Appleloosan

“Right,” I said, looking around the shopping area. “About another hour and a half to kill. What should we do?”

“Well, I’m kinda hungry…”

“Already?” I stared at him, then thought for a moment, hoof to my chin. “I guess I’m a might hungry too…”

“Alright. Well, while I was flying around, I saw this cool restaurant.”

“Oh?” I smiled. “You think you have enough money?”

“I’m not sure. I might be running a bit low after paying for the tickets here.”

“Maybe we should get something from somewhere a little cheaper.”

“Yeah…”

“Come on.” I walked away. “Let’s go find a supermarket or something, get a cheap apple pie.”

“Is that all you eat?”

“I wish!” I laughed. My laugh trailed off at the look Gem was giving me. “...what? They’re good!”

Gem just sighed, rolled his eyes, and followed along behind me.

>> FFW >>

“Hey, I just realised.” I looked up from the pie, at Gem. “You know some of my… story, but I don’t know yours.”

“Actually, you know more about me than I know about you,” Gem said. “You know my old name. Even though you never use it anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

“Jeremy.”

I stared at him for a moment. “Who’s Jeremy?”

“I am!”

“No, silly,” I laughed. “You’re Gem!”

“I am now, but… oh, forget it. Who I was isn’t important.”

“Not… important?” I stared at him. “Not important?” I sighed. “Do I have to quote Doctor Who? There is no such thing as somepo- someone that’s not important.”

“Well, I’m as unimportant as it gets. I was made in ten minutes using Pony Creator and a random name generator!”

“Yes.” I nodded. “And then developed for months. You’re not just a ponysona, or some throwaway OC for me to slap onto everything pony-related I make. You are a person, with feelings, and a personality.”

“That you created. I… I just realised. I’ve been travelling with my creator. I am talking to the mind that created mine.”

I just stared. “Am I… your god, or something?”

Gem chuckled. “No, no… you’re my author. That’s… kinda different.”

“I guess…”

“You know, you can switch really fast.”

I tilted my head, looking at him curiously.

“I mean, one second you were laughing, and then you were all serious and philosophical.”

“Yeah.” I looked at him. “Because you were thinking you weren’t important. I can joke at most things, but not that. Everyone is important.”

Gem smiled. “But still, we know next to nothing about each other.”

“Right. Well…” I thought for a moment. “I am… was… my name was Alberto. But I prefer going by Braeburn, ‘cause it sounds a little less ridiculous with this accent. I can’t really hear my own accent, since Braeburn - the real Braeburn - messed around with my head a bit and made me ignore accents to stop me going insane from hearing my ridiculous accent constantly.” I blinked. “Anyway. I’m… well, I was rather unimportant. This is the biggest thing that’s happened to me.”

“Okay… Well, I was Jeremy. Before… this. And, I’m much the same. This is the only thing I’ve been a part of that’s been important outside of Perth. And… I still don’t know how I should feel about that.”

“...happy?” I suggested.

“Yeah, sounds about right.” He smiled.

I smiled back.

“So… How far along are you?” I asked.

He looked at me, puzzled.

“In the merge,” I explained.

“Oh. Well, how should I know?” He shrugged. “I guess I’m kinda starting to get different memories and stuff… maybe? I don’t know…”

“Really? Isn’t there some kinda… visualisation in your head? ‘cause in mine, I’m… well, I get more pony-ish every time.” I shrugged. “Ears, now. I have pony ears. In my head, I mean.”

Gem just looked at me. “...right. Okay.”

Silence.

“...well. Um. Yeah.” I said. Then smiled, and plunged my muzzle back into the apple pie.

>> FFW >>

“Oh god, I just realised.”

Gem looked at me curiously. “What?”

“You’re naked.”

That caused him to burst out laughing hard enough to fall out of the sky and land beside me. “‘course that’s the thing you realise as I’m flying overhead!”

I blushed. “N-no, I was just… how can you go around naked like that, anyway?”

“Well, you’re going bottomless. That’s kinda the same thing.”

“No it’s not!” I blushed even brighter. “J-just… never mind.”

“Are you sure you’re confused? ‘cause I’m pretty sure I saw you watching me while I flew.” He smirked.

“I’m not gay! I’m not! Just… just stop, okay?”

“Okay. Sorry. Geeze.”

I smiled at him, and we continued wandering around. “Thanks. I don’t really want to think about that on top of everything else…”

>>FFW>>

“Come on, it’s this way!”

“No…” I looked around the map. “It should be over here…”

“Brae.” I looked up at Gem. “It’s literally right there.”

I looked at where he was pointing. “Oh. Well, let’s go!”

We entered the rather large bus terminal, wandering for a while before seeing our ‘escort’, sitting on a bench, her phone floating in front of her. She was just sitting there calmly, not even acknowledging the stares she received from the other travellers.

I looked up at… well, where I thought Gem was. He wasn’t there, of course. He’d flown over to the bench, landing right next to her. What was her name again? Sunset. Something.

I trot after him, sitting on the other side.

She glanced over at Gem, then back to her phone. “Bus leaves in fifteen,” she said, after a moment. “Get your tickets for New York. When it stops at the border, we can sneak away, and cross then.”

Me and Gem both nodded, and we ran off to get them. It was boring. Aside from a few looks, the tickets were obtained with no trouble.

“Got ‘em,” Gem said as he landed.

Sunset glanced at us again, then hopped off the bench, stashing her phone away in her pocket and walking off. We followed, and I put the tickets in my pocket. I’m so glad I’m actually wearing something. I mean… pockets.

“So, is that it?” Gem asked. “We just sneak past? No big, complicated plot? Nothing?”

I glared at him. He glared back.

“What?”

She looked back at Gem, giving him a rather smug look. “The border between Canada and the USA is extremely porous,” she said, with a smile. “I’m surprised you didn’t just fly.” She laughed a little. “Unless the Appleloosan is too heavy for you to carry…”

“Yeah, he kinda is,” Gem said.

“H-hey!” I frowned.

“What?” Gem looked down at me. “You are.”

We returned to walking in silence. We stepped onto an escalator. Well, me and Shimmer. Gem flew. Bottom of the escalator, we step off, and, after a moment’s glance at the signs on the ceiling, and down at her ticket, Sunset trots off to join a small queue forming, next to a bus.

“This place is really… big.” I looked around. We had descended into an underground area. A sort of tunnel, or cave, built beneath the plaza above.

“Yeah…” Gem nodded, landing behind me me, walking along.

I glanced over to Sunset. She seemed to be staring at us. Well, actually, staring at Gem. Who glared back. “Yes?” he asked. “Is there something you want?”

“No…” She frowned, shaking her head. “Just trying to figure out where in the show you’re from. I don’t recognise you…”

“That’s ‘cause I’m not in the show.” He smiled. “I’m an original character. His, actually,” he pointed a hoof at me. I smiled at him.

“I see…” she muttered, then turned back to the lineup.

“Um, Brae?” Gem looked around. “We’re attracting a lot of attention.”

“Oh?” I smiled. “Just smile and wave, then.”

Gem smiled sheepishly, blushing, waving a hoof. Sunset just rolled her eyes, and looked back to her phone. I looked over her. Wait… she’s a unicorn… Gem’s a pegasus…

“Hey, I just realised!” I shouted, attracting more attention. “We have all three types of ponies now.”

“I don’t see why that’s an accomplishment,” Sunset muttered, her focus still on her phone. “I’m not planning on sticking around.

“Yeah, but… I just thought it was kinda cool…” I shrugged.

“So,” Gem spoke up, “you’re just gonna help us past, then leave us?”

I sighed. “Just be happy she’s doing that much, Gem.”

“I’m only helping you accomplish something you should’ve been able to do yourselves.” She glanced up from her phone, at us. “Your final destination is Mane- Manhattan Island, right?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Gem nodded. “Wherever Celesta said to gather.”

As soon as I said that, her expression changed completely. “She said only the Elements were supposed to go there. Nothing about random ponies like you two.”

“She never prohibited ‘random ponies’ from going there.” I frowned. “And we’re not just ‘random ponies’. I’m the cousin of the Bearer of Honesty, and this guy,” I pointed back to Gem, “is a figment of my imagination given life. And we want to do everything we can to help. So, yeah, we’re going.”

She just kinda looked at us for a moment. “Your funeral,” she muttered as she moved along with the line.

We stepped onto the bus. Sunset gave her ticket to the driver. Me and Gem did the same. I looked around the bus.

Sunset had taken an empty seat next to the window. I smiled, and sat beside her. Gem flew behind me, perching himself somewhere above us.

The driver shot an annoyed look towards Gem. “Sit down, um… sir?”

“Do I have to?” Gem frowned. The driver continued to glare. “...fine.” He flew somewhere behind us, taking an actual seat this time.

I looked over to Sunset. She had stashed everything away, her bag below her seat, and was just staring out of the window.

I tried to just sit still and keep quiet and not bug her. I swear, I tried.

“So, Sunset…” I tried. Sorry. “Who… were you?”

She glanced towards me. “Why do you want to know?”

I shrugged. “I dunno. Just making conversation, I guess.”

She stared at me for a few more moments. “Normally I wouldn’t care, but the people of this world seem convinced I’m some kind of bad character from a story. Like your friend there.”

“Well… maybe you are?” I smiled. “You could be someone’s original character. Gem didn’t know that he was until he met me and I told him.”

She glared at me. “I am not the product of some idiot’s imagination. I refuse to believe that my entire life has been dictated and decided for me by somepony else.”

I chuckled at that. “Sunset… in the end, we’re all just characters in some story, created by some idiot’s imagination. Even I am. But we’ve broken free now, right? We’re not some author’s plaything. We control our destinies now.”

She smiled--she actually smiled!--at that. “Maybe. It still disturbs me to think that my past is not my own.” She just stared out the window.

I smiled, glancing back at Gem. He smiled back.

A while passed, Sunset occasionally pulling her phone out.

“You never did answer my question, though…”

She smirked. “And I don’t plan to. Just accept that I’m willing to help you for some reason and leave it at that.”

I nodded. “Okay, I guess. Everyone’s allowed to keep secrets.”

She nodded back, and turned back to the window.

I just sat there, smiling. Thing were looking up. We were gonna make it to New York, with the help of this unicorn mare.

And it was at that point that I realised why I wanted to go to New York so badly. Not because everypony -- and gryphon, and dragon, and whatever other creatures got sucked into this mess -- would be there. Not because the Elements would be there. Not because shit would go down there. The ‘final battle’ wasn’t even of importance to me.

I realised that the reason I was so determined to go, was because she’d be there. Applejack. My cousin. Well, half cousin. She’d be there, and we’d meet up, and everything will be so happy…

Who am I kidding. She’s probably dead, or at least captured by PAPA at this point. But, still, there’s that faint glimmer of hope, that she’ll be there.

I started to hum, a song that’d been building up in my head since the start of the incident, since I woke up like this. I smiled, hearing me, and AJ, and Bloom and Mac, all singing along.

We're Apples forever, Apples together.We're family, but so much more.No matter what comes, we will face the weather.We're Apples to the core…