108 - Riding the Rail
It was far from Soft Mane's first time on the rail. With the golden ticket, she invited Spike to come with her to the dining car and they shared some (non-alcoholic) drinks and chatted.
"I've been meaning to ask," said Soft, smiling at Spike. "Are you happy?"
Spike blinked, "That's a big question. I mean, I'm not happy Rainbow's so hurt, or that, you know, I was kinda involved."
Soft shook her head, "We'll get that fixed, and I didn't mean that in particular..." She pointed at Spike, then herself, "I mean us."
Spike tilted his head a little, looking Soft over, "You've, uh, I mean you haven't done anything wrong."
Soft rolled a hand lightly, then gave a soft chuckle. "I'm asking the wrong question. We'll start from the real basics. Do you like having someone to sleep with?"
Spike flushed softly, but nodded.
Soft leaned forward a little, "Do you like having someone who cares about you, but doesn't see you as 'just a kid'?"
Spike nodded quickly again.
Soft smiled, "Do you like having me as a girlfriend?"
Spike nodded a bit more slowly, "I guess when you put it together like that, yes, I do. I'm not used to having a, uh, peer."
Soft gestured back towards the car that held the rest of the party, "They're nice enough, but we're just kids to them, no matter how much older we get." She leveled a finger at Spike, "You've been dead and back. I think you deserve some respect. I'm the spokesperson for a lost god. We're both pretty awesome."
Spike suddenly held up a finger, "About that. Your god, Lashtoodles?"
"Lashtada," corrected Soft.
Spike nodded, "Yea, her. She's all about love, right? You're not going to want, you know... more boyfriends, are you?"
Soft burst into a light laughter, "One boyfriend's plenty enough for me. We haven't even gotten to the next level of being together."
"There's a next level?" asked Spike, his innocence on full display.
Soft raised a brow, "Did Twilight ever explain how baby dragons are made?"
Spike looked all the more baffled, "Intense magic from a unicorn trying to get into a school?"
Soft blinked slowly, "No. Who taught you that?" A thought crept up on her, "Is that how it works in Equestria? That's crazy!"
Spike fidgeted a little, "Oh, so... what did you mean?"
Soft let out a gentle sigh, "When a female, of any species, loves a male, usually of the same species, but not always, they do a special little dance, together." She half-lidded her eyes, "The male will put his outtie into her innie as part of this dance. If they do it well and often enough, the female becomes pregnant, and a foal happens eventually."
Spike blinked owlishly, processing this information, "Oh... Doesn't that, you know, hurt?"
"Giving birth?" asked Soft, "A little. Strange thing about that, but I feel pretty confident. I don't think Lashtada will let her herald have a hard time with that part."
Spike raised a finger, only to lower it again, "Well, yea, but... I meant the first part?"
Soft made a circle with one hand and penetrated it with a finger from the other, "This part?"
Spike went red and nodded silently.
Soft smiled gently, "If the two dance well, and as lovers, it is bliss, not pain. They must be mindful of the other. It's a show of trust and empathy. I trust you, of course. You wouldn't hurt me." She reached across the table, brushing his cheek, "And I would never dream of hurting you."
Spike smiled, his anxieties fading a little. Maybe this could work out.
"Has anypony seen Spike?" asked Twilight.
Applejack pointed at the door leading out of their room, "Ah saw him and Soft Mane wandering off before. Ah didn't see any reason t' bother the love birds."
Twilight sighed softly, "This would be a perfect time to write Celestia a letter. Oh well, I can write it myself and have him send it later." She pulled out some parchment and brought the quill to the paper in her magic, starting to scratch at it.
Dear Princess Celestia,
It is always a pleasure to speak with you, especially from the living side of things again. I have received another clue as to the workings of the other side. Apparently, divine beings can gather the departed souls of the dead. I do not have more information on this beyond that this can be done. I feel certain this happened to me, but I cannot remember anything about it, other than that it was a place that filled me with awe and delight.
To more current events, we are travelling across Everglow at the word of some shady figures. It may well be a trap, but there are ponies in danger and I can't just sit idly by. I am continuing my studies, and hope to have the plane shifting spell mastered soon, so we can travel home and back again at our leisure, instead of relying on the rulers of the land to ferry us along. I'm certain you don't begrudge us the magic, but your time is more precious.
Student of the Planes,
Princess Twilight Sparkle
Twilight folded the letter up and tucked it away for later. Rainbow suddenly pushed to her hooves, "I'm gonna get some of that cider."
Applejack moved to follow her, "Ahm not letting you drink alone. 'Sides, ah bet it ain't half as good as Apple family cider."
Rainbow made idle noise, but no intelligible word came out as they departed together.
The two were soon seated beside one another at the bar, perched on wide stools that supported them surprisingly well. Each had a tall mug of frothy cider, though Rainbow's had already been drained to half way.
"So," said Appejack, "Wanna talk?"
"Not really," replied Rainbow as she hooked her hoof into the wide handle. It was clear the mugs were made for pony anatomy. She drained the rest of the cider, shivering softly. "I don't want to feel anything right now."
Applejack reached across and prodded Rainbow in the shoulder, "Won't be having none of that talk. You're still an amazing sportsmare and ya will be again!"
Rainbow frowned at Applejack, "Yeah, sure. We'll just saw off one of your legs, but it's OK! We can grow a new one, eventually. Not today. I'm sure you'd be just fine with that."
Applejack leaned a little closer, "Ah don't want to think about that."
"That makes two of us!" exclaimed Rainbow as she flagged down the barkeep and waved her empty mug at him.
Applejack shook her head, "But even if that did happen, ah could make it, because ah have friends, true friends." She smiled gently, "You would be right there at mah side, pushing me forward."
Rainbow gave a twitch of a smile, "Yeah, guess I would be." She glanced over her shoulder, gazing at her stub and its fully grown counterpart, "It's just... ugh. I'm off-balance when I walk. I can... feel a wing, but it's not there! It hurts..."
Applejack suddenly nuzzled Rainbow, brushing away a tear that had fallen, "Tell me all about it."
Rainbow shivered softly, "I'm afraid I'll never get my wing back. I'm afraid I'll go soft before I do. I don't feel like myself anymore!" She frowned sharply, "Two ponies died back there."
Applejack shook her head, "Now stop that right there. Yer still here. Ah get that it hurts, and it feels awful, but yer still... here." She tapped the countertop just in time for Rainbow's next mug to arrive. Rainbow reached for it quickly, but Applejack gently set a hoof on the mug, "Give it a moment."
Rainbow shrank a little, "Why are you even here? You have better things to do than hang out with a deformed, useless, pegasus. Let me drown out my stupid feelings in peace."
Applejack asked as she looked directly at Rainbow, meeting her gaze, "Do ya know what ah see?"
Rainbow flinched back a little, "A maimed idiot that cost everypony their money?"
Applejack leaned in, "A beautiful mare, a talented athlete, and a wonderful friend that just happens ta be down on her luck at tha moment. We'll get through this, and ya haven't stopped be--"
"Am I pretty?" asked Rainbow, spreading her one wing wide, "There's nothing pretty about this."
Applejack frowned in thought, then went for the risky, but potentially big winning play. "Girl, you just wait right there." She looked up to the bartender, "No more for her."
Rainbow blinked, pulling the mug she already had closer, "I'm finishing this."
Applejack was already trotting out of the room, "Ya do that, be here when ah get back."
Applejack entered their shared room to spot Twilight studying some book. Looked like magic, but she had no interest in that at the moment, "Get your plot in gear, Twi. Yer needed."
Twi blinked and looked up at Applejack, "What?"
Applejack strode up and grabbed Twilight by the collar of her robes, hefting her to her hooves before snorting, "Now missy. Rainbow needs us and ah ain't taking no for an answer."
Twilight closed her book with her magic and slid off the bed onto her hooves properly, "Is it really that bad?" She strode with Applejack through the train, arriving to find Rainbow slumped over the bar, looking bored and something else.
Applejack moved up to the bar and brought a hoof down on the wood with a loud clop, "This here's an intervention." She looked over at Spike and Soft still at their table, considering a moment before she refocused her attention on Rainbow and Twilight. "Twilight, I want you t'tell Dash what it was like when ya were dead."
Twilight blinked, and Rainbow joined in the confused look as she sat up on her stool, "AJ, what's all this about? Why do I care about that?"
"Ya should care!" shouted Applejack with a frown, then she settled, taking a soft breath, "Now, Twilight, go on. When ya were a spook, especially at the start, what was it like?"
Twilight's head sunk a little, "I... don't really want to talk about that..."
Rainbow waved a hoof, "She's already all better. What's the big deal?"
Twilight huffed at Dash, "It's still a big deal! I felt so alone. Nothing felt right, and part of me kept worrying I'd never get back to normal. I still get chills when I think about it."
Applejack looked to Dash with a half-smile, "And how do ya feel, Rainbow?"
Rainbow fidgeted in place, "I... kind of feel alone." She flapped her remaining wing, "Nothing feels right..." She crossed her forelegs then, looking petulant, "And part of me keeps wondering if I'll never get back to normal."
Twilight blinked, the raised a hoof, "One cider please."
"Make that two!" said Rainbow.
"Three," joined in Applejack. "I know you're hurting, Dash, but we're still friends, and we'll get through this, togetha." The freshened mugs soon arrived and they drank together. The pain wasn't lessened, but the burdened was shared between them, and that was enough.
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This is the worst plan ever! I just hope Dash doesn't get to hurt
There needs to be a space between "some" and "(non-alcoholic)."
I'd say "half-lidded" here.
I'd put a comma after "Sides," and the apostrophe back in "ain't."
I'm a bit confused by the "two" reference; obviously she means herself, but is the other that dwarf that Spike killed? Also, did it happen at night? I'd change that to "back there" instead of "that night."
As "her" fur turned a soft orange.
Well. Lashtada certainly smiled upon this chapter. Spike does have a rather interesting perspective on reproduction, and I can't blame Twilight for neglecting that part of his education. It's awkward to talk about that kind of thing with your brother/son/employee.
It amuses me that gender change, which is apparently impossible for pony magic, can be achieved through a 2nd-level spell in Everglow. Ah, polymorph spells. Is there any problem they can't solve? Well, probably not the heartache that is likely to result from this. Of course, if Twilight explains the situation, it won't be so bad... but that's assuming she does. We'll see.
I noticed something your cider goggles obscured:
"Ah" should be capitalized and "ain't" needs an apostrophe.
5720936 All fixed! Now there's nothing in the way of the Twilight x Rainbow Dash scene that noone asked for!
5720938 The Spike/Soft conversation was a bit of a challenge, with someone so innocent talking about things of this nature with someone who isn't out to just shatter his reality with a hammer. Soft cares about Spike, which meant giving 'the talk' well, but she's not exactly a seasoned veteran herself. I can only hope I gave the scene proper justice.
It's... what? Is Twilight uh... transforming into a stallion version of her friend to sleep with the other friend that the first friend promised to?
That seems like, even with the desire to cheer Dash up, to be uh... I'm not going to say going too far, but I really think if AJ was offering it, AJ needs to go through with it. Doesn't seem like something that Twilight would immediately accept under really any circumstances.
5720986 She hasn't. You'll have to wait for the next chapter to see, but she has no intention of trying to pretend to be Applejack. Have you seen her bluff score?
5720931
I've got to agree. There is no way, none, that this plan ends well. Can I expect Lashtada to make with the smitings?
5720965 Amusingly enough, based on the distribution of characters in this chapter, the only two left are Sonata and Lex. Presuming that they're off somewhere together, one can only imagine how that's going.
With regards to this chapter, the curveball thrown with regards to the Rainbow/Applejack/Twilight "pairing" is, as Twilight noted, a disaster waiting to happen. Seriously, the number of different ways this could go wrong are staggering. Will Rainbow be upset that she's getting a stallion instead of a mare? Or betrayed that it was Twilight in disguise? How will Twilight feel about "taking one (or perhaps, 'giving one') for the team"? Will Applejack feel left out, especially if something develops between Twilight and Rainbow as a result of this? It's a huge love triangle!
(There's also a bit of an issue, since spells with the polymorph sub-school are noted as not allowing you to take on the form of specific individuals unless noted otherwise, which alter self and disguise self do not. So Twilight looks like a generic orange stallion rather than stallion-Applejack.)
EDIT: Okay, so other comments reveal that apparently Twilight isn't going to try and sleep with Rainbow in disguise...which makes this all the more curious.
5721007 It helps that there is no such person as 'orange Applejack stallion' to imitate. It's an orange stallion that claims to be Applejack. At least visually that seems good... enough? But then there's the accent, the cutie mark, and a thousand other things that would put holes through this disguise before long.
5720999
Hm... I'm not sure if "pretending to be Applejack" is my primary uh... beef with this plan, actually. Mostly it's AJ promising to "prove" to RD that she's beautiful, with the sexual undertones that implies (although not necessarily, I suppose), then passing the buck to Twilight who apparently accepts without argument.
Buuut yeah, that could all be bad assumptions that that's what Twilight intends.
5721033 If you're asking if Applejack is wrong for passing the buck, she is, but she's also panicking. She desperately wants to cheer RD up and already teased her once about this many chapters back, to RDs embarrassment but apparent intrigue.
5721042 It's notable that Applejack is missing the obvious here. Rainbow seemed quite interested, without any problems that Applejack was another mare. Applejack, by contrast, appears to have considered the lack of a stallion to be a deal-breaker. So there's clearly a misalignment of values at work there.
If she could cast it on other people she could fix Rainbow's wing temporarily.
This sounds like a job for Baleful Polymorph? It grants a fly speed if the target doesn't have one.
Well at;east not poorly for Spike.
Poor Dash. So miserable, then happy at the thought of AJ making her happier, then she gets lumbered with a lump instead.
Oh well, Twilight never has much success with turning apples to oranges.
5721737 Everything will work out, hopefully.
That's just the kind of solution I would expect from Applejack: Simple and direct. It's also good to see Twilight's ordeal catching up with her. She can only hide in her books for so long.
5723859 No typos? I'm slipping or you are!
5723861 It's certainly possible (I've been doing homework all day), but I didn't see anything except in AJ's dialogue, and she's probably set in her ways by now.
Minor thing, but I'd say "hooves" here, rather than "feet."
I'd change "arms" to "forelegs."
That said, I think you made the right decision here. What happened before was not only a stretch, it was a major game-changer for Twilight (and company); this works much better.
5724626 Tweaks applied!
Trying to figure out what this Retcon thing was...
In the original of this chapter, Twi polymorphed into a male version of AJ? To try to cheer Dash up by telling her she was still hot?
...Ooooookay?
6038506 You missed nothing.
How the heck did Spike live as Twilight's assistant without ever coming across a biology book or her giving him the 'Birds and the Bees' talk? Still, Soft giving it to him was adorably awkward.
6137317 Twilight does not give social lessons unless she's already knee deep in the social problem.
Once again, why did Twilight leave out of her letter to her dearest mentor the fact that one of her friends has been crippled!? Other than "because plot says so"
6211345 Because the plot demanded it?
6038571 I dunno, It sounds pretty amusing if... completely out of place with the tone of the story so far.
This chapter omits the reason that Twilight neglects to inform Princess Celestia that one of the Elements of Harmony is currently crippled and in deep despair. There is no good reason to omit something that crucial and no explanation is given.
Don't take Retcons when pregnant....
That was great!