>a week has gone by since that night
>applejack still makes you sleep in her bed to keep an eye on you
>”ya know I like this anon”
“Like what?”
>she snickers
>”bein’ able to keep a close eye on you”
>”lets me keep you outta trouble”
>as she says that she bumps her hoof against your leg
“Haha, very funny AJ”
>you say flatly
>”but seriously ‘non, you worry me sick sometimes”
>”plus i get to make sure you don’t sneak off into the night”
“Oh come on, when have I ever done that?”
>”not sure, but you could have since you used to be in that darn room of yours without supervision”
>”who knows what kind of hijinks you were planning up in there”
>technically she wasn’t wrong
>you sure did a lot of planning up there
>at least you used too
>now that applejack keeps you on a tight leash
>figuratively
>you can’t do as much scheming as you used to
>not that you would now anyways
>you promised to yourself you would never worry her like that again
>and you intend on keeping that promise

>with all your newfound spare time left over from what would have been coming up with another project you started to interact more with applejacks other friends
>rainbow was pretty hyper but you enjoyed trying to race her even though she always wins
>fluttershy could talk about plants and animals for hours, surprisingly you enjoyed learning all about it
>you went to return the book you borrowed from twilight and told her some of your favorite parts
>you can tell she already knew every word in that book but she was a very generous listener
>she even congratulated you on your ‘first scholarly activity’ whatever that means
>you hung out with pinkie for a bit 
>you asked her why she had a party cave and she went into all the details
>turns out she had files for everyone in case she was going to throw a party for them
>you asked to see your file and she magically pulled it out behind her without even going back to get it
>she really scares you sometimes
…
>aparently your number 1 favorite thing is apples
>not necessarily wrong, the ones from sweet apple acres are incredible compared to even the best stuff from earth they’re almost addicting
>a lot of other details include random things like the ideal party location and even the color scheme
>the most interesting part was the fine print at the bottom
>’Anonymous must always be within a 6-foot radius of Applejack at any given time'
“Pinkie what’s with the fine print?”
>”oh that? Yeah you get really antsy when you’re in big crowds and she isn’t within eyesight”
>”the 6-foot radius is more of a guideline but you get the point”
>she says this with complete confidence
…
“Pinkie I'm not a 5-year-old, I don’t need applejack to always be so close”
“How did you even come up with something like this?”
>”uh duh, whenever ur further away from AJ ur antsy when you’re closer ur less antsy”
“Pinkie, when was the last time you updated this list?”
>”uh, I think a few months ago”
>dear lord
“Pinkie I came to Equestria a few months ago”
>an idea popped into your head
“What if I help you with this profile”
>instantly she shakes her head
>”nah”
“What?” 
>”that’s what I said, nah”
“but , why?”
>”duh, you never really know what you want sometimes”
>”observation is a far better indicator of how much someone likes something than just asking their opinion”
>wow way to use fancy words pinkie
>”besides I learned that the hard way”
>to be fair being in arms reach of applejack isn’t necessarily a bad thing but to have it on profile feels a little weird
>whatever you don’t really mind enough to even bother with it
>after visiting them all you had one last stop
“Rarity, you home?”
>”yes dear but I’m RAVENOUSLY busy, I'm on mandate right now”
>the fuck is mandate?
“Rarity what do you mean?”
>”look, darling, simply put by orders of Celestia herself I've got tons of work and I REALLY can’t talk right now”
>order of Celestia?
>she must be working up a storm if it’s an order for Celestia
“Alright I’ll leave you be”
>wonder what that’s all about
>what kind of outfit would Celestia even want?

>you figure applejack would know more about what rarity was talking about
>as the two of you made your way into bed you asked applejack your question
“Hey, did you hear rarity was making something for Celestia herself?”
>applejack was stunned
>she took a moment before she spoke
>”uh, yeah, she’s got this big order going on right now”
>”look let's get some rest alright?”
>applejack seemed to be avoiding it
>your curiosity was too much
“Hey AJ, why did rarity call it a mandate? Can’t Celestia just order a dress like normal?”
>applejack gets fidgety 
>”anon, you’re thinking too deeply about this”
>you could tell something wasn’t right
“AJ, what’s going on? Look if it bothers you I promise i’ll stop talking about it but I don’t understand you’re so anxious about this”
>applejack collects herself before responding
>”anon, we need to have a talk”
>this sounded serious
>”i wasn’t going to tell you yet, but, well”
>”i, no, we, the elements of harmony, we gotta go up near the crystal empire soon”
>”somethin’ about ‘standby’ once rarity finishes her order we’re gonna head out immediately” 
“How come? Another villain of some sort?”
>applejack starts to lose her composure again
>”it’s different, it’s really different this time ‘non, I'm not sure how to make sense of it but all i know is the elements of harmony ain’t gonna cut it this time”
>what is she going on about?
>”twilights got a big role in this but the rest of us need to be on standby in case we can help somehow”
>”im not filled in entirely about the details but all i know is if we take twilight out of her role so we can use the elements of harmony somethin’s gonna go wrong and we can’t risk it”
>”like I said, I don’t fully understand it but I gotta go with em”
>christ what the hell is she talking about…
>”anon, I need you to make me a BIG promise alright”
>with how serious her tone is you listen intently 
>”don’t you dare go runnin’ off after me for some stupid reason, if you go, hay, i don’t even know what kind of danger there’s gonna be”
>”when I say this I truly mean it, do NOT follow me you understand”
>despite your concerns for her you agree fully
>you nod your head in agreement
>you can’t fully comprehend what was going to happen but what you did know is that she can take care of it better than you ever could

>within a few days time rarity finished her work and applejack and the gang had everything packed and ready to head out
>”now anon, you make sure to stay put alright?”
“Of course AJ”
>”look, with the money we have saved up, don’t go worryin about how sweet apple acres is gonna perform, we’ve got enough money too keep us runnin’ for at least a year without a single sale”
>”this means no need to stress yourself over anything big”
>”I’ll be back soon”
>”remember what you promised me?”
“No following you and all that jazz”
>”PRECISLY”
>”now I've got to get goin’ trains leavin’ soon, I'll see ya soon”
“Alright, stay safe AJ”

>a week has passed since then and you’ve followed applejacks orders perfectly 
>you trust her instincts 
>”c’mon anon, one more lap around the barn!!!”
>the one thing you weren’t prepared for was applebloom
>being an absolute bundle of energy with no one else to play with besides the cutie mark crusaders leaves you to handle that all by yourself
>and when the rest of the crusaders come over, what you would think would give you a break ends up being even more work
>”yeah anon, get to running!”
>the three of them put together could easily power a whole city
>and boy is it hard work
“Hah… hah… ok… give me… a minute…”
>the three of them groan in unison
>”anoooOOOOOOOooooon, you’re so easily tired”
>gut punch to the ego
“Well… you’re… so… FAST…”
>after dealing with those rascals for a while you had a moment to yourself
…
>it sure was boring without applejack or her friends around
>sure playing with applebloom was fun
>but it just didn’t feel the same
>of course your not going to try and find applejack, that’s just irresponsible
>but a whole week?
>this is taking ages
…
>out of boredom you make your way around town
…
>you figure you could stop by the blacksmith just to see the look on his face when his number one customer shows up
>you don’t plan on buying anything, but the look on his face would be priceless
>as you enter you notice something is off
>”oh, um, hey mister, how can i help you?”
…
>HE SHRUNK TO HALF HIS SIZE
…
>no that’s not it
“Uh, who are you?”
>the little guy looks at the ground
>”oh, my dad’s the guy who owns this shop, he’s off to the crystal empire right now so I’m managing for right now”
>”i’m not so great at this, I'm really sorry, I'm not sure if I can do much”
>off to the crystal empire?
“Uh, well, look that isn’t your fault don’t worry I'm not here for an order anyways”
“I was one of your dad's biggest customers for a while”
>his eyes light up
>”oh WOW, you’re THAT guy?”
>that guy?
“Uh, yeah I guess”
>”hey if you ever need anything I can… uh, I mean I MIGHT be able to help”
>with his offer your mind is already stirring with ideas
>you need something to do while applejack’s gone anyways
“Well, i mean i am really bored, my friends are off to the crystal empire too so I’ve got nothing to do”
>he looks remorseful all of a sudden
>”oh, I'm sorry to hear that…”
“Oh they should be fine, applejack and her friends know how to handle themselves”
>”well if you need anything let me know, but… I might not be able to do big things…”
“That’s quite alright, you know, I might be back, I’ll see ya around”
>”alright mister have a good day!”
>he gives a big smile
>he seemed to warm up to you the instant you mentioned your friends were off to the crystal empire too
>man what’s going on up there?

>with the boredom in full swing you start thinking
“What could I even DO!!!!!”
>you thoughts run wild until you remember that rifle you made
>although you didn’t have a ton of money left you still had enough to at least pimp that thing out
>operation pimp my rifle is a go
>grabbing your rifle from its previous spot you dust it off and take it inside
>sitting in your old room on the bed with it on the floor you stay silent and stare at it
…
>what colors could you add to it
>could you make another engraving?
>could that guy fill the old engraving in and make a new one?
>your creativity is endless with the boredom you’ve been dealing with
…
“I wanna fuckin scope”
“I wanna blast timber wolves like a sniper”
“Pewpewpew”
>evidently your boredom is endless
“I wanna fuckin big sword on the end”
“I want knight armor too”
“I want whip”
“I wanna crack that thing around like a psycho”
…
>okay think practical
>a scope is a good idea
>a giant ass sword would never be practical against Timberwolves though
>but it would be cool to have a sick bayonet 
>you really need a new decal
>something that isn’t so… suggestive about your intentions with the wildlife here
…
>after some deliberation you jotted up some plans and went to present them to the blacksmith's son
>”oh yeah, glasswork is my specialty!”
>”we don’t get a lot of orders for glasses unless their really special but the practice would work the same for a telescope like this”
>”and I can do the knife at the front as well”
>”uh, the engraving might not be as fancy as the one you have now, if you’re okay with it being a bit bigger then that should be easy”
>”besides that the two little knobs are no problem and that should be set”
>figuring the kids having a rough time with his father being away you give him a more than decent payment for his help
“Here, I got ya a little something”
>he looks in amazement
>”no way, I mean, are sure about this, this is a lot of money just for an order like this”
“Nonsense bro, besides, I'm sure business has been rough without your dad around”
>he looks down 
>”uh, yeah, it really has been”
>”you’re too kind mister, I’ll make sure to get your order as best as I can”
“Don’t sweat it, take your time now there ain’t a rush okay”
>”you got it!”
>and with that, you now had at least something to look forward too

>as the hours passed you spent a lot more time with big mac and spike
>big mac mostly 
>he was always fun to be around
>of course most of your time spent together was doing chores
>but regardless he was an amazing friend
>he would continue talking about his game nights for ages and you loved hearing about it
>the frustrations the tense parts all of it
>he was like a little kid talking about a game he got for Christmas that he was obsessed with

>your days of spending time with big mac weren't half bad
>the guy really grew on you
>something about him just felt like you were talking to someone back on earth
>and that was something that interested you a lot
>sure, you still wish applejack was home but you still had some fun