Just another day (Open)

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The sound of Braeburn's hoofsteps was muffled by the dusty ground as he strode into town, a little puff of dust forming with each step. What wasn't muffled was the creaking sound of the wagon filled with barrel upon barrel of apples. The apple farmer was bringing in yet another fine haul from the orchards. It was early morning when he pulled his wagon to a stop in front of the tall clock tower. The sun wasn't very high in the sky yet, and the air still had a coolness to it. The day's weather could tip either way though. It could be a warm one, or cool if the wind picked up. Either way the summer heat was gone, and the winter chill had yet to arrive.

Braeburn got to work quickly before he could ponder the weather for too long. Once he was unhitched from his wagon, he lowered the tailgate and set two planks of wood against it. The barrels were rolled off in groups, and each group was delivered to certain store fronts. He knew some were meant to be sold as is, some to be turned into juice, and others would be baked. One way or another they'd all get eaten up eventually. With the wagon unloaded it was then time to get it filled up all over again. This time the wagon was loaded up with supplies he needed for the orchard, himself, and a few odds and ends for some of the ponies that worked with him. He had the wagon, and the time. It was no trouble for him to save a trip for a friend.

Once he had everything all packed up Braeburn turned to look at the town. It had grown so much in such a short amount of time. It was hard to believe that it wasn't that long ago the area was all flat land before. What had been barren land had turned into a row of tents, and those tents were replaced with buildings. Sure each building was a simple box to begin with, but everyone of them now had their own unique facade to them. There were also houses with yards, and a train station. He doubted if there was a single pony in Canterlot or Cloudsdale who could look around their town and get the same feeling of accomplishment he felt.

Braeburn's admiring was cut short as an angry growl reached his ears. "Hush now ya' hear." he said as he looked down at his stomach. "Ah know yer empty. Ah reckon its time to go fix that now." With that the light gold pony began to trot in the direction of the small hotel the town had. It had a dining hall that made the establishment double as a restaurant. If there were any new ponies in town he didn't know about he was sure he'd probably see them there. Unless somepony had a place to be, the hotel was just about the first place every new pony visited.

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"Well this has gone south," Soarin' thought, looking over the open plains he know flew above.

The Wonderbolt was off his game, having just recently gotten off of his forced 'vacation'. Training would get him back into tip-top shape in a jiffy, though. Today's regiment should have been easy. No tricks, no maneuvers, no fancy stuff. Just simple speed and endurance training. Soarin' had been a Wonderbolt for a pretty long time, so he could go far and go fast without getting tired, even if he was out of practice.

Therein lied the problem. He'd gone too far and now he had no idea where he was. He hadn't seen any buildings or ponies on the ground in a while now, and he was starting to get worried. At least these train tracks he was following would definitely find him a town or something eventually. And there somepony could give him some hint as to where he was.

Soon enough, he'd found one. Sure, it was no Manehattan in size or Canterlot in glamor....but Soarin' wasn't too picky at this point. Heck, he would've flown right into a changeling hive if any of them could've lended him a hoof.

The Wonderbolt, already flying low enough to see the ground, started to dive. The town's main road seemed rather empty, so he figured next to nopony would mind him using it as a runway. The descent was quick and clean, the blue and yellow clad pegasus' hooves kicking up a small cloud of dust as he came to a stop in the center of the road.

Pushing his goggles out of his eyes, Soarin' saw almost no pony out. He did figure it was pretty early in the morning, so not everypony was up and at 'em right now. He did see one stallion with a hat and vest on though. Might as well start with him.

"Hey there," Soarin' called to him as he trotted over. "You got a second, buddy? I need some help."

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Braeburn's ears sprang up at the sound of a voice he didn't recognize. He knew everyone in Appleoosa by name, and whoever was calling him didn't sound familiar. The gold stallion turned toward the newcomer with a friendly smile to greet him. Normally he would have been much more excited about greeting a newcomer to Appleoosa, but void in his stomach and the word help put just a slight damper on it. "Howdy there, the name's Braeburn. Ah always have time t' help a pony in need. What can Ah do for yah Mister?"

The farmer wasn't the judging type, but the blue Pegasus was quite a sight to see. There were a number of reasons a pony would wear such a... unique outfit. Maybe the Pegasus just came from, or was going to a costume party of some sort. Being dared, or losing a bet would also work. There was a point when he had to wear a ridiculous outfit because he lost a bet once. He had been a foal then, and lost a bet with a cousin, but luckily he didn't have to leave the house that day. It still got brought up from time to time at family reunions. At least there hadn't been any pictures taken at the time.

The next thing that occurred to him was what as a Pegasus doing all the way in Appleoosa? The train hadn't arrived yet, so that meant he had probably come in under his own power. The closest towns were Ponyville, and Dodge, so he had probably come from one of those towns. He couldn't be too sure of that guess though. He'd never grown up around many Pegasi, so he didn't quite know what their limitations were, and his cousin Applejack said that Miss Rainbow's speed was a special case.

"Lets get out of the street first though. Wouldn't want to get accidentally flattened if somepony's wagon got the better of them." Braeburn shook his head knowingly before trotting up to the boardwalk. Some stallions had to learn the hard way how difficult it could be to suddenly stop a fully loaded wagon once it got moving quickly.

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The stallion spoke the same language as Soarin', which he took as a good sign. The fact that he was willing to help only made things better. Something about this Braeburn guy seemed familiar to Soarin', but he brushed that thought aside. He needed to figure out where in Equestria he was right now. Soarin' was about to ask that when the earth pony advised him to step out of the street.

"Oh, right," Soarin' said, trotting onto the wooden sidewalk. "Well, you could start by telling me where I am? I'm kinda lost."

Soarin' blushed, embarrassed. Not that anypony could see it very well through his uniform. He hadn't exactly been giving his organization the best reputation, recently. At least he technically wasn't on the roster right now...and he'd get back into shape soon enough.

"Name's Soarin', by the way," the Pegasus said to introduce himself. "Nice to meet you, Braeburn."

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"Well this town here is Appleoosa. We settled here over a year ago." Braeburn answered him. "Of all the towns to wind up lost in though, you sure did pick a doozy. Not to say we aint friendly here in Appleoosa, Its just we're quite a ways off the beaten path here." Being a small, and new, town meant that giving directions to anywhere in particular would be difficult. It wasn't like other places where one could point at a well known landmark and say its over there. Heck, you could see Canterlot from Ponyville.

The farmer raised a hoof to his chin in thought as he considered his options. "The best Ah can do is tell you how to get to Ponyville, or Dodge Junction. You can get to plenty of places from there. If you want to rest them wings of yours for a spell, the train'll be along eventually. We could get'cha a ticket to wherevers you need to get to."

It was the best help Braeburn could offer. Waiting for the train would be the easiest way for the Pegasus to get to where he wanted to go. The directions he'd give would only be to follow the train tracks until a fork, then which way to go after that. Either way Mister Soarin', all that flyin' you've probably been doin' must be hungry work. We got pies here that are better than the kind you'd get from Sweet Apple Acres up in Ponyville, and they're practically famous!"

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Appleloosa, eh? Soarin' couldn't say he'd ever heard of the place before. Then again, he was an athlete, not a geographer or census taker. Plus, even Braeburn seemed to think this place was a little remote and under the radar.

At least getting back to "civilization" didn't seem too hard. Soarin' knew where Ponyville was, so that made things much easier. He wasn't all that lost after all!

"Thanks, but no thanks," Soarin' replied. "I'd prefer to fly back. I could use the work out..."

Soarin' would've had all he needed right there and could've left immediately. But Braeburn mentioned food. More importantly, Braeburn mentioned pie. Pie supposedly better than Sweet Apple Acres' Pie! How was that even possible? He had to see this to believe it.

"On second thought, I AM a little hungry and I'm not super busy. I'll stick around a bit and see if those pies you're talking about are up to snuff."

Soarin' had a pretty big smile on his face. This whole "getting lost" thing wasn't all that bad after all!

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Braeburn gave Soarin' a grin and began to walk toward his original destination. "Now I know that look. You don't quite believe me, but you'll see. See Ah'm also a part of the Apple Family, an' when I told all my kinfolk I was startin' an orchard up here in just about the middle of nowhere, just about all of them pitched in a little somethin' to help me out. So I got seeds, and saplings, and a couple of trees from all over Equestria. Sure most of the trees here are from my home orchard back in Dodge, where I'm originally from, but havin' trees from all over gives Appleoosa an edge when it comes to pies."

The farmer only paused in his rambling long enough to take his hat off and toss it onto a hat rack once they got inside the hotel. He gave a polite nod to the mare sitting behind the check-in desk, and kept on walking toward the dining hall. With how much he seemed to enjoy talking, odds were he'd be well suited for keeping foals entertained with stories. At least when he rambled he stayed on the same, coherent, subject. "See when it comes to pie fillin', three diff'rent apples make it the best. Most folks use one or two, but three is the magic number. Now crust is something where we might not have the greatest, but I'm a bit biased. See I got this Aunt in Baltimare, now SHE makes the best darn pie crust in all of a Equestria I tell you what."

The dining room had a few ponies in it for breakfast, so finding a table was easy enough. The workhorse found a nice enough table to settle down at, and it seemed like he was just about done with his rambling. Now I'm mighty competitive when it comes my family, in a friendly way of course, but I will admit that Sweet Apple Acres makes THE best cold cider. No contest. Cousin Applejack told me that last season ponies showed up the night before to camp out in line. Hot cider is a completely diff'rent story, but that's more based on personal tastes what with everypony being diff'rent, and not on scientific fact.

Braeburn let out a breath, finally done rambling about pie, and to a lesser extent, cider. He had done enough talking, now it was time to do some listening. "So what do you do for a livin' Mister Soarin'?"

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Soarin' followed Braeburn inside, listening as the earth pony talked about...various things. His history, his family, apple trees. Sociable seemed to be the best word to describe this guy, it seemed. That certainly explained his willingness to help out an outsider like Soarin'. The hotel they had walked into was nice. It wasn't huge, ritzy, or glamorous like a Canterlot hotel, definitely. But this place had that...almost indescribable feeling of comfort and homeliness. And that went a long way, Soarin' could say from experience.

The pegasus' ears perked up when Braeburn mentioned pie, the farmer instantly gaining Soarin's full attention again. Soarin' knew a thing or two about pie, and he could tell Braeburn did, too.

"The parts of a pie separate aren't as important as they are together," Soarin' responded. "Certain fillings and crust just don't work together, and sometimes crust that's been a failure with other kinds of fillings will be a hit with one. It's not an exact science. Then again, I wouldn't know. I'm bad at science."

Soarin' sat down across from Braeburn in the dining hall. Again, it wasn't lavish or grandiose or any big adjective like that, but it felt comfortable. Soarin' heard a familiar name come from Braeburn's mouth: Applejack.

"Applejack? I think I know an Applejack," Soarin' commented. "Ponyville, nice hat, freckles? We talking the same mare?"

The two being cousins certainly explained the hat, the accent, and the predisposition to helping ponies. Though, that wasn't exactly a genetic thing. He thought. Soarin'd have time to think over whether nice hats were recessive or dominant traits later, Braeburn wanted to hear about him now.

"...he doesn't already know?" Soarin' asked himself mentally. The uniform was usually a dead give away. Unless... "This guy doesn't know who the Wonderbolts are?!"

Soarin' figured he might as well ask before jumping to any conclusions. Earth Ponies and Unicorns tended not to be very knowledgeable of the Wonderbolts, it seemed.

"I take it you've never heard of the Wonderbolts before? 'Cause that's kind of what I do...and what's with the whole...costume."

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"Wonderbolts... Wonderbolts. Ah feel like Ah should remember that name." Braeburn thinks hard on the matter. Its a word he's seen before somewhere. One by one his mind tried out different puzzle pies to try and make the connection. Soarin' was a Pegasus, and he wore a flashy costume. He was apart of some group that called themselves the Wonderbolts. That was plural, so there were others like him, and it sounded like they might be a big deal. Weren't there some important Pegasi around when his cousin's friend pulled off that Sonic Rain...thing?

"AH know!" he exclaimed when it finally clicked. "Miss Rainbow Dash ended up savin' a bunch of y'all at the Best Young Flyer competition!" That was where he knew the name from. He couldn't remember all the details he'd been told about, but all it took was one to surface. At least he didn't bring up the reason they had to be saved was because a flailing Unicorn managed to knock three of them out. Probably not their finest moment, but everyone has off days.

"She's a friend of my cousin. Only met her once, seems nice enough. Course the town was under attack by a bunch of stampedin' Buffalo at the time. Luckily all that's settled an' in the past now. Lost many a pie that day though." Before Braeburn could launch into another story an Earth Pony mare walked up to the table to set down a pair of menus and two glasses of water for the two.

"Order whatever ya' feel like gettin' Mister Soarin'. This meal is on me." he offered. No story, no separate tangent to go off of this time. Not everything could set him off. At least he hadn't ran with the previous comment about crusts. It wasn't a subject he was very well versed on, but he had a few opinions. If he got back to talking about apples, or the town, Soarin' might never get a chance to leave.

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So he HAD heard of them. Sure, it was because of the whole Best Young Fliers incident, but that whole thing wasn't that bad in retrospect. Sure, getting kicked in the face by that unicorn wasn't fun. But meeting Rainbow Dash was pretty fun, and hey, Soarin' only ALMOST died! The Wonderbolts that were involved in that incident were a little angry and embarrassed about it at first, but now they mostly just laughed about it.

"That's us," Soarin' said with a laugh. "But we do more than get kicked in the face, though, trust me. We're Equestria's Number One Fliers and we do...well, a lot of things, really."

Soarin'd have time to discuss the many adventures of the Wonderbolts later. Now was deciding time. More importantly, it was deciding pie time. Soarin' only gave the menu a once over because he already knew what he'd be ordering. After Braeburn had hyped it up that much, how could he NOT test out that Apple Pie?

"Why, thanks. I know what I'm getting," Soarin' said to Braeburn before turning to the waitress. "I'm trying some of that apple pie he's been speaking so highly of, please? A la mode if you have any ice cream. If not, just plain."

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"Ah'll have an Apple Dumpling, and a cup of coffee." Braeburn ordered, not even bothering to look at the menu. He ate there often enough to know the menu. It didn't change very often, not unless there was a special, or Appleoosa got a hold of some new produce. The waitress had nodded when she took Soarin's order, but shot Braeburn a flat expression. "Cream and two sugar cubes?"

"Eeyup."

"You ever going to order anything different for breakfast Braeburn?"

"If Ah ever do, you'll be the first t' know Miss Buttercup." The farmer gave a small smile causing the waitress to just shake her head and walk away. Everything had happened like a comfortable routine that had played out dozens of time before. Braeburn watched her for a second before turning his attention back to Soarin'. He could have gone into a story, but had the strength of will to not launch into another long tale.

"Ah'm originally from Dodge. Well, its now Dodge Junction, but it was just Dodge when Ah was growin' up. Not too many Pegasi 'round those parts. Tell me about the Wonderbolts Mister Soarin'. Y'all might be great fliers, but it seems like you can use some work on yer navigatin' t' me."

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Soarin' chuckled as Braeburn and the waitress bantered. He'd been in Braeburn's position before, just getting "the usual" every time he went to eat. It was a tough habit to break...and sometimes one you don't even see the point in breaking. Variety IS the spice of life, though.

Soarin's eyes followed the waitress as she walked out before Braeburn's voice got his attention back to the stallion across the table from him. The farmer wanted to know more about the Wonderbolts.

"My navigating?" Soarin' said. "In my defense, I didn't have a flight path today. I was just gonna fly straight out and then fly straight back. Good exercise, get me back in prime shape. Except I went too far, too fast and ended up in the middle of nowhere...which is just about a stone's throw away from Appleloosa."

The Wonderbolt snickered before taking a drink of water and clearing his throat.

"What the Wonderbolts do is...well, we do a lot. We're mainly a traveling performance group. We go city to city, town to town, and do aerial shows, races, stuff like that," Soarin' said, sounding rather business-like. "We also show up at a lot of events, because a big name like the Wonderbolts draws a crowd. Especially for charity and all that. That's why we were at the Best Young Fliers Competition...well, that and tradition. We don't do it too much anymore, but sometimes we act as...pretty much a special squadron of the Equestrian Royal Air Force. Applejack ever tell you about a random Dragon rampage in Ponyville? The Wonderbolts got called in to stop it. I mean, I wasn't there for it, so I can't say anything on how it went, but we were there."

Soarin' left out the part where said dragon trapped the Wonderbolts between the top of a water tower and a mountain. No one really needed to be reminded about that. He had a feeling Braeburn might already know that, though.

"What do YOU do around here, Braeburn?" Soarin' asked. "I get the impression you're a farmer. Or at least know a thing or two about apples."

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Braeburned listened with interest to Soarn' explaining just what the Wonderbolts were all about. They seemed like an interesting group of Pegasi, awfully showy, but interesting. A couple of highlights stood out to to the farmer, both were a surprise, but only one was a happy surprise. The other was the type of surprise that he'd need some explaining done to him.

"Wow, the ERAF. Ah wouldn't have guessed anythin' like that given the duds yer wearin'. he said with an impressed whistle. It sounded like The Wonderbolts were a big deal everywhere in Equestria where he hadn't lived. Though he could think of a decent reason as to why there weren't many Pegasi in Dodge or Appleoosa. The dry weather made it hard for clouds to stay together, it'd take a lot of upkeep to keep a cloud home holding together.

"No, Ah never did hear anythin' about no dragon, nor a rampage." the farmer said narrowing his eyes a tad, and annoyance creeping into his voice. He knew he didn't get to hear about every single event that happened around Ponyville, but this sounded like a big deal. "Though I reckon if I did, I woulda come gallopin' on over t' Ponyville whether or not I'd been asked t' come help. Ah was raised to help my family out whenever they needed it, no matter how far away they were. Still eats me up inside that I missed the last reunion."

"As fer what Ah do 'round here, Ah own the Appleoosa Orchards that feed the town. Ah was a part of the original party that set out to settle a new place on account of my knowledge on what it takes to grow apple trees. Can't start a town if you can't feed it. Other than that Ah help out wherever Ah'm needed whether it be as the occasional sworn-in deputy, or an extra pair of hooves t' hold somethin'. Nothin' as excitin' you Wonderbolts go around doin'... except for that one incident with zombies, but we don't talk about that."

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Soarin' had a proud smile on his face when Braeburn acted impressed at the Wonderbolts' status as honorary ERAF members. It was easy to be proud about being part of the Wonderbolts, and that fact was one of the main reasons. It always seemed to get a 'Wow, Really?' out of ponies. Soarin' ignored the comment about his uniform, though. He figured he'd just let that one go.

As he took a drink of water, Soarin' sensed Braeburn's annoyance at not being told about the Dragon Attack. He had to sympathize with the farmer. You'd think somepony would've said something about something like a dragon attack. Soarin' figured Applejack must've had her reasons for not sharing that information.

Soarin' had to admire Braeburn's sense of duty and dedication to his town and family. He would make a great Wonderbolt because of them if he were a Pegasus.

When Braeburn mentioned a zombie attack, Soarin' nearly did a spit take. That wasn't exactly something you could just gloss over! But they didn't talk about it for whatever reason.

"Uhh...right," Soarin' said, trying to dodge the whole "zombie" subject. Clearly that was a sensitive issue. "Exciting, maybe not. But hey, you put in a lot of work for this town and I can respect that. A little hard work never hurt anypony. Feels rewarding, I bet?"

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Braeburn shot Soarin' a questioning look for his reaction, but a small smile played on the stallion's lips. The Pegasus was a fun person to have around. In the back of his head gears were turning. He was a farmer, not a business man, but an idea was creeping up on him. Maybe he could turn this random encounter into something more, but he'd need to know a few more facts. Fact finding could happen later though.

"It sure is rewardin', but it can also be very taxin' at the same time. Ah've had to give up a lot t' be here, but Ah wasn't in the greatest of spots t' begin with when it all started. Ah can clearly remember when this whole stretch of land was barren, an' over a year later we're here today. There's only three other ponies Ah can think of who can look out their window an' see a part of the world they helped create. The first is my granny in Ponyville. Granny Smith helped settle the area when she was just a little filly."

"The other two ponies live up in Canterlot. I bet you can guess which two sisters Ah'm talkin' about." The young stallion took a drink of his water to pause for a second. When he set his glass down he looked down in it while rolling it gently with his hooves. "Ah'm not too proud t' say it, but its a lot of weight on my shoulders. Ah've had my share of nights worryin' about how much of this settlement rides on me bein' a success. Farm life is all Ah've known, but this time Ah'm in charge of it all."

"Oh well. Nothin' wrong with havin' an occasional moment of weakness. Nopony's perfect, no matter how many horns, wings, or lack there of they have. What matters is what you take from it. Every pony out there has fallen sometime in their life, but everypony eventually learns to pick themselves up."