A New Leaf

Chapter 1

        I looked out the window, watching the trees, hills, and occasionally some animals roll past. I had been on the train for about eight hours. Hardly anypony was left on the train; the mayor told me that not many lived in Ponyville or visited unless friend or family. It sounded perfect to me, as I grew up in a small community. Sure, I had been to the city a few times, but I didn’t really like them. The less ponies, the better in my opinion. Less ponies to bother me….

        The door to my compartment opened and shook me out of my train of thought. Heh. A mare smiled at me and told me that we were almost to the station. I just nodded and stretched my legs. Just as quick as she came, she left. I looked out the window one more time as I relaxed my muscles. It was getting dark, but there was plenty of light left.

        Standing up in the small compartment, I cracked my back and shifted my attention over to the compartment opposite to mine. The mare was standing there with the door open, probably to tell the mare and stallion in there the same thing. I was pretty sure we were the only ones left.

My saddle bags were still sitting in the seat closest to the door. It felt odd traveling so far with so little, but I figured that hauling that many items would be nothing but a hassle. Instead, I sold or gave away practically everything I didn’t want to take in my bags, and decided I would use the bits to just buy everything again here. It also… felt right. I was starting a new life here, right? All I needed was a picture of my sister, some bits to get by before they transferred them all over to the Ponyville bank, a few toiletries, a few important documents (including identification), and a few other sentimental items.

My sister.

I missed her already. I hadn’t really seen her much since she moved out, but she was always close. Now she was miles away, and I would not get to see her but probably a few times a year. I didn’t blame her, though; she had her own life to live. At least I got to see her and her coltfriend before she left. He seemed like a decent guy. I was never very protective of my sister, but I made sure to tell him that if he ever hurt her that there would be hell to pay.  He seemed to understand. Maybe it was because he really was a good stallion. Or maybe he had heard everything about me from her. Regardless, he could probably kill me one way or another if we got into a fight. He was 10 years older than me, like my sister, and had some muscle to him. But come on, it’s the principle of defending somepony you love!

The sound of the train whistle knocked me out of my thoughts as we started to slow down. I sighed and put my saddle bags on. I was little nervous being in a new town, hell, new country. Language was not a problem, everypony around Equus usually spoke the same language. We still used some older language for some things, but rarely. Based on the letters I wrote to the mayor of Ponyville, I assumed she spoke the same language, obviously.  Thankfully, I wouldn’t have to learn a new language coming here. But I knew that some customs would be different, so I had to watch myself and be sure I didn’t accidentally offend anypony. My time spent on the boat trip to Manehattan taught me a few differences between Equestria’s culture and mine. Apparently, ponies here tended to be more… sociable than at home. That to me was a double-edged sword. It meant that hopefully I had less chances of offending somepony. But it also meant that a pony might try to get closer to me….

The train stopped and the whistle blew one more time. I politely waited for the couple in the other compartment to get out first. They thanked me and gave me a smile, which I didn’t return. I just kept my head low. I could probably pass it off as being tired. Traveling a few days by boat and then eight hours on a train would do that anypony. Making sure my saddle bags were secure, I walked out of the compartment, my legs aching for movement. I trotted down the aisles, all the way to the door that led to fresh air I desperately needed. Upon reaching the door, the mare from before opened it for me. I nodded to her in thanks and proceeded out into Ponyville.

The door closed behind me as I deeply breathed in. Just as fresh as home. I think. The orange sky was dotted with a few clouds here and there. Beyond a white fence laid Ponyville. The grass certainly looked as green as described, and trees seemed to be pretty abundant. Many hills could be seen as well as houses. It seemed a lot more colourful than home.

“Oh! Hello there! You must be Autumn Leaf!”

I whipped my head around and saw an older-looking Earth pony smiling at me from below the steps of the station platform.

“Ah… yes! Yes, I’m Autumn Leaf,” I said meekly. Who was she? How did she know my name?

“Nice to finally meet you Autumn Leaf! I’m Mayor Mare, but you can just call me Mayor,” she said kindly.

“Nice to finally meet you too. You can just call me Autumn. You didn’t tell me you would be meeting me at the station,” I said while the faintest of smiles played on my lips. At least it was somepony I knew. Well, somewhat knew. I had only communicated by letter.

“Well, how else would you know how to find Goldengrape’s home?” She smiled warmly at me. Well she did have a point. I most likely would have visited town hall anyways. Er, if I knew where that was.

“You got me there.” I stretched out my legs once again as I made my way down the steps. She stayed put all the way until I reached her and hugged her. She seemed to be a bit taken aback.

Wait.

I forgot.

They normally don’t hug on first greet here….

Shit.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized. “I forgot where I was for a second. I’m not use to anything here.” I blushed and took a few steps back, just to be safe. She still had a bit of a shocked expression but it faded into a small smile as she shook her head.

“No worries, I understand. However for future reference, most ponies here just give a hoofshake on first meeting.”

“Normally we would too, but we’ve already been quill pals for a few months. Nevertheless, I’m sorry.”

She seemed to take pity on me and gestured for me to follow her. I followed in line next to her, careful not to invade her personal space. Here they probably didn’t have as big of a bubble as they did at home, but one can never be too sure. We hit cobblestone and started following a path towards the houses and hills. We just walked in silence for a few minutes before either one of us said anything.

“So how was the trip here?” she questioned, keeping her cheerful tone. It reminded me of my sister.

“Tiring. Ironic that doing nothing but waiting would make somepony tired, but I’m glad to be walking again.”

“I use to visit Canterlot a lot. The trip there and back was always tiring. Though a few hours is nothing compared to a few days, I bet.”

I smirked and nodded my head. I never wanted to make that trip again. “Next time, I think I’ll go by sky chariot. If I can afford it.”

“I’ve talked to the head of the Ponyville Bank and they said that it might take a few days for the bits to be transferred. I assume you brought some on hoof though?”

“Just enough for I’d say about a few weeks. I didn’t think it would take too long.”

Mayor nodded her head, still smiling. “We’ve never had a pony from Germaney come to live here before, much less visit at all. You never did mention why you were traveling halfway around Equus to come here,” she said in a curious voice.

I was hoping to avoid that question. Should I lie? Should I tell the truth? I didn’t really want to tell her, but….

“It’s a long story,” I said, traces of bitterness in my voice. She must’ve picked up on it, as she didn’t say anything and lost her smile.

“I’m sorry, if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s okay. I was just curious.”

Damnit. Now I felt like a dick. I was a little surprised at her apology. If I had told anypony back at home, they probably would have stayed quiet. I sighed and shook my head. “No, I’m sorry. It’s just not a good topic for me. My parents don’t exactly… like me. My sister was the one who mainly took care of me for most of my life. She left home when I was ten, and by then, I was beginning to learn how to take care of myself. The only thing my parents did was house me and provided two meals a day. Once I turned 12, I could take care of myself. Started working and continued to go to school. I told myself one day I would move out of there, away from them and start a new life. Thankfully, when I was eighteen, I started working for a mead brewing company, and made my own mead which was pretty popular in town. I sold the rights and recipe to a large alcohol distributer and in turn they send me some bits from profit every month. It’s not a lot, but it was enough for me. I continued working for three more years, paying rent to my parents after I turned eighteen. After a while I had accumulated enough bits to move to Equestria. I could’ve stayed in Germany, or moved to Prance like my sister. But I didn’t want to stay near them, and I felt like I would look clingy if I moved closed to my sister. I’ve always heard about Equestria, and I’ve meet Goldengrape before since… y’know. Thankfully he’s kind enough to let me stay with him for a bit until I get settled on my hooves and get a place of my own.” It was all true, of course. I only omitted some details about my parents. She didn’t need to hear that. Not now anyways.

She stayed quiet the whole time. I could see her expression change a few times in my peripheral vision. It went from sad, to confused, to neutral. Then she looked at me with a face I couldn’t read.

“I didn’t know it was that difficult for you. Even in my day, most ponies didn’t get jobs until they were eighteen, and certainly didn’t have to pay rent to their own parents.” She looked rather disturbed by that fact. “Though I do have to ask… how did you start working around and making alcohol at such a young age?”

I tilted my head at her question. “Do they not drink here normally?”

She paled a bit. “Well, the legal drinking age here is twenty-four. We wouldn’t dare let anypony drink until then. I’m guessing they let you do it at a younger age there?”

Now it was my turn to go pale. “Tw-twenty-four!? Are you kidding me? Does that mean that…” I trailed off, not sure she could figure it out from there. By her reaction, she did.

“Well, I’m… not sure. If it means that much to you, I’m sure I can talk to Princess Celestia and try to work something out….” Well, she didn’t too hopeful. Twenty-four? We were allowed to drink once we turned sixteen! Why did they make it so high here!? I wasn’t a drunk by any means, my sister made sure of that, but I still enjoyed a glass almost everyday. Waiting three more years would drive me mad. No, that would make me sound like a drunk. I could wait if I absolutely had to. Maybe.

“Sorry, I’m just surprised is all. We were allowed to drink once we turned sixteen. I’m not a drunk, but I usually have a little bit a day. But if you think you could, that would be great. It’s basically our tea and lemonade over there.” Great first impressions I was making. First I seemed angry, now I look like a drunk. In front of one of the two ponies I knew. Wonderful. Typical of me to screw it up.

~~~

We had finally hit the town and into the streets. Perhaps it was a good thing we stopped talking after that little episode I had. Some ponies strolled in the streets, going to various stands were they sold what looked like specialty items. Reminded me of the many specialty shops back home, except they were inside mostly. Probably because of the cold. It looked like many of the stands were sitting in the alleys. I guess only a few were still left open and were about to close up. For some reason I kind of felt disappointed that they were outside. It wasn’t a cultural thing, just me being anti-social. Maybe being here would also help me imp-

“You’re lucky you came here today, really,” Mayor said with a playful smile.

“Why is that?” I said, a little nervous.

“Pinkie Pie is out of town for a few days. When she gets back, however, you’ll be at her mercy. At least your first few days here won’t be filled with frosting and pink.”

What!? What did that mean? Her mercy? Did this pony beat others mercilessly? But then where did the frosting and pink come in? This didn’t make sense! I was told Equestria was safer than my home!

She must’ve saw my nervousness, as she giggled for a second and shook her head. “Don’t worry, she won’t kill you or anything. She just likes to, ah, how do I put this. Meet new ponies?” She seemed to be more asking herself if that was correct. “A lot?”

Well that still didn’t sound pleasant. To me, anyways. I swallowed and tried to brush the thoughts away. “Maybe she doesn’t know I’m coming? Perhaps we can keep it that way,” I said.

She smirked for a second. “Oh, she probably already knows. I don’t even have to tell her.”

I raised an eyebrow. “How could she possibly know if you didn’t tell her?”

She looked at me seriously. “You’ll find out.”

How foreboding. But she wouldn’t know where I was, would she? I decided not to ask. This Pinkie Pie sounded a bit overzealous. Maybe I was just overreacting. She just… welcomed them to Ponyville, right?

Right?

“Normally when a pony comes to live in Ponyville, we have some paperwork that needs to be done. But considering you’ve had a long journey, perhaps it’s best if we wait till another day, when you’re rested up,” Mayor suggested, to which I nodded my head tiredly in agreement.

“How much farther do we have left?” I brushed my vermilion and amber mane away from my face and looked at her. My longer mane had the tendency to plaster to my face when I started sweating. It must’ve been at least 30 degrees outside, even though it was dusk already. Ponyville was certainly hotter during the summer than Germaney!

“It’s that house on the corner,” Mayor said with a smile. The house in question was like all the others except it was wider. It seemed to have 2 stories. Goldengrape certainly wasn’t doing too bad! I was hoping my stay would be short: I didn’t want to be a burden to him. Mayor Mare said that I would have to pick out a spot for my own place first before they could start the construction. Luckily, she said the construction team works fast. I certainly wasn’t going to get something as big as this house. After all, it would just be me. Maybe I’ll get a spare bedroom just in case somepony has to stay the night.

I didn’t see him at first, but Goldengrape was actually outside, watering some flowers in front of the windows. It had been a while since I last saw him. He grew some of the best grapes in Equus. According to the ponies I talked to. It’s only natural that a Germane would know which drink ingredients are the best. We were told that we probably drank the most in the whole world. Though Goldengrape told me his grapes mostly went towards wine, we never really drank it. I was more a fan of mead and champagne, and him just champagne. Though an occasional beer never hurt us.

I saw him finish watering his flowers, and look up right at us. He squinted for a second before a smile crept up on his muzzle. He raised a hoof in greeting which Mayor and I returned.

“Well it has certainly been a while, Autumn. How have you been?” We both exchanged a hug as Mayor stayed back a meter or so.

“Fine. I’ll feel even better when I finally get settled down. You?”

“Y’know, the usual. Just growing grapes. The last time you wrote me was almost a month ago. I was beginning to get a bit worried. But it seems our lovely mayor has taken care of you since you got here, I assume?”

Mayor giggled. “Well, I certainly didn’t want him to get lost here. I do give it my all to know everypony in town as well. If there is anything else you need, Autumn, just tell me. If not, I need to get back to town hall and finish up the day.”

“I think I’m fine now. Thank you again, Mayor. I’ll see you sometime this week to discuss locations and… that other thing,” I finished rather lamely.

She only gave me a small smile and nodded. “Well, I guess this is goodbye for now. Good night, both of you!” She turned around and began trotting towards the way we came.

We both bid her a good night and watched as she went into the night. Goldengrape set his watering can down near the steps and brushed his hooves together to get the dirt off. “Well, let us go inside. You must be burning up after walking here from the station,” he yawned out. With a nod, we both went inside.

His decor wasn’t anything fancy. But the space was massive. The kitchen, living room, and stairs were all plainly visible. Did ponies here enjoy the open spaces? I felt like back at home every room had doors and walls. A lot more tight than this. It wasn’t a bad thing though I decided.

“Welcome to my humble abode. It’s not much, but I enjoy it,” Goldengrape said.

“It’s massive. Why did you get all this space if it’s just you here?” I questioned. My parents home was smaller than this, and it housed 4 ponies once!

He smirked at me and shrugged. “I didn’t build it, I just bought it. It’s not massive. Some ponies here have some bigger than mine. In fact, this is a bit below average here. You’ll be staying on the next floor. I need to check my other flowers, so go on up and put your stuff down. First room on the right,” he explained. Next floor, huh? No problem there. Hell, I would take a park bench at this point. Anywhere to rest my head.

As I made my way upstairs, I thought about my schedule for tomorrow. I didn’t really have much to do besides look for plots of land. Perhaps I would visit the local library, if they had one. I needed to make sure I didn’t have another scene like I did this afternoon. Surely they would have a book that could help me. Goldengrape had his vineyard to tend to, so he couldn’t keep me company. I wasn’t too thrilled about the idea of introducing myself to anypony, but I would have to eventually. Maybe I would browse some around the market and meet everypony there.

Satisfied with my planning, I opened the door to what would become my bedroom for the next few weeks, maybe even months. It was huge compared to my room back home! A queen-sized bed was fixed in the middle of the room, what I assumed to be a bathroom on the farthest wall, a dresser, an end table with a lamp on it beside a chair, and another door on the wall adjacent to the bathroom. What did that door lead to? I opened it and peeked inside.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing but a tiny room barely big enough for me to go into. And the point of this room was? Forget it, I wasn’t going to ask Goldengrape and risk making a fool of myself. Perhaps it was a storage room? Why did ponies need that, especially with houses this big?

Shaking my head, I closed the door and set my saddle bags on the chair. I went into the bathroom and much to my surprise, it was a normal bathroom. Toilet, vanity with sink, medicine cabinet, and a shower. I guess I was expecting something abnormal considering where I was. I noticed that Goldengrape had left a toothbrush, toilet paper, toothpaste, and a towel on the vanity. Deciding a shower could wait until morning, I brushed my teeth and washed my face with just water.

Feeling a bit better, I walked down the stairs again to meet Goldengrape. He was sitting in a chair reading a magazine when he heard my hooves on the stairs and looked up with a smile.

“Settled in now?” He had a slight smirk on his muzzle.

“Yeah. If you don’t mind, I’m gonna go to bed. I’m tired as hell and the jet lag probably doesn’t help,” I pointed out tiredly.

He nodded and actually smiled. “No, it’s fine, go ahead and get some rest. It’s almost ten anyways. I’ll probably be up around eight, do you want me to wake you up?” he asked.

I thought about it for a second. “If you could, please. I might make my way over to a library, then the market. I just want to relax, really,” I said.

“I’ll show you where the library is in the morning. It opens at nine so that’s perfect. I don’t need to be at the vineyard till about ten. I’ll see you in the morning. Good night,” he said with a yawn.

“Gute Nacht. I’ll see you in the morning,” I replied with a yawn of my own. I felt a bit rude to go to sleep when I practically just got here, but he seemed to understand. Hell, he traveled a bunch too, he knew what I was going through.

I made my way back upstairs and into my room, flopping onto it as soon as I reached it. I didn’t bother to cover up with the comforter, sheets, anything. Laying down my head onto the pillows and getting comfortable was easy enough, and it felt like heaven. I let out an audible sigh of relief and shut my eyes.

I replayed today’s events in my head. I was somewhat proud of myself for not fucking it up too much, and Mayor had already forgiven me it seemed. What she said about that Pinkie Pie pony though…. My thoughts drifted to my sister. I should probably write her a letter and let her know I made it alright. It made me a bit sad that I was even farther away from her, but I knew it was for the best. I wouldn’t have to put up with my parents anymore, and I could still visit her sometime. If she got married anytime soon, I would definitely be seeing her.

Yeah, I was glad to be here. It seemed like I was starting a whole new life. Turning over a new leaf. I smiled at that happy thought, and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

It was the best sleep I had in a while.