//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 // Story: The Uncivilized Foal // by smirker //------------------------------// Morning came and Scootaloo woke up, she took her pajamas off and looked around, "Oh, not again." Scootaloo said as she realized Apex was gone, she went to go use the bathroom and then went outside. Scootaloo walked outside and she heard walking behind her, she saw Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Spike, Starlight Glimmer, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle coming, "Mornin', Scootaloo." Apple Bloom said, "Morning." Scootaloo replied, "Has Apex been practicing reading and writing?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "Yeah, he's been busy." Scootaloo replied, Twilight Sparkle smiled, "Apex, where are you?" Scootaloo asked, "Oh, not this again." Auntie Lofty said from inside the house, "Hope he's not in the tree again." Aunt Holiday said, and the two came out in their pajamas. Aunt Holiday and Auntie Lofty looked at the tree Apex slept in and he was not there, the two looked at their house's roof and he was not there, "Huh. He's not on the roof, either." Auntie Lofty said, "Where did he go this time?" Aunt Holiday asked, they all looked and soon saw the leaves and branches on the ground, Twilight Sparkle used her telekinesis to remove them and everybody saw Apex sleeping in a hole, "Apex." Auntie Lofty said, Apex was startled awake and he looked up, "You can't dig holes and sleep in them, either, come on out." Auntie Lofty said, and he did, "Are you all here to say goodbye?" Apex asked, "Wait, what?" Rainbow Dash asked, "What are you talking about?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "Oh, right, we got a letter from my parents yesterday, they found parents for Apex and will be here to pick him up today." Scootaloo replied, "You mean he's leaving?" Pinkie Pie asked, "Yes." Scootaloo replied, "But we have so much more to teach him." Apple Bloom said, "Like what?" Apex asked, "Well, we were wonderin' if you knew gardenin', since you grew up in the wild and all." Applejack replied, "I never grew my own food." Apex said, "How about reading a pet's feelings?" Fluttershy asked, "Yes, my mom taught me all about it." Apex replied, "How about telling time in the wild?" Starlight Glimmer asked, "The sun or the eyes of a cat." Apex replied, "How about directions?" Spike asked, "Again, the sun, only at sunrise and sunset, though." Apex replied, "I still have some etiquette to teach you." Rarity said, "That reminds me, thank you for getting rid of his dandruff and blackheads and whiteheads, Rarity." Aunt Holiday said, "He didn't just have dandruff and blackheads and whiteheads." Rarity replied, "Wait, he didn't?" Auntie Lofty asked, "Yeah, Rarity and I discovered yesterday that he had calluses on his hoofs, too." Sweetie Belle replied, Auntie Lofty walked to Apex and lifted him up with her wings and saw white spots on his hoofs, "What do you know, I actually didn't notice." Auntie Lofty said, and she put him down, "Where's the rest of your family, Applejack?" Apex asked, "Granny's asleep, and Big Mac's busy dealing with bats right now." Applejack replied, "Vampire fruit bats?" Apex asked, "How'd ya know?" Applejack asked, "They were in the woods, too." Apex replied, "Oh." Applejack said, "Well, come on, let's go in, I've brought a drink for you, Apex." Pinkie Pie said, and they entered Scootaloo's home. Apex sat at the table while Auntie Lofty gave Apex cookies for breakfast and he ate them, "Here you go, Apex." Pinkie Pie said, and she gave him a bowl full of red liquid, "What's this?" Apex asked, "Punch, it's popular for parties." Pinkie Pie replied, Apex looked at it, he grabbed the bowl and was about to drink from it, Pinkie Pie screamed, "No, Apex, you're supposed to use the ladle there and pour it into a cup." Twilight Sparkle said as she used her telekinesis to put the bowl back on the table, Apex got a cup from the counter and put the cup in the punch and filled it, "You're supposed to use that ladle there." Starlight Glimmer said, Apex shrugged and drank it, "Well?" Pinkie Pie asked, "What a strange drink, I've never had anything like this before." Apex replied, "*gasp* You've never had punch before?" Pinkie Pie asked, "Nope." Apex replied, "You've never had milk, tea, coffee, and now punch, you really should try some more things, Apex." Scootaloo said, "Um, I found out yesterday he didn't know what juice was." Fluttershy said, "What?! You've never had juice before, either?!" Rainbow Dash asked, "Nope." Apex replied, "You've never even had vegetable juice made from mushed vegetables in the woods?" Applejack asked, "Nope." Apex replied, "Wow, I'm surprised you've never got tired of drinking water." Aunt Holiday said, "I like water." Apex replied, "Well, now that's out of the way, we've got to teach you some table manners." Rarity said, and she moved the bowl of punch away and put three forks, three spoons, two knives, three glasses, a cup and a saucer, and two plates on the table, "What the?" Apex said, "Now, Apex, if your parents are high class ponies, you have to learn proper etiquette, if you don't learn and behave like how you do at a formal dinner, you will be seen as an embarrassment and will get punished by your parents, so you have to learn this." Rarity said, Apex picked up and examined the two knives, "What kind of knives are these? There's no way I can cut meat with these." Apex said, "No, Apex, you will not be eating meat, that big knife is for cutting hay, and the small one is for spreading butter on bread." Rarity replied, "That sounds redundant." Apex said, "What do you mean redundant?" Rarity asked, "Back in the woods, we used one knife for everything for each meal." Apex replied, "What if you had to pick up something with a fork?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "Use your knife." Apex replied, "What about soup?" Starlight Glimmer asked, "Drink it straight from the bowl." Apex replied, "What if there's food in it?" Spike asked, "Stop drinking, chew it, swallow it, and drink more." Apex replied, "You can't do that at a fancy dinner, they'll kick you out, you have to use your spoon." Rarity said, "Which one?" Apex asked, "The big one." Twilight Sparkle replied, "What's the small one for?" Apex asked, "Dessert, it's usually going to be cake." Rarity replied, "Why can't I just use the same spoon?" Apex asked, "Because it'll cause more germs and bacteria to appear on the spoon and plates if you do." Twilight Sparkle replied, "Oh, what's this even smaller spoon for?" Apex asked, "That is for stirring and mixing sugar in the drink that goes into the cup on the saucer." Rarity replied, "Saucer?" Rarity asked, "That round thing under that cup there." Applejack replied, Apex saw it, "What's that for?" Apex asked, "It's so the table doesn't get stained, the drink goes down at the bottom of the cup." Twilight Sparkle replied, "I never had that happen whenever I drank from my mom's wooden cups." Apex said, "Did you ever stir anything in the woods?" Starlight Glimmer asked, "Yes." Apex replied, "What did you use?" Starlight Glimmer asked, "A stick." Apex replied, Rarity's jaw dropped, "What if there was no stick around?" Spike asked, "Then I stirred it with my own hoof." Apex replied, "Yeah, you don't want to do that at a fancy dinner, the drink in that cup is usually hot, you'll get burned if you put your hoof in it." Rainbow Dash said, "It doesn't burn wood, too, does it?" Apex asked, "No, it's not that hot, but it can make wooden utensils weak and break apart." Rainbow Dash replied, "Speaking of drinks, these three glasses also hold drinks, the big one is for water, the medium one is for red wine, and small one is for white wine, I've brought them to help as well, since you can't fill them to the brim." Rarity said, and she filled them with her magic, she only filled the glasses a little, "When you lift your glass, Apex, you have to grab the handles there, you can't hold the bottom of the glass." Rarity said, "How many more rules are there?" Apex asked, "Quite a bit, the next one is you can't just drink and chug your drinks, you have to sip, and once you do, you have to sip that area of the glass for the rest of the meal." Rarity replied, "Okay, but what are the forks for?" Apex asked, "The big fork is for eating the hay, the medium sized fork is for salad, and small fork is for cake." Rarity replied, "Okay, is that all?" Apex asked, "No, it's time to teach you some manners, we'll start with the bread and butter." Rarity replied, and she cast a spell to make them appear on the bread and butter plate, "Alright, Apex, unless you are going to eat the bread, it stays on the plate at all times, but when you do eat it, you can't just take a bite out of it, you have to break a piece off, put the butter on it, then you can eat it, go ahead and try a piece, you're going to have to get used to it if you live with high class parents." Rarity said, and Apex tore off a piece, put butter on it, and ate it, "It's a bit strong." Apex said with his mouth full, "No, you can't talk with your mouth full, that's bad manner." Rarity said, and Apex swallowed it, "Make sure you try the wines and water as well." Rarity said, "Um, Rarity, I think he's too young to drink wine." Aunt Holiday said, "How old are you, Apex?" Rarity asked, "Ten." Apex replied, "Oh, you are too young, no need for the wine, then." Rarity said as she drank the two wines, "Also, Apex, you need to put that napkin there in your lap." Rarity said as she pointed at it, "What's that for?" Apex asked, "It's for if food falls onto your lap." Fluttershy replied, "I was taught to eat food off of the ground and floor if I dropped it." Apex said, "You can't do that at a fancy dinner, you'll get in trouble." Applejack said, and Rarity put the napkin in his lap, "Alright, now then, the main course." Rarity said as she made hay appear on the plate, "You have to cut the hay with the big fork and knife." Rarity said, and Apex did, "No, Apex, you hold the fork like this." Sweetie Belle said as she corrected him, "Remember, Apex, bite size." Rarity said, "How big is bite size?" Apex asked, "Well..." Twilight Sparkle said, she used her telekinesis to cut a piece of the hay, "That's about bite size." Twilight Sparkle said, and Apex ate, "Alright, good, now the salad." Rarity said as she used her magic to make it appear, "Wow, I always ate vegetables separately." Apex said, "Well, some ponies like them together, give it a try, Apex, you might like it." Aunt Holiday replied, and Apex ate it, "It's alright." Apex said, "Okay, and lastly, the dessert, it's different every time, but I'll just do cake this time." Rarity said, "Cake's too sweet for me." Apex replied, "There's a lot of cakes, Apex, some are less sweet than others." Pinkie Pie said, "Really?" Apex asked, "Yes, let's try a regular vanilla cake with a strawberry on it." Rarity said, and she made it appear, Apex tried it, "Still too sweet." Apex said, "One more thing, Apex, when you eat, leave one bite size piece of food on your plate after you finish." Rarity said, "What? Why?" Apex asked, "It signifies you're full, having an empty plate means the food wasn't enough." Rarity replied, "That's wasting food." Apex said, "Now, now, Apex, I'm sure they use it for other things, but you have to have one piece of food on the plate to let them know the meal made you full." Rarity replied, "What if I don't want to eat something?" Apex asked, "Set it aside to the left side of your plate." Rarity replied, "Is that everything?" Apex asked, "One more thing, you need to tell others whether you like or dislike food or if you're full or still hungry with a fork and a knife, there are several." Rarity replied, and Rarity put a fork and knife together, "This one means you liked the meal, this one means you didn't like it, this one means you're ready for seconds, this one means you're pausing, and this one means you're full." Rarity said as she put the fork and knife on the plate together, "Wow, that's a lot to memorize." Apex said, "Take your time, Apex, there's no need to hurry." Auntie Lofty replied, "I'm still not used to eating bread, I miss eating white rice." Apex said, "Ooh, white rice? I've got rice pudding." Pinkie Pie said, "No, regular white rice." Apex replied, "Oh, sorry, Apex, but white rice takes forever to grow." Twilight Sparkle said, "That, and there ain't suitable soil for growin' rice in Ponyville, mah farm's soil can only grow fruits and vegetables." Applejack said, Apex groaned, "Come on, we gotta go to school." Apple Bloom said, "Yer right, Apple Bloom, go on and go, Ah need help with them bats again." Applejack said, and Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle headed to school, "Go on and try to enjoy your last day in Ponyville, Apex, and try to come home early, we don't know when Scootaloo's parents will be here." Aunt Holiday said, and they all left. Apex followed Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Applejack to Sweet Apple Acres and he saw the fallen apples, "Y'all see, them bats are back, and Ah need them off the farm before they eat all the apples." Applejack said, "Um, can I just talk with them again?" Fluttershy asked, "No, that didn't work last time, this time, we're gettin' rid of 'em by force." Applejack replied, "No, don't hurt them, those bats have feelings." Fluttershy said, "You got a better idea?" Applejack asked, "Um..." Fluttershy said, "See, there ya go, Ah'm gonna need you to stare at the bats and Ah'm gonna round them up in a net and send 'em to yer sanctuary." Applejack said, "Um, I don't think the animals will like them there." Fluttershy replied, "Ah, yer jokin', so they can't go to yer sanctuary." Applejack said, Apex looked and saw the vampire fruit bats, "I know those bats, we can eat them." Apex said, "No way, Apex." Applejack replied, "Oh, come on, they're edible." Apex said, "No!" Applejack and Fluttershy said sternly, the two went back to discussing what to do while Apex walked to the apple trees with his backpack, "So, what do y'all suggest?" Applejack asked, "Well, we could..." Twilight Sparkle said before a gunshot was heard, the six mares screamed and looked, they saw Apex on the ground and holding his shotgun, he stood up while the bats screeched and flew away. Apex turned around to face them, "There, problem solved." Apex said, a crow then fell into the yard, Fluttershy gasped and flew to it, she picked it up and saw it had a bullet hole in its abdomen and was dead, she put her head on it and began to cry, "Well, might as well eat it." Apex said as he grabbed it, Fluttershy and her friends tugged on it, "No! You are going to bury it." Rarity said, "Oh, come on, that's wasting it." Apex replied, "How is that wasting it?" Rainbow Dash asked, "There's meat on here we can eat, I can use its sinew for sewing clothes, and I can make tools and weapons with its bones." Apex replied, "No, Apex, you're not going to use it for that, you're going to bury it and pay your respects to it." Twilight Sparkle said, "Are all of you civilized people like this?" Apex asked, "Yes, we don't use animal parts for whatever yer gonna do." Applejack replied, "Come on, Apex, let's bury it, and pay your respects to it." Twilight Sparkle said, Apex sighed and went with her. Twilight Sparkle took Apex took to an area of open field near Sweet Apple Acres and dug a hole, he put the crow in it and Twilight Sparkle buried it and put a stick in the ground, "There, now pay your respects, Apex." Twilight Sparkle said, "How do I do that?" Apex asked, "Look down, close your eyes, and apologize to the crow, and say whatever else you have to say." Twilight Sparkle replied, Apex looked down and closed his eyes, "I'm sorry I shot and killed you." Apex said, "Good, now say whatever else you have to say." Twilight Sparkle said, "Forgive me for wasting valuable materials, Mother Nature." Apex said, "Mother Nature?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "A deity my mom's tribe worshiped, actions like this angers her, and makes her cause disasters as punishment." Apex replied, "Well, I doubt she will, I mean, you did apologize, so I think you'll be fine." Twilight Sparkle said, Apex smiled, "That reminds me, Auntie Lofty wanted you to do a genetic analysis on my family since I know nothing about my father." Apex said, "Sure, come with me, I have the equipment in my castle." Twilight Sparkle replied, and he followed her. Twilight Sparkle and Apex arrived at the Castle of Friendship and Twilight Sparkle analyzed Apex's genetics, the papers printed out and she looked at Apex's family tree, "Alright, let's see here, mom's name is Nature Lover, and... wow, your mom's ancestry is all from the tribe." Twilight Sparkle said, "What about my dad?" Apex asked, "Let's see here, Bickle's parents are... what the?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "What's wrong?" Apex asked, "He doesn't have a family tree." Twilight Sparkle replied, "What?" Apex asked, "He doesn't, see, look." Twilight Sparkle replied as she showed him, Apex looked and saw he did not have a family tree on his father's side, "What in the world?" Apex asked, "Well, I don't have time to do another analysis, you should go around Ponyville and say goodbye to your friends." Twilight Sparkle said, "Wait, before I go, do you have any books on Great Detective?" Apex asked, "I should, hold on." Twilight Sparkle replied, and she flew around and looked through her books, "Okay, let's see... G... G-R... Great, Great..." Twilight Sparkle said, she soon flew back, "Sorry, but no." Twilight Sparkle said, "That sucks." Apex said, "Well, go say goodbye to your friends." Twilight Sparkle said, and Apex went outside. Apex headed to Fluttershy's cottage and saw what she was doing, "There you go, let the honey out." Fluttershy said, he looked and saw small jars, there was honey in them, he looked and saw Fluttershy getting honey out of the honey ants, "Um... Fluttershy." Apex said, Fluttershy looked at him, "They need that honey to feed their colony." Apex said, "I know, I'm just taking honey out of the ones with the swollen bellies." Fluttershy replied, "Why?" Apex asked, "Have you looked at them, their bellies are swollen, and they are in so much pain, I can't just sit back and let them have honey in their stomachs like that all the time." Fluttershy replied, "Where did you get the jars?" Apex asked, "Discord." Fluttershy replied, "Oh." Apex said, "Well, you should go, Apex, since you're leaving, I'm quite busy right now." Fluttershy said, and Apex headed home. Scootaloo was at recess with her class and playing dodge ball, she caught and threw the ball a few times before Pipsqueak hit her and she was out, she sat with the other classmates and watched, the game continued until only one pony remained and everypony cheered. The foals went back into the classroom and worked, Scootaloo worked slowly today, "Is everything alright, Scootaloo?" Cheerilee asked, "Yeah, it's just that Apex is leaving today." Scootaloo replied, "Oh, really?" Cheerilee asked, "Yup." Scootaloo replied, "Well, make sure you say your goodbyes, Scootaloo, I think he's going to miss you." Cheerilee said, "Maybe, even though things didn't go the way my parents wanted them to." Scootaloo replied, "What do you mean?" Cheerilee asked, "My parents wanted me to just keep him in the house and not introduce him to anyone for the time he stayed here." Scootaloo replied, "Scootaloo, you know Equestria runs on friendship, I think you did the right thing." Cheerilee said, Scootaloo smiled, "Well, go ahead and do your work, Scootaloo." Cheerilee said, and she did, she had lunch quietly and did afternoon work and then headed home. Scootaloo arrived home and she saw Apex was already home, "Did you say your goodbyes, Apex?" Scootaloo asked, "Later." Apex replied, "Well, go on and do your homework, Scootaloo." Auntie Lofty said, and Scootaloo worked until she heard the door open, "We're here." Mane Allgood said, Scootaloo and her family and Apex trotted to the door, "Oh, Apex, you're walking normally now." Mane Allgood said, "Yeah, the others in this town taught me." Apex replied, "What? Scootaloo, you weren't supposed to introduce him to the others." Snap Shutter said, "I didn't, he traveled on his own, he met Zecora, Cranky Doodle, Matilda, the Apple family, and Fluttershy by chance when he went outside, and he met Rainbow Dash when she came to visit me, and then Pinkie Pie found him, threw his welcoming party, and the others met him." Scootaloo replied, "Oh, you all did say Pinkie Pie throws parties for new ponies in town, well, I guess it was only a matter of time anyway." Mane Allgood said, "Here are your new parents, Apex, say hello to Bushwhacker, your father, and Amazon, your mother." Snap Shutter said, and they walked in, they were both earth ponies, Bushwhacker had a light green coat, short yellow mane and tail, and yellow eyes, he was wearing a black short-sleeve shirt, black pants, and black boots that went up to his knees, he had a machete on his left side, and Amazon had a green coat, long light blue mane and tail, and light blue eyes, she was wearing a long-sleeve black shirt, black pants, a black belt, and black boots that went up to her knees, "Hello, Apex, we're campers and hikers, we travel around all of Equestria, we thought we'd be the best candidates for your guardians after hearing about you." Bushwhacker said, "Do you two know about my background?" Apex asked, "Yes, you lived in the woods all of your life because your mother is from an indigenous tribe that lived in those woods, and your parents passed away and you have nopony to look after you." Amazon replied, "Wow, what about you two?" Apex asked, "I come from a family of hunters." Bushwhacker replied, "And I'm from a military family, everypony in my family is or was a soldier." Amazon said, "And both of us are ex-pony scouts and ex-military, so we can teach you some things of our own about surviving in the wilderness." Bushwhacker said, "Great, I already got some knowledge and skills from my parents." Apex replied, "Just that one woods, Apex, there are a lot more environments and woods to learn survival in, each one is different." Bushwhacker said, "Really?" Apex asked, "Yes, Snap Shutter and I have to survive in our jobs when we photograph wild animals." Mane Allgood replied, "What were the other parents like?" Apex asked, "Well, one couple was a bunch of farmers, another one were uneducated hillbillies, and one was a high class snobbish couple." Snap Shutter replied, "Yeah, maybe these two were the best choice." Apex said, "Well, come on, Apex, we're going to miss the train." Amazon said, and they went to the train, Apex boarded the train with his new parents and left while the people in Ponyville waved bye at him. Scootaloo, Aunt Holiday, and Auntie Lofty went back to their homes, "Well, that's the end of that." Auntie Lofty said, "Yes, I actually had fun with him here." Aunt Holiday replied, "Yeah, I did, too." Auntie Lofty said, "What about you, Scootaloo?" Aunt Holiday asked, "Yeah, I liked having him around, too." Scootaloo replied, "Well, go ahead and do your homework." Aunt Holiday said, and Scootaloo did her homework, had dinner, brushed her teeth, went to bed, and slept. A month passed and Scootaloo woke up the next morning, "Good morning, Scootaloo." Aunt Holiday said, "Morning." Scootaloo replied, "This came in the mail this morning, it's for you." Auntie Lofty said, and Scootaloo took the envelope and opened it, her attention was caught when she saw it was a letter from Apex, she read it, "Dear, Scootaloo, I hope you have been well, Bushwhacker and Amazon have taught me how to read and write, we have been having a good time, we're traveling all across Equestria and the two are teaching me how to set traps and tie more knots, I am disappointed that I was not able to teach you how to set traps during my time living with you. I can also do some math now, and I’m being home schooled by them, they live in a big house, and I have to do manners and etiquette like what Rarity taught me, but the two are patient and correcting me along the way, I am eating meat and bugs again since we are in the wilderness a lot, and I am glad I can finally eat white rice again, and Pinkie Pie has been sending new foods for me to try ever since she found my mailing address. While I am still disappointed I could not teach you more things before I left, I am grateful for you and your aunts looking after me, and want to thank you for your hospitality, I hope I can come back again one day. -Apex" Scootaloo smiled and put the letter on the table and headed to school. Scootaloo worked in the morning and focused, it was another quiet day in the school, "Alright, everypony, time to give out your tests from last week." Cheerilee said, and she handed them out. Scootaloo looked and her attention was caught, she has passed a test for the first time, Scootaloo smiled and continued on with her school day.