Chapter 51
Why?! Why couldn't I just have a normal day? One. One normal day was all I asked for! No potion poisoning, no alien attacks, no hospital visits, no pissed off, overly dramatic, judgmental ponies trying to stone me to death... We moved along at a moderate pace, both Spike and Apple Bloom able to keep up fairly easily due to my overly sensitive payload. There were key words there, and they were making this trip really awkward. Wincing, I kept my nose on filter mode, and tried not to pay attention to the new line of liquid as it slipped down my lower back and off my thighs. Well, it was shower time after this, again! Oh, and I made a note to upgrade the filter to properly block pheromones. Neurotoxins and acids were fine and all, but I needed practicality!
Sweetie Belle lay twitching on my back, groaning occasionally if I hit a particularly nasty bump. Her fever was immense, and she barely qualified as 'conscious' at this point, but her newly acquired, significantly larger body didn't seem to care. Her plan had been flawed from the very start, not considering the ramifications of attempting this right in the middle of estrus cycle. Damn it! I mentally sighed as another slick streak of warm liquid ran off my back, but pressed onwards as fast as I could go. If the raw flower was poison or something, which the horrible fever might indicate, she needed immediate medical treatment!
Spike let out a cough before blasting more flames out his nose and shaking his head as he ran after us. "Getting a little dizzy from the fumes. How much further is it?" he asked, panting as he tried to keep up while fighting off the crazy level of pheromones Sweetie's body was producing. Apparently, it had even started to affect him through his dragon resilience. Here I thought that the whole 'different species' thing would make him totally immune.
"Ah can see tha cabins from 'ere. Another minute at most," Apple Bloom added between pants, purely from physically running for so long rather than being affected by the smells coming from her friend. In this regard, she was lucky to be female!
Sighing, I nodded and inhaled slowly through my breathing system and filter. "Good. She's nowhere near what I'd define as light anymore!" I managed to complain, breaking the tree line in a run now. The muscles shifted through my legs, complaining but changing to a more streamline form as I broke away from the other two and shifted into a full out sprint. I saw the white mare outside of the medical building even from here, and was determined not to let anything bad happen to Sweetie Belle.
The filly in question let out an almost continuous moan as I picked up speed, and I felt her growing hotter on top of me, especially towards my lower back. Damn it. Instead, I just focused on running even faster, blasting her with the wind and causing her longer mane to billow out behind me like some really strange cape. Heh, now she was my cape rather than a scarf or hat. Fillies made the best fashion accessories, after all.
"Oh no. Get her inside, Mender!" Redheart yelled as I approached. She stepped aside just in time and I shot past her and through the open door. My hooves lost traction as I tried to slide to a stop, and I suddenly realized the back ones, which served as my brakes, were covered in slick liquid. Yup. Not my day at all. Wincing, I braced my right foreleg up and went directly into the wall, shifting my chest forwards so Sweetie simply crashed into my squishy back.
Hitting first, then having a full sized mare crash into me an instant later wasn't pleasant, and I sort of bounced off the wall, only shielding my face as to cushion Sweetie's impact with my own body. Redheart was there in less than a second, helping me up and tipping me back to my legs as I gasped and winced from the sudden throbs that dominated my chest and right foreleg. Ow. That could have gone better.
"She aged up?!" Nurse Redheart asked, staring in shock at Sweetie as she lay there in a slowly expanding pool of clear fluid of various sources, flooding the room with pheromones.
"And promptly went right into estrus, skipping all the finer details. You shouldn't have to guess her motive," I muttered, unable to entirely stop the bitterness in my voice. I should have been faster and stopped her from eating the stupid thing in the first place! Managing to straighten myself, I panted heavily from the exertion of running so fast for such a long time. Damn it!
Redheart sighed and stood fully, trying to lift Sweetie up and move her towards one of the cots. My magic activated instead, doing the work for her in all of five seconds. She gave me a weak smile, and then whacked me on top of the head a moment later. "No blaming yourself. I told her that you weren't lying, but she apparently didn't listen and didn't want to wait. Looks like we'll need to have another talk after all this," she explained, taking advantage of my momentary lapse in retorts as I rubbed my forehead. It probably hurt her hoof more, as she just punched me through armor. Still, I perked up at that. It was difficult to understand what the little filly had been thinking, but even if I did sort of empathize with her, there weren’t a whole lot of options that I had.
"That means she's going to be okay?" I asked, hopeful and ignoring the sudden sound of the door blasting open behind me. That would probably be Apple Bloom and Spike catching up.
As if on cue, the little yellow filly and accompanying dragon slid in, Spike slipping on the rather sizable puddle on the floor almost instantly. As my tentacles were still out and looking like 'rope' from carrying Sweetie over here, I lashed out with two of them and snagged him out of the air before he landed on his head. He gave me an upside down thumbs up, of course, and I snickered at him, still panting lightly.
"She'll be fine once it works out of her system. I pulled a few books on Heart's Desire to figure out what eating it raw does. Turns out, it does the same thing the less concentrated potion achieves, but much stronger over a significantly shorter period of time. One flower is about four hours of effect," Redheart explained, sliding the book over on the table next to the cot Sweetie lay on. The white unicorn gave a rather miserable sounding groan a moment later, eyes opening in a dizzy looking sway and shifting her back legs together repeatedly.
"H-Hot. It's so hot! H-Help me, Mender," she whispered, voice hoarse from coughing so much.
Frowning, I tried extending a hoof out to her, but Redheart stopped me and pushed it back down, shaking her head. "Don't, Mender. You're linked to the effect of the Heart's Desire, and I don't want variables thrown into the mix. Her hormones are going crazy from what she wanted. I'm going to have to share some of my estrus suppressant with her, just to bring the fever down. Scootaloo should be back with some cold water sh-" she started to explain.
The door blasted open again before she could finish, and I winced at the sound. If there was anything left of that door by the end of the day, I'd be surprised. "I'm back! Saw Mender and everypony enter. Here's the water from the stream!" Scootaloo informed rapidly, fluttering in and lowering herself to the ground, sliding the bucket forward that she had around her neck. It was impressively large, and I suddenly realized it had probably been faster to send it with Scootaloo to fill it at the stream than try to fill it with tap water.
"Yikes. Ya don't look so good, Sweetie," Apple Bloom muttered, hopping up on the cot her friend was on and looking down at her. The flush appeared permanently fixed to Sweetie Belle's face, and she just kept her dizzy gaze locked onto me instead.
"I'm not, um, feeling very good. Mender touching me would make me feel so much better," she whispered, extending her right foreleg towards me as she lay there.
Scootaloo frowned and fluttered up to her as I helped Redheart with the bucket. She dipped the tip of her hoof into it and sighed before going towards a shelf with towels on it. "Not as cold as I would have liked, but it will have to do on short notice," she murmured as she left. Cold?
Looking back down at the water, I touched the bucket with my left hoof, the runes forming in my mind and dancing across the surface. The molecular movement slowed as I held my focus, a layer of frost glazing the rim of the wood. Ah, that should be better. Smiling, I let go of the magic and innocently put my leg back down as Nurse Redheart turned back around. Anything to help Sweetie. Spike gave me an amused grin, suddenly reminding me that I still had his leg wrapped up and was dangling him upside down. Err, oops. I shot him a sheepish smile before lightly lowering him to the floor again.
"Will any touch do?" Scootaloo asked suddenly, lowering and setting herself down against Sweetie's stomach. The newly formed mare groaned and rapidly shook her head, her tongue lightly hanging out of her mouth a moment later. Looking back over at the three, I saw Apple Bloom looking more than a little concerned, but Sweetie herself was staring unerringly at me instead, face flushed and eyes unfocused.
"N-No, it has to be Mender. He smells so good, and he's the one who rescued me! I, um, I love him! He's so nice and gentle and brave and sweet and he saved my life and didn't even ask for anything for it. He never brags or boasts... Sis was so right about him," Sweetie started swooning out, a very strange mixture of sensual and delirious. It was somewhat unnerving to hear, but that might have been just the string of compliments causing my cheeks to tint pink.
Nurse Redheart shook her head softly as she returned with the towel, warning, "You're too young to know what 'love' is, Sweetie. Rest and put this on your, uh..." She trailed off, staring down at the bucket before raising an eyebrow. Her cunning mind didn't take two seconds to snap her gaze back up to me, piercing suspicion in her eyes. I smiled a little wider and innocently averted my gaze, causing her to actually let out a soft giggle instead. "I forgot how downright useful your magic was, Mender. I should invite you over tonight to chill the cooler I have, too," she noted. I couldn't help but notice that her voice slipped a little softer on that last part, and I swallowed uneasily. How could somepony make something so innocent sound so... I didn't even know the word for it!
My favorite nurse didn't give me a chance to wallow, however, dipping the towel and slipping past me, a light trail of subtle perfume and something a little sweeter mixed in following after her. Oh boy. It only took me half a second to remember to bring my filter up again, but the slip of awareness already let a tidal wave of Sweetie's scents through regardless, almost bowling me over with the haze. Damn it! At least Nurse Redheart appeared to be attempting to cover her smell.
"No, don't f-flirt with him! He needs to leave a s-spot for me in his herd and-" Sweetie started to yelp, eyes big and pleading towards Redheart as she approached. My head was too busy spinning to properly formulate a response beyond a mental groan of frustration.
It did, however, nicely process the solid whack Apple Bloom gave Sweetie's muzzle a second later. My eyes widened, and Spike snapped out of his haze long enough to stare in surprise at the yellow filly. Scootaloo almost dropped out of the air, matching her already dropped jaw. "Sweetie! That's enough! Yer bein' downright selfish ta everypony. Mender deserves yer respect, not yer attempts ta cheat ta get at his heart, regardless o' what he wants! We helped ya too after ya were downright foolish an' ate that no good flower, but ya haven't even said thanks ta anypony. This ain't you, Sweetie! Stop this," Apple Bloom almost ordered as Sweetie winced, holding both hooves to her muzzle.
Nurse Redheart gave a weak sigh as she gently pressed the chilled towel to the now shivering mare's head. No, she still had the mindset of a filly. A very confused one at that. It didn't take long for her eyes to get wet again after she opened them, looking at her friend. "I'm so sorry, Apple Bloom. I'm just so scared. I don't want to be too late, but I'm just not good enough! It's like... It's like if you had a chance to miss out on getting your Cutie Mark if you didn't do something about it!" Her head tucked back into her hooves, specifically avoiding looking at anypony, as Apple Bloom's ears drooped a little.
"Ya are good enough. Mender told me that he was speakin' true. He ain't lyin' ta ya, Sweets. Ya really do get ah chance!" she tried to reassure, her left foreleg rising up and gently rocking the white mare's shoulder. Tank took this moment to hover in through the window and resume his rotations around Spike and me, like before. I'd asked him to in the clearing, and it would appear he remembered. The pheromones were rapidly sucked up past the very much immune tortoise, and shot off towards the ceiling and away from us. I smiled up at him, almost seeing a slow wink in return. It was kinda hard to read his body language, it being ten times slower than normal. I caught myself getting distracted again, however.
"She's right, Sweetie. You're good enough as is. You don't need to rush, Silly. To be honest, I have no intention of asking anypony else to join the herd unless both Twilight and Fluttershy agree or suggest it first. Even then, I'll refuse to fill the last slot, because I promised you that you'd get your chance," I explained, smiling softly towards her. Apple Bloom looked surprised to hear my voice, but smiled happily up at me almost right away. Sweetie herself looked more shocked than anything, her eyes slipping from her friend to glue themselves to me instead, her cheeks heating up even more.
Redheart snickered at her reaction, but then glanced back at me instead, adding, "I guess some lucky mare is going to have to try really hard to fill that fourth and last spot then." Her voice was laced with amusement, and I barely resisted slapping my forehead.
"Don't forget the part about Twilight and Fluttershy approving, too," I warned, giving her a skeptical expression. She was pretty persistent, but it could also be her heat dropping her reservations a bit. Plus, how much of it was that aura thing Prudentia pointed out?
I considered it. Was my magical aura technically cheating? It wasn't really a form of manipulation, I deduced. All it did was let a sensitive, empathic individual get a feel of who I was far faster than normal, if I understood correctly. Technically, there was nothing manipulative about it. The moral debate was a bit of a moot point anyway, given that I couldn't exactly turn it off.
Redheart simply grinned and shook her head a moment later, lifting the towel off and dipping it back into the chilled water again. "I know. I'm only teasing you. Mostly. Still, you have no need to make that promise to Sweetie. She should be content enough that you're going to consider her in two years, especially after she's been such a bad filly," she added, turning to give a pointed stare at her newest patient instead. Oh boy... Scootaloo, seemingly more interested in helping than the topic, shifted down the cot at the same moment, hauling the blanket with her teeth and sliding it out from under Sweetie, moving it to cover her instead.
Sweetie's ears lowered at the same time her eyes softened and she looked away from us, swallowing weakly. "I'm... I'm really sorry, everypony. Thank you for taking care of me even though I don't deserve it. I'm especially sorry to you, Mender. Both for trying to use the Love Poison on you, and for, um, all this. I'm scared, is all..." she finally whispered, refusing to look up at me.
"Love Poison?! Sweetie!" Redheart hissed, but then gave a surprised start when I rested my right forehoof on her shoulder, shaking my head to her.
"Actually, it's all sort of coming together in my head. I at least understand why you did it, and I'm sorry for not realizing you felt this way, let alone how strongly. I Pinkie Promise that I'm telling the absolute truth, and you'll get your chance when you're old enough. But please, no more potions or magic or anything to try to cheat the system, Sweetie. I don't want you getting hurt, especially for me," I explained as best I could, probably using six times the words needed. Her soft blush and timid smile told me that I got my point across, however. She gave two nods and tucked herself a little more into the blankets, still just watching me.
There was a certain hesitation before she finally sighed and nodded once more, agreeing with, "I promise I'll be good and wait. Thank you so much for being patient and kind, Mender. Um, can we still be friends until-"
I raised a hoof up and shook my head towards her, cutting her off but keeping a gentle smile on my muzzle. "We're never going to not be friends, Sweetie. Even if you eventually become more than a friend to me, friendship stays, I think," I reasoned, remembering a remarkably similar prior conversation like this.
It only took me a second to realize I was still really dizzy a moment later, and I realized my blood was starting to thud through my ears. Sweetie really did make for a rather pretty mare, and Redheart was starting to look downright ravishing. Yup, time to leave. "Ah, sorry though. I'm going to have to leave now. The pheromones are getting to me, I think. Come on, Spike. Let's leave the ladies in peace," I excused, glancing back towards my draconic friend. He sat somewhat limply to my right, eyes unfocused and staring blankly at a totally unaware Nurse Redheart. More specifically, her flank, I realized. Yup, he'd been here too long, too.
"D-Do you have to?" Sweetie whispered softly, giving me a pleading look I refused to lock eyes with. I knew her power, and realized stallions lost their souls by looking into similar eyes. Instead, I wrapped Spike up again and lifted him onto my back, ignoring the smears his legs made from sitting in the puddle. Yeah, it was time to wash my coat out.
"Yeah, Sweetie. I'm sorry. You're starting to smell too good, so I have to get out of here. Poor Spike can't take much more of this, so I'm bringing him with. Is there anything else, Redheart?" I asked, getting her attention again as she finished digging out more medical supplies, including a blood sample kit, from what I noticed. Oh yeah, hormones...
She gave me a soft smile before shaking her head. "No, I'm set here for a while. Check back after a couple hours and I'll have her cleaned up by then. Go wash up, and, well, thank you for being, um, you. You've been a lot of help today," she thanked politely, perking a bit at me. Heh. She had already proved she could be cute if need be. There wasn't any reason to rub it in!
"Okay. I'm heading to the lake then. I'll see you three later, okay?" I suggested, earning a nod from both fillies, and a pout from Sweetie Belle. At least she was smiling, I noticed. I had a feeling we'd be talking more about this later, but she appeared content for now, and not likely to blatantly poison herself again in the next few hours. Females were so confusing...
Giving them both a nod, I headed out of the medical cabin yet again with Spike on my back. He seemed coherent enough to balance on his own, so I retracted my tentacles into myself as we walked. Tank followed loyally along after me, apparently content to just idle on my last request until I said otherwise. Rainbow had really gotten herself a loyal companion!
To my surprise, Big Mac caught up with me by the time I reached the tree line again. He slowed from his faster pace after falling in next to me, and then sniffed a couple of times at my shoulder. I coughed lightly, cheeks tinting a light pink before he started chuckling, much to my relief. It was silly of me, but for a moment, I thought he might jump to conclusions and pummel me or something.
"Ah saw Sweetie. Heart's Desire?" he asked upon recovering, still keeping pace easily with me. Of course, he wasn't fooling anypony. I'd already seen him move significantly faster than this when he wanted to. When his sister had been in trouble, I don't think Rainbow could have gotten into the living room any faster!
Sighing, I nodded as best I could without jostling Spike. "Yeah. She seemed to think that I'd be perfectly okay with her aging herself two years to date me," I muttered, sagging a little but keeping my gentle pace.
He mulled it over for a moment, but kept that gentle and relaxed smile on his face. "Ah shouldn't need ta warn ya now, but mah little sister an' her friends can be right impatient sometimes. Sweetie ain't so different, from what Ah saw. Mind if Ah tag along? Need ah washin' mahself," he asked, apparently not realizing he'd already pretty much started accompanying me.
"Sure. I might need help rousing Spike anyway. He got blasted pretty good with pheromones," I muttered, peeking back at my rather dizzy looking passenger, earning a tired glare in return.
"H-Hey! I'm okay, sheesh. Twilight's smells can get pretty potent, too, so I can handle myself," he tried to defend, only slurring a couple of the words, to give him credit.
Big Mac nodded solemnly, also turning to look at the small dragon. "Right true. Ah'm more concerned fer tha magical nature involved. Ah can smell it on Mender, an' it's quite ah bit stronger than what it should be, given how she sped up tha process," he reasoned, surprising me with his insight. I hadn't thought about the possibility that the pheromones had also been magnified by the plant. Oh! If her only ‘desire’ had been to appear as appealing as possible to me, the entire instant magnified estrus thing might have been all part of it.
Giving out a groan, I shook my head at the whole ordeal, deciding then and there to take the rest of the day off. "Ugh. Mares..." I managed to mutter finally. Spike gave out a snicker against the back of my neck, and Big Mac grinned over at me while walking, surprisingly animated for his usual self.
"Hear ya there!" he agreed, giving his shoulders a roll while walking and making an audible cracking noise in the process. Maybe he was just getting used to me?
Snickering, I inquired, "Cheerilee?"
I was observant enough to notice a faint darkening in the tone of his cheeks, and a light twitching lift to the corner of his mouth. "Heh. Long story, that one. Ah'll tell ya at tha lake," he assured, making an amused clicking noise afterwards with his tongue.
Giving a smirk in return, I just silently followed after him as our pace increased. I'd just be happy to get rid of the scents!
* * * * *
Relaxing, I let myself air-dry, my tired muscles feeling heavy against my frame as I lay in the sand along the shore of the lake. There were no more mare smells anywhere around, and I felt clean and fluffy again! Spike had his arms folded behind his head and lay against my stomach, as I was currently flopped onto my side. Tank munched on grass a meter from my head, and I heard the heavy movements of Big Mac wading somewhere behind me, not bothering to open my eyes to check. I tried my hardest to achieve inner peace without falling asleep, in the meantime.
Big Mac's tale of how his little sister and the rest of the Crusaders had 'poisoned' Cheerilee and himself, and how he'd almost gotten married was all quite amusing and all. I'd especially liked the part where he'd unknowingly relocated Berry Punch's house, which was a bit scary considering how much raw Earth Pony power he must possess. Ruby Pinch's mother, it turns out, although I think I knew that already. I'd seen the beverage maker in the market a couple of times, and they definitely have similar color schemes. I'd make an apple and tree comparison, but present company might think I was trying to be clever.
"Ah know, Ah know. It's silly. But all she ever said was that Ah was her friend. It was tha perfect opportunity, an' Ah blew it," I heard him mutter in his deep but low voice, kicking up a bit of water as well by the sounds of it.
I stirred lightly, pulling back from my meditative relaxation and exhaling. Eh, the eyes could stay closed a bit longer. "It's a pity you don't have Rainbow around to insult her sensitivities in front of you. It was totally an ice breaker for Twilight and me, it would seem," I suggested, smirking lightly as I heard Spike chuckle against my stomach.
Big Mac gave a snort and short laugh, adding, "While she ain't capable o' throwin' ah bed at me, Cheerilee has ah mean buck! Ah think Ah'd rather risk tha flowers."
That amused me more than I would have liked to admit, and I snickered, shaking my head and finally opening my eyes towards him. "Should I ask how you know she has a mean buck?" I inquired, hopefully keeping any insinuations subtle. The big guy gave me a knowing grin, telling me he picked up on it anyway.
"Ain't like that. She's ah proper mare, after all. Nah, she just got ah mite impatient with me in our schoolin' days. Ah worked with her on quite ah few projects, an' Ah was right lazy back then. Didn't know no better. She gave me ah few good whacks ta keep me goin'," he explained, surprising me instead.
Raising an eyebrow, I admitted, "It's awfully hard to imagine you as lazy. You're an amazingly hard worker." His eyes softened a little, and I immediately regretted commenting on it. I'd blundered head first into a bad topic, I suddenly had a sneaking suspicion.
"Ah wasn't always. Had ta step up ta meet tha challenges o' runnin' ah farm after Ma and Pa passed. Sis was still too young, an' Apple Bloom just ah little foal, so that left me with tha heavy labor. Ah think Applejack still feels bad about me workin' so hard sometimes, but what can ya do?" he muttered absently, rolling his shoulders in a tired looking shrug.
My eyes softened and I nodded back at him despite my viewpoint being upside down. "I'm sorry for bringing it up. I'll try my hardest to make things easier for the Apple Family on the farm. My enchantments and inventions might not be much, but I did promise Apple Bloom," I apologized quietly.
That got his attention, and he returned that ever-quiet gaze back to me, taking me in for a moment before frowning. "Apple Bloom asked ya ta help, too?" he asked, sounding uncertain for some reason.
Smiling, I nodded back at him, deciding it wouldn't hurt to relay the message. It hadn't been a secret, after all. "She says she misses spending time with you two, and was hoping if I made the farm work faster and easier, she'd get to again," I explained. It was honestly a simple and clever idea on her part. Big Mac's eyes softened and he looked down at the water again before finally nodding slowly.
"At first Ah was right hesitant o' ya, but Ah know yer tryin' yer hardest ta help, despite everything dealin' ya ah right awful hoof," he admitted, although that didn't sound like it was what was actually bothering him. Wait, that meant... Yes! Ponies did have cards! Maybe they did have Uno?
Big Mac looked back up at me, however, snapping me out of my mental tangent. "Ah trust ya. Do ya think ya can help us out? We ain't got ah huge amount o' bits ta pay ya with, no matter what AJ wishes, but-" he started to warn.
I held a hoof up, er, down I guess, towards him and shook my head. "I know that, and trust me, if I can manage to get her to not pay me, I would. I'll gladly accept a good meal as payment, of course. Hospital food has scarred me for life, and I deeply appreciate anything but, now!" I explained, shuddering as I remembered what could only have been processed cardboard they tried to get me to eat. After it was ground up, regurgitated, and formed into a limp cube, of course. Although, maybe it was a wise precaution? Given my knack for horribly injuring myself, having food ready to be injected through an IV was probably smart. Wait, then I wouldn't have to taste it! Note to self, the next time I get hospitalized, break my own jaw.
The red stallion was grinning at this point, and nodded gently towards me. "Ah stallion o' simple tastes. Refreshin', honestly. Ah was ah bit worried ya were all fancy-like after ya went ta that party. That sorta thing makes me real tired, even though Ah would've gone had Rare asked me," he admitted, shaking his head slowly.
Blinking, I frowned at that. "Uh, she said she did ask you, though," I muttered, raising an eyebrow back at him. He smirked, however, and it dawned on me at the same instant.
"Nah. She just wanted ta bring you along instead," he shot back, only enlightening the thought further in my head. Figured. Damn it.
Spike gave a start on my stomach and turned around, glancing back at us both with a frown. "Wait, why did Rarity want to bring Mender along?" he asked suddenly. Wonderful. Because this was exactly what I needed at the moment.
Sighing, I sat up and rolled to my haunches again, realizing I wasn't going to get to nap. "I'm going to just be honest with you, Spike. Do you mind?" I asked, deciding the little guy might appreciate an up front, adult approach to the situation.
He stared at me for a moment before slowly nodding, looking apprehensive but just watching me. Well, now or never. "Rarity thought she liked me as more than a friend before the Canterlot party," I tossed out, just getting the worst out of the way as soon as possible.
Spike sat there, the only movement on him being a light swallowing in his throat after a second of letting it process. "You used past tense," he whispered a moment later, eyes softening as I was pretty sure he at least had some clue as to what happened.
I nodded, continuing with, "She kissed me and Twilight caught her. That's what they were fighting about. Finally getting the chance after all of that Nirru stuff, I explained to her that I didn't feel that way about her. She's taken it surprisingly well, but seems more confused than anything. It's more the concept of a 'Prince' she wants, rather than the actual thing, and I think she's starting to realize that." I felt tired again afterwards like I always did when revealing things. Maybe it was just the fact of not 'having' the secret anymore that made me realize how heavy it was to deal with? Sighing, I just let it sink in and watched him as he frowned, almost staring through me for a moment.
Big Mac nodded and sat down next to me a second later. "Eeyup. Miss Rarity needs ta realize that tha stallion in her mind don't exist. Ain't nopony that's perfect. Or dragon, Ah imagine," he added, smirking lightly afterwards.
That Spike caught almost instantly, blushing lightly. I snickered and nodded towards Big Mac as well. Now I was really glad he was here! "He's right. That's almost exactly what I told Rarity when I pointed out you," I agreed, adding that little tidbit hoping to cheer him up some.
His eyes widened drastically, mouth hanging loose a bit as he stared at me. "Y-You mentioned me?" he asked hesitantly, looking extremely confused more than anything now.
I decided to stick to the truth, and nodded. "Yeah. Subtly, of course, if that's possible for me. She must have pulled at least something from it, because she sat there watching you sleep for a good half an hour," I reasoned, considering it for probably the first time. It really did seem like she'd started really considering Spike.
Reminding myself not to zone out again in the midst of a conversation, I snapped back to attention to note Spike's blatantly wide-eyed stare, and exceptionally red face. Okay, that was adorable. He wobbled a bit before holding up his claws and staring at them as if he thought they'd gotten cut off, and was pleasantly surprised to find out not. "You told her no. You actually turned down Rarity... But then you suggested me?! That... Okay, I really don't know what to think about all this. I wish you'd told me sooner. I mean, she's been acting a bit different around me and I'm not sure if this is why or not, but honestly, I think I could use some help with-" he started rambling, apparently just spewing forth whatever came into his head in a long string.
Well, he started to, anyway. My ears twitched at the whistling noise I picked up a few seconds into him talking. Wait, that sounded familiar. In fact, I'd heard that noise multiple times now. Oh. Damn it! I spun as fast as I could, my barriers activating and expanding past both Big Mac and Spike. The red stallion gave a start, looking at me with a surprised and confused expression as Spike's voice dwindled, him looking at the barrier instead.
Neither got a chance to question my motives, however, as a cyan bolt shot in, looking like it 'bounced' off the lake an instant later. The refraction was accompanied by a brutal explosion in an instant, shattering the water out from the expanding prismatic ring. A heartbeat later, my barriers were blasted by millions of pellets of glowing, multi-colored water. The sizzling drops hit with the force of a heavy hail, and I winced under the massive barrage as everything was momentarily tinted in rainbow shades. Sound finally caught up two seconds later over the deafening roar of the blast, and the wave itself hit us at the same time as her voice did.
"Woooo! Heads up, Mender!" was screamed along the blast, the wave of light smashing over us and washing out the area in light. What the hell was wrong with her?! She was insane! She fired off a Sonic Rainboom right on the surface of the lake?! My eyes flicked open a moment later, only to find Spike hiding under my tail and Big Mac sternly holding up his right foreleg to shield his eyes from the light. My barrier held, creating a small dome of 'not rainbow colored everything' in a two-meter radius. The sand itself was prismatic now, as the high energy seemingly bled into everything. Actually, my barrier was colored the same now, too, I noticed. Hmm. Was that healthy for me, or did her explosions have some sort of radiation to them? Probably not, or else she would have reduced the life expectancy of everypony in Ponyville to single digits by now...
"Yes! Totally clean now. How was that, Mender?!" I heard Rainbow ask, landing behind me. Turning, I noticed a broad grin on her face as she landed, shaking herself lightly and whipping her mane from side to side. My eyes widened as I watched her prismatic locks flick, the spray of glowing light and color misting off her in almost an aura. For a moment, I was utterly shocked at how gorgeous she looked, a natural and almost raw elemental vibe coming from her. It was primal.
Her grin widened as she noticed I must have looked rather dumbfounded towards her. "What's wrong? See something ya like?" she asked coyly. The expression faltered and vanished an instant later as her haze of rainbow colors withdrew a bit more, revealing both Spike and Big Mac to either side of me as well. Her cheeks instantly took on a noticeably contrasting pink shade as her eyes widened. Big Mac recovered rapidly, however, shooting her a skeptical look.
"And 'ere Ah thought ya only had eyes fer AJ," he muttered, sounding more amused than anything. Heh, if he was looking for an answer to that, he was in for a confusing ride.
Rainbow gave him an annoyed glare, which didn't faze him in the least, and shook her head rapidly. "I like stallions, too!" she defended, puffing up a bit.
"Never said ya didn't," Big Mac pointed out idly, that unfaltering soft smile still on his muzzle. It was honestly a bit unnerving how stoic he was sometimes. He was starting to give me serious 'unliving doll' vibes now. As long as he didn't go evil and start stabbing us all in our sleep, I suppose it didn't matter. I was pretty close to that definition, too, now that I thought about it.
Dash deflated a little bit, realizing her distraction defense was unsuccessful. Sighing, she looked away from him slightly before huffing in irritation and finally admitting, "Yes, I like Mender, too. He's got a lot of things I like in a pony. Dependable and good morals, humor, intelligence that I admire, but without the strict and rigid discipline Twilight has. Um, I haven't been around him as much as Applejack, but I definitely like him, too. Plus, uh, my heat is really bad, like usual. Makes it hard to resist being flirty." Damn. That was the most simplistic and honest I'd ever heard her be. Now why couldn't she just tell me that, of all ponies?
If it bothered Big Mac in the least, he didn't show it. "Works fer me. Just don't hurt AJ, or we'll have words," he assured before gently rolling his shoulders with a light crack, and heading back to the lakeshore. I shivered, and noticed Rainbow visibly swallow and falter as she watched him go. That was a little scary! Big Mac voluntarily having words for any situation felt grave indeed.
Spike, who had silently watched the whole time, slowly rotated towards me with a somewhat skeptical expression a moment later. "Okay, I've noticed a pattern. Spill. Why do mares like you?" he accused, narrowing his eyes slightly.
Rainbow snapped out of her stunned state to raise a knowing eyebrow towards him, mouth opening for undoubtedly some horrible quip to flatten him with. I cut her off, however. "Because of this," I answered openly, holding my left hoof up. Both drew their attention to it before it flared up with light, expanding rapidly across my entire body with a warm blue glow, runes of focus and form patterning my body.
"Magic?" Spike asked hesitantly, tilting his head. Rainbow looked momentarily surprised, however, the light from the glow reflecting greatly in her eyes as she took it all in.
"Heh, it definitely looks cool! You have neat looking magic," Rainbow complimented, shifting to a soft smile instead.
I sighed and nodded, turning off my temporary lamp mimicry a moment later. "My magic is apparently closer to the surface than most ponies. It's the only reason I can actually use magic as an Earth Pony. But with magic comes-"
"Emotion. Feelings and personality often show through in magical auras, Twilight said. Magically sensitive ponies and creatures, and those that are really empathic would be able to pick up on who you are a lot faster than normal, I'm guessing?" Spike suddenly deduced, that clever glimmer showing through in his eyes that was oh so familiar. Twilight definitely raised him, and it seriously showed.
Rainbow perked at that, looking a mixture of surprised and curious. I nodded, expanding his deduction with, "Yup. It lets ponies get a 'feel' for my personality just by looking and being near me, it would seem. If they like what they feel, they have a higher disposition towards me?" It was a little hard for me to summarize, and for probably the hundredth time this little 'vacation', I wished Twilight were here. She was so much better with this whole 'words' thing!
"Oooh, so the feeling of safety and trust I normally get around you isn't just a gut feeling?" Rainbow asked, coughing lightly and averting her gaze a bit. Well, that was blunt, but I hadn't really expected anything less from her.
"Yeah. That's a, well, big thing with me? It's one of the things I regret from my other self. I want to protect everypony I can, and make sure nopony gets hurt around me. It's really, really strong with those I deeply care for. It's safe to say you're one of those ponies. You, too, Spike. Uh, minus the pony thing. Yeah..." I muttered, verbally planting my face into a rock towards the end. Damn it...
Rainbow blushed a little but tried to disguise it by rubbing lightly at her cheeks with a hoof. Naturally, I pretended not to notice and just shifted my attention to the now grinning Spike instead. "Okay, I forgive ya for the Rarity thing. Plus, you put in a good word for me so, yeah. We're good?" he asked, extending a claw towards me.
Smirking, I nodded to him and raised my hoof up, letting him latch onto it and lightly shake it up and down. Rainbow finally grinned at that as well, giving a knowing and approving nod towards us both. Heh, at least that was settled. Now I indeed felt better about having told him.
"Awesome! Can you help me practice with my wings then, now?" Rainbow suddenly spoke up, stepping up beside Spike and grinning at me. I shot her an amused expression, but nodded regardless. As blunt as she was suddenly pretending to be, I knew it was to cover for her probably feeling awkward over me caring about her. Heh, suddenly I realized she must have just as much trouble dealing with social feelings as I did. We just took different ways to deal with them in the end.
"Yeah, I have a new challenge for you today, if you think you're up for it," I offered, waiting for it.
Half a second before recognition, and then it was another second and a half before her eyes started sparkling and her whole face lit up in anticipation. The mare was seriously competitive, but at least that was predictable. "Oh, I'm so ready! What have you got today?!" she asked excitedly as I walked a little further away from the water and motioned for her to follow. I didn't know what getting the process wet would do, and didn't want to risk it.
Her wings buzzing, she practically galloped after me, and I snickered, measuring out the distance before patting the ground next to me. After she zipped into position, I started to explain the exercise...
* * * * *
The grinding noise was a bit grating, but I just kept it pushed out of my mind as I skimmed through another flagged page. Everything about the disks was in front of me on about four-dozen glowing sheets of 'paper' drifting through the air from my eye projection. To conserve on resources, I only selected the absolutely most important documents, cutting and compressing pages together when I could.
Looking to my left to check on the process, Big Mac nodded to me as he gently sat there, angling the entire tree in as the grinder ate it whole, shredding and mulching it inside the basin before breaking it down and converting it into basic paper. It was a good size tree, in its last stages of life, as he'd explained. They apparently did that to the apple trees, too. They'd break up the older trees to be used as materials, and plant new ones in their place. It sounded very organic and I was surprised at how eco-friendly the ponies were. But not too surprised. I was beginning to simply take anything I remembered from my culture and invert it to get a good guess at how ponies handled things. So far it had been working fairly well!
"Ya sure yer only gonna need one? Ah saw two others that should probably come down in there," Big Mac asked, gesturing back towards the forest behind him.
I rapidly shook my head, gesturing upwards with a hoof. No, it had been terrifying enough to watch him cut this one down. I didn't need another tree obliteration haunting my memory. Applejack was faster, sure, but damn was this stallion strong! A 'bucking blade' was truly fascinating, however, and I ran that through my head again. I'd wondered how Earth Ponies had cut down trees before, and now I knew. It was a crescent blade attached to a sturdy steel plate and a strap made out of their fake leather I saw everywhere. They put the blade against the tree, wrapped the strap around the trunk to hold it there, and then simply bucked the metal plate, driving the blade into the tree like a wedge. Quite clever! After they sliced in, they simply rotated the blade a bit and did it again until they had cut all the way through. Angles could be used to make a wedge and control the fall direction. It had been awesome to watch. Except for the part where he almost snapped the tree in half with one kick. Having been oh so familiar with Applejack's bucking, seeing his in action made my side hurt in sympathy. Or memory.
Regardless, I double-checked the 'grinder' the tree was going into. It was barely big enough to fit the whole thing in, and definitely not deep enough, if it weren't for the fact that the inside fell away into subspace. A cord ran from the back and merged seamlessly with my left side, where I had spawned the device from. A cord popped out right next to it as well, this one being attached to a printer that was busy spitting out pages of documentation.
Glancing at one of the finished products, I checked it for nozzle alignment, and then internally adjusted the printer a fourth of a millimeter or so. All the writing and diagrams were in red 'ink', but I was limited in my resources. I had to write it with something, and ink wasn't exactly in ready supply in the middle of the forest, so I improvised. My right hoof extended back into my pile next to me and I popped another tasty strawberry into my mouth, deciding I couldn't complain, honestly. It was one of the most delicious inconveniences I'd ever experienced.
"Hey, Mender, could ya come 'ere fer ah sec?" Big Mac asked patiently to my left a moment later. Perking, I stood up slowly and made sure to shift my cords around their respective devices carefully before walking over to him, extending the lines as I went. Splashing momentarily distracted me as I walked, and I glanced over at Spike, who was still over in the lake, the extra loyal tortoise still hovering around his head, earning another laugh as he swooped down and blasted a wave of water at the little dragon. I smiled before getting hung up in my printer cord and smacking my armored face into the ground. Well, should have seen that one coming!
Big Mac gave an amused chuckle as I sat back up, shaking my head rapidly and spraying dirt everywhere as my plate armor folded back into my skin. Thankfully, that inner layer pops out fast! It might not be as dense and defensive as the outer layer, but it was far faster to apply and helped with the everyday bad luck, clumsiness, and gravity related disasters. Big Mac gestured down towards a small hole he was starting to dig at the edge of the forest, and my ears perked up as I stared at it. A single acorn sat in the center of the hole, and the large stallion carefully shifted dirt up over it, burying it tenderly in the ground. For such a strong individual, he showed remarkable finesse. I supposed having lived with a pony body your whole life, one was far more comfortable moving around in it.
"Seein' as yer technically an Earth Pony, Ah was curious if ya could do this, too," he explained, lightly pushing his hoof onto the top of the dirt mound. I watched with avid curiosity as he just let it rest there for a moment, nothing visibly happening. My right eye, however, which was still in projection mode, picked up stirrings of energy drifting around his hoof and into the ground. What was he doing? Wait, how was he doing that?
The vibrations visible in his hoof slowly and carefully matched up with the ones suddenly visible in the ground, and he relaxed, his muscles easing up and slowly raising his hoof up. Following the rough surface up as if magnetically connected, a softly glowing, green sapling tasted the air for the first time, finally releasing itself and swaying pleasantly in the breeze once it reached about a hoof's width in height. Whoa! He grew the plant?!
He chuckled, setting his hoof back down and sitting there idly watching me stare in shock at the tiny thing. "You try makin' it ah little bigger," he suggested, gesturing towards the small sapling. I swallowed nervously and gave him an uneasy glance, but he just nodded confidently towards me, and lightly bumped my left foreleg with his still gesturing hoof. Images of the sapling on fire and Big Mac beating me to a pulp rapidly came to mind, but I fought them back and slowly, carefully extended my hoof out and touched the tiny plant. It was kind of hard to believe this would be a tree one day.
"Good. Just close yer eyes an' feel tha plant against yer hoof. Let it rest there until ya can feel every sensation o' it. Feel tha soil under tha rest o' yer skin, too, an' just let it touch ya," he instructed calmly, his voice surprisingly relaxing and without concern. He wasn't worried in the least that I was going to cause the horrible demise of this little plant, which was a bit comforting.
Slowly, I felt the tiny little sapling. It brushed against my hoof and, even though I thought I would hardly be able to sense it against the harder roughness on the bottom of my leg, it was definitely there. More than I expected, I almost felt it willfully touching my hoof. It felt happy. The sensation of the moist soil expanded out from it, and I knew it was enjoying the water in the ground. Sunlight as well danced across it, and it had everything it needed. I smiled, sensing the old feeling of the ground, and the sturdy stability around me. It felt right, and I nodded to Big Mac.
"Yer ah fast learner. Lean back inta yerself now, ever so gently. Ah'm sure ya can feel it. Ya like tha sensations. Feel that inside yerself and pull it out. Show tha plant that, an' push ah bit o' yerself forward," he explained softly. Pull myself out? Did he mean... Of course. Pull my energy out of myself alongside the sensation brought about by the plant, and push it into my hoof! It was like the act of finalizing a spell casting!
My eyes widened, opening as the inner light activated again and cast a very light amber glow from my irises. It was like full body magic when I briefly recalled casting biorythm spells. Smiling, I felt the energy form in my hoof, gently swaying like the wind the little plant felt and told me about. It gurgled, flowing like the water through the soil and the plant was happy with me. It was happy. My eyes widened as it grew before my eyes, expanding and branching out while washed in the bright, cascading blue light from my hoof. Big Mac got a smirk on his face as he started laughing, then gestured my hoof away from the tiny plant.
"Ah should'a known ya would take ta it naturally. That there is our own form o' magic. No Unicorn or Pegasi can do that. Ya might have yer own magic, but this belongs ta ya. Just like tha ground itself," he complimented, smiling softly down at the swaying and almost dancing tree sapling, now almost half a meter tall with tiny limbs extending from it.
I frowned, staring at the sapling that was now impossible to ignore. I'd done that, and there was no doubt about that. But what exactly did it mean? "Ground?" I asked curiously, glancing back up at the red stallion questioningly.
"There's ah reason we're called Earth Ponies. Simple answer is that we grow things. Most are just happy with that. Truth is more complex, o' course. We understand. Nature, that is. Ya felt it, right? It talked ta ya. Plant, animal, an' earth alike. Ya showed ya could listen, which means yer as much ah part o' Equestria as tha rest o' us, no matter where ya started," he deduced, nodding towards the plant again. I couldn't take my eyes off it as it swayed gently before brushing lightly against my chest. It was intangible, but all the more real because of it. Happy. A thank you. In the same instant, I felt it float through my chest and shivered lightly, earning another chuckle from my friend.
"Any ol' Earth Pony can help tha lands prosper. Some o' us are better at certain things than others, o' course. Ah'm real good at growin' apples, specifically," he elaborated slowly, gesturing back at his Cutie Mark. I easily nodded, realizing that much. Wait, growing?
The dawning expression must have been visible, as he smirked suddenly and nodded. "Ah'm good with apples, but Ah'm best at specifically growin' 'em. Sis is downright amazin' at harvestin' 'em. Ah swear she could just nuzzle tha trees an' all those apples would just drop inta her baskets. Granny is downright incredible at makin' stuff with 'em. She can tell tha best apples apart, too, 'cause o' that." That actually made a lot of sense, given what their Cutie Marks were.
"My Cutie Mark doesn't seem much like an Earth Pony one," I muttered, glancing back at my flank, and the silver cog that adorned it. That blasted heart in the center had done nothing but infuriate me in its meaning since I got the thing.
Big Mac stared at it for a second before nodding softly and looking back at me. "Ah swear yer half Unicorn, honestly, but Ah've seen weirder. Distant cousin had ah rollin' pin fer his. Fer ah long while, he was runnin' 'round tryin' ta whack ponies with one before Ah oh so gently pointed out ah dough recipe book. He was ah might thick, though," he muttered, thinking for a moment. I blinked, and then started snickering as the mental image of a pony chasing others around with a rolling pin popped up. Well, at least he wasn't around when I came to Equestria. I'd still be traumatized, probably!
"Point is, there's lots o' different interpretations ta Cutie Marks. Ya gotta find yer own meanin', even though Ah think yer already doin' amazin'. That conveyor definitely has tha Earth Pony feel to it," he enlightened, smirking afterwards as I perked up.
"What do you mean, Earth Pony feel?" I asked, suddenly curious now that a potential lead was being shown to me.
He nodded, then stared up and off into the forest tree canopy for a moment. I followed his gaze, trying to figure out what he was looking at, but didn't see anything in particular. Accept for a fascinating looking squirrel that stared down at me from two trees away, looking at me like I was a strange curiosity of some sort. Of course, maybe I was to it. Heh, it hadn't seen anything yet, though. It would probably burrow into the tree if it saw me start popping tentacles out.
"It's tha feel o' somethin' Ah get sometimes," Big Mac suddenly spoke up, causing me to jump in surprise. I'd forgotten I'd asked him something a minute back. "Sturdy an' practical. Ah felt our magic in it. Like it was ah natural part o' things rather than an invention. Sis felt it, too, an' was downright impressed," he elaborated, somehow still managing to be cryptic regardless.
I stared at him for a moment before frowning and looking back down at the plant. I was an Earth Pony. We had our own magic, and I could use it. I could mix my magic with it, actually. It was compatible, which surprised me more than a little. What else was there hidden in the undercurrents of this amazing world? Maybe that's why Pinkie and Applejack seemed particularly affected by my magic? I smiled lightly in amusement. I could use Earth Pony magic. The little tree sapling in front of me suddenly felt strangely familiar to me. Like a small friend that sat there, smiling happily to me. It was the oddest sensation, but it didn't feel wrong. Quite the opposite. I wondered if it was the same for all Earth Ponies. For the first time in a very long while, since before Nirru came, I felt myself relax. I belonged to this world, and didn't have to be afraid of anything taking me from it. Earth Pony. That was why I was an Earth Pony. No matter how far away, I'd always be a part of Equestria...
"Mender, my wings are stuck again!" Rainbow shouted from way back at the lake suddenly. Wincing from the abrupt blast of sound, I sighed and shook my head wearily, earning another knowing chuckle from Big Mac. This was going to be a long day...
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nice chapter
Really liking the portrayal of Earth Pony magic here, as well as being thoroughly pleased in Mender finally finding a truly tangible reason to feel like he belongs in Equestria, and isn't just invading.
Curious as to the ramifications of how compatible his magic is with Earth Pony magic, and that off-hoof comment from Mac about how he seems half-unicorn sometimes. Thinking to how much research has apparently gone into Equestria already by the Keldarians, was he designed to be that way, to have an in-depth understanding of the inner workings of the native magic. . ? So many questions raised for me here, as well as a nice break from the constant thrill Mender goes through.
May be one of my favourite chapters yet.
Great chapter!
I wonder if he is part Pegasus as well. Princess oops i meant Prince Moon Mender
I smell the foreshadowing at the end there................. and it smells GOOD
Hmm... wonder where you may have possibly seen a CheeriMac recently...
Dammit, Sweetie! he said he'd give you a chance!!! And there we go, Mac's secret genius finally comes to light? Interesting.
Also, now we know what she looks like (even with four boobs),... needs more Keela!!!
Oh, damn. Redheart's cooler, you say? Would that be "container for keeping things cool" or "mare in heat's best friend?"
Hm, he's realizing his actual race now; a fact that hasn't looked into too much himself... Also, I sense some sort of foreshadowing here. "No matter how far away". ALIEN ABDUCTION INCOMING! Grab the tinfoil hats!
Great chapter, as always.
...
Yeah, I got nothing. here, have a 'stache.
Great!
But when was it mentioned that there was a limit to how many mares there could be in a herd?
lol, I imagine it took some time and effort to keep the rating down?
And I thought Sweetie was a space heater not a fashion accessory. After a moment's thought, her current condition makes her better at the former.
Well the way the Hearts Desire effected Sweetie Bell certainly shocked me. The way you gave the explanation of Earth Pony magic was very well done. I half expected the sapling to shoot up fifty feet though, would have been funny. But the experience tugged at the heartstings just prefectly.
And i'm pretty sure i made a comment on the Nose Filter thing before too. Good thinking Mender, now just make an automatic setting and you're good to go! This was a Beautiful chapter.
Explained to my family about your story after I mentioned you yesterday, they thought it was hilarious. They told me i need to focus on things I use or see on a regular basis, so i told them that your story is enjoyed on a regular basis. I now type this from my wii because my grandma thinks i spend too much time on the computer. Didn't see this coming, oh well. :pinkieshrug:
Nice one m8!
Heh, as usual... No rest for the wicked in Equestria...
Why does this make me laugh so hard?
Things are coming alone quite nicely, but I really got a bad feeling. Like something is going to be dropping out of the sk-
-Rainbow does a Sonic Rainboom on the lake surface-
Aside from Rainbow Dash!
The visualization I got from mender growing the plant was great. Can't wait till next week.
-Missy
omg that beginning. I was not expecting that to happen. I didn't doubt she would grow up but dam I did not think of the heat affecting her and defiantly not like that. wow that was something.
so the Apples parents are passed. guess it makes sense and there's a reason the whole fandom believes it
interesting use of earth pony magic. defiantly makes earth ponies have a more obvious use of there magic and it makes sense when you think of it. well defiantly help Mender feel like he fits in now. Mac is just too smart for his own good. But now I have some weird anime scene in my head of him growing a tree at a extreme rate to use it as a barrier or a weapon against some foe haha.
what is your cutie mark telling you? your good at engineering and you have a nack for being attractive to every mare around you. I guess it could also be that your possibly going to end up being an exception to the law and have more than 6 in a herd
long day you say? what more do ya expect in 1 day? ya learned how to grow a tree, been almost poisoned, ejaculated on, chased and almost raped Snapshot, found a cave with mysterious rocks, befriended Prudentia, learned some truth about the disks, and teased be pretty much every mare you meet. sounds like a pretty filling day to me.
Another great chapter!
it gets awkwarder and awkwarder with sweetie doesn't it?
In every story i've read earth ponies r just strong... and kinda lame considering the alternative is flight and magic.
i like the concept of this kind of tangible earth pony magic
Oh you 're wings are stuck again rainbow dash some fresh seaman will clear it right up!
Aside from the "accept" bit with the squirrel, did you mean except?
Anyway, woo, a final relaxing breath and a feeling of belonging for our hero here. ... only for it to be abruptly busted by RD. Which if you think about is a complete opposite from what had happened earlier in the chapter.
1st Sentence:
AMG HURRY HURRY HURRY
Last sentence:
Ahhh.... What a nice feel.
Loved the chapter, I just have one small grammatical complaint:
should be
That is my only issue with this chapter. I'm nit-picky.
I loved the scene with the plant-growing, though. It fits very well with my headcanon about Earth Pony magic. Keep it up!
3557098 I sincerely hope this is a troll account, because if not, there are some serious problems with your grammar.
I could write something constructive or about my enjoyment or grammar nazi that "accept"...
But instead...
All I'll say is how thirsty that chapter made me.
derpicdn.net/img/view/2013/9/30/438355__safe_solo_animated_big+macintosh_eyebrows_artist-colon-charmsandpandas.gif
I REGRET NOTHING
3557504
3557547
3557577
We three parrots, bumbling and righteous.
Guess I should remember to refresh comments before I write my own after a read.
3557605
The fact that Mender's life has not been threatened in this chapter should probably concern us more than just one word.
Mender accepting he's equestrian at last
That he belongs, in spite of his past
He may be free of his guilt at last
But with one thing done, another will take its place
A thing that is bigger, putting his past back in his face
For nothing is ever quiet with Mender Moon
A bigger calamity will rear its head soon
My poem for this chapter, on the end so sweet
and Macintosh speaks!
For Mender's come to terms with his past, and his future he shall meet
So I must say, Heart's Desire got some strong effects
And soon his sanity, Mender must recollect
Rainbow getting flirty
To come to terms with the second could take a few weeks
Another great chapter and a breath from the speed
So where to next, will your story lead
I will find out next Friday release
And find out if Mender will stay more at peace
So for now, good Kiro, I must sign off
So I will leave you with a gentlemanly hat doff
-Eclipse
um unliving? Isn't a doll already unliving? If you don't think so I am staying clear of your location in a 100 mile radius.
Going to be honest, wasn't thinking strawberries.
Great chapter Kiro! Also, the zebra-guy with the Moon Mender picture hasn't commented yet, (I forget his name. Sue me.) He is half of why I look forward to my Fridays so much. Oh well, guess I will check again tomorrow. Or is it later today, as it is 1:30... urgh times!
Damnit Dash. I think a part of your cutie mark may be missing because you are always interrupting Mender's moments of self discovery.
Great chapter as always Kiro. I especially enjoy your take on Earth pony magic. You seem to have given a much more natural and tangible feel to it aside from simply stating that Earth ponies are better with plants than the other pony races like some other authors I've read.
I absolutely loved the part with growing Mender using Earth Pony magic. It felt well... magical, heh.
3557556 I was just making a joke.
It's probably bad I can't see any foreshadowing.
I suspect Mender turning in to a mare would be hilarious. I can't really think of anything which could be done to pull it off though in your universe...
Loved the feelings in this chapter. I just hope SB really gets it this time and doesn't keep trying to make MM love her instead of waiting.
Heh, look at me talking about her as if she's actually a real person. Just goes to show how well you developed your characters. 
Also, like everybody, I really loved the earth pony magic you came up with. No fancy dynamics or in depth analysis, just something that comes naturally and is part of earth ponies, linking them permanently to Equestria.
Keep up the good work!
Read you later!
~ Baasz
I'd really like to see more of the Earth Pony magic stuff. Really interesting.
3557605
Let's make a group. I call lead singer/guitarist.
3556303
Never, but at some point there is a limit to how many mares Mender can "handle". I would suggest 7 max so at least each mare would have a whole day a week with just her and Mender. However, that is pushing things, with the way Mender is now, 4 or 5 is a good number.
~Hearn
3557841
I love seeing comments like these!
I always aim to please.
Actually I write purely to write
But comments like these make me feel light
Thanks.
-Eclipse
How is it possible for 'nothing' to take so long in this story. It's Great!
I demand the fourth slot in mender's herd! I'll fight for it! I'll kill all ya'lls bitches!
also:
: Mender! How you get dem ladies?!
:... Damnit.
Mender: Magic.
3562720 Any time Mr. Zebra-guy
Never expected Macintosh to give a magic lesson.
3569846 Uh.. nope, that is not a book on necromancy in my bag, not at all.
It's... a cookery book?
3569854 Thats not the thing. It is not my favourite storyline so far, is all
3569849
Yeah, good enough!
must be fun having a story that influences people to the extent where they get mad if they dont get it!
3546971 Oh come on! You know you wanna!
3569846 Indeed, I bow to your mastery of being amazing.
3569846
It seems that you failed to notice the text inside the spoiler.
3569862 I claim this clump of responses denver.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw3759-1332105937692.png Now hail to your master. static3.fjcdn.com/thumbnails/comments/Because+Goomy+that+s+why.+Do+not+question+your+_e9b5ac88d7f6d688760a6748e16929d2.jpg