//------------------------------// // Fun or Trouble // Story: Burnt Orange Juice // by Mike the Red //------------------------------// Staring into the emerald green eyes of the farm pony caused me to freeze up as my mind raced -- What is she going to think of me? What will Twilight think of me? I wasn't supposed to do this! "Are ya gonna just stand there starin' at me, or are ya gonna answer me? Who are ya? Why d'ya look like Sweetie Belle?" I sighed heavily and hung my head. "I dunno if you're gonna believe this or not, but -- up until a couple of days ago, I used to be a human -- if you doubt me, you can ask Miss Twilight -- I simply tagged along with the Crusaders because I wanted to see what they did for fun -- I had no idea I'd end up getting coated in mud like that," I replied. "That still doesn't answer mah question -- who are ya?" she asked, a bit more forcefully this time. "Ya need ta ask Miss Twilight," I replied, imitating her accent, something which elicited giggles from the fillies and seemed to anger Applejack even further. "Uhh, sorry about that, Miss Applejack -- even though I go by the name of Aurora Belle while in this form, as a human, my name was Michael. Miss Twilight seems to take great pleasure in calling me by my human name, perhaps to annoy me or something like that." "What is it about Twilight -- why d'ya keep mentionin' her?" she asked, still glaring at me, though it had softened a little. "C'mon, sis, stop pesterin' her! We only wanted to have a little fun!" "That's beside the point, Apple Bloom. Ya don't even know who this filly is!" "Yes we do! She visited us at our school today! She even poked a little fun at Diamond Tiara, embarrassing her!" added Schootaloo. "Hmm. Ah don't know much about humans, aside from the silly ramblings of Lyra -- and Twi hardly ever talks about 'em. So, if'n what'cha say is true, tell me -- what's it like where ya came from? Humans don't come from around here, from what Lyra has said about 'em in the past." "Well -- that's one of the reasons I wished to leave the place -- aside from the fact I wanted to redo everything from my eighth birthday forward -- but I also wanted to come here and visit Twilight -- and there was another part of me that wanted to be a pony as well. My home life -- that was the primary reason for my wanting to leave. I have worked so hard for so long, I wanted a break from all that. But now that I'm here, it looks like I have a lot more hard work in store for me," I offered, hanging my head again, my tone of voice heavy with dejection. "What sorta work did'ja do? Cain't be as hard as farmin' -- an' how old are ya?" "I was a package courier -- or at least, that's what I did up until I woke up next to Miss Twilight a couple of days ago -- and as a human, I was 50 years old," I replied, eliciting a gasp of shock on the farm pony's face. "Ya sure yer 50? Ah cain't believe that! Wait -- ya woke up layin' next to Twilight?!" Applejack exclaimed incredulously. I slowly nodded my head in response before my attention was diverted by the fillies bouncing around me excitedly again. "C'mon, sis, let us play with her some more! Hey, Aurora, why not let me ride ya this time?" asked Apple Bloom, grinning at me. "We just got washed off! And you wanna go back into that mud puddle?" I asked the filly in disbelief. "Aurora, how'd ya wake up in Twilight's bed? What happened?" asked the farm pony. I noticed her gaze harden at me again. "Ummm, well -- I know you're not gonna believe this but -- sometimes folks should be careful what they wish for," I noted. "Why'd ya wish for that?" "It wasn't just one wish -- it was about three or four that got bundled into a single wish -- what, you want me to explain further to you? What else is there to say? I'm sorry if I misled you," I replied sullenly, hanging my head as an apologetic gesture. "Hey, SB, how much fun was it to do what you did?" asked Scootaloo, also grinning broadly. "You have to ask?" the filly replied, matching grins with the others. I shook my head slowly, chuckling softly. "Y'all cain't be doin' that all the dang time! Aurora or Michael or -- what d'ya want me ta call ya?" asked Applejack as she seemed to scratch her head in an attempt to make some sense of what I had told her. "Like I said before, Miss Applejack, when I'm in this form, I go by the name of Aurora -- the story I told the class was that I grew up on a chicken farm in Trottingham with my aunt and uncle," I replied, a grin starting to make its way onto my face. "Likely story. If'n ya grew up on a chicken farm, show me what'cha know! We've got a chicken hutch on the farm here, and if'n what'cha say is true -" "I'm sorry I lied about that, Miss Applejack," I said in a dejected tone of voice. "I should have known better than to tell a fake story about myself." "Well, at least ya came clean about it, Aurora. So, ya like playin' with the fillies? They weren't too much trouble, were they?" "I wasn't expecting to get coated in mud or have any of them ride my back like that -- but -- I just hope Miss Twilight will understand -- I wasn't expecting to get a cutie mark, either," I commented as I noticed the fillies almost start sneaking their way back to the mud puddle. "Hey, where do you think you're going?" I asked them. "C'mon, Aurora! Let's get muddy again!" the yellow filly exclaimed excitedly. "Mmmh, well -- maybe tomorrow? -- It's getting kinda late already, don't you think?" I asked. "Apple Bloom, supper's gonna be ready soon, so Ah think ya better come inside the house. Aurora, Ah hope ta meet ya again soon -- Ah'll bet'cha have lots to talk about. By the way, can ya take Scootaloo and Sweetie back with ya?" "Yeah, I guess," I replied before turning my attention to the other two fillies. "You two ready to go back to town?" "Awww," they intoned dejectedly as they turned towards me and trotted slowly. The pegasus filly grabbed her scooter and rode off on it and I lost sight of her after just a few minutes. "Sweetie, where does she stay? And why did she take off like that?" "Scoots usually stays with Rainbow Dash, so I'm sure she's gone off to meet up with her. Hey, you wanna sleep over at my house? I'm sure Rarity wouldn't mind," she offered, smiling warmly. "Umm, I might wanna check with Miss Twilight to make sure it'll be okay with her first -- don't wanna get into too much trouble, y'know!" I chuckled. "Okay, that sounds good -- let's go!" the filly chirped excitedly, nearly bouncing with anticipation. I chuckled at her reaction and began trotting towards the library, noticing the filly calm down a little as she trotted beside me, a big grin on her face. As we trotted, she asked me a bunch of questions about my home world as her curiosity had been piqued by my mentioning it. She seemed to be impressed by some of the answers I gave her, though I wasn't sure if she really was or not. Presently we reached the library and I knocked on the front door. "Uhhh -- TWO Sweetie Belles?" asked Spike in amazement. I chuckled at his reaction and Sweetie giggled. "Um, I'm Michael, or Aurora, or -- is Miss Twilight here?" I asked, almost annoyed by the fact that even I couldn't decide completely on my name, depending on whomever it was who asked. The librarian trotted downstairs upon hearing me call her name, a grin on her face as she noticed the drake's reaction to seeing me and Sweetie standing side by side. It was upon closer inspection she noticed I still was somewhat muddy, as was the filly. "And what exactly have you been doing?" she asked, gazing directly at me. "Ooh, you got your cutie mark! Let me see it!" she grinned as she trotted out the door to check it out. "I was hoping I'd get my cutie mark," Sweetie opined almost glumly. "How did you get yours so quickly, Aurora?" "Might have something to do with my age, I think -- I dunno," I replied matter-of-factly as Twilight continued to inspect my cutie mark. "Hmm, interesting -- I'm not sure what to make of it. Part of it seems to indicate -- you really like me, don't you, Aurora?" I blushed in embarrassment before answering her. "Well -- uhhh, I guess you could say that," I replied softly, averting my gaze from her. "I must admit, I'm amazed you got your cutie mark as quickly as you did. So, what were you doing when you got it?" I explained how I had been taken to the mud puddle and the events that followed, eliciting giggles from the librarian. She shook her head in disbelief and rolled her eyes at Apple Bloom's explanation. "Sounds to me as though you enjoyed yourself, despite your concerns!" she laughed. "Well, uhh, kinda," I offered. "I was worried you'd be upset with me for getting muddy." She chuckled softly. "A-heh, you were just having fun with them, Aurora! I have no problem with that, as long as they enjoy themselves and don't get into trouble. You did respect them enough to keep them from getting into trouble, I hope," she half-said, half-asked. "We had lots of fun! I want her to play with us every day!" Sweetie exclaimed cheerfully, grinning broadly. "As long as I don't end up getting covered in mud every day, I guess it's okay with me -- Miss Twilight?" She chuckled at my question. "Just be sure you stay out of trouble -- and if you get muddy or messy, be sure to clean yourself up before coming home. You said Applejack hosed you all off? She didn't get all the mud off you -- come on, you two, I'll let you finish cleaning up in my bathroom," she offered as she levitated both of us in her aura upstairs to the bathroom and cleaned us off the rest of the way and toweled us off as well. "Miss Twilight, I could have done that myself, you know," I opined. "I keep forgetting you're as old -- I still can't believe you're that old, Michael," the mare declared, her voice still sounding of amazement at the fact. "I would have liked her to help me clean up, Twilight," Sweetie added, causing the librarian to scoff at the notion. "Can she come with me to my place to stay the night?" "You need to check with your sister before that can be decided -- I'll be right back," the librarian stated as she teleported away. She returned less than a minute later. "Rarity says it's okay with her -- Aurora, behave yourself while you're over there." "Miss Twilight, Miss Rarity tried to dress me up in --" I began as I noticed Sweetie glare at me. "Sweetie, sometimes I don't wanna be dressed up in lacy and frilly pink dresses, you know." I heard the mare begin chuckling loudly upon hearing this confession. I rolled my eyes at her in response. "I was worried you might call them ugly or horrible," the filly deadpanned, before giggling again. "C'mon, let's go before it gets dark on us!"