[Ponyville] Foalish Introduction [Closed for now]

[SilverSwirl]

Listening to Applejack's explanation and Gerty's attempt to calm her down, her glaring expression softened as she replied, "Don't worry about it. Just be a little more careful with him, he isn't used to this rough and tumble life style yet." She offered a comforting smile and said, "I'll take care of his teeth, no need to pay me, the food was enough!"

Watching Granny Smith hop out of her chair and go off to retrieve the First Aide kit in a panicked rush. Seeing her return and stating that she had just the cure for his toothache as she stuffed the hole with cotton and tethered his mouth closed with a white bandana surprised her that such an elderly mare still had that much energy to spare to perform all these actions in such a short time frame.

Valen was trying to forgive Applejack for what happened but his speech was cut off as Granny Smith cinched the white bandana around the young colt's head, making speech impossible and his struggles to get it off were getting nowhere. Sunrise looked down at him as he sat on all fours, and he did look like a pet. "If anypony doesn't object, I'll be taking Valen with me to my clinic and get his tooth repaired so he can enjoy your delicious meals without any pain.", she said as she put her hoof around his neck and smiled at him.

[Hippo]

Applejack's eyes wobbled reflections of light coming from outside as she stared at the situation and the reaction of all the ponies. Valen looked so miserable. Before he was able to say anything, he was muzzled and grabbed by the other ponies in their care. Applejack felt fairly incompetent. She thanked Sunrise. "Oh, you will, really? Oh, that's awful nice of you. Yeah go ahead and make him all better. Go ahead and fix," Applejack stunted her embarrassment and blushed, "the tooth that got chipped."

"I need to be excused." Applejack left the table and walked slowly upstairs towards her bedroom. As she walked, she mumbled to herself, "I am not a caring pony at all." She crept into the dark living quarters, which was decorated with the orange mare's loves of life. As she lamented, she looked at all of the letters from her friends, pictures of her family, and items that remind her of her past. And then, what caught her eye was a shining letter that reached her peripheral vision. Walking closer to it on her desk, she unrolled the glittering paper. It was a note from Twilight Sparkle that she had gotten from her a while back.

As soon as Applejack reread the letter, she sparked with enlightenment. She said to herself, "Heavens to Betsy, Twilight wrote this to me, and I scared her straight off the farm the first time I met her." She rolled the letter back and stood up straight towards the window. Looking out at her window's view, she smiled. She said boldly, "No! I am a caring pony! And I'm gonna give that lil' youngin' a farmin' experience that he'll never forget." Applejack turned around and jeered to herself. "Heh, heh, and it's gonna be loads of fun, too. Until then, me and Granny got more guests to accommodate!"

Applejack walked out of her room and down the stairs, having dried her eyes. "Alright, Gerty, did you get a chance to see some of our newer Pink Lady apple trees towards the back of the farm. Their apples are ripe, and the picture perfect shade of red for drawing, I reckon. Wanna go check 'em out?"

(thanks RCTwilightSparkle)

[PonyHooves]

Gerty had seen Applejack walk off. She hoped that the land pony didn't feel too guilty about one small accident. She looked down with a deep look of thought set in on her face. 'Accidents happen... But even so, a pony with a caring nature like her can take the past to heart. She can dwell on the past, but it can never be changed. Somepony, should tell her to think about now and not a past event or something that could happen tomorrow. Everypony does things they regret... It's how we learn. I hope that she'll understand that some day... And Valen... I know he'll grow to love Applejack. He just needs to get used to her over friendly way of enjoying other pony folk's company. They're all good ponies, each and every one of them.'

Suddenly a voice snapped Gery Greetings out of her thought. "Alright, Gerty, did you get a chance to see some of our newer Pink Lady apple trees towards the back of the farm. Their apples are ripe, and the picture perfect shade of red for drawing, I reckon. Wanna go check 'em out?" It was Applejack. After hearing her speak, Gerty replied. "I haven't seen them yet... But I sure would like to though."

[Mojo]

Granny Smith nodded as Sunrise Wisp offered to take Valen to her office for some dental work.

"That's a jim-dandy idear, miss," the elderly mare said as she walked up to Valen before he left with her. "Don't ya fret none, sonny, Sunrise kin do a whole lot more fer ya than me. And when ya git back here, I'll fix ya a nice apple pie!"

After saying that, Granny turned and saw AppleJack. She could sense that her granddaughter was troubled and walked over to her.

"Now AppleJack," she whispered, "don't go blamin' yurself fer all this. It was an accident and accidents happen to everypony."

[SilverSwirl]

Watching as Applejack excused herself, she thought to herself, "Maybe I was a little too harsh in my treatment of her. She really does care about him quite a lot.". She then listened to Granny Smith and said with a laugh, "You got that right! Valen, you won't be disappointed, I put those Manehattan dentists to shame when it comes to raw skill and ability."

Removing the bandana from Valen's head, she said with a huge grin, "Let's go to my clinic now, and I think I'll fly there with you on my back!", picking Valen up and putting her on her back, "Hang on tight now!". She opened the door and leaped into the sky and took flight with Valen on her back, heading towards Ponyville at a great clip. She was smiling and laughing as she flew with great care, so as not to cause Valen any further injury by causing him to fall.

[SteelEagle]

That offer for pie sent his tiny little heart racing a hundred miles an hour. He loved apple pie. Who didn't love apple pie? Whoever didn't love apple pie wasn't a friend of his, that was for sure. It was delicious and crackling with goodness, delicious moist goodness. He wondered if the-

- he wondered no more about pie when Sunrise took the muzzle off. In that split second, he may as well have fallen in love with the dentist. For once today instead of being forced against his will to do something or feeling as though he was a rag doll, someone was releasing him from something. The sheer fact he could feel the blood running to his snout like a flood meant something was right. Between that and the thought of pie, his world was already looking up when he was tossed on Sunrise's back and she took off.

He had experienced the joys of Pegasus provided flight several times, and each time was different. He was used to the strong, broad wings of the trained types, feeling as though he could lay across them and not fear for anything as they powered their way through the windy mannerisms of Manehattan. This was unlike those times, her body and wingspan no comparison nor as strong a flier. Yet, she still powered through the Ponyville air towards her clinic with ease, as befitting a Pegasus, though valen clutched her tighter than he had clutched no one else aside from his mother.

Sunrise started laughing and having fun, the infectious manner of her chuckle easing into Valen as well, his body giving out a rather meek and nervous laugh. She was good with foals and it showed, her gentle, jovial attitude playing well against him. Valen was sure he'd have more fun if he was clinging to her, had a tooth that he didn't want to feel air against, and generally had any muscle control left. He felt like a wet dish cloth against the wind, a fact that didn't sit well with him. was air drying in the cold the best way to catch a cold, or just one of the best?

Valen counted his blessings. Sunrise was probably a good dentist and she seemed awfully kind. Applejack, for all of her ignorance, was kind. Granny Smith was nice. Apple pie was waiting. He had a beautiful, comfortable comforter and some stunning clothing, and Ponyville's air was fresh. Smile grew wide, though covered in Sunrise's coat.

As they flew in close to the clinic, his frazzled nerves collected around the belief that, yes, there was something to be salvaged from this day.

[Hippo]

"Aw shucks, Granny, I know." Applejack blushed as her elder confirmed in her heart her thought processes. She was not going to fail. Nope. She was determined to be the most getalonginest pony there ever was! "You should come with us, Granny. Maybe one o' your neat stories can inspire Gerty's fancy artworkin' mind."

"OK, Gerty! Then if you're all done with lunch, let's head on over!" Applejack walked outside and approached a carriage with one girth to pull it. It was a carriage the apple family usually used for carnivals and festivals. This time, Applejack decided to use it to tour the farm to Gerty. This way, should could draw while she was in the comfort of the carriage. Applejack strapped herself into the girth and shouted to Gerty. "Hop in, Artsy-pants. It's gonna be a long trip to the pink ladies, so you might as well get comfortable. I'll pull you all the way, no problem."

[PonyHooves]

"Your too kind Applejack." Gerty spoke kindly before she jumped into the carriage. The middle aged mare quickly found her seating comfortable. A smile had crept up on her face. The earth pony kept both her mind and her eyes wide open. "I'm ready when you are Applejack... Oh, and feel free to gallop if you get the urge to cut loose and let the wind flow through your mane." She added. Gerty always liked fast moving objects. It was the feel of the wind. It was so awakening and refreshing. It made her feel alive and the air seem clear when it was crashing into her face. However, the mare didn't mind if Applejack didn't feel like galloping. She was respectful of the orange earth pony. After all, Applejack was offering her a free ride in the carriage which, the apple bucking mare kindly offered to pull.

[Mojo]

"Can't come with ya, AppleJack," Granny Smith said sadly, "I gotta stay here and bake an apple pie fer Valen when he gits back."

Suddenly, the elderly mare stood stiil and scratched her head with her front hoof.

"Come ta think of it, I already DID bake three apple pies yesterday! Plumb fergot about'm! Looks like I kin come with y'all after all! Sounds like a lotta fun! WAIT FER ME!!!!"

Moving as quickly as she could manage, Granny Smith followed Gerty into the cart.

"Surry to hold y'all up," the gray maned mare said apologetically, "these old bones of mine don't move so fast no more. Ready to go, AppleJack!"

[SilverSwirl]

Hearing Valen's laughter but feeling his grip tighten around her, she stopped laughing for a moment, "Am I flying a little too carelessly?", she called back over her shoulder.

Spotting her clinic, she slowed down and extended her wings, gliding past the treetops. She gracefully landed at the entrance of her clinic, not even jostling Valen when her hooves touched the ground. She laughed and said, "I think that was the smoothest landing I've done in years!". She lowered her body to the ground so he could step off her back, wings folded to prevent accidents.

[SteelEagle]

Valen considered Sunrise's questions respectfully for more than a moment, not sure how to respond. Was she flying too carelessly? Probably not. He wasn't a pegasus, but he didn't think they were bucking up and down wildly. His feeling of not having any control likely was about her size- he was just used to bigger, was all. She flew confidently, swiftly, and with control- no, she was anything other than careless. He was just being a scaredy pony.

They landed smoothly, his concerns momentarily put to ease. She let him off gently and was happy to have solid ground beneath him, though it did bring back to his mind the fact his bidy felt like a pile of wet jelly.

"No, you thlew revy thell." He said through his chirped tooth, sounding like a newborn foal from Germaney outside her office.

[Hippo]

"I'll start off with a nice canter." Applejack briskly took off in a well-paced walking speed. "We'll be taking the scenic route, so you'll get to see all of our best fields. Our first one is the North field, where our zap apples trees grow. They harvest apples year round like the rest of them, but once a year, the zap apples come magically through all the signs Granny learned about when she was a filly." Applejack kept walking towards points of interest. "Over here, we also have a garden of flowers that we tend to. Besides lookin' perty, these flowers help produce the pollen that the bees need to make their honey, and the honey that we need for zap apple jam, and all sorts of things."

Applejack, decided to end her conversation, so that she could pick up the pace. "So Granny, what kind of stories would you like to tell?" Applejack thought about it for a moment, and then came to a well thought conclusion. "Ah know! You should tell Gerty about that one time we nursed that acre of rotten apple trees back to health." Applejack increased her pace to an average gallop, her hat tilted to shield the wind from her eyes. Near the trees and the garden's path, small rocks could be seen, but the large wheels of the cart made them feel insignificant as the two ponies continued to enjoy their comfort.

[PonyHooves]

Gerty looked at all of the different sights. The farm certainly looked magificent from in the moving carriage. The mare did a few preliminary sketches of flowers, fields and trees. She then started to sketch Applejack. As a way of thanking the kind mare, Gerty felt that a good sketch should be done especially for the apple family. She was sketching Applejack bucking freshly ripened apples off a beautiful apple tree. Gerty Greetings put in every single detail and made sure that she didn't miss a single one. Gerty added the correct amounts of light and shade. Then she stuck the image onto a card and wrote inside it.

'Dear, Apple family...

This is for you, your hard work, your loyalty and the care you have shown throughout my reacurring visits to Sweet Apple Acres. You are all amazing pony folk. Because of how nice you all are, I'd like to thank you. Keep up the good work and keep those faces smiling.

From your cardmaker friend

Gerty Greetings'

She then heard Applejack mention stories. Gerty smiled. The mare always liked to hear a tale or two. If the world didn't have any stories then there wouldn't be enough creativity in it. However, when Applejack mentioned the nursing of a rotten apple tree, Gerty then thought about how true stories effect other pony folk and the way they think about each other. Still, the story sounded like it was one that all pony folk would want to hear. "I'd like to hear more about that story." She spoke kindly.

[Mojo]

"Oh yes, AppleJack, that's a dandy story!" Granny Smith neighed as she began to tell the tale. "Several years ago, in the far corner of the south field, an entire acre of our apple trees started dyin' out! T'was the strangest thing I ever did see, and I've seen a lot of strange things in my lifetime. Couldn't figure out why it was happenin', but it didn't matter. We had to git them thar apple trees back to the way they were before! That's when the entire Apple family went to work on it. Big Mac hauled cart after cart full of fertillizer while AppleJack and little AppleBloom spread it all out. Didn't help. Even sent fer a tree doctor and she said it was a lost cause. But I wasn't about to give up without a fight! That's when I got an idear. Them trees needed encouragement! So I went out to that grove and began talkin' to them trees! Some of our neighbors thought I lost my mind a doin' this! Even my grandkids had their doubts, ain't that right, AppleJack? Day after day I went out thar and talked to them trees, givin'm the best pep talks I could muster. It was AppleBloom that first notice the signs that those rotten trees were startin' to look better! It was plumb amazin' to see! Don't ask me to explain why it worked, but I wasn't about to ask questions. All of us Apples startin' goin' out into that grove and talkin' to them thar trees! Even Big Mac! The more we talked positive to them trees, the better they got! After two months of talkin', prunin' and fertillizin', that whole acre of trees became the BEST fruit producin' trees on the farm! In fact, it was from that very grove that we chose Bloomberg to send to our relatives in Appleoosa, ain't that right, AppleJack?"

[SilverSwirl]

Sunrise Wisp smiled and replied, "Thank you for the compliment Valen. Let's get you all fixed up now.". Opening the door, she lit the lamps and said, "Just have a seat for a moment while I get into my uniform and get all scrubbed up and sterilized.". She left the waiting room and Valen as she ascended the stairs to her home on the second floor. She opened the door and entered, the room was spotlessly clean with everything in it's place. Selecting a uniform off the rack, she hung it up as she turned on the water and got into the shower. She began to hum as she scrubbed herself down.

[SteelEagle]

Valen walked into the dentist's office, his body for the first time that day having time to back down. Only now was it hitting home how much he had done that day, from the overnight train ride to being viciously assaulted by chickens, being choked, drowned, stampeded and crushed, and then being taunted by delicious soup, it had been a tiring day for the foal and it wasn't even dinner yet. Lazily, Valen crawled on a chair and slumped over the hoof rest and allowed his body to take huge, gasping breaths as his back straightened out. He could hear a crack somewhere and couldn't decide if someone had popped in or out of place.

What he wouldn't have given to be home at that exact moment, in a nice, warm bath. He had the perfect bath robe for such rough days, it probably cost more than what some of these ponies made in a month. That made him feel awful, though- he had just experienced how hard they worked and they had so much less than he. Quelle insulte! But maybe that was the point. His parents wanted him to see how hard they worked, and know that his cousins on orange farms did the same. What better leader than the one who had the knowledge of what the tiniest cogs in the machine?

This chair sure was comfy. Sunrise's office may have lacked all the niceties of the high-class Upper Crust dentist he had back home, but she didn't buy cheap chairs. Comfortable and warm, he could feel himself rolling gently back into them in relaxation. Only the throbbing pain in his tooth kept him from falling asleep.

[Hippo]

As Granny told the story, Applejack daydreamed the whole thing in her head. As she galloped, she thought of all the things they had tried to do to get those trees to be revived and bear fruit again. It was so painstakingly draining. But as Granny mentioned the victory that occurred when a strange social connection was made with the trees, Applejack relived the miracle that it had brought forth. As she thought about the trees sprouting leaves again, it excited Applejack. As she though about the spontaneous growth that was given from the trees as the ponies loved on them, her heart began to race. And as she remembered, she even remembered times when she could feel that radiant green love bouncing back at her from the rough bark that layered the trees' trunks. It was a life-changing experience.

Applejack recalled all of these moments just as Granny had explained them. She made no exaggeration. And at the story's climax, it made Applejack's heart pound with joy. However, in Applejack's daydream, she had allowed herself to get carried away with the story, and was now pulling the cart in a full on sprint. Applejack dashed as fast she could with they cart with two ponies, rumbling down the orchard's paths, skipping on rocks, and swerving to miss near collisions with trees. The ride sure turned into a bumpy one.

[PonyHooves]

Gerty listened to every word that left Granny Smith's lips. She had noticed that a gentle breeze had begun to brush her mane backwards. It felt so refreshing. Then the cart started bumping over everything and swerving. Gerty Greetings was having trouble staying in her seat. The breeze had grown into a strong wind that forced her body backwards and made her eyes water. With every swerve, she felt her body getting closer to the edge of the cart. Gerty didn't like the fast pace any more. It was a frightening experiance. Her heart was pounding so loudly that she could feel it her her head. The mare was hyperventilating because of how scared she felt. But she didn't want to say anything to Applejack. Gerty didn't want to spoil her fun. So she kept her mouth shut and silently hoped that the ride wouldn't get any worse.

Suddenly, Gerty was blown off the cart by the strong winds that were caused by Applejack's racing. She was thrown, head first, into an apple tree by the impact of the cart's movement. After crashing into the tree, Gerty fell on the floor beside it. A few apples fell off the tree and hit the mare on her head. Her eyes were rolling around in their sockets. "What pretty little spinning stars..." She blurted out sounding confused. Gerty didn't know what had just happened to her. But she did have one huge headache.

[Mojo]

After Granny Smith had finished her story, she was stunned to see how fast the cart was moving. When Gerty fell off the wagon, the elderly mare struggled towards the front of the cart.

"WHOA THAR APPLEJACK! WE GIST LOST GERTY! WE GOTTA GO BACK AND SEE IF SHE'S ALRIGHT!"

Granny Smith may be old, but she can still yell as loud as any young filly or colt. The gray maned mare turned to look back, to see if she could catch a glimpse of where their friend had landed.

[SilverSwirl]

Sunrise stepped out of the shower and grabbed a soft, terrycloth towel and rapidly dried herself off. Grabbing her dental uniform, she put it on hastily as she exited her loft and descended the stairs into the waiting room. Seeing Valen, with his upper crust upbringing lounging in a chair, she smiled at him. He appeared to be satisfied with her choice of seating as she said to Valen, "Are you ready? This will not take long to repair.". She loved her occupation and it showed as she smiled and had a spring on her step as she led Valen to the operating theater behind the vacant reception desk.

[SteelEagle]

Valen nodded at the dentist, happy to have this pain draw to a close. It was one thing to have a pain you couldn't do anything about but when you could, it sometimes made the pain worse as you knew that every moment in pain was just one more that was unrequired. Within a few moments, he followed Sunrise into the operating theater. She seemed to enjoy her job, something that definitely made Valen relieved. The only thing worse than a bad dentist was a dentist who hated his or her job and Valen was more than a little pleased to see that neither was the case here.

As he hopped onto the chair, though, that familiar foalish fear kicked in. He wouldn't say he was afraid of the dentist, but any foal who sharp objects poking around one's mouth was the least bit concerning was a liar.

"Howth muth will thith costh, ma'am?" The foal asked as he leaned back.

[Hippo]

Applejack woke up finding her hooves not able to keep up with the rest of her body. The cart behind her pushed her as she pulled it over and down a hill. Apparently Gerty had fallen out. "Ah can't stop it Granny! Brace of impact!" Applejack tried to steer the cart towards a more open area with a soft platform for landing on. The cart swerved and crashed into a large haystack. Applejack, still tied to the cart, got buried deep into the hay as the cart traced it's outline into the pile. She had hoped Granny would be alright.

At rest, Applejack spat out hay straws that were lodged into her teeth and untied her fastening with the cart. She ran to the attention of Gerty who was lying under a pink lady apple tree. "Gerty! You alright, hun!?" Applejack saw the irony and decided to share it, in case Gerty needed the balance. "Heh, well. Ya found the pink ladies." A few apples fell onto her her.

"Oh, sorry sugarcube! I got carried away. Again!" Applejack turned away in frustration. "Nuts and shoes! Why am I having such a hard time keepin' mahself tame? I don't think I have ever had to hold back this much."

[PonyHooves]

She looked up and the orange earth pony who stood before her. "Gerty! You alright, hun!?" She asked. She then mentioned the mare finding the pink ladies. After that red mare watched as the orange mare turned and started talking to her self. She sounded frustrated about something. But what was was it all about and who was this Gerty? Where was she and who was this mysterious orange mare? "Who's Gerty?" The middle aged mare asked. "And why are you so frustrated?" The mare noticed that a card was next to her. It was the card she had written out for Applejack. She looked at the picture on the front. "Huh? It looks just like you. It must be yours... Sorry, what's your name?" She pushed the card towards Applejack.

[Mojo]

Granny Smith had ended up flying head first into the haystack that had stopped the wagon's forward progress. After a few moments of struggling to get her bearings, the elderly lime green mare was able to 'roll off' the haystack and gently perform a perfect 'four hoof' landing on the grass.

"Thar! I ain't hadda roll in the hay like that in decades! OH MY! GERTY!"

The gray maned mare ran off as fast as she could to follow AppleJack. She arrived just as Gerty began speaking, putting a very worried look on Granny's face.

"Jist eye-ballin' the situation here, AppleJack, I'll betcha poor Gerty's hit her head hard enough to git a case of amnesia. Thar's only one way to be sure and that's to git a doctor up here pronto. Say, I seem to recall a unicorn doctor who's over near that carrot farm that came ta fish while he's on vacation. Maybe if'n we kin find him and git him to come over here, he could have a good look at'r. Whatcha think, AppleJack? I could keep an eye on Gerty while ya gallop over to fetch the doc."

[SilverSwirl]

Sunrise watched the little foal climb into the chair, noticing a familiar look of fear that she had seen many times before. She smiled at the foal, as she replied to his question, "You've had a really rough day and as I recall, I told Granny Smith that it would be done at no charge.". She wheeled over the canister of Nitrous Oxide behind the chair as she grabbed a sterile muzzle mask and placed it over the foal's nostrils. "I am going to turn it on and you are going to Start to feel giddy as it takes effect, reducing the pain you will feel as I perform the surgery.", she said sweetly as she turned the knob on the canister.

She picked up her tool tray, it's metallic surface buffed to a mirrorlike sheen, and her tools that were state of the art off the shelf. She whistled as she picked up the dental mirror and took a more in-depth look at Valen's teeth.