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There was a whisper of wind.

The serene and empty road into Ponyville laid bare, only a couple of birds resting in the trees bearing witness to the sudden scene that unfolded.

A maelstrom suddenly erupted, as if torn from sheets of a mighty hurricane itself. Dust flew into the air and the setting sun's brightness suddenly became a back-lighting, as from the sky, a pillar of purest white suddenly descended.

It hit the earth with a muffled thunderclap. A final rush of wind shook the trees and scattered loose pebbles and leaves as the impact blasted a wave of air outwards. It was certainly enough to send the birds flying.

Just as quickly as it had started, the noise ceased. A cloud of debris continued to float around the site. After a minute of silence, another sound cut through the quiet: That of a small pony, coughing.

"*ahack!* Uhh... *ahack!* Mister... Mister Presto? Mister Great and *ahack* Powerful Presto? You there?"

There were more sounds of scuffling and small clopsteps, as the young pony tried to wave away the cloud of dirt. Gradually, his form came into view as the dust began to settle. Though a fair amount of the dirt clung to his yellow hide, the young colt's orange eyes remained undeterred, even when he took off his baseball cap and waved at the cloud some more.

"*ahack, ahack!* Mister Presto? Where... where'd you go?" he questioned, obviously looking for somepony. Once he deduced that he was actually alone on the road, he began taking in his surroundings once more.

"It don't look like ah moved any... did Mister Presto get moved instead? Ah mean, he's s'posed to be the second best unicorn in Equestria! Ah wouldn't think he'd be able to get it wrong!"

When it became obvious that he'd get no answers from an empty patch of road, the young boy pony finally turned himself towards the small village in the distance. He set his eyes in determination, and placed his hat back on his head, before rearing up onto his hindlegs.

"If it did work... then maybe Ah actually made it! But Ah won't know f' sure till Ah find out! So... here we go!"

And with that, Applebuck began galloping towards Ponyville, yelling at the top of his lungs.

"JAYJAY! COUSIN JAYJAY! AH'M-AH COMIN'! WAIT FER ME, COUSIN JAYJAAAAY!"

Wwwwwwwwwww

By the time he made it into the town proper and began encountering ponies, he was simultaneously heartened and unnerved to learn that he had indeed landed in the right dimension.

The earth-pony's eyes were wide as he spotted familiar faces. Ones that were soft where they were once strong before, and vice-versa. He did a double-take as a pony he knew as 'Lemon Hooves' in his world walked past him, and then yet another as 'Pokey Pop' strolled through his path. The former was now a filly, the latter, a stallion. All the colts were mares now, and all the mares were colts!

He shook his head as he tried to think. Ah need to find Cousin JayJay! Even if she's... not really mah cousin, Ah still want to find her! She's not Red Gala, an' she's sure not Applejack! She's... she's th' big sis ah never had! And ah wanna be wit' her!

A young colt in a mare's land, Applebuck nevertheless steeled himself. He pointed himself towards the marketplace, a clear vision of the Sweet Apple Acres fruit stand in mind. He would have reached there unimpeded as well, if only he hadn't given himself tunnel-vision and accidentally run into another pony.

"Awp!" came the voice, as he felt his forehoof land on something that wasn't ground.

"Oh!" he yelped, jumping back a step. "Ah'm so sorry, are y'all all-riiii...?"

Harpsy and Babar were both giving him a curious look, the cream-coated pony in particular rubbing at a hoof. At least, they looked like Harpsy and Babar. But their shorter stature, rounded curves, and delicate snouts unequivocally marked them as mares instead of stallions.

"Oh, it's okay dear," the not-Babar soothed, a patient look on her face. "Though you should really keep a better eye on where you're going."

"A little preoccupied, are we?" the female Harpsy spoke up, giving the colt a smile. "Say, I don't think I've seen you around before, actually. You new here?"

"Uhm... a-ah yeah, ah am." the red-maned pony bashfully replied. "Ah just... got into Ponyville today, y'know. Hey, uhm... real sorry 'bout th' trippin' up, Ah was just..."

Both fillies chuckled. The mint unicorn spoke yet again. "Well then, welcome to Ponyville! I'm Lyra, and the one you nearly tripped up here is BonBon. If you're lost, we can give you the grand tour of the town, if you'd like!"

Applebuck worked his jaw a few times, before managing a reply. "Ah... Well... ah... Ah thank y-ya kindly, but... ah... Ah'm just lookin' fer m-mah Cousin JayJay. She lives here in Ponyville, and Ah wanted to visit."

The mares blinked, before looking at each other. "JayJay... I don't know any JayJay." BonBon hummed. "Can you think of anypony named that, Lyra?"

"No-one comes to mind... then again, it's not like we know EVERY pony in Ponyville, that's Pinkie's job. I bet if we asked her-"

"A-ah'm sorry." the yellow colt interrupted, his cheeks slightly red from embarrassment. "T-that's just what Ah call her. Her... her actual name is, uhm... Applejack." It felt odd to say the name out-loud and not be referring to his elder brother at the same time.

Thankfully, the two faces lit up in recognition. "Oh, APPLEJACK!" the musician exclaimed. "I should have guessed, with your accent and all. I'm afraid you just missed her."

The curly-haired equine nodded as well. "She was packing up the stall in the marketplace when we last saw her, a minute or so ago. If you know where the Acres are, you might could catch up with her!"

At this, the little pony cheered. "Yee-haw! That's all ah wanted t' know! Thank 'ya Har- ah, a-ah mean, Miss Lyra. And thank ya too Miss B-...B-BonBon!"

They waved farewell to him as he galloped quickly off in another direction, angling himself towards the apple farm. Once he was out of sight, the candy-maker put a hoof to her mouth, humming in contemplation.

"That colt... he kind of reminds me of a certain other little pony, don't you think?"

"Hmmm... now that you mention it, yeah, he does kinda. How exactly though, I'm not sure. Can't really put my finger on it..."

"... hon, don't you mean 'hoof'?"

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Applebuck ran pell-mell over hill after hill, his destination firmly in mind. As he finally crested one last grassy knoll, his eyes lit up in excitement at the sight before him. Sweet Apple Acres. Home sweet home.

Or, in this case, home-away-from-home.

He didn't really have a plan when he had first set out. He had only learned the basics. That the 'agents' were really doubles of the six most well-known ponies in Ponyville. That 'Cousin JayJay' was in fact, Applejack. A female Applejack. And that it was a spell that had brought them to his own world... and had also taken them back.

Finding the spell in question had been easy. A few well-placed questions directed at Spines had gotten him the info he needed. Finding another unicorn that wasn't Dusk, but just as strong as him, to pull off the spell had been trickier, but doable. And now that he was here... he found himself hesitating for a second.

Now that Ah'm here... once Ah go in thar... once Ah find mah cousin... then what? Will she be happy to see me? Or will she be upset? Ah don't want her mad at me! Ah just... Ah wanna be family wit' her! Ah wanna sit down at th' table an' have dinner, an' then play some card games, an' then go to bed an' listen to a story! Ah wanna know what it's like, t' have somepony like her as mah cousin! As mah SISTER!

"Cousin JayJay..." the young pony whispered to himself, eyes still trained on the farm before him. "Can y'all give me one more chance?"

The silence stretched into a long minute. At last, the cap-bearing colt finally placed a hoof forward, setting himself into motion, when a buzz began to echo through the air.

He froze and let his eyes dart around, easily recognizing the sound. "Sc... Scooteroll?" he called out, his mind awash in possibilities. Did the rest of the Crusaders follow after him? Was Scooteroll and Silver currently barreling down on his position? Or...

Wait, that was something else he hadn't thought about. For every pony that's a mare back home, they're here as a colt instead. And for every BOY that there was back home...

He barely dodged out of the way as a scooter and wagon suddenly crested over the hill's edge. Panicked screams were had all around as the Crusader-mobile careened and screeched to a stop, Applebuck tumbling head over hooves as he landed a short distance away, pride bruised, but otherwise uninjured.

"Scootaloo!" same a soft, squeaky voice. "You really shouldn't go so fast all the time! You almost HIT somepony!"

"I know, I know! I'm sorry!" came another voice, somewhat tomboyish, panicked in tone. They called out to him. "Oh man, hey! You alright?"

"Y-yeah. Ah'm okay." the schoolpony groaned, rubbing the dirt from his eyes. He felt a presence step up next to him, before feeling a hoof upon his own. He accepted the help as he was brought back up to a sitting position, taking the time to bring both forelimbs to his eyes, cleaning them out.

"GOLLY." said a high-pitched, southern twang from the pony who had assisted him. "Y'all sure? Yah took a real tumble back there!"

Applebuck blinked, while his vision slowly cleared up. He felt the world come screeching to a complete halt, as the last thing that he had ever expected, came into his focus.

Standing before him was another yellow earth-pony. Her red mane was held back by a sizable pink bow in a ponytail, and her large, orange eyes were adorned with obvious lashes.

"Awful sorry 'bout that. Scootaloo 'kin be rather rash sometimes." she continued, looking behind her to give the orange pegasus a glare. She then quickly turned back. "But, um, if yer all right, then howdy! Ain't ever seen you 'round before!" she greeted, eyes giving him a welcoming sparkle.

The young capped colt continued staring at the sight before him, being face-to-face with something that he was in no way in the least, in this entire short-sighted escapade, prepared for.

It's me. Oh AJ, Red Gala, Grampy Smith, help me! She's ME!

The bow-bearing filly gave him a smile, before holding out a hoof towards him in friendship.

"Mah name's Applebloom! What's yours?"

wwwwwwwwwww

On a Whisper of Wind

By Conner Cogwork

What would you do, if you met a pony who was at once your brother, and yet not? Applebuck wishes to reunite with his 'Cousin JayJay', and braves the dimensional divide to reach his goal. But being a small foal, how will he deal with a world in which everything is flipped? His friends, his family, and even... himself?

Part One

With a Careless Thought

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Ah don't want to be here anymore.

He was fighting the instinct that was telling him to run as far away as possible in the opposite direction from the yellow pony. Color was draining from his face, his hooves starting to feel heavy, as her form completely filled his sight.

It's like lookin' in a mirror... some kind o' twisted funhouse mirror! his head resounded. She's ME! She's what ah woulda been if ah'd been born a GIRL! Why's she wearin' a BOW! Bows are FRU-FRU!

"Hey," the orange pegasus spoke as she trotted up alongside her friend. "You alright? Or did the cat get your tongue?"

"Oh, it wasn't Opal, was it?" the white unicorn added, coming up to the opposite side. "Or was it some kitty else?"

Applebuck let his eyes shift over the other two fillies. Once again he was floored by how similar they were to his friends back home. And yet at the same time, looking into their faces, he could see the small differences here and there. The unicorn's mane in particular was more curly than Silver's had ever been.

The small earth-pony in front of him cocked an eyebrow, before looking back at the winged one. "Y'all sure ya didn't hit 'em?"

Purple eyes flashed. "Hey, it's not like I saw him until the last minute! He was just STANDIN' there, y'know! Hey!" The small pegasus stepped up closer towards him, wings flared. "Just what were you DOING anyway, standing there?"

She's gettin' in mah face, just like Scooteroll. he mused as he leaned his head back, trying to avoid having his nose be touched by the confrontational filly's own. Either Ah bolt 'n run now 'n never see Cousin JayJay ever again... or Ah actually talk an'... explain mahself...

"A... a-ah was..." he finally began, stammering slowly. "Ah was... thinkin'... ah was kinda... uhm... lookin' fer somepony..."

The orange one raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Sounds a little suspicious to me." she stated. "Why don't you just go ahead and fess up! I bet you're some kinda-"

"Scoot!" his female reflection admonished her friend, biting down on her tail and pulling the pony back. After a quick *patoo*, she turned her orange eyes back onto his. "Ah'm mighty sorry 'bout that. She gits like that sometimes, y'know." she apologized. "Uhm, lets try this again. Ah'm Applebloom, an' these two're mah friends, Sweetie Belle, 'n Scootaloo."

"Hi!" the unicorn spoke again, a calm smile on her face as she held out a hoof. "What's your name?"

The colt moved his tongue and stared at the offered hoof, before he finally managed to force words out. "Ah'm... M-mah name's, uhm... Applebuck."

The yellow filly's eyes widened, ears perking. "Apples? Applebuck? Are y'all Apple Family?"

"Uhm..." his eyes shifted a bit as he tried to kick his brain into gear. Ah could tell her th' truth 'n say that Ah'm closer related to her than she ever thought possible. But Ah don't think her an' th' others'll believe that. What did Cousin JayJay tell me again? Ah shoot, was it wit' Cousin Honeycrisp or Cousin Apple Cinnamon Crisp? Ah cain't remember!

"Y-yeah, a few times removed," the pony spoke. "And ah... a-ah was sick last year, so Ah wasn't able t' come to th' reunion that time."

"But yer still an' Apple, right?" Applebloom pressed in closer, causing the young colt's eyes to widen in panic and back up a few steps. "Y' know Cousin Braeburn? Cousin Johnee Red? Cousin Caramel Apple?"

"-A-and Cousin Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Apple Fritter an' Macintosh." he hurriedly gushed, hoping to keep his other self from getting too close.

"Macintosh?" Now she had both ears perked. "Y'all know Big Macintosh? He's mah big brother, y'know! Helps out wit' everythin' on th' farm!"

For the second time in as many minutes, the ground seemed to fall away from him. Her Brother? Big... she's... Red Gala! S-she must mean Red Gala! She's... HE'S called Macintosh here?

"A-ah, well," he stammered again. "Ah don't think Ah right introduced mahself to him, but, uh, yeah Ah know OF him."

Now the femme pony was REALLY in his face, her eyes big and wide. "Th' point is, y'all are Apple family! Ain't that right, Applebuck? Can Ah call yah Cousin Applebuck?"

The colt gulped, before nodding once. "E-yeah... yeah, Ah'm proud t'say that Ah'm Apple family."

Applebloom cheered, and his eyes shrunk into panicked pinpricks as she proceeded to grab one of his hooves and shake it heartily, pumping the limb furiously. "Yeah! Apples Ferever! Glad to meet yah, Cousin Applebuck!" she gushed, before letting go and then doing a prance, bucking once or twice in the air. "Ah got a new cousin! Ah got a new cousin!"

Is... is this what Cousin JayJay felt like 'round me? he found himself pondering, as he stared with disbelieving eyes at the hoof that she had touched. She always seemed a bit nervous... a-and just now, when SHE touched me... oh lawrdy Ah've never been so scared in mah whole life!

Sweetie Belle chuckled at her friend's cheerfulness, before turning back to the colt. "Didn't you say you were here looking for somepony?"

"Yeah, that's right." The pegasus was still giving him the stink-eye. "Care to fill us in, 'Applebuck'?"

She sounds so much like Scoots it's creepy. he mused, biting his lip. Should Ah tell them Ah'm lookin' fer JayJay? Fer 'Applejack'? Ah dunno if Ah should. Mah... other self might not like that. What should Ah do? Can Ah make somethin' up? C'mon Applebuck, think o' somethin' quick, they're lookin' at yah funny again-

"A-Ah was lookin' fer a pony who... wh-who's an expert at, um..." His eyes glanced around at his surroundings nervously, before settling on a piece of fabric that was hanging over the edge of the wagon. A familiar maroon cape with a blue emblem stitched on.

Cutie-marks!

"Cutie-marks!" he belted. "An expert on Cutie-marks! A-ah had heard there was a pony in Ponyville who was a right expert on 'em!"

Eyes lit up all around. "There IS?" all three crusaders exclaimed at once.

"We haven't heard of him before!" Sweetie gushed, bouncing in place.

"A-Ah wouldn't think you had," Applebuck continued. "He's supposed to be hidin' in secret, y'know."

"That makes sense." Scootaloo piped up. "Imagine if everypony knew where he was and what he knew. He'd be drowning in blank-flanks in no time!"

"Exactly. Ah only found out 'bout him by accident mahself. Ah... Ah decided to come to Ponyville an' try to find him, an' bring him back to mah town so he could help us Cutie Mark Crusaders!"

At this, the three fillies gaped. Applebloom moved her head to the side to look around the small colt, spotting the bare flanks upon his person. "Well shoot! Ah didn't notice you were a blank-flank too, just like us!" she drawled. "Y'all have Cutie Mark Crusaders up in your town? Ah thought we were the only ones!" The other two nodded with her.

He found himself blushing at his oversight, hooves pawing at the ground slightly. "Y-yeah, Ah'm... Ah mean, you girls are Crusaders too? Mah group, we're... well, we're mostly made up o' boys. Ah didn't know girls would do it too."

"Well, why not?" the orange pegasus said. "Super-girly fru-fru stuff's never been my thing. Give me a half-pipe and some mad wheels, and THEN you've got me interested!"

While the male pony again was struck by sheer surprise at how alike the doppelganger was to his friend, the bow-bearing filly's face took on a look of determination. "Well, if you're a Cutie Mark Crusader too, then Ah say we got no choice but tah help you in yer mission! Whaddya say, Cousin Applebuck? Wanna team up with us? We got plenty o' room in th' wagon!"

"Yeah!" the unicorn enthused. "First we got Dinky, and now we'll have our first colt member! The Crusaders are growing more every day!"

"And if there IS a pony in town who knows about Cutie-Marks, then we need to find them, stat!" Scoot added. "How about it? Scratch your back and you scratch ours, eh?"

The trio of them then proceeded to turn on high-intensity gazes at him. It was a weapon that the young apple pony himself was familiar with the usage of. However, this took on a different feeling for him as it was not only being directed at HIM, but was being fired from a threesome of girls. The intense awkwardness placed a blush on his face as he melted under the gaze, a hoof going back to scratch at the back of his head. "W-well... seein' we're all Crusaders 'n all... A-Ah don't see why not-"

"YEAH!" the three of them belted. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS SECRET PONY FINDERS! YAY!"

Do we REALLY sound that loud when we do that? Applebuck had to ponder as he recovered from the amount of decibels he'd been battered with.

He then felt a tug on his hoof, and jumped a bit when he realized that Sweetie was now pulling him towards the wagon. "C'mon!" she enthused. "The day won't last forever! Let's see if we can find this pony before the sun sets!"

"What's their name, anyways?" Applebloom asked. "Didja hear, or do yah just have a description?"

"I-I've got a name." he responded, as he hesitantly climbed into the red vehicle. "They're called... er, let me see. Umm... Dusk, er, Blitz! Dusk Blitz! That was it!"

"Dusk Blitz?" Scootaloo echoed, sticking her tongue out as she boarded her scooter. "Never heard of them before. This is gonna be tricky..."

Inwardly, the colt smiled. It'll keep us runnin' 'round th' rest of th' day. he thought. Th' only Dusk and Blitzes Ah know of in Ponyville're back in mah world! By th' time it's sundown, maybe then Ah can get away from them and head fer th' farm by mahself. It's th' perfect plan!

He then proceeded to squeak in surprise as he was joined in the wagon by the other two girls. His filly-self sat herself down in front of him, while the white unicorn squeezed herself right behind. Three ponies in the wagon instead of two reminded him just how tight the Crusader-Mobile could be at times. Add in the fact that he was surrounded by girls-

"Ah know!" the yellow filly exclaimed. "Let's go see Pinkie Pie! She knows every pony in Ponyville after all! Maybe she knows who Dusk Blitz is!"

"Sounds good to me!" Sweetie Belle piped up from behind. "Sugarcube Corner it is then!"

As the pegasus revved up her wings, Applebuck bit his tongue in thought. Pinkie Pie... Harpsy an' Babar's doubles mentioned her too. But why would we be goin' to Sugarcube Corner? Th' only pony Ah know of livin' there is-

Oh no.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders Plus One proceeded to launch forward off of that hill in the direction of town. His thoughts were too preoccupied with panic to notice that Sweetie had latched her hooves onto his sides, clinging to him as they barreled down the path into Ponyville.

Berry Bubble! Pinkie Pie is Berry Bubble! They're takin' me to Berry Bubble's place!

And she KNOWS me!

wwwwwwwwwww

To be continued...

ON THE NEXT WHISPER OF WIND

"That's always true, Scoots! Say Cousin, as long as yer in town, yer welcome to join us in our quest fer Cutie-marks! Whaddya say?"

He paused to look up at his female self, into her open and inviting eyes. Ah led them on this silly li'l chase. he thought to himself. Ah didn't mean t' really get their spirits down. Y'know... it's th' least Ah can do. Findin' Cousin JayJay can wait a bit longer.

"Sure thing, Cousin." he replied with a smile. "Ah'd be honored to!"

This brought a smile of cheer to the trio of fillies, before each of them turned and exited the Corner. Before he himself stepped foot out however, a voice piped up from behind him.

"Hey wait! Cousin Applebuck, can I ask you a question?"

The capped pony turned and saw Pinkie Pie standing at the kitchen door, a simple smile on her face. "Uhm, sure Miss Pie." he replied. "What is it?"

She kept the same smiling, neutrally happy expression on her features as she asked "Did you bring Berry Bubble with you?"

On a Whisper of Wind

By Conner Cogwork

What would you do, if you met a pony who was at once your brother, and yet not? Applebuck wishes to reunite with his 'Cousin JayJay', and braves the dimensional divide to reach his goal. But being a small foal, how will he deal with a world in which everything is flipped? His friends, his family, and even... himself?

Part Two

Mum's the Word

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Again he found himself staring at all the townsfolk as they buzzed along down Carrot Street, making good time towards the bakery.

"So!" Applebloom called out over the din of buzzing wings. "What'cha think of Ponyville, Cousin Applebuck?"

"It's... it's different!" he replied, his orange eyes flitting over to a trio of flower-themed mares as they sat potted plants on a display. "Ah don't think Ah've ever seen so many mares in one place b'fore!"

"There aren't any mares in your town?" Sweetie Belle asked incredulously, an eyebrow arched.

"O-oh, we got 'em! Just not so many of them! In fact, ah'd say th'... whaddya call it, th' 'ray-cee-oh' of mares an' stallions here is... heheh, switched, compared to mah hometown!"

"More stallions than mares at your place, eh?" Scootaloo added. "Now that'd be a place to visit!"

Visit an' then maybe get yer tail shocked off, Applebuck mused. If she an' Scooteroll ever met, ah dunno what would happen! Same wit' Silver an' HIS double! Ah shoulda thought of this b'fore ah even went an' looked fer that spellbook! Ah shoulda planned better!

He found himself flinching slightly as the red mane of the filly in front of him flew into his face, brushing up against his muzzle. And then there's th' matter of me... and mahself.

Of COURSE there was gonna be a girl version of me here. Ah mean, Cousin JayJay is just Applejack as a mare, right? It makes sense that th' whole family would be here, just switched. Mahself included... Why didn't Ah take that into account? Why didn't ah think...

"We're here!" his filly-self announced, pointing a hoof. "Sugarcube Corner!"

He was jolted out of his thoughts. Indeed, it was the same bakery. Inwardly, he marveled that it was virtually identical to the same building in his home dimension, not a gumdrop or sprinkle out of place. As the Crusaders piled out of the wagon however, he was given yet another reminder that he was no longer in his home world, as a pegasus parted the doors leaving the establishment. A familiar grey-coated, blonde-haired, cross-eyed pegasus.

"Heya Miss Doo!" Sweetie greeted as they passed by. The mailmare's mouth was occupied with a bag of baked goods, so she simply smiled and waved a wing in reply, before taking off.

As the earth-pony and unicorn both entered the shop, Applebuck found himself lagging behind as he noticed that the orange filly had halted her steps, looking off in the direction that Ditzy had flown off in. She exhaled a quiet sigh before adding 'Eventually' under her breath.

He'd seen this many times before, from his own friend Scooteroll. In that instant, his wariness of this dimension's nature waned as he stepped up towards her. "Hey." he spoke softly. "Everythin' alright?"

Scootaloo looked to him before offering a wing shrug. "It's pegasus related. I dunno if you'd understand..."

He bit his lip before launching into a spiel. "Ah have a pegasus friend too, y'know. Ah've seen th' looks he gives other pegasi when they're flying. His wings haven't grown very big yet, but... y'know, that doesn't keep him from tryin'."

Purple eyes gazed into his with a new level of appreciation before she turned away and looked back into the sky. "Good for him... I've been trying for a long while now. Just recently, I got Rainbow Dash as my own teacher... she's tough, but she's the coolest teacher a pony could ask for. Hopefully, my training will pay off, and I'll be as good a flier as she is, someday."

Rainbow Dash? he pondered. Dash? Wait... D! Agent D! Rainbow Blitz's double! Ho gosh, SHE knows me too! Ah'm gonna have tah keep a low profile if ah don't wanna be found out...

"Hey." the orange filly suddenly spoke up, turning back towards the colt, startling him out of his thoughts. "Applebuck?"

"Yeah?"

"I just... I realized I haven't really apologized for almost running you over earlier. So, um... I'm sorry." She kicked at an errant rock on the ground, head slightly bowed. "I'm also sorry for callin' you suspicious and stuff. I didn't mean it. I was just... well, you know..."

The image before him was so textbook Scooteroll that he found himself letting his guard down, a smile going across his face. "It's alright, Scoots. Ah fergive yah. We all have our off-days an' all. Apology accepted, Scooter- ack, um, Scootaloo."

She stared at him for a second or two after that before her snout crinkled with a *snerk*. The yellow pony tilted his head. "What? What'd ah do?"

"O-oh, nothing," the pegasus assured, taking to her hooves and walking past him. "It's just the way you said that. For a second there, you sounded just like Applebloom. Must be an Apple Family thing."

Silently he swore to himself before turning and following her inside. The aroma of fresh-baked cakes and pastries hit his nose, the familiar smells of the Corner. Just as good as how it smelled back in his world.

In the middle of the shop floor, Sweetie and Applebloom were waiting, the latter tapping her hoof impatiently. "What took th' two of you so long?" she inquired. "Y'all didn't pick a fight now, did ya Scoots?"

"Oh, no, we were just talking," Scootaloo said, Applebuck nodding alongside. "Sorry for the hold up. Is Pinkie Pie around?"

"Oh, sorry, fillies." A voice piped up from behind them. "Pinkie's busy in the kitchen at the moment. But if you're willing to wait for a few minutes, I'll have her right out."

The colt lifted his head and spotted Mr. Cake. Or was it? He had to do a double-take. He sure looked like Mr. Cake, save that he was a bright yellow and orange instead of blue and pink, and had a trio of brownies for his cutiemark.

"Oh, that's okay, Mister Cake." Sweetie Belle piped up. "Is she making cupcakes again? Maybe we could go back there and help her!"

The tall stallion chuckled nervously. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea, girls. The Missus and I still remember what happened last time with the taffy-pulling machine."

They all remembered it. Three fillies and one colt bowed their heads as they let out an 'aww' of disappointment. Not that ah was that lookin' forward to goin' back there, Applebuck told himself. But he REALLY didn't have'tah bring that mess up.

"Oh hey!" Mr. Cake then stated, his eyes focusing on the newcomer. "Haven't see you around here before. Recruit another member into your club, girls?"

"You betcha!" Applebloom cheered, leaning over and patting her male doppelganger on the back. "Applebuck here's a cousin! He's here on a mission o' vital importance!"

"There's a pony in Ponyville somewhere called Dusk Blitz!" Scootaloo added. "Don't suppose you know who that is, do you? He's supposed to be an expert on cutie-marks!"

The baker made a humming sound as he thought. "Hmmm... name doesn't ring a bell, I'm afraid. But I guess that's why you came here to see Pinkie, isn't it? She knows every pony in town after all. Tell you what. I'll head back to the kitchen and see if I can't free her up for you. In the meantime..." He gained a mischievous glint in his eyes, before leaning his head over to a nearby glass dome, lifting it to reveal a piles of cookies. "Why don't you all treat yourself while you wait? One cookie per pony."

There was a chorus of 'Wow!'s and 'Sure!'s and 'Thank yah, Mister Cake!', as the foals all nabbed them some baked treats. With that, the stallion departed, leaving the Corner quiet, save for the muted munching of goodies. At length, Applebuck among them began thinking again.

Not what ah was expectin' ay-tall. Mister Cake's YELLOW here? Well... at least he still sounds and acts th' same. Ah dunno 'bout Miss Pie though... we met when she an' Cousin JayJay and th' rest of her friends fell into our world. Will she recognize me? Ah sure hope t' high horses she doesn't. If she's anythin' LIKE Berry-

"Say," Scootaloo piped up. "What do you think the cutie mark of a pony specializing in cutie-marks looks like?"

Sweetie Belle rubbed her chin in thought. "That's a good question. It can't be like... a cutie-mark of a cutie-mark, can it?"

"Oh, Ah know!" Applebloom piped up. "Ah bet it's a funny-lookin' symbol that don't make sense, like one of dem Escher drawings!"

"Or MAYBE..." Now the young colt got into the conversation, a ghost of a smile on his face. "Maybe it's one o' dem fancy-schmancy high-detail marks! Y'know, like you can only get wit' oils an' watercolors an' th' like!"

"Oh hey, how 'bout this?" The orange pony spoke again. "What if it's just a cutiemark of a PONY? That has another cutie-mark of a pony, that also has one just like that, on and on, ecetera ecetera?"

"Hah, don't be so crazy Scoots."

"Hah, don't be so crazy Scoots."

Silence descended at that. Both yellow ponies blinked and looked at each other, realizing that they had just both said the same thing at the same time-

"HEYA, YOU SILLY FILLIES!" came a loud and cheerful voice, as a shot of pink suddenly exited the kitchen doors. "WHAT'S SHAKIN' IN YOUR BACON?"

Remains of a chocolate chip cookie went flying into the air as Applebuck dived behind Sweetie Belle, the unicorn blinking in confusion. That cookie never hit the ground though, for it was snatched straight out of the air by the agile tongue of Pinkie Pie herself.

"Pinkie Pie!" the three fillies exclaimed as she munched and swallowed. "Boy, are we glad to see you!"

"And I'm glad to see all of you!" the bubblegum mare crowed right back. "How's the Crusading going? You any closer to your Cutie-Marks yet?"

"We're hoping to be soon!" Scootaloo cheered. "Do you know of a pony named 'Dusk Blitz'? We heard he was an expert on Cutie-marks! If we could find him, maybe he could help us get ours!"

"Hmmm... Dusk Blitz, you say?" Pinkie repeated, her eyes rotating to look at the ceiling as she stuck her tongue out in contemplation. "I know of a 'Dusk', and I know of a 'Blitz', but they're two separate ponies. And they don't live in Ponyville. At least not EXACTLY Ponyville, it's kinda like Ponyville but it's kinda-sorta different in a way that I don't know if you girls understand yet, I mean your sisters haven't told you yet, have they? Thought not. Either way, there's a probably a Dusk Blitz somewhere in Equestria, just probably not this Equestria, if you know what I mean?"

The Crusaders had no idea what she meant. But the news was enough to make them dip their heads low. "Well that was a bust," Applebloom murmured. "Y'all shore y' got th' name right, Cousin-... hey, Cousin, why you hidin'?"

"That's what I'd like to know." Sweetie Belle added, looking behind her at the cowering colt.

"So... much pink..." he stuttered. "Always knew... b-but never noticed-"

"Ahhh, it's the cooties thing, I'll bet." The pegasus rolled her eyes before leaning down and grabbing his tail, pulling him into the open. "C'mon, just cause we're all girls here, doesn't mean you're gonna turn into a lump of sugar dust."

Before he could respond to that statement, he was pulled onto his haunches by his filly-self, her holding him close as they turned to face the party pony. "Pinkie Pie, this is mah Cousin Applebuck! He's new in Ponyville, and he's helpin' us find our Cutie-marks!"

His eyes shot open as he beheld the femme form of a pink pony he was familiar with. Berry Bubble had always been the bouncy sort, and now that he was faced with his counterpart, he realized that the same energy had translated effortlessly into this dimension. On top of that, with her being a girl... he was again reminded why colts were attracted to fillies rather easily, a small blush rushing to his cheeks.

The pink filly's blue eyes stared at him, before they began to contract, irises shrinking into tiny pinpricks. At this, Applebuck couldn't help but cringe as he braced himself. She knows! She remembers me! She's about ta blurt it out all over th' place!

Finally, Pinkie spoke in a very quiet voice. "You're a new pony in Ponyville."

The colt nodded, knees starting to tremble somewhat.

"And since you're a new pony in Ponyville... do you know what that calls for?"

Right now his mind was too scattered to properly remember what it was Berry did for newcomers to the town. Grasping for something, he began to mumble "Uhm.. ah... a pa... a p-pa-"

"Aaaaa PARTY~!" she finished exuberantly, leaping into the air, her earlier quiet and suspicious mood now nowhere to be seen. "It's been a long while since I threw a Welcome-new-pony-to-Ponyville party! More new ponies need to come to Ponyville more often, or else I'll lose my edge! Nice to meet you Applebloom's cousin Applebuck! Oh, since you're her cousin, I bet you like apples, right? I mean seriously, what pony doesn't like apples? I mean if you're allergic to them, then yeah, I can see why you wouldn't like them, but that's not the point, the point is I need to make sure to have a lotta APPLE stuffs at your party! Bobbing for Apples, Apple punch, Apple pie, Apple chips, and Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Apple! Wait, do apples have tails?"

At this point, Scootaloo was rolling her eyes at the entire scene, while Sweetie chuckled nervously. Both apple ponies had frozen on the spot with identical looks of surprise plastered on their faces.

She... so she DOESN'T remember me! the boy thought, with no small amount of relief. Whoosh! That'll make this trip that much easier. Ah don't need those girls to go grabbin' me an' takin' me back b'fore ah find Cousin JayJay!

"Soooo, you don't know of a Dusk Blitz in Ponyville?" Sweetie asked, interrupting Pinkie's running monologue.

"Nope! Sorry girls, they're probably living FAR far away from here! But don't worry, there's always tomorrow! Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a party to plan!"

The four foals sighed as they got to their hooves and trudged towards the door, each one thanking the party pony in turn. "Sorry 'bout that," Applebuck apologized. "A-ah was so sure..."

"Meh, it's alright," the pegasus murmured, dragging her hooves. "It woulda been nice to've gotten our cutie-marks sooner than later... ahh well, there's always plan B."

"Which is?"

"Bungee-jumping."

The white unicorn cringed, but Applebloom couldn't help but chuckle. "That's always true, Scoots! Say Cousin, as long as yer in town, yer welcome ta join us in our quest fer Cutie-marks! Whaddya say?"

He paused to look up at his female self, into her open and inviting eyes. Ah led them on this silly li'l chase, he thought to himself. Ah didn't mean to really get their spirits down. Y'know... it's th' least ah can do. Findin' Cousin JayJay can wait a bit longer.

"Shore thing, Cousin," he replied with a smile. "Ah'd be honored to!"

This brought a smile of cheer to the trio of fillies, before each of them turned and exited the Corner. Before he himself stepped foot out however, a voice piped up from behind him.

"Hey wait! Cousin Applebuck, can I ask you a question?"

The capped pony turned and saw Pinkie Pie standing at the kitchen door, a simple smile on her face. "Uhm, shore Miss Pie," he replied. "What is it?"

She kept the same smiling, neutrally happy expression on her features as she asked "Did you bring Berry Bubble with you?"

He stared for a second longer, the words slowly registering in his mind, eyes shrinking as they did so. He then proceeded to dash outside, a panicked expression on his face, the unanswered question left hanging in the air.

"Hmmm..." the party pony hummed. "I guess that's a no..."

wwwwwwwwwww

On the outskirts of Ponyville, a mystery was in the process of being solved. At least, the blue unicorn who was doing the investigating liked to think of it as being in the process of being solved.

"Oh, where WAS it?" she grumped to herself, tumbling through a stand of bushes. "I KNOW I felt that magic burst around here somewhere! But this is closer to Ponyville than I'd really like to go... not that the Great and Powerful Trixie couldn't handle herself, but still..." she scrunched her face in annoyance. "Town's more trouble than it's worth."

Okay, think, Trixie. Recount what you know. You were just passing by. You weren't even going to give anypony the time of day. And then you feel one of the most powerful onrushes of magical energy that you've ever felt from any other pony besides... HER. So what are you doing?

Well duh! she told herself. You've investigating! Seeing if it was really HER or not! And seeing what kind of spell she's using that needs that kind of energy!

Her horn glowed as she trotted down the path, the PKE residue becoming stronger as she closed in on the small ville. Thoughts still flowed through her mind, musing mixed with general fantasies as she imagined the scenarios that might come about.

What if SHE'S been... weakened? Anything that requires a huge amount of magic like that is bound to leave a unicorn dry for a few days. This could be... this could be my big chance! A smile began to work its way across her face. I could challenge her in her weakened state, and nopony would be the wiser! Once they see my triumphant victory, everypony would have no choice but to accept the fact that the most powerful unicorn in Equestria is nopony else but ME! The Great! And Powerful! TRRRRRIXIE!

She paused for a second, before realizing that somewhere in the middle of her internal dialogue, she had begun prancing about on the road, finishing her thoughts with her traditional bipedal flourish. All she was waiting on now were the fireworks. Of which she had none right at the moment.

The magician let out a groan, looking back and forth to see if anypony had witnessed that. She had gone without her hat and cape this time around, in an attempt to be incognito. A futile effort, she mused to herself. But it had to be attempted. Nopony must know that the Great and Powerful Trixie has dared to show her face around this country bumpkin village once more-

Her horn's glow suddenly intensified as she crossed into a certain spot in the road. Nearby, birds chirped their greetings at her, though they went unnoticed.

It was HERE.

She paused, her purple eyes widening as she took in the scenery. In the middle of the dirt road, she could make out... something. It looked like all the loose dirt in the area had been blown away from a spot in the center. A circular pattern that made Trixie think of a small tornado.

And even curiouser was the small set of hoofprints that emerged from the center. There was no set leading in. But right there in front of her eyes, there was a set leading out, prints spaced apart in an even gait that suggested running, heading towards the quiet town of Ponyville.

Besides those prints, and her own, there was no evidence that anypony else had been here.

"How strange..." she whispered to herself. Again, she lit her horn to test the area's aura field. Any non-unicorn pony would have probably passed the area by without another glance, but to anypony who possessed a horn, the leftover magic residue was so thick that one could probably stick out one's tongue and taste it.

On a whim, that's just what the showmare did. As silly as it looked, the motion did not go unrewarded.

"It's not her," were the first words immediately out of her mouth. I would know. SHE'S got a very distinctive magic field of her own. And this isn't anything like hers. Somepony else did this... this. But who? And what WAS it?

She paced around the perimeter of the road for a minute or so, scenarios running through her head. At one point, she levitated a scarf out of her tail, and paused to dab at her forehead for a bit. Investigation was hard, sweaty, and DIRTY work. I'll have to find a stream once I'm done here. The price of living on the road.

She made as if to tuck the handkerchief away, before she paused. Looking at it, she could sense her own magical field, holding it in place. On yet ANOTHER whim, she turned back to the PKE field inhabiting the center of the road... and made the comparison, tasting the both of them at the same time.

The results were a shock to her system.

"It's me," she whispered. "This magic... is MY magic! But... how? That can't be possible, it doesn't make sense! I don't even know what kind of spell this is! It can't possibly be me!"

She looked up at the sky, her mind awhirl with disbelief, awe, and confusion. Her lavender eyes locked on the first evening star as it winked into existence, one question dominating her thoughts.

"Could it be...?"

wwwwwwwwwww

To be continued...

ON THE NEXT WHISPER OF WIND

Applebuck sat back against the wagon's rim as he thought. Heh. If it were up t' me... if ah were back in my world, an' had Crown an' Ladle headin' mah way wit' a box of donuts, ah know EXACTLY what ah would do.

"Ah know EXACTLY what we're gonna do." his female double piped up, face full of determination. "We're gonna GET us a few of them donuts."

The pegasus looked up at her with a grin, while the unicorn could only gulp worriedly. The boy on the other hand, had to mentally facehoof as he realized Of course she's gonna think just like me! She IS me! Oh well, in fer a penny, in fer a pound!

"What's the plan, Bloom?" their driver asked, leaning in closer.

"Okay... okay, ah got it. Yesterday, ah overheard them talkin' 'bout colts at lunch. They were talkin' 'bout which ones were cute or strong an' whatever. Ah think right now, they're both a li'l bit 'boy-crazy', if yah know what ah mean."

A giggle from the white one, and a disgusted face from the orange one. However, it was the yellow one that made Applebuck's skin crawl as she proceeded to turn and look at him, a sly smile and expression coming over her face.

"An' we just HAPPEN ta have a brand-new, well-mannered, handsome colt right here at our disposal."

On a Whisper of Wind

By Conner Cogwork

What would you do, if you met a pony who was at once your brother, and yet not? Applebuck wishes to reunite with his 'Cousin JayJay', and braves the dimensional divide to reach his goal. But being a small foal, how will he deal with a world in which everything is flipped? His friends, his family, and even... himself?

Part Three
Through Eyes Unused

wwwwwwwwwww

"You alright, Cousin Applebuck?" the yellow filly in front of him asked. "Y'all look like yah seen a ghost!"

Oh it's worse than that, he thought to himself. Ah just got a reminder that Ah'm in WAY over mah head.

She really DID know who ah was this whole time! Wh-what if she tells her friends? What if they start lookin' fer me? Cousin JayJay'll have a fit if she finds out from one of them! A-ah should... Ah should really...

"Y-know," he started out-loud, eyes flicking about uneasily at the passing scenery as they buzzed down Leek Ave. "O-on second thought, it's been a long day fer me... maybe we should-"

Right before crossing an intersection, Scootaloo suddenly swerved to the right, causing all ponies inside the wagon to hold on tight, Applebuck's face flushing as he realized that Sweetie was pressing herself close and squeezing him from behind for all he was worth. Their diminutive, winged chauffer zoomed the Crusader-mobile up alongside a nearby building, suddenly stopping them all with a jolt, allowing herself to peer around the structure's corner.

"Tar-nation, Scoots!" both Apples Bloom and Buck bellowed. "What was that all 'bout!"

"Shush you two, you're doing it again." The pegasus waved a hoof at them. "We've got a little obstacle in the path up ahead."

"Obstacle?"

"Make that TWO obstacles. Really rich ones. Y'know, them."

"Ooooooooh," the trio in the wagon grumped, crossing their hooves. "THEM."

The farmfilly had to blink a couple of times, before turning to her colt self. "Wait a second. Do yah even know who we're talkin' 'bout, Cousin?"

He flushed again, realizing that once more he had become lulled by the sense of familiarity of the events around him. There was only one set of 'them' that he could think of, after all. "Uhm, Ah can take a guess." he stuttered. "Ponies from school that got cutie-marks, that make fun of ones that don't?"

"That's right." the unicorn nodded. "Is it really them, Scoot?"

"Yep. Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara."

The colt had to pause to process those names. Silver... Spoon? Diamond TIARA? Back home, they were Silver Ladle and Diamond Crown! Oh gosh. Now he felt his stomach churn. They were bad enough as boys back home. How am Ah gonna deal wit' them as GIRLS here?

"What're they doin', Scoot?" Applebloom asked. "Sittin' an' talkin'?"

"Kinda," She craned her head out to get a better look. "They're at a table, there's a big box on it... oh wait, hang on, there's a waiter coming... oh WOW I've never SEEN so many jelly donuts!"

"Jelly donuts?"

"Yeah, he's got a big tray full of them! Now he's... he's dumping them in the box! And... now they're getting up! I see, they're taking the box with them!"

"Probably off ta somewhere in th' park ta pig out on 'em," the yellow pony grumped, crossing her hooves again with a sour expression on her face. "They got more moolah than they know what t'do with, Ah tell yah what."

"Oh guys," Sweetie Belle began. "I've got some bits on me still. If you want, I could get us all some jelly donuts too."

"S'not the same." Scootaloo piped up from her watch position. "Thanks for the offer though. Hey, they're heading this way. If we just sit tight, they'll pass us, and we'll be able to go on without any heckling from the royal peanut gallery."

Applebuck sat back against the wagon's rim as he thought. Heh. If it were up to me... if Ah were back in my world, an' had Crown an' Ladle headin' mah way with a box of donuts, Ah know EXACTLY what Ah would do.

"Ah know EXACTLY what we're gonna do." his female double piped up, face full of determination. "We're gonna get us a few of them donuts."

The pegasus looked up at her with a grin, while the unicorn could only gulp worriedly. The colt on the other hand, had to mentally facehoof as he realized Of course she's gonna think just like me! She IS me! Oh well, in fer a penny, in fer a pound!

"What's the plan, Bloom?" their driver asked, leaning in closer.

"Okay... okay, Ah got it. Yesterday, Ah overheard them talkin' 'bout colts at lunch. They were talkin' 'bout which ones were cute or strong 'n whatever. Ah think right now, they're both a li'l bit 'boy-crazy', if yah know what Ah mean."

A giggle from the white one, and a disgusted face from the orange one. However, it was the yellow one that made Applebuck's skin crawl as she proceeded to turn and look at him, a sly smile and expression coming over her face. "An' we just happen to have a brand-new, well-mannered, handsome colt right here at our disposal."

wwwwwwwwwww

Not five seconds later he walked out from behind the building, now adorned with a pair of saddlebags strategically positioned over his flanks, obscuring the fact that he was a blank. The plan had been hurriedly explained to him, and while on a very base level he was happy to go along with it, it still meant meeting his arch-rivals... under new faces.

He walked forward in a daze, eyes drifting and then locking onto his targets. He took a few seconds to stare, before shaking his head and looking again. What in tar-nation...

The coloration of the two fillies walking in his direction were unmistakably familiar. It was just that up to this point, he was still thinking of them as the boys that he knew back in his world. The sight of a pink pony with purple and white hair and the grey filly with a pigtail struck him like a ton of bricks. It was the silver one who was hauling the box with a slight sway in her step that his orange eyes couldn't help but follow as her locks bounced with every step she took and BY SOLARIS'S BEARD WHY AM AH LOOKIN' AT HER LIKE THAT? SHE'S JUST LADLE AS A GIRL AN' YOU KNOW LADLE'S A STUCK-UP JERK! SO STOP LOOKIN' AT HER LIKE THAT!

The two rich girls were chatting animatedly amongst themselves. As he drew closer however, he saw Diamond Tiara's eyes take notice of him, eyes widening slightly to take him in. Silver Spoon joined her a second later, and eventually their steps began to slow, trying to get a better look. Welp, here ah go. the colt steeled himself.

He turned his head to actually look in their direction and stopped, before taking his cap off and giving an exaggerated bow to the ponies. "Good afternoon, ladies." he drawled in a low voice, with as much respect for a lady as he could manage, like his brother had taught him.

He heard a stifled giggle from their direction, before the pink one spoke. "And a good afternoon to you too, sir. Are you new in Ponyville?"

"That Ah am." he replied, standing back up and placing the cap back on his head, tucking it low over his eyes as he introduced himself. "Th' name's Buck. Johnny Buck. At yer service." Why didn't Ah think of that name before? Woulda saved me a heap of trouble wit' mah other self.

Again the fillies glanced between each other, badly-hidden looks of glee on their faces. They hurriedly composed themselves again, before the leader responded. "A pleasure to meet you. I am Diamond Tiara, and this is my friend, Silver Spoon. We were on our way to the park, good sir, would you care to join us?"

"It's not every day we see such nice gentlecolts in this town." Silver Spoon added, a slight purr to her voice. "We'd love the opportunity to get to know somepony with the same class as us." She then proceeded to toss a wink his way.

This is ALL kinds of wrong. he found himself thinking, trying to get a grip on himself. His stomach was churning at the thought of Silver Ladle flirting with him, and yet his heart was unexpectedly working hard at the sight of this girl expressing interest in a country boy like him. Get a hold of yerself Applebuck. Remember. Eyes on th' prize.

"It'd be mah pleasure." he responded, wresting his eyes away from the silver pony's face and towards the huge white box perched precariously on her back. "Say Miss Sp-Spoon... that thar box looks awful heavy fer a filly like you t' be haulin' 'round."

Tiara let out a quiet 'Oooooo' at her friend, as the bespectacled one looked behind her at her cargo. "Oh my, well, it is rather weighty, now that you mention it. I was originally intending on carrying it to the park all by my lonesome, but..." she then proceeded to turn her eyes back onto the yellow pony. "If you're offering to take this little bundle off my back~"

Again he bowed. "Th' thought did cross mah mind, mah lady."

"Ooooh, such a well-mannered gentlecolt." Tiara crowed, as the boy walked up next to them. "Offering to take a lady's bags? It's so hard to find a boy of your character, Mister Buck. Snips and Snails would do well to learn from you."

Already he had a clear idea of who she was talking about, but he tried hard not to think about it. His mind was more preoccupied with other matters, such as the silver-pelted filly that had walked up rather close beside him, tilting her back to allow the box to slide off her spine and onto his. The poor apple pony felt his face redden a bit more as she proceeded to bump her flank into his, slightly dislodging his saddlebags. Did she just do that on purpose? Ooooh hang in thar, don't chuck yer cookies yet...

"Oops!" Silver Spoon dramatically gasped. "Looks like I almost knocked your bags off. My apologies, let me get that for you sir~"

Applebuck gulped again. Apology nuthin', she just wants t' look at mah flanks! Oh sweet Solaris Ladle wants tah look at mah flanks Ah swear Ah'm gonna spew right here where Ah'm standin'-

"Hey... hold on here."

He couldn't see behind him, due to the box, but he could feel her hooves adjust the bags around his flanks... on second thought, it felt more like she was lifting them OFF to take a look underneath!

"Tiara!" The surprise was evident in her voice. "You won't believe this!"

The purple-maned one blinked. "What, what is it?"

"Our gentlecolt here's a BLANK-FLANK!"

Ohkay, that's it. he thought to himself, before taking a deep breath and speaking. "Aw gosh, y'all dun found me out. Ah hope you don't mind it bein' a blank flank who's..." he then paused to inhale, before proceeding to belt his voice louder. "-CARRYIN' YER JELLY DONUTS!"

A buzzing behind a building's corner suddenly fired up, and the two rich fillies couldn't help but stare wide-eyed as the Cutie Mark Crusaders zoomed out from behind their hiding spot, barreling down towards their position.

Spoon dodged left, while Tiara dodged right. The colt on the other hand, gave a buck upwards, causing the package to bust its top, a few of the filled pastries flying up into the air.

Right in time for the Crusader-mobile to drive by. Quick as a wink, each filly reached out as they passed, and grabbed a donut or two out of the air. At the same time, Applebuck ditched the box, hopping onto the conveyance and catching a donut of his own in his mouth as he went.

"Thank yah kindly fer th' donuts, Diamond Tiara!" Applebloom called back as they sped down the street.

"An' sorry fer th' mess!" her 'cousin' called back. "Ah'll take yah up on yer offer some other time!"

As they buzzed out of sight, the air rung out with the voice of four foals as they chanted "CUTIE-MARK CRUSADERS DONUT LIBERATORS! YAY!"

wwwwwwwwwww

The pink pony got to her hooves and quickly collected their box, already noting the missing pastries. She gave a glare in the direction that they went, cheeks puffed out in indignation. "Of ALL the... ROTTEN, DISPICABLE, HORSEAPPLES... How DARE you pull a stunt like that! And I thought you were a GENTLECOLT! My father will have words! You hear me, Johnny! WORDS! LISTEN TO ME WHILE I'M SCREAMING AT YOU!"

By then the dust had settled, the Cutie Mark Crusaders having long vacated the scene, leaving the two fillies alone in the street. At length, Diamond Tiara stood and calmly recollected her tiara, before sparing a glance towards her companion.

The young grey mare was looking in the same direction that the four ponies had left in, though her expression was more dazed than anything. A long moment passed, before she turned her head to look at her pink friend.

"You know what, Tiara?"

The aforenamed pony gave a blink. "What?"

"For a blank-flank... I still think he was kinda cute."

"..."

"Y'know. For a blank-flank."

There was a ragged sigh, as Tiara turned away, picking up the box in her mouth and marching back towards the restaurant, mumbling under her breath.

"I wonder if he's a relative of Applebloom's." Silver Spoon continued to ponder, gaze locked back down the street. "I mean, that accent... It sounds silly coming out of Applebloom, but out of him? His voice was just..." her expression softened as she let out a wistful sigh, glasses still askew on her face.

That was just too much. The pink one dropped her box and marched right back over to her friend, before pulling her back up onto all fours and tugging her back towards the restaurant. "Forget it Spoony. There's no way I'm letting you get hung up over a colt that's gonna cause us nothing but trouble."

"B-but, how do you know he's gonna cause us trouble? It was just the one time-"

"Because he's with Applebloom. And you know what they say. The apple never falls far from the tree."

wwwwwwwwwww

Donuts were savored and enjoyed as the foursome rested inside the Crusader Treehouse. Applebuck was now finding himself more and more at ease in his new surroundings. Despite being in an alternate dimension, the thrill of having pulled off a caper, as a Crusader, WITH Crusaders, had cheered him more than he would have thought possible.

"Oh man, did you see the look on their faces?" Scootaloo laughed, muzzle smeared with strawberry jelly. "That was just priceless!"

"You guys know that their parents will reach ours eventually, right?" Sweetie asked, nibbling daintily on hers. "You know what they say about Karma. 'You reap what you sow'."

"Eh, it was worth it." Applebloom waved off the comment, as she reclined on one of the clubhouse pillows, donut in-hoof. "Besides, knowin' them, they got plenty of bits to buy 'em s'more donuts if they wanted. Maybe a whole 'nother boxfull."

"Why've they gotta be so snooty-snoot with their bits anyway?" the pegasus spoke again. "If I had anything like the amount of bits that the Riches family has, I'd… I dunno, use it for something constructive."

The yellow colt raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Like what?"

"Hmmm… probably build a skate-park. So everypony could come and skate and do tricks all the time!" She laid back in her seat, eyes going out-of-focus as she dreamed. "Man, I'd love to see Rainbow Dash try it out. I bet she'd love it!"

The unicorn giggled a little, before lapsing into thoughtfulness herself. "If I had the bits… I would build like, a giant birdhouse for all of Miss Fluttershy's birds. Like, big enough for every bird in Ponyville to live in!"

Scootaloo rolled her eyes, as Bloom let out a coo. "Awww, that's so sweet, Sweetie Belle!" she said, while Applebuck merely nodded, sorting the name 'Fluttershy' away in his brain for later analysis.

"As for me," the apple filly piped up, a hoof to her chest. "Ah think Ah'd use that money t' help keep th' family afloat through th' winter. Th' cider season always helps, but sometimes we come up a li'l bit short. So…"

Applebuck lifted another jelly donut in his double's direction, in motion of a toast. "Ah hear yah, cousin. Believe me. Ah'd use them bits t' make sure mah family stayed good too."

She nodded back towards him. "S'too bad them rich ponies haveta feel like they need to rub their saddles intah everypony else's faces, eh? Ah'd like to think that none of us would ever do that."

"Ahh well. Guess there's just no figurin' out them high-an-mighty types, is there?"

They all murmured in agreement, before letting a comfortable silence descend about them. Here and there one would smack noisily, taking a bite into a pastry. Thinking thoughts and pondering little dreams. Just a calm, everyday, evening laziness...

This ain't so bad. he thought. Don't feel all that different from home... in fact, Ah'd almost say that ah still WAS home...

"So." the little pegasus piped up. "Were we going to do Bungee-jumping or what?"

"I dunno." Sweetie replied, ever the voice of caution. "Do we REALLY have to do it from Dead-Hoof's drop? Why can't we just... you know, do it from the clubhouse railing? A-and have lots of pillows nearby?"

"Aww, c'mon Sweetie/Silver," both of the red-maned ponies spoke once again. "It ain't nearly as fun that way!"

Once more, each pony popped their orange eyes open in surprise, before glancing at each other in puzzlement. The pegasus seated nearby got to her hooves as she leveled an odd look of her own at the two. "Okay, that's just getting freaky now. What's going on here, 'Bloom? Does every pony in your family do this?"

The unicorn had her own question. "Did you just call me Silver?"

Applebuck clamped his hooves over his mouth, his irises shrinking further. Ack, maybe Ah'm getting TOO comfortable. Ah'm fergettin' Ah'm still a stranger 'round these parts. If Ah don't watch mahself, Ah'll start callin' them Silver an' Scooteroll all th' time.

"A-Ah'm not shore." Applebloom confessed, a hoof rubbing at the back of her head. "It's never happened wit' me before... though now that Ah think of it, Cousins Red Delicious and Gold Delicious kinda do th' same thing."

"Y'know, you're right." the boy added, recalling the relatives in his own dimension. "If they weren't both sayin' th' same thing at th' same time, they were finishin' each other's sentences. Sometimes they'd creep some folks out-"

"-but it's just one of those things we Apple family're used to." his doppelganger finished. A second of silence passed before her eyes widened in realization, turning to look at him with an open mouth. "Ah just finished yer sentence! Maybe it DOES run in th' family!"

"Maybe." the white filly started, coming over to sit by the two farmponies. "Maybe there's even more to it. I mean, think... Apple-Bloom, Apple-Buck... I know that apples run in your family, but even then, those names sound really similar to each other."

He bit his lip in trepidation. Gettin' a mite bit close there, 'Sweetie'. Yeah, mah 'Cousin' and I are closer than y' think. But ah'm not shore if SHE'S ready t' hear that...

... she's not gonna take it very well. Good lawrd, Ah cain't believe Ah didn't think of it. When Ah first met mahself, Ah nearly had a conniption fit. If SHE finds out who Ah really am... she's probably gonna react th' same way, if not worse! Great gallopin' Grundels, what'm Ah gonna do?

"Just like Red an' Gold Delicious!" the yellow filly exclaimed, now locking eyes with her male self again, a glint of awe shining from them. "Cousin Applebuck... maybe we're Super Cousins, just like them! Oh y'all gotta come to th' next reunion Cousin, Ah cain't wait t' show everypony!"

"M-Maybe, cousin." he stammered, involuntarily taking a step backwards. "Th-though Ah wouldn't go holdin' mah breath now..."

"Guys." Scootaloo interjected, the pegasus having been patiently quiet up till now. "While this has been fun and all that, I think we've kinda lost the subject. Are we, or are we not, gonna try for our bungee-jumping cutie-marks today? I mean, unless we got one for donut-grabbing..."

There was a pause, before all four ponies lifted a hindleg and looked back to their flanks to check. Still bare.

"...which we haven't, I'd still like to squeeze in one more caper." she finished, flapping her wings impatiently.

Applebloom took a look out the clubhouse window and grimaced. "Gah, sorry Scoots, but take a look outside. Th' sun's goin' down. It's gonna get dark soon."

Sure enough, the light had begun to descend. Th' days almost done. the colt thought to himself. Passed by quicker than ah thought it would. Not sunset yet, but AJ would be wantin' me home by now...

"Rarity will be waiting." Sweetie added. "She usually gets really worried if I'm not home by the time it gets dark."

The pegasus sighed in defeat. "Aww, okay then. But remember, we're STILL trying it tomorrow, alright?"

Applebuck and Bloom couldn't help but chuckle. "Alright Scoots." they both spoke. "First item on th' agenda tomorrow!"

Again they took on looks of surprise as they looked at each other. This time around however, the filly let a big smile go across her face while both of her friends rolled their eyes or giggled. The colt let out a nervous laugh in turn, as his female self proceeded to ask him "Say Cousin, where're y'all stayin'? Got any friends in Ponyville?"

He blanched. Ah knew Ah fergot sumthin'. "Ahh... well..." He dipped his head low and rubbed the back of it, before locking eyes with his alter-ego again. "A-Ah was kinda thinkin' of... stayin' on th' farm. Y' know, family an' all that..."

"Shore thing!" she exclaimed in turn. "We got plenty of room! Say Scoot, would yah mind drivin' me an' mah cousin to th' house before yah leave?"

"No problem, 'Bloom." the orange pony replied, grabbing a nearby helmet and securing it to her skull. "Race yah to the wagon!"

wwwwwwwwwww

To be continued...

ON THE NEXT WHISPER OF WIND

"Thar never WAS a Dusk Blitz, was there?"

The boy stared at her for a second, before looking down again and muttering. "Big bro was right, Ah AM a bad liar... yeah, Ah'm awful sorry 'bout leadin' you girls on a wild griffon chase like that... A-Ah was tryin' to stall fer a chance to look fer somepony else..."

"Somepony else?" the filly asked. "Who?"

He gulped, before looking back up at her. "Ah was lookin' fer mah Cousin JayJay."

She narrowed an eyebrow as she looked up to the ceiling in thought. "Cousin JayJay... y' shore y' don't mean Cousin Johnee Red Johnathan? Don't he live over in Appleloosa?"

"Nope. Cousin JayJay's a girl... an' Ah know she lives right here in Ponyville. Ah came a long way to see her... just to be with her..." He dipped his snout back towards the ground. "She means... th' whole WORLD to me..."

"She does?" Applebloom asked, tilted her head to the side to get a better look at his face. "Who is she then? Who's Cousin JayJay?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but the answer came from elsewhere. It started with the loud creak of the front door being swung open, followed by the drawl of an older farmfilly as she announced.

"Ah'm HOME everypony!"