The low temperature tainted the air, especially in the atmosphere of Sweet Apple Acres during the fall. A gentle wind rustled the leaves from the trees, producing a soothing song to the ear.
The Apple family had a nice building set apart and adapted for keeping horses around the field and away from the apple trees
“Applejack, how do you ride this?” Twilight shouted.
Applejack chuckled.“He doesn’t like his hairs being pulled.”
Twilight’s hands, full with fine, soft hair from the horse’s back. She clung for dear life as the horse rode around madly, her legs hovered in the air from the horse’s ironman speed. “Applejack!”
Meanwhile Applejack was having a chuckle watching Twilight fail at riding the stallion. “Calm him down or else he’ll ride you around like a bull in a rodeo!”
“I can’t hold onnnn!” Twilight shouted. Suddenly the horse bucked around, whinnying and snorting angrily and Twilight let out a whimper as her elbow bumped in the rough dirt.
Twilight!” Applejack jumped off her horse and ran to the fallen girl holding her elbow. “You okay?”
Twilight shook her head and showed Applejack her bloody scratch. “I don’t understand. I thought I had known what to do after reading about riding horses.”Twilight said, holding her dripping arm. “Ouch this really hurts!”“Heh, well you pulled on his hair. He really doesn’t like that,” Applejack said.
"I thought that’s how you ride a horse. It said so in the—"
“You can’t learn how to ride a horse in books alone, sugarcube. It’s gotta come from the heart. From experience. “
“I guess I should leave books out of this one, ” Twilight said, blushing.
“Also Rarity shouldn’t have decided your best choice was to wear a short coat.” Applejack rolled her eyes. “I swear that woman sometimes don’t think with her brain.”
True to Applejack’s words, the leather coat hung short, its elbow-length sleeves exposing Twilight’s forearm to the elements.
“It’s not Rarity’s fault, I could have easily said no. But I didn’t want to hurt her feelings so I had to say yes.”
Applejack’s hand gripped under Twilight’s armpit and lifted her up. “ Come on, let’s head back to the house and patch you up.”
“Thanks Applejack,” Twilight said with a smile. But her smile vanished as a glance was passed at the horse.
“No problem there, Sugarcube. Why, I bet with a little more practice, you’ll be riding like an Apple.”
Twilight held her arm as they began walked to the house in the distance. With a glance back at the stable, she couldn’t help to wonder if horses could speak to humans.
Twilight examined the strip of white material strapped around the area she fell on her arm. It had a tight grip around the wound, squeezing her arm so hard, her veins were visible. “Umm, Applejack?” She asked, gaining Applejack’s attention from the sink. “These bandages feel tighter than the ones back at home could you loosen it up a bit?”
“Oh heh, sorry about that. I must have tightened it too hard, curse my strength,” Applejack said, loosening the bandage a little. “There. Is that better?”
Twilight reassure her with a smile. A man in a hat maintaining an upright position stood near a brown horse inside the TV, the commercial grabbing her attention. Almost like he was speaking to her as he asked these simple questions that she could relate to: Wanna know what your horses are feeling? But don’t know how?
“Horse whisperer,” Twilight and the man said in unision.. Her eyes could not stop staring as the man leaned close to the horses here and pressed his lips on the ear as he whisper a couple of words to him. “Wow.”
But quickly, Applejack turned off the TV with the click of the button on the remote.
“Sorry, sugarcube. I don’t want that man’s lies poisoning your mind,” Applejack said. “Maybe some apple picking could help clear your mind.”
“Applejack, he spoke to that horse!” Twilight smile grew and her eyes beamed with excitement. “Oh this is interesting. I always wondered if I was in my pony form would your kind still understand me.” Her traced along her chins as she hummed. “Spike was able to be understood clearly so maybe he could understand me.”
“Now hold on a minute, Twilight” Applejack said. “Are you saying because you’re from a magical world that’s full of ponies, that you have a better chance at talking to regular horses?”
“It’s a possibility I have a better shot at of understanding him.” Twilight stood up and walked over to window, he could be seen roaming in the distance. She turned around with a determined look on her face. “Let me see if he could understand, Applejack. This could mean history if he could understand me, imagine the—”
“Okay, I get it, I get it. Talking to horses means a big deal to you.” Applejack’s hand fell onto Twilight’s shoulder. “You sure about this?”
“Positive.” Twilight said with a nod.
Applejack smiled. “Well alright, if you really want to. Then go on right here, sugarcube.”
“You mean it?” The excitement burning in Twilight’s eyes could be seen from where Applejack stood and she couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Why not? If my friend wants to talk to a horse, then I support ya all the way.”
Twilight ran and hugged Applejack. “Thank you so much!”
Applejack smiled and returned the hug, until Twilight nuzzled her with her cheek, and things went from fine to weird. “Umm, Twi? What are you doing?”
“Oh ummm, that’s not how you hug around here?” Applejack shook her head while blushing furiously. “Oh, I’m so sorry for doing that and—”
“Don’t worry about it! Well, I should get going then!” Applejack tipped her hat and walked out of the kitchen. “I’ll be out picking apples if you need anythin!”
Twilight smiled and turned to the window. The horse trotted all over the stable, he seemed happy, but Twilight couldn’t tell.
Her hand touched the window as she watched him.”Don’t worry friend, you won’t be alone anymore.” She turned around just in time to see Spike running towards her. “And I know just the place to do my research.” She looked toward the school in earnest, her hands clenching in anticipation. “The library!” she exclaimed.
Spike face palmed.
Author's Note
You still with me through this madness?
Well you've got some balls!
The crash of raindrops against the library’s windows brought a sigh of relief from Twilight, who had just escaped the storm. Spike’s head poked out of her backpack, his eyes scanning the shelves as they traversed the musty room. “Do you see anything about horse whisperers anywhere, Spike?” Twilight ran her hands across the tomes, wiping the dust away.
Rounding a corner, Twilight and Spike now stepped into the “H” section, collections of books and periodicals all marked by that letter spread out before them.
“Hmmm, let me take a look.”
Twilight leaned the backpack to the floor just enough as Spike leaped out and climbed up the ladder. He trailed his paw along the books before finding a glimmer of hope with a loud “aha!” He was met with a cry for silence while Twilight cowered from the whispers of wet lips from the people on the other side.
“You got it?” Twilight shouted from below.
“Shush!"
“Sorry!"
Twilight was getting shushed repeatedly until she realized to stop shouting sorry to the people on the other side. “How about now?” she asked in a whispered tone.
Spike looked down from the ladder, Twilight seemed smaller from this height. “It’s The Horse Whisperer, right?”
Twilight nodded.
“Here, catch!” He said, throwing the book.
She extended her hand and a purple aura formed around her hands, reaching toward the book as she smiled. Her smile disappeared as quickly as it came, however, when the tome slammed into her face and a whimper escaped from her lips. “Ouch!”
"Shh! Hush!”
"Sorry,” Twilight whispered, stumbling back. She shook her head, getting the stars out of her vision.
"Hah, Twilight, why did you hold your hand out like that?”
Twilight sighed, rubbing her sore nose. “I thought I still had my levitation spell.”
“The only levitation you’ll be doing is keeping an ice pack on that bruise!” Spike laughed, handing the book to Twilight, who opened to the front page. The title was marked ‘Horse Whisperers: The Mane Idea’. Turning the page, Twilight lit up with glee. “Now we get to start reading!” Twilight approached the end of a shelf, smiling. “Soon, we’ll actually be talking to a real Earth horse! We could be its first friends!"
Spike hopped back inside the backpack as Twilight walked towards the seat. “Ugh, do we have to?”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Fine, you don’t have to, but I need to.”
"Why?”
"Because as the Princess of Friendship, it’s my duty to spread the message anywhere needed,” Twilight said.
“Well I hear griffins and dragons need to know that message more than anything here.”
Twilight giggled nervously.“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
Finally, Twilight found a dusty table and few chairs where she could read with few eyes on her. She sat down and opened the book as she began to lose herself within the pages.
After a ride home from the bus, and a brief walk to the Acres, Twilight stood face to face with the horse.
With the book opened in her left hand and the other on gripped on a page, she licked her lips in anticipation. “Since I already know how a horse thinks about reading, this shouldn’t be a problem.” She took fairly slow steps to the horse and slowly reached her hand out. “Hi, I’m Twilight Sparkle.”
The horse continued to give the princess of friendship a hard time with his blank stare. It didn’t matter what Twilight was doing, chewing hay was all that mattered to him.
“Can you tell me yours?” Twilight stopped once her hand was an inch away from the horse’s mane. Twilight backed away as something came from the horse’s back before dropping onto the floor. Something that shouldn’t be seen with another living being.
The stench followed shortly after. Normal people would pinch their nose, but Twilight was not normal - by her standards anyway. “Oh, I see you do that too...”
The Horse simply stared with hay stuffed in his mouth.
‘The book said patting the horse will make it tame.’ Twilight put her hand down and gripped a ton of the horse’s hair as she tried to brush his coat. “I think I’m doing it right!"
As she pulled her hand back, the horse let out a screech and began bucking around until finally it connected with a burst of lavender light. She felt a sharp pain in her side as hooves met flesh, sailing across the yard before slamming into a tree. The horse was intact. Twilight, however, was shaken after being slammed into the tree by the horse’s movement as it bucked around.
After what felt like forever, the birds stopped flying around her head as the stars cleared from her vision.
"Are you alright?” A deep voice rang in her ears.
Twilight groaned as she shook her head.
"I’m so sorry. I don’t like strangers patting me, I just..I just don’t like them touching me, ya know?” A big brown blur in her vision said.
Twilight rubbed her head and slowly got up as she was met with a long face. “Applejack? When did your face get so long?”
"You’re one to talk! I thought Applejack’s skin color was weird, you’re purple!”
“My magic must have protected me from the horse’s buck, but how?” Twilight asked as she felt her newly transformed pony ears twitch. Luckily, her vision cleared from the blurriness, but the same brown and hairy face was inches away. “Oh my Celestia!” she jumped back in shock.
Before her, standing on four hooves, was a brown and white spotted horse. Its face was mostly white and it’s mane was a golden color similar to Applejack’s. “Are you okay?”
“Oh my Celestia!”
“Okay, you said that twice now. Must’ve bucked you too hard.” His deep voice filled Twilight with giddiness.
“I’m fine, thank you.” Twilight rubbed her eyes, frantic to ensure she wasn’t dreaming.
“Well alright, I must be going back to eating hay,” Horse said as he turned around and began to take his leave.
“Wait!” Twilight shouted, running in front of the horse. “I have so many questions I wanna ask you.”
“Why?”
Twilight pointed at her ears. “I’m not a human, I’m actually a princess from a world filled with ponies! Maybe that’s why I can understand you clearly - because my pony ears recognize horse language!"
“Now I know I bucked you too hard.” Horse said, shaking his head. “You know you are a human right? Did Applejack share some of her moonshine with you?”
Twilight laughed, shaking her head. “No, I’m a horse too! Well, a pony, but still!” She stretched out a hand as her smile grew. “My name is Twilight Sparkle!"
Horse stared at the empty hand, making Twilight’s smile begin to fall. “Can you tell me yours?”
Meanwhile, through Twilight’s talking, the horse simply stared, its long and weird face hard to detect any kind of emotions on.
‘I need a way to prove that I’m a pony...but how?’ Twilight pondered, remembering her reflection in the portal mirror, and her proximity to the farmhouse.
“Wait right here.” Twilight wasted no time as she sprinted across the Acres to the house. Barging inside, past a hobbling Granny Smith, and to the back hall, Twilight ran upstairs, grabbed the oval mirror sitting on Applejack’s bedside table, and ran back downstairs. She passed Applejack, who grabbed her arm swiftly, stopping her mad dash to the horse’s location.
“What in tarnation do you plan to do with my mirror in your hands, Sugarcube?” Applejack made to turn Twilight around, but the girl slipped away, bolting for the door.
"No time! Horse talking, must prove not human!” Twilight shouted as she ran out the door. Trees and falling leaves flew past her sight until she was finally back before the horse, where she stood panting.
“Well?” His eyes held an inkling of curiosity, a tuft of hay sticking out his muzzle.
"Give...me….a….minute.” Twilight exhaled. “Okay,” she said, picking up the mirror and turning it towards the horse.“Take a look and you’ll see I’m a pony.”
Horse stared at the mirror. At first Twilight remained human, but as he continued to stare, a purple unicorn with wings was holding the mirror instead of a human. Gorse stumbled back a bit, surprise taking his features. “Oh god.”
Twilight smiled through her sweaty musk. “Now you believe me?”
Horse nodded.“So what the others said was true.”
Twilight arched an eyebrow. “Others?”
Horse nodded. “Yes, the other horses. Horse legend says, a winged horse god will come to take us and we shall run free from this world run by humans!” Twilight’s eyes widened, her thoughts racing.
Horse afforded what sounded like a chuckle. “Just kidding, but you are a myth among horses.”
"I’m a myth? “Twilight’s hand rubbed on her chin as she hummed.
"Are there more like you?”
Twilight nodded quickly. “Yes, of many different races: pegasi, unicorns, earth ponies, and alicorns; which I am.
“I knew it!” Horse neighed happily. “And they told me I was crazy! Now, the human who understands us is right in front of me!”
“Oh this is going to be a great time for the both of us!” Twilight squee’d, making for her backpack and paper. “I should record some notes!”
“We might have a small hurdle to jump first.” The horse titled his head to the right, making Twilight turn around.
In the distance, Applejack sprinted out the farmhouse door, chasing what appeared to be a raccoon out of her garden plants, sparing Twilight a confused glance before resuming her pursuit.
Twilight’s arms fell so as her smile. “Oh. Right...”
“Hey, don’t feel bad. I’m sure she’ll come around.” Horse smiled, but Twilight couldn’t tell through the hay in his maw. “I got a question, something I don’t quite get, maybe you’ve seen it or not.”
Twilight turned around with an arched eyebrow. “Seen what?”
“When Applejack takes the others for a ride - why, just the other day, a friend of mine went in the back and I heard this loud sound, heh...he never came back afterwards.” Horse said, chuckling nervously. “So, uh, you know what she does with the horses out back by any chance?”
“Sorry. I don’t know, but I’ll ask,” Twilight said, offering him a smile. She rubbed her arm as she kicked her leg around. “So...I was thinking if I could ask you a favor.”
“Depends on what you’re asking.”
“Well when I was a pony my assistant, Spike, he’s a dragon used to—”
“A d-dragon?! Y-you have...” Horse turned around, and to Twilight’s surprise, started galloping away while liberally shouting “Nope!”
“Wait, I just wanted to know if I could ride you!” Twilight shouted, running after the starled stallion. The horse had the speed, Twilight gave him that, but she had something better. She extended her hand and focused it on him, smiling. However, again, nothing happened and Twilight was left disappointed once more.
She really missed when she didn’t have to change things and she could just grab them with her magic. “I wanna be your friend!”
After chasing each other around the stable, Twilight and Horse decided it was best just to sit down and figure out this madness. Twilight looked at him sitting on his haunches with his hind legs tucked to his side, realizing how much she missed sitting that way. “So, you have a dragon for an assistant?"
Twilight nodded. “How do you know about dragons?”
Horse looked aghast. “Just because I’m a horse doesn’t mean I can’t read.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”
“Because I can’t!” Horse said, chuckling. “Well, not Human language.”
Twilight eyes beamed. “You mean Horses here can write too?!”
Horse shook his head. “Nope.”
"Oh.”
“By the way you think and move, something tells me you’re still not used to how this world’s logic works."
Twilight shook her head. “When my head slammed into that tree, I was knocked unconscious. Back at home, I would have just brushed it off.”
Horses chuckled, but it didn't sound like one. “Lucky you.”
Twilight examined her hand as she waved it around. “I didn’t realize I missed my magic this much until now. I would have easily caught you with my magic rather than chasing you.”
“Well you can grab stuff with those hands, I can’t unless I use my teeth!”
"And the taste is the worst!” Twilight stopped, smirking. She and Horse had both said that!
Realizing this, they shared a laugh.
Horse couldn’t stop staring into those violet eyes, maybe something about them was special. He exhaled as the silence was starting to become unsettling, Twilight seemed to avoid his eye contact as she tried to look at something else.
“I guess we really are the same if you take out all the magic and ‘being a Princess’ stuff,” Horse said.
Twilight snapped out of her trance and quickly nodded.“Well I am a pony, so no surprise there.”
They watched as the sun went down the hill, casting shadows over trees and the field. Horse and Twilight breathed the fresh maple scent in before returning to their staring contest.
Horse smiled and leaned his back on the tree. “So, Miss Sparkle, tell me about yourself.”
Twilight smiled and crossed her legs together as the horse was all ears. “Well it all started when Nightmare Moon came back from her banishment...”
“Twilight.”
Twilight shook the sleep from her eyes as a foot prodded her side. “Twilight!”
Twilight’s eyes opened to Applejack standing over her. She looked up at the sky, the full moon’s light shone among the stars, hanging low in the sky like a great luminous pearl and casting long, deep shadows far down the trail. The moon looked pale and wan, as if recovering from an illness. “Luna raised the moon already?”
Applejack chuckled, motioning to the two figures amidst the grass. “You and Jacob must have gotten along pretty well.”
Twilight turned to the golden horse she had used as a pillow when she slept. Jacob was the horse's name, Twilight’s face flashed recognition; she knew she forgot to ask. “Yeah he told me a lot about himself and I did as well.”
Applejack’s eye twitched. “Wha-?”
“Also, what do you do with the horses you take out back?” Twilight asked with an innocent smile.
Applejack hurriedly picked Twilight up from the ground, shoving her down the path toward the school. “Umm, sugarcube? I don’t think you wanna kn—” Her advance halted, Twilight’s feet digging into the ground in resistance. The girl glanced up at Applejack, a worried expression on her face
"And why do you never come back with the~eem!” Twilight’s question was cut short by Applejack’s shove. She plummeted into the mirror, the echoes of the farmgirl’s voice following her back to Equestria.
“Dagnabit! I knew I shoulda’ bought the silencer!”
Author's Note
I could continue, but let's see how it goes first.
