Honeybuzz Chapter Expansion · 6:12am Dec 25th, 2023
Source: https://derpibooru.org/images/3081915
Happy Hearth's Warming, everypony! The next chapter of 16 is with my prereaders, and the biggest piece of news it's not one chapter, it's two of them. It was so big (and there was a natural break almost exactly in the middle), that I was advised to split the chapter in half. So that's what I've done. This two-parter is my tribute to MLP's 40th anniversary and will be posted before the end of the year.
Source: https://derpibooru.org/images/3093339
Cherry Pie: Currently in progress
Daisy Dreams: No recent changes; will be expanded
Dewdrop Dazzle: https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/1014130/dewdrop-dazzle-chapter-expansion
Diamond Rose: https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/990898/diamond-rose-chapter-expansion
Feathermay: https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/993541/feathermay-chapter-expansion
Flitterheart: https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/996030/flitterheart-chapter-expansion
Honeybuzz: You're here!
Lily Blossom: https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/999575/lily-blossom-chapter-expansion
Lulu Luck: https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/1007071/lulu-luck-chapter-expansion
Ploomette: No expansions planned
Plumsweet: https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/1029628/plumsweet-rainbow-flash-chapter-expansions
Rainbow Flash: https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/1029628/plumsweet-rainbow-flash-chapter-expansions
Snowcatcher: No expansions planned
Starbeam Twinkle: No expansions planned
Sunny Rays: No expansions planned
Sweetie Swirl: No expansions planned
But today, in the spirit of the holiday, we've got a chapter expansion. Honeybuzz's story is intertwined with that of Bifröst, as the two of them were roommates at the School of Friendship, and we see a bit of Bifröst in the new scenes. One of the Mane 6 even gets a cameo!
Please note that the first of the below scenes (the concert) was included in Sunny Rays' blog post, as Honeybuzz's chapter was initially expanded at that time with a snippet that had been cut from Sunny's chapter because it was running long. All of the rest are new, having been completed in the last few days. One of which, Bumblesweet's visit to Ponyville, was eluded to in Bifröst's chapter. Bumblesweet, when released in G4, was identical to Honeybuzz. However, Bumblesweet has been around since G3 (below). Their twin status (not to mention intense rivalry) stems from Hasbro using two different names for the same character. I've appropriated G3 Bumblesweet's cutie mark (below) for the purposes of this story.
Source: https://derpibooru.org/images/348348
Seaddle: nine years, six months, and twenty-one days ago
Bumblesweet and I stood in a line outside the Princess Dome, home to the Seaddle Seaducks hoofball team. For one night only, it was host to Countess Coloratura. The show had been sold out for months, but Jazz Hooves was part of the opening act. She had tickets for our whole class.
Maybe she was excited for the concert, or maybe she was just bored, but my sister was even in a good mood… for once. We chatted as we waited to be let in, talking about everything and nothing. I wish this was what all of our interactions were like.
A stallion was walking down the line, checking tickets. When he got to us, he pulled us out of line and sent us with a mare that led us to a backdoor. A bunch of fillies and colts were already in the room, and I recognized several of our classmates. I spotted Tootsie Roll and trotted over to him. “Do you know what’s going on?”
He shook his head. “I’m starting to think Jazz was lying and passed out fake tickets. They’re probably going to send us all to the dungeon.”
I giggled at that. “I don’t think they’d send foals to jail for trying to use fake tickets to get into a concert.”
A stallion walked into the room and clopped his hoof on the floor thrice. “Attention everypony. I’m Svengallop, manager to Countess Coloratura and Sunny Rays. As I’m sure you all know, the countess enjoys meeting with schoolponies before her concerts. You’ve all been chosen to meet her.”
There was cheering as we stomped our hooves in applause.
“All right, settle down. Quiet, quiet. I know you’re excited, but there are some ground rules I need to cover. First of all, no touching Countess Coloratura. Secondly, no talking to the countess unless you’re spoken to first. One picture per pony, so make it count. Any questions?”
Almost every hoof in the room went up and Svengallop groaned. “Not, it isn’t time yet. You’ll meet with her in thirty minutes and the session lasts for an hour, and not one minute more. Does that answer all your questions?” He ignored the ponies that were shaking their heads ‘no’. “Good, ‘cause we’re done here. See you in half an hour.”
Thankfully the mare who’d led us to the room stuck around to answer questions, and the stallion who’d been checking tickets came in with a cart filled with snacks and drinks. I grabbed an apple and a glass of orange juice.
It wasn’t long before Countess Coloratura entered the room, and after a collective gasp, the room fell silent. “Greetings, everypony!” She waved at all of us. “I’m Countess Coloratura. How many of you are here because you know Sunny Rays?”
A bunch of hooves went up, and she directed them to line up in the hallway outside. Once they did, she took them somewhere, leaving the rest of us to wonder just what was going on.
She came back ten minutes later. “How many of you know Jazz Hooves?”
I put my hoof in the air, as did the rest of my classmates. Tootsie Roll was eating another apple, so I flicked my tail against his flank to get his attention. He sheepishly put his hoof in the air too, apple and all.
She directed us to line up in the hall and we did so. Then Countess Coloratura came out and led us to a room down the hall where a photographer was set up. One by one we entered the room and she gave us her signature hoofsies as the photographer took our picture. I could feel my sister’s death glare on the back of my head as I got to meet the countess before she did. Coloratura stamped my cheek as the camera clicked. She patted my head, and just like that I was standing in the hallway again.
Tootsie Roll joined me a minute later, and then Bumblesweet came through a minute after him. She whispered in my ear, “Honeybuzz and Tootsie, sitting in the yard, K-I-S-S-I-…”
I pushed a hoof against her mouth. “Grow up, sis.” I rolled my eyes. All because I got to meet Countess Coloratura before her.
After all of our classmates had had their pictures taken, a mare led us to the stadium where we’d be sitting. We walked past row after row of empty seats and then I glimpsed the first group sitting in the front row. We were heading right for them. Oh my gosh, we’ve got second row seats!
Our teacher was sitting along the aisle and we filed past her. Leading the way, I walked all the way through until I reached the other end of the row of seats. Bumblesweet sat next to me, Tootsie Roll on her other side.
My face flushed red as I heard my sister say to Tootsie Roll, “Honeybuzz likes you. Wanna switch seats so you can be next to her?” He nodded, and they traded places.
I’ve never had any interest in Tootsie Roll. She’s setting him up for failure, and he’s going to blame me when his heart gets broken. We’re too young for love and crushes and all that. What do couples even do? Hold hooves, I guess? I reached a hoof toward him and he bumped it. And that was that. He didn’t speak a word about it, so I didn’t bring it up either. Maybe he already figured out that she's messing with me by messing with him? I don’t care if you play petty games with me, sis, but leave others out of it.
I couldn’t help but notice she’d upgraded her own seat in the process, sitting another seat closer to the center of the row.
The concert was as awesome as expected, and of course it was over far too soon. Fireworks were going off, but much of the audience was leaving. Our teacher motioned for all of us to follow her, and she led us back to the room we’d been waiting in earlier. Our photos were ready, and were distributed to us.
We milled about, and I learned that Sunny Rays was from Horsevallis and her drummer was from Tackoma. Their respective classmates were staying in the hotel at the top of Bay’s Needle.
Eventually the stars of the show trotted in. Coloratura quickly autographed the photos that had been taken earlier, the practiced hoof stamping of a pony that’s done this more times than she could count. Sunny was slow, clumsy, and seemed embarrassed to be there. A stack of glossy 5x7 photos had been given to her to autograph, and she did so.
I’d made sure that Bumblesweet was well ahead of me in line, and took my place at the end. By the time she got to me, I could tell she was eager for the night to be over.
“Didn’t you already come through the line?”
“That was my twin sister, Bumblesweet.”
She paused to think about that. “So you know Jazz Hooves?”
I nodded. “I broke her leg.”
She blinked at that. “Did she forget to pay you her lunch money?”
“Nothing that ominous. She was running away from a bee and smacked into me. Earth pony versus pegasus, head-on, both of us at full gallop.”
She winced. “Ouch.”
“That’s what we both said. Her especially. It worked out for the best though. We’re friends now because of it. If she hadn’t broken her leg, she’d probably be dancing right now instead of being on tour with you. Tell her you talked to ‘the brick wall she hit’ and she’ll give you all the details.”
We chuckled, and Sunny Rays stamped her hoof on a photo of herself and hoofed it to me. “Nice meeting you, ‘Brick Wall’.”
“It’s Honeybuzz, actually.”
“Not anymore.”
“Don’t make me break your leg.”
She laughed. “You’re supposed to say that before the show, not after it.” With a hug, she turned and walked out, following Coloratura to the autograph session the rest of the fans were waiting for.
Ponyville: five years, eleven months, and fifteen days ago
Headmare Starlight had called me into her office, and from the look of it, I wasn’t alone. It’s the first day of the semester. There are always problems to resolve. But what did I do?
I took a seat next to Rainbow Harmony in the waiting room. “Good morning Rainbow.”
The pink pegasus filly took a look at me and cringed. “You look awful, Honeybuzz.”
“I couldn’t sleep last night. My roommate’s back from break and she keeps our room as hot as a furnace.”
The pegasus across the room snickered at that. “Is her name being Citrine Spark?”
I turned to look at the pink mare. “How did you know that?”
“I am also being a former roommate of hers. I am liking it very cold because I come from Crystalvania, in the Frozen North.”
“I sleep better when it’s chilly.”
“Me too.” She smiled. “And I am having an off campus apartment and I have been doing the looking for a roommate. Would you be showing the interest?”
“Yes.”
She clopped her front hooves together. “Then let us do the talking to Headmare Starlight.”
I chuckled. “That’s what we’re here for, isn’t it? I didn’t catch your name?”
“I am being Bifröst.”
“Nice to meet you, Bifröst.”
Headmare Starlight popped out of her office. “Honeybuzz, you’re next!”
I trotted into the office and she closed the door behind me.
“I suppose you’re wondering why I called you in on the first day of class.”
I nodded.
“I just wanted an excuse for you and Bifröst to meet. I assume you’d like permission to move off campus? Granted.”
“You’re very sneaky, headmare.”
“I know. Send Bifröst in, and tell Rainbow Harmony she can go back to class now.”
I walked out of the office and sent Bifröst in. Then I sat next to Rainbow Harmony. “So what are you in for?”
“Starlight just wanted me to steer a conversation in the direction it needed to go.”
“She really is sneaky.”
“You have no idea.”
“Also, she said you can go back to class now.”
Rainbow shrugged. “I have study hall right now. Not much to study first thing in the morning on the first day back from Hearths Warming break.” She stood up. “See you at lunch?”
“Sure.”
Ponyville: five years, five months, and two days ago
“Honeybuzz?”
I opened my eyes. Bifröst was standing in the middle of the room we shared. “Mn?” It was too early in the morning for full words.
“What are you doing in the bed?”
“Sleeping.”
“But I just did the seeing of you outside.”
My eyes flew open. Horseapples! It was no longer ‘too early’ for full words. If somepony saw ‘me’ somewhere else while I was still in bed, that could only mean one thing. No. No, no, no, no, no. It’s not possible. She wouldn’t come here. She can’t come here. Can she?
Oh who am I kidding. If she thinks she can make my life miserable, she’ll come here. Headmare Starlight, I really hope I can count on you… At the very least I owed Bifröst an explanation. “So, funny story.”
“I am liking the humor. What is being funny?”
“I have a twin sister. That I’ve never mentioned. Because we haven’t been on speaking terms since… uh, since well before I left Seaddle.”
“I was not even knowing that you were being from Seaddle. You do not do the talking about your home life very much.”
“Because it was never really home. The School of Friendship is more of a home than Seaddle ever was.”
“I feel like I should be doing the hugging of you.”
“Save it for later. I have a bad feeling I’m going to need a lot of hugs by the time this day is over. Where, exactly, did you see this other me?”
“Your twin is being in the town marketplace.”
“Thanks. I hate to ask, but would you mind doing me a big favor?”
“It is not being a problem. What would you like me to be doing?”
“Get everypony from the school who’s still on campus. Students, teachers, staff… freeloading magicians.”
“Okay?”
“Bring them to the market. I don’t know what Bumblesweet’s been up to, but I have some guesses…”
“Then what?”
I shrugged. “I don’t have a plan. I’m hoping Starlight will come up with one, but surely somepony from the school will have an idea of some sort.”
Bifröst nodded, then jumped out our second story window. Defenestration is cheating. Without wings, I had to take the stairs, racing down them two at a time. I galloped through town, and several ponies gave me dirty looks. I really hope that’s because my running is disturbing them, and not because of something Bumblesweet just did.
It wasn’t hard to find my sister. She was wearing a dress that conveniently covered her cutie mark as she riled up the locals while pretending to be me. It’s not bad enough you had to turn everypony in Seaddle against me, you have to turn everyone in Ponyville against me too? She’s probably still angry that I met all the princesses… Time to do damage control.
She spotted me before I could say anything. “Well, look what the cat dragged in. Took you long enough.”
“Nice to see you too, Bumblesweet. Is there any particular reason you’re making a scene in town?”
She shrugged. “Consider it an attention getter. It got your attention, didn’t it?”
“…Yes.” I rolled my eyes. “You know, there are better ways to get somepony’s attention.”
“Of course I know that.” She smiled sweetly. “But they’re boring. Just like you.”
“So what brings you to Ponyville, sis? Considering last I checked you weren’t even speaking to me…”
She pretended to gasp. She’d been the star of several school plays, so I knew her acting skills were better than that. “I’m offended. Can’t I come visit my favorite twin sister?”
“I’m your only twin sister.”
“Details, details. I came here to patch things up with you, Honeybuzz.”
I quirked an eyebrow and waited for the other horseshoe to drop. If she was on speaking terms with me again, it meant she wanted something badly.
“Say, does Princess Twilight still live here in Ponyville?”
And there it is. You’re as subtle as an airship crash, sis. “I’m afraid she moved to Canterlot. But if you go to the end of the block and turn right, the train station’s only three blocks away. You could be in Canterlot in a few short hours, and I’m sure Twilight would be thrilled to take time from her schedule to fawn all over you.”
“But I was hoping my sister who’s already such good friends with the princess could get me in to see her. You do know her, right?”
“We’ve met.” That much was true at least.
“Your Hearth’s Warming card said you knew all the princesses personally.”
“It said no such thing. If I remember correctly, it said I was too busy to write a full letter and to see the enclosed pictures.”
“That’s not what was in the letter I read out loud to our parents.”
Oh that little sneak. She made up a story and then showed them the pictures of me with the princesses.
“I knew you were lying. Of course you were lying. You could never hope to measure up to me, so you had to lie about how you’re such good friends with all of the princesses.”
“So you made up a story. You thought you were clever, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t make up anything. You said you were too busy to write, so I just filled in the gaps like any responsible sister would do. Our parents worry about you, so it was nice to be able to give them an update that put their minds at ease.”
I massaged my scalp with a hoof. “You only see what you want to see. You warp the world to meet your twisted fantasies. I’m tired of it, sis. I came here, all the way across the continent, to get away from you.”
Bumblesweet again mock-gasped. “You would throw away your own twin sister? What kind of heartless pony are you?”
“That’s a question you should ask yourself.” I threw my hooves up in frustration. “Fine, if you want to ruin my life so badly, have at it. I’ll just move to another town and this time I won’t be foolish enough to let you know where to find me.”
The crowd around us was getting thicker – Bifröst had thankfully rallied the School of Friendship to my side. I owe you one, roomie. I turned my back on Bumblesweet, knowing that dismissing her would infuriate her further. I took the opportunity to scan the crowd for friendly faces. Starlight wasn’t there, nor were any of the teachers, but a lot of the students were watching our altercation.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“The train station, since you aren’t. Have a nice life, sis. Do me a favor and forget I exist, k?”
“Oh no, no, no. You’re not getting out of this that easily. I challenge you to a contest. I’ll even let you pick. There’s nothing you can do that I can’t do better.”
“Why does everything in life have to be a competition for you?”
“Life is a constant race to stay on top.”
“No it isn’t. I’m sorry you feel that way, but there’s way more to life than that. Maybe you should try the School of Friendship.”
“If you want to concede defeat, here in front of everypony, by all means, go ahead.”
“Fine, you win…” She smirked, thinking I’d conceded. “…if a competition is what you want, I challenge you to a smashing contest.”
Bumblesweet snickered. “You always were good at breaking things, sis. Like that time that you broke Jazz Hooves’ leg. I think I underestimated you. Maybe you really do have a chance at this one.”
“I know I’m not going to win. That said, I don’t think you’re going to win, either.” I held out a hoof and tagged one of my fellow students. “I never said I’d be competing, Bumble. Yona, this one’s all yours.”
“This is best day of Yona’s life.” She gave me a bonecrushing hug then charged towards a pile of very smashable items in front of Curio’s Antique Store. Yona absolutely obliterated a grandsire clock before my sister had even started moving in the direction of the store.
Bumblesweet gave it her all. She charged into the store and started throwing things out the window.
“Yes! That’s the spirit, Honeybuzz pony clone! Yona love challenge!”
I couldn’t help but laugh at Yona calling Bumblesweet my clone. I could tell that rankled my sister – she really started getting into it. She bucked the front door off its hinges and into the street. A lamp shaped like Discord was the next thing to fly out the window, followed by an entire display case filled with porcelain dishes. My sister leapt from the building, trampling the lamp and bucking the remnants of the display case until nothing inside remained intact.
Knickknacks rained down on the cobblestone street as Bumblesweet bucked and stomped. Tatters of a shredded coronation dress floated down from the second story. Yona, meanwhile, gored and trampled, rammed and stomped. She was in her element.
Spectators backed up to the other side of the street as the two contestants in the first ever Ponyville Smashing Competition continued to destroy everything in their path. Sandbar and his friends were cheering on Yona. Very few ponies were cheering for my sister.
Curio stood over the pile of debris that had once been her store’s merchandise. “Let’s tally this up to see who won, shall we? Grandsire clock, one hundred and five bits; seventeen vases, each priced to move at just eighty-eight bits each…”
Bifröst looked over the carnage. “Who is going to do the paying for all of this?”
“Yaks have smashing budget. Only thing we all agree on.” We all looked at Yona, incredulously. “What? You didn’t think yaks go around smashing everybody’s stuff without paying for it?”
Everypony in the crowd looked to her, then to each other. I’d never really thought about it before. Glancing around, I don’t think anypony had. It really prompted the question of where Yakyakistan was getting the bits for a smashing budget.
Curio nodded. “Every time she needs to break stuff she comes here, and I get a check the next week from the Yakyakistanian treasury. So I know her part of the damages are covered. Now, let’s total up your share of the smashing, miss.”
I saw my sister’s face pale as she realized she was going to have to pay for all the stuff she’d smashed. Actions have consequences. Whoever would’ve imagined?
“We’ll start with my display window. My front door. Hmn, a couple of walls, one of which I think might be loadbearing.”
“Oh! Yona never even think to break building. Nice job smashing, Honeybuzz pony clone!” She clapped Bumblesweet on the back, knocking my sister to the cobblestones.
She picked herself up, fuming. “My name is Bumblesweet! Seriously, has Honeybuzz never even mentioned me at all?!?”
“Nope,” I said, smugly. “Look on the bright side, sis. You out-smashed me. You might even have out-smashed a yak, and that’s no small accomplishment.”
“Ha!” Yona laughed. “If Honeybuzz pony clone out-smash Yona, Yakyakistan will cover her share of the smashing too.”
Some semblance of relief washed over Bumble after Yona said that. Her hypercompetitive nature showed through – she actually started trying to argue that things were more expensive than they really were. Truthfully, nothing in Curio’s shop was particularly old or valuable. It was a glamorized secondhoof shop, and the locals all knew it. My sister, however, didn’t.
The end result was closer than I’d expected, but still a landslide for Yona. The happy yak danced in the street while Bumblesweet started stammering an excuse as to why she couldn’t pay the proprietor almost five thousand bits. Cheap junk or not, Bumblesweet had smashed a lot of it. Bumblesweet snorted and stomped the ground in frustration. The shop, already weakened from her earlier smashing, collapsed.
Dust coated all of us and I coughed as I congratulated my sister for winning. “You really know how to bring down the house, sis.”
“Ha! I win after all!”
“No fair! Yona no know that building was fair game!” She banged her head on the pile of debris and screamed in frustration. “Yona need to smash something!”
Everypony with even a shred of self-preservation backed away from the angry bovine. Sandbar, however, rushed over to her and led her away from Ponyville and the many, many smashable things within. Ocellus shapeshifted into a cragodile and helped herd Yona toward the Everfree Forest.
“Like I said, there’s nothing I can’t do when I put my mind to it. Even out-smashing a yak.”
“You should definitely put that on your résumé, sis.”
Bumblesweet glared at me. “I don’t need to. I’ll inherit the family beekeeping business and you’ll get squat.”
I shrugged. “If I cared about any of that I’d still be in Seaddle. I miss our bees, but that’s about it.”
“What seems to be the problem here?” Starlight Glimmer stepped between Bumblesweet and myself.
Now Starlight shows up. “My twin sister showed up in town and caused a little trouble.” I motioned to Curio’s leveled shop. “Quite a bit of trouble, in fact.”
“Did you really destroy this secondhoof shop?”
“Uh…” Bumblesweet looked at the crowd, all of whom were nodding that she had, in fact done so. “Yes… But I can explain.”
“Oh this ought to be good.” Starlight’s horn glowed and a folding chair appeared next to her. She took a seat. “Please, feel free to explain this destruction.”
“Well, you see… there was this contest and I had to beat a yak. And well… the building didn’t make it but it counted toward my damage total which put me over the top. And that means Yakyakistan will pay for the damages.” She grinned smugly. “Because I out-smashed a yak.”
I grinned. “Bumblesweet said she wanted to meet Princess Twilight. I bet the princess would love to hear about all the damage my sister has done to her old hometown of Ponyville. What do you think?”
“I suddenly no longer desire to meet Princess Twilight Sparkle.”
Starlight tapped a hoof to her chin. “You know, that sounds like a wonderful idea. I can get us an audience with Princess Twilight immediately.”
“I’m sorry, but I have other places to be right now.” Bumblesweet turned tail and ran toward the train station.
I sighed. “I want to love her. There was a time I’d have given anything to have her treat me as an equal, as a sister. The really crazy part? Today was a step in the right direction, because she actually recognized my existence and spoke to me. The entire last year I lived in Seaddle she didn’t say a word to me. If I never see her again… I don’t think I’ll care. All I can say at this point is good riddance to bad rubbish.”
“I can see now why you don’t go home.”
I shrugged. “As I’ve said to you a bunch of times, I’m already home. Ponyville is my home.” That prompted everypony who overheard me say it to give me a hug. Ponyville is such a crazy old town, but it’s my kind of crazy. I turned to Starlight. “So, think we should send her to go meet your dad?”
“No. I love my daddy, even if he drives me up the wall most of the time.”
I chuckled. “That’s true. He doesn’t deserve to put up with that. Thank you. I don’t think I need to worry about her showing up in Ponyville again.”
“Speaking as a former villain, never say never. She came here to show you up and failed spectacularly. Right now she’s really, really embarrassed, but soon enough that will turn to anger. She’ll want revenge. That said, you probably don’t have to worry about it any time soon. It’ll be a long time before she shows up in Ponyville again.”
“I hope so. Ponyville has enough villains who’ve sworn revenge on the town and its denizens that we don’t need to add my sister to the list.”
Ponyville: five years, three months, and eight days ago
After my sister’s rampage, I decided I needed to get a job in town. Partially because it was nice to have a source of income, but mostly because I realized I needed to put myself out there more. I wanted everypony in Ponyville to know who I was. Not because I needed my ego stroked like my sister, but because if she ever came back, I wanted ponies to know she wasn’t me.
My first thought was to fall back on what I knew. It’d been a few years since I’d last kept bees, and I didn’t want to lose the skills I’d learned. Despite my begging, Starlight wouldn’t let me set up an apiary at the school. Considering she’d already helped me out a bunch of times, I wasn’t willing to force the issue.
It turned out I didn’t need to. Professor Applejack kept me after class one day and insisted I follow her back to Sweet Apple Acres. “This here part o’ the Acres isn’t being used for anythin’ thanks to me setting aside this land as part of a sanctuary for pesty vampire fruit bats.”
“That seems unusual.” I thought about it for a second. “Fluttershy?”
“Got it in one. She’s got a soft spot for any critter, even thievin’ varmints. Had to designate this whole section of orchard as a nature preserve. Ain’t usin’ it for nothin’ else, so may as well let you keep some bees here. I could use a good pollinator ‘round these parts.”
I gasped. “You don’t have a beekeeper in Ponyville?” I hadn’t seen any apiaries, but I hadn’t gone looking for any either.
“O’ course we have a beekeeper. I just don’t like him all that much on account o’ him ruinin’ my most darin’ pony contest with RD. I would’ve won, too, if not for him callin’ his bees back. Don’t get me wrong, I love Ponyville, but the downside to livin’ in such a small town is that when you’re feudin’ with somepony, an’ he ain’t got no competition, you don’t have any other options. ‘Bout time he had some competition. So you can use this here portion of the orchard and have as many hives as you want, an’ I’ll even let y’all sell your honey and candles and whatnot at my stall in the market. Free o’ charge, since you’re such a good student, and since you’ll be pollinatin’ my orchard.”
“Thank you!”
“Don’t mention it.”
Applejack left me alone to start setting things up, not that I could do all that much without supplies. Mostly I mapped out where I wanted everything to go.
Half an hour later Applejack returned with her brother, Big Macintosh, in tow, and they started hammering and sawing. Despite my curiosity, I watched them work in silence. I’d known AJ long enough to know she didn’t like folks interrupting her when she was working.
A few hours later I had an office. It looked a bit like a miniature barn, but that made sense since the Apples had a lot of experience raising barns. I’d been living in Ponyville for only two years and their barn had been replaced four times since I’d moved in. It was like the building was a magnet for disaster.
Ponyville: four years, eight months, and seventeen days ago
It felt good to be beekeeping again. It was my special talent, after all. Since Sweet Apple Acres was my patron, I decided to start with blue orchard bees to pollinate their apple trees. There would be no honey from them, but that was okay. My end goal wasn’t to replace Ponyville’s current beekeeper, but to get Applejack set up with her own source of pollination. Something she could keep up if I decided to leave Ponyville after graduating from the School of Friendship. If I decided to stay in Ponyville, I’d have to meet this other beekeeper for myself before deciding what course of action to take. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were too competitive and reminded me a lot of my sister. I had a hunch that Ponyville’s resident pollinator wasn’t to blame for whatever tiff AJ had with him.
With the orchard taken care of, I moved on to honey bees. With only a few hives, I wouldn’t be making much off the sale of honey or wax, but like with the pollinators, I was mostly producing to meet the needs of Sweet Apple Acres, not Ponyville. But I still needed some excess to sell. The whole point of getting a job was to be more visible to Ponyville as a whole – and there was no better place to be seen than in Sweet Apple Acres’ booth in the town market. Almost everypony in town bought apples.
I’d show up once a week with a few jars of honey and some candles and sell out of my meager inventory long before the Apples would. But it was obvious that they needed help, so I stuck around regardless. They had a huge orchard, and AJ and her siblings were the only truly able bodies they had to work it. Granny Smith was frail, AJ had more demands on her time than ever now that she was a professor at the School of Friendship, Big Macintosh had started a family with a baker named Sugar Belle, and Apple Bloom was barely older than me and still in school. They all had other responsibilities, and their parents weren’t around. Something had happened to them – their pictures were prominently displayed in the farmhouse, but the Apples never mentioned them and I didn’t ask.
But it was obvious that they needed help. So I pitched in, bucking trees here and pressing cider there. I spent so much time at Sweet Apple Acres that the Apple family became a surrogate family for me. If I was working out in the orchard, Sugar Belle would come around with drinks and snacks so I could ‘keep my strength up’. Apple Bloom usually invited me to tag along whenever she went places with her friends Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. Granny Smith insisted I stay for dinner every night, and Applejack made sure I was compensated for my time helping out at the market stand.
"Merde" would be more appropriate for ponies, methinks.
If she does it herself, it's autodefenestration.
5760738
This is true. But I'm going to stick by the original line of dialogue since Honeybuzz is an earth pony and leaving via windows, for her, isn't (normally) an option. So she would know it as defenestration. Pegasi have more terms for it, for obvious reasons.
"I wish this what all of our interactions were like."
"I wish this was what all of our interactions were like."?
"I walked all the way though until I reached the other end"
"I walked all the way through until I reached the other end"?
And thanks for writing here, too. :)
edit:
"
5760764
"Pegasi have more terms for it, for obvious reasons.
It does seem like it'd make sense for them to have different terms for different types of it, yeah. Like, how the size of the window, how much of a ledge there is on the other side, how much clear space there is both inside and outside, all of those could be important for the particulars of using the window as a flight access point. And there might be terms for doing it in a particularly showy manner, or clumsy/destructive...
Interesting idea, thanks!
5761141
Thank you for the corrections! Oddly enough, I have 'through' on my master document, but not here in the blog or in the chapter itself.
Of course, autodefenestration when the pegasus leaps out the window intentionally. There are probably variations to describe if somepony helps them out the window, and whether the subject wants to willingly leave by the window or not. I'd imagine there are also variations to describe if it was done in a cowardly manner (to escape something) or to show-off (to non-winged individuals), or just being lazy, or being in a hurry.
It wouldn't surprise me if pegasi have a dozen different versions of the word or more.
5761216
"
"Thank you for the corrections! Oddly enough, I have 'through' on my master document, but not here in the blog or in the chapter itself.
Huh. Yeah, I don't know, sorry.
"It wouldn't surprise me if pegasi have a dozen different versions of the word or more."
Right. :D
Though I don't believe something I'd thought of before you brought it up. :)