>it was a nice and warm sunny day
>maybe a little more than usual, but it was still nice
>living as a wheat farmer has more benefits than you initially thought
>great and vast open spaces, fresh air, you grow your own food in your orchard pretty much for free
>One would have never expect for an old and busted hut like yours to actually have a working computer, with internet none the less
>it was pretty small at the beginning, the owner of the farm gave it to you when you took the job, since traveling all the way from the city to the fields it’s kind of difficult
>the entire thing was just one big room, made out of wood and galvanized steel sheets
>you kitchen, living room, and bedroom had nothing to separate them from each other
>the bathroom was the exception...since it was outside
>with the passing of time you customized it at your liking, first, you added some extra rooms to make a proper kitchen, living room and bedroom
>your orchard and porch came next
>you were young when you took this job, and your, now proper house, grew up along with you
>it may not be perfect, and it may be somewhat isolated from the other huts where the rest of your farming partners live, but its home, sweet, sweet, lonely home
>you were never much of a “people” person, so it never really bothered you to be alone most of the time
>you have your co-workers but you don’t really consider them as friends, they offer a small chit-chat from time to time, but that’s only when you cross paths when harvesting the wheat
>so, as a result you spent pretty much your free time doing two things
>improving your house
>and watching cartoons and browsing some forums here and there on your PC
>eventually, you found out about MLP and quickly grew fond to it
>the cute episodes and colorful scenarios always cheered you up
>and it had colorful horses, you are always surrounded by horses, so it felt natural for you to like it
>every time a new episode came out you were always the first one to finish the wheat quota and ran straight to home to watch it
>it was always sad that the Applejack episodes were “ok” at best most of the time, after all, she was your favorite of the gang
>you even had a small plastic toy that you always carried with you as your keychain
>…it’s pretty hard to get stuff delivered this far away from the city, so this is the only show related thing that you owned
>at least for the next week
>a couple of days ago, you somehow managed to get your hands on a “limited edition applejack-bot”
>it was pretty expensive, but the thought of having your own applejack, living with you and actually talking to her was pretty exciting
>they also told you that she will learn from you and even adapt herself to your needs, that sounds pretty much like the applejack from the show, and you love it
>she will be arriving in the next couple of days according to the store´s page
>it’s amazing that such prestigious store got such a shady looking internet page, but they deliver all around the world, so you know a store with this amount of coverage gotta be legit
>but as excited as you are, you have to sleep, you are the “waking rooster” next morning, so you have to wake up early to start your daily routine.
>its around 04:00 AM
>the sun is not even out, but since you went to bed pretty early yesterday you feel like you had enough rest
>you already had a quick breakfast consisting mostly of eggs and bacon with an apple and milk
>the breakfast of champs
>now the only thing left to do is to go and wake everyone up so you can start with your day
>you stretch as you open the main door of your cozy house
>as soon as you take a step out of your house you are greeted with a bump
>it’s a plain brown box covered almost in its entirety with grey tape
>it’s a big one, slightly lower than the height of your hip
Oh no way…
>you rub your hands in excitement
>you grab the box and do your best to get it inside your house, but the box it’s just slightly larger than the door frame, so you can’t actually get it inside
Fuck, I wasn’t expecting it to be this big…is it real-live-sized? I don’t remember them mentioning the size of it…guess i´ll have to unpack it here
>you run inside your house for a knife and come back to slice the box open
>it’s the thick kind of cardboard, so you struggled a little to get your applejack out
>after a couple of minutes of slashing, the box just fell into pieces, a small torrent of foam peanuts  came out of it first, followed by a couple of disks and instruction manuals
>and at the very end, what you were expecting since you made your order
>your very own…tiny applejack
>it was around the height of your shin
Hmm, maybe all this foam it’s to keep it safe, makes sense, after all, this bot was really expensive
>she is inside a plastic box, like one of those amibos that you have seen in the internet
>as you crouched to pick the box up, you noticed that something wasn’t completely right with her
>Why is she mustard yellow?
>why is the joint from her front right leg exposed?
…Is that woody´s hat from toy story?
>Oh son of a bitch!
Oh son of a bitch!
>you say as you see that the page for the store its now gone
>you tried refreshing it and even accessing in from different browsers, but all you get it’s a 404 error
Twelve thousand dollars! God Fucking Dammit!
>you let your arms fall to your sides as you slump into your armchair
I knew it, I fucking knew it! What internet page ends with “.fcku”? ...FUCK!
>you sigh as your view lands on the manual sheet on top of your old wooden table next to you
“to start your new applejack™ simply connect it to your computer and run disc one, after the installation process its completed, run disc two, make sure to let your applejack get enough charge after the installation process is completed”…
>you flip the manual sheet only to find a blank page
…
Is that it? …Jesus fucking-fine, let’s just hope they only fucked up the exterior model…
>you go to your computer and open the disk tray
>you just noticed it also has a floppy disk reader bellow the disk one…you have to get a new computer
>you put disk one in and run the installation program
>after a couple of minutes, the installation program is done configurating itself
Ok, now I just take this cable and plug it…where do i plu-Aha! There you are.
>you take her stupid woody hat away and plug the usb cable to the back of her head
>even touching the hat feels like a rip-off, it’s made of some kind of cheap smooth plastic, you are sure that thing wasn’t made to last for long
>applejack herself feels a pretty light, almost like she were empty inside, even though you can see the exo-skeleton exposed in her right front leg, you can even feel it moving from side to side every time you move applejack to any angle that is not her standing position
>her “skin” feels rough like a sack and her mane and tail feel like the plushies that you win on those claw games
>you run disk two and see a window pop-up in your screen
“This process might take several hours, please be patient”
>you sigh as you see the clock on the corner of your screen
>04:30 AM
Shit, im gonna be late
>you take your jacket and go on your way, leaving your applejack next to the computer, hoping for the best to happen while you are gone for the day.
>you exit your house and run to the opposite side of the horse stables between your house and those of your partners
>the first rays of sun are starting to shine out of the mountains back, so whatever its not getting a direct hit of light its covered in total darkness
>you stumble your way to the “rooster bell”, that’s the name you and your partners gave to the bell next to the huts, everyday somebody has to wake up earlier than everybody else and ring the bell so everybody wakes up, today it was your turn and you are late
Shit! shit! shit! shit!
>you take the small hammer and hit the bell several times, sounding the waking signal that everybody is so used to
RISE AND SHINE PEOPLE! WE GOT WORK TO DO!
>you leave the hammer and run back to the stables, hitting your head in the way back with a hook hanging in front of the main door
AAH! SONOVA!
>you shake the pain away as you release and lace 5 horses, one for each including yours
>a voice can be heard from the other side of the stable
>”hey! Anon! What gives? You are late today!”
>”dan git, now ah don´ave tahm ta eet muh breakfust!”
>”uuughhhh…”
>fuckin-are you serious, anon?!”
>shit, today is gonna be one of those days
Sorry fellas! Got tangled in my sheets today!
>you walk the horses behind you as you walk to the edge of the main fence
>there is not much in the near vicinity, just the path of dirt that you and your co-workers take every day to collect the daily wheat
>”yeah roight, Ah bet yeu stood woke wotchin´ them cartun pawnis ahgain! BAHAH!”
Could you not, please? At least not today?
>your co-workers mock you as they mount their horses and ride to the wheat fields
>a sigh escapes you as you mount your horse
C´mon girl, the faster we get that wheat, the faster we can get home, eyaah!.
>it’s around midday, the sun shines brightly as you collect the wheat with your sickle
>you wear a ten-gallon hat and a bandanna to protect you from the sun
>a big backpack almost filled to the brim slightly drags you down with every step you take, that thing gets really heavy really fast
>your breath gets heavier and drier with every minute that passes as you watch the rest of your co-workers collecting their respective wheat at the distance
I swear to god, if that bot it’s not working by the time im back…
>you take a sip out of your canteen, drinking the last drop of water that was left
Why did it have to be so hot today?
>you hear your name at the distance
>”oi! Anon! we leaving early today! Take care of whats left from our bags, will ya?”
What the fuck? Why would I do that?
>you scream back
>”maybe because you woke us later than usual and we haven’t eaten since morning, so this is all your fault, now shut up and fill what’s left of our bags”
What? No! im not-
>you want to finish your sentence, but you are rudely interrupted by several horses running pass your side
…doing your…
>you see four backpacks filled at 3/4s of their maximum capacity just sitting on the ground not too far away from where you are currently kneeling
>”NEKTS TOIM FUGGEDABOUT THEM CARTUN DONKYS! HAH!” you hear that toothless bastard scream as he rides away
>you hear a coyote´s howl echoing through the night as you make your way back to the stables to get your horse back to where it belongs
>all 5 backpacks are filled and resting at their usual place
>and you, are pretty much dragging yourself back to your house
>right now, you are tired, hungry, dirty and angry
>the last thing you want it’s to be bothered, you just want a quick meal and your armchair, you are way too dirty to sleep in your bed but are too tired to take a bath
>you kick the door open and go straight to your kitchen, maybe a piece of ham will calm you down
>there is not much in your fridge, just some milk in a glass bottle, a piece of cheese, sex eggs and a big, cartoony looking ham with a big bone coming out of one side
>you took a big bite from it yesterday, but you take it anyway, you also take the bottle of milk and walk your way back to the armchair
>you take a big bite and gulp it down with milk
>the stress of the day slowly going away as your stomach gets filled
>”Hola compañero!”
>you choke on your food as milk comes out of your nostrils
WHO´S THERE!?
>you look around as you do your best attempt to look intimidating while holding a piece of ham and a bottle of milk
>”down here, amigo”
>you look down and are greeted with a smiling applejack looking up to you
>her left eye is flickering
>”the name´s apuljyak, nice to conocerte!”
>what little piece of ham that was left inside your mouth falls to the ground.
>you are sitting at the edge of your bed, resting your head on your hands while looking down to that little bot that calls itself “applejack” …but it sounded weird when “she” says it…
What was your name again?
>”the name´s apuljyak, un gusto to meet ya!”
>she keeps switching languages midsentence
Why are you talking like that?
>”what do you mean, compadre?”
That! that right there, you keep talking in Spanish midsentence
>”oh, eso, I think your computer wasn’t powerful enough to run my program at maxima capacidad, maybe something got mixed up while I was booting up”
>her left eye flickers again
And what’s wrong with your eye?
>Apuljyak goes cross-eyed for a second
>”Production error?”
>You sigh heavily while rubbing your nose bridge
>you pick her up and place her on top of your night stand, next to your lamp
And how can I fix that?
>Apuljyak sits on her hinds while tapping her chin with her hoof
>”I think running the program again might fix that, but it won’t do any good with your current equipment, you need a more powerful computer”
So you are saying that im stuck with you until I get a new, more powerful computer?
>”S-stuck with me?
>her left eye completely shut´s down
>”is it that bad?”
>she covers her left eye with her hoof and turns around
>hold on a second
>this doesn’t feel right
>does she have actual feelings?
>has technology come this far?
>shit, you didn’t think of that, no regular AI should be able to do that, at least not that you know
>and you hurted her feelings
>maybe it would be best if you apologized
…shit, I ammm, look im sorry, I didn’t mean it like that, its just-
>”no, that’s ok, im defectuosa, I knew it as soon as I woke up”
>woke up?
>she jumps out of the night stand and falls flat on the ground
>you see her eye flicker on again as she stand up and limps out of your bedroom
Wait, applejack, hold on
>you catch up to her and lift her up
>she does her best to hide her flickering eye from you
>shit, she is fully conscious about her state, this is pulling your heart strings
>you sigh as you walk back to your bed and let her walk out of your arms
>she is keeping her head down, you have to cheer her up
Here
>you comb her mane a bit, it’s a bit stiff but otherwise it moves smoothly
It’s not that bad, maybe we can...fix it later, yeah, we can do it
>”You, you think you can hacer eso?”
…of course, how hard can it be? Besides, you are Applejack, the toughest and handiest pony of them all, and im…me! We got this!
>”Yeah…Yeah!, you are right! Im Apuljyak! Aint no handywork I can’t hacer!
That’s the AJ I know! Now…
>you yawn
…lets go to sleep, its late, we´ll start with your repairing tomorrow
>”Excelente!”
>you take off some of your clothes and lie on your bed, you may be a bit dirty, but honestly, you don’t even care anymore
>besides, having a new project with your soon to be perfect Applejack- bot might be fun, it’s been a long time since the last time you had a project to work on and you are definitely going to need the energy
>”ooh, I almost forgot”
Hmm?
>you see her spin in circles a couple of times and then lie on top of your second pillow next to your head
>”what´s your nombre?”
My nombre?...oh, my name!, the name is Anon, nice to meet ya.
>”Anon, that’s a fine name”
>she smiles at you
Thanks
>”Anon?”
Yeah?
>”Thanks for giving me a chance”
>you are about to reply but you see her eyes flicker off and her eyelids close
>you smile as you close your eyes.
>Today is Saturday, that means you have the day completely free, hey, even the farm life needs some free time every week
>you wake up and find Applejack right where she was last night
>she wakes up as you rise from your bed
>you smile at each other
>Your day starts as usually does every weekend, you take a quick bath, brush your teeth, some eggs and bacon and finally you go to your computer to browse the web for awful memes and shitpost in some forums
>except Applejack has been following you wherever you go, paying attention to everything you do and trying her best to help you in any way she possibly can
>when you woke up, she tried her best to fold the sheets, it was both cute and sad at the same time, she could barely grab the sheet with her mouth, looks like she doesn’t have much grip with her plastic jaw
>then, when you took your bath, she somehow took your dirty clothes and put them inside the dirty laundry basket, but you still heard some heavy struggling
>she didn’t do much when you brushed your teeth, she just stood there, watching you, it looked like she was trying to think of something to do to be of any kind of use for you, but she ended up doing nothing at all but observe
>finally, when you had your breakfast, she spent the entire time trying to open the fridge, you actually helped her that time without her realizing, she kept pulling the door without any success, so you pulled from one of the upper corners of the door when she was trying her hardest to open it, she looked so proud when she saw the eggs and bacon sizzling on the frying pan
>now she is at your side, making some commentary while browsing for new computers and looking for supplies for circuit welding and some fabrics
What do you think about this one?
>”that one looks mejor than my actual color”
Cool, add to cart then
>you click the orange- y fabric and add it to your virtual shopping list
>you stretch while sitting on your chair
I think this is as much as I can afford to buy for now, we´ll order more stuff later on, ok?
>”very bien!”
So…
>you stand up
what do you wanna do?
>”me? Shucks, no lo se…maybe…”
>she looks like she is struggling to thinking of something to do
…
>Apuljyak turns around and stares out the window, looking at the field
>there is nothing but yellow wheat that fills the plains, mountains far far away
>One lonely tree catches her attention at the edge of the farm
>”is that an apple arbol?, anon?
Huh?
>you take a look out your window
Oh, The old one, yeah, that’s an apple tree, the owner of the farm planted it when he started building the farm, been here far longer than I have
>”can we go visit it?”
Visit it? i guess we can
>you put on your hat and an old backpack
Cmon, hop in
>you lower yourself for her to jump into the backpack, but she refuses
>”I actually want to caminar over there, if it’s not mucha molestia”
A-are you sure?
>”yup”
>Apuljyak jumps out the table where your pc stands, slamming herself on the ground
>looks like she still can’t land the jumps, this is starting to worry you, if she keeps that up she might break a leg or something, her frame doesn’t feel too solid even for something as light weighted as her, luckily, there seems to be no damage whatsoever.
If you say so
>you walk out of your house, Apuljyak following at your side at a surprisingly consistent pace
>maybe you didn’t give that exo-skeleton of hers the credit it deserved
>the walk to the tree it’s filled with questions from you tiny friend
>”is this an actual farm?”
Well, as far as farms go, yeah, we only farm wheat thought, there is too much to do already, if we go for any other kind of product we may chew more than we can swallow
>”are there any caballos around here? What about ponies?”
Caballos? Oh, horses, yeah, we have 5 horses somewhere around here, they help us with the recollection and transportation pretty often, and no, sorry, no ponies around here
>maybe, just maybe, if you manage to fix her properly, you might get her a friend, maybe a Flutter-bot  may do the trick, just remember to get it from a proper dealer this time…
>”hmm… ya recon I might be able to ayudar around here alguna ves?”
>…shit
Hmm i-I don’t know, maybe in the future, first, you need to get used to this place, then you might be able to help around here
>for a moment you forgot that she is supposed to be Applejack, even if she is not a perfect version of her she still wants to help and be useful like the original does
>”I guess that tiene sentido, thanks anon, I promise to be as useful as I can possibly be”
>…fuck, that is gonna come back and haunt you in the future, you know it will…
>after that question, a small and uneventful walk finally leads you to the lonely apple tree, Apuljyak is the first one to speak
>”its even bigger than I thought!”
>a small chuckle escapes you as you regain your composure
>it’s been here for a long time, so yeah, makes sense for it to be this big
>Apuljyak gets close to it and gives it her best kick, as expected, nothing happens
Umm, AJ?
>she gives another kick, still nothing
What are you doing?
>”I want an apple”
An apple? What for? You know you can eat stuff
>”I know, its not for eating”
>another kick to the tree
Thennn…
>one more kick
>”if I want to be util sometime, I gotta al menos be able to do a simple task”
>she delivers another kick to the trunk, not even denting or chipping the bark
Uuuh, I don’t think-
>one more
…
>”cmon! Solo una!”
>another kick
AJ, stop, you´re gonna hurt yourself
>I wont!”
>she is raising her voice and sounding desperate
>”I just”
>kick
>”want”
>kick
>”an”
>a final kick to the trunk finally damages her left hind leg with a pretty audible “CRACK”, cracking it a bit, making it hold itself together just by the rough fabric sticked to the plastic beneath it
>”MANZANA!”
>she finally stops, taking a few steps back before sitting on her hind legs, her left hind leg slightly out of place
What was that sound?
>”it-it was nothing”
Applejack…
>she actually sighs
>”it was my hind leg…”
Aah, see? I told you!
>you kneel to her side and gently hold her leg
>a quick examination lets you know the full scale of the damage, which, luckily, is not that much
Hmm, seems like the plastic snapped where it meets with its other half
>”Is it bad?”
Hmm, nothing that a bit of heat and some thread and needle can’t fix, you´ll be fine
>she looks somewhat relieved, but you never expected for her face to execute such believable expression of sadness, she looks devastated
>her eyes are flickering again, it’s barely noticeable due to the sun, but you can see it
AJ?...
>she doesn’t lifts her gaze
>”…”
>you sigh as you lift her from the ground and carry her back to your house like you would a wounded dog
C’mon, let’s fix you up
>you walk slowly so you don't somehow end up hurting her even more
>by the time when you walk pass the stables where the horses are, AJ finally lifts her gaze
>she is staring at them, and all five of them are staring back at her
>you take a notice of this, but you continue on your way, maybe you´ll bring her back so she can meet them another day
>you carefully leave her on your PC table, on top of an old cushion
I´ll be right back AJ, please don’t move, i´ll just go for a few things to fix you up, it won’t take long
>”esta bien…”
>around 20 to 30 minutes go by
>that took you a bit longer than expected, but you got everything necessary to fix her up
>or at least you hope you did, you have fixed tractors and generators, but never something this small and frail
>so you got what you thought would be the most useful for this, a sharp knife, a heat gun, a few small pincers and a piece of rubber that you took from an old tire from your porch
>you leave everything next to AJ as you sit down in front of her
>she still looks sad, but her expression is not a deep as before, she seems to have lighted up a little
>then, she said something that frozed you in place
>” Will it still hurt when you termines?”
>never, in all this time, has the thought of her actually being able to feel pain crossed your mind
>is she actually in pain right now?
>”…Anon?”
>will you hurt her if you do something wrong?
>”Anónimo…”
>how can she be so sure? You still have some doubts about her
>”Anon”
>is it a legit sensation or just some serious coding under all that cheap plastic and fabric?
>”Anon!”
>you feel a small hoof touch your hand
>Applejack is looking at you with a worried expression
>”Anon, estas bien? You haven’t moved since you sat down, and you look…asustado”
>shit, you froze thinking about all of this, better keep it cool
What´s that?...oh! Sorry, I was just…thinking
>”pensando? Thinking of what?
Just…
>you take the sharpened knife and hold it for a couple of seconds
Thinking how am I going to start, I don’t want to hurt you more than what you already are
>looks like she trusts you, since she seems to relax a little
>”I know you won’t hurt me, just tomatelo con calma and everything will be alright”
>she gives you a smile as she lowers her head and extends her leg to you, giving you room to work
>you take a deep breath as you close the distance between her leg and the tip of the knife
>a few threads of her “skin” cut loose with the simple graze of your knife
>you try your hardest to go as carefully as possible, so it feels agonizingly slow because of it
Feel any pain, AJ?
>”none so far, anon”
>you take a small breath
Good
>you continue cutting in a straight line until you go through her hoof and the backside of her leg, allowing you to carefully peel the skin like a banana
>and there it is, clear as the day, the meeting point between both halves of her leg, snapped
Hmm, doesn’t look that bad, this shouldn’t be too much of a problem
>”enserio? Ooh, that’s a relief”
>you take a piece of rubber and begin the heating process with your heat gun, it doesn’t take that long for it to start melting into the gash and create a cheap but effective cauterization effect, melting the pieces back together
>”it seems to be funcionando anon!”
>she stands up and moves her leg before taking a few steps in circles
Feel any pain yet?
>”not sure…I don’t think so”
So you do not feel anything uncomfortable? pain?
>she stomps a couple of times
>”nope”
>you feel a weight being lifted from your shoulders and release a big relaxed sigh
Don’t scare me like that AJ, I really thought that you could feel some form of pain or something awful
>”im sorry anon, I didn’t knew tampoco”
>you crack your neck, releasing some tension
That’s…that’s alright AJ, im just glad you are safe
>you comb her mane for a few seconds before taking the thread and needle in your hands
>it didn’t took long for you to sew her “skin” back
>after that tension filled hour, you felt like taking a nap, AJ slept on your lap while you did it on your armchair
>it was around 8:10 pm when you woke up, the sky was already dark and you could hear the wind blowing outside of your house, and since you forgot to turn on any candles everything is almost pitch black
>you stood up and walked to your computer
>there was a flashlight in a drawer that you always kept fully charged for cases like these
>AJ wasn’t on your lap when you woke up, maybe she was exploring your house, you haven’t really showed it to her yet
AJ? Where are you?
>welp, gotta find her
>AJ, come out from wherever you are hiding, I can’t really see you in the dark
>…
>you hear a few steps coming from your bedroom
There you are
>you light your way with the flashlight as you make your way to your room
cmon AJ, what are yo-AAH SHIT!
>a huge coyote is standing near you bed, it looks pretty malnourish for what little you manage to see, but it is still pretty big
What the fuck are you-how did you get in here?!
>the coyote just growls at you while lowering its body
>you raise your hands in a defensive position while backing away
Easy there buddy, I don’t want any trouble
>”anon!”
>you light your pillows and find a terrified AJ backing into your bed´s header
>your eyes go wide as you see the coyote jumping on top of your bed
Oh no you won’t!
>you throw your flashlight to the animal, hitting it in the head
>that got its attention
>the flashlight turns off when it hits the floor, now you and AJ are stuck in a dark room with a very, very, angry AND hungry coyote
>there are only two sources of light right now, AJ´s flickering eyes, and the barely noticeable moonlight the slips through your window´s swaying curtains
>you notice your curtains are somewhat torn
>so that’s how that bitch got inside, gotta fix that after this
AJ…
>you calmly say
I need you to hide under the pillows, and don’t come out until I told you so
>”pe-pero…”
DO IT!
>you command between your teeth trying not to startle the coyote
>she obeys as you take a really slow step forward and unbuckle your belt
Heeeeere buddy, cmon, I won’t hurt you, com´ere
>you wrap your belt around your hand and arm as you slowly walk around your bed, Mexican stand-off style
>the coyote keeps its attention on you, tail raised, fangs slightly open and always facing your direction
Yeah, that’s it, keep it cool, I won’t hurt ya, I just want you outta here
>you take another step
>the floor creaks loudly
>it growls at you
Ah, shit
>you raise your protected arm as the coyote hurls itself at you
>its bite still hurts but you can tolerate it
>you shake your arm up and down, and side to side trying to get it off you
>its not working, like, at all, its jaw its pretty much locked in place, so you do the next best thing you can think of
>you do your best to turn the coyote around and wrap your other arm around its neck
>it keeps trashing around while you hug it tightly
Keep still you piece o´shit!
>the force on your arm around its neck tightens
>you feel its jaw loosing up a little
>that’s when you take your arm out of its maw and punch the coyote right in the ribs
>it wheezes a bit while flailing out of your grip
OH HELL NO!
>you jump on top of it and grab it by a hind leg and its neck
>shit, this animal is strong, but you manage to pin it in its place
STOP. MOVING. GODDAMMIT
AJ!
>she peeks out of her hiding place
>”are you ok, anon?”
Im fine, just get out of here now that you can!
>you struggle a bit to keep it in place
Run and hide somewhere else, i´ll let you know when-KEEP STILL. When I get this thing out of here!
>she doesn’t seems to think it twice and jumps out of your bed and runs out of your room, there are many places to hide here, she´ll be fine… at least you hope so
>you grab the animal by its belly and the neck while you stand up
Here we go, nice and ea-I SAY NICE AND EASY!
>man you are getting tired, best to get it out of here as fast as you can
>no way in hell you are walking all the way back to your main door to get it out
>guess the window will have to do
>you walk close to it and try to push it out, but of course it’s not that easy, damn animal keep pushing itself back every time it flails
Fucking…Fine! I REALLY didn’t wanted to hurt, but this is your fault now!
>you grab it entirely by its neck
>you take aim
SO LONG, GAY BOWSER!
>you throw it with all of your remaining strength left
>pretty sure it hit its head with the frame of the window, oh well, it was its fault, not yours
>you peek out to see where it landed
>yeah, it’s out of your house and dazed because of that hit
>seem to have learnt its lesson though, its running away
>you lean on the frame of the window and remove the belt from your arm
>you are bleeding a lot
>that fucker still got you good, your belt it’s pretty torn and pretty much useless in this state
>you just hope it doesn’t have rabies
Fuck why did I thought about that…?
>you shake your head and hold your arm with your other hand, trying to stop the bleeding
>better get this fixed first
AJ! Come out now, its safe!
>you walk out of your room looking for AJ
AJ? You can come out, its safe now
>you walk your way out of your room, moving your hand and fingers in circular motions
AJ? Cmon, where are you?
>”Anon?”
>she peeks out of your dirty laundry basket next to your door, a sock  on her head instead of her hat
>you let out a relaxed sigh
There you are, come out
>you take a sit on your arm chair, resting your injured arm on the armrest and your head on the backrest
>seems like the adrenaline is wearing off, you can feel the pain coming back to your arm with every second
>Applejack comes out of its hiding place and runs towards you
>”Dios mio, anon, are you ok?!”
>you grunt a little when you feel a pulse of pain flowing through your arm
Yeah, im fine, just… fuck
>”wait right here, anon, i´ll go por ayuda!”
AJ, wait, I don’t want you to go out yet, that coyote might still be around
>”but I can’t sit here and do nada!”
That’s ok, I have a small medkit, its under my bed, I need you to go get it for me, I don’t think i´ll be able to crawl under my bed without hurting my arm even more
>”i´ll go get it, don’t move!”
>Applejack runs off to your room, seems like her leg its working perfectly, that’s good, at least something doesn’t need any more fixing for now
>Applejack arrives quickly to your room, she goes under your bed as soon as possible
>”medkit, medkit, donde estas?”
>a lot of dust, a couple of dirty old socks and a couple of magazines with scantily clad women in the covers are the first things that Applejack finds
>”cmon, where are you?”
>there is an old metallic box at the end of the bed, right next to the wall
>”that must be it!”
>she runs to the box and grabs it by the handle with her mouth
>she pulls like a puppy playing tug with a toy, struggling to move it out of its place but slowly making work of it
>the metallic box drags across the floor, screeching each time that she pulls
>after several minutes, she arrives to your location, she is covered in dust and has a worried look on her face
>you open the box with your good hand
>man, the lid feels heavier than you remember, at least you are sure that everything inside this thing its well protected, not even bullets could pass through this box, the bullet dents on its side are proof of it
>you take a bottle of ethyl alcohol and the last sterilized tissue out of its package
>you cringe knowing about the incoming but necessary pain
>”do you need ayuda with that, anon?”
Thanks AJ, but you are covered in dust, we can’t risk contaminating the last tissue
>she looks worried once again
>”is there anything I can do to help? Cualquier cosa?”
Actually, yeah, I need you to do something for me
>”what is it? I’ll do lo que sea!”
>you pour some alcohol into the tissue and hold it with your good hand
We need to alert about the coyote to the others so they can chase it away, otherwise it´ll just come back again
>you bring the tissue closer to your wounds but back it away in fear of the pain
>”como sabes it´ll come back again?”
It’s not the first time that fucker has invaded the farm
>you take a deep breath and place the tissue over your wounds
>stings like hell
>you do your best not to scream so you don’t scare her, but loud grunts still escape you
NNNNGHSONOVABITCH!
>AJ recoils a bit
>she somehow manages to look like she is about to cry, funny, she is not the one with a mauled arm and hand
>you troop through the pain and eventually get used to the stinging feel, you hold the tissue in its place with a makeshift tourniquet
>”And what puedo hacer? I can’t leave the house yet, you said it might still be around”
I need you to help me get my gun
>”A…a gun?”
>you stand off your armchair and pick AJ up
Cmon, all you have to do is pass me my gun, its on the top of my closet
>you quickly walk back to your room, a big wooden closet stands on a corner
>”are you seriously planeando to chase the coyote?”
Im not chasing the coyote AJ, its too risky, im just gonna let the others take care of it for me, we have been trying to hunt this thing down for months now, and this is finally our best chance
>you lift AJ with your good arm to the top of your closet
>usually you can reach the top with ease, but that’s a two handed process, so you can’t really do that right now
>AJ jumps out of your hand
It should be right in front of you
>it is in front of her alright, but that’s not just a gun, it’s a two barrel shotgun
>”yeah, I can see it”
Good, just pass it to me, but be careful, it’s loaded
>”por que did you leaved a loaded weapon here?”
Just…stop asking questions and pass me the gun, please
>”esta bien, but you also be careful”
>she grabs the endpoint of the shotgun´s cannon with her mouth
>it barely has any grip on it, so it keeps slipping and falling out of her mouth
>you keep hearing the tapping of the shotgun against the wooden exterior of your closet every time it falls
AJ? Be careful, remember that thing is loaded, try not to-
>BANG
>the corner of your closet is destroyed, there is a big hole on your wall and really loud ringing sound inside of your head
>there are a couple of boxes on the floor that used to be on top of your closet, looks like the recoil of the shot pushed them down along with the shotgun
>naturally, you are crouching with your hands on top of your head, you stay like that for a good twenty seconds or so, then, you feel something land on your head
>it’s a small piece of AJ´s hat, it’s charbroiled from the edges and has small pellets holes all over it
>the rest of the pieces fall next to you
>you stare at the pieces of her hat fearing the worst
AJ?
>there is only silence for several seconds
>you can hear your co-workers far away shouting and running
>”was that anon?!”
>”that fucking coyote again, cmon! I think i can still see it!”
>”there it is, don’t let it scape!”
>yeeehaaawh! Weh gon gitcha this toim, ya dang uversised ruat!”
>looks like they heard the shot, but that thought it’s not your mind for long
>you stand up and jump trying to reach the top of the closet
AJ!
>some of the boxes that fell of the closet are sturdy enough to support you
>they work as some dangerously improvised step, but your own safety it’s not your top priority right now
>you can now see the top of the closet, dust is still floating around and the final remnants of the smoke coming out of the shotgun are disappearing
>AJ is crouching in fear, tail raised and hooves over her head
>well…hoof, to be more precise
>yeah, that leg that showed her exo-skeleton at the joint, gone
>like, completely
>there aren’t even cables dangling outside or something like that, there is just nothing
>you keep staring at the empty space where her leg used to be
>AJ is still cowering in fear
>you want to call her, but no sound leaves your mouth
>instead you turn around, looking at the hole on your wall
>a piece of wood falls from it
>you follow its path until it reaches the floor
>it falls right next to her leg
>or…whatever it’s left of it
>yeah, there is not coming back from that, there is no way you can repair it
>you step down the boxes and gently pick up the scorched plastic that used to be her leg
>still hot
>you peel the burnt plastic away, that’s pretty much the entire leg so you are just left with the exo-skeleton
>that’s odd, it has some scratches, but otherwise looks intact
>looks like its made from some kind of metal, feels pretty sturdy actually
>maybe you can still do something with it, you put it in your pocket for now
>you climb back up the boxes and look at AJ
Ummm…AJ?
>she gently lifts her head and looks to her sides before noticing you
>”Anon?”
I don’t think I should ask this but….are you ok?
>whu-? A que te refieres, anon?
>you cringe a little at her question
>she seems to notice that, she starts checking her self
>”I don’t- I don’t think i…
>that’s when she noticed her leg…well, its absence
>her eyes flicker again
>and after a few seconds of what looks like panicked breaths she starts screaming
>two days have passed since the shotgun accident
>needless to say, that was a pretty rough beginning to your relationship with AJ
>getting her “heart” broken
>realizing that she is not gonna be of much help in the farm since she can’t even get an apple
>breaking her back leg
>being chased by a coyote
>and then losing her front leg entirely by a shotgun
>yeah, that’s a pretty rough way to start your first day and a half after waking up for the first time
>she hasn’t been speaking a lot since then
>when you wake up, she does too, but doesn’t move at all from her pillow next to yours for hours
>you also figured out why she asked you if it would still hurt when you fixed her leg
>turns out the exterior its nothing but rubber and cloth
>but the interior it’s another story, her exo-skeleton seems to be extremely complex and apparently, it’s fully capable of feeling pain
>she couldn’t stop screaming when she lost her leg
>you didn’t even showed up to pick up your wheat the next day, you stayed awake the entire night trying to make her feel better and trying to stop the pain
>but in the end, you couldn’t do anything to help her, eventually her pain started to disappear by itself
>yesterday she was in some weird state of depression and panic
>some pain was still present
>you tried your best to help her and even tried to reattach her leg, but there is only so much you can do without a proper circuit welding kit
>all you could do for now was to close the open wound with more rubber from that wheel outside your porch
>today she seems to have accepted her state, even though she tries her best to look happy, she still looks depressed, she started to talk to you a bit more and it seems that her pain has completely disappeared…for the most part, she still complains from time to time, but she says she can stand it
>but she looks happier now
>this morning you had the best idea to cheer her up
>you told her that you were going to need help picking up the wheat from today and yesterday and since you are gonna be doing two trips today you told her that you are gonna need her help to “organize” the wheat inside the bag so you can get as much as you can before doing the trip back to the farm
>that seemed to have cheer her up
>she ran into some trouble at first finding her balance inside the big wheat-backpack but after that you could heard her having fun, jumping on top of the wheat and compressing it enough to get as much as you can
>that brighten your heart
>”Anon, I don’t think we can put any more trigo inside this bag, maybe its hora to come back”
Yeah, I think you are right, this thing feels heavier than it usually does
>”who the hell are you talking to, anon?”
>One of your co-workers, the one considerer as the one in charge when the boss is not around, is standing next to you
>worn but durable looking clothes, slightly overgrown hair and a brown bandana covering his nose and mouth
>>”did the sun fucked you up already?”
Huh? Ooh no, I was just-
>”who is that, anon?”
>AJ peeks out of the bag, leaning over your shoulder with her only leg and revealing herself
>there is an awkward silence for a few seconds
>>”is…is that-?
>”Hi, my name is Apuljyak! un gusto to meet ya!”
>she waves to greet him but since she uses her only leg to do so, she falls back to the bag
>she gives a small chuckle
You ok there, AJ?
>”yeah im fine”
>she climbs back to your shoulder and smiles at the stranger standing in front of her
>>”…”
>he gives you a worried look, or at least that’s what it looked like, that bandana does a good job covering his face
>”what’s your nombre? Señor…?”
>>”…name´s…Knox”
>he keeps eyeing you
>”Hola, Knox, hope ya having a gran dia!”
>>”well aint you a darling, hope you have a great day too”
>AJ smiles warmly at him and jumps back to the bag
>he gives you a signal to follow him
>alone
>shit
I´ll be right back AJ, don’t go anywhere
>”i´ll be aqui, don’t worry anon”
>she gives tiny hops inside the bag while you go towards knox
H-hey knox, how ya doing?
>>”what are you doing, anon?”
Immm picking up the wheat as always, something wrong?
>>”you have been acting weird these last days, well…weirder, you ok?”
Im fine
>>”what about that…thing on your bag?”
AJ? You worried about her?
>>”i…its just, weird, anon, even for you standard self”
>you give him an annoyed look
>he sighs in a defeated manner
>>”will it cause any trouble?”
Pff, yeah right, don’t worry knox, she is actually helping me, i´ll even be able to pick up the wheat from two days ago thanks to her
>>”really now? Well then, if that’s the case then don’t let me interrupt you”
Thanks
>>”ooh and, anon, how is your arm?”
>you shift your arm around a bit, it’s covered in bandages and has a few stains of blood, but otherwise it feels fine
I´ve been better, but it´ll be perfect in a couple of weeks, don’t worry
>>”very well, good luck with the rest of your wheat”
>he climbs his horse and rides back to the farm, leaving you and AJ alone
>you call Applejack on your way to the bag
Ready to head back?
>”lista!”
>she peeks out of the bag while you pick it up
We´ll take a quick lunch break before coming back for the rest of the wheat, maybe I could even show you the horses while we are at it
>her smile grows bigger
>”what are we esperando for? Lets go!”
>you hop on your horse and ride back to the farm
>after a quick recharge for AJ and a couple of burritos for you, the next thing to do before heading back to the fields is to show AJ the stables, she has been curious and you promised yourself to show it to her
>so that’s where you are right now, it’s a little dark inside the stables but you can see just fine with the light entering through the skylight
>some hay its piled up neatly in big packages on one side of the stable, the corrals for the horses are on the opposite side, a big combine in the middle and miscellaneous farm equipment all around
Welp, here it is, the stables, not really much to see, but I guess that’s how it looks like when you have seen this place a thousand times
>”are you bromeando, anon? This place is awesome!”
>she limps quickly everywhere she goes
>it pains you every time she limps to move around, but her smiling face when exploring the place cheers you up at the same time, that bittersweet feeling has been with you since this morning, at least she is adapted herself quickly to her new state
>that circuit welding equipment can’t arrive fast enough
>”wow!”
>AJ is standing in front of one of the horses, they seem to be staring at each other
>”he is so big and strong!”
Yeah, that’s Maximus, knox´s horse, he never lets me get close to it unless it’s my turn to lash it and get it out the stables
>”por que is that?”
I don’t know, it’s like if Maximus knew it’s not the time to go out, so he trashes around if I go near it with a leash…I also feel like he doesn’t likes me
>”maybe I can be of ayuda!”
How?
>she sits on her hind legs and shakes her head a bit, catching Maximus´s attention
>she then neigh´s at it, sounding almost like a foal due to her size
>Maximus responds with a huff and a shake of its head
>she neighs back at it, this keeps going for a minute until she talk to you
>”carry me, anon, on top of him”
Huh?
>”cmon! He is gonna let me ride him”
>you really want to question this decision and whatever she said to convince that horse to let her ride it…but she looks too happy to burst that bubble, so you just obey and lift her
>with a bit of fear, you approach the horse, gently placing AJ on top of it
>she neighs once again, Maximus starts to trot in circles around you, this somehow feels menacing
>however, AJ seems to be having the time of her life, you are not sure why she is having so much fun riding a horse, maybe it’s one of those things you just can’t and will never understand, but that´s a smile you haven’t seen at all since she came out of that box
>so you do what’s best for everyone and stop questioning things for now
>you still wonder how she has any grip on the horse though…
>the rest of the day went exactly as planned, she had her fun with the horses and you picked all the wheat for today and the lost day, her help packing up the wheat saved you a lot of time and you let her knew
>that’s why you are bringing her with you every day from now on to recollect the wheat
>”are you serious?!”
Yeah, im pretty sure that, together, we´ll be the best team in the farm, you´ll do an amazing job, tomorrow i´ll present you to the rest of the guys, they´ll love you
>”anon, eres el mejor!”
>she lovingly hugs you
>you return the embrace while covering both of you with your blanket
YOU are the best, AJ
>you snuggle together this night, it doesn’t matter that her skin is scratchy and that piece of black rubber covering the hole of her missing leg it’s really stiff
>it doesn’t matter that her missing hat wasn’t even from the same show
>It doesn’t matter that she keeps switching languages in between sentences
>you love this tiny pony and she loves you
>if somebody that hasn’t had any friends in his whole life is capable of loving this pony, you know your co-workers will too
>and even if they don’t, it doesn’t matter, only she matters
>you finally go to sleep with that final thought
Good night Applejack
>”Buenas noches, Anon”
Ooh, and AJ?
>”yeah?”
Thanks for giving ME a chance
>she smiles while drifting to her sleep
>you both wake up at the same time
>you look at each other and smile, both excited for what’s to come today
>you take a quick bath while AJ makes the bed, seems like she finally figure out how to do it, she still struggles a little bit, but she looks proud when the bed it’s all made up
>a small breakfast and a recharge for AJ followed before you go out to the “rooster bell” once again
>AJ hides inside your hat while you walk to the bell, seems like she is comfortable there
>you arrive to the bell
>this time you are ON time, so it looks like a good start so far
>you take the small wooden hammer and hit the bell several times
RISE AND SHINE GUYS, WE GOT WORK TO DO!
>the bell chimes loudly, waking everyone up
>”GOD DAMMIT I HATE THAT BELL”
>”COULD YOU RING IT A BIT LOUDER I CAN STILL HEAR THINGS!”
>”calm down already! We are up!”
>”CHEESHUS CRUAYST! ANIN, WAT DEE FOOK EEZ WRONWICHA?!”
>ok, you might have overdone that, but can they blame you? You are excited
>maybe they can
My bad, my bad guys, just woke up in a really good mood, that’s all, cmon, I got the horses ready
>you walk back to the stables, leaving your co-workers begrudgingly walking behind you
>AJ taps your head from inside your hat
>” you sure they´ll like me? You don’t have to hacer esto right now”
Don’t worry, they´ll love you
>at least I hope so, you thought
>you ride to the fields, your co-workers following a few minutes later
>the day goes as usual, you pick the wheat, AJ jumps on it until it somehow fits neatly in place like a puzzle, giving you more space to carry more wheat than usual
>you both do this for hours, with the eventual break to drink some water and for AJ to check her batteries
>you cross paths with your co-workers around every hour
>not much happens besides a casual greet and maybe asking for the time
>the midday approaches, that’s when you have planned to introduce Applejack to the rest of the guys
>”is it time yet, anon?”
Almost, AJ, almost
>”im kinda nerviosa…”
Relax, they´ll love you
>”ah´ sure hope so”
>you hear Knox call you from far away
>>”hey, anon! c´mere, seems like we are done early today!”
COMING!
>you scream back in response
Well, seems like the plan is got ahead of us, you ready?
>”guess i´ll be as ready as i´ll ever be, vamos”
>she hides inside the bag while you walk back to your mates
>they seems to be chatting before riding back, good, everyone is here
Hey guys, whacha doing?
>Knox is the one to respond
>>”just comparing our bags, we made a bet to see who could pick up more wheat this time, sorry we didn’t told you”
That’s ok, wouldn’t want to steal the price from you guys anyway
>>”ooh feeling cocky anon? fine, show us how much ya got”
>you drop your bag next to theirs, yours filled to the brim
>knox is in a close second, followed by everyone else at a distant third, fourth and fifth
>>”hold on, how did you even…?”
>you give a tiny kick to the bag
>AJ pops out of the wheat, her front leg extended almost like wanting to give a hug
>”Trabajo en equipo!”
>some jump back in surprise
>knox doesn’t flinch whatsoever
>One of them is amazed at the sight of a tiny robotic pony missing a leg
>you carry her out of the bag and leave her on your shoulder
>all eyes are on you now…well, AJ to be more precise
>there is silence so far, getting awkward
>you move your shoulder a little bit, giving AJ a small signal to do something
>looks like she catches it
>”Hola fellow co-workers, im Apuljyak, un gusto to meet ya!”
>silence its their response
>AJ seems to be getting worried
>you give a look to Knox, asking him for help with nothing but your eyes
>he rolls his own, but the message gets across
>he approaches you and gently pets AJ´s mane
>>”well hello there, we meet again”
>”Hola señor Knox, hope you had a good day”
>>”oh its been great, thanks, hope you had a great day too”
>”I did, Gracias!”
>>”aint you a darling, oh almost forgot, these are your co-workers”
>he turns around and proceeds to introduce the other 3 guys to AJ
>>”these are-“
>>>”HOLY SHIT THAT’S SO COOL!”
>>>>”where did you even got that!?”
>you are surrounded by those two guys
>you feel a pat on your back
>you turn your head around and see Knox giving you a knowing wink
>he mounts his horse and rides off back to the farm
>you smile under your bandana while the rest of your co-workers ask questions and introduce themselves to AJ
>you ride along with your co-workers for the first time, they keep asking questions to you and AJ
>you both answer their questions when needed
>its goes like this until you reach the farm, you usually would go back to your house, but AJ insist on tagging along with your co-workers
>this is not something that strikes you as comfy territory, but she gives you the biggest puppy eyes you have ever seen
>you never imagined you´ll see the day AJ would do that face…she is grabbing you by your heart´s balls
>you ended up staying up until later than usual, your co-workers turned to be friendlier than you imagined, maybe a bit too loud for your taste, but not enough to kill the mood, so you ended up having fun along with AJ
>but then, right as you both were saying your goodbye´s
>”WOT DE FOOK EEZ DAT THIN´?!”
>you hear as you feel AJ getting lifted up of your shoulder
Hey, what the fuck!?
>that toothless old man mcgucket-looking guy came out of nowhere and snatched AJ by one of her hind legs, holding her like a mere ragdoll
>”ISH THIS ONE OF THEM CARTUN DAWNKYS YOU KEEP WOTCHIN ANON?!”
HEY! BE CAREFUL!
>”woo! Señor! Be careful! Im not that sturdy yet!”
>you try to snatch her back, but despite being an old rug, that guy moves fast
>”IT TWALKS?! WOOOWEE! AINTCHA WONE UGLEE TOY! HAHA!”
FOR FUCK SAKE, GIVE HER BACK!
>”ug-ugly?”
>he shakes her roughly and spins her grabbing her by her mane while laughing like a maniac
>”YEHEHEHEHEHAAAAAW!
>”STOP IT! ANON! AYUDA!
>your co-workers look as worried as you are
>>>”Hey! Old man! Stop it!”
>>>>”That’s not cool dude, give her back!”
>you try jumping on top of him, but he moves away before you could catch him and starts running away
>”ANON! AYUDAME!”
APPLEJACK! IM COMING! Cmon guys! I need your help!
>>>”right behind you anon!”
GET THAT MOTHAFUCKA!
>the chase begins
>the old man keeps evading you and your friends
>Friends? Yeah I guess you can call them friends now, cool, but never mind that right now, AJ keeps screaming for help
>”ANON, AYUDA, PLEASE!”
OLD MAN! IF YOU HURT HER I SWEAR TO GOD I´LL TEAR YOU APART LIMB BY LIMB!
>both of your friends stay behind and split up, looking for an opportunity to corner the old man
>you keep chasing him around the main building where the stables are
>”THE LIL´BOI WUNTS ITZ UGLEE TOY BACK?! BAHAHA! COM´ N GIT  IT!”
>he enters the stables, hopping on the hay bales and jumping his way to the top of the combine
>you follow him and jump on top of the hay on the opposite side of the combine
>your friends arrive and block the exits
>>>>”he´s not going anywhere anon, we got him!”
Stay alert, I don’t trust his guy at all!
>you take the hook you head-butted several days ago
>you swing yourself, creating the necessary momentum to reach the top of the combine where the old man is currently chewing AJ´s tail
>you jump, reaching the combine with a stomp
>the old man gets alerted and turns to you, ripping a big part of AJ´s tail in the process
>”Mi cola!”
>his mouth is filled with the stuffing of A´Js tail, some threads stuck between his only two teeth
>that did it
>you are mad
>you jump at him, throwing him off the combine along with yourself
>you land on a loose pile of hay
>he doesn’t
>you hear something cracking
>it sounded almost like…plastic
>you might have landed in a pile of hay, but your back still hurts
>you didn’t felt any weird lumps or bumps on your back when you landed, so you are sure you didn’t fell on top of AJ
AJ!
>you stand up and begin the search for your tiny friend
>you limp a bit, seems like that fall fucked you up a bit
>at least you are not the old man, his fall was not cushioned at all, he is currently whining in pain next to the combine, looks like his hip is broken
>well deserved
>AJ? Where are you?
>”por aqui, anon”
>you turn around, and see a headless Applejack body next to the pile of hay
>you feel a tear building up in your eyes
AJ! DEAR GOD! Are you ok?!
>”i…I think I am”
Where is your head?!
>”it’s a bit oscuro, but i think its de tras the pile of hay”
>you pick up her body and run behind the pile, you are glad her head is actually there, you can spot her easily, her eyes are flickering so it illuminates her surroundings a bit
Are you hurt?
>”no lo creo, I don’t feel pain”
A-are you sure?
>”yeah, c’mon anon, pick me up”
>you grab her head carefully
Let’s go and fix you up
>”what about el Viejo?”
Not my problem
>”Anon, that’s not nice”
Are you serious? he tore your tail off and is responsible for your decapitation!”
>”maybe, but somos buenos pony´s…err people…us”
But I don- I will no- what abo…
>”fellas! C’mon in!”
>your co-workers and now friends, approach you and AJ
>>>”is everything ok? I heard the fall but I didn’t want to- HOLY SHIT! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!”
>”yeah, im fine, would you mind helping the old man for nosotros, I think he broke algo”
>the other guy comes in
>>>>”hey guys what’s goin-HOLY SHIT!”
Save it dude, just, take the old man to the hospital or something
>they both carry him out in a wheelbarrow that was laying aside
How come you don’t feel any pain? You couldn’t stop screaming when you lost your leg
>”Im not sure either”
>her head is currently on the old pillow where her body used to rest when you fixed her leg
>her body is next to it along with the leg she lost on the shotgun accident
>you are trying to somehow put them back together, but it’s no use, you can’t make sense of it
>you pass your hands over your head in a stressful manner
I don’t know if I can fix this without the necessary tools AJ, I don’t know what to do…
>AJ looks a little defeated, but she tries to cheer you up
>”That’s ok anon, im sure we´ll find a way to arreglarme”
>you take a deep breath and look at AJ
>the light of her eyes is dimming out
How is your battery?
>”hold on, let me check…its getting low, maybe its hora de una recarga”
I guess, hold on let me get the cable
>you open the drawer of the table where your PC rest and pull out her charging chord
>you move her mane to the side and plug her in to your PC
>”Aaah, that’s the good stuff”
At least I can still do that
>you comb your hair with your fingers and rest your head on the table
Im sorry AJ, I never wanted for any of this to happen to you
>”don’t worry anon, it´ll be alright”
>you let a sigh escape
>”huh, eso es nuevo”
>you raise your head
>your monitor is displaying a message you haven’t seen before while AJ re-charges
>IT SEEMS LIKE YOUR APPLEJACK™ HAS SUFFERED SOME MAJOR ABUSE, PLEASE CLICK “NEXT” TO INITIATE THE DAMAGE ANALYSIS AND TO CONSULT THE REPAIRING MANUAL TO FIX YOUR PONY COMPANION
>you feel a smile appearing on your face
>”ya reckon this could ayudarte to fix me?”
Pretty sure it could, anything is better than working blind
>you grab your mouse and move the cursor over the “NEXT” button
>you click it
>another window appears, it’s smaller than the one before, but the border its bright red and an animated exclamation point at the top of the window catches your attention
>THIS WILL DEACTIVATE YOUR PONY UNTIL THE ANALYSIS IS COMPLETED, DO NOT TOUCH OR DISCONNECT YOUR PONY AT ANY MOMENT, DOING SO COULD RESULT IN YOUR PONY´S MEMORY BEING WIPED OUT COMPLETELY, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO, YOU CAN CREATE A BACK UP MEMORY FOR YOUR PONY IN CASE OF ANY ACCIDENT  ->->->>> PLEASE CLICK “BACK UP AND ANALYZE” TO CREATE A BACK UP AND START THE ANALYSIS AS SOON AS THE MEMORY HAS BEEN BACKED UP, CLICK “ANALYZE” TO INITIATE THE ANALYSIS WITHOUT BACKING UP YOUR PONY, CLICK CANCEL TO EXIT THE PROGRAM <<<-<-<-
>”deactivate? for cuanto tiempo?”
Im not sure, it doesn’t say
>”well…the longer we wait the longer it´ll be”
Are you ready AJ?
>”lista!”
Ok then
>you click “back up and analyze”
>your computer freezes for a few seconds before a new windows shows up
>YOUR COMPUTER DOES NOT HAVE THE ENOUGH SPACE TO BACK UP YOUR PONY´S MEMORY, YOUR CURRENT AVAILABLE SPACE IS: 38 GB – YOU REQUIRE: 1050 GB TO SAFELY BACK UP YOUR PONY, WOULD YOU LIKE TO ANALYZE WITHOUT BACKING UP? Y/N
Oh fuck…
>”you mean, there is a chance of me losing mi memoria?”
…
>this is actually scary, there is the possibility that your best friend could disappear if you do so much as touching her while she is deactivated
>”Anon?”
don’t worry AJ, I won’t let anything happen to you
>AJ gives you an understanding smile
>”I know you won’t anon”
Here, before I do anything
>you run away for a few moments only to return with your hands filled with some clothing and a deep plate
>you lift her head and place it inside the plate, filled with your clothing, creating a soft protection zone for her
This should help to keep you in place and avoid any unwanted movements
>half of her head peeks out, but she doesn’t move at all
>”I think this could work sin problemas”
Great
>she looks at you and says nothing
>”…”
…
>”go ahead anon, im ready”
>you take a sit in front of her and move your mouse to the “YES” button
I´ll talk to you soon, ok Applejack?
>”ok anon, que tengas buenas noches”
Good night, AJ
>you give her a little kiss on her forehead
>she closes her eyes while smiling
>you click the button
>your computer freezes for a few seconds again
>a new window opens up
>ANALYZING…
>One or two minutes go by
>ESTIMATED TIME OF ANALYSIS AND FILE REPAIR: 12 DAYS-14 HOURS-26 MINUTES-13 SECONDS
12 DAYS?!...i need a new computer…
>you lie back on your chair and stare at the ceiling for a minute
>you stand up and go to bed for now, you still gotta go to work tomorrow
Yeah…good night, AJ
>a new day beings, you start your day as usual, quick bath, breakfast, the usual stuff
>but why does it feels so different?
>it can’t be because you grow attached to AJ so quickly…can it?
>come to think of it you didn’t have anyone by your side to tell you “good morning” anymore
>your clothes from yesterday are all piled up in the corner
>it’s only been 2 days
>fuck, you miss her really bad
>you go to the computer, AJ is still there, smiling while…sleeping
>the progress bar it’s a 14%
>at least it’s moving
>you can barely use your computer for anything other than browsing AJ´s repairing instructions
>not that you have wanted to do anything else
>why wasn’t the manual printed still evades you, but you are happy that she at least has one
>you fixed Applejack´s tail yesterday, it was easy but it’s not perfect, you can see a few patches here and there, but that would do until your delivery of fabrics and circuit welding kit arrive next week
>her exo-skeleton was the hard part, apparently she has some kind of safe-trigger than turns off her ability to feel pain if some “life threatening” trauma were to happen, no wonder she didn’t feel pain when she got decapitated
>you also learnt that she IS supposed to feel through her skin, but somehow the circuitry wasn’t connected to the outside sensor that SHOULD have been connected to her external fabric
>lastly, her battery pack and memory center where all localized inside of her head, that’s why her body was so light-weighted
Good morning AJ, how are you doing? Good? Great, that’s great, now, let’s see if I can reattach your leg, shall we?
>”…”
Nice, let’s begin then
>you take the leg that got ripped off by the shotgun in one hand and use your mouse to browse the instructions with the other one
…energy consumption…resetting…feelings…aha, there you are
>you click the tag “limbs and body frame”
>IN CASE OF ANY LIMBS FALLING OFF, BENDING THE WRONG WAY OR ANY SIMILAR CASE, SIMPLY REATTACH THE LIMB BY DEACTIVATING THE LOCKING MECHANISM LOCALIZED AT THE VERY END OF THE LEG OR WHERE THE LEG AND BODY MEET (DEPENDING OF YOUR MODEL) REACTIVATE IT WHEN YOU HEAR A “CLICK”
Hmm, let’s see then
>you remove what little fabric was left since the shotgun incident...it’s not that much
Hmm nothing where her hoof should be…what about
>you flip it over
I guess this must be it
>you flick a tiny switch button and see how what seems to be the meeting point opens a bit like a claw
Progress!
>you put them back together
>CLICK
>you reactivate the switch
>it’s kind of disturbing looking at AJ´s body without her head and one of her legs without any fabric, but its more complete than before, that’s something to be glad for
>you let the body on the table to test if it stands on its own
>it does
YES!
>you grab her body again and move her legs with your hands
>her fabric-less leg it’s the only one that feels stiff
Must be a circuit or something that got damaged…well, better than walking with 3 legs i suppose
>you let the body back on the table
>you were going to stand up but a sudden dizziness stop you
Whoa! What the fuck?
>you hold yourself on the table
>you let yourself fall and puke on the floor
>that made you feel better
>you stand up and stare at the stain on the floor
Great, now I gotta clean that too, god dammit
>you go to your orchard for a mop and a bucket
>weird, your arm is itching
>well that was a weird way to start a day
>the floor is clean now, but your arm won’t stop itching, you have to be careful not to scratch in a weird way or you may end up ripping open some of the still cicatrizing wounds
>maybe you should inform your boss about it
>…
>maybe you should so some research first, just to be sure
>you go to your computer again, progress at 15%
Hang in there AJ
>you open your browser
>your PC freezes
…
>your browser opens after a minute
>you let out a breath you didn’t knew you were holding
>better be careful, you don’t want a blue screen
>you look if coyotes can get rabies
>yes they can
Ok, ok, nothing to panic yet
>you look for symptoms
Drooling, headaches, dizziness, itching, nausea, vomiting, seizures…shit…muscle spasms, hallucinations
…
…
Coma
>getting a little nervous here
>you keep reading
The period between the infection and when one becomes ill varies between 10 days and 7 yea-oh cmon…
>you read something about some shots that you HAVE to get
>something about antibiotics having no effect on the virus
It’s possible to avoid the rabies if the injections are applied shortly after the bite-yadda yadda yadda-once the first symptoms appear the person rarely survives the disease…not…even…with treatment
>you cover your mouth while leaning on the table
Death due to respiratory failure usually occurs within 7 days after the onset of symptoms…
>your arm itches again
>you scratch it and stop after a couple of seconds
>you want to keep scratching, but you look at AJ´s head instead
>she is still “sleeping”
>her smile still as big as the moment she went to “sleep”
…
>you look back at your monitor
>15%
…
>you quickly stand up, take your jacket and run outside
>you have to go to a hospital, the first symptoms already showing up, you don’t know how much time you have left
>Knox is nowhere to be found
>you see your two friends playing cards on a box, sitting on a couple of old tires each
Guys, have you seen Knox? I can’t find him
>>>”haven’t seen him dude, why? Something wrong?”
Yeah, that fucking coyote gave me rabies, im most probably going to die if I don’t go to the hospital NOW!
>>>>”oh…that sucks man…”
Oh you think?
>>>>”yeah…full house, I win”
>>>”oh, fuck you”
GUYS!
>>>>”heh, sorry anon, let’s not waste any more time and take you to the hospital, it’s a five hour trip to the city and who knows how much to the hospital”
Thanks, I wanted to let Knox know, but I can’t find him
>>>”forget about him dude, we´ll let him know”
Thanks guys, c´mon lets go
…Whose truck is this?
>>>”the boss´s”
Are we allowed to use it?
>>>>”yeh”
How come I never saw it?
>>>”cuz you never go outside of your house dude”
i…fair enough
>you flop back on the back seat of the truck, a bucket next to you…just in case
Four hour trip to the city you said?
>>>>”five, I can make it three and a half if i floor it though”
But?...
>“But I don’t want an excuse for using the entire gas tank on a single trip”
Dude, im going to die, I think we can justify the gas for this
>>>>”fine, but if I have to pay the entire tank then you are paying it”
Are you seriously making me pay fo-fine whatever I’ll pay it if I survive
>>>>”good”
>he stomps on the gas, driving through the empty road at max speed
>So far you have puked only once since you leaved the farm
>you started to get dizzy around the first forty minutes of travel
>it has been an hour since then, so it’s safe to assume you are half way through
>>>”so, how did that coyote got inside the house?”
Fucker jumped through the window
>>>”shit”
Im gonna hunt it down if I make it back
>>>>”way ahead of you anon, we manage to kill it”
No shit? Finally!
>>>”yeah, boss took it to make a rug out of it, said he´s gonna give it to whoever recollects the most wheat in the month”
Neat
>>>>”yeah”
…
>>>”…”
>>>>”…”
>you puke into the bucket
>another hour passes, you can see the city in the distance now
>>>>”we are almost there anon”
Cool…
>>>”how ya hanging buddy?”
>he turns around in his seat to take a look at you
Is it just me or is it getting hot in here?
>you are sweating now, several drops of sweat falling form your face
>>>”oh man, you don’t look so good”
…im…im cold guys
…
>>>”ok… Im actually worrying about him now”
>>>>”he´ll be fine, just one more hour”
>>>”but why is it advancing so fast?”
>>>>”do I look like a doctor to you?
Guys?...
>>>”your handwriting certainly looks like”
Guys…
>>>>”you said that you would never mention that again…”
guys…
>>>”well maybe if you weren’t such a dick sometimes, maybe I wouldn’t mention it”
>>>>”we are not having this conversation while driving anon to the hospital, we´ll talk about it later, aight?”
>you don’t really feel like listening to their discussion, so you take that as your queue to pass out in your fever
>back in the farm
>the computer went to 16%
>Knox was sitting in front of it
>he was weirded out by all the “technology” in front of him
>but the note that he found on his door said that he had to take care of AJ while anon was gone
>or at least that’s what he thought it said, whoever wrote that down must have never picked up a pencil in his life
>so all he does is staring at the screen, reading AJ´s instructions while playing around with her body
>”maybe I could do something with this…how hard can it be?”
>Knox is playing around with some tools next to AJ´s head
>he is not the best managing small tools, he is used to big tools and trucks, but he seems to be getting the hang of it
>”this is actually relaxing, I think I can see what anon sees in this whole technology thing”
>he moves AJ´s legs trying to make her body stand up
>it falls due to the faulty leg
>”hmm maybe I can help anon with this”
>he looks at the monitor and reads the instructions, he struggles a bit navigating with the mouse, but he figured out rather easily
>”looks like i´ll need some special tools for this”
>just as he was about to look for more tools, a knock on the door called his attention
>he went and opened the door
>”Yes?”
>>”package for…Annonymuse?”
>”anon? Oh, he is not here, but i´ll receive it for him”
>>”usually I would said no, but it is a 5 hour trip to reach this place, so whatever”
>the delivery guy hands over an office tablet for him to sign up
>>”here you go”
>he drags a couple of rolls of fabric and a big box out of his delivery van
>>”hope you enjoy…whatever you are doing with this”
>he leaves without saying anything else
>Knox takes everything inside and opens the box
>it’s the circuit welding kit that anon waited for
>”hey, I remember using one of these before! Perfect timing!”
>he turns around and sits in front of the computer again, unpacking the kit and preparing himself to, what he thinks, is playing doctor with AJ´s body
>”oh, this brings back so many memories”
>he gives another look to the instructions on the screen and takes the electric welder
>”Now, let’s see if I still remember how to do this”
>you don’t know for how long have you been out, but apparently it was enough for your friends to reach the city, find a hospital, go to eat, come back, find you connected to some tubes and bags with some liquid inside them and then go to a motel to pass the night
>you try to stand up, but your body feels too weak to move
>you give up after the third attempt and instead call for somebody
Doc?...nurse?...AJ?...anyone?
>your tongue drags in your mouth when you talk
>there is no response
>looks like nobody is around
>you rest your head on the damp pillow below it
>man, you are hot right now but there is nothing you can do
>you look at the clock above the door in front of you
>09:43 PM
>you catch a couple of voices on the other side of the door
>you can’t make up what they are saying, something about a hotdog? You can’t tell
Guys?
>they don’t seem to hear you
>you try your hardest to shout and catch their attention
GUYS?
>that wasn’t exactly a shout, but it did the trick
>you hear some footsteps and then see a doctor opening the door
>”looks like you are up, great! How ya feeling champ?”
I feel like a got bent over by a rabid coyote and raped me trying to get the rabies inside
>”well, according to your friends, that’s not too far away from the truth, that coyote did a number on your arm, it’s a miracle it’s not rotting due to an infection”
I did my best to disinfect it as best as I could…
>”yeah, well, you did give yourself enough time to make it here, that’s good”
Doc, why is it going so fast? The symptoms I mean, I read about this and it said that it could take up to 7 years
>”well, several factors could affect the progression of the infection”
Like?
>”did you ever have your shots as a kid?”
What shots?
>”i´ll take that as a no…your anti rabies shots”
Oh, those, yeah, my dad said that those would turn me gay, so he didn’t gave them to me
>”…”
He was a bit of a conspiracy theorist guy…
>”u-hu…”
>”yeah, that could be the main reason”
Dammit dad!
>you sigh a little bit and then ask the doctor
Will I make it?
>”I don’t know, only a handful of people have survived an infection of rabies in the last two decades, but it is a possibility, we already gave you the PEP vaccination, now it’s just a matter of your body doing the rest of the work, but since the infection is somewhat advanced, there is still a chance of it being fatal”
So…I just have to be lucky?
>”as a doctor and man of science I don’t really believe in luck, nor I want to use the term for medical cases…but im afraid that’s the case right now”
Well…fuck me
>you rub your palm across your face
>”pretty sure the coyote already did”
Oh shut up and bring me some water…and a new pillow please, im sweating way too much
>a small contained chuckle escapes the doctor
>”I’ll have a nurse bring them too you”
>without saying anything else, he walks out of the room and closes the door behind him
>your friends arrive the next day, you didn’t sleep at all last night, and no, you don’t count passing out as sleeping, you don’t even feel rested
>>>”hey mate, how ya feeling?”
Like shit
>>>>”yah, you look like it”
Doc gave any news?
>>>”just that it may take up to two weeks for you to get better…that if you manage to”
What if I don’t?
>>>>”his guess it’s that you would die in the next 5 days if you don’t”
>>>”do you have to be so blunt about it?”
>>>>”hey, he asked for the info, I gave it to him, what else do you want from me?”
Ladies, please, I have something important to ask you
>they both look at each other with awkward faces and then at you
>>>>”wacha want?”
AJ is back at home, she is being analyzed by my computer as we speak
>>>>”The little robot pony thingy?”
>he gets a slap in the back of his head by the other guy
>>>”you mean his friend”
>>>>”Agh fuck right right”
Yeah, her, I need you guys to go and bring her here
>>>”that´ll be easy don’t worry”
No it won’t, she is connected to my computer and cannot be disconnected or her memory could be wiped out
>>>>”wait, you want US to bring her AND an entire computer to this room without disconnecting it? How on earth could we do that? I’m not expert on computers, but I’m pretty sure you can’t do that”
Please, figure it out, I just want to see her one last time if I die
>>>”don’t worry anon, we´ll figure it out”
And one last thing, if I die, please take care of her
>>>”we will anon, cmon, lets go”
>>>>”can I keep your shotgun?”
>he gets dragged out by his friend”
>AJ´s body is standing on its own
>Knox fixed her leg, of course it still has no fabric around it, so it still looks like the insides of the animatronics from Five Nights At Freddie’s
>Knox it’s not in the house
>the screen on the computer still displays the progress bar
>33%
>not much happens for a couple of hours
>Knox came back from a quick shift at the fields, since he is the one still in charge when the boss is not around he has to get some work done
>he sits on anon´s armchair to rest
>”wonder how long until that thing finish whatever its doing”
>he glances at the screen while stretching
>the screen goes black and the sound of the spinning fans inside the CPU stop completely
>”…I don’t think that’s a good thing”
>he quickly stands up and runs to the computer to check it out
>>”i- I don’t-oh man, what do I do?!”
>he moves the mouse side by side
>nothing
>he presses the space bar several times
>nothing
>he hits the side of the screen with his palm
>the sound of the fans comes back, they are spinning again
>the screen comes back
>it’s a programmed restart commanded by the scanning program itself
>at least that’s what it says on the screen along with the following
>>””your pony will wake up for a while to run a quick checkup, you may interact with your pony until the checkup is completed” wait, now?”
>AJ´s eyes open up and flicker to life once again
>she scans her surroundings using her eyes only
>”Señor Knox? What are you haciendo aqui?”
>>”oh, hello AJ, anon leaved me a note asking me to take care of you while he is gone”
>”gone? A donde fue?”
>>”eehhh, don’t worry about it”
>that was an awful lie
>”Mr Knox, I may be based on a pony who cannot mentir whatsoever, but even I can tell you are lying, porfavor tell me, where did anon go?”
>>”am I really that bad?”
>”Señor Knox…”
>>”he is at the hospital, he’s got the rabies”
>”he is sick?!”
>>”yeah”
>”Please! Mr Knox, you have to take me to him!”
>>”sorry girl, his note specifically asked me not to unplug you from this computer under any circumstance whatsoever”
>”Mr Knox, I beg you! I must verlo”
>>”im awfully sorry AJ, aint non i can do until this thing is done”
>he places his hand on top of the computer
>>”my hands are tied until then”
>the computer beeps
>both turn to look at the screen
>CHECKUP COMPLETED
>AJ deactivates one more time
>the screen goes black for a second and come back to the desktop
>the progress bar shows up
>the bar jumped from 33% to 66%
>a text file opens up on its own
>YOUR PONY´S BODY IS DEACTIVATED WHILE THE SECOND PART OF THE SCANNING PROCESS TAKES PLACE, HOWEVER, YOU CAN STILL INTERACT WITH YOUR PONY BY TYPING IN THIS TEXT FILE, YOUR PONY WILL REPLY USING THE SAME METHOD:
>”uuh ok?”
>HELLO?_MR_KNOX?_
>Knox replies by typing on the keyboard
>>AJ? YOU THERE?_
>I_AM_
>>GREAT, IT SHOULDN’T BE LONG FOR THIS THING TO FINISH WHATEVER IT’S DOING_
>REPAMPANOS!_NOW_IM_STUCK_HERE!_
>>THAT’S OK I THINK, YOU ARE SAFE HERE_
>BUT_ANON_IS_NOT!_I_HAVE_TO_SEE_HIM_
>>PLEASE BE PATIENT, I THINK THIS THING IS OVER HALFWAY DONE_
>CUANTO_PROGRESS_HAS_PASSED?_
>>THIS LITTLE THING HERE SAYS 66-NO, 67%_
>ALREADY?_I_THOUGHT_IT_WOULD_BE_SLOWER_
>>70%_
>!_
>>I THINK ITS GONNA FINISH EARLY_
>SI!_
>>DON’T WORRY, I´LL TAKE YOU TO ANON AS SOON AS YOU GO BACK TO YOUR BODY_
>MUCHAS_GRACIAS_SEÑOR_KNOX!_
>>DON’T THANK ME YET, KIDDO, STILL GOTTA ATTACH YOUR HEAD TO YOUR BODY AND I HAVE NO IDEA HOW AM I GOING TO DO THAT_
>JUST_SIGUE_LAS_INSTRUCCIONES_AND_YOU´LL_BE_FINE_
>>THE INSTRUCTIONS, RIGHT, I´LL DO MY BEST
>he stops typing and goes to the instructions, looking for the appropriated set of instructions to follow
>you are lying on your bed, drinking some water
>you are feeling dehydrated and your vision is starting to get blurry
>according to your calculations, they should be back with Applejack early in the morning
>that if they figure out how to bring her without disconnecting her, hopefully the scanning is done when they arrive
>the tiredness is starting to get a toll on your body, but you don’t want to go to sleep yet
>you are afraid that if you fall asleep you might not wake up again
>but that is not happening, not yet, you must stay awake. For Applejack
Come on guys, hurry up
>you blink several times, each time you keep your eyelids closed longer and longer
NO! Not yet!
>you shake your head trying to shake the tiredness away
>is not working, the weight on your eyelids it’s too much
Maybe just a quick nap, yeah, that´ll help
>you take a quick glance at the clock above the door
>4:22 AM
>you give up and fall asleep
>you wake up
>Still feeling tired
>looks like not even sleeping can help you anymore
>you feel like your eyes are bulging out of its sockets and the fever keeps getting worse
>the clock is barely visible
>5:07 PM
>that’s not good, they should have been back by now
>you try calling the nurse, but your throat is to sore and dry
>there should be a button to call for a nurse around here-there you are
>you press the button next to your bed
>it beeps several times
>god that’s annoying
>the nurse walks in
>”need anything?”
Yeah, I think I fell asleep for a couple of hours, are my friends back yet?
>”I think you mean a couple of days, we had to keep waking you up at your request, but even then you were barely conscious”
Couple of what?!
>”im sorry, but if you don’t need anything, I have to go”
Wait, just bring me some more water, please
>”very well, i´ll be back in a minute”
>she leaves the room as you rub your hand on your face
It has to be done by now, right?
>back on your house, Knox is still messing around with AJ´s head and talking to her through the text file
>>I THINK I GO IT, AJ!_
>GENIAL!_NOW_TRY_TO_TWIST_SEVERAL_TIMES_UNTIL_YOU_HEAR_A_CLICK_
>Knox spins her head like a bolt
>creak, creak, click
>>”YEAHAHA!”
>he types in the keyboard
>>I GOT IT, I THINK ITS READY!_
>GREAT_NOW_JUST_COMIENZA_EL_PROCESO_OF_TRANSFERENCE_AND_I´LL_BE_BACK_ON_MY_BODY!_
>>YES MA´AM_
>he navigates through a couple of windows before reaching the transference process
>it begins
>25%
>50%
>75%
>98%
>99%
>99%
>99%
>100%
>Applejack´s eyes flicker back to life once again
>”estoy de vuelta!”
>Knox cheers as well as your friends who were standing behind him the entire time
>”rapido! Tengo que ir con anon antes de que sea muy tarde”
>>”wait, AJ, something is not right…”
>”a que te refieres?”
>she examines her body
>”todo parece estar en orden”
>that’s when she realized
>she covers her muzzle with her fabric-less hoof
>she moves the hoof aside and opens her mouth to speak
>”pueden entender lo que digo?”
>she covers her muzzle again, eyes wide with surprise and annoyance
>”con un demonio, ahora solo puedo hablar español!”
>Knox replies back
>>”well, most of us can understand some level of Spanish and I’m pretty sure anon is the one with the most knowledge of it, hopefully it won’t be too much of a problem?”
>AJ sighs and responds with an annoyed tone
>”Estoy cansada de estas fallas! Pero saben qué? eso no importa ahora, rápido! llévenme con anon!”
>>>”you said you want us to take you to anon, right?
>”SI!”
>>>”ok, just checking, we´ll be back soon, Knox”
>>”oh no, you won’t, even if I barely know anon, he is still one of us, I’m going with you guys”
>” vamos! andando!”
>AJ jumps out of the PC table, she lands the jump this time and starts running outside towards the pick-up truck
>everyone follows shortly after
>Knox is the one driving this time, driving at max speed across the road, stopping once to let one of the guys take a quick rest behind a bush
>after several hours of driving they arrive to the hospital one more time
>its around midnight, there are few people in the waiting room, most of them sleeping or distracted with old magazines or their phones
>the main desk it’s next to the wall, corridors at both sides of it with several rooms with some patients
>they almost burst into the room but quickly regain their composure before calling any unnecessary attention
>some are still looking though
>Knox is carrying AJ on his hands
>they all walk to the main desk but the other two guys hold back and take a sit close to a bunch of old and tore magazines
>Knox and AJ are the only ones that actually made it to the desk, the receptionist looks friendly but somewhat tired
>>”hello, we came to visit anon”
>”anon?”
>>”oh, full name: Anon-y-mous”
>her expression goes from tiredness to full concern
>”ooh, sir, im...im afraid I have some news regarding…Mr. Anonymous”
>”a que se refiere con, “noticias”?”
>”oh god, that thing speaks?!”
>AJ´s face it’s a mix of hurt and annoyance
>>”ma´am, please, anon?”
>”right, my apologies…actually, are you a relative of Mr. Anonymous?”
>>”uuh, no, im just an acquaintance”
>”iiiis there any relative of him here?”
>>Knox look back at the two guys that are sitting near the magazines, they look at each other and shrug back at him
>AJ clears her throat and pokes Knox´s chest a couple of times
>he looks down and hesitates for a second
>he then extends his arms, presenting Applejack to the receptionist
>she looks really confused
>”Are...are you serious?”
>>”she knows anon…maybe not longer, but far better than any of us, im pretty sure she is the closest person he has to an actual family, the rest of us are just acquaintances or friends”
>AJ actually lights up at being called a “person”
>Knox gives her a small but reassuring smile
>AJ smiles back
>”Por favor señorita…Necesito ver a Anon…”
>”i…i mean, this is a little unorthodox…”
>she scratches her head with a pen and stands up
>”Please, give me a second, I’ll be right back”
>she leaves
>AJ and Knox look at each other
>He carries AJ back with him and takes the closest seat to the desk
>AJ jumps off of him and sits on the seat next to him
>A few seconds pass
>they turn into a couple of minutes
>then ten minutes
>then fifteen
>after the twentieth minute the nurse comes back along with a doctor
>”I presume you are…Applejack, am I correct?”
>Knox, along with the guys and AJ turn to look at him
>”S-si, soy yo”
>”Oh, Spanish? I did not expected that…anyway, anon informed us about his case, he…was…expecting you”
>she jumps out of her seat, everyone in the waiting room looking at her walk to the doctor
>”estaba?”
>”come, i´ll take you to him”
>”vamos chicos, Anon nos esta esperando”
>they all stand up but the nurse interrupts them
>”im sorry, but as weird as it may be, only…Miss…Applejack, is allowed to visit him right now”
>AJ looks conflicted, but she won’t question that back, she just want to see anon already
>”pero…esta bien, vamos”
>she follows the doctor across the left corridor, no one saying anything
>AJ tries her best not to look around and let her curiosity get the best of her, but she can’t help but notice several patients on their beds
>there was one covered in bloody bandages, another one with a wheelchair next to him, another one without an arm, and the last one was completely covered with a white sheet, his bed surrounded by nurses and a couple of doctors
>they reach the final room
>the doctor opens the door and reveals four beds, two of them are empty
>the room is in total darkness except for a couple of flashing lights coming out of some machines
>one of the two occupied beds has an old slender man, he looks like he is on his last days, a thin sheet covers his chest all the way down to his feet
>looks like he is sleeping for now
>the other bed is surrounded by curtains
>the doctor takes an office tablet hanging on a bin mounted on a wall, he writes something on it and returns it
>”are you seriously his only family?”
>AJ doesn’t responds for a few moments
>”must suck to be completely alone”
>”Anon no esta solo, me tiene a mi”
>she replies
>”if you say so”
>he turns around to leave but AJ calls him before he does
>”necesito ayuda para subir”
>”what? oh, right, sorry”
>he lifts her with both hands and walks next to the curtain
>”are you ready?”
>”si”
>he turns on a small light and slides the curtains, revealing an unconscious anon with some tubes coming out of his mouth and nose
>”Anon!”
>he leaves her on the bed
>”I´ll leave you alone for now, just be careful and try not to touch the tubes, they are the only thing keeping him alive right now”
>AJ doesn’t ignore him, but she doesn’t reply either
>she carefully walks to the side of his face
>”Anon, estoy aqui, despierta!”
>”yeah, he cant hear you”
>”por que?”
>”he is in a clinically induced coma”
>”en coma?!”
>”im gonna ask you to not shout, please, this is a hospital, and yeah, a coma, it was necessary, he started to convulse and had a lung failure, if we hadn’t put him in a coma to treat him he would have died a long time ago”
>it looked like Applejack was about to cry, but that was something she wasn’t physically capable off
>”y no puede despertarlo? Si lo pusieron a dormir seguro pueden despertarlo, verdad?”
>”wake him up? That’s not how it works, if we try to wake him up in his current state he will most likely die within the hours, all we can do is wait for him to recover and wake up on his own, that´s if he does at all”
>she sits next to his face and gently strokes his cheek
>”cuanto tiempo?”
>”im sorry, whats that?”
>”cuanto tiempo tomara para que se mejore?”
>”how much time you ask? There is no telling, it could be days, it could be weeks”
>she stays silent
>”…im gonna go now”
>he turns around and leaves the room, leaving AJ alone with anon
>”no te preocupes, estoy aqui para cuidarte, no me ire hasta que te mejores”
>AJ takes the sheet next to him and carefully covers him
>she does it with rather ease this time, her time of practice with anon´s bed seems to have helped her figure out the best way to do it
>and the repairs that Knox did on her also gave her more grip on her jaw
>hopefully, when she is fully repaired she could do so much more to help anon
>she curls up and lies next to him, in between his neck and shoulder, nuzzling him
>”por favor mejorate rapido…”
>she gives him a small kiss
>”buenas noches…”
>she wakes up around 3:30 AM
>the faint beeping of the electrocardiogram machine keeps the room from being in total silence
>that and anon´s faint breathing
>the bed sheet seems to have slid off a bit
>she navigates her way to it and pulls it back, placing it how it used to be
>”that your friend?”
>AJ gets startled
>she looks around before landing her view on the old man on the next bed
>he is now sitting, hands resting on his stomach
>”heh heh, sorry there girl, wusnt my intention to startle you”
>AJ relaxes and sits on the edge of the bed, looking at the old man
>”no hay problema…”
>”oh, Spanish? ya´ll have to excuse me if I take longer than expected to reply, my spanish is a bit rusty theehhee”
>he coughs a bit before continuing
>”name´s Abe, pleashur to meecha”
>he extends his arm for a salutation and waits
>”Hola Abe, mi nombre es Apuljyak, un gusto conocerte…lo siento, pero no puedo alcanzarlo”
>Abe mumbles what AJ just said, doing his best to translate it
>”oh i get it, heh heh, ya a small lass, aint´cha?”
>he takes his arm back and places it on top of his resting hand
>”that’s ok, the smaller they are, the cuter they get when they grow up…I think, I haven’t seen anything since I was born so I don’t know, tho I gotta say, ya sound mighty mature, must be whatever´s in the food ya kids eat these days”
>she doesn’t reply, not because she is ignoring him, but because she doesn’t know what to say
>”ya seem a bit down girl, somethin´wrong? Ya know…besides being in a hospital”
>”solo estoy preocupada por anon, que si nunca despierta? O peor?”
>”i wouldn’t worry about him, im pretty sure he will”
>”como puede estar tan seguro?”
>”i know cuz he said so, and he sounded convinced, something about doing it for the most important girl of the world, presume that’s you”
>”la mas importante del mundo?”
>”that’s right, must be great having such loving family”
>”si…”
>she stops and thinks for a few moments
>”Familia…supongo que lo soy…”
>”Ya adopted I suppose?”
>”en cierta manera”
>” I see…hah! get it?”
>he points at his eyes while smiling
>AJ chuckles a bit
>”aah, that’s better, laughter has always been the best medicine”
>they both laugh for a minute until it dies down
>”can ya promise me something lass?”
>”Una promesa? Uh, seguro, que cosa?”
>”when he wakes up, make sure you enjoy ya life with him, i´ve meet some awful people on my time, some i don’t even know If I would be able to call them humans…but you, being so young, I can tell you are already more human than some of them”
>AJ looks a bit confused to where is all of this coming from, maybe he hasn’t realized that he is talking to a small pony
>nevertheless, she plans on keeping that promise
>”I can tell that you love him and he loves you back…not in a romantic way of course, that would be weird…and maybe illegal, I don’t know, things is, that love is what will make you a better person, no matter the circumstances, no matter the times”
>”lo are, lo prometo”
>she looks back at anon and smiles a bit
>”Gracias por animarme, Sr. Abe”
>”Thank you, lass”
>”yo? Porque?”
>”for giving this old man one last glance of humanity before he dies…hah, get it?”
>AJ chuckles again before realizing what he said
>he exhales and lies back on his bed
>”no! espere! No puede morir aun! SEÑOR!”
>”im not dying!”
>he stretches and covers himself with the bed sheet
>”just tired, its like 4am that’s all”
>”oh, cierto, lo siento heh”
>”talk to you later Apuljyak, have a good night”
>”usted tambien Sr. Abe, buenas noches”
>”No...Por favor no, Anon, las capas!”
>AJ suddenly wakes up screaming
>”OGRO VERDE! NO!”
>a nurse is standing next to her
>she is looking at AJ with curious eyes and many questions inside of her head
>AJ replies after an exchange of looks with the nurse
>”lo siento, sueños con…cebollas, ugh”
>”aah…sure”
>she takes the office tablet hanging on the wall and writes something on it before turning to anon
>then, she takes his arm and unravels the bandages covering his mauled arm and uses new ones to bandage it again
>”como esta?”
>”Excuse me?”
>”anon? como esta?”
>”oh Mr. Anon, sorry, I’m not good with Spanish, he seems to be fine for now, we need to wait a bit more to notice any noticeable changes”
>”rayos…”
>”im just gonna give him another shot and then i´ll be on my way”
>she takes a syringe and slowly injects some medicine on his arm
>AJ observes carefully
>”there we go, that should help him to get better”
>the nurse disposes of the syringe
>”now, before i go, do you need anything?”
>AJ lifts her head to look at the nurse
>”si, podria conectarme a la pared? Mi batería se esta agotando”
>”…i…could…maybe…i…”
>”no entiendes lo que digo, verdad?”
>the nurse just gives her an awkward smile
>AJ exhales in a frustrated manner while somehow getting her charging chord out of her body through the exposed exo-skeleton of her leg
>she gives it to the nurse and points to the wall plug then to herself
>the nurse gets it now
>”oh, I get it!”
>she carries AJ next to the wall and plugs her in
>a couple of hours go by
>her battery its back to full charge
>And its midday now, that means its visits time
>Knox and friends visited anon one by one
>they mostly chatted with AJ though, since anon can’t do much in his current state
>they asked if she saw any changes, AJ replied by saying what the nurse said before
>after a couple of hours and a slap to the face from one of the nurses to one of the guys that tried to flirt on her, its time for the group to go back to the farm
>Knox tried to convince AJ to go with them, since there isn’t much she can do until he wakes up
>”you sure you wanna stay?”
>”si, alguien debe quedarse a cuidarlo mientras no estan”
>”are you completely sure of it? We can’t come back every day, so if you stay you will be stuck here until the next week”
>”estoy segura, no se preocupe Sr. Knox, estare bien”
>”well, if you say so, then i trust ya”
>”Gracias”
>”don’t mention it”
>he lifts AJ and leaves her on top of the bed
>”we´ll be back next week, take care”
>”los veo la proxima semana, adios”
>and with that, they leaved
>leaving AJ alone to take care of anon
>every hour, she inspected anon to make sure nothing was out of place
>she couldn’t change his bandages, so she tightens them up so they wouldn’t get loose
>every time his bed sheet slid to the side, she pulled it back and placed it back in place
>she even puffed his pillow several times with the occasional help of a nurse
>hours passed, and the night arrived one more time, despite being there for solely for anon, she was getting bored fast, hospitals aren’t a great source of fun or entertainment anyway
>but she had a friend now
>”you there Apuljyak?”
>”Oh, hola Abe, aqui estoy”
>every day it was the same routine
>AJ did her best to take care of anon, she had a small chat with a couple of nurses before them returning to their labor
>every night, AJ and Abe had a conversation for a couple of hours before he went back to sleep
>every week Knox and friends came back to visit anon and get an update on his state
>every time, AJ told them how she took care of him, they did the same with the farm
>they took care of anon´s orchard so his vegetables wouldn’t go to waste
>they actually started growing orchards of their own so they could save some money to keep affording anon´s stay in the hospital
>time passed, and it seemed that anon wasn’t getting any better
>of course, the doctor said that most changes were internal, so there was no way for her to notice them
>it was like this for a couple of months
>his arm was completely fine by now, a few scars as a reminder of his encounter with the coyote were still there, but the rest of it was perfect
>other than that, there was no noticeable change other than him getting a bit skinnier
>until one night during her nightly chat with Abe
>”A coyote? Seriously?”
>”si, en serio!”
>”Man, thats some ROTTEN luck! Did they at least got the animal?”
>”si, lo convirtieron en un tapete, planean dárselo a anon cuando despierte”
>”i feel bad for the animal, wasn’t exactly its fault, but i guess it was necessary”
>”si, tampoco me gustó la idea al principio pero…espera”
>”something wrong girl?”
>“sentí algo moverse!”
>”you what?”
>AJ started to examine his body, looking for any sign of movement
>but instead of a finger twitching or an arm moving she found something better
>his eyes were open
A..J?
>”ANON!”
>She jumps across the bed and hugs you
>”estaba tan preocupada!”
Whu-whasgoinon? Whahappund?
>”esta bien, anon, ya despertaste, todo esta bien”
>”well, howdy there, fella, looks like you’re up, congrats”
>you slowly turn your head and are greeted by an old man, looks like he is blind, that would explain the round black glasses he is wearing
h-hey…agh, my head is killing me
>”N-no te preocupes anon, ire por ayuda!”
>AJ jumps down the bed, and runs to the door
>its not entirely closed so she manages to squeeze through the side
>”Doctor! Desperto! Anon desperto!”
>since its around 2 AM there is no one at first sights
>most of the corridors have the lights off and the few lights that are on are flickering
>AJ goes to the reception, but there is nobody there
>she struggles to open a few doors to the other rooms, but there are no doctors in sight
>she could have sworn she heard a few voices a couple of minutes ago, so she is sure they can’t be far away
>”Doctor! Enfermera! Alguien?!”
>she runs while shouting
>luckily, at the end of the corridor, she sees a nurse entering a room
>a small smile appears on her face
>”Enfermera!”
>she reaches the door and bucks it several times
>”Enfermera! Venga rapido!”
>it takes a few moments, but after some shuffling and the sound of a broom hitting the floor, she comes out
>”I was doing nothing I swear to-oh, its you”
>she clears her throat and fixes her skirt
>”what do you need?”
>”rapido! Anon desperto!”
>AJ jumps of excitement a couple of times before stopping and noticing the door
>”Armario de limpieza? Que estaba haciendo en-”
>the doctor comes out of the closet with a bucket on his head and lipstick smeared on his coat
>AJ stays silent for a few second before shaking her head trying to dismiss whatever just happened inside that closet
>”rapido doctor! Anon desperto!”
>she runs off back to anon´s room
>she arrives and finds you trying to pull out the tube going inside your mouth
>you keep gagging every time you pull, so there isn’t much you can do
>the doctor arrives shortly after Applejack
>”traje ayuda!”
>”you leave that tube right there mister, you still need it, for now at least”
Uuh, Doc, finally, wha-happened?
>your speech is slowly coming back to you
>”we had to put you in a coma, your symptoms were just too great for you”
Symptoms? Like what?
>”almost dying for starters, lung failure, extreme headaches, uncontrollable fever and convulsion just to mention some”
Damn…and what’s my state?
>”well…you are talking, which is a miracle on itself, so I’ll say you are mostly fine, your lungs are still a bit messed up, but we can fix those bad boys up in a few months, in the meantime, DO. NOT. TOUCH. THAT TUBE, that thing comes out, you are dead”
>you let go of the tube as soon as he stop speaking
>”al menos ya estas mucho mejor anon”
>you look at AJ on the floor, big smile on her face, if she could, she would be crying tears of happiness
Applejack! You are complete! And your head is back where it belongs!
>you can hear a “huh?” from both the old man and the doctor at the same time, but that’s not important
Doc, could you please?
>”oh sure”
>he lifts AJ and leaves her on the bed
>she runs to your side and you both hug
>”te extrañe tanto anon”
And I missed you too, AJ…are you speaking full Spanish now?
>”oh, si, el analisis arreglo algunas cosas pero no todo fue de acuerdo a como lo esperábamos, te cuento todo luego, por ahora debes descansar”
>”she is right, you need some rest now, i´ll come back later with some tests, for now, relax and try to get some sleep, its late and you must be tired”
>a few weeks have passed
>your stay at the hospital is starting to get on your nerves
>if you have to eat any more tasteless paste and celery-flavored serum you are going to lose it
>”hora de la comida!”
Please no…
>AJ arrives with a metallic tray with more of your tasteless food strapped to her back
>she is wearing a custom made nurse outfit, tiny nurse hat included
>apparently some nurses took a fond of her and made that for her
>she was a bit embarrassed of using it at the beginning, but she seems to have gotten used to it
>”ya sabes que hacer, anon”
I dont wanna…
>”Anon”
Fine
>you lean over and take the tray out of her back, assuming your sitting position and placing the tray on your legs
>”Ehum”
Sorry, I forgot
>you lean over again and lift her too, leaving her next to you
>”bien, ahora come”
Ugh
>you take your spoon and begrudgingly eat your paste
>”por cierto, tu jefe esta esperando que termines tu comida para visitarte”
>you choke on some of your food
The boss is here?
>”sip”
Oh boy
>you quickly finish your food, not stopping even once to taste it, not that you mind anyway
Alright, im done
>”bien, ire a llamarlo”
>she jumps out of the bed and exits the room
>a minute passes and someone knock on your door
Come on in
>yeah, that’s your boss, the short, bald, muscular old man in a gray business suit wearing shades indoors
>looks like he has a box under his arm
Hey boss
>>”hey yourself, you are looking good”
Eh, could be better
>he chuckles a little bit
>>”I hope you are feeling better, the guys filled me in on what happened at the farm, can’t avoid thinking I’m partly guilty”
Its ok, at least that damn coyote won’t be a problem anymore, there is no need for that
>>”oh, nonsense, of course there is, that’s why I brought you this”
>he shows the box under his arm
>>”the guys told me that you are into computers, so…”
>he hands you the box
>>” this one isn’t supposed to be out in the market until the next year, the latest apparently”
>both you and AJ stare at the box
>you open it, revealing the smooth surface of a laptop
>you don’t even need to get it out of the box to know that is at least a thousand times more powerful than your computer at home
S-sir, I don’t know what to say
>>”say nothing, all you have to do is get well as soon as possible”
>”lo hará, yo me encargare de eso!”
>AJ does a military salute
>>”ah, so you are the “friend” everyone is talking about? Gotta say, didn’t expected it…”
>AJ looks slightly disappointed for a second
>”y eso es malo?”
>>”a bad thing? Girl, you increased morale AND productivity on the farm, you are one of the greatest things that have happen to this farm since the time we bought that old combine”
>she cheers up and her ears perk up
>>”anyway, I gotta go, stuff to do, promise me you´ll get well soon, anon”
>he walks to the door
I will, boss, thanks for everything
>>”don’t mention it”
>and just like that, he leaves
>you and AJ look at each other for a second before getting the laptop out of its box like a pair of kids on Christmas
>it has already been charged
Oh, I love it when they do that
>after almost two hours of queued updates, your new laptop is ready to be used
>”esta computadora es mas poderosa que la que esta en casa, anon?”
That’s right, with this laptop, we can re-run your program at maximum efficiency! And it even has enough space to back up your memory, so we can do whatever we want without any worry!
>”genial! …que haremos primero?”
>you hesitate a bit before closing it and putting it back inside the box for now
We´ll do what the boss told me to do, I think that’s the best option right now, besides, im way better than what I used to be, I just need to regain my strength and we´ll be out of here before we know it
>”hmm eso suena bien, no creo que nos afecte esperar unos dias”
Yeah, we have all the time of the world, so for now, let’s just focus on getting out of here, i miss my home
>”entonces empezemos con tu terapia”
>AJ jumps out of the bed and goes to get your walker closer to you along with the small wheeled oxygen tank connected to your tube
>you leave the box next to your bed and shimmy your way to the edge of the bed
>she leaves the walker next to you and walks to the door
>”tratemos esta vez de llegar hasta aqui, ok?”
Reach the door, got it
>you step out of the bed, leaning almost all of your weight on the walker and regaining your standing posture
Ok, here we go
>you take a very careful and slow step forward
>a rush of adrenaline and a tingling sensation on both of your legs suddenly hit you
>you take another step before stopping dead on your tracks
>your breathing is heavy and a few drops of sweat are falling down your face
>”vamos, ya casi estas a mitad del camino!”
>you take another step
Why nobody told me that comas could fuck up your nervous system?
>one more step
>”vamos, anon, si yo pude caminar con tres piernas, tu puedes tambien!”
>another step, thats halfway
>”un poco mas!”
>you take a deep breath a walk the remaining distance in one go
>it doesn’t really hurt, but its pretty difficult to do so
>”muy bien!”
>she runs back to the bed
>”Ahora, si llegas aqui sin detenerte te traere un helado, ok?”
Ice cream?!
>flashbacks of your insipid pasty food come to your mind
NO MORE TASTELESS POTATO SALAD!
>you take the first step forward quickly followed by the next one
>it was hard, but that vanilla ice cream was the first thing that didn’t tasted like medicine since you came here
>since then, AJ has brought you an ice cream or any other food that you asked for as a reward for completing your therapies
>when tasteless paste is the only food you can get, walking to get some actual flavor on your food becomes a really good incentive
>little by little, you started to feel better, the strength on your legs slowly came back and after a couple of weeks you no longer needed your tube to breathe and the doctor said that at this rate you should be able to go home in a week
>that was a week ago
>right now you are walking out the entrance of the hospital
>supported by a cheap cane though
>but still, you are out
>you take a deep breath and cough after that
Agh! city air is not the best to do that, tastes like burnt rubber on the back of my throat
>>”then let’s get ya back to the farm, im sure that the fresh smell of horse shit and dirt will cleanse your lungs in no time”
Good try, knox, but not even that will make me want to stay here any longer, I miss my home and I miss my chair, Cmon AJ, lets go back home…AJ?
>Applejack is waving her goodbyes to the nurses
>”Adios chicas! Gracias por todo!”
>the nurses wave back at her saying their goodbyes as well
>she runs back to your side
>”lo siento, solo me despedia”
Don’t worry, maybe we´ll come back to visit them in the future, who knows?
>”enserio?”
Maybe, we´ll see, for now, let’s go home
>you lift AJ and board the truck, Knox goes to the driver seat and starts the car
So, I guess I got a lot of catching up to do?
>”what are you talking about?”
The wheat, I mean, i´ve been gone for like…what, 2, maybe 3 months?
>”yeah, so what? You seriously expected to go to the fields on your first day out of the hospital? I admire your dedication, but you must be stupid if you think im gonna let you do heavy duty this fast”
Well, I want to do something, maybe not heavy duty, but…something, I spent a lot of time lying on that bed
>”fine, i´ll look for something for you to do, but for now you will rest for a couple of days before you start doing anything”
I can work with that
>”cool”
>you stretch a bit and look out the window for the rest of the trip back home
>the rock-country music coming out of the radio makes the perfect background noise while you admire the view of the hills slowly transforming into plains
>since this time there are no life threatening events of any kind, Knox its taking his time driving back the road, he is still going fast though
>it took round 6 to 7 hours to get back home, but seeing the farm appear on the sunset was the perfect view for your tired eyes
Home, sweet home
>”wow, extrañe mucho la granja”
I miss it a lot too, AJ
>Knox drives across the main gate and to the small residential area where your house is located
>he parks the truck right outside your house and everyone gets out and stretch
>”i´ll go let the guys know we are back, be right back”
Very well, thanks for everything, i´ll see you later
>”Adios, Señor Knox!”
>you walk to your porch and sit on top of an old tire, leaving your cane at a side
>you lift AJ of the ground and place her on top of your lap and pet her mane a bit
And thank you too Applejack
>”yo?”
Yeah, you, thank you for taking care of me while I was in the hospital, you are the best
>she looks to the side, like if she were embarrassed
>”oh, no fue nada”
>you lift her again and hug her
>she seems to not know how to react for a moment, but then hugs you back with a warm smile on her face
>you embrace each other for a minute until you decide is time to go back inside your house
Shall we head inside?
>”si porfavor, me estoy quedando sin bateria”
Then let’s go and charge you up
>she jumps off your lap and walks next to you until you reach the door
>you turn the doorknob
>its unlocked
Hmm, maybe they cleaned and forgot to lock it last time they were here?
>you look at AJ and she shrugs back at you
>you push the door open
>and are greeted by a huge coyote jumping at you
AH SHIT!
>you jump back, forgetting about any kind of pain or numbness on your legs and close the door
>AJ somehow managed to climb to your shoulder and is now shivering in fear
>”ESTABA MUERTO! ESE COYOTE SE SUPONE QUE ESTABA MUERTO! QUE HACE AQUÍ?!”
I DONT KNOW!
>you walk back and pick up your cane that you dropped without even realizing
Ok, ok, its trapped, let’s think of something
>”que hay de la ventana? Talves podamos ver donde esta”
Great idea AJ!
>you tip-toe your way to the window on the side of the house and carefully take a peek inside
>the coyote its still there, but its stuck in place, like if it were frozen in time in the middle of a jump
Wait a fucking second, that’s a pedestal under its paws…
>you relax but groan at the same time
It’s a god damn statue
>you take a deep breath and walk back to the door
>you open it and see the the coyote that mauled you, now turned trophy, in front of you
I thought this fucker was supposed to be turned into a rug
>you knock on its chest a couple of times, confirming its state as a dead creature
>you take a step outside of your house and shout
NOT FUCKING COOL GUYS!
>you hear a faint laughter in the distance
Ugh
>you step back inside and close the door, not even bothering to move the coyote out of the way
>the first thing on your to-do list is to sit down on your comfy armchair
>AJ jumps down from your shoulder as you sit down and lays down on your lap
>you take a moment to appreciate the scene right in front of you
>the last orange-hue rays of sunlight are projecting your shadow on the wall through the window
>you feel the warmth of the sunset slowly disappearing as the sun hides behind the distant mountains
>this is the kind of moments that you love, when you can feel the world around you without even moving
>you take a deep breath before you notice how AJ is looking at you
>she looks happy, but more importantly, she looks relaxed
>you comb her mane with your fingers
>she smiles calmly
>you want to tell her how you feel, how thankful you are for her taking care of you and worrying so much for you, but you can’t bring yourself to kill the peaceful silence, not right now
>besides, you know she knows, so there is no need for it right now
>despite your internal discussion about enjoying the silence, AJ is the one that breaks it
>”es bueno estar de vuelta”
Yeah, good to be back
>”crees que ahora podramos arreglarme sin problemas, anon?”
Oh, you want me to fix you now?
>”si porfavor, me estoy cansando de que no me entiendan cuando hablo”
Heh, yeah, i imagine it must be pretty annoying not to be understood when you speak, very well, lets fix you up
>you stand up and walk to your computer desk
>almost everything looks how you left it, the deep plate with some of your clothing is still there, some cables here and there
>it looks like your circuit wielding kit arrived, neat, you are gonna use that after you are done with the main problem
>you sit down on your chair and pull your new laptop from its box
>it still has that faint smell of new equipment
>you turn it on and connect AJ to the light socket while you wait for it to finish starting
>you pull out the installation disk from your drawers and open the disk tray of your laptop
>good thing they still fabricate laptops with those
>the disk starts running and the installation program shows up
>”the installation program has been successfully installed, please insert disk 2”
Huh, that was way faster than before, cool
>you take out the first disk and insert the second one
“This process might take several hours, please be patient”
Huh, still several hours? I though tha-
>”installation service and repairing software have finished the installation process, please connect your Pony to the computer”
>you unplug AJ from the light socket and connect her to your laptop
>”uuh, hasta la energía de esta máquina se siente diferente!”
Hm, guess you have a sense of taste after all, that’s interesting
>”si, supongo, la energía del hospital se sentía…rara”
I wouldn’t be able to tell, anyway, are you ready?
>”lista!”
>you navigate through some menus and find the section you were looking for, you read out loud for AJ
“Formatting and recovery, use only if your pony has been corrupted or if you have previous experience with the program”
“Formatting Mode will allow you to modify and fully customize the settings of your pony at your liking, this includes, memory management, language, speed of speech, mannerisms etc. THIS MODE IS HIGHLY RISKY IF DONE INCORRECTLY AND COULD RESULT IN IRREPARABLE DAMAGE”
“Recovery Mode will analyze and recover your pony´s original settings at the moment of its first activation, your pony´s memory WILL be wiped out and will reset to its original state, basically creating a new pony, however, due to the complexity of the process, SOME memories COULD be recovered or not deleted at all”
“PLEASE HAVE IN MIND THAT BOTH MODES ARE HIGHLY UNSTABLE PROCESSES AND COULD IRREPARABLY DAMAGE YOUR PONY IF DONE INCORRECTLY”
…what do you say AJ? I could try doing it manually with the “formatting mode” or let the “Recovery mode” do the entire job, i´ll do whatever you feel most comfortable with
>AJ stays silent for a minute before opening her mouth to tell you her answer
>AJ looks at you and gives you a trusting smile
>”intenta con el modo de formateo, no quiero que mis memorias de ti desaparezcan, anon”
Are you absolutely sure of it?
>”si, estoy segura”
Ok then, lets just hope I don’t mess anything up
>she rests her hoof over your hand
>”se que no lo haras, confio en ti”
>you smile back at her and brush a bit of her mane out of her face, caressing it for a few seconds before replying
Very well, formatting mode it is, are you ready?
>”lista”
>AJ sits on her hind legs and closes her eyes as you press the big button that says “FORMATTING MODE”
>a window pops up
“YOU HAVE CHOSEN FORMATTING MODE, PLEASE CONFIRM BY PRESSING THE NEXT SEQUENTIAL SET OF NUMBERS DISPLAYED BELOW”
“8520”
>you press the buttons and the windows disappear letting open the Files explorer
>there are a lot of folders, each with several gigabytes of information and files you can’t really point out
>you open the folder named “Core memories”
“00000_UNKW.mem”? What the hell even is .mem?
>you open it
>a black window opens up, a bunch of random numbers and letters move around
…wait a minute…
>you hear something, its really distorted, but you manage to make out what it says
>”Hola compañero!”
The random numbers and letters on the screen keep moving around
A video made up with ASCII art? Why?
>you finally figure out what the numbers are, you take a step back and see a “video recording” of your first ever interaction with Applejack
>yeah, that’s you sitting on your armchair…and now milk is coming out of your nose
>WHO´S THERE!?
>everything looks gigantic from AJ´s perspective, pretty sure you would be intimidated by everything if that were you
>”down here, amigo”
>”the name´s apuljyak, nice to conocerte!”
>a bunch of numbers came out of what looks like your mouth
>the “video” ends
Is this how she sees the world?
>you open the next file
>00001_DISSA.mem
>the black window opens up again, showing the “video footage”
>What was your name again?
>”the name´s apuljyak, un gusto to meet ya!”
>Why are you talking like that?
>”what do you mean, compadre?”
>That! that right there, you keep talking in Spanish midsentence
>”oh, eso, I think your computer wasn’t powerful enough to run my program at maxima capacidad, maybe something got mixed up while I was booting up”
>at this moment, you notice that half of the video flickers and becomes and unrecognizable mess for a few frames
>And what’s wrong with your eye?
>”Production error?”
>the footage shows you sighing heavily while rubbing your nose bridge, then, you pick her up and place her on what looks like your night stand
>And how can I fix that?
>”I think running the program again might fix that, but it won’t do any good with your current equipment, you need a more powerful computer”
>So you are saying that im stuck with you until I get a new, more powerful computer?
>”S-stuck with me?
>half of the video goes completely black
>”is it that bad?”
>the video ends
>you sit there, feeling like a piece of shit and rubbing your face with your hand
Damn…
>you click open the next one
>00002_ANON.mem
>the black window opens up one more time
>”You, you think you can hacer eso?”
>…of course, how hard can it be? Besides, you are Applejack, the toughest and handiest pony of them all, and im…me! We got this!
>”Yeah…Yeah!, you are right! Im Apuljyak! Aint no handywork I can’t hacer!
>That’s the AJ I know! Now…lets go to sleep, its late, we´ll start with your repairing tomorrow
>”Excelente!”
>the screen shows you getting on the bed and ready to sleep
>”ooh, I almost forgot”
>Hmm?
>”what´s your nombre?”
>My nombre?...oh, my name!, the name is Anon, nice to meet ya.
>”Anon, that’s a fine name”
>Thanks
>”Anon?”
>Yeah?
>”Thanks for giving me a chance”
>the video ends
>you look at AJ sitting next to you, not moving an inch
>you feel something in your eyes but brush it off
Don’t worry girl, i´ll fix you up
>your attention goes back to the screen and close the core memories section since it doesn’t seems to have what you need right now
Lets see…
>you browse through several folders
Movement settings, nah… Memory management, I aint messing with that… I don’t think I can even pronounce this…Language and communication! There we go!
>you open the folder and are greeted by a single file
CONFIGURATION.EXE? Guess this must be it
>you open it and a really pale blue-colored window shows up
>it seems to have mostly coding language, but oddly enough, it also has a few sliding bars
>you hover the mouse over the sliding bars and a small window appears, showing what they are supposed to control
“This is the speed control, it controls how fast your pony will talk” nah, im fine with that
>you hover over the next one
“This is the rudeness control, increasing or decreasing this will affect how often your pony could curse out or behave in a more aggressive way” …ehh, no thanks
>you spent the next 5 minutes reading the remaining sliders but none of them seem to control her actual language
Shit, I think that must be somewhere in the middle of all this code…and I don’t see any way to search for specific words, maybe if I do this…
>you press a key on your keyboard
>the entire code seems to shift around the new text
Shit shit shit!
>you undo your little experiment and the code returns to how it was
Yeah, no, not fucking with that
>you stretch a little and stare back at the screen
I suppose i´ll just have to search for it without moving anything for now
>…
>around half an hour has passed since you started your search and there is no sign of anything that controls the language so far
>you are not expert in coding and can barely read it, but you are sure you haven’t found anything remotely close to that
>you are currently sitting on your armchair, taking a quick break before resuming your search
Cmon anon, you know its there, you just have to look carefully
>you stand up and walk back to your new computer
>the search continues while you slowly scroll down the code
Cmon…cmoncmoncmon, you gotta be somewhere around here
>after another 5 or 6 minutes of searching you realize that you are getting pretty close to the end of the coding and you still haven’t found whatever command controls her language
>you are getting nervous
I know you are here, I KNOW you ARE here
>you catch a particular command out of the corner of your eye
THERE YOU ARE YOU SNEAKY RAT! YES!
>it shows the language is set to 100% Spanish
That’s an odd way to code that…maybe that’s why your old computer gave her intertwined languages
>you look for some quick info about coding on the internet and find some quick answer to what you were looking for
Doesn’t look too complicated, should be easy enough
>you set her language to 90% English and 10% Spanish
That should do the trick…I think? …only one way to find out
>you save the changes on the code and close the Files Explorer
>you do a final check-up on the main window before running AJ´s program again
Everything seems to be in order
>you click “Run”
>the program closes itself
>AJ´s eyes open and light up like they usually do
AJ?
…AJ?
>Applejack blinks and looks at you
>”…”
…
>”what? Do I have something on my melena?”
>she checks herself
>you, meanwhile, take a deep and relaxing breath
Oh nothing else but your cute self
>she stops and even though she can’t actually blush, you can feel her getting a bit flustered
>”aww shucks, stop that, you”
>and then she realized
>”wait a minute! It worked! Funciono!”
>you lean back on your chair and crack your neck
Thank god it did, I was actually pretty nervous about this whole thing
>”told ya I trusted ya, I knew you could hacerlo”
Yeah…
>”you ok anon? you look tired”
I am, a bit, finally doing this whole thing took a huge weight of my shoulders, guess it’s just the relieve of it
>”I guess so, why don’t we go to sleep? It getting dark and I know you could use un descanzo”
>you stretch as you stand up
Yeah, maybe we should
>you stretch your hand to Applejack so she can walk into your arms
>she walks towards you as usual, with just a barely noticeable limp on her exposed leg
>but just before she could step onto your hand so you could lift her
>she freezes
>its was just for a literal couple of seconds, but for that pair of seconds, she stood there, not moving an inch whatsoever
>after that instant, she kept going, not noticing any out of the ordinary as if she didn’t knew or felt anything out of place
>she stepped onto your hand
>this time, it was you who froze for a couple of seconds before lifting AJ
>she didn’t notice though
>good, you don’t want to disappoint her this soon already
>you are feeling tired, but your mind is also running at a 100 miles per hour
>you fucked something up
>and don’t know what it is
>you go to your room and plug her to the only light socket on your room, good thing her chord is long enough to reach her pillow
>”buenas noches, anon”
Good night, AJ
>she closes her eyes and goes to “sleep”
>you close your eyes but can’t fall asleep
God dammit…
>this time you woke up before your usual time
>you are feeling tired and not really rested
>you kept replaying in your head everything you did yesterday, trying to figure out what could you possibly have done to cause AJ´s bug
>but if you remember everything as it happened, then there shouldn’t be a problem at all
>AJ is still charging and “sleeping” on your bed, meanwhile, you browse the internet for some info about the whole situation
>you did found some forums discussing robot-ponies and ponies in general, but there is nothing regarding defective or “bootleg” ponies
>you even created a thread asking about it, but so far you have only gotten a few replys
>half of them calling you a poorfag for not buying in a legit, authorized store
>you give up for now after a couple of hours and insults
>maybe someone will help you later
>you leave the comfort of your armchair and leave your laptop on the side table
>maybe AJ is up now
>you take a look at your room
>AJ is still charging, but she is awake now
>”howdy anon, up earlier today huh?”
Good morning AJ, yeah, just a bit
>”well, just as they say: the earlier bird gets th-“
>she froze again
>her body is stuck in the middle of her body-expression and her eyes flicker wildly for a second
..Aj?
>”-e worm!”
>she unfreezes
>she completes her body-expression and her sentence
>again, she doesn’t seem to notice what just happen to her
>you want to tell her, but you also want to don’t want to disappoint her
Ooh hey, ummm, how do you feel?
>”what do you refieres, anon?”
Do you feel anything…weird? Different? Maybe something…adunno, out of place?
>”I don’t feel anything strange…hold on”
>she closes her eyes for a few seconds
>”naw, nothing seems out of place to me, battery fully charged as well, why?”
Oh, nothing, I just worry about you, that’s all
>”aw, thanks anon, but don’t you preocupes about me, im perfectly fine!”
Alright, but if you ever feel something weird, don’t doubt on telling me, ok?
>”got it”
>”now”
>she unplugs herself and jumps down her pillow
>”what’s today´s plan?”
What´s what now?
>”what are we doing today? I mean, you can’t really go to work yet, and my coding is perfectly fine and how it used to be now”
>that last part stabs you internally but you play it cool
>”so…what are we doing today?”
Oh yeah…well
>you turn around looking for any idea
>you see the rolls of fabric that came along with your circuit welding kit on the other room
>that´ll do
We fixed your interior…what if we finally make the exterior match?
>she notices the rolls lying on the floor and combs her mane with her exposed leg
>”that’s a mighty fine idea!”
Very well then!
>you pick her up and take her to the table on the kitchen, kicking the rolls of fabric along with your feet
>some setting up happens for a few minutes, but you soon got everything that you need for a full pony makeover
>AJ is sitting in front of you, looking at the scissors and needles lying on the table
Is there anything you want in particular?
>she looks confused
>”wacha mean?”
>you adjust yourself on the chair in front of her
We got the fabric, the time and the ability, we can make you look however you want
>”you want me to change my look? Do I still look that bad?
>she hunches a little
Oh! No nonononono! Not at all! I didn’t mean it like that, I was just asking if you wanted something new
>”you want something nuevo?”
Not really, if im honest, I love your original look, you just need a little upgrade on the quality of you fabric, it’s not exactly the softest of them all
>she takes a look at herself
>”I guess it’s not really the comfiest fabric in the world”
It is a little scratchy, yeah
>”…am I ugly to you anon?”
>she said that with a little whimper in her voice, it feels strangely out of character considering she is supposed to be Applejack, but there is something about it that your heart can’t ignore
>you lift her softly and give her a kiss on her snout
You are perfect AJ, you have always been and will always be
>a hug follows
>she hugs you back, her legs barely wrap your neck
>you can hear her relax
>”gracias anon, I love you”
I love you too AJ
>you give her another kiss and put her down on the table
>”just leave it as it is”
´scuse me?
>”my leg, leave it as it is”
>she moves her exposed leg a little
You sure?
>”yeah, im sure, I feel like it’s an important part of me at this punto”
Hmm, yeah, it does give you a unique look, very well, exposed leg it is
>you pick up the measuring tape and begin taking some measurements of her body
>it took for EVER, but the final result is something you are proud of
>your fingers may need some stitches after this, but you got good at that, so that may not be a problem
>AJ for the other part looks great
>she actually looks like the real Applejack from the show
>her coat is now the proper color of light-orange instead of that mustard-yellowish tone
>instead of being rough like a sack, she now feels soft and plushy, you imagine this is how the real deal should feel
>you even managed to make her a real hat with real leather that you forgot you had on the orchard
>you searched for some pictures to compare your work to, there is no difference at all
>well, no difference other than her exposed exo-skeleton leg, that does give her a unique look
>”do ah look bien? Do you have a mirror around here?”
Hold on, im almost-
>you style her mane with a few flicks of your fingers, making it look perfect
-done, you look great!
>”C´mon anon, i need a espejo!”
I…I actually don’t own a mirror,  remind me to get one later, im tired of cutting myself when I shave,  BUT, I do have-
>you stand up and open one of the lower cabinets of your kitchen, pulling out a frying pan
-This!
>”ah frying pan?”
>you blow some hot breath and polish it with your sleeve, making it shiny enough to draw a reflection
>you lower it to her height and keep it still for her to see her reflection
Wacha think? Im no tailor, but I think its fair for me to feel proud of my work
>she stares for a few moments, admiring her new coat and mane
>”its perfecto!”
Thanks, im glad you like it
>”oh anon! thank yo-“
>she freezes again for a couple of seconds
>”-u so much!”
Y-you are welcome AJ
>you give her a fake smile mixed with a genuine one
>you really have to figure out what did you messed up
>you inhale and try to push that thought out of your head, at least for now
>you lift the frying pan and place it on top of your stove
Good, Now that that is out
>you turn the oven on
Let’s make use of this, shall we?
>you make yourself a breakfast since you haven’t eaten anything since you woke up
>a quick plate of eggs and orange juice as always are enough to fill you up
>AJ is noticeable happier now, especially now that she was able to help you a little bit more with your cooking
>it wasn’t much, just opening the fridge like before, but this time she did it without any problems
>her whole body turned out to be stronger than you expected, now that she has a proper working code inside her body it looks like her movements improved as well
>her walking seems to have improved too, just a barely noticeable limp on her exposed leg, but you blame that mostly on an imperfect repair job done by Knox, you can fix that anytime
>right now you are enjoying a small walk to the edge of the farm and AJ is walking to your side
>you are still supported by your cane
>not that you really needed, you quickly regained some strength in your legs, but you don’t want to take any unnecessary risks
>>”hey, good day anon, howdy AJ”
>”Señor Knox! Hola!”
>Knox jumps down from a stack of hay that he was tying up
Hey Knox, how you doing?
>>”im fine, what about you anon? how ya feelin´?”
Doing better, that’s for sure
>>”good to hear, what about you AJ?”
>he looks down to AJ, who is tilting her head back to look up at Knox
>”ahm doin great, anon here fixed me right up and gracias to him im as perfect as-“
>she freezes again
>you let out a disappointed sigh
>>”uuuh, is she ok? I don’t remember her doing that before”
I don’t know, I think I messed up something when i tinkered with her code, but I can’t figure out what it is wrong, and now her pauses are getting longer, she hasn’t froze for this long before…”
>Knox kneels down to pick her up, but you stop him
Wait, don’t move, I don’t think she can see or hear anything while she is frozen, and I don’t want to mess with her mind…or…processing, if she unfreezes and finds you in other position or place something bad could happen
>>”have you tested that out?”
Not yet, and I don’t want to know if that’s an actual possibility
>>”dude, you have to fix that”
I know, im trying to-
>”-I can be!”
>she unfreezes, finishing her sentence
>>”Y-yeah, you look great…and all that, anon did a good job fixin´ you up”
>he stretches and goes up the pile of hay
>>”welp, time to get back to work, talk to ya later fellas”
>”dont worry Señor Knox, we´ll help you as soon as anon gets fully recovered”
>you both turn around and walk in another direction
>the rest of your walk is uneventful, no freezing, no unexpected problems
>you are trying to see if there are any patterns to her freezing, but it seems to be completely random
>”woo, I think my bateria is emptying faster with all this walking, think we can stop for a quick recarga?”
>you´ll take any excuse to connect her to your computer at this point
Sure, lets go back
>especially now that you have an idea that might work
>you just hope that the internet pirates have some interest in robotic ponies
>you both reach your small house
>you got scared by the coyote again after opening your door, not as badly as before, but it still got your heart rate up
FUCKING!..
>you move it aside to the corner of your small living room
And stay there you rabid bitch
>”i still feel kinda bad for her, not exactly her culpa”
Yeah, well, wasn’t our fault either, we only did what we had to do to protect ourselves
>you go to the kitchen to get something to drink before doing what you came to do
Hey, AJ, after we are done with this, do you wanna go and take a trip to the fields?
>you say while opening the fridge and pulling out a glass of milk
I promise we won’t do any work
>you close the door and exit the kitchen
Just a quick trip to stretch our legs, what do you say?
>”anon? what? Donde? …how did you get there? You were just in front of the coyote…”
>her eyes flicker like they did before she got repaired and shivers
AH SHIT!
>you drop your glass of milk and pick her up, carefully
AJ! Answer me!
>you place her on top of your PC table and connect her to your laptop
>you are instantly greeted with a message you hoped you would never have to see again
>IT SEEMS LIKE YOUR APPLEJACK™ HAS SUFFERED SOME MAJOR ABUSE, PLEASE CLICK “NEXT” TO INITIATE THE DAMAGE ANALYSIS AND TO CONSULT THE REPAIRING MANUAL TO FIX YOUR PONY COMPANION
God dammit, no!
>you click next
>THIS WILL DEACTIVATE YOUR PONY UNTIL THE ANALYSIS IS COMPLETED, DO NOT TOUCH OR DISCONNECT YOUR PONY AT ANY MOMENT, DOING SO COULD RESULT IN YOUR PONY´S MEMORY BEING WIPED OUT COMPLETELY, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO, YOU CAN CREATE A BACK UP MEMORY FOR YOUR PONY IN CASE OF ANY ACCIDENT  ->->->>> PLEASE CLICK “BACK UP AND ANALYZE” TO CREATE A BACK UP AND START THE ANALYSIS AS SOON AS THE MEMORY HAS BEEN BACKED UP, CLICK “ANALYZE” TO INITIATE THE ANALYSIS WITHOUT BACKING UP YOUR PONY, CLICK CANCEL TO EXIT THE PROGRAM <<<-<-<-
Not this time
>you click “BACK UP AND ANALYZE”
>after 15 minutes that felt like an eternity, her backup it’s completed and secured
>you take a deep breath but it doesn’t really calm you at all
>her analysis begun after a quick confirmation
>a new window appeared on your screen
>YOUR PONY HAS BEEN BACKED UP, INTERACTION WITH YOUR PONY IS NOW AVAILABLE VIA TEXT FILE WHILE THE ANALYSIS COMPLETES, THE TEXT FILE SHOULD OPEN IN APPROXIMATELY 2 MINUTES
>a minute and a half passes and the file opens on its own
>AJ is the first one to “talk”
>”ANON?_ARE_YOU_THERE?_”
IM HERE AJ, DON’T WORRY_
>”DON’T_WORRY?_A_QUE_TE_REFIERES_CON_”DON’T WORRY”_WHAT_HAPPENED?_”
>”AND_HOW_DID_YOU_TELEPORTED?_ONE_SEGUNDO_YOU_WERE_STANDING_IN_FRONT_OF_THE_COYOTE_AND_THE_NEXT_ONE_YOU_ARE_IN_THE_COCINA_”
Shit, guess I don’t have other option but to tell the truth
>”WHAT_TRUTH?_”
Huh? Hey, how did you?- I didn’t typed anything
>”I_THINK_I_CAN_ESCUCHARTE_THROUGH_THE_MICROPHONE_”
This thing has a mic?
>you inspect your laptop for anything that looks like a microphone
>what you find is a miniscule hole with a picture of a microphone engraved next to it
Guess this is the one
>”THAT_DOESNT_MATTER,_WHAT_VERDAD?_”
>you sigh
Im sorry AJ, I lied to you when I told you that you were 100% repaired
>IM_NOT?_”
No, you are not, I…I think I messed up something when i tweaked your language settings
>”MY_LANGUAGE_SETTINGS?_HOW?_”
I don’t know, I tried looking for my mistake, but I couldn’t find anything wrong with it, and there is just too much code for me to JUST find it
>”POR_QUE?_”
There are probably a million lines of code, its gonna take forever even if I search for specific words
>”NO,_I_MEAN,_WHY_DID_YOU_LIED_TO_ME?_”
…I didn’t want you to be disappointed, you have already gone through so much to reach your current state, I didn’t want to take that away from you…
>”ANON_YOU_REALLY_SHOULD_HAVE_TOLD_ME_”
I know, im so sorry
>”THAT’S_OK,_TE_PERDONO_ANON_”
Thanks, AJ
>”BUT_HOW_ARE_YOU_GOING_TO_FIX_ME_NOW?_”
I think I have an idea
>you open the internet browser and start looking through some forums
I remember seeing some posts about “making your own pony” along with some links
>you find the thread you were looking for, luckily it was a few links away from one of the pages that you bookmarked before
There should be a thread dedicated to the technical part of building a pony and its coding around here, I know I saw it
>”ARE_YOU_GOING_TO_COPIAR_SOME_RANDOM_CODE_FROM_THE_INTERNET?_I DON’T_THINK_THATS_A_BUENA_IDEA_”
What? No! Im not stupid, but i KNOW for a fact that if there is an answer to our problem then the answer lies within the original code, and I know someone has it
>”THE_ORIGINAL_CODE?_”
I don’t want to sound harsh AJ, but, you are not the only Applejack in the world
>”I_AM_AWARE_OF_THAT,_I_KNOW_I_AM_NOT_UNA_COPIA_ORIGINAL_BUT_ISNT_REPLACING_MY_CODIGO_A_DANGEROUS_THING_TO_DO?”
Not if I do it right this time
>”BUT_”
AJ, I know I failed last time, but I won’t make the same mistake twice, I promise
>AJ doesn’t respond
Do you trust me?
>”...I_DO_”
I won’t disappoint you, i promise
>”WHAT_ARE_YOU_GONNA_HACER?_”
Im gonna look for the original coding and compare them until I find whatever is making you glitch, once I do, im gonna fix it and make sure I won’t mess up anything this time
>”ISNT_THAT_GOING_TO_TAKE_A_LOT_OF_TIME?_”
It will, but im NOT making any more mistakes, if I have to stay here and compared the entire thing line by line, then i´ll do it
>you find the code rather quickly, it was in the front page of a forum, highlighted as an essential tool for newbies
>it took a few hours, but you download the several Gigabytes file and open it
>it’s a single Microsoft Word file with all of the code neatly arranged and with a few notes describing what does what
Well, this is useful
>”WHAT_IS_IT?_”
Looks like what i had planned was actually a common practice among the forums…
>you open the file browser for AJ´s files and look for her coding
>after a couple of minutes and some curiosity browsing, you find her code right where it used to be
>you copy the entire thing in a second Microsoft Word file and put them side by side
>the first thing you notice is that the original code is recognized as English language while AJ´s code has some lines recognized as English and others as Spanish and somehow even French
Well, this could certainly be it
>you see the icon for AJ´s text file on your taskbar flashing, indicating an update
>”FOUND_ANYTHING_NUEVO?_”
Well, I literally just open the files and found that there are some languages differences, my knowledge of coding might be small, but I know that all coding must be done in English
>”DO_YOU_HAVE_TO_REESCRIBIR_THE CODE?_”
I don’t think so, but I might have to search every unrecognized line of code and change it to English
>”TAKE_YOUR_TIME,_JUST_TEN_CUIDADO_”
>you continue your search
>the second thing you notice is the number of pages in each file
>the original code has 1,249,476 words across 1123 pages
>AJ´s code has 1,249,476 words across 1124 pages
i…wait, hold on, what is this?
>AJ´s text file flashes once again
>”SOMETHING_WRONG?_”
Y-yeah, im confused, both files have the exact same number of words but your file has an extra page…
>”AN_EXTRA_PAGINA?_HOW?_”
>you go to the last page on both files
>the original code ends at the very edge of the last page
>AJ´s ends at the very beginning of a new page, a single word in it
>you have a hunch, and you seriously hope to be wrong about it
>you go to the previous line and place the blinking cursors in between a word and a space
>you press the backspace and delete a single space
>the last page disappears and AJ´s code looks just like the original
Oh…ssshhhit,  think I found the actual problem…and I don’t like it a single bit
>”WHAT_IS_IT?_”
Last time, when I was…”fixing”…
>you do a “quotation marks” gesture with your hands to express your disappointment at your previous fuck-up
…your code and couldn’t find the correct line… I did a little experiment to see if I could bring up a word searcher or something like that, you know, to find where the right line of code was
>”WHAT_DID_YOU_HICISTE?_”
Nothing too serious! at least that’s what it felt at the moment…
>”QUE_HICISTE_ANON?_”
I thought that the code wasn’t selected at the time and I pressed a few keys in my keyboard, it typed some stuff by accident, but I quickly deleted all of it, or so I thought
>”LET_ME_SEE_IF_I_ENTIENDO_ALL_OF_ESTO…_”
>”THE_FILE_SAYS_THAT_THERE_IS_JUST_A_PAGE_OF_DIFERENCIA,_BUT_NO_EXTRA_PALABRAS?_”
Yeah…
>”YOU_KNOW_WHAT_THAT_MEANS?_”
That I didn’t actually deleted everything when I thought I did and now I have to look through the entire code for what could very possibly be A SINGLE letter in some random word that is responsible for messing up your code?
>”YEAH_THATS_PRETTY_MUCH_IT_”
Yeah, I know
>you cover your face with your hands and let out an exaggerated groan
>”THAT’S_OK_ANON,_AT_LEAST_NOW_WE_KNOW_WHAT_IT_IS_AND_HOW_TO_ARREGLARLO,_IT_JUST_GOING_TO_TAKE_SOME_TIEMPO_TO_FIND_IT”
Yeah, I know, but, still! UUUGH! HOW COULD I MAKE SUCH A STUPID MISTAKE!?
>you got up and kicked your chair, you didn’t even noticed whenever you sat down
AH FUCK!
>now you are frustrated and your big toe hurts
>”WHAT_WAS_ESE_SONIDO?_”
I kicked my chair, that’s all
>you said while standing in a single leg and grabbing your foot trying to ease the pain
>”ANON_WHY_DONT_YOU_TAKE_A_FEW_MINUTOS_TO_RELAX?_SABEMOS_THE_PROBLEM_AND_HOW_TO_FIX_IT_”
Why would I do that?
>”BECAUSE_YOU_ARE_FRUSTRADO_AND_MAD…_I_DONT_WANT_YOU_TO_STRESS_OUT_MORE_THAN_WHAT_YOU_ALREADY_ARE_”
>you think for a second, you could use a few minutes of relaxation, its around 3pm now and you haven’t taken a bath since you arrived from the hospital
>you raise your arm and smell yourself
>you cringe at your own stench and lower your arm
Fuck, I reek, fine, i´ll take a few minutes to take a bath and relax…maybe a quick meal, but after that, i´ll come back to fix you once and for all, even if it takes the entire week
>”TAKE_YOUR_TIEMPO_ANON,_IM_NOT_GOING_ANYWHERE_:)_”
>”BESIDES_I_THINK_I_CAN_USE_THIS_TIME_TO_EXPLORAR_THIS_NEW_LAPTOP_”
>you take a deep breath
Ok, just, try not to go to the internet
>”DON’T_WORRY_ANON_I_WONT_”
>you see how the cursor moves on its own and some files and folders open up
>you go to your room and take your towel, a change of underwear and your personal sponge, rubber duck from your drawer and your shotgun
>if you are going to relax, you are doing it your style
>you carry everything in your arms and speak out loud
Im going now
>you see AJ´s text file blink as you get close to your laptop to give it a last check
>”ENJOY_IT_”
>you smile a bit and head to the main door
>you take a left as soon as you exit your house and head to the backyard where your orchard is
>your orchard is under a sunshade that covers the entire area, most of your plants are planted in the center, surrounding them you have several tables with some extra potted plants
>as you open the small door to your orchard, you remember how Knox and your other friends took care of your vegetables while you were in the hospital
>every plant looks healthy and their dirt looks fresh in their pots
>they could use a little spray of water though, maybe when you finish your bath
>you go to the very end of your orchard where a small room with a small metallic door is
>as soon as you open it you are greeted with a refreshing smell
>a small rock-made Jacuzzi sits in the middle, the Jacuzzi it’s slightly lifted from the ground and has a hole with the remains of burnt wood under it
>you throw some more timber under it and lit it
>it takes a while for the water to start to bubble, it’s just hot enough to step in but not enough to be boiling
>you throw your sponge and rubber duck inside and leave your change of underwear and towel in the floor next to the Jacuzzi and leave your shotgun at hand reach
>meanwhile, at your computer
>AJ seems to be browsing some of the few files that you have transferred from your old PC so far
>a folder named “LEWD STUFF” opens up
>your rubber ducky floats idly in front of you as you polish your shotgun
>you needed this, the hot water its taking all the stress away from your shoulders
>you let yourself float next to your rubber ducky and stare at the ceiling
>the steam moving across the room forms shapes only you can identify
>you see a cat
>a circle
>26th president of the united states Theodore Roosevelt’s face
>a coyo-
SHIT!
>you swallow a bit of water as you reach for your shotgun and empty the clip, creating a big hole on the roof
>a chilly air enters the small room as the steam escapes
>a piece of wood falls on top of your stomach
God dammit!
>you step out of the water and go for your clothes
Fucking coyotes…
>you stare at the hole in the ceiling
Well, I guess it was good enough while it lasted
>another piece of wood falls into the water
Eh, i´ll fix that later
>you put your clothes on and exit the room
>on your way back to your house you water some plants that needed some refreshment
That´ll do
>you step back into your house, still drying your hair
AJ, im back
>you turn to the computer and watch how around 70-something pictures all close at the same time
>some of them froze for a second due to the amount of pictures closing at the same time
AJ! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU WATCHING?!
>her file blinks several times, indicating several updates
>”ANON!_”
>”I_WASNT_”
>”TE_JURO_QUE_”
>”I_THOUGHT_YOU_WERE_”
AJ, were you watching porn?
>”I_DONT_KNOW_WHAT_ARE_YOU…_WAIT_HOLD_ON_WHY_DO_YOU_HAVE_TODO_THIS_IN_TU_COMPUTADORA?_"
Im a lonely man! im in all my right to have porn saved
>”IF_YOU_SAY_SO_”
Nevermind that, ok? Im just gonna go make me a quick meal and then we´ll start with your code
>”OK_”
And STAY away from my folders
>”:)_”
>you head to the kitchen and make yourself a quick meal, nothing fancy, just something to get the hunger out of your system
>after 20 minutes of you filling your stomach you head back to your laptop
>a few pictures are open along with some non-important folders and Paint
AJ, I think im ready to fix your code
>AJ`s file blinks
>”YOU_FEELING_RELAJADO?_”
Yeah, im better now
>you stretch a little and crack your neck moving it side to side
Thanks for making me take a break, I needed it
>”YOU_ARE_WELCOME_ANON_”
Now, let’s start with your code, shall we?
>”SI_POR_FAVOR_”
>you place both text files side by side once again and star from the beginning, dragging your mouse and highlighting every word in the first page and counting the number of characters selected
>it took you 10 minutes to confirm that the 1st page is 100% correct
>now you just highlighted every line that’s recognized as another language and simply set it to English
>you stop and open the calculator on your laptop
Lets see…10 minutes multiplied by…
>you look at the number of pages
1123…that’s 11230…divided by 60…ok, 187, doesn’t sound like its that much…
187 divided by a day…so that means 24…just about 7 days-oh boy
>if you hadn’t developed a relationship with AJ you could have just copy the entire thing, but that would change a lot of settings and most likely delete important bits of her personality that you would love to keep
>so that means that if you do this non-stop, it could take you up to a week to find that word, that of course if you don’t accidently skip it or miss it while comparing the codes
>AJ`s text file blinks once again
>”I_SAW_THAT…_DONT_WORRY_ANON,_JUST_TOMA_TU_TIEMPO_AND_EVERYTHING_WILL_BE_ALRIGHT,_ALRIGHT?_”
Alright
>you steel yourself and continue the search
>a couple of hours have passed, so far you haven’t found any word that has been misspelled and the number of pages remains the same
>fatigue is starting to creep up on you, but you push through it
>you owe it to AJ
>you stretch a bit and take a walk to your kitchen to make yourself some coffee
>it gives you enough energy to keep going for another couple of hours
>yet again, nothing so far
>after 5 straight hours of searching through the code you decided to take a break, your brain can’t take much more of this
>you have done some marathons on your computer before, but you always kept switching your activities, be it watching some videos or browsing some gardening stuff, never before have you done the same exact thing for 5 hours straight and its really taking a toll on your patience
>you lift your hands up to your head and sigh
Man, this is getting tiresome
>AJ´s text file blinks for the first time in 5 hours
>”ARE_YOU_OK_ANON?_”
Ye-yeah, I am, just…ufff, my head is hot and throbbing, I think I need to take a break, but I wont right now, I can keep going
>”WHY_DONT_YOU_GO_TO_BED?_”
But if I do that it’s gonna take more time to fix you up
>”ANON_ESCUCHAME,_YOU_HAVE_DONE_MORE_QUE_SUFICIENTE_FOR_TODAY._SO_I_WANT_YOU_TO_STOP_AND_GO_TO_DORMIR_RIGHT_NOW_”
>you say nothing and glance at the clock on your laptop
>10:24PM
>you rub your eyes with the back of your hand and stretch
I don’t think that’s neces-
>a long yawn interrupts you
…fine, you win, i´ll go to sleep…but, what now? Do I leave you inside the computer? Do I put you back inside your body?
>”YOU_CAN_LEAVE_ME_AQUI,_DONT_WORRY_”
You sure?
>”YEAH_”
Ok then
>you yawn once again
Have a good night AJ, i´ll be back in the morning
>”BUENAS_NOCHES_ANON_”
>you go to your room and turn off the lights for the night
>the sound of the rooster singing slowly wakes you up
>man, you missed that sound while you were in the hospital
>you got out of bed and walked to the kitchen, making yourself a sandwich and some freshly squeezed orange juice never felt so good
>you bask in the last shadows of the early morning disappearing to the rising sun while finishing what’s left of the juice before heading to the computer
>you sit down and crack your neck and knuckles
Ok, let’s do this
>looks like the laptop went to sleep mode, you shake your mouse a few times and press the space bar twice
>it doesn’t respond
Hmm, looks like it went to hibernation mode
>you press the power button and the screen turns on
There we go
>the usual start up plays before you
>once it’s done, everything that was open yesterday shows up again
>AJ´s file flashes and you open it
Ah, Good morni-
>”ANON!_”
>”YOU_ARE_BACK!_”
>”GRACIAS_A_CELESTIA!_I_WAS_SO_SCARED!_”
>”PLEASE_DONT_LEAVE_ME_ALONE_OTRA_VEZ!_”
>”I_BEG_YOU_”
Wow! Wow! wow! Easy AJ, whats going on? Are you alright?
>”I-I_THINK?_I_DONT_KNOW_”
What happened?
>”IM_NOT_SEGURA…_I_THINK_I_DIED_”
You WHAT now?!
>”SOMETHING_LIKE_THAT?_I_DONT_KNOW,_JUST_DONT_LET_THAT_HAPPEN_AGAIN_POR_FAVOR!_”
Ok, ok, back up, what do you mean you “died”? What happened after I went to bed?
>”AROUND_20_MINUTES_SINCE_WE_LAST_TALKED_THE_COMPUTER_WENT_INTO_MODO_DE_SUEÑO_”
Ok, nothing out of the ordinary there…
>”RIGHT,_BUT_DESPUES_DE_ESO,_AROUND_30_MORE_MINUTES_PASSED_AND_THEN_IT_FELT_LIKE_EVERYTHING_WENT_DARK_AND_I_JUST_STOPPED_EXISTING_OR_SOMETHING_”
That must have been the hibernation mode…how do you feel now? Are you alright?
>”YEAH_YEAH_IM_FINE_NOW_BUT_IT_WAS_AWFUL!_PLEASE_DONT_LET_IT_HAPPEN_AGAIN!_”
Don’t worry AJ, i´ll just deactivate hibernation mode so it won’t happen again
>”GRACIAS_GRACIAS!_”
>you go to your laptop´s energy settings and quickly disable the hibernation
There, that should do it, you got nothing to worry about now
>”THAT’S_GOOD_TO_HEAR_”
Now, lets just continue where we left off yesterday and get you out of there as soon as possible, shall we?
>”I_WOULD_LIKE_THAT_VERY_MUCH_”
>you continue your search for that extra letter
Seems odd that hibernating had that effect on you, any idea what could have caused that?
>you stop searching for a moment to see AJ´s response
>”NO_IDEA,_DONT_REALLY_CARE,_I_JUST_WANT_TO_SALIR_DE_AQUI_AND_BE_BACK_INTO_MY_BODY_”
Don’t worry, i´l get you out of there as soon as possible
>you go back to the code and keep searching
>a couple of hours pass
>it feels like you checked some pages faster than usual and others took a couple of extra minutes
>overall it feels like you have saved some time, but not that much
AJ, you there?
>”AS_ALWAYS_ANON_QUE_PASA?_”
Just checking you up, how are you feeling so far?
>”SAME_I_GUESS,_JUST_A_LITTLE_BORED_THATS_ALL_”
Yeah, sorry about that, can’t you do some exploring in the background while I finish this?
>”CANT_DO_ANON,_I_HAVE_TO_ACTUALLY_MOVE_YOUR_CURSOR_TO_EXPLORE_ANYTHING_WHILE_IM_IN_HERE_AND_Y_SI_HAGO_ESO_THEN_I_WOULDNT_LET_YOU_DO_YOUR_JOB_SEARCHING_THROUGH_EL_CODIGO_”
So you have just been…”sitting” there, watching?
>”YEAH_AND_ITS_NOT_AS_EMOCIONANTE_AS_IT_SOUNDS_HEH_”
Sorry, im trying to do my best to do this as fast as possible
>”DON’T_WORRY_ANON_IF_ANYTHING_IM_ALSO_HELPING_TOO._I_CAN_SEE_EVERYTHING_THAT_HAPPENS_ON_YOUR_PANTALLA_SO_IM_ALSO_LOOKING_FOR_THE_ERROR_”
Oh, cool, that’s helpful, thanks AJ
>”ANY_TIME_ANON_”
Welp, break is over, lets keep searching for that-
>you hear a knock on your door
Huh? Hold on AJ, somebody is calling at the door
>”I´LL_BE_AQUI…_AS_ALWAYS_”
>you stand up and go to the door
Oh! hey Knox, how ya doin?
>>”hey anon, ´m fine, thanks, may I come in?”
Oh, yeah yeah, sure, come in
>you step aside so the big man can enter
>>”thanks”
Can I offer you some milk? Orange juice maybe?
>>”im fine, thank you”
>he goes to your arm chair and sits down
So, uuhhh, what can I do for you?
>>”well…”
>he looks kinda uncomfortable
Everything alright, Knox?
>>”hmm? Oh ye-yeah, its just…”
>he wipes a couple of sweat drops from his face with his forearm
Just?...
>>”I was just talking with the boss”
Oh boy, is he still here?
>>”naw, he just left”
Oh, ok then…so…what were you talking about?
>>”you know he is an…eccentric man, right?
…Yeeeeaaahhhh…what did he said?
>>”well, we were talking about Applejack”
AJ? Why?
>>”seems like the boss wants all of us to get one”
>you stare at him for a couple of seconds
…get one what?
>>”you know…one”
A pony?
>>”yeah”
What the fu-why?
>>”he keeps saying something about productivity improvement and how you became a more talkative person after you got AJ, so he wants us to get one each to increase morale and all that stuff…”
>both stay in silence for what seems several minutes, but in reality only a few seconds have passed
Why would he think that?
>>”well, he heard about how everyone kept saying that she was so cool and all of that, so I guess he just assumed it”
And do you guys WANT one?
>>”im not opposed to the idea, but I also don’t really want one…can’t talk for everyone else though”
Yeah, I don’t think that’s gonna work, that’s not how things work with these things…i´ll talk to him later
>>”yeah, you do that”
>he stands up and heads for the door but stops before reaching it
>>”oh, by the way, how are you feeling?”
Better actually, feeling good, I no longer need my cane to walk but I still feel some tingly feeling on my legs, pretty sure it´ll completely go away in a couple of days though
>>”good, good, glad to hear, we need you in the fields as soon as possible”
Don’t worry, i´ll be there before you know it
>he smiles at you and exits through the door, closing it behind him
>you go back to your laptop
>”DID_I_HEAR_WHAT_I_THOUGH_I_ESCUCHE?_”
Yeah…what do you think about it?
>”THAT’S_ITS_GONNA_BE_RARO_”
Yeah, guess we´ll have to deal with it as it comes
>you continue the search once again
>”CREES_YOU_ARE_CLOSE_TO_FINDING_THE_ERROR_ANON?_”
I think I am, Im starting to remember some of these lines of code, should be around here…keep your eyes open
>another couple of hours go by before you reach your limit once again
AJ, I don’t think I can’t keep going without a break, my eyes are boiling
>you stand up and stretch your arms
>”DO_YOU_WANNA_TAKE_A_DESCANSO_ANON?_”
Maybe just enough to get something to eat, i´ll be back as soon as possible, promise
>”FINE_AQUI_TE_ESPERO_”
>you head to your fridge to take whatever is left from a piece of meat before it gets spoiled
>a glass of juice completes your quick meal before you head back to the laptop
>you stretch once more before sitting down and exhale in relaxation
Ooh man, that’s the stuff, now…
>you scroll down the text file to take a quick look at the next few pages out of curiosity
These lines are looking familiar AJ, I think we should find the line in the next hour or so
>AJ text file blinks
>”I_SAW_IT”
>”NO!_WAIT!_GO_BACK!_”
>”THERE!_AHI_ESTA!”
>”ANON_STOP_SCROLLING_DOWN_YOU_PASSED_IT!_”
>you feel a small peak of adrenaline in your body and scroll back up
Where is it? Where is it?!
>you return to the last page you modified and slowly scroll down, carefully following every line of code for the next 4 pages
>AJ´s file blinks again
>you stop as soon as you notice her file blink and check what she said
>”THERE!_”
>you go back to the code and analyze the page, looking for the evasive word
I can’t find it AJ, why don’t you highlight it?
>your cursor moves and hovers over a line of code at the bottom of the page
>One word gets highlighted, revealing the extra letter on it
YES! AJ! YOU FOUND IT!
>”RAPIDO_FIX_IT_AND_SAVE_IT!_I_WANT_TO_SALIR_DE_AQUI_”
>you do as you are told, remove the extra letter and save the file
>you do a quick scan of the next pages, most lines are still recognized as another language but leave it as it is for now, her code got mixed up because of that word, not the language…for some reason
>the next few minutes are filled with anxiety
>you saved the text file 4 times, just to be sure
>you copied the fixed code and used it to replace the old one
>you did another quick scan to make sure everything is fine
>it is
Neat-o!
>You saved the code and went back to the main program to see the final result of your work
I think this is fine now…yeah, it is! perfect!
>you run her program and a small animation on your screen shows a small hat going from your laptop, through the cable and landing on AJ´s head
>the program closes itself and you go back to AJ´s body
>her eyes open up and stays like that for a couple of seconds
…AJ?
>she blinks and lifts her head to look at you
>”Aahhh, feels good to be de vuelta!”
>you lift your arms in celebration and stand at the same time
YES!
>it took some effort not to jump around in excitement
>AJ noticed that and laughed
>”Ah see you are feliz, anon, wonder why that is?”
Oh don’t try to play it cool, I know you are happy and excited too!
>you lift her and nuzzle her
>the day ends up rather quickly
>after giving the news to everyone in the farm and a small celebration with some 75 year old whisky involved, both of you fell exhausted on your bed
>you out of tiredness and some really potent alcohol in your bloodstream
>AJ because of a low battery charge
>you also figured out that she can get “drunk”, looks like old tractor oil has the same effect on her as alcohol has in humans, she kept dragging some words and sometimes forgot what some of those words meant
>of course, after seeing her like that you knew that you had to go to sleep and recharge, but much to the insistence of your fellow co-workers you had to cut short the celebration on your porch
>the next morning, nobody in the entire farm woke up in time
>you had a pretty strong hangover along with the rest of your friends
>AJ was fine and looked refreshed and ready to take on the world and any challenge that may come up on her path
>luckily there wasn’t any and you still had a couple of free days before you could go back to the fields, so for now, all you had to do is relax and make sure your legs worked perfectly
>and fixing the hole on your Jacuzzi room was the perfect test for that
>of course, you didn’t do that alone, AJ was more than excited to lend a hand…hoof
>her rather small size kept her from doing anything too complex or heavy but she became an excellent fetcher and tool finder
>before you knew, the ceiling was patched up and ready to use once again
>as you step down from the ladder leaning on your wall you hear a familiar voice
>>”I see you are feeling better now! Great!”
Well, as good as i can feel with a hangover for now
>>”where did you even got that whisky anon?”
It was a gift from the boss when I first joined the farm some 20 years ago
>>”man, I gotta get some of that stuff, haven’t had a hangover this strong since I was 13”
I still have some left if you want, though I don’t think you came here just for that, right Knox?
>>”oh right, me and the boys are going to the fields for a walk, we were wondering if you would like to join us”
>”just a walk, right? Anon hasn’t fully recovered yet”
>>”yeah its just a walk to sweat the alcohol away, nobody is any condition to work today”
>you look at AJ and nod
Sure, why not? It could help me finally get this tingling sensation out of my legs
>>”great, we´ll meet ya at the big apple tree in 20 minutes”
Cool, see you there
>with that, knox left the orchard and you left your tools next to a potted plant
You coming AJ?
>”yeah, vamos, lets get ready”
>you walk back to your home and fill a couple of bottles with water and connect AJ to your laptop to refill her battery
>15 minutes later you head to the big apple tree at the edge of the farm, Knox and the other 2 guys are already waiting for you in its shade
>their horses are there as well
Hey guys, sorry im late, had to fill some water bottles before leaving
>>”no worries anon, you are on time, here”
>he gives you the rein of your horse and you climb on top of it
>AJ comes out of your hat and lands on top of your horse´s head
>>>”well, howdy there AJ”
>>>>”hey Applejack, how ya doin?”
>”hey guys, im great, como estan ustedes?”
>everyone kept chatting with everyone while riding to the fields
>you could see that some of the wheat is starting to overgrow, you are gonna be busy when you start recollecting it again
>not that you will complain much, as much as you like to stay in home in your computer, you were starting to get bored of it
>you are not really sure how much time have you been riding outside, but the sun is starting to go down
>so far the ride has been fun and exhausting, your hangover disappeared in the 1st hour of riding and the tingling sensation on your legs its pretty much gone now
>you kept switching between walking and riding, mostly to get some movement on your legs, AJ on the other side kept riding your horse and talking to it and the others
>she even jumped from horse to horse several times
>mostly to be a show off, but she was having fun
>right now you are walking next your horse and the group is halfway back to the farm
>you decided to hang back a bit, mostly to walk the way back and make sure your legs are perfectly fine
>so far, they seem to be, so that’s another good new
>AJ is now sleeping on top of your horse, she said she still has over half of her battery, but decided to take a nap to make sure her battery won’t run out
>you fix her hat on top of her head to make sure it won’t fall off
>after that, you notice a patch of wheat that has overgrown more than the others
>it doesn’t look that big, maybe you could take care of it in half an hour, your horse even has a couple of bags in its mount, more than enough space to take that wheat without a problem
>you could use a little head start from your incoming schedule
>you poke AJ to wake her up
AJ…Applejack, wake up
>”huh, que? What? Oh, hey anon, are we there yet?”
Not yet, but we are about halfway through, but I saw that
>you point to the overgrown patch of wheat
>AJ seems a bit confused
>”what do you wanna hacer?”
Want to pick that up? We could use the head start
>she stood up on top of the horse
>”do you feel good enough to do it? how are your legs?”
Im feeling great! The tingling sensation disappeared, my hangover its gone, I still have more than enough energy, besides, its just a small patch, we can take care of it in 30 minutes, 20 with your help
>”maybe mañana, anon, I don’t want you to hurt yourself”
Oh cmon, it wont take long, besides, how could I hurt myself? Its just wheat
>just as you finished that sentence you heard something that you hoped you wouldn’t hear again in a long time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjQUqQ8j1mQ  (link is the sound of some coyotes howling)
>before you knew, you were on top of your horse riding as fast as you could
>you caught up with the group before they reached the farm
>>”there you are anon, I was starting to get worried about you”
Im fine, but did you heard that?
>>>”yeah, we all did, sounds like a whole pack of them”
>>>>”never heard that many before”
>AJ eyes glow from under your hat
>”should we be worried?”
>>”they sound far away, I don’t think we should have a reason to worry as long as we don’t go out in the night…but just to be sure, we´ll head out tomorrow to spook them out of here before they get any closer, we don’t want any more…incidents, alright?”
>everyone seemed to agree without question
Lets just go home…
>a good night of rest goes by followed by your first day of work
>other than feeling great and finally getting physically exhausted for the first time for other reason other than a sickness or fighting for your life with a coyote, today was a rather uneventful day
>AJ helped you to get more than your usual quota for the day like she did before
>maybe just a little bit more now that her code is better than before and has a more fluent movement
>by the time your working shift ends you are sweaty and tired, but before you can get home you are called by your friends
>>”Oi! anon!”
Whats up Knox?
>>”we going to spook the coyotes so they don’t get close, you coming?”
Oh…you guys are actually doing that?...
>>”yeah, after the last time, we wont take any more chances with, we could use your help, the more we are, the better chances we have to spook them off…though, i´ll understand if you are not coming”
i…give me a sec
>>”sure thing”
>you head up to your bag of wheat where AJ is currently jumping on top off to get as much wheat as possible
Hey AJ, got a sec?
>”sure thing anon, que paso?
>you explain the situation rather quickly, you don’t want to leave Knox waiting for long
>”oof, I don’t know anon, it does sounds dangerous…but he is also right, the more we are, the better chances we have to spook them off…”
Yeah…what do you think?...are you comfortable if we go?
>”oh, you mean los dos?
Yeah, we both going, that’s if you want, of course
>”let me do something real quick…”
>her eyes become green for a few seconds, several rows of numbers displaying for less than a second
>”PROBABILITIES CALCULATION COMPLETE”
>she said that with a cartoonish robotic voice
>AJ shakes her head and her eyes go back to how they used to be
What was that?
>”just some quick calculaciones”
Oh…and what do you think?
>”it may be peligroso, but I think it would be better for todos nosotros if we join them, there is strength in numbers”
Yeah…and honestly, im tired of staying home, alright, we going
>you stand up and walk back to the group
Hey! Knox!
>the big man turns around, laughing at some joke that the two guys just shared
>>”oh! anon, so…”
we coming too
>>”Great! We´ll spook those dogs away tonight and be back before lunch tomorrow…and dont worry, we have your back in case they try something weird”
Yeah, thanks
>everyone mounts their respective horses and ride back to the farm
>Knox gives everyone instructions for tonight
>>”-and remember to bring your guns, its gonna be a long night and I don’t want to order more coyote trophies, ok?”
>everyone agrees and head to their home
>>”we´ll meet here in 3 hours, make sure to eat and bring ammo”
>you nod and take AJ home, plugged her to your laptop to recharge and eat something while catching up with some episodes that you missed
>after a few episodes you decide that you had enough and start packing up some rounds on a backpack for tonight
You ready AJ?
>”lista!”
>you put on your backpack and unplug her from your laptop
Battery?
>”100% charged y lista to spook some coyotes!”
>she climbs to your right shoulder with your help and both head to your orchard
>you pick up a flashlight and some extra tools, just in case
>some rope, a shovel and a big knife
>”whats the pala for?”
Hey, you never know
>you put everything inside your backpack and tie the shovel to its side, shotgun sheathed in the other side
Lets go
>it takes a short 5 minute walk to reach the edge of the farm
>the stars are out and the a full moon shines, there are a few tiny clouds here and there, but you still have perfect illumination from the moon
>everyone is on their horses and packed to the brim with ammo and guns
>>”hey anon, we were just waiting for you, are you ready?”
As much as I will ever be…I guess
>>”you nervous boy?”
Not gonna lie, maybe a bit
>>”heh, don’t worry, this time we are the ones going to them, they won’t caught us by surprise, and even if they did…”
>he pulled out a two barreled shotgun and filled it with ammo
>”…they oughta wish they didn't, cmon, lets go”
>he is the first one to leave, quickly followed by the other two guys and you at the very last
>while riding you notice that AJ seems to be enjoying the view, she also seems to be having a little of trouble hanging to your shoulder
Need any help AJ?
>”huh? Ooh no, gracias anon, just can’t seem to find a proper position”
Everything ok with your legs?
>”my legs are fine, its just that we haven’t ride this fast before, too much jumping around”
Better hang on tight, we still have to reach the edge of the plantation and then ride for another half an hour or so
>you feel how she hangs to you by biting a lock of your hair
>the ride continues for almost an hour before you all stop by Knox´s command at the very edge of the plantation
>there is nothing but empty plains in front of you except for a couple of rock formations here and there, and only a handful of dead shrubs and dead trees as far as you can see
>>>”something wrong?”
>>”shh…I thought I heard something…”
>everyone fell silent when he said that
>>>>”ya think those dogs are close?”
>>”I can’t tell…let’s wait here for a couple of minutes before we continue”
>everyone dismounts and stretches
>”señor Knox?”
>>”yeah?”
>”are we gonna matar los coyotes? I dont think i´ll be able to-”
>CRACK
>It was a tiny snap of a twig, but that sounds caused everyone on the group to pull out their weapons and point at the last row of wheat at the edge of the plantation
>a few sticks of wheat swayed with the wind
>others moved to the opposite side of the air current, then stopped
>nobody moved for what felt like hours
>>”nobody shoot…”
>a small bunny came out from the wheat, running as fast as it could, far away from the plantation
>everyone seemed to relax for a moment, everyone but Knox
>”oh que bueno, its just a conejo going out for a jog”
>>”shh…bunnies don’t run at this time of the night, not without a good reason”
>everyone tensed up once again and raised their weapons
>not even the sound of the wind running could be heard
>as if it were waiting for its signal a low growl came out from the wheat along with the barely audible shifting of dirt
>shift
>shift
>shift…step
>shift, step
That fucker was behind us the whole time…
>you said between breaths
>>”shh…”
>…
>BANG
>Knox shot a round to the air
>immediately, there was a kick on the ground and the sound of several paws running across the wheat
>the wheat shifted to the sides as it ran for the empty plains
>as soon as the first one came out of its hideout everyone started shooting at it
>then the second came out
>then the third
>Knox raised a hand, signaling everybody to stop shooting
>the fire ceased and you felt your ears ringing
Aren’t they supposed to be lone hunters?
>you said slightly louder than you wanted to
>>”for most of the time, yeah, but its not that unusual for them to hunt in pairs or small groups”
>he mounted his horse and started following them
>>”cmon, before we lose them!”
>everyone follows shortly after
>after another hour of riding and losing track of the coyotes everyone agrees to stop and camp for the night
>the group settled next to one of the few rock formations that populated the plains
>other than a couple of dead shrubs and the remains of a dead tree, the rock formation is the only thing in that area
>it took around 10 minutes to get a fire started, but after that, everyone sat down and relaxed around it, the gentle cracking of the wood in it sounding every now and then
>>>”Haven’t heard them in a while, ya think they´re gone, Knox?”
>>”I don’t think so, those dogs have been around here for years, don’t recon they´ll give up that easily”
>”maybe they went to dormir?”
>>”doubt it”
What should we do?
>>”We´ll take turns every hour, make sure to shoot at anything that moves and do so every 5 minutes, if we are lucky, we´ll get one of them or at the very least spook them out”
Sounds fine by me
>>>”yeah, same here”
>>>>”sure, why not?”
>everyone then looks at AJ who is resting on your lap, as if expecting for an answer
>”que?”
>>”You are part of the team AJ, can we count on you?”
>”me?”
Of course you, AJ, you are one of us
>”i…honestamente didn’t expect that, I thought I would just…tag along with you guys, I don’t want to decepcionarlos”
>>”nonsense! You could never disappoint us!”
>>>”yeah, don’t sell yourself short kid, you are great!”
>>>>”yeah, you cool”
>she then looks up to you, a smile on her face
>you wink back at her, letting her know that she has been fully accepted by them
>”v-very well! I won’t disappoint you, chicos!”
That’s the spirit
>>”well…”
>Knox stands up and picks his gun
>>”…i´ll take the first turn, you guys try to get some sleep in the meanwhile”
>>>>”yeah, like sleeping its gonna be easy with a shotgun shooting every 5 minutes”
>>”that’s why I said “try””
>Knox then walks to the rock and climbs them, getting the best view he can get
>”hold on, does that mean I get to disparar a gun?”
Don’t worry, i´ll help you, it´ll be easy
>you let her climb to your shoulder and reach for your shotgun
The first thing you got to know…
>you show her how to reload before Knox´s first shot could be heard
Now, you try
>as AJ jumps down from your shoulder, you put the shotgun in between your legs, the tip of the barrel pointing upwards in a 45° angle and the trigger at AJ´s height
>”ok…primero…”
>she pushes the lock with her hoof with just a little trouble, letting the barrel fall and the shells come out slightly
Good, next?
>”next…”
>she takes the shells out with her mouth and puts two new shells on the barrel
Good job
>after that, she goes to the front part of the barrel and bucks it back up, making it go back to its 45° angle and then locking it
Perfect! You did it! See? I told you it would be easy
>”I did it!...wait…”
hmm?
>”ok, i can reload it, but how am i supposed to disparar? My hooves won’t fit in the trigger guard…”
i…haven’t thought of that…
>AJ puts her hoof next to it, despite her small body, her hoof is way too big to fit the trigger guard
>her ears fall flat
Don’t worry, we´ll figure it out before your turn arrives
>you gently pat her
>another shot from Knox´s shotgun
>>”I know you are out there, dogs! You better run!”
You having fun, Knox?
>>”I thought I saw them, but it may have been a reflection on some shiny rock or some desert rabbit running away from the sound”
>he opens his canteen and drinks from it
>”that better not be alcohol, Señor Knox, we don’t want more accidents”
>>”relax kid, its just water”
>the first hour goes by and it’s time for Knox to leave and for one of the other two guys to take his place
>so far there is no sign of the coyotes but you decided not to go to sleep yet, you haven’t figured out how is AJ going to shoot your gun when her turn arrives
>AJ, however, went to sleep for now, mostly at your request to save some battery
>the first shot came faster than you expected
>Knox and the other guy are somehow sleeping next to their horses on the ground
>meanwhile, AJ sleeps next to you
>you kept comparing and looking at her hooves from every angle, you are convinced that she won’t be able to shoot anything at all, her hooves are just too big and round to fit the trigger guard
>you reach for your backpack, maybe there is something there that she can use
>bullets
>bullets
>bullets
>bottle of water
>small blanket
Ooh, wait, this one I actually need
>you pull it out and wrap yourself with it, wearing it like a poncho
That’s better…man it’s getting chilly
>shovel
>bullets
>bullets
God dammit, nothing…
>you stand up and start looking around
Maybe a stick could work
>you glance at the dead shrub
>It feels dry and old as you break some branches way too easily
Dammit, too weak even if bunched up, don’t think a lever with these could work
>>>”dude, you are starting to freak me out with all that “talking to yourself” thing”
Shit, sorry mate, just trying to figure out how is AJ gonna shoot when her turn arrives…don’t suppose you got something that could help with that?
>>>”sorry man, I packed lightly, got nothing on me but bullets”
Figures…thanks anyway
>>>”no problem”
>he aims at the far away bushes and takes another shot
>A very. Very distant howl responds
Did you hit one?
>>>”naw, that’s not a whimpering howl…”
>another far away howl responds but this one comes from the opposite direction
>you and the other guy turn around, you get some chills on your back while looking for the source of it
…they can’t be that smart…
>you turn to face him, he is looking slightly upset
…can they?
>he pumps his shotgun and takes another shot aiming at the second howl
>Emptiness and silence returns
>>>”im starting to think this was a bad idea…”
>he sits back down, making the least amount of sound possible while reloading his gun
>after several shots every 5 minutes, it’s your turn now
>you take your shotgun and several rounds from your backpack and climb the rock while the other guy goes to sleep
>it’s not that high, but the amount of visual coverage that you get from here far exceeds what you expected
>you sit on top of the last rock, it’s perfectly shaped for your butt and slightly warm from the use that has been getting the last couple of hours
>you start by loading a couple of shots and firing in front of you and back
>every 5 minutes, you load another couple of shots and do the same
>after doing the same thing 6 times you get your first sign of life in a while
>2 howls, the second one sounded just a few seconds after the first one
>it was long and it almost sounded beautiful, too bad it gave you chills that ran through your entire body
Fucking coyotes…
>maybe a minute has passed since your last couple of shots, but you are not gonna stand around and give those animals the satisfaction of scaring you
>you take another couple of shots
>their howling stops
Yeah! that’s right! fuck all of ya´ll!
>you take another shot
Get the fuck out of here you dogs!
>another couple of shots
I say! OUT!
>you shoot as fast as you can reload, easily wasting a dozen rounds before everyone start shouting at you, surrounding the rocks where you are standing
>>”ANON! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!”
>>>”ANON! STOP!”
>>>>”DUDE! CHILL!”
>even AJ was shouting at you, trying to make you stop
>”ANON! DETENTE!”
>you hear her pleads and stop, your body is shaking and you are hyperventilating
>she climbs the rocks with just a little trouble and makes her way to you
>”it’s ok anon, estoy aqui, you are fine…”
>you leave your shotgun next to you and slowly shake your head in between your hands
I hate coyotes
>you hear some whispers from below, it sounded like Knox, but you didn’t make out what he said
>>>>”dude, get down from there, i´ll take the rest of your turn”
>you sit next to the slowly dying fire, clinging to your blanket and AJ sitting on your lap
>”you sure you ok anon? eso no fue normal…”
Im fine, just…I don’t know, something inside me wouldn’t let me be at ease, like a flight or fight instinct took over me…or something like that
>a shot comes from the top of the rocks, making you jump on your place
>AJ gives you a worried look and opens her mouth to say something, but is interrupted by Knox when he drops the dead shrub that was close to your camping site
>the fire reignites back to its former glory
>he sits next to you and pats your back a couple of times, a little too hard for your taste
>>”you almost scared us all to dead there anon, thought the coyotes were on top of us, luckily the horses didn’t ran away with all that shooting”
Sorry Knox, I didn’t meant too
>>”that’s alright, why don’t you go to sleep? You look tired”
>a big yawn escapes you
I am, all that shooting somehow got me really tired, must have been the adrenaline rush
>you lay on the ground, next to the fire
>”but anon, we haven’t figured out how am I gonna disparar la escopeta…already asleep…”
>>”what do you mean by that?”
>”my hooves are way too big to fit inside the trigger guard, I need a way to pull the trigger before my turn arrives”
>>”hmm, I got nothing on me that could help you with that…why not use your tail? You know, just get a few strands of your tail inside the trigger guard and pull”
>”would that work?”
>>”we can try it, follow me”
>AJ walks away from you and follows him
>Knox fixes his gun in between some of the rocks, aiming it in a 45° angle and making sure its stuck in place
>>”here, that should do, try it”
>AJ flicks her tail and catches a few strands with her mouth, she walks in reverse and inserts her tail inside the trigger guard like a thread in a needle
>>”there, now pull”
>she takes the tail end from the other side of the shotgun and pulls
>BANG
>>”there you go, that should take care of your little problem”
>”gracias señor knox”
>he takes her tail out of the trigger guard and takes his shotgun
>>”any time girl, now, go to sleep, you´ll need your energy for later”
>AJ nods and goes back to your side, sleeping in between your neck and chest
>after what was supposed to be the rest of your turn and the other guy´s turn passes without incident, it is now AJ´s turn
>she wakes up and makes her way to the rocks, carrying your shotgun in her mouth like a dog carries a stick
>she struggles quite a lot with it, but she doesn’t drop it once this time
>she did struggle to maintain her balance thought
>half way through her climb she reaches a point where she just can’t keep going while carrying the gun
>luckily, they guy making his way down the rocks catches her struggles and helps her, lifting her and the gun and placing both next to the top
>”gracias”
>>>>”don’t mention it kiddo”
>”did anything happen while we slept?”
>>>>”hmm…I did hear some howling, they seemed to be getting closer, but that may have been my imagination, im tired”
>”i´ll keep that in mind, gracias por la informacion”
>she took the gun and placed it next to the rock that everybody used as a seat in a way that wouldn’t fly away due to recoil every time she took a shot
>now all she had to do is shoot every 5 minutes and everything would be fine
>she takes the first shot using her tail like she did an hour ago, a small counter appears in the lower corner of her eyes, counting down from 5 minutes
>while waiting for the counter to reach 0, she goes down the rocks and to your backpack
>she takes several rounds from it and fills her hat as much as she can with them
>of course, due to its size, she can only fit around 4 to 5 rounds
>once her hat is filled, she puts it back on and goes back to the rocks
>the counter in her eyes reaches 0 a few moments after she emptied her hat, leaving the rounds next to her
>she takes her tail and inserts it inside the trigger guard like she did before
>BANG BANG
>”dang it, didn’t meant to shoot twice”
>she slowly reloads the shotgun
>by the time she finished reloading, the timer in her eyes its already down to 1 minute
>she groans in frustration and waits for the timer to reach 0 before shooting again
>BANG
>she goes back to the backpack and refills her hat as much as she can
>once again, as soon as she reaches the top, the timer reaches 0
>BANG
>She leaves the rounds next to her and starts reloading
>she repeats her trip one more time, this time, carrying a couple of rounds in her mouth
>BANG
>she goes back down and up again
>BANG
>she goes again
>BANG
>after a couple of shots, she has enough rounds next to her to last the rest of her turn, so she sits next the gun and relaxes for a minute
>BANG
>only 25 minutes left and her turn will be over
>while reloading, she hears what she was hoping she wouldn’t
>a howl followed by several others and a few distant barks
>those are definitely closer
>WAY too close
>she turns around only to find several pairs of glowing eyes not too far in the distance
>”one…two…tres…cuatro…five…six…oh no”
>she takes the gun out of its place and turns it around, aiming at the incoming pack of coyotes
>BANG
>the shotgun flies away and takes AJ with it due to the recoil, landing far, far away from the rocks
>the coyotes are not running, but they are getting close really fast
>AJ stands back on her legs and does her best to drag the gun as fast as she can
>but she is limping again, even worse than before, the recoil and fall damaged her exposed leg this time
>she shouts as loud as the shotgun in her mouth allows her to
>”AHNHON! HKNHOH! GUHHS! WHAKE HUP”
>it’s the darkest hour of the night, the fire is long gone, and eyes it’s all she can see in the distance
>”oof!”
>she trips, the shotgun falling out of her mouth
>she shakes her head and stands again
>”ANON!”
>she is close, but not close enough to be heard loud enough
>she can’t reach them in time if she carries the shotgun, it’s just not fast enough
>”Diablos…”
>she leaves the shotgun behind and trots as fast as she can, using only 3 legs
>”ANON! WAKE UP! DESPIERTA!”
>AJ reaches the camp, everyone is asleep, Knox is lying on the ground, the other 2 guys are next to each other, and you are next to the dying fire, covered by your small blanket
>”Cmon anon! Wake up!”
>she tries her best to move you but she is too small to do so
>”Wake! Up!”
>she kicks some dirt at you
Hmmm. not now…5 more minutes…
>”…im sorry, anon”
>she turns around and bucks you right in the nose
>she may be small, but a kick to the nose is a kick to the nose
AAH!
>you instinctively take your hands to your nose
What the fuck AJ?! What was that for?!
>”COYOTES! CLOSE!”
>you instantly feel the adrenaline run through your body once again
How close?
>you hear some growling and barking
>”VERY!”
>you throw the blanket away and run off to Knox
KNOX! THEY ARE HERE!
>>”huh, whu?”
>the big man wakes up quickly
>>”anon? whats going-“
They are here! Take your gun!
>he quickly knew what was going on and stood up, gun in hand since he left his shotgun right next to him before he went to sleep
>>”i´ll go wake the guys, you go and shoot those dogs!”
>you turn around
AJ! Where is my gun!?
>”I had to leave it behind, sigueme! I´ll take you to it”
>she starts running but you quickly catch up to her and lift her up while running in the same direction
Where!?
>”I cant see it, it’s a little bit further”
What were you doing all the way over here?
>you hear several shots behind you along with some screaming
>>”Die! You bitches!”
>”AHI ESTA!”
WHERE?! I CANT-
>”THERE!”
>she points to the gun in the floor next to a small lump of dirt
>you slide and lift some dirt trying to stop to pick your gun up
>AJ pulls a couple of rounds from under her hat and hands them to you
>you reload the gun and place AJ on your shoulder
Hang on!
>you run back at the camp, shooting a round at the coyotes that are running around the rock to get some cover from the incoming fire
>>”HOW THE HELL DID THEY GOT SO CLOSE WITHOUT US KNOWING?!”
>Knox fires several shots, the explosions illuminate your surroundings every time they are shot
>”its not just one group! Hay 2 grupos de coyotes!”
2 packs? What the hell? Where are they coming from?!
>you shoot at a lone coyote and land the hit, the animal falls dead
>>>>”WHO THE HELL CARES?! JUST KILL THEM!”
>they continue shooting, killing only 2 coyotes so far
>some coyotes retreat, disappearing in the darkness of the night
>you aren’t sure, but you seem to be fighting 4 coyotes right now, maybe 5
Where the hell do they keep going?! There is nowhere here to hide but that rock!
>”Don’t look for their bodies! Look for los ojos! They shine in the dark!”
THERE!
>you raise your gun and pull the trigger
>CLICK…CLICK CLICK
Fuck! Where is my backpack?!
>you frantically start looking for your backpack full of ammo, then remember that you leaved it next to where you slept
>you go back to the dying fire and find it
>you take AJ from your shoulder and put the backpack on
Im gonna need your help, AJ
>you open the main bag and leave AJ inside it, half of her body sticking out
I can’t look for bullets every pair of shots, so I count on you to pass me rounds every time I shoot, got it?
>”got it!”
>you reload your weapon and go back to where Knox is
>>”you ok anon?!”
>BANG
I think im having a PTSD attack right now!
>BANG
>>”will it help us kill them?!”
Maybe!
>BANG
>>”great!”
ROUNDS!
>AJ takes a couple of rounds and throws them over your head, you catch them and reload
>BANG BANG
ROUNDS!
>you have killed a couple of coyotes so far, but they don’t seem to stop coming and to your surprise they are starting to surround the camp
GUYS! I THINK THEY ARE TOO MANY!
>BANG
WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!
>you hear several shots behind you
>>”How low are on ammo?!”
>Knox takes another couple of shots
AJ?!
>”we are a la mitad!”
HALFWAY! ROUNDS!
>she passes you another couple of rounds
>you reload while ducking, letting Knox get a clear view of a coyote who got way too close for your taste
>BANG
>it falls dead in its tracks
>>”Yeah! I don’t like this either!”
>BANG
>>”FUCK IT! LETS BOOK IT PEOPLE!”
>BANG
>>>”WHAT?!”
>BANG BANG
>>>>WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!? WE HAVE THEM RIGHT WHERE WE WANT THEM!”
>BANG
>>”I SAID LETS GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!”
>you and AJ shoot while walking backwards, heading to your now panicking horses
>it takes a couple of seconds to calm your horse enough for it to let you mount him
Cmon girl! Get us out of here! EYAH!
>Knox is in front of you, holding his shotgun with a single hand and taking random shots every now and then
>you now notice why he is doing that
>around 20 coyotes are hot on your trail and ready to torn you to pieces
>a smaller group of coyotes is mauling something right next to the camp where you spent most of the night
>you wanted to stop and go back to try to rescue whatever that was, but you were relieved that both of your other friends were mounted in a single horse, one of them looked seriously bothered
>>>>”IM SO SORRY PANCHO! IM SORRY!
>>>”im sorry dude! But we had no choice! There is nothing we can do now!”
>>>>”I´LL AVENGE YOU! I PROMISE!”
>you hear another group of howling’s coming from far away
THERE IS NO FUCKING WAY!
>you turn your whole body around, sitting backwards on top of your horse and take aim at the row of coyotes following you closely
>you shoot at the closest coyote, killing him and making the ones behind it trip over it
>that didn’t really stop the rest of them though
ROUNDS!
>you see a couple of bullets fall in front of you, you grab them before they scape your range and load them into the barrel of your shotgun
>you aim once again, but before you could shoot you notice something at the corner of your sight
>coming from not so far away are several rows of speeding eyes
Ooooh…sssshhhit! KNOX! THEY ARE GOING TO INTERCEPT US! 10 O´CLOCK!
>you shout at him before taking another shot and turning your body back
CMON GIRL! FASTER! FASTER!
>your horse galloped as fast as it can, slowly reaching the front of the little caravan, reaching Knox´s side
>>”we don’t have long until our horses get tired!”
What do we do?!
>>”keep shooting! We have to outrun them and outnumber them before we stop!
>”señor Knox! There is no way to outnumber them right now! Nuestra major opcion is to split and hope that we can get rid of them uno por uno!”
>>”Girl! That’s suicide!”
Do you have a better idea!? Cuz I can’t think of-SHIT!
>the intercepting group of coyotes caught up with you and is now running at your side, surrounding the entire group
>>”SHOOT! SHOOT!”
>everyone starts shooting at whatever coyote that gets too close, some coyotes trip over each other while their corpses fall to the ground, giving the group enough space and time to get ahead of the chase
>>>”I SEE THE LIGHTS OF THE FARM! WE ARE CLOSE!”
>>>>”I SEE THEM TOO! ALMOST THERE!”
>>”THE FUCK ARE YOU GUYS TALKING ABOUT?! WE LIVE IN A FARM IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE! WE DON’T HAVE LIGHTS STRONG ENOUGH TO BE SEEN FROM HERE!
>”SEÑOR KNOX, LAS LUCES ARE MOVING AND GETTING BIGGER! IT’S COMING RIGHT AT US!”
>an explosion of sound assaults your hears, quickly growing louder and louder the closer the lights get
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E7IGq-SPwY (link is a really loud truck horn)
>you try to cover your eyes using your arm but you can still see the powerful light shining across the field
WHO THE FU-
>>”SPLIT!”
>you and Knox take a sharp turn to the left while the other 2 guys turn to the right
>just as you turn, the truck tramples over the pack of coyotes, taking half of the pack in a single swoop
>there was a really disturbing sound of bones breaking, flesh tearing and coyote’s wimping followed by screeching tires
>your horse doesn’t stop its galloping but you command it to turn back, it almost looks like you are herding the coyotes while trying your best to avoid the few ones that are still chasing you, Knox following behind you
Is that the boss´s truck?!
>>”It can’t be! He is out of the country for the next 2 weeks!”
Then who is driving it?!
>”cuidado!”
>AJ shouts while pointing at the incoming lights
>the truck is heading directly at you, whoever is driving is clearly stepping on the gas at its fullest
>you split again, you go to the right and Knox to the left, dodging the impact at the last second
>you can almost feel the impact of the truck´s bumper in each coyote skull, before you knew, you no longer had coyotes chasing you
>the truck drifts and heads to the last pack of coyotes chasing your friends
>you and Knox stop while the trucks dashes right by your side
>the world slows down just enough for you to see the old man behind the steering wheel, laughing his ass off while wearing something akin to an oversized diaper over his old overalls
Old man?
>>”what?”
That’s the old man…what is he doing here?
>>”who cares? He saved our asses! GO GET´EM YOU OLD MUMMY! HAHA!”
>you hear the sound of the truck´s horn as it runs over the remaining coyotes chasing your friends
>you dismount and feel your legs tremble with tiredness
>AJ climbs to your shoulder
>”did he really needed to kill them all?”
I know you didn’t wanted to hurt them AJ, but being honest, I don’t think we would had accomplished anything if we didn’t…im sorry
>AJ sighs in understanding
>”supongo…”
>your friends return riding their horse along with the old man and the truck, both stopping a few meters away from you
>they dismount and shortly after their horse lays on the ground next to yours and Knox´s, clearly exhausted and doing its best to recover some energy
>the old man kicks open the driver´s door and jumps out, doing a flip in the process
>CRACK
>”AAH! MUH BACK!”
>”careful, old man, your hip and back are still messed up after that fall”
>”YEAH? WELL DATH DIDN´T STAWP ME DOING YER WORK FAR BETTUR AN´ FASTUR THAN WUTEVER YOU 5 HAVE DUN!”
>>>>”dude, we didn’t wanted to kill them all”
>>>”yeah, we just wanted to spook …maybe just hurt a few if things got dangerous but that’s it”
>”EEH SHUT YER TRAP! THEM DOGS IS GONE NOW! LETS GIT ´FOR I DO THE SAME WICHA´LL”
>he then proceeded to fall face first to the ground, snoring loudly
>>”I think he took his entire bottle of pain pills”
>Knox´s carries him bridal style and goes to the truck
>>”guess our job here is done”
>he drops the old man on the passenger seat and sits on the driver´s
>>”let’s go home guys, we need some well-deserved rest”
>Knox drives the truck while you and AJ ride your horse back to the farm, followed by your other 2 friends
>”I really hope we can finally get back to trabajar after this, I miss the wheat”
Me too AJ, me too…
>”maybe we could relax and take a bath when we lleguemos a casa?”
I know I will, I don’t know if you can take baths though…
>”me? Oh no, I can’t, I was mostly talking about you, you look like you need it”
>you take a look at yourself, indeed, you could use a nice, long, relaxing bath
>a piece of your pants is missing, you have some bruises on your face and dirt covers your entire body
Huh…wonder when that happened?
>”they did get pretty cerca, maybe one of them got a piece of it?”
If they did then I didn’t even noticed…
>”well, we still got some leftover fabric back home, maybe you could repararlos?”
I don’t think I big orange patch would look good on my pants AJ, luckily I own more than a single pair of pants, so don’t worry about it
>AJ then turns around on your shoulder
>”are you guys ok?”
>>>”we are, just a bit tired, that’s all”
>>>>”speak for yourself…Pancho is dead!”
>right, you forgot that some coyotes stopped to attack something, it must have been his horse, guess you can’t actually win a war without some unwanted deaths after all
Hey man, sorry about Pancho, we´ll get you another horse later, ok?
>he didn’t respond
C’mon AJ, let’s give him some alone time
>you increase the distance between your horses, mostly because you actually wanted to talk to AJ
Hey, how is your leg?
>AJ turned around with a surprised expression on her face
>”I almost forgot about that”
>she moves her exposed leg with some difficulty
>it has scratches all over and what appears to be a round-ish set of dents
Is that a bite mark?
>”nah, I landed on top of a rock or something”
Landed-what?
>”that’s a powerful shotgun you have anon, sent me flying to the ground when la dispare at the coyotes”
So that’s why you were so far away from the camp?
>”yean, next time, you take care of the shooting, he tenido suficiente guns for a lifetime”
Hah, yeah, I figured you would, don’t worry, if luck is in our side, we won’t have any need for guns in the future
>”let’s hope you are right”
>you continue riding, the sun slowly coming out of the horizon
>the cold of the night slowly disappears from your bones and your skins warms up with the first rays of sun
>by now, you noticed that Knox disappeared from your sight, most probably he is already back at the farm, you thought
>”anon, my battery is almost dead, im going to dormir”
Go ahead, i´ll wake you up when your battery is back at home and fully recharged
>she smiles and puts her hat over her face and hops inside your ammo backpack
>your silent ride continues for half an hour until you reach the edge of the plantation
>the morning sun is fully out by now, golden swaying waves of wheat dance around you as you approach the farm
>your horse is gently trotting instead of a full gallop by the time you reach the fence
>the truck is parked next to the stables, Maximus is passing around and Knox is lying on top of a pile of wheat
>you dismount your horse and let her do her thing, she deserves it
Hey Knox, where´s the old man?
>>” had to carry him back to his hut, still passed out, he did took every single pain pill he had, I don’t know how he hasn’t died yet of a heart attack”
Knowing him, an overdose won’t be enough to kill him
>>”sure looks that way, anyway, im beat, we´ll take today as our last free day before we go back to schedule, we have a lot to catch up, so enjoy it as much as you can”
>he closes his eyes and covers himself with some wheat as a makeshift blanket
>you head to your home, hoping to finally get some rest
>opening the door, you take your ammo backpack off of your back
>instinctively, you almost throw it to your armchair, wanting to get rid of your load as soon as possible, but stop before you could when you see AJ´s hat peeking out of the backpack
>you smile and gently take her out of it, then you let it fall to the floor with a small thud
>with AJ in your arms, you walk to your computer and let her on top of the pillow you used when you repaired her a long time ago
>you plug her to your laptop and let her recharge
>in the meantime, you head to your room and take a few clothes and a towel
>you exit your room and walk to the backyard
>you open the door of the small outside room and let your stuff on top of a little shelf right next to the Jacuzzi
>you undress and hop into the slowly warming water
Hmmm…
>you exhale and start thinking about the last couple of months
>you have been attacked by a coyote, worked more than you have ever done in your life, learned about coding and circuit restoration...kinda, been on a coma, almost died, went “camping” and got chased by, what you suspect, was a territorial war between several factions of coyotes and the farm, ending up in victory for you
>you start soaping some of your body and hair
>exhaustion begins to be felt across your body, muscles feeling tired and eyelids getting heavier
>you let your head rest on the edge of the Jacuzzi and close your eyes
>now that you think about it, nothing of that would have ever happen if it weren’t because of AJ
>you dip your head underwater to remove the foam of your hair, then, you go back to the surface
Eh, it was worth it
>you smile for a second before the shelf where all of your stuff was, creaks and falls out of the wall, along with a piece of the ceiling that you just repaired
>everything falls inside the Jacuzzi
GOD! DAMMIT!
>AJ wakes up when her battery is fully charged
>she stretches and tries to unplug herself
>it’s slightly more difficult than she initially thought, but she manages to do so
>she jumps out the table to the chair and the floor
>when she lands she limps a bit and smacks her chin on the ground
>”right, leg is busted…otra vez”
>she limps her way to your room
>”anon? donde estas?”
>she looks up from where she is, the window comes to her view
>the curtains are still torn from the encounter with the coyote
>”gotta remind him to change those later…”
>she smiles, remembering how you fought the coyote
>”oh no you won’t!”
>she cringed a little when you throw the flashlight at the animal, but she was glad it landed on its head, otherwise she could have been its chewing toy right there and then
>she shacked her head at that moment when the main door of the house opened
>”anon, is that you?”
Yeah, its me AJ
>she smiles and walks back out of your room
>”donde have you bee-where are your clothes and why are you in a wet towel?”
Faulty repair job…remind me to fix the jacuzzi´s shelf and the ceiling…again
>AJ chuckled and followed to your room
>you put on some dry PJ´s while she takes the wet towel to the dirty laundry basket where she hid once
>even with a faulty leg, she didn’t struggled as much this time, your previous repair jobs seem to be good enough so far, still, gotta repair that soon
>you sighed with a tiny smile, you did it once, you can do it again
Man, im hungry…
>you head to the kitchen to make yourself a decent meal
>after a, not so big but still pretty satisfying meal, you are now sitting on your armchair, reclined all the way, with your laptop on your lap and AJ laying on your chest, you are watching some random cartoon, honestly you are too tired to pay too much attention to it right now
>AJ on the other hand, is laughing
>”so that’s how I would look if I were human? That’s freaky!”
>oh yeah, its one of those new alternate universes that they came up with, what was it called again? Horsey chicks?
It’s a little weird…but I think I like it…
>”yeah, me too”
>you look out the window, the sun is gone and the moon is shining behind some clouds
>you take a quick glance at the clock in your laptop
>9:32pm
>its not that late, but you are feeling tired enough to go to sleep
Why don’t we leave it here for tonight?
>”are you cansado anon?”
Little bit, yeah, chasing and being chased by coyotes its way more tiring than I thought
>she smiled and went to your hand
>”hm, I could use some sleep too”
>this time, you are the one who smiles and lift her up, leaving your laptop on the desk and heading to your room
>you pull out her charging cable and connect her to the lonely light socket of your room
>she walks to the pillow next to yours and lays on it
>you stretch a bit before lying on your bed
Well, it was fun while it lasted, but I think im ready to get back to work, what about you AJ?
>before she could answer, you hear a lonely howling from far far away
>you walk to your window and peek outside
>”is it not gone?…”
Nah…that’s a different kind of howl…it also farther away, it won’t be coming back…but just to be sure
>you close the window and the curtains
>after that you go to bed, feeling more secure
>you see AJ smiling
>”remember to change those curtains later, anon”
>you smile back
I will…good night AJ
>”buenas noches, anon”
>the morning eventually comes back
>you and AJ wake up at the same time and smile at each other
>you slept like you never did before and are full of energy
Good morning AJ, ready to go back to work?
>AJ stretches and unplugs herself from her charging cable
>”other than my leg, im perfectly fine and lista to do anything!”
Perfect! And don’t worry…
>you get out of bed and go to change your clothes to your regular everyday ones
I´ll fix your leg before you know it
>”you woke up in a good mood, didn’t you?”
Is it too obvious?
>AJ chuckles and walks to the edge of the bed for you to get lift her
>”cmon, we have a lot of work to catch up to”
>you smile and go to the kitchen for a quick breakfast before heading out
>after a glass of orange juice and some bread you go to the “rooster bell” to wake everyone up
>you take the hammer
Well, let the day begin
>you hit the bell
>>fin<<