It's just Baldness

by Charlie_K

Two

Applejack stood still as she observed Twilight's palace from the outside, several paces away from the front door. No matter how many times she saw it, it still struck her as impressive to think about how it had literally grown right out of the ground, fully formed and everything. It was magic far beyond her level of understanding. But it was a magic that she didn't obsess with trying to comprehend by herself. How it came to exist, that really wasn't as important to her, as the purpose that it had come to serve in its existence.

Besides that, she really didn't need to unravel every mystery she came across. There were some things that had to be known, while others you simply wanted to know.

Right now, however, she had other things on her mind. Things like how yesterday she'd agreed to show up for dinner at the palace with Twilight and Rarity, for the purpose of greater discussion over what they'd shared with her yesterday.

She'd done her best to avoid too much speculating about something she didn't fully understand, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't curious. It was mighty hard to not wonder about it all, so it took very little leg twisting on their part, to get her to agree to come over tonight to find out more.

"Well. No sense waitin' around out here," she said to herself as she stepped closer, and knocked on the large front door. Moments later the door was opened and she saw Twilight standing behind it. And -much to her relief- she was currently wearing her fur. "Well howdy, Twilight, how's it goin'?"

"It's going alright, but dinner's running a little later than expected. I hope that's not too much of a problem. I know that farm work motivates a big appetite and-"

"It's a'right, Sugarcube, Ah don' mind waitin' a spell ta eat," Applejack stated, cutting off whatever long-winded explanation Twilight might've been preparing to launch herself into.

Although in stopping Twilight from explaining things, and breaking her concentration, it looked like she had forgotten about actually letting her into the palace. Applejack wanted to chuckle, but decided to just let the matter go, as there was no point in being rude. "So. Mind if Ah step inside?"

"Oh my!" Twilight squeaked in embarrassment as she hurriedly stepped aside and opened the door wider. Now Applejack couldn't help but chuckle, as she dusted off her hooves and stepped. "I'm sorry, that was really inconsiderate of me!"

"Settle down there, Sugarcube, yer actin' like yer getting ready fer a first date er somethin'," Applejack stated.

"... I really am, aren't I?" Twilight asked, now realizing that she was being totally ridiculous. She knew that she didn't have to be this anxious. But knowing or not, she really couldn't help feeling it. "I'm sorry. I'm being ridiculous. I don't know why I'm being so anxious about all this."

Applejack didn't say anything as she walked over, and wrapped her leg around Twilight to pull her into a hug. The type of hug one friend didn't hesitate to give to another during a period of distress. The poor mare was getting herself way too worked up over something that was really nothing. "Ya already told me 'bout yer secret, Sugarcube. Ah reckon the hardest part is done an' over with."

"You're right. You're right," Twilight replied as she nodded slowly. The hard part of all of this had already been done when they'd told Applejack about everything, and she'd still shown up for dinner. She hadn't even hesitated to hug her when she looked like she had needed it. What did she really have to be upset about anyway? "Thanks. I needed that."

"No trouble at all, Twi'," Applejack replied as she patted Twilight's back, before setting her hoof back on the floor. "So how was tonight supposed ta go anyway? Does the question an' answer session come before dinner, er after, er what?"

"Oh. About that," Twilight paused ,"the thing is, I had this idea for a specific setup of this evening. But Spike and Rarity eventually talked me into a more free form approach to doing things. They reasoned that since we're not discussing anything obscene, it shouldn't necessarily be restricted to an after dinner conversation," she explained.

"Makes sense Ah guess," Applejack replied. It actually reminded her a lot of the first time she, Twilight, and Rarity had gotten together for an impromptu slumber party during a thunderstorm. Twilight had her rigid way of trying to do things by the book, and it usually fell on them to try and show her that there were easier ways of proceeding. "Ah reckon we'll do jus' fine, playin' it by ear."

"I guess..." Twilight replied slowly, still unconvinced about the whole idea. She really should've made a checklist on how to proceed with this. The thought of proceeding in such an open manner just didn't feel right. Rarity had discovered her secret by accident, so she had little choice on how they proceeded. But this was knowingly walking into the situation without a plan.

Applejack didn't need to be a mind reader to know that something wasn't right with Twilight. She and the others had been a bit more attentive to watching the signs after the last time she'd had a meltdown, and they had an idea for how to respond to seeing them.

"If ya don' mind mah askin', Twi', why've ya got yer fur on? On the way over here, Ah half expected ta find ya plucked," she stated. But almost immediately after the words left her mouth, she regretted ever asking the question. That sounded so, so wrong now that she'd actually heard it. "Er... not that Ah mean Ah was expectin' ta find ya bald er nothing! Ah'm not, uh..."

Now it was Twilight's turn to giggle, amusement overtaking anxiety.

"It's alright, Applejack, I get what you meant," she said as she patted her back. "As to the why. Being nude is something I only do when I have free time, and the privacy to do it in. And since the palace still serve as the town library, those are two resources often in short supply. Although both have become more abundant ever since Spike and Rarity found out, so I've got a little more leeway at my disposal," she explained. Looking back on how hard it had been previously, compared to how it was currently, she wondered how she'd ever gone it alone, now that she knew what it was like having help when she needed it.

"As to why not now. I considered it, reasoning that you already knew about it. But then I stopped and remembered that there's a lot of difference between knowing something academically, and actually experiencing it with your own hooves. I didn't want to just go and do it, without knowing if it might make you uncomfortable. Plus it would just be rude," she continued.

Applejack paused, wondering what she should say next. She wasn't sure whether to express gratitude over Twilight being so neighborly and considerate of others, or tell her that since it was her home, she should feel free to do what made her comfortable. It was one of those complicated give and take problems that she just couldn't figure out right now.

"Anyway. Let's go to the dining room. Hopefully dinner will be ready by the time we get there," Twilight suggested.

Applejack nodded at that suggestion, glad for the change of subject to something that was far easier to discuss.

---

"I still think we should've gone a different route for dinner tonight. This... just seems wrong to me," Rarity commented as she looked at the spread on the table. This certainly wasn't what she would think of as appropriate. They should've gone with something more... impressive. Something that required a little more effort.

"Maybe. But this is what we settled on for the night," Spike replied as he finished setting the table. "Besides, it's homemade," he added.

It was no secret that Twilight had a strong love for the Hayburger; it was probably the worst kept secret in all of Ponyville. That mare couldn't get enough of what they put out. So it really wasn't that much of a surprise that their usual was what was for dinner tonight. But as he said, it was all prepared and cooked at home, with ingredients fresh from the market. Oatburgers topped with cheese, and fresh hay fries were the menu for tonight.

To Spike it just made sense. Giving Twilight a worry window of nearly 30 hours to, well, worry about all the little -and otherwise nonexistent- details, was a bad idea no matter how you sliced it. And in light of such undesirables developments occurring, a little comfort food was the least that they could do.

"If this doesn't help Twilight relax, I don't know what will," he stated as he picked up one of the hay fries, and popped it into his mouth.

"I suppose," Rarity replied, not knowing what else to say. It was hard to argue that Twilight had been stressed since yesterday, despite them doing their best to help her relax. She suspected that after tonight, things would go a lot smoother. If Applejack wasn't uncomfortable, or otherwise opposed to Twilight being a nudist, it was likely that the rest of their friends wouldn't be either.

She couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt right now. It had been her idea to push Twilight into bringing the rest of their friends into the know about her secret, when she had been fully content to just keep it to herself the entire time. And right now there was little that she could do, but watch Twilight worry about what might go wrong. Had she simply stayed out of the matter, this wouldn't be such a problem. But she simply hadn't been able to do that. She believed Twilight was in need of help, had established her position, had more or less pushed her in this direction... and now she was regretting ever doing such.

Looking over at Spike, however, was enough to convince her that her actions had been justified. He was Twilight's assistant, friend, and for all intents and purposes, her little brother. If no one else, Twilight should have at least been able to confide in him from the start. And even if, for some reason, the others were opposed to Twilight's decisions in conducting her life, at least she would have Spike's support.

"Hey, Rarity?"

"Yes, Spike?"

"Well I was just wondering. How do you think tonight's gonna go?"

"Hmm..." Rarity mumbled to herself as she rubbed her chin in thought. That was certainly a good question. But unfortunately, it was one for which she had no answer. Applejack was quite understanding yesterday when Twilight told her that she was a nudist, saying that it wasn't any of her business what she did. But that could've simply been because she wanted to get back to her market stall. Although she did accept the invitation to dinner when she had no need to.

Before she could actually give an answer to his question, her ears picked up the sound of both Applejack and Twilight entering the dining room. As best she could tell, neither one of them were looking particularly uncomfortable.

She would take that as a sign of so far, so good.

"So good that you could make it, Applejack," she stated.

"Ah said Ah would. 'sides that, Ah reckon Ah came off as mighty rude, rushin' back ta mah stall like Ah did yesterday," Applejack replied as she stepped closer to the table, noticing the layout for tonight. "Takeout?"

"Homemade," Twilight clarified as she walked around to the other side of the dining room table. "Don't tell the Hayburger I said this, but as much as I love their menu, it has nothing on Spike interpretation."

Applejack just chuckled in response. She figured that was something that she could keep under her hat with ease.

"All except for the hay fries. I don't know what it is, but I can't cook mine like they do theirs," Spike stated, before popping another into his mouth to chew on. "Theirs are just plain better."

"Crispier doesn't necessarily mean they're better," Twilight pointed out as she turned her attention to Spike. It was sort of an apples vs oranges sort of thing as far as she was concerned. And she liked both equally, for their own unique -and delicious- qualities.

"Ah'm lost. Ah thought we were here fer dinner an' discussion, not critiquin' food," Applejack spoke up.

"Quite right, darling, quite right," Rarity replied and nodded, before taking her seat at the table. One by one the others followed in turn, sitting down at the table in order to eat.

Despite Spike's modesty about his culinary efforts, dinner proceeded without a complaint, as they were all too busy eating to stop and talk. It wasn't until all the plates had been polished off, that anyone actually considered speaking up.

"Ah tell ya what, Spike, that was hoof lickin' good," Applejack commented as she patted her stomach, satisfied with the meal.

"Please don't," Rarity spoke up, "it's incredibly unsanitary. Not to mention unsightly."

That got a few amused chuckles from around the table. But all too soon the chuckles died down, as an uncomfortable silence began to settle in, making the atmosphere feel like it was growing to be stifling.

"So..." Applejack stated slowly, being the first to speak up.

"So..." Rarity repeated.

"So..." Spike added, not knowing what else to say.

"Ugh..." Twilight groaned as she hung her head. "I just don't get it. We got the hard part out of the way yesterday, and that went fine. Why does this just seem so hard?" she asked, disgusted with how things were going so far. She double face hooved in annoyance. "This was actually easier when Rarity caught me off guard..."

"Ah know Ah'm not the most educated one o' the group, but if ya ask me, Ah think yer all tryin' ta think too much on this," Applejack offered up as an explanation. To her it just made perfect sense. It was like pulling out a foal tooth; do it quick without much thought, and it'll hurt a whole lot less than agonizing over it. "We came here fer dinner an' discussions, an' we already took care o' the first, so let's start on the second."

"A-alright then," Twilight replied uneasily as she nodded, "what... what would you like to know?"

"Well Ah reckon we oughta get the biggest question outta the way first. That one bein', are ya plannin' on goin' without yer fur tonight er not?" Applejack asked, deciding to cut right to the bone of the issue.

"Er..." Twilight paused in thought. She looked over at Rarity, and Spike, who looked back at her, none of them having a particular answer in mind. "Well I wasn't really planning on going nude tonight. But if you'd like me to..."

"Uh..." Applejack paused, feeling her cheeks getting hot through her fur real fast. She hadn't intended for the conversation to go this way. But whether she intended it or not, it had. And now she found herself in a bit of a precarious predicament. "Ya... ya really wouldn' mind that any if Ah asked?"

Twilight merely shook her head in response. "Part of being a nudist, is knowing that eventually, others are going to see you when you're most vulnerable, most exposed, and being alright with that fact. Maybe not comfortable with it in all cases, but accepting enough of the fact to not let it bother you; being a nudist isn't the same thing as being an exhibitionist, where you're doing it for the thrill of being seen by others."

"It ain't?" Applejack asked, a little surprised by that. "Wha's the difference between 'em?"

"Well..." Twilight paused in thought, trying to think of how to explain it in a way that would make sense to Applejack. "Boiled down to simplest terms, the difference between being a nudist, and an exhibitionist, comes down to intent. Simply because I'm alright with being seen nude, doesn't mean that I want to be seen nude," she explained.

"... Ah reckon that makes enough sense," Applejack replied and nodded after a pause, thinking over what she had just been told. "So's there much more Ah should know about it?"

"Well, other than that, there's really not much in the way of need to know information. But if there's any other questions, I'll do my best to answer them," Twilight replied.

"A'right then," Applejack said as she thought on what to ask, going over the possible questions. "Well Ah guess Ah'd ask how long ya've been a nudist?"

"Two weeks yesterday," Rarity stated before Twilight could even get a word out edgewise. "That's the official count of her coming out anyway. Before then it was just isolated experimentation whenever she managed to find the time, so that really can't be counted, officially," she explained.

Applejack blinked, not expecting Rarity to just charge in with the answer like that. But then again, Twilight had never said that she would be the only one answering the questions. So with a dismissive shrug, she decided to engage Rarity for a bit.

"So how many know? Jus' the three of us?"

"So far," Rarity replied and nodded as she leaned back in her chair. "After a lot of discussion, we concluded that it would be best to approach you first, before making the others aware of this. I don't mean to speak ill of anypony, but out of everyone, you have what's likely the most level head in the group. If anyone would reserve judgement until they got all the facts, we knew it would be you, darling," she explained.

Twilight nodded. "We were hoping that, if everything went well tonight, maybe you could... help us inform the others? Your input would carry a lot more weight than just ours."

"Ah think yer givin' me way more credit than Ah deserve. But, sure, Ah'll help ya if Ah can. Wha' would Ah need ta do?" Applejack asked.

"Mainly just be available when we're ready to bring somepony else into the know. I don't think the others would react all that badly, but..." Twilight trailed off, trying to think of a polite way to explain that their friends were all crazy in their own rights. "Well you know how it can be around Ponyville."

"Sure do," Applejack replied and chuckled, getting something of an idea on what was being asked of her. "Ah think Ah can do that. Jus' be sure ta let me know first in case ya plan on schedulin' anythin'."

"Deal," Twilight replied and nodded with a smile.

A moment of silence passed after that. And then the moment started to stretch into the realm of awkwardness, leading everyone to start looking at one another.

"So... here we are again," Spike commented, not sure what else to say. "Short trip."

"Maybe. Ah got another question, but Ah think Ah already know the answer," Applejack stated as she looked back at Twilight. "Ah'm guessin' yer the only one whose, er, participatin' an' such in bein' nude?" she asked.

"Well other than Sunset Shimmer, yes," Twilight replied and nodded. "But I'm alright with that. It's something I enjoy, but I'm certainly not going to try and convince anyone to join me. If they wish to that's one thing, but it's ultimately up to them to make that decision. That said, however, it's a lot easier when others know about it, and are supportive of you as you do it."

"Ah sorta figured Rarity'd be a tough sell," Applejack commented.

"Twilight didn't try and "sell" me on anything, Applejack, she merely explained the concept," Rarity explained, deciding to let Applejack's comment go. "I'll admit, she gave me a lot to think on. And she did mention a few things that could be considered advantages in going without fur, but nudity just simply isn't for me, darling."

"Oh," Applejack replied, hoping she didn't insinuate the wrong thing in her statement. "Uh, if ya don' mind mah askin', Ah got another question," she said as she looked at Rarity. "Wha' exactly is it like bein' around Twilight when she's, er, doin' her thing?"

Rarity didn't even bat an eyelash before responding. "Much like being around Twilight at any other time. I'll admit that it was a bit jarring to experience at first. But eventually that faded away, as I came to realize that nothing important was any different from any other time. Twilight's still very much herself, it's just a different presentation is all."

Spike nodded in agreement. He wanted to say something, but Rarity had pretty much covered everything that needed to be covered.

"I guess you could say that Twilight's nudeness lost a lot of its newness," Rarity added, causing the others to chuckle in response.

Once again, silence. But not necessarily an uncomfortable silence that they found themselves in.

"So's that it then?" Applejack asked.

"Well," Twilight paused as she rubbed her chin in thought, "I could tell you about the discoveries I've made about being a nudist. But that might come off as sounding like a sales pitch. So I guess that's it."

"Well technically there's still one thing left to at least address," Rarity stated to gain their attention. "I know that we're all still new at this, but if somepony is going to be properly introduced, shouldn't they actually observe what's being discussed?" she asked.

"She's got a good point, Twilight," Spike added.

Twilight looked between them, before looking back over at Applejack, and giving a shrug. "It's whatever you want to do. I don't mind either way."

"Well..." Applejack paused in thought, trying to figure out what to do. Being able to go with either option, and it apparently not mattering one way or another, made it a bit difficult to decide just what to do. But difficult didn't mean impossible. "Aw hay, if ya really don' mind none, why not? Go on ahead."

"Alright," Twilight replied as she pushed herself up from her seat. "Spike, why don't you go ahead and get dessert ready," she suggested, before trotting out of the dining room.

"Wait, where ya goin'?" Applejack asked. She got the distinct feeling that she was missing something.

"Well I've found that it works best to do this in the shower. The spell causes the molecular bonds of fur and feathers to break down, so if I just went ahead and did it out here in the dining room, there'll be purple powder everywhere," Twilight explained.

"Trust me. It takes forever to clean up," Spike added.

"Ah. Gotcha," Applejack replied and nodded in understanding. That made sense.

"I'll just be a moment. Don't wait up," Twilight added as she left the room.

---

"Ah tell ya, Ah'm not the biggest fan o' ice cream, but this stuff's perdy good," Applejack commented, practically sucking the remnants of chocolate sauce right off the spoon, before going back in for more of her sundae.

"Twilight always gets the best ice cream," Spike stated in between spoonfuls, enjoying the chilled gem bits as they mingled with the hot fudge.

Rarity silently nodded in agreement, remembering her own conversation with Twilight over a bowl of ice cream. And from what Spike had told her, his experience had been quite similar She couldn't help but wonder if this should be the standard treat for whenever they decided to induct the others into the know.

"Okay, everypony, I'm back."

Applejack paused, spoon hanging limply in her mouth as she turned around in her chair. She'd nearly forgotten that Twilight had gone to get out of her fur without making a mess, only to be reminded of the fact when she came back. As soon as she had, she resolved to get it over with quickly, rather than hesitating like it was something she was dreading.

However she wasn't sure just how to respond when Twilight didn't look the least bit different, as she stepped back into the dining room.

"Somethin' go wrong, Sugarcube?" she asked as she took the spoon out of her mouth.

"No, everything went just fine. I just figured I'd come presentable, in case there were any last minute thoughts," Twilight explained as she stopped in front of the table. "Just a simple illusion spell, in case there were any lingering doubts to address."

"Ah appreciate ya bein' considerate an' all, Twilight, but Ah ain' scarin' all that easy," Applejack replied.

"Just so long as you're sure," Twilight replied, before cancelling out the illusion, letting it fade away from view, and take the visage of her fur and feathers with it.

"Whoa nelly," Applejack stated in a whisper, feeling like her breath was caught in her throat as she saw what Twilight looked like under her spell. "Ya look like a freshly sheared lamb!"

"See? I told you she looks like a lamb," Spike said to Rarity at hearing Applejack's comment.

"That fact aside, I didn't think it was particularly polite to compare Twilight to some farm animal," Rarity replied in her own defense.

"You two are funny," Twilight giggled in response, before returning her attention back to Applejack, who looked like she was still overcoming her shock. "Anyway, this is pretty much it..."

"So Ah can see," Applejack replied, "uh, Twi'? Would it be a'right if Ah..."

"Go ahead," Twilight replied.

Nodding, Applejack pushed herself up from the table, sundae ignored as she made her way over to where Twilight stood, slowly circling her, all the while hoping that she was coming off as inquisitive, rather than perverted. Although that was probably easier said than done. It was easy enough to say with certainty that she could do something. when that something was just an abstract thought. But confronting that abstract in a real life setting, having it stare her right in the face, was proving that it wasn't nearly as easy as she thought it would be.

And that was certainly no abstract in front of her...

"So..." she said slowly as she came back around front to look Twilight back in the eyes. "This is wha' ya look like without yer fur on."

"Pretty much," Twilight replied and nodded.

"An' this is comfortable to ya?" Applejack asked.

"Quite comfortable," Twilight replied and nodded again. "It's really hard to describe adequately. It just feels... better without carrying around so much fur all the time. There's nothing to hold in the heat, making it several degree cooler. There's also no fur being rubbed the wrong way when trying to settle in and get comfortable. And then there's the matter of fabric. You'd be amazed at just how different fabrics feel against your skin, compared to against your fur," she stated.

Despite the awkwardness of the situation, Applejack couldn't help but chuckle at that last part. "Rarity's been havin' some fun wit' ya then?"

"Oh now really, Applejack, you make it sound like we're doing something inappropriate," Rarity stated.

"Uh..." Applejack sputtered, cheeks burning at Rarity was saying. "T-that's not what Ah was meanin'..."

"Oh I know, darling, I was merely giving you a hard time," Rarity replied as she waved her hoof dismissively. "It was too hard to resist when you left yourself open like that."

Applejack frowned, but ultimately shrugged and let it go. "Ain' exactly the first time Ah've stepped in somethin'," she replied.

"Can we just get back to the ice cream already?" Spike asked impatiently. He understood how important this all was. But he also understood that the ice cream wasn't going to stay cold forever, whereas the explanation wasn't about to go stale. "We went all through dinner without talking, why can't we do the same for dessert?"

"I think that would be alright," Twilight agreed. After all, she was the only one who hadn't had any of her ice cream yet. "We'll talk more afterwards, alright?"

"Sounds fine ta me," Applejack replied. The reprieve of ice cream would give her time to think over what she might want to say, and what she should refrain from saying.

Comments

[Hillbe]

Oh Stars!
Rarity your fur!
Oh dear. Spike turn away!
Oh I'm sorry
Oh wow Rarity
Oh Spikey
Oh no
Oh yes
Oh fer crying out loud
Twilight looks like a plucked Scootasheep!

[CommisarSilver]

Cool! I'm enjoying the pace of this one. Theres awkwardness and AJ being curious and supporting. It feels logical and not over the top. Its nice reading them interacting and no one is left silent.

[Chimp]

Had she simply stayed out of the matter, this wouldn't be such a problem. But she simply hadn't been able to do that. She believed Twilight was in need of help, had established her position, had more or less pushed her in this direction... and now she was regretting ever doing such.

I like how this was in the story.

Also, Rarity...why you so pushy?

[Charlie_K]

6525338
Primarly because she can relate with Twilight about enjoying something that's not mainstream, and would even be regarded by others as a strange endeavor. She sees a bit of herself in Twilight and what she's doing, and is sort of giving her the support that she wished someone had given her.

[Real_Atomsk]

Seriously there needs to be an M rated side story to this. The idea of a short RariLight romp exploring how shin feels It has awakened a desire I didn't know needed filling...

[Lithl]

This story makes me want ice cream...