My Family and Other Equestrians

by Blade Star

Chapter 9 - The Last Day?

The next morning, the sun rose on what was potentially, if not ideally, my last day in Equestria. Tomorrow, the four of us, along with Twilight Sparkle, would be heading up to Canterlot to meet with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

I woke up in fairly good time and promptly threw the covers off of me, before I had a chance to drift back into a peaceful slumber. Getting up, I trotted over to the window and took a look out at the farmyard below. The sun was just barely coming up over the horizon, coating everything in the greyish haze of a summer dawn. Already I could hear the sounds of the birds and insects beginning to stir.

Blinking a few times, I did my best to get the sleep out of my eyes; one of several tasks a hoof is not really suited to, even if my eyes are much larger now. I found myself once again irritated that I had no real access to magic. Perhaps before I left, Twilight might be able to teach me one or two things; just enough so that I could say that I was able to use magic in Equestria.

That brought my thoughts around to the impending visit to Canterlot. It had been exciting enough meeting Twilight and her friends, but the princesses? I was sure that they meant us no harm, but I couldn’t help but feel some trepidation at meeting Princess Celestia or her sister. Let’s face it, TV show or no, I knew them only by reputation. And then there was all the protocol to consider. Technically, we had made first contact with an alien race, and in twenty four hours, we’d be meeting their leader.

The highest up the food chain I’d ever gone was meeting a peer; Lord David Davies when Dad and I crossed paths with his hunt out in the back country. And he hardly asked that much respect; the man was as mad as a bloody march hare. In real terms, the most senior person in government I’d ever met was my MP, I knew very little about meeting a princess.

Well, that’s not quite true, I did know a little bit. Coming from a constitutional monarchy like Britain, you did learn some royal protocol, like addressing the Queen as her majesty and so on, but that didn’t really help here. For heaven’s sake, the show never explicitly stated what Celestia’s title was; as a princess she was ‘your highness’ but I’d heard even Twilight address her as ‘your majesty’. I suppose that’s what happens when you have a princess in the place of a queen.

I shook my head in an effort to clear my thoughts. It was unlikely Celestia would expect too much. As long as we were polite and respectful, I was sure we’d be fine. In any case, we’d cross that bridge when we came to it. Right now I had more important matters to attend to, like breakfast.

It was at that precise moment that Applejack came by to wake me up with a loud rap on my door.

“Blade Star?” she called out. “Are you awake yet?” I quickly called back.

“Yes, Applejack,” I replied. “Ah’ll be down stairs in a minute.” That odd accent was kicking in again. One of these days I’m going to find out why I do that; mimicking.

As I quickly made my bed, another task not really suited to hooves, I again felt compelled to laugh at myself over my nom de guerre. Even by pony standards ‘Blade Star’ did not sound natural. Well, it was too late to do much about that now, wasn’t it? And to be fair, I never particularly cared for my old name either.

Opening the door, I walked out into the hall. At the same moment, Applejack emerged from the bathroom opposite.

“Morning, Applejack,” I said with a smile. AJ smiled back, and for some odd reason I felt my face flush slightly.

“Mornin’, Blade Star,” she replied. “Ready to get to work?”

“Of course.”

The two of us walked down the hallway towards the stairs. I was looking forward to another decent breakfast.

It was then though, that a thought struck me. Every now and then, I’d have these moments where the minor practicalities of our strange situation would push themselves to the forefront of my mind. The notion of breakfast had just triggered one.

“What have my family been eating here?” I wondered out loud, no doubt confusing Applejack, who was just about to start down the stairs. She turned back to me and offered her signature raised eyebrow.

“Pardon?” she said, perplexed. I realised I’d been thinking out loud.

“Oh…er, nothing, Applejack,” I said with a wave of a hoof. “I was just wondering what my family had been eating since they got here. You see, humans are omnivorous; we eat both meat and plants. But ponies are herbivores. So I was wondering whether they were having a vegetarian diet or making do somehow.”

Technically, it would be just my parents. Lizzie was a vegan, and had been for a few years. While hay wouldn’t be particularly palatable to her, she’d be fine with the majority of pony foods. My parents would too of course. I was thinking more long term and what might happen if they didn’t all get enough protein in their diet. Dad had explained all this to Twilight when we first settled down in her library too. Being on Sweet Apple Acres, I hadn’t been around to see her solution.

And of course, it was no issue for me. This equine body was perfectly fine with hay, daisy sandwiches, and all of the other things that would be unsuitable for humans. In fact, dwelling upon it, I found that the thought of raw meat actually made me a touch uncomfortable, like nails on a chalkboard. I guess I’d have to temporarily give up the bacon sarnies.

Coming out of my reprieve, I realised that I’d been standing there like a fool for about half a minute. Applejack was looking just a little perplexed. Rousing myself, I quickly got back to the business at hoof; breakfast.

“Sorry, Applejack,” I apologised. “Got lost in thought.” Applejack let out a short laugh.

“Yeah, I thought ya might have,” she replied. “C’mon, let’s get some vittles’ in ya.”

The two of us walked down the stairs and soon found ourselves in the kitchen. Big Mac and Apple Bloom were both at the table already, while Granny Smith was busy attending to the stove. The three of them greeted me in their usual friendly way, apart from Big Mac, who simply nodded at me. His hostility towards me had lessened noticeably, which I was grateful for. I took my seat at the table next to Applejack and opposite young Apple Bloom. A moment later, Granny Smith set breakfast down in front of me.

“So, what’s on the agenda today, Applejack?” I asked, helping myself to a slice of toast and some jam, or jelly as the jar said; I guess I’ll have to get used to some of the Americanisms.

“We’re gonna be workin’ on the other side of the farm today, sugarcube,” Applejack explained. “It’s actually part of the original orchard from when the Apples’ first came out this way, so the trees are a mite bit tougher than before.”

“How so?”

“Well, the younger trees don’t tend to hold onto their fruit that much. A good strong buck from Mac or me will clear them out in one. These ones though are much tougher. Ya might find it a bit slow goin’ today.”

I hoped it wouldn’t be too bad. Given how out of shape I was, I’d been nearly exhausted yesterday, and now I was meant to deal with these ‘tougher’ trees. For a brief moment, I inwardly cursed myself for offering to help the Apples. A moment later though, I realised that was selfish and short sighted. If nothing else, the days would be long and slow if I wasn’t out helping in the fields.

“Ah’ll do my best to keep up with ya then, Applejack,” I replied. AJ then turned to her little sister.

“What about you, AB?” she asked, calling her sister by her nickname. “How are things at school?” At that, the little filly perked her ears.

“Aw shoot!” she exclaimed, her eyes going wide for a moment. “Ah almost forgot! Applejack, can Ah borrow a jar of Zap Apple Jam? I need it for show and tell today.” Applejack did her best to suppress a grin as she got up.

“Course, sugarcube,” she replied. Trotting over to a nearby kitchen cupboard, which I saw was damn near full of the stuff, she passed Apple Bloom a jar.

The little filly quickly took it and promptly stuffed it into her saddlebags. It was just before eight o’clock now; high time for the filly to be heading off to school. Seeing the time, Apple Bloom scoffed down her breakfast like a rabid timberwolf and quickly began to badger her grandmother to take her to school.

“Oh, hold yer darn horses,” the apple matriarch exclaimed at the filly. “Ah gotta clean these pans off first.”

“But, Granny, if we don’t go soon, Ah’m gonna be late again!” Apple Bloom protested. I saw an opportunity to lend a helping hoof, I was pretty much done with my own breakfast anyway.

“How ‘bout Ah take care of all that, Granny Smith?” I suggested helpfully. Applejack however intervened.

“Blade Star,” she said. “Y’all are our guest here. Ah got it.” I smiled and shook my head.

“No, Applejack,” I replied. “At present, Ah think Ah constitute a farmhand. Besides, it’s the least Ah can do for getting three square home cooked meals a day and a warm bed.” I trotted over to the sink, which was now full of pans, plates and dishes. Seeing that I wasn’t about to be persuaded, Applejack relented.

“Fine,” she said, adjusting her ponytail for a moment. “But Ah’ll lend a hoof too.” And so she joined me, helping to dry everything that I cleaned up. Faintly, behind me, I heard Big Mac let out a low growl of annoyance. I guess I wasn’t quite in his good books yet, and the fans were right about his protective nature.

---

Between the two of us, we made fairly quick work of cleaning the kitchen up after breakfast. The slight delay also gave Big Mac a chance to walk over to one of the storage barns and set everything up for today’s part of the harvest. I was actually a little surprised that he left the two of us ‘unsupervised’ as it were. Hopefully that was a sign that his initial distrust was starting to wear off.

Before too long, Applejack and I set out to join him in the orchards. As we walked through the rows of apple trees, bathed in the early dawn light, Applejack explained what we would be doing today.

“Okay, Blade Star,” she said as we made our way towards Big Mac. “Remember what Ah said; these trees are a mite bit harder to harvest than the younger ones we did yesterday. Take your time with each one, and be careful not to put too much power into your kick; you’ll most likely just hurt yourself.” I nodded in understanding.

“Got it, AJ,” I replied, calling her by her nickname.

“Ah’ll stay with ya for the mornin’ at least,” she went on. “Big Macintosh will do one row, and we’ll work on the other. That way, even if this does wear ya out a bit more than yesterday, you’ll have a chance to catch your breath. These trees may be tough, sugarcube, but there ain’t as many of them as the other orchards on the farm.”

It was at that moment, we rejoined Big Mac. The large, red stallion had already set his and our baskets around the first trees and was beginning to harvest his first. To my surprise, at his first strike, only a handful of apples dropped from the tree’s branches. It took two more solid hits before, after a careful check of the tree, Mac was satisfied and prepared to move on. Applejack certainly wasn’t kidding when she said that these trees would hang onto their fruit as if their life depended on it.

Following Applejack, we both came up to the first tree in the row. Big Mac had already set up the baskets for us, so it was just a simple matter of kicking them. I’d done fairly well for myself yesterday, and now could at least do a halfway decent buck. Still, based on the results of Mac’s efforts, I knew I was in for a bit of trouble.

I turned myself around as Applejack watched. After practising kicks a couple of times, I struck out at the tree. My hooves hit home with a solid thud. I’d remembered to keep a slight bend in my legs to prevent the shock reverberating up my legs, but I still found myself wincing a little from the impact it had on my hooves.

Turning around again, I examined the fruits, if you’ll pardon the pun, of my labour.

There was one apple in the nearest basket.

One.

That was it.

Off to the side, I heard Applejack attempting to stifle her laughter at my no doubt befuddled expression. Turning to her, I scowled slightly; I’ve never liked being laughed at, it brings back memories from high school, even if I knew she didn’t mean it in a cruel way. I did my best to play down my embarrassment.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Applejack,” I said with a very equine snort. Applejack managed to get her fit of giggles under control.

“Sorry, sugarcube,” she said, genuinely. “It was just the look on your face is all.”

“Okay then,” I replied, stepping to one side. “How about you have a go then?”

Applejack and I traded places, with her kicking out at the tree. Like me, she took a couple practice kicks to line up her strike, and then lashed out at the tree, actually causing the trunk to bow slightly from the impact. A few moments later, just under a dozen apples dropped into the baskets that surrounded the tree. AJ turned round with a slightly smug look and crossed one foreleg over the other as she leaned against the trunk, in an attempt to look relaxed.

“No fair,” I said, smiling back. “You’ve got the Earth Pony strength on your side.”

“And years of experience,” she added, flashing a smile. “Don’t worry, sugarcube; you’ll start to improve soon enough. By lunchtime, we’ll have you harvestin’ a tree almost as fast as Big Macintosh.”

“Nnope,” the red stallion remarked, as he moved onto the third tree in his row.

Applejack, as it turned out, was half right. We slowly but surely worked our way through the orchards, with the two of us switching roles at each tree, Applejack was, of course, far better at it then I was. I definitely took a bit longer to completely empty a tree of its apples than she did. However, as the morning wore on, I began to improve, finding that sweet spot between hitting the tree with too much force and not enough to dislodge the apples.

Despite the hard work, it was actually less exhausting than yesterday had been, since we were going at a slower pace. It was still tiring of course, but as the sun got closer and closer to the midday point, I was nowhere near as worn out as I had been the day before.

Since the two of us were working together, it wasn’t too long before the pair of us started chatting as we worked.

“So it just happens?” Applejack was saying. “Ya spend enough time around somepony and ya start mimicking them?” I kicked out at the trunk of the tree, prompting several apples to fall.

“Not always,” I replied in my Appalachian drawl. “It has to be fairly strong and distinct from my normal way of speakin’. And that Tennessee soundin’ accent of yours is plenty strong enough.”

“Tenna what?” Applejack asked. I realised that I was referring to a place that was just as foreign to AJ as Equestria was to me.

“Tennessee,” I repeated. “It’s part of another country back home. Your accent’s mighty similar to theirs.” Applejack thought as we traded places.

“I guess that makes sense though,” she said. “When ya first got here, ya sounded a bit like you were from Trottingham.”

“In fact,” I went on. “Y’all have quite a lot in common with the southern US. Right down to that there Stetson on your head. If ya went there, you’d most likely get along with the folks there.” Applejack began to haul away the filled baskets, with me following with the others.

“Well, sounds like our two worlds have a lot in common then,” she said, as we pushed the filled baskets over to the cart to haul them away, Applejack changed the subject.

“Blade Star, Ah know y’all are hopin’ to get home in a day or two, but if y’all do end up stuck here for a mite longer, ya know you’re welcome to stay here on the farm. Heck, havin’ an extra set of hooves around has gotten me thinkin’ ‘bout hirin’ an extra farmhand full time. The job’s yours if ya want it.” I was a little taken aback by her offer.

Of course, if we were stuck here for a while, it would be good to have at least one member of the family start earning some corn. AJ’s offer though got me thinking. What if we were stuck here? I found myself reflecting on my life back home. I’d recently finished university, and had been looking for work when all this happened. Now that I think about it, Blade Star BSc Econ (Hons) does have a nice ring to it. Plus I’d never have to worry about paying back my loans. If we were stuck here, I could now potentially step right into a steady job, a roof over my head, and a fairly bright future. Back home, while not bleak, my prospects had not been exactly brilliant. Like most people my age, I was stuck applying for job well below my qualifications to build up experience, and God knows how few jobs were going.

If my family wasn’t here, there’d be no question; I’d want to get home as fast as possible. But with things as they were, would it be so terrible if we were stranded here?

I shook myself out of my thoughts when I realised that I’d been standing there like a lemon, lost in thought. Besides, it was getting ahead of the game. For all I knew, tomorrow we’d all be back in Blighty.

“Thanks, AJ,” I said as we loaded up the cart. “Ah’d like that. Ah like workin’ with ya.”

I quickly realised, though still too late, that that last part could easily be misinterpreted by AJ. I quickly found myself blushing and backtracking, never mind thanking my lucky stars that Big Mac hadn’t overheard, for he was up at the other end of the orchard.

“Ah mean…what Ah meant to say was…er,” I hurriedly tried to correct myself. Applejack however, cut me off, putting a hoof to my lips.

“Relax, Blade Star,” she said, with a smile and a sparkle in her eye. “Ah like workin’ with ya too.”

Then, without telling me exactly what she meant by that, she cantered off to find her big brother to tell him that we were breaking for lunch. I was left standing there, blushing under my slate grey coat. After a few moments, I came to my senses, and followed the siblings back to the farmhouse.

While the Apple family sat down for lunch, I decided that, after grabbing a snack to keep my strength up, that I’d do a repeat of what I did yesterday and go visit my family, only this time, I’d go to see Lizzie, who was staying at Fluttershy’s cottage.

---

Heading down the dirt path, I soon found myself on the outskirts of the farm. I had a rough idea of where I was going; Fluttershy’s house was right on the edge of the Everfree Forest. In fact, we’d emerged not too far from there when we first got here. I wouldn’t need to go through Ponyville at all. All I needed to do was follow the path that led from Sweet Apple Acres to the edge of the forest. According to Applejack, that road would lead me right to Fluttershy’s home, adding that if I got lost, all I needed to do was find the small brook that ran near her house.

Now, normally, this would be no bother for me at all. I wasn’t an expert, but I could follow basic directions. In fact, back when I was in primary school, I’d been on a little orienteering course at one of those outdoor pursuits centres in the Welsh countryside. I hadn’t much cared for wandering through the forests looking for silly coloured stakes, but it had taught me basic map reading and navigation skills. At present however, my mind was on other matters, namely Applejack.

Now, I may be a fan of the show, but I never looked at ponies in that way. I might like or identify with some of the characters, but they were just fictional, and it’s hard to fall in love with someone who’s just a work of fiction that you’ve never met. But having spent a couple of days with the real Applejack I was…well, I wasn’t developing feelings for her per se, but I had grown to like her quite a bit. But I saw her as more of a friend, at least I was fairly certain I did; I’ve never really cared for romance, it’s never interested me at all if I’m honest.

Besides, it was more than likely, according to my mind, that it was all in my head. For goodness sake, I’d only known the mare a couple of days. And from what I’d seen in the show, AJ wasn’t the romantic kind either; that was more Rarity’s speciality. No matter what some strange part of my brain said, this wasn’t some ship fic, nor did I want it to be. I liked Applejack as a friend, and I wasn’t looking for anything else.

By the time I’d reached Fluttershy’s cottage, I’d decided to put the whole incident behind me, chalking it up to an overactive imagination. As I trotted across the familiar, yet new bridge over the brook that led to Fluttershy’s cottage, I felt myself calming down again, as my stomach stopped doing loops.

Fluttershy’s small, cosy home, evoked memories of Snow White, at least the 1940’s Disney version. While there was plenty of wildlife on Sweet Apple Acres, this place was positively teething with adorable critters, mostly birds and other small animals. Being a stranger, they mostly gave me a wide berth, but didn’t seem too afraid of me. I guess that’s one perk of no longer being an apex predator.

Trotting up the path, I rapped on the front door with a hoof. A moment later, the door opened a crack, evidently on the chain, revealing one of Fluttershy’s teal blue eyes.

I struggled not to keel over from the adorableness right then and there. If there is one thing the show didn’t demonstrate enough, it’s how adorable Fluttershy can be. She quickly recognised me.

“Oh, it’s you, Blade Star,” she said, in a quiet voice. Although, compared to the first time I ‘met’ her back in Season One, her voice had gotten louder, it was still only just above a whisper and positively endearing. Struggling not to physically say ‘d’awww’ at the sight, I greeted the mare.

“Hello there, Fluttershy,” I said kindly. “I was wondering if I could come in and talk to Lizzie for a little while.”

In response, Fluttershy briefly closed the door, unhooked the chain and then opened the door fully.

“Oh, certainly, Blade Star, she said sweetly, ushering me inside. “Come inside. We were just having tea together.”

The mention of tea jogged another little bit of fandom knowledge for me; Fluttershy’s newest friend, who also liked to drop in for tea every now and then. Warily, I looked around for the infamous Discord. Reformed or not, Equestria’s answer to Q was the last person I wanted me or my family to run into while we were here. Actually, for all I know, that psychotic trickster may even be responsible for all this. There’s a thought.

Luckily, no Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony was forthcoming. Walking into the living room off the hall, I found the place quiet, aside from Fluttershy’s pet rabbit, Angel. The bunny glared at me briefly before hopping over to his owner and jumping up onto her back. Lizzie was nowhere to be seen. I was about to ask Fluttershy where she was, when she walked over to the foot of the nearby stairs and answered the question for me.

“Lizzie,” she called up. “It’s okay. You can come out now. It’s your brother, Blade Star.”

I heard a door open somewhere upstairs, and a moment later, my little sister appeared. Fluttershy led the two of us over to one of the sofas where we all sat down to talk.

“So how have you been holding up, Lizzie?” I asked as Fluttershy poured us all some tea.

To my surprise, Lizzie actually seemed to have settled in quite well. She was a far cry from the scared girl I’d known just a couple of days ago. It seemed as though Fluttershy had really helped her, particularly when you remember that it had been just the two of them, with Mum and Dad up at Twilight’s library.

“I’ve been okay, I guess,” Lizzie replied, a little quietly. “I’ve been helping Fluttershy look after some of the animals when I can. It is getting a bit boring being stuck in here though, and having to hide upstairs when any of these ponies drops by.”

Ah yes, both Lizzie and my parents had been under a quarantine of sorts, keeping out of sight of other ponies to avoid causing any panic.

“Well, you shouldn’t have to keep that up much longer, sis,” I replied. “All four of us will be off to Canterlot tomorrow, and we’ll get this whole mess sorted out.” That seemed to perk her up a bit.

“It has been nice having some help here though,” Fluttershy added. “I’ve been very busy this past week trying to take care of all my animal friends before the annual bunny census.”

“And how have you been coping with pony foods?” I asked.

Lizzie was a vegan by choice, and was well used to avoiding meat, which probably would make her more acceptable in pony eyes. Still, there was still no chance of her enjoying hay fries any time soon.

“I actually helped Fluttershy cook a few meals from back home,” Lizzie said, with no small amount of pride in her voice. “I showed her Mum’s recipe for Ratatouille the other night. And Fluttershy’s been helping Mum and Dad too.” That peaked my interest.

“Oh, how?” I asked, sipping on my tea. Fluttershy explained.

“I’ve been letting them use some of my meat from my stores,” she explained. I was a bit perplexed at that.

“Meat?” I parroted.

“I keep a small amount of meat on hoof for my carnivore friends,” Fluttershy elaborated. “You can’t expect every creature in the forest just to eat berries and nuts, Blade Star.” She and Lizzie giggled at my surprised expression, making me blush slightly.

Still, it was good to see my sister laughing again, and it was nice to see how enlightened Fluttershy was when it came to nature. I was certainly glad I wasn’t dealing with Fluttershy back in Season One. She’d never have had the courage to make a joke like that. I found myself resisting the urge to d’awww again.

---

I stayed for another twenty minutes or so, chatting with Lizzie and Fluttershy. I was glad to see that she was settling in. When we’d all first found ourselves in the Everfree, she’d been particularly rattled by the experience. It probably didn’t help that her first encounter with someone was me launching myself at her to get her away from that Poison Joke. Come to think of it, I probably ran into her with a fair bit of force too. I hope I didn’t hurt her back then.

She seemed happy enough now though. I was worried that separation from Mum and Dad might make things worse, but she seemed to be fairly relaxed around Fluttershy. The pair had really bonded with each other. Fluttershy was acting almost maternally around my little sister. It would be a shame to part them, but I was just glad that her visit to Equestria hadn’t been one fraught with anxiety and fear.

When the town clock began to chime the hour, I headed off back to Sweet Apple Acres. Fluttershy and Lizzie meanwhile returned to their rabbit counting. As I walked back though, I couldn’t help but dwell on the one subject I hadn’t brought up; Discord.

If there was somepony I had no desire to meet, it was him, reformed or not. In the back of mind, I couldn’t shake this nagging doubt that somehow that psychopath was in some way responsible for this. We’d certainly caused a fair amount of chaos with our arrival, and it certainly fitted his style. I was actually a little surprised that he hadn’t made himself known. Did we not warrant his interest? Damn, that sounds a bit egotistical, doesn’t it?

Putting thoughts of unstable beings of pure chaos to one side, I headed back to the farm. Trotting up the path soon brought me to the farmhouse, where the two Apple siblings were waiting. This afternoon, I’d be working with Big Mac.

Needless to say, I don’t have too much to report on that front. I could write what happened with the same detail as the morning, but it would be rather dull. The red stallion was pleasant enough towards me now, seemingly satisfied with my work ethic. But as I was already well aware, he wasn’t much for conversation. So, the two of us worked in silence, albeit a fairly comfortable one.

When six o’clock rolled around, we heard Granny calling us in for dinner. Heading inside and gathering around the dinner table, we chatted about the ongoing harvest.

“Ah reckon we ought to finish up this harvest by the middle of next week,” Applejack was saying.

“Think y’all will be able to manage without an extra hoof, AJ?” I asked jokingly.

“Ah think we’ll survive for a couple days without ya, sugarcube,” she replied.

“Now, ya know Ah’ll be leavin’ early tomorrow,” I went on. “Twilight will most likely want an early start.”

“As long as ya promise to come back here, if’n those princesses do find y’all a way home,” Granny Smith said, with a stern wave of a wooden spoon.

“Of course, Granny,” I replied.

That night, I lay awake in bed for a while, thinking to myself. I couldn’t help but be in two minds about tomorrow. On the one hand, I wanted to go home. I may not have had the best life, but it was far from terrible. Like I said before, I was at a crossroads, waiting to step off into adulthood. My parents and Lizzie were also probably wanting to get home tomorrow. As interesting as this little adventure had been, they all had lives back home; Lizzie was in university, Dad had his firm to look after, and Mum had her own studies to look to.

On the other hand though, I did like it here. I’d really gotten close with the Apples over the past few days. They’d taken me in, given me food and a bed when they had almost no idea who I was; I owed them more than I could ever repay.

Heck, the room I was currently sleeping in, the Apples’ had begun to refer to it as my room rather than just the spare room.

I tossed and turned for a while before coming to a realisation. It all depended on what happened tomorrow. If there was a portal, I’d be going through it with my family. No matter what, I wasn’t leaving them. My own concerns, and my own happiness, were secondary to that.

All I could do was wait and see what tomorrow would bring.

Author's Note:

Proofread by Sweetolebob18.

Comments

[Luckyfanisaac]

Tomorrow, the four of us, along with Twilight Sparkle, would be taking the train up to Canterlot to meet with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

I thought Celestia was going to send a flying carriage!?

before I had a chance to drift back into a peaceful slumber.

“Ah’ll do my best to keep up with ya then, Applejack,” I replied. AJ then turned to her little sister.

and now I could at least do a halfway decent buck.

We slowly but surely worked our way through the orchards,

but as the sun got closer and closer to the midday point,

Walking into the living room off the hall,

Isn’t the door in the living room?

I stayed for another twenty minutes or so, chatting with the Lizzie and Fluttershy.

but it would be rather dull.

[Blade Star]

9104073 ... D'oh!

I'd completely forgotten about that. That's what you get for doing multiple drafts.

[Shadowblade019]

The main o.c. is a nerd.

[Robert Noxon]

“No, Applejack,” I replied. “At present, Ah think Ah constitute a farmhand. Besides, it’s the least Ah can do for getting three square home cooked meals a day and a warm bed.” I trotted over to the sink, which was now full of pans, plates and dishes. Seeing that I wasn’t about to be persuaded, Applejack relented.

Should have caught this before. You do NOT get cast iron pans wet. You dry scour them with salt and a little oil.