With their origins out of the way, the turtles had decided to spend their day training and getting to know their new friends. Raph gagged upon hearing that last word. Leonardo went with Rainbow Dash as the pegasus was interested in a fight, to which the blue-masked turtle agreed. Michaelangelo went to Sugarcube Corner with Pinkie wanting to try out the sweets. Donatello stayed with Twilight wanting to study all he can about this world. Splinter left with Fluttershy, hearing that she takes care of animals, and wanting time to meditate agreed to help her.
That left Raphael working at the Apple Farm with Applejack and her family. The red-masked turtle groaned as he was forced to work. 'Either that or get stuck being measured by Rarity. And I don't feel like standing still for hours.' he thought.
"Here we are, Raph." Applejack said, the farmpony gesturing to the large barn.
"A lot smaller than I expected." he teased.
"Har har. Anyway, since you're gonna be workin' here, I gotta introduce ya to mah family." the mare said. Raphael groaned. "Are they gonna panic like everyone else in the town did?"
"Ah'm pretty sure mah sister won't throw a tomato at you." she said, holding back a snicker. Raph growled while wiping his face, he could still feel the juices on his face.
Applejack opened the door, where the first sight the turtle saw was an elder mare rocking on a chair. "Applejack? Ya bringin' boys to the farm? I hope he ain't trouble!" she yelled.
"Calm down, granny. This is Raphael. He's a new friend and he's gonna be helpin' around here for a bit." Applejack explained. After that, a large red stallion walked by. Raph spoke. "Let me guess. You're her brother."
"Eeyup." he answered before trotting out.
The turtle crossed his arms. "I think I see where this is headin'."
"Excuse me, mister?"
Raph's eyes widened at the sound. He looked down to see a young filly looking up at him with curious eyes. "What are ya?"
"A turtle," he answered bluntly. "Name's Raphael."
"Ya aren't like any turtle I've seen. By the way, I'm Applebloom. Ah also see ya don't have a cutie mark."
"A cutie whats-it?" Raph questioned.
"A cutie mark. A mark that appears on yer flank whenever ya discover your special talent. Applebloom and her friends have been searchin' for theirs for a long while." Applejack explained.
"Ooh! Applejack, can he join us when we go crusading?" the young filly asked hopefully. Raphael did not answer, as he honestly did not want to go, but the last thing he needed to do was to say no to the big puppy eyes that stared right in his soul. 'Sometimes I'm too darn nice.'
Applejack put a hoof on her chin. "Ah don't know. His brothers and him are gonna be busy later once we're all done here. We'll see. How about it, Raph?"
The turtle's eyes widened as he saw Applebloom's puppy eyes. Despite his resistance, he sighed. "Fine." he answered in a defeated tone. Applebloom cheered while she ran upstairs joyfully.
Applejack smiled. "Thank ya. Those girls can get outta hoof sometimes, it's nice to know that somepony's keepin' an eye on 'em."
"Yeah, whatever. Let's just get this work done," Raph shrugged off the deed he had done. The farmpony nodded and lead him to a nearby orchard filled with apple trees. The turtle inhaled. "Man, I haven't been on a farm in a long while."
"Huh. Didn't know you were ever on a farm. I thought ya stayed in the city." the mare wondered.
"We only went there as a spot to hide in when the city goes too out of control or whe we're too injured to fight." Raph said. "So, what am I doing here?"
"It's real simple." she kicked the tree, knocking the apples into the basket. "And that's it."
Raphael shrugged. "Alright. I think I got it." Applejack nodded at that. "Okay. I'll be workin' at the other side, let me know if you need help." the farmpony left to her workspot, leaving the turtle alone to do his job. He reared his fist back...
'It's just as I thought...'
Raphael stopped what he was doing to face the glowing pony, "Let me guess. Is this one of those only I can see you type things?" he asked the mare.
Solar spoke. 'Yes. So far I must say, despite not being as pure as the Star Child, you're still kind enough that you agreed to do all this. Including going with that filly to find her cutie mark. Why?'
"Why? Because I'm not some heartless jerk and I needed something to do." Raph answered, punching the tree hard enough for the apples to fall into the bucket below the branches. He smirked in satisfaction. "Anyway, you're better off looking for someone else. I'm not the hero that you say you need, Solar."
'For your information, I do have my eye on another hero as we speak. I will get to him soon enough, but my focus for now is getting you to show you what you can be.'
"Well, can't you just tell me?" he questioned the pony.
Solar shook her head. 'Sorry, but that's for you to find out. I bid you farewell for now...' Solar faded away, leaving Raphael to his thoughts and a whole bunch of apple trees to punch.
Michaelangelo munched on a tray of cupcakes Pinkie had given him. Frosting was all over his face by the time he finished. "Wow! This stuff is delicious!"
"I told you, Mikey!" she cheered with a smile. Raphael stormed his way inside, tired after spending what felt like forever punching trees. His hands were aching and he needed a break, so AJ told him to go meet Pinkie and Mikey at Supercube Corner once he was ready to break.
"Of course you're stuffing your face in." Raph said with a stern glare. Mikey smiled sheepishly at his brother. Pinkie looked at the weary turtle.
"C'mon, Raphy. Maybe a cupcake will cheer you up!" she bounced around the bakery into the kitchen and came back with a full cake in her hooves.
"Enjoy!" she bounced away, leaving Raphael alone. He slowly cut a piece and put it on a plate. Using a fork, he bit into the slice he made. A small smile formed on his face. "Huh. Not bad."
"See? I told you!" Pinkie appeared behind him, startling the turtle. 'And I'm suposed to be the ninja.' he thought.
"Told ya, dude. How about I have some!" Mikey yelled, trying to grab the cake. Raph held him back. "Sorry bro, but I had one heck of a day. This one's all mine."