Nora stopped on the way in to wait for Roswell and Bella to leave. Once the horses were well away, she continued inside, followed by Twilight and RC. The two found themselves inside a clean office. Nora grabbed two clipboards and turned them to face Twilight and RC. "These are the normal applications." She tossed them in the bin they started in. "You won't be using them. Let's be straight about this. As undocumented's, you're off the radar, so to speak. Now, we try to run a pleasant ship around here."

She folded her hands together in front of herself. "We won't be abusing people, if you're scared of that. you put in honest work, you get honest pay. Won't be the pay of someone who had all the paperwork, but it won't be nothing either."

Twilight tilted her head in confusion. "I'm sorry, I don't understand. We need to get these documents you speak of? What are they?"

Nora clicked her tongue and gave Twilight a once over. "Are you that new? If you weren't born here, the odds of you getting those documents are vanishing. That you're here without them in the first place makes that even less likely." She waved the whole thought off. "I'd abandon that. Now, are either of you scared of horses or other large farm animals?"

Twilight shook her head slowly, a creeping sense of dread building up in her stomach. "No? Why would we be?"

Nora snorted at that. "Spent time around them much?"

RC raised a hand swiftly. "Horses are basically cousins t'me! We get along great." She elbowed Twilight. "We're very used to horses."

Nora crossed her arms and tapped a foot. "Really? Well, I'll believe it when I see it." She waved a hand towards the door. "The schedule's a bit light, so we have an opening. Come with me."

She led the two out of the office and around the barn. "The horses need to be brushed and their stalls cleaned. The cowboys are busy out on the fields, so it falls on you to get that done, ideally before they get back. We've got about 20 minutes before they arrive."

Twilight arched an eyebrow. "We'll do our best. Oh! And there are three horses out in the field we saw."

"Roswell, Bella, and Rascal." Nora nodded at that. "You'll want to feed them all as well." She waved across the stalls and the horses within. "Any questions, or are you waiting for me to get out of the way?"

Twilight steeled herself. "There is a lot I don't know about this ranch, but we can figure it out. First thing, what tools do we use?"

Nora pulled open a storage shed and reached in, fetching a large brush and tossing it to RC. She got out another to offer to Twilight. "For the brushing. The brooms are right there." She pointed to where they leaned against the wall. "Mops are right next to 'em. Shouldn't need too much else that isn't in view. Have at it. I'll be in the office if you have any questions." She turned away and left.

Twilight rubbed her chin with the handle of the brush. "Okay, let's do this! She closed with the closest pony and they looked at one another quietly a moment. Twilight nodded as if an accord had been reached and joined the horse in the stall. "Let's get you brushed."

The mare agreed wholeheartedly, enjoying the nice strokes of the brush along her sides. RC slid in alongside another horse to do the same. "This is easy!" She turned her attention back to her brush. "I know what I'd like, if I had fur." Not having it was a new experience, but she forged on regardless.

Twilight giggled. "We have hair on our heads." She ran a hand through her purple locks. "If you need more practice, you can always do mine." Twilight smiled at the horse before her. "Sorry. I'm just rambling."

"No worries." The mare leaned into the brushing. "Nice having someone talk to me." She let out a soft chuff, pleased for the company it seemed.

Working diligently, the two made their way through the stalls and back again to clean up. That part was far less glamorous, but they were on the case. Their companions did their best to help. They picked up some straw with their mouths to aid in cleaning. As well as a few other small touches that made their help invaluable.

As they emerged from the last stall, Nora was waiting for them. "Already?" She walked past them to inspect the stalls and the horses in them. "Hm. Hm! Hm." One for each horse, but she didn't find anything immediately out of place. "Now I see why Brad and Miggy put in the good word for you two. Good work."

She reached into her pockets and produced two pouches. "First payday, if you'll take it. If you'll be sticking around, we'll do it proper like."

Twilight and RC accepted the cash with smiles.

Twilight glanced aside at RC the moment Nora had wandered off. "I think, hm." She opened her bag and peeked inside to see some bills and coins. "Local currency? I don't think we need this." She held up a bill. "They don't have that back home. Paper currency. I've only heard about it." She tucked it away, and then the pouch into a pocket. "Still, better to have some, in case. If we don't use it, we can give it to Brad later. I don't imagine he'll be upset."

RC plucked at the bag she'd been given. "You think they're just giving this to us for being new?"

Twilight shook her head slowly. "Probably because we did the work right. Hm, if you listened to her, we would have gotten more if we had those documents." She shrugged. "But we're not here to earn money. Want to go find Brad?"

RC agreed cheerfully, eager to find Brad again. She missed him dearly. The two headed out towards the fields.

Twilight shot RC a sidelong glance. "Hey, Rainbow?"

"Hm?" RC turned to look at Twilight as they walked.

"Isn't it nice?" Twilight swept a hand slowly. "Being able to go around and not be hidden. Nobody knows we're different from them."

RC smiled slowly, nodding. "Yeah. Not having to skulk around anymore is great." She kicked at the dirt with one foot. "It feels good. But I also like being a pony."

Twilight hummed in thought at that. "I feel the same. Still, this is exciting! Being part of a world without magic." She waved her hands up into the air. "Let's enjoy it for what it is, a novel change of pace." Just before she could escape the stalls, a great set of teeth chomped on her shoulder, catching her clothes and stopping her progress.

Startled, Twilight twirled to face the horse that had gotten hold of her. She laughed as the horse huffed a few times and shook its head back and forth. "You're the one who wants attention?" She turned her shoulder, working her arm loose. "Hold still, please."

Once she was giving the horse a new round of brushes, the words came, "I need to talk to you."

Twilight kept brushing, responding in the equine way of posture and little noises, "What did you need?"

"You are the key to our age-long work." The horse shifted, as much to get brushed where it wanted as anything else. "Please help us. Strange horse. You are horse?"

"We are all ponies," Twilight replied firmly. "Well, I suppose you're a horse." She didn't deny the large creature its identity as she labored.

The horse nodded. "Yes. We want to calm the humans, to make them happy. What can we do? There is no magic here, no harmony."

Twilight hummed to herself. "And that's why you're asking me, because I do have those things."

The horse gently thumped its head against Twilight, almost knocking her over. "Yes. Will you help? Or will you doom us?"

"I'm going to help." Twilight rubbed the cheek of the horse. "Just, give me time to talk with Brad about it. And Miguel, he's pretty smart too."

The horse whickered. "Do not tell humans our secret. Horse, dog, cat. We tame humans, try to make calm. Try to make happy. But no harmony. We must tame."

Twilight turned away from the horse and saw RC just outside, staring at her in confusion. She had clearly been watching the whole thing, and it had deeply disturbed her. "I need to consider this." She patted the horse gently. "But your secret is safe with me." She climbed out of the stall to rejoin RC. "Let's go."

"What was that?!" RC pointed back at the stall they were leaving behind. "That horse was talking like they have a big ancient plan? I thought earth horses were critters! They don't talk much, right? That one was talking! You heard them!"

Twilight rubbed her hands together anxiously. "Calm down. Let's find Brad."

"What does Brad have to do with this?" RC snorted and followed along. "Wait. It isn't his fault, is it?"

Twilight shook her head, increasing her pace. "No. At least, I don't think so. I need to think."

The two marched in uneasy quiet until they spotted Brad leading some other humans out on a little trot. There was a line of people, each mounted on a horse, going around the ranch. Each held reins loosely, but it was clear the horses were in control. They were an extended family of sorts, all tied together as they worked together.

Twilight heard the words, "These horses will let you know if you're not working together properly." Brad was leading them along gently. "But don't worry. They're all nice, and they know you're new to this."

As he looked back, he spotted Twilight and RC watching. He tipped his hat. "Why, it's a sight to see you both here. Enjoying yourselves?"

The riders waved amiably enough, not that they knew Twilight or RC personally.

"You should wait by the barracks. Lunch may have already been served, so if you want to grab a snack, you go right ahead. No need to be shy." He smiled at them, flashing his teeth with his handsome features. "But if you have any questions about the ranch, I'll answer them the best I can after I'm done."

"Okay," Twilight responded weakly, turned and fled back to the barracks.

RC squeaked, dashing after Twilight. "I thought we were going to talk to him!"

"He's working." Twilight rubbed at one arm. "We came to lend a hoof, not get in the way. When he's done, he'll find us, then we can talk and figure this out. For now, let's have lunch."

They entered the building to find an idle lunch area, and one woman putting away food supplies. She offered them both a wave. "Need something?"

Twilight grabbed at her stomach. "We were told to come ask about lunch?"

The woman paused. "Oh, new? Well, then let me get you sorted out." She stopped putting things away and turned instead to producing two big plates of food, each wafting with delicious aromas. "Eat up, and thanks for helping out. We're a small operation, so we really do appreciate the help."

Twilight sighed happily as she got the plate in her hands. "Smells good."

"Cooked it myself." The lady tipped a hat she wasn't wearing. "Where do they have you two working? Together?"

RC nodded quickly. "Yep! Cleaning stalls, feeding horses, stuff like that."

The lady smirked at that. "Really now? Gonna be honest with you, most new folks can't get that done without making a huge mess. Glad to see you two are getting along. Normally we'd pair someone with one of the experienced ranch hands, but they're all out on the fields today. She clapped her hands together. "Well, enough idle chit-chat. You can't eat and talk at the same time." She got back to cleaning up without pause.

Twilight and RC held their plates as they stepped away. "This is delicious." Twilight sank her teeth into the meal without delay.

RC quickly joined her, chewing as they made their way to a table and took a seat. "Some of this is new." She poked at it with a fork before taking another big bite. "New flavors, I mean. Is it because new freaky human tongues, or are we trying something completely new?"

"Definitely a combination of the two," Twilight responded in between bites. "I'm amazed we're so similar to humans, but there are obvious differences to what we can enjoy. We'll have to experiment more." She snorted lightly, "Once we're back home and our tongues return to normal."

RC plucked at one finger. "For a shape shifting spell, this one's weird." She burst into giggles. "Not that I have a lot to compare it to." She polished her plate clean with a happy sigh. "But that was good! We get to eat that every day? That's worth more than those silly bits of cloth. Seriously, money that's cloth? Why? Metal's way better."

Twilight nudged RC with an elbow. "Easy. Humans don't have bits." She poked at her plate, trying to keep herself from eating too much too fast. "I've learned so much already. This world is fascinating, and different from the last human world I visited, which strikes me as a strange thing. Are they related or not?"

Author's Note

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