The Yellow Apple Blossom of New Texas

by Stainless Steel Fox

Answers

Bravestarr stepped up, and pinned the new badge to her jacket. Applejack breathed on it, then polished it with her chin. She looked over at Thirty Thirty. "Where's yours, if you don't mind me askin'?"

He grinned and reached up to his chest harness, flipping a piece of red leather to reveal a patch with a star on. "Mmpphh! I don't like to keep it out all the time, what with all the travelling we do."

"Maybe I should put it in my saddlebag for now..." She turned back to the Shaman. "Thanks for setting my mind at ease, though I never felt less like sleeping in all my born days. I'd sure like to know how it happened."

"I may be able to trace the spell to it's source, if you wish." the wise man said.

"As long as it takes less than an hour." Bravestarr interjected, looking out at the sinking suns. "We have get on back to Fort Kerium soon."

"That will be more than enough time, my son." Shaman sat back, cross-legged, and motioned Applejack back to her place.

He threw other powders into the fire, and a solid silvery cloud of smoke formed over the fire, staying there and rippling slightly. Shaman gripped his staff, and pointed it at the smoke, which started to clear to show a scene, like a window, or video-screen.

The viewpoint was flying over lush and well tended countryside, towards a mountain range. Built into the side of one of the peaks, overlooking a wide pass was a city of white stone, surmounted by a fairy-tale castle with waterfalls flowing off into space, surrounding the city in rainbows.

Beyond it was more farmlands and orchards, and beyond that, on the horizon was another, lower mountain range. The land was all lit up with the first light of dawn, though the sun was not yet up. The skyline of the far mountains was golden, while the bases of the clouds above them shone as if they were on fire.

"Equestria!" the longing in Applejack's voice was clear to all who heard it. "That's Canterlot, the capital."

The viewpoint moved closer to the city, overflying it closely, and on one of the highest spires of the castle, you could just see balcony where a white alicorn stood watching the eastern horizon. A smaller, midnight blue alicorn was facing the west, her horn glowing as brightly. They rose of the platform, wings outstretched, horns glowing more brightly than the sun-light.

"Great baskets of apples! It's the Princesses! They're raising the sun and lowering the moon! I ain't never seen it actually happen. Sure is impressive."

Princess Celestia seemed to glance up as the viewpoint passed her, but went back to her task without interruption.

They were past Canterlot now, flying over fields and dales, following the path of a winding river across a wide plain. It reached a bridge, and beyond it nestled in the foothills of the mountain range that rose up behind it was a much smaller town. It was far less grand than the spires and domes of Canterlot, thatched roofed houses and shops lined paved roads with flowerbeds planted along their centres. Outside the town to their left, there were broad orchards of apple trees, and carefully tended fields to the right.

"And that's my home sweet home, Ponyville." Applejack stated. "Sweet Apple Acres is over on the north side, and I guess that's where I'm sleeping, the original me."

As if prompted, the view swung to her left and over the orchards to a broadly spread set of farm buildings. It flew in an upstairs window of the farm house, and came to rest over a bed with a little orange Earth pony snuggled up in wrapped over blankets, fore-legs and tied up blonde mane on top of the sheets. Despite the difference in shapes, no-one could mistake the resemblance.

"Now if that don't beat all!" Applejack exclaimed. "I've heard of folks being beside themselves, but this is ridiculous!"

"That's you?" asked Thirty Thirty with a surprised snort.

J.B shook her head grinning. "You're so... cute!"

"I'll take that as a complement. I'm guessing you had to find me before you could find whoever did the hocus pocus, Mr Shaman?"

"Just Shaman, my young friend. You guess correctly."

The viewpoint drew back, and turned to face the town. They were travelling more slowly, at roof height, and the group got their first good look at Ponyville, and the early morning activities of it's inhabitants. A grey pegasus with wall eyes and a saddlebag with a letter emblem on was flying about, delivering mail.

Another pegasus was pushing a cloud along over the main street by riding on it and flapping his wings. At intervals he jumped up and down on the cloud and a shower of rain came out. Trailing him were two Earth ponies and a unicorn, one Earth pony towing a cart full of brushes and cleaning supplies, while the other pony swept the street with a wide brush, and the unicorn levitated a rag that polished the windows along the route.

Further on, an Earth pony was hauling out a display of fruit and vegetables from a shop door, while across the street, a unicorn was using her horn's magic to draw out an awning over a shop front. The viewpoint flew towards a literal tree house, with a sign showing a book hanging outside, and Applejack nodded. "Looks like Twilight..."

The viewpoint flew over it, and Applejack looked surprised. "... had nothing to do with it."

The viewpoint moved on to a house that looked more like it had been made out of cakes, by a confectioner of dubious sanity. Applejack looked confused. "Sugar-cube Corner?"

The viewpoint flew in through an upstairs window, and into a bedroom littered with party supplies and festive debris. It came to a stop over a bed, covers thrown back, where a pink Earth pony filly slept, hugging an alligator.

"Pinkie Pie?" Applejack had gone beyond confused, and was now exploring the wide new fields of astonishment.

"Yes Applejack?" A duplicate of the pink pony in the bed bounced from behind Thirty Thirty and Bravestarr, between them, and up to Applejack. Her shoulder just came to Bravestarr's belt buckle. She took a close look at her transformed friend, and exclaimed. "Wow! Your legs have gotten all big and shiny!" She started gazing at her reflection in Applejack's flank, bobbing in and out. "Whoo whoo whoo!"

Applejack got up, towering over her pink friend. She pushed her away from her flank gently, with a fore-hoof on the fore-head. "Pinkie, how did you get here? Besides aren't you there?"

"Well, it looks like I'm asleep over there, so I must be dreaming! Wow! All of you got big, though only your legs are shiny!"

Applejack sighed, and looked over at the Shaman. "No offence, but are you sure you didn't take a wrong turn at Altaiquerque?"

The Shaman shook his head. "No, your friend is most definitely the source of the magic that brought you here. Though I do not know how she came here as well."

"Well! Applejack called me, and when a friend calls you it's rude not to answer so I answered and here I am! So who are your friends, and why are they up on their hind legs... Oh! They're humans! Except for the one who's more like a horse. Cool! I've been transported to a mythical land of humans and horses!" She paused looking puzzled. "Where everyone dresses like an Appleloosan."

Applejack cut of the stream of consciousness. "Folks, this is my friend Pinkie Pie. Maker of cakes and parties, Element of Laughter and frequent breaker of the laws of physics and magic, at least according to Twilight. Suddenly this all starts to make a lot more sense."

Pinkie Pie suddenly gasped, and looked down at herself. "Oh! If you're going to introduce me, I really should get changed into something for the occasion. Just a minute!"

She dashed off, and pulled a folding screen from behind her that unfolded to improbable size, then she scooted behind it.

"Wait...where did she..."

Applejack shook her head. "I don't know and I've stopped askin'. Pinkie does this sorta stuff all the time, appearing places she can't be, always having something you need on hand..."

The sound of sawing started up behind the screen, then hammering and drilling noises were added. A flickering light appeared as the crackle of a welding arc was heard. A party blower added it's contribution, and a set of streamers flew up over the top of the screen as a party popper went off.

"Though she ain't this obvious most of the time. Twilight figures it's to do with her Element. I'm Honesty, which it means I can usually tell if folks are telling an untruth. But Pinkie Pie is Laughter, and Twilight reckons that means she can do whatever she needs to, as long as it's funny. Which would be scary as all get out if'n it weren't that she's got no more meanness in her than a basket of sleeping puppies.

"Once this griffon, a friend of Rainbow Dash's from Young Flier's Camp, was being really mean to folks, stealing off carts, and generally being a big grouch. She even shouted at Fluttershy, who's about as inoffensive as they come. Pinkie's idea of taking extreme measures to stop her was to throw her a party and cheer her up so she'd stop being mean." The orange Equestroid shrugged.

There was a crackling of lightning, and a flash showed a Pinkie silhouette, standing on her hind hooves with fore hooves up to the sky. "It's alive! Mwahahahehe!" Her mad scientist laugh was ruined by it turning into a giggle. Another lightning flash showed a larger figure sitting up in the classic, arms outstretched, monster position. There was another giggle. "Heh! Lightning tickles!"

Pinkie emerged from behind the screen transformed. She gave it a kick with a hind-leg, and it collapsed, folding back in on itself. She'd now grown to almost Applejack's size, and her proportions had altered to match Applejack's. Her legs were cybernetic, and painted hot pink to match her coat, with three balloon cutie-mark lovingly enamelled on her flanks.

But where Applejack and Thirty Thirty's legs were unadorned, hers were decorated. Her hooves were chromed, and every joint had chrome trim dripping off it. Her upper fore-legs had a rounded off square grill and hooded circular head-light on the front, and her hocks extended out into a short tail-fin with a domed red tail-light. If Applejack was part knight, Pinkie Pie was part 1950's Cadillac.

"Much better!" Pinkie Pie looked herself over, pleased as she trotted over. When she came to a stop, the little tail-lights came on. "Maybe I should have gone with white-wall hooves..."

"Just don't ask..." Applejack forestalled the other's questions. "It's Pinkie Pie."

"Well it certainly isn't Queen Snooty!" The pink pony replied with a giggle.

To be honest even Shaman was a bit too stunned by Pinkie Pie's transformation to ask many questions. The pink pony on the other hand was in full Pinkie Pie mode. Somehow she managed to bounce, even on cyber-legs.

"So now that I look the part, aren't you going to introduce me to your new friends? Because then they can be my friends too!"

Applejack brought her around. "Pinkie, this is Marshall Bravestarr, the law around these parts..."

"Oh, that's like a sheriff with knobs on! Awesome!"

Bravestarr had decided to just accept the weirdness. He touched his hat brim. "Howdy Miss Pie. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Call me Pinkie. Miss pie is what I do when I've eaten it all."

Applejack continued. "And this here is J.B. I mean Judge McBride."

"It's okay Applejack, any friend of yours can call me J.B too."

Pinkie looked around eagerly. "Oh oh, where's J.B one then? Doesn't matter, I'm glad to meet you J.B."

Applejack shook her head. "Pinkie, you're being even more random than usual."

"I'm dreaming, I don't have to make sense." The pink pony opined.

Applejack chuckled. "Not like it's too much of a stretch from your usual state. Anyhow, this here's Deputy Thirty Thirty."

The big Equestroid was still recovering from having met up with one of his kind, and the revelation that there was an entire world of sentient equines other than New Equestron (if it did still exist) but he didn't show it. "Charmed, missy."

"Me too. I love making new friends... should I call you Deputy Thirty? or just Thirty? I'd call you Thirty, but it might be rude to use your first name without permission."

"Just Thirty Thirty miss, both barrels." The others were smiling, you couldn't really help it with Pinkie Pie acting the way she was. She held out a fore-hoof, and he shifted down to quadrupedal to meet her on her own level.

It still meant she had to look up, wide eyed. "Myohmy, you're not just a pony, you're a transformer! You're bigger than Big Mac, and he's about the biggest pony I know."

"Y'know, we can do that upright thing too." Applejack shifted up into bi-pedal mode, and Thirty Thirty followed.

"Ooh!" Pinkie Pie seemed to catch on immediately, and shifted up as well, standing on her hind legs. "Wowie! It's so high up!"

She looked over her shoulder at the still present image. "I can see my house from here!"

She turned back and shook Thirty Thirty's hand. "Hey, I have fingers, like Spike! Wow, this is neat! I'm sure I could make a lot of cakes this way!"

J.B looked back and forth between them. "You make cakes and Applejack makes pies. Does every-one in Equestria bake?"

Pinkie shook her mane. "Of course not! Most of us use sun-block!"

Applejack got things back on track. "The fellow behind you is Shaman, he's sorta like the Twilight Sparkle of this world, he can do some really powerful magic."

Pinkie turned to face the old man, who gave her a smile and a dignified nod. "It is a pleasure to meet someone so full of life and laughter."

"It's who I am." Pinkie bounced on the spot, beaming. "I just want everyone to have fun and feel happy. Maybe I should organise a party..."

"Whoa there!" Applejack interrupted before Pinkie started pulling party supplies from nowhere. "We can party later sugar-cube! First I need some answers. Shaman figured out the spell that sent me here, and traced it back to you."

Pinkie stopped bouncing for a moment, then her face brightened even more than usual. "Oooooooh! Maybe my birthday wish worked! Did you have an adventure, and get to help ponies?"

The apple farmer looked at her with furrowed brow. "I guess so, good people who needed help, anyhow. What in the name of apple pies has that got to do with your birthday wish? Your birthday was months ago."

"Oh, I didn't use it then. I didn't need to as I had my good friends, and parties, and everything I wanted! No, I used it on your birthday. You were saying how things had been slow the last few weeks, what with the last of the harvest in, and no-pony needing help with anything. You missed having an adventure, like saving the Crystal Empire, and I felt bad about how my clones wrecked your barn raising. So I wished that you'd have a chance to do just that, go see new places, and help out some-ponies who needed it."

"Uh... Pinkie, I don't reckon birthday wishes work like that."

Pinkie waved a hand around. "It looks like this one did."

J.B had a look of concentration. "Hmm... Applejack, you did say that Pinkie was the Element of Laughter, and that these Elements were pretty powerful. She was doing it to make you happy, maybe her Element helped."

"Y'know, I reckon it could be..." She yawned, and put a hand to her mouth. "Pardon me, I guess things are finally catching up with this body."

The Marshall looked out over the plains of New Texas. "Then I reckon we ought to be heading on back, if we want to get to Fort Kerium before night fall."

Applejack rubbed the back of her head with a hand. "I ain't exactly got somewhere to sleep."

"Y'can use my room." Thirty Thirty offered. "I'll sleep at the Marshall's office. If that's okay with you Marshall?"

"I was figuring she could get one of the rooms at the saloon, but it can get a mite rowdy downstairs." The Marshall nodded. "Of course, we're gonna have to make some more permanent arrangements, but we can do that tomorrow."

"I don't want to impose on no-one..." Applejack started, but Thirty Thirty waved her quiet.

"Mmpphh! Ain't no imposition. I can rustle up something to eat before I head off. It may not be as fancy as your apple pies, but it's hot and there'll be plenty of it."

Pinkie drooped slightly. "You're going? But I wanted to hear all about your adventure. And why would you need a place to stay anyway? Aren't you coming back home?"

"Tain't that simple sugar-cube. This place is as real as Equestria, and so's this body you wished up for me. My original body is still asleep in my room at Sweet Apple Acres, I done see it through that fancy viewing spell.

"The way Shaman figures it, I'm gonna be shuttling back and forth. When I'm asleep here, I'll be back home in Ponyville. When Luna brings up the moon, I'll be asleep there and awake here. So I got to figure on being in both places. Fortunately, I already got a job."

Pinkie perked up. "Oh? What?"

Applejack pulled her star out of her saddlebag. "I'm gonna be helping out some more. These folks reckon I can do some good here, and I'm sure glad to oblige them."

"Wow! Two Pie Applejack, scourge of scoundrels across all of Space Appleoosa and the Western territories! Bushwhackers, hornswagglers, train robbers and pony-nappers beware!"

"This place is called New Texas, but as my big bro would say, Eyup!" She yawned again. "But first I gotta get me some shut eye. I'll tell you and the others all about it when I'm up and done with my morning chores."

"Okie dokie lokie! Come by to Sugarcube Corner and I'll make cupcakes."

Pinkie Pie shifted down to equine mode, and bounded towards the smoke rimmed image. There was a fwoop sound as the mists reached out and engulfed her, and then she was gone, though the Pinkie in the image suddenly bounced and fell out of bed. She pulled herself out of her blankets, yawned and scratched the back of her mane vigorously with a fore-hoof as the viewing portal shrunk and the mists floated away.

"Hmm." The Shaman spoke first. "You have some remarkable friends, Applejack."

"Plumb crazy, if y'ask me." Thirty Thirty said, then backtracked, looking at Applejack. "In a nice way of course!"

Applejack just grinned. "It's okay, you ain't the first one to suspect Pinkie is a few cup-cakes short of a full tray. A good friend accepts their friend's quirks, but that don't mean you havta ignore them. It's just part of who they are."

"Well I'll tell you what I am." J.B said. "Ready to head off home."

"Then let's saddle up!" Bravestarr called out.

"Or whatever." he added, looking at the two remaining cybernetic equines.

Applejack down-shifted to equine and turned to face Shaman. "Thank you kindly, Mr Shaman sir. You surely helped set my mind at ease."

"I was only too glad to help, my young filly." The wise man bestowed a wise smile on her. When they'd gone down to the lower levels, he moved over to the wide gap in the stone wall that was the interior of the hawk's mouth on the outside of the totem-pole styled spire.

As he watched them head away from Star Peak, into the setting three suns, he mused. Was it just a wish by a friend, or did Applejack have some greater purpose to fulfil in this land? It would be interesting to watch as things developed, not just her unfolding story, but her interactions with Thirty Thirty.

He knew of the fate of the stallion's home-world, and sorrowed that he couldn't help the good equine reconnect with his own kind, or even find out if there were any of his kind left. At least now he had Applejack to be-friend him, and maybe more, if Thirty Thirty's reaction was anything other than hospitality.

Both were independent, and strong, but both could be even stronger with someone else in their life. The constant threat of a life as long as is was boredom, and this was the most interesting thing to happen in some time. Yes, he would definitely keep an eye on those two.

Author's Note:

I have some ideas as to what Applejack's greater purpose will be, and a pretty firm idea of Thirty Thirty's expanded back story. Let's just say, it's inspired by a couple of other classic 80's cartoons.

Other ponies on New Texas? Maybe. I admit I'd like to see what Rainbow Dash could do with a pair of heavy duty thrusters in her rear hooves and a field effect pressure suit (a space suit that keeps a bubble of air around you using a force field. It contains gases but allows solid objects to pass). I generally rig it so the field polarises to reduce incident solar radiation to safe levels, and have a life support module on a belt or harness that recycles and temperature conditions the air.

The Bravestarr universe must have that tech, since in at least one episode, Bravestarr climbs out onto the exterior of a space ship in an asteroid belt to pry an asteroid out of the ship's hull. I'd love to see RD doing a Han Solo impression. Especially as the asteroid belt around New Texas is a movie asteroid belt.

Twilight Sparkle: "The possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately 3720 to 1!"

Rainbow Dash, pulling down her goggles: "Never tell me the odds!"

Edit: I've also added some internal timeline stuff to put events between Too many Pinkie Pies and One Bad Apple.

Comments

[Sea_Swirl]

Love it!!!!

[Vailen]

I think the rest of the mane six should pop into New Texas every so often and maybe later on down the road have thirty thirty pop into equestria.

[shinikage]

5758821 i approve of this

[punzil504]

If Applejack was part knight, Pinkie Pie was part 1950's Cadillac.

I would have thought Pinkie would be more of a Mustang... *rimshot*

[FleetlordAvatar]

5758821 That would be hilarious. I'd also like to see how the Mane 6 would look as Equestroids.