On a Whisper of Wind

by Conner Cogwork

Rating: everyone
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Comedy, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Other, Romance, Adventure, Trixie
Length: 32015

What would you do, if you met a pony who was at once your brother, and yet not?

What would you do, if you met a pony who was at once your brother, and yet not? Applebuck wishes to reunite with his 'Cousin JayJay', and braves the dimensional divide to reach his goal. But being a small foal, how will he deal with a world in which everything is flipped? His friends, his family, and even... himself?

Published 2012-02-15 07:44:01 UTC
Last updated 2015-12-01 22:03:44 UTC

Part 1: With a Careless Thought.

There was a whisper of wind.

The serene and empty road into Ponyville laid bare, only a couple of birds resting in the trees bearing witness to the sudden scene that unfolded.

A maelstrom suddenly erupted, as if torn from sheets of a mighty hurricane itself. Dust flew into the air and the setting sun's brightness suddenly became a back-lighting, as from the sky, a pillar of purest white suddenly descended.

It hit the earth with a muffled thunderclap. A final rush of wind shook the trees and scattered loose pebbles and leaves as the impact blasted a wave of air outwards. It was certainly enough to send the birds flying.

Just as quickly as it had started, the noise ceased. A cloud of debris continued to float around the site. After a minute of silence, another sound cut through the quiet: That of a small pony, coughing.

"*ahack!* Uhh... *ahack!* Mister... Mister Presto? Mister Great and *ahack* Powerful Presto? You there?"

There were more sounds of scuffling and small clopsteps, as the young pony tried to wave away the cloud of dirt. Gradually, his form came into view as the dust began to settle. Though a fair amount of the dirt clung to his yellow hide, the young colt's orange eyes remained undeterred, even when he took off his baseball cap and waved at the cloud some more.

"*ahack, ahack!* Mister Presto? Where... where'd you go?" he questioned, obviously looking for somepony. Once he deduced that he was actually alone on the road, he began taking in his surroundings once more.

"It don't look like ah moved any... did Mister Presto get moved instead? Ah mean, he's s'posed to be the second best unicorn in Equestria! Ah wouldn't think he'd be able to get it wrong!"

When it became obvious that he'd get no answers from an empty patch of road, the young boy pony finally turned himself towards the small village in the distance. He set his eyes in determination, and placed his hat back on his head, before rearing up onto his hindlegs.

"If it did work... then maybe Ah actually made it! But Ah won't know f' sure till Ah find out! So... here we go!"

And with that, Applebuck began galloping towards Ponyville, yelling at the top of his lungs.

"JAYJAY!! COUSIN JAYJAY!! AH'M-AH COMIN'! WAIT FER ME, COUSIN JAYJAAAAY!!"

By the time he made it into the town proper and began encountering ponies, he was simultaneously heartened and unnerved to learn that he had indeed landed in the right dimension.

The earth-pony's eyes were wide as he spotted familiar faces. Ones that were soft where they were once strong before, and vice-versa. He did a double-take as a pony he knew as ‘Lemon Hooves’ in his world walked past him, and then yet another as ‘Pokey Pop’ strolled through his path. The former was now a filly, the latter, a stallion. All the colts were mares now, and all the mares were colts!

He shook his head as he tried to think. Ah need to find Cousin JayJay! Even if she's... not really mah cousin, Ah still want to find her! She's not Red Gala, an' she's sure not Applejack! She's... she's th' big sis ah never had! And ah wanna be wit' her!

A young colt in a mare's land, Applebuck nevertheless steeled himself. He pointed himself towards the marketplace, a clear vision of the Sweet Apple Acres fruit stand in mind. He would have reached there unimpeded as well, if only he hadn't given himself tunnel-vision and accidentally run into another pony.

"Awp!" came the voice, as he felt his forehoof land on something that wasn’t ground.

"Oh!" he yelped, jumping back a step. "Ah'm so sorry, are y'all all-riiii.....?"

Harpsy and Babar were both giving him a curious look, the cream-coated pony in particular rubbing at a hoof. At least, they looked like Harpsy and Babar. But their shorter stature, rounded curves, and delicate snouts unequivocally marked them as mares instead of stallions.

"Oh, it's okay dear," the not-Babar soothed, a patient look on her face. "Though you should really keep a better eye on where you're going."

"A little preoccupied, are we?" the female Harpsy spoke up, giving the colt a smile. "Say, I don't think I've seen you around before, actually. You new here?"

"Uhm... a-ah yeah, ah am." the red-maned pony bashfully replied. "Ah just... got into Ponyville today, y'know. Hey, uhm... real sorry 'bout th' trippin' up, Ah was just..."

Both fillies chuckled. The mint unicorn spoke yet again. "Well then, welcome to Ponyville! I'm Lyra, and the one you nearly tripped up here is BonBon. If you're lost, we can give you the grand tour of the town, if you'd like!"

Applebuck worked his jaw a few times, before managing a reply. "Ah... Well... ah... Ah thank y-ya kindly, but... ah... Ah'm just lookin' fer m-mah Cousin JayJay. She lives here in Ponyville, and Ah wanted to visit."

The mares blinked, before looking at each other. "JayJay... I don't know any JayJay." BonBon hummed. "Can you think of anypony named that, Lyra?"

"No-one comes to mind... then again, it's not like we know EVERY pony in Ponyville, that's Pinkie's job. I bet if we asked her-"

"A-ah'm sorry." the yellow colt interrupted, his cheeks slightly red from embarrassment. "T-that's just what Ah call her. Her... her actual name is, uhm... Applejack." It felt odd to say the name out-loud and not be referring to his elder brother at the same time.

Thankfully, the two faces lit up in recognition. "Oh, APPLEJACK!" the musician exclaimed. "I should have guessed, with your accent and all. I'm afraid you just missed her."

The curly-haired equine nodded as well. "She was packing up the stall in the marketplace when we last saw her, a minute or so ago. If you know where the Acres are, you might could catch up with her!"

At this, the little pony cheered. "Yee-haw! That's all ah wanted t' know! Thank 'ya Har- ah, a-ah mean, Miss Lyra. And thank ya too Miss B-...B-BonBon!"

They waved farewell to him as he galloped quickly off in another direction, angling himself towards the apple farm. Once he was out of sight, the candy-maker put a hoof to her mouth, humming in contemplation.

"That colt... he kind of reminds me of a certain other little pony, don't you think?"

"Hmmm... now that you mention it, yeah, he does kinda. How exactly though, I'm not sure. Can't really put my finger on it..."

"... hon, don't you mean ‘hoof'?"

Applebuck ran pell-mell over hill after hill, his destination firmly in mind. As he finally crested one last grassy knoll, his eyes lit up in excitement at the sight before him. Sweet Apple Acres. Home sweet home.

Or, in this case, home-away-from-home.

He didn't really have a plan when he had first set out. He had only learned the basics. That the 'agents' were really doubles of the six most well-known ponies in Ponyville. That 'Cousin JayJay' was in fact, Applejack. A female Applejack. And that it was a spell that had brought them to his own world... and had also taken them back.

Finding the spell in question had been easy. A few well-placed questions directed at Spines had gotten him the info he needed. Finding another unicorn that wasn't Dusk, but just as strong as him, to pull off the spell had been trickier, but doable. And now that he was here... he found himself hesitating for a second.

Now that Ah'm here... once Ah go in thar... once Ah find mah cousin... then what? Will she be happy to see me? Or will she be upset? Ah don't want her mad at me! Ah just... Ah wanna be family wit' her! Ah wanna sit down at th' table an' have dinner, an' then play some card games, an' then go to bed an' listen to a story! Ah wanna know what it's like, t' have somepony like her as mah cousin! As mah SISTER!

"Cousin JayJay..." the young pony whispered to himself, eyes still trained on the farm before him. "Can y'all give me one more chance?"

The silence stretched into a long minute. At last, the cap-bearing colt finally placed a hoof forward, setting himself into motion, when a buzz began to echo through the air.

He froze and let his eyes dart around, easily recognizing the sound. "Sc... Scooteroll?" he called out, his mind awash in possibilities. Did the rest of the Crusaders follow after him? Was Scooteroll and Silver currently barreling down on his position? Or...

Wait, that was something else he hadn't thought about. For every pony that's a mare back home, they're here as a colt instead. And for every BOY that there was back home...

He barely dodged out of the way as a scooter and wagon suddenly crested over the hill's edge. Panicked screams were had all around as the Crusader-mobile careened and screeched to a stop, Applebuck tumbling head over hooves as he landed a short distance away, pride bruised, but otherwise uninjured.

"Scootaloo!" same a soft, squeaky voice. "You really shouldn't go so fast all the time! You almost HIT somepony!"

"I know, I know! I'm sorry!" came another voice, somewhat tomboyish, panicked in tone. They called out to him. "Oh man, hey! You alright?!"

"Y-yeah. Ah'm okay." the schoolpony groaned, rubbing the dirt from his eyes. He felt a presence step up next to him, before feeling a hoof upon his own. He accepted the help as he was brought back up to a sitting position, taking the time to bring both forelimbs to his eyes, cleaning them out.

"GOLLY." said a high-pitched, southern twang from the pony who had assisted him. "Y'all sure? Yah took a real tumble back there!"

Applebuck blinked, while his vision slowly cleared up. He felt the world come screeching to a complete halt, as the last thing that he had ever expected, came into his focus.

Standing before him was another yellow earth-pony. Her red mane was held back by a sizable pink bow in a ponytail, and her large, orange eyes were adorned with obvious lashes.

"Awful sorry 'bout that. Scootaloo 'kin be rather rash sometimes.” she continued, looking behind her to give the orange pegasus a glare. She then quickly turned back. “But, um, if yer all right, then howdy! Ain’t ever seen you ‘round before!" she greeted, eyes giving him a welcoming sparkle.

The young capped colt continued staring at the sight before him, being face-to-face with something that he was in no way in the least, in this entire short-sighted escapade, prepared for.

It's me. Oh AJ, Red Gala, Grampy Smith, help me! She's ME!!

The bow-bearing filly gave him a smile, before holding out a hoof towards him in friendship.

"Mah name's Applebloom! What's yours?"

On a Whisper of Wind

By Conner Cogwork

What would you do, if you met a pony who was at once your brother, and yet not? Applebuck wishes to reunite with his 'Cousin JayJay', and braves the dimensional divide to reach his goal. But being a small foal, how will he deal with a world in which everything is flipped? His friends, his family, and even... himself?

Image credit to KtKat! Thanks!

Part One

With a Careless Thought

Ah don't want to be here anymore.

He was fighting the instinct that was telling him to run as far away as possible in the opposite direction from the yellow pony. Color was draining from his face, his hooves starting to feel heavy, as her form completely filled his sight.

It's like lookin' in a mirror... some kind o' twisted funhouse mirror! his head resounded. She's ME! She's what ah woulda been if ah'd been born a GIRL! Why's she wearin' a BOW!? Bows are FRU-FRU!

"Hey," the orange pegasus spoke as she trotted up alongside her friend. "You alright? Or did the cat get your tongue?"

"Oh, it wasn't Opal, was it?" the white unicorn added, coming up to the opposite side. "Or was it some kitty else?"

Applebuck let his eyes shift over the other two fillies. Once again he was floored by how similar they were to his friends back home. And yet at the same time, looking into their faces, he could see the small differences here and there. The unicorn's mane in particular was more curly than Silver's had ever been.

The small earth-pony in front of him cocked an eyebrow, before looking back at the winged one. "Y'all sure ya didn't hit 'em?"

Purple eyes flashed. "Hey, it's not like I saw him until the last minute! He was just STANDIN' there, y'know! Hey!" The small pegasus stepped up closer towards him, wings flared. "Just what were you DOING anyway, standing there?"

She's gettin' in mah face, just like Scooteroll. he mused as he leaned his head back, trying to avoid having his nose be touched by the confrontational filly's own. Either Ah bolt 'n run now 'n never see Cousin JayJay ever again... or Ah actually talk an'... explain mahself...

"A... a-ah was..." he finally began, stammering slowly. "Ah was... thinkin'... ah was kinda... uhm... lookin' fer somepony..."

The orange one raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Sounds a little suspicious to me." she stated. "Why don't you just go ahead and fess up! I bet you're some kinda-"

"Scoot!" his female reflection admonished her friend, biting down on her tail and pulling the pony back. After a quick *patoo*, she turned her orange eyes back onto his. "Ah'm mighty sorry 'bout that. She gits like that sometimes, y'know." she apologized. "Uhm, lets try this again. Ah'm Applebloom, an' these two're mah friends, Sweetie Belle, 'n Scootaloo."

"Hi!" the unicorn spoke again, a calm smile on her face as she held out a hoof. "What’s your name?"

The colt moved his tongue and stared at the offered hoof, before he finally managed to force words out. "Ah'm... M-mah name's, uhm... Applebuck."

The yellow filly's eyes widened, ears perking. "Apples? Applebuck? Are y'all Apple Family?"

"Uhm..." his eyes shifted a bit as he tried to kick his brain into gear. Ah could tell her th' truth 'n say that Ah'm closer related to her than she ever thought possible. But Ah don't think her an' th' others'll believe that. What did Cousin JayJay tell me again? Ah shoot, was it wit' Cousin Honeycrisp or Cousin Apple Cinnamon Crisp? Ah cain't remember!

"Y-yeah, a few times removed," the pony spoke. "And ah... a-ah was sick last year, so Ah wasn't able t' come to th' reunion that time."

"But yer still an' Apple, right?" Applebloom pressed in closer, causing the young colt's eyes to widen in panic and back up a few steps. "Y' know Cousin Braeburn? Cousin Johnee Red? Cousin Caramel Apple?"

"-A-and Cousin Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Apple Fritter an' Macintosh." he hurriedly gushed, hoping to keep his other self from getting too close.

"Macintosh?!" Now she had both ears perked. "Y'all know Big Macintosh? He's mah big brother, y'know! Helps out wit' everythin' on th' farm!"

For the second time in as many minutes, the ground seemed to fall away from him. Her Brother? Big... she's... Red Gala! S-she must mean Red Gala! She's... HE'S called Macintosh here?!

"A-ah, well," he stammered again. "Ah don't think Ah right introduced mahself to him, but, uh, yeah Ah know OF him."

Now the femme pony was REALLY in his face, her eyes big and wide. "Th' point is, y'all are Apple family! Ain't that right, Applebuck? Can Ah call yah Cousin Applebuck?"

The colt gulped, before nodding once. "E-yeah... yeah, Ah'm proud t'say that Ah'm Apple family."

Applebloom cheered, and his eyes shrunk into panicked pinpricks as she proceeded to grab one of his hooves and shake it heartily, pumping the limb furiously. "Yeah! Apples Ferever! Glad to meet yah, Cousin Applebuck!" she gushed, before letting go and then doing a prance, bucking once or twice in the air. "Ah got a new cousin! Ah got a new cousin!"

Is... is this what Cousin JayJay felt like 'round me? he found himself pondering, as he stared with disbelieving eyes at the hoof that she had touched. She always seemed a bit nervous... a-and just now, when SHE touched me... oh lawrdy Ah've never been so scared in mah whole life!

Sweetie Belle chuckled at her friend's cheerfulness, before turning back to the colt. "Didn't you say you were here looking for somepony?"

"Yeah, that's right." The pegasus was still giving him the stink-eye. "Care to fill us in, 'Applebuck'?"

She sounds so much like Scoots it's creepy. he mused, biting his lip. Should Ah tell them Ah'm lookin' fer JayJay? Fer 'Applejack'? Ah dunno if Ah should. Mah... other self might not like that. What should Ah do? Can Ah make somethin' up? C'mon Applebuck, think o' somethin' quick, they're lookin' at yah funny again-

"A-Ah was lookin’ fer a pony who... wh-who's an expert at, um..." His eyes glanced around at his surroundings nervously, before settling on a piece of fabric that was hanging over the edge of the wagon. A familiar maroon cape with a blue emblem stitched on.

Cutie-marks!

"Cutie-marks!" he belted. "An expert on Cutie-marks! A-ah had heard there was a pony in Ponyville who was a right expert on 'em!"

Eyes lit up all around. "There IS?!" all three crusaders exclaimed at once.

"We haven't heard of him before!" Sweetie gushed, bouncing in place.

"A-Ah wouldn't think you had," Applebuck continued. "He's supposed to be hidin' in secret, y'know."

"That makes sense." Scootaloo piped up. "Imagine if everypony knew where he was and what he knew. He'd be drowning in blank-flanks in no time!"

"Exactly. Ah only found out 'bout him by accident mahself. Ah... Ah decided to come to Ponyville an' try to find him, an' bring him back to mah town so he could help us Cutie Mark Crusaders!"

At this, the three fillies gaped. Applebloom moved her head to the side to look around the small colt, spotting the bare flanks upon his person. "Well shoot! Ah didn't notice you were a blank-flank too, just like us!" she drawled. "Y'all have Cutie Mark Crusaders up in your town? Ah thought we were the only ones!" The other two nodded with her.

He found himself blushing at his oversight, hooves pawing at the ground slightly. "Y-yeah, Ah'm... Ah mean, you girls are Crusaders too? Mah group, we're... well, we're mostly made up o' boys. Ah didn't know girls would do it too."

"Well, why not?" the orange pegasus said. "Super-girly fru-fru stuff's never been my thing. Give me a half-pipe and some mad wheels, and THEN you've got me interested!"

While the male pony again was struck by sheer surprise at how alike the doppelganger was to his friend, the bow-bearing filly's face took on a look of determination. "Well, if you're a Cutie Mark Crusader too, then Ah say we got no choice but tah help you in yer mission! Whaddya say, Cousin Applebuck? Wanna team up with us? We got plenty o' room in th' wagon!"

"Yeah!" the unicorn enthused. "First we got Dinky, and now we'll have our first colt member! The Crusaders are growing more every day!"

"And if there IS a pony in town who knows about Cutie-Marks, then we need to find them, stat!" Scoot added. "How about it? Scratch your back and you scratch ours, eh?"

The trio of them then proceeded to turn on high-intensity gazes at him. It was a weapon that the young apple pony himself was familiar with the usage of. However, this took on a different feeling for him as it was not only being directed at HIM, but was being fired from a threesome of girls. The intense awkwardness placed a blush on his face as he melted under the gaze, a hoof going back to scratch at the back of his head. "W-well... seein' we're all Crusaders 'n all... A-Ah don't see why not-"

"YEAH!" the three of them belted. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS SECRET PONY FINDERS! YAY!!"

Do we REALLY sound that loud when we do that? Applebuck had to ponder as he recovered from the amount of decibels he'd been battered with.

He then felt a tug on his hoof, and jumped a bit when he realized that Sweetie was now pulling him towards the wagon. "C'mon!" she enthused. "The day won't last forever! Let's see if we can find this pony before the sun sets!"

"What's their name, anyways?" Applebloom asked. "Didja hear, or do yah just have a description?"

"I-I've got a name." he responded, as he hesitantly climbed into the red vehicle. "They're called... er, let me see. Umm.... Dusk, er, Blitz! Dusk Blitz! That was it!"

"Dusk Blitz?" Scootaloo echoed, sticking her tongue out as she boarded her scooter. "Never heard of them before. This is gonna be tricky..."

Inwardly, the colt smiled. It'll keep us runnin' 'round th' rest of th' day. he thought. Th' only Dusk and Blitzes Ah know of in Ponyville're back in mah world! By th' time it's sundown, maybe then Ah can get away from them and head fer th' farm by mahself. It's th' perfect plan!

He then proceeded to squeak in surprise as he was joined in the wagon by the other two girls. His filly-self sat herself down in front of him, while the white unicorn squeezed herself right behind. Three ponies in the wagon instead of two reminded him just how tight the Crusader-Mobile could be at times. Add in the fact that he was surrounded by girls-

"Ah know!" the yellow filly exclaimed. "Let's go see Pinkie Pie! She knows every pony in Ponyville after all! Maybe she knows who Dusk Blitz is!"

"Sounds good to me!" Sweetie Belle piped up from behind. "Sugarcube Corner it is then!"

As the pegasus revved up her wings, Applebuck bit his tongue in thought. Pinkie Pie... Harpsy an' Babar's doubles mentioned her too. But why would we be goin' to Sugarcube Corner? Th' only pony Ah know of livin' there is-

Oh no.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders Plus One proceeded to launch forward off of that hill in the direction of town. His thoughts were too preoccupied with panic to notice that Sweetie had latched her hooves onto his sides, clinging to him as they barreled down the path into Ponyville.

Berry Bubble! Pinkie Pie is Berry Bubble! They're takin' me to Berry Bubble's place!

And she KNOWS me!!

To be continued...

ON THE NEXT WHISPER OF WIND

"That's always true, Scoots! Say Cousin, as long as yer in town, yer welcome to join us in our quest fer Cutie-marks! Whaddya say?"

He paused to look up at his female self, into her open and inviting eyes. Ah led them on this silly li'l chase. he thought to himself. Ah didn't mean t' really get their spirits down. Y'know... it's th' least Ah can do. Findin' Cousin JayJay can wait a bit longer.

"Sure thing, Cousin." he replied with a smile. "Ah'd be honored to!"

This brought a smile of cheer to the trio of fillies, before each of them turned and exited the Corner. Before he himself stepped foot out however, a voice piped up from behind him.

"Hey wait! Cousin Applebuck, can I ask you a question?"

The capped pony turned and saw Pinkie Pie standing at the kitchen door, a simple smile on her face. "Uhm, sure Miss Pie." he replied. "What is it?"

She kept the same smiling, neutrally happy expression on her features as she asked "Did you bring Berry Bubble with you?"

Part 2: Mum's the Word.

On a Whisper of Wind

By Conner Cogwork

What would you do, if you met a pony who was at once your brother, and yet not? Applebuck wishes to reunite with his 'Cousin JayJay', and braves the dimensional divide to reach his goal. But being a small foal, how will he deal with a world in which everything is flipped? His friends, his family, and even... himself?

Image credit to KtKat! Thanks!

Part Two

Mum’s the Word

Again he found himself staring at all the townsfolk as they buzzed along down Carrot Street, making good time towards the bakery.

"So!" Applebloom called out over the din of buzzing wings. "What'cha think of Ponyville, Cousin Applebuck?"

"It's... it's different!" he replied, his orange eyes flitting over to a trio of flower-themed mares as they sat potted plants on a display. "Ah don't think Ah've ever seen so many mares in one place b'fore!"

"There aren't any mares in your town?" Sweetie Belle asked incredulously, an eyebrow arched.

"O-oh, we got 'em! Just not so many of them! In fact, ah'd say th'... whaddya call it, th' 'ray-cee-oh' of mares an’ stallions here is... heheh, switched, compared to mah hometown!"

"More stallions than mares at your place, eh?" Scootaloo added. "Now that'd be a place to visit!"

Visit an' then maybe get yer tail shocked off, Applebuck mused. If she an’ Scooteroll ever met, ah dunno what would happen! Same wit' Silver an' HIS double! Ah shoulda thought of this b'fore ah even went an' looked fer that spellbook! Ah shoulda planned better!

He found himself flinching slightly as the red mane of the filly in front of him flew into his face, brushing up against his muzzle. And then there's th' matter of me... and mahself.

Of COURSE there was gonna be a girl version of me here. Ah mean, Cousin JayJay is just Applejack as a mare, right? It makes sense that th' whole family would be here, just switched. Mahself included... Why didn't Ah take that into account? Why didn't ah think...

"We're here!" his filly-self announced, pointing a hoof. "Sugarcube Corner!"

He was jolted out of his thoughts. Indeed, it was the same bakery. Inwardly, he marveled that it was virtually identical to the same building in his home dimension, not a gumdrop or sprinkle out of place. As the Crusaders piled out of the wagon however, he was given yet another reminder that he was no longer in his home world, as a pegasus parted the doors leaving the establishment. A familiar grey-coated, blonde-haired, cross-eyed pegasus.

"Heya Miss Doo!" Sweetie greeted as they passed by. The mailmare's mouth was occupied with a bag of baked goods, so she simply smiled and waved a wing in reply, before taking off.

As the earth-pony and unicorn both entered the shop, Applebuck found himself lagging behind as he noticed that the orange filly had halted her steps, looking off in the direction that Ditzy had flown off in. She exhaled a quiet sigh before adding 'Eventually' under her breath.

He'd seen this many times before, from his own friend Scooteroll. In that instant, his wariness of this dimension's nature waned as he stepped up towards her. "Hey." he spoke softly. "Everythin' alright?"

Scootaloo looked to him before offering a wing shrug. "It's pegasus related. I dunno if you'd understand..."

He bit his lip before launching into a spiel. "Ah have a pegasus friend too, y'know. Ah've seen th' looks he gives other pegasi when they're flying. His wings haven’t grown very big yet, but... y'know, that doesn't keep him from tryin'."

Purple eyes gazed into his with a new level of appreciation before she turned away and looked back into the sky. "Good for him... I've been trying for a long while now. Just recently, I got Rainbow Dash as my own teacher... she's tough, but she's the coolest teacher a pony could ask for. Hopefully, my training will pay off, and I'll be as good a flier as she is, someday."

Rainbow Dash? he pondered. Dash? Wait... D! Agent D! Rainbow Blitz's double! Ho gosh, SHE knows me too! Ah'm gonna have tah keep a low profile if ah don’t wanna be found out...

"Hey." the orange filly suddenly spoke up, turning back towards the colt, startling him out of his thoughts. "Applebuck?"

"Yeah?"

"I just... I realized I haven't really apologized for almost running you over earlier. So, um... I'm sorry." She kicked at an errant rock on the ground, head slightly bowed. "I'm also sorry for callin' you suspicious and stuff. I didn't mean it. I was just... well, you know..."

The image before him was so textbook Scooteroll that he found himself letting his guard down, a smile going across his face. "It's alright, Scoots. Ah fergive yah. We all have our off-days an’ all. Apology accepted, Scooter- ack, um, Scootaloo."

She stared at him for a second or two after that before her snout crinkled with a *snerk*. The yellow pony tilted his head. "What? What'd ah do?"

"O-oh, nothing," the pegasus assured, taking to her hooves and walking past him. "It's just the way you said that. For a second there, you sounded just like Applebloom. Must be an Apple Family thing."

Silently he swore to himself before turning and following her inside. The aroma of fresh-baked cakes and pastries hit his nose, the familiar smells of the Corner. Just as good as how it smelled back in his world.

In the middle of the shop floor, Sweetie and Applebloom were waiting, the latter tapping her hoof impatiently. "What took th’ two of you so long?" she inquired. "Y'all didn't pick a fight now, did ya Scoots?"

"Oh, no, we were just talking," Scootaloo said, Applebuck nodding alongside. "Sorry for the hold up. Is Pinkie Pie around?"

"Oh, sorry, fillies." A voice piped up from behind them. "Pinkie's busy in the kitchen at the moment. But if you're willing to wait for a few minutes, I'll have her right out."

The colt lifted his head and spotted Mr. Cake. Or was it? He had to do a double-take. He sure looked like Mr. Cake, save that he was a bright yellow and orange instead of blue and pink, and had a trio of brownies for his cutiemark.

"Oh, that's okay, Mister Cake." Sweetie Belle piped up. "Is she making cupcakes again? Maybe we could go back there and help her!"

The tall stallion chuckled nervously. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea, girls. The Missus and I still remember what happened last time with the taffy-pulling machine."

They all remembered it. Three fillies and one colt bowed their heads as they let out an 'aww' of disappointment. Not that ah was that lookin' forward to goin' back there, Applebuck told himself. But he REALLY didn't have'tah bring that mess up.

"Oh hey!" Mr. Cake then stated, his eyes focusing on the newcomer. "Haven't see you around here before. Recruit another member into your club, girls?"

"You betcha!" Applebloom cheered, leaning over and patting her male doppelganger on the back. "Applebuck here's a cousin! He's here on a mission o' vital importance!"

"There's a pony in Ponyville somewhere called Dusk Blitz!" Scootaloo added. "Don't suppose you know who that is, do you? He's supposed to be an expert on cutie-marks!"

The baker made a humming sound as he thought. "Hmmm... name doesn't ring a bell, I'm afraid. But I guess that's why you came here to see Pinkie, isn't it? She knows every pony in town after all. Tell you what. I'll head back to the kitchen and see if I can't free her up for you. In the meantime..." He gained a mischievous glint in his eyes, before leaning his head over to a nearby glass dome, lifting it to reveal a piles of cookies. "Why don't you all treat yourself while you wait? One cookie per pony."

There was a chorus of 'Wow!'s and 'Sure!'s and 'Thank yah, Mister Cake!', as the foals all nabbed them some baked treats. With that, the stallion departed, leaving the Corner quiet, save for the muted munching of goodies. At length, Applebuck among them began thinking again.

Not what ah was expectin' ay-tall. Mister Cake's YELLOW here? Well... at least he still sounds and acts th' same. Ah dunno 'bout Miss Pie though... we met when she an’ Cousin JayJay and th' rest of her friends fell into our world. Will she recognize me? Ah sure hope t’ high horses she doesn’t. If she's anythin' LIKE Berry-

"Say," Scootaloo piped up. "What do you think the cutie mark of a pony specializing in cutie-marks looks like?"

Sweetie Belle rubbed her chin in thought. "That's a good question. It can't be like... a cutie-mark of a cutie-mark, can it?"

"Oh, Ah know!" Applebloom piped up. "Ah bet it's a funny-lookin' symbol that don't make sense, like one of dem Escher drawings!"

"Or MAYBE..." Now the young colt got into the conversation, a ghost of a smile on his face. "Maybe it's one o' dem fancy-schmancy high-detail marks! Y'know, like you can only get wit' oils an’ watercolors an’ th' like!"

"Oh hey, how 'bout this?" The orange pony spoke again. "What if it's just a cutiemark of a PONY? That has another cutie-mark of a pony, that also has one just like that, on and on, ecetera ecetera?"

"Hah, don't be so crazy Scoots."

"Hah, don't be so crazy Scoots."

Silence descended at that. Both yellow ponies blinked and looked at each other, realizing that they had just both said the same thing at the same time-

"HEYA, YOU SILLY FILLIES!" came a loud and cheerful voice, as a shot of pink suddenly exited the kitchen doors. "WHAT'S SHAKIN' IN YOUR BACON?"

Remains of a chocolate chip cookie went flying into the air as Applebuck dived behind Sweetie Belle, the unicorn blinking in confusion. That cookie never hit the ground though, for it was snatched straight out of the air by the agile tongue of Pinkie Pie herself.

"Pinkie Pie!" the three fillies exclaimed as she munched and swallowed. "Boy, are we glad to see you!"

"And I'm glad to see all of you!" the bubblegum mare crowed right back. "How's the Crusading going? You any closer to your Cutie-Marks yet?"

"We're hoping to be soon!" Scootaloo cheered. "Do you know of a pony named 'Dusk Blitz'? We heard he was an expert on Cutie-marks! If we could find him, maybe he could help us get ours!"

"Hmmm... Dusk Blitz, you say?" Pinkie repeated, her eyes rotating to look at the ceiling as she stuck her tongue out in contemplation. "I know of a 'Dusk’, and I know of a 'Blitz', but they're two separate ponies. And they don't live in Ponyville. At least not EXACTLY Ponyville, it's kinda like Ponyville but it's kinda-sorta different in a way that I don't know if you girls understand yet, I mean your sisters haven't told you yet, have they? Thought not. Either way, there's a probably a Dusk Blitz somewhere in Equestria, just probably not this Equestria, if you know what I mean?"

The Crusaders had no idea what she meant. But the news was enough to make them dip their heads low. "Well that was a bust," Applebloom murmured. "Y'all shore y' got th' name right, Cousin-... hey, Cousin, why you hidin'?"

"That's what I'd like to know." Sweetie Belle added, looking behind her at the cowering colt.

"So... much pink..." he stuttered. "Always knew... b-but never noticed-"

"Ahhh, it's the cooties thing, I'll bet." The pegasus rolled her eyes before leaning down and grabbing his tail, pulling him into the open. "C'mon, just cause we're all girls here, doesn't mean you're gonna turn into a lump of sugar dust."

Before he could respond to that statement, he was pulled onto his haunches by his filly-self, her holding him close as they turned to face the party pony. "Pinkie Pie, this is mah Cousin Applebuck! He's new in Ponyville, and he's helpin' us find our Cutie-marks!"

His eyes shot open as he beheld the femme form of a pink pony he was familiar with. Berry Bubble had always been the bouncy sort, and now that he was faced with his counterpart, he realized that the same energy had translated effortlessly into this dimension. On top of that, with her being a girl... he was again reminded why colts were attracted to fillies rather easily, a small blush rushing to his cheeks.

The pink filly's blue eyes stared at him, before they began to contract, irises shrinking into tiny pinpricks. At this, Applebuck couldn't help but cringe as he braced himself. She knows! She remembers me! She's about ta blurt it out all over th' place!

Finally, Pinkie spoke in a very quiet voice. "You're a new pony in Ponyville."

The colt nodded, knees starting to tremble somewhat.

"And since you're a new pony in Ponyville... do you know what that calls for?"

Right now his mind was too scattered to properly remember what it was Berry did for newcomers to the town. Grasping for something, he began to mumble "Uhm.. ah... a pa... a p-pa-"

"Aaaaa PARTY~!" she finished exuberantly, leaping into the air, her earlier quiet and suspicious mood now nowhere to be seen. "It's been a long while since I threw a Welcome-new-pony-to-Ponyville party! More new ponies need to come to Ponyville more often, or else I'll lose my edge! Nice to meet you Applebloom's cousin Applebuck! Oh, since you're her cousin, I bet you like apples, right? I mean seriously, what pony doesn't like apples? I mean if you're allergic to them, then yeah, I can see why you wouldn't like them, but that's not the point, the point is I need to make sure to have a lotta APPLE stuffs at your party! Bobbing for Apples, Apple punch, Apple pie, Apple chips, and Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Apple! Wait, do apples have tails?"

At this point, Scootaloo was rolling her eyes at the entire scene, while Sweetie chuckled nervously. Both apple ponies had frozen on the spot with identical looks of surprise plastered on their faces.

She... so she DOESN'T remember me! the boy thought, with no small amount of relief. Whoosh! That'll make this trip that much easier. Ah don't need those girls to go grabbin' me an' takin' me back b'fore ah find Cousin JayJay!

"Soooo, you don't know of a Dusk Blitz in Ponyville?" Sweetie asked, interrupting Pinkie's running monologue.

"Nope! Sorry girls, they're probably living FAR far away from here! But don't worry, there's always tomorrow! Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a party to plan!"

The four foals sighed as they got to their hooves and trudged towards the door, each one thanking the party pony in turn. "Sorry 'bout that," Applebuck apologized. "A-ah was so sure..."

"Meh, it's alright," the pegasus murmured, dragging her hooves. "It woulda been nice to've gotten our cutie-marks sooner than later... ahh well, there's always plan B."

"Which is?"

"Bungee-jumping."

The white unicorn cringed, but Applebloom couldn't help but chuckle. "That's always true, Scoots! Say Cousin, as long as yer in town, yer welcome ta join us in our quest fer Cutie-marks! Whaddya say?"

He paused to look up at his female self, into her open and inviting eyes. Ah led them on this silly li'l chase, he thought to himself. Ah didn't mean to really get their spirits down. Y'know... it's th' least ah can do. Findin' Cousin JayJay can wait a bit longer.

"Shore thing, Cousin," he replied with a smile. "Ah'd be honored to!"

This brought a smile of cheer to the trio of fillies, before each of them turned and exited the Corner. Before he himself stepped foot out however, a voice piped up from behind him.

"Hey wait! Cousin Applebuck, can I ask you a question?"

The capped pony turned and saw Pinkie Pie standing at the kitchen door, a simple smile on her face. "Uhm, shore Miss Pie," he replied. "What is it?"

She kept the same smiling, neutrally happy expression on her features as she asked "Did you bring Berry Bubble with you?"

He stared for a second longer, the words slowly registering in his mind, eyes shrinking as they did so. He then proceeded to dash outside, a panicked expression on his face, the unanswered question left hanging in the air.

"Hmmm..." the party pony hummed. "I guess that's a no..."

On the outskirts of Ponyville, a mystery was in the process of being solved. At least, the blue unicorn who was doing the investigating liked to think of it as being in the process of being solved.

"Oh, where WAS it?" she grumped to herself, tumbling through a stand of bushes. "I KNOW I felt that magic burst around here somewhere! But this is closer to Ponyville than I'd really like to go... not that the Great and Powerful Trixie couldn't handle herself, but still..." she scrunched her face in annoyance. "Town's more trouble than it's worth."

Okay, think, Trixie. Recount what you know. You were just passing by. You weren't even going to give anypony the time of day. And then you feel one of the most powerful onrushes of magical energy that you've ever felt from any other pony besides... HER. So what are you doing?

Well duh! she told herself. You've investigating! Seeing if it was really HER or not! And seeing what kind of spell she's using that needs that kind of energy!

Her horn glowed as she trotted down the path, the PKE residue becoming stronger as she closed in on the small ville. Thoughts still flowed through her mind, musing mixed with general fantasies as she imagined the scenarios that might come about.

What if SHE'S been... weakened? Anything that requires a huge amount of magic like that is bound to leave a unicorn dry for a few days. This could be... this could be my big chance! A smile began to work its way across her face. I could challenge her in her weakened state, and nopony would be the wiser! Once they see my triumphant victory, everypony would have no choice but to accept the fact that the most powerful unicorn in Equestria is nopony else but ME! The Great! And Powerful! TRRRRRIXIE!

She paused for a second, before realizing that somewhere in the middle of her internal dialogue, she had begun prancing about on the road, finishing her thoughts with her traditional bipedal flourish. All she was waiting on now were the fireworks. Of which she had none right at the moment.

The magician let out a groan, looking back and forth to see if anypony had witnessed that. She had gone without her hat and cape this time around, in an attempt to be incognito. A futile effort, she mused to herself. But it had to be attempted. Nopony must know that the Great and Powerful Trixie has dared to show her face around this country bumpkin village once more-

Her horn's glow suddenly intensified as she crossed into a certain spot in the road. Nearby, birds chirped their greetings at her, though they went unnoticed.

It was HERE.

She paused, her purple eyes widening as she took in the scenery. In the middle of the dirt road, she could make out... something. It looked like all the loose dirt in the area had been blown away from a spot in the center. A circular pattern that made Trixie think of a small tornado.

And even curiouser was the small set of hoofprints that emerged from the center. There was no set leading in. But right there in front of her eyes, there was a set leading out, prints spaced apart in an even gait that suggested running, heading towards the quiet town of Ponyville.

Besides those prints, and her own, there was no evidence that anypony else had been here.

"How strange..." she whispered to herself. Again, she lit her horn to test the area's aura field. Any non-unicorn pony would have probably passed the area by without another glance, but to anypony who possessed a horn, the leftover magic residue was so thick that one could probably stick out one’s tongue and taste it.

On a whim, that's just what the showmare did. As silly as it looked, the motion did not go unrewarded.

"It's not her," were the first words immediately out of her mouth. I would know. SHE'S got a very distinctive magic field of her own. And this isn't anything like hers. Somepony else did this... this. But who? And what WAS it?

She paced around the perimeter of the road for a minute or so, scenarios running through her head. At one point, she levitated a scarf out of her tail, and paused to dab at her forehead for a bit. Investigation was hard, sweaty, and DIRTY work. I'll have to find a stream once I'm done here. The price of living on the road.

She made as if to tuck the handkerchief away, before she paused. Looking at it, she could sense her own magical field, holding it in place. On yet ANOTHER whim, she turned back to the PKE field inhabiting the center of the road... and made the comparison, tasting the both of them at the same time.

The results were a shock to her system.

"It's me," she whispered. "This magic... is MY magic! But... how?! That can't be possible, it doesn't make sense! I don't even know what kind of spell this is! It can't possibly be me!"

She looked up at the sky, her mind awhirl with disbelief, awe, and confusion. Her lavender eyes locked on the first evening star as it winked into existence, one question dominating her thoughts.

"Could it be...?"

To be continued...

ON THE NEXT WHISPER OF WIND

Applebuck sat back against the wagon's rim as he thought. Heh. If it were up t' me... if ah were back in my world, an' had Crown an’ Ladle headin' mah way wit' a box of donuts, ah know EXACTLY what ah would do.

"Ah know EXACTLY what we're gonna do." his female double piped up, face full of determination. "We're gonna GET us a few of them donuts."

The pegasus looked up at her with a grin, while the unicorn could only gulp worriedly. The boy on the other hand, had to mentally facehoof as he realized Of course she's gonna think just like me! She IS me! Oh well, in fer a penny, in fer a pound!

"What's the plan, Bloom?" their driver asked, leaning in closer.

"Okay... okay, ah got it. Yesterday, ah overheard them talkin' 'bout colts at lunch. They were talkin' 'bout which ones were cute or strong an’ whatever. Ah think right now, they're both a li'l bit 'boy-crazy', if yah know what ah mean."

A giggle from the white one, and a disgusted face from the orange one. However, it was the yellow one that made Applebuck's skin crawl as she proceeded to turn and look at him, a sly smile and expression coming over her face.

"An' we just HAPPEN ta have a brand-new, well-mannered, handsome colt right here at our disposal."

Part 3: Through Eyes Unused.

On a Whisper of Wind

By Conner Cogwork

What would you do, if you met a pony who was at once your brother, and yet not? Applebuck wishes to reunite with his 'Cousin JayJay', and braves the dimensional divide to reach his goal. But being a small foal, how will he deal with a world in which everything is flipped? His friends, his family, and even... himself?

Image credit to KtKat! Thanks!

Part Three

Through Eyes Unused

"You alright, Cousin Applebuck?" the yellow filly in front of him asked. "Y'all look like yah seen a ghost!"

Oh it's worse than that, he thought to himself. Ah just got a reminder that Ah'm in WAY over mah head.

She really DID know who ah was this whole time! Wh-what if she tells her friends? What if they start lookin' fer me? Cousin JayJay'll have a fit if she finds out from one of them! A-ah should... Ah should really...

"Y-know," he started out-loud, eyes flicking about uneasily at the passing scenery as they buzzed down Leek Ave. "O-on second thought, it's been a long day fer me... maybe we should-"

Right before crossing an intersection, Scootaloo suddenly swerved to the right, causing all ponies inside the wagon to hold on tight, Applebuck's face flushing as he realized that Sweetie was pressing herself close and squeezing him from behind for all he was worth. Their diminutive, winged chauffer zoomed the Crusader-mobile up alongside a nearby building, suddenly stopping them all with a jolt, allowing herself to peer around the structure's corner.

"Tar-nation, Scoots!" both Apples Bloom and Buck bellowed. "What was that all 'bout!?"

"Shush you two, you're doing it again." The pegasus waved a hoof at them. "We've got a little obstacle in the path up ahead."

"Obstacle?"

"Make that TWO obstacles. Really rich ones. Y'know, them."

"Ooooooooh," the trio in the wagon grumped, crossing their hooves. "THEM."

The farmfilly had to blink a couple of times, before turning to her colt self. "Wait a second. Do yah even know who we're talkin' 'bout, Cousin?"

He flushed again, realizing that once more he had become lulled by the sense of familiarity of the events around him. There was only one set of 'them' that he could think of, after all. "Uhm, Ah can take a guess." he stuttered. "Ponies from school that got cutie-marks, that make fun of ones that don't?"

"That's right." the unicorn nodded. "Is it really them, Scoot?"

"Yep. Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara."

The colt had to pause to process those names. Silver... Spoon? Diamond TIARA? Back home, they were Silver Ladle and Diamond Crown! Oh gosh. Now he felt his stomach churn. They were bad enough as boys back home. How am Ah gonna deal wit' them as GIRLS here?!

"What're they doin', Scoot?" Applebloom asked. "Sittin' an' talkin'?"

"Kinda," She craned her head out to get a better look. "They're at a table, there's a big box on it... oh wait, hang on, there's a waiter coming... oh WOW I've never SEEN so many jelly donuts!"

"Jelly donuts?"

"Yeah, he's got a big tray full of them! Now he's... he's dumping them in the box! And... now they're getting up! I see, they're taking the box with them!"

"Probably off ta somewhere in th' park ta pig out on 'em," the yellow pony grumped, crossing her hooves again with a sour expression on her face. "They got more moolah than they know what t'do with, Ah tell yah what."

"Oh guys," Sweetie Belle began. "I've got some bits on me still. If you want, I could get us all some jelly donuts too."

"S'not the same." Scootaloo piped up from her watch position. "Thanks for the offer though. Hey, they're heading this way. If we just sit tight, they'll pass us, and we'll be able to go on without any heckling from the royal peanut gallery."

Applebuck sat back against the wagon's rim as he thought. Heh. If it were up to me... if Ah were back in my world, an' had Crown an’ Ladle headin' mah way with a box of donuts, Ah know EXACTLY what Ah would do.

"Ah know EXACTLY what we're gonna do." his female double piped up, face full of determination. "We're gonna get us a few of them donuts."

The pegasus looked up at her with a grin, while the unicorn could only gulp worriedly. The colt on the other hand, had to mentally facehoof as he realized Of course she's gonna think just like me! She IS me! Oh well, in fer a penny, in fer a pound!

"What's the plan, Bloom?" their driver asked, leaning in closer.

"Okay... okay, Ah got it. Yesterday, Ah overheard them talkin' 'bout colts at lunch. They were talkin' 'bout which ones were cute or strong 'n whatever. Ah think right now, they're both a li'l bit 'boy-crazy', if yah know what Ah mean."

A giggle from the white one, and a disgusted face from the orange one. However, it was the yellow one that made Applebuck's skin crawl as she proceeded to turn and look at him, a sly smile and expression coming over her face. "An' we just happen to have a brand-new, well-mannered, handsome colt right here at our disposal."

Not five seconds later he walked out from behind the building, now adorned with a pair of saddlebags strategically positioned over his flanks, obscuring the fact that he was a blank. The plan had been hurriedly explained to him, and while on a very base level he was happy to go along with it, it still meant meeting his arch-rivals... under new faces.

He walked forward in a daze, eyes drifting and then locking onto his targets. He took a few seconds to stare, before shaking his head and looking again. What in tar-nation...

The coloration of the two fillies walking in his direction were unmistakably familiar. It was just that up to this point, he was still thinking of them as the boys that he knew back in his world. The sight of a pink pony with purple and white hair and the grey filly with a pigtail struck him like a ton of bricks. It was the silver one who was hauling the box with a slight sway in her step that his orange eyes couldn't help but follow as her locks bounced with every step she took and BY SOLARIS'S BEARD WHY AM AH LOOKIN' AT HER LIKE THAT?! SHE'S JUST LADLE AS A GIRL AN' YOU KNOW LADLE'S A STUCK-UP JERK! SO STOP LOOKIN' AT HER LIKE THAT!

The two rich girls were chatting animatedly amongst themselves. As he drew closer however, he saw Diamond Tiara's eyes take notice of him, eyes widening slightly to take him in. Silver Spoon joined her a second later, and eventually their steps began to slow, trying to get a better look. Welp, here ah go. the colt steeled himself.

He turned his head to actually look in their direction and stopped, before taking his cap off and giving an exaggerated bow to the ponies. "Good afternoon, ladies." he drawled in a low voice, with as much respect for a lady as he could manage, like his brother had taught him.

He heard a stifled giggle from their direction, before the pink one spoke. "And a good afternoon to you too, sir. Are you new in Ponyville?"

"That Ah am." he replied, standing back up and placing the cap back on his head, tucking it low over his eyes as he introduced himself. "Th' name's Buck. Johnny Buck. At yer service." Why didn't Ah think of that name before? Woulda saved me a heap of trouble wit' mah other self.

Again the fillies glanced between each other, badly-hidden looks of glee on their faces. They hurriedly composed themselves again, before the leader responded. "A pleasure to meet you. I am Diamond Tiara, and this is my friend, Silver Spoon. We were on our way to the park, good sir, would you care to join us?"

"It's not every day we see such nice gentlecolts in this town." Silver Spoon added, a slight purr to her voice. "We'd love the opportunity to get to know somepony with the same class as us." She then proceeded to toss a wink his way.

This is ALL kinds of wrong. he found himself thinking, trying to get a grip on himself. His stomach was churning at the thought of Silver Ladle flirting with him, and yet his heart was unexpectedly working hard at the sight of this girl expressing interest in a country boy like him. Get a hold of yerself Applebuck. Remember. Eyes on th' prize.

"It'd be mah pleasure." he responded, wresting his eyes away from the silver pony's face and towards the huge white box perched precariously on her back. "Say Miss Sp-Spoon... that thar box looks awful heavy fer a filly like you t' be haulin' 'round."

Tiara let out a quiet 'Oooooo' at her friend, as the bespectacled one looked behind her at her cargo. "Oh my, well, it is rather weighty, now that you mention it. I was originally intending on carrying it to the park all by my lonesome, but..." she then proceeded to turn her eyes back onto the yellow pony. "If you're offering to take this little bundle off my back~"

Again he bowed. "Th' thought did cross mah mind, mah lady."

"Ooooh, such a well-mannered gentlecolt." Tiara crowed, as the boy walked up next to them. "Offering to take a lady's bags? It's so hard to find a boy of your character, Mister Buck. Snips and Snails would do well to learn from you."

Already he had a clear idea of who she was talking about, but he tried hard not to think about it. His mind was more preoccupied with other matters, such as the silver-pelted filly that had walked up rather close beside him, tilting her back to allow the box to slide off her spine and onto his. The poor apple pony felt his face redden a bit more as she proceeded to bump her flank into his, slightly dislodging his saddlebags. Did she just do that on purpose? Ooooh hang in thar, don't chuck yer cookies yet...

"Oops!" Silver Spoon dramatically gasped. "Looks like I almost knocked your bags off. My apologies, let me get that for you sir~"

Applebuck gulped again. Apology nuthin', she just wants t' look at mah flanks! Oh sweet Solaris Ladle wants tah look at mah flanks Ah swear Ah'm gonna spew right here where Ah'm standin'-

"Hey... hold on here."

He couldn't see behind him, due to the box, but he could feel her hooves adjust the bags around his flanks... on second thought, it felt more like she was lifting them OFF to take a look underneath!

"Tiara!" The surprise was evident in her voice. "You won't believe this!"

The purple-maned one blinked. "What, what is it?"

"Our gentlecolt here's a BLANK-FLANK!"

Ohkay, that's it. he thought to himself, before taking a deep breath and speaking. "Aw gosh, y'all dun found me out. Ah hope you don't mind it bein' a blank flank who's..." he then paused to inhale, before proceeding to belt his voice louder. “-CARRYIN' YER JELLY DONUTS!”

A buzzing behind a building's corner suddenly fired up, and the two rich fillies couldn't help but stare wide-eyed as the Cutie Mark Crusaders zoomed out from behind their hiding spot, barreling down towards their position.

Spoon dodged left, while Tiara dodged right. The colt on the other hand, gave a buck upwards, causing the package to bust its top, a few of the filled pastries flying up into the air.

Right in time for the Crusader-mobile to drive by. Quick as a wink, each filly reached out as they passed, and grabbed a donut or two out of the air. At the same time, Applebuck ditched the box, hopping onto the conveyance and catching a donut of his own in his mouth as he went.

"Thank yah kindly fer th' donuts, Diamond Tiara!" Applebloom called back as they sped down the street.

"An' sorry fer th' mess!" her 'cousin' called back. "Ah'll take yah up on yer offer some other time!"

As they buzzed out of sight, the air rung out with the voice of four foals as they chanted "CUTIE-MARK CRUSADERS DONUT LIBERATORS! YAY!!"

The pink pony got to her hooves and quickly collected their box, already noting the missing pastries. She gave a glare in the direction that they went, cheeks puffed out in indignation. “Of ALL the... ROTTEN, DISPICABLE, HORSEAPPLES... How DARE you pull a stunt like that! And I thought you were a GENTLECOLT! My father will have words! You hear me, Johnny!? WORDS! LISTEN TO ME WHILE I’M SCREAMING AT YOU!!”

By then the dust had settled, the Cutie Mark Crusaders having long vacated the scene, leaving the two fillies alone in the street. At length, Diamond Tiara stood and calmly recollected her tiara, before sparing a glance towards her companion.

The young grey mare was looking in the same direction that the four ponies had left in, though her expression was more dazed than anything. A long moment passed, before she turned her head to look at her pink friend.

"You know what, Tiara?"

The aforenamed pony gave a blink. "What?"

"For a blank-flank... I still think he was kinda cute."

“...”

“Y’know. For a blank-flank.”

There was a ragged sigh, as Tiara turned away, picking up the box in her mouth and marching back towards the restaurant, mumbling under her breath.

“I wonder if he’s a relative of Applebloom’s.” Silver Spoon continued to ponder, gaze locked back down the street. “I mean, that accent... It sounds silly coming out of Applebloom, but out of him? His voice was just...” her expression softened as she let out a wistful sigh, glasses still askew on her face.

That was just too much. The pink one dropped her box and marched right back over to her friend, before pulling her back up onto all fours and tugging her back towards the restaurant. “Forget it Spoony. There’s no way I’m letting you get hung up over a colt that’s gonna cause us nothing but trouble.”

“B-but, how do you know he’s gonna cause us trouble? It was just the one time-”

“Because he’s with Applebloom. And you know what they say. The apple never falls far from the tree.”

Donuts were savored and enjoyed as the foursome rested inside the Crusader Treehouse. Applebuck was now finding himself more and more at ease in his new surroundings. Despite being in an alternate dimension, the thrill of having pulled off a caper, as a Crusader, WITH Crusaders, had cheered him more than he would have thought possible.

"Oh man, did you see the look on their faces?!" Scootaloo laughed, muzzle smeared with strawberry jelly. "That was just priceless!"

"You guys know that their parents will reach ours eventually, right?" Sweetie asked, nibbling daintily on hers. "You know what they say about Karma. 'You reap what you sow'."

"Eh, it was worth it." Applebloom waved off the comment, as she reclined on one of the clubhouse pillows, donut in-hoof. "Besides, knowin' them, they got plenty of bits to buy 'em s'more donuts if they wanted. Maybe a whole 'nother boxfull."

“Why’ve they gotta be so snooty-snoot with their bits anyway?” the pegasus spoke again. “If I had anything like the amount of bits that the Riches family has, I’d… I dunno, use it for something constructive.”

The yellow colt raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? Like what?”

“Hmmm… probably build a skate-park. So everypony could come and skate and do tricks all the time!” She laid back in her seat, eyes going out-of-focus as she dreamed. “Man, I’d love to see Rainbow Dash try it out. I bet she’d love it!”

The unicorn giggled a little, before lapsing into thoughtfulness herself. “If I had the bits… I would build like, a giant birdhouse for all of Miss Fluttershy’s birds. Like, big enough for every bird in Ponyville to live in!”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes, as Bloom let out a coo. “Awww, that’s so sweet, Sweetie Belle!” she said, while Applebuck merely nodded, sorting the name ‘Fluttershy’ away in his brain for later analysis.

“As for me,” the apple filly piped up, a hoof to her chest. “Ah think Ah’d use that money t’ help keep th’ family afloat through th’ winter. Th’ cider season always helps, but sometimes we come up a li’l bit short. So…”

Applebuck lifted another jelly donut in his double’s direction, in motion of a toast. “Ah hear yah, cousin. Believe me. Ah’d use them bits t’ make sure mah family stayed good too.”

She nodded back towards him. “S’too bad them rich ponies haveta feel like they need to rub their saddles intah everypony else’s faces, eh? Ah’d like to think that none of us would ever do that.”

“Ahh well. Guess there’s just no figurin’ out them high-an-mighty types, is there?”

They all murmured in agreement, before letting a comfortable silence descend about them. Here and there one would smack noisily, taking a bite into a pastry. Thinking thoughts and pondering little dreams. Just a calm, everyday, evening laziness...

This ain't so bad. he thought. Don't feel all that different from home... in fact, Ah'd almost say that ah still WAS home...

"So." the little pegasus piped up. "Were we going to do Bungee-jumping or what?"

"I dunno." Sweetie replied, ever the voice of caution. "Do we REALLY have to do it from Dead-Hoof's drop? Why can't we just... you know, do it from the clubhouse railing? A-and have lots of pillows nearby?"

"Aww, c'mon Sweetie/Silver," both of the red-maned ponies spoke once again. "It ain't nearly as fun that way!"

Once more, each pony popped their orange eyes open in surprise, before glancing at each other in puzzlement. The pegasus seated nearby got to her hooves as she leveled an odd look of her own at the two. "Okay, that's just getting freaky now. What's going on here, 'Bloom? Does every pony in your family do this?"

The unicorn had her own question. "Did you just call me Silver?"

Applebuck clamped his hooves over his mouth, his irises shrinking further. Ack, maybe Ah'm getting TOO comfortable. Ah'm fergettin' Ah'm still a stranger 'round these parts. If Ah don't watch mahself, Ah'll start callin' them Silver an’ Scooteroll all th' time.

"A-Ah'm not shore." Applebloom confessed, a hoof rubbing at the back of her head. "It's never happened wit' me before... though now that Ah think of it, Cousins Red Delicious and Gold Delicious kinda do th' same thing."

"Y'know, you're right." the boy added, recalling the relatives in his own dimension. "If they weren't both sayin' th' same thing at th' same time, they were finishin' each other's sentences. Sometimes they'd creep some folks out-"

"-but it’s just one of those things we Apple family're used to." his doppelganger finished. A second of silence passed before her eyes widened in realization, turning to look at him with an open mouth. "Ah just finished yer sentence! Maybe it DOES run in th' family!"

"Maybe." the white filly started, coming over to sit by the two farmponies. "Maybe there's even more to it. I mean, think... Apple-Bloom, Apple-Buck... I know that apples run in your family, but even then, those names sound really similar to each other."

He bit his lip in trepidation. Gettin' a mite bit close there, 'Sweetie'. Yeah, mah 'Cousin' and I are closer than y' think. But ah'm not shore if SHE'S ready t' hear that...

... she's not gonna take it very well. Good lawrd, Ah cain't believe Ah didn't think of it. When Ah first met mahself, Ah nearly had a conniption fit. If SHE finds out who Ah really am... she's probably gonna react th' same way, if not worse! Great gallopin' Grundels, what'm Ah gonna do?!

"Just like Red an’ Gold Delicious!" the yellow filly exclaimed, now locking eyes with her male self again, a glint of awe shining from them. "Cousin Applebuck... maybe we're Super Cousins, just like them! Oh y'all gotta come to th' next reunion Cousin, Ah cain't wait t' show everypony!"

"M-Maybe, cousin." he stammered, involuntarily taking a step backwards. "Th-though Ah wouldn't go holdin' mah breath now..."

"Guys." Scootaloo interjected, the pegasus having been patiently quiet up till now. "While this has been fun and all that, I think we've kinda lost the subject. Are we, or are we not, gonna try for our bungee-jumping cutie-marks today? I mean, unless we got one for donut-grabbing..."

There was a pause, before all four ponies lifted a hindleg and looked back to their flanks to check. Still bare.

"...which we haven’t, I'd still like to squeeze in one more caper." she finished, flapping her wings impatiently.

Applebloom took a look out the clubhouse window and grimaced. "Gah, sorry Scoots, but take a look outside. Th' sun's goin' down. It's gonna get dark soon."

Sure enough, the light had begun to descend. Th’ days almost done. the colt thought to himself. Passed by quicker than ah thought it would. Not sunset yet, but AJ would be wantin’ me home by now...

"Rarity will be waiting." Sweetie added. "She usually gets really worried if I'm not home by the time it gets dark."

The pegasus sighed in defeat. "Aww, okay then. But remember, we're STILL trying it tomorrow, alright?"

Applebuck and Bloom couldn't help but chuckle. "Alright Scoots." they both spoke. "First item on th' agenda tomorrow!"

Again they took on looks of surprise as they looked at each other. This time around however, the filly let a big smile go across her face while both of her friends rolled their eyes or giggled. The colt let out a nervous laugh in turn, as his female self proceeded to ask him "Say Cousin, where're y'all stayin'? Got any friends in Ponyville?"

He blanched. Ah knew Ah fergot sumthin'. "Ahh... well..." He dipped his head low and rubbed the back of it, before locking eyes with his alter-ego again. "A-Ah was kinda thinkin' of... stayin' on th' farm. Y' know, family an’ all that..."

"Shore thing!" she exclaimed in turn. "We got plenty of room! Say Scoot, would yah mind drivin' me an’ mah cousin to th' house before yah leave?"

"No problem, 'Bloom." the orange pony replied, grabbing a nearby helmet and securing it to her skull. "Race yah to the wagon!"

To be continued...

ON THE NEXT WHISPER OF WIND

"Thar never WAS a Dusk Blitz, was there?"

The boy stared at her for a second, before looking down again and muttering. "Big bro was right, Ah AM a bad liar... yeah, Ah'm awful sorry 'bout leadin' you girls on a wild griffon chase like that... A-Ah was tryin' to stall fer a chance to look fer somepony else..."

"Somepony else?" the filly asked. "Who?"

He gulped, before looking back up at her. "Ah was lookin' fer mah Cousin JayJay."

She narrowed an eyebrow as she looked up to the ceiling in thought. "Cousin JayJay... y' shore y' don't mean Cousin Johnee Red Johnathan? Don't he live over in Appleloosa?"

"Nope. Cousin JayJay's a girl... an' Ah know she lives right here in Ponyville. Ah came a long way to see her... just to be with her..." He dipped his snout back towards the ground. "She means... th' whole WORLD to me..."

"She does?" Applebloom asked, tilted her head to the side to get a better look at his face. "Who is she then? Who's Cousin JayJay?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but the answer came from elsewhere. It started with the loud creak of the front door being swung open, followed by the drawl of an older farmfilly as she announced.

"Ah'm HOME everypony!"

Part 4: To Face the Music.

On a Whisper of Wind

By Conner Cogwork

What would you do, if you met a pony who was at once your brother, and yet not? Applebuck wishes to reunite with his 'Cousin JayJay', and braves the dimensional divide to reach his goal. But being a small foal, how will he deal with a world in which everything is flipped? His friends, his family, and even... himself?

Image credit to KtKat! Thanks!

Part Four

To Face the Music

Row after row of apple trees passed them by as they traveled up the dirt path towards the homestead of Sweet Apple Acres. The yellow colt let his eyes take it all in, drawing a bit of comfort from the knowledge that at least he would be sleeping in familiar territory.

Even IF some of that territory is uncharted. he thought. Ah'm finally doin' it. Ah'm goin' t' see Cousin JayJay. Ah think Ah'll be okay, just as long as Ah can handle a 'Granny' Smith, an' a big Red Gala-

They passed through the white wooded gates of the family yard, and buzzed along past the big red barn. As they did so, one of those large doors opened up, permitting a pony to exit.

"Big Macintosh!" Applebloom proceeded to call out, waving a hoof. "Ah'm home, big bro!"

Applebuck's eyes shrank as he spotted the hulking red stallion that was Big Apple Macintosh, everything else dropping away from him. The draft horse gave a smile to his little sister, before his green eyes locked onto the boy's own orange ones. He could see the sprig of hay in his mouth shift slightly as he watched them buzz on past, a look of curiosity on his long face.

That was Red Gala. Oh lawrdy that was Red Gala. Th' eyes, th' hair, th' hay, everything! He ducked his head back low and tilted his hat to partially cover his eyes. On second thought, maybe Ah ain't so ready fer this after all.

They drifted to a stop in front of the farmhouse, and the yellow filly leapt out of the Crusader-mobile with a bounce in her step, her male self following afterwards with a touch less enthusiasm. "Thanks fer th' ride, Scootaloo!" she cheered. "Ah'll see y'all tomorrow! You gals have a good night, y' hear?"

"You too, Applebloom!" the pegasus returned. "Remember. Bungee-jumping, first thing!"

The farmpony nodded before turning towards the house, the colt following in her footsteps before he heard a small squeaky voice ring out. "Uhm... Applebuck?"

He looked back. It was Sweetie who had called out to him. He doubled back and faced her again, a niggling feeling in the back of his head. "Yeah, Silv- um, Sweetie Belle?"

The white pony fidgeted for a second, a pink tint coming to her cheeks. "I-I just wanted to say, it was nice to meet you. Even though we never found your mystery pony, I-I had fun today. Did you?"

"... y'know, Ah think Ah did. Yeah. Ah had fun t'day too." He gave her a familiar smile in return. Nearly had mah tail shocked off on 'bout half a dozen different occasions, but yeah, ah still had fun t'day.

She returned the smile. "I'm glad to hear that. Uhm... see you tomorrow?"

When he gave a nod in confirmation, she then launched a surprise on him, in the form of the little unicorn darting her head forward and landing a peck of a kiss on his cheek.

... Silvy just kissed me. But this is a filly. A filly who just kissed me. But she's Silvy. As a filly. Who kissed me. As Kissy. Like a Silvy. And he's a filly. And... and... his eyes became wide and unfocused as his brain proceeded to shut down.

Scootaloo simply shook her head at the scene with a chuckle. "Cool meetin' you, Applebuck. Looking forward to hanging out tomorrow. Stay loose!"

With that, the orange pony kicked her wings into high gear, zooming across the yard and out the gate, the two waving goodbye all the while. Applebuck stared into space for a bit longer, untill he felt a hoof on his shoulder. Looking back, he made eye contact with his other self once again, a smile on her face as she tilted her head in the direction of the door. "Care t' come in, Cousin?"

He turned and followed the filly inside, his steps a shadow of hers as he entered a sort of auto-pilot. Applebloom trotted into the kitchen and wiped her hooves, the colt echoing her actions right as she left the mat. She then proceeded to make a beeline for the fridge, popping it open and snagging a bottle of apple juice. Again he went through the same motions as she did, grabbing a glass of his own.

The two tuckered ponies proceeded into the living room, before collapsing on the rug and digging into their bottles. A thought came to Applebuck to not guzzle his juice so readily, but a quick glance over at his doppelganger revealed that she had no such compunctions, neck and head craned back as she gulped her drink down.

Silence reigned for a while. Again, the colt felt his nervousness from before begin to return. Now he was alone with his other self, as opposed to being with her friends. Now he was home. Or at least, it felt like his home. Same familiar board creaks. The heirloom mirror hanging on the wall by the windows. The wallpaper was peeling in exactly the same spots as they were in his world. As far as he knew, he hadn't gone much of anywhere at all.

The only evidence to the contrary was the yellow bow-bearing pony who sat on the floor a scant few inches from him. She was looking at him with a bit of curiosity in her big orange eyes. She'd caught him looking around the room.

He made eye contact with her, before darting his head down slightly. A new feeling was working its way down his spine. That of guilt. Ah didn't think of her when ah started out. All ah wanted to do was find Cousin JayJay. But JayJay's HER sister... and ah wanted JayJay to be mine.

I... I-I should...

"Cousin App... Appleb-bloom..." he stuttered. Amazingly, throughout their entire time together, he'd not uttered her name even once. "Ah... Ah need t' make a confession..."

She tilted her head, before speaking softly. "Thar never was a Dusk Blitz, was there?"

The boy stared at her for a second, before looking down again and muttering. "Big bro was right, Ah am a bad liar... yeah, Ah'm awful sorry 'bout leadin' you girls on a wild griffon chase like that... A-Ah was tryin' to stall fer a chance to look fer somepony else..."

"Somepony else?" the filly asked. "Who?"

He gulped, before looking back up at her. "Ah was lookin' fer mah Cousin JayJay."

She narrowed an eyebrow as she looked up to the ceiling in thought. "Cousin JayJay... y' shore y' don't mean Cousin Johnee Red Jonathan? Don't he live over in Appleloosa?"

"Nope. Cousin JayJay's a girl... an' ah know she lives right here in Ponyville. Ah came a long way t' see her... just t' be with her..." He dipped his snout back towards the ground. "She means... th' whole world t' me..."

"She does?" Applebloom asked, tilted her head to the side to get a better look at his face. "Who is she then? Who's Cousin JayJay?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but the answer came from elsewhere. It started with the loud creak of the front door being swung open, followed by the drawl of an older farmfilly as she announced "Ah'm HOME everypony!"

The colt suddenly contracted a severe case of frozen gut right on the spot, his pupils shrinking into tiny pinpricks.

"Applejack!" the red-maned filly exclaimed, unaware of her doppelganger’s distress as she hopped to her hooves and dashed towards the living room entrance. "AJ, AJ! Where've you been, what took yah so long!?"

"Had an order come in fer two bushels o' Pink Ladies, so ah had t' do a li'l extra buckin'." came the reply. The voice was slightly muffled. He could tell that she currently had a basket in her teeth, most likely filled with tonight's dinner. Slowly he managed to sit himself upright as her voice continued down the hall. "What've you an’ th' Crusaders been up to t'day, sugarcube?"

"Oh, oh, you won't BELIEVE this, Applejack!" the younger sister gushed, bow bobbing as she bounced in place. "A NEW COUSIN came intah town t'day! More APPLE FAMILY! C'mon c'mon, he's in here, hurry, ah want yah t' meet 'em!"

His chest pounding, he turned his head to look towards the door. A second or so later, a sight appeared that made his heart both soar in joy and flutter in panic at the same time.

An orange farmfilly with a freckled face came through the entrance, a familiar stetson hat perched upon her blonde mane. Indeed there was a basket firmly secured in her mouth, as her green eyes searched the living room. "A new cousin? Well shoot, Ah hope Ah brought enough apples, why don't you-"

Applejack's eyes found Applebuck's. She froze in mid-step, her irises shrinking rapidly, before the basket fell from her teeth, a clatter resulting as fruit and nuts scattered all about the floor.

Applebloom raised an eyebrow in confusion at the reaction, looking first at her sister, then to her 'cousin', and then back again. Both ponies ignored her, nothing else registering in their vision, except each other.

At length, the colt finally spoke.

"Cou... C-Cousin JayJay?"

The yellow filly gaped at him, before looking back in surprise at the orange mare. AJ remained silent for a second longer, before responding in disbelief. "Applebuck...?"

He nodded, before getting onto all fours. He wasn't sure if he was seeing things or not, but there appeared to be tears gathering at the corners of his 'cousin's eyes.

"Applebuck..." she began again. "What... what in all th' great soarin' trees of Equestria are you doin' here?!"

He bit his lip, before replying. "Ah... Ah wanted t' be wit' you, JayJay. Yah left without sayin' goodbye... Ah just, Ah missed you so much..."

The farmer lowered her haunches to sit on the floor, head shaking back and forth in denial. "But... why? Applebuck, if you're here... th-then you gotta know… you gotta know the nature of this place! Of YOUR place! Otherwise yah wouldn't-!... Applebuck..." Her face was a mixture of shock and anguish, tears slipping loose as she forced the words past her lips. "Don't you know who Ah really am?!"

He gritted his teeth as he felt his own eyes becoming misty. "Ah... Ah do! Ah know who you are! And Ah don't care! JayJay, Ah still wanna be family wit' you! Ah wanna get t' know you like a cousin should! Like FAMILY should! Ah... A-Ah wanna know you like a SISTER, JayJay!"

Applejack sagged on the spot, letting out a barely-chocked sob. Oh Celestia help me! her head echoed. Why is this happenin'?! Applebuck's here, in our world, on MAH farm, wantin' me t' be his SISTER! She looked down at her younger sibling, noting that she was still rooted to the same spot by the door as before, though now she had her forehooves to her mouth, looking back and forth between the two with a panicked, fearful expression.

Ah cain't possibly do this! Him an' Applebloom, t'gether, at th' same time?! This isn't just like wit' a cousin, this is mah SISTER we're talkin' bout here! Ah cain't just think of him as a siblin' like that, like Twilight could! He's not Applebloom! He's... he's ...

The blonde filly looked up again, and realized that while she had been sitting and thinking, the yellow colt had remained at his spot, standing up as straight as he could, fighting to keep a steady face despite the tears that were rolling down his cheeks, trying not to broadcast the fact that his heart was breaking the longer she kept her silence...

...it's her heart too...

And... ah just cain't...

...aw buck it.

"Oh Applebuck," she suddenly gushed, setting herself upright on her hindquarters and flinging her forehooves wide open, the look of anguish on her face now shifting into one of resolve. "Celestia buck it all th' way t' the midnight castle an’ back Applebuck, git yerself over here an’ give yer Cousin a hug!!"

He didn't need anymore prompting. He flew from his spot and tackled her in the midsection, hooves wrapping around her tightly, as Applejack wrapped him up into a heartfelt embrace. It was then that the dam burst for both ponies, the two proceeding to cry to their hearts content. Applebuck wept in joy, finally having reunited with his otherworldly sibling, while the mare wept in regret, for having not given her 'brother' the farewell that he properly deserved.

"Ah really didn't want t' do that to you, y'know." she whispered. "Ah swear Ah didn't. But Ah was... Ah was so scared. Ah'm so sorry, sugarcube," She bent her head down to nuzzle at his cheek. "Can you ever fergive your stupid, silly pony of a cousin, Applebuck?"

He sniffed a few times, before returning her nuzzle. "Ah... Ah fergive yah, JayJay. After t'day, Ah... Ah think Ah know where yer comin' from now..."

The orange equine couldn't help but allow a smile to come across her face. "You know mah name's not really JayJay, hon..."

"A-Ah know, but... it feels kinda weird, to call you 'Applejack', cousin..."

"It's okay." she soothed, a hoof going back to stroke at his mane. "You can still call me JayJay if yah want... *sniff* oh lawrd, Ah still cain't believe it you crazy li'l colt, you went through all that trouble, just to reach me... "

He had no answer to that, except to squeeze her tighter. She swallowed noisily as she cradled him, before looking back up and seeing her little sister still watching them. By now, the filly herself had tears gathering in the corners of her bright eyes, moved by the reunion scene in front of her. "Big sis..." she spoke quietly. "Y'all never told me you had a nickname..."

The farmpony's eyes bunched up again, fighting off a new wave of tears. She held out a hoof towards her sibling, wordlessly beckoning her into the hug, which Applebloom quickly accepted. The yellow colt didn't even budge as she joined the embrace, the three ponies simply sitting and taking in each other's presence.

Applejack looked at the two red-maned ponies in her arms. Again she found herself set aside with worry and indecision. What was Ah thinkin'? He may not be Applebloom, but he's still mah... mah brother! Now here Ah am, holdin' th' same pony twice, and Ah cain't help but feel th' same fer the both of them! How in Celestia's kingdom did Ah ever think ah was gonna be able t' decide between them? Hay, why am Ah still foolin' mahself? Applebloom or not… he’s still mah family!

"JayJay?" the boy pony looked up at her, a bit of trepidation in his expression. "Are... are y'all mad at me fer comin' here?"

She held his eyes, before shaking her head. "No sugarcube. Ah ain't mad. Ah'm just... y' caught me by surprise, is all... Ah wasn't sure Ah was ever actually gonna see you again..."

The Bow-bearing one piped up as well. "A-ah wouldn't mind you comin' 'round more often mahself, Cousin Applebuck... Ah mean, if Big sis is okay with it..."

At length, the mare relinquished her hold on the two foals, sitting back and looking at the both of them, before rubbing the tears from her eyes. "Hooo, land sakes... ah think ah needed that... alright now, Applebuck." She fixed the colt with a more composed gaze now. "Ah'm hazardin' a guess that yer brother an' his friends don't know yer here, am Ah right?"

Applebuck looked down at the floor and rubbed the back of his head, which was all the answer she needed. "Thought so." she continued. "Sugarcube, you... you cain't stay here. Believe me, Ah'm awful touched an’ pleased that you came to visit, but... they're gonna get right worried when you don’t show up fer dinner, y'know?"

"Oh come on, AJ!" Applebloom gushed. "Cain't he stay th' night? He's been hangin' out with us all day, an' he's been an awesome pony! An' if you two know each other, then why cain't he stick 'round fer a while? Ah'm shore his folks wouldn't mind!"

“All day?”

“Yeah! We made him an honorary Cutie Mark Crusader! He’s been a right awesome pony, an’ we’re lookin’ forward t’ going to Dead Hoof’s Drop with him tomorrow!”

Applejack regarded her little sister with an odd look, as she pursed her lips in thought. There was one other sizable issue remaining on her mind, and even though she was well aware of the can of worms that would open as a result, she knew the words needed to be said.

"Applebuck... she doesn't know yet, does she?"

The yellow colt paled. "Kn-know what, Cousin JayJay? A-Ah mean, Ah've got nuthin' t' hide, right?"

The farmer narrowed her eyes at him, while the ponytailed filly looked back and forth in confusion. "Know what? You two ain't keepin' secrets from me, are yah?"

"P-please, Cousin." he begged. "Ah dun know how she'll take it! A-Ah mean, when Ah met her... Ah was... A-Ah was..."

The look on the applebucker's face softened, though she still shook her head. "She still deserves t' know th' truth, hon. If you don't tell her, Ah will, y'know. Applebloom..." She then raised her head to look at her little sister. "Both you an' Applebuck go over to th' mirror over there. Look inside it. Tell me what y'see."

The filly raised an eyebrow, but nonetheless got to her hooves and prodded her other self to his feet. Together, the both of them trotted over to the wall-mounted pony-height mirror that was gestured to. Upon stopping in front of it, both ponies looked at themselves... and each other.

"...Golly..." was all Applebloom could say.

Now that she could see both herself and her new cousin at the same time, she now saw just how similar they were. The same shade of yellow. The same red hair. Even the same orange eyes. Applebuck was only an inch taller than herself, though she inarguably had the longer mane.

On a whim, she reached a hoof back and pulled at her bow, undoing it and allowing her hair to fall free. On noticing this, the boy took his own cap off, both ponies now letting their stares widen even further as their manes fell into exactly the same arrangements.

"Cousin?" the girl asked. "Are ya'll seein' what Ah'm seein'?"

"Yeah..." he gulped noisily and heavily. "Yah Ah am. Here cousin..." he handed her his cap. "Try this on. M-maybe you'll..."

She took the headwear and put it on. Her jaw hung in shock as the reflection showed that if it hadn't been for her eyelashes, she would have been neigh-indistinguishable from her cousin.

"Now y' see, Applebloom." Applejack drawled, stepping up behind the two. "There's a reason why th' two of you look so much alike. But ah think that's Applebuck's place to tell, not mine."

The colt gulped again, turning to look at his other self. He spent a few seconds of silence gathering himself up, before finally opening his mouth. "Cousin... y-y'see... this m-might sound strange, but... th-th reason we look so alike is-"

"Wait wait, let me guess!" his doppelganger suddenly stated, taking the hat off before spreading her forehooves wide, sitting on her haunches as a serious look came over her face. "Yer really... MAH LONG-LOST TWIN BROTHER. Ain't that right, Applejack!?"

The both of them stared for a long second. Applebuck looked up at the farmer with a hopeful look, to use this angle instead. She out a sigh however, and gave a shake of her mane as she drawled. "Sugarcube, if that were all it were, this'd be a heap of a lot easier."

"Okay, okay… A-Applebloom, listen." he started again, redirecting her attention back to himself. "Yeah, we're related. But we're not just cousins. We're not even simply siblin's. Ah... Ah never told you where Ah came from, did I?"

"Well... that's true, but then again Ah forgot t' ask..."

"An' Ah didn't think you'd believe me. Y'see... Ah come from a farm... a farm called Sweet Apple Acres."

The filly raised an eyebrow. "Now hang on thar. That don't make much-"

"Ah'm not finished." the boy interrupted. "Th' farm's located in a place, called Ponyville. Ah live thar with mah family. Ah have a grandpa. His name's Grampy Smith. Ah've got a big sister. HER name, is Red Gala. And... a-and ah've got a big brother. His... his name is..." he took a quick glance to the orange mare, who gave him a nod. Gulping, he finished with "His name is... A-Applejack..."

Applebloom's eyes began to slowly shrink, as her big sister added to the tale. "Ah know it sounds weird sugarcube, but listen t' what he has t' say. Y'all remember that time Ah said we were goin' to Manehatten? Turned out, we went way off th' mark. Off to someplace else entirely… and while we were there… we all met some ponies we weren’t expectin’ in the least."

"One day, ah met a buncha fillies." Applebuck continued, looking into his counterpart's ever-widening eyes. "One of them, reminded me a lot of mah big brother... she introduced herself t' me as a new cousin. Cousin JayJay. Ah got t' be with her for a few days. But she always seemed t' be scared of me. Because ah reminded her of her li'l sister..."

He got to his hooves and faced his double, forcing the last few words through his lips. "Applebloom, we're... We're not just cousins. In mah world, ah'm Applejack's li'l brother. In your world, you're... Applejack's... li'l sister... Don't you see? We're th' same pony." He shut his eyes as he said this, before opening them again to take in the filly's wide-eyed state.

"A-Applebloom... I'm YOU."

By now, the yellow pony's eyes were nothing but pinpricks of overwhelming shock. Her face remained slack and devoid of emotion for a good long minute, silence ruling the household for a period of infinity...

...and then Applebloom opened her mouth, her face slowly bunching up in anguish as she took in a wheeze that built itself, before being released in the form of an ear-shattering scream of terror.

To be continued…

ON THE NEXT WHISPER OF WIND

"Awww, c'mon b...b-big sis!" Applebuck pleaded. "Just lemme stay th' night! Ah left them a note in th' house, they shoulda found it by now! So, you don't have t' worry 'bout them none! Just lemme sleep over t'night, an' then ya'll can send me back tomorrow! Though, uhm, that'd mean missin' out on bungee-jumping..." He spared a glance towards the crusaders. "Do y'girls mind me skippin' out out Bungee-jumpin' tomorrow?"

The plans had almost been forgotten by the fillies in all the fracas. Hurridly, Sweetie shook her head while Scootaloo nodded.

"There y'see!" he turned back to AJ, apparently not minding the mixed signals. "We can make this work! Cain't we, JayJay? Please?"

The apple farmer regarded her 'brother's face with a sad one of her own, an eyebrow furrowed in thought. Silently, she admitted to herself her own indecision on the subject. Cousin AJ may or may not find that note, if he really wrote it. It might be okay. Then again, it might not. Better th' play it safe than t' be sorry-

"Applejack...” came a higher-pitched voice. “Cain't he stay fer th' night?"

Part 5: To Remember a Place.

On a Whisper of Wind

By Conner Cogwork

What would you do, if you met a pony who was at once your brother, and yet not? Applebuck wishes to reunite with his 'Cousin JayJay', and braves the dimensional divide to reach his goal. But being a small foal, how will he deal with a world in which everything is flipped? His friends, his family, and even... himself?

Part Five

To Remember a Place

"You promise we won't bungee-jump from Dead Hoof's Drop?"

There was a reluctant sigh and groan as Scootaloo laid her head across the scooter's handlebars. "Yes, I promise. We'll bungee-jump from the clubhouse deck. With lots of pillows standing by. Are you happy now?"

"Much so." Sweetie Belle smiled as she climbed out of the red wagon. They had stopped at the crossroads right outside the Acres, one road branching off into the farm, the other heading off in the direction of Ponyville. This was usually where the last two crusaders would part ways after having dropped off their amber-hued friend.

"So, before you go, mind if I ask.. what was up with that kiss?" The Pegasus gave her friend a sly grin. "I didn't think you'd go for the country-pony type, Sweetie. What with your sister's family and all."

"Oh, well, uhm, ah..." the diminutive unicorn rubbed the back of her head, the pink tint from before returning in full force. "It's just... he was such a nice pony. Not like any of the boys in class, you know? I mean, yeah, he seemed kinda off at first, but he's new in Ponyville, right? Once he warmed up to us, he was fun to be with."

"Once he warmed up to us, he and Applebloom started acting creepy similar." the scooter filly allowed a shiver to go through her body and wings. " 'Special' cousin nothing, I'll bet he's like... her long lost twin brother or something."

The white pony's green eyes lit up. "Oh I like the sound of that! Maybe he'll move in with the Apples, and start hanging out with us more!"

"You're missing the point, Sweetie. Yeah, the guy's cool, but there's something weird about him. He stuttered whenever he said my name, y'know. And in case you forgot, he also called you 'Silvy' back at the clubhouse."

"Hmmm... that IS true..." Sweetie conceded, a hoof going to her chin in thought. "I wonder who 'Silvy' is? Maybe they're a friend of his who looks like me? Or-... wait..." She then perked an ear up, turning her head to look about her. "... am I just hearing things, or am I hearing somepony screaming?"

Scootaloo swiveled her own ears about, searching for any noise. Indeed, she found it, a steadily increasingly loud wail, coming down the road. "I'm hearing it too. It's... it's coming from the Acres!"

Both ponies looked down the dirt path and listened as the screaming grew closer, and perhaps worse, louder. After a few seconds, the sound of pounding hooves joined the wailing, before the familiar form of a filly crested over the top of a hill, her red mane flowing loose behind her as she worked her legs faster than they'd ever run before, tears running across a panicked face as she shrieked at the top of her lungs

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!"

"Applebloom!" the two crusaders exclaimed.

"HELP!!" the apple pony screamed. "HELP!! HELP ME—!!" She then proceeded to trip over an errant rock in the road, the speed she was moving at contributing to her tumble as she rolled down the remainder of the hill, head over hooves. As she reached the bottom, the girl took to her feet once more, resuming her rapid escape, despite the dirt and bruises she now sported.

"Applebloom!" Sweetie Belle called out again, as the earth pony ran closer. "What's going on?! Why are you— "

The farmpony dashed right past her and made a headlong leap into the perceived safety of the wagon. "HELP ME!! HE'S GONNA GET ME!! DON'T LET 'IM GET ME OR AH WON'T BE ME ANYMORE!!"

The orange pegasus lifted an eyebrow. "Get you? Who's gonna get you?"

"HIM!!" Applebloom screeched, sitting upright and waving her limbs about. "HIM! ME! HE'S ME! AH'M HIM! MAHSELF! HELP ME GET AWAY, AH CAIN'T LET 'IM GET ME!!"

The unicorn opened her mouth to ask for clarification, only to be interrupted by another set of galloping hooves in the distance. She turned to look in time to see a yellow colt come running up to the top of the hill, pausing as he spotted his doppelganger. "Applebloom!" he called out. "Cousin Applebloom, wait!"

The named filly proceeded to let out another shriek of unbridled terror, before scampering up to Scootaloo and shaking her by the shoulders. "GOSCOOTALOOYAHGOTTAGONOWHE'SGONNAGETMEDON'TLETHIMGETMEOHPLEASECELESTIADON'TLETHIMGETMEGOGOGOGONOOOOOOOOWWWW!!!"

The orange pony, now thoroughly goaded by her friend's panic, kicked her wings into overdrive. With an ascending buzz, the Crusader-mobile pulled away at rapid speed, its cargo still screaming at the top of her lungs. With a cloud of dust, they disappeared down the road.

In all the commotion, a single unicorn blinked and sat there alone in the road. Sweetie Belle raised a hoof as she proceeded to tell nopony in particular, "Um... you forgot somepony..."

A wheeze was heard behind her, prompting her to turn her head and see Applebuck come up next to her, panting in exhaustion. His mane was in disarray, and the cap was at a crooked angle on his head. "Ah... Ah told Cousin JayJay..." he breathed heavily, a look of frustration on his face. "Ah knew it was a bad idea..."

"Applebuck?" the white pony asked warily. "What's going on? You and Applebloom were getting along earlier... why's she suddenly... she's not scared of you now, is she?"

He lifted his head up to look at her, apparently registering her for the first time. He let his orange eyes look up and down her form, before tears began gathering in their corners. "It's... it's complicated, Swee-... Sweeet... oh Solaris damnit all!" he suddenly cried, plopping himself onto his haunches as he let out a sob. "Ah'm gonna wind up callin' you Silvy every time Ah say yer name, y'know! You're just so much like him! Ah'm sorry miss Belle, but wit' this, that an' th' other thing," he gestured off down the road in the direction the wagon had departed. "-Ah just don't know what to do anymore! Now Ah'm wishin' Ah'd never come in th' first place! Ah... Ah wish Ah..."

The lavender-maned filly sat there in surprise, biting her lip as she watched the other pony sag and weep. A minute passed, before she raised a hoof and placed it on his shoulder. "Um... I-It's okay, Applebuck. You can... you can call me Silvy if you want. I-I don't mind..."

The colt looked up and gazed into her green eyes in considerable surprise... before breaking down and wrapping his hooves around her, letting his frustration out on her shoulder. She held him in turn, the expression on her face belying both confusion, and compassion. "Applebuck?" she began again. "What happened?"

"Ah... A-Ah told her th' truth. Ah told her who Ah really was.."

"Who you... really were? She WAS saying 'He's me' over and over again... How... does she mean?..."

Applebuck sat himself back up, doffing his cap and looking her again in the eyes. "Silvy... you live with yer older s-sister, who's a clothes-maker, you once used some of their fabric to make yer capes, you an’ th' others once went into th' Everfree Forest an' found a Cockatrice, an' at least once, while you were all doin' a play, you've been asked if you were usin' power tools or not."

Sweetie gaped at him. He drew a shuddering intake of breath, before letting it all out. "Yer 'bout to say that only Applebloom knows that last one. Ah know it, cause Ah've already been through it all wit' Silvy. Applebloom... she's right, Ah AM her. And she's me. An' now she's plum scared of me, thinkin' that Ah'm out to take her place! A-Ah tried to explain to her that wasn't th' case, that Ah just wanted to see mah cousin, but she's so darn plum freaked outta her mind that she won't listen! A-and now Ah've... Ah've..."

He noticed that the unicorn's expression was now one of dumbfounded shock. He grimaced as he took a step back from her. "A-an' now that Ah've told you, yer 'bout to go off screamin' just like her, aren't yah? P-Please Silvy, ah already got issues, please dun loose it, please? Ah'm not out to hurt anypony, Ah swear! Ah... A-Ah just..."

He trailed off in his stuttering, looking fearfully as the small white pony. After a few seconds of silence, she then got onto all four hooves and trotted up to him. The colt flinched as she brought her forehooves up and around his head. However, he then felt his mane being tugged at slightly. It felt like she was holding it together, into... a ponytail?

Her emerald eyes widened further as she took him in. "O-oh my," she said softly, relinquishing her hold on his hair. "You... you really are! You're Applebloom! I mean, you look just like her!"

"Y-yeah," he stammered, a hoof going to the back of his head. "Th' place where Ah come from, everypony's genders there are th' opposite of what they are here. You... yer not scared?"

"N-No! I mean, if you're Applebloom, then... I-I know that she would never hurt me. A-and if you're her, then that means that I...oh," her hooves went up to her mouth as her cheeks colored once more "O-oh my..."

Applebuck blushed in turn. "Y-yeah, yah did. And... yeah, it was k-kinda weird... Ah'm not quite sure how ah feel 'bout Silver kissin' me..."

"Silver..." the filly echoed, her mind apparently churning at the name. "Is... T-that's me, isn't it? As a boy? I mean, if you're Applebloom as a boy, then, where you come from, Scootaloo and I are both boys too, right? Oh my, this... this is a lot to— "

She was cut off by the sound of another set of hoofsteps running up the trail. Both foals turned and watched Applejack gallop up to them, a worried look on her face. "Where'd she go, Cousin?" she asked breathlessly.

The colt shook his head. "She hopped into the wagon and had Scooteroll— ack, Ah mean, ScootaLOO, take off with her. She's plum freaked outta her mind, JayJay, she's not gonna listen to whatever Ah say."

"She seemed really scared." the white pony agreed. "They took off without me. I bet they're halfway across Ponyville by now."

The farmpony let out a sigh of frustration, before looking down the road. "Well this is a pickle an' a half. Sorry Ah was so slow, but Big Macintosh held me up, wonderin' what was goin' on. C'mon Applebuck, we need to find her. Maybe Ah can talk 'Bloom back down to level ground, b'fore she has to see you again."

With that, she began trotting down the road in the direction the Crusader-mobile had left in, Applebuck and Sweetie Belle falling in step behind her. "Uhm, how are we gonna find her?" the unicorn asked. "There's a lotta places she could have had Scootaloo take her to."

"That's true." the earth pony drawled. "But Ah have a hunch 'bout where she might go first. It's gonna be a fair walk, but Ah think we can make it 'fore it goes completely dark."

"C'mon guys. We're goin' to th' HEDGE."

If one were to walk past a large clump of tall bushes sitting at the edge of the Everfree Forest, they would hear a sound not usually associated with shrubbery... that of a filly's tears.

Scootaloo looked worriedly at Applebloom, who still had her face buried in her forehooves. They were both seated at the rock table inside of the hidden burrow that made up the majority of the HEDGE. It had been the first place that the yellow pony had mentioned, and once they had made it inside, she had been content to sit and cry her troubles out.

"So, um... Applebloom?" the pegasus began. "What exactly is going on? You and your cousin didn't have a fight right after we left, did you?"

"He's not mah cousin," her friend replied with a ragged moan. "He's more than that. B-both he an' AJ told me themselves..."

"Well then, what is he?" she pressed, rearing herself up onto the table. "You kept screaming 'He's me'. back at the farm. What, he's like, a male version of you from another dimension?"

Whatever the orange filly had been expecting as a retort from her companion, it hadn't been the yellow pony suddenly breaking out into another wail, as she buried her face deeper into her forelimbs.

"Ah cain't BELIEVE it!" she cried. "A-and Applejack knew th' whole time! Ah cain't believe she thought it'd be okay! Ah've read enough Nann-ga to know that's NEVER a good thing!"

The winged pony's eyes widened as it finally began to sink in. "Applebuck... I knew there was something weird about him! Y-you're saying that he... he's really... is he?"

"He's me." Applebloom confirmed, finally lifting her head and allowing herself to look at her friend with puffy eyes. "Applebuck's me if Ah'd been born a boy! Do you know how weird that is, Scoot?! Ah've been ridin' in th' wagon an' touchin' an' holdin' mah OWN self this whole time! Not to mention he— "

"Not to mention, Sweetie kissed him on the cheek." Scootaloo leaned forward. "You do remember that, right?"

Her orange orbs widened even further as she placed a hoof on her own cheek. "Y-yer right! She did! Sweetie kissed him! SWEETIE KISSED ME!!" A queasy look came over her features. "Ah like Sweetie Belle enough, but not like THAT!"

The pegasus couldn't help but grin slightly as she continued "And what about when you had him go and flirt with Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara?"

That did it. The apple filly gave a 'hurk', before jumping to her hooves and dashing out of the HEDGE. Scoot waited patiently as sounds of upheaval came from beyond the hideout's entrance. At length she returned, dragging her hooves as she seated herself back at the table, her face tinted a slight shade of green. "Please, let's not mention those two again?" she asked wearily.

A muffled chuckle. "Alright 'Bloom. Sorry about that. So... Applebuck is you. What's he doing here then?"

"He was lookin' fer Applejack." her friend groaned, resting her chin on the tabletop. "There never was a Dusk Blitz, he was lookin' fer her all along. He... he w-wanted her to be his sister! But she's MAH sister! It all makes sense now... Scoot, he..." she lifted her head to stare into purple eyes. "He wants to take mah place! Ah cain't let 'im get me, or else he'll do sumthin' an' make me disappear! A-Ah mean, what else happens when there's two of th' same pony in th' same place at th' same time? What does 'Buck to th' Future' say 'bout that, Scootaloo?"

Scoot made a face. "That's time-traveling, not dimension-hopping. Not exactly the same thing."

"You know what Ah mean." Applebloom dipped her head back downwards, her eyes locked on the checkered pattern of the tablecloth. "Every movie an’ comic Ah've ever read an’ watched say th' same thing. If there's two of th' same pony... then one of them has to go."

"Maybe the movies have it wrong?" the orange pony asked. "I mean, he hung out with us all day, and you touched him plenty of times. I didn't see either of you fading out of existence at any point in time, so... that's something at least?"

The red-maned one's brow knitted in thought, before she shrugged. "Ah dunno. Ah'm still not lettin' 'im get me. If he's gonna make me go poof, he's gonna hav'tah look all over Equestria a'fore he finds me!"

Again, Scootaloo cracked a small grin as a thought occurred to her. "If he really IS you... you know he's going to know where all your hiding spots are, right?"

The earth-pony's eyes widened, before she plopped her face onto the table, forehead hitting the rock with a dull thud. "WHY didn't Ah think of that?! Yer right, he's gonna know mah every move! Maybe if Ah got somepony else to hide me..."

"You really are scared of him, aren't you? Huh... you know actually, that explains a few things, now that I think about it..." The scooter pony got to her hooves and walked beside Applebloom, putting a forehoof on her shoulder. "You remember when we first ran into him, earlier? He was super-nervous, actin' like he'd never seen a filly before!"

Her companion lifted her head again, once more in thought. "He… he coulda taken me out right then... why didn't he then? Was it because you an' Sweetie were around?"

"Bloom, listen to me." She moved her head down to level with the other filly's own. She knew she was never usually the voice of reason, but if it would make her friend think, she would give it a try. "Think about it. If he is you, and you're scared of him now that you know... then who says that he didn't know who you were the instant he saw you? Think back to earlier today. He was stuttering and stammering when he first met you! And when you shook his hoof, I swear he looked like he was about to have a heart attack!"

The apple pony raised an eyebrow. "Scoot.. are you sayin' that..?"

"I'm saying that if he really is you, then the way that you reacted to him, is the same way that he was reacting to you, earlier! He was scared of you too! Doesn't that make sense?"

Applebloom blink a number of times as she recalled the events of the day. Now that it was mentioned, she saw for herself her 'cousin's odd reactions and stilted speech. The way that he had been afraid to even touch her when they had first met. Now that she knew who he was, she could feel a slight crawling of her hide whenever she thought about coming into contact with him...

"... he felt th' same way." she whispered in realization. "Ah dunno why Ah didn't notice b'fore, but you’re right... he was scared of me too..."

"…Applebloom?"

Both fillies popped their heads up at that last spoken name. It had come from the HEDGE entrance, spoken by a hat-bearing mare, who was currently looking at the two with a worried expression on her freckled face.

"A-Applejack!" the younger sister sputtered, sitting herself upright. "A-Ah, Ah'm sorry, but, ah, uhm, he, me, ah—"

"It's okay, sugarcube." the farmpony soothed, working herself down the incline and walking over to the table. "Ah just wanted to know if you were ready to listen. If y'need more time, ah can wait..."

The yellow filly turned her face back to the tablecloth, once again in deep thought. After a period of time, she quietly asked "Why didn't you tell me?"

Applejack lowered her head. "Ah... Ah didn't think this would happen." she admitted guiltily. "Ah was actually expectin' a lot more ponies to show up all at once. Not just Applebuck... if they'd all appeared at th' same time, Ah coulda explained th' whole thing much easier to you. An' then maybe y'all wouldn't have become so... panicked an’ all that..."

There was a huff. "AJ, how else was Ah supposed to react?! Don't you know what all those books an’ movies say 'bout two of th' same pony bein' round each other? Somethin' bad always happens!"

She gave a small snort in return. "That's what Twilight thought would happen too. Ah'll let you on a li'l somethin' sis. That's all a buncha horseapples. Nothin' of th' sort ever happened when ah met MAH cousin, y'know."

"...your cousin? Y-you mean... you met your… own…?"

The blonde nodded, before trotting over and taking a seat next to her sibling. "Yeah, Ah did. Ah'm sorry fer not tellin' you sooner, sugarcube. Lemme start from th' top, just what happened when Ah was away."

Scootaloo, having been quiet thus far, settled herself into her seat next to her friend as the both of them listened with rapt attention to the orange mare's tale. "We were tryin' to go to Manehattan. Twilight, bless her heart, made a mistake an' took us all th’ way to another dimension altogether, instead. To all looks an' appearances, we were still in Ponyville. But then we found out later that everypony in that world was the' same in ours, save fer just one li'l detail..."

"Their Genders were switched?" Applebloom guessed.

She got a nod in return. "That's right hon. Twilight starts gettin' scared that if we met our male selves, we might wind up causin some sort of universal calamity or somethin'. We all decide to hide away 'till she can do th' spell again. But any place that we would think of, our other selves would know too. So, we wound up havin’ to enlist th' help of... uhm, well..."

The pegasus leaned in closer. "Who? Who'd you get to help you?"

AJ bit her lip for a second. "... a trio of colts. Called Applebuck, Silver Bell, an’ Scooteroll. They were th' ones who actually showed us th' HEDGE."

Mouths gaped open at that, the two fillies giving looks to each other as the apple farmer continued. "We were stuck there fer 'bout five days in total. Over time, each one of us wound up meetin’ our other selves, and we managed to do it without blowin' ourselves up. Twilight was th' most scared of meetin' her other self, y'know..." she gave a dry chuckle as she shook her head. "But by th' end of it all, she was callin' Dusk her brother! Ah tell yah, it was one wild an' crazy trip..."

The young pony looked up at her elder. "You said you met... your other self?"

"That's right. When Ah met Applebuck... well, lemme say, mah heart wasn't ready fer it. Ah didn't want him t'know who Ah was, so Ah called mahself 'Cousin JayJay.' Then later, 'Buck introduces me to his big brother. Turns out, he's called Applejack there too. We got off to a rocky start... but somewhere in there, ah started thinkin' of him like, he really were mah cousin. Even at th' end, when Ah told him who Ah really was, we were still callin' each other cousins."

"A-and neither of you, uhm... 'poofed' each other out?"

"Nope!" Applejack confirmed. "Barrin' th' one time that Dash kicked Blitz in th' face, an' when Pinkie an' Berry were wantin' to throw some kinda huge party, our meetin' ourselves never really brought 'bout th' end of th world."

"You've mentioned a Dusk and a Blitz now." Scootaloo piped up, raising a hoof. "When we first met Applebuck, he gave us a cover story that he was looking for a 'Dusk Blitz'. Are they... doubles of...?"

The mare gave a smile. "Dusk Shine is Twilight's male self. As fer Blitz..." her smile grew even wider now, as her eyes drew slightly distant. "He was a pretty colorful colt. Gave Dash a run fer her money. His full name was Rainbow Blitz, Scoot. He's Dash's other half."

The pony's purple-hued eyes grew wide as she held her mouth in both hooves. "Two... T-TWO RAINBOW DASHES! Like, if ONE Rainbow Dash wasn't cool enough!... w-wait, you said earlier she—… Why would she kick him in the face?"

Chuckles were had, as the applebucker shook her head. "Ah'll let her tell you th' story herself. Either way, by th' end of it all, we all got t'gether, an' Dusk an' Twi both managed to get us all back home. We all said our goodbyes to everypony b'fore we left... well..." She glanced down at her hooves, a sad expression going over her face. "Almost everypony..."

Applebloom's eyes grew wide as she remembered the words exchanged between her sister and her male self upon their reunion. "He did say... that yah never told him goodbye..."

A slow nod. "Though Ah'd made peace wit' mah other self, ah wasn't lookin' forward to seein' him... to seein' you, as a boy, again... imagine this if you can, Applebloom. A buncha colts asks you to hide them someplace, an' one of them, who's blond an’ orange, wearin' mah hat, catches yer eye. He looks like me. He introduces himself as... Ah dunno, Cousin Johnny Appleseed or sumthin'. Y'talk wit him some, gettin' to know him. He's like me, but he's not. He's a colt, but he's nuthin' like Big Macintosh. How do yah feel 'bout him?"

As the filly tried to process the scenario, her sister continued. "Then one day, y' try to find him at the HEDGE, an' all that's there is a note tellin' you thanks. You head on over to Twilight's place... ah still dunno how you'd know to go there... but once you get in, y' find yer cousin with th' five other colts, and they're in th' middle of some spell, 'bout to go somewhere. And y' cain't touch him. He was about... ab-bout to leave without... tellin' yah goodbye..." Her green eyes became misty once more, a hitch appearing in her voice. "An' when yer tellin' them you wanna be family with ‘em... there they go. In a flash of light. And then… I’m gone, like Ah was never there..."

Applejack looked back to her little sister, a sad smile on her face. "Tell me Applebloom... how would you feel? And what would yah do?"

The silence that drew after that was deafening. The yellow pony sat there, imagining the events described by her sister, a mixture of emotions playing across her face.

At length, she took a breath and looked back up at her sibling. "Was… w-was that really how it happened, AJ?...”

The cowpony nodded back to her, before heaving a sigh and hefting herself back to her feet. "Things happen, Applebloom. Ah didn't give him a proper goodbye... so he came here, to say hello... Runnin' into you was probably th' furthest thing from his mind."

The other two fillies followed her stead, getting to their hooves and following Applejack as she trotted towards the HEDGE's exit. Applebloom worked her mouth silently for a second, before shooting a worried look. "You promise he's not gonna make me fade away, or sumthin' like that?"

A chuckle. "Ah promise, sugarcube. Now c'mon you two. Sun's settin', we need to get on back home."

The trio stepped out into the waning light, the sun finally beginning to kiss the edge of the horizon. To the two fillies’ considerable surprise, they found another pair of foals sitting not three yards away from the HEDGE's opening. Sweetie Belle was in quiet conversation with the yellow colt, who had his back turned towards the small group. The colt who was the center of everything happening.

Applebloom, despite all the assurances that she'd been given, still gave a soft gasp as she hid behind her big sister. The white unicorn looked up over Applebuck's shoulder, prompting him to turn and spot the two orange ponies, and the red tail that stuck out from behind the elder mare.

"Applebloom..." The farmpony stepped to the side, depriving her sister of cover. "Ah think th' two of you have somethin' to say to each other."

Orange eyes locked on each other once again, as they beheld their other selves. With an ounce of trepidation, the boy got to his hooves and slowly walked towards his femme self, who unsteadily righted herself onto her haunches.

Now face-to-face with themselves, the two ponies simply stood there, taking in each other, looking in each other's eyes for any sign of fear, or intent. At length, it was Bloom who spoke first.

"H...h-hi, uhm... cousin."

The colt hemmed and hawed himself, before replying with a simple "Hey."

A few more seconds of silence passed, before the both of them opened their mouths at the same time. "Y'know, Ah just wanna say—"

Scootaloo and Applejack joined Sweetie by the wagon, as they all watched the yellow ponies try to make peace with themselves. "Y-you should go first." Applebuck stated, hooves pawing at the dirt. "Ah can wait."

"N-no, you should go first." the filly countered, her ears folded back slightly. "I-it's only right. Yer a... visitor an’ all..."

He bit at his lip, before nodding and beginning to speak. "Ah just... Ah wanna say Ah'm sorry, Appleb-bloom. Ah was so excited 'bout seein' JayJay again, that... Ah didn't think 'bout you. Ah never wanted to take yer place, or anythin' like that, y' gotta believe me. Ah'm SO sorry fer scarin' you. Ah just... Ah'm just sorry fer a ton of things." He let out a sigh as he lowered his head. "Ah've been nothin' but a mess-up th' second Ah landed here..."

Applebloom let her eyes drift to the ground, before looking back up at her other self. "Ah'm sorry too." she whispered. "A-Ah'm sorry Ah ran off screamin'... Applejack explained a lot of things to me. A-Ah think Ah know now, you didn't mean any harm. It's not yer fault. Ah was just... just..."

Slowly, she got back on all four hooves as well. With no small amount of trepidation, both yellow ponies stepped towards each other again, orange orbs locked on each other as they closed in, inches difference between them as they finally stopped.

The girl half gulped, before resuming. "It's just that... you're me... an' that's still really... weird."

The boy half let out a quiet chuckle. "Yer tellin' me... Ah had half a mind to run away from you girls when you first found me, y'know..." He then lowered his head slightly, bringing himself eye-level with her. "But... Ah also want yah t'know. Ah really did enjoy t'day. Even with all this weird stuff... If you'll let me, Ah don't think ah would mind... bein' your cousin."

Applebloom turned her head to the side, thinking for a second. Recalling the past few hours. How, despite all the false starts her male half had presented, despite the awkward moments and confusing slipups... they had still managed to have a good day with him. Enjoyed a snack. Pulled a caper. In the end, it was all just about having fun.

Finally, she looked back at him, and gave him a smile. A small, nervous smile, but a smile nonetheless. "Ah... Ah think Ah'd be okay with that... Cousin Appleb-buck." she replied, tongue tripping up only slightly.

The colt returned her smile, before looking down at the ground, and then timidly raising a forelimb. Almost as if on-cue, the filly lifted her own, and they both met them together, pads clapping slightly as they held each other's hooves, each with the full knowledge that the other pony was their own self.

It still didn't keep goosebumps from crawling over Applebuck's hide as he touched his female doppelganger. "Um..." he started. "Does this feel any less creepy to you?"

Her expression shifted into one of distaste as she readily admitted "N-not really."

"Me neither."

They broke contact, hooves and gazes lowered as they fidgeted on the ground. Thankfully, it was then that Applejack decided to speak up again.

"Well, Ah'm glad we got that straightened out," she drawled, getting to all four hooves and walking over towards the pair. "Ah know you two, it's awkward as hay, but just so long as we dun have any misunderstandin's, it'll all work out. You'll see." She then proceeded to lean down and nuzzle each one on the cheek, buoying their spirits somewhat.

Off to the side, Scootaloo glanced uneasily between the Apple siblings and Sweetie Belle, a slightly confused expression on her face. "So..." she began. "What happens next?"

"Now..." The orange mare stood up tall as she looked back in the direction of Ponyville. "We head to Twilight's. And get Applebuck back home."

The capped pony jolted in his stance in surprise, before galloping up to his extradimensional sibling's side. "B-but JayJay! We haven’t even gotten to spend any time together!"

"Sugarcube, Ah know y'all were lookin' forward to stayin' over. But th' plain facts are, yer own family probably don't know where you’ve gone, it's gettin' dark, an' Ah can just imagine yer brother makin' a furrow in th' livin' room rug, waitin' fer you. Th' sooner we get you home, th' better!"

"Awww, c'mon b… b-big sis!" Applebuck pleaded. "Just lemme stay th' night! Ah left them a note in th' house, they shoulda found it by now! So, you don't have to worry 'bout them none! Just lemme sleep over t'night, an' then y'all can send me back tomorrow! Though, uhm, that'd mean missin' out on bungee-jumping..." He spared a glance towards the crusaders. "Do y'girls mind me skippin' out out Bungee-jumpin' tomorrow?"

The plans had almost been forgotten by the fillies in all the fracas. Hurriedly, Sweetie shook her head while Scootaloo nodded.

"There y'see!" he turned back to AJ, apparently not minding the mixed signals. "We can make this work! Cain't we, JayJay? Please?"

The apple farmer regarded her 'brother's face with a sad one of her own, an eyebrow furrowed in thought. Silently, she admitted to herself her own indecision on the subject. Cousin AJ may or may not find that note, if he really wrote it. It might be okay. Then again, it might not. Better th' play it safe than t' be sorry—

"Applejack... cain't he stay fer th' night?"

This last plea was a pitch higher than 'Buck's own. Applejack turned her head towards the source, spotting Applebloom giving her an imploring gaze. "H-he's not askin' fer much... Y'know, maybe dinner, a game of cards? H-he can sleep in mah room! Ah mean, since it's y'know, um... his room too..."

Applejack found herself assaulted by big-eyed stares from two sources at once. Getting it from 'Bloom alone was usually bad enough. Now that there were two of her, she found herself withering under the combined powers of sad foal's eyes.

With a sigh, she removed her hat and rubbed at her mane, before looking up at the two. "Okay. Fer t'night then—"

She didn't get to finish her sentence, as she was suddenly assaulted by the young colt, a tackle-hug launched right into her midsection as he went "Oh THANK you JayJay, Thankyouthankyou thankyouThankyou SO MUCH JayJay! Ah promise Ah'll be good, 'n not be a scaredy-pony, a-and help do th' chores, and, and, and—"

He trailed off into grateful sniffling, as AJ returned his hug, a hoof coming up to stroke his mane. She chanced a glance over to her little sister, the yellow filly giving her a thankful smile as well.

The pegasus boarded her scooter, wings revving up as Sweetie climbed into the wagon's basin. "Are we 'bout ready to go?"

"Almost," the farmpony drawled. "Sweetie, when you come 'round t'morrow... can ya'll bring one of yer sister's rubies?"

The petite unicorn blinked. "Uhm... sure, I guess. Why do you need one?"

" 'Cause that's one of th' things Twilight'll need to send 'im back. Scoot, yer hanging wit' Dash, right? Has she been molting any?"

Scootaloo's eyes widened, before her ears laid back against her skull. "What's it to yah?! That's not something us Pegasuses let just anypony know!"

"It is if we’re gonna be using one of her feathers to seal th' deal," AJ replied, getting onto all fours again and trotting towards the beaten path. "If she's got any of dem feathers lyin' around, bring 'em along tomorrow."

Both yellow ponies fell into step behind the blonde mare, the Crusader-mobile pulling alongside and keeping pace. By now, the sun had settled well over the horizon, the last few rays of the day painting the scenery in a stark relief of oranges, purples, and dark blue hues. An uneasy silence settled over the traveling group, heavy in its awkwardness. It would be a minute or so before Sweetie broke it with a question.

"This other world... is it nice?"

Applebloom looked over toward her male self, who smacked his lips lightly before answering. "It's... it's not bad. It's not real... different, from this world, actually. We got a Sugarcube Corner. We got a Town hall, and a spa. We got Sweet Apple Acres, an' th' Library too... 'Bout th' only difference b'tween this world an' mine, is... well... you know..."

The curly-haired equine blushed slightly as she nodded, before her eyes widened in realization, the pink on her cheeks turning a reddish hue. Timidly, she turned back to the twins again. "Uhm, by the way... Applebloom, Applebuck? Um... I'm awfully sorry for... y' know, for... doing that, um..."

A collective groan went up among the remaining crusaders, as the colt and filly apple ponies looked at each other with embarrassed blushes. Applejack rolled her eyes as she continued leading them back into Ponyville.

This is gonna be a looooong night.

To be continued…

ON THE NEXT WHISPER OF WIND

"Aha!" she cried out, her magic snagging an old dog-eared tome from the shelves, giving it a once-over with her seasoned eyes. "'Exploring the Aether for Fun and Profit'. Now let's see... there WERE some mentions of things like... 'Dimensions' in here, weren't there? Now where..."

Her browsing eventually landed her on a page about midway into the book. A spell for viewing other dimensions, placed right above another spell for long-distance teleportation. She remembered it partly because of the large warning placed on the bottom of the page, about using one spell in conjunction with the other. Why such a thing was printed was beyond her.

"It matters not. All I need is this simple spell here." she told herself, performing her hopscotch yet again back across the room towards a nearby dresser. "It all makes sense when viewed in this light. If I did not cast this spell, but it still feels of Trixie…”

“...then some OTHER Trixie elsewhere must have cast it!"

Author's Note

Okay. Let's see about using these Authors notes things.

As you're all aware, this story went without an update for a year. There was writer's block, essentially. As I mentioned in a comment earlier, I had some material for it still. This is the polished form of that material. There's enough at current for three further chapters, if me and Jackie can get them into shape. After that point though... I have an outline still, but getting to point A from point B is still going to be an issue.

One of the major blocks to my enthusiasm for writing this story was, honestly, the progression of the official series. Several things that I took as major keystones of development for this universe, was upended by the official show as time went on, the biggest thing being the introduction of Shining Armor as Twilight's brother, after I had written Twi as an only child in C&A.

If I am going to continue and finish this story, it will be written in the same perspective as before, using only established canon from Season 1. And when/if it is finished, then I am more than likely, not going to be creating any more sequels or chapters in this vein again.

That's not for a while yet, though. Understandably, a lot of you are frustrated with my having put the story on hiatus. I can at the very least, give you what I have. And what little that I have, I hope you still enjoy it.

Part 6: Yourself at Home.

On a Whisper of Wind

By Conner Cogwork

What would you do, if you met a pony who was at once your brother, and yet not? Applebuck wishes to reunite with his 'Cousin JayJay', and braves the dimensional divide to reach his goal. But being a small foal, how will he deal with a world in which everything is flipped? His friends, his family, and even... himself?

Part six

Yourself at Home

"Um... can you pass th' fritters?"

"Ah... shore thing, li'l cousin."

Applebuck squirmed in his seat, not for the first time, as Big Macintosh reached a long red forelimb across the table, easily picking up the plate and passing it over to the yellow pony.

"Th-thank you, c-cousin." he stammered, taking a fritter and placing it on his own plate. Applejack, seated next to him, gave him a reassuring smile, despite the small beads of worry gathering on her forehead.

"It's no problem, cousin." The red stallion gave the young one a smile of his own, before leaning forward. "And buck up, eh Cousin Applebuck? Ah ain't gonna hurt you none. We're family, after all."

The colt looked across the table towards Applebloom, who was seated on the orange mare's other side. She too gave him a nervous grin, eyes flickering quickly between him, her sister, and the other two still-yet-oblivious family members seated around the Apple Family dining table.

"Wiscowson's a looooong ways away, li'l one." Granny Smith creaked in his direction. "You live over there with Cousin Honeycrisp, ain't that right?"

"Uh... y-yeah, ah do!" he quickly replied, his mind churning as he tried to recall his cover story. "It may be all th' way over on th' other side o' Equestria, but it's still h-home sweet home! Though it's jus' a hop away from Manehatten!"

"I-it's like ah said." the freckled filly spoke up, trying to temper her natural honesty enough to continue the cover. "Ah ran intah him while me 'n th' girls were visitin' Manehatten. Ah told 'im t' look me up, an' he just happened t' come by t'day!" She did her best not to let her snout crinkle immediately afterwards.

"Well, surprise visits from far-flung family members are the bread n' butter of th' Apple Family." the elderly matron continued, leaning back in her rocking chair. "Why, ah remember a time long ago, ah went n' paid mah dear old Uncle Roma Apple a nice little surprise visit o' mah own. Ah tell you, th' look on his face!~"

"That's sounds like it was a hoot 'n a holler, Granny." Macintosh intercepted her grandmother's oncoming ramble with grace. "But let's hear a lil' more 'bout Cousin Applebuck's story. Y' say y’all never been to th' reunion b'fore?"

"N-no, ah haven't." Applebuck rubbed his bare mane, having removed his hat with his 'sister's for the table. He gave a quick look over to his other self, the pony still adorned with her oversized pink bow. A thought came to mind to protest at the unfairness of it... but he bit down the urge. B'sides... Applejack would say it wasn't proper.

"This is th' first time ah've ever gone anyplace by mahself." he continued, sitting back in his seat. "Ah was too young t' go to th' reunion b'fore. Ah wanted t' come last year, but ah was sick. This year, after ah met Cousin JayJay... er, ah mean, Cousin Applej-jack here." He gave a nervous chuckle, before turning to said cousin. "Ah thought to mahself 'why wait?' A-ah mean, like she said, she told me ah could drop on in just whenever. Ain't that right, cousin?"

"Th-that's right, cousin!"

Applebloom rolled her eyes at the scene, content to stay quiet and nibble her fritters as she watched her other self interact with her family. She herself wasn't sure if the story was going to fly all that well. Everypony knew AJ and her were both bad liars, and now that she could actually observe her other half, she was embarrassed to admit that she could see why.

"Oh my. Such a shame." Granny Smith clucked her tongue as she poured herself another cup of tea. "Cousin Honeycrisp doesn't get much visits from family, last ah heard. Is she still doin' okay?"

The colt's mind ground to a stop before managing to process what was said. "O-oh! Yeah, he's- er, SHE'S doin' just fine, y'know. Still tendin' th' trees. Uhm... got a couple news ones planted recently too!"

"Ah remember th' letter." Macintosh drawled while resting his shoulders on the table, the wood creaking only slightly in protest. "Has anypony ever visited you all? Don't cha know know any other Apple clan b'sides us?"

Applebuck stared at him for a long, long minute, before he finally answered the question, his eyes concentrated on the red stallion, and yet unseeing at the same time, as he quietly whispered one name.

"Red Gala..."

AJ let out a light gasp, as the yellow filly looked back and forth between her male doppelganger and her big brother in slight confusion. Why's he actin' like that? And who's Red... wait... didn't he say he had... a big sister named Red Gala?

"Red Gala, eh?" The stallion brought a hoof up to his chin. "Last ah heard, she'd moved out to Appleloosa wit' Cousin Braeburn. B'fore then though, ah think her farm was close to th' Big Lakes too. Must've visited all th' time, huh?"

"Y-yeah," the boy pony quietly replied, dipping his head down to look at his yet-untouched fritter. "Something like that..."

Applebloom kept her eyes on her doppelganger as he slowly began to dig into his food. He really WASN'T ready fer all this. He wanted t' be with AJ, but not only did he not think 'o me, he didn't think o' th' rest of th' family either. Ah wonder... would ah be actin' th' same way if ah ran intah Big Macintosh... as a mare?

"There there, Cousin Applebuck." the blonde mare assured him, a hoof going and resting on his shoulder. "Ah know y'miss her, but y'all just need t' hang in there. You'll meet up with 'er again sometime. Soon, ah'd dare say!" Again she gave him a smile.

The colt looked back up at her, taking in her face, before putting on a smile of his own. "Yer right, Cousin JayJay."

The old green mare chuckled at the scene. "Land sakes. You two must have really hit it off, if you're using nicknames already. Does an old heart good t' see family bonding like that!"

As the pair silently chuckled from the comment, the elder brother sighted his youngest sister across the table. "You alright, 'Bloom?" he asked, concern evident in his voice. "Y'all haven't said a whole lot t'night. Usually yer th' one with th' most t' say."

The named filly found herself choking slightly on her fritter, coughing once or twice before responding. "A-ah'm okay, big brother. Ah just... didn't want t' take away from Cousin Applebuck's time here none. Ah figured ah'd just sit here an'... um, stay quiet, and, uh..."

Macintosh quickly leaned over and whispered in Granny's ear, something along the lines of 'jealousy', before facing the filly again. "Aww, dun be like that. Ah heard from AJ that you were th' first t' run into Cousin Applebuck. Let's hear how it went."

Applebuck and Applebloom both traded glances over their fritters, before the male half nodded towards her. She cleared her throat, before sitting upright and beginning her tale.

"Well... it was kinda by accident. Y'see, me 'n th' other Crusaders were on our way to th' clubhouse when we ran into Cousin Applebuck."

"Quite literally." the colt chimed in. "Scootero- er- aloo, nearly mowed me down."

She placed her hooves on her hips and gave him a look. "Who's tellin' this story Cousin, you 'r me?"

"You are!" he quickly apologized, averting his eyes towards the ceiling. "Dun mind me!"

"Well... we all apologized, an' introduced ourselves. Lessee... Ah saw he was a blank-flank just like us, so we then went 'n made 'im part o' th' Cutie-Mark Crusaders!"

The red stallion let out a laugh, big and hearty. "Ah shoulda known. Pegasai of a feather flock t'gether."

"It was fun." The boy piped up again. "I-I mean, we have... Cutie-Mark Crusaders back where I come from. So it weren't anything ah wasn't used to."

This time he got a look not only from his female self, but from his interdimensional 'sister' as well. He gave them a weak smile, before proceeding to stuff the fritter into his mouth, preempting himself of anymore comments in the immediate future.

"Right..." Applebloom drawled, before starting again. "Well, we went t' see Pinkie Pie. We got cookies! An' then we went an'... " her eyes widened slightly, a certain event crossing her mind. Hurriedly, she finished with, "A-and then we went crusadin'! Yeah! And then we... we all came back home!"

Applejack raised an eyebrow at that. "Crusadin', huh? What cutie-marks did y' shoot fer this time? And..." she leaned forwards, emerald eyes switching back and forth between the two ponies. "Was there any property damage that's gonna be comin' out o' our pockets?"

"N-nothin' was broken, honest AJ!"

"N-nothin' was broken, honest AJ!"

Big Macintosh's eyes widened slightly, as Granny Smith hit the side of her head a few times. Both yellow equines had spoken the same thing at the same time, creating a stereo effect that the farming mare had prepared herself for, but the rest of the family had not been expecting.

Either way, Applejack's suspicion had been raised. She raised herself a bit higher in her seat as she drilled them both. "Sugarcubes... what did you do?"

"Uhm... we just... ran into a couple of someponies."

The tone of how it was said was enough to make the orange pony roll her eyes. "Which 'Someponies', 'Bloom? The Boys or the girls?"

"The girls/boys."

Again there was some all-around blinking, as both foals sunk further into their seats, cheeks flushed with embarrassment at having spoken in unison once again. Applebuck in particular was berating himself for letting such an obvious slip-up loose like that.

"So... " the big sister had to think for a second to de-scramble the information in her brain. "Does that mean that we should be expectin' a call from Filthy Rich any moment now?"

"M-maybe, maybe not." Applebloom replied, twiddling her hooves. "A-ah mean, all we did was play a li'l prank on 'em."

"Dun remind me." her 'cousin' added, slumping in his seat as a queasy expression overtook his face. "Next time, 'Cousin', th' horseshoe's gonna be on th' other hoof, y' hear?"

The two spectator ponies simply stared as the filly gained her own pained expression, while the blonde horse between them massaged her forehead with both hooves. "Ah feel a right headache comin' on... Y'all didn't say nuthin' bout this back at th' HEDGE. Ah've half a mind t' send you two straight t' bed."

Both the colt and filly suddenly leapt out of their seats, latching onto AJ's sides as they cried in unison, "Don't do that, AJ! We didn't hurt nopony, honest, all it was were a couple o' jelly donuts!"

Finally, Granny Smith let out a cackle that drew everypony's attention to herself. She sat there, laughing it up for a good few seconds or so, before she managed to calm down, wiping away an errant tear. At length she then spoke, "Oh Applejack, don't be so harsh on th' youngin's! Especially wit' our visitor here t'night. Just wait fer a bit, see if they come calling later. Until then, ah'd say, don't worry yer li'l old head off about it."

AJ heaved a sigh. "If y' say so Granny. We're still talkin' in th' mornin', especially 'bout draggin' Cousin Applebuck into th' middle o' it." The applebucker leveled a look at her younger sister that promised stern tidings in the future.

Applebloom simply nodded, while Applebuck merely looked sheepish. Big Macintosh used the lull to steer the conversation back on-track, with a new question.

"Well, ah r'member you riding in wit' Applebuck in tow earlier." he began. "But then, not like, five minutes later, it seemed like th' house was on fire."

"Oh?" the elderly mare asked. "Was it, then?"

"Well, wit' Applebloom runnin' out o' th' house, screamin' like a dog what had his tail cut off, it shore SOUNDED like it was!" He leaned on the table's surface, locking his green gaze onto his sister's own. "Y'all never gave me a proper explanation on what that was all 'bout, y'know?"

Again, the yellow ponies trades glances across the table, while AJ stammered, "W-well... uhm, y'see, there was this... uhm... THING, where, uhm..."

Suddenly, the young colt put both hooves on the table, as he reared himself up out of his seat. "It was mah fault." he admitted. "Ah... ah went an' told Cousin Applebloom a deep dark secret o' mine."

Both female ponies stared at him with wide, panicked eyes. The blonde one in particular leaned over to him and hissed in his ear, 'Whaddya think yer doin', Applebuck!? Yer not seriously gonna tell th' both o' them right now, are yah?'

"Is that so?" Granny interrupted whatever he was going to say. "Can we have a listen?"

"Uhm... well you see, it's..." he then leaned his head forward, as he took on a dramatic undertone in his voice "It's SO dark and secret n' scary that... if ah told it 'gain, she'd go runnin' off like a striped ape, just like b'fore!" He then tossed a quick glance over where his other self sat.

Applebloom got the hint. "Oh NO, anythin' but THAT!" she proceeded to wail, forelimbs waving in the air in mock-desperation. "Ah dunno if ah can keep mah marbles this time, Cousin Applebuck!"

"Ah hear yah cousin!" the boy stated, closing his eyes as he nodded sagely. "That's why ah've gotta KEEP it a secret. Ah hope y'all understand th' grava-tee of th' situation." He crossed his forelimbs as he finished, sitting back into his seat. "Y'all can NEVER be too careful."

Says the pony who wants t' go bungee-jumping from Dead Hoof's Drop! Applejack spouted in her head. She was relieved that the question had managed to be evaded, even though the two elder family members sitting across from her were regarding the trio with looks of confusion and amusement.

At length, the stallion shook his head as he got up onto all fours. "Whatever ya say, Cousin." he replied, before stretching out a hindleg. "Welp, ah think ah'm 'bout ready t' hit th' hay. If ah may?..."

"Shore thing, bro." the orange equine answered, giving him a smile. "You already had yer fill?"

"Eeeeee-YUP."

Applebuck winced at that, an ear flattening against his skull as he heard a familiar catchphrase being spoken by a much deeper set of lungs.

"Ah think ah'm ready fer a game mahself." Applebloom piped up. "Care t' join me an' Applejack, Cousin?"

He gave her a grateful smile as he scooted his seat back. "Sounds like music to mah ears, cousin."

One by one the Apple family excused themselves from the table, clearing their places and taking their plates to the sink. A routine that was familiar to the colt. Still, the experience at the table left yet another impression on him that left him thinking.

Next time ah wanna see Cousin JayJay... ah think ah'll invite HER t' MY place instead.

"Do you have any... tens?"

"Nope. Go Graze."

The Apple family living room was a quiet place that evening. Granny Smith was off rocking in the corner, already near dozing off. Big Macintosh had made good on his word and had already gone to bed. That just left Applejack and both of her siblings, the three of them sitting on the rug, currently engaged in card games and quiet discussion.

Quiet discussion that led to the mare voicing the question she'd had stirring in the back of her head. "So... Applebuck..." she made a quick glance to the side to make sure her grandmother wasn't listening. "Y'all never told me... how exactly DID you get here in th' first place?"

The colt dipped his head, halfway hiding it behind his hoof of cards. "Well... it weren't easy. Ah had t' ask Spines a lot o' questions at first-"

"Spines?" Applebloom asked, looking up from her own hoof. "That's an odd name fer a pony."

"S-she's not a pony. She's... she's a dragon."

"A dragon? But th' only dragon in Pony-" her eyes suddenly widened, as she tried to not lose her cards. "Spike! Spike as a girl! How come ah didn't think o' that?! Hoo-boy, ah bet Spike would loose it worse than me if he knew!"

AJ shook her head as she chuckled, before turning back to the boy. "You had her get that book, din't you? Ah'd thought both Twi and Dusk woulda taken it off th' shelves, on account o' that one page in there being so confusin'."

Applebuck nodded, while the filly blinked a few times. "Book? What book? What page?"

"’Exploring the Aether for Fun and Profit’." he answered. "It's a book fer unicorns who want t' travel. It's got a buncha spells in there fer a buncha different things."

"It was one of those spells that sent us intah Applebuck's world in th' first place," the orange pony added. "One page had a couple of big spells right together, annit made Twi confused when she cast it. She mixed 'em up, and bam, we were off."

"Spines knew that when Dusk helped you all get back to your world, he'd left a 'marker' of sorts on your 'thread'. Ah'm still not shore what that means..." he took his hat off for a second to scratch at his mane. "But apparently it was enough for 'im t' know what t'do."

"Him? Hold on one cottonpickin' minute... yer not sayin' that Dusk sent you here, are yah?"

"Uhm... n-no, it wasn't him..."

"That's kinda what ah thought." she sat back and rubbed her chin with a free hoof. "If it'd been Dusk, chances are, you wouldn'tve been alone. So y' took th' book and... showed it t' somepony else then?"

He aimed his eyes downward. "Y-yeah... more or less."

"Who then?"

"... Mister Presto."

Applejack blinked for a few seconds, before rolling her eyes upwards, lips set in a thinker's expression. "Presto... Presto... ah cain't think o' any Presto- wait, since yer talkin' 'bout a boy, ah need t' think o' a girl over here. Let's see... Priscilla? Nah, ah don't think there's a Priscilla in Ponyville..."

"I-I wouldn't know if anypony would remember him or not." the colt admitted. "He's a unicorn. A showpony, actually! He came into town like, half a year ago, sayin' he was the most powerful unicorn in all o' Equestria."

Bloom's eyes widened. "That sounds familiar, actually. AJ, weren't you talkin' 'bout a showpony some time ago?"

He was now getting a level stare from the farmpony. "Go on." she stated, voice dripping with suspicion. "How'd you find out about 'im?"

"Well... AJ came home one day, 'n he was kinda sore. He told me that he'd had t' deal wit' being trussed up by this one showpony who kept boastin' all th' time, like he was some kind o' superstar. He told me that his name was somethin' like, The Great and Powerful Prrrrrresto~!"

"TRIXIE." The blonde one suddenly shot to all four hooves, cards flying every which way. "You went an' got TRIXIE t' do th' spell." A sudden turn on the spot to face Applebloom. "Bloom, dun you EVER go an' have Trixie help you wit' ANYTHING, y' understand?" Another about-face to face Applebuck. "Buck, ah'm gonna tell you this so yer brother dun have to, dun you EVER go lookin' fer that Presto feller EVER again, or ah'll have you cleanin' rainbarrels fer th' next month!"

"Yes'm!" both ponies responded at the same time, their faces unsurprisingly mirror images of panic at the thought of cleaning rainbarrels.

The elder mare proceeded to grumble a few more phrases of frustration under her breath, before she finally seated herself once again. "O-kay then. So... you went an' got Mister 'Presto' t' take a look at th' book, and then had HIM pull it off, am ah correct?"

Buck nodded timidly, half-afraid of saying anything else. "H-he wasn't too hard to find... he had set up his wagon somewhere outside of Ponyville, around the Whitetail woods."

"And both universes bein' what they are, ah'm willing t' bet that Trixie's camped out thar herself right this minute. Ah'll have t' let Twi know when we see 'er t'morrow..." She let out a deep sigh, regathering her spilled cards from before. "Th' last thing we need is fer that showoff t' be pokin' her nose intah this universal-... wait a cottonpickin' minute, he didn't come with you now, did he?"

"A-ah, no, I don't think so. When I... well, 'landed', he wasn't anywhere to be seen. As a matter o' fact, ah wasn't even sure th' spell worked at first! Ah mean, ah appeared in th' same spot that ah left, after all."

"That sounds odd." the red-maned filly replied. "Why'd a spell go an' do that?"

"It's somethin' kinda magic-kahooey telekimesis kinda stuff." AJ answered. "Ah dun really get it, but th' same thing happened t' us when we first landed in 'Buck's world. Twi would know more 'bout that than anypony else." She cleared her throat, ready to change the subject as she proceeded to ask "Say... anypony have any... Aces?"

Both Applebloom and Applebuck sighed as they each picked a card out of their hooves. Upon receiving the cards, the farmpony looked at them, before letting out a chuckle. “Heh… well now ain’t that cute?”

They both blinked, and looked again. The colt’s card had been an Ace of Spades, while the filly’s had been an Ace of Clubs.

The twin ponies then turned their heads to glance at each other, that uneasy feeling rising in both their stomachs again. Sensing their unsettlement, the orange pony coughed, before steering the conversation onto something else. "So, Cousin Applebuck... as long as yer here, ah might as well ask..."

Her voice then softened noticeably, as she asked, "How're th' rest of th' guys doin'?"

The boy looked down at his hoof of cards, composing himself. "Well... Big Bro's doin' fine. Th' farm's doin' good. But ah think you'd already know that. Uhm... Mister Elusive's been really down, though. Kinda mopey."

Applebloom blinked. "Down and mopey? That... kinda sounds like Miss Rarity, since y'all came back. Is... is this 'Elusive'...?"

"Yeah, he is." the blonde one replied. "As t' what they're mopin' 'bout... well, it ain't really any o' our business, if y' ask me."

The foals looked at each other in confusion, as Applejack continued. "What 'bout Butterscotch? And... Rainbow Blitz?"

A shrug. "Butterscotch is still good. Still taking care of the animals. Oh hey, after you girls left, y'know what happened? Blitz took Scooteroll under his wing! He's gonna be showin' him all th' tricks of th' trade 'n such! Really surprised us too, he popped it during our pizza party at th' HEDGE."

At this, a smile broke out over the mare's face. "That's good t' hear." she drawled. "Dash was kinda worried that Blitz wouldn't do th' same, when she took on Scootaloo. She'll be mighty relieved to hear it, ah'll bet."

"Wait a minute." the yellow filly then piped up. "If things are th' same both here and there... then why would you even have t' ask him? Ah remember th' pizza party too, and th' same thing happened there!"

There was a heave of a sigh. "Well Bloom... if that really were th' case, then us an' them woulda out 'n out switched places, y'know? You might've met your own big 'brother' that day. But fer some reason, it didn't. Ah'm still not clear on why, but ah think Twi knows."

"Twi... Dusk's been talking about a 'Twilight' recently." Applebuck looked up from his cards, giving his cousin a look. "Is this 'Twilight' the same pony as Dusk?"

"That's right sugarcube. Twilight Sparkle, expert o' fancy magic and one o' mah best friends." AJ gave a small smile, before a look of suspicion clouded her face. "Why d'ya ask, 'Buck? Ah know Twi's talked 'bout 'im a number o' times, but usually only when us girls are 'round."

He hummed slightly as he thought. "Well... lately, Dusk's been a little... ah dunno what t' call it. Distracted? He's been studyin' real hard. Whenever ah went t' see Spines, he was always doin' somethin' in a book. Kept mentionin' this Twilight, and was talkin' a lotta stuff 'bout 'thyme diverentals' or somethin' like that."

The sisters shared a confused glance, before AJ shrugged in turn. "Twi hasn't been like that here. Though ah dunno, maybe she expected this... she did say somethin' 'bout you guys comin' over to our world. Maybe that's what he's workin' on? Ah dunno, magic thinkin's way outta mah league."

A moment of silence descended over the three of them as they lapsed into thoughtfulness, only to be broken by the addition of one more question. "And Berry Bubble?"

"Berry's... still Berry."

"That's probably as much as ah need t' know."

It was a pair of yawning ponies that entered the bedroom, one of them simply trotting straight towards her dresser. The other was a stranger in his own house, eyes roaming the corners of the room, spotting so many things that were the same... and yet different.

"Why're th' sheets pink?" were the first words out of Applebuck's mouth, having spotted the bed.

The filly looked up from her spot in front of her dresser, a comb running through her mane. "Huh? But they've always been pink, ever since ah were a foal."

"Oh... oh, right." the colt replied, swallowing a lump in his throat. Ah guess ah can sleep in a pink bed. he reasoned. Just this once. S'not like it's... really mah bed anyways...

With care, Applebloom removed her bow and stashed it away, before retrieving a set of pajamas and turning back towards the bed... only to find that a cap rested on one of its posts. She opened her mouth to ask a question, only to be interrupted by a clatter of drawers back at the dresser. Turning full circle, she then spied her other self retrieving a pair of pjs for himself.

She cleared her throat. He turned back to her, the half-lidded state of his eyes signalling that he was currently running on autopilot, the events of the day having clearly taken a toll on him.

"Cousin." she stated. "Those're mah PJs."

The boy stared blankly at her for a second, before glancing down at the garments. Slowly, a look of realization dawned on his face, accompanied by a blush of embarrassment. "Oh... yeah."

An awkward silence descended for just a second, before the girl pony walked past him towards the dresser again. "Y'know... ah think ah'll skip th' PJs tonight."

"Ah... yeah. Sounds like a plan." he agreed, falling into step behind her.

The door cracked once more, as Applejack stuck her head inside the bedroom, eyes catching both her siblings. "We doin' all right in here?"

"W-we're fine AJ!" came the dual reply. Hurriedly, both foals stuffed the sleepwear away, before dashing over to the bed. Like a clockwork mirror, each pony came up over different sides of it, hefting themselves up in synch, even grunting and sighing in unison as they pulled back the covers and slipped in underneath the sheets.

The mare had to shake her head a few times after witnessing that. Don't go freakin' just yet, AJ. They're both th' same pony after all. Y'all should be expectin' this by now. She stepped up towards the bed, an uneasy, yet loving smile on her face. "Ah bet yer all ready fer yer bedtime stories now, ain't yeah?"

She got enthusiastic 'Mmm-hmms!'s from both ponies, twin sets of orange eyes peering up at her in anticipation. She hefted herself and settled on the edge of the bed, taking her hat off and setting it to the side. "Alrighty then... what story should I tell y'all t'night?"

"Oh!" Applebloom spoke up. "Goldimane and the Three Ursas!"

"Oh, oh!" Applebuck piped in turn. "What about the Three little Ponies an' th' Big Bad Timberwolf!"

The farmer had to pause at that, a hoof coming to her mouth. "Y'know... while neither o' those're bad ideas... ah think fer t'night, ah wanna tell a new story"

Both eyes widened at that, and they looked at each other, before facing the orange one again. "A new one?" they asked in unison. "Why's that?"

"Well, ah'm willin' t' reckon Applebuck's heard most o' them stories b' fore too. An' on top o' that, there'd probably be a few 'details' different from th' way his brother tells 'em." She gave a quick glance to the colt, before looking at the ceiling again. "So, if ah wanna make t'night count... then ah gotta think o' somethin'... special."

A few more seconds passed, before her face lit up. "Ah know what ah'll tell yah." she exclaimed, scooting over to the pair excitedly. "It's a mystery story. An' it's a doozy of a one. Y'all think yer up to it?"

Furious nods from both ponies bright a smile to Applejack's face, as she cleared her throat. "Then here ah go. This here's a good one. It's called, 'Th' Strange Case o' Button Stitch'..."

"...And wit th' hat spinnin' on her head, she closed th' door to her shop, and enjoyed th' party wit' all her new-found friends. The End."

Both ponies clapped their hooves excitedly at the story's end, smiles beaming from their faces. "That was a great one, AJ!" Applebloom enthused. "When Pinkie took on that screwy pony, ah thought they were goners f' shore!"

"You said it!" Applebuck piped up in turn. "Who knew that miss Stitch was th' Screw pony th' whole time!?"

"It just goes t' show, y'all kin' never tell a book by its cover." the mare finished, giving the both of them a smile. "Now, ah think it's time th' two o' you got some shuteye now, don't cha think?"

The filly almost yawned, but she quickly covered her mouth to suppress it. "Aww c'mon sis, cain't we have one more?"

The yawn escaped elsewhere, the colt's mouth opening wide and letting it out, before quickly closing it with a blush. Hurriedly he added "Yeah, ah mean, we're not sleepy at all yet!"

The blonde pony could only chuckle at the two, before ooching herself over to them. "That's enough, sugarcubes. Tell you what. If you two go ahead n' get you some Zs, ah'll make up a big batch o' mah cinnamon flapjacks in th' mornin'. How's that sound?"

The foals traded excited looks, before nodding to each other and snuggling down further into their sheets. As the farmpony got off the bed and trotted around to Applebloom's side, the little filly asked "AJ... that story y'all told... it wasn't real now, was it?"

Applejack held a hoof to her chin, green eyes tracking up towards the ceiling. "Ah think ah'll let y'all come to yer own conclusions." she simply answered, before leaning her head down to peck a kiss on her sister's cheek. "G'night Applebloom. Sweet dreams, y' hear?"

She got another nod in return, before she walked around to the other side of the bed. Applebuck gazed up at her with wide eyes, watching as she hesitated for just a second. "Applebuck... ah know it's not quite th' same... but you have sweet dreams too, y'hear... li'l bro?"

He gave her a wide and adoring smile, before answering "Ah hear yah... big sis. Thank you..."

The farmpony fought back tears for an instant, before lowering her head and giving him a goodnight kiss as well. With that, she gathered up her hat, turned out the lights, and then exited the bedroom, pausing to give one last loving gaze upon both ponies, before closing the door behind her.

A silence stretched out in the darkness afterwards. No sounds passed, except for the simple noise of two ponies breathing. They were both staring up at the ceiling, not looking at each other, simply waiting for the lull of sleep to come upon them...

It wasn't coming.

"..."

"..."

"...Applebuck?"

"... yeah, Applebloom?"

"...yer not asleep yet, are yah?"

"... nope."

"Ah..."

"...neither are you, ah'm guessing..."

"...nope."

The colt shifted slightly under the covers. His mind was too busy to sleep. Thinking back over the entire day. Thinking about anything but the fact that he was in bed right next to a female version of himself. And though he still kept his eyes on the rafters, he could hear her shifting around as well, most likely doing the same.

"... Applebuck?"

"... yeah, Applebloom?"

She kept her eyes rooted to the ceiling, as she quietly spoke. "I-I know Sweetie already asked you this earlier... but ah wanna know too... are our worlds really th' same?"

He laid there beneath the sheets, his mind slowly churning. "... do you love yer big sister?"

The filly dared a glance towards her other self. "What kinda question is that? O' course ah love AJ! Ah mean, she's mah sis, an th' best pony in Equestria, no matter what Scoots might say 'bout Rainbow Dash."

Another stretch of quiet, before the muted response. "... that's good t' hear..."

And then there was a small sound. Applebloom recognized it easily as a sound she'd made herself many times in the past. A sniffle.

She looked towards him again, and saw the mistiness drawing over the young colt's eyes. "Ah'm a silly pony, cousin..." he stated. "Ah didn't jus' not think 'bout you or th' crusaders... ah didn't think about mah crusaders, or mah own big brother..." he gave another sniffle, before rubbing at his eyes furiously. "Ah was so excit'd 'bout seeing JayJay again, that ah just didn't think... yer sister's right, he's prob'ly plum worried 'bout me. And... and, ah... ah miss 'im..."

She didn't say anything. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that he wouldn't want to admit to the fact that he was close to tears... she wouldn't want to either. Instead, she decided on a different tack.

"...tell me 'bout him."

He lifted his hooves, blinked a few times, and then turned his head to give a questioning look in her direction.

"What's he like? What's it like, havin' a pony like AJ, 'cept as a brother? Hay, tell me about th' Crusaders, an' Big Mac an' Granny Smith. Ah know they're all... switched, but b'sides that. What else is different 'bout 'em?"

"Different... like in... hmmm..." The colt trailed off, a hoof to his chin in thought. "W-well... ah'm not sure, really. Ah havn't been here long enough t' notice anything big... well... there IS Silvy, er, Sweetie Belle though..."

"Yeah? What 'bout her?"

"Hair's all different. Silver usually keeps his cut straight. Plus, she's not as.... 'gentlemanly' like his brother usually makes 'im be. Ah can only guess that's cause she's intah all kinds o' girly Fru-fru stuff over here, ain't she?"

The filly made a face. "So what if she is? S'not like she drowns us all in it. Shore, ah think th' makeovers 'n tea parties are a bit much. But really, with a sister like Miss Rarity, it's t' be expected."

He was silent for a second after that. "So... ah'm guessin' yer not really fer all that fru-fru stuff either, are yah?"

"Nnnnnnnnope."

"... then what's with th' bow?"

Applebloom was silent, before turning onto her side and looking at her 'cousin' head-on, a hoof motioning towards a certain bedpost. "Where'd YOU get yer hat?"

His orange orbs widened in realization, before letting his gaze drop down to the surface of his pillow. "It... it was AJ's. He gave it t' me a long time ago... ah'm sorry cous, ah didn't make th' connection before..."

She nodded back at him. "Yeah... mah bow used t' be mah sister's too. Ah've been wearin' it ever since she gave it t' me. Ah... kinda thought it was a bit fru-fru too when she first put it on me. But... now ah can't see mahself without it."

The young colt felt himself stiffen slightly at that. He groped for something to say, anything at all, but was spared by his other half suddenly amending her words with "At least... not until t'day..."

More silence passed. Eventually, he looked up at her again. "Are ya mad at me?"

"... nah, ah'm not upset 'r anythin. It's just... it's all pretty confusin', ain't it? Ah'm tryin' t' think about what it'd be like, to be in your position... t' go an... visit someplace that, well, you obviously..." she waved her hooves in the air, searching for words, before giving up and letting them flop to her sides. The filly laid there for a couple of seconds, before turning to face her doppelganger again. "Y'know... you never answered mah question... what's it like, havin'... a brother, that's not Big Mac?"

"... well, it's... it's different. AJ's always been there, fer as long as ah remember. Shore, he an' I don't always see everythin' eye t' eye... but he's th' best big brother a pony could ask for... Though it's not... exactly th' same as havin' a big sister, not even one like Red Gala..."

She leaned closer. "How so?"

"Well... gettin' a hug from him's different from gettin' one from JayJay... When he hugs ya, y'all just feel... safe. Like he's this big ol' castle that'll keep anything an' everythin' from hurting you, an' keep you warm 'n cozy..."

The filly closed her eyes, apparantly imagining the sensation. "Hmmm... an' when AJ hugs me... she's like this big ol' blanket that covers you up, all nice in' soft an' comforting... Lettin' you know that everythin' gonna be allright..."

He nodded back to her. "Ah wanted t' feel that... s'why ah came here in th' first place..." an odd expression came over his face, before he looked back at his counterpart. "What would you've done in mah place? If you'd have... y'know..."

"If ah'd had met yer brother?" She gave an uneasy chuckle. "AJ asked me th' same question, back at th' HEDGE... thinkin' 'bout it... ah think ah might have done th' same thing..." she then turned to lay on her back again, eyes directed once more towards the roof. "O' course, ah won't ever really know... unless ah actually meet him..."

Unbidden, unspoken, the barest of an idea passed through both of their heads at the same time. Slowly they turned to face each other, eyes wide and staring, realizing that since they were both the same pony, they were thinking the exact same thing. Another few seconds of silence passed before their mouths opened in a most unusual exchange.

"Do you think?"

"It's risky."

"She'll be upset."

"But she would understand."

"Ah want to."

"If the chance comes up..."

"Ah know..."

"We'll have t' wait 'n see."

"But still..."

"Ah owe y'all anyways."

"So... you'd be okay with it?"

Applebuck nodded in answer, before pausing and looking in confusion. "That was weird."

His doppelganger paused as well, brows furrowing, before she spoke. "Ah've never had anythin' like that happen b'fore."

He gave a short chuckle. "Yah never met yerself b'fore either, y'know."

"... that's true. You think that might... happen again?"

"Ah cain't say fer sure, cousin. Ever since ah arrived here, we've been copyin' each other word fer word, action fer action. Whether we start... thinkin' the same again like that... well, ah guess we'll know when it happens, alright?"

The filly nodded back to him, turning her gaze back towards the ceiling. "Ah guess it's just... gonna take sum gettin' used to..."

And of course it was then that one last thought shot through their heads at the same time, their eyes widening as the question surfaced within their minds. The ponies glanced at each other, pupils shrunk, before a vibrant blush overtook their muzzles, as they both realized that their counterpart had thought of the same question.

They both knew what it was. They didn't have to say it... but again, they had to. Pure, unbridled curiosity burned in their minds.

The filly and colt turned their heads away from each other, eyes fixed on the walls on either side, as they asked at the same time.

"What's it like, bein' a boy/girl?"

"That's impossible. Seriously, that... that can't be right!"

The night air was proving a restless one for the showmare as she continued to pace around her campsite, the hoofkercheif from before still being towed along by her. Still soaked with the magical energy that belonged to her, and yet at the same time... was not hers.

"This is simply unacceptable." Trixie continued to rave at the empty campsite about her. "Totally and completely unacceptable. There has to be an explanation for this anomaly. The Great and Powerful Trixie will accept no less than a complete and total rationalization!"

"Okay Trixie. Think. The magic that you found outside Ponyville was unmistakably yours. There can be no other frequency of psychokinetic energy that is so deliciously appealing than your own. And yet..." she gave the cloth an offending glare, like it had just insulted her mother. "There's no way that the caster of that spell could have been me. If I had done it it, I would be so sapped of power, it'd take me at least a couple of weeks to return to full strength!"

The blue unicorn placed the cloth on a stone before her campfire, sitting and giving it a scrutinizing lavender gaze. "So where does such a source of energy like Trixie's exist? A well of such power does not simply appear out of the aether..."

She continued sitting there, staring and tasting her own magic coming off the cloth, before the barest of an idea came through her head. "Hmmm... aether... I wonder."

With that she leapt to her hooves, and did an about-face to trot inside her shoddily-repaired stage-wagon. Inside, the quarters were cramped and rather disorganized, though fortunately what she wanted wasn't amid all the blankets and trinkets of her travels... but rather in the old worn bookcase situated on the opposite wall.

With a few hops, skips, and at least one maneuver that approximated a jump, she made it across the debris and within eye's range of her meager literary collection, her gaze jumping from such titles as '1001 rope tricks' to 'practical egotistical', as well as 'how I survived the mob', and-

"Aha!" she cried out, her magic snagging an old dog-eared tome from the shelves, giving it a once-over with her seasoned eyes. "'Exploring the Aether for Fun and Profit'. Now let's see... there was some mentions on things like... 'Dimensions' in here, wasn't there? Now where..."

Her browsing eventualy landed her on a page about midway into the book. A spell for viewing other dimensions, placed right above another spell for long-distance teleportation. She remembered it partly because of the large warning placed on the bottom of the page, about using one spell in conjunction with the other. Why such a thing was printed was beyond her.

"It matters not. All I need is this simple spell here." she told herself, performing her hopscotch yet again back across the room towards a nearby dresser. "It all makes sense when viewed in this light. If I did not cast this spell, but it still feels of Trixie... then some other Trixie elsewhere must have cast it."

She sat the book upon the dresser's top before facing the wall, her magic lighting up to take the posters of her posturing self off, stripping the surface bare. "It should be a small matter to trace this doppelganger's path, and spy upon them. I'll see if I can discern their reasons for casting it... and see if I can't put them in their PROPER place!"

With a flourish she waved her horn, her eyes reading over the script before her. In short time she weaved her head in a circle, impacting a surface made of magic onto the wall in front of her. It was through this that the blue unicorn gazed upon the dark, writhing mass that was the Multiverse, hundreds upon thousands upon millions of threads all twisting, winding, branching, reaching everywhere. The sight gave her considerable pause as she openly stared...

"Wait... don't get overwhelmed Trixie. You can do this. All you have to do..." her purple eyes narrowed as she probed with her magic out into the depths. "Is find the trail... and hope it hasn't gone cold..."

There.

"Ah-HAH!" she gave a triumphant shout, her mind's eye spying the tendril of magic extending from her home thread, towards another. "Trixie has you now!"

In short order, she traced the whisp of magic back towards its thread. Upon finally reaching the node, it was a simple matter of simply 'touching' the spot with her magic, before an image of what that world contained spread itself across the portal on her wall.

And in that instant, she shouted out, her hoof jabbing forward in triumph as both she and the being on the other side thundered.

"THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE/PRESTO HAS FINALLY FOUND YOU, FRAUD!"

A great and powerful silence extended into the night right after that outburst, as both ponies stared long and hard at each other in considerable shock.

Facing Trixie was a unicorn stallion of a caliber that she had never seen before in all of her years. He was tall, holding himself in a commanding fashion, his snout proud and strong as his horn was long. His mane had a rakish edge to it that suited him, she thought. His tail certainly fit him.

And then of course there was his eyes. Eyes that were the exact same shade of lavender as another that she routinely saw every day in the mirror. If it weren't for the fact that this pony was obviously male as could be, she would have sworn she was looking in a mirror.

She could have sworn she was looking... at...

Twin sets of brows furrowed, as they pointed again. "Who ARE you?"

More blinking.

"I asked you first!"

More silence.

"Wait... you can hear me?"

"Well of course I can!"

"But this spell-..."

The both of them stopped as they stared at each other. There was a long period of silence as they both pondered the ramifications of what they were seeing before their very eyes.

At length, Trixie raised a hoof, a fraction of a second faster than the colt on the other side did. She pointed, before simply stating. "You touched my dimension."

He blinked, before drawing himself up tall. "I was commissioned to do so."

She narrowed her eyes. "Trixie never takes commissions."

He gave her a flat look. "You do if you have barely enough bits for a hay and oat smoothie."

That stung. She flattened her ears, but refrained from continuing down that path of conversation. She studied the dimensional portal and the pony on the other side of it for a few good seconds more, before speaking again. "What did you say your name was, again?"

He tossed his mane as he placed a hoof upon his chest. "I am none other than one of the most greatest of magicians in all of Equestria. I am... The Great and Powerful Prrrresto."

Such confidence! the mare couldn't help but think to herself. She drew herself up and performed a remarkably similar manuver, as she boasted "And you would happen to be in front of none-other than the one and only, The Great and Powerful Trrrrixie."

He cooly gave her a nod, before the both of them regarded each other in yet another silence. Eventually, the showmare moved her hoof, pointing to her doppelganger once more.

"You're me."

He nodded. She had nothing left to say except state the obvious.

"You're a colt."

"And you, my dear," he returned. "Are a mare."

Trixie simply nodded back, having run out of words. This was the last thing that she had expected, in looking for her perpetrator. Not just finding herself... finding a gender-flipped version of herself.

"... at least you're easy on the eyes."

Cheeks flushed on both sides as soon as the words were aired. Each pony averted their eyes, not willing to see themselves in embarrassment. It would take yet another few seconds before the mare found the words to change the subject. "So... you were commissioned by somepony... who?"

"Some young colt. He claimed to have met a pony from your world, over here. Originally, I thought his tale to be too ludicrous... but that was before he mentioned that the one who had sent his friend back, was none other than that UPSTART, Dusk Shine."

Ears were twitched as Trixie looked back towards her other self. "Dusk... Shine?"

"A unicorn of... impressive magical ability." Presto added, giving a loud snort to signify his thoughts. "The foal had come to me instead of him, to perform this 'Teleportation' spell. If I had refused, then he would have gone to that unicorn after all. He even had the audacity to claim that I was too 'chicken' to try it... so that, coupled with the promise of some extra bits..."

She nodded, a contemplative look upon her face. "I see then. To prove yourself the better... that would explain why I found an impact site a ways away from my camp, soaked in a magic residue that tasted of myself..." she then turned her eyes back towards the stallion, locking his sight with hers. "Upon a whim, I thought it might have come from another dimension, and decided to go a-hunting. See about putting an upstart in her place. And here, I find you, using the same viewing spell as I..."

He allowed his lips to slide into a self-assured smile. "I figured, as long as I had your dimension's location, I would take a peek inside, and see if my other self truely measured up to the standards of Presto." He allowed an eyebrow to lift upwards as his eyes took in the mare before him again. "But this... I must confess, I was not quite expecting."

"The same can be said over here." she returned, eyes narrowing as she gave his form another once-over through the portal. "And if Trixie may say so... Trixie approves of what she sees."

"As does Presto."

Another pause. She was starting to grow weary of them. With a raised eyebrow, she asked. "What spell was it?"

His smile became a bit more smug. "Usage of this spell in conjunction with the above might result in accidental dimensional displacement. Use with extreme caution. Reference the Rules of Causality before using."

She stared blankly at him, before looking down at the open book placed on the dresser before her. "Both of these spells at once?"

"Assemble the ritual machina as instructed for the teleportation spell. Instead of the leyline frequency, adjust to 40.1 Kiimehertz like you did for the viewing spell. Touch the thread you want, and away you go."

"Away I go..." she echoed, before looking again at her other self. "And in the process, use almost all of the magic I have. You're running on empty right now, aren't you?"

His demeanor didn't change. "I'll admit, it was just a touch... overwhelming."

"How are you even able to cast the viewing spell?"

Here he clucked his tongue, as he waved a hoof at her. "Never underestimate yourself, my dear. The Great and Powerful Presto has his methods~"

She returned his chuckle, shaking her head as she looked at him. "You magnificent stallion, you." she laughed. "And here we are, talking to ourselves. Despite all the hardship that you and I have been through... " her smile increased ever-so slightly. "At least I've finally found somepony worth talking to."

Presto grinned. "What about those thoughts of 'Putting her in her place'?"

A wave of the hoof. "That was then, this is now." she assured him. "A stallion of your bearing has the worth to be seen alongside the Great and Powerful Trixie. Although..."

Slowly, she lifted a hoof up and reached it towards the portal, as if to touch the pony on the other side. However, wooden board blocked her touch, the spell drifting about her hoof and briefly displaying the wood grain beneath the image. "Being alongside in physicality may not be an option..."

The colt allowed his demeanor to relax slightly, taking in the expression on his other self's face. "You still possess a full load of magic. It's still within the realm of your ability to travel."

"Too true... but then that would leave this universe with one Trixie less. And we are not sure that your universe would be able to contain more than ONE Trixie. Else, the only other option is..."

Her eyes widened, as did Presto's, as both showponies received the same thought in their minds. "Else, the only other option..."

She looked him in the eyes. "Such a feat would be taxing... but if it were to succeed, the consequences would be world-changing."

He nodded, a smile gathering upon his lips. "It would put Presto upon the annals of Equestria's history, to have accomplished such a feat."

"And most importantly..." Trixie continued, her eyes narrowing. "It would ultimately prove that Trixie is by far, the most powerful Unicorn in the land... thus placing Twilight Sparkle herself, a mere second best."

A raised eyebrow. "Twilight... Sparkle... this 'Sparkle' wouldn't happen to be a purple unicorn, would they?"

"They would." There was a snort. "She who calmed and sent away an Ursa with her sheer magical ability, showing up Trixie and discrediting her. Trixie has been unable to put on a proper show ever since, so wide the word has spread of her 'failure'."

She then turned her eyes upon her other self. "Would I be correct in guessing that your... 'Dusk Shine' is...?"

The stallion's expression darkened. "I can only assume that he and your Sparkle are one and the same."

"So it would seem... but let's not worry ourselves with that." she replied, a dark smile crossing her face. "Fortuitous this night is indeed, for me to have finally met somepony who is truly my match in every way. Now then, Presto... Let us talk more. You and I, if we work together, we will be able to bring about a new age of enlightenment to Equestria, a change so drastic and sweeping, that it will leave Twilight Sparkle... AND Dusk Shine... left in the dregs and dust of yesterday."

The grin that spread across Presto's face was an exact mirror of the one that Trixie wore, as the both of them imagined the looks of despair on their rival's faces... and of their own propellation into the history books.

"I'm listening~."

To be continued…

ON THE NEXT WHISPER OF WIND

The door opening caught everypony's attention, as Spike entered with a brown bag in his claws. "One vase and one bottle of sunflower oil. Why are we doing this again?"

"Because we're going to send Applebuck home." Twilight easily replied, horn lighting and taking the contents of the bag out into the open. "I'm going to set up the ritual machina that the girls and I used before, and send him straight back. I've got a better hold of the spell now, so there shouldn't be any worries."

"Threads, Twi!" AJ suddenly hissed. "How're you gonna find his thread?"

"Simple, the way I found it the first time. WITH, a little extra double-checking." the librarian quickly added. A glow suffused the items on the farmpony's back, before they were lifted off and brought with the rest of the ingredients. "Just gimmie a bit to set up. In the meantime, I think, uhm..."

"Y-yeah, yeah." the colt stammered, before turning to his fellow crusaders. He locked eyes with each filly, before slowly speaking. "A-ah guess... this is g'bye."