Sapphire

by Duke of Canterlot

Bringing in the Cider

Sapphire could not have been more excited for this party. Sapphire had a feeling it would be different from many of the parties he has attended in recent years. He took one last look at the mirror before leaving his temporary lodgings, Sapphire wanted to look as good as possible - perhaps, he would impress Pinkie Pie or some other mare.

Sapphire went off to Sugarcube Corner. On his way there, Sapphire saw two earth ponies slowly walking carrying jars of cider on their backs. One was an orange-colored pony who wore a cowmare hat, she had a muscular physique. The other was a buff red-colored stallion, he looked quite strong himself. The mare had three jars and the stallion had four jars. They were carrying a ton of cider. Perhaps, Sapphire could assist them. He walked towards them.

"Hello there, do you ponies need help carrying that cider?"

"A mighty kind offer", said the mare, "but I am doing just fine."

"That's great, sis", said the stallion, "maybe you can take a jar from me, heh heh."

"Very funny, smartass."

"Eeyup."

Sapphire noted that they both spoke with rural accents - nothing like that in Canterlot. On the other hand, the only kinds of ponies in Canterlot were rich, unicorn, or both. If you were neither, you would certainly not want to live in Canterlot.

"Looks like at least one of you might need a helping hand", chuckled Sapphire.

"What do you think, Mac", said the mare, "should we give him one or two?"

"Eeyup."

"But on one condition."

"Yea?"

"You can't use your magic, I see that you're a unicorn."

"Very perceptive. I wasn't planning on it."

"Thank you, good sir. We're just taking these jars down to Sugarcube Corner. We're going to a big party tonight, meaning we need a lot of cider."

"It's the season for apple cider around these parts, huh?"

"Sure is! Hey, are you new here?"

"Just got here today, m'aam."

"Oh, please. No need for that kind of formality, the name is Applejack." Applejack and Sapphire shook front hooves. She had a very firm hoofshake for a mare, Sapphire could tell that she kept in shape.

"Pleasure to meet you, I am Sapphire."

"Sapphire? Isn't that a girl's name?"

"C'mon sis. Even I know that among unicorns, Sapphire is a male name", Mac chuckled, "I am Big Macintosh by the way. You can call me Mac or Big Mac, whatever floats your boat."

"It's great to meet you, Mac."

"Now let's get some of these jars on your back", said Applejack.

"Eeyup", said Big Mac.

Sapphire could feel the weight of the two jars on his back... no magic.. he would keep his word. Heavy! At least Sugarcube Corner wasn't too far. The two jars were strapped onto him.

"So, where are you from and what brings you to Ponyville", asked Applejack.

"I am from Canterlot and am at Ponyville on a business trip. Nothing too exciting."

"Canterlot? Fancy shmancy place, from what I hear. Whooeee!!"

"Yea, it's alright, I guess. I am not really into the fancy stuff but whatever I am doing helps pay the bills."

"What do you do for a living?"

"I work for the Wonderbolts - as a financial advisor."

"You work with the Wonderbolts? Heh heh, my friend Rainbow Dash would love you."

"I already met her actually. She's not a bad flier. The Wonderbolts told me I could recommend good fliers to them while I as here. However, I penalized her for beating me in an arm wrestling contest."

Applejack laughed heartily.

"Yea, Rainbow's pretty good but she's not as good as me."

"I would like to see that. So, what do you do for a living?"

"I'm an apple farmer. I live on Sweet Apple Acres. Me, my big brother her, my granny, and my little sis keep the farm going and Ponyville happy with apple cider, zap apple jam, and fresh apples all around!"

Little sister? Hmmm.. Apple? Was Applejack's sister Apple Bloom? Sapphire feared for Diamond Tiara if that was the case and Apple Bloom had half the physical strength her older sister possessed. Applejack didn't seem like a bully herself but siblings could be mighty different from one another. Otherwise, he would never shut the hell up about fashion like Gold Coast, his older sister. If Diamond Tiara wasn't careful, she could be scarred for life.

"You must keep Ponyville happy for sure. The Wonderbolts, Soarin in particular, loves anything from your farm."

"That was mighty sweet of him to say that. How are you holding up?"

Not too well, thought Sapphire, but he just said, "A-OK."

"Where are you staying at Ponyville? Hopefully, the Wonderbolts got you somewhere nicer than the sleazy motel near my farm."

"Nah. A business colleague of mine actually offered me a place to stay. He owns Barnyard Bargains, you might know him."

"Oh, you must be living with Filthy Rich. He is one of our best customers!"

"Yes, I am. Rich has been a gracious host so far."

"You're so polite, I like that trait in a stallion but more than that, I like honesty."

"I'm being honest. Rich has been good so far. As long as I'm staying, I will definitely say only good things about your apples and I promise you, Applejack, that I am being honest."

"That's tootin' fantastic! Looks like we're here. Thank you so much, Sapphire."

"Eeyup."

"No problem." Sapphire eagerly unlatched the two jars from his back.

"I am guessing you're the Guest of Honor at tonight's party", said Applejack.

"How did you know", asked Sapphire.

"Pinkie Pie mentioned something about wanting to have a party for some new pony she met today. Unless there is some other new pony I haven't met yet, I deduce that you're the one."

"I see. Well yea."

"Pinkie Pie.. that pony has so much energy. I consider myself to be mighty friendly but I would never be able to keep up with Pinkie. I swear.. she has a party for any new pony she meets in Ponyville. She even once wanted to throw a party for some old donkey who arrived in town but he opted out of it for some peace and quiet with his "special friend", if you catch my drift."

Any new pony? Sapphire might have not been so special after all. Was he no higher on Pinkie's list than some old donkey?
Regardless, this party should promise to be fun.

"Are you two going to stay at the party or are you just bringing the cider?"

"I wouldn't miss a Pinkie Pie party for the world", cheered Applejack.

"Eeyup."

"Great, seems like this party wouldn't be fun without you two."

"You're too kind", said Applejack.

"I can't stay too late though", said Big Mac, "need to make sure our little sis doesn't stay out too late."

"Good luck trying to get Apple Bloom to go home - it will take more than your stallion brawn to get her to go back home."

"Eeyup."

Apple Bloom.. so, that was Applejack's sister. Perhaps, he would be able to figure out how to protect Diamond Tiara tonight. He pictured Apple Bloom as a younger Applejack.. yea.. Diamond Tiara had no shot of winning any sort of physical conflict against Apple Bloom.

Applejack knocked on the door, "Pinkie Pie, we brought cider!!"

He heard a "Ooh cider wheeeeeee!!!!"

The door opened quickly.

He noticed that Pinkie Pie had put on make-up and looked very pretty. Sapphire was glad he took the time to look nice too.

"Hiya Sapphire!!" Pinkie gave Sapphire a big hug, "helping out Applejack with the cider, I see?"

"Eeyup, you look beautiful", said Sapphire.

"Aww, thank you, you look handsome yourself. Now that you're here, let's get this party started!, yippee!!! DJ, turn on the music!"

"Wow, thanks Pinkie, this is already looking good."

"No need to thank me yet, Sapphire. We are only have experienced approximately 0.2083% of the party so far, assuming you're a Mr. Cranky Pants and can't stay up all night. Can't make an initial assessment until we even hit 1% of the party! In fact, if you stay up till the sun rises tomorrow, we have only experienced 0.1389% of the party, but to be fair, I've probably been yakking so long that it's now .2778% of the party!"

Yes, one minute has passed and assuming eight hours or twelve hours - Pinkie was correct. She was also wicked smart.
Pinkie wasn't bad at what Sapphire considered to be his special talent.

Pinkie grabbed Sapphire by the arm. This party was going to be fun.

"I hope it's okay that there won't be that many ponies attending.. busy time of the year apparently but I can tell you the guest list. Obviously, Applejack and Big Macintosh are already here. Rainbow Dash will definitely be there too. She's definitely excited for this party but punctuality isn't her strong suit. Rarity will be here too along with her little sister Sweetie Belle.. Sweetie Belle is as sweet as her name. Oh my gosh, and the other ponies are probably new ones you haven't met yet. So many great ones: Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle, Spike, Lyra, Bon-Bon, and can't forget Applejack's little sister, Apple Bloom, another sweetie and her friend Scootaloo... I think that's about it. But Spike isn't actually a pony, he's a dragon, but he's a baby dragon, so you shouldn't be afraid of him. Actually, to think of it, Spike is the least scary one I mentioned on that guest list actually - tee hee...you're going to love them all. Especially Twilight, she's a super crazy smart unicorn like you...blah blah blah blah"

Twilight Sparkle? She was going to be here too? Twilight actually attended parties? However, to be fair, this wasn't some nightclub where stallions were going to be grabbing at her flank all night - she probably felt comfortable enough at a Pinkie Pie party. He would have to catch up with Twilight. Sapphire wanted to give Big Boss the finger and not bother gathering information tonight but.. Sapphire was too smart to do that. Any of these ponies at the party tonight could have been spies as well, simply waiting to report to Big Boss whether Sapphire was doing his job. If Sapphire worked hard enough, maybe he could catch the mole at the party.

However, what Sapphire needed to do was begin his quest on learning the secrets of the alicorn tonight. Some cider would help with that.

Author's Note:

I know a lot of writers actually try to write the words using Applejack's Southern accent but just imagine it here..

I hope all of you like it!

The three-chapter long party will start next chapter.