My little pony: The Urchin and the Princess
Disclaimer: Special thanks to Antrxx, Golden COG Dignity, furycutter and every other consistent reviewer! You bronies rock!
Chapter 11: Heart's desire pie
Jack let out a mighty yawn, as he sleepily rubbed sand from his eyes, smacking his lips tiredly as he trudged across the countryside towards Sweet Apple Acres. He hadn't gotten a lot of sleep the other night, cause of the adrenaline filled moment the other day. All the excitement, and wild moments just seemed to keep him up. After Jack and Fluttershy had managed to return Emily to her mom, Jack had gone straight to Twilight to tell her about what happened and how he had started shooting fire from his palms. Twilight had put a lot of theories out on why her magic didn't work, saying stuff about the biological structure of humans being different, his powers being stuck with him like a virus; things like that. Point was, she didn't know what caused his powers to stay but she was gonna see if she could look into it.
Now here he was, making his way towards Sweet Apple Acres because Applejack had sent him a note, asking for him to come and work on something with her, Big Macintosh and Apple bloom. She didn't say what they were doing, all that involved was that they would be taking a trip to the Everfree Forest. Jack had been in their before, so he really wasn't sure what they were going to find exactly; but he hoped whatever it was it would be exciting enough to wake him up!
Spotting the farm field, Jack blinked as he stared up at the Apple trees above. Giving one next to him a good kick, he reached up and grabbed a falling apple; figuring some food would help wake him up abit. Chomping into the red, juicy apple; he smiled slowly as his weariness left him slowly. If he was gonna be helping AJ with something; he'd prefer to do it awake. Stretching once more, he muttered "So…I'm stuck with fire powers".
As he trudged towards the house, passing through the gate he went into thought. This was both good and bad. Good because…well obviously, he had fucking fire power now! He could gather up flames in his palms, shape shift it into what he wanted; use..use fire! But the bad news was..well, he seemed to get angry or irritated easily. Being how his powers were trigged by his anger, he had to keep his anger under control else he could end up burning down Ponyville!
That, and with this power in his hands, he had to still remember he was bound (unfortunately) to the laws of the land still. Just because he had powers, didn't make him god and gave him the right to go around and do whatever he wanted. He couldn't go and torch ponies for making him mad, or disagreeing with him. He acted like a dick at times he admitted; but he was no bully!
Nodding confidently, he trudged up to the front door of the home as he checked his watch. 6:40 in the morning? Why in the world did they want him here that early? Knocking on the front door, he watched as it slowly opened and out stepped Big Macintosh, who stared down with mellow, but friendly eyes at the human.
"Sup Big Mac, personally I prefer a Dell" Jack greeted with a joke only he would get, as he chuckled at the computer reference.
Big Macintosh smiled lightly, not understanding what he was talking bout, but still pleased to see him. "Howdy Jack" Big Macintosh greeted, shaking the humans hand with a strong hoof. Noticing how tired he was, he asked "We're in the middle of breakfast if you want any, we got plenty of apple pancakes".
Jack looked like he wanted to kindly refuse, yet as he peeked past Big Macintosh; he spotted Apple Bloom, Granny Smith and Apple Jack all sitting at the table, eating delicious apples as he felt a pang of…sadness? Why was he feeling a pang of sadness, that didn't make any sense since he had nothing to feel sad about. Noticing as AJ and Apple bloom spotted him, they both smiled as they waved, beckoning him to join them. Blushing lightly, he turned back to Big Macintosh. "Ah, no thank you..I'll umm..just eat out here" Jack explained lightly.
"Is their sumthin wrong" Macintosh asked, raising a brow out of curiosity.
"Nah, I umm..I don't want to intrude" Jack responded softly, raising a hand to stop any argument that he would be welcomed. "I just wouldn't feel comfortable in such an environment" Jack explained, hopping Macintosh would respect his wishes. Receiving a nod as Macintosh went to go and get some food for Jack, Jack sat down on the porch as he the image of the Apple family sitting around the table, eating breakfast together sat in his mind. "Dad used to make scrambled eggs with bacon, along with some sausage" Jack thought to himself, as he thought of his father. How would he react if he knew what kind of person he was? Would he be proud, or ashamed of him?
Hearing hoof's approaching, he turned in time to receive some pancakes from Big Macintosh. Nodding in thanks, Jack turned back as he breathed in the morning air, as he thought more of his dad. It was always hard for Jack growing up, wondering if his dad was alright. As a military brat, he felt lucky since his dad was stationed in the states, so he saw him most of the time. That was until Jack turned ten, and he was sent overseas. When that happened, Jack felt like his father had abandoned him. He kept in contact a lot yeah, but how Jack had longed to see him face to face.
Smiling lightly at fond memories, he remembered once how his dad had taught him how to throw a punch. He was eight years old, and had gotten from school with a black eye courtesy of Butch Harrison. His dad believed in standing up for oneself rather than being slothful, and doing nothing out of fear of punishment for doing the right thing. So, he ran him through some tactics on how to deceive opponents, proper way to punch and how to bluff in the face of a greater threat then one's self. "Heh, Dad was a real hero" Jack smiled fondly, as he then thought back to the Apple family and…
Blinking, he felt something wet in his eyes as if triggered unconsciously as he reached up, and touched his eyes; surprised to find..tears? Why was he crying? Hearing someone approach, he became angry with himself as he muttered "How..stupid" as he rubbed any signs of tears outta his eyes. Looking down at his plate, he realized he had finished the pancakes right down. He musta been really hungry to do that. Glancing up, he smiled as AJ, Applebloom and Macintosh approached. "Hey, what's up" Jack asked.
AJ grinned, as she poked Jack playfully in the shoulder "Hope yer not too tired Jack, cause we're gunna go out and retrieve the main ingredient for our Zingy Apple pies" she grinned.
"Zingy…apple pies" Jack repeated back, staring with a confused expression. That was a weird name for a pie. "Uhhh, we're going out to get something for pies? Am I gonna be making pies, cause I'm no cook",
Apple bloom waved her hoof in dismissal. "Nah silly! The pies are pretty much done! All we need now, is the ingredient that will make them the best, mouthwatering, tastiest, delicious apple pies you've ever eaten" smiled Applebloom, as she glanced up at Macintosh. "Ain't that right Big Macintosh"?
Big Macintosh smiled simply as he remarked "Eeeyup".
"Ahh, so anything special about this ingredient? You said something about going into the Everfree forest, so I guess IM to imagine that's where it grows" Jack asked.
"That's right, it only grows their and all we need to do is retrieve it from our good friend, Zecora" Applejack answered, glad that she was getting a chance to introduce Jack to her friend.
"Uhh..Zecora huh? Why does she live in a creepy forest? Is she some kinda witch, or a hermit" questioned Jack, as he tried to imagine what this Zecora looked like. Maybe she was some giant, one eyed orge that wore a robe and spoke with a big, booming voice? Or perhaps Zecora was invisible to add a lure of mystery towards what she truly looked like, so that way she could deceive passersby"?
"Nope! She's a zebra" Applebloom answered with a smile.
"What? You have Zebra's too" Jack demanded, as he looked up with annoyance. Earth was a really simple place, had humans as the dominating creatures, had rules and laws (which he usually didn't listen to) that were in place, and had nothing supernatural. Canterlot had everything that Earth didn't have! Talking horse, magic, mythical beings. Now, when Canterlot has things that Earth does have, like Zebras that just makes it more annoying since it made Jack wonder if Equestria was even on another planet? Heck, maybe this was all just one giant island in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, and the world was completely unaware of them….naw, that's stupid.
"Ahh, Jack? You okay" Big Macintosh asked curiously, noticing that Jack was staring off into the distance with a far away stare.
Shaking his head, Jack shrugged "Err, yeah I'm alright. Just abit tired is all". Looking at the ponies, he remarked "Alright, so if we're going to get this special ingredient, then let's go now. I wanna get this down and over with". Staring away, he smiled "Here's hoping we accomplish our goal with no conflicts huh"?
The Everfree forest wasn't far since Jack had been there before, and entering it once again made him get a strong feeling of déjà vu. He couldn't help wonder if all his adventures and exploits, were gonna take place in this stupid forest. He could only hope no. Having just entered it, Jack grumbled as he pushed side stray branches and bushes out of his way; letting out a grunt whenever one came and wacked him in the face.
"Heh heh, and so I started spinning round at a really fast pace, I thought I was gonna chuck sumthin up" giggled Applebloom, as she recited to Jack about the time where she had developed Cutie Pox, her special talents forcing her to obey and do their bidding. As much as it taught her a lesson of patience, and not to go jumping head long into trouble; she did find it a little bit funny on what was happening to her.
Jack chuckled at the story the filly laid out before him, finding it kinda fun to listen to their exploits of previous situations. "Heh, you learned your lesson, I didn't it seems when it comes to charging into trouble without thinking about the consequences". Messing up Appleblooms mane with a free hand, he grinned lightly as she poked Jack back. Turning to face Macintosh, he shrugged. "How about you? Got any tales of embarrassment to share" Jack asked Big Macintosh.
Big Macintosh's blinked, as he looked away chuckling shyly. "Ahh, welp there was one time when umm…haywire spell from Twilight caused every pony that looked at her doll Smarty-pants to want it. I think the affects were still messing with mah head after the spell left since I grabbed the doll and ran". That wasn't entirely true however.
Covering his mouth, Jack had to keep himself from snorting with amusement as he heard what had happened to Macintosh. "Oh man, that sounds pretty embarrassing indeed. Poor guy" Jack teased lightly, earning a playful glare from Macintosh.
Applejack, who had been listening in on their conversations, couldn't help but add in her own input. "Actin all high aren't we Jack? Well how about you? Do you have any embarrassing stories you wish to share" AJ asked with a smirk. She already knew one from what she had heard from Fluttershy the other day, as Big Macintosh and Applebloom stared at him with amusement; causing him to blush as he glanced away.
"Ahh, well there was yesterday. I thought Fluttershy was going to have me teach her how to be a braver Pegasus, ya know something I could probably do. Turns out, she wanted me to escort a dragon. You think I could handle something like that, cause you know this is me were talking about here" explained Jack, with a little bit of cockiness in his voice as he shrugged "Problem was, that the dragon was quiet obsessed with giving me hugs at every chance it could get".
Applejack giggled lightly at the thought, knowing this counted as embarrassment as Jack wasn't a hugging person to be honest. More like the "I'm willing to shake hands and that's it" type. "Heh heh, afraid that Fluttershy was gonna reveal a more sensitive side to ya Jack"? She had to resist a full on laugh attack, as Jack shot a glare in her direction.
"Yeah, sure..laugh at me now. I'm sure you won't be laughing when a hideous monster, devouuuuuaaa" Jack shouted in fear, as he slipped and tumbled down an embankment and into a mud pile, splashing his jet black hair with a filthy brown. Shaking his body rapidly, he stared down at himself in exasperation as he heard the sounds of the others approaching, as he idea fit into his head. Gripping his knee, he fauxed moaned in pain. "Oo, ow my knee" he moaned, trying to withhold a grin as AJ approached.
"What's wrong with it? Are you alright, cause that didn't seem like a good fall" Apple jack started as she got closer to Jack, trying to examine his knee when suddenly she was splashed in the face with mud, gawking as she started at Jack in shock! "You good fer nuthin weasel" She glared, as she pawed at the ground angrily. Tackling Jack deeper into the mud pile, she looked like she was about to hoof him in the face…but instead was rubbing mud all over his hair; laughing all the way.
"Heey! Me too! Pile on" Apple bloom giggled as she jumped into the pile, getting muddy herself as she applied mud to her sisters mane as the three of them fought in the mud; trying to gain dominance over one another in a playful match.
Big Macintosh sat at the side, rolling his eyes at the childless of the three. This thought received a mud ball in the eyes, as he shook his head as smirked at the three. "Aw right then, that's how you want it" Big Macintosh grinned as he tackled them all; messing up Jack' hair with a hoof as he laughed along with them, feeling good for how silly they were acting.
"Alright alright, enough mud wrestling" Jack chuckled, getting to his feet as he brushed himself off; shaking his head at how messy and dirty he was. "As fun as that was, we seriously need to get to this Zecora. I'd rather us not waste anymo..Oof" Jack gasped as he was pulled back into the pony pile. Apart of him protested as the Apple family continued to mess around, whilst another part of him went along with their antics; figuring that moments like these where one could take a breathe and relax didn't come by often.
Best to grab them whenever one has a chance.
"Oh boy" Jack thought, rolling his eyes in mock annoyance.
"Uhh. That's her place" Jack asked, having expected a lot of things, but certainly not this! The team had stopped in front of an old willow tree, hanging in an almost depressing manner. A large door was at the base of the tree, above it a strange looking tribal mask. Multiple potions hanging from the branches, making the place look all around creepy. "Is she into some weird, voodoo ritual stuff" Jack asked the Apple family, who looked amused at his skeptism.
"Trust me Jack, I thought the same thing when I came here for looking for Apple bloom when she supposedly went missing" Applejack smiled at Jack. Noticing no lights on inside, she frowned "That's odd though. Usually she's home, since I don't see any lights on inside. Maybe she went out looking fer sum more ingredients for her potions"?
Jack let out a snort, finding it rude for this zebra to not even prepare for her guest to be coming over. "Really? You're gonna get this heart's desire stuff from her, and she's not even her to greet us? That's kinda rude don't ya think" he asked with irrational his tone.
"She might be busy" Big Macintosh spoke simply, as he trotted up to Zecoras window. Peeking inside, he blinked as he could see nothing but black, empty darkness. "Ah can't really see nuthin" Macintosh squinted.
Without a word, Jack stormed up as he said "Okay, this issue is simple to solve". Going up to the door, he grabbed the handle and..was surprised as the door opened unlocked. "Burglars" Jack thought, narrowing his eyes as he stepped inside the dark room, breathing slowly as he tried to focus his vision to see anything at all. Yet the darkness was so intense, that he couldn't even see his hand two inches in front of his face! As he was about to call to the others, he gasped as suddenly the door slammed shut, cutting off any light and shrouding him in darkness.
"What the hell" Jack shouted in alarm, whipping his head around rapidly to look for trouble. Suddenly, a blue hum of light lit up, from a large cauldron; as a puff of smoke shot into the air as it started to spin and turn rapidly around the cauldron. The air smelled of something that had been heavily burnt, and attempted to be reheated. Something was standing on one hoof or foot or something, balancing on a boa staff as a female voice chanted in a language that sounded Swahilic, and yet sounded different at the same time.
Jack watched as the faster this creature chanted, the more light shot from the cauldron as she drove a hoof into the air as suddenly the pot's light exploded, throwing the room into darkness once more as he took a step forward, and felt his hand collide with the boa staff. A heavy weight collapsed onto his back; sending him onto the floor in pain. Jack flinched as the light turned on, the Apple family stepping into the house as he shook his head to shoot away the stars and swirls turning in his eyes.
Looking up, he was surprised to see another pair of large eyes, looking back at him with curiosity. She was about the same height as Applejack, maybe abit taller. Her fur was a mixture of grey with zigzagged black stripes. Her hooves he guessed, were a solid black. Around her neck, and left leg was golden spiral jewelry he could only guess, as a golden ring hung around her ear. She had a mowhawk of some kind, a mixture of black and white in coloring, whilst her..cutie mark was a spiraled looking sun that almost seemed to want to hang around her striped tail. The creatures blue eyes danced with curiosity as it stared at Jack hard.
"Ahhh…" Jack drowned off, wondering what he should say as he realized the creature was sitting on him. "Would you please get off" Jack asked, politeness and rudeness combined in one fell swoop.
The creature raised its eye as he nodded in agreement, getting off Jack as she allowed him to stand so she could get a better look at him. Putting a hoof to her chin, she spoke in a deep, almost Swahilic accent "An unusual creature, I have never seen. Quiet clear however, that you are a teen".
"Did she just rhyme" Jack thought to himself, wondering if she was either extremely pretentious, or just quirky?
"Howdy Zeocra, glad to see you again" Applejack greeted, as Applebloom ran past Jack and gave Zecora a hug.
"Hmm Hmm, I am glad to see you as well Apple family. Your determination to create tasting goods, shows you don't dilly dally" Zecora smiled at her friends, giving Applebloom a friendly pat on the head. Turning to face Jack, she smiled "I am Zecora, a zebra you see. To encounter one such as you, fills me with glee".
"Not pretentious" Jack spoke aloud, as he said "Ahh, my name is Jack. I'm a friend of the apple family. I've come from another world, and am settling in here until I can..find a way home". That last part was a lie, and he knew it. He wasn't even sure if he even wanted to go back home to the life he had before.
"A human you say, how interesting. To be from another world must be quiet riveting" Zecora complimented, not noticing Jack get a strange look on his face.
"What's with the rhyming" he asked finally, wanting to know why she was doing it. It sounded kinda amusing to be honest.
Zecora chuckled as she smiled "I find it fun to rhyme, would you care for a lime". Raising a hoof, she offered Jack a lime as he kindly declined. Looking over the human, she couldn't believe how fascinating he was. He himself was like her! An outsider in a way, not like anyone else around these parts, and yet here he was accepting her for who she was. Perhaps he was a rather, open minded individual that allowed such things. Either way, she was quiet pleased to see one so willing to speak his mind.
Getting an idea, Jack crossed his arms as he smirked "I really don't get why you rhyme? Personally, I think it's a big waste of time". Seeing him get a chuckle out of the Zebra, he thought to himself "I guess I pointed out how silly the whole concept is to her".
"Hmm hmm, if you wish continue to jest. I do not mind, partaking in your test" Zecora smiled bemused, as she turned to face every pony and explained on how she was merely testing some of her ritualistic lights, to see what sort she could brew up and show to every pony. When Applebloom asked if she had Heart's desire; she smiled as she nodded "Hearts desire's I have Applebloom. Though, I trust this time it won't be lead to your doom"? referring to what happened the last time when Applebloom used the Heart's desire.
Applebloom smiled sheepishly, as she said "Nuthin like that will happen Zecora. We just need it to make our apple pies the best, tastiest pies ever".
Jack pushed past the Apple family, an idea brewing in his head as he looked at Zecora seriously. "This heart's desire stuff. It's like magic right? It really works" he asked seriously.
Zecora nodded as she smiled "Magic indeed exists within Heart's desire. Tell me, you wish to use it to rid yourself of the power of fire". Noticing the shocked look on his face, she chuckled warmly as she pointed into the cauldron of brew. Staring into it, Jack saw a glimpse of himself wielding his power, a scared looking on his face as he searched around for a means to put it out".
"Oh I see.." Jack grumbled low, blushing as he realized she had already known this whole time. Coughing, he said "So does this magic have enough power to make me wish it leave"? As fun as it was to be able to wield fire, he'd rather not have the chance for it to corrupt him, transforming him into some sort of monster with villainous intent.
Zecora could see Jack really didn't want to have his powers, and yet as much as she wished she could help him; such things were beyond her powers. "I am sorry to say this, if it makes you sour. To take away your magic is beyond my power". The heart's desire could take his powers away, but only temporality and who knows how long that would even last! It could be an hour, heck it could be a year! Shaking her head, she turned to the pot that contained hearts desires as she started to empty what looked like, a glowing pink stew into large bottles to be store for the Apple family. As she did so, she smiled and offered "We have much in common, you and I Jack. Tell me, would you care for a snack"?
Shaking his head, Jack went over to the corner as he stared out the window into the swampy forest. This was bad. She was some sort of witch doctor, yet she couldn't even help him get rid of his powers? Not even with this all powerful Heart's desire could he get rid of them. Hearing trotting, he turned to face Applejack.
"You feeling alright Jack" She asked, concern in her eyes as she had noticed his chance in emotion.
"Course I am, why wouldn't I be" he smiled fakely, shrugging as if to show what he was feeling was no big deal. He could feel his cheeks going red as Applejack crossed her hooves, and raised a suspicious brow.
"Jack, as the holder of the element of honesty; I can tell when some ponies lying. Also, you're not lying real convincingly right now. So c'mon, you can tell me what's wrong" Applejack insisted, her suspicions leaving her voice as it was replaced with encouragement.
Averting his eyes to the ground, Jack grumbled "Can you keep a secret…"? Receiving a nod, he said "I'm afraid Applejack. DON'T…say a word" he warned, stopping her from speaking as he finished "Yes, I know "Tough guy Jack, scared of something. Well, this is serious" he grumbled. Looking back up, he said "Throughout history, humans have been greedy through their desires. One of them, is man's control over everything and anything around them. This power I'm worried we'll change me, put ideas in my head that I'm superior and that all should bow to my power. Stuff like that. And if I do change, when will it end? Would it even have an end"? Getting all that off his chest, he was surprised as Applejack placed a comforting hoof on his shoulder.
"Jack, I can understand your worry. The princesses have all this power, but rather than use it to oppress and hurt others; they use their powers for good intentions. Power does tend to put ideas in one's head, but as long as one remembers what's important then they got nuthin to worry about" Applejack explained with a smile.
"But the princesses are ponies, I'm a human" Jack explained, as he tried to explain that there was a difference.
"And you think there's a difference? That only humans our filled with corrupted thoughts to do harm? That's abit naïve Jack" AJ sighed, shaking her head as she decided to use a friend as an example. "Look at Twilight, her magic is probably one of the most powerful I've ever seen. She admits that although she gets thoughts to use her powers to get back at bullies, she knows it's not the right thing to do; so by telling herself that she stays on course". Smiling as she was getting his attention, AJ spoke "Take Spike for example. When he was transformed into a Dragon because of greed, he was able to transform back to normal because he remembered the value of generosity and of friendship".
Applejack smiled as she said "Even if something does happen, know that your friends won't give up on ya no matter what happens". Patting him on the shoulder, she turned to leave him to his thoughts; hoping she had gotten through to him.
Jack stare down at his feet, still feeling abit doubtful even after Applejacks words of wisdom; yet at the same time feeling abit comforted in knowing that if something went wrong, that his..friends would work to help him out. At least that way, he would know that he's not alone. Looking back up, he watched as the last of the heart's desire was poured into another bottle. Scratching his head, he muttered "I guess that's it huh? Time to head back"?
Receiving a cheerful nod as all the ponies said their goodbyes to Zecora, Jack stepped up gruffly as he shrugged "Ah, it was nice meeting ya Zecora". Sticking out a hand, he smirked "Good to see theirs someone as weird as me".
Chuckling, Zecora shook his hand with a hoof as she remarked "Weird you say, I do not know. Around your friends, your kindness is shown". Seeing the humans blushing cheeks, she continued to laugh warmly as she watched him turn waving at her as he exited her home, following the Apple family.
"Heh heh, then I dun passed out from exhaustion when Big Macintosh here, pointed out I had only gotten half the apple bucking dun when I thought I had gotten all of it. I was pretty exhausted due to mah pride keeping me from accepting help" AJ chuckled, watching as her siblings laughed as they remembered the event whilst Jack merely smiled lightly, feeling better since their talk.
Big Macintosh was carrying a large satchel that contained the bottles of hearts desire, as the group headed home through the forest as they recounted previous events to Jack, who listened with interest.
"So in a way, you were like me huh? Refusing to accept help even though you clearly needed it" Jack remarked; knowing he was putting himself down at the same time. He accepted help yeah, but only on things he knew he couldn't get done on his own! Things like..like…math! God, he sucked hard at math! He would study for hours and hours, thinking he had gotten it stone cold; only to see he had flunked when getting his test back. That's what he hated about math: You'd try you're damnest and all it would do is make you feel like an idiot when you failed!
"Ah suppose so Jack, though when it came down to it; I realized I needed help from mah friends. Heh, wish I learned that earlier before putting mah self through all that Applebuckin. I think I was drifting in and out of consciousness a lot that day" she chuckled.
"Eeeyup" Big Macintosh smiled simply, as he was about to go into another story before freezing on the spot as suddenly a noise interrupted his thoughts. Raising a hoof, he realized where they had wound up! In a large clearing, trees on all sides with large bushes that were rattling and shaking; low growling coming from within the bushes. "Sumthin's here" he spoke simply, his voice low as he glared at where the growling was coming from.
Applebloom gasped in shock, backing up as she got behind Jack and AJ, shivering at whatever creature was making such a horrible noise as she stuttered "Wh..whatever it is, it sounds nasty". Multiple voices then sprang up, inciting more growling as she corrected "Whatever they are".
Jack stood his ground, as he muttered "Whatever they are, I'm sure we can take em". Averting his eyes all around, he muttered "Hopefully we can keep em from..".
"Shh.." AJ shushed him.
Jack glared into the bushes, wondering what sort of thing was going to attack him now! This had to be the third time now that something has tried to kill him. Maybe he was cursed or something? His eyes slowly got bigger, as they stared at…at…what the hell was it? It resembled a wolf that much was clear. Its eyes glowed an insidious yellow, blazing as they stared back into Jack's eyes. Its fur was covered in…tree bark? Like it was a tree wolf, if that made any sense at all. It had long claws on its paw's, and snarled to show dangerous looking fangs.
"T..Ti..Timber wolves" Applebloom gulped in fear, as more of these wolves emerged from the bushes, slowly surrounding and encircling the group. Backing up, she gulped "Granny Smith told how she was chased by this beast".
"I don't think they're here to give us the neighborhood greeting" Jack muttered low, as he watched the wolves pacing around them, daring the ponies and human to make a move. "It looks like they want a fight" Jack thought to himself in heavy annoyance. Glancing back at AJ and Big Macintosh, he muttered "I'm gonna charge em. Get Applebloom to safety and then come back to help if you want".
"Are you plum crazy" Big Macintosh asked in disbelief at this gutsy human.
Shaking his head, Jack responded "Nah, I'm not crazy. Just it seems I've been getting into a lotta fights lately with other creatures. May as well not deny it". Shifting the heel of his left foot up, he muttered "Go…now". Reaching down, he picked up a heavy stick as he kicked his heels and charged at the group, screaming "BANZAAAAAAAIIIIIIIII"!
"Go now" Applejack insisted, as she pushed for Applebloom to move, as they rushed towards the exit of the clearing. Jack had moxie, she had to give him that; but this was incredibly reckless of him! Charging in like that, screaming his head off. If he wasn't careful; he'd end up hurt or worse! Helping Applebloom up a tree, AJ instructed "Stay here and don't move".
Big Macintosh meanwhile was keeping an eye out for trouble, wanting eagerly to go back and help the human.
"But sis! Jack needs help" Applebloom insisted as she started to climb back down but was hesitant to do so when AJ gave her a stern look. "Pu..please make sure he doesn't get hurt" Applebloom asked; worried for her friend.
"Grrrrrrr" Jack growled back, as he had been forced onto his back by a timber wolf, and was now holding back its jaw's in the thick stick as Jack attempted to throw him off, using the stick like a shield. Seeing the wolf bite through the wood, Jack reached up as he fought with the dog; attempting to keep his muzzle away from him. "Get off" Jack shouted angrily, managing to get a flailing foot under the dog, and kick him off of him. Rolling up, he shifted his body back to avoid a slash to his cheek as he brought his boot up and kicked the flying dog in its stomach; sending it away from him. Turning around, he jumped back from a paw slash as he gripped the newcomer's tree fur and punched it square in the nose.
"Oowww" Jack hissed, shaking his now aching fist from punching hard bark. That moment of hesitation was all the dogs needed as one jumped onto Jacks back, forcing him to the ground. As he was about to be bitten, Jack closed his eyes as he waited to feel the pain. But it never came as suddenly the dog was sent flying off of his back. Getting up, Jack was surprised to see the timber on its back; after behind head butted off by Applejack, Big Macintosh right behind her.
"Wow..thanks" Jack muttered, getting back to his feet as he got back to back with Applejack and Big Macintosh. "Well, now we just need to take care of these morons" Jack grumbled.
Big Macintosh nodded as he charged into the middle of the mesh, kicking and hoofing away at any wolf that would dare get close to him. He let out a gasp as one of the wolves slashed at the satchel; creating a hole in it as he glared "How dare you"! Head butting the wolf, he failed to notice a bottle of hearts desire fall out and into the bushes.
AJ had her rope out, swinging it above her head as she jumped to avoid being slashed at; as she used her rope to tie around a group of the timber wolves, fastening it and bringing them together as they were all bunched up! "YEEEHAWWW" she shouted, as she kicked at the group; sending them spiraling all over. Backing up with Jack and Big Macintosh, she looked around rapidly as more seemed to appear outta nowhere.
"Any ideas" Big Macintosh asked, as he pawed the ground lightly with an intense glare in his eye. Despite how big the stallion was in comparison to the timber wolves, they were not intimidated due to their large amount of forces.
"Just one" Jack thought growling as his fist ignited into flames, matching his rising anger at the bastards that dared threaten his friends. Suddenly, a thought occurred in his head "Oh shoot" he muttered, realizing he couldn't use his fire powers in here! Surrounded by dead trees, if he lit up anything here; he'd burn down the forest! "Grrr…" Jack thought, as he noticed something. The wolves seemed sheepish, almost scared by the fire.
"Idea.." Jack muttered to himself, as he decided to see if he could use his powers on something internally rather than externally. Sending his ability to ignite stuff down to his vocal cords, he added heat to the vocal box to make his voice sound more threatening. "WHO DARES THREATEN THE GREAT AND POWERFUL JACK" Jack's voice boomed loudly, as his whole body ignited as he was covered in a fireball; maintaining the fire close to himself. Watching as the wolves yelped and started to back up, he shouted "LEAVE THIS PLACE, AND NEVER RETURN UNLESS YOU WISH TO SUFFER MY WRATH"! To make his point, he allowed his flame to become larger; as he started to cackle evilly into fooling the wolves.
That seemed unnecessary as the wolves turned with their tails between their legs, running for the hills. Watching as they ran, Jack smirked as he calmed down; the fire extinguishing from his body. Letting out a grumble, he shook his head rapidly as he shot the Apple family a chuckle. "Ahh, abit much" Jack asked casually.
"JACK" Applebloom shouted, giggling as she hug tackled the human; sending him to the ground as she succumbed to the typical child excitement. "That was so cool! I can't believe what I just saw! How did you" Applebloom smiled excited, but was shushed gently by Applejack.
"Heh heh, That was amazing Jack! I've never seen anything like that. How did yo.." She started to ask as she noticed how dizzy he appeared.
"No question please, let's just goes home" he smiled lightly, rubbing his forehead to help the pain leave his head.
The wolves had been running this entire time, unable to believe how easily that they had failed their mission. They were supposed to take care of the ponies when that damned human showed up! How were they supposed to please the master? Feeling a dark presences watching them, they slowly turned to face their master; shivering in fear as they gazed upon his sight. Looking down at their paws, one of the wolves walked up to the master; holding a bottle of hearts desire in his mouth.
The master titled his head in anticipation, as he beckoned for the wolf to approach. As the wolf stopped in front of him, the master gently took the heart's desire; as it started to glow; revealing the master's chaotic sense of fashion as Sid Coredin's face lit up; a malicious sneer etching over his face as he stared up the vial that could make all that he wanted to become a reality.
"Excellent.." Sid sneered slowly, a dark chuckle escaping his lips.
What are you up to Sid? Welp, till next week. Had to switch classes again like last year. I really am cursed when it comes to important things.