55 - Fallen Apple
Rainbow Dash scooched up to Pinkie Pie, her eyes wide and body tense. "Did you just see that?"
Pinkie tilted her head with confusion, "See what?"
Rainbow pointed to where Applejack was calmly nibbling on cake. "She just zapped two fillies to Celestia-Knows-Where!"
Pinkie flashed a bright smile. "Well if Celestia knows where, they're OK!" She pulled out a party hat from nowhere in particular and popped it on Rainbow's head. "Stop looking so glum."
Rainbow frowned at Pinkie's antics, "Pinkie, really. I love you girl, but I need serious Pinkie right now, please?"
Pinkie sat on her haunches and looked at Rainbow. "Alright, what's wrong?"
Rainbow wobbled a hoof at Applejack. "Where did she get that funny thing on her back? She just used it like Discord did his claws at the Gala! Except nopony stopped her and now they're gone!"
Pinkie frowned in obvious thought, tapping a hoof on the ground. "Who was it? I wasn't watching her."
Rainbow sighed softly. "Two fillies, uh, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon? Yeah, those are their names. Not the nicest foals on the playground, but nopony at this party deserves to be chucked into another dimension."
"Ah agree." Apple Bloom sat down beside the two adults. "She got it after we talked ta a no-good mare."
Rainbow clopped her hooves together. "Then it's settled. We get that thing away from her and get our old AJ back! Back in a jiff."
Rainbow took off towards Applejack in a streak and grabbed the scythe from her back before AJ had any idea she was under attack. The metal of the scythe burned angrily in Dash's mouth, but she clenched her teeth all the harder and burst through a window, fleeing out into the evening with the dark item.
Applejack turned red with an obvious fury, stomping her hooves and facing the window Rainbow went through. "Ya best get back! Rainbow Dash! That is not fer ya!"
Rainbow did not turn back, instead fleeing up to her home to set the scythe down on a table as soon as she could and get some water into her slightly cooked mouth. "The price we pay to be good friends," she muttered to herself between gulps."
Back at the party, Apple Bloom approached Applejack. "Ya need ta let that thing go."
Applejack frowned at her sister. "It ain't that easy. Rainbow's gonna abuse it. That thing's a right powerful weapon and ah have ta keep it safe, for Equestria."
Apple Bloom shook her head resolutely. "Ya done banished them! Ah mean, ah kinda thought I'd be happier about the day they got punished, but it ain't supposed to be like that! Where did you send them?"
Applejack shrugged lightly. "Back ta Everglow, where they can learn some manners, or hang out with fellow miscreants. They won't bother you girls or anypony else ever again."
Pinkie was suddenly on top of Apple Bloom, leaning forward towards Applejack. "No way! You sent them there?! Applejack!"
Applejack shrunk a little under Pinkie's admonishment. "Ah... Ah'm just trying ta do right... Where did Rainbow Dash get off ta? Ah gotta find her." She suddenly took off running, bursting out onto the streets and not stopping.
Willow sat on a comfortable chair, waiting with slight impatience. Being blindfolded and told to wait was not her usual ideal, but she was trying to have faith in the peppy pink pony. If she was going to live in this naive land, she would give it at least one good chance to do right by her or show its true colors.
"What is this?" asked a strange male voice. "Someone left an exotic female feline here. What a travesty! She should be being treated far better than this."
Willow reached to pull down the blindfold, but a paw came to rest on her own. "Not yet, my precious jewel. The Pink One told me much, but I would rather hear it from your pretty lips. Please, tell me about you, and I will return the favor."
Willow felt the urge to attack, or flee, but fought both down. If the person wanted to talk, there was little harm in that, and they sounded fairly innocent. Their paw also felt familiar, at least compared to pony hooves. So she talked, venting her life to this strange male she knew nothing about, save that they had paws. She vented and she gushed and she said everything, holding nothing back. She spoke of her departed husband, and her fears for her kitten. She spoke about her feelings of joy in exploring, but racking fears that she is wasting her time and failing as a person.
She felt a finger softly brush away her tears. "Your world was a cruel place, but there is happiness to be found, there, and here. I cannot promise I will be your match forever, or even today, but perhaps? Who can know without trying. I will tell you of myself, my flower, then you may decide if we will have a pleasant dinner together."
They talked, and eventually she felt her blindfold being removed, allowing her to see the male feline she was speaking to. He was lean and magenta coated, brightly colored like the ponies, and he had two tails, but he was kind and attentive. She had not known that the nature of Equestrian ponies were shared by other races, but the idea of a doting, emotional, and open husband thrilled some part deep within her, and she agreed to go get something to eat with him. Perhaps Equestria was the right decision.
As Lex and Sonata departed to get to the train station, Twilight caught up with the pair. "I need to be getting back to Ponyville. We may as well go together. Have you decided what you're going to do?"
Sonata quickly nodded. "We have a battle plan at the ready. Oh! Can you zap us back into Equestrian ponies? Like, we don't want to show up looking odd to the ponies of Vanhoover."
Lex nodded. "We're going to stop briefly in Ponyville as well, but Sonata makes a good point. We're going to be staying in Equestria for the foreseeable future, so there's little point in maintaining these bodies."
Twilight quickly dug out the tuning fork attuned to Equestria and struck it against the ground. As it hummed softly, she funnel magic through it and across the two. Their bodies were washed with the harmony of Equestria, insides and outsides jiggling oddly as they began to fall into the norm for the universe.
Sonata shuddered as she adopted the rounded look of an Equestrian pony, then giggled. "I look super cute!" She did a circle in place. "Anyone have a mirror? I can't see my face."
Lex shuffled awkwardly, not having realized how used to his Everglow body he had grown until now. Still, returning to his birth form wasn't unpleasant. "I have one." With his magic, he withdrew a modestly-sized silver mirror from his extradimensional pack, holding it up so Sonata could look at herself. It was notably ornate, being carved with great care and intricate whorls and patterns.
Sonata tilted her head at the mirror. "That's, like, a really nice one." Her eyes then moved to herself and she gasped. "I have ears again, and you can barely see the gills at all." She turned left and right, wagging her pony ears about. "How do I look?" she smiled brightly at Lex, clearly desiring his answer above any others.
Twilight answered anyway. "You look lovely, Sonata." She tucked the tuning fork away for later emergencies and appeared ready to move on.
"Yes, very nice." Lex's answer was obviously perfunctory, particularly since he wasn't even looking at her as he said it, instead sliding his mirror carefully back into his pack. It was a valuable component for his scrying spell, after all.
Sonata pouted at the lack of attention and reached to poke him in the side with a flat hoof. "Hey. You have a girl now, that means paying attention to her when she asks if she looks good. I shouldn't get better answers for that out of Twilight." She smiled at Twilight. "No offense, like, thanks anyway."
Twilight knew better than to get involved, and just nodded.
Lex frowned at Sonata, confusion and irritation mixing on his features. Confusion won out. "Are you suggesting that the question had some sort of special significance? Or is there some sort of expectation that's taken to be understood with regards to my answer?" His eyes glanced towards the train station, wondering if they had time for this...but the whistle of the train wasn't audible yet, so perhaps this wasn't completely pointless.
Sonata gestured over herself. "I want to know if my boyfriend thinks I'm pretty or not. That's always important." Her expression flattened a bit. "Lex, come on. All I'm asking is for you to really look at me."
Twilight cleared her throat softly. "I'll meet you two at the station." Her goodbye given, she slipped away, escaping the potentially contentious conversation.
Lex barely glanced at Twilight as she fled, his ears folding back at he processed Sonata's request. Why was this so important to her? Other than basic hygiene and instances where decorum was expected, personal appearance was largely a matter of vanity, which he had little regard for.
"I think you're pretty, whatever form you're in," he stated, though his uncertainty - born of his still not being sure why this was important - was audible in his voice. It was a variation of the line that he'd originally used, at Willow's behest, all those months ago. Hopefully it'd suffice now.
Sonata nodded, at least starting to move toward the trains, but not giving up the conversation. "That's very nice, but, like, how is this form compared to the other? You look cuter." She bumped against him lightly. "Not as imposing, which I think will help, but still handsome, at least when you stop frowning." She leaned in to nuzzle at the frown.
"Oh! You want me to compare your current appearance to your previous one!" His sudden expression of realization was almost comical, his ears having righted themselves and his eyes widening in understanding.
Stopping from where he'd begun to walk alongside her, he slowly looked her over, his gaze focused completely on her. After a moment, he nodded to himself in confirmation. "This body suits you better. The reappearance of external ears and the minimizing of your gills fit more closely to the classical standard of Equestrian beauty. The lack of overt muscle definition also abetts your coquettish nature. And...um..." he trailed off for a moment, before glancing down and offering, more timidly, "your muzzle is also more appealing this way. It suits your voice better."
While not the most poetically striking of compliments, they were all well-received by Sonata, her smile growing with each statement. When he was done, she moved up and kissed him on the lips, as intense was it was brief. "Let's catch up with Twilight." Her spacing from Lex was borderline clingy, happily pressing close to Lex the entire way and looking quite happy with the world entire.
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Blarg, delete the second use of "sudden" from this sentence.
6051924 Fix'd
Get some water into her "slightly-cooked" mouth.
Delete that last quotation mark.
I suspect she spoke about "wracking" fears.
He was lean and "magenta-coated."
Change the second instance of "Lex" to "him."
Also, "entire" is used twice in the sentence. Change that second instance to "happy with the whole world."
his uncertainty, born of his still not being sure why this was important, was audible in his voice.
It's borderline out-of-character for Pinkie to not notice what AJ just did, but I'll give you a pass since Rainbow called her on it and she did freak out later. It seems a little strange that they can have a calm conversation after that; the background ponies should be fainting or running around screaming. Also, I think the crusaders would be more upset. Remember, in Twilight Time, they were ready to be friends with DT and SS as soon as they stopped actively abusing them. In spite of how much they dislike their company, they clearly value them anyway.
Good on Rainbow for getting the thing away from her, but I doubt that's a permanent solution.
In general, I think the Equestrian setting calls for more outrage and panic in response to Applejack's sudden cruelty and bypassing of the legitimate authorities.
Edit: Also, last chapter Diamond Tiara disrespected an adult to her face. She is a little turkey, but she has always been either smart or cowardly around grown-ups; that's probably why she gets away with what she does to the CMC. Then again, you needed some reason for AJ to banish her; maybe this was her first time sassing a grown-up.
6051988
I'm of two minds about this.
While I don't think that there'd be that much outrage so much as there would be panic - panic having been shown many times to be their first response to danger - I'm not sure that they'd necessarily be panicking here, since what happened was so sudden, so unexpected, and over so quickly that it likely seemed surreal. All the more so since it came from such an upstanding member of the community.
That is to say, I can see the reaction of everypony being shocked into stillness as being entirely plausible.
6051998 Well, Lily goes to every Pinkie Pie party; I'm sure she would faint for less than this.
What was that creature Willow had a "blind" date with? Was it one of those alternate-universe cats from the Discord comic?
6052014 Thems the one.
6052018 So Discord is in on this, I take it? Pinkie Pie isn't quite to the point she can use mass interplanar teleport.
Poor Pinkie. she thought AJ was being nice and giving DT, SS a vacation on the beach a couple hundred miles away, which is why she is upset when she finds out its back in Mcmeany Everglow instead.
Dash taking the scythe, is worying, not because she would use it in anger, but because she is geas bound to weild it in stupidity. Hey boys, lookit what I can do, wheres my foot gone?
What would, does, Discords sheet look like at this time, if the equivalent designs have been worked out?
Given multiclassing, which would work better with it takes lots of Level 1 classes to add up to a Level 4 etc instead of always being one character level increase, the CMC should have supid point assignments, Well Traveleed and such, which is +3 to all knowledge and skills for only one feat? and others similar?
I still find it somewhat annoying that if you take multiclass spell casting, you can get 3 times your orizons, L1 spells a day, which you otherwise need to reach what class level in a single class to be able to cast the same amount?
6052062
It's probably a good sign that the scythe burned Dash's mouth. That would seem to indicate that it is bound exclusively to AJ, and won't work for Dash (and therefore, won't change Dash's behavior, either).
6052133 Dash is chaotic good, the scythe is lawful evil? It hates her more than anything.
What a great twist with Applejack and the banishment! I hope we get character stats for the adorabullies. I am sure someponies from Equestria will try and rescue them, but frankly I am really interested in seeing those two trying to survive on their own, gives them an interesting character dynamic.
Also, it seems a little unfair to Scootaloo that she has to return to her "natural" form where she may never fly, instead of using her "artificial" form. I get there are legitaminte safety concerns over her staying in an Everglow form long term, and the trade off of not being able to use her scooter is enough of a downside (considering she might eventually have a talent/career as some sort of scooter stunt-daredevil) that I can see her choosing to revert on her own. I just question the idea that she owes some kind of loyalty to the form she was born with, rather than just choosing the body that works best for her and makes her happy.
Didn't Spike keep his Everglow form permanantly? And what about Sonata? Her birth form is a 12-foot reptilian hippocampi form, not some pony, no one is telling her she needs to switch.
So AJ gets her first taste of opposition to her new attitude, Willow goes on a date, and Lex and Sonata finish up their preparations and head back to Ponyville. Things really seem like they're coming together here - presumably towards some sort of resolution (?) - with a single exception, which I'll address below.
The scene with Applejack felt very straightforward, in a good way, as to the immediate consequences of her use of the scythe to banish Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. I've mentioned before that I think the crowd was plausible in how nonplussed they were as to what happened, but more notable was Rainbow's reaction. Once she had confirmation from Apple Bloom that that scythe was trouble, she immediately leapt into action to take it away from AJ. That's our Rainbow!
That it burned her as she held it was notable too. I'm not sure if that was because of her alignment, or if it would have done that to anyone that wasn't Applejack, but either explanation is plausible, even if the former seems more plausible. Similarly, Applejack's sudden anxiety without it could be interpreted in any number of ways. Is she suddenly going through withdrawl-like symptoms without it, or is this more of her being genuinely misguided without keeping it in her possession? We'll know more next chapter I expect, since the first place AJ will go is likely to be Rainbow's house.
With regards to Lex, it really felt like he was flirting with disaster here. Sonata was asking him what he thought of her looks...wow was that a potential minefield. I honestly thought he was going to blow it, until she managed to tell him exactly what she wanted from him. I suspect that this is going to be a staple of their relationship, with Sonata having to tell him precisely and exactly what she wants and expects from him, if they want things to work out. He simply doesn't pick up on any number of assumptions that most other ponies would.
The nice thing was that, once he did pick up on it, he managed to step back from the brink and comply with her request. I thought that it was sweet that they ended up walking off with her pressing herself against him, which strikes me as the pony equivalent of holding his hand. They're just such an adorable couple, mostly for how hard they've had to work to get this far. I really hope they last!
With that said, we come to the last part of this chapter: Willow's blind date. I have to be honest here, I really did not like this segment. I felt that it fell down in more than one way.
For one thing, it was a completely awkward segue from Willow's last scene (like, three chapters ago) to this one. Last we heard, she was giving Pinkie an unspecified "challenge," and then it ends up with her sitting somewhere blindfolded, waiting for an unknown male to start hitting on her? What did I miss?! I really feel like there was a deleted scene here, or I otherwise completely managed to overlook an entire segment. How did that scene turn into this one?
Contributing to my confusion was the sudden appearance of a male cat-person in Equestria. That came from literally out of nowhere. According to albedo's comment, this is in reference to the comics, but I don't read the comics, and the lack of exposition to catch those of us who don't up was rather jarring. I've seen every episode of the show, and so far throughout this fic, that's been enough...but now I'm being left behind (at least for this scene), and it doesn't help with overall comprehension.
Moreover, the character that Willow met managed to be very off-putting. I could sympathize with Willow's initial desire to lash out at the fellow, simply because of how he was portrayed. He was using such flowery language (to the point of purple prose) when talking to her, trying so hard to evince flattery and interest, that it immediately made him seem shallow. Dating is presumed to be an exploration of whether or not you're interested in the other person, which presumes a level of honesty. But that stream of verbosity suggests that he was making a dedicated effort to sweep her off her paws, which makes him seem like a ladykiller, a Lothario, and that's so not what Willow needs.
I can see her reaching the point where she suddenly lets everything out - when there are no external problems left to focus on, it's entirely plausible that her internal ones wouldn't be able to be ignored any longer - but I really feel like this guy is just waiting to take advantage of her.
What made it worse was how she was thinking "hm, he's husband-quality material." Leaving aside the issues of personal compatibility, this seems like a concluding statement; that is, like this was wrapping up Willow's presence in this fic. By itself, that's not necessarily a bad thing (the entire fic seems like it's moving towards some sort of change, which may simply be that it's ending), but this seems too heavy-handed. She meets some pick-up artist, has a personal breakdown, and he moves in for the kill while she's quietly shuffled off-stage with a quick "happily ever after"? Willow deserves more than that.
It was a sour spot in a chapter that was otherwise characterized by steady progress.
6052203 Scootaloo hasn't been forced to do anything, just to accept herself as she is, and she has, but she has not rushed off to get herself fixed. Nope, this body's kinda fun and gosh darn it, she's not giving it up right away. Buck that noise!
6052265 Willow is not being swept off her paws by the cat, but by the simple measure that Equestria has rainbows to spare for felines as much as it does ponies. If he is literally the pony equivalent of a purrsian, that's actually pretty amazing. Will she surrender all her guards forever? Heck no. She still expects him to pull something, but the possibility is too strong to not at least try, which is what she's doing. If the pony's can all be happy all the time, and they have cats, maybe she can find her own smile in this strange world?
As for the cats, yes, they were introduced in the comics... not that it really matters? What I said in this chapter is all one really needs to know. It's a cat, it's brightly colored, and it has two tails. End.
6052329 The problem is that it introduces an unexpected and heretofore entirely-unknown element, to those of us that haven't read the comics, in a way that's entirely matter-of-fact. The disconnect is jarring.
6052329
6052355
In the comic, those cats were explicitly the parallel-universe alternative to ponies. The cats they meet are the mane 6 of that universe, color variations and all. Having cat people in Equestria is not a problem, but having those specific cat people would require a level of funny-business that only Discord himself could pull off.
6052432 Fortunately for all involved, I left it all undefined. Because it doesn't matter to this story, which is plenty complicated enough.
6052432 This is a minor point, but is it absolutely necessary to involve Discord, what with the dimension-hopping mirrors (plus Twilight rigging up a similar device, albeit using an existing cross-planar connection) and all?
6052460 Well, in this particular case, Discord, Fluttershy and the CMC are the only canon characters that even know that dimension exists, and those ponies wouldn't know how to find it again.
RD best be vary carful with that or she will be in ever free agene along with the too brats.
Harts Fire
I do hope Dash proves more responsible than Applejack gives her credit for. As long as she just leaves the evil scythe that hurts to touch alone, that shouldn't be hard. In the meantime, Pinkie can pen AJ in and force her to think about what she just did.
I'm not sure what's going on with Willow. I'll have to wait and see there.
As for Lex... well, hopefully he's taking notes. Other ponies have different value systems, buddy.
6055027 That they have different value systems is obvious. He's more concerned with showing why his value system is more worthwhile, in terms of being more effective for promoting the common good.
And Sonata and Lex learning how they need to communicate with each other to be understood continues. So glad to see them both learning, at least kind of, how they need to word things to get the other to understand. It's nice seeing Sonata be intelligent and clever enough to word things so that poor Lex understands the words that are coming out of her mouth. XD
6076634 I thought that this scene really encapsulated their entire relationship; it was them in a nutshell.
Basically, Sonata is the only one who's personable and easy-going enough to not be dissuaded by Lex's brusque attitude, which allows her to keep trying until she reaches him. Given that he's so terrible at relationships, he values her dearly for that. In turn, he lets her know how important she is to him, which gives her the affirmation that she never received while she was in the shadow of her sisters.
The two of them are both broken, but in ways that just so happen to allow them to fit together perfectly.
I was under the impression but she was supposed to bump into gates and knock over fences?
Uhh..... Who the heck did Pinkie just introduce Willow to? I do not recognize this character... or species other than being a nekomata.