The sun shone brightly upon the vast farmlands on the edge of the town of Canterlot, row upon row of healthy green apple trees lining the many fields there, fully laden with their namesake. It was a sight very familiar to Twilight, who smiled as she walked along the path leading towards the bright red barn of the Apple family. She'd seen this many times before, albeit in another world. Some details were different, but even so, she knew in her heart that this was her friend's home. Pony or human, Applejack was still Applejack. It was a thought that caused her to chuckle slightly, prompting her to look to her side, wherein she saw her travelling companion. For there, walking alongside her, was her one-time rival, Sunset Shimmer, now a dear and trusted friend. The former student of Celestia turned towards Twilight, returning her smile, and before long, the two girls arrived at Applejack's front door. Turning to the side, Twilight saw that her friend's Grandmother, Granny Smith, was in a rocking chair beside it, sleeping soundly. Knowing this, Twilight was sure to knock carefully upon the wooden surface, and within moments, the door was answered, and a smiling Stetson-wearing girl greeted them on the other side.
"Well howdy, Twi! It was mighty fine of y'all to come down an visit!"
The young Princess blushed a little at that before replying.
"It's no problem, AJ, really. In truth, I was happy to get your call. It's always a pleasure to see you girls."
Smiling, the farm girl promptly slapped a hand on Twilight's shoulder and brought her close in a jovial manner. Although a friendly gesture, it nevertheless took Twilight aback somewhat, which was something Sunset couldn't help but giggle at. With the greetings over, Applejack fully stepped out of her home, shutting the door behind her, after which the three girls began to make their way away from the barn and towards the vast apple orchards around them. They were a beautiful sight, easily the size of the nearby town, or at least a good chunk of it. It warmed Twilight to know that, even in this strange world, there were still familiar elements that reminded her of home. Sunset saw this look on her face and gave a warm smile, understanding that same thought herself. As the trio made their way across the orchard, Twilight caught sight of Applejack's brother, Big Macintosh, hard at work carrying baskets of freshly-fallen apples. The girl gave him a wave, which he soon smiled back at, before carrying on with his chores. After much walking, the three soon found themselves in the animal enclosures of the farm, with a number of pigs, sheep and even chickens roaming about, busying themselves with feeding and grazing.
Looking upon them all, Twilight let out a nervous chuckle.
"I've got to admit, Applejack...it's strange to see so many animals...silent. Back in Equestria, every one of these creatures, aside from the chickens, would be talking right now."
Applejack chuckled back at that, albeit in a far less nervous manner.
"Well, that sounds pretty interestin, Twi, but you'll pardon me if ah say that mah work would probably be a bit harder if these here critters could talk back to me."
That remark caused both Twilight and Sunset to laugh in response to that notion, knowing fully well the kind of work their friend usually had to do when these animals were involved. Twilight, after having settled down from that laughter, looked back to the animals, getting down on her knees and picking up a handful of corn to offer some of the nearby chickens. The birds were hesitant at first, but soon approached her and began gently pecking the offered food, much to Twilight's joy. Fluttershy would love this, she thought to herself. However, as she focused on this, she began to hear a new sound behind her. At first, she thought it was her human ears playing tricks on her, but as the sound continued, she recognised it immediately as the sound of hoofsteps approaching. After dropping the rest of the corn for the chickens, the young Princess got up and spun around. Her eyes widened as she discovered that she had not mis-heard, for there was, walking towards her, a massive stallion, at least as big as Mac was back in Equestria, if not more so. Light-brown in his fur and dark-brown in his mane, the mere sight of this creature caused Twilight to smile widely. Before her two friends could stop her, she rushed towards the stallion, looking as eager as she’d ever been.
"Hello!"
The animal said nothing however, merely standing in place as Twilight kept on smiling at him.
"I must confess, I'm surprised to see another Equine here! I thought all of them were humans on this side!"
Applejack opened her mouth to speak, but was stopped when she noticed a hand on her shoulder. Turning, she saw that it was Sunset, who raised a finger to her own lips, all while bearing a mischievous smile upon her face. It took a few moments, but Applejack soon understood what her friend was getting at, and so turned back to Twilight to watch this whole thing unfold. After a few more moments, Twilight carried on.
"Well, Sir, I don't suppose you'd like to tell me your name?"
The stallion remained silent.
"Um...okay. How about telling me what your life is like here? With so many humans, it must be strange for somepony like you to live amongst them, right?"
Yet again, the stallion remained silent. Her smile fading somewhat, Twilight cleared her throat a little before continuing.
"Well...um...do you have anything to say at all?"
Only now did the stallion react, and it was only to start walking past Twilight entirely. Although confused at this behaviour, she looked on as the stallion walked instead to Applejack. To her surprise, Twilight saw that her friend was offering the horse an apple, which he promptly ate, in much the same way the other livestock would. Showing clear confusion at this, her attention was drawn to Sunset, who chuckled a little as she approached her.
"I'm afraid, Twilight, this is what Equines are like over here. No magic, no flying, no talking. They're just...animals."
Twilight's eyes widened with shock, clearly having a hard time wrapping her head around a concept like that. After a few false starts, she finally managed to get out a few words.
"Did...did you have difficulty accepting that?"
Sunset gave a nod in response.
"Oh yeah, big time. Changing species myself was one thing, but knowing my own was just like this? That was something else altogether."
Twilight nodded, knowing full well what a shock this was. Turning back to the stallion, she saw that Applejack had finished feeding him, and was now gesturing for her to come over. Although hesitant at first, Twilight soon made her way over, wherein the farm girl gave a smile before speaking to her.
"Why not give old Brownie here a stroke?"
Twilight's eyes shot open with that.
"EXCUSE ME?!"
Although confused at her friend's reaction, Applejack soon gained a look of understanding and let out a hearty laugh. A few moments passed before she'd calmed down enough, after which she began to explain herself.
"Not that kind of stroke, Twi. Like this."
Stretching out a hand, Applejack began to, as she said, gently stroke the stallion's mane, a motion the animal seemed to enjoy. Twilight looked on as her friend did this for a few more moments, after which she stopped and then gestured to her. Nervously, Twilight took a step forward, hesitantly reaching out her hand. This kind of behaviour was not the kind of thing she'd have done towards a stallion back in Equestria, but then, she had to keep reminding herself that this was not Equestria. So, taking a deep breath, her hand soon made contact with the stallion's head. A few moments later, her hand began to move along his mane. It took a while, but Twilight became more and more relaxed with the motion, prompting her to smile a little more easily. Applejack, seeing her friend become more at ease with this, offered a friendly smile of her own, leaning against the nearby picket fence as she did so. The stallion seemed to appreciate this gesture from Twilight, as evidenced by the sudden movement of his head, moving forward, almost as if to nuzzle her. Chuckling nervously, Twilight stepped back from this.
"Um, no offense, Sir...but I don't think we're at that stage of our relationship yet."
As expected, the animal had no idea what she'd just said, prompting Twilight to look to her side, wherein she noticed Sunset doing her best to stifle a chuckle.
"So...when are you going to tell your friends you got to touch a big strong stallion while you were here?"
As befitting of someone like Twilight, her face went as pale as a sheet with those words, which at long last allowed Sunset to let out her laugh, and quite a loud one at that. After some time had passed, and her laughter-induced tears had been swept away, Sunset caught her breath before speaking to her friend once more.
"That look right there? Totally worth it."
