After an abrupt pass-out caused by the demonically fast travel speed and big flash of white light I had just gone through, I slowly wake up.
Laying on my back, I can feel grass, and I begin looking up at the sky as my eyes open wide enough to do so. The sky bears a color slightly lighter than the sky I usually see, and an "animated" look, if you will.
Is that look a sign? Am I in where I want to be?
I'm moving at a pace where it might seem like I don't want to believe it. I don't know how to explain why, but I was savoring the moment. I wanted to take a bit of time to find out.
Slowly but surely, with my body shaking from the excitement brewing inside, I sit up, and take in the surrounding area. I see an area that is absolutely, definitely Equestria. It looked exactly like it; no dispute. If you're a MLP: FiM fan, you know the land when you see it.
A dream-come-true confirmation.
I scan the area further, for a result on where exactly I am. What location.
It turns out, my surroundings consisted of a vast sea of grass, decorated by a forest of tall apple trees featuring bright red, easily viewable apples on them at my right side, and to my left, a big, dark-red barn.
I had landed in Sweet Apple Acres.
I crack a smile, feeling a huge, crashing wave of total deja vu. I made it! I'm really here! This was very easily one of the most historic moments of my existence.
The mixture of thrill and disbelief continued to manifest as a smile that wouldn't go away. And a desire to scream out "Yes!". But I hesitate to do that, because I then quickly remember my thoughts on what could happen next. And this ends up turning my face around.
The thing is, I wasn’t sure if ponies knew about humans. I had no way of knowing that in advance. I was concerned about the possibility that I would be seen as a potentially-dangerous alien. An alien that shall not be trusted. I don't really believe in that, as I know the ponies in this area are very good-natured and had learned their lesson from the Zecora event, but anxiety makes you want to believe things.
As a result of that, I hesitated to get up and explore. I reasoned that it would be really scary for ponies, seeing a creature they don’t know about walking around, especially in their living space! I was in Sweet Apple Acres, after all. A residential property. The thought of being caught trespassing made me want to move even less.
But then what do I do? Where am I going to find the means to survive?
Well, I'd have to figure that out. I prepare for long swirling mind session where I try to make a plan for what the heck I should do, and probably convince myself of worst-case scenarios a bit too, but before I can start, I notice a pony. She was pretty far away, but I could tell who she was, given that no one else who lives here has the same body shape, or the same manestyle, or the same consistent wearing of a particular-looking hat. I could faintly see the coloring as well; this pony had an orange coat.
I didn’t know what I wanted to happen next. If I didn’t get noticed, I would be stuck. I'd have nowhere to go to find food, water, or shelter, as I was afraid to go anywhere at all. But if I do get noticed, I might be treated as an alien, as mentioned before.
As I begin to feel an anxiety attack coming on, Applejack notices me. I see her look right in my direction and stand for a bit. Then, she started running towards me. She later decreased her speed to walking, but I was getting really anxious, despite this being somepony I was familiar with from the show and had been wanting to meet ever since I became a fan.
My thought process for Applejack’s behavior, though, then popped into my mind. I figured that she must have been looking out to see who was there, then when she noticed it was a human, she got excited. After all, she was going to be the first pony to meet a human, or at least the first in this generation, most likely. It was certain to gain her a lot of fame and money, and aside from that, would be a really cool experience to begin with. Almost anyone would sprint at the prospect of that.
But she slowed down.
I reasoned that she did so because she (correctly) guessed that I was scared, and wanted to approach me calmly. So maybe this was a sign that I don't need to worry about that "mistrusted alien" thing. I start to gain composure, convincing myself that my theory was correct. There’s nothing to be worried about. She’s going slow.
The big moment gets closer, closer, and then comes.
After not being able to see her for a bit due to me being on a highly-slanted hill, Applejack emerged from the horizon. She then stopped walking, and gave me a greeting.
“Howdy there. Welcome to Equestria.”
I didn’t know what to do. She was being friendly and calm, but my mind was still racing with how major his experience was. This pony, somepony who I loved so much from the show, was literally right there, in my view, looking me in the eyes. I just couldn’t get anything out of my mouth.
I provided no response, but Applejack kept things going.
“Ah am not scared. Ah know your species.”
Now this was a big moment. I was relieved to know that she didn’t see me as an alien, but then her statement also brought up something new: confusion about how she knows what humans are. How does she know? Since when do they have Internet in Equestria? It doesn’t look like they do from the show. And even if they do have it now, wouldn’t they have a completely different network? After all, it’s on a completely different planet, where there aren’t humans! How in the world does she know?
And then there's still the excitement from meeting her in general, which was only stronger now that I know she is aware of what I am.
I let this all out in a sputtered "You-you do?"
“Sure! Although, ah might wanna explain it a bit later, cause... you seem a bit shaky there, sugarcube.”
“I am. I'm... really excited to be here.", I say. "The thing is... I'm a big fan of your show, and... I came here because of that. I've always really wanted to meet you, Applejack, and... another thing is, in my world, nobody thinks that you're real. They think your show is just a cartoon... generated by computers...", I say as I try to contain my desire to run around and scream.
Applejack responds. "Well, that ain't make no sense, we are so for sure real, but, uh, does that mean you're the first to come here?"
"I could be. I don't know."
"Well, you are for sure the first in mah lifetime! And Granny Smith's! She's never seen a human before either!", Applejack says, looking happy.
With that, I remember what I had been thinking earlier.
"Well then, could you explain to me how you ponies know about us? I'm a bit confused."
"Of course!", Applejack says as she calmly sits beside me on the grass. Don't know why, but that helped me calm down quite a bit. She then begins explaining.
"So, the big, intricate details of how we know is something to be explained by a more study pony, but to simplify, we have heard legends about humans before. They've been talked about in Equestrian folklore, and there are some ponies here who do believe in their existence, including one in Ponyville. So we are familiar with the concept, and... now we know you're real!"
Well, there we go! They have the concept of us! Wow, that sweeps away so many potential hurdles to being here, it feels like being assigned to a run track three levels below the top, after you thought you'd be running the most difficult course available. I wouldn't be surrounded by constant "What are you"s, and such, or captured into a dungeon for research, or anything like that.
"Okay, cool!", I say happily. "I, it turns out... I'm really grateful that you do, because, here's something big: I was worried about coming here because I didn't know how I would be treated. I was scared that I'd be seen as an alien, or assumed to be dangerous. I didn't know how ponies would react to seeing a new creature in their land."
"Aww, well, like ah said, ah don't feel scared around ya!", Applejack responds. "Because ah had no reason to! Ya don't seem dangerous! You've been nothin' but super nice to me, and all you were doin' was sittin' here. And not only that, but you were clearly scared. Ah could see it."
Thank goodness. This eliminates another batch of worries. I guess I will be able to walk around here after all!
I place my hand on my chest in relief, then ask about the origin of this very lucky outcome.
"So, y'all here learned your lesson from what happened with Zecora?"
"We sure did. We now know that we shouldn't just run away from a new creature like that. Unless they're causin' destruction or somethin' like that, we have no reason to be scared. Ah'm sure the ponies in Ponyville will welcome you in."
"Wow, that's a relief.", I say. "Thanks, AJ."
"No problem, sugarcube. It's what we do here; kindness is a virtue."
It sure was! Thanks to these ponies' good-natured attitudes, I had an anxiety attack get flushed away in almost an instant. That's not something that really happens. With such a relieving feeling, I perk up quite a bit.
"Well, with that, I think I'm comfortable getting out of this spot now.", I say. "I might need some time before I go and meet your family members, though, because... I'm still trying to process the fact that I'm actually here. I have to contain my desire to run around and scream."
Applejack giggles at this. "Okay then, how 'bout, we take a walk around the farm for a bit? A good walk always helps me calm down."
"That sounds good. Let's do it!", I say.
Moving on to the next phase of this journey, Applejack stands up, and I do the same. After which, I make an interesting discovery: the full-grown mare comes up to the bottom of my ribcage in height, not having to tilt her head that far at all to make eye contact with me. Yes, that's a lot smaller than the equines we have on Earth, but based on the show's name, I thought the Equestrians would be smaller.
"Wow, you're um... a bit bigger than I expected.", I say.
Applejack giggles. "Yeah. The name "My Little Pony" ain't exactly right. Us mares stand about 1.2 meters in height at full growth, and the stallions, 1.5."
"Huh. I'm about 1.7 meters tall, so I guess that means Big Mac is close to me in height.", I say.
"Yup. So you don't have to worry about overwhelmin' me: I'm used to this size difference."
"Good.", I say.
"Alright, well, let's walk around!", Applejack says.
The farm pony takes her first steps, but then stops in her tracks, as she suddenly remembers she missed something very important.
"Aww shoot, ah totally forgot about this! What is your name?", she says.
This question that would normally come at the very beginning of a first meet-up came back to me as well. Looks like my worried state had drowned it out earlier, heh. Well, here it is now. And it brings up another interesting situation, as my answer to this question isn't exactly straightforward.
"Well, I turn out to have an... interesting... name situation, I guess you could call it that, because... I don't use my real name. I go by a stage name. My stage name is 'Player 4.'", I say.
"Player 4... ah like that stage name. Sounds cool.", Applejack says.
Good thing she wasn't asking questions about it yet.
"Well, P4, welcome to mah home. Ah know you're just startin' out and are probably nervous, so we'll take it slow. Let's just have ya walk around, to try to get a bit used to things here."
I give a thumbs up. Applejack leads the way, and I begin following her around the grass at Sweet Apple Acres, taking my first steps on Equestrian soil.
My current emotional state was predictable. While I had the science, it was still extremely hard to believe that I was actually here right now. Inside of Equestria. The animated look of it all around me, and even on me! I looked pretty different from what I was used to, blending in perfectly with the surroundings! Then there's Applejack, right in front of me! And she had been talking to me! This was a situation that I thought up until just a couple hours ago was something that only existed as a figment of imagination! Yet here it was!
Applejack, in an attempt to help me ease in, shows me a bit around the farm, having me take in sights of the place, often with spoken descriptions added on. She did have quite a fondness for sending out anecdotes on her experience in a particular place; how she feels when in it, notable events that took place in it, etc. It felt like live Instagram, which I found fun.
Her efforts do end up working, a lot. I do still feel like I'm going crazy, but being in a place like Sweet Apple Acres, with a calm pony by my side, did help me get a grasp on myself and really take in that knowledge that yes, I am here. A peaceful environment, nice voice, and sheer passage of time helps.
"Alright.", I start a new conversation with, "I think I'm ready to meet your family now." It didn't seem like Applejack was done with the tour, and I didn't want to disrespect her, but honestly, the farm is huge; a complete tour would take forever. And she was doing this to help me get ready for the next phase, after all. So I think I'm good.
Which I am correct about. "Good!", Applejack says, clearly loving that I'm meeting up with her farm fellows. "Follow me!"
I do so, going with her over to an area of the farm that's next to a pig pen, a pig pen that I recognized from "Applejack's 'Day' Off". Then, for something that I didn't see in that episode, there are two lawn chairs nearby.
You know, it's really awesome that I retained all my memories of the show, now that I think about it. Imagine the difficulty I would have face if I suddenly didn't know where I was! That would suck...
Anyway, Applejack calls out to her younger sister. "Hey Applebloom, ah've got a surprise for ya! We have a guest here who ain't from these parts."
Applebloom turns from her activities over to my direction, shoots her eyes open, and exclaims something that I have fully been expecting.
"Wow! A human?! They exist?! And... ah'm meetin' one?!"
I was feeling a bit scared, not wanting to be pounced upon or the like, but then I thought the best way to approach Applebloom would be to play along with her excitement. So I do. Not sure why I thought that way; it just came out of the blue.
"Yup! And you're among the first to see one!", I say, walking closer to her.
Applejack and I sit in the lawn chairs, and Applebloom jumps on top of my lap.
"Wow! Ah can't believe ah'm actually with a real human!"
"And I can't believe it either!", I respond. "I didn't know until just a few hours ago that it was even possible for me to come here! We've got a meeting of creatures who thought they were locked away from each other!", I say as I give the yellow filly a playful rub on the head.
Applebloom then gets to the obvious question, still retaining her loud excited voice. "What's your name, mister human?"
"That's where I've got something cool for you!", I say. "It turns out, I go by a stage name. I'm known as 'Player 4.'"
"Hmm, Player 4... That does sound like a stage name. And it sounds nice!", Applebloom says.
I smile and give her more mane pets.
With this introduction session being already great as it is, it receives even more fuel, as Big Mac shows up with a facial expression indicating he feels no different towards me than his siblings.
"Oh, howdy there Big Mac.", Applejack says. "Looks like ya've already seen; we got a human here. And he's bein' really nice to us."
"Eeyup.", Big Mac says. His signature.
Well then! Big Mac trusted me too! That's three out of three so far!
As if it wasn't already relieving enough to have the first pony I come in contact with be cool with me, eliminating the possibility of having no support in a land where I have no readily available necessities, all of the next ponies are just letting me in, as if my species has been here before.
I'm sure happy.
Remembering there's still somepony left on this farm, and thinking about something that I think would be a good event to hold on day one, I make a suggestion.
"Alright, now I reckon it's time we go to into the barn so I can meet Granny Smith, and we can have... a meeting, of sorts. I'll explain to y'all why I'm here and how I got here, and I'll give out some basic info about my species."
"Sounds good!", Applejack says. "Let's go in!"
The now-four of us take a journey across the farm, heading for the Apple family's barn. This was a rather large farm, and I had been walking before, so I'm even getting tired.
After the long trudge, the Apple siblings and I make our way to the hub of their living space.
Not wanting to startle the elder pony, I let Applejack and her siblings walk in first to explain what's going on a bit before I enter.
"Hey there Granny.", Applejack says. "We've come to note you: we got a new creature here in Equestria. Ah found him laying in the grass while ah was workin', and we've been talkin' to him and introducin' him to Sweet Apple Acres. He's been nothin' but calm and kind to us. We're gonna bring him in here so he can meet you, and talk about his species, and all that."
Granny Smith gives a nod, signaling she's comfortable with me entering. Applejack then looks at me and waves her hoof at the door, directing me inside.
Well, well! Granny reacts just like the other three did!
"Well, howdy there!", she says. "Nice to know you've been gettin' along well, especially when you're new here."
"Hello to you too, Granny Smith!", I say. "Yeah, I've been outside for a while, after I came here on purpose, and... well, I'll explain it more cohesively once we all sit down. That's what I'm here for; to explain my situation to y'all."
"That should be good. We sure will listen; we like stories here on the farm!", Granny says.
The rest of us smile.
All five of us take our seats in the Apple family's brown livingroom, where I begin storytime.
"Alright. So, what happened here is: I am a massive fan of your show, that Friendship is Magic series. Such a big fan that I always really wanted to come here, to Equestria, and meet you all. Where this story gets weird is that, on my world, it is not believed that the show is real. Almost every other human thinks that it's a cartoon made through advanced technology. But with my urge to come here on a very high scale, I decided to dive deep into the science, where I uncovered that this place is real. I then used more science to spawn a portal, after which, I ended up here. I didn't choose to come to Sweet Apple Acres; the portal picked at random. Oh, and my name is Player 4. I'm known by a stage moniker."
Most of the Apples have interested looks on their faces, probably taking time to collect their thoughts. But Applebloom seems to have gotten it all down already.
"Wow! That's really cool! You did something that nobody thought was possible!"
"Yeah! And because of that, I'm still kind of in disbelief that I am here, plus the overall excitement. I've gotten more used to it as time's been going on, but... it's still crazy. This day will go down as one of my most memorable, for sure."
Granny Smith responds. "Well sonny, it's nice to see ya here, especially after ya did all that stuff! Ah've been around a long, long time and ah've never seen a human before! Ah thought they were just a fairy tale mah parents would read to me."
"Yeah! I can imagine!", I say.
So now I had a first-hoof anecdote of humans being portrayed as a legend on this world. Granny Smith was taught about us in books.
Let me tell you, it did feel pretty good to be the one who confirms the legend as true. To appear right there, in front of someone who didn't think your kind existed. To blow their minds. And of course, they were experiencing that too. I used to not think Equestrians existed.
Not to mention that Granny Smith mentioned her parents reading fairy tales to her. That probably happened in her childhood, and how old was she again? Sounds like the concept of humans has been around in Equestria for quite a long time.
This was some day!
I then proceed to talking about what any human would anticipate upon arriving in a society full of creatures with hooves.
"Now, since I'm here, and you've never seen someone like me before, I can only guess you're a bit curious about my anatomy. In particular, these things.", I say as I hold up my hand, with its fingers.
"Yeah, they do look a bit different.", Applebloom says, "but we know what fingers are. Our friend Spike has them."
"Yeah!", Applejack says. "Ya don't look that alien to us; you're similar to Spike in lots of ways!"
"Well, good.", I say. Somehow, my mind had completely blanked out on Spike, who does indeed make me seem less out there, with his fingered and bipedal body.
I insert this into my next sentence, as if I had already known. "That's something I was hoping for, that Spike would give you some reference.", I say to the Apples. "In addition to having fingers, he also walks on two feet, just like me."
"Cool!", Applebloom says. "I'm already liking your species! Humans are neat!"
"I look forward to you learning more about us!", I say to her. "But, we'll get into that later. I just wanted to do the basics right now, especially since I'm feeling hungry. I don't know what time it is right now here, I could have very well landed in a different time zone, or heck, maybe it's a completely different year here. I was travelling between universes, so, who knows?"
Applejack attempts to answer this. "Well, we'll do the comparisons. Right now, ya can see that clock, it's 15:30 right now.", she says, pointing to a brown analog clock. "What time was it when ya left?"
"Uh, when I left, it was 16:30 in the place I live. And how long have I been here?"
"Well, when ah set out to do some tree-bucking, and that was when ah found ya, ah had just checked the clock and it was 14:30. So you've been here 'bout an hour.", Applejack says.
"Okay! So that means I went back two hours.", I say.
"Yup, sounds 'bout right." Applejack responds.
"And what about the current month, date, and year here?", I ask. Would today, in Equestria, by any chance, be Saturday, June 11, 2016?"
"Yeah, that's it!", Applejack exclaims. "Looks like our different universes do line up on that!"
I am very surprised. I mean, I was travelling between dimensions, going through the very fabric of time. You'd think that I'd land in at least a different date, wouldn't you?
This was definitely something to be researched.
"Wow, that's crazy!", I say. "I figured that since I was travelling between dimensions, I would probably land in a spot where the date was different. But I guess I got lucky!"
"Yeah, looks like ya did!", Applejack says.
It sure was lucky to have the dates aligned. Whenever the two worlds found ways to interact with each other, planning meetings wouldn't be so hard, for example. The only difference in dates would come through time zones. No large gap or different numbering system.
Speaking of time zones...
"Well then," I continue, "With that, I was wondering if maybe you guys could do an early dinner for me? When I left, it was 16:30 in my area, and I was only an hour away from dinnertime. And of course, just because I travelled back two time zones doesn't mean my body is aligned with that. It feels like it should be 17:30 for me, and as such, I'm getting hungry."
"Sure! We can do that!", Applejack says. "We'll start it soon."
"Hope ya like our apples.", Granny Smith says. "Because that's what we do here at Sweet Apple Acres."
"Oh yes, I love apples!", I say. "You got lucky in that regard; I've always really wanted to know what the apples here at Sweet Apple Acres taste like. Looks like today will be the day!"
"Yup. You're in for the taste of your life.", Applejack says. "Let's go get it started."
I was baffled by this. Remember the time zone change. Here in Equestria, the current time was only 15:33. Yet the Apple family was preparing dinner. I had four ponies catering to one person and his time zone... in their time zone! The Apple family sure was hospitable... more than hospitable. There needed to be a new word to describe their guest experience.
And, oh right, that was adding on to the fact that they trusted me. Goodness, my love for these ponies was getting even stronger.
While Applejack headed off to the kitchen, Granny Smith and Applebloom stayed behind, for more questions.
"So, what do you usually do to pass the time while you're waiting for dinner, Mr. Four?", Applebloom asks.
"Hmm, that's an interesting question, because, back on my world, we have a lot of advanced technology that you ponies don't have, and that advanced technology has given us some... gadgets that have become staples in our day-to-day lives. They are what we use to pass the time... most of the time."
"Interesting!", Applebloom says.
"So, you've got a bit of changes to get used to, yeah?", Granny asks.
"Yeah, I do. And... I don't know what I'm going to do to the pass the time while waiting for dinner."
"Well, do you like to listen to music? In particular, country music?", Applebloom asks.
"Yeah!", I exclaim. "It's not my primary genre, but I have been listening to a lot more country music recently. I've been getting really into it."
"Good! We'll put on this mix of our favorites."
Applejack hears this conversation from the kitchen, and is clearly loving it, as I expected she would. What else would a family of country ponies pick as their favorite genre?
"P4 and I have already found so much to bond over when we've known each other for less than two hours!", she exclaims, peeking out from the kitchen.
"Yeah!", I respond. "It's interesting how much is aligning."
So far, perfect! I now think this was the correct destination for me. I'm already loving it with the Apple family.
Applejack rings the bell, which I knew from the episode "Bloom and Gloom" meant it was mealtime.
I excitedly head over to the blue-green barn kitchen, along with Granny Smith, Big Mac, and Applebloom, where we meet up with Applejack, who had done most, if not all, of the cooking. Out of the Mane Six, she was definitely the closest to Pinkie Pie with regards to talent in that field.
To my surprise, this didn't look at all like the kind of dinner I was used to. There was not one specific meal that we were dedicating the time to; instead, the Apple family's kitchen looked more like a buffet. There were a multitude of foods to choose from, all sitting in the middle of the table.
"Ah hope ya get some good impressions tonight, P4!", Applejack says, sitting down in her chair.
"Well, let's find out!", I say excitedly. I decide to begin with the basics, picking out a straight apple. Something that was an option here. There was a plate containing a good supply of each color apple, sorted by color, on the table. There was a plate of red apples, a plate of yellow, and a plate of green. I start with a red apple.
Here I go. I'm finally going to figure out what a Sweet Apple Acres apple tastes like.
I take the bite of truth.
Chewing...
Processing the flavor...
...
Oh my goodness. If "living up to the hype" were to get a picture for it, a shot of an apple from Sweet Apple Acres should be that picture.
That apple was just... perfect. It had the perfect amount of juicy. The perfect amount of sweet. Everything was balanced. The hallmark of what an apple could be.
It was so great that I could give it a swift top ranking, right at the first moment.
"Well! I can already say, after just one bite, that was the best apple I've ever had!"
"Thanks, pardner!", Applejack says. We do our best here at Sweet Apple Acres to make them so!"
"You do a great job! If this business isn't huge, it should be."
The others think nothing of this comment at the moment, instead continuing to focus on dinner itself.
"Well, almost everything here has those well-worked-on apples in it! Dig in!", Applejack says.
I do just that, filling up my plate with out the likes of apple bread, salad with apples, you name it. I also test out the other two colors with regular apples; they sure impressed too, especially with the fact that I absolutely adored the green apples. I wasn't the biggest fan of the green ones, preferring sweet apples over sour ones. But these green apples could get me intentionally choosing them. Then the yellow ones were kind of in between. They were sweet, but not as sweet as a red apple. All three colors maintained what an apple should be like.
As for the other foods, they yielded the same result. It's almost unbelievable to me how one family can cook so well.
And of course, conversation couldn't be left out. But this conversation would end up uncovering something that I hadn't been thinking about since this journey began.
Applejack begins. "Alright P4, so we've got info on your situation, now ah feel like it's time to ask ya about you and what you do. Like, what's your job? What are your main hobbies?"
"My job? Oh, well, it's something you might be interested in. I work as a data specialist, where the primary thing I do is look at info and fill in the blanks. I take incomplete info and piece it together to answer a wider question. There's more to explain, but that's the gist of it."
Applejack's eyes shoot open with a smile. It's easy to see why; my job was like a perfect match!
"Well, ya could work here then! That's the perfect job for Sweet Apple Acres!"
"It sure is!", Applebloom adds. "Farm work is way more than just that physical stuff; we need them numbers too!"
"Of course!", Applejack says. "P4, after dinner, how about ah'll give ya a task, and if you do well, we're hire ya here."
"That sounds great; thanks!", I say.
Wow. As if I couldn't keep getting any luckier, I might be able to solve the money problem on the first day!
"I feel especially grateful to you guys right now, for giving me this opportunity, because... I don't have any money right now.", I say, with my tone of voice lowering.
The Apples' facial expressions turn in that direction too.
"Really?", Applejack asks. "And, now that ah think of it, ya don't seem to have anything with you right now.", she says with a concerned look.
"That's true; I don't.", I respond. "It was due to limitations in how much could go through a rip in the fabric of space and time. While this science was able to get me very far, where it couldn't take me was bringing my belongings. The portal could only handle one thing at a time."
"So, ya ain't got nothin? Nothin' at all?", Applebloom asks.
"Nothing.", I say. "I'm starting my Equestrian adventure completely from scratch. I have no money, nowhere to live, nowhere to sleep, nothing. And I don't know where I'm going to go.", I say as I continue eating, seemingly trying to brush this situation off.
"Well, ah can say ya do have somethin' now! We'll take ya in here at Sweet Apple Acres... for as long as ya need! We've got a guest barn here, and we'll give ya everything ya need to live!"
"Really?", I say. They're offering to do that? For real?
"Of course!", Applejack responds. "Like ya said, you don't have the means to survive by yourself. It wouldn't be right to just leave ya out there. For as long as you need, the farm is your home.", Applejack says with a smile, along with the others nodding yes.
Now how many pieces of lucky streak was I on now?
"Wow! Thanks y'all; you're so great.", I say.
"But, hear me out, I insist on paying you rent. I really don't want to be a freeloader."
"Well, we wouldn't mind if ya stayed for free, but... okay. We understand.", Applejack says.
A five-way smile ensues and dinner continues. A dinner all about apples, featuring so many fusions of it with foods that didn't seem compatible, topped off with a dessert of Applejack's famous apple pies, with amazing-sounding country music sounding off in the background, it was an amazing time. And thanks to the huge appetite of Applejack, plus the multitude of food options, it lasted for almost an hour.
Eventually, dinner comes to an end, which brings us to the next chapter of this jam-packed day. Per Applejack's suggestion, I will be taking a data-specific qualification task to see if I can get hired at the farm.
After the last words of dinner conversations are said and we all disband into our own activities, the orange mare and I head outside to the field, where the sky is still as bright as before, thanks to the early dinnertime. It was currently about 17:00 in central Equestria.
Near where the forest of apple trees begins, Applejack brings out a clipboard and announces what the task will be.
"Alright sugarcube, so here's what ya gotta do. One criticism that we on the farm have been gettin' recently is that our distribution of apples by color ain't representative of what ponies' tastes are. Some ponies say there ain't enough green, or too much yellow, or not enough red."
"So ah need you to determine what the percentages of color should be, based on what ponies like. Here's a paper of the results of some interviews ah took. What ah need ya to do is figure out the percentage numbers based on this."
Applejack hands me a brown paper stuck on a clipboard, indeed with such statistics.
"Here's a pen too, and ya can work over on that there bench. In the meantime, ah'll be buckin' trees over there. Just come to me when you're done."
I thumbs-up Applejack, and we split up into our corresponding work stations. I set off to the light-brown field bench to take on this qualification task.
Here I was, faced with an opportunity to land a job at Sweet Apple Acres, in a field that I have already worked in. Determined to solve my money problems as quickly as possible, and fulfill my promise to pay the Apples rent as long as I lived here, I focus my attention carefully on getting the task done correctly. I must not fail this.
What Applejack had done was write down spoken sentences by ponies she had talked to about their apples' color distribution. Most of them had answered what distribution they preferred, in addition to the one they think most others would like. I was supposed to use this data to calculate what percentage of each color the Apple family should grow in order to satisfy everypony's wants. To make sure that no green apple lovers ever felt like there weren't enough for them, and that no red apples ever went to waste because they weren't all needed.
And this fairly limited number of interviews was all the data I had. So I had to piece it together and fill in the blank, something I was used to.
Looking at the interview text, "red" is the color that I see the most, in both the personal and population-predicted answers as to which color ponies like best. "Green" and "yellow" seem to appear at the same rate, so then that's where the percentage predictions come in.
Rounding up the numbers and averaging them in my head, I come to the conclusion. I figure out from the data that red apples are in highest demand, followed by green and then yellow. Then I calculate that red apples were being slightly overgrown, while green apples were undergrown. The Apple family had been growing approximately the same number of green apples as yellow apples, which isn't correct in terms of these percentages. While the amount of ponies in this study who chose yellow as their favorite apple color was roughly equal to the amount who chose green, they all seemed to agree that green was more popular. It's possible that the study randomly picked up an unusually large number of yellow-lovers.
The info finished up, I write the final verdict down:
60% of the apples should be red,
25% should be green,
and 15% should be yellow.
Pencil down.
I make my way over to the forest of apple trees. "Done!", I say, handing the paper to Applejack. She reads the data I collected, and appears satisfied.
"Great work, sugarcube! So we got the data here now; we're gonna experiment with those percentages you put down and see if they're accurate. If they are, you're hired!"
"Awesome!", I say, giving Applejack a hoof-bump. Hopefully they will be correct. That sure would be terrible if I got this far only to fail at the end.
After Applejack and I chat for a good while about work, with her shift extending a lot longer than mine, the sun begins setting, and fortunately, I feel in sync with that. Having a big, long dinner and then some data to get distracted by seemed to help me get adjusted with the local time zone, where it is currently 19:24. So it's 21:24 where I used to be, and that's about the time when my parents...
Oh, right. They're probably worried sick, aren't they?
I feel my mood quickly begin to drop as I think about this, like a smooth river going into a waterfall. All the while when Applejack is approaching me from behind. With all the work now done for today, she was planning to lead me into my guest space, but she notices my troubling look, and attempts to help.
"Uh... is something wrong, sugarcube?"
I'm not usually one to talk about emotional situations with others. It's difficult for me to do so. But this was something that really needed to be talked about now. It's late in the day, and I can't possibly go to sleep with untreated anxiety ranging inside. So I be brave with AJ and spill the entire bean can on what exactly is going on. No sugarcoating whatsoever.
"Yes, something is wrong, I say. "It's about my family. You know how I said earlier that pretty much no other human thinks this place is real?"
"Yeah."
"Well, because of that, my family is probably really freaked out. I left a note explaining why I'm gone, but that probably doesn't help, given that they almost certainly don't believe it. What are they thinking right now? Are they going to go outside looking for me? Call the police?", I say, feeling quite scared by these thoughts.
Applejack seems rather talented at this kind of thing. She is able to find a good response in a short time, to a concern that I thought was complicated.
"Well, even if they did do those things, they'd never find ya, because you're here! The police wouldn't get to ya either! Eventually they'd have to stop looking, and ah'm sure we can find a way to prove to them that Equestria is real."
That's true, they'd obviously never find me, nor would anyone, so they'd have to give up at some point. But would that ease their worries? Honestly, I think it would make them worse. We get more frustrated the longer we can't find something, don't we? Yeah, most of us do! Especially if it's a person!
And then there's the wait time for proof, which I speak to Applejack about.
"But that won't come until later; there's no way at the moment to send a photograph back to my world, or travel between the worlds.", I say. "That portal disappeared after I arrived, and I can't respawn it. I know from the studying I did that there is currently no way for me to interact with my home planet at all. I don't know if I'll be able to sleep tonight with this in my mind, especially not when I'm in a new environment. I always have trouble sleeping in somewhere that isn't my own bed.", I say.
"That's perfectly understandable!", Applejack responds. "And ah'll tell ya this; we're gonna do everything we can to make ya comfortable. Whatever ya need to calm those worries, or sleep better, we're here for you."
She might already be doing so. Applejack's soothing voice, plus overall kindness and hospitality is almost too heart-warming to bear.
"Thanks so much.", I say. "Well, how about we start by seeing where I'll sleep?"
"Right over there!", Applejack says, pointing to the family's guest barn.
What is this day turning into? I achieved my biggest dream of all time. I want to be here right now! So why am I crippled with anxiety that makes me feel like I need to go back?
This train of thought unsurprisingly was probably going to spiral out of control. But it is put on hold thanks to Applejack introducing me to my staying area.
"Here it is.", she says. The guest barn sports a red color, but it's brighter than the family barn. It's like an apple red. Inside, the bottom floor consists of a wide-open livingroom, with a light brown floor, several couches, chairs, a few tables, and doors to other first-floor rooms. You can see the second floor from here too; it's all on a visible loft that lines the edges of the barn.
"The bedroom would be right in that corner!", Applejack says, pointing to bottom right corner on the second floor.
We head up the staircase and across the brown loft into the southeast corner of the barn, where I was led into the guest bedroom. It had bright red walls, a brown floor, and nothing in it except for a bed, a couch, and a desk. But that made sense; it was only a guest room.
“Ya have any questions?”, Applejack asked as I tested out the white bed.
“Well, Applejack, I know that you ring a bell when breakfast is ready, but with me being so far away, how am I supposed to hear it?”, I say.
“Well, you can see the barn from here, right?”, she asks.
I look out the window, and it is there, in the distance. “Yeah.”, I say. "I can see it."
“You can come in when we turn the lights on.”, Applejack says.
“Okay, sounds good.” I said.
Applejack nods. “Is that all?", she asks.
"Yeah, I think that's all the questions I have for now. I just don't know how I'm going to fall asleep with all that's going on."
This is particularly a problem since nighttime is the perfect breeding ground for anxiety. Unlike during the day, there's nothing else going on to distract you from it.
"Well, that's what ah'm here for.", Applejack says. What do you usually use to help with you sleep when you're stressed?"
"Well, what I usually use is those technologically-advanced things that Equestrians don't have.", I say. "I'm without any of the comforting night gadgets I'm used to."
I did want my laptop back now. It was always my night activity, even though light supposedly worsens your sleep. (I don't care about that; I do what I like.)
"Okay, what about the calmin' techniques ah use on Applebloom then?", Applejack says. "Want me to bring ya a glass of milk? Sing ya a lullaby?"
Erm, I wasn't keen on being sung to, and being brought a glass of milk also sounded pretty embarrassing to me. I didn't want to feel like I was being pampered; my cheeks almost go red just thinking about being brought a glass of milk in bed.
"I don't think those work on me.", I say, feeling defeated. "I don't know why; I'm just difficult to calm. I have anxiety problems, and I'm being handed a combination of being in a new environment and having no way to know what my family is feeling right now. I can't think of anything that will help."
Applejack goes silent for a while, seemingly running out of ideas. But she does have one gasp of help left.
"Well, sugarcube, ah can tell ya you'll have questions answered tomorrow. We'll meet up with Twilight, and hopefully she can find a way for you to send a picture to your family, and figure out how to get ya back home, all that. Does that comfort you?"
"Yeah, I guess it does.", I say. "Knowing that this situation will end."
I do rather like the quote "This too shall pass."
"That's the spirit!", Applejack says. "Alright, ya think you're ready now?"
"Yeah, I guess I'll try to go to sleep.", I say.
"Okay, pardner. Me and the others had a great time with ya today; just know that. We're already likin' ya lot. A new friendship might be in the making. See ya tomorrow, pardner!", Applejack says as she heads out the door.
Her statement did help me. My situation could have been worse here; and in fact, I thought there was a good chance that it could be. I thought before coming here that the ponies might not trust me. And while I still need wider results on that, I had no reason to believe that other ponies' reactions would be any different from the Apples, who were nothing but amazing. Yes, I was worried about my family's reaction to my disappearance and had to sleep in an unfamiliar environment, but at least I had a bed to sleep in and was being treated well.
But even with that said, I still struggle to fall asleep... big time. Applejack was doing great at helping, but anxiety isn't something that can just be fixed on the spot. Stuck in the dead of night, all alone, I couldn't do anything but lay in bed and try to sleep to no avail. Thoughts about my family gnaw at me, and they even do so in a unique way as I look at the moon. I realize at this moment, while staring into the heavens, that I am at an utterly unfathomable, unbelievably long distance away from them. Because here's the thing: centered on Earth, the observable universe is 93 billion light years wide. That is enormous. But it's only the observable universe. The entire universe is hypothesized to be much, much larger; like, a number so large you'd have trouble fitting it one line of paper. And then I was in a completely different universe, which who knows how far away it is from the one I came from?
As I continue to look up at the night sky, the magnitudes of these distances really hit me. The large numbers keep multiplying in my head, and that combined with the fact that I had no way of knowing what my family was thinking right now spelled a terrible recipe for sleep. I was not feeling good whatsoever.
They think I'm still on Earth, somewhere where they can find me. Little do they know I'm trillions of light years away at minimum.
Oh, and did I mention the new environment? Yeah, that's sure a bad combo. My flight-or-flight response just would not turn off. Thanks to the first-night effect, every single little sound I hear shoots my eyes open.
I begin to disbelieve that I'll ever be able to fall asleep under these conditions. For as much as I change positions trying to find the best one and just try to force myself to keep my eyes closed... nothing. No success in sight. I'm betting at this point that many hours have passed, without me ever falling into deep sleep.
It's hopeless. I'm not going to go to sleep. I'm going to look tired when meeting all those ponies, unless it can be remedied. Do they have coffee on this world?
Well, even if they do, I still need sleep.
Another tale of a vacation that's great during the day but then turns around at night. I did really want to come to Equestria, and was having a great time... when it was daytime. Now at night, I feel a desire to go home. And this has happened before. Pretty much every night I've had away from home has had me thinking "I want to go home. I want to be in my real bed, where I'm comfortable."
I try to brush this away knowing it's temporary and I'll feel better when the sun rises again. "This too shall pass", like I said earlier. But this is sure not a great ending to this day. The day that I hoped would be amazing did turn out to be for the most part, but it completely blew its chance to be great all the way through.