//------------------------------// // Bar talk // Story: Equestrian reformation // by Vladilen_pro //------------------------------// Still pinned to the ground by this incredibly strong pony, I heard a stallion with a familiar voice approaching us. "Sis, are you here? I heard you screaming, are you okay?" a voice came from somewhere in the trees. The orange pony looked angrily at me, and her look seemed to say "Try something funny and you're dead!". I simply put my hands forward, indicating that I was not going to do anything. "I'm here, Mac!" said the pony loudly. "Coming!" the familiar voice said again. (Mac? So that's his name...) After a couple of seconds, he finally came here. I looked at him and he looked at me. An awkward silence ensued. "Uh... Hey there..." I said with an awkward smile. "So you're finally here..." Mac said. "Yeah... I was looking for you, but instead I found your... Sister, who wasn't very happy to see me..." I said, pointing to the hoof still pinning me to the ground. The stallion sighed. "Applejack, can you please let him go?" While still looking angry, Applejack removed her hoof from me. I felt that it became easier for me to breathe. "Thank you, sis." I got up and started to dust myself off. When I finished with that, I saw that Mac and Applejack were looking at me. "I guess... You know why I'm here?" I turned my attention to the stallion. "Of course. I expected to meet you soon." I felt a little relieved. "Listen... We need to talk." I said seriously. "OK." Mac said, seeming to expect me to speak. "I mean... Just you and me." I said looking at his sister. Applejack looked at me suspiciously, and apparently she wanted to say something, but did not dare. "As you say. Let's go." "Mac, do you seriously trust him?! What if he..." but Applejack didn't finish as Mac put a hoof to her mouth. "Applejack, everything will be fine. We just need to talk. Trust me, please." Mac said, looking for understanding in his sister's eyes. (Family drama... I haven't seen this in a long time.) Applejack sighed and closed her eyes, thinking for a couple of seconds. "Okay, Mac. I trust you. Go." said the mare, still not opening her eyes. Then, she suddenly opened them, and pointed her hoof in my direction. "I'm watching you, sugarcube!" Applejack said and turned around, walking towards the buckets with apples. The dog I saw before I showed itself, jumping out from behind the trees again. (It looks like the dog was scared of all this activity and hid until everything calmed down.) "Now we can talk." said Mac. (Right here? In the middle of an apple farm? No, that's not good enough...) "Say, is there a bar here or something? We can talk there. I'll pay." I asked hopefully. "Well, yes, there is one nearby." "Great! Lead the wa..." I did not finish, because an apple flew into my shoulder. "Ouch! What the hell was that?!" I looked at Applejack. But I wish I hadn't, because her expression frightened me again. "Doesn't matter. Lead the way." I said, hurrying up the stallion. We went beyond the fence that encloses the apple alley and headed to Ponyville. We walked in silence, and the silence was killing me. "So... Are you also going through a reformation program right now?" I asked, trying to start a conversation. "Yep." (Wow... You're such a talker...) "Celestia said that I have one main goal, and several secondary ones. After I complete them, I can go home." I kept trying to get him to talk. Mac didn't answer, just shook his head. (Okay, I give up. I hope things go better at the bar.) We walked the rest of the way to the bar in silence. When we arrived, Mac finally spoke up. "You have to pay 1 bit to get in," said Mac, and pointed to the stallion who had a small line of ponies paying for the entrance. (Bit? So that's what the currency of Equestria is called?) We stood at the end of the line. The ponies up ahead began to whisper. "Look, this is the human who arrived yesterday, and he already going to try Equestrian alcohol?" "He is determined!" "I wonder how Equestrian alcohol affects a human?" "I'd like to taste alcohol from his world!" By the time it was our turn, I had already grown tired of this gossip. After paying the entrance fee, we went inside and I saw the Equestrian bar for the first time and it was... Actually, it wasn't much different from the bars on Еarth. We walked up to the counter and started looking at the menu. "What do you want to drink?" I asked without looking up from the menu. "Just a beer. I'll get us that table in the meantime." Mac said, and pointed to a table in the corner of the bar. I looked at this place and noticed that the tables that stand against the walls and in the corners have soft sofas instead of ordinary wooden chairs. "Okay. I'll be there soon." Mac went to take the table, and I stayed at the counter to order. I decided to take snacks with the beer, and looked at the menu in search of them. (Are there really no spicy sausages for beer here?! Every bar should have...) And then I remembered where I am now. (That's right... I forgot again that I'm in the company of equines now. I'll have to improvise...) Once again resigned to the lack of meat here, I finally made my order. It consisted of four bottles of beer, salted nuts, and deep-fried cheese balls. After picking up my order and paying for it, I headed over to the table that Mac had taken. "Here I am! I hope you're not allergic or something to cheese and nuts..." I said, actually worried about it. "Nope." "That's great." I said as I unloaded the beer and snacks from the tray. Putting everything in its place, I also sat down. Mac had already opened the bottle by this time. I followed his example and did the same. "Well... Let's drink to the fact that we didn't kill each other when we met today, shall we?" I said jokingly. Mac, to my surprise, appreciated the joke and even smiled. We clinked bottles and took a sip. "Dude, great stuff! Equestrian beer makes me happy." I said, wiping my lips with my hand. "Try our family cider and you'll be blown away." Mac said with a little chuckle. I sighed. The time has come. "So... The main goal of my program is to make friends with YOU. Do you know about that?" I asked seriously. "Yes. And I have exactly the same task - to make friends with YOU." Mac said, taking a sip of beer. "So we're in the same boat, right? That makes things easier..." I said, not even trying to hide my joy. "But... By what criteria will the princesses determine whether we are friends or not?" “I don’t know… Maybe with that fancy magic or something…” Mac said thoughtfully. "Like my sister says, friendship is magic!" Mac replicated Applejack's voice. "Yeah, I would like to believe..." I said, leaning back on the soft sofa, and taking a couple of sips from the bottle. "I swear, Equestrian beer tastes better than one back home!" "I think for us to count as friends, we need to spend time together. Celestia will probably really test it with her magic, and we'd better really be friends by that moment." Mac said while chewing on the nuts. "Reasonable. I guess our hangout at the bar already counts toward spending time together?" I asked with a sly smile. "I guess so." Halfway through the bottle, I touched the snacks for the first time. (Mmm, not bad either...) "By the way, can you tell me more about your sister? The only thing I've noticed is that she's quite strong..." I said, rubbing the area where Applejack was pressing her hoof. "Well, she... She's actually a good sister. We rarely have disagreements. But when she heard that I was back in Equestria and found out why..." Mac paused. "Oh boy, she was very angry at you. I guess you don't want to know what she was saying in your address, right?" "Yeah, I guess there was not so many kind words..." I said, biting in cheese balls. "But on the other side, my younger sister..." "Woah, wait, you have two sisters?!" I was surprised. Maс looked at me displeasedly, and I realized that I had interrupted him. "Sorry, go on..." I said guiltily. "My younger sister was interested when she heard that you were coming to Equestria for reformation. I think she and her friends wanted to see you." "Really? What for?" I asked in surprise. "She thinks you can help them find their cutie marks." said Mac, also falling on the soft back of the sofa. "Cutie marks? What's that?" I asked, raising my eyebrow. Mac did the same. "During these 2 years, while the ponies lived on Earth, you never found out what it is?" "You know, I was busy with my own stuff, and I was not particularly interested in the new inhabitants of the earth. The same gray days at work, you know?" I said, trying not to sound a little offended. "Okay, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. In general, Cutie Marks are the drawings on our rumps. They define what kind of talent we have." Mac said, pointing to his cutie mark, which is half an apple. "Wow... I thought it was just tattoo trend of Equestria..." I said, unable to hide my smile. But my smile quickly disappeared. "Wait a minute... Are they... Wanting me to help them find their talents?!" I was shocked. "I know it sounds serious. But don't worry, I'm sure they won't bore you too much." Mac said smiling. "That didn't help much..." I said, feeling the bottle being empty. "I'm serious. Just try hanging out with them. Maybe it counts towards the progress of our friendship?" Mac said, also placing the empty bottle on the table. "Okay, I'll try." I said as I handed the second bottle to Mac. (Hanging out with the kids? Or should I say foals? Okay, that would be unusual to say the least.) "Okay, who's next?" I asked as I opened the bottle. "There's also Granny Smith. When she heard about what had happened, she said that our paths would soon cross again. And that was before I too was involved in the reformation program." Mac said, finally opening the bottle. "I think life experience has some advantages." I noted. "I think so too." Mac agreed. "Anyone else?" I asked. "You know, I have a pretty big family, and if I start listing everyone, we'll be stuck in this bar for two or three days." Mac said as he took his first sips from the new bottle. "Fair point." I said with a shrug. "What about your family? I told you about mine, now it's your turn." Mac said, pointing the bottle at me. (Alcohol will indeed make anyone talkative.) "Well, I have the most ordinary family... Mom, dad, sister, grandma, grandpa..." I said, looking at my blurry reflection in the bottle. "Do you have a sister too?" "Yes... I still remember our carefree days when we were kids and played all day long." I said a little sadly. "Now we live in different cities, and everyone is busy with their own business." "Do you see each other often?" Mac asked. "Most often, only on holidays, when the whole family gathers at the home of our parents." "It's adulthood... It often has it's own plans for you." Mac said, pointing at me. "Pretty much so..." I said, crunching the salted nuts. "Speaking of adulthood... I still wanted to ask..." I hesitated. (We need to talk about this anyway.) "Your wife... Who is she?" I finally asked. Mac took a sip of his beer and leaned forward at the table, leaving the soft back of the sofa behind. "I've been waiting for you to ask." (Something really serious begins...) "My wife... Her name is Cheerilee. She works as a school teacher at the Ponyville school. She even managed to get a job as a teacher on Earth, just like she wanted. More career opportunities and all that." Mac paused for a moment and then continued. “She even found a replacement for herself at Ponyville school. The students were a little upset, of course, but they also understood that everyone needs to move forward in their lives. In short, we saw a great future for us, when we learned that the princesses offer any EARTH PONY to go to a whole new world, and try themselves there." "After making this decision, we went to Earth. At first, everything seemed strange to us. Tall bipedal beings are everywhere, strange iron wagons that drive by themselves and so on." "But in the end, we were able to settle down. As I said, my wife was able to get a job at a local school. She was interested in interacting with human children. She told me every day about the differences between this school and the Ponyville school. She could speak this topic for hours." "What about me... I was able to get a job as an apple packer. I loaded apples into boxes, which were then transported to stores by trucks. You could say that everything was going well for us... Until that one day..." "Friday. Evening. Our wedding anniversary, two years." "She was in a hurry to go home so we could celebrate and then go to one place we had already chosen earlier. I asked her to drop by after work to the store, because I forgot to buy something. I noticed that she was late. When she finally came, she told me what had happened. And then... You know what happened." I felt like a complete asshole. In the meantime, we finished our beers again at the same time. "More beer?" I asked, pushing the empty bottles aside. "Just one." Mac said. "Of course. I'll be right back" I said and went to the counter. In the flow of thoughts, I did not notice how I had already returned with two bottles of beer, one of which I gave to Mac. "So... Not only have I ruined your anniversary... But I've also ruined your future?" "Listen... I've thought about this a lot since that day. I realized that this situation is very ambiguous." Mac opened his beer and continued. “My wife did the wrong thing by being rude to you when it was absolutely avoidable. And I was blinded by anger…” "Just think... If I hadn't run looking for you and gotten into a fight... None of this would have happened. We'd be on the Earth, enjoying our vacation, celebrating our anniversary. But it happened, and it's stupid to regret about what you can't change." "It's in our best interest to become friends. After the program ends, we can return to Earth and continue our lives as if none of that ever happened." "Looks like... This is a lesson for all of us, isn't it?" I said, noticing that the bottle was already half empty. "That's right. And we need to solve this problem together so that everyone can return to their normal lives." "Well, it's a start, isn't it? We've got to keep going." I said as we clinked bottles and drank their contents. "Okay, I think that's enough beer for today. I still need to help Applejack finish picking apples in the planned area. And thanks for that. If such hangout happen again, I'm paying." Mac said, pointing to himself. "Deal" I said without a doubt. "What are your plans for tomorrow, by the way?" Mac suddenly asked. "I don't know. Celestia said a chariot would pick me up in the morning and I'd be spending a night at Twilight's house." "Okay. Come to the farm if you need me. I'm always there." Mac said, holding out a hoof to me. "It was nice to finally find out something about each other. See you soon." I shook his hoof and the stallion left the bar. (Turns out he's a nice guy. We were just victims of our rage.) I tossed a couple of cheese balls into my mouth, ordered the first juice I could find, and left the bar, too, taking the juice with me. (I hope the juice eliminate the smell of beer from my mouth. I don’t want to breathe beer on a potential companion...) I looked at the position of the sun. Evening was drawing near. (Looks like we've been in this bar for a couple of hours... Time flies so fast...) Remembering that I still have to write a letter to Celestia today about my progress for the day, I sighed. (Can't she wait until tomorrow?...) I took out a piece of paper with the address of Twilight's house from my pocket and examined it carefully. (I don't want to go there yet. I'm gonna wait until evening. But what to do during this time?) Not having much choice, I decided to just walk around Ponyville. See where my feet take me. While I was walking, some ponies waved at me, and I waved at them. Someone whispered, someone watched from afar. (They will get used to me. Just need some time.) Suddenly, I heard a bell ring. At first I thought it was a church bell, but when I turned around, I saw that I had come across Ponyville school. Before I had time to think about my next course of action, I saw that many foals were running out of the main entrance, hurrying home. Not wanting to draw too much attention to myself, I hide behind a couple of trees, watching the foals run past. (They're pretty cute... No wonder I'm seeing them for the first time. I think only adult ponies could go through the portal... A smart decision.) And then I heard a voice. A voice that I will never forget. Mac's wife came out of the school, followed by another mare. Looks like they were talking about something. I started listening. "Oh, thank you for agreeing to my presence today. It means a lot to me." said Cheerilee. (This appears to be the same pony that Mac's wife gave her place at Ponyville's school to work at the school on Earth.) "Come on. I knew the students would be happy to see you again." said the unknown pony. "How's your husband doing, by the way?" "Today he was supposed to meet that human he fought back then, on Earth." said the former school teacher. "Hope they didn't kill eachother..." "Have you changed your mind about this person who caused all this?" Mac's wife's companion asked in surprise. "You know, I was wrong too... If I could control my emotions back then... Everything would be fine." Right after these words, three more foals ran out of the school. One was a white unicorn, another was a yellow earth pony, and another was an orange pegasus. "The blackboard is clean and the chairs are in their places!" said the little earth pony. "Thank you kids, you're helping me out so much!" said the unknown pony. "No problem, we're always happy to help!" said the little unicorn. "Besides, what if it helps us get our cutie marks?" said the orange pegasus happily. The two mares laughed at these words. "Always in the search, right?" said Cheerilee as she stroked the little earth pony's head. "Tell Mac we're going to our treehouse to discuss our plans to find our cutie marks, please." said the little earth pony, looking at her former school teacher. "Of course I'll tell him." After saying goodbye, the unicorn and earth pony climbed into a cart attached to a wooden scooter. Pegasus took control of the scooter. Quickly flapping her small wings, the pegasus moved the scooter from its place, and they quickly sped off over the horizon. The two mares talked a little more, and then also parted. (I definitely raised my stealth level after that...) Finally stepping out from behind the trees, I stretched to my full height as I was standing behind the trees in a slightly awkward position. (This spying completely tired me... I have to go to Twilight.) Once again, taking out a piece of paper with Twilight's address, I headed there, guided along the way by the signs that were placed throughout the city. When I arrived, I was a little surprised. (Twilight, do you live in a tree? Are you sure you're a pony and not a bird?) Tiredness reminded of itself, and I threw my surprises aside by knocking on the door. "Coming!" a voice was heard from behind the door. (Sounds like a child's voice... Does Twilight have another brother?)