Jump!

Story 3

Chapter 4: Time to Train

By: FluttersIsAwesome

He grinned delightfully at me. It was nice t’ know that they thought Ah could help. Ah wanted t’ help, too.

“Thanks, AJ, you got no idea how great it is to have you here.”

Ah didn’t need a mirror t’ know Ah was blushin’. “How could Ah not help? It ain’t right t’ just let y’all suffer n’ fight by yourselves.”

Suddenly Sprint jumped on me. She didn’t hesitate t’ hug n’ cuddle me like some kinda stuffed toy.

“Yay! I gots a big sis now!”

Ah couldn’t help but laugh again; the little filly was just too dang cute. She giggled as Ah patted her head n’ set her down. When Ah looked back t’ Jet he was holdin’ out his hoof t’ help me up.

“Need help, princess?”

My hoof hit my forehead n’ slid down the length o’ my face. “Sure, but fer future reference: don’t ever call me princess again.”

He laughed as he pulled me up. “I’ll be sure to remember.” Scannin’ the room, he turned back t’ me. “It’s late. Come wit me, I’m pretty sure we got a spare bed fo’ ya.”

Ah nodded as he led me out o’ the room n’ led me down another hallway. It came t’ a single door n’ he opened it fer me. The room was dark... until Jet flipped the light switch. There was a bed beside a small window on one side o’ the room, and on the other side was a stack o’ canvases n’ paintin’ materials.

“This is Steele’s room. As ya can see, ‘e’s big into paintin’. ‘E does it whenever ‘e has spare time.” He motioned t’ a door n’ led me through t’ another room.

This one was covered in complex blueprints, models, n’ sketches o’ stuff that gave me a headache.

“This here is Marigold’s room. I dunno if ya can tell, but she’s way into ‘er job.” He led me into the last room, where there were two beds on opposite sides o’ the room. There were a lot o’ drawings n’ games on the floor.

“This is me an’ Sprint’s room. Heh... we draw an’ play games to pass the time when we’re not out doin’ stuff.” He look around fer a moment n’ paused. “Wait, I thought there was another bed here...” Now it was his turn t’ hit himself in the forehead. Jet turned t’ me, lookin’ apologetic. “Sorry, AJ... you alright wit sharin’ a bed?”

Ah assumed he saw me blush, cuz he grinned n’ started walkin’ close t’ me.

He brushed his hoof against my cheek, n’ I started feelin’ hot when he leaned in n’ whispered t’ me, “I’ll be gentle wit ya...”

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I guess I took my jokin’ a bit too far. ‘Er hoof connected wit the side of my face so hard it knocked me backwards. Applejack just slapped me....

I felt terrible when I saw ‘er face. She looked so... afraid. I guess I reminded ‘er of the rape attempt that mornin’. It took a minute to recover, but when I did I stood up an’ backed away. “Sorry Applejack. It was just a joke, I didn’t mean nuttin by it.”

She shook ‘er head n’ sat down on Sprint’s bed. “Jet, you know Ah ain’t from here. Where Ah come from, we take matters like that seriously. Ah know you didn’t mean nothin’, but try t’ lay off those kinds o’ jokes in the future, alright?”

I sat down on my bed an’ nodded. “Ai’ght. Guess I shoulda been more considerate of ya in the first place, but it’s cool now, right?”

A loud yawn preceded ‘er response. “Yeah... just don’t do it again.”

Just as she had finished talkin’, Sprint ran in an’ jumped on ‘er, wrappin’ ‘er in another hug. “Hi big sissy!” Even if AJ was still mad at me, after Sprint’s intervention there was no way she coulda been.

She lifted Sprint up wit a small giggle. “Hey there, munchkin. How’d you get here so fast?”

Sprint threw ‘er arms up an’ pointed at me. “I followed Big Brother! He’s really loud, so all I had to do was listen when he talked.” She turned to me wit ‘er trademark grin. I realized that it really was impossible to get mad at Sprint. She jumped outta Applejack’s arms an’ hopped over to me happily. “Sis can have my bed. I’ll stay with Jet.”

Applejack nodded. “That’s fine with me if it’s okay with Jet.”

It was obvious that I didn’t care; I was already in bed, so Sprint got up under my arm.

AJ giggled when she saw us, “You look like a little foal with a stuffed toy.

I reached up an’ turned out the light, tryin’ to suppress a laugh. “Night, AJ.”

“Goodnight.”

Sprint had to get the last word in. “Night sissy! Night bro!”

I patted ‘er head softly an’ closed my eyes, eventually driftin’ off into slumber.

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“RISE AN’ SHINE, BRAH!” Jet’s yellin’ woke me up in an instant, n’ I fell outta bed with a thump.

“Jet?!” Ah looked at the clock on the wall t’ see if Ah had overslept. It was 2:00 A.M. “What in tarnation are you doin’ gettin’ up this early?”

He had a big grin on his face when he grabbed me by the hoof. “Applejack, today’s the day we start trainin’. It’s gonna be hard, but I’m positive ya can do it.”

Lookin’ around again, Ah noticed that Sprint won’t there. “Hey, uh, where’s your sister?”

Ah had t’ bend back a little as a hoof nearly hit my face. Jet was on the floor doin’ kicks n’ stretches. “She’s wakin’ everypony else up. That’s another one of ‘er jobs. She pretty much kick-starts each day.”

“A might early, don’t ya think?” Ah was used t’ gettin’ up at about 4 each mornin’, not two. Plus, considerin’ how late we had gone t’ bed, Ah had a hard time figurin’ out how anypony could work with so little sleep. “So, what exactly am Ah trainin’ fer?”

The grin never left his face. “I said it would be tough, but don’t be scared.” He took my hooves in his. “First thing we gotta do is get ya used to walkin’ on yo’ back legs. That’s essential for any Specter.” As he spoke, he stood on his own back legs, takin’ me with him. “This part is pretty easy. Just hold on to me an’ I’ll keep ya steady.”

“Alright, then. Let’s give it a try.” Seein’ as how Ah was still half asleep, Ah lost my balance easily. Luckily Jet was still holdin’ onto me when Ah fell, so he pulled me up quickly.

“Careful, now. Like I said, just hold onto me.” He put his arm around mine, n’ Ah knew that even if Ah had never blushed before in my life, Ah was blushin’ now. Ah leaned on him n’ Ah saw him grin. “Better?”

When Ah nodded, he continued t’ hold me as we left t’ start trainin’.

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