Fluttershy strolled happily through the market square on her way home from the spa. She enjoyed spending time with Rarity relaxing, even if some of the gossip strayed to interests outside her own. A few ponies greeted her as she walked past, taking care not to startle her. She was quite shy, but was a widely recognized member of Ponyville. Applejack waved at her from her stall, selling apples to every hungry pony. Fluttershy considered going by and picking up some for her animals, but remembered she already had in the morning.
A cloud drifted by, standing out in the clear sky. Fluttershy looked up and considered clearing it, but decided against it. She wasn’t a weather pony, plus it would make her stand out more than she’d like. The cloud wasn’t doing any harm. In all likelihood Rainbow Dash had taken a break from napping and would want the cloud later anyway.
Fluttershy smiled fondly at the thought. She had known Rainbow Dash since they were fillies; along with her other four great friends, she thought dearly of her. The butter yellow mare felt nothing but happiness around her friends, albeit in a shy fashion. She loved them all, perhaps more than her own animals, but she would never admit that out loud. Playing favorites wasn’t very nice.
As Fluttershy reached the opposite edge of the market, her ears perked at an unusual noise. It sounded like snickering. Fluttershy didn’t tolerate bullying of any degree and whipped around, intending to protect any hurt filly. She immediately relaxed at the sight.
A young amber pony was sitting behind an empty stand and hugging its knees, sobbing. Fluttershy couldn’t tell its gender because of the green mane covering the face. Her maternal instincts took over as she stepped lightly toward the distressed child. The little pony looked up through the green mane, revealing it to be a colt. Two pairs of blue eyes met each other as the little colt sniffed.
“Hello there little one. Are you missing your mommy?” Fluttershy cooed softly, trying to appeal to young sensitivity. The colt broke eye contact and stared at the ground. Her ear twitched as she tried to hear the colt’s muttering. “Speak up little one, I’m hard of hearing.” She smiled softly.
“Ah’m not suppos’d ta talk ta stwangers…” The amber colt drawled in a familiar accent, muddled with snot and tears. Part of Fluttershy wanted to scoop up the colt into her arms and fly to her cottage, but she resisted.
“I’m Fluttershy. What’s your name?” She asked as she sat down next to the colt and looked down. The amber colt looked up in curiosity. His look made her nervous. What if he knew all about her? Along with her brief stint as a model, her heroics with her five best friends were bound to create some fame. The thought made her blush. Luckily the colt didn’t notice as his gaze dropped down again.
“Ah’m… Ah’m…” He sniffed, trying to clear his nose. He batted at it with his hoof sloppily. Fluttershy couldn’t help but giggle at his foolery. The colt was barely old enough to no longer be considered a foal, but not old enough to be separated from his parents! As soon as he cleared up enough to pronounce his words properly, he relented and shared his name with a whisper. Fluttershy politely bent her head down to listen, and smiled.
“Oh, an Apple you say? I’ve never seen you before. What brings you to Ponyville?” She inquired, nudging the colt to divulge information so she could return him to his parents. After seeing several baby birds fall from their nest over the years, she vowed to never let animals be separated from their family under her watch. As far as she was concerned, this extended to children.
The colt sighed. “I sneezed.”
Fluttershy tilted her head, nonplussed. As sensitive as she was, non-sequiturs still confused her. “Do you need a doctor?” The colt shook his head. Fluttershy rubbed her chin in contemplation. Beating around the bush wasn’t helping, so she decided to get straight to the point. “Where are your parents?”
“Cwy-Crystal Empire,” The colt hiccupped. That was unusual, that means they took the train past Ponyville. Perhaps the colt wandered off at the station? The pegasus frowned in confusion. Fluttershy laid a hoof on his back and gave him a small rub. His sniffling began to subside.
“Why don’t we take you to Applejack? She can help you find your parents,” She offered, trying to ease the distressed colt. However, underneath her hoof she could feel his muscles tensing. Perhaps he had a bad experience at the last family gathering? She tried to put him at ease and leaned down. “What’s wrong?”
The colt refused to make eye contact and asked, “She’s an Apple, right?” in a cautious tone. The older pegasus answered and the two fell silent. Fluttershy had taken her hoof off the colt and merely watched him for any response. Under his mane Fluttershy could see his eyes darting across the ground.
“What’s the matter? Isn’t she family?” Fluttershy asked innocently. The colt sighed and looked up at her. Rather than saying anything, he parted his messy green mane in the middle. Fluttershy cocked her head. In the middle of his forehead was what appeared to be a small bump, unless… “You’re a unicorn?” The colt nodded.
“Pa an’ ma dunno why. I just am,” the colt shrugged. Fluttershy gazed at him for a few moments to process this information. From what she knew of the Apple family, most if not all of them were earth ponies. She looked up toward the sky, thinking about her role as a pegasus. His situation was different, but she couldn’t help but think about flight school as a filly. With a decision in mind, she stood up on all fours.
“Come on little pony, walk with me,” She coaxed him to stand with her. Having nothing better to do, he relented. Together they trotted at the edge of the marketplace, skirting around the stalls. They walked together for several minutes on a dirt path, eventually leading to Fluttershy’s cottage. The amber colt looked up at the older mare expectantly.
“What’s this place?” He asked. Fluttershy smiled warmly at him.
“Follow me,” she ordered as she flew to the front door and opened it. She welcomed the trotting unicorn into her home and closed the door. The colt scanned the house from his position. A few animals were napping, some were eating, and a couple were running around and playing. The amber Apple colt took the scene in and looked over his shoulder to Fluttershy.
“What are those?” He pointed toward a few beavers lying on her couch. Fluttershy’s eyes twinkled at his curiousity.
“Those are beavers; they chew wood and build dams. Very cuddly, but don’t touch their tails or they’ll smack you!” She giggled as she flew over to pick one up. Holding it up to the colt, she hovered as he hesitantly pat it with his hoof. A few minutes later she returned the beaver to his resting place. “Thank you very much Mr. Beaver. Now enjoy your nap time.”
“What’s that thing?” The unicorn wrinkled his nose at a skunk eagerly munching on a salad Fluttershy had prepared earlier. She flew next to it and gave it a few rubs, but decided against holding it to the colt.
“This is a skunk. Don’t make it angry or it’ll get stinky!” Fluttershy warned as she waved her hoof. The colt wrinkled his nose and nodded.
“What’s that?”
“My bunny, Angel. He’s such a sweetheart.”
“Whoa, what’s that?!”
“That’s a bear, dear. He’s big and tough, but he’s a real softie.”
“That?”
“A squirrel, he’s sniffing you for nuts.”
He stood up and walked to the center of her home, making eye contact with her. “Um, hey ‘Shy?” He called for her attention, kneading the carpet with his hooves as he used her nickname. She floated down and landed softly. “What are we doing here?”
“I don’t understand. I’m showing you my animals, I thought it would cheer you up,” Fluttershy answered honestly. To her knowledge foals loved animals; he didn’t seem old enough to have grown out of that phase yet. She didn’t understand why he was nervous. The colt kneaded the carpet some more before asking what was on his mind.
“Why do you live in a cottage?” The colt looked up with one ear drooped. “Pa always said that pegasi live up in the clouds, livin' in fluffy houses.” Fluttershy found his speech endearing; sometimes it was the traditional Apple accent, but some of his words were clean and precise for his age.
“Well, not all pegasi live in a cloud home, you know. And if I did, I wouldn’t be able to live with all my animals like I do now. I love them too much to do that,” Fluttershy explained as she nuzzled a passing squirrel. Now it was the colt’s turn to tilt his head.
“Why do you like animals so much?” He asked, his voice clear and sharp. Fluttershy smiled and showed off her flank, pointing at her cutie mark. She observed his perplexed expression.
“I don’t just love animals, animals are my talent,” She flew over to the colt and ruffled his mane. “You’ll understand someday when you have your cutie mark.” She half expected him to be downfallen at her comment like a certain cousin of his, but apparently the implication of a cutie mark escaped him. An introspective shine glossed over his eyes as he stood, deep in thought. Just as Fluttershy became hopeful, he sighed and became disheartened again.
“What’s the matter? Being a unicorn is a wonderful thing,” Fluttershy trotted over to him and lifted his chin with her hoof. “Just like earth ponies and pegasi, unicorns are special. Your family must love it when you use magic, just like the princess!” She attempted to cheer him. Fluttershy wished she had enlisted Pinkie’s help, but knew the colt needed nurturing rather than a thrill. The colt snorted.
“Magic? Huh. Ah hate magic! Ma does what she can to keep mah horn filed down to keep from embarrassin' the family name. Pa says I’m no good at it anyway and every time I sneeze I get put in the corner for an hour!” The colt ranted as he rubbed his head in frustration. A few green sparks jumped out of his horn harmlessly. Fluttershy was justifiably appalled.
“Magic is nothing to be ashamed of! Why, one of my very best friend’s talent is magic and she’s a very nice pony! Not only that, she saved Ponyville several times with her magic all by herself!” Fluttershy argued passionately. Realizing her voice had gone up in volume, she folded her wings and scooted away from the colt and looked away. “Oh my, I didn’t mean to shout…”
“Miss, mah family has nothin’ against unicorns. Celestia forbid we turn our flanks away from our family ‘ospitality. But a unicorn can’t buck like an Apple, and a unicorn without magic ain’t fit for working on a farm,” the colt explained.
Fluttershy frowned, understanding the colt’s predicament. Being kind could only go so far, but not even daisies and butterflies could cure an identity crisis. She didn’t know much about running farms, so she couldn’t reassure the unicorn without being dishonest. Fortunately she knew somepony who had neither problem.
“I have an idea, little pony. To prove to you there’s no shame in not being an earth pony, I’m going to show you something someponies never see,” Fluttershy declared confidently to the troubled unicorn. Her maternal instincts were much stronger than her usual timid personality, enough to have tamed a manticore in the past. The colt only stared in shock as Fluttershy flitted over in the air and scooped him up. Before he could do anything and struggle, she was already out the door and into the air.
“Put me down! Put me down! Putmedowputmedownputmedown!” The colt wiggled in her arms as they flew over the path back to town. Fluttershy hushed him as they entered the outskirts of town.
“Hush, little pony. Do you see it yet?” She asked inquisitively. The colt relaxed and searched for what she was referring to. He hugged her secure arms and tried searching the sky.
“I don’t know what you mean. Ah see the library and the town, but that’s pretty much it.” The colt wanted to shrug, but lacked any foundation to do so. He heard a giggle from above.
“No silly, it’s not what you’re looking for, but what you’re seeing. This is how many pegasi see the world, from above.” The colt pondered for a moment before replying.
“What does flying have to do with being a unicorn?” He asked earnestly. Fluttershy smiled, unbeknownst to him.
“I have a better question, little one. What do you know about me?” Her question caught him off guard, long enough for him to pause and think of a serious answer as he tapped his chin.
“You can fly.”
“Go on…”
“Um, well miss… ya looked kind of shy when I first met ya but now you’re all forward and stuff. You’re nice, ya let me pet your animals, and Ah think you’re very pretty.” The colt blushed nervously at his last comment. Fluttershy began descending toward the ground.
“Do you know anypony who’s nice and likes animals?”
“Well, yah. My ma loves dogs more than anypony! And she’s the kindest pony Ah know!” The colt declared, confident. Despite his misgivings toward his heritage, Fluttershy was happy to hear he loved his momma.
“Does she have wings?”
The colt was taken aback. “Of course not! She’s an earth pony like every other Apple.” Realizing what he just said, his ears drooped shamefully. Fluttershy reached her destination and touched down, releasing the colt as she did so. The colt gathered some nerve and asked, “What does that have to do with anything?”
Fluttershy smiled once more. “Your mother and I are both kind to you and like animals. Are these that important?” She asked as she spread her wings. The unicorn stared for a moment before shaking his head.
“Ah guess not. But what does that have to do with buckin’ apples?” Fluttershy, as innocent as she was presumed to be, assumed he was referring to the action and not the curse.
“Ah think Ah can answer that, sugarcube,” a similar accented voice called out from behind. The colt whipped around as Fluttershy greeted her approaching friend. The famous tangerine mare approached from her stall; the nurturing pegasus had flown to the marketplace. “Didn’t mean to listen in, but ya sounded like an Apple.”
“Go on, dear,” Fluttershy cooed as she laid a hoof on the colt’s back before he could tense up again. Seeing such a powerful earth pony before him would bring up sad and envious feelings, but it was something he needed to face.
“Uh, hi?” The colt squeaked meekly. Applejack took off her hat and introduced herself.
“I’m Applejack. But y’all can call me AJ. I don’t know if you’re a cousin or my nephew, but you’re welcome with open hooves here.” Applejack smiled at her distant relative, having met him for the first time. “So what brings you to Ponyville? We just had a family reunion.”
Fluttershy intervened before he could answer. “It’s a long story. Would you mind giving us a minute?” She politely asked of the young colt after answering Applejack. The amber unicorn nodded and stayed put as the two adults trotted a short distance to speak. Fluttershy briefly explained the situation as Applejack listened patiently.
“So what you’re telling me is that this little foal is having issues with his horn? I can’t say I’ve heard of many Apples doing magic, but family is family.”
“He’s also afraid of not having a place at the farm,” Fluttershy explained. Applejack adjusted her hat and mused. A confident grin spread on her face. The two walked back to the patient colt with a plan.
“Hey there, sugarcube. You mentioned you couldn’t buck apples earlier?” Applejack spoke to the colt, who nodded. “Now I have a question for yah, and yah need to use that Apple honesty that’s expected. Promise?” She held up a hoof to the colt, who took it with his own and shook. “Ya ever try?”
This took the colt aback. “W-what?” Applejack leaned closer.
“Ya ever try bucking apples?” She asked, her smug grin widening an inch from his face. The colt shuffled nervously. “Heh, that’s what I thought. Every Apple gets a little nervous when they’re young. I remember when I was a filly; I thought livin’ with my relatives in Manehatten would do me good. It took a sonic rainboom to teach me mah lesson.”
Applejack gave the colt a comforting hug. “Why don’t I take ya back to the farm and show you a few tricks? Ol’ Fluttershy here is goin’ to look for your parents, they must be worried sick!” The colt looked up with his blue eyes and nodded.
As Fluttershy flew off, Applejack closed the stall and led the way to Apple Acres; the colt followed close behind.
“So who’re your parents? I might know ‘em,” Applejack called back as they approached the farm.
“Um, Little Dixon and Apple Core,” the colt answered as he caught up to the faster mare. Applejack remembered they sent a confirmation letter at the last reunion, but they mustn’t have stood out very much in the crowd. It was a large family, after all.
“Alrighty, here we go. Now pay close attention to how I buck, ya hear?” Applejack instructed as she took her position by a tree. Making sure the colt was paying attention; she gave the tree a good solid buck. The tree’s contents completely fell into the waiting bucket in one shot. The colt couldn’t help but stare at her in admiration. Applejack pointed at another nearby tree. “Now I wanna see you try.”
The colt reluctantly walked up to the tree. Sizing the tree up, he took his position and bucked. Applejack shook her head disapprovingly. She demonstrated the proper technique once more. Again, he failed.
“You’re putting too much weight on your hooves, do it like th-IS!” Applejack grunted as she bucked again. The colt began practicing and following her lead.
“Your left hoof is doing too much, balance the two.”
“Bend your knees more.”
“Keep your head down, it helps.”
“Perk up. Applebloom is barely older than ya and she can’t buck if she’s down in the dumps. Think somethin’ happy.”
“What in tarnation is that?” Applejack’s instructions were interrupted as she trotted up to the colt’s first bounty. A single apple had fallen from the tree, his very first that hour. What peaked her interest was the color: green.
“Uh, cousin AJ, it’s just an apple,” the colt commented dejectedly as he sat down and drew an apple in the dirt. Applejack turned her head and raised an eyebrow.
“Well, it may be ‘just an apple’, but it’s your very first bucked. Go ahead, ya may have the honors,” she declared as she rolled it with her muzzle to him. It rolled between his hooves in front of his lap. He gave it an indifferent look. Applejack trotted in front of him. “So, little Apple, notice something about this apple?”
“It’s green?” The colt guessed, shrugging. Applejack shuffled next to him and plopped down.
“Well of course it’s green, sugarcube. Try tasting it,” she picked up the green apple and handed it to him. With nothing to lose the colt took a bite. Immediately his face scrunched up, just like Applejack whenever she lied.
“Ick! It’s sour!” He swallowed with a surprised expression. Applejack chuckled.
“What’s so bad about it? Go ahead, keep trying,” she ruffled his mane. Again, his teeth tore apart a piece of the apple. He tossed it around in his mouth as he chewed, contemplating.
“Actually, it’s not so bad after all. Yummy!” The colt began digging into the apple as fast as his tiny mouth could handle.
“How much do you think it’d sell for?” Applejack asked, looking up toward the sky to ward off any interruptions. The colt paused to think.
“Just one apple? A bit I guess… maybe ten for a dozen?” Applejack chuckled and shook her head.
“Nope! Good guess. Truth is, that apple would sell for ten.” This revelation caused the colt to choke. Applejack’s eyes widened and she smacked his back, dislodging whatever piece had obstructed his throat. He didn’t miss a beat as he looked up to his relative.
“Ten bits?! For one apple? What makes it so special?” He cried out in shock.
“Look around the farm, notice something?” Applejack motioned at nearby trees with her hooves, guiding his visage. “See a lot of apples? How many are green? Not many. It’s not just the color,” Applejack explained as she broke off a piece of the apple for herself. Chewing and one swallow later, she continued. “Sure, most apples are tasty and sweet, but some of these green apples are special. Folks pay extra to try this unique and rare taste. Just because apples are known for being sweet don’t mean these ones don’t have their place. Look at it. It looks different and tastes different, but that doesn’t make it any less special than any other apple. More so, in fact.” The colt looked up at Applejack with an expression that made her want to sweep it in a hug.
“What is it?” He asked the golden question.
“That there, sonny, is a sour apple. A rare and precious thing; like every apple it will always have a place in the Apple family.”
“What does that mean?” The colt asked. Applejack smiled down and tilted her hat.
“It means you’re a sour apple. You’re special, kid. And this family is proud to have ya.” The colt frowned.
“But I’m just a unicorn…” He drew a line on the ground.
“Just a unicorn? Golly, I don’t care if you have wings, a horn, or spikes running down your spine; you’re an Apple and that means you’re family.”
“But I managed one measly apple.! One!” He threw up his hooves.
“Then use the magic you were born with, just like your four hooves,” Applejack encouraged as she tapped her forehead, referring to his horn. The colt scoffed.
“But I’m no good with magic!” This made Applejack’s eyes roll.
“Did you think I started clearing acres as a filly? Even today I need help if Big Mac is sick. My friend Twilight is the most talented unicorn I’ve seen and she still botches up a spell or two. In fact, she nearly wrecked the place after worrying herself to death over a little letter! All ya need is hard work and practice. And…” Applejack scooted closer, placing a hoof over his shoulder. “I believe in ya.” The colt’s blue eyes met green.
“You really think so?”
Applejack nodded. “ ’Shy mentioned something about you sneezing a lot. I have my suspicions about that,” she commented as she reached toward the ground with her other hoof.
“What do you mean about that?” The amber colt asked as Applejack grabbed grass from near the apple tree’s roots. Before the colt could see what she was doing, she threw the grass into his face. His eyes blinked as he wrinkled his nose.
“What was th-Ah, ah, ah-CHU!” He sneezed. Applejack watched as a bright green light enveloped the colt and disappeared, taking the colt with it. She looked both ways and scanned the orchard for the little colt. After a moment she decided he wasn’t at the farm anymore. She walked back toward town, a hunch guiding her to a certain place.
It only took her a few minutes at a nice and steady canter, but she eventually arrived at the train station.
Fluttershy was speaking softly to two ponies, which Applejack recognized from the Apple family reunion. One was an orange mare with a blue mane; the other was a dandelion coated tall stallion with a matching mane. They had a concerned air around them that was slowly being relieved by Fluttershy as she explained the situation.
“Hey y’all, hope I’m not interrupting,” Applejack announced as she trotted next to the small group. “You the little colt’s parents?” The two nodded nervously. She could see the similarities to the foal.
“Is he okay? My poor baby!” The older mare cried as she finally began sobbing, the stallion patting her on the back shyly. Applejack clicked her tongue and shook her head disapprovingly.
“Look y’all, I’m the last one to give motherly advice, but y’all need to learn how to raise a unicorn. From what I’ve heard, you two don’t have any confidence in his magic?” The stallion met her concerned glare with his own as his wife continued sobbing.
“I’m sorry ma’am, but it’s true. The doctor said he had no ability. We think he has issues about it too; sometimes he sneaks out or causes mischief and blames it on his horn. We keep it filed down so he doesn’t worry about being different whenever we go out. In fact, we think he sneaked out of the train when we weren’t looking instead of just getting lost. I love him to death, but he’s a troublemaker.” As concerned as he sounded, Applejack scoffed and turned her head.
“Well mister, I know a thing or two about unicorns that you don’t. As for this little incident, it wasn’t trouble. The little rascal just sneezed!” Applejack declared at the confused parents. The mare stopped sobbing and just squinted at her. Fluttershy attempted to help the situation.
“Um, excuse me. But, um, I guess it can wait……” Fluttershy shyly spoke as she looked away. Applejack rolled her eyes.
“Go on Fluttershy. You were with him practically the whole day; help me out here!” Fluttershy merely took her gaze to behind the group and pointed. The group turned around to see a green spark hovering above the ground, eye level.
“What in tarnation..?” The yellow stallion murmured as he took a closer look at the floating spark. Applejack put a warning hoof in front of him.
“That, Core, is our little sugarcube,” she answered as the spark grew into a plasma ball of energy. A bright light glared from it, blinding everypony. As the light subsided, the group looked back at the platform’s floor. In place of the mysterious orb was their subject, the amber colt himself, looking around in confusion.
“What the? Where am I? Not again!” The colt cried out as he hit the ground with his front hooves. His parents merely stood in place, their jaws dropping and eyes twitching.
“Ya see, from what I’ve seen, not every full-grown unicorn can even teleport,” Applejack explained knowingly, happy to have proven the colt’s innocence.
“For a unicorn of his age, even levitating objects is a sign of skill. He shouldn’t be doing magic for a couple more years, especially with the lack of unicorns in the family,” Fluttershy added, smiling. Applejack smiled back at her and continued speaking to his parents.
“Look, you have a unicorn as a foal. So what? Loving him isn’t enough, y’all need to accept him. Send him to school, poor thing’s gifted too. I’m sure Twi could recommend a good school,” Applejack said as she walked up to the colt and wrapped an arm around his shoulders once more.
“Send him to school? How is that going to help him work at the farm? Once he can lift apples with his magic, how is that going to help?” The mare asked, curious. Applejack chuckled.
“Sorry, ‘scuse me there. He doesn’t need school to work at a farm. Y’all see, he’s not going to work at a farm, he’s gonna run it!” Applejack declared, stomping her hoof. The colt stared up at her as his jaw dropped. That was quite the confident declaration.
The two mares wrapped things up with the colt’s parents as the sun began setting, signaling the day’s journey to a close. Applejack supplied them with how to contact Twilight while Fluttershy gave tips on managing a thriving young unicorn. The two flabbergasted parents listened meekly, having learned their lesson. The colt hugged Fluttershy and Applejack and promised to keep in touch with his new friends.
As the trio boarded the next train that came by, something came across Applejack’s mind as she was trotting away. Before time ran out she decided to turn around and shout something to the colt.
“Hey, sugar cube. I never got your name!” She shouted as the train’s horn blared. The colt leaned out his window to shout back. His wide grin caught her by surprise; being told you were gifted was bound to make somepony happy, but this grin didn’t have anything to do with it. This grin was directed at Applejack and Applejack alone. Her ears perked up to catch his words.
“Mah name’s Sour Apple!”
Author's Note
