Tales of First Contact: Unity

by Banjo64

Worker Ponies

Fluttershy hummed a happy tune as she finished straightening up Tom’s bed. She then picked up a basket and headed for the laundry room.

“Alright, only one more load of laundry and I’ll be ready to head out for the evening,” she said to herself.

Before she reached her destination, however, she bumped into Mrs. Turner.

“Fluttershy? What are you still doing here?” asked Mrs. Turner.

Fluttershy gave a small eep and looked up at her employer.

“Oh, Mrs. Turner! I was just finishing up the laundry,” said Fluttershy.

“Fluttershy, it’s almost eight o'clock. Shouldn’t you be heading out to to the Apple Garden?” asked Mrs. Turner.

“Oh. Well, I started the laundry a little late today, and I don’t want to leave the job half done, so…” explained Fluttershy.

Mrs. Turner shook her head.

“Fluttershy, you’re my maid, not my slave. I won’t see you working when you should be out having fun with your friends. I’ll take care of the laundry for you,” said Mrs. Turner.

“But Mrs. Turner, the baby…” objected Fluttershy.

Mrs. Turner put a hand on her swollen womb.

“The baby’s fine, Fluttershy. I can do one load of laundry, no problem. And if I do have trouble with it, I can have the boys give me a hand. You know how eager they are to act grown up,” reassured Mrs. Turner.

“I don’t know… I really shouldn’t…” mumbled Fluttershy.

“Well as your boss, I’m telling you to go out. Now get,” said Mrs. Turner with a wave of her hand.

“But I…” objected Fluttershy.

“I said get! And don’t let me see you sneaking back early again!” said Mrs Turner as she started shoving the pegasus out of the room.

---

Fluttershy was still a bit flustered when she reached the Apple Garden, but she was happy that she’d arrived on time. Taking a deep breath to brace herself, she stepped inside the establishment.

As usual for a saturday night, the place was packed. Fluttershy recognized many of the patrons, but there were several new faces in the crowd. While the Apple Garden was built for ponies, there were several humans scattered across the room as well.

“Hey, Fluttershy, over here!” called Pinkie from the bar stand.

With a smile, Fluttershy made her way over to her friends. Well, most of them. Twilight and Rainbow were missing, but that was expected. Applejack was also not in a seat, as she was still working behind the counter.

“Good evening, Pinkie. How is everypony?” asked Fluttershy.

“Just splendid, darling. Business is simply booming. I may be able to purchase another store front soon,” said Rarity.

“Me too! I’ve been hosting so many parties that I need a reservation list to keep up with it all! It’s amazing!” exclaimed Pinkie.

“I’m doin’ alright mahself. The Apple Garden’s been plenty busy lately. How ‘bout you, Fluttershy? How’s the family treatin’ ya?” asked Applejack as she passed Fluttershy a cider.

“Oh, just fine. Mr. Turner just got a promotion the other day, Mrs. Turner is due to have the baby next month, Peter’s grades have been improving lately, and little Tom’s been just a perfect little angel,” said Fluttershy with a smile.

“That’s great. You really like being a maid, don't you Fluttershy?” asked Pinkie.

Fluttershy blushed and sipped her cider. It wasn’t quite as good as Sweet Apple Acres cider, but it was still tasty.

“Well, I’ve always enjoyed taking care of my animal friends. After I stopped being able to understand them, I had to leave them with professionals. I still wish I could do more than just help out at the animal shelter when I have the time, but I’ve found joy in taking care of the Turner family,” said Fluttershy.

“Glad to hear you’re gettin’ along just fine. All of us are, really. Don’t let her hear this, but Rainbow’s been really bringin’ the crowds every weekend,” said Applejack.

“I know! Who’d have thought hoofball would be so popular with humans?” said Pinkie.

“Or that Rainbow was such a natural at it? I thought the poor dear would never smile again when she found she couldn't fly anymore,” said Rarity with a sigh.

“Speaking of flying, does anypony know how Twilight’s research is going?” asked Fluttershy.

Rarity glanced around before leaning in close.

“You didn’t hear it from me, but she told me the other day that they’re on the verge of a breakthrough. Something about a magic battery that might temporarily give ponies their magic back,” whispered Rarity.

“Oh my…” replied Fluttershy.

At that moment, there was a commotion in the back of building. Everypony turned to see what was going on. Apparently, an unknown stallion was standing on a table, giving a speech.

“Don’t you see?! These monkeys said they’d give us a fair fling, but look at us! We’ve been reduced to slaves! And now they're not even content to leave us to wallow in our own homes!” cried the stallion.

Most of the ponies around him looked uncomfortable, and started nervously shifting in their seats. Several others were giving the stallion angry looks, and seemed ready to get up and shove him out. The humans around the bar just looked annoyed.

“I say enough is enough! It’s time we showed these monkeys who’s really in charge! We won’t let their stupid anti-magic spell stop us from…” said the stallion.

“Alright, that’s enough of that!” cried Applejack as she made her way towards the stallion.

The stallion turned toward Applejack with a sneer, until he realized he was looking at the owner of the Apple Garden.

“The Apple Garden’s a safe place for humans and ponies alike, and we all know that ‘anti-magic spell’ is a load of hooey. If ya have a problem with some of our patrons, ya can just leave,” said Applejack.

The stallion cleared his throat.

“See? This is exactly what I’m talking about! This bar was built as a safe haven for ponies, but even it’s owner has bowed down to the monkeys!” he said.

“Oh, so ya know this place better than the pony who built the darn thing? That’s mighty impressive considerin’ this is the first time Ah’ve seen ya set hoof in here. Yeah, it was built as a home away from home for ponies, but it was never meant to be anti-human,” challenged Applejack.

The stallion paused at that.

“And don’t ya go spinnin’ that garbage about humans dominatin’ us. They didn’t make our worlds combine. They didn’t make our magic thin out. And we ain’t their slaves. We’re their workers,” said Applejack.

The stallion opened his mouth, but Applejack didn’t give him a chance to speak.

“Ya see this place? Ah built it, Ah own it, and Ah’ve been doin’ fine. There ain’t nothin’ stoppin’ a pony from startin’ a business and makin’ it successful. Look at Rarity's fashion line, the hoofball teams, or the school of arcane do dads. We’re all more than capable of findin’ success among the humans,” said Applejack.

The stallion sneered at that.

“Yes, because you, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle all have the Princess’s ear! The rest of us can’t even begin to…”

Applejack slammed her hoof on the floor. While she couldn’t shake the ground without her magic, the impact was still strong enough to shut him up.

“That’s a load of horse apples! We’re hardly the only success stories out there. And what about you, huh? Ya think Ah don’t recognize ya? Yer that disgraced noble pony who keeps tryin’ to start a mob just because ya can’t live in a fancy palace no more. Ya ain’t gonna get the money ya threw away back by startin’ riots, and Ah ain’t lettin’ ya start one here. Now get the hay out of mah bar before Ah kick ya to the street!” declared Applejack.

The stallion was taken aback by this. He clearly hadn’t been expecting to be recognized. He turned towards the crowd, hoping to see some support. While he saw several faces full of anger, all of them were directed at him, and not the humans. With a sigh, he cut his loses and headed out the door.

“Good riddance,” said Applejack as she turned back to the counter.

There were numerous murmurs of agreement and several cheers as things picked back up around the bar.

“Sorry ‘bout that, girls,” said Applejack as she reached her friends.

“No need to apologize, Applejack. We all know how poorly some ponies are still reacting to all this,” said Rarity.

Fluttershy and Pinkie nodded in agreement.

“Oh! Girls, it’s almost time!” said Pinkie as she pointed towards the TV.

Sure enough, the opening ceremony for the hoofball game was starting, with Rainbow Dash standing proud as the captain of her team.

---

Fluttershy sighed as she reached her home. It had been a pleasant evening, though she couldn’t get the angry stallion out of her head. It wasn’t that she thought he had a point. She had heard about that rabble rouser herself. No, what bothered her was that ponies like him were still around at all.

“I know we’re still suffering from losing our magic, but I don’t understand why some ponies still blame the humans for it,” she sighed as she neared the door.

It was rather late and the lights were off, so Fluttershy figured the Turners were all asleep already. She opened the door as quietly as she could manage and stepped into the kitchen.

Then the lights turned on.

“Surprise!” cried little Tom.

Fluttershy jumped in fright, but then look on in shock at the sight of the family standing around a large cake.

“What... What’s going on?” asked Fluttershy.

Mr. Turner chuckled and shook his head.

“Now Tom, we told you not to be so loud. I think you scared her,” he said with a gentle smile.

“Oh. Sorry Fluttershy. I didn’t mean to scare you,” apologized Tom.

“You're such a dummy sometimes, Tom.” said Peter.

Fluttershy took a deep breath and calmed herself down.

“Oh, uh, it’s alright. You all really surprised me, that’s all,” said Fluttershy.

“Yay!” cried Tom as he started jumping in place.

Fluttershy smiled. Tom was a loud child, but he was still precious to her.

“Uh, if you don’t mind me asking, what’s the surprise for?” asked Fluttershy.

Mrs. Turner walked over and smiled.

“Fluttershy, today's the second anniversary since you moved in with us. Two years of you helping us whenever possible and being there when we needed you. It might not be that big deal to some people, but as far as I’m concerned, you’re a member of this family, and think the day that first happened is worth celebrating,” said Mrs. Turner.

Tears started forming in Fluttershy’s eyes.

“I… I…” she stampered.

The Turner Family didn’t respond, they just pulled the pegasus into a hug.

Author's Note:

Oh hey, there's this one fic that actually works with this idea, only more extreme and dramatic. Wish the author would get around to updating that thing...

...

Sigh. I need to get back to that fic someday...

Comments

[starshow]

I feel like you call us animals,
We are, but still.🤨

[PactOfSkyranger]

“Fluttershy, today's the second anniversary since you moved in with us. Two years of you helping us whenever possible and being there when we needed you. It might not be that big deal to some people, but as far as I’m concerned, you’re a member of this family, and think the day that first happened is worth celebrating,” said Mrs. Turner.

That right there is truly a fine attitude to have if you've got a pony for a friend.

I wish I had a pony for a friend.