Honesty

I woke up early again. My success with Rarity led me to the conclusion that I might have a better chance at having my plan succeed than I originally thought. Whether I finally died and went to some sort of heaven, or my insanity had reached its peak, I ended up in a world where everyone was kind and accepting. With enough hard work, even I could eventually be accepted.

Lying in bed I went through the list of my friends. Applejack seemed like someone I could get along with, and I made gaining her acceptance my next goal.  I got up quickly, wanting to surprise Applejack with my sudden appearance and gain her approval though hard work; I assumed that an extra hand on her farm might not go unnoticed.

I stopped in the middle of cooking...well experimenting, with breakfast and had to think about my plan. I wanted to solidify my relationship with my new found friends and I was willing to do that through any means necessary. But, "was it worth it? Will I ever be able to get them to look past my oddity?"

I snapped at myself. "Of course it was worth it. Just the past loneliness talking, hell I should use my difference here to my advantage. Sure I was different and to them, quirky, but that didn’t have to be a bad thing. I had my desirable traits, and my form did give me advantages over others. I was after all someone who would value acceptance more than anyone else.

"Besides." I concluded. I could use the extra exercise to stay in shape if I ever want to keep up with Applejack and Dash. I didn’t have a chance to pick up on my exercising since I got here, and I was beginning to see my physique as something that could leverage a good image of me onto the town. I hastily put on my new, comfortable work clothes and set out with a full stomach and a clear conscience.

It was warm today, and a slight breeze dragged along a few leaves along the ground. The streets were empty. Good, no one to side step me this morning. I realized I was up earlier than I was yesterday, and hoped that I could make it to her farm before the bulk of her work would start. I traveled in what I hoped was the general direction of her farm. Everything was still relatively new to me, and I absorbed as much scenery as I could. I stopped my brisk pace as something caught the corner of my eye. I took a few steps backwards and tried to see what could grab my attention in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere.

It was an apple tree, no doubt worth my attention as its position seemed odd and out of place. It was a single eye catching oddity, surrounded by many bland oak trees. I drew nearer, captivated by my curiosity and the nagging thought that this was way to coincidental considering my destination.

I discarded any childish thoughts of a trap and walked toward the tree, my curiosity peeking. I stopped short of the tree, just before a small flower bed of very pretty blue flowers. Oddly enough they seemed to surround the tree, as if they were in a guarding it, like there was something that they dared no one to touch. I ignored them at the moment, but didn’t edge any closer. I wanted to observe this little mystery.

I smirked at the thought that out of all the amazing occurrences that were daily, this was something that I marked just as mind-boggling. The tree's bark was different. It seemed aged and had a very eye catching blue tint to it. It also appeared to be worn, as if struck by those who were here before me. Probably for the apples I concluded, looking up.

The... apples.  They sure were something. Bright red, like little red light bulbs they illuminated the dark leaves around them. Tantalizing is all I could come up with to describe them. I was taller than the local population whose trees were relative in size to them, as my memories of trees to me, so I could probably reach some of them if I jumped high enough; they'd be the perfect gift for Applejack.

I reaching up and fell over, forgetting that I had stopped some feet away from the tree base due to the flowers. Luckily I caught myself inches before my face met floor and flower by slamming my palms against the tree trunk, and landed in an awkward arms above my head push up position. Phew, I hoped no one saw that, I was odd enough as it was and if someone caught me acting weird it wouldn’t help my image. I pushed myself off the tree and recovered my footing; I squatted low to asses this peculiar little plant.

So...beautiful. Blue so pure that my thoughts strayed to Dash for a bit, maybe she'd like one? I shook my head to clear it from thought. "Knock it off." I growled at myself. I returned my attention to the flowers. Their insides were an even darker blue, nearly violet. They drew me toward them like flies to a Venus fly trap. Oddly enough, before I could pluck one I felt an eeriness as my hand drew near. It seemed that within a certain distance there was a cooler feeling in the air. Rather than trying to touch them, I continued to stare; they captivated me enough to keep my attention strictly to them, so I just sat there, mesmerized.  So, so pretty. They swayed a little from the breeze, enticing me, begging me to touch them. I wanted to comply, and so I did. I extended my arm once more... almost there.

"AHHH"

I recoiled back with a sharp jump and a yell. A squirrel fell from a neighboring tree and plummeted straight into the flowers, sending petals and pollen rocketing into the air.  It went in a brown little fuzz ball and ran out bald. "OK, DO NOT TOUCH THE FLOWERS." my mind screamed at me. Once again I turned a lighter shade of red and kept my head down. I prayed no one saw that. I wasn't touching those flowers. Whatever they did to that squirrel was a good enough indicator that I should trust my instincts. Suddenly remembering who, what, where, and when, I bent my knees and sprung into the air, latching on to two apples and bringing them down with me. I sheltered my two precious prizes and set off once more toward Applejack's farm, this time jogging to make up for lost time.

***

After a little running along a white, well maintained fence that sheltered what seemed like miles of the tastiest looking apple trees I have ever seen, (Aside from the little surprise I obtained on the way here.) I rounded a corner and jogged onto her property. I passing a nice recently repainted barn and arrived a large, cozy looking house.

I looked around, no one seemed to be working yet, but the house radiated warmth and there appeared to be activity inside. I looked for a door bell and with no success to finding one, decided that I rather they finish up their morning routine. I found a nice stump directly outside of their house and within full view of their front door. Placing myself firmly onto the stump, I took the time to polish the apples further, almost certain that such as task was impossible. I snapped out of my little trance when a deep voice called me out on my presence there.

"Hello, may I help you?"

It rumbled. I looked and saw a rather large fellow, nearly my height. His size made him seem threatening, but there was a kind feel to him. He was red and had scruffy light orange hair. I was sure he was a farmer, judging by his strength and the fact that although seemingly quiet, he held some authority in his voice. He didn’t wear a distinct disgusted look, but I saw caution in his lazy expression.

"Not exa-, actually yes, you may." I replied trying to smile as I scratched the back of my head.  "I'm here to help Applejack with farm work.  I thought I could show my worth by making myself useful since this place is my home now."

He seemed content with my intentions, hard work was hard work it seemed, didn’t matter who did it so long as it got done.

"Alright, she'll be out in a minute, I'm her brother, the names -"

"Big mac who are you? Oh, howdy Artyom. Whatcha doing round these parts?"

Applejack interrupted, walking up to the both of us. She looked ready to begin a hard day's work and seemed particularly suspicious of my sudden appearance.

"He came here looking to help you out with apple picking." Big Mac explained, he decided to start his own chores and left the two of us alone.

"Mighty kind of you Artyom, but I don't need help, you don't need to worry about it."

I put on a visible frown and crossed my arms, hiding the apples the whole time.

“I came here early in the morning with good intent, to prove that I'm not useless and to try and help out a new friend, and you tell me this? Sorry Applejack, but I'm not taking no for an answer here."  I replied.

"Look Sugarcube, It's flattering that you want to help me out and all, but I don’t need it. Honest."

"Oh common Applejack. Look at the size of this place, there's a lot of apple trees and only one Applejack. You might not want it, especially… especially not from me, but you can sure use it. Please, let me help."

It felt like she winced slightly when I used my difference against her, which was a good thing; either she didn’t want to be seen as a bigot, or she actually didn’t mind my appearance, either way, I knew I just hit a sore spot. Apparently she was as hard headed as I was, but she sighed and in the end I had a smug and content look on my face as she willingly accepted my proposal to help her out.

Although looking a bit defeated, her independent and self-reliant pride slightly hurt, she truly seemed to be grateful for my stubbornness to help.

Sigh "Alright Artyom, to be honest I appreciate the help. Apple picking season is drawing nearer, and lately we've been having an awful lot of work. Thank you."

At that I smiled and uncovered my surprise, keeping it a small distance from her as if to emphasis my pride in what I was holding.

"Glad to see you're warming up to me. For you." I said, shaking the apple a bit.

"It was a bit of the pain to get, but it looked real good and I thought that with you being an apple farmer and all, you might like it."

Her eyes lit up with recognition and wonder at the apple; something that caught me off-guard. I wasn’t expecting this much attention.

"Is... did you get that from a blue colored tree, surrounded by blue flowers?" She asked.

"Yea, something was up with the flowers though. I nearly touched them myself, they were so pretty it felt like I was in a trance, but I was lucky though. As I was reaching to pick one, a squirrel fell into them, and after it came out hairless, I gained enough self-control to snap out of it. I quickly picked an apple and left." I explained.

"That tree is something folks round here steer clear off. What you saw there was some Poison Joke. Nasty little plant that when touched does something ironic to whoever touches it. That tree has lured quite a few poor folk to pick its apples, and they only had time to hit it once before they touched the poison joke and ended up in the hospital." She was eyeing the apple as she explained.

"When I was a kid I always wanted one, I heard stories about how the apples were extra sweet and crunchy, but Big Mac being a good big brother and all, never let me go."

I smiling extra wide now, I knew what I had accomplished and threw the apple up slightly, caught it, and offered it once more.

"So" I said with false boredom. "You gonna take it?" I asked.

She smiled and thanked me kindly, accepting the precious gift.  She began to move the apple closer, finally getting to taste what she had wanted to all those years ago, but stopped short; her expression reflected disappointment and I questioned her:

"What's the matter?  Something wrong with it?"

"No, I really want to taste it, but saving it so I can plant a few trees and have some extra special apple recipes to sell would be a better idea. It would sure help the farm." She said with a sigh.

"Weeeeell… It's a good thing I got two then, isn't it?"

I said, shrugging my shoulders and sheepishly removing the second apple from its hiding place. I held it out to her. To my amazement she dropped her bravado, her eyes lighting up, and hugged me. I was caught off-guard, I didn’t think that anyone would actually thank me this kindly for anything that I did. I smiled, satisfied with my decisions so far and let her enjoy the apple. She thanked me once more, commenting on how great it tasted.

"Whoa nelly! That tasted great. Anyway, I reckon we better get started, we have a lot of work ahead of us."

I smiled and nodded, ready to begin, I stopped as something seemed odd to me.

"Wait a second." I said.  "How could there have been marks all over the tree as if it was hit, if they didn't have time to get the apples? And why would they hit the tree anyway?"

"Like I said before, they only tried once before touching the poison joke."

I starred at her with a blank expression, one eyebrow raised. She smiled and rolled her eyes, as if remembering that I was the new guy. She walking up to a tree, and KICKED IT! I stared at her, jaw dropped from amazement, while she chuckled slightly and began to collect the apples that had fallen around her.

"Point taken. That’s ah, that’s amazing honestly."

I mumbled in astonishment. She chuckled a bit, remaining modest. I deciding that now shouldn't be a time when I chicken out, and with the hope that trees here are a lot softer than the ones I knew of, I got up and prepared for a good kick.

I found an adjacent tree and prepped for a good kick, Applejack watched intently, curious to see how this would turn out. I was getting ready to kick, but paused for a moment as some unknown memories flooded in; memories that didn’t seem to belong to me. I didn't know where they were coming from, but there was nothing I could do but experience them. I received memories of proper fighting technique, and an uncomforting amount of knowledge on weaponry. I froze, unable to move, Applejack saw the sudden change in me, and was beginning to worry.

"Are you all right, Sugarcube?" she asked, concern in her voice, but I was unable to answer.

I dropped my stance and just stood there, blank faced and oblivious to the world around me, my senses weren’t my own and I was witnessing… feeling someone's memories.

Fighting, two men, human men, I was one of them. We circled around each other, breaking our little dance with exchanges of kicks and punches. I don't know what exactly how I was able to perform the moves I did, nor how I could react with what appeared to be years' worth of experience, but I couldn't resist. It was if I was living in someone else's body. Whoever's eyes I was looking through, leaned back and avoided a right hook. Dodging left I came around with a high right kick to my opponents head and he dropped like a rock.

Applejack was really concerned at this point, she was tugging at my arm and questioning me, but I couldn't hear what she was saying. My blank look and stiff like posture was dropped quickly, surprising both of us. I  instinctively assumed what felt like a proper fighting stance, shifting weight from one leg to another a few times before using experience foreign to me, my right leg sky rocketed to the tree, hitting it with enough force to not only knock all of the apples off, but shake most of the leaves. I hadn't noticed my leg was already by my side nearly as soon as I hit the tree until Applejack's surprise was expressed verbally:

"I... I didn't know you could do that. What was that?"  She questioned, looking at me with a face of either horror or amazement, I couldn’t tell, perhaps both.

"I… I don’t know, honestly I didn’t know I could do that eithe-AHHHH" I yelled, dropping to the floor and clutching my aching leg.

Unfortunately my awesome moment was over, and pain shot up my leg with the same amount of force that I applied to the tree. Applejack was less worried now, and attempted to hide her smile and amusement at my odd actions.

"IT’S NOT FUNNY!" I light heartedly yelled, giggling at my own foolishness. My legs here hard, but kicking a tree from the side like that was a stupid idea.

"Sorry, you alright?" She giggled.

"Yea, just hurts a lot, I'll be alright."

"In that case, what in the hooey was that?"

"Honestly." I started, but stopped, thinking that I might sound crazy. Wait a second, I'm a human in their magical world, it was weird as it is. I thought. "Look, you might think I'm insane, heck I already do, but you have to believe me here." I continued; I definitely had her interest now. "When I got up to the tree, it was like I was seeing someone else's memory, I couldn’t move, I was looking through someone else's eyes. There were two guys fighting and I was one of them. Apparently whoever he was, he wasn’t a bad fighter. He won the fight, and all of a sudden the memory stopped. Now I have all this weird knowledge on fighting and stuff, honestly. I'm kind of creeped out." I decided that telling her about the weapons wasn’t a good idea.

"Shucks, that is mighty odd. Do you think you'll be alright now though?" She asked, surprising me with her concern, concern that seemed genuine, almost friendly.

"I sure hope so, can't complain though. The moves are kind of cool to know. Anyway, I'm sure it was just a stress thing. I don’t want to stress about it, besides you said we have a lot of work to do, and fortunately my leg seems as durable as my kick, so let's get started."

"Well alrighty then, glad to see you can still walk after a kick like that."

I shot her an annoyed glance and she giggled a bit. We began the pick apples and the day passed by quickly.  It was filled with the rhythmic beat of hitting a tree, hearing the apples hit the wood bucket, and each other's labored breathing. By the end of the day the sun was setting, and according to Applejack we gathered twice the amount of apples she normally collects in a day.  We put the day's load away and grabbed a seat at a table overlooking the sun set,

"Phew, My dogs are barkin." she exclaimed, rubbing her legs."

"I'm beat too." I said, stretching. "Anyways, I'm real glad I helped you out today, I'll be getting out of your hair now." I said, getting up and preparing to leave; I was promptly stopped by her,

"Now hold up just a second there mister, you worked hard, and deserve a drink and some rest. Sit back down while go get us some lemonade."

I smiled." Can't complain about that, thank you."

Big mac approached us and took a seat as well, he looked tired and wanted to relax with us. Surprisingly, he took a seat next to me, like I was an actual person and not some disease that one would want to avoid. The apple family is alright. I concluded. Applejack returned with enough lemonade for the three of us, and took her seat across from me.

"Drink up boys, you earned it." She instructed us, raising her own mug in a celebratory fashion.

"I want to drink a round for you two. You both actually treated me the respect that I've been working so hard for, and I'm glad to have you both as friends." I said, raising my own mug.

"Aww shucks, you don’t have to give us credit like that, after all you're the one who came here and offered help." Applejack responded. Dam she was modest.

"Eeyup." Big mac added; not a man of too many words I noted, but he sure seemed like a tough and reliant character, like his sister.

We all shared a round and eventually initiated small talk. Big mac wasn’t much of a talker, but he listened intently and gave a confirmation here of there. I realized that Applejack was really easy to talk to, and our conversation dragged on into night, way after Big mac had retired inside for the day. She answered all my questions with honesty that I was surprised would be given to a stranger like me. Either way, we bonded well, and eventually I went home, satisfied with my progress.

When I got home Twilight was up late reading, taking notes, and tinkering with some of her instruments. She acknowledged me slightly, but mostly remained concentrated on her work and I didn’t bother her. Although curious as to what she was up to, I was too tired to force myself to ask. A quick goodnight later, and I was face down in bed close to falling asleep and going through my usual end of day analysis. I concluded that Applejack radiated one quality above the rest.

Honesty.