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Awaken, Scootaloo6,531 words · 4,642 views · 598 · 5
Diary of a Silent Tyrant3,162 words · 6,640 views · 661 · 7
Apple Ninjas and Other Vital Concerns3,725 words · 1,287 views · 170 · 0
Checkmates3,673 words · 6,220 views · 461 · 5
Diary of a Pliant Tyrant16,437 words · 8,034 views · 822 · 13
Cheerilee's Thousand70,161 words · 5,012 views · 628 · 9
Easy As Pie7,385 words · 4,496 views · 234 · 5
The Carrot Dog Fight3,570 words · 1,057 views · 102 · 1
Blog Posts439
SaturdayUpdate and Errata4 comments · 64 views
So the new story is coming right along. It's about a third of the way through an editing pass, and so far only one or two major things have come up. I have gotten from just about everyone that it's pretty dark, though, and that's disheartening. The Dark tag is the kiss of death, in my opinion, but I don't want to lie to readers. If it's dark, then it is. I'll just have to live with that lower view rate.
This is the hardest time for me as an author. I love writing. I love publishing. I really, really hate editing. You take this thing that you think is really great and give it to other people, who then tell you why it's not so great. I find it to be demoralizing. And then I get angry at myself for being childish, but it's a process. I get feedback, then I enter into a small depression for a couple of days. After that, I'll use the feedback to hopefully make the story better. It's always helped in the past. My stories have always come out better and stronger, yet I sit here and feel down about the whole thing for a few days. That drives me up the wall. I hope to one day be past that.
I got the art back for the story, and I'm fairly pleased with it. The artist screwed a few minor details up, but it's still pretty nice.
Also, I'm not sure why I'm a sucker for stories with ridiculous sounding premises, but I am in the worst sense of that word. I always look at these stories and think, "Wow, that sounds shallow/unworkable/like a terrible idea. There's no way an author would do that unless he or she had some way to really make that work in a way that's fresh and original." It never is.
Not true! Skywriter's Shipping Sickness is a great example of a stupid premise that was awesomely done, but it's the rare exception, it seems. This is probably news to no one but me.
1w, 4dCute3 comments · 94 views
1w, 5dThe Tsunami15 comments · 91 views
Gah! So much to do! I have too many stories to write!
I've just finished one, and I'm staring down the barrel of at least ten more. I don't know where they all came from. Luckily, I'm feeling pretty energized. I really like how my new story came out, and that will probably evaporate once my editor gets back to me with a thousand items, but for now, I'm feelin' fine. I'm already thinking about a sequel to that story, but we'll see how it's received first. I love it, so it'll probably fall flat on its face.
I'm still struggling to find art, but I sent out some new requests that I've got high hopes for. The story won't be ready for public consumption for probably another month or so anyway, so I've got some time.
But the next order of business is definitely going to be updating Cheerilee's Thousand and Taking a Job for Granite. I've sat on that stuff for too long while I worked on this new Big Mac story and First Steps. Then we will see about some collabs people have been asking for.
And speaking of collabs, The Album 2 is seriously lagging. My Pinkie Pie chapter will never be seen! This is where I'd put the bawling Rarity emoticon, but we don't have it in the blogs, I guess.
And how about this snazzy update? I'm liking it overall, though I'm still struggling to understand some of the choices. I can't see the lifetime performance of my story anymore? Just a monthly breakdown? Uh, okay...
2w, 1dNew Story Rough Is Done0 comments · 42 views
Ah, that 'Just finished a story' afterglow. There's nothing quite like it.
So I've finished my story about Big Mac being a boxer, and boy did it go off in a direction I didn't anticipate at the beginning. I'm pretty pleased with it, though. I had a good time writing it. For the next few days, I'll probably be doing some editing, but does anyone want to pre-read it? I'm always interested in hearing opinions on how a story is coming together.
Now if I could just get the art settled. WHY IS IT SO DAMN HARD TO GET ARTISTS TO RESPOND?! I've never understood this about artists. I tried for several years to get comic books together, and I'd meet with these artist who were totally on board. Then they'd suddenly disappear. Six months later I get an email apologizing and telling me that they'd still like to work on the thing if it's still available. Then they disappear again. It's so frustrating. I'm trying to give them money to do the thing they like to do! Why is this such a complicated arrangement?
Sigh. Well, I'm going to contact another artist tomorrow, probably.
2w, 4dSisyphus Triumphs (Kinda long and self indulgent)28 comments · 138 views
So a little over two years ago, I was in the full-on throes of brony madness. My wife and I watched the show constantly, and I could never get enough pony. The characters ran through my mind all the time, and I needed something to do with them. It was in this time that I had this strong mental image of the girls on a door, sliding down a snowy mountain, and then looking disgruntled as they stood on it while traveling down a river.
This was how A Door Jam was born, though I didn't use any of the scenes I'd originally thought of. The 'door down the mountain' thing did end up as a chapter of Cheerilee's Thousand, though.
I'd never written anything really, but I loved these characters, and I wanted more. The idea of them with this door for some reason just kept coming back to me. So I spent a quite a few hours writing it up, and you know what? By the end, I was really liking it. I was proud of my little story, and even more proud when I uploaded it here and it made quite a little splash for someone that no one had ever heard of.
Obviously, I was a savant, and the masses needed more. A Door Jam was EQD bound.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the community hub. My story got rejected. It was a really interesting wake up call to get that response saying, "Uh, nice little story, but you could learn a lot about story-telling, not to mention grammar." I mean, they didn't say it like that, but that was the thrust of it.
One strike for me, and I'm afraid I'll have to admit that I was pissed off. I mean, just look at the response my story had received! It was great. Nuts to those guys! I'd spiff up my story and resubmit. No way were they going to defeat me! It became my number one goal to have that story on EQD.
Strike two, and I started sweating. Maybe I wasn't quite the savant I thought I was. Plus, I'd released Out of Fashion to almost no response. Yikes. So I really started boning up at that point. I started reading grammar textbooks and asking for help. I backburnered A Door Jam so that I could work on my skills.
Fast forward about a year, and I'd had something like three stories on EQD. I was really getting this writing thing, and I thought it might be about time to accomplish my number one goal. I went back to the drawing board and completely re-wrote A Door Jam, taking it from six thousand words to ten thousand, adding description, eliminating telling, revamping dialogue. It got a massive tune-up, and I loved the hell out of it.
And no third strike! It wasn't accepted, but it was sent back without a strike with a note to fix five things and it would be ship-shape. I was over the moon! I corrected those errors and resubmitted.
Third strike. The reviewer basically hated the story and pointed out several errors no one else had caught. Now my story was done and I'd never achieve my number one goal.
I was super mad. I can't even express how angry I was about this. I was pissed off at that review, but I was even more angry at myself. I'd wasted two strikes when I was very inexperienced, and I hadn't caught these typos before I'd sent it back for the all-important third chance. I'd failed, and I had a large portion of that to deal with. Not all of it. I still feel like I was screwed somewhat in that exchange, but there's no denying that it was my job to make sure the story was square before I sent it in, and I didn't do that.
So I swallowed it, vowing to use that angry and sadness as a tool for motivation and learning. It was still a pretty good story, even if EQD didn't accept it, and I'd learned a lot writing it. I closed the book on it and wrote about Trixie and Discord.
Then, one fine day, everything changed.
EQD decided to get rid of the strikes. Stories could be resubmitted until they passes, and all permanently rejected stories were given new life. I could still achieve my dream, and I got back to work.
Strike four.
This was actually a good thing. I got a response back full of "Hey, here are a bunch of typos, oh, and you might want to think about these particular problems. They are systemic in your writing." This was great for me. I got to view the story in a whole new light, and thus, all of my stories. This is why I like working with a multitude of different editors. I learn a little something new from each one. This time, it was about my overuse of participle phrases and my tendency to shift needlessly into multiple character perspectives to the detriment of the story.
So I got to work again, and that's what I've been doing for the past few weeks. Going over A Door Jam over and over and over.
I sent it back in yesterday. Today, it was accepted.
I can't properly express how delighted I am. I mean, you can probably see by the length of this post what it means to me, but I thought I'd never have a chance at getting my story up there, and somehow it happened, and it happened because I worked incredibly hard at it. I happened because I had a lot of help from a lot of really great people, and if you are reading this, chances are you were part of that learning process in some way. I've had a tremendous amount of support from all of you, and I'd like to personally thank everything who has taken the time to help me learn or to give me feedback. It's the most valuable thing we have on this site.
EQD is not the place it once was. My stories there rarely get thousands of views the way they once did. A Door Jam probably won't really benefit all that much from being there. But, to me, it means the world. It means that I fought and fought and fought, and at the end, I actually won. At the end of the day, the boulder reached the top of the mountain, and I can finally rest if I so choose.
I'm not sure where this leaves me as an author here. I have no plans for quitting, but I don't really have that many goals left. I've always been a goal-oriented person, and it's hard for me to just write for the joy of it. I really do like it, but I'm generally doing it because I want to achieve something. Maybe it's time to really re-evaluate that stance and learn to just create for the fun of creation. Is that a new goal? Probably.
- ...
The horseshoe made a precise parabolic arc as it traveled toward the metal stake at the other end of the pit. Catching the pole with eerie precision, the shoe spun around it several times, then landed in the sand with a thud.
While Twilight applauded, Applejack polished a hoof against her chest. "Heh-heh! That's how it's done, sugarcube." She scooped up another shoe and held it out for Twilight. "Your turn."
Twilight tossed the shoe from hoof to hoof. "Hmmm, this is a little over a pound, I believe. Applejack, how much force would you say that you used just now?"
Applejack scratched behind her ear. "Uh…"
"We can figure this out mathematically!" Twilight began to frantically scratch equations into the dirt. Eyes alight, she stopped writing just long enough to beam at Applejack. "Oh, this is going to be so much fun!"
Rolling her eyes, Applejack put a hoof over the rapidly lengthening formula. "Don't get yourself all worked up. Just get to the line and pitch it."
Twilight bit her lip, then tentatively picked up the shoe again. "Well, okay. Here goes." She focused on the metal stake some thirty feet away. Swallowing hard, Twilight made a quick calculation and hurled the shoe into the air.
"Well, uh… that was a... a mighty fine try," Applejack said in a strained voice, which, to Twilight, sounded suspiciously like a mare that was trying not to laugh. The shoe had landed roughly four feet in front of the furiously blushing unicorn, who kicked a pile of loose sand at it.
"It's your 'no magic' rule!" Twilight said with a hoofstomp. "It would be like you trying to throw these horseshoes with your back legs instead of your front! It just feels all wrong!"
Applejack slammed her back hoof down on a nearby horseshoe and sent it spinning into the air. With a fluid grace that Twilight had so often envied, Applejack kicked out with her other leg and hit the spinning shoe. It sailed over the pit and landed on top of her first. While the metal pole chimed softly, Applejack grinned and cocked her eyebrow. "Like that?"
"Okay, maybe that was a bad example," Twilight said as she glared at the quivering pole, "but what I'm trying to say is that I use magic for most things. I'm at a severe disadvantage!" Twilight dropped her eyes to the sand and rubbed a hoof against her foreleg.
Applejack's expression softened, and she threw a leg around Twilight's shoulders. "Okay, I get it. It's a big piece of who you are," she said, drawing Twilight close with a little squeeze, "but you can't rely on magic for everythin'. Some things just gotta be done the old-fashioned way." Applejack thrust Twilight's second shoe into her hooves and pointed at the far pit. "So here's the new rule: you can use your magic to pitch the shoe, but you can't just, you know, float it over there and whatnot."
"That's very fair of you, Applejack," Twilight said with a relieved grin. Her magic aura shimmered around the shoe, and she lifted it into the air. With a rare display of competitiveness, Twilight quickly trotted to the line. "Now we'll see who throws the best horseshoes in Equestria!"
"Pitches," Applejack said.
Twilight hesitated for a moment, her brow furrowing. "Huh?"
"You don't throw horseshoes. You pitch 'em."
Twilight gave Applejack a wink, then sighted the distant stake through the hovering tines. "Pitches, then." With a small grunt, Twilight gathered her will and hurled the shoe.
Both ponies gasped when it cleared the pit and disappeared off into the sky. Twilight's rear legs gave way, and she sat down hard in the soft sand. Her mouth worked wordlessly as she glanced back and forth between Applejack and the spot on the horizon that had last held the shoe.
Applejack pulled her hat down low, hiding her eyes, then collapsed into a fit of laughter. "Well—hah, hah! I reckon—hah—you sure did show us all—hee-hee—who pitches 'em best 'round these parts!" she said while clutching her sides and rolling in the lush grass.
"Applejack! Hey, Applejack!" Apple Bloom's sweet voice echoed down at them as she burst out of a nearby barn. "Big Mac says to remind you that Mrs. Cake's comin' to pick them apples up today!" Twilight could hear Apple Bloom's large bow flapping in the light breeze while she ran to meet them, but the little filly pulled up short when she saw the unicorn's frown.
Apple Bloom's questioning gaze traveled back and forth between the pair while Applejack struggled back to her hooves. "Uh, what's goin' on, Sis?"
"Oh, I'm just teachin' Twilight here the ins 'n' outs of horseshoes. She's, uh… She's got quite a pitch." Applejack covered her mouth with a hoof but couldn't quite contain some of the residual sniggers.
Twilight sighed and hung her head.
"Never you mind, Twilight." Applejack patted friend's back. "All you need is some practice. It ain't like I was born that good at horseshoes. Why, when I was a filly, Big Mac used to win every game we played!"
Apple Bloom squinted up at her sister. "Applejack, Big Mac still wins every game you play!"
"Hey! Who asked you?" Applejack scooped up Apple Bloom and rubbed her hoof playfully into her little sister's head.
"No! Argh! Lemme go!" Apple Bloom shrieked. Soon, they were both laughing so hard that it was all Applejack could do to keep her sister from escaping. After a few more rubs, she finally allowed Apple Bloom to wiggle free.
"Thanks for remindin' me, Sis. Oh, look at you." Quick as lightning, Applejack nabbed her wiggling sister again and straightened her battered bow. "I plumb forgot about Mrs. Cake. Could I get you to give me a hoof, Twilight?"
"Of course,"Twilight replied. She turned to follow Apple Bloom to the barn, but Applejack jumped in front of them and towered menacingly before her sister.
Apple Bloom took a cautious step backward. "Uh…"
"But first, do you think you can escape—" Applejack rose onto her hind legs and pawed at the air with claw-like swipes "—the dragon's tail?"
Apple Bloom's eyes gleamed. "Can I? That dragon ain't caught me once!" Twilight couldn't suppress a grin as Applejack spun this way and that. The quick turns sent her tail whipping around and around, and Apple Bloom deftly jumped over each swipe while laughing hysterically. Soon, both were taking turns giggling and panting.
"Come on, y'all," Applejack said, still sucking in huge breaths. "Let's get over to the storehouse and meet Mrs. Cake."
"That'll be forty bits, ma'am," Applejack said while counting out the succulent fruit that Mrs. Cake had chosen, "and I'll throw in this basket of apples, too. They're a little on the ripe side, so if they don't get used soon, they're just gonna go to waste."
"Oh, thank you so much, Applejam," Mrs. Cake replied, gazing out the window toward town. Without pulling her eyes from the distant Ponyville skyline, she retrieved a small bag from her pack. Applejack's left eyebrow inched its way up her forehead as Mrs. Cake missed the counter several times before finally managing to drop the bag in front of her. The bag landed awkwardly, and its contents spilled across the counter with a soft hiss.
Applejack frowned at the counter, then cleared her throat. "Uh, Mrs. Cake, I'm afraid I can't take this as payment."
For a moment, Mrs. Cake stared down at the small pile of festive, multi-colored sprinkles that was slowly spreading from her bag, then tapped herself on the forehead with with the tip of her hoof. "Oh, Applejack, I'm so sorry. It's just that my mind is on the Summer's End Festival. Carrot and I have still have so much to do." Mrs. Cake bit her lower lip and trembled. "So very much... "
In a burst of startling speed, Mrs. Cake lunged forward and leaned over the counter, pulling at her mane with both front hooves. "You have to help me! I'm at my wit's end!"
"Whoa, there. Of course we'll help you out!" Applejack threw out a restraining hoof in an attempt to keep Mrs. Cake from ripping any more of her mane out.
Twilight magically scooped the sprinkles back into the bag and placed it into Mrs. Cake's pack. "What's happened, Mrs. Cake?" Twilight gently rubbed the baker's back in what she hoped was a soothing manner.
Mrs. Cake closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths before continuing. "As you know, Princess Celestia has chosen Ponyville to host the Summer's End Festival this year. The princess herself asked if Sugarcube Corner could provide the desserts. Carrot and I have put off the preparations for as long as we can."
Her ears drooping, Mrs. Cake poked at the hard-packed dirt floor of the storehouse with a hoof. "You girls have a lot of adventures, and… well, that gets Pinkie out of the shop for a while." Mrs. Cake snapped her head back up so suddenly that both Applejack and Twilight jumped. The baker's eyes filled with tears. "But I guess you've had a quiet week!"
Twilight shot Applejack a mystified glance and received a shrug in return. "I-I don't get it." She dipped her head down to look into Mrs. Cake's downcast eyes. "You can't bake because we aren't off fighting dragons or parasprites or something?"
Mrs. Cake blinked back the tears and blushed while trying to avoid Twilight's probing gaze. "No. I can't bake because Pinkie will eat it all!" Still rubbing the baker's back, Twilight stumbled when Mrs. Cake suddenly broke into a trotting pace in front of the storehouse counter. "On a normal day, I could make some extras. They'd hold Pinkie over, but I don't have any additional time with an order this large! Every cupcake is important! I can't even lose one!"
When Mrs. Cake fetched a lace handkerchief from her pack, Applejack took it from her shaking hoof and gently dabbed at the mare's eyes. "Aw, shucks, Mrs. Cake. Everythin's gonna come out okay. Just tell Pinkie to cool it for a while. It ain't gonna do her no harm to hold off on stuffin' her face for today."
"You have no idea what goes on at Sugarcube Corner." Mrs. Cake hooked Twilight and Applejack around their necks and dragged them in close. The baker's wildly darting eyes were so wide that Twilight could count out the capillaries. "No idea! Pinkie means well, but she doesn't have any control. I don't even know if she realizes that she's eating the food we bake. I've had her solemnly swear to me that she won't touch anything while eating the biggest, most important cake on the table. It's a battlefield!"
Mrs. Cake released the two ponies and ran to the large double door to stare out toward Ponyville once more. "She's probably eating right now! I'm sure of it! Right now, she has her head in the sugar!" Mrs. Cake rounded suddenly on Applejack and Twilight, who were both still rubbing their somewhat sore necks. "Do you hear me?! She's eating all the sugar!" Twilight and Applejack both moved to comfort the distraught mare as she collapsed into sobs.
Twilight leaned in and cupped her hoof around Applejack's ear. "We have to do something! The festival's tonight!"
Wrapping her strong legs around Mrs. Cake, Applejack hauled her back to her hooves. "Aw, don't cry. I reckon we can help you out. Gettin' Pinkie outta your mane for a few hours shouldn't be too hard," Applejack loaded one of Mrs. Cake's boxes of supplies into her nearby wagon. "We'll get her outta the shop, and y'all can have some peace while you whip up all them yummy treats."
Mrs. Cake wiped her streaming eyes, then attempted to mold her hair back into place. "Oh, I'm so sorry, girls. What you must think of me," she said after sniffling out the last few tears. "Anyway, I can't thank you enough. You have no idea how much this means to us!"
The bell over the door in Sugarcube Corner tinkled merrily when the three ponies entered. All around them, succulent pies and delicious cakes beckoned from the tidy display cases. After all the time that Twilight had spent in Ponyville, she always thought that she must have sampled everything, but each visit still brought delectable surprises. Twilight and Applejack stopped to take it all in, just as they had done countless times in the past, and they grinned at each other when both of their stomachs growled.
Mr. Cake stood, fidgeting, beside the batwing doors that led into the meticulously maintained kitchen. "It's awfully quiet in there," he said while gnawing at his hoof, "and with Pinkie, well, that's usually a bad sign."
Trotting up, Mrs. Cake gave him a quick peck. "What's she doing, sugar-bun?"
Mr. Cake dropped his eyes to the floor with a sigh. "I'm afraid to even look."
Applejack bumped Twilight with her hip, then nodded toward the kitchen. "We better get a move on. No sense drawin' it out when these two got so much work to do. The sooner we get Pinkie outta here, the sooner Ponyville can eat!"
When Twilight cleared her throat, the Cakes looked up in unison. "Don't worry about a thing. We're on the case!" She motioned for Applejack to follow, then made her way through the doors into the spotless kitchen. She'd always admired this room. It appealed to her sense of organization. Everything here was in its proper place.
Everything except for Pinkie Pie, who sat, still as a statue, with her eyes locked on the bakery's back door. Applejack waved her hoof in front of Pinkie's eyes while Twilight examined the door and tried to puzzle out what had her friend so captivated. After several minutes of pointed throat-clearing, Twilight finally threw her hooves into the air. "Pinkie, what in the wide, wide world of Equestria are you doing?"
Pinkie blinked several times before finally focusing on her friends. "Oh, hey guys! When did you get here?" Pinkie beamed at them briefly before turning back. "Wanna help me keep watch?" she said, leaning into the task.
Applejack plopped down next to Pinkie. Scratching her head, she alternated between staring at her friend and the door. "Okay, I give up. What are you watchin', exactly?"
A slow grin stretched across Pinkie's face. "When I woke up this morning, I had a thought! Well, it was more of a dream! So I—"
"Wait a minute." Twilight's forehead wrinkled as she tried to follow Pinkie's twisting logic. "You had a dream after you woke up?"
Pinkie's grin somehow expanded, and she gave the door an extra-hard stare. "Well, yeah! I was so excited to be awake for another new day that I bounded out of bed, and when I bounded, I hit my head on the ceiling. Then I took another quick nap. That's when I had my thought, or dream, or thream!" Pinkie rapidly bounced in place without taking her eyes from the door. "It happens most mornings!"
Twilight blinked a few times, working it out in her head. "So you usually hit your head first thing getting out of bed?" She craned her neck to nonchalantly scan Pinkie's scalp for visible bruises or abrasions.
"Yup!" Pinkie replied merrily. "My ceiling's full of holes."
Applejack cupped Twilight's ear with her hoof. "Actually, that explains a lot."
Twilight nodded slowly.
"So, anyway, I thought to myself, 'Pinkie, why don't birds ever fly east for the winter?' and I decided to come ask Mrs. Cake if she knew, 'cause she likes birds, but she'd left already. Mr. Cake said he didn't know either, plus he was busy playing that game where he barricades the kitchen and I gotta get through all his obstacles. I love that one! But when I did, something about this door caught my eye, or... or my teeth, I guess. They're all itchy, and you know what that means!"
Applejack scratched behind her ear. "Uh... maybe you could remind us?"
Pinkie shot to her hooves, and her tail straightened into a quivering line as she forcefully pointed toward the door with her nose. "It means something big is gonna happen with this door today. I just know it! In fact, I can almost taste it!"
Applejack tapped the door with the back of one hoof while pinching the bridge of her nose with the other. "It's just a door. Come on. Twilight and I are, uh, goin' to see Fluttershy." Pinkie's concentration didn't seem to waver, but she did rotate her ears toward Applejack, who broke into a wide smile. "Yup, off to see Fluttershy, and we want you to come with us. Then you can ask her about the birds! Ain't nopony better at knowin' animals than Fluttershy."
"That's a great idea!" Twilight clapped her hooves. "It'll be so educational!"
Pinkie frowned and waved them off with a hoof. "Nah, you girls go ahead. I want to see how things pan out with this door."
Applejack's smile faltered. "Now see here, Pinkie. We ain't gonna let you spend a beautiful summer day inside starin' at doors. Come on now." Applejack stepped in front of Pinkie and tried to cover her eyes with a hoof.
"How…?" Twilight's mouth fell open. Pinkie's neck seemed to stretch impossibly as she maneuvered her head this way and that to see the door. Twilight wondered for the hundredth time if Pinkie didn't have some unicorn blood in her family tree while Applejack attempted use her hat on Pinkie as a blinder. After Pinkie pushed the hat away for the third time, Applejack gave Twilight a helpless shrug.
"There's no way I'm taking my eyes off this door!" Pinkie's whole body quivered with enthusiasm. "Something exciting's gonna happen, and I'm gonna be here to see it!"
Twilight and Applejack shared a glance and nodded to each other. "Pinkie Pie, this is for your own good." Together, they put their heads against Pinkie's barrel and pushed, but started at the sounds of their hooves scraping across the wooden floor. They were walking in place and hadn't budged Pinkie an inch.
Applejack leaned in close to Twilight. "Alright, looks like we're gonna have to do this the hard way. When I count to three, we tackle her and get her on outta here."
Twilight rubbed a hoof inside her ear where Applejack's breath had tickled her, then nodded. "Got it." When Applejack retreated a few steps, Twilight followed just behind. Tackling ponies wasn't exactly her specialty, and she did her best to copy Applejack's form.
"One... Two… Three!"
The pair leapt, but at the last moment, Pinkie rotated the back half of her body toward them. With a surprised cry, they rebounded off of her springy, curly tail and landed in a heap in the corner. Twilight and Applejack stared at each other and sighed.
"Well, that went well," Applejack said as she helped Twilight back to her hooves. "What do we do now? We gotta get Pinkie to forget about that door!"
Twilight frowned and tapped her hoof on the kitchen's well-worn floor for a few moments. Applejack was just opening her mouth when a slow smile stretched across the unicorn's face. "Maybe not! I mean, she isn't destroying the kitchen in a desperate cupcake hunt, is she?" Twilight paced back and forth while her idea took shape. "If we leave her in this… what is this, exactly? A trance?"
Applejack shrugged.
"Well, whatever it is, it seems the pies and pastries here are safe as long as Pinkie is occupied with that door." Twilight pulled Applejack in close and whispered, "I have an idea. Just go with it."
Twilight trotted over to Pinkie, where she made a show of examining her own hooves for dirt or rocks. "So that's the plan then, Pinkie?" she said in a light, conversational tone. "You're just going to watch the door no matter what?"
"Yup, though it's really more of an obsession at this point," Pinkie replied. It had been so long since Pinkie had blinked that Twilight could feel her own eyes drying out in sympathy.
"Well, I guess Applejack and I will just have to keep you company." Twilight concentrated for a moment. Shimmering, purple energy erupted from her horn, then enveloped the baker's rear door. "We'll just—"
With a loud crack, the door pulled free from the wall, jamb and all.
Twilight blanched and bit her lip, her eyes darting between the swinging doors that led into Sugarcube Corner's customer counter and Pinkie. Did the Cakes hear that? Oh, why do I always use too much force?
Applejack removed her hat and twisted it in her hooves repeatedly while she surveyed the ragged hole. "Twilight, you busted up their wall!"
"I know, I know!" Twilight hissed back. "I was rushing! But we can fix this later!" Twilight and Applejack trotted to the hole and peeked outside where a few ponies had stopped to find out what was going on. "It'll make the kitchen a bit draftier, but at least the Cakes can get started when we get Pinkie out of here." Twilight nodded her head repeatedly toward the hole while she spoke.
Applejack tore her eyes from the gaping hole and cleared her throat. "Pinkie, if you reckon this door is important, then, uh, your obsession's our obsession. We can't let you face this one alone." She jammed her hat back on the wrong way around before quickly correcting it. Her hooves were still shaking, but she motioned for Twilight to get going.
Twilight tried to ignore the curious gazes of passersby while she carefully threading the door through the hole and backed out onto the street. Pinkie trotted after her, staying as close to the door as she could manage.
"Wait, where are you going with that?" Mr. Cake, who had just poked his head into the kitchen, reached out after them with a trembling hoof.
"No time to explain!" Applejack shouted back over her shoulder. "Don't worry! We'll fix this right up when we get back!"
Twilight walked beside Pinkie and steered the door along the street while Applejack trotted a few lengths ahead to clear the way. The unicorn found herself shaking her head at Pinkie, who still had her eyes stubbornly locked on the door, muttering, "Anytime now. Aaaaaaaany time."
Even catching a glimpse of Pinkie's red, swollen eyes made Twilight's itch terribly. She's going to hurt herself! Using her magic as a ladle, she scooped a few drops of water from Ponyville's creek and slowly dripped them into Pinkie's irritated eyes.
Ahead, Applejack added a casual spring into her step when nearby ponies stopped their errands to stare at the strange trio marching by. She tipped her hat to the nearest gawker. "Howdy, Daisy. Nice day, ain't it?"
Daisy's eyebrows knitted together, and she glanced from the door to Applejack and back again. "So nice that you decided to take your door for a walk?"
Nearby, Lily shifted her groceries into her saddlebags and pointed at the door. "Yeah. What are you doing?"
Applejack's eyes darted back and forth, and bead of sweat slid down her brow. "Um..."
Twilight's smile was a little too wide when she caught up to Applejack. "We're, uh, in a… parade! Yup, a parade for Summer's End—" She put a hoof on Applejack's rump and gently prodded her into motion again "—and we have to keep moving!" Applejack and Twilight quickened their pace while Lily and Daisy traded bewildered glances.
"Thanks for stopping by!" Pinkie called back just before the trio turned a corner. "I'll tell Mr. and Mrs. Cake that you two were in!"
Twilight crested the hill outside the town's limits and breathed a sigh of relief. From here, she could see Fluttershy's cottage, and the road seemed mercifully free of curious ponies. They'd somehow managed to run into Time Turner, Mayor Mare, and Sassaflash on their way here, and she was running out of excuses.
"Did you hear them ponies?" Applejack threw a frown back toward Ponyville. "Land sake, you'd think they'd never seen a door before."
Falling back onto her haunches, Twilight wiped away the light layer of sweat that had beaded on her brow. "I know, but at least they didn't snap Pinkie out of… well, whatever you'd call this." She gave Pinkie a few gentle pokes. Generally, her friend would have at least let out a giggling snort, but besides casually pushing Twilight's hoof away, Pinkie didn't seem to notice at all.
Applejack rolled her eyes. "I'd call it about the most ridiculous thing I've been involved in for a mighty long time."
Twilight nodded and climbed back to her hooves, and then paused. "What was that?" she asked. Her eyes slowly scanned the nearby Everfree Forest's treeline.
"What was what, Twi?" Applejack squinted in the general direction that Twilight was facing. "I don't see nothin'."
"I... just thought I heard something. Like... like wings flapping." Twilight hefted the door into the air again, then checked the road one more time. "It was probably just geese. Looks like it's all clear from here! Let's get to Fluttershy's while nopony's around."
Fluttershy was sitting on her stoop, eyes locked on her front door, and picking absently at a few blades of grass when her friends trotted up. "Hi," she sighed in a melancholy voice.
Twilight shot a questioning glance to Applejack, who shrugged one shoulder in return. "Fluttershy, please don't tell me that you're staring at your door," Twilight said after a lengthy silence.
"Yes." Fluttershy hung her head. "I've been staring at it for most of the morning."
Twilight threw her hooves up over her head. "What is going on today? Why is everypony staring at doors?"
When Fluttershy finally turned, Twilight could see the tracks of dried tears matting the fur under her eyes. "Well, you see, I want to go in this door, but I can't." Fluttershy picked off the last blade of grass and twisted it absently between her hooves. "I was at the river this morning leading the ducks through guided meditation." Fluttershy threw the grass away and pointed to the door. "When I got back, this was here."
Twilight's face flushed a deep purple. A familiar horseshoe was embedded deeply in Fluttershy's doorframe. Beside her, Applejack put a hoof over her mouth to stifle her welling laughter.
Rising up onto her hind legs, Fluttershy yanked at the shoe. "I've tried tugging and crying, pulling and crying, prying and crying, and just plain crying, but nothing has worked." She released the shoe and slowly trudged off into her yard. "Maybe I'll just move in with the chickens."
"For pony's sake, if you needed help, why didn't you just ask somepony?" Applejack said as she trotted after Fluttershy and steered her back to the house. She offered Fluttershy a wink. "We'll get that door open in a jiffy!"
Fluttershy's ears perked up, and she spread her wings wide. "Oh, could you? That would be wonderful!" She lightly placed a hoof on Applejack's chest before snatching it away and taking a small step back. As Fluttershy retreated behind her silky curtain of hair, her eye darted between Twilight and Applejack before finally resting on the ground. "If that's not too much trouble, that is. I can see that you're walking your door. I don't want to be a bother."
"You're no bother at all!" Pinkie said. "We love all of our customers here at Sugarcube Corner!"
Fluttershy leapt into the air and hovered a few inches above ground. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, Pinkie! I didn't even notice you there." She dropped down to embrace her friend before pulling up short. "Wait, did you say—?"
Twilight frantically waved at her to quit talking while Applejack slapped a hoof over Fluttershy's mouth and whispered a brief explanation into her ear.
"Oh, I see." Fluttershy studied the floating door before turning to smile warmly at Twilight. "That was very clever."
Applejack rolled her eyes. "Oh, it was somethin' all right. Now let's get this darn horseshoe outta the way." She adjusted her hat to sit more squarely on her head before squinting at the shoe. "All right, here goes."
Clamping down on the horseshoe with her teeth, Applejack used all four of her strong legs to push against the house. With a muffled growl, Applejack yanked again and again, and her muscles bunched and trembled with the strain.
"Wow," Twilight said as she shared a wistful glance with Fluttershy. "Do you ever wonder what it would be like?"
Fluttershy reached out with a hoof, nearly touching Applejack's corded leg muscle before pulling away. "All the time," she finally said with a slight blush. "I wish I were stronger… in lots of ways."
"Confounded horseshoe!" Applejack collapsed back onto her haunches. She sucked in huge lungfuls of air and stared daggers at the horseshoe while a fretting Fluttershy gently fanned her with a wing. The shoe hadn't budged at all. Applejack mopped her brow, then turned to Twilight. "Hey there, Equestria's Best Pitcher. Think you can unpitch this shoe outta the door?"
Her face burning, Twilight leaned Sugarcube Corner's door against Fluttershy's house and settled into a wide-legged stance. Focusing, she magically pulled at the horseshoe for several seconds. Beads of sweat erupted from her brow as she willed the stubborn shoe to move.
Fluttershy gasped, then nudged Applejack and pointed towards Twilight's hooves. They were leaving furrows in the ground as Twilight dragged herself forward against the unyielding shoe. After several long moments, Twilight broke the spell and wiped the streaming sweat from her face with one muddy hoof. "I think… we're going to have… to do it together."
"Alright, together then," Applejack rolled her shoulders. and Fluttershy winced as each of the joints gave a loud pop. "Fluttershy, can you get a good hold on my tail? Twilight, when we get tuggin' on it nice and hard, see if your magic can pop it out."
"Absolutely!" Twilight replied. It was her mistake in the first place that had locked Fluttershy out of her own home. She was determined to do whatever it took to fix the situation.
Once again, Applejack locked her teeth onto the iron horseshoe and glanced at Fluttershy, who carefully twined her hooves into her friend's strong tail. Flapping for extra power, she swallowed hard and pulled. "T-tell me if I'm hurting you, Applejack," she said while her friend strained against the shoe again.
"I 'an 'eel it 'iggle," Applejack grunted from around the iron. "'Ull!"
Twilight's magic aura flared, and she focused as clearly as she could on the mental image of the horseshoe pulling free from the door. Okay, just enough force to—aah!
The horseshoe rocketed away from Fluttershy's cottage, dragging the three friends with it. Twilight hadn't considered how much the shoe might have loosened in the prior attempts, and it had pulled free so quickly that Twilight hadn't had time to slow its momentum. Her teeth rattled as Applejack and Fluttershy slammed into her. Crying out, they all tumbled into the nearby bushes. Twilight was still trying to shake off the effect of the impact when she noticed muffled mumbles coming from beneath her.
"I'm so sorry, Applejack!" Twilight took Applejack's hoof and helped her friend stand again. "What did you say?"
Applejack scooped up her battered hat and worked to correct its crumpled form. "I said I'm a mite tired of endin' up in a heap today."
"Sorry!" Twilight said again while offering a hoof to a woozy Fluttershy. For a moment, she marveled at how light the pegasus was and wondered what it would feel like to have hollow bones.
"Oh, thank you so much!" Fluttershy blew her tangled mane out of her eyes. "Now I can finally go inside and tell Angel about the nice bush that I visited today."
Twilight trotted ahead while working to pull free several stubborn twigs from her mane. "Let me get the door for you, Fluttershy. To tell you the truth, it's really my fault that you couldn't get in your house in the first place. You see, Applejack and I were throwing horseshoes—"
"Pitchin'," Applejack said with a frown.
Twilight rolled her eyes. "Pitching horseshoes, then. Anyway, I—oof!" Twilight opened the door and started inside, only to run directly into a stone wall. Eyes spinning from the sudden impact, Twilight ricocheted off and wobbled uncertainly.
Pinkie stomped a hoof. "Twilight! Nopony's going through the door! Something special's gonna to come out of it, and it can't do it with you in the way making funny faces!"
"Oh, let me help you." Fluttershy put a leg around her friend and guided her toward the house. "It will probably be better if we go through my door. Not that yours isn't lovely, but mine goes inside."
Applejack threw up a silencing hoof, then cocked an ear to the horizon. "Hey, does anypony else hear a ruckus?" Falling silent, Twilight and Fluttershy swiveled their ears to follow Applejack's. Twilight was trying to decide if it sounded like quacking when a powerful roar caused them all to jump.
Fluttershy's hooves flew to her face. "Oh my goodness! The ducks! Something is after the ducks!" The pegasus launched herself into the air and rushed to the riverbank.
"Fluttershy! Wait for us!" Applejack charged after her. Grabbing the door, Twilight followed, with Pinkie bouncing alongside.
"You know, I've never really taken the time to fully appreciate how big Sugarcube Corner is." Pinkie grinned broadly while she bounced along, adding a little kick of her hooves at the apex of each leap. "This place feels humongous! Hee-hee! 'Humongous.' That word is funnerific!"
Twilight shook her head and wondered exactly what it would be like to operate on Pinkie's level. We really should spend more time with her. If Discord ever manages to free himself from that statue again, his chaos won't even faze us.
Pounding around the path's final turn, Twilight gasped, then skidded to a stop. Ahead, Fluttershy was trying to distract a small dragon while Applejack ran back and forth along the shore and kicked whatever rocks she could find at the creature. Several ducks quacked non-stop as they flew a distressed patrol nearby. Twilight winced at the sunlight glinting off of the beast's talons. They looked strong and sharp, and at the moment they were tightly closed over several eggs. The creature tracked Fluttershy on her next pass, and Twilight screamed when her friend narrowly dodged its scorpion-like tail.
You brute! You are not taking those eggs!" Fluttershy darted back and forth as she searched for an opening, then with a large gulp, she accelerated toward the razor-sharp talons.
Twilight covered her mouth to stifle another scream. She could see tears of fright streaming behind Fluttershy while she looked for an opening, but her face was resolute. Twilight knew her friend would protect the woodland creatures with her life, if necessary.
Applejack tore across the sandy riverbank, keeping one eye squarely focused on her imperiled friend and searching for ammunition with the other. "Watch out, Shy!"
Just managing to dip under the stinging tail, Fluttershy yelped as several strands of her mane were ripped out by the tail's jagged barbs. "Um, would you consider just giving me those eggs and maybe flying someplace far away?" She quailed when the beast snarled and revealed several rows of jagged fangs. Fluttershy tried to bank away from the creature's snapping jaws, but it lunged far too quickly.
Twilight felt her heart drop. Even at this distance, she could clearly see Fluttershy's terrified expression reflected in the beast's furious eyes. Eyes! Gasping, she pointed to the monster's face. "Applejack! The eyes! Go for the eyes!"
"You got it, Twi!" With the same uncanny accuracy she'd shown on the farm, Applejack launched one blinding rock, and then another. The dragon roared in pain and arched its sinuous neck away from the rapid-fire barrage Applejack was sending its way. Twilight held her breath when Fluttershy used the distraction to dive in and snatch the eggs from the loosened talons.
Applejack desperately scanned the shore for more rocks. "What in tarnation is that thing?"
"It's a wyvern, and that tail is full of poison!" Twilight cried back. She gasped as the beast blinked away the pain and reoriented on the nearest target. "Fluttershy, look out!"
The wyvern snarled and launched itself after Fluttershy, who was doing her best to get to the marshy reeds that the ducks nested in. Glancing over her shoulder, Fluttershy let out a terrified squeak and flapped harder, but the wyvern was quickly closing the distance. It arched its tail over its back for a lethal strike.
"No!" Twilight instinctively fired the door into the space in between the two and gritted her teeth when the beast slammed into it. While the wyvern shook its head vigorously, Twilight wiped her brow. "Thank Celest—oh no!"
Whistling a merry tune, Pinkie Pie bounded over Twilight's head and straight toward the wyvern.
The monster shook itself one last time, then roared at the floating door. Even several yards away, the furious shrieking had enough power to blow back Twilight's mane. The wyvern sank its claws deeply into the wooden door, then suddenly banked away.
"Pink—aaah!" Twilight was caught so off guard that the wyvern ripped the door from her control. She cried out helplessly after the wyvern as it labored through an unsteady flight toward the Everfree Forest. Pinkie Pie bounced along behind it, keeping as close to the door as she could manage.
Applejack pulled up alongside Twilight. "What the hay? Why'd it take the door?"
"I don't know, but we have to get it back! That thing could take Pinkie anywhere!" The pair pounded after the wyvern, and Twilight called back over her shoulder, "Fluttershy, come on! We have to save Pinkie Pie!"
The pegasus's wide, fear-filled eyes poked up over the reeds. "Oh no! The wyvern got her?"
Twilight willed her legs to move more quickly, but she was already failing to match Applejack's powerful strides. "Well, sort of. It took the door, and Pinkie went with it. Why would a wyvern do that?"
"Wyverns aren't very bright, but they are greedy. They're a type of dragon, you know." Fluttershy angled her wings to swoop in alongside the laboring unicorn. "It probably just saw that you had something and wanted it for itself."
"Well, we've gotta get it back," Applejack said with a glance back at them over her shoulder, "or Pinkie may get more than she bargained for comin' outta that door!"
The ponies raced after the wyvern and prayed that it wouldn't take an interest in Pinkie Pie bouncing joyfully behind it. Twilight's mind whirled as she struggled to remember everything she could about the reptilian monster. She was missing something vital, but the memory seemed to flit just out of reach.
"Come on, y'all! We can't let it get away!" Applejack called from a few lengths ahead. Lathered sweat dripped from her barrel. "Y'all gotta give it all you got!"
Fluttershy grimaced and flapped her trembling wings harder. Twilight could sympathize. Neither of them was a tremendous athlete, and Applejack and the wyvern were pulling away from them.
"We're lucky," Fluttershy said, pausing between words to try and catch her breath. "That door is keeping the wyvern from flying too fast."
Twilight shook her head briskly in an attempt to keep the sweat that was running down her face from getting into her eyes. She couldn't afford to be hindered. "If we were lucky," Twilight said between huge gulps of air, "it wouldn't have taken the door in the first place!"
The forest opened, and the path ascended a rocky hill. The wyvern pumped its leathery wings above them, and jagged splinters from the door littered the ground below it. Close behind, Pinkie was already most of the way up the path. Twilight and Fluttershy exchanged a bewildered glance when Pinkie's voice floated merrily down to them.
Oh, the candy and cakes,
And the pies that I bake,
I think they are all delish!
But I mostly depend,
On time with my friends,
To experience my bliss!
The songs that they sing me,
The joy that they bring me,
When we are all together!
Are worth more than the eats,
The yummy, sweet treats,
I hope they stay forever!
Twilight rolled her eyes. She couldn't decide whether she was touched or exasperated by Pinkie's ridiculousness, but she did know that she was tiring badly. The wyvern was almost out of sight, and it would be a few minutes before they could possibly get all the way up the hill. A few minutes Pinkie couldn't afford. "Fluttershy, see if you can keep them in sight! Try to distract the wyvern!"
"M-m-me?" Fluttershy's wings skipped a beat, and she nearly hit the ground before recovering. Straining to gain altitude, she regarded Twilight with wide eyes.
"Yes—oof!" Twilight replied with a slight stumble. Try as she might, her fatigue was slowing her pace. "Applejack and I won't make it in time!"
Fluttershy squeaked out several incomprehensible words.
Twilight swallowed hard. Pinkie had just crested the hill ahead of them and disappeared from sight. "Please, Fluttershy! The wyvern might not be very smart, but if it notices Pinkie back there, it might attack her! You said that you wished you were stronger. Well, right now, Pinkie needs you to be strong for her, and I know you can do it!"
Fluttershy squeezed her eyes closed. Her face was rigid with fear, but she nodded to Twilight. "I w-will! For Pinkie!" She pumped her tired wings with renewed vigor and rocketed up the path.
Breathing heavily, Applejack and Twilight finally made their way up the hill, only to begin furiously backpedaling when they found that their path was suddenly blocked by a towering mound of garbage. Everywhere Twilight looked, similar deposits of junk were piled into small hills on the rocky plateau, interrupted only to allow access into a small cave opposite her in the cliff face. In the middle of it all, Fluttershy flew just out of reach in an attempt to keep the wyvern's focus away from the stationary Pinkie Pie. Twilight groaned, but she took off as quickly as she could manage toward the monster. She wasn't used to long-distance galloping, and her endurance was nearly spent.
Applejack surveyed the passing garbage. "Golly! Looks like that wyvern's been takin' things for a mighty long time. I bet—hey!" Applejack did a double take, then skidded to a stop and pointed at a heap of cloth and twigs sticking out of a nearby trash pile. Her lips curled into a snarl, and she raced toward the wyvern. "Those are our old scarecrows! You thievin' varmint! It took me weeks to make new ones!"
Applejack leapt into the air and kicked at the hovering beast, who was attempting to snap its teeth into the flagging Fluttershy. Enraged, the wyvern arched its deadly tail over its back, then shot it out with lightning speed.
Only Fluttershy's terror saved her. When she saw the deadly stinger rapidly approaching, her wings glued themselves to her sides. She plummeted into the trash, screaming when the poison barb stabbed into the space just above her head. Not to be robbed of its meal, the wyvern pivoted and followed.
Applejack leapt to where Fluttershy had fallen, then took careful aim. "You like takin' my stuff, huh? Well, take this!" With her best apple-bucking kick, Applejack slammed her hooves directly into the descending wyvern's snout.
Though the impact nearly knocked Applejack from her perch, she nodded as she looked over her shoulder. The monster's snout was still quivering and had two hoofprints deeply embedded into it. A cloud of junk flew into the air when the wyvern slammed into one of its trash mounds, the door still firmly clutched in its claws.
Twilight punched her hoof into the air. "Applejack, you did it!"
A moment later, her enthusiasm melted away. The wyvern raised its head and stared at Applejack as though seeing her for the first time. Its scaly eyebrows met between its eyes for a moment before it roared.
Applejack blanched and took a few cautious steps away. "Yeah, I did it all right..."
The wyvern followed her every motion with its intense stare.
Something finally clicked into place when Twilight recalled a book that she had been reading to Spike about dragon-kind. "That's it! That's what I've been trying to remember! A wyvern becomes fixated. It only has enough room in its head for one thing at a time. It probably doesn't even remember that it's holding onto the door!" Twilight turned to Applejack, who was nervously weighing the options between running and trying to kick the wyvern again. "Keep it distracted, and I'll try to pull the door away!"
The wyvern bared its teeth and heaved itself back into the air. It climbed rapidly, then folded its wings and tucked into a dive. The blood drained from Applejack's face, and she ran in the opposite direction.
"What do I do?! What do I do?!" Applejack called out to Twilight. Her eyes darted between her friends and the glistening tip of the wyvern's stinger. The poison was dripping so close to her back hooves that she could see the ground smoking from the potent chemicals.
Twilight pointed to the fissure. "Run for the cave! I'll try to grab the door away while it's chasing you!"
"All right, but I sure hope you know what you're doin', sugarcube!" Applejack stuck her tongue out at the beast. "Come on, you big, ugly lizard! Can't you even catch one little pony?" she jeered as she cut around a tight corner and angled for the narrow cave opening.
Twilight's magic enveloped the door, and she gripped it as firmly as she could. However, rather than snatching the door from the wyvern, she let out a surprised cry. She'd been wrenched off of her hooves, and now she was being dragged roughly along behind it. "Fluttershy, help me!" she croaked after coughing out a mouthful of dirt.
Keeping one fearful eye on the wyvern, Fluttershy flew in and scooped up Twilight's tail, then reversed direction, straining to halt Twilight's momentum.
Beads of sweat poured down Twilight's face, but the monster's grip was iron. "I-I can't do it! I'm losing my—no!"
Twilight's magical tether on the door snapped. Fluttershy and Twilight, now free from the wyvern's incessant pull, flew backward and tumbled into a pile of debris. Now free itself, the wyvern barreled past Applejack and into the cave. The door that the creature had been holding wedged itself into the fissure's opening, where Applejack slammed into it at full speed. She bounced off with an explosive grunt, then sat down and stared off into the distance with a shocked, vacant expression.
"Granny Smith, I think that apple cider is a mite strong," she said in a faint, faraway voice.
"Oh, Applejack! Are you alright?" Fluttershy flew over, shaking bits of garbage out of her mane. She ran her hooves gently over Applejack's forehead to check for swelling. "You hit that door awfully hard!"
Applejack shook her head briskly and blinked several times before finally focusing on Twilight. "Huh? D-did we do it?"
"Did we do what? I thought you guys were helping me keep watch!" Pinkie bounced up and gave the door an extra hard stare. "I mean, I'm ready for anything, but what if I had looked away for even a second? I might have missed something important!" Pinkie tried to press her face directly against the door before Fluttershy pulled her away.
Applejack rolled her eyes slowly toward Twilight. "Please remind me to send Mrs. Cake to Rarity next time she needs help."
Twilight sniggered while she pried at the jamb. It was wedged tightly into the rock opening. "What are we going to do now? How will we get this out of here without alerting the wyvern?"
The earth beneath their hooves trembled when the wyvern roared somewhere deep inside the fissure. Fluttershy hit the ground and covered her eyes with her hooves. "I d-don't think that's going to be our problem, Twilight." Trembling, she inched backwards away from the cave.
Applejack snatched Pinkie's tail in her mouth and willed speed into her aching legs. Twilight followed a step behind. Seconds later, the door banged into the cliff's face, and the wyvern erupted from the fissure. It blinked momentarily in the bright light before spying the fleeing ponies and letting out another deafening scream. With a snarl, it arched its tail over its back and dove after them.
"See?" Pinkie said, clapping her hooves. "See? I told you that something amazing was going to come out of that door and it's a big, scary monster!" Her eyes widened as she bumped along behind Applejack. "There's a big, scary monster in Sugarcube Corner! RUUUUUUUUUUUU—hey!" Pinkie scanned the scenery whizzing by, then put her hooves on her hips. "What did you guys do to Sugarcube Corner? Also, RUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!"
The friends poured on as much speed as they could muster, but the furious wyvern dropped down in front of them. Their only path back to the Everfree Forest was now blocked several tons of snarling dragon. The ponies skidded to a halt as the wyvern hypnotically swayed its lethal tail slowly from side to side above its head.
"The tail!" Twilight said, an idea forming. "Applejack! Dragon's tail!"
Applejack nodded and surged forward, only to leap away just before the wyvern's deadly stinger buried itself in the ground at her hooves. Overhead, Fluttershy screamed.
Twilight tried to block out all the images of dire consequences from her mind. "Keep it up, Applejack! I just need a little bit of time! Pinkie! Fluttershy! Help me find something to catch the wyvern's attention!" Pinkie and Fluttershy followed closely behind her, bewildered. "Something small and shiny! Something like a horseshoe!"
The ponies fanned out to search, sparing glances in Applejack's direction when they could. Their friend was using all of her rodeo skills to stay just ahead of the beast's deadly sting.
Applejack bobbed and weaved with uncanny dexterity, but each miss drove the wyvern to greater levels of fury. "I'd be mighty grateful if y'all could get a move on!" she said between ragged gasps. "I'm about spent!"
Pinkie's head poked up over a teetering pile of garbage."We're trying, but it's all dolls and socks over here!" She put a hoof to her chin. "Do you think this is where all the missing socks go? Why do we even have socks? We're ponies!"
Fluttershy flew high above them to survey as much of the junk pile as she could. "I think it's building a nest over here. It's all tree branches and bits of rope. Maybe it's just lonely and looking for a mate."
Twilight galloped around a pile of garbage beneath the pegasus. "Fluttershy, concentrate!"
"Right. Sorry!" Fluttershy banked away, laboring to gain speed again.
"Applejack!" cried the three ponies in unison. Their friend had finally slipped after a difficult series of jumps and was now lying on the helplessly on the ground. The monster slammed its clawed foot down onto her tail, effectively pinning her in place. Licking its rows of gleaming teeth, it curled its tail to strike.
"There!" Twilight pointed to a spot just behind the wyvern where a crystalline statue of a pony glinted in the sunlight. She seized the statue with her magic and maneuvered it directly into the wyvern's field of vision. "We finally found it, girls! We'll be taking this valuable treasure from this nasty, old wyvern!"
The wyvern paused and tracked the statue with its narrowed eyes. Its claws reflexively clenched, digging deep furrows in the ground only inches away from Applejack, who was desperately trying to free herself. As the claws scraped into the ground, they sheared off the end of Applejack's tail, and she rolled away. "Well, I reckon I needed a trim anyway," she muttered while sprinting away from the beast.
Several yards away, Twilight teased the wyvern. Just as the monster would reach the prize, Twilight would pull it out of reach. She waved the statue to and fro over her head and smirked at the wyvern. "We wanted this statue more than anything, and now we finally have it! Girls, I don't think that this wyvern is smart enough to get it back!" Twilight barely had time to yank the statue away when the wyvern launched itself at her and greedily snatched at its treasure. "No, no, no! This is our statue now, and we won't let you have it, will we? Fluttershy, heads up!" Twilight hurled the statue over the wyvern's head.
"What?" Caught off guard, Fluttershy dove for the statue, barely catching it before it hit the ground. She clutched the statue tightly to her chest while banking around a large pile of debris. When she allowed herself a glance over her shoulder, she let out a frightened squeak. The wyvern was suddenly very close and gaining on her.
Pinkie's hooves were a blur as she ran in place. "Ooh, Keep-Away! Me! Me! Throw it to me!" With the wyvern nearly upon her, Fluttershy dropped the statue to the Pinkie.
"Wheeee!" Pinkie leapt and snatched the statue out of the air, then somehow changed direction in mid-leap. When the wyvern shot by her, Pinkie giggled behind her hoof at it's shocked expression. The wyvern tumbled end over end, then smacked into the cliff face before pushing off toward the fleeing pony.
Pinkie bounced along the path and flipped the statue off of her head repeatedly with a nod. With each throw, the statue caught the light of the afternoon sun, and Pinkie found herself bathed in a shimmering rainbow pool. "Lookit, Twilight! Isn't it pretty? This wyvern's a hoot. Maybe I should invite him to our next party!" Waving at the rapidly approaching monster, Pinkie heaved the statue into the air one final time. "You're up, Applejack!"
The wyvern rocketed forward, but Applejack was too quick. She'd had a moment to regain her breath, and now she leapt for the statue. Her teeth closed around one of the crystal pony's legs, and she yanked it away just before the desperate creature's claws snapped closed. Applejack mumbled a quick prayer when she briefly caught her wide-eyed reflection in the claw's razor edge. She landed with a grunt and galloped around the perimeter of the junkyard, taking any course that might cause the wyvern to turn awkwardly in the air.
The raging wyvern lashed out with its tail again and again, but Applejack managed to stay just one step ahead. Ducking another strike, she swallowed hard. The wyvern's lethal poison had just dissolved a nearby pail into nothingness on a near miss. The beast snarled and snapped its tail back into position for another attempt at the agile pony.
Twilight jumped and waved her hooves over her head to get Applejack's attention. "It's got to be fully fixated by now! Throw it back to me!"
Applejack calculating the distance between them carefully, and then flipped the statue in Twilight's direction. "Incoming, Twilight! Teach this second rate dragon not to mess with ponies!"
Already on the run, Twilight snared the statue with her magic and drew it near. She could hear the tendons creak in the wyvern's wings when it wheeled sharply in midair, its eyes still locked onto the prize. With the beast descending on her, Twilight stood her ground and tried to still her quivering knees. She gave the statue one last, taunting shake, and then turned away from the wyvern's nest. "Hey, wyvern! Let me show you why I throw the best horseshoes in all of Equestria!" Twilight bellowed, then launched the statue toward the horizon with every ounce of magical strength that she could muster.
Twilight flattened against the ground and threw her hooves over her head as the wyvern barreled past her. The swirling winds of its passing wake nearly tore her mane from her head. Enraged shrieks echoed back at them, but grew steadily more faint. After several tense seconds, Twilight wiped her brow and let out an explosive sigh. "Well, girls, we—oof!"
She fell beneath the weight of her friends' collective and crushing embrace.
"Oh, Twilight! You were so brave!"
"You did it! I just knew you could! It's pitches, though. You pitch 'em."
"I still want to know why you girls invited a wyvern over!"
Twilight returned the hug, relieved that the danger was finally past. With a sigh, she extricated herself and retrieved the battered door. "Come on, girls. Let's go home."
Applejack wiped her streaming brow, then set her hammer down. "Whew! This sure is some heat! Too hot, probably." She removed her hat and fanned herself with it. Nearby, her friends were busy repairing the hole that they'd created in Sugarcube Corner's kitchen. Applejack brushed her bangs out of her eyes and stepped back to check the quality of their work.
"You know, I could just save us all some time and repair this with magic," Twilight mumbled from around a mouthful of nails.
"Maybe you're forgettin' how the hole got there in the first place?" Applejack's tone was serious, but her eyes twinkled.
"But that was different!" Twilight replied, accidentally spitting the nails out. Fluttershy skipped back as they embedded themselves in the soft dirt near her hooves. "I was in a hurry then! I wasn't concentrating properly!"
Applejack put a leg around Twilight's shoulders and gave her a little squeeze. "I'm just joshin' with you, sugarcube, but sometimes the old-fashioned way is the best one, even if it takes a little bit of time and effort."
With a sigh, Twilight gathered up her nails again and wearily lifted her hammer. They were all still exhausted from the day's adventure. Well, all of them but Pinkie Pie. Applejack chuckled as Pinkie descended on Fluttershy with a measuring tape to check the pegasus's every dimension. "Pinkie, how come you never get tuckered out?"
"Rarity says it's my diet, but—Fluttershy, hold still—but I never really got that," Pinkie replied with a shrug. "I never diet. It's pretty much cakes and pies all the time! Aha! Wingspan: one hundred and eight itty-bitty marks!"
Applejack shook her head and trotted to the center of the group. "Y'know, I reckon this door's comin' right along. Why don't we go get some of them treats from the festival before they're all gone?" While Applejack collected the tools from her friends, Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief. Pinkie had cornered her and had been trying to get an exact measurement of the space between her eyes.
"Aww, but it's for science!" Pinkie said through snorted giggles when Applejack pried the tape measure away from her. Fluttershy rubbed the area between her eyes while Twilight grinned and shook her head.
Applejack rolled her eyes. "The science of what, exactly?" She held up her hoof when Pinkie opened her mouth. "Y'know what? Never mind. You can research it later. Right now, let's get some food before everypony eats it all! We can come back and finish this here door when it's a little cooler."
"Woohoo! A break!" Pinkie hopped from hoof to hoof rapidly for a moment before stopping to smirk at Applejack. "I'd say wyvern'd it!"


text:
In partnership with Shiva Technologies, Virdual is working on the development of its activities in HTML5.
A first step was taken by proposing an HTML5 version of its avatars: The Dooble . HTML5 provides an economical solution (one App for all operating systems and all types of device, smartphone, computer, tablet) and removes the download and update application ( mobile device) since it works directly with the web-browser.

subset: commoncrawl


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GT New Barwon Heads label Partos + Pike shines for summer
IF you take a walk around Barwon Heads, chances are you'll spot someone wearing a piece from the new label Partos + Pike.
GT Meet Nikki Homann
Meet Nikki Homann, a bright and beautiful commerce and engineering student who just happens to date a footballer.
Cafe blooms with delectable fare
A MOTHER and daughter duo is serving up fresh and healthy dishes in bustling Belmont, TIANNA NADALIN writes.
GT Brewing city strength
COFFEE and tea explorer Nathan James Johnston has embarked on a new expedition that amplifies Geelong's already bright industry.
Joel lines up for special goal
A CHAMPION on and off the field, Joel Selwood hopes the community will run beside him for the sake of our sick kids, JENNA MEADE writes.
Strong crowd lifts price expectation
A STRONG auction crowd turnout helped lift the price above what Vanders Real Estate agent Rod van der Chys described as a realistic reserve for a Geelong West cottage.
Healthy bidding
EXPANSION plans are on the mind of a mystery Melbourne buyer of a commercial building in Ryrie Street's health precinct, the agent said.
Blue chip bowls site sells for $2.4m
THE Drumcondra Bowls Club has been sold to a Geelong businessman, based in Hong Kong, for $2.4 million.
GT Meet Nikki Homann
Meet Nikki Homann, a bright and beautiful commerce and engineering student who just happens to date a footballer.
Bringing home a sense of adventure
MAURICE Del Vecchio has become a familiar face on our TV screens as Shannon and Simon's builder on The Block: Glasshouse. gt pays a visit to his Torquay home here.
Colour fuses eclectic style
TWO worlds collide when modern architecture and artwork mixes with antique furniture and fittings, SUZIE COFFEY writes.
Bright business venture
EMMA Davenport is pouring her energies into making a success of her new scented candle range.
Real wedding: Shonel & Luke
GROVEDALE couple Shonel and Luke Bryant's unique and rustic wedding at Emu Bottom Homestead in Sunbury was styled to reflect their personality.
A bride's breakfast
KNOWNG what to eat on the morning of your big day is crucial to keeping the right energy levels and a healthy glow.
Real wedding: Alana & Anthony
TORQUAY'S Alana and Anthony Tabak were married in a stunning château with sweeping grounds in the village of Marthon, France.
Beauty spot
EVERY bride wants to look radiant on their wedding day. Here's a guide to looking and feeling your best for the big occasion.
More from our partners
Top Ten Stories
Sickening response to catcall video
HER face went viral yesterday after she was filmed being catcalled and harassed by men on the streets of New York. This was not the response she expected.
Meet the boyfriends and husbands of Victoria's Secret models
In anticipation of the Victoria's Secret show on December 2 in London, we profile the other halves of the world's most famous Angels.
'Find it in your heart to forgive me'
A US teen's parents sent her to the depths of Siberia to teach her a lesson - three years ago. The world has watched in disbelief as she begs to come home.
Top Ten Stories
One-bedroom unit without a bedroom
IT'S the ultimate convertible, a one-bedroom unit without an actual bedroom, and it could be the future of apartment design.
Hippy hip hooray at auction
IT wasn't just the house that was stuck in a time warp when real estate agents embraced the groovy 1970s to auction a 42-year-old Croydon South home.
World's cheapest house? Yours for $2
WE ALL know how hard it can be to get onto the elusive property ladder. But this home could be yours at a bargain basement price of $2. Yes, there is a catch.
Top Ten Stories
What happens to lost property at airports?
EVERY year thousands of belongings are left behind at airports. From surfboards, bikes and musical instruments, here's what happens to them.
Will this seat revolutionise air travel?
ALWAYS dreamt of lying flat in economy? Well now there could be a way thanks to this innovative designer who is proposing a solution to our flying woes.
13 horror movie sights to see
Freak yourself out on October 31 by touring these sites from your favourite scary movies. Are you game to visit them after dark?
Costa picks leading 32
A BOOK filled with the people who have contributed to Geelong is just what this city needed, businessman and philanthropist Frank Costa decided.
$10m lights, but only 1 night game
GEELONG says an AFL oversight has led to only one night game being scheduled at Simonds Stadium next year.
Nigerian schoolgirls married off
THE leader of Boko Haram denies agreeing to a cease-fire saying the kidnapped schoolgirls all have converted to Islam and been married off.
Comic coupling comes to GPAC
BURGEONING comedy sensations Joel Creasey and Em Rusciano are bringing the laughs to Geelong.
No.8 batsman smacks 195
SHANE Grinter describes it as the best individual knock he has seen in more than 15 years of senior cricket — 195 from his No.8 batsman.
New Barwon Heads label Partos + Pike shines for summer
IF you take a walk around Barwon Heads, chances are you'll spot someone wearing a piece from the new label Partos + Pike.


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- VIDEO: Steve Ballmer scares his son with enthusiasm after Clippers' win
- Russell Westbrook injury: Thunder guard exits game vs. Clippers, won't return
- Julius Randle injury: Lakers rookie suffers broken leg in 1st NBA game
- Chargers vs. Chiefs: Missed tackles, timely penalties cost Bolts
- Chargers vs. Chiefs: Bolts beat themselves, lose 23-20
- Percy Harvin trade showcases the bureaucracy of sports
- Percy Harvin trade: Seahawks shopped wide receiver for 'weeks,' per report
- Chargers news: Branden Oliver is just what the Bolts needed
- Landon Donovan's final U.S. match ends in 1-1 draw vs. Ecuador
- Chargers secondary flying under the radar
Dodgers GM thinks Carl Crawford is ready for opening day
- Updated: March 20, 2013
Los Angeles Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti thinks that outfielder Carl Crawford will be ready for opening day, according to a tweet from Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.
Ready for March Madness? Enter the $100K NCAA Bracket Challenge today with Sports Out West!
#Dodgers GM Ned Colletti thinks Carl Crawford will be ready for opening day.
— Dylan Hernandez (@dylanohernandez) March 19, 2013
Crawford underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2012, which allowed him to only play 31 games during the 2012 season. He was part of a blockbuster deal last summer with the Boston Red Sox that sent him, Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Nick Punto and $11 million cash to Los Angeles for James Loney, Ivan DeJesus Jr., Allen Webster, Jerry Sands and Rubby De La Rosa.
The Dodgers outfielder has yet to play a regular season game in a Dodgers uniform. On March 1, he experienced nerve irritation, which delayed his spring training debut.
Crawford's official spring training debut took place during last Sunday's 11-1 victory against the Milwaukee Brewers in which he went 0 for 3. He had a better outing in his second spring training game—a 5-3 loss on Monday against the Arizona Diamondbacks with two hits and two RBIs.
Ben Hernandez Jr.
Latest posts by Ben Hernandez Jr. (see all)
- Blazers' Damian Lillard has the panache to lead franchise - May 13, 2013
- Different seasons, but same endings for Lakers and Clippers - May 6, 2013
- Lakers news: Dwight Howard unable to maintain poise in Game 4 - April 29, 2013


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Marko Markovich
DA's Office Says It Won't Offer Misdemeanor Plea Deal To Alleged WTC Jumpers
Marko Markovich, James Brady, Andrew Rossig and Kyle Hartwell pleaded not guilty last month to burglary, reckless endangerment and other charges in connection with the Sept. 30 jump.
Men Charged In World Trade Center BASE Jump Plead Not Guilty
Marko Markovich, James Brady, Andrew Rossig and Kyle Hartwell were arraigned in Manhattan Supreme Court on Tuesday.
BASE Jumpers Defend WTC Stunt, Say It Exposed 'Hole In Security'
Andrew Rossig, 33, James Brady, 32, Kyle Hartwell, 29, and Marco Markovich, 27, were arraigned on charges of burglary, reckless endangerment and misdemeanor jumping from a structure, police said.
Men Charged In Connection With Daring Jump From 1 World Trade Center
Three of the four men accused of jumping from One World Trade Center in September 2013, were in police custody on Monday, just days after a New Jersey teenager was caught sneaking up to the spire.


text: Development lotteries board, Lottery organization in sri lanka. provide media release and lottery results.. Nlcb.co.tt at website informer. national lotteries control, Nlcb.co.tt information at website informer. keywords: nlcb, bing, national lottery, play whe chart, play whe, play whe results. National development lottery of srilanka - free pc clinic, National lottery board sri lanka: vision:to be the leading contributor, by collecting revenue through lotteries for the socio-economic development of sri lanka..


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Most unsafe places in Nairobi namedBy STELLA CHERONO More by Mathare and parts of Lavington are the most unsafe places to be in Nairobi, a new report has revealed. People who find themselves in Kosovo, City Cotton between Wilson Airport and South C Kiboro Primary School and the ... Daily Nation, 1 week ago
1 images for "cherono"
Police on the spot over firearm misuse
By STELLA CHERONO More by The number of extrajudicial killings have gone up, according to a human rights lobby. And the Independent Medico Legal Unit is concerned by the misuse of firearms by the police officers, who do not follow the National ...Daily Nation, 1 week ago
Interpol sends team to Kenya to fight illegal ivory trade
By STELLA CHERONO More by The International Police Organisation (Interpol) has dispatched a team to Nairobi to help fight illegal ivory trafficking and other environmental issues in the country. The Environmental Security Unit (ESU) is based at ...Daily Nation, 2 weeks ago
Girl in ICU after being hit by runaway police vehicle
By STELLA CHERONO More by A teenage girl is fighting for her life at the Kenyatta National Hospital's Intensive Care Unit after she was allegedly knocked down by a police vehicle in Mandera. Zainab Ahmed Billow, 16, is said to have been herding ...Daily Nation, 3 weeks ago
Gang rapes woman and beats up parents
By STELLA CHERONO More by Gangsters broke into a home, slashed a man with a machete, beat up his wife and raped their daughter. The gang, which had earlier killed the family's two dogs in Athi River, stole Sh3,000 and a few household goods before ...Daily Nation, 3 weeks ago
Tears of joy as mother reunites with her son
By STELLA CHERONO More by The two-year-old baby who went missing on Saturday after a stranger in a bus made away with him has been re-united with his mother. Baby Emmanuel Kizito had been under the custody of the Child Welfare Society at the Mama ...Daily Nation, 3 weeks ago
Quincy Timberlake 'killed son to save him from demons' - VIDEO
By STELLA CHERONO More by Former television presenter Esther Arunga was freed on bail Friday as details emerged that her husband killed their son thinking he was possessed. The court granted Ms Arunga bond on the condition that she does not ...Daily Nation, 1 month ago Esther Arunga husband held over son death Daily Nation, 1 month ago
Kenyans win overall Diamond League titles
By AYUMBA AYODI More by Kenya's Jairus Birech, Eunice Sum, Mercy Cherono and Silas Kiplagat wrapped up their 2014 Diamond League season in style by clinching the overall series titles in their respective events on Friday in Brussels. Birech ...Daily Nation, 1 month ago Four Kenyans among 16 Diamond League champions Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, 1 month ago A look back on the 2014 Diamond Race and ahead to the 2015 calendar IAAF Diamond League IAAF, 1 month ago Last remaining Diamond Races of 2014 to be decided in Brussels IAAF Diamond League IAAF, 1 month ago
More from: , The Runner's Tribe...and 2 other sources
Kenya's shocking HIV figures
By STELLA CHERONO More by The news last week that Kenya has the fourth highest number of people living with HIV in the world was a bit shocking. How could that be yet, over the past decade, the country has spent billions of shillings in ...Daily Nation, 1 month ago Kenya ranked fourth worldwide in HIV infections Daily Nation, 2 months ago
New Air Force, spy agency bosses sworn in - VIDEO
By STELLA CHERONO More by Major General Philip Kameru was Thursday sworn in as director-general of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) at State House, Nairobi. He replaces Maj-General Michael Gichangi who resigned a month ago. The new ...Daily Nation, 1 month ago
Realtime News
on your WebpageAdd Widget >Get your members hooked!


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Shreveport Radio DJ Dies in I-49 Crash
A local radio DJ is dead after a weekend wreck on I-49.
A local radio DJ is dead after a weekend wreck on I-49.
Louisiana Film Prize Festival kicks off this Thursday and runs through October 12. Here's a closer look at one of the Top 20 films, "The Ninth."
Sorry to burst your bubble, but filming a sex scene for a movie is one pretty awkward affair. You and someone you've started developing a decent work relationship with have to strip naked and pretend to get all hot and bothered while pressing your bodies against each other and heavily breathing in each other's faces. Even more awkward? How about the director shouting, "Great fucking!"
Louisiana Film Prize kicks off their annual Festival this weekend in the SBC! Here is everything you need to know about the coolest film prize on the planet.
Need a smile? This should do the trick.
Louisiana Film Prize Festival kicks off this Thursday and runs through October 12. Here's a closer look at one of the Top 20 films, "True Heroes."
Remember that infamous 'Devil Baby' strolling around New York City in a carriage and just freaking people out on the streets? Or how about when a bunch of coffee shop goers witnessed a telekinetic meltdown? It was all in good fun, of course, but now the guys who brought you these viral video stunts are back with another one for the ages. A fortune teller who can pop her eyes out? A cursed ouija board? A third surprise you weren't expecting? Watch what happens!
'The Fault in Our Stars' was one of the big surprise hits of the summer, telling a heartbreaking love story between two young cancer patients. Despite that Very Serious Material, 'SNL' and guest host Sarah Silverman found a way to make fun of the movie and tie into current events. Thus was born the fake trailer for 'The Fault in Our Stars 2: The Ebola in Our Everything.'
Pop singer Katie Perry was a guest picker on ESPN's College Gameday Show.
The 8th Annual Run with the Nuns event is set for October 17 and 18, 2014, in downtown Shreveport.
First, the good news: Robert Downey, Jr. has agreed to star in 'Iron Man 4' for Marvel! Considering everything he has been saying over the past year or so - essentially that he can't imagine an 'Iron Man 4' ever happening - that's a major step in the right direction and a huge win for Marvel Studios. But...Downey's agreement has come with one rather large condition. That his old friend, and current member of the Hollywood blacklist, Mel Gibson be allowed to direct.
There are some things in life that you just don't need to be told: pizza is good any time of day, Bruce Willis will not stop making 'Die Hard' movies and, pretty much right at the top of that list: running naked onto the field during a rugby match is a horrible idea.


text:
- Status: 1 - Planning ×
Front-Ends Software
Showing page 3 of 35.
PHP Job Seeker
PHPJobSeeker is here to help job seekers track the status of jobs they're looking at for potential employment. It is designed to assist the seeker in tracking jobs, contacts, companies, recruitment companies, status, next actions / due dates, etc.1 weekly downloads
You use this javascript - activeX applet to request medical record from archive to ward.1 weekly downloads
Satis is a Web application who provide most of service for school to administrate their computers and equipements. It provide a news sytem to inform users of the network state. There is a web call center to simplify and centralise user's demand.1 weekly downloads
jPGAdmin a java frontend to postgresql
jPGAdmin is a pure java GUI front end for the postgresql database, much like PGAdmin II, or pgaccess, except that by virtue of being written in java it is cross-platform1 weekly downloads
2tools is a set of online CMS maintenance tools: just one click to migrate to/from different CMS; safe configuration settings to upgrade your CMS; easy Data movement to/from DBMS, databases or tables; SQL, XML, XSLT, PHP technologies. All tools are main1 weekly downloads
CUG user management
CUG user management: simple java api to create applications to support basic system adminstration taks. Escpecially tailored for administration of nds/groupwise servers with lang=dutch (NL) personal naming rules.1 weekly downloads
Cyber Army Direct
Features of Cyberarmy.com brought direct to your desktop. They don't want it, so this projects kinda dead, wish I hadn't started it so early haha. Any ideas for an alternate purpose (not an IM client): firstname.lastname@example.com weekly downloads
An easy to use, web-based perl script to provide GUI access to a MySQL database. Permissions are handled by MySQL server. Assumes preconfigured apache/mysql. CGI script is independent of actual data - a simple config file is all that is necessary.1 weekly downloads
A Java based interactive Tool to access various databases, the way SQL*Plus does for Oracle. This Tool does it for any DBMS where JDBC is available1 weekly downloads
Database API and User Interface to skip making queryes or code more than strictly neccesary. Compatible with MySQL, Oracle, DB2 and other database servers. Compatible with Win32 and Linux.1 weekly downloads
DBvFS - Virtual Filesystem in a Database
DBvFS defines a virtual file system which can be stored in a relational database. Aim is to create a generalized definition for such a system, which should be open enough so it can be implemented in a variety of database systems and middlewares.1 weekly downloads
Debian's archive browser
The Debian's Archive Browser will ease the browsing and searching of package in the _huge_ Debian's Packages list. Written in python, no release yet. keep in touch.1 weekly downloads
Dynamic Cheat Manipulator
The Dynamic Cheat Manipulator(DCM) is a game trainer and cheat management project. Built with Visual Basic.NET is can run on any Windows machine running .Net Framework 1.0 or newer. It also supports relative addressing to make finding cheats easier.1 weekly downloads
PHP4 library to create database frontends1 weekly downloads
Free Pozoin1 weekly downloads
GWEN is an acronymn for the words GlobalWare Enterprise Nucleus. It is intended to be a toolkit and remote management console for Caché database applications.1 weekly downloads
Programa para gestionar actividades de una entidad educativa. Gestionará el registro de alumnos, profesores, asignaturas, y notas de los alumnos.1 weekly downloads
Hadoop Interface Driver for AnyFrame
JDBC driver for connecting HBase to Anyframe1 weekly downloads
HeliosFin is an object-oriented database and workspace, which is independent of any fieldnames, fieldlengths, and so on. Storing email-addresses, a football's diameter, or the proton number of beryllium? No problem!1 weekly downloads
IDEA Data Environment Approach
IDEA is a package for input and output of data out of/ into a database. Beginning as a web-application, IDEA generates your HTML-forms for the input and gives you some HTML- or PDF-output back. Everything IDEA does comes from one XML-file per form.1 weekly downloads
this software eases the way of storing and retreaving self developed code parts. The developer (JCodeBase user) can easily save his/her codes and retrieve them. The specialty of JCodeBase is that it uses java and derby db so it can work every where and b1 weekly downloads
JDBC for Postgresql
This is a project for developing a JDBC driver for Postgresql1 weekly downloads
This program converts, compares, merges, normalizes, and refactors data to and from disparate sources (CSV, Excel, and any JDBC/ODBC database) for use in a Java program.1 weekly downloads
Jet DB Compare
Jet DB Compare compares two MS-Access / Jet 4.0 Databases. Not only Data but also the Structure is compared. -- but it does not compare VBA, Reports and Forms1 weekly downloads
Knodesk: Knowledge desktop database.
The proyect is a web based software made with PHP and MySQL to support a Help desk and a knowledge data base. It is posible to add new customers, modify customers, add new jobs/requests, modify jobs, make reports based in dates etc.1 weekly downloads


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Fightin' Words
A mixed martial arts blog about UFC, Bellator and other MMA promotions and fighters.
BloggersMark La Monica
ArchivesMore »
UFC 144 post-fight video: Edgar, Henderson, Pettis
Hear from Frankie Edgar, Ben Henderson and Anthony Pettis after their UFC 144 fights. Henderson decisioned Edgar to take his lightweight title, and Pettis beat Joe Lauzon by first-round knockout to maybe earn that title shot he was promised a year ago.
Tags: ufc 144 , video , frankie edgar , ben henderson , anthony pettis


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Coming up: Two days at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca! Mon and Tues Nov 3 & 4. It's been 4 years since we've had a 2 day CLASS at Laguna Seca and we're excited to be spending a lot more time there this fall. And wait till you see the price... How can you resist? Check your calendar and then check ours! Note! B group on Nov 3rd is now sold out, A group is open but will fill soon. Nov 4 has space in both groups as of now.
Keep up to the minute with us on Facebook
We are way more than just a track day, but we are also a great track day! With lots of classroom chalk talk by Reg and on track coaching by some of the best in the business, it's a great experience. This letter was written by a 22 year old who totally gets CLASS. We were blown away by it, and hope it helps shed insight on what we're about... - read more
The latest and very best generation of track day/street tire -Dunlop Q3s are here and if you are a CLASS student, you can order up here for just $250 a set. That includes tax and shipping and we'll deliver them to your home, office or shop. Learn more about the Dunlop Q3 tires here. And if you're ready, order a set here.
Another awesome day in the high desert as we spent Labor Day at Streets of Willow. Huge thanks to Honda for hosting a great BBQ lunch, and thanks also to each of you who came out to ride with us, you were great! All day long and not one bike down! We hope you will come out and ride with us again in October at Streets. It again pays to ask: Who's teaching you?
Reg and Aaron cut some laps together at VIR on Tuesday afternoon. yeah there's a video coming... Great shot by Brad, E-Tech Photo
We are sad to report that a very good friend of CLASS passed away in August. Joe Kerr did our graphics for 18 years. He's done the CLASS logos, many of the pictures you've seen on our brochures, website and elsewhere and most of our tee shirts etc. Joe also did over 230 CLASS schools (and kept track of it). He rode at over 30 tracks across the country and was a very good rider. If you've ridden with us you may have often seen his red flame on the back of black leathers and his yellow helmet. A true one of a kind, we miss you Joe Kerr. RIP
Huge THANKS to all of you who made Reg's Fast Safe Seminar at SZP CLASS HQ a smashing success! Our awesome SoCal team of CLASS instructors, along with American Honda's Ray and Cody Blank, Jon Seidel and Mike Snyder, plus Shoei Premium Helmets Matthias Beier made it a fast paced, fun and informative 3 hours. OMG Hot Dogs - voted Best of the Best in Ventura County - was on hand with the grub and well, a fantastic time was had by all. A raffle rounded out the day and some lucky ones collected schools, tires, tee shirts, books... Thank you to all of you guys and gals that came out to participate. We had a great time and I think you did too.
And in other good stuff on the CLASS schedule: Force 5 is back for 2014 and if you like to take a lot of CLASS, it might be time to join the club. Talk to Force 5 Ambassador Phil Cowden or Gigi Pridmore right here at CLASS central. and get signed up for F5 2014!
Reg popped in to Jay Leno's Garage a few months ago and talked about the book, Smooth Riding - the Pridmore Way. Watch the interview>>>
We are way more than just a track day, but we are also a great track day! With lots of classroom chalk talk by Reg and on track coaching by some of the best in the business, it's a great experience. This letter was written by a 22 year old who totally gets CLASS. We were blown away by it, and hope it helps shed insight on what we're about... - read more
Smooth Talker... Reg isn't the only one around here to talk smooth. Ted Holman has had his fingers tapping out some vibes, and there's even a video. What the heck am I talking about? Check it out...
Military Discounts! If you are military and have been to the middle east in the past 10 years as active duty, take advantage of our $100 off discount for any CLASS of your choice. The Deals page has details...
Reg is one of the top AMA Superbike Riders of all time...It's been more than 3 decades since the AMA formed the Superbike class. In those days, our own Reg Pridmore was at the front of the pack, winning the first 3 AMA Superbike Championships. The first and seemingly most remembered was on the BMW R90S. But did you know he next two were on big, brutishly powerful Kawasakis? Yeah, Reg is still riding and teaching every CLASS, but his name is forever inscribed in the lore of AMA Superbike racing. There's a great article on past Superbike Champs that begins: "When I first started brainstorming my list of the ten greatest champions in AMA Pro SuperBike history, I instantly knew that Reg Pridmore was going to be included… " read more...
Want to know more about the origins of American Superbike racing? You know, back in the day when Reg was racing BMWs and Kawasakis? Kevin Cameron has a great piece in the June issue of Cycle World. Check it out here.


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2nd Shift Logistics Clerk II - Charlotte
Purpose: Perform Warehouse Management System activities to ensure highly accurate accounting of company property (full goods, deposit items, etc.) Coordinate/Manage flow of goods and materials to/from docks to support delivery deadlines of inbound and outbound loads, ...
Oct 16 -
Charlotte - Everything else
Office Admin: Inventory Control A/P & light Purchasing for Mfg Op
American Eagle Wheel is looking for an experienced Office Clerk to assist with Inventory Control, Accounts Payable, Data Entry, Expense Reports, light Purchasing and Office Supply Inventory along with other General Office work.
Duties include inventory control of 5-10 ...
Oct 15 -
York - Construction & trades
Accounts Receivable Clerk
Accounts Receivable Clerk Job Purpose: Performs a variety of accounting and bookkeeping duties according to established policies and procedures. Secures revenue by verifying and posting receipts and resolving discrepancies. Maintains contact with staff and customers and ...
Oct 2 -
Hickory - Accounting & finance
Accounts Receivable Clerk
CRG is currently hiring an Accounts Receivable Clerk for a large, privately held wholesale distribution company in South Charlotte. This billion dollar company offers a friendly and professional work environment with the opportunity to learn ...
Sep 22 -
Charlotte - Accounting & finance
Sep 15 -
York - Everything else
Accounting Clerk
1. Purpose of Position:
Assist with special projects to help streamline accounting group tasks. Includes organizing, filing information, and some data entry from Accounts Receivable; Accounts Payable, General Ledger, and Fixed Asset areas. Requires focus on accurate and ...
Sep 8 -
Hickory - Accounting & finance
Accounting Clerk-Construction Company
Large, stable heavy highway road and bridge contractor is seeking to add an additional accounting clerk to our asphalt operations accounting dept.
3-4 years' experience in accounting
SAP or other large ERP system experience
Multi step Cash application
Collection calls ...
Sep 2 -
Charlotte - Accounting & finance
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"'Go to sleep,' he says softly. His hand brushes the loose strands of my hair off my forehead. Unlike the staged kisses and caresses so far, this gesture seems natural and comforting. I don't want him to stop and he doesn't. He's still stroking my hair when I fall asleep."
The Hunger Games, chapter 20 (via everlarkquotes)
(via everlarkquotes)