//------------------------------// // Applebuck Season // Story: Order In Equestria // by Bowenross //------------------------------// The party lasted for three whole days, going as long as Pinkie Pie was awake. And she didn't sleep for three days! Even though I really didn't need to sleep, my body was still accustomed to sleeping every night. I stayed awake through all the celebration, eating all I could and playing all the games I wanted to. I used my powers to cheat on only a smidgeon of the games. During hide and seek, I turned myself invisible and watched as ponies would walk right in front of my face looking for me. As the festivities wrapped up because Pinkie Pie had finally fallen asleep, I was getting prepared for anything that might come up in the next few days. I knew that the pace was going at about the same speed as canon seemed to go. I had noticed how the words the others had said changed from what they normally said. That could mean that the episodes could be out of order as well. I was placing instruments around town when I heard a rumbling off in the distance. I could see a large cloud on the horizon coming towards Ponyville. "Well, it seems that the timeline is still intact. I'll go and congratulate AJ on her saving the town and then I'll help prepare the town for the celebration." I started to trot over to the place where the others were, but then I remembered that I still had wings. I extended my wings and took to the sky, arriving much sooner than I would have if I was walking. "Congratulations AJ, I believe that a celebration is in order to thank you for saving the town." I could only think of saying it this way, I was starting to sound like Luna. "Hey, that's what I was about to say!" Pinkie Pie popped up right behind me, surprising the heck out of me. I thought that she would be asleep for the rest of the day. "Well, I didn't see you here so I figured that you would want me to say it for you. Also, don't come up behind unsuspecting people, it may scare them." I realized my mistake right after I had finished my sentence. "Well, I figured you would have seen me when you flew over here. It would have been easy to see me cause I was standing in the middle of the road, silly." Pinkie hopped around to my front. "And what do you mean by 'people'?" "Yes, what do you mean by 'people'?" Twilight came up to me, holding a quill and some parchment. "I meant nothing of it; I don't even know why I said it. I meant to say ponies but that came out instead." I gave a blank look to make sure that they couldn't tell that I was lying. They looked skeptical at first, but then they probably decided that it really was just a slip of the tongue. I mentally released the breath I had been holding. If I had let it slip this early on, then it could have been a disaster. "Well, we should get started in prepping the town for the celebration. It should take a week or so to make sure everything is ready for a super duper awesome celebration. Just remember that you still have to help me bake cupcakes next week for Ponyville. They're going to be delicious with you helping me bake them." Pinkie was telling AJ. Then she turned to me. "No offense Ordeus." "None taken, I know I can't make baked goods as well as AJ or you or the Cakes. I just do my best." I walked off as the others were telling Applejack what they still expected her to do the following week. I felt that I should have asked her if she needed help bucking apples, but I know she would have said no because it would damage her pride to accept the offer. I decided I would just wait a week for everything to happen and then I would talk to her, and if she still wouldn't accept I would talk to Granny Smith. I knew that Applejack was terrified of Granny Smith when she was in a bad mood. ~0~0~0~ The last few days had gone by fairly quickly. The tasks of putting up most of the decorations had taken up large amounts of my free time. I helped fix anything Derpy had broken when trying to help Rainbow Dash. The day where Applejack was supposed to receive her award had come. Twilight had gone up on stage, only to be interrupted every time she was about to speak. I laughed softly each time she was interrupted because it was entertaining to see her be frustrated. Applejack finally came up through the crowd to receive her award, and Pinkie joined in on her 'wooing' at the trophy. I started to think about the next things I would do. I would avoid any and all muffins made today, stay off the streets by flying to avoid bunnies, and avoid a launched Rainbow Dash. Sounded really easy when I thought about it, I don't see why others hadn't thought of it sooner. Then I remembered that no one knew that these things were going to happen. I laughed at my foolishness and started to see what else I could do to pass the time and avoid the craziness that was going to happen today. I decided that I could just go to the library to see what they had to read there. I headed off in the general direction of the library and Twilight joined me when I was halfway there. She was obviously worried about the state Applejack was in. "Do you think we should try to help Applejack, Ordeus?" She asked me, looking up to my face for a response. "I think that you should try to do it yourself and ask your friends for help. I try not to get involved in the matters of other people just in case I might mess something up. So I stay out of others business unless it could cause an unbalance in the world." We had just reached the library and twilight looked at me with a disapproving look. "You obviously have learned nothing about friendship in the time you have stayed here with us. Heck, even I learned more in the time I've spent with my friends. Thank you for keeping me company in the time it took to get to my home. Now, I must get to studying. I wish to not be disturbed, so good day to you." With that she slammed the door in my face and locked her door. With my previous plan dashed, I started thinking of other things I could do while I waited for the day to end and Twilight to send her letter. I could see what the others were up to, but that would probably interfere with the schedule of the day. I could also go see what Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were up to, today was a break day to celebrate Applejack saving the town. So I headed off to the Carousel Boutique to see if Sweetie Belle was there first, before trying to find where Scootaloo was. As I walked to the door, I could hear Rarity yelling at someone in the store. I guessed that it was Sweetie because I could see smoke coming out of the kitchen window. I walked in and the bell rang above my head. Rarity had gone silent as soon as she had heard the bell go off. She walked into the main room of the boutique and sighed as she saw me, realizing I wasn't an overly important customer that required all of her attention. "Well, hello there Darling. How are you today? Do you need something?" She walked across the room to stand in front of me and she started to scuff at the floor with her hoof. "I am doing well today, thank you for asking. I do need something that requires your skillset. I figured that since I am going to the Gala, I am going to need a suit that would help me fit in with the rest of the guests there." I walked over to a small display of suits she had set up in the store and I looked for a suit that would look good on me and that was reasonably priced. "I would be glad to make a custom suit for you, I don't think that any of the suits I currently have would fit you or match with your unique colors. I will need to get your measurements and a date that you would like the suit to be finished by." She got out measuring tape and started to measure me. She wrote down all the measurements on a sheet of paper and set everything back where it was before she started. "Thank you for the offer Rarity. I would like it to have all of my colors on it as well as some designs. I don't really have a day that it needs to be finished by; it just needs to be finished before the Gala comes along. It should also be finished in time for changes to be made. I will pay in advance for it as well; I don't want to have to worry about payment later." As I finished talking, I could hear a thunderous clanging in the kitchen. I walked over to the door that led into the kitchen and opened it to find that the kitchen had been completely covered in pots and pans that had recently been in the cabinets or in the sink. I could just see a bit of Sweetie's tail under a smaller pile of pots in the corner of the room. I levitated the pots off of Sweetie Belle and levitated her over to the door of the room. I then proceeded to clean up the kitchen, placing all the pots and pans where they were supposed to go and repairing the table and chairs. Rarity had come up behind me halfway through the process and hugged me. I silently acknowledged her hug and finished up the task at hoof. Sweetie Belle was ecstatic to say the least, she didn't have to clean up the huge mess she had created and her sister wouldn't yell at her again because I was here. I smiled at Sweetie Belle and picked her up and set her on my back. Rarity was flabbergasted to say the least. "Why are you letting my sister on your back, Ordeus? I would think someone of your standing and age would act more… mature." She lifted Sweetie off of me with her magic and set her back down onto the floor. "Well, I love playing along with the younger ones. It makes me feel younger, and there is usually less drama involved. So, Sweetie, are you going to be meeting up with Scootaloo today to do something?" I looked to Sweetie Belle to see what she would say. "Well, we were thinking about going to get free samples of the muffins that Applejack and Pinkie Pie were going to make today and then see the awesome tricks Rainbow was going to do. Want to join us?" She looked up at me with the biggest puppy dog eyes that I had ever seen. I looked at her and shook my head. I had immunity to any and all puppy dog eyes tried on me. I put her on my back again and let her slide down to the floor, using my tail as a slide. I then rewrapped the base of my tail. "No, I am afraid that won't be possible for me today. I have some other things to attend to. But, I will drop you off where you are going to meet Scootaloo, if that is okay with your sister. Is that okay with you Rarity?" Sweetie Belle and I both sat down and gave Rarity puppy dog eyes. She couldn't handle it, and she gave in within the first three seconds. "You may bring her to her meeting place, Darling. Just do remember to be careful. I would hate for her to be injured." She looked worried that I may harm Sweetie Belle somehow. "Don't worry, Rarity. I'll be really careful to not let her get injured. Now, hop onto my back Lady Belle, to the meeting place WE RIDE!" With that, Sweetie jumped on to my back. I whinnied and galloped out the door. I would have given a thousand bits to have the look on Rarity's face framed. I leapt into the air and spread my wings, ascending as I went further from the boutique. "So, where are you and Scootaloo supposed to meet up at?" When there was no answer, I turned my head around to see Sweetie Belle covering her eyes and shaking in fear. "There is no need to be afraid, I won't drop you. Even if you fell, I could easily put you right on my back again. Now, where are you and Scootaloo supposed to meet at?" "We are supposed to meet at the school house. She should already be there waiting on me. And please don't fly when you're letting others sit on you, it is really scary." She looked straight into my eyes, not wanting to look down as we quickly descended towards the school house. "I'll remember that for the next time. We have arrived at your destination. You may now disembark from the craft. Please pick up any luggage that may be left behind, and have a nice day." I lowered myself to the ground and lowered my wings like ramps so that Sweetie Belle could easily get off of me without injuring herself. Scootaloo was already sitting at one of the benches near the playground. When she came over to us, she and I hoof bumped and I gave her a noogie. She laughed and went over to Sweetie. "So, I see you have met our school day savior. Are you two ready for an awesome day of free treats and awesome stunts?!" She looked excitedly towards the both of us, holding both her hooves up for hoof bumps. "Sorry, I can't join in the festivities of today. I have work to do around town. I was just dropping off Sweetie Belle to meet you here." I gave them both a wave goodbye and walked off towards town hall to see if there was a job board. I also was thinking about getting a plot of land so that I could build my own place to live. I could walk around in my house in my normal form without worrying about the panic it would cause if I walked around town like that. I walked into town hall first to procure a deed for land. The secretary of Mayor Mare let me in the office to see her boss when I came up to the door. She looked like she was expected to do a perfect job when I was there. No doubt she was trying to make a good impression. I sat down in a chair in front of the desk the mayor was sitting behind, and she was turned around so she didn't know who came in. "Please sit down in one of the chairs and I'll get right to you. I am somewhat busy right now." As she was rummaging in the drawer she was next to, she bumped her head. "It's fine; take as much time as you want. I am in no hurry." I grabbed a magazine that was lying around and looked at the front page. Ugh, it was a fashion magazine. As I had spoken, Mayor Mare had banged her head again as she turned around to see me sitting in one of the small chairs. She gasped and ran back to her desk chair, pushing it towards me. I shook my head and put the magazine down; I wasn't going to take her chair so that I could sit comfortably. She got the message and sat in her chair behind her desk, wringing her fore hooves nervously. "So, Ordeus, what brings you here today? I hope that the town is welcoming you and that you feel comfortable here." She started to move all the documents off of her desk so that it didn't look cluttered. The only problem was she didn't correctly place them in the drawer she had opened. I tsked and used my magic to properly organize the papers. "Well mayor mare, I am feeling largely welcomed in the town. As for what brings me here today, I require a plot of land to build a home upon so that I may get out of the Cake's manes and become a permanent resident of Ponyville." As I finished cleaning up the drawer, as well as the rest of the room, Mayor Mare had pulled out some papers from the filing cabinet she had been going through before. She laid them out in front of me on the desk. "We have a few plots of land that are currently being unused right now, if you would like to purchase one. Just look though these to see which would most likely suit your needs. I would recommend the one that just opened up beside the town hall. I would allow somepony like you to easily get somewhere in town quickly." She looked at the papers and pushed one towards me. I looked at it, and automatically thought no. It was a small plot of land, and it was in a place where many ponies could watch me. I shook my head and she sighed and put the paper back into the cabinet. "I would like to purchase someplace that is not in a crowded area, if that is possible. And it would be great if it was a large area. I have some bits that are just sitting in my pocket, and they are not going to be spent otherwise." I had started to look through the papers as I explained what type of place I would like to buy. There were a few that caught my eye. Mayor Mare had pushed three others my way. Some of them were on the outskirts of town and were pretty large. I narrowed it down to two though. One was next to both the farm and the Everfree Forest, sitting just in between them, and it was very large. The other was smaller but more secluded, as it was a small distance from Fluttershy's house. I decided on this one because it was closer to where I came out of the forest and it was where less ponies would see me if I wanted to change form. "Well, now that you have picked it out, I need you to sign out the forms and get started on your payments. You can start with a thousand bit payment for 10 years or a five hundred bit payment for twenty two years." She handed me the forms and was looked for the bag where I could place my first payment. I was finishing filling out my forms when she finally found the bag. She was surprised at how quickly I finished filling out the forms, but she quickly passed the bag over to me. "Oh, I completely forgot. I won't be making regular payments. I'll just pay it all off right now." I pulled out my coin purse and paid her fifteen thousand bits. "Keep the extra and fix this place up a little. Thank you for your time and I shall now be leaving." As I left town hall, I could hear the mayor yelling her thanks at me. I just smirked and kept walking. I walked for a few more minutes before I realized that I could just fly to my destination and it would be much quicker. I flapped my wings and took off towards the land I had just bought. It was about twenty five acres of just grass and a few trees. I could see Fluttershy's house in the distance and could see that she was getting ready to count the bunnies with Applejack. I quickly beat a hasty retreat towards town to 'buy materials' for making my house. I wouldn't really make one when I could just imagine one out of thin air. "Welcome there, how can we help you at Wood Chops Lumber?" A brown earth stallion asked me as I entered the warehouse that stored the lumber I would 'purchase'. I could only assume that he was Wood Chop from the cutie mark he sported, a large oak tree with an axe stuck in the side of it. "Yes, I would like to make a purchase of lumber to make my house." I leaned in close to him to whisper. "I don't really need to buy materials, but I figured it would be strange if it didn't look like I did. So I am going to make a small donation of a thousand bits and you can put me down as having had bought the necessary amounts of lumber to build a small home." I slapped the thousand bits on the counter he stood behind and waited for him to react. His eyes had widened and he stood there stammering. He pulled out a small piece of paper and wrote my name down on it as well as the amount it would have taken to purchase the lumber. I had let them make a profit of over five hundred bits in the payment I had made. "Thank you for your patronage sir, we hope to do business with you again." When I had left, it looked as though the stampede of bunnies had already passed through the town. I saw Twilight start towards the farm, and I decided to follow her. I caught up with her as she made it to the gate, and she just gave me a glare. "Where have you been all day? You should have been here to help with what Applejack was doing." "Well, I was buying a deed to a plot of land so that I could set up residence instead of just staying at Sugar Cube Corner. I was also buying the materials I needed to make a house." I gave her a smile and continued to walk to where Applejack was bucking trees. Twilight just looked at me and gave an exasperated sigh. When we had convinced Applejack to let us all help her buck the rest of the apples, everything went smoothly from then on. We finished up and she sent her letter to Celestia, and soon after it was too late for everyone to stick around. As we left the farm, Twilight pulled me to the side to confront me about my behavior. "You could have even acted like you cared for her wellbeing at least, not just go on your merry way doing what you did today." "As you may recall, I wasn't exactly tasked with being friends with everypony in town. I was only tasked to become accustomed to the ways here and learn the ways of friendship. I was not told to become anyponies friend, and I shall make friends with who I wish to be friends with." I walked away from an angry unicorn that didn't see things my way. I honestly didn't care, and it didn't really matter in the long run. We would talk things out later after she had calmed down, and we would become friends. I flew back towards my plot of land and set up my house. It looked like any normal house in Ponyville, but it was much smaller on the outside than it was on the inside. It had all the furniture I needed as well as the appliances I needed. It also looked like a normal mansion on the inside, staircases led to the second floor right in the foyer and there were red rugs and carpets placed on the floor. I headed towards the library/study and looked in. There were hundreds of bookshelves placed around a desk at the center of the room that had a small lamp sitting next to it. Pleased with the way I had set up my house, I headed to the room next door that was my bedroom. As I opened the door, I shifted forms so that I could stretch and yawn without being in my pony form anymore. It got the job done, but it could be tiring being that way all the time. I placed my armor on a rack next to a few other racks in my room that held other sets of different armor. My armor was nothing special, just a chest plate and plate legs that were gold with a trimming of caramel brown. I went into my bathroom and took a long bath in the large marble bathtub, sighing contently as the warm water loosened up my muscles. As I got out of the bath, I dried myself off and got on some sleep pants I pulled from a set of mahogany drawers I had in my room. I climbed into my large, curtained bed and hoped that I could stay like this for a while as I drifted off to sleep.