Lady Luck meets Lord Chance

“Applejack! Have you gained weight?” questioned Granny Smith upon seeing her beloved granddaughter trot through the gates of Sweet Apple Acres.

Granny Smith however, was staring at the orange Stallion, not the mare. She squinted, “Oh, hang on, lemme get my glasses.”

“Granny!” yelped Pinkie Pie happily, “It’s so nice to see you, I baked you a pie!” The bouncing pony pulled out a steaming fresh cookie dough pie out from seemingly the air itself, and handed it to Granny.

“Why, thank you dear. How’s my favourite granddaughter, trice removed?”

Applejack pouted, “Granny!” Sure Applebloom was great, but Applejack always secretly thought she was the favourite granddaughter. The betrayal ran deep.

The old mare waved a hoof, “Come on, Applejack, you know the schedule. Applebloom was my favourite yesterday and today’s its Pinkie. Tomorrow’ll be you, dear.” The grandmother squinted at the orange Stallion again, “Big Mac? Did ya’ll get a tan?”

Jack swallowed, “Uhm, nnnope.” he said nervously.

The two mares were a little astounding at how much he sounded like Big Mac, although his voice was clearer and not quite as rumbling.

Applejack cleared her throat, “We better go, Granny, apples to see, ponies to buck. I, I mean…” she stuttered, “Love you bye!”

The four ponies scampered off into the orchard, leaving a disorientated Granny Smith behind. She shrugged. Kids, they were always off being mischievous and whatnot in a flash, causing old Granny to see double.

“That was close.” sighed Applejack.

Applejack nodded before finally voicing his primary concern, “What in Equestria do we call each other?”

There it was, the elephant in the orchard. Everypony else’s doubles had proper names, the male and female equivalent.

Unfortunately for the farmers, their name turned out to be gender neutral. That was what had irked the Applejacks.

Berry Gumball thought for a moment, “Well, Jack is a male griffon name. I guess my Applejack could just be Jacky Boy! Or Jack attack. Male Applejack V.1.0. Jacky Apple seed?” he grinned ear to ear.

“I was thinking just AJ would be fine, but Berry makes a good point, Jacky Apple Seed suits you, Jacky Apple Seed!” squealed Pinkie.

The male cowpony nodded slowly before swinging a hoof, “AJ it is. I ain’t a griffon.”

Berry shrugged his shoulders, “Suit yourself. Although, wouldn’t it have been easier just to ask your parents what alternate male name would have been picked for you?”

Applejack’s relaxed grin fell to the floor, “My parents passed away many moons ago.”

Pinkie Pie chose that time to drop a pin to the ground, everypony heard it.

The pink stallion almost visibly deflated, “I’m sorry, I …I didn’t…I’m gonna cry!”  his lower lip quivered and he buried his head into Pinkie’s chest, who was consoling him and stroking his mane.

The mare smiled wistfully, “S’alright. The past’s past, ya’ll can’t change it, I’ve learned to accept it.”

AJ stared far off in the distance, eyes unfocused, “C’mon, why don’t ya’ll show us ‘round?” he murmured.

It was a weak suggestion, obviously as the pony who ran the same farm back in his world, AJ knew the farm like the back of his hoof, but a distraction was needed from the current subject. Applejack began the tour, starting at the barn, passing through the river where she and Big Mac, and ultimately AppleBloom would play as foals. She showed them the vampire fruit bat orchard, and shared the story of Flutterbat the Hungry.

“You mean, she was a vampire?!” gasped Berry, “Like a, eat your face and gobble your hooves, vampire?!”

Apparently in their world, Butterscotch’s song had convinced the others to build the sanctuary right off the bat. No pun intended. It had been difficult for AJ to rhyme “varmint” with “scorched earth policy.”

“No-” started Applejack.

“Yeah!” nodded Pinkie, “I made her garlic cupcakes for a week after just to be safe! She didn’t even eat them, I have my suspicions” her baby blue eyes narrowed, “… ain’t nopony’s gonna eat Pinkamena Diane Pie!”

Berry pulled out a wooden sword, “Or Bartholomew “Berry” Daniel Gumball!” agreed the stallion. Pinkie pulled out her own oak rapier and the two began the fence along the edges of the sanctuary.  A screech from a fruit bat caused the ponies to jump and hold each other tight.

Just across the field, AJ could see a large red earth pony playing with a small yellow filly, wearing a pink bow to keep her tangled mane in check. He smiled to himself, seeing his own siblings reflected in their personalities.

He watched his brother Applebuck hiding in the barrel of apples to scare the large stallion, and despite being male; it was his sister Red Gala’s patient smile and playful nudge he saw.

“I can introduce you to them if you’ll like.” offered Applejack.

“But, the paradox?”

Applejack shrugged, “Family’s family. You’re an Apple. Heck, Berry’s an Apple. You can be from South Coltlina, can’t you?”

The stallion felt an almost giddy feeling in his chest and nodded vigorously.

“Applebloom, Big Mac! C’mere!” she hollered.

Obediently, Applebloom began skipping in their direction, followed by the steady pacing of Big Mac. The little filly curiously looked up at AJ, then back to her sister, then back again.

“Do I know you?” asked Applebloom, head cocked.

Applejack shook her head, “Naw, this is your cousin… Cortland from South Coltlina. He’s just visiting and I wanted you to meet him.”

Big Mac slowly nodded his head, “Howdy.”

“Why haven’t we seen you around before, or at the family reunion? Didn’t you go?” asked Applebloom, a little distraught that a fellow Apple wouldn’t visit.

AJ was indignant, “I did! Ain’t nothing more important to me than family. I was just…out of the pictures really.” covered the farmer as best as he could.

That wasn’t good enough for Applebloom.

“Then we make it up now!” she announced trying to push AJ toward the farm house with her head, “Pictures, let’s take pictures! I wanna make memories!”

Big Mac’s response was cut off by a large gong sounding; “Lunchtime!” came the echo of Granny Smith’s voice.

“Oh boy, lunch time!” Two pink blurs raced past the farm ponies and headed toward the farmhouse. Pinkie Pie’s appetite was legendary, and now there were two of them. AJ and Applejack panicked and sprinted toward the house, they wanted to eat something before the party ponies ate it all.

Applebloom tried to follow behind, but her little legs simply couldn’t compete. With a flick of his head, Big Mac threw his sister on his back and began to run for lunch. The filly giggled with delight, “Hi ho Big Mac, away!”

Mhmmhm, hay sandwiches, salads, and apple cider. And for dessert, the Ponyville famous apple fritters. When Granny Smith made the meals, there was always enough to feed fifteen ponies, just a little habit she picked up after living with twelve brothers and sisters. Naturally, everpony ate to their hearts’ content.

The one thing that bothered AJ was the fact that there were exactly five seats at the table. There was no way Granny set the table for five; he and Berry hadn’t even been introduced. And hopefully they’d never have to if Granny’s eyesight was as bad as Grampy’s without their glasses. Of course that meant those seats belonged to…

The stallion excused himself and left the room. He sighed. His parents were dead. It was so weird a thought, something surreal. He sat on the porch, lost in thought. A clip clopping could be heard as someone approached behind him. Applejack had followed him out and sat beside the large stallion. She rested her head on his shoulder,“Whatcha thinking about, cuz?”

“Your parents are dead.” he stated somberly.

Applejack nodded, “Absolutely crushed me n’ Big Mac when we were kids, and Applebloom was too young to remember. I loved them so much. We all did. It was hard, the mourning, but I guess you already know that.”

The farmpony shook his head, “No, I don’t.” his voice was pained, “Let’s take us Applejacks out of the equation. Big Mac and Applebloom’s parents are dead. Red Gala’s and Applebuck’s are alive.”

The mare froze, “You mean…”

AJ nodded, “Our parents only died in this universe.”

Applejack’s thoughts were spinning. No, her head was spinning. Heck, Applejack’s world was spinning. Somewhere, somehow, her parents were alive! She nearly fell head over hooves, muzzle over flank trying to process her train of thought. AJ caught her and steadied the poor mare.

“I’m sorry, that was selfish of me to say, what with you goin’ through such a great loss and I, I never even thought about…” apologized the male.

Applejack had closed her eyes, and when she reopened them there was a glint in her emerald hues. A look AJ knew all too well.

“This means, this means I could see my parents again. I could see ma, I could see daddy!”

AJ’s heart sank, that was exactly what he would have said, “But you can’t. Your parents have passed, who knows what repercussions this could have! Your alternate universe parents, meeting the daughter they never had?"

The mare looked downtrodden, she stared at her hooves and let out a deep breath, of course it was too good to be true. Of course. The male slammed a single, powerful hoof into the ground. From under the brim of his eye his determined gaze met Applejack’s, “But gosh darn it…what about them meeting cousin Cortland from South Coltina?”

Applejack’s eyes lit up in anticipation. She was going to see her parents again; it’d be an Apple family reunion on a grander scale.

“Absolutely not.”

“But, Twi, please! I’ll never have this chance again!”

Twilight Sparkle’s heart almost broke in two when she saw the pained and desperate look on her friend’s face, a look that she had put there with her refusal to let Applejack use the mirror to see her parallel parents.

Even Spike the Dragon looked at Twilight wistfully; he knew what it was like to have parents missing in his life.

“It wouldn’t take too long, she’d be introduced as a cousin, and Lord knows we Apples are never short on cousins. All she wants to do is see ‘em.” pleaded AJ.

The alicorn bit her lip, “We’ve only just scratched the surface of the origins of this mirror.” She cleared her throat and began reciting her research from memory, “The Fairest Mirror, an item of fairy-tale, was forged from ancient magic, long before the reign of the royal Sisters. It granted the user the possibility to experience what could have been, but not what would never be. But it’s supposed to be a fairy-tale, this mirror shouldn’t exist.”

“But it does.” Said Applejack bluntly.

“Again, it shouldn’t. The only story I’ve found about it is about a mad wizard who uses it to explore the extent of his powerful dark magic, without a regard for consequence because he would always just hop through universes where the other decision was the one he made. He single hoofedly caused the Dark Ages. It’s not a blessing, Applejack.”

Dusk Shine interrupted the mare before she could continue, “Twilight, it was just a fairy tale. I think we could actually make this work.”

But Twilight couldn’t bring herself to comply with the idea, “How would she even activate the mirror? Both Applejacks are on this side, would flipping a coin or drawing straws still work?”

With a coy smile, Dusk tapped his horn with a hoof, “Portal opening spell, come on, Twilight, this is Magic 401. Instead of teleportation where matter dematerializes from the inside out of a pony, we channel such properties through a beacon, or in this case, the mirror. Whatever matter passes is dematerialized and reappears on the other side.”

“Sounds like we’re cheating chance.” mulled the lavender mare.

The male nodded his head slowly, “Well, think of it as an ace up my sleeve.”