The party
It was an uneventful and slightly uncomfortable walk down to the barn. Sylvia’s gaze kept shifting between Applejack and Rainbow Dash, with the occasional nervous glance back at Fluttershy. Seeing Fluttershy had been the biggest (and most wonderful) surprise thus far, as far as she was concerned. The sunflower colored Pegasus had always been Sylvia’s favorite, and the only thing stopping her from scooping Shy up in a fury of hugs and cuddles was the knowledge that she’d likely terrify the poor thing; well, that and the likelihood of Rainbow Dash and Applejack tackling her. Both had been looking uneasily at the humans ever since Fluttershy revealed them as omnivores, though Sylvia's 'legend' story went a great distance toward mollifying Dash. Applejack, on the other hand, still had her doubts. Pinkie Pie might be willing to befriend anyone without cause, but Applejack was far more hesitant - especially when it came to flesh eating aliens. Fluttershy, oddly enough, didn't look particularly nervous. If anything, she felt bad that her description of the human diet may have colored her friends' perceptions of these new animals. She of all ponies knew that an animal's diet didn't have to dictate their behavior.
Jack kept his hands in the pockets of his brown leather jacket and his eyes on the ground. He was muttering various complaints and curses under his breath, keeping his volume just low enough to obscure his choice of words and just loud enough for everyone around to know he was complaining. Sylvia fell into line with him, nudging him with an elbow.
“Hey. I get that you’re unhappy. But they didn’t do anything to you. AJ and Rainbow Dash can take your ‘tude, but Fluttershy is a different matter.” She was whispering to make sure only he could hear her, but there was steel etched in every word she spoke. “If you make her cry I -will- end you.”
Jack recoiled from her, a defensive look on his face. “I don’t want to make anyone cry. Just because I don’t like ponies doesn’t mean I’m some kind of heartless monster. Besides, if we’re stuck here with Ponies then I’ve got self interest in making sure they don’t all hate me.”
Sylvia continued to look at him with a hard gaze, but said nothing. They had mostly succeeded in keeping their conversation private, but choice phrases from Sylvia’s threat had reached Applejack’s ears - “Fluttershy”, “Cry”, and “end you”. The Stetson-sporting mare trotted up beside her and caught the human girl’s eyes with her own. A small grin crossed her muzzle. “Y’alright, for a meat-eatin’ alien. Jus’ keep yer appetite away from ponies and my cattle and ah think we'll get along jus' fine."
Sylvia looked down at her with a goofy smile. It was still so surreal to be interacting with them. “Thanks, Applejack. That means a lot to me. And we don’t -have- to eat meat, you know. Humans can eat almost anything that qualifies as food.”
“Y’like apples?” The mare responded. Sylvia shot back a nod. “…ah think we’ll get along jus’ fine.” They shared another smile as the massive Apple family barn rose up before them. The smell of hay hung on the air, faintly masking some sort of cooking behind it - apple pie and something that smelled strongly of mulling spices. Fluttershy looked a bit tense, as though she knew what was coming next.
Then Applejack knocked the door open with a swift kick.
“SURPRISE!” Pinkie Pie was at the head of the crowd when they jumped from the shadows, streamers and confetti bursting out of what appeared to be a miniature cannon held in her fetlocks. Sylvia was ready for the party cannon, but Jack was so surprised by the volume of it that he fell flat on his ass. In addition to the confetti and streamers now falling steadily down, the barn had been bedecked with balloons of every color, and was populated by a remarkably large crowd of ponies given Pinkie’s short notice. Sylvia immediately recognized Rarity and Twilight Sparkle, both standing next to a cauldron of mulling apple cider. The smell was heavenly; cloves, nutmeg and all-spice all blended into the amber liquid, apple sediment roiling over a small fire.
On one side of the room Mr. and Mrs. Cake were putting the finishing touches on a welcome cake. It had obviously been repurposed from a birthday cake; in fact, Cup was hastily painting on the ‘E’ in welcome over a patch of recently applied icing. From a side door emerged Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, both straining under Applebloom’s direction to haul a large wooden barrel marked with three hand painted x’s. The latter feature caught Jack’s attention promptly.
“Ponies make beer!?” He gasped, disbelief and joy present in his voice in equal measure. Applejack snorted.
“Th’hay’s beer? That’s the good stuff… Granny’s reserve cider.” Applejack responded. Rainbow Dash was already hovering above the cask, her tongue lolling out in antipation.
"Hard cider?" Jack clarified.
"Harder'n Applebloom's head sometimes" Applejack chuckled, while her sister gave an indignant 'Hey!'. "Mah sister." Applejack clarified, seeing the confused look on Jack's face. Jack promptly moved toward the libations, while Sylvia made for Twilight and Rarity. At the same time, Twilight moved toward Sylvia. Both looked exceptionally eager. For Sylvia, it was just the opportunity to meet Twilight. For Twilight... well, she was about to speak to what was, as far as she was concerned, Equestria's first contact; and by her horn, she was going to science the hell out of it!
"Hi""Hi". They spoke in unison. "I'm Sylvia""I'm Twilight". Once again they spoke over one another, followed by some awkward laughter. Sylvia held out a hand by way of greeting, though she instantly regretted the decision - why would Ponies shake hands? Fortunately, Twilight was acutely perceptive and quite capable of thinking on her hooves. This must be their sociological equivalent of a friendly hoof-bump; but with those extended digits, a grasping motion makes more sense. The mare wrapped her fetlock around Sylvia's hand awkwardly, and Sylvia gave it a few gentle shakes before releasing her.
"That was interesting; what do you call it?" Twilight inquired.
"A handshake" Sylvia responded, giving the unicorn a wink. "Or I guess a hoofshake, as you'd probably call it."
"So those are 'hands'?" Twilight gestured toward Sylvia's with a hoof. "They're very interesting; quite distinct from your other hooves. What's the evolutionary function of having such different limbs? I imagine it must be very hard to balance on just your hindlegs all the time. Are handshakes how you greet everypony? Come to think of it, how did you learn our language so quickly?" Once she got past her initial awkwardness Twilight was a fountain of questions, which Sylvia was all too happy to answer.
"Hands might just be the most important thing in our evolution. They let us use tools with a great deal of precision. Up until recently, almost all of our farming depended on hand-manipulated tools; and even now, the machines people use require hands to build." Sylvia explained.
"People?" Twilight interjected.
"Sorry; that's one of our words for talking about others of our species. A nice segway into the language issue though... I really don't understand how this is possible myself, but we didn't learn your language. This is our language. I mean, it's not all the same - we would usually say "everyone" instead of "everypony", but otherwise it's almost all the same. And not all humans speak the same language, which makes it even odder."
"Neither do all Ponies" Twilight cut in again with a slight smile. "I used to be fluent in Prench, and I know the Princess speaks dozens of others - you should have heard her with the Neighponese ambassador. That's all really interesting though; especially your hands."
"They really are handy." Sylvia smiled back at her, trying not to giggle at her own pun - or at the term 'Neighponese'. "Probably another word that you don't have; it means 'Useful'. But even millions of years ago, the first humans used tools to hunt - that's how important they are to us." As soon as the words left her mouth she knew she had made a mistake; at hearing the word 'hunt' Twilight's curios expression instantly mixed with fear.
"W..we don't hunt anymore though! At least I don't; and I'm pretty sure Jack doesn't either. I've always preferred apples myself." She nabbed a candied apple off a nearby table and took a big bite to emphasize the point. Twilight couldn't help but laugh at how overeager she was to prove herself.
"Okay, okay... don't worry about it." Twilight replied. "Although that does raise further questions... What were human hunting rituals like? What sort of tools did you use? Did you hunt sentient creatures? What position did the hunter have in the soci-"
"Darling, you musn't crush the poor thing under a deluge of questions." Rarity stepped in, giving Sylvia a wink - she knew her friends, and knew how to spot when Twilight was at risk of burying someone under an avalanche of academia. The snow-white unicorn looked Sylvia up and down once and immediately fought the urge to shriek out loud. Sylvia's formerly bright yellow skirt was marred with streaks of dirt and grass stains, and a large portion of her blouse's shoulder had been torn up by the apple trees.
"Whatever happened to your ensemble!?" Rarity gasped, her trained tailor's eye noticing every stitch of damage to the clothing. "You simply must permit me to make your repairs; I run a very fashionable boutique."
Meanwhile across the room, Jack and Rainbow Dash were pouring their first mugs of cider with roughly equal enthusiasm. Dash raised her mug and Jack tapped his to it, more out of instinct than anything, and brought it to his lips. The cider was remarkably sweet, a rich lightly spiced flavor expertly concealing the strong bite of alcohol.
They drank in silence at first, but by the end of the first mug Jack was starting to feel a bit warmer. "Stuff's not bad" He remarked, holding the tap down for Dash's refill before taking one for himself.
"Not bad!? This is the best cider in Equestria!" Rainbow sounded indignant, and drove her point home by beginning to chug. Not one to be outdone, Jack followed suit. Dash eyed him and sped up her swigs; even so, he had a larger mouth than she did and they finished at about the same time.
"Nopony beats me in a cider drinking contest." A pair of deadly serious magenta eyes locked on Jack's as the hoof attached to them snatched his empty mug from his hand, refilling it yet again.
About six mugs later they were both leaning against one another for support. Jack's face was quite red, and even through Dash's bright turquoise coat a faint blush was visible. "Y'know, you're not bad for a pony... plush you have seriously badash hair." Jack slurred, a dopey grin on his face.
"Thanks *hic*... say, do you want some apple fritters!?" Dash responded with alcohol fuelled enthusiasm.
"Hell yes I do!" Jack responded. They both paused for a moment, looking into one another's eyes, and promptly collapsed into slumber. His shoulder met her withers as they slouched in their chairs, the pressure from one another the only thing stopping the inebriated pair from crashing to the ground.
“How adorable” Sylvia mused, spotting them from her position near Rarity and Twilight. The purple unicorn pressed a hoof to her forehead, a sound of exasperation escaping her lips. “Dash always does have to make everything a competition. Last party around she tried to outdrink Big Mac. It… wasn’t pretty.” Twilight grimaced at the memory - said party had been in her library, and the cleanup had been a herculean task.
“I’m surprised that they had such similar tolerances” Sylvia mused, comparing the two. Dash was a good bit smaller than Jack; when standing at her full height, her withers were about at his waist. Then again, the Pegasus was pure muscle; Jack, in contrast, was rather light and not in the best shape. “Guess we should get him to bed…” This, of course, broached the subject of the elephant in the room - where would they stay? “…I don’t suppose any of you have any camping gear we could borrow?”
Twilight smiled sweetly at Sylvia. “Err… excuse us, for a moment?” She immediately turned around and pulled Rarity, AJ, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie into a huddle. The latter-most had a pair of donuts stuffed into her cheeks and a trio of balloons not unlike her cutie mark clinging to her mane with static energy.
“We need to figure out how to house them.” Twilight whispered. Sylvia got the hint and moved away from the huddle, something which Twi was exceptionally grateful for.
“Ah’ve got a spare tent” Applejack offered. “But ah don’t think they’d fit in our beddin’”
“Now Applejack! We can’t simply expect them to bed down in a cloth tent, in the cold of Autumn! They’ve been through a lot; I mean just -look- at their clothes. They need beds, and baths!” Rarity’s voice picked up a bit as she added every ounce of drama she was capable of.
“And ah suppose you’ll be puttin’ them up at the boutique then?” Applejack raised an eyebrow at her.
“Oh heavens no! Have you seen them? They’re filthy! The Carousel Boutique is a reputable establishment of fabulosity; I simply cannot have dirt about. Besides, they… they…” She trailed off a bit.
“They eat animals.” Twilight finished her sentence, saying what the rest had been thinking. “But they’re not carnivores; they’re omnivores, and according to Sylvia, they’ve mostly moved to an agrarian lifestyle.” Applejack shot her a blank look. “It means they’re farmers.” Twilight clarified.
“Can’t rightly say I have a problem with that.” Applejack said with a smile and a laugh. “But ah have a family to consider; I can’t jus’ let them stay here.”
“You’re such a Smarty McBrainypants, Twilight! And I don’t think they’re dangerous; my Pinkie-sense isn’t even tingling! But the Cakes have their new babies, and I can’t ask them to take in strangers with babies! It’s against baby code!” She had lost all pretense of whispering, not that Sylvia minded - she was actually laughing out loud at Pinkie’s trick of speech, which made Twilight shoot the pink earth pony a bit of a glare. “Ooh, right, sorry. Secret meeting.” Pinkie hushed up, and the entire crowd was quiet for a moment.
“Rainbow isn’ exactly in any condition t’be volunteerin’, but I can’t see her bein’ afraid of them. And she lives alone!” Applejack said.
“Only one problem… she lives in a cloud-house. Even if I cast a cloud walking spell on both of them they’d probably end up falling through their beds by midnight.” Twilight reminded her gently. Applejack demurred, and the crowd went silent once more.
The silence was broken by the last voice anyone expected. “Umm… if they want to… they can stay with me.” Fluttershy spoke in her normal hushed tone; as it was, she was still much quieter than Pinkie’s quietest whisper.
“Are you certain about this, Fluttershy?” Rarity looked concerned. “We don’t know anything about these creatures; they could try to devour you whole as you lie sleeping.”
“No. I mean, no, they won’t. I mean… I don’t think they will. They’re lost and scared, and they need our help. Just because an animal eats meat doesn’t mean it’s a killer.” Fluttershy said the last sentence with surprising amounts of force given her usually timid nature.
“She’s right.” Twilight said quietly. “Fluttershy would know how to care for them better than any of us. She’s dealt with bears before; the way Sylvia described their dietary patterns they sound quite similar.”
“Um… bears probably… eat more.” Fluttershy corrected her, already reverting to her meek demeanor but smiling a bit. She loved caring for others, and as far as she was concerned these were two new charges entering her care.
Sylvia had moved across to where Jack and Dash lay snoring back to back, checking on each of them briefly. She had never been one for alcohol, and was perennially nervous when people were drunk on it around her. Once she was satisfied that neither were in any real danger, she turned around to find the remaining five standing at her, expressions ranging from awkward to cheerful.
"We've decided that you're staying with Fluttershy until you find a proper place to live. Or find your way home." Twilight hastily added. "She has a spare bedroom, and more experience than any of us dealing with non-equine creatures."
Sylvia looked like she had just won the lottery. "Really? Why thank you; your kindness truly is the stuff of legends." Fluttershy blushed a deep shade of pink, lowering her head and pawing at the ground.
"It's nothing at all, really... I'm sure any of my friends would have done the same in my position." Fluttershy said without a hint of irony; as far as she was concerned, it was true. Her friends just didn't know enough about animals to know when not to fear them.
"But first you simply must give me those poor abused garments for mending. Tonight's party didn't really require clothing - though a well placed accessory certainly was a fine choice, if I do say so myself." Rarity smiled and carefully adjusted the angle of her bonnet. "...but surely you will need to attend something properly formal eventually, and those simply will not do." Rarity looked at her expectantly, as though waiting for the girl to strip.
"Umm... how to put this. Where we're from, clothes are worn pretty much everywhere all the time; at least, except for bathing." Sylvia was beginning to turn pink, realizing how silly the idea must sound to ponies. Pinkie Pie Applejack and Fluttershy all looked quite shocked. Rarity had a look in her eyes that screamed 'take me with you'. Twilight alone actually looked understanding.
"You have no coat... it makes perfect sense that you would need clothes; especially this time of year. It's cold out there, after all." Twilight explained. As this fact registered with the others, they too appeared to at least get the jist of it.
"Then I'll walk you back to Fluttershy's and you can give them to me there." Rarity smiled happily at Sylvia. "After all, I daresay you'll need a hand transporting your inebriated special somepony back to her house anyway. Then I'll mend these for proper occasions, and make you a whole new set of outerwear so that they needn't become needlessly dirty." She glanced over Jack's far rattier and less colorful clothes with a bit of a sniff. "...for him, perhaps, a new set of formal wear is also in order. In exchange, you simply must come to the boutique and tell me about your world's fashion!"
Sylvia was still in a bit of a daze, nodding happily to everything Rarity said. It didn't click until she had finished making her offer just how she had referred to Jack. "Oh, he's not my... I mean we're not... I don't have a special somepony." She stammered, the pink on her face now going full scarlet.
Rarity's eyes widened and she brought a hoof to her mouth. "Oh, I am simply mortified! I simply assumed, but it really was such a foalish assumption. I do apologize. Tell you what, I'll throw in a dress just to make up for such a boorish remark."
"It's okay, really" Sylvia replied with a smile. "And I accept your most generous offer, on the condition that you let me pay you back for the clothes once we find work.
"It's a deal." Rarity returned her smile, and set about helping her lift the unconscious inebriate for the trek back to Fluttershy's.