//------------------------------// // Apple Butter // Story: Life, Death, and Ponies // by thunderclap //------------------------------// It had been two weeks since your trip into Canterlot. Word had quickly spread throughout the city about your deed and you were regarded as a hero. Luckily, Celestia had prevented the story from spreading any farther. You had thanked her mostly due to the fact that you were unsure how to feel about all the attention. You still went out every now and then with Flarewing and a crowd of ponies usually formed around you as you did. At your last lesson Princess Celestia and Luna had told you that your proficiency with magic and knowledge of Equestria was enough to allow you to leave. You were disappointed of course you loved learning about magic and everything about the world you were now calling home. On more than one occasion you had spent all night in the royal library to read every form of book you could fine. A lot of what you read was pretty astounding to you. In a book that was about animals of Equestria. You noticed that many of the creatures in this world were nothing more than myths in your old world. You had learned that a lot Equestrian art wasn’t all that different than a lot of art you had seen back home. You had even read a little on Philosophy during your stay. Pony philosophy tended to be about the importance of trust and companionship but it was still somewhat interesting. But now it was time for you to leave the castle and venture off to the small town of Ponyville. Today was the last day for you in Canterlot then you would make your departure that night. You had decided to leave at night for a number of reasons. One being that you wanted to avoid a commotion in the town, the other was that you wanted to be able to say goodbye to Flarewing. In the short time that you had known him, Flarewing had become something like a best friend and mentor to you. Whenever you two went into town together he would insist that you talk to a few of the female students from the magic school. Even though he held back snickers at your miserable attempts at small talk, in his own way he was helping you overcome your apprehension towards women. It was a good thing too. During your third trip out into Canterlot you had noticed that women outnumbered men by quite a bit. You wondered why it had taken so long for you to figure something like that out. Then you realized that when you had first arrived most of your time had been spent in the castle and most of the guards were male. At first you were a little frightened at the prospect. Back home, most girls your age had wanted nothing to do with you and some even openly mocked you. Now you were facing the exact opposite. Thankfully, with Flarewing’s help you were now able to hold a somewhat normal conversation with a member of the opposite sex. Then you started thinking of the positives to leaving. ‘On one hand… I mean hoof, I’ll be leaving behind the only friend I’ve made in years. On the other if nopony knows who I am then I can live in some modesty and avoid all this hero worship. Not only that but I’ll get to meet this Twilight that Princess Celestia said is her other top student. I guess I can make the best of this.’ You thought with a soft smile creeping up on the corners of your mouth. By the time you were done thinking it was almost time to see the princesses. You went to the bathroom to freshen up and placed your shoulder bag across your back. You exited your room a half an hour later and were escorted into the throne room one last time. There the princesses sat waiting for you with warm smiles and tears in the corners of their eyes. Flarewing was also there, wearing his night guard armor. “Hello, Blackstar. It seems it’s time that you go to make your way in the world.” Celestia said. “Thank you so much Princess. I can never hope to repay the kindness that everypony here has shown me.” “If you really want to thank me, there were several requests for your ‘presence’ among many of the young mares of Canterlot.” Celestia said with an evil grin. Your eyes widened and your cheeks turned an impressive shade of red as you realized the hidden meaning in her words. “What my sister is trying to say is that your appreciation is more than enough.” Luna replied trying to ignore her sister’s small prank. “When we found you, you were confused, scared, and even depressed. Now you have opened up and became somepony that others not only respect, but emulate.” “Thank you again. I guess I should get going now.” You said while turning to exit the room. “Not so fast, we have a few parting gifts for you.” Celestia said, changing back to her original, matronly self. “I couldn’t accept any more gifts. You’ve already given me so much.” “We can’t just have one of our favorite students leaving with nothing but a few trinkets.” “I don’t know what to say.” “You could start with thank you.” Flarewing said with a chuckle. “Anyway,” Celestia said, “we are giving you a few hundred bits in order for you to purchase a home when you arrive. We are also giving you a few books on magic that I’m sure you’ll enjoy reading, and a few apples to eat along the way.” “Thank you so much, I almost don’t want to leave, but I don’t want to live off of your hospitality forever.” “We understand, goodbye Blackstar and may you find happiness in your new home.” “Goodbye, princesses.” You said with a slight bow. “Flarewing, thanks, you’ve been the best friend a pony could have.” “Don’t say it like that. You’re not getting away from me that easy. I’m gonna visit you every now and then to see how my favorite little bookworm is doing.” He said with his signature impish grin. “You just want to hit on the girls in town.” “Now that you mention it I could do that too.” With that you and Flarewing exchanged a gesture that you had appropriately named, brohoof. Then you took the princesses’ gifts, placed them in the remaining space in your bag, and turned to leave. The night air felt brisk and refreshing on your face as you walked. You had left the city a few hours ago and had made a note to thank Luna. She had obviously used her magic to make the light of the moon a little bit brighter for your trip. You never needed to stop for directions. The paths of Equestria were simple and easy to follow, not like the large highways that dominated your world. All thoughts of apprehension had left you after you exchanged goodbyes. ‘Flarewing’s gonna visit me, I’d better warn some of the mares in town beforehand. Huh, for the first time in a very long time. I think I’m excited. If I ever see God again I may have to hug him instead of slap him for all of this. Nah, I’ll do both.’ You thought with a smirk. You stopped at certain points to relieve yourself and to eat one of the apples that the princesses gave you. ‘I wonder what I should do when I get to this Ponyville.’ You thought as you took a bite of the apple. ‘I could become a teacher. Maybe they need someone to teach magic. I don’t really care what kind of job I get. I just want to live in peace at this point.’ You had to stop when the sun was rising, feeling your aching joints at having travelled for such a long period of time. You found a tree by the side of the road and rested for a few hours. You got up and travelled onward until nightfall again. You were tired from all of the walking and saw that you were surrounded by rows of trees. You figured that civilization wasn’t that much farther and decided to get some sleep until the morning. Your restful sleep was interrupted by someone poking at your side with their hoof. You reluctantly got to your feet to see who it was that had decided to wake you up. Standing before you was an orange pony with deep green eyes and a cowboy hat. She had long straw blonde hair that she tied into a ponytail with a red ribbon. You noticed that she was showing signs of fatigue and were about to say hello when she said. “What the hay are yah doin’ sleepin’ on mah orchard?” She had a deep southern drawl, which wasn’t that surprising given her choice of headwear. You looked around and saw that the rows of trees that you had noticed last night were actually apple trees. “Sorry, I was travelling for a while and I decided to sleep off of the trail. I didn’t know that it was your orchard.” You said, somewhat nervously. You muttered a curse as the feelings you thought were under control returned. “No problems there, I’m Applejack, What’s your name?” “My name’s Blackstar. I was just on my way to Ponyville, is it close.” “I’ll say you’re in it right now.” Applejack said with a laugh. “Oh, say why do you look so tired?” You asked hoping to hide your embarrassment. “I was up buckin’ apples for the last few hours, that’s why.” “All by yourself? That’s a pretty odd thing to do.” “Normally I have my big brother to help me, but he’s sick so I have to do it by myself today.” You stared at Applejack for a moment and considered how to respond. After a while you just opened up your bag and gave her your last apple. “Here, take this and rest. Let me take over for you a while as my way of saying sorry for sleeping on your orchard.” “I couldn’t do that. I barely know you and apple buckin’ is tough work.” She said with a shake of her head. “I insist, and don’t worry about it. I’m no stranger to tough work.” This wasn’t a lie. You had actually spent about a year on a farm as one of your foster homes. The people there weren’t abusive or annoyingly optimistic. They were simply hard working people who had expected you to work hard too and only spoke about personal topics if you wanted to. It was actually one of the few times you had felt at peace after your family’s death. Of course it didn’t last, nothing in your old life had. Applejack gave you a wary look for a moment or so, before speaking. “I suppose it’s alright. But none of that fancy magic.” She said pointing an accusatory hoof at your horn. “I wasn’t planning to.” After a few miserable attempts and snickers from the farm pony, you were finally able to get into the rhythm of apple bucking, each swift kick from your hind legs shaking apples loose from the tree. “So tell me, Blackstar. What brings a pony like you to Ponyville?” Applejack asked after you had been working for about an hour, eyeing you suspiciously. “I’m gonna be living here from now on.” You replied, wiping sweat off of your brow. “Do you have any ideas about what you’re gonna be doin’ here?” “No, I still need to find a job. I was thinking of something along the lines of a teacher, but I’d be happy with just about anything really.” “Well, we’ve already got a teacher, but I’m sure you’ll be able to find somethin’.” She said with a chuckle. “Here let me help yah, I’ve rested long enough.” “Sure thing.” After a few more hours of bucking apples it was about two in the afternoon. You and Applejack were sprawled out on the ground, exhausted. “You’re right, that is hard work.” You panted. “Yeah, but you did alright seein’ as it was your first time. I’m hungry what about you.” “I haven’t eaten anything since last night so yeah I am a little hungry. What do you have to eat around here?” “We’ve got: apple pie, apple fritters, apple tarts…” Applejack started to list off an endless amount of apple based products at speeds you couldn’t quite follow. “Uh, I’ll just have some toast with some apple butter if it’s all the same with you.” “Apple what?” Applejack asked you with a confused look on her face. You stared at her with your mouth agape. You couldn’t believe that an apple farm that boasted an almost unlimited number of apple based treats didn’t have one of your favorite comfort foods. Your father’s family had an old recipe for apple butter that you had seen a number of times. Making your mind run like clockwork to pull up the memories of the delicious spread, you looked at Applejack with a serious look in your eyes and said. “You need to show me your kitchen right now.” Once you were inside you immediately set to work on gathering all of the ingredients. “Applejack do you have any apple cider around here, preferably with some alcohol in it.” “Yeah, we got a bit left over from cider season this year.” “Good I’ll need that.” Applejack returned a few minutes later with a decent amount of cider for your concoction. She was followed by a young pony with light yellow fur and a red mane that had a large pink bow in it and orange eyes, and by an elderly pony with a frizzy white mane done up in a bun, light green skin, and the same eyes as the young pony. “Who’s this Applejack?” The young filly asked tilting her head. “Granny Smith, Apple Bloom, this is Blackstar. He’s movin’ into Ponyville.” Applejack said as a way of introducing everyone. You nodded, without turning away from your work. “Ah found him this morning asleep in the orchard and he helped me with apple buckin’. Now he’s showin’ me somethin’ called apple butter. ” You finished your work with the three ponies watching you as you did so. Eventually the sugar from the cooked apples caramelized turning the entire mixture a shade of brown. You grinned as you took some of your creation and spread it on some toast that you had made along with the apple butter and handed it to Applejack. You watched her face carefully as she took her first bite.