Abacus checked his map for the third time in as many minutes. After a two day trip, he could finally see the outskirts of a small town. According to the map, this was Ponyville. There weren’t any other towns in the area, but he wanted to make absolutely sure that he was in the right place. When he was close enough to make out the words it, a colorful sign that read ‘Welcome to Ponyville!’ satisfied his concerns.
The cart came to an abrupt stop. Abacus straightened his glasses and levitated a small bag of bits into the driver’s waiting hoof. Before he could thank him, the taxi sped off and left him sitting in a cloud of dust. He checked his map again, then headed into town.
The town itself seemed rather quaint, especially compared to the tall towers of Manehattan. Instead of glass and steel, there was wood and thatched straw. He smiled. It wasn’t home, but architecture had always spoken to him. The measuring compass on his flank was proof enough of that. The buildings in Ponyville were still wonderful, if a little basic.
He pulled himself from the sights and focused. Somewhere in the small town there was a pony named Applejack, and he had business with her and her farm. He could see what he assumed were apple trees dotting the rolling hills on the other side of town, but short of that, he had no idea where to start looking. He’d decided to check the town hall when a pink blur flashed in front of him.
“Hi!” a mare said. She grinned broadly. “I don’t think I’ve seen you here before, you must be new!” She bounced around him in circles and giggled.
“Uh, wha-?” Abacus said.
“You look silly with your mouth hanging open like that, silly!” she said. She stared at him with sky blue eyes and he strongly suspected that she could see his soul. “Where are you from? What’s in your bags? What’cha doing here? Are you just visiting?” She let out a gasp that lasted for a solid few seconds. “Are you moving here?! This is a great place to live! There’s some empty houses too that are perfect! And you’re going to need friends! What’s your name? I’m Pinkie Pie!”
Abacus gaped. The pony-shaped ball of pure energy in front of him had stopped talking, but he was still trying to keep up with all she had said.
“S-slow down,” he said. He took off his glasses and produced a small cloth to wipe them off. “My name’s Abacus.”
“Abacus?” Pinkie said. She tilted her head. “That’s a silly name. I like it! You must be a nerdy math pony then, huh?”
“...Yes?” Abacus said. “I’m good with numbers, if that’s what you mean.”
“Well then, mister Abacus-good-with-numbers,” she said, “you need to head to the party at Sugarcube Corner!” She hung her hoof around his shoulder and stuck out her tongue as she thought for a moment. “It’s just... that way!” She gestured towards the other end of town. “You just pass that pair of cottages, take a left, and then it’s just a hop, skip, and a jump away! You can’t miss it! Well, you can miss it, but you’d look really silly if you walked past it while you were looking for it!”
He stared at her. “A party?” he asked.
“Well, duh!” Pinkie said. “I’m throwing you a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party! There’ll be cake and ice cream and punch and cupcakes and pin the tail on the pony!”
“Actually, I’m looking for somepony,” Abacus said. He straightened his glasses.
“Then you met the right pony!” she said. She tossed her hooves in the air. “Because I know everypony and I mean everypony in Ponyville! Who are you looking for?”
“Well, in that case,” he said. “Do you know where I can find someone named Applejack? She’s supposed to be the caretaker of a farm in this town.”
“Of course I know Applejack!” Pinkie said. She giggled. “Applejack just so happens to be one of my most best friends ever!”
“Perfect,” Abacus said. “Where would she be? I have some business with her.”
“Business?” she asked. She narrowed her eyes and stared hard at him. “That sounds awfully suspicious, mister. What do you want with Applejack?”
“Nothing of that sort,” he said. He took a small step back. “I’m working on a gift for my father. I just want to buy apple seeds to grow an orchard.”
“Oh!” Pinkie lit up. “Well Applejack is definitely going to be at the party. You can meet her then!”
“A-alright.” Abacus nodded. “In that case, I’ll be there.”
“I knew you’d come around!” she said. She winked at him. “Meet me at Sugarcube Corner!” With that, she bounced off.
'Well then', he thought. 'That was unexpected.'
“Ah can’t believe that didn’t earn us our cutie marks!” Applebloom said. She kicked at the ground as she walked down the town’s dirt road.
“I dunno,” Sweetie Belle said. “A lumberjack cutie mark would probably look weird.”
Yeah,” Scootaloo said. She flapped her wings a few times. “And I don’t think I’d want to deal with those timberwolves every day. They weren’t really happy with us trying to smash up their trees.”
“Still,” Applebloom said. “What should we try next?”
“Hey, what’s Pinkie Pie doing?” Scootaloo pointed in the distance. Pinkie looked to be bouncing around somepony they didn’t recognize.
“There’ll be cake and ice cream and punch and cupcakes and pin the tail on the pony!” Pinkie said in the distance.
“Wow, she’s goin’ all out on him,” Applebloom said. She shrugged. “I guess he’s new in town”
“Then she’s definitely throwing a party,” Sweetie Belle said. “We should stop by. It’s the perfect break from crusading, and we can think about what to do next while we have some cake!”
“That’s a great idea!” Scootaloo said. Applebloom rubbed her chin and smiled.
“Ah’ve got an even better idea!” she said.
“Ah don’t think we did it right,” Applebloom said. She stared into the depths of the huge punch bowl.
“Is it supposed to be that... murky?” Sweetie Belle asked. She considered poking it, but decided against it. “I thought punch was supposed to be kind of see-through.”
“It smells pretty good,” Scootaloo said.
“Did it just move?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“It’ll be fine,” Applebloom said. She tried her best to ignore the bubble rising up from the viscous surface. “We’ll just toss some ice in it and it’ll be ready for the party. Let’s go see if Pinkie wants help with anything else.”
Rather than going straight towards this ‘Sugarcube Corner,’ Abacus decided to wander the town a bit. The town library caught his eye. He wondered how the builders had gone about hollowing out a giant tree. They’d even kept it alive in the process, if the lush leaves were anything to go by.
A buzzing sound distracted him from his thoughts. Something big and green flew past his face. He turned to see what this could have been when he was face to face with a flying green monster. Abacus screamed and ran. He vaguely heard someone above him laugh, but he didn’t care. He wanted to put as much distance between him and that hovering beast as possible.
He’d made it all the way to the outskirts of town when somepony intercepted him. Forcefully. A flying tackle that knocked the wind from him with the force of a train put him on the ground. He got up and cleaned his glasses. A mare was standing in front of him and smiling. This one, however, had a multicolored mane.
“Does anypony in this town greet someone properly?” Abacus said.
“Hey,!” The mare said. “You were the one that took off yelling. Half the town thought there was a fire or something! The other half was wondering why you sounded like a filly.”
He looked around frantically. “Where did that thing go?” he asked.
“‘Thing?’ You mean Tank?” she said. She scratched her head. “He probably couldn’t keep up. He isn’t as fast as me. Or you, apparently. You’re quicker than I thought you’d be. Not as quick as me though.” She puffed out her chest. “Also, you dropped your saddlebags when you took off. Here.”
“So I lost it, then?” Abacus asked, and donned his bags. He let out a sigh and smiled. “Perfect.”
“So...” the mare said. “What was with the running around screaming? It was just a flying turtle.”
“A flying-?” he said. He took a deep breath. “I apologize for my reaction. I’m... uncomfortable around reptiles.Just thinking about their scales and those eyes and...” He shuddered.
“Oh,” she said. “That must be lame. Sorry for scaring you like that, though. It was just supposed to be a prank.”
“I... see,” Abacus said. He glanced towards the ground.
“Anyway,” the mare said. “Pinkie told me to let you know that the party’s all set and ready. You’d better get there while there’s still cake.”
“She was serious about that?” he asked.
“Oh yeah!” she said. “She’s a bit random sometimes, but when it comes to parties, she’s always serious.”
“Alright then,” he said and shrugged. “Which way is it again?”
“I’ll show you,” the mare said. “Just make it fast, I need to go make sure that Tank’s alright. I’m Rainbow Dash, by the way.”
“Abacus,” he replied.
“Okay, ‘Abacus,’” she said. She flapped her wings a few times and hovered in the air. “Let’s get going. You do not want to miss a Pinkie Pie party.”
Abacus followed Rainbow Dash to Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie had been right. Not noticing the place would have been embarrassing. The entire place was decorated with the likeness of various sweets, and he had a hard time telling whether or not the roof was actually gingerbread. He doubted it, of course, but it was uncanny how realistic it looked.
Inside, every surface was covered in streamers, balloons, and confetti, and was filled to the brim with ponies all wearing party hats. As soon as he stepped through the threshold, all of them cheered. He saw a familiar pink puff of hair weaving through the crowd and before he could react, Pinkie was once again invading his personal space.
“You’re late!” Pinkie said. She smiled. “I told you to come straight here! I had to go ask Rainbow Dash to find you!”
“But I just saw you less than twenty minutes ago,” Abacus said. “You put all of this together that fast?”
“Of course I did, silly!” she said. “I wouldn’t be much of a party pony if I couldn’t put together a party! I’m gonna go bring out the cake, have fun!”
“Does she keep this place decorated or something? How did she set all of this up?” he asked to nopony in particular.
“Oh no, nothing like that,” a voice from behind him said. He turned around to see a lavender unicorn with some kind of wing ornament on her back. On second glance, however, he saw that they were actual wings.
“I’ve seen Pinkie put together parties even quicker than this,” she said. “She didn’t even use the cannon this time.”
“W-wings?” Abacus said. He bent to his knees. “You’re a p-princess?!”
“Please,” she said with a small laugh, “get up. It’s just a title, I’m still just a citizen here.”
“Sorry, princess,” he said. He stared down at the ground. “I just- I mean, I never-”
“I’m Twilight,” she said. “You must be Abacus. Applejack told me about you.”
“You know Applejack?” Abacus asked. He scolded himself under his breath. “Well, of course you would, you’re royalty, eheh.” He forced a laugh.
“She’s here if you want to meet her,” Twilight said. She pointed across the room to an orange earth pony carrying a tray of baked apples.
Abacus summoned up all of his tact and conversational expertise. “OkayIshouldprobablygotalktohernowthankyoubye!” He turned and hurried across the room.
'Oh, well done,' he thought. 'Very impressive, you idiot.'
“Applejack?” Abacus said.
“Yep,” the orange pony said. “That’d be me. Y’all must be Abacus. Nice to meet’cha!” She held out her hoof.
“Hello!” he said, accepting her hoofshake. “I wasn’t really sure what to expect from your letters. You’re the one to talk to about apples, then?”
“That’s right,” Applejack said. “Mah family runs the farm here, and apples are our specialty. It’s how we make our livin’. So Ah know a thing’r two about ‘em.”
“Perfect!” Abacus said. “With your help, I hope I can have a thriving orchard.”
“‘Bout that,” she said. “Ya said y’all are from Manehattan? There ain’t much plantin’ space there. How big’s this orchard of yours going to be?”
“Well, it’s actually for my father. He’s moving to Hoofington, and I’m getting him an orchard as a gift. I hear there aren’t many apple trees in that area.”
“...Oh,” Applejack said. She shifted her weight from hoof to hoof. “Well, I’m real sorry about this, but there’s a reason apple trees aren’t too common ‘round Hoofington. Ya see, the soil ‘round there isn’t right for apples, and they won’t grow too well.”
“Wha-?” Abacus said. His eyes widened. “Is there a way to make the soil richer, or something?”
“It’s not that the soil ain’t rich enough,” she said. She rubbed the back of her head. “It’s just not quite right fer apples. Ah don’t really know why. They just don’t grow right.”
“What can I do?” Abacus asked. “I don’t want to go back on a promise.”
Applejack thought for a moment, then clapped her hooves. “Ah got an idea. Ah’ve got a friend in Dodge Junction who runs a cherry grove. Her name’s Cherry Jubilee. So, while apples might not grow well ‘round Hoofington, Ah know for a fact that cherries will.”
“That... might wok.” Abacus nodded. “I guess I can travel to Dodge. That’d take a few days though...”
“Huh?” Applejack said. “There’s a train that runs there. Y’all could be there and back by tomorrow if ya wanted.”
Abacus blinked. “There’s a train station here?”
“‘Course there is,” she said. “Y’all didn’t take the train here from Manehattan?”
“Er, no,” he said. “I came by chariot. My father said that no trains ran here.”
“Well, that ain’t important,” Applejack said. She shrugged. “Y’all don’t need to go all the way out t’ Dodge. Me and Miss Jubilee have been exchangin’ seeds and saplings fer about a year now. I’ve got enough cherry seeds fer y’all’s orchard. C’mon down to the farm after this here shindig’s over and we can still do business.”
“Thanks,” Abacus said. “You didn’t have to tell me that. I think some ponies would have just sold me the apple seeds and sent me on my way. I really appreciate the honesty.”
“Well now,” she said with a chuckle. “Honesty’s mah other specialty.”
“It’s nice to see a town that’s so friendly to strangers,” he said. “A cherry grove it is, then. Lead the way to your farm.”
“Wait!” somepony called from behind. He turned to see a small filly looking up at him. Her eyes widened and she started to tear up. “Don’t y’all wanna stay for punch?”
Abacus glanced over at Applejack. “That’s not fair, you know,” he said. “How is anypony supposed to say ‘no’ to that? I guess I’ll stay a little longer.”
“Alright then,” Applejack said. “We can talk more later.”
Abacus nodded, and followed the little filly over to the punch bowl.
“Ah’m Applebloom,” the filly said. “That was mah sister you were just talkin’ to.”
“Oh?” Abacus said. “I guess you two do have the same accent. Hers is a bit thicker, though.”
Applebloom gestured up at a table. “Tah dah!” she said. “Ah made this batch of punch myself! Well, me and my friends, anyway.”
He peered into the huge bowl, but couldn’t see the bottom. A bubble surfaced from the concoction with a soft popping sound.
“It looks... interesting,” Abacus said. He levitated a ladle through the mixture and brought it to his nose. “Smells good!” The filly looked proud of herself.
He picked up a nearby cup and drew more punch with the ladle. He nudged something solid on the bottom of the bowl. 'I guess there’s fruit chunks in this?' he thought. When he pulled the ladle from the bowl, a scaly face looked up at him with blank eyes and a toothless grin.
Abacus dropped the ladle and screamed. He ran out of the sweet shop, his heart pounding.
“What the-?” he heard somepony say behind him, but kept running.
“What was that all about?” Applebloom said.
“Pinkie!” Rainbow Dash said, calling into the back room. “Did Gummy get into the punch again?”
Pinkie poked her head out from the kitchen. “Maybe? I don’t know,” she said.
“I guess I should have said something,” Dash said. She groaned. “That guy Abacus doesn’t like reptiles, apparently. You should have seen his reaction to Tank.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen somepony with herpetophobia that bad,” Twilight said. “The way he was yelling, you’d think he saw some kind of monster.”
“I’m gonna go look for him,” Dash said. “Between this and my pr- I mean, seeing Tank earlier, he’s not having a great day.”
“Good idea,” Applejack said. “Ah’ll help.”
Abacus stopped. He wasn’t sure how far he ran, but his heart had finally stopped pounding. He looked around to get his bearings, and noticed the town hall. He took a few deep breaths and tried to focus on something. The design of the town hall seemed pretty simple, and he could figure out most of the structural design just by looking at it.
He pulled some parchment and a quill from his bags and laid them out on the grass. Thinking about architecture always calmed him down after something stressful, so he began to sketch the building. It was a quick sketch and he didn’t have a proper desk, so it looked rather sloppy. He noted various flaws in the design, and wrote down how he would have gone about fixing them. Upon finding several of these flaws, he pulled out a new sheet of parchment and began to draw how he would have designed the building. He kept to the same basic design, but tweaked a few things to use less materials but keep the same structural integrity.
Before too long, Abacus had two complete sketches and a steady heart rate. He rolled him his work and put it back in his bags. I hope they aren’t worried, he thought, and started back towards Sugarcube Corner. Or at least, he thought that’s where he was heading. He was having a hard time backtracking and navigating his way back.
“He-ey!” somepony called in the distance. He straightened his glasses and looked around to see Rainbow Dash and Applejack running towards him. He started towards them and met them halfway.
“Sorry about that,” Abacus said. “Like I said earlier, I’m not that comfortable around reptiles. I didn’t mean to disrupt the party.”
“That seemed a mite more than just bein’ uncomfortable,” Applejack said. “Are y’all sure you’re alright?”
“I’m fine,” he said. “Don’t worry about me.” He looked up at the sky. “It’s a bit later than I thought. Is there a hotel here that I can settle down in for the night?”
“No,” Dash said. “I think there was plans to build one, but Ponyville doesn’t get that many visitors.”
“Aw, shucks,” Applejack said. “Ah’ve got a few spare rooms at the farm. Y’all can stay the night there. It’s the least Ah can do after what happened back at Sugarcube.”
“T-thanks,” Abacus said. He poked into his saddlebags. “I-I can reimburse you for this, just let me find-”
“Don’t,” Applejack said. “It’s fine. Like Ah said, it’s the least Ah can do.”
“That’s very kind,” he said.
“Dash, do y’all mind goin’ back and tellin’ everypony not to worry? Ah’m gonna take him over to Sweet Apple.”
“Sure thing.” Rainbow Dash gave a quick salute and sped off.
“C’mon, it’s not that far from here,” Applejack said. “Follow me.”
The farm was much further away than Abacus had been led to believe, and by the time they arrived, it was nearly sundown. Applejack took him upstairs in the farmhouse and showed him the guest room. It was rather simple. A bed, a nightstand, and a dresser. Not that Abacus needed much more. Applejack had told him to make himself at home for the night, and they’d worry about business in the morning.
He left his bags by the door and looked out the window. From there, he could see a massive apple orchard stretching towards the horizon. 'Beautiful,' he thought. 'I hope a cherry grove will be as impressive.'
“Hey,” Applejack said, making him jump. “Big Mac an’ Applebloom are still in town, an’ they’re supposed to do the shoppin’ today. If you’re hungry, though, we’ve got some leftover corn casserole that Granny made last night.”
“It’s okay, I can wait,” Abacus said. “I don’t really want to impose.”
“Heh, y’all remind me of Fluttershy,” she said. “She’s real careful about not wantin’ to step on somepony’s hooves too. It’s gonna go bad if it isn’t eaten. After a day, it’s fine, but after two, it’s compost.”
“Well, in that case, corn casserole sounds perfect.” Abacus smiled.
“Alright then, Ah’ll be right back.”
A little while later, Applejack called him downstairs. As advertised, a steaming plate of corn and bread crumbs sat at a sizable table. She spooned some into a bowl and offered it to him.
“Thanks again,” Abacus said. He took a small bite, and threw his head back. “Oh, that’s hot!”
“It did just come out of a hot oven,” Applejack said. She set her own bowl onto the table to let it cool. “About earlier today, are y’all really sure that you’re alright?”
“I’m fine,” he said. He blew onto his meal to cool it off. “It really isn’t a big deal. Please, stop worrying about me.”
“...Alright then,” she said with a shrug. “That’s the last of it you’ll hear from me. How about this cherry grove you’re wantin’ then?”
“Well, like I said, it’s a gift for my father,” he said. “He had some plans to move to Hoofington, and mentioned that he wouldn’t mind having an orchard there.”
“So what’s yer pop like?”
“Uh, well, he works at an architect’s firm, and they’re letting him retire,” he said.
“That’s not what Ah meant,” Applejack said.
“What then, personally?” he asked. He took another bite of his meal. “He’s nice enough, I guess. He’s my dad. I can’t really say anything bad about him. He can be a bit insensitive at times, I guess.”
“Like how?” she asked.
“Well, he used to think my... distaste for reptiles was me just being stupid.” Abacus shrugged. “He used to joke about it a lot. A couple times he tried to break my mindset by tossing lizards at me.” He looked up and saw Applejack gaping slightly. “It wasn’t as bad as it sounds.”
“It didn’t exactly sound good,” she said. “I don’t wanna talk bad about anypony’s folks, but y’all’s pop doesn’t sound that nice.”
“It’s really not a big deal,” he said. The rest of the meal was carried out in silence. Abacus thanked Applejack again for the meal and headed up to the guest room. He flopped onto the bed. The day had tired him out more than he’d realized, and he quickly fell asleep.
Applebloom woke up with a dry throat. She glanced over at the clock and saw that it was barely past midnight. She groaned, then headed down the hall to get something to drink. In the kitchen, she filled a glass of water and downed it in a single gulp. Unsatisfied, she filled the glass again, and let the water swirl around in her mouth before swallowing.
She started back towards her room when she noticed that the door to the guest room was ajar. Glancing inside, she could see Abacus’ saddlebags and Abacus himself sprawled on the bed.
'An architect, huh?' she thought. 'I ain’t never tried that before. Maybe it’ll help me get my cutie mark!' She smiled, then flipped open the flaps on his saddlebag. Two rolls of parchment caught her eye, so she pulled them out and brought them back to her room. She unrolled them and saw that they were sketches of the town hall.
'Ah’ll just see if Ah can figure out what he wrote and return these in the mornin’.' Her eyelids felt heavy as she tried to decipher his scribbles. 'Ah’ll just close mah eyes for a minute or two.'
Abacus snapped his eyes open at the sound of a rooster. 'They actually do that at dawn?' he thought. He yawned and pulled himself out of bed. The sheets were thoroughly wrinkled, so he made the bed properly. He donned his saddlebags and headed downstairs.
Applejack and a bulky, red pony that he assumed was her brother were already up and eating breakfast. They both waved when they noticed him.
“Yer up early!” Applejack said. “Ah wasn’t sure when you’d wake up, so Ah only made breakfast fer me and Big Mac. Sorry ‘bout that.”
“It’s not a problem,” Abacus said. “Please, you don’t need to cook anything for me. I usually just grab something quick in the mornings anyway.”
“What’s with the bags?” she asked, tilting her head. “Y’all are leavin’?”
“I wasn’t even really planning to spend the night,” he said. “Though I do appreciate it. I figure I’ll head to the train station and catch an early train.”
“Alright then, if y’all insist,” Applejack said. “Gimme a couple minutes and Ah’ll show you where I keep the seeds.”
She finished up her meal and led him outside to the cellar. She unlocked the doors and descended the stairs. The room was full of shelves containing various jars. Some of them contained what looked to be a kind of jam, some contained apples soaking in spice mixtures, and some were filled with mashed pulp. She went over to the far side of the room, which had different types of seeds arranged by name. The cherries were right between corn and carrots.
“Here,” Applejack said, passing him a small jar. “That ‘ought to be about a hundred seeds. Should be plenty for y’all’s orchard.”
“Thanks so much,” Abacus said. He lifted a small pouch of bits from his bags and dropped it in her hooves. “Pleasure doing business with you.”
“Ah’ll see y’all off,” she said. She led him back up to the farmhouse. “If you’ve got everything, we can leave now.”
Abacus nodded, and they set off into town.
Applebloom woke up with a loud yawn. The clock read 11:00. 'Oh wow, Ah’m glad there’s no school today,' she thought. She started making her bed when she heard the rustle of parchment. 'Uh oh, I must’ve slept on those sketches. They aren’t too wrinkled, Ah’ll just roll ‘em up and it’ll be fine.'
She headed downstairs with the sketches. The house seemed completely empty aside from Granny Smith’s soft snoring. 'AJ and Mac must already be in the fields,' she thought. Just then, the door opened and Applejack walked in.
“Perfect timin’!” Applebloom said. “Where’s Abacus? He, uh, left these here.”
“He was up real early,” Applejack said. “Ah just took him to the station, he’s gone by now.”
“But... these are his!”
“What are they, sis? We can mail ‘em if we need to.”
“They’re sketches of the town hall.” Applebloom unrolled the parchment on the table.
“Whew! These look pretty complicated.” Applejack squinted to read the writing. “Looks like he found a few buildin’ weaknesses in the town hall. Ah’ll at least show these to the mayor before sendin’ ‘em off.”
“You headin’ back into town then?”
“Yep.” Applejack grinned. “Y’all can’t come with. Y’all didn’t even do yer chores yet!”
Applebloom groaned. “Can’t Ah just leave ‘em be this once?”
“Not a chance, sis.”
Abacus took a deep breath. He was on the train back to Manehattan and his father. 'I’ll even get back sooner than I thought.' He groaned inwardly. He could see the city on the horizon, and he’d definitely be there before noon.
About an hour later, the train came to a stop at the Manehattan Central Station. His home wasn’t far from there, so he decided to forego hailing a taxi. He found the apartment building and headed up the stairs to the fifth floor. He knocked on the door labeled ‘501’ and entered.
“Dad?” he said. He stepped into the living room, which was full of clutter. He sighed. It looked like Plumb-bob couldn’t keep it as organized as Abacus preferred. “I’m back! Though Applejack, the farm mare in Ponyville, told me that apples don’t grow so well in the soil around Hoofington, though, but I got some cherry seeds instead. You can still have your orchard!”
“Cherries?” a voice called from another room. Abacus’ father, Plumb-bob stepped into the living room. He laughed. “If I’d wanted a cherry grove, I think that I would’ve mentioned that. What does this country hick know, anyway?”
“Her name’s Applejack,” Abacus said with a sigh. “She runs a huge farm, dad. She knows what she’s talking about.”
“Well, at least I did something productive over the weekend,” Plumb-bob said. He pointed up towards the ceiling. There was a square of the ceiling cut out, with hinges and a pull cord attached.
“...You cut into the ceiling? Dad, there’s ponies living above us. You’re the one who taught me about architecture, you know that better than me that that’s dangerous.”
“Yeah, but this is the best part!” He yanked on the pull cord. The cut portion of the ceiling gave way, and something fell on Abacus with a hissing sound.
Abacus screamed and fell over as the snakes wrapped around him.He flailed around, trying to get them off as Plumb-bob clutched his side, laughing. After a few minutes, Plumb-bob wiped the tears from his eyes and levitated the snakes off of Abacus, placing them into a large glass case.
“Oh man,” he said. “You should have seen the look on your face. Priceless!”
Abacus fought to catch his breath, still feeling the scaly creatures constricting his hooves. “Thats not funny!” he said, his heart racing.
“Oh come on,” Plumb-bob said. He laid on the couch and sprawled out. “I need to get my kicks somehow. Get this: management said they’re not letting me retire after all. So I’m not moving to Hoofington now! Can you believe that?”
Abacus gaped. “So you’re staying here?” he said.
“Yep, at least for a few more years.”
“I see,” Abacus said. He bit his lip and sifted through his saddlebags. He levitated the jar of cherry seeds out and chucked them at his father’s head.
“Hey!” his father yelled. “Watch it! I don’t need to give Betty and Berka another workout, do I?” He gestured towards the glass cage.
“Theres your orchard, dad,” he said. He started towards the door. “I’m getting out of here. Bye.”
“I’ll see you tonight!” Plumb-bob yelled, but Abacus was already gone.
“Didn’t you just come from Ponyville?” the ticketmaster asked. “I’m not great with faces, but I’d definitely remember one that I saw less than an hour ago!”
“Yeah, I did,” Abacus said. He pushed the bits towards him. “I’m going back again. I should have a long time ago.”
“Well, alright then, it’s your bits. The train’s still here. You can probably even have the same seat.”
“Perfect.” Abacus took his ticket and boarded the train. He found his seat again which was, as advertised, still empty. 'This is the right choice,' he thought. 'It’s not really planned. I’ll have to send my employment termination letter when I get there. If he’s still going to be there, then I’m sure not doing it in person. I can find work in Ponyville.'
He checked his bags and pulled out his money pouch. Looks like I’ve still got... twenty-six bits. Crap. Maybe I should just go back. He started to get up when the train lurched forward. No getting off now... That’s fine. It’s enough for a few days worth of food. I can find work by then. I hope... He wiped his eyes, and pulled back a damp hoof.
The train arrived at Ponyville and Abacus donned his bags. He exited the train and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes, he saw familiar pink curls.
“Hi!” Pinkie said. “Welcome to- wait, Abacus? Didn’t you already leave?”
“Y-yeah,” Abacus said. He glanced at the ground. “I-I just wanted... I mean, could I...”
“What?” Pinkie blinked.
Abacus took a breath. “D-do you know if that sweet shop needs any help?” he asked. “I could use a job.”
“Uhm...” she thought for a moment. “I don’t think so. At least not at Sugarcube. I don’t really keep up with job openings, though. Why?”
“I want to stay here,” he said. “Though, I don’t have a lot of money. Are you sure you can’t think of anypony that needs work?”
Pinkie bounced into him with a hug. “You wanna stay? That’s great news!”
“Pinkie, please,” he said. “Can you help me?”
“Sorry, not me,” she said. “The only pony I can think of is Applejack. That farm is not easy to work on. Take my word for it.” She shuddered. “The Apples don’t slack though, no sir, and that farm is always in great shape, so they might not even need help.”
“I... see,” Abacus said. He hung his head. “I’ll at least go ask Applejack. Do you know where she is?”
“Sure I do!” Pinkie said. “She’s at town hall. Which is weird, because she almost never goes there!”
“Thank you,” he said. “I’m pretty sure I know how to get there. I appreciate it, Pinkie.” He started away from the station towards the center of town.
“Not a problem!” she said. She bounced alongside him. “I hope you find what you’re looking for.” She smiled and bounded in the other direction.
“Yeah...” Abacus said. “Me too.”
A little while later, Abacus managed to find the town hall. It was easier than he thought, as he could see the tall roof from almost anywhere in the town. He stepped up onto the deck and knocked on the door. To his surprise, Applejack answered.
“Abacus?” she said. “What happened? The train break down or somethin’?”
“Erm, no,” Abacus said. He straightened his glasses. “I’m... kind of deciding to move here to town. I don’t have a lot of money though. Would you mind hiring me to work at the farm?”
“Hmm.” Applejack rubbed her chin and smiled. “Nah.”
“W-what?” he said, taking a few steps back.
She laughed. “C’mon inside,” she said. “You should hear this.”
He stepped inside the threshold of the town hall. The place was incredible spacious, and he could see the ceiling from the bottom floor. In the back of the room was an important looking mare with a grey mane. She was looking over some papers sprawled on a desk.
“Abacus, this is the mayor of Ponyville,” Applejack said.
“Nice to meet you,” Abacus said.
The mayor looked over him. She pointed towards two familiar pieces of parchment. “Do these belong to you?” she asked.
“Y-yes,” he said. “They’re mine. Is there something wrong?”
“I’ve been mayor here for a long time, you know.” The mare looked around the room. “And in all my time here, I never questioned this building.”
“What?” Abacus said.
“According to Applejack, you sketched those blueprints from looking at the hall from outside? You had no access to the original schemes?”
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “They were just random sketches. I didn’t even realize I’d left them.”
“I spoke to the head of the Ponyville Construction company,” she said. “They saw your sketches, and admitted the same flaws in their designs. So, I have a proposition for you, Mister Abacus.”
“Okay...” Abacus straightened his glasses.
“I’d like to make changes to the town hall,” she said. “Even Ponyville Construction admitted that your designs had merit, so I would like to purchase these blueprints.” She gestured to a bulging bag of coins on the desk.
“Really?!” he said. “I-I mean, yes, gladly!”
“There’s also another company asking me to commission building designs for them. I’d like you to talk to these people, and design something for them. Let me set up a meeting. Afterwards, come talk to me again, and we’ll see if your talents are something we can rely on in the future.”
Abacus gaped. The money was more than enough to keep him going until then. He might even be able to rent out a house.
“Thank you!” he said. “I- Thank you!”
“Don’t thank me yet,” she said. “I haven’t decided anything major. This is just to see if you’re as talented as you seem.”
“I won’t disappoint, miss!” Abacus said.
“We’ll see. You can go. You too, Applejack.”
He stepped outside and walked down the stairs. He flung his hooves into the air and whooped.
“Applejack?”
“Yeah?”
“I need to go talk to Pinkie.” Abacus grinned. “This calls for a party.”