Farmhand

Quill and Applejack stopped in front of the castle's large doors, and Quill raised a hoof to knock. Before he could, however, Applejack pushed the right door open and walked inside. Quill shrugged and followed her inside, more nervous than he was showing, and shut the door behind him with a back leg.

"Raght this way, Quill." Applejack led him a ways down the long entrance hall, which was dotted with large sets of double doors. He was full of nervous energy, and felt as though he could punch a hole through the wall by tapping it. Everyone feels like that sometimes, right?

Applejack pushed through a set of doors and disappeared inside. Quill followed, glancing around. He walked into a large dining room, with a large table seemingly made of crystal taking up the center of the room. Gold-backed chairs circled the table, ten of them even. He recognized Pinkie instantly, she was sitting directly across the room from him. A rainbow-maned mare he assumed to be Rainbow was to her right , and Rarity to her left. Next to Rarity sat a young looking mare who, to his surprise, sported both wings and a horn. He knew, of course, of the princess of friendship who resided in Ponyville, but he hadn't ever expected to have lunch with her. Applejack went and sat next to Twilight Sparkle, if he had heard right, and the only pony he didn't know here was a yellow-furred mare with a long pink mane, who he assumed to be Fluttershy. He hesitated for a moment as to where to sit, so Twilight rolled her eyes playfully and gestured to the seat next to her. Quill took the seat, grinning nervously.

"HI QUILL!!" Pinkie chirped happily, and he turned his gaze to her.

"Nice to see you again, Pinkie. Nice to see all of you." Pinkie beamed wider until her smile was getting scarily large.

"Your welcome-to-Ponyville-because-you're-new-to-Ponyville-party is almost ready!!!" She leaned forward, forelegs on the table.

"Umm...Thank you Pinkie. Where will it be?"

"Oh, yeah, can't tell ya that. I can't spoil the surprise, silly!" She sat back, and started to eat a cupcake she had produced from Celestia-knew-where, rather than the large amount of food on her plate.

"So, Quill, I'm so glad you could make it!! It's quite an honor to meet you." Twilight smiled cordially, obviously not totally sure what to say. Unable to help himself, Quill chuckled.

"Princess Twilight, you're a princess. Surely meeting me isn't an honor, I'm just a writer."

"But your books are awesome!!!" Rainbow exclaimed, flaring her wings out excitedly.

"Well, he only wrote one, Rainbow Dash, but yes, it was quite good." Twilight inclined her head slightly.

"Not better than Daring Do, but still pretty bucking good." Rainbow grinned.

"Yeah, Daring Do is quite the writer, and a nice pony, too." Rainbow's jaw dropped, as did Twilight's, and the other four ponies looked around at them in confusion.

"You met Daring Do!? I mean I did too, but I didn't know..."

"Er...yeah, Dare and I had a run in a few years back. She needed help with something, and since I had figured out who she was...she came to me. She and I write each other from time to time now." He explained slowly, being evasive as far as giving details.

"Your friends with Daring Do!!!!!!!??????????? Dare?? Pet names!?? Wha???" Rainbow Dash's eyes burned with envy, and Quill had to bite down a laugh.

"Pen Pals, yeah." Twilight leaned over to whisper something in his ear.

"I never said this, but your eye for detail is more than a bit keener than Daring's. Just saying." She pulled away again quickly.

"So what exactly were the circumstances of your meeting Daring Do, darling?" Rarity spoke up from Twilight's other side.

"Oh...it was in Appleoosa...doesn't really matter."

"Well, Quill, your book was awesome." Rainbow said with finality, and Applejack nodded while Twilight hummed in agreement.

"And there's anotha one!" Applejack cut in within a moment, and Rainbow's eyes widened. Twilight looked to him for confirmation. Quill was getting more comfortable now.

"Umm...yeah. I sent it in to the publishers the other night. Haven't gotten a letter back quite yet. Although they did give me some bits in advance when I told them I was going to write it."

"Oooh!! How many!?" Pinkie looked at him with a gleam in her eye. Her face glowed pink, then her mouth opened and a massive bite of turkey was stuffed into her face. Quill realized Twilight was responsible and smiled to himself.

"That's none of your business, Pinkie."

"Sowwy Twi..." Pinkie mumbled around her bite, then swallowed.

"I might have to read this book, you ponies make it sound quite wonderful." Rarity interjected.

"You totally should!! It's an all nighter!! Scratch that, it takes more than a night to read!!" Rainbow flew up in a loop, her food gone, and landed neatly in her seat a moment later.

"So, Quill," Twilight spoke, "Is the second as long as the first?"

"A bit longer, but around the same, yes." Quill nodded slowly.

"Sorry, Quill, if we're making you uncomfortable." Twilight noticed his discomfort at the attention. "So, how long are you staying in Ponyville?"

"Well, I don't actually have anyplace else to be...so, I was considering staying here permanently." Rainbow grinned at this, and Twilight sat back thoughtfully.

"What about your fam-"

"Do not talk about my family." Quill said harshly, making all six ponies blink in surprise. "They aren't...in my life anymore." The ponies around him narrowed their eyes in confusion, but Twilight caught on right away.

"I'm sorry, Quill..." She leaned over slightly and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. She pulled away again after a moment, looking at him.

"We'll make sure not to talk about them." The other ponies were catching on now, and they all looked down at their laps somberly. Quill took advantage of the silence to finish his food quickly.

"So. You're staying in Ponyville for the foreseeable future, and your second book is in the process of being published?" Pinkie tried to turn the conversation away from the sad topic it was currently on.

"Yeah, pretty much. At least I think it's being processed for publishing." Pinkie smiled a tiny smile. The mood was starting to lighten again. Everypony was finished, and the plates started to glow pink as Twilight stood.

"I'm going to wash the dishes, I'll see everypony later. Quill, feel free to stop by anytime." Twilight left the room, the plates floating ahead of her. Applejack got down and headed for the door, beckoning for Quill to follow. Together, all six of them left the castle and headed in different directions. Applejack fell into place beside him.

"Ahm sorry...that didn't go as well as I'd hoped." Applejack smiled apologetically.

"It's okay, Applejack. That was bound to happen eventually. They walked on in silence, plodding for the farm.

"Why don't ya take today off? Go have some fun." She told him as they meandered through the gates onto the farm.

"Are you sure, Applejack? I'm happy to help." Applejack nodded firmly.

"Ya go an get yer mind onta somethin happy, ya hear? I'll do the chores today. Big Mac will have gotten a start while we were gone, I'm sure there ain't much left." She smiled weakly, and Quill hugged her gratefully.

"Thanks, Applejack." He nodded thankfully and trotted into the house.

Sighing softly, he headed upstairs to his room. He felt like he could sleep off the rest of the century. He plopped onto the bed and closed his eyes, a yawn splitting his muzzle. Groaning once, he drifted off to sleep.