A Casual Brunch with an Apple
Ok, tea?
Set.
Dairy-free sugar cookies and soy milk?
Check.
Table wear?
Check-a-roo.
Everything was set for her arrival.
Cassidy sighed in relief at the thought of finally being able to relax, knowing everything was set. For the past hour she had been preparing for a very special guest that she'd been looking forward to seeing for the past week. Oh, the things she would be able to learn from her! Cassidy was grinning from ear to ear, slightly bouncing in her seat.
Four swift, clear knocks came from her front door.
'That must be her!' Cassidy internally gasped as she sprinted towards the door way. She paused at the mirror next to the door, making sure she looked presentable. Her honey blond hair was in a neat ponytail, she was wearing a grumpy cat t-shirt, she had on dark skinny jeans, and she was wearing black converse shoes. All in all, she looked like she was ready to have a casual brunch with a friend back home. Or in this case what she hoped would become a friend.
She turned to the door and slowly opened it.
"'Morning Ms. Smith!" Cassidy chirped cheerfully as the light green mare entered her hom. She had her white hair in a slightly messy bun, and she wore an orange... something around her neck. Cassidy still wasn't sure what to make of pony fashion, just yet.
"Howdy, do?" Granny smith asked, a smile on her face. Her smiling made the laugh lines on her face even more noticable, but it gave her more character in Cassidy's opinion. "Y'all just want a nice chat, with me, right Miss Philips?"
"Oh, yes Ms. Smith," Cassidy replied.
"Aw, shucks. You calling me 'Misses' is making me feel older than I already am. Y'all can just call me, 'Granny'."
"Oh," Cassidy said, not thinking that it was going to be this casual between them this soon. But she wan't complaining. "Well, if that's going to be the case, then you can just call me 'Cassidy'!"
"Alrighty then Classy Cassy," Granny said, humor in her voice. Cassidy smiled. It wasn't the worst nickname she'd ever received.
"Anyways, I was hoping to learn more about Ponyville from you," Cassidy said, leading the older mare to the small table she had set up in her living room. Granny's eyes lit up at the sight of the cookies.
"Oh, we have all the time in the world to talk," Granny said, taking a seat at the table. "We don't have that much time till these here cookies get to room temperature." That wasn't what Cassidy had been expecting to hear. She watched the older mare sit down and happily munch on a cookie, closing her eyes to fully enjoy the sensation.
"These here cookies are perfect!" Granny Smith said with delight. Cassidy felt a small blush form on her cheeks. She had wanted to open a bakery when she was back on earth. She had been nearing the amount of money in her savings account she had needed to buy the little shop she'd had her eye on, but then- "What recipe did ya use to make 'em?"
"Huh?" Cassidy replied, her mind had not fully caught up with Granny's words just yet. "Oh! I, well, I use an old recipe my mom had taught me when I was little."
"Well, then," Granny said now grabbing another cookie with her hoof, something Cassidy still didn't know how earth ponies did. "Your mother was a genius!"
Cassidy tried her best to smile, she really did, but Granny could see right through her disguise. Granny's smile slowly turned into a frown as she brought one hoof up to her chin. Granny motioned to the other chair at the table, an invitation for Cassidy to sit down. Cassidy didn't try to resist the old mare's directions. As she sat down Cassidy was struggling to keep the tears in her eyes at bay, not wanting to lose her composer around her guest.
Granny knew heart break when she saw it. This girl who had invited her over had it and she needed someone to listen. She could hear about the founding of Ponyville another day, right now she just needed to get something, maybe even a few somethings, off her chest.
"Honey, I'm just gonna sit here," Granny said as she gestured towards her own seat. "And listen."
Cassidy wanted to tell her, but she barely knew this mare. But here that mare was, willingly offering herself up to be the one to listen to Cassidy's problems. Cassidy looked the mare in her golden eyes. They seemed to glow with a motherly kindness and understanding hat Cassidy had been wanting from the first minute she had been sent to this godforsaken world.
Cassidy tried to make her words come out as clearly as she could, but a sob once or twice broke the flow. "I... I miss my mom. I'm only seventeen, I still need my mom. Heck, I turned seventeen while I was here. I just have to wonder what that was like for my parents. Celebrating their daughter's birthday without her being there.
"I just... I don't even know how I came here. Sure, princess Twilight has done her best trying to figure it out but even her, a highly educated scholar, has no clue how I and my house, which by the way somehow still has plumbing and electricity, came to be in an entirely new world it's just... Can you even picture yourself as a teenager being thrown into a world of sentient beings that aren't your own with no one else turn to?"
Granny looked at the human girl, who had stood up and started pacing in the room in the middle of her rant. She had a look of deep seeded worry on her face. Granny didn't know how to respond to this at first but slowly thought of a story to make her feel better.
"Hows about I tell y'all a story, too?" She said to Cassidy. Cassidy looked at the old mare, bewildered. After that entire spill about her emotions and what she'd been through, she wanted to tell her a story? "It'll make ya feel better~"
Granny left the table and moved to the couch that was a little deeper into the room. Cassidy followed her, still not entirely sure how a story would help her. Granny smiled as she saw the young girl sit down, looking at her with a look that said 'What-the-buck-are-you-doing-old-mare' as well as 'This-could-be-genuinely-interesting'.
"A long time ago a little filly had to go with her family to a big city," Granny Smith started, making large gestures with her hooves. "They went to go and meet the princess and ask for some land. The young filly thought that they would never get anything from the princess, so she didn't worry about having to leave that city. But her dreams were all but crushed when she heard that the princess had accepted her parent's request.
"When they got to the new land, the filly hated it. She hated the creepy forests, she hated the fact that she didn't have anypony other than her family around. She just wanted to go back, but she didn't.
"Soon she began to enjoy the new home, but not without missing the great city. She'd met a nice colt there. She missed him. But, it wasn't to be. She faced the new place with pride and hope, but not forgetting the great city and the places before that city.
"Sure, she was faced with hardships, but she didn't care she soon found magic there, both real and sentimental. She came to love the new place, but she will never forget the places she had been before that. At least, I don't reckon that I will. After all, it's been years since those days and I still remember 'em clear as day."
Cassidy sat there, her jaw slack. That old lady had been through all that? Cassidy could hardly believe it. She could tell from that look on the old woman's face that this was no tale, but rather her own life.
"That...," Cassidy barely got out before she began to laugh. It soon turned into a pure roar of laughter. She laughed harder than she since the day she had come to Ponyville. Granny soon joined in and the pair were just about dying on the floor from laughter. Cassidy actually had fallen out of her seat, but Granny had thankfully stayed on the couch.
"That... Th-that actually did make me feel better," Cassidy breathed out. Granny looked at her with a knowing look.
"Miss Philips," Granny started a gleam in her eye. "Would you let me come over next Wednesday to tell ya the official version of the story that I told Apple Bloom's class?"
"Why I do declare," Cassidy said in most joking southern accent, which Granny Smith had smiled at. "I'd be ever so delighted for that ta happen!"
At that moment, Cassidy decided that granny smith apples were her favorite food of all time.
Photos and to a lesser Extent Muffins
Cassidy loved the busy feeling that the market gave off. To her, it was simply intoxicating. So was the scent of fresh baked pastries. She searched for the source of the heavenly smell. Her eyes landed on a cream colored earth pony mare. What was her name... Bon Bon? Yeah, that sounded about right.
Oh, yeah! She was the roommate of that crazy mint mare that kept trying to schedule a meeting with her. Normally Cassidy would have accepted but every time she ran into in town she would just stare at her hands with something like... Lust maybe? Either way it was unsettling.
Cassidy shook the memory from her mind as she made her way to the much saner Bon Bon. Cassidy caught her eye, smiling as she approached her. Bon Bon, while looking nice, looked a bit uneasy. Cassidy would have to ask her what's up.
"Hi, Bon Bon," Cassidy said as she approached the mare.
"Hi there Cassidy," Bon Bon said, waving her hoof in a friendly manner. "Has Lyra done anything... Crazy? Do I need to pay you to forget anything?"
So, that's why she was uneasy. Cassidy shook her head, a small smile playing on her lips. Bon Bon visibly relaxed, letting out a sigh.
"Thank Luna," Bon Bon muttered. She then straightened up, realizing that Cassidy was probably here to buy treats. "What can I do for you?"
"Well," Cassidy said with a smile. "Whatta ya got?"
"Well," Bon Bon said looking over her assortment of sweets and treats. "I'm guessing you're here for breakfast?"
Cassidy nodded.
"Well, I've got fritters, and... uh... a muffin..."
That was it? Cassidy wasn't in the mood for a fritter and frankly... the muffin looked hard as a rock. Cassidy gave her a weary smile. She couldn't just have taken the poor mare's time and not buy anything! Cassidy looked at the other things on the makeshift display. Maybe she'd buy a dessert for later. And the cookies did look pretty good... Aw, what the heck.
"Actually, I think I'll buy a dessert for later today," Cassidy said trying her bet to come off as polite. "Can I have one of those sugar cookies?"
"Oh, of course!"
Cassidy happily took the cookie and was on the hunt for her breakfast once again. Cassidy started humming a tune that she still couldn't quite place. It was from some sort of movie she'd seen once or twice. Oh, well, she thought as she made her way down the little road. It wasn't like she'd forgotten anything else from earth, right? That thought made Cassidy stop dead in her tracks. Had she forgotten other things from earth?
That thought terrified Cassidy to no end. If she had forgotten things, how long would it take to forget everything? Cassidy turned back towards the direction she had come from. She needed to be alone. She needed to think. She needed to remember.
☀
"Hello?" Derpy said as she knocked on the door. She furrowed her brows looking at the sign that the human had put on her door which said "Come On In!" She had liked that sign when she had first seen it but now after finding the door locked it brought nothing but worry.
"Is everything ok?" Derpy called from the outside of the house. Derpy knew that she could just be out or doing something else, but... "Hello? Human lady?"
"Sorry!" Derpy heard a voice call, accompanied by the sound of someone running. Derpy sighed in relief. At least she was ok physically. Derpy waited a moment before the door swung open in one great motion.
A panting figure stood there, one that the likes of the pegasus had never seen or dreamed that she would see. It was a bipedal creature, not unlike a minotaur. But unlike the species she had cream colored skin and no fur, only clothes, which derpy thought was strange. Normally ponies only wore clothes if they were going out somewhere. Derpy might have caught her as she was getting ready for something important.
"Oh," Derpy said as she scooted the basket filled with muffins that she had brought for the human in front of her so the human could see them. "I made you muffins. I'm sorry for interrupting you. You must be getting ready to go somewhere, right?"
"Whadda ya mean?" The creature asked. Derpy looked at her in confusion.
"You're clothes?" Derpy said, in more of a questioning manner than a statement. The human laughed a little in response. Derpy still looking at the clothing that she was wearing. Derpy then looked back up at the human's face, confusion on her own.
"Humans always wear clothing," The human explained to the small equine. "On earth, if you were a sentient being, not wearing clothing was a taboo. We even had laws against it." Derpy opened her mouth, but the human held up a finger, like a pony would hold up a hoof you stop the other one from talking. "And yes, I know that I'm not required to wear clothes anymore, but it's just more comfortable. Plus, if more humans arrive I don't wanna freak 'em out."
"Oh," Derpy said quietly. She stood there just looking at the strange human. She had what looked like a messy bun on the top of her head (the only place that she could see that had hair on it). She also had what looked like overalls on, as well as an orange shirt. All of a sudden the human did something similar to a face-hoof with her hand.
"Where are my manners when I need them?" The human whispered quietly, as ran the hand down the length of her face. She then turned back to Derpy with a smile. "What you like to come in? I was expecting company a little bit later today, but I'm sure she would love to see that I'm socializing with other ponies as well."
"Oh, I wouldn't want to be a bother," Derpy said, a small blush forming on her cheeks.
"Oh, don't worry about it," The human reassured her. "Besides, this can be the way I thank for the muffins!"
The human shifted a bit so that Derpy could fit through the door frame. Derpy pondered it for a moment and decided that it could be pretty neat to be able to talk with a being from another world. Derpy picked up the basket with her mouth and trotted on inside the house.
It was a nice house, for the most part, most of the things being larger than normal things in Derpy's own house. But that was understandable considering how much taller the human was compared to her. She was almost as tall as the princess herself!
Derpy looked around the eating area that the entryway opened up into. Derpy's face become one of mild horror. Pictures and random objects that Derpy had never seen before were strewn about the table, in what looked like a frenzied manner. Derpy stared up at the human, a questioning look combined with a worried glance. The human looked down at her in confusion. Derpy never took her eyes off the human but pointed at the table. The human's mouth turned into an 'o' shape.
"I'm going through old photos from earth," The human said as she sat down at a random seat. She then looked back at derpy and smile. "You wanna see pictures of another world?"
To Derpy, the thought was simply intoxicating. Derpy unfurled her wings and flew over to the seat beside the human. Derpy landed as gently as she could in the large, alien chair. After getting as comfortable as she could, Derpy looked up at the human, only to find her with a wide smile on her face. The human started laughing, mostly to herself Derpy would have guessed.
"People back home would compare you pegasi's ability to fly with those tiny wings to that of the bumble bee," The human said with a laugh. "It seems so, so impossible, yet there you are! Flying and or buzzing around all over the place!"
"So," Derpy said as she picked up a random photo, not looking at what was on it. "What's this?"
The human's face went bright red, tears trying to leak out of her eyes. Derpy was turning the photo to see what it was, only to have it snatched away by a quick hand. She quickly folded it in half and put it on the opposite side of the table.
"Did you see what was on the photo?" The human asked seriously, a look on her face that showed she was about to cry.
Derpy shook her head 'no'.
"We never talk about that photo again. Ever again."
Derpy just looked at the human, not really sure what to do now. Derpy ducked her head and started to search for a different photo. She found one of 'The Human' as Derpy had now dubbed her in her own mind, with some other possible humans. Derpy picked it up with one hoof and just looked at it, trying to understand it. The Human peered over her shoulder, trying to make out what Derpy had picked up. The Human's face turned to a sad smile.
"That's some family members of mine," The Human said softly as she pointed to the one on the far left and started to list their names and what all they meant to her. "That's my oldest brother, Jonh," She said pointing to an incredibly tall one with brown hair. He could be taller than Celestia! "Then there's my dad, Will. Of course, I didn't call him by his first name," She said pointing to a slightly shorter one than the first one who had more defined wrinkles and tanner skin. "Then there's me when I was just like six or seven," She had pointed to one that looked so small and frail. That was supposed to be her? "Then there's my second to youngest brother, Andrew," She said pointing to an even smaller child than the young version of The Human. He was so tiny with blond wisps of hair. "That one is my mom, and she's carrying my baby, baby brother in her belly." She finally said pointing to an older woman with amazing incredibly dark brown hair, with a rather large belly. Wait had the human meant she had eaten the baby?! Was it customary to eat the youngest baby?! Derpy would have been eaten if that was the case!
"You people eat your babies?!" Derpy cried in distress. The Human human looked terrified.
"NO!" She screamed waving her hands in front of her. "I was just saying that she was pregnant! Humans, at least one who are sane, are not cannibals!"
☀
Derpy and The Human, who Derpy later found out whose name was Cassidy, talked about the world that Cassidy had been forced to leave behind. Cassidy showed her some of her old friends, other family members even pets that she'd had. Some photos she couldn't tell what they were, she hadn't been there or she was too young to remember them.
Derpy looked around the table for a new photo, but they had gone through most all of them. Her eyes then landed on the photo that they were supposed to never mention again. But Derpy wanted to know what she was hiding. What could it possibly be to cause such a reaction from Cassidy?
Derpy slowly slid her hoof across the table while Cassidy was looking and talking about a random photo. Derpy felt the tip of the piece of paper. 'Come on you ditzy hooves!' She thought sliding it back towards her. 'Please, please, please don't fail me now!' She had the piece of paper in her hoof, which was now directly in front of her.
She... she'd done it? And Cassidy hadn't noticed? Derpy looked at the human who was still caught up in her own storytelling. Derpy bit her lip as she slowly unfolded the photo. So close! She stared at the photo, confusion taking over her face.
This is what she didn't want to talk about? It looked like it was meant to just be for laughs. It was Cassidy and another male human, but it wasn't part of her family or any of her previous friends. It was a series of photos on a long strip of paper all taken in the same place. A photo booth maybe?
The photos were as follows: The first on was of them laughing, both looking so giddy and happy. The second was of what Derpy could only interpret as silly faces at the camera, Cassidy sticking her tongue out and puffing her cheeks and the other human making his eyes grow wide, putting his hands on sides of his face and making a kissy face. The third was the male kissing Cassidy on the cheek, whilst Cassidy was blushing and what looked like laughing. The fourth was them both play fighting with each other, it was a bit blurry.
Derpy put the photo down. It was of Cassidy and her coltfriend. Derpy felt hot tears moisten her cheeks, of course, Cassidy wouldn't want to see these. Derpy couldn't even imagine leaving her own lover, Doctor. Derpy couldn't even begin to imagine the heartbreak.
"How long were you together?" She said quietly. Cassidy had long since put the previous picture down and was staring at Derpy. Cassidy had tears on her own cheeks, and much more than Derpy had.
"Three years...," Cassidy said, her voice void of the hurt that was obvious on her face. Derpy threw a hand to cover up her mouth. Three years?! They could have gotten married by now if they had wanted to!
"Were you engaged?" Derpy asked causing Cassidy's face to turn into one of complete and utter shock. Cassidy's brow furrowed as she slowly shook her head. Derpy blushed as she stared down at her hooves. Then she thought of something. "How come you don't have any other photos of you and him?"
"I do," Cassidy said as she got up and moved to what looked like the living room. She bent down and grabbed several books from what looked like a coffee table. Cassidy then brought them back and laid the books down with a dull thud. Derpy opened one and it was filled with photos of her and him, some with other friends as well. Derpy looked back up at Cassidy with wide eyes. Cassidy reached and picked a photo at random, tears slowly coming to her eyes. "His name was Finn."
"Finn."
☀
Granny smith entered Cassidy's house and was greeted by the sound of stifled giggles. Granny was confused by this and walked into the living room to find a sight that simply warmed her heart. Sitting on the couch over a book was Cassidy and another mare, about her age laughing at something.
"Then... An-and then he j-just chucked the water balloon straight a-at the lifeguard and ran for his freaking life!" Cassidy practically screamed with laughter.
"Seriously?!" The gray mare said in disbelief, who Granny Smith recognized as Ditzy Doo... Or maybe it was Derpy Hooves... "He just ran!?"
"Like heck!" Cassidy shouted. Cassidy looked over at the older green mare and smiled. “Hey, Granny! Wow… Is it really 12:30 already?”
“Nope,” Granny Smith said, a smirk playing on her lips. “I’m late.”
