooling off. It was the only other relief for her heat aside from- "Looks like we'll have to get you bred!" Bred? Applejack panicked. Certainly it would relieve the ache in her loins. And she'd always wanted to have foals someday. But not in this strange world. And certainly not with any of the mute ponies here. In fact, the only pony around was... She looked across the stable at Buck. He was up on his hind legs, leaning on the gate to his stall with that dumb grin on his face, smelling the air. It was obvious he could smell her scent in the enclosed space. "Well someone sure looks excited to go fer a 'ride'," he said, putting a lead on him. He opened his gate, making a clear path to her. From the corner of her eye, she could tell that he was 'ready'. He reared up to mount her. Applejack pulled away from him and bucked her hind legs with all her might, striking him in the chest. "Hey! Easy girl! You'll feel better after, trust me. Don't you want to be a mommy?" He let Buck approach again. Applejack kicked again, hard. Arthur pulled Buck back just in time to keep him from getting clobbered in the chin. She snorted at both of them with a fierce look in her eyes. "Alright now. Enough of that!" He pulled Buck's lead away. Buck was still raring to go, but obiediently walked back into his stall. "I can't be having you hurt my stallion now. I'll go get the Phony." He walked out of the stable and disappearing into the farmhouse once more. Fear-fueled adrenaline rushed through Applejack's system. She didn't know what was going to happen next but she was scared. And she certainly didn't want to be 'bred'. Arthur came back carrying a couple of items. The larger of the two was a big cylinder with a couple of handles and a pocketed opening at one end. Applejack recognized it from Equestria as an aid for 'lonely males'. Arthur tied Buck to the posts of his stall and he stepped inside, kneeling beside him. Applejack winced at the sound of Buck being 'relieved'. But at least she would have to worry about Buck coming after her now. Arthur stood up after a couple minutes, emptying the contents of the Phony into a large, plastic... what Applejack could only describe as a cooking baster with a plunger at one end like a big syringe. He walked up behind Applejack. She saw what he had, and where he was going with it. In a fit, she yanked her lead, snapping it free. "NO!" she cried out, kicking him. She only meant to kick the syringe from his hand, but her aim was a little... off. Arthur was knocked backwards into the post, smacking his head against the beam as he fell. His hat went tumbling as he landed in a heap on the floor, spilling Buck's baby-batter. "Oh horse apples!" she muttered. She'd seen Rainbow Dash get knocked out in a crash enough times to know that a bump on the noggin bad enough to render someone unconscious was no joke. She ran out of the stable, jumping over the paltry fence that he thought could contain her. She ran to the farmhouse. She'd never been inside before, but the mechanics of the door knob were the same here as in Equestria. She stepped inside and quickly found the kitchen. Sure enough, there was a refrigerator and freezer with ice cubes. She scooped some into a dishcloth and tied it as a cold pack, running back to the stable, opening the gate. She laid Arthur onto one of the horse blankets in the stables, elevating his legs and cradling his head with the ice pack, trying to keep the swelling down. Once he was taken care of, she undid the clasps on her broken lead. The sun was up now. All this running had gotten her even hotter than she was an hour ago. "Keep an eye on him, Buck. I need to go cool off," she said. She grabbed a pail, and brief jog later, and she was rolling in the water of the stream. The water felt incredibly refreshing, taking the edge off of her discomfort. But she knew that as much as she wanted to, she couldn't stay long. She needed to check on Arthur. With her mouth, she grabbed the pail from the river bank, filling it with water before carrying it back up the hill. Back inside the stable, she set the bucket down beside Arthur. Every now and then she would take a hoof-full of water and splash it on him to try to keep him cool. The dirt beneath him began to turn to mud. She'd seen Nurse Redheart use smelling salts to help Rainbow Dash wake up. Maybe he had some inside the house. She went back inside and looked around quickly. The bathroom had little in the way of a medicine cabinet. Everything was very bare and modest. Hopefully he'd at least have something for his headache when he woke. She walked back outside. "Well Buck, I couldn't find a first-aid ki-" she froze in her tracks at the entrance to the stables. Arthur was sitting up on the ground, with his hand on his head, eyes wide and mouth ajar. "Maybe it's the concussion, but did you just talk!?" he asked in astonishment. "Um, neigh?" Applejack tried. "You can TALK!?" He stood up, a bit too fast, and stumbled, falling back on his butt. Applejack ran over to him, stopping just short. His hand landed on the ice pack. He picked it up and looked at it, and the bucket of cool river water beside him, and the blanket. "Was this you!?" "Uh..." "Oh my god!" He clambered back to his feet, reaching out to grab her. Applejack was faster and avoided his grasp. She knew she was in trouble now. Why didn't she just keep her mouth shut? She ran out of the stables. He shambled after, following her outside, yelling out as she reached the fence. "Chestnut, wait!" He fell to the ground, clutching his head. It hurt to yell. But the thought of losing her now hurt even more. He screamed again. "Chestnut! I'm sorry! P-please!" His head pounded, throbbing with his racing heartbeat. "Come baaack!" His vision blurred and darkened as he keeled over into the grass. Applejack stopped just outside the gate. Her every instinct told her to run, just run, get out of there! But she stopped and looked back. She saw him on the ground outside the stables. If he'd fallen unconscious out in the direct sun, he would be in serious trouble soon. "This is a bad idea..." she muttered to herself. She walked back over to him. "Bad idea. Bad idea. Bad idea," she repeated under her breath. When she got close enough, she found him face down in the grass. She grabbed him by the collar of his denim shirt, pulling him back inside. "Chestnut... don't go..." she heard him mutter, skirting the edge of consciousness. He likely wasn't even aware of what was going on right now. "I love you..." Applejack very nearly dropped him. She was shocked. Sure, she could admit that she liked him. She saved his life from that wolf. And he saved hers. At least twice now. She could have called him a friend. But this, this she was not prepared for. They weren't even the same species! She stood there for a while, holding him, unsure of what do do next. But whatever she did next, she needed more information. And chatty as he had been in the past, she still needed answers. And she wasn't going to be getting any from him in his current state. She propped him up against one of the posts in the stable, binding his hands to it with some rope, and putting the ice pack back behind his head. She sat down, opposite him. And then, she waited. ___________________________ Nearly another hour passed. Arthur blinked his eyes open and lifted his head. His vision slowly came into focus as he looked at the orange blur sitting across from him in the stable. "Chestnut..?" Applejack looked up from her daydream, focusing on him now that he was awake. "You came back!" He tried to stand but found himself bound. He struggled at the rope, but if it was one thing Applejack knew, it was her knots. "You tied me up? How? Why?" Applejack just watched and waited, unsure of what to do with him, or what he planned to do with her. "Answer me! I know you can!" he said. Applejack stood, and then turned to walk away. "Chestnut!" he cried out in desperation, Applejack stopped and sighed, turning around to face him. This was it. "Fer starters, my name ain't 'Chestnut'. It's Applejack," she said. Arthur very nearly scrambled to get to his feet, still a bit dazed. "You CAN talk!" he said excitedly as he scuffed at the dirt, trying to get traction to stand. "Yeah. What of it?" she asked. "This is- this is amazing! This is incredible! A talking pony!" He pulled at his bindings harder, but to no avail. "Please, Chestnu- uh, Applejack, untie me! I have so many questions!" She stepped closer and put her hoof to his chest, pinning him down. "Now hold yer horses there partner, I've got a few questions of my own!" she said. "Yeah! Sure!" He nodded. She asked the question burning most in her mind. "First of all, what is this place? Where am I?" "Uh, this is a stable, for ponies. Um, this is my ranch, uh, Stetson Ranch, after my family name. Arthur J. Stetson. I just bought it last year and I've been working here ever since." "I know what THIS place is!" She stamped her hoof. "But I mean this land! I've been all over and I don't recognize any of this place. Where is Ponyville?" "What? Ponyville? I've never heard of it. But I haven't really been around this state too much." "State?" "Texas. The state of Texas. In America?" She stared at him blankly. "Planet Earth?" She shook her head. "I'm not in Equestria anymore am I?" "I have no idea what that is. Is that a place where ponies can talk?" He whipped his head around. "Wait, Buck, can you talk?" The other pony looked at the two of them with the same blank expression he always wore. "No, he can't." Applejack said. "Trust me, I've asked. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I'm the only pony here who can." He looked back at her suspiciously. "You ain't an alien are you?" he asked. "A what?" "A spacer. You know, flying saucers?" "Uh, no." "Alright then." He tried to stand again. "Say, do you think you could untie me now? I ain't gonna eat ya, and I'm starting to get a cramp." Applejack walked closer. "If I untie you, you're ain't gonna to try 'n do something stupid, are you?" "No, ma'am," he answered. She leaned over and undid the knot tying him to the post. He stood up and rubbed his wrists. "So, how did you get here then?" Applejack shrugged. "I don't know. I just kinda appeared here one day," she said. "Maybe it was magic." "Magic? Well, considering that I'm conversing with a talking pony I suppose I can't rule anything out," he said. "Any idea on how to get home?" "Well if I did, I recon I wouldn't still be here," she said. "I suppose that's true. So what now?" he asked. "Breakfast?" she replied. Arthur laughed. It was as simple of a request as any. He turned to get some food, but paused and looked back. "What?" she asked. "I'm just making sure that your still there and I'm not dreaming. Or dead." He chuckled and continued walking, talking as he went. "Listen, I've been feeding you this whole time, but is it- what do you like?" Applejack smiled. "Apples are fine for now. We can work on that later." He headed inside. She followed him. He turned and watched her walking into his house. "Um, come on in, I guess?" It was strange seeing the animal inside his home and not out in the stable. She started looking through the fridge and cabinets. "You don't have too much for ingredients do you?" she asked, checking the freezer. "Uh, no... How did you know that-" "Where do you think I got the ice for your ice pack out there?" she asked. "Huh." He looked around. He could see where things were out of place from her searching for a first aid kit. He looked back at her, standing upright up at the counter, chopping up apples on the cutting board, holding the knife in her hoof somehow, opening jars of flour and sugar, and mixing in some butter with a spoon in a bowl. "Huh..." He walked into the bathroom and looked in the mirror while he washed up. He looked like he'd been laying face-down in the dirt. It took him some time to look somewhat decent, getting the bits of grass out from his hair. He could hear the clatter of pots and pans in the kitchen. Some time later, he made his way back into the kitchen. Applejack was putting a filled pie crust into the oven. "You're... baking." "Uh huh," she answered, making some tarts in a muffin pan to go with the pie. "A pony is baking in my kitchen," he said to himself as he took a seat at the table. "Yeah, well your pantry is pretty bare. This place definitely needs a mare's touch," she said. "Er, a female's..." she looked at him. "Uh, human," he said. "A woman's touch, as we'd say." "A lady's?" she asked. "I guess that works too. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around all of this," he said as he put his head into his hands. "So, what? You were a baker where you were from?" "An apple orchard farm pony. I worked, and lived, at a place called Sweet Apple Acres, with my family." She stopped what she was doing for a moment and looked at the floor. "It's been nearly a week. They probably think that I'm... not coming back by now." A tear rolled down her cheek. "Hey," he walked over to her and knelt down to hug her. "I'm sorry that this happened to you. I wish there was something I could do to help." Applejack wiped her eye. "Well, you did enough saving me out there," she said. He looked at her strangely. "The day we met, I was starving. I was glad that you had food for me. I wasn't doing so great on my own out there." "Well you're welc-" "Course, that was after you scared the living daylights out of me and jumped on me," she said. "Yeah, sorry about-" "And nearly got me strangled with that rope around my neck!" "Hey! I saved your-" "And then tried to 'breed' me this morning! What's wrong with you!?" "Look! I said I was sorry, okay!? I didn't know that you were a talking, sapient, magic pony, okay!? I'm still getting used to all of this!" He put his hands up in defeat. Applejack snorted and took a deep breath. "Sorry. I just needed to get that off my chest is all," she said, calming down and turning back to the kitchen counter. "Thanks for last night," Arthur said, "dealing with that wolf. I thought I was dead." "Heh, me too until you did, that thing, with your..." "Pistol? Yeah, it's handy to have out here in the wild," he said. "So, thanks for saving my life too, again, I guess." She brought the tray of tarts over to the table. "Here." "What are these?" he asked. "It's food. You eat it." She smirked. He rolled his eyes and took one of the tarts. "Smart ass." He took a bite, lighting up as he chewed. "Damn, these are good!" "Darn toot'n!" She smiled. He took a second, and a third. The turn of events left a lot of things uncertain for him. But one thing he know for sure, the pony could bake! "You know," he said between bites. "you owe me an apology as well. For kicking me in the head." "I wasn't aiming for your head. I was aiming for that... what you were trying to put in me. Do ponies here not know how too... have foals on their own? I thought I was being pretty clear that I didn't want it." "Okay. I guess I kind of deserved that. But still-" "Fine! I'm sorry I kicked you in the head," she said. "How about we start fresh? Let bygones be bygones?" "Bygones," she agreed. They each sat there for a few minutes, eating the apple tarts for breakfast. Seeing her sit at the table was still strange. But with each passing moment she was less and less like a pony to him. She looked up at him from across the table. He could talk, he had a home, a business. He was more like the ponies she knew back home than that so-called pony standing out in the stable. After a while, the timer on the oven went off. Applejack took the pie out and placed it on the window sill to cool. But the oven has caused the kitchen to become quite warm. "Land sake, it's warm in here!" Arthur pulled at his shirt to air it out. "I hear that," he said. "Not that I don't appreciate you cooking for me." She smiled modestly. He smiled back. It was nice. This was nice. This could work. If she was indeed trapped here, this could work. Arthur stood up to leave the room, wobbled and fell back into his seat. "Whoa there partner!" Applejack rushed over, making sure he didn't fall to the floor. "Looks like that bump on yer noggin did a real number on you. Let's get you to bed so you can rest." "I'll be alright. There's a lot I need to do today anyway. And I've already lost a lot of time," he said, rubbing his head. "Like hay you are!" she said. "You need to get better. I'll take care of the chores today. I know 'em all by heart now anyway." She stood beside him. "Can you walk?" "I think so." He stood again, wobbling a bit off balance, and leaning on her. "I gotcha!" she said, walking him to his bedroom. She helped him onto the bed. "Grab me the white bottle from behind the mirror in the bathroom?" She grabbed the bottle of aspirin and brought it back. "So, back home, where did you- um, what I mean to say is, did you have a bed too?" he asked. She nodded. "Yeah. Pretty much all the same stuff you got," she said. "Maybe not quite as big." She motioned to the king-size bed. "Yeah, I don't know why I got it. I only ever sleep on this side." He looked back at her. "I suppose I'll have to get one for you. I can't believe you let me keep you in the stable this whole time. I mean- why didn't you say something sooner?" he asked as he laid down to get comfortable. "Are you kidding me? You saw the way you reacted!" she said. "I can only imagine how I'd react if my pet started talking to me. Scientists would probably want to test it and probe it and whatnot." She looked up at him. "That's not going to happen to me now, is it?" "Of course not! I'm not going to tell anybody. I would never let anyone take you away and hurt you," he said. A curious thought occurred to her, strange that she only realized it just now. "Is that what I am to you?" she asked. "A pet?" "No!" he said immediately, sitting back up. "It's not like that at all!" "Well, what about before you knew I could talk? Or Buck? Is that what Buck is?" "Buck? Maybe, yeah. But not you. Not ever." "So what then?" she asked. He looked out the window for a moment, choosing his words carefully. He didn't want to lie to her. "A companion?" he said. Applejack could tell that it was only part of the truth. The bit of moisture on his cheek told her that it was far more. She opened her mouth to say something but he cut her off before she could say anything, wiping the tear away, "Just a bit of dust," he said un-prompted. Applejack didn't make a big deal of it, quickly moving on. "Well, you get some rest. And don't worry. I always take good care of my friends," she said, making her way out the door. "Applejack," he called to her. She stopped, poking her head back inside the room. "Promise me this isn't a dream, that I'm not just delirious right now?" he asked. "Promise me that-" he blinked the tears back in, "that you'll still be here when I wake up?" She blushed, in embarrassment for both of them, but answered seriously. Honestly. "I promise."