Reversion

It had just barely been an hour before she woke up that Twilight had already left the Library. She trotted down the dirt road towards the train station, anxiety rising slightly. Applejack, noticing her friend going down the road, cantered over to greet her.

"'Mornin', Twilight! How's it goin'?" she asked.

"Shire's relative will be arriving in town shortly, so I'm off to the train station to meet up with them" she said, nervousness faintly present in her voice.

"Ya sound nervous. Ev'rythin' alright?"

"What if they're angry at us for what happened? We could have stopped him from going into the Everfree Forest, but we let him..."

"Well, if they are, jus' apologize an' hope they accept your apology. Ah mean, what are they going to do?" Twilight seemed to ponder this, and shuddered slightly.

"Why don't we talk about something else?" she asked. Applejack opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly looked up into the sky. She motioned for Twilight to duck, and the she did just in time as Rainbow Dash flew past and crashed into the dirt behind them, kicking up a cloud of dust in the process.

"Hey girls, what's up? she asked, brushing off her coat.

"Please remind me to ask you how you do that later, first off. Second, I was off to the train station to meet up with our guest. He'll be here shortly, after all" said Twilight, still somewhat amazed.

"This early, huh? Well, good luck with things. I'll swing by to meet them later on!" stated Rainbow Dash, taking back off into the sky.

"On that note, I need to get going. It would be rude of me to be late" commented Twilight.

"Here, why don't Ah go with you? It could help ya to stay calm, and it might even make our welcome feel warmer!" proposed Applejack.

"If you're not busy, then I don't see why not". The two continued onwards to the train station and soon arrived, surprised to find Pinkie waiting as well.

"Pinkie Pie? What in 'tarnation are you doin' here?" asked Applejack, surprised.

"Oh hi! I just figured that since a new face was coming to town, I should be there to welcome them! I didn't know when they would be here, though, so I came here to wait! Isn't this exciting?!" said Pinkie, in one breath.

"How long have you been here?" asked Twilight, concerned.

"Not long at all, actually. Then again, time sure does fly when you're loading the party cannon! I had to make sure the confetti comes out first this time!" stated Pinkie, cheerfully. Right as she finished saying this, a train had pulled up to the station. The doors opened, and several ponies spilled out of the train in a disoriented manner. The very last pony to come out caught their eyes, a stallion with light-gray fur. He wore a white poet shirt, and was carrying a suitcase in his mouth. His face was mostly obscured by a fedora, leaving only his snout completely visible. He looked over at the girls and trotted over, putting his suitcase on the ground as he reached them.

"You're Mr. Shire, I presume?" asked Twilight.

"Mrs. Sparkle, it's nice to see you. I do apologize for the short notice in which my letter was received" replied the Stallion.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Mr. Shire. He was a good stallion..." stated Twilight, remorsefully.

"Yes, it is a shame. I did get to see him one last time, but he was already in death's doorway" replied Mr. Shire, also expressing sorrow. Applejack was examining the stallion closely, and he had taken notice. "Is there something wrong, Applejack?" he asked.

"Yeah. Two things now, actually. First off, how do you know my name? Second, wouldn't that fancy shirt kinda limit your flyin' ability?" she asked, eyebrow raised suspiciously.

"Now that you mention it, that doesn't actually make much sense. Wouldn't you want your wings available for use?" asked Twilight, now slightly unsure. Mr. Shire seemed to contemplate what had been said.

"Mrs. Sparkle, could you please read back the letter to me?" he asked, now sounding slightly unsure of something as well.

"I don't have it on my person, but I think I remember it. 'Dear Mrs. Twilight Sparkle: I, Reeve Shire, shall be arriving in Ponyville on Tuesday, the 26th of this month. I will be vacationing in town for one week. While I am there, I will attempt to reclaim lost posessions of mine. Thank you for reading this letter. Sincerely, Reeve Shire, of the Shire of Colton's Shires" she said, Mr. Shire took in these words, and nodded his head.

"That was all it said?"

"I may have paraphrased slightly, but yes". Hearing this, Mr. Shire smirked and started chuckling slightly.

"That explains everything! I wrote that letter in a hurry to try and get it mailed out, you see. I guess I forgot to include some information that would have made this easier to understand. It truly is funny, or at least I think so" he commented, still smiling from the hilarity he found in the situation. Twilight was still curious as to who exactly they were talking to.

"This is all confusin', mister. Jus' who the hay are you, anyways?" asked Applejack in a mildly annoyed manner.

"Please, allow me to reintroduce myself the way I meant to through my letter. My name..." he said before pausing. His fedora came off of his head to reveal a horn on his head and a dark brown mane, which was neatly tied back. He bowed his head, revealing his face in its entirety. What stood out the most to the mares was the presence of a scar going over his right eye. After bowing, he opened his mouth once again. "... is Reeve Shire". Upon finishing his sentence, a loud noise came from next to the two mares as confetti rained down from above them.