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// Chapter 2: A New Home 
// Story: Stormy's Story 
// by MrBigmac1011 
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A New Home


Stormy looked out over the apple orchard and marveled at its size. His family's farm wasn't nearly as big as this. Then again, most ponies liked apples much more than they liked lemons. He followed Big Mac down to the main house on the property and went inside. The first thing he noticed was the smell of a home cooked meal. He hadn't eaten in days and the grumbles and growls emulating from his stomach showed his hunger. When Big Mac entered the door behind him, he called out "AJ, set one more place at the table, we got a guest." 
Just then a light orange pony walked out from the kitchen wearing an apron covered in flour. "Howdy there stranger," she said with a grin on her face,"Ah'm Applejack." She then shot an annoyed look towards Big Macintosh and mumbled something under her breath about uninvited guests.
"Nice to meet you Applejack, I'm Stormy."
Stormy then followed Applejack into the kitchen where he saw a pale yellow filly trying to use the stand mixer on the counter, which resulted in a batter of some sort splattering everywhere, including the three ponies just walking in the door.
"Apple Bloom! What have ah told you about using my cooking tools?" As she scolded the small filly, Applejack wiped the gooey substance off her face.
"Ah'm sorry Applejack," Apple Bloom replied, "Ah was just tryin' to help."
Applejack just smiled and patted her little sister on the head, "That's alright, we'll clean it up later, right now its suppertime."
The four ponies then sat at the table and began to eat. Applejack updated Big Macintosh about every thing that happened on the farm while he was gone, and Apple Bloom entertained the group with stories of what her and her friends had gotten into that day. Stormy didn't really talk that much. He was never good at starting the conversation. And it wasn't until later that night after Apple Bloom went to bed, that Applejack asked the questions she wanted answers to.
"So Stormy, how do you and my brother know each other?" Stormy was about to answer when Big Mac did it for him.
"We met on my way back from Appleloosa, he needed a place to stay and ah said we would be happy to accommodate him."
"Big Mac," Applejack replied,"Ya can't just go picking everypony havin' hard times off the streets and tell em that they can stay with us. Ah mean do you even know who he is past what he calls himself?"
"As a matter of fact AJ, Ah do know him. He's a good pony and just needed some help."
"Well Ah won't believe it until Ah hear it come from the horses mouth."
Stormy knew it was coming so he prepared himself and told Applejack the same story he told Big Macintosh on the road. By the time he finished Applejack had already decided she could trust this pony. If for any reason, because he could lend a much needed hoof around the farm. Applejack prepared the guest room for him and that night, Stormy had the first good nights sleep he had had in a while.
That sleep was broken however when he heard the crow of a rooster. As he looked out the window, he saw Celestia's beautiful sunrise and knew that it was time to get to work. He had promised the Apples the night before that he would help around the farm as much as he could, and he never broke a promise. When it came to bucking trees, the experience of working on a farm plus the leg muscles he had developed from walking so much over the past two years helped immensely. He was so much of a help in fact, that the three working ponies were able to cut the work day short for the first time since, well, since forever. Stormy loved being able to work again and having friends like Big Mac and Applejack working with him made it an even better feeling. For the first time in a long time, he felt good.
After a while though, Stormy felt as if he had overstayed his welcome. After all, he never let himself stay in one place for too long. One night he packed his belongings and tried to sneak out the door. What found him as he left though, wasn't what he expected.
"Now where do you think yer goin'?" Big Macintosh asked the unicorn.
"I've stayed here too long," Stormy replied,"I have to go."
"Stormy, listen, I know you miss your mare, if Ah left behind the pony I loved Ah would feel the same way. But this is your home now. You'll find her, Ah know you will, but you'll do more danger to yourself out on those streets then you'll do good. You need to stay here with the ponies that care about you, and we do care for you,a lot, so please if not for yourself then for us, please stay."
Stormy thought about what Big Mac said for a long time, and the more he thought about it, the more he knew that the farm pony was right. His mare was waiting for him, and he didn't want to end up dead looking for her. He knew that staying here was best.
"You're right Big Mac. I need to be here." 
"And don't worry Stormy," Big Mac said to the forlorn pony,"if it comes down to it we'll find her together, you and me." 
"Thanks Big Mac, for all that you've done for me."
"No thanks needed, Ah bet ya would have done the same for me."
As Stormy went up to bed, he thought about what he had been going through for the past two years. How everypony looked down on him and never even took a second look at a homeless pony. Then he thought about the past two weeks. He thought about the Apples, how kind and generous they were. As he was falling asleep, he thought to himself, "I'll never go back to that life I knew, this is my new life. This is my new home.