//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Applejack’s Friends // Story: Freshly Baked Goods // by Zeprto678 //------------------------------// She smiled. “Howdy, Rares. Shy,” greeted the apple farmer. “What are y’all doin’ here?” “Hi, Applejack darling. Me and Fluttershy came here because we were planning on discussing with everyone about how Summer is almost over and that we’ll all be starting the 10th Grade this year,” explained the pretty girl. “I was going to call you on your phone when Fluttershy had pointed at you and your family sitting across from us.” She had noticed Baked Apple sitting with Applejack’s family. “Oh, who’s this? Nice to meet you, darling.” “Rares, Shy, this is Baked Apple, and no, we’re not related. Ah checked,” answered the apple farmer. Applejack turned to look at the friendly guy. “Baked Apple, ah’d like fer ya ta meet mah friends, Rares an’ Shy.” She smiled. “Nice to meet you there, darling. The name’s Rarity, and this-” The pretty girl gestured at the shy girl, who ‘eeped’ in response. “-is Fluttershy,” she introduced. Fluttershy shyly waved. “H-Hi,” greeted the shy girl. He waved at the two. “Howdy there. Nice ta meet y’all,” greeted Baked Apple. “Seems like a weird coincidence that the day I ended up in this world was the same day they were going to have a meeting here.” As for Applejack, she looked at Rarity with a deadpan look. “Ya didn’t need ta reintroduce yerselves ta ‘im. Ah’d already done that for y’all,” said the apple farmer, deadpan tone. She scoffed. “It’s hardly an introduction when you were calling us by the nicknames you gave us. We can introduce ourselves, you know?” said the pretty girl. “Ah know that, but yer mah friends. Ah should introduce ya howeva ah want,” argued Applejack. The friendly guy decided to change the subject before this turned into an argument. “So, yer all in High School? Must be loads of fun?” he asked. Luckily, it worked as Baked Apple’s questions had distracted Rarity from her soon-to-be argument with the apple farmer. The pretty girl sighed dramatically. “Well, it does have its ups and downs, but it’s school. It even has some fun things like dances, prom, plays, performances, and school events,” answered Rarity, perking up at the second part. She had a sneaky look on her face. “Not to mention the juicy gossip that goes around school.” Suddenly, a teenage girl with light skin, poofy pink hair, wearing a white t-shirt with pink stripes, cream-colored shorts, white sneakers that were decorated with accessories that looked like balloons and was decorated like it was in a candy factory, and pieces of streamers on her, had showed up out of nowhere by the table. She looked excited and even a bit hyper, seeing as how the she was bouncing around on her feet. The mystery girl looked at the pretty girl. “Don’t forget about the parties, Rarity!” she exclaimed. That surprised everyone, including Fluttershy, who hid behind Rarity.  The mystery girl didn’t even notice everyone’s surprised looks and continued. “Like last year’s party at the park!” she said, excited. The mystery girl then noticed Baked Apple and held out her hand. “Hello there, my name’s Pinkie Pie. I’m the town’s best partier. I love parties, attending parties, giving parties, and even celebrating parties. What’s your name? Are you new in town?”  He smiled, seeing as Pinkie Pie wanted to be friends with the friendly guy. “Howdy, mah name’s Baked Apple. No relation ta Applejack an’ her family, an’ yes, ah’m new in town,” answered Baked Apple.  The party girl smiled widely. “It’s so nice to meet you, Baked Apple! I hope you have a fun time living in Ponyville!” she said. The pretty girl decided to butt into their conversation. Rarity crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. “Pinkie Pie darling, what did I say about surprising us like that?” asked the pretty girl. Pinkie Pie thought about it. “Only do it at parties and Halloween?” she answered. Rarity nodded. “Exactly,” she said. Before more could be said, a pair of teenage girls had approached them. One of them was an athletic-looking girl with rainbow-colored hair, and wearing a white t-shirt, blue jean jacket, blue jean shorts, white sneakers with rainbow streaks, and a sweatband on her head. The other was a smart-looking girl with long, dark purple hair with lighter purple streaks, and was wearing a purple shirt with a vest on top, cream-colored skirt, leather shoes, and a backpack by her side.  “Hey there, everyone. Sorry we’re late,” apologized the smart girl. She looked at the athletic girl. “I had a hard time trying to pry Rainbow Dash from her video games.” Rainbow Dash looked at the smart girl, angrily. “Hey! It’s not my fault, Twilight,” she argued. The athletic girl had a determined expression. “I got challenged and I needed to win.” Rainbow Dash grinned. “Besides, aren’t you the same way with your books Ms. Twilight ‘I love books’ Sparkle?” Twilight Sparkle stuttered in embarrassment. “I-I’m not like that, Rainbow Dash,” argued the smart girl. Twilight Sparkle looked at her friends for support. “Right, girls?” The smart girl’s friends all looked away, unable to look or answer the smart girl. Now it was the pretty girl’s turn to change the subject. “Twilight. Rainbow Dash,” she said. Rarity gestured at the friendly guy. “It seems we have a new person moving into town. Meet Baked Apple, a non-relative of Applejack’s family.” The two looked at him. Twilight Sparkle waved at Baked Apple. “Nice to meet you, Baked Apple. My name’s Twilight Sparkle,” said the smart girl. She gestured at the athletic girl who waved in response. “And this is Rainbow Dash. Where are you from?” “From mah family’s farmhouse located far in the forest. It’s a pretty nice place, and mah family are all a bunch of great folks,” answered the friendly guy, smiling. Baked Apple stood up from his seat and grabbed his backpack. “Well, ah should get goin’. Ah’ll need ta find a place ta sleep in town durin’ mah stay here before it gets dark. Thanks fer the hospitality, an’ ah’ll see y’all later.”  Before the friendly guy could even take a step away, Applejack stopped him. “Wait,” she said. That worked as Baked Apple had stopped in his tracks. “Ah was wonderin’ if ya had a place ta stay? Do ya have any relatives that live here?” asked the apple farmer. The friendly guy shook his head. “Nope. No relatives live in this town,” answered Baked Apple. That confused her. “Then where are ya goin’ ta stay?” asked Applejack. “Probably either somewhere in an alley, or maybe in the forest,” he answered. “Ah am lookin’ fer a way back home after all. Ah might not stay here fer a long time.” That shocked everyone. “Ah can’t let ya do that, Baked Apple. Ya shouldn’t be livin’ out in the streets or in the forest by yerself,” said the apple pony. “How about ya stay over mah family’s house? Just until ya either go back ta yer home or git a place of yer own.” The friendly guy shook his head. “No thanks. Ah’ve already accepted yer hospitality with gettin’ ta the town, an’ yer brother fer payin’ fer the meal, but ah shouldn’t accept anymore when it comes ta yer home,” said Baked Apple. “Ah don’t want ta be a bother.” Unfortunately, she wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “Ah insist. Me an’ my family can set up an extra room fer ya,” argued Applejack. But he didn’t want to take up space in the apple farmer’s home. “An’ ah have ta say no ta yer offer,” argued the friendly guy. The two weren’t going to back down as Applejack and Baked Apple were both being stubborn.  An idea had popped into his head. “Let’s settle this with a game of arm-wrestlin’. Ya win, ah’ll stay with ya an’ yer family, but if ah win, then ya have ta accept mah decision,” offered the friendly guy. The apple farmer thought about it before nodding. Deciding things through arm-wrestling did sound fair to her after all. “Sounds good,” agreed Applejack. Baked Apple sat down back in his seat, ready to arm-wrestle. A Few Seconds Later The friendly guy was rubbing his arm as Baked Apple had lost less than a few seconds. As soon as they started arm-wrestling, he was for some reason unable to budge her arm at all and ended up losing in an instant. “Whoa nelly, it was like trying ta arm-wrestle a steel pipe. Just how strong is she?” thought the friendly guy, impressed.  “Would ya like ta have a rematch?” offered the apple farmer.  He shook his head. “No thanks. Ah’m fine with just one game,” said Baked Apple. “What about yer family? Did ya ask them what they think about this?” Applejack looked at her siblings.  “Ah’m okay with it. It’s nice ta help someone in need,” said Apple Bloom. She looked up at her big brother. “Right Big McIntosh?” “Eeyup,” agreed Big McIntosh. The friendly guy was quite surprised that even the apple farmer’s siblings were willing to help him out as well. “Oh, I see. Well, mighty kind of y’all,” said Baked Apple. “Think nothin’ of it,” said the younger apple sibling. Twilight Sparkle had an impatient look on her face. “Now that that’s over, we need to discuss school, Applejack. We’re all going to be busy since school starts next month,” said the smart girl. She wasn’t impatient, but it was important that they all be prepared for school and the tenth grade. Baked Apple was surprised. That meant it was August. “I’ve been meaning to find out what today’s date was but at least I know now,” he thought. For some reason, the apple farmer looked at Baked Apple. “Speaking of school, what about you? Shouldn’t ya be startin’ school too?” she asked. Now everyone was looking at him, which made the friendly guy feel nervous. “Um…ah’m homeschooled, and ah don’t exist in any system since ah’ve lived on a farm in a forest mah entire life, but ah guess ah’d be in the ninth grade since ah haven’t started the high school stuff yet,” answered Baked Apple, lying.  It was partly a lie. He is currently in the ninth grade, but is attending school, just not in their dimension and not as the friendly guy they saw. Luckily, Baked Apple’s lie worked and had everyone fooled. “Aww, that’s too bad. I wanted to introduce you to everyone and become friends with people in my school,” said the party girl, disappointed. He felt bad about lying, but the friendly guy didn’t know how any of them would react if Baked Apple had told them the truth. “Ah’m sorry, but unless y’all can find someone who works fer the government an’ can get me inta the system, ah don’t think yer school will allow me ta attend or even set foot inside an’ learn,” said the friendly guy. Twilight Sparkle decided to chime in. “Actually, I do know someone or some people who could help you out with that problem. I’ll give them a call and ask them if they can help with getting you to attend school,” she said. Baked Apple was surprised again. “Are ya sure? Ah don’t wanna be a bother,” he said. The smart girl smiled. “It’s no problem at all. After all, school is important, and everyone should have the right to attend school and learn,” said Twilight Sparkle, gleaming in her eyes.  Rainbow Dash groaned. “Ugh, school. What an egghead,” she muttered. “Rainbow Dash! Rude!” admonished the pretty girl. “What? It’s true!” responded the athletic girl. Rarity couldn’t argue with that since the smart girl did in fact love going to school. “Still…,” she said. The friendly guy decided to accept the Twilight Sparkle’s offer. Besides, Baked Apple had a feeling that if he didn’t, then Applejack would have instead. Also, with the excuse of going to school, the friendly guy can check out the school’s statue. “Mighty kind of ya’, miss Twilight,” said Baked Apple. She smiled. “Think nothing of it,” said the smart girl. Twilight Sparkle then looked at the apple farmer. “Now, about school.” Some Time Later The friendly guy was saying bye to Banana Pie outside the restaurant as the girls’ conversation had finished a while ago and it was time to go. Even the meal was paid for by the strong guy. “It was nice meeting ya, Banana Pie. Maybe we’ll meet each other again?” asked Baked Apple. He held out a hand. She smiled and shook the friendly guy’s hand. “Yeah. Maybe when you visit next time?” asked the waitress. “I hope he visits next time. I want him to try out the other stuff on the menu I created.”  “Of course,” Baked Apple agreed. He blushed. “Now that ah think about it, Banana Pie does look mighty purty. Ah should ask ‘em out sometime.” The friendly guy and Banana Pie stopped shaking hands. Baked Apple walked over to Big MacIntosh’s truck where the Apple siblings were waiting for him and climbed into the pickup’s cargo bed again. As the vehicle was leaving, the friendly guy waved at the waitress who waved back at him. When the truck was far enough away, Banana Pie stopped waving and went back inside the restaurant. Meanwhile At An Unknown Location Miles of darkness enveloped this place, and only a repeating sound came from within it. As it grew more frequent, the soil cracked and was slowly pushed aside by a small flower that, once free from its earthly confines, began to quickly grow.