Different Worlds, Different Rules
The final bell rang, sending a horde of teenagers eager to greet the weekend surging out of Canterlot High. But not all of them raced out. One dragged her feet until she stood before the plinth in front of the school, which still lacked a statue after the recent Friendship Games. The girl stared into the marble and wondered if the faint reflection looked a little more equine than usual. Then she sighed as her thoughts took a different direction.
A hand on her shoulder made her jump and spin to face whoever interrupted her.
"Whoa!" Sunset Shimmer flinched back, hands up. "You okay, AJ?"
Applejack blinked and relaxed. "Sorry 'bout that; just clearin' mah head. I'm alright, Sunset." She looked away. "More or less."
"Yeah, sure you are." Sunset frowned, her hands on her hips. "I've kept enough problems to myself that I can tell when someone else is doing it." Her expression softened. "Anything I can help with?"
Applejack shook her head. "Naw, I just get a little blue when Mother's Day comes around."
"Really? Why's that?"
Applejack tilted her head, her mouth falling open. "Uh, in case ya hadn't heard, Sunset, mah parents are dead."
"I actually did know." Sunset looked away, a hand on her forearm. "I have a database on all of the... well, the exploitable aspects of the student body. I wanted to get rid of it, but Pinkie insisted I keep it. Said it'd be 'a big help,' whatever she meant by that." After a moment, she focused back on Applejack. "Still, why is that a problem?"
"Do I gotta spell it out for ya?" Applejack huffed.
"Well, if you feel sad, why don't you visit them?"
"I do. Me, Mac, Bloom, and Granny all go to th' cemetery every year on their weddin' anniversary."
Sunset frowned and tilted her head. "Well, that's nice, but I meant visiting them, not their grave."
Applejack gaped at the other girl for a moment, fists tightening. "Sunset, I dunno how death works over in Ponyland, but in these parts, it's a one-way trip. I ain't seein' mah Ma an' Pa until I kick the bucket m'self." She sniffed and turned away. She could already feel her anger gutter. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go cry into mah pillow for a spell." She stomped off.
"Wait!" Sunset's voice cried behind her.
Applejack spun back. "What?" She hated the quaver in her voice, but she couldn't shut it out. "Wanna call me ugly while yer at it?"
"No! I swear, I never meant to hurt you. I really didn't realize that this world—" Sunset gasped and beamed. "I've got it! Are you free this weekend?"
Applejack glared at her. "I think we established I ain't got much planned fer Mother's Day."
"Great!" Sunset gasped. "I mean not great given the circumstances, but it works, because I can definitely make this up to you."
"Whaddaya mean?"
Sunset shook her head. "I want to keep it a surprise. Don't want to get your hopes up if Twilight says it won't work. Princess Twilight, not human Twilight. I'll text you. Bye!"
Applejack blinked as Sunset waved and ran off. "That girl is spendin' way too much time around Pinkie Pie."
Applejack's phone twanged out a banjo note as she was getting ready for bed that evening. She checked the text.
Sunset Shimmer 5s ago
She said yes!
Applejack rolled her eyes and swiped up a call with Sunset, saying "Yes to what?" the moment the other girl picked up.
"Well..." Sunset hemmed and hawed for a moment before she said, "I don't think you'd believe me if I told you."
"Sunset, yer a magic unicorn from another world and kickin' yer keister gave me magic floatin' horse powers. I'm ready to believe just about anything."
"Look, just go to the school early one morning this weekend and you'll see for yourself. I just booked you a trip to Equestria."
Applejack blinked. "You did what?"
"Consider it an apology for earlier."
"You don't need to do anythin' like that."
"But I want to." That had a bit of steel behind it, enough to make it clear Sunset wasn't budging.
Applejack considered it for a bit. "Well, we are doin' somethin' for Granny Smith come Sunday, but I got tomorrow free. It won't take too long, will it?"
"You should be home by dinnertime," said Sunset.
"How early I gotta be there, exactly?"
"Around eight."
Applejack smirked. "Pfft. You call that early?"
The drive to Canterlot High was quiet for a time, as was to be expected when the only company was Big Macintosh. After several minutes, he asked, "So, why're you doin' this again?"
Applejack shook her head. "I truly do not know."
Another block rolled by before Mac said, "Yer sayin' all we know is that yer friend wants ya to go to Magic Horse Land because she said somethin' stupid."
Applejack sighed. "Eeyup."
Mac didn't say anything more until they pulled up to the school. "I know you don't need me to tell ya this, AJ, but yer friends are weird."
"Yer right, Mac. I don't need you to tell me that. Thanks fer the ride." Applejack eased out of the cab and slammed the passenger door behind her. She walked up to the Wondercolt statue, stuck a hand through to test the portal, and walked in before she could think better of it.
The transition between worlds was... Well, the only word Applejack could think of was "dizzying." She figured she'd need to read more science fiction before she could describe the experience better.
Crystalline walls filled her vision. Applejack couldn't help but imagine Rarity's reaction until a shout of "Welcome to Equestria, Applejack!" got her attention.
Applejack looked around for the source of the voice and spotted Twilight Sparkle. Twilight had shown her pictures of this place, including ones of Twilight and even Applejack's own pony self, but it was one thing to joke about how cutesy everything looked and another to see a winged unicorn in the flesh. There was a feeling about Twilight, some tingle not unlike how Applejack felt with her ears up, but so much stronger. There was a power in the person she'd always thought off as a sort of awkward exchange student, a power Applejack barely understood.
The source of that power frowned at her. "Uh, Applejack? You okay?"
Applejack shook her head and rubbed her temples. Or tried to. "Ow!"
"Uh, yeah, careful with those hooves."
"Heh. Kinda the problem. Ain't used to bein' a pony." Clocking herself actually helped. Twilight's sheer presence wasn't as noticeable now that Applejack wasn't totally caught up in it.
"Understandable. We have a little time for you to acclimate yourself." Twilight moved towards the door.
Applejack tried to follow, but just scrunched up her body, having forgotten to move what were now her front legs. "Uh, hold on." A few false starts later, she had collapsed in a tangle of her own limbs. "Consarn it, how do ya manage all these legs?"
Everything went purple and tingly as something picked her back up. Twilight smiled, her horn aglow. "I could ask you a similar question. I found it works best if you don't think about it too much. Your body 'knows' how to move, for lack of a better term."
A few faltering steps later, Applejack found the right rhythm. They made their way through the castle until Applejack stiffened and came to a halt, her eyes wide with realization. "Twilight?"
Twilight looked back. "Something wrong?"
"Where're mah clothes?"
“You still have your hat.”
Applejack glanced up at the brim. “That I do. Where’d the rest go?”
Twilight beamed. “That’s actually a very interesting question." She cleared her throat. "However, you’re probably not interested in the theoretical details. Suffice to say, they’re in the same place my clothes go when I’m not in your world.”
“And where’s that?”
“As of now, I have no idea." Applejack scowled, and Twilight hastened to add, "Don't worry! Equestria's a clothing-optional society, and it's not like anypony can see anything you don't want them to."
Applejack quirked an eyebrow at that, then tried to shrug. It ended up more like a push-up. "Well, when in Roan."
"Besides, we've got a long gallop ahead of us," Twilight said as they continued on their way. "Anything you'd wear would be sweaty and nasty by the time we get there."
“And where're we headed, exactly?”
Twilight looked back at Applejack. "Didn't Sunset tell you?"
Applejack shook her head. "Said she wanted it to be a surprise."
"Hmm." After a moment, Twilight said, "Well, given the circumstances, I can understand that. There are a lot of differences between our worlds, and some of them can be downright overwhelming."
"If they're overwhelmin', shouldn't I know ahead of time? Prepare mahself?"
"Given what Sunset told me, I think it might be best for you to see for yourself. If I told you ahead of time, you might get the wrong idea."
Applejack frowned. "Twi, I'm prob'ly gettin' all kinds of wrong ideas the longer you let me think of 'em."
"Just trust me," Twilight said with a reassuring smile. "I promise, you're going to enjoy this."
"If this ends with me havin' t' fight some monster when I ain't even got thumbs, I ain't gonna be happy."
"And I won't blame you if that happens, unlikely as it is." Now in what looked to be an entry hall, Twilight floated some saddlebags off of a wooden coatrack and onto Applejack. "Now, your local analogue packed you a lunch, compliments of Sweet Apple Acres." The princess wrinkled her brow. "And for some reason, she said to tell you 'Sorry.'"
Applejack gave her a lopsided smirk. "Not exactly fillin' me with confidence here, Twi."
"Don't worry, it'll be fun. I promise."
Once they were out of the castle, Twilight led Applejack around the town rather than through it. "I don't think either of us wants to explain how you both are and aren't Applejack a few dozen times."
Applejack nodded. "'Preciate it. That'd get real old, real fast."
"To say nothing of confusing. I don't think I'd be able to tell the two of you apart if you stood next to one another."
Pinkie Pie bounced by. "Hi, Twilight! Hi, human Applejack!"
"Uh..." Applejack watched her pass, jaw hanging open.
Twilight giggled. "Pinkie being Pinkie appears to be a universal constant."
"Alrighty, then."
They stopped before a wide plain, tall grass waving in the breeze. "Think you've got walking figured out?" said Twilight.
Applejack nodded. "Like you said, th' pony knows how. I just gotta let 'er."
"Then follow me." Twilight galloped off, and Applejack hurried to follow her.
Applejack let her body go on autopilot, sat back, and enjoyed the scenery, wide grasslands and rolling hills passing by. She nearly stumbled when saw clouds drifting in different directions, which Twilight said were being pushed. Aside from the occasional question, neither said anything along the way.
After what must have been hours, Twilight slowed to a trot, at which point Applejack shot past, tried to stop, and fell on her face.
"Uh, we're here," Twilight said as she picked up Applejack with her magic.
Applejack chuckled. "I figured." She looked around. The black hill that had loomed on the horizon for some time jutted out to her left, looking jagged, glassy, and sinister. To her right, something glinted with gold in the morning sunshine. "Uh, where's here?"
"The Plain of Hades," Twilight said casually. "The obsidian extrusion is the gate to Tartarus, but we're not going there." She brought a hoof to her chin. "Given how Cerberus is supposed to keep creatures from leaving a subdimension, I'm actually not sure how he'd react to you."
Applejack stared at Twilight as the pieces fell into place. "We're actually going to Elysium."
Twilight nodded. "Yes."
"We're actually going to Elysium."
Twilight gave a slower nod, one eyebrow raised. "That's what I said."
"Anyone here can just walk to Elysium."
"Well, Ponyville's quite close to it. It's a much longer trip for most of Equestria. Ponies have proposed building a railroad here, but the princesses feel it shouldn't be too easy to make the trek."
"No, wouldn't want that," Applejack muttered, her gaze distant.
"Still, there can be a big rush on weekends. That's why I wanted to get here early. Come on!" Twilight resumed galloping. After a moment, Applejack shook her head and followed.
Once she was close enough, the first thing Applejack noticed was the gated fence, which was indeed crafted from mother-of-pearl, with golden accents. It somehow both stretched on for infinity and was wholly visible at the same time. Applejack decided she had enough on her plate without trying to figure that one out. Within the circular enclosure, all she could make out was an indistinct, pastel blur.
Standing before those gates were two full-sized horses, though the shallow muzzles and bright eyes made their intelligence clear even if Applejack disregarded the wings and horns. They were identical, with lilac eyes and coats that had to be called dark grey, because nothing could be as black as their manes and tails, inky voids that shifted to lily white along the edges.
A velvet rope divided the twins, leading to a simple wooden sign a few yards before them, just a board nailed to a post with its message scratched into the wood:
<= Living | Dead =>
Applejack leaned close to Twilight and said, "Who're the twins?"
"Princess Temperance."
Applejack looked back and forth between them. "Which one?"
"Both are," said Twilight.
"Say again?"
"Temperance is the Princess of Endings. It's her duty to usher departed souls to their final destination. As such, she's omnipresent." Twilight shrugged her wings. "She just doesn't make a big deal out of it most of the time."
Applejack chewed this over for a moment before deciding it was way out of her wheelhouse. "Alrighty then. No line at least." There wasn't on the "Living" side, anyway. The "Dead" side had a line, though of what, Applejack couldn't say. Her eyes couldn't focus properly on anything beyond the impression of a heat haze, and she didn't particularly want to know anyway.
As she walked up to the winged unicorns, Applejack turned to Twilight. "So, uh, do I bow?"
Twilight shook her head. "Temperance doesn't hold any real political power unless you believe some ridiculous rumors. Besides, she's a close friend." She smirked. "With my life the way it's been, a brush with death just means it's Tuesday."
"Generally, yes." Temperance gave a small smile as they approached her. She had a gentle voice, a hint of amusement coloring every word. "It's good to see you again, Twilight. And you for the first time, Applejack. I hope you're enjoying our dimension."
"Uh, yeah. Thank you, ma'am. Yer Highness." Applejack managed to doff her hat on the third try. "Hope I'm not intrudin'."
The smile grew a bit. "Not at all. And 'Temperance' is fine, or 'ma'am' if you must be formal."
"I suppose you already know why we're here," said Twilight.
Temperance nodded and tilted her head to her right. Applejack turned her head and saw a similar, rather less uncanny-looking fence she hadn't noticed before, smaller, also circular, and attached to the main one. The only word for the structure was "corral." "Go on to the guest area. They'll be waiting for you."
Applejack swallowed. "Th-thank you, ma'am." She walked towards and through the open gate on stiff legs, stomach clenching with anxiety. Only when she saw two figures before her did she loosen up, galloping towards them.
They had halos. They were somewhat see-through. They were, not to put too fine a point on it, horses. But there was no mistaking Jonathan Jonagold and Valencia Orange. Her father's gentle strength and her mother's confident grace transcended species.
Jonathan smiled, a head taller than Applejack with the colors of her little sister, somehow wearing the ghost of a hat. "Well, ain't this nice?" he said. "Only saw that face a few months ago, when Apple Bloom got her cutie mark. Yer both turnin' out pretty as yer mama."
"They could be, yes," Valencia tossed her pale gold mane, a playful smirk on her saffron muzzle, her voice still bearing the high-class Manehattan accent she'd never been able to shake. "At least, given a proper spa treatment or three. I am glad you've kept in touch with that Rarity filly. You two always have been good for each other."
Applejack swallowed and gave a stiff nod. "Yes, ma'am. We've had our rough patches, but she's a true friend."
"True enough t' help ya save th' whole dang world a few times!" Jonathan gave her a slap on the side. It felt like a brief, gentle breeze.
"We are so very proud of you, dear. I really can't say it enough."
Applejack bit her lip and fought back a sniffle.
"I always knew you'd do great things." Jonathan grinned. "Ya sure always ate like a hero. Still swipin' half the fritters at reunions?"
Applejack felt her cheeks warm. "I wasn't even two years old."
The grin widened. "That ain't a no."
"I don't suppose any stallions have caught your eye?" Valencia smiled. "Or vice versa?"
Applejack fought back a shudder and tried to forget the mental images this conjured. "Not that I've noticed, no."
"Well, when they do," said Jonathan, a dark look on his muzzle, "make sure Granny puts th' fear o' Celestia into 'em."
Valencia winked. "Not too much, though."
"R-right."
Jonathan went from scowling fury to pleasant warmth in a blink, just like Applejack remembered. "I'm sure you ain't here fer filly talk. What brought ya by?"
"Well, I, uh..." Applejack bit her lip. "Truth be told, it was a friend's idea. I'm glad I did it, but—"
"No buts about it. We're glad ya did it too." Jonathn gave her another affectionate, barely felt smack. "I'm sure yer awful busy these days. I know how it is."
Applejack tilted her head. "Ya do?"
"Sure! Bein' a hero's in yer blood. I ever tell you about the time I fought that low-down snake Dio Brandywine?"
"Can't say I recall it."
Valencia rolled her eyes, though she still smiled. "You'll want to sit down for this one, Jacqueline. It's as long as it is bizarre."
Applejack wasn't sure how long she sat there. Time seemed to stand still as her father's ghost—more or less—wove an incredible tale of adventure, courage, and an awful lot of flexing. She listened, sure, but she also just basked in the presence of those she'd dearly missed.
As Jonathan brought his tale to a close, Applejack stood and stretched. "It's been real nice, y'all, but I gotta get back soon." She grabbed both parents in a gentle hug, careful not to let her legs go through them. "I love you both, an' I miss you somethin' awful."
"Thank you for coming, dear," said Valencia. "I'm sure your own Jonathan and Valencia feel the same."
"An' before ya go back wherever ya came from, be sure t' tell yerself t' come by more often." Jonathan chuckled. "Ain't like it's gonna kill 'er."
Applejack's jaw dropped as she pulled out of the hug. "Y-ya knew?"
"Sure I did. Can't get two words into that story without AJ complainin' how she's heard it a thousand times before."
"You too, Ma?"
Valencia just smiled. "A mother always knows these things, dear. And our current state provides a... unique perspective. It is wonderful to know that you are a young lady who I can take pride in no matter what your shape."
Applejack looked from one to the other and back again. "How come ya didn't say anything until now?"
"Ya may not be our Applejack, strictly speakin', but yer an Applejack, one who needed t' see us." Jonathan gave a warm, loving smile so familiar it brought tears to Applejack's eyes.
Valencia nodded. "Princess Temperance knows what she's doing. If she let you visit, then you have every right to be here."
Applejack sniffed. "Thank you. Thank you both."
"Any time, dear."
After one last group embrace, the three separated, the living and the dead going to their own sides of the gates. As she left the guest corral, Applejack passed other reunions she hadn't noticed, the faces and words still obscured. Finally, she returned to the two Temperances.
A third had joined them in the meantime, one who looked up from her conversation with Twilight and smiled. "I take it you're through?"
Applejack wiped her eyes with a fetlock and nodded. "Thank you, ma'am. And you, Twilight."
Temperance dipped her head. "I'm just doing my duty."
"And it was Sunset's idea," added Twilight.
"I'll be sure t' thank 'er when I get back. But before I do, there's one thing I gotta know: Where will the other me be when we get back?"
May was a busy time for Sweet Apple Acres, though that didn't exactly distinguish it from much of the rest of the calendar. Still, there was maintenance to perform, deals to make, crops to tend, and as was the case for much of the year, some apple trees to buck.
Applejack was pulling a cartload of her freshly bucked pride and joy towards the cellar when she heard hooves approach. She looked, saw herself, and smiled. "Well, ain't that stranger than peaches on an apple tree? Howdy, Applejack!"
The other her gave a terse nod. "Howdy."
The local Applejack offered a sympathetic smile. "Hope Ma 'n Pa didn't give ya too hard a time. You know how they can be."
"No," said the visitor, eyes narrowed. "I don't."
Applejack blinked. "How's that?"
"If we was back home, you'd be spittin' teeth right now."
"Hey!" Applejack scowled. "I don't know how they do things in yer world, but we don't take kindly to that kinda talk around here!"
The other Applejack matched her expression, moving so she could be muzzle to muzzle with herself. "An' I don't take kindly to folks who don't know how good they got it! You know how long I've wanted to tell Ma 'n Pa how much I missed 'em? What I'd've given given to hear their voices, see their faces one last time?"
"But... why didn't ya?"
"'Cause I can't! Ya can't visit Elysium like yer goin' to Whinnyland back home. I know they're waitin' for me, but they don't wanna see me anytime soon, 'cause that'll mean I won't be comin' back! But you got the nerve to take that kinda thing fer granted. To be embarrassed by 'em."
Applejack tilted her head. "But that's just the way things are."
"Well, they ain't that way everywhere. Be grateful for what you got, 'cause I know I ain't the only Applejack out there who ain't got it." With that, the visitor turned and stomped away, leaving the local deep in thought, gazing at nothing.
She recovered after a few short moments and shouted "I will!"
The other Applejack looked back, nodded, and said, "That's all I ask." She tipped her hat and turned back towards the sunset, moseying back to Twilight's castle. "See you again sometime, cousin."
Author's Note
You can thank/blame PresentPerfect for this one, though I probably took the idea much more seriously than he anticipated. Or I anticipated for that matter.
This saw me apply the lesson I learned with Fruit of the Problem: The thickness of Applejack's accent should be inversely proportional to how central she is to the narrative. I hope I balanced it appropriately.
Temperance, full title Princess Mi Finale Temperanza, is my go-to pony psychopomp when I don't want to have Luna do it. She very definitely does not run Equestria's Royal Assassinorum, because there is no such institution.
I make no apologies whatsoever for the JoJo reference.
Happy Mother's Day.
