Chapter 1

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“Yer serious about this, Twilight? Ya ain’t just messin’ with me?” Applejack asked the Alicorn standing before her.

Twilight shook her head, giving the orange mare standing by the Apple’s cart in the market a firm look. “I promise you, Applejack, I’m not joking around here.”

The farmer just blinked, then shook her head. “Hard to believe it, a human winding up as a fictional character in our world? What’re the chances o’ that?”

Suddenly, a frown came to the orange mare’s face and she looked to her Alicorn friend.

“Twi, she didn’t say she’s actually from a comic book, right?”

Twilight nodded, blinked in confusion, then shook her head. “No. She says the origin of her current form came from what humans called TV back in that world Sunset Shimmer’s in, but she used comic book terms since I wasn’t too experienced. It looked difficult for her too, like, if she hadn’t had to use comic book terminology, it would’ve been less of a struggle for her to properly articulate her words. She had to pause many times, looking like she was struggling to figure out how best to phrase whatever she was about to say.”

Applejack rubbed her chin, before looking to Twilight with a wary expression. “Is it possible she’s actually from a comic book fer real an’ she was struggling ta figure how ta say so without revealing the truth?”

Twilight cocked an eyebrow. “Huh?”

Applejack sighed, giving Twilight a firm look. “Twilight, we know there is at least one comic book store out there that sells enchanted comics. Isn’t it at all possible this Apple Dumplin came from one of that store’s comic books?”

Twilight opened her mouth, then paused, thinking it over. “Well, I suppose, if you were to present all possible outcomes, that is one possibility… but, who would be that cruel?”

Applejack sighed, nodding. “Ah’d rather not think it possible either, that a pony could intentionally write a comic book character who thinks they’re real, only to be further thrown into that delusion by being from an enchanted comic book that brings them ta the real world… but, it is possible, right?”

“I… I don’t want to think it…” Twilight trailed off, before shaking her head, her expression firming. “But, Applejack, aside from us, our friends and the princesses, nopony else should know about humans, at all.” She narrowed her eyes. “Well, aside from a certain trio you, Rarity and Rainbow Dash felt it fine to tell about my adventures into the human world.”

Applejack’s face immediately went from orange to a pink more akin to a pony she’d learned recently was a distant relative. “Well-well, we did make em all Pinkie Promise not ta tell anypony else unless we said it was okay… right?”

Twilight continued to frown in disapproval at the farm mare.

“Sis! Sis!”

The cries from one of the trio being talked about thankfully ended the uncomfortable staring match with the Alicorn Applejack was suddenly uncomfortably aware of was still technically royalty and she turned as the fillies came through the market, stopping in front of her, panting.

Had they been running? Why?

“Oh, howdy there, Sugarcube,” Applejack said, thankful to change the subject, before becoming concerned by the worried looks on the trio’s faces. “Is sumthin’ wrong?”

“Uh…” Apple Bloom looked to Scootaloo.

“Well…” Scootaloo looked passed Apple Bloom to Sweetie Belle.

“Kinda…?” the unicorn shrugged, grinning uncertainly.

Before either mare could inquire as to what they meant, the sound of faint shouts of confused worry and hesitation reached their ears.

Glancing up… the two were met by a very odd sight.

Flittering in the air, as if completely unsure how to move while in flight, was whom Twilight recognized as clearly Apple Dumplin… but she’d changed since she’d seen her a few hours ago.

For one, Apple Dumplin now had wings on her back, somewhat reminiscent of butterfly wings, if Twilight had to compare them, though there were three curves instead of just two either wing, each being red with a pale-yellow outer rim.

However, the addition of wings to her back were not all that had changed about Apple Dumplin since Twilight had seen her last.

Instead of the clothes she’d been wearing when the Crusaders brought her to Twilight’s library, she was now wearing a red sleeveless shirt with a white collar designed like four white apple blossom petals, a skirt made of a several large leafs, white leggings and red slipper-like shoes topped with more apple blossoms,

Her hair style had changed too. Now, instead of her hair being out, it was tied in two ponytails, the ends each tied with a ribbon with an apple broach.

Atop her head, no longer did she have her apple patterned hat, just a hairpin shaped like an apple blossom with two leafs behind it.

Apple Dumlpin was moving very erratically through the air, it clear she had no real experience in controling the two new limps on her back.

Twilight couldn’t help but feel sympathy, easily being able to relate.

“What in the…? How did that happen?” Applejack pointed to the girl as she lurched up and down in the air, the farmer directly her gaze to her younger sister and two friends.

“We-we dunno!” Sweetie Belle cried with a loud squeak to her voice.

“We were running from Timberwolves that got on the farm and she said something that rhymed, like how Zecora speaks and-and—”

“An’ there was this bright flash o’ light an’, when it faded, Apple Dumplin looked like that,” Apple Bloom indicated towards the girl flailing through air.

“Wait a minute!” Applejack’s eyes widened. “Timberwolves, on the farm?” then her eyes narrowed. “If’n that’s so, how’d the four o’ ya’ll escape?”

“Apple Dumplin!” Scootaloo pointed to the girl. “Somehow, whatever she said worked like a spell. It made the Timberwolves obey whatever she said.”

“She controlled the Timberwolves?!” Twilight cried in shock.

“Well, kinda?” Sweetie Belle cocked her head to the side, looking confused. “From the way they acted, it seemed like it was a temporary thing, but she ordered them to go into the forest and never bother ponies again.”

“Though, if her spell was temporary, there’s no telling if they’ll keep obeying that order or just ignore it from now on,” Scootaloo pondered.

“Look out!”

All five ponies look up, only to cry out in alarm and run as the winged human came falling from the sky, crashing into the Apple’s cart, it breaking into piece and the remains of the apple items to be sold toppling to the ground.

Once the dust had settled, they all came from behind another, more fortified cart to see the human sprawled out on top of what used to be the Apple’s cart.

She had some cuts and bruises, though looked fine overall.

The five moved cautiously over, Twilight being the first to speak.

“Apple Dumplin? Are you injured?”

The girl groaned, before opening her eyes and giving the mare standing above her a deadpan stare.

“I just fell from the sky and crashed into a wooden cart. What do you think, Bookhorse?”

Twilight chose to ignore that insult (and the snickers from Applejack and Scootaloo), as Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom helped the human out from the wreckage of the cart and stand.

As she turned around and her eyes fell on the splintered wood everywhere, however, her eyes widened in horror.

“Oh my gosh! Applejack, I’m so sorry!” she said frantically, looking from the wreck to the farmer and back. “I-I-I swear, I’ll fix this!”

“Don’t you worry none, Sugarcube,” the orange mare said, looking to the shattered remains of the cart with a slightly wistful expression. “Dang thing was on its last legs fer a long while anyhow. Needed replacin’ eventually. Though, how we’re gonna afford it presently, Ah’m unsure o’.”

“No-no! I promise, I can fix it!” the girl said more frantically, though with a bit of firmness that took Applejack by surpise… though not so much as what the human girl did next.

Apple Dumplin flicked her right hand and a long red stick seemed to just come into existence.

The girl tapped the stick against her chin, frowning in anxuious thought.

“Okay. I don’t really know how it worked last time, but I rhymed, so maybe I’ll give that a go again and hope it works.”

She started waving the stick back and forth… Applejack very puzzled as to what that was meant to do, before the girl spoke… it clear she was thinking her words through very carefully.

“Cart of the Apple Family… strong and true! Rebuild yourself, like brand new!”

Any questions about the rhyming Applejack might have had were halted as sparkling lights seemed to emanate from the tip of the red stick, before the broken pieces of wood were covered in similar sparkles.

Before everypony’s eyes, the pieces of wooden floated into the air and reassembled themselves, exactly as if the crash had never happened… but it didn’t stop there.

For years, the green and red paint of the cart had been faded, since as long as Applejack could remember.

However, right before their eyes, the paint regained its lost colour, even getting a glistening to it, as if freshly applied.

When the sparkles faded, all five mares just stared at the cart, their mouth hanging open.

The cart looked as if it had just been made, freshly crafted by Applejack’s great grandfather so many moons ago.

Applejack had only ever seen it looking this pristine in old family photos, where the colour wasn’t clear due to the pictures being black and white.

The five ponies turned their heads to stare at the human girl, who fiddled with her red stick in both hands nervously.

“Well… this is a bit complicated to explain, huh?”

Suddenly, there was a faint flash that ran up her body and Apple Dumplin looked like Twilight remembered her from earlier, even the red stick had disappeared.

The girl blinked, looking herself over, then glared up at the sky.

“Really? Now I change back? Really?”

Author's Note

Yeah... this wasn't the update I was originally expecting either.

Sufficed to say... IRL has been kicking me in the nads constantly over the last 4+ weeks.

i'd had plans for several different updates but, every day, literally every day i planned on doing something the next day, but the time i woke up, i'd lost all the will to write.

Granted, it probably didn't help that, for the last 3 or so weeks, we've been having major problems with the pluming, it being so bad our shower drain wouldn't drain so long as the water was still running, meaning showers were having to be cut shorter and made more problematic as the water rose, spilling out onto the floor if we weren't careful.

then our shower started leaking, the toilet started rarely flushing properly, it was just getting worse by the day.

then, to top it off, last week, after i'd learned the chances of my getting to go back to Japan won't be for 3-5 years at the least, combined with weather on Monday reminding me so much of my mornings in Japan, it felt like i'd been hit by an emotional bullet train and had to go home from work early because i just couldn't focus on my work at all.

and, obviously, that meant writing was definitely out of the question.

Thankfully, while everything did kinda come to a head Monday, the week before HAD actually started the process of getting my head back on my shoulders.

For starters, in relation to this update, my copy of Strawberry Shortcake Let's Dance on CD finally came in the mail the Wednesday before last and i've been listening to it every night since because, as the weeks kept kicking me in the nads, the idea of writing at least one more chapter for this before moving on to other fics was the only thing really helping me keep my thoughts together, but, with my writing mojo constantly getting ripped away from me, i couldn't get it done and so it festered in my head, keeping me from focusing on writing any other stories.

What changed was, due to that emotionally bullet train hitting me Monday and leaving work early, i didn't something i realized i hadn't in ages that tended to always make me feel a tiny bit better about not being able to go back to Japan anytime soon: exploring Asian markets and buying foods from them, like unique Asian snacks and sweets and drinks, including some yuzu and ramune dai fuku.

This gave me enough mental fortitude to pull my head in enough that i was at least able to get through this week without too much trouble.

this in turn gave me the confidence to do some exploring of a Savers store at Tea Tree Plaza on Wednesday and, to my Suprise, i found decent condition secondhand copies of 3 DVDs from the 90s X-Men cartoon, specifically season 2 disc 2, season 3 disc 2 and season 4 disc 1.

and, interestingly, several episodes from the seasons 2 and 3 DVDs were also on my Legend of the Wolverine DVD, which, as the title implies, was a DVD with a compilation of X-Men episodes specifically focused on Wolverine, the episodes in question being Out of the Past parts 1 and 2 and Nightcrawler.

Watching all of them throughout friday and yesterday somehow gave me the push to write this chapter down, so i can move forward with my other stories, specifically i intend to focus on updating (if possible with the first) My Pony Hero Academia" New Generation, I'm Peni Parker. What the Fuck?, Equestria's Heir of the Wolverine and, if i can, either my WTICH story or Unexpected Aftermath.

the first one i'm hoping to get back to because, with the Horikoshi having finished the MHA manga, there are no hidden surprises that will make me have to do any major rewrites like the final battle against All For One resulted in.

as for the Peni Park and X-23 stories and why i plan on updating them soon?

Well, it should be obvious if you've watched season 2 of X-Men. the Pheonix Saga happened in season 2 and, while it doesn't show him fully on screen, Spider-Man was there helping those in New York during the problems the events of that saga was causing and as for X-23's story?

I have literally been watching X-Men. have could i NOT get the drive to give that a bit of an update in the near future?

Anyway, I also hope to get back to not only Twilight's Twinlight and Unexpected Aftermath soon, but I also wanna try to get at least one new update up for Accidental Soulmates, because that story NEEDS to move forward and Twilight's budding relationship with Cadance needs some meat on them bones.

So, I will leave it here for now and try to enjoy the rest of my day in a relaxing way, as i have to return to work tomorrow.

Maybe i'll relax with finally rewatching David Attenborough's Life In Cold Blood (like I've been meaning to the last 3 days but couldn't because i was trying to freaking hard to find that damn elusive LEGIT Shiny Gimmighoul in Pokémon Viollet).

So, hope this chapter can tied you over a little til i can get back to those others fanfics and, til next time, stay safe, stay clean and see you later everybody