HUZAH, ANOTHER UPDATE! I hope you enjoy this one and don't forget to leave a review! xD

DISCLAIMER: I do not own MLP: FIM or any of it's characters. I only own Jillian, Christian, Tigger, Daisy, and the dad

To say that living at Sweet Apple Acres was a big adjustment is an understatement. A huge understatement. Jillian and I had to get into a while new routine, what with helping the Apples with chores around the farm. I mostly helped Granny Smith in the kitchen and sometimes helped AJ with minor work outside. It was awkward for the first few days, getting used to living with the Apples and just... well, adjusting to our new pony lives in Equestria.

And me adjusting to having two more kids and Jillian to having another sister and a brother. Big Mac and Jillian seemed a little shy around one another at first, since they were both quiet and usually kept to themselves. But it didn't take long for them to start acting like a typical brother and sister. Apple Bloom, on the other hand, seemed to resent Jillian and me. Of course she didn't act this way around Applejack or Granny Smith, but whenever they weren't around, I could tell just by the look in her eyes that she didn't like us. I had to wonder why, after all, we hadn't done anything wrong that I was aware of. "maybe we offended her somehow?" I thought one morning as I was trotting downstairs. Granny Smith was already setting the table. "oh Granny Smith, you should have woken me up" I said. "I would have helped you out with this"

"oh horse feathers" Granny Smith said, brushing me off good naturedly. "you and Jillian have been working hard around this farm, it's about time you get a little break"

I smiled a bit. "wow, thanks so much"

"it's no trouble at all, deary" Granny Smith said. "truth be told, it's nice to have a second stallion around the farm"

I blushed a bit. "well I'm trying my best Granny Smith... I just..." I hesitated.

"you just what?"

"I just want Big Mac and Apple Bloom to... like me"

Granny Smith laughed. "oh they do like you! Big Mac looks up to you, ya know. Not to mention he's proud of the way you've raised Applejack" she smiled. "and you know something, I think Big Mac likes the idea of having a father around"

her comment made me feel a bit better, but I was still a bit unsure about Apple Bloom's feelings.

"daddy!"

I turned as Applejack and Jillian trotted into the kitchen from outside, giggling quietly. Apple Bloom trudged along behind them, looking a bit annoyed. I smiled. "hello girls!"

"dad, AJ wants to show me around Ponyville!" Jillian said, smiling excitedly. "can we go?"

"of course you can go" I said. "that is, as long as it's all right with Granny Smith"

"oh yes, run along, girls" Granny Smith said. "just be sure you're home in time for lunch"

"we will be, Granny!" Applejack said. "daddy, you wanna come too?"

I hesitated a bit, but nodded. "sure, why not? It'll give me a chance to get in a little flying practice" I stretched my wings a bit. I still found it hard to believe that I was an alicorn. Of all the pony types, I was an alicorn. I wondered if that meant something. "maybe I should talk to Princess Celestia about it" I thought as the girls and I left Sweet Apple Acres and headed for Ponyville.

"hey dad" Jillian said as we were walking along. "didn't you mention something about getting in a little flying practice on our way to Ponyville?"

AJ smiled. "yeah, daddy, I wanna see how you're doin' with that"

I sighed. "well alright, but I'm still not very good" I hunched down slightly and stretched out my wings. I flew forward slowly, still hesitant to go very fast.

"uh, dad?"

"yeah, Jillian?"

"don't you think you should try and get some height? And not, you know, hover two inches off the ground"

I looked down. Sure enough, I was just barely hovering above the road. "uh... I-I guess so" I slowly flew a bit higher, still not going very fast. Pretty soon I was nearly level with the treetops.

"you're doin' great, daddy!" Applejack called.

Wait, she sounded kind of far away... just how far up was I? I looked down and my eyes widened in shock. I must have been 30 feet up in the air! I cried out and my wings folded in against my sides, stiffening up as I fell.

"DAD!" Jillian yelled.

I tried my best to open my wings and get some air, but it was though they were stuck to my sides. I ended up colliding with something or someone, for that matter, and I groaned, shaking my head as the world was swirling around me.

"daddy!" Applejack and Jillian ran over.

I sat up, gingerly rubbing my forehead.

"HEY! WHY DON'T YOU WATCH WHERE YOU'RE FLYING?! I MEAN, REALLY, HAVE YOU NO COMMON DECENCY?!"

we all turned to see a very angry Rarity sitting on her rump in the middle of the street, several shopping bags (and their previous contents) scattered around us. Her expression changed slightly when she saw just who she was yelling at. "oh my! I-"

"Miss Rarity!" I jumped up and hurried over, helping her to her hooves. "oh gosh, I-I'm so sorry! I was practicing my flying and I... I got up too high without realizing it... it felt as though my wings just froze" I leaned down and started scrapping a few of the items back into the bags with my hoof. "I'm really sorry about this"

"are you both okay?" Jillian asked.

"yes, I-I'm perfectly fine" Rarity said, using magic to pick up the remaining items and put them into the bags.

"let me help you with this stuff" I said, feeling really bad about crashing into her.

"oh no, I really don't need-"

"I insist, Miss Rarity" I said. "were you heading to your boutique?"

"why I... yes, I was"

"alright then" I said, turning to AJ and Jillian. "why don't you girls go on without me?"

"what? Daddy-" Applejack started.

"I won't be long" I said. "I'll catch up with you in a little bit"

"well, okay" Applejack said, shrugging.

"see ya later, dad" Jillian said, walking off with AJ.

I turned and followed Rarity toward the Carousel Boutique. She used her magic to open the front doors and we walked inside. "wow. What a nice place you've got here"

"why thank you" Rarity said as she used her magic to take all the bags and put them on the front counter. "I, um... I appreciate your help"

"it's the least I can do" I said, looking around the boutique. "I'm really sorry about crashing into you" I felt a little blush on my face. "I just... I didn't realize how far up I was going... I kinda panicked a bit when I saw just how high up I was"

"it's quite alright" Rarity said. "I know you didn't mean it" she began taking the items out of the bags.

"um... do you need any help?" I asked.

"well... sure" Rarity said, smiling slightly at me. "what a gentlecolt! tell me, do you know how to do any magic yet?"

I felt my face heat up again. "n-no, actually. I haven't really thought about it, to be honest"

"it's not so hard, really" Rarity said. "you just have to concentrate... it'll get easy soon enough"

I hesitated, looking at one of the last bags that had yet to be unpacked. I took a deep breath, staring intently at the bag. I titled my head forward slightly, aiming my horn at the bag. I was startled when a dark blue glow surrounded the bag, but instantly went away as soon as I started to feel shocked.

"you almost had it" Rarity said, trotting off into another room with some of the bag's contents (which turned out to be different fabrics).

"can I try it again?"

"but of course" Rarity said. "I'll leave that bag there"

I sighed, taking another deep breath and concentrating on the bag again. It began to glow dark blue, and I tried hard not to think about that. Slowly, the bag began lifting off the counter. I smiled a bit. I was doing it!

"you did it!" Rarity squealed, startling me and making the bag fall. Her eyes widened and a blush crossed her face. "oh my, so sorry!" she giggled nervously.

"d-don't worry about it" I said slowly. She then took the bag and trotted off down the hall. I decided to follow her this time.

"can I ask you a question?"

"yes" I blinked, wondering what she could possibly want to ask me.

"what is your world like?" she set the bag down and started arranging the fabrics, a curious look in her eyes. "don't take this the wrong way, but... it just doesn't seem to be a proper place to... to raise a foal, so to speak"

I sighed. "compared to Equestria, it isn't" I said hesitantly. "my world is full of cold, heartless people... there's always a war or some sort of conflict going on" my ears folded back a bit. I myself was a veteran of the Vietnam war, something I guessed the likes of Equestria had never seen before. I shook my head, trying to shake the memories away. "my world is nothing like Equestria, that's for sure. It's not all bad, but... but there's certainly more conflict there then here"

"do you miss it?"

"a bit" I said, nodding. " I mean, I think a part of me will always miss it... but I feel that this is where I belong, me and Jillian both"

Rarity nodded. "I must say that I think your whole story is just so... so beautiful!" she smiled.

"why thank you" I chuckled a little. "it wasn't easy, raising a filly like AJ"

"do they... do they have ponies where you're from?"

"yes" I said. "they can't talk though"

"what?" Rarity seemed shocked. "how do they communicate?"

"they, uh... they neigh"

"neigh?" Rarity blinked. "is that it?" I couldn't quite read her reaction.

"well... they nicker too" I said.

"so they don't speak? At all?"

"nope"

"what a strange place" Rarity said thoughtfully.

I snickered. "yes, I suppose it is" I sighed, still feeling a little bad about crashing into Rarity earlier. "say, uh... Rarity?"

"yes?"

"how would you like to... to get some lunch with me?"

her eyes widened a bit.

"it's the least I can do after... uh, that little incident earlier"

"w-well..." she smiled slightly. "that sounds just delightful. Yes, I'd like to get some lunch. I know the most wonderful little restaurant down the street!"

"sounds good" I said, nodding.

"I'm just about finished sorting these fabrics"

"so... so you make dresses, correct?"

"yes, that's right" Rarity nodded.

"so you ever make..." I hesitated. "suits?"

"suits? Hmm..." Rarity thought a minute. "not often. Mostly I make dresses, I don't get a lot of orders for suits. Why do you ask?"

"well I know where I'd come for a suit, should I ever need one" I said, smiling.

"oh, well I'd love to make a suit for you!" Rarity said, smiling a little. "oh I'm already getting an idea!" she hesitated. "would you mind if I asked for your measurements?"

"certainly not" I shook my head. "to be honest, I'm not quite sure what they are off the top of my head, but I'm sure the girls will help me figure it out later"

"alright" Rarity nodded as she put away the last of the fabrics. "shall we go?"

I nodded, heading for the door. "indeed, we shall" I hesitated a second before I used magic to open the door, smiling at Rarity as I stepped aside. "ladies first"

"oh, well thank you very much" Rarity said, flattered. She smiled brightly as she trotted out the door and I followed, closing the door behind us as we trotted of down the sidewalk.

"so, what kind of food do they have at this place?" I asked curiously. I noticed many ponies were looking at me with wide eyes. I wondered why.

"oh they have the most delectable salads!" Rarity said. "and their biscuits are to die for!"

I nodded, still noticing ponies looking at me funny. "um... Rarity?"

"yes?"

"do you have any idea why everypony seems to be staring at me?"

"oh, well you're an alicorn" Rarity said matter-of-factly.

"oh... and that gives them leisure to stare at me?"

"um, well... well they're not used to seeing an alicorn around Ponyville, to be perfectly honest.

"really?" I blinked.

Rarity nodded. "oh yes. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Princess Cadence are the only alicorns left... well they were before you came here"

"why? What..." I hesitated. "... what happened to the others?"

"I'm... not entirely sure, really" Rarity said as we entered the restaurant.

"so... so because alicorns are rare, that's why they're staring?"

"correct"

"hmm..." I got more stares as we were shown to a table by a waiter pony. I tried picking up my menu with my hooves, which was a huge fail. I got even more looks for that, mostly because I probably looked rather silly trying to grasp the menu in my hooves.

Rarity giggled, even though it was clear she was trying to hold it in. "h-here, let me help you" she levitated the menu for me.

"oh... thank you, Rarity" I smiled a bit. "I've really got to start learning magic so I can do things like this on my own"

"it'll take time" she said, levitating her own menu as she spoke. "I was impatient for it to happen when I was a filly"

"I can imagine" I said. "hmm... I think I'll try the afternoon special"

"excellent choice!" Rarity said, smiling. "I think I'll have that as well. And a fresh salad to start with"

I smiled as Rarity set the menus down. "so, Rarity... do you think Jillian and I will... fit in okay here?"

"but of course!" Rarity said. "I don't have a doubt about that. I noticed Jillian and Twilight talking quite a bit the first day you were here. So I think we'll all get along well and you'll fit right in"

"thanks. That... means a lot"

Rarity smiled. I smiled back, trying to ignore the strange fluttery feeling in my stomach. After we ordered our food, we decided to tell each other about our lives. Rarity wanted to know more about Earth and she told me about her life in Ponyville. She was very interesting and quite pleasant to talk to. Before long, our food arrived, and we were mainly quiet then. Soon though, I was quite full, having gone through a soup, a small salad, several bread sticks, and a bigger soup as the afternoon special. "wow" I snickered. "I. am. full"

"I'm quite satisfied, myself" Rarity said. "I... I want to thank you for taking me to lunch. It's very sweet of you-"

"it's my pleasure, Miss Rarity" I said. "after all, I feel just awful about crashing into you earlier"

"well I appreciate you wanting to make it up to me" Rarity said. "you're such a gentlecolt"

I felt a bit annoyed as I felt my face heat up a bit. "why thank you"

she smiled. "you're quite welcome"

as we left the restaurant, I started feeling a bit better about my new life in Ponyville. Maybe I did belong here after all.

daawwww, aren't those two just adorable together? I really enjoyed writing the dialogue between AJ's dad and Rarity. so sorry if Rare comes across as a bit OOC, I'll have to try and get more into character next time when I write. anywhozen, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and stay tuned for another update soon!

-FreddysNightmare1984