>You are Anon
>Your hands are stuffed in your pockets and you're standing in front of the door to the Apples' home
>Finally, you take a deep breath and knock firmly on the door
>No response
>You stand there feeling slightly awkward for a few tense moments before knocking again
>Granny Smith, somewhat agitated hollers from within
>"Come on in, consarn it! You know the door's always open!"
>You suddenly feel very silly and let out a sigh of relief
>Maybe this will be easier than you thought it would
>You open the door and find yourself being stared down by an orange pony that seems quite irate
"Applejack, listen-"
>She cuts you off
>"Damn it, Anon! Do ya have any idea what ponies are already sayin' about ya'll? Not ta mention the things they've been sayin' about the farm!"
>She paces around you angrily, not quite shouting but very loudly voicing her disappointment
>"Ah mean, really? With HER of all ponies?"
"Now hold on, that aint fair-"
>"Everypony knows there's somethin' very wrong with that confused filly! Don't ya think ya could do even a little better?"
>That's it. You step in front of her as she circles you for the fifteenth time, stopping her in her tracks.
"Do you even realize what you're saying? I always knew you didn't like her, but I thought it was just because she brought you the wrong mail from time to time. Now I'm beginning to see that it's just because you're too blindly judgmental to see that she's just like any other pony. Better, in fact!"
>You're seething with anger but manage to rein in your desire to tear this simple farm pony down
>However you're unable to keep the venom from your voice and you can see on her face that you've got your point across.
>"A-anon ah'm-"
"I'm just here to get my things."
>You spit the words at her and push past, heading for your old room to gather your few measly possessions.

>You are Applejack
>Anon storms past you to his room and you can almost hear your heart breaking
>You certainly feel it
>You look to Granny Smith, silently imploring her to help you stop Anon
>She shakes her head sadly and returns her attention to the pot of apple jam she's currently mixing
"Great... Ah', on mah own..."
>You try to calm your nerves and follow Anon, hoping that if you act fast you can apologize and try to make him realize his mistake with a more gentle approach

>You are Anon
>Your room in the Apple home is nothing special, holding little more than a small dresser and an equally small bed
>You've already stuffed your two and a half outfits into a bag and were in the middle of tossing your other belongings in as well when something stops you mid toss
"Ah, shit..."
>It's the Welcome to Ponyville card that Applebloom convinced the Crusaders to make for you
>You feel the lump rising in your throat as the memory floods back into your mind

>You are Applebloom
>You are about to burst from a catastrophic overload of excitement as you watch Anon open his card
>You're not just excited to see what he thinks, but you're SURE that this is gonna be the thing that earns the Cutie Mark Crusaders their cutie marks!
>Anon can see your excitement, however and he's torturing the three of you with a smug grind plastered on his face
>He slowly slides that weird thing he calls a finger along the flap of the envelope, bit by bit unsealing it
>You are practically vibrating with anticipation as he finally reaches the halfway point
>"Oh, come on, Anon yer killin' 'em"
>Applejack's voice is filled with laughter

>You are Anon
>You are enjoying every bit of this as you painstakingly peel the envelope open
>Applebloom's big golden eyes are locked on your face and you can't help but feel like she might rocket off into space at any moment.
>"Oh, come on, Anon yer killin' 'em"
>Laughing, Applejack nudges you with hr elbow
>You laugh with her and pop the envelope open to reveal a bit of paper that appears to have been folded a few more times than twice
>You unfold the paper and lay out the masterpiece on the table, positively beaming with pride
>They've made a massive poster featuring the Cutie Mark Crusaders and yourself striking heroic poses above what you take to be their best imitation of fancy script that says
"The Cutie Mark Crusaders formally welcome you to Ponyville and invite you to join the ranks of the Cutie Mark Crusaders (Ponyville Chapter)"
>You read it aloud, a big dumb grin still plastered across your face
>You take it all in for a moment before scooping the three little fillies into a hug
>Of course Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo panic, thinking you're trying to eat them, and disappear into the other room

>Laughing, you resign to hug only Applebloom, but you have to ask
"Why did you want me to join the Crusaders?"
>She looks up at you, looking just a little hurt.
>"Dontcha wanna join us? We need every member we can get and when you were getting out of the bath the other day I saw that you still had a blank flank-"
>Applejack starts laughing uproariously, unable to even remain standing
>"What?"
>Applebloom looks around, confused, settling on trying to get an answer from you
>"What's so darn funny?"
"Well, humans never get Cutie Marks. Ever."
>Applejack chimes in, still giggling
>"Oh don't say that, Anon. Someday ya'll get a cutie mark and become a grown up pony, too!"
>You roll your eyes at her and set Applebloom down, kneeling to look into her big, adorable eyes
"Thank you, Applebloom. You guys have no idea how much this means to me."
>You smile warmly and hug her again, deeply touched by this small gesture.
>For the first time since waking up in this strange land of colorful horses, you feel like you're home.

>You are Applejack
>You're standing in the doorway to Anon's room, quietly watching as he stares at the folded-up poster.
>You want to say something, anything, but you can't find the words.
>You open your mouth to speak and he turns to look at you.
>You almost whimper under his gaze
>His eyes hide a frightening combination of righteous anger and depression
"Anon, ah didn't mean to-"
>He holds up his hand, silencing you.
>"You're wrong about her Applejack. She's just like anyone else and because you refuse to understand this I can't be around you."
>The seething anger and venom from before has left his voice but you wish it hadn't
>The only thing you hear in his voice now is indifference

>You are Anon
>You are walking back to Derpy's cottage
>You still can't believe what you've just learned about AJ
>Your hand is resting on the folded up paper in your pocket, reminding you that you still have at least one more encounter with the Apples before the day is done.
>You find yourself clinging to the idea that Dinky and Applebloom could become friends and that maybe, just maybe you won't have to lose touch with the first ponies to actually accept you as a member of their community

>You are Derpy
>And you are fucking ELATED
>You've practically floated through your morning route and the only accident was somepony else' fault
>You've also had a grin from ear to ear ever since leaving the house
"Gosh, today sure is perfect.."
>You say aloud to yourself, dreamily
>You fail to notice when the pony you just handed some mail to shouts after you that it's the wrong address
>You're feeling so great in fact that you decide to fly up to a particularly thick patch of clouds and dance a small portion of your route
>Of course, you make certain that nopony can see you as you let your joy overflow and really cut a rug... er, cloud
>You even do a backflip at the end, diving back down through the clouds and lightly swimming through the air to the next stop
>However you also fail to notice the stares of the ponies on the street and you certainly don't catch the whispers and bits of gossip as you pass

>You are Dinky
>You are sobbing, but the only ponies who seem to notice or care are the three fillies that call themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders
>The only one you know (kind of) is Applebloom and she's too busy shouting at the group of ponies laughing at you to offer you the hug you so desperately wish you could have right now
>Miss Cheerilee is inside reading her novel, ignorant of the situation you've found yourself in outside amongst the other fillies and colts
>You shut your eyes as tight as you can and hold your ears shut with your hooves, tears silently streaming down your face now as you finally manage to stop sobbing
>It'll be over soon
>Miss Cheerilee will hear them and they'll all get in trouble
>She may even give you a hug!
>...
>But why hasn't she heard them yet?


>You are Anon
>You've just moved your few things into the humble abode of the Hooves family
>You can't help but feel like you're intruding on their lives regardless of the fact that both of them had invited you
>You organize the blanket pile you'd shared with Derpy and Dinky the night before
>Task completed you plop down on the couch to fume about how things turned out with AJ
>It's a matter of mere moments before you jump back up, frustrated, and shout to the empty house
"FUCK WHY CAN'T THINGS BE EASY?!"
>You punch the couch a couple of times, your rage quickly evaporating in the face of how childish you must look right now
>Defeated, you plop onto the couch again
"..."
>Again you jump up moments later
>However this time you've got a goal in mind and leave the small cottage in a hurry

>You are Derpy
>Life is still sweet
>You're moments away from delivering the last letter for the day, a full 3 hours ahead of schedule thanks to the shocking lack of accidental mayhem that you usually sew
>You hand over the last letter and rocket up into the sky with joy, much to the confusion of the elderly man you'd just left standing on his doorstep
>"That was her! Harold, by Celestia that was her!"
>An elderly woman points up at the pegasi that was now little more than a speck in the endless expanse of blue above them.
>"Who was what, dear?"
>Harold points his good ear at his dear wife Mildred and she tries again
>"That was the pegasus that everypony is saying brought the humanmonster into her bed!"
>Harold, only mildly surprised and honestly a little impressed, smiles up at her.
>"That so? Well, she must really be something if even a monster has the hots for her!"
>Harold's raspy laughter is barely audible as Mildred wails about how disgusting he is and how much shame he should be feeling

>You are Applebloom
"What d'ya mean ya don't think we should get to know her?"
>And you're pretty darn mad right now
>Scootaloo and Sweetie refuse to make eye contact as they explain
>"Well, everypony says that her Mom is... Not right."
>Scootaloo simply nods and kicks idly at the dirt
"What does that even MEAN?"
>Now you're angry and frustrated
>No matter how hard you try to convince them they refuse to try to get to know Dinky, insisting that it's for the best if ya'll three just steer clear of her entirely, Sweetie being the more vocal of the two
>"I mean, look at how the other ponies treated her today, do you really want all of them to make fun of US like that?"
"That's exactly mah point! If we just ignore her we're as bad as everypony else!"
>Your voice has adopted a slight whine, a habit you share with all young fillies
>"Sorry Applebloom..."
>Scootaloo hasn't said much else, but you can tell that she's terrified of what the other ponies might say about them
"The only reason everypony was bein' so mean to her today was because her Mom's datin' Anon! You've met him and you KNOW he's not a monster!"
>Your pleas continue to fall on willfully deaf ears for the better part of an hour as you make your way to the CMC Clubhouse

>You are Dinky
>You're not far from school yet, since you'd waited for everypony else to leave before setting out yourself.
>You wipe a few more tears from your eyes, though you'd already forgotten how your classmates had been extra mean today.
>Sniffing back a sob you stop and sit under a particularly shady tree, finding it pointless to keep walking when you have to stop every few steps to wipe your eyes.
"How could you Anon..?"
>You sit and weep silently, your little heart broken