//------------------------------//
// Chapter 8 
// Story: Into the Blender 
// by AnnonyMouse 
//------------------------------//

Author:  Annonymouse
MLP:FiM is property of Hasbro.  This is a free fan-fiction, not to be sold or traded for any money, goods or services.
...
Special thanks to maskedferret for helping me with spelling and grammar.
...
PLEASE NO COMMENTS ON SPELLING OR GRAMMAR!  See my profile for details
...

Into the Blender
08

...
Dash sat and watched as Apple Bloom gathered everything she would be needing to attempt making some apple cider.  She was VERY not sure about this.
“Are you sure you really want to try this?  I mean, come on.  You're attempting to make alcohol.”
“Ah know what Ah'm doin.  Ah got the recipe book right here.”  Apple Bloom pointed to the book which was open on the correct page for some pretty strong sounding apple cider.
“What rhymes with love?”  Sweetie Bell asked.”
“Dove?  Shove?”  Dash shrugged.  “I am so the wrong pony for asking about tips for writing songs.”
“Oh, Dove, I like it.”  Sweetie Belle picked up her pencil and started writing again.
Apple Bloom grinned.  “Ok, I have everything set up.”
Dash looked over everything, as well as the instructions in the book.  “I don't know, I think you added a couple parts you don't need.”
“I know, but I think these will help make it sweeter and stronger.”  She grinned.
“I still don't think this is a good idea.”
The small Unicorn grinned.  “Well, it's an adult drink, so we'll have an adult test it.”
“I kinda just thought of something.  What if you get your cutie marks... and they appear on your current bodies?”
Silence.
“Ah never thought ah that.”
Sweetie Belle looked at her real flank.  “I don't think I'd want an apple cider cutie mark on my flank.”
“Ah don't think Ah'd want some music or singing cutie mark on mah flank...”
Sweetie Bell glanced from her own body to Scootaloo's body.  “Maybe we should just wait a while...  Maybe we can just go to the meadow and play?”
Dash perked up.  “That's a great idea.  I made us some kites we can play with.  I'm a Pegasus, so I know all about making things fly... except this body that is.”
Sweetie Belle hugged Rainbow Dash.  “That's ok.  I know we'll get back to being ourselves again.”
“Oh hey, Ah got a real cool idea on how ya can fly.”
“What?”  Dash's eyes lit up, watching as Apple Bloom started taking the dangerous equipment apart.
“We can attach kites to yer wings.”
Dash blinked.  “That... might work.”  She grinned happily.  “Let's go try it.”
...
Spike walked up to one of the merchant cats in the market.  “Excuse me, have you seen Twilight Sparkle?”
“Last I heard, she was at the library.”  The orange mare replied.  “Would you like some of our peach shine?”
“Oh, no thank you, I'm really needing to find her.”  (Oh wait... wasn't she in Pinkie Pie's body or something like that?)  “Oh, have you seen Pinkie Pie?”
“I saw her heading over to Sugarcube Corner earlier.”
“Alone?”  Please don't say with some stud...)
“No, with her friend Fluttershy.”
“Oh, thank you.”  (With Fluttershy, not some coltfriend... That's good news.)
“You're welcome.  Sure you wouldn't want to at least try a free sample?”
“Well...”
“Spike!  Oh my, I am SOOO happy to see you.”
“Rainbow Dash?”
“Um... Yes, of course...”  The Blue Pegasus looked a little uncomfortable.  “Please be a darling and come with me, and tell me you have the amulet.” 
“I'd like to Dash, but they still haven't found it yet.  Princess Celestia sent me back here to check on things.”
Rarity sighed.  “A shame.  I had been hoping they would have found it by now.  Sewing without magic is... challenging.”
“Sewing?  You?”  Spike asked as they walked along.  “Oh... Right...”  He suddenly blushed.  “Rarity?”  He whispered.
“Yes, tis I.”
“Wow... This really is strange...  I saw Twilight... I mean that Terra pony back at the library... She's weird.”
“Takes one to know one.  Hmm, you know, I think I could use your dexterous little claws back at the boutique.”
“I...  I'd really like to help, but I really have to find Twilight.”
“Of course.  I believe she is helping Pinkie Pie set up Dinky Doo's birthday party at the Sugercube Corner.”
“Dinky?  Oh, whew.  That Terra there said something about Twilight and some coltfriend and... doing adult things.  Whatever that means.”
Rarity gave Spike an odd look as they neared the bakery.  “Twilight?  A coltfriend?  Terra is... Yes, she is odd.  Very odd.  Ah, there's the bakery.”
...
“SPIKE!!!”  Boing boing GLOMP!!!
“OOF!!!”  The moment Spike walked into the bakery, he was tacked and gathered into a huge pink hug.
“I missed you so much.  Did they find the amulet?  Did you bring it?”
“Can't... Breathe...”
“Opps.  Sorry.”  Twilight released her young assistant.  “Hehe, I'm still really happy to see you again.”
“Um.. yea, me to?  Twilight?”
“Yea, that's me.  Kinda strange, isn't it?”
Spike nodded.  “You're not kidding...  Is... Is Applejack really in Rarity's body?”
“She most certainly is.”  Rarity answered.  “And I am quite impressed that she's taking quite good care of it.”
Spike wiped his brow.  “That's good to hear.”  He smiled at Rarity.  (She's in Dash's body, but I still really care about her.  I guess it was just the sight of her beauty that got me at first, but I think I've fallen in love with who she is.  But will she ever accept me?  Hmm, who knows, maybe one day.)
“I've finished decorating the cake.”  A bubbly sounding Fluttershy emerged from the kitchen..  “Spike?”
(Incoming hug...)  He closed his eyes and braced for impact.
But all he felt was a warm and comforting hug.  He opened his eyes and it was Pinkie Pie in Fluttershy's body hugging him.  He could feel the kindness and gentleness in the hug.
He smiled and hugged her back.  “How are you doing Pinkie?”
“Oh, I'm doing fine.  I've been taking a lot of naps with Fluttershy's animal friends, but I've only taken one so far today.  Yesterday, by this time, I think I took three.”
“Well, Fluttershy doesn't have nearly as much energy as... um, you do.”
Pinkie Pie smiled and nodded.  “I know, poor Twilight.  She's been so erratic, but I think she's starting to get better.”
“Yea, only because Pinkie Pie's been helping me.  Oh, is that a raspberry tart?”
Pinkie Pie smiled as she set down the tray.  “You have to do quality testing.  It's one of the perks of the job.”
Munch.  “Hmm, this is yummy.  Sweet, but a hint of tart.  The crust is flaky too.”
“I made those earlier.  I actually used less sugar than usual.”
Twilight looked at Pinkie Pie.  “You what?”
“I've been seeing how eating so much sugar has been effecting you, so I've been cutting back, little by little on all your snacks.  How are you feeling?”
“Pretty good actually.  Plenty of energy, but now that you mention it, I'm not feeling overwhelmed.”  She hugged Pinkie Pie.  “So, are you going to start cutting back on the sugar once you're back in your body?”
“Are you kidding?”  She gave Twilight an odd look.  “Of course I am.  I've seen how you're doing so well with less sugar.  You're still full of energy, but you're less insane.”
“Less insane?”  Spike stared from Pinkie to Twilight.  “Do I really want to know?”
“Should we tell him about the rice incident?”
“Oh, we should.  Let's save that one for later though.”
“Yea, that story's a gem.”  Twilight grinned.  “Oh yea, I've been meaning to ask... what's wrong with oatmeal?”
Pinkie Pie twitched a moment, quite in a disturbing manner, especially in Fluttershy's body.   She then calmed down.  “Oatmeal?  Are you crazy?  I'm not about to inflict you with nightmares that will quite possibly haunt you the rest of your life.”
Twilight looked nervous on hearing that.
Rarity and Spike just stared.
“Um... anyway...”  Twilight regained her composure.  “Welcome home Spike.”
“Thanks Twi.  Oh, I'm curious, what is the matter with that Terra mare?  She's... I mean, I know she's the middle sister of the Princesses or something like that...”
“Exactly like that actually.”  Twilight corrected Spike.  “You should just go talk to her.”
“I don't know about that.  She's really strange, and I think dragons scare her, a lot.  I mean, do I look scary?”
“As scary as a baby dragon can look.”  Pinkie Pie giggled lightly.
Spike looked around at the three mares and sighed.  “Well... I guess I should at least go say hello to the others.  Let them at least know the search is still going on.”
“Good luck Spike.”  Twilight hugged him again.
As did Pinkie Pie, and she also handed him a tart.  “A welcome home present.  We should have a little welcome home party for Spike later.”
“A wonderful idea Pinkie.”
Rarity simply smiled and opened the door for Spike.  “Shall you accompany me to my door at least?”
“Of course, anything for you Rarity.”  He smiled and left with her.
...
After dropping Rarity off at home, and receiving a warm hug as well (which he nearly melted from), he headed off toward Sweet Apple Acres.
The day was beautiful, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were flying a kite that looked remarkably like Scootaloo.
The birds were singing.
Wait, back up a sec.
Kite that looked like Scootaloo?
Spike rushed into the meadow and stared in shock at a happily squealing Scootaloo.
But wait, wasn't Scootaloo missing?  Right, Rainbow Dash was in Scootaloo.
“Hey Spike.”  Dash called, grinning.  “It's not real flying, but it feel great to at least be off the ground.”
“Be careful Rainbow Dash.  I don't think kites are made for...”
Snap!
“AAAAAHHH!!!”
Splash.
“...carrying... fillies...”  Spike sighed and walked over, helping a seriously giggling Scootaloo from the stream.  “Are you alright?”
“Yea.”  Gigglefit.  “That was great... but the kite... I couldn't really steer at all.  If I could somehow be able to make it so the kite could move the way my wings do...”  Her eyes suddenly lit up so brightly.  “Spike, you're a genius.”  She hugged the baby dragon.  “Cutie Mark Crusaders, back to the tree-house.  I just thought of something TOTALLY awesome.”
“I'll never understand girls...”
...
“Hello Applejack... I mean Fluttershy.” 
“Oh, Spike.  How have you been?”
Spike smiled, then frowned.  “We still haven't found the amulet.”
“Oh... Poor Scootaloo... trapped in that horrible thing.  She might be trapped in there forever.”
“F... Forever?  But... you need that thing to turn back to normal... and why are you talking to those seedlings?”
“Oh, I find that if I talk to them, they grow faster.  We just planted them yesterday and look at them already.”
“Wow.  I thought it took a lot longer for them to start growing.”
“I know.  But, I think I found Applejack's magic.  These plants are listening to me, and they're starting to grow so wonderfully.”
“What about your animals?”
“Pinkie Pie is taking good care of them.  She found that they really do like relaxing music, and some fun, relaxing games.  She actually threw a little birthday party for Angel last night because I missed his last week.  She's really good with animals.”
“That's Pinkie Pie for you...”  Spike then glanced around.  “Um... Where's Applejack and Big Mac?”
“Oh, Rarity's special talent dragged her off to find some gems.”
“So... You all actually have each others special talents?  That must really be strange.”
“We're getting used to it, except for Rainbow Dash... She's really wanting to fly.”
“Oh, I saw her flying on my way here.”
Fluttershy gasped, her hooves over her mouth.  “She... She was really flying?”
“Yea, she had a couple kites strapped to her wings, but she crashed into the stream.”  Spike shrugged.  “She then thanked me for some reason, hugged me and ran off.”
“Well, she knows a lot about flying... I guess she'll be ok.”  Fluttershy smiled.  “Oh, there's Big Mac and Applejack.
They looked to see the pair dragging an old cart with a tarp on top of it.  They walked over and greeted them.
“H... Hello Applejack...”  He looked her over.  Somehow, Rarity's body looked... a little more fit?  He hoped that Rarity would not be disappointed.
“Why hello Spike.  Ya got us some even better news than what Big Mac an' I got?”
“Actually, no.  The amulet is still missing.”
“Darn shame.  Ah do kinda wanna get back to really buckin apples, thought Ah gotta admit, magic sure is handy.”
“Eeyup.”  Big Mac added his two bits.
Fluttershy looked at the cart.  “What's in the cart?”
“Well, y'all ain't gonna believe it.  Rarity's talent fer findin gems made us hit the jackpot.”  She pulled back the cart, revealing a huge pile of precious gems.
Spike instantly started drooling.
“Sorry Spike, these ain't fer you.  These are all for Rarity.”
Spike shook his head.  “All of them?”
“Eeyup.”  Big Mac nodded.
“We found an old cave that was just chock full ah gemstones.  Ah'm honestly surprised she ain't never detected em before.”  She tapped the pike of small gems with a hoof.  “Then again, she ain't ever gone lookin fer gems here on our farm.”
“What a generous gift.”  Fluttershy smiled.  “Would you like me to help bring them into town?  I am strong enough.”
“You dun worry bout it Fluttershy.  Ah reckon Ah can handle em.  Ah've been doin' some farm work after all.”  She looked at her hooves.  “An' Rarity's hooves are strong.  Almost like diamonds.  I know Ah should ah chipped em more than once, but they just keep holdin strong.  Ah really gotta let her know bout this.”
Fluttershy nodded.  “Well, you be careful.”
“Ah will.  Y'all take care, y'hear?”  Applejack threw the tarp back over the gems.  The then hitched herself up and, and with a little magic, along with her own strength, started hauling the cart into town.
Spike bid a good day to Fluttershy and Big Mac before returning to town with Applejack.
...
Rarity could only stare in awe at the cartload of gems.
“F.. for me?”
“Consider it a generous thanks fer puttin up with my usin yer body.”  She tapped her hooves on a small rock, the rock cracking in half.  “An Ah gotta admit, yer hooves are strong.”
“You surely jest.”  She leaned down and examined them.  “My word.  Not even a scratch?  But, you have been doing some farm work, right?  I mean, it's only been a couple days, but I can tell.”
“Um, yea... Ah guess Ah've kinda been workin, but Ah also been real careful not to do anything ta hurt yer hooves.”  She fluffed her mane with a hoof.
Rarity could tell that she really needed a bath.  “Well, let's get these sparkling beauties inside.  Let's take them to the cellar.”
“Y'all got a cellar?”
“Yes, I do, thought I've not used it at all since I bought the Boutique.  I went and cleaned it all out last night.  It was all icky, but I figured it had to be done.”
They headed around back and took a look through the cellar doors.  It was spotless.
“Y'all did a wonderful job on this.  How bad was it?”
“It was all empty, but there was a lot of dust and dirt and webs.”  She flapped her wings.  “It took almost no time at all to just blow it outside, flapping these amazing wings.  I paid Snips and Snails a few bits to help sweep it all into a cart to be taken care of.  This would be the perfect place to store all these.”
“Well, let's get em all inside.”  Applejack grinned and started levitating them down.
“My word, you have been practising, haven't you?”
“Ya bet.  Ah can pick a whole tree all at once.  Still can't thread a needle.”
In short time, the entire cart was emptied, with a few gems given to Spike by Applejack, just because he did look hungry, and had been walking around for a while.
The young dragon munched on them happily as Rarity closed and locked the cellar door.  “That was very generous of you Applejack.”
“Don'tcha worry 'bout it.”  Applejack smiled.  “Ah can honestly say it made me feel good.”
Spike blinked.  “Honesty?  Generosity?  Wait, Applejack, I thought you represented the Element of Honesty.”
“Ah do, but anypony can by honest, or generous.”  Applejack smiled at Rarity.  “Ah just felt like doin it, is all.”
“Well, I do appreciate it very much.”  Rarity smiled.  She then looked over her body.  “Why don't you join me at the spa?  I would very much like you to at least try to keep my coat clean after all.”
“Sure thing.  Ah'm all done with mah farm work today.”  She smiled at Spike.  “What are you going to do now?”
“All this walking and these awesome gems are making me feel a little drowsy.  I was thinking of taking a nap.”
“Where?”  Rarity asked, feeling that Spike might not be welcomed at the Library, especially if Terra was scared of dragons.
“My bed of course.”  He shrugged and started to leave.
“Spike dear?”
He spun around.  “Yes Rarity?”
“I don't think that's a good idea.  Remember, Terra does not seem to like dragons.”
“But I'm just a baby.”
“I don't think that matters.”
“But...”
Rarity smiled and pushed open back door which lead directly into her home.  “Come inside.  I'll let you take your nap here.”
Spike's eyes went wide.  “R... Really?”  He stammered.
“Of course, but not in my bed.  You do drool after all.”
“Of course.”  He smiled and followed Rarity inside, who in turn was followed by Applejack.
It only took a few minutes for her to set up a basket bed for the drowsy dragon.  He crawled into the bed.  “Good night Rarity, Applejack.”  He closed his eyes and nodded off.
“Aww, ain't just so cute when he sleeps?”
“Yes, he is a dear.  Now, off too the spa.”
“Sure thing.”
...
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle watched in awe as Rainbow Dash lay in the floor of the club house.
Well, not because she was laying there, but because she was drawing.
Drawing what you ask?
Well...
...
To Be Continued...