My eyes fluttered open, greeted by an unfamiliar sight. I was in some sort of room. On one side of the room was a fireplace where a fire once blazed, as well as a shelf housing a collection of books. Sunlight poured from a window, revealing rows of apples trees outside.
I rolled onto my hooves. Now where am I?
The sound of someone humming grabbed my attention. It was coming from the room next to the one I was in. From the doorway, I caught a glimpse of a wrinkly, green mare cooking something in the kitchen, her back turned towards me. Her hooves worked deftly as she hummed her little tune. Did she bring me here? I had no idea who she was, but I wasn’t going to stick around. I had to find Flim and Flam.
I found myself peeking over the cliff of the table I stood on. From where I stood, I was very high from the ground—well, high to me at least. It looked like a long way down, but there wasn’t anything I could climb down from, meaning I was stranded on the wooden plateau. Maybe stranded wasn’t the right word for it. I could get down, but I wasn’t going to like it. I backed away from the edge and took off with a running start and leapt, all the while I closed my eyes and braced myself for the impact. Wham!—my limbs clattered and clacked on the floor as I tumbled to a stop. I cracked an eye open and wearily stood up. Taking a look at myself, I checked to see if everything was as it should be. I patted my head, making sure it was still there, and counted my limbs.
“One, two, three, four… phew!”
It would have been bad if I had lost a leg in the fall. I didn’t need to have a missing leg added to my problems. Walking would probably be a lot harder with anything less than four legs. After giving myself another look over for any cracks or chips, I gave a satisfied smile. Looking at the old mare, she hadn’t heard all the commotion I just made and continued to do what she was doing.
"Alright, now where's the… door?” My voice died in my throat as I was face-to-face with a giant nose. Two dark eyes were centered on me. I was met by a large maw baring rows of teeth. A puff of hot hair escaped its nostrils, hitting my face. My legs trembled as I stared at the brown, furry monstrosity that could easily tear me to pieces. It was a dog, or what Flim and Flam usually called a “mangy mutt.”
“N-n-nice doggy…”
A low growl came from the thing. I took that as my cue to bolt off in a random direction as it chased after me. I ran as fast as my little hooves could carry me, running under the table and around the furniture, doing laps around the room. I didn’t have a clue to where I was going. All I was focused on was not being the dog’s next meal.
"Help! Help! Flim! Flam!" I cried out over the sounds of snapping jaws and barking. “Sit! Stay! Heel, doggy!”
A rug—that was my fatal downfall. One unfortunate trip was all it took to end the chase. The beast wasted no time pouncing on me and clamping its jaws around my body. I wriggled and squirmed to get out of its hold, but it was no use. I cringed as its tongue brushed against my legs and coated me in slobber. I could only cry out as I was shaken in its jaws like a chew toy, helpless against my torturer. There was no Flim and no Flam around to help me. It was just me alone with the dog, the one that was trying to eat me.
With all the jostling and shaking, the only thing I could do was hopefully wait for it to get bored. I didn’t like this at all. Wah! Flim, Flam, where are you?!
A stern voice came to my rescue. “Winona, you put ‘er down!” The shaking stopped, and I dropped to the ground with a thud. “Go on outside now. Go on!” The pitter patter of the dog’s paws faded away. I heard a door open and close, followed by hoofsteps walking towards me. “Girl ought to know better than that.”
I remained absolutely still when the old mare from before held me in her hooves. “Poor thing doesn’t need to be treated like that.” She turned me around in her hooves, looking me over.
I hope there aren’t any teeth marks.
She set me down on the soft, cushioned seat of the sofa. “There you go. Nice and comfy!”
She turned around and headed back into the kitchen. Once she was gone, I jumped onto my hooves. The soft cushion sunk where I stood. I frowned as my hoof brushed off some leftover slobber. “Yuck!”
I didn’t want to be here. I didn’t want to be lost in some house. I didn’t want to be chewed and slobbered on. I just wanted to find Flim and Flam and be back in my little room. When there was no sign of the four-legged monster, I hopped off the sofa and strode towards the door I hoped led to outside.
Like everything else in the entire world, it was big. Nothing was ever made for my size. The door knob was perched high above my head, out of my reach. I crouched down, and with a wiggle of my tush, I jumped as high as I could with my legs outstretched. I didn’t get very far as I fell back down on my rump. I didn’t even reach halfway to the door knob. I crouched down and sprang up again and again. Come on, just a little closer! My hooves flailed wildly with each jump, only to grasp nothing but air. The gigantic door sat closed in front of me just as it always had. This wasn’t working. I let out a groan, seeing how I wasn’t going to open the door anytime soon. It was just too high for me. Stupid door…
Just when I was about to give up, the door opened—well, more like slammed open. I was thrown off my hooves when the door smacked my face, sending me sprawling on the floor.
“Granny, we’re home!”
A yellow filly wearing a large bow ran through the door, followed by an orange mare who didn’t seem too happy as she walked in. “Apple Bloom, what’d I say about runnin’ inside?”
The filly skidded to a halt. “Um, not to? Sorry, Applejack.”
“It’s alright. Just don’t run again.” Just as the orange one took a step forward, her hoof bumped against my flank. “Huh? Apple Bloom, you left one of your toys lyin’ around here!”
The one called Apple Bloom walked up to where I was and looked at me. “It’s not mine.” The next moment, I was being lifted by an orange hoof and turned around under the mare’s gaze.
“Think Big Mac left it here or something?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Dunno. He doesn’t look like the kind to be playin’ with dolls,” Applejack said, earning a giggle from Apple Bloom.
“Yeah… Big Mac wouldn’t have somethin’ like this.” I was now eye-to-eye with Apple Bloom, staring into her amber pools. “You know, she’s kinda pretty.” I caught my reflection in her eyes. I wore a smile on my face and a blank stare. She thinks I’m pretty? I was now being held in her hooves. “I wonder where she came from.”
"I'll go ask Granny about it,” Applejack said as she trotted out of the room, leaving me alone with the filly.
She played with my legs, turning and bending them, making me do different poses. I was a graceful ballerina one moment, and the next, I was a Kung-fu master doing karate kicks. It wasn’t so bad playing with her. At least she wasn’t sinking her teeth in me or wildly throwing me around. It was kind of fun actually.
It was too bad the fun had to end when Applejack came back. “Granny said Big Mac found it and brought it in. He thought it was yours.”
“Well, it’s not mine, but can I keep it?” Apple Bloom asked. For a brief second, my eyes widened. Keep me?!
“As long as no one comes askin’ for it, then I don’t see why not.”
With me still cradled in her hooves, she gave a little hop. “Yay!”
No! I couldn’t stay here. Flim and Flam were probably outside looking for me.
“Thanks, Applejack!” Apple Bloom hugged her before carrying me upstairs, taking me farther away from the door.
She brought me to her room. Like everything else in their house, her room was adorned with pictures of apples on the walls and furniture. Wow, they really love their apples. Maybe that explains the names and the apple farm.
She set me down in front of a large mirror on a dresser. Armed with a brush in her hoof, she got to work on my mane and tail, pulling out the tangles and knots made in the earlier fiasco. As she brushed, she said, “Looks like you don’t have a cutie mark either. Maybe we can find some paint around to make you one. If only that worked for me…” She let out a bitter laugh. I didn’t understand the point of having a mark on your flank, though it didn’t matter to me anyway because I couldn’t get one even if I wanted to.
When she turned around to get something from her closet, I turned my head to look at her. Maybe I can sneak out when she’s not looking. But how do I get out of here? I quickly faced forward as I was before, putting on the same smile I wore, and kept still.
She brought out all sorts of random objects. She stacked a bunch of textbooks, making towers of different sizes. She tied a green, apple-emblazoned handkerchief around my neck, giving me a cape of sorts. With me in one of her hooves, she said, “Ready to fight crime, Supermare?”
Then again… maybe I can play with her just a little longer.
I went flying around the room with my hooves outstretched. She ran around the room and jumped on the bed as she carried me. My cape flapped in the wind as I soared over the recently built city of “Appleville,” as Apple Bloom had called it, all the while she made whooshing sounds to make it all more real.
“Nothin’ wrong so far… Wait! Who’s that over there?” She pointed to an old, stuffed teddy bear sitting in the middle of the city. “It’s Doctor Nemesis, and he’s tryin’ to rob Appleville’s bank!”
She grabbed the teddy bear with her other hoof and spoke in a gruff voice. “I’d like to see you try and stop me, Supermare!” The next thing I know, I was charging in towards the bear, only to stop midflight and crash onto the ground. A flashlight was shining in my face. “Did you think I wouldn’t have a trick up my sleeve? My freeze ray will have you frozen in your tracks. Once you’re out of the picture, no one’s gonna stop me!” Doctor Nemesis let out an evil cackle as he glared at me with his one-buttoned eye.
I was trapped, frozen in his beam. He held a sharp pencil in his stuffed paw. “Nothing to say, Supermare? No need to give me the cold shoulder.” What could I do? What powers did I have? At this rate, I was done for. “Goodbye Supermare!” he shouted as he lunged at me.
Just when it looked like things were looking bad, Apple Bloom shouted, “Hurry, use your heat vision!”
Heat vision?
A single “Pew” sound was all it took for the fight to turn around as my heat vision shot the freeze ray, causing it to turn towards its next victim: Doctor Nemesis. He froze in his tracks, inches away from me.
“Curses! Foiled again!”
“Yay, you got him!” cheered Apple Bloom. “We won’t be seein’ him for a while where he’s goin’.” She whisked him off and caged him under a laundry basket. Though it was fun while it lasted, I really had to find Flim and Flam. As soon as she puts me down and leaves, I am outta here. “What’d you say, Supermare? There’s a meteor heading straight for the city?! Oh no, we have to save everyone!”
Or not…
~~~~~~~
As the day’s light sunk below the horizon, Big Macintosh trudged back home with Winona by his side. His legs were sore. His muscles ached. All in all, it was a good day’s hard work. As he stepped inside, a heavenly smell greeted him, coming from the kitchen. He had arrived just in time for supper, Granny’s homemade apple stew. He licked his lips. He could almost taste the sweet and tangy mixture of apples and carrots and spices. A grumble from his stomach voiced his thoughts, yearning for the mouth-watering meal.
Winona bolted towards her food bowl where her meal sat as he trotted into the kitchen, where he found Applejack and Granny Smith cooking up a storm. “Hey Big Mac. Get Apple Bloom, will ya? Supper’s almost ready,” asked Applejack.
With a nod, he said, "Sure." He made his way towards Apple Bloom’s room. From outside her door, he could hear her giggling. He knocked on the door. “Apple Bloom?”
He opened the door and found Apple Bloom’s room in a mess. Books, clothes, and toys cluttered the floor. In the center of it all, Apple Bloom sat with a familiar-looking puppet in her hoof. “Yeah, Big Mac?”
It must have belonged to Apple Bloom all along, though he never remembered her ever owning it. “Clean up your room and come down for dinner,” he said.
She took a gander at the mess around her, caused by her little adventures with the doll, though it looked more like a twister passed by instead. “Alright…” she groaned.
He went back downstairs and started setting the table for dinner. Apple Bloom came down shortly after. Now that everyone was present, it was soup’s on. They dug into their meal with gusto, though still keeping their table manners as Granny had often told them to. In the midst of their eating, Applejack broke the sound of eating. “So Big Mac, where’d you get the doll?”
He swallowed the piece of apple he was chewing. “Found it.”
Applejack raised a brow. “Where?”
He took a slurp of his stew. “Under one of the baskets in the orchard.”
"So... it ain't yours?"
“Nope, I thought it was Apple Bloom’s,” he said, turning to Apple Bloom.
“Nope, not mine. But can I still keep it?”
“Uh… sure.”
"Yes!" she said to herself.
He mulled over how the wooden doll ended up on apple orchard. Did someone leave it behind? Who could have gone by the farm and left something like a puppet on the ground like that? It wasn’t that big of a deal, but the whole thing seemed off to him. I’m just overthinking it, he thought to himself.
He continued eating, content with listening to the family’s conversation, though he was left with a niggling feeling and unanswered questions of the bizarre appearance of the puppet.
Granny brought out the apple pie that had been left out to cool. “Alright, who wants dessert?”
~~~~~~~
I sat up, still on the giant bed where Apple Bloom had left me.
Well, that was fun. Hope she doesn’t come back too soon. I still gotta get out of here. I didn’t know how long I had been playing with the filly, but it must have been quite a while since it was getting dark. I lost track of time after fighting crime and saving the world with her. Apparently, I became the mayor after saving the town, and I would start my new job when she comes back. Though I’d love to stay, I had to go.
I scanned the room, looking for a way out. “Now where’s the exit?”
The door to her room was closed. There was a window I could climb out of, but with how high I was from the ground outside, I wouldn’t make it out in one piece, that was for sure. I glared at the door that kept me trapped in the room. It’s always the doors…
I hopped down onto the floor and looked around for something to help my escape. I saw the stacks of books Apple Bloom hadn’t put away yet. I began pushing the books lying around towards the door, nudging them with my head. With a little bit of arranging, I had the books stacked into small pile, like a carelessly made, mismatched flight of stairs. I scaled to the top of it like a mountain climber, carefully placing my hooves so I don’t end up tumbling my way down. When I finally got to the top, I balanced myself on my hind legs and reached for the door knob. I wobbled as I stood. The books teetered under me as I did a balancing act on my two legs. I could almost touch the door knob with my hoof. Come on, just a little closer! With a hop, I grasped the door knob as the pile of books fell over. I hung from where I was and swung my body.
With a click, the door opened a crack. I dropped down onto the ground and pried the door open, squeezing through the small gap. It took a while, but I finally did it. After all that work, I was finally out of that room. And now, I had to find a way outside. I found the stairs, but the sound of someone coming up kept me from going any further. I had to run and hide.
I spotted dark room with the door wide open and made a beeline for it. Wooden hooves weren’t exactly the quietest. I could only hope that whoever was coming didn’t hear me. Once inside, I dove under the bed for cover and waited, listening to the heavy steps draw closer. Please go away. Please go away. Please go away, I chanted in my head. It wasn’t long until four hooves walked through the doorway. I watched as they trotted closer to where I was, never taking my eyes off them. My legs rattled as waited for the pony to peek under and find me under the bed.
The legs stopped at the entrance of my hiding spot.
Oh, please don’t look under! The pairs of hooves disappeared as they were pulled up, out of my vision. The bed above me sank. The springy coils creaked under the weight as the pony shuffled to get comfortable. I heard a heavy sigh of a stallion above me. I let out a breath I didn’t know I had been holding. Curiosity was telling me to see who it was, but I had to wait until he fell asleep. So I waited.
I could hear his slow, steady breathing—in and out, in and out. Did he fall asleep? I wasn’t sure. I waited just a little longer before crawling out from my hiding place. Looking back at the bed, I found a large, hulking stallion sleeping soundly. I climbed up the bed sheet that fell to the floor and stood next to the giant. Under the moonlight from the window, I took a closer look at his sleeping face. Strands of his dark blonde hair fell over his eyes. Little freckles dotted his face like the apple seeds on his cutie mark. A puff of warm air escape his nostrils with each breath. I stared at his face, longer than I should have.
What am I doing? I should be leaving, not staring at him. I forced my eyes away from his face and turned around to make my leave. Just as I was about to jump down, I was pulled back by two strong hooves and was met with a giant wall of red fur. The stallion mumbled something and continued sleeping. I wiggled in his grip and even tried pushing against his chest as he squeezed me.
“Let go!” I quietly grunted.
I pried my front half out and slowly slid the rest of me out of his hooves. Just when I thought I was free, I was kept from going any further by a tug from my tail. It was still stuck in his hooves. I tugged at it, but the stubborn thing wouldn’t pull loose. Grabbing onto my tail with both hooves, I pulled. Slowly, my tail gave way. With one final yank, it came loose, throwing me off my hooves. I went sailing into the air before crashing onto the floor.
I shook my head of the stars I was seeing and quickly checked my tail. It was all there, thankfully, still attached to my rear. Glad to have my tail still with me, I gave a sigh. “Finally! Now I just gotta get out of here.”
With a click, the room lit up. I looked back at the bed where the stallion was no longer asleep. He had one hoof next to the lamp sitting by his bed. His mouth hung open. His eyes were no longer closed and instead were wide open. They reminded me of the grassy meadows I’d seen while on the road.
Those eyes were staring straight at me as he sat up on his bed. Neither of us made a move. I sat on the floor, frozen to my spot. What do I do? What do I do?!
I opened my mouth to say something, but words wouldn’t come out. Instead, a high-pitched sound, like a balloon losing air, came out. I shut my mouth, realizing how useless it was to say anything. I watched as he prodded himself with a hoof before slowly nodding to himself, his eyes still fixed onto mine. After what seemed like forever, he finally spoke. “You… You can move…”
I gave a gentle nod.
“Can… can ya talk too?”
I nodded again.
He crawled out of bed and stood in front of me. I stared as the towering stallion plopped down on his rump. He craned his neck down so that we were now face-to-face again, only this time he was awake. “Who are you?”
“M-Marie…” I finally said. I stared into his eyes at my reflection, staring at the trembling wooden mare in front of me.
“Marie… That’s a nice name.”
“Um, thank you?”
He gave a warm smile. “Name’s Big Macintosh, but you can call me Big Mac.” His eyes drifted down, getting a good look at me. “How are ya doin’ that?” he asked.
“Doing what?”
He pointed at me. “Talking… and moving…”
“I don’t know,” I said. All I remember was waking up in front of Flim and Flam. I remember them teaching me how to talk and sing and walk and dance. I remember my first words, my first steps, my first performance--nothing before all of that though.
“So where’d you come from?”
"I don't know," I said again. I didn’t know where I was or where Flim and Flam were. I didn’t even know the places I’d been to.
He slowly nodded again and continued looking at me. What was he going to do with me? What will happen to me now? I wished Flim and Flam were here. They would know what to do. But neither of them was here to tell me what to do.
“Do you need a place to stay?” he asked.
The sound of his voice snapped me out of my thoughts. “Huh?”
“You’re lost, aren’t ya? I ain’t gonna kick ya out.”
“Oh, I’ll be… alright on my own.”
"You sure?”
I glanced at the window. It was already dark outside. I really didn’t want to be alone with all the scary things living in the dark. Maybe one night wouldn’t hurt… “I guess I can stay just for one night.”
“Alright,” he said. He walked over to a closet and rummaged through his things. Meanwhile, I was trying to peek around him to see what he was doing. He turned around, holding a box in his a hooves and a small red blanket adorned with little green apples. It must have once been his little blanket, since it was much too small for him. He set the box down next to his bed and stuffed the blanket in it, making some sort of bed for me.
“Sorry it ain’t much. I hope you don’t mind.”
I hopped into my makeshift bed, pacing around in circles to move the lumps before finally lying down. “It’s perfect,” I said.
“Well, see ya in the morning,” he said, turning off the lights. “Goodnight, Marie.”
"Goodnight, Big Mac.”
Silence settled in the room. I rolled and turned in my bed, eventually settling for lying on my back, staring at the ceiling. This wasn’t at all like my room. It didn’t seem as dark. The shadows and the little things I could make out in the moonlight were unfamiliar. Even the little noises were different, not at all like my room. The sound of the machine’s churning and rumbling were replaced by the sound of Big Mac’s gentle breathing and a snore every now and then. The city noise I had grown so used to was now nothing more than a cricket’s chirp. It was a whole new kind of quiet. Unfamiliar, strange, alien—it was different from what I was used to, as if I stepped into a whole new world from my own.
First thing in the morning, I gotta find those two. I curled up on the blanket. Slowly, my eyes closed, and I slipped into the comforting embrace of sleep, surrounded by strange noises and an unfamiliar darkness.