New Perspectives

a My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic fanfic by Alerhys

Part Three

Applejack opened the barn door and trudged inside with the cart. She was weary and looking forward to getting out of the harness, if not what she faced afterwards.

“GAAH!” Startled, Applejack shot into the air, taking the cart with her briefly before it pulled her back to the ground with a crash. Shaking her head, she staggered back to her hooves and looked for the source of the scream.

“You OK, sis?” rumbled Big Mac from where he and Apple Bloom stood at the back by the barn’s workbench.

“Oh Ahm just peachy, Mac. Apple Bloom, what in tarnation possessed you ta scream at me like that?”

Apple Bloom peered out from behind her big brother. “Scootaloo said that you took Fluttershy’s wings and now she won’t come near me in case it’s catching. I didn’t believe her, but then you came in and,” she pointed, “there they are!”

Applejack pushed several very uncharitable thoughts about Rainbow Dash from her head. “First of all, Ah did not take Fluttershy’s wings, no matter what Scootaloo said. We tangled with some sort of wild magic that swapped the kinda ponies we are, but it was an accident. An Twilight Sparkle did her fancy tests and said it was all used up, so you can just tell everypony that it ain’t catchin’ no how. Now, could someone please help me out of this dang harness?”

Macintosh walked over as Apple Bloom shot out the barn door. “Hold still, then, an’ I’ll getcha out.” The two siblings pulled open buckles with their teeth, freeing Applejack, who took the opportunity to stretch.

Mac looked his sister over. “You don’t look bad like that, truth to tell. What’s it like?”

“How am Ah suppose to know? It’s not like Ah know how ta work any of this anyhow.”

“For not knowin’ how to work it you took off pretty sprightly back there. Almost got the cart up, too.”

Applejack eyed her brother. “You wouldn’t be wishin’ it was you instead of me, would ya?”

She shook her head. “Ahm more interested in fixin’ this than playin’ with it. Don’t be forgettin’ that this whole thing grounded Fluttershy, an’ that ain’t right.”

“Commendable. Still don’t mean you can’t take advantage of it while it lasts.”

“Uh huh. Ah can predict just how well that’ll go over. Ah’m in deep enough as it is.”

“Close enough. She’s plum set in her ways.” Applejack began removing the block and tackle from the cart and returning it to its usual storage place in the barn. “Now why don’t you be helpful for a change an’ fill me in on what needs doin’, since this little setback has already cost me a day’s work.”

“Well, the northwest orchard’s a bit dry, could use a little drizzle and some cloud cover afterwards.”

“Dangit, Mac, can’t ya please just give it a rest?” Applejack replied with a glare.

“Excuse me, but who is it always does the talkin’ with the weather team, what with bein’ such good friends with it’s head and all?”

Applejack flushed. “Sorry, Mac. Ah guess Ah’m a tad on edge. Ah don’t think Rainbow Dash is in much of a mood to talk to me right now, but Ah’ll get the word to the weather ponies somehow.”

“I’m sure you will. Why don’t you just help me patch up these baskets before dinner time, seein’ as I lost my other partner when you came in?”

Rainbow Dash floated on a small cloud. Usually this would mean it was nap time, but sleep was the furthest thing from her mind. Seeing Fluttershy missing her wings had shaken Dash deeply; unlike when Discord had taken the wings from both of them there was no immediate assurance of their return, which Dash knew (though would never admit) was the only thing that had saved her from freaking out completely at the time. Worse, she had lashed out at Applejack in fear and frustration, and she was at a loss for what to do next. Her confrontation with Applejack outside Fluttershy’s cottage had deflated her anger like a burst party balloon; and later, as she had trailed Applejack home from above, the orange pony’s misery had been evident in every step. Now Dash had no idea what to do next; she didn’t know what to say to Applejack, she didn’t really want to see Fluttershy in her current state, and she had the feeling that there was a lot about the situation that she wasn’t aware of. She rolled to her hooves and kicked the cloud, drawing a rumble from it. “I hate this. What the hay am I supposed to do, anyway?”

Over the edge of her perch she saw on the ground below three familiar young fillies; the yellow one with the red bow appeared to be talking earnestly with the orange one, who was hiding behind the confused-looking white one. Rainbow spread her wings and dove off the cloud. “Maybe there’s one mistake I can start fixing, anyway.”

Rarity hated being left out of the latest talk around town. Not that she was a gossip, perish the thought! She simply believed in fully participating in her community; she did deal with the public, after all. Still, in her business it was inevitable that there would be times when large orders would keep her busy for long stretches of time, with little opportunity to hear the news until she was done. Sweetie Belle would occasionally come around and run small errands for her, but the schoolfilly, despite her turn as a reporter, was just too young and fanciful to be a reliable source; why she had come in the evening before with a wild story about Applejack having stolen Fluttershy’s wings, of all the absurd notions!

Pinkie Pie set Rarity’s order down on the table in Sugarcube Corner and nodded. “Well, not the part about stealing. Applejack would never steal anything, you know that, but something switched her and Fluttershy around, well, not entirely around, because Fluttershy is still Fluttershy and Applejack is still Applejack but now Applejack has the wings instead of Fluttershy.”

“Oh, my. And nopony knows what to do about it?” The eclair that Rarity had ordered to celebrate completing her order lay on the plate in front of her, forgotten.

“Nope. Twilight tried, and Zecora tried, and Twilight sent a letter to the Princess but I haven’t heard about any reply.”

“That’s a wonderful idea! You finish your ‘celebrate that the dresses are done’ treat and I’ll box some sympathy cookies for Fluttershy.”

Rarity decided that ignoring that last statement was the best policy. “That’s fine, Pinkie.”

The baskets were patched and stacked and Applejack and Macintosh were cleaning and putting away the tools and supplies when Apple Bloom burst back into the barn, laughing with delight.

“Yeah, I was tryin’ to tell her what you said, sis, and she wasn’t gonna listen but then Rainbow Dash showed up and told her that she should believe me and then she did so it was all OK.”

The trio entered the farmhouse to the sounds of Granny Smith in the kitchen. “Hope you fixed for four, Granny, ‘cause Applejack’s home.” rumbled Big Mac as the aged matriarch appeared at the kitchen door, squinted at the arrivals, then slowly shook her head. “Well, I admit that middle one does bear a resemblance to my older granddaughter, but there are no cloudwalkers in the Apple family.”

Applejack shot an I-told-you-so look at Mac. “Fluttershy an Ah got mixed up with some kinda leftover wild magic, Granny, but Twilight Sparkle done wrote a letter to the Princess and Ah’m sure that She’ll get it all sorted out before long.”

“Humph. This is what comes with gallavantin’ around, bein’ a hero an all, instead of stayin’ on the farm like a responsible pony.”

“Granny, Ah was helpin’ a friend pull up an old stump. Nothin’ but bein’ neighborly in that.”

Granny Smith snorted. “Not like it was in the old days. Cloudwalkers lived in the clouds, Hornbearers lived in the city, we lived on the farm. Everypony knew their place.”

Apple Bloom frowned. Her best friends were a unicorn and a pegasus, and she didn’t think Granny’s stories about the good old days sounded all that good to her. She knew that saying anything about it directly would only get her in trouble; fortunately, another strategy came to mind, or at least to nose. “Granny, I think I smell muffins burning!”

“Land sakes!” Granny hobbled back into the kitchen, muttering under her breath. “Scorched, but we’ll just have to make do.” came a few moments later.

Luckily for Applejack, the clan had never been much for idle chatter while engaged in the serious business of eating, though she noticed that Granny Smith didn’t seem interested in looking at her, while Apple Bloom was sneaking looks at her wings every time she thought Granny Smith wouldn’t notice.

Finally the meal was finished, the dishes and kitchen cleaned up, and Granny off to her room and to bed. Applejack took the opportunity to stretch her wings, which had started to ache with the effort put into keeping them from moving and drawing unwanted attention. Apple Bloom was promptly at her sister’s side, poking at the pinions.

“So what’s it like? Can ya feel them? Can ya fly?” she hissed in a clear attempt to keep her voice down.

“Diff’rent, yes and please stop pokin’ them, an I guess so but Ah don’t know how.”

“If it were that easy, wouldn’t yer friend Scootaloo be makin’ more progress?”

Applejack looked at her siblings. “The two of you ain’t gonna give me any rest till Ah give this a try, are ya?”

Applejack swallowed. She’d seen Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy fly indoors plenty of times, and the main room was fairly large. Then again, she’d seen Rainbow crash plenty of times, too. Apple Bloom decided to up the ante, giving her sister a puppy-dog look that would have made Winona jealous. “Pleeeeease?”

“Ah feel like the rope in a tug ‘o war contest. Fine, fine, just remember when yer pullin’ me out of the wall that it was your idea. Now stand back and gimme room.” She opened her wings, took a deep breath, and tried to remember her dream at Fluttershy’s cottage. Starting slowly, she moved her wings through a full beat, getting a feel for the motions, then once she was confident in her control she began to flap more strongly and quickly. As she increased her pace, first her front hooves then her hind ones left the floor, until she was hovering a few feet in the air.

“Ya... Good goin’, big sis.” Apple Bloom had started a cheer, then clapped her hooves over her mouth, as she remembered that there was a sleeper that shouldn’t be awakened.

For her part, Applejack realized that taking off was one thing, but landing was another. She carefully slowed the pace of her wingbeats, breathing a sigh of relief as her hooves gradually descended back to the floor. “Whew! That’s a mite more work than it looks.”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “All right, maybe there’s more to how much time Dash spends restin’ up than I realized. You two happy now?”

As Apple Bloom trotted back to her room, Applejack walked over to the couch and flopped down. “Silly filly, makin’ so much fuss about such puny flyin’.”

Applejack smiled. “It was... kinda amazin’.” She caught herself and frowned at her brother. “Dangit, Mac, this is what I was tryin’ to stop from happenin’. Tomorrow, next week, whenever, it’s gonna go away. Till then it’s a distraction is all, and there’s enough to do without flittin’ about with mah head in the clouds.”

“Things have been goin’ pretty well this spring, I reckon. No need to fret about it nohow.”

“Now you’re just temptin’ fate, Mac. Now let me be, so’s Ah kin figure out what kinda story Ah’m gonna tell Apple Bloom.”