"Are you sure yeh can handle everything?" asks Applejack, incredulous.
Lero sighs, exasperation coloring his voice, "Yes Applejack, just because I'm not as durable as you ponies doesn't mean I can't take care of things for an afternoon while you and Big Mac take care of business, you even told me yourself that my hands give me a pretty big advantage over ponies in tree trimming."
Applejack looks down and away at that, shuffling her hooves a bit. "Ah did say that didn't I," she mutters.
"I'm not going to hurt myself you know, it's just for a few hours after all," he explains, his tone gentle.
Applejack's head whips around at that, a blush rising in her features despite her fur's best efforts to hide it. "Ah wasn't worried!" she blurts, voice wavering a bit. Lero simply raises an eyebrow, his expression speaking volumes. "No-not that I wouldn't be worried or nuthin', I mean you're a good worker, and I know how well you get on with Granny and Macintosh, and even Apple Bloom likes yeh-," she babbles, stumbling over her words as her face burns red.
"Applejack, it's fine, I know what you mean," Lero interrupts her, amusement shining in his eyes.
Applejack merely pushes her stetson down over her face, muttering hotly under her breath. At this sight Lero can't help but let out a bark of laughter, before long Applejack starts chuckling herself, her body relaxing and her tense features softening.
Applejack and Lero merely gaze at each other for a bit, their expressions warm and their posture relaxed; after a comfortable moment Applejack gets up and heads for the door. She stops short just before leaving the dusty tool shed, the sun shining off her coat, "Y'all take care yourself, Lero, yeh hear?" asks Applejack, turning back with a beautiful smile on her face.
"Loud and clear boss-lady," Lero sketches a sloppy salute, "I'll have the Eastern Orchard done by the time you get back."
"I'll hold you to that Mister Handy!" she chirps, trotting off.
Lero just shakes his head happily and looks over the tools briefly before picking out the branch cutter. It isn't all that different from the ones commonly used on Earth, all things considered; the exception being that the curved blade at the end is both longer and sharper, and that the grip is nearer to the base. With that done, he carefully slings the tool over his shoulder and takes off for the Eastern Orchard, humming to himself quietly along the way.
As Lero works he can't help but feel a shudder of discomfort run through him at being so close to the Everfree. He doesn't have many memories of his time in that forest, but what little he does have is still more than enough to give him the occasional night terror- if nothing else, at least his poor sleeping habits had allowed him to meet with one of Equestria's immortal diarchs on somewhat cordial terms.
Shockingly enough, from what little he'd heard most ponies were terrified of Luna and practically worshiped Celestia; then again, considering his first meeting with Celestia involved the closest thing to a "shovel speech" he'd heard since coming to Equestria, and that his first meeting with Luna involved her ending a nightmare prematurely with comfort and warm cocoa, he supposed he might be just a little biased in favor of the Night Princess.
Two hours later and Lero already regrets his earlier candor. The thick, Earth Pony grown trees fight him for every branch, and the heat of the sun certainly doesn't make things any easier. His thin tank-top has already soaked through with sweat and he still has a little over half the orchard to go; apparently, whatever magic allows the trees at Sweet Apple Acres to bear so much fruit year round also has the unfortunate side-effect of causing them to grow more than was strictly healthy, and that's not even beginning to mention how much tougher it made the wood, it makes his arms ache just thinking about it.
A sharp scream cuts through Lero's thoughts and immediately draws his attention towards the Everfree Forest. His heart starts pounding, something about that voice tickles the edge of his memory. For a long moment Lero simply stares into the tainted thicket that for his first few moments in Equestria had been his own personal hell. Indecision gnaws at him like a physical sensation as his worry fights against his fear in a clash of wills that feels like it's tearing him apart.
Two more voices soon join the first, both sounding scared and far, far too young. Panic takes Lero as he recognizes at least one of the voices as Apple Bloom's and with a sinking feeling in his gut, he finally realizes that the first scream must have been Sweetie Belle. His decision practically made for him, Lero takes a brief moment to gather his resolve before grabbing the branch cutter and sprinting across the border separating Sweet Apple Acres from the Everfree forest, following the sounds of three fillies in distress.
Lero rushes through the forest as fast as he can reasonably manage, the perspiration on his body no longer that of heat and exertion, but of a fear that chills him to his very bones. Numerous scratches and tears litter his clothes and body as the world rushes by him at high speed. His heart thuds like a jackhammer, but Lero ignores all this, his head far too clouded by frantic worry.
Lero's panic skyrockets as he hears another shriek from the girls. Immediately he pushes his already tired body all the harder, a potent cocktail of adrenaline stoked with fear propelling him through the forest at astounding speeds. After what could be either hours or minutes of tearing through the thorny brush, Lero finally stumbles across the clearing where he finds the girls, the three of them have huddled together on a rocky outcropping as they try to avoid an absolutely massive beast. With the wings of a bat, the horns of a prize bull, an enormous scorpion tail, and the body of a lion- if, of course, that lion had been the size of a large bear; there's little doubt in Lero's mind that this chimeric monstrosity is a manticore, one of the deadliest creatures known to reside in the Everfree Forest.
The sheer fright in the fillies' large luminous eyes, which were still filled with unshed tears; the sweat and grime accumulated from their desperate time spent in the inhospitable forest clinging to their coats; the image of that bat-winged horror devouring those innocent young girls flips a switch in Lero. He hefts his branch cutter in a white-knuckled grip, brandishing the farming Implement like a spear of old; taking heart, Lero then lunges at the enormous beast, hoping and praying that his first strike would prove to be a decisive blow.
His desperate strike misses the leonine body, but manages to clip one of the relatively small bat wings; the wicked curve of the blade normally used for cutting wood shears through the flimsy joint of the vestigial wing and then removes it entirely with a small spurt of blood. A pained roar from the manticore shakes the surrounding area.
In an instant the beast turns it's maddened gaze on Lero, it's razor-filled maw dripping with saliva and it's eyes shining with the promise of murder. Lero distantly hears one of the fillies gasp, he wants to reach out to them, to tell them that everything is going to be alright, but he just can't find the words, the whole of his being focused on the monster in front of him.
The manticore charges with a vicious roar, barreling through the underbrush at incredible speeds. Lero just barely manages to avoid getting gored on the creature’s massive horns as it tries to ram him with all of its considerable bulk, hitting the ground hard while the manticore plows straight through a nearby tree with a terrifying crash, reducing it to timber. Lero scrambles to regain his bearings, his back burning from the hard fall and thoroughly scraped up by the rocky terrain.
The manticore recovers from it's impact long before Lero does, preparing to pounce on the disoriented human. Time slows to a crawl for Lero, his body numb with pain and fear; he remembers the fillies, how he has to protect them, and he props the butt of his impromptu-spear on the ground, using his two shaky hands to point the weapon straight into the beast's gaping maw. For a brief hysterical moment he considers muttering something cheesy like "Chew on this!", before bemoaning that his last thought might just be a horrible pun.
With a sickening thunk, the manticore impales itself on the blade. The beast's own momentum driving it up through the palate and into the skull with a terrifying rasp, Lero can only gape at how hard the creature's skull must be to make a sound like that. Blood trickles down onto Bellerophon and the wooden haft creaks with the chimera's weight; for a brief, shining moment he believes that he might just make out of the forest alive, then movement- pain! A long dark object burrows into his stomach, the tail? The burning hits, it's too much, he can't see, he can't think, he can't-! He hears voices, someone is calling his name "LERO!", darkness.