A Measure of History

It was a rather pleasant day, James observed. While on Earth autumn had been in full swing, Equestria seemed to have only just left behind the heat and humidity of summer. James had taken a glance at the calendar back at Twilight’s home some hours before, noting that today was Tuesday, September 14th.

The leaves of the trees had begun to change color, their vibrant greens giving way for cool reds, savory yellows, and the occasionally dead brown. There was a pleasant breeze, a cool wind sweeping across the valley. James took a deep breath, appreciative of the clean air—something he had missed sorely from his childhood. Neither New York nor New Jersey had been known for their lack of pollution, after all.

Yet, there was something off about it all, something different. It wasn’t unnatural, anyhow, but James suspected that, like the weather, the sun, and the moon, the seasons worked differently in Equestria. For, a brief glance at the trees had shown that, where leaves would have begun to fall, every piece of foliage, every frond of autumnal color, remained in its place, undisturbed in their branches.  Twilight, walking with him at his side, seemed not to notice, absent-mindedly skipping along as a trio of bags floated along with her.

“Twilight?” he prompted, carefully shifting his own bags. “I’ve got a question.”

“Hm?” her ears pricked towards him. “What is it, James?”

James looked back at the trees around them, a slight wind blowing through their boughs. “Well, I know that it’s fall and all, but I’m not sure if Equestria’s seasons work the same way Earth’s do,” he began. “But, I’m used to leaves falling from the trees during fall. Is it not the same in Equestria?”

Twilight gave a short giggle, turning her head to look at him. “I guess that’s another difference. Throughout the majority of Equestria, the pegasi usually work to bring leaves down from their trees,” she said, motioning around them. “But Ponyville was founded by Earth Ponies, and the town has its own tradition regarding this time of year.”

“And that is?”

“Well,” she began, shifting into her “lecture” voice. “Every year, when the leaves begin to change color, the town hosts an event called the ‘Running of the Leaves.’ Ponies from all over town, and even some from other cities, hold a hoof-race here.”

James raised an eyebrow, his curiosity whet. “And what does that have to do with the leaves?”

“The idea is that the resulting stampede from all of the running ponies will shake the leaves off of their trees,” Twilight explained happily, settling into a gleeful prance. “Ponyville has had this tradition since its founding—I believe Granny Smith was one of the first to take part!”

That name was unfamiliar. “Granny Smith?” James asked, rolling the name across his tongue. It didn’t particularly sound like any of the other weird names ponies seemed to possess. “Who’s that?”

“She’s Applejack’s grandmother,” Twilight answered. “You’ve met Applejack, right?”

James scratched his head, struggling to remember the pony in question. “Applejack… she’s one of your friends, right? Met her at... Fluttershy’s house. I think?”

 She nodded, giving a low affirmatory hum. “Mmhm. Applejack’s family owns the nearby farm, where they harvest apples, among other things.” Twilight stopped for a moment, and James nearly bumped into her.

“Twilight? What’s wrong?”

The unicorn shook her head, a smile creeping across her face. “Nothing’s wrong. I just see my friends.” She turned to look at him, a warm look in her eyes. “I think they’re waiting on us. Ready to go see them?”

“You’re sure I won’t be intruding?” James asked in response, his voice unsure. “I mean, they’re your friends, not mine.”

Twilight shook her head, slapping his leg lightly with a hoof. “Oh James, don’t worry. I’m sure they’ll be your friends in no time too. Rarity invited you, after all!” She turned away from him, trotting at a rapid pace towards her friends.

“Hey girls!” Twilight exclaimed, a wide smile across her mouth. “Waiting on us?”

James shrugged, following after his host. As they approached, the assembled ponies gave a chorus of greetings, swarming Twilight with bright smiles upon their mouths.

“Twilight!” the foremost said, her voice bubbling with excitement. James’ eyes could barely keep up, her pink coat a bouncing ball of delight. “You made it! We were all waiting for you!”

Twilight giggled, winking at her friends. “Yes, and I’m glad I did. I almost would have forgotten, if it weren’t for Rarity.”

James stood to the side, rubbing an arm in discomfort. He watched Twilight and her friends convene, patiently waiting for his turn to introduce himself.

“And we’re glad you’re here, dear,” a familiarly pearl-white mare responded, her smile sly. “Or at least, I am. Though, you did bring our kind visitor, yes?”

“That’s right,” a southern twang responded. James scratched his head, struggling to place the name on the face. “Rares did say you were gonna bring a friend along, or something. He around?”

“Of course!” She turned around to face him. “There he is. Come on, James! You’ve already met a few of them.”

Shaking his head, James gave a small smile. “Alright, alright.” He waved around, his eyes glancing across the various ponies. They were familiar, at least somewhat, and the gears in his head turned and turned, his memories working in overtime. The yellow one, with the pink hair—Fluttershy, he knew a little. She was standing towards the back, seeming to hide behind her mane. And beside her was a rather unique pony, at least in terms of color. While her coat and wings were blue, her mane was split into a variety of hues, all of the rainbow. She gave James a wary look, her legs slightly tense.

Then, in front of Twilight, were the other three. Applejack he somewhat knew, having talked a bit with her when he had first awoken in Equestria. The leather hat upon her blonde mane was fairly familiar, and her orange coat hid a strong set of muscles underneath. She was evidently familiar with manual labor, and James reminded himself to not engage in any sort of tussle with her.

Rarity, of course, he knew, but the final one, a pink, tremoring blob of excitement and glee bouncing unpredictably, he regrettably did not. Though, he would bet a large sum of money that “pink” was at least a portion of her name.

“Hey,” James said, letting his hand fall to his side. “You all doing well?”

A stetson bobbed towards him, its owner looking up rather curiously at James. “Oh, I remember you. You’re that new critter, come bounding into Equestria or somethin’,” Applejack said, tilting her head. “I reckon you’ve been settling in nicely?”

He thought for a moment, before nodding. His mouth curled downwards and his eyes widened, giving the appearance of approval. “You could say that. It’s been… fine.”

Applejack hummed in appreciation, turning back to her friends. “Well, I’m sure ya’ll are hungry—I sure am. I could eat the north end of a south-bound polecat. So whaddya say, we get this picnic goin’?”

 James sat quietly, watching over the picnic as it progressed. A motley smell of foods and various delights wafted around his nose. His and Twilight’s deliveries had quickly been sorted into the mix. The apple-based treats, baked by Applejack herself, had easily caught James’ fancy. Per the earth pony’s blessings, he had taken a couple of fritters and dumplings for himself, enjoying the delicacies in a spot away from the others.

It had also seemed that Twilight’s friends had brought a collection of pets, their own, to take part in the festivities. A turtle crawled nearby, a peculiar rotor upon its back. A rabbit and a cat seemed to be in the middle of a fierce argument, alternating between high-speed pursuits around the picnic blanket and smacking at each other with paws and claws. A small alligator, its eyes wide and blank, gnawed at a pink, cotton-like mane.

But, what truly caught James’ interest, was a dog. He had first seen it romping around in the fields nearby, and it had been like love at first sight. James absolutely adored dogs—he had grown up around them as a child. This particular one seemed to be a border collie, its fur alternating between a dirty white and a soft brown.

At one point, the dog had approached James, sniffing at him with abound curiosity. Seizing the moment, and the dog, James alternated between eating away at his food, and scratching away at the collie’s fur. He didn’t know whose pet it was, but he didn’t particularly care. Neither did the dog, evidently, as it seemed to enjoy James’ attention a great amount.

Nibbling on a particularly delightful fritter, James did not notice a rainbow-maned mare creep up to him, her eyes slightly narrowed in minor suspicion.

“You enjoying the food?”

James gave a grunt of surprise, nearly dropping the fritter as his head swiveled on his neck. “Hm? What?” He found the pegasus behind him, and James smiled awkwardly. “Oh, hey. Yeah, it’s alright.” Below his other hand, the dog angled its head up at James, as if questioning why he had stopped rubbing its fur.

The pegasus’ eyes narrowed even further, slight disapproval evident in her glare. “Only alright?”

James chuckled softly, shrugging. “Yeah, I guess that’s a misnomer. It’s really great—I think it’s been a long time since I’ve had something this good,” he said, glancing back to the group of ponies nearby. “I’ve got to give Applejack some thumbs up for these.”

“Thumbs?” she asked, looking down at his hands. “Those are the little things you’ve got on your claws, right? Unless your thumbs are different from Spike’s thumbs.”

He shook his head, chuckling again. “No, they’re the same,” he replied, looking around. “Speaking of which, where is Spike? I thought he’d be here with us?” Feeling a nudge upon his hand, James began to pet the dog again.

The mare shrugged, rolling her eyes. “I’unno. I thought he’d be here too, but who knows where he is.” She looked back at James, a smirk creeping across her mouth. “So, Twi’s got to have told you who I am, right?”

James hesitated, the gears of his mind working as he struggled to remember her name. Slight worry began to set in when he realized he could not recollect. Shrugging, James laughed nervously. “Uh…”

The rainbow-mare leaned in closer, a nonplussed expression on her face. “Hm? Do you know my name or not?”

“Rainbow… Rainboo Splash?” It sounded familiar, at least, and James dearly hoped that he was correct, or at least close enough. His hopes were dashed, however, when his acquaintance moaned in frustration, throwing her hooves into the air.

“I expected the egghead to have told you my name,” she grumbled.

“Why’s that?” James asked cautiously. She took flight in response, projecting a rather heroic pose in the air—or at least tried to. It all looked rather silly to James, in truth.

“’Cause I’m the fastest flyer in all of Ponyville!” she exclaimed. “Rainbow Dash, future Wonderbolt, at your service!”

James was confused, yet his interest was also piqued. “Wonderbolt?” he asked, tilting his head. “What’s that?”

Evidently, it wasn’t the right thing to say. Rainbow Dash gasped, her cry of shock bordering on a shriek. “What?!”

He recoiled backwards, surprised by Rainbow’s sudden outburst. “What’s wrong?” he raised his hands in front of him, palms outward. “Should I know what they are?”

“Ugh, whatever. It doesn’t matter,” Dash groaned, wiping a hoof across her face. Narrowing her eyes towards James, she took a suspicious expression. “But you’re not some monster looking to take over Equestria or nothin’, are you?”

Taken aback, James shook his head. “Uh, not that I know of,” he said, an eyebrow raised. “Why do you ask?”

“Ponyville and Equestria have had enough bad guys trying to ruin things,” Rainbow Dash answered, looking away. “I’m not gonna let a single one of ‘em destroy my home, and attack my friends. I’m keeping an eye on you anyways, just in case.”

With a beat of her wings, Dash fluttered away, returning to her friends. James was greatly confused, yet figured that he could ask Twilight later. Perhaps this Rainbow Dash was particularly attached to her friends, and was wary of any potential intrusions. James was rather familiar with that kind of situation, having seen it plenty of times at his workplace amongst his students.

Shrugging to himself, James resumed his attention on the dog, chuckling with glee as it wiggled with pleasure under his scratching hands. He did not notice as yet another mare approached him.

“The hay are you doin’ to my dog, sugarcube?” a southern twang asked. James’ head shot up, slight alarm in his eyes.

“Huh?”

There, standing in front of him, was Applejack. She held an expression of deep concern, unsure of what she was seeing. “I asked what you’re doing to my dog, Winona. Though, I can’t say she ain’t enjoying it.”

James let go of Winona, glad to learn her name yet flustered nonetheless. The dog whimpered and whined, and he chuckled nervously. “Uh, sorry. I was just petting her. I, uh… I like dogs.”

“I can tell,” Applejack deadpanned. After a moment, however, she burst into laughter, sitting down and reaching for Winona. Pulling her closer, she began to pet the dog herself. “Seems she was enjoying your pets a lot more than she enjoys mine. I reckon it’s ‘cause of those hands of yours.”

James smiled, holding his hands up. “Yeah. I guess hooves aren’t the best tool for scratching things?”

Applejack nodded silently, massaging Winona’s back with a hoof. A few seconds passed in silence, before she looked back up at James. A curious look was about her, though Applejack looked the least bit reluctant—perhaps even embarrassed.

“Something on your mind?” James asked.

“Oh, it’s nothin’,” she responded, frowning. “Just a stupid question, probably barkin’ up the wrong tree anyways.”

He shook his head, giving a low chuckle. “Ask away, Applejack. There’s no such thing as stupid questions.” That was a lie.

After a few moments Applejack sighed, shrugging. “Oh, alright. I was just wonderin’, what’s it like? Having hands?”

James pursed his lips, having not expected the question. “Well, I mean… I guess it’s alright?”

“I reckon it’s gotta be more than that, sugarcube,” Applejack replied, rolling her eyes. “I mean, we ponies get by easily enough with our hooves. But I could see those hands of yours being mighty useful from time to time. Same as Spikes’ claws.”

James shrugged in response. “Sure, yeah. The thumbs do a lot of the work, though. Our hands would be kind of useless in a lot of regards without thumbs.”

Her eyes closed, Applejack nodded. “Well, I guess that makes enough sense. Though,” she eyed James weirdly, glancing back at her friends. “Why are you sitting here all by your lonesome? Why not join me and the others?”

“Didn’t want to intrude,” James answered plainly, leaning back on his hands. “You girls seemed to be having enough fun as it was, anyways.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow, a slight frown marring her visage. “Does what Rainbow said got anything to do with it?”

“You heard that?”

She nodded, stepping closer to James. “I did. But don’t worry about what she said, Rainbow didn’t mean none of it,” she assured him. “Gal’s just had a lot of trouble lately. In fact, I reckon we’ve all had some.”

“What, you and your friends? What’s going on?”

Applejack shook her head, a slightly glum look upon her. “Nah, not just us. All of Equestria. It just seems like every other day, some rotten, cherry-pickin’ villain comes and tries to take over, or just cause some trouble for all our folks. Chrysalis, Sombra… who knows who’s gonna be next?” Sighing, she gave a light shrug. “I can tell why it’s got some folks on edge. Hayseeds, I reckon even Princess Celestia herself has got her britches all worked up. And now you’re here, some critter nopony’s ever seen before.”

James did not answer, unsure of how to go about his words. After a moment, however, Applejack seemed to cheer up, as if a dark cloud had lifted from above her head.

“Eh, I’m sure you don’t wanna hear a mare rattle off about stupid things. Why don’t we join the others, have some fun?”

She offered a hoof towards James, smiling warmly at him. He grasped it firmly, noting Applejack’s rather formidable strength, before pulling himself up to his feet. Nodding down at her, James followed Applejack back to the others.

The news was troubling, to say the least, but James was sure he could show the ponies of Equestria that he meant well.