Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Spike all sat across the table eating their meals. They hardly noticed the two men across the table from them prodding the dishes set before them. Garrick was inspecting each dish carefully, putting down each one quicker than the last. Marshall stared at the sandwich in front of him, unsure of what to make of it. Never before had he seen flowers shoved between two slices of bread, and he really wasn't planning on giving it a try either. Marshall's pupils shrank as his stomach growled in protest of his refusal to eat anything. The noise caught the attention of their pony hosts.
"Uh, is something wrong with the food?" Twilight cocked her head to the side in confusion.
"Well, its not exactly...appetizing..." Garrick put down yet another dish. "Not to sound rude or anything, its just that we don't usually eat flowers and grass. Our stomach's don't exactly agree with that kind of... foliage."
"Did you ever try it!?" Pinkie Pie shouted through a mouth full of daffodil sandwich.
"Can't exactly say I have, bu-" Pinkie Pie interrupted Marshall, "Well, how can you say you don't like something until you try it silly filly!?"
"It's just sort of common knowledge back home, and I'd rather not put it to the test..." Marshall mumbled the last part of his sentence.
Rainbow Dash couldn't hold back her laughter, "Here i thought you two were some big scary monsters. But you're afraid of a little sandwich, man I had it all wrong!" The cyan mare's laughter soon caught onto the other ponies, and dragon. Their faces growing hot with embarrassment from the ponies' laughter, Garrick and Marshall looked at each other then back at the food.Putting aside their better judgement, the two men swallowed hard and chose the most appetizing dish each could find. It was the most difficult decision either man ever had to make.
"Well, bottoms up..." Garrick forced his jaw open, bringing the daffodil sandwich closer to his mouth. Marshall swallowed again and did the same with the handful of Hay Fries he chose. The ponies were now leaning over the table staring at the two men in anticipation. They watched as the distance between the food and each man's taste buds grew smaller. Garrick and Marshall each brought their teeth together at the same time. the ponies held their breath...
Both men stood up and ran into the kitchen at a speed rivaling Rainbow Dash. The ponies sighed in defeat as the sounds of war arose from the kitchen. The ponies, and Spike, looked at each other in confusion before rushing into the kitchen. Garrick had his mouth attached to the sink's faucet while Marshall was tearing through the librarians cupboards.
"What in the hay do you two think you're doing!?" Twilight yelled both in confusion and irritation at having her kitchen torn apart.
"I need something to get this taste out of my mouth!" Marshall continued to rip the many contents out of their homes, "don't you have anything edible in here!?"
"What are you talking about? Everything I have is edible." Twilight furrowed her eyebrows in frustration. Marshall reached the last cupboard muttering what sounded like a prayer under his breath. He ripped the doors open nearly pulling them from their hinges. The starving monster's eyes lit up in excitement.
"Garrick! Look, APPLES!!" Marshall's eyes teared up.
Garrick pulled his face out of the sink and looked in the direction that his co-pilots voice reverberated from. He rushed over to his friend nearly shoving him out of the way, he reached up and grabbed one of the ripe red fruits. Without hesitation he sank his teeth into the succulent flesh of the apple.
"This is the best damn thing I have tasted in a long time!" Garrick grabbed another apple and tossed it to Marshall. The co-pilot then dug his own teeth into the fruit.
"This IS really is good!" He forced out through bites.
Meanwhile, the group of ponies stood in the doorway both shock and in awe. Not even Rainbow Dash could manage to create a mess of this caliber so quickly. Picking her jaw up off the floor and finally finding her voice, Twilight Sparkle's eyes glowed in anger.
"I invite you two into my house and you nearly destroy my kitchen!" The lavender ponies horn began to glow as a purple haze surrounded the two men. They dropped their new found snacks as they were forcibly dragged across the kitchen floor towards the group of friends. "Mind explaining to me what that was all about!?" Twilight yelled in anger.
"Uh, well frankly your food sucks..." Garrick replied bluntly.
Marshall's pupils dilated at his, now loosely called, superiors comment. "What he means is, we really can't eat the same stuff as you ponies, like we had thought. Sorry about the mess, we just REALLY needed to get rid of that taste." Marshall smile sheepishly.
Twilight glared at both men when the sound of muffled giggles arose behind her. The purple mare turned her attention behind to the pink pony who had tears building up in her eyes as she covered her mouth with her hooves.
"What exactly is so funny!?" Twilight was becoming more irritated now.
"Your...your face....I've never seen you so angry before!" Pinkie Pie burst into laughter, followed by Spike and Rainbow Dash. Twilight couldn't stop the corners of her mouth from pulling back into a smile as she noticed just how funny her situation was, soon she was laughing as well. Both men looked at the ponies feeling themselves give in to the contagious behavior.
The laughter was interrupted by the returning sound of frustrated stomachs. Both Garrick and Marshall clutched their guts in pain.
"Yea, so it turns out we're still a tad bit hungry." Garrick winced at another surge of hunger.
Twilight sighed looking towards her war torn kitchen. "Well, you two sort of destroyed everything I have left, and I need to survive off of the remaining apples for the next few days."
"We could always head up to Sweet apple Acres and see if AJ has everything settled again, and maybe get some more apples for these two. They seem to be able to stomach them." Rainbow Dash suggested. Twilight Sparkle smiled at her friends thoughts.
"Very smart, why didn't I think of that? Ok, I guess we have no choice. Come on you two, just follow us." Twilight walked out of her tree house with her friends in tail. A certain baby dragon also followed suit. Twilight stuck her hoof in his way.
"Oh no you don't, there's a mess in there that needs to be cleaned up." The purple pony pointed her hoof towards the kitchen.
"But...but...I didn't do that!" Spike protested, "Why do I have to clean up after their mess!?"
"Because it's your job. Besides Rarity and Fluttershy might stop by and someone needs to be here to tell them where we are." The purple dragon perked up at hearing the fashion pony's name.
"Fine, but it doesn't mean I'm going to enjoy it..."Spike mumbled under his breath as he stormed off towards the kitchen.
After he was sure the dragon was out of ear shot, Marshall commented on the treatment, "Shit, that was kind of harsh."
"Yes, well he is a baby dragon and I really do need someone to stay behind. He'll get it over it when I bring him some sapphires back. So now that that's done, let's get going...again!"
_---_----_----_----_
"Yea...so these ponies are starting to make me feel kind of uncomfortable." Garrick whispered nervously.
"You are kind of...you know different." Twilight rolled her eyes. "I'd say its kind of natural for them to look at you odd."
"I understand that, but it's still awkward though." Garrick sighed in defeat. The group had just gotten through the center of town, ponies either backed away or stared at the two men as they walked past. It truly was a strange site, frightening to some, to be seen by the residents of Ponyville. There were a few every now and then that ventured forth with curiosity in the two creatures. They WERE walking with 3 of the 6 elements of harmony, so they must not be dangerous, right? While moving through the market, the group spotted a familiar Zebra with golden rings adorning her multiple appendages.
"Hey, its Zecora! HI ZECORA!!" Pinkie Pie called out. Their striped friend turned her head at the sound of her name.
"Ah, it is 3 of the 6 elements Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. I would like to ask who these two are, if it does not sound too rash." She turned her head in curiosity making her way over to the two pilots.
"Oh, well this is Garrick and Marshall, its kind of a long story but it seems like they may be from someplace else...far far away." Twilight Sparkle paraphrased.
"Someplace else indeed, these two are not of this world, that I can agree." The zebra lifted up one of Garrick's arms with her hooves, gently placing it back down after inspecting the appendage. "This build is not common you see, it is however not new to a creature from the Everfree." Garrick's eyes grew wide as the curious Zebra nudged his backside.
"Hey, don't start touching me in such odd places!" Garrick's face burned bright red.
"I apologize for my intrusion, its just not everyday one gets to see a human." Zecora blinked in confusion as the three ponies gasped collectively.
"Wait, how do you know what they are!?" Rainbow Dash cried out in surprise.
"I said it is not a rare site to see, many humans in the past have been visitors to the Everfree. Strange things happen deep inside, this is the reason every single one of you ponies run and hide. We Zebras have never lived in fear, this is why our knowledge is so revered." The Zebra concluded, again showing her vast and unrivaled knowledge.
"If we've known about these people for so long, how come I haven't heard about them before?" Twilight asked still stunned.
"I already explained this my purple pony, equestrians run and hide much like before you got to know me." Zecora reminded Twilight Sparkle.
The three ponies blushed slightly at this memory, "Oh, right...But that means that you have information about these guys! So now I can find out more about them!" The purple mare's face lit up with excitement.
"You could always just ask..."Marshall and Garrick said in unison.
"Why, so you two can destroy my kitchen again?" Twilight glared at the two humans. Garricks face twisted in shock.
"Hey, we did tell you ponies we couldn't eat that shit, but no you convinced us to try anyway! That reminds me, I'm still fucking hungry!" The angry human's voice reverberated enough that the ponies throughout the marketplace stared at him with a mixture of fear and confusion.
Twilight facehoofed remembering where they were supposed to be heading to. "Zecora, would you mind walking with us? I completely forgot about these two, we need to get them some food and so far apples seem to be all they can eat around here."
"Damn right you do." Garrick added, rather rudely.
"I thought you were supposed to love these ponies Garrick." Marshall joked, somewhat enjoying the torture Garrick appeared to be going through.
"Don't get me wrong I do, but when I'm hungry I get pretty pissed. Not even a pony is safe from that."
Marshall chuckled to himself, "So it would seem."
The group had continued their trek to Sweet Apple Acres with the addition of a Zebra who was soaking in the information from the past day and night.
_---_---_---_---_
The group soon found themselves between towering orchards of Apple Trees. There was a large workhorse in the distance pulling a cart full of Apples. The red stallion paused from his work noticing the group that was approaching, he waved a hoof in greeting.
"Hey Big Mac, is AppleJack still here!?" Rainbow Dash called out.
"Eeyup!" Big Macintosh replied pointing towards the barn.
"Thanks!" The cyan pegasus called back. Big Macintosh just nodded and turned his focus back towards his work. "That pony, I swear he does nothing but work all day everyday. Guy needs to take a break."
The group broke out into laughter at Rainbow Dash's "concern". After calming down, they picked up their pace as nearing the large farmhouse. Twilight reached her hoof out and knocked on the front door. A voice called from inside the barn, "Hold up, Ah'm a comin!"
The orange work pony made her way to the door and looked out in curiosity. "What are ya'll doing here, I said I'd meet ya' at the library."
"We know, but it seems like Garrick and Marshall can't really eat the same stuff as us for the most part. Apples seem to be an exception to that." Twilight hinted.
The orange mare nodded in understanding, "Hmm, ah' was actually putting some thought into this but couldn't think of a reason to ask.. Applebuckin' season is hittin' its climax, and me an' big Mac are behind on our bucking. Ah' was gonna see if you guy's were willing to help out, but these two might actually be pretty useful on account of their height and all. I'd be willing ta' feed em if they're willing to work for it." Applejack offered.
Garrick and Marshall looked towards each other silently coming to an agreement.
"Hell, I'm game." Garrick shrugged, "As long as I get something to eat I'll do anything."
"Same here, besides it would probably get pretty boring around here otherwise." Marshall added.
"That's good to hear, help yourselves to some a' them apples over there, then we've got some work to do." Applejack wiped some sweat from her forehead, it was time to see exactly how strong these two actually were.