//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Somewhere Along the Way // by GrimPInkamena //------------------------------// The barn wasn't far off now. Wishing the trip would last a while longer you look over at Twilight. You hadn't really taken much notice of it before, but her coat looked really soft, and her mane waved effortlessly as the wind blew by. 'Those are some good conditioning products they got here.' went through your mind, as you recalled all the different soaps and creams that were covering the shelves in Twilight's bathroom. You were rudely interrupted from admiring the pony by something hard knocking against your skull. A sign was hanging above the entrance to the farm at head height, giving you a rather uncomfortable welcome. "Ah!" You let out a startled shout of pain and quickly raised a hand to your forehead, mending the aching area with intense rubbing. Twilight chuckled lightly at your slight comic display. "Are you alright back there?" You turned and looked back at the sign that you for a brief instant hated with all your soul. It was a wooden sign with a carved hole in it shaped like an apple. As you quickly recognize it, all its sins were forgiven as you looked around you, scanning the farm for any signs of recognizable ponies. Nothing but corn and carrots to the left. Nopony to the right either. "They are probably by the apple trees. If Rainbow is here she's probably hoof wrestling with Applejack behind the barn." Twilight said pointing a hoof towards the left of the red building. The butterflies were multiplying in your gut for every step you took as they each helped to reveal more of what lay behind the barn. There they were. Rainbow Dash and Applejack. They were standing by the edge of the orchard facing towards each other. Rainbow Dash, who was the one facing the direction you were coming from, looked up over Applejack and gave the two approaching visitors an acknowledged nod. Applejack turned her head to see you and Twilight walking towards them. Not wanting to give off a bad impression you calmly walked behind Twilight. She looked back at you and gave you a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, you don't give off any bad vibes. Rainbow Dash was just caught off guard." She must have known you were nervous. The first reaction of the pegasus wasn't exactly the most confidence inspiring ever. "Is it that easy to see?" You said smiling back at Twilight. "Just relax, I am sure they will come to like you as much as I do." "Hi there, Twilight." Applejack walked towards the two of you to meet you halfway, not looking any kind of worried. She wore her cowboy hat tilted back slightly, not hiding any of her face. A small ounce of panic loomed in your brain as you followed Twilight's pace, and she was showing no signs of slowing down. At this rate you would meet the cowboy-hatted pony in just a few more seconds, with no time to prepare yourself. "And hi there to you partner. Ah'm Applejack, and welcome to our farm here in Ponyville." Before you knew it Applejack was standing right in front of you. She was looking at you with the friendliest smile you had ever seen, reaching out a hoof for a handshake. "A pleasure meeting you, Applejack." You responded, instinctively taking her hoof in your hand and giving it a gentle shake. Warm smile mode, engaged. "Nice to meet yah. Rainbow here told me you were on your way, also heard you gave her quite a scare." She said, obviously taunting her cyan friend. "Hey, I wasn't scared! I was surprised." Rainbow Dash exclaimed, having followed a bit behind Applejack. "Ye ye, riot down sugarcube." Waving a hoof at the pegasus, emoting her to not to chase it any further. "So, you obviously look like you're not from around these parts. How did yah wind up here in Equestria?" Twilight told Rainbow and Applejack about her spell and how she ended up finding you in her living room, discreetly leaving out what kind of spell it was. She also told them the reason for you going to Sweet Apple Acres this morning. Rainbow Dash is the first to cut in after Twilight's explanation. "I'm sorry for crashing into you earlier," she said, rubbing the back of her head with a hoof, not making much eye contact. You relaxed your shoulders in relief as you look at Rainbow Dash hovering in front of you. "No worries Rainbow, no one was hurt right?" You smiled at the pegasus, who lightened up by your response. "Cool, so we're cool?" She extended out one of her front legs in half a punching motion, leaving it half way outstretched towards you. This was no potential hoofshake, you knew exactly what to do. "Of course. We're cool." Hoof met fist in an explosion of fireworks and confetti. This day was getting better by every passing second. Your mind was still trying to comprehend the awesomeness of the situation when Applejack stepped back and started walking towards a house located to the left of the barn, giving a short glance back at you. "So y'all hungry? I got some freshly baked bread and apple spread inside the house, probably the best breakfast in all Equestria." There weren't any complaints from your growling belly, so you and the ponies swiftly followed Applejack to her house. Breakfast was delicious, and an amazing time. The ponies didn't seem to mind that you looked different at all. Applebloom and Big Macintosh didn't seem to mind either, as the little filly was sitting besides you asking about how it was to constantly walk around on two legs. From there she got the great idea to gather the Cutie Mark Crusaders to submit her new idea for circus cutie marks. 'Did she just imply that I look like a circus freak when I walk?' Big Mac didn't say much. He greeted you when you entered the kitchen, but that was about all you heard from him, though he seemed into everything that was being said at the breakfast table. "Hey, you should totally show up to Pinkie Pie's party tomorrow." Rainbow Dash exclaimed after forcing down a huge bite of her apple spread sandwich. "I had forgotten all about that. Now that you mention it, would be a great way to meet everypony." Twilight said before continuing with a concerned look, "Though I don't know how tomorrow's schedule will look as Spike is coming home, and we should really get to the bottom of this mystery as soon as possible." "Lighten up Twi, you could always delay it for one measly evenin'." Applejack protested with a mouthful of apple. The ponies really did a good job to make you feel welcome. "It's decided then!" Rainbow Dash yelled as she pointed a hoof towards you from across the table. You ate until you couldn't take another bite as everypony looked in awe at how much you could stuff down. The easily impressed ponies and the deliciousness of the food and apple juice felt like it would be the end of you, as the content in your stomach were threatening to burst its container. Applejack was cleaning off the table with the help of her eager little sister after everyone had their fill. "Well Ah'm sorry to be cutting this gatherin' short, but we have a lot to do on the farm with the harvest just around the corner an' all." Applejack explained. "We also have plans today, so we should get going if we're to see as much as possible before it gets dark. The sun is already high in the sky." Twilight looked over at you as you gave her an agreeing nod. After the dishes were cleaned and put away, Applejack and Rainbow Dash walked you and Twilight to the farm gate. You gracefully duck under the apple sign and turn around to the two ponies behind you. "Guess I'll see everypony tomorrow then." You've finally gotten to a point where you can talk normally to them. The thought about knowing them from a TV show was fading rather rapidly. "Darned toot'n." Applejack said, then looks over at Twilight. "You make sure our guest enjoys his stay in Ponyville now." "I'll do my best to be a good host." Twilight responds smiling, then turns her head to Rainbow Dash. "Tell Fluttershy I said hi. I haven't had the opportunity to visit lately." Rainbow Dash took her eyes off you and looked at her purple friend. "I will Twilight, I'm sure she'll be happy to hear from ya." Rainbow Dash replies while giving Twilight a soft smile. You all bid your goodbyes and part ways for now. Applejack had given you a bunch of her finest apples in a sack, free of charge. Twilight had suggested that she could carry them in her satchel but you insisted as the gentleman you are to carry them yourself. You fumbled to get a new firm grip on the sack of apples and walked swiftly to catch up with Twilight. "See, I told you they would like you. There was no need to be worried." You look back and see Applejack and Rainbow Dash still by the gate looking out towards you and Twilight. You wave your free arm at them in a long, slow motion above your head. They waved back, Applejack doing the same waving motion as you, and Rainbow shooting up ten feet in the air and waving both her front hooves. Your heart jumps with joy at the sight. "I guess." Your smile reaching from ear to ear, still walking backwards while enjoying the moment. "What do you want to see next?" You turn back around and look down to your side to meet Twilight's big eyes. "Well, what's there to see?" There were of course things you knew you wanted to see, but you wanted Twilight to lead the wagon. "There aren't really many spectacular landmarks in Ponyville, but there are some pretty sights. We could walk through town and drop the apples off at the library, there’s no need to be carrying them around all day." There was a lot apples in the sack, and there weren't any gripping handles on it, making it a little uncomfortable to hold for a long time. You could already feel the inside of your hand getting a little sore. "That sounds like a plan." You switch the sack into your other hand. You quickly estimated the walk back to Ponyville to last between twenty five and thirty minutes. Thirty minutes with just you and Twilight. She seemed distracted, and neither of you said anything the next couple of minutes, with you just enjoying the scenery once more. There were round hills as far as you could see in one direction, most of them covered in trees, and the horizon behind Ponyville was obstructed by a mountain range. As you look at the mountains you see something in the corner of your vision. A big grey cloud. It was seemingly heading towards the farm you just left. Following the cloud with your eyes, it didn't look like it was being carried by wind. After it had passed, you saw a blue dot behind it, realizing the blue pegasus was probably had gone to the farm today on weather business. You break the silence by asking Twilight about her other friends, from there the conversation jumps from one topic to another. Before you knew it you were asking her about magic. When she explained it as a force in this world that could be manipulated in different ways by specific minerals, you related it to magnets. The unicorn horns were made of a bunch of these minerals connected to short nerves that lead directly to the unicorn's brain. So basically they had a horn made of different types of electro magnets. The discussion went on to comparisons between the two worlds, and time was forgotten as topics flew by. You were nearly in town when you saw two ponies walking in the opposite direction. Twilight had noticed them too. An earth pony and a unicorn. The unicorn had a turquoise coat with a light blue mane, the earth pony was cream coloured with a blue and pink mane. You decided you were going to act like nothing abnormal was going on, and as you passed them you gave a simple stranger-to-stranger greeting while waving your free hand in a short, fast motion. Since you were walking alongside Twilight you figured they wouldn't become scared of you if you acted like there was nothing out of the ordinary. "Good day." They looked at you in confusion. "H-hello..." They replied in union. You could feel their stare in your neck long after you passed them. "Genius." Twilight giggled at the sight the surprised faces of the two ponies, who were still standing at in the spot where you passed them a minute ago. Pleased with your accomplishment you smiled and looked down at the unicorn walking besides you. "So which way now to your library? We didn't walk this way out of town if I remember correctly." "You're right. This way will take us past the plaza before we reach the library. Would you rather walk back the way we took this morning?" You had taken a route out of Ponyville that morning that seemed to avoid where there might be ponies around at the time. It was probably a little longer than walking straight through town, and you did want to see if you could recognize anything there. Though the thought of having all eyes on you while walking through a crowd of ponies made you a little nervous. "It's alright I guess. As long as there won't be an uproar when everyon... everypony sees me." "As long as you're with me I think the worst we'll get is ponies staring in awe like Lyra and Bon-Bon back there." "Oh, so you knew those ponies?" "I know who they are, but I don't really know them personally. It's a small town, everypony knows everypony around here." "I guess that makes sense." That's how you imagined things were in small towns back home as well. Walking through town wasn't really all that bad. Some curious eyes had followed you as you went, but no one seemed particularly frightened. Maybe strange creatures weren't as rare as you had first thought. In a world with dragons, a mammal that wasn't even twice the height of a pony wouldn't be a huge cause for alarm. The first thing you had recognized was the town hall, then your head had snapped towards a pink building with a huge cupcake on top of it. The road had taken you right past Sugarcube Corner. You had tried to peek through the windows to check for any party ponies that might be inside, but to your disappointment you hadn't seen anypony at all. After you had passed the bakery however, something didn't feel right. You could swear that you had passed the pony reading the newspaper with a brown scarf on her head at least two times before. Maybe it was just your imagination, because as soon as you thought you had noticed, you never saw the newspaper pony again. But there was still something making the air seem uneasy. Having reached the library Twilight insisted on taking the apples to the kitchen for you. You let her grip the sack of apples with her magic and she trotted away, and as you could heard the sound of her struggling to stuff the apples inside the fridge, you sat down on the floor by the center table to rest your feet. The air in the library had a slight chill to it compared to the warm summer weather outside, and it felt good as the sweat on your forehead evaporated and didn't re-emerge. Twilight, having finally finished her struggle with the limited space of her fridge, sat down besides you. "So what do you say we head to Fluttershy's cottage next?" She suggests as she levitateed a glass of clear liquid to the table in front of you. "She's the kindest pony I know, and it's a very beautiful scene, her cottage alone, but also the nature around it." The clear liquid in the glass wasn't just water. It was sweet, and a taste you had never experienced from any kind of food or drink before, but you still recognized it. It tasted what flowers smelled like. It was delicious, like they had isolated the smell of a flower then added water and sugar. "Sounds good." Tossing down the rest of the drink in one gulp, you stand up. "Thanks for the delicious drink." “Glad you liked it.” Twilight returned your smile and stood back up, and you head out the door. Walking through some parts of town towards Fluttershy's cottage, you could hear rustling coming from bushes, and suspicious looking ponies could be seen every now and again. You were now very certain, somepony was following you.