Chapter 27: Unexpected Guests
It had been almost a full month since Luna had appeared and things were going excellently. The shipment of materials that the Princess of the night had promised had arrived a mere two days later. Everything that had been on the list had been included. Ten crates of stone roofing shingles and twenty crates of stone siding tiles had been a wonder for Chris and the construction crews. Two crates of cloth diapers, safety pins, bottles, fabric nipples, and breast pumps were well received by Cessily, Rachel, and the expectant Mothers. A single 'u' shaped toilet had also arrived and Tina and Kolo had begun working out how to modify the design for use by both Humans and Kavim. Three crates of seeds, glass mason jars, salt, and pickling brine, and canning sugar had made David, Eduardo, and Darryl exceedingly happy. Ten crates filled with medical equipment set Bobby, Cessily, and Leo almost to dancing with excitement. One entire crate that was packed with sawdust was revealed to contain the lab equipment Bobby had requested, and an additional three crates were fulled with various chemicals with which to manufacture medicines and medications. One additional crate had been secreted away by the Leadership for a special occasion. That crate contained several musical instruments and even a few balls for recreation.
The community of New Humansville had become an ever increasing center of production and cooperation. Confrontations were few and far between and those that did pop up were dealt with swiftly and without any Human or Pony coming to blows.
The subterranean cistern had been completely emptied and the people who had attacked Flankfurt had been released from their punishment. Jason, having studied chemistry, received reluctant permission to assist Bobby with the lab equipment, though he was monitored very carefully at all times. Ashley and Beacon were no longer any sort of spectacle but had instead become a symbol of unity for everybody living in New Humansville. They went on to work in the fields gathering crops and they were never apart. They helped each other all the time and had begun to be considered the default ones to ask whenever anyone needed help.
Sheranda, Kylie, and Corina had shown themselves to be brilliant designers. Kylie's boxer shorts, bras, and panties were extremely comfortable and supported every single part they needed to. Corina's casual clothes were functional and modest without any unnecessary pieces or parts getting in the way. Her rule of thumb was 'pants for all' she believed in simplistic functionality and it showed. The women did have the option for dresses or skirts but most chose pants as their staple clothing. Sheranda though, had shown a brilliance rarely to be found. Her demeanor had changed drastically in the month since the founding of the 'seamstress trio' as they were called, and complaints about her had plummeted.
Her uniform designs were marvelous in their 'simplistic complexity' as she called it, and she had even sewn a New Humansville flag which flew on a tall pole just outside the entrance to Town Hall. The uniforms were all made out of the same type and color fabric to promote the notion of unification. Each one was nothing more than a long sleeved shirt with a few nice additions thrown in. Each uniform was light brown, reflecting the most common fabric color, and had a trio of patches, one sown onto the shoulder of each sleeve and one over the heart.
The patch on the left shoulder was an amazing thing to see. It depicted a Human fist bumping a Kavim hoof with the sun set into a clear blue sky above the fist and hoof, and a crescent moon set into a starry night sky below. The right shoulder flew a small version of the national Equestrian flag. The patch over the heart was the one that specified which work group an individual belonged to. Those patches were called 'designation patches' and each one was six inches across. The patch for those who worked with plants was green with a sickle crossing a sheaf of wheat. Those who worked as lumberjacks had a dark brown patch with a silver axe crossing a twig. Those who worked as fishermen had a sea blue patch with a fish crossing a net. Those who worked on constructing buildings had a patch in safety orange with a hammer crossing a saw. Those who worked in the medical station had a bright red patch with a scalpel crossing a syringe. Those who worked with fabrics had a pink patch with a threaded needle crossing a pair of scissors. The ones who cooked had a yellow patch with a knife crossing a spatula. And the ones who worked on the public utilities had white patch with a wrench crossing a pipe.
The uniform shirts themselves were marvelous as well. The long sleeves could have the cuffs unbuttoned and rolled up then re-buttoned on the shoulder. The front of the shirt had four buttons coming down from the front of the neck line so they could be opened up and buttoned back on one side to let in a breeze without hiding the patch. Each uniform was the same size but a small series of buttons on each side near the waist could easily alter the effective size to whatever the wearer wanted without requiring a replacement.
The uniforms were so well-made and had become so incredibly popular so quickly that the Ponies wanted them as well and as a result every single adult, no matter which species, that wasn't a Guard wore one of the uniforms while at work. The effect was beyond what any of the Fellowship Of Leadership had dared to hope for.
And so it was that almost a month after Princess Luna's initial intrusion on one night's muster meeting, that Mike Joyner picked up a communication crystal to send out a message to his people.
"To all personnel who can hear this transmission, come to Town Hall immediately." Mike set down the communication crystal next to him, on a box of bandages, and looked at the young woman in the room in front of him, again.
The young woman looked to be of European descent with hip length fiery red hair and a cute heart shaped face and the most startling eyes any of the Humans had ever seen, brilliant, rich, verdant green. She stood five foot two inches tall, when she was standing and not lumbering around clumsily on her hands and feet. She had a luxuriously attractive body. Silky smooth skin, pert, round breasts in an almost perfect B cup, slightly wide, curvaceous hips. All in all, she was gorgeous, even if she was filthy.
Mike had been out fishing on the East side of the lake, like he was every day, when she had crawled out of the nearby forest. Having spent nearly two months around the same people, everyone knew everyone else and it was blatantly obvious that she wasn't from the group. Mike had slung his trident over his shoulder on its strap and carried her slim frame all the way back to Town Hall.
Cessily was monitoring the pregnant women, who had all been included in the sewing of clothes. On their breaks, she was busy conducting lammas classes. Leo was out with Willard, helping him walk around and maintain the strength in his legs while he healed up. The medical Ponies were milling around the triage area, straightening up the various messes that the young woman's arrival had caused. Bobby had taken the red head into on of the empty rooms to give her a physical.
Bobby walked out of the room wiping off his hands and Mike walked up to him, curious about the woman's condition,
"Aside from the fact that she can't speak, she's apparently been on her own for who knows how long, and the fact that she's not emaciated or dehydrated yet she's carrying no tools or clothing of any sort, she's the very picture of health. She seems friendly, happy, and completely uncaring about the fact that she's beautiful and naked in front of so many people. She's also apparently the 'huggy' type as you found out first hand." he said gesturing to Mike, "She's gone and hugged every single new person she's met."
Bobby stood up from his crouch in front of her and scratched his head in puzzlement,
"There's also a few things that don't add up, I mean other than her remarkably good health. Her finger nails aren't broken, hell there isn't even any dirt under her nails. Her nail growth also seems to indicate she is in unusually good health. I can't explain why that is, but as far as I can tell the rest of her seems perfectly normal. Too normal. She's got no signs of tooth decay, hell her teeth are perfectly straight, though her canines are about half again as long as normal, but that can be chalked up to a physical genetic mutation. She has no cuts or scratches anywhere on her body, and her hair seems to be perfectly clean. It's not greasy, or matted, or tangled. The rest of her is filthy as hell but her hair is perfectly clean. On one final note, and this one puzzles the hell out of me, she's showing no signs of ANY sort of bacterial infection anywhere on her body. Not that I was paying special attention, mind you, but her groin region and hips are also perfectly, I mean PERFECTLY clean. There's no residual urine or fecal matter anywhere around her orifices, like what we had when we first arrived here before we could bathe properly." he put his right hand up to his mouth and sighed, "She's an enigma, Mike. It's like she walked out of a completely sterile environment, intentionally covered herself in mud, then just walked right up to us with not even twenty feet in between."
The young woman in question came walking out of the room, leaning against the wall for support. She looked up and smiled warmly at Mike.
The sound of heavy foot falls on the stairs signaled the arrival of some of the other members of the Fellowship. The first one to emerge from the stairs was Darryl. The doorway of the room in which Bobby had conducted the physical was in a straight line of sight of the stairs.
Darryl looked like he had been sprinting, he still had his sickle in his hand,
"What's going on!?" he asked urgently.
Bobby gestured to the red headed young woman and Darryl lowered his gaze politely and rubbed his free hand over his eyes,
"You know," he sighed, "Showing a pent up Marine a smoking hot naked woman, especially a red head, is a great way to end up in a truly awkward situation."
The young woman smiled brightly at the new face and staggered toward Darryl. As soon as she was within ten feet of him, the Marine suddenly went completely stiff then quickly took a step back and shook his head violently while his hands shot up to his pained cranium.
"Keep her away from me!" he shouted through gritted teeth.
"Woah, woah, woah!" Bobby yelled.
"What's wrong?" Mike asked.
Eduardo, David, Alex, Kolo, Tina, Chris, Rachel, and Morris followed Darryl up the stairs moments later. Rachel and Tina watched with wide eyes at the scene before them. Darryl didn't make any violent movements but he watched the red haired woman like a hawk, his eyes trained on her like an assassin sizing up his mark.
Bobby sprang forward and grabbed the woman by her arms and pulled her away from Darryl. The expression on her face was pouty and hurt. She turned and buried her head against Bobby's chest.
"You've gone and upset her!" the older medic said stroking the back of her head, "And what the hell was that?"
Darryl shook his head again and held up his hands in front of himself,
"I'm sorry everyone but when she got close my head felt like it was going to explode."
R.J. and Spearman came bolting up the stairs, followed by Andrew and Kaneesha,
"Woah!" Kaneesha yelled in alarm almost falling over, "She's all blurry." she peered at the young woman through squinted eyes, "Uh, Andrew, there's somethin' wrong with that woman. I can see . . . it's like a double image . . . two bodies . . . "
Mike narrowed his eyes, 'One person reacting that way was strange, but two people saying the same thing can't be a coincidence.' he looked at the young woman once more then turned to Kaneesha,
"Well, what do you see?"
"I can't make anything out. It's like I'm seeing in double vision . . . I can see her . . . but . . . it's not her." Kaneesha blinked rapidly and turned her head away, "There ain't no problem when I look away though."
"Yeah," Darryl said, "It's like a mirage that's vibrating. No offense guys but I think I need a break or something, I'm seeing things." he held up a hand toward the young woman, "Hey Bobby, tell her I'm sorry, would you."
"Hold on a second," Mike said, "What do you see?"
Darryl rubbed his temples with both hands,
"At first I just saw a really hot red headed woman, but once she was within about ten feet, I saw the same thing Kaneesha saw." he rubbed his head more vigorously with his hands, "And I get a dizzying headache just looking at her."
"You aiit man?" R.J. asked.
Darryl nodded,
"Yeah, I just need to take a load off."
Mike Joyner furrowed his eyebrows,
"You've been awfully quiet Chris. Something on your mind?"
Chris shook his head,
"Nope, I just didn't sleep well last night."
"Well there's something strange going on here. Morris, would you be willing to write a note and hand it off to one of the Guard Pegasi?"
Morris nodded,
"What do you want it to say?"
"We need a Pony who can speak American. Ask for Celestia or Luna. I was content when it was just Darryl and some type of odd blood poisoning, but if it's spreading and that's what Kaneesha has, we need to identify it and take care of it as soon as possible." Mike said.
"Isn't that a little drastic?" Bobby ventured, "I mean, we all know Luna is going to be back tonight at muster, we can take care of it then and until that point we can have a couple of the Pony doctors take a look at her."
"Vote." Mike said loudly, "By show of hands, all in favor of sending for one of the Princesses."
Four hands rose, so he continued,
"All opposed."
All the other hands raised,
"Majority rules in favor of waiting until tonight to address the subject." Mike looked around and nodded, "Alright back to work."
"Hey Alex," Bobby said, "She's probably hungry. Would it be too much to ask if there's anything left over from breakfast?"
* * *
Kaneesha watched the young woman from a distance, her keen eyes picking out every detail. She was situated on the roof, in a crouch, watching everything, especially the young woman whose very appearance made her dizzy, even if she was up in a place where she could fall to her death, 'Now Bobby done gone an' named her. Becky? Really?' she shook her head, 'Alex done gave her a primo spread an' she ain't even eatin' nothin'. Why can't yall ignorant-ass fools see it!?' something caught her eye as a pair of Ponies walked by, apparently deep in a conversation, 'She's lookin' at the Ponies all weird like. She can either understand 'em or she's afraid of 'em.' her attention was piqued when one of the armored Guards walked by, 'She done shrank back. She's definitely afraid o' the Guards.' she looked back down at 'Becky', 'What's yo story lady?'
The sound of foot steps behind her caught her attention and she turned her head just as her best friend, Andrew Masonete stepped onto the roof more than a hundred feet away. Kaneesha turned her attention back to the scene below, ignoring his presence.
"Mind a bit of company?" Andrew asked politely.
"It's a free spot." Kaneesha said evenly, "You still don't believe me do you?"
Andrew had to marvel at Kaneesha. Her speech had improved greatly since their arrival in Equestria, but whenever she became upset, her original accent emerged. He sat down on the edge of the roof and followed her gaze down to 'Becky'.
"I'm sorry about earlier Canny," he said using her nickname, "But what you and Darryl were saying was . . . I'm sorry to say, worrying. I mean, sure she's weird and all but she hasn't hurt anybody and she seems to really be lost."
Kaneesha harrumphed sourly,
"You're just saying that because she's got a pretty face and a nice body."
Andrew couldn't help but to chuckle,
"More like a knockout body," he turned serious again, "But you should know, more than ANYBODY, that I wouldn't be attracted to her." he slowly inched his right arm around Kaneesha's shoulders, "You know that."
Despite her foul mood, Kaneesha scooted closer and snuggled into his embrace,
"I know, it's just that no one believes me OR Darryl. I mean, why would we say the same damn . . . dang thing." she sighed and leaned up against her closest friend, and maybe more.
The two of them had discovered, with the vast amounts of time they spent together, that there was a very distinctive and powerful attraction between them, however out of a mutual respect, neither had pushed the issue of physical intimacy or even kissing. They were both content, for the moment anyway, to just cuddle as often as their time allowed.
"I'm not trying to start an argument or anything, but do you think maybe the reason you don't like her is because we don't have anything to do today? I mean, you and I, we're always busy, off watching everyone, or being amateur cartographers, or scouting out this or that. Maybe we needed this day off more than we know." Andrew ventured.
"NO," Kaneesha said in exasperation, "There's something off, Andrew." she was irritated but she didn't shy away from his embrace, "I can see it every time I look at her. It's almost like she has partially transparent skin and I can see through it like foggy glass. One thing I know for sure, is that there's something wrong with her."
Kaneesha wrapped her arms around Andrew and pulled him close,
"Why?" she whispered, "Why do only Darryl and I see her strangely? It's only ever happened with her. I've never seen anything like that on anyone else before, not Humans and not Ponies, so why now? I mean logically speaking, if I were just hallucinating, I'd be seeing things all over the place, but no. It's just her." she sighed again and nosed into Andrew's chest, "I'm not crazy, Andrew," she whimpered, "I'm not."
Andrew wrapped both his arms around her,
"I never thought you were, Canny. I didn't then and I don't now. I think you might be confused or something, but I know you're not crazy." he said quietly.
After a moment of peaceful silence he spoke again,
"Tell you what," he looked down at her, "Let's both keep an eye on her and compare notes. O.K.?"
Kaneesha twitched a small smile,
"Alright, but not yet." she snuggled closer to her man, "Let's just stay like this for a while."
Andrew leaned over and kissed the top of her head,
"That sounds perfect to me."
* * *
I had yet to spend much time with Fluttershy, or Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy came by the farm regularly to tend to the animals and Pinkie Pie seemed to have an uncanny knack for randomly popping up (and out) of the strangest places, but I had neglected to make time for them. I had spent some time training with Rainbow Dash though. She was an absolute task master. How was I supposed to run fifty laps around all of Ponyville as a warm up? It had taken me three days of building up just to be able to run even a single lap around the town. Dash had nearly thrown a fit on that first day. She was about as patient as a hyperactive chinchilla. I was up to eleven laps by day thirty-six and I thought it was a colossal improvement. Rainbow Dash was far from satisfied though, she still said I needed more muscle. My body hurt everywhere every night, but I had gained nearly thirty pounds.
Thirty pounds in less than a month was an enormous accomplishment no matter where you are. I was still thin, but it was a much more healthy thin. I hadn't gained any fat but thirty pounds of muscle wasn't as much as it sounded like. I certainly wasn't any sort of bodybuilder, but I at least looked more healthy. Twilight had backed off working on the translation guide and her only involvement was with double checking Razor Wit's and my work. We were all but finished with it. We were ironing out the final details of more complex words and their meanings. I did discover a few surprising things about Velensovth though.
For one, their word for 'murder' and 'kill' like killing on the battlefield were the same word. The only difference of meaning was the context in which the word was used. Also their word for 'love' and 'friendship' was likewise contextually based. However they had entire different words for different types of love. The word for 'love' like you love a pet was completely different from the word for 'love' like you would love a good book. They had a different 'love' word in regard to places, things, events, Kavim who were romantic loves, children who you loved, spouses who you loved, parents who you loved, friends who you loved, hell there were even different words for a sister and brother you loved.
My time with Rarity, though heh, rare was always enlightening. She was a proper lady in every possible sense. She knew unusual rules of etiquette that I never would have guessed. For example: if a Unicorn was eating any sort of 'proper' meal with any being that was not a Unicorn, it was considered rude to use magic to levitate your food or even levitate utensils. If you were a Unicorn in any sort of 'proper' scenario you were expected not to use your magic if even a single other being present didn't have an identical capability. You were expected to eat like an Earth Pony if there was an Earth Pony around.
And once she began trying to explain 'proper' courtship, my world turned upside down. All the minutiae of courtship made me dizzy. For example: if a mare and a stallion are in the first stages of courtship, the mare will walk on the stallion's left where as after the bond has been established she will walk on his right. Why . . . BECAUSE! Oi, I ended up just giving up on trying to understand it after that point. When I asked Rarity to stop explaining it to me I ended up really offending her for some reason I could never really understand. She forgave me quickly but neither of us had broached the subject again after that.
In any case she had clothing for me in just four days. When Twilight said she was skilled, I will admit to being skeptical. When she contacted Twilight and told her she had finished the clothes I went along expecting something simple . . . WRONG!
She was truly masterful in her art. The underwear were of a simple drawstring style I could work with. They were basically red briefs that used a draw string instead of elastic. They were sturdy and functional yet comfortable and they let 'me' breathe. The pants were four pair, all in different colors: tan, bark brown, silver not gray, of that Rarity had been very specific (they were gray), and a golden yellowish color. To my surprise, the pants all featured sturdy belt loops and, also to my surprise, she had included the four pockets I had requested. The pants fastened using a series of six buttons right down the front. The bagginess of the pants baffled me until Rarity apologized profusely and explained that she wasn't familiar with how wide a range of motion the Human body was capable. The bottom of each pant leg was as wide as the thighs and featured another drawstring each so they could be tied up as shorts in warmer weather. The material was foreign to me though. Rarity said it would breathe well against the skin, apparently Kavim hated any garment that didn't breathe well, but the material would be tough and tear resistant.
The shirts were slightly more elaborate. There were four of them in teal, aquamarine, turquoise, and drab brown. Rarity explained that the drab brown shirt was for working and the others were for casual wear except for the teal shirt. It was apparently meant to be worn with the yellowish gold pants as fancy attire. Where she really blew my mind was when she brought out a forest green, hooded cloak, an emerald green robe with golden trim, and accessories which included three genuine leather belts imported from Gryphonvale and no less than eight, button closed, rectangular belt pouches made of hard leather and best of all thick, leather boots.
I was amazed until she confessed that she had commissioned the blacksmith to work everything that was made of leather because she found it 'icky', but she did supply the designs for it. To say I was satisfied would have been a drastic understatement. I was ecstatic. After our visit to Rarity we went to the blacksmith and picked up my hatchet/hammer, which was as finely crafted as I'd hoped. It was well balanced and sharpened at exactly the correct angle.
I was wearing the drab shirt, bark brown pants, belt, boots, and my hatchet when I arrived at Sweet Apple Acres that morning. The sun had yet to crest the horizon and the first light was only just barely peeking over the top of the distant mountains. I saw Applejack standing on the front porch of the farm house sipping her usual cup of coffee. I had expected to see Big Mac standing next to her but he was nowhere to be seen. The farm mare was up on her hind legs, leaning her left fore hoof on the railing around the porch while her right fore limb held the mug of coffee in the tiny hairs of her 'hoof'' as she gazed out at the rising sun. A second mug sat on the railing just to her left.
I had been overjoyed to learn that Kavim had coffee and Applejack had absolutely no qualms about providing me with a mug every morning. It had become something of a routine to stand on the porch and sip coffee while we watched the sun rise. The absence of her older brother bothered me a little.
I looked left and right as I approached the porch and spotted a lit lap on inside the barn, 'Ah he must be in there.' I continued my walk right up to the porch and gestured to the steaming mug. Applejack nodded silently and just kept staring out at the approaching sunrise. I took the mug then turned around and leaned back against the porch railing and enjoyed the birth of the new day with a good friend. As one, we lifted our mugs and sipped our coffee then let out a sigh of contentment, 'The storm last night was rough but this morning looks to be the start of a beautiful day.'
A clatter of tiny hooves against the floor of the house heralded the approach of the smallest member of the Apple family. Applebloom tried to apply the brakes just in front of the surprisingly sturdy screen door. As always, she failed to stop in time and impacted the bottom of the door, flinging it wide open. I lifted my left leg casually and Applebloom skidded down the porch steps, unobstructed. The first five times it happened, she had knocked me clean over, but after that I caught onto the pattern and made the appropriate adjustments. I liked that particular adjustment, it gave me a sense of control.
Applebloom picked herself up off the ground and adjusted her saddle bags,
"Bye Applejack!" she said with a wave, "Bye uncle Artex . . . " her tiny hoof dropped and she cocked her head in confusion, "Where's Big Mac?"
"He's in the barn." Applejack said evenly, "Be sure you say 'bye' to him too before yall leave."
Something I had picked up on pretty quickly was that Granny Smith was the legal guardian of Applebloom. Applejack and Big Macintosh never talked about their parents and I never asked, but I was certain they had died some time in the past. The Apple family never seemed to get depressed though, they were always happy and friendly, but one thing was obvious, they ALWAYS said their 'goodbyes' whenever one of the left. That led me to believe that their parents had died very suddenly and unexpectedly and the habit of saying 'goodbye' was one of the aftereffects.
Applebloom scampered away to the barn and went inside. There was one, single thing I hated about working at Sweet Apple Acres: the cows. The bovines were very nice and quite talkative but their sense of humor left me blushing nearly every day. Various comments about how soft my touch was, how good it felt to milked, and why I didn't make a living massaging teats had made me extremely uncomfortable. And then they had started moaning and groaning and slapping me with their tails. It got so bad that I actually asked Applejack to milk the cows. Of course my request had been granted but you should have heard the cows whining about it. They demanded to have me resume my milking and promised to ease up on the joking and ribbing. I did resume milking them, albeit with no small measure of reluctance. True to their word, the cows had stopped harassing me but the occasional moan made my cheeks burn. The ONLY woman I had ever touched WAS my wife after all.
Applebloom emerged from the barn waving behind her and scampered off toward Ponyville. After our initial encounter, Applebloom quickly became very inquisitive and downright friendly. The entire Apple family had become like a second family to me but Applebloom and her two friends Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle had taught me quite a bit about Kavim culture. Especially cutie marks. They hadn't discovered their 'special talents' yet and apparently the cutie marks were symbolic of said talent. They were all adorable though and Applebloom had very nearly, literally melted my heart when she started calling me her 'uncle Artex'.
Granny Smith was, likewise a veritable font of information. It had apparently been the Apple family who had founded and settled Ponyville nearly two hundred years prior. Those numbers made my head spin because it meant that Granny Smith was nearly two hundred and ten years old. I asked Twilight about the longevity of Kavim and she said that the average was around one hundred and fifty years but that could vary widely based upon a Kavim's magical power. The more magic a Kavim had, the longer they lived. Her explanation confused me until she explained further. The amount of magic a Kavim has is representative of their cell replication and degradation. Basically, the more magic a Kavim has, the better and more perfectly their cells replicate. I suddenly understood why the Kavim had never even heard of cancer, their bodies and blood were nearly overflowing with magic.
The sun finally peeked over the distant mountains and Applejack and I slugged down the rest of our coffee,
"So," I began, breaking the silence, "What's on the agenda for today?" I was proud, my Velensovth was nearly perfect.
Applejack left her mug on the rail and slid down onto all four hooves,
"Well sir, that there storm last night did a number on one o' the trees. The dang wind blew it right over onto our fence. Ah need you an' Big Mac to head on out to the East field that borders the Everfree an' chop 'er up, then fix the fence." she turned her head toward me and gave me a hesitant expression, "The tree that blew over came from the Everfree Forest."
I had heard tales of the place and apparently it was the same forest I had been staring at when I almost jumped off the chariot when Razor Wit and I were on our way to Ponyville. I had seen it several more times since then but, thankfully had not experienced a repeat of what happened the first time I'd seen it.
I groaned at the thought of using the Kavim's tiny tools to chop up an entire tree. Their saw was fine but their axes and hatchets were nearly too small for my hands and I was suddenly very glad I had gotten into the habit of carrying my hatchet/hammer with me wherever I went. The morning had just gone from 'good' to 'not quite as good'.
I sighed,
"Alright." I said resigned to my fate, "I take it Big Mac is in the barn prepping tools?"
Applejack nodded but a sly smile spread across her features,
"Ayup. Come on."
She headed off, toward the barn and I followed,
"I'm probably going to need the whetstone today. My hatchet is likely to get dull with all the chopping."
"Maybe, maybe not." Applejack said smugly.
She kept walking but spoke as I caught up with her,
"Ya know Artex, you've been here for almost a month an' ya haven't once asked for your pay."
I blinked in surprise at the sudden change in topic, 'Huh, come to think of it, she's right.',
"I guess I just like it out here. You all do so much for me, it just feels . . . right to work here. I don't have anything I have to buy, everything I need has already been provided for me. Honestly, I haven't asked for it because I don't really need the money." I spread my arms, "I'm getting fresh air, good food, a place to stay, good friends, and exercise. What more could I ask for? Really?"
Applejack blushed at the compliment to her beloved farm,
"An' it's that very attitude that made Big Mac an' Ah decide to get you a gift."
I laid a gentle hand on Applejack's back,
"You didn't have to do that for me."
"Well we did, so yall can just 'get over it', as you'd say." she said with mock seriousness.
We entered the barn and I could see Big Mac messing around in the rear of the barn, his backside toward us. He raised his head from a pile of hay and turned around slowly, holding something in his mouth that liked to be three or four feet long. It was covered in burlap so I couldn't make out exactly what it was. He carefully walked over to me and I held out my hands to receive it. He lowered his head and laid it in my palms. It must have weighed four pounds. I unwrapped the burlap and nearly fell over as I gazed at what the Apple family had given me, I nearly cried.
"We saw how much trouble you were havin' with our tools." Applejack began, "The sickle is way too small for your . . . hand and the axes an' such are too small as well, so we went to Hart Hitter an' asked about what he'd suggest for ya, that could be used as an axe, an' a sickle. He said that a curved edge always cuts the best an' it would have to be heavy enough to be used as an axe but light enough to be used as a sickle so he designed . . . that."
The tool I held in my hands was amazing. The handle was a foot long, made of heavy wood with the tang of the blade running all the way through the handle, which was wrapped with leather. The blade itself was awesome. It had the first foot of the blade as a two and a half inch wide, straight blade which was sharpened on both sides. The straight part ended and the nest part was roughly two feet long and shaped like an elongated crescent moon with a triangular tip. The tip was straight out from the handle, as if it had been intentionally made for accurate forward motion. The triangular tip had a one inch lip that swung out over the inside curvature of the blade, like a small hook. In total, the curve of the blade swung roughly a full foot from the invisible line from the handle to the tip and it was two and a half inches wide all the way through.
I nearly choked on my next words,
"You made me a khopesh."
"A what-now?" Applejack asked quirking an eyebrow.
"A khopesh, well it looks similar to a khopesh but with a Kavim flare to it." I hefted it in both hands and smiled, "The khopesh was originally designed by the ancient Canaanites but it was adopted and perfected by the ancient Egyptians and . . . " I looked at Applejack and Big Macintosh who were staring at me like I was speaking in gibberish, "Uh heh, sorry. Human history. What I meant to say is that this basic . . . tool right here was an incredible instrument of . . . chopping and hacking and slashing for its time and is one of the greatest designs for functionality."
"So . . . you like it?" Applejack asked.
I turned to her and lowered the fierce piece of steel,
"I don't like it Applejack, I LOVE it." I set the khopesh down on the ground, turned, and hugged Applejack warmly, "Thank you."
She hugged me back and let go after a moment, I turned to Big Mac,
"You'd probably prefer a hoof bump huh?"
"Eyup." he said.
We bumped fist to hoof and I gave him a hearty pat on the back,
"Alright," I said picking up the khopesh, "Let's get to work. I'm eager to use this baby."
* * *
"That . . . is one BIG tree." I said scratching my head.
The tree had to have been all of ten feet in diameter but only about six stories tall. The arboreal colossus had given up the ghost and collapsed right over, not just onto, but into Sweet Apple Acres. It had stood at the very edge of the Everfree Forest and spanned the entire thirty foot gap between the farm land and the treacherous forest. All of Sweet Apple Acres maintained a constant minimum empty space of thirty feet between itself and the Everfree.
Big Macintosh had pulled a large wagon from the barn out to the felled tree and had enough foresight to pack three buckets of water for us, not to mention a two-handled saw and his own axe. At least I knew what he had been doing in the barn. I set out the buckets of water and the tools while he unhitched himself from the wagon.
I took another look at the massive tree and whistled,
"There's no way we can finish chopping up this monster in one day. I hope Applejack doesn't expect us to."
"Nope." he responded.
"Good," I held the khopesh in both hands, "Let's rock this."
* * *
We chopped and sawed and sweated and hydrated, then we chopped and sawed and sweated and hydrated again. We repeated those steps all through the morning and more than half the afternoon. We didn't know how long we had been at it. We just went to work and developed a type of rhythm. We built up momentum and we maintained it. We had wordlessly decided to start at the end of the tree that was closest to the Everfree and work our way back. I took off my hatchet and set it and the khopesh down on our big wagon so I wouldn't be encumbered by them. I didn't need them since the thick end of the tree had no branches to remove. We worked the saw back and forth to a steady rhythm and the first two foot thick, ten foot wide section of the tree came free. We left it in place and continued on with our routine.
Until Applejack rolled up with a small cart,
"Hey you two!" she hollered, "Take a break an' get somethin' to eat. Yall done missed breakfast an' lunch, so stop an' eat somethin', especially you Artex. You ain't as strong as Big Mac, so get your skinny butt over here an' get a salad."
I couldn't help but to chuckle, 'Salad.' My first 'salad' on the farm, I had been expecting lettuce and hay. WRONG! The Kavim version of a salad was a thing fit for a king. There was a bit of romaine lettuce, but it also had: diced tomatoes, chopped radishes, almonds, cheese, sunflower seeds, walnuts (I hate walnuts), pistachios, bean sprouts, onions, chopped apples, chopped carrots, whole cherries, chopped celery, barley, rice, and the whole thing was smothered in rich, flavorful strawberry yogurt. The Kavim salad was a GODLY meal by itself, even before the turnip, potato, and boiled egg salad with shredded cheese on top, or the hearty loaf of, still steaming, whole grain bread that probably weighed two pounds. Dead lord, those Kavim could eat.
I was content with a big helping of salad and a thick slice of the bread with the Apple family's signature sun-brewed tea to go with it. We all sat down in the sun with our food. Big Mac and Applejack on the ground and me sitting in Big Mac's cart with my hatchet and the fabulous khopesh beside me. My shirt was drenched with sweat so I pulled it off and let my skin breathe. I set the shirt on the rim of the cart so it could dry. I was about to begin eating the salad when Applejack spoke up.
"Ya know," she began, "Yall can lose your pants too if that would help ya cool down. Don't you worry none sugarcube, Ah ain't hankerin' for a gander at your 'apples' or nothin' but it is an option."
"Naw," I shrugged, "I'll keep them if it's all the same. The only ones who ever saw me naked was my doctor and my wi . . . Anyway, this salad is really good isn't it?" I tried to change the course of the conversation, but it was too late.
Applejack's eyes caught and held mine and I knew I was in for it. Applejack had caught me crying once in the orchard and asked me what was wrong. I had told her I was missing my wife but didn't want to talk about it. She accepted it but she said the next time I mentioned it she wanted to know and I had agreed.
I heaved a heavy sigh and rubbed my forehead,
"Look guys, I really miss my wife but talking about it is just going to turn me into a blubbering mess and make me useless for the rest of the day. Do you really want that?" I was making excuses and I knew it but I really didn't want to talk about it.
Applejack looked at me compassionately,
"Yall know Ah don't sugarcube, but you ain't inclined to talk to nopony an' ya need to. It ain't healthy to bottle it all up inside. If'n yall promise to talk to Twilight about it, or better yet your friend Razor, ID let you go on it. You gotta make me that promise though."
"Alright Applejack," I said somberly, "I promise I'll talk to Razor Wit about it when I get the chance." I meant it too.
"Uh Applejack, Artex . . . " Big Mac began.
He immediately had my attention, Big Mac rarely spoke,
"What's up?"
He slowly rose to his hooves, his eyes glued to the treeline,
"Move on back, real slow-like."
Applejack and I followed his eyes and I had to force myself not to jump up. Three pairs of iridescent yellow eyes were staring at us from the darkness of the Everfree Forest. Worse yet, the eyes were high enough off the ground to be chest high on me. I couldn't make out what the eyes were attached to but I didn't want to find out. I slowly slid my hatchet into my belt and reached for my khopesh as I gradually slid off the back of Applejack's cart.
"Artex," the orange farm mare hissed, "Forget the tool, we gotta run!"
I responded evenly,
"I can't run as fast as you or Big Mac. I'd have to defend myself."
I crept off the wagon and slowly inched my way toward Applejack and Big Macintosh. The three pairs of eyes were joined by two more pairs, making five pairs of eyes. I reached the two Apple siblings and together we slowly inched our way back toward the orchard fence and away from the eyes. We were at the fence line when an additional pair of yellow eyes joined the previous five, bringing the total to seven.
We didn't react but I could feel droplets of sweat trickling down my back, chest, and face. The eyes began to move forward and I was greeted with one of the horrors I had heard about from the Everfree. The first things to emerge from the concealing shadows were seven wooden muzzles lined with long, thorn-like teeth. Each tooth looked to be a good three inches long and reminded me strongly of my uncle's stories from Vietnam about 'wait-a-minute' vines, the kind that would snag onto your clothes and go 'wait a minute'. The next parts to emerge were the beast's heads and necks, then their whole bodies. Their bodies looked to be made of thin vines, tightly interweaving into the rough shapes of wolves. I'd heard Granny Smith talk about Timber Wolves but I had never imagined I would have the displeasure of ever seeing one, much less seven of them, all at the same time, slowly stalking directly at me.
"Do they usually come out of the forest?" I asked quietly.
"Not most o' the time." Applejack said softly, "They tend to stay in the forest. There ain't no reason for 'em to be here. We hang helveuin plants on the fence to keep 'em out. It's an anti-magic plant. If they touch it, they fall apart cause they're constructs."
I started to get hopeful when the wolves reached the fence line of Sweet Apple Acres and stopped. The wolves lowered their heads and sniffed at the broken fence very carefully. I had no idea how a magical construct made of vines could 'sniff' anything, but sniff they did. We continued our steady retreat and my hopes rose more and more as the wolves refused to cross the fence.
And then my hopes were dashed to pieces as the wolves began to hop over the fallen fence. I swallowed hard and tried to come up with a solution, any solution.
"Applejack, Big Mac, how agile are Timber Wolves?" I asked.
"In a straight line, they'll run a Pony down, but they don't turn corners very good. Why?" Applejack asked.
I took a deep breath,
"Run back to Ponyville and get Twilight. I think I can keep them occupied until you return."
"WHAT?" Applejack hissed, "Them wolves'll tear yall to shreds!"
"Not if they can't catch me." I said, "I can climb trees and make sharp turns quick as lightning." I looked over my shoulder, "I've been training with Rainbow Dash remember?"
"You're a dang fool Artex!" Applejack hissed.
The wolves began to spread out and speed up their lumbering gate to a trot,
"Aw ponyfeathers!" she said a bit more loudly, "Big brother, head on back to the farm and start bangin' on Granny's pots." I could see her look at me out of the corner of my eye, "I'll run back an' get Twilight."
I nodded,
"Alright, on three." I said.
The wolves were coming. Their thorny maws opening and closing in anticipation.
"One."
Applejack was ready to run. Her legs were flexed and her breathing was light and steady.
"Two."
Big Macintosh shifted the sprig of wheat in his mouth and narrowed his eyes.
"Three."
Applejack turned on a dime, reared up and sped off like a cream orange bullet. Big Macintosh darted off in an almost opposite diagonal angle. I ran straight forward, toward the Timber Wolves. I already knew that any predator would be instinctively (as much instinct as any magical construct can have) drawn to the fleeing Kavim. By that simple logic, the only way to give my two friends a chance to escape was to draw all the attention to myself.
I decided to forego trying to use my hatchet. The khopesh was much heavier and it was already in my hands. My plan was to charge the closest wolf, take it by surprise, take one swing with the khopesh, let the heavy blade go, then it was time to run as fast as I could. I figured the pack would follow me and I could lead them on a merry chase all around the farm. I could turn, practically on a dime and I hoped that Applejack had been right about the Timber Wolves' ability to turn.
The closest wolf was straight ahead of me and a bit to the right, about twenty feet away. I pumped my legs as hard as I could and brought the khopesh up over my head in both hands. Just as I suspected, the wolves were too distracted by the two fleeing Kavim to notice me at first. I was within three feet of the first wolf when I began my swing.
Of course as any military commander knows, 'no plan ever survives first contact with the enemy' and the same was true in my case. The khopesh bit into the wolf's neck like a hot knife through butter, but my aim had been off. I had only cut through the first two inches of the wolf's ten inch thick neck. The blade slid down and threw my balance all to hell.
Thankfully I missed chopping off one of my legs and just ended up spinning around backward. I tried to use my momentum to cut another wolf but the momentum had depleted substantially by that point so the tip of the khopesh sunk onto the cheek of the wolf standing right next to the one I had been aiming for. The blade sunk and stuck. I let go of it and tried to run, trying to get back on track with my initial plan.
Thank you weeks of training with Rainbow Dash, you sadistic Pegasus you. With the absence of the weight of the khopesh, I sped off like a shot through the trees, weaving a figure-eight around each tree. The Timber Wolves had apparently gotten over their shock because I could hear their paws pounding on the dirt behind me and howling to beat the band.
I had a specific spot in mind for a perfect place to switch directions and hopefully throw the wolves off. I could hear their howls closing the gap and I would swear I felt their breath on my still bare back. There was a tree in the orchard that the Apple family had allowed the lower branches to grow out instead of trimming them back. Such a practice made for a tree with very low branches, such as ones I could leap over smoothly but a Kavim would face-plant into the bough. I spotted the tree and oriented myself on a direct intercept course, making a B-line for it.
Thirty feet . . . twenty-five feet . . . twenty feet . . . fifteen feet . . . ten feet . . . five feet . . . I jumped, bringing up my legs and cleared the low-hanging tree limb. I landed, still at a run, and turned off to my left away from the farm house. In my previous life on Earth I would have been out of breath by that point but thanks to one hard-nosed Pegasus mare I was still good to go. I heard a series of yelps and the distinctive crack of timber and chanced a look back. The lead wolf had been close to me and had run head-first into the branch and the other wolves had piled up on it like a car wreck. I knew the Timber Wolves wouldn't take long to reorganize and come after me again.
I sped away and fervently prayed that Big Macintosh or Applejack would return before the wolves made a meal out of me. I continued my serpentine pattern around the trees, running and sweating to beat the band. I drew in ragged breath after ragged breath and puffed out each one in turn. The snap of a twig off to my left brought my attention up and to the sound. I have no idea why I could hear the snapping twig at all with the racket I was making but somehow it registered. I looked to my left just as a wolf sprung at me from not ten feet away. Its jaws were wide open and coming straight at my head. I tripped and stumbled over my own feet, entering an uncontrolled fall. The wolf sailed right over me just as my face hit the dirt. I scrambled upright as the wolf landed and took off again only to be stopped by the sudden onset of agonizing pain in my right calf.
I fell to the ground and pivoted at my waist to look at what had me and I could feel my adrenaline kicking into overdrive. One of the Timber Wolves had taken advantage of my momentary stop, when I tripped, and had hamstrung me. My right calf was clutched in its teeth, the three inch long fangs sunk deeply into my muscle. It raised its head and thrashed its head back and forth, worrying me like a rag doll. I flailed my hands about trying to get a grip to stabilize myself and by luck, the fingers of my right hand closed on the back of the wolf's head.
A flash of agony from my left leg made me avert my eyes. A second wolf had bitten down on my left foot and was pulling on me. The pressure against my right leg abated completely and I reflexively twisted at my waist and brought my right foot up against the muzzle of the second wolf, right against the tip of its snout. The wolf yelped and let go of my left foot. I rolled to my right, only realizing as I did so, I was rolling into the first wolf, 'Damn! What I wouldn't give to be made of wood!'
I rolled and came up into a crouch. I looked around quickly and realized the entire pack was surrounding me. My adrenaline was pumping and I stood all the way up. Had I been able to feel the holes in my legs I'm sure I would have been rolling around on the ground screaming. My 'flight' response having been spent, I fell back onto 'fight'. I was sure to lose, there was no question of that, but I was determined to at least try to give a good account of myself.
I brought up my hands in the best stance I could manage, my legs were getting numb. My hands looked strange and the wolves were slowly backing away yet looking more and more pissed. I belatedly noticed there were only six wolves, but it was my hands that had my attention. They were covered with wood, like gauntlets and they were glowing a hazel color. I then saw a wooden muzzle where my nose should have been. Puzzled to no end, I looked down and saw that my entire body was covered in bits of wood that looked just like a Timber Wolf. A sudden and very loud metallic clanging sound assaulted my ears. The Timber Wolves turned and ran, yelping like they had been wounded.
I watched them go in disbelief, 'What the hell just happened?' I could feel myself calming down slowly and in the wake of the adrenaline I was starting to shake. I felt dizzy and my vision was swimming, so I tried to slowly sit down. The shift of my weight set my right calf and left foot on fire and I collapsed to the ground a screaming mess. I clutched at my right calf, rocking back and forth from the pain as the already gushing blood soaked through my fingers. The damn wolf must have ripped open an artery when he was worrying me. I gritted my teeth and let go of my leg, hands flying to my belt. I fumbled with the buckle but after a few tries I ripped it off my waist and tied it just below my right knee like a tourniquet. It hurt like all hell and, looking down at my leg, I noticed the pieces of Timber Wolf falling off me.
I was growing more and more dizzy with every passing second. I felt nauseous and light headed and the whole world was spinning about wildly. I fell back onto the soft dirt and tried not to move. Everything hurt but I was still worried about my left foot. Worried or not, my body decided it had enough. Once I was lying on my back, I couldn't move an inch. I couldn't raise my hands or move a single muscle. I lay there, staring up through the branches of the tree above me at the clear blue sky. I saw the branches of the tree shuffle in the wind but I couldn't feel anything against my skin, I was numb.
I began feeling distinctly sleepy, 'No! I can't fall asleep! I can't!' I struggled against the darkness encroaching on my vision, 'Why the fuck do I keep passing out! It isn't fair! If I fall asleep I might not ever wake up! I've lost too much blood!' It was no use.
I was powerless against it and my vision dimmed with a loud roaring sound in my ears, like the surf of the ocean, as I lapsed into darkness against my will.
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ERMAHGERD HE HAS SUPERPOWERS!!!!!
Oh goody, a changeling. This aught to be good.
I just realized something, if they are magic constructs like Applejack said, shouldn't he be able to disrupt their magic by touching them? They should fall to pieces by a simple touch from him.
I love me some khopesh.
Green eyes, coming out of nowhere, not eating anything, strange phenomenon around her... Yup, she's a changeling in human disguise. And not a perfect disguise it seems since some of them seem to see through that. But I wonder how the bugs got hold of information to get the image of a female body with porn actress measurements? Part of this mimicry perhaps? Becoming the embodiment of what we would interpret as healthy? I call Changeling. Call it a gut feeling or whatever...
5712140 And that is exactly what happened good sir.
I've done my best not to read comments-because spoilers.
I think the new woman is a changeling.
6337630
If you ask me, it's actually kinda obvious.
Given everything that we know about the situation, it's the only logical conclusion to draw other than "there was a person unaccounted for this whole time".
Nice choice of weaponry! The Khopesh was the mainstay weapon of the ancient Egyptian army back in the day
He has the power to disturb magic and his own luck! Ha!
6337630
My thoughts exactly!!!
:)
The woman is a changeling!!!
The moment she showed up it just screamed at me!
And if that's the case. This bad, really bad!
Xd
*Flutter Squee!*
My namesake!
Hopefully after this, ponies will see why humans need weapons.
In a confrontation against most anything, humans are NOT well suited to run.
We've evolved entirely around slow, continual movement.
It makes us the best hunters on Earth IF we have a weapon for the actual conflict, but it also makes us one of the slowest when we're outmatched (whether by a single powerful creature like Kavim, or multiple threats like pack animals).
Long story short:
Humans evolved around weapons being our form of defense.
If we don't have a weapon, we're defenseless.
We traded natural weapons for the more effective artificial ones of our own making.
Don't his hands cancel magic just like the fence was designed to do?
If he can short out an Alicorn's magic whit just a touch, he can certainly deconstruct a mere construct with a firm grip around it's throat!
(If they don't do so, this is a MAJOR plot hole in the story. You don't get to just give humans a unique magical short-circuit ability and not have them be able to use it on magical enemies!)
6814248
In Egypt, it became the main weapon of the Pharaoh's soldiers, and served as a symbol of their authority as well.
(Having one was like having a police badge that also served as their weapon as well. Like a badge and gun all in one.)
On the toilet part, I’d love someone to take a crap in it while it’s being modeled after for a prank like the hardware store toilet pranks, lmao.
I really liked Beacon and Ashley now
the link for the khopesh in the Author's Note field is broken.
have a pic of a khopesh, or google it.
cg1.cgsociety.org/uploads/images/medium/chuwakcz-egyptian-khopesh-ste-2-89f4e5c3-80e1.jpg
10228738 Thank you. The khopesh was a brilliant weapon and tool which does not get anywhere near enough attention.
does anyone else get a changeling feeling?
i.kym-cdn.com/editorials/icons/mobile/000/001/251/Screen_Shot_2020-04-30_at_11.22.43_AM.jpg
CHANGELING INFILTRATORS!!!