Resistance: Fall of a Man

by Final Resistance

A Small Challenge

A Small Challenge

As I walk to Sweet Apple Acres this morning I go over my dream. I need to know if I can trust C. He seems so willing to help me but I can understand his willingness to help. I lived with freedom all my life and I have always had a chance to voice my opinion and argue with others. He had to go through life like a routine day, never asking why and never being rewarded. Now he is free to think for himself and he doesn’t want that taken away from him. It’s like a wild animal being put into captivity, any born into captivity never knew what the wild was like and live happily in the cage. Those that have been taken from the wild yearns to return to it. When let out again the animal will avoid anything it thinks would take it away from freedom again.

No matter how much I want to forget, he is part of the virus. He was the one that controlled it as it advanced through my body. Do you just trust someone who came from the other side? I might have to put him through some tests to make sure he is on my side.

I feel happy for him but now that he has tasted freedom, how far is he willing to go? He says he doesn’t have control over the virus but he could be lying to draw me in. If that’s true should I never speak to him again? What about those powers he told me about? Even if they do help me could they also harm me? I need to go over my options and find the bes-

“Howdy Resistance!”

I am brought from my thoughts by the southern voice of Applebloom. I look up and see the familiar fruit filled trees of Sweet Apple Acres. The smell in the air clears my clouded mind and brings me back to the here and now. I am standing at the closed gate leading onto the farm. I look down to the little filly who is beaming at me. I return the smile and greeting. “Good morning Applebloom. Did you have a good night sleep?”

She nods enthusiastically. She pulls open the gate to let me inside. “Yep, got up early this mornin though. Today’s gunna be fun.”

I step through the gate but raise an eyebrow to what she said. “Fun?”

Again more nods. “Yep.”

“How so?”

A mischievous smile spread across her face. “You’ll see.” She races off back to her house.

I watch her as she disappears inside her home, still confused by her statement. I look around to see if I can find another one of the Apples and see if I can get a clear answer. My searching pays off when I see Big Mac pulling a cart and heading towards the house. Most likely to gather his siblings for whatever is planned for today. I dash to him.

“Hey Big Mac!” I wave to the stallion. “Good morning!”

Big Mac stops and turns his head towards me. “Mornin Resistance, sleep well?”

“Yeah.” I stretch my back and wings. “I feel great.”

Big Mac raises an eyebrow to my statement. “Really? Most don’t feel so good after a day of helping the Apples.”

I rub the back of my head. “Well I wasn’t here all day yesterday so I probably didn’t get the real experience yet. But I am here today and I am ready to help.” I give a poor salute to Big Mac. I have to control myself from breaking out into laughter over the sloppy gesture. A salute like this would get me a swift kick in the ass from my drill sergeant.

Big Mac gave me a big smile. “Yep.”

“By the way, Applebloom said today was going to be fun.”

“Yep.” His smile never falters. I wait for more but he just continues to smile at me.

“Care to explain what she meant?”

Big Mac turns his head and keeps on walking towards the house. “Nope.”

I point a hoof at him. “You’re all in it together! I’m going to be the joke of the day aren’t I?”

He says nothing but keeps on walking. I swear I hear a chuckle escape the bastard though. I follow along but I am now on alert. I constantly look around for anypony trying to prank or mess with me. Who would have thought I would be watching my back around ponies?

We reached the house but I kept my guard up incase Applebloom or her family has anything planned for me.

“You hungry?” Big Mac asked.

I stop for a second and realize I haven’t eaten since the party yesterday. My stomach decides to let me know that it is annoyed with my carelessness. A large growl erupts from my guts and I see Big Macs ears twitch at the noise. I just stare at Big Mac and he stares at me. “Now that you mention it, yes I am.”

He unhooks himself from the cart and we both head inside. The inside of the house had a good old fashion feel to it. Family pictures were on the walls with various apple shaped accessories everywhere. I could see family albums on books shelves. Each of the albums contains a lot of pictures of the apple family members. The house is filled with the smell of apples and cinnamon, probably from the breakfast that was waiting for us. When we entered the kitchen I saw Applebloom sitting at the table licking her lips. Granny Smith and Applejack were at the stove making what looked like pancakes. Applejack was humming a tune to herself while Granny was watching the batter cook to make sure they came out perfect.

Applejack’s hair was not in its usual pony tail and hung free on her shoulders.

“Morning Applejack,” I spoke up to great my hosts.

Applejack turns, “Hmm? Oh, mornin’ Rez. Sleep well last night?”

I nod, “Yes I did.” I turn my attention to the green mare next to her. “Good morning to you to Mrs. Smith.”

Granny Smith’s eyes never left the pancake in front of her. Like a hawk, she watched her target and waited for the perfect chance to strike. With a quick movement of her hoof she hit the handle of the pan. Sending the half-finished pancake into the air causing it to flip over and it landed perfectly back in the pan. The side now facing up was a perfect color with no burns on it. She resumed her task of watching the pancake.

I bet I look stupid right now with my mouth hanging open. I felt a hoof lift my jaw to close it and I look to see Applejack smiling at me. I smile back and move to a seat. Granny soon finishes the last pancake and brings a stack of them to the table. Big Mac lifts a hoof and brings it down on the table sending the stack up and out. Several pancakes land on my plate and everyone’s plates as well. They all sat beaming at me. I didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of me thinking that was amazing. “So, we going to eat or do you want to use more time on tricks?”

All their faces turned from happy to annoyed in a split second. I didn’t flinch but I felt a bit of fear in the pit of my stomach. “What?”

Applebloom spoke up, “Is that how ya treat yer hosts?”

*sigh* “Thanks for having my over for breakfast.” I tap my hooves together for a sarcastic clap. Their smiles returned.

Applejack had taken off her Stetson. I need to express proper table manners as well and stand up. I take my rifle off my back and lean it delicately against a wall. I take off my vest as well and lay it down next to the gun. I arrange them so no one will trip over them. I turn my head slightly and see Applebloom taking an interest in the Marksman. “You know Applebloom it’s rude to stare.”

Applebloom shakes herself out of her daze. “Hey! That aint the same thing from yesterday, right?”

Took somepony long enough to spot it. “Correct, this one is called the Marksman. It has more power than the Folsom from yesterday. It is able to reach out further too.” Everypony starts to stare at the weapon lying against the wall. The youngest had eyes filled with stars and wonder. The elder sister was eyeing the weapon with caution because of the danger it posed. The red giant had only raised an eyebrow to the new piece of technology. The eldest of the Apples just smiled at the contraption.

“Why do ya carry such dangerous things?” Applejack asked.

I look at the Marksman, then to her. “I would rather have it and not need it, then need it and not have it.”

By the look she is giving me I guess my answer wasn’t good enough for her. “Ok, I have traveled for so long with these strapped to my back that I would feel naked without them. I bet you would feel the same if you lost your hat.”

Applejack reached for her hat and touches it gently. “Ah guess ah understand. Still it’s dangerous ta keep such a thing around youngins.”

“Don’t worry, just like with the other one it can only work when a special piece is inserted.” I tap the magazine on my vest. “This one doesn’t have a knife attached to the front of it either.”

Applejack looks the Marksman over one more time before she nods and turns her attention back to the pancakes in front of her. My mouth was already salivating at the sight of the pancakes. I take fork and cut a piece off of one and put it in my mouth. The pancakes had bits of apple in them and some cinnamon for extra flavor. The taste isn’t overwhelming, and the apples are giving the pancakes a different texture and flavor. It has been awhile since I tasted something like this. The sweets from yesterday were delicious no doubt but these pancakes are a home cooked meal with a whole different feel to them. It’s a warm feeling of being home with family. It's a feeling I missed.

After we ate our fill we got to work cleaning the kitchen. Applebloom wiped down the table while Applejack and I went to work cleaning the dishes. I would wash them, Applejack would dry them, and Big Mac would put them away. After we finished I turned to Applejack to ask what we would be doing today when a commanding voice rang out from the living room.

“ALL PONIES, FRONT AND CENTER!!”

All the kitchens occupants rush to the living room and lined up. Before us stood Granny Smith wearing an old army helmet and a stare that would make any drill Sergeant proud. “Well well, look what we got here. A group of ponies who think they can call themselves Sweet Apple Acres finest.”

She began to walk down the line stopping to inspect each of our postures. While I’m sure the others knew she would not be too strict with how we looked. I still did what I always did when I was in front of a superior. I stood at attention with my eyes and head facing forward. I had this beat into me during my training so no matter what I was ready to be judged. That being said I did steal a quick glance down the line to see how the others were fairing.

All three of them looked like new recruits that haven’t had the crap beat out of them by basic yet. While they tried their best to look the part they just couldn’t change the fact that their stances were still poor. Applebloom looked adorable holding a serious face while having her trademark big red bow in her hair. She also seems so excited she couldn’t stop fidgeting. Applejack had her hat on and had a huge grin on her face. She also looks excited and is almost stomping her hooves to get going. By far the best out of all of them was Big Mac and his neutral expression. He was facing forward and held still while standing attention. My eyes looked straight ahead as our old helmet wearing superior stopped in front of me.

“What’s yer name?”

“Resistance Hail ma’am.” I salute.

“Where ya from.”

“Middle of nowhere ma’am.”

Her eyes narrow. “You think you can handle today’s mission?”

“Yes ma’am.”

She smiled. “Good. Today troops you will be heading into town to sell our products to its citizens.”

“Yes ma’am!”

“Like always it will be a competition to see which one of you can sell the most. You know the prize for selling the most and you know the punishment for selling the least.” Granny Smith turned her eyes to me. “Applejack, you can fill the new stallion in on what both of them are.”

Applejack salutes. “Yes ma’am.”

“All righty then, troops move out!” Granny Smith stood off to the side giving us all a salute. We salute back and begin to march. We moved through the front door in a single file line with Big Mac first, followed by me, then Applejack, and finally Applebloom. Big Mac hitches himself back up to the cart and we made our way towards Ponyville.

We marched for several minutes before we went back to a normal walk towards Ponyville. I wanted to go over the dream some more but what Granny Smith said about punishments has got my head in a jumble right now. What sort of punishments would be given for failure? I look to Applejack and decide to voice my question. “Hey Applejack, what did she mean by punishment?”

“Uh nothing nothing at all.” Applejack’s nose scrunched up and her eyes darted from side to side. It was the worst poker face I had ever seen.

“Really? Are you really that bad of a liar?”

“…No?”

“…Ok then, I will leave you to your self-denial and ask another. Applebloom, what is this punishment?”

The little filly can hardly contain her giggles. “Ya gotta run the apple crusher in cider season.” She returned to her giggle fit.

I give her a confused look. “That’s it? Doesn’t sound so bad.” The giggles start to increase. “What?”

Applejack answers this time. ”It’s a giant rolling stone that is powered by a pony running.”

It all clicks. “Oooooooh, well don’t want to do that. Who normally does it?”

“Me.” Big Mac says in a sad tone.

Big Mac hangs his head low. The giant stallion is perfect for the task but I’m not sure if I could run for a long time. I don’t want to win but I don’t want to lose either. “What’s the prize anyway?”

All three began to salivate at my question. Applebloom licked her lips and gave me my answer. “Ya get to have the first mug of fresh cider.”

“Is it that good?” As soon as I voiced my question I wish I could have taken it back. All three of them spun to look at me. I throw my hooves on top of my head to protect myself.

“Are ya questioning the Apple family cider?”

“Uuuuh…” I began to stretch out my wings in case I need to make a break for it. “No, never would I question a product from the Apples.” I put on the biggest smile I could manage but I could feel sweat starting to pour down my face. They are going to kill me.

They glared at me for several seconds before they burst out laughing. “We’re only messin’ with ya Rez.”

“Yeeeeeep.”

I give a little forced laugh. I still feel uneasy but I give them a genuine smile and we continue towards town. “Wait a second, this is what you were laughing about Applebloom?”

The filly nods. She thinks I am going to lose to them in selling apples? Oh they have just issued a challenge to prove them wrong.

I stop, and all of them look at me confused. I kept a straight face and look them in the eyes. “Challenge accepted.” With that, I keep walking to our destination.

About ten minutes later we arrive in the town market and begin to set up the cart. We place the baskets of apples up front for display but have a few extra baskets in back in case we run out in front. The sun is still low and most ponies are probably getting out of bed right now. In the market place, store owners are up bright and early getting their stalls, carts, or whatever set up for the rush of customers.

We set up the cart in silence. Applebloom was looking over the apples for any bad ones that got though the examination process. Big Mac was moving the baskets around for easier access to the contents and Applejack was checking a bag we brought with some bit inside in case we need to make change. They have me making sure everything on the cart is set up right so it won’t roll away in the middle of our sales. I don’t know about my competition, but I’m using this time to come up with my strategy to bring in customers. Perhaps a contest of strength? Nah, I bet any earth pony could beat me right now in a strength test.

The cart is soon ready to take orders. We took our respective places with the cart. I stood off to the right of the cart with Applebloom a little to my left so she stood out in front of the cart. Applejack took the left side and Big Mac was behind the cart. The little filly had a look of determination on her face while the red giant had his usual neutral expression on. Applejack has a determined look on her face. She stomped her hooves on the ground to get her blood pumping. No doubt she has won this contest many times and doesn’t intend to lose it today.

“Calm down Applejack, it’s still too early for customers.”

Applejack turns her head to face me and a smug smirk crosses her face. “Ya scared that ahm gonna win?”

I tap my hoof to my chin and think up the best reply. “Nah.”

The contest has begun.

Author's Note:

NEW CHAPTER!
Sorry this one is kind of short but if you haven't noticed the first two chapters have been redone. I wasn't happy with how they originally turned out. So hopefully their a lot better. New chapter coming soon. If I have time, possibly this week.
Other chapters might get a revision as well but probably not till after the next chapter.

Comments

[omega-ze-wargod]

MOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR

[hawkeye35]

do you plan on his past with the chimera and being a sentinal being revealed at some point? Great story by the way

[Ayemel]