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...I woke up to the damp feeling and smell of soil and grass. I had no idea how I got here or when it happened but I was lying in a small field with some apple trees nearby. The clouds were rolling by in the cyan-blue sky as the sun shined on me. There was a cool breeze in the air and some chirping could be heard nearby.

Then an apple hit me on the head.

"Oh gosh, are ya awright?"

I turned my head and saw an orange pony. Wearing a cowboy hat.

"Lemme see that... aw shucks, it's startin' ta swell like an apple! C'mon, you're comin' with me. I'm gonna get that swellin' down."

With that, it helped me up and started to guide me through the forest of apple trees. I was still a bit groggy from waking up to a completely unfamiliar place, and from being bumped on the head, but I eventually took notice of the fact that I was walking side by side with a talking pony, which was wearing a cowboy hat. The image just made my head spin. I thought to myself; shouldn't its owner be wearing that hat?

The pony by my side was smaller than me. Its head was somewhere around my stomach while its body was a little short of a metre from head to tail. Its yellow mane flowed and curled towards the ends with its tail following the same style. It also had green eyes and somehow had freckles on its cheeks despite the fact that it had a coat which should've made it impossible. It seemed sentient from the way it spoke ear-

"So, what's yer name?"

"uh, who- what? Me?" I stuttered as it broke my concentration.

"Of course you! Then wh'else?"

"Oh, I... uh... don't know." My... name?

"Ya don't know yer own name? Heaven's ta Betsy, that apple must've hit ya real hard. Don't worry, I'll fix ya up when we get ta my place. By the way, mah name's Applejack. Ya don't look like you're from around these parts."

"Yeah, I don't think I am."

We walked for 15 mins or so before reaching a big pink farmhouse. We went inside and it sat me down in a cushioned chair that was a little too small for me.

"Now you just wait here while I go get some ice."

As it turned to walk into the kitchen, I noticed that it had a brand on its behind that ressembled 3 apples. It was a rather strange image to pick for a brand in my opinion. I took the time to observe the interior design of house. It had a very classic wild west look, it reminded me of the design of the saloons from those old cowboy movies but the vibrant colour scheme reminded me of a children's nursery. If that already wasn't strange enough, there was the fact that I had no idea what a cowboy movie was or what a children's nursery looked like. The words just popped into my head for some reason.

The living room had a very warm, welcoming feeling to it, as if the fireplace had been lit except that it wasn't. As I sat down there, I wondered if it was really worth bothering this... sentient pony for my injury. It wasn't as if it was life-threatening or anything like that. Just then, the front door opened.

"Applejack? Where are you? You ran off to get that apple then you disappeared!"

The little yellow... white... sulphur-coloured pony then turned its head towards me.

"Wh-who are ya? What are ya? N' waddaya doin' in our home???" It took a defensive stance in my direction as an intimidated look was painted on its face.

"Felacks, Ap-peboom, he'sh wich me." The orange pony then walked over to me and placed the icepack in its mouth onto my forehead. Wait, doesn't that mean I have pony saliva on my forehead? Ew.

"Wha' happened? Why'ju bring him here?"

"The apple I threw hit him on the head n' bruised him. I think he even lost his memory. It's only right that I take care 'a him till he gets better."

"But you don't know if he's bad or good!"

"Well, I walked him over here, just him and me, and he didn' even touch me. He can't be that bad, are ya sir?"

"Uh, I guess so. Listen, the bump is not that serious, you don't have to go through the trouble."

"Alright, but do you have a place that you can go to from here?"

...home? Do I have a home?

"I... guess I do need some help seeing the fact that I don't know this place at all that that my memory's completely blank."

"I guess that's settled, you're stayin' with us."

"Thanks a lot. Hey, um, I'm a little lost right now, but I assure you I don't mean any harm. It just isn't to my advantage right now anyway because I need some help figuring out my situation. The last thing I want is to make enemies in a foreign place."

The smaller sulphur-coloured pony looked at me speculatingly.

"Awwwright... I suppose if mah big sis' says you're okay, you should be okay."

"Thank you very much, I appreciate that. Gimme awhile, I'll show you that I'm harmless. Um... Applejack, right? Seems that I don't have a choice but to stay here, so instead of me lazing around, why don't I help you out around the place while I'm here? This is a farm, right? There must be tonnes of stuff to be done."

"Well, actually, we're doin' pretty good, but an extra hand never hurts. We grow n' sell apples here. We plant, garden, pluck, sort, n' sell 'em. Aaan' cook some of 'em. You up for the job?"

"Sure, I can learn if necessary. Um, is there a place that I can stay?"

"We got'a guestroom upstairs that you can use, it's empty right now."

"Ah, okay. So, what is this place anyway?"

"This town's called Ponyville! And this farmhouse includin' the apple trees you saw are called Sweet Apple Acres. It's managed by me n' mah family. This here's Applebloom, mah lil' sis'. And there's Big Macintosh n' Granny Smith."

"Okay... um, I'm assuming that the both of you are girls?"

"'Course we are! What? Ya can't tell a boy from a girl?"

"No, it's just that... I'm not used to seeing your species."

"Wow, you must come from a real far away place there partner. We rarely hear a' places without ponies."

"I'll keep that in mind. So... What's the work for today?"

"Hey, don't sweat it, you can start tomorrow. Today, you rest and relax. I'll give you a tour 'round the place and show you your bedroom first."

"If you don't mind, could I please rest in my room for a moment? At least till the headache goes away."

"Sure! Lemme bring you up."

And so we walked up the staircase and into the hallway where we arrived at a green door. Behind the door was a simple room with an interior design that sported green walls, a window with white sills and a brown parquet floor. The room had a tidied bed, a small bedside table and a wooden wardrobe that sat opposite to the bed. Again, the homeliness from the living room downstairs could be felt in here as well.

"Here ya go! This is where you'll be stayin' for now."

"Wow, nice. For a guestroom, you guys keep it really tidy."

"Well, no one really uses it and we do tidy it up once in a while, so it's hard to get it dirty."

"Hmm, true. You don't mind I take a rest for a moment?"

"No problem, I'll give ya some quiet time. Let me know when that headache of yours goes away."

She turned walked out of the room, using her tail to close the door behind her. I stood there for a moment, realising that it was the first time being alone since waking up. Is this all a dream? Are they real? Where did I come from? I opened the wardrobe and looked at myself in the mirror placed on the inside of the wardrobe door. Why do I look different from the rest? Do I really belong here? Regardless, there would be time to think about all this later. I untucked the blanket and slipped into the soft inviting cotton sheets where I quickly fell asleep...

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