> Ultra Combo: Brother, Gamer, Pony
>  by UltraCombo
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Fillydelphia
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"KO!!! YOU WIN!!!"

The familiar sound echoed through Ultra Combo's ears. "Child's play." he thought to himself. "Whoever programmed this thing had no idea he'd be dealing with me." He had a right to feel confident, video games was his special talent, sported by his cutie mark of a controller. It was just another day for Ultra, sitting in his still-unfinished house, playing some Pony Kombat. That's all he ever thought he needed, besides the house being unfinished, of course. However, Ultra was starting to doubt his old dreams he had as a colt.

---------------------

Ultra grew up in the city of Fillydelphia. As a colt, he had thought that the city was the perfect balance of everything he needed: Ponies to talk to, and things to do. However, as time went on, Fillydelphia went further and futher from what he originally loved it for. Over the years, more and more new ponies moved to Fillydelphia, while all the old ones Ultra called his friends began to move away, and eventually, he would lose contact with most of his friends. Fillydelphia also began to lose stuff to do. Playgrounds and arcades where he and his old friends used to hang out were demolished to make way for factories and plants. Fillydelphia was quickly becoming an industrial giant, and Ultra didn't want ANY part in it.

Ultra quickly decided that, when he was old enough, he would move to a small town, one where this industrial revolution wouldn't take over and take away everything he loved about a quiet city. So, three years ago, at the young age of 19, Ultra decided to leave home for a little town he heard one of the locals talking about: Ponyville.

In the month he took to prepare for his move, his family life wasn't the greatest. His father, a single parent for Ultra and his younger sister Joystick after his mother's disappearance, had assumed Ultra would stay in Fillydelphia and work with him at the steel mill, so this news came as a great shock to him. Still, he let Ultra choose his own destiny, though Ultra saw the disappointment in his father's eyes. Because of this, he decided to limit interaction with his father.

Ultra's sister, Joystick, on the other hand, was devastated when she intially heard the news of Ultra's departure. One of the few things Ultra remembers vividly was walking into Joystick's room and seeing her sobbing loudly into her pillow.

"...Joy?" he said softly. He knew she didn't want to talk to him. While all of Ultra's friends moved away from Fillydelphia over the years, his little sister remained his best friend. Joystick looked up at him, her eyes red and her cheeks drenched in tears.

"What do YOU want?!" she managed to scream through her tears. She didn't even wait for an answer. She just buried her head into her pillow again. Ultra sighed and sat down on the edge of Joystick's bed, giving her space.

"Look, Joy, obviously you aren't happy about this. I understand that, but I really don't want to remember my last month living here as the week I couldn't even TALK to you."

Joystick quickly rolled over to look Ultra in the eyes, tears still erupting from her eyes. "I-I-It doesn't have to be! Just stay here! You don't have to go! You don't!!!"

"It's not like you'll never see me again."

"B-B-But-but....I NEVER WANT YOU TO LEAVE!!!!!"

Joystick flung herself into Ultra's hooves. She started bawling even harder. Ultra began to stroke her mane. "Shhhhhh..." Ultra whispered gently. He backed up and looked into Joystick's eyes. "I can't stay here. This isn't where I'm meant to be. I'm meant to be in Ponyville. I've seen it, and it's perfect for me. Nice and quiet." Ultra brought up a hoof and wiped the tears from Joy's face. "I love you. You know that. But this is my destiny. This is what I was meant to do. So, please, Joy. Give me your blessing to do what I'm meant to do."

Joystick had stopped sobbing, though silent tears began to stream down her face. ".....Okay." Joystick hugged Ultra as hard as she could.

"I have a proposition for you." Ultra said in a more cheerful tone. Joystick looked up at his big blue eyes. 

"What?"

"How about this: If you wanna be with me so bad, you can visit me some time. You can stay as long as you want. And..." Ultra's conversation with his father after Joystick had fled to her room flashed through his mind. "...I talked to Dad, and he said that, when you're old enough, you can move in with me in Ponyville.

Joystick lit up like Celestia's sun. "R-r-r-really?!" Joystick began jumping up and down on her bed. "YESYESYESYESYES..."
Ultra could remember it like yesterday. The moment he left Fillydelphia behind was one of the most sorrowful moments of his life. Sure, he would be seeing his sister on her visits she had every once in a while, but...

"Oh, horseapples." Ultra snapped back to reality. Joystick. He darted into the unfinished kitchen of his home to check the clock. 2:30. Ultra breathed a sigh of relief. Joystick's train wasn't showing up until 7:00. He still had time.

While Ultra was in the kitchen, he decided to check the fridge to see how his food situation was going. It wasn't going well. He had barely anything, definitely not enough to feed a himself AND Joy for the whole week. He sighed. "Whelp," he said to nobody in particular but himself, "guess I'd better go shopping before she gets here." With that, he went outside and made his way out to down to the market.

Upon arriving at the market, Ultra looked around to see everything just as usual. The mailmare flying through the sky, all the vendors in their usual places. Everything was normal, that is, except for the big, red stallion setting up a sign by entrance to the market. The sign read:

SWEET APPLE ACRES
BEST APPLES IN ALL OF PONYVILLE

"Apples, huh?" Ultra pondered. "Joystick likes apples. I bet she'd love to have some. Plus, I keep hearing great things about this Sweet Apple Acres place." Ultra shrugged as he began to make 
his way down to Sweet Apple Acres, unaware that, there, he would meet one of the closest friends he would ever know.
> Meeting Applejack
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sure is...er...country. But I guess I should've come to expect that."

Ultra had made the short 10 minute walk down to Sweet Apple Acres after doing his shopping at the market, and was taking in the surroundings. It was just as he expected, the full stereotypical ranch look was everywhere, from the farm itself, to the family living there.

As Ultra proceeded down the path, he noticed a stand by the entrance, manned by an orange pony in a cowboy hat. Upon getting closer, she looked pretty friendly looking, too. She wore a huge smile, and seemed to be in a relatively good mood.

"Great." Ultra had never been good at making friends, besides the guys at work, and the mailmare, but they were really just acquaintances. It wasn't that he didn't want companionship, he really did. But, over the years, Ultra's isolated lifestyle had turned him into a bit of a shut-in. And, to top it off, he had developed a sort of nervous twitch that went off whenever he was inactive for too long. THAT did not help attract new friends either. 

"Still," he said, eying the orange cowpony from a distance, "I guess it's worth a shot. Don't want Joy to show up and see that I'm still solo after 3 years." He trotted up to the stand and smiled.

"Well, howdy! What can ah do ya for?" asked the cowpony.

"..."

...Why aren't you speaking? Ultra thought to himself.

"...Uh...You alright, mister?" the cowpony asked, feeling a little awkward just staring at Ultra's big, kinda creepy smile.

"..."

Seriously, I mean it. If you don't say something, I'll hate you forever. Ultra's subconscious continued to battle his conscious actions.

"...ummm...mister?" the cowpony was definitely becoming to feel uncomfortable.

"..."

DO IT NOW!!! RIGHT THE HAY NOW!!!

"Hey!" Ultra suddenly said after what felt like the longest silence of his life. He extended his hoof for a hoofshake. "The name's Ultra Combo." The orange pony's look of confusion lifted and was replaced by her previous inviting smile.

"Howdy there!  My name’s Applejack." she replied, spitting into her hoof and accepting Ultra's hoofshake.

Okay, good. She doesn't realize that I'm completely insane and having a conversation with myself in your head. Now, to just act natural. Time to break the ice.

"How're things going?" Ultra asked.

Good. Simple, and in no way could that question reveal how much of a total SPAZ I am.

"Things are alright…" Applejack responded. At this point, Ultra noticed that Applejack wasn't always looking him in the eye. Occasionally she'd look down. Curious as to what she was so distracted by, he looked down at his hooves, only to see his front hooves tapping randomly at the ground involuntarily. "That’s one interestin’ twitch ya got there, I have ta say."

Well. That's it. I'm done. Might as well just spill out about how much of a bucking nerd I am.

Still, Ultra tried to act casual about his twitch. "Oh, this? Nah, it's nothing. I'm always doing something with my hooves, be it gaming or working. I'm just more used to always being moving than not. That and the ADHD. It'll stop eventually, just try to ignore it." Ultra realized he'd rambled on about himself quite enough. "But, that's enough about me. How are you? How's work on the farm?"

...Wow. I may pull this off yet.

"Thing’s 'ave been fine and dandy ‘round these parts!" Applejack replied happily. Ultra felt very confident in himself. He hadn't really attempted to make friends in a while, and when he did, he usually just scared them off with how strangely he acted. "Games, eh?  What kind of games do y’all play?" Applejack asked politely.

What? Oh no. Did I just mention my gaming? Aw, ponyfeathers! I don't wanna talk about that. I'll try to turn her off the topic and change the subject.

"...Oh, uh, well...y-you don't really wanna hear about that. WAY too geeky. You'd be bored by it." Ultra hoped his ploy would work and Applejack would be compelled to change the subject. However, Applejack shook her head at this statement. 

"Naaaaaah, don’t worry yer head ‘bout it!  Go right on ahead and tell me all about yer games!" She smiled at him nodding for him to go on.

Is...is she serious? Well, she seems nice. And she really seems to be genuinely interested in my hobby. I guess it's worth a shot. Besides, I don't think there's any polite way out of this.

Ultra took a deep breath and said, "I play video games. Fighting games, specifically. Its my special talent!" Ultra braced himself for the taunts that he usually got from the jock ponies from his school back home for his talent.

"Fightin’ games sound fun…I wouldn’t mind tryin’ one sometime!" Applejack said. Ultra was shocked, as most ponies he told about his talent laughed at him and called him a shut-in. They didn't give his pastime any positive words, unlike Applejack. Suddenly, Ultra remembered he was still participating in a conversation.

"Yeah." Ultra said, "Thanks for not laughing. Its not the coolest talent ever, so I don't usually bring it up very often."

"That sounds like an interestin’ talent, I have ta say!  Don’t ever be shy about what ya do, nopony can do it better than you!" Ultra couldn't believe what he was hearing. Words of encouragement? He had never, ever received such as welcoming response.

"Thanks! That really helps boost my confidence!"

This is going great!

"So, what's your plan for today? Just work, or is there anything special going on?"

"Nothin’ real special today, just plan ta go ‘round the farm and make sure everythin’ is doin’ fine!"

"Awesome!"

Ultra was ecstatic. He was conversing with someone, and not just someone from work, or a client, but someone he legitimately wanted to be friends with! All of a sudden, something dawned on him. "Oh! I almost forgot the reason I came here in the first place! I was wondering how much a medium-sized basket of apples would cost."

Applejack thought for a moment, and then said, "I think 2 bits fer a medium basket sounds like a fair price ta me!" Applejack then went under the applestand and pulled out a medium-sized basket, which was much bigger than Ultra thought it would be. He had no problem with that. "One day ya’ll have ta show me one of these video games though, cause I’m mighty interested in it!" Applejack continued, helping Ultra lift the basket up onto his back.

Ultra pulled 2 bits out of his saddlebag and dropped them onto the stand. "Well, I'd be happy to! Unfortunately, not right now, though. I have to go pick up my sister, from the train station in a bit. She's visiting here from Fillydelphia for a week. But, when I'm free, I'll be happy to show you some games!"

Applejack grabbed the bits off the stand, dropped them into her hat, and put it back on. "Sounds like a plan!  Fillydelphia, huh?  Sounds like an interestin’ place.  Maybe I should go there sometime…"

"Yeah, its a-" All of a sudden, Ultra's legs suddenly stopped their twitching and stood still.  "-see? I told you it would stop!" Applejack chuckled at his strange behavior. Ultra continued what he was saying before getting interrupted. "Anyway, Fillydelphia is a great place. Joystick and I grew up there. Have you lived here in Ponyville all your life?"

Applejack nodded her head, Ultra's bits jangling around in her hat with bits from other sales. "Always have, ‘cept fer that one time I went to stay with my aunt and uncle in Manehattan.  Have ta say it’s a nice place ta live, here in Ponyville! Here’s hopin’ yer sister has a good time!"

Ultra suddenly turned around and looked at the clock on the town hall. It read 6:30. How long was I shopping down at the market?! He turned to Applejack. "Thanks again, Applejack. I'll be sure to stop by later so you can meet her, but right now, I've gotta hurry before her train arrives. I'll see you around Applejack!" Ultra then trotted off towards the train station.

Applejack took off her hat and waved him off smiling the whole time. "Bye now, take care of yerself and come on back when y’all want, alrighty?"

Before exiting the farm Ultra stopped and said to himself, "Did I just make a friend?" The red stallion he saw putting up the sign in the market passed him, going back into the farm.

"Eeeyup."

Ultra shook off his overjoyed paralysis, and took off for the train station.
> Reunion and Remembrance
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

FIVE YEARS AGO...

"Ultra, come on!"

"Just wait a minute!"

Ah, Nightmare Night. Ultra thought. Ultra always loved this night ever since he was a colt. Even after he had grown out of the whole free candy thing, he still loved all the events and games that the festival entailed. 

This year, Ultra had not put the extreme effort into his costume that he had in previous years. Intead, he just bought a generic Frankenstallion costume from a local costume store and wore that. Joy, however, had gone all out. At the age of three, she and their mother had crafted an expertly tailored princess outfit, complete with sequins, gem stones, and a realistic crown designed after Celestia's. She looked adorable. 

Ultra was honestly surprised at how quickly Joy was growing. She was already walking and talking like a pro, not stumbling over her feet or her words. He couldn't do any of that as well as his sister when he was her age. He was so proud of her.

"Ultra, stop bumbling around and get a move on! We're gonna be late for the candy offering! I don't want Nightmare Moon to eat me up!" Joy's irritated rage proved to be more adorable than intimidating, but Ultra listened, and quickly caught up to the excitable filly.

That night, Ultra and Joystick enjoyed the festivities and games. They started with the candy offering, which Joystick was SO scared of that she needed Ultra to empty the candy from her bag for her as she watched from afar. Next, the festival. Joystick tried to play every game at the celebration, and won a large stuffed spider from the spider throw, with Ultra's help of course. All the games he played truly improved his accuracy. The festival lasted long into the night, but eventually, the party died down and everypony left Afterward, Joy was so tuckered out that Ultra had to carry her home. When Ultra arrived at home, he entered the house with Joy still on his back, asleep. The house didn't have a single light on, but that was to be expected, seeing how late it was.

Ultra scaled the stairs carefully as to not wake up Joy, entered her room, and gently placed her in bed and tucked her in. Ultra yawned and got up to go to bed himself, when his father stopped him in the doorway. He was dead silent. "Hey, sorry we're so late," said Ultra, expecting there would be hay to pay if he didn't explain their late arrival, "but the games went on a little longer than expected."

His father dismissed the excuse. "I don't care." he said in a monotone that Ultra dreaded, the kind of monotone that someone who has completely given up speaks in. "We need to...talk..." 

Ultra became increasingly concerned with his father's grim attitude. "What? What about? Where's mom?"

Ultra's father drooped his head at the final question. "That's just it." He looked up at Ultra, and Ultra's heart stopped when he saw tears streaming down his father's face. "We have no idea where she is."

----------

TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!

"Aaaah!!"

Ultra almost fell out of his seat after his rude awakening caused by the train pulling into the station. 

Nyeh. Bucking train...wait...Joy!

Ultra straightened himself up and looked at the time. 7:02. Yeah, this was her train alright. He took a deep breath, got up, and walked over to the exit of Joystick's car. Her stood there for what seemed like an eternity, but finally, the last passenger exited the car.

She was a little filly, between 2 and 3 feet. Her coat was a bright shade of red, and her wings were small, but it looked like they could still carry her if she wished. Her big, blue eyes seemed to perfectly match her straight mane and tail. There was no mistaking it: that was his little sis, alright.

At first, Joystick was panicked. She had never been in this town, and she was terrified of not meeting her brother right away. She scanned the station frantically, tears welling up in her eyes, until she felt and saw a blue hoof on her shoulder and a familiar voice.

"You haven't changed in the slightest, you know that?"

Joystick's tears went away instantly, and her mouth curled up into an enormous smile. She didn't even think twice, quickly turning around and launching an attack hug on Ultra. "Ultra Combo!!! I missed you sosososososososososo much!" she yelled, squeezing him tightly, cutting off his air supply.

"Joy....please....loosen....grip....now...."

"Huh? OH! Sorry."

Joy let go of her brother, and he took a big breath. They both laughed and headed into the train station, clearing the way so other passengers could get on the train. Once in the station, Joy became very quiet. Ultra didn't blame her, but he tried desperately to think of something to say to her to bring up her spirits. Knowing what she's been through, she deserves it.

"...How've you been, kiddo?"

"...I've been okay..."

She's lying. Again, unsurprisingly. Ultra thought.

"Listen, Joy," Ultra began, putting a hoof on Joy's shoulder. "I don't wanna see no tears, okay? This is a happy time! We haven't seen each other in three years! So, no tears, just smiles, okay?"

Joystick smiled up at Ultra. "Okay, Ultra. You're right."

"As always..." Ultra joked. "Hey."

"Yeah?"

"I have to stop by the library to pick up some books so I can fix something at the house." Ultra smirked at Joystick, a competitive look coming over his face. "Race?"

"Race." Joystick then took off for the library.

"HEY!" Ultra sped after Joy. "WHERE ARE YOU GOING?! YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE THE LIBRARY IS! HAY, YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE ANYTHING IS! YOU'VE NEVER EVEN BEEN HERE!!!!"
> The Chapter Where We Find Out What's Eating Joystick
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Spike, have you seen that copy of 'Flora and You'?"

"Did you check under F?"

"...Be right back."

Twilight felt silly. Ever since she moved to Ponyville she had lived in this library, yet she always seemed to forget the alphabetical ordering of the books. She trotted over to the F section, and after scanning over it for a second, she used her magic to slide the book out of the shelf and levitate it over to her desk. "I found it, Spike!" Twilight called up to her faithful assistant. "You were right! Again."

Spike leaned over the railing. "'Flora and You', huh? You suddenly develop an interest in gardening?" 

"Oh, no. I'm keeping the book on hold for Junebug. She's coming to pick it up today."

"Oh. I see."

Twilight put the book in the section marked "Reserved" and resumed reading her own book. Not five minutes had passed when Twilight heard quickly approaching hoofsteps. Then, all of a sudden, the hoofsteps stopped, and were replaced by heavy breathing and speech which Twilight could not understand from inside the library. All of a sudden, the door swung open and standing in the doorway was a young, blue stallion pegasus and a small, red pegasus filly.

"-are you talking about? I was way ahead of you the whole time! Plus, you cheated! You got a head start!" argued Ultra playfully with Joystick.

"Oh, don't make me laugh."

"What? You wanna rematch? I'll take you any time, any pla-"

"SHHHHHHH!!!" Twilight shushed. She hated it when people barged in and started being noisy in her library. However, Twilight realized that she may have acted a bit rudely, so she cleared her throat and started again. "Welcome to the Ponyville Library. I'm Twilight Sparkle. Is there anything I can help you with?"

Ultra walked up to Twilight and offered her a hoofshake, which she accepted. "Hi. Ultra Combo.  This is my sister, Joystick." Joystick gave an adorable face, smiling up at Twilight.

"Hi!"

"I'm actually just wondering if you've got any books on home improvement and development."

Twilight set her book down. "Oh! Certainly! Right this way." Twilight began to lead the two siblings to the section of the library reserved for manuals and instructions. "So, do you mind my asking what you are building that you need books like these?" 

Ultra opened his mouth to answer, but his words instead came from behind him. "He's building a house!" Twilight's eyes widened.

"A house? Wow, that's a lot of work." Twilight stopped in front of one of the shelves and began pulling books off of it. "SPIKE! Could you come here please?" Spike quickly showed up.

"You called?"

"Hold these, please."

"Oka-WHOA!"

Twilight dropped a tall pile of books into Spike's open arms, and Spike attempted to balance it while Twilight continued to add to the towering pile. "So, have you started building yet?"

Ultra nodded. "Yup. Actually, I've been working on it for a while, just as a solo project. I'm actually just around the corner."

"Ooooh. You mean the big, shiny house without a door?"

"Yup, that's me. Been working on it for 3 years now."

"And you never thought to stop in here to get some instructions?"

"Naw. My parents..." Ultra looked down at Joy, who was preoccupied helping Spike balance the ever-growing tower of paper and cardboard. "...were really good with their hooves. Taught me everything I know. I've only just run into major complications recently. So, here I am."

"Probably for the best." Twilight also looked over to Joy and chuckled as she watched her help Spike. "Your sister is adorable. Does she live with you?"

Ultra was a bit caught off-guard by this sudden change of conversation. Still, he felt more comfortable with ponies after talking to AJ today, so he kept going. "Oh, no. She's just visiting here for a while." Ultra took out a can of soda from his saddlebag, and was about to drink it, but first, he turned to Twilight. "May I?"

Twilight usually didn't let food or drink into the library during hours of operation, but she could tell he was definitely parched from the run here. "Of course, go ahead."

"Thanks."

"So, if she's not from here, were is she from?"

"Oh, she's from Fillydelphia, same place I grew up." Ultra took a big drink from the can.

"Fillydelphia? That's great! I've only been there a few times, and that was on royal duty for Princess Celestia."

PFFFFFT!!!

It could not be more comically timed. Ultra was so surprised he did a spit take, spraying fizzy soda all over Twilight. Twilight was not amused.

"Oh my gosh!" Ultra exclaimed. "I am sooooo sorry! I have a tendency to overreact a little bit." Meanwhile, Joystick and Spike were rolling on the floor laughing at the sight, books strewn about from Spike falling over.

"Spike, could you get me a towel please?" Twilight said in a monotone voice.

"O-O-Okay...pffthahahahahaha!!!!!" Spike was still gripping his sides laughing as he walked off. Ultra looked at Twilight, dripping wet with soda, and a smile curled on his face. He couldn't hold it any longer. He began laughing hard, and eventually, even Twilight caught the giggles from the silly nature of the situation.

After drying off, Twilight brought all the books over to a table, and laid them out in front of Ultra. "Okay, now just take your time and decide which ones you want to take."

"Which ones?"

"Yeah. You weren't thinking of taking all 24, were you?"

"You bet I was!" Twilight's mouth hung open in awe. "I have a lot of stuff to finish, and I need all the help I can get!"

"Well, okay!" Twilight began opening the covers of each book, signing in the numbers on the top right-hand corners into the sign-out book.

"Soooo....you said you work for the princess?" Ultra was still very curious.

"Oh, well, I'm her personal protege from her school. I'm here in Ponyville researching the magic of friendship!"

"Wow, that's pretty heavy stuff. So, you're from Canterlot?"

"You bet! Born and raised. Although I feel much more like a Ponyville pony."

Hmm... Ultra thought, She's from another town. Well, at least we have something in common.

Ultra was about to say something when Twilight finished signing in the rest of his books. "Well, there we go!" Twilight looked at the tower of books before her, all of them very thick. "That sure is a lot. You sure you can hold all these? I can get Spike to help you if you want."

Ultra split the pile of books 75:25, giving the smaller pile to Joystick, who held them up quite well for her size. "I think we'll be alright. It's not too far." Twilight helped him Ultra place the larger pile on his back. "Thanks again, uh..."

"Twilight."

"Yes, yes. Twilight. Thanks! I promise, I'll get them back to you in no time."

Ultra and Joystick exited the library, and Twilight stood in the doorway waving them off. "Come back soon!" Twilight watched until they were out of sight and returned to her reading.

---------------------

THUD!

THUD!

Ultra and Joy dropped their respective piles as soon as they got through the doorway. "Sheesh!" Joy gasped, "Maybe we should've let that dragon help us."

Ultra was breathing heavily. "No.....problem.....not that......heavy....." Ultra eventually caught his breath and walked into the kitchen, while Joy looked around the messy construction area he lived in.

"Wow. Under construction, much?"

Ultra walked out from the kitchen, holding two apples under his wings. "Yeah, just watch your step. Not everything is....structurally sound. Just enough to keep a roof over my head."

Joystick took the apple and took a bite. "Mmmm...wow! This is amazing! Where did you get these?"

"I know, right? I got them from the farm a little bit outside town, Sweet Apple Acres. I'm friends with one of the workers there." Ultra smiled. Friend. A word he rarely used those days. He was glad to be able to again.

Joy was still hungrily gnawing at her apple. "Really? What's he like?"

"She."

"She?" Joystick smirked. "Big brother o mine, did you actually manage to find a filly that can actually stand to be around you?"

"Well, I guess I...HEY! I'm a perfectly tolerable pony! And it's not like that. We're just friends."

Joystick laughed. "Relax! Don't get your wings all ruffled up! I'm just joking around."

Ultra shoved his sister playfully. He looked out the window, seeing Celestia's sun slowly set to make way for Luna's moon. "Well, it's late. I think we should hit the hay."

"Awww. But I don't wanna!"

Ultra gave a stern look to his sister. "Come on, Joy, don't be difficult with me. How about we strike up a deal? What do I have to do to make you go to bed?"

Joy got a grin on her face at the thought of being able to control her brother this way. "Hmm..." She brought her hoof up to her chin, pondering. "How about...you introduce me to your friend over at Sweet Apple Acres? Will you do that?"

Ultra nodded. "Sounds good to me. Tomorrow. Right NOW, you will go to bed."

Joy sighed. "Oh, alright."

Ultra and Joy scaled the creaky stairs and went down to the guest bedroom. Ultra opened the door, revealing a blandly colored room with a closet, a dresser, and bed. "Nice room." Joy said sarcastically.

"Hey! This room wasn't even done, but when I heard you were coming, I worked double time to finish it so you could stay here. Have a little respect." Joy didn't say anything else. She trotted over to the bed and got under the covers. Ultra then came over to her, tucked her in and planted a kiss on her forehead. "G'night."

"G'night."

As Ultra left the room, he turned, took one last look at his little sister, his best friend, and closed the door, making his way to his own room to get some shut eye.

---------------------

Creeeeeeeeak...

Ultra was never a very sound sleeper, so even the slightest sound, like a door slowly opening, could wake him from his slumber. He opened his eyes and looked at the opened door, seeing a figure in the doorway but unable to focus to see what it was.

"What? Who's there?" is what Ultra meant to say. However, his consciousness had yet to be retained, so it came out sounding something like, "WHA.....WOOZE DUR....."

Ultra shook his head and rubbed his eyes, desperate to see something, when a tiny, sad voice rang through his ears.

"U-U-Ultra...."

At that moment, everything came into focus. Joystick was standing in the doorway, eyes red and flowing with tears. She was shaking, scared and saddened at the same time. It broke Ultra's heart to see her like this. It was even worse then her breakdown after his big news three years ago. She was sliently sniffling and sobbing and Ultra couldn't bare to look at it.

And yet, he knew Joy had every right to cry. After all, her parents were gone. Who wouldn't act like this?

Joy ran up and jumped into bed, burying her face into Ultra's side, her sobbing much louder now. Ultra cooed and petted her blue mane, now damp from her tears, just as he did five years ago upon his mother's disappearance and upon his leave three years ago.

"He-he-h-he w-was all I h-h-had!" Joy struggled to say through her tears, "Why'd he have t-t-to go?!"

Ultra felt a tear run down his own face. "I'm not sure, Joy. I'm not sure." Ultra pulled her off his body and looked into her bloodshot eyes, rivers of tears coursing down her face. "Listen, Joy. Things are going to get better. I swear. Things may not be looking up for us. Hay, things never really seem to look up for our family. But I promise, as Celestia as my witness, I will make sure that by the time you leave, you'll have a great life. You'll have great friends, you'll have a great house to live in, everything will be wonderful."

Ultra stopped to wipe away his own tears. He brought Joy into a hug and put his muzzle close to her ear. "So..." Ultra whispered, "if you're gonna have such a good life, do you wanna start it crying? I miss them too, but there's nothing we can do about it. Hay, Celestia wouldn't be able to do anything if she tried! So, we just need to keep them in our memories. Never forget them, okay baby?" Joy hated when he called her that, but it felt good to her this time.

"O-Okay." Joy wiped her face. "No more tears, I-I promise." Joystick looked at him and smiled. The two sat there for a while, just looking at each other. They were so incredibly bonded that Ultra felt as if he could feel every bit of agonizing grief Joystick went through, and the pain was immobilizing. "Well...good night." Joy turned to go back to her room.

"Hey." Ultra said, stopping her in her tracks. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Umm...bed?"

"Uh, uh. No way. Not in your condition." Ultra scooted over and patted the space next to him. "Get over here."

Joy chuckled. She ran up to the bed and jumped in. "Have I ever told you that you're the best brother a filly could ask for?"

Ultra brought his hoof to his chin. "Hmm...yes I do recall hearing that."

Joy laughed. "Good night, best brother ever."

"Good night."

After Joystick fell asleep, Ultra gently wrapped his hooves around her in a tender hug, just enough to not wake her up, and had a good, long, silent cry for his orphaned sister.
> Just Like One of the Family
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Uuuuugh...so...hungry..." Joystick moaned.

"What?" remarked Ultra, raising an eyebrow, "How are you STILL hungry? You had plenty to eat already!"

The two siblings were making their way to Sweet Apple Acres, just as Ultra promised last night, and Joy had been eating like a maniac for the past few hours, trying to satisfy a powerful hunger.

"It was a VERY long train ride. And I didn't have THAT much to eat today."

"Oh, really?" Ultra said with a smirk, "Well, lets go down the list. You ate the eggs and toast I made you this morning, THEN we went down to Sugarcube Corner where you ate FIVE muffins-by the way, you're lucky Pinkie gave us those on the house. THEN..."

"Okay, okay. Maybe I've been eating a little more than usual. But, I'm still really hungry! I can't help that!" Joystick got all pouty, and Ultra laughed. She always thought she looked cute when she did that.

Finally, the two arrived at Sweet Apple Acres. The orchard was even more beautiful than Ultra remembered, stretching out for as far as the eye could see. Joystick was entranced by the beauty of the orchard. "Wow...there's so many trees! It's amazing!"

"Hey, Applejack! How goes it?"

At the sound of Ultra's voice, Joystick turned and faced the orange earth pony. "Well, howdy there! Not too bad I have 'ta say..." Applejack responded. She trailed off when she noticed Joystick standing next to Ultra. She peered down at her with a friendly smile. "An’ this must be yer sister y’all were talkin’ about!  What’s yer name, lil’ sugarcube?"

Joystick gasped and hid behind Ultra's flank. Oh, not this again. Ultra thought to himself. I thought she would stop being so shy since SHE wanted to come meet her. I guess old habits die hard. Joystick was never the social type, always sticking to her brother and not interacting with many other people. Ultra assumed that after he left, she would have to kill this shyness. He assumed wrong.

"Oh, come on out!" Ultra said reassuringly. He turned to Applejack. "Sorry, she's a little shy with ponies she doesn't know." Joystick gulped and peered around Ultra's flank to make eye contact with Applejack. Her eyes were warm and welcoming. After much struggle, Joystick managed to push out some words, 

"I-I'm Joystick." she said in nearly a whisper.

Applejack reached into the basket she had slung over her back and pulled out a fresh, bright red apple. "Howdy, Joystick. Yer bro is a lot of fun to shoot the breeze with. Aren't y'all just the most adorable thing?" She turned her gaze to Ultra. "She looks just like ya!"

Joystick giggled, flattered by Applejack's compliment. She reluctantly came out from behind Ultra, blushing. "Thanks!" All of a sudden she remembered the apple given to her. 

FOOD!!!

She immediately took a huge bite out of the apple, so happy to revisit that taste. And this time it was even better because it was fresh! "MMMMMM! That's yummy!!" Ultra and AJ chuckled at Joystick's delight. 

"I had told Joy about you," Ultra explained to AJ, "and she said she wouldn't stop pestering me until I introduced you. Plus, she was REALLY hungry."

"Mmm-hmm!" Joystick confirmed.

Applejack smirked. "It seems like he brought ya at the best of times then!" she exclaimed, giving Joystick a pat on the head, "A hungry belly won’t go like that fer much longer if’n yer with a member of the Apple family!  If y’all would like, we were just about to sit on down and have a nice lunch."

Ultra thought for a second. "Well, I guess we could-" Joy had already made up her mind.

"WE'D LOVE TO!" she yelled cheerfully, and ran around their general area in excitement.

"Uh...yeah. What she said." Ultra laughed.

"Okay then, if y'all could just follow me." Applejack then led them to the farm house. It was small, cozy and had matched the country feel of the rest of the farm. "Well, this is it! Welcome to our humble abode!"

As they approached the house, Ultra and Joystick noticed an elderly pony in a rocker on the porch. As they approached, she suddenly woke up. "Issat you, Applejack?" she called over to the cowpony, her voice jumbled and hard to understand, "Did ya do that jibberwhatsit that I asked ya ta do earlier today?"

Applejack looked confused. "Uh...Ah’ll have ta give it another lookover later, Granny.  Ah’ve got some guests over fer dinner!" AJ pointed her hoof towards Ultra and Joystick. "This here’s Ultra Combo, an’ that's his lil’ sis Joystick!" Joy waved her hoof awkwardly, and Ultra cleared his throat to speak.

"Hi! How are you?"

Granny Smith brought a hoof up to ear. "Whazzat ya said?  Mah hearin’ ain’t as gewd as it used’ta be, sonny!  Come a bit closer an’ say it again ta Granny, won’t ya?"

All of a sudden AJ yelled loudly, making Ultra and Joy jump slightly. "HE ASKED HOW Y’ALL ARE DOIN’, GRANNY!" She took a deep breath and looked at Ultra, laughing awkwardly.

"Oooooooh…" Granny responded, "Well, besides this dern saggy hip o’mine, I’d say I’ve been fine an’ dandy."

"That's great to hear, Granny!" Ultra said, a bit louder this time. He was about to continue talking, but was cut off by a loud growling sound. Ultra turned his head to see Joy holding her stomach, and when she noticed everyone looking at her, she started laughing awkwardly. "Whoa. When you said you were hungry, you weren't kidding!"

"Landsakes!" exclaimed Granny Smith as she got up off her rocker, "I heard that from here jus’ fine!  AJ, go set the table fer our guests an’ get yer brother and sister in here too!" AJ shifted her hat on her head and walked up to the downway before turning around to face Ultra and Joy.

"Seems I gotta go runnin’ about fer a second!  You two go ahead and make yerselves at home in the kitchen there, pick any seat y’all like!" AJ then ran into the house to get things ready.

"So..." Joystick said, "Do we just go in?"

"I guess so. Come on, we're no strangers." Ultra and Joy entered the house and their nostrils were instantly filled with the smell of apples. They looked around the humble little farmhouse. Many photos and portraits hung on the walls and another one of Granny Smith's rockers sat in the corner. Ultra noticed the door to the dining room. "I guess we'll go in and take a seat."

The two entered the dining room. It was empty and the table was set nicely. Ultra and Joystick sat down at the table, and remained there in silence until Applejack returned, this time with a few more ponies with her. Of them was the big red stallion that Ultra remembered putting up the sign in the market yesterday, and the other was a little yellow filly with a big red bow in her mane riding on Applejack's back that Ultra didn't notice. Ultra was happy to see another filly though. That meant that Joystick would have someone her age to talk to.

Applejack immediately got to introductions. "This here’s my bro Big Macintosh, and the lil’ filly is Apple Bloom!" As Granny Smith began approaching the table with her walker, Apple Bloom jumped down and approached to two.

"Any friend of my big sister is a friend o’mine!" said the little filly joyfully as she spit in her hoof and extended it for a hoofshake with a big smile on her face.

Applejack wasn't amused. "Apple Bloom!  What did I tell ya about yer manners in front of guests, especially at the dinner table!" she scolded as she furrowed her brow slightly. Apple Bloom shrunk in shame, but still left her hoof extended, awaiting a hoofshake.

Ultra and Joystick got up and walked up to her. Ultra was the first to accept her waiting hoof. "Hey!" he said, grasping her hoof and giving her a hoofshake before going up to AJ and Big Macintosh. Joystick then shyly approached Apple Bloom, feeling very welcome around her.

"Umm...hi. I'm Joystick..." she said quietly, almost a whisper. She had kept her eyes glued to the floor, but when she looked up, she was happy to see a huge smile on Apple Bloom's face. 

"Hi! Nice ta meet ya!" A smile broke onto Joy's face, when all of sudden Apple Bloom bonked her on the forehead. "TAG! Yur it!" She ran away laughing, leaving Joystick confused as to what just happened, but when the game became appearent to her, she laughed and playfully chased after her new friend.

Meanwhile, Ultra, AJ, and Big Macintosh had been watching to two little fillies, playing about. AJ turned to Ultra and asked, "So, still been enjoyin’ yer time here in Ponyville?"

"Ponyville is great." Ultra replied, not breaking his gaze on the two fillies. "I always wanted to live somewhere like this, so when I was old enough, I packed up and went on my way. Joystick wasn't too happy about it, but I told her that when she was old enough, she could come and live with me." Apple Bloom ran past, and was soon followed by Joystick, laughing all the way. Applejack laughed.

"Seems like maybe Apple Bloom found herself a new friend!" she said happily. Ultra turned his head towards the table just in time to see Granny Smith FINALLY reach the table.

"Well then, imma here…so let’s get us some food!" croaked Granny Smith. Applejack didn't even miss a beat. She quickly ran into the kitchen and grabbed all the food and brought it to the table.

"Hehehe, soups on, everypony!"

Everypony began to grab food and chow down, while Joystick stared at the vast expanse of food on the table, mouth watering. "Wow!" Joystick moaned, "It all looks delicious! I don’t know what to try first……uhhhh…Apple Bloom, what do you think I should have?"

"Hmmmmm….can’t say ah’ve really thought about it ever, I just dig in hooves first!" Apple Bloom attempted to do just that, but was stopped by Granny Smith.

"Now hold on there, ya little whippersnapper!…Ya know yer Granny gets ta do that first!" Granny then dug in, grabbing different foods at random, piling them on her plate. Joystick giggled, then waited until she got her chance to eat. When her turn came, Joystick began to eat, eat, eat. In no time at all, Joy had finished and was waiting for Ultra to finish.

"Oooooh, boy! I am full! Hey, Ultra, what's taking you?"

"I'm not as hungry as you are! Man, you, Apple Bloom and Granny Smith are clearing the table..." Ultra sat back in his chair. "...but I'm pretty much stuffed! How about you AJ?"

“Ah’m feelin’ mighty fine, don’t wanna overdo it or else ah’ll be sluggish afterwards!” she replied with a friendly chuckle. Mac patted his belly, showing he had clearly had his fill. They all sat about chattering away, the Apple household not having this much activity since the big family get together they had 2 years ago. 

---------------------

As things died down a bit, AJ began clearing the table, preparing to wash everything up while Granny went to take a nap.

Ultra came back into the kitchen from the living room. "Hey," Ultra said, grabbing Applejack's attention, "thanks a lot for letting us stay for lunch, AJ. Do you need any help with anything?"

Applejack smiled and shook her head.  ”Don’t fret it, y’all were invited here fer dinner, everypony who visits the Apples get the five star treatment!” she laughed, motioning for him to go back with the others. Apple Bloom seemed to be enjoying the visit herself as well, offering to take Joystick outside to play around with her loopty-hoop.

"We'll just be out back! We won't be far." she begged to Ultra and AJ.

"Can we? Can we, pleeeease?" pleaded Joystick. Ultra laughed, ruffling up her mane.

"I don't see why not!"

"Yay!!!" Joystick and Apple Bloom went around back and Apple Bloom handed the loopty-hoop to Joystick. Joystick put it around her waist, but when she tried to spin it, it rolled down around her legs and tripped her up. "Ow! This is a lot harder than it looks." whined Joystick, pouting in frustration.

Apple Bloom smiled, helping Joystick back up to her hooves.  ”Now y’all just watch closely now!” she said, spinning the loopty-hoop on one of her front hooves.  She then worked it from there down to her waist, spinning it around a fair bit before it slipped down her back legs and hit the dirt.  She grinned, looking behind her to see if a cutie mark had appeared, only to be disappointed by a blank flank.  ”Ah well, one day ah’ll find somethin’ that’ll get me mah mark…” she said, kicking at the dirt with a hoof. 

Joystick frowned, lifting up her wing to reveal her blank flank. "I know how you feel. I get made fun of at school all the time for not having my cutie mark." 

Apple Bloom sighed and lifted up the loopty-hoop, giving it another go.  ”I know, it’s just…me an’ my other friends are always tryin’ ta find somethin’ to get our cutie marks.” she said, the hoop dropping again as she kicked at the dirt once more.  ”But no matter how hard we try, or even how well it goes, we don’t get ANYTHIN’.” she huffed, pouting at the ground.  She gave another little snort, then looked up to Joystick with a smile.  ”Guess we’ll find out what we’re good at eventually, right?” she asked, smiling wide.

Joystick smiled back. "Yeah. And, hey! If you don't get your cutie mark from doing something little, then your talent must be something really cool, right?" 

Apple Bloom nodded her head rapidly, a grin upon her face.  ”That’s what ah’m thinkin’ if so!” she said, hopping up and down in glee.  At about that time, AJ and Ultra both came outside the home, both noticing the two fillies having a good time.  

”Well, ah’m glad you two are gettin’ along just fine!” she said, smiling wide.  ”Not that ah believed y’all wouldn’t, just makes me happy that ya got another little friend in each other!”

"Yeah, it's great to see you making lots of friends!" Ultra said, smirking at Joy. Joy smiled confidently.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Joystick smiled confidently. She and Apple Bloom continued to play for a very long time, until the sun had begun to set, and Joystick was beginning to look very tired. Ultra placed a hoof on her head. 

"Well, looks like you've tuckered yourself out from all the fun you've had today!" AJ chuckled as she watched Apple Bloom start to drift off herself, gently placing her neck down under the little filly and lifting her up onto her back.  ”Must’ve had a rip roarin’ good time, if’n I say so mahself.” she whispered to Ultra, walking over to the door and gently pushing it open with a front hoof.  ”Y’all just gimme a moment, need ta put ‘er in bed to start the day tomorrow.” she winked, slowly walking inside, letting the door softly close behind her.

Ultra looked down at Joystick. "Okay, time to go. You'll be a bear in the morning if we don't."

Joy let out a huge yawn. "At least let me say goodbye to Applejack..." 

"Of course."

She returned a few minutes later, the sun almost fully down by this point.  ”Even after I took ‘er up there, she still wanted a bedtime story!” she laughed, shaking her head.  ”So I had to oblige her, else ah’d never get any sleep mahself when the time comes.” 

AJ leaned in close and rubs her cheek on Joystick’s, a little grin spreading on both of their faces, giving a little giggle.  ”It was sure nice meetin’ ya, Joystick!  And yer bro too!” she smiled, doing the same back to him, a tiny blush forming on her cheeks.  ”Y’all can come back whenever you’d like, yer always welcome in the Apple home!”

"Oh...i'll be sure to-" Joystick faded off into sleep before she could finish her sentence. 

Ultra laughed. "Don't worry." he said, picking up Joy gently and placing her on his back. "She's still here for a few more days, and I get the feeling she'll wanna come back real soon." Ultra turned around, prepared to take his leave. "Thanks again for dinner, AJ! I'll see you later!"

“Y’all c’mon back now, ya hear?” she shouted out to them both, waving her hoof in the air as they both left off.  She smiled as she watched them down the trail until they vanished over the hills.  Suddenly the upstairs window burst open, Apple Bloom dangling out.  ”BYE NOW, COME BACK SOOOOON!” she shouted, also waving her hoof around.  AJ shot up a stern look at her, meeting Apple Bloom’s eyes, causing her to go back inside.  ”Sounds like someone needs another story told ta get sleepin’…!” AJ laughed, heading back inside with a slight hop in her step.

Nice kid. she thought, Hope ah see her again.
> Along Came a Mailmare
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Destroyed. 

That's the only word you could use to describe Ultra's family over the days following his mother's disappearance. Ultra had never felt like this before. The sheer weight of the situation was enough to completely break him down. For the following week, he didn't sleep, he didn't eat, he didn't even speak to anypony. All he did was work and help the search team any way he could.

At day seven, Ultra was getting ready to leave to help the team, when his father, Steel, stopped him in the doorway. He had kept his distance from Ultra, thinking that he needed his space to calm down, but it was becoming apparent that wasn't going to do. "Ultra...we need to talk about this."

"No. No we don't." Ultra tried to move around him, but his father was rather large, and stopping Ultra wasn't trouble for him. Ultra groaned and backed up into his room.

"Ultra, the team has been called off. Its been a week." Ultra's face twisted with a hybrid of anger and surprise.

"WHAT?!"

"Official regulations state that after a week, a search party is to be called off if the missing person is not found." Steel explained calmly to Ultra, "There's nothing we can do."

"We don't need them! We can do it! Mom's friends will help, and I'm sure Joy will-"

"ULTRA." Steel bellowed. Ultra shut up quick. His father always had an overwhelming force over him. Steel was an ex-royal guard, and served in the Equestrian Army, leading a squadron into battle in the Pony-Griffon war 20 years ago. He and Blue Print met in the military, her helping coordinate attacks for his squad, and fell in love immediately, the two marrying right after the war ended. It pained him more than anything to see her gone, but he learned over the years that, sometimes, you have to learn to accept and move on.

"First of all, Mom IS NOT coming back." Steel almost regretted saying that, but he knew in his heart it was most likely the truth.

"You don't know." Ultra's voice stabbed like a extra-sharp knife.

"Yes I do. She wouldn't be gone this long if she could come back. Second of all, DON'T bother your sister."

Ultra scoffed. "Joy is treating this like its any other week. She SHOULD be taking this-"

"ULTRA, SHE IS THREE BUCKING YEARS OLD!" Ultra backed away as his father bellowed at him. Steel took a deep breath and continued. "She has no idea how to act. She's dead inside right now, Ultra. I can see it. Its the same look I saw the eyes of my friends in the army who lost loved ones," he said, approaching Ultra and putting a powerful hoof on his shoulder. "And it's the look I see in your eyes."

Ultra's eyes began to moisten as he turned away. "...I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't lie to me." Ultra fought it back as hard as he could, but it was useless. He began bawling, digging his muzzle into his father's rough coat, sobbing profusely. He didn't remember how long he and Steel sat there. It could've been an enternity for all he cared. It felt infinitely better than what he felt before.

---------------------

"COMBO!!!"

Ultra almost jumped off the girder he was standing on. He had been zoning out whilst working on the site, completely forgetting about his work. He had been like this the whole week, always getting lost in thought. Luckily, Big Mover was there to wake him up with a large slam to the girder. "OH!" yelped Ultra, standing up and going back to hammering in supports with his hooves, "Sorry, Mover. I was just-"

"Never mind it. I need you to do something for me."

Ultra stopped working, stood up, and dusted himself off. "Yeah, what's that?"

"Some necessary supplies didn't show up. They should've been delivered an hour ago. I want you to stop what you're doing and head down to the post office to see where the hay my supplies are."

Ultra sighed. "Alright. I'll be back in a bit." He took off his belt and made his way towards the post office.

Ultra's job was a thankless one, for the most part, working for a contracting company, helping build houses, as well as other establishments around town. He received a solid paycheck, and he was keeping his hooves occupied, so he couldn't complain. This time, it was some new restaurant. Ultra couldn't remember the name. It was definitely occupying his time, though, cutting into his time with Joy. Luckily, he had a friend he could trust now, so before leaving, he drew Joy a map to Sweet Apple Acres, and left her a note saying he would be there shortly.

I wonder if she made it there okay... he thought to himself as he made a soft landing in front of the post office, ...I'm sure she's fine. I laid out the directions perfectly. No way she could've gotten lost.

Dingaling!

The bell above the door rang as Ultra entered the post office and approached the pony behind the reception desk.

"Hi! What can I help you with today?" asked the pony behind the counter cheerfully.

"Um, I'm working at the construction site for the restaurant across town, and we were supposed to get some supplies delivered about an hour ago. Any idea where those went?"

"Oh! Well, just give me a moment, please." The pony behind the desk got up and went into the back for a bit while Ultra waited. Eventually, she returned, holding some papers. "I think I see your problem."

"And what would that be?" responded Ultra with a raised eyebrow.

"Derpy was in charge of delivering it."

"Oooooh boy..." Ultra groaned, running a hoof through his mane. Ultra didn't know too many people in Ponyville, but he sure as hay knew who Derpy was. She was the second person Ultra ever met upon arriving in Ponyville, and she hadn't changed since that day. The mailmare always either mixed up his mail with somepony else or didn't even deliver it at all. "Is she here right now?"

"She's in the back. I can fetch her if you'd like."

"Yes, please do..."

The receptionist pony returned to the back, and was followed by several sounds of crashing behind the wall before Derpy came through the door. She had a gray coat and a blonde mane, but that isn't what drew his attention. He remembered her for her wall-eyed expression, one eye pointing in one direction, one in the other. This resulted in her being rather clumsy, along with her not being the smartest of ponies in town, to say the least. "Oh hi, Ultra! Why are you wearing a hard hat?"

"Derpy," Ultra said sternly, "did you make a delivery to a construction site? A big package?"

"Umm....." Derpy thought hard for a time, and after thinking for a good minute, she had already forgotten what Ultra asked her, and was contemplating what she would have for dinner that night.

"DERPY!" Ultra barked, snapping Derpy out of her trance.

"OH! Big package? Yeah, I dropped it off down by the site. The big hotel going up. Why? Was there a problem with it?"

Ultra brought a hoof up to his face and sighed. "Yes, Derpy. Yes, there is a problem."

Derpy gasped. "Oh no! Well, what is it? I'd like to fix it."

Ultra looked at Derpy with a irritated look on his face. "That wasn't our site."

Derpy's cheeks flushed a bright shade of red. "Oh..." Ultra thought he heard somepony in the back start to laugh, and Derpy's gaze left his face and moved to the floor, embarrassed by her mistake. Ultra sighed and walked over to her, putting his arm around her. "Look, its fine, Derpy. You can just take me down to where you brought it and we can get this all sorted out." He smiled at her and she smiled back.

"YEAH, DERPY! BETTER GO UNSCREW WHAT YOU SCREWED UP, STUPID!" yelled the same voice in the back that laughed at her before. Derpy's smile faded and her eyes met the floor once again. Ultra's head snapped back to see a gray earth pony having a good, hearty laugh over his comment. 

"HEY!" Ultra shouted at the pony, causing him to immediately shut up, "Didn't your mother teach you to treat mares better than that?" The earth pony scoffed and walked off. Ultra turned back to Derpy, who's head was still hung low. "C'mon, let's go Derpy."

The two exited the post office as Ultra patted the saddened mare on the back. "You okay, Derp?"

"...Yeah. I've been through worse. Besides, I've gotta be the strong one. I've got a filly to raise." Derpy smiled at him. "Well, the site was in this direction." The two started off towards the hotel site.

"I didn't know you were a mom, Derpy!"

"I never told you? Huh. Must've slipped my mind." Derpy chuckled.

Ultra had a question growing within him for a while, and he felt Derpy would be good to answer it. "Hey, Derpy?"

"Yeah, Ultra?"

"...Is it hard being a parent?"

Derpy slowed her pace and trotted along next to Ultra. "Um, why do you want to know that?"

"Just, you know, curious."

Derpy giggled at him. "Well, yeah. It's definitely hard. Sometimes the pressure is really bad, but you just have to pull through. I AM supporting a foal, after all."

Ultra nodded and sighed. That wasn't the answer he wanted to hear. Derpy raised an eyebrow, but didn't question any further. She didn't even know him  that well, and she wasn't the smartest pony in Equestria, but she knew when to stop pestering ponies about certain subjects. So, they both walked into the site in silence, as Ultra worried away in his mind after hearing Derpy's comments.

----------------------

Well, if I've learned ONE thing today, it's that my brother cannot write a map. Thankfully, I didn't get completely lost.

Joystick had been wandering around town for a half-hour, trying desperately to interpret Ultra's crude map to Sweet Apple Acres. Reading the map had taken her all over town, to the Town Hall, the boutique, down by the hospital, the schoolhouse, the market, and FINALLY she had found her way to Sweet Apple Acres by following the sign in the market.

Well, she thought to herself, at least I got some valuable sight-seeing time in today!

Joy smiled as she reached the top of the hill, bringing Sweet Apple Acres into view. She saw an orange dot in the orchard which could only be Applejack, and dashed towards her. As she approached, Applejack welcomed Joystick with her friendly smile. "Well, hiya, Joystick! Yer lookin’ just as spry an’ energetic as y’all were yesterday!”

"You bet! My brother is still finishing up some work, so he sent me here. He'll be here in a bit. That's okay, right?"
Applejack patted Joy on the head. "Of course. Y'all are welcome anytime!"

"Great!" she replied. Joystick started scanning the farm excitedly, searching for her new friend. "Is Apple Bloom here?"

Applejack shook her head.  ”Right now Apple Bloom is at school, but she won’t be there for too much longer if’n ya want to wait it out here for her.” Applejack decided to take a break from her work to entertain and spend some time with the little filly, sitting down next to  a big apple tree, offering Joy the spot next to her.

"Okay!" Joystick trotted over to the tree and took a seat next to AJ. They sat there quietly for a minute before Applejack decided to break the silence.

”So what does yer brother do at work?" Applejack asked, turning to the little filly, "I reckon he told me yesterday, but ah can’t remember what it all meant right this moment.” 

"Well," Joystick said, staring up at the clouds rolling overhead, "right now, he's working in construction, mostly because he's fond of keeping his hooves working." She stretched out her legs. After walking for such a long time, they were very tired, and she was glad she could finally rest them. "He's really good at it, too! He can build all kinds of things! He's even trying to build himself a house, and really super cool one, too! You know, with lots of gizmos and gadgets built in! He loves that stuff."

“Ah’ve gotta admire a pony that enjoys that type of lifestyle, since mine’s pretty much just that!” she said, giggling a little.  ”Seems like we got a bit in common, except fer the gizmos and whatchacallits.  Ah’m not one fer anythin’ too fancy like that…though if he knows what he’s doin’ it’d be a sight to see, fer sure!”

"Yeah, he's pretty great. He's the best brother a filly could ask for!" Joy giggled weakly, laying down on her back to look at the clouds passing overhead. "I wish he was still at home though. We used to do cool stuff all the time. But, ever since he moved away..." A sad frown briefly went over her face, but her bright smile soon returned. "But, hey! As long as he's happy, I'm happy for him."

Applejack reached up and frazzled Joystick's mane slightly as she laid down next to her.  ”Ah can imagine what that’s like fer ya, not bein’ able to do everythin’ with yer bro like y’all used to…” she said with a sigh, remembering back to earlier times when she was young.  ”Same thing happened with Big Mac an’ mahself growin’ up.  What matters though is how the time with y’all is spent together, not fer how long yer doin’ it fer.” she smiled, looking over to Joystick.

"I guess you're right, AJ." Joystick smiled. "Thanks, you're awesome."

"Ah'm happy to oblige." Applejack replied, messing up Joy's mane again and chuckling. "Now, let's relax and wait fer your bro."

"Sounds like a plan!" Joystick turned her eyes back to the sky, and let herself get comfortable. The two remained on the grass, relaxing and looking up at the sky, only breaking the silence every once and a while to point out what the clouds looked like.
> Behold! Applejack and Ultra Race For Everlasting Glory!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'MLATEI'MLATEI'MLATEI'MLATE!!!

Ultra was speeding towards Sweet Apple Acres, where both Applejack and Joystick were waiting for him. As it turns out, lugging a heavy crate containing many building supplies several blocks with only the help of one other pony took much longer than he thought, and he had fallen way behind the deadline of when he said he would meet AJ and Joy at the farm.

Using his wings to gain extra speed, he bolted over the hill and through the gate. He stopped and looked around, scanning the farm for the cowpony and sister.

"Hey!" he called out, panting furiously, "AJ!....Joy!.....Are....Are you here?!"

"Ultra!" responded a little voice behind him. He turned around and saw both Joy laying down on the grass waving, AJ beside her with her hat tipped over her big, green eyes slighty. Ultra returned the wave and began to walk over to the them. 

"I...made it!" he gasped before finally getting his breathing rate back to normal. "Sorry to keep you two waiting." He looked down at them quizzically. "What have you been up to?" 

Applejack tipped her hat back up and smiled at him, motioning for him to come over and join them.  ”Just been doin’ a bit o’cloud watchin’ too, seein’ what the clouds resemble!” she remarked as she pointed up towards one that was swirled up like a bunch of cotton candy. "Hopefully work wasn’t too hard on y’all today?” she asked.

Ultra shrugged and laid down next to Joystick. "Nah, nothing too bad." he said, recalling the events of his work day, "Just a mix up with a delivery. The mailmare sent the supplies the wrong site. They said I should go and complain about her, but I decided not to. No real harm done, and she's got a filly to feed. Her name's Derpy. You know her?"

Applejack chuckled, bringing her hoof up to her face and letting it run down her face while shaking her head.  ”Ah’ve definitely had some encounters with Derpy." she explained, still chuckling slightly.  ”I remember Pinkie tellin’ me a time where Twi was ignorin’ her twitches and what they mean…booooy did she ever regret it afterwards!” Remembering this, she let out a good laugh.

"Yeah. I've had a few conversations with her whenever she drops off my mail, and she's real nice." Ultra said. His mouth suddenly dropped into a frown. "Kinda makes you feel bad for her. You know, how ponies make fun of her because of her..." Ultra paused, trying to think of a polite way to explain Derpy's condition, "...problem. With her eyes. You know what I mean."
Joystick looked at him curiously. "I don't! What are you talking about?"

Applejack thought for a moment, looking between the brother and sister. She sat up. ”Well Joystick, her eyes’re different than most other ponies.” she explained, trying to think up a way to even go about doing this task.  ”Nothin’ like that makes a pony any better or worse, but she’s a tad…well, ditzy.” she went on further. Joystick continued to give a look of confusion and curiosity, signifying AJ would have to explain a little better.  ”Well, lessee if I can make this easy to understand.” she said.  She looked at Joystick and took in a deep breath, trying to cross her eyes as best as she could.  Not seeing anything as it should be, AJ strained with this pose, which caused Joystick to giggle slightly, nodding as if she understood finally. AJ released her cross-eyed expression and shook her head, returning her vision to normal.

"Get it now?" Ultra chimed in.

"I think so."

"Awesome." Ultra got the sudden urge to move to a new spot, so he moved over to the tree that Applejack and Joystick previously sat at and plopped down onto his haunches. "So, anyway, where's Apple Bloom?" he asked, stretching out his limbs, "I assumed you and her would be playing around by the time I got here. She's still in school?"

Applejack nodded, stretching a bit herself. “Yeah, her class was goin’ on a picnic after their schoolin’ was over today. Guess Miss Cheerilee had ‘em doin’ a big test, so she’s lettin’ ‘em unwind afterwards with some food an fun…Which sounds good t’me if ya ask!" Applejack smiled, raising her face up to the sky, letting some sun poke down under her hat.

"I'm sure it will be!" he replied. Ultra got up and began moving around. He was restless, and needed some activity. Joystick on the other hand, was happy just enjoying the good weather that the pegasi has brought upon them, although she was anxious to see Apple Bloom again. There was so much they still had to do, and this was the last day she would be in Ponyville before she had to take the train back to Fillydelphia. She was so excited, she blurted out her entire plan for the day to Applejack. 

"First, we're gonna play tag, and then we'll have a race, and then we'll play with the loopty hoops so far, and..." Joystick rambled on and on. When she was finished, AJ frazzled up her mane again as Joy giggled.

“Hehehe, looks like you two have a bunch of stuff planned alrighty!”

"You bet!" cheered Joystick. Applejack laughed at the little filly. She was acting just like Apple Bloom when she went cutie mark hunting with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.

Applejack then noticed Ultra acting strange. He was rather fidgety, acting rather impatient when not doing anything. She chuckled and leaned down to Joystick. ”When Apple Bloom gets here, ah think me an’ yer bro will go find somethin’ t’do ourselves and let y’all play today.” she said.  ”Just don’t go gettin’ yerselves hurt is all I ask.” she instructed. Joystick nodded, confirming that the information sank home.

Just then, her gaze left Joy and went to the hill, where she spotted a small yellow dot jumping along the path to the farm. There was no mistaking it: that was Apple Bloom, alright.  ”Looks like y’all won’t be waitin’ much longer, that’s fer sure!” she told Joystick. Joy turned her head to see what Applejack was looking at, and Joystick's face exploded into an enormous smile, jumping up and down. 

"APPLE BLOOM!!!!" she cried out in glee as ran down the path towards her to meet her halfway. 

Ultra laughed and said "It's like she hasn't seen her in years!" 

“Some ponies are just like that though," Applejack replied, chuckling to herself, "ever so energetic!” A frown slowly came over AJ's face.  ”Hopefully they can make the best of the comin’ hours, ah just hope they don’t get too sad when it’s time t’go…” she said sadly, knowing all too well that Joystick wasn’t going to take the trip back home well after having so much fun here with Apple Bloom...

She shook the sad thought from her subconscious and turned back to Ultra, her familiar smile returning.  ”So, y’all have anythin’ fun in mind we can do t’leave the young’uns to play?” she grinned, leaning down to pick up a piece of hay in her mouth, chewing on the end. 

Ultra brought his hoof up to his chin as he thought for a moment. "Well," he said after a period of thought, "I could go for a run right now. Does that sound like something that would peak you interests, AJ?" Ultra's hooves began their irregular tapping once again at the mere thought of the activity. "Whoa! I don't know what's up with me today, so full of energy and stuff. Must be Joystick rubbing off on me again."

Applejack smirked at Ultra as she stretched herself out, making sure was nice and limber. ”Y’all just asked the right pony about a run, cause lemme tell ya, bein’ athletic is somethin’ ah’m always tryin’ to be!” She readied herself by the fence, winking at him at shooting him a competitive smile.  ”If yer lookin’ fer a race, you’ve got one right here, pardner!”

Ultra was enthralled by the concept of a race. He hadn't raced anypony in a long time, but he knew that back when he lived in Fillydelphia, he was quite the runner. Not many people wanted to race him, because they knew he would most likely beat him. This type of competitiveness is part of why Ultra loved gaming, and the constant competitions he competed in back then, whether it was in gaming or anything else, had changed him into a very competitive pony. 

"A race, huh?" Ultra said reluctantly, "Well, I've seen you run, and I don't know if I'd be able to keep up..." Suddenly, his old competitive nature emerged like a phoenix rising from the ashes. Ultra's expression changed from a carefree one to a smirking, competitive looking expression. "..but, hey, I'm always up for a challenge." he finished in a cocky tone.

“Well," Applejack said, considering the path their race would take, "we need us an endin’ point, cause it’s gonna start right here I reckon!” She furrowed her brow, adapting a similar look to Ultra. The last decent race AJ had was during the Running of the Leaves with Rainbow Dash, but it didn't help that they were trying to sabotage one another during the race.

Gotta remind myself of the Running of the Leaves. Don't let the competition go to your head, Applejack.

"So..." she said again, grinning at Ultra, "where to, Ultra?"

Ultra smirked, seeming suddenly and very strangely confident, considering he JUST mentioned that he probably couldn't beat her. He paced for a few seconds, wondering where the finish line should reside. Suddenly, he stopped, a finish line visualized in his mind. "How about from here to the library? I was meaning to check out some more books on for my little 'home improvement' project anyway." He had a wall that needed to come down, but he had never been taught how to properly demolish, only build.

Applejack's competitive nature left her momentarily as she raised an eyebrow. ”Home improvement?…Well, if’n y’all wanna put this aside and we race some other time, ah’d be more’n happy t’help y’all with fixin’ whatever ya need!”

Upon bringing up his project, the competitive smirk left his face immediately. "Well," he said calmly. actually, it's more home development than improvement. I don't know if Joy told you, but I'm building my own house right now. Totally solo. You don't have to help if it's too much, not that I'm asking you to help me build the whole thing, of course." Ultra noticed he was stumbling over his words, so he shut up. "You wanna go see it?"

“Hmmmmm…sounds like a plan t’me.” Slowly, the competitive edge returned to her face.  "How about we race to it, then?” she smiled, tilting her hat back. Ultra was intrigued, and tilted his head slightly, letting AJ continue. ”If y’all win, ah’ll help ya with whatever ya want!” 

Ultra's competitive side was back with a vengeance. "Oh, you are on." Ultra trotted over to the entrance to the farm. "It's not to far from the library, actually a little bit closer. You'll know it when you see it. Well, you ready to go AJ?" Ultra's smirk was almost sinister looking now, he realized, so he quickly eased up with the faces, but it was too late. Applejack took one look at his evil expression and burst out laughing. She didn't want to embarrass him, but that look was too much for one pony to bare.

"Ah'm....Ah'm sorry!" she apologized as she calmed down, wiping tears from her eyes. "Sounds like a plan, Ultra!" She and Ultra approached the gate and readied themselves. Ultra slowly pawed at the dirt, unable to contain himself. Applejack smiled at him and prepared for takeoff.

"3…2…1…GO!” she shouted, both taking off, hooves thundering down the path. AJ got a whooping lead into the beginning of the race. He briefly considered using his wings to fly overhead and take the lead, but quickly shot down that idea. 

No. he thought to himself, I've never been a cheater before, and I'm not starting now.

Instead, Ultra strategically slowed down for about 10 seconds to gain energy, and sprinted forward, getting nose-to-nose with AJ in no time at all. She turned to Ultra, making brief eye contact with him and smirking. However, this short time was enough to capture Applejack's attention long enough so that she didn't notice the large pebble on the ground in front of her. Her hoof made contact with it, tripping her up momentarily, allowing Ultra to speed ahead of her.

As the two ponies darted down the path, bystanders observed them, wondering what exactly it was they were doing. "Here comes the finish line!" Ultra called out to his opponent. Ultra then turned around, seeing AJ beginning to catch up to him, so he put all his energy into one final push, and, in the end, reached the unfinished house first. Ultra was thrilled, to say the least. "YEEEAH!!!! I WIN!!!!! Oh yeah! I am so-" Ultra remembered his opponent, and how she was had tripped up back there. He cleared his throat and started again. "Sorry about that. You okay? I saw you trip back there, I was worried for a sec."

”Yeah, ah’m fine don’t y’all worry.” she reassured Ultra, panting and huffing to regain her oxygen.  ”That rock nearly did me in, by golly!  I need t’be more careful in the future.” She checked her hoof to see if any major damage had been done, and then looked up at Ultra's construction site. "So, this's it?" she asked.

"Yep, this is it." he responded, as he looked upon his house. The exterior of the house was completely finished, and by Celestia it was nice. It sure stood out, with a touch of futuristic sheen to the outside. The only thing the house was missing at the moment was a door, which was replaced by a hanging tarp. "It may look good on the outside, but the inside may surprise you." He trotted up to the door frame and lifted the tarp. "You ready?"

"As ah'll ever be!" Applejack replied cheerfully, as she entered the house, closely followed by Ultra as he sealed the tarp back around the frame to keep any unwanted pests out.
> Tear Down the Wall
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ultra had never actually had anypony other than his sister and occansionally Derpy come into his house ever, so inviting AJ in was a bit of a change for him. As they entered, he quickly remembered WHY he didn't invite people in here: It was ground zero. It looked as if a small bomb went off in the house, with tools, planks, cables and wire strewn about. The only part of the house that was even slightly presentable was the living room. In the plain, white living room was two couches, a coffee table, and a LCD television which had many different devices hooked up to it.

Ultra trotted over to the couch as AJ scanned the house, looking at all the clutter. "Well, it's a might messy, but y'all look like yer makin' pretty good progress!" 

Ultra nodded, looking at the mess himself. "Wanna take a seat?"

Applejack smiled an walked over to the couch, slowly sitting down. She was still rather tired from her race against Ultra, and she DID realize that she needed some time to rest her aching muscles. "Only fer a bit though, cause then we'll git t'work on whatever it is y'all raced me fer!" she said with a grin.

"Okie dokie..." Ultra sat down on the other couch and pointed at the wall directly across from him. "Well, see that wall over there?" The wall was discolored, obviously not painted for some reason. "It has to come down." Ultra continued, "I put it there, thinking it would look good, but it didn't as you can plainly see." Ultra turned back to Applejack, lowering this hoof. "See, THAT'S where you come in."

Applejack gave Ultra a look of confusion. "Well, whaddaya want me t'do to help?"

"I've seen your bucking power, shaking ALL the apples off the trees down at the farm. So, you think you could help take this bad boy down with that power?"

Applejack got up and walked over to the wall. She eyed the wall up and down, wondering if it was truely safe to help him buck this wall down. She didn't like to toot her own horn, but she WAS one of the strongest mares in Ponyville, and the house was still under construction, and it's structural integrity was questionable.

Nah. Ah'm sure it fine. Ultra wouldn't've built a house he wasn't safe in. His sister is stayin' here! He'd never put 'er in danger if he could prevent it.

Applejack turned to Ultra and nodded. "Ah'm thinkin' I could do this."

"Oh, great!" Ultra got up and joined her by the wall. He began carefully checking the wall, trying to locate the sweet spot that AJ would have to hit in order to bring the wall down easier. Eventually, he found it and marked it with some paint. "Right here. Give it all you've got!"

"Alrighty then! Y'all keep back there fer a moment!" she yelled. She lowered herself, preparing for the buck. She took one last look at the wall to get her buck lined up, and, as a grin spread across her face, she unleashed a massive buck, colliding with the sweet spot on the wall perfectly, and making the house shake from the huge impact. 

When the dust cleared, Applejack turned around to look at the damage. AJ's buck had been so powerful, that she had completely dusted the area where her blow landed, leaving a good-sized hole in the wall. Ultra shook the dust from his mane and approached the wall, inspecting Applejack's handiwork.

"That outta do it. It's weakened enough, so I could probably manage to finish the job myself, you know, just clearing everything out and making it look presentable." He turned and nodded to AJ. "Thanks!"

She smiled and gave a little tip of her hat. "That's what ah'm best at round these parts." She ran her hoof along the inside of the hole, as more debris fell to the floor. "Y'all got a broom an' dustpan round here? Can't be leavin' a mess like this layin' around or else somepony is gonna trip on it." she said while sweeping some of the mess up with her tail.

Ultra nodded and responded, "Don't worry, I've got this." He trotted out of the living room, leaving Applejack alone for a moment. As he approached the closet in the kitchen, he felt a mighty rumbling in his stomach. Wow. I didn't even realize how long it's been since I've eaten today. he thought. Then, an idea struck him. "Hey, Applejack!" he called back to her from the kitchen as he grabbed the broom and dustpan, holding them under his wings. 

"Yes?" called the familiar country-sounding voice from the living room.

"Well," Ultra began, "since you've been such a big help, how about I treat you to something to eat? Wherever you wanna go..." Ultra entered the room and saw AJ examining the hole, and his presence caused her to turn her attention back to him. "...I'll be down with it. How about it?"

Applejack thought for a moment as a smile spread across her face. "Ultra?"

"Yeah?"

"Are y'all tryin' t'get me on a date?"

Ultra's face turned bright red. "What? Uh...no! Of course not! I-I mean...you're a perfectly nice mare and all, but I don't....you know.....Not that there's anything WRONG with you, it's just..."

Applejack brought a hoof up to his mouth, silencing him. She laughed at his awkward stammering. "Ah'm just kiddin' around. Stop yer fussin'!"

"Oh, um, of course....hehe...." Ultra shook off his embarrassment and swept up the dust and debris from Applejack's work as she thought.

"Well, somethin' from Sugarcube Corner would sound mighty fine right 'bout now!" Applejack responded, "O'course, if yer okay with that."

Ultra lifted up the dustpan in his mouth after gathering the remainder of the mess and dumped it in the garbage. "Sounds great!" he answered, propping the broom up in the corner. "Let's get a move on."

AJ nodded and exited the house with Ultra into a brightly lit Ponyville. They stood for a moment and admired the sunny day, as the birds chirped and the heat from the Celestia's sun beat down on them. "Mighty fine day, ain't it?"

"Sure is." Ultra hadn't felt this in a VERY long time. For the first time in a while, he felt......content. Like he truely was happy, and it was all because of Joy and AJ. He looked at AJ surveying the town square and felt that he should say something to her, but decided against it for now. He wanted to say something, but simply didn't know what.

The two began the short trek to Sugarcube Corner. As they made their way there, they passed Twilight's library. Applejack looked over to the library and waved, noticing Twilight through a window. Twilight noticed her as well and did the same.

"That’s one o’mah friends, Twilight Sparkle." Applejack informed Ultra as they closed in on Sugarcube Corner,  "One of them real intelligent types, she is."

"Yeah, I've actually met Twilight already." Ultra responded, "When I picked up Joy, we ran down to the library. She was the only one there, so we decided to say hi." Upon talking about Joy, he began to worry about her. "Speaking of Joy, I wonder what she and Apple Bloom are up to. I sure hope they're alright." 

Applejack chuckled a bit and gave Ultra a playful shove. "Oh, ah'm sure they aren't gettin' into anythin' too bad. And if anythin' does happen, Big Macintosh is always around just in case too. Ah'm not always the one she goes a-callin' to fer help all the time." The two walked into Sugarcube Corner, the scent of cakes and other baked goods filling their nostrils. 

They were barely in the door when a pink blur came speeding towards them, stopping right in front of them.
"OHMYGOSH! Applejack!" Pinkie cheered. "Hi! Oh, and hi to you too, Ultra!" 

Before Applejack could respond, her tummy began to rumble furiously. She chuckled and said, "Wow, ain't had a growl like that in ages I reckon." She chuckled and patted her hungry belly. "Don't y'all worry down there, we're gonna get some grub soon enough!"

The three approached the counter and Pinkie leaped over it, grinning widely at the two. "So, what can I do you two super special awesome friends today?" she asked, tilting her head.

Ultra answered first, "I think I'll have a blueberry muffin. Derpy got me one when we went to retrieve our supplies, and I'm really hooked now. What about you, AJ?"

"Hmm..." Applejack pondered her decision for a moment, and responded, "Ah'll have the same, keep things simple!"

Pinkie quickly wrote up the order on a pad and spit the pen out onto the counter. "Okie dokie lokie! Two blueberry muffins coming riiiiiiiight up!" Pinkie dove through the doors into kitchen, and many loud noises erupted from behind the swinging doors.

Ultra turned to Applejack. "She's going to bound out those doors with fresh muffins in mere seconds, isn't she?" Almost on queue, Pinkie burst through the doors holding two plates, each graced with a fresh muffin. "Of course." Ultra remarked.

Ultra and Applejack walked over to one of the booths next to the window. They sat down as Pinkie placed the plates in front of them. "Here you two go! Hope you like it!" she sang, her trademark Pinkie Pie smile plastered on her face.

Applejack leaned in an took in the aroma of the muffin, enjoying herself thoroughly. "Mmmmmmmm...reeeeeal good Pinkie, real good!"

Ultra, however, didn't take time to take in the delicious scent, and immediately dug in. "This is delicious! I don't know how you do it Pinkie. Thanks!" 

Pinkie smiled even wider at Ultra's compliment. "Any tiiiiiiime..." she sang as she bounded back to help the Cakes with another order. 

When she was out of sight, Ultra turned his attention back to Applejack. "Man, she is so full of energy. Kinda reminds me of my sister a little." They laughed as Applejack took her first bite of her muffin. "Are you two good friends?" Ultra asked, still hungrily nibbling at his muffin, "I seemed to get that vibe from you two."

"Y'all would've guessed correctly." she answered, "We've been talkin' fer a little while now since Twi came t'town."

Ultra laughed, and said, "Pinkie was the first pony I ever met in Ponyville. I swear, as soon as I stepped into town, she was already dragging me to a party. A party in MY HONOR, no less." He laughed, but the laugh soon faded, and his quick, hungry bites of his muffin changed to much smaller, slower nibbles. "We still talk when I come in here, but I wouldn't consider her really close." Ultra had become very quiet. He began thinking about before, how he pondered telling AJ how much she meant to him as a friend. How she truly was making a difference in his life.

Just tell her. Just start talking, just like when you met her. You can do this, Ultra. Eye of the manticore, baby. Let's go.

He looked up to see AJ staring, confused at his strangely absent-minded mood. "Hey, AJ?"

"Yeah, sugarcube?"

"Can I tell you something?"

She tilted her head, a look of confusion on her face. She nodded. "Sure thing. Ah've got an ear t'lend if y'all need it." she said, smiling at him comfortingly.

Ultra swallowed the last of his muffin and began, his head hung low. "Well, I moved here from home 3 years ago, and didn't have many friends...I-I mean, I had friends back home but they all sort of...moved on. And I was so new here that I never bothered even trying to make friends, because...I figured I didn't really want friends anymore. At the time they just seemed like a bad idea, since eventually, they were bound to leave...and I didn't think I could handle losing friends again like that, y'know? For the past 3 years, I've spoken with people I've considered acquaintances, but you're the first person I've met here that I feel like I can really talk to, even if we haven't known each other very long. So.....thanks." Ultra brought his head up and smiled, looking Applejack in the eye. "Thanks for being a friend."

There was a long silence, besides the activity in the bakery already. It wasn't a bad silence though, no. Applejack's cheeks blushed a bright red. "Y'all are far too kind to this here mare." she giggled, reaching out to touch his cheek softly. "But it does make me feel happy that ya finally got a friend here in Ponyville." AJ finished her muffin and stood up, stretching out a bit. "If y'all are ready, maybe we best head back to the farm and see what the young'uns are up to. You said it yerself, now ah'm a bit worried bout what they're gettin' into over there."

Ultra was perked back up by Applejack's response, returning to his normal self. "Sure thing. Let's get a move on!"
He got up, and the two began to head out the door, but before leaving, Ultra looked over his shoulder and yelled, "See you later, Pinkie!"

"Byeeeee!"

The two trotted out and towards the farm. AJ spoke up, saying, "Ah know those two can’t be up t’too much, but knowin’ how Apple Bloom an’ her friends are tryin’ t’get their cutie marks…ah’m hopin’ they don’t drag Joystick in on their shenanigans."
Ultra's ears perked up. "Really? And what do these 'shenanigans' entail most of the time?"

"Well..." she began, "There was a time when they thought they'd get it by singin'...That didn't end too well, trust me. More recently, though, Apple Bloom took some weird stuff Zecora had an' used it to get a cutie mark...But the she got more than one mark an' she started doin' everythin' her marks did all the time! They call it 'Cutie Pox', I believe..." There was a long pause. Ultra had heard of Cutie Pox in school, but had never heard of an actual case of it, especially not a RECENT one. 

"...Maybe we better get back there a bit quicker..."

"Yeeeeeeah." Ultra agreed, as the two friends dashed of towards the farm.
> Choice
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The gate to Sweet Apple Acres swung open and Ultra and Applejack bolted through and into the farm. Ultra immediately began scanning the farm, searching for his sister. Nothing appeared to be any different than how they left it a few hours ago. "Well," Ultra said in between breaths, "at least they didn't destroy anything."

"Very true, but that don't mean they haven't been gettin' inta anythin'."

"Also true." Ultra went back to searching around the farm.

Applejack began checking around the multiple barns on the farm. Eventually, she checked around the side of the barn closest to the farmhouse and spotted the two little fillies playing with some chickens. "Hey, Ultra! Ah found 'em! No need ta fret!" Ultra heard her and quickly rejoined her.

Joystick and Applebloom turned and looked at her when she called to Ultra, bright smiles on their faces. "Hey, Applejack!" said Joystick in a cheery tone.

"Hey, you two!" Applejack replied, approaching the two, "So, what've y'all been up to since we left? Not gettin' inta any trouble, ah hope?"

"Oh, no." she assured AJ, taking deep breaths as if she had been running a few moments ago, "I told Applebloom that I saw an Italian Stallion trying to chase chickens in a movie and it looked really hard. She was all, 'That don't seem too hard!', so we tried it." Joy looked back at the chickens as they scurried about. "She was wrong."

Joy took a breath and continued talking. "We also played hide-and-seek! And we had a race, just like you two did!"

Applebloom chimed in, "Who won that, anyhow?"

Applejack chuckled. "Seems ah'm needin' t'exercise a bit more, 'cause Ultra beat me, fair and square." She gave Ultra a light, friendly push.

"Golly!" Applebloom exclaimed, "Y'all must be pretty good t'beat mah sis in a race! She's one of the bestest in all of Ponyville!" AJ felt a slight blush cross her face, and Joystick laughed, hugging her brother, feeling very proud of him. She could tell just by looking at her that Applejack would not be an easy opponent to defeat in a race, so she knew Ultra had DEFINITELY accomplished something big.

"Seems we'll have more t'do back at his place though. Ah've agreed t'help him finish up his house, since he won." Applejack told the fillies.

"She helped you with the wall, Ultra?" asked Joystick.

"Yep!" he answered, "Took most of it down in one buck!" Joystick was astonished at this information, looking up at Applejack like she was the strongest mare in the world.

"Wow! Applejack, that's sooo coool! I had no idea you were so strong!" 

Applejack felt the blush return to her cheeks, this time much more intense. "Well, shucks. Y'all are makin' me more than a bit embarrassed here." She let out a little giggle, feeling very good about herself. She leaned down next to Joy and put a hoof around her small shoulders.

"And if y'all wanna be as strong as mahself, y'all need to take care of yerself, get lotsa sleep, an' most importantly, believe in yerself." She turned to Applebloom, directing her comments at her too. "Y'all will find yer callin' one day, believe me about that." She smiled brightly at the two, and they smiled back just as wide.

"Gee, AJ. That means a lot. Thanks." Joystick said, giving Applejack a hug. Suddenly,  she gave out a huge yawn. Ultra looked to the horizon and saw that the sun was beginning to set. "That whole idea of getting lots of sleep seems pretty good right about now!"

"Good idea. We'd better get going." Ultra agreed, "Besides, we need to be up pretty early tomorrow to bring you to the train station." Ultra began to saunter up to the gate. However, when he arrived, he noticed Joy wasn't with him. She was standing in between him and the Apple sisters, head hung low. "What's wrong?"

"I....I forgot I was leaving today...." Joystick's eyes filled up with tears and her lip quivered. Joystick's sadness spread to the other ponies, as Applebloom trotted over to Joy and gave her new friend a hug. 

She leaned away from the hug and smiled at Joy. "This ain't the last time we're gonna meet," Applebloom said comfortingly, "so don't frown now."

"Applebloom's right." Applejack added, "Y'all are welcome back here anytime ya feel like it." With that, AJ joined the hug. 

She was shortly followed by Ultra, who was strangely quiet for the duration of the hug. They all stood there, just enjoying the moment as the sun slowly started to set.

After the hug broke, Ultra wiped the tears from Joy's eyes, looking to AJ and Applebloom. "How would you two like to take me to see Joy off at the station tomorrow?"

"Y-Yeah...That w-w-would be really n-nice..." Joy said shakily.

The two sisters glanced at each other, nodded, and answered, "Sure will!” in unison with one another.

Applejack walked over to Joy again and patted her head. “C’mon now, don’t be sad, Joystick. We’ll all be here when ya come the next time, an’ we’ll have a blast, ah promise!” 

Joystick smiled back at her, wiping her eyes. “Okay...” she responded.

Applejack suddenly felt a tug on her tail. She turned to see her sister jumping up and down with glee. “What is it, sis?”

“I’ve got an idea! I’ve got an idea!” she cheered, whispering her plan into AJ’s ear. As she did, a smile curled up on Applejack’s face.

“Well, ah don’t see why not.” she said once Applebloom was done whispering. Applebloom hopped up in down with delight as AJ turned to Ultra again. “Hey, Ultra?”

“Yeah, AJ?”

“How would both of ya like t’stay here tonight?” she suggested, “We’ll all go down to the train station in the mornin’ t’see ya off then!”

“R-r-r-really???” THAT got Joystick’s attention. She immediately stopped crying, looking up at her big brother. “Can we, Ultra? PLEEEEEEASE?”

Ultra smiled. There was NO way he could turn that sort of offer down. It would break the poor little filly’s heart. Still, that didn’t mean he couldn’t taunt her a bit. “Hmm...I dunno...” Ultra said, rubbing his chin with one hoof.

“Oh, Ultra! PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEEEEEASE say yes!!!”

“Well...” he said, his hoof still up to his chin, “we should probably go back to the house and pack your bags for tomorrow, but afterwards, I don’t see why not!”

“YAY!!” You would’ve never guessed Joy had been  crying. She and Applebloom began hopping about happily, already planning what to do.

“Alright, alright.” Ultra piped up. The two fillies calmed down and stopped dead in front of him. “Good. Now, lets go Joy. We’ll go pack up and we’ll be back in a jiffy.”

“Yes! Okay!” Joystick hopped onto Ultra’s back, and he sped off towards town.

“We’ll be back in a little bit!” Ultra called back to AJ.

“An’ we’ll be ready fer ya!” AJ called back. After Ultra and Joy were out of sight, AJ turned to Applebloom. “Well, little sis, lets go get the house tidied up. We ‘ave guests, an’ we don’t want ‘em t’feel uncomfortable, now do we?” Applebloom nodded in agreement, and the two sped off towards the farmhouse.

--------------------

Ultra entered his house, with Joystick close behind. She began to climb the stairs, moving quickly up to her room. "Be sure you don't forget anything! I'll pack all your stuff down here!" Ultra called after her as he moved into the living room.

He grabbed a nearby saddlebag and began to grab some of Joystick's possessions that she had left downstairs. While sifting through the mess, he noticed something: the mail that had begun to accumulate since a few weeks ago. The mail that he probably should have thrown out. There were many different documents and envelopes strew across the table, bills, cards from friends of Ultra's father, stuff like that. But only one document caught his eye. The one that would force him to make an impossible decision...

-------------------

Ultra sat up in his bed and let out a loud yawn. It was his day off, and he was determined to milk the most laziness he could from this day, since he had been working so hard at work, as well as his own projects. He looked at the clock.

12:30? I think that's late enough..., he thought to himself. With a tired moan, he swung his hind legs over the edge of the bed and got up, stretching his aching muscles. He then went about his daily routine, washing up, combing his mane, and making himself look presentable.

Afterward, he went downstairs into the kitchen and grabbed a cinnamon bun, buttered it,  and threw it in the microwave. All of a sudden, there was a knock at the door, and Ultra scurried off to answer it.

Huh...who could that be? he thought to himself. He opened up the door and a stallion carrying a briefcase and wearing  a tie stood in his doorway. Ultra shot him a smile, but did not get one in return, only a somber, sad look. 

"Umm...hello?" he said.

"Hello." responded the stallion, his voice gruff and stuffy, "Are you...Ultra Combo?"

"Yes, that's me. What is it?"

"...And your father is Steel, correct?"

Ultra was beginning to get concerned. "Yes. But, he lives way out in Fillydelphia. If you want him, you're in the wrong place."

"My name is Dark Veil. I'm with the Fillydelphia Funeral Home..." Dark Veil winced, and finished with, "...I regret to inform you that...your father has passed on..."

--------------------

The memories of that day continued to race through Ultra's head like a runway freight train as the two siblings approached Sweet Apple Acres again, many of their possessions slung over their backs. Ultra approached the front door of the farmhouse and gave it four light knocks, and in no time at all, the door opened to reveal the Apple sisters smiling back at them.

"Long time no see!" joked Applejack, beckoning the two inside, "If ya follow me, ah'll show ya where you two'll be stayin' fer the night." The two sisters made their way upstairs, as Ultra and Joy followed close behind. 

Joystick and Applebloom were already chattering away to one another when Ultra began to speak with AJ. "Hey, AJ..." he said, "Thanks a lot for this. Joy has never dealt well with leaving her friends, and I haven't seen her that sad since the day I told her I was leaving home. This will really help her say goodbye."

"Ah'm hopin' so," responded Applejack, "cause seein' her sad wasn't helpin' me out, neither." 

Eventually, she arrived at the door to the spare bedroom, allowing Ultra to enter first and check it out. Ultra did so, looking around at the rustic, old-fashioned guest room as he placed his heavy saddlebag on the bed. "Appleboom's real happy, too." she added as she smiled briefly, only to have it turn into a small frown, "She don't act it cause she thinks she's mature an' everythin', but truth be told, I know Joystick leavin' was draggin' her way down in the dumps too..."

"Yeah..." he said, letting out a tiny sigh, "...but they're tough little fillies. I'm sure they'll be fine." He poked his head down the hall to see the girls run down to Applebloom's room, giggling all the way. He chuckled to himself, and went back to inspecting the room. Everything was very neat, and almost looked as if nopony had ever stayed there before him. "You know, now that I take the time truly appreciate it, I can see that you have a beautiful home, AJ!"

She reacted as she usually does when receiving a compliment, with a little blush and a scuff on the floor with her hoof. "Y'all are makin' me blush with yer kind words. Yer home was quite nice too...Well, even more so when its finished ah'd imagine." she grinned. She exited the room, looking back in one more time. "Go ahead an' unpack, then we'll go downstairs an' talk s'more if y'all would like ta!" With that, she left him to prepare himself.

Ultra opened up his saddlebag, beginning to unpack things he'll need for the morning, all the while with the horrid memories of the day he received the news of his father's passing echoing in his mind.

---------------------

The world stopped. Ultra's world was completely drained of color, of hope. All of his emotions were set off at once. Anger, sadness, grief, regret, guilt, they all sparked within his mind at once, creating a hellstorm of confusion and chaos in his head.

"...May I come in?" asked the stallion, "We...have much we need to talk about..." Ultra broke from his trance and nodded. Dark Veil stepped in and Ultra led him to the kitchen. There, Ultra spent the worst 30 minutes of his life. They talked about things that Ultra only dreaded having to hear about again after planning his mother's funeral. Guests, coffins, the wake...these were all things he KNEW he would not be able to attend...not after last time. He could barely make it through at THAT funeral. How could he make it through this?

"Mr. Combo?"

Ultra snapped out of his trance. "Oh...uh...sorry...um...yes?"

"I...I know this must be very hard for you...but there is one last thing we must address."

Ultra swallowed hard. "...Yes?"

"...Your sister."

-------------------

Ultra didn't know how long he just sat on the bed, just lost in thought, but eventually, he snapped himself out of it again. He got up and made his way downstairs where he found AJ in the kitchen. "Ah! There y'all are!" she said, "All done unpacking?"

"Yup, everything is ready for tomorrow..." His mood was fouled. He wanted to act friendlier, but every time he did, he felt a sharp pain from his anguish. It was building, but Ultra managed to keep it down for now.

"Yeah...tomorrow..." AJ said, absent-mindedly. She quickly shook her head, trying to dismiss the subject. "Hopefully y'all found everything alright up there?" Ultra nodded with a dull smile. Applejack sighed, looking around the kitchen. Her gaze landed on the bottle of grape juice, usually opened for special occasions. She grabbed the bottle and turned back to Ultra. "Do ya like grape juice?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah, sure." Ultra answered, moving into the dining room. Applejack grabbed a few glasses and set them on the table, pouring an average amount of juice into each glass, when, all of a sudden, Ultra felt a pressure building around his eyes.

No. Don't you bucking dare. You promised her there would be no tears, so you'd better not.

Ultra took a sip, the pressure building. No matter how much he tried, his gaze would not leave the floor.

Don't.

"Thanks, Applejack. This is really good."

DON'T.

Too late. A single, solitary tear escaped his eye. He turned his head, trying to hide it as he dried it, but it was too late. He could tell by the confused look on Applejack's face that she had seen it, clear as day. "Huh?" she said, concerned, "Why're ya cryin' all of a sudden?"

Ultra still tried to hide his anxiety, saying, "Oh, sorry. I'm the...biggest buzzkill tonight..." Just speaking caused more tears to fall from his eyes. 

Applejack got up from the other side of the table, wrapping a single hoof around Ultra's shoulder as she frowned slightly. "Yer hidin' somethin' deep down, ah can tell. Y'all can go ahead an' tell me anythin', mah muzzle's sealed an' ah won't tell nopony."

Ultra's damp eyes met with Applejack's. He saw that they still radiated an equal amount of honesty and dependability. He continued to fight back tears as he began. "There's something I haven't told you about Joy and I...About 5 years back, our mom disappeared. She was never found. My dad did a great job watching us afterward, b-but..." Ultra felt the flood gates breaking. "...just a few weeks ago...someone showed up at my door...from Fillydelphia. ...Our...our dad passed away last month." And with that, Ultra broke. His head dropped to the table as he broke into sobs, reduced to a quivering, scared foal of a pony.

Applejack immediately brought Ultra into a side hug, rubbing his back comfortingly. "Ultra...ah...ah'm sorry t'hear that..." she whispered, not knowing what else she could do for him.

Ultra managed to stop his sobbing, but tears still streamed down his face. "...Thanks. However...that's not what I'm crying about. I've cried all I can about that." Ultra looked up at the ceiling, where he could hear the girls playing about in Applebloom's room. "...It's her I'm worried about."

---------------------

"...What about her?" Ultra asked. His sister? What's wrong with Joy?

"Well...you see Mr. Combo...Joystick doesn't have any living relatives she could remain with...except you."

His heart stopped. His brain was overloaded with emotion again.

"You...don't have to take her. Trust me, there are many good foster care agencies in Fillydelphia. We will make sure she is well taken care of if you feel you aren't ready for something like this." the stallion said.

"Well...you're kinda springing this on me...I really don't know what to do here..."

"Look..." the stallion said, getting up from his seat, "We need to send her here for in about two weeks, anyway. She'll be here for a week. In that time, you can make your decision. If not...just send her on back, and we'll make sure she is treated well."

"..."

"Mr. Combo..."

"Yes...yes, I understand." Dark Veil nodded to him, using his magic to place some papers on the counter.

"I'm so sorry..." added Dark Veil as he exited Ultra's home with haste.

Ultra stared at the papers. A wall of text lined them, and they were punctuated at the bottom with a long dotted line where a name belonged. Ultra wanted so bad to sign them, right there and then, but...

---------------------

"...But I don't know if I'm ready for that responsibility.....I don't know if I can provide...." Ultra ended.

Applejack frowned, and said, "Ultra, bein' a pare-...a guardian of a sibiling is hard work, ah'll tell ya that much. But...there comes a time in a pony's life when y'all gotta take responsibility though, an' believe in yerself that ya can get the job done no matter what." She spoke every word from the bottom of her heart, smiling a bit at him and wiping the tears from his face. "Y'all aren't alone either. If she comes t'live with ya, we can try an' help ya out as well if'n when ya need it." she finished, offering him a hoofkerchief.

"...Thanks." Ultra took the hoofkerchief and dried his eyes. "I think I need to just...think about this a little more...Thanks, AJ." Ultra smiled. "Now, do you think I could get some more grape juice?"

---------------------

Later that night, Ultra lay in bed, the sounds of Applejack tending to the last chores of the day coming from the window. 

Ultra couldn't stop thinking about his conversation with her. Was he really a good enough brother to do something like this? He had goals, goals that he had left his family for. He questioned the credibility of his love for his sister.

Restless, he got up out of bed and walked down the hall. He stopped in front of Applebloom's room and gently opened the door. There, he saw the two little fillies, sleeping soundly next to each other, tucked in snug as a bug.

Ultra smiled. Well...I don't want to lose too much sleep over this...I can't let it get to me. he thought. 

He was about to go back to bed when he stopped himself. He opened the door again and quietly tiptoed into the room. For a while he just watched his little sister sleep soundly. Then, he leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, Joystick..." he whispered into her ear. She stirred a bit, but still slept soundly. Ultra smiled, content with his actions, and went back to bed.