Chapter 12:
The Crusades and Understanding Your Feelings
It was a beautiful morning in Ponyville. Everypony was outside enjoying the nice summer’s day. Little foals run around and play while the adults walk around either buying goods in the market or just talking with friends in the park. Everyone was enjoying the day.
Everyone except for Felipe and I.
‘I just had to go and get a job didn’t I?’
After looking at the window of what the freedom of the outside that mocks me one last time, I turn my attention to the glowing orange metal that was laying on the anvil. Lifting the hammer over my head I brought it down onto the metal.
CLANK!
I repeated the process until I shaped the metal to the way I wanted.
‘Remember, take your time on each piece of metal. If you rush your work, then the metal will look bad and it won’t last, but if you take your time and let your heart do the work then, and only then you will succeed in your projects’
Theses words of advice that Silver gave both Felipe and I when teaching us the art of blacksmithing bounced around my head. It took a while but when I was completely satisfied with the metal I was working with, I placed it in the furnace to temper the metal.
“Whew!”, I said while taking my cap off for a second to shake my head and wipe my forehead from the sweat, “I’m done… for now at least. Yo Felipe!”
The clanking stopped sounding around the building and a voice emanated from another room, “What do you want!?”, shouted Felipe.
“You finished with your half!?”
“Almost! Why!?”
“Fuck this, it’s too hot in here to yell”, I mumbled as I walked to the room where Felipe was working, “Bro, it’s too hot for this shit man, can you hurry up so we can get out of here?”
“Dude, don’t worry, I’m almost finished with my half… Aaaaannnnddd… There! Done!”, he then wiped the sweat from his forehead and placed the shaped metal in the furnace like I did.
“Great! Now let’s head out for lunch, I’m starving man!”
“I’m coming don’t worry man, just head on out I’ll catch up with you in a few”
I nodded and walked to the break room with had two large lockers, one for me and the other for Felipe. To my knowledge these lockers were recently installed after we got hired. So with three quick twists I put the combination to the lock and put my apron in the hook in the locker and grabbed my phone, Ipod and headphones and locked the locker.
I looked around to make sure I had everything and nodded once I was satisfied and headed towards Sugarcube Corner.
Halfway there Felipe finally caught up with me.
“Dude, do you have any bit I can borrow? I only have two bits and I might not not have enough for lunch”, he asked me.
“Sure I have a couple”, I said while I checked my bit bag and pulled out a Luna bit and flipped it to him.
“Thanks man”
We then reached our destination and entered the bakery. Behind the counter manning (Or was it called ponying in this world?) the register was the town’s pink party planner Pinkie Pie.
“Oh hey guy’s! Haven’t seen you two in a loOoOoOoOng time!”, said Pinkie as she reached over the counter to give us a bone crushing hug.
‘I swear, these ponies are as strong as hors- Oh...’
“Hey Pinks, how are you doing?”, I gasped out as I felt the oxygen leave my body and not come back.
“I’m doing great!”, she exclaimed as she released us, “Wait…”, she then inspected the both of us, “oil stained clothes, the smell of sweat, metal and smoke”, she then gave out a large gasp, “You two got jobs and didn’t tell me!? I would’ve thrown both of you a ‘Got A Job!’ party!”
I was at loss for words. She was upset that we didn’t tell her that we got a job?
“Sorry Pinkie, we didn’t know that you would be upset that we didn’t tell you”, said Felipe.
Then a memory from a few days ago entered my thoughts, “Hey didn’t we kinda celebrated our ‘Got A Job’ here right after we got accepted?”, I asked.
“You’re right, so in a way you did kind of threw a party for us but, a party minus the many people, er, ponies and only the food”, added Felipe.
“Oh…”, Pinkie then put a hoof on her chin in thought then smiled brightly, “Then in that case I hoped you enjoyed the food! By the way, why are you two doing here? Are you guys planning something? Is it a surprise? Is it for me!? Don’t tell me! I don’t want to ruin the surprise!”
“Uhh… Actually-”, suddenly a pink hoof was shoved in my mouth before I said anything else.
“Uh-uh! Don’t tell me! Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to act surprised”, she said.
Then Rosa came out from the kitchen and looked between Pinkie and I, and I looked at her with pleading eye to help me out. Rosa then bursted out laughing and fell to floor clutching her sides.
“Mfh mtftfm mftfmt!”
With great effort I managed to pry Pinkie’s hoof out of my mouth, and it didn’t taste good, it tasted of fur… go figure.
“Bleh! Screw you Rosa”, I spat as Rosa still laid on the floor laughing, “Anyway, we’re just here for food, Pinks. No surprise party. Nothing else.”
“Ohhhhhh! Then why didn’t you say so Pheo?”
‘Resisting. Urge. To. Have. Palm. Meet. My. Face!’
After giving an exasperated sigh I finally said, “Can I just get a three blueberry muffins and a banana milkshake?”
“Sure thing Pheo!”, she then quickly ran to the kitchen with a bunch of clattering sounds and I swear I heard a cow moo. Then a pink blur came back out with my order and she said, “That’ll be five bits”, I then quickly counted the coins and them to her.
“And you Felipe?”, she asked.
“Uhm… I guess I’ll just have a bagel and a chocolate milkshake”
“That’ll be three bits”, Felipe then handed her the money. Then with the speed of a thousand roadrunners Pinkie ran to the kitchen leaving a Pinkie shaped dust cloud where she once stood and then the noise rose up in the kitchen again. The noise suddenly stopped and Pinkie came back in her usual hopping self while balancing a milkshake and a paper bag on her back, “Here you go Felipe!”
“Thank you Pinkie, so are we going to eat here or somewhere else?”, he asked.
“Well, we have about an hour and a half to kill before we have to get back to work, why not head to Twilight’s and hang in my room and watch a movie on my laptop?”
“Eh, sure why not?”
“Ok then, c’ya Pinks. C’ya Rosa”
By the time we left Rosa finally composed herself and waved goodbye to us as we left the bakery. I didn’t take long to reach the library and when we entered Spike was on a ladder dusting the bookshelves.
“Hey Spike”, I greeted the young drake.
He turned to see who greeted him and saw us, “Oh, hey Leo, hey Felipe. What are you guys doing here?”
“Gonna watch a movie”
“How? We don’t have the projector set up yet and I doubt that we have any good movies, only some boring informational ones”
“Follow me and I’ll show you”, I waved at him to follow as I headed up to my room.
After putting my food on the nightstand I went to my closet and grabbed my bag containing the laptop. “So, what movie are we watching?”, asked Felipe.
“I was thinking of ‘Spirit: The Stallion of the Cimarron’?”
“I don’t want to watch that one”
“How about… ‘Billy Madison’?
“Na”
“Big Daddy?”
“Uh-uh”
“Then how about ‘The Road to El Dorado’?
Felipe pondered then shrugged and said, “Sure, it’s been a while since I’ve seen that movie”
“The Road to El Dorado?”, asked Spike, “What’s it about?”
“You’ll see, oh before I start it, where’s Twilight?”
“She’s in her room right now”
“Ok, well Spike, get ready to have a taste of both human technology and entertainment”
About 1 hour and 20 minutes later
“That. Was. AWESOME!”, exclaimed Spike as the end credits rolled.
“This was one of my favorite movies when I was younger and I’m glad you enjoyed it”, I said as I closed the laptop and put it back where it was.
“Can you show me another movie?”, pleaded Spike.
“Sorry Spike but I have to go back to work or else Silver will have my skin”, I chuckled and then looked at Felipe, “Strike that, he will will have both of our skins”, I said while pointing at Felipe.
Spike then looked down dejectedly, “How about later I show you one of my favorite comedy special”
This seem to do the trick, as Spike’s mood did a one-eighty, “Okay! But do you Pinkie Promise?”
“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye”, I said while doing the various motions of a Pinkie Promise. When I did this Spike seem to visibly relax, “Welp, we better start heading out before it get’s any later, I’ll see ya when I get back from work”, I said as Felipe and I start heading out”
When we climbed down the stairs I saw Twilight sitting on the couch while having a cup of tea and a book in her magical telepathic grasp, “Hey Twi!”
“Oh hey Leo, hello Felipe how long were you two here?”
“We were here for a good hour and half or so, but we’re heading back to work”
“Ok then, but please be careful, I don- I mean, you don’t want to get hurt after you’ve recently recovered”, she stammered as a blush started to grow on her cheeks.
I didn’t noticed this nor picked up on what she was going to say, “Don’t worry Twi, I won’t get hurt”, I then pulled out my phone to check the time, “SHIT! Dude, if we’re going to make it back we need to book it!”, I then turned to Twilight and out of old habit and without thinking I rushed over to her and hugged her farewell, “Got to go, I’ll see ya later”, I then rushed out the door and closed it behind me.
Twilight:
After Leo and Felipe rushed out the door I tried my best to dissipate the blush that heated up my face but failed without avail.
“UGH! What is wrong with me!?”, I yelled out.
“What’s wrong Twi?”, asked Spike as he came downstairs.
“I don’t know Spike. It’s that every time I talk to Leo or even think about him I just feel nervous and self-conscious”, I then slumped down and gave a huge sigh, “What is wrong with me Spike?”
Spike open his mouth to say something but somepony gasped out loud making both our heads to turn to the now open doorway.
Standing in the doorway were three fillies: a white unicorn named Sweetie Belle with light-purple and pink mane and tail and pale emerald color eyes, a butter-yellow earth pony named Applebloom with red mane and tail with a bow in her mane and pumpkin-orange colored eyes and lastly a orange pegasus named Scootaloo with violet mane and tail and pale-violet colored eyes. The three of them are known as the infamous Cutie Mark Crusaders.
“Awwwwww! That’s adorable!”, coed Sweetie Belle.
“Twilight is in love!”, exclaimed Applebloom
“Ewch! I don’t like this lovey-dovey stuff but it’s cool. Who’s Leo?”, asked Scootaloo.
“W-what?!”, stammered Twilight as the blush returned with a bit more intensity at the mention of the human in question.
“Leo is a heu-man just like Felipe”, answered Applebloom.
“Oh, and it’s not heu-man. It’s hoo-man”, corrected Scootaloo.
“Nuh-uh! It’s heu-man you dodo!”
“Hey! I’m not a dodo and it’s hoo-man!”
“Heu-man!”
“Hoo-man!”
“Heu-man!”
“Will both of you be quite! Besides, I heard Rarity say that it was human”, said Sweetie Belle.
“Girls”
“It’s Hoo-man!”
“It’s Heu-man!”
“Girls”
“It’s Human!”
“Is not!”, claimed Applebloom.
“Is so!”, defended Sweetie Belle.
“Is not!”
“Is so!”
“GIRLS!”, I finally yelled out. This made them stop bickering, “Why are you three here anyway?”
“Well, we came to look for crusading ideas but you gave us one!”, said Applebloom.
“She did?”, asked Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.
A sense of dread washed over me, “And what is this… *Gulp* idea?”, I asked worriedly.
Applebloom then whispered to her cohorts and then they said a quiet ‘oh’ and turned back to Spike and I, “We can be…”, they then gave a deep breath in and then…
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS INVESTIGATIVE MATCHMAKERS!”
I had to rub my ears to try and get rid of the ringing in them, “Investigative Matchmakers?”, I asked slightly afraid of what does this scheme entail of.
“Yeah! We can totaly help you win Leo’s heart and make him your special somepony, or is it special somehuman?”, wondered Scootaloo.
“It’ll be so romantic!”, exclaimed Sweetie Belle.
“Hold on a minute-”
“Come on girls we need to get disguises to make sure he don’t see us”, stated Applebloom.
And with that the three crusaders ran out of the library to Celestia-knows-where.
‘Am… Am I in love? With Leo?’
The Cutie Mark Crusaders:
“So… Where do we find Leo?”, asked Scootaloo as she finished putting on a black spandex body suit.
“We can ask Pinkie, she might know where he is”, said Sweetie.
“Well what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”, cheered Applebloom and ran towards Sugarcube Corner.
When they entered they ran up to the party pony in question.
“Hey girls! Are you guys here to ask where is Leo?”, asked Pinkie.
“Wha-!? How did you know?!”, wondered Sweetie.
Pinkie just giggled and ruffled Sweetie’s mane, “I read ahead silly! And don’t worry about the vase Scootaloo”
“What vase?”, asked Scootaloo as she accidentally hit a table that had a vase on it, which fell and broke.
“That vase silly!”
“I-I’m sorry”
“I said don’t worry about it and Leo’s at his work right now”
“And his work is…?”, asked Applebloom.
“The Steel Ingot. Just head straight then take a left, you can’t miss it”
“Ok thanks Pinkie! Come on, let’s go girls!”, said Applebloom as she lead her entourage out the bakery.
“AND WATCH OUT FOR THE BANANA PEEL!”, yelled Pinkie.
“WHAT DID YOU SA- WHAAAA~!”, yelled Scootaloo.
“THAT BANANA PEEL!”
“What is he doing now?”, whispered Sweetie.
“He’s… *Sigh* still working on the same piece of metal”, groaned Applebloom who was looking through a pair of binoculars.
“UGH! We’ll never get our cutie marks at this rate! We’ve been spying on him for HOURS!”, groaned Scootaloo.
“Then why don’t ya get closer to the window and listen to what he’s say’n Scootaloo”, said Applebloom.
“What if he sees me?”
“Don’t worry. He couldn’t see ya unless he poked his head out the window”
“Fine!”, she then proceeded to tip-toe out from behind the bush they were hiding in and leaned against the wall with an ear pointed at the open window and listened carefully.
“Hey Leo! Are you finished repairing that plow? Applejack said that she needed it repaired so Big Mac can pick it up tomorrow”, somepony called out to the human that they were spying on.
“Just one last detail left and I’m finished, why? What time is it?”, asked, who Scootaloo assumed was Leo.
“It’s time for us to clock out”
“Already? Damn… Well I’m finished anyways, let me just get my stuff”
Scootaloo then heard their footsteps towards her and she tensed up and held her breath. She then heard the window close and then a door slam shut inside the smithy. After letting out the breath she was holding, she ran towards the bush.
“What did ya hear?”, questioned Applebloom when Scootaloo barreled into the bush.
“Nothing much, but they’re coming out in a few”
“Who’s they?”, asked Sweetie.
“Leo and somepony else in there, I don’t know who it was”
“It was Felipe”
“Why is he here?”, asked Scootaloo.
“Those two are usually always together”
“Why?”, asked Scootaloo, “Are they siblings or something?”
“Ah think so, Felipe hasn’t talked about his family much”
“Shh! Here they come!”, shushed Sweetie.
They quickly laid down on the ground and pushed apart a section of the leaves out of the way to allow them to see without being seen. And sure enough the humans in question walked out of the smithy and down towards the town square.
“C’mon let’s follow them”, said Scootaloo.
They followed them to the town square, where both Leo and Felipe stopped and talked for a bit. They hid nearby to listen to their conversation.
“What are they say’n?”, asked Applebloom.
“Shh!”, shushed Scootaloo.
“So how’s things going on at the farm? The Apples treating you good?”, asked Leo.
“It’s alright, but I still can’t get used to waking up to a rooster at sunrise”, replied Felipe.
Leo laughed at this. Felipe continued to talk, “Funny thing about that is that we used to live in the city, where there are a ton of loud noises and we managed to sleep through that, but when a rooster crows we can’t stay asleep”
“True, so what do you think about our situation here? I mean there is going to be a slim to none chance to get back home. Do you ever think about settling down here in the future if we can’t go back?”
“Probably not, I mean with ponies? Isn’t that like beastiality?”
“More like xenophilia, since they are a sapient species, like us”
“Why do you asked that anyways? Did you have someone in mind?”, Felipe asked coyly.
“W-what? I have no idea what you’re talking about”, defended Leo with a blush growing on his face.
“Not even for a certain purple unicorn?”, Felipe snickered.
“Her coat is lavender! Not purple!”, said Leo before realizing what he said which caused him to try and back-pedal. But it was too late.
“I KNEW IT!”, screamed Sweetie Belle as she jumped out of their hiding place.
She then covered her mouth but realized that the two humans were looking at her confusedly.
“We’ve been spotted! Abort mission!”, screamed Scootaloo as she grabbed Sweetie and ran away with Applebloom right behind her.
Leo:
I stared confusedly at the three fillies as they ran away.
“The hell was that about?”, I wondered.
“I don’t know”, mused Felipe before he turned back to me, “So Twilight huh?”, he said with a sly smile.
The blush returned, if I blushed any harder then I would look like someone who had a nasty sunburn, “Please don’t tell her bro. I don’t want her to feel awkward around me or for her to hate me”, I pleaded to my best friend in a whisper.
“Dude, I’m not an ass like that. But if you want I can help you”
“Thanks man, but not right now”
“Ok but remember, you can’t wait forever or else you’ll miss your chance”
“I know, well I gotta go, it’s getting pretty late.
“Alright, see ya tomorrow”
We then parted ways I was deep in thought.
‘Ha! As if Twi would like to be with me. It wouldn’t work anyways. I don’t think she would like to be with another species’
I then reached for the door to the library.
‘But Felipe’s right. I have to try, or live the rest of my life with that being my biggest “What if”’
I then opened the door and saw no one.
“Where is everyone?”, I wondered out loud.
I then climbed up to my room and saw Twilight in the living room writing something, “Hey Twi”
She looked up and saw me, “Oh hey Leo, back already?”
“Yep, is the shower open?”
“Yeah and there is leftover ravioli in the fridge”
“Ok thanks Twi, you’re the best”
This seemed to make her blush, which as always went unnoticed by me. I then headed to the shower to get all the sweat and dust off me.
After coming out of the shower with a towel wrapped around me, I went to get decent and then went to the kitchen to get the leftovers.
As I ate, a single thought popped in my head.
‘Will it even work out?’