Harmony in Gensokyo

"AH BUCK!!!"

Well so much for an average day at a certain shrine in Gensokyo. The shrine maiden is sweeping the outside of the shrine when she hears the oddly censored profanity. The maiden is about average height, probably about fifteen or sixteen. She has long black hair and is wearing a typical shrine maiden's outfit, red top and skirt with white detached sleeves hanging on her arms. She also has a red ribbon in her hair. and a yellow neckerchief. "The hell..?" She drops the broom and rushes into her shrine to find...the lower half of an orange pony sticking out of her ceiling and it is kicking around a lot, trying to get loose. "THE HELL?!"

The pony stops kicking its legs when it hears her voice, then replies in a a stereotypical southern accent. "Y-Y'all mind givin' me a hoof here, whoever that is?"

"..." The maiden grabs one of the pony's legs and pulls down hard, causing the pony to fall in the rest of the way and land on its stomach. Oh, its Applejack. "Ow..." Soon after her fall, a tan-colored stetson hat falls down through the hole in the roof. She stands up and grabs her hat, then turns to the shrine maiden. "Thank ya kindly fer...helping...whoa."

At that, the maiden finally loses it. "'Whoa'..? 'WHOA'!? YOU PUT A HOLE IN MY SHRINE AND ALL YOU SAY IS WHOA?!"

AJ quickly backs up a couple steps and waves her hoof. "Now hold on there..uh, critter. Ah didn't exactly have a choice in how ah landed. When ya end up appearing in the sky, ya can't exactly control yer landin'."

The shrine maiden begins to retort, but catches herself. She takes a moment to breath deeply and calm down, and think over what AJ said. Critter? Does she not know what a human is? What's this crap about appearing in the...sky...I swear if that gap hag has been fooling with the outside world...

Applejack stares up at her for a moment, still in wonder about what kind of creature she might be. Certainly nothing from Equestria, and likely not even the Everfree Forest. She puts her hat back on her head and finally breaks the silence. "Erm...My name's Applejack. Pleasure to meet ya Miss..."

The maiden chooses to ignore the fact that a pony is speaking and answers.. "Reimu. Reimu Hakurei. This is the Hakurei Shrine. I...assume you're not from here..."

AJ nods, then grins nervously. "Ah'm..sorry 'bout yer roof."

Reimu buries her face in her hands. "Its..Its fine. I'm used to it. Happens all the time...all...the...time...So. Applejack. How exactly did you end up falling through my roof?"

AJ takes a moment to look around the room as she responds. "Well...ah was in Ponyville with my friends watching one of em practice this extra powerful teleporting spell, then ah ended up just above yer shrine thing. If y'all don't mind me askin', what exactly is a shrine for?"

This time, Reimu becomes a bit more...depressed. "Well, it is supposed to be for others to come and pray to the gods as well as donate money to the shrine...but proper visitors here are so rare..."

AJ scratches her head. "Not gettin' much business huh? That's a darn shame."

Reimu takes this moment to ask her next question. "...What exactly are you? You have hooves like a horse or a pony, but you can talk...not to mention your facial features. Are you possibly some sort of mutated pony..?"

AJ's eyes widen at her left field guess. "Now hold on a minute there. Ah happen to be a perfectly normal earth pony...What'r ya doin' now??" Reimu is at her sides, poking her and inspecting her.

"...Sorry, but normal ponies that I've seen look nothing like you. They're more..ugly. They can't talk either, and they don't wear hats...or have apples painted on their asses..."

"That ain't paint, its a mark. A cutie mark. Its part of me, not painted on. Its who ah am. Ah'm an apple farmer!"

Reimu backs up again and sits down to think. "...Well, I suppose it isn't completely odd to think you might be from another world...Ponyville you said? There is no place in Gensokyo or Earth called that. Welcome to Gensokyo, I guess..."

AJ smiles and tips her hat. "Well thank ya! Gensokyo. Strange name. Then again, yours ain't all that normal to me neither."

"Applejack isn't exactly common either..."

Applejack and Reimu sit in the shrine, talking to each other about their worlds and such. Reimu had made some tea a while ago and they are actually enjoying that and their conversation. "...It is nice to be able to have a normal conversation for once. Most of Gensokyo's residents prefer action over words."

AJ tilts her head in confusion. "How do ya mean?"

Reimu sighs and finishes her tea. "Well...arguments in this world are settled with fighting. Magic, danmaku battles, or just straight up beatings. On top of that, most of the people who come to this shrine are either an annoying, kleptomaniac witch or a drunken Oni. There is no such thing as normal conversations as far as I'm concerneed."

AJ finishes her tea as well and scratches her head. " Ah suppose a pony and a human thing ain't all that normal either...Looks like ah ended up in a pretty violent world huh...?" Her ear twitches when she hears a voice outside.

"Reiiiiiiiimuuuuuuu!"

Reimu makes an annoyed face and sets her teacup down. "Speaking of drunk Oni..."

At that, another two-legged creature stumbles into the room. Clearly she is drunk, but still functioning somehow. She is very short, compared to Reimu. She has long orange hair tied into twin ponytails. She is wearing a white sleeveless shirt and a purple skirt. She also has a pair of horns sticking out of the sides of her head, one with a purple ribbon tied on it. She also has chains hanging from her wrists and one ankle. Attached to the ankle chain is a blue cube. On her wrist chains are an gold orb and a red pyramid. She is also carrying a purple gourd, likely filled with whatever made her drunk in the first place.

"Suika...do you need something?"

The whole time, Suika has been staring at Applejack. "...Reimuuuu...when did you turn into a horse?"

Reimu sighs and steps in between AJ and Suika. "I didn't. She is a visitor. I take it you're here just for the sake of being here?"

Suika looks up at her drunkenly, then she grins and nods. "Yep!"

Reimu groans and sits down again. "Of course...Applejack. This is Suika Ibuki. She is an Oni and is very clearly drunk."

AJ is pretty shocked at how drunk Suika is. Even she never got that drunk before, and she's been known to put them away. This creature is wrecked. "Geez its the middle of the day!"

Suika laughs like an idiot and falls over onto her back on the floor. "Hehehe...I'm an Oni! Oni don't do anything BUT drink! Its like a tradition! ...No! Its..Its a way of liiiife!"

Reimu nods. "She's not kidding, unfortunately. Sake is the only thing she'll drink, period."

AJ looks at Reimu again. "Sake?? What's that?"

This struck a bell in the midget Oni's head. She immediately sits up and stares at AJ as if she had just grown a second head. "What is sake..? WHAT IS SAKE?! Sake..is..its...it-hmpf!"

Reimu quickly throws an arm around her head to cover her mouth. "Saving the useless rant from the Oni...Sake is basically rice wine. Its made from fermented rice and is brewed much like beer."

AJ nods her head in understanding. "Okay. Ah think ah read about that stuff somewhere."

Reimu releases Suika from her hold and once again takes a seat. They all remain silent for a while, and Suika ends up falling asleep. Finally, AJ breaks the silence. "Y'all said ya don't get much business, and ya don't get much money for food and stuff right? Maybe ah can help ya!"

Reimu looks up at this with probably the most pleading look she has ever given. "HOW??"

AJ chuckles a bit at her expression. "Calm down there now. Well, fer starters...try makin' the place look more inviting! Plant some flowers maybe, and smile more. That'll look more pleasin' to the eye and attract more ponies..erm..humans."

Reimu quickly grabs some paper and a pencil and starts taking notes.

"If yer really desperate, sell somethin'. Extra money won't hurt a bit. ...Huh?"

She and Reimu both look toward the door when they hear a loud boom from outside. They both make their way outside in time to see a multicolored sonic boom cover the skies of Gensokyo, with a rainbow trailing from the middle.

"Oh my word...it can't be!" AJ says, staring up at the rainbow in surprise.

Reimu looks at her. "What's going on..?"

AJ grins and takes off her hat for a better view. "That's my pal..."