- “Ow!”
- >”Hold still and you I wouldn’t poke you so much.”
- ”Yea, but I wouldn’t be in this damn predicament if you didn’t have a new idea every time you saw me.”
- >”Must you use barbaric words around me?” She levitates a pincushion near her. ”But it seems you are the bane to my fashion blocks.”
- “Ouch!” You rub your stomach. “Be careful, will you?”
- >She doesn’t respond but instead does a few more measurements with some pins added here and there.
- >”There! We are done now you whiner.”
- “Can I leave now? I was kinda on a mission before you forced me into your shop.”
- >”I’m sure you mission could wait for your new clothes.”
- “…no, not really” you mutter as you sit on her red couch.
- >”What was that dear?”
- “Nothing.”
- >She turns away. “Of course, but if you wouldn’t mind, would you help me move some boxes upstairs?”
- “Why? You’re a fuc-“ She looks over her shoulder as you clear your throat. “…A unicorn. What do you need my help for?”
- >”If you help me this time, I promise not to drag you back into my shop for a week.”
- “Oh wow! A WHOLE week! I am so lucky!”
- >”Cut the sarcasm.”
- You pick up a box full of fabric. “A week it is.”
- >”Right, follow me. I’ll show you where to put the boxes.”
- >You follow her up the stairs and she points to a closet.
- >You chuck the box in there and walk down stairs to pick a few more up.
- >After you threw the last box into the closet, you make your way back downstairs.
- “Okay! I’m done.”
- >”Great, so for one week, I won’t bug you.”
- “Sounds like a plan.”
- >”Wait, before you go, just one last thing!”
- You groan. “C’mon Rarity, I just need to go talk to Appl-“
- >She interrupts you. ”About what?”
- “Personal business.”
- >”Well…why can’t you tell me?”
- “Because this is family business.”
- >”But they are not your real fami-“
- >You don’t even bother to let her finish that sentence as you storm to the door.
- >She runs after you. ”Anonymous! What’s wrong?!”
- >Your only reply is a slammed door.
- >”W-was it something I said?” Rarity asks Opel.
- >Back to you.
- >A million thoughts run through your head as you quickly walk through town.
- “That’s the second time today someone’s asked me about my family.” You say through gritted teeth. “Why the hell does it matter if I’m not really an Apple?”
- You slow your pace. “And of all things, why did Rarity have to say that…”
- >You breathe out. You don’t even know why you are reacting like this. All the other times you would have simply brushed it off, but today, you don’t even know…
- >You breathe in, and then let it out with an audible ‘Haaaa.’
- “No sense in throwing wood into a fire.” You look at the town clock. It’s only two thirty.
- >Today is just going by slow for you.
- >Whatever, you decide to hold off on the question for AJ.
- >You decide to go down to the park to relax.
- >It’s probably the calmest place in town.
- >You begin your short walk to the park.
- >All the p0nies around you seem so much happier today.
- >Maybe it’s because of your few unfortunate conversations.
- >Hell, you did feel glum now.
- >But fuck that, you weren’t going to be miserable all day. Surely the park’s peaceful atmosphere will put an end to this negative thinking.
- >And what do you know. The second you smelled the water, your mind went blank. The sound of laughter was all around which put a smile on your face. Walking to a tree, you put your back to it and slid down, the cool grass tickling the palms of your hand as you brace yourself.
- >All thoughts of today were gone. This truly was a tranquil spot.
- >You tilt your head back and close your eyes.
- >”Hey Anon!”
- >Well, there goes that.
- >Your eyes shoot to where the sound came from.
- >What do you know; Scootaloo is staring at you with a smile on her face.
- “Hey Scoots. What’s new?” You tilt your head back against the tree.
- >”Not much, just riding around on my scooter, being awesome. You know the drill.”
- That catches your attention. “Being awesome eh? Why don’t you show me some of your skills?”
- >”You really want to see them?!” She seems surprised at that.
- “Hell yea I do!” You automatically disregard that she interrupted your peacefulness.
- >”Well alright then, you better put a pillow under your jaw, because this is going to be insane!” She says enthusiastically.
- >And true to her word, she did make your jaw drop.
- >You’ve never saw anyp0ny preform tricks that she managed to do.
- >The best one was probably when she did a flip and landed with a hoof stand while the scooter was still rolling.
- “Bravo Scootaloo, bravo!” You clap your hands.
- >”You really thought I was good!?”
- “I sure did! That was the best riding I’ve seen in a while!”
- >”Wow, thanks Anon! That means a lot!”
- You ruffle her mane, “I bet your parents are proud of you!”
- >You feel her twitch.
- >”Yea….” She says in a miserable tone but immediately perks up. “I’ll see you another time, Anon. Thanks again for watching me shred!”
- >With that, she shoots off, her little wings leaving the sound of buzzing.
- “I wonder what that was about…”
- >You being to ponder why she twitched and sounded so glum at the mention of parents.
- >Maybe her parents weren’t proud of her.
- >Her parents?
- >Matter of fact, you’ve never met her parents.
- >”Could it be that...” Your mind wanders to the possibility of her not having parents. “…Nahhh. I doubt that. They’re probably just busy all the time.”
- >You stand up and stretch.
- “Eh, maybe I’ll invite her and Sweetie Belle’s parents over to dinner or something.” You put a hand to your chin. “Yea…dinner sounds good. Plus we haven’t had guests over in a while.”
- >You decide to walk back to the stand and run the idea by AJ first.
- >”No.”
- “Wha? Why?!”
- >”Because we are going to be busy for the rest of the week.”
- “Don’t give me that crap. There’s a reason why we wake up at five every morning.”
- >”Do ya know what time of the year it is?”
- “Uhh… autumn?”
- >”Raght, and what comes during Autumn?”
- “Theeeeeee…running of the leaves?”
- >”No ya jug head! Cider season does!”
- >Oh man, you completely forgot about that.
- >”And you know how much all these p0nies complain when we run out.”
- >You remember last year’s cider season. You guys ran out even with the help of your friends. Apparently because of the year before that’s success in winning the competition with Flim and Flam caused p0nies to come from all over just to taste the famous Apple Family Cider.
- >”Anon!”
- “What! I was having a flashback!”
- >”Oh, sorry.”
- “Don’t sweat it. And you’re right; I really hate it when p0nies bitch about dumb stuff like that.” You point at her. “But still! I want to have a dinner with Apple bloom’s friends and their parents.”
- >”Ugh! Now be sensible, Anon!”
- “Okay, how about when Cider Season is done?”
- >”Now yer thinkin’ raght along my alley!”
- You pick up an apple and take a bite. “Yea, yea…”
- >”Ya gonna pay fer that Sugarcube?”
- “You serious?”
- >She only stares.
- “…no.” You run away.
- >You don’t get far as her rope wraps around you.
- “You know, this could have waited until we got home.” You say as she drags you back to the stand.
- >”Yea, but at home, you would actually fight back.” She gives you a noogie. “And I know ya won’t fight a mare in public.”
- >You grunt.
- >”That’ll be one bit.”
- “Untie me and I’ll hand you it.”
- >”Oh no, nu, nu, nu, nu, no. I ain’t fallin’ fer that one again.”
- “Well then. I guess I’ll just…FLEX MY WAY OUT!” You clench your butt cheeks together and flex with all you got.
- >P0nies stop and stare at you as you make a “HRRRRRRNNNNNNN” sound.
- >Applejack, standing next to you is blushing like crazy.
- >Time to pull out your trap card.
- You stop screaming. “This is only the first level!” You proceed to yell again.
- “HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
- >More p0nies gather around, curiously staring at the scene unfolding in front of them.
- “THIS IS MY SECOND LEVEL!” You stare at AJ. Her hat is hiding her face. “ARE YOU READY FOR THE NEXT?!”
- >Only one p0ny replies. “Sure.”
- “HAAAAAAA HA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!” Still being tied up, you roll around in the dirt. “LEND ME YOUR STRENGTH, EARTH! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-“
- >You’re cut off by a hoof upside the head.
- >”Alraght, alraght! Ah’ll untie you! Now shut yer trap before ya shit yerself!”
- “Thank you my dear Applejack.” You say with a ‘I won’ grin.
- >She catches it and whispers in your ear. ”But when we get home, you best start runnin’.”
- “Duly noted.” You say as you stand up, brushing yourself off.
- >The crowd disperses except for a few who wanted to buy apples.
- >Twilight being one of them.
- >”What was that all about?”
- “That was my escape plan.”
- >”And next time ya do it, Ah’m just going wait until ya soil yerself.”
- “No you won’t.” You grab her into a hug, rubbing your cheek on hers. “You love me too much.”
- >You can feel her trying to push away but soon gives up.
- >A p0ny walks up to purchase apples while you still have Applejack in your bear hug.
- >”Hey Anon, hey Applejack.”
- “Hello Turner, what can we get you today?”
- >”Let go a-me already.”
- You pet her mane. “Shh, shh. This’ll be all over soon.”
- >Time Turner laughs. “I’ll take a dozen apples, please.” He says tossing you twelve bits.
- You hand him four bits back. “We got a sale going on, twelve for eight.”
- >AJ takes the opportunity to push you away. You land on your back.
- >”He’s raght. Besides, yer gonna need those bits for Cider Season.” She says handing him a bag of apples.
- >”That’s right, I almost forgot about that! I guess I’ll see you two then. Well, you two have fun and take care.”
- “Yup, see you later turner.” You wave as he walks away.
- >AJ pushes you again. “Now that ya had yer fun, can ya stop embarrassing me now?”
- “Sure, why not?” You say as Twilight giggles.
- >Another p0ny walks up, taking AJ’s attention away from you.
- You look at Twilight. “What’s up?”
- >”Besides watching you and AJ go at it, not much.”
- “Oh…I’m guessing you want some apples too?”
- >”Mm hmm.”
- “How many?”
- >She levitates eight bits to you. ”I’ll take a dozen as well.”
- >You put the bits in AJ’s saddlebag. Then you scoop a bunch of apples into a bag, not bothering to count them.
- >You give the bag to Twilight. “Uhm, Anon?”
- “Huh.”
- >”There are more than twelve apples in here…”
- “Okay?”
- >”I only paid for twelve though.”
- “Think of it as a gift.”
- >”But I only paid for twelve, that’s not fair to other p0nies.”
- “Close friends get a great discount.”
- >”But…”
- “Are you really arguing with me over free apples?” You take the bag out of her magical grasp. “I guess I’ll just take out the rest then.”
- >”No, no, that won’t be necessary. I’ll give them to Spike.”
- “I thought so.” The both of you chuckle. “You have a nice day Twilight.”
- >”You two Anon. And try not to give your sister a hard time.”
- You laugh. “I won’t.” You watch as she walks away, the word ‘sister’ echoing through your head. You can only smile at that. Hell, it made your day predominantly better.
- >”Anon.”
- “What?”
- >”Can ya watch the stand fer me? I have to go to the restroom.”
- “Who’s going to steal your apples?”
- >“Could you, please?”
- “Of course I can.”
- >”Okay, thanks!” She trots off.
- >The second she leaves, Rarity walks up to the stand with Sweetie Belle.
- >She is surprised to see you running the stand.
- >Sweetie Belle Takes the initiative and breaks the silence. “Hello Anon!”
- “Sup Sweets, how’s your day been going?”
- >”It’s been going well. I was sleeping when you came over!”
- “Whaaa? Sleeping? It was like, two in the afternoon!”
- >”I was taking a nap!”
- You scoff. “Only fillies take naps.” You say teasingly.
- >”Not uh! Rarity takes naps all the time!”
- >You stare at Rarity for a split second.
- >Then you give her a smile.
- >She looks confused considering how you acted this morning.
- “That’s because she Is busy all day making dresses!” You lean over the counter and whisper in Sweeties ear. “And nagging.”
- >Sweetie Belle giggles.
- “So what can I do for you mares?”
- >Rarity speaks up. “Just two apples to snack on, please.”
- >You hand them the biggest ones you can find.
- >Rarity levitates the bits into your hand.
- “Alright then, have a nice day you two.”
- >Walking away, you try to get Sweeties attention.
- “Pssst!”
- >She immediately turns around and comes galloping to you.
- “Hey, I forgot to tell you but, we’re going to be having a dinner at our place in a week. You, Apple Bloom, and Scoots will all bring your family. We’ll have a nice big dinner.” You hand her the two bits Rarity gave you. “And you can keep these; the apples are on the house.” You give her a wink.
- >She nods and runs back to Rarity.
- “Cute kid.” You say to yourself as you shine some apples.
- >You get bored after nop0ny shows up for a bit, so you decide to write a note.
- >A few minutes later and you look at your masterpiece.
- >You fold it up and put it under the stand, smiling to yourself.
- >Five minutes later and AJ comes running back.
- “What the hell took you so long?”
- >”That’s none of yer business.”
- “Were you taking a shit?”
- >”No!”
- “Yea right, I bet you got the hershey squirts from drinking the prune juice this morning.”
- >Her cheeks rose up. “Will ya quit it!”
- “Yea, yea. I’m going to head back home. Want me to bring anything back with me?”
- >”Nah, ah’m good.”
- “Alright then, I’ll see you back at the farm.” You say walking away.
- >She waves at you, “And ah wasn’t pooping! Ah was visiting Rainbow!”
- “Sure! Whatever you say~!”
- >AJ only shakes her head, a smile plastered on her face.
- >”That goofy guy…” Her hoof touches the paper. “What in tarnation?”
- >She unfolds it.
- ‘Dear Princess Celestia,
- Anon is greater than Applejack. The end.
- The only human you know,
- Anon.
- P.S. You know it’s true AJ. Love ya and see you when you get home Applebutt.’
- >She smiles. “That’s my brother fer ya.” She tucks the paper into her saddle bag and waits for the next customer.
- >A bit happier.

