Chapter 12: Pumping Iron
I woke up the next day, bright and early. I walked down the stairs from Twilights guest bed and noticed everyone else already there, waiting for me.
"Good morning Dako," they all said.
"Good morning guys, what's for today?" I asked, tired.
"You're lifting weights," Applejack said winking.
"I don't think the weights you mentioned are real," I said flatly, half asleep.
Everyone laughed.
"You're right, it's hard labor," Applejack said.
We were all headed off to Sweet Apple Acres, but we didn't walk or fly or teleport. Nope, instead, everyone hopped into a wagon, and I pulled it all the way there, at six in the morning, after just waking up. I had a feeling that this day would kill me before Xendo could.
We finally arrived, just outside the barn where everyone hopped out of the wagon.
"Alright Dako, do you know how ya build muscle?" Applejack asked.
I stood there and blinked.
"No, how do I build muscle?" I asked.
"Well, Twilight?" Applejack asked.
"Right," Twilight began, "the process of building muscle takes place when one uses their muscles for extended periods of time and by exceeding comfortable capacities when using-."
Twilight was interrupted by Rainbow Dash who yawned loudly, causing me to yawn, causing Twilight to look at both of us angrily.
"Can you just give us the short version Twi?" Applejack suggested.
"Fine, when you work out you partially destroy muscle fibers, when you rest the muscle fibers heal and come back twice their original size to make up for the damage before," Twilight said, "which is why we brought you a Senzu bean for when you're done, instant muscle growth."
"Huh, so, where do I start?" I asked, getting somewhat eager.
"Well, we're gonna start with your upper body, so we're gonna start ya off on the plow," Applejack said.
I looked to my left and saw Big Macintosh pull a plow out of the barn and drag it to an empty field. He stood there, waiting for Applejack to continue.
"It'd be a big help if you could plow the whole field, I just might be able to grow them darn Senzu beans, I think I might have 'em figured out," Applejack said as we walked over to the plow.
I was strapped in and hooked up to the plow with a special harness that would help me strengthen my upper body and legs as well.
"Alright Dako, get to plowin'," Applejack said with a smile.
I leaned forward and tried to pull the heavy plow. I used every ounce of strength I could in my legs and in my chest and stomach. The plow inched forward about, well, about an inch. I looked back at the plow behind me.
"That's a good start," Applejack said, "now you just gotta get the rest of the field."
I slowly started off, pulling against the plow hard, using all my strength with the help of my energy to "boost" me. I had done maybe two rows of the field in one hour. I looked back to my friends who were sitting around the wagon, looking tired and bored. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie were asleep, Twilight was reading a book, Applejack lied on her back, looking at the clouds, Rarity was filing her hooves, and Fluttershy watched me carefully. I looked her in the eyes, and she smiled back.
"Huh. They all look, bored," I thought to myself, "Applejack, can I stop this now?"
"Not if you wanna defeat Xendo," Applejack replied, looking at the clouds.
I looked at all of my friends again, then met eyes with Fluttershy once again.
"I believe in you," she said, "do it for me."
I turned my head back to the field, looking out across it. It wasn't very big, maybe only one acre or so. I started to pull again, this time harder than before. Before I tried not to give it my all or to strain, but this time I started grunting with effort, picking up speed.
I began to pull the plow at walking speed, then to a fast walk. I was going pretty good, keeping my pace and inertia. The others heard me grunting and looked up. I could hear Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash both yawn, waking up.
"Whoa, what got into him?" Rainbow Dash asked from the wagon.
I kept pulling hard, tearing up the soil. I was close to halfway done now.
"He's doing it for me," Fluttershy said, "I believed in him, and he's doing it."
I heard Rainbow Dash start cheering me on.
"Yeah Dako, that's our guy! You can do it, show that field who's boss!" She shouted.
I kept going, tilling up the field, feeling sore with every step, but not giving up. I felt sweat dripping down my face.
"Yee-haw, now that's how ya plow a field!" Applejack shouted.
"Go Dako, beat up that field!" Pinkie Pie yelled.
I was fighting through the exhaustion, putting all my strength down with each step, my legs burning.
"It's all you Dako, remember, damaged muscle fibers!" Twilight yelled.
"Oh my, he's so strong," Rarity said.
I was on the last row, stomping my feet, on the last of my strength. I leaned into the harness, pulling hard, now growling in effort and pain, not wanting to give up. I was halfway done with the last row, making my way to the end, still going, almost shouting in effort with each step I took, until I reached the end, yelling with the last step in triumph, finally finished.
Applejack quickly came over and took the harness off of me as I fell to my knees, breathing hard.
"You did it!" They all cheered, crowding around me.
"Now, he ain't finished yet," Applejack said.
The others looked at her confused.
"Of course I got more planned for 'im, he ain't gonna beat Xendo easily, so he aint' gonna finish this easily," Applejack said.
After I had five minutes to breath Applejack led the rest of us into the barn. It felt like a sweatshop in there. It was incredibly hot and humid, and there was no ventilation to speak of.
"Geez AJ," I said, "how can you work in here?"
"Ya get used to it," she said, "in here I'll let you do some plain ol' exercise, the heat'll make it difficult enough."
"See that center beam over there?" Applejack asked, pointing to a large wooden post holding the ceiling up.
"Yeah? What about it?" I asked.
"You're gonna do a handstand while leanin' up against that there post," she started, "and I wanna see you do a hundred, no, two hundred push ups."
"Okay, but, what if I can't do any-." I was interrupted before I could finish.
"Well that's what this here cactus is for," Applejack said, "if you feel like you wanna lay down an' rest prematurely, this lil' cactus here'll remind you that you ain't finished yet."
"Um, Applejack, I don't know if we want to risk such an injury," Twilight started.
"Nonsense! He'll be fine, now get to it Dako!" Applejack shouted.
I floated off the ground and spun myself upside down, I put my hands out to the floor and leaned myself against the post. Applejack slid the potted cactus plant underneath my face.
"Now remember Dako, two hundred push ups, get on it!" Applejack yelled, whistling for me to start.
I began doing push ups, no problem, I was still pretty strong, and luckily I didn't weigh much so I didn't have much to lift, but these vertical push ups were kind of tough. I was still a little winded from the plow, but my arms were fine, but I was still a little exhausted.
"That's fifty, a hundred and fifty more to go," Applejack said, counting off my push ups.
I kept going, my arms definitely feeling sore, I kept going no matter what, because I did not want a face full of cactus. I kept pushing, lifting myself up and down.
"How do ya feel?" Applejack asked.
"Like, my arms, are gonna, catch on, fire," I said between push ups.
"Good, keep going, ya only got a hundred left," Applejack said.
I did keep going, shutting my eyes tightly I kept going, pushing through the pain and burn. I had never worked out so hard in all my life. I was really wishing I could have that Senzu bean right about now.
I was on the last couple of push ups now, and I was starting to get really weak, my arms were shaking with every push up. I was grunting with effort, and fear of getting a cactus in my face.
"Come on Dako, just three more, three more push ups!" Twilight said, sitting next to me.
"Oh Dako, please don't give up, you can do it," Fluttershy cheered.
"Rrgh! I can't feel, my arms, anymore!" I shouted, trying my hardest to lift myself.
I was pushing as hard as I could in my mind and giving everything I had, but my arms had completely given out, there was no response. No matter how hard I pushed, my arms wouldn't move, they were completely maxed out, not one single push up was left in them. I suddenly felt myself slipping, falling towards the cactus.
"Oh-ho-no you don't, gimme three more push ups!" Applejack said.
I tried to push away from the cactus, trying as hard as I could with using any energy, but it was useless. I only had one way out. I screamed at the top of my lungs as I pushed off with one arm and fell on the other, falling sideways, over and away from the cactus. I hit the straw covered floor hard, panting and coughing.
"Well, I guess one ninety seven is good enough," Applejack said.
I lied there, trying to move my arms, the feeling was starting to come back to them. Fluttershy was lying right next to me, wiping my forehead with one of her hooves, making sure I was alright.
"There, there, you worked real hard and now you just need to relax," Fluttershy said softly.
"No, I've gotta do better," I said, breathless.
"Dako, you've done enough, you've already exceeded our expectations," Twilight said.
"No," I started, "I've gotta push myself harder. This won't cut it."
"Now you're just talkin' crazy," Applejack said.
I stood up slowly and walked back to center beam. I leaned against it, catching my breath. I didn't feel like I could do anymore push ups for a month.
"You know, on second thought, maybe you're right. What else is next?" I asked.
"Well, I was gonna hang ya by your legs from the rafters an' have ya do sit ups while holding a sack of flour," Applejack said, looking up at the hayloft.
"Well, let's get to it, we only got two days left," I said, soaked in sweat.
I took my shirt and under shirt off, trying to cool off, but I felt even hotter in the humidity and stillness of the air in the barn.
Applejack pointed to a sack of flour near a table behind me. I grabbed it and floated up to the hayloft, hanging my legs on the edge.
"So, sit ups?" I asked, checking to make sure.
"Yup, just sit ups," Applejack confirmed.
I held the flour sack to my chest, and began sitting up, up and down, hanging from the rafter. I was doing okay to start, but I could tell, it wouldn't be long until I was weak and exhausted like last time, and I'd be dying to stop.
"How many, do you want?" I asked between sit ups.
"Let's go with another two hundred," Applejack suggested.
I continued doing my sit ups, hanging there like a bat. I reached fifty in no time at all.
"Looking good Dako, you're a real athlete up there!" Rainbow Dash shouted up.
I would've thanked her, but I was too busy counting my sit ups. I kept going, starting to feel the weight of the flour in my arms. I was breathing hard now, trying to keep up with gravity and the weight of the flour. As I thought about it, it didn't really matter how strong I got since the time I first came to Equestria a year ago. By now I was completely weakened, and I might as well have been starting from scratch.
"One fifty, don't stop now," Applejack said.
I kept on going with that in mind, but I was really slowing down now. I kept thinking to myself that I only had fifty more to go, but I was slowing down with exhaustion, and fifty seemed pretty far away by now. I was getting weak again, my stomach was almost cramping up, my abs were on fire, absolutely sore.
I was trying to get past one hundred and eighty six and was halfway up, when my abs just quit on me, I fell back, swinging almost under the hayloft. My legs lost their grip on the rafter, causing me to fall all the way down to the ground, almost twenty feet down. I didn't have time to stop myself, and I was too weak. I fell flat on my face, landing on the flour sack, making it explode, throwing flour everywhere.
I heard everyone start coughing and choking on the flour in the air. Fluttershy, Twilight, and Applejack ran over to me, rolling me over and off of the flour sack. I lied there with my eyes shut tight, my face in pain.
"Oh no, Dako, you're bleeding," Fluttershy gasped.
"Ugh, I messed that up, didn't I?" I said, tasting blood in my mouth.
Not only could I taste blood, but I could smell it too, the metallic, iron taste and smell. Apparently I busted my lips and nose, but luckily I didn't break my nose. It didn't seem unbelievable that I got a nosebleed, I had a pretty big nose that really stuck out there.
"Dako, how do you feel, you didn't hit your head to hard did you?" Twilight asked.
"Me, of course not, what are you 'saiyan' to me? I can handle it," I joked.
I slowly stood up, wiping the blood from my nose and mouth, which was kind of pointless, since whenever I had a nosebleed it always gushed like a faucet. I looked around at the mess I made, including myself. The place was covered in flour, and so were my clothes, luckily they were stain resistant.
"I guess I could help you clean this up, huh Applejack," I said.
"Now, don't worry yourself about that, I'll get this cleaned up later, right now we still gotta whip ya into shape, I got just one last thing for you," Applejack said.
We all followed her out of the barn, even though it was bright and sunny outside it felt nice and cool compared to the sweltering heat of the barn. Applejack led us to the side of the barn where there were a couple of anvils sitting around.
"You know what, I think I'll take that Senzu bean now," I said.
"No Dako, not until you're finished with your workout," Twilight said.
"I don't know Twi, compared to the other stuff I gave 'im, I don't know if he can do this," Applejack said.
"Now, now, let's see what it is, I think I can do it," I said, still bleeding from my nose, blood all over my chest and some on my pants.
"Dako, no, look at all that blood," Fluttershy said.
"Honey don't worry, it's nothing. It just looks bad because there's so much blood," I said.
"Well, you're supposed to lift those anvils like they were regular weights, but, I don't know if you got the strength left in your arms after all that," Applejack said uncertainly.
"I can do this, I think, but how about I go all out, if this is the last workout for the day?" I asked.
"Well, if ya think you're up to it. What d'ya have in mind?" Applejack asked.
I looked around and saw a dead tree nearby.
"What's the story on that tree over there? I didn't think an apple farmer like you would lose a tree," I said.
"Oh, that tree," Applejack started, "carpenter ants, worse than termites, they got all in it and ate the poor thing to death. Thankfully I stopped 'em before they could spread."
"You wouldn't mind if I pulled it up, would you?" I asked Applejack.
"Well I don't suppose I, wait, are you sayin' you think you can actually pull that thing up?" Applejack asked.
"Well, I'm gonna try," I said, walking towards the tree.
I looked at the tree closely, seeing the dead bark peeling off. I looked at the branches above, noticing where plenty had already broken off. I knew that by looking at a trees branches you could get an idea as to how big the roots were and how deep. But since this tree had been dead for a while I knew it wouldn't take a whole lot to pull it up, most of the roots had rotted away or would break.
I reached around the tree with my arms, squatting so I could grab down low. I squeezed my grip around the tree and began pulling with all my might. I lifted with every ounce of strength I had in my legs, pulling hard. My feet started to sink into the ground, just a little bit, and I could hear and feel a cracking sound throughout the tree. It started to budge, coming upward a couple of inches. I lifted with all my might, straining all my muscles, pulling as hard as I could. I lifted with my legs and arms, pulling the tree out of the ground, breaking the roots.
I leaned back, almost hugging the tree. I held the tree upward, laying it down, gently. I heard the others start cheering for me.
"Wow, you sure can be tough when you want to," Applejack said.
But they didn't know how badly I had actually just hurt myself.
"Yup, but, I actually, kinda hurt my back," I said, strained, falling to my hands and knees.
"Ok, that's it, time for a Senzu bean," Twilight said.
She levitated a pouch and opened it up. She lifted out a single bean and brought it over to me.
"Here, eat it quickly," she said.
I grabbed it out of the air, quickly chewing it up and swallowing. I stood up, slowly, trying not to overdo myself. I suddenly felt rejuvenated, good as new.
"Whew, how about those beans!?" I said, checking myself.
"Yeah, well, we only have a few left, so you better be careful from now until the fight," Twilight said.
"Yeah, yeah, I know, I will be. I feel much stronger now. Why don't we repeat those exercises? Then I can make much more progress, eat just one more Senzu bean, and I'll be fine," I suggested.
At first Twilight didn't really agree, but after some convincing, she realized I was right, and that I was still very weak. So we repeated the exercises, another three times before I ate another Senzu bean. Finally, I felt like I had the strength to match my power. I finally felt like I had a real chance at beating Xendo. If I could survive the training my friends worked so hard to put me through, then I could have a fighting chance at Xendo.
