//------------------------------//
// 4.1: A Horse of a Different Color 
// Story: Rich Soil 
// by Moonbat 
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	Up With the Sun…Almost
The morning sun had already started its course across the sky.  The loud hum of a cicada let the surrounding countryside know that the day's warmth was starting to settle in.  Under one particular tree, a mare slept peacefully.  Her sleep was so deep that even the sound of passing hooves didn't wake her.  Neither did the sound of the wagon being drawn along behind them.  A few minutes later, however, a massive thud jolted the mare awake.
She opened her eyes with a start but squinted them just as quickly in the bright morning light.  The first thing she noticed was the peace that surrounded her.  Though she didn't recognize where she was, she felt completely at ease.  She stayed on the ground a few moments longer to let the warmth of the country sink in.  That was when she smelled them.
She tried to open her eyes more slowly and saw a tree bearing a delicious smelling fruit that she couldn't recognize.    Either way, the tree's golden fruit enticed her.  Two things became painfully clear.  Firstly, a rumble from her stomach let her know that she needed to eat.  Secondly, she didn't know what the fruit was at all; being unable to identify the tree or its fruit disappointed her deeply for some reason.  The tree was tall, maybe three times her height.  She decided to climb it in order to reach the tantalizing fruit.  She put her fore-hooves on the bark and stepped closer with her hind-hooves.  Barely able to reach the lowest branch, she knew she would need to get higher.  She lowered her hindquarters and pushed off the ground.
She easily reached the lowest branch and wrapped a foreleg around it.  She then kicked off the tree to bring the rest of her body onto the branch.  The bough swayed, but held her weight.  Overjoyed, she picked one of the golden fruits and brought it close.  Realizing that it might be poisonous, she bit a small piece off and smelled it.  Then she gave the piece a tentative chew.  Her stomach rumbled.  Good enough, she thought, and she stood on the tree, quickly cramming the crop.
“Wow.”  The entire fruit was in her mouth when she stopped chewing to see what had just made that sound.  A large pony stood and stared at her, wide eyed.  I must have startled him speechless, she thought.  He just stared at her.  She jumped down, which made the pony back up in astonishment.  She laughed inwardly to see such a large stallion backing up from her significantly smaller frame.
“Mmm mph, mm!”  Her words didn't form themselves past the bits of fruit she hadn't swallowed yet.  She bit down some more and stopped suddenly.  Parts of this fruit were poison.  They were concentrated poison, at that.  The poor stallion watched in confused amazement as her mouth began to internally sort out the meat of the fruit from its poison.  After a few moments, she started spitting out small black pods and examining them.  She swallowed the rest of the fruit.
She took stock of the newcomer.  “Sorry about that.  I needed to separate that fruit from its... well, they seem to be seeds.  Would you like to take a look?”  Her accent was different from his.  Her words seemed to flow together.  He stared back, unresponsive.  “Look, you can see, this fruit has poison seeds.”  This was starting to become uncomfortable.  She smiled, realizing that this pony had probably never seen a mare in a tree before.  “I do need your help.  You see, I woke up in this row of trees and I'm not sure where I am.  I know this is a sight you don't often see.”  The stallion nodded slowly.
“Eeyup.”  While the mare was pretty sure that was an affirmative, she had never heard the expression.
“Well, do you think you could help me?  I can't remember how I got here.”  That seemed to register with the stallion.  His expression changed.  He started to trot off.  Not wanting to be wasteful, the mare tucked the strange seeds into a band on her right fore-hoof and followed after.
Climbing the tree earlier had given her a slightly better vantage.  She could at least see that the tree she had been on was one in a much longer row of trees.  Unsure of what to think about the row, she could at least tell that the trees had been specially taken care of and nurtured.  She saw their strong trunks and felt a large, intermingled system of roots.
Her head had been so lost in the trees that she didn't realize they had approached another pony.  “Now, Big Mac, where in the hay have you been?  Not sleeping, I hope.”
“Nope.”
“Good, because today's already shaping up to be a real doo... oozy.”  The new pony stopped as she looked at the strange visitor.  “Well, now don't that beat all?”
“Eeyup.”
“Well, howdy, I'm Applejack and this here's my brother Big Mac.”  This new pony wore a strange hat and spoke in a funny accent, but seemed exceedingly friendly.  While she had introduced herself, she rigorously shook the mare's hoof.  As she continued to speak, she continued to shake the newcomer's hoof.  “Why- why you're a zebra!  We haven't seen another one of you since Zecora settled in!  Well it sure is a pleasure.”  The mare looked at her hoof which had become a black and white blur.
“Yes I am.  It's good to meet you.”
“Say, you must be starved.”
“Actually, I- “
“Great, come on with me to the farmhouse.”
“Oh, so this is a farm?”
“Only the best apple farm Ponyville has ever seen.”
“So those fruits are called, apples?”  Applejack seemed taken aback.
“Haven't you ever heard of apples before?”  The mare shook her head.  “Well, you're in luck!  Come on, you're about to get a first class education in apples!”
As the three made their way, the zebra learned that she was in fact in an orchard, which is what ponies call an apple farm.  The farm was a family farm and it seemed Applejack was prouder of it than anything else in the whole world.  Not all of the trees were bearing the same apple fruit, either.  The zebra tried to pay attention, but there were so many types, and she was so hungry, that the mare couldn't possibly remember all the names.
“...and here's just one of the wonderful things we do with our apples,” Applejack pointed out a collection of machines that seemed to be horse-powered.  The zebra marveled at the whole operation.  She had never seen a farm so large; it stretched on for acres.  Applejack hadn't stopped relaying every minute detail of the farm as they passed, and this station was no exception.  Her brother, meanwhile, strode alongside them, proudly.  He hadn't spoken a word since the formal introduction.
“This here's where we make our cider.  Here, have a glass.”  Before she could respond, a frothy mug was thrust into the zebra's hoof.  
Instead of being concerned or distrustful, the zebra curiously stared at the glass.  She wondered what “cider” was and if it had any connection to the liquid in her mug.  She shrugged and took a sip... which turned into a gulp, which turned into the entire mug.  “Well, shoot,” Applejack grinned, “you'll fit in just fine.”
“This is delicious.  It also tastes like the same fruit those trees are growing.”  Applejack nodded.
“Sure is.  Apples are this farm's specialty and we do all sorts of things with them.  Say, you catch on pretty quick.  Well, here we are.”  Applejack pointed a hoof at a large house that lay just past what was apparently the cider making station.  “Well, don't be shy, come on in.”  Applejack hurried ahead and waved a hoof at the entrance.  The zebra trotted hesitantly but started to canter when she caught the scent of freshly baking bread.  Her stomach let out another growl.  When she stopped to clutch at her stomach, she didn't notice a red blur whiz by her.  After the hunger pang passed, she continued to the house
When she reached the threshold, she was greeted by a number of smiling faces.  Applejack greeted, or re-greeted, her instantly.  “Most of my kin are out at their own homesteads right now, but this here's Granny Smith, you met Big Mac, earlier, I'm Applejack, and this here's Applebloom.”  The zebra blinked in surprise at the stallion, when did he pass her?
“When did you- weren't you just-”
“Eeyup,” was the stallion's only reply.  He was making his way out of a family room and what seemed to be searching for the source of the smell.  A much older mare made her way from a rocking chair toward the zebra.
“Well, howdy,”  Granny Smith's joints squeaked as she moved, “I haven't seen another zebra since Zecora, and before her, well... that was while my kin was making our way out where we're settled today.  But that's a story for another time.  How are you, dearie? My name's Granny Smith, and this here's Applejack, and Big Mac's gone to take care of his stomach, and- where's Applebloom?”
A new voice exclaimed, “Right here, Granny!”
“What's that?  Where?  Applebloom, you get down this instant!”  A shiver ran up the zebra's back.  She realized that Granny Smith was talking past her.  “Our guest is not a jungle gym!”  This new voice was youthful and the accent seemed related to the rest of the clan.  The zebra would have chuckled, but was distracted by the sensation of four little hooves making their way up and down her back.
“Hey you're a zebra, huh?  That's amazing, just like Zecora, but your stripes are different.  Also, she doesn't have those bands on her arm.  What's your name, anyway?  You sure are smaller than her, though, and your hair's different.  Actually, I -wah!”  The zebra felt the weight on her back shift.  In an instant she felt that the small filly (the weight had been light, and the voice was female) had lost her balance.  Instead of letting the filly fall, she adjusted her center of gravity and bucked.  The filly flew straight into the air.  The zebra jumped backwards on her haunches to get a good look and to get herself ready to jump again.  She spied the yellow and red bundle spinning through the air and pounced, catching what must have been Applebloom by the scruff of her neck.  She lowered her safely to the floor.  The zebra stepped back to get a better look at the filly.  She noticed that the red on Applebloom was twofold.  The filly’s red hair formed a first layer, but a red bow rested atop her hair, forming a second.  The bow matched her hair almost perfectly, and both worked a sharp contrast to the filly’s golden coat.
Applejack stared, eyes wide and jaw slack.  Granny Smith seemed more concerned with discipline.  “Now what did I tell you, Applebloom?  You're just spoiling for an injury.”  Applebloom looked down and pawed at the ground, ashamed.
“I'm sorry, Granny.  It's just so neat to have a new pony in town.  'Specially a zebra.”
“Don't apologize to me, apologize to her!  And be thankful she's faster than a jackrabbit on a date, or you could've been hurt!”
Applebloom kept her head down, but raised her eyes miserably.  “I'm sorry.”  The zebra winced at the foal's admission.  She was sure she must have done something wrong to make the foal so miserable.
“That's okay, but your elder's right. That was not smart.  I'm glad I was able to catch you.”  Applebloom perked up when the zebra spoke.
“Yeah, you were amazing!  Could you teach me to do that?  If I could do that, I'd get my cutie mark in an instant!”
“Well, I could show you what I know, but it would take years of practice to perfect.”
“That'd be great!  I could be like, zoom!  And then you could jump and catch me while I'm flying in mid air!”   Applebloom was prattling excitedly and moving so fast that the zebra could only see her when she stopped to catch her breath.  The filly appeared under the zebra, then from behind a couch, and then from around the zebra's back.  Granny Smith was horrified.
“''Fraid not, sugarcube,” Applejack interrupted Applebloom's excited fantasy, “Somepony's got school.”
“Aaawww, shucks.”  Applebloom stopped and looked unhappy again.  A wave of relief showed on Granny Smith's face.
“Come on y'all, breakfast is ready!”  Everypony in the room made their way to the kitchen where an organized heap of delicious smelling foods flaunted their sights and smells at anypony that might dare to try and ignore them.

Over Breakfast
“Now, I've been thinking,” Applejack started, “How is it that you found yourself out this way?  You’re only the second zebra I’ve ever met.”
The zebra barely heard the last sentence.  Her attention was focused on the baked apple bread she was eating.  The idea of growing apples, cutting them up, partially drying them out, and then baking them into a bread made no sense to the zebra whatsoever.  Why wouldn’t they just eat the apples and bread separately?  The fact that it didn’t make sense somehow made the bread more delicious.  Her musings were interrupted by the word zebra.
“Mmph, mm?” she said, forgetting that her mouth was full.  Granny Smith gave a chuckle.
“Well shoot, Big Mac, I think we found another pony who likes Granny’s applebread more than you-,” Applejack started to tease but was cut off.
“Nope,” Big Mac bellowed.  The zebra was taken aback by the stallion’s sudden outburst.  She stopped chewing as the room fell silent.  After an uncomfortable pause and almost all at once, the whole Apple family started to laugh.  The zebra relaxed, finally swallowing her current mouthful.
“Did I miss something?”
“Don’t you worry none.  Big Mac’s just playing with you.”  The red stallion grabbed another slice of the bread and gave a grin.  “As I was saying, we’ve got chores that we’ll be doing all day, so I think you should meet Zecora.”  Applejack stopped as she remembered something.  “Say, I know we never gave you the chance, but what're you doing in these parts, anyhow?  I don’t want to sound rude, but we haven’t seen a zebra other than Zecora around these parts since… well, ever!”
“To be honest with you, I don’t know.  The first thing I remember is waking up this morning.”
"Not anything?” Applebloom interrupted.  “Haven’t ya got a name?  Or a family? Everypony has a family.”
“Hush, child, let her speak,”  Granny replied, concern in her voice.
“To answer your question, I can’t remember.”
“Aw, that’s sad.” Applebloom looked down and pawed at her plate.
“Well that settles it.  Applebloom, come help me with the saddle bags.  I can’t sit by while a po- er, a zebra's in need under our roof.  Big Mac and I are gonna be doing chores all day and Applebloom's gotta go to school,” Applejack ignored an “Aw shucks” that came from her sister, “But don’t you worry.  I’ll introduce you to Zecora.  She's a friend of ours. If anypony can help you figure out what’s going on, it’s her.  Besides, I can’t wait to see the look on her face when she sees another zebra.”
“Eeyup.”  Big Mac was wearing the same grin he had on earlier.
“C’mon, Applebloom.”
“O-kay!”
Applejack left the room with her sister.  The two started getting things ready.  They gathered up some water canteens and Applebloom’s school supplies and lunch.  They then distributed them between two sets of saddlebags.  They went outside and the filly started helping her sister put on the large of the saddlebags.  She looked up at Applejack.  The sun was behind her sister, silhouetting Applejack and making it hard for Applebloom to see her sister’s orange coat, golden mane, and cowgirl hat.  “I don't get it sis, why're we helpin' her?”