Iron Anon: A Day's Work

>As soon as the rooster had crowed, you and the fillies were all up
>The girls scrambled off the hay, caught up in their own hysteria
>They told you they had planned to just ask you some questions and then sneak back into their respected homes before morning
>Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were really worried about being caught by their respected sisters, though Scootaloo… not so much
>You quickly say your goodbyes and help them slide down the rope they had used to climb into the barn last night
>How ponies could climb rope to begin with, you didn’t even bother to ask
>You felt bad you hadn’t answered all their questions, but they seemed to of had a lot of fun last night
>Hell, you had had fun too
>Those fillies weren’t so bad
>At least some ponies here were willing to give you a second chance…
>After they had left, you went back to laying down on the hay with Gus

>The Sun was just barely over the horizon so you had a lot of time until-
>Suddenly, you hear the bolt of the barn being slide back
>You glance up to see Big Mac in the door way
>Still keeping a solid poker face, the pony gestures for you to follow him
>Gus gets up before you and runs outside ahead
>You follow in his lead
>Weird… no ropes this time
>And why the hell did he get you up so early?
>You continue to follow him though keeping a short distance in back, not wanting to intrude on his space
>Gus isn’t anywhere in sight, so he must have already run off somewhere
>The sky is quiet beautiful with fading orange tint against the baby blue sky
>There was also the early morning breeze and perfect humidity to complement it
>Not that the temperature was ever unfavorable
>It never seemed to be too cold or too hot in Ponyville, just an ideal tepid
>Finally, you realize Big Mac is leading you out into the Apple Orchard
>Now you think you know where this is going…

>Soon enough, you spot Applejack in the distant bucking apple trees
>Unlike usual, all the trees in the quadrant had little baskets placed around them
>You watch Applejack let out another kick, followed by a shower of apples raining down perfectly into the nearby buckets
>She notices you and Big Mac, stopping for a moment to trot over to meet you guys halfway
>She slows down next to Big Mac but holds out a hoof for you stop before you can get any closer to her
>Needlessly to say, the orange pony doesn’t seem thrilled to see you
>Applejack:”Big Mac here says that if yer going to be stayin’ on our land, even if ya might not want to, ya’ll still need to start earning your rent”
“OK, what do-“
>Applejack:”My brother vouches that you don’t need somep0ny to puppy guard you, so you’re gonna be takin’ these here baskets after we’ve filled ‘em and load them into the barn”
>You give curiously look to Big Mac, in which he doesn’t return

>He had “vouched” for you?
>Hey, maybe you were actually making progress with these ponies… whether you knew it or not!
>You don’t notice Applejack’s approach you until she pokes you with her hoof
>Applejack:”I don’t trust you, but Big Mac’s got a point. You’ve be’n moochin’ off our land, so it’s time to pay up!”
>You put your hands back defensively
“Ok, geez, where do I start?”
>She takes her hoof from you and points to your left
>Applejack:”Ah’ve already knocked out a good portion of the South Field already. Start thare. Then make yer way across to where me and Big Mac will be buckin’”
“Got it”
>Applejack:”Ya better…”
>Without delay, you head over and begin collecting baskets
>Because these ponies are so small, their baskets were even smaller
>Each one only weighed about 30-35 pounds so you simply started stacking them up and carrying a bunch at a time to the barn
>You soon felt the sweat coming by your third trip
>But it was a good sweat… you needed a little exercise
>Soon enough, the Sun was finally making its way to the top of the sky to signal a new day
>By then, you had already cleared out half of the South field

>You catch Applejack in your peripherals stop mid buck to stare dumbfounded at the amount of baskets you were carrying
>You snicker lightly to yourself
>Maybe she’d think twice before trying to pick a fight with you…
>Within the first 3 hours of the day, the South Field section is cleared and you are encroaching ever more closely to Applejack and Big Macintosh
>As you knock out set after set of baskets, you spot Applejack trying to pick up the pace, resolved to put enough distance between you and her
>She’s able to hold up, for a while
>But within a half hour you are were just standing in place tapping your foot impatiently, waiting for them to finish whatever tree they were on
>It was quite pleasant to see how mad Applejack was that you had not only caught up with her, but were now waiting on her to finish
>After Big Macintosh bucks the last tree in the particular quadrant, Applejack starts talking sounding really exhausted
>Applejack[beat]:”Ok-… that s’ould do for-… today”
“But there are so many trees left?”
>You flung your arms around to gesture at the rolling hills of the orchard, which still held hundreds of unpicked apple trees

>Applejack:”We can’t buck ‘em-… -all in a day-… idget”
>She stops talking for a few seconds, trying to catch her breath
>Applejack:”Applebucking season lasts 6 weeks… w’re done today”
>You cross your arms, passively and bored
>That workout wasn’t as intense as you would have liked it to be, but at least you had gotten a good sweat going
>You gather up the baskets Big Mac just filled and haul them to the barn with the two ponies following behind you
>Applejack is whispering to her brother, but Big Mac only gives a few ‘eeyups’ and ‘nope’ in reply
>Your back almost stings from the daggers she’s probably staring into your back
>Finally, you make it to the barn and place the last of the baskets next to the rest
>Taking a step back from the stockpile of apples, you say there must have been at least a hundred or more there
>Wiping the sweat from your brow, you head back outside where Big Mac and Applejack were talking

>They both hush up and turn to you as you make your way back into the sunlight
“Ok, what now? Back to being penned up in the barn all day?”
>Applejack:”No, not yet. Ah’ got to go take sum of these apples down and sell ‘em at the market. Big Mac is gonna harvest some grapes and yer goin’ help him refine it into juice.”
“And how do I do that?”
>Applejack:”Big Mac will show ya to the drum barrel, which ya’ll climb inside of and stomp on the grapes to get the juices out”
“Not sure I quite follow…”
>Applejack:”I knew ya wouldn’t, you don’t look very smart. Ya’ll will figure it out when ya get there”
>You restrain yourself from grinding your teeth
>The nerve of this mare…
>You’d think she was the one you kidnapped the way she treated you!
>She takes off to the cart stall that was parked off to the side, hooking herself up to it and then pulling it into the barn to load up on apples
>The red pony leads the way to a grove of grapes, which was just past the orchard
>He gestures with his head to the large open barrel on stilts nearby
>You spot a silver facet coming out of the base of it and you realize what is going to happen
“So you want me to get in that thing and crush grapes myself?”

>He nods and turns to start picking grapes
“But… isn’t that a bit unsanitary?”
>The stallion looks back to you with a confused expression
>Big Mac:”Wat do ya mean?”
“What do you mean ‘what do I mean’, if I use my feet some pony going to get sick… right?”
>Big Mac:”How would somepony get sick from that?”
 >…What?
>More like, how couldn’t they get sick from that?!
“Could I, at least, take a bath to get clean before doin’ that?”
>Big Mac:”Eeyupe… but don’t even think ‘bout runnin’ off”
>His deep tone is enough for you to get the message
>You take off walking back in the direction of the farm house to get to the drinking trough to wash up
>But you needed soap… Apple Bloom would probably give you some more
>You walk up to the front porch and knock on the door
>The door finally opens after a good while to… a little, old green pony
>Her hair was white and she looked aged past her years
>You wonder how long these ponies live here
>She’s gawking at you distrustfully

“Hi, um, is Apple Bloom home because I need to ask her if I can borrow some more soap-“
>Before you can finish, a bar of soap goes flying at your face and sticks there with a ‘thud’
>You fall back out off the porch as the door slams shut in front of you
>Finally, you manage to get off your ass and pull the soap off your face
>Oh well, you got your soap at least
>You jog down and around to the pig pen to find the trough again crystal clear
>Seriously, had these pigs forgotten what they are?
>Confident no one was watching, you strip down and climb into the water
>You make quick work getting the sweat and dirt off you, doing an extra number on your feet
>After you climb out, you give yourself a few minutes to air dry and then slip your clothes back on
>Your clothing was crafted for endurance but they were starting to stink
>After slipping into your pants and fixing the boots to your feet, you decided to leave your upper apparel hanging on the fence, right next to the bar of soap
>After draining and refilling the trough, you make haste back to Big Mac. Not wanting to keep the one pony that seemed alright with you waiting
>When you get there, he had already finished throwing the bundles of grapes into the barrel
>He notices your approach and waits for you to get in

>Slipping off your boots first (they were far from clean), you easily enough climb into the drum barrel by yourself
>You get to work stomping around into the gushy, bumpy floor of grapes while Big Mac continues tossing more into the barrel
>Soon enough, he stops throwing them in as you hear metallic click, followed by the sound of something flowing
>Probably your freshly trampled grape juice
>Slowly, the purple liquid that had been gaining height as your feet begins to drain
>Within half an hour, you had reduced the plump grapes into flattened raisins
>You climb out of the barrel to see Big Mac with about six mason jars, full of freshly pressed grape juice
>He loads four onto his back while you insist on carrying the other two
>For the most part, you two walk back in silence until your curiosity gets the better of you
“So why did Applejack say you ‘vouched’ for me”
>Big Mac:”Cuz’ I did”
“I mean, -why- did you vouch for me?”
>Big Mac:”…Ya’ll remember what you said to me in the barn”
“Yeah but that-“
>Big Mac:”Did ya mean it?”
>He stops for a second and looks back at you
>Big Mac:”Are ya truly sorry?”
“…Yes”
>Big Mac:”There’s yer answer then”
>He turns his head back to the path
>Big Mac:”…Ya seem to have a pretty good arm, too”
>With that said, he starts off down the road again and you follow
>What the hell was that last part supposed to mean?

>You make it up to the farm house, where Big Mac takes the two you have and enters inside alone
>Probably for the better, you didn’t need another bar of soap in the face
>You quickly head around back and rinse your feet of the grape stains before slipping on the rest of your clothes
>Big Mac was still inside by the time you got back to the house
>So you sat down on the porch and waited
>…
>Running away would almost be too easy right now
>You had no desire to find out what their princess was going to do to you for kidnapping Rainbow, who unfortunately had turned out to be a pretty popular pony
>But trying to escape wouldn’t do much for you now
>You would still be stuck in this world
>Only these unicorns could get you out of here and back home
>How long have you been gone now?
>A week? Longer?
>You wonder how mother was holding up…
>The door opens and shuts again as Big Macintosh makes his way past you off the porch
>He looks up to the Sun, trying to get a read on the time
>It was most likely midday or early afternoon
>The red stallion starts walking back to the barn and motions for you to follow him
>You get up and do as you’re told
>When you get to barn, he opens it up and points for you to get back inside
>Dammit, you really didn’t like being locked away in there

“Can’t I do something else?”
>Big Mac:”Sorry… But Ah’ need to go pick up Apple Bloom from school”
>You shrug, seeing no alternative and walk inside
>The hear the sound of barn door’s bolt lock behind you
>Alone again with the barn
>Not even Gus was here to keep you company
>You help yourself to some apples from today’s harvest
>They wouldn’t even notice or probably already assumed you were going to do that anyway
>Apples were still pretty amazing, but you wouldn’t mind having a tender sirloin right about now
>You wonder if you could convince them that you’d die if you didn’t get meat soon
>Would they get you some then?
>Probably not.
>An hour of idly pacing in the barn slowly passes by
>Where the hell was Big Mac?
>It didn’t take that long to get a damn kid from school
>Or were you just stuck in here for the rest of the day?
>Another hour passes
>Must be around 4 PM by now… Assuming there was the same number of hours in a day here as back home
>Sunrises and Sunsets sure as hell weren’t the same
>You let out a groan of frustration
>You’re bored!

>Sitting down against the side of a stall, you begin poking at the dirt with the stick from last night
>You really needed something to-
>Suddenly, you hear barking from right outside the barn
>You get up to your feet as quickly as you can
>It was Gus’s barking
>Deep and Echoing
>Something’s up
>http://youtu.be/QohmZkSPrzE
>He’s scratching at the door now, trying to get in
>Before you can react, the sound of someone screaming your name comes within earshot
>Applejack:”ANON!”
>Something heavy slams into the barn door, and you have no doubt it was Applejack
>You were on full alert now
>What had gotten into those two?
>You hear her hoofs scrap desperately at the door, trying to unhitch the bolt
>The doors burst open as Applejack bucks them in
>She runs right up to you
>She looks… terrified
>Applejack[frantic]:”Anon, ya need to come with me right now!”
“Why? Whats goin-“
>Applejack[hoarse]:”You helped Zecora! Ya can hel-!”
>She cuts herself off as she latches onto your shirt with her teeth, pulling you towards the door
>Whatever was wrong, she was scared
>And terribly so… as to be so desperate as to drag you out by her teeth
>Whatever happened, whatever was going on… it wasn’t good
>You have no time to prepare yourself as the three of you take off down the road to Ponyville
>Years from now, you’d choose to remember this moment as the day when it all started…