Happiness and Tears
RDcrystalheart
Chapter 4: Snarky Plans
"Did you hear?" Rainbow Dash asked Applejack a few days later. Applejack raised her eyebrow.
"Hear what?" she asked. Dash rolled her eyes.
"The Skies family is hosting a big birthday party for Cloudy Quartz tonight!" she exclaimed in excitement. Applejack shrugged.
"So...? I'm not exactly sure why you're so excited about this," she said with a hint of doubt. Dash sighed.
"AJ, don't you get it? Cloudy Quartz's birthday is the same is my father's birthday! Today!" she said. Applejack's eyes widened, as she stared at her friend in shock.
"Really?" she asked.
"Well, yeah! When your a fan of the Wonderbolts like I am, you tend to get to know these minor details," Dash said. Applejack thought about this, and nodded, deciding it was just Rainbow being Rainbow.
"I guess," she said. "And... what exactly has gotten you so excited?" she asked. Dash slapped her forehead.
"Sometimes, I wonder how I even get along with you," she muttered under her breath before looking up again. "Listen, my family's throwing a party for Dad, and Soari- I mean, the Wonderbolt family is throwing a party for Cloudy!" she exclaimed.
"And..."
"And, you know how Ponyville parties are. Sure, they have a lot of fun activities and such, but imagine a Cloudsdale birthday bash! Think about all the fun we would have!" Dash said, stomping her hooves on the ground.
"Wait... are you saying we should crash the party?" Applejack asked with her eyes wide. Dash nodded excitedly.
"Finally! You get it! YES! That's exactly what I'm saying!" she said happily. Applejack instantly backed away.
"Rainbow, we can't! Imagine all the trouble we'd be in if we got caught!" she said in a hushed whisper. Dash shook her head, and put her hooves on the mare's orange coat.
"AJ, don't tell me you've never wanted to see what a Cloudsdale birthday party's like," she said seriously. Applejack avoided the magenta gaze of her friend. "Come on! We'll have so much fun!"
"Uh... what about wings? Don't I need wings to get up to Cloudsdale?" Applejack said, trying a different route to her protests. Rainbow Dash shrugged.
"Duh, that's why we have Twilight with us," she said.
"And do you really think Twilight would approve of this?" Applejack asked, crossing her hooves and giving her friend a snarky smirk. Dash slumped down, before quickly brightening up again.
"Then... we just won't tell her exactly what we're doing!" she said. Applejack sighed.
"How are we going to explain why I need wings?" she asked. Dash shrugged.
"Um... just wing it. Follow my lead, okay?"
"... Okay..."
"Wait, what?" Twilight sputtered out in confusion. Dash and Applejack looked to each other.
"We were wondering if you could make some wings for AJ," Dash said. Twilight's eyes widened.
"Why in EQUESTRIA would you need wings for Applejack?" she asked in disbelief. Applejack laughed nervously, before glancing over to Rainbow Dash.
"Yeah, Dash. Why in Equestria would I need wings?" she asked, forcefully putting pressure on the words she spoke. Dash just smirked.
"Well, Twilight. Have you ever wanted something so badly, you would do anything to get it?" she asked, walking up to the purple unicorn. Twilight raised her eyebrow suspiciously.
"Why do you ask?" she asked. Dash then slauntered over to Applejack and draped a hoof over her.
"Because that, is exactly what is happening to AJ," she said simply. Applejack's eyes widened.
"Wait, what?" she sputtered out. Dash nodded quickly.
"Let me explain," she began, trotting to the other side of the room, both pairs of eyes on her. "You see, AJ here desperately wants to be able to fly. To put it simply, she wants to become a pegasus, even if it is just temporary."
Applejack gasped, but kept her mouth shut. She didn't want to make it seem more suspicious to Twilight than it already was. Twilight though, eyed the cyan mare.
"Uh... is this true, Applejack?" she asked, turning to the orange country-pony. Applejack's eyes darted around. It was incredibly difficult for her to lie like this, but she had to on the sake of her best friend's happiness.
"Erm... yeah, Twi. Yeah it is," she said, taking off her hat and putting her head down. Twilight backed away slightly, for she knew Applejack would never tell a lie. She sighed.
"Oh... alright, fine," she said. Dash and Applejack both looked at each other with big grins. They were going to get to go to the party together after all! "On one condition."
The two both stopped in their tracks, and looked over to the unicorn. Twilight nodded. "You both are going to have to come and help me clean out the library this weekend," she said.
"Don't you like, have Spike to do that for you?" Dash asked, crossing her hooves in mid-air. Twilight shrugged.
"Maybe, but even with both of us working together, it still takes a lot of time. And how much ever I love organizing books, I could really use those spare hours reading," she said.
Applejack slumped down. "Okay okay, we'll do it."
Twilight clapped her hooves happily. "Oh yay! Okay, let me just find the spell, and I'll give you the most beautiful wings you've ever seen!" she said, before rushing into the next room.
She emerged moments later, carrying a heavy book in her hooves, flipping the pages one-by-one.
"Did you find it?" Dash asked her hopefully. Twilight nodded, tapping her horn on the bottom of a page.
"Here it is!" she exclaimed, looking over the spell. "Agh, it still hasn't gotten any less difficult than the last time I used it," she said. Applejack walked up to her.
"Do you think you'll be able to do it?" she asked. Twilight took a deep breath, and nodded.
"If wings is what you want, then it's wings you'll get!" she exclaimed, putting the book down, and summoning the magic from her horn.
Twilight took a deep breath, as she began to cast the spell. Applejack was lifted into the air, as the magic began to work it's way around her.
The entire room sparkled as a giant pair of butterfly wings emerged from Applejack's back.
"Woah..." Dash said, as she saw the process happen. The last time Twilight had performed the spell, she hadn't been there. She was too busy practicing for the Best Young Flyer's Competition back then.
Twilight gasped, as she released the spell, and lowered Applejack to the ground. "There... you... go..." she panted out.
Applejack gaped at the wings that were now resting on her back.
"Wow..." she muttered.
"Go... live... your... dream... as... a... pegasus..." Twilight said again. Applejack quickly looked over to Twilight, and gently flapped the new extension on her back.
"This is amazin'!" she said, beginning to fly around the room. Dash laughed victoriously, and pumped a hoof in the air.
"Aw yeah! AJ's got wings!" she said, fluttering up and flying by her friend.
A little while later, Rainbow Dash and Applejack flew out of the library, waving goodbye to their purple unicorn friend.
"Thanks again, Twi," Applejack said, turning back to Rainbow Dash.
"Yeah. What she said," Dash said quickly, grabbing Applejack's hoof. "C'mon, AJ! We're gonna be late!" she insisted, trying to fly faster. Twilight raised an eyebrow.
"Where are you two heading?" she asked. Dash laughed nervously, and shrugged.
"Uh... my dad's birthday party, of course!" she said. Applejack quickly nodded.
"Yep! It's gonna... be a blast!" she said. Twilight gasped.
"Oh that's right! Your father's birthday is today!" she said. Dash nodded. "Well, I guess I'll see you there at the party!"
"Oh! Uh... yeah! At the... party. Okay! We gotta dash. See ya'!" Dash said quickly grabbing Applejack and flying her out of the scene.