Apple Bloom awakened on her bed around noon with a mental clarity she'd almost forgotten existed. For a moment, she forgot what day it was but it must have been Sunday. She immediately thought it strange because her siblings never let her sleep in this late, even on weekends. She had recollections of a nightmare of something horrific she'd done in the dead of the night. In the back of her mind was an unshakable sense of remorse that inexplicably blanketed her every thought.

The filly uncomfortably climbed out of bed and left her room through the already open door. That's weird, she thought. She usually slept with the door closed.

In the hall, Apple Bloom heard the jingle of Winona's collar as she pattered back to the room, probably to get in her bed. When the dog caught sight of her, she stopped in her tracks and started to growl. Her tail stuck out rigid and so did the fur on her back.

Apple Bloom paused in confusion. "Winona? What are ya-"

Winona began to bark threateningly at her as she approached. The filly hugged the wall as she cautiously went around.

"What's gotten inta ya? She hurried away looking back over her shoulder. Winona had never treated her like that before, almost like she was a stranger.

As she neared the stairs, she could hear the sound of excited murmuring from a large group downstairs. Apple Bloom frowned in bemusement. "What's goin' on?" she muttered to herself.

At the bottom of the stairs, she found the kitchen was packed for lunch like it was Hearth's Warming dinner. She looked around the bustling table, mouth agape at the unexpected gathering. Everyone was here. Scootaloo and Rumble. Sweetie Belle and Diamond Tiara. Her face was still bandaged but healing. Miss Cheerilee sat next to Big Mac. There was her sister Applejack and Granny sitting next to… Apple Bloom?" She gasped and blinked her eyes but the little yellow filly with the bow in her mane did not vanish. It was an imposter, someone who looked exactly like her and had everyone fooled.

"May Ah have some more grits, please?" asked the other her.

"Ya sure can," chuckled Applejack, sliding the bowl to her plate "When did ya start likin' grits all of a sudden?"

"When's your cute-ceañera?" asked Diamond.

"Next weekend," chimed Rumble, grabbing a cob of corn. "I need to pass out the invitations on Monday but everyone here is invited."

"I'll be there," said Cheerilee with a smile.

"Don't forget that's also when yer helpin' me with mah extra credit science assignment," raised the other Apple Bloom, splatting a heaping helping of grits on her own plate.

"Of course," giggled Cheerilee. "I'd never forget that. This is all so exciting!"

For several moments, Apple Bloom just stood there, dumbstruck at the scene. This was a weird dream, she reasoned. It had to be. "Hey, what's goin' on?" she finally cried, loud enough that the whole room could hear. But no one acknowledged her whatsoever. They were all laughing and talking gregariously. They were all so amicable and happy, happier than she thought ever possible. She began circling the table in a panic, calling out, trying to get someone, anyone's attention but it was as if she weren't even there. Apple Bloom tried to tap her brother on the back, but to her horror, her own foreleg passed right through him. She held up what should have been her hooves in front of her face only to see that they were blurry, dark and vaporous.

Her mouth dropped open as she felt her face and looked the rest of herself over, seeing more of the same features. Suddenly she looked up to see Granny staring at her in wide-eyed terror.

"Ah- Ahh- Ah-," she stammered as those at the table halted their conversations to look at the old mare.

"Granny, what's wrong?" asked Applejack in concern.

A few ponies instinctively glanced at where she was looking but appeared to see nothing.

The other Apple Bloom hugged the old mare's side. "It's alright, Granny. Let's go get some fresh air."

"Aw, yer so sweet, sugar cube," cooed Applejack.

"Can we all have a picnic outside?" gasped Sweetie Belle.

"Eeyup," agreed Big Mac.

There was exuberant consensus from the table as everyone began scooting out from their chairs and packing up the food and dishes. Scootaloo nuzzled Rumble. Apple Bloom collapsed to her nebulous haunches as she watched Applejack and the other her wheel Granny out of the kitchen. The joyous party trickled out of the house, the last pony, Miss Cheerilee, shutting the door behind her.

Thanks for reading!

I am miserably sick and confused during the proofing and posting of this story's final four installments. Hopefully I didn't mess them up.

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