//------------------------------// // Ch.22 Changes // Story: The Gaps in F r i e n d s h i p // by Arcanum -Phantasy //------------------------------// Applebloom swiped some sweat from her brow, her breath coming out in harsh puffs through her dust mask as she stared at the now clean cow pen. A small ember of pride burned in her as she took stock of her handy work before she moved on to lugging the large barrel they used to transport the cows leavings into one of the silos on the other side of the farm for storage. Good thing we only have one cow, she thought with a sigh as she ran to get a dolly. Otherwise, Ah'd be in here all weekend. As she cringed at the thought of dealing with a mountain of manure, she thought back to what Princess Celestia said to them before coming back home. *** "Listen well," Celestia intoned, voice empty of emotion as she stared down at the trio of fillies that stood before her. "While you will be returning to Terra, it will be with a few conditions set in place. While you are there, Discord will have you under constant surveillance. He will make sure you do nothing to harm my daughter or anypony else that is close to her. He will also make sure nothing happens to you while you are there. I doubt your families will do anything unethical, but the same cannot be said for other humans. When it is time for you to return, he will teleport you back to your room in the servant's quarters. Do you understand?" They nodded, then collectively saluted her. A bit of light on their forelegs caught her attention. "What are you wearing?" she asked, a bit of raised brow making it past her mask of indifference. "A gift from Sunset," Sweetie said, her lips pulled into a small smile as she stared at the silver bracelet on her right foreleg. Applebloom and Scootaloo nodded, each giving their matching accessories caring smiles . "I don't think we deserve them," Scootaloo sighed. "Not yet, but I'm gonna change that." "Me too," Applebloom nodded. "Ah want ta' make things right again." Celestia let a proud smile spread across her muzzle as she stared at the three fillies. "In time my little Terrans. Until then, do what you can to mend your ties with your families." *** Applebloom smiled as she pulled back the right sleeve of her jacket to look at her new bracelet. The promise she and her friends made to themselves were held in the simple metal band just as tightly as a written contract. They were going to do better, no matter what they had to do to do it. Though it did sting a little to have her other christmas gifts confiscated until New Years. The fact that her friends had the same thing happen to them didn't do much to lessen the blow, but it did make it a little more bearable. "Alright, no more wastin' time," she huffed, pulling her sleeve back into place. "Ah've still got a lot of ground to cover before supper." When she braced the barrel to level it onto the dolly, it shocked her how light the barrel felt. Normally, it was a struggle for her just to move the container when it was half full, let a lone filled near to the brim as it was now. Raising a brow, she griped the six-foot tall barrel and lifted. Her jaw dropped as she hefted it above her head like a beach ball with next to no effort. A wide grin grew on her face as she ran towards the manure silo with her seemingly weightless barrel of droppings. When she made it to said building, she safely stored the barrel and dashed out into the snow-covered orchard. "W-What the hay was that?" she panted, leaning against a nearby tree. "How'd Ah do that?!" A small twinkling from her wrist caught her attention. When she pulled back her sleeve she was greeted by a shimmering bracelet. The light was faint, just barely bright enough to be seen in the early morning light, but present all the same. Applebloom stared at the accessory in wonder as she struggled to find an explanation for what was happening. The obvious answer was magic, but what kind and more importantly, was it safe? "Well, Ah don't feel like hurt'n no one or take'n over the world, so that's a good sign," she mumbled, eyes locked onto the bracelet. "M-Maybe the Princess can-" She let out startled yelp as a cloud of confetti burst above her head along with a note. She just managed to catch it before it hit the ground. Still a little shook-up, she cautiously opened the letter. Dear Applebloom Apple It seems your magic has awakened. Now, I'm sure this is a very scary and confusing time for you, but don't worry. What you're experiencing is a completely normal and natural part of prolonged exposure in an environment flooded with magic. As such, your body will go through various changes as it lets the magic settle within it. These include, but are not limited to: Increase in Size, Increase in Strength, Increase in Speed, Barrier Projection, Elemental Manipulation, Dimensional Distortion, Item Creation, Psycho Kinesis, Prophetic Visions, Limited Time Travel, Healing, Teleportation, Flight, Shapeshifting, and Familiar Summoning. Again, these changes are completely normal, but should they become too much for you to handle, please contact your local Lord of Chaos for assistance. Sincerely, Lord Discord, Master of Chaos and Future Love Bug to The Princess of the Sun. Applebloom spat out a mouthful of confetti as she leveled a deadpan at the letter. "Is he-" *** "Serious?!" Sweetie squeaked, a glowing green domed barrier surrounding her as she stood in the bathroom. After getting an earful from her parents, Sweetie's resolve to do better was shaken a bit as she was given a list of chores. A quick glance at her bracelet helped her steel herself against her own weakness and take the punishment like a champ. Ironically, most of the chores her mother gave her were the kind of things she was expecting to do at the castle. All was well for the most part until she was scrubbing behind the toilet and found the source of all evil. She never knew that a roach could get that big or that when they did they had wings. The young girl let out an exasperated growl as she pushed against the shield to grab a steel-wool brush on the other side. Her temper rose the more effort she put into grabbing the tool, until it finally flared past what she could contain. A loud roar echoed through the whole house as she punched and kicked against her prison like a wild beast. "STUPID MAGIC BUBBLE!!!" she roared as she clawed at the barrier. At that moment, the lord of evil landed on the other side of the barrier right in front of Sweetie's face. The scream that ran out of her mouth hit such a pitch that only the family cat could hear it as she jumped back. The second her feet left the ground, the barrier lifted slightly and formed into a complete sphere around her. She bumped into the other side of the barrier which now started to slowly roll out of the bathroom. "Uh-oh," she gulped as she ran to the other end of the barrier. Her heart sank as the magic slid under her hands and feet like soap-slicked glass. "No-no-no-no-no-no!" she cried as she futilely tried to force the barrier to stop. "Stop-stop-STOP!!!" Like a giant hamster ball, she rolled out of the bathroom into the hall towards the stairs. Her eyes widened as the barrier-ball started to move faster as it closed in on the staircase leading to the first floor. Not wanting to see the mess she was going to need to clean up later, she closed her eyes and resigned herself to her fate. "I regret everything," she sighed as the barrier passed the point of no return. A loud series of crashes filled the whole house as the glowing wrecking ball destroyed everything in its path. All the while, Sweetie rolled around inside it like a hamster in a kicked hamster-ball. After a few minutes of destruction, the barrier finally stopped when it rammed itself into a wall in the kitchen. She let out a groan as she waited for the world to stop spinning. I...hate...magic... "Sweetie Belle!" Sluggishly, Sweetie looked up from the ground and saw her mother standing at the entrence into the kitchen. To say Cookie Crumbles was angry would've been a massive understatement. The fuming mother stomped into the kitchen like a mad bull as she moved in to give her youngest a very loud talking to. Said anger turned into confusion when she bumped into the near-invisible shield surrounding her daughter. "What is-" "Magic," Sweetie said flatly, still laying on the ground. Cookie blinked at that, then frowned as she said, "Well, no magic until you're done with your chores. Now turn this thing off and get back to work." "I don't know how!" she groaned as she slammed her fists into the bottom of her prison. "What's going on here?" Hondo Flanks asked as he walked into the kitchen. He froze when he saw the situation then sighed as he stepped out of the kitchen. "I'll go get the sledgehammer," he grumbled. "WHAT?!" both women screamed, Cookie scrambling to catch up with her husband while Sweetie pounded even harder on her prison walls. "I! *bam!* HATE! *bam!* MAGIC!!! *bam!* *** "This is awesome!" Scootaloo cheered as she zipped through her aunt's house. Lofty let out an exasperated groan at the kitchen counter as her wife poured her a cup of coffee. "When did things get so crazy?" Lofty sighed as she took a sip of her drink. "My brother had a daughter and I agreed to watch her while he traveled the world with his wife," Holiday said with a tired smile. At that moment, Scootaloo appeared next to her two bewildered aunts. "The bathroom's clean," she said with a bright smile. "What's next?" "You were only in there for three minutes," Lofty grumbled. "Yeah, the grout was really dirty," she said, smile unwavering. Holiday let out a small chuckle at that, then asked, "Did you get your room sorted out?" "Yep!" "The kitchen seems to be in one piece," Lofty sighed. "Go clean the windows." "Already taken care of," Scootaloo beamed. The pale-yellow woman's jaw dropped at that before she set her cup down and ran to each of the windows in their one-story apartment. After a few minutes of careful observation, the woman let out a defeated sigh and returned to her seat in the kitchen. "You know," Holiday smirked, crossing her arms at her niece. "Those new powers of yours make punishing you kind've hard." "Sorry aunty," Scootaloo said sheepishly. "Please tell me super speed is the only thing you have," Lofty groaned, picking Discord's letter up off of the table. "I don't think my heart could handle it if you blew our house up or something." "I think so," Scootaloo frowned, staring a the glowing purple rings wrapped around her ankles. "I've been trying some of my teacher's tricks to see if I can do anything else, but nothing's happened so far." "That's a relief," Holiday chuckled. "Don't know if we have magic insurance." "I think The Princess could cover it," Scootaloo said, rubbing her chin in thought. "Or maybe her boyfriend could fix it all." "Is it strange that I miss having a boring life?" Lofty asked, staring into her cup. "Why is it that the one town we decided to move to for a mostly quite life ended up becoming the magic capital of the world?" "Luck?" Holiday offered with a shrug. Lofty groaned before taking a sip of her coffee. "You know, you guys are taking this all better then I thought you would," Scootaloo said staring at her aunts. "Oh, we aren't," Holiday smiled, a bit of a twitch in the corners of her lips. "We're still in shock that there's a world ruled by a pony god that can control the sun just a stone's throw away from our house." "I think I'm handling it well, all things considered," Lofty sighed over her coffee. "Though I don't think I'll be visiting again. I rather like having hands, thank you very much." "Eh, you get used to it," Scootaloo shrugged. Both of her aunts blinked at her owlishly. "I don't know how I should take that," Holiday said nervously. "Please finish your punishment in Equestria soon dear," Lofty pleaded. "I fear what staying there for too long will do to you." "You've seen how big that castle is, right?" Scootaloo asked, raising a brow. "Please don't remind me," Lofty sighed. *** Fluttershy giggled as she wrote in her new journal, the darkness of her room broken by the shine of her desk lamp. Just like Sunset said, the journal worked flawlessly as she traded messages with her double from her native dimension. Neither of them had anything particularly groundbreaking to talk about. Just the simple this and thats of daily life, but that was just as thrilling for the young couple as any grand adventure. Did you really tell him that? Equestrian Fluttershy wrote. Fluttershy smiled sheepishly as she answered. Yeah. I lost my temper and he almost took the journal. Did you apologize? Fluttershy nodded, then rolled her eyes as she remembered that her girlfriend wouldn't see the response as she put pen to paper. Yeah. He didn't know what he took and we made up, but I think he's scared of me now. I wish Zephyr was a little more mindful of people's things sometimes. Tell me about it. An image of her pony double sighing entered her mind and forced a giggle out of her. Fluttershy was about to respond when a hard pounding at the front door downstairs made her jump. As she let her heart-rate level out, she stared at her open bedroom door. She gulped as she wrote a quick message to her double and stepped out of her room. The pounding continued as she made her way down the hall from her room to the stairs. As she walked, she could hear her family rousing from the racket down stairs through their doors. Soon, she made it down the stairs and stood in front of the front door. Normally, something like this would've terrified Fluttershy, but she was calm as she reached for the doorknob. If anything, she felt slightly miffed that her time with her girlfriend was interrupted by whatever unfortunate soul stood on the other side of the door. Her other hand had tensed as she prepared to strike the late night guest should the need arise as she opened the door. What she saw made her blink in shock for a moment. Three girls in thick winter jackets stood on the porch with their leader standing just in front of the door. One girl had short gray hair with skin a darker shade of gray visible on parts of her body not covered by her lavender winter gear and was a bit taller then the rest of the girls in the group. The other girl had long strait green hair with a lighter shade of green for her skin tone and white winter gear. The first girl's light-green eyes held a trace of fear as she looked at Fluttershy while the other one's lavender orbs held clear panic. Panic that became clear when Fluttershy locked eyes with their leader. The woman that stood before her was just a little shorter then the gray girl. Her long purple hair trailed down to the middle of her back with a strait cut to keep her bangs out of her eyes. She held a pale-gray skin tone that made her navy blue winter gear stand out as her turquoise eyes drilled into her. Fluttershy barely had time to react as the girl in front of her grabbed her by the throat and dragged her out into the cold. The timid teen let out strangled yelp as she was pinned to the wall next to the door like a bug in a display case, her capture's eyes burning into her with the intensity of a thousand suns. "S-Sis, please!" the green girl pleaded, her voice a terrified whisper as she reached out towards the attacking woman. "Yeah Maud," the older woman said, tone cautious as she put a hand on the gray woman's shoulder. "No need to get so-" "Quiet," Maud growled, shrugging off the woman's hand as she tightened her grip on Fluttershy's throat. Fluttershy's eyes widened as she realized who had her then narrowed as a familiar heat started to grow inside her. "W-What do you want?" Fluttershy managed to choke out. Maud's glare hardened as she held her target even harder against the wall. "Where. Is. My. Sister." "I-I don't know," Fluttershy gasped. "BULL SHIT!" Maud roared, clearly fighting against the urge to crush the girl in front of her. "Tell me where she is or I swear they will never find your body!" The two girls behind Maud gasped at that while Fluttershy's magic continued to build. "That's enough Maud!" the older girl said moving towards the raging Pie. "SHUT UP LIMESTONE!" Maud roared, making the older woman flinch before adding in a more leveled tone, "And you stay out of this too Marble." The youngest girl in the group flinched in spite of Maud's gentler tone as the second oldest Pie leveled hellfire onto Fluttershy with her eyes. "Tell me what you guys did with her." "W-We didn't do a-anything," Fluttershy gasped. "Don't lie to me," Maud growled. "Your group is the only one that has it out for her. Now tell me where she is!" "I-I d-don't know." "Fine then," Maud glared. "Then maybe Sunset could tell me." Fluttershy's magic surged through her body, turning her teal eyes into blood-red cat-like orbs of rage as she stared daggers into Maud's soul. Large bat-like wings sprouted from her back like a pair of yellow curtains and her hair tied itself into a long warrior's braid. Maud pulled her hand away from the girl and backed away from her, an act mirrored by her terrified sisters. "You will not touch her," Fluttershy growled, her fangs glinting off of the shine of a nearby streetlight. "I'll make sure of it!"