//------------------------------// // Chicks and Decorations // Story: Jammin' Gemini // by Aragem //------------------------------// Twilight gave them directions to Fluttershy’s cottage where they would help out with Winter Welcome once they were rested. The room was a single room with one bathroom with a shower and toilet. There was a single large window that gave them a view over the side street. When the door shut, Jelly tossed herself onto the nearest bed and groaned with her hooves covering her head. *”What the fuck, commander!? Why didn’t intel pick up that these marks were important? And where the hell is mine?”* ”That’s something to take up with Trevor when we get back.”* Victory shrugged off her pack tossing it onto the table. *”And you teaching!? Oh. My. God!”* Jelly rolled onto her back, her fetlocks over her eyes. *”What the hell is going through your mind!? You can’t teach kids.”* *”I’ll do what I can. If I’m a substitute, then there’s a lesson plan left behind by the actual teacher. We just follow the lesson plan, give them lots of study periods, maybe a longer recess.”* Victory climbed onto her bed, and sat on her haunches. *”But what if we have to teach history? We have no clue about their local history.”* *”We’ll leave early and study the lesson material so we can act like we know what we are talking about.”* *”We?”* Jelly peeked at her from under a fetlock. *”I need you there to keep me from losing it and stomping one of those kids out. I’ll just say you’re a teacher’s aide.”* *”But what if the real substitute shows up?”* *”Then we’ll either make a big stink of there being a mistake or get the hell out of town. I’ve been in worse scrapes then this.”* *”So, what’s the plan?”* Jelly rolled onto side, facing her commander. *”We stay here and eat and rest until we change which should be in a few hours. Then after we change back, we’ll go out and mingle at this Fluttershy’s home. Maybe find out what Winter Welcome is about without having to ask about it.”* Victory wriggled under the covers and laid her head down, closing her eyes. *”So do whatever you want without waking me up.”* Jelly tried to follow Victory’s example and sleep, but her stomach started to growl and she remembered her snacks were in her bag. She dug through her bag and pulled out the sack they received from the bakery. Without hands or fingers, it was very difficult to pull the sack from her pack. Even then, she had to put the sack on the table and wear it open with her teeth to get at the treats inside. The chocolate muffin was delicious. The chocolate chips were sweet and the muffin was still warm. She cherished every bite as she ate, even smiling through every mouthful. Then it was time for the apple cupcake. The glazed apple slice was sweet on her tongue and the cupcake itself actually tasted like apples. Not apple preservatives or artificial flavor. They actually used real apples to bake in this cupcake. When Jelly finished, she was very sorry that she ate so quickly and had no more to eat. The sweets invigorated her and made her feel restless. She didn’t dare go outside without Victory’s permission nor was there any video or any net for her to play with. That just left one thing. Tilting the pack onto the bed, her datapad fell onto the covers face up. With a whisper, she activated it via her voice and directed it to open up an electronic book file. She gleefully read the first chapter of the Last Unicorn, but this time she was able to easily imagine herself as the lead heroine. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Twilight Sparkle made a mental note to send Princess Celestia a letter that night informing her that the substitute arrived. However, it was likely that the Princess was too busy what with the missing zebra ambassador’s daughter gone missing and now the little unicorn foal was gone. Not to mention the nobility still insist on there being a Winter Ball despite the disappearances. So many things were happening that it was almost too much to keep up with. As much as she knew she would enjoy Winter Welcome, it would be a relief when it was over and done with. Hopefully, if preparations wer completed tomorrow, they could have it in two days. So much had been put on delay due to Apple Bloom going missing. This reminded her that she had to look into memory spells. She promised Rainbow that she would perform one to help her remember what made her fall and she knew that if Apple Bloom didn’t regain her memory, and then Applejack would expect her to fulfill her promise of memory spell as well. She might as well be prepared for that as well, but whatever happens, it will have to wait until after Winter Welcome. At least, one worry was off her mind. The substitute teacher had finally arrived and school would resume tomorrow. The substitute, Victory Jam, seems quite capable, but confused. It must be her first time leaving Caneighda and the citizens of Ponyville could be a bit overwhelming. And her daughter looked almost frightened. It must be difficult to be an adult without a cutie mark and a unicorn with hardly any talent for magic. Fortunately, in Ponyville it was easy to make friends so she should feel at home soon. Now she just had to make her rounds on Winter Welcome preparations and make sure that the word had spread that school would start back tomorrow. Oh, and she would need to give Cheerilee’s lesson plan to Victory so she would be prepared for tomorrow. Now where was Spike? She needed him to write all of this down. Oh, now she remembered, he was helping Rarity decorate. Twilight trotted past Sugarcube Corner. On the bottom step was plate full of brown crumbs and an empty glass. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The change wasn’t too bad as she had feared. There was no pain, but it the feel of her bones and organs shifting and changing was frightening enough. Her fingers unfurled from her hooves and her horn withdrew into her brow. Her blue hair darkened into it's natural brown. When the change finished, she was sitting naked on the bed with a human body. On the other bed, Victory had returned to her human form and thankfully, she had covered up before sleeping. Mikala Briggs took this moment to stretch out her legs and enjoyed being a biped once again. She flexed her fingers fully appreciating the evolution or divine plan that granted them to her and her race. One never truly understood how useful they were until they were gone. She used her restored hands to toss away the torn bag, brush her hair and her teeth in the small bathroom. She was tempted to try out the shower, but decided she would give it a try tonight. When she left the bathroom, it seemed that her commander had awakened and already administered the nanonites to return to being a pony. The unicorn gave the human woman a casual glance, *”Why are you still human?”* *”Unlike you, my telekinesis is screwed up. I need hands to brush my teeth and hair.”* Mikala went to her bag to draw out the small hypo gun loaded with a capsule of nanonites. A small sting on her arm, and slowly she reverted back to being a pony named Jelly Jam. It was only a short time before they left the inn, with a short nod to Inns Keep, and followed the directions provided to them by Twilight. This time, Jelly saw the glances at her flank and the surprised, concern, and even amused looks that followed her. And it was true; every pony had a mark on its flank. One pony running a flower stall had a rose for a mark and another pony with vegatables on her flank was carrying a basket of produce. Did the mark indicate what they would do with their lives? If that was the case, then what did Victory’s tear drop stood for? And why didn’t she get a mark? Maybe she should use her money to wear a skirt that hid her unmarked flank, she saw ponies wearing bards and skirts in town, and maybe she could wear one herself. They had to reach the other side of Ponyville, thus it was a long walk, but there was a lot to see. Jelly nearly tripped off the curb watching pegasi cross the sky on their wings. The ponies were amazing to watch, even if they performed mundane things such as cleaning windows, stacking crates, and hammering a nail. The unicorns used their telekinesis to manipulate items and the norm ponies used their mouths and hooves. One pony was setting up a game booth by putting pieces on the wooden surface with her mouth and hooves. Another pony was carrying a bundle of cloth against her chest with one foreleg while walking on three legs. Despite not having arms and hands, they made do with what they had and their reward was a town and society as functional as any human one. They soon came to a path that led them away from the town. Jelly looked this way and that, taking note of how fertile and clean the outside was. There was no pollution to harm her lungs, no litter dotted the grass, and the plant life was luscious and green. A cool breeze tousled their manes and tails carrying the honeyed scent of flowers and trees. It wasn’t long before came to the small arch bridge that led up to a cottage. It set atop of a small hill with a cobbled path way to the front red door. The roof was of grass and leaves that looked healthy and green as if growing from the thatched roof. There were trees around the cottage and hanging from multiple branches were birdhouses of all shapes and sizes and the air was filled with birdsong. There were two foals, a white unicorn and an orange pegasus, were watching rabbits hop around in small pen. As they approached, the foals notice them and waved. “Are you here to help color the chicks?” The little unicorn spoke to them in a cute voice that Jelly instantly adored. The unicorn’s pink and purple mane curled at the ends and her large green eyes looked at up them excited. Her companion had an orange coat with a deep purple mane and tail. “Oh, yes,” Jelly replied smiling as she recognized them. They were in the drawings left behind by Apple Bloom. “My name is Mi-Jelly Jam and this is my. . . mother, Victory Jam.” “I’m the new teacher,” Victory’s deadpan voice carried over them. “Oh, um, hi,” the orange pegasus foal looking awkward. “I’m Scootaloo and this is Sweetie Belle. Is school starting back tomorrow?” “Yes, school will start back tomorrow,” Victory replied in the same deadpan tone. What the hell was wrong with Victory? Jelly quickly tried to cover for her, “We’re looking forward to tomorrow. I’m sure we’ll have a good time.” She moved forward to block Victory from view, but in doing so, she brought her flank into view. “Hey! You don’t have a cutie mark!” Scootaloo piped up. All the warm feelings and joy turned to ice. “Uh, no. I don’t.” “It’s alright!” Sweetie Belle offered a warm smile, her face almost glowing. “We don’t have cutie marks either, but we’re trying to get ours.” “Oh, ah, how do you get one?” Jelly asked very interested. “You have to find that special talent that makes you special. Then your cutie mark will appear on your flank,” Sweetie Belle explained. “But if you don’t have yours, then that means you can be anything, a doctor, a farmer, a scientist . . . “ “So it’ll just appear. Just like that? When I find something that I’m good at?” If that was the case, then why didn’t she have drawing pencil and pad as a cutie mark? “It has to be a special talent,” Scootaloo announced, wanting to prove she had knowledge also. Before Jelly could inquire further into what constituted as a special talent, a yellow pegasus with a long pink mane and tail landed on the grass near them. Jelly took note that on her flank was three butterflies. She stared at the newcomers with large bluish green eyes and then she glanced away, nearly hiding behind her long mane. “Um . . . hello . . .” Jelly stepped forward, dipping her head as she introduced them, “Hey. Twilight sent us. I’m Jelly Jam and this is my . . . mother . . . Victory Jam. She’s the substitute teacher for the school.” “Oh, uh . . .welcome to Ponyville.” She spoke so softly and timidly that Jelly had to lean forward to hear her properly. “They’re going to help us color the chicks!” Scootaloo’s wings fluttered in excitement. “That’s great. The chicks are waiting behind the cottage. They’re very excited to be in the parade.” Fluttershy began to relax in discussion of the small animals. “Follow me.” The foals ran ahead on their small legs and tails flying behind them. Jelly felt her grin stretched and she knew if she was able to, she would have picked them both up and hugged them. She should have held Apple Bloom more when she believed the pony to be just an animal. Victory appeared at her side, her eyes slanting as she fixed Jelly with a hard look. And with the same venom as one would accuse a pedophile of molesting children, she said, *“You love little cute things.”* And that the absolute truth, Jelly mentally admitted. Back when she was Mikala living on a colony with her grandparents, she fell in love with anything small and cute. Kittens, puppies, hamsters, gerbils, and rabbits, she had adored them all when she was a child. *“What’s wrong with loving them?”* *”Why you joined the military, I’ll never know.”* Victory looked away, her hooves almost stomping the grass as she followed the foals and pegasus. Up ahead, the foals halted as they approached the worktable. Sweetie Belle leaned over to Scootaloo and whisper, “Why are they talking weird?” “I don’t know. Is that how they talk in Caneighda?” Scootaloo whispered back. Behind the cottage, Fluttershy had arranged a long wooden table on which set large bowls of different colored dyes. On the ground were several crates of beeping chicks. Jelly trotted to stand next to the foals to look in the crate. The chicks were so cute with small yellow fuzzy bodies. Oh, she longed to hold one with two hands and stroked their fuzz with fingertips. “Dying them won’t hurt them will it?” “Oh no!” Fluttershy exclaimed, her eyes wide. “We won’t really put them in dye. The colors are actually berry juices that stain. And we’ll be very careful when we dye them so they don’t get too wet or cold.” She motioned a hoof toward the small dishes with paper towels, eye droppers, and spoons. “We’ll each take a chick and carefully covered them in dye and then let them dry in the sun there.” She pointed at newspapers laid out on the grass. “Awww, they are so cute!” Sweetie Belle reached in and held one in her hooves. Jelly followed her sample and carefully picked one up. It balanced easily on her hooves, with its tiny prehensile feet clinging to the edges. She sat back on her haunches and held it to her cheek. It’s heart beat was a small patter and its body felt warm, soft, and just so alive. The little beeps in her ear made her ‘squee’ inside. Victory stepped up, looking down at the crate, “I count over thirty chicks in this box. And there are six boxes.” “Yes and they are all excited about Winter Welcome.” Fluttershy held a loving gaze at the chicks. “And we’re to color each one individually? Won’t that take a while with only five of us?” Victory raising an arch brow as she mentally calculated the length of time of coloring each chick. “It may take a while, but it’ll be worth it for Winter Welcome.” Fluttershy offered a small smile. Jelly mentally prayed that Victory wouldn’t say anything that would offend the ponies. So far all the ponies they met had been kind and the last thing they needed for Victory’s attitude to turn them into pariahs, especially if she’s to be the school teacher. “We should get started,” Fluttershy said. “Girls, you can bring the crate over to the work table.” “I’ll do it.” Victory’s magic surrounded the crate and it rose above the foals’ heads. The contents beeped loudly disturbed as they were carried over to the work table. Fluttershy followed close by, speaking softly to them, promising it would be alright that the nice unicorn mare won’t drop them. Instead of setting the box on the worktable, the crate hovered above the large bowl filled with red juice and it tilted. Eyes widen in horror as small yellow bodies fell into the red juice dye. The ponies were frozen as Victory rear back, putting her hooves on the table, dropping the now empty box and grabbing a large spoon that was in the box and began stirring. She stirred as if she was baking a cake. Then she set the spoon aside, picked up the bowl magically and carried it to the newspapers where it was dumped it. Now red, wet, frighten, little chicks beeped miserably on the newspaper. Victory set the bowl on the counter, pulled the bowl full of green liquid to her. “Okay, next batch.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jelly and Victory took the path back to Ponyville. The younger unicorn walked with her shoulders haunch and her head bowed in shame as Victory walked with a confident swagger that deeply contrasted Jelly’s walk of shame. *”I cannot believe you did that,”* Jelly moaned. *”I just cannot freakin’ believe that you did that. I thought that poor pegasus was going to go into hysterics.”* *”She was too busy asking those chicks if they could breathe properly.”* Victory flicked her tail. Jelly thought it a good idea that they left before Jelly brought anymore bodily harm to Fluttershy’s animals. She turned to the foals and asked if there was anywhere else that would need help. Sweetie Belle told her that her sister Rarity was decorated the town hall for Winter Dance. Jelly halted Victory before she could tilt the second box of chicks into the green punch and encouraged her to return to Ponyville. *”Hopefully decorated the town hall will not offend or harm anyone,”* Jelly muttered. *”That remains to be seen,”* Victory replied with a small shrug. When they arrived at the town hall, it was late afternoon and the sun was casting long shadows across the streets. It looked as if the ponies were putting up the last of the decorations as directed by a white unicorn with a rich purple mane and tail elegantly styled. Her cultured voice carried over head as she gave directions, “No, not there! It’s going to overshadow the white. That won’t do at all.” This had to be Rarity and Jelly could see the sisterly resemblance in their bodies and faces. She was directing pegasi in putting up snowflake shaped crystals when they approached her. Again, Jelly did the introductions, “Hello, my name is Jelly Jam and this is my mother, Victory Jam.” “I’ve heard that the substitute teacher has arrived.” As the others, she greeted them cheerfully, but carried herself regally. “I’m sure you’ll find our Winter Welcome celebration as exquisite as Canterlot’s festivities. My name is Rarity and I am . . . Derpy! No! Not there! Over there with the others! Oh, bother.” “We’re here to help.” “Excellent! You can help levitate these banners across the buildings.” Jelly’s kept her cheerful smile, but her cheer faded. “O-okay. . . “ She turned back to Victory who had a smile teasing her mouth. “We’ll . . .we’ll just get started . . . .” The next hour was terrible. As much as she tried, she couldn’t get the end of the banner to movie, not one inch. It was a long blue banner with Winter Welcome printed in white across the blue plastic and painted snowflakes about the words. Victory was able to lift the whole thing off the ground and hang it up herself without assistance. She spent the rest of the time helping set up decorum for the Town Hall, something that unicorns and earth ponies could do. However, this brought another conundrum with there were other ponies around; she kept noticing the stares in her direction. An adult pony without a cutie mark was a spectacle it would seem. She needed a skirt to hide it. She made a point to ask Rarity after they called it a day. “Oh, then you must come to my boutique!” Rarity’s eyes flashed with pride. “I have the latest fashion from Canterlot. Do you have a dress for the Winter Dance?” “No,” Jelly heard herself respond in reflex. Then she regretted it. “Oh my! Winter Welcome is days away and you don’t have a dress! We’ll have to fix that right away.” No matter how much Jelly assure Rarity it was alright, the white unicorn could not be dissuaded. Jelly was corralled into going. She made arrangements with Victory to meet back at the hotel. *”What are you doing?”* Victory gave her one of her hard looks that made Jelly squirm. Victory had finished setting up the banner and had been waiting for Jelly to disengage from Rarity. *”Just to try on a dresses.”* Jelly waited for the cold look and the potential tongue lashing. Victory’s gaze turned cold. Jelly couldn’t meet her look, her ears slanted and she wanted the ground to open and swallow her. Then Victory spoke, *“Fine. Go get a dress. I’ll be at the inn.”*