>Heading off towards town, you notice a familiar ringing in your ears
>This ringing was always followed by a dulled sense of hearing
>Sadly, this was not the case
>The ringing was because you had walked by Pinkie Pie as she was testing a new delivery system
>Thank God you slept off your migraine or that might've been painful
>You look at her and shake your head
>Continuing towards town, you notice a disproportion amongst the ponies
>A major one being all the earth ponies were being made to do menial tasks and the unicorns were doing a majority of mercantile trades
>As you're taking note of this, you see a patrol of pegasi taking in what must've been a criminal caught in the act
>This was all terribly fascinating but your stomach growling got the better of you
>Waltzing into Sugarcube Corner, you order the finest in breakfast cakes here from Mrs. Cake
>"The frosting will taste like that which you desire most to eat, Anon!"
"Thanks Mrs. Cake. You really know how to make a great breakfast."
>Sounding half a bubble off without your normal chipper, you sit with your cake and have a realization
>You cannot simply have cake without coffee
"Mrs. Cake? I hate to be a pest but where's the coffee around here?"
>"Oh! My! Where are my manners? Here's a cup for you, Anon my dear!"
"Thanks again."
>She didn't charge you for it
>Strange, but you'll pay her back for it later once you get back on your feet
>As you take your first bite of cake, it begins to taste like a sausage bite from an omelette back home
>The next, tastes like fresh eggs fried over medium
>And the next tasting like freshly fried hash browns
>This was some delicious cake
>Maybe life here wouldn't be so bad after all
>Twilight comes over and sits down with you
>"So I see you're up and about. I hope we didn't scare you too badly yesterday with our-"
"Twilight, it's alright. I'm just a bit amiss because this is a place which I never dreamt of existing inside of."
>"So, I have to know. Were you considered a part of your warrior caste? Maybe a lowly worker? Or perhaps you did something a tad more noble, like the pursuit of knowledge?"
>Your mind braces itself to find a decent answer to satisfy the lavender creature's queries
>Then it hits you
>She's trying to find a place to 'put' you for lack of better term
>Thinking fast, you decide to respond to her with a bit of rhetoric
"Even the lowliest of workers needs the highest of thinkers to make their job happen."
>"Wow. So where you're from, who you are doesn't dictate where you work?"
"No. If you find a job that either pays well, you take it. Or if you're lucky enough to do something we love, we stick with it, no matter what."
>"Interesting. So, I uhhh..."
>The bookworm starts coming out at this moment
>"Do....do you have a uhm....cutie mark?"
"A what now?"
>"It's that mark you see on all ponies' flanks. Do you have a mark there?"
>You examine hers and see it's a brilliant display of stars
>Pinkie, walking back in from her great experiment, has balloons, signifying parties
>You notice Mrs. Cake's is cake themed
"No, I can't say I have anything like that. We tend to let our talents guide us towards a particular field, but sometimes we just have to grin and bear it if it's all we have for employment."
>"Very very interesting...well, how would you like to meet the nobility here?"
"Excuse me, I'm afraid I'm still catching up mentally to your knowledge of the area. The what?"
>"Nobility. And by that I mean the entire governing body of Equestria, Princesses Celestia and Luna respectively."
"That sounds dreadfully interesting but I think I will pass for today at least. I'm going to take a look around, see if I can't learn more about...what is this town again?"
>"Ponyville."
"Yes, that's it, Ponyville! Now if you'll excuse me..."
>You get up, Twilight narrows her gaze at you and walks off
>Something does not feel right about this little encounter
>As you walk the streets, you notice Applejack's brother, Big Macintosh is helping the Mayor mare set up a display for a coming festival
>Stopping a minty green mare with honey eyes, you ask her
"Hey, what season is it?"
>"Why it's summer. And I don't believe I've had the pleasure of seeing you or one of your kind before. You are...?"
"I am Anonymous. But you may call me Anon for short. And yourself?"
>"I am Lyra Heartstrings. But you may simply call me Lyra."
>Instinctively offering your hand for her to shake, you feel embarrassed retracting it remembering that Lyra cannot return the gesture
"Right. So what is it you do around here?"
>Before you can speak one word more, Rainbow Dash comes streaking out of the sky and slams into the ground next to you
>"Hold it one minute! What do you think you're doing here, Anon?"
"I am speaking to Lyra about her job and things of that nature. Why?"
>"Because I still don't trust you to not hurt somepony! Come with me right now before I haul you off for disturbing the peace!"
>Lyra shakes her head and leans around Rainbow's wings
>"Uhhh, Rainbow Dash? He hasn't hurt me, we were just having friendly-"
>"I DON'T wanna hear it. If you keep it up, I'll be having a talk with your boss about all those shifts you missed. Now, Anonymous, walk slowly to the outskirts of own, and no funny business!"
>You do as she says to placate her
>Walking through town, ponies look at the sight
>They think you've committed some crime within minutes of entering town
>As you approach an open field, Rainbow taps your shoulder and begins to eye you up and down with her strikingly magenta eyes
>"You don't LOOK so tough. Why aren't you afraid of me?"
"Because you haven't given me any reason to be hostile. Though with your behaviour lately, I'm starting to think otherwise..."
>"Hey...hey HEY! Knock it off with the jokes! I have an obligation to my friends and Equestria to ensure no harm comes to them. Got it?"
"Uhhh....yeah. Got it."
>"Good! And you have to be afraid of me!"
"But I can't be afraid of you just because you said so."
>She makes a rather displeased grunt and kicks the ground
>"Anon, why can't I scare you?"
"Because I know you don't mean it deep down?"
>She turns three shades of red
>"W-What? What's that supposed to mean?!?"
"Well Rainbow, it means that I know you're doing this just to command some respect from me which I'm already giving you. So you can let it go, I do respect you, I just don't fear you. I fear the princesses though, don't you?"
>"Yeah, it kinda-wait huh? Who's been talking to you?"
"Talking to me about what?"
>She looks at an imaginary wrist watch
>"Well, look at the time, gotta go, thanks Anon!"
>She jets off into the sky
>Note to self: see if Applejack wants to explain this later
>Realizing it's midday and you need to head back to the farm, you set off down the dusty trail back to Sweet Apple Acres
>Having an otherwise uneventful walk, you think about the day's events
>Twilight and her strange speech she gave you concerning castes
>Rainbow and her fierce loyalty to protect her friends
>Before you knew it, the familiar apple orchards were just over the horizon
>As you arrive, you notice Applejack doing something very uncharacteristic of herself
>She's lounging about underneath a tree
"Applejack? Is everything okay?"
>She sighs loudly and looks up at you, considering something
>"Well, Anon, I guess I can tell you since you seem to be fairly smart and everythin'."
"Alright..."
>You sit down next to her in the shade and she begins to spill to you
>She takes her trademark Stetson off and places it on the dirt between the two of you
>Steeling herself, she looks you squarely in the eyes and asks you a question that cut to the bone
>"Ya ever thought you were capable of so much more? But somethin' was holdin' you back?"
>You pause and carefully consider your answer
"That's only natural. Where I'm from, when that happens, we usually find a way to overcome it."
>"Well, here in Equestria, the princesses n' other royal types keep us earth ponies down. Call us mud born an' other mean nasty names."
>Your conversation with Twilight is beginning to suddenly make sense
"That's horrid! I can't believe they'd do that."
>"Well, that ain' even the worst of it. The worst of it is that if'n I don't keep up production on this here farm, I'll lose everythin' I own, and the family will get split up. It's hard ta' be a successful earth pony an' not slave away in a factory or other awful job!"
>She appears to be on the verge of tears
>You move closer to give her a hug and show her it'll be okay
"Oh Applejack. I'm so sorry, I had no idea-"
>As you were speaking, Applejack and you noticed a rustling in the bushes
>"WHO IN TARNATION IS OUT THERE?"
>Applejack jumps to and is immediately on point
>"Dern coyotes, prolly hiding in the orchards again....
"Hello! Who's in the bush?"
>You see some yellowy feathers come out and gather a sneaking suspicion about your eavesdropper
>Taking matters into your own hands, you decide to see if you're correct
"Fluttershy! Show yourself and explain what you're doing at once!"
>She shimmies out of the bush and begins to shake with fear
>Applejack looks at you with a cheeky grin
>"You got this? Or do ya need help? I got rope. Plenty of it, ta' boot."
"I don't think that'll be necessary. Now then...."
>You grab Fluttershy by the mane and hold her to head height
>Which was rather a long ways up for the little pegasus
"What were you doing in the bush?"
>She whimpers something unintelligible
"Try again but louder this time. I don't want to hurt you but I must know, what were you doing there?"
>"J-Just....just watching....*mumble*"
"Watching what? Or who?"
>"Watching....*gulp* y-you..."
>You're unsure what to do
>It appears you have a little stalker on your hands
>Or in your hands, literally
>She's quivering in your grasp
>You release her mane and let her down to the ground gently
"Now. What you heard Applejack and I talk about, never speak of it to anyone else. Alright?"
>"Y-Yes...not a soul...I promise! I d-don't wanna let you down, Anon..."
"That's good. Now then, off you go, don't you have some animals that need attention?"
>"*EEP*"
>She takes off as fast as she can down the road
"Say, Applejack? Why doesn't she fly? She's got two wings that aren't broken, doesn't she?"
>"Well, yeah Anon but everypony knows Fluttershy can't fly fer horseapples."
>She looks at you with the kind of face that one gives a child for speaking inappropriately
>You feel immediate regret upon saying this
"Oh...."
>"Well Anon, let's go inside and Ah'll give ya the lowdown on what's wrong here in Equestria."
>You follow the cowpony inside and take a seat on the surprisingly comfortable, but tired looking couch
>She brings you a glass of cider
>"This is the harder stuff, so take 'er easy pardner."
>You nod
"Now then, what's this business about princesses oppressing you Earth ponies?"
>"Oh, that's nothin' to worry about sugarcube. Been that way fer years, don't think there's any changin' it."
>She looks down at her cider with the sort of stare that could cut through steel itself
"Oh now I wouldn't say that. I remember many circumstances from the universe I'm from where the oppressed overthrew their oppressors."
>She looks up, cocks her head and looks at you with disbelief
>"Really, Anon? That don't sound like something that'd make sense if-"
>You decide to interrupt her with an important fact
"Remember though, Applejack, magic doesn't exist from where I'm from."
>"O-Oh....that'd make sense."
"Yes. But as a result, the revolutions that did happen were extremely violent and could go on for decades."
>She sits there and ponders this before taking a long swig of cider
>"R-Really?"
"Why yes. In fact the country I'm from was founded under revolution to get out from the oppressive monarchy that reigned over us."
>You figured the story of America would surely intrigue the ranch hand
>"Golly! That sure sounds interestin'!"
>You remember that Applejack had told you there was a certain schedule to keep on the farm
"Yes. But we shall discuss this and all that history later, don't we have some chores to do?"
>"Oh, r-right...almost forgot! Heh..."
>She leads you outside and into the barn
>You have a feeling of deja vu but dismiss it as she leads you to a hay pile bigger than the one you slept in
>A pitchfork, which had its typical bite grip removed and instead was replaced with a proper handle on it sits in the corner of the barn
>She even adjusted tools for you to help her as much as possible
>"Now, iffin yer gonna stay here, you'll need to earn your keep. Would ya move that hay up into the loft, sugarcube?"
"Sure, I can do that."
>You take off your jacket, as you knew this was going to get extremely sweaty
>Grabbing a pitchfork with both hands, you proceed to toss the hay up into the loft
>Applejack stands in the doorway admiring your ability to work with two hands
>You make short work of the bale she left there and wipe a small amount of perspiration off your brow
"Well, Applejack, was there something else?"
>She's standing there silent
"Applejack?"
>You snap your fingers in front of her face
>She jumps and begins stuttering, unlike her at all
>"Oh! R-Right! Help me move this here cart o' apples into town so Applebloom can git to sellin' them!"
>You shrug
>Grabbing the cart, you effortlessly walk it into town
>As if it were nothing
>These ponies tended to exaggerate what was and wasn't difficult to do
>As you bring the cart into town, you notice that everyone's staring at you
>As if you were some kind of celebrity or something
>You're not entirely certain if it's positive or negative attention
>Bringing the cart to the Apple's storage shed downtown, you lock it away safely for the next day's sales
>You walk back to the farm with Applejack
>"I...I ain' never seen anypony move a cart like that with such ease. Exceptin' for mah brother, Big Mac's about the strongest stallion around!"
>She looks at the ground
>You wonder if she's embarrassed
"Applejack, is everything okay?"
>She waits a beat before answering
>"No, sugarcube. I mean, yes. I'm alright, but I jus' can't believe how easy ya make things look comparin to us ponyfolk."
>You hang your head
>Perhaps showing that humans have it easier here wasn't the best of ideas
>And it's entirely possible that it was a great idea to show you're not someone to be taken lightly
>You share a long and quiet walk home with Applejack
>Walking for what seemed like an eternity
>The both of you arrive at the farm and proceed to make yourselves right at home
"Applejack, I think I'm going to turn in early. I'm bushed, I haven't done that much work in...well I can't remember now."
>"Alright sugarcube, we'll talk to you in the morning."
>You see yourself out to the barn back to the haypile you'd left for yourself
>After all, you can't sleep in pony beds because you're too large
>And Applejack never did say you couldn't sleep there
>Drifting off to sleep, you ponder the life you once lived
>And think about the plight of the ponies' castes until you finally arrive at the bliss of unconsciousness