> Unlikely Hero
>  by Big Otey
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Woman on the Rocks
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was so quiet that the snow could actually be heard as it fell to the ground after filtering through the pines around him. He brought his ungloved hand out of his pocket and cupped it to his mouth, breathing warm air into it. The fog his breath created obscured his vision briefly, but that was all the time that was needed- an elk had made its presence know just a hundred feet or so in front of him.

Silently cursing, Tim brought his rifle up and took aim, observing the creature through the scope. It was a massive elk, six tines on each of his antlers and scars along his muzzle, face and neck showing a long and hard life out in the harsh wilderness. As Tim watched through the scope, the animal turned and looked towards him. The elk’s eyes gleamed with life and energy and seemed to be looking into his soul. Tim shouldered his rifle.

“Go on, buddy…. Looks like you’ve had as hard a life as I have…” with that, the elk seemed to nod to him then turned and disappeared into the trees from which it came, not making a sound. “Well,” Tim stated, shaking his head and slightly smiling “looks like it’s back to the boat…. Fish are easier to carry and clean, anyway.” He looked around briefly to get his heading and Tim marched his way through the snow back toward his make-shift camp at the shore of the bay. 

Camp wasn’t much of a camp at all; it was more of a continuation of his small houseboat that he had been living on for the past few years. He had struck out on his own and disappeared off the grid after selling most everything he owned, minus the bare essentials for surviving in the Alaskan wild. Tim had lost count of the days, months and even the years. Had it been 10 years or 15 since his wife and children had passed away and he had quit working in law enforcement when he finally snapped shortly there-after? Who knew, and more importantly, who cared? He didn’t. He had his boat, his fishing gear, his rifle and his revolver. He was surviving. 

As he trudged toward the canvas tent on the water’s edge, he stood back and sighed. Off in the distance he could see the clouds indicating that more snow, heavier snow, was on the way. It was time to start making the trip back towards the river and further south to escape the oncoming deep-freeze. Going south meant for less harsh weather, but it also meant civilization. Civilization meant people. He groaned. He preferred the wildlife over most people. The few people he did prefer were taken from him many years ago. He winced at the thought, fighting back the feeling of tears trying to make their way to the surface. Tim shook his head and finished the walk to his camp, dreading breaking down his camp as well as the inevitable trip ahead.

>>>><<<<<

“Well, the fun part’s over….” Tim stood on the bow of his houseboat at looked back at what was his home for the past few months. All his gear was stored back in their proper places while making a short list of things he might as well restock if he had to go back into a town or came across folks along the way willing to trade goods with him. He had plenty of dried meats and hides he could exchange, after all. Although he would rather deal with the people he would seldom encounter along his seasonal trip, some things he would have to get from a town- he could always use fuel for the boat and he was down to half a box each of ammo. With a final glance-over of the area, he untied his boat from the rocky shore, fired up the engine and pulled off, slowly turning and aiming his boat to the South. He had just come around a short rocky point when something of to his left caught his eye. 

He stared back toward the point and looked out on the rocks. He blinked and rubbed his eyes- surely he wasn’t seeing what he thought he was seeing. He reopened his eyes and took another look. There was someone on the rocks, waving hysterically and uneasily jumping from one rock to the next in attempt to get closer to his boat. He blinked again- they were still there and he could see the person still jumping and waving, then he heard it.

“Don’t go! Please, stop! Don’t go, help me!”

The voice, a woman’s voice, was just barely audible over the sound of the motor pushing his boat farther from the rocky point. Tim shifted the boat out of gear and was still trying to figure out what to make of what he was seeing and hearing when he saw the figure reach the end of the rocks…. Then dive into the water.

“What in the holy hell?!” Tim slammed the boat back into gear and cut hard left for the rocks. He could see the woman attempting to swim and was trying to get to her. It only took seconds and he saw the woman starting to struggle. He gave the boat all it had but it wasn’t enough- he watched the woman slowly start to succumb to the icy water and begin to go under.

“HANG ON! I’M COMMIN!” The boat was steady on course for where the woman slipped under the water’s surface just feet from the end of the rocks. As he got to the where he last seen the mysterious woman disappear, Tim shut down the boat’s motor, ran out of the cabin to the railing and scanned the water. He just barely made out a blur of color before it faded into the darkness. Tim stripped off his coat and boots and dived into the water after her just as his boat pushed its hull onto the rocks.

The icy water pierced his skin like thousands of needles and took his breath away. Bubbles of precious air escaped his mouth as he hissed in pain through his teeth. Opening his eyes and turning his head from side to side, he caught a glimpse of a purplish blur of what appeared to be some sort of cloak wrapped around a body. A few strokes closer and the image of a lifeless hand became visible- he grabbed it and swam upwards for all he was worth.

He broke the surface and gulped precious air. Water then filled his mouth as the weight of the woman was trying to pull him back down. He adjusted his grip around her, wrapping his arms around her middle and holding her to his chest. He kicked his legs and made his way back to the surface, making his way toward the rocks where the boat waited. Feeling his back hit rock, Tim fought to get his footing and then pulled the woman from the water. He turned to see the bow of his boat just a few feet away. “I got ya, miss! Just hold on, please! I got ya!” He staggered up the rocks and onto the boat carrying the woman in his arms. He kicked open the door of the small cabin and laid her on the floor. Just as he started to attempt to revive her, the woman began coughing up water and rolled onto her side.

“Lady, are you insane!? Who jumps into the water like that this far north? And why are you out here alone? What’s…” 
Tim’s words faded away as he looked at the coughing woman. So many things were odd about her, he didn’t know where to begin. Her hair that was sticking out from the matted down hood of her lavender-colored cape was a deep dark blue, streaked with pink and a dark shade of purple. Then her clothes just outright confused him; the dark-skinned woman was dressed as if she had stepped out for a springtime stroll. A simple white blouse with a thin purple sweater vest paired to simple black slacks and a pair of dress shoes. How could this woman have been out here like this and not already been frozen to death? He stirred from his thoughts as he heard the woman breathing heavily instead of coughing. Looking to her, he spoke. 

“Miss, are you alright? What in the world are you doing out here?” The woman sat up, her back to him as her breath steadied and she slowly started to remover her hood. She then turned towards Tim, looking at him with bright purple eyes. Tim stared in awe. She was beautiful, but that’s not what froze him in place. In the center of her forehead, narrow and pointed and the color of ivory, was a horn; much like that of a unicorn, only shorter. As his eyes slowly moved down from the horn back to her eyes, Tim tried to speak but could only stare open-jawed.

The woman smiled softly at him, reaching forward and resting her hand on Tim’s cheek. “I came here looking for you. My friends and I, along with many others, are in great need of help and I was sent to get your assistance, Tim”
If his eyes could pop out of his head, they would have then and there. How did this woman know his name? Who are these friends? Why do they need help? And most importantly, why do they need help from him? All these questions were flying through Tim’s mind, but only one question came forth from his lips. “Miss…. Who in the world are you?”

The woman stood up, pulling Tim up from the floor with her. Smiling again, she unclasped her cloak and folded it over one arm, dripping. She then extended her hand and looked up into his eyes.

“My name is Twilight Sparkle and I am not of this world…..”
> Answers
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tim could only stand there looking down into the eyes of the dark skinned woman with her hand outstretched to him. Slowly and unconsciously, he extended his hand out to meet hers, delicately gripping it. The woman, apparently named Twilight, smiled warmly at him. Releasing his hand, she looked around the small interior of the boats cabin. Her eyes drifted to the floor and, noticing the puddle of water at her feet, she brought her hand to her mouth and gasped lightly.

“Oh, excuse me! I seem to making a mess of your, eh… home.” With that, the small horn just under her hairline glowed with a light raspberry hue. She then raised her hand with her index finger pointing upwards. Twilight made a twirling motion with her finger and as she did so, all the water from her hair and her clothing spun out from her body and floated in the air around her, drying her instantly. She then quickly opened her fist, extending her fingers out, causing all the floating droplets of water to burst into a puff of steam and evaporated. Witnessing this, Tim jumped back from her in shock, pressing himself against the opposite wall, his arms splayed out to his sides, trying to get as far away from the woman as possible.

“Jesus Christ, lady! W-w-what the hell was that?” Tim began feeling the wall with his hands trying to find a way out of the room before he realized the strange woman was between him and the door. The woman looked at him with apologetic eyes before slowly taking a small step towards him.

“Oh no, no, no, no, no! Please, don’t be alarmed! Trust me, please, I don’t mean to startle you!” She could see that the man was shivering where he stood- whether it be from the cold water permeating his clothes and skin or from fear, she wasn’t quite sure. “Here! Let me help you! Don’t be scared!” She closed the distance between them and Tim pressed himself tighter against the wall. Twilight stepped closer to his body, laying her right hand on the center of his chest, both her hand and her ivory horn glowing with the same raspberry light.

Warmth. A deep, soothing warmth radiated from the small, delicate hand placed upon his sternum. It slowly crept through his chilled body outward from his chest, warming him more so than any wood fire he had sat in front of. A feeling of calming came with the warmth as he noticed steam rising from his body, taking the dampness from his clothes. He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes, letting the relaxing sensation take his mind and body over. Exhaling deeply, he let his arms fall down to his side before lowering his head back down, bringing his bearded chin to his chest. Opening his eyes once more, his gaze was met by the short, colored-haired woman, who had brought her face close to her hand, looking up into his face with concern in her eyes.

“Are… are you ok? Do you feel better now, Mister Tim? I hope that I haven’t shocked you too severely,… I wish to explain myself to you. Please, may we sit?” She motioned toward the captain’s seat behind the wheel of the boat and the small bench seat across from it. Tim raised his head, looking from Twilight’s face to the seats and back to her face. Then her horn. He slowly nodded and Twilight clapsed her hands together. “Perfect!” She made her way to the upright chair at the helm of the boat as Tim slowly eased himself over to the bench sitting down. He rested his elbows on his knees and brought his hands together, wringing them all the while never taking his eyes of the woman’s horn.

Twilight noticed his stare. She blushed slightly, raising her hand and pushing a stray strand of pink and purple hair from her face and tucking it behind her ear. “Ok,… well, first things first. This-“ she pointed to the slender, 4-inch long horn elegantly adorning her forehead. “This horn, it is a trait of my folk, of who I am. I am a female of a race referred to as soul-folk, or magic-users, as it were. The horn is through which I channel my magic, which you witnessed first-hand through the spells I casted to both dry our bodies as well as to help you relax. Oh, I hope you don’t mind that I used my magic on you in the manner I did… I felt it necessary in order to have you in a more reasonable state of mind in which we could have this discussion….”

“Whoa, lady…” Tim raised his hand in order to stop the woman’s voice. “Ya gotta slow down a bit… You’re tellin me that you have a horn growin from your head because you can use magic? Like, real, legit, no smoke-and-mirrors magic? I find all this hard to take in, but seein as how we’re sittin here in bone-dry clothes after me fishin you outta the water in the middle of God-knows-where Alaska after you using that, um, spell, on us…. I guess I can’t argue the fact.” He then buried his face in his hands, trying to take all of what was said to him in. He grunted, blowing hot air through his hands before lowering them slightly, just so his eyes were visible. He looked to the woman who was sitting politely in his chair, her hands resting on the knee of her crossed legs. She was smiling at him ever so slightly, looking directly into his eyes. It was hard to believe, but what other option did he have? A question came to the front of his mind.

“How did you get out here, anyway? You’re all alone, definitely not dressed for the weather and the nearest actual town is at least a fifty or more miles away…. It just don’t make any sense…”

“A Spell!” Twilight beamed, interrupting him. She adjusted herself in the chair, leaning forward over her hands excitedly as she looked into Tim’s eyes. “An interdimensional teleportation spell to be exact!” She softly giggled as she continued “I had never tried such a spell before… it was very, very taxing! I had studied plenty teleportation spells while in Canterlot, as well as Ponyville, but I had to do some intense research in some very ancient tomes in order to find the information I needed in order to prepare for the casting of the aforementioned spell, but I enjoyed it thoroughly! After all, it was of the utmost importance that I find you, Tim, so I had no other option but to succeed in my task…” Her words trailed off as she saw the confused expression on Tim’s face and his raised hand.

“I was going to fast again, wasn’t I?” Tim nodded and lowered his hand as Twilight continued. “I’m so, so sorry! I just get so excited when I get to discuss my magical studies with someone; I just go on and on and on…” 

Tim’s hand rose again, staring intently at the giddy woman. A blush slowly came to her face as she shrugged in embarrassment. “Sorry… I was doing it again…”

“It’s alright Miss, uh, Sparkle, was it?” Tim looked to the woman as she nodded in agreement. “Ok, but let me ask you this… Canterlot? Ponyville? Interdimensional teleportation? Where in the world did you come from?” Tim asked again, gradually becoming more and more confused by the woman. Nothing was making sense to him yet, but he was getting pieces to the puzzle slowly. He noticed the woman named Twilight was absentmindedly tracing a finger on the switches on the console of the boat while she seemed to be deep in thought. She clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes up toward the ceiling. She then ceased all movement and then looked back towards Tim.

“Well, you see, as I told you earlier…” She slightly lowered her face and looked toward Tim from under her multi-colored bangs. “I am not from this world. It is a similar world, in most respects, but different in so many ways…”

“Like magic and horns?” Tim spoke up.

“Yes, as well as some other physical characteristics the folk of my land possess. The land I am from is known as Equestria; Canterlot is our Capital and Ponyville is where I reside. My world is a tangent of yours, an alternate dimension, if you will. Apparently, differences in the evolutionary process influenced by the presences of different types of magic has resulted in the variances of my world from yours, seeing as I have sensed no forms of magic in the short time I have been here. Equestria is a wonderful land, and we have been at peace under our rulers for thousands of years...” Twilight lowered her head and sighed. “…Until recently, that is. That is why I am here and have been brought to you.” She then got up from her chair and approached Tim. She lowered herself to her knees and took His hands in her own.

“Tim, my country is in need of help. Our rulers, our princesses, are in dire trouble. It is up to me and my small group of friends, known as the Elements of Harmony, to rescue them and restore order to our land. We have tried and we have failed, so we had to look for assistance from someone of pure heart and noble spirit.” Twilight looked into Tim’s eyes and he could see the beginnings of tears welling up in them. She shook her head. “Months ago I performed a type of seeing spell… a spell to find such a person to help us in our time of need. I was shocked to say the least when the spell showed me a world, and alternate world, where a lone man was battling the elements of an isolated land. I studied for days on end to learn the proper spell to bring me here, to the man I saw in my vision.” She brought a hand to Tim’s cheek, locking eyes with him and drawing his face closer to hers. “The man I saw, the man with the purest of hearts and the noblest intentions who was destined to help my country, was you.”

Tim’s eyes widened in disbelief at what he was hearing. He could only look back into the pleading, purple eyes that were gazing into his own, as if trying to read his soul. How was he, an ex- officer, husband of a deceased wife, father of deceased children, living out in the middle of nowhere away from any and all types of civilization just trying to survive, possibly be the man who was determined to be the best possible candidate to help the citizens of a world unknown to him? He looked away from the woman, turning his face from her hand and staring blankly at the floor. It had to be some sort of mistake. This was all rather hard to believe, but from when he did look into the woman’s eyes, he saw nothing but the truth. He felt her hand on his chin, turning him back to her. 

“Please, I know this is a lot to absorb at the moment, but I have no reason to lie to you. All I have to ask of you is one question: will you help us?”

Twilight’s voice lost its steadfast tone and was now soft and trembling. Tim could not bring himself to look at her and simply stood, taking a step towards the large window facing the boats bow and looked upon the scenery before him. His boat was still lodged against the rocky point that this mysterious woman had showed up on no more than an hour or so ago. His hands rested upon the sill of the window, feeling the cold seeping in through the glass. Again, he brought his hands to his face in thought, trying to contemplate the question presented to him. He didn’t understand any of this, but something in his mind was burning inside him, almost yelling at him that he had been alone long enough and if his help was needed by someone going through so much trouble to find him, be damned if he was going to say no. He turned back to the now standing Twilight, hands still over his face. Slowly he ran his hands up over his face and back through his short, salt-and-pepper hair. His eyes met hers again and he could see the sadness and fear in them, a stark contrast from when she first began speaking to him. He then stepped forward and placed both his hands on her shoulders.

“Miss, I still have plenty of questions that I need answered, but something is tellin me I need a change of pace in my life.” He could see Twilight’s somber expression melt from her face as a look of joy and excitement slowly overcome her. “Now, I want my questions answered, but that can come in due time. As to your question- Yes, I will help you. But first, I need to get this boat off the bank and spend a few moments collectin my thoughts… Is that ok with you, Miss Sparkle?”

Twilight then squeaked with excitement as she pushed through Tim’s arms, jumping on to him and embracing him in a tight hug, resting her head on his chest.

“Oh, yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she exclaimed all the while hugging Tim tightly and swaying them both side to side. “Yes, please, do what you need to do, I will stay out of your way and leave you to your thoughts…” She stepped back and ran her hands over her clothing, collecting her composure. “Besides, I need to prepare in order to get us on our way! Thank you ever so much, Tim! Oh! I need to start meditating immediately! I need to prepare myself for the spell!” with that, Twilight sat upon the bench seat, crossed her legs and rested her elbows on her knees, her arms angled out with her index fingers and thumbs touching in an “o” shape. Her horn began to glow softly as she closed her eyes. Tim could only stare in awe as he made his way out the door and onto the deck of the boat. Sliding on his boots and coat, he looked up to the increasingly darkening sky as the clouds of the incoming snow storm were moving in on them. He sighed as he began working to free the boat as the snow began to fall heavier and heavier.
> A Unique Departure
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The dented and banged-up hull of the small house boat slowly plowed through the icy waters. With the use of a driftwood log that was just up the shore from where Tim’s boat was roughly beached, he had to only put forth a few minutes of hard work to dislodge the hull from the rocks. Luckily, there was no damage to the vessel, just a few more dents and fresh gouges into the thick aluminum hull. After quietly slipping back into the cabin to avoid disturbing the meditating Twilight Sparkle, Tim fired up the boat’s single diesel engine and slowly made his way south along the freezing coastline. He had been alone with his thoughts for more than two hours now, and he felt more resolute in his decision to help Twilight, but now a new thought plagued his thoughts. He was concerned about the statue-still woman sitting cross-legged on the seat next to him.

Twilight had not moved since she entered her state of meditation, but Tim could tell that she was hard at work. Her ivory horn continued to bathe the cabin of the boat in a soft raspberry glow, but now it seemed to pulse and even flicker at times as beads of sweat had now formed on her dark skin. He could see her eyes darting about behind her eyelids and noticed her breathing was shallow, but slightly labored. The whole idea of magic and spells was still very foreign to him, but he could tell what she was doing was very serious and apparently very real. He furrowed his brow in thought, wondering if he should check on her in some way, but he sensed that if he disturbed her it would ruin the work she had already done. Tim clenched the wheel of the boat tighter, causing his knuckles to whiten. Looking away from her, he gazed back out over the bow of the boat through the heavy snowfall.

A sharp gasp from his left drew his attention from the waters ahead of him and he turned toward the magical woman. The glow had faded from her horn and her arms had now relaxed and slumped down and rested on her thighs. Her hands then flexed as she stretched her digits and her eyes fluttered open. She then shook her head and raised a hand to wipe the sweat from her face. Tim reached into the pocket of his coveralls and produced a camouflage handkerchief and handed it to Twilight.

“Whew! Oh, thank you, Tim.” She smiled at him, taking the offering and dabbing her forehead, neck and collarbone. She fanned herself briefly, then handed the cloth back to Tim who returned it to his back pocket. Twilight leaned back onto the seat, resting her head and staring up towards the dirty ceiling of the well-used cabin.

“I had no idea that would take so long… I’m sorry I kept you waiting. I had to do some more research in my Dreamscape to make sure I had the proper spells to teleport us- as well as your ship- to my world. I assumed you might be more comfortable if we took something familiar to you with us when we crossed dimensions.” Tim slightly snickered at the reference of his meager boat be called a ship. “I don’t know if I would call this old thing a ‘ship’…” he said, “but I guess I’ll take that as a compliment. Now, let me get this straight… You’re gonna teleport us, AND my boat, into your world? Aint that a little much? I mean, I could just a pack me a bag or something…”

“Oh, no!” Twilight spoke as she stood from her seat, raising her arms above her head stretching her back, causing it to give a series of quiet pops. “It’s not that much more of a problem, I just had to check for a set of spells in the library I have in my Dreamscape to teleport such a large amount of mass between worlds… Do you have a question?” She tilted her head slightly looking at the questioning look on Tim’s face.

“I, uh, I guess I do… A library in your Dreamscape? What exactly is that, if you don’t mind me asking?” The moment the words left his mouth, Tim realized he had just made a mistake… He didn’t know this strange woman long, but he learned quickly that if he asked her about anything pertaining to her magic, Twilight was going to start talking a mile a minute…

“The Dreamscape! I’m sorry, I brought that up forgetting you would have no idea what I was talking about! Every soul-folk can access a self-created world in their mind called a Dreamscape… Most Dreamscapes are simple things, like the inside of a home or a quite meadow in a tranquil forest. I have always been rather advanced in my magic, even at a young age, so my Dreamscape is rather detailed- I have a mansion with a large library in which I conduct my more in-depth studies where I can spend my time more efficiently. My mansion rests on a hill overlooking a small town with a view of the Baltimare coast in the distance and I even have a butler who brings me refreshments when I feel parched. I’m still not sure why I even have a butler doing such things, seeing as no matter what I eat or drink only subdues the feeling of being thirsty or hungry, it doesn’t actually resolve it. I usually come out of my meditation even more thirsty than I actually felt to begin with, but I’m sure I could probably find a spell that would suffice more so than the illusion of eating or drinking…. I’m doing it again, aren’t I?”

Tim smiled slightly at how adorable this woman could be when she got wrapped up talking about her passion. She blushed slightly while looking down at her hands. “I’m sorry I get carried away so easily, but my life revolves around my magic. But, um, long story short, my Dreamscape is a place I go to study or to simply refresh my memory of a spell I need at the moment. I did find what I was looking for, so after a brief rest should be able to cast the necessary spells to transport me, you and your ship, I mean boat, to Equestria. Actually, I even found an ideal location for us to arrive at; a small lake in a forest known as the Whitetail Woods, just outside of the Everfree Forest. Do you happen to have any tea for us to partake of? I could use a drink about now.”

Tim thought for a moment… Tea was not something he kept a lot of on hand, and he was fresh out to the best of his memory. Wanting to offer the woman something more than just collected rainwater stored in old plastic jugs, he quickly remembered his ‘secret stash’ of drink he kept below deck for the nights his memories came back to the surface. “Here, hold this wheel tight and make sure none of these gauges start bouncing around too much… I’ll be right back.” Stepping away from the console, Twilight cautiously took the wheel and held tight to it, her eyes scanning the faded and cracked glasses of the gauges before her. Tim opened a small compartment in the floor under the bench seat and produced what appeared to be a jar wrapped in a piece of old, red flannel material. He turned to Twilight, removing the cloth from the jar, revealing a transparent purple liquid with a liberal handful of sliced blueberries inside it.

“I keep a jar or two of this just for myself, most of what I make I usually trade to the few-and-far-between folks I come across when I travel up and down the coast following the fish and the wild game. A full quart of good liquor goes a lot farther than a fist full of dollars out here.” Tim then slowly removed the ring from the jars mouth and then popped the sealed lid up, holding the jar close enough to Twilight’s nose for her to smell the sweet scent of berries and the slight sting of the powerful liquid. “This is my last one, and I’m guessing that maybe we could consider this a celebratory drink… celebrating the making of new friends and on my firm decision to help you and your people.” Tim raised the jar to his lips and took a long slow drink of the sweet, yet slightly burning contents. He hissed through his teeth, smiling wide and offering the jar to Twilight.

“To new friends and new adventures!” She exclaimed as she took the glass jar and took much too large of a swallow than she should have. Coughing and covering her mouth with her free hand, she passed the jar back to Tim who was now laughing whole-heartedly at the woman.

“Easy, gal! That drink there might be sweet on the nose, but it does have a little bite to it!” He continued to laugh as he took the jar and resealed the lid before wrapping it back up in its flannel covering and sitting in down on the console of the boat. Wide-eyed, Twilight coughed one last time then smiled up at the grinning man. “Well, Tim… that was a delicious drink, but the burn in it is worse that the special reserve cider we get from my friend’s apple farm back home. Whew!” She continued to smile at him as she placed a hand on his shoulder. “I think that was just the pick-me-up I didn’t know I needed to get our journey underway.” She looked out over the water before the boat, her eyes scanning the deeper water a bit off shore. “There. Make way for that deeper water of to our right. If my calculations are correct, we will need to be far from the shore to allow for a more preferable location to perform my spells. Also, I need a sturdy piece of rope…” She looked around the cabin found what she was looking for- a moderate length of rope attached to a life preserver that hung upon the wall of the cabin near the door.

“This will do nicely.” She stated as she pulled the rope tight between her hands, testing its strength and, if she were honest, seeing if it was dry-rotten from lack of use. She untied the round orange and white striped preserver from the rope, laying it in the seat behind her. Twilight then took the rope and wound it around her waist twice before tying a large, secure knot. Tim stared at her yet again, wondering what was going through her mind. Checking her knot one last time, she looped the remaining length of rope in her hand and opened the door to the boat's bow. She stopped and then turned to face Tim.

“Now Tim, what I am about to do might be a bit unsettling for you, but I need you to trust me.” She smiled softly, and Tim could almost swear he saw a bit of worry in her eyes. She brushed her bangs out of her face once more as she stepped out onto the snowy deck of the boat. “I promise I will keep us safe. Before you know it, we will be safely in Equestria.” She closed the door behind her, making her way to the boat’s railing and securing the remaining rope to it. Keeping the boat on the course he was directed to, Tim shook his head as he gulped nervously.

“God, I hope she knows what she’s doing…” Tim eased the throttle of the boat back all the way into neutral, letting the vessel idle as they had reached the deeper water off shore. He looked to Twilight, waiting anxiously to see what the woman was going to do next.

Twilight stood stock still; her hands in a prayer-like pose front and center of her chest. Her head was tucked down and Tim noticed the heavy, wet snow starting to accumulate on her hair and clothing. Suddenly, her hands shot straight out to her sides, resembling a human letter “T” jutting up from the deck. At once, the wind had started to blow. Slowly at first, but gradually picking up speed. Soon her hair began to swirl and whip about her face, all the snow removed from her body and her clothing flapping in the strong breeze. The boat suddenly listed to the right and Tim lost his footing briefly. Gripping the wheel tightly in one hand and the throttle lever in the other, he averted his eyes from the scene on the bow of his boat and looked out to the distant shore on his left. The tree line was starting to ease around away from the window as he noticed the boat was beginning to turn clockwise on the water’s surface.  Leaning over towards the window and looking down, he noticed something odd about the water.

Saying the water was smooth as glass was an understatement. The water looked almost solid it was so slick, with the small exception of a slight curling of the water as the hull continued to turn on its surface. The boat rocked again, violently this time. Concerned about his new friend out on the bow, he turned his gaze to her again, his jaw dropping at the sight. Twilight was floating, literally FLOATING a foot or so above the deck of the boat, her arms gracefully swaying and weaving in a slight rolling motion above her head. Amazing him even further a soft beam of sunlight slowly formed around her. Tim stepped to the door, opening it, and looked towards the sky.

The clouds were swirling with the motions of Twilight’s arms, creating a small opening in the center of the spiral allowing the light to shine down on the gyrating woman. The clouds gathered speed and began to take on an eerie, deep-purple glow.  Clap of thunder and a streak of hot-white lightning broke Tim from the trance he found himself in. He felt himself stumble once more and noticed how the boat was spinning faster now, the water around it still unmoving and reflecting the glow of the sky above. All at once, the water rippled and seemed to grow upward, forming a bowl-shaped hill under the spinning boat. Another bolt of lightning struck the water ahead of the bow and his attention was once again on Twilight. Her arms were still weaving about above her head, tighter together and higher than they previously were. The glow from her horn was intense, so much so it hurt his eyes to look at it. If there was ever a moment Tim felt afraid for his life, it was now. The thunder and lightning quickened in frequency and it darted across the sky like a neon spider’s web. He exited the doorway and dashed toward the railing, griping it tight. Inch by inch he eased up the railing toward Twilight, coming close to her and he began to shout.

“TWILIGHT! HEY, TWILIGHT! WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON?!” His words were unheard as her arms were now straight above her head and her eyes tightly closed. She was still floating above the deck and her hands were the only thing about her that was moving. Tim’s feet slipped out from under him and he fell straight down to his rear, turning quickly and wrapping one arm around a lower railing and the hand of the other clutching the top rail in a white-knuckle death-grip. The lighting continued to crackle amongst the spiraling clouds about the boat that spun on its hill of water. Looking up at the woman he saw her hands quickly separate and the clap together. At that moment, everything went dead quiet. Tim looked around him, awestruck. The clouds still spun and sparked with lightning. The boat still turned about, matching the speed of the sky above. The wind still blew, but no longer whistled in his ears. He slowly looked up at Twilight once more.

The woman appeared to be a statue. The wind did not affect her; she simple stood- well, floated- there above him, her hands still clasped tightly together, her hair no longer whipping about and her clothes hanging on her body loosely. Tim took this chance of silence to speak to her again.

“Twilight… are you ok?” he waited for a response, but when it came, it was not one he could have ever expected.

Suddenly and sharply, Twilight’s eyes shot open, but no longer were her bright purple eyes visible. Her eyes shone of a bright, hot white, much like the lightning that still silently filled the sky above them. Slowly, her head turn upwards and her mouth opened, the words she began to speak were of no language he had ever heard before. She continued to chant, getting louder and louder with each syllable until her voice was almost a scream. With a final shout, a lone bolt of lightning struck down from the opening in the clouds above them and connected with Twilight’s horn. As the raw energy connected with her body, her arms shot down and out from her sides at an angle. Tim’s ears were then filled with a painfully loud sound as he saw the clouds and lightning crash down from the sky and collide with the water surrounding the boat. The wall of cloud and lightning swirled ferociously around the boat and churned the water violently. Then, without warning, the spinning wall of lightning and cloud quickly closed in on the boat, showing no sign of slowing down and it drew nearer. 

Tim tried to scream but no sound would come from him mouth. The air was stolen from his lungs as the he could feel the electricity of the sky close in on him. The last thing he saw, before the clouds and lightning encased him and his boat fully, was the light disappearing from Twilight's eyes and her body falling lifelessly to the deck before his crouched form, a small trail of blood coming from her left eye. His vision then darkened from the outside in as he blacked out on the deck next to the soul-folks still body.
> Crash Landing
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Tim, honey…. It’s time for work…”

Tim groaned, the bed in his bedroom felt too warm and soft for him to want to move. With his eyes closed, he furrowed his brow and buried his face deeper into the pillow, hugging it tighter to his face.

“Babe, I’m off today…  I just want to sleep in a little while longer… I’ll help with breakfast tomorrow, I promise…” He then felt the pressure of someone sitting on the bed beside him. He rolled to the side, eyes still closed, as he attempted to wrap an arm around the woman trying to wake him. When his reach came up empty, he began to feel around on the mattress where he KNEW his wife had just sat down. Still not finding her, he felt something was amiss. An unusually bright light was shining through his eyelids and he noticed he was feeling a little too comfortable in the bed- the one him and his wife shared was nice, but not this nice. He slowly opened his eyes to a white light that took his vision from him until it could adjust. As it did, a familiar face smiled down at him.

It was his wife, Ann. She warmly smiled at him, her blonde hair neatly done and cascading down around her delicate face. Her smooth and silky complexion was untouched by makeup, just how he liked, and she was wearing a white silken gown- a gift from him long ago before they had even moved in together. Her soft and curvy features shown through the material, bringing a sly smile to Tim’s face he took a slow look over her body. Bringing his focus, back to her face he noticed she wasn’t wearing her glasses. He found it odd- she usually wore them around the house instead of her contacts, saving them for when they would go out to town with their kids. He also noted he did not hear those kids, causing his sly smile to ease into a mischievous one.

“Tim, you got work to do, you need to get up.” Ann stated once more, locking her eyes with her husband, seeing the intent that was growing in them. She chuckled lightly and rolled her eyes. “There isn’t any time for none of that, you got important things to do… you need to get ready.” Being shot down before even getting off the ground, Tim turned away and sighed, looking toward the ceiling. He cocked his head to the side in confusion. This wasn’t his ceiling; it appeared smooth and slick and very white- unnaturally white. He looked around the room and noticed the walls, or rather the lack there of. He and his wife were sitting on a bed in a void of white space. He shot up and sat on the bed, turning to his wife with a questioning look.

His memories came back to him with the force of a mule kick to the temple. He brought his hand to his forehead and leaned into it. He knew this was not his room in his home he shared with his family. It looked like his bed he was sitting upon, but he knew that it wasn’t, Tim hadn’t been in that bed in almost 15 years. He lived on a boat. In Alaska. Alone. His eyes darted around and he tried to make sense of things… the last thing he remembered he had broken camp and was heading south away from the oncoming freeze. And the woman, Twilight, who he had pulled from the waters. Bits and pieces of the conversation he had with the strange horned woman flooded with his mind and he recalled the last thing he experienced… The casting of the spell and the torrent of clouds and lighting that swallowed him, Twilight and his boat whole just as he saw the woman fall to the deck. He quickly turned back to Ann and stared at her. He could see tears welling up in the corners of her sparkling blue eyes as she continued to smile at him.

“You know you’re a man of your word, so you know you need to get up and get going. They need you.” Tim could only look to her as more and more of his mind returned to him. His mouth and throat became painfully dry and he felt a burn in the corner of his eyes. His sight became blurry and he blinked repeatedly, causing a small stream of tears to slide down his cheek. A hundred questions came to him as he attempted to speak to his deceased wife.

“Are you?… am I?… are we?...” his questions died on his lips as Ann shook her head from side to side, her golden hair seeming to flow a little more than it should have. Her smile broadened slightly, but Tim could still see the small tinge of sadness in her eyes.

“No, hun, you’re not dead. Me, on the other hand…” She did not continue for she knew her husband knew the answer. Tim looked to her again, tears now steadily running down his face. His voice trembled as he spoke again. “…. A-and the kids?” The man felt his heart shatter all over again as Ann slowly nodded, her smile fading from her lips.
“Yes, we all are… and we miss you so, soo much.” She was slightly frowning now, watching her husband trying to hold himself together. He was doing it, but just barely. All Tim could do was bury his face in his hands and attempt to control his breathing. He knew he was on the verge of hyperventilating and he fought hard to pull himself together. Time seemed to stand still for him as the silence between them felt like forever before his wife’s honey sweet voice filled his ears again.

“Tim, I love you, we all love you… there is a place for you here and you will be with us again, but not now. I remember how you would get hurt or you would get sick to the point that you would spend days, if not a week or so in the hospital. You would tell me not cry and not to worry about you. Every time you would get better and would laugh, saying you guess God had some kind of plan for you…” She looked up and shook her head. “You would make me so mad! I always thought that was so stupid of you to say that, but Tim, it’s true. You got a job to do. You’re a good man… so many of us told you that all the time, but you acted like you never believed it…”

“You know the things I’ve done!” Tim interrupted. If he shocked his wife, he couldn’t tell it. “You know how I was when I was a youngan! You know the family I came from, you know the crowd I used to run with! Aint no way I’m a good person! How can I be forgiven for the things I’ve done to people and the lies I’ve told and the drinkin and the fightin and the stealin and the…”

“Stop it! Stop it right now!” Ann huffed angrily as she stood up from the bed. “Yes, I know that! My family knew that! Our friends knew that! But you know what, you knew you were doing wrong and you changed it! All of it! We all seen it, and Twilight sees it too! That’s why she found you, damnit!” She stood there with one hand on her hip as the other waved out before her. “I reach out to you like this, and you want to argue? Really!?” She looked away from him and sighed, trying to calm herself down a bit. Turning back to Tim, he was now sitting upright, staring at her with his tear streaked face. She crossed her arms under her breasts.

“Honey, you may have not always been great, but you know you have changed so much since you met me.” She smirked at him smartly. “I fixed you,” Tim smiled slightly. He couldn’t argue that fact. Ann rolled her eyes and laughed.
“I know the man you were, but I also know the man you are and the man you can be. You’ve done a lot of good helping people… Yes, you still screwed up from time to time, but when you did, you would almost kill yourself to get it fixed. I know you’re confused by what Twilight has told you and has asked you to do, but I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t have come as far as she did if she didn’t think you were the man for the job.” She looked off in the distance as if she seen something or heard someone call to her. She sighed and turned back to Tim, a sad look now on her face.

“You have to go. Now.” Tim attempted to get out of the bed but his body wouldn’t respond. His wife again came and sat down on the bed and he noticed the white void around them was starting to dim.

“Ann,… I don’t want to go… I miss you and love you so much,… and the kids… I want to see them so bad and hold them and…” Tears began to well up in his eyes again.

“No, dear,… not now, not soon, but one day…” Ann turned on the bed, facing Tim and smiling as a lone tear trailed down her left cheek. “You have to go. We will be together again, don’t worry.” She slowly reached her hand to touch his chest, stopping a mere inch from his body. “We love you, I love you, and we miss you so much,… but you have a job to do first.” She looked to her hand and then back into Tim’s eyes. “I’m sorry, but this is going to hurt.”

Tim raised a brow at his wife’s statement. He looked at her, and then down to her hand. Just as was going he was about to speak, Ann’s hand touched his chest........

All Tim could hear was metal grinding on metal and the sound of wood shattering and splintering. His head and back slammed into something hard and unforgiving. He felt something land across his chest, the combined impacts cracking, if not breaking, at least two or three of his ribs. He had still not opened his eyes, and as quick as the sounds came, they faded, he only wished the pain had went with it. He could taste dust and blood in his mouth and soon, he could smell the distinct scent of diesel fuel. He coughed harshly, still feeling the weight on his chest. His eyes opened slowly, his vision blurred. He could see shades of greens and browns and blues swirling before him. He squinted his eyes and then blinked repeatedly, his focus now returning.

Blue sky was directly above him. A few small, wispy white clouds were spread across the sky above him, one just barely shading the sun out of his eyes. In his peripherals he could see the underside of numerous treetops, the leaves dancing in a light breeze. He moved his hands to his sides and tried to lift himself, but the pain in his back and ribs stopped him, as well as the weight on his chest. Tim then craned his neck so as he could look down and when he did, his eyes went wide.

Twilight lay on top of him, her small frame still limp and covered with dust and debris. He brought a hand to her face to brush her hair away and froze when he saw her. Her eyes were closed, but he could just barely see her eyes move under her closed lids. And the blood. Just as he remembered seeing before he blacked out, there was a small, thin trail of blood- now dried- running down her cheek from her eye. Summoning all the strength he could muster and fighting through the pain in his chest, he slowly slid the woman’s body down to his lap as he forced himself to sit upright on the deck of his boat. Or at least what was left of it.

The cabin of the boat was almost completely crushed, the roof now crumpled and level with the bottoms of what used to be the windowsills.  The railings and sidewalls around them were no more than torn and twisted scraps of metal. A large section out of the side of the bow, almost as wide as he was tall, was torn upward due to a large rock piercing through what was left of the deck. Looking around more, he saw the wooden deck of his boat was cracked and split violently, one large and sharp splinter of wood jutting up just a few inches from his right thigh. He noticed just past the rear of the boat a small lake, the clear, blue water reflecting the clouds above and slightly rippling due to a quaint waterfall a hundred yards or so away.

“Whitetail Woods…. We made it…” With that thought, he turned his attention back to Twilight. He eased himself out from under her, gritting his teeth and fighting through the pain. He stood on shaky legs and looked around him, hoping there would be someone who could possibly be of some help. After scanning the area all the way around him and his destroyed boat, he realized they were on their own. He looked down at Twilight and then back to the tree line.

“HELP! IS ANYONE OUT THERE! WE NEED HELP, PLEASE!” Tim continued to scan his surroundings, straining his hears in hopes to get a response. As his eyes continued to scout the trees, he noticed a small path worn onto the forest floor. He smiled and spit to the side, clearing his mouth of dust and blood. A trail meant people, and people meant help. A stray thought crossed his mind; just earlier that day the thought of people would make his lip curl into a snarl. Now, it was a blessing. Gritting his teeth and not taking his eyes off the dirt path, he bent down and forced himself to pick the unconscious woman up from the floor. A new, sharper pain shot through his chest and Tim immediately broke into a coughing fit. The taste of new, fresh blood filled his mouth with every exhale. He knew he just punctured a lung with one of his broken ribs. Looking down to the barely breathing woman in his arms, Tim swallowed the blood and grunted, adjusting the weight he carried. He carefully made his way over the broken lumber and to the torn-away section of the bow.

Luckily, the rock that tore the deck away sloped down toward the pebble beach of the lake like a perfect little ramp. Letting out a small sigh due to discovering this slight trace of a silver lining to this dark cloud he was experiencing, he slowly shuffled down the rock and off of what remained of his boat. He crossed the short span of pebbles and stone and made his way to the path in the distance. Stepping onto the pact soil of the trail, he noticed tracks in the dirt- the unmistakable shod hooves of a horse. Looking a bit to the left and right, he smiled at what he saw next.

What appeared to be a track of a cowboy boot was fresh on the ground, pointed away from the lake. The signs of moisture in the track told him that the track was less than an hour or two old. Another bout of coughing wracked Tim’s lungs, dropping him to one knee. He never let go of Twilight as he turned his head as far left as he could, coughing fresh, bright red blood onto and over his shoulder. He shook his head and spit. He needed to find help and find it fast. Struggling to get back onto both feet, Tim groaned through clench teeth as he stood. Sweat was pouring down his face and he could feel himself trembling. He had to get moving. NOW.

One foot after the other, he trudged forward along the path through the dense forest. The forest was beginning to come alive with signs of wildlife. He saw a doe with her fawn cross the path in front of him no more than a dozen steps away. Birds were happily chirping as they flitted among the branches. These things did little to improve Tim’s situation, but they gave him a small glimmer of hope, helping encourage him to press on. He wasn’t sure of how long he had been walking down the trail carrying the faintly-breathing Twilight Sparkle bridal-style, but it was taking its toll on his body. His chest burned fiercely, his head was pounding, every joint in his body screamed at him, begging him to stop. To add to his ailments, he was getting dizzy and his breathing was getting shallow and raspy. He stopped for a minute to attempt to get a breath when a pleasant scent entered his nostrils.

Apples. The sweet smell of apples filled the air around him. Looking up, he noticed that the trees had thinned and appeared now to be in rows going as far left and right of him as he could tell through his blurry vision. Delicious looking red apples of different shades of ripeness dotted the trees. Walking on, the aroma of the apple orchard clouded his mind. He suddenly thought of apple pie, apple turnovers and even a recipe for apple-cinnamon liquor he had once had as a teenager he continued further from the lake. He was now swaying on his feet, realizing he was no longer on a path, but on what appeared to be the edge of a field or a yard. He looked down at the ground, then at Twilight and back up at his surroundings. A broad smile came to his blood-speckled lips as he saw a large and worn farmhouse atop a small hill before him. What made him smile even more was when he saw the door open a small, redheaded girl come out onto the porch wearing bib-overalls and a large bow in her hair. She reached the corner post of the porch and reached up to a large iron triangle hanging from a leather strap with a similar colored metal rod in her hand.

“SOUPS ON, EVRY’BODY!” the small girl shouted as she rang the iron fast and loud. She then jumped down and ran back into the house, letting the screen door slam behind her. Tim looked back at the woman in his arms and smiled down at her. 

“Well, Twilight,…” he said, as he grunted once more and adjusted his hold on her. “I hope them folks got room for two more at the table…” Laughing and spitting more blood onto the ground, Tim gritted his teeth and made his way slowly up the hill to the home ahead of him.
> Dinner Guests
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

WHAM! The screen door slammed behind the redheaded pre-teen as she rushed back into the house. She headed into the kitchen and hung the cast iron rod back on its hook on the wall just inside the farmhouse’s kitchen. Seeing the young girl enter the room, the old woman who was tending to the ancient gas-burning cook stove drew her wooden spoon from the pot of stewed apples she was preparing and pointed it at the child.

“Applebloom! Whut I done told ya bout letting that thar door slam like that! Yer brother dun fixed it a dozen times over!” The old woman had the spoon directly in front of the young girl’s eyes and her other hand firmly planted on her hip. She tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for a response.

“Ah’m so sorry, Granny Smith! I didn’t mean to!” She closed her eyes and sniffed the air, smelling the wonderful mix of aromas resulting from the old woman’s cooking, titling her head up, rising on her tip-toes and smiling as she did so. “Them cinnamon-stewed apples just smell so good! I wanted to make sure I got me some b’fore they was all gone!” Applebloom then looked to her grandmother, putting forth her most pleading ‘puppy-dog’ eyes in order to gain some leniency from the spoon wielding woman. The look on the girls face did its magic as Granny Smith slowly smiled and turned away from her, going back to the one of many pots and pan on the stove.

“Child, ya know I aint bout ta not fix enough supper fer all my youngans ta get their fair share! I’m trustin ya rang tha bell? Where ya brother and sister at?” The old woman was now bent over looking into the oven, the smell of fresh homemade biscuits mixing in the air with the scent of cinnamon, apples, green beans and fried chicken- all homemade, homegrown and prepared with love. Applebloom snuck in beside her grandmother, taking a peek at the feast at what the woman was preparing.

“Well…. I just seen Big Mac headin in tha barn with the cart of Almatas from the west orchard an’ I seen Applejack finishin up sortin the Golden Delicious out back…” At that moment, they both heard the front door open loudly, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps and the slamming of the rickety screen door once again. Granny Smith’s eyes rolled up as she sighed and Applebloom jumped up and turned towards the doorway in which she entered from the housing living room. “That must be one a’ them now! I’ll go tell em ta wash up for supper!” The girl began to skip out of the kitchen, but once she passed through the doorway, she stopped in her tracks, the large pink bow in her hair, sharply rocking forward as she stared ahead.

“Um, Granny, ya might wanna come in here fer a second…” The tone of the young girls voice peaked the grandmother’s curiosity, causing her to lay her stirring spoon to the side and, after one last glace over of all the simmering and steaming pots and pans on the stove, wiped her hands on her apron and walked up behind her granddaughter. Following Applebloom’s lead, Granny smith froze in place as well, her eyes wide and hands on her hips. “Oh, mah word….” Was all that could escape the elderly woman’s lips.

Standing just inside the entrance of their home was a man unknown to them who looked to be dead on his feet. His clothes, which consisted of thick, insulated tan coveralls opened at the top revealing a olive green button-up shirt underneath, were covered with dust, wood splinters and splotches of dark crimson. His bearded face was pale and covered with more dust and wood as well as specks of blood, both dried and fresh. His brown, bloodshot eyes looked weary and were visibly fluttering and starting to roll and wander about in their sockets, showing the man was on the verge of collapsing where he stood. Even more unsettling was what he carried draped in his arms. The dark skinned woman with the blue, purple and pink hair looked to be as dirty as he was, minus all the fresh blood. As a coughing fit took the man over, the body in his arms was shifted, revealing the woman’s face. Both Granny Smith and her granddaughter gasped in shock as they immediately recognized their good friend Twilight.

“Excuse me ladies…” the man slowly began, his eyes looking at them, but seeming to be focused a hundred miles away. “I hate to be interruptin yall’s great smellin dinner, but my friends here needs a bit of help, if I could please just-“

“Hey there, Granny! Supper bout ready? It sure is smellin mighty good…. What in tarnation?! TWILIGHT!” A tall, blonde woman in a worn out Stetson entered the kitchen from the back door. Her orange flannel shirt was damp with sweat and was tucked into her tight fitting jeans. The clacking of her boots came to a halt as she stopped behind her grandmother and little sister standing at the entrance into the next room. Quickly coming back to her senses, she pushed past the still frozen family members and rushed forward, taking her dear friend in her arms and away from the strange man. She turned and made her way to the large couch across the room, softly laying the unconscious Twilight and laying her down on the thick cushions and placing a hand on the woman’s neck, checking her pulse. Finding it, even as weak as it was, she sighed just before she noticed the small dried trail of red coming from her eye.

“BLOOM! Go ta Fluttershy’s an tell her we need here her NOW! Twi’s done over used her magic! Tell her tha bleedins’ only from one eye, but hurry none tha less! Granny! Imma need some cold cloths ta put on her head, we gotta cool her head down!” Both the woman and the child snapped to attention and darted in opposite directions; the child ran out the front door, completely ignoring the battered and bruised man and the elderly woman scurrying back into the kitchen. The blonde, still standing but bent over the couch, returned to checking on her friend, tracing her hands over her body looking for any hidden injuries before resting the back of her hand back on Twilight’s forehead. 

Tim was still standing, be it just barely, where he was when the blonde relieved him of his load. He swayed on his feet as his eyes rolled up into his head again, staggering back against the frame of the door. The back of his head made contact with the wood of the frame, the new pain jostling his mind, causing him to tightly close his eyes and hiss. Opening his eyes and allowing them to a few second to focus, he looked to the couch and smirked, taking a good look and the bent over blonde.

Even though the pain he was in, Tim was still a man after all, and struggling to keep on his feet and his eyes clear, he took in the sight before him. To say the woman’s jeans were form-fitting was an understatement. From her dirty cowboy boots up, he followed her muscular calves up to her thick thighs and then to her plump, round rear end. Her hips were wide and her rump looked firm to the point that he believed he could bounce a quarter off it. The orange flannel she wore was slightly pulled out of the back of her pants, revealing her tanned skin which was still slightly glistening with a trace of sweat. As he drank the sight in, he didn’t hear the woman call to him. His eyes lost focus again as he noticed the blonde stand and turn to him, quickly closing the distance between them.

“Hey, fella, are you a’ight? Can’t ya hear me talkin to ya?” She was now face to face with him. With his head still leaned back against the door’s frame, he closed his eyes tightly again and reopened them. As the multiple images of the woman before him slowly shifted and began to group into a single person, he began to think the impact of the wall against the back of his was a lot harder than it felt. His mouth slowly opened as if to speak, but he could only stare at the seemingly familiar face.

Her golden blonde hair was coming out from under the old cowboy hat in a long, flowing ponytail secured at the end, but a few strands had come loose and was now framing her face. Her skin was a little more tanned, but was smooth and silky none the less with a few freckles dotting her cheeks. Her slender neck led down to her collarbone that was exposed due to her orange shirt having the first three or four buttons being undone. Under that, a white tank top undershirt clung to her skin, the neckline plunging down, just barely showing the beginning of the cleavage of her small-to-mid sized bust with a light coating of freckles scattered across her chest. A hand came up to his face, directing his eyes into hers. Surprised by the emerald green that shone there instead of the blue he thought he would he see, his face bore a slightly confused expression.

“Are ya ok? Ya look like hell… What happened to Twi over there?” Her voice was sweet like honey and was soothing to his ears. He couldn’t help but smile as he brought his hand up to rest it upon the woman’s hand that was still on his cheek. He closed his eyes and embraced the touch, tilting his head into her palm and rubbing his bearded face into it. Suddenly Tim was hit with another hard series of coughs. He brought both hands to his mouth and coughed violently, doubling over in pain. The tall blonde took a step back briefly before stepping up to his side and trying to hold him up as he was about to fall face-first onto the hardwood floor. As the fit subsided, be brought his hands away from his face and looked into them. He turned his face up only to see the blonde with worry in her eyes as she stared at the amount of blood coating his hands and seeping in between his fingers.

“Ann, babe…” he began, as he saw the tell-tale curtains of blacking out starting to fall over his eyes. “You back from town already? I like what ya done with your hair…” With that, he passed out; falling to the floor with the woman he mistakenly thought was his wife attempting to guide him down safely.

>>>>>><<<<<<
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
>>>>>><<<<<<

“Nnnggg, Damnit, boy!” Pain was all Tim could register. Throughout his body, Tim could feel his heart beating; with each beat he felt the burn of pain tearing through every joint, muscle and bone. His eyes were still closed, that pain so bad he felt by even moving his eyelids he would hurt even more. His chest felt tight as if someone was sitting on him with half a ton of bricks on their lap. He attempted to move his arm up to try and move the crushing weight but was stopped by the force of a large hand grasping his forearm and holding it down to the bed.

“Nope, Ya don’t need ta be moving too much, just take ‘er easy a spell.” The low, deep voice came to him from his right. Tim then turned his head to the direction of the man’s voice and slowly opened his eyes. He was now in a bed; how he got there he was unsure, but he had a feeling the large, burnt-orange haired man sitting in the old wooden chair next to him would be able to fill him in on the details. Tim coughed again, violently, and the man let go of his arm so he could cover his mouth. Reaching into his chest pocket of his dark red flannel shirt, the man produced a faded white handkerchief that had a printed apple and leaf design on it. Still coughing, Tim took the offering and nodded, coughing into it a dozen or so more times. Once the spell had passed, he opened the cough and looked into it, noticing very few traces of blood dotting its surface. He let his head fall back to the pillow and cutting his eyes over to the man, he weakly help up the used cloth.

“Nah, ya keep it. How ya feelin?” The man leaned back in the chair, causing it to creak slightly. He shifted a piece of straw from one side of his mouth to the other, solemnly gazing at Tim and patiently waiting for an answer.

“I’ll tell ya… this is gotta be about the worst I have every felt, and that’s sayin something.” Tim slightly shifted under the covers of the bed, wincing at the pain from such a small movement. “I’ve had my ass handed to me quite a few times in my life, but this takes the damn cake and then some.” He looked around the room noticing the simple décor- a small chest of drawers across the room on the opposite wall from the bed, a small nightstand adorned with a simple green-shaded lamp with a glass of water and well-used Bible sitting next to it and the chair that the big man sat in which was in front of a door he assumed to be a closet as just a few feet away was another door which led out of the room and into a dim hallway. Tim turned to the left and noticed the soft light of the moon filtering into the small room from the half-opened window and its green and red plaid curtains. A soft, cool breeze came through the window and into the room across his face. Tim closed his eyes briefly, the sensation on his skin the first pleasant feeling he had felt since he came to on his wrecked boat. He then opened his eyes and turned back to the man again as he remembered Twilight and him carrying her inside someone’s farmhouse.

“How’s Twilight? I was prayin that I got her some help in time. I hope yall folks didn’t mind me barging in like I did… I didn’t feel like I had much of a choice.” Tim stated with an apologetic tone to his voice. The stoic man just closed his eyes and shook his head.

“Think nothing of it, anybody else woulda done the same thing. And Twilight’s gonna be alright. Lil’ Bloom got Fluttershy here pretty quick-like. She just overused her powers a slight bit and overheated her mind.” He shifted the straw hanging from his lip once again. “She woke up not too long ago, Applejack and Granny are out takin her and Fluttershy back to her house at the library back in town. Fluttershy is gonna be stayin with her a few days till she straightens out. Ya done good, Mister-?”

“Tim.” He slowly raised his arm and extended a weak hand toward the big man in the chair, gritting his teeth and squinting some, but never breaking eye contact with his companion in the room.

“Big Macintosh, most folk jus’ call me Big Mac.” They broke their handshake and Tim let his arm fall limp to the bed. Standing up from his chair and stretching with his fists in the small of his back, Big Macintosh groaned slightly and walked around the bed to the window, pushing the curtain open and looking out to the farm surrounding the house. “When mah sister caught ya when ya passed out down stairs, she laid ya out in the floor, run on out the house, jumped a horse and got to the hospital and got Nurse Redheart and Dr. Horse here to tend to ya. Yer mighty lucky to be alive with all the blood ya was coughin up and being dehydrated, too. One cracked rib and two broken; both of em stickin ya in yer lung. Good thing ol Doc is a soul-folk… he got ya patched up pretty good…”

Coughing again, Tim brought the handkerchief back to his mouth and Bic Mac turned back to his bed. Reaching into his pocket, the orange-haired man brought forth a small prescription bottle. Opening it, be shook out three small, white round pills and held them out to Tim.

“I ‘bout fergot. Here. Nurse said the doctor’s orders was to take one of these evry’ few hours for the pain. They had crushed one up and got in in ya before they left back for town, but seein as how yer ‘bout jus’ as big as me, I figure ya might need a few more, ‘specially if ya wantin’ to get a good night’s sleep.” Tim took the pills and popped them in his mouth and Big Mac handed him the glass of water off the nightstand. It was still cool and felt good as Tim sipped it at first, only to turn the glass up and empty its contents. Big Mac took the glass and walked towards the hallway door.

“Get ya some rest, I’mma go do the same. We’ll see ya in the mornin.” The big man nodded to Tim and switched off the bedroom light, pulling the door up behind him, leaving it slightly cracked to allow a dim shaft of light to spill into the room and across the floor. Big Mac’s footsteps slowly faded down the hall and Tim closed his eyes once more, letting the soft pillow caress his pounding head. The medication was starting to take its effects on his body, seeing as how he had taken the pills on an empty stomach. Slowly and slightly less painfully, Tim drifted off to sleep, listening to the sound of the crickets being carried into his room by the cool night breeze.
> Slowly but surely
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next couple of days were somewhat of a blur for Tim as most of his time was spent sleeping or taking medication, occasionally interrupting that routine from time to time by staring out into empty space or trying to get to the bathroom. The first time he made that attempt to get out of the bed to get down the hall was a bit trying for him, but luckily the slightly frail looking old woman was quite a bit stronger than she looked. She had brought him his pills late one morning along with a simple yet delicious bowl of homemade chicken soup when Tim had asked her where he could find a restroom. He had managed to sit himself up on the edge of the bed under his own efforts, but when he tried to stand, it was just a little more than he could bear. With his eyes closed and his hands gripping the sheets on either side of him, he grunted in pain and took a few deep breaths. When he opened his eyes, he was surprised to see the old woman hands extended to him. He looked up to Granny Smith with a brow raised.

“C’mon now, youngan, Don’ look at me thatta way… This ol’ bird is a little tougher than she looks.” She said to him with a slight smirk, offering her hands a bit closer to him. Tim shook his head slightly but still raised his hands and placed them in hers. Counting to three so as to coordinate her pulling him up with him trying to get on his feet, the white-haired woman pulled Tim off the bed, onto his feet and caught him in a hug-type of hold as he winced and his knees slightly buckled. Shuffling his feet and getting back on balance, Tim looked down at the old woman holding him up. “Thank you, ma’am,” he said to her as she repositioned herself to his side and under his left arm. She soflty chuckled at him.

“Now see? I told ya I had ya, boy… Now let’s git ya on down the hall. But once I git ya to tha bathroom door, yer on ya own!” She laughed a bit harder, her warm and infectious tone causing Tim to do the same, resulting in a sharp pain shooting through his chest. He limped along with the woman down the hall, done his business and then went back into the hall- Granny Smith patiently waiting for him. Only taking a hand this time, Tim let her lead him back to the bed where he sat down, just a little bit winded. He smiled to her again as she offered him his soup and his pills which he quickly took. Popping the pills in his mouth, he spooned some of the soup up and brought it to his lips and paused, taking in the aroma of chicken, vegetables and pepper. Putting the spoon in his mouth, he discovered the taste was even better than the smell. He let out a deep, approving “Mmmm” as he swallowed it down.

The old woman smiled and left the room, allowing Tim to eat what was the first meal he had had in days. Unable to finish the whole bowl, it placed it down on the nightstand and continued to sit on the edge of the bed, staring down at the floor. He noticed the flannel pajama pants he was wearing, they were some old and worn things, but they fit him good and kept him nice and warm. He assumed they belonged to the big man known as Macintosh and made a mental note to thank him. Feeling his eyes get heavy again, he eased his legs back onto the bed and laid himself down, slowly drifting back to sleep.

Things continued in that matter with just a few changes in the routine. Mainly it was the grandmother or the youngest daughter bringing him food, drink and his medication, and they would talk to him for just a moment or two, mostly just asking him if he was feeling any better and if there was anything he could bring him. He would simply say he was ok or had been worse, letting them know they were doing more than enough for him and that he was extremely grateful. On a few evenings, Big Mac had come to check on him after he had completed his work around the farm. Unlike the first conversation they had had, they shared very few words other than the regular “How ya doin?” or “I’ll see ya later on.” The one person who hadn’t come and talked to him was the tall blonde, but Tim had seen her a few times passing his door and taking a quick look inside.

One evening Tim had woken up and was simply staring at the ceiling, lost in thought, but he had the feeling that he wasn’t alone. He just barely turned his head to the door and seen the flannel and jeans clad woman leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed under her breasts and her Stetson low on her head watching him lost in her own thoughts as well. Making eye contact with her, Tim slid up in the bed and sat against the headboard, slightly nodding to her with just the hint of a smile on his face. Her only response was to nod back and continue looking to him, seeming to study him. She didn’t stay long after that, turning and walking back down the hall. Tim could only wonder what she was thinking but didn’t dwell on it long. He was starting to feel like getting out of the small room as his pain was dulling and becoming more bearable. His clothes had been washed and hung on the knob of the closet door and waiting for him. “Just another day or so,” he told himself as he turned to the window and watched the evening sky fade into night, “One more day, I gotta get up and moving and figure out why I’m needed here.” He clicked off the lamp next to the bed and laid back down to get his much needed rest.

The sound of footsteps going down the hall stirred Tim from his sleep. Looking toward the lone window in his room, he noticed that there was a slight tinge of color spreading across the sky as the sun was about to rise. Feeling better than he had the day before, he pushed himself out of the bed and slid of the pajama pants and began putting on his own jeans and green denim shirt, forgoing the thermals and coveralls he had been wearing when he first entered the house. Wincing, he bent down to pull on his boots and then rose too his feet. Being somewhat familiar with farm work due to his own experience from years ago, he knew the family was about to start their day. He might not be able to do a whole lot in his condition, but he knew he had to do something to get up and moving to work the stiffness out of his body if he wanted to get back to feeling like his old self. Holding his side, his stood up from the bed and made his way out of the room, down the hall and down the stairs to the main floor.

He knew nothing of the layout of the house, but his nose told him which direction he needed to be heading. The scent of fresh biscuits, sausage and eggs greeted him as he made his way to the ground floor. The great room was dimly lit, but, turning toward the heavenly scent, he saw the lights of the kitchen and heard the faint mumble of conversation and the clattering of utensils and dishes. He made his way to the doorway of the kitchen and stood, not wanting to just barge in on the family. Granny Smith had just turned from the old gas stove with a fresh plate of scrambled eggs as she saw Tim standing at the edge of the room. Her eyes slightly widened and a smile crossed her face. With her free hand, she waved Tim into the room.

“It’s about time ya got yerself up an’ movin! Grab ya a plate and have a seat! There’s more than enough ta go ‘round!” The old woman stepped close to him, putting a hand on his shoulder and guiding him to the table, more specifically a chair next to the elusive blonde across from Big Mac. He eased himself down into the chair, one hand on his side and the other on the wooden chairs tall back. The woman to his right shifted in her seat a little, not looking up from her meal as the big man slid an empty plate toward Tim.

“Good ta see ya in the land of the livin’” Big Mac said as he passed the cloth-lined bowl of biscuits toward the newcomer. “How ya feelin’ this mornin’?”

“Well,” Tim began as he started fixing himself a small plate of eggs and sausage, still not having his full appetite back, “I feel good enough that I think I need to start whippin’ myself back into shape. I need to get back to my boat and see if anything I own is worth saving. Need to talk to Twilight, too. And the least I could do is put in a bit of work around here in thanks for all yall have done for me. Yall don’t even know me but you’ve been so kind taking care of me like ya have… I owe your whole family dearly for that.” He looked to group sitting around the table. The three that sat around him smiled at his words, nodding at his comment.

“Eyuup… Sounds good to me,” the big man started, “the season ain’t quite in full swing, but we can find some work fer ya to help out with.” He turned up the remainder of the coffee in his mug and stood from the table. “Finish up here and Granny can tell ya where ta find me. I’ll see ya in a bit.” Big Mac nodded to Tim and walked out the back door of the kitchen, not before resting a hand on his grandmother’s shoulder and giving it a soft squeeze as he passed. Shortly after, the blonde stood up and put her dishes in the sink.

“Well, Tim, while yer out there busy with Big Mac, be sure ta take it easy. Ya just getting up and about, don’t push yaself too hard, ya hear? I got ta make a run into town later on to make a delivery an Ah plan on checkin’ on Twi… Ah’ll tell her ya wantin’ ta talk.” She looked to Tim and made a half-smile to him as she tipped the brim of her hat down to him. She too walked toward the door but stopped at the old woman at the end of the table. She bent down, hugged the woman gently and kissed her on the cheek before turning and following her brother out the back door. 

Granny Smith turned her attention back to the man at the table with her and pointed toward his plate with her coffee cup. “Ya best get ta eatin,.. Yer gonna need yer strength if ya plannin’ on keepin’ up with Big Mac and Applejack out in tha fields… Them is some of the hardest workin’ folks in all of Ponyville, if not all of Equestria!” Tim took one last bite of his breakfast as he nodded to his companion. 

“Yes, ma’am…” he said as he slowly stood, collected his dishes and followed Applejack’s lead of putting them in the sink. “Again, I thank you for all of your hospitality. I hope to be able to repay yall for all you’ve done.” He walked to the door as the woman waved his words off. “Think nuthin’ of it, child,… It’s what we Apples do, takin’ care of those who need it most. Now, I need ta be getting Lil’ Bloom up and ready fer school. Yall be findin Mac out in the barn straight out across the yard as ya go out the back door.” She sipped her coffee and looked to Tim again. “But, like my granddaughter said, don’ be overdoin’ it out there or ya gonna be stuck back in that there bed again!” 

Tim chuckled at the woman as he held his side again. “Yes, Ms. Smith, I’ll be sure to not get myself laid up again.” He nodded to her and made his way out the door, heading to the big red barn behind the old farmhouse.


>>>>>><<<<<<
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
>>>>>><<<<<<


After a short while in the barn with Big Mac, Tim learned just how far he didn’t need to push himself in his current state. While toting the bushels of apples from the carts to the sorting table and carrying bags of feed for the horses proved to be just a tad too much for him to handle with his busted ribs, he discovered he could at least tend to the chickens by giving them new scratch, collecting the eggs, cleaning the coop and replacing the dirtied bedding straw with new. With that job out of the way, he was put to the duty of checking all the bushel baskets and repairing the ones that had broken wires or slats. It was while going through the seeming endless amount of baskets that time got away from him and he got lost in thought. He recollected the condition his boat was in when awoke on the deck and carried Twilight across the broken and splintered floor. He wondered how much of what little he had on the boat was salvageable and started to make a mental check-list of things he wanted to look for. His hands continued working the baskets as if on autopilot, twisting wire with the pliers Big Macintosh had given him and replacing the thin pieces of wood as needed. He never heard the footsteps coming up from behind him as he worked.

“Ya seem to be getting’ along nicely with them baskets, Tim.” The southern drawl of the honey-sweet voice broke his train of thought and he turned to look up from the basket in his hands to the tall blonde standing next to him. He placed the basket down and laid the pliers down inside it as he stood to speak to the woman.

“Hi there, Applejack, I didn’t hear ya come in… it is Applejack, right? I don’t think we’ve really met yet.” He extended his hand to the woman who took it into her own and shook it strongly. Raising a brow, he shook back with equal force, smiling at the woman’s strength. “That’s quite a grip ya got there, Miss. I wanna thank you again for helpin me out like you have, it’s reminded me that there are some good folks still left out in the world.” Breaking their handshake, Applejack smiled at Tim and rubbed the back of her head with her right hand as she dismissively waived her left at him.

“Shucks, think nothin’ of it. Besides, yer the one who who should be thanked, gettin’ Twi here like ya did. Whatever spells she used to get ya here took a helluva toll on her, she was goin through a bit a’ magic exhaustion. Speakin of her, Ah just got back from her place in town. Said we can come ‘n talk with her tomorrow and she sends her thanks and says she’s glad to hear ya doin’ better.” She motioned over her shoulder with her thumb and tilted her head back, indicating towards the outside. “The horse ‘n wagon’s still hitched up outside,… Ya wanting to ride on over to Whitetail Woods and see about gettin’ yer things? Looks like ya got plenty of them baskets fixed to last us a while, ya can call that job done fer now.” Looking at the stacks and stacks of mended baskets behind him, Tim nodded in agreement. “Sounds like a plan to me, just let me straighten up in here right quick and I’ll meet ya outside.” Applejack looked around at the bits of wire and wood that lay about before stooping down to pick up the basket that still held the pliers. “Hows about Ah help ya with that?” She said with a small smile on her lips. Tim grinned back as they set to cleaning up the barn.

A bumpy wagon ride and a short walk down a small dirt path later, the pair found themselves standing in the center of Whitetail Woods. Ahead of them, only a dozen or so feet away from the water, was the nearly destroyed boat that Tim once called his home. Applejack let out a long, low whistle as she stared at the crumpled mass of metal and wood before her. All Tim could do was shake his head and run his hand through his hair as he got a good, long look at the damage. With little hope of much of anything being of any use, he decided to get the process of sorting through the debris over with. 

“Well,” he stated as he step forward and onto the rock he used to exit his boat a few days prior, “this shouldn’t take too long, don’t look like there’s gonna be much left.” Stepping onto the wood that used to be the deck of his boat, he heard it groan and creak in protest. Cautiously, he made a few steps closer to the cabin of the boat, trying his best to avoid the obvious bad places of the floor. He knelt down and looked under the caved-in roof of the cabin and frowned. He could see a lot of his belongings were destroyed- his now broken fishing rods and gear were strewn about the floor, all of his maps and books were in the floor soaked in water that had poured from the busted water jugs he had stored, the fire extinguisher had the valve broken of which resulted in it discharging its contents and mixing with said water, turning the whole floor into a pasty, pale-yellow mess. To top it off, his rifle was wedged between the crumpled down roof and the crushed remains of the boats console; its stock a mass of splinters and its barrel severely bowed. He crawled through the mess and made it to the back of the cabin where there was a storage compartment in the floor. He forced the warped cover open and looked inside.

His pack that contained the majority of his clothing was still there as well as his camping gear and the lot of it appeared to be unharmed. He pulled the pack from the opening and tossed it out the opening that was once the cabin’s door, almost hitting Applejack who had made her way onto the boat. She cut her emerald green eyes at him briefly before noticing the mess between them.

“Damn, Tim… Ya ever hear of cleanin’ up before ya let comp’ny  come over?” She joked, trying to make light of the situation. She removed her hat and peered inside the room, scanning the room to see if there was anything she could point out that Tim might need. Something shiny had caught her eye under a stack of books and papers that had slid under the bench seat along one of the walls. Reaching into the mess, she grabbed the handle to the polished silver and wood contraption that was stuck into a type of sheath on a faded leather belt. She noticed the belt had a series of little leather loops on it; most of them housing some strange copper and brass things that resembled small, capped-off tubes. She was now back to standing outside the smashed cabin, her rear resting on what remained of one of the boats railings, looking at what she had found when her studying was interrupted by the grunting of Tim who was now coming back out onto the deck. He slowly stood, gritting his teeth and holding his side in pain with his eyes closed. Applejack watched as he took a step or two forward and leaned against the railing next to her.

“I think I got the most of my clothes, and my tent and all seems to be ok; I drug it out behind me. I almost found everything I was lookin for except-“ His eyes fell on what was in Applejack’s hands. “That. Where’d ya find my pistol at?” Tim asked her as she continued to turn the item over in her hands before she looked up at him with a questioning expression on her face. Tim stared back at her, tilting his head slightly. “What? Have ya never seen a revolver before?”

Applejack simply shook her head and handed the thing to Tim, still looking at the strange device. “Naw, can’t say that Ah’ve ever seen or hear of one a them before. What’s it for?” Tim had already began un-holstering the large, silver .44 magnum revolver and checking its cylinder to make sure it was still loaded. Finding that all the chambers were still loaded, he closed the cylinder back and slid it inside the holster before putting the gun belt inside the pack containing his clothes. If a woman who was as old as Applejack appeared to be had never seen or heard of a gun before, especially her living on a farm and near the woods, he assumed it was probably something he had no business showing about.

“Well, it’s kind of a tool we use back where I come from… It’s nothing special. But, anyway, I think I got all I need from here, I’ll talk with Big Mac about what we need to do about gettin the rest of the junk took care of.” Tim said as he motioned his hand to the wreckage that once was his boat. He put the large pack of clothes over his shoulder, slightly wincing at the pain in doing so as Applejack reached down and grabbed the large, rolled up canvas tent and slung it over her shoulder as well grabbing the other pack that contained some random camping equipment. Tim smirked at the display of the blonde woman putting her strength to use again and eyed the woman again, somewhat impressed by her. This time his gaze was discovered, and noticing the look Tim was giving her, Applejack simply winked at him and motioned towards the dirt path from which they came.

“C’mon, sugarcube, let’s get this stuff back on the wagon and get headed back to the house. Daylight’s burnin’ and by the look ya had when ya picked that pack up, Ah’m thinkin ya might need ta be takin a little break.” She carefully made her way across the broken and uneven deck then down the rock and onto the pebble beach. Stopping, she turned to see Tim still standing on the boat looking at her. She laughed a bit before whistling at the man, causing him to sort of snap-back to reality. Tim shook his head and made his way off the boat as well, making his way toward the path and back to the wagon. 

“Yeah,” he began, adjusting his pack as he marched on up the path just ahead of Applejack, “I am feeling a bit wore-out,… another pill and a sit-down seems about due.” The pair made it back to the wagon and slid Tim’s belongings into the back, Tim watching the woman as she loaded the packs and climbed up on the front of the wagon and took the reins in her hands. He climbed up on the wagon and took a seat beside her on the hard wooden seat and looked around at his surroundings, taking in the sight of the light filtering down through the treetops and feeling the light breeze on his face. Tim turned to Applejack as she snapped the reins and got the horse to moving at a slow and steady walk. He continued to watch her as she began to look around as well before turning to him and catching him gazing at her.

“Ya a’right over there?” she asked, smiling at him, not breaking eye contact with Tim. The look in her eyes, the softness of her smile and the soothing drawl of her voice made Tim feel warm inside, a feeling he hadn’t felt in a long time. He smiled back at Applejack, a faint dampness in the corners of his eyes. He then turned his gaze away from her, staring out amongst the trees that slowly passed them by.

“Yeah, I’m good,” he began, turning his head up and looking toward the sky, noticing the few stray clouds dotting the blue above. “You just remind me of someone from long ago, is all.” He felt a delicate hand land on his shoulder, giving a light series of pats followed by a soft squeeze before the hand slipped away. The two continued their journey back to the farmhouse in silence, both parties lost in their own thoughts.
> "Thats one BIG tree..."
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tim sat on the edge of the bed in the dimly lit bedroom, already dressed for the day, the elbow of one arm resting on his knee and the hand of the other slowly running back and forth through his salt and pepper hair. It was still a couple of hours before daylight but he was wide awake, the contents of his pack neatly laid out across the foot of his bed. It wasn’t much, but it was most of what he had left in the world, with the exception of his camping gear. There were a few pairs of jeans, all worn and faded, a dozen or so flannel shirts, most with patches on the sleeves that were hastily sewn on and a handful of assorted long johns, socks and undergarments. Next to all of this sat an antique, double bladed Case knife, his camouflage baseball cap and an old tri-fold wallet that he hadn’t carried in years. He turned toward the items and picked up the black leather wallet and run his thumb over the worn wallet’s surface- smooth from the years past that he had carried it in his back pocket.

He slowly unfolded the wallet. Inside was around fifty dollars cash and some old receipts that were pressed and creased from years of being tucked away, untouched. He slid out his old driver’s license, noticing it had been expired for about ten years. Behind that was an old bank card and a few discount-member cards from a few grocery chains and sporting goods stores. Putting them back in place, he saw an old photograph- one had carried ever since it was given to him. He delicately removed the picture from its plastic holder and brought it closer to his face, absentmindedly tossing the wallet down onto the bed. Gazing at the picture, the corners of his mouth turned up in a slight smile while his eyes grew slightly damp. The woman in the picture was posed outside, her hands resting upon a weathered fence post that was slightly before her and her simple black dress clinging to her body in all the right places. Her golden hair was done beautifully, the soft and subtle curls outlining her smiling face. Her glasses sat perched on the end of her nose just-so and her slight use of makeup made her bright blue eyes stand out even more than they usually did. Without a word, he brought the picture of his passed wife up to his lips and kissed it softly. As he lowered the picture, a lonely tear edged itself out of the corner of Tim’s eye, slowly tracing a path down his tanned cheek before getting stopped in his short beard. He wiped his face as his smile grew wider. Looking down, he reached for his wallet to put the picture back but stopped, noticing what was now face-up and catching a the small amount of light the bedside lamp had to offer.

His badge. Seeing the old Sheriff’s Badge put a solemn expression on his face. He picked up the old wallet and brought the thing closer to his eyes. He spit on the golden shield and rubbed it on the chest of his blue flannel shirt before looking at it again. He showed the hint of a prideful smile before realizing he was still holding the picture in his other hand. His smile grew more as he looked at the picture of just a minute longer before sliding it back in the wallet in its rightful place, direct opposite of his badge. “Love you bunches, Ann,” he said as he slowly closed the wallet and grabbed his pack, sliding it into one of the side pockets. Feeling the weight of the pack, he remembered the one thing he left inside it.

Tim reached into the pack without looking and felt the cold wood and steel of his old Ruger revolver. Nodding with approval that the .44 magnum was still safe in his pack, he stood from the bed and stepped over to the closet, opening the door. Looking up, he saw a high shelf with a small trace of dust on it and raised the pack over his head and slid the pack far back on the shelf. Grabbing his coveralls off the hanger on the closet’s doorknob, he folded them up and put them in front of the pack, feeling confident that the hiding place was sufficient. Turning back to the bed, he put his old ball cap on his head and slid the old, but sharp, knife into his pocket. He picked up his clothes from the bad and placed them in the closet as well, closing it and heading toward the bedroom door. Opening it, he took a step back as a hand positioned to knock passed just a few inches from his face, surprising the orange clad blonde in his path.

“Hehe… didn’t hear ya movin’ in there,” Applejack said as she slightly blushed and rubbed the back of her neck with her hand. “Just wanted ta see if ya was ready for breakfast, we kinda missed ya at dinner last night.”

Tim smiled at the blushing blonde standing in front of him. “Sure thing. I’m sorry about skippin dinner last night, I guess that nap I took after we got back from the woods yesterday  lasted a bit longer than I planned.” He motioned his hand down the hall and bowed his head slightly. “After you, Miss Apple,” he said, allowing her to take the lead toward the stairs and down to the kitchen. “Oh,” Applejack began, turning to face Tim, “After we eat, we’re gonna head on inta town and meet up with Twilight at her library, iffin’ yer up to it, that is.” Tim just nodded as he stepped past Applejack and into the pleasant smelling kitchen, briefly laying his hand upon her shoulder while doing so. “Sounds good to me,” he said with a smile, “C’mon, let’s eat so we can get goin.” Smiling back at him again, Applejack nodded and followed him into the room to join the rest of the Apple family at the table.

>>>>>><<<<<<
>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<
>>>>>><<<<<<


“That is one BIG tree…” Tim stated as he and Applejack rode on the horse drawn cart into town just past a large sign that read “Welcome to PONYVILLE.” It was still early morning, but the sun had been up for almost two hours now and was already warming the cool, but comfortable, night air. Applejack turned her attention to the aforementioned tree and nodded.

“Eyuup, that’s a good sized tree alright. ‘Course it has ta be seein as how Twi lives there in her library. We’re just a tad bit early; the others won’t be there till later on,” she stated as Tim turned to face her as he gestured a hand toward the tree in the distance.

“Wait, you’re tellin me that tree is the library and Twilight lives there? And who are the others that are coming later?” Tim asked before turning back to their surroundings, noticing more and more of the pastel painted cottages and unique looking businesses that apparently made up the small town. Applejack pulled the reins of the cart to the right, easing the large red workhorse pulling them into a turn onto a road which seemed to be the main street of town. “Yessir, Twilight’s been livin there in tha library for a good while now since she moved here from Canterlot. A few of our friends from Ponyville will be comin’ over to the Library to talk with you and Twi both.” A sour frown appeared on her face as she continued. “Twilight’s hopin to shed some light on why ya here and bring ya up to speed on what’s all went on.” With that, the conversation between the two ended and they quietly continued on to the giant tree library.

Pulling up to the impossibly large tree, Tim hopped down from the cart and offered his hand to Applejack, who accepted it and stepped down as well. Together they unhitched the cart from the workhorse and turned him out to graze on the lush, green grass surrounding the library. Applejack lead the pair to the large wooden door at the base of the tree and knocked as Tim could only look up and admire the sheer mass of the tree and see the random windows and balconies jutting forth from its trunk and branches. Hearing the door open, he brought his gaze down and noticed the preteen boy standing there. The smiling young man before him was sporting spiky green hair and was wearing a neon purple shirt over a pair of long black shorts. His lightly tanned skin looked smooth but a bit leathery, like a man who had worked long days in the sun for many years. This struck Tim as a bit odd but he smiled back at the boy none-the-less, tipping his ball cap to him.

“Hiya Applejack! Twilight said you’d be showing up this morning with a guest!” the boy stretched his hand out to Tim. “Hi, there! The name’s Spike, nice to meet you.” Tim smirked a bit at the boy’s squeaky voice and took the hand into his own, noticing the rough texture of the hand offered to him. “I’m Tim, nice to meet you as well, Spike,” Tim stated as he watched Applejack ruffle the boy’s hair and walk through the door past him. The boy huffed a bit and Tim followed Applejack through the door into a large, circular room lined from floor to ceiling with what seemed like hundreds if not thousands of books and scrolls. There was a staircase that led to an upper level that was closed off by a door, as well as a few scattered doors and an entryway on the main floor. In the center of the room, there was a large table surrounded by chairs with a map laid upon it, its edges being held down by an inkwell and a few random books. It was in one of these chairs that a familiar woman sat, sipping from a small china cup of hot tea and looking at the map. Tim smiled as he walked across the room and approached the table.

“Glad to see you’re doing well, Twilight, it’s been a while,” the man smiled down at her. At hearing his voice, the dark-skinned woman looked up and smiled. “Tim! So good to see you!” she exclaimed as she stood up and wrapped her arms around her visitor. Tim winced slightly, seeing as the difference in their height resulted in Twilight hugging him low around his chest. Hearing this, Twilight released her embrace and put a hand to her mouth. “Oh! I’m so, so sorry! Here, let me help,…” she the laid a raspberry-glowing hand on Tim’s side and instantly he felt a warm, tingling sensation radiate from her hand and into his ribcage. The sensation slowly crept across his chest as he felt the pain seep away from him. As Twilight removed her hand, the feeling dulled slightly but remained present, causing him to bring his own hand to where the woman’s hand once was. He felt the warmth in his hand and noticed a faint glow through his shirt. He gave a questioning look to Twilight.

“Don’t worry, it’s a simple healing spell I have been studying as of late. I know our town doctor had tended to your injuries at Sweet Apple Acres but this spell is a bit more potent- it should have you back to your old self in no-time!” Twilight smiled at Tim and motioned to the chair next to her. “Please, sit, we have a few things to discuss as I’m sure you’re aware of. Applejack, great to see you! I want to thank both of you for all you done for me the other day,…” her eyes shown with a small bit of worry, “I really taxed myself casting a spell of such magnitude, I don’t think I can thank either of you enough.”

Applejack stepped over and hugged Twilight, stroking her hair softly. “Aw, think nuthin of it, suga’cube. That’s what friends do for each other, and Ah know you’d a done tha same for me.” The tall blonde released her friend and sat in the chair next to Tim, titling her Stetson back on her head and leaning back on the chairs back legs. Tim took a look at the map on the table in front of him, noticing a series of black circles dotting the map; quite a few of the circles had been crossed or scribbled out. Twilight saw Tim observing the map leaned over the table, tracing her finger along a string of crossed out locations.

“These towns and cities are places we have already visited in our search for clues, but they all resulted in dead-ends,” Twilight began, but was interrupted by Applejack clearing her throat.

“Uh, Twi, Ah think ya might just need ta back up just a hair. Maybe to tha beginnin’?” the southern woman spoke out. At the comment, Twilight blushed just a bit as she brought her hands together in front of her waist, subconsciously wringing them together. “Oh, sorry… That would be logical, wouldn’t it?” Twilight sat down at the head of the table next to Tim. She sighed deeply, crossing her legs and resting her clasped hands on top of her knee. She closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them, she once again had a look of worry on her face.

“A few months ago, strange things began happening in the larger towns all over Northern Equestria. Things have always been so peaceful under the rule of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. The Princesses have been overseeing our land for almost four thousand years and they control the day and night, respectively,... we have always been under their protection. They were just small occurrences at first, things such as damage to buildings and small scale robberies. Yes, we had these things happening before, but they were very rare, though when they became more commonplace- almost daily- citizens became greatly concerned. Soon, businesses, as well as homes, were being broken into and vandalized, some even burned to the ground. Canterlot posted more Royal Guards throughout the land, but it resulted in resources being spread thin. Then the crimes became more serious, as well as more violent,” Twilight paused briefly, shuddering ever so slightly, which Tim noticed with a raised brow.

“Government Officials were being assaulted in their homes in the middle of the night, some even being murdered. Banks were being robbed in the dead of night and anyone who may have been a witness was either slain or stricken with madness, talking complete nonsense or speaking unknown languages. Guard Stations were being burnt to the ground, men and women burned alive in their barracks.” Tears slowly began to streak down Twilight’s mournful face. She fished a handkerchief out of her pocket and wiped her eyes before she continued. “My brother, Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard, burned to death at an outpost just west of Canterlot. It was after his death when the gangs began springing up in the larger cities. Guards were pulled from the southern cities and towns, such as our beloved Ponyville, and were deployed in the larger cities such as Fillydelphia, Manehattan, Baltimare as well as Canterlot. Then the Princesses began to take measures into their own hands.”

“The sisters began going from city to city, patrolling the cities all hours of the day and night. As soon as they would arrive, the crime would stop, only to get more severe in a town farther from Canterlot. The Princesses followed the calls of help and moved across the land.” Twilight then pointed to the far north-west corner of the map. “Here is the city of Las Pegasus. Both Princess Celestia and Luna were en route to the city under the protection of both the Royal Guard and the Lunar Guard when apparently their caravan was attacked. Myself being a student of Princess Celestia, I have always been in communication with her, I always received updates and instructions from her during her travels, but when I had not heard from her for a few days, me and my closest friends,” she motioned a hand to Applejack, who merely nodded, “set off to Las Pegasus to see if assistance was needed. What we found on the way there was nothing short of a massacre.”

“Apparently the crime waves were nothing more than a lure into a trap; I cannot believe I nor did the Princesses realize it sooner. We found the Royal Carriages burnt to nothing but hollow shells, still smoldering from the fires. The bodies of their Guards were found scattered amongst the road, armor and weapons strewn about in the throes of a battle. Alongside their bodies were the charred remains of others, there was nothing left to be able to identify them other than some very strange and unique body armor. It was like nothing I have ever seen from any of the other nations and it reeked of dark magic. We scoured the scene but could not find any trace of the Princesses. I even tried a seeing spell to try and locate any sign of their magic but to no avail. Shortly after that, it was as if all the vandalism and robberies and assaults simply stopped, but then the missing person reports started rolling in from the north. Guards, Royalty, citizens,… no-one was safe.” Twilight looked to Tim who was staring at her intently, hanging on every word she spoke. “That’s where you come in. I studied spell after spell for weeks on end trying to find the Princesses or anyone who could help us, and all of my hard work led me to you.”

Tim just stared back into Twilight’s eyes, his elbows resting on the table and him chin in one hand. His tone was cold and blank, unreadable by Twilight. He then looked to the map, then to Applejack, who was now sitting close to the table, her arms folded in front of her and resting on the table. He turned his gaze back to Twilight at the head of the table, who was looking at him with purple, pleading eyes. Tim then leaned back in his chair, pulling the brim of his cap down tight on his head before sighing and crossing his arms across his barrel of a chest. He looked deep into Twilight’s eyes, lost deep in thought. He was processing everything that the dark skinned woman had told him and mulling it over in his mind. He was trying to figure out if he was here to be a detective, a bodyguard or some sort of mercenary for these women, and he was about to pose that question when a loud knock at the door broke the silence that settled over the room. They all looked to the door and the young man Tim remembered was named Spike suddenly dashed out of the doorway on the far side of the room.

“I’ll get it, Twilight!” he shouted as he rushed to the front door and pulled it opened. Behind the green-haired boy, Tim could see a small group of women standing out on the front step. “Hey, girls!” Spike squeakily greeted, “Come on in, Twilight’s expecting you.” He turned to face the three at the table. “Twilight, the gang’s all here!”

Twilight stood from the table and smoothed the wrinkles out of the front of her shirt. “Well, I think it was about time for a small break anyhow,” she stated as she slowly walked from the table to the door. She motioned for the women to come in as she laid a hand on the young man’s shoulder. “Spike, be a dear and fix some tea for all our guests. Girls, please come in and have a seat, I would like for you to meet Tim, the man who is here to help us.”
> Library Meeting
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the women filed into the room, Tim felt it proper the stand and remove his hat as they approached the table. He stood at attention as the women circled their way around the table to their chairs and his actions didn’t go unnoticed by one of the women in particular. A woman wearing a form-fitting white summer dress with perfectly curled violet hair walked up to him and eyed him up and down, all the while with pleased smirk on her face. She placed a hand delicately to her chest just above the plunging neckline of her dress and took a half step back as she spoke.

“My, such a true gentleman, rising from his seat as a lady approaches the table,” she held her opposite hand to Tim, daintily bent down at the wrist as she batted her eyes at him. “I am Miss Rarity Bell, a pleasure to meet you, good sir.” Tim softly took her hand in his and gently shook it, politely smiling at the woman as he did so. As she retracted her hand, she brought it up to her hair and gave it a small flip, bouncing her curls and revealing a small ivory horn, very much similar to Twilight’s, just below her hairline. Tim was unknowingly starring at the unusual appendage, at least until an observant Applejack discretely slapped him on his knee with the back of her hand, breaking him from his trance. He awkwardly smiled at the purple-haired beauty, just as a pink blur filled his vision.

“Hi! I’m Pinkamena Diane Pie, or Pinkie Pie, or just Pinkie! Whatever you want to call me is A-OK in my book!” The young woman in front of him had took his hand with both of hers and was shaking it violently, her overly permed pink hair bouncing and swaying as she hopped in place. The wideness of her sparkling blue eyes was only rivaled by the even wider smile she sported as she continued to speak a mile a minute. “It’s sooooo nice to meet you! Oh! We need to have a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party for you! That way you can meet everyone in town! Doesn’t that sound exciting! We can have cupcakes! And punch! And games! Do you like games? Of course you do! Everyone loves games!” Tim could only stare at the bouncing woman before him dressed like some sort of street-ballet dancer- she wore a short sleeved denim jacket over a white shirt with balloons on the front which she had paired with a pair of dark blue capris type pants and a frilly pink skirt which matched the color of her hair. At about the time that Tim was sure the pink ball of energy was about to pull his arm from its socket, another woman from the group stepped up to intervene.

“Whoa there, Pinks, tone it down a notch,” a tanned, rainbow haired woman said as she grabbed the pink haired girl’s hands and literally pried them off of Tim. Other than her unique colored and spikey hairdo, this new woman seemed rather normal. She was about a head shorter than him and had an athletic build about her, which was obvious in the way she was muscling the hyperactive pink girl away from him. She pushed the girl around the table and into a chair, and upon sitting in the chair, Pinkie Pie crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out at her friend. The athletic woman simply smiled at her as she turned and smoothed out her baby-blue track suit. Then, to Tim’s surprise, a pair of cyan colored feathered wings materialized behind her back and spread wide out past her shoulders. With a few slow flaps of the newly formed wings, she floated across the floor and landed directly ahead of Tim who promptly stumbled backwards at landed in his chair with a thud. The rainbow haired woman chuckled as she extended her hand down to Tim.

“Ha! Take it easy, big guy, I don’t bite.” Tim could only continue to stare in amazement as her wings folded up behind her back and faded out of existence. “The name’s Rainbow Dash, put ‘er there!” Tim took the woman’s hand was again surprised by the woman as she pulled him up out of the chair with ease and got him back on his feet. Tim found himself trying to look over the woman’s shoulder as she strongly shook his hand. Seeing this, Rainbow Dash smirked and called forth her wings again, rapidly spreading them to their full span out from her back. This time, Tim only stepped back from the winged woman instead of falling back into his chair, and hearing the woman laughing at him, Tim cut his eyes at her, not appreciating the joke. It was Rainbow Dash’s turn to be slapped on the front of her thigh by the seated Applejack, who was glaring at the woman as well.

“Damn, hayseed!” the track suit wearing woman stated as she rubbed her stinging thigh, starring daggers at the blonde at her side, “can’t you guys appreciate a little humor? How was I supposed to know the guy was gonna fall on his ass?” She turned back to Tim and pointed to the last unknown woman in the room. “I mean, didn’t you meet Fluttershy the day you got here? She has wings too, didn’t ya see hers? I didn’t think I’d spook you like that, but damn, that was rich!” She dissipated her wings once more as she turned and walked back around the table, still snickering and sitting next to the woman who was apparently named Fluttershy. The fair skinned, blue eyed woman hid behind her flowing pale-pink hair, slowly twirling a stand of her hair around her finger and looking nervously at her rainbow haired friend.

“Um, no, Dashie, I didn’t actually get to meet Tim because he, uh, was kind of unconscious at the time.” The shy woman then turned to Tim, crossing her arms across her chest and looked at him apologetically. Tim couldn’t help but noticed the woman’s large breasts under her yellow, long sleeved sweater as she spoke to him. “I’m, uh, so sorry about not properly introducing myself Mr., um, Tim, but you were being tended to by Nurse Redheart and Dr. Horse when I arrived and I was helping Applejack and Granny Smith see to Twilight… I didn’t mean to not let you see my wings and make you be less surprised when you saw Rainbow Dash’s wings; again, I’m terribly sorry…” She was interrupted by the purple haired woman in the white dress wrapping an arm around her and patting her shoulder.

“Dear Fluttershy, you simply have nothing to be sorry for, so don’t you dare apologize for Rainbow’s rude behavior,” Rarity then turned to the athletic woman, her blue eyes seeming cold as ice. “Besides, we all know how crude and improper Miss Dash acts when not under appropriate and direct adult supervision.” The rest of the women at the table, with the exception of Rainbow Dash, chuckled at the athlete’s expense. As Tim joined the others and sat down in his chair, he couldn’t help but smirk at the now aggravated Rainbow Dash who was slumped down in her chair with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. Tim leaned forward, crossing his arms and resting them on the table. He nodded to the group and raised one hand in a half-hearted wave to the group. “Well, hello, ladies,” he spoke as he smiled to the group, “it’s a real pleasure to meet all of yall. I really hope to be able to help ya out with yall’s situation here…”

“Hehehe!” he heard as he saw Rarity lean over and nudged Fluttershy slightly with her shoulder and whispered a little too loudly to her shy friend. “Why, he speaks with a southern drawl like our own Applejack! It suits him sooo well- quite adorable!” Tim shifted a little uncomfortably in his seat as his face took on a slight blush and he brought his hand up to his mouth to stifle a small cough. Fluttershy promptly let out a small “EEP!” as she slid down in her chair a bit as Rarity giggled just a tad bit more. With that, Rainbow Dash sat up in her chair and leaned upon the table as well, resting her elbows upon it as she dismissively waved a hand toward Tim.

“Yeah, yeah, he talks like a hayseed, too, big deal.” She rolled her eyes as she continued. “My question is what exactly is it that makes you so special that you had to be brought here by Twilight after all her egghead research?” Her and Tim locked eyes and seemed to be sizing each other up, Tim raising a brow at the athlete as she leaned back in her chair again and crossed her arms with a ‘well, what?’ type look on her face. Tim leaned back from the table and took his right hand into the palm of his left, cracking his knuckles loudly before reversing the process and cracking the knuckles of his left before crossing is arms at his chest with a snort, never breaking eye contact with the seemingly arrogant woman. “What exactly are ya wantin’ to know, Miss Dash?” Tim asked her, noticing the silence now surrounding the table.

“Exactly what I said, big man,” Rainbow Dash began, her gaze never faltering, “After knowing how much time and effort we have all put in trying to figure out what in the hell is goin’ on across half of Equestria and where in the world the princesses have disappeared to, not to mention the fact that Twily over there damn near KILLED herself exerting all of her magical reserves finding you and bringing you here after weeks of being locked up in this library! So,” she raised a hand and waved it around once more, “what you got to bring to the table, redneck?” she smirked at Tim, noticing his scowl deepen and his eyes squint at her. “Other than some greying hair, a crappy camo hat and jumping at the sight of wings, that is.” Rainbow Dash crossed her arms back across her chest and grinned at the man, earning a gasp from Rarity, a scowl from Applejack and stares from the rest of the group. Even the young man Spike, who had just stepped into the room from the kitchen with a tray of hot tea, stopped in his tracks and gulped at the tension in the room, resulting in him slowly backing to from where he came.

“Well,” Tim spoke, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table once more, but this time pointing a finger across the table at Rainbow Dash. “First off, you go and address me as a redneck like it’s a bad thing one more time, and I’m gonna force-feed you my ‘crappy camo hat’ with my size thirteen boot, ya feel me, Twiggy?” He watched as the rainbow-haired woman sank in her chair ever so slightly and a touch of worry come to her eyes. He cut his eyes to the side for a split second as he heard a low whistle from the blonde woman to his left. He brought his gaze back to the athlete before slowly scanning the table noticing the looks he was getting from the women, all of them seeming to want an answer to the question. He lowered his hand to the table, placing both palms down straight out from him. He took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly, locking eyes with the athlete once again.

“I guess I’ll just start at the beginning- as a kid, I grew up poor, wearing homemade clothes to school and getting bullied by everyone. The only meat we ever had on the table was what me and my ol’ man could bring down huntin’ or catch fishin’. I’ve always had a good head on my shoulders in school, mostly because if I made anything less than perfect marks I’d get beat at home with an old leather strap. I’ve worked fields, raised livestock, cut wood and helped raise my younger sisters. As I got older, I got mean. Got taller and stronger than the folks that gave me hell all through grade school and started gettin’ some get-back, fightin’ and drinkin’ hard liquor on a regular basis by the time I was fifteen. I was ridin’ bulls and bouncin’ at bars in town for cash after I graduated high school with one of the highest scores of my class, despite all the hell I was raisin’. Life only got worse then; I was homeless for a while and was fightin’ and stealin’ for money. Then, one night when I won a guys money who was a real sore loser, I got shot.” Tim leaned back just long enough to pull up the hem of his shirt to reveal a nasty looking scar just below his ribs on his left side, earning a wince from most of the table and a soft “Oh, dear!” from Fluttershy, “I decided I needed to slow it down a bit.”

“I got tired of runnin’ from the law and getting along by the seat of my pants. I got a real job doin’ maintenance work and got my life straightened out a bit. I still felt like I needed to right all the wrong I had done. Luckily, I had never been locked up, so I decided to try and get into law enforcement. My record came back as clean so I got the job. I started protectin’ folks from guys like I used to be. I started fightin’ the criminals and protecting the weak, and I was damn good at it. Hell, it even made me feel good, and the better I felt, the more I wanted to do for others. I went from just patrolling the streets to working on investigations; everything from burglaries and arson to rapes and homicides. I even worked for a gang intelligence unit for a while and got down deep in the underbelly of the workings of gangs such as the Surentos, the Bloods, the Crips and the Aryan Brotherhood, just to name a few. It was during that time that I met the woman of my dreams and got married and decided to raise a family.”

“Ann came from a great family; they were some of the best people I had ever met. We hadn’t known each other a month before I just knew I had to marry her. Ann gave me three beautiful kids- a boy and two girls- and I done anything and everything for them. My love for them and my need to keep them safe drove me even harder in my work. I wanted to make sure the world was going to be safe for the family I was buildin’ and I busted my ass to rid the world of folks I knew would hurt anyone I loved. I started to get a reputation on the streets as a take-no-shit hard-ass and it earned me a target on my back. The gangs started puttin’ hits out on me, and with a hefty price on my head I was constantly getting’ jumped and attacked, but I always came out on top, most times actually having to take the lives of those who were tryin’ to take mine. That’s when my world turned back to shit.”

Tim’s eyes were still locked on Rainbow Dash, who had now leaned forward upon the table and was listening to him intently. The man blinked a few times as he felt a burn in his eyes and looked to the others around the table, most of them sharing the same awed expression as the athlete. His gaze stopped at Applejack as tears slowly started to form at the corners of his eyes. The cowgirl saw this and leaned up ever so slightly and rested a hand on his knee in a small attempt to comfort the man. Tim smiled at her in thanks for the gesture before turning back to group. He sighed and brought a hand up to wipe his eyes as he continued.

“Since they figured they couldn’t get me directly, they’d get me the long way around. They went after my family.” The tears began to flow slowly down his cheeks as Tim coughed trying to keep his composure. “I was working the night shift as I had been doing for a few years by then. My wife had gotten the kids ready for the day and was fixin to take them to school. I had just ended my shift when I got the call from my wife that morning, just like I did every morning I was working, but this time it was different. I could tell right away something was wrong.”

“She was scared and crying. Ann told me someone was beating and banging on the outside of the house. I could hear my daughters crying in the background and my son trying to calm them down. I told her to just stay inside and I would be home soon. Just then I heard the sound of the door being kicked and my kids screaming… My wife was screaming ‘No! Stop! Get out!’ and then I heard the other voices. They were laughing…” Tim was visibly shaking and his voice was cracking and trembling, but he swallowed hard and kept on talking.

“I got home as fast as I could. I was seeing red when I got there and seen the door off its hinges. I ran up to the house and in the door…” Tim was staring holes through Rainbow Dash as he sat there, shaking with anger and fear from years ago. “The body of my sweet Annie was laying in the living room floor, slash wounds all over her arms from fightin’ her attackers and her throat cut clean through; she was gone. I looked up and saw four men coming down the hall from my kid’s rooms. They were laughin’ as they came into the room.” Tim gritted his teeth and forcibly clenched his eyes shut as he brought a hand to his head and ran his fingers through his hair, absentmindedly knocking his hat into the floor. He brought both his hands in front of him and stared into them, seeing something on them only he could, before he brought both fists down to the table with a slam, causing all six women to jump with a start.

“I… I killed them. With my bare hands. I don’t remember how, and to this day I still don’t care. I was cut up and bruised, but I was alive. When I stepped over them and went to find my children… I went in my son’s room… all three… throats cut… the stabs wounds… the blood…”

Tim lost it. He covered his face with his hands a shook, sobbing into his palms. The women surrounding him were in different stages of shock; Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie could only stare, mouth hanging and tears silently tracing down their cheeks. Fluttershy had her sweater sleeves over her hands and was wiping her face as Rarity sat trembling with a hand brought to her mouth and mascara stained tears streaking down her face. Rainbow Dash had done fell back in her chair, her hands clutching the armrests and her face wet with tears as well, shaking her head and staring down towards the floor. Applejack was crying as well, her Stetson now resting on the table before her, but unlike the others, she slid her chair from the table and went to Tim’s side. She bent down to him and wrapped him in a warm embrace, bringing the broken man tight into her breast, one arm around his back and the other cradling his head, softly stroking his salt and pepper hair. She wept with the man and held him close, no-one around the table daring to speak. It was only when Tim pulled his face up from the caring cowgirl’s chest and nodded to her, raising an arm and placing it around her and patting her back in thanks that Applejack let him go, pulled her chair closer to his and sat next to him, her right hand still rubbing his back tenderly. He stared back in Rainbow Dash’s direction, but seemed to be blankly staring straight through her.

“They were gone. All of them. There was nothin’ I could do to bring them back. I failed them- I failed in keeping those I loved the most from harm… it was all my fault. My world ended. I quit work. I didn’t even leave the house until it was time to go to court over the whole thing. Of course I was cleared for what I done to those men after the court seen what had been done to my wife and kids and my reputation as an honest and loyal officer in my region. Once it was all said and done, I sold almost everything I owned and left North Carolina. I was just goin… Didn’t know where, but I was goin. I ended up on the northwest coast of Alaska. I got a boat and kept goin even further. I didn’t want to be around anyone in any way shape or form. I lived off the land the best I could. I’ve suffered the brutal cold, sickness, broken bones, infections and weeks with nothing to eat but berries and roots when I couldn’t harvest any game. And I done it all alone for almost fifteen years. And now,” Tim raised his hands and spread his arms wide, looking at everyone around the room, “here I am.”

He brought his hands down on his thighs with a slap. His eyes were now focused back on Rainbow Dash; her expression now soft and mournful. Tim reached down and picked his hat up from the floor and placed it back on his head, clearing his throat and wiping his eyes for a final time. He ran a hand down over his short beard and crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned over the table. He continued staring at the athlete across from him. “Well, does that answer your question, Miss Dash? I don’t think I’m special by any means, but I’ve seen a lot, done a lot and been through a lot and I aint dead yet.” He expectantly looked at the woman, waiting for a response. All she could do was turn her head from the man and cross her arms back across her chest.

“Naw, bro,… I’m good.” She turned to face Tim, her eyes red and a somber expression still on her face. “I’m… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to jump on you like that. I don’t want any hard feelings…” Tim interrupted her by holding his hand up and waving it dismissively. “It’s over and done. Frankly, I don’t want to talk about it anymore, so,” Tim stood from his chair and slowly walked around the table and across the room to the door. “Not to be rude, but I need a bit of fresh air. Now, if yall ladies will excuse me,” he said as he grabbed the doorknob and slowly opened the door, ”I’m gonna go for a little walk. I’ll be back in a bit.” With that, he stepped out the door and pulled it shut behind him. Silence once again took the room over as the women just sat at the table and took turns glancing at one another. 

“Well,” Rarity spoke up, breaking the silence and drawing the rooms attention to her, “I feel simply dreadful for our new friend Tim,… I couldn’t even begin to imagine experiencing those dreadful things..” she brought a hand back to her mouth as her eyes began to tear up once again. The rest of the group simply stared down at the table, just shaking their heads. Suddenly, Applejack stood up, picked her hat up from the table and placed it upon her head and briskly walked across the room, stopping just in front of the door. She turned back to the group, a weary look on her face. “Ah’ma go after him. Don’t know when we’ll be back. Don’t wait up.” She nodded and disappeared out the door, the only sound was her boots fading in the distance as she ran down the steps and away from the library.
> Walking and Talking
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

With his hands in his jean pockets, Tim silently walked down the cobblestone street that was the main thoroughfare of the town of Ponyville. He held his head down, staring and the worn stones just ahead of his feet, not caring where he was or where he ended up. Everything he had said to the group of women was running through his mind and was eating at him. In all the years since he had left his home, he had not breathed a word of his past to anyone. He was angry at himself for letting the rainbow haired woman get under his skin as easily as she did. He had closed his eyes and was gritting his teeth as he continued down the street, at least until he slammed into someone head-on in his path.

“Geeze, I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there!” was all he heard as he opened his eyes and seen envelopes and small packages flying everywhere. He immediately dropped to one knee and began picking up the scattered mail, collecting it under one arm just to drop it all to the ground as he was head-butted and knocked back on his rear. He rubbed his head and looked ahead of him, seeing a grey-clad mailwoman with blonde hair and drastically crossed eyes. “Ow! Sorry, my bad! Are you o.k. mister?” The blonde appeared to be staring at him while she rubbed her own head with one hand and leaning back on the other. Tim simply nodded and resumed picking up the mail, handing it to the woman as she placed it back in her satchel. He stood up and reached down, helping the clumsy woman up to her feet. 

“Again, I’m so sorry, mister! I was in a rush and just didn’t see you!” She secured the strap of her mailbag over her shoulder and fixed the front of her shirt, straightening it back out. “I really got to get going, I’m running behind again!” She grabbed Tim’s hand and shook it firmly, just before stepping away from him and producing a large pair of silvery wings out of her back. “Bye, have a good day!” was all Tim heard as the woman shot off into the sky like a rocket, a stray letter or two flying out of her bag. He watched as she flew up and over the rooftops, heading across town. Tim watched until she disappeared from view, noticing a few other people soaring across the sky in the distance. He then turned his gaze down to his clothes and brushed the dirt from his pants before continuing on down the road.

When the road turned into a dirt path, Tim looked up and noticed he was now standing at the edge of what looked like a park. He scanned his surrounding and saw a small pond in the distance. He then turned off the main path and made his way across the sparsely wooded countryside heading for the water’s edge. Making it to the pond, he took a seat on a large fallen log just a few feet from the bank. He sat with his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped before him, taking in the serenity of the pond’s glass-smooth surface. He finally was able to let his mind go blank, being in the woods and near the water having a great calming effect on him. He didn’t know how long he had sat there, just staring at the water and enjoying the peaceful sounds of nature when he heard footsteps coming up behind him. Tim never moved or showed any sign of doing so as the footsteps came right up to his back and stopped. 

“Mind if Ah take a seat?” the sweet, southern voice called to him, waiting for a response. Tim simply waved a hand to his right, offering the woman a seat. Applejack stepped over the log and sat down next to Tim, sitting in the same stance as him and just stared out over the lake, not saying a word. They sat there for a few moments, enjoying the silence and even enjoying each other’s company, though neither party said as much. 

“So, what ya know good?” Tim said to his blonde companion, not taking his eyes off the pond. He bent down and picked up a small stone, gently tossing it into the water, disrupting the pond’s smooth surface, sending ripples all across the water. He heard the woman to his right sigh softly before she started to speak.

“Ya know, Ah know a few things good, but more importantly, Ah know yer good. Ya seem to have come a long way from who ya was to who ya are today, and Ah admire that greatly. What ya told us back there, about yer family,… that’s damn rough, and Ah aint gonna say Ah know what ya went through, but Ah lost my folks years ago… Not long after mah lil sis was born.” Applejack looked down to the ground and dug around in the dirt with the tip of her boot, pushing a small clump of dirt into the edge of the water. “It still hurts, a lot. Ah think about my ma an’ pa a lot, especially when I look at lil ‘Bloom an see how she’s getting so big as the time goes on…” She sighed again as she turned to face Tim. “They was on a picnic one afternoon not long after ma had Applebloom. Me, Bloom an’ Mac was at the house with Granny, and we never knew nothing was wrong till they didn’t show up fer dinner. Me an’ my brother went to find em. I can still remember seein em layin in that meadow- pa was coverin ma with his body like a shield, they was both gone from this world… they was attacked by a manticore out of the Everfree Forest… they never stood a chance.” Her voice was trembling and Tim looked up to the blonde next to him to find her still staring at him with her emerald green eyes, now wet from her painful memories. Tim reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder.

“Stop, please… You don’t have to go on,… Please don’t cry, Miss Apple…” This caused the woman to crack a small smile as she pushed into his hand with her shoulder, shrugging his hand from her. “C’mon, now Tim, none of that there ‘Miss’ stuff,… Applejack is just fine, or AJ,…” She looked into Tim’s still reddened eyes with her own teary emerald ones, both now softly smiling at one another. Tim nodded to Applejack and smiled a little bit bigger at her words, still gazing into her eyes. He saw something very familiar in them, something he couldn’t quite place but comforted him none the less.

“Aight, Applejack…” Tim began with a grin as he slowly stood up from his seat on the log. He offered his hand to Applejack who promptly took it and rose from her seat as well, not letting go of Tim’s hand as she stood there close to him. Tim glanced down at her hand in his, then back to her eyes, watching a blush spreading across her lightly freckled cheeks. Even then, the cowgirl didn’t release her gentle grip as she turned from his gaze slightly, lowing the brim of her Stetson over her eyes. 

“Well, then,” Tim said, taking a step away from the pond still holding the hand that remained in his, causing Applejack to follow in his footsteps. “I think I’ve enough air for now,… How about we head on back to the library, huh?” Applejack quickened her step and got beside Tim, now matching her stride to his. “Sure thing, Tim, let’s get goin… I recon ol’ Dash has got over ya threatenin’ to shove that ball cap of yer’s down her throat.” She gave a short laugh, thinking back to the look on the rainbow-haired athlete’s face when Tim leaned across the table to put her in her place. The pair made their way back to the path leading back through the small town and back to the library, Applejack only letting Tim’s hand slowly slip from hers as they entered into town.


>>>>>><<<<<<
>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<
>>>>>><<<<<<


“So, here is what I’ve been thinking,” Twilight began as she stood before the group at the head of the large table with the map laid upon it, “We need to go to the last place we had contact with the princesses, which is here.” She pointed to a spot on the map along a road heading to the circled city of Las Pegasus. “Appleoosa. It’s a small town just a couple hours by train from Las Pegasus. We could travel there and possible reside with Applejack’s family while we talk to the townsfolk and see if anyone can provide us with some answers…”

“Negative, Twilight,” Tim spoke, who had been sitting quietly in his chair, starring holes through Rainbow Dash with his arms crossed all the while, “while I think that we do need to check out the town for any information we can get, I think we need to check out a few of those other crossed off locations and see if there’s anything yall might have missed. I aint doubtin’ yalls investigation skills, but I would like to set my own eyes and ears on some of them places to get my own feel on all of this.” He then stood and traced his finger along the map down the road from Appleoosa across a few of the circled and crossed off towns along the way. “And we might want to avoid the train. If the caravan yall’s princesses was in went down that road, we need to take that same road and see if we can find anything along the way. Yeah, it will take some time, but we need to be as thorough as we can here.” His finger continued down the road which led directly to Canterlot, where he tapped his index and middle fingers a few times on the circled city.

“Here; this is where we start. If ya think that these crime waves out west was just a trap to lure Princess Celestia and Princess Luna away from the protection of the Capitol, I’d be willin to bet someone, or a group of someones, was watchin them and waitin to see when they mobilized and moved out.” He looked around the group of women sitting at the table, noticing a few nods of approval and hearing “hmms” as his idea was thought about. “I mean, I don’t know how folks operate in this world of yours, but I know how things went down where I’m from and frankly, if I was wantin to plan on jumpin someone like them with a plan of drawin em out of their comfort zone, I’d have someone watchin their every move and keepin me posted.” He sat back down on his chair and looked to Twilight, seeing her rub her chin in thought and nodding while staring at the map.

She pointed a finger at Tim as she snapped her fingers and smiled. “That’s great thinking, Tim,… I can’t believe I didn’t think of that, I guess I was so caught up about what had happened to the princesses that I didn’t fully look at the possibility of a more intricate plan at play. Seems to me that we most definitely need your assistance after all.” Twilight looked back at the map at the city of Canterlot and thought once more, going over what Tim had said in her mind. “Oh, and another thing,” Tim began, getting Twilight’s attention again, “we should get a list together of people in those towns, as well as the Capitol, who the princesses have regular contact with who may have seen something that they might not realize may be of importance to us. Guards, their personal staff, councilmen, mayors- anybody you can think of. Any schedules the princesses might have had could be of use, too…” The mention of lists and schedules brought a gleam of excitement to Twilight’s eyes and Tim realized he must have triggered the woman’s “nerdy, talkative side” again.

“Oh, yes! I can most certainly compose a list of individuals of high importance to the princesses as well as study their schedules and see if any discrepancies stand out and make note of any particular occurrences out of the ordinary! I get started on that right away!” With that, Twilight seemed to forget the company she currently had in the library and started to walk off into another room before catching herself and stopping in her tracks. “Uh, hehehe, sorry…” she said, rubbing the back of her head as she walked back to the group, half of which was looking at her with a raised brow as the other half was shaking their heads and rolling their eyes. “I guess we all need to begin preparations so as that we can set out for Canterlot soon. I’m sure you all have things to attend to before we can set out, so I will be in touch with you all in the next couple of days to see where we stand.”

“Well, Twilight my dear,” Rarity began as she rose from her seat and smoothed her dress out with her hands, “I must make sure I get a few orders taken care of and assure I have someone to keep an eye over Sweetie Belle.”

“She could stay over at tha acres, Rares, I’m sure Applebloom would love the comp’ny.” Applejack stated. “Ah got a few things that needs doin around tha farm that might take a few days,…” she then turned to Tim, looking him in the eyes, “’course, with yer help, Tim, Ah’m sure it won’t be too much of a burden.” She smiled a bit at the man beside her, who nodded in agreement. “Sure thing, Applejack… I’m actually feeling a whole lot better already thanks to that spell Twilight used on me when we got here.” He rubbed his side where Twilight had laid her hand earlier, turning to the woman. “Thanks again for that, by the way.”

“Think nothing of it, Tim.” She politely waved off, turning to the remaining woman in the room. “Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash,… I’m sure you will need some time to get things caught up as well, be sure to keep in touch with me, ok?

“Okie-dokie-lokie! I got to let the Cakes know that I won’t be able to watch the twins for a while and I’ll help Fluttershy make sure all her animals are taken care of! Won’t that be great, Fluttershy?” the overly energetic girl shouted as she hugged her shy friend who was nodding her head in response. All eyes then turned to the athlete who was still sitting low in her chair. Noticing the attention of the room now centered on her, she shrugged her shoulders and looked off in the distance. “Yeah, I got a few things I need to get done… No problem. See ya.” Rainbow Dash then stood and gave a short two-finger salute as she stood and walked out the door, glaring a bit at Tim as she turned to close the door behind her. 

“Well then,…” Applejack began, readjusting her Stetson atop her head, “Ah guess we best be headed back home.” She rested her hand on Tim’s shoulder and looked him in the eyes again. “We got a few chores ta take care of before supper and Ah gotta let Mac an’ Granny know we might be gone awhile.” Walking across the room to Twilight and the rest of the girls, she tipped her hat to them. Tim followed her and gave a small wave goodbye to the group. “I guess I’ll be seeing yall around. Yall have a good day.” He said as he then set of out the door ahead of Applejack. As he exited the room, Applejack watched him leave before turning to her friends to say farewell, only to notice Rarity had approached her and stood directly in front of her, smirking in Applejacks face.

“I saw that, you know,… How you looked at him just then… Soooo adorable!” Rarity beamed, now grinning at her tall, blonde friend. Applejack simply rolled her eyes as she pushed the purple-haired fashionista away from her, taking a step towards the door. “Ah don’t know what yer gabbin’ about, Rares… We gotta get back to the farm and get a few things done, Ah aint got time fer yer nonsense.” She continued out the door, hearing her friend softly snicker as she stepped out of the giant tree library and went to catch up with Tim. He had already hitched the wagon back to the horse and was sitting on the bench seat, reins in hand.

“Come on up, I’ll drive us on back to the farm, if you don’t mind, that is.” Tim said to Applejack as she climbed up onto the hard wooden seat and sat next to him. She only smiled as she motioned her hand outwards, gesturing for him to proceed. “Be mah guest.” She said as she got as comfortable as she could, propping her boots up on the front rail of the wagon and tilting her hat down over eyes. Tim then snapped the reins and got the horse to move in a slow walk, guiding the wagon back toward the direction of Sweet Apple Acres as Applejack smiled under her hat and enjoyed the slightly bumpy ride home.
> Down on the Farm
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning found Tim and Big Macintosh out in fields working on an old plow so they could get one of the smaller fields turned and ready for planting. Tim took this time to ask the big farmer a few questions about the women he had met yesterday, wondering about such things as the wings, magic and other random thoughts. He was unbolting the old cutting blade from the plow as Big Mac was prepping the new one while answering Tim’s questions.
“So, let me see if I’m followin’ you on this,” Tim said as he broke loose another rounded and rusty bolt on the plow. “People like Fluttershy and that mailwoman who run me over are called skyfolk, and they can make wings come out their back whenever the notion strikes em?” Big Mac simply nodded in response. “And yall Apples are called earthfolk and are stronger than the skyfolk and the soulfolk, with some bein’ stronger than others?” Again, the big, orange haired man just nodded, shifting the stalk of straw he was chewing on from one side of his mouth to the other as he looked over the new plow edge. “And these princesses that have turned up missing are considered allfolk, and they have all the abilities of all three types of folk? Seems like a foolish move on someone’s part to want to attack or kidnap someone like them.” Tim then broke the last bolt holding on the old plow blade clean in two under the force he was exerting to try and loosen it. Shrugging at the broken bolt and pulling the part away from the rest of the plow, he moved from the plow allowing Big Mac to start placing the new one in place.
“Eyup, that’s about it in a nutshell.” Big Mac said, reaching into the chest pocket of his flannel shirt to remove the new bolts he had brought for repairing the plow. “We’ve just been glad we aint had the problems ‘round here they’ve been havin’ in most parts of Equestria. I guess with them gals all livin’ here in town, it’s kept a lot of the folks causin’ all that ruckus stayin’ clear of here.” Tim rose a brow at this, wondering what about the group of women he had met might have had to do with keeping the crime out of town. Big Mac noticed this, and took the opportunity to answer the unspoken question.
“Them girls didn’t tell ya? They might not look the part, but them six women have saved this country’s ass a time or two. Twilight there is in real tight with Princess Celestia, she is a student of hers and lived there in Canterlot before movin’ here. Shortly after comin ta Ponyville, Twilight got all them gals together and they actually saved Princess Celestia by defeatin’ her corrupt sister, Princess Luna. Hell, Twilight, Applejack and the rest of them girls actually got Luna ta change her ways and she’s now rulin’ this land beside her sister again.” Big Mac stepped away from the plow after getting the last bolt put in place so Tim could tighten them down with the wrenches in his hand. “Them women are some tough-un’s.”
Tim nodded to Macintosh as he finished tightening up the bolts in the plow. Standing, he put the wrenches in his back pocket and wiped his hands on the front of his jeans. “Well, there’s another job done. She’s ready to go, Mac.” He looked over the field before them, then turned back to Big Mac. “Thanks for clearing a few things up for me, bud. Ya want me to get the horse hitched and get this field done for ya?”
Macintosh shook his head and rubbed at his nose with his thumb. “Nope, I’ll get this took care of, I believe mah sis could use a bit of help over in the barn.” Big Mac looked to the barn and noticed the large sacks of feed still sitting in the back of the wagon he returned from town with earlier that morning. “Ya could get them sacks on yer way and she’ll show ay where ta put em.” Tim noticed the sacks and nodded to Big Mac as he started to walking off for the barn. “Sure thing, I’ll see ya.” He gave a half wave to the man and made his way to the large red building.
Tim got to the wagon and saw the four large 50 pound sacks of feed and seeing how he was feeling back to his old self again, he stood the four sacks on end, making two sets of two about a foot apart on the end of the wagon. He leaned forward, putting his shoulders to the standing sacks and wrapping each arm around a set of two sacks. With a slight grunt, he hoisted the four sacks up and onto his shoulders, two on each side. He shifted the weight on his shoulders just a bit as he turned and walked to the barns door. Nudging the large sliding door open just a touch wider with his boot, he stepped inside the barn and called out.
“Hey, Applejack? You in here? Big Mac said to bring this feed to ya.” He walked a few feet into the barn and stood, not seeing the tall blonde woman in his direct field of view. The sacks on his shoulders obscured his view to his sides, thus not letting him see Applejack who was standing off to his right in a corner of the barn after finishing repairing a damaged saddle. Neither did Tim see the look in the woman’s eyes as she looked him up and down, drinking in the view. As she gazed at the man, noticing the perfectly fitting and dirt covered jeans that showed a hint of his toned, powerful legs, the way he seemed to stand there effortlessly with two-hundred pounds of cattle feed on his shoulders and the muscles of his arms and back bulging and flexing under his sweat-dampened shirt as he adjusted the large sacks he toted, a sly smirk came to her face and she crooked a brow in interest. Applejack then leaned back against the workbench she was standing at and crossed her arms under her breasts, continuing to enjoy the view. Getting lost in her thoughts, she softly bit her lip and stood there in silence, at least until Tim turned to face her, at which time she just simply smiled at him and shifted her stance, still leaning against the table.
“Well, it seems ta me that ya got a bit of ya strength back… Big Mac been workin ya hard?” she said as she left her position at the bench and walked past Tim and to the other side of the barn to a small room under the barn’s loft. “Naw, it aint been too bad,” Tim stated, shifting the load on his shoulders once more, following the woman across the room with his eyes, “not as bad as you leavin’ me here holdin all this feed… Anywhere particular ya want it, Applejack?”
The tall blonde pushed opened the door, leaning her back against it as she laughed softly, gesturing into the room by pointing over her shoulder with a thumb. “In here will do nicely, just stack it there with the others in the corner.” She smiled at Tim as he walked past her and into the room, setting the feed down where he was instructed. Coming out of the room, Applejack shut the door behind him and motioned for him to follow her outside and doing so, she led him to another small barn just a short ways away from the main barn. Stepping inside, he could see the barn had been transformed into a descent sized gym with random equipment and punching bags surrounding a boxing ring in the center of the room. Tim looked a bit surprised upon entering the room and looked to Applejack as she crossed the room to sit on an old leather couch that sat long one wall. He followed her, but remained standing as he continued to look around the room.
“Nice little setup ya got here, it’s been ages since I’ve been at a gym.... What are we doin out here? Aint we got some chores that need doin?” Tim looked around the room, noticing the assorted equipment around him- a pair of bench presses with more than enough free weights, a leg press machine, a few heavy bags and speed bags hanging from a beam that supported the upstairs area and random dumbbells stacked in one corner; all of this surrounding the raised boxing ring in the center of the room with assorted pairs of boxing gloves hanging on the wall close to the couch which Applejack was sitting on.
“Sure, we got a few things ta take care of, but Ah figured we could take a lil’ break and Ah could show ya our workout room. Seein’ ya tote all them feed sacks like ya did, guessed ya might be interested in comin’ out here and workin’ out some,… Maybe keep me comp’ny while Ah’m out here.” Applejack then rose from the couch and stood close to Tim, placing a hand on his arm and squeezing his bicep a bit, smiling at him. “Ah aint had anybody really be able ta go ‘toe-ta-toe’ with me in the ring in a while, if ya think ya might be up for it.” She bumped into Tim, catching him of guard and causing him to slightly readjust his footing. Looking back to the woman with a raised brow and a smile on his face, he crossed his arms and chuckled at Applejack. “Yeah, I guess I might be up for some free weights or maybe goin a round or two with ya.” He said to her as she walked back toward the barn’s door. Applejack stopped at the door, looking back at Tim over her shoulder and resting a hand on the doorframe. “Aight, suga’cube, we’ll come back out here after supper and see what ya got,” she said with a bit of a husky tone in her voice before winking at Tim and tilting her head, motioning outside. “C’mon, let’s go check the fences and see if they need mending.” Tim blinked a few times at the tone of Applejack’s previous statement before following her outside to get back to work.
>>>>>><<<<<<
>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<
>>>>>><<<<<<
The afternoon came and went; fences were repaired, shingles were replaced on a leaking spot on the porch roof, horses were reshod and seeds were sown, along with a few other small jobs that Granny Smith insisted that needed to be done before Applejack and Tim left the farm for their journey. Though the day of departure was still uncertain, it was to be soon, and the family’s matriarch wanted to make sure as much as possible was done to ensure things at the farm ran as smooth as possible. Talk around the dinner table that night was short and boring, at least up until the point Tim mentioned that Applejack had shown him their gym and the boxing ring, at which point Big Macintosh raised a brow at Tim and smirked at the man sitting across the table from him.
“Ya know, Ah could stand for a round in the ring mahself,… whatcha say, Tim?” Granny Smith, Applebloom and Applejack all looked back and forth between the two men, seeing both of them staring at one another, each one smirking just a bit as they sized the other up. Tim wiped his mouth with his napkin and laid it on top of his plate, never breaking contact with his challenger as he craned his neck to the left causing a faint series of cracking sounds. “Sounds good to me, Mac,” he said as he slowly stood from the table. “I’m ready whenever you are, hoss. You ready?” Big Mac smiled wide and stood up as well, smiling wider at the equally large man across the table from him. “Eyup,” was all he said as Big Mac nodded to his grandmother and walked out the back door of the kitchen. Tim turned back to the women at the table with a wide grin on his face. “Excuse me, ladies,” he said as he picked his plate up and set it on the counter next to the sink. “I hate to barge out, but it seems I’m expected in the barn.” 
Tim turned and left out of the kitchen behind Big Mac, pulling the door shut tightly behind him with a slight slam. Applejack and Granny Smith looked at one another, rolled their eyes simultaneously and began to laugh. “Well, boys will be boys!” Granny Smith said, taking another sip from her glass. “Hope yall’s brother don’t rough ol’ Tim up too bad…” she said as she stood to begin clearing the table.
Out in the barn-turned-gym, both men were now standing in opposite corners of the boxing ring, pulling on their gloves and grinning ear to ear at each other. They were both standing in the ring wearing their jeans and work boots, having removed their shirts to allow for more freedom of movement- as well as an attempt to intimidate the other. As Tim finished pulling on his gloves, Big Mac slammed his gloves together causing the leather to make a loud smack, drawing Tim’s attention to him. Big Mac then held up one hand out from his body and made a small hammering motion. “Ding, ding.” The big farmer said as both men locked eyes and advanced on one another towards the center of the ring.
Macintosh wasted no time, sending out a hard, fast left jab aimed directly for Tim’s face. The strike was barely blocked, the edge of the large red glove grazing an ear as it passed Tim’s head. Immediately a series of shorter but quicker jabs found their mark on Tim’s stomach before he could step back and off to the side of the orange haired man’s attack. In an instant Tim was under fire again, but this time he was able to block a vicious uppercut to keep it from connecting to his jaw. The impact from the blow was tremendous, pushing Tim back into the ropes. He was able to get his guard up just in time for the storm of strikes from Big Mac- the fight seemed to be extremely one sided as all Tim could do was block blow after blow. From the outside looking in, it seemed that it was an uphill battle for the dark haired fighter with the grey in his hair, and he was at a disadvantage, but he was biding his time.
The storm of blows slowed for just a brief moment, and Tim side-stepped to Big Mac’s left, providing Tim just a split second to attempt at landing a hit. He swung out with a right hook that found its home on the left side of Big Mac’s face, narrowly getting past the farmer’s attempted block. The farmer stumbled backward a step and a half, and Tim took that opportunity to launch his assault.
Tim might have been lacking the speed and form that Big Mac had, but he had force, and lots of it. He went in with a series of right jabs, turning his body into each strike and putting the force of his weight behind his blows, plowing through his opponent’s attempted guards and stepping closer to his target. Big Mac shot out with a few half-hearted right jabs of his own, connecting into Tim’s ribcage, but if they slowed his aggressor down any, he was unable to tell it. Tim then threw in a left hook of his own to stop the strikes coming at his ribs, disrupting his rhythm and allowing Big Mac a window of escape. As the two men backed away from one another, the both stared each other down and began circling one another as they panted for breath.
Big Mac got his wind a little faster than Tim, lunging in and alternating tight left and right hooks aiming for Tim’s face. It was all Tim could do to block the rapid fire of blows coming from both sides of his head, but again he weathered the onslaught and awaited his chance to strike. Tim adjusted his footing and planted himself to the mat, not giving an inch to his attacker. He continued to block strike after strike as he got himself into position to load all of his might into one well-aimed swing. The blows coming at him slowly began to get a little sloppy and slightly less frequent, but the kept on coming. When one of Big Mac’s swings went a tad bit wide and caused a delay in the timing of the follow-up strike, Tim loaded up his swing and rolled the dice on landing one powerful hit.
He was right on the money. He let loose with a powerful right cross that connected with the center of the big farmer’s face. Tim followed through with his shoulder and pushed his fist straight on its path, taking Big Mac’s head with it. Where the head went, the rest of the body followed, taking the big man off his feet and raising him into the air a few inches off of the ring’s surface. Big Mac’s arms were sent flying out to his sides as they began to circle in the air at a failed attempt to gain balance before he awkwardly came back down to the mat and promptly fell back onto his hind end. His back fell flat to the mat, causing his head, along with his body, to make a solid bounce before landing at the edge of the ring. Big Mac stared up at the barn’s ceiling and shook his head as his eyes started to water from the pain in his nose. As his vision cleared, he saw the gloved hand of Tim reaching down to him, offering to help him to his feet.
Big Mac took the hand and was hoisted up onto his feet. Being that Tim pulled him up a little too hard, Big Mac found himself colliding into his helper, both now standing in the center of the ring. Pulling off his gloves, Big Mac’s hands went straight to his nose, and after a moment of feeling around for a moment, he snapped the protrusion back into place with a pained hiss.
“Eyup,.. Ah’mma feel that in the mornin’,” he said as he worked his jaw open and closed a few times, trying to work the pain and soreness out of it. He raised a fist up and held it out to Tim, who bumped it with his own now ungloved fist and slapped Big Mac on the shoulder with his free hand. “I was worried for a minute there, thought I might have put too much inta that hit…” Tim said with a chuckle, “mighta should of held back a little bit, I guess. You ok?”
“Yeah, he’ll be a’ight,” a familiar, sweet southern drawl called out from the door of the barn. “He’s ‘bout tough as I am. But Ah’ll say this,” Applejack said as she began to walk across the floor to the ring, “tha only other person Ah’ve seen beat ol’ Mac, has been me.” The woman now stood at the old leather couch next to where the gloves were hung on the wall. Both men turned to look at her as she unbuttoned her orange flannel shirt, revealing a white, slender strapped tank top over a white sports bra. Big Mac crawled under the top rope of the boxing ring and stepped down to the main floor, throwing his red gloves on the couch behind his sister. Picking up his own shirt, he pulled it on and turned to his sister, once again rubbing his nose and popping his jaw.
“He’s all warmed up for ya, AJ,… Watch out for that right cross of his, though, it’s a killer.” Buttoning his shirt, he turned toward Tim and nodded. “Enjoyed it, Tim. Have fun with tha ‘Monster of Ponyville’ over here,” he said as he nudged Applejack with his shoulder, who retorted with a snort and a hard shove towards the door.
“Ah told ya, don’t be callin’ me that! If Ah ever find out who started that there nickname, Ah’m really gonna show ‘em a monster! Now GIT!” She finished pushing her older brother out of the barn by putting a boot to the seat of his jeans and shoving him out the door, closing it behind him. Tim, who was now sitting on the edge of the ring resting his arms on the ropes, watched as Applejack made her way back to the couch before turning her back to Tim, setting her hat down and slowly pulling her tank top up and over her head, leaving her standing there in only her sports bra, jeans and boots. Swallowing hard, Tim turned his eyes away from the attractive blonde, not before noticing the musculature of her back under the smooth, tanned skin. His gaze wasn’t averted long; he caught himself looking back at her out of the corners of his eyes, watching as she bent over at the waist to pull off her boots, putting the view of denim stretched tight over her thick backside on display for him. Before he knew it, she donned her Stetson, approached the ring, grabbed the middle rope and jumped, landing both feet on the edge of the ring.
“Well, Ah seen ya box,” she said as she climbed through the top and middle ropes, stepping into the ring, “let’s change things up a bit an' see if ya can wrestle.” Applejack stepped to the far corner of the ring and began bouncing on her feet, shaking out her arms and leaning her head from side to side. Tim stood from his seat and pulled off his own boots, dropping them down onto the barn floor. He turned to her and pointed at her hat.
“You wanna take that thing off, little lady? I’d hate to see a good had get messed up.” Tim said with a smile on his face. Applejack just smirked at him and put her hand atop her hat, pushing it just a little bit further down on her head.
“If ya knock this hat off the top of my head,” Applejack said as she flicked the brim of the worn Stetson with her middle finger, “Ya win. But Ah got to tell ya, it aint happened b’fore, and Ah don’t intend on it happenin’ today.” She grinned and she lowered her stance as a fire shone in her sparkling, emerald eyes. Tim nodded and smiled back at her, lacing his fingers and stretching his arms out in front of him before getting into more of a wider stance, placing his hands on his knees. “Whenever you’re ready ‘sugarcube’,” he mocked. Applejack’s eyes grew wide as her smile grew wider; then she charged.
Tim jumped out towards the woman and they both locked their hands on the other person’s shoulders and the power struggle began. Surprisingly to Tim, he was being pushed back towards his corner a little quicker than he anticipated. Exerting more force of his own, he stopped the woman’s advance and they locked tighter together, each one putting forth more force with each passing second. He felt Applejack’s grip on his shoulders tighten as she latched tighter onto him, bringing her face in close to his.
“Don’t be thinkin ya need ta take it easy on me,” she said, right before she dove her left shoulder down and spun around to Tim’s back, changing her grip and wrapping her arms around his middle, “or ya might just be in for a shock!” With that, she lifted her opponent off of the ground almost effortlessly, and executed a suplex, letting go of Tim as his shoulders crashed into the mat. Dazed, Tim leapt up onto his feet, shook his head and turned to face the blur that was Applejack rushing him again.
Their bodies collided again, their hands locked out to the sides of the faces and their chests pressed together. The two parties had pressed their foreheads together and stared into each other’s eyes, both gritting their teeth. Tim could feel the woman’s soft skin pressed against his own and he could smell a hint of flowers- apple blossoms to be exact. The brief moment he let his mind drift to the thought of her sweet scent, she seized the opportunity to overpower him and force him down onto one knee, putting his face directly between her pert, sweat-glazed breasts.
“What’s tha matter, big boy? Ya lettin’ my feminine charm distract ya?” Applejack laughed as she put more force behind her push, managing to get Tim slightly off balance. He shook his head to clear his mind of apple blossoms and sweaty tops as he forced his way back onto his feet, pleased to hear the woman grunt as she tried to keep him down. Foreheads still pressed together, Tim grinned at the woman and got back into a more promising stance and adjusting his feet once more.
“I’ll hafta admit,” he grunted through his clenched teeth, “you’re putting up one heck of a fight, for a little farm girl, that is…” Watching Applejack’s piercing green eyes flutter at the audacity of his comment, Tim felt her falter just a bit, but that was enough. He quickly let go of both her hands, lowered his left shoulder below the hem of her sports bra and put his head under her left arm. In a flash, he drove his shoulder into her, wrapping his arms around her lifting her from the ground before diving to the mat, planting the woman flat on her back. For a second, he was concerned he may have winded the woman as she brought both hands to her Stetson, keeping it snug atop her golden hair with her eyes closed. He moved his hands to her shoulders, straddling her and pinning her to the ground. He paused, waiting to see the woman react. 
And that was the precise moment Tim learned he made a tragic mistake. A smile crossed the blonde’s face as her eyes shot open; he could see they now burned with an intense flame from deep within. She bucked her hips upward, lifting Tim off of her, almost high enough for him to stand. She brought her knees up tight to her chest, put her feet on Tim’s beltline and forced him up and over her head, locking onto his forearms in the process. As Tim landed flat on his back, he was surprised once again as Applejack flexed her body and somehow flipped over onto him, straddling his chest and knocking the wind out of him with the impact of her wide, healthy hips. His eyes crossed for just a moment as he coughed, then closed his eyes tight before feeling her move and place a forearm across his throat. He opened his eyes to see her nose to nose with him; stray locks of her golden hair drifted out from under her trusty Stetson and touched his cheeks. Her right arm was lightly resting across his neck as her left arm was stretched out over his head, holding her weight up off of him. She smiled madly as she panted, the fire still in her emerald eyes as she gazed down into his brown ones.
“Whew!” she exclaimed as she tossed her head and brought her face right back down to his and looked into his eyes again. “That. Was. Fun! Looks like Ah win though, suga’cube. Ah remain undefeated!” she beamed down at him. Tim swallowed as he finally felt his breath coming back to him. His eyes darted back and forth from her blazing emerald orbs to her Stetson and back again. A smirk of a smile crept across his face. 
He continued to stare into the woman’s eyes as his smile grew wider. He rose his left hand to the side of his face and held up a finger as Applejack cocked her head slightly to her right, raising a brow in confusion, but still grinning none-the-less. “Now, hold up one second,” Tim said between his slowing breaths. He raised his hand quickly, catching the brim of the brown cowboy hat and knocking it to the mat beside the pair. He grinned, watching Applejack’s eyes grow wide as she slowly turned her head to her dislodged Stetson as it rocked to a stop, upside-down beside them. She squinted her eyes and cut them back at Tim, her jaw dropping just slightly causing her warm breath to caress the side of Tim’s bearded face.
“Looks like ya lost your hat,… Guess that means that  I win this one.” Tim let his arm fall back down to the mat beside his head, smiling up at Applejack with a grin comparable to that of a mule eating briars. He laid there with that silly look on his face as the woman atop his chest turned her face back to him, her expression changing from mild shock to something Tim couldn’t identify right off. With half lidded eyes, Applejack smirked down at him and slowly opened her mouth to speak.
“Well, then... Seein’ as how yer the first one to ever accomplish such a feat, Ah’m guessin ya should be getting a reward right about now.” She raised up from Tim’s face slowly, moving her hands to his shoulders and sliding her seat down from his chest and more towards his waist. Tim closed his eyes and chuckled softly at the woman as he rested the back of his head on the cool mat he was still pinned down to.
“C’mon now, I'm pretty sure we didn’t make any kind of bet, Applejack,… and besides, I was just teasin’ ya, we both know you w….”
Tim didn't see it coming, nor did he get to finish his sentence due to the warm, soft lips that landed hard onto his, silencing him instantly. He swore he tasted a hint of honey and apples as his mind began racing a mile a minute when he heard and felt Applejack moan into his mouth as she pressed even deeper into the kiss.
> Well then....
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

With an exhausted sigh, Tim sat down on the large oak stump that the family used for splitting firewood next to the old wood shed behind the farmhouse. With two hands, he turned the ax over in his hands, looking the blade over, staring at its dull, rusted finish. The cool night air chilled his skin through his sweat soaked shirt as a soft breeze filtered through the orchard behind him. He had no clue how long he had been swinging the ax, splitting the enormous stack of firewood he discovered on his long, slow walk around the acreage. He turned to the newly split and stacked rows of wood, stacked as high as he was tall and filling the shed to capacity. Running out of room under the shed, he had started stacking rows along the sides and back of the small building- if there wasn’t two winter’s worth of wood split and stacked there now, there was three. He continued to look at the ax blade, his mind going back to the thoughts he was trying to avoid. He sighed again, the events of earlier in the evening replaying in his mind…

After a mere second or two of feeling the farm girl’s lips on his, his eyes shot open and he put his hands to the woman’s shoulders, gently pushing her away from him. She pulled away and opened her eyes as well, a tinge of fear tainting her sparkling, emerald orbs. Applejack’s eyes darted back and forth as she gazed down into Tim’s and she looked down in worry at the man.

“Ah’m… Ah’m sorry… Ah just thought that ya… Ah mean we,…” Applejack moved her hand to her hat, picking it up and slowly putting it back atop her golden blonde hair. She rose and backed to a corner post of the ring, raising a hand and covering her face, shaking her head back and forth. Tim stood as well, running a hand through his short hair before turning his face away from Applejack, starring at the far wall and putting a hand to his chin, gripping his beard firmly and stroking it in thought. His mind was going at full speed and he still could not process what exactly just happened. Yes, he felt something when it came to the amazon of a farm girl standing across from him- the way she carried herself, her work ethic, her strength, the way her and her family had took him in and cared for him, her looks… He now turned to face her, seeing her hanging her head, one hand over her face and one hand resting on her firm, muscular hip. He looked her image over and exhaled hard through his nose; from the top of her Stetson-topped head to the tips of her unpainted but manicured toes, he found the woman beautiful; he couldn’t deny that every curve of her body, each freckle dotting her skin, the sway of her hips and the sound of her voice drew his attention to her. But something inside him, inside his heart, wouldn’t let him continue with the kiss.

“Applejack, I-“ he began, only to be interrupted by the woman quickly walking up to him, gently resting her hands on his shoulders and looking into his eyes.

“Ah didn’t mean ta push myself on ya like that… Ah aint sure what came over me. After all ya said at Twi’s place an’ us talkin’ by the pond an’ ya takin’ mah hand an’ walkin’ back to the library, Ah… Ah just… Hell, Ah dunno what Ah was thinkin!” She let go of him, turned and walked away, crawling out the ring through the ropes and back to the couch, picking up her boots in one hand and bringing the other back to her forehead. Shaking her head, she made her way to the barn’s door, pushing it open and taking a single step outside. 

“Please, don’t think ill of me, Tim… Ah’m sorry.” She said softly as she walked out of the barn, leaving the door hanging open, letting the last bits of light from the setting sun fall onto the gym’s floor. Tim stood there for minutes that seemed like hours before climbing out of the ring, pulling on his boots, shirt and hat before exiting the building, walking in the opposite direction of the house.
	
Tim then stood from his seat and turned, forcibly swinging the ax downward, embedding it deep into the top of the stump. Kicking the few scraps of kindling and bark that remained of the now split pile of wood; he began to walk again, this time heading around the house and down the path that lead off the farm. He slipped his hands into his jean pockets and slowly made his way along the path towards the main road into town. He once again got lost in his thoughts, both of the present and the past, as he walked with no real destination in mind.

>>>>>><<<<<<
>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<
>>>>>><<<<<<

The oranges, reds and pinks of the rising sun greeted Tim’s eyes as he found himself walking past the ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ sign at the edge of the small town. He looked around, noticing very few others out at this early of an hour getting ready for the day. Just down the road a short ways, he saw what appeared to be a uniquely designed bakery; the building reminded him of a giant gingerbread house and the smells he could now pick up on the breeze were a delicious, blended aroma of all sorts of baked goods. Walking closer to the sweet smelling building, he noticed a trio of figures moving about inside, apparently getting ready for the morning crowd. Alongside a tall and slender man with brown hair jutting out from under a small chef’s cap and a short, plump woman with swirling, two-toned pink hair wearing a fluffy blue dress, he saw a familiar bright pink blur bouncing around the room as she set out tray after tray into the glass display cases. As Tim neared the door, the woman in the blue dress noticed him and smiled, walking to the door and flipping the ‘closed’ sign to ‘open’. Pushing the door open, she waved to Tim and called to him, “Welcome to Sugarcube Corner! Come on in, we’re just opening…” Tim shot the woman a brief smile as he stepped into the building.

“Heya, Tim! It’s sooo good to see you!” Pinkie Pie said as she ran up and wrapped the man in a short but tight hug, not even giving him a chance to take his hands out of his pockets. As the girl let go of him, Tim gave her a half-hearted smile and nodded. Before he could open his mouth to greet her in return, the girl quirked a brow up at him and put her face directly in front of his, looking up at him and staring hard into his eyes. She looked back and forth from his left eye to his right and back again multiple times, squinting her bright blue eyes hard at him as if she was studying him. She pursed her lips and slowly backed away from Tim as he gave the girl a questioning look. Pinkie the turned abruptly, grabbed two pastries from a nearby tray and handed them to Tim, locking eyes with him once again.

“Mr. and Mrs. Cake! I need to step out for a sec and talk to my friend here. We’ll be right back!” With that, she grabbed Tim’s arm and began to pull him behind her out the door as the man and woman working the counter simply smiled as they waved the pink haired ball of energy off. “Okay, Pinkie!” they shouted in unison as the door of the bakery closed behind Tim and the weird acting girl.

Out on the street, Pinkie Pie continued to pull Tim along away from the building and further into town. After a couple dozen feet or so, she stopped and turned, standing directly in Tim’s path and stared up at him again, her eyes now serious and piercing. Without looking down, she took one of the pastries from the man’s hand and brought it to her mouth. Taking a big bite out of what turned out to be a cheese Danish, she never took her eyes off of his as she slowly chewed and swallowed. “What happened, huh?” the girl said as she took another bite of her breakfast and put a hand on her hip.

Tim shook his head a bit in surprise at the pink haired girl. For someone who seemed so young and carefree the last time he saw her, she now looked at him with what seemed like intelligence and determination beyond her years. Tim blinked at her a few times and shook his head, not knowing how the girl knew that something was deeply troubling him. He knew he had to look like hell- he had been up for a little more than 26 hours and had spent the entire night walking and chopping wood. Thinking on it for a moment, it must have been written all over his face that something was bothering him. He looked around and saw a bench just past Pinkie. 

“Well, let’s take a seat and I’ll tell you what’s up.” He said to the girl as he walked past her. She nodded and followed him, the pair taking a seat on the bench together. Pinkie turned in her seat a bit, crossing one leg over the other and facing Tim, continuing to eat her pastry. Tim looked down and took note of the Danish in his hand. How this girl knew he favored blueberries, he didn’t know, but he took a bite and chewed the delicious morsel. It was probably the best tasting pastry he had ever had the pleasure of biting into. Tim and Pinkie finished their treats, and both turned to look at one another. Pinkie raised a brow as Tim sighed, thinking of where to begin this conversation. Deciding to just bite the bullet, Tim took the route of telling the short and simple version.

“After dinner last night, me and Big Mac went out to their barn-turned-gym and boxed for a little bit. Then Applejack showed up… Then we were alone… Then she kissed me… And I didn’t kiss her back.” He looked down into his hands. “Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to- damn, I really wanted to- but I just couldn’t. Things got a little awkward and she left. I walked around the farm a bit, found a few things to kill some time an’ try to clear my head, and then I ended up just walking again and found myself in town. Now I’m sitting here with you. That was a great Danish, by the way… Blueberries are my favorite.”

Pinkie smirked a bit, nodding her head at Tim. “I thought you were a blueberry kind of guy… and I knew something happened between you and AJ…” she closed one eye and tapped her temple with her index finger. “Pinkie Sense- a blessing and a curse,” she smiled before shifting in her seat. “So, ya didn’t kiss AJ back ‘cuz you still love your wife an awful lot, right? And it felt wrong, even though its super-duper obvious you two go together like sprinkles and cupcakes, Riiight? Aaaaand you’re worried you’ll let her down if you do get closer to her, Riiiiight?” With each sentence she spoke, the girl leaned closer and closer to Tim, and now Pinkie Pie was leaning her face real close to Tim’s, a brow raised and one eye opened surprisingly wide, starring the man down. He had tilted himself as far away from the girl as the bench would let him and was staring back at the girl wide-eyed. He put a hand to her shoulder and gently pushed her back to her side of the bench. Sitting back up more comfortably, he removed his hat at rubbed his head. 

“Y-yeah, pretty much.” He said, putting his cap back on and crossing his arms in front of his chest. He looked at the pink-haired detective and shook his head slightly. “Ya know, I didn’t really come here with plans on talking to anyone about it… I aint sure how you figured all that out like that, but ya hit the nail on the head, Pinkie.” He looked up at the now blue sky, the morning sun warming the cool air. He sighed, his eyes catching sight of a stray, wispy cloud now floating into view. “I do think Applejack is something else, and I am worried that I might let her down in some way if I let myself get close to her. I still miss my wife something fierce, but when I look at Applejack, it stirs up something deep down inside of me. I hadn’t meant to lead her on or nothin’ and I sure as hell didn’t have any plans of us kissin’,.. Damn it, Pinkie, I feel like shit after seein’ her react the way she did after all that last night…” he shook his head, still looking up at the sky. “But I aint just worried about letting her down, I’m worried about letting all yall down… This trip coming up, tryin’ to help yall track down Luna and Celestia, figuring out who is behind all of it…” Tim grunted and looked back to Pinkie Pie, who was listening to him intently. “It’s been a long time since I’ve done anything like this, and I’m nervous ‘bout it all. And with this situation with her thrown in on top of everything, It’s making things worse.”

Pinkie Pie nodded, closed her eyes and thought for a moment. She reached over and patted Tim on his shoulder. She opened her bright blue eyes, looked to Tim and smiled. “I got faith in ya, Tim!” she exclaimed, her shout a little louder than expected, shattering the tranquility of the peaceful morning. “I listened to you at the library, ya know,… Sounds to me there isn’t anything you can’t handle, be it big ol’ meanies or little ol’ Applejack!” she laughed a bit at her own comment, causing Tim to raise a brow at her. “There’s something inside you that led Twilight to you, and I know that there’s something deep inside that rough and tough exterior of yours that knows it, too. I can sense these things, and the Pinkie Sense doesn’t lie!” She smiled wide and sat taller in her seat, beaming with confidence in her statement. Tim just shook his head again.

“I’m glad one of has faith in me,” he said, slowly standing from his spot on the bench. He looked up and down the road, spotting the large tree that was the library. Pinkie Pie stood up beside him, noticing what he was looking at. She then slapped him on his back, rocking him forward an inch or two. “We all got faith in you, especially Twilight. Oh! I stopped by the library last night and Spike told me she was packed and ready to go, and Rarity said she had Ms. Pommel coming into town to take over her shop until further notice, soooo…” Tim looked down at the girl as she grabbed his arm once again and started pulling him down the street toward the tree library. “Let’s go see if she’s heard from Dashie and Fluttershy so we can get down to business!” Before he knew it, the girl was almost dragging him down the street to the large tree.

“TWILIGHT! WE’RE HEEEEERE!” Pinkie shouted as she pushed the front door open with a slam, startling both the dark skinned intellectual and her young assistant. Twilight shouted in response, knocking over her ink well as papers flew into the air. Spike quickly pulled a rag from his back pocket and got started cleaning the ink from the table before it could reach the floor.

“WHAA! Pinkie Pie! This is a LIBRARY, no yelling! Especially at this hour of the morning!” Twilight then noticed her energetic friend had Tim in tow behind her. “Tim, glad to see you… have you and Applejack completed your preparations for our journey? I was planning on coming by Sweet Apple Acres later this morning to let you know that the rest of the girls have made arrangements and are ready to board a train to Canterlot whenever you two are packed to go.” She looked at the man a little closer as she collected her papers and restacked them before her, noticing he was covered in dirt and splinters of wood, not to mention his face looked long and weary. “Is everything alright, Tim?” she asked, as she stood and walked up to him and Pinkie.

“I’ve been worse,” Tim stated, shrugging his shoulders, “just been doin’ some work around the farm early this morning.” He noticed Pinkie Pie cutting her eyes sideways at him, but chose to ignore it. “Best of my knowledge, ‘bout everything around the farm is caught up and set for Big Mac to handle things well enough while we’re gone. Shouldn’t take either of us too long to get packed, how soon ya wanting to head out?” He asked, watching as Twilight went to a desk and pulled and envelope from the top drawer. She pulled out a paper and studied it for a moment before turning back to Tim and Pinkie.

“Well, the train schedule shows the last departure for Canterlot to be at about 7pm tonight, and I have already gotten word back from my sister-in-law Princess Cadence that she has made arrangements for us to stay at the castle whenever we chose to arrive. So,” she looked directly at Tim, then to Pinkie Pie before speaking again, “maybe we could catch the last train tonight, perhaps? If that is fine with you and Applejack, that is.”

“Hmm,” Tim looked to the floor in thought, nodding in approval. “Shouldn’t be a problem. I guess I can head on back to the farm and let her know. Meet ya here about 6:30 this evening, or so?” Twilight nodded, smiling at the man. 

“Sounds great, Tim. I’ll go speak with Rarity and Rainbow Dash and let them know we will be leaving tonight. Also, I will send word to Princess Cadence and let her know we shall be arriving on the last train tonight. Pinkie Pie, do you mind going to Fluttershy’s cottage and letting her know of our updated plans?”

“Abso-tootley-lutely!  No prob, Twilight! I can go right now!” Pinkie Pie turned to Tim, looking up at him. “Unless you want me to walk back to Sweet Apple Acres with you and talk to AJ?” Twilight looked at the pair with a raised brow, not knowing the duo’s previous conversation. Tim simply raised a hand and shook his head side to side.

“Naw, I think I got it,… I’ll just walk on back by myself, take me a little while to think about things a bit more. Thank ya, though, Pinkie. Twilight, I’ll be seein’ ya.” Shaking the librarian’s hand, Tim turned to leave the room with Pinkie Pie close on his heels after she gave a farewell hug to Twilight. The pair walked out the door and stood in the street for a moment, Tim staring down the road in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres.

“Remember, Tim,” Pinkie said as she patted him on the shoulder once more, causing the man to turn and face her. “You can handle anything; you can do anything- we have faith in you! Don’t worry about Applejack, she’s a whole lot like you… She can handle anything that comes her way! You two will be a-okay in no time.” Tim smiled down at the grinning girl and then watched as she skipped off down the road, stopping briefly to turn and wave goodbye to him. He waved back before turning and slowly starting his walk back to the farm.

>>>>>><<<<<<
>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<
>>>>>><<<<<<

Knowing that Applejack or Big Macintosh wouldn’t be at the house when he arrived back on the farm, Tim headed around back and made his way to the large, red barn. He had taken his time on his walk back from town, and figured it was creeping up on noon. He knew the two hard workers would still be handling their chores and set out to try and find Applejack to tell her about his short conversation with Twilight. He entered the building and sure enough, he found the pair of farmers repairing a wheel on one of the older carts used around the farm. He started walking across the floor toward the cart and was noticed by Big Mac, who nodded to him before nudging his sister with his shoulder. When Applejack looked to Big Mac, he motioned his head in Tim’s direction, causing the blonde to turn and face Tim as well. She quickly stood, wiped her hands on the back of her jeans and approached him.

“Uh, hey, Tim,… Ah, um, we missed you at breakfast this mornin’… Mac saw the firewood ya busted up, ya musta got up a good while before us to have gotten all that cut and stacked… Thanks for that.” Applejack looked at Tim from under the brim of her Stetson, sliding her hands into her pockets, seeming to be waiting for an answer from the man.

“No problem,... Never made it to bed last night, felt like burning the midnight oil and get something done ‘round here. Headed for town close to sunup, ended up speakin’ to Twilight.” Tim said as he looked back into Applejack’s eyes, still feeling awkward about what transpired between them last night. “She said the rest of the group is ready to head on out to Canterlot whenever we are. She asked if we could be packed and at the train station to catch the 7 o’clock train out of town. I told her it shouldn’t be a problem, but I needed to ask you first.” 

Applejack slowly nodded her head up and down in agreement. She removed her hands from her jean pockets and rested them on her hips, now looking around the barn and back to Big Mac who was still working on the cart behind her. “Sounds good to me,” the woman began. “Ah’ve already had a bag packed and ready to go sittin’ at the foot of mah bed. Guess Ah need to go and talk to Granny and Bloom right quick. Ya good ta finish that up by yerself, Mac?”

“Eyuup,” was all the man said as he stood up and went to the workbench to grab a different wrench to work on the wheel’s hub. Applejack looked back at Tim and smiled at him softly before taking a step past him and towards the barn door.

“That settles that,” she said, “Ah’m gonna holler at Granny fer a bit if ya wanna go ahead and start getting a few things together.” Applejack then looked the man up and down, noticing how dirty his clothes were and how he was in need of a good shower. She smiled a bit more at Tim and sported a small hint of playfulness in her eyes. “Ya might wanna get yerself cleaned up a bit if we’re gonna be headed to tha castle this evenin’- ya look like hell, suga’cube… Ah can only image what Rarity would say havin’ ta be stuck in a train car with ya fer a few hours.” She gave a short chuckle as Tim looked down at his clothes and laughed as well. 

“Yeah, I’ll get right on that.” Tim said as he and Applejack both walked out of the barn and headed for the house.

>>>>>><<<<<<
>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<
>>>>>><<<<<<

After a long, hot shower and getting himself dressed, Tim stood in the guest room of the farmhouse and looked at the stack of clothes he had laid out on the bed. Deciding the few changes of clothes he had selected was more than enough, he turned to the closet and pulled down his pack from the high shelf. Setting the pack down on the bed next to his clothes and began removing the few items he had placed inside. Reaching into the main compartment of the bag, he pulled out the large leather belt from inside.

He unclasped the belt and passed it around his waist, putting the heavy object that hung from it on his right side. Securing the buckle, he ran his right hand down to the holster and gripped the rosewood handle of his Ruger .44 magnum revolver. He drew the pistol from its holster and aimed it out the window, bringing his left hand up and cupping the bottom of the grip and his opposite hand together and looking down the sights. Tim grinned just a little, enjoying the feel of the cold steel in his hands. He lowered the firearm and used his thumb to open the loading port to the rear of the gun’s frame. Slowly spinning the six-shot cylinder, he was satisfied seeing the chambers were still fully loaded, just as he left them. He then gave the cylinder a fast brush of his fingers, causing it to spin and click rapidly. He then closed the port with his thumb and holstered the thing, undoing the belt and holding it out in front of him. Just as he rolled the belt back up around the Ruger’s holster and slid the bundle back into his pack, he heard a faint knock at the bedroom door.

“Come on in,” he said as he began putting his clothes into his pack, hiding the revolver under a pair or two of jeans. He turned to see Applejack standing there, a large burgundy backpack slung over one shoulder and the thumb of one hand in her one of her jean’s belt loops. He shoved the rest of his clothes into his pack and zipped it up, taking both straps in one hand and holding it at his side.

“Well, ya ‘bout ready ta go? Reckon we can swing by Pinkie’s work an’ grab a bite ta eat before we make it to the library.” She adjusted the straps of her backpack on her shoulder and took a step backwards out of the room, now leaning against the doorframe’s casing. Tim shouldered his own pack, then grabbed his ball cap off of the bed and pulled it down on his head. 

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Tim said to Applejack as he met her at the door and stood there, motioning with his hand for her to lead the way. “After you, miss,” he said with a smile, locking eyes with the blonde before him. Applejack smiled at him, leaving her position against the wall and proceeding down the hall and to the stairs. Tim pulled the door of the bedroom shut behind him and followed Applejack out of the house and onto the lawn. They both stopped and stood side by side at the foot of the stairs, turning to look to each other. Tim and Applejack locked eyes for a moment, both just standing there and showing no real emotion. After a few short seconds, Applejack smiled, leaning towards Tim and bumping into his shoulder with hers before starting off on their walk into the town of Ponyville.
> Welcome to Canterlot
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tim, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy all stood on the lawn in front of the library as Twilight Sparkle paced around them, constantly checking her watch and looking towards the sky. With a stomp of her foot, Twilight stopped in her tracks and shot both her arms down at her sides with a grunt.

“Ugh! Where is Rainbow Dash? She is three minutes late and is interfering with my schedule! She knows how much it annoys me when my schedules are interrupted!” Twilight shouted, gaining the attention of her traveling companions who were standing around holding their packs and gear; the only exception to this was Rarity who stood next to her four designer suitcases while holding a cosmetics bag in front of her with both hands. As the group of women looked towards their overly-stressed friend, Tim turned from the group rose a brow in interest. A faint whistling sound had caught his attention, and it sounded as if it was getting closer. He took a few steps in the direction he thought the strange noise was coming from, turning his head from left to right, scanning the street just past the library. Suddenly the faint whistle grew sharp and seemed to be coming from directly overhead. Tim tilted his head back to look above him and saw a multi-hued blur speeding towards him. 

Tim shot one had to his hat and the other to the strap of his pack and launched his body out of the way just as the technicolor object struck the ground almost exactly where he was standing. His shoulder slid across the ground before he rolled his body and got up on one knee, planting the boot of his opposite leg firmly in the dirt behind him. With one palm flat on the ground under him supporting his torso, he instinctively brought his other arm back, fist balled and loaded for a punch, waiting for the dust to clear. A large flap from a set of cyan colored wings cleared the air and Tim could only grit his teeth and punch the ground below him.

Rainbow Dash was standing in his spot, a large duffel bag thrown over her shoulder and her wings spread wide behind her back. Just as Tim began to rise, Rainbow Dash turned towards her friends, wings still spread and knocking his hat off his head to the ground. He stood up tall and spit to the side, glaring at the back of the athlete as she then decided to fold her wing in and dissipate them. Adjusting the pack on his shoulder, he stooped down and picked up his ball cap, slapping it on his thigh before placing it back atop his head. He walked back towards the group and stood next to newly arrived woman, turning his head to face her.

“Oh, wassup, hayseed,… Didn’t see ya standing there,” the woman said with a passing glance in his direction. Again, all Tim could do was grit his teeth and spit onto the ground, cutting his eyes at Rainbow Dash as he slowly walked away from her and to the other side of the group, standing next to Applejack.

“Easy there, pard’ner,” the southerner drawled out to him as she patted his shoulder, “just let it go,… Aint the time nor the place…” Tim looked to Applejack and gave a single nod to her, readjusting his pack again, more out of frustration than for comfort. Just then Twilight pushed through the pair and rushed up to Rainbow Dash and held her wrist up, tapping on the face of her watch.

“Four minutes! We are now four minutes behind schedule thanks to your tardiness, Miss Dash!” Twilight said with a scowl, pushing the watch closer and closer to her friends face with each tap of her finger. Rainbow Dash smirked as she brought her own hand up to push Twilights watch away from her. She shook her head and ran her fingers through her multicolored hair as she began to laugh just a tad. 

“Woah, slow down, Twi… it’s just four minutes- that still leaves us with twenty-six minutes to walk ten minutes across town to the train station. That still leaves us, like, fifteen minutes to get our tickets and board the train,… Heh, we could even stop and get a snack along the way-“

“What if there is a line? The amount of time wasted waiting in line is a variable I cannot accurately estimate nor precisely schedule!” Twilight interrupted, jumping at the athlete before her. Rainbow Dash backed up a step, raising her hands in defense. With that, Twilight closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She relaxed her stance and exhaled slowly, her face visibly relaxing before she opened her eyes. She looked back at her friend and smiled before turning to face the rest of the group.

“Ok, then,… now that were all here, Let’s grab our things and head to the train station. We now have,” she looked down at her watch, causing her left eye to twitch for a split second, “twenty-five minutes before the train departs.” She walked up to the door of the library and grabbed a rather small backpack and large book, shouldering the bag and tucking the book under one arm. “Now, on to the train station, girls!” She said, walking back through the group, almost stumbling over her own two feet as she stopped in front of Tim. “…. And Tim!.... Girls, and Tim…. Sorry…” She timidly smiled at Tim before continuing on her way. Tim cracked a small smile as he felt a hand lay upon his shoulder. He turned his face to see Applejack smiling at him, a slight smirk on her face.

“C’mon girls,” she said mockingly as she winked at Tim, “Let’s get this show on the road.” Tim could only smile at Applejack as she walked past him and the other girls grabbed their belongings- again the only exception being Rarity who merely enveloped her stylish luggage with a light blue glow and floated it in the air beside her. Tim fell in behind the group as they all started their walk to the Ponyville Train Station. 

>>>>>><<<<<<
>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<
>>>>>><<<<<<

The seven travelers found themselves walking down the narrow hallway of one of the train’s passenger cars. Upon arriving at the train station, it was little surprise to Tim to see that the train, as well as the station itself, was painted with the same pastel scheme as the rest of the town was decorated in. The inside of the train wasn’t much better; giving Tim the brief thought that the place looked like the Easter Bunny threw-up everywhere… that, or exploded violently. The group of girls began filing into a compartment with a bench on either side of the small room. The girls were talking amongst themselves as they each started placing what bags they chose not to put into the train’s luggage car under the bench seats or in overhead storage bins. Taking notice that with three women on each bench of the small room there wasn’t going to be room for him to have a seat; Tim silently walked on down the hall and found another unoccupied passenger compartment. Looking back up the hall and seeing that no-one had noticed his disappearance, he stepped into the room and pulled the sliding door shut behind him.

Tim had decided to keep the lone pack he brought with him in his possession and now laid it down on the window end of the long bench. He stretched his arms over his head and heard a series of satisfying pops come from his back as he twisted his body from side to side. He had yet to go to sleep and he intended on doing just that as he lay down on the bench with his pack. Rolling the thing around, he found a suitable soft spot to rest the back of his head on. He got as comfortable as he could and pulled the brim of his cap down over his eyes.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK

Tim pushed the brim of his hat up with two fingers and squinted at the small, frosted glass window in the center of the room’s small door. He stared for a moment, trying to tell if it was one of the women from his group on the other side of the door. Not being able to recognize the blurry form, he pulled his cap back down and covered his eyes.

“Occupied,” he called out, figuring that would be a clue to whomever was on the other side that he wasn’t expecting company nor were they welcome. Seeing that there were so few people at the train station to board this particular train, he knew there were plenty of empty seats and compartments available, so he didn’t think twice about not wanting to share his sleep time with a stranger.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK

“OCCUPIED!” Tim called out again, this time a little louder and a little more forceful. He then rolled over onto his side in an attempt to get a little more comfortable. Feeling confident that the person outside his compartment had no choice but to have heard his last shout, he relaxed and attempted to get some long overdue sleep. Just then, he heard the faint ‘click’ of the latch and the sliding of the door in its track as it began to open. He opened his eyes and scowled… he really didn’t want to have to start this trip off on the wrong foot with someone, especially someone new to him. He shook his head as started to roll over onto his back to sit up…
“Look, I know damn good and well there are more seats out there, so if you would kindly get the fu-“

Tim shot up into a seated position and grasped the back of the bench with a white knuckle grip. His eyes were wide as saucers as he stared at his guest and the door to the room slowly shut behind them. As the white-clad individual sat down on the bench across from him, Tim slowly turned in his seat, letting go of the cushion and putting both of his booted feet on the floor. He put his arms out to his sides, each hand splayed open and flat on the seat beside him. A single tear started to form in the corner of his right eye as he opened his mouth to speak.

“…… Ann…..”

Tim swallowed hard as his wife was now sitting directly across from him with her legs crossed and wearing a simple, off-white dress. Ann rested one hand on her knee as she brushed her flowing, blonde hair behind an ear with the other. She then pushed her glasses up on her nose slightly with her index finger before staring at Tim with a deadpan look on her face. Living with the woman for years, Tim knew that face. That face meant he was about to get a serious conversation thrown his way, or a serious ass-chewing… he was hoping it was the former instead of the latter.

“Yes, honey, it’s me.” Ann said, a slight hint of a smile tugging the corners of her mouth upwards. “Looks like you’re doing a lot better that you did when you first got here. How are you getting along?” She relaxed her pose a bit, now leaning back into the bench’s soft, purple cushion. She looked around the room as she waited for her husband to answer. Her brow furrowed as she studied the colors of the room. Tim smirked just a bit, knowing that Ann favored more neutral or deep colors when it came to decorating instead of the “Easter Extravaganza” she was currently frowning at.

“I guess I’m getting along alright… A little concerned about a few things…” Tim scratched the back of his neck and looked to the floor. The truth was he was he was sick on his stomach with worry about the trip he and the girls had just set out on. He looked back at his wife who was now smirking at him and shaking her head while rolling her eyes up toward the ceiling. Tim looked around the room before bringing his gaze back to Ann. “So, I’m guessin’ I’m asleep or-?” he asked, trying to piece together exactly what brought this encounter on.

“Out like a light as soon as your head touched your bag.” Ann said to him, nodding as she spoke. “And I can tell you’re stressed out, you always worried about everything… too much so, if you ask me. How many times did we talk about this way back when?”

“All the time…” Tim said, a slight smile coming to his lips. “You know I can’t help it… Especially when it pertains to other folks. It feels like it’s been forever since I’ve done anything like this. I gave up this kind of work for a reason,…” His smile quickly faded as he looked into his wife’s piercing, blue eyes. “I failed you… and our kids… I don’t know if I can face the fact I’m probly gonna fail again…”

Ann uncrossed her legs and brought her foot down to the floor with a stomp. “No! You did not fail me, you did not fail the children, and you are not going to fail this time!” She was now pointing a finger directly at Tim’s face, her eyes still locked with his. “You cannot prevent everything happening to everyone, it’s just not possible! You know that, why can’t you accept it? Do bad things happen? Yes. Do they happen to good people? Yes… The thing is, you just do what you can to protect and help those who need it and pray for the best. That’s all you can do. You can’t blame yourself for the past and wallow in it, or it’s going to eat you alive and cause you to ruin the future. That’s the last thing you need to happen here with all these people depending on you now.”

Tim could only return Ann’s gaze as she continued to stare at him. She lowered her finger and reclined back against the cushion of her seat, resting her hands on her lap. He nodded once and then turned to look out the window, collecting his thoughts. The two sat in silence for a minute or two as Tim took to heart what his wife had said. He knew she was right- he had to put the thought of failure behind him and do what he could for these women. He had to help them on this journey to discover who had kidnaped their royalty and protect them along the way. He turned and looked at his pack sitting on the bench beside him. He reached into one of the smaller pockets and pulled out his old leather wallet. Flipping it open, he stared at the two things facing him- the photo of his wife and his old badge. Ann spoke to him as he noticed the shine on the golden metal shield.

“For someone who quit working in law enforcement so long ago, you sure have held onto that old badge. I remember how proud you were of that thing when we first met… You toted it around with you everywhere. You loved your job almost as much as you loved us…” Ann smiled as Tim looked up from the black leather wallet and into her eyes. “And you were good at it- damn good. And you know you were.” Ann’s smile grew a touch wider as she looked into her husband’s eyes. “And I know you still are. You can’t let what happen to us all those years ago make you think otherwise. You always did everything you could to keep us safe and I don’t blame you for what happened to us. Remember that.”

Ann stood from her seat and walked towards the room’s small door, Tim following her every movement with his eyes. She opened the door but remained standing there, turning her head and looking down to Tim with tears welling up in her eyes. 

“I love you, Tim, and even though I’m not there beside you anymore, I’m still with you every day. You need to continue on- you’ve been away from duty for long enough, and these women need you. Protect them now as you once did for me. You can do it… we all have faith in you.” Ann stepped through the door and turned, slowly pulling the door shut. “Take care, dear. Please be careful,” she said as the door shut with a click.

Tim’s eyes shot open as he rolled over on the bench and searched for his wife. The room was empty and now the light of the moon shone through the window and spilled onto the floor. He slowly sat up and brought his hands to his face. Seeing his deceased wife again had rattled him deep down inside- he had never had visions of her like this in all the years he was alone in the wilds of Alaska. This made twice he had seen Ann since he met Twilight and learned he was needed in this world. The first time he saw her, he just chalked it up to the weird energies of the soul-folk’s magic and the near-death experience of teleporting to Equestria. This time, though, he could wrap his mind around it. Was he that stressed out over assisting these six women to find their missing rulers? Was the magic of this place messing with his head and causing to hallucinate? He was so lost in thought on the matter with his face in his hands that he didn’t even notice that the door the compartment was slowly sliding open.

“Tim, darling? Are you awake?” Rarity slid the door open with one hand as she knocked lightly with the other. She peeked her head into the room to see Tim sitting there, his face still in his hands and one leg rapidly bouncing. The fashionista slipped into the room and stood before the man, bending slightly forward at the waist and politely tapping Tim on his shoulder. She withdrew quickly, taking a step back from him as he brought his face up from his hands and looked at her.

“Tim, is everything well with you? Applejack came searching for you after we got settled in our seats and found you here asleep. She told us you were up through the night and we should let you rest, and I hope I am not disturbing you, but I wanted to inform you we are nearing our destination.” Rarity clasped her hands together in front of her waist, a look of concern on her face as she stared down at Tim.

“Yes, Miss Belle, I’m fine…” Tim said, looking around the room once more. Rubbing his face, he turned back to Rarity who remained standing there across from him in the small room. “Just had a weird dream, is all. How long have I been asleep?”

“Just shy of three hours, darling. We just entered the city limits of Canterlot.” Rarity began, stepping toward the window and gesturing outside. “Look in the distance, you can see Canterlot Castle from here…” The woman then moved to the side of the window as Tim got up from his seat and approached the window. Looking toward the front of the train, he could see the tracks leading around a bend and to a large, brick train station. Behind it, maybe a mile or so farther, Tim could see a large castle built of white stone jutting out from the side of the mountain. A waterfall could be seen behind the multiple gold and purple topped towers that were stretching upwards toward the night sky. The brakes of the train started to screech as the locomotive began to slow down. The surrounding city was immense; the lights from hundreds, if not thousands, of homes and businesses casting a glow across the mountainside. 

“Beautiful, is it not?” Rarity said, as she put a hand on Tim’s shoulder and leaned in beside him, looking out at the city of Canterlot as the train got closer and closer to the station. Tim nodded in agreement before backing away from the window and grabbing his pack. Rarity left the window as well and made her way back to the door. “Well, I shall go make sure the others are collecting their things and you can meet us back at our room. Welcome to Canterlot, darling!” she said with a wink as she exited the room to join her friends.

Tim shouldered his pack and went back to the window. He looked out onto the town as the train continued to slow its speed. His view was interrupted by the wall of the train station coming into view as the train pulled inside the brick building. Tim inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. Taking a moment to clear his mind, let his breath out slowly as he felt the train come to a stop. “Well, this is it…” he said, opening his eyes and looking out onto the deserted platform. He shifted the weight of his pack, pulled his hat down tight on his head and exited the small passenger compartment to make his way down the hall to catch up with the others.
> Canterlot
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The six women and one man stepped out on to the mostly empty platform of the Canterlot Train Station and observed their surroundings. The handful of people who had gotten off the train with them was hurriedly making their way from the area. The group of newcomers gathered their belongings and made towards the building’s exit. As they neared the large wooden doors at the train station’s front, the doors were pushed opened, revealing two guardsmen donning pristine medieval-looking armor, each holding a lance and having a long sword attached to their sides. Tim tensed up and stopped in his tracks as the gold and blue armored men stood at attention, holding the doors open with their backs. The women with him had stopped as well, staring at the guards wide-eyed. Tim slowly slid his right foot out and behind him, taking a defensive stance while glancing back and forth between the two men. Just as he was about to slide his pack off his shoulder, a tall woman with pink, purple and yellow hair dressed in a regal pink gown walked through the doorway, a deadpan look upon her face.

“Cadence!” Twilight exclaimed as she dropped her bag and rushed forward to hug the cotton-candy haired woman. A smile spread across the new woman’s face as she wrapped her arms around Twilight and hugged her back tightly. 

“Twilight,… it’s so good to see you.” Cadence released her embrace on Twilight and held her at arm’s length, her hands resting on Twilight’s shoulders. She turned her gaze to Twilight’s companions, smiling at each of them. “I’m glad you could all come here to Canterlot. I hate that it is under such circumstances, but hopefully we can get to the bottom of what in the world is going on here.” She removed her hands from Twilight and slowly walked over and stood before Tim. Cadence smiled softly as she extended her hand to him. “I assume you must be Tim, the man Twilight had told me about. I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, also known as Princess Cadence, Ruler of the Crystal Empire. I want to personally thank you for agreeing to accompany the girls on this mission. Your help is greatly appreciated.”

Tim locked eyes with the woman as he took her hand, shaking it gently. “The pleasure is all mine, Princess. I hope I can help shine some light on whatever has happened to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.” He relaxed his stance as he released Princess Cadence’s hand from his grip and adjusted his pack on his shoulder. The Princess nodded to him slightly and smiled before turning back to the others.

“Ladies, and gentleman, please follow me,… I have a carriage out front waiting to take us to the castle. Once there, we can discuss in private about the events that led up to my aunts’ disappearances.” Cadence walked past her guards, followed by Twilight and her friends, and proceeded to exit the front of the train station to take the short ride to the center of the city.

The ride to the castle was quiet and short. Tim had chosen to ride on the outside of the carriage’s cabin, holding on to the back railing on one corner of the passenger compartment while standing on the rear bumper. Next to him riding on the opposite corner in a similar fashion was third guard who had remained outside the train station with the carriage. Neither of them spoke, much less even looked at each other, as they rode over the cobblestone streets of Canterlot. For such a large city, the streets were eerily silent. The shops and storefronts were already closed for the night, only the soft glow of security lighting emitting from inside. Looking around, Tim only noticed a few of armored guards patrolling the streets and no one else. He was about to ask the guard next to him if this was normal or if some kind of curfew was in place, but he was interrupted as the carriage was slowed to a stop in front of a large steel-banded wooden door in the middle of a white stone wall. 

Looking up, Tim saw a pair of golden armored sentries standing atop the wall. They saluted down to the carriage and then signaled behind them to somewhere down inside the barricade. With a low creak, the door split down the middle and swung outwards, opening up to a beautiful and well-lit courtyard. The carriage began to roll again and as they passed through and into the walls interior, Tim couldn’t help but stare at the landscape. He was surrounded by topiaries and statues, most of them in the image of winged horses and unicorns. Inside the wall, the road had smoothed out into a gold-colored brick pathway, lined with rosebushes and various flowering hedges he couldn’t identify. Soon they pulled into a large round-about in front of a towering white, purple and gold castle. In the center of the circular path was a large fountain with a statue of two winged unicorns seemingly flying around each other- both carved out of marble, only one was of pure white and the other a deep shade of blue. They were circling a large golden sun which had a silver crescent moon on a field of blue at its center. Tim was admiring the statue with such awe he hadn’t realized the carriage had come to a complete stop and his traveling companions had already exited and were standing before the steps of the castle.

“Excuse me, uh, Tim?” The awestruck man had his attention diverted from the fountain as he turned to face Princess Cadence. Noticing that she was smiling up at him, Tim stepped down from the carriage and stood before the woman, a slight look of embarrassment on his face. Seeing his expression, Cadence softly chuckled as she placed a hand on the back of his shoulder. “The others have already begun making their way to the throne room,” she said as she began to walk, guiding him along beside her. “Come on, let’s not keep them waiting. We have a lot to discuss.” With that, Tim followed the princess around the carriage and up the stairs to enter the large, purple wooden door of the castle.

Stepping through the doorway, Tim found himself surrounded by the ivory walls of a great room with purple banners trimmed in gold hanging down from the ceilings. Each banner held an emblem similar to the large statue outside, the white and blue unicorns with wings circling the sun and moon. Large, hanging bouquets of lilacs spilled down the walls in between the large stain glass windows. Following the pink-clad princess across the room, they entered a hallway with more of the banners, lilacs and windows. Taking in his surroundings, Tim noticed the scenes displayed in the massive, floor-to-ceiling windows. He saw images of a tall, regal-looking woman in a flowing white gown with a golden glow around her as the sun shone above her head at the end of her outstretched arms. Directly across from that window was another that depicted a shorter, muscular woman clad in black and blue armor with a silver-bladed lance in her hand surrounded by a blue light and a full moon rising behind her. Yet another window showed both women fighting a bizarre looking creature that looked like an assortment of fairy tale monsters all rolled into one. 

They pair passed a few more windows with scenes of the same two women in various battles as they made their way to the end of the hallway. “These two women must be Princess Celestia and Princess Luna,” Tim thought to himself as he studied each window, following Princess Cadence toward yet another large, wooden door. Just as the doors were being opened by yet another set of guardsmen, Tim stopped in his tracks as he caught view of the last window just before the door. His eyes grew a bit wider as he realized exactly what he was looking at. In the center of the window was Twilight Sparkle, a large, purple starburst behind her as she appeared to be floating in the air. Surrounding her, he noticed each of his traveling companions were all floating in a similar fashion, each woman encased in an aura of a different color. The women each had a large golden necklace with a jeweled pendant resting upon their chest, all of them a different shape. His eyes were drawn to the image of Applejack and the orange glow surrounding her, noticing that her necklace had an apple shaped ruby at its center. He turned and looked through the doors to see the group of women standing before a platform sporting a pair of large golden chairs, casually talking amongst themselves.

“Well,” Tim said to himself, seeing as how Princess Cadence was now joining the group of women in the throne room. “I guess these here girls are something special,..” He glanced back up at the stained glass window as he adjusted his ball cap before turning to walk in the room and join up with the women inside.

>>>>>>><<<<<<<<

The seven women and one man were now seated at a long table off to one side of the throne room. Again, a map laid before them, marked with all of the recent attacks and crime outbreaks, along with their dates, in the surrounding countryside. Princess Cadence was talking to the group, mainly recapping a lot of the information Twilight had already given him. Tim had drifted his attention away from the conversation and was lost in his own thoughts, his eyes connecting the dots of each attack leading away from Canterlot along the path in which the Royal Sisters had taken. He brought his hand to his chin while squinting his eyes, beginning to develop a theory in his head. He was so occupied in his thought that he didn’t notice that Princess Cadence had asked him a question until he was kicked under the table.

“Ow, damn it!” Tim exclaimed, causing the eyes that were focused on him to widen and his use of profanity in the presence of a Princess. He raised a brow and looked around the table.

“Yes, uh, Tim,…” Cadence began, using a hand to smooth out the front of her gown. “I was asking if you had any suggestions for our course of action. I understand you have quite the background in law enforcement and investigations where you are from. I trust you have some insight that may be very helpful.”

Tim turned from the map and to the princess, taking his hand from his chin. He lifted his cap with one hand and he ran the other through his hair before sighing. Standing up, he pulled his cap back down tight on his head and extended his right hand to the map, pointing at the attacks along the road Princess Celestia and Princess Luna disappeared on.

“This road, these attacks- this was a trap.” Tim waved a hand across the map over the other attack locations in the countryside. “All of these attacks all around Canterlot seem random and scattered, but look at the ones along this road. The same road is the only way to reach all of these locations, and the attacks on this path are more frequent than in the surrounding areas. If ya look at the dates these attacks occurred, it shows that they started further away from the city at first, then getting closer day by day. Everywhere else, the distance from Canterlot in relation to the date of attack is back and forth at random. Not to mention the cities and towns along that road aren’t as significant of a target as others around Canterlot unless you’re trying to draw attention to that area.” Tim tapped his finger on the map at the location the princesses were attacked and apparently kidnapped. “How many days by foot are we away from here?”

“Approximately three to four days,” Princess Cadence began, “maybe a slight bit longer depending on the size of the battalion escorting you all-“

“No troops.” Tim stated flatly. “We need as small of a party as possible to keep suspicions low. I’m willin to bet that there are eyes along that road, as well as here in the city, to see if any forces will be sent out on a search and rescue mission.” Tim looked around the table at the women surrounding him. “From what I understand, this group of gals here will be all we should need to find out what we need to.” His eyes came to a stop when they met Applejack’s emerald stare. He nodded to her and smiled, earning a smile and a tip of her hat in return. “I’m ‘bout certain these women can handle themselves should the need arise.”

Princess Cadence pursed her lips and scrunched her nose as she drummed her fingernails on the table which the map rested. She too scanned the room, looking into the faces of the six women surrounding her before she looked back to Tim. Noticing the woman’s gaze on him, Tim stood up tall and placed his hands behind his back, standing at ease. The two stared into each other’s eyes for a moment before the noble spoke up.

“Very well,” she stated, a slight smile on her lips. “I will forgo gathering troops to accompany you all on this mission. As for your suspicions of spies among us in the city, how would you suggest we address this?”

Tim pointed to Twilight. “I had already spoken with Miss Sparkle about collecting any information she could about the princesses’ schedules and all of those who work for or even close to them. I trust with her desire for lists and researching, she should be able to present us with some useful information in a few days’ time.” Twilight squirmed in her seat and smiled at the mentioning of her getting to do some extensive research on Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

“Oh yes, I should be able to collect a substantial amount of data on the daily on goings of the castle as well as all those who assist the Princesses in their duties.” Twilight said, smiling wide at Princess Cadence. The Princess was about to speak again when the sound of a long, drawn out yawn pierced the air.

All eyes turned to the pink-haired girl who was leaned back in her chair with her eyes closed and her arms stretched out far to her sides. As she leaned her chair back into its appropriate position and opened her eyes, she froze in position noticing the attention of the room was focused on her. “Sorry…” she softly said as she lowered her arms and resumed a lady-like pose in her seat. A soft chuckle from all those seated around the table followed, only to be interrupted by the chime of a large clock on the far wall of the throne room.

“Well, it appears it has gotten rather late.” Princess Cadence said, noticing it was now midnight. “I’m sure you all are requiring some rest. We can continue with this conversation in the morning. Girls, I have no doubt you recall where your rooms are here in the castle. Tim, you may follow the girls to the guest wing, they will show you to a room. I hope you all have a pleasant night’s sleep. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to send for me. I will see you all in the morning.”

The group of women all stood as Princess Cadence walked around the table, stopping to briefly hug each of them before making her way to Tim. She looked into the man’s eyes and extended a hand to him. “Thank you, Tim. It has been a pleasure meeting you, even under these grim circumstances.” Tim took the princess’ hand and shook it delicately as if he was afraid to hurt her. “The pleasure is all mine, Princess. I just hope to be of service to you and help in any way I can.” Tim smiled at the woman as she let go of his hand and then exited the room. Turning to the others, he then followed the remainder of the group out of the throne room and to their beds for the night.
> Around Town
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tim took another slow sip from his coffee as he sat on one of the balconies that branched off from the main room of the guest wing of Canterlot Castle. The warmth that spread through him was welcoming in the cool air of the early morning. Maps were spread before him again as he and Princess Cadence continued the conversation from the night before.

“Tim,” the woman began, sitting down her own cup of coffee, “I still feel a bit uncomfortable with you and the girls going out on your own,… Surely a small squad of troops would lessen your burdens as well as ease my own mind. Have you given any thought to reconsidering a few well-armed infantrymen accompanying you all?”

Tim sat his mug down and slowly rotated the cup in its place with his fingertips before letting loose a short sigh.

“No, your majesty. As I said last night, I feel a group as large as we already have will be drawing enough attention as it is. Add a half dozen or so of your golden boy troops to it? Might as well blow a horn and holler out our intentions.” He drummed his fingertips on the rim of his coffee before looking Princess Cadence directly in her eyes. “I would rather have whoever is out there thinking we are on a mission of the crown rather than knowing for sure. And speaking of knowing for sure, I have a question for you about something I saw last night.”

Finishing a slow draw of her own coffee, the noblewoman nodded. “What would that be?”

Tim looked off in the distance that the view of the high-rise balcony provided him. Without the cover of night, he felt he could see miles upon miles of countryside surrounding the booming city below. He slowly scanned the horizon as he turned back to his host.

“The scenes in the glass windows of the main hall. I noticed all of the battle scenes involving two particular women fighting all sorts of monsters whatnot. I’m guessin it’s safe to assume that those two women were Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.”

Cadence nodded in response.

“I figured as much. But what interested me most was that last window I seen just before we entered the throne room. Now, Applejack’s big brother had told me back on their farm in Ponyville that this here group of women have already done some pretty outstanding things for the royalty and the country. I already come to realize that magic and flyin’ and such was the normal around here, so I didn’t think it was much more than a brother bragging on his sister at the time, but when I saw that image of them gals in that window, I knew there had to be something more. Care to fill me in on that?”

The princess just smiled at Tim, then tipped her cup seeing that it was now empty. “Well,” she began as she stood and took a few steps from the glass table the two were seated at, “we are going to need a lot more coffee for this talk. Come, let us refill our mugs and take a bit of a walk”

>>>>>><<<<<< 

>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<< 

>>>>>><<<<<< 

Horse Goddesses. Magical crystals. Nightmare Moon. Elements of Harmony. God of Chaos, Discord…. It was a lot to take in. 

Tim and Princess Cadence had a long talk as they strolled through the halls of Canterlot Castle. Just as Tim had thought, each and every stained-glass window of the castle told a story in regards to the history of this land called Equestria. From it’s early days before the Horse Goddesses brought magic to the people of the world to save them from the Wendigo ice-monsters, the unity of the three tribes under the flag of Equestria, the stone imprisonment of the Chaos God Discord to the banishment of Princess Luna to the moon after being possessed by the spirit of Nightmare Moon and the use of the crystals known as the Elements of Harmony to purify her soul when she returned after one-thousand years… it was all there pictured in glass. The image of the six women wearing their crystals- the Elements of Harmony- truly did show how important these women were. Apparently they were the “Chosen Ones”, the only ones in the land who would wield the Elements, which Tim related to in his mind as being some sort of superweapon that ran on love, friendship, and, of course, magic.

He and Princess Cadence had since parted ways, her stating she had to attend Day Court and seeing to the day to day affairs of her position. Tim had burned the layout of the castle in his mind and was making his way toward the main entrance as he processed all that he had been told. If these women were indeed as powerful as he was lead to believe, why did they need him? In a land ruled by peace, love and harmony, what place did a man who had such a rough and violent past have in helping to save it? Tim was even more set in his belief that he did not belong here and had no clue as to why Twilight was led to him as means of help. All he did know was that that was the situation he found himself in, and be damned if he wouldn’t try to figure it out and do what he can in helping locate the missing Princesses.

Tim found himself in the great ivory-walled room with the large door that led outside. He noticed the two pairs of guards on posted that the sides of the main door and nodded to them borfee tipping his head in the direction he wished to proceed. The guards nodded in response and two of them pushed the door open, allowing Tim access to the outside. He made his way down the staircase and began walking down the road toward the main gates. Just as he was about to approach the gates which led to the city outside, Tim heard a rustling come from one of the topiaries to his right. The moment he stopped, he saw the bush shift and he slid his right foot back to gain more of a defensive stance. No sooner than he moved his hands up into position, a figure shot out of the bush to his left and blindsided him, tackling him to the ground.

Tim grabbed ahold of what he felt to be the wrists of his attacked as they launched through the air and hit the ground rolling. As he slid across the ground on his back, his vision was filled with the pearly white of teeth and the piercing blue of a set of eyes mere inches from his own.

And the color pink. Lots and lots of pink.

“Hiya Tim! Where ya headed? Did you get lost walking around the castle? I got lost once my first time here and I ended up just walking and looking and looking and walking until SPLOOSH! I fell into a fountain! You haven’t fell in a fountain yet, have you? They’re pretty cold…”

Pinkie Pie.  Tim released the young woman’s hands and rolled her off of him. He covered his face with his hands as the woman continued to talk about falling in fountains and being chased by swans. He then got up, brushed the dirt and grass off of his clothes and reached a hand down to pull Pinkie to her feet.

“…. And the swans were like ‘honk-HOOOOONK’ all mad like and I thought when I’m all mad because someone ruined my nap, I always feel better when I get a cupcake, so I picked up the swans and ran into the kitchens-umph!” Pinkie Pie was cut short when a hand firmly pressed over her mouth. Tim looked at her with squinted eyes before shaking his head at her.

“I’m going to remove my hand, now…” Tim began, “and I want to know what in the world inspired you to jump me like that.” Pinkie eagerly nodded at him and he slowly lowered his hand so she could speak.

“Well, I dunno… It just seemed like fun! You need to have more fun, Tim. You look like you’re mad all the time like someone put sand in your underwear or something. I saw you heading out the castle doors al alone and grumpy looking so I figured I’d surprise you and tag along with you and make sure you weren’t lost!” Pinkie smiled at Tim with her hands clasped in front of her and rocking back and forth on her heels. “Sooooooo…. Where ya going?”

Tim couldn’t stay mad at the young woman. He knew she meant well, she was just so energetic and happy to be doing whatever it was she was doing. He just smiled back at the Pinkie and shook his head. “Well, I just wanted to walk around a bit, think about a few things, go and see what this city is like in the daytime. Seeing as how you decided to ambush me like ya did, you can make it up to me by showing me around Canterlot a little bit. Every city has its demographic and culture, I want to get a bit of a feel for it and see if there is anything that might stick out as odd or out of place. Any environment can seem stable to someone who is complacent with their surroundings, so being an outsider looking in, I might see something or notice something that aint right.” Tim looked to the main gate and the guards keeping it secure. “Daylight’s wasting, Pinkie. What do ya say to taking in the sights for a little while?”

Pinkie Pie jumped into the air, pumping her fist. “WHOOO-HOOO! Let’s go!” The pair then made their way to the gate and out onto the cobblestone streets of the city of Canterlot.

>>>>>><<<<<< 

>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<< 

>>>>>><<<<<< 

The pink-haired woman bounced and skipped along the sidewalks of Canterlot with Tim in tow. She would stop and look into one storefront and comment on something inside, be it clothes or jewelry or sweets, then hop along to the next one. The people in town were much like how Tim remembered the big-city folk being back on Earth, with the exception that some were hovering about on wings or were floating their purchases behind them in their magical aura. Most were dressed in fancier clothes that he recalled the people in Ponyville were dressed in, which he found understandable, but almost all seemed to walk around with their noses in the air, so to speak. A majority of the people who they passed along their walk paid no mind to them, simply ignoring the bouncing pink ball of energy and the jean and flannel-clad country boy moseying along behind her. 

That being said, there was a minority who was paying attention to the duo. Tim noticed the small groups of younger folk slipping in and out of the crowds. He would spot two or three of them in this alley, then see a different group in that alley. They would slip out into the streets and people watch, just as Tim was doing, but with a different intent altogether. After about two or three hours of walking aimlessly about town and stopping in this store or that for whatever treat that caught Pinkie Pie’s eye, Tim noticed a group of four youths that was apparently following them from a distance. Tim kept this information to himself, not wanting to worry his young tour guide.

“Tim! Tim!” Pinkie exclaimed rushing up to the man and causing him to turn his attention to her. “We HAVE to go in this store! They sell the most-best-est-est triple dark-chocolate and cayenne pepper truffles in AAAAALLL of Canterlot! We HAVE to get some!” 

Tim raised a brow at the woman before him who had both her hands on his shoulders and was jumping up and down in place faster than what he thought was physically possible. “That’s ok, Pinkie,… I think I’ll pass on those for now. You go ahead…” He then nodded to the small alley next to the sweets shop on the corner of the block. “I’ll just wait for ya out here by the corner over yonder. Take your time, I just wanna be out of the crowd for a bit.”

“Okie-dokie-loki! I’ll be right back!” And with that, Pinkie Pie dashed into the store, swinging the door open so fast Tim thought the little hanging bell above it was going to fly off its brace. Seeing that Pinkie was safely in the store, Tim approached the alley and walked a short distance into it, leaning against the brick wall of the outside of the sweets shop. He tipped the brim of his hat down, closed his eyes and crossed his arms, enjoying the shade the surrounding buildings provided. Then he simply waited.

“Hey man,” a voice came from a short distance away. “You got a smoke to spare?”

Tim never opened his eyes and slowly shook his head. “Naw, don’t smoke anymore. Sorry.” He flatly responded. He could hear a group of footsteps approach him from the street. 

“Well, how about you let me hold a few bits so me and my buddies here can go get us a pack?” Tim heard the footsteps come to a stop after surrounding him. He still refused to open his eyes, the only movement he made was shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

“Sorry, partner,… Ain’t got any bits to spare. Bad habit, smokin… Yall should quit.” 

“I don’t think you heard me right, old man. I didn’t ASK you for your bits…” Tim opened his eyes as he heard a single set of footsteps come closer to him. A young soulfolk man with dark green eyes and matching hair stood mere inches from him, looking him straight in his eyes. His clothes didn’t quite match those of the people walking the streets outside of the alley. His bulky dark-blue jacket shown signs of going through a scuffle or two and his pants seemed more suited to what a hunter would wear; with multiple pockets and panels of thicker material over the thighs and knees. With a smirk on his face, the man then put a hand on the wall next to Tim’s shoulder. “You’re going give me your bits, or me and my pals here are going to take them. Do ya understand that or is that too hard for your country-bumpkin ass to understand?”

Tim leaned his head to the right away from the man’s arm and looked around him. Three similar soulfolk youths stood close behind the man, each of them similarly dressed and smiling while looking back and forth to each other. Tim then leaned back to his original position and looked back into the eyes of the man in front of him.

“I don’t think ya heard me, son,” Tim said as he spit on the ground to his right and stood up from the wall he was leaning against, forcing the man before him to take half a step back. “I told ya I aint got any bits to spare. Ya’ll best be moving along.”

The group of soulfolks began to laugh at Tim’s words before the man before him stepped forward and pressed his chest against Tim’s. “You’re a funny one, hick.” The man’s horn began to glow with a fluorescent green hue. “Now, you’re going to empty your pockets and come off your bits, or me and my friends here-“

He didn’t get to finish his sentence as Tim reached out with his right arm, grabbed the young man’s right wrist and spun him into the wall with an arm-bar type maneuver, pinning the man’s right wrist into the center of his back.

“Or what?” Tim leaned forward and smoke into the man’s ear. “I think you and your buddies here need to move along before someone gets hurt. And I’m gonna tell ya, that aint gonna be me.”

The man laughed again as Tim finished speaking. “BIG mistake, hillbilly.” He then whistled, and with that, the three remaining thugs rushed Tim, one each grabbing him by a shoulder and the third grabbing him in a headlock. Tim adjusted his hold on the man he had pinned, putting him in a choke-hold of his own. As Tim was pulled from the wall, he brought the first man with him, dragging him backward by his neck. He held fast, even as the blows began to rain down him. Punches came from the right and the left, assaulting his ribs, trying to get him to release the group’s apparent leader.

Just as Tim felt the man in his hold begin to go limp, he felt the man behind him let go from his headlock only to strike him in the back of his head. Tim winced and released the man in his grasp, letting him fall to the ground. The man behind him continued to strike the back of his skull, trying to knock him out. Tim then pushed backward as hard as he could, bringing both men who held his arms with him. The group slammed into the man behind them and Tim continued his backward charge until he felt them slam into the opposite wall of the alley. He heard the head of the man behind him smack the wall with a dull thud. Tim responded to this by rearing his own head back, head-butting the man behind him in the face. The wall behind them provided a solid surface to ensure the man’s face took the full force of the hit, the resulting crunch and following scream letting Tim know he dealt significant damage. Tim then turned his body to the right, blading himself to the man behind him who was now holding his face with both hands and blood flowed from his nose and mouth. He then kicked out with his right foot, striking the man against the wall in the chest with enough force to expel all the air from the man’s lungs, resulting in blood, as well as a dislodged pair of teeth, spew forth and hitting Tim in the face. He then turned to the man on his right and delivered another nose-shattering head-butt, causing the man holding his right shoulder to release him. 

With his right arm now free, Tim turned to the man on his left and swung, connecting his fist into the remaining man’s throat. Just as Tim felt the man he struck let go of him to bring his hands to his injured neck, his vision was clouded by a bright green glow. Before he knew what was happening, he found himself jerked up from the ground and slammed into the wall of the alley. As Tim bounced off the wall and landed on the ground, he was surrounded by the glow again and slammed into the brick wall once more. This time was different in that Tim found himself being thrown into the wall again back-first before being pinned in place leaving his feet about a foot off the ground.

“I told you, hillbilly…” a scratchy voice began, “you made a BIG mistake.” The young man who first approached him was walking up to him while rubbing his throat, the short horn protruding from his forehead glowing once again. “See, we just wanted to rob you, rough you up a little bit, and go about our merry way… But now...” The green-haired man grinned wide at Tim, sliding him down the wall with his magic and bringing the two eye to eye. “Now, we’re going to take twice as much blood from you as you took from us,” He produced a short, fixed-blade knife from his coat pocket, “Not to mention your little pink-haired girlfriend you were strolling around with.”

Tim’s eyes narrowed in anger as the young man lightly chuckled. “Oh yeah, we saw your cute little girl bouncing around with you. She looked real soft and sweet, young too. That’s how me and my boys like ‘em.” The rage in Tim’s mind began to grow, causing him to ball his fists and his body to begin to tremble. He noticed that the other three men had now gotten back on their feet, but his eyes never left the group’s leader.

“I’m sure little miss pink-stuff is going to come out of that shop any minute.” The thug said as he closed in on Tim, raising the knife up and pointing it toward Tim’s face. “She’s going to come on down the block to find ya, and when she shows up,…” He grinned menacingly as he stared into Tim’s eyes. “My boys will drag her down into this alley, and they’re going to hold her in place for me, making sure she’s looking you dead in the eye, as I cut her panties off and show her what a real man is like while you watch. What you think about that, you hick son of a bitch?”

Tim was breathing hard and his whole body was trembling. Every word that fell out of the young man’s mouth was fueling the fire that was the rage building inside him. He was grinding his teeth so hard that the thug in front of him could hear it. The green-haired soulfolk reared his head back and laughed, being joined in the act by his buddies. It was too much for Tim to take. He began to fight against the magical force that held him pinned to the wall. Every ounce of his being was poured into the muscles of his arms, trying with everything he had to get to the young man who had him held against his will. There was nothing else going through Tim’s mind other than the thought of killing the thug to protect Pinkie; to cave the man’s face in with his bare hands and pounding his head into a bloody pulp…

Suddenly Tim’s right arm broke free, connecting with the young man’s jaw. The surprise hit caused the man’s magic to fail, letting the rest of Tim’s body free and fall to the ground. As soon as his feet hit the ground, Tim leaped upon the man, tackling him to the ground. He straddled the thug’s body and gripped him around the throat so hard that he cut off all the air to his lungs. The rest of the small gang surrounded Tim, kicking and punching him as hard as they could in their beaten state. Tim paid no attention to them as he tightened his grip further on the neck in his hands and pulled the face of the man on the ground under him closer to his own.

“You will DIE before you touch her!” Tim roared into the young man’s face, spit flying from his mouth and blood dripping off of his face from earlier in the fight. He then slammed the head of the man down into the ground as blows from the gang around him continued to land upon him. Tim held the throat in his grip to the ground with his left hand and he drew back his right before slamming it down into the thug’s face with a sickening crunch. Tim drew back his fist and was prepared to slam it down again when the body below him flickered with an eerie green light. Tim froze and his eyes went wide at the sight below him.

The man’s skin had taken on a sickly black-green hue. The whites of the eyes he was staring into had changed to a jet-black color along with the horn that was now crooked and jutting up at an odd angle from the forehead of the crushed face below him. The man’s mouth, which was now a broken and caved in mess of viscous green blood and visible bone, was now filled with jagged, razor-sharp teeth and a thick, black, forked tongue that was nearly severed in two due to the set of large fangs that were broken off and shoved into it from the impact of Tim’s punch. Tim didn’t even notice that the other three men had stopped trying to help their fallen leader and had run farther down the alley and out of sight. Suddenly the body below him burst into flames that seemed to cling close to it like it was a second skin. Tim jumped up from the burning body just in time to see it become completely engulfed in the flames before it exploded into nothingness. All he could do was stare in shock at the now smoking and singed jacket that laid on the ground where the black and green skinned body had laid just moments ago. 

“What in the holy hell…” Tim took a staggering step back as he tried to process what he had just experienced. One minute he was fighting a group of gang-bangers and the next he was witnessing people turn into some kind of alien out of a horror movie before burning away into nothing more than a wisp of smoke. Just as Tim brought his hand up to his face, he found himself being tackled from behind and shoved toward the alley wall.

“Don’t move! Place your hands behind your back- you’re under arrest!” Tim turned his face to the side to look behind him and noticed he was outnumbered four-to-once once again, but this time it was by a group of the golden-clad guardsmen he recognized from the castle as well as from around the city. Once the restraints were placed upon his wrists, Tim was grabbed by two of the men, turned away from the wall and brought up to face the one guard whose armor seemed to be a bit more elaborate than his fellows. 

“You are hereby placed under arrest for disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct and assault with intent to seriously injure! Guards!” The apparent captain of the group then shouted as he remained staring directly into Tim’s face. “Throw this one in the holding cells and show him the punishments for those who break the laws of Canterlot!” The lead guard then stepped away and was replaced by the last remaining guard, who promptly delivered a swift and hard punch into Tim’s gut before they drug him out into the street. Tim looked up just as the two guards who held him summoned forth their wings. The last thing Tim saw before he was hauled off as the guards shot into the sky was Pinkie Pie staring at him with her wide, blue eyes from the doorway of the corner sweets shop with her jaw hung low, chocolate on her face and a triple-dark-chocolate and cayenne pepper truffle falling out of her raised hand and onto the sidewalk.
> update
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just a shout out here to those of you who have added this story to your libraries... I promise you i havent forgotten about yall or this story. Life has been "kicking me while Im down" alot for a good long while now,... I just cant seem to get caught up, much less ahead. Between working a job where we are extremely short staffed and unable to get any extra time off, doubling the size of my house by adding on and remodeling the old half -doing all the work myself, no contractors/laborers helping me other than my wife and my kids - and then trying to be there for my daughters ballgames on top of being called upon other family once in a while to fix/help with things, Im at my wits end and the candle Ive been burning at both ends is about used up. The random bouts of depression on top of the stress due to my profession doesnt help matters either. Medication helps when you have nobody to talk to about it.

I feel bad that I havent posted a new chapter in a VERY long time, the next chapter has been sitting unfinished on my pc waiting though. Those of you who still read my work and track ot, I appreciate the hell out of you. The random notifications saying someone has liked or added my story is like a double-edged sword... it makes me feel good inside that someone actually like my story, but then I feel like garbage because I havent posted anythong new.

I am not gonna sit here and say "I promise I will post something soon, guys!" because honestly, I have no clue when I will be able to. I can say I can see the light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to working on my house... I am down to one bedroom and a hallway that has to be redone and a few doors to cut, (have my wife) paint and then hang. After that its only some siding and an eave to replace, then i can grade the yard around the addition and get my final inspection and I can call it done. It sounds like alot, but after building an additon with 800sq ft from the foundation to the tin roof and redoing almost all of the floors, walls and ceilings in the old part, I see myself being in the home stretch.

I havent forgot about yall or my story, and I dont want to make promises I cant keep, but I can promise that I will get back to Unlikely Hero as soon as I can, I just ask that yall dont give up on me like so many others have and please, be patient... Im doing all I can with what I got, and I aint got much at all. But hey, Im gonna keep on keeping on, thats all any of us can do, right?

Much love and appreciation to all of you out there and thanks for the support.