It's Got To Be My Destiny

by 1Bluefur

Sweet As An Apple

Twilight was brought out of her thoughts when her hooves hit well-trodden dirt. As they were leaving the town proper she noticed trees were becoming more frequent, coming up on their left was a well-maintained white fence. She picked up the distinct scent of apples in the air.

The unicorn slowed down, returning to Fluttershy’s side. There was still a bit of tension from her argument with Rainbow Dash earlier. “Okay, I never got the point of the whole… Friendship… Thing… But Fluttershy is clearly friends with Rainbow Dash… So if I want to be on good terms with her I should at least try a better apology...”

She managed to figure out what she wanted to say just as the sign for Sweet Apple Acres came into view. “Hey, uh, thanks again for helping me out Fluttershy.” The pony in question didn’t seem to react. Twilight was once again unsure if the other pony was even listening. It seemed the yellow pegasus was pretty good at not displaying emotion when she wanted to. Regardless, something in her gut told Twilight that she wasn’t being ignored.

“I also wanted to say sorry about Rainbow Dash. I’m not always the best with other ponies… To be honest I never really got the point of friendship at all…” Twilight paused awkwardly before continuing. “The point is, there’s just a lot I don’t understand. But you clearly trust her so… I guess I should give her more of a chance too.”

Twilight was surprised at her own sincerity. The unicorn felt the faintest twinge of anxiety about how Fluttershy was going to react, which was also surprising. “It’s just because I don’t want to make any enemies” Twilight reassured herself “I’m not interested in making friends, I have to have enough time for my work and my studies.”

Astonishingly, the other pony smiled. They both came to a halt in front of Sweet Apple Acres. “It’s okay Twilight. I can tell you’re a little uhm, awkward around others,” she said. “I’m not angry or anything because I kinda know what it’s like.” Her gaze met Twilight’s for a moment before quickly looking away. “Uhm, you know cuz, I’m not that great with other ponies either… Or uhm… Friendship… Even if I do like having friends.”

There was yet another awkward pause as Twilight absorbed what the pegasus pony had said. “Well! Here we are! I can’t wait for you to meet the Apples!” Fluttershy suddenly continued speaking. She started moving towards the farmhouse in the distance with a surprising amount of speed.

As Twilight trotted to keep up the other pony continued, “Applebloom is just the sweetest little filly you could ever meet. I think she’s even in your class! Granny Smith is really great. Even if she’s a little bit uhm, strange, b-but in a good way! Then there’s Big Mac…” Fluttershy trailed off. Twilight look at her confused as the two were coming up on the main entrance.

“What about Big Mac?” Twilight prompted. Fluttershy flushed, her cheeks were now a lot more pink than yellow.

“Oh uhm, he’s just really nice,” she mumbled so softly, Twilight could barely hear the response.

“I am never going to understand ponies.” The unicorn thought to herself. Instead of asking anymore questions she decided to take a better look around. They were at the end of the road into the orchard. She could see the farmhouse and barn very clearly.

The chicken coop was pretty close to the main entrance and as they passed she could hear them happily clucking away. They seemed to be very well taken care of and extremely healthy.

Various fields of crops surrounded them, including a carrot field with a distinct building Twilight could only assume housed the carrot harvest. There was also an impressive cornfield between the carrots and the western part of the apple orchard.

The air was filled with the scents of crops and farm animals. Twilight was actually a bit overwhelmed with all there was to take in. Her head kept moving back and forth as she tried to get a good idea of the land’s layout.

“Well howdy! You must be Twilight Sparkle!” A voice startled Twilight out of her thoughts. Coming from the farmhouse was an orange mare with a well-kept yellow mane that was tied back in a neat ponytail. Her emerald eyes sparkled with friendliness.

“Twilight’s here?!” Before Twilight could form half a thought, another, far younger voice came from behind the orange mare. A yellow filly sporting a very big, very pink bow came eagerly rushing out.

Skidding to a halt in front of the stunned unicorn, the earth pony hopped up and down a couple of times. “I heard you were gonna be my teacher!” she said, “That’s so cool! I’ve never lived with my teacher before!”

“Uh… Well… Technically I’m not going to be your teacher, Miss. Cheerilee is. I’m just here to learn how to be a teacher.” Twilight managed to smile politely as she responded. “That must be Applebloom, but I have no idea who that other mare is, she’s clearly family though. Why didn’t anypony mention her? She can’t possibly be Granny Smith.”

Excitement drained from the filly’s face. “Oh,” she said, there was a short pause before she continued, “Wait… Does that mean you’re a student? But you’re a grown pony!” Twilight didn’t get a chance to answer as the orange mare had arrived and put a hoof on the filly’s shoulder.

“Now settle down Applebloom,” she said with amusement in her tone, “Learning how to teach is a bit different than what you little ones learn from Cheerilee. Twilight will be helping Cheerilee with her lessons. So even if she’s not replacing Cheerilee as your teacher, she’s kind of like… A second teacher,” the mare then glanced up and smiled at Fluttershy. “Well howdy Fluttershy, it’s lovely to see you!”

“It’s good to see you too Applejack,” the pegasus in question replied. “I would uhm, give you a hug but…” she glanced at the cart hitched around her.

“Applejack,” Twilight mused, the name felt familiar somehow.

Applejack let out a laugh “No worries, if you want me to bring that the rest of the way I’d be more than happy!”

In the meantime, the youngest Apple had been contemplating the responses she got. Just as Applejack finished her offer the filly spoke again, “So she is gonna be my teacher! Well why didn’t ya say so?!”

Twilight felt a strange mixture of annoyance and embarrassment. “Oh no, if I can’t even explain my job to a filly how am I going to teach them?!” she thought. “Uh well… Ya see…”

“Applebloom! Enough questions sugarcube, Twilight is probably quite tired. Perhaps you can ask her about school tomorrow?” Twilight felt filled with relief. She had only known Applejack for a few minutes but the mare already seemed like the most normal pony Twilight had met so far. “For now, Granny Smith and Big Mac still need your help inside, okay?”

The filly looked rather put out, but she didn’t argue. “Okay Applejack,” she said, “It’s nice to meetcha Miss. Sparkle.” She turned and walked back to the farmhouse, much less enthusiastically than when she came out before.

“Sorry about that, Applebloom has always been excitable,” Applejack chuckled, “Well you heard the gal, my name is Applejack. I don’t know if anypony has mentioned me but I actually recently moved back to Ponyville. I’m not sure if I’ll be staying here or with my colleague Rarity. But it’s really nice to meet you Twilight Sparkle.”

“Well that explains why her accent sounds different,” Twilight thought. The way the mare spoke was pretty distinguished from the other Apples. Although she had the same twang in her voice, it was a lot milder than her sibling. “Well it’s nice to meet you too Applejack,” she said, for once not solely out of nicety “I hope you don’t mind me asking, where are you from?”

The orange mare seemed amused at the question. “I suppose you don’t know much about fashion if you’re asking that,” she said. “Honestly, that’s a good thing. No offense but a lot of ponies in the fashion scene from Canterlot are a… Hoof-full to reckon with.”

Twilight had no clue what Applejack was talking about. It must have showed in her expression because the other mare chuckled again and put a friendly hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about it sugarcube, you seem like good company. I’m actually from here but I lived most of my life in Manehatten. It’s pretty good to be back though. Now, let’s go in and meet the rest of your new family. Fluttershy and I can help you unpack after.”

“New family?!” Twilight thought, “Oh for ponies sakes what the hay do I even say to that?!” the unicorn didn’t have a lot of time to figure it out though, because Fluttershy was already responding to the orange earth pony.

“Oh uhm Applejack, sorry to interrupt, but I just wanted to let you know that I won’t need help bringing the cart in”.

“Okay sugarcube, as long as you feel comfort-“

Before Applejack could finish her reply there was an embarrassingly loud gurgle from Twilight’s stomach. She felt her cheeks heat up as the two ponies with her burst out in laughter.

“Alright then, that settles it, let’s go in. Rest assured Apple family cookin’ is the best you’ll ever have!” the earth pony’s voice took on a bit more twang as she got excited about dinner.

As the three mares started towards the farmhouse Twilight briefly mused on her day. Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and now Applejack… She couldn’t remember the last time she interacted this much with so many ponies… Without reading a book even.

“New family,” Twilight didn’t know what she thought about that. She was honestly too tired and hungry to care at that point. “As long as I get to study in peace,” she thought. Though she was soon going to discover that there was nothing more important to the Apples than spending time with family… Especially chosen family.

Author's Note:

Can somepony say zombie fic?

AJ's cutie-mark will be noted in the next chapter. It's going to be a little bit different from the cover image though, and I've got my reasons for that . Reasons that I admit will probably make the plot a lot easier to predict but eh, not planning on writing a serious epic. I'll leave that to the greats for now.

Anywho, I can't imagine Applejack fully commiting to a upstuck Manehatten lifestyle, even if she grew up there. She can talk the talk, and walk the walk, but deep down she's still honest and reliable. It's going to be fun puzzling out the finer points of her character cuz she's definitely more complicated than the AJ we know. More of her backstory shall be revealed.

Comments

[Comickook]

Again, this was a really good chapter. It took a while, but was definitely worth the wait. LOVE the introduction to the Apple Family, especially AJ. And, yeah, explaining "teaching apprentice" to a child would be pretty hard for somebody who is, by their own admission, socially awkward. And, yeah, the author's notes make a really good point.

I'll very definitely looking forward to more of this, but am also quite willing to be patient.

[Starlight Nova]

Do any of the major villains appear in this story?

[Comickook]

10186622
Most likely, but probably not for quite a while. Right now, we're still in the meet and greet for this universe's versions of the Mane Six and it is ALMOST a year before Nightmare Moon returns (which will, at least, give Twilight and the others enough time to get to know each other well enough to trust each other on that trip through the Everfree).

[1Bluefur]

10186588

This comment honestly means a lot to me, thank you! I spent ages tweaking the chapter so it felt right. I'm super excited to be working on the story again. Now that I have so much time on my hands I figured it would be a good opportunity to continue. I'll probably get started on the next chapter tomorrow.

[1Bluefur]

10186622

Yeah, if nothing else there's definitely going to be Nightmare Moon. If I wind up actually sticking to a game plan, and people really enjoy the story, I may expand on the universe to include some more Big Bads ,

I admit I don't have the full plotline planned out, mostly a rough idea of these beginning parts and where I want it to wind up. I have been considering adding some minor "villains" to help the Mane 6 get a little closer before Nightmare Moon. I guess it depends on how long I want this to wind up being, a whole year is a lot of time to work with so I guess we'll see.

[Comickook]

10186673
You are extremely welcome.

[Comickook]

10186682
And, yeah, that DEFINITELY makes a lot of sense. At the very least, the Diamond Dogs could give them some early experience with both teamwork AND the Everfree.

And, of course, the Flim-Flam Brothers as old business rivals to Applejack and Rarity could be entertaining antagonists too.

And, of course, while NOT an antagonist, a Moondancer that had the chance to develop her skills as Celestia's personal student AND allowed her Canterlot friends to bring her out of her shell might make for an entertaining compare-and-contrast to Twilight.

[1Bluefur]

10186782
Ohh, yeah definitely. I like the Moondancer idea a lot, I mean, I'm still deciding who I want Celestia's student to be and what that would mean for the Mane 6. Because whoever it is, will be expected to find and wield the element of harmony. The only reason I may not go that route is that the other potential I have in mind may make a very compelling antagonist/catalyst for the events during the Summer Sun Celebration .

[ShadowStar_IMHP]

Interesting idea, what made you think of Twilight becoming a teacher? Me I have her become the librarian much like canon just without Celestria’s influences. In the show we never seen the Ponyville Librarian and given she was a regular in the Canterlot Library and her love of books her getting a cutie mark for research or book related Mark is high.

I always saw the “Dragon Egg” test as a character test. How do they respond to stress and failure. From what we seen Twilight did have a fear of failure (lesson zero) and early episodes didn’t handle stress well.

My own story A Chance to say Goodbye I had a Moondancer become Celestria student.

It also possible that because Celestia didn’t have a Dragon crash through the school roof she could have stopped Sunset from going into the mirror portal.

[Comickook]

10189175

Yeah. Have to say, those are some really good points.

I, too, always figured the "Dragon Egg test" was meant to test the applicant's character rather than their ability (after all, if it were meant to test the applicant's ABILITY, there would logically be either far fewer students or far more dragons) and the points the reasons concerning Twilight NOT getting in anyway are quite good.

And, yeah, it IS possible that Celestia could have stopped Sunset from stepping through the Mirror Portal without the distraction of the Sonic Rainboom and the dragon egg hatching.

Those are excellent catches.

[1Bluefur]

10189175
Those are excellent points, I wanted a good reason for her to end up in Ponyville and I didn't think she would move from Canterlot unless she had an academic reason. I've personally wanted to become a teacher in the past so I guess that's why my brain went "Hm yes, this makes sense". The really funny part about it is that when I wrote this in 2015 nobody (or, almost nobody) would have guessed source Twilight would wind up opening a school and stuff so... I guess I half predicted the future? Lol.

Librarian would make sense though. I wouldn't find writing that as compelling as Twilight learning how to become a teacher, and I've seen Twilight as a librarian before but not a teacher so it's worth exploring. Plus the lazy in me is pleased with the fact that as a teacher, Twilight would by default have to learn something about friendship. If she were a librarian I might actually have to be... Creative .

But yeah, her cutie-mark actually is book related, it symbolizes her excellence in research and academic writing. It hasn't been directly touched upon yet though, since when I first started writing I figured I would reveal more of her backstory later on.

The gist of her turning to teaching is she felt inspired after helping lecture a class in Canterlot. It felt really good seeing how her knowledge could inspire and help ponies grow first-hoof. With Ponyville being a small quiet town nearby, and having only one school house, Twilight figured it would be the perfect place to begin.

At any rate, yeah I also saw the dragon egg test as a test of character. Not only the fact that Twilight gave up so easily (even telling them she's sorry for "wasting their time") but the fact she could barely channel any magic under pressure made the judges second guess the application. It'll get explored more as well later, I've been thinking about having a chapter with flashback sequences about that day and like, what really happened .

But yeah I just see it as being extremely likely that either Moondancer or Sunset are Celestia's only students. Still deciding what to go with and why. But thanks for checking out my story! I'll read yours too ^.^.

[Edit: Shortening of text and more line breaks for legibility]

[ShadowStar_IMHP]

10193106
Thanks and I have to say... I WANT MORE! I'm enjoying what I read so far. It also tempting to see how you got the other mane 6 to Ponyville in the alternate timeline. Applejack and Rarity are easy to figure out why they would still be there. Rainbow and Fluttershy I'm not sure how I would justify it myself. Perhaps Rainbow was assigned Ponyville and Fluttershy went with her given Rainbow one of her few friends?

I'm curious how you will write Pinkamina Dian Pie in this timeline!

[1Bluefur]

10193150
Yeah it's not explicitly stated but Fluttershy is an honorary Apple because after she didn't find her potential for animal connection, she got lost and the Apples found her. Fairly straight forewords. I don't want to spoil too much of Rainbow's background but she does wind up in Ponyville because of Fluttershy, when there was an opening in the weather team Fluttershy suggested it since she missed her best friend and Rainbow wasn't exactly married to the idea of staying in Cloudsdale forever.

I got it alll mapped out now . Thank you!!