Applejack Wins
Chapter 17: The Winner is…
There was an intense silence in the air. The dust slowly began to settle as the shadowy image of a pony pileup became visible. All the other ponies moaned and groaned as they rubbed their head trying to shake away the dizziness. Twilight, Celestia and Luna stared with their mouths wide agape at the incredible sight, with their horns still lit.
Somewhere beneath that pile of ponies was Alex, the weight of all of them having knocked the wind out him. Unsure of which of them had their magic locked on Alex, the two monarchs and Twilight simultaneously lifted Alex off the ground, pushing away the ponies above him. As soon as he was in view, everyone’s eyes widened with more surprise and disbelief.
Nopony had grabbed Alex!
This only meant one thing... That one of them had claimed Alex ahead of the others. With controlled excitement, all three levitated Alex towards them.
Suddenly, they felt a thug. It was then when they realized that there was a rope tied around him. Pulling Alex further, they were able to see the owner of the rope as she was pulled out of the pile. All three of them hung their jaws with amazement. Celetia smiled and cleared her throat.
“The hunt is over! The winner is… APPLEJACK!”
“Aaaaw…” the other ponies groaned with disappointment.
“YAY!” cheered Pinkie Pie.
Applejack blinked several times before finally realizing what had happened. “Ah caught ‘im?! Ah caught ‘im?!? Oh Sweet Apple Cider, AH’ CAUGHT HIM!” Wasting no time, Applejack raced over with her lasso and tied him up. Before Alex had completely recovered, he had been completely roped up from his torso to his legs.
“YE~HAAAAW!!!”
“Congratulations Applejack!” said Celestia as she and the other ponies came over to congratulate her as well.
“APPLEJACK CAUGHT ALEX! APPLEJACK CAUGHT ALEX! YAY!”
“Thank ya’ll so much yer Highness!” Applejack removed her Stetson and bowed. The others were happy for Applejack, but she could easily tell that they weren’t really thrilled about her getting Alex first. “No hard feelin’s ya’ll, Ah hope?”
Her friends looked at eachother, followed by nervous head and scratching, laughing and series of
“What? Us?” said Twilight.
“Why would we be…” asked Rainbow, hiding her disappointment.
“Surely you…” laughed Rarity.
“Ya caught Alex? Ya caught Alex!!” yelled Applebloom suddenly as she skipped around and cheered.
“Sure did!” said Applejack as she grabbed her playfully ruffled her mane. She then turned and faced everyone. “Now hear tis ya’ll! Come to the marketplace in Ponyville tomorrow and Ah’ll treat ya’ll to the best thing Ponyville has seen in years.”
“Like what..?” asked Twilight.
Applejack smiled. “Well… Chucks… It’s kind of a surprise…”
“Ooh! A surprise? I love surprises!” said Pinkie squealed.
“All will be revealed tomorrow. Make sure ya’ll meet up, ya hear.”
“That’s great! Does tis mean Ah can have ‘im after yer done?” Applebloom asked hopefully while fixing her hair.
Applejack smiled at her little sister. “Now now Applebloom…” She playfully rubbed her mane. “Don’t ya’ll get too excited now. Ah caught ‘im, therefor Ah gets to decide what we do. Besides, Ah got some big ideas fer our friend here and if we hurry, we might jus’ have time to practice.”
“Practice?”
Applejack then trotted over to Alex and gently placed her hooves on his shoulders as he looked all but utterly defeated. “Aw… Cheer up hon. Ah promise ya’ll love our family.” She then pulled Alex up on his feet and gently pulled him over on her back, fastening him tightly with what was left of the rope. “Come now little sis. Let’s go home.”
The ponies silently watched as Applejack and Applebloom strode calmly into the sunset with Alex all tied up on Applejack’s back. They didn’t understand it, but for some reason there was the sound of a gentle banjo playing. They all then glanced at Pinkie, who happened to be playing one.
“What?”
“So, what kind of ideas do ya got for ‘im?” asked Applebloom.
“Ya’ll see little sis. Ah guaranty it will change our lives forever.” Applejack smiled. Alex merely sighed, not really looking forward to what was waiting for him when they arrived.
“Could you at least untie me? I can walk you know…”
“Don’t fret. After all that there runnin’ around, yer better of takin’ it easy. Besides, it’ll be awhile befur we get back to the farm n’ after that we got a lot of planning to do. So fer now ya’ll jus’ relax an’ enjoy the ride.” Alex had to admit it did beat walking all the way, although having him all hog-tied up just prevent him from falling off seemed a bit excessive. “Ya know… Ah neva got to finish namin’ all them apples fer ya back then. So hows ‘bout Ah finish namin’ all again right now, startin’ from the beginnin’?” she grinned.
“What..?” Now Alex understood the real reason why he was all roped up. This was payback for the barnyard tussle.
“Wanna join in Applebloom?”
“Sure! But can we sing it?”
“Alrighty then!”
“WHAT? No wait-!”
“There’s Adams Pearmain, Aia Ilu, Airlie Red Flesh n’ Akane~!”
“…There’s Akero, Alkmene n’ Allington Pippin~!”
Alex groaned, unable to shield his ears as his arms were all tied up.
“…Ambroisa, Anna, Annurca n’ Antonovka~!”
*****
The next morning, Ponyville woke up to a new and peculiar sight. There was a large stage being set up at the marketplace. At first they believed that a familiar showmare had once again showed up to ‘impress’ them with her great and powerful acts.
Their suspicions were later refuted as Applebloom was seen plastering a poster to a wall. They approached it to read what was on it and their eyes soon widened with excitement. It didn’t take long for all of Ponyville rushed over to the marketplace just to get a glimpse of Alex.
On the poster was a picture of Alex on a unicycle performing some kind of joggling act, while sporting a rather forced smile. Three stars with more pictures of Alex doing various tricks were also edited in. Below the pictures was a cartoon drawing of Applejack wearing a ringmaster’s top hat saying:
“’The Apple Family proudly presents: Alex the Great!’ Is this for real? A.J. is putting up a circus show?” asked Rainbow somewhat surprised as she read the poster out loud. The rest of the Mane Six and the Crusaders, minus Applejack and Applebloom, read the poster too and everyone seemed to have mixed feelings about it. “I always thought she had a bit more imagination than this.”
“Poor Alex…” Fluttershy muttered quietly, feeling not so thrilled about this whole setup.
“Alex is a visitor from another world!” said Twilight rather upset. “He’s not some circus animal! I sure hope Applejack knows what she’s doing.”
“Come on Twilight! It’s Applejack! I’m sure she knows EXACTLY what she’s doing.” said Pinkie cheerfully as she skipped ahead, following a herd of ponies moving in the same direction towards the Market. “You guys coming?”
“Might as well…” Rarity sighed. “I do at least hope she has him wearing something dignified.”
*****
Applejack peeked out of the scene curtains and beheld the vast crowd before her. “Boy Howdy! Tis sure became quite the turn up! Ah don’t think Ah’ve ever seen so many ponies!”
“Applejack… Do I really have to wear this?”
Applejack pulled away from the curtains and looked at Alex as he was wearing clown make-up, equipped with red nose, wig and baggy pants. “Why not? It looks good on ya. Besides, everypony likes clowns.”
“Not everyone…” Alex frowned. “When I agreed to do this for you, you didn’t say anything about clowns.”
“Ah’m sorry Sugar. Ah jus’ figured that maybe if there were foals in the audience, they might have some fun as well.” She smiled. “And… Because of Ah jus’ happen to like Rodeo Clowns Squee!”
“I guess…” Alex wasn’t too keen on clowns, let alone being one. Normally he would’ve protested against this, but since Applejack caught him fair and square, he just had to bite the bullet and see just where this circus was going.
“A.J., could Ah have a word with ya..?” Alex noticed Big Mac approaching them. It felt kinda weird hearing him utter more than ‘Eeyup’ and ‘Nnope’ for once.
“Now Big Mac? But the show’s ‘bout to start.”
“Ah jus’ think we should wait a few more hours. Tis stage was put up rather real fast overnight and Ah still got more nails to hammer. Not to mention a few loose screws-”
“Hours?!? Big Mac! Tis here is our chance to earn our first bits to make up for wastin’ our whole day chasin’ Alex. If we play our cards right, we might jus’ make up fer that.” Big Mac still felt unsure about it.
“Relax big brother. Nothin’ bad is gonna happen. Sure tis stage was raised pretty darn fast but we Apples are good at buildin’ stuff. Why Ah reckon tis here stage is as solid a barn.” She lightly kicked a post that suddenly slid and nearly gave way. Applejack quickly secured it before throwing a rather concerned Big Mac and Alex a big sheepish grin. “See? It’s okay.”
“A.J…”
“Don’t worry non Big Mac. Jus keep workin’ on them loose screws and be careful aroun’ touchin’ stuff.”
“A.J… Ah really think-”
“Listen Big Mac! Ah promised mah friends a show n' they're gonna get a show! Jus' leave the thinkin’ to me and jus' go n’ make sure them screws are fastened.”
Big Mac cocked his eyebrow at Applejack and trotted away while wondering if she didn’t have any screws that needed tightening. He couldn’t shake the feeling something bad was going to happen.
Even Alex started to wonder if this was a good idea-
“Applejack?” They then heard the voice of Applebloom as she entered the backstage. “Alex? Are ya guys ready? Ah finished puttin’ up the posters and-AAAH!!! RUN APPLEJACK! A MONSTER!”
“APPLEBLOOM! That’s Alex!”
“Oh! Sorry ‘bout that! Squee!” Alex merely rolled his eyes. “Why ya’ll dressed up like a monster?”
“Applebloom..?” Applejack hissed. “Isn’t ther someplace ya’ll ought to be?”
“Uh..?” Applebloom then noticed the look in Applejack’s eyes. “Oh yeah! Well good luck out thar Alex! Break a leg!”
‘If I’m not careful I just might…’ groaned Alex while drying off some nervous sweat from his forehead.
“Ya okay there Sugar?”
“Applejack, do we really have to do this? I’m getting pretty nervous right now.”
“Jus’ remember what we taught ya. Dazzle them with the easiest ones. Once we’ve got them all warmed up, we’ll move over to the big stuff!”
“But I only had a few hours of practice. Are you even sure I can do this? I just don’t think I can…”
“Nonsense! Yer a born natural n’ Ah know ya can do it. Ya’ll be fine! An’ if ya feel nervous, jus’ do what Ah did when Ah was nervous. Jus’ picture them all in their underwear.” she smiled.
Alex just stared at her with a deadpanned expression. “Thanks... I’ll try…” He went out on the stage behind the curtain and waited for the show to start. ‘Still can’t believe I’m doing this.’ He took a deep breath. ‘Shouldn’t be too hard… Just picture them in their- WAIT A MINUTE! THEY AREN’T WEARING ANY UNDERWEAR!!!’
*****
The Marketplace was filled with ponies of every age. Twilight and her friends had managed to secure as spot in the front, getting a better view of things. After a few minutes Applejack finally entered the stage, wearing a Dixieland outfit with red striped west and a straw hat.
“Greetin’s everypony and welcome ya’ll to the Apple Family’s first ever traveling family showcase. We tha proud Apple Family of Ponyville are pleased to present to ya’ll the first ever non-pony performer and artist. He’s completely out of tis here world! Ya’ll probably seen ‘im gallopin’ about n’ causing quite the ruckus and excitement yesterday? Well, today he appears befur ya’ll now to show off his great talents.”
Ponies cheered and applauded. Applejack glanced at the barrel Applebloom was overseeing and saw all the Bits that the ponies we’re emptying in. She could already taste a big success.
“So without any-”
BANG! CRASH!
There was a loud commotion back stage. “Mah bad!” yelled Big Mac.
“Uh… Like Ah said, without further delay, I bring ya Alex tha Great!”
Ponies applauded as Applejack left the stage, waiting excitedly for Alex to appear. There was a drumroll and a cymbal quickly following as the curtain rose and more cheering and applause erupted, only to quickly silence as they all saw Alex standing there in his rather sad clown getup, looking rather both lost and nervous.
“Um… Ta-Daa~!?” he smiled weakly. Somewhere in the quiet audience, a foal started to cry.
‘A clown..? Really?’ Twilight facehoofed. Her presentation of him at the Hoofbel Committee would’ve treated him with a lot more dignity than this. ‘Does Applejack have no shame?’
Alex just stood there and watched, seeing all the unreadable faces of the ponies he was going to entertain. He began to sweat even more.
“Psst! Alex!” He heard the whisper of Applejack in the corner, gesturing him to get one with it. “Come on! Like we rehearsed!”
Alex took a deep breath and calmed down. He then raised his hands and motioned his body while pretending to touch an invisible wall. Applejack facehoofed.
“Ooh~!” said a mint colored unicorn in the audience and soon everypony started to pay close attention.
He did so repeatedly around him and began to mimic himself being trapped in a box.
“What is he doing?” asked Rainbow Dash confused while cocking an eyebrow.
“I’m not sure…” said Fluttershy.
“Looks like he’s making an invisible box…” said Twilight.
“Ooh~! Neat!” said Pinkie, while munching on some popcorn. “I wonder how he’s going to get out that?”
Alex had to mentally groan. He had decided to open his act with a mime trick he had seen before coming to Equestria. He figured it was a good start before he endangered his life with the act Applejack had explained to him. He tried telling her he needed more practice but she was too excited to get it all set up that she didn’t want to hear any more talk about it.
Still, everything seemed to go smoothly, everypony in the audience was really quiet. Maybe he was THAT good..?
“Come on! I didn’t pay to see a Mime Act!” yelled a random pony in the audience. “Do something!”
Or not…
With a sight Alex ended his mime act and went over to a corner and picked up some balls that were waiting for him. He also eyed the unicycle beside them and cringed. While he did sort of get the hang of it, he barely held on for more than 5 seconds. Swallowing nervously, Alex got on his unicycle and went ahead with the act.
Ponies soon became entranced as Alex balanced uneasily on the unicycle. He wobbled unsteadily towards the middle of the stage, working hard to keep his balance. He could see the faces of the ponies as they slowly began to grow more bored and impatient with his antics. He decided to go for the balls and began to joggle them. The interest and excitement in everypony’s eyes seemed to return at first, only to suddenly change into loud gasps as Alex suddenly lost his balance and fell face first on the floor.
BAM!
“Ouch…” Applejack cringed. “You okay there Alex?” she whispered. Alex got up and made a thumbs up. Applejack was relieved. “He’s okay foalks!” she laughed nervously. She started to wonder now if this really was such a good idea.
Alex got back on the unicycle and tried again. He seemed to get a better hang on it, only to fall flat on his back 10 seconds later. He kept trying and failing and eventually the audience began to look frustrated and bored beyond belief. If this was supposed to be a joke, it was a terrible one.
It wasn’t long before the first tomato was sent flying and hit Alex square in the face.
SPLAT!
Wiping it off, Alex knew he was crashing and burning. Despite his now weak attempts at salvaging the show for Applejack, his random antics were met with more boo’s and fruit tossed at him.
“Well… this turned ugly really fast…” said Twilight feeling embarrassed and sorry for Alex. Everyone shared her sentiments. Pinkie however just laughed.
“HAHAHAHAHA! He’s really funny! More! More!”
“Now hold on! Hold on!” said Applejack as she quickly cantered out on the stage trying to calm things down. She quickly ushered him away to keep him from being pelted by more non-apple items. “He’s jus’ warmin’ up foalks! Nothin’ to be upset ‘bout!”
“Warming up? What a joke! It doesn’t look like he knows what he’s doing! I want my money back!”
“Now now! Ahehe… Ah promised ya’ll a show an’ a show ya’ll shall get…” Applejack gulped. She didn’t see that one coming.
“Are ya okay Alex?” asked Applebloom as she handed him a towel to wipe away the fruit and vegetable juices.
“I’m fine Applebloom…” He looked at Applejack trying to calm the audience. “This could’ve gone better… I’m sorry I messed up. I’m just not good at it…”
Applebloom glanced at the unicycle. “Come on Alex! What ya’ll need is self-confidance!” She cantered out on stage, picked up the unicycle and got on it with little effort. “See? It ain’t so hard.” She started to pedal around the stage. Alex watched her go and couldn’t help but feel really impressed and shameful at the same time. She zoomed around on stage and seemed to enjoy herself greatly. “Look at me! Weee~!”
“WEEEE~!” yelled Pinkie as she joined in on the cheering.
Hearing the commotion behind her, Applejack turned and saw her sister. “Applebloom? What are ya doin’? Get off that this instant!”
“It’s okay Applejack! It’s easy! Look!” Applebloom was really in the zone. She closed her eyes and cheered some more. “Wohoo! This is great! Maybe Ah can earn mah cutiemark in- WOAH!” Applebloom suddenly lost her balance. She wobbled uncontrollably around the stage before she finally collided with one of the support beams that held up the curtains. It was instantly knocked loose and everything suddenly started to shake as a chain reaction was set in motion.
Behind the stage, Big Mac just finished hammering down some nails in a board, before the nails suddenly shot back out due to the board suddenly bending. “Uh oh! Nnope! NNOPE!!!”
“LANDSAKES!” yelled Applejack as boards and nails suddenly came loose and started to rain down on them. Big Mac had warned her that the stage wasn’t finished.
“UH OH! RUN EVERYPONY! IT’S COMIN’ DOWN!!!” Realizing the danger, the audience quickly scattered, including Twilight and her friends. Applejack immediately took cover away from the falling debris. Looking back, she saw Alex trying to avoid getting hit as he too ran for cover. “ALEX!” she quickly grabbed her lasso and quickly pulled Alex to safety just before he was hit by a spot light. With Alex safe, she quickly turned her attention to Applebloom. “APPLEBLOOM! GET OUT OF THERE!”
Applebloom dodged falling debris left and right and was nearly hit by a heavy spot light. Overcome with a sudden sense of relief, she didn’t notice a sandbag that suddenly fell right in front of her, causing her to trip and hit the floor hard.
“Oof!”
“APPLEBLOOM!”
Dazed and struggling to get up, Applebloom didn’t have the strength to move as the stage roof was about to give way. Applejack tried to use her lasso again but was now too stressed and concerned for her sister to get it ready.
“Applebloom! Look out!” Ignoring his own safety, Alex stormed out onto the stage and threw himself on top of Applebloom to shield her.
“ALEX!”
Within seconds, the entire stage roof finally came down. Applejack watched helplessly in horror as both Applebloom and Alex were caught right in the middle of the falling debris. At that moment, Big Mac galloped onto the scene and dove straight towards them just as the whole thing came crashing down, covering everything in smoke and dust.
“BIG MAC! NO!!!”
CRASH!
When the dust settled, the stage was revealed to be a complete mess. There was no sign of Applebloom, Big Mac or Alex. Applejack quickly deduced they were all buried somewhere beneath the rubble. Wasting no time, she rushed the stage, trying to pull and kick away bent metal and broken boards while digging through the wreckage.
“HELP! SOMEPONY HELP ME!!” Applejack cried. She was quickly joined by her friends who immediately rushed the stage and dove in to unbury Alex and her siblings. More ponies soon returned to the scene and participated in the rescue effort.
“Hang on!” yelled Twilight, using her magic to lift away as much debris as possible. “Come on everypony! Dig faster!”
“Hang in there squirt!” yelled Rainbow Dash. “We’re coming!”
Everypony around them looked on with concern as they worked hard to clear away the stage. Some prayed to Celestia that all three were alright while other lend whatever hoof they could to help. Everypony was worried. Applejack however had it worse.
“Dig! Dig faster!” yelled Applejack as she stood on a large pile of debris and tried to pull away a large piece of broken board that was stuck and refused to budge. “Oh consarnit! Ah’m so sorry! What was Ah thinkin’?” she cried. “Applebloom! Big Mac! ALEX!”
Suddenly the pile beneath Applejack shook and she jumped off just as something big and red quickly surfaced. It was Big Mac!
“BIG MAC!?!”
Slightly bruised and filthy, he emerged from the pile virtually unharmed and pushed away the broken debris while uncovering a lightly scuffed Alex as he was still huddled protectively over a completely unharmed Applebloom.
“Alex! Applebloom!” Applejack cried. She wasted no time pulling her sister out and giving her the hug of a lifetime. “Yer alright! Oh Thank Celestia, yer alright!”
“Of course Ah’m alright!” said Applebloom. “Alex saved me.”
“And Big Mac saved me.” Alex smiled, winching painfully the moment he tried to raise his right arm. Applejack quickly noticed his injured arm and cantered over to take a look at it.
“Oh no… Alex… Yer hurt.” she whimpered.
“It’s just a bruise. I’ll live.”
Applejack, her eyes brimming over with tears, suddenly hugged him. “Ah’m so sorry Alex! Ah won’t eva put ya through that again!” They hugged for a while before Applejack pulled away and dried her eyes.
“Ah… Ah owe ya an apology Alex. Ah neva wanted ya’ll to get hurt. Ah jus’ wanted to help mah family. I thought that if Ah jus’ showed ya off and amazed everypony Ah could some earn money for mah family. Instead Ah let it all go too far. Ah’m no better than them Flim n’ Flam Brothers.”
“Applejack, no!” said Applebloom. “Yer not-”
“Ah am! Face it Applebloom, Ah’ve been a dumb pony. No scratch that! Ah’ve been a dumb SILLY pony.” She hugged Alex some more, careful not to touch his bruised arm. “Ah am SO sorry Alex. Ah don’t deserve any forgiveness from ya. Ah should’ve treated ya’ll better. Ah’m not goin’ to do tis anymore. Ah’m done with tis’ here show business and instead Ah’ll treat ya like a pony from now on!”
Twilight and the rest of the Mane Six couldn’t help but shed a few tears themselves.
“That’s… It’s good to hear you say that Applejack.” Alex wasn’t too sure about the ‘pony’ part, but everything else she said seemed very honest and sincere. “I forgive you Applejack. I’m just glad no one got seriously hurt.”
“Indeed it is.”
Everypony turned in surprise and saw Celestia and Luna stepping past the crowd towards the ruined stage. Every pony bowed and quickly cleared the way for them.
“Is everypony alright?” Celestia asked.
“Yes yer Highness!” said Applejack. “But Alex…”
“Let me see your arm.” Alex slowly lifted his arm. While it didn’t look bad, it did hurt quite a bit. “No broken bones… I think this should do it...” Using her magic, Alex’s arm was covered with a yellow aura. Soon enough, the pain in his arm vanished and felt good as new. “There. Better?”
“Yes… Much better! Thanks.”
Celestia smiled at him before turning towards Applejack. “I trust this has taught you a very valuable lesson Applejack?”
“It has! I promise to neva’ again use Alex or anypony like that to earn a profit eva again, no matter how special they are. Ah should neva have pushed him into somethin’ he couldn’t do, and that nearly cost me three of mah kin.”
‘Three..?’ Alex was confused. There was only him, Applebloom and Big Mac under there.
“If ya’ll want to punish me, Ah await yer judgement!”
“Applejack…” Applebloom nearly cried as her sister bowed before Celestia to accept her punishment. Celestia only smiled warmly and gently raised Applejack to her hooves.
“Silly Applejack! There is no need for that. What’s important is that you’re sorry and that you have learned from your mistakes.” She looked at Alex and he smiled as she winked at him. “I know you only thought about what was best for your family, and nopony can judge you too harshly for that. But you must remember that there are other methods.”
“Ah know…” Applejack sniffled and dried her tears. “But what’s worse is that that once Ah figured we’d earned enough money Ah’d ask Alex if he wanted to join mah family fer real.”
Alex was surprised. “What?”
“Ya heard me!” She trotted over to him. “Ah want ya to join mah family Alex! It was gonna be a surprise. Ah know it sounds stupid, but Ah jus’ figured Ah pay ya back fer all chasin’, work n’ humiliation with a family n’ home.” She offered him her hoof and smiled weakly. “That offer still stands Alex. Will ya’ come live with us? Fer as long as ya like? Brother..?”
Big Mac was utterly speechless. Applebloom looked as if she really hoped that Alex would take the offer.
Alex looked at Applejack’s hoof. He looked at the Mane Six and their expressions where mixture of surprise, confusion and happiness. He then looked to Celestia. Her smiling face was barely readable but it was clear what she was thinking.
He then took Applejack’s hoof. “It’s been a long day. Shall we go home, Sis?”
Applejack threw her hooves around Alex and happily sobbed as Applebloom tearfully came galloping over to join them. Even Big Mac couldn’t help but shed a tear at the touching moment. All around them, ponies cheered and applauded.
Then something amazing happened. Ponies suddenly started donating money to help with getting Alex settled in with the Apples. Before long, the barrel was overflowing and brimming over with Bits beyond count and it was just enough for both Alex and the farm.
“Ya were right Applejack…” said Big Mac. “He really was a golden apple. But Ah still ain’t eatin’ mah harness.” Applejack just giggled.
Applebloom hugged Alex. “Ya’ll did promise us a big pot of gold Bits. Thank ya ‘Mr. Leppycaan!’”
“It’s Lep-” Alex just giggled. “Nevermind…”
“Here ya go Alex!” said Applejack as she gathered up some Bits in a bag and handed it to him. “Yer cut!” Alex looked into the bag and was amazed by how much it was. He then reached in and pulled out two Bits to which he suddenly handed over to Applejack.
“And here’s two Bits for the apples.” he laughed. Applejack smiled and pulled him into another hug while laughing with him. Everypony joined in and it was clear that everything was going to be alright from now on.
“Can I get out of these clothes now..?”
*****
Twilight never received her Hoofbel prize. Yet in spite of this, it didn’t stop her from learning more about Alex and where he came from. She visited him regularly and he would tell her all he knew about his world and its workings. She in turn would teach him all about Equestria and gave him free access to her library any time he wanted to borrow a book. She apologized for the hard time she, Spike and her friends had put him through and she especially apologized for hurting his feelings.
Using her magic for much better use, it didn’t take long before they both eventually became good friends.
Fluttershy never got the chance to care of Alex like she wanted, but she did however provide for him a house in which to live as a sign of apology. Moving it closer to Ponyville, it became a second home with all the comforts that he required.
Fluttershy would visit him regularly to check on him and see how he was doing.
Pinkie Pie never got to throw Alex his ‘Good Bye Human’ party. Instead she threw him a ‘Welcome Human’ party and it turned out to be a huge success. She apologized for her behavior and was happy to see Alex getting along with the other ponies and that they in turn got along with him.
Even though she had lost her pet, Rarity never gave up on her creativity. In an attempt to salvage her ruined dress, she unexpectedly created a design so unique and so retro that it became the talk around Canterlot. Needless to say, her dress earned her more than enough Bits to repair her boutique and buy more supplies.
Seeing that Alex had been responsible for ruining her dress in the first place, she gave him his share of the profit for the trouble she put him through. She even offered him a time at the spa as a sign of good will.
Rainbow Dash forgave Alex for the troubles he had caused her, just as long as he forgave her for acting like a real jerk. She felt really bad about her behavior and promised to never bully him again. She even went as far as wanting him to punch her just to make things even. Alex didn’t punch her, but instead forgave her and pranked her with a buzzer he had borrowed from Pinkie Pie.
Surprisingly enough, their wild chase had actually inspired her with some ideas for some new moves in which to impress the Wonderbolts with during their visit.
The CMC would visit Alex often, to play with him and tell him about their adventures in crusading for their cutie marks. They still didn’t earn any, but always remained in high spirit (much to the painful chagrin of Alex’s ears). At times they even invited him to join in and help them, often resulting in hilarious hijinks.
They apologized for the jar treatment they gave him, and Alex just found them too adorable to stay mad at for that.
While it did take a while, Alex eventually forgave Luna for bringing him to Equestria. Luna made it her solemn vow to watch over Alex and to make sure nopony and nothing threatened him. On occasion she would visit Alex in his dreams as often as she could and through his creative mind, they had many grand and fun adventures together.
With the magical tether binding Alex to the mirror gone, Celestia eventually admitted to herself that humanity probably wasn’t ready for her and her ponies just yet. Still, when she told Alex about her true intentions, he did feel rather embarrassed after that. Still, that didn’t mean all was lost. She continued her work on the mirror, and with new notes based on Luna’s actions, she believed the answer to cross the barrier safely was very close…
In return for him being a good sport in letting her and her ponies hunt him, Celestia let Alex ride her and he had her parade through both Canterlot and Ponyville, earning a lot of surprised looks from her subjects.
*****
Many months later…
It was a warm busy day at Sweet Apple Acres as Applejack and Big Mac were working hard bucking down fresh and ripe apples by the dozens with near flawless result. Applebloom helped out by sorting and plucking apples that feel on the ground and throwing them into baskets.
“Hey Applebloom! Heads up!” Applebloom looked up and immediately picked up a basket. Balancing on her head, she managed to catch several apples that suddenly flew towards her from the top of the nearest tree. “Great catch!”
“Thank ya big brother!” Applebloom smiled. Alex, wearing a strawhat, popped his head up the tree and grinned.
“Hey Alex! Is that all of it?” asked Applejack as she trotted over.
“Sure is!” Alex climbed down the tree and jumped down beside her. He was wearing a red long sleeved shirt and blue overalls. “All the apples from all the hard-to-reach areas have been plucked and harvested.”
“Nice work bro!” Applejack raised her hoof and gave him a hoofbump. “Boy Howdy! Now we don’t hav’ta worry ‘bout leavin' apples we can't reach behind to rot. A fine day’s work!”
“Indeed!” Alex smiled.
“Eeyup!” said Big Mac.
“Ah just don’t know what we would’ve done without ya…” Applejack suddenly became silent and just looked at him rather sad.
“Something wrong Sis..?”
“Sis..? Ah still haven’t gotten used to hearin’ ya call me that. Especially after everythin’ that… Ya know… happened.”
“Hey… It was an honest mistake. You didn’t mean any harm by it.” He gently stroked her mane.
“Still… Ah should’ve acted more mature and not acted like some mule. Ah jus’ wanted to help mah family.”
“We know sis!” said Applebloom as she hugged her. “An’ ya did! Alex is the best brother we all could’ve asked fer.” She then nuzzled Alex’s leg.
“Thanks Applebloom.” Alex smiled and playfully rubbed her mane, making her giggle.
They then all heard the sound of the dinner bell.
DING! DING!
“Alright ya youngen’s! Suppers ready!” yelled Granny Smith after she spat out the spoon she used to ring the bell with. “Come n’ get it!”
“Comin’ granny! Race ya Big Mac!” yelled Applebloom as she and Big went ahead.
“Com’ on ‘brother’. Suppers ready.” She was about to canter away until Alex stopped her.
“Wait Applejack!” She stopped. “I want to show you something first…” Alex approached the nearest apple tree that still had apples in it. “I’ve been practicing…”
Applejack watched with mild curiosity as Alex comically warmed up his legs. He bent his knees repeatedly and stretched. He huffed and breathed heavily as he built up his concentration. And, like martial arts master, stood right beside the tree, took one more deep breath and focused.
“YAH!”
THUD!
Putting in every ounce of strength he had, Alex kicked the apple tree as hard as he could. The tree vibrated for a few seconds, but not one single apple dropped.
“That there was mighty impressive Alex!” Applejack laughed. “But Ah reckon’ ya need a little more work if ya’s gonna move over to Apple Buckin’!” Alex looked up at the apple tree and sighed. He had seen Applejack and Big Mac do it many times and had practiced so hard to get it right. After many failed attempts, he had hoped this one would be successful. “Cheer up Alex! Ya’ll get the hang of it eventually. Now how’s ‘bout we mosy on inside befur supper gets cold?”
Alex smiled. “The way Granny Smith makes it, it never gets cold.”
“Darn tootin’!” laughed Applejack
The two ventured inside to join the rest of the family and closed the door behind them. The moment they did, an apple from the very tree that Alex had kicked suddenly loosened and dropped to the ground…
THE END
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Good and and lesson for Applejack
One thing I've noticed about these endings, is that all the characters put what they want first. Apologizing for what they've done only happens after they achieved or failed at what they wanted to do. Ergo, Alex is seen as somewhat secondary
5221768 Which is pretty much what I wanted to go for.
Despite being somewhat the protagonist, the story is mostly circulated around the ponies and what they want to do with him. Alex is just giving the pony that caught him a chance and in the process make his life a bit more interesting than it was on Earth.
Allowing the ponies to humiliate and injure Alex, until their stunted senses of empathy and morality no longer allow them to ignore the harm they've caused.
Then allowing them to have everything they wanted, without making amends for anything they've done, so long as they say two little words.
That is not teaching.
5221969 Although that is just the character that I hate. The story on the other hand was funny and well written, well done!
..I still want to punch a lot of the ponies. Or at least slap them hard enough to leave a mark and yell at them.
:)
5221787 apologizing doesn't make it okay and Alex is just a wuss too easygoing too forgiving I don't know about you but if I was going to be stuck in Equestria by this story forever I would just live with Zecora or try to find the mirror somewhere in that castle
5222046
Now have her stuck in that form and unable to turn back into a pony for a while.
None of her friends recognize her and they want their own human since Twilight got Alex
Other ponies like Lyra get involved
Sequel is called 'get her!'
I'm looking forward to seeing Rarity's chapter.
5222300 That's just what I was thinking! especially with this ending I would have exploded on AJ, seriously its seriously fucked up to expect him to 'join their family' after the shit they put alex through
5222386
Now THAT I would adore. Because it'd be the result of her negative karma coming back to "get her".
5221787
Well, can we have a nopony gets Alex alternate ending?
Those little paragraphs for each character during the ending chapters remind me distinctly of Fallout's Ending Slides. Hell, I can even hear them being voiced by Ron Perlman.
5222663 what like him hugging himself and screaming I WON!
Can there be an alternate ending where Alex wins? So basically a draw which allows him to something. Idk, it's your fic.
Also,
Noticing a recurring theme.
>pony tries to use Alex for what they wanted
>Alex is unhappy/gets hurt/ gets in trouble
>pony regrets their original intentions and tries to make amends ASAP
Not that I'm complaining, anything different would probably make them act extremely OOC (more than they are already) just something I noticed.
5223134 It is a recurring theme but with a story like this you can't really have it end badly.
5221840 It isn't unless they actually mean it, that and I think if they were to get punished it would take away from this story. Mostly because its a comedy and the main plot can be a bit dull.
5222300 Without forgiveness there is only hatred, hatred leads to grudges. Grudges lead to wars.
5221787 I actually liked that he was secondary. Or does HIE fics mean the human is the center of everything?
5222264 GAH! You scared me! Halloween was 3 days ago!
jk!
5222386 If only I could...
5222704 That was the original idea, but the site wouldn't let me
So I posted the ending with the most votes and I'll post the others later 
5223011 Oh well... At least you read it
5223277 That's okay. Appearantly this fic isn't for everyone. Live and learn
5223484 Appearantly to some, they usually are...
I don't mind stories where humans are the center of the universe, but at times I like to read when humans are just thrown into a situation they can't control and just go with the flow.
5223600 All in all I thought this story was well written for a comedy, great job!
5222058 The trees already did that one.
5223633 Thanks
5223538
If you don't want to write it, I might give it a shot if you'd be alright with that?
Well at least they are learning lessons and it seems everything works out in the end so I'm happy.
pretty good alternate endings
The moment she pulled out the clown costume I would have been on the run again. Or I would have started snapping necks and teaching Ponys why Humans are a Predator species and ponys fall into the prey catagory.
5223776 It's not that I won't write a sequel, it's because I never planned for there to be one. And because I've decided to focus my attention on a new fic after this.
Still, if you'd like to write a sequel and focus on the misadventures of a 'human Twilight', then be my guest
It might turn out to be a fun read 
I like the story, but Alex seriously needs to grow a damn spine.
5223922
I'll mark it off as a maybe. I've got a lot on my plate already, maybe I'll make it a short one shot and squeeze it in between two fics or something, but we'll see.
At any rate, I will certainly let you know before I post it, so you can look it over first.
Anyways, looking forward to the other endings. Hopefully we won't have to wait too long. I might just go crazy.
5222948
well, he could and then say I'm my own person, fuck off. And then scream and victory dance only to stop and say, "Wait. What am I going to do now?"
I like these endings, especially AJs. I can't wait to see the rest.
Soheres a fan suggestion
Alex needs some lessons on dealing with ponies from TD Harrison Powell in the fanfic No, I Am NOT A Brony, GET ME OUTTA EQUESTRIA!!!. He starts by punching Princess Celestia in the face.
5224038 Where would the fun be in that? I would have preferred it if he panicked more, more entertainment for us.
5228059 oh yeah! Love that story
not that kind of story.
5221840
Yeah. I don't know who started this myth that apologizing consists entirely of saying you're sorry, but I hate that. Especially since neither Twilight nor Applejack really did anything else to make up for it. Especially when it's clear that Applejack had already realized what she was going to do was wrong and then did it anyway:
I really hate how Alex just up and forgives both of them right away, too. I'm not going to start ranting about prey species and violence like that one guy keeps doing, but at the very least I'd have called Applejack a slaver and told her to go fuck herself if she had the audacity to call me her brother after putting me through all that.
5223467
They haven't earned his forgiveness yet. Refusing to forgive someone that has wronged you and failed to make up for it in any meaningful way isn't holding a grudge. Also, greed has caused more wars than grudges ever have so Applejack would, by your reasoning, be more likely to somehow cause a war than Alex.
5231340
strongly implies she didn't want to go there for the reasons he thought she did.
I think this needs to be rewritten. I find it kind of trivial for him to get a house, if he became Applejacks brother anyway. He'd simply live at the farm no doubt, the ending also really suggests it.
It's a bit different with the library, the farm should actually suffice more as a home. I find in this particular version, Fluttershy would have to apologize a bit different, or at least Alex should deny her making a house for him, it realy isn't necessary if he works and lives at the farm anyway.
I really liked the clown idea, which showed that Appljack treated him less as an animal curiousity, but more as an employe who was supposed to fulfill his contract. Also despite her eagerness to send him on stage, she still tried to comfort him.
This is a really good outcame for the whole thing.
5235112 It's more a matter of mis-wording and misunderstanding her intentions when she confronted him.
For example when she said "don't worry, human weapons don't scratch us", which is still something I don't believe either, it's more like she wanted to emphasize safty of contact between them, should it come to fighting, while her own guards would just use stunning spells in case of conflict. That combined with how she worded to meddle with his world, gave him a wrong concept of her intentions appearently, which isn't surprising considering how she said it, and what he had been through.
Even if the scenario in general is unlikely, it's still a possibility that there was just a misunderstanding, which was confirmed in the end.
For luna... I'm not so sure though, she did want to cast him in stone, already fired the spell once and missed.
5235157 I am
I'm still working on them, but it's going a bit slowly. I'll hopefully have at least one up by the weekend
I hated every single word of this story. I hated every letter with every last fiber of my being. And I loved it. Thanks for the fucking awesome story, bro.
I was hoping that when the stage collapsed it would kill Applejack. After all she did jusy attempt to force someone into slavery, in going that at least one of them gets some just desserts
5235219
Not really. The Apples found out that Pinkie was sort of related to them, but she still lives at Sugarcube Corner. Also, the Apple Farm is built more for ponies and not a guy like Alex. Fluttershy's house however is built after his own measurements.
Of course, I can always move it to the orchard instead...
5241943 But I find it hard to believe that the apple family can't provide a guest bedroom for him to have, since they have their family reunions, one would think they have at least 1 if not 2 guest bedrooms.