Anything goes CYOA

Anything goes CYOA by  OP !iFAGGOTRiA and /mlp/

last update: April 10 2014

 

Contains foul language, weird turns of events and a lot of errors.

 

Thread #10 on April 13, starting ~17:00 server time

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Thread #1

March 19

http://archive.heinessen.com/mlp/thread/S16849352

 

>You wake up somewhere in Equestria and feel somewhat hungry.

 

>You look around and see that you're surrounded by some trees. You start collecting some twigs and small branches and dry leaves. You spend 10 minutes on that and pile them up. You realize that you don't have a lighter, matches, a lense or anything you could use to get the fire started.

 

>You sit down in front of the pile of sticks and branches. You might as well jerk it. You whip out your dick and as you're feeling rather kinky, you try to suck it. Haven't tried that since you were 15, so maybe this time you'll succeed. You spend a couple of minutes only to come to the disappointing conclusion that you're still not flexible enough to do that. Now you're feeling hungry, disappointed and also kinda embarrassed.

 

>You try fighting the hunger by concentrating on your insecurity, but it's not really helping. You try to rest, but It's about noon and you're too hungry to sleep and it's also too bright and the ground isn't very comfortable.

 

>Trying to find anything edible, you're looking around for some mushrooms. You manage to find a few smaller ones that don't look terribly poisonous for all you can tell. You have no clue if they're edible though.

 

>You pluck the mushrooms. You now have about a handful of those small plain mushrooms.

>Since some time has passed now and it's slightly past noon, you try to use the knowledge you've got from accidently going to /out/ once and by looking at the direction the shadows are cast, you determine that there are more trees to the "West" and "North" and a small creek to the "South". The forest seems to be less dense to what you think is "East".

 

>You still haven't decided which way to go, but you notice a small brown rabbit coming your direction, seemingly curious about you. It's not shy at all as if this was some Disney movie or a cartoon for little girls.

>You go down to your knees to appear less intimidating and the bunny comes closer. It looks at you with big stupid eyes and you slowly hold out your hand. It starts sniffing on your fingers. In that moment, you grab it. It tries to run away, but you don't let that happen.

>You still need to figure out whether or not those mushrooms are edible, so you just push open its mouth and stuff some of the mushrooms in and make the bunny swallow them.

>It really doesn't seem to like it, but it doesn't drop dead either.

 

>You check between the bunny's legs to find out if it's a male or female bunny. It's a male one.

 

>The bunny still didn't die from mushroom poisoning and so you decide to let it go. You place it on the ground and after two seconds of recollecting its thoughts, it dashes away into the thicket.

>You still have most of your mushrooms and you're feeling hungry. There is more forest to the North and West, a small creek to the South and the forest seems to be less dense to the East.

 

>You decide that you might as well eat those mushrooms. They're a bit sandy and taste slightly bitter. But it was enough to keep the hunger at bay for a while longer.

 

>You remember reading somewhere, that when lost somewhere, your safest bet is to follow a river or something like that. It seems to run towards South East or kinda like that and you start walking alongside it. After a while you even find a small path so you guess you made the right decision.

 

>The creek makes a turn and so does the path you're walking on. After you've walked around it, you see a pegasus pony with yellow coat and pink mane walking the path into your direction. Next to the pegasus you see a familiar small brown bunny, that timidly hides behind the yellow pegasus. It seems to point at you.

>The pegasus says something to the bunny, then it approaches you. It stops about 10 feet in front of you and speaks in a shy, soft voice:

>"Uhm.. hello stranger. You uhm.. do you happen to know anything about someone like you around here, who uh.. made my little bunny friend over here, well, eat some mushrooms and.. and.."

>in an even softer and more timid voice

>"..looked at it.. kinda.."

 

>You admit that it was in fact you. But as you don't really want to admit that you checked out the bunny's junk because you had nothing better to do, you put together a rather clumsy lie about being a researcher for flora and fauna from a far away land. You wouldn't believe that lie yourself, but the yellow pegasus pony seems to be rather relieved.

>She really bought that?

>She begins to speak in a much less timid voice

>"Oh, I see. It's great to meet someone else who is interested in animals. I really do *love* animals. But, uh.."

>in a slightly softer voice

>"..please don't make them eat mushrooms anymore. I'm sure you meant no harm, but this little guy here really was surprised a lot. Oh, by the way, my name is Fluttershy. What is your name?"

>You introduce yourself as Anon.

>"Hello then, Anon! Were you headed towards Ponyville by chance?"

 

>You tell her that you actually got a bit lost out here and ask if she happens to have anything to eat she could spare.

>"Oh, uh, I'm sorry, I don't really have anything here right now, but Ponyville is just maybe twenty minutes on hoof from here. I'm sure you can get something tasty there on the market."

>That sounds like good news finally. But then you realize that they probably don't have any ATMs around here. Fluttershy seems to realize what troubles you.

>"Say, Anon, if you don't have any money, I could lend you two or three Bits, that should be enough to fill your tummy. Or I could offer you some salad I made earlier, if you'd prefer that."

 

>You take her up on her offer for the salad.

>You walk the way to her cottage mostly in slightly awkward silence, but when you finally get there, she seems to relax a bit more. You enter her cottage which is filled with all kinds of critters from bunnies to birds. You almost accidently step on a raccoon that shakes its little fist at you and then scurries away.

>Fluttershy hands you a small bowl of salad. Lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, a few radishes. Nothing special, but pretty tasty. You wolf down the whole thing.

 

>You think that it might be a good idea to go back on your "flora-and-fauna-researcher" lie from before to replace it with something more believable. After complimenting her for the tasty salad, you tell her that you gotta admit, that you're not really a researcher. You tell her a sad and enthralling story about how you ran away from your tribe because your mother is dead and your father was a male whore and wanted to sell you to minotaurs as sex slave and you don't know what to do anymore.

>Fluttershy seems shocked through the entire story and you think you've even seen a few tears forming in the pit of her eye.

>"Goodness.. you poor little thing, how horrible.."

>Wait, she really bought all that?

>"I-I once had some trouble with a big mean ol' minotaur myself, but I would have never thought that they do.. THAT kind of.. oh dear, that's just horrible..."

>She takes a few moments looking at you with big pitiful eyes.

>"You know, Anon.. if you like, you could stay in the old hen house for a few days until you know what you want to do next. Oh, uh.. it's really clean, all the hens are in the new hen house, so you'd have it for yourself.. if that's okay with you, I mean.."

 

>You didn't really expect her to buy the whole story you just told her. You decide to maybe go back on that again. You fake being a bit light-headed and sit down. Then you tell her, that you think that it was maybe just a dream you mistook for reality and that you just woke up in the forest and have no memories of how you got there and that you have troubles telling apart dreams and reality at the moment.

>Fluttershy seems a bit confused, but ultimately relieved that there are no minotor-sex-slave-traders after all.

>You accept her kind offer to live in the hen house for now. After your fake light-headedness she asks if you want to maybe lie down a bit and shows you to the hen house. It's not as small as you had feared. It's fairly clean, some hay lying on the floor and a wooden stool in the corner. Quite comfy actually.

 

>You thank her for letting you stay and ask if she needs any help with the animals in return.

>"Oh, uh, thank you Anon, that's a really kind offer, but it's really not necessary. Just make sure you get some rest."

>You thank her again and lie down on the soft ground after she leaves. You wonder if she doesn't want you to help out, because she's afraid you'd check out the other animals' private parts.

>Whatever.

>You nap a bit and wake up one and a half hour later, feeling refreshed. You get up and step outside the hen house.

 

>You stretch your limbs and let out the shrill and loud Godzilla impression you've been practicing so much at home. A flock of birds in a nearby tree flies away in panic.

 

>You turn your back to the direction you've been coming from earlier and start walking, leading you directly into Ponyville. You find yourself in the market place, attracting a lot of curious, but also suspicious or even afraid looks. Ponies in booths are selling all kinds of produce and wares.

 

>You wonder how the ponies around you would react if you shat into your hand and ate it in front of everyone. But you haven't digested the salad yet and so you stiffen your back and decide to act like you'd be around colorful pastel ponies, pegasi and unicorns all day. You ask one pony staring at you, if there is any bench around you could take a nap on nearby. The pony doesn't say anything and walks away like you're a hobo asking for change.

 

>You look around a bit longer, but since you don't have any money, you decide to ask a unicorn with a saddle-bag full of groceries where someone who's new in town should go for some orientation. Luckily, the random unicorn doesn't seem to be afraid of you and recommends either the town hall or the local library.

 

>You don't feel like going any of those places. All these pony-asses around you have made you quite aroused. Once again you unzip your pants and whip out your dick and start masturbating, making guttural, grunting noises. More and more ponies around you notice, quicken their paces to get away from you or turn away and look the other way, trying to ignore you.

>So that's how hobos masturbating in public gotta feel like.

>You're not even halfway done, when you suddenly hear Fluttershy's slightly panicing voice from behind you. "Oh my gosh, no, Anon, you can't do that here! I'm sure someone has already called the guards. Oh dear, you better stop and get away now."

>Looking the other way, you actually see something that could be a guard, but you're not quite sure what to do next.

 

>You figure that a plea for "temporary unsoundness of mind" might be more believable if you go full retard. You start flapping your arms wildly and jump up and down. You jump forward and land on the ground face first. You hear Fluttershy's gasp which is a mix of surprise and confusion. Then you hear the sound of more hooves approaching and a stern male voice, most likely the guard's.

>Guard "What is going on here?

>Fluttershy "This.. oh, oh my, well, he's not uh, from here, you see? I think he lost his memories uh, and.. is a teensy-weensy bit confused. I.. I don't think he meant to do.. that.. He seemed nice and normal earlier.. I mean.. for a strange person."

>Guard "Is that so? I don't really want to.. well, just make sure he doesn't do that again, alright?"

 

>You feel dizzy. It has been a few hours now since you've eaten those mushrooms.

>Your stomach cramps and you start vomiting uncontrollably. You try to stand up. You point at the guard, staggering and yell "HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, criminal scum! I'm conficating the stolen goods and FU.." you're interrupted by more explosive vomiting.

>A small crowd has gathered around you, keeping a safe distance. You go down on your knees again. Fluttershy flutters around in panic and confusion and the guard doesn't really know what to do either.

>Puke drips from your lips. Your stomach hurts and burns like hell.

>You struggle to get back up on your feet, but you start seeing black dots dance in front of your eyes. You lose balance and fall back down on your face and everything goes black.

>You have the weirdest dreams and you feel like shit.

>You open your eyes and find yourself chained to a bed. You look around and it seems to be a hospital room. Both your hands are chained to the bed and the cuffs seem very sturdy. There is no one else in this room. There is a window and it's already dark outside.

 

>You look around and see a door. There seems to be light on the other side. Still feeling like shit, you call out in a weak voice. A nurse pony opens the door and looks in. She turns around and let's someone you can't see know, that "he's awake now". Fluttershy enters the room, followed by a unicorn with purple mane and purple coat. And wings.

>"Oh my, Anon. You could have been in a *whole* lot of trouble. You ate those mushrooms from the forest, didn't you? You've been asleep for half the day, but.. uhm.. I'm glad you're feeling better now."

>The purple alicorn: "Fluttershy told me about your.. escapades earlier. My name is Twilight Sparkle. We could convice the guards to let go, because you ate those slightly poisonous mushrooms, but you can't do that again, okay?"

 

>Since lying and exploiting the gullibility has worked quite well for you so far, you pretend you don't know what they mean or how you ended up being chained to a hospital bed.

>Twilight looks at you for a bit.

>"Well.. let's just say you weren't yourself thanks to those mushrooms you ate. I guess you're still feeling a bit nauseaus? Light-headed?"

>You nod. Twilight uses her magic to pour you a glass of water from a jug next to your bed and uncuff your hands, so you can drink.

 

>You admit that you've not been feeling well lately and that the mushrooms really messed with you earlier.

>You: "I think I need some counseling. One of the ponies earlier mentioned the town hall? Would that be possible? You've been so kind,.. I'd like to sleep with you, murder you and then sleep with you again, haha.."

>Twilight looks at you. And then at Fluttershy.

>"Your friend is really weird. Are you sure he's okay?"

>Fluttershy: "Oh, well, I mean.. I *think* so. He didn't do anything.. well, uh.. almost nothing until, well, THAT at the market happened. I think he just needs some rest."

 

>Trying to gloss over the weird things you just said, you stand up, use the bedsheets as cape and strike a pose.

>You: "I'm already feeling better, haha... but,.. could we leave now? I'm not too fond of hospitals.

>Twilight and Fluttershy look at each other in silence for a few seconds.

>Then Twilight starts chuckling. "Well okay, Anon. You really ARE a strange fella, aren't you? Well, then let's go."

 

>You moonwalk out of the room. After you all have left the hospital, but you still haven't stopped moonwalking, Fluttershy just has to ask.

>"That looks kind of interesting, Anon. Why are you doing that?"

>You reply, taht it's a human custom and that it would be polite if they could please moonwalk along with you, as it's custom.

>"Oh, um.. I, I don't think I could do that, but please don't be offended. But it looks really intersting, Anon."

 

>You walk through the now much more quiet Ponyville.

>You: "Hey Twilight."

>Twilight: "Yes, Anon?"

>You: "You look horny."

>Twilight: "I.. huh? What do you.." she sees the big stupid grin on your face and then turns her eyes up towards her horn.

>Twilight: "Oh Anon, I'm sure you would get along just fine with Pinkie Pie."

>You: "Pastry made from fingers?"

>Twilight: "Anon. You should get some more rest"

>She apparently has quite some experience dealing with wacky and weird friends, and you finally reach Fluttershy's cottage.

 

>You ask if they have a bell on a string for your wrist, because sometimes you sleep break stuff.

>Fluttershy: "Well, uh, I don't think I have, but I *don't* think there's anything breakable in the hen house, so don't worry, Anon."

>Twilight Sparkle (yawning): "Alright, Fluttershy. Are you going to be fine? I'll be heading home now, it's getting really late. But you know, if you need help with.. anything.., don't hesistate to come to me, okay?"

>FS: "Alright Twilight. Good night and thanks again for your help."

>TS: "Don't worry, it's been a long day. Good night Fluttershy. And you too, Anon."

 

>You thank Twilight, wish her a good night as well and wave her goodbye. After she's gone, you ask Fluttershy if you could maybe make dinner as thanks.

>FS: "That's nice of you to ask, Anon, but, you don't have to. I still have some of the salad left and I really need to go to bed now. I'm really, well, tired after all the uh, events. But thanks, that's really sweet of you. Good night, Anon!"

>You wish her a good night and moonwalk into the hen house and lie down on the hay. It doesn't take long until you fall asleep.

>You wake up early the next morning to the cock-crow.

 

>You look outside. It's way too early. You look around if anyone watches and as you don't see anyone, you throw a pebble at the rooster that cackles at you resentfully. You go back into the hen house and sleep some more. You wake up around 11 a.m. again.

 

>You decide to get up now. You step outside and stretch. Outside you see Fluttershy feeding some of the animals. You approach her to ask, if there's anything you can do to help. As usual, she declines, but thanks you for the offer. But this time you really insist, feeling kinda obliged as you're allowed to stay here.

>Fluttershy reconsiders and thinks for a moment. "Well, I *could* use some fresh lettuce. And maybe a bunch of carrots. Could you go to the market and buy some? That would be really nice of you, Anon. I mean, if you think you can do that. Here are 5 bits, that should be enough."

>She gives you a bag and some coins for the groceries. "It's just straight ahead along this road, you can't miss it."

>You decide not to tell her, that you in fact remember the way and start going.

 

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Thread #2

March 20

http://archive.heinessen.com/mlp/thread/S16863965

 

>5 Bits in the pocket to buy lettuce and carrots on the market, that shouldn't be too hard. You walk along the road leading to the market.

 

>You arrive at the market stalls and you can't fight the feeling that you're getting even more weird and concerned looks than yesterday, especially from the vendors. Just to make you look more like a legitimate customer, you decide to play around with one of the Bit coins [nopunintended]. You get to the greengrocer's stall, who doesn't seem especially happy that he now has to deal with you.

>You order a lettuce and a bunch of carrots like you were told.

>Greengrocer: "That's.. 2 bits then."

 

>You reach out to give him two of your five bits. The moment he picks up the coins, you grab his hoff and shake it. You can see the surprise and sheer terror in his eyes. After he realizes, that you're not doing anything else, he calms down a bit, although he still seems rather nervous, as you put the lettuce and the carrots in your grocery bag.

 

>You turn 360 degrees and start moonwalking back to Fluttershy's cottage, which of course earns you even more weird looks. But the sooner those ponies get used to it, the better, you think.

 

>Still moonwalking, you arrive safely at Fluttershy's cottage. So you decide to bump against the door with your butt, trying to make it sound like Beethoven's 5th.

>Fluttershy opens the door. Greeting her with your back, you raise one hand and moonwalk in. You present her the grocery bag.

>FS: "Oh, thank you Anon. That's great. A lettuce and a bunch of carrots, just like I asked, and, uh, nothing else worth mentioning happened, while you were out, right? That's uhm, nice. Thank you."

>She takes the bag and flutters into the kitchen.

 

>All the moonwalking got you in the right mood and you start dancing silently in the hallway. A few small animals gather around, keeping a safe distance.

>Someone knocks on the door.

 

>You hear Fluttershy calling "I'm coming!" from the kitchen, but you just go ahead and open the door while putting your face right into the visitor's face.

>"AGH! You.. ugh.. it's just you, Anon", Twilight Sparkle says with a mixture of relief and unease.

>TS: "I just came by to check if everything's okay." Twilight looks more relaxed as Fluttershy finally arrives at the door.

>TS: "So.. everything alright with you two? Anything I can help with?" She looks from you to Fluttershy and back.

>FS: "Yes, Twilight, thank you. Anon even helped me with some groceries just now." She kinda has a proud undertone when she says that.

>TS: "And he did just that? That's great. Remember, if you need help with anything, just call me, okay?"

>Fluttershy smiles and nods.

>TS: "Alright, I'll be heading back to the library now. See you later, Flutters. Anon."

>She turns around to leave, looking visibly relieved.

 

>As Fluttershy returns to the kitchen, you tell her that you go back out to "your" hen house. You close the door of the cottage behind you and start going after Twilight stealthily. You quietly hum the Mission: Impossible theme, while you go hide behind bushes, trees and corners of buildings. Twilight doesn't seem to have noticed you yet.

>She arrives at something you'd call a big tree-house. Or house-tree actually. She stops at the door and pauses. Without turning around she calls out to you:

>"Do you want to come in, Anon? You could have just asked you know?"

>She turns her head around and looks straight at you. You leave your hiding place behind a nearby board fence, stand up and silently walk towards her.

>TS: "This is the town's library. And also my home here in Ponyville."

>You enter and find yourself surrounded by books in bookshelves, books on the floor, books on a stool, books on stairs and books on the windowsill.

 

>TS: "I didn't have time yet to clean up, but I've been trying to read up on.. Anon? Hey Anon, what are you..?"

>With a wide grin on your face, you go around collecting big heaps of books, stacking them up into what looks like a basic, small book fortress. You seem so much into it, that Twilight doesn't even try to interrupt you. She just keeps staring at you with that confused look you've encountered so much lately.

>You take a step back to look at your work and think you've done a pretty decent job.

>You turn to Twilight who surprisingly has a hint of a smile on her face now.

>TS: "You know, I've done that a lot when I was younger. That's a pretty decent book fortress, Anon."

 

>You acknowledge her compliment with a nod and sit in the middle of your newly built book fortess.

>TS: "So.. is there anything you would like to know, Anon?" You don't budge and just look at her over the fortified book-wall.

>You hear footsteps on the stairs. A young male voice starts talking.

>"What's that ruckus, Twilight? I was just having the best nap ever and.. holy! Who or what is that!?". You see a small purple and apparently quite baffled talking dragon staring at you from the bottom of the stairs.

>TS "Hello Spike. That is Anon. You know. THAT Anon?"

>Spike silently nods without takin his eyes off you, while his lips for the words "oh"

 

>You jump up, causing some loose books to slide off the fortress wall and fall to the ground.

>"Diggedy Check yoself before you wreck yourself!"

>Silence ensues. Spike just stares at you, as he obviously does not grasp the situation.

>TS: "..Yeeah, exactly. Spike, why don't you go make some tea for us?"

>He slowly walks across the room through the heaps of books lying around everywhere. As he's almost out of the door towards the kitchen, he stops and turns around, looking at you.

>Spike: "Milk? Sugar?"

 

>"Mh, yes, quite. Both please. And do you happen to have any cupcakes to go with it?"

>The very second you finished that sentence, you hear a loud noise, a large stack of books topples and falls to the ground.

>"Did someone say CUPCAKES!?", a shrill and exuberantly happy voice asks. You turn around and see a bouncing pink pony in the middle of the room, eyes big and beaming like WWII anti-air searchlights.

>TS: "Pinkie? How did you get here?"

>Pinkie Pie: "I saw you playing hide and seek with this funny guy on your way home and so I decided to join in! Oh, btw: I WIN!"

>For the first time since your arrival in Equestria, you're the one being completely taken by surprise by what just happened.

 

>You let out a very sad and mournful sound as you stand in front of the ruins of what's been the seat of your family for mere minutes.

>Pinkie Pie bounces over to you. "I'm Pinkie Pie! You should try one of these cupcakes! I've made them myself!"

>She presents you a platter of various cupcakes that look like some crazy cartoonist on LSD spent a whole night on designing the ultimate cupcake. And then doubled the amount of sprinkles. You grab one and take a bite.

 

>The momemt the cupcake touches your tongue, you experience a flashback to your first rollercoaster ride, only that this time everything is cupcakes and the coaster plunges into a pond of frosting while you shout "Fuck you, Wilford Brimley!"

>You come back to your senses and wonder how much time must have passed, since Spike is already in the process of cleaning up the books while Twilight enjoys a cup of tea. You notice that you have tears in your eyes and Pinkie looks at you eagerly.

>You look at the cupcake in your hand and then at Pinkie. "That was the most amazing cupcake I've ever tasted."

>PP: "Haha, they are, aren't they? Take as many as you like!" You hesistate a bit, but then you grab three more cupcakes with both hands and sit on a pile of books, Spike was about to clean up. He just shrugs with a "meh." and walks to the next pile, while you wolf down the cupcakes.

 

>While you're munching on your third cupcake, you ask Pinkie with a full mouth, if she could make more of these.

>Pinkie beams and replies with an overly happy "Of course, Anon! You're currently staying with Fluttershy, yes? I'll bring some more over later!"

>She really seems to be happy you're enjoying those cupcakes so much.

 

>You finish your current cupcake and give that bouncy pink pony a hug, sugar and goodness still running through your veins and thank her.

>PP "Hihihi *snort*", she giggles.

>Twilight smiles across the room.

>TS: "Heh, I had a suspicion you two would get along just fine."

 

>You go over to the nearest bookshelf and start pulling out random books Spike just sorted back in, diligently rebuilding the foundation of your book fort.

>Spike sighs and looks at Twilight, who can't help but giggle, while Pinkie bounces around, decorating the book fort's battlements with more cupcakes.

 

>Pinkie and you hide behind the walls of your newly built fortress. The sugar still makes you feel excellent and hyperactive. Spike continues his Sisyphean task of cleaning up the books, while you and Pinkie decide to declare a bookfort war on Twilight and what better way than to start a bookfort war than by throwing an encyclopedia of military conflicts of the Equestrian history? The heavy book soars through the air, right towards Twilight.

>Yes, this was definitely a good idea.

>Saved by her reflexes and magic, Twilight stops that book mid air with her magic only a few inches from her teacup.

>TS: "Alright Anon, I think you should continue playing outside. But, erh.. please don't throw anything at other ponies. Or animals. And please don't.. wait, you know what? Let's go for a walk until that cupcake-high has worn off."

>You actually feel like walking around right now and the three of you leave the library.

>PP "I'll go ahead to make some more cupcakes, Anon! See you later at Flutters'!" with a big smile and an even bigger hug for you she vanishes into a hyperactive dust cloud.

 

>It is a lovely day and the fresh air smells like apples and mown grass. Twilight shows you around town a bit. The Town Hall, Sugarcube Corner, various shops where you could buy quills and sofas, if you felt like it, always adding some rather interesting historical factoids.

>You: "You'd make a good tour guide", you tell her after she finishes the story about the restauration of the clock tower's clock 15 years ago.

>TS: "Oh, well thank you, Anon. You can read up on all of that in those books after you're done building forts out of them" she replies with a slightly teasing smile.

>She looks up to the clocktower.

>TS: "Hm, I should get back now, I still have a few things to take care of. Do you have any more questions? If you want to go back to Fluttershy's, that would be that way over there, otherwise you should know your way around town for the most part now I think."

 

>You say goodybe to Twilight and start exploring the town on your own. You realize that you still have the 3 bits of change from the grocery shopping earlier your forgot to return to Fluttershy. Well, she didn't ask you to return it either.

>You're young, full of sugar, you have 3 bits in your pocket and you're in a town full of talking pastel ponies. The possibilities are endless! >You find yourself standing at the corner of one of the busy main roads of Ponyville. Most ponies walking past you try to avoid eye contact or change to the other side of the road, but most other ponies don't really notice you over there.

>You see a restaurant, a few young ponies playing, various stores, a boutique, some ponies pulling a cart and another road that seems to have even more stores, leading outside of the town.

 

>You spot a nearby store that sells clothes and fashion and you really feel like you should be wearing a hat.

>You enter and immediately spot a fedora you think would make you twice as attractive. The door closes behind you and a white unicorn greets you with a friendly voice approaching from the store's backroom. When she sees you, you notice that she manages to gloss over the facial expression of "not being quite too happy to see someone like you" much better than most ponies.

>"Uhm, hello, Sir. How can I help you?"

>You point at the fedora and ask how much that one is.

>"Oh that one? Excellent choice.. it's just 15 bits." She looks at you and notices your slightly disappointed face.

>"Well, but you could have it for just 10 bits, if you like.."

 

>You look at the pretty face of the boutique's owner and feel embarrassed to admit that you don't even have that much.

>"Oh well, darling, if I may be so bold to ask, but how much *do* you have?"

>You show her the three bits you have left.

>She thinks for a second and then replies.

>"Well, I guess three bits are enough. A special discount just for you,.."

>You: "Anon."

>".. just for you, Anon." You're not quite sure if she gave you that discount out of pity, generosity or just to get you out of her boutique.

>She uses her unicorn magic to hover the hat from the mannequin's head to yours.

>"I think that hat just looks marvelous on you. Oh, and I'm Rarity, nice to meet you, Anon."

 

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Thread #3

March 24

http://archive.heinessen.com/mlp/thread/S16917022

 

>You feel overwhelmed by the kindness this unicorn showed to you. It was a pretty big discount on your great new hat after all. You contemplate how you could repay Rarity for that and since you're all out of money and know barely anyone around here, the only thing you can think of, would be a thankful dicking. While still smiling at the slightly uneasy looking Rarity, you unzip your pants and pull them down.

>Rarity: "Oh, erh, do you want me to fix those loose seams on your trousers? They could certainly use some- GOODNESS GRACIOUS DON'T TAKE OFF YOUR UNDERPANTS IN HERE!"

>Since giving out a thankful dicking would be fairly hard with your underpants on, you refuse to do so and make a step towards the unicorn.

>She screams in a shrill voice and all kinds of tailor's tools fly towards you, propelled by unicorn magic. You get hit in the head by a big roll of cloth, causing you to stumble backwards with your pants still at your ankles and lose balance. You fall against the door and hit your head. You now lie half inside and half outside the boutique, your pants pulled down and with a rather upset Rarity still magically throwing things at you.

 

>Realizing that Rarity probably wouldn't really appreciate what you were about to do, you decide that it might be best to leave before some guard shows up. You pull up your pants, put your hat back on and leave the boutique behind you without looking back.

>Thinking about it, that bouncy pony Pinkie Pie didn't mind when you hugged her, so maybe she would be more approachable for such an endeavor.

>About ten steps later you realize, that you have absolutely no idea where Pinkie lives.

 

>Now that you have a few moments of clarity on your hands, you realize that giving out dickings to ponies you just met would probably not be the smartest move, since you've just narrowly avoided being arrested yesterday.

>With a satisfyingly loud smacking noise, you give yourself a facepalm and mutter "Stupid Anon" to yourself.

 

>Maybe you should head back and smooth out things with yet another delicious lie. Lying has proven to be rather effective and efficient so far after all. You return to Rarity's boutique.

>You see a fashionably crafted small sign made from satin and jewels hanging on the door. It reads "closed".

>You look through the windows, but can't see anyone in the front and sales area of the boutique.

 

>You decide to come back again later.

 

>Since the boutique is closed now, you decide to return to your first alternative plan of finding Pinkie Pie. You look around and manage to find a pony, that doesn't seem to avoid eye contact or just steers clear of your path. You try your best to be polite and ask if she happens to know where a pink and slightly hyperactive earth pony called Pinkie Pie lives. The pony pauses for a second and then points you towards a confectionery called "Sugarcube Corner".

>After a short walk, you arrive at a shop that would have made the witch from Grimm's "Hansel and Gretel" go green with envy. Or even greener, you can't really remember if that witch was green to begin with or not.

>You enter through the front door and are greeted by the male pony behind the counter.

>He seems less suspicious towards your appearance than most other ponies.

>"Welcome to Sugarcube Corner! How can I help you?", he asks smiling from ear to ear.

>You ask if this happens to be where Pinkie Pie lives and the sales-pony affirms that. "..you're a friend of Pinkie's? Well, who isn't though, haha! She's not here right now. I think she went to deliver a bunch of cupcakes to someone. Is there anything you want me to tell her when she's back?"

 

>You look at the friendly sales-person and start talking: "I looked at the overly friendly sales-pony. Seems like the pony I was looking for has left before I arrived. I couldn't tell if it was just another lie served with a sugary frosting to just another customer, hiding the darker truth behind the happy-go-lucky facade of this establishment. He didn't take his eyes off me during this entire time, so I just told him, that I wanted to talk to Pinkie Pie in private, slightly louder than it would have been necessary, hoping that she would hear what I was saying in whatever cigar smoke filled backroom she might be right now."

>The look on the sales-pony's face remains friendly, but you can tell that he didn't quite get what you were just saying.

>And Pinkie actually wasn't there.

 

>Sales-pony: "I'm sorry, I didn't quite get that.." he lets out a short and insecure laugh, looking confused and embarassed.

>You take your chance. "Oh, I'm sorry. What I meant with that was: Could I maybe wait here until Pinkie returns? I'm also new in town and I'm looking for a job. Do you need any help here at the shop? I'm sure I would be perfect for that job."

>The sales-pony looks at you like he was actually believing you and considering your offer.

>Sales-pony: "Weeell.. to be honest, since my wife and I just recently got two beautiful little foals, things have been somewhat... exciting and,.. well.. busy. Tell you what: You can go for a trial right now until Pinkie is back. Come here behind the counter and just let me see how you deal with customers, okay? Oh, and what's your name by the way? Ah, Anon, what a nice name. You can call me Mr. Cake."

>Mr. Cake seems kinda relieved and you can see that he really seems happy about a new helping hand.

>The moment you stand behind the counter, the door opens and a customer walks in. It's an earth pony with purple coat. She seems a bit irritated at first when she sees you, but the ever so wide smile of Mr. Cake standing next to you reassures her to go on with her order.

>Customer: "Hello, I'd like to order a strawberry cream tart for the day after tomorrow."

 

>You give her your best smile. "Of course, that's no problem! Next I'd have to know, what size you had in mind or for how many ponies that tart is supposed to be for. Also, at what time would you like to pick it up or do you want to have it delivered somewhere? Our regular strawberry cream tart is.. " you look over to Mr. Cake.

>Mr. Cake: "Oh, uhm, 4 bits."

>You: ".. 4 bits. Would you prefer to pay up front or at delivery?" You beam at the customer, who is visibly surprised by your politeness and all the questions, even though for some strange reason you feel dead inside, like all happiness has been drained from you by being forced to be so kind to a customer who isn't even able to place one clear order, wasting your and everybody's time.

>She answers all the questions and leaves the store.

>When the door shuts behind her, Mr. Cake turns to you, an even wider smile on his face than before and with sparkles in his eyes.

>Mr. Cake: "That was incredible. Have you done this kind of work before? With someone like you dealing with the customers, my wife and I could deal with all the production without having to run back and forth all the time. Would you like to start tomorrow?"

>You accept the offer. Being stranded in some kind of strange place full of pastel ponies, it's at least nice to have a reliable source of income.

>Afterwards you decide to wait outside for Pinkie to return. Now that this place is your workplace, you feel the inexplicable urge to not spend a single minute more than necessary there.

>You sit outside and look at all the ponies passing. Every now and then, a pony that notices you doesn't even avoid you as much as they used to just yesterday.

 

>Time passes, but there's no sign of Pinkie to be seen. The sky turns from an ultramarine to a deep ink blue. You decide to try again tomorrow. Now that you have a job that requires you to interact with ponies, you think that it might be helpful to read up on them and their history a bit. And what better place for that than the town's library? Maybe Twilight can recommend some interesting books. Looking for them by yourself might take a while with so many books to choose from.

>You arrive at the library and see light burning inside. You knock and a few moments the door opens all by itself. Some kind of magic Twilight has casted on the door, so you could come in by yourself, whenever you need something?

>Spike "Ahem." You look down and see, that it was just Spike. Bummer.

>You: "Spike."

>Spike: "Anon."

>You: "I need some books, can I come in?"

>Spike: "Twilight isn't here right now, but she should be back soon. Come in, I guess". He pauses for a second as you walk in. "But no book forts. The last one took forever to clean up."

>You: "Yeah, whatever."

>You walk past the shelves. The books are clearly not written in English or any other language you could identify, but for some reason you can read the titles just fine. Probably the same mysterious reason you can understand all those ponies.

>One of the titles reads "The last 1000 years of Equestrian History - a recapitulation by Rossworth L. Neighfield". You take the thick book out of the shelf and notice, that it has about 800 pages. You sit down in front of the bookshelf and open the book. You briefly look up to notice, that Spike hasn't taken his eyes off you, watching your every movement.

>You read the first few pages that deal with some myth-like events about two sisters, the sun, the moon, some betrayal and some banishing. The next few pages all seem very very boring and you start flipping through the next pages.

>The door opens and you see Twilight coming in.

>TS: "I'm back. You're still up, Spike?"

>Spike just points over in your direction and she sees you sitting there with the book in your hand.

>TS: "Anon..". She glares at you.

 

>You can tell that she's really pissed for some reason. You try to remember what you could have done to make her that angry.

>Oh. Yeah, right.

>You decide that she's probably too smart to buy your lies and that a full frontal attack is most definitely your best option. You jump on your feet and hurl the heavy book at Spike. Your plan is to overwhelm Twilight while she's distracted by the newly flattened Spike.

>You see the book fly in a beautiful ballistic arch and..

>..stop mid-air in a bubble of purple glowy magic stuff.

>Dread!

>The moment you tense your muscles to try to make another move, you find yourself engulfed in the same purple glowy magic, unable to move.

>TS: "This is not the time for book throwing wars or whatever. And I don't care if that's another of your strange customs where you come from. I just came back from Rarity's place. Haven't I told you that you absolutely can not do these things anymore? Eugh.. I really wonder if it was the right thing to let you loose. I usually trust Fluttershy's judgement, but... I'm really disappointed, Anon. Go home now and sleep. I'll come by tomorrow morning and we'll go to Rarity's and you'll apologize. Please think about what you're doing before.. well.. before you do it. I know it's gotta be hard for you to be in such a foreign environment, but there's things you just can't do."

>She levitates you towards the door and sets you back on your feet right outside.

>TS, in a now slightly more calm voice: "Good night, Anon. I'll see you tomorrow." and the door shuts behind you.

>You don't really like the way you feel right now.

 

>You feel terrible as you walk home. When you arrive at Fluttershy's cottage, it's already night and you can see the stars above you. An amazing lot of stars actually. You stand and stare and manage to forget Twilights scolding for a brief moment. Fluttershy seems to be asleep already, as there's no more light burning inside the cottage. You open the door to the hen house to lay down and sleep. You figure that you'd better get some rest before meeting with Twilight and Rarity tomorrow. And you shouldn't forget to go to Sugarcube Corner afterwards. Mr. Cake told you to come by "maybe around noon or so". You step inside the hen house and notice, that Fluttershy must have put a blanket and a small lamp inside for you. Then you see a box in the corner with a card on it. It reads "Hey Anon, here are some more cupcakes for you! They're even better than the first ones! Whee! ~ Pinkie"

>She literally wrote "Whee!".

>The cupcakes inside look great, but right now you can't really seem to be happy about them.

>You lay down and fall asleep after turning around for a bit.

>You wake up to the cock-crow.

 

>It's not time to get up yet, but you can feel that even if you tried, you couldn't get back to sleep now. You get up and wash your face at the small river that runs by Fluttershy's cottage. The water is crystal clear and cold. You look at the rising sun in the distance for a bit. "»Two sisters, who ruled together and created harmony for all the land«, huh?" you say to yourself, remembering a passage from that history book. Looking at the sunrise, you almost feel inclined to believe that.

>You straighten your back and start walking along the road towards the library. You might as well wait there for Twilight. When you finally get there, you notice that there doesn't seem to be any activity inside yet. The shutters are still closed and as you walk up to the door, you don't hear anything inside.

>After what happened last night, you don't really wanna risk upsetting her by knocking and waking her up, since she said she'd meet you over at Fluttershy's place. You slowly pace in front of the library, enjoying the fresh, but not cold air of the early morning. It's been a while since you were up this early. You go lean against the sign in front of the house that reads "library" and wait. Without a clock, time seems to crawl. You squat down. Then you go down and sit on the floor, your arms slung around your legs. It's peaceful out here. No traffic noise. Mostly just sounds of nature and the faint sounds of a few ponies in the distance. Probably vendors setting up their market stalls.

>You close your eyes for just a moment.

>And fall asleep.

 

>A while later, the library's front door opens and Twilight gets ready to head over to Fluttershy's place. She closes the door behind her, looks to the right and stops in surprise to see you there, asleep in front of her home. "Oh Anon."

>A faint smile flashes over her face.

>TS: "Good morning you". Her voice wakes you from your light sleep. You need a second to remember where you are, but then you see Twilight and get back up on your feet. "..Good morning. I was up early, so I thought I'd come your way."

>TS: "I can see *that*", she replies with a slight smirk, "Well, let's go then. You still have something to do. Rarity should be up by now."

>You start walking towards Rarity's boutique. By now, there are already a few more ponies on the street. A few minutes later, you arrivve at Rarity's boutique and there's no "closed" sign in the door.

>TS: "Alright, let's go in, shall we?". Her voice sounds pleasantly encouraging.

 

>You take a deep breath and open the door. The small doorbell rings and you enter the boutique after holding the door for Twilight. A "I'm coming" can be heard from the backroom. The pretty white unicorn with her pristine purple mane enters.

>R: "Good morning, my dear", she greets Twilight, "... and hello.. you.", she hesitatingly greets you in an icy and reserved tone.

>TS: "Good morning, Rarity. I talked with Anon here and, well, I think he would like to say something as well. Right?"

>Both Twilight and Rarity look at you and to get over this whole awkward situation, you start apologizing:

>"..I'm sorry, Rarity. I really am. I didn't mean to offend or startle you with what I did. Sometimes my brain just goes blank and then I do stupid things. I can't help it, but I promise I'll do my best to not let something like that happen again. I know it sounds stupid, but I just wanted you to take a look at some stitches and seams on my clothes and.. well, my undergarments.. I've come to Equestria with nothing but what I'm wearing right now, you see.. And of course I did it in the worst possible way, yes. My speech was kinda.. 'misplaced'. And all that after your generous discount on that great hat."

>You motion to the actually very cool Fedora in your hand.

>"By all means, you have every right to be angry at me and I don't expect you to just forget about it, but I hope that in time we can maybe go for a fresh start. The way it looks, I'm gonna be here in Ponyville for a while now and I'd hate if things between us would stay like this. So, again, I'm really sorry for what happened, Rarity."

>You look to Twilight for a brief moment and she smiles back at you. Rarity's initial reluctance also seems to melt away and after a few seconds of silence she looks at you with a forgiving expression on her face.

>R: "Oh well, Anon. Thank you for coming back here to apologize. I really was shocked to say the least, but then I also couldn't fight that speck of doubt, that all this was just a misunderstanding. I mean, you seemed like quite the well mannered stranger at first I must say."

>She takes a small breath.

>R: "Alright Anon, apology accepted. And if you need any seams checked, I'll gladly help you with that. In a mannered way.", she adds with a smile.

>You smile back and thank Rarity for her understanding. Twilight also looks pleased.

>TS: "Okay, now that this is out of the way, we don't want to keep you from your work, I know you've got a lot of things to do."

>You say goodbye and the two of you leave Rarity's boutique. You tell Twilight that you'll head over to your new job now, which really seems to surprise Twilight, but in a positive way for a change.

>TS: "Oh, that's great news, Anon. I guess I'll see you later then, good luck with that!"

>You part ways and you have to admit that you're feeling better now after all this.

 

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Thread #4

March 25

http://archive.heinessen.com/mlp/thread/S16949234

 

>You figure you might as well head over to Sugarcube Corner. Some people say, that being late on your first day is kinda frowned upon for some obscure reason. A short moonwalk later you arrive at your workplace and enter. Mr. Cake looks pleasantly surprised to see you this early already.

>Mr. Cake: "Ah, Anon, the man who came to save the day, haha. Glad you could make it. Well, I don't think I'll have to tell you how to make your job after that *stellar* performance yesterday."

>He smiles from ear to ear again, as usual.

>Mr. Cake: "Oh, and look here, my wife even managed to make this hat and bowtie for work!"

>He gives you the slightly silly looking parts of your new uniform.

 

>You can feel it today. Today you can give it your best again. The last hours before noon seem to be quite busy, but you're on a roll. Every customer leaves with a smile, even those ponies who witnessed your first "public appearance" two days ago. In fact, you seem to be some sort of crowd puller. This will give give your reputation around Ponyville a good boost you figure. Time flies by and as things settle down in the early afternoon, Mr. Cake comes over, thanks you for that "spectacular performance" and gives you a small bag brimmed with coins as the day's wage.

>Mr. Cake: "Thanks a ton, Anon, I'll take it from here. You've been a tremendous help! I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"

>You leave Sugarcube Corner, a bit tired, but satisfied. Being paid a bag full of rattling coins just feels good.

 

>In fact, it feels so good you let out a small victory dance. You're not the best dancer, but you don't care. You put your hat back on and feel ready to move on.

 

>You decide to go back to Fluttershy's and the hen house. All the work made you hungry, even though you've spent the last couple of hours in a pastry shop. But since it was so busy, you didn't really have time to eat, plus you still have those phenomenal cupcakes back home you don't want to let to go to waste.

>"»Back home«, huh?", you think to yourself.

>Tipping your fedora to everyone you meet on your way, you finally arrive at Fluttershy's cottage. You open the door to the hen house, go straight to Pinkie's cupcakes and eat a few. They're really even tastier than the last ones. When you come back to your senses after the short sugary trip, you wipe the drool of your chin and decide to save some for later. You stow away the coin bag in a corner below some hay, but keep a pocketful of coins on you.

 

>Pumped up by all the sugar, you feel a bit restless and too active to stay here in the hen house. You decide to go back to town and look for Pinkie. Thinking about it, you haven't seen her during all the time at work. You moonwalk towards town and almost get run over by a pony drawing a cart full of apples.

>You decide to go the rest of the way without moonwalking. You're almost at Sugarcube Corner, when you hear a familiar "Whee!" and turn around. You see Pinkie Pie playing catch with some younger ponies. "Ay bby u wan sum fuk?", you call her out. Pinkie sees you and bounces towards you. "Anon!", she looks happy to see you. Well, you can't remember not seeing her happy though. She waves goodbye to the fillies and colts and bounces over to you.

>PP: "Did you like the cupcakes?" she beams, "Wait, don't say anything! You did, didn't you?"

>You open your mouth to reply.

>PP: "I knew you would, haha!", she interrupts you. Either she has a sixth sense for pastry-related issues or she's very confident when it comes to her cupcakes.

>PP: "Mr. Cake told me about how super-duper great you were at your new job. And he told me about your new job! That's so, well, super-duper great, Anon!".

>Pinkie bounces about some more. This pony really is like a super ball vibrating at relativistic speeds.

 

>"You really gotta teach me your recipe one day. We should bake some together or so."

>Pinkie stops bouncing, when she hears you saying that, but smiles even happier now, even though you didn't think that'd be possible.

>PP: "What an awesome idea! A bake-jam with my new best friend and colleague Anon! Mh, don't you think that bake-jam sounds delicious? I'll bring the jam! And then we bake!"

>Her radiating happiness is contagious. You smile and propose you'd do that tomorrow after you're done with work.

>PP: "Alrighty, Anon, I'll have eeeeverything prepared! But I better get ready to prepare the preparations then. A bake-jam needs to be well-prepared! I'll see you tomorrow then, Anon!"

>She gives you a big warm hug and boosts off at the speed of pink.

 

>Now that you have some money, you think it would be nice to maybe own a second set of clothes to change. So you head over to Rarity's boutique. You arrive after a short walk and open the door. The doorbell rings as you enter and you almost bump into Fluttershy, who was just about to leave.

>FS: "Oh, hello Anon. I heard you started working at Sugarcube Corner? That's great. I don't think I could handle the stress of *all* those ponies coming and going. Uhm, but I'm glad you found a job, Anon."

>She smiles. Then she suddenly seems to think of something and adds hastily: "Oh, um, but that doesn't mean I want you out of the hen house or anything! I really don't mind you staying there. I hope that didn't come out wrong!"

>You assure her that it's okay and you didn't get it the wrong way.

>FS: "Oh, good, good. Well, I'll be heading home then, Angel is waiting for his afternoon snack time salad I think."

>Fluttershy leaves and you turn to Rarity, who greets you with a smile

>R: "Welcome back, Anon. How can I help you?"

>You tell Rarity that you would like to buy some clothes, since you don't have anything but the stuff you're currently wearing.

>R: "Certainly! Buuut.. I'm afraid I currently don't have any garments in stock that would fit you. Well, except for maybe another hat, but you seem to really fancy the one you acquired the other day", she replies. "However, it would be my pleasure to design something especially for you. I'm not exactly sure what you had in mind, but something more practical for the daily use, I suppose?"

>You nod and a couple of tape measures start floating towards you, taking your sizes, while Rarity takes a closer look at your current clothes to get a rough idea of what someone like you might want to wear. Or be able to wear.

>A floating pencil scribbles down some notes on a floating notebook.

>R: "Wonderful, I think I already have an idea or two. Hm, I think you could come and pick them up the day after tomorrow. I'd be done sooner, but unfortunately I'm somewhat busy this week with some important orders, but I'll be sure to squeeze that in somewhere." She smiles.

>You thank her and ask if you should pay up front or when you come to pick them up.

>R: "Oh, just pay me if you decide that you like what I've made and want to keep it." You nod and leave her to her busy schedule.

>It's late afternoon by now.

 

>Well, what's next.. still too early to go back home and since you've already met up with most of your contacts here in Ponyville, you decide to pay Twilight a visit. Maybe you can ask her for an interesting book or so. You head over to the library. It's kinda strange that you never see any of the town's other ponies go there, if it's the town's library she's living in. You wonder if they are scared of Twilight or that tiny purple dragon. You knock on the door and a few moments later, that tiny purple dragon opens the door.

>Spike: ".."

>He looks at you with the usual look on his face when seeing you. It's the look that clearly says »I was afraid that it might be you and yes, here you are.«, but then again, you can't exactly blame him. You did try to kill him a little bit with a big heavy book after all.

>You: "Spike."

>Spike: "Anon."

>He steps aside reluctantly and lets you in. He turns around and calls out for Twilight: "Twilight? You've got a visitor... It's Anon."

>Twilight comes down the stairs, but in contrast to Spike, she greets you with a smile on her face.

>TS: "Hello Anon, anything I can help you with?"

 

>You: "Hello Twilight! Actually yes, how about a blowjob?" She looks at you and you can tell, that she doesn't really know what you mean.

>TS: "Is that another custom like that moonwalking thing? Anyways, speaking of jobs, I've heard you had a good first day at work? I'm really glad to hear that, Mr. Cake told me all about it. Keep up the good work, Anon!"

>You consider explaining to her, what a blowjob actually is, but then you remember how scary she can be, when she's upset. So you decide to save that for another time, especially since she seems to be genuinely happy about you having a job, being on time, taking it seriously. You figure that those are things that she appreciates a lot. Good thing to keep in mind.

 

>TS: "So, what brought you here?"

>You think that someone living in a library should know what a blowjob is, just in case someone ever happens to ask for advice on that topic. You start making suggestive gestures with your hand and mouth. Twilight looks confused.

>TS: "..Are you hungry? What's that supposed to.. eating? Licking?.. Spicy food? Ice cream? Oh, I got it, a popsicle!" She seems confident about that last guess. For a smart pony, she's really dense in that regard. You wonder if she ever had a lot of contact with other male ponies.

>TS: "Well, I don't have any popsicles, but I'm sure Pinkie would know where to get some. Is there anything else?" You doubt that going at that would net any satisfying results, at least for now.

 

>Maybe she'll get it if you try another thing. You casually start walking around her. But your weird behaviour just now must have called her attention, so she doesn't take her eyes of you. She keeps turning with you, getting visibly more suspicious.

>TS: "Uhm.. Anon? Are you okay?"

>Oh for fuck's sake. You make a sudden step towards her, maybe you can reach her behind even if you try from the front. Those ponies are not that terribly big. You manage to get both arms around her shoulders, while she's too surprised to stop you with her magic and only utters a surprised "Oh?"

>Just a bit more, you think you can reach all around her.

>Suddenly you feel her hooves pressing against your back. Did she..

>TS: "Oh Anon, you miss your home right? Your real home I mean. And everyone there, your family and friends."

>She really did mistake your assault for an attempt to hug her. You pause for a brief moment in your attempt to reach around her.

>TS: "Well, I can understand that. When I first came here to Ponyville, I also didn't know anyone and felt lonely. But believe me, it will get better and -AUGH!"

>You finally managed to reach around her enough to get one of your hands to her behind. Enough to feel that soft and warm butt, yet you were not able to get your fingers any closer to her ponut. You find yourself once again trapped in her glowy purple magic, levitating towards the door.

>TS: "..You can't just,.. eugh, I.. please go now. I didn't mean it like.. That's.. go home now please" her voice is trembling and she doesn't look at you as she pushes you outside with her magic and slams the door shut behind her. You haven't seen her like that before and you're surprised she didn't just yell at you like she did before. You stand outside the library and the sun starts sinking behind the tree line, turning the sky into a glowing golden orange. But you don't really notice.

 

>You start walking, lost in thought. You don't really pay attention to where you're going, but after a while you find yourself standing in front of Fluttershy's cottage and your hen house. The sky is already a dark blue and you see light burning inside the cottage. You shamble up to the door and knock. The door opens a few inches and you see Fluttershy's face. She sees you and opens the door fully to let you in.

>FS: "Oh, um, good evening Anon. Uh, come in. Is everything okay? You uh, you don't look so great. Did anything happen?" You step inside without a word. FS "Uhm. I'll make us a tea and then you tell me what happened, okay?"

>Fluttershy heads towards the kitchen and you follow her.

>FS: "Would you like some camomile tea? That's good for the nerves... Anon? Well, I take that as a yes.." She puts a kettle on the stove. You look at her from behind. You go closer, still a dozen things in your head at once. Without thinking, you grab Fluttershy from behind, while she's still dealing with the kettle, holding one arm around her upper body, causing her to squeak surprised.

>FS: "What are you -EEK!"

>Your other hand touches the inside of her thigh, slowly moving upwards.

>She whimpers. "Oh, Anon, no, you NGH!" Your palm rubs at her crotch, moving slowly over her slit.

>FS: "...!" with tears in her eyes, she spins around her head - the keetle between her teeth, propelling it right into your face. Luckily the water wasn't boiling yet, but getting hit in the face with a heavy iron kettle still hurts. You hold your face in pain, letting go of Fluttershy for a moment. She slips past you and rushes out of the door, weeping bitterly as she flies off into the night. You stand in the kitchen for a moment longer, still holding your face. This will not end well, you think.

 

>You manage to collect your thoughts. A rabbit cautiously looks into the kitchen from the door, seeing you stand motionlessly next to the iron kettle and a puddle of water on the floor, camomile leaves scattered over the kitchen counter. You have to get out of here. Last time you got yourself into deep trouble, it were Fluttershy and Twilight to save and bail you out. You just cut both your lifelines you're afraid. And there's no time to lose. You look around and grab a knife and a box of matches. Then you rush out to the hen house, put them on your blanket along with the bag of coins and the box with the remaining cupcakes, wrap all of it in the blanket and run outside. Past the cottage and towards the forest to the South.

>You keep running, leaving Ponyville behind you in the fading light. You reach the treeline and keep running. Just a bit further, while you can still see the silhouettes of the trees flying past you left and right. Your heart is pounding faster and faster, but you keep going. The forest seems to become thicker and thicker. You still keep running, even though you can barely see where you're going anymore. You fail to notice a root from a knobby tree trunk and trip. Still holding on to the blanket wrapped around your stuff in front of you, the impact of your fall is slightly absorbed. Lying on the ground, you breathe heavily. You're exhausted.

 

>You catch your breath. Even though you've been running forever, you still feel like you're not far away enough. You get back on your feet and take a deep breath. Still holding your bundle in front of you're ready to keep on running. Just before you start, you pause. You reach inside the bundle to make sure the knife you grabbed earlier is in a safe position. After everything you've done, you're not too keen on accidently stabbing yourself to death in an increasingly creepy, dark forest void of any pastel ponies. After that is done, you slowly start running again. This time, you try pacing yourself a bit more. Like in an endurance run, you keep going forward. You constantly get hit in the face by twigs and leaves, but at least you manage to avoid tripping over some goddamn roots again.

>You completely lose track of time. You stop to catch your breath and look around. It's almost pitch black and you have not the slightest idea where you are. After your heart stops pounding, you hear the sounds of the nightly forest. The wind in the trees, faint rustling. But no voices, no signs of anything bigger than a field mouse. Thinking about it, you actually are glad about this. There could be worse things in this forest than angry and disappointed ponies.

 

>You're too beat to move on. This place is as good as any. You cower next to a bigger tree, carefully place the contents of your bundle next to you and wrap the blanket around you. It's rather cold and uncomfortable but in your current state, it doesn't take long until you drift away into a barely restful sleep.

 

 

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Thread #5

March 27

[ARCHIVE N/A]

 

 

>A short while after you've managed to fall asleep, a nearby snapping sound suddenly wakes you up. It's still too dark to make out anything that's further than a few feet. Even though you're still exhausted, you figure it might be safer to spend the night on slightly higher ground. You check the trees right next to you and find one that seems to have a few forked branches you probably could climb and spend the rest of the night on. After rolling up your belongings into the blanket, you struggle your way up into the knotted tree. It's anything but comfortable, but after a while you're once again overwhelmed by your tiredness and exhaustion. You manage to get a few hours of sleep, even though you wake up quite a lot. In the early morning hours, you almost lose balance and fall, but can grab another branch and keep yourself from falling to the even less comfortable looking floor. Adrenaline pumps through your veins. It's probably not long until sunrise anymore, since the cloudy sky is already turning from black to a rather pale steel-blue. You doubt you could get back to sleep now, even though you're still very tired.

 

>You climb down from your tree. You have no idea what direction you were coming from or which way you should go. The forest looks the same in all directions and you can't make out the direction of the sun with all the trees and the early mist. This forest definitely looks creepier than the forest you first woke up in. "Anywhere is fine, anywhere but here", you think. And anywhere but back where you came from. You look around and just pick a random direction and start trotting. Since you're still tired and a bit exhausted, this is probably the fastest you can go right now.

>The slight pain in your thighs and calves and having to pay attention to the ground in front of your feet at least distracts you from having unpleasant thoughts. Thoughts about what happened yesterday and what they might be doing right now. You wonder if they'd even bother looking for you, if not just to hold you accountable for what you did or if they're just glad you're gone now.

 

>The sun starts rising, but this forest still is fairly dark and creepy. You're starting to feel hungry and so you decide that it might be better to use this day to find a shelter for the next night or two. Another night in a tree.. no thanks, you're still sore and uptight all over. Something like a cave would be a ideal, even more so, if it's not inhabited by somebody else. Or something else. You come by a small river and drink as much as you can. The water seems clear enough and you feel a bit refreshed. Unfortunately you don't have anthing to take some of the water with you. Another thing you should put on your to-do-list.

>You keep walking. A creepy dark forest, but no caves to be found. You see a slope and hope to find anything over there. You make it to the top and stop dead in your tracks:

>It's not a cave you have found, but up ahead in the distance you see what looks like the ruins of a castle. It looks creepy as hell. Barely knowing anything about this world, where pastel ponies and magic exist, you wonder what you should do next.

 

>You decide to take a chance. "What's the worst that could happen?", you aks yourself. You stare blankly at the ruins. "What's the worst that could happen, that couldn't also happen out here?", you correct yourself. It takes another couple of minutes to finally get to the castle's entrance. It doesn't seem to be terribly big from the outside, at least the parts that are still intact. You walk up to the wooden gate and try to open it. The rusty door hinges squal and creak, but the door moves. You slip inside and look around. It's fairly dark, but there's at least some light shining in through some windows or holes in the wall and ceiling. On one side of the door you see a torch that looks like it could still be usable. You reach inside your bundle and pull out the box of matches. You strike one match. It sizzles and casts a faint orange light on the heavy stone bricks of the wall. Luckily, the torch doesn't seem to be moist or decayed, but you don't manage to set it aflame with the first match.

>You grab a handful of dried leaves and grass from the floor and roll them together in your hand. With another match, you set fire to them first and hold the quickly burning dry leaves at the torch. And voilà, fire. For a moment, you feel happy. You've always kinda wanted to walk around in an old castle with a torch.

>The entrance hall of the castle seems to be one of the lesser damaged parts. But all those dark corridors that branch off from there really give you the creeps.

 

>First thing you decide to do is to scavenge the parts of the castle closer to the entrance hall for useful supplies. There are plenty of huge tapestries you can use for all your fabric needs, even though you feel slightly bad for misuse them. They're probably very old. In another room directly next to the entrance hall, you discover a supply of more torches that should last you for a while. In the same room there's also some firewood and a small axe. A bit further along a hallway you find some empty buckets and a few empty barrels. One of them even looks like it doesn't have any leaks. If you find some water nearby - maybe there's a cistern around here somewhere - or go back to the river you came by earlier, you could at least get some water for the next few days. To your disappointment, you didn't find any swords or shields yet. Well, at least you have that kitchen knife and that axe, even though the latter seems to be a bit dull. Probably enough to split some logs of wood.

>You keep the firewood and the torches where they are and roll the barrel to a small and empty room next to the entrance hall you decided to make your quarters. Unfortunately, most of the hallways that branch off the main hall are blocked with debris you can't get past or out of the way. You also don't want to risk having the ceiling collapse over your head, so you stay clear of those hallways. You stow away your stuff in your new room and with two buckets in your hands, you go back to the main entrance and head outside to walk around the castle to find some water. On one side of the ruins, you actually find and intact draw well. The well's rope seem old, but as you pull on it, it doesn't break and you can use it to fill your two buckets. Those buckets are pretty heavy now, but you get them back to your water barrel and with a few more trips you manage to fill the barrel halfway. And no leaks yet. Neat.

 

>Now you have water, shelter for the night and fire. But you're still in the middle of a creepy forest in a creepy castle ruin. But you guess you could stay a day or two, maybe look around for something edible and just see what happens. You open the dented box of cupcakes. Most of the remaining ones are a bit crumbled and there's frosting sticking everywhere on the box, but they're still edible. And they're still absolutely delicious. It's gotta be around noon now. You wonder if Mr. Cake is waiting for you to show up for work or if someone already told him that you probably will not come. And why you won't come. You take another bite from the cupcake. A sad feeling pierces your mind. Today is the day you planned to have that "bake-jam" with Pinkie. She looked so happy and excited, when you asked her to tell you her recipe and offered to bake together with her. Even compared to her usual happiness. You kinda regret what you've done, but you also can't deny that Twiligihts butt and Fluttershy's mare-bits.. well.. had a nice texture and felt good on your hands. Tenthousand more thoughts start crossing your mind. For now you try to ignore them and lay down on a few folded tapestries you're using as make-shift futon, pull the blanket you got from Fluttershy over your head and try to rest a bit more after that short and uncomfortable night. This castle sure is drafty.

 

>Finally being able to lie down, you sleep for a couple of hours. When you finally get up, the sun is already way past its zenith. You step outside the castle and look around. While you still feel uncomfortably guilty for the things you did to Twilight and Fluttershy, the thing that troubles you most is standing up Pinkie. You can still feel the warm hug she gave you, before she left to prepare the "bake-jam". You really would like to go back, just for her, even if it was just to say sorry and goodbye. But even if you dared, you don't know the way back. You probably could still find the small river you crossed before finding this castle, but after that.. the forest is too thick to find your way back. Most of the time you spent running away, it was dark and you weren't paying attention to your surroundings much. As much as it hurts, there is absolutely no way you could find your way back to Ponyville on your own.

 

>There are probably still a few hours left with daylight. Since you have nothing to do in the castle for now other than being alone with your thoughts, you decide to look around the forest near the castle, maybe you can find someone. You go back inside to grab a few things. You take the kitchen knife, one unlit torch and the matches. You also tear down one of the smaller tapestries and try wearing it like an awkward bastard between a toga and a cloak. This way you can at least carry around your stuff with your hands free. You start walking into one direction, occasionally leaving small trail marks on trees that catch your eye in case you get lost. You try to always stay within sight of the castle's biggest, not-collapsed tower. This way, you cover quite a bit of ground, always keeping the castle on your right side. It's starting to get dark, when you finally come back to one of the first trees you've marked. Seems like you've made it around once. But you haven't seen anyone yet. Maybe you have more luck tomorrow. You return to the castle.

 

>Since you're not low on firewood and even found a decorated metal bowl for fires, you light a fire before you go to sleep. Your room seems well ventilated, so you're not afraid of dying from smoke poisoning. Another night passes and you wake up the next morning. Another cupcake for breakfast and you head out to find some food.

 

>Well, you have a knife. That's gotta be good for something you figure. But since you came into this forest, you haven't encountered any of those little dumb bunnies, that weren't afraid and didn't run away from you. You also don't have any ropes to build traps. Not that you knew how to build one, if you had one.

>Along the way you find some wild berries. You remember that you're supposed to eat one, wait, if you don't feel sick, eat a few, wait, then eat a handful and so on. You remember seeing some more of these around, so if they're not terribly poisonous, that'd be a start. You even find some eggs in a nest on a tree. While they're smaller than chicken eggs, a nestful of these is better than nothing. You decide to wait for mama-bird to return, but even after half an hour there's no sign and so you go on.

>But you don't find any other animals either. Or they hear you coming before you notice them, you don't know. Well, at least you've got some berries and some eggs. Your plan for the next day is to maybe improvise a fishing rod and try your luck at the river. You return to the castle and try one of the berries. They're not very tasty, but they're not terrible either, maybe a bit sour. And even after a few hours you don't feel sick like after those mushrooms the other day.

 

>While you're waiting whether or not a handful of berries will make you regret ever setting foot into this forest, you find a flat metal bowl you plan to convert into some sort of cooking pot/frying pan. You're even considerate enough to turn parts of another small, yet probably invaluable tapestry into some pot cloths so you don't burn your fingers, while trying to make an omelette over your wrought-iron fire basket like thing. You take a deep breath and hope that you won't find any gross half-bred bird embryos inside the eggs and crack them open. Luckily, you don't. It's not much you end up with, but probably enough to get through the night without a rumbling stomach. When it looks done, you use a small piece of wood you've turned into a make-shift spatula with the kitchen knife before to scrape out the omelett out of the definitely not teflon-coated bowl and wish you had some salt, pepper and chives. It's plain, but edible. Guess you can't complain.

 

>The sun goes down again and you feel tired. All the physical work with only some berries, eggs and a cupcake in your stomach is pretty tough on you. As you lie on your tapestry-futon and look at the last small flames in your fire-basket, you wonder if there is some kind of higher power you're not aware of. You don't really think so, but then again, what do you know about this world? Maybe they're entertained by your antics to keep you alive long enough until you're out of this mess again.

>And now you really hope that you didn't commit some act of blasphemy by tearing down those tapestries. The flickering light from the fireplace is really calming and you fall asleep soon after.

 

>The next morning you get up early and wonder what you could do next. You don't want to spend the rest of your days in these old castle ruins. It's been a few days now since you've left Ponyville and so far nobody has come here to look for you. You've been running a long time and you figure you're far enough away from Ponyville to maybe try smoke signals without giving away your position to any guards or so. Best case, someone else finds you and you can start over in another town or city. Outside the castle, you make a small circle out of rocks, place some dry logs of firewood inside and start a fire. The smoke isn't very thick and you try to remember how you could change that. You try adding fresh plant matter like grass, fresh leaves or small plants you just plucked and it actually works. You add enough to make it smoulder for a while and set out to explore the forest some more.

>You walk around the forest some more. This time more into one direction and not in a circle around the castle, but still leaving some small trial marks for yourself, just to be sure. This damn forest is the same everywhere you go. On the way you at least find some more of those berries. You crouch down to collect some more, when you suddenly hear a low female voice with a thick accent behind you.

>"Greetings, lonesome traveler." It's the first time in days someone is talking to you. Startled you spin around and see a single pony standing in front of you. More like a zebra actually, you think as you look at her.

>"Not many venture into these woods. Even less stay. And not a single one like you. May I ask you, stranger, what brings you here?"

[note by OP: Yes, it's Zecora. No, I will not write in rhymes.]

 

>You: "Oh, hello,.. well. Erh, I'm kinda lost in this forest. I... left... Ponyville a few days ago and I don't really know the way back. Spent the last few days in that old castle over there." You point in the approximate direction of the ruins.

>"Indeed, I have seen the signals you have sent to the sky, which is why our paths are crossing here.", the zebra replies.

>You: "So.. do you live here? Do you happen to know the way back to Ponyville? I.. well.. to be honest, I'm not really sure if it's the best idea to go back there, but.. I don't know.. I feel like I should. Could you help me, please?"

>"You are right, I do live here and yes, I know the ways out of this forest. You can call yourself a lucky one, since not many who venture this deep into the Everfree Forest on their own ever leave again. I will show you the way, traveler."

>You: "Thank you very much, uh.."

>"You can call me Zecora, traveler."

>You: "Thank you, Zecora. I am Anon."

>The two of you stop by the castle and you pick up your things. You step outside with your bundle, where Zecora is waiting for you.

>Zecora: "Well then, Anon the traveler, let us return to Ponyville".

 

>While you're walking, Zecora tells you a bit more about the Everfree Forest and the castle you've spent the last few days in. The more you hear, the more you realize how lucky you were. Giant bears? Wooden wolves? Freaking manticores? You kinda feel less scared of returning to Ponyville now. You don't know how, but Zecora seems to know exactly where to go, even though there are no special landmarks or clear paths. It's still a very long walk and you realize how far you must have run into this forest.

>In the later hours of the afternoon, the forest finally becomes lighter and lighter. You can already see the first houses of Ponyville up ahead. The feeling in your stomach resembles having to write an exam you haven't really learned for. You stop. Zecora looks at you.

>Zecora: "This is where our paths will seperate again for now, traveler. May the road you choose lead you to a place far from darkness."

>You thank her and bid her farewell. Zecora bows and leaves. Well then. This is it.

 

>The place you think you should go first is the one that's also the closest. Fluttershy's cottage. You have probably hurt and/or scared her the most.

>You approach her cottage. She was the pony you first met here, who took you to Ponyville, who gave you shelter and argued in your favor after causing, well, a bit of public disturbance on your first or second day in Ponyville.

>Your heart races and you feel a bit dizzy. You stand in front of her door and after taking a deep breath, you knock.

>A few seconds that feel like hours pass.

>Inside you hear hoofsteps and the door starts opening.

>You see the timid yellow unicorn with her pink mane. Obviously surprised and shocked to see that it's you, she slams the door shut, uttering a suffocated scream. Well, you didn't really expect a different reaction. You think you hear a short sobbing inside. It's really getting to you, that you have caused this. You can hear that she's still standing on the other side of the door, probably too petrified with fear to move.

>You: "Fluttershy, I..."

>You pause. You can't just say that you're sorry. Not after what you've done.

>You: "...please just listen to me. You don't have to open the door and I will leave after I'm done."

>You: "I...I don't expect you to forgive me for what I've done. I know I can't ask you for that much. I can only imagine through how much trouble and pain I've put you."

>You have to pause to take another deep breath.

>You: "I've done a horrible thing. And of all the people, I've done it to you. After all you've done for me and after all the trust you've put into me. After all the kindness you showed me. It's nothing I can ever make undone."

>You feel tears forming in the pit of your eye.

>You: "I'm sorry Fluttershy. You didn't deserve this", you continue with increasingly trembling voice, fighting the tears. "I just wanted you to know this." You can taste the salt on your lips.

>You: "I just wanted you to know, that in the past few days I've realized what I've done." You don't really know what to say anymore, your mind is a blur.

>You: "I'm sorry", you mutter, while tears are running down your face. "Thank you for everything, Fluttershy. I will not bother you anymore. Thank you."

>You turn around and wipe the tears from your eyes, trying not to sob audibly. It has been a very long time since you've last felt like this. You slowly start walking away from Fluttershy's cottage without looking back.

>Then you hear a shaky voice.

>FS: "....... Anon."

>You turn around slowly. Fluttershy stands in the doorway, looking to the floor. Her eyes are reddened and you can tell that she was crying. You see on her face how different emotions conflict with each other. Pity, sorrow, disappointment, fear, pain..

>You have no idea what she's thinking. Hell, you don't even have any idea what you're thinking yourself. You didn't expect that she'd ever talk to you again, but now that you see her, you're scared. Scared of what she will say next.

>FS: "...". She needs a few moments to muster the strength to lift her head and look at you.

>FS: "Anon.. I.."

>A single tear rolls down her cheek.

>FS "..That night.. you really scared me. Y-You really scared me a lot.. so much that it hurt. I know I'm not the bravest pony and.. and it's not the first time I've been in a bad situation.. but I don't think I've ever felt so hurt and helpless before."

>She looks back down to the floor.

>FS: "..and it still hurts." She pauses a bit. You feel like the world is crashing down on your shoulders.

>FS: "I.. I don't know if I can ever forget that, what you've did, Anon... But I.. even though I know I shouldn't and everybody else told me I shouldn't.. I believe you. I.. well.. I want to believe you, that is.."

>Fluttershy lifts her head again and looks you in the eyes.

>FS: "Please don't let me regret it, Anon."

>You can't hold back your tears and you feel like your knees are giving in. You bury your face in your sleeve. Relieved, but still with a lot of pain and sadness on your heart, all you can say "thank you" in a whispering voice.

>You hear the sound of steps approaching slowly and hesitantly. Then you feel her hoof on your shoulder.

>FS: "Welcome back, Anon... promise me to apologize to Twilight as well. And to Pinkie and Mr. Cake." You nod.

>FS: "Thank you, Anon." She pauses for a moment, her hoof still on your shoulder. Then she turns around and steps back into her cottage, slowly closing the door behind her.

 

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Thread #6

March 30

http://archive.heinessen.com/mlp/thread/S17028282

 

>You feel a dark void filling your head again.

>You're afraid that you might not control yourself forever. It's the same dark void in your head that took over four days ago. Trying to fight it, you stand back up on your feet.

>Why shouldn't you just go there and finish what has been started that night?

 

>No.

>You struggle and try to not let it happen again. You try to fight and control this destructive and devouring void in your head. Images of the last days flash before your eyes.

>You feel dizzy and a bit nauseaus from the spinning images before your eyes.

>No!

>You open your eyes and realize that you must have gone unconscious for a bit or whatever that just was.

>Trying to make sure you're not dreaming anymore now, you take a deep breath and look around.

>Everything seems a bit clearer now. Nothing out of the ordinary. Fluttershy's cottage in front of you, the rest of Ponyville behind you. That damn forest must have fucked with your head or something like that, you figure.

>Well then.. apologizing to Fluttershy was the first step. Even though she didn't exactly forgive you, you're relieved and to be honest very surprised that she gave you something like a second chance.

>Twilight however..

>It's not realistical to expect the same degree of kindness or forgiveness from her you guess.

>The walk from Fluttershy's home to the town's library seems like an eternity. You don't encounter many ponies on your way there, but avoid eyecontact with those you do.

>There it is. Even though you have no idea what you're going to say or how she'll react, you knock on the door. Now that you're here, you just want to get over with it.

>It takes a few moments and Spike opens the door. He looks up to you for a second or two, not very surprised to see you apparently. Without saying a word, he just shuts it again.

>Well.. he never really seemed to have liked you very much. Inside you hear Twilight's muffled voice:

>"Who was it, Spike?"

>Spike, who's still fairly close to the door sighs and replies with a sour "..who do you think it was?"

>After that, there is a brief pause, until you hear Twilight's voice again.

>TS: "Oh." and then another pause.

>TS: "I'll take care of it."

>Your heart starts pounding again. As you expected, she doesn't really sound happy or excited.

>The door opens again and Twilight stands in front of you. Her face frozen in a state of controlled anger and disgust or disappointment. Or maybe both.

>TS: "Anon."

>You: "Twilight, I-"

>TS: "Just before you start, Anon, I don't care. I just don't care anymore. I believed in your apology the first time. I thought that maybe my concerns were exaggerated or wrong, but they weren't, Anon. After what you've did to me and after what you've.. tried to do to Fluttershy. Fluttershy of all ponies, for Pete's sake!.."

>She takes a breath to regain her composure.

>TS: "Apologies are worthless, if you don't back them up with actions. And as disappointing as it is, your apologies have proven to be worthless. I don't want to hear any of that. And I don't want to see you here again, Anon. Go apologize to everyone as much as you want and maybe they're even gullible enough to believe you, but until you don't back up your promises to better yourself with actual deeds, I do not care if you say you're sorry or run off to the Everfree Forest again or wherever."

>She glares at you.

>TS: "One more thing. Keep your hands off my friends and everyone else. I mean it."

>The door slams shut and almost hits you in the face.

 

>You need a bit to process that.

>You turn around and for no apparent reason your first thought is "isn't it called 'the fourth wall'?", but immediately discard that thought. Sometimes you feel like your entire life these days is controlled by the fickle minds of a collective of entities, hellbent on making your life a living hell.

 

>Her reaction was pretty much what you had excpected. But that didn't make it any easier.

>You start walking away from the library. This will probably need a whole lot of time and work to fix. For now, you should probably leave her alone until you've figured something out. So, where to next? Paying a visit to Pinkie Pie would probably the best thing. You have absolutely no idea what to expect from her reaction though. It's hard to read, what's on that pony's mind, when it doesn't concern any baked goods.

>You arrive in front of Sugarcube Corner and enter through the front door.

>There are currently no customers inside, but Mr. Cake is at the counter, restocking the showcase with pastries. He looks at you.

>Mr. Cake: "Oh, Anon. Where have you been? Are you alright? I was worried. Thought you were fed up with working here and left."

>He doesn't seem to know what happened. And you're not exactly sad about it. You apologize for not showing up to work without letting him know. "There has been some urgent business I had to take care of", you tell him, assuring that you still would like to work here in Sugarcube Corner.

>You: "Oh, by the way. Is Pinkie Pie around somewhere?"

>Mr. Cake: "Yes, she's upstairs. She was really down when you didn't come over the other day. I haven't seen her like that in forever.. I'm sure she'll be glad to see you though, Anon!", he adds with his usual big smile. "She really seems to like you, haha."

>"I hope she still does.." you mumble to yourself, as you walk past the counter and towards the stairs.

>As you walk up the stairs, you realize that you've never been in Pinkie's room so far. Usually you've always met somewhere outside or at someone else's house. You knock on the door that has a big happy sign reading "Pinkie" in big happy letters. A unexpectedly apathetic "Hm?" is the answer. You open the door and enter. Pinkie's room looks exactly the way you would expect it to look. But instead of bouncing up and down on her bed and giggling (that's the kind of thing you would expect Pinkie to do), she's sitting at a table filled with a myriad of different baking ingredients and bakeware, flicking her hoof against a muffin that's lying on its side and rolling in a full circle on the small part of the table that's not covered in bags of powdered sugar or boxes of sprinkles, everytime Pinkie flicks it.

>You: "Uhm.. Pinkie?"

>She turns her head to you and her eyes widen a bit, even though the gloomy look on her face remains.

>Pinkie: "Anon?"

>Pinkie: "You.. you missed the bake-jam."

>Her big round eyes start tearing up.

>Pinkie: "You stupidly ran away after doing stupid things and then you're gone for four stupid days and then I was feeling stupid and everything was stupid, but.."

>It's almost breaking your heart, seeing her like that, since you were only used to her being that always happy, always smiling and almost always bouncing pony.

>You: "Pinkie, I'm so sorry, I was a real idiot. I didn't want to stand you up and I was really looking forward to our bake-jam.."

>Pinkie: "You were? Really?"

>Her face looks a bit less sad and gloomy.

>You: "Yes of course! But.. well.. yes, as you said.. I did stupid things and stupidly ran away. But I really want to make up for that. I had a lot of time to think about things and well.. the cupcakes you gave me kinda saved my life."

>That wasn't even a complete lie, since you wonder if you could have survived the time only on strange Everfree-berries and water.

>Pinkie wipes away the tears from her eyes with her hoof and a bit of a smile returns to her face.

>Pinkie: "Okay, Anon. But please don't do that again, alright? I mean, like everything of that.."

>You know what she means with that.

>Pinkie: "It took me a super-duper long time to get all of these extra-special sprinkles!" She points at a box depicting a glittering cloud of "SUPER SPARKLEY SPRINKLES ~extra~".

>Pinkie: "Well, we still have all the ingredients, so.. if you want, we can still make cupcakes together. And muffins. And cakes. And tarts.."

>You can't help but smile. Probably for the first time in days. This pony really is contagious.

 

>Now that you have apologized to all the ponies, you figure you got some free time now.

>Pinkie is still listing all the things you could make with the ingredients scattered in the room.

>Pinkie: "..and probably some banana-cherry-chocolate-chip-brownies and.."

>You: "Pinkie?"

>Pinkie: "..sweet kumquat-souflé and.."

>You: "..Pinkie?"

>She pauses. "Yes, Anon?"

>You: "Well, I don't have anything else planned for today. I'd be yours for the day. We could start right now."

>Her eyes widen yet again and the usual smile returns to her face.

>Pinkie: "..!"

>It feels like the room brightens up a bit for some reason.

>Pinkie: "It's baking time!", she exclaims, jumping up from her chair, right towards you, giving you a really big and excited hug. From there, she bounces back to the table, where she picks up a few select boxes from the giant pile with seemingly no problem locating any of them.

>Pinkie: "First of all, I'll show you my own super special recipe for the cupcakes I've made you the other day!" She whirls around the room and picks up a few more bags and boxes. Then she grabs you by the arm and pulls you downstairs to the big kitchen of Sugarcube Corner.

>Mr. Cake: "Ah, Pinkie, are you fee-"

>Pinkie: "No time, there's a bake-jam to bake. And to jam!"

>Mr. Cake jumps aside, while Pinkie rushes past him, still holding your hand. He smiles and you guess it's probably because he's relieved that Pinkie is finally back to her usual self.

>The next hours are filled with sugar, sprinkles, baking and tasting, mixing frosting, Pinkie occasinally breaking into song, while looking extremely happy. Her eyes glow and you can tell, that she really seems to enjoy both the baking and your company and interest in helping her.

>Pinkie: "Aaaaalriiiiighty! The next batch is done. I've got a feeling that these might be extra super tasty!"

>She pulls a griddle full of big steaming quadruple chocolate chip cookies out the oven. The sweet and warm smell fills the air and you've gotta pay attention not to drool. Pinkie beams and takes one of the cookies into her hoof, examining it with the keen eye of a jeweler.

>Pinkie: "Not bad, not bad at all!" She bounces up and down a bit all excited.

>Pinkie: "Here Anon, you try the first one!"

>It probably is the best cookie you have ever tasted. Pinkie grins widely as she sees your face.

>Pinkie: "I knew it, hehe!"

>You keep on baking all kinds of different pastries, cakes and other baked goods and you wonder why you haven't collapsed from overeating yet.

>Eventually the last box of sprinkles is used up and the kitchen looks like it was hit by an earthquake. Or a pink tornado to be more precise.

>Pinkie: "Aaaah. Bake-jams are my favorite jams. That was soooo much fun, Anon. And I could finally test out so many new recipes! And your idea with the rainbow-super-sparkles on top of the wild-berry chocolate pancakes.. Amazing!"

>She smiles at you from ear to ear.

>You: "I think I've never eaten so many different cupcakes in one day, but it was totally worth it. We should really do that again one day."

>Pinkie nods eagerly.

>You: "Thank you, Pinkie. I.. I really needed something like this." You smile back at her. You really didn't think of the troubles of the past days even once this afternoon.

>You: "I guess we should clean up now, hm?"

>Pinkie: "Don't worry, Anon, I'll take care of that!"

>She reaches for the beater in a nearby mixing bowl and licks the remaining batter from it.

>Pinkie: "Mhh!"

>You laugh. "Okay, Pinkie. I'll go get some rest then. So I'll be fit for the next bake-jam, haha."

>Pinkie bounces over to you and gives you another long and tight hug.

>Pinkie: "Oki-doki-loki, Anon! I'll see you at work tomorrow!"

>She hops back to the mixing bowl and continues nibbling on the beater.

>You turn around and leave Sugarcube Corner for today. You are stuffed, but you feel quite content.

 

>Filled with sugar and positive feelings, you decide to pay Twilight another visit. If you're going to stay in Ponyville, you'd rather get along well with her. You have a box with a few of your and Pinkie's new creations. Maybe she would like one of these cupcakes? You head back over to the library, this time slightly more confident. You're still kinda nervous, standing at Twilight's doorstep for the second time today now.

>You knock and it takes the usual few moments until someone opens the door. It's Twilight herself this time. She still seems very upset.

>TS: "What are you doing here? I told you I don't want to see you around here again."

>You: "I.. would you like a cupcake? They're really good and, well, I thought-" Twilight interrupts you, looking not very pleased by the offer.

>TS: "Are you serious? A cupcake? Are you really so naive to think that those horrible things you did could be made up for with a cupcake? Or do you think I'm that stupid?"

>This didn't go the way you hoped.

>TS: "Anon, I don't know what's going on in that head of yours, but I think you're a dangerous, irrational and confused individual and absolutely everything you've done in the past days seems to prove just that. *Including* this cupcake." She sighs.

>TS: "Just leave now, Anon. It will take more than a cupcake to restore the trust you've trampled under your hooves...feet." She turns around and closes the door behind her. This really didn't go the way you had hoped.

>As you walk off, you think about what she said and you can't really blame her. In fact, you can probably be lucky, that not every pony in Ponyville knows about what happens or that you're not rotting away in some prison or dungeon now.

 

>That harsh rejection got to you quite a bit and you feel like you could need someone to cheer you up a bit. And in your current situation there is just one pony you could turn to. So you return to Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie is almost done cleaning the kitchen and greets you happily.

>PP: "Hey again, Anon! Did you forget something?"

>You: "No, not really. I just went over to the library to give Twilight some of the cupcakes. She didn't really like that. Or the cupcakes. Not that she even accepted them.." You sound disappointed.

>PP: "Hm, oh well. Twilight doesn't really have the biggest sweet tooth around I think. But she should really eat more sweets I think. Sweet stuff is brain fuel. And she is probably 99% brain. I mean, not really, because that would look reaaaally weird. Aaanyways, don't be sad, Anon. I think she's just really disappointed or so. Just give her some time and don't do any more of those stupid things. I'm sure she'll forgive you." Pinkie smiles at you. "After all, you're both my friends!"

>Is this the first time, a pony has called you "his or her friend"? You can't even remember.

>PP: "She always has to look out for everyone and then there's this whole princess thing with the wings and there's at least one weird thing happening every week around here. So I'm sure she's just being extra cautious, Anon."

>You: "Thank you Pinkie, I'll keep that in mind. That helped a lot." You say goodbye and leave Sugarcube Corner again.

 

>As you walk out, you pass a bottle of mayonnaise. For some reason, you feel silly and ask the bottle, if it would like to sit in your face. The bottle doesn't reply. Bummer.

>It's getting late and the sun is sinking below the trees in the distance and it's getting late. It gets you thinking. After what you've did, maybe you should move out of Fluttershy's hen house. It might make things a lot easier for her and you figure that Twilight might also appreciate that step. And with the money you make from your job at your new job, you might even be able to rent a small hut or something like that. Maybe there's some sort of housing project? Sounds like an idea worth investigating. Since the town hall is a fairly tall and prominent building in the center of the town square, you find your way there just in time, before the muncipal workers clock off. The pony at the front desk points to a unicorn next to some drawers, using his unicorn magic to sort some papers. By now, it seems to have gotten around, that there is a strange person in town and so that unicorn isn't exceptionally surprised to see you. After you have described your situation - well, without going too much into detail about the why - the pony rubs his chin, thinking about what you just told him.

 

>Pony: "We don't have any of these 'housing projects' or what you called them, but there *is* a small piece of property available at the East side of the town, if I'm not mistaken. It's nothing fancy, rather, erh, cozy to be frank, but it's in a good condition and, well, affordable. He opens another drawer and leafs through the papers inside. Then he pulls out a dossier with a photograph.

>Pony: "This is it."

>You: "That's perfect."

>Pony: "Erh, okay, nice. So you said you would like to move as soon as possible? How soon would that be?"

>You: "Well. How about by tonight?"

>The pony looks surprised. "Uh. Okay. I guess."

>You head over to a nearby desk and you fill out a pleasantly small amount of paperwork. As you did expect back then, when you were reading a book written in Equestrian without problems, writing works just as well. The pony opens another drawer and gives you a small bunch of keys.

>Pony: "So erh.. That should be it. Congratulations. I think." He then writes down the directions to the hut on a piece of paper and you leave the town hall.

>What a pleasant turn of events. Next thing you should do would be to get your remaining stuff from Fluttershy's and head over to your new home.

>When you arrive, it's already dark outside and you don't see any lights burning in the cottage. You go to the hen house and pack your sparse belongings. It wouldn't be right to leave without at least leaving a message. Luckily you find a piece of paper you can use and start writing.

>»Dear Fluttershy,...«

>Hm, this is not as easy as you thought. It takes you a while to find the right words, but you keep it short. You thank her for her hospitality and also mention, that you don't want to make things harder for her as necessary. You add one of the cupcakes and a handful of coins as compensation for her expenses. Then you leave the message by her door and start heading over to the other side of the town through the empty streets that are only lit by a few lanterns, the occasional light shining out of a window and the moon.

>Even though Ponyville is not that terribly big, it takes you quite a while to get to the adress the pony from town hall has given you. You turn the key in the lock and the door opens with a slightly rusty creak. Since it's already dark, you decide to take a look around your new neighborhood the next day and just go straight to bed now after a quick look at your new home. The hut is basically a one-room flat. A bed, a table, a kitchenette and a bathroom (luckily not just an outhouse), a backdoor to a small garden you guess and a ladder to a small attic for storage. To your surprise, you already have the basic household necessities. A pot and a pan on the stove, some firewood, a matress and a blanket on the bed and another few things. Having spent more than half a week on an improvised futon made out of old tapestries in the castle ruins after sleeping on the hay in the old hen house, this bed feels like heaven and so it doesn't take long until you fall asleep.

 

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Thread #7

April 2

http://archive.heinessen.com/mlp/thread/S17075377

 

>You lie in bed fast asleep, turning from your left to your right. After a short and relaxing phase of your sleep, the second half of the night torments you with strange and unpleasant dreams. You see yourself moonwalking through Everfree Forest, trying to escape a mob of angry ponies and brown rabbits, throwing mushrooms at you. Then you trip over a root and crush the box of cupcakes, but as you open the box to check on the cupcakes, you see a miniature version of Ponyville inside. The longer you stare, the more you get a feeling like you're being sucked into the box. The next thing you know is that you're falling through the air. In the last moment before crashing to the ground, you fall is stopped by a purple glowy magic surrounding you. You turn around and see an angry and disappointed Twilight, comforting a crying Fluttershy. The glowy purple magic cloud pushes you further away from the scene, until all the ponies are out of sight and you find yourself handcuffed to a hospital bed that's standing in the Everfree Forest Castle ruins. You can't free yourself and you can't utter the slightest sound to call for help.

>You wake up, sweating and out of breath. You need a few seconds to remember where you are. It's still dark outside, the sky already turning from black to a deep ink blue.

 

>It was just a dream. You get up and make your way over to the kitchenette, trying not to bump into anything in the faint light of the oil lamp that's hanging from the ceiling. There is a faucet over the sink. No more walking back and forth to that old well with the buckets. You cup your hands and drink. The water is clear and has an actually pleasant taste. You wipe over your face with your wet hands. The nightmare has already begun to fade away and so you lie down again, way more relaxed now. The tiredness overwhelms you and a short while after you start dreaming again. Luckily about happier things now.

>In your dream you find yourself in Sugarcube Corner. You're wearing your work uniform and stand behind the counter, restocking the showcase. A sweet-smelling draft of air rushes over you. In the same moment, a pair of hooves covers your eyes from behind and you feel a warm pony body pressing against your back. Your heart races and an unusally soft voice of a certain pink pony whispers in your ear: "You're the sweetest of them all."

>The hooves over your eyes slide down a bit until they rest around your neck. You open your eyes in your dream and the entire room is filled with sparkling cupcakes, tarts, muffins and all kinds of other pastries. You see the two pink pony legs hanging over your shoulders that then go on to hug you tightly from behind. You feel a head pressing against your neck and a warm breath against your ear. The unusually soft voice then whispers: "Anon.."

>Everything around you fades.

>Don't wake up yet..

>No, you want to go back to the dream. Don't wake up yet, brain.

>Outside you hear birds tweeting

>You open your eyes and stare at the ceiling. That was a sweet dream. And yep, good morning, boner.

>It's slowy starting to get bright outside and you figure it's gotta be around 7 o'clock or so.

 

>After lying on your bed a couple more minutes, you decide to get up. Since you arrived in the middle of the night, you figure you could take a look around the neighborhood before you go to work.

>You wash your face and put on your clothes. You remember that before you ran away, you ordered that set of spare clothes at Rarity's boutique and wonder if she finished those after what happened. Maybe you can go and find out later.

>First things first, you open the door and step outside. There are already a couple of ponies out on the street, while the morning sun bathes the street in a warm and yellow light. Some of them are heading out of town, but most are going to work, school or whatever in the town centre you guess. Your hut is by far not the only one in the street and in the front yard of the hut nearest to you, which is slightly bigger than yours, you see an earth pony with a bit of a stubble taking care of some plants. You don't see any stores, so this is probably more of a residential area. But then again, it's just a small town with the market maybe only 15 minutes by foot, hoof or probably even faster if you're one of those pegasus ponies.

>The time you'll need to Sugarcube Corner will probably be about the same as from Fluttershy's cottage, since she also lives more in the outskirts of town.

>You feel a grumble in your stomach and you feel like having breakfast. Maybe one of the recipes Pinkie taught you. But then you remember that you don't have any ingredients at home, so you'd either have to go buy some at the market or just wait until you're at work.

 

>Well, you still have a box full of baked goods to choose from for breakfast. You grab something at random and start eating.

>You absolutely have to find out if you can get a hold of some coffee here in Ponyville. There was a tin mug in one of the cupboards, so your breakfast now is cupcakes with a mug of water. Much better than sour berries.

 

>You finish your breafast. It's still well before noon, but as you don't really have anything else to do right now and you'd like to keep your job, now that you have a (small) rent to pay, you decide to show up early for work again and give it your best.

>You start heading towards the market and a short walk in the refreshing morning air, you arrive at Sugarcube Corner. Today, Mrs. Cake is working. So far you have only met her briefly, but since you've been doing a great job so far and Mr. Cake seems to be really fond of you, she greets you with a warm smile. You put on your SCC-hat and bow-tie and do your job. It's a rather quiet day so far and - after asking for permission before - you find some time to bake some regular rye bread for yourself at home.

>During the time around noon, things get slightly busier, but not for long and so Mrs. Cake lets you go home a bit earlier today after giving you another small bag full of coins for your outstanding work.

>You decide to head over to Rarity's boutique to see if she has finished those clothes yet. There are quite a lot of customers heading in and out of that boutique. As you come closer, you see a sign in the window saying: "The Spring Festival is coming soon! Discount on orders~"

>You enter the boutique and see Rarity bustling about, serving customers and taking orders.

>You enter the queue and wait. When it's finally your turn, a brief moment of sceptical reserve rushes over her face, but she greets you in a very formal business tone.

>R: "Oh, the clothes? Yes, I indeed managed to finish that order of yours. She turns around and uses her magic to fetch a unspectacularly wrapped brown package.

>R: "Two shirts, two pairs of trousers, some socks and some undergarments." She hands you the package.

>R: "In case that any of these do not fit, I'll change them for you, but they.." she looks at you "..should do the trick. That will be 30 bits."

>Its a bit more expensive than you have thought, but you didn't really expect to get any special discounts anymore anyways. You pay her the 30 bits and thank her for the effort. Then you turn around and leave the boutique, while Rarity is already dealing with the next customer.

 

>On the way back to the market, you count your money. Even after those 30 bits you just paid, you still have more than enough to get by for now. That's one comforting thought at least.

 

>At the market, you look around the stalls. After that somewhat awkward and uncomfortable conversation with Rarity, you try finding something less fashionable, but more practical to keep your hands free. Something like..

>A stall selling all sorts of tools and utensils catches your eye. In the corner of the stall you see a bag that would go perfectly with your hat. You walk up to the salespony, an older earth pony with an impressive beard and ask how much that bag is.

>Pony: "Ah, that bag there? Sturdy, reliable, practical. Real good quality. How does 5 bits sound, lad?" You smile and accept. He shakes your hand with his hoff and gives you the bag. You hang it around your shoulder and adjust the strap.

>Salespony: "If there ever is a rivet on that bag that needs fixing or if anything becomes loose, just come here and I'll fix it up. But I doubt it will, this is the quality that will last you a lifetime if you take proper care of it, hehe."

>The bag has an astounding capacity and since there are no other customers right now, you ask the salespony, if he crafts these himself.

>Salespony: "Haha, yes lad. My brother and I-"

>? "HEY!"

>A loud voice from above startles you.

>You turn around just in time to see a hoof go straight for your face. You flinch and the hoof just hits your shoulder, but still with enough force to make you stumble backwards a few steps.

>? "You're that bastard who attacked my friends, aren't you?"

>The loud voice belongs to a light blue pegasus pony with a rainbow-colored mane and tail.

>? "Take this!"

>The pegasus launches herself towards you. You try to dodge, but she's just too fast. Her hoof hits you in the stomach and you fall down on your bottom, gasping for air. The pegasus glares at you with angry eyes. A few ponies who were passing by stop and watch, keeping a safe distance.

 

>You get back on your feet and hold out your hand towards the angry pegasus.

>You: "Wait, hold on. I can-", you start, still a bit out of breath.

>?: "I don't care, screw you!"

>She launches herself toward you again. This time you can jump aside in time and she flies past you, curving up a couple of feet into the air.

>You: "I said wait. I don't want to fight you, can't you just-"

>?: "Yeah right, as if!"

>She comes rushing towards you again from above. Guess you have no choice here. As she approaches, you dodge her attack to the side and manage to ram your elbow in her side as she passes you.

>?: "AUGH.. Jerk! You've had it now!"

>She rises up in the air, flies in a circle and down towards you again with the sun in her back. Blinded by the bright light, you can't dodge in time and her hoof hits your chest. You fall to the floor and see dark spots dance before your eyes.

>?: "That's what you get, when you attack my friends. Get out of here, before-"

>Another loud voice interrupts the turmoil. You know this voice.

>Twilight: "Rainbow Dash! Stop! I told you.."

>Rainbow Dash, the blue pegasus turns around and faces an upset Twilight Sparkle.

>RD: "But.. he's the guy who.."

>TS: "I know that. But I told you to be cautious and to stay clear of him, not to pick a fight with him." Rainbow Dash lands next to Twilight with a disappointed look on her face.

>RD: "He deserves it", she mumbles half to herself, half to Twilight. You manage to sit back up. Twilight looks at you from the distance and turns back to Rainbow Dash.

>TS: "I know how you feel, but that's not how we will handle this. Stay out of his way and if he makes trouble again, I'll be there to take care of it, trust me. But as long as he doesn't do anything funny, just leave him be, okay?"

>Rainbow Dash casts a short and hateful glance at you, before she calms down.

>RD: "Alright, alright, I got it." She sighs. "I'll see you later, Twilight."

>The blue pegasus flies off.

>You're back on your feet and wipe the dust off your hands and trousers. Your shoulder and your chest hurt, but you don't think that anything's broken.

>Twilight looks over to you with an indifferent expression and turns to leave without saying a word.

>The small crowd that has gathered also dissipates. The salespony leans over the counter of his stall: "You alright, lad?"

 

>You nod to the salespony and try to catch up to Twilight.

>You: "Twilight. Don't stop her next time."

>She stops and turns around her head. You've got her attention, but she still doesn't really seem to care.

>You: "I had it coming and I do deserve it. I feel terrible for what I've done. If you want to.. go ahead and hit me, too." Twilight turns her head away from you again and sighs.

>TS: "You know, Anon.. I told you before, I don't really care anymore, as long as you stay away from my friends." She looks at you again over her shoulder.

>TS: "I can't blame Rainbow Dash. But she shouldn't have attacked you. Not that you didn't deserve it,.."

>She pauses for a bit an shakes her head.

>TS: "I haven't forgotten about what happened and I hope you won't either. I won't resort to any.. drastic measures as long as long as you stay out of trouble. That's all I have to say to you now."

>She walks off. You can't exactly put your finger on it, but she seemed ever so slightly less upset than last time. Moving out of Fluttershy's back yard probably was the right thing to do. Although you wish that she had just punched you in the face.

 

>Now that this situation has been resolved and Twilight is gone, you return to the market stalls to buy some groceries. You buy some vegetables and other food. Maybe some fruits. You keep walking across the market, pick up some oranges and some wild berries. At the next stall you see the earth pony who was working in the garden next door this morning just leaving with a keg and a bunch of apples.

>The apples look very appetizing and so you decide to buy some yourself.

>You: "Hello, I'd like, uh, half a dozen of apples please."

>Salespony: "Eyup."

>He puts six apples into a bag and hands it over to you. At the side of the stall is a small blackboard reading "1 Apple: 1 bit".

>You: "Six bits it is then?"

>Salespony: "Eyup."

>You pay the red earth pony and stow away the apples along with some other of your groceries in your satchel.

 

>Next thing on your list are some articles for personal hygiene. You don't find any market stalls selling these things, but one of the stores next to the market places looks promising. You enter and a female unicorn with a light blue coat and blue mane behind the counter welcomes you. This store has everything you need for now. Plenty of soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste, mouthwash, a hairbrush, even razors and shaving foam.

 

>You enjoy the atmosphere here at and around the market, so you decide to stay a bit longer. First however, you decide to to leave your groceries at the backroom of Sugarcube Corner, since that's not far from here and you don't want to carry around the heavy bags the entire time. Just gotta remember to pick them back up later. After that is done, you start walking around town. You feel altruistic and keep an eye out for ponies who might be in need of a helping hand. Easier said than done though. With a town full of friendly ponies, where everyone seems helps another, you have a hard time finding an opportunity to shine.

>But finally, as you walk up to a crossroad not far from Rarities boutique, there are suddenly two possible opportunities at once.

>On one hand you see a female pony with purplish wine red coat struggling to keep a whole bunch of foals in check. Maybe a teacher on a field trip? At least it's so many colts and fillies that you doubt she's their mother.

>On the other hand you see the pony who seems to live next door and who bought the apples and the keg at the apple stall picking up said apples which roll all over the floor. Probably dropped the bag or so.

 

>You head over to the earth pony and help picking up the apples.

>The earth pony with the beard stubbles eyes you sceptically while he continues to pick up the last few apples. You place the apples in his bag.

>Pony: "Hrm. Thanks. You're that tall guy who moved in next door, aren't ya?"

>The faint smell of alcohol lingers on his breath.

>You: "Yes, that's true. I didn't have the opportunity to introduce myself yet. I'm Anon, pleased to meet you."

>The sturdy earth pony looks at you again, furrowing his brow for a moment.

>Pony: "Rover. You're not up to any funny business, are ya? Can't need any trouble in the neighborhood. I mean, you don't look like you're from around here. Nothing personal."

>You help him picking the keg back up. Cider.

>You: "Uh, no, of course not. Sir.."

>The pony with the dark-grey-brown'ish coat and the rather dark slate-grey mane snorts.

>Rover: "Well okay, tall guy. Gotta run. If you need any help or feel like having a drink, feel free to come over." You say goodbye and he nods.

>Strange fellow.

 

>You turn around to see if the teacher still might need some help, but they have already moved on.

 

>Suddenly the idea of owning a pet hawk is stuck in your head. Man, that would be pretty rad. You go over to Fluttershy's cottage, since that's the only place you could think of. You see her out in the front yard feeding some small animals and approach her in a way that she's sure to see you coming, since you don't want to accidently scare her.

>FS "Oh, uhm.. hello Anon.", she greets you in a rather reserved and shy way. In a very slightly more friendly tone she adds: "Uhm.. thanks for the letter and for letting me know. You found a new house, yes? That's uhm, nice. So.. what brings you here?"

>You ask her, if she happens to have any pet hawks.

>FS: "Oh, I'm sorry Anon. It's not like I sell pets or anything. I just sometimes come across an animal who is looking for a new home, but I haven't met any hawks lately. But uhm, I'll let you know, if I do."

>Even tough you're kinda disappointed, you smile at Fluttershy and thank her for her time. On your way back home you pick up your groceries from Sugarcube Corner and when you come home, the sun begins setting. You unpack your stuff and already feel at home some more.

 

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Thread #8

April 6

http://archive.heinessen.com/mlp/thread/S17145464

 

>It's not very late yet, but you've been up for a while now and so you decide to spend the rest of the evening at home. You eat a few slices of the bread you made earlier and two of these incredibly delicious apples you bought on the market. Afterwards you go to your little bathroom where you've already put all these hygiene products you got in that blue unicorn's store, brush your teeth, wash up and head over to your bed. With no TV or computer you feel much more calm before going to sleep and so it doesn't take long until you fall asleep, while the faint orange light of the oil lamp flickers slowly.

>Mrs. Cake gave you the next day off earlier, so you could theoretically sleep in.

 

>Even though it's your day off, you wake up early. But since you also went to bed rather timely, you feel well-rested, while the sun only just started rising over the horizon.

>A good day for more good deeds. You get ready to leave and start looking for ponies who could need some help. There are not many ponies around at this time yet, but maybe you're lucky on your way towards the market place.

>And a bit further you actually see that burgundy/purple'ish earth pony again who was struggling to keep all those little foals in check. This time she's on her own, but she seems to struggle with balancing two big bags filled to the brim with what looks like glue, glitter, scissors, crayons and so on.

 

>She almost drops one of the bags. Yes, she really looks like she could use a helping hand quite literally. You walk over to her.

>You: "Uhm.. excuse me, Miss."

>She turns around while trying not to drop anytyhing. As she sees you, she only looks moderately surprised in a rather unsuspicious way.

>Pony: "Yes, please? Can I help you?"

>You: "Well, I was actually going to ask the same", you laugh politely and go on, "Do you need any help with those bags? They look pretty heavy and I happen to have some free time on my hands."

>The wine-red/purplish earth pony lady smiles and replies: "That's very kind, thank you. I need to get all these craft utensils to school before class starts and I *think* I might have packed these a bit too full, haha." She puts one of the bags on the ground and hands you the second one.

>But being the gentleman you are, you chivalrously take the second bag as well. It does have some advantages to only need two of your four extremities for walking.

>The pony smiles again.

>Pony: "Thank you! I am Cheerilee by the way."

>You: "Pleased to meet you, Cheerilee. I'm Anon."

>You start walking.

>You: "So, you're a teacher?"

>Cheerilee: "Yes, exactly. Although, to be exact, I'm the only teacher at this school. There's also just one class, so it's enough to have just one teacher", she looks over to you and the two bags you're carrying, "Well, even though it means I also have to take care of all the preparations by myself, haha."

>She tells you about her job as teacher, the subjects she teaches and so on.

>You: "That's impressive. I mean, having to handle all the preparations.. teaching all the subjects by yourself. You gotta be really smart", you add semi-jokingly.

>It's hard to tell under her reddish-purplish coat, but you think she blushes a bit.

>Cheerilee: "Oh, it's nothing, hehe. It's just elementary level basically. Anyone could handle that much."

>A short walk later you arrive at the school building.

>Cheerilee: "Thank you so much for helping me out with these, I really don't know if would have made it in time without your help, Anon." You give her the two bags. She looks over to the clock on the nearby clocktower and even though she doesn't have that much time left, she spares a few more minutes to talk with you.

>Cheerilee: "Today we're going to craft some greeting cards and garlands for the upcoming Spring Festival. All the colts and fillies are really excited already, haha. It would be great if you could come as well, it's always a lot of fun for everyone."

>You tell her that you will, if you can. She smiles again.

>Cheerilee: "I'm glad to hear that, Anon. Well then, I'm going to finish the preparations for today then. See you around. And thank you again for your help!"

>You smile and say goodbye as well. She enters the school building and you turn around and think about what to do next.

 

>One thought has been swirling around the back of your head for the last few days. You still didn't have any opportunity to really thank Zecora for showing you the way out of the Everfree Forest. But since you neither know your way around there nor want to get lost in the forest again, you'll probably need some help and maybe also an advice on how you could return the favor. Zecora seemed to be a peculiar one, so you have no idea what you could get her or what you could do for her. Good thing you know just the pony who gets along great with everyone. Off to Sugarcube Corner to pay Pinkie Pie a visit.

>As you walk by the front door, you can already see that it seems to be another quiet day at the Cake's cake shop. You head over to the back door and go inside. You can hear Pinkie's giggle from the kitchen. As you're about to enter, you suddenly hear a yell.

>Pinkie Pie: "Take cover!" she jumps at you and pushes you to the floor.

>You: Whoa, wha-"

>A loud bang comes from the kitchen and a hot blast wave rushes over your face, while Pinkie snorts and keeps on giggling. Smoke comes out of the oven.

>You: "What was that!?"

>PP: "Fine tuning a new recipe. Hi Anon!" She grins at you.

>You decide that it might be better not to ask. You just greet Pinkie as well, who seems to be really happy to see you.

>You: "I've got a question-"

>PP: "Oh, oh, me too! Isn't it your day off today? Need anything, Anon? Ran out of Special Deluxe Sprinkle Cupcakes? Or do you want to borrow a whisk? Or some swizzle sticks?"

>You: "No, not really, I just-"

>PP: "Oh, wait, I know: You have an itch on your back, but you can't scratch it yourself, so you need someone or something else for it. I'd recommend a ladle!" She jumps up and bounces across the kitchen to get you a ladle. You get up.

>You: "Thanks, but I just wanted to ask if you know Zecora. That Zebra who lives in the Everfree Forest? She helped me the other day and I'd like to return that favor somehow."

>PP: "Of course, I know her. She helped us out a lot in the past. Haven't seen that old zebra in a while though. Hm.. I don't even know how old she is. But I haven't seen any young zebras either, haha."

>You: "So, do you have any idea what she might like?"

>PP: "Hmmmm.. I'm not sure, but do you know anyone who doesn't like cookies?"

>You: "Well.. no?"

>PP: "Me neither! We should make her a whole batch of those quadruple chocolate chip cookies we made last time. Those were deeeee-licious!"

>Since you don't really have a better idea and since those cookies really were delicious, you and Pinkie start mixing and baking right away. It doesn't take long and a whole griddle full of warm, steaming cookies is done.

>PP: "Mmm, I love that smell."

>You: "Me too." Now all you have to do is getting the cookies to Zecora.

>You: "So.. do you happen to know the way to wherever she lives?"

>Pinkie beams.

>PP: "Nope! But Fluttershy knows the way I think. Wanna head over to her place and ask if she wants to show us, Anon?"

 

>That doesn't sound like a bad idea. At least that might be a chance to get back on Fluttershy's good side, especially since it'd be the three of you.

>You: "Sure, that sounds great."

>PP: "Alrighty!"

>You grab the box of cookies and follow Pinkie who bounces ahead out of the back door. On your way over to Fluttershy's cottage, you remember the sign at Rarity's boutique and what Cheerilee told you.

>You: "By the way, what's that Spring Festival about?"

>PP: "It's a festival to celebrate spring, of course! Spring is awesome and one of my four favorite seasons! And without the Spring Festival there'd be too much time without a good celebration between Winter Wrap-up and the Summer Sun Celebration."

>You have no idea what any of these is, but the names seem rather self-explanatory.

>You: "And when is that Spring Festival? That school teacher Miss Cheerilee just mentioned it briefly earlier."

>PP: "It's by the end of next week and it's going to be suuuper much fun! There will be all kinds of snacks and food and treats and some shows and dancing and singing and cider and other fun stuff. You'll like it, I'm sure!"

>That really sounds interesting. There wasn't much to do lately, when you weren't busy struggling to survive, so a festival like that sounds like fun. Pinkie gets quiet all of a sudden and looks around conspiratorially.

>PP: "I think Twilight mentioned the other day, that even some secret special guests might come this time, but don't tell anyone. It's a secret!", she whispers excitedly.

>You: "Oh, like, who?"

>PP, still whispering: "I have no idea, because it's a secret!"

>Well, so much for that.

>You finally arrive at Fluttershy's cottage and while you stay back a couple of feet, Pinkie bounces up to the door and knocks.

>Fluttershy opens the door.

>FS: "Oh, hello Pinkie Pie. Can I help you? And.. uh.. Anon.", she hesistantly nods over to you.

>PP: "Hey Fluttershy! Do you want to come with us to the Everfree Forest?" Fluttershy flinches a bit.

>PP: "Just you and me and Anon. We wanna visit Zecora, because Anon wants to give her cookies, but we don't know the way, haha."

>FS: "Uhm, but, we've all been there before, don't you remember? When we accidently walked into that horrible poison-joke-field?"

>PP: "Yep!"

>FS: "And?.."

>PP: "Don't remember the way!" She grins from ear to ear.

>FS: "Oh my.." She looks from Pinkie to you and back.

>FS: "Oh well, I guess I could take you there, if you think that a map or a thorough description won't be enough.. or so."

>PP: "Awesome, thanks Flutters!" Pinkie hugs her.

>Pinkie walks back to you, while Fluttershy gets ready to leave.

>PP: "Here we go!"

 

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Thread #9

April 9

http://archive.heinessen.com/mlp/thread/S17193062

 

>Together with the ever-bouncing Pinkie Pie and the hesistantly smiling Fluttershy you start heading towards the Everfree Forest. Now at daytime, the first part of the way is much less creepy compared to the last time you came here. Fluttershy, who is leading the way, probably chose the most direct and least frightening path. You're following what seems to be small beaten track through the thicket, until the canopy gets denser and darker. It now looks more like the forest you were scavenging for food during your time in the Everfree Castle ruins, even though that's probably way off into another direction you can't remember.

>On your way, Pinkie bounces back and forth between you and Fluttershy, talking about all the new recipes she wants to try or commenting on the "funny looks" of the increasingly crooked and gnarled trees.

>Maybe just to keep herself from thinking about the dangers within the forest, Fluttershy turns around her head to you.

>FS: "So, uhm, you have met Zecora before?"

>You say yes. Since the reason you ended up in the Everfree Forest in the first place was something you'd rather leave behind you, you feel a bit uneasy talking about it. So you decide to keep it short and change the topic.

>You: "She helped me finding the way back and I didn't really have the opportunity to give her a proper thanks, I figured I'd do that before too much time passes. So.. thanks for showing us the way, Fluttershy. I guess I owe you some thank-you-cookies as well, haha.."

>FS: "Oh, well,.. you're welcome.. We're almost there." She seems relieved that the way there went smoothly without any unforseen encounters or incidents. Thinking about it, you have never seen anything bigger than a bird or a shrew during the entire time. Is this forest really that dangerous?

>Up ahead you see a gnarled tree, bigger than most of the other trees. It has a door and windows and some, well, tribal decorations.

>PP: "There we are!"

>The three of you walk up to the door. Pinkie gives you a nudge on the back and you knock.

>"Come in", you hear Zecora's voice calling from inside. You open the door and look around. The tree-hut's interior also looks very..  you decide to stick to "tribal".

>Zecora: "Welcome, my unexpected guests. What brings you here, if I may ask?" She has the same friendly, yet hard-to-read look on her face as the first time you met her. The zebra stands besides a huge cauldron in the middle of the room, stirring an unidentifiable, greenish brownish brew.

>You: "Hey.. uhm.. nice place you have here. We were just in the neighborhood and I thought I'd give you these..", you hold up the box with the cookies, "you know, as thanks. For helping me out the other day."

>PP: "Hi Zecora!"

>FS: ".. hello"

>She puts down the big ladle she's been using to stir the brew and takes the box.

>Zecora: "What a generous gesture, I thank you for this gift."

>You: "It's nothing. I hope you like them. It's Pinkie's recipe."

>PP: "Aw, don't be so humble, Anon.", she adds with a big grin.

>Zecora looks at the three of you with a content smile on her face. You can't shake the feeling that she's appears to be happier about the fact you didn't come here alone, running away once again, but in the company of these two.

>Z: "It pleases me to see, that you were willing to take my advice as much as these cookies will please my tummy."

>A bit of smalltalk ensues and shortly thereafter the three of you bid Zecora farewell and you leave her hut.

 

>PP: "I wonder what kind of soup she was cooking."

>FS: "I'm not entirely sure I want to know."

>PP: "Why not? It looked delicious!"

>Fluttershy shudders unnoticably, thinking about the brew.

>The three of you keep walking. The way from her cottage to Zecora's hut didn't really seem that terribly long. Definitely not as long as the way from the castle ruins back to Ponyville. You wonder how big this forest is. Pinkie tells you the story of these pretty blue flowers you've seen earlier, but through all the giggling and the fast pace of her story-telling, you have a hard time following. The Fluttershy suddenly stops so abruptly you almost bump into her.

>You: "What's wrong?"

>FS: "..d-did you hear that?"

>PP: "Hear what?"

>You look around and listen. Nothing out of the ordinary, just the regular sounds of the forest. Then you hear a snapping sound coming from behind some brushes to your left. This doesn't really sound like a shrew.

>FS: "Eeek"

>Fluttershy jumps backwards and hides behind Pinkie Pie.

>You try to pinpoint the exact location where that sound came from. Another rustling, this time from the other side. Fluttershy clings to Pinkie, who also looks rather concerned, while you place yourself in front of them, looking from the left to the right. You have a bad feeling about this. Another snapping sound comes from the left and you whirl around, while you see somthing jumping towards you. It's some kind of animal, about as big as the ponies. All you see are some contours and a pair of green glowing eyes. Instinctively you try to block the attack, but the force of impact is too much and you fall to the ground. You throw up your arms to keep that thing away, that's sitting on top of you now. It's a snarling and growling wolf, covered in sticks and leaves.

>You hear Fluttershy shriek.

>FS: "Timberwolves!"

>You try to get that beast off of you and while you struggle to keep those snapping jaws away from your face, you realize that it's not a wolf covered in twigs and sticks, but rather a wolf made entirely from twigs and sticks.

>You don't really feel like you want to end up as a snack for a bunch of twigs.

>Suddenly you hear Pinkie's voice, yelling in an unusually fierce tone

>PP: "Get off my friend, you fiend!"

>Pinkie jumps at the wolf, pulling away its head with her hooves. There is a nasty, cracking, snapping sound as the wolf and Pinkie roll off to the side and you realize that you're still holding on to one of its legs, basically nothing more than a big wooden club now. The wolf yowls and a second timberwolf jumps out of the thicket to the right side. You see the movement out of the corner of your eye and you swing the former wolf-leg right towards it. Fluttershy somehow manages to overcome her panicing petrification and jumps over to Pinkie, who is dealing with the three-legged wolf. Your swing misses the wolf and it sinks its teeth right into your satchel, giving you a second to take aim.

>Putting all your strength into it, you hit the wolf's head with a jab of the heavy wolf-leg. You hear a cracking sound and the wolf lets go of your satchel, jumping back a few feet, growling at you, while it slowly backs away. You risk a short glance over to Pinkie and Fluttershy, who still struggle with the other wolf. The other wolf has backed away far enough to give you a chance to help out the two ponies. You charge at the wolf, swinging your wooden club like a splitting axe top down onto its back. The wolf lets go of Pinkie and glares at you with its two green eyes.

>Even though it seems badly hurt and only has three legs left, it gets ready to jump at you. In the same moment, Fluttershy flies towards it from the side, eyes closed with a panicing shriek and tackles the wolf in the side. While this doesn't do much, it's enough to distract the wolf for a moment. Fluttershy jumps aside and you swing the leg like a baseball bat at full force.

>Fluttershy screams out. The club hits the wolf right in the head and with a satisfying crack it cartoonishly flies off its wooden neck and lands on the ground about one yard away. The wolf crumples and Pinkie lets out a cheer.

>PP: "Whohoo! Nice hit, Anon!"

>No sign of the second wolf as you turn around and with suddenly weak knees and pounding heart you let go of the wooden leg and crouch down to catch your breath.

>You: "Are you two alright?"

>Pinkie has a scratch on her foreleg and her mane is ruffled, but nothing serious from the looks of it.

>PP: "Uh-huh!"

>Fluttershy just lets out a whimper and nods, but she too looks mostly unharmed.

>You can still feel the adrenaline rushing through your veins, but you feel relieved.

>FS: "..W-we should go now. Maybe there's more around." She looks around frightened and you agree that it might be better to get out of the forest as soon as possible.

 

>It shouldn't be much longer until you're out of the Everfree Forest and so you don't waste any time and get going. Ten minutes later, there's still no sign of any more timberwolves and you look at the two ponies walking in front of you. If anything had happened to them, you feel like you would have been the one to blame. After all, the whole thing was your idea.

>You: "I.."

>Pinkie turns her head around to you, while keeping up her quick pace. You see an excited, but also happy sparkle in her eyes.

>You: "That was all my fault, I'm sorry."

>PP: "What do you mean, Anon?"

>Fluttershy also turns her head around while trotting onwards.

>You: "I shouldn't have asked you to come along. I mean, everyone kept telling me how dangerous this forest is, but still.. Aw man, I mean if anything would have happened.."

>PP: "Oh you silly, if you wanna blame anyone, blame those lumber-mutts!" She grins.

>FS: "Uhm.. it's okay. I mean, we knew that the Everfree Forest is very dangerous. It was our decision to come along." She pauses a bit and in a slightly softer voice she adds "..and uhm.. thank you for saving us from these beasts."

>PP: "Yeah, that was aaawesome, Anon. You really chopped them up good, haha!"

>You: "Well.." You can't wholly agree, since you probably wouldn't have made it alone and you still put them in danger.

>You: "..let's get home. I'm just glad you aren't hurt."

>The forest is already becoming lighter and a short walk later you're finally back in front of Fluttershy's cottage again.

 

>You once again apologize for putting everyone in danger and thank them for coming along. Right now, you just want to go home and maybe take a bath and eat something. It's already late afternoon and you haven't really eaten anything since breakfast.

>Fluttershy smiles faintly and says goodbye, visibly relieved to be back at home. Sugarcube Corner is on the way back to your house and so you walk Pinkie home, while she excitedly keeps talking about the fight against the timberwolves. You arrive at the back door of Sugarcube Corner.

>You: "And your leg is okay?"

>You point at the scratch on her leg.

>PP: "Haha, that's nothing, I had worse scratches from cooking spoons. And a rubber chicken. And I think also a sandwich." She giggles. "See you tomorrow, Anon!" Pinkie gives you a warm and tight hug. Ever so slightly longer than usual you think.

>PP: "You were really cool today!"

>You: "Well, you too Pinkie. Thanks."

>Pinkie waves goodbye as you turn around and head home. At home, you grab a bite to eat and fill the small tub in your bathroom. You're covered in dust and dirt. You lean back and enjoy the feeling of soaking in the hot water.

>What a day.

 

>Being so relaxed in the tub, you fall asleep and wake up a while later. It's already dark outside and you decide to go directly to bed. That way you might be able to get the two small holes in your bag repaired tomorrow before heading to work. It takes you a while to fall asleep and everytime you remember the wolves, a small rush of adrenaline keeps you awake.

>Eventually you manage to get some shut-eye though. You wake up the next morning. Interestingly enough, your body seems to have adjusted to a life without alarm clock and since you went to bed early the last few days, you always woke up in time so far.

>You have some breakfast and get ready to leave. You could kill for a big cup of Joe, but after a short walk through the fresh morning air, you feel awake enough to get through the day. With the satchel over your shoulder, you head to the market stall, where you bought the other day. The old earth pony greets you and you show him the bag and tell him the story.

>You: ".. so, that satchel might have already saved my life once now, haha."

>The vendor looks impressed and smiles. He says that it will just take an hour to fix and he also offers you to do it for free "in exchange for that thrilling story of yours". Work starts at noon, so you'll be able to pick the satchel up before then. You go on and stroll over the market. The delicious smell of fresh apple pie is in the air and even though you just had breakfast, you absolutely have to get one of these. You follow your nose and it leads you to the stall where you bought those delicious apples two days ago.

>Today it's not that big red stallion selling the apples and all the other apple-related products, but a young mare with orange coat, blonde mane and a hat.

>Sales-pony: "Howdy partner, anything I can getchya?"

>You point at the also very tasty looking apple-pies.

>You: "I'd like one of these. Man, they really do smell great."

>Sales-pony: "Haha, ain't that the truth. It's an old family recipe, the best apple pie aaall over Equestria."

>She starts wrapping up the pie.

>Sales-pony: "Say, you're that new guy in town everyone's been talkin' bout, aintcha?"

>You instantly feel a bit less comfortable. Sometimes you almost forget that you gotta stick out quite a lot around here.

>You: "Well, yeah, I guess."

>Sales-pony: "I see. Alright, that's three bits then, partner."

>You pay for the pie and already miss your satchel.

 

>You can't wait to eat that pie while it's still warm and so you take a bite - and you have no doubt that these really are the goddamn best apple pies all over Equestria. You take another bite and put the pie back into the bag. Then you walk straight back to the apple stall.

>You: "This pie is amazing. Apple pie is a big thing where I come from, but damn.. this is the best pie I ever had. I'll take one more, please."

>The sales-pony smirks.

>Pony: "Haha, told ya. Nothing better than Granny Smith's special family recipe."

>You: "Granny Smith? Aren't granny smith apples too sour for pie?"

>Pony: "Oh, no no, not the apple granny smith, the pony Granny Smith. She's mah granny, ya see?"

>You: "Oh." Figures.

>Pony: "One more apple pie, coming right up." She starts wrapping up another one.

>You: "Well, thanks then, erh, Miss Smith. Keep the change please." You put 5 bits on the counter.

>Pony: "Thanks, partner. Name's Applejack."

>You: "Ah, Apple Jack Smith?"

>Applejack laughs.

>Applejack: "Haha, nah, just Applejack, plain an' simple."

>You really don't get how these pony names work.

>You: "Oh, okay, got it. I'm Anon."

>Applejack hands you the second pie.

>You: "Alright thanks. I'll be back for more when I'm done with these, haha."

>Applejack: "Fine with me. Thanks for the tip and see ya around, partner."

>As you go, you take another bite of the pie. Just delicious.

 

>Well, the bag should be done by now. You head back to the old earth pony's stall.

>Sales-pony: "Ah, welcome back, lad. Almost done, just one more minute." You nod. As you look around the old pony's stall with all the tools and equipment, you wonder if you should get yourself another bag with stuff you could need in case of an emergency.

>The pony is done fixing your bag and smiles. "Anything else, lad?"

>There's still more than enough money left in your pouch and so you decide to just go for it. You tell him about your plan and he agrees.

>Sales-pony: "Good call, got a few emergency bags myself, y'never know when disaster strikes." He recommends a few things and a while later you leave with your satchel and a new emergency bag, filled with all kinds of useful tools and guides for almost every possible situation. The old pony gave you a big discount, but it still was a good heap of money you had to spend on it. At least you're now ready for almost anything, as long as you have that bag around. However, the emergency bag does not include a weapon. On one hand, because the old pony doesn't sell any - only a small versatile utility knife, comparable to a swiss army knife more or less, which you bought. On the other hand, you doubt that you can buy actual weapons just like that. And you don't even want to imagine how Twilight would react if she found out that this 'dangerous, irrational and confused individual' - as she called you not too long ago - managed to get ahold of a weapon.

>But maybe you can keep your eyes open for something else. A reinforced hiking pole for example. Well, still enough time to think about that later. You head over to Sugarcube Corner for another successful day at work.