Stereoheart

by FimFan14

Three: A somewhat surpising turn of events

Authors Note:

In particular, I would appreciate comments on how I write the mane six, and particularly if I keep them in character. Thanks, appreciated!

---

To say that Stereo was worried would be an understatement. He looked at the Earth Pony in front of him, with her stern expression. Would she kick him out? Would she assume the worst you could assume of somepony that was last seen living several hundred miles away, showing up with your little sister’s best friends; would she hurt him?

“Well howdy thar, Stereo!”

phew

“Looks like the Princess finally got ya outa Cloudsdale!”

Stereo was confused for a moment, and also noted that Scootaloo seemed to tense up slightly. “What do you mean?”

“Nopony lies ta Applejack!” She said. “I saw dat the Princess was hidin’ sometin’, an’ so I approached ‘er, and she told us everything. It tore me up when I ran inta ya at the competition.”

“Oh… well, Rainbow Dash must have felt the same, because she took us in.” Stereo replied. “Maybe that was why she was so caring just after she took us home?”

Applejack just tilted her head slightly, before changing the subject. “We got a huge Apple-Family lunch ‘bout ta start!” She said. “You youngins hungry?”

Both girls shouted their confirmation, while Stereo just nodded. “If you’re sure that’s oka…”

“Great!” Applejack said, before pushing them all into the house. The three children soon found themselves seated at a large family dining table. Various colorful dishes were spread across the dark, hardwood surface.

"Soup's on, Apple Bloom!" Applejack yelled out, and soon another small filly was spotted trotting down the stairs. She had a yellow coat, in a shade that was not quite olive-yellow. Her strawberry-red mane had in it a bow of the same color. She sat down next to Applejack, who was at the opposite table-head to Stereo.

"Applebloom," she said, "this 'ere's Stereo. I want ya te be real nice ta him, he's had a bad life up 'til here."

Applebloom nodded, before Stereo's stomach grumbled loudly. He gave a small blush. Applejack payed it no mind. She began to point to various dishes spread out on the table. "We've got ourselves some tasty Apple Fritters, Apple Turnovers, Apple Muffins, and good ol' Apple Pie!" She said.

Stereo looked at the food, knowing not where to start. He had five great sounding dishes to try... but which first?

Applebloom reached over the table, picking up Stereo's plate. "Here," she said. "Lemme get that for ya!"

Stereo noticed that Applebloom had the same accent as her sister; she had, after all, lived with Applejack her whole life. It was less extreme, though, probably due to her having more exposure to Equestrian accents other than the one prominent in the south. He soon found his plate back in front of him. He eyed the food, carefully discriminating, once again, in order to determine which item to tackle first. He eventually decided to go with something familiar- Apple Pie. He levitated a fork, cutting off a small slice and placing it in his mouth. As he chewed, he was met with an explosion of flavor; he lavished the sweet apple pieces as they broke apart in his mouth, the crunch of the pastry as he bit down hard, savoring the flavor. It was- to say the least- hands down the best pie he had tasted. He looked up to see Applejack staring.

"Aw," she said, "y'all don't have ta use that on me, I ain't Rarity!"

Stereo was confused with what was being said, but then noticed Applejack bury her face into her plate, literally stuffing her face. Stereo was slightly shocked, but soon overcame his initial surprise. He levitated the entire pie slice in front of him.

"When in Rome!"

---

Stereo sat at the table, completely stuffed full of the many apple-based foods that had been presented to him. And not just the, but the best apple-based foods that had been given to him, ever. Apples had been a fairly common Cloudsdale import, not being rare items to obtain. Stereo had had his fair share in his lifetime, and still found himself wanting more of these surprisingly good treats. But alas, his stomach could not handle the strain; so Stereo sufficed to sit and listen to the idle conversation around him.

"Hey Applejack," Sweetie said. "Where’s Big Mac and Granny Smith?"

"They just gone off ta Appleoosa for a few days to catch up wit' mah cousin Braeburn an' help with the new plantations!" Applejack replied. "What 'bout Rarity? Ah haven't seen hide 'a her since Cloudsdale."

"She's still embarrassed about what happened," Sweetie said. "And she gave up trying to teach me magic! But it's so hard! How'd you do it so easily?"

It took several seconds for Stereo to realize that the question had been directed at him. "Who, me?"

"Well, you are the only Unicorn here," Scootaloo said, somewhat sarcastically.

"Oh... well," Stereo began, fumbling for words. "I just focus on an object, and sort of just... grab it." Stereo held up his empty plate, to demonstrate

"Grab it?" Sweetie asked.

"Grab it," Stereo replied again.

"Grab it?"

"Grab it."

"Grab it?"

"Grab it."

"Grab it!" Sweetie shouted, sweat pouring from her brow.

"Yeah," Stereo said. "Just like that!"

Sweetie only then noticed in front of her, floating gently within a most beautiful pure white glow, a single butter knife. The same overlay of flawless white was enveloping her horn, creating waves of magic around the appendage. Sweetie blushed slightly.

"I-it's easier than I thought it would be!" She said, somewhat nervously. "Rarity will be proud when I get home..."

Just then, a yell was heard. A blue pony burst through the nearest window, slapping hard against the ground, before quickly rising to reveal a multi-hued mane and tail. She was, of course, Rainbow Dash.

She got down to business immediately. "C'mon Hearts, we need to go to Sugarcube corner. Your brother is cooking a storm! He and Pinkie have made so many treats; they're all half price!"

"Hearts?" Stereo said. "That's a new one."

"Yeah, well I dare to be different. We need to get my bit bag from home, so we should hurry," Rainbow replied.

"Wait wait wait," Scootaloo interjected. "You actually live with the Rainbow Dash! That is SO AWESOME!"

"Yeah, well," Rainbow started, "I thought a couple of colts would he pretty cool." Scootaloo pouted, whether out of jealousy or just plain disappointment, but soon returned to her normal attitude; consisting of running, buzzing, and a mild case of hyperactivity.

"Can I come?" She asked. "Half price food sounds pretty awesome right now!"

"But Scoots," Applebloom said. "Ya just ate!"

"Yeah, well..." She responded, looking for an excuse. "I'll get to see his brother!"

Stereo climbed onto Rainbows back. "That didn't sound half-hearted at all," he said sarcastically.

Rainbow gave a sigh and a chuckle. "C'mon, squirt," she said. "Hop on!"

"Wait," Scootaloo said. "I actually get to ride you!"

"Seriously, kid," Rainbow said, with a long-suffering sigh. "I'm just a pony. All the hero worship 'n stuff gets annoying."

Scootaloo nodded, then as soon as Rainbow looked away, broke out into a huge grin. She climbed onto the Pegasus' back, before stating her readiness.

"Ok," Rainbow shouted. "Let's fly!"

---

Stereo was contemplating his earlier freak-out over seeing Applejack. Mentally checking off certain things such as; •She had no reason to be suspicious
And •She wouldn't have found it suspicious that I showed up anyway;

He came to a conclusion.

"Wow..." He said. "I'm paranoid."

Looking behind him, he noticed Scootaloo sitting, and basically just soaking in the joy of flight. Taking note of their speed, and the resultant noise, he decided that trying to hold a conversation would be fruitless. Besides, she looked perfectly content. He tried, instead, to note some more features of Ponyville. They were currently flying right over the Highland Reservoir, and away from Rainbow's house. That would probably be good for swimming. And in the distance, he saw a red school house. Also useful to know, although not exactly welcome. He knew that he would have to go back, and was not looking forward to it.

Rainbow began a shallow left-side bank, before starting a gradual descent into the market square. They touched down, right in front of Sugarcube corner. It appeared to be, at least on the outside, devoid of ponies. As a matter of fact, the entire marketplace seemed deserted, especially for a late afternoon.

"It's..." Scootaloo began, "It's empty!"

Stereo saw a small figure run towards them out of the corner of his eye, and was bowled over before he could turn. He didn't even need to reopen his eyes after the tumble, immediately knowing the identity of the culprit.

"Hello, Frisky," he said wryly.

"Pinkie kicked me out," Frisky replied. "The place was so crowded, that she said she needed me out, for safety!"

They trotted into the gingerbread building, which had a noticeable lack of lighting, "Yeahhhh," Rainbow said, dragging out the word. "About that..."

"SURPRISE!"

Both brothers froze, as they found themselves caught in the proverbial spotlight. The literal lights flicked on, and the previous greeting -or more accurately, verbal-defribullator -had been shouted out by everypony in the room; everypony being Pinkie, Rarity, Twilight, Applejack, Sweetie, Applebloom, and an abundance of other various ponies that had never been seen before.

"Guess what everypony? The guests of honor have arrived! Let's give 'em a hand!" Somepony said. It took Stereo a moment to focus, and realize that it was Pinkie who was speaking. She turned to them, and gave the biggest smile one could give while not looking creepy. Not that Pinkie seemed to be able to. She seemed to be able to smile and make others smile at will, without looking like a kidnapper or escaped mental patient.

"Hey guys!" She shouted over the sound of stomping hooves. "I made this party for you, 'cause I heard that you were new, and that you didn't know anypony! And then, Twilight told me about your past, and how gloomy it was." Her face did a one-eighty, morphing into a frown, before completing the circle, reverting to its previous state. "It just made me so sad, and I had to throw this party for you, so you could talk, and smile, and laugh, and make new friends!"

"Ummmm... thanks?" Stereo said, unsure as to how he should respond. He was saved, as Rarity stepped forward.

"Darling, these get-togethers are, undoubtedly, always somewhat awkward and confusing for the unsuspecting guest of honor, so allow me to help clarify. This is a 'welcome to Ponyville' party." Rarity said, before turning to the crowd. "Go about your business, everypony!" She shouted, before turning back. "Try to act natural, or to the degree one can at a Pinkie Pie party. Mingle, introduce yourself. Maybe you could make a few friends?"

Stereo gave a nod. "Thanks," he said.

"Sempre," she replied. "Now go... have fun."

Stereo waved, before braving the crowd. He felt somewhat lost, as probably did Frisky, wherever he was. Then again, he probably already knew everypony here, knowing his outgoing personality. Slightly lost in his thought, he didn't realize that he accidentally slammed muzzle-first into somepony's flank. Adorning it was a simple cutie mark; two barred quavers.

They pony turned around, a mare with a wild mane and tinted glasses. "Hey!" She said, causing Stereo to momentarily slink back. "Whaddup? Name's Scratch, but ponies call me Vinyl."

"Hi..." Stereo said timidly. "Sorry for that..."

"No need, you’re still cool. You flank's got a sweet mark! When'd you get it?"

"Well... just last week, actually." Stereo replied.

"Nice." Vinyl said. "Got somethin' to do with music?"

"Yeah, I play."

"Which one?"

"Piano, harp, violin, guitar... most instruments I can hold a tune," Stereo said. "But piano is the only one that I'm really good at."

Vinyl nodded her... approval, maybe? "Impressive. You sing?"

"Well... I haven’t tried." Stereo explained. "But now that you mention it, I really should." He noticed Twilight walking over to them.

"Well, nice meeting you bro," Vinyl said. "Gotta run, catcha!"

Twilight approached Stereo, ignoring the other Unicorn that was walking to intercept another pony.

"Hey, Stereo," Twilight said. "I may have found something to do with your necklace. Can you stop over tomorrow? I found something that could change your life."