//------------------------------//
// Chapter VI 
// Story: Lessons in quirks 
// by Mike84 
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	At this still early hour her friends were most likely to be found at their places doing their chores or whatever else they had to do. When the previous day Twilight had written to Celestia about asking her friends whether they would like to answer the student's questions she had pictured all of them sitting comfortably in the library or on a picnic-blanket somewhere on the meadows discussing cutie mark matters casually over a cup of tea and a piece of cake. The unexpectedly early arrival of Frank hadn't allowed for such preparations or for even asking her friends first. 
Twilight was secretly wondering if Celestia hadn't been aware that the very short notice would put her under some pressure or if perhaps this might have even been her intention as a kind of practical lecture in some of the difficulties princesses might have to cope with in case of unforeseen events, assemblies or the like. Maybe the more leisure kind of get-together which Twilight had pictured could still be made up for later, but with Pinkie Pie out and probably sowing some confusion it would be best to clear things up as soon as possible. She regretted that for all this she would have to confront her friends with Frank right away rather than giving them the chance of not having to decide about whether or not to help him right into his face. She had little doubt that her friends would be happy to help the student who, for all quirks she had taken notice of, had been a pleasant conversationalist and gentle-colt. Then again, he had demonstrated quite clearly how delicate talk on cutie marks could turn out to be and Twilight hoped it would not put any of the others into an uneasy spot. She considered asking Frank not to come up with any possibly more delicate questions during the first introductions but then decided against it. On the one hoof agreeing with him on what to talk about and what to avoid seemed almost kind of conspiratorial to Twilight and on the other she was kind of curious herself about how Frank would make first acquaintance with her friends without any help or instructions from her. She was smiling to herself remembering her own first acquaintance with them little more than a year ago. 

"Where are we going?" Frank inquired after the first few steps.
"Sweet Apple Acres", Twilight said, "You'll meet my friend Applejack there."
"Ah yes. She is the representative of the Element of Honesty isn't she? An earth pony like Pinkie Pie?"
Twilight laughed at the final words: "She sure is an earth pony, but one really can't say Applejack was a lot like Pinkie Pie." 
Twilight had decided to introduce Frank to Applejack first of all her friends, since she was probably the most easygoing and in every respect most down to earth pony of the lot. 
"The least quirky of us all", Twilight thought to herself chuckling quietly. 
After Pinkie Pie's spectacular entrance Frank might appreciate the uncomplicated straightforwardness of Applejack and moreover Twilight was curious about the honest at all times opinion of Applejack on the student from Fillydelphia. 

As they approached Sweet Apple Acres, Twilight spotted Applejack critically examining one of her trees and probing the soil at its roots by scraping it with a hoof. It would still take some two months before the beginning of Applebuck Season, but at this time of the year Applejack would continuously check on each of her trees, the soil, the leaves and a myriad of other things to make sure that the apples would get all they needed to grow up to the quality standard the Apple-family took so much rightful pride in.
"Good morning Applejack", Twilight called as she approached. "Apples growing well I hope?"
The earth pony looked up from the patch of soil she had been scraping and a happy smile appeared on her face: "Trust me when I tell ya, Twilight, that we're in for a fine harvest this year. These here apples are gettin' so fine a share of sunlight they'll be sugar on your tongue! May have to ask Rainbow Dash for a little shower though. That sun's dryin' up the soil in no time." 
Applejack looked up at the cloudless sky, took off her Stetson hat to fan herself and added: "An' a little breeze sure wouldn't hurt either."
Twilight nodded in agreement. Beckoning to Frank she said: "Applejack, I'd like you to meet a guest from Fillydelphia who arrived this morning—"
"Oh, so you're Mr. Breathe Please?" Applejack asked extending a hoof for a shake. 
"Say what now?" Twilight asked confused.
"The name's Frank Blanked", the colt said giving no sign of sharing Twilight's confusion in case he did. He took the hoof offered, gave it a firm shake and, adding to Twilight's confusion he said in a perfect imitation of Applejack's dialect: "Pleased to meet ya."
"Why would you think his name was Breathe Please?" Twilight asked.
"That's what I think Pinkie says you said his name was."
Pinkie... of course. "Why would she think his name was Breathe Please?" Twilight was wondering aloud to herself. 
"I think she thinks you told her when she was asking you about my name", said Frank, no shred of Applejack dialect in his words now.
"She asked about your name?" Twilight wondered.
"Among other", Frank shrugged and added: "What she said was: 'I don't know him! Why don't I know him? Is he new? Who is he? Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh gosh! Twilight has'—"
"Wait!" Twilight interrupted him, "You mean you remember every word she said?"
The colt nodded: "The last thing she asked was what my name was before you told her to breathe please. She must have taken that as an answer to her question."
The matter of course way in which Frank laid this out made it sound as if there hadn't been anything unusual at all about his short encounter with Pinkie Pie, which in itself was unusual for someone who didn't know her. 
"When was Pinkie here and what else did she say?" Twilight asked Applejack. 
"T'was just a few minutes ago an' she didn't stay long. Pinkie hurry, ya know. But she did say there was a colt at your place and that she didn't know him but that his name was Breathe Please. I think she also said somethin' about a party. I don't know why she was carryin' a barrel on her back, but gone again she was before Ah could even ask a thing. I was goin' to drop by your place to check things out once done checkin' the trees in this here patch."
Turning to Frank she asked: "So you're from Fillydelphia? An' how do you know our little princess here?"
It was in playful banter that Applejack referred to Twilight as a princess, but still it made Twilight shift uncomfortably. 
"Ah didn't know her before getting here dis morning", Frank said, switching back to Applejack's dialect. "No more than anypony in all Equestria knows their newest princess."
"What are you? Some kind of fanpony?" asked Applejack a slight frown appearing on her face and casting a look at Twilight as if looking for any signs indicating that this pony might not be as welcome as his appearing in the company of Twilight had indicated.
"Oh no, no, no, absolutely not!" Frank hurried to assure with a vehemence which Twilight might have considered a little offensive had it been in a different context. 
"Princess Celestia sent him from Canterlot", Twilight came to Frank's aid.
Applejack relaxed: "Did the Princess? But why? And I thought you were from Fillydelphia?"
"It was on short notice", Twilight explained. "I meant to tell you all, but I learned only last night that he would arrive here this morning and when he arrived I wasn't even up."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...", Frank mumbled apparently still embarrassed about his untimely arrival. 
"An early riser!" Applejack laughed. "Ah like that! Somepony givin' my sleepyhead friend here an early call!" 
"I'm not—", Twilight started to protest, but Applejack's smirking reassured her that the remark had been all in good jest. 
Given how often she put Spike on the receiving end of that kind of jest and the fact that, excepting Applejack, Twilight was probably the least sleepy of the friends it sure was unusual for her to be on the receiving end herself for a change. Knowing Applejack, Twilight didn't doubt that if Frank had appeared at Sweet Apple Acres rather than in front of the library he probably would have found Applejack up and at work by the time of his arrival rather than ending up talking to an owl.
"Fillydelphia is where I was born", Frank explained. "But I've been on the road for a while..."
"On the road?" Twilight thought to herself. She realized not for the first time this morning that with all the talk about cutie marks and Frank's studies she had so far learned very little about the colt himself. 
"...and been to Canterlot for the libraries there. Princess Celestia suggested I should visit Twilight here and Ponyville to find somethin' more for mah studies."
"Your studies?" Applejack looked positively puzzled now. 
"Frank is a postgraduate student Applejack", Twilight said. "He is mostly studying cutie marks."
The look of surprise on Applejack's face even increased. "A student? Now if ya don't mind me sayin', y'all don't sound like them fancy learned Canterlot unicorns... no offense, Twilight." Applejack gave an appraising look to Frank her eyes wandering from his hooves past the shabby saddle-bags and up to the twisted headgear which Frank had put on again to protect his head from the sun. 
"And whether you mind me sayin' it or not, you sure as hay don't look like a fancy learned Canterlot pony either. No offense meant."
"None taken", said Frank. "However..." with a swift motion he removed the hat and stuck it to one of his saddle-bags, this time without getting caught in the straps. He straightened his spectacles and straightened his overall posture. He cast back his head. His eyes and entire face all of a sudden changed to an appearance of ridiculously over the top smugness. When he continued to speak there was not an inkling of the previous dialect in his voice anymore and instead a clear and imposing voice rang out that would have done a regal herald honor: "...it is my professional opinion, that too much regard is being paid by too many ponies towards outward appearances only, whether visual or auditory, when appraising fellow ponies abilities for what they have never seen them do. Therefore, impose not on me the need to express myself in manners unbeknownst to most of the fine ponyfolk in Equestria, so they might think of me as 'fancy'. Give fop-ponies their silks and let dandy-ponies talk in fancy tongues bathing in the shallow glory of setting themselves apart from most of their fellow ponies. But ask me not to share in that kind of vanity and think not lower of me because I will not think higher of myself for traveling the road of academics than of the simple ponies who paved that road!"
Twilight's jaw had dropped at this speech as had Applejack's. 
Frank chuckled as he broke the smug look, eased his posture and snatched for his hat and put it onto his head again. "I never claimed bein' a 'fancy pony' Applejack, but trust me when I tell y'all I reckon that somewhat learned I am. I can put up the show if I have too, but do I really have to put up that show now?" 
Applejack burst into laughter to the point of rolling on the floor and literally laughing tears. Twilight joined in though not quite as enthusiastically and not feeling quite as much at ease. She was sure that Applejack had not understood everything Frank had said. Twilight too had to let the speech sink in for a moment to grasp the whole meaning. Much as the context and Frank's own laughter suggested it to have been nothing but an elaborate joke, Twilight had a harder time to see this one as nothing but, than had been the case with Applejack's jest about sleepiness. She couldn't help but feeling that she really wanted to get to know more about Frank than just about his studies.

Whatever else Twilight might think about Frank's speech, it had definitely broken the ice between Applejack and him. Frank laid out the questions of his studies much as he had laid them out to Twilight though using Applejack's own dialect. Applejack however didn't seem to be nearly as upset as Twilight had been about some of the implications Frank made. She confirmed she had felt controlled by what her cutie mark had been telling her during the incident of the switched cutie marks. She had been utterly convinced that dressmaking was her destiny in spite of having also been astutely aware that the dresses she had been trying to make had been "far from fancy". 
Applejack also mentioned her younger sister Apple Bloom's case of cutie pox as well as the extreme craving of her and her friends to get their cutie marks at last. 
"She sure will be be interested in gettin' to know an expert on cutie marks", Applejack said. "And so may be the friends of hers. You know, they're calling themselves 'Cutie Mark Crusaders'."
"I'd sure like to meet them", Frank said. "Ya know the Apple-family is really interesting for my studies. Do y'all have cutie marks of apples or foods based on apples?"
"Most of us do, not all though", said Applejack after a few moments. "My great grandmother had a sewin' machine I think. There are the oranges who kind of belong to the family too, but whose cutie marks are more like oranges... obviously. I think one of Granny Smith's generation in the family album has a banjo and in case of cousin Peachy Sweet we may never know fer sure whether that pie of hers is to be an apple- or a peach-pie. None of us has ever bitten her to try." Applejack grinned. "But yeah, most Apples come with apple marks."
"I met some of your folks before, ya know. While visiting different places in Equestria", Frank said.
"It'd be hard not to", Applejack answered with some pride in her voice. "Don't think there are many places in Equestria without at least a few Apples in it. That includes Fillydelphia."
"Excuse me", Twilight intervened. She had been listening to the talk for a while with some interest but at the same time couldn't keep her mind from straying to some other matters on her mind. "I hate to interrupt you, but maybe it is better to continue another time? Maybe we should get going to introduce you to the others too. And..." Twilight winked, "...we may want to set the record straight before everyone in Ponyville gets introduced to you as 'Breathe Please'."
"Ah guess I should try to catch Rainbow Dash anyway about a little shower over this here patch", Applejack said, "I'll make sure to set that record straight in case I catch her first and if you do, be so kind to send her over, will ya?"
"Of course", Twilight said. "See you, AJ." It was with a slight twinge of regret that she saw her walk off. Twilight would have liked to have a word just with her, but it would have come across as odd, even rude to ask Frank to stay put while she talked to Applejack. Maybe she'd get a chance for a talk in confidence later on.
"So are we going to look for Rainbow Dash then?" Frank asked.
Twilight shook her head: "Not much of a point looking for her. We may either find her by accident napping on some cloud or some tree or more likely she is going to find us first anyway. I suggest we head for Rarity's Boutique."
"Ah, the Element of Generosity", Frank said with a smile. "I'm anxious to meet her."
"Yeah", said Twilight looking at the colt and being unable to keep every mischievous thought about the impending meeting from her mind, "I'm sure it will be interesting."
Her mischief didn't went so far as to let Frank rush headlong into disaster and so she added with a slightly sourish tone: "You do want to be discrete though about fop-ponies, silks and fancy when talking to her."