- >Long winding roads
 - >These had become your best friends for the last few days
 - >You were thrown out of your apartment not a couple of days ago
 - >Weren't keeping up with rent
 - >Now you were heading to the next town to move into an even pokier, littler apartment
 - >The solitude and quiet was nice though and sleeping under the stars was alright
 - >Tonight was not a nice night to be sleeping under the stars however
 - >Tonight the heavens had decided to drop the ocean from the sky and to rattle your bones with it's thunder and lightning
 - >Tonight was not going to be comfortable
 - >You decide to take a short walk from the road into the close by trees where the heavy rain would not be as punishing
 - >A while into your forest trek you find an especially thick leaved oak under which to rest
 - >Your small case of luggage was drenched through but it would still serve as a decent enough pillow
 - >The bellowing sky and unrelenting rain would only keep you awake for a while
 - >You were exhausted from the days travels
 - >As your eyelids grew heavy thoughts of home and what your life had become swilled in your mind
 - >Thoughts of having nothing but what you could carry
 - >Thoughts of being alienated from family and friends through sheer circumstance
 - >Flutters of emotion shoot through you but you quickly think of something else
 - >Maybe this new town would be alright
 - >The people there seem alright
 - >Although having not seen the place before you put down a deposit you decide to withhold judgement
 - >Thoughts of the days travel whimsically cycle through your head, your aching legs enjoying their rest
 - >As your eyelids meet for the final time before sleep over takes you, a blinding flash eclipses the night
 - >You pass out. . ..
 - >You awake with a start
 - >You become totally aware immediately
 - >The thunder seems to have become more thunderous, the lightning even brighter
 - >Your heart sinks as your case of belongings is missing
 - >Your head is now resting on a tree root
 - >You stand abruptly and look around
 - >You don't recognise where you are from last night
 - >Rows of trees thrash in the wind as far as you can see
 - >In the distance you see the silhouette of a house and what seems to be a barn
 - >You decide to make a break for it, unsure of whether or not you would survive the night outside
 - >As you run towards the distant shadow you become aware of small fruits littering the ground
 - >This only serves to slow you
 - >If you twist your ankle on one of these fruits it is not going to be a pleasant experience
 - >You reach the porch of this small house and jump up the small steps,
 - >You knock on the small, solid oaken door lightly at first
 - >No answer
 - >You knock harder hoping the sleeping people inside would be understanding to being woken up
 - >No answer
 - >You give the door a final pound and a final wait for a minute before resigning yourself to the barn
 - >You jump down the small porch steps and sprint to the barn
 - >You push open the barn door and step inside
 - >The wind and rain finally gone brings you great relief
 - >You fall asleep in your wet clothes on a mound of a straw in the corner, unsure of how the owners would react to such an intrusion
 - >It'd be worth it either way
 - >Oh god the sun
 - >Shining directly into your eyes
 - >God damn it
 - >You bring up your hand to shield your eyes but it's too late
 - >Now you're awake
 - >You realise suddenly where you are
 - >You don't know anything about where you are other than in a barn on some kind of tree farm
 - >What the hell is a tree farm
 - >No its an orchard
 - >You can't think of a single orchard near where you were
 - >You stand and stretch, small pieces of straw stick to your clothes and hair
 - >As you brush yourself down you realise this is some of the softest straw you have ever felt
 - >And your clothes are pretty much dry
 - >This day might be alright in the end
 - >You walk up to the barn door and push it open a very tiny amount
 - >So small was the amount it could have easily been the wind
 - >As you look through the gap you see two multicoloured ponies standing outside
 - >A small red horse and an even smaller orange horse
 - >Talking to each other
 - >Wait a minute
 - >The shock of this was eclipsed by the panic of them heading towards you
 - >In your panic you run to the back of the barn and cover yourself in the huge pile of straw
 - >You are pretty sure you are hidden
 - >As they walk in you begin to breathe as quietly as you can with eyes shut tight and hoping over all hopes you are not seen
 - >Your straw camouflage seems to have worked and you catch a part of their conversation
 - >”Well ah heard somethin banging on our door mighty fierce last night,”
 - >This sounded like a male voice with a southern drawl, seems to have come from the larger red one
 - >”Just be sure to be careful out and about then with a monster like that on tha loose,”
 - >The smaller orange one replied in a similar drawl
 - >Wait a sec
 - >Were they talking about me?
 - >I'm a monster here?
 - >Where the hell was I that there are miniature talking horses that fear humans?
 - >They seemed only come in to grab some of the baskets laying around and promptly left
 - >You decide to stay hidden and gather your thoughts
 - >You can't afford to be seen until you can show you're not a monster
 - >You ponder for a moment about whether this is rational
 - >Yeh, can't afford to fuck it up with these things
 - >if they've never seen a human I can't afford to scare them
 - >And if they are tetchy enough that they brand me a monster just by me banging on their door then I will have to show my good intentions
 - >Or just get out of here
 - >You stand from the pile of straw, sure that they have left
 - >The barn door was open but they seemed to have gone deeper into the orchard
 - >You look outside and in the distance you see an orange horse kicking trees
 - >The apples fall from the trees neatly into baskets placed at their foot
 - >When she bucks a tree with no baskets underneath a tiny yellow horse that could have been no more than 3 feet tall runs around catching them in a little basket on her back and runs back into a cellar
 - >The orange one seemed to have a hair band towards the end of her blonde mane
 - >The yellow one a bow
 - >After considering the logistics of this for a while you decide to not think on it any more as the only explanation you can come up with is “it must have been magic,”
 - >Terrible
 - >The more you watch the more it becomes apparent that this is an apple orchard
 - >With the biggest apples you've ever seen
 - >The two ponies out collecting seemed to be close with each other
 - >They seem to be pretty similar to people in how they act with one another
 - >This was a good sign for you
 - >After watching the ponies for a while your thoughts turn to the time of day
 - >It had to be past noon and it was about time you got something to eat
 - >Luckily you were on what appeared to be an apple orchard
 - >You had lost sight of the two ponies in the distance and the large red one was nowhere to be seen
 - >You decide to chance it and walk outside and over to one of the trees
 - >As you arrive at a tree you easily reach up and pluck an apple down
 - >It is easily the size of your fists
 - >You take a bite and the juice of it flows down either side of your mouth
 - >Dayem
 - >For an apple this aint too bad
 - >For an apple
 - >A dusty path running down the centre of the orchard catches your eye
 - >You decide to follow it, there must be a town or something at the end
 - >Although you could be going deeper into the orchard
 - >That road you came off must be near here
 - >You couldn't have gone too far away from it
 - >You're sure of it
 - >For what seemed like an hour you followed the path
 - >As darkness began to take hold of the day you almost give up on your search
 - >Suddenly and all at once you notice a town in the distance
 - >Happiness overwhelms you and you break into a run
 - >You hadn't had a drink all day and someone had to be willing to give free water out
 - >Someone was always willing to give free water out
 - >As the town comes into sharper focus your run turns into a sprint
 - >As you got closer you noticed only the short houses
 - >The town also seemed to be deserted
 - >You spot a single purple pony just walking out of a large tree
 - >It freezes
 - >You freeze too
 - >The horn on it's head begins to glow and it looks like it's straining
 - >You feel a slight tingle run through your body and the pony seems almost shocked
 - >It quickly regains composure and begins to charge you
 - >Another pony spots you and begins to hysterically scream and run away
 - “Ah! No! I'm not here to-”
 - >You shout after it
 - >Panic quickly spreads through the town
 - >A blue flash briefly enters your field of vision and knocks into your front
 - >You put a foot back and accept the blow without too much of a problem
 - >You lose track of it from then on, it seemed to fly up
 - >The purple pony begins to reach you
 - >You act on instinct and begin to run
 - >Run back to the orchard
 - >As you run you pass the tiny yellow pony from the orchard
 - >”Hey! Where are ya runnin off too?!”
 - >You pay no attention and continue to run
 - >Your muscles are aching
 - >You're thirsty
 - >You're alone
 - >You don't know where you are
 - >Everyone around you thinks you're a monster
 - >. . .
 - >Damn
 - ------------------------
 - >You're back in the barn
 - >After another rough night of sleep on some straw you decide today was the day
 - >The day for what exactly wasn't clear but you certainly had the motivation to do something
 - >Talking ponies?
 - >Attacked when you walk into a town?
 - >Where are the god damn other people
 - >If only I could see a friendly human face
 - >Or even an angry one
 - >Just need to find out what's going on here
 - >Ok, pull yourself together, we can get through this
 - >Wallowing in self pity is not going to help anyone
 - >You get up and shake off the straw from your bed
 - >Your legs are feeling fine
 - >Wow thanks body
 - >You approach the barn door and timidly push it ajar
 - >You peak outside
 - >Immediately the shortest yellow pony locks her eyes with yours
 - >The orange pony with her back to you doesn't seem to notice and the short yellow one doesn't seem to make a fuss about you being in there
 - >You back away from the barn door, your heart thumping out of your chest
 - >If you are found out you'll have to run
 - >It's too early for them to know
 - >They are so afraid of you
 - >There are potentially hundreds of them
 - >as weak as they seem to be on their own you dont' think could take them all
 - >Could you?
 - >Ok she didn't seem to freak so just relax
 - >We'll just get back in the straw pile and wait it out
 - >After a few moments the barn door is pushed open and a creak echo’s around the barn
 - >”Hey Mr! Are ya in here still?”
 - >Your heart pushes against your chest like you've never felt before
 - >”I'm not gonna tell on you! I just wanna talk with you!”
 - >She just wants to talk?
 - >You shuffle a little before rising from you pile of straw
 - >As soon as she sees you skips over
 - >”Hey there! I'm Applebloom! Who are you?”
 - >She smiled widely and looked up at you with the largest eyes you'd ever seen
 - “Well erm, I'm Anon. Why aren't you scared of me?”
 - >”Why would I be scared of you? What kind of creature are you?”
 - >You begin to relax as this young pony began to torrent you with questions about who you were and the such
 - “Well I'm a human, what are y-,”
 - >She cut you off
 - >“WOW! where do humans come from, I've never even heard of them before?!”
 - “We come from all around, should be towns of them nearby. What are you?”
 - >”I'm a little pony just like my sister who you saw an I live with my brother and granny-”
 - >Her speech is filtered out as you begin to consider the implications of talking ponies
 - >How could this be, you've never heard of anything like this
 - >You were always pretty sure Humans were the only ones who could speak English too
 - >”Hey mister,”
 - >There is no way!
 - >This would be all over the news for sure
 - >”Hey mister!”
 - >Maybe you'd just stumbled upon their community that everyone had just missed
 - >”Heeeeyyyy!”
 - >This brought you sharply back into here and now
 - “Sorry Appleblossom. I just drifted away there for a moment, what were you saying?
 - >”No silly, I'm Applebloom.”
 - >She seemed indignant about that last one
 - >”I have tah go now anyway, mah sister is calling me for dinner, but it's OK if you stay here for the night!”
 - >A faint call of Applebloom could be heard on the wind
 - “Well thats very kind of you little one.”
 - >It was so welcomed after so much hostility
 - >”Be careful tommorow too cause we're harvesting the fields near this barn and Applejack an Big Mac might come an find shade in here,”
 - “Thanks for the heads up Applebloom.”
 - >”See ya later then!”
 - >She happily skips out of the huge barn double doors leaving a smile on your face
 - >Maybe these pony folk are alright after all
 - >Hope she can keep her mouth shut
 - >You strongly doubt it
 - >The sun is touching the horizon
 - >You'd spent the last hours of the day lazing on your pile of straw
 - >It really was a comfortable pile of straw
 - >You decide you've had enough rest and jump up feeling refreshed
 - >Appleblooms kindness today has really struck a chord with you
 - >You feel like you need to pay her back for at least trying to see who or more accurately what you were
 - >You step outside and stretch taking in a full breath of the crisp nights air
 - >You had taken a couple of baskets out with you
 - >If that 4ft tall girl pony can knock apples out of these trees then tall ass you should sure as hell be able to
 - >You walk up to the most bottom right appletree and take a look at it
 - >The apples grow in about three groups on the tree
 - >Seems like no problem to guess where the baskets need to be placed
 - >After throwing down the baskets in roughly what you think the right place should be you give the tree a good hard stamp to the trunk
 - >A few apples fall out and neatly into the basket
 - >These apple trees are not like ones at home that's for sure
 - >A second kick saw the tree stripped of it apples and three filled baskets
 - >They weren't too heavy either
 - >You've gotten the hang of harvesting apples pretty sharpish
 - >You've done maybe three quarters of a field
 - >Spreading the baskets out could be done super quick
 - >Then just walking round stamping trees as hard as you could
 - >No problem
 - >It was cathartic after yesterdays events
 - >Carrying back the baskets was no problem either as you could easily carry a few stacked up
 - >You stacked them all up by the cellar
 - >You'd done easily a hundred baskets
 - >Seems like you're Mr. Efficiency when it comes to harvesting apple trees
 - >You retreat back to the barn and find comfort in your straw pile having decided you've done more than enough for tonight
 - >You decided that you needed to befriend these ponies
 - >This was a strange land and clearly they are the dominant ones here
 - >You'd probably need them to get back to see other people
 - >Other people
 - >You let out a longing sigh at this notion
 - >It had only been a couple of days but
 - >You were feeling it
 - ------------------------
 - >You awaken to the sound of shouting
 - >Distant shouting
 - >Happy shouting
 - >You can easily make out bits and pieces through your groggy haze
 - >”Big Mac! Granny Smith! Come out here! Somethin wonderful has happened!”
 - >Yea
 - >They've definitely found it
 - >Maybe you should show yourself now and say it was you
 - >Might not come across how you intend
 - >Better to just tell the little Applebloom you did it
 - >”By Celestia!”
 - >This was a more elderly voice than the last
 - >You swear Applebloom mentioned who this was
 - >You've forgotten
 - >Applejack even just shouted it as well
 - >This could be god damn vital information
 - >Must remember to ask her if she comes again
 - >At least you remembered Applejack
 - >They had started talking to each other too quietly for you to hear from so far away
 - >They're probably speculating on what act of god caused this
 - >Maybe this Celestia the elderly one wheezed about
 - >Must ask Applebloom
 - >They continued to talk and began to walk towards you
 - >You could hear the ponies approaching
 - >Their loud hoofsteps against the dry mud allow you to easily echo locate them
 - >You bury yourself like a crab in sand in your pile of straw
 - >As they open the barn door your heart beats heavily in your chest
 - >Not as much as last time though
 - >Your pile of straw is serving you well
 - >Maybe you should name it
 - >. . .
 - >Maybe not
 - >Their conversation had seemed to have ended before they arrived and they'd left
 - >They had grabbed a few stacks of baskets from within your squat
 - >Seems like Applebloom hadn't snitched you out
 - >You stand out of your straw and it tumbles off of you
 - >”Hey!”
 - “Jesus Christ!”
 - >You exclaim and jump backwards banging your head on a low beam
 - >You furiously rub the impact point on your head
 - >Your face is tensed into a grimace
 - >“Sorry to make ya jump there Anon, hows it going?”
 - >Your head feels like it's going to split
 - >You consciously soften your grimace upon seeing her beaming up at you
 - “I'm alright, hows it going for you?”
 - >”I'm good. Applejack let me have the day off my chores!”
 - “And I'm glad to hear it. Applebloom, is it alright if I ask you some questions about this place?”
 - >”Sure Anon, what do ya wanna know?”
 - >She looked up to you smiling still
 - >The pain in your head swiftly dissipates
 - >She seemed to trust you not to attack her or similar
 - >You kinda trusted her to keep this all a secret too
 - “So what's the deal with this whole place,”
 - >Off to a flying start there, thanks for that one brain
 - >”What do ya mean anon?”
 - “Hmm How about, who is this Celestia?”
 - >Your talks went on for a while
 - >She tells you of how the sun and the moon are risen by a pair of princesses
 - >The local town is called Ponyville and is inhabited by an array of brightly coloured ponies who can either fly, use magic or can't do either
 - >Can't do either, she was one of them
 - >Sucks for her
 - >The capital seems to be Canterlot, where the princesses rule from
 - >Tales of far away lands filled with dragons, griffins, talking buffalo and huge Ursa creatures
 - >Seriously where the hell were you? You'd never heard of any of this
 - >Equestria
 - >Did no one seriously know about this place?
 - >Maybe I died in that storm and this is heaven
 - >Or hell
 - >Feint shouts of “Applebloom,” could be heard from the distance
 - >Your conversation had seemed to stretch hours
 - >”Well Anon I have ta go now for dinner.”
 - >She seemed almost sad
 - >You kinda were too
 - >Ah well she'll come tomorrow
 - “Cool, I'll see you later Applebloom, and please keep me a secret. yeh?”
 - >”No worries Anon, I know how they can get with ponies they don't recognise,”
 - >She gave you a brief hug before skipping out the door
 - “Sweet, see ya round then,”
 - >She was gone before you'd finished
 - >Of all the people you'd ever met
 - >It was this pony foal who'd shown you the most compassion
 - >She didn't care how alien you seemed
 - >She was fascinated
 - >You laid back on your faithful straw and considered your chat with Applebloom
 - >Night loomed
 - >No doubt brought on by “Princess Luna.”
 - >They were sincerely indoctrinated
 - >Although if there are “unicorns,” who can use “magic,” maybe it's all true
 - >She is pretty young though maybe she's making it up
 - >I mean, tiny ponies who have a horn on their head and can use magic
 - >Sure thing buddy
 - >It's all the info you have though and you're going to have to be even more wary
 - >You can't use magic
 - >That purple one the other day seemed pretty shocked after her horn started glowing
 - >Her “spell,” must have failed
 - >Maybe she's a terrible pony wizard
 - >Enough of this
 - >Your day wasn't over
 - >You had resolved to do another section of a field
 - >Your work went quickly
 - >It had struck you at some point that you never mentioned to Applebloom who did the work last night
 - >Shit, that was your whole plan
 - >As you stomped trees and carried baskets you hoped this would work
 - >You were becoming more resigned to never seeing another human
 - >Your only solace was Applebloom
 - >A tiny Red haired, yellow furred pony filly
 - >She had called herself a filly as if being called a foal was like calling her a baby
 - >You smiled at this and your mind drifted back to thoughts of home
 - >You hadn't even seen your home and you longed for it
 - >You piled up the last basket outside the cellar in the same place you had last night
 - >About a hundred baskets of apples stacked up
 - >You take a deep breath in and look up to the sky, the smell of the apples caressing your sense of smell
 - >You can see the moon high in the sky
 - >It's huge and the sky is crystal clear of clouds
 - >The stars seem to gaze back
 - >Whoever this Luna is they know how to punch you straight in the beauty bone that's for sure
 - >As you reach the door of your hidey hole you pause and take one final drink of the vista
 - >You step in and lie on your bed
 - >You'll tell Applebloom it was you who did the work, she'll tell Applejack and they'll accept you and let you know how to get where you want to be
 - >Tommorow'll be alright
 - ------------------------
 - >Two days had passed since your last encounter with Applebloom
 - >Why she'd stopped visiting you plagued your mind over the last day
 - >She probably thinks you've left or something
 - >Naa
 - >She has no reason to think that
 - >You whiled away the previous days working on straw dolls and at night collecting apples
 - >Most of your straw dolls had failed but one of them came out pretty good
 - >You'd named your good one Dolly, daughter of the straw pile
 - >Shed vowed vengeance on you for mutilating her father in order to create her
 - >It had been a boring couple of days
 - >The nightly exercise always came welcomed with open arms
 - >Doing this for Applejack and Applebloom felt pretty good
 - >Applejack might know you were doing it but she always seemed happy about it
 - >As did the rest of her kin
 - >The dawn of the third day with no Applebloom
 - >The sun is at it's highest point in the sky relentlessly heating the interior of your barn come hovel
 - >She'd have to come today
 - >She'd said she'd see me later
 - >She wasn't a liar that's for sure
 - >Wait a minute you barely know this Appleblo-
 - >”Anon you still in here?”
 - >You resist jumping from your straw cocoon out of sheer excitement and rise instead at what you think is a pretty normal pace
 - >You're happy to see Applebloom but you are met with the gawking faces of two other tiny ponies
 - >An orange one and a white one
 - >The orange one stares with a frown and the white stares with shock and anticipation
 - “Applebloom what is go-,”
 - >“Hey Anon these are my friends!”
 - >”This is Scootaloo!”
 - >She gestures to the orange frowny one
 - >”And this is Sweetybelle!”
 - >She gestures to the white one
 - “Applebloom are you sure this is a good idea, won't you guys get in trouble for consorting with something like me?”
 - >”Naaaa,”
 - >They chirped in unison
 - >A small silence filled the room.
 - >You thinking on the implications of this
 - >Them thinking on the creature that stood before them
 - >”So this is the monster you told us about!”
 - >That stung a bit but alright
 - >”Yeh isn't he neat!”
 - >”He's so tall!”
 - >”Yeh look at his hooves! They're all fleshy!”
 - >Scootaloo and Sweetybelle were sure to point out each difference from your hairlessness to your height to how small your eyes are
 - >”Hey Mr. Anon! Wanna come and play with us?”
 - >Applebloom interrupts them, seeing the barrage of comparisons obviously getting to you a bit
 - >Going and playing out with them
 - >You shouldn't really
 - >What would a passing pony think?
 - >Probably that you're attacking again
 - >Damn ponies
 - >But it sure would be a welcome break from the monotony of your burrow
 - ”Yeh sure, what do you have in mind little one?”
 - >Little one?
 - >Since when did you talk like that?
 - >”Wanna come to our Treehouse!?”
 - >They chirped in unison a second time
 - “Alright lets do it.”
 - >You begin to head off but you remember something
 - “Ah wait a sec I made you something,”
 - >You pull out Dolly, Daughter of the Straw Pile from your pocket and hand it to applebloom
 - >She seemed pleased with your meagre gift
 - >You were sincerely enthusiastic about going to their little tree-house
 - >The tedium of hiding in the pile of straw was fast becoming a part of your every day grind
 - >You swiftly reach the tree-house
 - >It wasn't far from the borders off the apple orchard and the three little ones were sure to tug at your jeans and head butt you along
 - >Now you were here, what were they going to have you do?
 - >You've never played with human kids before, let alone tiny pony foals
 - >Fillies even
 - >Were they going to have you hop scotch with them?
 - >That's got to be quite the sight seeing a pony hop scotch
 - >”So Mr. Anon, wadda ya think?”
 - >She gestured to their tree-house
 - >It was actually pretty good
 - >It fitted like a glove to the tree it was built around
 - >As if the tree had just grown it
 - >A neat little ramp led up to the small entrance of the house
 - “Wow that's a nice tree-house that's for sure,”
 - >You could not have sounded any more sarcastic
 - >”It's our cutie mark crusader hide out and we are,”
 - >They exchange knowing looks
 - >They get into an action pose
 - “The Cutie Mark Crusaders!”
 - >You smile as they hold their obviously well practiced pose
 - >Their camaraderie was totally endearing
 - >You remembered all about the concept of cutie marks from your long talk with Applebloom
 - >”So Mr. what do you wanna do?”
 - >Applebloom asked all the questions
 - >You guess the other two hadn't warmed up to you yet
 - >or maybe she is just the natural leader
 - >Difficult to tell it surely was
 - “Do you guys play catch at all?”
 - >Ridiculous
 - >Of course they didn't how would they catch
 - >”We sure do!”
 - >Scootaloo runs in to the tree-house to fetch a ball
 - >Like lightning she comes out with a with a small ball and placed it at your foot
 - >You hoped this wouldn't turn in to a game of fetch
 - >It was pretty similar to a cricket ball in size and shape as you felt it in your hand
 - >You shout
 - “Go long!”
 - >The fillies exchange looks of confusion
 - >Your piston like arm fires the ball into orbit
 - >You'd severely under estimated your ball throwing abilities
 - >It sails into the distance
 - >They exchange another look of excitement before shouting
 - >”Cutie mark crusader ball finders!”
 - >They happily scamper of into the scarce nearby apple trees
 - >You let out a sigh of relief they aren't mad
 - >You stand about waiting for them to come back
 - >Minutes pass and against your better judgement you decide to check out the tree house
 - >And we take a few steps up the ramp
 - >Your foot goes nicely smashing through and makes an enormous hole
 - >This causes you to fall forwards
 - >Your reach your arms out in front of you to protect your face
 - >This causes only more shattering of the ramp
 - >With the ramp in total disarray you roll away from the wreckage and get up
 - >Fuck, they won't be able to get back up there after you've smashed everything up
 - >This is not good
 - >The ramp was obviously not designed for a big oaf like you
 - >You hear a rustling in some nearby long grass
 - >”Hey Mr. Anon! We found th-”
 - >The three of them stand in shock as they see what you've done
 - >You stand in shock at their stance of shock
 - >Scootaloo is the first to step forwards
 - >”Hey you broke our treehouse!”
 - “Err, well, you see-”
 - >Sweetybelle cuts you off
 - >”We're gonna have to rebuild the whole ramp now!”
 - >Applebloom seems to know it was an accident but is still not happy
 - >”Anon I think you should go back, it's getting dark now anyway,”
 - “Come on Applebloom, you know I didn't mean to.”
 - >”I'll come and talk tomorrow but for now I'll have ta talk to these two.”
 - >You understand
 - >You'd just smashed part of something they were clearly proud of
 - >You let out a pained sigh and begin walking back to your den
 - >On the way back you see the little straw doll you'd made for Applebloom tossed to the side of the road
 - >Heh
 - >You leave her there and walk back to your squat
 - >You'd gotten caught up in the day so much you'd still not told Applebloom about the night harvesting
 - >Surely she'd work out it was you and tell the others of her own volition
 - >Night rolls around again and you dutifully harvest as many apples as you can
 - >Taking only a few to eat
 - >As you cover yourself in your straw to rest for the night
 - >You hear in the distance
 - >A cacophony of shouting
 - >Quiet at first. . .
 - ------------------------
 - >You brush off the sounds as some kind of local tradition
 - >It gets louder and more pronounced as it goes on
 - >You hear the sound of horse shoes on mud get closer
 - >It sounds like a group of them were coming towards your hiding place
 - >Every drop of adrenaline your body has is ejected into your bloodstream
 - >Your heart is beating like it's never beat before
 - >Fight or flight
 - >Fight or flight
 - >The barn door is loudly kicked open
 - >You try to scramble up
 - >You shield your eyes
 - >One of the ponies produced a blinding flash as the door was breached
 - >You back away
 - >You're unable to see your aggressors
 - >As your pupils recover from the shock of the flash and you begin to make out the colours of various ponies
 - >White, purple, blue, pink and yellow
 - >They all seem angry with you
 - >Especially the white one
 - >Especially Applejack
 - “No! Stop! I'm not a thr-,”
 - >You are charged by the blue pegasus
 - >You absorb the blow with your stomach
 - >This winds you and causes you to stumble backwards
 - >You gently divert the blue pegasus into your soft straw
 - >While you do this you feel a tingle flow through your body
 - >The same feeling from the town
 - >Applejack begins whirling her lasso above her head
 - >She attempts to toss it over you but you easily side step it
 - >She begins reeling up her rope
 - >You glanced towards the purple and white pony
 - >They seem to be concentrating pretty hard
 - >Their horns glowing brightly
 - >Their spells must be failing
 - >The tingling continues
 - >The blue one had flown up to the rafters and seemed to be readying herself for another charge
 - >This was too much
 - >Every muscle in your body was telling you to run
 - >You'd not listened for long enough
 - >A second dump of adrenaline coursed through every fibre of your being
 - >And you were off
 - >You charge towards the barn door hoping they would clear out of the way
 - >They do
 - >Applejack trips you over as you pass her
 - >You fall into the ground at running pace
 - >The dust flies up into your face
 - >You cough as you breath some in
 - >You can feel your shirt is torn down the side
 - >You scramble up as quickly as you fell and begin to run
 - >You run towards the edge of the orchard as fast as you can
 - >You easily out pace the ponies
 - >Your legs are as long as they are tall
 - >But can hear them following you
 - >You just run
 - >And run
 - >You reach the edge of the orchard
 - >You pause to think for a moment
 - >Only the criminals ever run
 - >This could be it
 - >Ah fuck it
 - >You'll find a way to make it right
 - >But they don't want to hear it
 - >They obviously don't want to hear it
 - >You take a look back and see the ponies catching up
 - >They seem to be running out of steam
 - >You take this as a chance to keep going
 - >Just keeping putting one foot in front of the other
 - >The light of the moon was eventually blotted out by the leaves of trees
 - >You had run into a thick forest
 - >The path dissipated under your feet and as you looked around there was only darkness
 - >You look back and the path was gone
 - >You can make out a fallen log not far away
 - >You sit and gather your thoughts
 - >Clearly these ponies did not want to be friends with something like you
 - >You really do need them to get back though
 - >You know nothing of this place
 - >Was this to be your fate
 - >A monster of the forest
 - >Heh maybe it wouldn't be so bad
 - >”Help!”
 - >You hear a loud distant scream
 - >You recognised the screamer
 - >It sounded like little Applebloom
 - >She came after you
 - >You were exhausted but you had to go and help her
 - >You had no idea about the fauna of this place
 - >You could be running into anything
 - >You reach a small clearing
 - >The glow of the moon illuminates a frightened Applebloom
 - >She was surrounded by a pack of wolves
 - >These were none like those you had seen back home
 - >They seemed to be made of the very trees they prowled
 - >You step forwards out of the darkness into the clearing
 - >Applebloom looks up at you, pleading for help with her eyes
 - >Your lungs are on fire
 - >Your legs want to give up
 - >Your brain is telling you to quit
 - >Telling you to quit now
 - >But you won't
 - >No matter what her friends and family may have done you weren't gonna let Applebloom get hurt today
 - >The wolves all turn immediately to you and begin to surround you
 - >A couple you hadn't seen noticed creep forth from the shadows behind you
 - “Applebloom run! Run home a don't look back!”
 - >She paused for a moment as if to say something
 - “Go!”
 - >You see tears well up in her eyes and she turns
 - >As she begins to run a moment of total clarity overcomes you
 - >For just a moment you see
 - >For just a moment you notice everything
 - >You notice every falling leaf and how it dances with the wind
 - >The way the moonlight flows through every hair on each wolves back
 - >You look to the sky
 - >Damn
 - >Luna certainly knows what she's doing
 - >You look forwards and in almost slow motion you see the largest of the wolves pounce
 - >You glimpse and see Applebloom safely getting away
 - >She hasn't looked back
 - >Good girl
 - >You close your eyes