I was abruptly woken up by a blade of light cutting through the cracks of my bedroom curtain and shining right into my eyes. I let out a deep yawn as I slowly started clamoring to consciousness. I rubbed my eyes to help them adjust to the light of the room as I sat up in my bed still wearing my hoodie and jeans from the day before. To my left I saw twilight, sleeping below me on a futon wrapped up comfortably in her blankets. She was fast asleep. As I started to wake up a bit more I thought I could hear something coming from the living room. I tried focusing a bit more and I was sure that there were sounds coming from the other room, I soon became very suspicious and slowly crawled out of my bed. I started inching towards the door and placed my hand into my back pocket.

I pulled out my knife and switched it open. I slowly made my way to the door until I was directly in front of it. I placed my hand on the knob and slowly turned it. I quickly pushed the door open and looked around the room. To my relief it was only the TV that was making the noises, which means the power must have returned, that's good. I let out a breath of relief and quietly closed the door behind me. I walked out into the living room to see not much has really changed. I walked over to the TV and switched it off. I looked to my left and saw the window. It was almost impossible to see outside of it, since I must be covered in snow and ice. I walked over to the window and tried opening it, but it was frozen shut. I tried again but this time with more force. The window flew open and the crack of ice filled the air. All the ice on the window broke off in large chunks and fell to the ground where it shattered like glass upon impact.

I looked outside at the desolate wasteland that the storm had left behind. Everything was covered in snow and then iced over. There was even a tree which had at some point fallen over last night and was now lying perfectly across the road. It's a good thing that id didn't wreck anybody's house. As I stood there with the window open I noticed that the temperature outside and the temp in my house weren't so different. It was fucking cold in this apartment. With the loss of power that meant there was no heat, so my apartment had a long time to cool down. I closed the window as not to let the house freeze anymore than it already is. I closed the window and looked back into the house. I was just noticing that I could see my own breath every time I exhaled. I feel like going back to bed and wrapping myself up in my blankets, it's too fucking cold. I started wondering about work but I realized that there probably isn't going to be any work today, no pony in their right mind would go out on a day like this, everything's iced over. I'm sure that my boss will call me soon and tell me there's no work. Just then my cellphone in the kitchen started to ring.

"Speak of the devil…" I said to myself. I slowly walked my way over to the kitchen and looked around for my phone. I found it lying on the counter and picked it up. I flipped it open and put it to my ear. "Hello?" I said into the phone.

"Hey there zack… uh, how's it going?" asked a familiar voice over the phone. It was my boss, like I said.

"Oh, Mr. Smith." I said acting surprised although I really wasn't. "Everything's fine."

"Did you get through the storm alright?" he asked.

"Yep. Nothing major, a tree got blown over on the street, uh… power went out and now my house is like, 20 damn degrees." I said. He chuckled a bit.

"Well Zack you're a strong kid, I'm sure you'll be fine." He said. He wasn't the greatest boss, and was sometimes a real douche, but he was one of the few people that tolerate my existence, so he doesn't necessarily hate me like most others do. I did notice that his voice did seemed bit melancholy, like he was troubled by something.

"Hey uh… Mr. Smith, are uh… you feeling alright, you sound like something's bothering you."

"Yeah uh… something is bothering me a bit…" he said. "Well… a lot." There was a brief pause where I wanted to ask him if he was alright but I thought that he might say something else. Soon enough he did come through and started talking again, breaking the silence. "Look uh, Zack… this isn't easy to say… but, uh… well the shop is… uh…it's gone." He said. I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head for a second; it was the pain of regret. I could already tell what was coming, but I played dumb for some reason.

"Wa-what do you mean…gone?" I asked.

"The roof caved in during the storm." He said. "All the stock is destroyed, and… I… I, I can't afford to cover the losses from the stock as well as repairs, even with unicorn magic, it's still expensive. Now, I hate saying this…I really do, and I know things were starting to look up with the raise… but it doesn't do anybody much good now does it."

"So… Mother Nature just fucked us out of our jobs… is that what you're telling me?" I asked.

"Yeah…" he said. There was another brief pause before I spoke up again.

"Okay then… uh, well… thanks… I think. I don't know what for really… but thank you." I said. "I, uh… hope you do well." I said. With that I closed the phone shut and ended the call without saying goodbye. I stood there for a few minutes with the phone in my hand, completely motionless. Then I started feeling dizzy, and sick. I felt like I was going to throw up, like I was gagging on something. I finally managed to turn myself around and started to slowly saunter into the living room. I slowly walked over to the couch and sat down. I dropped the phone somewhere between the couch and the kitchen, I don't really know when, all I know is that when I went to put it on the coffee table it wasn't in my hand anymore. I just sat there a stared at the blank TV for a good few minutes. I don't think I've ever had to smoke a cigarette so badly in my life.

I fumbled around my pockets until I grabbed my pack of cigarettes and the lighter. I put one of the cigs in my mouth and lit it up. I took a deep breath and held it in for as long as I could before breathing out all the smoke. I sat there puffing away at the cigarette until there was nothing left but the stump of the filter. I used the glass lid of the scented candle to put my cigarette butt in and ended up taking out another cigarette. I put that one in my mouth too and started smoking it. It started making me feel better… almost. I at least wasn't feeling sick to my stomach anymore. But I couldn't believe that I just got fucked over like that. And the worst part is that there's nobody to be mad at, nobody to blame. All I can do is sit here and feel regret and anger at absolutely nothing. And what's worse is when you start taking in the harsh reality that follows.

Without a job I won't be able to buy food for myself, or even afford rent. I'd have to move back with my parents. I've only got 126 bits to my name… that's it. I barely made enough to save up any amount of money at all. That raise would have put me ahead by a lot. I have to pay rent this Saturday, and it's already Tuesday. Rent is 75 bits. With that gone I've only got 51 bits left, that's not enough to afford rent the next month. So I'll have to buy a train ticket and move in with my parents in manehattan. If I have to leave then I'll be leaving everything behind. That means twilight and I can't be friends anymore, and she's the only friend I've ever made, and most likely will be the last friend I make ever. I sat there smoking my cigarette when I heard the creaking of a door right behind me followed by the sound of hooves.

"Good morning." Said twilight behind me as she made her way over to me. Her mane was a little messy and she seemed a bit groggy, but she was smiling, and it was very becoming of her.

"Yeah… good morning." I said knowing that there was nothing good about it. I was even talking in a depressed melancholy attitude; I guess there was no hiding it at this point.

"Are you smoking right now?" she asked. "You know you shouldn't smoke inside, it's not safe." Said twilight walking over. She looked down at the table and saw the other cigarette butt in the glass cover and looked at me. "is this your second cigarette?" she asked.

"Yeah, it is…" I said. "I… uh, well… I don't know." I said.

"Are you feeling alright, you look like you might be sick." She said.

"I… I think I might be, at least I feel sick, I don't know if I really am though." I said.

"Maybe you caught something overnight, it is cold in here from the lack of power." She said shivering a little bit. I didn't respond to her and she just looked at me with a worried look. She sat down on the couch next to me as I finished smoking the rest of my cigarette and blowing the smoke away from twilight into the open room. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Yeah… yeah there is." I said.

"What is it?" twilight moved closer to me and gave me a concerned look.

"well… while you were sleeping my boss called, he… uh, he said that the roof of the store I work at caved in… so I'm out of a job." I said.

"oh, Zach, i.. I'm sorry to hear that, can you get a new one?" she asked.

"That isn't the end of it." I said. "Since I don't have a job anymore I'll have to move in with my parents in manehattan. I've only got 126 bits, that's barely enough to afford a train ticket. I won't be able to pay the rent for this month, so unless I find a job by Saturday… I'll have to pack up and leave."

"No… you can't leave, I…I mean we just became friends and all… there has to be another way, we can get you a job by Saturday easily."

"no we can't, to get a job is more complicated than you think, you have to hand in your resume, then wait for them to call you and set up a interview, and even then they might say no or it'll take them a long time to respond, at the quickest somebody could get a job in about a month." I said. twilight stopped trying to argue and she then grew silent. We both sat there in bitter anticipation, we both knew that I'd have to leave now, and neither of us really want that. Suddenly the silence was broken when twilight coughed and then started to speak up.

"Actually…" she said. "I might know of a job that could hire you on the spot." She said. Her words rung through my ears and filled my head with hope. I sprung to life and put all my attention on twilight.

"Are you serious, you can get me a job like… today?" I asked hopefully.

"Well, yes I suppose… but, you might not like It." she said.

"Twilight I honestly don't care, I need a job and if it's a job that'll pay me then I'll gladly take it." I said honestly.

"Well, alright then, I guess we should head over then, if you're ready that is." Twilight said. I vigorously agreed and we both got ourselves ready to head on over to this job twilight was mentioning. As we left the apartment I closed the door behind me and locked it shut and we started to make our way down the long overhang to the stairs. Everything outside was completely covered in ice and slippery as fuck. We began making our way to the stairs down to ground level as a cold breeze blew through the air. I walked over to the stairs and took the first step and on the stairs and all I remember was that suddenly I jerked forward a bit and there was no longer any ground under my feet. Everything after that was a blur but suddenly I found myself at the bottom of the stairs with a splitting headache and pain on various spots on my body. "ZACK!" shouted twilight who I assumed was now rushing over to me. Everything was a bit of a blur but I managed to get my bearings and come to my senses.

"My body… so much pain…" I muttered out.

"Are you alright?" asked twilight looming over me now. She looked at me with her big purple eyes.

"ugh… I guess…" I said.

"are you really though?"

"No… not really." I said. "But I'll walk it off, we should keep going."

"Are you sure… that was one hell of a fall."

"I don't remember any of it, all I know is that my head hurts." I said.

"You should really be more careful." Said twilight.

"Yeah… I will." I said. "C'mon lets go." I got back up and brushed some of the snow off me. Me and twilight began walking down the frost and ice covered roads heading towards...well, wherever. Twilight didn't tell me where we were going, but I was a bit too excited to ask. I wasn't overly excited, but it did feel good to know that I have a solid chance now. I don't want to leave this town, it's become too much like home and I couldn't bear leaving it behind, even after I just made a friend... And actual friend. A living, breathing, being that actually enjoys being with me and doesn't hate my guts with a passion. I could help but keep a subtle smile on my face as we kept making our way down the road. I had noticed that twilight wasn't as excited as I was, in fact she seemed rather worried about something. Soon enough though we had taken a sudden right down the road. Before me was a large path covered in snow surrounded by acres and acres of dead trees. Above was a sign that read "sweat apple acres"

"Is this the place?" I asked.

"Yeah this is it." Said twilight.

"Farm work isn't the most glamorous job ever, but it sure beats unemployment." I said.

"Yeah, I'm sure it does... C'mon, let's go." She said walking forward. I followed her and we began making our way down the snow covered path. As we kept walking and trees swung by us a large red barn soon came into view. As well as sheep pens, chicken coups, and even a large red farmhouse too. This place was a real barnyard. We kept walking and made our way down the path and eventually to the farmhouse. Twilight walked up to the door and knocked on it. There was a voice coming from inside that said something, but I couldn't make out the words. Soon I could hear hoofsteps and soon the top half of the door creaked open and an orange pony with blonde hair and a cowboy hat stuck her head out.

"Oh, evenin' twilight..." Said the pony. "Wait a cotton pickin' second... What are y'all doing 'ere with him?" Asked the pony looking over to me and then back at twilight.

"Applejack I need a huge favor." Said twilight. "I need you to give sack the job opening you've been looking for." Said twilight.

"Ain't no way In hell that's gonna happen." Said applejack.

"Please applejack." Said twilight. "You know as well as I that humans are hard workers, and he won't get into any trouble." She said. "C'mon, please?"

"Why should I?" She asked.

"Well, it's been a month already... And so far he's the only one who's even bothered to think about the job." Said twilight. Applejack blushed a little from embarrassment and darted her eyes around.

"Sorry twi, but I don't ire thugs and hooligans." Said applejack.

"He's not a thug... C'mon, he's a great guy... You haven't even gotten a chance to know him." Said twilight. "How about this... One day... Give it one day, if you don't like him then you don't have to hire him, but just give him a chance... Trust me, he's not what you think." Applejack looked between the both of us and finally rested her eyes on me for a while. I stared back at her trying not to seem suspicious or shady. I was even starting to sweat from the suspense.

"Alright twilight, I trust ya... One day, and we'll see." She said. Twilight let out a sigh of relieve, as well did I.

"Thank you applejack." Said twilight. "I promise that he'll work hard and won't cause trouble." She said. Applejack walked out from her house and closed the door behind her. She let out a depressed sigh and looked over me.

"Alright... Uh, kid." She said forgetting my name already. "Take off yer sweater for a sec." I did as she asked not wanting to make her upset. I took it off and I was wearing a short sleeved shirt underneath. The bitter cold brushed up against my arms and I shivered slightly. She looked over me and circled around me checking me up and down. "Well, he ain't the scrawniest person I ever did see... But he ain't much for heavy liftin, which is fine i s'pose." One she was done I quickly put my sweater back on and zipped it up.

"I'll be going then... I hope everything turns out well." Said twilight. She smiled and waved goodbye and I did too. She started making her way back through the path and soon it was just me and applejack. We stood there awkwardly until I decided to say something.

"So...uh, what's first then?" I asked.

"First we go over the rule..." She said. I shut my mouth and listened closely. "First, you're to git her ass over 'ere by seven every morning, once her here I'll give you a list of things that need doing then you get to work." She said. "You don't take a break unless I tell ya too, and ya don't go home until everything's done, and it's done right. Ya understand? She asked

"Uh, y-yes ma'am." I said.

"But that's only if I'm willing ta give ya the job... Got it?"

"Yes..." I said.

"Righty then... First up is firewood." She said. "Follow me." She said walking towards the barn. I followed her into the barn and we walked in together. She lead me over to a large stump of the ground with an axe buried in it. She walked then over to a large pile of logs that had been stances up against the wall of the barn. She grabbed one and placed it on the large stump standing up and grabbed the axe. She lifted the axe up and swung it down hard on the log and it split right into two pieces. The grabbed one of the two pieces and repeated the process. "Got it?" She asked like she had just explained everything by performing it.

"Uh yeah..." I said.

"I want you to cut at least twenty of these logs into pieces of four. Then once your done carry them over to the pallets by the house and stack them up and put the tarp over them." She said. "Once your done grab a shovel from over there and come help me shovel the pathways."

"Alright..." I said grabbing the axe she placed down and grabbing the other half o the log she had split.

"And that log doesn't count." She said grabbing a shovel and waking out. Once she was gone and I was all alone I let out a sigh of relief. I finished the log she started and grabbed a new one and placed it on the large stump. She seemed pretty upset with me for no real reason. Then again, that's how most people and ponies are toward me. I just let it go and raised the axe up high. I swung down on the piece of wood and hit it a bit off centered. The axe slipped out of my hands and a piece of wood splintered off and flew at me. It hit me and stabbed me in the shoulder. I let out a small grunt of pain and shouted out a curse or two, but quieted myself. I checked the damage and it wasn't that bad, it just hurt a lot. I pulled the rather large splinter from my body and tossed it away. I started to bleed but only slightly, it would heal in no time. I grabbed the axe again and set the log back up. I held the axe up high but trie to center it this time. I swung the axe down and luckily for me I hit it dead in the middle and it split in two. I kept doing what applejack was doing and split each log into fours.

It wasn't until five logs later that I had started to feel my arms getting tired, but I didn't quit. I stopped for a minute and stretched my arms which helped out a lot. After that I kept on swinging and cutting down the logs. It was a bit rough at first, a few misses and off centered hits, but I soon got used to it and was beginning to split logs like a pro. Once I had finally cut down twenty logs I placed the axe down and let out a deep breath. Now I had to carry them to the house, which wasn't too far. So I leaned down and grabbed several pieces of wood in my arms and started carrying them out of the barn to the house. Once I was out there he old hit me again and I shivered slightly. I looked around and a good proportion of the snow around the house was shoveled away and I could see applejack not too far away shoveling away more with the shovel in her teeth. She looked over at me and I looked at her but she quickly looked away as if she was ignoring me. I just casually looked away and waked to the pallets by the side of the house and placed down the pieces of wood. Once that was done I turned around and headed back into the barn for more.

The time it took to cut down all that wood and the time it took to carry the pieces to the pallets by her house was roughly around an hour and a half. Every time I left the barn there was just a little more path visible than before. Whenever I looked at her I would catch her giving me a strange glare and then turning away. I walked back tot he barn one last time and grabbed the shovel she pointed out before and then left. I made my way across the large dirt circle in front of her house and soon walked up beside her.

"Yer done already?" She asked.

"Yep, twenty logs, all cut into four pieces and then placed on the pallets by the side of the house." I said.

"Huh... Well, good job I s'pose." She said. "What's wrong with yer shoulder?" She had noticed that I was rubbing it since it was sore now.

"Uh, nothing much." I said. "I hit one of the logs funny and I splinter shot off and got me in the shoulder... I'll be fine, it was a while ago." I said. "It's just sore."

"Well... Be more carefull, I'm not responsible for anything that happens to you here, got that?" She asked in a very stubborn voice, but I could tell that she cared somewhat. "Anyway... Let's get to it, we got shoveling to do." She said. I soon got to shoveling and we started to make our way around and down the path shoveling away the snow and clearing out the path. The snow was wet and heavy, as well as frozen over the top, so shoveling was not an easy task. I was reaching that strange feeling where I've started to freeze inside of my sweater but it's too cold to take it off. Me and applejack shoveled away in silence, and I decided to try and break the ice.

"So, uh... Did you get through the storm alright?" I asked.

"Yeah, we survived." Said applejack.

"We?"

"Ah share this farm with my brother Big Mac, my little sis applebloom, and mah Granny Smith." She said.

"That's good." I said.

"Applebloom's at school right now, Big Macs out in town shovelin' the roads." She said. "Granny's inside."

"Did you loose power at all?" I asked.

"The farm doesn't run on much power, just enough to get by the new fancy machines we got, I'm sure that we did, but I haven't noticed. We keep the house warm by lighting fires and lighting candles."

"I ended up loosing power last yesterday, that means I didn't get any heat... So my apartment isn't much colder than the weather outside." I said.

"Sounds rough." Added applejack.

"I'll be fine. Power came back and the heats already kicked on, I'm sure it'll be much warmer by the time were done and I get home."

"Hopefully." She said quietly as she turned away. I gazed at her for a second but went back to shoveling. Once we finished shoveling we started heading back, I was excited to be done with shoveling, until applejack told me there was a second path connecting to the east side of town. Once she told me I let out a devastated groan and I managed to catch her smile. She reassured me that it wouldn't be as bad, even though the path was longer it was also thinner, so we could breeze through it. We started on the path and soon enough we had already made our way into it. I could feel applejack starting to warm up to me a little bit, and I didn't particularly hate her, even though she did say some things to me while back when I first met twilight, but the past is the past.

"Hey applejack?" I asked catching her attention.

"Yeah?" She inquired.

"Uh..." I wanted to ask her something, but I figured that maybe it was a bit soon. "Uh... Never mind, it's nothing." I said.

"Uh... Alright then, we'd better watch ourselves, these hills here are kinda steep, more snow could fall down if we ain't careful." Said applejack pointing out the hills. I looked around and did notice that there were steep hills up ahead, very large and steep hills. As we continued to shovel through we soon found ourselves in this crux of the two steep hills and everything was deathly silent. I stuck my shovel into the ground and tossed the snow off to the side. The impact of the snow I threw caused more snow in the steep hill to crumble down and cover the spot that I had just dug.

"Are you kidding me?" I said annoyed. Applejack started laughing. She lunged her shovel into the ground as she laughed and the disturbance caused snow behind her to make a small avalanche down and it waved past her and the pushing force of the snow caused her to fall into the snow. I now started to laugh as well, a bit more louder than applejack a laughter. I she got back up and brushed herself off and I thought she would be mad, but she started to laugh too and we both laughed together. Soon a loud rumble overtook our laughter and we both stopped.

"Oh my..." Said applejack.

"That doesn't sound good." I said. Soon enough snow from both sides of the large hills started to fall down all around us and we were caught in a double sided avalanche. I was soon washed over on all sides by snow and eventually completely buried. Once the rumbling was done I opened my eyes to find myself completely buried in snow now. I thrashed around and threw my arms everywhere and tried to unbury myself. The snow was piled high above me. Even when I stand, so I'm going to have to dig forward until I find something. So I started digging and it wasn't long until I broke out of the snow and fell over the large mound of snow that had now accumulated the entirety of the valley we had been in. I let out a deep sigh and laughed a bit more. I looked back at the large mass of snow and noticed that applejack wasn't coming out. I started to panic again and quickly tried scaling the mountain of snow.

I began shoveling out the snow with my bare hands and threw large chunks of snow to the left and right. I started digging in the vicinity of where me and applejack were and kept shoveling away with my bare hands. I started shoving my arms deep into the snow trying to see if I could feel her that way, but it was hard when I myself was starting to sink into the loosely packed snow. I had to keep myself up while searching for her. My fingers were numb, completely numb and were turning an off shade of reddish purple. I drove my arm back into the snow once more and it stopped short once I had hit something soft and fuzzy. I knew it was her and immediately began digging and throwing snow out of the way. Soon shades of orange started appearing past the white snow, and once there was enough snow off of her I drove both hands in and grabbed her. I tried pulling her out but it wasn't easy since I kept sinking into the snow.

I kept pulling and she got closer and closer to the surface. Finally after one fierce tug I pulled her right out and fell back. I tumbled out of the loosely packed mountain of snow and fell right back down to the ground we had shoveled. I was covered in snow. It had gotten into my sweater and down my pants and stung my skin. I couldn't feel my face or my hands at all. My nose was dripping and I was sure to get a cold from this, at the least. I just hope I don't get frostbite or something else like hypothermia. I hope applejack I fine too. I looked over to her and she had her eyes closed tightly like she was cold. She laid on her back against the pile of snow. I laid on my face with snow enveloping my legs. I moaned and picked myself up. I looked over to see that applejack was fine as she had started to open her eyes.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"Y-you dug me out." She said somewhat surprised.

"Yeah. If course... I couldn't let you freeze in there." I said.

"Thank you kindly..." She said. "How's about we call it a day, c'mon, I'll let you into my house so y'all can warm up." She said. I looked over at her and smiled.

"Thanks." I said. We returned to applejack a farm house quickly after and I got the chance to meet Granny Smith. She was a very kind old mare, she didn't seem to have a problem with who I was, so we got along well. When she heard what happened she sat us down in front of the fireplace immediately and gave us warm blankets. I had to take my sweater and shirt off since they were soaked, as well as my pants. My underwear were soaked too, but I refused to take those off. Once we were sat down by the fire Granny Smith went off to the kitchen and made us hot cocoa. Once the mood had settled and I was beginning to warm up me and applejack laughed over the whole thing. So there I was, sitting in applejack a house by the fire drinking hot chocolate... In my underwear.

"Don't worry about your clothes." Said applejack. "Give them a few minutes by the fire and I'm sure they'll warm up and dry." She said. She had a huge fireplace with which my clothes were hanging In front of.

"I hope so..." I said. "I can't really leave until they're dry, I sure as hell won't make it back home in just my underwear." I said. We sat there for a second and I felt a sneeze welling up inside. I started taking in a deep breath and let out a loud sneeze making sure to cover my mouth. "Ah...crap." I said.

"Ha, I was wondering when y'all were gonna sneeze." Said applejack laughing. She laughed at me until she sneezed as well and even louder than me. She was silent for a second but I had started laughing, and she joined in too.

"So that's all the work for today?" I asked after the laughter died down.

"I suppose so." Said applejack. "I'm gonna need your help tomorrow to clear out all that snow, I'll have to get Big Mac out here too to help shovel it all away."

"So does that mean I got the job?" I asked.

"Yes... It means you got the job." Said applejack rolling her eyes.

"YES!" I said excitedly doing a quick fist pump. Suddenly behind us the door opened up and me and applejack looked back to see who it was. Just then a little yellow filly walked in through the door. She had ginger red hair and a large bow holding it up.

"Sis ahm home!" She shouted gleefully. When she noticed us at the fire she looked over curiously. "Hey sis. Why is there a human sitting in our livingroom... And why's he naked?" She asked a little embarrassed. I quickly blushed in embrassment knowing very well that I was only wearing boxers, mildly damp boxers at that, so they were very uncomfortable.

"This is zack... He's the new farmboy." Said applejack. "He'll be commin 'round a bit ta help out at the farm."

"That's great and all... But why's he naked?"

"My, uh... Clothes got wet from the snow... So they're drying... That's them there." I said pointing to them.

"Ah... I get it." She said waking over past me to my clothes. "So these is human clothes huh? Wow, they're really big." She said looking over them.

"I suppose they are." I said.

"Hey sis, how come humans need to wear clothes all the time but us ponies don't?" She asked. I suddenly started to blush a bit from the question, and so did applejack.

"Applebloom, what did I tell ya 'bout asking dumb questions?" Scolded applejack.

" but it ain't a dumb question... I wanna know." She said.

"I'll let you know when you're older." Said applejack.

"Why do I have to be older?"

"What's that Granny Smith... What? You made applebloom some hot chocolate, how nice." She said. I was confused at first but I could see what she was doing. Suddenly Applebloom's ears perked up and she smiled. Her attention completely shifted away from us and towards the kitchen and she let out an excited gasp.

"Hot chocolate!" She said excitedly running into the kitchen.

"Nice one..." I said smiling. We both laughed quietly.

"She gets distracted easily, but when she is concentrated on something it's like she can't take her mind off it." Said applejack. "She and her two friends..."

"She seems like a handful." I said.

"She can be, but she's the cutest darn thing ever. And she's mah sister... So I gotta love her." Said applejack.

"Must be nice having a sister, or a sibling at any rate." I said.

"It has its ups and it's downs. Y'all got a brother,p or sister?" Asked applejack.

"Are you kidding me? Equestria can only handle one half pony, half human demon spawn... I'm sure the whole world would explode is there were another like me."

"Well... I don't really think you're that bad." She said. "You've got your flaws, but I think... Well I guess I owe you some what of an apology." She said seeming a bit guilty. "I've had ya pinned the wrong way from the start. It's like what twilight always says... You can't judge a book by its bindings."

"Cover..."

"Yeah cover... You can't judge a book by its cover." She said fixing her analogy.

"Thanks... That means a lot." I said. "So does that mean we're friends...?" I asked with a smile. She looked and giggled slightly.

"Yeah, were friends." She said holding out her hoof. I grabbed her hoof and we shook...uh... Appendages. "Y'all are welcome here whenever you want, it doesn't just need to be for work. Once this bitter weather goes away and the spring comes 'round this place'l be more lively than caffeinated beehive." She said.

"I'll be sure to drop by when I'm in the neighborhood." I said. Come to think of it, this place isn't at all very far from my apartment.

"Maybe I can introduce you to my other friends too." Said applejack. "You already know twilight, there's also fluttershy, she's a bit shy, then there's pinky pie... She's crazy, but in a good way I s'pose. The. There's rarity, she can be a bit snooty, but she's not too bad... I guess. And then there's rainbow dash."

"Wait... Rainbow dash?" I asked.

"Ye seri, best darn flyer in all of Equestria, so she says... But I have to give her credit, she'd give the wonder bolts a run for their money. She's very reliable and loyal, but can get a big head almost all the time."she said. She started to giggle a bit.

"I've... Uh... I know, I've uh... Met her before." I said with a guilty conscious.

"Oh really? How'd that turn out?" She asked seeming somewhat pessimistic.

"Well... It didn't turn out too well." I said. "I was at twilights house, uh... Then she came in, said a few harsh things...and, well... I uh." I started freezing up and stammering.

"Wait a cotton pickin second..." She said. "Don't tell me you're the 'big oak tree' that she flew into during her morning practice. The one that broke her snout." Said applejack seeming somewhat entertained. "Was that you. Did y'all bust up her snout?" She asked.

"Well... Yeah." I said preparing for the worst.

"That's the funniest darn thing I've ever heard." She said.

"Huh?" I said.

"Dashie prides herself in being better at everything than anypony, and she doesn't like humans all too well, her ego would never let her tell the truth... That you broke her snout." She said.

"You aren't mad?" I asked.

"No particularly... I suppose she probably deserved it, you have to tell me what happened; she said some stuff to you... And you hit her in the face."

"Well... Yeah." I said lightening up a bit. "She was talking crap about my parents, and I guess I lost it and punched her square in the snout. I literally hit her right out of the air." Applejack just started laughing.

"Well, maybe I can introduce you to some other friends." Said applejack.

"Ha, yeah… maybe." I said smiling and taking another sip of the hot cocoa I had been given earlier. It was nice and warm, but not scalding hot. Me and applejack sat in front of the fire for a little while making small talk. It wasn't too long before I checked my clothes hanging up and they were completely dry. "Hey, my clothes have dried off now." I said.

"Good, you should probably get changed then." said applejack.

"Yeah, do you think I could use your bathroom to change in?" I asked.

"Why, can't you just change right here?" she asked.

"B-b-but, right here!? With you sitting right there!?" I stammered out.

"Golly, you humans sure are a sensitive bunch when it comes to these things." Said applejack.

"W-well…" I said stopping to make sure we were to only ones within earshot. "Well I'm not a pony… I can't… uh, hide it." I said blushing. "It just kinda hangs out there."

"You've been sitting in those underwear of yours for a good hour now." She said. I let out a begrudgeoning sigh and stood up.

"Fine…" I said. I quickly grabbed my jeans and threw them on in less than a couple seconds. I zipped up the fly and buttoned them up. Then I grabbed my shirt and tossed that on too, then my hoodie. It was all comfortably dry and I sat back down and let out a sigh. "At least that's over with." I said to myself. I placed my hands in my coat pockets and felt something soft and wet touch my hand. I quickly pulled out what it was and saw that it was my soaking wet carton of cigarettes. "AH…shit."

"Y'all smoke?"

"Yeah, is it really that hard to believe a guy with my lifestyle would resort to this?" I asked.

"I suppose not." Said applejack.

"Damn, just seeing them makes me feel like I need a smoke." I said. "These damn things aren't cheap either… ah well, nothing worth crying over I suppose." I looked at the pack of smokes and just tossed it back into my pocket deciding that I would dispose of them at home. When I went back into my pocket I felt around for my lighter. I couldn't find it so I checked my other pocket. I rummaged around and soon found it. I pulled it out and gave it a look over. I tried lighting it, but it was no use.

"Is that busted too?" asked applejack.

"Yeah, it probably got soaked and water must have leaked into the spark wheel now it won't light worth a damn." I said. "At least these things are a dime a dozen, so that's not much of a problem… and… I do have a new job now." I said gleaming over to applejack who was busy rolling her eyes.

"Glad ta know that I'm supportin' yer bad habits." We both laughed and then a sudden silence washed over the room. The crackling of the fire filled the air as warmth radiated from the glowing flames. The silence didn't seem too awkward, but I felt like there was nothing else to say. "Well, I suppose y'all better get home now, I'm sure you're might tired."

"Yeah, taking a shower and then getting some rest does sound pretty good right about now actually." I said. Me and applejack walked over to her front door and I opened it up.

"Alright zack, take care. And remember, be here by seven tomorrow." Said applejack as I was heading out the door and she stood by it holding it open and waving goodbye. I too waved to her goodbye and smiled as I left. She closed the door and went back inside and I made my way off the farm. I put my hood up and soon I was walking down the large trail to south ponyville. I had been making my way home now from applejacks farm, my underwear were still somewhat damp and uncomfortable, so I'll have to change them when I get back home, and I think a nice hot shower would be great too. As I was walking home I did get a tingling feeling down my spine when I walked past the street where the drug store I worked at stood. I stopped there for a second and decided that I wanted to see the place. So I made a right and started walking down the street. There weren't many ponies or people outside, the weather was a bit too frightful for a daytime walk. As I walked down the street I did get a glimpse of the old abandoned factory building. I knew that was where all the thugs and drug dealers hung out. It was like the official meeting place for all the scum in ponyville, makes me somewhat sick that I used to be part of that disgusting mass. And speak of the devil...

"Well if it ain't our favorite freak." Said a voice from a dark alleyway. I looked over to see a man and a pony. The man was my height, blonde hair and a rolled up smoke in his mouth, probably weed. The pony was a brown furred pony with ginger hair. He smiled at me with a devious smile. "Didn't you used to work at that shit shop." Said the man pulling the blunt out of his mouth and pointing to the ruins across the street. I looked back and saw the crushed corner store I used to work at. It had been completely caved it, the whole mess was covered in snow, and the scattered remnants of products and building scattered the ground.

"Yeah what of it?" I asked.

"Kinda sad ain't it... Now you got nowhere else to go... But..."

"Forget about it..." I said angrily.

"C'mon Zack, you used to be pretty good at wheeling and dealing." Said the pony. The two guys in front of me were old drug dealing comrades of mine. Like I said before, I've got a bit of a dark past.

"I'm not like that anymore." I said. "I've already found somewhere else to work."

"You always did work fast." Said the pony.

"Well, if you ever need a fix... Or if things don't turn out well, were still like family man...still like family." Said the man taking another hit of his blunt and rolling his red eyes. I don't really see these people as my family, but I do strangely have some respect for them, they did take me in when I was alone, they didn't give me a place to rest, or food... But they did let me join them, and at that time it was all I needed.

"Do you even remember why Donnie let you join?" Asked the pony.

"Yeah... It's because I'm a freak, and people are afraid of freaks." I said. "More fear equals more control, and more control..."

"Means more money for our pockets." Finished the man completely stoned. He took the blunt out of his mouth and started laughing.

"Have the two of you been waiting here all day for me?" I asked.

"More or less." Said the pony. "We know that you used to work there, when the place crashed, Donnie thought it would be the perfect chance to bring you back into the family."

"Well, tell Donnie that I decline."I said.

"Respectfully, or violently decline." Asked the man.

"Neither." I said.

"C'mon Zack, you were a good man, Donnie thought of you as his right hand man... You could have gone far." Said the pony. "Why'd ya do it Zack, what went through that head of yours that made you leave?"

"I don't know..." I said. "I guess you could call it some kind of bad trip... I'm not sure why, but it decided one day that I'd go straight... And I don't regret it."

"Is that so...?" Said the man.

"That is so." I replied. I stared at the both of them and they glared back at me for a short time before both of them turned around and started walking back down the alleyway.

"Well, fine then..." Said the pony as they both walked away. The man held his hand up to wave goodbye with his blunt stuck between two fingers.

"Remember Zack, if you ever need anything... Then you know where to find it." Said the man before they walked in through one of the doors to the old factory building that was in the alleyway. I kept my eyes on the alleyway before turning back and looking at the ruins of the old corner store.

"Zack? Is that you?" Asked a female voice to the side of me. I looked over to find that it was blue moon standing there wearing a scarf and boots. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." I said.

"I'm here to see the shop... Who were you talking to?" She asked seeming very curious. She glared at me and I just looked at her.

"Nobody... Just an old ghost." I said glaring at her. We stared at each other in silence for a few seconds but I turned and left. I started walking away and didn't look back. I had this strange feeling in the back of my head that she wanted to yell out to me, but i never heard anything. I rounded the corner and started heading back home to my apartment. I began making my way down the road which had now finally been shoveled and was covered in a thin patted down layer of snow and ice. I kept walked forward with my head down and my hands in my pockets. My apartment building soon came into view and I cut into the open space in front of the building. I walked past the chain link fence and walked over to the stairs leading to the second story apartments. I walked up the stairs, carefully this time, and reached the top. I walked four doors down to my own apartment and fumbled around my pants pocket for my keys. I pulled them out and unlocked the door. I put the keys back in my pocket and walked in locking the door once again behind me. It was now much warmer in here, and I could finally relax.

The first thing I did was throw off all my clothes after emptying my pockets and went to the bathroom. I took a long hot shower and warmed myself up. I finally got out and dried off with a towel. I opened up the door to the bathroom and steam spilled out of the room. I walked into my bedroom and got redressed and threw my towel on the ground. I looked at the cluttered mess of clothing on the ground and figured that I might as well do the laundry. I walked over to my closet and pulled out the old plastic laundry basket it kept in there. I filled it with my clothes and they piled up a bit. I picked it up and started carrying it to my door. Since I live in an apartment complex I have to go down to the laundry room and pay a bit to do the damn laundry and then another bit to dry it. I let out a sigh and started making my way out.

I carried my clothing down the stairs and all the way to the end of the building and into the laundry room. In that room were three washing machines and three dryers, each with a little bill slot for a one dollar bit. I placed my clothing down on one of the benches and noticed that one of the machines was already running. Then it occurred to me that there was another woman here. She was sitting in the bench waiting for her clothes to finish washing. I walked over to one of the machines and poured in all my clothes in and paid the machine to start it. Since I don't really add bleach I don't have to worry about mixing the whites and colors, so I just let them wash in soap and water then dry them. I put the basket down by the machine and sat down on the bench. In this neighborhood you need to stay by your clothes so nobody steals them. The bench was very lengthy and I sat down at the end across from the other woman. I looked over to her and tried to see if I knew her.

Since she was using these washing machines that must mean that she lives in one of these apartments. I don't really know her too well, but her face is familiar, so I'm sure that I've seen her before. She was sitting on the bench with a hoodie on and a magazine in her hands. It was a cosmopolitan; she was deeply buried into it and didn't even seem to notice my existence. Her hazel eyes darted through the pages and she brought a hand up to brush her long brunette hair out of her face. She had another basket if clean clothe next to her and they were already neatly folded. Judging the sizes and styles of some of the clothes I can guess that she probably has children, a boy and girl at the least. She even did look like a mother... At least, she would if she wasn't wearing tons of makeup. The outlines of her eyes were covered in shadow and she was wearing a really deep shade of red lipstick. She had really dangly earring and I could see that she was wearing a dress and heals under her hoodie. She wore lots of expensive looking jewelry, and her body wasn't too bad either, then it hit me who she was.

She was the prostitute that lives three doors past me. I've seen her dragging men into her apartment for a few years now, she never fails to drag at least two men in with her every week. It makes sense that she has kids, but there certainly isn't enough room in this apartment complex for a family, and I've never seen kids running around here. I was very confused as to why she had kids clothes so I decided to speak up and see if I couldn't get an answer.

"You got kids?" I asked looking over to her. I managed to get her attention and she shot her head over like she was shocked to notice me. She seemed a bit surprised but then she managed to bring a smile across her face.

"Oh, no... I don't." She said.

"I was just wondering, I saw the clothes you had folded up." I said pointing to the basket of folded up clothes.

"Oh no... These aren't my clothes, I'm just doing a favor for a friend and doing her laundry... She's the one with the kids not me...my lifestyle isn't suited for children." She said.

"Yeah, makes sense..." I said.

"What does that mean?" She asked somewhat offended.

"Well I was just confused since I knew that you live three doors down from me, and I was wondering how a person could even fit kids into an apartment like this." I said.

"Oh, that's what you meant... Yeah, yeah that makes sense." She said seeming somewhat embarrassed. We sat there in silence again and suddenly one of the machines dinged and stopped washing. I knew that it was her machine and soon enough she got up and walked over to the washing machine and opened it up. She pulled out a bunch of soaking wet clothes and carried them over to the dryer and stuffed them in. She went back and grabbed the rest and stuffed them in too. She closed it and fed the machine a bit and pressed the button. It whirred to life and started tumbling and drying the clothes. She walked back over and sat down on the bench. She picked her magazine back up and continued where she left off. She kept reading but then she put the magazine back down and looked over to me.

"So you live in this complex too huh..." She said.

"Yep... Been here for a couple years." I said. "Working hard so that I can stay alive."

"I know what that's like." She said. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

"No, not yet... Probably won't for a while." I said.

"My, it must get lonely." She said. "How's about I give you a little company tonight." She said. I smiled and chuckled a bit and then turned over and looked at her.

"I don't think I can afford that." I said.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"I know the kind of lifestyle you live." I said. "Live been in the underworld of ponyville before, I know the types of people when I see them, and I know your type." I said. "No thank you, I don't need company."

"I bet you think I'm just some whore... Another piece of meat, right?" She asked.

"Of course not." I said. "I just think that you're unlucky... We gotta do what we gotta do to survive. There ain't to rest for the wicked... That's what I always say."

"You know kid... Your alright." She said. "My names Noel... Noel scarlet. My friends just call me Noel, the guys call me scarlet."

"Well... Noel...my names Zachary Miles, you've probably heard of me."

"Yeah, I know that name... Aren't you the kid who had a human mother but a unicorn father..." She said.

"That's me..."

"That's some freaky shit..." She said. "But you've got my respect. Takes some serious balls to admit to something like that."

"I suppose... But I can't really complain." I said. "I might be a freak, and most people and ponies turn me away without second thought... But I have started to make friends." I said, just then the washing machine I had put my clothes into dinged and stopped spinning and making noise.

"well that's good…" she said as I walked over to the machine and grabbed a pile of soaking wet clothes and carried them over to one of the dryers. "You know, it's always good to have good friends." She said as I made a second trip to the dryer. I put all my clothes in and paid the machine and pushed the start button. The machine came to life and started drying my clothes.

"I do have to admit… it is nice to have actual friends instead of a bunch of people who just put up with my existence." I said.

"Oh… not very social are we." Said noel. "You said that you've been in the underworld… you one of Donnie's boys?"

"No…" I said. "At least… not any more. I used to be, a few years back… I got involved when I was 18, but I left peacefully. It's actually kinda funny." I said starting to chuckle to myself.

"Oh is really?" asked scarlet. "What exactly is so funny?"

"I actually just ran into a couple of old thugs from the gang… they were in an alleyway, wanted to know if I was gonna jump back into the business due to the fact that the corner store I work at has just caved in and I was screwed out of a job this morning." I said.

"Oh, you worked at that little store… I'd go there sometimes and grab some smokes or something else, I did hear that I caved in, that's awful." She said. Just then her drying machine dinged and stopped tumbling her clothes. "Oh, that's my load." She said. She got up and walked over with her high heels on and a basket in both hands. She put the basket on the ground and opened up the dryer. She took all the clothes out and put them back in the basket and walked towards the door. "I hope things turn out well for ya sweetie." She said holding the door open with her hip. "if you ever need help, you know where I am, I may not seem like it but I'm a very sensible woman with a lot of connections… and remember… my previous offer still stands." She said with a smile. "If you ever get lonely, or the nights are a bit cold… just drop on by and I'll treat you right." She said giving me a playful wink and then leaving outside and going back to her apartment. When she left I couldn't help but laugh quietly to myself.

I was all alone now, sitting in this big empty room by myself with the dryer tumbling and whirring behind me. I didn't have anything to do really except sit here with my thoughts. Noel had left the cosmopolitan behind which I'm sure isn't really hers, but nonetheless I'm not really interested in reading the Cosmo. I sat there patiently for a good few minutes and waited for my clothes to finish drying, when the machine finally dinged and I walked over with the basket and just pilled all of my clothes into it. I grabbed the basket and left the room as well. I walked across the yard and over to the staircase going up. I walked up carefully and made my way to my apartment. I unlocked the door and opened it up. I glanced down the hall to the third door down and stared at it for a second before walking into my apartment and closing the door behind me. I locked it and made my way into my room with the basket of clothes. I don't ever really bother folding my clothes; I just throw them in the right drawer and leave them alone. Once the clothes were away I tossed the basket into the corner of my room and left to go into the living room. I sat down on the couch and grabbed the remote on the coffee table.

I switched on the TV and went surfing to see if there was anything interesting on. I came across an action movie playing on one of the channels and decided to waste my time with that. I managed to catch it around the beginning and it lasted a good hour and a half. Once that was over I checked the time and it was only around five. I flicked through some more channels for anything else to watch and there were a few good things. I think I would decide to brighten up my day by watching something on the comedy channel. When I flicked to the channel there was a standup comedian on, it was about halfway in when I came to, so I was in the middle of one of his skits. I watched the whole thing, but I didn't laugh. Even though the jokes were funny and the audience laughed as well, I couldn't bring myself to even crack a smile. It was only a minute into the skit when he mentioned weed and my mind suddenly trailed off to my past, and the time I spent working under Donnie.

I shook the thoughts from my head and quickly flicked to something else. Once seven o'clock had rolled around my stomach started to growl and I made my way to the kitchen. I grabbed a microwave lunch and heated it up. Once it was done I grabbed it along with a fork from the dishwasher which I still have yet to empty. I walked out into the living room and sat down with my dinner and watched TV. The rest of the day wasn't any more exciting than that. Once it started getting late I headed to my bedroom and went to sleep. I lay down in my bed and rested my head on the pillow as I closed my eyes and started to drift away. It was the end of an unexpectedly good day. I've not only found a better job, but I've made two new friends. I still couldn't shake the thought of those two thugs from earlier. I know that they won't cause me any trouble, but I still can't help but shake a strange feeling.

I just hope my past doesn't come up and bite me in the ass…

Authors Note: well, i did it... i finally did it, i finished another chapter of unforgiven... and its about time. I've really been focused on reborn at the moment so forgive me if the chapter production for this story and the others is cut short if not already reduced to a grinding halt. i really need to get reborn out of the way then i an finally rest in peace. but i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and i think that now we're going to start delving a little deeper into Zack's dark past, and see if he can still manage to keep his friends along the way... and even make more. things are starting to look up however, until the next time.

-Stay Shady~