A teacup gently clunked against a saucer as Rarity set them down on her kitchen table. She shook her head as she dramatically put a hoof to her chest, and fixated her glare on the mare sitting across from her.
"Goodness gracious," Rarity exclaimed firmly. "Don't tell me that's how Applejack found you."
Meteorite went silent for a moment as she stared into her own cup of tea that Rarity had prepared her earlier, failing to hide a playful smirk when she looked back up. "Okay, I won't tell you."
"Ergh," Rarity tutted in mild disgust. She took a sip of her tea before composing herself. "Very well, so what did Applejack have to say?"
Meteorite flicked back an ear as she thought about it. "Well… she was all, 'What the hay do ya think you're doing?' and I… I think I was just in shock, y'know? Like," –Meteorite shifted her posture to look more surprised– "'Oh my gosh it's Applejack!'"
Rarity raised a curious eyebrow in response, causing Meteorite to quickly shift back to her normal sitting position, mildly flustered. "B-Because y'know, back then, i-it was kinda a big deal an' ever'thing," she mumbled quickly.
"It's quite alright darling," Rarity said, not bothering to hide her own little smile at the beginnings of blushing on Meteorite's cheeks, "I understand it must've been quite the 'big deal'."
"So," Rarity continued, "what happened next with Applejack?"
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Applejack.
The fact she was standing a few feet away from Meteorite was sending the pegasus' mind into a tailspin, trying to both cope with and understand the situation at hand… er, hoof. It should've been something she expected and it was to a point, but seeing Applejack now, staring her down and looking exactly as she appeared in the show but live, it was a little too much to comprehend all at once. Especially after the ordeal the past couple days had been.
Applejack's demeanor slowly changed as she became concerned by, and possibly for, the strange silent pony before her. However, by this point, enough gears started turning again inside Meteorite's head as she slowly remembered the half-eaten apple in her hooves.
Dude, her brain eventually pieced together, you're stealing Applejack's apples. Not cool.
That was enough to shock her out of her state with a yelp as she immediately dropped the half-eaten apple and automatically started apologising profusely before Applejack.
"OhgodI'msorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! I-I-I-I was just so hungry I'm so sorry!"
Applejack exhaled, relieved that she wasn't going have to try and wrangle words outta this pony. "Well now, Ah ain't mad at ya for just trying to fill yer belly," she said, now standing with more authority, "but this here is our farm, and ya shouldn't go about taking somepony else's property."
Still unable to think clearly, Meteorite nodded vigorously.
"Yes yes you're absolutely right I totally agree I'm sorry I-I just… I hadn't eaten anything in days! I-I've been completely lost I'm so sorry I really am I'll make it up to you I promise!"
Applejack blinked, trying to take in the fountain of words being thrown at her. "Ah well, Ah reckon ya can just pay me back for the apples and we can call it fair's fair."
The nodding continued until Meteorite processed what was being said. She looked away, "Uh, ah… um. I… I kinda don't have any money."
"Now now," Applejack chided, waving a hoof downwards as she eyed the apple cores on the ground, "It ain't gonna be much. Ah reckon these six apples here oughta be about nine bits. Ah would let 'em go for six, but these were good ones."
They were, actually, Meteorite thought guiltily. She swallowed and spoke again. "No, I really mean I don't have any money. I have no way of actually paying…"
"No bits?" Applejack questioned, and got a head shake in response. "No job or anythin'?" Another head shake by Meteorite, followed by an awkward and sheepish smile.
"Would you believe me if I said I literally just came here after crawling through the wilderness?"
Applejack looked her up and down, slightly scrunching up her face. "Actually, Ah probably can…" She scratched her head before tapping her chin thoughtfully. "But no money, huh… Well if that don't just take a bite out of the corncob. Or apple, in this case." She looked from Meteorite to the tree, an idea forming in her head. "Ya done any farmwork before?"
Meteorite shook her head. "No… why?" she asked warily.
"Well, if ya can't pay, Ah figure you can work it off."
Meteorite's mouth felt dry. Oh… I was afraid of that… "T-That, uh… sounds… fair enough."
"Darn tootin'," Applejack firmly replied, though her expression softened as she noticed how concerned the pegasus looked. "Aw, don't ya worry; it won't be anything rough. Listen, we got a small group of farmhooves living here on the farm. Nice bunch, they can help ya with most anything on the farm."
Meteorite didn't respond, only blinking as her mind immediately got side-tracked. She hadn't heard of any ponies besides the Apple family being part of Sweet Apple Acres. It… made some sense though, she reasoned. Applejack continued, putting a hoof on Meteorite's back.
"Hm… ya say yer've been lost in the… 'wilderness'?" Applejack glanced at the seemingly peaceful hilly fields on the other side of the fence, but shrugged it off. "Ya got a place to hunker down to?"
Meteorite shook out of her thoughts, her ears involuntarily falling flat. "Uh, er… no, I don't…"
Applejack frowned. "Shoot, that ain't right. Though ya might be in luck. Ah'm pretty sure there's a spare bed in the farmhoof cottage. Yer welcome to stay there until ya get back on yer hooves, if ya like."
"R-Really?" Meteorite responded gratefully, her eyes lighting up, "Th-Thank you, I… I didn't even think about that…"
"It's fine," Applejack began, walking ahead, "but don't go thinkin' Ah'm soft, missy. Ah expect ya to pull yer weight, understand?" Applejack turned back and saw the pegasus lost in her thoughts, apparently not hearing her. Applejack cleared her throat, making the other pony sharply look up, her pupils shrunken.
"Oh! Y-Yes! Yes of course!" Meteorite shrilled, with a lopsided grin. "Absolutely! Of course! No problem!" She clumsily saluted with her left hoof, flinching with pain at the sudden, and hard, impact. "Ow…"
Applejack studied her for a few moments, before shaking her head and gesturing down through the trees.
"C'mon, let's go get ya cleaned up."
Meteorite had so many new questions flowing through her head as she silently followed Applejack, though her thought process was easily disrupted each time she stumbled trying to keep pace. Eventually her focus rested on Applejack, and grew uneasy with each line of thought that fell into place.
As exciting as it was to actually meet Applejack… was that actually the case, though? Meteorite considered the facts as she knew them, and she wasn't happy with any of it.
First of all, there was the underlying fact that none of this was actually possible, so that meant that this version of Applejack wasn't really Applejack, just… well, either a figment of her imagination, or… a… deliberate figment of her imagination, neither of which she could pinpoint as the one she felt the most uneasy about as being true.
Her stomach gurgled, reminding her of the apples she'd taken, and she began to wonder if that had been planned. Drive her to the brink of starvation, then suddenly 'oop here's Applejack's farm lol'.
No… she tried to convince herself, I… wouldn't do that, right? Right? She cast an uneasy glare at Applejack, if only to serve as the only author representation she could fixate on. She shook her head, trying to clear away the thoughts eating away at her.
"Ya alright there?" Applejack asked, having looked back at the sound of Meteorite's mane rustling. Meteorite briefly froze, her brain instinctively kicking into panic mode at having been caught doing something mildly embarrassing.
"Uh! Yep! Just… y'know! Clearing away the mess, and stuff. On my face."
Applejack cocked an eyebrow, but shrugged it off. "Well, if ya say so suga'cube." If she had left it there, Meteorite would've felt a small amount of giddiness at being called 'suga'cube', but Applejack soon followed that up with, "Say, what's yer name, anyway?"
…uhhh… uh-oh. I need to think of a name, fast!
"Uhh…?" Meteorite stalled, as she simultaneously tried to think of both a suitable name, and a way to stall for more time. "What…? What…'s in my mane?"
Okay, uhh-! Cutie mark cutie mark, meteor something to do with-
Applejack shook her head. "Naw, Ah asked ya yer name."
"Oh!" Meteorite grinned. "Heh, I thought you asked me what was in my mane!" Meteor… what goes with meteor?! Smash? Crash? Mash?! "Is… there something in my mane?"
Confused, Applejack gave it a cursory glance and shook her head. "Not that Ah can see, pardner."
"Okay good…" Allowing a few precious seconds to pass, Meteorite quickly spoke up again. "Oh, right! My name! It's uh, Meteor-" Anything, anything, ANYTHING! "-ite. Meteorite." She felt herself deflate mentally. Oh god, that's a stupid name, isn't it.
Regardless, Applejack seemed pleased, and tipped her hat with a smile. "Well, good to meet ya then, Meteorite! The name's Applejack, by the way."
Taking a moment to pretend to treat this as new information, Meteorite perked up as she glanced around at the apple orchard. "Oh! Well, it… certainly is a fitting name!"
"Don't ya know it!" Applejack beamed as she paused at a small junction, with a narrower path leading off to the side. She gestured at a white cottage off in the distance before heading towards it. "This way."
As they approached, Meteorite silently studied the cottage. "So, is this where I'm… staying?"
"Sure is," Applejack replied. "It's no Canterlot Castle, but it'll keep yer head dry. An' speakin' of that..." Applejack trotted over to a nearby faucet fixture, with a hose attached to it. With a sweep of a leg, she picked up the head of the hose and tossed it in Meteorite's direction. "Hold that, would ya?" she asked her.
Meteorite hesitated as she looked at the hose with concern. "Uhh, okay…?" She sat down in front of it and tried scooping up the hose with her forehooves, failing to do so as it kept sliding off between her legs. Eventually after a few attempts, she managed to trap the hose firmly between her hooves, much to Applejack's bemusement. Satisfied that it wasn't going to slip away, Meteorite looked up at Applejack expectedly.
Who didn't say anything, and simply turned the faucet. Meteorite heard a hiss as the water started to flow through the hose.
"Uhh-! Wh- Wh-Wait, what am I suppo-Agh!" Violently springing to life, the hose started spraying water at the nearest target, which happened to be Meteorite's face. Dropping the hose from shock, Meteorite awkwardly reached for it in an effort to pin it down, shrieking each time the hose scored a direct hit on her during its flailing.
After a while, Applejack took pity on her and turned the water off. Soaking wet, Meteorite stood over what was clearly a water snake demon in disguise, although she was now a lot less muddier than before. She hacked up some water.
"Faster an' feistier than a bath!" Applejack proclaimed, walking over.
"Oh god, it went in my mouth," Meteorite complained as she spat some more water out.
"Aw, don't be a-fussin'. Ah bet it washed down all them apples, don't ya reckon?"
"I… suppose," Meteorite said guiltily, unsure if Applejack was intentionally trying to remind her of her crime or not. Trying to avoid thinking about it, she refocused on trying to dislodge the excess water off her. She momentarily considered trying to shake like a dog, but didn't know if that was considered poor etiquette. She settled on sitting down and flicking a foreleg carefully. Meanwhile, Applejack had turned her attention back to the cottage, knocking on the front door.
"Shoot," Applejack muttered to herself after a while. Sighing, she turned back to Meteorite. "Ah was hoping one of the farmhooves would be around to take ya off me, but ah guess they're still finishing up."
"So… what now?" Meteorite asked, moving onto straining the water from her mane.
"Hm, hard to say," Applejack said, scratching under her hat, "Ah'd stay here to see ya off, but Ah have mah own things to do, and Ah'm already behind schedule as it is."
Another sting of guilt.
"Oh, wait!" Applejack said suddenly, looking out through the trees. "Ah think Ah see one of 'em now, no, two of 'em! Perfect!"
Meteorite turned her head to look, and saw two stallions approaching along the path. Noting their colours -dark blue, while the other was silver- Meteorite soon further noted that she didn't recognise these two as characters she knew. As they drew nearer, it also quickly became apparent that they were taller than both her and Applejack, a fact that unnerved her. In the past people taller than her had merely caught her off-guard, but now, something about it being ponies taller instead made the pit of her stomach unsettled.
Either that or it was the hose water.
"Good afternoon, Miss Applejack," the dark blue stallion began, quickly flicking a glance over at Meteorite before refocusing on Applejack. His tone had the air of refinement, and each word was spoken with purpose. "To what do we owe this unprecedented visit?"
Don't like him, Meteorite immediately assessed. He seemed… smarmy. Enough to warrant a reason to be wary of him.
Meanwhile, Applejack rolled her eyes slightly before speaking up. "Howdy fellas. So…" Applejack gently slapped Meteorite on her back, prompting her to stand up quickly and awkwardly, "we here have somepony who's gonna be helpin' out on the farm for a while, as a favor, ain't that right?"
Meteorite blinked briefly in confusion. "Huh, wha- oh uh, yes! Yes."
The blue stallion silently and sternly appraised Meteorite. "How capable is she?" He asked, still staring Meteorite down. Applejack worriedly looked Meteorite over.
"She… probably needs some trainin'."
The stallion straightened up, drawing in breath as he did, and for all intents and purposes looked about ready to protest. However, he appeared to have a last second reconsideration. "Very well. As… you wish, Miss Applejack."
"Right!" Applejack beamed, turning to Meteorite. "Let's get ya introduced!" She gestured to the stallion she was talking with. "This here is Steel Gaze! He'll be the one trainin' ya, an' everything. If ya need something, he's the one to go to!"
Great, Meteorite thought bitterly as she stared back at Steel, whose dark grey eyes seem to pin her down with his stare. It was easy for her to tell how he got his name. Apart from that, the only other thing she noticed about him was his short, and jet black, mane.
"And over here," Applejack continued, indicating the other stallion, "is Silverfire! He does a lot of the heavy duty work, ain't that right?"
Silverfire seemed momentarily caught off-guard, but responded with a cheery "Yup!" whereupon Steel pointedly nudged him with a hind leg, and Silverfire quickly followed up with "uh, Miss AJ! Ma'am! Sir! ...Ma'am!"
Applejack rolled her eyes as she turned back to Meteorite. "Ya'll get used to them," she muttered sotto voce. "Good stallions, really."
I'll bet, Meteorite continued to think sarcastically. Admittedly, Silverfire did appear to be friendlier than the other one, even now giving Meteorite an awkward wave as she looked at him. His mane was a burnt orange -again, easy to pinpoint how he got his name- and appeared to be styled like a mullet, a hairstyle Meteorite hadn't even considered to be compatible with ponies before.
"And, uh…" Applejack glanced about before addressing Steel. "Ya two know where Sunny is?"
Silverfire shrugged while Steel thought for a moment.
"I do believe Miss Flora's last task for the day was tending to the pigs, so she ought to be finishing up soon."
"Ah, right then. That's a shame," Applejack said as she turned to Meteorite, scratching under her hat, "Ah was hopin' ta get y'all introduced at once. Ah well, ya meet her eventually. Anyway," -she turned back, facing the stallions- "this here is, uh, ya said yer name was Meteorite?"
Meteorite blanked for a second before quickly agreeing. "Yup! Yup, that's it!" Yup, that's… that's my name. Gonna have to get used to that real quick.
"Right!" Applejack said brightly, "So welcome ta the team, feel at home an' all that, but Ah'm expecting ya ta work hard, got it?"
Meteorite felt a chill down her spine as she fell under Applejack's gaze. Her mouth felt dry again. "Yeah… got it."
Applejack beamed. "That's the spirit!" Straightening her hat and setting off down the path back to the orchard, she turned around. "Well, this is where we part ways for now, pardner. Ah'll see how yer handlin' things later, alright?"
Meteorite nodded carefully, watching Applejack leave. As she disappeared from view, Meteorite suddenly felt very alone, alone with two stallions she didn't know a thing about. Despite facing away from them, she was very aware of Steel approaching her on her right.
"So. Miss Meteorite, was it?" Steel began, to which Meteorite nodded solemnly. "Follow me, if you would," he told her, already walking to the cottage's front door. Meteorite turned around, carefully watching him and reluctantly started following. Silverfire joined her side, which didn't help her apprehensiveness.
Opening the door, Steel waited for Meteorite to step inside, who only did so once Silverfire casually walked onwards and stepped in first. Steel rolled his eyes at Silverfire, but said nothing of it and followed the pair.
As all three ponies stood in the cottage's entryway, Meteorite desperately scanned the area in order to familiarise herself with the layout, and any possible emergency escape routes. Currently, there were two passages off to the sides. Meanwhile, Steel ignored her and addressed Silverfire.
"Silverfire, you're preparing dinner tonight, correct?"
"Yup," Silverfire said after a moment's consideration.
"Right. Remember that we have a new member of the team to feed now," Steel told him, side-glancing over at Meteorite, who momentarily stopped studying how the windows opened to pay closer attention to the conversation.
"Sooo," Silverfire mused, "more of everything, yeah?"
Steel appeared to swallow some of his pride and murmured, "Yes, Silverfire. More of everything. I'll… assist you so you don't get the portions wrong."
"Ah cool, thanks!" Silverfire responded, apparently not offended as he headed off to the right, and into what looked like a dining room, if the table and chairs Meteorite saw through the archway were any indication. Steel crossed her view and headed to the left.
"But first," he began, regaining the confidence in his voice, "follow this way, Miss Meteorite."
Meteorite eyed him warily, but was feeling less high-strung and so wordlessly followed after him, down a hallway which led to another hallway at the end. Steel stepped to the left, in front of a door.
"This shall be your room," he told her as he opened the door. "Do keep in mind that you'll be sharing with Miss Sunny Flora though. We shall inform her of your arrival."
Meteorite nodded solemnly as she cautiously stepped inside the room. The first thing that jumped out at her were the two beds off to the side, at opposite corners of the room, with an open window between them. The bed closer to the door was very neatly made, with dark brown bedding, while the other bed was merely a bare mattress on a wooden frame.
"Uh… so that one's mine then, I take it?" Meteorite asked, pointing at the mattress.
"Very astute," Steel replied flatly. "You'll find bed linen in the closet down the hall, opposite the laundry. Your task for now is simply to make your bed. However, I will not accept sloppiness. A sloppy home leads to sloppy work, is that understood?"
Meteorite inhaled. Well I'm fucked. "Yeah," she said, resigned.
Steel nodded. "Very well, I shall leave you to it. I expect you to be finished by the time dinner is ready." When he left closing the door behind him, Meteorite exhaled.
Her body threatening to collapse under all the tension she was feeling, Meteorite slowly approached the unmade bed and carefully slumped against it, letting herself relax by virtue of avoiding doing anything strenuous, such as moving. She sat on the floor and stared up at the ceiling, contemplating the rush of events that had led her here.
"I think…" she very quietly whispered to herself, "I preferred it when I didn't have to interact with anyone."
Sighing, she let her head tilt to the side, now fully taking in her surroundings. To her left were two more doors, the left one being ajar and revealing what looked to be a basin vanity. Meteorite guessed that was the bathroom, and the other door was probably a closet. She focused back onto the basin, or more accurately, the mirror above it.
Taking a moment to collect her wits about her, Meteorite got to her hooves and carefully approached the door, slowly pushing it fully open. She stood in the doorway, not wanting to rush the moment because even as stressed as she currently was, she knew how to appreciate a dramatic build-up.
She also noted the mirror was surprisingly higher than she expected.
The basin itself also seemed unusually tall, until Meteorite reasoned that she was most likely going to have to stand on her hind legs to use it which, upon glancing down at herself, she quickly and worryingly realised she no longer felt safe attempting to do so.
Balancing on three legs, Meteorite slowly lifted a foreleg to prop it on the basin, making sure to get a good hoofhold before even daring to lift up her other foreleg. Once she felt secure enough to do so, she lifted herself up, focusing on her balance to make sure she wasn't about to fall and hit her head or something. This was also a good reason to avoid looking at the mirror.
"Okay…" she muttered to herself, staring intently into the basin, as well as the small assortment of toiletries set aside nearby. "Okay… dunno how I'm gonna take this but here goes…"
Closing her eyes, Meteorite lifted her head up and after some deliberating, opened them again. She had expected to see a purple pony looking back at her. What she didn't expect was how terrified the pony looked.
"Oh shit…" she softly exclaimed, unable to look away as she stared into her now grey eyes, transfixed by her new face. Gingerly, she lifted a hoof and gently touched her snout, watching her reflection mimic her actions. Spotting her ears poking up through her large and floofy mane, she curiously reached up to feel one, and was surprised when it instinctively flicked away from the touch. She went back to staring herself down.
"So, you're me, huh…" she whispered, putting her hoof back down. She continued to study her face in the mirror and, after a while, other parts of her body, as she glanced down at herself for comparison. Deciding to go for a profile, she made a daring attempt to turn to the side, firmly holding the basin with one hoof.
"Shit…" she muttered as she studied her tail in the mirror, "I really am a pony, huh…" It wasn't anything she wasn't already painfully aware of, but having a clear mental image of herself helped cement the fact in her head. Her eyes passed over the wing on her side and she frowned, albeit mostly from confusion as she wondered why they didn't work. Meteorite made another attempt at moving either one, but she still wasn't getting any sort of response from them.
Taking a deep breath, she decided to move on and turned to face the mirror again. After a minute or two of staring, she tentatively waved at her reflection, with a very timid smile.
"'H-Hey there,'" she began, focusing on her reflection saying her words, "''m… I'm Meteorite. Good to meet you.'" She frowned again.
"No… that doesn't sound like me." She cleared her throat and tried again.
"'Hey, how's it going,'" her reflection said with a faint smile; far too casual for her liking, but better than her last attempt, at least. Meteorite turned her attention onto her lingering smile, tilting her head slightly as she appraised herself.
Y'know… I'm… actually kinda cute. I mean, -she paused to brush away a few loose strands of her mane- yeah okay, ponies are cute by default and all, but…
Meteorite looked down into the basin, quietly reflecting on how she felt about herself. She glanced behind her, and frowned upon seeing the unmade bed in the other room.
"Oh, right, got that to sort out," she muttered as she turned back to her reflection. She put on a smile once more, to try and cheer herself up. It helped a little.
Okay, I may be in way over my head, I don't know what's going on, for sure, I'm a whole other species now… but… She paused as she looked herself over once more, and cleared her throat.
"Hi, I'm Meteorite."
Her smile became a little more genuine in doing so, and she exhaled, feeling a bunch of stress leave her.
Okay, I think I can deal with this, she told herself as she dropped back onto all fours, purposefully ignoring how much safer she felt doing so. She turned to head back into the bedroom.
I can do this.
For now.