//------------------------------// // #FirstStep // Story: A Vignette of Apples // by Draxonos135 //------------------------------// Vignette Valencia walked around the streets of Other-Questria, checking on her phone a set of upsetting news. As it turns out, thanks to the events that happened at Equestrialand, thanks to a certain worker there-*cough* Vignette herself *cough*-Snapgab was put out of business, so the millions of followers she had gathered over the years? Gone, just like that. And then, her phone rang, with two familiar faces on the screen. "Hello?" she greeted upon answering the call. "Hey there, cousin!" a voice replied. "My brother and I heard the news. Sorry that your favorite social media site got shutdown." "Thanks for your condolences," Vignette rolled her eyes. "It's all I needed. It's not like, I don't know, I lost my job or something." "We're sorry about that too," the voice hastily added. "But you know, if you're always in need of a job-" "I'm not joining the family business, okay? I.D.W.T.: I'm Done With That." "Oh come on, Vignette, don't be like that! I'm sure you'll like it! Just give it a chance!" "T.C.I.O.: This Conversation Is Over." Vignette hung up, and leaned against the wall near a fruit market, rubbing her forehead as she tried to calm herself down. "Family issues?" Vignette squeaked and turned around, seeing the familiar face of a certain green-eyed blonde. "Apple..." Vignette squinted her eyes. "Pie?" "Jack, actually. Applejack," the girl answered. "Ah was there durin' ta fiasco at Equestrialand." "Oh right, you're one of Rarity's friends," Vignette frowned. "Sorry I didn't notice you earlier. I would've gone as far away from you as I could had I done so." Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Why?" Vignette looked incredulously at Applejack, but she quickly realized she wasn't gonna get anywhere without buying something first. That's something her family taught her very well. So, she took out some bits, handed them to Applejack, and grabbed an apple as she answered: "You were there at Equestrialand: you saw me teleport people to a blank room with my phone, which caused Equestrialand to be closed off for repairs, and Snapgab to be wiped out of existence! Why would you want me anywhere near you after that?" "Look, what 'appened at Equestrialand 'appened because of magic corruptin' ya; if ya hadn't gained ta magic, ya would've been unpleasant, yeah, but not a maniac." Vignette had trouble finding the part in that sentence that was meant to make her feel better. "Besides, karma did get ya back for it," Applejack added. "Ya lost yer job, right?" "And my house," Vignette sighed. "Once my landlord realized what I did, he decided to try save face and kick me out; not even with my belongings, he took them as compensation." "Wait, ya mean ya didn't own yer house?" "Who owns anything nowadays?" Vignette took a deep breath. "It doesn't matter if I owned it or not, I don't have a place to call home anymore. All I can do now is find another place to live, if I'm lucky, and a job." "Why not become a live-in worker?" Applejack suggested, clicking her fingers. "Ya could live in ta same place ya'd work at, like Pinkie Pie." "I don't know who that is," Vignette took a bite out of her apple. "Besides, who'd want me to live and work with them at the same time? It's either one or the other." Applejack scratched her chin. "Not necessarily." Vignette raised an eyebrow. She had a feeling that, whatever Applejack had in plan for her, she wouldn't like it... And like it, she did not. She currently stood in the middle of the Apple Family Farm, with Applejack's sister, brother, grandma, and pet dog looking at Vignette with curiosity. "Alright everybody, ah got someone ah want ya t' meet!" Applejack chirped as she put a hand on Vignette's shoulder. "This' Vignette Valencia. She's got nowhere t' go, so ah thought she could stay with us fer a while." Vignette smiled nervously and waved hello. There was no point trying to convince Applejack this was a bad idea-she didn't listen to her on the way to the farm-the most she could hope was that they weren't angry about- "Oh hey, ah recognize her!" the sister spoke. "Yer ta one who sang badly at ta Equestrialand parade!" "Apple Bloom!" Applejack snapped. "Sorry 'bout dat, Vignette, she tends t' say ta first thing dat comes t' mind." "I.O.: It's Okay." Vignette replied, waving her hand. "I'd rather be remembered for that than..." Vignette went silent, and lowered her head in regret. "Don't worry 'bout dat now; ah'll show ya to yer room-" "Wait, your family hasn't said whether they want me here or not," Vignette twiddled her fingers. "I mean, they do seem to have enough mouths to feed." "Ah, don't ya hussle 'bout it, sweetie," the grandma said. "There's always room fer one more at ta Apple family." "Eyup," said the brother. "Okay?" Vignette followed Applejack to what would be her temporary room, and they arrived at a door between Applejack and Apple Bloom's rooms. "You got a guest room?" Vignette asked. "Dat's a way t' put it." Applejack opened the door, and Vignette hesitantly entered. It was a pretty standard room, all things considered: a bed, a desk with some drawers, an open window that had a great view of the apple orchards outside, all it really needed was a TV... and a laptop... an It's own built-in bathroom- You know what? Maybe comparing it to Vignette's old house wasn't fair. "Ah'm gonna go prepare ta bathroom," Applejack spoke, returning Vignette to reality. "Ya stay 'ere and feel free t'-" "Wait!" Applejack stopped at the sudden shout, and Vignette was quick to apologize, rubbing her shoulder as she said so: "S-Sorry, It's just... T.S.I.W.T.K." "Ah don't speak acronym, Vignette," Applejack flatly answered. "There's something I want to know," Vignette clarified. "Why... are you doing this?" "Well, ah gotta feeling ya haven't showered since we last met. Ah mean, ya got ta same clothes and all-" "Not that!" Vignette snapped. "Why are you giving me a place to live after the terrible things I did?! Shouldn't you want me as far away from you as possible?" Applejack calmly inhaled, then exhaled as she closed the door. "Do ya want me t' be honest?" Vignette simply nodded. She didn't care if the actual reason was because they wanted to eat her: as long as it gave some sense to what was happening, it was fine. "Ah saw mahself in ya," Applejack stated. "Not in ta sense dat ah'm focused on social media, but on ta sense dat, just like me, ya made a mistake, paid ta price, and all ya wanna do now is atone fer it and move on." Vignette lowered her head. "Can i even do that, though? Even without magic allegedly corrupting me, I've been an awful person, treating everybody else, including Rarity, like rugs that I could do whatever I wanted to, as long as my vision of "perfection" was accomplished." Applejack walked to Vignette, put a hand on her shoulder, and said with a reassuring smile: "Ya feel like after everythin' dat happened, ya've hit rock bottom and there's no way up. One of my friends found herself in ta same situation, and ah didn't do much t' help her then. Ah'm not planning t' make ta same mistake again." Vignette huffed. "So that's what it is: no matter what happens, you'll get to say that you at least tried to help." "And ah want ya t' say, no matter what 'appens, dat ya tried t' atone. Tried t' make ammends." Vignette's eyes widened. "And everythin' starts somewhere, like in yer case, maybe put less emphasis on technology, 'kay? Ah'll help ya, but ya gotta be ta one t' take ta first step." Vignette simply nodded, slightly closing her eyes as Applejack went through the door, and closed it... just in time for her phone to ring. And unsurprisingly enough, it was her cousins. Unlike last time, though, she didn't feel very keen on answering them. She hung up and put the phone on the bed. She was gonna give the Apples, especially Applejack, a chance, even if they wouldn't be of much help in the end. This was her first step.