Life, Death, and Ponies

by thunderclap

Mixed Feelings

You woke up to the smell of cooking food with a slight smile on your face. Today was the day when you were going to tour your new town. Normally new homes meant another place where people could mock and ridicule you. But, so far nothing like that had happened in your new life. You looked out your bedroom window to see the morning sun stream in and warm rays of light hit your face. You got up out of bed and stretched to prepare for whatever the day might hold. You went into the bathroom to take a shower and were soon downstairs in the dining room. The rest of the Apple family was already there waiting for you, including Big Macintosh who was looking cured of whatever had been ailing him. As you were about to sit down Applejack called out to you.

“Well good mornin’ there, sleepy head. We were startin’ to wonder if you were gonna sleep the whole day away.”

“Eeeyup.”

“It’s only seven in the morning.” You replied, yawning.

“Ah was jokin’, Blackstar. Anyway today yer gonna be tourin’ Ponyville, right?”

“Yup, and you’re gonna be selling the apple butter we made last night, right?”

“Yes Ah am, and Apple Bloom’s gonna be goin’ to school soon so eat some breakfast and let’s all go together.”
You nodded and sat down to eat. You always wondered why ponies who were normally strict vegetarians would eat something like eggs. Then again it wasn’t nearly as strange as the fact that you could perform magic or a Pegasus being able to fly so you never really dug into the mystery too much. After breakfast you helped Applejack load up her cart of apple products and set off into town, talking with Apple Bloom and Applejack as you did.

“So Applejack what can you tell me about Ponyville?”

“Well, we pretty much have a fair amount of each kind a pony, although we got more earth ponies and pegasi than unicorns by a little bit. Ponyville is a fairly small town where everypony knows each other.”

“So I’m going to stick out a bit, huh?”

“At first, but as soon as everypony gets used to you you’ll be just fine. Just watch out for Pinkie though.”

“Who’s Pinkie?”

“She’s a fun lovin’ party pony who will throw a party at the drop of a hat.” Apple Bloom explained.

“Uh huh, is she a friend of yours, Applejack?” You asked, hoping to get a better explanation.

“Yeah, she’s a good girl when you get to know her, but there’s no tellin’ what’s goin’ on in her head.”

“Do you have any other friends I should watch out for?”

“There’s Rainbow Dash, she’s the most competitive pony you’ll ever meet. Fluttershy is a good girl who loves animals but…”

“Let me take a wild guess and say she’s shy.” You said with a grin.

“Ah reckon the name does kind a give it away.” Applejack chuckled. “Then there’s Rarity, she’s a bit of a drama queen and loves fashion. And finally there’s Twilight, she’s loves books and learnin’ and she lives in the town library.” You perked up at the mention of Twilight. Applejack actually knew her. Not only that but she had told you where to find her, things were turning out to be easier than you had originally thought.

“Sounds like you have an interesting group of friends to say the least.”

“Ah guess ya could say that. Listen Ah’d love to stay and talk more, but Ah have to get goin’.”

“Sure, I think I can manage.”

“That’s good to hear, try not to get lost okay.”

“See ya later, Applejack.” You said as she turned toward the town market. “So, Apple Bloom, want me to walk you to school?”

“Sure, you could meet mah friends if ya did that!” Apple Bloom exclaimed. Apple Bloom and you were walking for a little while before she decided to ask.

“Are you and Applejack gonna be each other’s certain special somepony?’” You stopped dead in your tracks for a moment, staring in utter disbelief at what you were just asked, and the one that had asked it. You took a moment to collect yourself before you replied.

“What made you want to ask something like that, Kiddo?”

“Well, you an’ Applejack seem to get along real well, so I thought you two might get together and that way ya really would be mah new big brother.” Her head started to lower a little as she answered and you let out a laugh at the little filly’s explanation.

“Is that what that’s about? Listen, a relationship like that needs more than just two ponies getting along well together.”

“Like what?”

“It’s a little hard to describe.” Your brow started to furrow, you had no idea how to explain love. The only time you had ever felt it was with your parents, and something told you that the feeling of two people in an intimate relationship would be different than love for a parent. “Listen Apple Bloom, I may know a lot about all sorts of things, but love is something that you can’t really study. You just kind of feel it. So all you really need to know is that, no matter happens between Applejack and me you can come to me with any problem you might be having.”

“Alright, Ahm sorry that Ah asked ya something like that.”

“Don’t worry about it, but don’t tell Applejack about it, I’m not sure how she’d react to it.” She nodded but your conversation was interrupted with,

“Hey Apple Bloom who’s that?” Called out a little orange Pegasus with purple eyes and a purple mane.

“Hey Scootaloo, this is Blackstar. He’s gonna be livin’ on the farm for a while.”

“Really, that’s cool, what’s he gonna be doing there? Asked a little white unicorn with green eyes, and a light pink and lavender mane.

“He’s been tradin’ recipes with Granny Smith, and together they’re makin’ something that everypony in Ponyville will love.”

“You know I’m right here.”

“Sorry Blackstar.”

“It’s alright, Kiddo, just introduce me to your friends here.”

“I’m Scootaloo, President of the Rainbow Dash fan club, and a member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.” The orange Pegasus said with a confident look on her face.

“And I’m Sweetie Bell. I’m also in the Cutie Mark Crusaders.” The unicorn said in a high pitch voice.

“It’s nice to meet you two.” You said with a grin. “I’m Blackstar, graduate of Magic School, and currently working with Granny Smith in the kitchen of Sweet Apple Acres.”

“That’s really cool!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “Does that mean you can do all sorts of magic? You gotta show us some!”

“I’d love to, but right now you three have to get to class.” You said pointing a hoof at an annoyed looking purple pony with pink hair.

“Oh shoot, come on girls we gotta get to class or Miss Cheerilee will freak.” Scootaloo said before turning and running towards the small red schoolhouse. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell followed suit and you just waved them goodbye before you turned to leave.

You stopped for a moment in the town square to get a better look at the buildings. Everything seemed to be pretty simplistic, small houses that doubled as businesses and painted in warm, bright, colors. Most of the buildings had thatched rooftops but every now and then there was a building with a tiled roof. At one point you saw a building that looked like it was made out of ginger bread and other sweets. You chuckled at the sight of something so whimsical before thinking of a plan of action.

‘First thing’s first, I should go see Twilight Sparkle. I know she lives in the town library so I should start there. I could use a jacket in case I’m ever caught in the rain so a clothes shop would be a good place to go to after that. Then … I don’t know guess I’ll just wing it from there.’ You started to grin as you started searching the town for the library.

When you had first set off into town most of the ponies in town were still in their homes, asleep or possibly preparing for their jobs around town. Now the town was abuzz with activity as all sorts of ponies went about their day. Some were gardening; others were walking around town and talking with each other, while others were trying to buy and sell goods. Every now and then you would notice a few of the ponies staring at you but you just smiled and waved at them which seemed to satisfy their curiosity and they returned their attention to their previous activity.

Eventually you found a sign that indicated that the library was right in front of you. You were confused for a moment because the only thing in front of you was a large tree. Then you noticed the circular holes that had curtains behind them and realized that the tree was the library. You recovered quickly from the surprise. After all, eve since you had died you had: yelled at God, woken up as a unicorn, and learned magic from beings that controlled the sun and moon. At this point, even if the laws of physics were blatantly broken right in front of you, you wouldn’t bat an eyelash. You took a deep breath and knocked on the door of the library.

Applejack was in the town market trying to sell her apple products, humming a little tune as she did so. She would call out to anypony that passed by, mentioning the new apple butter to any that stopped to look at her stand. A few took her up on the offer of the new and strange spread, while others just bought an apple and left. Applejack grinned as she made bit after bit. Eventually she was greeted by a certain fashion pony as she stopped by the stand.

“Well hello, Applejack, Darling. How are you this fabulous morning?” Rarity asked flipping her curled violet mane as she did so.

“Hey there, Rarity, Ahm fine thanks fer askin’.”

“It seems you’re energetic today. Having a good day are we?” Rarity asked, giving Applejack a curious look.

“Ah guess you could say that. We got a new product fer sale thanks to our new worker.” Applejack said with a chuckle.

“You got a new employee, what’s their name?”

“His name’s Blackstar.”

“Oooh what a lovely name, you simply must tell me about him.” Rarity pressed.

“There’s not much to tell really. Ah found him yesterday fast asleep in the orchard. He told me that he had been travelling a while and that he wanted to get to Ponyville to find a job. He noticed that Ah was lookin’ tired and offered me somethin’ to eat while he apple bucked fer a while in my place. After a while we stepped in fer lunch where he made our new product. He calls it apple butter, though it doesn’t really have butter in it. He told us that he’d make it fer us in exchange fer a small percent of the profit and Apple Bloom convinced us all to let him stay with us fer a while. Then he helped Big Mac get over his sickness, gave Apple Bloom some advice, made a whole heap of this here apple butter with Granny Smith, and after that we had a little talk.” Applejack explained, blushing ever so slightly.

“He sounds like a great pony, I wouldn’t mind meeting him. Could you tell me what he looks like?”

“He’s a unicorn with dark blue fur. His mane is the same color as his fur and has a big black stripe in it and his cutie mark is a black star with a swirling pattern around it.”

“Is he back on the farm right now?”

“No, he’s lookin’ around town right now, tryin’ to get used to the place.”

“I’ll have to keep an eye out for him. He sounds like a fine young pony. He might even be the kind of stallion one would want to have a relationship with, right Applejack?” Rarity said as she turned to leave.

“Now what do ya mean by that?” Applejack asked, turning a bit redder.

“Oh nothing, I was just thinking out loud.” Rarity said with a small chuckle.

Applejack wanted to say something to Rarity but she was already gone. Applejack only put her head on the fruit stand for a moment. Now she was left alone with her thoughts about the strange pony she had found yesterday. She started to blush again at Rarity’s comment about him being the type of pony one would want for a relationship. Applejack shook her head vigorously and pushed out all thoughts of Blackstar. But he kept popping up into her mind.

“Now why did Rarity have to go and say somethin’ like that?” She said with a sigh.

Comments

[ShadowBreeze]

Interesting! Just when I thought I couldn't like this story anymore! Keep up the great writing and hope for another update soon!

[-Brutus]

Let's see what happens now...

[Weavuh]

269617 Touché also nice chapter bro! keep up the wonderful work!

[no longer on]

Rarity said that because of foreshadowing, my dear Applejack.

[The Cryptic Cipher]

“Now why did Rarity have to go and say somethin’ like that?” She said with a sigh. For the sake of the plot dear apple jack

~T.CC

[Starlight Uplifting]

Rarity has become the "ex machina" to advance the story...
Aj has a crush, so Applebloom also is miss ex machina and eeyup that's all...this story really warms my heart...