Applejack let her head fall into her hands, sighing out slowly. Rainbow wrapped her arms around her knees, tapping her feet onto the wet ground in anxiety, not exactly sure of what to say to the almost-orphan. Rainbow instead took respite as she turned to look at the surrounding area. Quaint little abodes lined the streets, each home being a cookie cutter of the last. Which was normal in big apartment complexes in Equestria, but not normal for each house to be a cookie cutter.
The morning had slowly become unnaturally still. The closer the clock ticked down to the beginning of the day, the less students poured into the school. The body had become a steady drip into the school instead of the flooding that was happening ten minutes ago. The bush was concealing them enough to where if somebody wasn’t looking, there was a very little chance that they would be spotted.
Rainbow caught a sly grin on her face, unbuckling her arms from her knees and crawling towards the end of the bush. Applejack watched in curiosity as Rainbow put an ear to the bush.
“...Where is Lyra?” She heard a student say. Rainbow’s own curiosity peaked as she heard that name, familiar with the turquoise Unicorn living in Ponyville. She turned to look, peeking her head around the edge of the bush.
“...That air-head should’ve been here by now!” Another voice said. Rainbow recognized the two humans from hair alone. One of them had orange hair while the other had both half pink and blue.
“...Air-head? That’s my friend you ass!” Bon-bon said, poking a finger at Carrot Top.
“Yeah? More than just your friend.” Carrot Top responded angrily.
“More than just-”
“You think I’m blind? I saw you two go to ‘Nourriture Trop Chere’ before! By yourselves!”
“So what if I like treating my bestie? It’s not like we’re dating, or-”
“And then I saw you two kiss!”
Rainbow cringed, peeling herself away from the edge of the bush. Applejack let out a sharp but quiet laugh as she plowed her face back into her hands in embarrassment. They sounded angry with each other, and honestly, Rainbow thought Carrot was acting a little bit out of pocket. Perhaps there was an underlying beef between them. Rainbow didn’t keep up with small town gossip nearly as much as Rarity or Fluttershy did.
She waited a few moments until the sounds of angry voices died away. She pushed her head back around the bush, and began people-watching once more.
Rainbow surprised herself with the sheer amount of people she recognized. It was all in the hair, because not only were the humans missing wings and horns, but also coat colors. All that the humans were left with was white and black. Or, rather, pale and brown. It seemed that in this school, the ratio of light skinned and dark skinned was significantly skewed in lighter’s favor. For every darker skinned, there seemed to be five light skinned. Which made sense on why Pinkie seemed to have dark skin. One out of six.
Then, Rainbow’s eye caught something. She raised her head quickly, her eyes flickering wildly between two humans.
“Applejack?” Rainbow asked over her shoulder. “You’re gonna want to see this.”
“What? What is it?” Applejack stood up, as did Rainbow. Together, they both peeked their heads over the top of the bush, Applejack’s stetson making stealth more of a suggestion than Rainbow’s rainbow hair. “Hey! Mah’ brother and mah’ sister!”
One was smaller and one was bigger. The smaller one was Apple Bloom, bouncing along with her backpack slung over her shoulder, a large pink bow in her fiery red hair. Applejack forced a smile away from her face as she watched her bouncing struggle under her unwieldy boots. They were large and didn’t seem to fit her in the slightest.
The bigger one was obviously Big Mac. He wore even bigger boots with his red plaid sweater, green eyes, and his dirty blonde hair.
“Wow.” Rainbow said. “Your brother is hot.”
“R-Rainbow!” Applejack exclaimed, punching Rainbow in the shoulder harshly.
“What?” She said in pain, clutching the spot where she had been punched. “I can’t help it!”
“Humans look like hairless apes, Dash!” Applejack exclaimed, profusely pulling down her stetson. “Why’re you so attracted to apes suddenly?”
“Ape brain!” Rainbow said, tapping her temple.
“Don’t tap like there’s somethin’ up there.” Applejack said, shaking her head. Rainbow made a stuttering sound as Applejack departed from the bush, passing behind Rainbow and making herself completely visible. “Big Mac!” She shouted. “Bloom!”
It took a second for them to stop on the steps to the school. They both looked around confusidly, until eventually, Apple Bloom locked eyes with her bigger sister who had her hands on her hips expectantly.
If Applejack was expecting a response, it probably wasn’t what Apple Bloom responded with.
“Applejack!” She shouted, letting her backpack strung across her shoulder fall to the ground in a heap. Over sized boots smashed across the ground quickly as she booked it from the concrete, to the grass, and eventually directly into Applejack’s stomach. She didn’t even have any time to react, put up her hands, nothing. Applejack instead just found a stomach full of Apple.
“Gah!” Her back hit the ground painfully, the air escaping her lungs as Apple Bloom hugged her hard, making air very difficult to enter her lungs.
“Ha!” Rainbow laughed, pointing at Applejack. “Karma!”
“Bloom’, you’re chokin’ the hell out of me!”
“Oh!” Apple Bloom released her stomach, falling back onto her bum on the grass, watching as her sister forced herself up into a sitting position, breathing painfully. “Sorry! It’s just- man, ah’ thought ya’ll went and got kidnapped!”
“Kidnapped?” Applejack laughed. “If ah’ were kidnapped, they’d be kicked halfway to tim-buck-two, now wouldn’t they?” She laughed, as did Apple Bloom. Big Mac lumbered over with both his and Apple Bloom’s discarded backpack. He chucked it so it landed far enough for the young girl to reach.
“Hey there, big guy.” Rainbow said, fluttering her eyes.
“No.” He responded flatly. Rainbow stuttered for a second, releasing a sigh and turning her attention back to Applejack.
“Ah’ thought ya’d show up before today!” Apple Bloom said, crossing her legs. Applejack figited uncomfortably. “Ya’ll don’t lie, so did somethin’ come up?”
“Mhm- yeah, technically?” Applejack figited with her fingers, turning her body towards Apple Bloom and crossing her legs similarly, so they both looked almost identical in everything but size. Big Mac crossed his arms, leaning back, and noticing something. His eyes flickered idly up to Applejack’s stetson.
“AJ?” He asked. “Somethin’ up with your hat?”
“Huh?” She asked, gripping it’s brim. “Ah’ don’t think so?”
“Why’s it look…” He dismounted one hand from his cross, holding it out. “Can I look?”
“Err-” Applejack carefully removed her hat, giving it to Big Mac. “Careful. It’s Pa’s.”
“Ah know.” He said simply, taking the hat and holding it in his fingers. “That’s why ah’m wondering…” Big Mac went silent, staring at it for a while. Applejack watched his green eyes, them flickering across the surface. His fingers felt the rough surface, feeling each sew line and divot in the unkempt surface.
To say the hat had been through… hell would be an understatement. It was in rough shape, that much was clear. The top of the hat had been sun bleached due to hours and hours of exposure, while some of the fabric had been stretched tight enough to bleed light through.
“It’s… worn.” He said after a moment. Applejack stared dumbfounded before letting out a curt laugh, rubbing her forehead. “This ain’t Pa’s hat… is it? No- it can’t be…”
“What’s wrong, Mac?” Apple Bloom asked. Even Rainbow was getting curious, tilting over his shoulder, even if Big Mac stood several feet taller than her.
“Ah’ recognize Pa’s hat. This is it, but it’s almost like it’s from the future… it’s worn down, old, dirty… patched up in a few places. This is Granny’s work, ain’t it?” He asked Applejack, who just nodded. “This don’t make no sense…” He flipped the hat on it’s head, looking inside.
“Huh.” He said. “This tag here…”
“Shit.” Applejack said quietly.
“Hand-crafted in Appleloosa by Grinder Star… thirteen seventy one?”
“Thirteen seventy one?” Apple Bloom asked. “Weren’t that the black death?” Applejack darted her eyes between the two. Rainbow Dash was backing away from Big Mac, a thin layer of sweat forming on her head. She waved a hand around her neck, staring back at Applejack. Instead, the message went straight over Applejack’s head.
“What year is it?”
Big Mac blinked hard. He stared at Applejack, his eyebrows going high. Apple Bloom leaned forwards, her mouth opening.
“What… year do you think it is?” Apple Bloom asked. Applejack swallowed.
“Fourteen thirteen?” She asked quietly.
“Yer’ pullin’ our legs here.” Big Mac said. “Yer’ off by six centuries, there.”
“So… two-thousand and thirteen?” She asked even quieter. Big Mac buried his head in one hand, extending out the hat with his other. Applejack took it, standing up and fastening it to her head securely.
Big Mac then jumped enough to scare everybody present.
“Applejack?” He asked, looking down at her shoes. “Are you… short?”
Rainbow let out a snort.
“Excuse me?”
“Ah’ mean-” Big Mac approached her, looking down. “Are ya’ physically shorter?”
“D’ya think ah’ inherited some kind of dwarfism-”
“Ah’m being serious.” He planted a hand on her shoulder. “What happened last night? Is this some kind of magic thing?”
“Magic?” Applejack asked, surprised.
“I didn’t think you guys knew anything about magic!” Rainbow shouted, approaching Applejack in a reassuring matter. Big Mac also sized up Rainbow Dash.
“Ah didn’t notice it before, but… are ya’ll shorter, too?” Big Mac reached out, plucking Rainbow’s sleeve from her arm. “Is that why your clothes are baggier?” He asked. Rainbow walked back, flattening the bit that he plucked.
“No. It’s a style.” She snapped back. Applejack bit her tongue, looking down at the ground in thought. She snapped her fingers.
“That… would make sense.” She said to mostly herself. “Ah’m wearing the same clothes that ah’ came out’a the portal with…” She snapped again. “Dash, you changed clothes at yer’ home. Into your double’s clothes…”
“Double… Portal…” Apple Bloom said. “What?”
“There has’ta be a size difference…” Applejack concluded. She looked up, realizing that Dash was staring at her with wide eyes that said ‘i’m going to kill you if you don’t shut up.’ “Uh- oops?” Applejack said with a shrug. Big Mac blinked.
“What?”
“See ya later?” Applejack said, sidestepping them both and grabbing Rainbow’s arm. “Time for school, ain’t that right?”
“There’s six minutes left-” Rainbow tried arguing. Before she could get another word out, she found not only her arm being pulled, but also her ear. They disappeared from the security of the bush, entering the domicile of concrete and brick walls of the school. Big Mac and Apple Bloom stood there for a few moments longer.
“Bloom’?” He asked. “Do ya’ remember when the fall formal happened? Big scary Sunset?”
“Yeah?”
“Ya’ know how AJ came back that night, ranting about a world full of us, but ponies?”
“Kind of? Ah’ was tired then.”
“Huh.” He bit his tongue. “Just’ a thought. Ah’ needa talk to her, though. Alone. Maybe after supper.”
“Dammit, Applejack!” Rainbow seared herself away from the girl. They had found themselves a few halls down. Despite being so close to class, there was almost no students around. Only a few going to-and-fro every couple of seconds, but for the majority of the time, they had the whole hall to themselves. To which Rainbow planned on using. “Could’ve just told me to- I don’t know- follow you?”
“Sorry, ah’ panicked!” She said truthfully, resting her head against a locker. “This is dumb! Some kind’a vacation, am ah’ right?”
“It’s just-” Rainbow put her hands on her hips, resting her hips on the locker behind her. “Just culture shock. That’s all. It’ll take us a while to adjust, but-”
“We’re short!” Applejack said loudly, pulling her head away from the locker. Rainbow cringed, looking down both ways of the hall for any potential listeners. “Somepony’s gotta notice we’re short!”
“I mean- you were always the shorter one in Equestria-”
“Not the time, Dash!” She hissed, hitting the locker with her head again. “Maybe it’ll get better, maybe not. Do we really want’a spend the extra time here? We came here to relax, not get even more stressed out.”
“I’m having a good time!” Rainbow argued.
“Gettin’ lost?” Applejack asked, meeting Rainbow’s eyes. “Tripping? Bashin’ your nose in? Gettin’ outed as bein’ short?” She laughed. “Ah’ hope we get ta’ meet our friends again. Ah’ might just bee-line it back for the portal.”
“Twilight isn’t going to reopen the portal until Sunday.”
“Ah-” Applejack sighed. “Ah’ dunno, Dash. This was a dumb idea.”
Rainbow crossed her arms, leaning into the locker deeper. She let out a harsh sigh, closing her eyes and listening to the idle chit-chat of early morning school. Footsteps echoing down the hall.
She tried to train her ears to a certain sound. Unfortunately, this was easier said than done, because her ears refused to swivel like her pony body would. Down the hall was two footsteps approaching. One foot sounded like one would expect a foot to sound, while the other foot sounded a little more… echoey?
“Oh, hey, Rainbow.”
Rainbow opened her eyes and looked down at the smaller human.
“Scootaloo?” She asked. Applejack stopped resting her head on the locker, looking over in surprise. It was obviously Scootaloo, just… “Scootaloo, where is your leg?” She asked.
“Huh?” She looked down at her plastic appendage. “I told you? Remember? I hid it, you thought it was funny…”
“Funny?” Rainbow leaned down to her level. “Dude, that’s sweet!” Scootaloo’s eyes flickered up, a smile spreading across her face.
“Really?”
“Really cool!” Rainbow said. Scootaloo beamed, looking back down at her plastic leg.
“Thanks!” She rotated it around. “Ever since I started showing it off, people have been asking me about it. I think I’m going to get a laser attachment!”
“That sounds awesome, squirt!” Rainbow patted her on her shoulder. “But you gotta get to class, though. Don’t want to ruin your grades, right?”
“Right! Thanks, Dash!” She began running away, surprisingly elegnatly for a kid missing her leg.
“That was Scootaloo?” Applejack asked, watching as the kid turned the corner. “Why was she missing her leg?”
“That’s not what I’m worried about…” Rainbow bit her nail. “She’s missing a leg, so… what is my Scootaloo missing?” Applejack donned a look of confusion.
“Ya’ can’t go basin’ your Scootaloo off of this one.”
“Yeah, but…” Rainbow bit her nail harder. “Ever wonder why my Scootaloo can’t fly?”