//------------------------------// // Spring: Trouble With A Capital E! (Edited) // Story: Earth-Chan in Equestria // by zack black //------------------------------// "So, what exactly did ya do with all that soap?" It was such an obvious question, Earth-Chan had to refrain from groaning as Applejack finally addressed the age old elephant in the room. Of course it was bound to come up. She didn't blame Applejack for asking. Heck, it was part of the reason she was on the run in the first place. It's just always a little disappointing when things resort to questions all over again. Did ponies not just do things just to do them? Letting out a sigh, Earth-Chan kicked her hoof at a pebble as they passed it, watching it tumble along the path. They'd followed Applejack's lead for a good minute before it was soon made obvious where they were headed. Up along the hill there was a very hard to miss barn perched at the top along with what looked to be a converted stable, but more homely. It was a country side house brimming with excitement. The wear and tear wasn't too distracting as it simply added to the allure. Being old as dirt, Earth-Chan could appreciate the aesthetic. With their lovely destination in sight, they walked at a leisurely pace with nothing to do but talk. "Yeah, I never did ask you, but why did you blow through four bars of soap? That's a little excessive, even for me." Pinkie Pie asked, still bouncing casually, not missing a beat even when constantly interrupting her own speech with a new vault into the air. It was hard to tell if she was just naturally loud or if her voice carried easily because no matter how far she hopped into the air, Earth-Chan could hear her perfectly, as if she were walking like any other pony right next to her. Letting out another, longer sigh Earth-Chan gave the pebble one last kick before turning to address the question at hoof. She'd played around with embarrassment for the greater part of two days, what was a little more to add to the pile? "Okay. Hear me out. It was a difficult time. And they weren't coming out..." "Ya gonna cue us in, Sugarcube? Or is this the part where we start guessing?" "Oooo, ooo! I'll guess! You were trying to get those green things out of your mane!" Pinkie was always quick to the draw when it came to a brand new game, but it took Earth-Chan aback a bit to hear such a blatant jab at her appearance. Looking up at the the fuzz draping above her brow, she could only scoff at being called out for having 'splotches'. "Wha, that is my mane!" "I am so sorry. I had no idea about your struggle." This cheeky pink pony was talking down to her! Even going so far as to rest a condescending hoof on her shoulder in mock sympathy. If Earth-Chan hadn't seen the smirk at the corner of Pinkie's lips there would be some words. Very terse words! "Why? I think they look cute. They even have little names." Smiling up at her own head, she thought fondly of each continent. Each one having it's own history along with a plethora of cultures and diversities. Conflict and triumphs peppering across different ages of renaissance and plague. If these ponies only knew the stories these bits of green could tell~. "Ya named your splotches?" Applejack deadpanned, putting her hoof back into the conversation before Pinkie completely hi-jacked it. "Well, they were kind of named for me. You should hear some of the names though!" Earth-Chan gushed, looking up at her mane, noticing it draped lightly in front of her eyes. She didn't really like it like that, so she took a hoof and pushed her bangs to the side, making sure they slide back into place. That worked all of two seconds before they immediately fell back. It was then that Earth-Chan realized the full scope of her bad mane day. Pinkie let out a light snicker that pulled Earth-Chan's focus away from her mane concerns. "Fine fine, but if not those splotches then what?" "Mmmmph, try lower." Her hint was an attempt to play along. It seemed Pinkie was committed to what was honestly a nice detour from the immediate question. "You used them to deep soak your hooves?" That was a good guess, but honestly she hadn't even thought about how dirty her hooves were during that bath last night. Too distracted. "Higher." She wasn't sure if that was a dead give away considering how long it took for them to think it over. Applejack had kept up with the game itself, but was till more interested in getting an answer. Both seemed deep in thought as they took short glimpses at Earth-Chan before remembering the need to walk and refocusing back on where they were going. Suddenly all three ponies stopped as the other two started to look Earth-Chan over. The gears turning in their heads were evident by their expressions. It didn't take long before their faces both lit up, making poor Earth-Chan sigh in exasperation. "Wait ah minute..." "Oh my gosh, that's amazing!" Earth-Chan rolled her eyes at Pinkie's out burst. "Look, I had no idea they were permanent! I thought the more soap the better. It was an hour of weakness and struggle and I'd appreciate it if you didn't..." Both Pinkie Pie and AJ broke out into a fit of laughter. Their amusement built to the absolute peak before spilling over into a cascade of silliness. The farmer and baker were left clinging to each other as both began to melt into a pile of pony and giggles. "Hahaha, you tried to wash them off?" Pinkie Pie let out a cute little snort that only made her laugh harder as her insides continued to rage with mirth. "Sweet Celestia, Ah don't think Ah've ever heard of somepony trying to wash their cutie mark off." Both were making a scene that Earth-Chan was glad nopony else could see. She let out a bemused snort and scuffed her hoof against the ground. "I don't even know what cutie marks are!" "Hehe, eeeh, what? H-How could ya not?" Slowly picking herself up from the pile she shared with Pinkie, Applejack bit her lip as she tried not to imagine Earth-Chan scrubbing her own butt in a fit of desperation. But it really wasn't working. "Look, I'm not sure about half the things around me lately." Earth-Chan let out a huff, tired of feeling clueless about 'common knowledge'. Just because the word common is applied does not mean everypony is in the loop! "Cutie marks just weren't a thing back where I came from.." "Well, ah reckon wherever ya came from must've had a shortage of other ponies. It'd take somethin' to that extreme for you to have never heard of a cutie mark." Applejack finally started to settle down enough to give her new companion a real look. This look had a little more stare to it which was less than desired, but tolerable. It makes sense that she would grow more and more curious as they kept talking. With all the culture shock, Earth-Chan felt nothing but unnatural given the girls reactions to her answers. Applejack had a point though. There really was a lack of ponies back in the milky way. When she was still Earth... not the Earth she is now but... When she was still Earth Prime, the pony species paled in comparison to the human population. It was practically an after thought. They were a sub-species of horse given the time of day solely for their cute looks and efficiency in carrying large loads. She deemed them another creation of her own creation's and simply allowed them to exist without much else thought. Even then, those ponies didn't talk! The differences between those and the ponies here on Equis were so monumental, it was like looking at a completely different species. She'd liken them to humans and apes in range of difference, but even then, at least humans and apes still resembled each other well enough. About the only thing Equis ponies had in common with her ponies were name alone. "Yeah, the um... the pony population was a little low, I'd say. And what cutie marks we had were a lot less cute if I remember correctly." Earth-Chan winced as she did what she could to avoid the topic of branding. Lot of pained cries, burnt flesh, and bad times. Not her favorite human practice, but one she could overlook for the sake of being a lenient mother to her creations. Still, nopony needed to hear about it, especially not a couple of horse sympathizing... horses. "Pony population. Pony. Population. Pony Pop... ulation. Pony pop. Pony pop?" Pinkie echoed Earth-Chan like a bright and bubbly parrot before giggling as she began to drive the abbreviation into the dirt, singing it over and over again as if parodying a song. "Pony pop. Pony pop. oh poni-poni-poni ~ Pony pop." Applejack watched her friend slowly sway back and forth as she got into the beat. Her and Earth-Chan exchanged a look before rolling their eyes in unison. "Well, more to my point is... Ah'm guessin' ya don't know what your cutie mark stands for?" Looking back at her own rump, Earth-Chan gave it a few seconds to really study the dark muddy stain on her flank. Taking in every darken hair as if it were a new clue to solving her own 'cutie mark' riddle. "No, not a clue." She looked back to AJ as she added, "Honestly didn't know they were symbolic either." Earth-Chan had to scoot as Pinkie came dancing by, now in full musical number as she kicked out her hooves in a cute little rhythm. "...Tell ya why, no pony sweeter than Pinkie Pie! And when she's rockin' by with her shaky dance... Girl, ya haven't got a chance~" To give her credit where credit was do, It was quite the catchy little song. "They are! Cutie marks have all sorts of meanin's. It hard to really narrow down all of em' accurately. But, for the most part, they're symbols of passion. They uh... they're what ya make of em' honestly, but the connection is special. Ah don't know how deep their magic goes, but ah know I'd be lost without mine." Both mares were trying their best to ignore the pink pony as she kicked things up a notch in the last chorus, her volume breaking barriers it shouldn't. Still, it was a cheery tune, if not a little obnoxious. Applejack was quite apt at ignoring her though and continued with a sense of vigor. "Heck, some of the ponies Ah've met wouldn't be the ponies they are today if it weren't for their cutie marks. It's somethin' else first gettin' it. Helpin' others get theirs. You should meet my sister, she's got tons of stories about helpin' ponies figure out what makes them great. It's just... It's right. I can't think of a better word than right." Earth-Chan scuffed her hoof against the dirt once more, this time feeling a tad more sheepish as she tried to pay rapt attention, while also failing quite miserably. "It uh... It's neat to hear you so passionate and all..." "Not translating well, is it Sugarcube?" Earth-Chan shook her head, and sighed. "I'm not trying to be mean." "Perish the thought." "But, I don't even know where to begin with magic runes. Runes weren't my forte back where I came from." "See, that's just the thing, they aren't runes. Just symbols. The magic it uh... shoot, it uh." AJ scratched her chin with her hoof as she tried to find her words. When none eventually came she shrugged her shoulders and looked off in the distance. "This isn't mah forte either. Ah'd tell you to go talk to our friend Twilight about it, but I'm thinkin' that can wait. Shes got her princess duties, a protege, and the whole nine yards. It'd be better to catch her later in the day. Mmmmmmm." Squinting, the orange cowpony kept studying something off in the distance. Earth-Chan tried to figure out her angle, calibrate the trajectory, all in awkward attempts to see where the pony was looking. By the time she'd gotten a good idea, her cheek had found itself pressed against AJ's, their fluff brushing together into a collage of blue and orange. "Ahem..." Blushing brightly, Earth-Chan inched away from AJ to give her some space before resorting to asking questions like a normal pony. "Wha..." "Ah was just thinkin'..." AJ interrupted, smiling to herself as she stomped her hoof in satisfaction. "...Shoot, what the hay, Ah've got a little time. If Ah can't tell ya what cutie marks mean, Ah'll show ya!" Tilting her head to the side, Earth-Chan could only wonder what the silly farm pony meant. AJ seemed to have made up her mind though as she grabbed a hold of Earth-Chan's hoof and gave a tug towards a new direction. Leaving the house for another time it seemed. Before she could even ask, they were in a gallop. A shout behind them told her that Pinkie was not crazy about being ditched mid-song. Still, she caught up with hardly any difficulty. And with that, Earth-Chan followed after her new friends, off to learn just a little more about the new world around her. It felt like a pipe dream, but maybe fitting in won't be as impossible as she thought. Her hopes were starting to lift a little. And that... was a mistake.