//------------------------------// // Four // Story: It's just Baldness // by Charlie_K //------------------------------// Applejack hummed pleasantly to herself as she trotting along through Ponyville. Today, much like most other days this summer, was a really hot and unpleasant one to experience, but she was doing her best to not let it get her into a sour mood any. She knew from experience that there was no telling who might be a potential customer, or when, and it was always best not to get future meetings off on a bad hoof. That said, the combination of bright sun, and sweltering humidity, was making it a real chore to stay in a pleasant mood. And her nerves really weren't helping with that any. Over the past week, ever since the last time she visited Twilight's palace, and learned about her little secret, she'd been giving the matter a lot of thought. Not that she'd been thinking about her friend nude or anything like that. Well actually she had, just not in a way that would be considered perverted. Mostly her thoughts on the subject had been in how naturally Twilight carried herself while in such a state; how she walked around like it was no big deal, and how casually she did it all. It was kind of hard for her to not give it all at least some thought now and then. That was sort of why she was on her way to the palace right now. Ever since last week, with all the time and thought she'd given the matter, she'd eventually reached a conclusion about a particular course of action; she was going to ask Twilight about using the same spell on her, that she'd been using to go nude. In all of her thinking about what she wanted to do, she kept coming back to a single, specific conclusion that she couldn't argue otherwise; she wasn't going to know for certain if she was alright with it or not, without actually doing it for herself, and see just what it was like to not only be furless, but be seen like that by other ponies. That second part was easy enough to take care of, the only ones who were going to be seeing her were Twilight and Spike, and they were pretty much the experts on this subject. The first part was going to be the more difficult aspect. Rarity's words of advice, about needing time to get settled in, certainly hadn't been forgotten. She really didn't have a lot of hours to just lounge around and get comfortable, and was going to have to settle with a brief exposure to see if it was worth doing anymore than that. A half hour might not be enough, but it would have to do for now. "Well, here goes nothin'," she said to herself as she stopped in front of the palace, and knocked at the door. About a minute or two later the door was opened by Spike, who was currently wearing a wet towel draped over his neck and shoulders. "Hey, Applejack, how's it going?" "Oh it's goin'. Hotter than Tartarus out, as usual," Applejack replied, knowing that he could relate. "Is Twilight here? Ah got a few things ta talk over wit' 'er." "Yeah, she's in the library," Spike replied as he opened the door wider to let her in. "Is she, er..." "Yeah," Spike replied and nodded, knowing what she was getting at. "She thinks we should start referring to it as "jaybirding" so we're the only ones who know what's being discussed." Applejack laughed at hearing that. "Ah'll be sure ta keep that in mind fer later," she told him as she stepped inside the palace. It wasn't a particularly long way from the front doors to the palace library. But as she made her way there, Applejack couldn't help but think that it was way too long, and simultaneously way too short. Too long in that it was allowing her nerves to get worked up about what she had to say, and too short as she didn't have enough time to consider just what she was going to say, or how she wanted to say it. Most of the time, she wasn't a mare of many words, and preferred to communicate simply. But something along the lines of "Hey there, Twilight, ya mind castin' that nudist spell on me so I can get a feelin' fer it mahself?" just wasn't something she was comfortable with blurting out. She wanted to exercise some measure of eloquence and delicacy on this matter. If for no other reason, than to let Twilight know that she was taking everything as seriously as it deserved to be taken. What she wouldn't give for another hallway's worth of time for thinking purposes. But sadly that wasn't in the cards, as the room came into view all too soon. She knew that she could just not mention anything, but where would that get her? It'd buy her some more time, but she still wouldn't be any closer to an answer. This was just something she needed to do. Besides all that, she was no dirty coward who hid when things got tough. "Hey there, Twilight," she said as confidently as she could as she stepped into the room. "How's it goin' wit'..." The sight of Twilight being nude didn't really do anything to shock Applejack at this point. The sight of Twilight in the company of another pony being in the same state, however, did very much shock her due to how unexpected it was, causing the question to die in her throat. "Wha' in the hay!?" "Geez, AJ, a little louder next time? I don't think the Crystal Empire heard you..." "R... Rainbow Dash? Is tha' really you?" Applejack asked, not really believing what she was either seeing or hearing. "As if I'd ever wanna be anyone else," Rainbow Dash replied. Applejack blinked, before turning her attention over to Twilight, who was grinning sheepishly at this point. "I guess I should explain," Twilight stated simply. "Ah'd appreciate if if ya did," Applejack replied and nodded, before making her way over to them and plopping herself down on the floor. "How long has RD known 'bout all this?" she asked. "Well I'd say... maybe an hour?" Twilight replied. "Seriously? One hour an' she's already goin' nude too?" Applejack asked in disbelief. She knew that Rainbow Dash was quick to judgement on some things, but this seemed like a record even for her. "How'd this all happen?" "Well I was out flying around earlier, and I sort of wound up crashing into Twilight; literally in this case," Rainbow Dash stated. Twilight chuckled, before giving a more in depth explanation of what had happened; Rainbow Dash, like most others, had been looking for some way to alleviate the heat, and had been flying around in an effort to find a cool air pocket somewhere to occupy. But the combination of temperature, humidity, and altitude had caused a period of disorientation to be experienced, which in turn led to her flying through one of the open palace windows, which led to the two of them literally bumping into each other in the hallway. Applejack just shook her head at Rainbow Dash's antics. "So how'd that lead ya ta goin' nude so fast?" she asked. "Well when I stopped being dizzy and realized what was going on, I thought I crashed into Twilight so hard I literally knocked her fur right off of her. I've done that with a few trees on my less than graceful landings," Rainbow Dash stated and chuckled. In hindsight it was kind of funny to think that. "Anyway, Twilight explained what she was doing, and how it was a good way to cool off, and I just figured why not," she said and shrugged her withers. "Huh. One hour's all it took ta convince ya ta give it a try?" Applejack asked. Should she be impressed by those sorts of results? "Sort of. When Twilight told me about how this was a good way to cool off, I was like "sign me up" at that point. And I gotta say, it really is," Rainbow Dash stated. It was only then that Applejack took stock of her surroundings, and realized that a circulating fan was blowing gently between the two of them, each of them wearing a damp towel on their neck much like Spike was, with a spray bottle of what she assumed was water sitting off to the side. All in all, it looked like a pretty decent setup for cooling down. "Makes sense Ah guess," she replied and shrugged, "so yer a nudist now too?" "Eh... I wouldn't go that far. I really hate the part about being grounded, so that's a big detractor" Rainbow Dash replied and flexed her wings to emphasize her point. "Twilight did a pretty good job of explaining everything so I'd know what it's about and all. But... well it's sorta like Manehattan. It's a nice place to go and visit, but I wouldn't like to live there, you know?" she asked. "Ah know," Applejack replied. She'd done both in her time, and of the two, visiting was the better option to engage in. "Did I hear somepony mention Manehattan?" All eyes turned to see Rarity stepping in through the library doors, Spike following close behind with several shopping bags in his hands. When she caught sight of everyone present, however, she stopped dead in her tracks. "Rainbow Dash?" Rarity asked. "What's up?" Rainbow Dash asked in greeting. "Goodness. This is turning into a regular convention," Rarity commented as she looked all around her, but unable to not look at the two bald ponies before her. Besides the obvious visible differences between the two of her friends, such as hoof and eye color, there were more subtle differences to observe, such as the degree of mottling each of them possessed. There was also the difference of mass, which really wasn't all that much. She had expected Rainbow Dash to actually be skinnier, due to her being a pegasus, but apparently that wasn't the case here. "Like what you see?" Rainbow Dash's question snapped Rarity out of her thoughts, and immediately drew a choked reaction of surprise. "Rainbow Dash! That's hardly an appropriate question to ask," Twilight replied, not amused by her friend's attempt at humor. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry," Rainbow Dash replied sheepishly, "I'm still learning here. Cut me some slack." "Oh it's alright, darling, I know how Rainbow Dash can be at times," Rarity replied and waved her hoof dismissively. "I was just caught off guard by all this. I know it's not my place, Twilight, but I would have appreciated a little head's up that you were planning to bring Rainbow Dash into the know on this. Or that she would be participating," she commented. "Well I wasn't planning it at all, it just sort of happened; and quickly too," Twilight replied in her own defense. "Spike, didn't you tell them what was going on when they got here?" "They only asked about you, Twilight, I didn't think to tell them about Rainbow Dash," Spike replied defensively. They'd asked a question, and he'd answered it. It was as simple as that. "And besides, by the time I did think to tell Applejack, I was sort of busy with helping Rarity bring her packages in. She showed up almost immediately after." The library fell silent after Spike's explanation, the only audible sound being that of the fan doing its best to circulate the all too hot air in the room. He really did have a point about how things had gone. "Looks like we all screwed up a bit," Applejack commented. "It looks that way," Twilight agreed and nodded, "regardless, though, I think everything turned out alright." "I suppose so," Rarity replied and nodded, before turning her attention back to Rainbow Dash. She was going to try and make the best of the situation at hoof. "So now we have two nudists in our midst, do we?" "Well... not yet," Twilight stated. Rainbow Dash nodded. "I'm just trying this out since it's so hot out. If Twilight likes doing it, that's fine I'm okay with that, more power to her. But I can't really see myself doing this long term. Maybe occasionally, but that would probably be it," she explained. "Oh," Rarity replied, "well if you're shy, darling-" "Eh, that's not it," Rainbow Dash replied and shrugged dismissively. "When you're a pegasus, you learn pretty early on not to be self conscious about stuff like that. When you're flying about overhead, other ponies are going to be seeing you. You either get used to it, or live on the ground like other ponies. What I don't like is not being able to fly. It just plain feels wrong, not being able to take off at will. It's..." "A feeling of vulnerability from not being able to fly?" Twilight asked. "Something that you can feel, but can't put into words to explain it?" "... Yeah," Rainbow Dash replied and nodded slowly, "pretty much. It's like my seasonal molts." "Huh. I didn't think you ever molted," Spike spoke up as he scratched his head. "You've always got your feathers whenever we see you." "Well I sort of do, but not really," Rainbow Dash replied and shrugged again as she sat up. "Ah thought ya didn' wanna talk 'bout that," Applejack stated in confusion. "Eh. At this point, what's it matter? There really isn't much left to hide," Rainbow Dash pointed out. When nopony else said anything, she started again. "Every year I go through a total molt, and it takes two weeks for my feathers to totally regrow, which means I can't fly anywhere for those two weeks. During these periods Applejack's let me stay at Sweet Apple Acres before you ever came to Ponyville. Rarity even made me some wing sleeves out of my old feathers so I don't have to go around looking plucked. Still, it's a long two weeks to put up with." "Wow," Twilight replied, not certain of what to think. She looked away from Rainbow Dash, and over to Applejack and Rarity. She never considered just how much these three might be friends with one another before she actually got involved. It was amazing actually. "You know, if you wanted to give it another try sometime, I could limit the spell to leave your wings unaffected," she offered. "Wait, you can seriously do that?" Rainbow Dash asked. Twilight nodded. "You'd be limited to flying in the palace, but at least you'd be able to fly." "Cool!" Rainbow Dash stated as she stood up. She was liking the sound of that option quite a bit. "So, wait. That doesn't conflict with the whole nudist thing a little?" "No, I don't think so. In the mirror world, I learned that nudists who tend to outdoor activities use footwear to avoid hurting their feet, since they lack the durability of hooves. I don't see there being much difference since it's all about practicality and utility," Twilight explained. It had taken her a bit of time to reconcile the differences herself, her mind operating on strict standards and such, before learning that the standards weren't absolutes that couldn't be blended. Instead of being like oil and water, it was more like... chocolate and peanut butter. "Well now. You learn something new every day," Rarity commented, finding the very notion interesting. This might require further evaluation. "So, Rar', wha' brings ya by?" Applejack asked, feeling that a change of subject was appropriate. "Oh! Well I just came to see how Twilight was doing, and to drop off a few things that I thought she might appreciate," Rarity replied, at which point Spike set the bags down on the floor. She reached into one of the bags with her magic, and pulled out two particular items to present to Twilight for consideration. "I believe you said something about needing these?" Back scratchers. Rarity had actually gone out, and bought her back scratchers. She had mentioned them only once some weeks back, and had always meant to get them herself, but had simply never gotten around to it yet. Twilight chuckled and shook her head, noting that she had a wealth of good friends. "Thanks, I may be needing the both of them, the way it itches when my fur grows back in," she replied as she took them. "Well. Looks like I'm out of a job again," Spike said to himself, doubting that Twilight would need his magic fingers now. "Oh hush," Twilight giggled and set the back scratchers on the couch for later, before going over and rubbing Spike's head. "Nothing could replace you." Spike beamed with a sense of pride at hearing that. Not that he ever thought Twilight would really be done with him, but it was still nice to hear regardless. The others all chuckled at that. But as the others continued, Rarity stopped first to reach into the other bag, as there was another item to unveil. "Before I forget, darling, there's also this," she said as she held the item out to Twilight. "Um... wow," Twilight replied, not sure what else to say about the fact that Rarity was presenting her with a necklace. It looked like someone had tried to replicate one of their Elements of Harmony, but in a more subtle, minimalist approach with a drastic reduction in the amount of metal used for holding a single clear gem in the front. Overall it was quite subtle compared to some pieces of jewelry she'd seen before, and she could appreciate that. But she still had no idea what to say in response. "Not to your liking?" Rarity asked. "It's not that," Twilight replied as she tilted her head while examining the necklace. "I just... don't know what to say is all. Nopony's ever given me jewelry before. I-I don't know what the occasion is," she explained, hoping Rarity didn't take offense at her lack of knowledge. "Ah'm lost too," Applejack chimed in. "Third," Rainbow Dash added. "Well it's not so much for an occasion, as it is a solution to a question that's been in need of address for over a month," Rarity stated, a sense of pride in her words. "With this, darling, you won't have to worry about unexpected guests just dropping in and catching you. Nor will you have to tie up your magic with making yourself appear presentable for surprise company. With this you can finally just relax, and enjoy yourself." Rarity honestly hadn't expected Twilight to pull her into a hug in response. But she wasn't about to resist the gesture. Despite the alicorn's state, she didn't hesitate before returning the hug. She had worried that Twilight might misunderstand, and think she was actually suggesting a way of going about in public while in such a state. But thankfully that wasn't the case; if it had been, she highly doubted that she would've been getting hugged like she was right now. "I'm so lucky to have friends like you," Twilight stated, before finally breaking the embrace. "I only mentioned this idea once offhoof as a possibility. I never thought you'd actually go out and get something like this." "So how's that necklace supposed to help out with that?" Rainbow Dash asked, really not getting what they were getting at. Maybe it was a unicorn/alicorn thing? "It's actually quite simple," Twilight said as she pulled away from Rarity to face her. "Once I bind the appropriate spells to the necklace, I'll look like my normal self whenever I wear it. Not only that, but I won't even need to actively use my magic to maintain it, since I should be able to set it up it to absorb the necessary magical energy from my body through direct contact. I wouldn't even need to cast the spell to make it work, once everything is set up and in place. I can just slip it on, and slip it back off at my own leisure," she explained, grinning excitedly at the idea. "Huh. That'd be pretty cool for a change," Spike stated, seeing the viability in such an approach. It would certainly cut down on a lot of Twilight's stress over being a nudist if it worked out. Which in turn would make things for him, Rarity, and even Applejack, easier to deal with when they came up. "Yeah that does sound pretty cool and all. I've just one question. Are you gonna be using that outside too?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Oh sweet Tartarus no!" Twilight stated quickly as the suggestion. "Too much risk o' sunburns," Applejack stated quickly, figuring it would get the point across to Rainbow Dash far better than letting Twilight go on about morals and such. "Oh. Yeah I could see that being a possibility," Rainbow Dash replied and nodded. "That'd probably make for an embarrassing visit to Zecora for some ointment." "Ugh. Can we please not discuss something like that? Please?" Twilight asked, wanting desperately to drop this entire train of thought right now. "But of course, darling," Rarity replied. She'd have a talk with Rainbow Dash later on about what was and wasn't appropriate. But before she could do that, there was another matter to see about addressing. Primarily Applejack's presence. She'd been so caught up in finding Rainbow Dash nude like Twilight, she hadn't even given the farmer a second thought. "If you don't mind my asking, Applejack, what brings you by?" It took a moment for Rarity's question to actually register in Applejack's mind, and another moment for her to actually recall why she was here in the first place. Rainbow Dash's presence and participation had caught her completely off guard, and thrown everything right out the window. And then her focus had been kicked even further down the road by Rarity showing up, and just going completely off course from there. Now that her mind was back on track, however, the change of circumstances was leaving her ill at ease with the idea. She'd spent most of the walk over here working up enough nerve to actually speak to Twilight in the first place. But now with Rarity and Rainbow Dash here, the whole matter has just grown more complicated. With them here as well, she didn't know if she could actually go through with this whole thing. "Well Ah, er..." she mumbled, trying to think of what to do. Should she say what she had come here for, and trust Twilight to make things go smoothly? Or should she bide her time until the next available opportunity when she'd be alone? She knew already that the question was stupid. They were all friends here. They trusted one another. And if she did chicken out now, there'd never be another opportune time to try this, as her nerves would just get to her. She needed to stallion up, and just go for it! "Well... Ah was wonderin' about... er, seein' wha' it's like fer mahself," she admitted, although not nearly as confidently as she would've liked. There was no way she was going to be playing this off as casually as she would've liked. Twilight blinked at hearing this. "Wait, really?" Applejack nodded uneasily. "Fer a bit anyway. Ah'd like ta get somethin' of an idea 'bout what it's like, before Ah decide one way er another," she explained. "Really?" Spike asked, not exactly sure whether to believe it or not. Not that he would ever be calling Applejack a liar, it just caught him really off guard to be hearing this. "Well Ah don' reckon it'd hurt. Not like Ah'm paradin' all through Ponyville er nothin'. Besides, if a Princess, an' a Wonderbolt reserve are doin' it, at least Ah'll be in good company," Applejack explained. "Alright, if you're sure you want to. Follow me, I'll show you to the shower so we can get started," Twilight replied. "Uh... come again?" Applejack asked. "So the resulting mess from your fur can be contained without hassle," Twilight clarified, "don't worry, I can cast the spell from outside the room." "Ah. A'right then," Applejack replied and nodded. That was one worry down at least. Rarity watched as Applejack trotted off behind Twilight to get things set up for her own experience with this new trend. She couldn't even begin to speculate as to what her friend was hoping to find in this endeavor, but she certainly wished her luck in her efforts. When they came back, she would certainly be as supportive to Applejack, as she had been to Twilight. And that support was going to start now, in the form of having a few words with Rainbow Dash, to ensure the cocky pegasus knew where the line was on comments that were appropriate, and those that weren't.