//------------------------------// // Chapter 11 - Memories // Story: Artist's Block // by Hot Dog Jones //------------------------------// I awoke with a start, feeling something stirring in my limp arms. “Hey, knucklehead, get up,” a voice said. “Mom, you know it’s a weekend, right?” I said back, still tired. “Guess again, Sketchy.” I opened my eyes to see an also-tired Scootaloo by my side, a grin on her face. I jumped back in surprise, retracting my hooves. “S-Scootaloo?! What’re you doing in my bed?” She laughed and replied, “You don’t remember a thing, do you?” She continued to laugh, followed by her sticking her tongue out. “I’m just a little groggy.. It’ll come back to me,” I said, laughing as well. She leaned forward, bringing me into a hug. She then brought her head back, then leaned it in, and you can guess the rest. She kissed me, her soft-as-clouds lips caressing and cradling mine. After a minute or so the kiss broke, and she said, “Alright, now we gotta go. The girls wanted to do some crusading today.” I woke up from my love crazed daydream and hobbled over to my wheelchair, sliding inside its silk bounds. I wheeled outside (a bit of difficulty on the stairs) with Scootaloo, hoping to do something fun with the CMC. I kept trying to remember last night, but I just couldn’t recall it. I don’t get it.. We didn’t, did we? Oh Celestia. To get my mind off the pressing matter, I asked Scootaloo, “So where are the girls at?” “Where else,” replied Scootaloo, “but the clubhouse?” She laughed and wheeled out her scooter from the dirt it sat in. I paused when she took out a rope and tied it to the back end of the scooter. “Hey, uh, Scoots? What’s that for?” “You’ll see. Just hold this,” she said, grinning and handing me the other end of the rope. My stomach jumped when I realized, but by then it was too late. My wheelchair was speeding down the bumpy road, being pulled by Scootaloo’s scooter. I held onto my wheelchair with a death grip. I had seen Scootaloo doing this with the girls in the wagon, but it was a totally different story with my rickety chair. Remember how I said Ponyville didn't have asphalt roads? Well, they were dirt roads, causing the wheels to trip over rocks and fall into dips. It was an extremely bumpy ride. “Y-You mind slowing down, S-Scoots?!” I tried to say against the jolts of the wheelchair and the wind in my face. She obviously didn’t hear my pleas, because she wasn’t hindering in the least. We left the city streets and went into the brush of the Apple Family Orchard, changing the scenery from homes to plants. The scooter swerved in between trees and various plant life, causing my chair to get dangerously close to a few hard looking apple trees. I must have looked awkward- I had one hoof on my chair and one over my head in case we crashed. I held onto the rope with the best grip I could muster, hoping we would get there soon. Luckily for me, the clearing where the clubhouse was was just a few hundred feet in front of us. Soon we could hear the cries of Sweetie Belle and Applebloom, yelling at us through the window I had fallen from just a week before. We came to a sudden stop outside the tree in which the clubhouse resided. With a screech of my wheelchair tires and Scootaloo’s scooter, we arrived at our destination with me in a bit of a daze. “Hey, Scoots?” I said with my head throbbing, “How about we never do that again.” She laughed and wheeled me up to the clubhouse. “There you guys are,” Applebloom said, “What were you up to?” “Nothing really,” I assured her as I went through the door. Scootaloo and I had agreed not to tell anyone about our relationship. Her parents probably wouldn’t be okay with it, and the girls might just have a similar reaction, partly for reasons Scoots didn’t know. I told Sweetie Belle I didn’t want a relationship so soon in my stay in Ponyville, and if she found out about me and Scoots, she would probably never forgive me. It had been about a month since I actually started staying in Ponyville, the broken leg incident being just before that week. I was still in my wheelchair, but found I was able to use it less and less. I also found myself thinking about home less as well. The busy, paved streets and tall buildings just didn’t appeal to me anymore. Now I was accustomed to the simple country life. It was nicer, I guess – ponies always looked out for each other and were much nicer, everypony knew everypony’s name.. It just felt like a true home. And that’s something I didn’t want to give up. And one thing’s for sure – you can’t find a treehouse like the CMC’s in Manehattan, or anywhere in Equestria for that matter. The walls were plastered with different posters, ranging from Wonderbolt ads to maps of Ponyville. The ground was cluttered with various things: action figures, saddle bags, comic books, pretty much anything teenagers would be into. It was funny how the Crusaders could be so much different than other ponies, but so similar at the same time. And now my bare flank had led me officially into this group. A group of outcasts, maybe, but a group of friends, no doubt. “So what’re we gonna do?” I asked, hoping for an answer that wouldn’t hurt me physically too much. “Well, we were planned to help Applejack with the harvest, but you’re kinda..” Sweetie Belle said, pointing to my wheelchair. “Oh, no, that’s okay. I’ll just watch. I don’t think apple bucking is my special talent anyway,” I said, giving a little chuckle. “You sure?” Applebloom said to me. “Yeah, totally. You guys can go ahead,” I added, smiling. “And maybe me and Sketch can help out AJ with somethin’ else. She might have some finance stuff to do,” Scootaloo said, resting her arm on my shoulder. “Alrighty then, let’s go!” yelled Applebloom, trotting for the door. Sweetie Belle followed suit, and Scootaloo and I went out after her. *** “Howdy there, sis!” Applebloom announced to her unsuspecting sibling. Applejack jumped in surprise then turned around to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders and myself (even though I technically was one.) “Oh uh, howdy, Applebloom. You here to help with the harvest? Cause we got lots of trees to buck,” Applejack said, looking down at the group. “Eeyup! And Sketch n’ Scoots were wondering if you had any non-physical work to be done, seein’ with wheelchair n’ all.” “Uhm,” AJ responded, obviously finding it hard to think of something, “Well, you can watch the cattle out back. Usually it’s Big Mac’s job, but I’m sure he’ll be glad to take a break.” “Okay, sure,” I said back. We said our goodbyes to Applejack and went into the fields - AB and Sweetie Belle to the orchard, me and Scoots to the pen. When we get there, who do we see but everyone’s favorite stallion, Big Macintosh. “Hey, Big Mac!” Scootaloo called to him, “Watchin' the cattle?” “Eeyup.” “Do you want a break? AJ said we could fill in for you,” I said. “Eeyup. Just be careful with the cows, they’re a might sensitive.” He stood up and trotted away, leaving us only with the cattle and the gentle breeze. “Well, that was easier than I thought. I guess even Big Mac’s gotta break sometime, eh?” Scootaloo said with a snicker, “I’ve never really tended animals before, but it should be pretty easy. Besides, I have you here.” She hopped onto my lap, making me blush. She noticed my reddening face and giggled. “You’re cute,” she teased. “Um.. Thanks?” I said, giving an embarrassed smile. Scootaloo put her arm around me and came closer. Seeing what she was about to do, I said, “Uh, Scoots? What about the cattle?” “Ponyfeathers to the cattle.” She finally ended her teasing and kissed me once again, making my mind freeze up and my stress drift away. The kiss broke after a while, and I found myself in a daze of love and confusion. “Hopefully Big Mac’s idea of a break isn’t too short, eh?” she said, smiling at me. My mind suddenly drew a blank. All I could utter was, “Big Mac? Who’s Big Mac?” She giggled and said, “I didn’t know I was that good a kisser.” There was a brief silence, but it was lifted by the sound of our lips meeting yet again. This kiss lasted longer, and I enjoyed every second of it. The bliss of her soft lips on mine, and the remoteness of the orchard only being broken by the small smack of our mouths meeting. When the kiss parted, I felt strange. Of course, I felt sad because it was over, but I felt feelings beyond that. My brain felt totally numb, and I sat back in my wheelchair to mull things over. Well, if I could that is. Scootaloo noticed something was up and decided to address it. “Sketchy,” she said, “are you okay? Is something wrong?” “I’m fine, Scoots. Don’t worry about it.” I smiled at her and pulled her closer, snuggling her in my hooves. There was a silence as we sat there embracing one another, enjoying the company of a lover. I broke it by bringing up a familiar topic. “Hey, what did happen last night, anyway?” She snickered and said, “You seriously don’t remember? Cause it was pretty great.” I could tell she was teasing me, but I had to play along if I ever wanted to know. “What was pretty great?” I pleaded. “You know, Sketch, that thing we did,” she giggled. I rolled my eyes. Okay, either we did that, or she’s just pulling my hoof. Or maybe a mixture of both? My mind wasn’t working right. I let it go, knowing that my memory would come back some time. But unfortunately for me, that wasn’t entirely the truth.