In Another Life I: Week One

by Bateman66

Apples Forever

“Apple Bloom!” shouted Applejack with a cupped hoof in the parlor of her cozy country home. “I saw tha’ mess ya’ made in tha’ kitchen. Come down here it fix it this instant!”

No response came from upstairs.

“Apple Bloom!” repeated Applejack with an increased exasperation.

Silence.

“Where did that filly get off to?” she asked herself, confused that her normally excellent family management skills were now being put to the test. Then again, she still was reeling from the sleep deprivation that’d been plaguing her for the past month. Only since last week was she now getting appropriate rest, and even then, the farm schedule still required for her to get up at the crack of dawn. It would be a long while until her body finally got back on track. Until then…

AJ trotted back into the disaster area known as the Apple Family kitchen, and precariously stepped over the scattered remnants of pots, pans, spoons, and other stray cooking materials her little sister had left out for Celestia-knows-what.

Maneuvering across the battlefield with one goal in mind, AJ made it to the end of the room were the monolithic doohickey Granny Smith insisted on buying, sat still next to one of the few power outlets in the entire house: the coffee machine.

Reaching for the pitcher that still sat silently under the device’s heater, AJ quickly poured herself a lukewarm mug of the sludgy brown water, and drink it in an excited fervor.

“Ahhhh,” she exclaimed with a smacking of her lips. “Ain’t nothin’ better than a steamin’ cup of joe in tha’ mid-afternoon.” AJ savored the enjoyment of the bitter liquid for the better part of a second, when suddenly, the front doorbell rang.

Sighing in anguish, she set the mug back down upon the counter, and quickly hopped over the lines of shrapnel back into the parlor room and towards the front door.

As she walked down the hallway, she caught a wonderful glimpse of the bright beams of day shinning inward through the farmhouse windows. The rolling fields of Sweet Apple Acres stretched onwards in her mind, not even needing a physical image of it to perfectly imagine the priceless sign. The monsoon from a week earlier had left the entire apple crop more nourished than it had been in years, multiplying their already plentiful bounty by ten fold.

AJ and the rest of the Apple family had huddled together in fear as the claps of thunder and bolts of lightening shot wildly though that horrid night, but now that it was well and over, AJ couldn’t help but thank Celestia for the fantastic and unexpected turn of luck.

Arriving at the door, AJ reached out for the door handle but was interrupted once again by the jolting ding of the doorbell.

“Hold ya’ horses, I’m comin’!” she shouted through the door, feeling a loss of patience at whoever rang the bell more than once. Anypony knew that one was to ring the bell once and wait for a response from the owner. Who would violate such an established doctorate of civility?

“Somepony rude,” muttered AJ as she swung the door open, and then stopped it halfway with eyes wider than dinner plates.

Before her doorstep stood a very peculiar man with an even more peculiar expression and tone to himself. She could very easily tell that it was a human male, of younger age, a few inches shorter than her, and dressed in a most outrageous fashion that it took significant self-control to not burst out giggling.

He wore a black cropped riding coat that was stiffly buttoned all the way up his torso, but with a single button left loose quite close to his neck. Khaki breeches sloped down from his waist to his knees, with hard-pressed ironing giving them an almost unnatural appearance of absolutely no wrinkles in the fabric. From his breeches and extending down all the way to his feet, were long crisp white socks that were tucked carefully into a set of hardy black buckled shoes. To top the entire ensemble off, the boy had his entire small patch of fur atop his head greased and slickened with gobs of scented hair wax and covered by a snazzy silk top hat.

He stood with a stoic grace, his head cocked slightly upwards in a position that only those wearing such old garments were capable of performing. He waited politely (minus the slight air of superiority in his face) as AJ assessed his dress.

“Why’re you wearin’ them clothes?” she asked in a quieted simplicity, not sure how to properly address the situation.

“Excuse me?” said the boy in an enunciated voice that sounded both overly polite and overly flamboyant at the same time. “You question my dress? Is this due to my abnormal physique or the garments’ visual spectacle?” The human paused a second for a response, then leaned in closely to AJ with a grit whisper. “Are you prejudice?”

True, Applejack was a bit taken off guard that a human of all creatures had arrived at her very doorstep. But she, like every other pony in Ponyville and beyond, had been informed a few days prior by nearly all of the available news outlets of the strange being’s arrival, ending the near century absence of his kind from Equestria.

The media was still gushing over the fantastic event, with theories and possible explanations to the strange arrival prompting many ponies to request an official state investigation into the matter, one that had not been attempted before in Equestrian history. But, Princess Celestia remained steadfast in her policy of letting the human live as he pleased, preventing any harassment or bother by the conglomerates for their own nefarious goals.

And yet, here was Applejack, standing with her mouth slightly agape as the archaically dressed human waited for her retort.

“N-no,” she stammered, “I wasn’t expectin’ any guests this time ah’ day. I’ve been workin’ so long out today my normal schedule mustah’ slipped mah’ mind. Have we met before?”

The boy removed a handkerchief from his left breast pocket and blew his nose loudly into it. Reopening up the small pocket, he placed the cloth back in and responded to AJ.

“We have, without both of our own knowing I’m afraid. A chance an encounter, one might say, a must unexpected one indeed.”

AJ blinked. “I don’t get it.”

The boy waved the air with his hand to brush the matter away. “It does not matter. For now…” he graciously bowed to AJ with a long and low arch from his right arm. “I am Alistair; it is very nice to meet you, Madame Applejack.”

“Madame?” she repeated to make sure she’d heard him correctly. “That ain’t parta mah’—how do you know mah’ name?”

“Your friend, Twilight Sparkle, informed me of it.”

“Twilight?” she said in an even more confused stupor, the situation turning more peculiar by the minute. “What’s she got to do with this?”

The boy rolled his eyes at AJ’s clear misunderstanding of the situation. “On Ms. Sparkle’s urging and my own willing to repay a lost debt, I volunteered to meet with you, the proud proprietor of this property, to formally apologize for my actions.”

AJ raised an eyebrow. “Why would ya’ need to apologize, you ain’t done anything to me, and I don’t even remember meetin’ with ya’!”

“You do not remember me properly,” he said with the shake of his index finger, “but I most certainly remember you. Tell me, do you recall an action-packed evening from nearly two weeks ago, while you chased down a prowler who was illegally squatting on your land?”

“Yes…” said the earth pony with a hint of recognition.

Alistair bowed once again, this time with a bright smile. “Yours truly.”

“Oh dear,” murmured AJ with sudden regret. “I’m sorry if we harmed ya’ in anyway. I didn’t know you were…you. I thought you was just some nasty varmint with enough sense to know you was doing wrong. You probably didn’t even know what owning land met, better yet who owned it.”

He put his hand up to silence her. “That may be so, but my ignorance to your species’ odd ways should not serve as a shield. And thus…” he bowed for a third time, this one larger, wider, and more grandiose than any before it. “I am sorry.”

“Ahhhh, sugar cube…” Applejack began compassionately, “y’all didn’t need to do that. I understand, anypony would.”

“But I must!” declared Alistair loudly as he brought his fist to his chest. “Thus it is my duty to repay my debts. And now, that they are paid, I bid you farewell.” Alistair turned to walk away but AJ called out to him before he could take a step forward.

“Y’all sure you wouldn’t want to step in for some cider, to make yer trip down here a bit more worthwhile?”

Alistair pondered this for a moment, and then shook his head. “I don’t believe I have the time for today. But, tomorrow I’m much more available. How would you say, three o’ clock precisely?”

AJ shook her head happily. “Sounds like ah’ plan. I’ll see y’all then!”

The two smiled at one another as AJ closed the door. Grinning to himself even more now that the mare was gone, Alistair began back down the dirt trail to edge of the property, towards the main road back into Ponyville.

As he approached the “Y’all Come Back Now, Ya’ Here!” sign near the end of the farm’s reach, Twilight Sparkle jumped onto the path from behind a nearby tree, looking just as ecstatic as ever.

“Sooooooo, how did it go?” she asked with expectation gleaming in her eyes.

Alistair nodded his head. “Better than I thought. She offered for me to return around this time tomorrow. Is that a good thing?”

Twilight beamed humorously. “With Applejack, of course it is.”

“That’s good then,” he said with a nod of acknowledgement. “I was worried that she’d be bitter with me, especially considering the trouble she had to trudge through. Either way…” he paused and stretched the collar of his uncomfortable coat, “were the garments quite necessary?”

She shrugged. “Your arrival clothes aren’t in particularly great shape. Making a good impression is one of the essentials when meeting somepony. Remember that. And besides, you should be happy my friend was able to produce those so quickly, she’s a sorceress with stitching.”

“But really,” he insisted indignantly, “couldn’t we have settled with something a tad more…modern? I feel archaic in comparison to everyone—I mean, everypony.”

Twilight shrugged once more. “It was the only point of reference she had to go off of. You’re just lucky she had them at all, male designs especially.”

Alistair shivered uncomfortably. “I don’t believe I’d be comfortable in women’s attire, especially from centuries ago. I can barely suffice as it is.”

Twilight patted her hoof atop his shoulder compassionately. “You’re doing great as it is, don’t sweat it. Now come on, I want to see how your levitation spells are coming along; we don’t have a moment to waste.”

“You don’t skip a beat, do you?” he said with a grin, feeling am amusement at Twilight’s excessive spunk and pomp.

“That’s what Spike keeps telling me. But seriously, I don’t want us to get behind schedule, so let’s go.”

Alistair threw his palms up in defense and raised his eyebrows dramatically towards the sky. “Alright, let’s go then. Excuse me for wasting a few seconds.”

Twilight, who was now already beginning down the path, didn’t seem to detect his sarcasm. “It’s okay, I forgive you. Now c’mon!