A few days went by. I decided to go and see Applejack. I hadn't seen or talked to her much since my first day. I had seen Rainbow Dash, but only because she was always flying around town. Every once in a while she spotted me and showed off some fancy flying move. A bit of a show-off if you ask me, but that's okay. I was just glad that she was being friendly with me. Anyways, I was going to see Applejack.

I was just walking into Sweet Apple Acres when I heard a loud thump. I looked over to see Applejack kicking an apple tree. I trotted over and said hello. Applejack turned her gaze from the falling apples to me. "Oh... Hi Blanky. I mean Speedy! Why would I say Blanky? That was silly of me. I meant Speedy. 'Cause that's ur name. Speedy. Not Blanky." I sighed. "Alright. Which pony was it?" Applejack was doing her best to look confused. "What're you talkin' about?" I began circling her. "Fluttershy or Twilight?" She was about to crack. I could tell. "Now why would one of my friends tell me about ur blank flank?" I stopped and shrugged. "Okay, I'll go with Twilight." Applejack sighed. "I'm sorry Speedy. It's just a might unusual to me." Her and every other pony.

I could see her eyes were wandering. And I knew where they were wandering to. I turned my flank away and locked eyes with her. "So what are you up to?" Applejack shook her head and seemed to focus again. "Oh. I was just buckin' some apples for dinner." I looked up at the tree. "Apple bucking huh? Sounds fun." She chuckled. "You think so? You ever buck apples before?" I shook my head. This made her laugh even harder. "Sure it sounds fun, but it takes practice. And no offense, but you ain't exactly got the build for apple buckin'." I looked around and spotted another nearby apple tree. Not hard to find in an apple orchard I guess. I walked over and looked up. There were several nice shiny apples hanging on the lowest branch. I turned my back to the tree, aiming my hind legs for the trunk. Applejack walked up to me. "Hold on there partner. You can't just go buckin' trees like that. You need to know how to buck first." For the next few minutes she showed me how to take the right stance. Eventually she looked me over and gave a nod of approval. "Now ur lookin' sharp. Now give them apples a good buck."

I kicked my legs back and bucked the tree. The whole trunk shivered from the impact and apples started dropping left and right. I smiled and turned to Applejack. Her mouth was hanging open. "You... you knocked every apple down. On the first try." I shrugged. "Beginners luck I guess." It was probably more half luck, half talent. It was true I had never tried apple bucking before, but my handy ability to pick up a talent quickly had probably helped knock those apples off the tree. Applejack's shock didn't last long. Soon she looked at me and smiled. "Well shoot. You got some talent to ya Speedy. But I bet you can't do it again." Did she just challenge me? I narrowed my eyes and grinned. "Sounds like a contest to me." She crouched down low to the ground. "First one to a whole barrel of apples wins." And we were off.

Applejack waved goodbye as I left the farm. She had won our little race by half a barrel. Yes I had gotten lucky on my first tree, but that luck disappeared during the contest. Applejack didn't gloat though. She thought it was amazing I had gotten so many apples for a beginner. Now I was on my way back towards town.

Just before I got into town though, my hooves left the ground as three fillies ran under me. I landed on the ground with a thud. I stood up and watched the fillies run off. One of them stopped and turned to me. "Sorry about that sir. We'll watch where we're going next time." The other two fillies had stopped now. One of them, a pegasus called to the filly. "C'mon Apple Bloom. We're going to be late!" The trio ran off. First Pinkie Pie and now a group of fillies. What was going to knock me down next?

I made it to the library without any further interruptions. I knocked and then opened the door. I stopped where I was. My eyes widened. Twilight was standing in the center of the room, her horn glowing. But that wasn't what caught my attention. My attention fell on the apple that she was enlarging with magic. I know it doesn't sound impressive, but when you see an apple that's standing 7 feet tall, you can't help but stare. Twilight's eyes were closed, so she didn't see me. I tip-toed closer. The apple was still growing in size. Soon I was within a couple feet of Twilight. I noticed a book on the floor in front of her. I leaned over and looked at the page it was open to.

I didn't notice Twilight open her eyes. My concentration on the page was broken when she cried out 'Speedy!' I sat up just as the apple shrunk back to it's normal size and fell to the floor, rolling right into my leg. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to startle you." Twilight sighed. Her horn lit up again and the apple and book levitated over to the table. "It's okay. I was just surprised to see you here that's all." I didn't respond as my attention had once again fallen on the spellbook.

Twilight put the apple down and joined me. "I was trying a growth spell. I can make anything grow, but..." I looked at her. "You can't seal off the flow of magic making the spell permanent." Her eyes widened. "That's exactly right! How did you know that?" I stepped back and looked around at the shelves of books. "I've read a lot of books in my life. That includes a few on magic. I may not be a unicorn, but the subject still intrigues me." I saw what I was looking for. I walked over to one of the shelves and pulled out a book. I brought it over to Twilight and set it on the table. "This is one of my favorites." Twilight looked down at the book. "Magic Throughout Equestria. I think I've read this before. But why is it your favorite?" I flipped the book open to a certain page and began reading. "While unicorns have the ability to perform magic, it is believed that every pony has a small degree of magic within them, even if they cannot harness it."

I turned to Twilight and smiled. "Every pony has a little magic in them. That's the best theory on magic I've ever heard." Twilight looked at the book, reading to herself. She eventually turned to me and smiled. "It is a good theory. But do you really think it's true?" I shrugged. "Possibly." Twilight closed the book and levitated it back to its shelf. "How are you liking Ponyville now that your settling?" I thought back over my day. Apple bucking, run over by fillies, magical theory, getting to know my new friends better. I looked at Twilight and grinned. "I think I'm going to like it here."

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