When The Mare Comes Around

by nanashi_jones

Southern Comfort

May woke from her nap an hour or so before sundown. We were making really good time. I’d never covered ground like this before in my life. Was it possible to get a little earth pony magic in a human body when all this was over?

“What’s Applejack like?” May asked, her voice still a little thick with sleep.

I gave that a bit of thought, which amused AJ as she could “hear” me when I was actively thinking.

Just talk from the heart, Rae. No need to make it- Well, that’s flatterin’- But you don’t have to get so fancy.

“She’s a straight shooter,” I said with a nod. “Brave. Thoughtful. Salt-of-the earth.”

Just ‘cause I don’t have cheeks right now doesn’t mean I can’t blush, AJ muttered.

“That is so cool,” May said, her voice carrying a smile. “I mean, that, and you getting to be one of the Mane 6. I’m just... Ugh. Sweetie’s nice, but dude! Look at me!”

I chuckled, glancing back at her. “Yeah, that doesn’t look convenient.”

“I’m shorter than Sam, Rae! Look at that dog! That’s a fucking Arms of the Angel, won’t you adopt this poor puppy, dog! And she is bigger than me!”

She squeaked on the last word and slapped a hoof over her mouth, blushing.

“And that keeps happening,” she murmured.

“Least you don’t sound like Dolly Parton,” I replied.

She was quiet a moment before responding, “Point.”

“How about Sweetie?” I said.

“Huh?”

“What’s she like?”

“Oh, um. She’s alright. She really likes some of my music.”

“Heh. AJ’s the same about my stuff.”

“Yeah? Anyone I’d know?”

“Janelle Monae?” I said. “Johnny Cash?”

“Oh yeah, I’ve heard of her. She’s cool. Johnny’s classic.”

“Eeeyup,” I replied.

May went quiet again. Turning to look at her, I found her brow furrowed, her gaze away in thought. I’d only said yes, why did that merit so much consideration?

When she saw I was watching, she blinked and said, “Uh, sorry. I’m more rock myself. Foo Fighters, Semisonic, that stuff. You get better riffs there.”

“Foo Fighters are good,” I replied, looking back to the path. “I have two of their albums.”

“I have all of them,” May proclaimed. “And Dave Grohl kicks ass! He’s, like, my fucking spirit animal. Well, him and Bibi McGill.”

I laughed. “Y’know, interesting as this is, and I mean that, how about we let the other girls chat?”

“Huh?”

What?

I’m trusting you, I told AJ. Roll with it.

“We should let AJ and Sweetie talk,” I said, smile in place. “They’re in here too and they could probably use the one-on-one time.”

May was quiet. “You’re... Sure about that? I mean... What if we... What if we don’t come back?”

I shook my head. “No worries there. AJ’s driven the bus before and let me back in. I’m sure Sweetie can do the same.”

“I dunno...” May said, clearly stalling. “I mean, this extra-mind-in-a-head stuff doesn’t make a lot of sense and now you wanna add swapping to the list.”

“No kidding about that,” I agreed. “But, look. AJ fought to get you and Sweetie along, so wouldn’t it be fair to at least let the ponies hang out for a bit?”

“I guess,” May conceded. “Just... Do you... Mind letting AJ out first?”

“No prob,” I said, stopping near a tree.

Sam slowed her walk and turned back to see why we’d stopped.

So how do I...? I asked.

Here, let me.

And it happened again. I sort of... Fell back. And while I could see, hear, feel everything, I couldn’t do anything. Before I started freaking out, I reminded myself that I’d been here before and it all worked out. Just let somepony else drive the bus for a bit.

“Howdy May,” AJ said. “Pleasure to meet ya.”

“Whoa...” May said, her face coming into AJ’s periphery. “Just like that?”

“Just like that,” AJ replied with a grin, starting up again, kicking up a little dirt in the process.

Now that I wasn’t freaking the hell out about not controlling my body, I was able to appreciate this sort-of... waiting area in our head. I could think clearer here. And when I did, it was like the memory was that much sharper and real. So were AJ’s memories. No wonder she was able to play music in here. It was like being in some command center and both our brains and everything in them was within easy reach. No hazy memory, no song stuck in the head unless we wanted.

I may not have been able to move my own mouth for now, but I’d be an idiot not to see this waiting area was cool in its own way. I mean, I could perfectly recall my locker combination from middle school. How cool is that?

“This is so fucking cool,” May was whispering, outside.

I thought for a second she’d achieved some freaky pony telepathy until I realized May was staring at AJ with fangirl awe.

“I bet it is,” AJ said with a nod.

“So you’re... You’re really Applejack?” May asked.

“I really am,” AJ said, amused.

“Oh dude. Before I- Before Sweetie comes in. I am- I am so fucking sorry about the background pony crack. I was being a bitch. You’re cool. You’re like, totally, fucking cool.”

“Well, that’s much appreciated, May. Apology accepted.”

“I’m talking to Applejack!” May crowed, laughing. “So! Awesome!”

AJ chortled.

“Okay. Okay. It’s out of my system. I’ll uh... Hang on. I’ll swap out with Sweetie here.”

Silence. Then...

“APPLEJACK!”

I haven’t been tackled from behind before. Even more, I haven’t been tackled from behind when the person, or pony, doing the tackling launched from my back to my neck. Sweetie Belle was certainly an education.

Thankfully, AJ was driving the bus, so we avoided falling tail over teakettle. She only stumbled a bit as the pint-sized pony leapt at her neck, embracing her tightly.

“Oh my gosh Applejack, it’s so good to see you!” Sweetie yelled, swinging around so she dangled from AJ’s neck.

Sam barked excitedly, dancing around AJ and Sweetie as they moved.

“Howdy, Sweetie Belle, good to see you too. Easy, Sam. Easy girl.”

Sam barked one last time and returned to her position a little in front of us. Sweetie went into motormouth mode.

“Well, I guess I shouldn’t say that it’s good to see you. I could see you before but May was in charge so really I could always see you but now I get to talk to you and isn’t that great?”

AJ chuckled. “Certainly is. You gonna hang on me the rest of the trip?”

“Nah. I can walk.”

Sweetie dropped, stumbled a bit in the dirt, then matched AJ’s pace with determination.

“Ah, this is great! I was worried May was going to be the only person I really knew here and that was all magic brain stuff, but then you found us! Maybe we’ll get lucky again and run into Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, too!” Sweetie beamed at the notion of such good fortune. Turning to AJ, she said, “Or did you run into her already and send her to New York?”

“Nope,” AJ said, her neck tensing slightly. Memories of Apple Bloom flickered around me in the waiting area and I could feel AJ’s longing flare intensely before fading. “Rae thinks I may run into her when we get to New York.”

“I hope so. May’s a good friend and really helpful, but I miss them. And Rarity. Wow, I miss Rarity. I hope she’s okay too.”

“I’m sure Rarity’s doin’ just fine,” AJ assured, stepping over a log. “She’ll have a human friend in her head helpin’ her out and you know she can take care of herself.”

Sweetie nodded. “Yeah. As long as taking care of herself doesn’t mean getting dirty. She couldn’t handle this,” she said. AJ waited as Sweetie climbed over the same log.

AJ snickered. “No doubt about that.”

“So you and Rachel have been walking this whole time?” Sweetie said once they were moving again.

“Yep,” AJ said. “Couple of things went down and Rae and me decided it’d be better to stick to the woods.”

“May explained it to me. It sounds scary.”

“It has been, but Rae’s been good company. She’s been mighty helpful when I was confused about this world. Patient and understanding the whole way.”

Is there another Rachel in here? I asked. I don’t remember being a saint.

You do what you can and I appreciate it, AJ replied.

“May’s been nice too,” Sweetie agreed. “She sent a Facebook message to a bunch of ponies in case they ran into any other Cutie Mark Crusaders. It took her a real long time to type, so I was really impressed.”

“Did she now?” AJ said.

It was good AJ was driving the bus. Because as soon as Sweetie mentioned Facebook messaging, I started freaking out. Had May blabbed? Were we carrying a traceable signal in the shape of a white filly in a blue hoodie and headphones?!

Rather than voice my freak-out, AJ said, “When was that?”

Sweetie shrugged. “Before you and Rae showed up.”

Did you know you can hyperventilate in a purely mental waiting area? Because I think I just did, I told AJ.

She snorted.

“Ooo! Ooo!” Sweetie broke in. “That reminds me- did you know we’re a show?”

AJ nodded, chuckling. “I picked up somethin’ of the like.”

“It’s soooo neat! I mean, it’s weird too, but still neat. May says that a lot of fans even cheer on me, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom when we try to get our cutie marks! How great is that?”

“Sounds pretty impressive. I didn’t get an audience when I was tryin’ for my cutie mark, so y’all are extra lucky,” AJ said, with a wink.

Sweetie smiled at her then glanced down, her brow furrowing in worry. “I really hope they’re okay. This is fun and all, but I don’t know where anypony else is. That gets kinda scary.”

AJ put a supportive hoof on her back, briefly stopping us.

Once again, Sam stopped a ways away and cast a look back. I swear it was this annoyed, “Again?” expression.

“And you’re right to be scared, Sweetie,” AJ said, sunlight coming through the trees to illuminate our spot. “Only a danged fool wouldn’t be, in a situation like this. But I’ll tell you somethin’- wherever our friends and family are, they aren’t alone. There’s other ponies out there, and the Princesses, and we’re all lookin’ out for one another, like Miss Jubilee just showed. And those’re just the ponies! Why, on my trip alone, I’ve met four mighty-fine human folk who helped me out in a big way, and I can’t imagine them doing any less for Bloom, Scootaloo, or any of our friends. It’s like I’ve told Apple Bloom before- a pony’s always okay as long as she’s got friends.”

Despite my lack of hands, I somehow managed to applaud.

AJ blushed, cleared her throat. “And at the very least, right now you got me, and I got you. And we both got Sam.”

Sweetie smiled wide. “Yep!” she said with a little bounce. Sam yipped her approval. “And our humans! May’s been super helpful this whole time. Like explaining how we’re a cartoon, how the internet works, she’s really nice. Even if she talks funny.”

AJ cocked her head and resumed walking. “Y’mean all the cussin’?”

“Is that what it’s called when she and other ponies go ‘bleep’ every other word?”

AJ’s mouth parted as she puzzled that, and I was right behind her. That is until I realized just what May would “bleep” every other word.

Oh wow, I said.

What? AJ said.

Here. I’ll just... And I thought about censorship. Specifically, I thought about, and shared with AJ, a tactic in TV censorship. And as soon as she knew what I knew, AJ snorted, giggled and guffawed. I laughed right along with her.

“What?” Sweetie asked. “What did I say?”

AJ looked at her. Sweetie’s expression was confused, but her cheeks burned with embarrassment.

“Now don’t feel bad, Sweetie,” AJ said, ducking a branch. “May’s just bein’ more of an adult than Rae an’ me gave her credit for.”

“Ooooh. Okay. Why would I feel bad about that?”

“Your cheeks are redder’n a batch from the northwest crop.”

“They are?” Sweetie reached a hoof up and blinked at the heat on her cheeks. “Oh. That must be May. Sometimes, she’ll pop up like that.” She glanced around conspiratorially, then leaned toward AJ. “I think she’s embarrassed,” she said in a not-terribly-whispering whisper.

“Nothing to be embarrassed about,” AJ said with a nod. “I know she can hear me, so she should know I think that’s mighty big of her, what she’s doin’.”

Sweetie’s cheeks got even redder.

“I think that just made her more embarrassed,” she said, her calm expression at odds with the blush on her cheeks.

AJ chuckled. I somehow smiled. We had some good kids along.

Comments

[SoulboundAlchemist]

I'm really liking where this is going. Are you planning for some enormous villain to play a part like in More Than A Dream?

[nanashi_jones]

3050658

Thanks! AJ and Rachel are up against different obstacles than the characters of that story. No Smiling Pony here, but Private Investigator Matthews makes for a steady presence in AJ and Rae's periphery.

[drone_r0m-3]

So basically, Sweetie Bell gets to watch life like we get to watch any TV show Gordon Ramsay is in.

[Firebirdbtops]

But Rarity LOVES camping!

[ShadyCanopy]

Nice work, and that's good that Sweetie can't hear cussing from May.

[arancaytar]

Wow, mentally censoring out your own words as you're saying them must take quite a bit of concentration.

[Sergiovan]

This is great. I love it

[Pinklestia]

So, she censors the curse words? Neat trick!