The Day After
Ray spent the next five minutes blankly wandering around his new house, trying to familiarize himself with the place. In one of the side drawers to his writing desk, he found a calendar and a neat stack of paper. The calendar was flipped to July, with the second Sunday of the month circled and captioned “today”. He believed that Twilight had something to do with it, as she had said that she had commissioned the house.
Come to think about it, he was trusting her word quite a lot. Given the fact that she had lied to those who appeared to be her best friends, he could be playing right into her hand. Then again, she hadn’t lied to him about anything as of yet, which meant that she at least wasn’t playing him. Maybe. Either way, he’d have to keep the lavender unicorn at arms length.
He took a better inspection of his food stock, and spent a good amount of time calculating just how much he actually had. As it turned out, he had food set for almost a month, with all of the foods failing to expire for two weeks. This was great news, only made slightly dimmer by the lack of any meat in his fridge. He guessed it made sense, but still, he would miss good ol’ hamburgers. By the time he was finished, it was nearing nine o’clock. At home, he would still have three and a half hours on his night shift, but here, he was free to actually sleep.
He took advantage of this unique opportunity and headed up the stairs to his room. He made sure to lock the door on his way in, as he wasn’t completely sure that the townspeople- ponies, he’d have to try to adjust to their speech- would throw a “First Night in Town” party.
He stripped his clothing off, down to his boxers, and spent the next fifteen minutes trying to figure out the mechanics of his clock. He finally figured out how to set an alarm, setting it to go off at 6:15 so he would have time to get to the farm at seven. Apple Jack hadn’t told him when to be there, but he figured early in the morning would be the most appropriate. Besides, it also allowed him some early morning time to himself.
After setting the alarm, he climbed into the plush bed, pulling the sheets over him. The bed was incredibly warm, the hoof-stitched quilts heavy enough to hold him down, but light enough to allow small movement. He scooted to the middle of the bed, since there wouldn’t be any siblings tucking in with him. They had done that on occasion, when they had had nightmares or were scared of the noises outside. Now, he missed the feelings of protectiveness and brotherly love as they cuddled with him.
He stared straight up at the ceiling, thinking. Not of anything in particular, really, but just wondering. He wondered if there was a universe out there that was peaceful, where life thrived without threat. Here had seemed like the place, but recent revelations had proved otherwise. He chuckled as he thought of the most innocent world possible. It would be inhabited by neon colored squirrels that had more fur than body, and hopped around on their poofy tails. The image died away all too soon.
That place couldn’t exist, wouldn’t exist. Solemnly, he remembered something he had once read. Humanity had only improved to do two things: create, and destroy. They had made weapons, originally to kill animals better for more food, but those had been turned on themselves. Weapons had evolved to make killing each other easier, leading to the deaths of hundreds of millions. They had made cars, which saved time and made travelling easier and safer, yet those killed tens of thousands every year. Had it not been for Twilight, Ray would have joined the masses.
Ray attempted to close his eyes, but found that the move was blocked by another thought. He had agreed to fight a war. He struggled to comprehend exactly what he had volunteered to do, since the worst fight he'd gotten into…
“Dammit,” he muttered, turning over in bed. Why did this always happen when he thought about… them. Who were they? Where were they? Were they even real? Muttering a viler string of curses, he got out of bed. It wasn’t like he would get sleep anyways, with this train of loudly rolling through his head.
He walked over to the curtainless window, staring out into the night sky. Thousands of tiny sparks floated in the sky, blinking down at him. He wondered if they knew about his plight, his story. He wondered if they cared. Back at home, light pollution had prevented him from being able to see so many stars, as only the brightest shone through. Now even the dimmest could be seen.
He sighed, leaning his head against the windowsill as he watched the stars. The moon, though only a thin crescent tonight, shone brightly. Tracing the stars with his gaze, Ray realized that the constellations here weren’t all that different from the ones back on Earth. He found both Ursas, along with their designated Dippers, and the Orion, although it took a more pegasus structure. This world really wasn’t so bad, come to think of it. Maybe some of the things in it, but no, this world was alright…
Wake Up!! Wake Up!! Wake Up!! Wake-SLAM!!
Ray smacked the blaring alarm clock off of the desk as he fell out of bed. He must’ve gotten into it sometime last night, but he couldn’t really remember doing so. Hastily putting on the only pair of clothes he had, he rushed into the bathroom to do his business. Coming back out, he made his bed and placed the alarm back in its place, turning the alarm volume down so he wouldn’t be woken in the same manner as this morning.
Rushing downstairs, he went to the cabinet he had mentally labelled “bread n’ crap”, and grabbed a bagel. He figured that when he got more accustomed to the town, he wouldn’t really need to be in such a rush, but for now, speed was a necessity. Eating the bagel without anything else on top, he went back upstairs to find a toothbrush. Finishing the bagel in three bites, he found a toothbrush and toothpaste quickly in the closet. He figured that it was probably best to not arrive at his new job with morning breath, especially since ponies had better smell than humans. At least, he thought.
By the time he was done, it was 6:25. Running out of the door, he began jogging down the dirt path towards the town. The early morning air was crisp and cool, a light breeze brushing through his hair as he ran. He smiled as he picked up his pace going down a hill, and crossing a bridge that ran over a deep blue river. It was relaxing to just watch the green scenery pass as he ran, giving him a general sense of tranquility. For a moment, he even forgot he was in another world.
He had only left Pittsburg once, to visit his grandmother’s grave in Harrisburg. The space between the two cities was green and lightly wooded in some places, far different from the almost random placement of skyscrapers in the city. He had longed to go out there again, to feel the openness and freedom of the outdoors, to breath in and not to taste the stench of burning gasoline.
Now, as he ran back up the gently sloping, he took in the fresh, open air. Reaching the top of the hill, the path took an unexpected turn, leaving him running through ankle-high grass. Eh, he thought, screw the path. Three seconds later, his foot caught an unexpected spot of mud, causing him to slip and fall into the soft grass. Sharp pricks of cold nipped at his skin from wherever the dew-sprinkled grass poked his skin. He came to a stop a couple of feet later, facedown in the ground, the taste of dirt in his mouth.
“Beautiful,” a mocking voice called from above, accompanied by the sound of flapping wings. “Didn’t know you were so graceful, Ray.”
Muttering a very impolite string of curses into the ground regarding the cyan pegasus above him, he rolled over. He found Rainbow Dash smirking at him, holding out a hoof to help him up. Returning the smirk, he took the proffered hoof and pulled, resulting in the mare being pulled into the ground. Ray laughed as the pegasus fell face first into the ground. Luckily, for the both of them, they weren’t in the mud patch.
She came up with a sheepish grin. “I shoulda realized that was gonna happen,” she lamented, rubbing the back of her head with a hoof. “What’cha doin’ out here, this early?”
“I’m lookin’ for the farm,” he responded as the pony launched herself back into the sky. “I have a job there. Wanted to arrive as early as I could.”
“Nice,” she said, pointing across the town. “Just that way. At town center, there’ll be four roads: the one you’re on -the northwestern- one and each other one leading northeast, southeast, and southwest. Take the southwest one, and it’ll lead you straight to Sweet Apple Acres. Although,” a mischievous glint entered her eye, “are you sure you’re old enough to work yet?”
Ray flipped her off as he stood, a gesture that didn’t go unnoticed by Rainbow. “Whazzat mean,” she asked.
“It’s a human thing,” he grumbled. “Means F you.”
As he turned to enter town, he heard her say, “Only if you want to.”
“Yeah, whatev-,” Ray did a double take, turning back to the cyan pegasus, who began roaring with laughter. “What did you just say?”
“Only if you want to,” she replied with a smirk. Ray shook his head, turning away as the pegasus once again began laughing, jogging away. After only a moment, she caught up with him, flying beside him at the same pace he was jogging.
Turning his head so that he could see both her and the dirt path, he asked, “What’re you doin’?”
“I wanna race ya,” she cried. “First to the farm wins!”
“Nah,” he denied, “I think I should save my strength for work.”
“That’s disappointing,” she said as they entered the town square on a bridge over a small stream. Stalls and booths were set up on either side of the road, although most of them were empty. He attributed this to the early hour, though the few ponies that were there gave him strange looks. Probably just wondering what the frick I am, why I’m in their town, and if I would like a bouquet of roses, or lilies, he thought to himself.
“Hey,” Rainbow suddenly exclaimed, cutting into his thoughts. “What about after your work?”
“Eh,” he responded. “I’m supposed to go over to Rarity’s shop to get new clothes and crap. After that, Fluttershy said I should go over to hers for tea. If I can find it.”
“Hopin’ to get under her tail,” Rainbow asked, her signature smirk plastered on her face. She tsked, before mock scolding him. “You shouldn’t be gettin’ into relationships so soon.”
“You’ve gotta be the most vulgar pony to ever exist,” Ray groaned as he turned down the path that Rainbow had said would lead to the orchard. Rainbow laughed at that, flying in front of him so he could see her face.
“Would you believe me if I told you I was a twenty one year old virgin,” she questioned.
“Not even if you said you were twelve,” he snorted as he entered the grove. He was now surrounded by neat rows of apple trees, looking ripe for the plucking. Apple Jack had said harvest season was near. Or zap apple, whatever those were. Looking around at the lush green trees, he couldn’t help but wonder how any amount of ponies could raise and keep track of so many trees. It was beyond him. Suddenly, barely ten feet away, he saw a large, vine covered gateway with a simple apple covering on it, a wooden slat hanging from it.
“Guess that’s my cue,” Rainbow said, noticing the white fencing and largening clearing. She flew up and off in another direction as Ray slowed down enough to stop without crashing into the gate. The most surprising thing about stopping was that he didn’t feel nearly fatigued enough for running so long. It wasn’t that he had run far, barely a mile by his estimations, but he had run pretty fast, through hills nonetheless, and was barely panting.
Ducking down so he didn’t hit his head on the gateway, he let himself in. Taking in his surroundings, he saw there was a large homestead in the center of the clearing that must’ve been where the family lived. A large portion of the red building seemed to be a barn, which was fair enough, since they would need a large storage space for their crops. The entire structure had a faded white border, and every window had a little flower garden outside of it. The roof was made of a light purple wood, the entire structure topped off with a little windpointer. Instead of the top of it being a tin chicken, a pink apple, which seemed fitting.
To the right of the house, a decent vegetable garden was growing. Ray could see stalks of corn ready for the plucking, tomato vines with fat, red tomatoes hidden among the leaves, and what looked like overly large weeds sprung from the ground. To the houses left was a small chicken coop- he could tell by the sign hanging from it. Hay bales and large piles of hay were strewn all over the place in large piles, giving the space a more used feeling. In the distance, he could see the hills behind the homestead were also covered with apple trees. Four smaller red buildings also provided extra storage, so far as he could tell.
Beside him was a cobbled well with several wooden barrels beside it. Behind the four extra buildings was a secondary white gate that led directly to the apple orchard. He struggled to keep his jaw from dropping to the floor at the immensity of the farm, and he knew he was probably missing out on at least some proportions. Shaking his head, he refocused on what he was here to do, and began searching the area for his orange pony employer.
After a closer look, he saw a peach tail sticking out of an open barn door, and began walking over. The dirt in the cleared area was soft and wet, failing to kick up any dust as he made his way to the barn. The sun had barely risen over the hills at this point, and if he had to guess, it was a quarter to seven. Early.
However, when he turned into the barn, he was greeted not by welcoming comments, but by four pairs of glaring eyes. One of them belonged to a familiar pony, the other three unfamiliar. One of them was a large red stallion with the same color mane and tail as Apple Jack’s fur, his booty mark a green apple with a slice taken out of it. He was giving him a chilling look over that made Ray shrink. The pony beside him, a pink unicorn with a curly grape mane and tail, was giving him a heated glare that made him feel like he’d done something bad. Her cutie mark was a cupcake with sprinkles around it.
And then there was the smallest one. She was giving him a disappointed, angry little glare with her bottom lip sticking out at him. Her hair was strawberry like the tall stallion’s fur and her coat was peachy yellow like AJ’s mane and tail. Her eyes were full of rage, like he’d just stolen her ice cream, and he immediately felt like he had to beg her forgiveness for whatever misdeed he’d done. How could he have dared disappoint such a cute being.
“Ya finally decided to show up,” Apple Jack said, bringing Ray’s attention back to her. “Yer so late, we might as well have started harvest season early so we could get some work done ‘round here.”
“Yup,” the stallion agreed. His voice was deep, like a bass drum that had learned to speak.
“We’ve been waiting for you so long,” the unicorn mare added, “that my cupcakes have probably burned!”
“Yeah,” the littlest one chimed, turning to Apple Jack. “you said he was trustworthy.”
“Well I thought he was,” the mare said, her brows falling deeper. “‘Parently I was wrong.”
Ray’s eyes widened as he took a step back from the intensity of the four pony’s glares. “I-I didn’t know what time to come,” he stammered. “We never set up a time, s-so I figured I would just come around at seven. It seemed early enough.”
“Well ya thought wrong,” Apple Jack yelled,her ear flicking in anger, making Ray wince. How had he really been so wrong? He hung his head in shame as he turned to leave, when he suddenly heard snickering behind him. Turning around, he saw a smile peeking out behind Apple Jack’s hoof. Looking around, he saw that the same story was playing out on the other three’s faces. Without even a moment of confusion, he pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Prank,” he asked.
“Prank,” Apple Jack confirmed, before guffawing with laughter. She was joined with what he assumed was her family, and begrudgingly, he joined in. When she had stopped, she spoke up. “Got’cha good, didn’t we?”
Ray nodded. “That was really good,” he complimented. “I didn’t think you the pranking type. That seemed to be more of Rainbow Dash’s thing.”
“I’m usually not th’ prankin’ type,” she responded with a wry grin, “but this was an opp’rtunity I just couldn’t ignore.”
“Yeah,” the youngest one grumbled, looking up at the human. “An opp’rtunity so good she had us all awake n’ down here at five in th’ mornin’ so we could pull it.”
“Ah, hush now, Apple Bloom,” Apple Jack said, turning over to the kid . “This just means y’all get that sleepover with th’ CMC ya’ve been pinin’ for.” She turned back to Ray with a grin. “Why don’t I give ya a tour of th’ farm before we get started? Just ta let’cha get ta know th’ place before ya start workin’ here full time.”
“Sure,” he agreed. It wouldn’t really do to get lost here on his first day on the job. He followed the orange pony out of the barn, where she stopped and turned back to him.
“Best if I introduce ya to th’ family first, though,” she said thoughtfully. She pointed to the large red stallion saying, “That there’s Big Macintosh, or Big Mac for short. He’s my older brother. Beside him’s his wife, Sugar Belle. Th’ little one’s my little sis Apple Bloom.” Apple Jack’s voice fell as she turned to one of the window sills, where a small headstone stood. “And that there’s Granny Smith. She passed away last month.”
There was a moment of silence from the family as they seemed to take a moment to remember their deceased kin. “I’m sorry,” he muttered. After a brief moment of hesitation, he bent down and gently rubbed the top of her head. She stiffened slightly, before relaxing into it.
“She raised us when Ma n’ Pa passed on,” she said to no one in particular. “Was always sweeter than the' jams she made us. Taught us better than any teacher could’ve. She had a good long life. She deserves peace.”
Taking a deep breath, Apple Jack turned back to Ray and gave him a small smile. “Thanks fer that,” she said. With another deep breath, she turned away from the grave. “Might as well continue.”
The tour was carried out with relative uneventfulness, and Ray tried to memorize every word that Apple Jack said. She also told him about Granny Smith’s history. How she had been one of the first settlers, how she had discovered zap apples, and how she had raised the Apple siblings. Every time Apple Jack began to become somber, he would rub her head to comfort her. She explained that zap apple season was a month before harvest season, which was a week after the traditional “Running of the Leaves”.
The work he was supposed to do today wasn’t actually related to harvest season. Apple Jack explained to him that every four years, they cut down ten acres of trees, and replant them. This way, the older trees wouldn’t become rotten and spread diseases among the other, younger trees, and newer trees could grow. Then, they would cut it into firewood and sell the extra as profit to new tools for the next season of harvest. Today, his main focus was on the furthest section from the farm, which was now almost seventy years old. He, AJ, and Big Mac would all be cutting trees while Sugar Belle and Apple Bloom were preparing for the zap apples.
When he actually got to it, the sun had now risen to the same level it had when he’d first been teleported to Ponyville. Talking a moment of solemn silence, he turned to the work he’d been given. The axe AJ had supplied him was the size of a hatchet in his hand, but it didn’t really affect his work. The trees, while maintaining the same size proportion that differed from his world’s, were still several feet taller than him. The bases were weak though, weaker than they were supposed to be even at their age, which wasn’t really that old in tree terms. Big Mac explained that it was from sixty five years of bucking, which made sense.
Swinging his miniscule axe with as much force as he could muster, he splintered the surface of the wood. On average, he found that it took seven swings to take down the trees, as even though they had thick trunks, they were weak until the very center. He worked faster than his pony associates, since they had to use their mouths to hold the axes, which greatly detracted from the total force they exerted. This made Ray feel proud that he was able to work quicker than his own employer(s?).
The work was relaxing, and he felt himself fall into a rhythm of chopping and dragging trees. His mind wandered away for a while, leaving him completely blank while he worked. There was a certain tranquility in his work, as he slowly began draining his energy into the trees he felled. Though he wouldn’t admit it out loud, he appreciated that none of the other ponies were close enough to converse with him. For the moment, it was just him in his own little world of swinging axes and falling trees.
Absentmindedly, he began to hum some music from home to the rhythm of the axe hitting the tree. After several more trees, he began to regret humming, as it began to disturb his peaceful working. Usually while he was working like this, he would have his phone in his pocket, listening to his mixes. Out here, it was just him and his pubescent vocals, which were nothing pretty. He chuckled as he imagined trying to actually sing some of his favorite Fall Out Boy songs. Actually, he thought to himself, grunting as he swung his axe into another heavy hit, it wouldn’t really be that bad.
Looking around quickly for anypony, he didn’t see anything living close enough to hear him. Slowly, he began to sing Centuries. Before he knew it, he was on the third verse, thinking about what song came next. Smiling as he finished the song, he switched to Light ‘Em Up, swinging in time to the rhythm. After what only seemed like a second, he began the next song, and the next and the next. Singing at the top of his lungs, he turned to the next tree, only to see a purple maned unicorn standing there.
“You a singer,” Sugar Belle asked, causing Ray to blush in embarrassment.
“Nah,” he admitted, looking down.
The unicorn simply shrugged. “Could’ve fooled me,” she said with a kind smile. “Now come on. We’re taking a lunch break.”
Ray followed Sugar Belle as she turned and began walking down a row of trees. He smiled as he looked around and saw the bright red fruit of the tree, ripe for the plucking, gleaming in the sun. As he caught up with her, he decided to start up some small talk with her.
“So,” he began eloquently. “You don’t seem to be very concerned with the fact that I’m not exactly a pony. Why is that?”
The pink pony giggled, before saying, “Well, before moving in with Big Mac, I lived in a village that had been taken over by a mare who took away everypony’s cutie marks so we could all be ''equal”. My older sister-in-law has saved Equestria about a dozen times and is one of the Elements, and my relationship with Mac was heavily influenced by the Lord of Chaos. I thought you were actually just some poor lost creature that Apple Jack was helping. I mean, I guess you could be some sort of reformed villain that AJ was helping out.” She bit down on her lip and looked up at Ray. “Are you a reformed villain?”
“No,” Ray denied, chuckling at that. “I guess I am some sort of lost creature. This is only my second day in Equestria.”
“So the music you were singing was from your country,” she concluded. “Where is it?”
“O-oh,” he muttered. “It’s nonexistent.”
“I’m sorry,” she said sweetly, looking like she didn’t know how to react to the news. Poor pony. She brightened up as they came out of the grove of trees to the back gate of the orchard. The others, including little Apple Bloom, were sitting on a picnic blanket, not unlike the one from yesterday. “Looks like we’re here. I made lunch cakes for everypony. Two for you, since I figured you’d have a bigger appetite.”
“Thanks,” he said, his stomach suddenly speaking up in agreement.
“Howdy, y’all,” Apple Bloom greeted, waving the two over. “You can sit by me, Mister Ray!”
Ray smiled at the filly’s excitement, and sat in a criss-cross position by the little pony. Looking down at his arms, he was pleasantly surprised to find them tanned instead of sunburned, like his shoulders. It was probably the fact that his mom’s parents were Native Americans, since he usually tanned on less extreme days. It also was in no small part due to the fact that Equestria’s sun seemed to be weaker than Earth’s.
Sugar Belle put a plate in front of him which carried two circular pastries on them. They were roughly the shape and size of his fist, with long strands of gold wrapping around the pastry. A sweet smell was emanating from it that made his stomach growl in anticipation. Grabbing the pastry, he took a bite from it, enjoying the texture and flavor as it took his mouth by force.
The outside of the pastry was crunchy and virtually flavorless, like thin, saltless pretzels. The inside was gooey and sweet, with a distinguishable apple flavor to it. He hummed in appreciation, chewing quickly so he could get another bite in. He briefly worried about having bad manners, but quickly dismissed it as he saw that the Apple siblings were eating in much louder and messier manner than him.
“Glad to see that you all like it,” Sugar Belle said, noting the other four’s ravenous eating.
“Whatja make it wif, shish,” Apple Bloom asked with her cheeks bulging with an enormous bite of the sweet.
“I mixed applesauce, flour, baking soda, a dash of salt, a little cinnamon, and some honey, then wrapped it with hay.”
“Ah,” Ray said in sudden realization. “That explains the crunchy.”
“Oh, sorry,” Sugar Belle apologized. “Is something wrong?”
“No no,” he reassured, holding up a hand. “It’s just that we humans don’t actually eat hay. We replace it with…”
He trailed off, not sure if he was completely comfortable with admitting the fact that humans were very much omnivores. The ponies seemed to understand, however, and let the topic be. They ate in silence for a while, allowing Ray to finish off his lunch before a conversation started up.
“Ya know, Ray,” Apple Jack said, breaking the ice, “there’s still a lot we don’t know about you.”
“I think I know less about you than you know about me,” he retorted lightly. “Sugar Belle told me that you were an Element and that you had saved Equestria some dozen times. Mind clarifying?”
Before he knew it, Apple Jack was going on in a long tale of how she and the others had met and defeated Nightmare Moon, then Discord, Chrysalis, Tirek, the Shadow Pony, the Storm King, Cozy Glow, and then the later and Tirek and Chrysalis. Sugar Belle had not been exaggerating when she had said that AJ had saved the world a dozen times. Apple Bloom would sometimes add some little tidbits in, while Mac and Sugar Belle silently listened, the mare leaning on her husband’s shoulder. Ray let a peaceful smile spread across his face as he listened, although his brow dipped at the mentions of the three villains who had formed a coalition that had nearly taken the land. He would have to ask Twilight for a better history of Equestria’s enemies.
“... And that’s basically it,” AJ concluded, looking up. “Whooee. Look at the time. We all better get back to work.”
The others nodded in agreement, and Ray turned to follow the two larger ponies as they went back into the orchard. He picked up his axe where he’d left it, resuming his steady working rhythm as the sun made its way across the sky. Before he knew it, he was back to quietly singing as he chopped down tree after tree. After what seemed like only minutes, he turned to find Apple Bloom smiling up at him from one of the trees.
“Apple Jack says ya can leave whenever ya want,” she said sweetly. He nodded, wiping the sweat off of his forehead as he sat down wearily. He had been working himself harder than he’d known, and now he was feeling it. His shoulders were sagging and his legs were feeling so light he worried that they might float away completely. Looking up at the sky, he saw that the sun was beginning its descent, although it had yet to touch the ground.
“How old’re ya?” A voice entered his head, and he turned in surprise to the inquiring pony. He had thought that the pony had left him once she’d delivered her message, but apparently he was wrong. She gave him another adorable little smile, and continued. “I didn’t mean ta impose, I was just wonderin’ ‘cuz ya seem so much older, but still look so young.”
“This may come as a surprise, but I’m fourteen.” The gasp that came from the filly was so large that Ray could’ve built a house on it. He chuckled at the thunderstruck look on the little pony’s face. He stood and began walking away to where the homestead lay, calling back, "Try not to leave your jaw on the ground.”
Apple Bloom galloped to catch up with him as he continued walking. After a brief second of stopping, he redirected his path to where he knew AJ was working. He figured it would probably be best to tell the pony himself he was leaving so there wouldn’t be any confusion. Apple Bloom had caught up to him surprisingly quick, and was now breathlessly looking up at him.
“Ya know what this means,” she asked excitedly. “It means we could be like siblings! I’m only eleven, and yer fourteen, so it’s only a three year diff’rence.” She gasped again, this time in revelation. “I should introduce ya to th’ others!”
“I’m sure I’d love to meet them,” he said kindly as AJ came into view. “But I already agreed with Rarity to go to her boutique to get new clothes, and by then, I don’t think I’ll have time. Maybe tomorrow?”
The filly deflated slightly, but still nodded her head eagerly. However, no sooner had she finished nodding her head then another gasp came from her, startling Ray.
“You said you were goin’ ta Rarity’s,” she asked. By now Apple Jack had noticed the two of them and had set her own axe down, trotting over. Ray decided that the quickest way to end the conversation was to go along with it, so he nodded. “Well that’s just swell! One of my friends lives there, so I can go meet with th’ other one, bring ‘em there, and we could all say hi and then have our sleep over. It’s perfect.”
“Sure does sound like it, sugarcube,” Apple Jack said, before tapping her chin in mock consideration. “Although, ya can’t do that if Ray’s still here.” Turning to him, she continued. “That is why y’all’re here, right. Leavin’.” Ray nodded. “Then why don’t’cha follow me.”
He did as Apple Bloom ran off to do some other task. After a couple of minutes of walking, they were back at the homestead. Apple Jack excused herself for a moment as she went inside to grab something. After only a few seconds, she was back out, a piece of paper in hoof. She rolled it out on one of the nearby barrels, displaying it. It looked pretty official, and even had a stamp on it from the town hall.
“What’s that,” he inquired nonchalantly.
“Contract of employment,” she answered factually. “It’s required fer all employment outside of institutions that aren’t family run. Some big scandal a few years back made it necessary. Just sign this and drop it off at town hall and ya’ll be all set ta go.”
He skimmed over the document, just so he was familiar with the work he was putting himself into. It was a six month contract, which was fairly good since that would put him into February of next year. There was one fact that slightly concerned him.
“Your name is spelt Applejack,” he asked.
“Yeah,” Applejack confirmed. “Why?”
“Well, it's just that I’ve been spelling it as Apple space Jack, not Applejack,” he explained.
Applejack simply shrugged. “It’s no big deal,” she reassured. Then, after a moment of looking around, she smacked herself on the forehead with a hoof. “Darn it, I forgot to grab a pen ‘r quill.”
“That’s fine,” he said. “I’ll just grab one at the town hall. By the way, what does the town hall look like?”
“Big circle building in th’ center of town,” she replied. “I need to get back to work. Lots to do before harvest.”
She turned and began trotting away, and Ray took his own leave, grabbing the paper before ducking under the arching gateway out. His weak legs made him decide that running was not an option, so he began to walk steadily through the trees. The return to the town was at least three times slower than his exit of it, but that was fine by him. Instead, he was able to watch the setting sun over the distant mountains as he walked down the soft dirt road. Overall, he felt that his first day on the job had been a success.
He hadn’t counted exactly how many trees he’d felled, but he was estimating around a hundred. They were just so easy to cut down that he had actually found the work easy. Tiring, sure, but not so much that he was mind-numbed. After what only seemed like a couple seconds, he found himself leaving the orchard and entering the rolling, grassy hills. He took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air. By now, the sun had touched down on the mountains, which meant nightfall was soon to come.
He picked up his pace as he entered the town, receiving strange glances from ponies. He returned them with warm smiles to confirm that, no, he wasn’t here to ransack their town. As he reached the center of the town, he looked around and found the hall near instantly. The building was two circular stories tall, with balconies wrapping all around it. There were pink windows on fifty percent of the building's cream exterior walls, with even the double doors being pink. The spired top was velvet colored and had a small view point at the very top.
As he began to ascend the birch steps to the hall, the double doors opened inward, revealing two ponies. One of them was the familiar sea green figure of Emerald Joy, who was excitedly speaking to her partner, a beige, spectacle wearing mare with a white and gray mane and tail. The senior’s- he was guessing that age was the reason for the color of her hair- cutie mark was a scroll wrapped in a blue ribbon.
“Speak of the devil and he shall appear,” Emerald suddenly said ecstatically. Her face fell and she looked hesitant for a moment. “Not that I think you’re evil or anything, it’s just…”
“Expression. I get it.” Ray gave his acquaintance a smile, then looked over to the side where her companion was gaping up at him. “How do you, ma’am?”
“Fine, thank you,” she said. Her voice sounded a little like when country and class meshed. Turning to Emerald, she asked, “Is this the human you were talking about.”
“Yes, he is,” she confirmed with a warm smile in Ray’s direction. “What’cha doin’ here, Ray?”
Holding up the document, he said, “I need to get this accounted for, since I’m workin’ for the Apple family.”
“The Apple family, eh,” the other mare said. “Good family. I can get that documented for you right here. My name is Mayor Mare, mayor of Ponyville. I hope I speak for the entire town when I say that you’re welcome here. You’ll just need to sign that for me.”
“Right,” Ray said in realization. “I need a pen or something.”
“Come inside,” Mayor Mare insisted, gesturing to him to follow her inside. He followed, noticing that EJ- short for Emerald Joy in his head- had stayed behind. She quickly told him that she had to go, and turned and dashed away. As he entered, he suddenly found a pen being held out to him from a beige hoof. Smiling at the speed of the pony, he took the black and gold embroidered pen. Finding a desk, he did a quick readthrough of the document. Not that he didn’t trust AJ, she was the fricken Element of Honesty, after all, he just wanted to make sure she wasn’t unfair to herself.
Finding the document agreeable for both sides, he clicked the pen open and went in to sign it. However, he paused as he read something over it.
Full name please.
He stared down at it for several seconds, unsure of what to do. Did his last name even matter in this world? How would it hold any meaning amongst these ponies? Even if it did, what did it matter? His family was now non-existent. Or was he?
After almost a minute, he signed it. Raymond S. Deang.
He stood up and handed the paper to the mayor, before silently walking out of the room. What was his name here? Walking silently through the town, he found himself watching two foals running through the street. The sun glistened off the cobbles of the street, giving the impression that they were galloping on tiny stars. They laughed joyously as they continued their game, youthful innocence radiating from their grinning faces. Ray stopped walking as he watched them clatter down the street.
For a moment though, he didn’t see two foals running through the street like any other day. Instead, he saw two pieces of bloody fur splattered on the ground.
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a little foreshadowing at the end there
10227742
Uuuummmmmm, I DON'T know. But, I SEEN some RARE Stories that go up to OVER A MILLION!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please Don't, for your sake. Plus, I don't know HOW you can get this up to a million, BECAUSE Ray would PROBABLY get EASILY SLAUGHTERED, and the Ponies and other Equis Creatures EXTINCT!!!!!! All Because of Twilight's MAJOR STUPIDLY, for NOT getting Militaristic Professional's like the USA Military. Or even get Displaced Cosplayers with Video Game or Anime Powers.
The ONLY WAY Ray SURVIVED this, is a BIG Deus Ex Machina Magic or Super Power to kick the Minotaur's Butts!!!!!!!!
10235803
Only? Well, I'd hate to pull a Deus Ex Machina. Also, I can easily make this into over a million. My plan is to release every Friday, but do as much typing as I can before school restarts so I don't fall behind. The entire thing about this is, Ray is the most eligible character because {spoilers} and because he isn't a cynic. Try to imagine for even a moment a five star general helping a bunch of 18 inch tall ponies save their planet. The point is that there is no possible way for any one man to take on this force, and as all comments have shown, most would just give up. The difference is Raymond will still fight.
10235956
SERIOUSLY!!!!!!!!! you want, and can make a MILLION Words in this story!!!??? DAMN, You're Persistent and have Determination. I Respect that. And when School Restarts?????!!!!!! But, the Pandemic Corona Virus is still here and HOW does that work????
And YES, I can imagine that a Five Star General, or a Colonel, Captain, Commander, Major, Lieutenant, Admiral, Etc.. They will DEFINITELY WIN. Because I SEEN a lot of USA Military, or other Countries Military in MLP Crossover Fics KICK Ass and are Successful, So Far. 🇺🇲 🇺🇳
And when you say "NO Possible Man to take on the Minotaurs???? *AHEM* Master Chief, Doom Slayer, Dante, Alex Mercer, James Heller, John Wick, Kratos, Asura, Goku, Vegata, Naruto, Fairy Tail, Luffy and his Pirate Crew, Any Resident Evil Heroes, Agent 47, The Justice League, Teen Titans, Young Justice, The Avengers, X Men, Fantastic Four, Deadpool, BJ Blazkowicz, Duke Nukem, The Autobots, TF2 Mercenaries, Overwatch Heroes, Titanfall Pilots and Titans, Skylanders, Delta Squad form Gears of War, Darksiders Four Horsemen, Undertale, Etc..
I KINDA went to Far, but the point is, THEIR are Human Super Heroes, Soldiers, Hitmans, Mercenaries, and even Alien or Good Monster Heroes from Video Games, Anime, Shows, Movies, can HANDLE and EASILY DEFEAT the Minotaurs.
And for Raymond to STILL Fight, IF I was their with him in Equestria. I just Say to him: " ARE YOU F***** INSANE, AND SUICIDAL MANIAC!!!!!!!!! "
One: You aren't from the Military, NO Guns, NO War Vehicles like Tanks, Jets, and Battleships. No Close Corner Combat, Karate, Kung Fu, or Knight, Ninja, Viking, and Samurai Training. NO MISSILES OR NUKE!!!!!!!
Two: You are facing POSSIBLY MILLIONS To even BILLIONS of Barbarian, Viking Type 6ft-8ft Minotaurs with TONS of Weapons, Tactics (I Think???), Medieval Type War Machines, and NO PRISONERS, NO MERCY MIDESETS!!!!!!!!!
Three: You DON'T have Anime Powers, Magic, Super Soldier Body, Advanced Weapons, Vehicles, suit of Armor, or EVEN have the OP One Man Army Power like Master Chief, Doom Slayer, John Wick, Kratos, Etc. So, Ray has a 3,720,000,000 to 1 on Winning!!!!???? (Star Wars C-3P0 Quote, but put it in the Billions!!!)
I'm VERY SORRY. But, unless Ray SOMEHOW got Anime Powers like KI, Charka, Magic, A Giant Robotic Suit like a Titan, Gundam or Power Ranger, Super Soldier Serum, Superior Weapons like Guns, Alien Plasma Rifles, Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter Fighting, ETC...
Then, I'm TOTALLY UNCONVINCED, that Ray (Being a Normal Human with One Year Training and WEAK Weapons) could have Win the War.
10236083
Sure, Master Chief and whatnot could win... if they were real. Despite this being fictitious, I try to go with some realism. Will Ray get some gnarly Anime powers...….. maybe. One of the key things you're forgetting is that Twilight could only take one thing from Earth before cutting of the Equine dimension from other dimensions, so taking an entire army over, or even only several objects, would be impossible. You're also forgetting that I, the author, knows exactly how this story goes, and has taken painstaking measures to cover up plotholes, Also, we're only 8 chapters into the story! Although it is cute to see you freakin out over all this, I'm can't answer everything, lest spoiling occurs. Also, I believe I said any ONE man, not team.
10236096
So basically ONLY the REAL World, and MLP exist in this Story. NO Dragon Ball, Halo, Star Wars , DC Comics, Marvel, Naruto, ETC. Just Fiction!!!??? Well Crap, that REALLY SUCKS. And Twilight ONLY being One Person. She could have NOT bring a High Ranking MILITARY Leader, or Tactician, or Weapon Scientist. Or even 1 NUKE to use!!!??? I get it, it's dangerous. But, she was "Watching" right. She could have seen are BEST AND DANGEROUS Weapons. And she could have killed MOST of the Minotaurs in ONE SHOT!!!!!
And you think with me freaking me out is Funny??!! Har Har!!!
🙄 But I do have a BIG, AND GOOD REASON to Freak Out like that. Despite Ray Being the Main Character. WHY does Twilight THINK he is Special???!!! He is just a Normal Guy like you and me. But, him and his family has MAJOR Mental Issuses and High Risk of SUICIDE for SOME REASON!!!??? Does he have Destiny or Fate, like a Chosen One???
I'M NOT INSULTING Mentality Challenged People. I actually Pity them.
And Ray having that, I got a BIG question. WHY????!!!!!
Why can' he just be a Normal Guy and have a Normal Family??!! I mean, HE ALMOST KILLED HIMSELF, Because he thinks his life DOESN'T MATTER any more. ALL because of Twilight being a TOTAL DICK AND BITCH!!!!
If I was there and heard that. I just blow her Wings and Horn with a Shotgun Blast!!!! I DON'T CARE of the Consequences for that, what she did is Unforgivable!!!😠😠😠 😈😈😈 Please, I hope AFTER ALL OF THIS, with the War. That Twilight get MAJOR Punishment and Karma, I DON'T CARE SHE HELPED SAVE EQUESTRIA!!!!!!! She is terrible and should PAY with the Consequences!!!!
P.S. I know, but those Teams DID take down ENTIRE ARMIES!!!
10236132
Something I wish to make clear is that Ray is having crap happen to him because he's the main character. He's the main character because this crap is happening to him. Sure, it might be more dramatic than what other people would have happen to them, but thinking about it, every person would go through some of what Ray went through by being thrown in a new world. And sure, she brings one nuke back. How's she gonna launch it? how will she set up guidance systems to the correct spot. Yeah, I do think you freakin out is cute, because it shows that I made a main character people care about. It makes me smile to see your frivolous worries. You will find out eventually why Ray has problems, but in the meantime, be patient. Twilight will be punished.
10236142
Well okay, it's just to ME. Being the Main Character DOESN'T have to have your Life FRICKIN Suck. It can have Good Childhood and Life on Earth too. NOT EVERY Protagonist has to have a tragic past. Until they go to Equestria. I actually do have a Mental Condition, But just HATE Life Threatening Conditions like Suicide, Insanity, PTSD, and Major Depression. I'm a Optimistic kind of Guy. 🙂
With the NUKE Problem. Well, she is using a Magic Ball to see Ray's Past and Family like a T.V. Screen. COULD have just "looked" into the War History on how a NUKE is made back then, how it is launched in the History Books. And look in the U.S.A or Russia Government's Launch Codes for just ONE NUKE to Launch. BUT, it's just my opinion to use Our Major Super Weapons. I just like our Weapons used for Good and look Badass in this Fics.
And it did sound Rude to laugh at my Freak Out Mode. 😒
And I'm NOT Jealous or hate that the Main Character is likable. I'm NOT exactly into the Mary Sue and Gary Sue trope. I just like OP Characters, and having some flaws or Weakness is fine. The MAIN problem is I PITY Ray for facing a VERY IMPOSSIBLE TASK!!!!!! He only has ONE YEAR to Train. He doesn't have No Future Guns, Anime Powers, or Magic to help him.
And I do like to learn on why Ray has Mental Issues. It's just I freak out that EVERYONE on his Family have the Life Threatening Mental Issues!!!!! 😵😵😵
And I hope you SURPRISED Me and Everyone here on WHAT TYPE of Karma Punishment for Twilight!!! 😈😈😈😈😈
I'm FINALLY STOP commenting for this story. I just want to wait until Ray SOMEHOW got Super Powers, Weapons, or Armor, and see how he fair against the Brutal Minotaurs.
10236181
I never implied that the main character was hated by you, nor did I mean to be rude in smiling at you. Twilight says that she went into his world to view it, so I always imagined (and thought made clear) that she saw it like in that one episode when she's tryin to figure out what to do with Starlight and keeps having panic attacks. That way, only she saw it. Also, not everyone has mental issues. Mom and dad are just stressed and would feel like they don't have a purpose without their children, just like a certain somepony...
Seriously though, sorry if I sounded rude.
10236083
you have to specify BJ Bazkowicz the first as Doom Slayer is BJ Blazkowicz the 3rd or the 4th canonically yes he is doomguy which is specified in Doom Eternal and doomguy is in The Blaskowitz line which explains why he's so damn badass and so powerful considering his how many great-grandfather
10402396
Also Commander Keen is in his family line too
1) when did he have to spell her (Applejack's) name?
2) the mane 6 are, at oldest 17. So 14 would be an adult
3) you have a great story that I'll add more comments on soon.
10542968
He learning to spell AJ's name correctly is kinda like the prologue to an eventual inclusion of something that Ray's in. I won't tell you what because I don't know if you've read Ado/aptions yet, but you'll understand once you get there. Also, it's introducing him more to the culture of the ponies, where there aren't necessarily last names, but familiar family names.
I don't know exactly the correct timeline to there age, but in my head cannon, Rainbow Dash was the youngest of the Mane 6 in the first season, at 17. This story takes place five years later, because there are four years over the nine season, and then a year afterwards. Rarity and Applejack were the oldest at 20, Fluttershy next at 19, and Twilight and Pinkie Pie were 18. That's my head canon and the timeline in this story.
Thank you very much for the compliments and for comments. Really is refreshing to receive them. I'm glad you enjoy this story so much!
Oof..... ya know, that actually kinda hurts.... I honestly like how a lot of stories portray Granny, reminds me of my own grandmother..... I've been reading fics for nearly 6 years, 3 of which have included fimfiction..... and yet this is only the second story I've read that has had her die.....
10987487
There are times when characters need to be let go, and considering she was already "ancient" in the original series, I wanted to give her a quite passing, a peaceful death, if you will, for viewers before the many violent ones in this story.
10236083
Hey, so I was just rereading our conversations and found this part, and I'm not sure if I clarified it enough, so I'll add on a little.
I don't like being "other MLP fics". It feels like I'm stealing other people's ideas and mostly just giving out fanservice. I know a lot of people enjoy reading and writing those types of stories, however, this isn't a story about a military personnel kicking ass. At the start of every great general, it's their asses getting busted. I've already written in chapters further down the line about Twilight's want for Ray to become an unstoppable force, not already be one. If you came to watch our protagonist kick ass and make great sacrifices, I'm sorry to say this isn't the right story for that, and that's okay.
I write unique and new stories, sometimes that work and sometimes that don't and it's just my way of writing. I don't necessarily care about what people negatively think about my stories, because when I look at the number rating, all I see is that 110 people genuinely enjoyed my story, and that's enough. This isn't for everyone, and I understand that. It's cruel, unfair, dark, analytical, and frankly long. It has it's rough parts; I know cuz I wrote them. This is what I feel like a realistic depiction of a worse case scenario for Twilight would be, and the results of such drastic actions and reactions. If you don't feel like it's accurate, I'm glad to hear it. If everybody thought and enjoyed the same things, we would never write more than one book.
Overall, looking back over a year after all of these questions, I'm glad you asked them, because it helped me clarify better the development of both Ray and Twilight as characters, and forced me to become more detailed with their experiences to make the whole situation more believable. I hope that you didn't stop reading this story, because after so long, many of these questions are being answered, or further fleshed out. If you did, that's unfortunate, but not my choice. Anyways, thanks for all of this. I really enjoyed coming back and rereading these comments and having to answer the questions more thoroughly after having written down more. See you out there!