Southern Accents
Day 10
Sun shining, trees all around me, dog at my side.... What more could a girl ask for? Maybe a way out of carrying this weight on my back.
“So you’re really on the run from the law?” came Sweetie Belle’s cute, high pitched voice.
“No,” I said. “I’m on the run from a guy who pretended to be the law.”
“So that’s why you’re homeless in the woods?”
“Exactly,” I responded.
She paused and as I glanced back, she was putting her headphones back on.
“Shiiiiit. That’s fucked up.”
No more fucked up than listening to you curse, I thought.
I second that, AJ said.
I know, I know. Given the situation I was in, bringing a filly along, even a filly with a “mature” teenage girl in her head, was a bad idea. I told Jean as much when she said that her niece, May, who was now Sweetie Belle, was trying to get to New York City.
“You heard what I told you, right?” I said to Jean. I was on my hooves, standing on the sofa. “I have a P.I. chasing me! I was-” I glanced at May, who was focused on the arguing adults. “Y’know!”
Jean nodded and smiled warmly at me. “I do know, Rachel. And I still think you’d be best to get my niece to New York. Can you get your hooves off my couch, please?”
I slid back to my rump, hooves going to my head as I racked my brain for a proper protest.
“Look at her!” I said, holding both forelegs out. I looked at May, whose face had cooled a little. “No offense.”
“Hey, no, I get it. I’m like, fuckin’ fun size here. But, I’m also going to New York.”
I stared at her.
“What?” I said, flatly.
“That’s where everything is, bitch. Maybe La- The white pony lady can make me not a fucking filly. I kinda had plans that involved fingers, you know? So, I’m going goddamit. I was just waiting for a good time.”
I looked at Jean, who shrugged. “I talked her into waiting a day or two with me, but teenagers, right? What’re you gonna do?”
I sighed, rubbing at my head again. “But she’s a kid,” I protested. “She isn’t... Are you even old- I mean, mature enough to handle this?”
“I’m totally fucking mature!” May retorted and stomped her little, filly hoof.
I looked at Jean with a “See?” expression. She smirked in return.
“Now, Rachel, let’s not get to name calling. I trust May’s decision,” Jean said. “She may be in Sweetie Belle’s body, but she’s old enough to drive, old enough to see an R-movie, old enough to vote. So, she’s old enough to decide this on her own.
”She’s had a day to think it over and is even using her own money. However, I, personally, would feel a lot better knowing someone as responsible as say, Applejack were along...”
Oops, AJ said.
“And, as you said, you did break my fence,” Jean added. “This’d go a long way to paying that back. Like you said, you’re not sticking around to fix it.”
My face scrunched in guilt and annoyance. What kind of caretaking adult says this is okay?
“Just... Let me sleep on this?” I asked. “For tonight? AJ and I... We need a face-to-face to talk it out.”
Jean nodded with a matronly smile. “You can crash on the couch.”
Her expression shifted and her drawl became all Cherry.
“Ooo, I can make up a new dish I read in Jean’s cookbooks. Hope y’all are hungry!”
“Always am!” May said with a hop. An adorable hop, I’d like to point out.
Dinner was good- Cherry was a solid chef. I’d never thought of adding cherry sauce to so many veggie-friendly dishes, but I didn’t argue with the results. Even Sam, the only meat-eater in the house, slurped up some scraps.
Conversation was fairly lively, though I could see what Jean had meant about May being embarrassed about being a pony fan. She kept stopping halfway into things, then laying back as if it was no big deal. God, I hoped I hadn’t been that obvious as a teenager. I remember it being tough being the only girl who read comics in my school, but at least I owned up to them.
Thankfully, everypony present respected my privacy and need to stay below the radar. Jean and May didn’t take pictures, or post to Twitter, or whatever that I was in their house, which I was very glad about. Didn’t want to risk Matthews’ potential tech guy giving him info on an Applejack sighting.
The sleeping arrangements were just as pleasant as the meal. Just like Max’s place, being a pony turns all couches into very roomy guest beds. Plus, it beat sleeping under the stars again.
As I fell into my dreams, I was already running.
I didn’t have to run far. A simple, low, friendly white fence was all that was between AJ’s little, red home and my big, white house. I vaulted it easy as I sprinted to her place.
She met me on the other side of the fence.
“She can’t go with us,” we said in unison.
We blinked, stepping back from one another in surprise. Not just from talking at the same time, but because of what we saw. AJ’s mane and tail had streaks of brown in it and her eyes were shot through with hazel undertones. And the way she looked at me promised something as drastic on my end. I touched my nose and was relieved to find my face was normal. When I reached around my neck though...
“What happened to my hair?” I asked, bringing around a sandy-blond lock that easily went past my shoulders.
“It uh... Looks... Like my mane.”
I blinked at her. Actually, I blinked at her voice. Her signature drawl had faded. Not much, but enough that she sounded a little less like herself and more like... Me. A shiver went up my back as I considered the ramifications of that.
“No, never mind,” I said, throwing up my hands. “We gotta talk about Sweetie Belle. May. The filly!”
“Yeah. Ain’t no way she’s comin’ with us,” Applejack said, stomping a hoof authoritatively.
“Agreed,” I proclaimed, folding my arms with a nod.
“Too dangerous,” she said with her own nod.
“That’s like sayin’ the ocean’s moist,” I replied.
We smiled. Happy that we both agreed that taking May along with us was the worst of all possible ideas.
“We’re gonna do it anyway, aren’t we?” I said.
“Yeah,” AJ said with a sigh. “Don’t know how much Sweetie’s in there, but... I know that look. It usually comes before crusadin’ and tree sap.”
I plopped onto the ground. Before my butt even hit the ground, AJ’s memories of Sweetie started mixing with mine. Sweetie Belle coming to see Apple Bloom. Sweetie Belle at a Cutie Mark Crusader Sweet Apple Acres sleepover. Sweetie Belle asking to be my little sister when she and Rarity were in a snit.
“It got worse didn’t it?” I whispered, putting my head in my hands.
“Pretty much,” she agreed. After a thoughtful pause, she added, “It’s not all bad though. Keepin’ an eye on Rarity’s sister an’ all. It’ll be nice to get those two back together.”
“And possibly get her killed because of what’s happening to us. Yep, we’re the pinnacles of responsibility...” I grumbled.
“Hey!” she snapped.
My head shot up.
“Yeah, I don’t like it,” AJ said, her brow furrowed a little too much like mine. “But she’s goin’ anyway and I wanna make sure nothin’ happens to her.”
I rolled my eyes. “Can’t her aunt do that for her?”
“You saw her, she’s ready to cut the kid loose like a dog on jerky day.”
“Then she’s a bad adult and shouldn’t be in charge of kids!” I yelled. “Not just drop the responsibility on us!”
AJ shook her head. “She ain’t. She’s asking for a favor. Remember how you wrecked her fence and her garden! Least we can do is keep an eye on her niece!”
Placing my hands on my hips, I squinted at the pony, my jaw clenching.
“Have you forgotten the part where I crawled out of my grave? Are you really so dense that you think taking a kid-”
“Teenager!”
“Whatever! Taking May with us is anything but a bad idea?”
“Don’t matter if it’s a bad idea!” AJ bellowed at me. “Family’s got to stick together!”
“She’s not your family!”
“She’s the only face I got since this started!”
“What the hell does that mean?!”
Her eyes went hot, but before she could say anything else she clamped her mouth and took a deep breath.
Feeling my dream heart pounding in my chest, and my dream jaw clenching to the point I thought my teeth creaked, I did the same.
We looked away from one another, trying to tamp down on our tempers. It was hard. I didn’t have a temper before. I mean, I got angry, but it was always kind of a distant heat. I mostly did chilling looks. When did I need to count to ten?
As I cooled off, I realized I could feel the ache in AJ. She missed her family. She missed them bad. As I poked at the feeling, Apple Bloom flickered across my memory. Then Big McIntosh. Then Granny. She didn’t get to say good-bye. She didn’t know if they were back in Ponyville or were over here or what. She needed a lifeline. She needed something to hold onto. If that something was one of her best friend’s sister, so be it.
I took a breath. Feeling like an idiot. If I hadn’t been so busy trying to stick my head in the dirt, again, I’d have realized that as strong as AJ was, she needed support too.
“Sorry,” I offered. “I shouldn’t have- I mean... May can come.”
AJ nodded, taking a breath. “Thanks for sayin’. Guess we’re both hot under the collar and Sweetie-”
“May,” I interjected.
“Yup, her. She ain’t gonna make it easier.”
“Nope,” I confirmed.
AJ came over and sat next to me. We both leaned against the fence. I looked up at it.
“You?” I asked, clearly indicating the fence.
She shook her head. “Weren’t me. Guess more of that magic gettin’ us closer.”
“Yeah,” I said, holding up a lock of sandy-blond hair. It felt different too. Thicker.
“I’m thinkin’ different too,” AJ admitted. “Numbers ain’t a problem any more. Worked out the distance we needed to travel and boom, just was. I could usually ballpark stuff like that back home. Big Mac was the math whiz. He handled the books for Sweet Apple Acres.” She sighed, looking off. “I think I could actually keep up with him now.”
Holding up her hooves, she inspected them, as if traces of my hands might start magically showing up.
“No offense,” she said. “but I’d like to stay myself.”
“None taken,” I replied. “I feel the same way.”
I looked up to watch the perpetual nice day clouds float by. “Think the magic’ll let us?”
She shrugged. “Can’t say. Just when I think I can remember somethin’ about this setup, it fades. Water past my hooves.” She frowned. “Don’t think I was ever that poetic either.”
I laughed. “Numbers, poetry- doesn’t sound so bad to me.”
“Yeah?”
“It’s how I work,” I said with a smile and a nod. “I know my temper’s shorter though...”
“Sorry. Thought I had that under control, but sometimes. Well, things happen and I need to take a breath, y’know?”
I nodded. “It’s okay. Feels like... It feels like I’m less a Freeze Rae, y’know? It’s scary, yeah, but... I feel engaged. I care more.”
AJ smiled at me. “There ya go. Nothin’ wrong with that, yeah?”
“No,” I said. “Till we get Sweetie hurt.”
Her expression went grim and she looked over at her cottage. She nodded.
“Price you pay,” AJ said. She turned to smile at me. “Worth it though. You know how I feel about Apple Bloom? Big Mac? Granny?”
I nodded.
“Gets me up in the mornin’ and through my day. When I added Dash, Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie, even ‘Shy- hay, that just made it all the easier. Friends and family, Rae- Ain’t no force greater on this or any world.”
“Eeyup,” I agreed.
That earned a snort.
“See you’re pickin’ up quick,” she chortled.
“Eeyup,” I echoed, smiling.
I woke soon after, my head filled with knowledge about the little unicorn. Laying on the couch, with the sun coming in the window, I started to worry whether my brain could keep holding two lives indefinitely.
~
“You know, you reeeeeally don’t fucking sound like Applejack,” May commented.
I looked over my shoulder at her. She still had her headphones on. Coupled with her baby-blue hoodie, she looked more like the DJ from Cadance’s wedding than the Sweetie AJ remembered.
“Because Sweetie Belle drops f-bombs every third word,” I replied, turning to watch where I was going.
I whistled to Sam when she snuffled a spot I could tell had a dead critter. She gave a mournful look, but went to my side obediently.
“Hey, just me bein’ me in this filly fucking body,” May said.
“You swear a lot?”
“Every goddamn day,” May said, like it was a point of pride.
“And your parents haven’t boxed your ears over it?”
“Pssh. My folks could give a damn. Dad’s in Korea and Mom’s a couch lump on disability. They can tell me to fucking quit all they want. I’m still gonna. Least Aunt Jean’s cool about it. Says I can get it out of my system young or whatever the fuck.”
“Uh-huh,” I responded. I knew I could get away with swearing, but only after I’d graduated high school. And mostly that was because I was in the workforce. I certainly didn’t use it like a comma.
“You got a problem with it?” she challenged. Adorably, I might add. It was mind-bending listening to her. Everything cute and high pitched, then she does George Carlin’s Seven Words bit.
I shrugged, making May bob a little.
“Do what you want,” I replied, frank. “Just be quiet when I need you to and we’ll be fine.”
Hope Sweetie ain’t pickin’ up too much of this sassmouth. I don’t know what I’m gonna tell Rarity, AJ thought.
“Yeah, yeah,” May said. “Because we’re hiding from a lazy-ass P.I.”
“Hey!” I said, bumping my back and jostling the kid. I turned to glare at her. “Cuss all you want, but if you wanna throw down with my problems, this shit isn’t for play!”
She held my gaze for a second in defiance, then she withered, then ducked her head. She shrugged, looking away sullenly.
I gave her the eye and resumed my pace.
Fifteen minutes passed before she spoke again.
“Why haven’t you just... Bucked him, or whatever?”
“Hasn’t come up yet,” I said, keeping my gaze straight ahead.
“I would have by now!” she proclaimed and felt her raise up on my back. “I’d’ve been all hiya fucker! And take that! And-whoa- Whoaaaaa!”
A soft little plop came up and I stopped. Turning my head, I found May faceplanted in the ground, her butt in the air. Her hooves spasmed slightly.
“How’d that work out, sport?” I asked, smirking.
She flopped down, freeing her face from the dirt to glare up at me “Fuck. You,” she said.
“Not with a ten meter cattle prod,” I said with a snort.
She spat out some grass and Sam came over to lick the dirt off her face. She giggled and almost fell over again. Sam was smaller than me, but it didn’t take much to tower over a filly Sweetie’s size. I wouldn’t have been surprised if Sam thought May was a puppy she had to take care of.
As May giggled over the doggy affection, I realized I was catching her unguarded. I’d been getting the “tough girl” impression from May from the start, but when she laughed Sweetie’s laugh it all fell away. Dad was in Korea and Mom was on disability, but what kind of homelife did that leave little May?
“Stop iiiit...” May giggled, as Sam kept licking.
“Okay, that’s enough, Sam,” I said.
She looked at me, tongue out, and I tilted my head back. Breaking from May, she came over to stand next to me, tail wagging. I stroked her fur affectionately, cooing how good a dog she was.
“You comin’?” I asked, looking back to May.
“Sure. Heh heh. Sure,” she answered, getting to her hooves and trotting over to me. “Guess I’m walking now?”
I shrugged, clearly in no rush to get her back on my back. “Till you get tired,” I said, starting an easy walk.
She shrugged and did her best to match my longer legged pace. The tough girl slid back into place again with a muttered, “Whatever.”
We lapsed into silence again. Only this felt less strained.
“Thanks,” she said, finally. “For taking me and all.”
“No problem,” I said.
Well, that was one way to get the weight off my back.
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'Hearing' sweetie curse is Anti-D'awwwwwww. D:
Great job, as always :D
About time you got another great chapter out! Though in my oppinion, you could at least censer the cussing.
Sweetie Curse reminded me of the guy who got stuck as Apple Bloom, who's trying to "child-proof" his mind...
Great chapter, I'm enjoying the amount of pace you're getting in this story.
2989530
You mean in Reid's story? Actually I wonder if that story is actually going to continue. I was defending someone who was about to be kicked off the group, but I couldn't anymore when the internet died on me.
Dawwww...
How vulgar and sweet!
Great chapter.
This chapta has sooo mush win, ah cain't descriiibe it.
lol
2989577 All the stories are cleared to continue, and the mane 6 definitely are. part of the trouble is AJ was given a late start, but nanishi is doing a great job of catching her up to the rest of us. Once the pinkie, shy, and gilda group gets our next set of chapters out the plot can start moving forward in earnest. If anyone is curious, the group got deleted and we have a new group "PonyEarthVerse" under my name. There is a link to our IRC in the description, if you have questions about our stories or the plot in general, I try to be on as much as possible, and will answer as much as I can without giving away the rest of the story.
Sweetie Belle cursing is adorable... XD
2990354is issac all good now?
2993443 Isaac's new story simply cannot be reintroduced into the group, as I have explained in great detail in the comments of his story. He also cannot be trusted to be in the admin category of our group. His actions caused this and he has shown himself to not be truly changed.
2993686 like with the original applejack story?
2994004 In a similar way, yes. Any further questions regarding the group or Isaac can be asked in the new group page. Nanashi is probably tired of the slew of comment notifications she is getting.
I am leaning towards calling her tourrettes bell. I also believe your journey will involve a lot more squeaky sounds.
I finally have an excuse to use this:
Well, she is a loud mouth... but who wouldn't in her situation?
2989429 IT NEEDS MORE DESU!