The Purpose of Slate

by ScarFreepony

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Human, Comedy
Length: 5599

A boy named Slate is born. The day he gets his cutie mark, something else happens. What could it mean?

Slate saves a boy from bullies. He gains his cutie mark but something unexpected and unexplained happens as well. When he reaches 20 he decides on a self-searching pilgrimage to Canterlot to ask Princess Celestia if she has an answer.

What secrets will be revealed? Will Slate regret searching for answers?

Rated T for some language

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2013-10-23 04:36:21 UTC

Prologue

Idea I’ve been knocking around. Dunno where it might lead, but we shall see. This is a humanized version. There’s still unicorns and Pegasus, but the wings are invisible and so is the horn. People just know what others are. I know, it’s a huge plot hole but I’m sure I’ll find a way to fill it later.

“OHHH CELESTIA’S PIERCED NIPPLES, WHY DID WE DO THIS AGAIN?!” the lady screamed out in agony as she held her husband’s hand. “O-ow…well we wanted children, dear,” the man pointed out, his deadpan humor not helping the situation any as she grabbed his hand harder. “Seed Wheat, if I make it through this…I’m gonna slap the shit out of you.” Seed Wheat, the expecting father, smiled a little at his wife. “One more big push, Sunflower, the baby’s almost here!” One push and stream of swears including something about Luna’s sexuality later, the baby came into the world, screaming. “It’s a boy Pegasus!” “Just like his daddy!” Seed Wheat exclaimed in bliss, snipping the cord.

As they got the woman situated into the bedroom, the nurse brought the baby boy in. “Awww, Seed, he has your eyes…actually, he looks a lot like you.” “Sunflower, dear, he’s got a full head of hair with no teeth, he looks more like my dad,” Seed Wheat pointed out, getting a harsh scowl from his wife. “What shall we call him?” Sunflower looked over him. “Well, his hair is like a charcoal…” “Veto,” the mother said, her swiftness surprising the father. “I was going to say Slate…” “Slate…I like that. Welcome to the family, little Slate,” Sunflower said while gushing over the baby, nuzzling noses as the kid giggled.

Hello, my name is Slate. I’m 13 years old, and I attend Appleoosa Middle School. My parents are Sunflower and Seed Wheat. They own a farm on the outskirts of town, where we grow mainly grains, such as wheat and milo, with the occasional alfalfa. I’m average for your 13 year old, I guess. I am a little taller than normal, but that’s it. I keep my hair short because of the hot weather we have down here. Cute mark? Nope. Nothing yet. Probably going to end up like one of my parents. Oh, I forgot to mention my sister, Raven. She’s 9, and loves to sleep in.

*WHAMWHAMWHAM* “Raven, get up!” I yelled through the door. “You’re going to be late for school!” I pulled on my shirt as I made my way upstairs, where my mom was making a packed lunch for us. It was probably the same thing…peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with some wheat chips and pudding, and apple juice. I don’t know where Sweet Apple Acres is, but they make a darn good apple juice. “Morning sweety!” “Morning mom,” I muttered, trying to ignore my mom’s overly-sweet morning disposition. In came Raven. Her hair was black and streaked with purple. She was a unicorn, like mom. They said the night she was born a raven landed beside the window on the tree, and it made her start to send sparks from her hands. Thus, Raven.

“Buhhh.” “Morning to you too, sunshine,” I said, dodging a poorly aimed swipe from my sister’s hand. “Come on kids, eat up. I made omelets.” I grabbed a fork and dug in quickly, savoring the sweet taste of the pork. Oh yeah, we eat meat. Why? Sometimes that’s all we had. One winter our provisions went out, and all we had to survive on was hamburger meat. You can only make hamburger so many ways before it gets old. It’s the norm to be a vegetarian, which I have no problem with.

“Come on,” I said, grabbing my bag. My sister grabbed hers. “Don’t forget your sunglasses, dear!” I sighed, turning back and grabbing them. Astigmatism is a jerk. I still don’t get it. It’s not like my eyes would burst into flames if I took them off for a second. We made our way to the school, where it started like normal. The teacher, Miss Sundance, was cool. Also, my raging hormones didn’t help my attention span any. I could sometimes see her…leaning against my desk.

“Slaaaate…” I smiled, sighing softly. “Slate!” I jumped, blinking a few times as the classroom laughed. I suddenly realized we had moved on to mathematics. “Can you solve the problem on the board?” I squinted at the numbers. Division…crap. “Um…4?” “It’s 7…” I smiled sheepishly, chuckling a little. “Moving on…”

We broke out after lunch for recess. Again, I had to make sure my sunglasses were on. I usually make it a chore to find Raven and chill with her, as our school was so small it had all the years in one building. 100 kids total, kindergarten through 12th grade. I stepped out, enjoying the nice autumn breeze when I heard a ruckus. I calmly walked around, seeing three kids beating up on a kid. “You owe me lunch money!” I gritted my teeth. I hated those kids, with a passion. Hey, leave him alone,” I said, stepping up. I then realized how stupid it was of me, seeing as they were all bigger. “Look, little kid wants to play hero,” one said, chuckling. “I said…shove off, Fire Spin. Ya’ll are just bullies…pick on someone your own size!” I said, feeling confident.

“And what are you going to do about it?” the bigger one in the middle, Rock Crusher, asked. I then got a boost of confidence I didn’t know I had. “Just walk away, and no one is going to get hurt.” They all looked at each other and laughed. I blinked, watching them slap their knees. “Good one, Slag…” “Slate!” “Whatever. You don’t have the balls,” he commented. “We’ll see about th-OMPH!” I was caught off guard when Rock’s fist collided with my face. I hit the ground, hearing nothing but laughter. My nose started to bleed, feeling that my sunglasses had left my face. Just then, something happened I never expected to happen. My eyes started to burn…painfully. “Ahhh…AHHHH!” I screamed as I felt them burn, pushing my palms into my eyes. I stood up, pulling my hands away as they all gasped. “Wh-what the…hell…” My eyes stopped hurting, but my vision was red.

I jumped into the air, flying over them and kicking Rock in the head, hard. He slid to the side as I landed gracefully. Fire Spin went to punch me, but I saw it before it could happen. I reached out and grabbed his hand, kicking his side hard and punching him in the jaw. He went down with a groan. That left the third guy, Slam Dunk. He was a jock, so naturally a dick. He reached out to grab me but again I could see it coming a mile away. Through my red vision I slapped his hands away. Jumping in the air, I grabbed his head and spun forward, throwing him over me and into the tetherball pole, where he wrapped around it and sank to the ground with a thud.

The kid, my age, saw the whole thing. “Slate…your eyes, they’re red!” I quickly grabbed for my sunglasses, putting them on as my vision returned to normal. I saw the three bodies of the bullies on the ground, blood slowly trickling from their mouths and noses. “Oh Celestia…the teachers are gonna kill me…” “No, I’ll vouch for you man…” the boy said, slapping my shoulder. “After all, you saved my skin.” “Thanks, Braeburn.”

What happened after that? There was a tingling sensation on my right arm. I lifted it up, watching in awe and glee as my cute mark appeared finally. It was a black shield with a red eye in the middle of it. What was that supposed to mean…did I get it from my red eyes? Was it from protecting Braeburn? I had so many questions, but they came to a screeching halt as I saw the principle running out towards us. “Uh oh.”

Chapter 1: The Search

It was 7 years later. I had graduated from school 2 years ago, but was still at home helping my dad on the farm. That day, when I received my cutie mark, is still burned in my memory. The principle had pulled my parents into the office, along with me, and discussed the events. My parents were, for lack of a better word, shocked. I then told my side, which turned the tables. I told them I couldn’t remember much of what happened, and that my vision along with my eyes (according to Braeburn) had turned red. That wasn’t what astigmatism was supposed to do to someone. And the kids had come up with some clever nicknames. Red-eye was my favorite. So well thought out, so genius, so deep…if you can’t tell, that was sarcastic. So after that day, I vowed to search high and low for answers. Again…seven years later, and still no leads. I had one last resort, and I planned on using it today.

It started like any normal day. Saturday, in the middle of October. The wind had a chill to it, as the leaves started to change and fall. I slid out of bed to change, and to also pack myself a bag. I hadn’t told anyone yet what my plan was. I rolled my bag by, as Raven peeked her head out. “Slate? What are you doing?” I slowly turned, smiling at my younger sister. She had grown up a lot since then. I know, because I’ve had to scare off quite a few boys. But her inner child still showed up in the presence of her older brother. “Raven…I’m going away for a bit.” The reaction in her eyes told me what she was already about to say. “B-but…you can’t! Why now?” “I’m not leaving forever…just for a week or so. Come…I wanna tell everyone.”

I had (somehow) managed to get everyone sat at the table at once. My dad was the hardest one to get, since I had to drag him out of the fields. “I’m going to Canterlot.” Everyone’s expressions were mixed. The silence hung in the air like the fog in the early morning, finally broken by my father. “Uh, why?” he asked, quite deadpan. “I’ve exhausted every resource we have. I can’t find any reason for my eyes…and I’m tired of it. If there is a cure for it, I want to find it. So, I’m going to request a presence with Princess Celestia…maybe she might be of help,” I commented back, twiddling my thumbs. My mother sat silently, chewing on the inside of her cheek. “Well…I can’t say I’m going to like it, but if you’re anything like your father, I know you are already set in your ways.” I chuckled lightly at the remark, turning back to my father.

“I shouldn’t be gone more than a week. I’ll run up to Canterlot and get a meeting with her, than come home…unless it requires something further, than I shall send a letter.” “Just…be careful,” Raven said quietly. “It’s Canterlot. Nothing will happen. I heard the Royal Guard is a very strong unit…so there shouldn’t be any problems. Well…sorry to cut us short, but my train leaves in ten minutes,” I said, getting up. After a quick hug from everybody, I walked out the door and towards Appleoosa. I wrapped my coat around me to cut the chilly morning wind as I pressed on towards the train station.

I savored the warmth as I stepped into the large building. It was still, with only one person behind the ticket counter, and the usual Crazy Hay (the local homeless man) sleeping on one of the benches. “Slate, what brings ya here?” the man behind the counter asked as I walked up. “I need one ticket to Canterlot,” I said while sliding the necessary money under the little window. “Canterlot? Why are ya going there?” I pointed up to my eyes, as he chuckled and nodded. “Alright then. Let ol’ Fuji get ya a ticket. You’re early, the train ain’t a-comin’ for another 15,” he remarked, sliding the ticket to me. I took it and nodded. “I’m always early, you know that,” I responded to my old classmate. I walked back over and sat on a bench, patiently waiting. I decided to grab my ipod out and pass the time with some music.

I heard the train come through, even over the Vinyl Scratch playing in my headset. I popped the earbuds out, scratching my short black hair and yawning as I stood. Only a few people stepped off the train, and only I stepped onto the train. “Ticket please.” I handed my ticket to the older gentleman and made my way to the back of the train. It was quiet, just the way I prefer. I had the last empty cabin, as far as I knew. Upon sitting down, I put one earpiece in and listened to the announcement. “Next stop, Trottingham in 3 hours. Ponyville in six hours. Then we will be making our way to Canterlot before the sun sets, where it will be our last stop. If you’re not going to any of these locations, you are on the wrong train!” I snorted lightly and closed my eyes as I felt the train jolt forward. I already missed Raven.

“Wait!” My eyes shot open, hearing a woman’s voice. “Wait for me!” I took out my earphones and looked around. Behind the train, there was a girl running after it. “WAIT!” I chewed my cheek, pondering. Damn my kind heart. I stood up and slid the door open, walking to the back of the caboose and leaning over the rail. “Grab my hand!” I yelled out, as she reached for it and missed. The train was picking up speed. My next idea was kinda stupid. I jumped the rail and hooked my feet onto it, using my flight to keep myself horizontal, giving myself an extra reach. “Come on!” I yelled at the blonde girl. She had one hand on her hat, and the other reaching out. She jumped and caught my hand. “Gotcha!” I pulled hard, flying back through the door and onto my back with her landing on top of me.

“OMPH!” My eyes got a little fuzzy, as I blinked them clear. “Thank ya so much!” she said, with a big smile. She stood up, holding out her hand. I grabbed it and felt her pick me up with ease. She was strong. It was then I got a good look at her. Long blond hair in a ponytail. Her tanned skin was obviously real, and not fake like a lot of girls now a-days do it. She even had a brown Stetson hat on, which she adjusted. “Thank ya much!” “It was nothing.”

“What’s going on back here?!” We turned and saw one of the ticket guys walking towards us. “I almost missed the train! This fine gentleman managed to help me on…Ah got a ticket!” She reached in her coat pocket and produced a ticket, handing it to the man. He scanned it, and nodded. “Well, it validates. Rather unorthodox way of catching a train…” he muttered as he stepped away. “Anyways, mah name’s Applejack.” “Slate,” I said quietly. She extended a hand, which I found unusual. My dad said girls rarely give handshakes, but judging by the way she picked me up off the floor, I wasn’t going to pass it up. I took her hand and shook it, feeling a firm reaction. “Well, ah’ll get outta your hair. Again, thanks,” she said, as I calmly nodded, letting her pass. I returned to my cabin, closing the door slowly and stretching out in the seat. If it was going to take over six hours to get to Canterlot, I might as well catch some Z’s.

*Taptaptap* I opened one eye and sat up, sliding the door open to find Applejack smiling sheepishly. “Uh, hey Slate…all the other cabins are full…” “Come in,” I said softly, as she thanked me and stepped in. I slid the door closed and returned to my seat. She took the one across from me, and looked out the window. “So…where ya headed?” “Canterlot.” She whistled. “Oh yeah, been there a few times…little too hoity-toity for me,” she commented, as I sat up a little more. “You’ve been there?” I asked, suddenly a little more interested in my cabin mate. “Oh yeah. Several times. Met the princess even. Mah best friend was her assistant…Twilight Sparkle.” I slowly nodded, a little skeptical. “I see…interesting. What is the princess like?” I had to ask.

“Oh, she’s nice! Caring and strong. Wait…you’re not going to see the princess, are ya?” she asked, as I blinked a couple times. “Um, maybe…” I sighed, nodding. “I wanna request a presence with Princess Celestia. I have…a problem. Ever since I’ve been young. I have searched since I was 13 for the cause or even a solution…but I can’t find it.” The blonde girl gave me an odd look as she took off her coat. “Um…if ah may pry, what kinda problem?” Thank the goddess for my sunglasses. I noticed she was toned and fit, and her shirt clung to her tight. I had to shake my head violently to tear my gaze away. “My…eyes.” “Your eyes? What’s wrong with them?”

I looked out the window, heaving a slow sigh. “I was thirteen when I got my cutie mark.” I slid my sleeve up, showing her the black shield with the red eye in the middle. “That’s…kinda menacing,” she commented. “Well, my friend was getting beat up, bad. I stepped in and tried to stop it…the bullies knocked my sunglasses off.” Applejack was started to get more and more skeptical. “Ooookay…” “You don’t get it. I can’t take my sunglasses off in sunlight. They burn…then they…” “They what?” I sighed, chewing on my cheek. “They turn red.”

Her eyes grew wide. “Your eyes turn red?” I grabbed my bag and dug into it. I found a small picture that Raven took when I was 15, hoping to show it to the princess to help her. I handed it to her as she gasped. “Oh Goddess! That’s terrifying!” I snorted and took the picture back. “Thanks.” “N-no offence, Slate…ahm sorry, but that’s…terrible,” she said, as I stuffed the picture back in my bag. “Next thing I knew, I was seeing red, literally, and beating the crap out of the bullies. I barely remembered what happened…my friend, Braeburn had to tell me…” “Braeburn?! That’s mah cousin! So you’re the Slate he talks about, saving him from the bullies!” My left eyebrow raised. “He talked about me?” “Oh yeah! This is so cool! Talk about ah small world,” she said with a smile. All I could do was smile back.

“So where are ya from?” I asked her, setting my bag back in the overhead compartment. “Ponyville. Ah came down to visit come kin for a day, then heading back. Almost Zap apple season…Granny would be cross if ah wasn’t back for that,” she commented, looking out the window. “Got any siblings?” “Two. Mah little sis, Applebloom. She’s about 15 now. Than mah big brother, Big Macintosh. He’s three years older than me, 23.” “Oh, you’re 20 as well?” I pointed out and she nodded. “Well, ah got a little unicorn sister, Raven. She’s 16. Then ah got my parents, of course.” The cabin fell awfully silent. Applejack was staring out the window, emotionless.

“You were raised by your grandma, weren’t you?” I mentally slapped myself for asking that, feeling so cold. “Yeah…Ma died giving birth to Applebloom…and Daddy died in an accident at work. Ah was 7…I still remember what happened…” She sniffed and wiped her eyes, clearing her throat. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up a sore subject…” “Nah, it’s find…I haven’t thought of them for a while, it’s kinda comforting sometimes…” Then I did something even more stupid. I reached across and pulled her in for a tight hug. She tensed for a split second before relaxing as I rubbed her back gently. She sighed softly as I pulled away, realization crashing down on me. “Oh…oh goddess I’m so sorry! I just…I mean, I-I was trying…” My stammering was halted by a hand on my knee. She was smiling. “Think nothing of it, Slate. You’re a very kind-hearted man. It was probably a muscle memory from when your sister was crying…ah know, I’ve done it before.”

Astonished, I just smiled back. “Well…y-yeah. It’s just how I am…helping others. Helping them feel better.” “It was sweet. Thanks.” The cabin fell silent again as her hand slid away. I looked back out the window at the passing land. Trees had started to show up, and not dead ones I was used to.

After a quick stop at Trottingham we were back on the rail. Applejack had every opportunity to find a new cabin, but she stuck with me. We got some lunch and talked about everything else. “So, I’m from an apple farm, and you pretty much grow everything else?” she asked as she bit into her vegetable wrap. “Yeah, more or less. We produce the most wheat in the area.” She whistled lightly. I bit into my sandwich, feeling odd about it being all vegetables. “So what’s Ponyville like?” “Nice little town. Kinda quiet, but can be bustling during rush hour. Swell people living there…mah friend, Twilight, lives at the library.” I snorted, trying to keep my carrot soda from shooting out my nose.

“Right? Egghead…then there’s Pinkie Pie…she works at the sweets shop. Cupcakes, cakes…you name it. Rarity does fashion…little too high brow for me.” “I know absolutely nothing about the subject, so I doubt our conversations would be interesting,” I commented, as she giggled. “There’s Rainbow Dash…she works with the weather team, and trying to get into the Wonderbolt’s. That leaves Fluttershy…sweet girl, really shy though. Works with animals…” “She sounds nice,” I commented. “Yeah…oh and there’s Twilight’s assistant, Spike. He’s a dragon.”

I actually spit soda out my mouth, but luckily back into the bottle. “A dragon?!” My body shivered from the last time I saw a dragon. “Y-yeah…is something wrong?” “I just…well, I was maybe 10, when a dragon flew over our farm and blazed all the crops. Scariest part was, it landed there. I had never been so terrified in my whole life…it was…huge! Black, and speaking some language I didn’t understand…” “Oh that’s a feral dragon. Spike really nice…and he actually looks like a human. Just has green hair and claws for nails…and breathes fire. If ah remember Twilight right…she said if they are raised by a human, they take human properties and are more docile.” I sighed in relief, drinking my now backwashed soda.

Ya see, there are two kinds of dragons. Ones that are raised in the wild, which are the normal dragons you would imagine. Big, scaly, breathing fire. Then there are the more docile dragons, raised more or less in captivity. They make loyal friends and assistants, which is the reason why Celestia’s school uses them.

“Folks, we have a situation.” Applejack and I perked up as the speaker kicked on. “There’s a heavy fog setting around Ponyville. Apparently the weather team has been slacking…hehe…we can’t continue onto Canterlot tonight, as we’ll have to stop at Ponyville until the fog settles.” I groaned, slouching in my seat. “We will make sure and refund you when we stop. The next train will leave tomorrow at noon to Canterlot. Thank you, and have a nice trip. Thanks for taking the Greytrak train today…” “Great, now what?” I said, sliding more into my seat. “Tough break, ahm sorry, sugarcube.” “Eh, I’ll just get a hotel. No biggie,” I commented, looking out the window as the fog was settling in.

We approached the station as I grabbed my bag. Applejack followed me as I stepped off, getting a ticket from the guy at the door. “Well…guess I’ll maybe see ya sometime. It was fun,” I said, smiling at her. “Slate…ah was thinking, why don’t ya just come stay at my house tonight? We got room,” she said, as I looked at her, slightly stunned. “Oh no, Applejack, I don’t wanna be a bother…really.” “Nonono, no bother, Slate. If it wasn’t for you, ah wouldn’t have made the train,” she commented back. “I…dunno. I was just being a good Samaritan.” “Nonsense! Come!” She grabbed my hand and took off, dragging me the first few feet before I got my feet under me finally. Damn, she was strong.

Before long we were standing outside an old farm house. It was made of wood, and looked very inviting. The fog was getting denser, and I finally took my sunglasses off. Applejack looked at me wearily, like my eyes could burst into flames at any moment. “Don’t worry, fog is my friend,” I said, smiling. She opened the door. “Granny! I’m home!” A girl, only a little shorter than Applejack, ran up and hugged her. “Sis! How was Appleoosa?” “It was great, sugar cube.” She stopped when she noticed me. “Uh, who’s ya boyfriend?” Applejack thumped her sister on the head, and I smiled sheepishly and waved. “I’m Slate…nice to meet you, Applebloom.” She took my hand and shook it. “Nice ta meecha!” “He’s not my boyfriend, little sis. He’s a very nice man ah met on the train. He’s good friends with Braeburn.” “Oh cool!” the little one said. “What’s all this ruckus?!” An older, heavier set lady peeked her head around the corner, with pale white hair. “Granny Smith, this is Slate. If it weren’t for him, ah wouldn’t have made the train,” the older sister said.

“Oh, well, thank ya much, Drape.” “Uh…” I was going to say something but Applejack hushed me. “Just leave ya bag here, sugarcube. Granny’s a little hard of hearing…” I nodded understandingly. Applebloom grabbed the bag and took it in. “Come on, ah need to talk to Twilight real quick…you can join me!” “Uh…oka-WHOA!” Again, she grabbed my hand as she dragged me back into town.

We stopped finally in front of a tree. A tree house. Literally…a tree house. A house in a tree. “What the…” Applejack knocked on the door three times, hard. “OPEN UP, TWI!” The door opened. “Oh, Applejack!” It was then I realized something. Twilight looked a lot like my sister. Almost the same color of hair and body frame. “Twilight, this is Slate, a friend of mine.” I shook my head, clearing my mind. “Hello…” “He don’t talk too much. Come on!” I quickly put my hands in my pockets to avoid being drug again. I walked in, as the warmth of the fireplace overtook me. “That feels great.” I looked around, seeing nothing but books. And more books. Damn there was a lot of books. The girls went upstairs, leaving me to myself. Just then, a shorter boy walked up, holding a huge stack of books. “Let me help,” I said, grabbing some. “Oh, thanks! Wait…who are you?” It had to be Spike. His hair and fingers matched Applejack’s description. “I’m Slate…a friend of Applejack’s. You must be Spike the Dragon…” I put the books down where he wanted them. “Yep, I’m a dragon. Watch…” He opened his mouth as green flames shot out. I watched in awe. “That…was…AWESOME!” “Thanks!”

The girls came back downstairs. “Hey Slate, wanna show Twilight the picture?” I looked at Applejack, a look of speculation on my face. “It’s fine…she will probably react way less than me,” she commented, making me snort as I pulled out the picture and handed it to Twilight. She gasped, covering her mouth. “I’ve never seen that before…why did it happen?” “I don’t know! That’s why I’m hoping your teacher could set aside a few moments of her time to talk with me tomorrow…” “Oh, pshh. That’s no problem! Spike, take a letter…” Spike ran and grabbed a piece of paper and a quill. As they were writing a letter, I walked over to a bookshelf. “Hmm…” I picked one out that looked interesting. I opened it, easily telling that the book was old. It then started to shake violently. “What…” Suddenly a face came out of the pages and screamed. “WHAT THE F-“*thump* A purple aura grabbed the book and slammed it shut. “So sorry, that books for unicorns only…” I was clutching my heart, breathing heavily. “Obviously!”

We had left as the sun was started to set. “One more stop…come on!” “Let’s…just walk this time…” I said, as she smiled. “Ah gotta pick up Winona from Fluttershy’s. She was sick when ah left.” “Pet?” “Yeah. Border collie…great wrangling dog. Ah think she got the cold before ah left…we better hurry if we’re gonna make it back before nightfall.” I followed the cowgirl in silence for a few minutes, before walking across a small stone bridge. There up upon the hill was a cozy little cottage. “Fluttershy!” Applejack yelled at the top of her lungs, almost making my ears ring. The front door opened as a girl poked her head out. She had long pink hair, and looked like she was constantly paranoid. “Oh…hey Applejack. It’s good to see you…Winona is all better,” the girl whispered, opening the door. A brown collie ran out and jumped on Applejack, licking her repeatedly. “Whoa nelly! Hey Winona, ya miss me?!” The girl stepped out, with a yellow turtleneck and jeans. Her hands were over her chest as she approached slowly.

“S-she had a cold…nothing a little medicine and soup couldn’t cure,” she said quietly, smiling. Her smile was contagious, as I couldn’t help but smile myself. “Hello…” “EEP!” She jumped, having not noticed me. “Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you…I’m Slate.” Fluttershy looked me up and down, realizing I was no harm. “H-hello…I’m Fluttershy…” “Met him in the train on the way here. On his way to see the princess,” Applejack butted in as she got up off the ground and brushed her jeans off. “Oh, I see. Well…it’s nice to meet you, Slate…” “It’s nice to meet you too, Fluttershy…” “Alright, come on! We better head back…come Winona!” Applejack again butted in, as we waved at each other, walking off. “I like her…she’s nice.” “Ohh? Little twitter pated?” Applejack leaned in, raising her eyebrows a few times. “What? No…she reminds me of my sister,” I said, huffing lightly. “Oh…heh, awkward…” Applejack blushed a little, rubbing the back of her neck. It was then I realized that her slightly reddened cheeks and freckles were cute…very cute. I shook my head, trying to clear my head of the thoughts as we returned back to the Apple’s farm house.

“Guess Big Mac is at the bar…Tuesday nights. Dunno why he only goes there on Tuesdays,” Applejack commented, kicking off her boots. “Karaoke night?” I suggested, earning a hearty laugh from Applejack. “Well…we don’t have enough beds, I’m afraid. And I’m not about to let you sleep in the barn. We got a couch though!” Applejack suggested. “Oh, I’m fine with that.” I waved my hand as I kicked my shoes off at the door. “Ya’ll hungry?! Ah made a mess of apple fritters and no one to eat them!” Granny Smith’s head popped in from the kitchen. “Um…I’m fine, ma’am…” “Nonsense! I’ll make ya a plate!” Granny disappeared. “Thanks for taking me in like this…I’ll find a way to pay ya back someh-“ “Nonsense! Ya don’t have to pay us back, Slate.” Applejack sat on the couch, putting her feet up on the coffee table. “You’re a nice person…and I’m still trying to pay ya back for getting mah butt on the train. Consider it even…” I smiled softly and nodded. “Even…I like your hat, by the way, where did you get it?” I said, trying to change the subject.

I wish I hadn’t. For the second time today, her eyes gave a far-out expression. “Mah pappy…” She reached over and grabbed a picture. It was of her parents. Her mother was pregnant, and she was small, along with Big Macintosh. “He gave it to Big Mac before he passed,” Granny Smith interjected, walking in with two plates of steaming apple fritters. “Big Macintosh knew how much their father meant to Applejack, so he gave it to her…rain, sleet, snow, nor hail, does she take it off.” She handed us the plates, which I thanked her. “I’m…sorry. I didn’t mea-what?” I was taken back when she took it off and set it on my head. “Hmm…not your style, ahm afraid,” she said, giggling a little. “I was never one for the cowboy hat, I’m afraid,” I said back, smiling and taking it off gingerly as Applebloom stepped in. “Hey Slate!” “Hey, Applebloom,” I said back, putting the hat on her head. The four of us had a small laugh before we dug into our fritters.

I laid out on the couch that night. It was very quiet. My eyelids got heavy as I looked out and saw the starts. It reminded me of home, and how I missed it already. I could hear snoring as I smiled to myself, remembering what Applejack said about Granny Smith and her snoring. My eyes fluttered closed as the front door opened, jolting me out of my sleepiness. All I heard before a large hand grabbed my throat was “Who the hell are you?!”