The Fluttershy Effect

by banjo2E

Graf on Family

Manehattan was a bustling city. Many called it the Sleepless City, and for good reason. Ponies walked the streets at all hours, and as long as the sun was up none of the main roads ever caught a break from the onslaught of hooves pounding their stones.

Were one to travel to the more residential districts, the roads would become much less busy, but there were always one or two ponies wandering about. This was something the orange filly gazing out the third-floor window knew very well; watching the roads had become one of her favorite hobbies during her stay there.

Her name was Applejack, and at that moment she missed her family more than anything. She lifted her gaze from the streets to the distant horizon. Somewhere in that direction was her family's farm. "I wonder what Granny Smith and Big Macintosh are up to..."

She sighed. "I bet they're applebuckin' their way through the Red Delicious trees. Oh, what I wouldn't give for just one bite..."

Applejack stared out the window for a minute longer, then shook her head and turned back inside. It wasn't that she didn't like the city, not at all. She actually loved it even more than she had when she'd first left the farm. Sure, she hadn't quite mastered the high-society ways of speaking yet, but she was doing all right on the whole, and even though ponies laughed when she didn't get it right, it was because they thought her slip-ups were adorable and not because they wanted to hurt her feelings. The suppers (pardon, dinners) didn't have nearly as much food as she was used to in them, but that was partly because a lot of these dinners happened during really long parties that kept serving snacks the whole tie; partly because a lot of ponies went home from these parties early and made bigger, tastier meals just for themselves and their families; partly because sometimes the food just wasn't any good, like that time when the main course had been alfalfa (eww, just no), and nopony wanted to eat more than a little bit of something they hated; and partly because there wasn't as much hard work in the city, so nopony needed to eat as much. Not that city ponies didn't work hard, they just didn't use their muscles in their kind of work.

Aunt and Uncle Orange told Applejack she was a very perceptive pony for her age, and that she was learning how the city worked much quicker than they had expected; she guessed maybe they were right, but she still thought she could maybe do a bit better at the whole "fitting in" thing. Maybe it'd be easier if she met some foals her own age and got to talking to them. She'd only been in the city for a couple weeks, and a lot of that was spent practicing for the fancy party the previous night, so there hadn't been a chance to do that earlier.

With this in mind, Applejack walked out the door, through the rest of the Oranges' apartment, down the stairs, and out into the streets beyond. Her Aunt had said it was all right for her to wander around, as long as she stayed in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be any ponies her age around, so she settled for just getting a good look at the area.

---

A few blocks later, Applejack noticed a building a bit shorter than the others, with a very distinctive aesthetic. The walls were completely covered in what looked like grape vines, and plant boxes sat below all of the windows.

She had never guessed you could grow a farm in the middle of the city, and walked over to have a closer look. As she drew near, the front door opened, and a griffon walked out. It was a bit hard for her to tell, but Applejack thought he was probably an old griffon; his coat was grey and none of his feathers had a trace of color in them. He wore a brown bowler hat and held a thick wooden cane with a spiral cut into it to look kind of like a unicorn's horn. His eyes were closed and he was whistling as he closed the door and locked it. When he turned around, his eyes were open. His gaze fell upon Applejack, and he smiled broadly. "Ah, now who do we have here? I think I have not seen you before, young one."

Applejack fidgeted. "Uh, I've only been here f'r a week or two. Sorry if I'm bothering ya, I was just looking at your house."

The griffon waved dismissively. "Oh, do not worry, I am in no hurry today, and I always enjoy the company of young ones. My grandchildren always tell me how much they enjoy visiting me, so I think I am doing something right." He chuckled. "What is your name, may I ask?"

"Oh, uh, I'm Applejack. Do you take care of all these plants yourself?" Applejack gestured towards one of the raised beds, which had strawberries in it. She was pretty sure you didn't have to be formal to someone who was talking all friendly-like to you.

The griffon smiled broadly. "Ah, now that is a lovely name! If there is one thing ponies are good at, it is names! I think the closest thing in my native tongue is Apfelschaumwein, but that is a bit of a mouthful, I think." He winked, and Applejack giggled. "As for me, most of the ponies I meet call me Count Ludwig von Hendungen. But my grandchildren, and many of the children who play in these streets, call me 'Opa Lui'. I would not mind if you called me that too."

He extended a clawed hand. Applejack smiled and shook it. "It's nice to meet you, Mister Louie!"

Louie smiled, let go of her hoof and lifted one of the berries with a claw. "As for your question, I don't quite take care of all of my plants myself. I would have, years ago, but I am not quite so young anymore!" He laughed. "In my homeland, these are called Erdbeere, which if I remember correctly means 'earth berries' in this language. I have never quite managed to find out why you ponies call them strawberries, which is a shame, because I am sure that name has a wonderful story behind it."

Louie looked the berry over on all sides, then let it go and turned to face Applejack. "However, I do have another story about these berries that I am quite fond of, if you wish to listen?"

"Well, sure, Mister, but...well, why're you being so helpful? I mean, you probably had some kind of plans when you headed out that I had nothin' to do with, right?"

Louie leaned on his cane. "Because the look on your face as you gazed at my plants is a look I have seen before, on my own face, a long time ago. I believe you have a love for the city, but also for the countryside, and cannot choose which one to give up. Am I correct?"

Applejack blinked. "...Yeah, that...wow, I didn't even realize that was what I've been thinking about, but..."

Louie chuckled. "As I said, I was once in a position much like yours. I'd grown up in the city, but one year I went to visit a cousin in the countryside, and I fell in love with the land. The plants were so beautiful... I spent hours in the gardens on my uncle's estate, just looking at the plants. Well, one day, I saw two little bushes growing in planters on opposite sides of the garden path, and they had such tasty-looking berries on them. But, alas, the berries from one plant were too small for me to hold without crushing them, and the berries on the other were large, but very sour.

"Well, I sat there on the path and just glared at them for denying me a tasty snack, and then I noticed something interesting. Both of the plants had these little vines growing from them, and after a few inches they would split off . I had a very clever idea: I would put the planters next to each other, put two of the vines touching each other, and see what happened. So I did that, and walked away.

"About a week after that, one of the gardeners came to my uncle saying he'd found a kind of bright red berry, growing in the earth. He thought what had happened was two of his other plants had grown together to become one plant. I believe the word is 'grafting'? Well, anyway, he knew for a fact that the two plants hadn't been anywhere near each other the last time he'd checked them, and none of his workers would admit to moving the plants.

"Well, I didn't want him to get in trouble for something I did, so I walked up and told my uncle what I'd done. And he sat there for a moment, and then asked me what I wanted to call the berry. And, since I was still very young and couldn't think of any good names, I just said 'earth berry'. And that is how those little red berries were named Erdbeer."

Louie looked at Applejack's expression and chuckled. "Oh, it is not that hard to believe a griffon could grow fruits, is it?"

Applejack blinked. "Uh, sorry, it's just...you invented strawberries? I'd always thought somepony'd just found them growin' somewhere."

Louie laughed. "And so I did! But they wouldn't have become what they are now if I had not given them that little push at the start. Well, eventually I had to go home, but my relatives gave me some few seeds and cuttings of plants, to see if I could grow in the city as well as I could in the country." He gestured at the house behind him. "And, obviously, I can.

"Now, as you know, my 'berries of the earth' became quite popular, both here and in my fathers' lands. It has been many years since the day I gave them their name, and I am told that those little red berries have become a staple of many gardens." He chuckled. "Now, whenever I visit my relatives on their estate, they all call me Erdbeergraf. In this language, it means something like Count of Strawberries. I think it is a bit funny how I am the graf that grafts, don't you?"

Applejack giggled. "Well, when you put it that way, sure!"

Louie smiled and shook his head. "Ah, but I've gone off track. The point of my story, at least when I started it, was that if you can't decide what to pick, why not find a way to pick both?"

---

Two months later...

---

The wizened green mare glared at the immaculately-groomed orange filly before her. "So. Yer sayin' that ya want ter stay in th' city after all. Ya only came here jes' long enough ter tell us."

"That would be entirely correct, Granny Smith." The filly's face was blank as a card shark's.

The old mare kept up her gaze for a bit longer, then bowed her head and sighed. "...How long're ya stayin'?"

With her head bowed, she couldn't see the twinkle in the filly's eyes, or the broad smile on her face. "Oh, only 'bout nine months or so. Wouldn't want ta overstay my welcome, or nuthin'."

Granny Smith's head snapped up, her eyes wide with shock. She sputtered for a moment, then fell back on her haunches, raised her head, and laughed. It didn't take long for her granddaughter to join in.

---

Applejack, her brother Big Macintosh, and Granny Smith stood in front of an apple tree. Half of its branches were perfectly healthy, but the other half sagged and the leaves on those branches were yellow. The red colt gazed at the tree for a moment, then looked over at the tree in the wagon Applejack had pulled to the spot. "You sure this'll work, sis?"

Applejack grinned. "Well, it's at least worth a shot, right? I mean, the roots," she tapped the base of the trunk with a hoof, "are just fine. It's the branches that're dyin', and only on the one side. And we'd have already just cut off the bad side if there weren't the problem that the winter snows might make the tree fall over if all the weight was on the one side."

"Well, one of the things I learned in the city is that two plants can actually grow together into one plant if you do things just right. They call it 'grafting', and it's pretty reliable as long as the two plants aren't too different from each other." She gestured at the tree in the wagon. "And call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure that Apples and Oranges can get along just fine."

Her grandmother snorted. "Yer crazier than a timberwolf in a volcano, Jackie, but it ain't a half bad kind of crazy. Let's get crackin'!"

Some minutes later, the bad branches had all been cut off, and Applejack was moving the branches from the orange tree into position. "All right, Granny, get ready to tie 'em togeth..." She trailed off as she noticed a sort of greenish glimmer at the point where the apple trunk and the orange branch met. "What in the Sam Hill..."

There was a green flash, and the next thing she knew she was lying on her back, with two concerned faces looking down on her. Granny Smith blinked, then smiled. "Well, looks like yer all right. Shoot, I ain't seen that kind of magic since I discovered the Zap Apples way back when!"

Applejack blinked. "Hang on, what magic?"

"See for yourself, sis." Big Macintosh helped her to her hooves, then turned her around to face...

Well, it sure wasn't an apple tree no more.

Harvest time for this particular variety of apple had finished over a month ago. Despite this, the branches on the left side bore a full load of apples. Similarly, the ones on the right had a full complement of oranges. But the middle, the middle had a completely new kind of fruit that didn't look all that much like either of the other fruits on the tree, but was definitely related to them both. Applejack was sure it would taste just like it looked.

There was another flash of light, this time from behind her. Applejack turned her head.

Two apples...and an orange.

Applejack stared at her flank for a moment, then chuckled. "I tell you what, I'm gonna have such a story ta tell Louie next summer..."

Comments

[banjo2E]

i.imgur.com/tLAN5.gif

This was originally going to be more about Applejack learning more about how the Oranges live and some of the things they can do the Apples can't, but I couldn't think of a way for the Oranges to give Applejack an economics lecture without being boring, and then Louie just sort of popped into my head fully-formed and wouldn't leave.

[thewookie1]

German-esque griffon elders, new foods, and an Applejack with a slightly different cutie mark.

[Glazius]

I'm glad you let Louie into your head. He is amazing.

[StyrofoamPie]

Suddenly....grapefruit?

[Pvt PartyPooper]

I really like where this is going!

[Crisslunarflame]

This is great! I really think that this is creative and stuff... Awesome!!!!!!!!

[notMurphy]

I love it

[MissytheAngle]

I really like this. How one thing can change everything, and it's obvious since the Sonic Rainboom was the reason the girls got their Cutie Marks. And now they all have different ones, too, thus far. According to the picture for this, Rainbow's will be different, as well. Seeing her like that reminds me too much of Rainbow Dash in the older generations from when I was a kid. But I'll only start complaining should she starting using a fancy accent and saying "darling" all the time. XD I mean, if that DOES happen, well, I like Rainbow as she is, but I always hated the older generation her, even as a kid.

I can't help but be curious as to how Twilight is going to change with this. *gasps* If the Sonic Rainboom never occurred, then her magic didn't go nuts, and Celestia didn't recognize her, and--oh, snap, this is really crazy! I mean, yeah, everypony else's has changed quite a lot, but I feel like this one is most significant due to it being the difference between Celestia noticing her or not. So what will happen? Hah, you really got me wondering, my friend. I like how it's written and how even with their changes, the characterization is pretty spot-on. This project that involves everything changing in the beat of a heart is so far, a success. Keep it going!