//------------------------------// // Blind Mare's Bluff // Story: Ruin for Pun: the kilala97 Edition // by TheMessenger //------------------------------// Even after all these years, the staring made him uncomfortable. He was an oddity, something strange and different. It was a fact he was aware of since he was young, but that didn't make the stares ponies shot at him any easier to bear. Even in a town as open-minded as Ponyville, where almost everypony knew his name and face, ponies would occasionally pause from their shopping or strolling to stare at the spikes running down his back, the claws protruding out of his feet, the massive leathery wings on his back, or his long powerful tail covered in scales. They couldn't help it. They've seen it hundreds of times by now, but the townsfolk couldn't help it. Nervous dragons make ponies nervous after all, even if Turquoise was only part dragon. It didn't help that smoke started to billow out of his nostrils as his eyes shifted side to side. Every so often, Turquoise would look up toward the clock tower and glare at the giant metal hands intensely. When the longer of the two beams shifted a tick, his claws dug deeper into the dirt and his jaw clenched more tightly, revealing large white fangs. More than one hungry pony glanced pitifully at the bakery door behind him, then make their way to the closest fruit or flower stand with a woeful sigh. The owners of Sugar Cube Corner, blissfully ignorant to their unintentional sentinel, stood at the cash register, utterly baffled by the lack of customers. "Where is she?" Turquoise muttered, turning from the clock to the road. Ponies of all sorts of colors and shapes walked to and fro, making their way to the market or to their homes. Turquoise's draconic eyes glossed over them, lingering on each individual long enough to register their appearance before moving on. And as Turquoise started to stare at them anxiously, the ponies of Ponyville grew more nervous and began to trot faster. At last, he found his target and released a breath of relief as Ponyville released one as well. He leapt to his feet and dashed toward the little peach unicorn with a yellow-green mane. Beside her stood a bulky, tan colored stallion and a dirty golden pegasus mare with her wings folded over the bars of the cart hitched to her. The stallion led a similar wagon, making it difficult for both him and the pegasus to maneuver away from the dragon-pony mix breed thundering towards them. "T!" the little unicorn exclaimed, waving excitedly as Turquoise rushed toward her. "Wow, you must've really been looking forward to our--" Turquoise skid to a stop. "Where were you, Annie?" he all but screamed, his ragged, wild attempts to catch his breath giving him a feral appearance. "I was so worried, I thought something happened." The unicorn tilted her head and squinted out into the distance. "What time is it?" she asked. "Looks like half past one," the stallion answered in slow country drawl, looking up at the clock tower. "Uh, why?" "Oh horse apples." Anthea winced. "I'm late." "You're never late, Annie," Turquoise said, wringing his front claws together. "Did something happen?" His voice grew higher and more frantic. "You're not hurt, are you? What's going on?" "T, relax," the stallion said, placing a hoof on Turquoise Blitz's shoulder. "Don' need to worry so much, Anthea's perfectly fine." "She's perfect alright," mumbled the pegasus with a frown. "You say somethin', Starburst?" Starburst quickly shook her head and hid her blush with a wing. "Nothing, Del." "Well, what happened?" Turquoise asked, pulling away from Golden Delicious's grasp. Suddenly, his expression of worry was replaced with a snarl. "And why are you making her carry that?" he demanded, pointing at the wagon that was attached to her. Like the carts Golden Delicious and Starburst had, it too was full of apples, though there was an obvious reduction of barrels. Golden Delicious tried to step back. "Well, see, Miss Fluttershy and Anthea came over for a visit, and, well, since Pa and Uncle Mac are up in Appleloosa, we figured a few extra helpin' hooves wouldn't hurt." "So you made Annie work on your farm?" Turquoise said, his frown deepening. "What's wrong with you?" "T, stop it!" Anthea shouted, grabbing the dragon-pony's foreleg. "Del didn't make me do anything, I wanted to help." "You wanted--and you let her?" Turquoise exclaimed, glaring at the farmer. "Hey, she wanted to help, I don' get what's the problem," Golden Delicious said. "And she did pretty well for her first time at apple bucking, didn't she, Star?" Starburst bit her lip. "Yeah, I guess," she admitted begrudgingly after a moment. "Look, T, I'm sorry I ran so late," Anthea added. "We lost track of time, but we've still got the entire day ahead of us. Just drop it, okay?" "But it's not okay," Turquoise argued, his claws folding over into fists. "I can't believe you two, Annie could have gotten herself injured or worse." "There ain't nowhere safer than Sweet Apple Acres," Delicious said coolly. "Besides, we were there makin' sure Annie wouldn' hurt herself, and Aunt Pinkie Pie always leaves first aid kits on the farm." "Wait, is Mrs. Pie actually your aunt?" Starburst asked. Golden Delicious waved his hoof awkwardly in the air. "Eh, fourth cousin removed by a fifth cousin, or not," the farmer answered with a shrug. "Don' think anypony really knows." "So would dating Cotton be considered--" "Stop changing the subject!" Turquoise growled, cutting Anthea off. "S-sorry," he quickly apologized. "It's just, you shouldn't be doing that kind of work." Anthea's grip around Turquoise's foreleg tightened. "Why shouldn't I?" Turquoise turned to face his fillyfriend and blinked. "What?" "Why can't I do a little farm work?" Anthea asked, her eyes narrowing. "What's wrong with helping the our friends. And besides, it turns out I'm pretty good at it. Just ask Starburst." The golden pegasus pursed her lips. "Just keep rubbing it in, why don't you?" she murmured. "It's not safe--" Turquoise began. "Del was there. Starburst was there. Mrs. Applejack was there. My mom was there," Anthea said. "What, do you really think my mom would let me do something dangerous?" "No, but--" "Then why, Turquoise, why?" Anthea demanded, leaning into Turquoise's face. "All I was doing was helping, what's wrong with that?" "Nothing," said Turquoise as he tried to lean back and escape Anthea's glare. "But what about your bl--" His eyes widened in panic and quickly covered his mouth as Starburst and Golden Delicious looked away uncomfortably. "What about my what?" Anthea hissed. "My blindness? Is that what you were going to say? That just because I can't see as well as other mares I shouldn't try to do something like farm work, like everypony else? Because it's too dangerous for a blind and delicate mare like me?" "I just don't want you getting hurt," Turquoise shouted back. "What's wrong with that?" "You're suffocating me, that's what's wrong!" Anthea screamed. "I'm not made of glass, and I wish you'd stop treating me like I was! Just--" "Annie, wait!" Turquoise's warning came to late. As Anthea pushed herself off the hybrid and made her way back to Starburst and Golden Delicious, a small ditch in the road caught a back hoof. The unicorn collapsed, and the cart behind her followed, covering the mare with fruit and wooden shards. Everypony rushed toward her, brushing apples and splinters off her. As Anthea slowly crawled back onto her feet, Turquoise extended a claw, reaching for the unicorn's hoof. "Are you alright?" he asked as he pulled Anthea up. She nodded, but quickly pulled away, placing her hoof over the front of her foreleg. Turquoise took a step back and stared down at the claw that had momentarily held Anthea's hoof. His eyes started to moisten, and he furiously shook his head. His claw closed into a fist, then opened, and he took a deep breath. "Annie..." he began. Anthea turned away. The rest of Turquoise's plea went unspoken as his jaw slackened, and his mouth hung open. He let his eyes fall to where Anthea held her hoof and gasped at the stream of red trickled past the pressed hoof and down the limb. "You're bleeding!" he cried out. He stumbled backwards and began to sway. "Whoa, nelly." Golden Delicious ran to Turquoise's side, grunting as the larger stallion fell against him. Anthea pressed harder against the leg. "It's nothing, T," the unicorn insisted. "Nothing?" Turquoise's eyes flew open. "How can you say that? You're bleeding! You can't--" "It's just a stupid scratch!" Anthea shouted, dropping her hoof and revealing the wound. Blood oozed freely from the gashes, no longer dammed, and Turquoise's started to wobble, forcing him to lean against Golden Delicious for support. "Just, you're always like this, overreacting to every little thing I do. I-I'm can't stand it anymore! I'm going home." Anthea ran, pushing past Turquoise and Golden Delicious and forcing Starburst to leap out of her way. "Annie, wait!" Turquoise shouted. He started toward her, only to slip and crash as a stray apple rolled underneath his foot. Turquoise Blitz looked up just in time to hear Starburst click her tongue in annoyance and take off after the fleeing mare. "You okay, partner?" Golden asked as he helped Turquoise up. Even with all the earth pony's impressive muscle build, he still struggled to lift the reluctant half-dragon. "I think so," Turquoise said quietly. He stared past the shops and houses, past the edge of town, to where Fluttershy's cottage stood. He moved forward, toward that direction. Golden Delicious stopped him, placing a hoof against his chest. "Where're you think you're headed?" "Where do you think?" Turquoise growled. "I need to make sure Annie's alright." "You really think she wants to see you right now?" Turquoise spun around and opened his mouth to argue, but no protest came forth. His wings folded back against his back, and his shoulders sagged. Golden Delicious's expression softened as his friend covered his face with his claws, and he draped his foreleg over the hybrid's neck. "Hey, hey, it'll be alright," Golden said. "Just looks like the two of you need a little space." "She's breaking up with me." "Nah, no she ain't," the farmer assured, patting Turquoise's back carefully to avoid the spikes. "She wouldn't do that, she just needs some space, just like you. Here," Golden Delicious said, peeling away Turquoise's claws from his face, then guiding him to cart Starburst abandoned. "I need some help gettin' these apples to Princess Twilight, think I can rely on you?" Turquoise nodded slowly, bending down so Golden could hitch the cart to his back. Once the wagon was in place, the earth pony walked to the remains of Anthea's cart and began sorting out the discarded fruit. Turquoise winced as Golden came across the apple he had tripped on, leaving a dark, ugly bruise on it's side. "Sorry." "Don' worry 'bout it," Golden Delicious said with a smile before dumping the salvageable apples into the cart. "We'll have to clean up the rest when we get back," he added, pointing at the wreckage. Again, Turquoise cringed before following Golden to the castle. The trip went silently, without a word spoken between the two stallions. The rest of town, however, was as chipper and as loud as it could be, as if to make up for the somber mood. Mares gossiped and giggled around cafe tables covered with iced drinks while stallions guffawed and joked in front of stores. Children cheered as they swarmed ice cream stands and Sugar Cube Corner. Pegasi chatted above on low hanging clouds to ponies sticking their heads out of second story windows. Busy ponies ran by, barely wasting enough time to greet Turquoise and Golden Delicious and receive a hello in return before disappearing off. The two stopped and waited for a group of fillies and colts playing a game to pass by. Turquoise watched as a laughing filly wearing a bandana over her eyes chased after the rest of the screaming group. "Nothing like a game of tag, huh?" Golden said, following Turquoise's grin. He wore a grin brimming with nostalgia. "Course, never really got the deal about the blindfold." Turquoise turned away. "Wouldn't know," he said, "I don't think I've ever played." "Seriously?" "Heh," laughed Turquoise humorlessly, "or more like, I was always playing, but nopony bothered telling me I was It. Everypony just ran." "Oh." Golden Delicious bit his lip. "Sorry to hear that." "It's fine, that was a while ago. I don't know why I brought it up, I'm sorry." "That's okay. Maybe we should get a little get together," Golden suggested, "have a few rounds of tag in the fields." "Aren't we a little old for that?" "Maybe," Golden Delicious conceded with a little smile, but he said nothing else, letting silence settle back between the two comfortably. The castle's crystal spire grew larger as they drew closer. "I'm sorry," Turquoise suddenly said after a few minutes. His pace had slowed and shortened, and he had fallen behind. "What for?" Golden asked, stopping to wait for the lagging half-dragon. "I didn't mean to make it sound like Sweet Apple Acres wasn't safe, I was just worried." Turquoise sighed. "I didn't mean to been so suffocating. She probably hates me now." "Annie wouldn' hate anypony over somethin' like this, least of all you," Golden Delicious insisted. Turquoise had finally managed to catch up, and Golden slowed his own pace to match Turquoise's. "Y'know, I don' think you've every made such a big deal about Annie's blindness before. Why now?" "It's just..." Turquoise took a deep breath. "I want to be a better coltfriend," he said, "one she really deserves. I spent a night with her old friends while she went out with Miss Amber, and Hot Head said some things that made me think." Turquoise rubbed the front of his foreleg. "It's bad enough I'm not normal, but I can't even treat her right. Sometimes I even forget she's blind and say the most insensitive things." "T, Annie's always tellin' us not to treat her differently," Golden Delicious said. "But I'm her coltfriend, I'm supposed to treat her special, aren't I?" Turquoise asked, his voice cracking near the end. "Aren't I?" he repeated, this time in a whisper. "Yeah, but are you treatin' her special 'cause she's blind or 'cause you love her?" When Turquoise said nothing, Golden continued, saying, "You know Anthea. You know she don' care that you're not normal. You know she hates all that pity stuff ponies throw at her, an' how she feels 'bout that special prank immunity Prism and Cotton Candy give her. And Annie's right, she's no delicate flower, she can take care of herself." The castle doors were now in sight, with Princess Twilight herself waiting at the gates. "What do I do then?" Turquoise asked desperately. "I don't know if I can go back to treating her the way I used to." "And I ain't tellin' you to," Golden Delicious replied. "You gotta move forward, T." "How?" "Dunno," Golden Delicious admitted with a rueful shrug, "but you and Annie are some of the smartest ponies I know, I'm sure the two of you'll figure it." And with those final words, the farmer moved ahead, leaving Turquoise behind to think. Golden's lead lasted a good few seconds before Turquoise caught up and overtook him. * Anthea glared angrily at the red blur in front of her. The hard ground she sat on stung her bottom, and the wound on her foreleg began to itch, but Anthea refused to move from her position. She continued to stare at the blur, daring it to blink with its nonexistent eyes. With all her attention on the blur, she failed to notice the pegasus following her until she heard her land in the grass beside her. "So, are you going to open the door or is this some sort of spell my mom taught you?" Starburst asked as she walked to the unicorn's side. "I didn't bring my key," Anthea grumbled. "I figured Mom would be home by the time I finished my date with Turquoise, but, well, you know." "Your mom doesn't like the kind of pony who locks her doors." "She's not stupid," Anthea said, frowning. "I didn't say she was. I just figured having half a dozen snakes, a flock of raptors, and a couple of bears around would provide enough security," Starburst said as she took a seat in the dirt next to Anthea. "Not to mention everypony knows Miss Fluttershy's got friends in high places." She gestured to the large sign next to the mailbox, which had the image of a draconquus looking through a pair of binoculars standing over over the phrase, in big bold letters, 'Under the Protection of Discord and the Royalty of Equestria, but mostly Discord. No soliciting!'. "Yeah, well, better safe than sorry, I guess." Anthea sighed. "Why'd you follow me?" "Hmm, let's see, one of my friends just ran out of town with tears streaming out of her eyes. What exactly was I supposed to do?" "I didn't cry!" Anthea snapped, wiping her eyes furiously with the back of her leg. She took a calming breath, and exhaled deeply. "Del didn't send you?" she asked after a moment of silence. "No," Starburst said. She lifted a hesitant hoof and rested it awkwardly on Anthea's shoulder. "I, I wanted to make sure you were alright. You actually kind of scared me back there." "Really?" Anthea exclaimed, turning in surprise. "You?" "Kind of," Starburst emphasized. "I mean, when was the last time you actually shouted at Turquoise? Hay, when was the last time you raised your voice at anypony?" "Well, there was, uh, there was, when..." Anthea struggled for a long minute before giving up with a shrug. "I can't remember." "See, you never shout. You never really get angry, and you're not supposed to. I mean, you're the pony that calms everypony else down when we get too emotional." Starburst shook her head and shivered. "Seeing you scream like that, it was weird." "Huh, I guess it be like hearing Prism apologize or seeing Prism admit somepony's better than him or watching Prism hold a steady relationship." "Exactly, completely surreal," Starburst agreed, nodding her head. "Or like watching Turquoise treat you poorly." "I--" Anthea lowered her gaze and pawed at the ground. "Yeah, surreal." "You want to, I don't know..." Starburst cringed. "You want to talk about it?" "How? All the ice cream's inside," joked Anthea. "Forget the ice cream, the chocolate, the tissues, whatever constitutes as girl talk," Starburst said. "Let's just have a simple, straight forward, honest-to-heaven one-on-one talk. I-I mean, if you want," she quickly added. "Just, I just want to make sure you're going to be okay." "What do you want to talk about?" Anthea asked quietly as she dug at the ground. "Well first off, what are you going to do about that?" Starburst pointed at the scratches on Anthea's leg. "It doesn't look that bad, but you've got some disinfectant anywhere? Better safe than sorry, right?" "Inside," Anthea answered with a frown. "It's fine, don't you start freaking out over it too." "Does it look like I'm freaking out?" Starburst challenged. She lifted the afflicted leg and examined the wound closely. "Did you at least wash it out?" "Yeah, with the hose." "Then I guess that'll have to do for now," Starburst said, setting the limb down carefully. "So, what happened back there? I could probably count all the times you and Turquoise fought on one hoof. You're like, the perfect couple. What in Equestria happened?" "We're not. Not perfect, I mean," Anthea said. She reached over to rub against her wound, only for Starburst to smack the hoof away. "Quit touching it," she ordered. "Sorry. Anyways, we're not perfect. We're too dependent on each other. You heard about how we separated for little while?" "Vaguely, I thought it was just a rumor when I heard so I didn't really pay much attention to it," Starburst admitted. "Yeah, well, it didn't take too long before we got back together." Anthea drew a crude heart symbol in the dirt. "It was pitiful. I missed my T so badly, so desperately needed him by my side, I couldn't last even a couple of days alone on my own." More hearts joined the first. "Is this what this is all about, becoming independent?" Starburst asked. Immediately, Anthea shook her head. "I don't mind being so dependent toward Turquoise, even if it hurts when he's not around. That's not the problem, though I probably sound really pathetic right now," she admitted with a mirthless giggle. "Maybe, if I didn't know how pathetic Turquoise is without you either. It's like the two of you were destined to be hopelessly together, together," Starburst said, rolling her eyes. "Okay, so what is the problem?" "Turquoise, he's been treating me differently lately. The whole scene in town? He's been acting like that for a while now." "Hasn't he always been sort of protective toward you?" Starburst observed. "Not like that. If he was just being protective, like before, I wouldn't have mind. I like it when he's protective, but this isn't it." "I don't get it." "Before, T would get worried when I'd go out, offer to go with me, ask me if I needed any help, but that was it." Anthea explained. "If I said no, he'd stay and wait for me to get back. He never made a big fuss about it, just sound adorably anxious." The smile she wore vanished, and she rubbed out the hearts drawn in the dirt, one by one. "But nowadays, he panics instead of worries," Anthea said. "He won't let me do anything at all unless I'm with him, and it's suffocating. It's like he doesn't trust me anymore, and I hate it." "I thought you said it hurt when the two of you were separated," Starburst said. "Why does having him around all the time bother you now?" "It's complicated. I love T, but I still need my space, you know? I mean, you wouldn't want to spend all your time with your mom, but could you imagine life without her?" Starburst frowned, and her wings quivered uncomfortably. "I guess," she said, scratching the back of her neck. Life with her mother wasn't easy; Princess Twilight Sparkle was an intellectual, she was an athlete, and so it was often difficult for the two to connect. But life without the bookish alicorn watching over her? Starburst shuddered at the thought. "Okay, so sometimes you need a little space, have you tried telling Turquoise?" Anthea lowered her head. "No," she murmured. "What was that?" "No," Anthea said more clearly. "I know, I know, first step to any relationship is communication, but I'm, well, afraid. What happens after I tell him how I really feel? I don't know how T'll react." "Annie, this is Turquoise we're talking about," Starburst said. "You really think he'll do something that'll hurt you?" Anthea shook her head. "Of course not. I know he would never do anything like that, but I don't want to hurt his feelings. What if he starts think I don't appreciate him anymore, or that I stopped loving him? You know I don't always say the right things at the right times, what if what I say just makes things worse?" "Well, it's a little late to worry about that," said Starburst. "I'd say it'd be pretty hard to top what you did back in town." "Ngh." Anthea brought her hooves up to her face and groaned. "What am I going to do? T's probably so upset right now, and it's all my fault. Just, argh, what I am supposed to do now?" "Are you seriously asking me?" "Yeah, I'm that desperate." Starburst winced. "Ow, harsh thing to say to somepony trying to help." "Sorry, but you were thinking it too," Anthea said, dropping her hooves back to the ground. "All you really can do is talk to him," said Starburst. "You know, explain how you feel and stuff." "You were the one saying it's already too late," Anthea said with a sigh. "T knows how I feel, half of Ponyville probably does." "Yeah, but T's a stallion, and like most stallions he's kind of slow. He probably just thinks you hate him or something stupid like that." Starburst shook her head. "You have to set him straight," she commanded, poking Anthea in the center of her chest. "Make sure he really gets what's going on, alright?" "But, I mean, do you really think I can do that?" asked Anthea. "I don't want to end up making things even more awkward between us." "You can't avoid Turquoise forever, you know. Or do you really want to break up with him?" "What, no!" Anthea exclaimed, leaning forward and forcing Starburst to step back. "Of course I don't want us to separate, but I just, I don't know if--" "Oh, stop it with the lack of self-confidence," Starburst nearly shouted, throwing her hooves up in frustration. She took a quick calming breath. "Just, look, take a little time to figure out what you want say first. You two need a little space from each other anyways, but stop worrying so much. It's just a small misunderstanding, and the sooner you explain this to Turquoise, the sooner we can get on with our lives. You free tomorrow?" "Yeah, why?" "Stop by Sweet Apple Acres in the morning. Maybe a nice long workout'll help you sort this out." "You and Del won't mind?" Anthea asked uncertainly. "Isn't that a thing between you two?" "Del won't mind the company, and as long as you don't get in the way of my training, I won't either." Starburst looked up at the sun and frowned. "I should probably get going, Night Light'll be home soon. Get that wound checked, alright?" "Yeah, I'll deal with, don't worry about it." Anthea brushed back her mane out of her face and smiled. "Thanks, Starburst. See you tomorrow?" "See you tomorrow," Starburst said, giving the unicorn a quick wave before taking off. Anthea watched the faint yellow blur disappear into the sea of blue above her head. * Anthea gently shut the cottage door behind her. She breathed deeply, taking in the cool morning air. Chirps from the many birdhouses that guarded the path to Fluttershy's house greeted her as she passed, and she giggled as a few robins flew over and perched on her back. "Good morning," Anthea said cheerfully. The birds sang in reply before flying off, and she hummed a little harmony to match the robins. Her chipper mood slowly faded once she reached the familiar trail to the apple farm. Memories from the previous day creeped into focus as she considered Starburst's advice. The pegasus was right, she had to make things right with Turquoise, it was all a matter of how. Perhaps Starburst had inherited some of her mother's wisdom, Anthea thought as she reached out and felt the fence that ran around the Apple family's property; maybe a few hours of laborious farm work would help her figure out what she needed to say. She heard the chatter of ponies, and smiled. The sounds of ponies speaking, the stronger fragrance of apples, the shift in wood texture of the fence, from a rougher, dustier feel to a more polished touch, all told her as much about her proximity to Sweet Apple Acres as reading a road sign would have. She could see Starburst, or at least the yellow blur Anthea recognized as her friend, standing by the front gate. As she drew near, she waved and called out the pegasus's name. Starburst rolled her eyes and lifted her own hoof, waving it in response. "You didn't have to wait for me," Anthea said when she had reached Starburst's side. "Just wanted to make sure you were okay," Starburst explained, looking down at the bandage covering Anthea's leg. "You sure you're going to be able to work on that?" "I told you, it's fine," the unicorn assured. She flexed the limb playfully. "See? No problem." "If you say so," Starburst turned toward the center of the farm and started forward. "Come on," she said, motioning with her head, "Del needs some help harvesting the south side." "Why isn't June helping out?" Anthea asked, trotting to keep up. "I thought the south side was her area." "No, she's got the, uh..." Starburst bit her lip. "I can't remember which part she's got for her cherries but it's not the south. And she is helping, just somewhere else on the farm, something specialized, I think." Starburst shrugged. "Del wasn't very clear about the details." "Okay, but there's lunch right? It's been a while since...I..." The hoofsteps following Starburst grew silent. Starburst looked behind her and frowned as she noticed that Anthea had suddenly stopped in her tracks. "What's wrong?" she asked, following, the unicorn's gaze. "Oh." Golden Delicious stood in the distance, giving the tree closest to him a solid kick with his hind legs. Apples rained out of the branches and into the baskets waiting below. Golden raised his head and grinned, waving at his workout partner. His smile vanished, replaced with the same wince Starburst wore as he saw Anthea behind her. Anthea watched as the green blur approached the large yellow one near the trees. "Hey, Del?" it said. "I got more baskets, where do you--" The baskets in Turquoise's forelegs slipped out of his grasp as his eyes found Anthea. The dragon-pony bit his lip and quickly looked away. Anthea, however, continued to stare at the green blur with her mouth gaping open. "T..." "I-I should go," Turquoise said to Golden Delicious, keeping his head low. "I can't stay, not after what happened yesterday." "T, you can't just avoid her if you wanna fix all this," Golden argued. "I'm not ready," Anthea said, shaking her head. "I can't face him now, not after everything that happened yesterday." "We talked about this," Starburst hissed. "You two want to fix this? Then you've got to set him straight and explain what happened." "You believe in destiny, T?" Golden Delicious asked. "Why?" "Kinda curious that the two of you happened to bump into each other here. Maybe this is the perfect chance to make things right, yeah?" "Did you plan this?" Anthea whispered, pressing her lips together. "Don't be ridiculous," Starburst scoffed. "You know I'm not that kind of pony. I had no idea T was going to be here too, but come on, does that really matter? Some divine power or freak show of luck just gave you the perfect opportunity to fix things with Turquoise, are you really just going to let it slip away?" "I don't, I mean..." Anthea and Turquoise took a breath. Turquoise risked a quick glance toward the mare in the distance. He turned away quickly, avoiding Anthea's gaze. "I want to fix things, but I'm afraid--" "--of making things worse," Anthea murmured. "What if--" "--I say the wrong things?" Turquoise asked, clawing into the soil. "What if I just end up--" "--pushing him away even further?" "So you're just going to give up?" Starburst scowled. "Fine," she huffed, waving her hoof dismissively. "You can go home. I've got things to do anyways." Starburst marched toward the trees, where Turquoise and Golden Delicious stood, turning her back to Anthea. Her ears twitched at the sounds of hoofstomps from behind coming towards her, and she hid a smile. "Decided to stay?" "I-I want to make things right," Anthea said softly. "I don't know if I can but I have to at least try. I can't lose him, not like this. I have to make him understand. I need--oof!" Anthea grunted as she walked into something hard. As she tumbled back, something latched onto her shoulders, keeping her from falling. When she opened her eyes, Anthea found herself before a massive green wall that flinched as she ran her hoof along its smooth, cold scaly surface. The hold on her shoulders relaxed and released. "S-sorry," Anthea heard Turquoise mutter, though he did not move away. "T..." "Well, ain't this wonderful?" Golden Delicious declared, smiling broadly. "Heck, with this many hooves on deck, we might finish the entire harvest 'fore lunch." "R-right," Turquoise agreed quickly, clearing his throat as he finally took a step away from Anthea. "I'll grab more baskets!" Starburst stared at the mess of baskets scattered all across the orchard. There were at least three under every fruit bearing tree. "I think we have enough," she said dryly. "Why don' you and Anthea take care of these ones over here while me and Star deal with the other half over yonder?" Golden suggested, gesturing as he spoke. "Then, once this part of the orchard's finished, we can move to the next." "Wait," Starburst began, "why--" "Sound good to me," Anthea said. "What about you, T?" "Huh? Oh!" Turquoise shook himself and nodded. "Yeah, that's fine, if everypony else is okay with it." "Alrighty then, holler if you need something," Golden Delicious said. "Come on, Star, let's get to work." "Why'd you have Annie and Turquoise work together in that section?" Starburst grumbled as she followed Golden to the area he had assigned them. "I figured that'd give them a chance to make up," Golden answered, giving his partner a confused look. "Why? Don' tell me you think those two should separate." "What, no, I get trying to get them to talk to each other, that I'm all for. I just wish we could have stayed in that part of the orchard," Starburst explained. She stopped, spun around, and kicked her hind legs out and against the closest tree. Apples dropped like stones, filling the containers below almost instantly. "You know those trees over there have the thickest trunks. I was really looking forward to a decent workout." Golden Delicious closed his gaping mouth and chuckled. "Sorry, but I don' think any of my trees besides the thickest would survive Turquoise's help. Don' worry, there's plenty of work to do, I'm sure you'll get something out of it," Golden assured. Starburst struck the base of the next tree, forcing the stallion to duck down and protect his head from the falling apples. "You think everything'll work things out between those two?" she asked. "You mean between T and Annie? Yeah," Golden Delicious answered with a nod. "I'd think so. Why, you worried?" "A little, I suppose," Starburst said, frowning. "I care about my friends, you know." "Yeah, I know," Golden Delicious said. "Never would've expected you to invite her here though, 'specially after all the complaining you did yesterday 'bout her gettin' in your way of your training." Starburst hid her blush as she slammed her back hooves against a tree's trunk a third time, showering Golden with apples. The farmer laughed as he picked himself up. Slowly, hesitantly, Starburst's smile grew until she joined in. The laughter echoed through the farm, carried by a gentle breeze. "Sounds like they're having fun," Anthea said, picking up a few stray apples off the ground with her magic. "Sure sounds like it," Turquoise said as he leaned against a tree and looked up toward the leaves above. Carefully, he rocked the trunk back and forth, shaking the last few apples stubbornly clinging to their branches. He moved to the next tree, this time flying up until he was eye level to the apples, then pulling them free and dropping them into the bins below. Suddenly, the entire tree trembled violent, releasing its fruit by the dozens. Turquoise looked down in time to see Anthea pull her hooves away from the hard trunk. "It'll take forever if you just pick them out, you know," she said, looking up at Turquoise. "That's what you were doing, right?" Anthea added with her head slightly crooked to the side. Turquoise retrieved the few remaining ones and landed. "Yeah," he said as he deposited them with the rest. "But this way, I can avoid damaging the trees." Anthea giggled. "That's so you!" "What is?" Turquoise asked with a small confused frown. "Not wanting to hurt anything, even if it's just a tree." "Don't let Mrs. Applejack hear you," Turquoise warned, shifting his eyes side to side as if scanning the area for an orange mare in a large wide brimmed hat. He grinned. "She treats these trees like her babies." "Wow, poor Del." Now Anthea and Turquoise Blitz shared a laugh, a short, quiet snicker followed by a few excruciating seconds of silence that Turquoise thankfully broke by saying, "We should get back to work. There's a lot of apples here we have to harvest." "Right," Anthea said, though she dragged her feet through the dirt on the way to the next tree. Once she reached the tree, she extended her forelegs and carefully maneuvered around the many baskets. Anthea leaned forward slowly, mentally measuring the distance between her and the trunk. When she was certain of her position, Anthea turned around, bent her hind legs, and snapped them out, hitting the base of the tree with a hard thunk. She then retreated, pulling her legs back toward her, and listened to the soft thuds the apples made as they struck the floor of the basket and each other. A second two legged back kick swiftly followed, persuading the tree to yield a few more apples. The mare shook her legs, hopping from one side to the next, then moved on to the next tree. Loud and heavy beats filled the air, Anthea's as well as Starburst's reckless ones and Golden Delicious's slow and deliberate ones, tempered by experience. "Did Del teach you how to apple buck?" Turquoise asked. "Hmm?" Anthea wiped her sweaty brow. "Oh, yeah. It's a lot harder than I thought it was, but Del's a pretty good teacher." "Hmm," hummed Turquoise before returning to his own work. Soon, thuds and thunks were all that kept complete silence away. Between strikes, Anthea would look up and stare at the green shapes above, never certain if Turquoise stared back. As her hind legs slowly tired and became sore, so did her neck. Anthea tried to shrug her exhaustion off, but the growing pain in her thighs reminder her of Golden Delicious's warnings and instructions. It was time for a break, she decided. Anthea stretched her legs, keeping them extended as she laid down on the grass. She groaned, rubbing her legs together to relieve their soreness. Closing her eyes, Anthea lifted her head toward the direction of the sun and smiled as the sun beamed back. Suddenly, a shadow fell over her, cutting off the warm rays. When Anthea opened her eyes, she saw a large green figure stood over her. "Are you, are you alright?" Turquoise asked hesitantly, raising a claw. He started to extend the appendage toward the laying unicorn, only to stop himself and force the claw back to into the dirt. "S-sorry, I--" Turquoise stumbled back as Anthea suddenly leapt forward, latching herself to his foreleg. "I'm the one who should be apologizing," she said, avoiding Turquoise's gaze. "I shouldn't have shouted at you like that yesterday. I know you were just worried, but even if that bothered me, I shouldn't have just, you know. I should have explained myself." Anthea pressed her head against the hybrid's shoulder and sighed. This was how yesterday should have ended. "T, do you think I'm helpless?" "Helpless?" Turquoise repeated. "No, of course not. I mean, you're talented and amazing at magic." He turned to the trees around him, stripped of their fruit. "And apparently a pretty decent apple farmer." "Then why do you treat me like I can't do anything on my own now " Anthea asked. "What changed? What was wrong with the way you used to treat me?" Turquoise lowered his head. "I'm sorry," he said. "I just, I wanted to show you how much I cared, how much you meant, mean to me." He timidly brushed the unicorn's mane out of her face. "I wanted to treat you right." Just as the claw started to withdraw, Anthea grabbed hold of it, pressing it against her cheek. "You were," she said. "You've always treated me like your fillyfriend before, and that always made me happy. But now," Anthea began, frowning, "now you just treat me like some blind mare that trips over her own feet." "I'm sorry." "Can, can we go back to how we were before?" Anthea pleaded, her grip around Turquoise's foreleg tightening. "You know, when you'd sometimes forget and tell me how beautiful you thought something was? When you treated me like any other pony? Can we go back to that, please?" She might not have been able to see his eyes look away, but she saw Turquoise's head turn from her. "I don't think I can," he answered heavily. "Treat you like any other pony, I mean. You're special to me." "Special how? As in special somepony special, or..." Anthea left the rest of the sentence unsaid, but Turquoise winced all the same. "Both, I guess," he said with reluctant honesty. "I love being your special somepony, but I can't just forget about your blindness, and when I think about you now, I just, well, worry." "I'm not helpless, you said it yourself." "I know, I know, but I can't help it," Turquoise groaned, grabbing at his mane. "I don't want to be way either. I hate having this nagging feeling every time you're not around. I had to keep myself from rushing to your side this entire time. It hurts, and it's hurting you, but I don't know what to do!" Turquoise covered his face with his claws. Anthea reached out and gently rubbed his shoulder. "I'm acting a lot like your mom, aren't I?" laughed Turquoise bitterly before sighing. "You don't want to date your mom, I'd understand if you didn't want to, you know, be with me anymore." "I want to keep dating you, T," Anthea asserted firmly. "Maybe, maybe I just need to prove it to you." Turquoise lifted his head. "Prove what?" "That I'm not a weak blind filly that can't do anything," Anthea answered. "Maybe if I show you how capable I am, you'll think differently. I mean, you say you know I'm not helpless, but maybe you don't actually know know, you know?" "I guess?" Turquoise said, scratching his head. "How?" "Well, I could, uh..." The unicorn got up and began to pace. She could feel Turquoise's stares as she walked back and forth in front of him. She stumbled over a stray apple, and as she regained her footing, she heard the dragon-pony hiss and rise. When Anthea turned toward him, Turquoise immediately sat himself. A faint glow lit around the apple, and it floated before Anthea's nose. "A contest," she said. "We'll have a contest. T!" Anthea shouted. "Y-yes?" Anthea turned to the source of the unconfident reply. "I challenge you to an apple bucking competition," she declared. "Whoever collects the most apples wins. And none of that fruit picking stuff," Anthea added, shaking her head. "Only bucking, so no flying." "A competition?" Turquoise frowned. "Annie, is that really a good idea? I don't--" "Please, T," Anthea said, trying not to beg. "Let me show you what I can do. Unless..." She took a deep breath. Her thoughts turned to Prism Bolt, as if to try and channel the cocky flyer's overconfidence. "Unless, of course, you're afraid of losing," Anthea said. Something in the smirk she wore sent a chill down Turquoise's spine, and he stepped backwards. "I'm not afraid of losing, I just don't--" "Oh, so you think you've got this in the bag, huh?" Anthea snorted. "Come on, tough guy, I'll beat you with my eyes closed." "But you're, I mean, I-I'm, what?" Turquoise sputtered. Anthea stifled a giggle as Turquoise shook himself and restored his composure. "What happens to the winner?" he asked cautiously. "Worry about winning first," Anthea answered. She stretched out and kicked the air experimentally. "Alright, and remember, you have to apple buck, alright?" "Yeah, I'll try." Turquoise said, rubbing the back of his neck. "And you'd better not let me win," the unicorn warned with a glare. "I mean it, T." "Okay, I'll do my best." "Your best to not let me win, or your best to try and win?" Anthea asked. "T-the second?" Turquoise said with little certainty. "Aren't they the same thing? "Best not to..." Anthea muttered. "Oh yeah, kind of." She quickly cleared her throat. "Okay, whatever," she said, lowering herself into a crouch. Turquoise did the same. "On go. Ready?" "Ready," Turquoise answered. "Alright, three!" Anthea yelled. "Two, go!" And with that she was off to the first tree. "Hey!" Turquoise exclaimed, running toward her. "Wait, that's not fair!" "You said you were ready," Anthea laughed as the baskets underneath the first tree swiftly filled. She gave the tree a couple more solid hits, listening for the soft thuds the apples made when they hit the ground, before running to the next tree. Anthea had just reached the base of her third by the time Turquoise had finally forced himself to move to his first. He looked up at the burden branches above and frowned. It had been a while since he had last tried to apple buck, and it had taken him so long to figure out just how much he had to hold back. After being out of practice so long, Turquoise wasn't sure he could control himself. Memories of toppled trees, jagged stumps, and a gaping Applejack sent him shuddering. "Maybe I should try helping around here more often," Turquoise murmured to himself. "So I don't forget." Carefully, he patted the tree's trunk, running his claws against it. He pressed them into the bark, digging the tips of his claws into the wood. It was thick, sturdy, powerful. Turquoise dared say it could handle a few bucks from a dragon. Well, a half-dragon anyways, Turquoise amended as he pulled back one of his hind legs and kicked through the air. He frowned, his lack of experience demonstrated by his poor technique. He tried again, and then again, until finally he recognized the feel of a proper buck. Turquoise took a deep breath and looked back at his tree. "Okay," he whispered, kicking the air once more. "Remember, breath in." Turquoise inhaled, his chest puffed out and his raised leg tense. "Then, release!" The clawed hoof shot forward and struck with a loud thunk. Turquoise opened his eyes and looked down toward the baskets, at the single apple he succeeded in knocking down. He blinked, then shifted the baskets around, looking for any fruit that might have fallen behind. The ground was just as bare as the baskets, and a quick glance up into the leaves confirmed his failure, to which Turquoise answered with a growl. He took a few more practice bucks, this time with more force behind the kicks. The air whistled shrilly as Turquoise's leg cut through the air, and he grimaced. The strikes slowed, with reduced force and more control behind them. "Alright," he muttered, positioning himself. "Breath in, and release!" The entire tree shuddered as Turquoise's back hoof made contact with its trunk, and for a heart-stopping second, he thought he heard the sound of splintering wood. Leaves and loose twigs rained down, making little nests in Turquoise's mane, and he could hear the soft thuds of apples fall into baskets and into the grass. Slowly, he turned around and sighed in relief at the sight of the still-standing tree. His claws had left a small imprint in the bark, but there was no sign of lasting damage. Success, he thought to himself, allowing a large grin to spread across his face as he turned and prepared himself to gather any apples that failed to land in the basket. Instead, he found Anthea with her horn lit. Apples flew off the ground and out of his baskets and into the ones Anthea carried on her back. "Annie," Turquoise said lowly, and suddenly the apples fell back to earth. "Are you, cheating?" Anthea ran, keeping a sturdy magical hold on her baskets. She could hear Turquoise's thundering hoofsteps as he chased after her. His wings opened and flapped noisily, building up his momentum. "Hey, we said no flying!" shrieked Anthea as she ducked behind a tree and maneuvered around it by the feel of her hooves. "I'm not flying!" Turquoise laughed, trying to circle around the giggling unicorn. "Come on, give me back my apples." "Nuh uh." Anthea spun around and bucked with all the might she could muster. The miniature hailstorm of apples wasn't enough to bury or trap the half-dragon, but it was enough to delay him. By the time Turquoise lowered his forelimbs that he used to shield his head, Anthea had escaped to the next tree. "Anthea, get back here!" he exclaimed as he followed her, only to be showered again by apples. As the two danced from tree to tree, neither noticed Golden Delicious or Starburst approach. Starburst scowled as she set down the bushel she carried. "Well, so much for finishing this before lunch," she said, looking up into the sky. "That's okay," said Del as he too placed his baskets aside before sitting down in the grass. "Least those two look happier." Starburst sat down besides him. "You sure you're alright with them slacking off like this?" she asked. Golden Delicious shrugged. "Look at 'em, Anthea's still gettin' them apples down. Bit sloppy, sure, but they're still gettin' work done. Don' worry, we'll still finish early," Golden Delicious declared. "Work's important an' all, but ain't nothin' wrong with a short game of blind mare's buff."