//------------------------------// // The Perks of Being A Filly // Story: Suddenly, a Filly! // by Pomfiance //------------------------------// *~~~~~* Riiiiiiiiing “Goodbye everypony!~ Have a great summer vacation, and don’t forget to study!” All the students cheered as soon as the bell had rung, drowning out most of Cheerilee’s farewell and had rushed out the door to enjoy their vacation. The Cutie Mark Crusaders also wasted no time sprinting towards where Applejack was waiting, nearly bowling her over. “Where’s the fire?” Applejack asked with a small frown as she straightened her hat. “Have to hurry and set up clubhouse!” Scootaloo said quickly. “Make sure to take Twilight over!” Then with the other crusaders, ran off leaving a bemused Applejack. As they ran ahead, Twilight stepped out of the schoolhouse, thanking Cheerilee for the wonderful time she had. She looked around and saw Applejack waving her over. “Where’d the others go?” she said when she had made her way through the crowd. Applejack pointed down the road towards a small cloud of dust in the distance. “They ran ahead ta set things up for whatever the hay you fillies are gonna be doin'.” Twilight tilted her head in confusion. “Set things up?” Applejack chuckled. “You know them; they’ll go all out for any little thing.” “I guess so,” Twilight said uncertainly. “Well, ain’t no use in standin’ round here wastin' daylight.” Applejack said, nudging Twilight along the road. *~~~~~* As Applejack and Twilight walked further into Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack watched Twilight’s nerves break little by little with growing concern. “Twi! Would ya calm down already?” Applejack said as Twilight nervously trotted behind her. “You’ll be fine!” Twilight shook her head. “What if I blow my cover? The whole town would be talking about me! And then the princess will hear about it and-” Applejack stopped abruptly, causing Twilight to bump into her. She turned around and looked at Twilight incredulously. “Hold on a sec. You mean you haven’t told the princess yet?” Twilight shuffled her hooves. “W-well, I didn’t want to bother her, and we're getting closer to figuring out how to change back.” Applejack gave her a stern look. “Really.” “Y-yea,” Twilight said, her resolve faltering slightly. “Besides, it’d be useless for anypony to worry about small problems like this. Spike has it covered for now.” Applejack didn’t budge. “Ya shore 'bout that?” Twilight wilted under Applejack’s stare, shuffling her hooves. “I guess I just don't want the princess finding out about something as embarrassing as this.” Applejack shook her head and continued walking down the path. “T’ain’t really any of my business whether or not you told the princess. Ta tell the truth, Ah shoulda expected it, since you always go crazy when something involves the princess-” “Those times were all different!” Twilight interrupted loudly following Applejack, her cheeks flushing. “Besides, I’ll tell her one day, just not when I look like this.” Twilight thought about it for a few more seconds. “Maybe.” Applejack rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say.” Twilight sighed and continued following Applejack down the path, before being stopped again by Applejack’s posterior. “What is it this time?” Twilight asked irritably as she rubbed her cheek. “This is as far as Ah can go without bein’ pelted with random stuff.” Applejack said simply. “And why is that?” “That’s why.” Applejack pointed to a sign hanging on the stairs of the clubhouse. “No cutie marks beyond this point?” Twilight read aloud. “Wow! I haven’t seen one of these since my old book fort!” Applejack raised an eyebrow, causing Twilight to blush. “I-I mean-” Applejack put a hoof over her mouth, failing to cover her snicker. “It’s Ok sugarcube, Ah get it.” Before Twilight could think up a suitable comeback, Apple Bloom opened the door and poked her head out. On spotting Twilight, she ducked back in, and shouted, “Send up the filly and back away slowly!” “That’s yer cue.” She said, nudging Twilight and started heading back the path. “Ah’ll make sure to send Big Mac when dinner’s ready.” Cautiously, Twilight made her way up the stairs and opened the door. As she walked inside, the first thing she noticed was the lack of furniture. The clubhouse seemed like it had been cleared out of its contents, other than a podium, and a half-made banner. The other thing she noticed was some very enthusiastic kazoo playing by Scootaloo. Wincing, she made her way to the center of the room and stared up at Sweetie Belle apprehensively. “Twilight Tw-” Sweetie Belle started before Scootaloo interrupted with a final note from her kazoo. “Twilight Twinkle,” Sweetie Belle started again after a pointed glare to Scootaloo. “We, as the Cutie Mark Crusaders, call you to become a Cutie Mark Crusader.” She down at the paper and frowned, flipping it over. “That’s it?” She turned to Scootaloo. “Where’s the rest?” “Well, um. That’s all we needed?” Scootaloo said sheepishly. Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. “Ya had one job-” “Ok, I’ll make it longer later, just get on with it.” Scootaloo said hurriedly, trying to divert their attention. She turned to Twilight. “Close your eyes.” Twilight turned to Sweetie Belle and she nodded. As she closed her eyes, she heard the shuffling of hooves and the swishing of cloth, jumping slightly as something soft draped itself across her back. “Now, open your eyes!” Twilight opened her eyes and looked back to see an official red and gold Cutie Mark Crusader cape. “Wow! It’s beautiful!” She looked back at Sweetie Belle. “How many of these have you made?” Sweetie Belle looked away. “Well… We kinda just asked Rarity to make another one yesterday, so until that’s finished, you can just wear mine.” Twilight leaned over towards Sweetie Belle and sure enough, the ‘cape’ she was wearing was only a square of red cloth. She shook her head in disbelief and, before Sweetie Belle could protest, unhooked the cloth and slipped it on, while giving back Sweetie her cape. “I can’t just take your cape. I’ll wear this.” She ran her hoof through the red cloth. “Did you ask Rarity if you could use this?” Sweetie nodded her head quickly. “I appreciate the gesture.” She turned back to Scootaloo. “So what now?” Scootaloo grinned with the other two crusaders. “I’m glad you asked.” *~~~~~* “Tree sap again? How does that even work?” Twilight groaned, trying once again to pry herself off the other three crusaders, the only thing going through her mind is how she was going to get messy and sticky sap out of her mane and coat. Again. Scootaloo chucked, peeling herself off easily. “It happens a lot. You’ll get used to it sooner or later.” She looked down at her flank then frowning. “Darn. Anypony else get anything?” They all sounded off with different variations of 'no' and disappointed sighs. “Well I guess that means we aren’t Cutie Mark Crusader Cloud Wranglers.” As they cleaned themselves of, Twilight noticed the sun was nearly below the horizon. “It’s getting kind of late.” Apple Bloom nodded getting the last out of the sap out of her mane. “That means Applejack must've already sent Big Mac to come get us.” “Eeyup.” Big Mac said from behind as he came up the road. “Well that answers that,” Twilight remarked, putting down her towel. “Great, cause I’m starved! Apple family food is the best!” Scootaloo said, running over to Big Mac’s side then looking back grinning. “Come on girls!” “Alright, keep yer wings on!” Apple Bloom teased, putting her bow back on. “The food ain’t goin’ nowhere.” As they made their way towards the house Apple Bloom turned to Twilight. “Ya know, you never told us how that fancy school up in Canterlot was like.” Twilight shrugged. “It’s kinda like any other school. You learn, get homework, and take tests. They’re just a bit harder than the ones over here.” “I bet you had a lot of friends there!” Scootaloo said, bumping her lightly on the shoulder. Twilight gave her a small smile. “Not really. I mostly kept to myself.” They looked at her confused. “Why?” Sweetie Belle asked. Twilight thought for a moment. “I guess I just… preferred it that way.” “So… does that mean you’d prefer to not have us as friends?” Sweetie Belle asked, tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes. “No, I didn’t mean it like that!” Twilight said quickly shaking her head, not wanting to upset them. “It’s just the ponies there weren’t as nice as they are here.” Twilight looked around at the crusaders with a smile. “I'm actually really glad I finally made friends.” They all shared a smile before Scootaloo spotted the house and shouted, “Last one to the door has to sleep in the middle of the bed!” She raced ahead, the others following suite giggling and laughing, leaving behind a trail of dust as they ran across the cool ground. *~~~~~* “So what’s for dinner?” Scootaloo asked as they made their way to the dining room. "I’m starving!” “Now hold yer horses Scootalplum,” Granny Smith said from the table as they sat down. “It’ll be out in just a moment.” She turned to face Twilight. “Fer now, you can tell me about this here filly. Ah don’t think Ah’ve seen her around before, and she don’t look like one of ours.” “My name is Twilight Twinkle.” “Twilight Sprinkle?” “No Granny,” Apple Bloom said with a roll of her eyes putting a hoof to her forehead. “Twilight Twinkle!” “That’s what Ah said,” Granny Smith said with a wave of her hoof just as Applejack came out with a bowl of salad and some apples and set them on the table. “The fritters and pie are still bakin’ so this’ll do fer now.” Applejack said, sitting down beside Twilight. “Awesome!” Scootaloo said, shoveling a large portion of salad onto her plate. She looked up and saw the amused faces of everypony at the table. “W-what? I’m hungry!” She said with a blush. They all shared a laugh and started to eat. *~~~~~* After finishing dinner, they thanked Applejack for the meal and slowly went upstairs to Apple Bloom’s room. “Man, I’m stuffed!” Scootaloo said, patting her stomach. “That’s cause you nearly served yourself as much as Big Mac,” Apple Bloom said with a smirk. “Did not!” Scootaloo said indignantly. “Did too!” “Did not!” Before the cycle that never ends could continue, Applejack opened the door and poked her head inside, “Alright, y’all had enough fun fer one day. Time for y’all ta go ta bed.” “But there’s so much more things to do at night! We can-” “Go to bed,” Applejack finished with a smile. Heads hung low in defeat, they slowly made their way into bed. Apple Bloom, as a final attempt, looked up at her sister with a pout. “Are ya shore we can’t-” “Y’all will have plenty of time later,” Applejack interrupted as she went in and tucked the four fillies into bed. “’Sides, the more sleep ya get, the more energy y’all have to play tomorrow.” As she walked out, she blew out the candle that lit the room, plunging the room into darkness. “G’night,” she said before shutting the door. After waiting a few minutes, Scootaloo whispered, “Hey, you girls asleep yet?” “Ah’m not,” Apple Bloom whispered back, “You asleep yet?” “If I was sleeping, how could I have asked if you were asleep?” Scootaloo said with a roll of her eyes. “Oh. Right.” She said sheepishly. Scootaloo shook her head. “So are you girls ready to get our cutie marks?” “Right now?” “No. Next week.” Scootaloo deadpanned. “Why would we wait until next week?” "Um, shouldn't we just go to sleep?" Twilight asked quietly. “Aren't we sneaking out to get our cutie marks?” Sweetie Belle asked, not bothering to whisper. “Scootaloo wants to get them next week.” Apple Bloom said raising her voice slightly. “I do not want to get them next week! I was-” “Did you say you wanted to get it next week?” “No! Well yes… But not exactly-” “You know we could just get it right now.” “Ah want it now!” “Me too!” Suddenly, the door to the bedroom cracked open and Applejack’s head poked through. “Go ta sleep now!” she said sternly, causing the fillies to duck back under the covers until they heard the door close again. “Ponyfeathers!” Scootaloo sighed under her breath getting out from under the covers. She looked to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle with an annoyed look. “Do either of you know how to whisper?” “You weren’t exactly quiet yourself!” Apple Bloom retaliated. “It doesn’t matter, we’re wasting time!” “What are we even going to be doing?” She waved for them to come closer. “I heard, that there’s a certain time every night, where the school turns into a huge tower! Wanna check it out?" They gave her a blank look. “What?” “That’s one of the worst idea you’ve ever come up with.” “Ok then, what’d you think we should do?” “……We could stargaze.” They looked over at Twilight in confusion. “Stargaze?” “Well, yea. A long time ago, when Luna first started painting her stars in the sky, ponies used to make pictures out of some of the groups, and they stuck. Now, it’s a bit more scientific, but the constellations are still there. We wouldn't even have to sneak out to do either.” "That actually doesn't sound too bad." Apple Bloom said. "And not life threatening," Sweetie Belle added, sending a glance towards Scootaloo. "Alright, we can stargaze." Scootaloo finally relented, but under her breath muttered, “I still think we should go check the school.” Twilight rolled out of bed and trotted over to the window and looked up at the sky. “See? That one right there is the ‘Ursa Major’. It was said that this one was named after the animal ‘Ursa Major’. A pony family looking for a new place to settle were wandering in a dark forest. After a while, they lost their bearings and couldn’t find the way out. Then, out of nowhere, they saw the light of bright stars in the distance. Thinking that it was a break in the foliage above, they ran towards it. But as they ran, it only seemed to be moving farther and farther away. After a few minutes of chasing the stars through the forest, they almost lost hope. Suddenly, they were bathed in bright moonlight, have made their way out of the forest without even knowing. In the distance, they saw the constellation that they had been following on the back of a bear, but it disappeared in the blink of an eye. They looked up at the sky and saw the same constellation that they had been chasing. They decided to name it after the strange bear looking beast that had saved them from the forest. Now, scientists use it as a reference point for all the other constellations.” She finished with a smile. “That’s really cool!” Sweetie Belle said coming up next to her and beaming at Twilight. “Yea Twilight, yer a great storyteller!” Apple Bloom said smiling, joining her in front of the window with Scootaloo in tow. “I guess that’s pretty cool,” Scootaloo said looking up at Ursa Major. “Well there’s a lot more where that came from,” Twilight said with a smile looking back up at the sky and sighed happily. Maybe being a filly isn’t so bad after all. *~~~~~* “C’mon Twi! Time ta get up,” Applejack whispered, prodding Twilight in the side. “Mmmmm….Few more minutes…” Twilight mumbled, swatting lazily at Applejack. Applejack rolled her eyes and prodded again. “Up!” Twilight shied away from the offending hoof and rolled over to the other edge of the bed, her eye’s opening a crack. “It’s not noon yet,” she groaned. “Y’alls startin’ ta sound like Rainbow,” Applejack said with a smirk, walking back to the door. “Ah already have breakfast ready, so don’t go fallin’ back ta sleep. Everypony else already left.” Applejack sat and watched Twilight slither sleepily from out of bed to go downstairs. Eventually Applejack followed the sleepy filly to the dining table and sat down watching her climb up into her chair, immediately resting her head on the table, looking longingly at the toasted daffodil sandwich that she could no longer magically move to her mouth. Slowly, she inched closer to the plate and nibbled feebly at the crust. Applejack sighed at the sight. “Now stop bein’ lazy. Pick it up like a regular pony,” Applejack scolded. Inch by inch, Twilight raised her head until it was hovering above her meal. Dragging her hooves the sandwich, she picked it up and took a bite. “There! That’s more like it!” Applejack said frown morphing into a grin. “Tain’t so hard.” It took a little longer than most meals, but Twilight managed to finish without falling asleep again. Applejack took the plate and waved her towards the door. “Go wait outside, Ah’ll just be a second.” Twilight crawled back onto the floor and made her way to the porch, where she curled up and to get more sleep. Applejack came out a few minutes later and spotted the lavender ball off to the side. Letting out an exasperated sigh, Applejack walked over and tried to nudge Twilight into a standing position. “Come on! We ain’t got all day.” Twilight suddenly latched on to Applejack’s leg, nearly causing her to fall over. “Can you carry me? I’m too tired to walk.” She said tiredly. “Now hold on! You can walk just fine!” Applejack said, trying to pull out of Twilights grip. “Please?” Twilight looked up and pouted. Applejack sighed. “Fine. But only this one time.” She said, pulling Twilight onto her back, where she quickly curled up. As they made their way to the library, Applejack looked back at her and asked, “What’s got you all tuckered out?” Twilight yawned. “Just a bit worn out from yesterday.” Applejack looked at her in amusement. “Worn out? Bein’ in the CMC too much for you ta handle?” “You could say that,” Twilight said sleepily. “But I guess I’ll get used to it.” “Used to it?” Applejack asked, confused. “Yea. I probably won’t-” she yawned again. “Find a way to turn back for a long time, so I’ll have to get used to living like this.” Applejack stopped. “Ya just givin’ up?” Twilight shook her head sleepily. “I’m going to make the most of the situation. I’ve never had this kind of experience before…. It’s like the foalhood I never had.” “So then what about Spike? He’s been working this whole time lookin’ for a way ta change you back.” Applejack said, voice growing more concerned with each word. “He’ll understand…” She said, trailing off as she drifted off to sleep. Applejack stood shocked. Ah have ta tell the others about this! *~~~~~* As she walked in, the rest of her friends were already gathered around, chatting idly about their plans for the summer. Walking upstairs quietly, she put Twilight onto her bed and as she went back down, she noticed all conversation had stopped and their attention was all on her, noticing her troubled look. She glanced back over her shoulder and sighed. “Girls, Twilight doesn’t want to go back ta being normal.” “What?!” They all said in chorus. Applejack explained what she had learned the day before and what Twilight had said to her before falling asleep. “So then what should we do?” Fluttershy asked timidly. “Ah think we should tell Celestia!” Applejack said with a stomp of her hoof. “Twilight might be fine and dandy with this, but it just don’t sit right with me.” She looked around at the rest of her friends expectantly. Rarity was the first to speak. “I suppose we should. Celestia would know what would be best.” “But what about Twilight? You heard what she said yourself! She said this was like the foalhood she never had! You’re just going to take that away from her?” Rainbow Dash said angrily, crossing her hooves. “Well, nopony really knows what Celestia will do.” Fluttershy said louder than she usually would. “She might not do anything at all.” “We should tell her, just to be safe.” Spike put in, quill and parchment already in claw. Sensing another outburst from Rainbow, he held out a claw to stop her. “We don’t have to tell her everything. Just that she’s a filly.” Rainbow sat down on her haunches and crossed her hooves. “Fine, but if Twilight gets upset somehow, I wasn’t involved in this.” Spike nodded, scribbling out the short letter. “Ok, that seems fair.” He held out the parchment to Rainbow. “Do you want to check it first, or should I go ahead and send it?” Rainbow turned her body to face away from him. “Just send it already!” Shrugging, Spike took a deep breath, and with a burst of green smoke, the letter was whisked away. “How long do ya think it’ll take for Celestia ta answer?” Applejack asked as the remains of the green flames faded into the distance. Spike put a claw to his chin. “Well, when it’s something like this, it’s usually right away, like when Twi-” Spike was cut short by a loud belch, followed by a scroll landing at his feet in a blast of green flames. “That was really fast! Let’s see…” He opened the scroll and read aloud. “I’m on my way.” He turned the scroll over. “That’s all there is.” He said showing it to everypony else. “When’s she getting here then?!,” Rainbow asked impatiently. As the words left her mouth, there was a flash of gold outside the library door, followed by three firm knocks. “Ah got it,” Applejack said, walking towards the door. Taking the handle, she opened the door and on seeing who stood there, jumped back in shock. “P-princess Celestia!?” *~~~~~*