The Devil Went Down to Ponyville: Part 1
Len, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash waved to Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo’s families as they left.
He rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Well, that could have gone better.” He gave Rainbow Dash a sidelong look. “Thanks for getting Scootaloo’s parents here so quickly, by the way. Meeting them was a treat.”
“Loosen up Len!” Rainbow Dash said with friendly jab at his hip. “The looks on their faces were priceless when you had to explain that you actually did eat a manticore!”
Leonard glared at her. “You sure as hell didn’t help. Scoot’s mum nearly passed out when you asked if it tasted like chicken. How do you even know that joke?”
“I used to be friends with a griffin, so I know some stuff that most ponies don’t want to. What did it taste like, anyways? You never answered my question.”
Leonard closed his eyes and squeezed the bridge of his nose a little harder. Of course there were griffins here. Next, he’ll meet a minotaur motivational speaker living near Ponyville, because the mutliverse seemed to love wordplay. “It tasted like pork.”
“Really? That’s weird.” Rainbow Dash gave him another friendly shove. “Come on, they warmed up to you. Rarity’s dad even invited you to play pickup hoofball this weekend! You’ve got to be good in his goodbooks!”
“Yes, because I've got hands, I’m big, and I managed to bludgeon a manticore to death. No offense, but I think he’d invite a bear to play for his team if he knew it wouldn’t eat the players.”
Applejack nodded. “He has a point. After Mac pulled Berry’s house down the street last Hearts and Hooves Day, Magnum spent weeks trying to get Mac to play.”
Leonard opened his mouth to ask about this, but then Rainbow started speaking as if that event had been no big deal. Maybe it was bust not to ask and forget he had ever heard anything.
“There you go! As long as you don’t eat his kid and play hoofball with him, you’ll have another friend in Ponyville!”
There was a lot wrong with that sentence, but Len just closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose again. “I’m probably going to need all the friends I can get once word gets out that I’m a manticore-eating killing machine, so sure, what the hell.”
“That’s the spirit! I’ve got to go, but have fun meeting the Apples. Granny Smith is hilarious.” Rainbow Dash lifted off and turned towards Ponyville. “Take it easy, Len!”
The two of them waved goodbye to Rainbow Dash and started making their way to where Fluttershy was sitting with the Apples. A small flash of white bouncing over to the yellow pegasus caught Leonard's eye, so he tapped Applejack on the shoulder.
“Applejack,” Len whispered, “that’s the rabbit that I told you about. The one that shook it’s fist at me.” Sure enough, the small, white rabbit standing at Fluttershy’s side was giving him the hairy eyeball.
Applejack stopped walking towards the group and held a hoof against her forehead. “Consarnit, I was hopin’ she’d have left that rabbit at home.”
“What’s the big deal? It’s not like he can tell her I think bunnies taste like chicken.” Leonard paused, observing Applejack’s face-hoofing, reflected on the fact that he was now in a world of magical talking ponies, and buried his face in his hand. “She can talk to animals.”
“Yep, she can.” Applejack started slowly walking towards the group. “So you better make a darn-good impression before that critter tells her you’re a ravenous, bunny-eating monster.”
“Anything I should know about her?”
“Well, she’s shyer than baby deer caught alone in an empty field, so you’ve got that working against you.”
“Shit.”
“Eeyup.”
As they neared the group, a burly red stallion wearing a yoke came up to them and offered Len his hoof. “McIntosh Apple.”
Leonard shook his hoof. “Leonard Schreiter, pleased to meet you.”
Mac nodded in return. “Thanks for gettin’ my sister outta that forest.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Applejack told me you eat meat.” Fluttershy’s ears perked up at this and she hid behind her mane.
“I do, but never anything that could talk back.”
“You could take care of that yourself, then?”
“Yes.”
“Can you work?”
“I’m plenty strong, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Right then. Welcome to the farm.” With a small nod and smile, Mac started walking towards the fields.
“Where do you think you’re goin’? You've barely talked to the fella!” Applejack hollered after him.
“Work to be done,” Mac hollered back.
Turning to Len, she punched him in the hip, none too gently. "What in tarnation was that little back-and-forth?”
That was going to get old really quickly, ponies not being able to reach his shoulders. Shoulders take punches much better than hips. Scratching the back of his head, Len noticed that he was surrounded by wom—mares, so he had better watch how he explained himself.
“Would I be in trouble if I said it was a guy thing?”
Applejack raised an eyebrow at him.“Yes.”
“Noted. He’s a guy, right, and like any good brother-slash-son-slash-grandson, he feels he needs to look after his family. I may have rescued his youngest sister, but I'm still another mouth to feed who happens to be omnivorous. He sized me up, and figured I’d be a small enough threat that he didn’t need to me run off the farm, and enough of a help to keep around.”
“That sure as hay was clearer than callin’ it a guy thing. Why didn’t you say that first?”
Leonard tried to keep a straight face, but failed completely at hiding a mischievous grin. “It’s a guy thing.”
Applejack punched him in the hip again, but she smiled this time. “Smart-alec.” Len did his best not to wince, but that was starting to hurt.
Luckily for him, Applebloom saved him from further abuse. “Len! Come on over and meet Fluttershy!”
Oh boy. The poor thing was still hiding behind her long, pink mane. It didn’t look practical; she had to keep it that way just for that purpose. Not quite sure what to say, he took a step forward, her rabbit leaned in to whisper in her ear, and Len found his opener.
“Miss Fluttershy?” he asked, sure to keep his voice low. “My name’s Leonard Schreiter. I think your rabbit and I have already met.” Pausing, he scratched his chin and made a show of tilting his head and putting his other hand on his hip. "Where did we meet? Was it the Everfree Forest?"
At that, Fluttershy peeked out from behind her mane, and the rabbit visibly paled. Like Twilight earlier, that was a bit of a feat considering the colour of his coat.
“Oh, really?” she asked. “Not that you're, um, remembering wrong, but Angel Bunny isn't allowed in the forest. It's too dangerous.”
Ho ho, "Angel," his ass. That little bugger was frantically motioning for Len to keep his mouth shut just out of her sight.
"Now I remember," he said, giving Angel an encouraging look. “He met us on our way to the farm. I think he wasn’t sure what to think of me, so he just watched me for a bit, sizing me up. After that, he just nodded at me and scampered back here, so I think he must have figured I was all right.”
Fluttershy turned to Angel, and the rabbit smiled and gave Len a thumbs up.
“Oh, um, if Angel Bunny thinks so, I guess you must be nice. You, uh...” she hesitated, before hiding behind her mane again. “You said you eat meat?” she asked with a barely audible squeak.
“Yes, I do. An adult human my size needs a fair bit of protein to stay healthy. I can get along without eating meat, though. I just have to eat a whole bunch of beans and grains to get the right kind and amount.”
“So ya like beans!” Granny Smith called out from her chair. “Hoo-ee, it’s been a while since I cooked up a Mexicoltan feast. You’re in fer a treat!” The old mare creaked out of her chair and started slowly making her way to the house, mumbling something about giving the pressure cooker a pep talk.
“Is she all right? I’d hate to impose on her. Beans take a lot of work to prepare.”
Applejack just laughed and hit him with another shot to the hip. “Don’t you worry none, Sugarcube, Granny will whip up a bean feast faster than you’d believe. Just don’t go in the kitchen, or she’ll crack you on the noggin’ with her ladle.”
If Mac could pull a house, he didn’t want to find out what his grandma could do with a ladle.
“Um, it was... nice meeting you, Len,” Fluttershy said. “I have to go now, though. The animals will need to be fed soon.”
Applejack elbowed him in the hip again—he was going to have to have a talk with that mare—and winked at him, hiding it with the brim of her hat. “How about we walk ya home, Fluttershy? We’ve got see what Mac might need help with, so we’re going that way anyways.”
“Right,” Len added in. “Besides, I’m sure Mac would want to say goodbye to you before you left. It wouldn’t be very gentleman... gentlestallio... it wouldn’t be very polite of him not to see a young mare off his farm.”
Fluttershy’s cheeks turned pink as her hair and she mumbled something in the affirmative, giving Leonard an uncomfortably strong urge to hug her and brush her hair.
Shaking his head, he turned to Applejack and winked at her. “Lead on!”
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great chapter
though it needs to be more ''spaced'' i think it's called.
and you should totally include the hoofball scene
2320717 "Spaced?" I have no idea what you're talking about.
2320719 it's like a wall of text.
2320766 I'm sorry, but I'm still not sure what you mean. The text is double-spaced, if that's what you're referring to.
2320766 Nevermind, I think I figured it out. I added an extra space between paragraphs.
You say football...do you mean grid-iron(American), European(soccer), gaelic, Aussie rules, rugby union or rugby league?
We play and support all of them here in Australia.
2320865 Good question. Rarity's dad has three American Footballs as a cutie mark, so it's American football.
2320871 Not as good as rugby league, but should make for an interesting chapter.
2320910 This is true. Unfortunately, I am bound by the cannon character. He is very much a midwestern American, football loving dad.
2320719 it means (i think) the story needs abit more detail to it. also seems abit short but that's fine
Well, if anyone thinks that the name Magnum is out of place, just remind them that magnum is a type of hops.
2321044 That fact is 100% relevant.
Nice Angel handling, that was inspired.
I wouldn't play up Fluttershy being scared of Len because of the meat eating too much, after all we've seen her feed fish to some of her critters in the show.
2321044 Hell, if anyone thinks Magnum is out of place, just remind them that Dash wanted a pet as fast as a bullet and that she named her eventual pet tortoise Tank.
2321083 Thank you sir. A good piece of advice, and one I intend to follow through on. Fluttershy's discomfort with him had more to do with her general level of shyness, and the fact that he's a talking, sentient creature than consumes meat. That's going to put most ponies off, and for a little while at least, that's going to put her off a little bit more than the average pony. I'll say no more, to prevent spoilers.
2321107 Sounds good.
2320717
Fugly Duckling, we meet again... *narrows eyes*
2321308 Woah there gents, I don't need to bring Mac in, do I?
yessss. new chapter?
new chapter?!
lol! "Mexicoltan"!!!
Gotta love the whole "guy thing" scene.
2323142 I'm glad you liked it!
2320812 oh right 'paragraphs' sorry english isn't my main language so i forget sometimes
2321308 i was trying to avoid you
denver.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw9241-derpysad.png
2320519
I feel so special! I influenced a fic somehow!
2323498 No worries my friend, it all came out right in the end.
2323825 You are special!
2376364 I wish I had known about this beforehand so I could have purposefully referenced it. You should have seen my face when I clicked play.
Update?
2409798 Exams. Sorry for the delay, but life. The story's still going on, though, don't worry.
Progress report?
2550855 I am currently working through the night on an update for One Honest Mare, as it has priority. I promised its readers that there would be an update soon on Sunday, then buggered up my back and spent Monday and Tuesday not sitting. I also care about it more, in all honesty. Starting later today (because no point in sleeping during the day), I'll work on the next update for Courage. It shouldn't take long, as I've got in planned out. By the beginning of next week, most likely.
Seriously, I am super happy to be done school. I had a bit to do in between the 25th (last exam) and now, including looking for a job, but it's nice to have time to write again.
Now... if we can get an update, that'd be great.