//------------------------------// // BONUS: Chapter 2 from Applejack's Perspective // Story: Magical Mission: Portal to a New Home // by Player 4 //------------------------------// "Keepin' em comin, Granny?" "As comin' as they can be. You'll have your full supply for all those ponies." "Yee-haw!" My Granny Smith is still the determined worker, even at her age. Howdy there. I'm Applejack, and I'm walking my hooves out to the green field for another long, hard day of work at Sweet Apple Acres. Caring for the farm animals, bucking apples off trees, sore muscles at bedtime, much more; the packaged deal that my lifestyle comes with. It sure looks like a simple life, and you're right, it is. But, honestly, y'all, that's the life I've got myself rolling with. Just being a farm girl is the dream I'm living. What Granny and I were exchanging about earlier is a hefty order of Zap Apple Jam-filled pies that a group of bond-loving ponies are wanting to include in a family and friends gathering party they're holding. As the workers we are, we're dedicating our time towards baking up those pies and achieving the status "satisfied customer", and we're sure having a fun time doing it too. My work ethic is also heavily built on thinking about those happy ponies getting the specialty they wanted at a special party. Right now, though, Granny's got that chore moving smoothly by herself, so my day is taking me is back outside to the trees. The regular apples get their priority too. Opening the barn doors to the outside area of the acres, here I am inside its portrait of the Apple family life. The admiral well-cut and green grass, the apple-filled trees, wood barns, farm tools, and all that. It's a perfect relic. "Woo!" I slide the hot sweat off my brow, a recurring symbol of the work life I live. I've sure been givin' these trees here a good buckin'; I can count 50 full baskets in my vicinity, two under each tree. That means I've hit 25 big bucks now, which I find to be a good stopping point, so I hand myself a few-minutes break to take sight of my surroundings. The image east of my current tree-bucking station; yup, it's as crisp as the fresh apples. In particular with this image, because in front of my eyes are two big, beautiful hills. These hills ain't got no apple trees on them; they're the rare ones that remain empty. I sure do love my trees, but the plain hills are a lovely look. However, as I'm relishing in all this, my eyes catch something off-hoof. At the highest point of the hill on the right, there's something distinguishing it from its left twin. There appears to be some sort of dark speck there. I can't right tell what it is, but it ain't been there before. I lean closer and set my eyes to focus mode, which reveals the destiny-changing shape. And I ain't joking when I say destiny. Why? 'Cause this, y'all, is the shape of a human. The idea of a human in Equestria is a topic that Equestrian book authors have been tying their hooves in a twist about for a long time now. Granny raises up this topic to me quite often; how her parents used to read her fairy tales about humans, how some ponies truly believe they exist, all that. "Believe they exist" ain't accurate no more, because I've got apple-hard evidence right in front of me! I can see a human with my very own eyes, right there on top of that hill, in my own home! And this human, y'all, is the first on deck. I, I'm gonna be the first pony to meet a human? Well, at least sure the first in this generation! Maybe there was a human here thousands of years ago, but nopony I've ever heard of has claimed to have seen one! I was barking with excitement, y'all. Out of all the possible ponies this could have happened to, out of those tiny, little apple-seed odds, I'm the one. I begin sprinting like a rodeo pony towards the hill. I'm going to be the first! But then, it waves into my mind that the best option would be to... slow down. While we ain't know a lot about humans, we do have knowledge that they ain't native to this land. I once heard Princess Luna say: "If you ever see a human in Equestria, they came from another part of the cosmos." Where exactly they live together is another matter, but it definitely ain't this here planet, and maybe not even this here universe. So it does stand to reason that this human is probably scared. They've been placed in a completely different world where they ain't got any other members of their species with them. So I'm thinking I should approach cautiously. I sure don't wanna be scarin' away a new creature. So I ease off the rodeo speed. I'm just going to greet them like I would any newcomer. A first-time customer at Sweet Apple Acres; a new Ponyville resident moving in... anything. Just do it the way I always do. I hike my way up to the top of the large, tall, slanted hill and catch a close-up view of the human whom a talk-to is part of my schedule now. Looking at the human, this one appears to be male, and is sporting a solidly yellow outfit. Yellow baseball cap, yellow shirt, yellow pants. Huh. He must really like yellow. I hit the stopping point right in front of him, and work the Applejack way. "Howdy there. Welcome to Equestria." This sentence gets followed by nothing but silence. The human does look straight towards me, but doesn't say nothing back. He continues to sit on the hill top with wide-open eyes and hands palm-down on the grass. He honestly does seem a bit frightened. Well, I'm here to help. "I am not scared. I know your species.", I say. Now here is the minute I appear to have set something off. The human is still uneasy and sputters out his speech as a result, but he does pump out a sentence: "Y-you do?" "Sure!", I respond. "Although, I might wanna explain it a bit later, cause... you seem a bit shaky there, sugarcube." Leaning in for a closer look, I do pick up this possibly-troubling sign. "I am. I'm... really excited to be here.", he says to me. "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..." Ah, so that's why he was shaking around so much. I'm like an idol to this human, and he's in thrill to meet me. That's mighty swell! And on my part, I'm liking it too! After all, I'm with the first human in Equestria since... however long! Well, that's the area I'd primarily be talking about if it weren't for that second thing he said. "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 ask. "I could be. I don't know.", the human responds. Doesn't change a bit. "Well, you are for sure the first in my lifetime! And Granny Smith's! She's never seen a human before either!", I say in excitement, hoping my sunny attitude will provide some emotional support. "Well then, could you explain to me how you ponies know about us? I'm a bit confused.", he responds. "Of course!", I say. I'm always happy to activate my hospitality in situations like these. This human sure seems like a nice guy too. I take care and slowly sit beside him to his right, making sure to hold my smiling, calm face on, as I just state the facts. "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!" There's a pause in the flow of responses, as this is quite the piece of info to process. Waiting for the results... "Okay, cool!", the human says. "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, is that Bridle Gossip episode getting to him? I think it is. I can't blame him a single bit, though. Negative moments sure can have more sticking power in your memory compared to positive ones much of the time. I too catch myself hounding my own head about things that happened years ago sometimes. So the correct course of action is to do nothing but comfort. "Aww, well, like I said, I don't feel scared around ya!", I say. "Because I 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. I could see it." After this reassurance, he does appear more comfortable. "So, y'all here learned your lesson from what happened with Zecora?" Land sakes, he says "y'all" too? I wonder if he's a Southern one like me. Besides that, though, what he was actually asking. "We sure did.", I say in response to the Zecora thing. "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. I'm sure the ponies in Ponyville will welcome you in." Of which, I truly am sure. I sure ain't any more special in hospitality or being nice in general than anypony else in the town of friendship. "Wow, that's a relief.", the human says. "Thanks, AJ." "No problem, sugarcube. It's what we do here; kindness is a virtue." That virtue is one of my favorite features of Equestria. I wouldn't terminate my residence here for a billion bits. The human appears to be cleared of all the emotional clog now, as he says, "Well, with that, I think I'm comfortable getting out of this spot now. 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." I lightly giggle. Okay, now that is funny. I mean, yeah, he is interacting with a celebrity favorite of his and has gained access to the land of his dreams, but... picturing this boy running around and screaming like that... I couldn't help but let out the semi-laughs. But as for that other topic, land sakes, am I mighty excited he's looking to meet my family. Introducing newcomers to Granny, Big Mac, and Applebloom could be placed near the top of my favorite activities list. Of course, though, he said he ain't quite ready yet. He still needs time to become one with this truly magical moment in his life, which is 100% understandable. And I have an idea for helping him accomplish that. "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!", he says. This human sure sounds like an open-minded one. I also gather more new info about him. As this human lifts off the ground and stands up, he does have a chunk of height over me, but not a significant more than Big Mac does. The human is probably young, so maybe he ain't fully grown yet, but the size difference numbers that ponies writing about this species often predicted, the notion they'd look like towers to us... I sure ain't seeing that. Heh, now this is reminding me of how mighty cool it is to be the first pony to make contact with a human. I've of course been treating this human like a normal newcomer, that's what I do, but since he is the first human, I sure do feel special, if I do say so. Back to the height thing, it would appear that's in his mind as well. "Wow, you're um... a bit bigger than I expected.", the human says. Ain't sure why, but I catch a giggle from that sentence too. "Yeah.", I say. "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.", the human says. "Yup. So you don't have to worry about overwhelmin' me: I'm used to this size difference.", I say. "Good.", he responds. "Alright, well, let's walk around!", I say. With the two of us moving into a period of less continuous talking, like a peaceful walk would be, I guess it's time for me to start collecting my initial thoughts on this human, who... wait a minute. Gah. I wanted to give myself a face-hoof here. I had completely forgotten probably the most important piece of information for interaction with a newcomer... their name! Yup, many sentences spoken to each other and I've still been referring to this human as "the human." Dagnab it... "Aww shoot, I totally forgot about this! What is your name?", I say, turning back in the other direction. "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.'", he says. "Player 4... I like that stage name. Sounds cool.", I say. It does sound cool, doesn't it? I wasn't bothering yet to ask what his name means, but to me it gives off a "powerful" feel. Now that I've got the name, I can give a proper introduction! "Well, P4, welcome to my home. I 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 could be almost certain he already knew that, after all, we just talked about it, but it felt necessary to give an introduction using his name. Four gives a thumbs-up, and I lead the way across the farm, guiding him around our lovely farm home that should be a great setting for settling in. Alright, y'all probably want to hear my thoughts. What am I thinking about this unprecedented day? Quite a lot. For starters, this particular human is definitely not dangerous. He said he's a fan of me and the show I'm on; why would he come here if he wanted to cause harm to us? That ain't make an apple seed of sense. I'll also note that he didn't disbelieve in the story that ponies weren't scared of humans. That's swell! It warms my heart to see evidence that I do deserve to hold the Element of Honesty. P4 sure trusts me with that element. Moving on to the next topic: Me being the enthusiast for our home that I am, I hand out anecdotal details about the places Four encounters on our walk here. I was set on giving him a high-quality introduction to Sweet Apple Acres. I decide to keep the tour going until Four said it should be over; after all, he's the one going through the biggest slew of craziness. We're both meeting new creatures mutually thought to be mythical, but I'm right near my house and he's probably in a different universe from where he came from. The tour goes on for a hot minute, but eventually, he does say to me "Alright, I think I'm ready to meet your family now." Alright! Here we go! "Good!", I exclaim. "Follow me!" Applebloom could be anywhere in this massive farm, but the most recent place I saw her was the pig pen, where I had tasked her with feeding the pigs, so I consider there to be the proper first look. I really hope she's still there; it would be a little embarrassing to go on a search for my sister with a guest behind me. I peek over at the pens, and, yup, she's still there. Lucky! "Hey Applebloom", I call out to her, "I've got a surprise for ya! We have a guest here who ain't from these parts." My sister is a visitor lover; she right-away snapped to looking right behind me in wait for Four to emerge. Shoot, y'all, there's suspense here! Who knows what will be her reaction to seeing a brand new species? I mean, it is on a higher level than meeting a new pony. It turns out... I had forgotten she had been reading human books too. "Wow! A human?! They exist?! And... ah'm meetin' one?!", Applebloom says. She was stepping right in P4's direction as she said this, which summoned the big sister instinct in me to tell her "Now Applebloom, he's probably scared, be calm." What I did when meeting him. However, Four looks mighty more comfortable here. He responds with "Yup! And you're among the first to see one!", and rushes over to the nearby lawn chairs where he allows Applebloom to jump on top of his lap. Huh. Sure wasn't expecting that. Wait... I'm probably the one who helped him get to this level of comfort, ain't I? Well, I was the only one who interacted with him before Applebloom, so, I had to be! Four and Applebloom continue their interactions in a very lively manner, with Four continuing to play along with my sister's excitement and even giving her a rub on the head; definitely worlds apart from his reaction to meeting me. It has to be true that I'm responsible for this, so I couldn't resist. I blush and hide my face a bit with my hat.. never did I think I held this kind of power. And now I get a chance to test the extent of this power further, as my brother Big Mac emerges onto the scene. "Oh, howdy there Big Mac.", I say. "Looks like ya've already seen; we got a human here. And he's bein' really nice to us." "Eeyup.", he responds. I'm thinking "eeyup" as well, because Big Mac sure seems to trust P4 too. Goodness, I don't even want to think about the way this day would be going if Bridle Gossip had never happened. Yeah, it was darn no fun to be shrunken to tiny size like that; oh boy, was I ticked at that. But it sure did ingrain the lesson into me and my friends of not assuming danger out of a new creature just because you ain't never seen them before. Imagine if we hadn't learned that lesson. Player 4 continues this day's proper and occurring pattern with a desire to get our whole family on his contact list. "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.", he says. "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." I giggle. I love hearing this boy say "reckon" and "y'all". He fits right in with us in that regard. But in any case, I agree with him that it's time to go to Granny here. "Sounds good!", I say. "Let's go in!" I say that as it's not even possible to see our family barn from the pig pen; I had already taking Player 4 on a long walk before we got to meeting Applebloom and Big Mac; I sure hope I'm not tuckering him out. Well, we made it the full way, and he doesn't seem tired, nor did he ever claim to be, so I can rightly proceed to breaking this beautiful news to my lovable Granny Smith. "Hey there Granny.", I say, opening the front door. "We've come to note you: we got a new creature here in Equestria. I found him laying in the grass while I 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 gives a nod, signaling she's comfortable with Four entering. Although, this wasn't anything planned by me. Four's practice of hiding out of sight before I say "there's a new creature here" was entirely his decision, and something I didn't even consciously notice him doing back in Applebloom's part. In any case, Player 4 does make himself visible to Granny, and, well, going by her wisdom and experience gained in all of her years, she ain't giving him no hard time. "Well, howdy there!", she says. "Nice to know you've been gettin' along well, especially when you're new here." This is a nice day, ain't it? Player 4 seems to be having fun with the socializing too. He's already connecting so well with all of us that he's about to tell the full story of why he's come here! And remember back when I first saw him? We've really made him comfortable! All five of us sit in a circle with our eyes pointed towards Four, handing him the stage and microphone to tell us his origin story, if ya could call it that. "Alright.", he begins. "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." Swell story he's got! Lots of interesting info deserving to be looked into. The first thing on my mind is: Why exactly do the other humans think we're just a cartoon? What exactly is blocking our existence out from them to such a degree that it took Four doing all that crazy science to prove otherwise? And for that matter, how did he do all that? Is he a scientist? He sure sounds like one. Second, that's mighty interesting he landed here by random chance. Land sakes, yeah, that's sure something to be thankful for! His portal was random; he could have landed anywhere! What if his landing spot had been the Everfree Forest? Shoot, he'd be in big, big danger there, with that forest being the horror show it is and him being a new species; he must be thrilled he ended up here. To that, I'm the same way. Am I liking Player 4? Yeah! He seems like a chill guy who does cool stuff, and he loves us ponies too! My family is also liking him. They engage in conversation about how he did a cool thing and how he has fingers; they do look to be having fun. Still, pretty much all I'm thinking about is the speed at which Four warmed up to us. It's been, what, only an hour, I believe, and it he already seems to belong here. He just fits in with us like apple pie. That had to be coming from his end too, so we sure got a lucky alignment. I wonder what the odds of this were, for him to land in such a perfect spot, out of all the places in Equestria? It's a big place! I also draw some more info out of Four, when he added on to his travel story the problem of the time zone change he went through having a conflict with dinnertime. Yeah, I can relate to that. I remember crossing into a new time zone on my trip to Las Pegasus; it was only a change of one hour back, but I was hungry for dinner at a time when the restaurants were mostly empty. Crossing over time zones will do that to ya. Four requested that we all eat dinner early in order to feed him at the time his body was calling for, which us Apples agreed to. Maybe we weren't ready for eats yet, but we don't want a starving guest. Plus, we ain't not go more work on schedule until after dinner anyway; it works. As I entered the kitchen to prepare for this big dinner, big because it's our first with Player 4, I overhear conversation in my previous location that really captures my attention, possibly even slowing down the cooking process. "So, what do you usually do to pass the time while you're waiting for dinner, Mr. Four?", Applebloom asks. "Mr. Four"; heh, that's funny. I wonder if Applebloom is used to addressing creatures formally like that due to being in school. "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.", Four says. They are what we use to pass the time... most of the time." Advanced technology that we ponies don't have? Shoot, that's interesting! I'm not a huge reader, but I sure have heard several parts of those science fiction "future technology" books that many ponies love writing about; it's mighty swell if Player 4 comes from a place like what's in those books! I'd have to ask him about this someday. "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.", Four says. "Well, do you like to listen to music? In particular, country music?", Applebloom asks. "Yeah!", Four exclaims. "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." And that one... that sentence took me out of my station, y'all. "P4 and I have already found so much to bond over when we've known each other for less than two hours!", I exclaim, peeking my head out of the kitchen. "Yeah!", Four responds. "It's interesting how much is aligning." Sure is! I complete the cooking and ring the dinner bell. It's time for Four to get a taste of our Apple family meals. "I hope ya get some good impressions tonight, P4!", I say, sitting down in my chair. "Well, let's find out!", he says. The apples on this farm are what they are, so we always make sure to put the straight-up fruits onto our dinner tables. This is especially useful for Four tonight, as I correctly figured he'd want to start with the basics. He picks up a red apple off the plate. This is my dominating moment of truth today, y'all. Me and the others work our tails off to make our apples on the farm as perfect as possible; bearing witness to somecreature trying one for the first time really gets me barking. I carefully and closely watch P4 as he goes for that first bite, uncontrollably shivering in wait for him to announce the result. He gives it a good chewing, and here it comes... "Well! I can already say, after just one bite, that was the best apple I've ever had!", Four says. And here comes my blushing again... I'm just going to try to say it normally... "Thanks, pardner!", I say. 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." Ah, shoot. He brought up our money situation. Well, okay, I'm sure he didn't mean any harm, but this was a topic that I had been avoiding. Full disclosure: Sweet Apple Acres technically is "huge", so Player 4 can be said to be getting his wish. We do sell a large number of products, with a sizeable chunk every day going out, and we've sure been boosted a bunch by our deals with the Rich family. We've gotten a lot richer (pun intended), since then. But are we rich enough to go crazy with vacation spending and buy whatever we want like my friend Rainbow Dash can? No. Most of the money we make has to be invested into the farm, we have to split it between us, and Granny, as the leader, needs priority as well, so the amount of money that goes into my own pocket and that I can use for leisure spending is definitely negligible. However, there is something to gain from this, in that Four seems to be a money-minded creature, which leads to my curiosity about what field he works in. "Alright P4, so we've got info on your situation, now I feel like it's time to ask ya about you and what you do. Like, what's your job? What are your main hobbies?", I say. "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.", he responds. Wait... what?! Data specialist? Incomplete info to answer a big question? Land sakes, y'all, that's a mighty useful job for Sweet Apple Acres... And P4 is probably jobless since he just came here... Let me offer something to him! "Well, ya could work here then! That's the perfect job for Sweet Apple Acres!", I say in excitement. "It sure is!", Applebloom adds. "Farm work is way more than just that physical stuff; we need them numbers too!" "Of course!", I say. "P4, after dinner, how about I'll give ya a task, and if you do well, we're hire ya here." "That sounds great; thanks!", Four says. Success! I want to set my mind's focus towards working with him on that; ya know, what assignment I'm gonna give him and such, but that gets put on hold by another important personal story of his. "I feel especially grateful to you guys right now, for giving me this opportunity, because... I don't have any money right now.", he says, with his voice sounding sadder. Uh... what? I become the one to break the ice after a spell of silence. "Really?", I say. "And, now that I think of it, ya don't seem to have anything with ya right now.", I say, concerned. "That's true; I don't.", he says. "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." Shoot... This rock hits me so hard that my little sister ends up with my ice-breaking role here. "So, ya ain't got nothin? Nothin' at all?", Applebloom asks. "Nothing.", Four says. "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." Suddenly, with that statement, I feel a bright brain lightbulb beam at me, as everything clicks together here. No money? Nowhere to live? Nowhere to sleep? Don't know where you're gonna go? ...Not on my watch! "Well, I 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!" Totally! Of course I wasn't going to leave him out in the grass! Though, of course, it ain't easy for the recipient to accept such hospitality. "Really?", he says. "Of course!", I respond. "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." Me and my family members all look simultaneously straight at him with smiles. We've got the "we're here for you" look. And he seems to have registered it. "Wow! Thanks y'all; you're so great.", he says. "But, hear me out, I insist on paying you rent. I really don't want to be a freeloader." ...And he couldn't quite get away from that one. Alright; I don't see any use arguing with him about it. I'm giving him a way to make money anyway. "Well, we wouldn't mind if ya stayed for free, but... okay. We understand.", I say. Dinner was going to be losing its heat sooner or later, so we make sure to finish that up. Four sure did enjoy it, and he shares our music habits, so this was a fun time. And then there's something to look forward to after this. In a great string of fortune for P4, there's been a work-needed task going on around the Apple family orchards that his field of expertise is perfect for. So, what's been happening is that we've recently gotten a slew of reviews saying that our sold distribution of apple colors ain't good for ponies' tastes. The #1 problem being talked about is that the number of red apples is too high, whereas the number of yellow and green apples is too low. They say lots of red apples go uneaten because there aren't enough ponies wanting them to clear it all out, and then that fans of the yellows and greens often find their colors out of stock. In that case, it seems like the simple solution is to just decrease the amount of red apples and increase the amount of yellow and green ones, but it's more complicated than that. In tandem with green and yellow lovers saying there's too much red, yellow lovers are saying there's too much green and not enough yellow. That really spins our heads in circles. What exactly should the distribution be? That's what I've called Player 4 for. He works in data, so he's the obvious choice. In an attempt to get some preliminary data myself (which Player 4 does need), I recently conducted a project where I went around interviewing ponies about the color collection numbers. I wrote down the percentages of each favorite apple color and asked them what they think the distribution should be. But it was still too mind-spinning. I primarily do physical work; I'm not good with data in this way. Plus, this was the first appearance of a complicated numbers question showed in my career. Of course numbers have always been a part of this business, but they've been low-difficulty enough that we could take care of them ourselves. Plus, it's always nice to have an extra helper, ain't it? I head to the barn housing that paper I used for the interviews and clip it onto a board for P4 to use. It's qualification task time. "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 I 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 I took. What I need ya to do is figure out the percentage numbers based on this.", I say, handing him the clipboard. "Here's a pen too, and ya can work over on that there bench. In the meantime, I'll be buckin' trees over there. Just come to me when you're done." Four gives me a thumbs-up, and I go to work at my own station. And it has to be now, after Four is already seeing what I wrote, that I find out what I said to him about the colors was really misleading. I said "not enough red"; yeah, uh, that's wrong. It's too much red that ponies have been leaving reviews about! Well, I'm sure he'll figure it out. He's a data specialist anyway, and the interview transcripts clearly say that ponies want less red. Not a problem. Yeah. I just go ahead to tree-bucking. While I'm there, I'm really getting excited at the prospect of having Four as an employee here at Sweet Apple Acres. I adore having him around, and it would be a great balance to have an office-style worker, specializing in numbers and data, working in a farm, an area with emphasis on the physical stuff. It would also lift the data work off of me and my family. All of us have never liked working with numbers quite as much as the muscles. It also means more time to spend with him! I wouldn't have to worry about managing my work schedule the same way I do in meeting my pony friends; if Player 4 is working in the same place as me, we naturally get to see each other more! That would be a nice unique friendship to have! I sure hope he does this well. He's about to show me. "Done!", he says, showing up near me and handing the clipboard over. Alright! Let's see what we've got with the color percentages! So, Player 4 says: 60% red, 25% green, 15% yellow. "Great work, sugarcube!", I say. "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!", he says, giving me a hoof-bump. I am liking these numbers here. They may not have been tested yet, but they do make sense to me. I had always guessed that we grow red apples about 70% to 80% of the time, and yeah, I can totally see why those habits might render not enough green and yellow. Green in particular; many ponies do take big pride in their love of the sour ones. Can't wait to put this to the test! The sun is on its way down here in Ponyville, and as I look around and examine all the work stations visited on the farm today, I can consider all my tasks to be at a good stopping point, so I declare the work day over. That means what's next is introducing Player 4 to where he's sleeping and all that, so I walk towards where he's standing. In my head, I prepared the words and sentences I'd speak at his guest barn tour, but... there might be something else on my hooves here: Four ain't looking so good. He's bending down with his hands holding onto his knees. No way it's physical exhaustion; his work is more office-style. And then I can hear him breathing out sad sighs. This is a concern to me. "Uh... is something wrong, sugarcube?", I say. "Yes, something is wrong.", he says. "It's about my family. You know how I said earlier that pretty much no other human thinks this place is real?" Oh, right. Yeah, that could be a problem. "Yeah.", I say, feeling my mood dip along with him. "Well, because of that, my family is probably really freaked out.", Four says to me. "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?" Yikes. He definitely ain't doing well right now. Remedying this will be a tall task, but I sure ain't failing to find a way. "Well, even if they did do those things, they'd never find ya, because you're here!", I say. "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." "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.", Four says. "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." "That's perfectly understandable!", I respond. "And I'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." Yup. Continuing the pattern. "Thanks so much.", he says. "Well, how about we start by seeing where I'll sleep?" "Right over there!", I say, pointing to the family's guest barn. "Here it is.", I say, walking P4 into what will be his living space for now. "The bedroom would be right in that corner!", I add. We walk up the staircase and across the brown loft into the southeast corner of the barn, where I lead P4 into the red guest bedroom. “Ya have any questions?”, I say as he tests 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?”, he says. I hadn't yet bothered to check if our barn is visible from this room or not, so I take a look at what the viewing area of the window beside Four's bed is. Fortunately enough, the barn my family and I reside in is visible. “Well, you can see the barn from here, right?”, I say. He looks out the window. “Yeah.”, he says. "I can see it." Good! "You can come in when we turn the lights on.", I say. Little did I know this ordinary home practice would become of usefulness to a guest! "Okay, sounds good.", P4 says. Yup. "Is that all?", I ask. "Yeah, I think that's all the questions I have for now.", Four responds. "I just don't know how I'm going to fall asleep with all that's going on." Ah yes. The good old first night effect. I totally feel for P4 here; I sure know what it's like to not sleep in my own bed. Successful sleep is hugely dependent on comfort, and when you can't sleep in your comfort zone... it ain't fun. And in Four's case, think about the barrage of other emotional ailments he's got. No wonder he feels his sleep is in trouble. Well, in helping him with this, the place to start would be asking him what he usually does. "Well, that's what I'm here for.", I say to him. "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.", he says. "I'm without any of the comforting night gadgets I'm used to." Darn... well, that's out. Hey, I've got a good reference point on this problem, though! "Okay, what about the calmin' techniques I use on Applebloom then?", Applejack says. "Want me to bring ya a glass of milk? Sing ya a lullaby?" Okay, hear me out. I don't know Player 4's age; I mean, he does appear to me as older than Applebloom, and also male, so that's saying something. But I did at least want to entertain the chance he'd go for these "childish" sleep techniques. I sometimes get a lullaby sung to me; Twilight did it for me once when the two of us were having a sleepover at her castle and I was struggling to sleep outside of my own bed. Much like Four tonight! Or, maybe not. "I don't think those work on me.", he says. "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." Shoot. Anxiety problems? Yeah, that would rightily explain his "doom and gloom" thinking here. Which I've had experience with. The time Rainbow Dash was hospital-bound with the broken wing that led to her beginning to read Daring Do; before she made that dramatically life-changing decision, I remember her worrying about "a few years" before she'd ever fly again. Player 4 ain't that much different here. I do have a struggle in responding to this, though. I may technically have experience, but I myself didn't say anything to Dash when she was having those worries. That role was relegated to Fluttershy, for a good reason. But I can't let Four down, and the knowledge that he's got something to look forward to tomorrow fortunately waves into my mind. "Well, sugarcube, I can tell ya you'll have questions answered tomorrow.", I say. "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 ya?" "Yeah, I guess it does.", he says. "Knowing that this situation will end." There ya go! "That's the spirit!", I respond. "Alright, ya think you're ready now?" "Yeah, I guess I'll try to go to sleep.", he says. "Okay, pardner. Me and the others had a great time with ya today; just know that. We're already likin' ya a lot. A new friendship might be in the making. See ya tomorrow, pardner!" As I walk out the guest bedroom door for the trip back to my own room and the transition into the second day of all this, the sentence I spoke above... I do believe is true. Well, this was one big apple of a day, wasn't it? An ordinary, anticipated Applejack work day morphed into a meeting with possibly the first ever human in Equestria, and my family and I being the possible first ponies to come into contact with one! And getting friendly with him too! I had promised Player 4 I'd take him to see Twilight and have his worries washed out at least somewhat, and he does need it; he's hurting. So this means I need to reconcile it with my work habits tomorrow. As I lean out the window and look at my beloved farm from above, I can smell chores needing to be done. I'm Applejack; I have that work instinct. But on the other side, there's a brand new creature to this land, who's separated from his family and has no possible way to know how they're reacting, who seems to be putting trust in me to guide him into his new life. Measuring the two sides' weight of importance, number 2 almost comes to the ground. The choice is clear. The unbalance is so high that it leads me to telling myself something that, under any other circumstance, would have me spitting at it and calling it "self-blasphemy". But today, it's different. Work can wait.