Practice
There is a term of art used when talking about ponies in large groups. The term is “herd sense” and it has to do with the fact that ponies-at their very core-are still herd animals. When everything is going right, it is a calm background murmur in a pony’s mind-the herd is happy, the herd is calm, the herd is fine. As long as things keep going fine, there isn’t a problem and ponies will cheerfully go about their day without any issues. They might even spontaneously break out into song and dance (with amazing choreography and everypony knowing the words to the song) if the herd is fine.
The issue comes when the herd isn’t fine, and the problem isn’t something that is immediate and obvious. Theories abound and each has it’s proponents and detractors. Prehistoric ponies developing a sense of a potential yet unseen threat. Natural worries about living in a world that, for the most part, is tiny civilized areas floating on a massive ocean of wild zones. Eris and her chaotic manipulations of everything, even the Sun and the Moon, leaving ponies without a single solid frame of reference to sink their hooves into. Odd events and strange things that always seem to happen around the Element Bearers and Ponyville proper. The Cutie Mark Crusaders and the what next? aspect of their Crusade-and the property damage to follow.
(Applejack had a theory about that-his theory was that the Cutie Mark Crusaders already had their Cutie Marks. They were marks of chaos, confusion, and destruction, and they were invisible. For, the moment the CMC knew that they had their marks, they Crusade would end and they wouldn’t be living up to their Cutie Marks. So, to keep the ontological paradox from happening, the Cutie Marks were invisible, which meant the Crusade kept going and going… After hearing this, Dusk Shine nodded, politely suggested to Applejack that he throw out whatever batch of cider he had been drinking, and started work on Starswirl’s Last Spell. A month later...Ascension.)
In more extreme cases, the herd sense causes ponies to pre-emptively prepare for the worse. The Flower Trio start hunting for safe (and soft) places to faint. Lyra Heartstrings starts buying long-term food items to survive whatever disaster was coming up (and Bon-Bon’s irritated frustration at having a room full of prepper supplies). Butterscotch would find the best place to hide-and you aren’t a Ponyville native if you can’t believe that a yellow-and-pink pegasus can hide anywhere with amazing skill. Bubble Berry preparing for the pre-, disaster, and post-disaster party (with stunning accuracy, somehow tied into the Bubble Sense).
The problem, as Dusk Shine saw it, was simple-it was a sociological one. The pony he had swapped with was in every way his duplicate-except gender. Honestly, he would love to meet this Twilight Sparkle, as she was raving brilliant. Obviously, since she was him. Or he was her. Or whatever the proper tenses were. The issue, the moment that he walked out the door of the library, was that Dusk Shine had assumed simply that the only difference was going to be gender.
Dusk missed that one single domino falling in line…
And, for a brief, breathless moment, everypony noticed that a purple alicorn had left the library. Everypony tensed for that instant of something wrong is happening, as this Ponyville clearly had enough of the same experiences as Dusk Shine’s Ponyville. Then, they started to notice. The squareness of the jawline. The shorter and different hair cut. A different emphasis on certain muscle groups, a different way of moment that was not the movement of a mare, but a stallion. A small one, to be sure, but an alicorn stallion.
A hush radiated out from that door closing for that one moment, and Dusk was seriously debating if he should run back inside and pull up a red flag or just start along his way. Ponies were looking at him, trying to figure out exactly what was going on. The hush was broken as an Earth pony, purple with three happy sunflowers on her flank, came around the corner and ran into Dusk Shine. “Oops, sorry!” she said cheerfully, then looked and said, “Um...Twilight Sparkle?”
“Cheerlee?” Dusk asked. If this was the same pony, but gender-flipped, she was the teacher at the local school and...oh, yes. “Hello, I am Dusk Shine. Not, and I emphasize this, not Twilight Sparkle after a magical accident. For some reason,” and here he blushed a bit and rubbed behind his ear with a hoof, “myself and Twilight Sparkle have swapped places last night. So, until she comes back, I will be helping out with the preparations for the event tomorrow.”
“So, what happened…,” Cheerlee said, looking at Dusk Shine and worrying if she was going to suddenly turn into a stallion.
“I do not think it is an illness or a disease, so I am not contagious. I checked and I am sure of it,” Dusk Shine sighed. “I promise, if I thought I was for a moment, I would not be out here. If I am still here next week, I promise to come by and help with your class.”
Cheerlee blushed herself, and looked shyly away. “Well, okay...but, if you’re sure you’re fine…”
“I am,” Dusk smiled softly. “I promise.”
“Well, um...okay,” Cheerlee said, her voice picking up a bit. “Um, Dusk Shine, right? Do you have any plans for lunch?”
“Well, I am going to see Red Gala...wait a minute, she will not be Red Gala here, right? Applejack has a...brother? Older? His name is…,” Dusk asked, his voice trailing off.
“Big Macintosh!” Cheerlee gasped, embarrassed. Her face broke out in a huge blush and she looked away from him. “Um, yes, that is his name.”
“Well, Twilight Sparkle planned on having lunch with him, but if you wanted to come along…,” Dusk asked, as Cheerlee’s blush grew ever brighter and redder.
“Um, no! No, I’m fine, thank you…next week, in class, right,” Cheerlee blushed and trotted away, looking as if she had been highly embarrassed. Dusk Shine watched for a moment, sighed, and looked around a bit.
I think I could have handled that better, he thought. Of course, Cheerlee and Red Gala have been dancing around a relationship for as long as I have been in town and...if this Cheerlee and Big Macintosh are the same, did I just…
He blushed, and shook his head in confusion. I will have to apologize as soon as I can. I did not want her to get the wrong idea! I mean, me and Red Gala-let alone a stallion version of Red Gala, would be so wrong… Dusk made sure that his saddle bags were on securely, then started to walk toward where Rainbow Blitz...no, he corrected himself, Rainbow Dash, lived.
Behind him, the usual gossip and conversation of Ponyville began again. Except, there was a whisper of a new undertone. A new thing introduced to the usual affairs of Ponyville. Something new. Something interesting.
Something...predatory, in a lustful sort of way…
The first thing that Dusk Shine had learned about weather management, after the Ascension, was that he didn’t really know anything about weather management.
Oh, he had theory up the plothole. Intense curiosity had given him a reason to research and figure out all the details of how weather management had worked. After the Ascension, he had spent long hours dodging tape measure and pins with Elusive, figuring out how theory and practice had met after Starswirl’s spell. And, finally, he had an immense practical resource in the form of Rainbow Blitz, whom was in charge of the weather management for Ponyville. After the Ascension, Rainbow Blitz had become Dusk Shine’s tutor in flying, wing care, and weather management. This was a definite change between the two and how they interacted, and Rainbow Blitz was true to form.
Theory, he could have easily have done without. It was egghead stuff, therefore lame, and therefore not something that an awesome pony like Rainbow Blitz ever needed to know. Theory got in the way of the important things, namely practice and Wonderbolt statistics.
Practice, on the other hand… Rainbow Blitz, if he could be secured for long enough to write down what he knew, he would be a world-class expert on weather management between settled and wild zones. Rainbow Blitz had more experience in dealing with the uncontrolled weather that came off the Everfree Forest than any pony alive. The only possible exception was Butterscotch, whom handled low-lying clouds and fogs as a part of his part-time job (and land tax exemption) with the Weather Bureau. Rainbow Blitz had a whole language of words that he had made up to describe things that were only in advanced textbooks, and the comparison between the theory and the practice got very interesting.
And, according to Rainbow Blitz, you could only really learn how to manage weather by managing weather. In the air. Flying.
For a slightly agoraphobic unicorn-now-alicorn, this was something that really worried Dusk Shine. Fortunately, it only took a few lessons (and a few crashes) for Dusk to realize that flying was actually a pretty cool thing to do, and he was spending more flying time around with Rainbow Blitz.
And, learning some of Rainbow Blitz’s more interesting habits. Like the one that had his magic sweeping outwards, looking for Rainbow Blitz’s signature. He could do the same before his Ascension, but as an alicorn Dusk Shine had greater sensitivity and range to his ability to track. He still had problems finding Butterscotch, whom seemed to have a magical signature as shy and retiring as the pony himself. Bubble Berry was easy to find, if sometimes chaotically all over Ponyville. Applejack...if he was on the farm, he was impossible to find, his signature as much a part of the farm as the soil. Off the farm, he so solid and stable that mountains were harder to find. And, Elusive gave false positives because his clothing and the Carousel Boutique were so integral to him that it spread his signature outwards.
Dusk Shine trotted with careful normalcy, knowing that Rainbow Blitz...Rainbow Dash he thought to himself with a sharp bit of wit...was going to be finding the perfect angle and spot to swoop down and crash into him. He...and probably she was going to deny it, claiming enthusiasm and an inability to stop in enough time when coming to see his friends. Dusk Shine had heard the excuses before, in many creative variations.
Statistics and observed evidence said otherwise.
So, Dusk Shine waited, and he felt a second too late the magical fields of a pony he knew...but, slightly off. Assuming that the consanguinity was close enough, this had to be Rainbow Dash. And she was coming in fast and high, with what he had to assume was a swoop to ensure that the two would tumble down the hill. The probable ending point of this tumble was a huge leaf pile that looked a bit too soft and too neat to be natural.
Dusk Shine could teleport out of the way, but that would be cheating. And, while a colliding Rainbow Blitz and/or Rainbow Dash was not something to be taken lightly, he wasn’t going to cheat in this. So, he waited, patiently...feeling from Rainbow Dash’s general magical aura that she still had surprise on her side. The sound of wind and wings came closer, and Dusk Shine ducked. He hit his belly instantly, and Rainbow Dash was barely able to compensate, clipping the top of Dusk Shine with her hooves. This sent Rainbow Dash into a head-over-tail tumble, and rolled Dusk about half the distance on his flanks.
They didn’t make it to the leaf pile, but Rainbow Dash’s tumble was a near-run thing. The next thing to happen was, of course, the laughter, and Rainbow Dash saying, “That’s a good one, Twilight! Great moves, and…”
Rainbow Dash had finally gotten back up on her hooves, and Dusk Shine used that chance to look at her. You could see the lines in Rainbow Dash that belonged to Blitz, the firm muscle, the tone, the shape and strength of the wings that screamed that Rainbow Dash would be able to outrun anything in the air. Rainbow Blitz was small for a stallion, nearly the size of most mares, and Rainbow Dash was smaller than that...so much so that you’d assume very big foal if it wasn’t for her Cutie Mark. Her mane and tail was longer only in the measurements of precision calipers, kept short for easier care and less wind resistance. And…
And, Dusk Shine realized, both of them were staring at each other for what had to be a minute. When Dusk Shine realized that, Rainbow Dash looked in recognition…
Then, Rainbow Dash fell on the ground, laughing. “Twilight! What did you do to yourself this time? This is a major goof,” she giggled, then laughed even harder. “You made yourself into a stallion! How did you pull that off?”
Dusk Shine sighed and shook his head for a second. “I am not Twilight Sparkle, my name is Dusk Shine. Last night, when I went to bed, every pony that is a mare here was a stallion and vice versa. Even you, Rainbow Dash, were a stallion. And, since I have seemed to have replaced your friend Twilight Sparkle today, I am trying to keep her schedule.”
Rainbow Dash just...looked at him, then broke out in laughter again. “No way, Twilight. You just had another magical goof. I mean, there’s no way any stallion could be as cool as I am,” she laughed, getting onto her hooves.
“Oh, you mean a stallion that can clear the skies of every cloud in ten seconds flat?” Dusk Shine grinned. “Rainbow Blitz is that good, and I expect that you are that good as well.”
“Oh, you ‘expect’, do you?” Rainbow Dash came up to her hooves and smiled. “Well, Dusk Shine...first thing we’re going to do is...wing care!”
Dusk Shine groaned.
Rainbow Dash was taking her time in preening and working on his wings. Almost obsessively so. Which didn’t worry Dusk Shine initially, as he knew that he was still learning a lot about wing care. “Have to keep an eye on the primaries,” Rainbow Dash said, nuzzling her muzzle into his wing. “And, I can tell you haven’t been taking good enough care.”
Dusk Shine gasped softly as Rainbow Dash pulled out a loose feather. It didn’t hurt, but it did feel...odd. “I have been practicing, and going through the books on wing care in the library…,” he said, keeping his wings open as Rainbow Dash got into his right wing again, brushing her flank against his.
“I’m tempted to just sit on you and do a complete cleaning,” Rainbow Dash chuckled. “Like my dad did with me when I was a foal. Trust me, some of the parasites you catch aren’t a joke.” She firmly rooted her muzzle into Dusk Shine’s scapula, and started to nibble on something there. “Nothing there, thought I’d seen something…”
Dusk quickly shied away, and said, “That tickled, and in a...odd way. Anyways, you were going to show me how to handle thermals and pressure differentials today?”
Rainbow Dash paused for a moment, as if she had lost her train of thought. That was something that he had never seen with Rainbow Blitz. Then, with a shake of her head, Rainbow Dash said, “Oh yea, thermals! That’s always fun to teach. We won’t have anything like the whole cloud library incident…”
“That...that was an honest mistake,” Dusk Shine blushed. Rainbow Blitz had offered to show Dusk the superiority of cloud as a bedding material, and set up a nice cloud for him to spend the night in. He had to admit it was comfortable and the view was nice. The problem was...after. Namely, after he had fallen asleep, Dusk Shine’s magic started to pull clouds in, building in the air a library of memories and dreams. So, in the usual half-awake mental state that was Dusk Shine in the morning, he had pulled a cup (made of clouds) of (condensed fog) coffee, starting to find a (solid moisture) scroll when he realized that this wasn’t his library, but clouds very high up in the air.
The panic caused the whole library to shatter, the cloud he had slept on to partially evaporate, and Spines to send a letter to the Prince because Dusk Shine was hiding in a tree, frozen in terror that he had blown up the library.
Clearly, Twilight Sparkle had done the same thing.
Dusk wasn’t sure if he should laugh or cry that his doppelganger was so...predictable like that.
“Anyways, I think I see some good clouds to start from up there,” Rainbow Dash pointed out a bank of clouds just leaving the Everfree. “Let’s get going!”
Once they had gotten into the clouds, the weirdness coming off of Rainbow Dash had just grown weirder.
Rainbow Dash...was listening. To him. Even when Dusk Shine went into detailed explanations as to the weather manual textbook, the only thing that Rainbow Dash did was correct. Not sneer. Not claim superiority over an egghead pegasus author. Dusk Shine had a question, Rainbow Dash had an answer.
And, then, there were the looks. The most obvious incident was when Dusk Shine was about to attempt a major glide off of a serious thermal system. Dusk Shine was getting lined up on the cloud, wings open, tail ready, and “Rainbow Dash?”
Both Rainbows (Dash and Blitz) had emphasized that while he was in training, they needed a spotter pony in the event of an emergency. The spotter pony here was Rainbow Dash, and she had been distracted the entire time. But, this time, Dusk looked over his open wing at Rainbow Dash and it was…
Rainbow Dash was looking. Her eyes were open wide, and were looking over him in detail. Her jaw was dropped, and Dusk could almost count teeth. She had her wings open as well, in a position that he had learned (after reading On Mares and Stallions) was affectionately known as the “wingboner”-full extension of the primaries and secondaries, coverts stretched out as far as it could go, the bend of the wing barely non-existent, and the wings themselves forming a nearly perfect “V” from the barrel of the body.
Okay...what is Rainbow Dash looking at...there is not a single pony around except for… Dusk Shine thought. Then, the realization hit. Helios save us all...she is looking at me. Looking at me like she is attracted to me…
“Rainbow Dash?” Dusk Shine asked again, a little worried. He looked around and saw a cloud that with just a little bit of magic could be pulled over Rainbow Dash, whom hadn’t stopped looking at him. A few tugs, and it was right over Rainbow Dash. Then, a bit of concentration and Dusk Shine squeezed.
The cloud immediately dropped a load of rain right onto Rainbow Dash, whom came out of the rain shower gurgling and looking shocked. Wings folded back into her body, mouth open in surprise this time… “Ugh! Dusk Shine, why did you do that?”
“You were busy ogling me, Rainbow Dash,” Dusk Shine said in reply. “You are supposed to be my spotter pony, and what would have happened if I had fallen?”
Rainbow Dash had the decency to look embarrassed, with a massive blush and her head shying away from looking at him. “I wasn’t...well, yea, I was. It’s that whole...cognitive dissonance thing? You act a lot like Twilight Sparkle, you sort of look like her, but you’re not Twilight Sparkle and you’re cute as a stallion. It’s been hard for me all day to not look. And, I’ve kind of wanted to pony you since I knew you were you.”
Dusk Shine sat on his haunches and considered that statement-not the least of which was that Rainbow Dash had used “cognitive dissonance” correctly. “I...I am not sure what to say. To be honest…,” and here his voice trailed off.
Consider it objectively, Dusk Shine thought, a cold voice of logic speaking in his mind. You have always admired Rainbow Blitz in his physique and athleticism. A mare version of him is in front of you, and even you have to admit that she is attractive in an abstract manner. But, first of all, this is not even your world, and these are not your friends, but Twilight Sparkle’s friends. You may disappear tomorrow, and it would be sub-optimal to leave wrecked friendships in your wake. Second of all...second of all…
Dusk Shine could feel the color running out of his fur. And something warm pushing up against his belly. The little traitor voice of logic continued. Second of all, you look at her and you are tempted, are you not? Even if it is only once, that you return tomorrow...would you push further? Would you push it harder if you could? And, what if you returned home tomorrow-either way you decide-and your decisions coming from there?
Dusk Shine could feel himself growing cold. A new voice, a voice of reason came up. This situation is highly sub-optimal. We...we hold off. Politely. Thank Rainbow Dash for her interest, and figure out a way to say “I will not do anything until I know that this is where I will stay.” I will not put Twilight Sparkle’s friendships in danger just to deal with...a primal itch!
“Equestria to Dusk Shine,” Rainbow Dash said, waving her hoof in front of his face. “Hello, are you okay?”
“Um, yes, I am,” Dusk Shine said. “I think that...we need to give it a bit of time before I can answer you. I think...we need to get back to flying practice, yes! Wings up and out?”
“Sure,” Rainbow Dash replied, looking a bit disappointed.
But, they did resume practice.
Dusk Shine had to wonder if Rainbow Dash knew how hard it was to keep his concentration on the practice.
And a little traitor in his head was reminding him of how hard it was.
“So! What are you up to next?” Rainbow Dash asked, after they had finished flying practice. A quick and somewhat sensually-tinged wing brushing had followed the practice, and the little traitor was growing more...treacherous. But, if his suspicions were right, Rainbow Dash was very interested in an act of treason against Friendship.
“Applejack and the farm,” Dusk Shine replied. He wasn’t going to be an un-indicted co-conspirator in this, but the temptation was so much… “We are getting ready for the Winter Wrap up next year, getting all the supplies ready and in place.”
“So, have you thought about it?” Rainbow Dash asked, making...Dear Helios, she is making sultry eyes at me, Dusk realized.
“About…,” he asked carefully.
“Giving it a try,” Rainbow Dash smiled. “I mean, you’re here, you’re interested…”
Dusk Shine realized, in absolute horror, that he was in full wingboner mode, with some amazing extension. How in Artemis’ name did those wings even get there without me knowing it and oh my I am fully stretched out…
“And,” Rainbow Dash continued, “I’ve got a cloud house that nopony lives near and is very private…,” she trailed off with a sultry brushing of her body against his, nuzzling her cheek to his cheek.
There was an amazing amount of cross-talking conversations in Dusk Shine’s mind right now. Logic was observing Absolutely amazing muscle definition, I can feel it even through the fur and she definitely smells of sweat and honest exercise...
The traitor voice pressing against his inner rear thighs was saying Grab her with your magic, drag her up to her cloud house, and see if you can actually do the practical with all the things you saw in the Pony Sutra with her…
Finally, there was this gurgling thought that gave Dusk Shine wings and a direction in the form of highly sub-optimal! This is not your friend, but the friend of Twilight Sparkle! You need to go help the next friend of Twilight Sparkle, and you need to go NOW. Before you have to explain something in a very interesting Friendship Report to Prince Helios and Twilight Sparkle!
The wings started to flap, and he started to fly as hard as he could away from Rainbow Dash. From behind him, Dusk Shine could hear, laughing, “Hey, you know where I live if you change your mind!”
Dusk Shine flew even faster.
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Ohhhhh you. Good job traitor. Keep it up.
.....*thinking about twily* oh man...what happen to her.
*Meanwhile from Male version World*
(if you know what i mean)
Huh. Strange.
Like the chapter wanted to be smart. But instead, it came unedited and chunky.
So... who is Chaos, who is Confusion and who is destruction? My bet is Sweetie Bell, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, respectively.
(Applejack had a theory about that-his theory was that the Cutie Mark Crusaders already had their Cutie Marks. They were marks of chaos, confusion, and destruction, and they were invisible. For, the moment the CMC knew that they had their marks, they Crusade would end and they wouldn’t be living up to their Cutie Marks. So, to keep the ontological paradox from happening, the Cutie Marks were invisible, which meant the Crusade kept going and going… After hearing this, Dusk Shine nodded, politely suggested to Applejack that he throw out whatever batch of cider he had been drinking, and started work on Starswirl’s Last Spell. A month later...Ascension.)
There is logic in this. and if true
And then he'll meet Celestia. And Twiliy'll meet Helios.
quickmeme.com/img/de/dea79c2e6037ec58b62d83eb49c26974acd4e5a360a2afe4bbe351e2bfc2e371.jpg
Someone's a fan of Triptych and Flash Fog, I see.
Dusk's voice in this story is really bugging me, it doesn't match up with Twilight's at all.
Shouldn't there be another traitor mentioned below his belly? Oh, and that one also seems to be pretty hard, considering.
5133906 which will trigger thoughts of BDSM? Possibly, eventually, or most probably?
I found a couple of things you may want to edit.
That should be "their".
And I'm pretty sure you put emphasis on the wrong part of her name.
Ohhh, nice and subtle there. That's the way I like my references.
Oh dear lord. This is going to happen with all of them isn't it?
5134392
I haven't read the sister story yet, for I'm reading this one first, but I find myself enjoying the difference. It's... different. Less mare-like, more stallion-like.
......fuck. I was hoping this wasn't going to be clop.
Ah well. Good so far.
You're using "whom" wrongly - they should all just be "who".
5131544 that...
That is so funny I still can't breathe.
This story might be even better than the original.
Helios save us all...
~Leonzilla
Damn, hasn't even taken two.... four steps out of the library and they're already after him.
NICE
to pony? I've never heard the word "pony" used as a verb like that before. Maybe you mean buck?
Oh, GOD, if that hadn't been thrown out the window by canon, scratch that, even if it has been destroyed by canon, that makes WAY too much sense for it to be healthy.
6433150
"'Buck'?! But doesn't that make A.J.'s job sound bad?"
Wow. A reference to a fic I did edits for. It's been a while... then again I barely do editor work anymore.
Good. Dusk Shine made the most rarest but wisest decision in this situation. When a man is tempted to fornicate with a woman in front of him, RUN AND DON'T LOOK BACK! Ten points for manliness Dusk. Ten points.
Ah damn... Sexy Dusk is here.