I flew through the open woodland, exploring what I had already begun to think of as my new home. Oh, I knew I couldn't stay forever, but I wanted to, so much! Or at least until flight camp was over. Even the thought of going back to face those bullies was unbearable. I wondered if anypony was searching for me, like Rainbow Dash. I hoped they didn't go to too much trouble.
All of the animals were more enchanting than I had ever imagined, each with a unique voice and personality. The pictures I’d seen in books didn’t do them justice at all. And the trees were beautiful, and the grass was nice and springy underhoof, and even the dirt itself was interesting. The ground had sort of a welcoming firmness. It held a diversity of life and supported all kinds of creatures, unlike the clouds. The air itself was warmer and denser near the ground, and the trees provided shade and shelter from the wind.
After about two hours of exploring and getting to know the creatures, my stomach began to growl. The bunnies twitched their ears, looked up at me, and then started to nibble on the grass. I smiled and lowered my head, taking my first bite of fresh grass. It was more crisp and tangy than the grass that was imported to Cloudsdale. I nosed forward as I ate until I came across a sapling a little bit taller than I was. I wondered what the leaves tasted like; it couldn’t hurt to try them. I craned my neck and opened my mouth, about to chew on the leaves.
“Whoa there, sugar cube!”
I squeaked and jumped up, whirling around to look at the pony who spoke.
It was just a little earth filly. I had never seen an earth pony in real life before, only in pictures. The first thing I noticed about her besides her lack of wings was that she had a sun-kissed look. Her blond mane and tail were sun-bleached, her coat was a sunrise orange, and freckles dotted her face. She was also shorter than I was, and a little younger. I sighed with relief. Surely I had nothing to fear from her. I ducked my head sheepishly. Maybe Rainbow Dash was right: I was too jumpy.
“I wouldn’t do that if I was you,” said the filly with a slight shake of her head. “That there’s a red maple. If’n you eat that it’ll make ya sick.”
“Goodness!” I recoiled from the tree. “I almost made a terrible mistake! It’s a good thing you came along when you did. Gosh, are there any other plants that aren’t safe to eat?”
“Eyup, there’s nightshade, mayapples, and poison ivy, o’ course. Do you know what they look like?”
I shook my head, briefly wondering if all earth ponies spoke with this strange accent. “I never learned about plants. You seem to know a lot about them, though! Maybe your Cutie Mark will be a plant.”
The earth pony looked self-consciously at her blank flank. “You think so?”
“Oh yes, unless of course you’re even better at something else and you just don’t realize it yet. I only just now realized that I have a special connection with animals.”
The filly stared at the three butterflies on my flank. “You just now got yer Mark?”
My cheeks felt warm. “Well, yes.”
She grinned. “Congratulations, sugar cube!” she said sincerely. “What’s yer name? I can’t just keep callin’ you sugar cube.”
“Fluttershy.”
"Howdy, Fluttershy. Or, as they say in Manehattan-” Her voice took on a posh, nasal tone. “How do you do.” She slid back into her former twang as she continued, “My name’s Applejack. What brings you out here? You visitin’ someone?”
I ducked my head. “Sort of.” I paused, trying to decide how much to tell Applejack. She seemed trustworthy enough, but it’s never been easy for me to open up to somepony I don’t know well. And I’d already said more words to this earth pony than I had to most of the pegasi at flight camp. “I- I’m getting to know the animals.” I rubbed a squirrel’s back, and he leaned into my hoof.
Applejack looked carefully at me. “Where are you stayin’?”
“Um, well, I don’t exactly know yet.” I glanced down at a jackelope who patted my hoof.
“Why don't you come with me to Ponyville? You could stay with my family for awhile.”
"Oh, um..." I let my mane fall over my face, reverting to my usual shyness. "I-I don't want to be a bother..."
"Shucks, you couldn’t bother anypony if you tried. I'm sure my folks would appreciate the company. Reckon the house feels mighty empty right now. And I'm mostly to blame for that." She suddenly looked downcast, her ears drooping as she turned her head away.
I forgot my own anxiety and placed my foreleg on her back in a half-hug. “It’s okay, Applejack. I’m sure your family will be happy to see you no matter what.”
Applejack returned the half-hug and then pulled away. “Yer right, Fluttershy. Come on, we got a long way to go yet, and I wanna get there before dark." She turned and started walking away.
“Um, isn’t there anyplace where I could stay, um, by myself?”
She paused and brought her hoof to her chin. “Ain’t no hotels in Ponyville.”
I would have preferred to sleep outside with the animals than in a house with strangers, even if they were the nicest ponies on earth. But I didn’t know if Applejack would understand, so I didn’t say anything.
She must have sensed my hesitation, though, because she added, “Did I mention I live on a farm? Plenty o’ critters there.”
“Oh, really?” I stepped closer to her. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”
Applejack walked toward a dirt road. I followed, figuring I could always turn back if things got unbearably awkward. It wasn’t as if I had anywhere better to go.
The earth pony picked up the pace until she was cantering. The grass I’d eaten gave me enough energy to keep up with her. A few of the bunnies, squirrels, and songbirds followed me, but most of them seemed afraid of the earth pony and kept their distance. As for the butterflies and bees, they couldn't keep pace with us and soon fell behind.
"'Bye," I whispered just before losing sight of the insects.
As we traveled, Applejack told me about the chickens and pigs her family kept, and their puppy, Winona. There were also many different wild creatures that frequently wandered in from the Everfree Forest. I was interested, but still a little concerned about staying with the strange ponies.
Eventually, when it seemed that Applejack had run out of things to talk about, I took a deep breath.
"Um, Applejack?"
"Yes?"
"Do you, um, do you think your family will ask questions? Like where I'm supposed to be, and if my daddy knows where I am?"
Applejack glanced sidelong at me. "Well now, Granny Smith’ll wanna know if you have yer daddy’s permission to stay with us. She ain't strict, but she wants to do right."
"Oh. I see. It's just..." I stared at the dirt in front of me. "My daddy will want me to finish flight camp..."
“Is that a problem?” Applejack glanced up at me.
“Oh, Applejack!” Suddenly words poured out of me. “I just can’t go back there! The other foals make fun of me because I’m a weak flyer. They call me names and they knocked me off a cloud, although I think that was an accident, but still, I was supposed to stay at camp for another week and a half and I just can't!"
She stared at me, her green eyes full of sympathy. "I get it, believe me. But couldn’t you just tell your daddy what you told me?”
I glanced away. “He never listens."
"Speak up."
"I said, he never listens," I repeated, raising my voice ever so slightly.
"You're gonna have to speak up louder if you want him to listen," Applejack said firmly.
"Oh. I guess I could try."
"Write him a letter! I’m sure he’ll pay attention to that. Tell him what's really goin' on."
Actually, writing a letter wasn't a bad idea. It would be easier to compose my thoughts on paper than to say them out loud to my daddy's face.
"Okay, I'll do it." I glanced at a bunny who was hoping loyally by my side. "You know, he doesn't know about my Cutie Mark yet. Nopony does - except you."
Applejack’s eyes widened. "Really?"
"Oh yes, you see I only got my Mark after my friend Rainbow Dash and the bullies knocked me off the cloud. I panicked - I really couldn't fly or do anything other than flail around. I would have been a goner if the butterflies hadn't caught me." I craned my neck to glimpse the pink butterflies on my flank. I still almost couldn’t believe I finally had my Cutie Mark.
"Butterflies?"
I turned back to glance at Applejack. Her eyebrows were lowered, and her mouth scrunched up.
"Yes. Is - is that unusual? I don't know much about them yet."
"They're real fragile. Why, I reckon one of 'em couldn't even hold up yer tail."
"Well, there were an awful lot of butterflies - there had to be thousands!"
"And they swarmed under you and caught you?" Applejack's brow creased.
"Yes."
"And you didn't smash through 'em?"
"No.” My wings twitched at this disturbing thought. "Pegasi are light enough to stand on clouds, you know. Anyway, the butterflies lowered me gently to the ground. Then I found all sorts of other creatures, and there was an explosion that scared them, but I comforted them and showed them that there was nothing to fear. That's when my Cutie Mark appeared.
"And that's the other reason I can't go back…” My steps slowed as I thought. “…Maybe not even to Cloudsdale. My Mark shows that I'm supposed to be here, on the ground with the land creatures. It makes sense. I was born here, you know. My mommy was an earth pony.”
Applejack stopped in her tracks and turned to stare at me. I paused mid-step.
“I don’t remember her. She…she crossed over the rainbow bridge when I was just a little foal.” My voice grew quieter.
The earth filly’s eyes wavered with a thin layer of tears, and she looked up at the sky and blinked a few times. I was touched; I had never met anypony who was so sympathetic.
Tears stung my own eyes as I continued. “My daddy took me back to live in his old home in Cloudsdale right after my mommy passed away. I think it was too painful for him to stay on the ground. There were too many bad memories…Or maybe even the good memories hurt.”
The earth filly turned her face away and brushed her cheek with her foreleg. “I’m sorry for your loss.” Her voice trembled. “Mighty sorry.”
I raised my eyebrows as it dawned on me that this was more than regular sympathy. I thought back to what she had said earlier, about her house feeling "mighty empty."
Placing my hoof on her back, I asked, “You lost somepony too, didn’t you?”
“Is it that obvious?” Her voice cracked on the last word.
I blinked. “Well, yes. That is, it’s obvious to me. I don’t know if it’s obvious to my little squirrel friends over there.” I shook my head. “Oh, Applejack, I’m so sorry. Do you want to talk about it?”
“No.” She turned her head to glance at the squirrels and other creatures. Tears streamed down her cheeks. “Not now. Not here, with - with all these critters.” She rubbed her eyes. “I’m sorry you had to see me like this.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry for.” My voice grew stronger with assurance. “You can’t help the way you feel.”
“But I used to hide it better. I never wanted any pity.”
“Oh, I don’t pity you,” I said quickly. “I just care about how you feel.”
Applejack stared at me full in the face. Her tears had stopped flowing, but they still hung in her green eyes. “That’s real sweet of you.” She paused, taking a deep breath and letting it out in a sigh. “My Ma and Pa wouldn’t want me to be sad. I just gotta buck up and get through this somehow.”
“Oh.” She’d lost both parents? My heart went out to her. “Okay, but you don’t have to get through this alone. If you ever want to talk about what happened, I’ll be ready to listen.”
Applejack gave me a watery smile. “Thanks. Come on now, I wanna get home before supper.”
On that note, we continued along the dirt road toward Applejack's farm. The birds followed me, flying low, sometimes circling ahead. There were still several bunnies and squirrels keeping pace with us on the road. While the sun was still fairly high in the sky, I saw a simple structure that I'd only seen in photographs and illustrations: a log rail fence. A smaller path branched off the main road, leading to a wood gate. Beyond the fence were evenly spaced trees heavy with red, yellow, and green fruit.
"There it is," said Applejack. "Sweet Apple Acres."
"Then those must be apple trees."
"Course they're apple trees, didn't I mention that?"
I shook my head.
"I didn't? Tarnation, I can't believe I forgot to tell you about the main crop!"
She opened the gate, and we stepped through. The apples smelled so sweet and tangy, I almost wanted to fly up and taste one. I had never eaten any fresh fruit before, since it was expensive to ship to Cloudsdale.
The bunnies and squirrels followed me until Applejack turned around sharply. “The critters’ll have to stay on the other side o’ the fence,” she said, pointing with her foreleg.
Their little ears flattened.
“Aw, why can’t they come in?” I stuck out my lower lip in a pout.
“Sorry, but they’ll eat our apples and dig up seeds. There’s no place for ‘em in an orchard,” she said firmly.
“But - But what if I explain to them how important it is to leave your apples and seeds alone?”
She furrowed her brow. “You can do that?”
“I think so. It’s worth a try.” I glanced at my new little friends and looked hopefully back at Applejack.
“I s’pose.” Applejack sounded doubtful. “We should ask Granny Smith about it first. She’ll be mad as a wet hen if she sees rabbits in the orchard.”
I was disappointed, but still hopeful that I could convince Granny Smith to allow the forest creatures in the orchard. “Wait outside the fence, my friends,” I said to the animals. “I’ll come back for you soon.”
The bunnies and squirrels slipped back through the fence and sat calmly on the other side.
Applejack raised her eyebrows. “I’ll be darned. They actually listen to you.” She turned and headed up the dirt path. “Come on, let’s find my folks.”
We continued along the path toward an archway with vines growing all over it, which I later learned was called a trellis. The ground began to slope upward, and as we drew near the peak, a pale green earth pony came into view, as if out of nowhere. She looked very old: I guessed that she was the "Granny Smith" that Applejack kept talking about. Applejack saw her at the same moment I did; her face lit up as she broke into a gallop. But I hung back, unsure of how to introduce myself to the elderly earth mare.
Then an apple-red colt bounded up from behind the hillcrest to stand in the archway next to the mare. They both smiled at Applejack as she barreled forward to meet them. She leaned against her brother, and Granny Smith nuzzled her temple, and then -
- a shimmer of magic, and three red apples appeared on her orange flank.
Granny Smith leaned back, blinking. "Well, butter my flank n’ call me a biscuit! Applejack, you got yer Cutie Mark!"
Applejack craned her neck to look. A grin spread across her muzzle when she saw the apples.
"Woohoo!" She reared up and kicked out her forelegs.
I felt happy for her, but the reunion made me realize how much I missed my daddy. I knew he'd be proud of me if he saw my Mark. I decided to write him a letter before the night was over, and mail it first thing in the morning.
Granny Smith pulled Applejack into a hug. “I am so proud o’ you, young’un.”
The filly grinned up at her. “Bein’ with ya’ll after goin’ away…It made me realize that I was meant to help my family and take care o’ them.”
“Eyup.” The colt ruffled Applejack's forelock, and then he fixed his gaze on me. "AJ, who's yer friend?" he asked.
Applejack pulled away from them a little and spread her foreleg toward me. "This here's Fluttershy. I met her on the road. C’mon now, sugar cube, don't be bashful."
I tentatively stepped forward.
"This is Granny Smith and my big brother McIntosh," she said, gesturing toward them with a toss of her head.
"Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres," Granny Smith said with a smile.
"Thank you," I said, looking down at my hooves.
"Did you see my Cutie Mark?"
I perked up. "Yes, congratulations!"
"Thanks!” She craned her neck to look back at her hindquarters. “They’re nice ones, ain’t they? Three apples,” she gushed. “Just like the three of us.” She threw her forelegs around her brother and grandmother. Then she pulled back with a puzzled frown. “Wait a minute, how did ya'll know I was comin’?" Applejack asked suddenly. "I didn't even send word, just picked up and left Manehattan this mornin'."
"McIntosh saw you comin' from the top o' the vegetable garden shed. He kept watch fer you ‘most every day."
"Eyup," confirmed McIntosh.
Applejack's eyes shimmered, threatening to tear up. "Ohhh, yer the best brother a pony could ask for."
She reached up and wrapped her orange forelegs around his neck, and he actually blushed, his already red cheeks turning a darker shade.
“Applejack, did you forget to bring yer stuff back?” asked Granny Smith, the creases in her brow deepening.
Her granddaughter turned toward her. “Oh, Auntie and Uncle Orange are kind enough to ship all my thin’s here. I didn’t want nothin’ to slow me down.”
“Why did ya leave…” McIntosh began.
“Why did I leave so soon after I wrote that I wanted to stay longer?” finished Applejack.
His orange mane bounced as he nodded.
“Well, I assume ya’ll read my letter about Auntie and Uncle Orange wantin’ to adopt me.”
I raised my eyebrows. This was getting interesting.
Her brother and grandmother silently looked at each other.
“Ya’ll never wrote back,” added Applejack, scuffing her hoof on the dirt path.
“We didn’t know what to say, child,” Granny Smith said gently. “We all missed ya somethin’ fierce, but I had to let you make yer own decision. What kind o’ family would we be if I had to force you to come back to us?”
I glanced up at the clouds. Would my daddy force me to come back to him? Or to flight camp? What if he did give me a choice? Was it right to leave him for the forest creatures and earth ponies?
Applejack gazed at her grandmother with watery green eyes. “I’m sorry I abandoned ya’ll.”
“Ya didn’t-” started McIntosh.
“Let me finish!” She stamped her hoof. “You weren’t there! I abandoned who I really was, an’ the town I came from! I wanted to start a whole new life and forget the past, ‘cause it hurt too much to think about. So I acted like I belonged with the Oranges in their high society.” Then she affected her elegant tone. “Indeed, I even learned to articulate ever so well in polite company.”
“Boy howdy, you sound just like yer Aunt Orange!” exclaimed the elder pony. “Say ‘Do you want scones with your tea?’”
“That’s Trottingham,” corrected Applejack.
“Just say it.”
Applejack sighed. “Would you care for some scones with your tea, darling?” she asked in her aristocratic voice.
Granny Smith grinned. “You do beat all, child!”
“But seriously, if I can finish my story, I wasn’t happy pretendin’ to be somepony I wasn’t. But I reckon I was too stubborn to admit it.”
“There’s a surprise,” her grandmother said wryly.
Applejack narrowed her eyes at the interruption. “But then, early this mornin’ I was lookin’ out the window, and I saw a rainbow pointin’ straight to home. And I realized that I had to follow my heart.”
“An’ we’re mighty glad you did.” Granny Smith ruffled the filly’s mane.
McIntosh agreed with a hearty, “Eyup!”
Granny Smith turned to face me. "Would ya like to join us for supper, young'un? I might even break out the Zap Apple jam n’ apple cider we been savin' since fall."
"Yes, very much so. Actually..." I looked at Applejack, who nodded encouragingly. "I was, um, I was hoping I could stay here for a few days. If that's okay with you." And then I summarized what had happened in the past two days: flight camp, falling to the ground, the butterflies, my Mark, and meeting Applejack.
"So can Fluttershy stay with us for awhile?” asked Applejack after I’d finished.
Granny Smith gave me a kind smile. "Sure, as long as it's okay with yer folks."
"I'm going to write my daddy a letter today," I told her. "He doesn't know where I am."
"Yer welcome to eat supper 'fore you write yer letter. Ya'll must be famished after the long trip."
Applejack nodded. "You said it, Granny. I'm as hungry as bear after hibernation!"
"Come on down to the house and wash up, an’ ya'll can help me make supper. I'm fixin' to bake a vegetable pot pie." She turned and headed down the other side of the hill.