Chapter 1: When Are We?

"Why are we all here?" Applejack asked as Rarity came into the library, being the last one to join them. Twilight had suddenly sent all of them a letter telling them to go to the library ASAP, without any explanation why. Rainbow had been the first to arrive, followed by Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. Applejack had shown up about ten minutes ago to after finishing her work on the farm, so they had been waiting on Rarity to show. Now that she was here Applejack hoped that they would finally find out why they were here.

"Celestia sent me a letter this morning, shortly before I sent the letters to all of you" Twilight explained, "She wants all of to go to Canterlot as soon as we can because there is something important she has to tell us"

"Why couldn't she just come here then?" Rainbow asked, still somewhat annoyed that her afternoon of napping was being taken away for another "important mission" that Celestia always seemed to have for them. Despite the fact that she was the Element of Loyalty she was really starting to get tired of it all. She honestly wished that Celestia would just throw them a "Congratulations on being Awesome" party or something like that, they all deserved.

"Right now she is dealing with some dignitaries and diplomats from all the countries around the world, she doesn't have time to visit us" Twilight said, obviously annoyed that Rainbow would suggest such a thing, "Now, I need all of you to come close to me, I might have a way to get us there right now without you guys having to do a single thing" When all them were crowded around her Twilight's horn began to glow, and just as it got too bright for them to look at there was a loud pop, followed by darkness.

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When everypony opened their eyes they found themselves at Sweet Apple Acres, or so they thought until they noticed the second farm house on the other side of the barn.

"Where the hay are we?" Applejack asked, the similarities to her own farm starting to freak her out. She started to look around quickly, seeing her favorite tree that sat just on the edge of the east orchard. Applejack knew it was her tree because she had scratched her initials into it when she was eight, and she could still see it there, but just beneath it were the initials SS underneath her own, surrounded by a heart.

"Hey isn't that the weather bane that I made for you a few months ago dearie?" Rarity asked, bringing attention to the rather fancy looking weather bane that was perched on the top of the barn. Everypony followed her gaze and saw it as well, noticing the distinct ruby and emerald gem that Rarity had put in the middle of it.

"Now this is just getting creepy" Applejack said as she saw a small pony that looked that looked almost like her running around. The pony, which they could assume was a filly, had a white coat with a blond mane that faded into pink around the middle, and was a Pegasus, but she still looked scarily like Applejack did when she was that age.

"Hey sis! Rainbow!" somepony yelled from behind them, making both of them turn around quickly.

"You idiot, that isn't Rainbow, she has wings!" another pony shouted, obviously reprimanding the first one for what she had said. This made the rest of them turn around as well, and what they saw were four mares, about the same age as them, Spike not included,  all of which looked oddly like Applebloom and her Crusader friends.

"Uh... hi?" Applejack said, the mares who looked a lot like the fillies she knew scaring her slightly. With everything that they had seen so far things had just been really creepy, but now they were just plain scary.

"What are you two doing out here, I thought you guys were supposed to help Big Mac and Soarin with the apple harvest?" the first mare said, her voice having the same southern twang to it that Applebloom's did.

"Uh, did you just say Soarin?" Rainbow asked, her fangirl side slipping out at the mention of her second favorite Wonderbolt of all time.

"Yeah..." the mare said, starting to get suspicious of the situation, "You know, my sis' husband"

"HUSBAND?!" both Applejack and Rainbow shouted at the same time, making everypony around them jump. The outburst had finally made the first mare want to question what was going on.

"Applejack, what's my name?" the first mare asked, her eyes looking all over Applejack to see if she was about to try and lie.

"Uh... Um..." Applejack stuttered, unable to place a name to the mare's face. Even Pinkie seemed to be having a hard time placing a name, which surprised everypony.

"It's Applebloom. I'm your sister" the mare said, causing Rarity to gasp, "Do you know their names?" She waved her hoof at her three friends, causing all of their eyes to open wide. If the first mare was Applebloom, then that meant that the other three were Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Babs...

"Are you really Applebloom?" Applejack asked cautiously, getting an angry look from her.

"Of course I am! I have been for the past 22 years!" she shouted, the mention of her age making Twilight gasp louder than Rarity ever had, or did, because she had gasped and promptly passed out. As Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie tried to pick Rarity up Applebloom and the rest of the Crusaders talked to each other about what to do now. Once they had come to a conclusion Applebloom turned around a very serious look on her face.

"Applejack, can I ask you a few questions?" Applebloom asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

"Uh, okay, shoot" Applejack said, unsure of it herself.

"When did we rebuild that?" Applebloom asked, pointing towards the barn.

"The family reunion, the one that I planned that went horribly wrong" Applejack said, thinking back to the fiasco at the last family reunion.

"Wrong!" Applebloom said, sounding like a lawyer, "We rebuilt it last year, after Pinkie went overboard with the party for Apple Cider, Pink Lady, and Pink Pearl's birthday party. She used her mega party cannon and it blew the barn down!"

"Yeah, I could see her doin' something like that" Applejack said, eyeing Pinkie for a short moment, "Next question"

"Ok, when did Rainbow lose her wings?" Applebloom asked, making the six of them look at Rainbow, who still very much had her wings. Applebloom took notice of that and saw that Applejack wouldn't know, so she gave the answer first.

"She lost them three months before she married Big Mac, just so you know" Applebloom said flatly, her patience starting to grow thin.

"I MARRIED BIG MAC?!" Rainbow shouted, probably loud enough to wake the dead.

"Yeah, you did, fifteen years years ago" Scootaloo answered, giving her idol the most confused look she's ever had. After that Rainbow froze completely, her face in the weirdest position that anypony had ever made. Not even Pinkie Pie was able to make a face like it, and she was trying.

"Anyways... Who is that?" Applebloom asked, now pointing to a young Pegasus mare that was walking by. The pony had a blond mane with some red streaks in it, which were the same red as her coat, emerald green eyes, and some freckles. The first thought that came to everypony's mind was that she was part of the Apple family, mainly because of the freckles. Applejack quickly racked her brain to try and remember that pony's name, but nothing came to her.

"That's Red Gala, your niece" Applebloom said tiredly, the amount of things that Applejack didn't know had just about made her angry. At the mention of her name the pony trotted over, smiling happily.

"Hi Auntie!" Red Gala said as she trotted up to Applebloom, giving her a big hug before looking at Applejack and Rainbow with raised eyebrows, "How did you two get here so fast?"

"Huh?" both of them asked at the same time.

"I saw both of you just a few minutes ago, working with Daddy and Uncle Soarin out in the orchard" Red Gala said, starting to become suspicious of the situation as well.

"Daddy?" Applejack echoed, the name making her suspicious.

"Daddy Big Mac" Red Gala said, raising an eyebrow to Applejack, "You know, your brother, the same one that married my Mama, Rainbow Dash?" Again Rainbow froze while looking at Red Gala, not only because she was shocked by the news, but also because she couldn't believe that this pony was supposed to be her daughter.

"Ok, now, when did we have to bury Winona?" Applebloom asked, wanting to get the final clue to see if this really was Applejack.

"Winona?" Applejack asked, her voice cracking. If they had to bury Winona, then that meant she died, and that meant...

"Applejack?" Twilight asked, seeing Applejack's troubled look. She almost looked like she was about to cry, but her farm pony pride was forcing her to hold it together.

"Where" Applejack said, her voice sounding very strained, "Where is she?"

"Over here" Applebloom said, the pain in Applejack's voice making her feel like a horrible pony. Even though this confirmed her thoughts that something was off, the way Applejack was acting showed just how hurt she was, and Applebloom hated it. As Applebloom walked off towards the farm house Applejack followed, tipping her hat forwards so she could hide her face. From where they stood the other ponies watched as they stopped in front of a small cross, and when Applejack saw it she dropped to the ground, shaking violently. Applebloom moved to comfort her, but she got pushed away by Applejack, who was getting back to her hooves so she could go back to the group.

"Applejack?" Twilight asked worriedly, her friend's state making her worry. Applejack didn't say anything, the only sign that she was still there was the line of tears that had started to come down her chin, her eyes being hidden behind her hat and mane.

"Come on girls, let's go" Twilight said sadly, knowing what was going on. As she turned to leave Spike walked over to Applejack, but was pushed away, so he quickly trotted over to Pinkie and Fluttershy, who were still carrying the passed out Rarity. As they all walked away Applebloom returned to her group, a very pained look on her face.

"Is everything okay Auntie?" Red Gala asked, managing to pull her eyes off of the other group long enough to look at Applebloom as she spoke.

"I'm not sure..." Applebloom said, sounding like she was down in the dumps, "But I think I need some time alone" At that her friends and Red Gala all nodded knowingly, and walked away to do something else, leaving her all alone. As soon as her friends were out of earshot Applebloom fell to the ground, and began to cry. Next Chapter: Chapter 2: What Else is New? Estimated time remaining: 49 Minutes