//------------------------------// // After a Hard Day's Shopping // Story: Apple Bloom's Huragok Helper // by Vigilance //------------------------------// Applejack whistled a tune to herself as she and Apple Bloom past the small gate that led into Sweet Apple Acres. The sky above was plethora of warm colors as the Sun made its descent into the west. The farmer pony looked towards the burning orb as it fell; flabbergasted it took so long to gather the supplies for Apple Bloom’s cooking escapades. Turning to Apple Bloom, the older mare could see the strain on the filly’s face. Applejack chuckled to herself, it was hard enough being a well-built adult and carrying what felt like tons of food, to see Apple Bloom holding on with nary a complaint was a refreshing sight. “Well Apple Bloom, congratulations.” Applejack started. “This is probably enough food ta last us fer the winter, the squirrels will be so jealous.” “Ha ha.” Apple Bloom replied. “Yer so very… funny… sis.” The filly’s sentence devolved into a heavy yawn. Applejack chuckled to herself and shook her head. “Nah, if ya want funny, probably should go to Pinkie Pie.” The sisters reached the door to the farmhouse; Applejack twisted the knob and thrust the barrier open. “BIG MAC! GRANNY SMITH!” The mare called out. “We’re home!” “Ah hear ya!” The aging grandmother called out from the upstairs bathroom. “Ah ain’t deaf after all!” … “No Ah don’t want any peas!” “Didn’t say anything Granny!” Applejack shouted up. “Oh…” The pale green mare replied. Applejack rolled her eyes and chuckled. “Alright Apple Bloom, let’s get this stuff inta the cupboard.” “Right sis.” Apple Bloom responded, yawning slightly afterwards. The two walked to the kitchen and unloaded the day’s purchases into the cupboard, placing everything in an orderly fashion. Completing that task, Applejack got to work on dinner, it was getting late after all and Big Mac would need something in his belly from all the hard work he’d done alone today. Opening several cabinets and drawers, the orange mare gathered the utensils she’d need for Apple Family Gumbo, the only gumbo know to actually put hair on a pony’s chest (more hair than usual anyway). Apple Bloom sat at the table, checking over her list to ensure they’d forgotten nothing. One missed item, the filly foolishly thought, and her new guest could die of starvation. The plan, after all, had changed and Apple Bloom was going to simply bring the creature all the food she’d brought it and let it decide what it wanted. Apple Bloom couldn’t in her wildest dreams pin down what the creature would enjoy, so the backup was to bring it everything and hope for the best. She’d also write down what the creature picked, so she’d know what to get next time. Mulling over her list some more, the filly determined with a triumphant smile that all the food items had been bought. Step one to feeding her odd visitor was complete. She’d have to actually bring the food to it late at night, though, so as not to draw the suspicions of her family members. The filly still grew quite pale at the mere thought of Zecora and her words and didn’t want to garner any reasons for her family to think she was acting strange. Besides, she was tired and hungry, and that gumbo Applejack had started was already beginning to smell like heaven. Hopping from her seat, the filly made her way to the upstairs bathroom. Granny Smith was in the hallway outside the latrine, scratching her head as she scrutinized one of few small tables that were in the hallway. Apple Bloom cocked at eyebrow at her grandmother and looked at the table herself. Nothing seemed wrong with it, other than the candleholder it held on top needed a new candle. “Uh… Granny?” Apple Bloom started. “What are ya lookin’ at?” “Ah coulda sworn Ah put a new candle in this darn thing just this mornin’. Where in the hay is it?” Apple Bloom shrugged. “Ah don’t know, maybe Big Mac or Applejack used it fer something.” “Maybe…” Granny Smith responded, rubbing her chin. “Or maybe we got ourselves a little thief!” “A thief that steals candles and nothing else?” Apple Bloom tilted her head at that possibility, it didn’t make much sense for a thief to steal just candles. Granny huffed. “Thieves ain’t gotta make sense, they’re thieves! Whether yer stealing a candle or the Princess’s royal undergarments, it’s still thieving!” The old mare pounded her hoof onto the table. Apple Bloom was about to state that due to Equestria’s mostly nudist culture, the Princesses probably didn’t have royal undergarments. She thought better of it though and left her Granny in her current state of paranoia to make for the bathroom. Cleaning herself up for dinner and taking a much-needed tinkle, Apple Bloom returned to the kitchen to watch her sister make gumbo, she wanted to learn how her sister made it so good. A slightly disgruntled sigh of annoyance left her mouth as she stepped into the kitchen and found the gumbo ready for consumption. The filly had no clue how her sister made the gumbo so fast, Applejack told her it was a technique their mother had taught them before… before she was gone. Apple Bloom’s gaze fell to the floor as the thought came to mind. “Hey there silly filly!” Applejack called happily. “What’re ya doin’? Get yer flank in here and get ready fer the best Apple Family gumbo yet!” “Ya always say this is the best one yet!” Apple Bloom protested. “That’s cause it is.” Applejack said confidently. “Ah’m always improvin’ with the recipe. Ah’m so confident that this is the best gumbo yet Ah’d bet the whole southern orchard on it!” Apple Bloom climbed into her chair. “Let’s not but say we did, Ah don’t think we could afford ta lose the southern orchard.” The filly settled in and awaited her food patiently. “Yeah, yer probably right.” Applejack chuckled. “Still ma best gumbo though.” Walking to the kitchen door, Applejack sucked in a huge chunk of air. “DINNER’S READY! COME AND GET IT!” “Fer the hundredth time: AH AIN’T DEAF!” Granny Smith shouted as she walked down the steps. “Ah can hear ya just fine without all yer yappin’ and yer hollerin’. Thought ya was raised better than this, screamin’ in the house.” The older mare shook her head. “It’s crazy.” Applejack let out a laugh before helping Granny to her seat and putting a bowl of piping hot gumbo in front of her. Placing similar bowls filled with gumbo in front of Apple Bloom and Big Mac’s seat, Applejack got one for herself and sat down. Apple Bloom smiled and readied herself for the delicious mush of food. “Ah ah,” Applejack chided. “We gotta wait for Big Macintosh.” Apple Bloom dropped her spoon and closed her gaping maw instantly. The three mares waited for what seemed like forever for Big Mac. It was very odd for the stallion to be late, to anything. In truth, Big Mac usually wasn’t early either. The stallion always arrived precisely when he was supposed to. This made his current absence rather strange. After waiting another minute, Applejack groaned. “Ugh, what’s takin’ that boy so long? He ain’t ever late or early ta anything. Heck, he was born precisely when the doctors said he would be.” The orange mare got to her hooves and collected the bowls of gumbo. “Apple Bloom, could ya go search fer yer brother while Ah reheat these?” “Sure Applejack!” The mentioned filly replied excitingly, hopping off her own chair and racing off in search. “Check the barn first!” Applejack called after her. Listening to her sister’s advice, Apple Bloom galloped to the barn. The door was open and a light could be seen from inside. The filly wasted no time and ran into the barn, half hoping to catch her brother not paying attention. To catch Big Mac not being observant was a rare treasure indeed and the thought was enticing. As she rounded the open space and darted into the barn, however, her eagerness turned to shocked concern. “Big Mac!?” The stallion lay on the floor, unconscious and with a sizable plank of wood leaning against his head. Apple Bloom raced over to his side and began shaking him as much as she could. “Big Mac? Are you ok?! Big Mac? Big Mac!” The stallion’s eyes darted open and he sat up quickly, sending the plank that had been resting on his head to the floor. Shaking his head to get the last remaining dizziness away, Big Mac looked around. He was in the barn? What had happened? He remembered… a floating thing? Feeling a tug on his fur, Big Mac’s eyes rested on Apple Bloom’s frightened expression. “Apple Bloom?” He asked. “What…?” “Ah saw you on the floor and… and you were knocked out and Ah didn’t know what ta do and…” Apple Bloom sniffed. Big Mac put a reassuring hoof on his sister’s head, scratching her lovingly. The filly looked up at him. “Big Mac, what happened?” The stallion wondered very much the same thing. He looked around and saw the plank of wood that had been on his head. It must have hit him… yeah that’s it. He was putting some tools away after the wagon incident and that must have fallen and hit him. Big Mac remembered the floating creature that had fixed his hammer. No, the red stallion thought to himself, that’s impossible. There was no such creature like that in Equestria, or the world for that matter. He should know, he read a book about it, a book written by Starswirl the Bearded. A book written by that stallion didn’t lie, so the thing he saw must have been a dream concocted by his unconscious mind. Big Mac rolled his eyes at himself. That was the last time he read Daring Do and the Temple of the Moon Slugs before bed. Books like that only led to a pony having weird hallucinations. Deciding not to trouble Apple Bloom with the details of a wild dream, the stallion picked himself up and brushed off. Telling his little sister he was fine, the stallion put away the fixed hammer and the plank of wood, he made sure to secure it better this time. Calming down, Apple Bloom explained that dinner was ready. Big Mac smiled and told his sister not to worry about it. Apple Bloom nodded nervously and the two left the barn for the house. As he closed the barn doors however, the stallion couldn’t help but think that the creature wasn’t a dream. Shaking his head in response, Big Mac snorted as he closed the door. No creature like the one he had seen had ever been born on this earth, and of that the stallion was certain. ~~~~ Apple Bloom tugged her wagon through the dark orchard, the small cart loaded to bear with food. It had taken the filly quite awhile to move all of the day’s purchases from her family cupboard, but she had done and was know trotting to her clubhouse to provide her guest with food. A little lantern hung from a pole attached to the wagon, illuminating the way for the filly. The experience of walking through the darkened orchards of Sweet Apple Acres was rather harrowing for young Apple Bloom, but she found the strength to push such feelings aside to reach the clubhouse. Despite the near impenetrable blackness in front of her, Apple Bloom could make out the clubhouse in the distance. A faint glow coming from structure helped greatly, Apple Bloom assumed it was the creature considering the thing glowed in the dark. Stopping at the gangplank at ground level, Apple Bloom parted her wagon and trotted up to the clubhouse’s front door. Placing her hoof into the slot in the barrier and twisting, the little filly opened her clubhouse to the world. Unsurprisingly, Apple Bloom caught sight of the creature fiddling with its boxy device as she walked in. The floating thing paid her no heed, as usual. Walking up to it and tugging on a hanging tentacle, the filly had to bite her lip for second to avoid the instinct to flee from the foreign creature as its glowing head turned and focused on her with its six beady eyes. “Hey there.” She replied happily to it. “Ah brought some food fer ya. Are ya hungry?” The Huragok tilted its head at the little equine in front of it. Hungry? No, it wasn’t hungry, not really. Some substance would be appreciated so it wouldn’t break down while working. The Huragok shook its head yes and the filly got excited, running out the door. The Huragok floated to the door and peered out. The equine was retrieving food items from a small wagon. Hmm… the wagon looked like it could use some modifications, but that be for later. Backing away from the door so Apple Bloom could enter and dump the food onto the nearby table, the Huragok watched the filly leave again and come back with more food. After more five trips of food delivery, Apple Bloom sat at the table and presented an abundance of food for her Huragok guest. “Here ya are!” She announced happily, though with a tired expression. “All the food ya could want! Pick anything that ya like.” The filly sluggishly took out a clipboard and a pencil. She planned to check off everything the Huragok took to eat for future reference. Yawning, Apple Bloom readied herself with drooping eyes for taking notes. “Ok…” Another yawn. “Dig… in…” Apple Bloom’s head dipped and the filly began to breathe softly. Her day of running around and staying up late had finally caught up with her. She’s fallen asleep, the Huragok observed. Looking to the food, the Huragok whistled happily. There was an acceptable amount of nourishment here. Grabbing the nearest object, a pear, and studying it carefully, the Huragok shook its head and placed it down. Scanning the rest of the food with a meticulous gaze, the Huragok reached out for the food it needed. It was time to make nutrient paste!