Chapter I: The Early Hour
(I present to you I would Give to You. Rate, comment, and enjoy.)
The monotonous tone of the train lulled you into a fitful sleep. The early hour certainly didn’t help either. You’d left home less than twenty four hours ago, and already you missed the comforts offered there. Sure, you were going to be staying with your cousin, or so you hoped, but that didn’t make it easier to leave home. And the reason for leaving would make it all the harder to face her.
The scenery whipped past the train, reminding you of what you couldn’t have. Just a few months ago you had been the best flier in Fillydelphia. Then there was the accident, and everything changed. No longer could you soar the skies. No longer could you reach out and caress the clouds. All of your dreams had been built around your unparalleled expertise in the sky.
A soft jerking motion shattered your dozing introspection, and you knew the train was coming to a stop at Ponyville. You reached under the bench that had been your impromptu bed, and you grasped the single bag that held all your belongings. You didn’t need to look inside to know what was there, and the familiar weight was enough to settle your mind. You spotted the town well before coming to a stop, and the somewhat familiar buildings sparked half forgotten memories of time spent playing in the streets.
When the train finally ground to a halt, you made your way to the door, and you waited for most of the passengers to leave before you did, as you didn’t want to have to deal with being jostled. When the hall was mostly empty, you finally opened the door, and you entered the hallway. A single elderly mare was making her way down the hall, and you gave her a smile as she passed you by.
“Don’t look so glum, dear. I’m certain things will look up from here. A new beginning awaits us all, you just need to find, and open, the door to your new future.” You paused for a moment, digesting the elderly mare’s words, but when you turned to thank her, she was gone. You blinked several times as you looked down the empty hall, wondering where she had gone, but you dismissed it from your mind, knowing that it wasn’t really important. Her words were worth thinking about, though.
As you resumed walking, you caught glimpses of the platform through the windows, and you could make out a large number of ponies waiting to board. You finally stepped off the train, and you looked up to the sky above. Quickly, though, you averted your gaze, not wanting to be reminded of what you couldn’t have. As you began to walk away from the train you spotted a pair of earth ponies boarding the train, one of whom was wearing a Stetson hat, and the other had a grayish brown coat.
It didn’t take you long to get out of the station, and onto the streets of Ponyville. Already there were some shopkeepers heading to their stores, and stall, readying themselves for another day of business. You began weaving your way through the growing crowds, not quite sure where your cousin lived, but hoping that you’d find her somehow.
Most of the ponies you saw offered a friendly wave, and you always made sure to reciprocate the wave, knowing that a good first impression would make integration into the town immensely helpful. Based on the letters that you had received over the past few months you knew that your cousin was well known throughout the town, but you didn’t want to rely on that to find her.
Eventually you found yourself standing before a massive tree near the middle of town, but you knew that this was just one of the many landmarks throughout the town. Without a second thought you began walking down one of the streets, having chosen at random which one to take. It was a win-win, really. If you didn’t find your cousin’s home, at least you’d be able to know the layout of the town well enough. While walking along one such street you found yourself nose to nose with an energetic pink mare. Her eyes widened when she spotted you, and you took a hesitant step backwards, not quite sure how to react to the sudden change in the pink mare. Before she spotted you she had been quite happily hopping along the street, but now she was just looking at you, her eyes widening rapidly.
You opened your mouth to speak, but before you could get out a single word the mare dashed off, leaving a cloud of dust in the shape of her body. You couldn’t even begin to fathom what this would mean, and so you simply wrote it off as a dash of eccentricity in this otherwise peaceful town. Several minutes later and you came across one of the most peculiar buildings you’d ever seen. You’d read about it in letters, but no amount of literary description could ever do justice to the sugary dream that was Sugarcube Corner.
The entire building appeared to be made out of candy, and it even smelled like candy. You stood before it for several minutes, simply trying to rationalize the construction behind the building, as you were well aware of the fact that nothing about the building was sensible for construction. You gave a large shrug as you moved past it, content to leave it as it was. As you continued to explore the town you found more and more things that struck you as being odd, but you decided to ignore them, seeing as how all the ponies in the town seemed to go about business as normal.
Maybe this is normal, and Fillydelphia is the weird place. Eventually, you found yourself standing in front of a festive looking building, designed to look like a carousel of some sort. Your assumption proved correct, as you spotted a sign labeling the building as the Carousel Boutique. You’d heard about this place from your cousin, and so you figured that if the owner was as nice as the letters all led you to believe, it was worth a shot.
You raised a hoof to knock, but the door swung open just before your hoof could make contact. Unfortunately for you, the unexpected opening left your rapidly moving hoof nowhere to go, except for into the face of the mare that opened the door. You managed to slow your hoof some, so instead of punching her in the face, you ended up simply poking her on the nose. Unable to process just how stupid you looked, you left your hoof where it was.
The strikingly blue eyes of the mare narrowed quickly, and you realized that you hadn’t moved your hoof, so you quickly pulled it away, hoping that you hadn’t made too much of an ass out of yourself. A filly came up to the doorway and she looked at you with bloodshot eyes, and you suddenly figured out just how awkward this whole situation was.
“Um… Did I come at a bad time?” Your voice comes out shakily, unsure of just how bad things could go.
“No dear. I was just about to go and mail a letter. Were you hoping to purchase some clothing, perhaps?” Her accent reminded you of all the snobby ponies that you’d met in the past, but you wouldn’t let that get in the way of meeting a new pony. Before you could reply, though, the little filly began speaking.
“How could you be going out to mail one of those mushy love letters at a time like this? Scootaloo’s breaking down mentally, Taupe and Applejack are going to Manehattan to do Celestia-knows-what, and you’re here writing love letters to some stallion you’ve never met?”
“Sweetie, please calm down. I am aware of the situation, and I don’t need you yelling at me because of it. Taupe and Applejack are going to Manehattan with the intention of solving the problems here. Have some faith in those two.” The mare had sat down in her speech, and she embraced the filly who you could only assume was a sister, or a daughter. Given the way the filly spoke to the mare, you assumed sisters. After a few awkward moments, you finally cleared your throat.
“I hate to break up this moment, but I was actually hoping to ask a question of you.”
“Oh my!” The mare quickly stood up, blushing at the display she had unwittingly put on. “So, um. Yes, what was it that you needed? Clothing, fashion tips, or something else?”
“Yeah, I was hoping you knew how to get to my cousin’s house. She’s fairly well known, from what I’ve been told through her letters. Her name’s Fluttershy, if that helps.”
The mare let out a gasp, and she gave you a big smile. “So you’re that cousin that she talks about all the time. I’ll take you to her right away, she must be dying to see you!”
“Well, she doesn’t actually know I’m coming. It’s… Well, it’s a bit of a surprise. I’m here for a while, and I was hoping that she’d be willing to let me stay with her while I’m here.”
“If you even have to ask that, you don’t know Fluttershy very well at all. Now, come with me. We’ll stop at the post office quickly, then I’ll take you to Fluttershy’s cottage.” She turned to look back at her sister, and she spoke once more. “Now Sweetie, I know you’re worried about Scootaloo, but I’m certain that Taupe and Applejack will be more than capable of fixing what Taupe broke. Although I don’t really see how they will.”
You had no idea who Taupe was, but the name Applejack was familiar enough. She was a friend of Fluttershy’s, as well as an Element of Harmony. What they had to do with some filly named Scootaloo you could only begin to guess, but based on the condition of Sweetie Belle you figured that it was something bad.
“Right, Sweetie, you make sure that anypony that comes by knows I’ll be back soon. Short of a disaster, I’ll be back in less than an hour.” Sweetie simply frowned at her sister, but she also nodded. “Good. Now then, shall we go?” You nod, and the mare takes the lead, you following just a few steps behind her.
“Excuse me, miss? I don’t know your name, and I feel kind of foolish not knowing how to address you.” The mare stopped dead in her tracks, and she turned to look at you.
“That’s right, you’re new here in Ponyville. Well, my name is Rarity, and I am the purveyor of the Carousel Boutique. Perhaps you may also know me as the Element of Generosity, although I don’t much care for bandying about that title. I prefer to earn my fame through my work.”
“Well, miss Rarity, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you. Now that I’ve got a face to associate with your name, I’ll be more likely to remember it. Fluttershy does talk about you quite a bit in her letters. How you’re so generous, and the way you design clothes.”
“Fluttershy talks about me?” The two of you began walking once again, this time you stayed by Rarity’s side, rather than behind her. “Oh, do tell me what she says!”
“Well, she told me about how you bravely faced the Diamond Dogs when you were kidnapped. And then she told me some about the time you spent with Storm, and the whole fiasco regarding that. Honestly, the letters were never about you, or any of her friends specifically. They were just ways for us to keep in contact. After I moved away from Cloudsdale contact with her became harder and harder.” You sigh, thinking back to the fairly tense departure from Cloudsdale. “My father, and her father were brothers, and they had a massive falling out. That fight is what caused us to move to Fillydelphia. We stayed here for a few days while the move was settled, but I can only remember spending some time playing in the streets.”
“That’s awful. But did you like Fillydelphia? From what I’ve heard it’s not exactly a pleasant city.”
You grimace for a moment, before you bring a small smile to your face. “It’s not that bad. You just need to know what you’re doing, and how to do it. Besides, I was kept away from most of the worst the city had to offer due to the training program I was in.”
“What program was that?”
“It was some pre-Wonderbolts kind of thing. The best fliers get admitted, and then the top trainee of each class gets to audition for the Wonderbolts. I was set to be that trainee, but then I came here. I’d rather not elaborate on why, though.” You raise a hoof, knowing that Rarity was poised to ask questions. “Maybe later I can explain, but for now I’d just like to get to Fluttershy’s home. I’ve been traveling for a while, and I don’t sleep well on trains.”
She smiles back, and looks ahead. “I understand, dear. I won’t pry.” You smile back at her, content with the present. You’ll have to explain what happened eventually, but for now you were free to live without a care. Soon enough, you arrived at the post office, and just before you could open the door, a grey pegasus strode through the door. Her eyes were looking in two different directions, and you couldn’t stop yourself from staring.
After a moment you noticed that the two eyes were coming to focus on you, and you blushed fiercely. “My apologies. I have never seen something quite like that, and I couldn’t stop myself from looking.”
The glare that was forming on the mare’s face quickly vanished, and she smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ve gotten my fair share of looks, and there are only a few ponies who actually bother me when they do it. I’m just glad you apologized. Now, I have some mail to deliver, so I’ll talk with the two of you later.” Before she left, though, she leaned close to Rarity, and she whispered in her ear. You could see a blush run up the cheeks of the white unicorn, and then she gasped.
“Ditzy! This is not the stallion I’ve been sending letters to. That stallion is a refined, and elegant, unicorn. He’s the pinnacle of grace and elegance.” She quickly looked at you, and she blushed further. “Not that this fine gentlestallion is not any of those things.”
You raise a hoof, and chuckle. “Hey, don’t mind me. I’ve had worse insults thrown my way.” After a few more whispered words, the pegasus took the letter from Rarity, and she galloped a short distance, before taking flight. You watched her fly for a moment, before you looked back to Rarity. “Well, now that your letter is taken care of, would you lead the way to Fluttershy’s home? I’ve been through the whole town, and yet I can’t find the cottage she described.”
“Fluttershy doesn’t live in town, dear. She has a cottage near the Everfree Forest, where she takes care of all of her animal friends.” You nod, remembering the fact that Fluttershy was always going on about her animal friends. Especially her one bunny she adoringly referred to as ‘Angel Bunny.’
“Right. I always thought she lived in town, though.” Several minutes passed in silence, as you made your way out of town, and down the dirt path that led to Fluttershy’s home. The openness of the area around you gave you an unparalleled view of the lush forests, and rolling hills. This whole place was so different from Fillydelphia that it was hard to explain how this place, and Fillydelphia could exist on the same planet. As you continued, you eventually spotted a small rise in the distance, but it seemed to be emitting smoke.
“And there is Fluttershy’s home.” As you got closer, you began to make out some details, and then you could see some windows, and the door. Fluttershy had always described her home as being natural, but this was taking it to an extreme. The whole thing seemed to be part of the landscape around it.
And then you noticed all the woodland critters roaming about the house, and the grassy hills around it. There were more animals than you could ever hope to count, and the variety was just as staggering. The only time you had ever seen this much wildlife in one place was when you went to the zoo in Fillydelphia. And you had only done that once, as the animals all seemed so sad.
Finally, you crossed a small bridge, and you approached the door, prepared to try your hoof once again at knocking on a door. You stood before the door, poised to knock, and your hoof began its descent, only for it to open at the last moment. This better not be a thing for me…
You managed to slow your hoof down, again, and you wound up with your hoof resting on the mare’s nose, again. Fluttershy’s entire body went rigid, at your contact, and you could see that she was staring at your hoof, fear in her eyes.
“Hi, Fluttershy. It’s me. You remember good ol’-” Before you could finish, though, Fluttershy fell over to the side, her eyes rolling back into her head. You watched her do all this, with your hoof still up in the air, idiotically pressing against where Fluttershy’s nose was moments ago.
You turned to look at Rarity, but she wasn’t there. You quickly looked back to Fluttershy, and you saw Rarity crouching over the prone form of her friend. She looked at you, with an apologetic smile on her face.
“Was it something I said?”
(Well, here's the beginning of my next literary journey. Let me know how I do.)
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Thank you! i just finished the color of apples yesterday and was wondering when i could see this. i bow to your expert timing.
Awesome Possum
I already love it!
imgace.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/please_sir3.jpg
Please?
Hmmm a mystery about what happen to him I see where this is going already.
Cool, keep it up.
This is what everypony was hoping for. I kind of wish there was more to this chapter, but I'm more than content with waiting for more
How unlucky of him to do that twice
Round two already? My my Twilight dear you are popular..
saw the story name, meh, looked at description, blah blah, the colour of apples, blah, wait what.
.... 
FAVA!!
....my god.... the legends are true. There IS a sequel!!!!!
I'm liking this already. and YAY sequel woohoo!!
Plz moar this storyline is AWSOME! Also (random time ) I submitted a new story how long does it usually take to be approved?
Twilight shipfic! Yesyesyesyesyesyes!
cant wait for more
You did excellent, infact all your fanfics is really good! continue the good work buddy! really excited for the next chapter
also im going to follow you 
So, does this happen after The Color of Apples, or during roughly the same time frame?
^same question
1015189 1015225 I would say it takes place just after Scoots finds the letter and AJ and T are off to find T's sister, so at the same time, near the end.
Damnit Howitzer adding more RS hints.
Bwaahahahaha! Bloody brilliant so far! I enjoy how you write Howitzer, keep it up! Thumbed-up and faved, just like the last story!
*BOOP*
Your ending to this chapter was just brilliant!
1008581 I also thought about the Fire Nation.
This story.. could be a HELLUVA lot better if it weren't a second person text adventure like some of those old computer games you may have played...
I can't describe how much i love your stories
Okay, the elderly mare on the train is officially suspicious. Here appearance in The Color of Apples was one thing, but now twice in two stories and in both cases she is giving advice to the mane 6 love interest/protagonist? Something is up with her.
Flutterfic!
iambrony.jsmart.web.id/mlp/gif/2667328774161692252111104.gif
At the mention of "the brown Earth pony with a Stetson getting on the train with a greyish-brown stallion, I couldn't resist a little chuckle
And the image of this guy (you, me?) there at the end with Fluttershy and Rarity was priceless
Nice chapter brah.
I'm liking this one all ready.
Wish I could've started with Rising Sun, but will wait till
you've finished it.
Of all the ponies to be cousins with, I'm cousins with Fluttershy. I WAS NOT expecting that.
I honestly thought I was cousins with Rainbow or Ditzy or some OC pony XD
6370758 Yea! Me too!!
It was at this point that I realised that perhaps his cousin might be a bit prismatic.
So not prismatic, shy. Interesting.
OOoo good start!