trans_9 | Roosting [Open]

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Roosting [Open]

Getting some shut-eye aboard this...plantboat presented more of a problem than Applejack had first guessed. How was she expected to just tell time? And without time, how did you know when to sleep, when to wake up, when your work was supposed to start and stop?

She'd taken to just plain collapsing whenever she'd felt too tired to go on any further, but that sure didn't feel right. Every sleep time felt different, like she'd gone a few hours one night and many more the next. Was the work even going to get done on time?

So far, she'd done as much as she could whenever she'd felt alert. One of those apple trees was going to be ready for a bucking in a few days' time, and that would bring all kinds of work. Some of the apples would be kept raw for sale and trade, of course, and others would be baked and dipped into various sweets. She'd already promised a pie to Dean, and she was sure there would be more to follow.

At the end of this workday, though, Applejack carried just a few things on her back: one or two ingredients she'd begged for in her flankpack, a just-scavenged empty basket for future apple-carrying, and an old blanket for the pile of hay waiting for her back in Hydroponics.

It sure was uncomfortable to sleep there, though. The hay and outdoorsy breeze didn't bother her, no, but the lack of starlight did. How were you supposed to know it was night time? That the sun would come?

That was the problem, actually. There would be no sunrise to wake her up in the morning. Plant-boats didn't have suns, and even if they did, Princess Celestia wasn't around to raise it. There wouldn't be any more cock-a-doodle-doos announcing her gift of the mor. Her sister Luna wouldn't be bringing the night either. Out here, it was nighttime eternal until they found a way to pierce the darkness.

Applejack wanted to plan for that Ohm-bucking part some more, but the time to take on the darkness would come later. For now, the farm pony just wanted some sleep. Judging by the way she rolled, twisted, and huffed against the meat-couches in her current location, the only place with something that slightly resembled a starry sky, the time for sleep wasn't quite here yet.

"Consarnit, this just ain't working," she sighed. "How's a pony supposed to sleep on these things? A good bit of bedding's supposed to stay put."

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"Well I sure am," Applejack confirmed, hopping up and sliding her pack on. "I just might get some rest tonight thanks to you," she hoped, starting toward the transport tubes. Calling out the destination was okay, but being sucked down these things was always weird.

Hikari smiled, walking next to Applejack. "I hope it works," she said, stopping when they made it to the tube and calling the city. It shouldn't take them too long to get to the W.I.T.C.H. Bus, though finding some place for Applejack to sleep might've been a bit tougher.

And soon enough they were looking at a 'bus'. Applejack trotted back and forth in front of it, eying the body and wheels rather suspiciously. It was like nothing she'd ever seen before.

"Can it move? How do you pull it?" Being from a world where every wheeled thing was pulled complicated things.

Hikari giggled. "Actually, it has an engine that let's it move itself, though a driver still has to steer it."

"Are you sure?"

It sounded so far-fetched, but...everything about this place was. She tentatively approached the door anyway.

"Is it gonna move while we're in?"

Hikari smiled. "No. I shouldn't. Someone in the bus needs to... well, tell it to move before it'll do so."

She moved up near Applejack, letting the door open and starting to walk inside.

"Well okay, if you say so," Applejack said, carefully boarding the bus a moment or two later. She turned her neck this way and that, trying to get a feel for her surroundings. "It's...nicer than it looked out there."

Hikari smiled. "Like I said, it's magic. It's a lot roomier in here and more homely than a bus normally is."

She then blinked, looking over at a nearby door. "... That door wasn't here this morning."

"I guess it got there with magic too?" Applejack asked, tilting her head at the aforementioned door. "Well, are you allowed to go poking around in here?'

Hikari shrugged. "That makes sense. I never really wondered how this place didn't get crowded."

"And I guess it couldn't hurt," Hikari said, moving over to the door open it.

And what she saw, didn't really make much sense to her. It was rather decent sized field. With quite a few stacks of hay lying around. "... Well, this wasn't what I was expecting."

Applejack couldn't quite believe her eyes. Yes, she'd just accepted that this bus ran on magic, but...how in the hay did you fit a field on a bus? A ground, a sky, and everything?

"Sure wasn't what I was expecting either. You're sure we're still in the bus, right?"

"Yeah, we're definitely still on the bus," Hikari said. "I guess the bus decided to make a room for you. I guess there has to be some way to change it to night in here."

You'd think she would've realized that this place added more rooms whenever they were needed since she had been staying here for a while now, but maybe she just hadn't been paying enough attention.

"I can't raise the moon..." Applejack trailed off uncertainly, digging a hoof into this magically-placed ground. It didn't feel too different, not really.

"But you think it can?"

As if on command, and with the slightest hint of an answering neigh, the moon rose. The field was kept bright enough for anyone to see their way out, but it was definitely a surprise.

"Whoa nelly, who did that?"

Hikari smiled. "I'm guessing the bus did it when you were thinking about it. Or because you asked it too. Either or."

"Huh. So...it's like everypony's got a bit of magic?" That was the best way she could phrase it. She was just an earth pony, no powers here, but the magic already inside the bus seemed to have an effect.

The curious pony paced back and forth, pushing the hay with a hoof. "Will it let me stay here, or is the room just gonna go the same way it came?"

There was also the question of how the sun was going to get raised, but she'd deal with that later.

Edited 2011-07-15 05:00 (UTC)

Hikari blinked. "Umm... I guess? I mean, I never thought about it like that. I figure that the bus just reacts to people if they have magic or not."

"And I'm sure everyone would be fine with you staying here!" Hikari said. "I haven't seen rooms vanish at all."

"Huh." Applejack performed the pony equivalent of a shrug, trotting around the space. Hey, that hay almost felt real! She did a quick roll in it, a smile quickly appearing on her muzzle.

"I wouldn't want to impose. Who else is stayin' here?"

"Well, there's Me and Negi. Then Kaya. Rein. And the older Rein. And I think a woman called Signum is living here too," Hikari said. "I think I've seen two new girls around here lately too, but I haven't talked to them yet."

Of those names, Kaya's was the only one she knew. The bus had been mentioned, yes, but did that mean everypony was okay with new companions?

"So which of 'em do I ask to join?"

Hikari blinked for a moment, before she realized what the answer was. "... I have no idea, actually. The guy who used to be the person to ask got put back in the pods."

"Aww shoot," Applejack sighed. "Well I guess I can spend the night outside 'til y'all find a host, it's no big deal. I wouldn't wanna impose," she insisted, no matter how comfy the hay looked.

Hikari frowned, shaking her head. "No, don't worry about. At the very least, you could stay here for the night. I'm pretty sure no one will mind. Besides, who else is going to be sleeping in this room anyway?"

"Well that's true. I don't think anypony else would like it here. Too messy for Rarity, too quiet for Pinkie Pie, and I'm sure as hay not letting the princess sleep out here. She needs a bed."

Applejack paced back and forth, tossing a sheet right next to the haystack. "Anypony's welcome here, and if y'all want me out just give the word."

"Alright," Hikari said, smiling. "Hope you sleep well."

She then let out a yawn, before she giggled. "I'm a bit tired myself, it looks like."

"Then go get yourself some sleep, sugar. I'll see ya in the morning if I'm not kicked out before then," Applejack smiled, stretching herself across the hay.

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chosenlightchld.livejournal.com - 2011-07-20 03:00 (UTC) - Expand

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