As Xing spoke in admiration, AJ stood up straight holding the load easily on all four legs. At first her talk of teaching her about the stars was about to go over Applejack's head - she wasn't sure how she'd ever put the knowledge to use, and honestly, pursuits like that felt a bit intimidating, like Twilight's bookshelf... but in the form of a rather adorable filly.

But when she went on to talk about how it had helped Shanghay farmers, Applejack glanced to Granny, then back to Xing. "Well, ah think it's worth a try. An' yer mom sounds mighty wise~!"

As Big Macintosh came around the corner, Appplejack gestured with a hoof."Haya, Big Macintosh. This here is a guest of ours. Mac's the best brother a pony could ask for." She chimed, and started up to Apple Bloom's room, leading Twilight and Rainbow Dash along to set everything by the bed. She looked to her friend once they got upstairs. "Hah. Guess ah know what kinda book to start with, then, huh?"

The Apple Family (honorary and all) had plenty of time to get Xing settled in to her new room.  There was space enough to have both her and Applebloom share a room comfortably and get all of her stuff unpacked.  While the younger ponies were busy with that, Granny Smith had gone back downstairs on her own.  By the time everypony was finished getting things in their proper place, she called up from the kitchen.

"C'mon down everypony~!  Soups on!  I made 'nuff vittles for y'all~!" she announced in her creaky voice.  Indeed she had; from the kitchen wafted the ever-enticing aroma of home cooked food.  The dining table was laid out with a hefty spread of various apple-based treats and a fair variety of fresh vegetable salad courtesy of the other non-fruit crops they harvested.

Applejack spent time unpacking Xing Ming's things and organizing them alongside Apple Bloom's. But when Granny called to announce lunch, she looked to the filly  with a broad grin. "Mhmm. Yer' in for a real treat now~. C'mon, everypony, let's eat!" she called, then led the way down the stairs, and about to the kitchen. "Hay, Granny. Smells Deee-licious!"

She trotted about the table, making the first plate for Xing Ming. If Twilight and Rainbow were sticking around, they were next, then Big Mac, Granny, and herself last.

Rainbow Dash indeed would never turn down an invitation to eat at the Apple Family table. Granny Smith always hearty and delicious food, and it was definitely better than what she would eat normally. If she didn't pick up take out on the way back to her cloud house, it'd just have been the stale hay she had on her counter, or the week-and-something old vegetables she had stashed. She took her plate and sat next to Applejack, not knowing the others in the family quite as well. "This looks awesome, Granny Smith. You sure know how to feed an army." She smiled, indicating the quantity that was always cooked when Granny Smith got into the cooking zone.

Xing had, of course, helped to put away her things, her school supplies and clothes tucked neatly away, a few pictures of stars placed near the window in a way that they would not take up too much space on the walls, and leave Applebloom's room mostly in the same order it had been before. The only big things that showed her presence in the room were, of course, her bed, and her telescope, set up next to the desk and pointed out the window. The sound of food, after such a long day already, however, was eagerly met, and she hurriedly trotted down the stairs at the call for supper.

The smell was delicious, but unusual. She had not been in Equestria for very long, and she was still getting used to the different foods they had here. Not that they were bad, of course not, but they were definitely different. Xing was used to meals made with dark green vegetables like bok choy, choy sum, gai choy, sui choy and gai lan. There were also daikon, the root of the lotus plant, rice, and tea, both to drink and eat. For desert, dragon fruit, bayberries, pomelo, and mangosteen fruit, dried to concentrate sweetness, baked with rice or even smoked. The array of food before her as she sat at the table, her blue eyes wide, was exotic and fascinating. She had been living on Equestrian fair for a week or so now on the trip here, but this was far beyond the food she'd had on the train!

"Oh... my... Granny Smith, this looks... wonderful," she said, looking over the food placed before them. "What are... what are these?" she asked with genuine curiosity, nodding to the baked goods. Baked goods, after all, were certainly not part of her usual diet -- she had never even seen an apple pie before.

"Apple Pandowdy, cranberry apple crunch, apple butter loaf, apple crisp, baked apples, spicy apple fritters with cider sauce, acorn squash with apple stuffin', creamy waldorf salad..." Granny Smith counted off the dishes for Xing's benefit, though in doing so would only raise the appetites of everypony gathered as they took in the glorious spread.  "And since nopony can live on apples alone (despite m'best efforts), fresh roasted corn, collared greens salad with dried fruit and nuts, cherry t'maters stuffed with creamed alfalfa, double-baked savory mushroom caps, and plenty of fresh juices and water t'wash it all down with."

The sheer variety of food was staggering, especially considering how fast Granny Smith had whipped everything together.  For such a feeble old pony, she wasn't one to be underestimated.  But then again, she'd been cooking for a sizable clan of Apple Ponies all her life.  She reached to lift a serving spatula with her jaws, but was intercepted as it glowed brightly and floated away from her.  Twilight Sparkle smiled kindly as she took over from there.

"Please, allow me Granny.  You've worked so hard already.  Alright everypony, let's dish up~!" the unicorn said cheerfully.  She'd help Applejack serve each plate out while Granny Smith took an appreciative seat at the head of the table.  Once everypony had a full dish of goodies, it was time to dig in~!

"Thank ya' kindly, Twili!" Applejack settled between the Exchange Filly and Rainbow Dash, and patted a hoof on the table. "Everypony dig in~!"

AJ might favor the apple, but for now, she started on a mixed salad, intending dessert from her Granny's delicious apple pie~!

"Oh, this all looks and smells... so delicious..." Xing sighed appreciatively, licking her lips as she watched her plate quickly fill up. She glanced around momentarily for chopsticks, then realized at once that, one, this food was certainly not meant to be eaten with chopsticks, and two, they didn't use chopsticks in Equestria. Hoping no one noticed her pause, a dark purple magic glimmered from her horn to raise up the food from her plate. She was quite well mannered enough to eat her vegetables first, despite how enticing the baked goods were. Even the vegetables, though, were like treats to the little filly. She'd never had roasted corn before, and she was surprised how sweet it was. It was hardly like a vegetable at all!

Rainbow Dash dug into her food quickly, wolfing it down as fast as she could. Even though she rushed, she was able to taste each of the complex flavours. She thought that Granny Smith could probably have opened a restaurant if she wanted to when she was younger, but this was good too. It was like her own private restaurant without the crowds. Being Rainbow Dash however, she let mischief take over as she non-nonchalantly fired a spoonful of apple pie over, hitting Twilight Sparkle on the cheek. When she looked over to see who'd done it, Dash instantly pointed a hoof at Applejack.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:17, Fri 27 Apr 2012.

"Howdy, little lady." Though his voice carried a good volume thanks to his size, his laid back tone managed to render the simple greeting welcoming. After giving a friendly nod of thanks to AJ's compliment, he turns to head along with the others to eat. Going over to plop down at the table, he's happy to wait for the guests to get their food first; Granny always makes plenty for everybody, so being last in line is no problem.

The flipside of waiting of course, is that Big Mac took at least a little from almost everything from the feast and filled more than a couple of plates straight off the bat. In no time he's chowing down, and while he might seem off to their filly from faraway; he's not messy at the least. "Don't be bashful. Get all y'like, there's always plenty more." He advertises to the guest on noticing how delicately she was going at her own meal.

Conversation was naturally on the low side since everypony was plenty hungry and more than eager to eat before their food could get cold.  And what a treat it was~!  Twilight was used to either eating out or fending for herself and Spike at home.  While both she and her dragon friend were capable enough in the kitchen, it led to some distinctly 'bachelor' like habits when it came to meals.  She really appreciated some good home cooking and was obviously enjoying the mushrooms quite a bit if her smile was any evidence.  She'd have to see if she could take some left-overs home with her for Spike.

Of course, her enjoyment was cut into as a bit of apple went 'splut~!' against her cheek.  She was startled for a moment but quickly spotted the culprit trying to pass the buck off on Applejack.  Twilight just turned her nose up in a dignified manner and licked the treat off her cheek.

"Now Rainbow Dash, I expected better of you.  We're trying to have a friendly meal and you should know that the dinner table is no place for such--SURPRISE ATTACK~!" the unicorn's lecture went on just long enough to lull Rainbow into boredom before she lit her horn up and sent a blob of creamed alfalfa straight into her friend's face.

Xing smiled brightly at Big Macintosh as he encouraged her to eat all she wanted in such a friendly tone. The very shy little filly was already beginning to warm up to everyone at Sweet Apple Acres, amd it wasn't hard to see why; everyone had been so welcoming and kind, despite the fact that she was an unexpected guest to most, and a foreign one to boot. She paused at the sound of the ~splut~ rang out and slightly startled her, staring at the bit of apple on Twilight's cheek. She pulled her corn cob back and openly stared at Twilight and Rainbow as Twilight unexpectedly retaliated, and Xing had to bring her hoof up sharply to her mouth as her cheeks hotly flushed, only barely able to stifle her giggling.

Driving past the big farm, Honey decided it would be best if he got something to eat before he drove into town, and this was the (semi)famous sweet apple acres where the best cider and apples was grown, so it might as well be here.
"Uhm, Hello? Can I please buy some food from somepony working here?" Hon said with a uncertain voice. Why are all of these ponies here? They can't all work here, can they? He thought for himself.

Granny Smith just had a hearty laugh over the mischief of the younger ponies, not taking a bit of offense as her cooking was used as artillery.  Food fights were actually pretty common since apple pies came in the perfect launch-able format and were surprisingly aerodynamic.  So long as everypony ate their fill and had a good time, she was satisfied.

However, the call of some stranger from outside got the old pony's attention.  She creaked up from her seat and tottered over to the window to peer out curiously at the fellow on the path.  "Huh... a travlin' young feller.  Poor boy looks a mite road worn." she observed as she lifted the window pane up and leaned out.  "Helloo there youngin'~!  If you're lookin' for somethin' t'eat, c'mon in and sit with us~!  We just served vittles and there's plenty!"

It was a generous offer, especially from a stranger.  But then again, Ponyville was well-known for is friendly citizens... a bit of neighborly love was apparently easy to come across!
This message was last edited by the player at 15:24, Fri 27 Apr 2012.

Applejack had been hesitant - and honestly, hadn't believed it when Rainbow Dash started slinging quality Apple cuisine across the table. She looked up with a concerned expression, then down to Xing Ming. They were gonna make a fuss right in front of...

Oh. The filly was giggling like she'd never ever seen a food fight. Applejack grinned, and leaned down to nudge her flank. "Hehe, why don't you give it a try?" she encouraged brightly. She grinned across the table toward her brother, and nodded. He'd be a good target.

As Granny got up, Applejack hopped up to trot over with her. "Oh, there's always food for one more pony here..." she glanced voer her shoulder. "Uhh..  but it might go flyin' through the air anytime now. Better make ya' a plate." she said, and trotted over briskly to do just that, leaving Granny to let him in.

"Oh wow. That is very sweet of you. My name is Honey." He said as he was taking his cart of his back, ending with him extending his hoof to the elder mare.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:36, Fri 27 Apr 2012.

"Pleased as peaches t'meet ya, sonny.  I'm Granny Smith, and this here's m'grand daughter Applejack.  C'mon in." the elder pony shook hooves and led the boy inside the cozy Apple farm house.  His initial thoughts of the crowd being large for working on the farm was surely dashed when he'd catch sight of all the pictures on the walls.  From the looks of it, the Apple Clan was over a hundred strong!

"Here, have a seat.  Everypony, this is Honey.  Honey, this here's AJ's big brother, Big Macintosh.  Th'lil one here is Xing Ming.  Over there's Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash." Granny took care of the introductions and waved for Twilight to scoot over and make room for their newest guest.  "Help y'self all y'like.  There's plenty, and young studs need all th'food they can get.  Ain't that right, Big Mac?"

Xing's eyes went wide as apples as Applejack nudged her and suggested that she give her own brother a good splat of apples, her cheeks flushing hot. "R-Really?" she breathed, and turned to Big Macintosh. She grinned cheekily the way all fillies in mischief do, and as discretely as possible, lifted her spoon into the air full of apple fritter, closing one eye to take careful aim.

She was interrupted, however, by the appearance of yet another person to the farm. She quickly zipped the spoon behind her and smiled shyly, trying to pretend she wasn't magicking it behind her. Surrounded by people who had been so friendly, and because Honey Sweets seemed so friendly himself, she was less shy in meeting him as he came to the table. "Nihao," she greeted him in a chimed voice.

"Hi everypony." Said the white, young looking colt, with a very short red mane. "I was thinking if one of you after dinner could show me a place where I might be able to rent a place for the night? I don't expect getting a place around here will take less than a day." He said with a hoof on one of the delicius looking apple fritters.

"Well, it's only just lunch time now, so you still have plenty of time.  Are you moving to live in Ponyville?"  Twilight Sparkle mentioned as she moved aside to let Honey have a seat.  Her horn glowed to hover over a glass and pour him some cool water since he was no doubt parched from the road.  "I can show you the way after we eat, if you like.  It's on my way back home."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:36, Fri 27 Apr 2012.

Applejack dropped a plate in front of Honey, and then trotted back around to her seat next to Rainbow Dash and Xing. "Thank ya' Twilight. Ah gotta get to harvestin' a handful 'a trees on the east orchard this afternoon. Xing~ Ya' wanna help me out with that after we eat?" she asked. "You'll be able t' meet Apple Bloom on her way home, she stops by an' helps when Ah'm workin' that end of the farm."

After giving a welcoming nod to the new stallion, he turns a pleased grin at Granny as he answers. "Y-ep." Shuffling his plates around as he continued to eat, Big Mac didn't enter into the fight himself- at least not yet. Shuffling a little to make room, he'll hoove one of his own untouched and laden plates over towards Honey Sweets and give him an assuring look before going back to his meal; watching with a bit of hope that the food fight continues.

Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped when Twilight Sparkle of all ponies launched a counter-attack on her. As she picked creamed alfalfa out of her mane, she began to plan her next assault and target. Granny Smith was out of the question... though she'd probably be game for it. She grinned as she decided the new target, the exchange student filly... might as well welcome her to Ponyville properly! With all this going on, she didn't really pay too much attention to the new arrival to the dinner. "Nice to meet you, uh, miss--"

Rainbow Dash flinched and gave Applejack a dirty look as she was elbowed in the side. She looked over to the new arrival for the first time. "Ah. Sorry. It's the name-- Ow!" She gave Applejack yet another hostile look as she received another jab to the ribs. "Er, well, welcome to Ponyville. You could always just get yourself a cloud like mine." She commented, seeing he was a Pegasus.

---

OOC: I had Applejack's permission to dish out the elbows.

Getting stacked behind more and more food, Honey only briefly answered all of the incoming questions. "Yes and Thank you very much." He said to the charming mare called twilight, with his hoof on the glass. "It's okay, you will get used to it." He said with a wink with his head over the food at Rainbow.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:06, Fri 27 Apr 2012.

"Your name in Shanghaiese is Fengmei Tianshi," said Xing to Honey Sweets between mouthfuls of sweet apple fritters, chomping happily at the exotic and delicious food Granny Smith had prepared for them. "That sounds more boyish to me." She smiled at him in a friendly manner, her cheeks blushing slightly as looked back down at her food. Honey Sweets, after all, was a young and exotic colt, and very cute to boot. "Caihong Duanpao, Rainbow Dash... " she muttered in between bites. "Huanghun Huohua, Twilight Sparkle... Pingguo Jieke, Applejack... Nainai Shimisi, Granny Smith... Da de Maijinta, Big Macintosh... I like all of your names in Shanghaiese, they aren't at all like Shanghay names."