Apple strutted with her nose held high. Her prideful manner was not derived from any sense of superiority, mostly she was just mimicking her new role model.
Perhaps she did want to show off her new hairdo, or the pearls and earrings Misses Upper Crust had lent her,
Upper on the other hand did strut out of a sense of superiority. Many viewed her as a Canterlot snob, and why be ashamed of that. Canterlot has the best theatres, museums, and restaurants in all of Equestria. The Princesses themselves live in Canterlot. She didn’t even mind the word snob, believing that only jealous people use it.
Rainbow, embarrassed by their good posture, had discovered a way to slouch while in flight.
Jet Set turned to make sure Rainbow was keeping up. If he had known Rainbow better his concern would be keeping up with her. Rainbow looked at him, still a little defiant, half expecting a lecture about posture or something to that effect. He simply smiled, then gave a nodding gesture that Rainbow needed a moment to figure out. With a second nod Rainbow descended onto his back for a pony ride. He whispered something about saving energy for the Ro-De-O, and they continued on their way.
At this point they were in line for tickets. If Upper knew they’d be doing this she’d have ordered advanced seats. She wasn’t sure if Ro-De-O had advanced seating, but that’s what she always did with the opera.
“Upper.”
“Upper Crust, is that you?”
Upper turned and lowered her nose. She came face to face with Mint Julep. “Mint, dear, how nice to see you,” she said in an insincere voice.
“Are those fillies with you? Wherever did they come from?”
Hearing ponies talk about her, Rainbow lifted her head from her nap. A small buffalo colt looked at her, and she gave him a sleepy smile.
“This is my son Tyson, by the way.” It went without saying that Tyson the buffalo was adopted.
“Hi,” said Tyson.
“Hey yourself,” Rainbow answered.
Upper and Mint chatted for a bit. Upper explained how they took these lost fillies in because they were selfless members of the Canterlot foster program working hoof and hoof with filly services. Apple nodded with everything Upper said, emphasizing how selfless and courageous she described herself as being.
Mint was clearly impressed.
“And you brought them to the Rodeo. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I always thought you saw these sorts of events as being low brow.”
“Yes, well, sacrifices have to be made for the children.”
Uppers response led to an awkward silence. Mint broke the tension by bragging about her own son. “My sons in the junior competitions obstacle course. It’s too bad there aren’t more buffalo here. He has such an advantage I’m surprised they’re letting him play. We chose racing events because he’d just sweep us ponies away in any strength competition.”
“Now hold on,” said Rainbow, “we’re no light weights.”
“Oh, you kids are joining.”
Apple tried to say something, but Upper Crust cut in.
“Why yes they are, these children are natural athletes.”
“Heck yeah,” Rainbow added. Then she pointed right at Tyson. “You’d better watch out, cause I’m gonna smoke you.”
“Cool. What kinda sports are you into.”
“Well, I think I’m good at aerial acrobatics.”
Tyson almost jumped with excitement. He encouraged Rainbow to join him in the obstacle course. “It’s not aerial exactly, but you gotta be fast and agile.”
“Well, that’s me, fast and agile.”
Mint complimented Upper and her family several times, then wished them luck in the rodeo. Once gone Upper whispered under her breath: “I hate her.”
Around this time Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Apple Bloom were on the friendship express bound for Canterlot.
Everyone was a little anxious around Apple Bloom. They were all equally worried about Applejack and Rainbow Dash, only the younger filly was less equipped to deal with such emotions.
Discord didn’t have a train ticket, but he appeared in Pinkie’s tea cup. He’d expected to surprise her and make her drop the tea. Instead Pinkie, brought the tea as far as her lips and prepared to drink. Disappointed, the draconequus poofed himself out of the cup and into his normal body.
“Discord, I’m glad you’re here.”
“Really!” Discord placed his hands on Twilights forehead, checking to see if she had a temperature.
“You came to help us find Applejack and Rainbow Dash, right?”
The mixed and matched creature gave a pause.
“Right?” Fluttershy added.
“Sure, let’s go with that.” Actually Discord did feel somewhat responsible, him being the creator of poison joke.
Once that was firmly established, Twilight asked the obvious. She asked Discord if he could just use his magic to take them to their friends. He said he’d have to know where they are.
Next she asked, “If they’ve been transformed in some way, then would you recognize them?”
The answer was no. He might be able to read minds, Discord could never remember if he had that particular ability or not, but what good would that do if even Applejack and Rainbow Dash don’t know who they are.
At this point Twilight was getting frustrated. Back when he was the villain Discord seemed like he could simply do anything. Finally she asked “if we do find them, can you change them back to normal?”
“I probably can. I would almost say maybe. If not I can turn them into billy goats, or cheese platters.”
Apple Bloom walked up to Discord, and looked to him with pleading eyes. “Could you help us get to Canterlot faster?”
Discord smiled and snapped his claws. In an instant they were at the Canterlot train station.
“I had luggage on that train,” Rarity complained.
Annoyed Discord snapped his fingers again, and a pile of suitcases fell on top of her.
“Now what events would you darlings like to sign up for.” Upper read through the registration form.
Horse Back Riding
“Poppycock, Rainbow is riding on Jet Sets back right now, and she hasn’t paid a cent in entrance fee.”
Catching a Greased Pig
Upon hearing that one, Apple began to Shudder. Upper assumed the darling filly was just too ladylike to want to do such a horrid thing.
Fence Jumping
“I can jump real high.” Apple announced.
Seeing her excitement, Upper didn’t hesitate to sign her up.
Obstacle Course
“Right here.” Rainbow declared. “I already promised Tyson I’d smoke him in that one.”
“Oh you’re competing against Mint’s colt” She bent down towards Rainbow. In a cold icy voice that gave chills to the little filly, Upper told him “Don’t lose.”
Rope tricks.
Apple took a lasso, from who knows where and began showing off her skill.
“Darling, wherever did you learn to do that?”
Apple paused for a moment. “I don’t know,” she answered.
An idea occurred to Upper Crust. Apple could have been raised outside Canterlot. She had an accent. The filly tried to hide it most of the time, yet when she was excited her speech changed noticeably. On top of that she’d clearly used a lasso before.
Her coat was fair and her hooves where polished, perhaps she had been cleaned up, a final kindness by the family that abandoned her. Maybe she came from some small town where everyone knew everyone else's business. Maybe her family members where a bunch of riff raft who filled their fillies heads with promises of big city adventure, then abandoned them in said city away from their neighbours prying eyes.
The children say they don’t remember where they came from. Were they coached to say this? Are they afraid to go back?
As she watched the children play with one another she began to think, she thought it wouldn’t be so bad if their parents were never found.
“Pinkie,” Apple Bloom asked, “is it really okay to be here?”
“Of course it is. If not all these people are in a lot of trouble.” She gestured towards the massive crowd.
Upon arriving in Canterlot, Pinkie took Apple Bloom straight to the rodeo. Her reasoning was that Applejack would never miss it. In fact, this made so much sense that Twilight had asked Fluttershy to cover the place by air. She considered asking Discord, but didn’t want to scare the populace. Not every pony accepted that the dark lord of chaos was reformed.
Apple Bloom had to admit it was true, not much could keep her sister away from this place. That’s not what bothered her. It was obvious Pinkie was trying to take her mind off her worries, maybe the other ponies were even trying to keep her out of the way.
“You wanna sign up for any events. Maybe she’ll spot you.”
“You think so? How about I sign up for fence jumping.”
“I’ve already got the registration form.”
Rainbow was cheering for Apple from the stands. Even though they were in the junior competitions, it was too late to get good seats, they were stuck in the nosebleeds.
Upper Crust was allowed to stay close to Apple. Jet Set, ordered some hot dogs, him and Rainbow shared a conspiratorial grin, both knowing that Upper would never let them eat such junk food if she were there.
Apple Bloom made her way to the waiting area, and began stretching for the fence jumping competition.
She saw another yellow filly jumping over a pylon for practice. The girl smiled when she saw Apple Bloom, but when Apple Bloom tried to approach her Apple became shy and moved back to hide behind Upper Crust.
Noticing the similar colouring of their coats, Apple Bloom assumed they must be mother and daughter.
Upper nuzzled Apple affectionately, then suggested she go talk to the other girl.
“Hi,” said Apple Bloom.
“Hello,” said apple. Apple tried to speak in the sophisticated manner that Upper always spoke. She was getting better at it considering the short time she had been practicing.
“Have you been training long?”
“Yes, I’ve been training all morning.”
Apple Bloom laughed a little, though not in an insulting way.
“Have you been training long?”
“Naw, I didn’t think I was gonna be here actually.”
“Oh.”
“I came looking for my big sister.”
When she said sister, Apple felt a flutter in her stomach. Of course she said big sister, and Apple was clearly smaller than her.
Soon they were called to take their places. Apple and Apple Bloom stood side by side.
When the buzzer sounded both fillies were off.
Of course it was only the junior events, and the hurdles were not very high. Fillies were still penalized for knocking over a hurdle, but not as seriously as in the adult fence jumping.
The apple sisters put all other contestants to shame, both were soon a mile ahead of the competition, and nose to nose with one another.
Apple Bloom did get an advantage at the end. Though they were in the same division, Apple Bloom was clearly on the higher end of the age spectrum, so there was no shame in it. Each received ribbons.
“You jump like a pro,” Apple Bloom commented.
“Thanks, it weren’t nothing.”
Did she suddenly talk with an accent.
“Hey, you wanna come see my sister in the obstacle race?”
“Sure.”
Proud of her second place ribbon, Apple strutted with her nose held high. Apple Bloom followed, for the time being forgetting her worries.
When the call was made for contestants, Rainbow flew down. Apple Bloom was speechless. That had to be Rainbow Dash. Sure her coat was only off white, and her mane had pink replacing the red, but how many rainbow pegasi was one likely to meet.
No, wait a gosh darn minute. It couldn’t be this easy, could it?
“All right everyone,” Rainbow announced, “get ready to cheer for the top junior flyer in all of Equestria.”
It was her.
Apple Bloom had no trouble getting a name and address from Apple. She even asked her to come play sometime. The information was quickly related to Pinkie Pie.
Princess Celestia herself spoke with her pony services people and a royal guard to get all information she could about the fillies. The royal guard was commended for bringing them to a safe home.
Once the mystery was solved, the ponies all conferred about how best to handle the situation.
Fluttershy believed they should just go to the Crust home, explain everything, and work things out from there.
Most agreed, however, there was a problem looming over their heads. According to Apple Bloom, the two fillies didn’t remember them. From what they’d learned about the accident from Twilights parents, changing them back to normal would be extremely difficult. They’d been exposed to no less than 53 separate potions, all amplified and warped by the effects of poison joke. It was lucky they had only turned into fillies and not some sort of Cthulhu.
“It’s too bad we can’t just recreate the events that gave them their cutie marks.” Fluttershy commented.
“Excuse me?” Twilight asked.
“Uhm, well, Discord said that if they got their cutie marks back, the magic jolt might snap them back to normal.”
“Fluttershy you’re a genius.”
From then on Twilight took the lead, as she now had a plan.
They spent the next day or so making arrangements.
The next night, Twilight went to the Crusts home. She wore her tiara and yellow sash thing. If this was to work Twi would have to step into her princess role. Everyone trusts a princess.
She knocked on the door.
A little yellow filly with an orange mane opened it.
“Hello, you must be Apple.”
After exchanging a greeting, the little filly ran to tell Upper Crust who had come calling. The two joined hooves, hopping in the kitchen, both excited to have a royal visitor.
Hearing the commotion, Rainbow flew down from one of her nap perches.
“Hello,” Twilight greeted the second filly.
“You’re a princess!”
“Yes, I am.” Fillies their age were always excited to meet a princess.
“Are you the one that makes the sun come up?”
“No, that’s Princess Celestia,” Twilight answered.
“Are you the one that enters dreams and protects us from nightmares?”
“No that’s Princess Luna.”
“Are you the one who rules the Crystal Empire?”
Upper Crust patted the fillies on the head. She told them to simmer down and let the princess explain why she was there.
Twilight told them a little white lie. She said that for doing so well in the Canterlot Rodeo, junior division, they had won a chance to meet and train with the Wonder Bolts.
“Who are they?” Both fillies asked.
Twilight was a little surprised, even Rainbow didn’t know. Still it wasn’t hard to get the fillies hyped for their supposed prize.
Soon a golden chariot appeared, driven by two pegasi stallions ready to take them to the Wonder Bolts stadium. It was nice of Princess Celestia to lend her the vehicle.
“Say Pinkie,” Apple Bloom asked. “Is this really a good idea.”
“It’s more than good. It’s a super fun idea. We’re gonna recreate that special day when Rainbow Dash and Applejack first got their cutie marks. How often do ponies get to relive the best ever day of their entire lives?”
“AppleJack once told me that the mare’s in our family are all late bloomers. If she’s younger than Rainbow Dash will she still get her cutie mark?”
Pinkie and Discord paused. Discord thought back to one of the cardinal rules of villainy which nobody actually followed. If an eight year old can see the flaw in your plan then rethink it. On the other hand he wanted this to work. It was rare that he got to be sneaky these days, and to think that an oh so pure princess had come up with this little scheme.
Twilight flew a little ahead of the chariot in order to check on her final preparations.
When she entered the stadium everyone was waiting for her.
“Are you ready for your part Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy gave a meek nod.
Discord rubbed his hands together, building magical force between them. He used that magic to transform Fluttershy into a filly.
A tiny and adorable version of Fluttershy made pleading eyes at Twilight. It took all the princesses strength not to grab her in a tight hug. Pinkie didn’t have so much restraint and soon all the girls were fawning over her and pinching her chubby little cheeks.
“Okay, when I give the signal, Fluttershy will pretend to have a wing cramp and free fall from the sky. She can fly and Discord will have his magic ready so theres no real danger.”
“That’s right,” Discord added. “If things don’t work out then I’ll turn her into rubber just before she hits the ground.”
“Couldn’t you just teleport her out of harm.”
“Teleporting won’t cancel the inertia, obviously?”
Twilight went over the physics in her head, but decided to just trust in Discords expertise.
“Wonder Bolts, can you handle putting on a show.”
“Of course,” answered Spitfire, “that’s what we do. Besides we owe Rainbow Dash a favour or two.”
Soon the chariot arrived with Upper Crust, Jet Set, Rainbow, and Apple.
Apple Bloom rushed to greet them. As for Apple, she was more excited to see Apple Bloom again then to meet the Wonder Bolts.
Little, temporary filly, Fluttershy walked up to them and gave a meek hello. Twilight made up a story about her winning some other contest.
The Wonder Bolts started their show with a demonstration of astounding aerial feats. Rainbow quickly rediscovered her love for her former idols.
Next they played games with the fillies, and taught them about the various training exercises they do. They made sure to have plenty for Apple and Apple Bloom to do, though neither could fly. Finally they gave flight lessons to the pegasi.
These lessons where mostly team building exercises. Twilight felt her plan would be more successful if Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy bonded.
At last, feeling that the time was right, Twilight gave her signal.
“Oh no,” cried Fluttershy, “I have a wing cramp.” It was obvious to everyone but Rainbow that she was faking it. That was fine, Rainbow was the one they needed to fool anyway.
Fluttershy dropped into a free fall.
You may wonder, with the great Wonder Bolts there why should a little filly like Rainbow be the one to rescue her?
Well, Rainbow Dash didn’t think that way for even an instant. The element of loyalty immediately acted, moving to terminal velocity and accelerating, determined to save her new friend.
“She’s getting too close to the ground,” said Rarity.
Discord prepped himself to turn Fluttershy into rubber.
Rainbow could see colours coalescing like an air pocket, holding her back. She pushed harder. She had to overcome this resistance.
Suddenly there was an explosion of polychromatic light. Everyone was blinded by the sonic rainboom. The sight was magnificent.
When they dared look again everyone cheered at what they saw.
Rising above the clouds, holding chibi Fluttershy tight to her chest was a full grown Rainbow Dash.
Her body was fully adult, even the red in her hair returned, complete with cool looking split ends. Moreover, there was a sharpness in her eyes. Everyone just knew that her memory had also been restored.
Ponies continued to cheer their shared triumph.
Apple Bloom was ready to cheer along side them, then she turned to check on Apple and her joy melted away.
Apple was biting her lip, and holding back tears. There was also anger in her expression.
“What did you do to my sister,” she cried out.
Upper Crust was also in shock, and lost for words. Apple ran up to her and embraced the pony who was practically still a stranger.
“Mommy,” she cried.