Five
Twilight tried to preoccupy her mind so as to not worry about Applejack, but that was hard to do right now.
She'd been waiting outside of the bathroom, patiently, doing her best not to pace along the hall, -knowing that the sound of her hooves would travel, which Applejack might not appreciate hearing since it could be construed as impatience- and maintain silence. The shower had been shut off some time ago, indicating that her friend was at least done with that part of the process. But drying off, and doing whatever else, didn't transmit the same levels of noise as water rushing through the plumbing to its destination. Quite literally anything could be going on in there right now.
"Applejack? Are you okay in there?" Twilight asked as she gently tapped at the door.
"Ah'm feelin' all sorts o' wrong in here," Applejack replied through the closed door. "Ah feel weird without mah fur, Ah look like one of our pigs back on the farm, yer towels feel funny on mah skin... how in the hay do ya make this looked so danged easy ta do!?"
Twilight didn't want to giggle at Applejack's frustration over encountering new experiences for the first time. But that frustration just sounded so funny right now.
"Well I do have about a month's experience on you right now," she pointed out. "Applejack, what you're going through is perfectly normal. I experienced the same thing the first time around. When I first saw myself in the mirror after losing my fur, I nearly dove right back into it."
"... Yeah? So... wha' stopped ya?" Applejack asked.
"Well partly because, as a scientist, I know that unfamiliar experiences need to be met head on, rather than being shied away from," Twilight explained. After a slight pause, she continued. "And partly because the experience actually reminded me of the time a certain teacher gave me a certain assignment that forced me outside of my comfort zone, and made me come to grips with the fact that I didn't know nearly as much as I thought that I knew."
"An' what sort o' assignment was that?" Applejack asked.
"Go to Ponyville and make some friends."
Twilight could practically feel Applejack opening her mouth to respond, but nothing came other than a return to silence. Silence and waiting.
Lots and lots of waiting actually. Maybe she'd tried too hard? Or maybe not hard enough? Or perhaps she put too much emphasis on the wrong part?
"Twi'... Ah think Ah've got a problem in here..."
That snapped Twilight out of her thoughts. "Is it too much? Do I need to cast the counter-spell?"
"It ain' that. Mah hat keeps fallin' down over mah eyes. Either it grew, or mah head shrank..."
That made Twilight give a relieved chuckle. She was thankful that the "problem" as Applejack called it, had actually been something so mild. At least she was keeping her sense of humor about her through all this.
"A'right, Ah'm comin' on out. Ah'm not gonna find what Ah'm looking fer in here..." Applejack announce slowly.
Twilight stepped away from the door to give Applejack some space as the door slowly creaked open. Much as she had done with Rainbow Dash, she kept her attention on her friend's face, rather than anywhere else, as she wanted her to feel as comfortable as possible under these uncomfortable circumstances. And considering the fact that she was doing a marvelous impersonation of a ripe tomato, there was a lot of discomfort left to overcome.
"So how're you holding up?" she asked.
"Ah'll admit, without mah fur Ah can get dry in 'bout no time flat. But it ain' jus' yer skin that's sensitive. Mine was hurtin' when Ah was dryin' off. Don' know if Ah was doin' it too hard er what," Applejack replied.
Twilight nodded. "When you go your whole life covered in fur, your skin isn't accustomed to being front and center for various stimuli, so the nerves are tender. But with repeated exposure to said stimuli, that sensitivity can be reduced over time," she explained, remembering some of the trouble she'd had early on. She wouldn't really categorize her first experiences with a towel as painful, just really intense.
"Ah'll be sure ta keep that in mind if Ah keep doin' this. Fer now, though, Ah'm just testin' things out fer a bit," Applejack replied.
"That's fair," Twilight replied, "do you want to come back to the library? Maybe sit down with a wet compress in front of the fan?" she asked.
"Well... Ah'm already perdy cooled off as is. Ya seriously weren't kiddin'," Applejack replied slowly as she gave herself a cursory looking over. "But Ah think Ah could do that. Besides, the others are waitin' ta see me."
"Applejack," Twilight stated as she gently touched her friend's cheek, "If you're not comfortable, don't force it. You really don't have to do anything if you don't want to. Just because this is relaxing for me doesn't mean that it's for everyone."
"Ah know, Sugarcube, but Ah'll be a'right. So far so good," Applejack replied. "C'mon, before Ah wind up chickenin' out fer some dumb reason."
Rainbow Dash tried not to groan, or roll her eyes as Rarity lectured her, knowing that it would only make things worse for her. Glancing over at where Spike stood, she could tell that he wasn't faring much better than she was.
"And another thing, Rainbow Dash-"
"I get it, Rarity, seriously," Rainbow Dash stated, highly annoyed with how things had been going. "I'm sorry, alright? You don't have to beat the point into the ground like it's a tent stake. Whadda you want from me?" she asked.
"It's not me, Rainbow Dash, I'm well accustomed to your whole uncouth attitude. What I'm concerned about, is you doing something that may make Applejack uncomfortable. I don't know what your own experiences were, but not everypony is as comfortable with the idea of nudity as you apparently are," Rarity stated.
"Ugh. Rarity," Rainbow Dash groaned as she face hooved, dragging it slowly down her face in the process, "relax already. I'm not going to do anything. I've already seen Twilight bare and all, and that went fine. How much different can this really be?"
"I... I don't know, really," Rarity replied, her hostility forgotten in the face of the question. Now it was her turn to groan. "I really wish you hadn't asked that, now you have me curious," she admitted.
Rainbow Dash chuckled at that. "Now, Rarity, what I'm concerned about, is you doing something that may make Applejack uncomfortable."
"Oh dry up," Rarity replied as she pulled Rainbow Dash's towel over her face.
Rainbow Dash just chuckled as she pulled the towel down and placed it back around her neck. Off to the side Spike was snickering as well. A break in the tension was what they all needed right now.
"So we good now?" she asked Rarity.
"I suppose so," Rarity replied and nodded. She could always hash this matter out later on if need be. But that would come later, after the matter with Applejack had been resolved.
Until such time that Applejack was actually present, however, there was another matter she could actually tend to.
"So, if I may ask... what exactly is it like, in your case?" she asked.
"Me? Well... it's not something I'd wanna do long term, since I can't fly like this and all. I mean, there's not really anything wrong with it other than that. It's just... I don't know, I'm new to all this," Rainbow Dash replied, idly regarding her wings in this case. It was weird to look at them, all bare and useless and all, without being contrasted against her cyan fur.
"Isn't anypony gonna ask me what it's like for me?" Spike asked. He'd been present the entire time Rarity was berating Rainbow Dash, holding his tongue and all. Beyond all that, however, he'd been the one helping Twilight out the most, simply due to proximity.
"Alright, little guy, how've things been for you?" Rainbow Dash asked him.
"Well it was kind of weird at first, seeing Twilight without her fur and all. But after a while it quit being so strange. Anymore it's just kinda routine to see her walking around bare. After a while you don't even notice the difference between when she's bare, and when she's got her fur on," he stated.
Rarity was about to comment on Spike's statement about not noticing the difference, as it made little sense to her. But the sound of hoofsteps coming down the hall indicated that there wasn't going to be time for a question and answer round in this discussion. She shot Rainbow Dash a silent but stern look, reminding her to be on her best behavior.
Rainbow Dash shot back an annoyed look to convey that she didn't need to be treated like she was a foal. She'd behave herself. She'd-
"Holy!"
-Shout like an idiot as the two walked back through the doorway, her bald wings going stiff at the sight.
Rarity facehooved. She was going to strangle the pegasus with her own tongue.
"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight shouted in response. "That's not polite!"
Applejack's face went red at the outburst, feeling an instinctive need to pull her hat back down over her face and just hide.
"What? Look at her, she is built!" Rainbow Dash stated as she gestured over to where Applejack stood in an attempt to defend her reaction. "Seriously. Check out those muscles, and tell me you wouldn't react the same if you were in my position."
As much as Rarity disliked Rainbow Dash's casual disregard for whatever discomfort Applejack must've been going through at suddenly being thrust into the spotlight, after making a difficult decision to partake in something so controversial, there was a fact that she simply couldn't deny. She, too, was curious as to what Applejack looked like under her fur. And Rainbow Dash's assessment did nothing to quell that curiosity. As much as she didn't want to come off as gawking, she simply had to look.
"Oh my..."
Rainbow Dash's assessment wasn't far from the truth, but it certainly didn't do the facts on the matter any real justice.
Applejack, compared to Twilight and Rainbow Dash, was certainly muscular, the absence of her fur allowing for an unobstructed view of earth pony musculature that had been toned and built up over the years through a combination of hard work, and good diet. She certainly wasn't a hulking brute of a pony like Bulk Biceps, but there was no denying that she simply exuded strength. It was a subtle strength that she commanded, the type that accompanied a "speak softly" approach to life, rather than a boisterous bruiser who felt the need to flaunt their strength through pointless displayed that wowed spectators, and sold gym memberships to those who were eager to experience the same fanfare.
The fact that she was bashful rather than proud at the moment simply magnified that fact.
Lacking a more appropriate term to describe everything, "adorable" sprang immediately to mind.
"She does have a fair point, darling," she ultimately admitted. "If I may say, your physique has a certain quality to it, that hearkens back to classic athletes of days gone by, who were immortalized for their victories in statues of expertly chiseled marble."
She wouldn't lie, not to herself anyway. There was some small part of her that, right now, wanted to simply disregard what was proper behavior, and move in to huggle the farmpony right where she stood.
"Aw c'mon now, yer pullin' mah leg," Applejack replied dismissively, not buying the praise they were heaping on her.
"I don't know, Applejack," Twilight mumbled as she too gave her flustered friend a cursory glance. "I think they have a fair point. The delivery could've gone better," she said as she glanced at Rainbow Dash trying to make her wings fold back up, "but I don't think it decreases their validity any."
"... Yeah? Ya think so?" Applejack asked as she finally looked back up, and saw Twilight nodding with a warm smile.
Spike just stood there, scratching his head while wearing a confused look on his face.
"I thought you said nudity and sex weren't the same thing," he stated.
"They aren't," Twilight replied quickly, "it's just that not everypony knows to make that distinction. And when they don't... misunderstandings happen..."
"I said I was sorry already, like twice," Rainbow Dash stated firmly, "I'm new to all this, remember? Gimme a break, I'm trying!"
"Rainbow Dash-"
"Aw let 'er go, Twi'," Applejack interrupted, "ain' no use gettin' all upset 'bout it. No use spoilin' a friendship over actin' immature."
"You're right," Twilight replied with a nod and a sigh, "you're right."
"Now then, Ah remember somethin' 'bout bein' offered a cool compress?" Applejack asked, hoping to get things moving again, and smoothed over.
"Oh. Right," Twilight replied, "Spike, another wet towel, please?"
"I know that I'm terribly overdressed for the occasion, but would any of you mind if I stayed as well?" Rarity asked them.
"No, not at all. The more the merrier," Twilight stated with a smile. This was going better than she thought.
Despite the initial awkwardness that had been experienced, the situation had managed to settle down considerably. Rarity observed as everyone more or less settled into something of a routine. Twilight tinkered and fiddled with her new necklace, working to bind the necessary spell to it. Rainbow Dash preoccupied herself with reading one of the "Daring Do" books the library had to offer. And Applejack was currently busy experiencing the new sensations she was subjected to every time the fan would turn and blow over her, causing goosebumps to pop up on her skin. But as best she could tell, the earth pony wasn't uncomfortable with it; she looked too content to suggest actual discomfort. Spike finished out the quartet, occasionally misting each of them with the spray bottle, to let the evaporation process assist in cooling them off.
She herself was content to simply sit and watch the four, from a detached, and clinical perspective of sorts. The three of them being without their fur was certainly not the most common of sights available in Equestria. But none of them were going out of their way to appear flirty; not even Rainbow Dash as she lounged casually, in a position that some might call into question under different circumstances.
The shuddering that came from Applejack as the fan rotated in her direction and blew over her body, served enough to bring Rarity's focus away from the group itself, and back to the newest participant. "Are you alright, darling?"
"Ya probably ain' gonna believe this, but Ah'm actually chilly here," Applejack stated as she laid stretched out with her entire body pressed against the crystal flooring. "Ah like it," she chuckled.
Rainbow Dash looked up from her book and nodded. "Yeah. It does feel pretty awesome to not be sweating buckets when it's the same temperature out as the surface of the sun."
Twilight chose to ignore Rainbow Dash's hyperbole, opting to be supportive to her friends right now. The fact that they'd both decided to try this, had meant a lot to her, and she was in no mood to ruin it with petty bickering over little details. Especially not when she was so close to finishing up on binding her illusion spell to the necklace Rarity had gotten her. Just a little more calibration of the field, and...
"Bingo!"
Rarity looked up at the excited announcement. "What is it, Twilight? Are you finished with the spell?"
"I should be, if everything went right. I'm not really sure, since I've never had reason to do this before. But we're about to find out," Twilight replied as she stood up and slipped the necklace into place. As she did the gem contained within the band started glowing, and as it did bare skin was replaced with fur and feathers, leaving her looking like nothing was out of the ordinary.
"Cool!" Rainbow Dash stated, impressed by what she'd just seen.
Twilight smiled as she looked over herself, extending one of her wings and flapping it to observe how the illusion held up under the movement. From what she could see, it was doing just fine, meaning it was a seamless application.
"I can't thank you enough for this, Rarity, this is going to make things so much easier now," she stated, barely able to contain her excitement at the prospect.
"Think nothing of it, Twilight, I'm just glad that I could actually lend a hoof," Rarity replied, happy to see that Twilight was so happy with how things were going.
Spike was content to simply lean back in light of this information. Like Twilight, he knew that this was going to make things simpler on all of them; especially for him, since he wouldn't have to be the one answering the door now when Twilight was doing her thing.
"Ah take it yer gonna be walkin' around nude more often now?" Applejack asked as she looked up, shivering as the fan hit her exposed neck in the process.
"Well..." Twilight paused in thought, "it's possible, but only when I'm going to be inside. I know that it's highly unlikely the illusion would ever fail, but it's still something that I don't want to leave to chance if I went outside. It's... it's just not what being a nudist is about."
Applejack simply nodded in response. She hadn't tried to suggest anything otherwise, so that pretty much came out of nowhere. Unless of course Twilight was clarifying for the sake of the others who might not see the point in her decision to keep it to herself. Going by Rainbow Dash's reaction, she might need a bit of a refresher course on the subject.
"So will that necklace work fer anypony?" she asked, deciding to change the subject of discussion before anything else could develop.
"Well yes and no. It's not specifically coded to me, so it'll activate for anypony that wears it, but the illusion it generates is specific to myself, and only myself. If somepony else tried wearing it, they'd look like me rather than themselves," Twilight explained.
"So what you're saying is, it'd look like there's two of you?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Pretty much," Twilight replied and nodded.
"Cool," Rainbow Dash said as she set her book aside and stood back up. "Could I give it a try?" she asked.
Twilight looked at Rainbow Dash, and then over at Rarity as if she had an answer, Rarity simply shrugged in response.
"I don't see why not," she replied as she pulled the necklace off, the illusion cancelling out in the process and leaving her exposed again as she passed it over to Rainbow Dash where she stood.
Rainbow Dash looked over the necklace, fiddling with it a bit before finally slipping it into place. Much as Twilight had been, she too was cloaked in an illusion of lavender.
"Oh. Now that's interesting," Rarity commented as she looked over Rainbow Dash's new appearance, as the pegasus examined herself. Despite the variations in their body types, and the differences in their various measurements the illusion seemed to fit her regardless.
"Yeah, interesting," Rainbow Dash repeated, her voice undisguised by the illusion, and doing nothing to hide the confusion she was currently feeling. "Why's my skin tingling right now? Is that supposed to happen?"
"Don't worry, it's normal," Twilight reassured her, "that's the illusion field interacting with your bare skin. If you were wearing it over your fur, you'd never even notice it, because you'd be insulated. It's more annoying than anything else, but I like to think of it as a safeguard, as it serves as a reminder that your fur really isn't there. Otherwise you risk getting complacent in the fact that you look normal, and forgetting that you're still nude," she explained.
"Ya speakin' from experience?" Applejack asked.
"More like from a conscious effort to not be speaking from experience," Spike replied, remembering how cautious Twilight had been in her approach to everything, even after he and Rarity had been made aware of what she was doing, and were able to help her out. "Not that there's anything wrong with that."
"No, of course not," Rarity stated in agreement.
"Ya know, I just thought of something," Rainbow Dash spoke up, "these things would be pretty cool for Nightmare Night. Think about it, you could look like the Headless Horse, or a timberwolf, or a lot of other things you just couldn't be in a costume," she stated.
Twilight would admit that she hadn't considered such a possibility. But now that it was put out there for consideration, it was hard to not think about the possibility of such. There was no denying that an illusion spell could do a lot more than any physical costume could; like making a limb invisible so the pony in question could look like a decaying zombie, or even being filled with holes like a changeling. Rainbow Dash might've stumbled upon a very interesting idea.
Her thoughts on the matter, however, were interrupted by a startled sound that was somewhere between a yip and a squeak. Turning back around she saw Applejack's face was seriously flushed right now.
"Are you alright, darling?" Rarity asked her.
"Ah'm fine. Ah jus' wasn' expectin' the fan ta catch me where the wind don' usually blow," Applejack stated and sat back down again. But as good as the crystal flooring had felt on her bare belly, it hadn't felt so good against her butt, and it made her jump back onto her hooves again.
"Been there," Rainbow Dash muttered knowingly.
"It definitely takes some getting used to," Twilight replied and nodded. "If it's too much I can get you a sheet," she offered.
"Thanks, but Ah think it's about time ta call an' end ta this an' get mah fur back on," Applejack replied. "Don' get me wrong. It's been nice, an Ah learned a few things. But Ah don' have all day ta jus' lounge around an' cool off. Ah've gotta get back ta Sweet Apple Acres an' get back ta work," she explained.
"Yeah. I should probably get going too. I wanna get my feathers back," Rainbow Dash stated in agreement and nodded, before taking the necklace off and canceling out the illusion.
Twilight could do little more than nod in understanding. She'd been elated that her friends had not only been understanding and supportive of her interests, but had even gone so far as to try it out for themselves. But she understood that whether or not they partook, that didn't change the fact that she was still the only true nudist in Ponyville. There was the natural urge to ask them what they thought of their experience, but she really didn't want to press the issue, as it might make them uncomfortable. If they liked it, they'd be back. She'd just have to wait and see.
"Alright. Just keep in mind that you might want to grab something to eat afterward; the regrowing process can take a lot out of you," she explained, before her horn glowed as she powered up the spell.
Almost immediately after it was cast, the two of them came to understand just what Twilight meant when she said it was an unpleasant experience.
"Ah dang that itches somethin' fierce!" Applejack stated as she immediately took to scratching herself much like Winona would.
Rainbow Dash had nothing to say in response, opting instead to drop back to a sitting position, and work at biting her back where a particularly vicious itch had chosen to manifest.
Rarity could do little more than watch as the two went about trying to soothe their misery, with Spike opting to assist as best he could by scratching at Applejack's back, causing her to wriggle under his claws. This was too much like the first time she'd encountered Twilight experiencing that particular problem.
And then one of the backscratchers she'd brought over levitated in front of her face, wrapping in Twilight's aura. Looking over she saw that her friend was holding the both of them.
"You take one, I'll take the other?" she suggested.
"Yes, I believe that would work," Rarity replied and nodded in agreement. Being a helpful friend entailed many different things, depending on the circumstances one found themselves in. Sometimes it was lending moral support to one dealing with a complicated issue they didn't know how to resolve on their own. And sometimes it was as simple as being there to scratch at an itch they simply couldn't reach on their own.
And seeing as she was partially responsible for all of this, it was the least she could do for them. With that fact in mind, she joined Spike in tending to Applejack, as Twilight focused her attention on Rainbow Dash.
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LOL SHE'S BALD
"might"
Welp, only two others to inform. I get the feeling Pinkie is going to want to throw a "fur optinal" party once she and Fluttershy ate brought in on this.
I know it's been well-established by now, but Twilight's inability to multitask with the illusion just feels kind of wrong, especially with the whole "being an alicorn" thing. It's kind of transparent in its nature as a narrative device. Still, a good chunk of my dislike is a matter of clashing headcanons.
The tone does come off as a little didactic at times, more like the characters are lecturing the audience than talking among themselves. Still, in all, this is an interesting character study in unusual circumstances.
Finally, you may want to consider a new cover image. I can only imagine how many people might come into this expecting a race swap.
All that being said, I'm enjoying the story and am looking forward to more.
6607642
Well, one of them is Twilight Sparkle...
I'm actually finding it kind of amusing how... insistent Twilight is in disconnecting nudity and sexuality. Not that she's wrong in there being no required link between the two, or it not being a sexual thing for her. More like she feels uncomfortable with the idea of it being sexual for some ponies.
6607270
Fuptional if you will
6607642
I'll admit, it's narrative device. It's meant as a subversion to the notion some writers have the magic can be used as an excuse for doing anything. I like to take the other route and suggest that magic has its limits. It's also used for showing that, still being new to the subject, Twilight hasn't developed the necessary experience to perform as smoothly as others might if they had months of experience to run on.
But beyond all that, it's meant to show that Twilight is doing this because she enjoys it, and that anything worth doing isn't necessarily something easy to do.
That's an unfortunate circumstance of trying to write about a subject I'm not well versed in, being told by a character with a limited understanding of the whole subject, to characters with no understanding of the subject. It's not exactly something Twilight can just talk casually about since she has no idea how to, and it being a controversial subject in Equestria just adds to the problem.
I'd love to use some new cover art, but I can't find anything that seems appropriate. There's just not enough bald Twilight art around to pick from.
I don't know if I can keep up with this on a weekly basis, but I'm going to try.
6607874
Feel free to try and write it.
6607823 well imagine you wear t-shirts a lot, it's just another regular piece of clothing. now imagine you find yourself among a group of people who have a strong sexual link with t-shirts. I'm not sure the analogy works, but for a surface level comparison, I'd imagine twi is objecting to the idea that her normal is sexual and thus by extension she is sexual.
THE STEALTHBUCK! She's making the first stealthbuck! ...What, didn't anyone else think that when reading this part?
DAMN IT Charlie_K now I want THAUMATURGY!!!