Hello again everyone, Xul here to deliver you the next chapter in this story.
I would like to thank the people who took the time to read and comment on this story. It true fuels me to know that there are people who actually like it.
Anyway, that's enough talking. ON WITH THE READ!
Disclaimer: I own nothing except Skeet.
"Humm….an Orchard huh?"
Known only to the few ponies who have already met him, the red Pegasus disguised Changeling known as Skeet could be sitting down upon some soft grass contemplating on what was before him. There were trees that stretched as far as his young eyes could see. It was a rather interesting site to behold really….well at least to him.
Seeing the healthy trees standing tall so that those would look upon them could marvel at their magnificent. The leaves making a gently rustling sound as the air gently ran through each and every one of them. The strange bright red objects that seemed to hang from the trees very branches also swaying, not as much as the leaves he noticed but there was still movement clearly.
He remembered seeing his place during his first rough sweep of Ponyville before he "decided" to get involved with the citizen directly but he never really pay that much attention to it. Now that he actually thought about it. It really wasn't that long ago in which during his time with his Changeling brood the youngling would see lands like this when they would make their journey from place to place.
The thing was that he always noticed land like this especially near other towns or places where ponies settled but he never pay no heed because it was unimportant to him or rather Changelings as a whole. All he truly knew was that ponies grew places like these for whatever strange reason that was known only to them apparently.
"Yep, we call this place: Sweet Apple Acres." Apple Bloom said happily, her voice booming with pride.
Even though his eyes never left the impressive view a little Smile managed to creep upon Skeet's features after she said that. What was interesting was the fact that it wasn't his normal arrogant, egotistical smile but an actual smile. A soft smile that one would have to focus to catch on the young boy's face but it was unmistakably there.
He didn't know how to explain it but he could just feel the Pride and Care that went into this place. This Orchard…this Sweet Apple Acres, just seemed to resonate within him something more than anything else he has ever seen or experience in his young life. It was just so different, so alien, but it wasn't unpleasant. In fact it was actually…..nice.
"So….strange…." Skeet spoke in a soft whispering voice more to himself than the filly next to him. Whether she actually heard what he said he didn't know and he was too far into his own mind to find out. He just couldn't explain why this place fascinates him so much….or rather this very moment of time. The trees that were standing tall with presence but not imposing, the gentle wing that rustled both the leaves and his hair with only it's gentle whistling being the only noise to grace his ears. It all brought a soft warm feeling that he truly couldn't describe, in fact he noticed it ever sense he left the saves and set out into Equestria but now that things have calmed down from the chaos it was actually stronger than before.
His eyes finally moved as they lowered to the ground and he gently stomped upon the ground with his front hooves, he made sure not to do it too hard so that it wouldn't damage the grass blades. He could practically feel Apple Bloom's gaze of confusion upon him but at the moment it was of little consequence to him.
"The others should have been here by now." Apple Bloom Spoke with a hint of worry.
"Yeah….." The Red Pegasus replied calmly. Apple Bloom's voice slightly brought him out of his trance. The calmness of this place could do little to stop the shivers that were now going down his back. He recalled Scootaloo saying that she was quote: 'Working on a device that will help them get their cutie marks for sure.' Sweet Belle and Apple Bloom wanted to help but the caramel colored Pegasus only took the unicorn with her leaving instruction for Apple bloom to 'make sure the pledge goes nowhere!'
Of course this annoyed him because he was standing right there in front of them while they were talking, come to think of it, didn't they know his name by now. He just couldn't believe that he was going to be addressed as 'pledge' a mere title.….a title that was placed upon him not by choice by the way but instead was FORCED on him by the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
"I am sure they will be along soon enough." As Skeet spoke those words the shivers that were flowing down his spine like a river suddenly became a bit more rampant. The truth is whatever they had in store for him, scared him and the look that Scootaloo gave him when she called him 'Pledge' would have turned him pale white if it was possible. The fact of the matter was that right now he didn't want to think of what grim plot that he would be subject too; he just wanted to enjoy this…..this peaceful calmness.
"I'm sure you are right."
The black winged pony nodded calmly and thankfully the tension that he was feeling before was actually dying down. His attention returned to the beautiful view of Sweet Apple Acres and he was right back into his calm state.
He knew that he should be a bit more caution while being here. After all, he wasn't really a pony and he was on a mission of surveillance for his Changeling brothers and sisters and ESPECIALLY for his queen, but the fact of that matter was that it wasn't time to send his first report quite yet and he was actually enjoying forgetting about responsibilities.
Even though it appeared that he was looking out into the orchard there were times where his eyes would make quick glances over to Apple Bloom who seemed to be doing the same thing he was…just sitting down waiting and taking in the view…with perhaps a bit more pride but the concept was the same.
He was beginning to think that maybe….just maybe, he was overreacting a little bit about this whole idea with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Maybe he was just thinking the worst because they were ponies….sure the ponies managed to defeat his people but surely those were adult ponies, not young ones like Apple Bloom. The Cutie Mark Crusaders in the end were kids like him….just how much REAL danger could they possibility be?
"ARE YOU READY PLEDGE?"
"SQUEE!" Against his own will Skeet jumped into the air and spun around doing a complete 360o which would have looked rather impressive if it wasn't for the fact that he landed on his belly instead on his hooves.
After a few moments of keeping his face buried in the ground in a vain attempt to shut out the high pitch laughter that was now thick in the air, he decided to look up only to see a pearl white hoof that belong to Scootaloo being offered.
"Ha ha ha…..Sorry about that. ….heh….I tried to resist but it was just so easy….. "
"What kind of apology is that?" Skeet sighed as he took the hoof and proceeded to get back to standing on the ground rather than just laying down. As he dusted himself off, he watch as Scootaloo was still trying to hold back her laughter, rather poorly but at least she was making the effort.
"Sorry about Scootaloo, Skeet. Sometimes she takes after Rainbow Dash a bit too much?"
Skeet raised an eyebrow towards Sweetie Belle when she gave him the explanation over her fellow Crusader's behavior. "Rainbow Dash…Who is that?"
"Who is that? YOU DON'T KNOW WHO RAINBOW DASH IS?"
Skeet quickly found himself in a defensive posture as he was now under the VERY annoyed gaze of Scootaloo. For a moment there he thought that this young Pegasus Filly was going to melt him under her rather focus and intense stare. He quickly shut his eyes anticipating the absolute worse to come.
"Uh Scootaloo…He's new to Ponyville, remember? It makes sense that he wouldn't know who Rainbow Dash is."
"Oh….oh yeah…."
Skeet took the risk of opening one of his eyes to what exactly what just happened. A wave of calmness slowly returned when he realized that Apple Bloom was the one who came to his rescue, and not a moment too soon if you ask him.
He gave a relaxing sigh but it was quickly followed by coming to attention as Apple Bloom continued to speak this time more towards the group as a whole.
"Look, there will be more time later on to explain to Skeet here just who exactly Rainbow Dash is."
Skeet's brown orbs moved over to the now annoyed Pegasus Filly of the Cutie Mark Crusaders as she gave a reluctant nod and huffed. The Changeling could just feel that this particular member really loved this 'Rainbow Dash' who ever she was and always seemed to jump at the chance 'in his case literally' to talk about her. He could only imagine what this Rainbow Dash was like or worse what Scootaloo would be like around this Rainbow Dash. Truthfully, he didn't know if he really wanted to find out either one.
His eyes moved as they rested once again upon Apple Bloom who was continuing to speak to the rest of the group.
"Now that we got that settled, why don't you tell Skeet and I exactly what this plan you cooked up Scootaloo?"
"Ok! We've set it up over here. "
Skeet watched as Scootaloo happily pranced off in order to show them and of course this left the young boy no choice but to follow him especially after Apple Bloom gave him the notion that it was alright. He just hopped that the reality was much less frightening than what he was imagining in his head.
"Well here it is!"
Skeet suddenly turned a pale shade of red when he finally met with the reality side of the pain and he had to say that it wasn't AS bad as what he thought of….no It was much MUCH worse. "Wh….what is THAT?"
"I call it the Crusader Slingshot! Isn't it great?"
"Uh…." Even though the young red Pegasus tried, He truly couldn't think of a reply. He was too engrossed over what was right in front of his eyes. The Crusader Slingshot was a huge rubber band that oddly enough seemed to be glittering and sparkling. The object was wrapped around two large nails hammered into the ground. The rubber band was already pulled significantly back. At the end of it was a roped that was tired around a tree.
Skeet looked at this crude contraption this…..Crusader Slingshot with what could only be described as a perfect blend of Curiosity and worry. When he finally got over his initial shock, he looked over at the Cute Mark Crusaders. "So….Crusader Slingshot huh?...and what are you going to be doing with this thing?"
Skeet's looked over at Apple Bloom as she was the first one to speak up.
"Well Skeet, Do you see the buckets that are placed underneath each Tree?"
Skeet took the time to look in the direction where Apple Bloom was pointed at and nodded when he saw the buckets in question. He mentally slapped himself when he realized that he didn't notice the buckets beforehand. It seemed that he was so engrossed over the trees as a whole that he never thought to actually look under them.
"Yeah?" He said calmly as his eyes looked back over at Apple Bloom to let her know that he was ready for her to continue on with the explanation.
"Well it is Apple Buck season, that time of year where the apple family goes to harvest the apples from our trees in order to sell them to the rest of Ponyville not to mention, eat for ourselves as well."
Skeet blinked a bit as he gave a quick glance back at the trees most specifically the red objects that were hangings from their branches. So they were called Apples and you eat them. A hint of confusion seems to form on his face. It was just so strange; they were red objects that grew from wood…how could you eat something that comes from wood?
"Well My Big Brother and Sister, Big Macintosh and Apple Jack are always harvesting the apples by themselves, well sometimes some of the other ponies help but most of the time it is just them and I am not strong enough to buck the apples down quite yet.
So I figured that if we could find a way to help with the Apple bucking we can take some of the load off my brother and sister and get our cutie marks."
Skeet nodded as he listened. It was rather interesting to see that ponies are willing to help each other out. Not like Changelings at all who wouldn't help unless it was absolutely critical for either them or if the Queen gave the order to do so.
"YEAH!...
Skeet's ears drooped when he herd Scootaloo chime in.
"...and with that I figured, what could be better, we can help out Apple bloom's family AND earn our Cutie Marks as the same time. Considering none of us are strong enough to kick the apples down ourselves and it would take way too long to take the apples down one by one I figured we would do the next best thing…..Ram them."
"I see…." Skeet blinked a little when the entire concept seemed to wash over it. It was rather sound in theory. They want to help the Apple family get the apples down from the trees and since they couldn't do it themselves they would fire something at the threes to get the force necessary in order to get the red objects down. But, there was one question burning in the back of his mind as he looked around to see a lack of objects like boulders and such to launch at the apple trees. "In that case, what are we going launch."
"Pledges." Scootaloo replied as she snapped the large rubber band making sure the elasticity was holding properly.
"Oh Pledges…." Skeet nodded understandably, at least until his bring finally caught up to the actual word that was spoken to him. With large eyes he looked over at the Pegasus Filly. "PLEDGES?"
"Yep, the way I figured it. Getting a bolder or something else to get the impact we need would just be too heavy to lug on over here. Besides, you are a Cutie Mark Pledge; you have to EARN the right to be one of us. Just think of this as your first step on your way to becoming a full fledge member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders."
If Skeet's jaw could drop down and drill through the Earth, it would have down so with no problems at all. He just couldn't believe what he was hearing. She was suggesting that they would slingshot HIM into a tree to get the Apples down. He heard some hair brain ideas in his young life but this was just CRAZY. What was really getting him was the way that Scootaloo was just BEEMING with pride over her so called 'brilliant' idea.
He needed find a way out of this and FAST. Normally would use s speed and jus fly away as quickly as his wings would carry him but the fact was that he was undercover and he didn't know if he could infiltrate with other ponies, or perhaps it would be the fact that he would have to start over and he didn't want to do that yet.
It was quite clear that there was no talking Scootaloo out of this. If nothing else, it was because he was just a pledge and not full part of the Crusaders themselves. His eyes looked over at Apple Bloom and he found himself perking up a little bit. The Caramel colored Pegasus may be a bit wild but Apple Bloom seemed more reasonable. "Apple Bloom surely you don't think this is a good idea do you? I mean come on surely you realize this is crazy!"
"Well actually, I think Scootaloo is on to something."
If there was ever a look that was just the personification of dumbfounded the red Pegasus colt was giving it in FULL force.
"You are a Cutie Mark Pledge which would make you the perfect candidate for this idea and who knows…you might actually get your Cutie mark after this."
"You can't be….." Skeet didn't bother finishing the sentence. He was just being bombarded with disbelief so overwhelming he could barely contain it. He truly couldn't believe what he was actually hearing. Didn't COMMEN SENSE exist in Ponyville? There had to be a way out of this, something he could do or say that wouldn't result in him being a pony pellet.
His eyes calmly scanned the area for some way to escape and it seemed that his silent prayer might actually be answered. A bright light at the end of this dark tunnel, something that just might prove to be his salvation. "Sweetie Belle….."
The near desperate Changeling noticed that Sweetie Belle have been rather quiet since she and Scootaloo came back with the supplies for their 'brilliant' invention. Perhaps she believed that this idea was as farfetched as he did. Maybe…..just maybe he could get her to convince her friends and unlike him they will listen to her because she was a full fledge member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
"Sweetie Bell….." He spoke softly as he went up to her much to her surprise and the curiosity of Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. With his own hooves he gently took up the unicorn's front hooves in the name of friendship with just a light undertone of pleading and desperation. Theirs eyes met and for a moment it felt that there was a true connection of understanding between them. "Surely you understand don't you? You know why the situation is just uncalled for, don't you?"
"Yes you are right Skeet." Sweet Belle spoke in a soft delicate manner to the colt. "I understand the situation perfectly."
Skeet looked at Sweetie Bell with huge eyes on the verge of tears. Finally, someone who understood what he was thinking. Someone who knew that this was just a crazy idea and shouldn't be done, At least not in this way. It seemed that he was actually going to get out of this after all…..
'BONK!'
That is until reality kicked back in and he felt Sweet Belle literally slam something upon his head.
"I understand that now with this helmet on you are not ready!" Sweet Belle spoke with great enthusiasm.
"Mmuuughhhhaaaaa." Skeet whimpered as he struggled in a desperate attempt to get the helmet off…..or at least loosen it enough so that he could see. It took a few moments but he manage to move it just enough to be able to see out from one eye and with one quick scan he realized that while he was struggling, the Cutie Mark Crusaders took the opportunity to put him into position to be launched.
"Alright, are we ready to do this?" Scootaloo spoke with great determination and pride.
"YEAH"
"YEAH"
"NO!...w…WAIT" Skeet spoke with sweat now dripping down his entire body and his face no longer hiding the fear that he felt ever sense he saw this device.
"Oh what now?" The Filly Pegasus spoke with a hint of annoyance.
"Don't you see that this is just insane?" Skeet said as loud as he could his voice becoming borderline panicked.
"Oh come off it. Aren't boys supposed to be tough?" Scootaloo rolled her light purple eyes. "You are a boy aren't you?"
Skeet suddenly perked up as an indication that he might have a slim chance of getting out of this predicament. "If I say no, will you let me out of this?"
The young Changeling watched as the Cutie Mark Crusaders suddenly gave a 'hummmmm' in unison as they all looked at each other. This was Skeet's last chance to get out of this and he knew it…he couldn't believe it came to this but he was willing to forgo a stereotype if it meant he didn't have to do this.
"NAH!"
"NAH!"
"NAH!"
As the three girls all gave their answer in unison with an odd sense of Cheerfulness, he could feel his hope break and shatter into pieces. He has herd of stories of ponies before but he herd that ponies were supposed to be more about love, peace, and understanding…..but THIS….this is
"So are you ready?"
Skeet looked and gave all three of them a morbid look. "NO!"
"Close Enough!" Apple Bloom cheerfully chimed in and cut the rope before the pledge could object any more.
With a shriek that was high and loud enough to cause glass to shatter, the Changeling turned Pegasus was launched spectacularly into the air. He could feel the air moving against his small body but that wasn't near enough to stop his velocity. Everything was going so fast that he didn't even have time to even think about…..all he could do was hope and prayed that fate would be kind to him and let him off in one piece.
'WHAM!"
…little Skeet's prayers were denied…..
Skeet found himself lying on the ground, in what position he truly didn't know. At first he wondered if he perished in the impact and was known in the next world, but the pain he was experiencing proved that he was still kicking.
The truth was that he didn't know what to do. He couldn't even string a real though together, all he could do was just lay there and go through the horrific effect of slipping in and out of conciseness. He truly couldn't control himself, he wanted to open his eyes to see what was going on but his body was fighting him the entire way.
All he could make out were shapes and colors.
Ponies….yes there were pony shapes….some were bigger than others….
There were also colors….white….yellow…..purple…red….light blue….even pink …pink…pink? What was pink doing in within this?
…..and voices…..these shapes and colors were followed up by voices. Some lighter than others and some were deeper than others. But the one thing that the shapes, the voices and the colors had in common was that they all seemed to be hovering over and around him. However, despite the distilled imagery he didn't feel afraid.
Even though it was rather faint he could feel his tiny limp body being lifted….he thought he might have let out a soft groan in the middle of it but he didn't notice, how could he? His strength was zapped away. All that was truly known to him now was that darkness was finally overtaking him completely and it was welcomed.
..….yes…...
...rest will be most welcomed…...
Well there you have it. I hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter as I did writing it.
Thank you again for your support and see you next time.
Xul