//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 - Something Wicked This Way Comes // Story: Star Trek: You Can't Go Home Again // by Aceman67 //------------------------------// If you feel the need to spoil things in the comments, please use the spoiler tag, you're ruining the fun for everyone else. "Oh, that feels awesome..." I moan as a pair of pale gold hooves work their magic on the kink in my neck. Unintentionally, I had fallen asleep on the couch, and had woken up with a screaming ache in my neck. "It's no trouble at all. It is partially my fault, I just couldn't bring myself to wake you, and with Angel Bunny sleeping with you, I... really didn't have a choice..." Fluttershy responded, her voice trailing off near the end. "He doesn't like to be woken up." She continued, her voice quiet so Angel couldn't hear. "Well, I think that should do it. How do you feel?" "Much better, thank you," I tell her, giving my neck and shoulders a stretch, eliciting a few satisfying cracks and pops from my joints. Looking over a Fluttershy, I found the mare staring at me with an unsettled look in her eyes. "Sorry... force of habit," I told her with a reassuring smile. "Do you have a shower?" I ask. "Oh, uh, yes. Last door on the right upstairs." The pegasus told me. "I'll start making breakfast. Would you like me to cook you some fish? It's the only meat I have at the moment." "That... would be lovely." I responded, a little shocked. "How'd you know my species ate meat? I didn't tell anyone." "Just a guess. I saw your teeth at dinner last night, they reminded me of canine incisors." She explained with a satisfied smile, pleased that her guess had been correct. "I just didn't know how to broach the subject, it was clear from the cafe's menu last night that you're all vegetarians." "Well, it can be a touchy subject with some ponies, but we are aware that there are those that eat meat. Equestria's closest neighbours are the Griffon Republic to the west and the Diamond Dog tribes to the south." She explained. "Also, many of the animals I care for eat meat." "Well, thank you all the same," I said, picking up my bags that I had left at the front door the night before. Giving a Fluttershy a wave, I headed up the stairs to the bathroom. Undressing in front of the mirror, I took note of the large, dark bruise around my shoulder from where I had dislocated it. It was still sore and tender, but the doctor had done his job very well and it was well on the way to healing. Next I slowly took off the tension bandage that had been wrapped around my torso to help with my bruised ribs, and they too had a purple bruise but now a day later, they were not giving any trouble. I decided to take a quick shower, enticed by the lovely smell wafting up the stairs from Fluttershy's cooking. Returning to my room, I eschewed my uniform in favour of light blue jeans, a grey 'Property of Starfleet Academy' t-shirt and my gym workout shoes that I had packed for my trip. Before leaving, I looked at the chest in front of the bed and opened it, finding it empty save for its key. Placing the duffle bag inside I brought with me and locking the chest, I headed back downstairs to find a plate of skillet-fried fish with a side of scrambled eggs and toast. The smell was intoxicating, there was really something to be said about real prepared food over replicated fare. You just can't recreate that smell. "Bon appétit," I said before picking up my fork. "It's a phrase from my world, it means good appetite, it's said before a meal to wish everyone enjoyment of the meal," I explained in response to the raised eyebrow I got from Fluttershy. "Is there anything you need help with? I don't want to stay here without earning my keep." "Oh, it's no trouble," She told me, her cheeks changing to a light shade of pink. "You really don't have too." I just gave her a smile after putting another forkful in my mouth and continued eating. "Oh, alright, if you could help me feed the chickens, I am a little late with my chores this morning." "That settles it then," I told her in between bites of my meal. "Oh, I locked some of my things in the chest in my room; if that's alright," I asked, holding up the chest's key. "I thought you might need use of it, so I cleared it out last night after you had gone to sleep." She responded. We finished the rest of our meal in peaceful silence, which in my family was a compliment to the cook. "Now, you're being a very naughty bear." I heard Fluttershy scold loudly. Did she say bear?! "Now eat your breakfast!" All she got was a loud growl. Putting down the bag of feed outside of the chicken pen, I walk over to where I heard Fluttershy. "Don't give me that, you love fish I prepare this way!" Fluttershy said in response, stamping her hoof down forcefully. The bear, as large as a Kodiak, just turned his nose. Without even thinking, I quickened my pace and walked right up beside the frustrated pegasus. "What's the meaning of this?" I ask, directing my question to the bear, getting a puzzled look from the creature. "Fluttershy made this meal for you and you're turning your nose up at it?" I got a forceful growl in response, the animal then bared its teeth at me. "That is enough of that," I told the bear, my tone switching to that of an officer commanding a subordinate. "You will eat this fish, and you will like it!" I commanded, pointing at the dish, getting in the bears face, a scant few centimeters from his muzzle. "Have I made myself clear?" The bear recoiled in shock as I just glared back. He then sheepishly began eating, his ears tucked back and keeping an eye on me. "He never listens to others, and he almost never listens to me," Fluttershy said in amazement. "I... I don't know what came over me," I said, slowly walking away. Stepping up under a tree, I sit on the ground. Fluttershy glides through the air and settled down next to me, putting a hoof on my shoulder. "I just... just stared down a bear three times my size, what the hell was I thinking," I said, staring through the grass in front of me. "Well, you were a big help. Thank you," She told me, pulling me into a hug. "He'll be thinking twice about turning his nose up at his food for the foreseeable future." Getting up and with a flap of her wings, Fluttershy hovered in front of me, "Dinner's going to be at sunset, I'm going into town to run errands." She told me. I gave her a nod and she flew off in the direction of Ponyville. With nothing else to occupy my time, I decided to take a walk into town. After only seeing a part of it yesterday after sunset for the dinner Twilight had treated me too, I started walking towards town. It was a quiet hamlet village with brightly coloured, western European, country themed buildings that reminded me of backpacking through Europe on summer break during my second year at the Academy. I got plenty of stares and odd looks from the town's denizens, but most carried about their business and paid me no heed. But two ponies did catch my attention, a mother and child, both with grey fur and greyish-white manes, wearing thick rimmed glasses. The mother glared at me then stuck her nose in the air and trotted past. Her daughter, who had a jewelled silver spoon on her flank took notice of her mother's actions and emulated her. "Nice to meet you too," I mumbled to myself and continued down the street which gave way to an open market. The smells of fresh fruit and vegetables filled the air as the sounds of shopkeepers hocking their wares to those passing by. Then I noticed that everyone was exchanging gold coins. They use money, great. Normally, when a Starfleet ship enters orbit of a planet they are making first contact with, a basic trade of valuable materials, like gold or other precious metals/minerals for instance, for an equivalent amount of currency is made, then distributed evenly to any crew members going ashore. That was not the case here, and I was flat broke. "Hey'ya tall stuff, think fast," a thickly accented voice said as I found myself with an apple being thrown in my direction. "Come to see what our fine town as to offer?" "Something like that," I told Applejack. "Partaking on the other hand is another thing entirely. I seem to be broke." I laughed, then took a bite of one of the moistest apples I had ever had. I actually had to use the collar of my t-shirt to dry my chin. "Oh, wow; that's good." "Well, that'll be two bits," Applejack said, her voice deadpan and serious. She extended her hoof towards me. I looked at her in shock, then I smiled as her serious look gave way to a mischievous grin. "Just kidd'n sugar cube." she told me with a chuckle. "Say, if you're no stranger to hard work, Big Mac an' I are removin' some tree stumps later today over at the acreage. There'll be some payment in it for ya." A light bulb went off in my head as an idea came to fruition. "How much?" I ask, slyly. "Depends on how much work we get done." She said, catching on that I'm trying to haggle her. "Fifty bits a stump." She said after a pause, her eyes narrowing as she met my gaze. "Throw in a home cooked meal, and we have ourselves a deal." I almost felt bad about taking Applejack's money, especially this way, but she didn't necessarily say how to remove the stumps, did she. Walking back to Fluttershy's cottage, I noticed that there were no lights from the windows, but judging by the height of the sun in the sky, it wasn't going to be sunset for another few hours, so I walked in the front door using the key Fluttershy had given me. "Anyone home?" I ask aloud. Getting no response, I head over to the staircase, and there sitting on the first step was Angel. Hopping over to me, he sniffed the air around my legs. He obviously was looking to see if I had anything on me for him to eat, which wasn't the case. He just glared up at me with his front paws crossed in front of his chest, then scampered off towards the kitchen. Sorry buddy. With the rabbit disappointed, I headed up to my room. Fishing the key for the chest out of my pocket, I grabbed one of the hand phasers and a power cell. Attaching the phaser's holster to my waist and pocketing the power cell, then headed downstairs. Remembering that Fluttershy mentioned that dinner would be at sunset, I thought it would be best to leave a note, So I rushed back up to my room and grabbed the PADD from my suitcase and wrote out a message telling her I was Applejacks helping her out and would be having dinner with them, translated it and left it on the kitchen table. Following the directions that Applejack gave me to get to her farm from the cottage, I started down the path next to the river west, past the school house, where I should see a sign she said pointed to Sweet Apple Acres, and it was right where she said it was. I couldn't read the sign without translating it with my tricorder, but the red apple painted next to the text was a dead give away. Following the signs direction, I headed down the path and came upon sprawling fields of growing corn and vast orchards of apple trees with a large Red barn in the centre. Walking through the arch at the entrance of the property, a sound to my right drew my attention, coming towards me at top speed was a cloud of dust wearing a pink bow. Reminded of my niece, closing my eyes I braced myself for an inevitable tackle hug that never came, instead I heard skidding in the dirt stop just at my feet. Upon opening my eyes, I found myself staring at smiling golden eyes. "Bet ya thought I was gonna tackle you, huh?" Apple Bloom asked in between breaths. "Fluttershy told us that you still sore so I decided not too." "Well, thank you very much kiddo," I told the filly, ruffling her mane with my hand. "What are you doing here?" She asked innocently, but it came off accusatory by accident. Realizing this, her ears folded back apologetically. "Sorry, Granny said ah should be mindful of my tone, I didn't mean anythang by it." "No offense taken, I knew what you meant. Applejack said there were some stumps that needed clearing." I told her. "I'm here to help." Apple Blooms eyes opened wider when I mentioned that. "Oh! I'll take you to where you need ta go!" She told me, loudly, then ran off along the edge of the apple orchard. It took a bit of running to catch up, and I was a little bit winded when I got to where Applejack and a huge red stallion I guessed was Big Mac. Damn. He's huge. "Apple Bloom, why'd you make him run here, we've got hard work ahead of us," Applejack said, scolding the filly mildly. "It's no problem Applejack," I told her, having already caught my breath. "It's been a while since I've had to run that fast, but it's nothing I'm not used too. When I was in the academy, I ran the Boston Marathon, came in five hundred and eighteenth," "That doesn't sound very impre-" Applejack began to say. "Thirty thousand runners participate." I clarified. Applejack's eyes widened, to which I just gave a satisfied smirk. "But I was twenty-one at the time, I don't think I could do that again." "When yer done show-boat'n, we got some work to do." A gruff, deep voice said from Big Mac's general direction. "You don't waste any time, do you?" I asked "Nope." "The stumps we have to clear are from a batch of trees we had to fell because that area had a bad infestation of honey fungus, rotted the roots and killed the trees. We burned the ground around the stumps to stop the spread when we found it, and we're gonna to till th' ground to treat the soil with a natural fungicide when we're done clearin." Applejack explained. "Sounds simple enough," I said. "You've never done this before, have you?" Big Mac asked, sizing me up. "Nope," I said, doing my best to imitate him. "But I'm not one to back away from something hard." "That's all we need to hear," Applejack said. "Twenty bits says I can clear that stump there," I said, pointing to one five feet away from us. "faster than you can say 'apple cobbler'." "This I gotta see," Big Mac said with skepticism. "Apple Co-" Applejack began to say as I pulled my phaser, set it to level twelve and fired at the stump. The stump disappeared from existence in a haze of smoke and embers, leaving a smoking hole in the ground. "-bbler-Sweet Celestia, what the buck did you do?!" "Mac, sister said a bad word!" Apple Bloom chimed in, and Big Mac let out a hearty laugh. "I believe that'll be fifty - no - seventy bits," I told Applejack, who just grumbled. "I'll go get the plow, I expect those stumps to be cleared by the time I get back," Big Mac called over his shoulder as he walked off to the equipment shed, still laughing. It didn't take long for Mac to come back with the plow, and he got right to work tilling the soil after I had cleared the remainder of the stumps. Applejack chided me for cheating, but when I reminded her that she didn't specify exactly how we'd clear the stumps, she conceded; although she was a little concerned when I told her that the phaser was a sidearm, and not a farming tool. When I explained that I kept them under lock and key, it seemed to put her mind at ease. That was when Granny Smith called us into dinner. The look on her face was priceless when Apple Bloom told her that all the work was finished. On the other side of Ponyville, Berryshine said goodbye to Comet Tail, who was standing behind the bar cleaning glasses, letting him know she was heading home now that her waitressing shift was over. It had been a very hard day for her. For the last couple days, she'd been waking up feeling exhausted. It honestly felt like she had only just put her head on her pillow when she woke up to her alarm. Thankfully Comet was understanding when she messed up a few drink orders and just told her to get a good nights rest. Stifling an enormous yawn, she fumbled with the key to her house before managing to let herself in. Not even bothering to shower, she dropped her saddlebags by the side of her bed and climbed into bed and promptly passed out. Unbeknownst to the mare, a soft clicking noise could be heard coming from nowhere as a shimmering vortex formed near the front of her bed. An unseen forced lifted Berryshine up in the air and silently pulled her through vortex's aperture before winking out of existence.