Memory-3: Apple Family Dinner
"I want to make the world a better place, to end this war. That's our job, isn't it? To bring peace without bloodshed."
The rest of the day passed quickly, between working the field and feeding the animals. Soon, the sun set, and a full moon took it's place in the sky; the one thing I could say was that Luna made some beautiful nights, there were even some days when I preferred the night over the day.
We were all gathered at the table in the Apple family house, me being seated between Applejack and Granny Smith, who didn't look a day older then when I'd first met her. And Big Macintosh sat next to Cheerilee, after having put Cranberry Apple to sleep in, what used to be, the guest room.
If there was one thing the Apples were good at, it was making apple related treats. Having apple pie wasn't really what you would call a healthy dinner, at least not back at home, but here it seemed just fine.
I hadn't gotten fat yet, at least.
"So, what made you guys choose the name, Cranberry Apple?" I asked the two parents, picking up another piece of pie from the pan at the center of the table. I was already working on my third slice.
Cheerilee was the first to answer. "Well, we didn't decide to name her that at first. I wanted to her after my great grandmother, Cranberry Sauce," she said, actually taking her time eating, rather then scarfing it down like the rest of us.
"And Ah wanted t' name her after ma great aunt, Apple Turnover." Big Mac added, wiping some of the pie crumbs off his mouth with the back of his hoof. "But we couldn't really choose between th' two."
"So, we decided to combine the names. We wanted to try Apple Sauce, but there's already somepony named Apple Sauce," Cheerilee giggled. "Cranberry Turnover didn't sound like such a good name for a foal, so we went with the next best thing, Cranberry Apple."
I nodded, smiling widely at the two. "The old naming fusion, huh," I mused, laughing a bit. "I remember back at home, there was this girl who got pregnant. A totally loose chick, mind you. The baby's daddy was between two guys, but not one of them wanted to own up or even take a test. Their names were ... Davon and Tray, you can imagination what the girl named the kid."
"...She named 'er foal after th' both of 'em," Applejack said, eyebrows raised. "What was it, Vontray or somethin'?"
"That's close," I replied, smirking a bit at Applejack's face. "She named him, Trayvon. I'll tell you, out of all my friends, I probably felt worse for the kid, being named under those circumstances." I shrugged, "but that's what happens when you sleep around, and don't use protection."
"Well, that won't be Applejack or Apple Bloom, Ah c'n tell ya that much," Granny Smith said, with seriousness in her voice. "They're gonna follow Big Macintosh's example and get married first, before there are anymore foals runnin' 'round this house."
I raised my cup of apple cider to the old mare. "Spoken like a true grandmother, Granny Smith," I said. I took a slip and laid it back down. "My grandma was the same way. Though, she did give us more leeway then she did our dad. At least that's what she said." I smiled, going over the memory as I talked. "When my older brother started dating, she didn't find out until later, and my grandma hated being the last one to find out things. She had three rules about dating." I took another bite of pie. "If you dating someone, you'd better be honest, cause she ain't raise no cheaters. Be safe, and if you're having sex, it better not be in her house, and it for damn sure better not be on her bed."
"Wait, why would somepony have ...intercourse on a bed that's not theirs," Cheerilee asked, not completely understanding.
I clarified it for her, chuckling. "Oh, you've got it all wrong. When I say her bed, I don't mean her bed, grandma meant our beds. Because according to her, she brought the beds, there for, she owns em'. And the other thing she couldn't stress enough is use protection, and you'd better not break the rules."
"An' what happened if ya did break th' rules?"
"That's easy, Mac," I said, plainly. "She threatened to slap the black off us both. Or her other favorite, slap us into another nationality."
"Slap ya into another nationality. Don't ya think that's kinda harsh," Applejack uttered, drinking some cider. "How would that even work?"
"Simple, it's like, for example, Granny Smith slapping Big Mac so hard, he turned into a pegasus. It's funny, but grandma was dead serious," I laughed. Finding the image of Big Mac as a pegasus funny.
Big Mac laughed as well. "Ah'll tell ya, yer grandma sounds like she was one tough lady," he said. "Must 'ave been hard on ya."
"Believe me, she was," I replied, with a nod. "But it was all out of love. If not for her, I probably would've acted a fool and got thrown in jail at some point."
"Sometimes, tough love is th' best type o' love, sugar cube," Applejack said, smiling.
"True, I've seen it work wonders," I agreed. A moment later, "by the way, where is Apple Bloom?"
"She had a job to do in Manehattan," Cheerilee answered. "A project for Sliver Spoons' father, you remember her right?"
"Oh, Yeah. I remember her." How could I forget, damn filly wouldn't leave me alone when we were younger. Her and the other one with the stupid crown. talk about mean girls.
Dinner continued like that. We talk and laughed, just having a good time enjoying each others company. When I first stayed here years back, I was mad at everyone; not that it was their fault I was stuck here. I was upset, and I needed to take it out on someone. And, I ended up making Apple Bloom cry after saying some pretty harsh things.
She forgave me. But, it's still something I regret doing when we were younger.
At some point, I ended up suggesting something to Big Macintosh.
"Aye, how about tonight we go to the Silver Hoof …?" I finished off the last bit of pie, feeling as full as can be. I had to have eaten a whole one to myself. "I haven't been there in a while, was wondering if anything changed."
Big Mac thought on it, then shrugged. "Ah don't see why not. Ah ain't been there in a long while, either."
"It's settled then! We can have a guys night out!"
I got up and took my plate into the kitchen, putting it in the sank. As I did that, I heard Cheerilee talking the Big Mac in the dining room.
"Well, if you two are going out. Have a good time, just be sure not to stay out too late, Mac."
"Don't worry, sugar plum. Ah'll only be out for a lil' while."
I came out the kitchen just in time to see Big Macintosh giving Cheerilee a peck on the lips, waiting for me at the door. In some ways, I envied Mac; taking care of Rose, finding the right girl never came to mind. But somehow, it only reminded me that I didn't belong here, even if my friends made me feel welcome.
Despite my inner conflict, I walked up to the happy couple with a smile on my face. "You ready to go, Big Mac?"
"Eeyep." He answered, with a nod. I saw he had another piece of wheat in his mouth. Did he have a stash somewhere? I won't be surprised if he did, to be honest. Shrugging it off, I opened the door and we walked outside, following the trail towards Ponyville.
XxxxX
"Reach out,
don't regret what you could have,
Cause, honey, it'll be fun,
Falling for each other,
In this shinning life of ours."
Over the sound of the jazz singing mare song on nicely decorated stage, another talked loudly to me over the music. "-And, when tell you ponies in Fillydelphia know how to get down, they know how to get down. The party had to have lasted until like, seven in the morning! Best. Party. Of this year, hooves down," the electric blue and light blue maned mare said.
The mare next to her sighed. "Vinyl, dear, you've told this story five times this week," she muttered.
"Aw, c'mon Octavia, lighten up," Vinyl Scratch smiled, giving the mare a playful nudge. "Besides, he did ask what I've been up to. I'm just answering the question."
"Whatever you say, Vinyl." Octavia uttered, before returning her attention back to Big Macintosh, who was sitting beside me. "Anyway, Big Macintosh, how are Cheerilee and the foal doing? Fine, I hope."
"Eeyep, their jus' fine, an' with Granny Smith Applejack's help, Ah'm sure we have everything we could ask for," Mac answered, using his hooves to take another sip of apple whiskey. "Though, things have been pilin' up. Th' army's been placin' more an' more orders fer apples everyday, it seems like. But, we Apples ain't no strangers ta hard work. Ah'm sure we c'n handle it."
"I see." Octavia nodded. "That's good to hear. I've always wanted foals of my own. I just can't seem to find the right stallion."
"Maybe that's because you keep runnin' them off," I heard Vinyl muttered into her magically levitated drink, to which her roommate turned to the DJ, eyebrows raised.
"What was that, dear?"
"N-nothing ...nothing at all," Vinyl stuttered. She drank down the berry blue colored beverage, and slammed the shot glass down on the table. There was no doubt in my mind that she'd be hammered by night's end. As for myself, I decided to go with apple whiskey like Mac; I was never much of a heavy drinking, hell, I rarely drank at all, so I went with the lightest thing on the menu.
The Silver Hoof was a jazz club on the east side of Ponyville. Unlike most stores and shops in town that opened in the morning and closed by nightfall, the Silver Hoof was the opposite. But, even so, it still got a lot of customers, and was one of the more famous places on Ponyville's map, it was also where Sweetie Belle started out her music career.
"So, Steven, there's something I've been wondering," Vinyl said, suddenly, starring at me as she filled up her shot glass again. "You ever find that special somepony yet?"
I raised glass up to my lips. "Uh ...no, I haven't planned on it," I said, my voice in a tone that pretty much said 'can we please not talk about this'.
Vinyl didn't seem to catch it, though. "Really? Please tell me you at least got laid by now." That caught me off guard, and I ended up coughing, almost choking on my drink. The older mare seemed to get her answer from this. "Seriously, you haven't gotten laid! Not once!"
"Vinyl, this is not something you speak about out in public," Octavia said sternly to the DJ. "What Steven does in his sex life is noponies business but his."
"But, he has no sex life! Wait, dude ...are you a virgin?"
"Vinyl," Octavia said in a warning tone. "Leave it be."
"But ...but, c'mon-."
"Can we drop this, please," I uttered. This was starting to get super embarrassing.
Vinyl starred at me. Seeing the expression on my face, she sighed taking another drink from her shot glass. "Fine ...I've got one question, though."
"...What?"
"What's holding you back, guy? I mean, you helped save Equestria from Discord, plus you saved Ponyville a bunch of times with Twilight and the others. You're not ugly, (weird looking sure, but I could say the same for griffins) and you're sorta popular. All this time, I was expecting ya to come to town with a mare clinging to you. So, what's stopping you from finding a marefriend, huh?"
"Ah have been wonderin' th' same thing," Big Macintosh added, turning the me. "Is there a reason ya ain't found a mare, yet?"
Oh God, now Big Mac's interested in my love life! What the hell! "Look, it's just ... I'm a person, alright ...I'm human, and well, they're ponies," I answered, exaggerating. "It just can't happen, alright."
The three ponies at my table raised an eyebrow, and turned to each other. There was an awkward silence.
"What, are you secretly prejudice against ponies or something," Vinyl asked finally.
I shook my head. "No, not at all!" I tried to took a quick drink of my apple whiskey, only to find the glass empty. I groaned. "Look, it's got nothing to do with being a pony or not. It's just ...I'm different, it would be too ...awkward. I don't know, it just wouldn't be right."
Vinyl snickered, grinning. "Oh, I see. It's because you're a different species, am I right?"
"Exactly," I answered, glad that she finally understood. "That's it, I'm just too different from a pony, it would be wrong."
"Ha ...well, if you ask me," Vinyl began, smirking. She leaned forward with her hooves on the table. "I think that's a bunch of horseshit."
I frowned. So much for her understanding. "Why do you say that?"
"Vinyl, this really isn't-."
"Just let me talk, Octavia. I got this." Vinyl said to her roommate, before turning her attention back to me. "Listen, I'm not gonna try and get you to change the way you are, cause at the end of the day, you're gonna do what you want," she said, taking a sip from her shot glass. "But being different, that has nothing to do with anything. I've DJ'ed at a lot of parties, and some of them just so happened to be weddings. There was the time when a buffalo married a pony in Appaloosa, hell, last month a pegesus pony got engaged to a zebra from Zebratown, ya hear me, a zebra. That right there should be evidence enough that being different don't matter. The only thing that's stopping you, is you." She then pointed her hoof at my head, nudging my forehead a bit. Much to my annoyance. "You're thinking too much, or better yet, you're not thinking enough. Tell me, do you plan on makin' it back to your home world sometime in the near future?"
I opened my mouth, before quickly closing it. I didn't have an answer. It would be lying to say I planned on going home in the near future, but at the same time, I haven't lost hope.
...At least, I don't think I have. If I could go home, I would, without a doubt in my mind I know I would. Thing was ...I couldn't. I didn't even know how I got here to begin with, and both the princesses and Twilight, as smart and resourceful as the three of them are still couldn't find a spell to help send me back.
After a week, I was fine. After a month, I still had hope. After a year, even less so. After almost a decade, though ...I didn't have such high hopes anymore. And that was something that tore me apart; it's not that I didn't want to go home. It's that, as far as anyone knew, I couldn't go home.
I had a daughter now, even when I thought I never would. I have made friends with a large number of ponies, formed bonds with even some non-ponies. So ...was being in a relationship really out of my reach?
"No, I ...I guess not," I uttered, sadly, looking down into my glass. I really needed another drink.
Vinyl put a hoof on my shoulder. "I didn't want to make ya upset or anything. But, I'm gonna tell you something ma old stallion told me. Live life to the fullest, and if you want something, go for it. I've done that everyday of my life so far and those words haven't failed me yet." She leaned back in her seat, smiling as she levitated the bottle on the table, poring another drink into her shot glass. "Just some food for thought."
I didn't know what to say to that. But, right now I really needed a drink. "Waitress," I shouted to one of the finely dressed mares closest to us. "I'd like another apple whiskey, if you don't mind!"
"Make that two, ma'am," Big Mac added, putting down his now empty glass.
The mare smiled at us, and gave a nod. "Comin' right up, boys~!"
XxxxX
Walking back to Sweet Apple Acres was slightly more difficult then the walk to the Silver Hoof. My vision was out of focus and my steps were staggering; it was a good thing Big Macintosh stopped drinking before I did, then we would have had a real problem.
At least I could say that I was better off then Vinyl Scratch, though. As I suspected, she got so hammered! So much so that Octavia had a fruit cart around the side of the club ready to get the disk jockeying mare back to their house; we said our goodbyes and the cellist pulled off with the drunken pony, who was babbling nonsense no person or pony would even care to know about.
I stumbled a bit, nearly tripping over a rock as we walked through the wooden gate leading to the apple farm.
"Ya alright there, partner?"
I sent a nod to the red stallion, giggling. "Yep ...everything's okie dokie loki~!Big Macaroni~! Ha, Macaroni!"
Mac shook his head, sighing. "Ah really think ya should'a took it easy on th' drinkin', Steven."
I mumbled something to him, as I hang on to that wood farm thing around his neck for dear life (my mind being way too fuzzing to remember what it was called.) I suddenly found myself thinking about what Vinyl had said earlier.
Was I really stopping myself from being happy? I mean, I've always wanted to find that special someone, but that's what it's always been, someone, not somepony. I'd be lying if I said I didn't find most mares cute, Fluttershy being one example, even Twilight had that nerdy, bookworm cuteness about her. And, Rarity, she was gorgeous, at least from a pony's point of view.
But, I can't really say I've felt much of an attraction. Even when I was a hormonally driven teenager I thought of supermodels and girls from back home.
"Hey, Mac," I began, shyly. My words most have been slurring. "Do ya think that Vinyl was right, about me not living my life to the fullest?"
I felt the red pony shrug. "It depends on you, do ya think yer not livin' yer life t' th' fullest?"
"Well ...no."
Mac smiled. "Then jus' continuing yer life the way ya want t', an' take care o' yer little filly."
I smiled at that. That's one of the reasons why I liked talking to Big Mac so much. Life seemed a lot simpler when I did. "Thanks, you're a good friend, buddy."
"Ah'm jus' keepin' it real as you say."
"Ah ha~ and simple, right."
"Eeyep."