Title:           AlaskanAnon in equestria ch. 4
Author:          CuriousAnon
Pastebin link:   http://pastebin.com/WJ6Xm6dN
First Edit:      Friday 24th of August 2012 02:19:59 AM CDT
Last Edit:       Friday 24th of August 2012 02:19:59 AM CDT

>A dull glow smashes into your eyelids like a freight train
>Dragging you kicking and screaming from unconsciousness
>You crack your eyes open
>And immediately shut them
>From the brief glimpse you got, the source of your torment is an unshaded window
>There was something you had to do today
>Something important
>What it is you have no idea, but maybe after you get up it'll come to you
>You yawn and stretch your arms out
>At least the bed feels good, if a bit short
>The sheets are nice and soft
>And so is the warm, furry body lying in the curve of your own
>You wrap your arms back around it, and it sighs happily
>Then it nuzzles your hand
>Spooning with a p0ny...
>Wait a minute
>Something isn't right here
>Aren't you staying at AppleJack's?
>Suddenly, everything comes back to you
>your arrival in this place
>The acquisition of a new job
>And some of the party last night
>Well, almost everything
>The take away is that you just woke up in an unfamiliar bed
>In your boxers
>You are sharing the bed with a mystery p0ny
>You have no memory of getting into the bed last night
>Jesus christ on a wafer thin cracker
>Anything could have happened
>Anything
>This is all too much
>You leap up from the bed
>WHAM
>And swiftly knock your head on the ceiling
>Right, p0ny architecture is designed with p0nies in mind
>You sit down on the floor and cradle your aching head
 
 
>All the noise has woken the p0ny in the bed
>It coughs and rises from the sheets...
>It's Pinkie Pie
>You're not sure whether to relieved or terrified by this
>She's facing the headboard
>And doesn't see you immediately
>She goes through a stretching routine of her own
>Pops her neck
>Then turns around
>"Hi Anonymous!  Did you sleep well?"
>You open your mouth
>And release a dry croak
rrrrrruuuuuuugggghhhh
>Your throat is as parched as the Mojave Desert
>She looks at you with comprehension
>You peer around the room desperately
>"You might want this..."
>She steps back to reveal a glass of water sitting on the nightstand
>So either you weren't completely without sense last night
>Or she knows what a hangover feels like
>At this point, you don't care
>You seize the water and gulp it down
>now that your throat is in working order, you can resp0nd
I... Yeah, I slept pretty well
>You look around the room more slowly this time
>Various articles of your clothing are laying about the floor
>The night stand holds your glasses and harness
>You begin clothing yourself
What happened last night?
>This is perhaps the most important question you could ask
>She cocks her head at you
>"You don't remember?"
I remember some of it...
>"I'm not surprised.  You partied late into the night last night"
>"I've never seen anyp0ny party quite like you"
>From her, you take it as a compliment
>"When it finished, you were in no state to be walking all the way back to sweet apple acres through the nasty cold!"
>"So I brought you to my place"
Where are we, exactly?
>"Above Sugarcube corner, silly filly!  This is the only bed I had open, so we had to share..."
 
 
>Oh shit
>Oh fuck
>Oh sweet Emprah
>all this and more swirls through your head as you p0nder your situation
>It's not that you don't trust yourself
>But you literally cannot remember what happened
>You just have to be sure
I didn't... DO anything, did I?
>It takes her a moment to catch your drift
>"Oh noooo!  You were a complete gentlecolt!  You even opened the door for me!"
>"You fell asleep the second your head hit the pillow"
I hope I didn't snore too loud
>She grins at you
>"I've slept through worse"
>By now, you've got the rest of your clothes on
>You head out the bedroom door and straight into the bathroom
>And then straight back out
Do you have to go?
>She giggles at you
>"You go ahead, I think you might need it more than I do"
>You enter the bathroom and relieve yourself
>You shave with your knife, doing better this time
>Then you wash your face off and exit the bathroom
>Pinkie Pie jumps in after you clear the doorway
>As the door closes, you look around
>There's another door across the hall
>You can hear the faint sounds of snoring from behind it
>...you'll ask later
>a door that looks like it leads to a closet
>And down the hall a combination kitchen/living room/dining room
>Cozy
>You can work with this
 
 
>Pinkie Pie appears in the archway a few minutes later
>To see you setting out ingredients
>She took you in for the night when you were too drunk to walk home
>Making her breakfast is the least you can do
>Which reminds you...
>You remember enough to know that if you were drunk last night
>AppleJack and Rainbow were completely shitfaced
>They weren't walking or flying home either
So what happened to AppleJack and Rainbow?
>"Oh, they're in the guest bedroom" she says, confirming your suspicions
>"In fact, they should be waking up right abo-"
>WHAM
>You jump
>Then both of you advance down the hallway towards the door
>You reach out and open it
>Rainbow Dash is laying on the floor in front of you
>She definitely looks worse for the wear
>Next to her is AppleJack
>You're not sure they even opened their eyes before they made for the door
>You suppress a chuckle
>Pinkie Pie doesn't though
Everything alright in here?
>"mhmmrrahaaa"
>They both groan at once
>Now it's a race
>They both get their eyes open at the same time
>Rainbow shoots past AppleJack and into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her
>"Durn that pegasus..."
Come on AppleJack, I'll get you some water
>The three of you head back into the kitchen area
>After pouring her a glass of water, you set the pitcher next to her on the table and get to work
>First you cook some scrambled eggs
>Gotta get protein somewhere
>Then some hash browns
>And finally, you start on the most important part
>The pancakes
 
 
>By the time the pancakes are done, AppleJack's had her turn in the bathroom
>All three of them sit at the table and look at you expectantly
>Time for the finishing touch
>First you butter each pancake
>Then you add just the right amount of syrup
>finally, you roll the pancakes up into tubes
>You set the plate of tube cakes down on the table next to the cooling eggs and hashbrowns
Dig in
>You sit down yourself and shovel a generous helping of hashbrowns and eggs on your plate
>Breakfast starts with dead silence
>Then Pinkie Pie picks up one of the tube cakes
>She takes a bite and starts chewing
>Her pupils dilate to the size of softballs
>"These are the best pancakes EVER!"
>"YOU HAVE TO TELL ME THE RECIPE!"
Nope
>"WHAT?"
>You tap the side of your nose
Family secret
>She puts on a pout face
>You stick your tongue out at her
>"Haha, alright.  I won't ask you to give up family secrets."
>"Rainbow, AppleJack, you have to try these!  They're fantastic!"
>She generously reaches over and places a tube cake on their plates
>AppleJack is the more resp0nsive of the two and picks hers up almost right away
>As she bites into it, she seems to become more alert
>"Those are some mighty tasty flapjacks"
>It takes a bit for Rainbow to get to her tube cake
>You can't imagine the combination of overwork and hangover is treating her well
>She eats the whole thing without any visible reaction or change from her zombie-like state
>she reaches over and grabs another
>She consumes this one as well
>Then she stops moving all together
 
 
 
>You resume the consumption of your own tube cake
>It tastes just like you remember
>Then Rainbow twitches
>It starts with her left eye
>after which her head jerks
>Her wings flutter madly for an instant
>Then a wall of sound impacts the lot of you
>"HI ANON GOOD TO SEE YOU THIS MORNING.  THOSE ARE SOME DAMN FINE PANCAKES YOU COOKED, DAMN FINE PANCAKES."
>"I FEEL LIKE A MILLION BITS TODAY, DID I MENTION THAT?  BECAUSE I DO, I FEEL LIKE A MILLION BITS"
>Any further talking is cut off as she rapidly consumes the rest of the food on her plate
>"WELL THANKS FOR MAKING BREAKFAST ANON, THOSE WERE SOME DAMN FINE PANCAKES."
>She glances at the wall clock
>"HO BOY, LOOK AT THE TIME, I GOTTA BE GOING.  IT'S SNOWING AGAIN AND YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!  BUT THANKS FOR THE FOOOOOD"
>The last word dissipates as she opens a window, then zooms out it with enough speed to send loose papers fluttering about
>AppleJack pivots and stares directly at you
>"Whut in tarnation did you put in those pancakes?"
LOVE
>"Well alrighty then..."
>"Of course he put love in the pancakes!  You can't cook anything without it!"
 
 
>Pinkie Pie finishes her breakfast before both you and AppleJack
>She puts her dishes in the sink
>"Time for clean up!"
>Then heads through a door and down to Sugarcube corner proper
>The door swings shut behind her
>As you and AppleJack finish your breakfasts, you can hear a noise coming from beneath your feet
>It starts off as a low buzz
>Then slowly gains volume and intensity as you put the remaining food away in the fridge
>By the time you finish washing the dishes, you can feel a vibration in the floor
>It sounds like that one time your brother dropped a chicken bone in the garbage disposal
>Now it's your turn to look at AppleJack
>She smirks at you
>"You'll see"
>You notice your winter gear in a corner
>You grab it up and head down the stairs, AppleJack in tow
>The noise ceases the moment you put your hand on the doorknob to the lower level
>You open the door
>This probably won't be pre-
>The place is clean
>No
>Even more than that
>The place is immaculate
>The counter and display case shine
>The detritus of last night's shindig is nowhere to be seen
>And in the middle of it all stands Pinkie Pie
>Grinning
>You are at loss for words
How...
>She taps the side of her snout
>"Family secret"
>Figures
 
 
>Well, you've lollygagged long enough
>You have a job to do today
>And you intend to dooo eeeettt
>So you follow AppleJack to the plow storage shed
>Inside, she takes you to a piece of paper hanging on the wall
>On it are the seven days of the week
>Underneath the various days you can see "AppleJack", "Big Mac", and several other names you don't recognize
>"This is the schedule, we draw a new one up every week" Begins AppleJack
>"For now, ya can work on the same days ah do"
>"On yer designated day, ya move any and all snow that falls.  Ya keep the streets clear"
>"Everyp0ny gets paid at the end of the month.  Got it?"
Yeah, I got it
>Seems simple enough
>"Then let's get to it"
>She trots over to a plow and jumps in
>You head out the door
>Your shovel is still in your truck
>Over by Twilight's
 
 
>You really hope Twilight's feeling alright
>But you don't want to wake her up by knocking
>So you get out your shovel and start shoveling
>After a bit, you take off your jacket and hang it on a convenient street lamp
>Then resume shoveling
>"What did you do that for?"
>The question comes from behind you
>You turn around
>Twilight is watching you
Do what for?
>"Why did you take off your... jacket?  You said yourself it keeps you warm"
>You pause and lean on your shovel
If I wear that jacket while I work, I'll get too warm
IF I get too warm, I'll sweat inside my clothes
Wet clothes conduct heat and cold much easier than dry clothes
If my clothes are wet, I'll get cold
So I take off the jacket and allow my physical activity to keep me warm
>You demonstrate your logic by resuming your shoveling
How are you doing, by the way?
>"I'm... I'm doing better, actually.  That water you left for me really helped"
Rehydrating during a hangover really does, doesn't it
>You shovel for a few more minutes
>"Anonymous..."
>You're not so sure about that tone of voice
>You turn around and look at her
>"Thank you.  For last night..."
>So she does remember
>You stick your shovel in a snowbank
>Then you kneel down in front of Twilight at head height
>You put your hands on her shoulders and look deep into her eyes
Twilight, you are one of the few friends I have in this place.
I don't leave my friends sleeping on the barroom floor.
>Then you get back up
So think nothing of it, eh?
>And start shoveling again
 
 
>Twilight turns to go back in her housebrary
>Then she pauses
>"Oh, I almost forgot!  Celestia sent a letter back."
>You pause
>You don't know if she wants you to come read it or if she's going to tell you what it says
>She moves to the door
>"You can come in!"
>Ah, the former then
>You stick your shovel in a snow pile outside the housebary and duck through the door
>On the table is an open scroll
>You walk over with Twilight and read
>The gist of the letter is that Celestia is willing to help you
>She's not sure if you CAN go back, but she will try
>Unfortunately, the train rail to... Canterlot is out
>A vital bridge collapsed, and it can't be repaired until spring
>"Well Anonymous, looks like you get to spend the winter here"
>You are suddenly glad you got a job
>You're gonna be here for awhile
>"I can't say I'm complaining"
Really?
>"No.  I have all winter to ask you questions"
>Oh boy
Not now though
>"No?"
Nope.  I gotta get back to work
>And with that, you stand up
>"Oh come on!"
I'm just kidding.  You can ask me questions as I work if you really want to.
>"Okay"
>That settled, you turn around and walk out the door
 
 
>The rest of the day passes relatively uneventfully
>Twilight drops in on your shoveling occasionally to pepper you with questions
>Which you are more than happy answer
>To be honest, it relieves some of the monotony
>She even invites you to her treehouse for lunch
>Which turns out to be delicious, delicious spaghetti
>No meatballs, of course
>But the sauce is to die for
>After lunch, you resume your work
>It's not long before your own and AppleJack's efforts clear the streets entirely of snow
>So you opt to spend the rest of the evening at Twilight's
>The questions range over most topics
>You try to stay away from warfare and murder, though
>She's amazed that your species has risen to such great heights without magic
>You lean back against one the few bare patches of wall
>Right now, you can't really think of a better way to spend the evening...