Ponyville: Far Away from Home
~Narrator's POV~
It was quiet... Almost too quiet. The steps of every Pony that passed me and my sister drummed in my ears. Each with a different, yet intoxicating scent. But I managed to keep myself composed, just as our clan leader taught us. We cannot afford to let our secret out in the open yet. If we did, we'll fail the mission and face a temporary suspension, or exile from the clan. And I don't want that for my dear sister, and I'm pretty sure she doesn't want that for me either.
My younger sister, sitting across from me, swallowed a lump down her throat. I looked at her and lightly tilted my head at her, "Nervous, Rose?"
Rose looked at me with her light cerulean eyes, "Nervous? Of course I'm nervous. This our first mission for peace. And we're so far away from home." She looked her head, "Why couldn't they let another one take this mission? I'd rather be at home with Mother and Silver Blood. Safe and away from these eyes."
I looked out the window to see the dark rainy clouds hovering over the Everfree Forest. Rose was right, I felt the same way. I feel like this mission is going to fail and Clan Leader - Count Felix Nightshade - will not be pleased of our failure. But he trusts Rose and I because we're young and new. Everypony in our clan faced challenges like these every hundred years. Rose and I are barely in our young adult ages and this is our first challenge; Travel to Ponyville and make friends. To be honest, I'd rather stay at home and read my books on the principals of magic and astronomy, safe and sound from the judging eyes of other Ponies.
The conductor of the Friendship Express entered the cart my sister and I were sitting and called, "Next stop is Ponyville. Last call for Ponyville." Then he returned to the front cart and engine room of the train.
I sighed, "That's our call."
Rose and I sat up from our seats and threw our saddlebags over our backs. Eventually, the train came to a stop at a well-built but old-fashioned station. Rose and I walked toward the doors and the doors opened. Nerves got the best of me and my sister, as we froze at the front of the door. The other Ponies had to push us out of the train by force. Our hooves touched the wooden floor of the station and our nerves seemed to have calmed down. Rain continued to fall over our heads.
Rose let out a sigh in relief, "Okay. We're at Ponyville. Who do we need to meet?"
I dug into my left saddlebag and got out a note that was cursively written, along with a map drawn into the note. "An 'Applejack', or 'Big McIntosh'. Their father was Mother's twin brother, before he passed away." I answered, "Let's hope they can help us."
"And they live...?"
"Sweet Apple Acres. It's an apple farm just outside of the town." I pointed to a circled picture on the map. I put the note and map back into my saddlebag and entered the town of Ponyville. Rose followed close behind me.
We trotted through Ponyville, looking at the houses and the scenery of the town. Rustic, old-fashioned, but very comfortable for a place that's been around for many years. The dark clouds began to depart and the sun started to shine down upon the grass of the town. The sun never bothered our species, unlike some tales and stories tend to make you believe.
Rose sighed in relief, "Finally. I thought the rain would never go away."
I giggled in humor, but kept my mouth closed as another mare passed us close-by. Thank goodness the dampness of the dirt roads masked the scents of the Ponies that got too close.
I calmed myself and told my younger sister, "Come on. Best not to keep our hosts-"
"HI!" A high-pitched voice called loudly, startling me and my sister out of our skin.
Rose yelped and hid behind me. I calmed myself and looked at the Pony before us. It was a young adult Earth Pony mare, no older than our age. Her coat was a bubblegum pink color her eyes were light cerulean, and her poofy mane and tail were a raspberry pink. Upon her flank was a Cutie Mark of three party balloons. Despite the damp dirt roads, I caught a whiff of her scent of sugar and cotton candy. It almost made me want to sink my teeth into her, but I kept my restraint.
"Uh... Hello." I greeted with a small wave.
The pony beamed, "I'm Pinkie Pie. I've never seen Ponies like you two before. Are you new to Ponyville?"
"Y-yeah. We are." I answered, "My name is Spiced Apple Cider and this is my younger sister Ambrosia Rose." I gestured to my sister behind me. Rose nervously waved her hoof.
The mare, Pinkie Pie made nodded, as she made mental notes of our names and appearances, "Spiced Apple Cider and Ambrosia Rose." She raised a brow and leaned closer to me, "Say... You wouldn't be related to the Apple Family in Sweet Apple Acres, would you?"
Rose squeaked and moved closer behind me. I blinked and nodded, "Yes, we are. Our mother, Honey Crisp, is Bright MacIntosh's twin sister."
Pinkie Pie nodded with a big smile, "Thought so. You must be the cousins Applejack asked me to keep an eye out for." She gave us a disappointed look and shook her head, "You're two days late. Naughty, naughty."
Rose calmed down and stepped beside me, as I gave her a sheepish smile, "Hehe, yeah. You can blame that on me. I wanted to bring some books along, but Mum said I didn't need them, due to the Golden Oak Library being here."
Rose nodded and rolled her eyes with a small humored smile, "My sister, the egghead of the family." Then she turned to Pinkie Pie, "You don't happen to know where Sweet Apple Acres is, would you? The map we were given isn't very helpful."
Pinkie extended her hoof to us, "Let me see it." I dug into my saddlebag and gave her the map. Pinkie Pie only took one quick look, until she gasped, letting go of the map in mid-air. Luckily she caught it before it hit the ground, "Whoa! This map is really out of date. Ponyville hasn't been this small for many years." She looked at me and Rose, "Where did you get this map?"
Rose's eyes darted left and right, uncertain how to answer. I scratched the back of my head with a small sheepish smile, "Uh... From a friend."
Pinkie Pie looked at me dead in the eyes, but I kept my composure. She smiled and nodded, "Okie-dokie-loki. I can take you to Sweet Apple Acres." She bounced down the dirt road the lead to the other side of town, "Come on, slowpokes."
I looked at Rose, and she looked at me with uncertainty. I gave her an assuring smile and we trotted down the dirt road to meet up with Pinkie Pie and follow her to the other side of town. We journeyed outside of town until we came across a large apple farm with a large farmhouse next a large red barn. Rows upon rows of apple trees filled the farm, each with a different type of apple breed. Fuji. Gala. Granny Smith. McIntosh. Golden Delicious. Braeburn. And even Honeycrisp. This place felt much more homey than Count Felix's castle outside of Canterlot.
Pinkie Pie opened the gate of the picket fence around the orchard and beckoned me and Rose to follow, "Come on. Applejack and the others have just finished today's work order. They're inside resting."
Rose and I followed Pinkie Pie into the farm and she lead us toward the farmhouse. I could hear the heartbeats of four Ponies inside the farmhouse. Three mares, one stallion. One senior, two around our age, and one filly. I was struggling to keep my composure, but my teeth were itching to sink into some flesh. How long has it been since I had something to drink, or eat? Too long, but I must fight the urge and control my cravings.
I noticed Rose looking at me with pleading eyes. Her hooves were shaking in the dirt of the farm, she was trying to fight the urge as well, but was badly loosing, to the point that her light cerulean eyes started to turn scarlet, her sky blue fur coat started to darken and she was baring her fangs out in the open. I put my hoof over her hunch for a second, then tried some calm and steady breathing exercises. Rose copied me and started breathing steadily and calmly.
In through the nose and out through the mouth. In through the nose and out through the mouth. Slow and steady. You are in control. After a few seconds of this exercise everything was calm again. Rose's changes receded before anypony else noticed. The urge was under control and no blood was shed. Thank Luna and thank Count Felix for teaching us this exercise.
Pinkie Pie knocked on the door of the farmhouse and called, "Applejack! It's Pinkie Pie. Your cousins are here."
A second of silence was almost deafening, but the door opened and standing at the other side of the doorway was an orange Earth Pony with a light blonde mane and tail tied in a low ponytail with a red band. Her eyes were a sap green, like mine, and she wore a familiar seton hat on top of her head. Her Cutie Mark was of three red apples.
Rose hid nervously behind me. I gave the mare a small smile and extended my hoof to her, "Hello there. You must be Applejack."
Applejack looked at me, then at my hoof. She shook my hoof and gave me a raised brow, "Yeah. I'm Applejack. And you must be Spiced Cider and Ambrosia Rose. Auntie Honey Crisp said you were on your way. We were expecting you two to arrive two days ago."
I gave her a sheepish smile, "Yeah. My fault on that."
Applejack nodded, then she turned to Pinkie Pie, "You can head back to Ponyville now, Pinkie Pie. I can take it from here."
Pinkie gave a small salute and beamed, "Okie-dokie, Applejack. But if you need anything, you know where to find me."
Then she bounced out of the orchard and down the road back to Ponyville, leaving me and Rose with the orange Earth Pony. Rose hid closer behind me, to the point that my fiery ginger tail was brushing against her face.
Applejack cleared her throat and spoke again, "Well... Uh... I bet you two are hungry after a long trip. We were just about to serve dinner." She smiled warmly and beckoned us inside, "Come on in and we'll get you sorted."
With that, she walked into the farmhouse. I followed after Applejack, as Rose followed close behind me. The farmhouse was old-fashioned, but very cozy for a home of Earth Ponies. We were greeted by three more Earth Ponies once Rose and I walked inside.
The first was an elder Earth Pony mare. Her coat was a light green color and her mane and tail were white, tied in a bun. Her eyes were an orange color, that could tell you stories of her youth. She wore a patterned shawl over her shoulders and her Cutie Mark was an apple pie.
The second was a large Earth Pony stallion with a amaranth red coat and orange mane and tail. Sap green eyes, like Applejack and myself, and wore a collar that seemed to attach to a plow. His Cutie Mark was of a shining green apple. He shared a striking resemblance to Uncle Bright Mac.
The last was a small Earth Pony filly, same age as Rose. Her coat was a light shade of yellow and her mane and tail were a brilliant shade of red. She wore a pink bow in her mane and her eyes were an orange color. She didn't have her Cutie Mark yet, but she shows a lot of potential.
The elder Pony greeted my sister and I with a gentle smile, but the other two Ponies looked at us wearingly. Is it possible that Mum told them what we are? Do they know what we are? Or are they just weary of strangers in their farm? So many questions buzzing in my head, giving me a small headache.
"Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres, you two." The elder Pony spoke up, "I hope you find your stay to your liking."
I gave her a small smile, "Thank you... Uh..."
"You can call me Granny Smith. Everypony else does." She introduced herself, "I'm basically your granny."
Then the filly blurted out, "You're not here to eat us, are you?"
"Apple Bloom!" Applejack scolded from the other side of the room, "That was rude to ask somepony that." Then she turned to me and my sister, "Sorry about my younger sister. Auntie Honey Crisp told us about your... uh... 'condition' before you arrived. So Apple Bloom here thinks the worst."
Rose lowered her head sadly, but I kept my head up and let out a small laugh, "It's alright, Applejack. So much for trying to keep our heritage a secret from everypony." I looked at the filly, Apple Bloom, and lowered myself to her height, "Don't worry, Apple Bloom. We're not going to eat you. We're nothing like those monsters you read in storybooks."
Rose nodded her head, "Yeah, we don't drink blood for sustenance. We drink moonberry juice as a substitute. It's way tastier and healthier than that other red stuff." She stuck her tongue out in disgust.
"Moonberry..." Apple Bloom repeated in thought, "You mean those berries that we harvest every full moon and Nightmare Night for the Ponies outside of Canterlot?"
"Ee-yup." The big stallion nodded with a smile.
My eyes lightened up, "Oh, you know of Count Felix Nightshade?" I give out a giggle, "Don't let his name fool you. He's actually a very nice Pony."
"Speaking of moonberry juice..." Rose started, as she turned to Applejack, "Do you have any stocks? Spiced Cider and I ran out of our rations during the train ride here. The smell of apples and roses is intoxicating."
"We grow them in our orchard." Applejack explained, "Unfortunately, tonight's not a full moon, so we can't harvest them just yet." Rose lowered her head in disappointment. "But..." Applejack smiled, "We do have a fresh stock from our last harvest and have some leftover. You can use some for dinner tonight. We're having apple pie with hay fries."
I smiled, "Wonderful!"
With that, Applejack, her family, Rose and I entered the kitchen and began working together to make dinner for the night. Rose and I had a cup of moonberry juice with our dinner and it patched our thirst right up. Once dinner was finished and everything was cleaned up for tomorrow, Applejack showed Rose and I to our rooms in the farmhouse. Didn't the farmhouse was big enough to house six Ponies, but it turned out Applejack and Apple Bloom had to share rooms with Rose and I.
Since Rose was a few years older that Apple Bloom, she offered to sleep with Apple Bloom, which left me with Applejack. Applejack's room was really cozy and simple, which was how my room was back at the castle.
Applejack hung her hat and hopped straight into bed. I walked over to the bench under the window and looked out to the beautiful night sky. The moon was hovering overhead and the four stars circling around the moon were glowing brightly.
I don't know how to explain it, but I could've sworn the face in the moon turned to face me and its eyes glowed as it was looking at me. I blinked and I gasped awake from the dream. I looked around and found myself in Applejack's room, laying on the bench under the window. I let out a small sigh of relief and rested my head in the cushion resting in my forelegs, falling back to sleep.
Tomorrow is a new day...
