Timidbeat stared back at Fluttershy, clearly as shocked as she was. "Then... does that have something to do with you being here?" he asked, his ears flattened, as he looked back down into the forest.
"Maybe.." she murmured, "Maybe we should find out."
At first, it seemed as though he was going to refuse, but slowly he nodded.
Fluttershy led the way down the steep slope, picking her way more carefully, glad not to be... falling. As they made their way down, the yellow mare realized once again just how much the trip had been sped up when there was rolling involved.
As they finally found themselves at the edge of the pond, surrounded by thick thorns and brambles, Fluttershy looked back at her male counterpart. He appeared confused.
"Okay... you.. You stay here, and I'll go in. If I come up again, and you're not here, I'll know that I've gone back to... I don't know where... But I guess, the Ponyville I came from," she explained softly, turning her gaze back to the water when he nodded nervously, "Either way, I'll come back here and... tell you about it."
Fluttershy shut her eyes tightly in anticipation, brought herself forward, and plunged one hoof into the water. After taking a deep breath, she tipped forward, and allowed herself to fall completely. She fell deep into the pond, coming to a standstill some feet under the water. She looked up to see Timidbeat staring worriedly into the water's surface. Then, suddenly, his face wavered, and disappeared, turning to darkness. The yellow pegasus felt the same gravity shift as before, and somersaulted in the water to swim toward the new "up."
Fluttershy emerged slowly from the water's surface, blinking away water from her eyes. She scanned the area around the pool. There was no sign of Timidbeat. The small mare threw her hooves up onto solid ground, and drew herself up from the water halfway, before taking a deep breath and plunging back down. This time, she spun around to watch the yellow face appear again, and she floated back to his side.
The mare resurfaced with a gasp, and stared at Timidbeat. "It worked. Oh my goodness, you were gone! And, I went down again, now you're back... this is so strange..." she told him, pulling herself out of the water.
"Yeah... that's weird..." Timidbeat was watching her with confusion, "It looked like you just... disappeared, like you were swallowed by water."
"Surely, we can't let other ponies know about this! It could be... really really bad..." She remembered the whole situation with the mirror pool, which she realized, was oddly similar. Fluttershy shivered. "Too many Pinkie Pies..."
"How about, as far as other ponies are concerned, you're my... sister? Only if you come back, I guess. You don't have to if you don't want to, but... I do enjoy your company..." he looked down, embarrassed.
"That's a wonderful idea!" Fluttershy reassured him, smiling softly. "If you want me to, I can come back. We can be friends," she reassured him, nodding. That sounded fun. She could meet all of his animals! Even if they were just the reverse versions of her own, it would be enjoyable to her. They enjoy the same things - they had to, they were the same pony! So, whatever Fluttershy wanted to do, even things that she would normally want to do with friends because she would be scared, she could do with Timidbeat.
"For now, I should go. I need to go visit my own Apple family like I was going to," she explained, giving her male counterpart a brief hug, trying to avoid getting him too wet. Of course she already felt like he was a close friend - he was her!
"Okay... Goodbye, Fluttershy," he said, smiling slightly, and backing up to give her room, "You know where to find me if you come back."
"Bye, Timidbeat," Fluttershy replied, turning around and taking a deep breath. She took a step forward and plunged into the water, swimming straight down - and then straight up - toward her real home.
The pegasus mare heaved herself out of the pond and shook almost like a dog, water droplets spraying everywhere. She made her way steadily back up the brush-tangled slope, grunting and heaving with effort. Eventually, she found herself back at the top of the path, looking one way and than the other down the path she knew so well. With a final shake of her head, she trotted back to Sweet Apple Acres to greet her friend and her friend's family. Well, she didn't know if her Applejack was back at the farm yet, but she was sure she would go back soon if she wasn't. With how long this strange adventure had taken, it was just past noon, and she would need to head back in the evening to care for her animals.
With a quiet sigh, she continued on her way, pondering the possibilities of the strange new place she had found. She would return tomorrow, and maybe see what the rest of her gender-bent friends were like.
When Fluttershy arrived again at Sweet Apple Acres, she sighed in relief to see a familiar bulky red figure. He was working with a distracted demeanor, plodding along with a cider barrel on his back, as if just stalling for time. When he spotted Fluttershy just coming off of the path, he seemed to try to hide his face lighting up at her arrival.
The butter-yellow mare trotted over to him with a sheepish smile. "Hello, Big Mac," she greeted him, lowering her head.
"Eeyup," he replied though through his plain words, a smile crossed his features.
"Are you doing well today?" Fluttershy asked, coming to a stop and tracing a familiar pattern in the dirt.
She received another "Eeyup," and a friendly nod.
Fluttershy looked down at the ground with a shy nod in acknowledgement. She was pleasantly surprised to hear from him, "How 'bout you, Fluttershy?"
She looked back up to meet his gaze and grinned, replying softly, "I'm doing very well, thank you."
Just as it seemed Big Macintosh was about to speak again, a familiar voice called out happily. "Hey, Fluttershy! I was lookin for ya!" Applejack's voice came from the path behind her, growing closer. Fluttershy, though hiding disappointment, turned to greet her friend with another "Hello."
"Sorry, Applejack... there were some things that happened along the way."
"Well, how 'bout we all have some apple pie? Granny Smith was jus' gettin' ready to make some, Ah'll bet ya'll we'd be just in time!"
"That sounds lovely," Fluttershy replied, smiling, and standing back to follow her earth pony friend in the direction of the Apple family's house. She found herself walking by Big Mac's side, which she had a feeling was manipulated by the movements of the bearer of the element of honesty. She had sped up and slowed down subtly depending on which pony was directly behind her, until the two were walking side-by-side. Clever Applejack.
Of course, Fluttershy kept her gaze trained on the earth in front of her, and she felt Big Mac's gaze reach her many times.