//------------------------------// // "Bad Moon Risin'." // Story: From Under The Cork Tree // by Muscle_Car_Brony //------------------------------// Gale awoke the next morning hazily thinking he’d overslept his stay in a hotel room somewhere on the road. Oh man, did I oversleep again? He thought while stretching his limbs. Opening his eyes, he started to worry.. If I’m not there on time Jess is gonna ki- . . . Sitting up, he was able to take in his surroundings. You’ve got to be fucking kidding me . . . After a few moments of silence he uttered the only response to his situation that he could think of. “Well, shit.” The next few minutes consisted of him pacing around the library whilst wrestling with his thoughts. Man, what the hell have I gotten myself into?! The more he thought about it, the angrier with himself he became. Why the hell did I think it was a good idea to cannonball it across the country? What was I thinking? He suddenly stopped next to a bookshelf, put both hands to his forehead and shouted. “I’m so fucking stupid!” In the space of a few seconds he then turned to the bookcase and swung out in full force with his right hand, in blind fury at his own stupidity. Krack! Brilliant idea you fucking nimrod! “Agh, dammit!” He hissed, clutching his hand and groaning in pain. Of course, Gale didn’t realize that his yelling would have woken up the local residents as Spike rushed down the stairs. “Gale, are you okay?” His question answering itself immediately after he saw the look of pain in Gale’s eyes. Gale sank to the floor, clutching his hand and muttering obscenities before realizing the drake had even appeared. “Oh hey Spike, did I wake you?” He said in as calm a voice as he could muster. “What did you do? I heard this loud thud and then you started yelling.” Spike stopped as he looked at Gale’s right hand. Oh that doesn’t look good. “Hang on dude, I’ll go get Twilight, maybe she can help.” “‘Maybe she can help’ with what?” The mare in question asked as she to trotted down the stairs. “Spike what are you doing up this early? Did Gale wa-” She stopped dead in her tracks once she took a good look at Gale’s hand. “Gale, what did you do?” Spike chose that moment to sidestep over to Twilight, put his hand over his mouth and loudly whisper. “I think he hit the bookshelf.” “I can see that Spike,” Twilight responded. “But what I’m wondering is, why?” As she said this, Gale slowly rose to his feet. “If you can do anything about this, I’ll gladly tell you why I did it.” “Oh sorry, let me see what I can do.” Twilight said, horn glowing as she proceeded to perform a similar, albeit smaller, version of the healing spell she’d used the day before. Gale hissed in pain as the spell did its work and his hand healed itself. “Thank you.” Panting, he moved to take a seat on the couch. “Now as you were saying?” Twilight began while walking over to the other couch. “What happened anyways?” In the few minutes that Gale took to explain to Twilight just why he’d punched her bookcase, Spike decided they should all get ready for breakfast. “Well now that that’s all over, who wants breakfast?” Walking to the kitchen, the drake continued. “I’m not quite sure what you can eat, Gale, but I can find something.” Fifteen more minutes later found the three sitting around the kitchen table, eating breakfast. “So you hoofed my bookcase because you got ‘pissed off’?” “I would advise you not to talk like that, but then again I’m the only one here who knows what the worst parts of my home’s language even are.” Spitting her pancakes out, Twilight stared at him. “You mean I was, but I . . . Ugh, why didn’t you tell me?” “Partially because I forgot about it for a bit and partially because it was funny.” After breakfast, they went about starting their day. Twilight, by reorganizing some books, and Spike, by moving inventory to and from the basement. “So how often do pe- er, ponies come in to check out books?” Gale asked from the couch. He’d spent the last five minutes walking along the shelves looking for a book and took a seat once he’d found one. “And how long until I can go see my car?” Twilight mumbled something to herself before answering. “Anywhere from five to ten ponies a day.” Levitating a book onto its proper shelf. “Mostly ponies who wanted to look up how to do something.” She added. “To answer the second question, as soon as I’ve finished reorganizing for the day.” Chuckling, Gale commented. “I would say something like ‘ten’s a small number’, but then again how do you ponies even turn a book’s pages, let alone read?” Turning his newfound book over Gale continued. “Daring Do . . . Why does this seem familiar?” He asked aloud upon seeing the cover art. Seeing that Twilight was busy, Spike spoke up. “It’s an adventure series that’s pretty popular.” Setting his box down, he continued. “I definitely recommend it dude, it’s pretty cool.” Rolling his eyes, “I guess I’ll be the judge of that then, won’t I?” Gale asked, reclining some and opening the book. Roughly an hour and a half later found Gale sitting on a couch and reading a book. “Huh, it’s like they’ve taken an Indiana Jones movie, made it into a book, and replaced all the normal contraptions and such with things for ponies. Not to mention the main character’s a chick, or mare, I guess.” He said to a startled Spike. “How’d you know I was here?” The drake asked. “I mean, I didn’t even say anything.” Without looking up from the book, Gale replied. “When I was a kid we used to have a few dogs around the house. Your claws make almost the same noise as theirs did and I recognized it, I guess.” Satisfied by his answer, Spike continued. “Anyways, how’s the book read?” “Like a typical adventure story, I suppose,” Gale sighed, closing said book and standing up. “Although I think it’s about time I got up and moved around a bit.” Cracking his neck and stretching, he continued, “If I stay in one place too long I think I might get stuck there.” The bemused look on Spike’s face was enough of a hint for him to stop. Nervously chuckling Gale asked. “Have you seen Twilight recently? She said she’d see about taking me back to my car once she was done organizing, or something like that.” Up in her room, Twilight sat reading the note that Princess Celestia had sent her shortly before breakfast. Heh, I still can’t believe he was that scared of Spike’s dragon breath. she thought, unrolling the scroll. unfortunately her good mood slowly regressed as she read the letter. “Dear Twilight, I’m sorry to inform you that our attempts to help your friend are going to have to be put on hold for now. There have been some diplomatic issues with the Griffon ambassador as of late and we both have to devote most of our time to it.” As she read the letter Twilight’s face fell, and she became a little depressed as she reached the end of it. “Buck me.” She groaned. “If that’s a euphemism for what I think it is, then you can count me out.” Gale snarked walking into the doorway. “Oh!” Twilight yelped, jumping off her bed and quickly hiding the scroll. “I’m sorry Gale, I didn’t hear you come up stairs.” “Well in that case, sorry for startling you.” Gale said, deciding it best not to mention that he’d heard her while walking up. “No, no, that’s what I get for leaving my door open.” She hastily replied, hiding the scroll as best as she could. “Okay, well I was wondering, If you’re done reorganizing for the day, think we can go see my car? I want to see if any of my stuff survived the crash.” Some things more than others. His odd expression momentarily worried Twilight. “Oh,” Twilight paused. “Okay, just give me a few minutes to back my saddlebags and we can go.” “Uh, pack your saddlebags?” “Yeah. You know, what we ponies use to carry things around since we don’t have hands like yours.” What’s with these ponies and not taking hints? Gale sighed “I know what saddlebags are, what I meant was why are you packing them?” Before Twilight could answer, there was a knock on the door and Spike yelled up to her. “Twilight, Rarity’s here to see you.” the drake said, running up the stairs. “Oh horseapples, I forgot she was coming by the library today.” Twilight said before rushing to the stairs. “Gale, could you wait here for a bit? I’m not entirely sure how she’d react yet and I want let her know about you first.” As she ran trotted down stairs, Gale heard her call out to Spike and tell him to go watch for someone up in her room. Clever girl, or would that be mare? Gale wondered as he listened for the sound of small footsteps reaching the landing. The next twenty minutes were occupied by Gale telling Spike some of the things he’d done growing up. “Yeah, we got him so drunk that he passed out in Mitch’s car before we even got to the last bar, so we left him in the parking lot. Man Johnny was a lightweight . . . “ “So, you got your best friend drunk and left him in outside a bar? Weren’t you afraid the guards would catch you?” “Guards?” Does he mean police? “I think you’d mean our police but anyways, that reminds me of the first time I borrowed my dad’s car.”- he started rubbing his hands together - “Heh, he never even found out I took it.” Right before he could tell the drake about his first joyride, Twilight called up for them. “Looks like that’s our cue then.” Spike said, hopping off the bed and jogging to the stairs, “Are you coming dude?” “Give me a minute little buddy, I’m still kind of tired and I’m gonna move a bit slower because of it.” Standing up and walking toward the door, he continued. “And besides, who’s this ‘Rarity’ anyways?” “I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear that.” Spike said, turning his head sharply. “She’s the best looking mare this side of Canterlot.” “Well that’s certainly an opinion.” Gale remarked while walking to the stairs. “Twilight dear what have you been up to lately?” Walking along the bookshelves, Rarity turned to her friend. “It’s been a few weeks since we last spoke my friend.” “Well, I’ve mainly been reorganizing the bookshelves again, how about you?” “Well, right now I’m trying to find a book on music notes for Sweetie’s talent show project.” “Really? What’s she doing that involves music?” Shaking her head, Rarity pulled a book off a shelf. ”Oh she and the other crusaders are apparently wanting to do a music number for their set.” Waving her hoof, she continued down the row of books. “Well, have they settled on a theme?” Walking over to her desk, Twilight pulled out a stack of notecards. “If so I can help find the appropriate text for reference.” Sighing, Rarity responded. “I think they wanted to do something involving ponies who are displaced from their homes. Apparently Cheerilee though it was a good idea.” “That seems a bit peculiar, are you sure Cheerilee approved it?” “I assure you dear, I had thought the same thing. Yesterday afternoon I paid Cheerilee a visit to confirm and she told me that; yes, she did approve of their idea, as long as they took it seriously and did their best not to offend anypony.” Upon hearing her explanation, Twilight spent the next few minutes talking with Rarity about which books to reference, all the while the beginnings of an idea were forming in her mind. “The only thing left that Cheerilee wanted them to do before proceeding was to talk to somepony who has had to relocate so that they know what those ponies can end up going through.” As soon as she heard that, Twilight jumped up. “Rarity I might have a friend who could help with that.” Momentarily startled by her outburst, Rarity wondered aloud. “Oh really darling? Who is it?” Trotting over to the stairs, Twilight shouted. “Spike, you two can come down now.” “So as it turned out, Rarity came by to check out a reference book for her little sister Sweetie Belle.” Twilight huffed. “Forgive me for asking, but how does that turn into me getting a suit custom made?” Shifting on his feet, Gale sighed. At the very least I guess I’ll have a spare set of clothes . . . “Come now dear, getting a suit is nothing to be ashamed of. How can any stallion hope to catch a mare if he doesn’t look his best?” Walking out from her store room, Rarity continued. “And besides, your old clothes were torn and ruined. “Hey!” Gale yelped, from both annoyance and a bit of pain, as Rarity accidentally cut his leg with a sewing needle. “Oh, I’m sorry darling, my hoof slipped.” Horn glowing, rarity continued. “Here, this should help.” “No.” Gale and Twilight responded simultaneously “It’s fine Ms. Rarity, I’ve been through worse.” Meeting her bemused expression, he simply nodded toward Twilight. “Aren’t even going to ask why she said no as well?” Taking a moment to ponder his question, Rarity turned to Twilight. “Why did you say no Twilight? I may not know as much as you in terms of spells, but I know a few for healing cuts and scrapes.” Twilight sighed for a moment. “Because as we’ve found out, Gale has a bit of a different reaction to magic than most. It’s part of the reason he didn’t put up much resistance when you, ahem, ‘offered’ to make him a suit.” “Wait, is this true Gale? Did you only come with me out of fear?” Turning back to Gale, she wore a sorrowful expression. “Well, yes and no. I honestly have no idea what’s going on anymore and figured it would be a good idea to be nice to the pe- er, ponies who can inflict pain on me with their minds.” Rarity turned back to Twilight, anger quickly flashing across her face. “Twilight, don’t you think you should have informed me of this?” “I guess I should have,” looking down at the floor, Twilight continued, “I’m sorry you two, I’m just not sure what to do right now.” “You’re telling me- Ow!” Gale yelped, wincing at the pain from Rarity slapping him with a nearby towel. “Darling, that was a little insensitive, don’t you think?” “No no Rarity, he’s right. Despite how odd this seems for us, he’s probably feeling a whole lot more confused.” Twilight stepped forward. “Anyways, we should probably be going soon. I promised we’d go take a look at the crash site and see if any of his things survived.” “Well, if it’s not too much to ask, would you mind if I tagged along? I’ve finished all of my immediate orders and it’s such a lovely day out.” Glancing back at Gale, she continued. “And I could buy us all lunch, as a sort of apology.” Shrugging of her casual self-invitation, Gale looked to Twilight. “So, how much can you carry in those saddle bags of yours?” After ten or so minutes of Rarity fussing about not having the right hat for the occasion, they left her boutique and headed for the far end of town, Another five minutes later saw them walking towards the one thing Gale had both been wanting and dreading to see. The apple farmstead, and his beloved car, Charlene. All was quiet at the Apple farmstead save for the sound of two approaching sets of hooves and a set of tennis shoes moving closer along one of the dirt paths leading to the farm. With Apple Bloom at school, Granny Smith, Gale was told, would probably be taking a mid-day nap and Applejack as well as her brother Big MacIntosh would be out harvesting apples. “So, they call it apple bucking?” Gale asked quizzically while leaning against the fence gate they had just reached. “Yeah, it’s an old style of farming, not the most effective,” Twilight admitted after quickly looking for any sign of her farmer friend, “but it’s what the Apple family uses and they use it well.” “The more I hear of your language, the more I appreciate mine.” Leaning against the gate, Gale chuckled. “Seriously, is the only way to tell if someone’s swearing by context?” The next few minutes passed via a conversation between Gale and Twilight about both linguistics and semantics before Rarity interjected. “Ahem, Gale there’s something I wanted to ask you about. If you don’t mind, of course.” “Shoot . . .“ Blinking quickly, Rarity stood confused. “. . . What?“ Figures ponies wouldn’t know what I meant . . . Gale sighed. “I mean, ask away.” “You and Twilight were discussing the weather of your home earlier,” Shuffling her hooves, Rarity continued. “And I wanted to ask how your people can willingly plan for certain types of storms to occur knowing that they’re very dangerous?” Crossing his arms, Gale sighed. “Well, honestly. We don’t.” “Wait, you . . . you don’t?” “Well, while you two talk about this, I think I’ll go look for AJ and Big Mac.” Twilight interjected before trotting off. It was Rarity’s turn to be dumbfounded as Gale spent the next few minutes describing Earth’s weather patterns to pass the time, while Twilight had gone off to look for either of the two farm ponies. “Oh that’s dreadful darling. I don’t know where we’d be without our weather pegasi.” Scratching the back of his neck, Gale replied. “Yeah, but it makes life a bit more interesting,you know?” “Although that’s true, I can’t see how your people could willingly live in areas where such horrible storms could take place.” Twilight said, coming back from her search with Applejack in tow. “Howdy Gale, it’s good to see ya. Oh hey Rares, I guess I didn’t see ya there.” The farm mare chuckled. “What brings you to my family’s homestead?” “Oh I’m just enjoying a lovely day with Twilight and her friend here.” At Applejack’s look, she continued. “I, ahem, may have accidentally forced Gale into letting me make him a suit and I bought lunch for us all to try and repay him.” Before Applejack could question her any further, Gale interjected. “So, Applejack,”- Pushing himself off the post. - “Do you know if those guards are still out there?” “Well Sugarcube, they left about an hour or so ago. Said something about getting reassigned by royal order.” Turning back to Twilight, Applejack continued. “I can only wonder how that happened.” She said with a wink. “Well then let’s go,” Taking a step away from the gates, Gale added. “before anything else comes up.” “Now wait just a minute Sugarcube, I have to tell Big Mac that I’m goin’ off to the south fields before I do or he’ll just come lookin’ for me. And no offense Gale, but chances are that he’d get startled by you and I don’t want that happenin’.” Well that’s not foreboding or anything . . . “Well okay then, I guess we’ll wait here for you,” Walking over to the porch, Gale continued. ”Well I’ll be right here anyways, I don’t know about those two.” A few minutes later and Applejack came walking back into view followed by a large red stallion. Okay definitely not messing with him. Taking a step forward, Gale introduced himself. “Hello, I suppose you’re Big Macintosh?” “Eeyup.” “So I take it you don’t talk much?” It had been a few minutes since Applejack and the other two decided to take off, leaving Gale and Big Mac to go see his car. “Eeyup.” Big Mac said, walking off toward the field. Quickly moving to keep pace, Gale continued. “I see . . . Well is there any reason for that, if you don’t mind my asking that is.” Big Mac didn’t even glance toward him. “Eenope.” Well . . . This is awkward . . . “Anyways, thanks for volunteering to help me go and see her.” “Eey-, Wait, what?” Big Mac blinked a few times before throwing him a questioning look. So he can say more than two words . . . “Thanks for helping me go see my car.” With a nod of semi-understanding, Big Mac replied. “Eeyup.” “No seriously, everyone here’s been so nice to me since I got here. It’s, it’s not something I’m really used to . . .“ Gale wouldn’t realize just how much his statement had hit home himself for quite some time, but Mac caught on immediately. “Are you saying you want to stay?” The stallion asked as the started walking towards the southern field. “Don’t take this the wrong way,” - Gale paused. Especially since you could probably kill me - “but I just want to go back to what little of a life I had.” “No no, I can see where you’re coming from. This must all seem terribly confusin’ to you.” Chuckling, Mac continued. “Just remember; if’n you ever need anything, we Apples would be happy to help.” The continued walking for a few minutes with Gale rambling on about whatever random topic he chose. They passed row after row of trees until they rounded a corner and Gale got his first real look at the wreck. Standing there, his heart shattered as he muttered the only response that he could. “Oh no.”