Chapter 16: Ataxia, Acquaintances and Apples
Rest did not afford me the luxury of a dreamless sleep, I found myself again in the dark void that was the conception canvas surrounded by limitless possibilities. Only this time I did nothing with it, save for summon a leather recliner that I promptly sat upon and began to ruminate on the events of the previous day; though I suppose brooding would be a better word. Although it was only the circumstances surrounding last night that really got to me and made me do some serious reflection. For some as of yet unknown reason, my magic had taken on its own initiative, turning what was supposed to be some good-natured Fright Night pranking into something that could have easily escalated into a mindless and reason sapped nightmare. It made me shudder, were it not for the Element Bearers arriving before I lost complete control over my actions, last night could have become truly violent.
The whole thing made me reassess the capabilities of my newfound magic. It was primarily directed and shaped by will, but if last night’s near catastrophe was any indication, it could also be partially usurped should a second entity also grab a hold of the reins so to speak. All things considered, I resolved to be more diligent with the utilization of my magic in case something like that should ever occur once more. My thoughts shifted towards the victims of my joking gone horribly wrong, particularly that of Golden Harvest. Just how in the world was I supposed to go about apologizing? ‘Oh hello miss Harvest, I just wanted to say that I was terribly sorry for scaring the ever loving ghost out of you. Yes I realized that what I did was both irresponsible and downright sinister, but I was just getting into the Fright Night spirit of things! What’s that? You’re getting a restraining order and filing a lawsuit against me for grievous emotional harm? I didn’t even know they had those here!’
I shook my head and sighed in exhaustion despite being asleep, the action resulting in a soft breeze that was the only sound to break the heavy silence looming over the blank void. While I didn’t have to worry about that now, I would eventually have to make good on my word that I would express my sincerest apologies to Carrot top and possibly her cadre of friends as well. I don’t know just how forgiving these people could be but my actions probably push that sentiment to the limits, there was also the matter of keeping my identity intact. I wasn’t going to just outright say that it was I that stalked them and set up the plot for their future nightmares for weeks to come, I had to be subtle about it. But at the same time, I had to confront her about this face to face or I wouldn’t be seen as legitimately repentant.
My musing was cut short by the sound of distinctive knocking in the pattern of ‘shave and a haircut’ echoing throughout my mind. I conjured some wooden paneling to rap my knuckles on and respond with the ‘two bits’ affirmative, entirely disregarding how that call and response tune even existed over here. The sudden screeching of bats assaulted my ears as a cloud of them appeared and mingled together before dispersing and revealing one very ecstatic looking Princess Luna. I lightly inclined my head as I welcomed the most frequent visitor to my head.
“Greetings Luna, I trust your favorite holiday went well?”
She clapped her hands together and spouted gleefully, “Twas most wondrous Zenith! The city of Delphia was most welcoming to us despite the macabre origins to our once feared festive day. The people engaged in wearing the most interesting of outfits and proliferating the dissemination of various sweets, all in the name of their Princess of the night!”
“I’m happy for you Luna, there can be little doubt as to whether or not your subjects at least show some appreciation for your works” I was still a little bitter about not enjoying some of those sweets myself, but my meager grievances were heavily outweighed by my careless deeds.
“And we are most grateful for that, but enough about our experiences. Prithee, how was your first taste of our glorious Fright Night?” She asked me, summoning an appropriately themed chair for herself and looking at me expectantly.
I exhaled tentatively, “It was…eventful. I certainly followed the time-honored tradition of taking on an appearance most fearsome and scaring the daylights out of people”
“We sense there is more to this explanation than that” She observed.
“Well…” I scratched the back of my head, “I may have kind of… been possessed by my own magic and became a monster that fed on fear”
I interjected before Luna could react, “But! Thanks to the element bearers and the elements themselves, I’ve been restored to my previous condition”
“Thou speakest truly? The elements have exposed you to their power?”
“Indeed, it was certainly… an enlightening incident. It’s made me rethink a few things since then” I commented speculatively, remembering what the Harmonic energies stirred within me.
She seemed to be in awe, almost stupefied by that, “Do you know how it was that you were undermined by your magic?” She asked.
I shook my head, “I was hoping you could shed some light on that actually, what happened last night should not have occurred in the first place. My magic is something intrinsic, I was not aware that its control could be wrested away from me to begin with” I remarked with a shrug.
She looked deep in thought, “May we see into your memories? Perhaps if we were to see it for ourselves, we could reinforce our suspicions before we inform you of any inferences”
“Of course, the more I know about this, the more likely I can prevent it from recurring ever again”
The lady of the night then drew closer before placing a soft hand on my head and a feeling not unlike ice liquid began to soak into my cranium, causing me to fidget a little.
“Bring the memories of that specific happening to the forefront of your mind” She instructed, to which I complied. It took a couple of minutes (or at least it felt like it did) with Luna displaying multiple reactions from shock to concern and finally quiet astonishment. The bright glow from her moonstone focal gem eventually died down and the icy grip of her magic gradually subsided. She looked deep in thought before finally speaking her mind.
“This is most disconcerting, the presence I felt that was infecting your mind bears some minor similarity to the darkness that once consumed me, like an echo or a shadow of the past” She spoke retrospectively, her expression darkening as she did so.
“On a side note, we find it most delightful to find that we are not the only one seeking to find fulfilling friendships. And you could find no better than in the element bearers, they’re the one’s who aided us during our first Fright Night” She said with a smile.
“I’m aware” I commented, “So I take it that your sister did not tell you about my ‘assignment’ here or how I still have some misgivings about it?”
She shook her head, “Not at all, our sister’s business is her own, as is ours. Although I am quite sure that everyone has their doubts about trying new things, we were no exception. But I believe there is a saying about how nothing ventured results in nothing gained” She sagely advised.
“I can’t argue with wisdom like that, we have a similar saying back home that matches almost word for word”
She gave me a strange look, “You still speak of your heartland as if it were your domicile, but what about the one that you belong to now?”
“I’ll be honest Luna, it’ll be a while before I come to look upon this place as my new home. I’ve spent the majority of my life elsewhere after all. But perhaps I can still remain true to the memories of both my old home and this new land that I find myself a participant in”
“A compromise of the spirit then, we must lend credit to you Zenith, there are not many we know that can handle the displacement from their home in such a calm and composed manner”
“I never saw anything practical about wringing my hands and feeling angst over something that I cannot change. Unless I somehow come across a way home in the form of a portal or a Stargate, then I will firmly stand by my outlook on the matter” She seemed confused with some of my wording but nodded in concurrence.
“In all our considerable years on this Earth, we have never encountered any kind of magic that had the power to traverse the cosmic veil beyond this macrocosm. Even if there were a spell capable of sending you back, sifting through the no doubt countless worlds to determine which one you belonged to would prove to be an impossible obstacle to overcome. The odds of you ever returning to the land of your birth are quite low” She told me with a neutral tone, knowing that she was trampling all over a sensitive topic but remaining staunchly truthful.
“Gee, when you put it that way, I might as well stop thinking about home altogether” I dryly commented with a roll of my eyes.
“We meant no offense of course!” Luna hastily amended, but I waved it off since it didn’t really bother me.
“So you mentioned something about the entity that hijacked my body without me noticing bearing a similarity to the darkness that overtook you?”
“Verily, its taint was of nearly identical malevolence. We will never forget how it twisted us into a vile mockery of our former self merely due to our misplaced jealousy” She spat contemptuously, her brow furrowed at the wretched reminder of how far she fell.
“But how could it somehow find me and take over without me being immediately made aware? All I did was cast an illusion spell over myself and stalk some festive partakers near an stony effigy of the Night Terror in the forest” I expressed with considerable confusion, not at all knowing where things went wrong.
‘I just don’t know what went wrong!’
“It was a strange form that you picked, we shudder at how grotesque the creatures of your imagination are. It could have been frighteningly lethal had you lost complete control over it” Luna noted with a pensive tone, staring at me like I was a mystery that needed unraveling… or a potential problem that needed rectifying. I decided to put some faith in her clemency and let that disturbing thought slide.
“There are those who believe that there is more to the Slender man than just imagination, but I’m pretty sure it’s just the Internet’s favorite boogeyman. Still, it’s best that you don’t ask about it, I don’t want to chance the possibility of it actually existing here and beckoning it closer with acknowledgement, that would be giving it power over you” She looked befuddled by my warning, but heeded me anyway. She inhaled deeply before revealing to me her thoughts on what happened to me last night.
“It may only be a far fetched conjecture, but we have been told that when we were banished to the moon, not all of our black magic was banished with us. This leads us to believe that there are faint traces of our ancient evil still haunting the grounds near our now doubtlessly decrepit Neverfree castle”
“So when I was shadowing the group in the woods, some of that darkness found and somehow latched onto me?” I speculated, to which she nodded.
“Perhaps, when we devolved into the Night Terror, the only priorities on our rage addled agenda were spreading darkness and fear all across the lands with the intention of solidifying our power. Not even giving a second thought about how disastrous it would have been for all life on this good Earth had we succeeded. We may not have appreciated the method with which our sister used to subdue us, but we have come to see since then that it was for the best”
I could see that this topic was getting to her despite her best efforts to hide it, so I did something that I rarely ever did, I got up from my dream recliner and embraced her in what I hoped was a comforting hug. She tensed up as though she were surprised before becoming slack and returning the gesture. I used that moment to remind her that I still backed her a hundred percent, come hell or high water.
“Princess of the Night, we are all flawed individuals that make mistakes and sometimes lose sight of what’s right. But what’s important is that we rebound and keep going strong, if not for our own sake then for the sake of those around us. If ever you encounter those fools who still naively think you to be a monster from the old tales and slander your good name as a result, then fie on them! You’ve come a long ways since first returning from your exile, and I’m sure it’s been a bumpy trip, but I’ve no reservations about your resolve to make up for lost time and reestablish yourself as a premier sovereign of Arcania right alongside your loving sister. Someone who counted the days until she could see you again and hold you close after such a considerable absence. She, who even meticulously planned things in advance so that you could be redeemed and the elements be realized by their new bearers” I wasn’t making any of this up since Celestia told me herself during one morning over tea, it was only time I’ve ever seen the normally imperturbable monarch shed tears. I mean… I was just sitting there somewhat awkwardly contemplating what I was supposed to say in response to such heartfelt emotion, but it turned out that silence was the only thing needed to convey that I understood her completely.
We eventually pulled away from each other; Luna’s eyes were misty but held deep gratitude for my solicitude.
“We thank you for your kindness. We’ve had so much time to readjust to the world since our banishment, but every once and a while we lose hold of ourselves and regress into an emotional wreck most unbefitting of our royal station”
“Anytime Luna, so your old castle is haunted by the ghosts of your past? Is there anything I can do to put them to rest so this kind of thing never happens again?” I inquired, to which she affirmed after a moment’s pondering.
“We know of a spell that can capture and contain dark essences with the intention of vanquishing them, but it requires direct line of sight on the specter for it to be successfully cast. We will instruct you in its usage now”
She touched a finger to my forehead and her moonstone bindi lit up as a surge of information was uploaded directly into my mind. The instructions were relatively simple, although this spell required the addition of one’s voice as well. This marked it as reliant on incantation, a school of magic that was rather obscure in Arcania but more prevalent in far away lands like the savannahs of Zstarasia if the books in Twilight’s tower were to be believed. Based on my limited knowledge of the subject, the words themselves were seemingly Latin like in their form and pronunciation. As swift as the flow of data came, it stopped, with the silvery light of the night bringer’s focal gem dimming as I blinked a couple of times to refocus my foggy vision.
“We would ask a favor of you Zenith” The Princess stated, staring me dead in the eyes with a business like demeanor.
“Name it your highness, and I will certainly take it into account”
“The Neverfree castle has abandoned for over a millennium now. But during the haste of its evacuation and the people’s relocation to the city of Concordia, many priceless relics and tomes were left behind; of which was one such book that holds tremendous sentimental value to both our self and our sister”
“You wish for me to retrieve it for you?” I guessed as I rubbed my temples, still reeling from having the knowledge of casting the vanquish spell copy pasted into my head.
“Indeed, do this for us Zenith and we will be indebted to you”
“I’d do it anyway, it’s been a while since I’ve delved into anything with some history behind it” I remarked with a shrug before remembering a certain question that I’ve been wanting to ask her ever since we started having these dream talks together.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you, are you able to manifest yourself in multiple dreams or just one at a time?” She seemed confused by my request but answered after a moments pause.
“It is possible for us to project our self in more than one dream at a time. But we find it a most taxing endeavor; it is far more efficient for us to quell nightmares one at a time. And since most of our subjects tend to have pleasant dreams, it wouldn’t be necessary anyway. Why dost thou ask?”
“Idle curiosity” I responded inattentively, noticing how large sections of the conception canvas were cracking and fracturing apart, with beams of white light peering between the gaps.
“It appears as though our discussion is at an end. Be well Zenith, we will speak again soon” Luna slowly faded away into the darkness as I came to.
⁂
A door opened with a small squeaking of its hinges as streams light invaded my eyes like a swarm of angry hornets stinging at my corneas. I heard the soft patter of footsteps against the wooden stairs as someone descended to where my dozing form lay upon the guest bed. Judging from how they sounded slightly heftier than the only other occupant in the Treebrary, I gathered that it was Celestia’s favored student come to wake me. Despite the hours of sleep that I caught I was still feeling a bit drained, I had a faint suspicion that the conception canvas kept my mind active when it should have been getting some shuteye itself. I felt a gentle prodding in my side as Twilight’s voice crooned to me.
“Time to wake up Prince Zenith, you’ve got a big day today you know?”
I groaned and rolled over in response, “Drop the Prince title… and I can’t brain today, I have the dumb. Come back in a good four hours or something” Prompting a slight giggle out of the librarian.
“Alright then, I’ll just go tell Spike to disregard making breakfast for the three of us in that case” To complete the bluff she strolled back up the stairs in an agonizingly slow pace to let her devious threat sink in.
‘Damn, how did she know that food was one of my many one weaknesses!?’
I muttered something unintelligible in frustration before finally rousing myself out of the bed. Based on the weird sensation pulsing on the side of my head, I could have only assumed that I slept on it funny and mussed up my hair too. I all but stomped my way up to the smug appearing average sized girl wearing a preppy looking outfit before growling out a question.
“Would you kindly point me in the direction of a washroom please?”
“Feel like cleaning yourself up before facing the world?” She asked in a thoroughly amused tone.
I wasn’t having any of it, “Sometime this morning, miss Sparkle” I pressed somewhat impatiently.
She craned her head sideways and gave me a vaguely annoyed glance for my crotchety attitude, “Just Twilight will do, please. You’re not much of morning person are you?”
“I’ll have you know that I’m equally agreeable regardless of the time I get up, it’s one of the benefits to being a night lark after all. It’s just that an unkempt Zenith is an irritable Zenith, so just tell me where I can complete my morning routine and I’ll be on my merry way” I punctuated the statement with a roll of my hands, Twilight was admirably undeterred by my abrasive manner and did as I asked.
The bathroom for the Golden oaks library wasn’t on the first floor, as I had initially believed. Instead I had to trudge upstairs past the excruciatingly delicious aromas that were drifting from the kitchen area, where Spike was most likely whipping up breakfast. I entered the restroom nook and proceeded with grooming myself to at least look presentable before seeing what the mouthwash flavor of the day was. After gargling the strangely refreshing taste of rocky road, I exited the cramped washroom and followed my nose to the breakfast table. The sizzling crackle and heavenly odor of what could have only been bacon greeted my olfactory senses like a long lost friend. I had long since gotten over the shock of meat actually existing in this strange variant of Equestria, especially when my stomach was angrily demanding that I fill it with something nutritious.
I strode into the library’s kitchen to see the rather intriguing sight of Spike lording over a series of frying pans while wearing a ‘kiss the cook’ apron. In his hand, a spatula served as his scepter, while his crown was some kind of miniaturized toque that was colored green for some reason. He was cheerfully humming some tune that I couldn’t place as he switched between the task of scrambling some eggs while making sure that the bacon didn’t burn too much on one side. The cast iron stove was a little eighteenth century for my tastes, but I suppose not all kitchens were going to be modernized in a society with a schizophrenic relationship with technology. I didn’t see Twilight anywhere in the room so I assumed that she was occupied with something else.
I traipsed up next to the half human hybrid and silently watched his techniques, curious to see how the only other guy I’ve seen in this land performing what was seemingly viewed as a feminine social role made breakfast for the household. He was either unaware of my presence or completely oblivious because I stood there a good three minutes before he took note of me with a loud yelp.
“By the Princesses! How long have you been standing there?” He exclaimed, nearly knocking over one of the pans as he swiveled to face me.
“Long enough to know that your cooking technique is good, that bacon looks fried to near perfection” I complimented his work, not that fry cooking was all that complicated, underwater basket weaving on the other hand...
He scratched the back of his head in a bashful manner, “Uh… thanks! It’s a skill I’ve picked up over the years, what with Twilight spending more time with her nose in books than picking up practical skills like cooking for herself. But that’s why she has me as her number one assistant!” He proudly gestured with a thumb towards himself.
“She’s very fortunate to have you, I’m sure” I said as I gave the delicious looking food a once over, I felt my stomach rumble a bit as I appraised the vittles like a hungry shark about to bite into a school of fish.
“Wow, you’re kinda tall up close you know?” Spike randomly remarked, glancing up at me.
“Am I? Last time I checked I was only above average height, nothing remarkable” I replied with some bemusement, I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary about myself lately.
“No way dude! You’re almost Big Macintosh’s height and he’s one of the biggest guys I know!” He declared fervently.
‘Oh boy, don’t tell me I’m literally growing into my role as a Trifect’ This wasn’t something that bothered me that much, but I didn’t want to become some lanky looking person that stuck out in a crowd, it made hiding in plain sight a tad difficult. I mentally shrugged to myself, come what may; I’ll be fine. I’m practically the spirit of apathy sometimes.
“I’ll take your word for it” I spoke with casual indifference, Mister Tummy doesn’t share my acedia however, “So is brecky almost finished? Cause I’m feeling a mite peckish at the moment”
“Yup! Just give me a moment and I’ll have the whole table set up!”
“I’ll help, what to you need me to do?” I politely offered.
“You don’t have to do anything, Twilight said that you’re our guest!” The tweenage (man-drake?) resisted with a shake of his head.
“Exactly, what kind of houseguest would I be if I didn’t offer my services around the place?” I countered pointedly, this was one of those things that was hammered into my upbringing and I’d be damned before I let myself forget that.
“Well, if you insist. Just grab some of the plates in the cupboards and set them on the table” I did as he said and retrieved the required platters before placing them on the medium sized wooden table. Spike came around with the pans and allotted to each plate the amount of food appropriate to their respective owners, I was especially pleased with the large serving he put on mine. It was at that time that Twilight came in with yet another stack of papers and a glint in her eye that said that I was in for a round of twenty (thousand) questions as soon as we were done eating.
‘If Twilight even has the courtesy to let me stuff my face in peace’ I cynically griped to myself, I’m a fair bit grouchier if I don’t have food in my stomach.
“Good morning everybody!” She happily chirped right before giving Spike a loving peck on the forehead, “Thanks for making breakfast again Spike”
He seemed flustered at having his caretaker show that kind of compassion in front of guests, but playfully took it in stride, “Don’t I make it every morning by default? Especially since that one time where you tried surprising me with breakfast in bed but somehow managed to burn even the orange juice!”
“Spike!” The librarian exclaimed, her cheeks lighting up with a reddish tinge, “We agreed to let that event stay in the past where it belonged! Besides, I’ve gotten a little better with the lessons that Applejack and Pinkie gave me. They even told me that I was passably okay”
“They were humoring you Twilight, even Pinkie thought you were a lost cause. The way she grieved over those charred cupcakes, you’d think it was her first born or something” He snickered at her expense, much to her mounting frustration. While I was mildly amused, I decided not to make her ribbing any worse by sharing in the mirth.
“Moving on, would you mind terribly if I picked your brains afterwards Pri-…Zenith?” The young woman inquired of me, almost dropping the despicable P word.
“And just what did my brain do to you to deserve such an unsavory treatment?” I responded, eliciting a chuckle out of Spike and an eye roll from Twilight.
“You remember when I said that I was curious about you and your status as the first male Trifect ever right?”
“Yeah, but I don’t see what the big deal is. I mean, I put my trousers on one leg at a time just like everyone else…although I suppose having magic means I could somehow just automatically apply them to myself now” I spoke mostly to myself at the end as I stroked my chin in idle thought.
“You may not think much of it, but this is a huge deal. Never before in Arcanian history has anyone else besides the Princesses held the raw power that they do. The Royal sisters have been around since the founding of the nation and were present when Discord caused havoc across the land and they subdued him with the elements. The only other Trifect to join their ranks was Princess Cadence and that was centuries ago! Then just out of the blue, I’m informed that we’d receive a guest who just so happens to be another Trifect and a true Prince no less? Yes, that’s a big deal!” She passionately spouted, almost rising up from her seat as she did so.
“Woah Twilight! No need to bring your scholarly angst to the breakfast table, this is time to relax and share a pleasant meal with our guest remember?” Spike interceded, wanting to keep the peace... and enjoy the fruits of his labor.
She sighed, “You’re right Spike, sorry about that. I know I can get a little uppity about these things, lets just take things one at a time and savor the most important meal of the day” She grabbed her utensils and started to dig into the eggs, signaling the rest of us to start eating.
I don’t why but something about the last part of that sentence triggered a random vision in my head where I was the one in the chef’s outfit doing a little jig and singing ‘♫ The most important meal of the day. Servin’ it up, Zenith’s way! ♫’ I rubbed my forehead extensively; I needed some food right now before my thoughts got any weirder. I closed my eyes and said a quick prayer of grace before grabbing my fork and sampling the eggs, they were good but required something that I’d probably never find here.
‘What I wouldn’t give for a bottle of Cholula right now’
The eggs were all right, but the bacon was practically perfection. It was the right amount of crunchy and chewy for my liking, but I wasn’t the one vocalizing my delight. Across the table, Twilight was making the most ribald sounding noises as she shoveled down the bacon. It was an incredibly awkward situation but since Spike had no reaction to it whatsoever, I had to assume that it was a common occurrence. I did my best to ignore it and focused on finishing my breakfast. Given how hungry I was, I pretty much inhaled my food and placed my dishes in the sink before anyone else. I also took the liberty of cleaning off my dishes using the sponge and some dish soap. I then excused myself for the main chamber of the treebrary where I left my things.
I grabbed my backpack and pulled out my laptop before sitting down on the same beanbag that I used yesterday. I may have forgotten to mention it, but for some inexplicable reason my laptop could still get a wi-fi signal. I tried tracing the source back, but the only thing I could find was that it was an unknown connection. When that failed, I tried using social media sites to see if I could reach out to anyone back home, only for nothing to be posted or for it to be frozen. I could still access the majority of the Internet, but nothing that could allow me to communicate with people back in Cali. It was very aggravating, like being bruised and bleeding yet within reach of a first aid kit, only to find the pouch empty of any analgesics and full of stinging rubbing alcohol instead.
It occurred to me that having this device out probably wasn’t the wisest idea, Twilight could walk in at any time and I really didn’t want to explain to her what the internet was and why she had to stay away from it; and not just because I’d probably never see it (or her) ever again. That horrific thought of her discovering a site like 4Chan or worse, kept clawing at me like an angry honey badger. Not to mention that I would also have to explain to her how my idea for my illusion spell came from the very same object since my wallpaper was currently Slenderized, although I had been wanting to explain to her that my illusion’s cloaking abilities weren’t actually invisibility since I could still make out my physical self (light has to enter your eyes for you to see after all; which isn’t possible if it passes through you. This meant that my spell probably acted as some kind of powerful perception filter instead). This to me was proof that science still held some things over magic in this land.
I quickly slapped the lid down and shuffled it away right as Twilight came in the room with her papers. She took the same seat as she did yesterday while I internally prepared myself for a morning spent being interro-… questioned by the prodigal student.
“Before we get down to the grilling session, what’s my agenda for the day?” I asked before she could say anything else.
“Don’t you mean the next week? You’re going to be assisting Applejack with the fall harvest season”
“Harrumph!” I crossed my arms together, “Pawning me off to Applejack as free labor huh? Shame on you Twilight”
“That’s n-not what I meant! I-” She embarrassedly stammered, her breath rate increasing.
Dreading inducing anything even remotely resembling Lesson Zero Twilight, I held up both hands to stop her before she could panic any further, “Relax Twilight, I know what it is you’re trying to do. I’m to learn about the values that Applejack holds dear right?”
“You do know? Then why did you accuse me of taking advantage of you?” She looked mildly besmirched, or offended. Truthfully they were the same exact look in my opinion.
I tilted my head at the question, “Accuse is a strong word. But if there’s anything you should know about me, it’s that I’m not always as serious as I look”
“I apologize if I overreacted. It’s just that it’s difficult for me to tell, you know? You’ve always had the same austere expression the whole time I’ve known you, why is that?”
I leaned back into my beanbag seat and gave her an even stare, “What can I say? Buster Keaton was my role model, that and its kind of difficult not to with the worldview I possess”
“Worldview?” She said confusedly, ignoring the unfamiliar name in pursuit of the greater curiosity.
I fixed my sight on the ceiling as I launched into an explanation for why I was the way I was, “I’m a jaded person Twilight Sparkle, I’ve experienced enough intensely jarring things in my near two decades of life that I’ve become rather desensitized to what feels like everything. It’s like seeing the world with a kind of haze descending upon your vision, you can’t help but feel a little bit numb knowing that life has lost that mysterious spark that made your sense of wonder flourish” I likely had no right to still feel that way after the things I’ve recently seen and been through, but my ennui is almost as stubborn as I am.
Twilight was at a loss for words, staring blankly at me with her eyes wide and her mouth hanging slightly open. Even though it was probably an insensitive thing to do, I couldn’t help but crack a quip at her incredible impression of a fish
“You’ll catch flies if you keep that expression up Twilight”
She snapped out of her daze like state, “Stars above! How can you hold such a bleak outlook on life!? Especially after being exposed to the elements of Harmony no less?”
I scoffed and leaned forward to make my next point clear, “The elements showed me many things, but they cannot force me to change who I am. That would simply be antithetical to what they are, they’re instruments of a higher power, not brainwashing equipment. They aim to encourage you to improve yourself and foster strong relations with others, as well as safely neutralizing threats to the greater good of us all. With you and your precious friends acting as the conduit through which its power flows” I couldn’t help but feel slightly smug at how much more flabbergasted Twilight looked at my insight. I suppose I should thank my lucky stars that I was still allowed to mystify people like this instead of getting stoned by the friendship blaster.
“Be that as it may, it doesn’t answer why you honestly believe everything you said beforehand. If it were true, how would you even motivate yourself to wake up for everyday? I didn’t even feel that kind of hopelessness when Discord forcibly corrupted my friends and made me temporarily lose faith in both them and myself” She looked down at her lap deep in thought, cringing a little as she relived the memory that she brought out.
“A variety of reasons, partially because I want to see if I can prove myself wrong about the lackluster drag of this existence, and partially because I want to see where this strange life of mine is going” A silence befell us as I allowed my words to sink in.
“Do you still wish to know who I am? I was under the impression that you had inquiries about me personally” I gestured to her stack of papers lying forlorn on the table.
“I was going to, but I’ve decided that can wait. You sir, are in dire need of what my friends and I can instill in you” She stamped her right foot, “I refuse to let this kind of distorted perspective go unabated. My friends and I have overcome untold numbers of challenging obstacles and this stone heartedness of yours will be no different. Princess Celestia sent you here for a reason and I’m betting that this is it!”
‘I’m pretty sure she sent me here to indoctrinate me in friendship’ I had to fight the urge not to say that thought out loud, knowing full well how it would be received by the Princess doting academic.
“You can certainly try Twilight, and I look forward to seeing what you and your friends will come up with to pierce this iron curtain that’s drawn over me”
“We can start right now! How do you feel about meeting one of the liveliest founding families in Magiville?”
“Let me guess, Applejack’s family right?” I postulated in a flat tone. She slumped a little at my lack of enthusiasm, but continued on regardless.
“That’s the one, you’ve certainly done your homework about this place and its history haven’t you? Come on!” She jumped to attention and motioned at me to follow her.
“You have no idea” I dryly commented as I rose from my seat to play follow the leader with the purpose driven librarian.
Twilight led me out the door and onto the cobblestone streets of the appositely named Magiville. The streets were alive with the commotion of commoners going about their functions, browsing the market place for freshly produced groceries, flipping the open-closed signs on their place of business’ windows, or even stopping by to chat with their friends and shoot the daily breeze. The first two things to stuck out to me were the severely skewed gender ratio (one guy to every six girls) and how remarkably Caucasian everyone was. The first was a given, but with how colorfully diverse their equine counterparts were, you’d think that same facet would be reflected over here too. But nope, this town was very much a whitewashed community with their wacky hair and iris colors being the only visually distinguishing factors. I was secretly thankful that my phenotype took after my maternal grandfather or my uniquely mixed heritage could have potentially attracted some unwelcome and questioning stares.
Something about this town just screamed tight knit and insular, and not just because I knew how they looked upon outsiders like Zecora (who I was still rather interested in meeting in the flesh). One could tell based on how critical these denizens were of each other. From what I could hear of the faint conversations people were having, they were either having friendly colloquies or gossiping to each other about who did this and whatnot. I gulped to myself, I had a sinking feeling that I was for all intents and purposes cast into a town of sorority cliques that would just as readily make judgments about you than shake your hand and give you the time of day or directions. I set myself on staying away from outdoors and being one with the shadows whenever I was outside as a precaution.
Call me asocial, but just being near these type of people got under my skin and made me shiver in discomfort. The feeling was only exacerbated when I noticed many of them directing their attention towards me and whispering to each other so quietly that even my sensitive hearing could not pick up on more than a few hushed words. From what little I could reliably discern, they were mostly commenting on the strangeness of my vicinity to Twilight and how uncommon it was to see her in the company of… and I quote ‘Such a robust looking fellow’ and how privileged she was to be the Princess’ star student.
‘Are these people shipping me with Twilight already?’ I shuddered involuntarily. Great, this was going to be one of those small towns.
It certainly did not aid matters that Twilight was taking a rather leisurely pace to get to wherever she was leading me. I could already feel some stares on my posterior and hushed giggling coming from all around me. I absolutely despised being the center of attention when it was in such a tasteless manner. I goaded the heedless librarian into increasing her speed by clearing my throat and walking slightly ahead of her. She seemed to notice my unease and gave voice.
“Something bothering you Pr-… Zenith?” She was getting better at suppressing the deferential title at least.
“You ever get the feeling that you’re secretly being monitored, and the people doing it are making an atrocious effort of concealing it?” I realized only a moment later the sheer irony of my question.
“Umm, not really. Why do ask?”
I shook my head, “Never mind Twilight, so where is this Sweet Apple Acres?”
She cast a suspicious glance my way as we made our way through the center of the town, “And just how did you know that’s where Applejack’s family lives?”
“Who in Arcania hasn’t heard of the famous Sweet Apple Acres located in the pristine and picturesque town of Magiville?” I countered. Many of their fruit themed wares were sold even on the streets of the capital city, by close relatives of theirs no less.
“I suppose you’re right, and to answer you, it’s located to the southwest of the town. It’s probably a good fifteen minute walk from the town square itself”
‘At this snail’s pace, more like twenty five minutes’ I hated walking slow, but abandoning Twilight just because I was impatient seemed like a very ungentlemanly thing to do.
“What else can you tell me about Magiville?” I asked, appealing to her educative side in order to pass the time.
I almost regretted doing so, because the moment I did that enigmatic gleam in her eye from yesterday returned full force. She launched into a full-blown verbal discourse concerning the history of the town, from its humble roots as a potential place to settle for a wagon train consisting of mainly Agrarians and some Stellar Magi looking for fertile lands to colonize (or recolonize, if the shrouded history of the forest next to it was any indication). They had wandered in the times before until they finally went to the capital city in order to ask for advice from the Princess who proceeded to point them in that direction. I strongly suspected that Celestia didn’t just suggest them settling there on a whim, she was either highly clairvoyant or just had unnaturally good intuition.
She went on to explain how Applejack’s grandmother, Annabelle Smith made an incredible discovery in the forest one night (although it was some of that teenage rebelliousness railing against being told to stay away from the Neverfree) that turned the yet unnamed settlement into a designation firmly emblazoned onto the local maps. Despite already having a solid idea of what it was she discovered; I pretended to implore Twilight to resume her telling of the events. Turns out that the young and very agog Annabelle discovered an incredibly magical fruit that she dubbed a Zapple, a colorful fruit that had an equally colorful taste that was ‘Not too tart, not too sweet, just right’. This to me immediately brought to mind the image of Goldilocks, made even more intriguing by the fact that Granny Smith had blonde hair when she was young too. I shook my head and smirked, just another tally mark on the ‘strange coincidences’ scoreboard.
It wasn’t as easy as she made it seem though. Because the moment that Annabelle’s fingers wrapped around the hypnotic fruit, ferocious predators taking in the form of wooden wolves emerged from the brush intent on preventing her from leaving the forest with her newly discovered prize in tow. So Annabelle high tailed it out of there, her pursuers hot on her tail and literally nipping at her heels. Just when it seemed like all hope was lost, she burst out of the tree line and entered the family cabin, grabbing pots and pans to clang together and alert the other members of the family that danger was afoot. This had an unexpected reaction though; the harsh noise generated from the clanging metal was severe enough on the timber wolves sensitive hearing that they beat a hasty retreat back into the Neverfree.
The Apple family began to cultivate the strange Zapple fruit and discovered all of the strange quirks and eccentricities involved in its growth and harvesting. The exact details of which were a closely guarded family secret. The turning point of the whole occurrence however, was when Annabelle offered some Zapple jam to an ambitious traveling entrepreneur with deep pockets. Someone who saw the vast potential in Zapple flavored commodities the first moment the tremendous tang tantalized his taste buds. That man’s name was Stinkin’ Rich, who chose to open up a permanent general store not far from the Acres with Zapple jam as its premier product; this action bringing in people from all across the land and eventually leading to the foundation of Magiville as it is now.
The was something admirable in the way Twilight retold the tale, from the way her words flowed to where she created suspenseful pauses, it was as if she heard it from the Apple family matriarch herself and was repeating it to me. It was especially engaging how her star shaped amethyst focal gem lit up as she summoned spectral images to illustrate the story as she saw fit. It occurred to me that she hadn’t noticed my lack of similar gem since my hair had begun to grow out enough to cover my forehead. I internally debated whether I should plan on paying a visit to the local barber or just keep it this way to avoid the possibility of an experiment happy Twilight and a stultified Zenith.
Before my musings could reach a definitive conclusion though, we finally reached the outskirts of our destination. I ceased my motion so I could clearly survey and take in my new surroundings.
‘That is a hell of a lot of apple trees. Farming them all must be an absolutely horrific hassle’ I could see why having an extra set of hands helping out on the farm would in all likelihood be a huge boon to the Apple family.
Row upon row of the fruit bearing trees stretched in all directions for what seemed like kilometers on end. The verdant leaves of the wooden apple factories were drinking in the rays of light from the morning sun and instituting the wondrous ongoing process of photosynthesis. The very air itself was thick with the fragrant smell of fresh apples. I supposed this was the part of my life where I traded the crystal motif for an apple themed one for the next week. I shrugged to myself, it could have been a lot worse, and there was a faint allure to the simplistic life of a farmer that I’ve never gotten the chance to fully see for myself and appreciate.
“It’s a lot to take in isn’t it? When I first came to Magiville during the Summer Sun celebration, I could hardly believe so many apple trees could exist in one orchard. The only thing more shocking than that was how warm of a reception the Apple family themselves extended to me”
She placed a hand on her flat stomach, “Although being guilt tripped into gorging myself with pie was a little excessive. I’m glad my metabolism allowed me to get away with it, wouldn’t want to have gained a few unsightly pounds” She nervously giggled at the end, realizing how shallow that last statement was. All I did was raise an eyebrow in response and said nothing; Spock impersonators eat your heart out!
We soon came across the centerpiece of Sweet Apple Acres, the bright red barn and country styled house just behind it. There was no immediate sign of the family save for an inactive Granny Smith in a rocking chair quietly snoozing on the front porch. Even from a distance, she definitely looked the part of an elderly woman, especially with the light green pettiblouse and her hair tied in a bun. We crept past her as silent as a church mouse and entered through the screen door in search of either Applejack or someone who could point us in her direction. The immediate atmosphere of the place gave one a strong homely impression, dust particles danced in the sunlight streaming in through the open windows, framed photographs of family and friends dotted the walls, cupboards and cabinets. Well-worn furniture was placed wherever it was most convenient in that practical country home style. All in all, I’d sum in up in one simple word: cozy.
The clinking of dishes and the sound of running water alerted us to a close householder in the kitchen. The perpetrator took the form of a large man who was built more like a lumberjack than an apple farmer. He was well into the six-footer range and had thick arms that could have been mistaken for oak branches for all of their rippling girth. He was dressed simplistically in jeans and a red-checkered shirt, but it was a look that fit his easygoing lifestyle and quiet manner. If there was ever a person who embodied what it meant to be the strong and silent type, it was this gentle goliath.
Spike was not exaggerating when he said that I was similar in height to him, although how I failed to notice this was beyond me. I merely thought that most people here were on the short side and just wrote it off. Even though the creaky screen door already announced our presence, Big Macintosh continued to serenely wash the dishes from early morning breakfast as Twilight and I ambled into the kitchen area.
“Good morning Mister Macintosh, might I ask where I could find Applejack? I’d like to talk to her” Twilight inquired.
“She’ll be down shortly, reckon’ she’s gettin dressed at the moment” He answered, not taking his gaze off his duties for a single second.
“Great! We’ll just wait in the living room I guess” He nodded in return and focused on his task while we let him be and sat down on the sofa with the frilly apple embroidered pillows.
“I think you’ll like it here, as I said before, the Apple family are a very welcoming bunch” Twilight cheerfully chirped.
“So I take it I’ll be staying here for the next week? Just lending support for the fall harvest?” She nodded, “How do they go about harvesting all of that fruit anyway? I imagine that hand picking them all would take ages given how many trees there are to cull”
“They do hand pick them, but they do have more than one standard method used for collecting them en mass” She explained as we waited patiently for her blond haired friend.
“So couldn’t I just use my magic to speed up the process? It would save a heckuva lotta time” I reasoned, doing something as repetitive as picking apples all day sounded boring as hell.
“That’s something you’ll have to ask Applejack. An important thing you should know about the Apples is that they’re a very traditionalist family with specific reservations regarding the active use of magic on their crops. I was allowed to use mine to help once, but that was because Applejack was the only functioning member on the farm after she won a bet that resulted in Big Macintosh injuring his back, and only after she realized that she couldn’t do it on her own. Though since that isn’t the case anymore…” The librarian trailed off.
“The chances are slim to none then” I surmised, to which she sheepishly confirmed.
I was about to grumble something about how utterly ludicrous that was when we heard the unmistakable sound of heel spurs schlicking as someone descended the stairs. We turned our attention to the staircase to see a bright eyed and bushy tailed Applejack dressed in long re-patched working jeans and brown cowgirl boots with an apple stamped belt buckle and an orange button up shirt (plus her trademark Stetson, although that’s almost always a constant) reach the bottom of the staircase and take notice of her visitors.
“Howdy Twi” Applejack politely greeted her friend before her eyes fell on me, “And uh… you” They flicked back to the lavender librarian, “Can you and I have a private chat Twa’light?” She motioned for Twilight to follow her into the kitchen.
‘Wonderful, she’s leery of me because of last night isn’t she?’ I knew distrust when I saw it, and Applejack was doing a poor job of hiding it.
They sure were taking their time, a good three minutes of harsh sounding whispering later and they came back into the room. Applejack with a begrudging look of acceptance on her face and Twilight with an attempted neutral one but she still looked victorious based on the glimmer in her eye. They sauntered closer to me but Applejack still put some space between her and myself.
“Applejack here graciously offers to receive you and any aid you can lend to her during this week’s fall harvest” Twilight informed me, while Applejack decided that the floor was more interesting than looking at me.
“If that’s so, then why can’t she tell me that herself? She’s not shy is she?” I uncurled a finger in the farmer’s direction from the clenched hand that I was using to prop my head on my knee.
At my prodding, Applejack finally reacted by stomping her foot and causing the spur attached to make chinking sound, “Ah’m not shy! I just don’t trust you is all” She crossed her arms and glared at me in a stern manner.
“Is this because of last night? I’m terribly sorry, but that was something that just spiraled out of my control. How in the world was I supposed to know I would be possessed by one of the dark remnants of the Night Terror’s essence?”
“You were possessed by what!?” Twilight shrieked in surprise, while I face palmed at my foolish disclosure of sensitive information and her excessive overreaction.
“Chill, it’s something that will be handled by someone trained to do it. Not to mention it is something that is also purely between Luna and myself. Royal business you see” That last part wasn’t exactly a fib, but it wasn’t the complete truth either. I couldn’t have been sure what Applejack’s thoughts on that were since her blank face revealed little to nothing.
“I thought that Princess Celestia sent you here to learn more about friendship?”
“She did, I’m just taking a little errand involving the Neverfree castle as a side quest of sorts” I felt somewhat proud at being able to meet my daily quota for gamer lingo.
“Well, I may not like it. But if Princess Luna asked you to do something for her, I suppose I can’t complain” Twilight sighed, while Applejack continued to stare at me with her pretty green eyes as if scanning me for something. I decided to call her out on it.
“Take a picture Applejack, it’ll last a lot longer. Plus I’ll autograph it free of charge! Anything for a fan” I gave her a troll worthy grin, to which she rolled her eyes and stepped out of the house. I watched her as she left, wondering what her deal was.
“Applejack isn’t the type to let bygones be bygones huh?” I rhetorically asked the equally puzzled Twilight.
“She just needs some time to get used to you is all. Although I can’t say you made the greatest first impression by terrorizing Magivillians in such a frightening form” She acerbically reminded me.
“I’ll say, if things went south she probably would have cut me to ribbons with that claymore of hers. Why does she own such a brutal weapon anyway?”
‘Says the guy with a magical Tantō strapped to his backside’ My sarcastic side snipped at me.
“Why do you think?” Twilight glanced at me, “Sweet Apple Acres is only a stones throw away from the Neverfree, a wild and untamed forest teeming with dangerous creatures that sometimes drift from the interior looking for unsuspecting prey. Applejack and Big Macintosh have a young sister and an elderly grandmother that they have to protect you know? What better insurance policy for an Agrarian family than the fine edge of a steel blade?”
“A fair point” I conceded, “Any tips on how to get on her good side? I’m not the greatest at interacting with people, let alone making myself look good in their eyes” She gave me an amused expression at that, clearly not buying it I see.
She put some thought into her answer, “Applejack prizes honesty a good deal, it’s her element after all. So just be yourself and always truthful with her and she’ll warm up to you, she won’t hold a grudge as long as she sees you trying your best to appease her”
I nodded, “Be myself, got it. I don’t think I’ll have too much of an issue with that”
“Hey city boy! Gonna keep me waitin’ much longer?” Applejack’s voice rang from outside, apparently not loud enough to wake Granny Smith though, who continued to peacefully snore while comfortably rested in her rocking chair.
I got up from my seat, “I’d better get to it then, will I see you again anytime this week?” I asked Twilight, who cheeks grew rosy for some reason. Perhaps I said it funny and she mistook it for an amorous undertone.
“Of course! I still have some questions about you and your background remember?” She replied back to me with a smile that could not be trusted as she left for her treebrary.
“Can’t wait” I trenchantly muttered before leaving the house to approach the chary farm girl in front the massive red barn doors.
“Bout’ time ya showed up city boy, was beginnin’ to think you’d changed yer mind about lending us a hand for the fall harvest”
“Believe it or not Applejack, I’m always content with providing aid where it is needed. And please don’t call me city boy, its just plain condescending. I’m not even from the city!”
She raised a critical eyebrow, “Didn’t ya get sent here from Concordia? That’s a city ain’t it?”
“Indeed it is, but I myself am strictly a suburban boy” I explained as I put a hand on my chest to emphasize my meaning.
“Heh, whatever ya say” She swung the large barn door open (My lewd side made a quip about it that was just shameful), “How much do you know bout’ working an apple orchard?” She asked me as she ventured inside to grab some equipment.
“Not much” I responded as I walked inside with her, “Although as far as the technique goes for picking them, it’s better to angle them up and twist than straight up pulling them off of the branches”
“That’s a good first thing to already know, but ya forgot to include the part where you start from the outside and work yer way in” She pulled out some wide wooden buckets with some kind of padding at their bottom and handed some to me.
“Ya drop the apples that you do pick in these here buckets. The paddin’ in em keeps the apples from getting too bruised and is enchanted to keep any pests from gettin’ into em” She explained as she handed more to me to set onto the flatbed wagon.
“Neat”
“Not much fer talkin are ya?” She idly commented, as we continued this imitation of a primitive conveyer belt.
“Not when left to my own devices no, but I suspect that you’re used to that aren’t you?” I said in response, already knowing the answer.
“Ya got me there, unless you poke and prod him into conversation, Big Mac is quieter than a slumbering newborn” Applejack chuckled, before reminding herself that she was giving me the passive aggressive treatment and ceasing her mirth abruptly. I chose to ignore it and focus on the task at hand, stacking the buckets until there were dozens loaded onto the wagon.
I followed Applejack to a set of sandy brown stables that had white fencing surrounding it. I could hear neighs and snorts coming from the inside of the corral. From the tone and pitch, I postulated that there were some large equines housed inside. Applejack jumped the fence and approached the gate leading into the confines of the corral and disappeared into the shady depths. I could just barely hear her coaxing out the creatures within, leading out a pair of massive creatures by the reins and onto the grounds.
“Meet Clyde and Dale, they’re our draft horses” She introduced them while rubbing a hand down each of their muzzles.
“Heh, because they’re Clydesdales. That’s cute” No, I wasn’t actually amused by that.
“Mind openin’ the gate latch for me? These two are mighty eager to stretch their legs but I gotta hook em up to the flatbed” I obliged and watched as she steered the mammoth equines towards the wagon, she then proceeded to saddle them up with the harness and hook each one up to the wagon.
She hopped onto the wooded seating and gave the reins a test flick, with the horses trotting forward a few steps and stopping as if they rehearsed countless times and knew this routine by heart. She gave the space adjacent to herself a loud pat with her hands and invited me aboard; I quickly joined her and relaxed my body as we began moving along a dirt path into the miniature forest that was Sweet Apple Acres. The archaic suspension of the wagon meant that it was quite the bumpy ride, but there was still a quaint charm to being a passenger on such an old fashion vehicle.
“So can I-…” I ventured a question.
“No magic” She refuted before I could even finish speaking.
I gave her a flat stare, “And just who gave you permission to read my mind miss highfalutin element of Honesty?”
She snickered at my indignant response, “Twilight told me, and now ah’m tellin’ you that ya aren’t allowed to touch a single apple with yer magic. That clear?”
“May I ask why not?”
She shook her head, “Cuz that ain’t how we do things round here, ya work the orchard by the sweat of yer brow or not at ‘tall” She directed a smug smile my way, “Are ya really so green that ya haven’t worked an honest day’s labor in yer life?”
I snorted derisively at her insinuation, “I’ll have you know that I’m perfectly aware of what it’s like to work so hard that you come home drenched in your own sweat and feel fires burning in your muscles. I’ve done twelve hour shifts before and it wasn’t duck soup easy stuff where I was sitting on my duff the whole time”
She looked apologetically to the side, “Did ah hit a sensitive spot? Shoot, I ain’t implyin’ that you’re lazy if that’s what ya mean”
“It’s quite alright Applejack, so how’s this going to work out?” I asked of my new boss.
“Ya see that little flag planted there?” Applejack pointed towards one, it had a tiny triangular shape and a number posted on it, “Those we use to separate and categorize each and every acre of our property. We assign ourselves certain acres on specific days, ah’ll start ya off easy with jus’ one”
I did the calculations in my head; an acre was equal to nearly five thousand square yards of land and the trees were spaced apart a good five yards from each other on average. It all added up to a grand sum total of a metric shit ton of trees for me to harvest, by myself.
‘And she expects me to do this without magic!? I’ll be here all day!’
“Right…easy” I nervously chuckled, this was not going to be fun for me.
After a further ten minutes of wading into the vastness of the orchard, Applejack spotted the flag where we were to begin our work and brought Clyde and Dale to heel with a quick pull on the reins. Once we finally rolled to a stop, we exited the wagon and started to offload the buckets and a couple of stepping ladders to reach the apples higher up on the trees; which themselves were unusually short for a land devoid of genetic modification or precise selective breeding. Applejack demonstrated the methods that they used to harvest their apples, either by picking them one by one for the really special breeds that they used to make their famous apple spiced cider, or by using a funny looking flat mallet to pummel the trunk of the tree and make it rain down apples. The second method required the buckets to be perfectly aligned around the trees to catch all of the apples that fell and prevent any from getting dirty (although I was told that they did have a vat for washing them in bulk).
After sufficiently demonstrating that I was capable of grub work, I was given an allocation of buckets, the ladder along with the aforementioned mallet and was sent off into the acre next to Applejack’s. Before that happened however, I was told to work my way down the rows and bring back the buckets to the wagon once they got too full where I could replace them with the spare buckets that we brought along. So for the first three grueling hours I painstakingly plucked apples out of trees that were marked for picking and hammered away at the trees that weren’t. Despite my impressive Trifect stamina and the naturally temperate climate of the fall season, it wasn’t long until rivulets of sweat were beading down my forehead and turning my shirt damp with moisture from the effort. Even though it was probably cheating a bit, I did use my magic to levitate multiple apple baskets back to the cart and take the empty one back with me when I knew that my boss wasn’t watching. She didn’t forbid me from explicitly doing that now did she?
Still, despite all of my grievances against it, there were a few things that I appreciated about working the fields. It was plenty quiet for one; allowing me to be alone with my thoughts, it permitted me to vent frustration in a productive manner by whacking the trees extra hard with the mallet and emptying them in a single swing, and most importantly it entitled me to momentarily forget that I was an outworld stranger with great power thrust upon him along with equivalently substantial responsibilities. At the end of the third hour, I was sanctioned a fifteen minute water break by my boss and was asked to join her as she leaned against some fencing with a jug of refreshing Adam’s ale in hand. I noticed in my peripherals how she vigorously took in my now drenched form and seemed to be admiring it when she thought I wasn’t aware. I didn’t know whether to feel flattered or worried by this, plus I had this strange and foreboding feeling in my gut that it wouldn’t be the last time I would find myself in such a situation either.
“You know sugarcube…” She hesitantly spoke, referring to me with her affectionate epithet for the first time, “I wouldn’t mind if’n ya felt like airin’ out your shirt, Big Mac sometimes does the same and he don’t seemed ashamed by it”
‘First she flat out tells me that she doesn’t trust me, and now a few hours later and she’s possibly flirting with me. What is up with these people? Its like they have a one track mind that’s frequently switching tracks all the time’
“That’s all fine and dandy, but I’m not your brother. That’s a poor excuse for wanting to see me with my shirt off and you know it! Dinner and a movie first sweet stuff” I boldly teased the country girl with a cocksure tone.
Her freckled cheeks went flush with blood and she tried formulating a response, but only these adorable little sputters were eked out. She hastily excused herself back into the area that she was working while I smirked to myself and finished my drink, teasing the badly hidden Applejack further by pouring the leftover water all over myself and whipping my hair back like a regular Fabio. I cackled like a hyena as I returned to my work zone, leaving one thoroughly embarrassed Applejack in my wake.
A couple more hours passed as I did my rounds and the afternoon sun hung in the sky like an overhead lamp. The boring rinse and wash procedure of apple gathering had finally gotten to me and I decided to spice things up by conjuring the sound sphere and having it play something groovy. I boogied back and forth between the trees and did my chore while singing along to the lyrics. This was a rare opportunity for me to cut loose and I took to it wholeheartedly, although it helped that I was the only one in the immediate vicinity.
“♫ It ain't no joke, I'd like to buy the world a toke,
And teach the world to sing in perfect harmony,
And teach the world to snuff the fires and the liars,
Hey, I know it's just a song but it's spice for the recipe
This is a love attack, I know went out but it's back,
It's just like any fad, it retracts before impact,
And just like fashion, it's a passion for the with it and hip,
If you got the goods, they'll come and buy it just to stay in the clique
So don't delay, act now, supplies are running out,
Allow if you're still alive, six to eight years to arrive,
And if you follow, there may be a tomorrow,
But if the offer is shun, you might as well be walkin' on the Sun
Twenty-five years ago, they spoke out and they broke out,
Of recession and oppression and together they toked,
And they folked out with guitars around a bonfire,
Just singin' and clappin', man, what the hell happened there?
Some were spellbound, some were hell bound,
Some they fell down and some got back up,
And fought back against the melt-down,
And their kids were hippie chicks or hypocrites,
Because fashion is smashin' the true meaning of it- ♫”
I was going to revert back to the chorus with a spinning flourish when I heard raucous laughter coming from somewhere above me. My focus was thrown out of whack and my sound sphere actually shut off with a record scratch sound effect. I squinted upwards to see one Rainbow Dash nearly rolling off of the cloud she was using to spy on me with loud guffaws. She was so entertained by my shuffle routine that she was still choking back her amusement even once she realized that her cover was blown. She fluttered down from her perch to likely torment me over what she saw.
“Wow dude, I think Twilight might actually have some serious competition for the title of worse dancer ever”
‘Ouch, my feelings’
I shrugged, “Maybe I’m just pioneering a new form of whistling while I work”
“More like pioneering a new form of violent spazzing. I’ve never seen anything like that, and I deal with Pinkie on a regular basis. That was a pretty rad song though, what was it?” She asked me as I continued working, my peace of mind (and manly pride) now in tatters.
“It’s a little something by a band called Smash Mouth back where I’m from. They had some pretty snazzy tunes that I occasionally listened to” I turned the topic to her, “Is there a specific reason you decided to drop in?”
“Nah, I just got off work after clearing the sky in record time and decided to stop by and say hi to AJ. But then I heard that song and ventured closer just in time to catch the unforgettable spectacle of you attempting to dance and work at the same time. It’s too bad I didn’t have my camera” She chuckled some more, much to my dismay.
‘Just you wait Skittles…just you wait’ I seethed.
“Well I’m glad you could make light of my ghastly dancing skills, thanks. Applejack is in that direction, have a nice day” I pointed a thumb in the opposite direction and levitated some baskets toward another tree that I prepared to wallop.
“Hey, I didn’t mean anything negative by it! You just need some practice is all, I could help with that if you wanted” She offered as a gesture of placation.
“Oh, so now you’re a dance instructor?” I quipped as I drew back with the mallet, slamming it against the bark of the tree with a mighty ‘wham!’ and felling all of the reddish fruits.
“You bet! I’m a girl of many talents, it comes with the awesomeness” She boasted as she hovered close to me.
“So how would you like to ra-”
“No”
It was her turn to give me an indignant look, “You didn’t even let me finish speaking!”
“I’m not racing you anytime soon Dash” I flatly denied her.
“And why not!? You afraid of getting your ass handed to you by a girl?” She jeered.
I sighed in exasperation and held up two fingers, “Look Rainbow, the way I see it. One of two things will happen if I agree: I race you and lose by a mile, in which case you’ll no doubt be insufferable and rub it in my face. Therefore make me resent agreeing in the first place OR I totally smoke you and flip your whole ‘fastest flyer in Arcania’ world upside down, resulting in some kind of cliché spiral of depression and self doubt where for some reason, I have to be the one to pull you out of it by telling you that you don’t have to be the faster flyer to still be the most awesome girl and element of loyalty in all the world” I finished ranting as she stared at me with a shocked expression.
“Where did that come from?” She asked after a long pause.
“Sorry, just got some pent up stress that needs venting. Think I’ll smack this next tree extra hard as a means of release” It was a complete excuse, but she pressed the issue no further.
“Right… well I guess I'll go say hi to Applejack now” She hesitantly spoke, slowly inching away.
“M’hmm” Was my curt response, piling on the apples into a single basket and freeing up the other four. I didn’t even bother turning around to see if she left. It might have been a bit jerkish of me to suddenly give her the cold shoulder… but then I realized that she was a Valkyrian, she could handle it.
⁂
After many more hours of working and a few trips back and forth to deposit the apples we collected later, my boss decided to call it a day and head back for some early supper. I felt a sense of accomplishment at being able to clear the acre assigned to me on my first day. Applejack seemed pleased too, although she gave me this real narrowed eyed stare when I told her that I didn’t use my magic to touch as single one of the apples like she said I couldn’t. I knew she suspected that I used magic to make my job easier, but had no way to really prove it. I really did do exactly as she asked so hurrah for word shrewdness!
After squaring away the last batch of apples in their depository, (which also served as their distillery) we returned to the farmhouse for a well-deserved meal prepared by the very friendly Granny Smith. Although it was kind of that nearly senile kind of friendliness that made you feel guilty enough to yield when she insisted that you call her Granny even though we weren’t blood relatives by any measure. Applebloom (who was also a tween) was out with her friends exhausting their lists for finding their Mana marks and chattered excitedly when she found out that I was staying for the week and helping with the workload. She simmered down when her older brother felt that she was getting out of hand and wordlessly placed a large hand on her shoulder to let her know as much.
Applejack meanwhile spent the entire meal (which wasn’t all apple themed as I had initially feared) inquiring into my sense of value and family instilled morals with cleverly disguised questions. I quickly found out that the Apple family (even the normally silent Macintosh, who nodded his concurrence) had a rather indiscreet way of imposing their brand of ethics and ostracizing others that disagreed even if they didn’t outright realize that they were doing as such. I diplomatically steered the dinner talk towards subjects that didn’t concern yours truly until we finished our meals.
After that it was off to the guest room shower to wash up and prepare to get a good night’s rest in anticipation of the next day of grueling labor. Twilight had the presence of mind to bring over my things (I had a hunch that she had rifled through them and did a poor job of putting things back to the way I left them) so I didn’t have to worry about asking Big Mac if I could borrow some of his clothes, though I doubted that his large build would have suited my decidedly slimmer one anyways. The guest room that they provided for me was nice though, granted it had way too many apple emblems pasted every other square foot, but none the less it was quite snug. I slipped into some fashionable pajamas that were given to me courtesy of the castle royal tailor and dived under the covers of the springy single sized bed. My last thoughts being about how excited I was to be potentially dungeon diving in the future.
Season's greetings to you good folks! 
I apologize for any delays since I've been having a helluva time helping my grandparents move into their brand new home. Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll be working on the next one before long (that is if I'm not too occupied playing the beta of Starbound ). I hope all of you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
P.S Tell me what you think about the new scene breaker! I felt that it had some things going for it: uniqueness, it's symbolic to the story, and a lot easier to copy paste.
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Just letting you know: You need to be careful in putting copyrighted song lyrics in your chapters, dude. It's not allowed anymore.
MOAR
MOAR
Do you know an approximate time span of when the next chapter will be out?
3667401 Dude, you need to chill. He just posted a 13k chapter.
Chill....... CHILL!....................... Yeah I can do that
3667182 Ah, that's a shame that is. Thanks for the heads up!
Getcha sword ta swing, your goin dungeon runnin.
Prepare yourself Terarria esque dungeon raids are coming.
I liked this chapter. It was a nice change of pace. Keep on keepin on, my friends.
The link to I just don't know what went wrong: Priceless
sydesjokes.com/pictures/p/priceless018.jpg
Next chapter plz?
3749178 In the midst of writing it, expect it sometime soonish!
3749657 Awesome. Today soonish or tomorrow soonish. Either way I don't give a damn as long as it comes out. It could take you a year for 10,000 words and I would give a damn.
3749906 I'd say about a day, give or take a few hours. And you're in luck! Because it currently exceeds 15K, I was just struck with inspiration for this one and had to 'write all the words!'
3749921. Um...good sur can I please have some more? );
3757323 Almost done! You can read it by tonight I promise, its another whopper of a chapter.
3757392. Fucking fuck ya! Awesome sauce my friend, awesome sauce.
so i have finally figured out how the whole applebucking works. if you look at the trees there^^^^^ you will notice that the apples have stems. the stems would normally be connected to branches. HOWEVER...... THE STEMS ARE CONNECTED TO NOTHING. so magic... yeah. kicking the tree causes the magic to cut out allowing the apples to drop. MAGIC!!!!! LOOOOOOOOOL!!!!!