Completely slice of life

Sat in just his underwear on the coach Hank enjoyed the cool morning fall air as it filtered through the open door and permanently open window. He really needed to get that fixed. Regardless of home repairs the man attended to more pressing matters just laying back on the couch and relaxing. He wasn’t tired or anything, far from it in fact, the last few nights he stayed around his and Zecora’s home had yielded some of the best sleep the man had gotten in ages.

With the grand majority of Hank’s wounds from his excursion into the Everfree with the princesses already scarred over and healed the man usually would have been itching to go out and do something but not this time. This time he had something to do living in the cabin with him and what they got up to was much more fun than anything else he could think of off the top of his head.

Smirking as he heard said thing yawn as she started to stir in the loft Hank smiled, “Good morning.” He called out.

While it took a good number of seconds to get a response, one did eventually come in a half muffled and quiet groan. Smiling as he heard the zebra make her way to the edge of the loft he turned around and looked up to meet her gaze before standing and making his way over to the loft to help her get down.

Meeting her with a kiss first, the pair held it for a few seconds before the man pulled away and grabbed under Zecora’s front legs and effortlessly picked her up. Carrying her to the couch the man sat her down and then sat down next to her, giving her a glass of water he had poured for her an hour before.

“Thank you honey.” The zebra thanked with a genuine smile before drinking down the entire glass and sitting back on the table with a hiss of pain.

The sound raised an eyebrow of concern from the man as he watched the zebra flop onto her side instead of sitting on her rear, “ You alright?”

Looking up to her lover the zebra laughed which did help to make the man more at ease but also confused him a little.

“I’m more than alright,” Zecora laughed, “It’s just that… well… my marehood is rather sore.”

“You should have told me to stop or be more gentle hun. I’m sorry.” Hank responded scratching behind her ear, making her hum.

“Don’t be sorry dear. I didn’t want you to stop or go slower. I just didn’t expect you to be so insatiable. Going from not even kissing to bucking me for four days straight is a big difference.” Zecora laughed again, getting the man to chuckle as well.

“I know, it’s just that… You’re just really fucking hot.” He said with a grin getting the zebra to laugh again and snuggle up closer to him.

As the pair sat just enjoying each other’s company Zecora spoke up first, “I really want to start a herd Hank. And I know you hate the word,” She rushed to cut off the man who was about to speak, “But I really really do. After these three days it’s become pretty clear to me that one mare just isn’t enough for you. I won’t be able to keep up with your stamina and recovery period.”

Shaking his head, he lightly slapped Zecora on top of the head, “Don’t ever say you aren’t enough for me. You’re far more than a guy like me deserves Z, and I’m not going to have you sayin’ that or thinkin’ it. This relationship is a lot more than just sex. I don’t care if we can’t have sex all the time, I’m here for you, not your body.”

“Honey…” Zecora trailed off, wiping the wetness from her eyes at the heartfelt admission, “I know it’s a lot different from where you’re from but this isn’t about me not being enough, you are just too much stallion for one mare. It would be wrong for me to limit you to just me.”

“No it’s not.” Hank countered, rubbing his thumb under her eyes, “I’m the only man you’re ever going to have and I can guarantee that cause I’m gonna let any motherfucker lay a hand on you. You’re mine.” He said forcefully, “So it’s only fair that I’m yours.”

Even though she was so sore it was hard to walk, Zecora's motor started running again at the man’s words and she couldn’t help but moan. She had hit the absolute jackpot with the man, the only thing that could make it better was a couple others to share him with.

She knew he was adverse to the idea but she couldn’t help it. It might be “out of style” or “old fashioned” to be a part of a herd but Zecora couldn’t give less of a fuck, she had always dreamed about being a part of a herd with a big strong stallion and having a house full of foals ever since she had started becoming a teenager. That idea had all but withered in her homeland but now she had the biggest piece of the puzzle figured out in the form of the “stallion”, all that was left was to convince him.

“Hear my words and believe them.” Zecora said while snaking her hoof up Hank’s leg, “I want a herd. It’s not because I think I’m not good enough for you at all, it’s because it’s how I was raised and what I believe in. You’re not on your planet anymore so it’s time you stop trying to apply your logic and norms here.”

Staying quiet as Zecora started to pull his underwear down the zebra smiled up at him sweetly, “There’s a lot less stallions here than mares dear, you know that.”

“I do.” Hank confirmed.

“That's why herds exist, honey. It’s simple math.”

“Well then I’m sure plenty of other people will form herds and take up the slack.” He huffed as his underpants inched closer and closer to freeing Hank Jr.

“This isn’t just about numbers though,” Z explained before suddenly ripping his pants down exposing the human’s dick for her to see as it proudly stood straight upwards from his body, “it’s also about genes. And it would be an absolute disaster to limit how far you’re able to spread yours. Only the highest quality stallions had herds, and the more capable the stallion the larger the herd.”

“So uhhh.” Hank dumbly replied as Zecora grabbed onto his tool and started pumping.

“So. Zecora laughed, “I want a herd.” Not because I’m not enough but because you are such a high quality stallion. You have no clue how rare stallions like you are. There’s a reason why herds have gotten smaller and less typical over the years.”

“I I see.” Hank moaned as Zecora started pumping harder.

“Good!” Zecora smiled looking up to the man who looked back down at her, “This isn’t just about you and me, or any of the other mares, it's about our family. I know for a fact you would have no trouble giving me some very healthy foals and you have no idea how turned on that makes me.”

“No, I have a pretty good idea how much you like it. You’re really vocal pressed up against the wall, you know that?” He poked her on the nose as she continued pumping with her hoof.

“Well it’s true. I’ve always wanted a big family, a family bigger than just me and you could make.”

“How big you talkin’?” He asked, feeling a little intimidated by the implications.

“I don’t know…. more than ten.” The zebra said nonchalantly causing the human’s eyes to widen.

“Ten!?”

“More than ten.” Zecora corrected.

“I think you've lost your damned mind woman.”

“Why? That’s only three foals per mare if there's three of us.”

“Cause.” The man sighed, “I’m not even ready for one kid yet let alone north of ten.”

“You would be a marvelous father.” Zecora reassured, scooting closer to the man.

“I’m not so sure.” Hank frowned. It wasn’t just his temper and overall mental state he was worried about but also the thing about his age. It wasn’t that he was afraid of responsibility, or that he felt like he couldn’t handle it, moreso that he just didn’t want kids yet. Going from knowing you were going to die a gruesome death alone at a young age to all of the sudden talking about starting a huge family with a mare who was eager to get started was a little intimidating.

“I wouldn’t be talking about this with you if I didn’t think so.” Zecora said before bringing her mouth down to the tip of his dick and giving it a quick lick making the man tense, “Seems that at least a part of you isn’t so opposed to all this.” She giggled.

“I’m not opposed to it hun. I’m just not ready for that kind’ve thing yet.” The man answered honestly as the zebra set upon him again making him grit his teeth.

“That’s fine dear, it doesn’t have to be now. Things are too unstable for my liking anyhow.” Zecora reassured the obviously nervous man when she came up for air after taking a deep breath, “But maybe not too long… I’m getting a little older than I would like to start a family.”

The admission made the man pause and fully pulled him out of his lust drowned state. While he didn’t know her exact age the zebra sure didn’t show any signs of age in the slightest. He’d seen older mares like Button’s mom, or even just a few around town that to him maybe seemed middle aged… forties maybe? Aging ponies wasn’t a skill the man had in the slightest but he never once even considered Zecora even close to middle aged.

“I’m sure that’s not a problem Z.” Hank said while rubbing the top of her head.

“I’m already older than I would have liked to have been for my first foal.” Zecora responded, looking up to the man.

“Well how old are you then?” Hank asked, still running his fingers through her mane.

“Are you going to tell me?” The zebra instantly asked back?

Looking away from the zebra, his girlfriend, Hank looked out of the door at the grass and trees as his heart rate started to thump in his chest even harder. He really didn’t want to, he wanted to keep his real age a secret forever but he knew that he couldn’t. He wanted to lie, say he was thirty or something like ponies were always guessing he was but, he couldn’t do that to Zecora, not after everything she had been through with him. He just hoped she wouldn’t look at him differently.

“I will.” Hank finally gulped, his heart racing and erection completely gone.

Zecora’s turn to be worried about her mate the zebra looked from his crotch to his face with a worried look on her face that only deepened when she saw the thousand yard stare in his eyes. Crawling her way onto his lap so she was looking as close to eye to eye as possible.

Hugging herself tightly onto his neck, Zecora didn’t even think about letting go until she felt him snap out of it and start rubbing his hands on her back.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me. I don’t mind at all.” Zecora comforted the man as she continued to hold onto him. If even thinking about revealing his age was so hard for the man she didn’t want him to do it. He had enough problems already and she didn’t want to bring up anymore.

“No.” Hank sighed while gently pushing her away, “I need to. You deserve the truth. I just know you’re going to look at me differently when I tell you.”

“I won’t honey, I swear.”

Smiling at the zebra Hank hummed, “I appreciate the sentiment but you will. Everyone does. That's why I don’t like telling people.”

Giving him a sad smile Zecora pushed herself up and got off of the man, preferring to instead sit next to him since he was obviously out of the mood, “I’m sorry for bringing it up and ruining the mood.”

“It’s okay,” Hank gave her a few pats on the neck and pulled his underwear back up, “I should’ve told you a long time ago anyways. I just hate the look I get when I let it slip, and the pity that always follows. Always so surprised…” He sighed leaning forward, giving Zecora a view of his back.

“Plus I know you’re not gonna like what you hear.” The man said, turning his head and looking at the zebra who slowly turned her gaze from his back to his eyes.

“What do you mean?...” Zecora slowly asked, not liking the implications.

“You’ve said before that you like guys older than you and well…. With you saying that you’re already past where you would like to have been for starting a family ....” Hank paused and took a deep breath to calm himself, “There’s no way you’re younger than me.”

“Hank I-.”

“How old are you Z?”

“I’m twenty six.”

Taking a deep breath the man’s mouth opened but no words came out. Struggling to get the words out the man tried again to no avail. Yelling at himself as his hands started to tremble he shot to his feet and walked over to the door, leaning on the frame with his forearm as he looked at the floor.

“Please don’t tear yourself up dear! Please!” Zecora cried and rushed over to the man, propping herself up on his thigh, “I don’t care about your age. It doesn’t matter.

“You deserve to know.” The man said quietly, “But I’m too much of a pussy to fucking tell you!"

"It. Is. Fine." Zecora patted him on the thigh while looking up to him, "I don't care if you ever tell me, it's not important. What's important is how much you've shown you love me and what you've been willing to do to protect me and the others you care about."

Comforted by her sincere words Hank took one more breath and smiled down at her as his heart slowed and his hands became more steady, "I've aged terribly ya know." He laughed, making her face soften as she laughed as well.

"I think you look amazing."

"For a forty year old maybe." He laughed again and shook his head while standing upright in the doorway, still looking out.

Well, I mean, are you younger than me?" Zecora asked, looking out over the yard as well.

A heavy sigh pushed past his lips at the question, "Yeah hon. I am."

Rubbing up against his leg Zecora hummed, "I don't care, it just means I have longer with you."

“That it does.” The man smiled, feeling his mood turn around, “Say… How about we go into town and do something?”

“What do you mean?” Zecora looked at Hank like he just grew a second head.

“Well, we’ve never even been on a ‘date’, we just started living together all of the sudden and then eventually got to this,” He laughed, “So why not go out and do some stuff together? Maybe even go to a resternt’ for supper tonight.”

Shocked at the proposal from the human, Zecora shrugged her shoulders, “I must admit that I’m a little surprised but… I think that sounds great! I’ve never even eaten anywhere in town. Where would you want to go?”

A devious grin split Hank’s face at the question, making Zecora look at the man with the amount of nervousness one of his plans always deserved, “What are you thinking Hank?...”

“The real fancy place. The one that’s always full of uptight assholes.” His smile grew even wider, making the zebra scoff and shake her head.

“You’re always looking for trouble, you know that?”

“Gotta keep life from going stale don’t I?”

Walking out of the door and heading for the garden, Zecora followed him, feeling a little peckish as well. She smirked as she watched him wave to the manticores across the stream, which they were drinking out of again, getting a few quiet calls back in response to his gesture.

One of the best aspects of being with the man was how different everything was all the time: They had manticores living in the same clearing as them that were nothing but peaceful, if not a little skittish, of him at least. Instead of eating regular meals out of an ice chest like most ponies, they would instead just eat out of the huge garden whenever they liked. While they didn’t cook much, the food they did eat was as fresh as it could possibly be and never left Zecora unsatisfied.

Watching him easily walk over the woven fence before intercepting one of the goliath tree frogs that leapt at him with a casual catch, he tossed the squealing frog away from him with a laugh. She couldn’t forget the frogs either, another rare citizen of the Everfree that Hank had somehow attracted and now used as a pest deterrent for his garden. It just so happened that the frogs saw everything as a pest, including large humans or even manticores.

It wasn't rare to see the odd kitten that wondered near the house for a easy tomato get chased away roaring for its mother as ten or twenty frogs came leaping at it from the dense foliage of the garden, seemingly materializing out of nowhere, all while vocalizing their very distinct croak.

She didn’t truly know how many frogs were lurking in the garden but she figured it was better not knowing how surrounded she truly was whenever she went in to do something.

“Man. These look great today.” Hank exclaimed, grabbing three of the huge tomatoes before handing them over the fence to Zecora who quickly took them.

“Oh my, those do look good.” Zecora agreed as he went in for some carrots and cucumbers, “Do you think we should start jarring some of these? We have more than we can eat.”

“For sure. I have like three pressure cookers and a huge steel pot with the rack in it for canning. I’m sure we can get more of that kinda thing in town today too.”

Snickering at the man as he handed her more of their crop he cocked his head at her and laughed a little as well, “What?”

“Why do you have three pressure cookers?”

“Bombs.” He laughed even harder as her face fell into one of shock.

“Oh. How do you even…. You know what I don’t even want to know.” She waved her hooves at him as he opened his mouth to no doubt start explaining it.

Simply shrugging, he turned back around to get more out of the garden that was ready.

“What else do you want to do today?” Zecora asked as he pulled a frog off his forearm that had clamped on.

“Well I think there’s a gym in town and I’d really like to lift some weights for the first time in a long time.”

Eagerly nodding behind him, Zecora was very much into the idea, not just because getting to watch would be very entertaining for her but because she’d also get to show her stallion off.

“Won’t be too boring for you will it?” He asked, stepping back over the fence.

“Not in the slightest.” Her tail swishing she answered, getting him to laugh and roll his eyes.

“I do have one concern to raise though.”

“What’s that?” Walking back into the small abode Hank gave a quick look behind him, addressing Zecora.

“How are we going to pay for such an expensive restaurant? I haven’t exactly been making any bits.”

“Oh shit. I totally forgot to tell you that night.”

“What night?” Zecora cocked her head while handing the vegetables up to the man who started cutting them up.

“When I came back to the Apple’s and killed those wolves.” Putting Zecora’s portion on a plate first he clarified.

“Oh. Well what is it hun?” Taking her plate she asked while heading toward the table.

“I have four hundred thousand bits in the bank.” He said as casually as saying ‘hi.’

Coughing on her tomato, Zecora hit herself on the chest a few times and spit it back on her plate, “WHAT!?”

“So whatcha think?” The man asked, revving the engine of the humvee as the larger than stock turbo whirred.

Sitting on the raised tunnel of the humvee, directly next to the man, Zecora was wide eyed as she tried to take in every little detail of the well worn and well loved humvee.

“I understand nothing.” She said simply, watching as Hank shifted from first to second, “But it seems you are more than comfortable in this contraption.”

Squeezing the wheel tighter as all the memories associated with the vehicle washed over him Hank nodded, “You could definitely say that.”

“Were there many of these on your world?” Zecroa asked.

“Yes and no.” The man thought about how to answer, “There were tons of machines like this used for transport of various things. Some just moved people, some moved fright, and so on. This is a fighting vehicle, a fairly poor excuse for one, but still an example. It’s armored to stop rifle rounds and has the fifty mount on top, that’s about it.”

Pausing to smile Hank gave the dash a few hits, “But this one is special. This is the only one of these to exist.”

Furrowing her brow Zecora looked around for anything that stood out as unique but quickly stopped since everything looked, felt, and sounded completely unique to her, “Why is that?” She quickly questioned.

“I won’t get into all the details cause you wouldn’t understand but it's a custom job. A custom job started by one of the guys I met at the National Guard post I became a member of a couple years after the world ended, and then left to me when they all left.” He explained.

“Oh…” Zecora nodded but quickly stopped when she still didn’t understand a bit of what he was saying, “So what does that mean?”

Laughing at her Hank reached over and ruffled her mane, “She's just changed a lot since she was first built. A lot of different parts, custom parts, etcetera etcetera. I’ll actually sit down with you and explain it sometime if you care to know.”

Knowing that his explanation would most likely take a few hours and more than a hoof-ful of sketched up pictures and diagrams Zecora happily nodded, “Sounds great.”

“So is this one better than a regular one?” The zebra questioned, watching as their surroundings passed by through the windows.

“Oh yeah.” The man nodded, “Better engine, better gearbox, exhaust of my own design, better intake, bigger turbo, really good speakers and stereo.”

Hearing everything he said the zebra still had no clue what any of what was mentioned was or meant in relation to improving the vehicle, “I don’t get it.”

“That's why we’re gonna sit down and I’ll explain it to you.” Hank laughed, getting another smile from the zebra who felt her eyes go wide that they were already in view of Ponyville, “This is so much faster than walking!” She exclaimed.

Amused with Zecora’s amazement of going thirty miles an hour Hank just smiled and down shifted as they started to roll down the hill, letting the engine do all the braking for him, “She can go a lot faster than this Z.”

“How fast?”

“Come here,” The Hank gestured Zecora over and pointed to the gauge cluster, “The big gauge is the speedometer, it tells you what your speed is with the needle and according marks. We’re goin’ twenty five right now and it goes to a hundred.”

“One hundred?” Zecora seemed amazed, “This thing can go a hundred?”

“This one can go over a hundred.” Hank bragged as they approached the entrance to town, the guards on duty not knowing what to make of the strange self propelled wagon rumbling towards them.

“What’s it like? To go that fast?”

“I mean.” Hank mulled it over as he pulled the humvee off the road and into the grass, “It’s fun.”

“You don’t seem very impressed.” Zecora pointed out as the man put the humvee in reverse and started backing it towards the entrance.

“Yeah. I’ve done a lot more exciting things than gone fast in a straight line I guess.” He explained with a small smile as he watched the wall get closer through his side mirrors.

“I just don’t feel like that would ever get old.” Zecora said as the man put the humvee in neutral and turned it off before putting it back in first, satisfied with his parking job.

“You’d be surprised what you can get used to.”

Opening the door Hank stepped out into the crisp air and held the door for Zecora who jumped out without any trouble before pulling the carbine length AR from the vehicle as well.

With a quick press check Hank slung the rifle and closed the drivers door harshly making Zccora flinch at the sudden sound before making her flinch again when he raised his foot up and kicked the door right where the latching mechanism was. Finally getting a click, signaling the door had shut all the way he turned around with a smile, “It closes hard, the hinges got tweaked a year or so back before I came here.”

“What happened?” Zecora asked as the pair walked around the front of the humvee and turned to start walking into town, getting a small laugh from the man.

Instantly knowing it was going to be something macabre, Zecora prepared herself for one of Hank’s crazy stories.

“I was driving down the old highway, which is just a fancy way of saying paved road, and saw an infected eating on someone up ahead. So, I popped open the door and held it open with my leg before hitting the bastard with the door.” The man laughed, “Hit her right in the shoulder, head fucking exploded, blood went everywhere.” Hank mimicked by bringing his hands to either side of his head and pulling them away while flaring his fingers out.

“It also sprained the shit out of my ankle and gave the bottom hinge just enough bend to be a problem.”

Smiling as Zecora shook her head at him, the man’s face fell a little when he turned to face the two guards who were switching between staring up at him and looking at the humvee nervously.

“I think these two are new.” Hank said to Zecora.

“Are you guys new here?” Hank asked the two guards, getting a slow nod from the unicorn mare as the earth pony stallion continued to stare at him.

“Figured,” Hank nodded, “Don’t touch it.” He pointed to the humvee with a thumb over his shoulder.

“Is it dangerous?” The stallion finally spoke.

“Not unless you touch it.”

“What will it do?” He asked, eyes shifting back and forth.

“Not a damn thing. It’s me you gotta worry about.” Hank grinned, making the stallion gulp, “Also where’s the gym, I know there’s one here.”

“It’s right on the main square, just get to the fountain and you'll see it. It’ll be busy at this hour though.” The pegasus mare explained.

Nodding at the information Hank took a step forward, “I appreciate it.”

Watching as the zebra and the whatever it was started into town the pegasus mare took a deep breath and resettled her wings that had started to puff out when she first noticed the wagon coming towards them down the hill.

“So that’s what the briefing was about when we first got here.” Her second said quietly, still looking at the wheeled contraption.

“Yeah. No wonder so many guards applied for a transfer.” She huffed.

“Should I go report his arrival?”

“No. That thing?” She laughed, “With how big it is everypony will know in no time. There’s no point.”

“What about the zebra that was with him? What do you think that’s all about?”

“Buck if I know. They seemed awfully friendly with each other though.”

“Do you think they’re, I dunno, a couple?”

Widening her eyes at the implication for a second the mare whistled, “If they are she’s braver than I am. That is NOT my type.”

Curious at the admission from the usually stern and quiet mare cocked his head, “What is your type ma’am?” The jr. enlisted stallion asked, receiving a deadpan stare from his superior.

“Shut the hell up private.” She grumbled.

“Alright.”

Looking all around her, taking in the sights of the small town Zecora couldn’t help but notice all the looks and stares directed not only at Hank but at her as well. She knew it was her first time ever really being in the town, minus the time at the hospital, but it still made her feel uneasy.

She could only imagine how all the stares made Hank feel, and looking up to his head it was obvious he was on edge as they walked through the square. His eyes were scanning everything as his head stayed on a constant swivel checking every angle, window, and door possible.

As they closed in on the glass front building that the gym resided in Hank took a sudden step forward pulling ahead of Zecora and held the door open for her. Smiling sweetly at the man he smiled back, quickly following her into the interior of the clean white walls that made up the gym.

The guard at the entrance to town had been correct as well; it was surprisingly busy for just after noon. So far though no one had even noticed the appearance of the large man and zebra since they were all too busy in their exercise.

There was a large group of stallions and mares loudly cheering a large mare in the corner as she prepared for a squat. There were what seemed to be a group of moms in a separate room doing yoga as their kids scampered around the room as well. And then there were various other small groups and singles doing their own thing, using machines, free weights, or even treadmills.

Hank couldn’t help but laugh a little at the sight. It was all so familiar to him, but instead of people it was tiny ponies. He was both astounded and greatly disturbed by the numerous similarities to his world and the one he found himself on

After pushing through the strange half feeling of familiarity while scanning the room like he was prone to do, Hank turned his attention to the front desk and was actually taken aback by the absolute size of the white pegasus staring back at him. The stallion looked like he ate three other ponies to get as wide and thickly packed with muscle as he was. It was honestly a little jarring to see such an outlier of the species, Hank wondered how he hadn’t spotted the walking ball of muscle during one of his scouting missions before.

“Can I help you?” The stallion asked in an assertive tone while leaning forward on the desk.

“How much for a day pass?” Hank asked, taking a step forward, matching the stallion’s demeanor.

Looking at the strange and extremely threatening figure before him Bulk Biceps then forced himself to look past the biped and out the glass front of his gym noticing all the ponies staring in at them. Humming to himself and sitting back in his chair the beefy stallion got an idea. Ponies always thought Bulk Biceps was just another roided out meat head, but in truth Bulk Biceps wasn’t just a meat head but also a well versed business stallion.

“It’s your first time here so it’s free” Bulk gave a half lie to the human. He could afford to lose a few bits with how much publicity he was getting just from having the creature in his gym.

“ ‘Preciate it,” Hank nodded, “How much for next time?”

“Twenty bits for a day pass or forty for a month.” Bulk answered.

“Got it.” Looking around again the human decided to ask for a run down on what all was available for him to use before wandering around the gym trying to find everything for himself, “Give me the rundown on what ya got here.”

Clearing his throat Bulk got out of his chair and put his front legs on the desk so he could point things out, and made sure to flex his back for the ponies looking in at them, “Well everything you can see: machines, bench, squat racks, plenty of dumbbells, cables, pull up bars, treadmills.”

“Gotchaaaaaa.” Hank dragged on, “Anywhere a bit more open? For larger lifts?”

Cocking an eyebrow the huge pegasus grinned, just as he had figured, whatever this thing wanted to go heavy, “Yeah, outside. I have an outdoor lifting area for heavy and large movements, no mirrors but I figure that doesn't bother you.”

“The less the better.” Hank huffed, he liked that it was going to get him out of the packed main room but he didn’t like that he was going to be outside and in view of the whole street. He’d just have to suck it up though because he wasn’t going to let a few stater stop him from doing what he wanted.

“There’s a lot of stuff out that is fitted for minotaurs as well so it will fit your bipedal stance better than anything in here anyway.” Bulk reassured.

“Thank you.” Hank did his best to give a polite smile and started to make for the side door for the outdoor weight area, having to pass the glass walled room full of moms and kids in the process.

Unfortunately for the human everyone in the room, minus the instructor, was facing him doing some variation of “downward dog” so he couldn't slip by unseen and sure enough the second he made it to the door and started to pull he heard all the idle chit chat in the room stop suddenly.

He could practically feel all the eyes burning into the side of his head as he opened the door for Zecora to slip through and did his best to keep his eyes forward but couldn’t help but turn his gaze to the room just to his right.

Looking through the glass pane in front of him at the room full of mares still in their face down ass up yoga pose staring at him wide eyed as their children did much the same. The only pony that hadn’t seen him yet was the instructor who had her rear end pointed toward him, it didn’t take long though before the human heard a muffled “What’s the matter ladies?” From the mare not facing him before she soon enough turned around and let out a surprised scream while spinning around and tumbling onto her side.

Giving the frightened mare a wide toothy smile that only served to make her start shaking and try her best to scoot further away from him Hank closed his mouth the best he could before making his way through the door and outside.

“What took you so long?” Zecora questioned as the man stepped into the outdoor lifting area.

“Nothin’.” He waved off, “People have staring problems.” Looking at Zecora for a moment he then started to look at what equipment he was working with before noticing all the eyes on him from all around the square.

Face falling flat the man grumbled, “Kinda like this.” He motioned around with his hand while making his way to the bench that looked more his size as opposed to pony size like inside.

“Oh forget them dear.” Zecora smiled as the man sat his stuff down next to the bench he had chosen.

“No. If they wanna see what I can do…. I’ll show ‘em.” Hank stated while narrowing his gaze.

“Don’t hurt yourself.” Zecora cautioned as the man got to the floor and started doing push ups.

Craning his neck to look at the zebra, still pumping out the pushups, Hank rolled his eyes at her, he was lying if he truthfully didn’t want to show off in front of her and everyone else since they were all staring at him anyway.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Note from retard author: Some clarification. So the way I had weight systems set up previously was having an Equestrian “Stone” be equal to two pounds. This way while gravity was halved on Equiis Hank’s body weight was the same on the scale. However I have decided to change it to a simple 1 to 1 ratio where a pound and Equestrian stone are the same. This will just make things easier in general for me to write, you to read, etc. Decided to change this due to this gym scene because weights were getting really really large. For example on Earth Hank has a little over 300 pound bench press. On Equiis that doubles instantly to 600 pounds. However 600 pounds = 1200 Equestrian stones. Kinda wacky. So now it will be in pounds just renamed to stones cause why not.

So now Hank weighs 130 stones which is the same as pounds since gravity was halved. I know I’m changing a lot with this story recently, time frame etc etc, it is an unfortunate effect of writing this completely without an outline over 5 years of my life. Shit be wonky.

Sorry for all the switching this way and that way but I don’t have the desire or time to deal with stupid decisions I made 2 years ago so instead I’ll change it.

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“Um. I don’t think you really know what you’re doing hun.” Zecora said in a worried tone, concerned with the three hundred stones that he had loaded onto the bar just for his warm up after his hundred pushups.

“I know what I’m doin’.” The man rolled his eyes as he sat down on the bench in question, “Though I really do like how the bar and plates are in fifty pound, or uh, stone, increments instead of forty five like back home.”

“Why were the big plates forty five?” Zecora asked.

“No idea.” Hank admitted as he laid back and grabbed ahold of the bar, pushing his shoulder blades into the padding before tensing his chest with a deep breath and pushing as hard as he could causing the bar to rocket to full arm extension so fast it actually made him lift off the bench a little.

Staring up at the bar at the result that he, admittedly, did expect knowing that gravity was half what it was on Earth the confirmation caused a wide grin slowly split his face as he started laughing deep from his chest.

Setting the bar back down while still laughing Hank waved off Zecora’s strange look while refocusing himself and rapidly pumping out fifteen reps of the three hundred pound bar like it wasn’t even there.

Sitting up not even winded, the human just grinned at Zecora’s shocked expression and quickly realized that the entire square had gone silent. Like an eerie scene from a horror movie every pair of eyes that were in the square were on him.

Not knowing if it was just because they had all noticed him at the same time, like ponies always seemed to do, or if they were watching him like some sort of circus sideshow attraction, the man stood to put even more weight on the bar while watching the crowd right back.

Having singled out a few ponies to lock eyes with, the man found endless amusement watching them shrink back under his gaze or quickly break eye contact the second he looked at them. However, just like making eye contact with a lion, all the eyes on the man were causing that part of his brain to steadily switch on as it screamed at him to either get away from all the eyes on him or make all the eyes stop looking at him.

Noticing the sudden shift in her man’s body language and demeanor Zecora watched somewhat nervously as the man loaded not one, but two, hundred more stones onto the bar while never looking away from the crowd watching him all while his chest pumped steadily and his face took on that sinister snaggle toothed scowl.

“Um, honey…. I know you're strong and all but…are you gonna be able to do that?” Zecora pointed to the bar concerned as it started to show a small amount of bend from the quarter ton of stones loaded onto it as the human moved to sit back down on the bench.

Getting nothing from the man, not even a quick glance, all she was able to gather from the man was a quiet, grumbled, “I’ll give em a fuckin’ show.” As he laid back.

About to say something to stop what was surely going to be a terrible accident, the zebra didn't get the chance before the five hundred stones shot into the air and fell toward the man’s chest before going right back up. And then again, and again, and again. Expecting him to do it once or twice the Zebra couldn’t look away as he passed ten repetitions, eventually stopping at fifteen with no signs of fatigue.

Sitting back up with a smile still on his face, not even breaking a sweat, the man reached forward and ruffled Zecora’s white and black hair, pulling her out of her stupor.

Completely dumbfounded by the level of strength on display from the human, Zecora couldn’t help but smile back at him and shake her head, “So…. Are you going to go heavier?”

“This is just my warm-up hun, what do you think?” The human laughed again and laid back down to do it one more time.

And heavier he did go, blowing through five hundred stones, doing two sets of eight. The human finally started to show signs of slowing down at six hundred stones(300 Earth lbs), doing just four reps with the fourth being slow and shaky.

Coming up red in the face as sweat started to wet his medium length hair the human took a few deep breaths while stretching out his chest. Taking a moment to look around Hank noticed that the crowd around the outdoor area had definitely grown as he continued to go up in weight and made more noise by clanging the weights and grunting.

More than a few ponies shrinking back under his gaze the man’s eyes finally settled on a familiar face in the crowd making him smile. Waving to the tan colt with his signature helicopter hat on, the pony beamed and waved back while making his way through the other ponies and closer to the fence.

“How’s it goin’ button?” Hank called out to the colt as he reached the black iron fence that was just a hair taller than him.

“Good! How’d you get so crazy strong?” Button asked, staring at the weight that the human was moving.

“Can’t afford to not be.” Hank summarized, “Now how much more should I throw on?”

“You’re gonna do more!?” Button’s eyes widened.

“I got one more in me.” The human reassured while standing up.

“Fifty!” The colt exclaimed.

“Fifty huh…” Hank hummed knowing it was over his previous max of three fifteen back home by ten pounds. Honestly the man was astounded with himself that he was able to even get three hundred pounds up, let alone for four reps, even though the fourth took everything he had. It had been years since he was able to properly weight lift… well ever since he was rolling with the guys from the National Guard post.

“You won’t be upset if I don’t get it will you? That’s more than I’ve ever done and it's been a while.” Hank playfully asked, loading fifty more stones or twenty five more pounds onto the bar regardless.

“No, but what happens if you aren’t able to push it up?”

“Guess we’ll find out.” Hank smiled, wiping the concern off of Button’s face.

His aloof attitude didn’t quell Zecora’s concerns however despite the completely obscene strength her coltfriend had revealed he had, “What actually happens if you can't get it up?”

“Can’t get it up?” Hank scoffed, “After what I just put you through you think I can’t get it up? Whatever you say lil miss “I can’t move my legs”.”

“Not so loud! There’s children around!” Zecora chided while doing her best to fight off the blush taking over her cheeks.

“Oh he don’t even know what I’m talking about.” Hank waved her off as he paced around the weight area, “Do you Button?”

“What!?”

“See.” Hank laughed, doing his best to pump himself up, “Just stand back, I know what to do if I can’t lock out.”

“Still! Won’t six hundred and fifty stones crush your chest?” The zebra exclaimed, “I didn’t know I was gonna be scared watching you do this.”

“I’ll be fine.” Hank said sitting back down, “Plus I’m not gonna fail it anyways.”

Laying back and grabbing onto the bar, the man wished he was actually as sure of himself as he was saying but he truthfully doubted if he could get it, not only was he out of practice, but he was also a little low in the tank after the four at three hundred.

“Alright here we… Go!” The main strained as he pushed the bar from the rack with a deep breath, instantly feeling the weight of the bar pressing back against his arms, shoulders and chest.

A twenty five pound jump close to your max was a big step and the weight definitely felt a lot heavier than three hundred did. Bracing himself regardless he lowered the bar to the bottom of his chest and then pushed as hard as he possibly could only getting it about halfway up before stalling out.

Growling at the weight while digging his feet in and arching his back the man grit his teeth while trying to force his shaking arms to raise the weight up but after five agonizing seconds he exhaled and lowered it back to his chest.

“God damnit.” The man sighed, catching his breath as the spots in his visions floated away before taking in a deep breath and flexing his abs as hard as he could and sliding the bar from his chest to his belt. Thankfully having the foresight to move his revolver to his hip and to take off his suspenders and belt before starting the man raised up his legs and then kicked them back down ending up in a sitting position.

Content just sitting there as he wiggled the weight to his mid thigh Hank looked up and over to Button, giving him a small grin, “Guess I’m not quite there yet.”

Turning his head back forward Hank then rolled the weight off to his knees and stood up, holding the six hundred and fifty stones like he had deadlifted it and slowly spun around before walking forward and setting back on the rack hooks.

“What next!?” Button called out, getting the human’s attention as he stripped off the weight.

“A lift I’m actually good at: Squat.”

“What do you mean actually good at? You just pressed six hundred Maker damned stones! For Reps!” A much more gruff voice came through the crowd as the captain of the trail guard walked up to the fence next, three other guards following close behind all of their faces showing various signs of shock and amazement.

“Bench is hard for me, always has been. It’s my long ass arms. The leverage is working against me.” Hank explained as he put up the last of the plates.

“Could’ve fooled me.” Iron Hoof laughed while shaking his head, “Now I see how you’re able to kill those wolves so easily.”

“The strength helps, don’t get me wrong,” Hank paused, taking a large drink from his canteen, “But an old bastard like yourself knows that’s not the real deciding factor.” Hank smirked at the pony, getting him to shake his head while chuckling.

“You’re calling me an old bastard? My mane is still black! you’re the one that has gray showing through!” Iron hoof riposted.

Somewhat surprised at the comment, Hank lowered the canteen from his lips. He thought he had cut all the gray out a few days ago and he was usually very thorough so he was surprised that the pony had spotted some.

“Where?” Hank asked, causing the pony to laugh some more.

“Just above your right ear.” The older pony mused, laughing at the human.

“I see,” The human nodded his head, his tone losing the air of jovialness it held seconds before, “With knowledge and experience comes stress.”

Picking up on the man’s tone, no amount of joy behind his words, Ironhoof’s face fell a little as well as the pony looked back on his life, “Yes. Yes it unfortunately does.”

Clearing his throat before he could zone out too far the stallion motioned with his head to his fellow trail guards, “C’mon colts, we’ve bothered this old bastard enough.”

Shooting a smile over his shoulder at the human, Hank just laughed and shook his head.

“C’mon! Clear out! No need to be blocking the whole damn road! Do your sightseeing somewhere else.” The stallion yelled as he made his way through the crowd, making said crowd disperse almost instantly as ponies suddenly went on their way all the while looking back over their shoulders at Hank as he tried his best to ignore them.

Thankful for Ironhoof’s order Hank turned his attention to Button who was waving at him, “I've got to go too, mom needs my help at home.”

“No problem Button, I’ll see you around.” Hank smiled back and waved as the colt turned and ran away towards his home.

Still catching his breath as the crowd dissipated, Hank leant over and started untying his boots as he prepared for his squat. Everyone has a genetic strongpoint when it comes to physical activity. Some people were runners, some were lifters, some people found it easy to grow their arms, some found it easy to grow their chest and so on.

Hank didn’t find it particularly hard to improve any part of his body minus his abs, that for some reason never wanted to show through no matter how strong he knew they were, but the one part of him could push harder and grew better than the rest of him, and that was his legs.

Of course the years of carrying various equipment that he needed to complete his objectives didn’t hurt but even before all of that he was either blessed or cursed, depending how you looked at it, with large legs. From his calves to his glutes the man had never found it hard to pedal a bike up a huge hill when he was a kid or stomp a person’s rib cage to pieces in his later years.

As such he was very, very excited to squat again. And even though it wasn’t his best lift by numbers, his deadlift surpassing his squat, it was the one that he felt he could do most confidently and with the best form.

Unlacing his boots so he could take them off to get a more stable platform. Having them off in no time thanks to the thousands of repetitions he had putting his boots on and off again he was quickly down to his socks. Setting his boots with his other stuff next to Zecora Hank then took to setting up the squat rack to accommodate his height.

While doing so the man took a moment to observe his surroundings, noticing rather quickly that he was still being watched, just from further away. Watching from benches, through store windows, from vending stands, ponies watched from all around the square, high and low.

It wasn’t like the entire town had stopped to watch him, regular conversations and other facets of pony life were all still occurring as normal, but just as said ponies watched the man through the corner of their massive eyes. Other ponies didn’t care to seem like they weren’t watching and instead watched the man while talking amongst themselves.

It seemed the man had become the town’s midday entertainment as many of the restaurant patrons sat outside had their chairs rotated so they could watch as they ate while every booth side window was taken by those dining indoors.

“Have I ever mentioned how fuckin’ creepy pony eyes can be?” Hank turned his head to speak to Zecora while keeping his eyes on the numerous pairs watching looking back.

“Yes. Many a time.” The zebra replied, rolling her eyes, “Believe me we feel the same way about yours.”

“Your eyes are just so God damn big! I can’t help it!” Hank turned while loading one side of the bar, “And you can look damn near behind yourselves without even turning your heads! You pupils can scan damn near a hundred and eighty degrees. It’s fuckin’ weird!”

“How do you think we feel about you!? Zecora shot back, “Your eyes are tiny! So small I don’t know how you see as well as you do! And!” Zecora pointed at the human as he loaded the other side of the bar, “You have to turn your head to see anything to your sides or anywhere behind you. Your eyes never stop moving and your head never stops moving. You’re like an owl!”

“I’m not like a damned owl.” Hank looked at her and shook his head.

“You are! You are! You were just doing it because your tiny little eyes can’t do anything but look forward!” Zecora pointed at him while laughing.

“That’s because unlike you I’m a predator.” Hank’s smile twisted into a devious snarling grin, “My tiny little eyes only need to do three things: look forward, spot movement and patterns.”

Walking away from the rack Hank slowly lowered himself as he approached Zecora who had started backing away from him, “And then these tiny little eyes lock onto that pattern, kinda like a, oh I dunno…. black and white striped nuisance before running it to death with that endless stamina you know so much about.”

Squat down just in front of Zecora as her heart thudded in her chest her eyes stuck looking between his wild eyes and K9 teeth, Hank leaned ever closer, “I don’t need big eyes like you because I’m not the one that needs to watch their back every waking moment in case something like me shows up.”

So close that she could smell the sweat on his skin, her back pressed against one of the benches, Zecora had nowhere to go to get away from the devious human as he teased her and had to deal with his attack head on.

About to make an attempt to speak, Zecora was suddenly cut off when Hank stood right back up and walked over to the squat rack immediately throwing on three hundred stones much like his bench.

Positioning himself under the bar the human took a deep breath and closed his eyes as a smile started to spread across his face. It was so nice to finally be able to do something that he loved doing again, the apocalypse is one hell of a work out plan in the first place, especially how he participated in it, but the ability to go the gym was all but lost to the man on his original world. Instead he was relegated to doing body weight exercises or using the limited equipment that he had scrounged up to keep himself from dying by boredom.

Un-racking the weight with his eyes still closed the man couldn't help but laugh a little as he felt the three hundred pounds move like…well a hundred and fifty because of the whole gravity thing. Opening his eyes again as he slowly lowered himself down and up, getting his muscles and ligaments warmed for when it got heavy.

Still smiling, Hank looked over his shoulder to Zecora and shook his head as he watched her eyes follow his ass up and down.

“Don’t look too hard there, zebra.” He teased.

“I’ll look however much I want, monkey.” Zecora returned, “You look at me all the time so now I look at you.”

“Oh, ya ya, whatever.” He laughed and re-racked the weight before turning around and touching his toes for a few seconds to stretch his back out.

“You rarely wear shorts anyways.” Zecroa continued.

“Yeah, we’ll see if they survive. They already feel awfully tight.”

“Everything you wear is tight.”

“Not many clothes stores left back home.” Hank laughed, putting another hundred pounds on the bar.

“Well…. No I guess not. But! There is a very well qualified tailor in town that we just so happen to know.”

“I do need to get on that. I’m almost out of clothes that aren’t just rags. Also, Don’t freak out when I start putting more weight on this bar. It’s probably gonna look a little…. Much.”

“I’ll try my best, it just depends on how much you start putting on it, you only have two legs you know? It makes me a little nervous as someone who has four to see you do stuff like this.”

Pulling himself away from the bar at her words the human started to look around like he had lost something, eventually patting himself down and looking down to his legs while turning around pointing at each of them a few times before slowly putting up two fingers, “What? Really? I only have two legs? I never noticed.”

Shaking her head at his antics Zecora sat up and walked over to the man and gave him a push on his rear as he turned back to the squat rack, “Just do your damn exercises you bald monkey.”

Thoroughly overreacting and pretending as if Zecroa had just thrown him into the bar the human turned around with fake hurt on his face holding his chest where he had hit the bar, “You’re so abusive.”

Chuckling as he watched her huff and roll her eyes at his continued antics the man noticed Iron Hoof walking back by and called out to get his attention.

“Hey Iron!” Hank called out, making Zecora groan and look away from the approaching stallion, knowing that Hank was only going to embarrass her more. She had no idea how playful he would be when she got into a relationship with him but the more time she spent with the man the more she realized how much of a troublemaker he truly was.

As the stallion reached the low fence he propped himself up on his front legs and leaned forward, looking at the man inquisitively, “Now what in the Tartarus would you need from me?” the stallion asked in his gruff voice, a hint of amusement clear underneath his tone.

Huffing the man stood up straight and looked to Zecora seeing her blush and look farther away from him and the stallion, “Well. I need you to do something about this damned zebra! She keeps beating on me and throwing me around! She’s very abusive.”

Switching his gaze from whatever Hank was to the zebra who was obviously blushing like mad and had her hoof up blocking her face from view as she looked away from the pair, Iron Hoof let out a few hearty laughs and looked down to the stone floor.

Bringing his head back up to the smiling face of Hank as he laughed as well the pony let out a few more short laughs before opening his mouth, “If she can beat your big flank I need to give her position at the guard cause we sure as the day is long don’t have anypony that can.”

Once again sharing a laugh with the man, Ironhoof turned and hopped off the fence, “You keep this big brute in check, miss.”

Snickering to himself as Iron Hoof walked away Hank turned and got back under the bar to get back on his way to whatever his max was. He truthfully had no idea if he had gotten weaker or stronger since his last time weight lifting since it had been so long, but he hoped it was at least still four hundred and five, he had worked extremely hard to get to that milestone.

As the man continued up in weight, eventually getting to the moment of truth, the human stood back away from the bar after loading it with eight hundred and ten stones worth of plates, using every large fifty stone plate in the outdoor area and a couple twenty fives and fives. With seven large plates on each side accompanied by a twenty five and a five the bar looked extremely loaded down and had a noticeable bend from the weight at either end.

“I have no idea how you can look at that and think it’s a do-able amount of weight.” Zecora piped up looking at the bend in the weightlifting bar.

“Wouldn’t expect a four leg supremacist to understand.” Hank smiled while looking around for a belt of some sort to support his back and midsection. He probably didn’t need one but he wasn't about to risk crippling himself when he needed to make sure he was in top physical shape as much as possible.

“Well I don’t see a belt so I’m gonna go inside real quick like to see if I can get on that’ll fit around me. Don’t wanna slip a disk or somethin’.”

Having no real idea what he was talking about Zecora just nodded and watched as the human slipped back inside of the gym. Now alone with nothing but her thoughts the zebra looked at the weight on the bar and shook her head in astonishment. It was no wonder he was able to carry her cauldron in by himself or pull back the string of the war bow standing, he wasn’t even using all of his strength when he did those things. If she thought she was impressed then, she most certainly was now.

Entering the inside part of the gym, the sweat that had soaked into his shirt and covered his skin made the cooled air that hit him all the more nippy as he walked over to the front desk where the obscenely large pegasus was still sat but now talking to the mare that was leading the yoga class when he had first came in.

Stopping beside the mare and leaning forward until his palms hit the cool dark stone top of the front desk Bulk Biceps turned to the man at the same time as the personal trainer.

Looking at the mare out of the corner of his eye, seeing her eyes widen even further Hank turned his attention to the white pegasus as a droplet of sweat fell from his hair onto the counter top.

“Would you happen to have any weight lifting belts in here, doin’ squat, none outside.”

Nodding to the man Bulk pointed where the large group of ponies were gathered around a squat rack, “In between those two racks there’s a hook on the wall, they’re all there.”

Giving the pony a thumbs up, which Bulk didn’t understand but figured it was good, Hank wiped up the few drops of sweat on the counter with his hand and made his way over to where the belts were.

He couldn’t get to the belts though, at least without barging through the group of ponies as they watched and cheered on the large mare he saw when he came in as she fought to rep four hundred and fifty pounds in her own squat, and he was feeling relatively polite in the moment so he figured he would just wait for her to either succeed or fail before getting to them.

Eyes squeezed shut and teeth clenched, the mare shakily made progress upward before finally locking out on unsure legs as the ponies around her cheered loudly at her accomplishment. The mare shuffled forward and re-racked the bar with the help of her two spotters.

Eyes still closed as she caught her breath, she still smiled at the various pats on the back and encouraging words she got as she slowly turned around to face her group and opened her eyes once she got her breath back.

As she looked at her various friends with a smile on her face she eventually noticed a pair of legs directly behind her group of friends and traced them up to see something she had never seen before staring right back at her with tiny, wild, eyes. The skin of its flat and hairless face heavily scarred as it looked down at her.

It wasn’t just the fact that whatever it was scary to look at but the fact that it had somehow snuck up behind not just her but her entire group of ponies undetected. It was like the huge thing had just appeared out of thin air and was now looking directly at her.

“Where in the buck did that thing come from?!” The mare yelled pointing behind and taking as many steps back as she possibly could.

Immediately looking behind them to see what just had made the muscle bound mare nearly jump out of her skin the group were quickly met with the sight of a heavily breathing and drenched Hank standing just behind them. What was worse was how none of them had heard the huge… thing creep up on them.

All backing away towards the wall to get away from the beast none of them had ever seen the likes of before only a few of them caught the creature rolling his tiny eyes before pointing behind them on the wall.

“I need a belt.”

Slowly getting out of the way the group split in half as the man strode forward before grabbing the longest belt off the rack and backing away.

“Are you doing squat?” The mare, still wearing her belt as well, asked in more or less surprised that the wild thing knew how and wanted to work out.

Stopping as he tightened the belt around his abdomen and lower back Hank tried to place the accent the mare spoke with before finally placing it,

“You’re from Trottingham ain’t ya?” The man asked, looking over his shoulder for a second

Immediately even more surprised that he was able to pick up on her accent the mare nodded in confirmation, getting a small grin from the man that did nothing to make him look less threatening to the ponies in his presence.

“Knew it.” Hank said getting the belt set, “Well enjoy the rest of your squats.”

Walking away without ever answering about what he was doing the group Hank quietly exited the building to the outdoor area leaving the group looking to each other for answers, of which there were none.

“That thing is bucking creepy.” One member of the group said getting a few nods in agreement before another piped up.

“Creepy? Creepy doesn’t begin to describe whatever it was! That thing was terrifying and huge, I mean did you not see how cut up it was?”

Shrugging at the words of the ponies who had been the big mare’s spotter then spoke up while leaning on the rack, “Yeah yeah, whatever…” He began getting all the members in the group to look at him like he was crazy for just blowing it off, “I mean, yeah, it was big and all but I doubt it can do a four hundred and fifty stone squat.”

Looking to the mare with a grin she looked back at the relaxed stallion with a small smile and a huff.

“Well I guess we could find out what it’s doing, and it’s not like it was unfriendly or anything, just kinda cree-, well, really creepy.”

All of the group seemingly in agreement on taking a look on whatever it was were up to the large mare stripped off her belt and put it back in her gym bag before leading the group towards the glass door that led to the outdoor area. They were done at the gym for the day anyways so a quick peak wouldn’t hurt anyways.

---

“Now, honey, are you absolutely sure you can do this?” Zecora fidgeted as she watched Hank take up the slack in the bar and tense his midsection.

“Nope.” Hank curtly replied and stood, taking a step away from the rack.

Taking a second to get his footing just right the man took a deep breath out and then one more in, bracing his torso muscles around that full breath before descending.

A slow grind to just below parallel the human then tensed his legs as hard as he could and without even grunting slowly but steadily going all the way back up. As the man stood there for a second doing the math in his head to make sure that he had actually put the equivalent to four hundred on the bar he re-racked the weight and stood back getting a good look and confirming that his math was correct.

“Huh.” Hank exclaimed while moving to the side of the bar and butting another fifty pounds on.

“What?”

“Well that was just a whole lot easier than last time.” The human explained moving to the other side of the bar and putting fifty more on that side as well, “I mean it wasn’t easy, but, that didn’t even hurt. It should hurt ya know?”

“No! I don’t know! Maybe you should stop before you hurt yourself. That is nine hundred stones dear!”

Stood at the bar, letting his legs rest for a second, Hank heard his girlfriend’s words but had already dismissed them. He knew that he was going to try four fifty, even though he knew a jump that large was ill advised, but four hundred had felt so much so much easier than last time and he felt like he could do it.

“Yeah, well… I’ve never been one to quit until I’m forced to.”

---

“There is no bucking way!” The large mare nearest the door exclaimed in shock, getting Bulk’s attention.

Turning away from his marefriend and their discussion about her yoga class he looked over to the group.

“What are you yelling about?”

Now with most of the group sitting with their hooves on their heads in amazement one of the others spoke up, “The two legged tall thing, it’s a bucking monster!”

Shaking his head Bulk got out of his chair and gave his girlfriend a quick look before slowly walking to the door just to see what they were oh so astonished with.

“You ponies need to learn how not to stare, it’s very impolite and disruptive to other gym membe- Damn.” Bulk Biceps shut up when he saw Hank raise the last few centihoofs and re-rack the nine hundred stones, the bar bending so far he was barely able to get it on the hooks.

Stood in shock for a half second after just seeing what he had the huge white pegasus was shook from his stupor by the deep celebratory yell that Hank bellowed as he turned from the bar and shot a balled up fist into the as if he were throwing an uppercut.

“Move, move.” Bulk pushed his way through the group of ponies as the man continued to celebrate while pounding his chest like a gorilla and letting loose one last deep punchy ‘HA’ into the air.

Finally getting to the door and prying it open Bulk Biceps finally made it outside as the human turned his attention to the zebra that was with him.

“How’s that for a bald monkey huh!” The man laughed, booping the zebra on her nose getting her to start laughing as well as she stood up on two legs obviously going for a hug which the man quickly reciprocated.

Effortlessly picking the zebra up as he hugs her tight for a few seconds the man finally loosened his grip and sat her back on ground before taking another victory lap towards rack laughing all the while.

The feeling of improvement, of knowing that he was better than last time, more capable, more deadly, was something that got the man going unlike much else. Spending all of your youth with your self esteem in the dumpster made the feeling of success all the more sweet to the man.

Being stronger than last time made the human feel better about himself, better about his body as well. It wouldn’t last though, it never did, in just a few short hours his brain would be calling for more, to feed into the endless cycle of improvement or else to feel worthless again.

For now though the man was ecstatic, to an outside viewer it would be as close as they would ever see of the old Hank.

“Fuckin’ ‘A’!” The human said with a strangely Irish twang, bending over and flexing his arms and shoulders while looking at Zecora with a smile on his face getting her to giggle more. While looking at his girlfriend as he flexed at her the human noticed the appearance of the gym owner.

His smile falling a little, the human stood back up straight and relaxed his upper body while looking at the pegasus and waiting for what it was he wanted.

Quickly realizing that he was going to have to be the first to speak, Bulk cleared his throat while quickly looking from Hank to the weight and then back to Hank again, “For only having two legs you’re moving an incredible amount of weight.”

Both the human and the zebra laughing at his comment, Bulk was stuck looking between them, obviously on the outside of some kind of joke.

“Well when each of my legs are bigger around than most pony’s torsos, it becomes a little more fitting I feel.”

“Yes,” Bulk gave a quick look at the human’s legs which looked much bigger than when he came in, “That would help. What I came out here to tell you was that you’re fifty one stones away from the gym record.”

Upon mentioning the little fact, Bulk could see the smallest shift in the human’s face like he was thinking about something.

“And who holds that record? Hank asked, wondering what pony could squat nine hundred and fifty stones.

“It’s been a long held one, real long, probably over ten years. But it was a minotaur who lived in town for a while, he was big into powerlifting like it seems you are.”

“Nah.” Hank waved Bulk off, “It’s been over…. Hell, a year and a half, TWO years since I last lifted. I just like working out.”

Looking at the man with a raised eye Bulk just slowly nodded, “Uh huh. Well whatever the program you have yourself on is, I’m sure there would be a lot of ponies to learn if it’s gotten you that strong and built.”

At his comment the human strangely started laughing really hard and shaking his head ‘no’. Confused about what it was he said that was so funny the man slowly stopped his laughter and ended with a large sigh, “There ain’t a person alive that would want to do what I’ve done.”

“I’m not so sure. Lots of ponies, minotaurs, even griffons are very dedicated to fitness and improving themselves despite the cost.” Bulk explained, not putting the puzzle pieces together, especially since he had missed out on most of the human’s exploits while managing his other gym in Trottingham for the last few months.

“Look.” The human began while reaching down and pulling his shirt up a little on his left side, showing the still deep red and angry scars he had gotten with Luna and Celestia almost a week ago, “All these scars go hand in hand with why I’m as strong as I am. I don’t think anybody wants that.”

Understanding what the man was laying down, Bulk decided to just drop it, “Well, regardless. If you want to try for the record I’d be more than happy to put a new name on the board.”

Nodding with hum Hank walked back over to the bar and looked at the weight already on it knowing that he probably still had a little in the tank.

“How much did you say it was?”

“Fifty one stones to beat it, and I’ll have to watch you do it to confirm you get to the right depth and actually do it”

“Why not.” Hank finally said while moving to the only weight rack left that had nearly anything on it.

As his hand hovered above the twenty fives Hank suddenly switched and grabbed two fifty stone plates, “Beating it by one pound is lame.”

Loading the bar with the weight and securing it with the clips at the end Hank stood back and stared at the five hundred pound squat feeling his heart start to beat just a little faster in anticipation.

“You’re going for a half ton squat?” Bulk looked over and up to the man who was still staring straight forward at the weight, “That's a hundred stone jump.”

“...Yeah.” Was the only response he got from the human before he strode forward and grabbed onto the bar.

Seeing the strange creature actually going for it the group inside as quietly as possible made their outside to get a better look at the spectacle. As did many other of the ponies who, while they had been watching before, now gave most if not all of their attention to the man.

Some spectators watched in awe and others in morbid curiosity like waiting for two trains to run into each other. As more and more ponies turned their full, undivided attention to the Everfree Monster ponies inside stores and further away that had not previously noticed the man working out now felt themselves pulled towards whatever it was everypony else was looking at and out of the shops they were in.

Hank’s wishes to be ignored be damned, more ponies than ever were staring right at him as he prepared himself to un-rack the weight. Mothers and their foals stopped on their way back from school, shop owners and their patrons filtered from inside businesses, pegasi flying by either hovered or took up seats on rooftops.

Hank hadn’t felt as many eyes on him since that night he had run across the horde on the highway in that hellacious thunderstorm, and it did nothing to calm his already beating heart as his body neared its low fight or flight threshold.

Using the panic response to his benefit the man un-racked the weight and instantly had doubts as he took two small steps away from the rack. His entire body shaking before he even started to descend the man stopped himself from stalling and took a mighty breath in and clenched his abs and back as hard as possible before slowly descending.

Both Zecora and Bulk Biceps watched with more than a little worry as the bar bobbed from the extreme weight they could hear Hank growl as he slowly descended before it seemed like his legs gave up and he quickly sank to below parallel.

More than surprised with the depth of the man’s squat despite the weight compared to any minotaur he had ever coached or lifted with Bulk had no idea how the man would get himself out of the hole he had put himself in.

Already taxed out, his legs screaming at him that it was too much, Hank clenched his teeth and ignored the warning signs his body was throwing at him and pushed with all his might. There was no way that he was going to fail two top sets in one day, especially not in front of what seemed like the entire population of Ponyville.

Even though his head felt light the man kept pushing and pushing causing the weight to slowly raise before he hit a hard wall at parallel with a groan.

Thinking it was over for the man Bulk was about to go forward and help the man re rack the bar when the man suddenly let out a strained yell as he released the used air in his lungs and ever so slowly, almost imperceivably, started to move the bar upwards.

Nausea hitting the man like a brick to the stomach he kept pushing with every ounce of his being as he slowly cleared parallel and started his way through the second part of the lift.

Every muscle in his body was tightening like stone, causing his head to be pulled backward by the tightening in his neck making him look up into the sky if he actually had his eyes open.

Mustering himself for one last push, knowing that if he didn’t get out from under the bar soon he was going to pass out. Forcing his eyes open and head to a neutral position Hank bellowed a deep yell and pushed through the last foot and a half of the squat in a flash.

Taking a second to get some air into his lungs again and doing his best not to throw up the man shuffled forward on wobbly legs but failed to realize that the bar had lost its integrity on his final push and was bent enough that there was no way he could ever rack it.

Watching the bar slowly turn into an upside down ‘V’ Bulk shook himself out of his stupor and called out to Hank, “Bail out, bail out!”

Brain too depleted of oxygen to connect the words to a meaning the man finally got it when he looked to his right and saw the weight sinking down towards his knee.

Barely getting out from under the bar with a weak push of his arms and step forward Hank heard the weight slam into the concrete floor, no doubt chipping it but couldn’t stop himself from shakily stumbling forward on his trembling legs and weakened back. Completely unable to stop or get his legs back under himself Hank stumbled forward toward the fence unable to see it was there due to his tunnel vision.

While the man was stumbling the ponies that had watched the man complete the one thousand stone squat and bend the bar into a ‘V’ were going absolutely nuts at his accomplishment while being completely unable to look away from the bent bar and the two large chips it had taken out of the floor.

Bulk was so impressed by the squat and bent bar he didn't even care about the chips in the floor of his gym. He was just happy that he had a new record to put on the board and a bent bar to proudly display on the wall. He couldn't wait to brag about his gym having clientele strong enough to bend bars and break records to the other gym owners that he knew.

Speaking of clientele, Hank coming back into his mind Bulk looked up to the human just in time for him to impact the metal fence with his pelvis and go ass over tea kettle onto the hard soil of the street with a thud.

“Oh shit!” Bulk exclaimed, doing his best to move quickly to the other side of the lifting area to check on Hank much the same as Zecora who beat the large pegasus by a few seconds.

Waving away some of the dust that the human’s fall had kicked up, Bulk looked over the fence and saw the human laying face up with his arm shielding his eyes from the sun.

“Who put that goddamn fence there?” Hank groaned in between deep breaths.

Letting out a relieved laugh once she knew he was fine Zecora primed her legs and jumped over the fence with ease, much to the surprise of Bulk and especially Hank who she landed on not a second later.

“Oooooouhhhhhhh.” Hank groaned as he body tensed once the zebra touched down on his chest and stomach, “You’re killin’ me smalls.”

Ignoring his remark Zecora instead leant forward and nudged Hank’s arm off his face before kissing him.

Keeping his eyes closed because of the sun beating down on him, Hank happily reciprocated the quick kiss and let out a sigh when it was over, still catching his breath.

“That took it all outta me.” The human spoke covering his eyes again with his left arm as his right hovered over his revolver, completely subconsciously.

“Do you think you can walk?” Zeocra asked humorously.

Scoffing at the question the man shook his head from side to side slightly, “Shit. Maybe? Not right now I can't.”

“Hurts that bad?” Bulk chimed in.

“I mean it hurts like hell but no. I think I overloaded the old central nervous system.”

Nodding at his explanation Bulk smiled, “Well, on the plus side, you got it, you had way more depth than you needed. I’ve actually never seen a squat do that deep before, most minotaurs barely make parallel.

“You do realize I ain’t a minotaur right?” Hank turned his head toward Bulk Biceps and asked.

“Well…no.” The pegasus answered honestly, “I don’t have a damn clue what you are, nopony does.”

“Yeah. Not gonna lie, I thought you were some kinda bucked up minotaur.” The mare that had been squatting earlier piped up while looking over the fence.

“I look better than a damn minotaur.” Hank scoffed, “More deadly too.” The man opened his eyes and turned his attention to the newcomer in the conversation with his signature snaggle toothed grin.

Shivering a little the mare had to look away from Hank for a second, “You’re definitely creepier. That’s for sure.”

“ ‘ppreciate it.” Was all Hank offered back as the mare shook her head and dismounted the fence.

“Anyways….” Bulk gave the dark blue mare a stare which she just shrugged off, “What name should I put on the board for the new gym record?”

“Oh… uh, Hank.”

“Hank? That’s it?” The pony raised a brow.

“That’s it.” Hank confirmed while getting himself into a sitting position at least.

“Huh, kinda weird but, alright. Also, I’m gonna be hanging the bar you bent up on the wall.”

“Oh shit, yeah. I can pay to replace that if you want.” Hank offered while rubbing some of the sweat out of his hair.

“Nah-” Bulk waved, “Don’t worry about any of that, now I can brag that my gym has the strongest clients to the other owners. That’s more than enough.”

“Alright man. Hank conceded.

“Congrats again, that was a real fight.” Bulk smiled before turning away from the fence and walking back to the weight to start stripping it.

Taking a moment to get his bearings back as his heart rate settled Hank rubbed his quads in a feeble attempt to loosen them up.

“Getting any better?” Zecora asked as she watched the man wince as he applied pressure to his legs.

“A little.” Hank sighed and then laughed, “Gonna hurt like fuck when I walk for like a week now though.”

“Are you still feeling up to dinner tonight?” Zecora asked as she watched the human slowly roll onto his hands and knees as he tried to get his feet under him.

“Absolutely.” Hank smiled, placing a hand on his raised knee as he rested in his kneeling position for a second, “Definitely gonna need to shower though cause I’m soaked.”

“You don’t haaaavvvvveeeee to.” Zecora drew out making the human shake his head as he slowly rose to his feet with a groan.

“You ponies and your weird ass scent fetish.”

“I’m not a pony.” The zebra scoffed.

“You’re close enough!” The man shot back as he stepped over the fence on his way to get his suspenders and rifle.

“You have no room to talk, you ape!” Zecora raised her voice and propped herself up on the fence.

“Ooh Ooh OOH AH AH AH.” Hank started loudly impersonating a gorilla, walking with his legs bent out which hurt greatly, and arms swinging by his side only interrupted to pound his chest periodically.

Unable to keep herself from laughing at his startlingly good impression of a gorilla, Zecora couldn’t help but find it more amusing because of the startled look on the other ponies’s faces that were gathered around the bar stripping it as Hank went around them gathering his gear whooping all the while.

After getting all his gathered and put on Hank made his way back towards his zebra girlfriend, still acting like a pissed off gorilla. Keeping up his act all the way to the fence the second he stepped over, like a switch, he turned off his impression and stood up straight with a completely flat expression on his face and started walking away.

Snorting at his antics, Zecora quickly caught up to the man and took her place beside him as they made their way to what she figured was the bank.

As ponies started to move again, once they realized that the show was over, and more importantly that Hank was approaching them, the entire square quickly resumed to semi-normal operation with most of the ponies continuing to give quick glances to the human as he passed through them.

Giving the man a wide berth, Zecora was also the subject of a few glances but ignored them for the most part. What she didn’t ignore was the glances that Hank was getting behind his back, more specifically his rear.

Feeling a little smug that her stallion was getting the attention of so many other mares she slowed her step for a second to look for herself and almost immediately choked on a laugh seeing that his shorts were ripped from crotch to nearly the belt. Exposing a large section of the undergarment underneath.

She hadn’t noticed before and it seemed like Hank hadn't either. From how he was walking she figured he probably couldn’t feel much of his legs anyhow.

Getting back next to Hank again Zecora looked back up toward his head, “I’m sorry to tell you this hun but….. Your shorts ripped.”

Looking down to her for a second the man reached behind himself and immediately felt the blown open rear end of his shorts, “God damnit.” He groaned, “That’s just fuckin’ lovely.”

Happy Thursday or fuckin' whatever here's a chapter for yous tards.

And no, I didn't edit. Who do you think I am? Davinki or whatever the Italian dudes name was?

Summer was busy as fuck. Worked 50hr weeks all summer, bought a classic car, built a little house thing, lost 15ish pounds out of the 50 bulk pounds I put on that I want to cut so I can see my abs and shit again. All in all, was a time, now I'm back in school so it never really ends.

Maybe another chapter of SoL left before more fun things but I wanted a change of pace.

Tell me what you thought of various things, you know the drill. Also please no one like or dislike the 675 / 50 ratio is nice and clean and makes me happy.

Little stupid fuckin' retard baby frog