opalpony

“How’s it doin’?” Applejack asked quietly.

“It, uh…” Sugar Belle glanced towards the bed again just to be certain. “It still hasn’t woken up.”

Applejack, clearly the braver of the two mares, approached the bed to take a closer look. Sugar Belle also approached, but still kept her distance.

“Any idea what it is?”

“Ain’t got a clue,” AJ replied with a frown.

“It… kind of looks like a monkey,” Sugar Belle observed. A monkey with red fur on the top of its head and wearing strange clothes. “Think we should’ve brought it to Fluttershy instead?”

Applejack circled the bed, remaining cautious in case the creature decided to move. When it didn’t, she gave a quiet sigh of relief.

“Maybe,” she said finally, taking a moment to adjust her hat. “But Fluttershy ain’t exactly close. And movin’ it any more than we need to might do more harm than good.”

“I just don’t like not knowing. W-what if it… wakes up angry?” Sugar Belle's eyes scanned the creature again. It didn’t seem to have any spikes or claws…

“If it does, then we’ll deal with it. Ain’t no use frettin’ about somethin’ that hasn’t happened yet.” AJ glanced over at the pitchfork leaning against the wall nearby. “Still, can’t blame ya for wantin’ to defend yerself and Apple Muffin.”

Sugar Belle shifted her weight between her left and right hooves, still feeling uneasy even with Applejack's presence. “I still can’t believe it just… fell out of the sky.”

“Yeah, that’s what’s bafflin’ me. It don’t look like it got any wings, ‘less they’re under that cape.”

“How did it even survive? It’s lucky it only got scratched and bruised.”

Applejack didn’t have an answer for that either. As silence fell in the room, she took the time to further observe the creature. Fur on the top of its head, paws with five long digits, extra-long body, no wings or horn… Something about such a description seemed vaguely familiar…

Realization crossed Applejack’s face. “Now that I think about it…”

“What?” Sugar Belle followed her gaze. “What is it?”

“Not too sure yet, but… Twilight used to tell me and the others some stories about some unusual creatures she met during a few important missions far away from Equestria.” She began to walk back towards the stairs. “Wait ‘ere. I’m gonna write a letter real quick. You holler if that thing starts stirrin’.”

About an hour passed since then, though to Sugar Belle it felt like many. During that time, she spent the passing minutes going back and forth between rooms, checking on Apple Muffin periodically along with the strange creature lying on the bed.

A noise from the other end of the bedroom made Sugar Belle’s ears perk up. She turned, slowly, and immediately stiffened as she noticed the creature begin to move.

“A-Applejack! It’s waking up!”

-

Ruby felt like she’d been hit by a truck.

She groaned, eyelids fluttering as she slowly began to regain consciousness. The huntress tried to make sense of her surroundings as they came into focus. Nothing looked familiar to her. Carefully, she began to sit up.

“Augh… Wha…? Where…?”

“St-stay back!”

The shout caused Ruby’s eyes to snap open, frantically searching for the source. The first thing she spotted was a pitchfork surrounded by a mystical cyan aura hovering just a foot from her face. And just behind that-

Ruby blinked. Was that a… horse?

Another blink. Was that a horn on the horse’s head?

…A unicorn?

“Uh…” Ruby struggled to find the words to speak as her mind tried to catch up. Was she dreaming? She tried her best to move a bit off the bed. “What's going-”

“D-don’t come any closer!”

Ruby tensed as the pitchfork inched closer to her face, making her lean back and put her hands up. She wasn’t about to risk getting an eye gouged out.

“W-woah, h-hey! C-could you maybe put that down and we can talk?”

The sound of hooves raced up the steps, and Applejack immediately hurried into the room, a frantic look on her face. She glanced between Sugar Belle and Ruby, and after a moment, seemed to relax.

“Easy there, Sugar Belle. Look at its face, can’t ya see it’s frightened? Ah reckon it ain’t lookin’ to hurt nopony.”

Ruby immediately nodded frantically. “Ah, y-yeah! What she said! I promise!”

Sugar Belle’s eyes narrowed, as if unsure, before she immediately relaxed. The shovel was slowly lowered and placed onto the floor, causing the cyan glow around it to disappear. Immediately, the pink unicorn took a few steps back, seemingly hiding behind Applejack.

Ruby let out the breath she’d been holding, and finally lowered her hands. “Th-thank you,” she said softly.

Applejack gave a nod. “It’s alright sugar cube. Now, I think we all got off on the wrong hoof here, so let’s start over.” She gestured a front hoof towards herself, then towards the mare beside her. “I’m Applejack, and this here’s Sugar Belle.”

 Ruby nodded slowly. A part of her still felt like she was dreaming. “Right, uh… I’m Ruby.” She turned to face the two ponies, and immediately winced in pain. She could feel bandages on her face and legs, as well as numerous bruises. Okay, definitely not dreaming. “Ruby Rose.”

Applejack nodded. “Nice meetin’ ya, Ruby.” The confusion on her face didn’t escape her. “Now, from what I heard it sounds like ya took a pretty nasty fall, so I gotta ask. Do ya know where you are right now?”

Ruby shook her head. “Can’t say I have the slightest clue…” In the back of her mind, she was going through the list of fairy tales her mother had read to her as a child. Which one had she fallen into now? Had any of them even mentioned talking horses?

Applejack’s expression remained neutral. Yep, definitely lost. “Yer in my home, in Sweet Apple Acres. Just outside of Ponyville.”

“Pony…ville…” There was a long pause. Yeah, that definitely didn’t ring any bells. “Yeah, um… no idea where that is.”

After everything she’d experienced in the Ever After, Ruby thought that nothing would surprise her anymore. And yet, sitting here, she found herself baffled.

“So… you’re actually ponies.”

Applejack nodded. “That we are.”

“Ponies that talk... And own a farm...” Ruby paused, before laughing to herself. “Yeah, mom’s book of fairytales definitely left this out.”

Sugar Belle blinked slowly, a confused expression crossing her features as she tilted her head. “Fairy… tales?”

“Long story,” Ruby added quickly, carefully moving so that her feet finally touched the floorboards. They creaked as she wobbled, regaining her balance after a moment. “But I guess I’m a long way from Remnant, huh…”

Applejack watched as Ruby stood, finally getting a better look at her now that she wasn’t underneath the bed covers.

“Forgive me for being blunt, sugar cube, but I gotta ask.” She looked at Ruby’s legs. “Are you… a human?”

That question caused Ruby to perk up. “Yes! A-are you telling me there’s humans here too?”

Applejack made a small, uncertain noise. “Not really. Haven’t ever seen one myself, but I’ve heard some stories from a friend of mine. Name’s Twilight Sparkle. Ya heard of her, by chance?”

Twilight Sparkle… The name certainly sounded like it would fit right in back on Remnant. But once again, it didn’t ring any bells. Ruby shook her head again.

Applejack hummed in reply. “Well, regardless, she’s the one who knows the most about humans. I’ve written her a letter. She might be able to help ya.”

“How long would that take?”

Applejack gave a shrug. “Hard to say. The mailmare is a bit of a scatterbrain. But she tends to get things done. Eventually…”

The word mailmare caused Ruby to start giggling.

“What’s so funny?” Sugar Belle asked.

“S-sorry, it’s just… mailmare?” It was adorable. Ruby kept giggling, only to stop when her bruises started to hurt again. “Ponies having jobs? That’s adorable.”

Though her laughter quickly halted as a thought struck her, causing the smile to vanish from Ruby’s face. Crescent Rose. She almost forgot.

Applejack quickly took notice. “What’s the matter, sugar cube?”

“My scythe. I dropped it when I fell. Have either of you seen it?”

Both ponies glanced at each other.

“A scythe?” Sugar Belle asked.

Applejack rubbed the back of her neck. “I mean, we got a scythe in the barn-”

“N-no, I mean… It’s not a normal scythe. It’s unique. It…” Ruby paused. Did these ponies even know what a gun was? “It’s special.”

Sugar Belle shook her head. “We didn’t see any scythe nearby when we found you. I’m sorry. Maybe it landed somewhere else?”

“The farm’s pretty big. We’ll have the family keep an eye out in case we see anything,” Applejack remarked. “In the meantime, would ya care for somethin’ ta eat? I’ve found that a good meal always helps lighten the mood a bit.”

-

The kitchen downstairs was rather quaint and cozy. There were walls that were green like tree leaves, a multitude of cabinets, and a wooden table and chairs in the center. The inviting atmosphere reminded Ruby somewhat of her home back in Patch.

“I gotta go check on the others,” Applejack remarked. “Sugar Belle, make sure Ruby ‘ere feels right at home. And no more pointing sharp objects at her.”

Sugar Belle averted her eyes in awkwardness, but gave AJ a nod. She finally turned to look at Ruby once the door was closed.

“So… Ruby,” she said slowly, smiling to lighten the mood between the two of them, as if she hadn’t just pointed a weapon at her mere minutes ago. “What would you like?” The unicorn began rummaging through a cabinet.

“Uh…” Ruby paused, thinking to herself. What did horses eat again? Would she have to eat hay? No, wait, she had other options. Think Ruby think… “Carrots, I guess?”

Sugar Belle paused upon hearing her answer, before breaking out into a fit of giggles.

“What?” Ruby looked at her, perplexed.

“Oh, it’s nothing! I just- Oh, I don’t know. I guess I was expecting you to ask for something I'd never even heard of. But you went with something as simple as carrots!” Sugar Belle finally calmed herself down and smiled widely. “You know, I’m a talented baker. I can whip something up for you if you’d like. Do humans eat pancakes?”

Ruby perked up at the question. Her mind immediately drifted to the delectable pancakes Ren would make for everyone. They were so good, it was no wonder why his girlfriend Nora would constantly try to swipe as many as she could. The thought brought back many pleasant memories of her and her friends, particularly the peaceful days spent in Mistral. The thought made her smile wistfully, blinking rapidly to fight back tears that were beginning to well up.

A part of her worried about getting to see any of them again. She could still recall Uncle Qrow’s panicked face as he tried to reach for her as she fell. But… hopefully this Twilight Sparkle would be able to help. AJ had reassured her it would be possible. All she could to was hope and wait until then.

“Yeah. Pancakes would be great.”

It didn’t take long before Sugar Belle took out a pan and a multitude of ingredients (all remarkably normal, thankfully), and began to make multiple pancakes. Before long, a pleasant aroma began filling the kitchen, making Ruby’s stomach grumble.

And during all of this, Granny Smith was still seated in her rocking chair, snoring away in the other room.

Ruby settled into a chair that was just a bit too short for her, causing her knees to be almost pressed against her chest. But this place wasn’t exactly designed with humans in mind, so she wasn’t going to ask for a different one. At least she wasn’t as tall as her uncle. The thought of someone of his stature trying to sit in one of these chairs was absurd. Though thinking about Qrow made Ruby’s mind begin to spiral again. How was he doing? Were her teammates searching for her?

Trying to distract herself from her worries, she continued watching Sugar Belle work.

“So…” Ruby struggled to find the words she wanted to ask for a moment. “Do only unicorns and… regular ponies live here?”

Sugar Belle laughed again.

“If by regular ponies you mean earth ponies, then no. Equestria is home to all kinds of creatures. For decades, you could only find earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns living here in Ponyville. But now there’s also yaks, griffons, dragons, and even changelings!”

Ruby blinked, intrigued. “That’s… quite the long list.”

Sugar Belle smiled knowingly. “Well, Equestria itself is quite a big place. It’s thanks to Twilight, Applejack, and their friends that we’ve been able to live in harmony with each other! This is the longest period of peace we’ve experienced in some time. Five years now, I believe.”

Ruby placed her elbows on her knees, propping up her head with both hands. “Sounds nice…” She wished all humans and faunus in Remnant could put aside their differences and get along.

The huntress watched as Sugar Belle poured the first bit of batter into the pan, before her eyes took notice of the symbol by the pony’s flank. How cute that she was a baker and had a cupcake-shaped mark. And she also recalled Applejack’s having a trio of apples. “And do all creatures here have that, uh… mark?” she asked.

“Oh, no. Only ponies have those. It’s called a cutie mark. It highlights our unique special talent. And mine just so happens to be baking.”

‘So it’s like a symbol for your semblance…’ Ruby thought to herself. ‘If semblances were more… like a celebration of who you were. Not how you fought.’

They made idle chatter as the time passed. Ruby asked about Sugar Belle's home life, how she got good at baking, and how she knew Applejack. Before long, Sugar Belle was approaching where Ruby sat with a smile.

“Here we are!” A small stack of golden-brown pancakes, along with a knife and fork, soon floated over to where Ruby was seated. “Want any syrup or butter with those?”

“Both please.” Ruby smiled at the unicorn. “And… thank you. You’re very kind.”

“Well, we always do our best to be helpful to any creature in need. Even ones from outside Equestria.” Sugar Belle levitated both the syrup and butter, placing them down in front of Ruby. “Now, eat up. You’ll need your strength back.”

Ruby nodded, then soon began to dig in. The pancakes were warm and perfectly fluffy, with a pleasant added sweetness thanks to the syrup. After all the time she’d spent with her team in Vacuo, it was nice to once again eat food without the risk of any sand getting into it.

She ate quietly for a while, savoring every bite, until at last the plate sat empty in front of her. She leaned back slightly, content with her meal. But tust as she was about to speak again, the sound of a baby crying upstairs interrupted her.

Sugar Belle’s ears immediately perked up, and the mare smiled.

“Ah, sounds like my little stallion is up from his nap!”

It took a moment for everything to click, but the moment it did, a huge smile spread across Ruby’s face. “Oh my gosh you’re a mom?!”

Sugar Belle laughed softly and gave a nod. “Yep, that’s my precious Apple Muffin upstairs. He’s quite the heavy sleeper. Honestly, I’m shocked all the commotion from earlier didn’t wake him.”

Ruby squealed in delight. “Ahhhh, the name is so adorable!” She then gasped as a thought hit her, and she immediately leaned forward in her chair, nearly falling off the edge of the seat. “Can I meet him?!”

Sugar Belle nodded immediately. “Sure! Just give me a few minutes and I’ll be right back down.”

It didn’t take long before the pink unicorn returned, carefully levitating a small bundle with her horn.

“Here he is.”

Ruby held out her arms, another quiet squeal leaving her as the little foal was gently placed into her arms. He was a dark purple, with a short right orange mane.

“Ohmygosh he’s so cuuuute…”

The two talked softly for a while as Ruby carefully cradled Apple Muffin, rocking him just slightly, her expression filled with pure awe. When he let out a tiny yawn, Ruby couldn’t help but giggle quietly. The peaceful moment allowed her to briefly forget all the stress and worry she’d felt earlier. This was… nice. She could really get used to this place.

Suddenly, the door burst open. A well-built red stallion with an orange mane and tail immediately rushed inside, his chest heaving as he slammed the door behind him.

Sugar Belle immediately got up from her seat. “Big Mac?”

“Stay inside.” He wheezed.

“What’s the matter?” Sugar Belle asked, her brows furrowing. She quickly levitated Apple Muffin out of Ruby's arms to keep him close to her. “Timberwolves?”

“Nope.”

That was… not the answer Sugar Belle was expecting. “No…?” She held Apple Muffin even closer.

“They’re like Timberwolves but different. Never seen ‘em before.”

Ruby wanted to ask what Timberwolves were, but before she could even open her mouth, a familiar howling sound reached her ears. That’s when it clicked for her. “Beowolves.”

Of course. How could she have forgotten about the pack of Grimm that had surrounded her during her fall?

Sugar Belle turned to look at her. “What? W-what in the world are Beowolves?”

“Monsters. I’ve fought them before.” Ruby met the unicorn’s gaze, her expression one of determination. “Applejack said the scythe was in the barn, right?”

Sugar Belle said nothing, just gave a nod.