Fluttershy's jaw hung open. Tha-that- What? Applejack? That's not- that's Applejack? She shook her head, realizing how dumb she must look at that moment.
"Uhm... I'm... Fluttershy..." she murmured, still dumbfounded.
"That's a spankin' great name, Fluttershy! Now, if'n Ah may be excused, Ah'm goin' to head down and see if Ah can find mah friend. Ah'll talk to you later, sugarcube!" Applejack dipped his head in goodbye, and that's when the yellow pegasus noticed he even wore the same hat as her own Applejack - the female one.
"Uhm... Goodbye... Apple..jack..."
Fluttershy watched as he trotted away down the path where she had come, and noticed he also somehow bore Applejack's cutie mark on his flank. He traveled past the spot where she had fallen into that strange pond. He whistled a familiar tune as he left, slowly growing smaller in the distance.
That was certainly the strangest thing she'd ever seen. Well, maybe the strangest. It might not top some of Pinkie Pie's endeavors. But he looked just like Applejack - female Applejack, the Applejack whom she knew so well! And he even used the same friendly general nickname to refer to ponies - sugarcube. He couldn't be her Applejack, not really! He didn't even recognize her, or her name.
Then she realized something. He talked about a friend. A friend that looked a lot like her. Was this friend... a male version of herself? Then what happened?
Fluttershy finally shook all of these strange thoughts from her head. It was ridiculous! Crazy! It had to be some insane coincidence. Applejack might be a common Apple family name, for fillies and colts. It was gender neutral. And sugarcube was probably a common phrase in the family. That hat was probably just a trending style choice among apple folk. And, this stallion, must just be an extremely strangely similar-looking-to-Applejack cousin or something. One who received the same name. And has a friend that looked like Fluttershy.
She sighed inwardly at herself. It was best just to forget it, and not think too much about the confusing possibilities. As she made her way deeper into the orchard, again she spotted a familiar coat color. "BIg Macintosh. It's such a relief to see a familiar face!" Fluttershy called, trotting up to a red figure with a lowered head, picking up a stray apple. When they raised their head, leaving the fruit, to cock an eyebrow at her, the butter-yellow mare was taken aback. This pony was a female!
"..." She stared at Fluttershy, as if taking an extra long time to be sure she was being spoken to, "Nnope," Her voice was a still-feminine baritone, and seemed a bit confused.
"Then... Then what is your name?" Fluttershy asked, recoiling timidly.
"Lil' Cameo." She replied briefly.
"Oh..." The pegasus mumbled, walking backwards away with her eyes trained on the ground.
"Ya'll look like Tim.." Cameo added, seeming to almost be to herself.
"Who?"
"Tim... Timidbeat." For a brief moment, the quiet mare looked as though she might have been embarrassed at the nickname she used.
"I.. I uh..." Fluttershy was shocked. Who was Timidbeat? Was he the friend that Applejack had mentioned? She didn't ask to find out, but slunk backwards to hide behind a tree. For some reason.
"Hi, Cam..." came a soft male voice from the direction of the pathway Fluttershy had taken, "Do you know where Applejack is? I haven't seen him, and I thought for sure he'd be impatient since I'm a bit late..."
Futtershy peaked out from behind the tree to see a stallion with a parted mane that covered some of his face, which was pink like hers. He also had a yellow coat, like her. And a butterfly cutie mark, just like hers... Was this "Timidbeat?" Whoever he was, he was approaching Cameo with a tired trodding pace.
"He went to look for ya."
Timidbeat appeared distraught, his ears turning back. "Oh.. he must have passed me when I fell off the path. I almost fell in a pond you know!"
Fluttershy gasped in shock, revealing her position to Timidbeat, though Cameo didn't seem to pay much mind, perhaps because she already knew where she was.
Timidbeat took a step back, and closer to the crimson mare. Though he appeared overwhelmed with the urge to just run to the hills, he still stepped protectively in front of Cameo. "W-who's there?" he managed to utter.
"That mare looks an awful lot like you," the earth pony explained, before finally, Fluttershy hesitantly moved to completely emerge from her place.
"I'm... Fluttershy..." she murmured, her face half-covered by her pink mane. She looked down to the ground for what felt like the twentieth time.
"Wait..." Timidbeat froze, watching Fluttershy. After a moment, he drew closer, and his head lowered to investigate. This movement was mirrored by the yellow mare doing the same, which caused her to squeak in surprise.
"Why... do we look the same?" he murmured, followed by Fluttershy shaking her head vigorously.
"I don't know..." she responded softly, her gaze trained back on the grass in front of her, "but... Little Cameo... She looks like my friend Big Mac... and... Applejack - your Applejack looks like my friend, a different Applejack... but she's a mare... She lives here too..."
Cameo looked utterly confused. "Ah'm the only mare on this farm," she mumbled.
"Timidbeat... You said you almost fell into a pond, right?" Fluttershy asked, receiving a nod from the shy stallion, and then continued, "Will you... show me where that pond is?"
"Uh.. ok." He responded softly, "I'll be right back, Cammie," the yellow pegasus added, touching his hoof to her shoulder for a moment.
"This way..." he lead Fluttershy along down the path, staying quiet most of the way, until he asked, "So... where do you live in Ponyville?"
"In a little cottage down this path a while. It's about a thirty minute walk from Sweet Apple Acres."
"And... do you take care of animals at this cottage?" he asked, lowering his head as if he knew the answer.
"Yes..."
"I also live in a cottage... thirty minutes down this path... and I take care of animals."
"So... we're.. the same?" Fluttershy confirmed, but became distracted when she recognized the spot where she had fallen into the pond. As she feared, Timidbeat stopped at that very same point.
"I fell down here," he said with certainty.
Fluttershy stared at the spot, down through the broken, bowled over brambles and bushes. She looked back up at him fearfully. "So did I... but I fell in the pond."