Glimpse
Pinkie Pie smelled the rich autumn air. It was the end of Applebuck Season, and she could just taste all the cider they had spent all week preparing with Applejack and the others. Twilight had been an enormous help, as always, and really quickened production. Truly, there was more this year than any other year. Applejack said they had made so much, she wasn’t sure if there was going to be enough to store for the winter anymore.
Silly Applejack, though. She might be Apple Family, but she sometimes knew dirt about apples. Some varieties just don’t make good cider. Not Apple Family cider, anyway. She’d set her straight later. They were going to be fine here on the farm – she had dress orders to fulfill for her Manehatten customers. Applejack had spent a good long while during the cider making session talking about her Aunt Orange’s modeling studio, and how they were going to start using her dresses in some of the shows. She wasn’t a big name yet, she said, but this time next year her name would be in lights.
Pinkie was happy for her, of course. She was living her dream the way she knew she wanted to. Applejack spent nearly half of what she earned on commission on her old farm home, making sure that her family was never wanting of much, even if she never had time to really gussy up the old Boutique she bought from Rarity’s father.
Pinkie could not thank Rarity enough. She had done an amazing job putting together the most delicate summer ever, and the harvest was nearly perfect for it, minus a few hiccups. Her skill with manipulating weather in the most intimate way with her magic was something to behold, turning a day that was a touch too warm with a humidity that was just a little too much, to a wonderful morning rain that really cooled the air for the rest of the day. Really, nopony was left wanting in weather with Rarity in charge.
-----
Fluttershy waiting for Pinkie Pie when she came in with a barrel of cider. Pinkie grinned, hugging her friend close. “Hiya, Flutters! I’m totally ready for the big party!”
Fluttershy smiled, nodding her head. “Oh, yes, I can’t wait until everyone gets here! I’ve been watching the twins all day, but Mr. and Mrs. Cake are taking them to see their grandparents in Hoofington tonight, so you and the girls can stay for as long as they like tonight.”
Pinkie beamed. “Oh, that’s super-duper fantastic! I know Rainbow Dash would be totally up for that, and I know Twilight’s a party animal...”
Fluttershy could hear a slight hesitation in her voice. “Buuuut...?”
Pinkie’s pink pinkened as she covered her face with her hair. “Well, Granny Smith and Apple Bloom left for Appleoosa about an hour ago, and Big Mac ‘n me... we’ve got the house to ourselves tonight. We haven’t had much time alone together since our honeymoon... so I might duck out a teensy-wincy bit early.”
Fluttershy smiled, opening up the oven and batting her wings a few times. “Oh, that’s fine! Really, you should be with him when you can... it’s no trouble at all if you want to head back now if you want.”
“Oh no! Never! Nuh-uh, can’t get rid of your ol’ pal Pinkie that easy!” Sniffing the air, Pinkie’s tongue lolled out of her mouth. “Ohmygosh, what is that smell!?”
“Oh, just, um...” Fluttershy grabbed her oven mitts and put them over her wings, reaching into the oven and pulling out a couple of round cake pans. “Double chocolate chip cookie cakes. I have a peanut butter glaze for gluing the cakes together that’s warming on the stove, and a peanut butter buttercream frosting for the outside.” Fluttershy nodded. “It’s for the party.”
Pinkie slammed her own jaw shut. “That sounds super-duper amazing! I can’t wait to have some! Can I have some now?”
“No!” Fluttershy put her hoof down, flapping in front of Pinkie. She stared right into her eyes. “These cakes are for the party!”
“Oh! Ah... sorry! I was just kidding, I just MMph—!?” Pinkie felt a spoon shove itself into her mouth as Fluttershy gave her a mouthful of frosting with a high pitched giggle.
“Although I made more than enough extra frosting... of course you can have a little of that!”
Pinkie lapped the roof of her mouth for at least an hour following.
-----
Rainbow Dash shot through the sky over Ponyville, away from the bird sanctuary she had set up a short flight away from the Everfree. Going into a dive, Rainbow Dash felt the rush of the air as she accelerated. Memories flashed in her mind, diving down and making that last ring, and hitting a friction barrier, knocking her back into the air violently. By sheer chance, she propelled herself into the finish line, winning the race with flying colors, the rainboom flying out across the land—
Rainbow Dash shook her head. No, there wasn’t a rainboom. That was an old mare’s tail. Something she thought she had done when Twilight did that weird spell thingy. It’s no feathers off her wing that it didn’t happen that way. Sure, it would have been awesome... but she might have never checked the ground for Fluttershy after the race... and then she might have never found her destiny down there.
No, her cutie mark told her that this was the way it was supposed to be. She flew with the butterflies and the other animals. She took care of them– not everypony can keep up with animals like she could.
-----
Twilight Sparkle looked up from her meal, smiling as Rarity passed by her window. The two locked eyes, and Twilight beckoned her friend inside, happy to see a familiar face. “Twilight~” Rairty sang, trotting in through the large oaken door, “Just the mare I’ve been looking for!”
“Oh?” Twilight finished the last of her sandwich and stood up, meeting Rarity in the middle of the room. “What do you need me for?”
Rarity chuckled and put her hoof on her friend’s shoulder, shaking her head. “Oh Twilight, I don’t need you to do anything, but... well Twilight, I’ve been hoping that perhaps you could help me organize next month’s weather patterns. Rainbow Dash proved... apt, somewhat, at handling the weather during that little episode of ours, but it’s absolutely ruined all of my perfectly detailed weather management!” Rarity bemoaned, falling back onto a lounge chair that had been expertly piloted by Spike. “It’s an absolute wonder how we haven’t all succumbed to heat stroke by now.” Rarity reached over and dragged Spike over to her chest, giving the small dragon a huge hug for hauling her chaise lounge all the way from her little cloud cottage.
Twilight smiled, motioning for Rarity to follow her to the desk. “I’ve been looking at your weather designs for a little while now, actually. It’s absolutely amazing the amount of control you have over the weather – I have doubts even I could match it.” Twilight heard Rarity squee behind her, releasing Spike from her hug as she galloped over to the table. Feeling accomplished in complimenting her friend, Twilight brought out a larger map of the region. “I was wondering if maybe, if I used my magic to amplify yours, we could fix what damage had been done and actually help out a larger area – we may even be able to control Ponyville’s weather from the city center ourselves.”
Rarity beamed at the designs, taking the maps up into her magic and pulling out an ink pen from Twilight’s drawer. “This is marvelous, Twilight! Ooh, but you haven’t the eye for weather that I do, you see, a cold front should be coming east thanks to the melting ice caps near Stalliongrad and then....” Rarity kept going on, Twilight nodding slowly behind her as the two ponies discussed weather and magic.
-----
Applejack stood outside her Boutique, staring up at the lone apple tree that she had planted when she returned to Ponyville from Manehatten. She had almost called it Bloomburg, but when she learned Big Mac had taken care of her little apple seed after she left, she couldn’t have taken the name again.
A farm. Hard work. Apple Bloom and her being so close. “Like Apple Pie. Could we really have been?” Applejack wondered aloud. Apple Bloom was nearly a stranger when she came back, but she had been real quick to warm up to her only sister. Applejack closed her eyes and tried not to think about an Applejack who never was. “I need to get this out of my head.”
Walking over to the tree, Applejack sized the beast up. She stretched her hind legs out, trying to remember the name she had given them. Bucks McGillicutty? Kicks McGee? Applejack snorted. “I sure was a rustic type, just like my siblings...” Applejack said, mimicking the accent her family was so fluent in.
She took a deep breath, steeling herself for the next part. Turning her back to the tree, Applejack raised her hooves up. “Now just kick the tree and get this silly notion out of your head.”
Applejack struck the tree to thunderous applause, the bark underneath her hooves cracking and straining under the heavy hit. Apples fell like red rain.
And she cried.
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A different Ponyville.
Different indeed.
An interesting concept. I think part of the inherent goodness of the story is your skill in the basics. They sound like themselves, and then in this chapter they sound like, well, what you'd expect. Your imagery is delightful, the scenes are short without leaving the reader wanting, your pacing is quick without dragging me along. Add that to the very interesting seed idea, and you've made something lovely.
Definitely have to note how good the endings are, as well. They really hammer that point home, how you can have everything you want, be content with life, and yet mourn for something you never really had to begin with just because it seems so right. I can relate to that. Just because my visions of another life weren't magic doesn't mean they didn't affect me. And the endings cultivate that feeling and then hit it hard.
Masterful stuff. I'll be watching you.
Applause.
It's.... something...
I like something.. Something's my favorite!
I hate up-voting without saying anything but there's honestly not much I can say. The first chapter was great. The second was... bittersweet. And I love bittersweet.
This was very well conceived and constructed. An interesting take on the side effects of the spell, definitely, and seeing all the characters as they might have been... it was certainly bittersweet. They were all happy, but I couldn't be happy for them, because it felt wrong, and the kicker is that it was supposed to feel wrong!
I really liked the IDEA behind this story, but I feel like it has some pretty big problems. The biggest problem is its tendency to tell and not show - it is very heavy on exposition, and it just doesn't feel like it flows very well.
I love the idea of exploring what they thought happened to them, and the glimpse chapter was an interesting idea as well.
Haunting, I get mental goosebumps thinking about the Ponyville that could have been.
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Really like the story. First I've seen about the swapped cutie marks, guess the whole Alicorn thing might have overshadowed it. Don't suppose anyone else has found any other good destiny swap stories?
That was awesome! I loved the way you really looked at what Equestria would be like if their cutie marks had stayed the same. It really was an amazing read and you deserve more than this little fav that I'm giving you!
I too have also wondered what Equestria would be like if the spell didn't work. In fact, I have the idea come to me of what would happen if the cutie mark swap in MMC was actually their true cutie marks and how that would change the entire fate of Equestria, starting from Day 1. I kind of look forward to writing it and I must thank you again for kindling that small spark in me. Love the story, love the viewpoints, and love the idea!
That got confusing
That was...so sad...how strange and experience to just turn into a completely new person/pony...and how sad that part of you has died along to way...
A beautiful look at what could have been and what never was.
A lovely little story. Definite thumbs up.
Wow I'm loving this story!
The concept is really great. I really liked how you looked at what their lives would be like, if they had different cutie marks, and lived different lives, while still keeping their same personality. Plus that undertone of unhappiness, that feeling like something's not quite right, was brilliant! 
I also really loved how Rainbow started the race, but then stopped to help/save Fluttershy, and that's how she got her "fake" cutie mark. It actually would of made more sense for her to do that, instead of continuing to race on. But then she and the other main 6 would have never got there cutie marks..so ya. Overall this is an amazing story so far, keep it up!!
Oh Wait the stories complete.... Aww
Still I can undertand, and I'm okay with this, it just felt like it was gonna have another chapter. Well nevertheless Amazing job!
Hmm, thought the first chapter was a good lead out of MMC, and potentially leading to some MacApplePie. Second chapter,
, well done, but seems disjunctive from the first. Still good response to the MMC debacle that a lot of fans sort of went
over.
You may want to consider running an extension off Ch.1 as you seem to have a good handle on MacApplePie line.
Here's to hoping we see a season 4 MMC recovery episode anyway.
Very well thought out and really well written. I really like your Weather Rarity.
A very interesting look into an alternate reality.
That was... interesting, to say the least. They like, forgot their 'real' lives?
Have a like and a fave, I'm going to go be confused in a corner somewhere.
The idea behind this story really is fantastic! I was confused by this second part because I thought it was another chapter, but really it was just showing an alternate reality: that is, if their cutie marks had stayed switched. I really enjoyed the first part where it turns out there were little parts of their mixed-up lives that the Mane Five just couldn't shake from themselves: Flutters being funny, Pinkie hanging around Sweet Apple Acres to be near her husband Big Mac, etc. Overall, I really enjoyed it and found it quite clever
. Found it a much-welcome departure from the slew of post-MMC stories featuring Twilicorn sobbing over her deceased friends.
This really was a great read. Fairly short with just enough detail to make it followable, and the concept of the whole thing is just magnificent. Kudos on a great piece!
So...What's Applejack crying about?
When I started I thought that this chapter was a continuation of the first chapter and so I got really confused with what was going on. After a short while I figured out that this was an alternative to the first chapter either if things did not change and they were allowed to eventually enjoy their talents.
I wonder when and how they changed from being so unhappy and unable to work their new talents to being able to work them correctly. One big change from the 1st chapter is that they had their original cutie marks and so I think that may have allowed them to learn to like their alternative talents as it could have been the false magic induced cutie marks that caused them to have so many problems to begin with.
Interesting, but kind of confusing. Is the second chapter flashbacks or something?
Man, I'm really digging these AU fics based on that episode.
Apparently four people don't like fruit.
well this really flies backward in the face of canon. The implication I got from the show was that a pony's talent gave them their cutie mark... and switching their mark didn't give them the talent, or the memories of using the talent, it only gave them the irresistible compulsion to exercise that talent.
2723647 It was such a dramatic change that she's just not ready to make anymore. She's confused and somewhat sad about it. At least that's what I'm pretty sure I got out of it xD
Welp, that was pretty amazing. First of it's kind I've seen about this side of MMC and it felt so... right... but also just so... wrong... Like none of this should be happening, but it's obviously supposed to... like it never was but always is... I don't even know, it was just... interesting... great work *applause*
hi hi
That tearjerker at the very end... oh wow... that is so absolutely heartrending I can't even put words to it. If it weren't for the beginning of chapter one, where everyone was learning that they didn't have to trade one for the other, I would be in a puddle on the floor.
You can make it happen Applejack. All you have to do is try.
2723930
If I'm reading this correctly, the second chapter is a mirror reality where the switched cutie marks were their real ones. So these ponies got glimpses of life as we would have seen it in Friendship is Magic, which for them, were not their true cutie marks.
2724406 That.
Would work that much better with AU tag for different cutie mark mechanics. Although it does deliver an interesting notion with it - different you does not mean happier you.
2717071
'When do'
Who do?
2724867
The nasty thing is, they aren't really right in the other reality. Fluttershy is okay, it seems, and Pinkie Pie is quite happy, while Rarity's control over the weather seems to make her happy as well... but Rainbow Dash never lived up to her potential, and it is obvious that Applejack knows what she is missing. And worse still, when she kicks that tree, it shows that her talent still is very much there under the surface, just as Rainbow Dash's own is implied to be.
So just as Pinkie Pie having been returned to reality misses her other life, so some of the others are missing theirs.
2725374
I was specifically only talking about their cutie marks. Most of that other stuff is incidental to their special talents. Just because reality had someone better off than the other, doesn't mean that it was the correct reality. Right or wrong is really tangential to the concepts of natural or magically altered.
It seems like the second chapter should come before the first, as it is it's really confusing. For a while I thought that this was supposed to be a few years later after they'd decided to open up to their 'other' memories some.
2723930
Im reading this as to a what-if the mystery spell never got corrected. Namely..they refer to the "episode" they had..but this just goes to seem what would have happened if they didnt flip back and just started to sink into their new roles. I could even go as far as saying that their memories changed (such as AJ and RD) as time passed on and how RD was thinking back to the race with just a sudden twist change.
Just my headcanon anyway
I am completely confused. What just happened?
Wow... that was... wow. That was great. I haven't read a fic that discussed the MMC spell, so maybe that's why this story just stood out, but it's awesome. Having the group acknowledge their alternate lives. Pinkie's ship was sweet, touching. The second chapter, wow, poor mares.
This fic just cut right to the nerve. Greenthumed!
A nicely woven inverse, no further explanation necessary.
Though... bit sad
Dose Feels... well not sure what to think just yet. Well written though and fave'd
It was a good read, but VERY confusing.
2723859
2726172
Actually, as 2724867 says, this is just an alternate Equestria where the switched Cutie Marks were the ones they actually had and in their version of the Season 3 finale had Twilight switch their marks with the canon!Mane 5's. Remember what Applejack said in Chapter 1 about remembering the skills of their counterparts' talents, but were hampered by their own memories of what should have been? This chapter merely shows the alternate!Mane 5's reactions to the memories they received from the canon ones when their Cutie Marks were switched.
It's kind of bittersweet. At least, that's the word I think best describes my feelings. (I'm reading it in the perspective that their marks were never reversed, rather than having always been switched.)
They're missing out on a huge part of their lives, the part that made them so dynamic and unique and wonderful. It's sad that they can't remember or see it anymore. On the other hand, they are, for the most part, satisfied with their new lives, so who am I to fault them for it?
i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/503/848/d3b.jpg
Very well done...
2728430 Your username... Yes... Bring us back the Sonic that was GOOD!
2728430
I feel like this wasn't very well explained in the story, hence my (and other people's) confusion--I had to read the comments to understand how I was supposed to take this.
This is great. I'm sad now, since you aren't doing anymore with it.
My cutie mark told me to go fu** myself, wat do?
I have no idea what just happened in this chapter, I don't think I like what happened either.
I'm reminded of a comic that tackled the same untouched questions; in it, the ponies were deciding their own careers based on how they interpreted their cutie marks: Rarity was producing lighting effects for stage productions, Applejack was hard at work mining diamonds, et cetera.
This was a similarly well-executed speculation. But although the story and subject are relevant only to the ponies, it still leaves me wondering why Spike was not invited to a gathering consisting of his closest friends. Was the episode's message not about favoring choice over cutie mark? Seems pretty contradictory that cutie marks serve as invitations to their get-together.
The second chapter proposed an interesting and appropriate solution to the mystery (I'm assuming it was a parallel reality they switched places with), but also portrayed Spike as a mute servant while Rarity was exclusively stimulated by the only other pony in the room. Good story, but like so many others the pro-pony bias made it hard to enjoy.