Rum Raisin Brandy

Chapter 4

Thwack! Thump, thump, thump. Thwack! Thump, thump, thump.

Crescendo watched the apples fall into the buckets, but frowned as several fell outside of them. Apple bucking wasn't nearly as easy as it looked in the show, but Cres was determined to impress the Apple family. He carefully picked up each stray apple by the stem and put them in the bucket.

He kept working for an hour or so until he came to the edge of his work area. There he saw Big Macintosh, the stallion of his dreams, almost effortlessly bucking each tree he went by. The apples fell flawlessly into their buckets, as though the earth stallion could control where they fell.

Maybe it has to do with his cutie mark? the pegasus wondered.

He'd already been introduced to the rest of the Apple family earlier, but didn't get much time to talk with them before Applejack swept him up and led him to his beginner area. Now he had a chance to try to break the ice with Big Mac.

"Uh, Big Macintosh?" Crescendo began.

The red pony stopped bucking and stared blankly at his new companion.

"Hi..."

"...Howdy."

Crescendo was starting to feel really awkward. "Um, so... nice weather we're having?" He wanted to facehoof so hard it knocked him out.

"Eeyup."

"Um... you worked here long?" Duh. Of course he has!

"Eeyup."

Ask him about Smarty Pants. No, don't! You can't know about that! But I could be asking about the doll in general. But would he deny having it?

In this midst of the awkward silence, Big Mac wandered off. The sound of hooves striking wood startled Crescendo out of his thoughts.

"Oh, buck me. He's gone." Crescendo sighed and walked back to his area with his head down, blushing hotly. "He probably thinks I'm an idiot." The dejected pegasus resumed his work, lamenting over the presumably terrible impression he made.

Midi rolled onto his back, holding his forehooves up to his chest. As he slowly opened his eyes, a blurry shape moved into his field of view. As his vision cleared, the gray and yellow blob sharpened into a pegasus mare with one golden eye looking down at him and the other looking elsewhere.

"Hello," Derpy said in a soft, seductive but nonetheless adorable voice.

Midi gasped and snapped his eyes open. He moved to get out from under her, but the mare pushed her hoof down on his chest, pinning him to the bed of clouds he was laying on.

"How did I get--"

"Shh..." Derpy moved her hoof to Midi's lips, "Don't talk, my love. Wouldn't want to upset little Toaster Waffle, would you?"

"T-Toaster Waffle?" Midi looked around, but they were alone in what he guessed was Derpy's bedroom.

"Our foal," Derpy cooed.

"But, we don't have a foal."

Derpy smiled warmly and touched her nose to his. "Not yet." With that, she straddled him and put her forehooves on his shoulders.

The next moment, the walls turned dark and exploded with bolts of lightning.

"Derpy, the house is storming!"

A peel of thunder threw a wrench in Midi's dream. He bolted upright, panting hard and looking around in bewilderment. "Derpy?"

Outside, it was raining cats and dogs. Midi walked out into the rain to give himself a cold shower. "Sheesh, I can't even go all the way in a freaking dream!"

He stared off absently. "Hmm, maybe I should go check on Crescendo."

He began to gallop down the forest trail, not getting hit by much rain thanks to the trees covering his path. The road was still muddy, and he lost his footing in places. At one point, he nearly skidded off the road into a tree.

"OK, first chance I get, I'm learning an evaporation spell. Or a paving spell."

The rain ended at the edge of the woods, meaning the weather ponies weren't watering the town proper, just the surrounding areas. Midi shook the water off himself and magically scraped off the mud from his run. He wasn't perfectly clean, but at least be was presentable at this point.

Up close and in person, Ponyville was more beautiful than he imagined. The walls of most of the houses were made of mossy stone, and some of the houses had thatched roofs, but more than not, they had shingles roofs. The streets were also covered in rough, light cobblestone of varying hues. It appeared Ponyville had been developing past what was in the show.

Midi felt an odd tingle run up his mane. He turned around and saw none other than Pinkie Pie standing right behind him. "Uh, hello? Could you tell me where I could find--"

Pinkie leaped up into the air and hovered as she let out a five-second gasp and then disappeared in a pink blur.

Midi watched her go and blinked. His mind pieced together what had just happened. "Oh, apple bucker! I'm in trouble!" He turned tail and ran in the other direction, stopping when he reached the town square. "OK, something's off here. Pinkie didn't gasp that long when Twilight came to town. What is it about me?"

He thought about it for a moment. "Oh wait, Crescendo's new too. Maybe she's double excited because the new ponies have been doubled!" The unicorn noticed he was holding his hoof out and grinning like Luna. He quickly resumed a normal stance and coughed, hoping nopony had noticed his mini outburst.

Meanwhile, Rarity was trotting lightly down Mane Street with several shopping bags hovering over her, suspended in her magic aura. "Ah, so nice to be back in dear little Ponyville. I do hope the girls like what I've come up with for them."

She wasn't paying attention and crashed into the new unicorn from the side. Her bags flew forward and were dumped on the ground. Fashion supplies spilled out and scattered around them.

"Oh, gosh, I am so sorry!" Midi said, quickly snatching up Rarity's stuff in his own telekinesis and helping her put them back into the bags.

"Not at all, darling!" Rarity chimed, "So careless of me not to pay attention to what's in front of me. Are you alright, dear?"

Midi chuckles weakly. "Yes, I'm fine. Just... new in town. Trying to learn my way around here. Oh!" He put his hoof out to her. "I'm Midi Waffle."

Rarity looked uneasily at Midi's muddy hoof. "Uh, charmed..." She took it with her own shaky hoof, wincing a bit as she touched his. "I'm Rarity."

Midi couldn't help but giggle at her prudence. "Nice to meet ya. Say, would you happen to know where Sweet Apple Acres is? I'm looking for a friend of mine." He finished packing up Rarity's bags and levitated them back to her.

"Oh, it's on the far end of town, that way." Rarity took her bags and pointed down Saddle Avenue.

Midi raised an eyebrow. "Real creative street names here. Thank you, Rare..." He stopped as an idea came to mind. This would be a good opportunity to gain a bit of standing in this town, and he knew Rarity was a sucker for flattery. "Um, actually... wait, Rarity! I've heard of you! You were mentioned in Clothes Horse magazine, right?"

Rarity laughed. "Darling, that was so long ago! Hardly worth mentioning now."

"Yeah, but aren't your fashions on display in Canterlot?" Midi asked, "Somepony named Hotty Totty, or something like that, had them."

"Hoity Toity," Rarity corrected, "You must be behind. Hoity Toity hasn't shown my designs in weeks."

Midi frowned, genuinely surprised to hear this. "Oh, I'm sorry. It's been a while for me, traveling around and all. Still, it was exciting to meet you. I am a fan." A good moment, Midi felt, to be honest with the other unicorn.

"And I am flattered," Rarity said, waving her mane to accent her fabulousity, "Oh, but look at the time! I have dresses to make, and I'm keeping you from your friend, too."

Midi slapped himself in the forehead. "Luna's sub plot! With all this not exploding I've stopped not doing he'll think I've forgotten not to blow up nothing at all never again!"

Rarity stared, inertly hushed. "...Huh?"

"I have to go!" Midi burst out, "See ya later, Rarity!" He looked up at a roof and blinked onto it.

Rarity looked around for the other unicorn who was no longer there. "Hm. Strange fellow." She resumed her canter and went back to Carousel Boutique.