Appleloosan

I looked out the window as the train once more pulled into the Appleloosa station. I smiled, stepping off.

“Heya!” Braeburn once again greeted me as I walked along the platform.

Then his smile faded, and he just sat there, looking at me, his eyes seeming to follow something behind me.

“...what’re you looking at?”

“Uh, ya kinda have a tail.”

I looked back, behind me. Sure enough, there was a tail, softly swishing from side to side, somehow poking out the back of my trousers.

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“...eh, could be worse. I could’ve got the hooves.”

“Well, that’s gonna come soon enough. I’m… kinda starting to think we should just, y’know, merge. Get it over with. Before I have to deal with hands or something.”

I sighed, sitting down, back against the station’s wall. That would be a good idea, yeah, but… there was still a part of me scared of losing myself. A rather big part. And I knew that Braeburn felt the same way.

But still. Merging would mean we wouldn’t have to deal with this decision, all this worrying, all this panic over what we would become…

“...I don’t know, Brae. I really… don’t know. ‘cause if we merge, we won’t be able to, like, have these chats and stuff…”

Braeburn chuckled at that. “So you don’t wanna merge ‘cause you wanna keep seeing me?”

I smiled. “Yeah, I guess...”

“So, you like me?”

“Uh, yea--”

And it was at that point Braeburn decided to tackle me. I think the technical term is ‘glomp’.

“Hey!”

“What? You said you liked me!” He grinned.

I frowned at him. But my frown quickly faded, and I hugged him tight. “How’d it even work, anyway?”

“What?”

“Merging. Like, how would we do it?”

He just looked at me. “...I have no idea.”

“Oh, okay, then.” I just sat there, smiling, Braeburn lying in my arms. “I guess we’d just kinda agree on merging, and it’d just happen. Right?”

Braeburn just shrugged.

I don’t know how long we sat there for, me just holding him close, before I broke the silence.

“Um, Braeburn… y’know that time when I asked you about… stuff… and you said you were still confused?”

“What… oh, right. That.”

“Maybe merging could help? I dunno, I’m still kinda confused about all that too, but… I mean… maybe with both of us merged, and, like, not worrying about the merge…”

“Yeah, yeah. I get what you mean. But I really don’t wanna lose myself. And I can tell you don’t want to lose me either,” he said with a smile.

I said nothing to that, just held him close. “We’re still gonna have to do it, some day. I mean, we can’t keep trying to hold it back forever.”

“I know, but… I’m scared.”

“I’m scared too, Braeburn… I’m scared too…”

>> FFW >>

I opened my eyes, to see Shimmer looking rather repulsed, Gem with his tongue out, and with my cheek feeling a bit wet.

“...did you just… lick me?”

“We’re here, Brae,” Gem said. “Get the passports.”

I blinked. “Right. Okay.”

I reach a hoof over to the rucksack, rummaging around in there. Where are… Aha! Two passports!

“Don’t think they’d be much use,” I said, flicking through them, “since the picture, name, age… heck, the species doesn’t even match any more.”

“Just shut up and gimmie,” Gem commanded.

I did.

“That doesn’t matter,” Sunset replied. “We’re just going to make a scene if they don’t allow us through. Storm off and walk maybe a kilometer up the road before ducking into the forest.” She started heading off the bus. “There’s a town a bit south of here, Champlain. Once we get there, we should be able to find a way to New York.”

“...right, okay,” I said, getting up and following her, Gem hovering along behind.

We got off the bus, and into the line. Pretty long line. Pretty boring line.

After a while, Gem decided to try making conversation.

“Hey, Brae?”

“What?”

“You worked it out yet?”

...worked it out? “Worked what out?”

“Y’know…” Oh, no. Just don’t, Gem. “If you’re--”

I cut him off with a glare. “Gem, if the next word of that sentence is ‘gay’, I will applebuck you into next week.”

That shut him up.

And Sunset simply rolled her eyes.

The line moved ever so slowly forward. I’ll skip this boring standing around in line. Doesn’t make for a very good narrative.

So, we made it to the front of the line. Sunset, ignoring the rather confused look on the customs officer, floated the passports onto the counter.

“Monsieur Veilleux?”

Sunset nodded.”Oui… C’est moi,” she replied, in rather broken French.

The officer frowned, and gave a little cough.

“I’m afraid to say that you cannot be allowed through,” the officer said, switching to English. Thanks, officer, now I can actually understand you. Sunset was clearly less pleased than me about this, though, twitching an ear and frowning in irritation. “Your current state does not match what is within your passport,” the officer continued. “Unless your friends have also updated their info, I will not be able to let them through as well.”

I sighed. Gem flew up to the officer.

“Seriously? Come on, this is an international crisis. So what if we didn’t have time to update the passports? We need to get through. The fate of the world-- no, the fate of the universe depends on it!”

Really, Gem? I thought, as I just kinda looked at him.

Sunset growled. “Dramatics aside, these two had no issues getting over here from…”

She paused, then looked at our passports, then at us.

“Scotland,” Gem answered her unasked question.

She nodded. “They had no troubles until they came here!”

“As this is not England, we have different requirements before we allow you through,” the officer answered, eliciting a startled and angry glare from Gem, mouthing ‘England?!’ “I am sorry, but I suggest you return to Montreal and contact your em--”

Sunset shook her head angrily. “We don’t have time! Augh! What is with you humans being so incompetent!?”

“Miss, please calm down,” the officer said.

I could see a security guard approaching, another standing by, just watching. “Officer,” I said, turning back to the customs officer. “We really do not have time. The fate of the universe depends on you letting us through. Do you want  the cosmos to fall into the clutches of the god of chaos himself? Let us through, now!”

The officer gave a little nod to the guard, and they stepped forward, one of them putting a hand on Sunset. She turned and glared at him, horn shining with magic. “Fine, we’ll go. But you’re going to regret this!” she said, shaking off the guard’s hand and storming off outside, onto the road.

I was about to follow her when I noticed Gem, hovering up behind one of the guards.

“England?!”

“Gem, no!”

I jumped up, grabbing him by the tail (oh my) and running after Sunset, dragging him along behind me.

Sunset kept walking, nose held up snobbily in the air, looking furious, on the side of the road back towards Montreal. I followed, keeping up the act.

Eventually, we were a safe distance away. Sunset’s tone changed from furious to amused. “That went well.”

I let go of Gem’s tail, and looked at him, still flailing around. “Let me go!” he said. “I need to beat the stupid out of them!”

I bapped him on the head, jolting him from his rage. He looked around. “Oh.”

Sunset just stared. “If you two are done acting like fools, we can get moving. I’m thinking we get just far enough, a kilometer or two, and duck into the woods.” She paused. “If somepo-- one tries to stop us, I’ll teleport, with the earth pony. You,” she said, looking at Gem, “will fly off. Alright?”

I nodded. But Gem looked at Sunset, confused.

“How’ll I know where you’ve teleported to?” he asked.

“Some sort of magical flare, perhaps,” Sunset answered. “Unless you want to be teleported with us.”

Gem shrugged. “If you don’t think you’re magic enough to teleport all three of us, I’ll fly, sure,” he said, smirking.

Sunset shot him a glare. “I could teleport up to a dozen ponies. Some just don’t like the experience, and you have another, non-magical method to escape easily.”

“Well, I’m lazy.” He grinned. “Teleport!”

I sighed. “Alright, we got our escape plans in order?”

Sunset nodded, and started to walk off, leading them on the shoulder of the road. I trotted along behind her, and Gem hovered along behind me.