“Big Macintosh, can ya come here for a sec? Bring Applebloom with ya.” Applejack called from the porch. Her brother had been working in the orchard with her little sister, who’d been regaling him with the latest Cutie Mark Crusader’s adventure. He picked up Applebloom and placed her on his back before moving towards the farmhouse. His sister grumbled on how she could get there on her own, causing him to smile inwardly. He secretly loved making her feel small and was going to do so as long as he could. Once at the porch, he knelt so she could get off, still grumbling, and walked inside. Granny Smith was in her rocking chair, knitting, and Applejack was standing by the stairs.
“What’s up sis?” Appleblooms voice was still showing signs of the indignation Big Mac had given her.
“Ah’ve got something to show y’all.” Big Mac showed no signs of interest, but Applebloom started jumping up and down in excitement.
“Is it ah new bow? No! How ahbout ahn applecart! But we’ve already got one o’them, so is it a new pet?” Her voice was excited and she ran up to her sister and looked at her in her best, what Granny Smith called ‘puppy dog eyes’ and asked “Is Winona havin’ puppies?!”
“No, she is not.” Applejack said with a roll of her eyes. Applebloom wilted and shuffled over to the table and hoped in a chair demurely. She had really wanted puppies. Ignoring the act, Applejack turned towards the stairs.
“Ya’ll can come on down.” She called out. There was an immediate sound of feet descending towards the kitchen, piquing Big Mac’s interest, and then his jaw dropped, an event that had only happened twice before. Descending the stairs were two creatures he’d never seen. One spoke, causing his eyes to go wide.
“It’s better than puppies!” The comment caused Applejack to facehoof and Applebloom to run up and examine the creatures with a curious look on her face.
“How’re you better than puppies?” She showed none of the shock that had claimed Big Mac as she inspected the creatures
“Well, we’ll be new family members if you want.” The male shrugged, smiling down at the adorable filly.
“Well, think of it as more of an honorary title than an actual blood relation” The female knelt down and patted Applebloom on the head, smiling. The male knelt down too and spoke politely.
“What’s your name?” He asked. Granny Smith hadn’t bothered to look up so far, engrossed in her knitting.
“Ma names Applebloom. Who are you two?”
“Well,” said the male “my name is Marcus and this is my friend Taylor.” Taylor waved at the little filly.
“Your mane is tha color of Big Mac’s coat. Are y’all sure ya aren’t related?” She narrowed her eyes accusingly. Marcus and Taylor didn’t see the intended terror and thought it was even more adorable.
“No, but we’re willing to be your brother and sister if you’d like.” Taylor said, and a slapping noise signaled Applejacks second facehoof.
“Ah’d love it!” Applebloom exclaimed. She began to hop around the two in a circle, chanting “Ah got a new brother and sister. Ah got a new brother and sister.” Applejack glared at Taylor as she spoke, never having enjoyed her sisters chants or songs since foalhood.
“Really? You had to do that?”
“How could I not? She’s so cute!” Taylor asked rhetorically, shrugging. At this point, Big Mac had begun to recover from the initial shock and pulled Applejack aside.
“Ah know what y’all are gonna say, so let me explain.” Applejack started. Big Mac regained his composure and looked at his sister with a flat expression.
“Ta make a long story short, they was camped on the edge of grandpa’s maple orchard, and me, Twi, RD, Fluttershy and tha princess met with them and they are good ponies… people… y’all know what Ah mean. I agreed to keep these two here while Twi took another and Fluttersy took two more.” Big Mac kept staring at his sister. “They say that they’re humans from a different planet and tha princess doesn’t think they are nuthin but harmless. They ain’t changelings, ok? They agreed to help out on the farm in return staying in the guest rooms.” Her brother continued to stare. “Any questions?”
“Eeyup. What do they eat?” Applejack placed a hoof to her chin and turned to the humans, with Applebloom still chanting.
“What do y’all eat?” Marcus looked up from the prancing filly and shrugged.
“Almost anything really. We eat fruits vegetables, dairy, meats, grains…” Applejacks eyes went wide.
“Did y’all say meat?” Seeing her terror in her eyes, Marcus quickly explained.
“It’s not what you think. No other creatures on our planet are intelligent to the degree that we are, and we don’t eat horses. I don’t think any culture does. Where we’re from, we are partial to pigs, cows, and chickens.” He was trying his best to keep her calm, but it wasn’t helping.
“Some of our friends are cows!” Applejack yelled in horror. Applebloom didn’t care or didn’t notice the exchange as she bounced.
“And we aren’t about to eat them.” Taylor interjected, being careful to not trip over Applebloom, who kept chanting as she now circled Marcus alone. “We’re not about to eat any of your friends, regardless of their species and our eating habits. What creatures here cannot speak and are rather, well, stupid?” She tried to phrase it as best as she could, but could tell stupid had been a poor word to use.
“Well, most birds ah guess. And pigs and chickens of course, fish too.” Applejack said slowly, trying to keep calm.
“Ok, so I guess Marcus and I will, if we get hungry for meat, eat eggs and fish. Is that ok?” Taylor was speaking carefully, trying to keep the situation under control. Applejack nodded, still a little unsure.
“But y’all said ya can eat plants right?” She asked hopefully.
“Yes, but we can’t digest hay, grasses, or leaves.” Taylor stood in the middle of the room, trying to calm Applejack.
“Ok ah guess. We can serve ya some fruit, salad, and eggs for dinner then.” At the mention of food, Marcus’ stomach decided to roar, since he hadn’t eaten breakfast ant it was almost noon now.
“Can we, um, have some of that sooner than dinner perhaps?” At the sound of her new brother’s desire for lunch, Applebloom ran into kitchen and started to sift through drawers, causing the pots and pans within to cause a ruckus. The noise finally caused Granny Smith to look up.
“Applebloom, just because yer friend’s hungry doesn’t mean ya can go around banging pots.” She looked back down at her knitting as the noise died down. Looking at her grandmother with confusion, Applejack sighed.
“Ah guess ah’ll help her with lunch.” Everyone followed her into the kitchen, minus Granny, who kept knitting.
The scene was comedic. Applebloom had somehow gotten in to the flour, and was as white as a ghost, leaving prints everywhere as she tried to make lunch. Applejack quickly took over, having her sister go and wash up while Big Mac, Marcus, and Taylor sat down at the table. Big Mac got his first up close look at a human and he wasn’t overly impressed. He reached the males, known as Marcus, neck in stature, his ears reaching the nose, so they weren’t overly tall compared to him, and they seemed relatively easy to knock over, walking on two legs and all. What did impress him was Marcus’ size. He was barrel chested, and his arms were obviously muscular as well. He could be helpful on the farm he decided. The female, Taylor, he wasn’t so sure about. She wasn’t as strong the male seemed, but instead she looked more lithe and toned than muscular. She could probably help with cider season and carrying apples if anything. And she unnerved him. She gave off a vibe similar to Rainbow Dash, and he did not need another one of her around the farm. Applebloom returned promptly and sat between the two humans, smiling proudly at the two new family members.
“So where’d y’all from?” She asked no one in particular.
“A place called Earth. It’s a planet.” Marcus thought she was the cutest thing he’d ever seen.
“Wait, yer aliens!?” Appleblooms face went into a suspicious look and she eyed the two at seeming the same time.
“Well, I guess.” Marcus answered honestly, shrugging. Appleblooms smile returned, bigger than ever. She began to jump up and down, going faster and faster until she was a blur. Marcus looked at her curiously while Taylor laughed. Leaning towards Big Mac, he asked “Is this normal?” Big Mac looked at the human, then back at his sister before answering
“Eeyup.” Looking at Big Mac now, Marcus asked another question.
“You don’t say much do you?”
“Nope.”
“I can respect that.” He smiled as he leaned back in his seat.
Applejack brought sandwiches over to the table, for the ponies, and a bowl of salad each with apples on the side for the humans. She had been sure to give them forks. Applebloom stopped jumping long enough to eat her sandwich and began to interrogate her alien family. They did their best to answer her incessant questions, rarely getting stumped, like with the questions ‘Who’s their favorite Apple family member’ and ‘Who do you think would win; Iron Will or Big Macintosh’. Applejack just watched, too entertained to save them. At one point, Applebloom gasped in horrible realization, Taylor later swearing she should have doubled in size with her lung capacity.
“Ah have ta tell Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell!” Before she could run off though, Applejack caught her tail, causing her to hang upside down in the air before she realized what was happening.
“Hey! That hurts Applejack!” She shouted as she was set down.
“Ah sorry sugarcube, but ya can’t tell yer friends. Rarity and Pinkie Pie don’t even know about the humans yet. We’re having a meeting tonight in the barn to decide what ta do. I’ll bring up your friends at that point ok?” Applebloom drooped again, causing Taylors heart to melt at the utter disappointment emulating from the filly.
“Ah guess…”
Both she and Marcus knew that they would be more than happy with the Apple Family. At this point, Granny Smith came in from her knitting and snagged a sandwich set aside for her. As she ate, she scrutinized the two new comers, namely Marcus, for a few minutes before turning to Applejack.
“Why can’t y’all bring back a proper stallion from yer adventures with yer friends?” She asked neutrally. “Ah want great-grandfoals.” Taylor burst into laughter from the look of embarrassment on Applejack’s face. The laughter caused the aged mare to turn to Taylor with a critical eye.
“An’ the same goes fer th’ two a y’all.” She remarked sharply. “Y’all wanna be Apples, y’all get me great-grandfoals.” Taylor stopped laughing as she and Marcus felt their eyes go wide and blood rush to their cheeks. In this silent state, Granny slowly walked out of the kitchen. One the door closed behind her, she snickered.
“Ah still got it.” She said to herself with an evil smile.