//------------------------------// // New Kid on the Block // Story: Extremely Loud, Intensely Bright, Drastically Tense, Exceedingly Tight // by h4ns //------------------------------// Chapter 47: New Kid on the Block "Hey, what gives!? We've only been going for seventeen minutes and already you're wanting to take a break!? Where's your drive, where's your spirit, where's your determination!?!?!?" Rainbow sneared at Bryce. "I'm... sorry..." Bryce was able to pant out. "Come on. It's just a little running. I can still see the farm from here." "Yeah... because... you're... flying..." "Yeah, well, that's not the point." When Rainbow had told him she would see him in the morning he didn't expect her to mean the wee hours before the sun rose. He could understand that she wanted to get it done and over as soon as possible, but she could have given him better warning instead of blowing a whistle in his ear while he was still sleeping. Plus he would have to remember to get onto Corn later for allowing Rainbow to sneak into his room without a single warning call. Nevertheless, Bryce got dressed, tied his bandana around his head, and headed down for breakfast. It was a breakfast of two bowls of a foul tasting oatmeal and a glass of apple juice. As soon as he was done Rainbow had Bryce perform a workout routine involving 3 sets of 25 repetitions of pushups, sit ups, and squats. She had told him to do pull ups, but she cut him short after he failed to do a single one after five minutes. When the running began Bryce already felt sore, and after a minute he would rather have been caught inside the burning barn and have Big Macintosh stamp out the flames, again. Now, after going for a slow seventeen Bryce felt he was on the verge of heaving up his oatmeal. He only hoped it would taste better coming back up. "Come on, get moving!" "I feel... nauseous..." "You have till the count of three before I make you drop and give me another 25. What's it gonna be?" Rainbow asked as she landed. "I... can't..." "One..." "Have a-" "Two..." "You... suck..." "Thr-" Rainbow was cut off by the intrusion of a soft voice. "Uhm, excuse me? What are you both doing?" Bryce and Rainbow looked to see Fluttershy coming their way. "Hey, Fluttershy," Rainbow said. "I'm out here trying to help Mr. Lazy Bones lose weight." "Oh, but why are you... Yelling?" She asked, with the last part more timidly. "Because Bryce won't give me his all. The sun's not even up yet and already he's quiting." Rainbow turned back to Bryce. "I still expect those push ups. Get to it." Bryce was barely able to hold back a grunt of pain as he lied prone on the dirt path and began to steadily push himself up. He counted under his breath, the pause between them become more distant as he went on. "One... Two... Th- Three..." "That one doesn't count. Go all the way down. Good, now start from the beginning. One... Two... That's it, now just 23 more." "Uhm, Rainbow, you don't think you may be being... Maybe a tinsy bit... hard?" "Nah, Bryce is a big guy. Sure, he may have a little extra padding, but he can easily get through-" Anything Rainbow would have said afterwards was drowned out by the sound of Bryce chucking up. After taking a few seconds to breath, Bryce said, "D- don't worry. I'm just about em- Em-" Bryce up chucked again. Fluttershy started feeling queasy herself. She turned away, not wanting to see Bryce like this. Rainbow cringed in turn, but couldn't bring herself to look away. After a minute, Bryce finished and fell over on his side. "I'll finish the push ups in a sec. I just need..." Bryce tensed as he felt his abdomen cramped up. "Rainbow...?" "I can see what you mean... Ich..." Rainbow walked over to Bryce, taking care to avoid what looked to be more than just oatmeal. "You've done enough for today. Take ten then we'll walk back." "But what... What about... I haven't done... half..." "You can do it later. Right now you just try and recuperate. Here, let me help you up." Pressing down onto Rainbow and Fluttershy's backs, Bryce picked himself up and leaned onto a nearby tree. Catching his breath, Bryce saw something he hadn't noticed until now. "Fluttershy, when did you get here?" "Oh, well, I got here about the time... you..." Bryce bit down on his lip. "I'm sorry you had to see that." "No, that's okay. As an animal care taker I've seen worse." But I didn't like seeing somepony I care for so hurt. "What are you doing out here this late anyway?" Rainbow asked. "I had to stop an opossum family from messing with a pair of baby armadillos. They were kicking the poor things around like kickballs." "I bet that was a hoot," Bryce said with a chuckle. "Oh my, no. The babies were so scared, and their mother and father were scared, and when I saw it I was scared, and, and..." "Whoa, calm down. I didn't mean it that way. Did you get them out?" "Yes. If I hadn't shown up when I did then the baby armadillos' parents would have done something drastic. But I was able to get the situation under control. Just the idea of them fighting, and hurting each other... I couldn't imagine those two babies having to go through life without their parents..." Bryce was quick to see the sadness in the buttercup mare's face. "Are you alright, Shy?" Fluttershy's mind came back into focus. "Huh... Shy...?" "You know, Shy. Your name ends with shy." "Oh, I understand now. I'm fine, really. I was just thinking about the animals," Fluttershy said with a tiny smile. "You really like animals, don't you?" "*Pfft* Like is underselling it," Rainbow commented. "I'd bet one of my wings she loves animals more than she'll ever like anypony." "I wouldn't say that." "Well, I'm kinda the same way myself," Bryce said. "I feel better in the company of animals than I do with anything or anyone else." "Really?" Fluttershy asked. "But you talk so well with us." "Trust me, I'm a lot better than I was. Back in my world I'd go days, sometimes weeks before I even talked to anyone, and then not even for more than a minute." "That long, huh? Not a single pony for weeks?" Rainbow asked. "Well, no, most especially not ponies; they don't ta-" Both pegasi perked up when they heard that. "What'd you say?" Rainbow asked. "Nothing." Rainbow narrowed her eyes. "You just said ponies in your world don't talk." "Uhm, Rainbow, it's probably not-" "Spill it!" "They don't, okay," Bryce relunctantly told Rainbow. "They never have been able to talk. As far as we know only humans and a few animals can talk." Rainbow could only stare, open mouthed. "Are you telling me the truth?" "Yeah. Ponies and horses are nothing more than... domestic animals." Hearing that made the rainbow mare's jaw hit the ground. "I'm sorry..." "I... I don't blame you," Rainbow stammered out. "It's just... I guess I should have suspected it. It's just something you're so used to, you know." "Yeah, well, how do you think I felt when I found out y'all could all talk?" "Okay, I get your point. You've had enough time to cool off. Let's get back to the farm. See you later, Fluttershy." "See you both later. Will you be coming around later, Bryce? You know, to get more dog food?" "Yeah, if nothing comes up I'll come." "Oh, okay. I'll have it ready for you whe- I mean, if you do come," Fluttershy replied with a coy smile. Having said that she parted ways with Bryce and Rainbow. As soon as the buttercup pegasus was gone, Rainbow said, "Welp let's get walkin, but you better keep up the pace with me. We may be walking but we're gonna make a good workout of it." "Okay, sounds better than running," Bryce replied as they both started walking at a quick pace. For the next few minutes Bryce and Rainbow Dash continued on in silence. Every so often, Bryce would sneak a glance to Rainbow's flank, more specfically to what he dubbed the 'tramp tat'. From the beginning that was all Bryce could think it was, but after seeing literally a whole town full of ponies with such a mark it began to give him second thoughts. His only problem was how to draw attention without sounding foolish or insensitive. That problem worked out in its own way, however, when Bryce looked over more times than he should have, drawing the attention of Rainbow. "Why the hay do you keep lookin at my flank!?" "Wha- I... I wasn't." "Yes you were. What is it?" "It's... I don't know what to say." Rainbow gave Bryce a cheeky grin. "What's the matter? Don't want to admit you like what you see?" Like I'd really fall for your dormant butt. "What about my flank?" Rainbow asked. "Huh?" "You said something about my flank." "No I didn't. You must be hearing things." "Then tell me why you keep looking at it then." Bryce hesitated before finally saying, "I was looking at that tattoo." "Tattoo? What tattoo?" "What do you mean what tattoo?" Bryce pointed to Rainbow's cutie mark. "What do you call that?" Rainbow looked to where Bryce indicated. "What do you mean what do I call that? It's a cutie mark. What else would it be?" "A what mark?" "A cutie mark. The mark everypony gets whenever they find their most special of special talents. The mark everypony has to find on their own." Rainbow gave Bryce a sideways glance. "Why are yuh making a big deal out of it? I saw your cutie mark." "I don't have a cutie mark. I didn't even know what that was until now." "Then what would you call that red shield mark on 'your' flank?" "Red shield... You mean my birthmark?" Bryce stopped to think for a second. "You watched me change!?" Rainbow completely sidestepped Bryce's second question. "If that's a birthmark then where's your cutie mark?" "Human's don't get those." "Then how do you know what your special talent is?" "Do I really need something that tells the world what I'm good at?" "Of course. How else would anypony know?" "Why would they need to know?" 'Because... Uhh..." "Because...?" "UGH!!! Humans are weird!" Bryce gave a smirk. "Love you too." "You're the worst of them all. You may be the only one I'll ever meet, but I can tell you're the worst one." Bryce continued to smirk. "Love. You. Too." Rainbow followed with a loud groan. "Whatever. Just stop looking at my flank. How would you like it if somepony were peeking at you?" "You were peeking at me, you hypocrite." "Yeah, well, I was curious." "You saying that doesn't help matters for you." "No, I was wanting to see your cutie mark. Besides, you're soooo not my type." "Then what is your type?" Bryce asked in a playful tone. "For starters, somepony who knows when to shut up when they see they're getting on somepony's nerves." "Well, I don't know any guys that are like that. I don't know that many guys here anyways." "*Pfft* Like I really need colt in my life. None of them can even keep up with me. They've all tried and I left'em all in the dirt." "Oh really, well have you tried a girl then?" "Wh- What are you saying now?" "You said the last thing you needed was a guy, but what about another girl. Maybe a scantily clad mare just jumping out of the shower? Mane soaking wet, fur shining in the glow of the fireplace? Lying sprawled out on a rug, waiting for the love of her life to come and pleasure her aching woman- I'm sorry, her aching mare-" Bryce stopped when he felt something scrap across his bottom. Looking back he saw one of Rainbow's fully erect wings floating uncomfortably close to his backside. "Why are you wings sticking out like that?" She turned away to hide her red face. "Just... shut up. You wouldn't understand." Bryce was completely oblivious to Rainbow's embarrassment. "Yeah, maybe I wouldn't, but I don't understand most of the things others do." "Just... get moving. I'm this close to pounding you." Bryce finally understood what Rainbow was saying. They both continued their walk back to the farm in silence. He didn't dare utter another word until they were at the end of the trail that went towards the house. "Well, we're here. You really got me working out. Thanks for the help" "It's no problem, but maybe a little too well huh?' "Well I said I wanted to lose weight. I don't see how you took that as a sign to go R. Lee Ermey on me." "Go who?" "It's nothing. Something from my world." "Are you sore anywhere?" "Yeah, a little bit... everywhere." "I'll give you a couple of days to recover, but you better be ready to go when I get here." "Are you going to do it till I puke next time?" "I guess we can tone it back, but I'm not going to count it unless you're givin me your best, just so you know." Bryce nodded. "Fair enough. I'm going to go take a bath, maybe lie down." "Okay, see you later, bud," Rainbow said before kicking off the ground and flying off. When Rainbow was out of sight Bryce immediately dropped his facade and groaned in pain. It was a big reminder to him of how much he let himself go. It cut deep, and he doubted he would be able to bend down without anypony noticing something was amiss. Once Bryce had all of the groans out of his system he trekked towards the farmhouse. He reached the front door just as Applejack was coming out. "Oh, hey," the apple mare coyly said. "Hey..." Bryce said in response. "So, uh, what exactly was Rainbow doing in your room so early this morning?" "Well, she was helping me workout. Trying to help me lose this," Bryce said with a pop to his gut. He immediately regretted doing so as pain rippled from the spot. "Are you alright there, sugarcube?" "Yeah, I'm fine. Just first day aches. First one's always the hardest." "Yeah, you, uh, have a point there. Well I'll let yuh get goin. Try and take care of yourself." "Okay, thanks." Applejack stepped to the side to let Bryce pass. As he passed Applejack sucked in her lips. She'd been trying to downplay talking to him for too long since she brought him home from the hospital. She knew she had to say something, but the problem was she didn't know what she could possibly say. The apple mare knew good and well she shouldn't have treated the human the way she had, but Bryce was... He had made things such a mess, and when he came close to killing her... But she had been no better herself after the fact. When that colt's uncle had came to the farm the very next afternoon it was like Big Mac had bucked her in the face. She had to somehow get these feeling of unease off her chest, and talking to Bryce about it would be the only way. Applejack could lie and say Bryce saving her life made up for everything he'd done to her, but she knew that would be the most dishonest thing she'd ever done. Applejack decided now was the time to be honest and get it over with. And that included telling him about her nearly reporting him to the Guard. She could only hope he'd be as understanding with her as he'd been with everypony else who had wronged him in some way. "Wait, before yuh go..." Applejack stated. Bryce stopped and looked down to the apple mare, prompting her to look down at the ground. "Ah... Ah got somethin... Somethin Ah need ta say... Ta you" "Okay, should we do it out... You son of a bitch!" Applejack's eyes shot open. "Beg pardon!?" When she looked up she saw Bryce's attention wasn't on her, but on something behind her. Turning around, Applejack saw what had caused Bryce to say that; and it almost made her want to say worse. "That varmint!!!" Coming up the path was the only pony Applejack felt legitimate scorn towards. The same pony that had tried to burn her alive and place all the blame on Bryce. Coming up the path, with a noticeable limp in one of his hind legs, was Bait-and-Switch. With him was his uncle, Ponzi Scheme. When Bait saw the hellfire in both pairs of eyes he thought it would be the last thing he ever saw. "Please don't do this. They'll-" Ponzi responded with a smack on the colt's not fully healed leg. "Shut it! You made your choice, now live with it." Once the pair of stallions reached Bryce and Applejack the whole farm fell silent. Ponzi was the first to break the silence when he cleared his throat. "As promised, here is my nephew. Now, as I am sure you want nothing more than to teach him a lesson in your own, individual ways I shall give you this one warning. If he should meet an untimely end, be it found any of you were involved, I shall hold you, and your family solely responsible. If such an incident were to occur then I shall call the 40000 bits which I paid to you a loan, and will immediately call for it to be returned, in full. The same goes for any cruel means of punishment or torture, which I will be the judge of. Now, so there shall be no surprises to me, I shall have one of my boys come for a visit. And so there is no attempt to hide away my nephew I shall have said boy come on random days, without prior notice. Are there any questions?" Bryce raised his hand, and Ponzi nodded his head towards it. "Metaphorically speaking, if your nephew were found with, I don't know, his head looking like it was popped like a grape who would you hold responsible?" "That depends, do you have the ability to do so?" Bryce didn't answer. "I thought so." Ponzi turned to Bait. "Until you've repaid all of the bits I had to spend to pay for their barn you will not be allowed to come home. I don't give a buck what it is. If you show up, without me saying you are allowed, you will find all doors barred to you, and I will call the Guard with the story that you have been seen skulking on my premises. Is that clear?" "Yeah, yeah." Ponzi brought his nephew's eyes to meet his own. "Is. That. Clear!?" "Ye- Ye-" "Good." Ponzi relinquished his grip on Bait. "I shall leave the amount of time he is in your service up to you, Miss Applejack. I have but one question for you though. Where will Bait be sleeping for his stay?" "Ah have a couch he can sleep on." "A couch," Bait said in bewilderment, "you can't be-" Ponzi shoved a hoof over his mouth. "That shall have to do. Unless there is anything else I bid you farewell, Miss Applejack, Mister Smales." Ponzi gave a bow, which Bryce followed with a two finger salute and Applejack a tip of her Stetson. After that, Bait, Bryce, and Applejack watched as the middle aged stallion walked away from the farm. Once he was gone Bryce and Applejack glared at their newest resident. Bait gave a forced smile. "So, uhm, I'm not really all that... I mean, since I was in the hospital for so long my leg seems to have... Haha." Applejack stepped towards the tan cot until he could smell her breath. "Listen here, you varmint, Ah'm givin yuh one week to get better. After that week Ah don't care how much it still hurts you're gonna work. You're gonna work from sunrise ta sunset. If yuh don't finish the work Ah gave yuh then it's just gonna be that much longer y'all'll be here. Now Ah have a brother that could squash yuh like an ant and a sister half your age. If anything happens ta my family Ah'll beat the tar outta yuh until Ah break every bone in your pitiful body. GOT IT!?!?!?" The tan colt stood, looking into Applejack's green eye, and nodded. "Good!" Applejack turned to Bryce. "Bryce, since Rainbow's helpin yuh, Ah think it'd be a good idea ta let'm come along with yuh. The sooner he builds the muscles in his legs the better." "Agreed," Bryce sternly replied. "Now Ah gotta go buck some apples. You better stay where somepony can see yuh. Ah'm not lettin yuh get away so easily." Having said that, Applejack walked off to strap herself into a wagon. "Hey, Applejack?" Bryce called out as he ran after the mare. "What'd you want to talk to me about?" "What...? Oh, uh, Ah don't think now's the time ta talk about it. Ah'll tell yuh later." If Ah don't forget. "But there's somethin Ah want yuh ta do. Ah want yuh ta keep a good eye on that varmint. With Corn Ah doubt that'll be a problem. And Bryce, Ah know yuh might want ta mess up the colt, but could yuh promise me you'll refrain from doin that. Ah know what he done, but we can't afford ta pay his uncle that kinda bits." Bryce reluctantly gave a nod. "Alright, just try and keep me posted. See yuh later." Applejack then continued on his current course. Bryce walked back to the front of the house. Thankfully, Bait was still there. The tan colt still held the same forced smile. "So, uh, wh- who exactly is Rainbow?" Bait asked. Bryce smirked. "Well, Rainbow Dash's the one who beat me until I lost my short term memory for a few days." "Oh, well, he...? she...? They sound better than... Applejack." Bryce let out a laugh as he continued to smirk. "Well, Applejack almost killed me once. Come to think of it, it was after I came close to killing her. I'm not going to tell you how to think, but I'll let you decided which one is worse. And one more thing. Corn is my dog. He's about your size. With a single phrase I can have him chase you down until you die of exhaustion. Don't worry, he usually stops when you say his calming phrase." "Oh, that's, uhm, good to know. What exactly is that phrase?" Bryce began to laugh, only stopping because of the soreness in his muscles. Bryce pointed with his thumb to the front door. "Get inside." "Is that the phrase?" "Ssssuuuure," Bryce said sarcastically. Bryce walked inside, not bothering to hold the door open for Bait as he walked through it after him.