Chapter 1: Arriving in Ponyville
Hey there. I'm Moon. I'm a pegasus with the same coat, mane, and tail colors as princess Luna, except my mane and tail don't flow on a cosmic wind.
Oh, and I'm a stallion. I'm also physically fit, which is why i'm going to Sweet Apple Acres to hopefully get a job there.
So, my backstory. I had a loving family. My mom is Princess Luna, and my daily caretaker is Princess Celestia.
I own my own apple orchard, which is about 150 apple trees. I run it all myself. It's called The Apple Hoarders. The harvest, business, everything. I have my own way of harvesting all the apples myself, But Canterlot has no need of my apples anymore, so i'm giving up my orchard. I'm planning to go to Ponyville and work at Sweet Apple Acres, to help out the apple family. My mom and Celestia know i'm planning to move, and gave me 100 bits to start off.
The way I harvest the apples is I run really fast, where the wind blows the apples off the trees and into the buckets, then I move all the buckets in to the large storage barn. I consider myself the fastest in Equestria, but I don't brag about it so the news won't get to Rainbow Dash, proclaimed fastest flyer in Equestria. I don't want to deal with her ego. So far, it's only myths in the news.
Anyway, I was walking home from work, when I saw a lone paper on the ground. As the recycler I am, I picked it up, and realized it was a help wanted ad for Sweet Apple Acres.
'I've been waiting for and opening for ages! I picked up the paper and hurried home to pack for the trip to Ponyville.
And I walked, for exercise. And it saves money.
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I'm walking down a trail in the Everfree forest, when I suddenly stop at a fork in the road and think, 'how did I even get here? I was walking down a road from Canterlot, and suddenly, I'm here! Well, the past is the past. Can't dwell too much on it.'
During my internal exclamation, two fillies managed to stop in front of me without me noticing. When I came back to, I noticed them, about a foot away from me.
I jumped, but managed not to yelp in surprise as the the two stood there, unmoving.
One is pink with a purple mane and white highlights and blue eyes, where the other is grey with a light grey mane, and an even greyer highlight with purple eyes, and her mane was done up in braids.
I was about to mark them down as statues when the pink pony asked in a girly voice,"who are you? You're not a little colt."
when I realized they weren't statues, I asked them,"where's Sweet Apple Acres?"
The grey one turned around and pointed to the path on the left. I nodded my thanks to her and headed down the left path.
In a few minutes, I came across fenced in apple trees. I also saw an orange mare with blond hair bucking trees.
When I saw her cutie mark of three apples, I realized that this is my destination.
I trotted to the entrance to Sweet Apple Acres, and met Big Macintosh, or Big Mac, for the job interview.
He told me that if I wanted to help around here, I would have to buck a tree and show my strength. I had my own apple orchard, so I got all the apples first try.
He just nodded. I asked in an excited voice," so did I get the job?"
"Eeyup," he answered with a nod. He held out his hoof for me to shake.
I gladly shook it and asked,"So, when do I start?"
He told me to help Applejack in the south field. I headed off to the south field and contemplating whether to tell Mom if I got the job or not.
When I got there, I had decided to tell her in a letter.
I saw Applejack with a cart full of apples and I decided to help her by pushing the cart. She noticed the change in weight, and looked back at me.
"What're you doin'?" she asked me.
"Big Mac told me to help you, so I'm helping you." She kept staring at me for a few seconds while I sat down and waited patiently.
"Well, can you carry all these apples back to the barn?"She asked.
"fast or slow?" I replied, knowing my own speed.
"Slow. I don't want any apples left behind. We're behind as it is."she warned me.
I nodded while she removed the harness. I got in the harness and headed off to the barn in a trot. I looked back and noticed Applejack following me, looking at the cart. 'Probably to see if any apples fall out,, I thought.
I looked back at the path and continued my trek to the barn. I started thinking up ways to write my letter to mom. When I finished my thought letter, we were already at the barn. I removed the harness, and looked back at Applejack for approval.
"Well i'll be, most who tried out lost at least one apple, But you didn't drop any!" The cowgirl exclaimed with a disbelieving tone. I smiled as that fueled my pride as a fellow apple farmer.
"With you workin' for us, i'll bet we'll finally beat the apple hoarders!"
My smile faltered as she said that, but I managed to keep it. After all, I was the sole owner of The Apple Hoarders.
"Come on! We've gotta hurry if we're gonna bring in more apples than The Apple Hoarders! Yeehaw!" She exclaimed as she ran off to the south field. With no one around, I dropped the smile and thought,' with her hatred for The Apple Hoarders, how will I tell her that I was the sole owner from the beginning?'. I began to contemplate that as I headed off to my recently acquired home to rest up for work tomorrow.
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It was midnight when I got home,so I went to my room upstairs, that had a desk to the left of the doorway. I got a piece of parchment and a quill, and started to write.
"Dear Mom,
I got the job! It turns out I was the best to try out for the job. You remember my old orchard, right? The Apple Hoarders? Well, turns out Applejack hates The Apple Hoarders. She said that with me, we'll surely outdo The Hoarders. That makes
sense because she has way more apple trees than me, but being the old owner, i'm not sure how I feel about that.
I hope you have some advice for me. I love you!
Love,
Moon
After I finished my letter, I heard a knock at the door. I wondered who would still be up this late at night. When I opened the door, I saw a pink pony with a curled mane that was a darker pink. As soon as I opened the door, Pinkie Pie began spouting questions at me. I held up my hoof, signaling her to stop.
"What do you want?" I asked, clearly annoyed. I saw Twilight Sparkle behind her, wanting to meet me.
"WellyouranewponyintownandifyournewthatmeansyournotmyfriendandimfriendswitheveryoneinPonyvillesoithoughtifyoutnewinPonyvillethenyouneedawelcometoPonyvillepartybutfirstwillyoubemyfriend?" She asked all in one breath.
"Pinkie, you know he won't understand you!" she scolded.
I smirked and proved her wrong."Why yes Pinkie, I would love to be your friend and pray tell, when is this party?" I looked over at Twilight, who was staring at me, open-mouthed. I looked back at Pinkie.
"Awesome! And the party is right now, at Sugarcube Corner!" She gestured at me to follow her and said,"come on!" She moved while I walked out and shut the door. She bounced off while I followed her. I took a few steps and looked back at Twilight, smirk still on my face."Are you coming?"
She blushed as her mouth shut, and just nodded at me. I turned and followed Pinkie once more, this time with Twilight following me.
She cleared her throat and said,"I'm -- "I interrupted her.
"Twilight Sparkle?" I guessed.
"Y-yes, how did you know?" she asked.
"The princesses talk very much about you and your friends," I said.
"What?!" She exclaimed."You know the princesses?" If she didn't want to be my friend before, she definitely does now.
"Yeah!" I answered." In fact. Princess Luna is my mom." She stopped walking, and so did I.
"What?!" She yelled. She started bowing."I-i'm so sorry, I-i didn't know!"
"It's fine, you don't need to bow. Just treat me as any other pony." I told her.
She got up and blushed."Oh! Sorry!" She smiled nervously. We started to head to the party once again.
"It's alright. I just don't want to be treated like royalty, is all. Say, maybe your friends will want to know my mom?" I asked in a playful manner.
She started looking around, at anything except me."Well, I would think so!" She exclaimed loudly." After all, you are the son of -- " I quickly stuck my hoof in her mouth to get her to stop talking.
"Shh! I don't want anyone else to know!" I whispered harshly.
She stared at the ground and whispered,"Sorry."
"It's alright. It's not like I would stop being your friend over a slip-up." We stopped in front of Sugarcube Corner.
She looked at me, surprised."Y-you consider us friends?" She changed from being surprised to hopeful.
"Of course! You were one of the first to greet me, and mom speaks very highly of you and your friends," I said with a smile.
She smiled and said,"Well,we're here! let's go inside."
I opened the door and proceeded in. I looked around the pitch black room."I thought she said it was -- " I was interrupted by the lights turning on and a bunch of ponies jumping out of their various hiding spaces, yelling "SURPRISE!" I jumped back in surprise and fear, barely keeping in my yelp.
Just then, Pinkie jumped out from her hiding spot and Yelled,"SURPRISE! Aw shoot, was I too late?" Me and Twilight both chuckled. ponies started milling around the room, while music played in the background.
"Come on! Let's meet my friends." Twilight started off towards her friends, who were grouped up around a table, in the corner of the sweet shop.
When we got there, I instantly recognized Applejack.
"Hey Applejack! Nice seeing you here." I put on a nervous smile, hoping she doesn't know about my previous job/occupation.Twilight started introducing me to her friends.
"that's Fluttershy, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash!" She pointed at at each mare, respectively. Each said hello as they were introduced. Rainbow Dash saw that I was a Pegasus, and asked," So, you want to be my friend? you've gotta race me first."
I was hoping to keep my speed on the down low, but I had to be her friend, I just had to.
I lowered my head and sighed."fine. Canterlot and back?" I asked.
"Sure! Let's do this!" We headed outside. "Three...twonego!" She said quickly and dashed off. I smirked and flew way faster than her to Canterlot and back. I sat down in front of Sugarcube Corner, waiting for the rainbow-maned mare.
About five seconds later she landed, her back to me."hah! I won!" She boasted. I cleared my throat, and she turned to face me."W-what? H-how? How are you f-faster than me?" She stuttered. I just shrugged."Well, I won. So does that mean we're friends?" I asked, the hope obvious in my voice.
"Only if you teach me how to do that! And don't tell any one I l-lost..." she blushed, looking at the ground.
I instantly agreed."Okay! I'll teach you!" We headed back in for the rest of the party.
"So who won?" Pinkie asked, hopping up and down.
"Me," I answered. everyone went quiet while Pinkie stopped hopping. My smirk went away and I asked,"What? is it something I said?"
Everypony was quite for a moment.
Fluttershy broke the silence by asking,"How?"
I looked at her and answered with,"Well, I've had lots of practice doing... stuff." I decided to tell Applejack about me owning The Apple Hoarders directly."That being said, Applejack?" She looked up and hummed. "You know The Apple Hoarders, right?"
"Darn right I do! They've been takin' away mah business, leavin' us with less bits to run the farm!"
After her little rant, I took a deep breath and told her."Well... I'm the owner of them. The sole owner."
I closed my eyes, and braced for her to yell at me, but it never came. I cracked open an eye, only to see her looking down at the table in anger.
As I opened my eyes fully, Her expression softened as she looked up to me and said in disbelief,"You? How can one pony run an entire orchard? The harvest would take a few days,at least, maybe even more!"
I told her my technique. After I finished, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rainbow Dash stare at me, a more disbelieving look than the other ponies. I decided to break the ice and say,"I may have run an entire orchard by myself, but that isn't a reason not -- "I stopped talking as I realized the music stopped and everypony at the party was staring at me. I blushed and smiled nervously, looking around at all the ponies staring at me.
"Um...hi?"I nervously asked the ponies. They just kept staring. I slowly got off my chair and backed up towards the door, the ponies staring at me the whole way. I turned and dashed out, losing my smile as I was heading back home. I ran in, shut the door behind me, and flopped onto my couch. I grabbed a pillow and started crying into it.' Will they not like me anymore? will Twilight not be my friend? will Ponyville shun me?'I cried harder into my pillow. After a while, I stopped crying. I went outside, closing the door behind me, and stared up at the moon.
'At least I still have mom and Princess Celestia! That's good...right?' I continued staring at the moon for a few seconds longer, until I reluctantly tore my eyes from the beauty of the moon. I went back inside my house and into the kitchen to make dinner as I realized I haven't eaten dinner yet. I made a salad with daisy petals sprinkled on top. I got a fork from my silverware drawer. As I was eating, I began thinking of all the friendships I probably just lost. I was snapped out of my stupor after hearing a knock at the door.
I opened the door to see the cross-eyed mailmare, smiling, in the light of the sun.'She's actually kind of cute, the way she wears her mailmare cap, tilted a bit on the side of her head.''
"Letter for you!" She said happily as she held her hoof out holding a letter, not a care in the world.
Before she left, I smiled and asked her if she was at the party.
She nodded and said," Yeah! It was a great party!"
My smile wavered as I asked," So you heard what happened at Sugarcube Corner?" Hopefully, she didn't hear about what happened, and we could be friends.
She lost her smile as she answered."Yeah." I lost my smile as I looked at the ground, all hope of befriending her lost. She smiled again."But we could still be friends!"
When I heard that, I got my hope and smile back. "Really?" I asked, hoping this wasn't a trick.
"Yeah! Maybe we could meet at Sugarcube Corner during my lunch break?" She asked hopefully.
My smile widened as I agreed right away, excitement forming my words. "Yes Definitely! I would love to meet you during lunch!" I nodded furiously for a few seconds.
She turned to leave. As she was leaving, she yelled over her shoulder,"It's a date!"
As she flew away, I was smiling nervously, blushing furiously, thinking that it might very well be a date in the future.
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As lunch rolled around, I was done with my assignments. I rushed home to get ready for the meet up. I brushed all the knots out of my mane and tail, and brushed my teeth very thouroughly. I looked at myself in the mirror.'Perfect,'I thought.
I had forgotten about the letter, and quickly read it.
Dear Moon,
I'm glad to hear thy has gotten the job! I'll hopefully visit you tonight to congratulate you.
I hope to see you soon!
Love,
Mom
I smiled as I read the letter. Looks like I would be meeting my mom tonight. My clock rung, signaling it was lunch time. I rushed out the door and to Sugarcube Corner.
As I made it to Sugarcube Corner, I saw the mailmare enter the sweet shop, not in uniform.'Come to think of it, we don't know each others names.' I waited for her to fully enter the shop, then I walked over and into the shop. I looked around and saw her at a table near the counter.
I sat down in the seat across from her, and greeted her."Hi!" The mailmare smiled at seeing me.
"So first things first. I didn't quite catch your name last time we met. Would you mind telling me?" I asked.
"Oh, my name is Ditzy Doo, but you can call me Derpy."She replied." What's your name?"She asked.
"My name is moon," I answered her."So, you're a mailmare?" I missed her answer as I was daydreaming of her in her uniform.
"Hello?" I heard the mailmare ask worridly."Are you okay?" She asked.
I snapped out of it."Y-yeah, sorry. I-i'm fine." I stuttered. She sighed in relief.
"Good. I didn't want to lose my friend the first day we met. So where do you work?"
"I work at Sweet Apple Acres. I'm helping Applejack and Big Mac harvest apples." I said, a hint of pride in my voice.
"That's pretty cool! I wish I had a cool job like yours." She looked at the table and sighed." But i'm just a stupid mailmare."
When she said that, I got triggered." No, your job isn't horrible! it's awesome! You get to meet many different people and make a bunch of friends! And you get such a cute uniform!"When I realized what I just said, my eyes widened and I blushed deeply."N-no wait! I-I meant you're cute!" My blush intensified." Argh! N-no, I meant, uhh..." I sighed in defeat." Okay, I give up. What I really meant was.. Y-you're cute!" I nervously smiled.'I hope she likes me too.' She was quiet for a few seconds, staring at the table, deep in thought.
After a while of silence, my smile wavered."D-do you n-n-not like m-me?" I managed to get out. I stared at her, hoping what I said wasn't true.
"I.." She hesitated. "I... l-like you too?" She started smiling nervously and blushed deeply too. I surprised her with a sudden hug, while nuzzling her neck with my eyes closed. Her blush deepened greatly."U-um... can we not? I-in public I mean."
I realized what I just did and opened my eyes wide. I blushed deeper and released her and quickly sat back."S-sorry. I was just so happy you said yes!" I happily exclaimed, my smile filled with happiness.
Just then, Pinkie arrived at our table." Good morning, Moon and Derpy. May I take you order?" I realized we haven't even eaten yet.'That's a new record!'
"Oh. Well, I'll just have a vanilla cupcake with apple frosting." Apple cupcakes have always been my favourite.
As Pinkie wrote down my order, Derpy placed her order."I'll have the same as Moon."
The energetic mare wrote her order down, ad dashed off into the kitchen.
"So, Derpy. Are we going to keep our relationship a secret? Or will we tell everyone?" I asked.
She thought for a few seconds. "Well, I don't want anyone bothering us on our days out..." She trailed off.
I got the message."So we won't tell them." I was silent for a few seconds before looking at the clock. it read 12:50. Just then, Pinkie arrived with our food. I nodded to her in thanks, and ate quickly. After I finished my cupcake, I told Derpy what time it was.
She was finishing her cupcake as her eyes widened." Oh no! I have to hurry!" She wolfed the rest of the cupcake down. Before she left, she smiled at me and told me," Bye, Moon! I had a wonderful time!Let's do this again sometime! Maybe here, after work today?"
"Sure. See you -- wait, I almost forgot, my mom is visiting me tonight. You wouldn't mind meeting her, would you?" I asked.
"No, I don't mind! see you then! bye!" She launched out the door, leaving a dust trail in her wake. I looked at the swinging door and waved.