It was a mighty fine line I was crossing, meeting Bloom's family. Part of me had a bit of a fear going in that they knew who I was- an outlaw, murderer, robber. All the titles of my past brought up in Equestria somehow. I just didn't wanna involve another kid into this life, just like we did with Jack.
...Bloom didn't deserve that.
It was good it turned out the way it did though, even if they accused me of... unsavory things. Right better than just killing me right then and there to save them the trouble! The way I see it, I reckon that as long as I kept my head low, I think I'd be a good farm hand for the Apple Family. Applejack, strange as it might seem on account of her imminent threat of death when we first met, was the first pony(save for Applebloom and Zecora) to show me hospitality. Her accent and that classic country charm had me homesick for a time, but I got over it right quick.
But enough about that, I still haven't told y'all about my first visit to Ponyville. If it wasn't obvious already, and if for some reason you're reading this and don't know what town I'm talking about, you're downright livin' under a rock.
It began when The Pink Demon found out about me from her first Merry Minion- Applejack. Yep, the very one and the same. It was my second day on the farm, and I will not forget it...
In the distance a loud bell rang in the center courtyard of Sweet Apple Acres, disturbing the peace just enough to get things going on the farm. "Soup's on, everypony!" Applejack's voice echoed, stirring Arthur from his sleep. With a jolt, he woke, looking around and rubbing his eyes. The barn had just begun to get morning light through the attic window, lighting up the interior with a warm glow.
"No matter how many times I wake up, I can't ever get past that bright and cheery sun!" He chuckled. Stretching, the brown stallion pushed open the stall he was sleeping in, careful not to disturb the hens roosting next door to him. After talking for a bit, the Apple family agreed to take him in as long as he kept his belongings in the barn and he earned his keep by working on the farm. Yesterday he didn't do,much, only observing what everypony else was doing. Big Mac gave him a stern eye the whole time he was shadowing him, but other than that, Applejack, Granny Smith, and Bloom made sure he knew what to do. Stretching out, Arthur opened the barn doors and made his way to the Apple family house just a few quick trots west.
Taking off his rope hat, he knocked on the door, making sure he looked presentable.
"Who is it?" An elderly pony asked.
"Arthur, ma'am. Your granddaughter asked me to stop by for breakfast." The door creaked open slightly, and a pale green elderly mare was leaning on the other side, sticking one of her topaz eyes out.
"Eh, what's this about again?"
"Granny, who's at the door?" Applejack's voice echoed from within the house.
"There's some youngin' asking for breakfast, and such a good lookin' one too!" The elderly mare opened the door the rest of the way, her peppered mane swaying as she did. Eying him up and down, she finally recognized him. "I think it's that Arthur fella you're swoonin' over!" She batted her eyelashes at him, making the poor stallion uncomfortable.
Suddenly a stampede of hoofsteps sounded and Applejack shoved Granny Smith out of the way. "Heh, y-you sure do say the darnedest things, Granny!" She nervously chuckled. "We talked about this, Granny! He's just a friend!" She mumbled to granny. Big Mac guffawed in the background.
"Heh heh, 'morning Applejack." Arthur shook her hoof, then put his hat back on. "Ma'am" he tipped his hat to Granny.
"Well don't be shy, come on in!" Applejack moved out of the way, letting him in and leading him to the dining room. The house itself reminded him of a story back in New Austin that John told him. It was about how he would build a home almost exactly like how this one felt. Jack came up with the idea of course, but John always held out hope that he would get to build it one day.
Sitting down at the round table, he tipped his hat to Big Mac across from him. "Mornin', boss." The red stallion nodded back, getting back to scarfing down his bowl of oats.
"So, we got oats, apples, or apple pie!" Applejack started, grabbing plates for both him and Granny Smith. "Made the pie myself. Y-you should try it." She blushed.
"Maybe later, I appreciate the offer though."
"O-oh. Okay, heh, I-I'll make sure to keep it warm for ya!" Her smile dropped a bit, obviously a little hurt.
darn it Arthur, no need to hurt the girl's feelings! "On second thought, I'd love to have a bite." He smiled, making her blush again. "And a bowl of oats, too."
Arthur waited patiently, looking forward to his breakfast. After a few weeks of eating wild berries and instant coffee, he was excited to have something different. And boy, did Applejack not disappoint! Before him sat the most delicious looking slice of pie he ever saw, and the bowl of oats had a whole heaping of assorted fruits and veggies topping it.
Looking down at his bland bowl, then back at Arthur's, then his again, Big Mac was a bit envious. "Hey!" He whined, only to receive a kick in the shins from Granny sitting next to him. "Ouch! What gives, Granny?!"
One stern look later, the burly stallion sighed dejectedly and went back to his oats.
"Want anything to drink Arthur? Orange juice? Coffee? ...Applejuice?" The orange mare nervously jittered in place.
"Some coffee's fine. Black, please." He said. While waiting for the coffee, Arthur decided to try some of Applejack's pie. Not sure how to eat the pie, he nervously looked towards Granny, and she gestured to what Big Mac was doing: just going to town on the bowl of oats like it was his last day in Equestria. Shrugging his shoulders, he did the same. The first few bites were like being a prospector in a dynamite factory. It didn't take long for him to eat the rest of it.
"Sounds like you really like...the..." Turning around, Applejack nearly dropped the cup of coffee she held in her hoof. Before her was the most adorable sight of a messy Arthur, bits of pie all over his snout and looking like the happiest stallion alive. Easy girl, easy. I know he's downright adorable right now, but you gotta pull yourself together! No need to prove Granny and Big Mac right!" Shaking her head, Applejack brought over his coffee.
Not much happened after that. Breakfast continued as usual, save for Applejack sitting awful close to the new farm hand happily eating his oats and drinking his coffee. An hour or two later, Big Mac and Arthur both headed out to the field to tend to the apple trees-many needed to be harvested today in the West side before they went bad.
"So," Arthur grunted, bucking a nearby tree and sending apples tumbling into the bushels set underneath. "Ya like farming much?"
"Eeyup"
"And, eh, you don't like anything else?"
"Nope."
The Brown stallion adjusted his hat, wiping his brow in the process. "Don't talk much, do ya?"
"Nope."
"I can respect that. Between you and me," he stopped bucking for a moment. "Do you think your sister's acting a bit...strange?" He asked.
Big Mac's bucking missed for half a second, before he adjusted and hit dead on. "N-nope!" The red stallion scrunched his muzzle, desperately trying to keep quiet.
"Listen partner, ain't the first time per-PONIES of the opposite gender have acted like that around me. I'm just wonderin' if she's either mad or madly in love. You know how mares are."
Mac sighed. "Ain't my place to say." He bucked a bit harder this time, putting a sizeable dent in the tree he was working on.
"Fair enough. Don't blame ya for not trusting me, what with what happened with Bloom. Speaking of, where is the little tyke? Haven't seen her since yesterday." He bucked another tree, setting the full bushels aside and grabbing empty ones from the nearby wagon Big Mac pulled with them.
"School." He said.
"Huh. Always figured she was home schooled, from all her talkin' about how great this farm is." He stopped for a second, admiring the scenery. From where they were in the field, there was a perfect view of Ponyville in the distance, framed by apple trees on the side and the Equestrian sun hanging overhead. "I gotta agree with her on that." He smiled.
Several hours later, noon was approaching and their work was done. While Big Mac hauled the harvest, he was reminded of something they were talking about this morning before Arthur came in for breakfast. "Say, Arthur?"
"Eeyup?" He chuckled, poking a bit of fun at Mac.
"Heh. Say, you wanna head to town with me after I'm done bringing in this haul? Applebloom said somethin' about you needing to go get some supplies?"
"Sure. Been meaning to head to town anyways, wanna see the new neighborhood and all that. Anything I should know about?"
"Nope." All of a sudden, the red stallion got a jitter right down his spine, as if he's forgetting something important about Ponyville. Shrugging his shoulders, he continued trotting the haul back to the farmstead. Looking at Arthur, he finally noticed the duster he was wearing, and how it was about 3 sizes too big for him. "Say, since we're going to town, why not getting that duster fixed so it fits ya? My sister knows a friend there that would probably do it for free."
Looking back at his blazer, he had to agree. Well, it does look a bit too big,for me now, huh?
"Yeah, can't rightly say no to that..." while I'm at it, I really should bring my gun. Better to be discreet about that though. Might ask if that tailor knows anyone.
"Alright, it's decided then!" He said, setting down the wagon. "We're gonna head to town!"
"Yeah, Mac! I mean, what could go wrong?"
That was the moment, where everything went horribly wrong... And pink. A pinkish wrong if you will...
After sorting through the apples and putting them in storage, Arthur and Big Macintosh both set out for town,carrying empty saddlebags, save Arthur, who had hidden in his bag the revolver and its holster he deeply cherished. First stop was the Farmer's Market, where Big Mac made various deals with the vendors for the Apple family's goods in trade for other things. One of those things was a new collar, his current one about one harvest away from breaking.
Not much of the market interested the brown stallion, save for a few dry goods and some instant coffee. The Apple family brewed a fine black bean, but to Arthur, it just doesn't taste the same. He blamed it on his having to deal with instant coffee most of his life. Thanks to the allowance and first week's pay Big Mac gave him, he bought his fair share and continued on his way, following the red stallion as they toured Ponyville.
To Arthur, Ponyville wasn't anything special, save for how colorful and upbeat it looked. In New Austin, almost every town had at least one thing wrong with it, either from corrupt sheriffs to people just up and leaving behind what's left. Other than that, the ponies were the weirdest things. Some had wings and flew, while others had horns and could levitate things like the magic shows he saw as a kid. Jack would get a real kick out of this place, he thought.
After a few more stall visits and some purchases and trades, the duo continued on their way to their next destination: Sugarcube Corner.
"Ah, Tartarus! That's what I forgot to mention..." Big,Mac mumbled. Pulling aside the brown stallion, he prepared him for the oncoming randomness that is Pinkie Pie. "Listen Arthur, some weird stuff is gonna go down once we go into that bakery."
Arthur grew nervous, gulping loudly. "L-like what, Mac?"
"I'm not gonna lie, it'll probably make you question yer existence for a bit. Just keep in mind, the pink pony in there is gonna assault every sense you have and twist it around. She, by no stretch of the imagination, is an ordinary pony." He let him go, dusting off his coat. "You ready?"
Arthur sighed. "Do I have a choice?" Entering first, Big Mac took the brunt of it, becoming an example of the weird that he was about to face.
Before Big Mac stood the glass counter of baked goods that was Sugarcube Corner-Ponyville's best and only bakery in the whole town. Though, if you asked anypony on the street, they would tell you it was because of Pinkie Pie. They wouldn't even bat an eye. "Well hiya, Big Mac! Here to drop off our daily supply of apples? Ooh, or is it something else?!"
"Somethin' el-"
Suddenly, the pink pony interrupted. "Ooh, don't tell me! I love guessing games! Are you... Here for some donuts?" She zoomed over to the premade dozen box of donuts, all ironically shaped like apples.
"Nnope." Big Mac was used to the Kong's randomness by now, Arthur guessed.
"If it wasn't that, then-" she gasped loudly. "It's gotta be about Mr. Smarty-Pants! You still have him with you and need me to discreetly sew him up without anyone knowing! I knew it!" She began to reach into her hair only to, somehow, pull out an entire sewing kit and the doll in question.
Blushing, Mac only shook his head.
"Again? Down by two today! You really know how to keep a mare guessing, huh Big Mac?" She giggled. "Hmmm, oh I know! You wanted to introduce me to a new farm hand that was a hermit recently because you knew if you didn't I'd still find out about it eventually and wanted to get it out of the way quick as possible, but you were afraid he'd be scared off because of my quirks, right?" She beamed.
"Eeyup." He pointed to me. "This here's Art-"
"OHMIGOSH A NEW FRIEND!" The pink pony was like some sort of demon, and rushed forward with the speed of a cheetah. "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie! What's your name?"
"Uh Arthur?" He nervously made eye contact with the strange pony.
"Well nice to meet you, Arthur! Say, you look familiar..." She eyed him closely. "Did you ever play as a character in a famous videogame?"
"What's a videogame?" He asked.
"Don't worry about it!" Pinkie beamed. "Alright everypony! There's somepony new in town, so you know what that means!"
From that day forward, she was known only as the Pink Demon to me, and I vowed never to step hoof in Sugarcube Corner again...