[Ponyville] Foalish Introduction [Closed for now]

[Hippo]

Applejack smiled pensively as Valen took happily to the coop. She wasn't sure if he had enjoyed dealing with the pigs, but it looked like he was enjoying the idea of this chore. A few moments later, she saw him running around the fenced-in chicken area in haste to a chicken that was pecking at him. "Aww, look, Savannahock wants to play with you." Applejack found the event adorable and watched as Valen scurried.

After Valen finished, he walked slowly up to Applejack with bruises and scratches that featured his face and body. Applejack, upon seeing his 'success,' gave it a second thought and tapped her chin. "You know, I wasn't jokin' about Apple Bloom being mad about you doing it instead o' her. Maybe you should put the eggs back so that she can do it later. She'll never know the difference." Ignoring any concern Valen had at the moment, she continued. "That little filly sometimes gets jealous when we have extended family stay with us. Sometimes I think she thinks we're trying to replace her. It's that funny? Heh, heh. Replace her!" Applejack poked back at Valen as she chuckled. But then suddenly, her applesense kicked in and she could hear the hungry voice of yet another new pony coming from the farm entrance. "Valen, I'll be right back, ya hear? Go ahead and put those eggs back." Applejack zipped to the front of the farm.

Next to the gate of the farm, was a table setup for walk-up customers. "Did somepony say they wanted to buy some apples!?" Applejack setup the table and adorned it with bushels of several different kinds of apples, and even included some other appletastic treats as well. Applejack heard Sunrise Wisp's stomach churn and yelled at Granny. "You're not gonna believe this, Granny. TWO GROWLING STOMACHS! It's an epidemic!" Partially joking, Applejack leaned forward to the newly arrived pony. "Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres, where a full stomach and a new friend can be acquired at the same time! Mah name's Applejack and we here at the farm sure do like makin' new friends." Applejack removed her hat and propped it on top of the dark green pegasus for play-sake. "What can I do ya for?"

[Mojo]

(ooc): Sorry, didn't realize it was my turn

"Yur quite welcome, Gerty," Granny Smith said as the elderly mare moved over to serve herself a bowl of soup, "This here smells so good, I'ma gonna have some too!"

As the gray maned mare started eating, she heard AppleJack calling out, but couldn't quite make out what she was yelling.

"Land sakes, was that AppleJack?" Granny asked as she got up and slowly moved towards the window.

"WHAT DID YA SAY, APPLEJACK?"

[SteelEagle]

Applejack's orders were received in a haze of fury and disbelief by the foal. His victory was short-lived and the sheer insanity of the entire situation started to formulate inside of him an inner rage that started to boil over as a teapot left on the kettle.

The farm mare trotted off to attend to whatever it was that farm ponies attended to after they successfully crushed the souls of foals, but he would have none of it. He placed the basket of eggs down and stared off at her departing form.

"Hey now, that's not ri- GAAHHH!" he screeched as Savannahock once again attacked him, this time launching herself at his flank and pecking at him viciously. He jumped due to shock and then haphazardly turned around to face his tormentor.

He never got the chance to do what he so desired to do to the hen, as the rest of the hens in a wave of pecking fury rolled over him. He soon found himself on the bottom of a crazy pecking hen-pile, every inch of him not covered by his flailing hooves being pecked at relentlessly. Ina burst of crazed survivalist energy, he finally leapt off and galloped away from the small herd of crazed hens.

He ran from cover to cover, resting for a second just as the hens would show up. From one part to the other in the farm, he tried to avoid the herd. And, after a few minutes of frantic, terrified galloping, he was afforded peace.

Is this what farm ponies did in their day to day lives? How did any of them survive?! Pig stampedes and crazy hens trying to peck your hooves out, not condusive to a successful life in Valen's mind. That foul, miserable odor from the trough stung deep through him as he gasped for air, every inch of his body full of pecking sores and his body feeling soft, tenderized from the stampede. He had been working a grand total of, what, ten, maybe fifteen minutes, and he already felt like he was worn down. His eyes darted to the road- He could make a break for it! Run to the train, hop on, live on it for a while. he could become a traveling folk artist, spinning yarns about the dangers of pig stampedes and taking chickens for hens. He could earn enough money to get back to Manehattan and from there, never leave the Upper Crust district again. It would be beautiful!

He sighed, looking back at the farm. He might have been a foal, but he wasn't stupid. He wasn't good at spinning yarns, he'd never make enough money to make it to Manehattan. That meant he was stuck here and if he was stuck here, he had to do as he was told. he didn't have to like it; he just had to do it. Valen stood up meekly, looking past the hay that he was hiding behind and at the coop. No chickens to be seen. This was his chance.

Valen tippy-toed back to the coop, taking his time as he would dive behind any cover that presented itself. He reached the coop and took the basket in hand, peaking inside- no hens here, either. Good. He walked slowly inside and, one by one, put the eggs back in place. He turned to leave-

"Bakaw." Savannahock squawked lowly, in front of the other hens who now lined themselves up at the entrance to the coop. She looked like she was processing what she had just seen.

"H-h-hey there, Madame Savannahock, your eggs are a-all back now, ta-da!" He said with what enthusiasm and pizazz was left to him.

The hens advanced.

"Oh no, please, I didn't want to, I DON'T EVEN LIKE EGGS- ARRGH!" Valen could be heard, if rather weakly, from outside the coop. For a few moments, nothing but the sounds of a good old fashioned kerfuffle could be heard. At the end of it, Valen was sent shooting out from the coop like a missile. He hit some stacked hay with enough force to actually pass into a section of it. For a few moments in time, he was content in this rather warm, safe location, until he remembered that breathing was a wonderful thing. Struggling with all the strength he could muster, his head finally burst forth from the bale of hay.

And that was all he could do. His body seem twisted and stuck and his face, sticky as it was, now featured hay stuck to it like glue.

"Great." He mouthed, trying and failing to blow away the hay on his face.

[PonyHooves]

Gerty gritted her teeth together and closed one eye when Granny Smith started yelling. For an elderly mare, she sure could shout loud enough. After that loud outburst, the earth pony relaxed and opened her eye. She continued on to eat her soup. It's taste seemed to cradle her taste buds with a warm, tingling sweetness. It was so delicious that Gerty Greetings beamed a great big grin while she ate. She'd heard that voice somewhere before though. While she ate, Gerty began to wonder where she'd heard that voice from. 'I know that hungry pony from somewhere... I'm sure of it... If I saw her face, I'm sure I'd know instantly who she is.'

[SilverSwirl]

Sunrise Wisp laughed and said to AppleJack, "I am interested in buying some apples, one basket of red apples and one basket of green apples. I am Sunrise Wisp by the way, and I just moved to Ponyville a short time ago to set up my new dental practice in town." Hearing the scuffle coming from the chicken coop and seeing a colt being launched like a missile out of the coop and into a stack of hay bales said to AppleJack, "Is that your new helper? He seems to be having a bit of trouble keeping those chickens under control. I may be seeing him in my dental office before the day is out.", she said with a chuckle. Then she heard a pony shouting at the top of her lungs, "What did ya say, Applejack!!?", and said, "Who was that?".

[Hippo]

Cha-ching!

Applejack's face lit up when the transaction took place. She could never hide her love for business with pony-folk. Applejack grabbed two spare empty baskets and began shoveling apples in them for Sunrise. "A dentist, huh? Well I don't think you'll see much of me in your office, as I got near-perfect teeth." Applejack beamed and displayed her pearly whites. She thought they were perfect. Of course, no one has ever told her otherwise.

Applejack heard Valen's launch as Sunrise explained it. "Heh. Yeah. Actually, no. He's a cousin of mine from the big apple. He decided to stay with us and learn about hard work on the farm. This is only his first day though, so I'm lettin' him off easy." Applejack peered towards Valen's location as he got buried in a hay bale. "Seems he's enjoying playing with the chickens too much."

Applejack shouted towards Valen. "Don't be too rough with 'em, Sugarcube! You don't wanna hurt 'em!"

Applejack set the two baskets full of apples down on the ground ready to be picked up whenever her customer felt like taking them. She eyed the apples for quality assurance and looked up at Sunrise. "Ya know, normally we price them at 3 bits for a basket, but since you're new, I'm gonna give both of these baskets full of apples to you for 6 bits. How's that sound? And, if you'd like, you can stay a while on the farm?"

Applejack walked closer to where Granny was hard of hearing. "I say-ed we got another hungry one, but don't you worry none, I'm takin' care of her." Applejack walked over to Valen's hay bale. "Ok, Valen, I can see you're having lots of fun, so I've decided to let you so something I wasn't planning on letting you do just yet. Since you're having such a great attitude and all, you get to help me make a batch of grape juice. But first, we need to clean up." Using her mouth, she grabbed him by the neck and pulled him out of it. She threw him down next to the barn. "Stay right there."

Applejack ran a short distance to a water pump. "Hay, Sunrise, help a sister out and start pumping this for me." Applejack hooked a hose onto one end of the pump, and dragged the other end of the hose towards Valen's position. "Now hold still, younin'."

[SilverSwirl]

Sunrise Wisp replied with a chuckle, "Ah, a relative from the big city you say? I guess it's no wonder he's having a rough day. Thank you for the invitation to stay for a spell, I have my office closed for the rest of the day so I could come here and then maybe take a look around Ponyville later on as I haven't had a chance to do so. I have been very busy with getting fully settled in at my office.". Grabbing the pump handle she said with a friendly smile, "Of course I'll help you clean Valen up, he looks worse than when my son, Silverbolt, had to fly through an out of control storm as a newsfoal.". Pumping the handle, she could hear the water coming up out of the well and out of the hose in a steady stream. She thought to herself, "Why would Valen want to leave the big city and come visit his farmer relatives? I'll ask him when the time is right.". She could still hear the chickens clucking and making a huge racket inside the coop. "You really riled them up, didn't you Valen? The name's Sunrise Wisp, and I am a dentist.", she said with a friendly smile.

[Mojo]

"Oh, flibberdegibbit!" Granny shouted as she stood at the window, still unable to hear AppleJack's instructions. The elderly mare backed away from the window and back to the table to finish her soup. "Reckon if it were important, she'd said it agin."

The lime green mare quickly finished her bowl of soup.

"Hmmmmm. I wonder what else I was a-plannin' to fix in the way of food? Apple pies? Applesauce? Apple fries? HA HA! Them youngin's love them thar apple fries! Nope, don't think it was apple fries. Maybe I should start writin' that stuff down so I don't fergit it," Granny said before turning her head towards Gerty, "How's the soup, Gerty? I hope ya like it."

[SteelEagle]

Valen didn't even see Applejack as she hoisted him from his warm, if constricting, home in the hay. He hadn't had time to hear her great failures at comphrending the seriousness of his fight against the Hens of Ponyville and their sadistic leader Savannahock, nor would he have been able to mutter anything intelligible in response with the hay so heavily plastered on his face.

"Ok, Valen, I can see you're having lots of fun, so I've decided to let you so something I wasn't planning on letting you do just yet. Since you're having such a great attitude and all, you get to help me make a batch of grape juice. But first, we need to clean up."

He hit the ground with a thud, working his way back up in order to retain a shred of dignity. He had been so roughly handled that if she hadn't been family and if her voice didn't ring with what he believed were his honest thoughts, he would have contacted the authorities to report some form of torture. Was this how farm ponies lived?

"Stay right there."

He stood there, working the hay off of his face slowly in an effort to actually see what was going on around him. The gag inducing trough odor still hung around his head like a sinister ghost, and his mane, coat, and tail were roughly patched in brown and black and nothing like they should be. He felt battered, bruised, and quite literally pecked to oblivion. He was finally coming to grips with his situation and got a clear look-

- "Now hold still, youngin'."

A moment later, a burst of water slammed directly into his face. The force was powerful enough to send his head pushing back, but there were some benefits. He could feel the ice-cold water blasting away the hay, the mud, and the dirt, slowly but surely working him into a pony with a less offensive physical form. It came at a price, however. The force was almost strong enough to push him down to the ground and as the water was jetted into different parts, his body moved unwillingly.

A blast to the face sent his cheeks wide as water forced its way into his mouth until his cheeks were over capacity. Not that it helped, as bits of hay, mud, and trough-material made its way into his stomach, which stopped any thought of his to protest. His eyes were peeled back as if by high winds, strands of his mane went missing, and his balance was lost as it hit his legs and he went tumbling to the ground, only to get back up and nearly be brought back down again.

Valen started to believe this was what farm ponies did for fun.

He also started to believe they were insane.

"...Sunrise Wisp....Dentist."

It sounded like a dream, someone who wasn't a farm pony. He noted the name so he could talk to someone who wasn't going to try and kill him later.

[PonyHooves]

"It's delicious." Gerty replied as she'd finished the last of her soup. "You always make the best food..." She complimented the elderly mare. Gerty greetings beamed a bright smile. She felt very happy. But the middle aged mare always felt happy to come to Sweet Apple Acres. It was a beautiful place. The ponies who work there and call it there home were always so nice and thoughtful. Age never mattered there. Both the young and the elderly worked together in harmony. It was that harmony which made Gerty Greetings glad to be a visitor.

[Hippo]

With her mouth holding the business end of the hose, Applejack aimed right at Valen. Water was rushing out at the poor colt. "A little faster, Sunrise!" Applejack held the nozzle steady and directed all of the pressure towards her younger cousin. From head to hoof, muzzle to tail, Valen was good and wet, free from any mud or chicken feathers that remained on his body. After a good minute or two, Applejack set down the hose and retreated. In the seconds that the hose was free to explore the area around the barn while water was still violently being pumped through, the hose snaked up towards valen and the nozzle smacked him in the face a few times. After a few coincidental wiggles, the hose finally came to rest next to Valen's drenched hooves after Sunrise responded to Applejack's command.

"Look at you, whippersnapper!" Applejack grabbed a large towel and completely covered Valen with its softness. With her strong fore-hooves, she used the towel to dry him off and rubbed every bit of moisture off of Valen's body. When she removed the towel, what was left was a puffy orange and teal ball. "Clean and dryer than a bucket of white sand in the middle of a desert! Heh."

Applejack allowed Valen a moment's rest before grabbing his hoof and throwing him on top of the orange mare's back. "Sonny, you are going for a ride, hold on tight!" Applejack smiled. She loved having this kind of fun with Apple Bloom, she had only hoped that Valen was enjoying it just as much as she did. And for a moment, Applejack began to realize how much fun it would have been to have a little brother. Colt brothers were much more energetic and rowdy than sister fillies. Right? After running for about 30 seconds, Applejack and passenger Valen arrived at a large tub made of wood and steel braces that was supported on four strong steel legs. "Git ready Valen!" Right as Applejack came within a few hooves from the tub, she bucked Valen off her hide and launched her into the tub. The tub was full of grapes higher than Valen's height. "Now mash those grapes! Stomp on 'em any way you like! Roll around in it to your heart's content."

Applejack turned around and yelled at everypony at the farm. "Who wants some Sweet Apple Acres grape juice!?"

[Mojo]

--- Entry deleted ---

[SilverSwirl]

Sunrise Wisp, sweat dripping off her brow, replied, " I haven't done this in ages..." but began pumping faster.

Hearing the offer for grape juice she shouted, "Yes! Thank you Applejack! I think I'll set a spell inside the house if you don't mind."

Heading for the front door, she knocked and shouted, "Hello! Mind if I come in?"

[Mojo]

As Granny Smith stood deep in thought, she heard knocking at the front door and somepony calling out.

"Oh joy!" the happy gray maned mare shouted, "Looks like we got more company, Gerty! Please excuse me while I see who's at the door."

Granny Smith began to slowly make her way out of the kitchen towards the front door.

"HOLD YER HORSES! i'M-A COMIN'!" the lime green mare shouted as she continued walking over to the door as fast as her somewhat wobbly legs could carry her. "I'M ALMOST THAR! HANG ON!"

When Granny reachd the door, she opened it with her teeth slowly, being careful not to 'pop' her dentures in the process. Spotting Sunrise Wisp, the elderly mare smiled.

"Why hello thar dearie! C'mon on in!"

[SteelEagle]

The water continued to assault the foal more earnestly than any foe had before this day, and he strained his form to fight it off for longer than he thought he would have to. By the time he was done, he felt like he had just survived a waterfall. He was sure the waterfall wouldn't have tasted this bad, pieces of hay and trough mix in his mouth and forced down his throat.

He was wobbling when the head of the hose smacked him multiple times across the face like an outrages filly, each slap being absorbed by a punch-drunk foal. It died off, leaving the foal nearly concussed and once again in the depths of confusion as AJ started drying him.

It would have been another time when he may have previously been outraged- he always had a thing for privacy, which these farm folk seemed to have no sense of- and her country towels had nothing on the sweet feeling of a nicely stitched personal towel he had in Upper Crust. Her shaking did little to help him regain his mind. It also made him feel like he was a teeny tiny foal that needed all this help and Applejack was his mother. The embarrassment...it was like he was being broken down to be remade. Was this how boot camp worked? He doubted they washed and dried you, but the effect may be the same.

She then tossed him on her back and started racing towards Celestia knew where. He held on tight, almost out of a panicked, confused fear at first. When he realized what was happening, and he started to feel the great warmth and almost comforting, radiant charisma she had, a bit of him started to relax and have fun. His own started racing and a small smile formed, though the Upper Crustian in him remarked it was probably due to some form of brain damage.

Just as he started to feel like his heart would have a chance to move from his throat, he was launched from the relative safety of Applejack's back high into the air. He flipped end over end, hooves flailing as he let out everything he had in him vocally by this stage- a concerned, resigned moan.

He crashed into the giant barrel of grapes so fast that he smacked against the bottom, sending a giant splash of grape juice splashing out of the barrel. He was shot back up due to the impact, covered in purple juice momentarily in the air before he came back down on top of the grape pile. There he lay near motionless for a few seconds, nearly knocked out by the impact. He slowly regained his mind as he sunk into the grapes, coming back when he was at the bottom. Struggling, he pushed himself up- and found he was still under the grapes. They were piled taller than he was, and this meant one thing to him: He could suffocate in there. In a panic, he would leap up and pierce the surface, all four limbs flailing violently as his garbled voice pleaded for help. Of course, all this flailing was both messy...and highly effective at making grape juice.

[PonyHooves]

Gerty looked at the opening door. She didn't notice that as she was looking with great interest in who was at the door, she was leaning forward. Because she was tood in a top heavy position, Gerty Greetings fell face first onto the floor. The mare quickly straightened up onto her hooves. She blushed slightly out of embarrassment. Gerty had hoped that no pony saw her slight blunder. The middle aged mare then sat back in her original position. At the same time, Gerty watched the door way. It was then she saw who it was. She was sure that she'd passed that mare a couple days ago when she was skipping happily along through Ponyville. Although, Gerty never had any time to talk to her that day because when she was skipping, she got her hoof stuck in a bucket. That meant it was a trip to the clinic where her husband had to surgically remove the tin bucket. It was embarrassing her just thinking about it.

[Hippo]

Applejack stood still, not even caring to dodge the globes of grapes and juice that flew to her direction. As Valen, flailed in the tank, Applejack chuckled. "Heh, heh. Nice job, V!" Walking up to the tank, Applejack opened the valve on the spigot at the bottom of the tank, and put an empty jar under it to fill it with grape juice. However, the juice was not flowing out as fast as she had anticipated. "Com'on, now. Try to mash faster!" Not really realizing Valen's suffering, the grape juice flowed faster. "That's better, but it still needs some extra crushin' speed. Here! Let me help ya!" Applejack jumped up and grabbed the tub edge with her fore-hooves. With a puff of energy, Applejack lifted herself on the tubs edge and found herself free to fall in the tub with Valen. "Geronimo!" With a fierce cannonball-like splash into the grapes, Applejack began crushing the grapes next to Valen. "Yeehaw! Isn't this fun, Valen?"

After a few seconds of routine smashing, Applejack decided to have some more fun. It was unclear whether or not Applejack understood Valen's position right now, but she was willing to bet that he was having just as much fun as she was. Oh, what it would have been like to have a younger sibling with even more energy than Apple Bloom. Not that she was trying to replace her younger sister, though. With a pounce, Applejack grabbed Valen and began rolling him around in the grapes. "Come here you! Let's wrestle!" Applejack put Valen in a headlock for a few seconds. Afterwards, she put herself on her back and threw Valen up with her hooves, allowing him to land softly on the grape-smashed floor.

Applejack put on a playful mean face and growled as she looked at him. At that moment, she had realized finally that Valen was not actually having fun. He looked disoriented and out of breathe. Applejack smashed through the grapes over to Valen. "Aww, Sugarcube, are you OK? I didn't mean to hurt you!" Applejack lifted him out of the grapes and put him on her back. He seemed to be gasping for breathe. With Valen secured to her back, Applejack jumped cleanly out of the tub onto the soft grass. By the cottage, she saw Granny opening the door for Sunrise to come inside. "Looks like lunch is about ready. You want to take a break from all the work and grab a bite, Valen?" Regardless of the response, Applejack grabbed with her mouth the closest towel to her and wiped all of the purple off of the orange colt. Faithful that Valen would be able to continue under his own power, Applejack began trotting towards the cottage hoping Valen would follow. "Com'on Valen, and bring that jar of juice we jus made. We can use it!" Applejack continued to walk towards the cottage and began imagining what kinds of dishes Granny had prepared for a meal with three guests. With that many new ponies, it would sure be a fun feast. Applejack reared as she neared the building and rang a giant triangle bell.

http://soundcloud.com/riverhippo/soupsoneverypony

Applejack walked inside and saw the green mare doing her hospitable best towards Gerty and Sunrise. With the exception of Valen, maybe, who was trailing an unknown distance behind Applejack, everypony seemed to be having a joyful experience. Applejack spoke up to the guests. "Hay, Gerty, did you get some pretty pictures of our apples yet? I'm excited to see what fancy arts ya'll made up." Applejack pulled a chair out for Sunrise to sit. "And welcome to our farm, Sunrise. You can stay for as long as you like. How long have you been doing tooth-pullin' jobs?"

[SilverSwirl]

Smiling as the door opened and saw the elderly green mare at the door, she replied, "My name is Sunrise Wisp, and I am a dentist. I came by to pick up some apples today and I guess I got roped into helping Applejack with cleaning off Valen after his battle with the chickens.".

Taking a seat at the table, she replied to Applejack, "Thank you for the welcome and I first started practicing dentistry before my son, Silverbolt, who is fully grown now, was born. After he was born, I had to retire for a time while I raised him on my own with help from my mother while I was working at less demanding jobs. But I digress, I have been back at my practice for only a few weeks, but it's like I never quit at all.".

Looking at the other mare at the table who had what appeared to be hand drawn cards, and said to the mare with a smile, "Ah, you must be Gerty Greetings. A pleasure to meet you.".

[Mojo]

"Pleased to meetcha, Sunrise!" Granny Smith neighed. "I could use a good dentist to fix me up a new set of dentures!"

As she turned around, the elderly mare now saw that Applejack and Valen were at the table with Gerty and Sunrise.

"Oh my! Need more soup! Never fear, y'all! Granny Smith is on the job!"

With a surprising burst of energy, the gray maned mare found another jar of soup in a lower cabinet, opened it into a larger saucepan, heated it on the stove and then brought it to the table to serve. She smiles as she ladles out bowl after bowl.

"Got one fer ya, Valen! You too, AppleJack! Have some of this hear homemade soup, Sunrise! Gerty, ya want some more?"

[SteelEagle]

His struggles against the possibility of a grape-y death continued for what seemed like hours but were probably just minutes, his wild flailing and great exertion both making wonderful grape juice and making each of his hooves feel like they weighed a ton. Almost out of energy, Valen looked at the grapes around him and the juice that was slowly being poured out and knew that the only option available to him, the only available recourse, was also a relatively delicious.

He would eat and drink his way out. It may ruin his figure and mane forever, but by Celestia, he was going to survive. And it would be delicious, he told himself. Delicious and he would live. A great, great combination for action. With a great big gasp and with eyes closed, he raised his head up as he jumped up, ready to dive head first into the grape sea around him.

"Geronimo!"

He heard Applejack cry out as she jumped in, eyes opening briefly as he was up long enough to see a flash of her smile before she cannon balled into the grapes next to him. Whether she felt it or not, her weight came down on his tail and he was briefly overwhelmed by a sharp, sudden, blinding pain. He froze at the apex of his jump and instead of diving down and taking a bite out of his grape tormentors, slid back under them like they were a vengeful sea. He clutched his tail and let out a moan, a poor move as grapes and grape juice flowed through every opening. In a panic- a common theme- he shot back up, flailed, and tried to regain himself. He did so long enough to turn towards Applejack with the intent of telling her she needed to try and not kill the little foal.

He had turned to her in the middle of a panther like pounce, the farm pony momentarily looking like a scary carnivore. The next few seconds were all together too confusing, the foal struggling meekly and with no effect against the hyper-strong farm pony, wrestling with him and eventually putting him in a headlock. Valen had no idea what was going on, wondering whether he was supposed to say something(which was mighty difficult given the fact his head was unceremeniously dunked under the grape juice in the middle of the headlock) or if she was trying to make him cry. Before his oxygen-deprived, stress rattled brain could develop any coherent line of thought, he found himself tossed into the air and coming back down onto Applejack, who was on her back and promptly tossed him high into the air as if her legs were spring loaded.

He flew in the air for a few seconds, then his fevered descent began. He frantically kicked his legs out in any direction, hoping that luck would favor him and he would suddenly become a pegasus. Cold reality hit him as he impacted once again on the bottom of the grape barrel. He wished it had been soft, but the rapidly decreasing number of grapes made for it to be more of a dive. His face smacked against the bottom hard, his mouth open, and he could feel a sharp pain inside his mouth. It throbbed as he stood himself up slowly, the grapes and juice lowered to such a place where he could sit on his haunches and his head would poke out. And indeed, that was the best he could do, his head swaying from side to side as Applejack stood across from him. She looked to have a playful, mean look on her face and gave a growl. Her face softened a moment later with recognition.

"Aww, Sugarcube, are you OK? I didn't mean to hurt you!"

He couldn't really hear what she said, but the look on her face and what he could piece together was enough. He nodded his head slowly as she did the work of strapping him to her back and then leaping out. His thoughts were many, but jumbled. This was just the farm pony way of life, apparently. They did not see this as unusual, and he was here to learn from them...something. And they meant no harm, and his cousin was no liar. He knew these things. He would try really, really hard to continue to remember them. But patience has a limit and he had almost reached his, but what response would he have? His mind held no answer.

"Looks like lunch is about ready. You want to take a break from all the work and grab a bite, Valen?"

He nodded again, still not really speaking, though the mention of food drew a somewhat dreamy look from him. His mouth really, really hurt, and as a matter of fact, so did the rest of his body. She washed him off again, his mind not taking any offense this time, and Applejack started trotting away. He slowly and weakly drew himself on all fours and started following, his back legs shaking and wobbling along the way.

"Com'on Valen, and bring that jar of juice we jus made. We can use it!"

This time, he had recovered enough to hear her well. He dutifully grabbed the jar and put it on his back, giving a small yelp as he drew closer and closer. The sound of the triangle sent spears of pain through his brain, and he knew he had not made good time as he entered the house and found everyone else sitting. He put the jar down and gave everpony the same sort of 'hello' wave a drunk stallion may, taking his seat and looking at Granny Smith pouring what smelled like delicious, heartwarming, life-affirming, Celestia-blessed, world-rebuilding soup. He wasted little time taking a spoon, getting a spoonful...

"THis sthmels tho good! I- OWWW!" Valen said, putting his spoon back down as the hot, hot soup coursed through his mouth and found his chipped tooth. He covered his mouth with his hooves and winced.

He looked over at Sunrise, who he had heard earlier was a dentist, and then back down at the soup.

No, NO, NOOOO, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I CAN'T EAT THIS SOUP NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

His eyes welled up sadly and his tiny little foal heart broke.

[SilverSwirl]

Sunrise Wisp, who was enjoying the soup, said to Granny Smith, "This tastes just like how my mother used to make it!". Smiling, she had another spoonful of the soup, her stomach and body absorbing it's warmth.

That smile faded when she saw Valen wince in pain, she rose from her chair so quickly that it toppled over. Rushing to Valen's side, she said in a concerned but caring tone, "You chipped a tooth didn't you? We need to get you to my dental clinic." Smiling at him, she said, "It shouldn't be too difficult for me to repair the damage. I've had stunt flyers come in with over half their teeth damaged or knocked out after a collision."

Glaring at Applejack, she asked, "What happened to Valen while you two were crushing grapes?".

[Hippo]

"That must be a hoedown of an occupation, Sunrise! I bet you scare a lot of little foals away, don't ya?" Applejack smiled and then immediate felt rushed by embarrassment as she realize the irony of the situation. "I mean, heh, it's good that your working on pony's teeth and all. 'Cept nothin's wrong here! Heh, yup, just friendly farmin' and hospitality right here." Applejack broke a sweat as her voice changed pitch and volume without control. She was afraid that if anypony found out about her accidental abuse towards Valen, that maybe it would give the farm and the Apple family a bad name. Quickly, she tried to change the subject.

Applejack salivated as Granny placed a hot bowl of soup in front of her. Applejack grabbed her usual green checkered kerchief as she prepared to eat. She leaned forward with her mouth and sipped the edge of the bowl, tipping the bowl ever so slightly. A few gulps and she sat back. "Ah! This is Granny's best! Creamy carrot soup, ain't it, Granny?" Applejack took a few more sips in combination with everypony else's enjoyment of Granny's well prepared lunch. "You know what would make this even better Granny? We should try to get some carrots and recipes from Carrot Fields from down the road. I bet their carrots would make it amazing. We grow our own carrots just fine, but I bet theirs are way better than ours."

Applejack saw the smiling faces on the ponies as they ate the soup. It was very popular, as per the facial expressions on all of the visitors. Except one. With a loud yelp, Valen threw himself with pain. The melodramatics rushed through the entire kitchen as everypony began staring at the orange colt. Applejack broken a second sweat.

Moments later, Sunrise began inspecting Valen, and found that he had chipped a tooth. Applejack's face lit up with shock. "Oh mah gosh! Is he gonna be OK!? I'm so sorry!" Sunrise turned to her and asked what had happened. Applejack's face fell in shame. And then looked back up as she spoke her defense. "We were just playin' 'round! We were wrestlin' in the grape juice tub, and," Applejack confessed, "I guess I got a little too rough with him." Applejack dropped her head in shame as she was embarrassed with what had come to pass. She began to tear up. She looked at the torn up colt as she spoke. "I didn't mean to hurt 'em. Honest!"

[PonyHooves]

Gerty Greetings saw all the commotion. She heard Valen let out a painful cry. It sounded awful. But when Applejack tried to explain what happened, Gerty saw a tear forming in her eye. As an accident prone mare it was only instinct that lead her to comfort the shameful mare. "It was just an accident Applejack. I have accidents all of the time. Your not used to the fragile kind of foal. Your little sister is a tough little one... But Valen hasn't got that toughness yet because it's only his first day." Gerty spoke in a soothing tone to try and calm down the situation. "It's like the first time I ran head first into something. I was knocked out for three days. But now, my head's so tough that I just get back up again. What I'm saying is, it takes time for a foal that's not used to farm life to become tough." Gerty hoped her explanation had helped to calm down the situation. Using her first accident seemed like a decent example considering the situation.

[Mojo]

Granny listened and nodded to all the conversation at the table, including all of AppleJack's suggestions. But when Valen screamed out in pain over his chipped tooth, the lime green mare jumped away from the table.

"Oh my stars and garters!" the elderly mare shouted. "We gotta do somethin' bout this, pronto!"

Then Granny began to rush around with a burst of panicked speed. She brought the First Aide kit, stuffed soft cotton into Valen's mouth and then tied a white bandana around his snout to keep it shut.

"Thar we go! That's the tried and true treatment fer a toothache!"

[SteelEagle]

Within moments of his exclamation and realization that the soup was not for him that day, Valen got the attention for his battle-wounds that he deserved. The dentist, Sunrise Wisp, quickly took control of the situation and didn't seem to waste much time in diagnosing him with a chipped tooth. lucky that these folks weren't like the ponies back in Manehattan; that diagnosis would have taken five trips and at least a hundred bits to get.

She asked Applejack about what had happened, and as the farm pony responded, that sympathy fire that was once stoked for her burned slightly again. She was just being herself, being a simple little farm pony doing farm pony things on a farm far removed from proper behavior. He finally realized why so much of the day had been so difficult; She had thought he was having fun the whole time. It struck him cold how unaware she was of the dozens, if not hundreds, of tiny little wounds he would carry from muscles that were likely at the point of breaking down to the many pecking sores. Plus, his mouth still tasted like trough. But she welled up and he felt bad for her, though it was matched by how angry he was at his treatment. The two canceled each other out and he settled on focusing on his pain, rubbing his cheek as he did so.

When Gerty spoke in an effort to calm Applejack down, his first thought was to take offense at him being called fragile. He wasn't fragile! He was cultured. A large difference existed. Then he heard about her own accidents and felt a twinge of pity for her as well, since hitting your head so often that you have adapted to it is as horrifying a thought as it is a wonderful development to have. It may have worked on Applejack, however, and Valen decided to shelve momentarily his own pain and anger to soothe the heart of the kind-hearted, if excessively physical and borderline crazy, mare.

"Itth okay Applethack Thunrith will-" He began, bravely marching towards forgiveness before Granny Smith silenced him with what was effectively a muzzle, the white cotton ball being securely locked in place by the tight, circulatory system crushing force of the white bandanna. She may have been elderly, but she still held some terrifying measure of strength as far as Valen was concerned. He tried in annoyance to force the thing off, desperately pawing at it to no avail. After a few moments, he settled on all fours near Sunrise, a deadpan look on his face. Now he looked like a pet.