//------------------------------//
// 8 - Living in the Ritz 
// Story: Universal Language 
// by David Silver 
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An image of Applejack sprung onto the screen, caught as she was singing, mouth open wide, and her many teeth on display. They were separated, proving she had more than one jaw to her name, all quite exposed in that still shot of one frame. "Our guest can sing, and people are worried. This is Barbara Smith, and we're covering The Alien, friend, or foe? With us—"

Another woman appeared on the screen. She had long black hair that flowed over her shoulders. She wore a deep purple sweater with white spots along the hem. "I'm Monica Glott, a cultural expert. Now, we have to remember that Applejack isn't human." She cleared her throat softly. "But, even among humans, displaying teeth, especially mid-song, is hardly unusual. We do it often, but in a way to attract others, to show them we're interested in what they're doing."

Barbara seemed doubtful, looking down at the papers in her hands. "It sure looks aggressive. In our Rapid Poll™️ result, 60% found her mandibles to be 'creepy'." She made quotes with that word in the air. "30% were scared, and 20% were curious."

Monica pointed up at the image of Applejack. "That is a still image, a single moment. You can't get the meaning of anyone, alien or not, from a single instant."

"To give a countering opinion, we've also brought on—" A second man appeared on the screen. He had long dark hair and was wearing a cream sweater vest over a collared shirt. "Dr. Agatha Deux, from the local chapter of MUFON."

Barbara smiled at the camera, putting on her best warm, inviting expression. "Welcome to the broadcast, Doctor. What do you think of The Alien?" She gestured up at the still image of Applejack.

Agatha adjusted her glasses as she peered up at the alien in question. "That's no horse. They've given us another angle. Her teeth are separate jaws." She pointed out each tooth as it came into frame. "Those are not the flattened jaws dedicating to masticating rough fibers. If I had to guess, which I must, I'd say it belongs to at least an omnivorous, if not carnivorous, species. This alien is much more dangerous than we've been led to believe."

Barbara nodded, keeping the expression on her face. "Carnivorous. That sounds a little scary."

Monica shook her head. "Now, it doesn't matter if it's an omnivore or not, that shouldn't scare us. She has gone out of her way—"

Agatha cut in with a scowl. "Of course she's put a harmless first step forward. I didn't accuse her of being stupid, just dangerous."

Barbara and Monica looked at each other, then Barbara turned to the camera. "We'll be back after these messages."

The show changed to a series of commercials.





The representative of the UN assigned to Applejack sighed gently. "They will be discussing this for some time. They've told me you're free to go. I hope you're not too disappointed."

Applejack wagged her head from side to side, thinking it through as best she could. "Ah'm fine. We have to do things right. Ain't gonna push them into makin' the wrong choice." She laughed softly as she extended a foreleg for a shake. "It's good to know you ain't afraid of us. You've been good to me. If yer not too busy, ah'd like to have another chat."

The representative accepted the shake as he directed to the door with his other hand. "I think these good gentlemen have a place in mind for you."

True to his word, the Secret Service escorted Applejack out to a new vehicle and ferried her away from the UN smoothly before too many people could notice it happened. They deposited her in front of a hotel, looking up at the strange construction of the building.

"We've already secured your room, ma'am. Do you want help bringing anything up?"

Applejack looked around the vicinity for a moment before pointing towards a bag that had been set in the seat next to her. "'Bout all ah got." She turned and grabbed the bag in her teeth. "Jus' mah suit. Probably won't need it, but don't wanna lose it." She trotted alongside the others towards the front desk, where she got to sit while they chatted, giving her time to watch the other people coming and going.

The average human looked just like her friend Cindy. Some were males, and others were female, and Applejack was getting better at telling the two apart. They all smelled different too, though some of those smells were worn on purpose, confusing things a little. She was still learning to tease them apart.

One young man wore a nice cologne that seemed to float around him, while another man seemed to smell of sweat. A woman came out of an elevator and had the scent of baking bread to her, and it took Applejack a moment to sniff out her natural scent hiding under it. But she smiled when she picked it out, pleased that she could now pick the smells apart without needing time to figure them out.

Once the details were handled, Applejack headed up to her room, trying not to look as awkward as she felt.

"Excuse me." A little boy was looking up at her in amazement. "What are you?"

The guards around her looked ready to act, but Applejack gentle knelt before the child. "Howdy there. Name's Applejack. Right nice to meet you." She sang, her words flowing forth in a strange symphony.

The little boy stared up at her as he tried to grasp those words. "You talk funny. What are you?" He repeated the question as if that would get him the answer he wanted faster.

Applejack held a hoof out towards him. "Ah'm a pony. And yer a human, las' ah know. Nice to meetcha." She didn't get to shake hands, the boy's mother scooping him up with muttered apologies to Applejack for the interruption.

Once they were gone, she looked back to the humans that had been escorting her. "They're all so excitable."

One of them laughed at that. "Are your young any different? That's a steady point everywhere. This way." He waved for her to follow and they resumed their trip to her room. "I don't mean to pry, but how do you speak English?"

Applejack reached up a hind hoof to tap at her ear like a dog might scratch an itch. "Wearin' a special earrin' that ah friend cooked up. Translates fer us. Ah can still hear yer words, but ah don't understand 'em 'till it repeats it proper." She grinned at him. "Can ya tell what ah'm sayin'?"

The man grinned back. "Nope. Your voice sounds weird when you talk in your own language." He pointed at the device in her ear. "Can she make more of those?"

Applejack twitched her ears at that, hooves on the ground, propelling her towards her room. "Ah'd have to ask, but ah do know it'd have to be two languages she knows enough to do the translatin' of. We had a lot of English talk from yer broadcastin'." She nodded slowly, thinking it through as they approached her room and one of the agents used a keycard to unlock it for her.

Inside was a little place of heaven. Applejack spotted a window and rushed towards it, gasping in delight at the city below her. "A right nice view! Still amazed at how tall y'all make your towns. Feel like I could see ferever from here."

The agent took the keycard back as she poked her nose against the glass, getting a good look at everything before her. The people, the buildings, the vehicles moving along the streets. She couldn't reach any of them, but even there, from that high point, just watching them held a certain magic. "How many of ya are there? There's so many."

One agent flipped his phone towards Applejack, showing the staggeringly huge number. Her eyes flickered in a uniquely shocked way her people had. "Are ya kiddin'?! How do ya take care of so many creatures?!" She blinked up at him, those long lashes giving her an almost child-like innocence as she struggled to process what she was seeing. "How do ya feed 'em all?"

The man shrugged softly. "We don't always succeed, but we're pretty good at growing food."

The conversation shifted to how food was made, from fishing to farming, with Applejack eagerly listening along with questions aplenty to go with.





For the second time, Applejack's every word, song and soul were on display for the world to see, secreted out as the first was. It was sent to anyone who knew how to browse such videos online, it brought a different view for all watching her as she sat there on their screen, able to see her closely as she sang the entirety of her alien song with the whale.

They watched as she gently leaned forward, whispering something that couldn't be heard, just watching her mouth move with no translator present. She paused and began to sing again, calling out, waiting for a response. There was none. She sagged a little at that, lifting a hoof up to press against her chest, singing what she felt fit with the whale's enchanting calls. Neither could hear the other, so the song couldn't be completed, but their melodies seemed to slot into one another regardless.

Only when it was done did a rough man take up the video. "You just saw The Alien, Applejack, singing with a whale. Can you even believe it?! A real life alien!" He shouted to the sky in his excitement. "Her words were indecipherable, and we don't know what she was trying to do, but we saw it all! She was singing with a whale. What were they saying? For that matter."

He grabbed the camera, forcing the view far too close to his face as he started at it, shouting, as if raising his volume would help make the point more clearly, "WHAT ARE THEY SAYING?!" He pushed the camera back, sending the shot of his red face into the stratosphere before spinning it around, showing a painting of Applejack that had been set on an easel. "If she can talk to whales, are whales from out there too? Are they the ones really calling the shots around here? Is she waiting for her chance to go talk to them and discuss the real business they have? Are we even in charge of our own destiny anymore?!"

His eyes blazed with a wild fervor as he stared at the picture of Applejack, fear gripping him as his lips drew into a deep frown. "I'm not the only one asking these questions." He took a breath, trying to compose himself. "Are these our saviors, our doom, or our new overlords? Maybe a combination? How can we tell? What do we do?"

He spun the camera back to face him, still wearing a frown. "We don't know! It's impossible to tell. We have no clue what she wants. We just have to wait and watch. Be sure to comment with your ideas below, and click that thumbs up and subscribe." He shot a half-hearted thumbs up. "Until next time, keep your eyes on the sky."