//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1: Trouble Along the Way 
// Story: Newborn Mare 
// by nanashi_jones 
//------------------------------//

Day 12

As I stared out the window of the cozy passenger car being driven by CIA agents, I wondered if my life would ever get back to normal.

I doubted it would ever be one-hundred-percent, but deep down I hoped to one day just pass time tilling the field, going over the farm’s ledger, and maybe fix that leaky drainpipe. I’d show my brother how to play Kingdom Hearts, I’d chaperone one of Apple Bloom’s field trips, and the most exciting thing would be when Rainbow Dash crashed into the barn. Again.

I hoped for a lot, but I knew those days were a long way off. If my current location was any indication, they were a very, very, very long way off.

Where was my current location? Like I said, I was sitting in a CIA-driven sedan, but I was in the back seat. This wasn’t because I was some prisoner. I was as far from that as a gal could get without leaving the state. I was a bona fide emissary of Equestria under United States protection. It kind of made me feel like a celebrity.

“You okay back there?” asked Special Agent Stephanie Chase.

“Eeyup,” I replied.

“Let me know if you need anything.”

“Steph, I was good five minutes ago,” I said, with a chuckle. “I’ll give you a heads up if I need anything okay? Just… having a quiet minute is all.”

“Of course. I understand. Just checking in,” she replied, her tone a little embarrassed.

In addition to being a CIA agent, Stephanie was one of my personal handlers. She was in her thirties, pretty for a human, with blond hair and blue eyes, and looked like the exact opposite of the kind of person who would be in the CIA. She was also a big fan of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic in general and my character in specific. My character being Applejack- farm pony, and Bearer of the Element of Honesty.

Her fangirl feelings for me weren’t that misplaced. I pretty much was Applejack on the outside. Earth pony with green eyes, a blond mane and tail, orange fur, three apple cutie mark, a farm pony’s build, all topped with a Stetson cowboy hat? I sure as hay wasn’t Captain Kirk. But that was just the mare I saw in the mirror. Or in this case, the mare in the reflective governmental window.

The actual me, beneath the fur, was a mix of Applejack from the show and Rachel Shelton from Syracuse. It’s a long story, but the short version is Rachel woke up in Applejack’s body with Applejack’s mind as a bonus, and as time wore on, their personalities merged to make me: Rachel Jacqueline Apple, or Rae Jay to my friends.

So, rather than being one part smart-mouth geek and one part stubborn farm pony, I was all one smart-mouth, stubborn, farm pony geek. I’d just merged this morning. Honestly, I was still adjusting. After a week of literally having someone else to talk to in my head, the relative quiet of my own thoughts was a little disorienting.

Fortunately, the little snore from the other side of the car kept me grounded. I looked across the back seat to May and Sam.

May looked like one of my best friends’ sister, Sweetie Belle, and she was using my dog, Sam, as a pillow. To call the tableau adorable would be like saying Neil DeGrasse Tyson was kinda sharp.

Stephanie had turned around at the snore, and noticed me looking too. We shared a smile. May and Sam had earned their sleep.

Just like I had been two minds in one head, May was in a similar situation, except she hadn’t merged yet. Not that being of literally two minds slowed her down. She had enough gumption to come to my rescue when I’d gotten kidnapped. And she had managed to bully the CIA into saving Sam when the poor dog was shot full of a lethal amount of sedative.

So, while she looked adorable in Sweetie’s little white-coated, pink-and-purple-maned body, I knew she’d most likely wake up stubbornly fighting for her way like the surly teenager she truly was. Well, that and drop f-bombs left and right.

"How long we got?" I asked our driver, looking away from the slumbering pair.

"Traffic's bad, thanks to Discord," said Alphonse Beharie, my other CIA handler.

I’d only met him that morning, along with Stephanie, but I already liked Alphonse. He was a heavily built guy, average height, with nappy hair cropped close to his head. When he smiled, he did it slow, like he wanted to be sure of it. And thanks to the way he looked perfectly molded to his seat, I had trouble imagining him out of a car.

"It’s gonna be another two hours or so,” he added.

“Thanks,” I said, laying back against my own seat.

I kicked my hind hooves back and forth. I didn’t want to think too closely about my merge, I definitely didn’t want to think too close about the scrapes I’d just gotten out of, so I needed to do something. I needed a distraction.

Maybe I could call Max. He'd want to know I’d taken the plunge and was headed for New York. Hay, he’d want to know his best friend wasn’t the girl she used to be. I mean, if I could manage to explain to my mom, one of the most no-nonsense women I’ve ever known in my life, that her daughter was now a pony and had merged with another personality so I wasn’t exactly the daughter she had known, then I think I could explain it to my geeky bestie.

I pulled my phone out of my trusty red backpack. It was a kid’s thing with stitched art of a mouse holding a flower on the front. If I was to ever see that as a cutie mark, I’d tell the pony it meant endurance. The bag certainly lasted longer than I thought it would, and was just as trusty as my hat, Liana. As I opened my phone, Stephanie got out hers.

"Got some good news for you… It’s Rae Jay, right?" Stephanie asked.

“Yep. Rae Jay,” I confirmed. I had just changed my name that morning, and with Stephanie being a fan of the show, and Applejack in particular, I understood she needed some time to catch up. I didn’t blame her; I’d have been the same if it turned out Sam and Dean from Supernatural were real, but they preferred to be called Jeff and Kenneth.

"What’s the news?" I asked.

"The home office just texted one of your friend’s phone numbers to me. She’s currently under protection by another team and we’re swapping info."

I shot up, nearly dropping the phone in my hooves. "Who?” I asked excitedly. “Whose number?”

"Fluttershy," she said, her voice squeaking in excitement just a little bit.

I giggled. Yep, she was definitely a CIA Fangirl. Lands sake, I have seen it all.

"Hook me up," I said, grinning, phone ready.

She rattled off a number, and I dialed. Nervousness sprung up in me as I wondered who Fluttershy had merged with, whether we'd still feel connected, whether-

I felt a powerful, but brief, thrum against my chest, and I snorted. Looking down, I smiled at the Element of Honesty. It had shown up after I’d dealt with a murderous lunatic who held me hostage in a hotel room. It was another reminder that I wasn’t alone. It was right too. Fluttershy was my friend; that was all that mattered.

I waited as the line rang. When it stopped, I heard some background noise. Someone had picked up, but they weren’t answering right away. I heard some rustling sounds too, but they sounded distant.

"Fluttershy?" I said. "Hey it's- Well some of it's Applejack. Hello?"

"Yeah this is Erishy, half Fluttershy, half Erica," she said. She giggled. It sounded… weird. "It's great to hear from you, Apple Jack."

I ignored the odd giggle because I was too relieved. Hearing her voice, actually hearing Fluttershy talk to me? It really drove home how much I missed my friends. I smiled wide at the prospect of reconnecting.

"Well, it's sure great to hear you 'Shy," I said, hoping she could hear my excitement. "Guess if we're being upfront, you can call me Rae Jay. Bit of a girl named Rachel and bit of Applejack. You okay? Where're you at?"

"We just got to New York! Did you know that they already have pony clothing shops? They gave me a copy of my gala dress! Oh!"

She paused and my gut twitched in her silence. It occurred to me that Fluttershy didn’t sound quite right. I was probably just reacting to nothing. It was still her voice. It was still her. I pushed the feeling aside.

“Uh, that’s… nice?” I supplied. “Glad to hear you’re doing alright.”

"Apple Bloom is with us,” she said, as if I hadn’t spoken. “Got paired up with some kid named Ian."

That woke me up. "Bloom?" I said, sitting upright. "Is she there? Can I talk to her?"

"Well it's mostly Ian. Bloom seems to prefer to let him be in control. But they aren't here right now. I went shopping,” she replied.

I pulled the phone away to stare at its screen, my instincts screaming, and now I was listening to them. Her tone had been casual, and most startlingly: uncaring.

"Shopping?" I mouthed silently to myself.

Something wasn’t right. Maybe I was being paranoid, but this didn’t make sense.

Rarity, I could see her shopping in the middle of this. Even Twilight, if books were involved. But Fluttershy? From my own experiences, I knew that when a human and their pony fully merged, the personality that came after was different from either, but certain things held. Like, regardless of how Rachel and Applejack merged I was still going to be an honest pony. Maybe I’d be a bit more sarcastic, but honesty was as core to Applejack as stubbornness was to Rachel. So, I didn't see how anyone could merge with Fluttershy and become someone who would leave her friends for shopping.

"Well, that's a shame," I said, bringing the phone back to my ear. I tried to match her mellow tone. My Element felt heavy around my neck, like it was adding its weight to my suspicions. "Whatcha shoppin' for?" I asked casually.

"Well I've got a few dresses. I can't find Angel Bunny, so I got a temporary stuffed one,” she prattled. “I got a new backpack, my old one from when I was a human was getting a bit ratty. Got a few trinkets, I guess I should get something for Apple Bloom, since she probably feels kinda left out, huh?"

As she spoke, it sounded like she had her mouth full. Like she was eating while talking to me. But that wasn’t the worst part! Trinkets? Dresses? New backpack? She doesn't care that she can't find Angel?! I may go back and forth on whether I want to strangle that attitude-packin’ rabbit or not, but Fluttershy’s always doting on him.

This wasn't right. Nothing about this conversation was right. I expected to be calming down a tear-filled, near-hysterical, happy-to-hear-from-me Fluttershy. Not chatting with some apathetic mallrat.

The voice on the other end sounded like Fluttershy, but it didn’t act even a little bit like her. I mean, Fluttershy hated shopping. And replacing stuff? I thought I was sentimental, but when Fluttershy took a shine to something, she ran it into the dirt and then some. She cared universally: from friends to critters to the little lace doily Twilight gave her when she noticed Fluttershy didn't have one for her tea set. And no one- no human in her head, no force on earth could curb that compassion.

No way was I talking to Fluttershy.

"Who are you?" I said, my voice hot.

"Poor widdle Rae Jay.” The façade of Fluttershy disappeared immediately, and my gut dropped out at the cruelty in her voice. “Are you scared? You should be. But don't worry, your sister will be safe, vouching for me to the entire world that I am Erishy: martyr of the ponies. I haven't even paid for anything yet!”

I could hear her delight and it took everything I had not to break the phone.

“And the real Erishy? No idea. She's gone. If you tell anyone, I'll take your sister," Fakey-Shy spat, and I caught a faint buzz behind her words.

Then there was a loud crack, and the phone went dead.

I sat in the back of the car, the phone still pressed against my ear as I listened to nothing. It felt like someone had just slid a piece of metal down in my chest. I shook, my breathing getting heavy and ragged.

Part of me was screaming and pounding inside. I wanted to saddle up. I wanted to find this impostor. I wanted to buck her into the next county for being anywhere near my sister. I had to save Flutter- Erishy! Whoever!

I needed to act. Now!

But I couldn’t. For one, I was in a car travelling to New York. For another, I was learning that thinking paid off more than flying off the handle.

Think, RJ, I told myself. Quit gettin’ worked up and think.

Putting my anger aside, I focused on Apple Bloom as clearly as I could. I knew she was okay, because the team Stephanie said was following Fakey-Shy would have told Stephanie if Fakey-Shy had harmed Bloom at all. These guys may have missed the impostor amongst them, but I doubt they could miss one pony openly hurting another. I’d also be getting grilled on why Fluttershy wasn’t acting like herself. So, my sister was okay. For now.

I closed my phone. Thinking was good. I was getting my temper back under control. So what else did I know?

I knew about Fakey-Shy. She might be a changeling from Equestria- Don’t know of any other critter with a bug buzz in their voice. Could be something else. But Twilight would know more on that front. I’m not exactly up to speed on folk who can run around as somepony else without anyone knowing.

I also knew she liked to shop and put on airs: she’d been very excited about getting the Gala dress. She was into the fame and its perks. Last, I knew she would threaten a little filly. Too bad she picked the wrong pony to try and blackmail into silence.

I leaned back in my seat.

"How is everything?" Stephanie asked and her voice was a little too neutral. She must have overheard some of my conversation.

"Something's happened to Fluttershy," I said, my voice rough.

"What?!" She whirled in her seat to look directly at me.

"She's been replaced. Or... something like it. I think it’s a changeling. She threatened Apple Bloom when I called." It took an effort to keep from grinding my teeth.

Stephanie reached out, taking her radio off the dash and raising the receiver to her lips.

"Don't," I said.

Stephanie paused, her finger on the talk button. She looked back at me. "I have to call it in."

"Can you call it in such a way that my sister doesn't get hurt? Or how about Fluttershy?" I shook my head and hated the cold feeling that was in my chest. "We don't know where she is."

Stephanie kept the receiver near her lips, but she didn’t depress the button. I felt Alphonse's eyes on me in the rearview mirror.

I tapped my forehoof against my chin, a plan coming together. Not a great one, but one that could work. I’d get to buck someone’s head off eventually. All I had to do was wait.

"Can you ask 'em to keep an eye on her?” I asked Stephanie. “She starts acting funny- big time funny- see if they can get my sister and everyone else to safety."

Stephanie nodded. "We have protocol. We can do that."

"Okay. Good. Then find out when Fluttershy started acting different. Narrow it down. Then tell whoever’s waitin’ for us that traffic's real bad. Like, really bad and we ain't getting there anytime soon."

Stephanie stared at me, then her eyes widened and a smile grew on her lips. “I’ll call it in,” she said.

I set my hat forward. "Thank ya, kindly.” To myself I added, Hang on ‘Shy. We’re comin’ for ya.