Chapter 10: Joke’s On You
“Ahhhhhh!”
“Alright I think that’s enough. You can close up.”
Working her jaw back and forth Jennifer slowly shut her mouth. “So can they come off yet?” She was seeing the Ponyville dentist, Dr. Bright White (she managed not to laugh upon meeting him too) about getting her braces off.
“Frankly Ms. Pie I’m not sure why they’re there in the first place. Why don’t you just use a basic straightening spell?”
A brief flash of irritation flashed across her face. “You can straighten teeth with magic here?”
The older stallion raised his eyebrows. “Well of course. Why haven’t you come by sooner? Those barbaric…braces you called them? Look quite uncomfortable.”
A little groan escaped the girls’ lips. “Well can you get em off?”
“Hm. Open again please.” She obliged stretching her mouth wide. She could faintly see the minty green glow of his magic as his horn ignited. There was an uncomfortable tugging sensation around her teeth then…the prison of metal that had them trapped for so many years popped loose. “Well those were on there good.”
Almost giddy with excitement she ran her tongue over her teeth and whipped her head around to admire her metal free smile in the little wall mirror. “Oh doctor you are officially my favorite stallion in Ponyville!”
With a warm laugh he gently tilted her head back into place with a hoof. “Open please.”
Happily she obliged, working hard to keep the huge smile from distorting his view of her teeth. “Well they all look strong and healthy. No cavities and everything’s nice and properly aligned. You have a clean bill of dental health Ms. Pie. Quite a feat considering who your caretaker is.”
Now it was her turn to laugh. “Yeah Pinkie’s not exactly the poster pony for healthy eating is she?”
“She is not. But she certainly takes good care of her chompers. Never had a cavity.” He led his patient up to the front desk. “Ms. Pie here is all set to check out. We’ll see you in six months for a cleaning alright?”
“Yes sir! And thank you again!” Almost wonderingly she was working her lips over her teeth luxuriating in the sensation of a braces free mouth. Jen was practically skipping as she left the office. Ponyville had slowly been transforming over the last few days. The weather team was keeping the skies clear in honor of the upcoming Winter Moon Festival and midnight blue and silver banners hung from every roof and awning in town. In the center of town near the markets a large stage was being constructed and ponies were busily making last minute preparations. The whole thing was set to take place outside and the banquet tables were just now getting arranged. There would be no food on them until tomorrow, but there were plans to have all day buffets going.
Older ponies were excited at the prospect of a new tradition beginning in the little town, and the foals were excited at any excuse to have a party. Nopony was working their regular jobs today, and Cheerilee had closed school for the holiday. Jennifer was on her way to Berry Punch’s sports bar to meet her teacher for lunch. Stepping through the doors it was almost like being in a similar establishment back home. Instead of flat screen TV’s broadcasting the game though they had radios at most of the table’s covering ongoing or past classic hoofball matches.
Spotting the magenta earth pony mare in a booth near a window Jen joined her with a smile. “Hey Miss Cheerilee.”
“Oh please, when we’re not in class just Cheerilee is fine. We’re practically the same age and you calling me miss all the time is making me feel old.” She laughed.
This was news to Jen. She assumed Cheerilee was far older than herself. Of course it was so hard to tell with the ponies. “How old ARE you? If you don’t mind my asking.”
“I’ll be twenty two next February. Rarity and I were in the same class in school you know?”
“I did NOT know. I figured you were like…teacher age I guess.” She rubbed the back of her head a little. “Sorry back home there aren’t a lot of young teachers.”
Cheerilee’s gentle laugh filled the restaurant. “Oh it’s alright. I suppose I can come off a bit more mature than most mare’s my age. Since the subject’s come up though I have so many questions about how school is handled by your people.” She was pulling a notebook from her saddlebags. “If you don’t mind?”
“Of course not! S’why I’m here right.” Now free of her braces Jennifer was in the sort of mood that nothing short of the end of the world could diminish it.
The education specialist had a seemingly endless litany of questions for education and the educational system in the human world. Jen did her best to answer everything she could in as fine a detail as she could manage. She was surprised at the menu, particularly all the egg based dishes. But she wasn’t disappointed in the fried egg sandwich and fruit salad. It’d been a bit of a chore finding protein. It was late in the afternoon before Cheerilee’s seemingly endless curiosity was satisfied.
“It’s amazing how many similarities there are really. Though your foals certainly stay in school a good deal longer than ours. Some unicorns go to advanced schools to learn higher end magic but that’s about it.” Tucking her note book away she had a warm smile for her most unusual student. “Thank you again for this Jennifer, I really appreciate you taking time out of your day.”
Jen just waved her thanks off. “It was no big deal. I had the dentist this morning, then I was going to go find Zecora and invite her to the festival tomorrow.”
Cheerilee’s cheer vanished. “Go FIND Zecora? You don’t mean in the Everfree do you?”
“Well that’s where she lives right?” Jennifer was already sliding out of the booth.
“W-well yes but…but the Everfree is one of the most dangerous places in Equestria!”
Jen couldn’t help but chuckle at the mare’s concern. “I think I’ll be fine. To be honest I’ve been waiting for a good reason to go exploring in there for weeks now but things kept getting in the way. I don’t think anypony’s let Zecora know about the holiday. Pinkie says she keeps to herself a lot.”
Cheerilee was clearly not happy with this. “I think you should make sure it’s alright with Pinkie Pie before you go in.”
With a roll of her eyes Jen just headed for the door. “I’ll be FINE, really.” She was halfway to the forests edge before hoof beats sounded behind her. Glancing back she was a little surprised to see her teacher following, seeming intent to go with her into the feared forest. “Cheerilee you don’t have to go in there with me.”
The mare frowned glancing back at town. “If you INSIST on going in there I’m not about to let you go without adult supervision.”
Now Jen smirked a little. “What happened to ‘you’re not that much older than me’?”
Cheerilee nervously pawed the ground with a forehoof. “How are you even planning on finding Zecora’s hut?”
Jen’s smirk turned to a smile as she tapped her horn. “With the first spell I ever learned! I call it the Find It spell. I just focus on what I’m looking for and it leads the way.” Without another word she called up said spell, her horn indicating a place SOMEwhere in the forest. It wasn’t right around the corner but she could tell it wasn’t too far off. “Come on Cheerilee it’ll be a little adventure. Maybe you’ll have an exciting story for the foals in class Friday.” Jen lead the way into the dark forest.
After a bit of hemming and hawing…and a not insignificant amount of nervous pacing the mare broke into a gallop after her adventurous student. Once inside Jen really didn’t see what the big deal was. It was a big forest, but it was a forest just like any other. “See? This isn’t so bad right?”
Cheerilee had managed to get the worse of her nervous trembles under control. “I-I suppose n-not…”
“So my daycare opens Friday after class for the first day of business. Any advice for me?” Jen figured if she got the pony’s mind off her surroundings she’d relax soon.
“A-advice? W-w-well…I suppose…you have to have a firm hoof when dealing with that large a group. Th-they’ll probably test you at f-first. Once you establish yourself as an authority figure however, they should respond well and calm right down.” It was working; her fearful jittering was fading fast. “Oh! A nice trick is to have some treats or something similar to reward good behavior. Though most of the foals from class shouldn’t give you TOO much trouble with.”
Jennifer was only half listening to Cheerilee ramble on. A gentle nod or prodding would keep her talking, and when she was talking she didn’t have time to let her imagination dredge up things to fear that weren’t actually there. Of course Jen wasn’t stupid, she knew there WERE dangerous things in the forest but she was well schooled in woods lore and was keeping an eye out for tracks and the like to indicate something unpleasant had been nearby.
Despite the unpleasant stigma of the forest Jen was finding it a really lovely place. It was so wild and untouched by civilization. She found herself growing more at ease. Only once did she found something that made her a bit wary, a rather immense paw print that she wisely guided her teacher away from seeing. It was a little less than a half an hour by the girl’s reckoning before they came to a small hut in the forest. Set against a large tree with all manner of large tribal masks adorning it. “I think this is it!”
Cheerfully Jennifer knocked on the door and stood back to wait. Despite being there to ‘look after Jennifer’ Cheerilee was crowing close to the girl peeking out from behind her legs. The door opened revealing the resident zebra. “Oh my now this is a surprise! A pair from Ponyville standing before my eyes.”
Cheerilee offered a thin smile, but Jennifer seemed completely at ease. “Hi there Zecora! We met the other day remember?”
Stepping back to admit her guests inside the zebra rose a brow. “Do you think I have such a weak mind I would forget meeting so rare a find?”
“I suppose I do stand out a little don’t I?” Jen and Cheerilee stepped inside gently shutting the door behind them. “We came out here to invite you to the Winter Moon Festival tomorrow.”
Eyes wide the zebra looked at Cheerilee incredulously. “You braved the forest of Everfree to bring me news of such frivolity? I had thought you possessed more wisdom, but coming out here like this was simply…dumb.”
“W-well…Jennifer insisted and I couldn’t let her go off alone now could I?” The earth pony sounded a bit defensive.
Jen gave a little shrug. “To be honest I was curious to see more of the Everfree. I used to explore the forests of my own world and wanted to see a little of this one.”
Zecora stood appraising the girl quietly for a few moments. Her eyes roaming from the shield on her arm to the gem hanging from her neck. “Hm.” She moved to stand before her large cauldron dumping a few herbs within and churning it slowly. “You are a curious child Jennifer Allen Pie; you have already been wounded enough for a normal pony to die. Yet here you stand still seeking new sights, however if the Everfree you wish to explore you must do it right. When your festival is over come and find me, I will be your guide through this forest of Everfree.”
“Are you sure? I’d hate to inconvenience you ma’am.” Though she couldn’t hid the hint of excitement in her voice.
Without looking up from her work Zecora nodded. “Pinkie Pie is a dear friend; it would not do for your life to come to an early end.” She finally looked up. “I will come to your town’s new holiday; it will be nice to have a day just to play.”
“Oh well…great! I guess we’ll see you tomorrow then! C’mon Cheerilee let’s get back before anypony notices we’re gone.”
“Oh ah, yes. Well we’ll see you tomorrow then Zecora. Have a lovely day!” The pair ducked outside and started back toward town.
Within the small hut the sagely zebra frowned down at the images revealed in her brew. “Many challenges lie ahead…the girl must find great strength to overcome them.” Sighing sadly she shook her head and banished the images. It hardly seemed fair for one so young to have to endure such great hardships.
“See? This wasn’t bad at all right?”
Cheerilee still seemed a bit nervous but not as bad as before. “I suppose not. It can’t be all bad if Zecora lives out here all on her own.”
Smiling at her teacher’s increase in bravery Jen let her eyes wander around taking in the scenery. “Hey lookit those!” Hopping off the trail Jen pushed through some brush into a vast field of beautiful blue flowers. Cheerilee trotted close behind.
“Well these certainly are lovely; I’ve never seen a breed of flower like this in Ponyville.”
Eagerly Jen plucked up several handfuls of the blue flower. “I’ll make a bouquet for Luna at the festival tomorrow. She loves the color blue. Like everything in her room was blue.” She laughed as she gently tucked them into her pack.
Her teacher gently cupped one giving it a light sniff. “Hm doesn’t smell edible, but it is a unique scent. If you have enough we should be going. There aren’t monsters around every corner like everypony leads you to believe but…there ARE dangerous creatures here.”
With a nod Jen stood and once more took the lead, soon reaching the edge of the forest. The sun was already on its way down to their surprise. “Guess we were in there longer than I thought. I should probly get back to the farm. I’ll see you at the festival?”
Cheerilee smiled. “You certainly will! And…Jennifer?” Her student looked back. “Thank you for letting me tag along. I know I was probably just a nuisance but it was a little…fun. Getting out and doing something like this.”
Jen’s smile broadened. “You weren’t a nuisance. If I grew up hearing ghost stories about the place my whole life I’d probly be a bit more scared of it myself. But if you let being scared stop you from doing anything, you won’t do much at all.”
With a gentle shake of her head the mare trotted to her home. “And I thought I was the teacher.”
The farm house was quiet when Jen got back. With a shrug she took the flowers from her pack and plopped the bunch into a vase she found in the kitchen, filling it with water and carrying them to her room. Setting it on the stand by her bed she lay back planning to get some sketches done while the imagery of the forest was fresh in her mind.
Resting her head against the back board of the bed she drew out her pencils…then…she yawned. A big yawn too. Closing her mouth and blinking in confusion she looked down at the gem around her throat, it was still glowing. While pondering refreshing the magic that kept her awake, she loosed another tremendous yawn. Unable to stop her eyelids from drooping closed she soon nodded off, the cloying scent of the flowers filling her room.
As sleep came so too did the nightmares. The shadowy humanoid and alicorn waiting to brutalize her in her unconscious state. Steeling herself for the coming pain she was surprised as silvery beams of light ripped through the nightmarish creatures and Luna landed lightly before her. “I see you have finally allowed yourself to sleep again. I have been keeping a particularly close eye on Ponyville in the hopes you would allow yourself rest.”
Gradually lowering her guard Jen sat on the formless ground. “I didn’t really mean to fall asleep but…thank you.” Chewing her lip she looked up at the alicorn looming above her. “Luna…who was that alicorn that attacked me?”
The princess looked away, unable or unwilling to meet the girls gaze. “A deeply personal and complicated matter I fear. I hope you will indulge my keeping the secret to myself for a while longer.”
Not at all satisfied with the answer, but not able to exactly force more information from Luna she gave a grunt. “Fine.” Rubbing her arms she looked about her blank dreamscape again. “Has anypony let you know you’re needed in Ponyville tomorrow?”
Grateful for the change in topic she nodded once. “Yes but the messenger was very tight lipped about the particulars. Ms. Doo suggested I arrive tomorrow before the sun set, and blind folded no less. Would you care to elaborate?”
A smug smile found its way to the girls face. “It’s a deeply personal and complicated matter I fear. Now if you were willing to spill the beans on Umbra…?”
The princess snorted as delicately as one can. “I shall be in Ponyville in response to your town’s mysterious request Jennifer. I believe I will even arrive with a blind fold. My curiosity is not easily piqued, but your fellow villagers have managed to dos o.” She turned her head looking at something only she could see. “Now however I must depart. I wish you a pleasant nights rest. We shall speak in person on the morrow.” With a powerful flap of her wings, the princess was gone.
The muzzy headed feeling of waking after a restful night’s sleep was a surprisingly welcome comfort to Jennifer. It’d been so long since she’d felt this way she hadn’t even realized she missed it. She was still on her back in bed but something felt…off. There was an almost painful weight on her chest. With a grimace she flailed about assuming she was about to send her heavy oaf of a dog onto the covers beside her. Instead she hit…herself?
With a little wince of pain she idly rubbed the oddly…warm, sensitive and soft protrusion on her chest. Grunting she opened her eyes fully and looked down gasping audibly. There on her chest…sat a rather impressively sized pair of breasts. With a strangled yelp she cupped the increased mass on her chest with both hands as if trying to disprove their presence.
Slowly she sat up grimacing at the increased strain they generated on her back. Then the morning’s next surprise fell into view. Her hair while never SHORT, was never allowed to grow much beyond her shoulders. But a thick silken strand of auburn gently fell across her face, chest, and ended at her waist. Confusion only growing she ran her hands through her hair finding it impossible thick and full. Confusion was giving way to panic as she struggled to her feet. Everything felt off! Getting to her feet walking was nearly impossible with her newly enlarged hips (and she assumed her butt had grown to match her chest).
Clumsily stumbling to the bathroom she fumbled with the matches to light the candles inside. The face looking back in the mirror was only barely recognizable as her own. Her horn still had the same dark green hue but it was hard to see more than the tip protruding from her massive mane of auburn locks. Her nose was smaller and her lips were (in her opinion) outrageously puffy. Scowling at the overly sexified face in the mirror she made a few kissing motions.
“What the hell IS this?!” Curious to see if this…bizarre super puberty extended to her pony self she held her fingers on the unicorn charm. Soon finding herself on fours hooves, and drastically different even as a pony. She was as long legged as ever, but the rest of her body had grown to accommodate it. Her barrel was slender, flaring into rounded flanks and a delicate barrel. Longer necked than before, even her muzzle was larger and slender. One thick lock of her mane fell across the left eye.
Soon she was panicking, prancing from hoof to hoof and rushing downstairs. “Applejaaaaaaack!”
The Apple family was already sitting down to breakfast. “What’s all the ruckus sugarcub-uh-what th’hay happened t’YOU?!”
Applebloom looked over wide eyed. “Wooooow! She looks like onn’a them fancy models in Rarity’s magazines!”
The family stallion was trying very hard to look anywhere but at the model quality filly…or was she a mare now? In the room.
“I just woke up like this! My human body is even worse! My chest is enormous now!”
“Huh…well Ah s’pose ya ARE at the age when yer body is changin’ an what not. Guess if nopony ever gave ya th’talk Ah might as well sitcha down an take care of it m’self.”
The silky green coated mares’ cheeks were burning. “I know what puberty is Applejack! Is this how it happens for ponies? You just…POOF grow up over night?”
The farm pony was fussing with her hat. “Well no…Ah don’t rightly know what all brought this on t’be honest. It ain’t natural Ah c’n tell ya that much. Maybe ya oughta go an see Twilight?”
“Y…yeah I bet Twilight’ll know what to do! Thanks Applejack! I’ll see you guys at the festival later!” Excited at the prospect of the mystery being solved the leggy mare galloped from the farm to the town proper. “Huh…can’t complain about the longer legs, I’m makin great time!”
So preoccupied with enjoying her longer strides she failed to take notice on the effect she was having on the townsponies. Most notable the stallions, though more than a couple mares were walking headlong into fence posts and trash cans trying to keep their eyes swiveled on the gorgeous new mare in town. Gradually she began to take note of the less than chivalrous looks she was garnering and old nerves began to flare. Picking up her pace when she noticed a number of stallions approaching bearing flowers, candies, and all other manner of gifts she once more broke into a gallop keeping ahead of the shouting herd. Not even bothering to knock she burst through the library door slamming it shut behind her, chest heaving as she sucked in deep breaths.
Twilight and Spike were in the main room talking with a little filly. A very…familiar looking filly. Magenta coat, pink and magenta mane. “…Cheerilee?”
The threesome in the common room looked to what they assumed must be a panicking celebrity fleeing a throng of fans. It was the filly who spotted the lack of cutie mark and familiar coloring of one of her students. “Jennifer? Is that YOU?!”
Nodding and wide-eyed the mare locked the door and hastily snapped the curtains shut. “I just woke up all…adult and…” She looked back and forth as if expecting somepony to be eaves dropping. “…curvy.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Your human form is altered too?”
Resting a delicate hoof on the human charm Jen regained her ‘normal’ shape. The curvaceous adult with a unicorn horn. Spike hastily looked away from the naked woman blushing furiously. Twilight never took her eyes from Jen, just lifted a hoof over Cheerilee’s eyes. The filly only gave a soft ‘oh my’.
After the initial shock wore off Twilight approached. “This…this is simply not possible. I’d say somepony has been experimenting with age magic but you…and I mean no offense…absolutely could NOT turn out like this based on your younger self. You’re almost at the age you appear to be now and you look NOTHING like this.”
“You think I don’t know that? I mean I always hoped I’d get a LITTLE bigger in the chest department but this is ridiculous! Tell me you can fix it!” Glancing down at the little filly she hastily amended. “Us!”
Twilight looked from Jennifer to Cheerilee with a thoughtful frown. “It IS an odd coincidence this happens to the two of you on the same morning.” Jen took the opportunity to change back to a pony form. “What were you two up to yesterday?”
Both ponies looked at one another and shrugged. “We had lunch. Then went to tell Zecora about the festival. The only magic I did yesterday was practice my levitation with the practice ball. I definitely didn’t get into any spells or something.”
Jennifer stepped over and had a seat next to the filly Cheerilee. Twilight tapped a hoof to her chin. “Did you touch anything at Zecora’s? Any of her herbs, plants or potions?” Both ponies shook their heads. “Anything in the forest itself?”
Jen shrugged now. “No. Just some flowers, nothing weird. They were just regular old plants. We didn’t eat em or anything.”
Spike had remained silent until now, but he was looking more and more incredulous as Twilight began to rattle off all sorts of questions to the mare and filly while pulling down books. “Really? Really Twilight?”
The three ponies turned to look at the baby dragon. “Really what Spike? We’re in the middle of a crisis!”
“Everfree forest. Flowers. Crazy transformations the next morning?” The little dragon was smiling smugly as realization dawned on the unicorn.
“Were the flowers blue? Did you BOTH touch them?”
Jen and Cheerilee shared a look and both shrugged. “Well sure.”
“Poison joke! I knew we’d figure it out with careful analyzation of the situation.” With a disgusted eye roll Spike went back to shelving. “It’s a magical flower that grows in the Everfree. Instead of giving ponies a rash however it tends to play pranks on its victims. Jennifer you don’t like to draw attention to yourself and now you’re a physically perfect specimen of feminine beauty. And Cheerilee has always had a love of her students so it must have taken that and dropped her back to their age.”
The little earth filly blinked. “I’ve never heard of this poison joke.”
Twilight nodded as she retrieved a small green book. “Well it’s only native to the Everfree forest and we don’t exactly do a lot of study out there. The GOOD news is this is very easy to reverse. You just need to take an herbal bath.”
The afflicted ponies both let out relieved sighs. “The bad news is I don’t have the herbs on hand. When Zecora arrives for the festival we’ll have to ask her to provide them. You’ll be back to normal this evening.”
The relief was swiftly fading. “So we have to spend the entire DAY like this?” The prospect of being chased around town by every single stallion (and a few mares) was not appealing to Jennifer.
Cheerilee seemed equally unenthused. “I was supposed to be organizing the class play! The students have been working for days to get everything ready for the princess. Oh they’ll be so disappointed.”
Having found the page she was looking for Twilight was busy jotting down the necessary measurements for their cure. “Well Jennifer, you should go see Rarity. She can whip you up a promise bracelet. Once everypony sees you’re spoken for they’ll leave you be.”
“Huh. That works on TV shows back home I guess it’d work here.”
With a little mm-hm Twilight replaced the book on its shelf. “And Cheerilee was Jennifer scheduled to appear?”
“Oh um, yes she was though she has a very small part as per her request.”
“Well then that’s easy enough to fix! You take her place in the play and SHE can be in charge of organizing. It’ll be a good trial run for looking after a large group of foals. After all it’s going to be her new job soon.”
The mare glanced down at her regressed teacher. “I guess if it’s alright with Cheerilee…?”
Cheerilee perked her ears. “Well that COULD work. It’s a simple little performance really, mostly just a welcome to the princess and a thank you for making such a pretty sky. And I’d be there to help Jennifer if she got in over her head.”
“Excellent! You see a level head can solve any problem.” Celestia’s prize pupil seemed quite pleased with herself.
Jen lifted her head to peek out the window a bit. “There’s still a huge herd of ponies waiting to propose to me outside.”
Rolling her eyes Twilight came to stand between the pair. “Right, well we can take the quick way over to the boutique.” Without warning her horn flared and the three ponies vanished with a soft POP, only to reappear down the street outside of the Carousel Boutique. “Here we are! Now I really have to dash there are tons of things that still need getting ready before tonight! I’ll see you two later!”
Watching her gallop off Jen sighed a little. “Well it’ll be an awkward day but at least we know this isn’t permanent right?” With a little laugh she nudged open the door to the shop, holding it for her pint-sized teacher.
“I suppose so. Besides it might be a little fun getting to be a filly again.” The cheerful earth pony’s mood was brightening fast.
The interior was a flurry of activity. Bolts of fabric, spools of thread, and glittering gemstones whisked through the air fastening to garments on ponequinn all over the shop. Rarity was in the center of the storm of fashion, her horn glowing brightly as she worked on the last minute requests that seemed to come from just about every mare in town. Sweetie Belle was tucked into a corner looking thoroughly miserable. Cheerilee made her way toward the other filly as Jen approached Rarity, gently clearing her throat.
“Oh I hope this isn’t another order because I am simply-“ She trailed off as she caught sight of one of the most gorgeous mares she had ever laid eyes on, let alone seen inside her shop. “C-can I help you madame? Are you…perhaps lost?” She blinked realizing she was turning away what was obviously a wealthy noblepony. “Of course you’re not lost! A lovely mare such as yourself wants only the best, and that is certainly what you’ll find here at Carousel Boutique!”
Wide eyed Jen shook her head rapidly. “Rarity it’s me!”
Recognizing the voice (even if it was a touch huskier than the norm), and the striking green coat and auburn mane the fashionista gasped. “Jennifer? What in the world happened to you?”
Casting a wary glance at the windows as if expecting somepony to catch sight of her in the shop and start another stampede Jen shuffled toward the back of the store. “Poison joke. It got Cheerilee too.” She nodded in the filly’s direction.
“Well this is hardly fair! I looked like some…wooly mountain goat and YOU get turned into a mare who looks like she stepped right off the ship from Prance on her way to Hoity Toity’s next big fashion show!” A little pout was beginning to form on her muzzle.
Jen waved her forehooves hastily. “It’s NOT all that great! I was causing a stampede as every single pony in town tried to propose to me!” The look Rarity was giving her was NOT one of sympathy. “You know how I feel about y’know…crowds and attention and stuff.”
The jealousy was softening as the unicorn realized that this was indeed a nightmarish situation for the shy girl. “Yes I suppose it wouldn’t be very fun for you would it? I assume you came to me needing something?”
Nodding nervously Jen scuffed the floor with a hoof. “Twilight suggested you could give me a promise bracelet? So everypony would leave me be.”
“Ah! Why that’s an excellent idea. That’s our Twilight always coming up with good ideas hm? Now let’s see what we have to work with. Platinum would be a good color on you I think…” Musing to herself the marshmallow colored unicorn went to work. Her magic bringing out a small hunk of the precious metal soon flattening and shaping it into a thick bracelet. Amber colored topaz flitted from one of her many gem chests inlaying themselves into the bracelet. “Not my best work but it’ll do hm?”
Lifting her leg Jen allowed Rarity to slip the bracelet on. “Who do you plan to say gifted this to you by the by?”
“Uh…you?”
The look Rarity shot her could have put a cockatrice’s gaze to shame. “I certainly think not. The last thing I need is for word to spread that I proposed to some mare I’ve known for so short a time. The scandal could ruin me! No you’d best think of somepony to be your temporary beau.”
Jen wiggled her leg a bit letting the bracelet settle. “Oh uh, guess I’ll think of something if somepony asks. Thanks a lot for this Rarity, I owe you one.” She finished with a smile.
“Oh not at ALL darling, what are friends for after all.” The glint in her eye was at odds with the words coming from her muzzle. “Of course if you felt OBLIGATED to repay this gesture in some way…”
With a laugh the verdant mare shook her head. “Short of the money this thing is actually worth, name it.”
Jennifer hadn’t spent a lot of one on one time with Rarity since coming to Equestria. If she had she’d recognize the look in the fashion pony’s eye as one to beware if you were not a fan of extravagantly fancy outfits. “Well! I’m sure our dear Twilight is in the process of brewing a cure for you and Cheerilee?”
Jen shrugged. “She’s missing some of the herbs. We gotta wait til we see Zecora tonight.”
Rarity was already nodding before Jennifer had finished. “A mare of your exquisite grace and beauty isn’t something that wanders into Ponyville every day. And tonight is a special celebration. You’ll likely be about the princess for a good amount of it no less. I would like you to wear a dress I design. The publicity would be unfathomable!”
“Er…dress? Tonight? One of…YOUR dresses?” Jen’s eyes darted about to the frilly, poofy, gem studded monstrosities filling the shop. She was sure they were very NICE dresses, and that they would be desired by tons of mares anywhere in Equestria. She however was not what one would call ‘high society’ and much preferred jeans, t-shirts, and sneakers so beat up they should have been pitched years ago.
“Of course! Designed especially for you. Why you’ll very likely garner more attention than Princess Luna!” She eep’d a little realizing this was probably the wrong thing to say to convince the reserved girl to go along with the idea. “…well I won’t lie to you, you WILL be getting a fair bit of attention. But you’ll be with Princess Luna and nopony is going to make a big scene with her about. It really would be wonderful for my business too. I’ll understand however, if you’re too uncomfortable with the idea.”
Chewing her lip she finally let out a soft sigh. “Only if you promise that ponies can see my promise bracelet. If you can work that into the mix we have a deal. …and my sword.”
Rarity’s face fell at the last stipulation. Gingerly she lifted the foreleg it was attached to and eyed it critically. “…I suppose if that’s how it must be, that’s how it must be! Let it never be said Rarity is not one to accept a challenge. Now up! Onto the pedestal here I need your measurements.”
Gingerly the large mare climbed atop the pedestal standing patiently as the tape measure wrapped about her body and measured various lengths. She couldn’t help but hear little disgruntled huffs coming from the unicorn as she measured her waist and flanks. “Problem?”
“No not at all dear!” Though her cheer sounded a bit forced. “It’s just so unusual for a mare to have so nicely shaped flanks and so slender a waist.”
If Jen was understanding her right…she was jealous of her figure. After spending years having the exact same feelings about most of her fellow classmates she couldn’t suppress a little smile at the new sensation. “I hope it’s not a problem.”
“Of course not. Hop on down dear. It’ll be sometime before it’s ready but you now have my full attention! You are going to absolutely DAZZLE everypony at the festival tonight.”
“Oh. Well I guess I better go find my pretend fiancé for the evening too. When should I come back?”
“Hm.” With a glance to the clock Rarity looked from Jen to her notes. “Four o’clock. That gives us a little time to make any last minute adjustments that are needed and still leave you most of the day for yourself.”
“Alright, thanks again Rarity.” Jen gave her a smile before making her way to the chatting fillies. “Hey I need to get going for a bit, do you wanna come with or stay with Sweetie Belle, Cheerilee?”
Their teacher glanced upwards. “I think I’ll stay with Sweetie Belle.” She magenta filly lead the mare a few paces away. “She’s a bit upset about Applebloom getting her cutie mark. She’s worried the crusaders are going to break up. I think she just needs somepony to talk to for a bit, she’ll come around.”
Casting a glance at the despondent unicorn filly Jen hm’d softly to herself. Applebloom just got her mark the other day. She’d expected her friends to be excited but she didn’t consider the possibility that their little gang would splinter over it. “Well they’re still friends, I’m sure it’ll be fine. I’ll see you at the rehearsal?”
“Of course. Rehearsal starts at five, the play begins at six. Don’t be late now!”
Jen couldn’t help but grin at the little filly adopting the authoritative tones of her teacher. “Yes ma’am. And don’t YOU be late getting all wound up with all the games going on.” Snickering a bit at the indignant huff Jennifer cantered back outside. She instantly drew attention again, but this time it was dampened significantly when everypony began to notice the bracelet on her foreleg. Feeling a LITTLE better she made the hike back to the farm.
She spied Applebloom trotting down the road and waved her over. “Hey Bloom. If you got time you should go see Sweetie Belle, she’s a little upset.”
Confusion spread on the filly’s face. “How come?”
“Well, she’s worried that now that you have your cutie mark you’re not gonna wanna hang out with her and Scootaloo anymore.”
A very adult eye roll was her response. “That silly filly, she worries ‘bout th’craziest things! Thanks Jenny Ah’ll go talk t’her right away.”
Pressing on Jennifer was soon back on Apple family property. The population seemed to have boomed since she left this morning. A couple dozen earth ponies were now racing to and fro manning ovens, rolling dough, mashing apples, and working on preparing enough food to feed a town. Trying to draw as little attention to herself as possible she slipped into the farm house proper, finding Applejack and Granny Smith hard at work as well preparing pies it looked like. “So I got a case of poison joke.”
“Heh is that all? Well Ah s’pose that’s a relief. Easy enough t’set right. S’pose Twi’s on the case?”
“Yeah. We gotta wait til tonight for her to get some herbs but me and Cheerilee’ll be our old selves soon.”
“Cheerilee too huh? What were y’all doin’ in th’Everfree t’bein with?”
Jen shrugged. “Letting Zecora know she was invited to the festival tonight. I saw the flowers and thought they were pretty. Suppose I better get rid of em. They’re in a vase upstairs.”
“Uh huh. An make sure ya don’t touch nopony else with em neither! Now scoot Ah got me a lot t’get finished b’fore t’night.”
Starting for the stairs the mare glanced back. “Hey where’s Big Mac?”
Waving a distracted hoof at the stairs Applejack grunted. “Up in his room doin’ who KNOWS what. Dunno what got he’s up to when he should be helpin’ out.”
Lightly climbing the stairs she lifted a hoof tapping on his door. “Big Mac?”
There was a pause. “Yup?”
“Can I come in?”
A longer pause before the door clicked open and he stepped out. It was hard to make out a blush beneath that cherry red coat but she managed to. “Sort out what happened to ya?”
A nod. “Poison joke. Made me sexy cause I don’t like the attention it’d bring.”
He frowns a touch at that. “Reckon that makes sense. What can I do for ya?”
I lift my leg displaying the promise bracelet. “Be my fake fiancé for the day?”
This time it was a much longer pause as he stared at my delicately raised foreleg. “S’pose you musta caused a fierce ruckus in town for a hair-brained scheme like this?”
It’s easy to forget how intelligent the soft spoken stallion is. “I did. It was pretty awful. I know lying isn’t the best policy and all but it’s just for an evening. And only if anypony actually asks.”
“Hm. Just fer th’night then.” He stepped out of his room fully with a sigh pulling the door behind him. “Best git down there an help out with whatever AJ wants doin’. Dunno why she always drags me inta cookin’, only thing Ah end up addin’ t’the mix is somma th’food vanishin’.”
Jen giggled a bit at that. “Better you than me! And thanks Mac, I know this is making you a little uncomfortable. I really appreciate it.”
“Eeyup. Til t’night then.” Jen listened to the huge stallion make his way downstairs before getting to her room and scooping up the poison joke in her magic and crushing the flowers into a b.b. sized ball of evil chest bloating blue mush. Frustration vented she carried it outside and to the edge of the farm, flinging it as hard as she could back into the forest.
“And good riddance!” Flowers disposed of and fake fiancé acquired the mare made her way back to town. Sugarcube Corner would be a feeding frenzy with all the prep work the cakes and Pinkie were up to so she passed it up in favor of the outdoor café for lunch. Spying a familiar pair of mares she pulled up a seat beside them. “Hey Lyra, Bon-bon.”
Both stared for a few uncomfortable moments before recognition clicked in Lyra’s eyes. “Wow puberty hits humans HARD.”
“You think this is bad you should see what happened to my human body.”
This was the wrong thing to say. While Lyra had gotten over much of her crazed curiosity with Jennifer’s species, some still remained. “Ooo let’s see!”
Knowing that refusing the request would only result in badgering she frowned a little and resumed her human form, wincing at the unfamiliar weight on her chest again. At least the seat had more cushioning.
“Holy cow! You could feed a whole village of starving foals with those udders!”
Blushing furiously Jen changed back to unicorn shape with a pouty scowl. “It’s not funny Lyra!”
Bon-bon just watched with wide eyes. “Is this normal for human girls? Do you all get so…big when you get older?”
Lyra and Jen simultaneously said no, and both started to laugh. “I blundered into poison joke yesterday. It did this.”
“Ohh I remember that stuff! Twilight Sparkle and her buddies had the same thing happen a couple years back. …it was pretty funny I’m not gonna lie.”
The waiter was by, and even managed to behave professionally while he took Jen’s order to her pleasant surprise. “So what happened, you get proposed to already? Who’s the lucky pony?”
Jen flicked a glance at her promise bracelet. “Big Macintosh.” Rolling her eyes at the looks of shock she got she continued. “It’s just to keep everypony from harassing me til I can get fixed tonight.”
“Oh! Smart. We’re taking a break from the prep work we’ve been doing. Bon-bon’s been working her ovens overtime and I’m performing tonight after Fluttershy’s little bat choir.”
“Oh! Well cool. Bat choir huh?” Jen thanked the waiter as he returned with her honey suckle sandwich. Those suckers were good eats. “So how’ve you guys been doin?”
It was Bon-bon’s turn to answer. “Wonderful thank you for asking Jen. We had a great dinner with Lyra’s parents in Canterlot the other day.”
“Sounds fun. I didn’t see much of the city myself. Maybe this weekend I’ll explore it a little more.” Jen made short work of her sandwich, frowning at the clock on the wall. “That the time? I gotta scoot. I’m heading up the school play and I should get there early. I’ll see you girls tonight!”
Lyra watched her go before turning to Bon-bon with a grin. “So d’you think-“
“NO Lyra, we are not inviting your magically altered human friend to form a herd.”
“Hmph. You’re the one who was staring at her plot as she left.”
Her fillyfriend had no response to that.