Continuity Disrupted

by Doug Graves

57 The Coming Storm, Part Five

“Okay, Rares, Ah think Ah’ve played along long enough.” Applejack’s tongue flicks out, tagging the bottom of the cucumber slice around her eye. She gobbles it, immediately following that up by chowing down on the other one. She eyes Twilight Sparkle’s cucumbers, “You gonna eat those?”

“Um, you can have them,” Twilight Sparkle says, holding still so Applejack can snag them off her face. She blinks a couple times as she grins, giving a little cheer. “Oh, this is so exciting! My first slumber party, off to a great start! Well, I guess if we don’t count that time where we all slept over at your house, and then Princess Luna came, and-”

“It’s okay, Twi,” Applejack states, resting a hoof on the quickly growing frantic unicorn’s withers. “We can say this is your first official sleepover. And thank ya for your kind hospitality, inviting us in.” She glances around, “By the way, where’s Spike?”

“Oh, he’s away in Canterlot for official business,” Twilight Sparkle says, bringing her hooves up to make little quotation marks. She whispers aside to Rarity, “I think the little guy was afraid of the storm.”

“Well, that makes two of us,” Rarity says, nervously looking outside as the lightning strikes a nearby pylon. “I do hope Rainbow makes it home okay.”

“She’ll be fine, ain’t her first time navigating a storm like this,” Applejack says, trying to keep the shaking out of her voice. “Anyhow, we don’t want to ruin your first sleepover with talk like that. What’s the next thing we’re doing?”

“Oh, right! The list! The book!” Twilight Sparkle, her biggest ‘I’m about to read a book’ smile plastered on her face, scampers over to where she had left the book. But the table is empty.

“Huh.” Twilight Sparkle looks around, quickly scanning the available surfaces. “I thought I put the book right here.” Her searching quickly turns frantic, eyes darting left and right and under as she tries to locate her guide to slumber parties. “I know I put it right here!”

“It’s okay, Twilight,” Rarity says calmly, trying to put a hoof on the overly excited mare busy tearing apart the library. “We don’t need the guide.”

Twilight Sparkle lunges forward, grabbing Rarity and violently shaking her, “But how will we know if we’re having fun?” Loose strands of hair jut up from Twilight’s mane, one of her eyes twitching uncontrollably.

“Easy!” Applejack says, grinning. “We just make up what we want to do!”

“But what if they aren’t official slumber party activities?” Twilight Sparkle paws at her face, a high pitched whine emanating from her throat.

“Well, which of the activities do ya remember?” Applejack says, her calming voice trying to soothe the disheveled unicorn. “Was it, like, pin the tail on the pony?”

“Those are party games, not slumber party games!” Twilight Sparkle says, though she briefly chuckles. “I guess I can see the confusion. But, no, it’s things like telling ghost stories. Or playing truth or dare!”

“Ah like the sound of truth or dare.” Applejack chuckles, “Ah bet Ah can win every time!”

“You don’t win at truth or dare,” Twilight Sparkle says exasperatedly. “You either tell the truth, or you do whatever another pony dares you to do.”

“See?” Rarity says, smiling as she wipes away the green mud mask from her face. “You don’t need that silly book.”

“Silly?” exclaims Twilight Sparkle.

Rarity backpedals a step, “Did I say silly? Silly me, I meant... “

“Sappy?” Applejack offers.

“Yes! Sappy!” Rarity says with a smile, though she immediately turns to give Applejack a confused look and shrug of the shoulders as her cheeks scrunch up.

“Right.” Twilight Sparkle shakes her head, focusing on calming herself down. She doesn’t need the book. After all, she’s read through it, so she shouldn’t need her checklists to keep her in order. Oooh, what if she’s going out of order? Did the book say anything about needing to do the activities in any sort of order? After all, it wouldn’t make sense to go to sleep as the first activity, right? And there was definitely a section on the sleep part of sleepovers.

“Sooo,” Applejack drawls out, glancing between Rarity and Twilight Sparkle as she daydreams or something. “Does anypony just go, or is there some sort of order?”

“Order!?” Twilight Sparkle spits out, spinning around to focus on Applejack. “What if we’re going in the wrong order? The whole slumber party could be ruined!” She begins searching in earnest again for the missing book, looking at least three times to the table it should have been on.

“While I’m sure there should be some method to the madness, I do believe your first slumber party will be a smashing success regardless of what order we go in.” Rarity smiles as Twilight Sparkle slowly calms down, “Now, I propose that I ask Twilight the first question, and then she may ask whomever she wishes. Acceptable?”

“Ah’m okay with that,” Applejack says, exchanging a wink with Rarity.

Twilight Sparkle stops searching, plopping down next to Rarity with a huff. “Fine.”

Rarity asks Twilight, “Okay. Truth or dare?”

“Ain’t that the game we’re playing?” interrupts Applejack.

Rarity shakes her head, “No. Well, yes. But, you see, Twilight gets to pick whether or not she does whatever we dare her to do, or tell the truth about any one question.”

“Ah.” Applejack rolls a hoof through the air, “Carry on.”

“Hmm,” Twilight Sparkle says, deliberating while holding a hoof to her chin. “Dare.”

“Let’s see. Dare. Dare. Hmm,” Rarity stares at Twilight Sparkle, debating what to do. “I dare you to eat a whole tub of ice cream.”

Twilight Sparkle smirks, “You know, if Spike were here, you’d have to dare him to not eat a whole tub of ice cream.” Her horn lights, a tub and spoon levitating from the freezer. She takes a bite, messily saying, “Okay, my turn?”

“Darling, please watch your manners,” Rarity reprimands, levitating a few paper towels over. She then nods, “Yes, you get to pick.”

“Okay.” Twilight Sparkle takes another bite before pointing the spoon at, “Applejack.”

“Heh, Ah ain’t afraid. Truth.”

“Hmm.” Twilight scarfs down another bite, glad she buys the half pint tubs for herself instead of gallow containers Spike gets. “What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned since you became an Element of Harmony?”

“Oh, jeez, that’s a toughy,” Applejack says, going deep into the tank. “Are ya talking, like, in the time that Ah’ve been the Element of Honesty, since a month and a half ago? Or related to being the Element?”

“Um, let’s go related to being an Element. Anything interesting? I haven’t really noticed anything myself, since I already was, um, pretty prodigious as far as my magical powers go. I mean, I had never tried doing anything as impressive as brute forcing an Ursa Minor around, but I don’t know that I couldn’t have done that if I wasn’t the Element of Magic. After all-”

“I think it’s Applejack’s turn to answer a question, darling,” Rarity says with a soft smile.

Twilight Sparkle shuts her mouth immediately. Then opens it to say, “Oh, right. Sorry.”

“Ain’t a problem. So, um, whew, this is a bit of a doozy of an answer, and Ah might need Rarity to help on some of the, um, technical aspects.” Applejack smiles apologetically at Rarity, though the unicorn seems perfectly happy with being roped in. “Um, so, here goes. Now, as you know, Ah’m the Element of Honesty, and Rarity is the Element of Generosity.”

“Yup!” Twilight Sparkle says.

“Well, um, most earth pony magic, as it’s commonly categorized, falls under Laughter and Generosity. Making things stronger, grow faster, or healing plants.” Applejack pauses, looking to Twilight Sparkle for confirmation.

Twilight Sparkle nods, “Of course.”

“Now, cutie marks can give somepony a special talent, and mine is helping lots of plants grow. Ah can focus it if Ah need to, but Ah’ve always been able to just walk by an orchard and watch the blossoms bloom around me. Big Mac, on the other hoof, he can make whatever he’s focusing on grow real big. But it takes him a little longer to work on lots of little things.”

“Pretty standard thaumic theory so far,” Twilight Sparkle says.

Applejack glances over to Rarity, flicking her head.

Rarity continues, “And my special talent - my ability to locate gemstones - is a branch of Honesty magic, making me an Honesty Specialist. Which commonly deals with finding hidden things, enhancing vision, or its converse, hiding things or illusions. I was easily able to pick up the Princess’s, hmm, observation spell, and Trixie’s color illusions, as both of those fall under the purview of Honesty."

Twilight Sparkle nods, “I think I know where you’re going with this, but I’m not quite sure.”

Applejack snorts, “If you can guess, Ah’ll eat my hat. And you don’t even need to use a dare to get me to do it.”

Twilight Sparkle gives Applejack a sad smile, “You think the Elements of Harmony made a mistake? That Rarity should be the Element of Honesty, and Applejack the Element of Generosity?”

“We ain’t saying nothing of the sort,” Applejack says immediately, as if this isn’t the first time the two have had this particular conversation. And glad her hat will remain undevoured. “Ah’ve certainly struggled with being honest in the past, and overcome and grown from those experiences.” Applejack looks over at Rarity, a soft smile and, if she was sitting any closer, a quick nuzzle.

Rarity gets up to correct this heinous oversight, trading a nuzzle and smile with Applejack. “And, while generosity might not come as naturally to me, it is certainly an area in which I have found myself growing, and coming to understand the true value of being generous in every circumstance.”

Applejack smirks, “Plus, Ah don’t know that you could be honest with every one of your customers when they ask you how they look.”

Rarity twists her head up and away, a quick huff before she says, “Every customer who leaves my shop looks as good as they can, or I don’t make the sale.”

“And do ya tell ‘em how their previous outfit made them look?” Applejack says, grinning.

“Of course not. I want to stay in business.” Rarity frowns, then snorts, then grins back at Applejack, a quick glance up at her hat. “Unless I think your brand of brutal honesty is called for. Some of my customers are particularly stubborn about how their current outfit looks.”

“Um,” stutters Twilight Sparkle, nervously glancing between the two as their proximity threatens to turn violent.

“And Ah find it particularly uncharitable for you to keep making the same snide remarks about my choice of daily wear!”

“Um, girls, don’t you want to tone it down just a little?” Twilight Sparkle quietly says, afraid to try to break it up.

“Tone?” Rarity spits out, a quick glare at Twilight Sparkle, “The only tone around here that needs changing is those earth tones of Applejack’s.” She turns back to her herdmate, motioning with a hoof, “You would look lovely in a nice forest green! Or maybe a lighter emerald, to match your eyes.”

“You think so?” Applejack says, the venom gone from her voice. She inspects her forehoof, twisting it one way and then another to look at it from all angles. “Never really seen myself wearing a lot of green.”

“Really?” Rarity says, taken aback. “Darling, you would be stunning in the right outfit!” Rarity gasps, spinning around and grabbing the first empty sheet of paper she can find. Which, being Twilight Sparkle’s library, means she is actually sitting on two separate ones. ‘Checklists waiting to be actualized’ Twilight would claim. “Idea~!” A pencil joins the paper, a quick outline of a pony.

“What’s that?” asks an intrigued Applejack, craning her head to look at Rarity’s rough sketch. “That supposed to be me?”

“Of course,” Rarity says, very distracted as a second, then third pencil joins the fray. One draws a half set of boots, then a hat, while the other shades in various lines on the main dress. “Oh, it will take quite some work to be finalized, but when I do it will be fabulous!”

Applejack squints at the rough drawing, “And, what exactly am I doing? Or wearing?”

“Your dress for the Grand Galloping Gala, of course!” Rarity looks over at Twilight Sparkle, done with her sketch for now, “Do you have a safe place I can put this? I don’t want to lose it like, um…”

Twilight Sparkle huffs at the reminder, pointing towards the kitchen area. Rarity offers a sheepish smile as she gets up, putting the drawing on the counter. Twilight Sparkle says, “Okay, so, I don’t think you ever answered the question. What did you find that was interesting, if it isn’t that the two of you should swap Elements?”

Applejack considers for a few seconds before she says, “Have you ever had that feeling, that everything is right in the world? That you’re doing exactly what you’re supposed to be doing?”

“Hmm,” Twilight Sparkle says, considering. “Definitely when I got my cutie mark. Again when I became the Element of Magic.” She pauses for a few seconds before saying, “I don’t think I ever felt it when I passed a test, even with a perfect grade. So twice.”

“Ah’ve had it, hmm, four times that Ah can remember before Ah became the Element of Honesty. Once when Ah got my cutie mark, and when Ah got pregnant with those three.” Applejack motions towards Sweet Apple Acres, where Apple Bloom, Applebaum, and Pomarbo are sleeping. “What Ah’m about to tell you is the closest Ah’ve ever come to duplicating that. But it’s kinda like comparing, um, a single grain of sugar to a bowl of ice cream. It’s artificial, it’s fleeting, and you don’t feel full like how you know you should.”

“This is so exciting!” Twilight Sparkle says, levitating a pad of paper and quill.

Applejack narrows her eyes as she regards the objects, “Honestly, Twi, Ah don’t mean any offense, but Ah don’t want this recorded.”

“Really?” Twilight Sparkle says, frowning at the potential loss. “Why?”

“Well,” Rarity says when Applejack just stares at Twilight Sparkle, a touch of embarrassment in her voice, “it’s a very personal matter. Between Applejack and myself, though we haven’t tried with anypony else. We noticed it very recently, and I’ve never heard of it happening before. We suspect it has to do with the Elements, but we don’t know for sure.”

“The Elements?” Twilight Sparkle says, momentarily taken aback. “Of Harmony? What would they have to do with it?” She pauses for a moment, “And what is ‘it’?”

Rarity hesitates for a moment before motioning to her flank, “When I got my cutie mark, my horn practically dragged me to a geode containing some of the most beautiful crystals I had ever seen. They were, as the name suggests, hidden inside a boulder. And, much like my fashion business brings out the best in my customers, my magic assists me in finding the gems that are hidden away, buried under layers of dirt and rock. My Honesty magic.”

Applejack nods, “And, much like most earth ponies, my magic helps plants to grow, but also to heal. And healing’s a big part of Generosity magic. At least, as it’s been explained to me, Ah was never one to really look into that kind of thing.”

“Yes, I got that from the explanation from before,” Twilight Sparkle says, a bit of exasperation in her voice.

“Well, that’s it.” Applejack nods her head resolutely, “Rarity and Ah found that by sharing our magic - her Honesty magic, and my Generosity - that we could duplicate just the tiniest iota of that feeling of completeness. That’s the interesting thing that Ah found. Actually, that we found.”

“So, how does it work?” Twilight Sparkle eagerly asks, her eyes beaming with anticipation. “What does it look like? How do you know it’s working?”

“Sorry, Twi,” Applejack says, a smug smirk on her muzzle, “But Ah think Ah already answered one question.” She leans forward as Twilight sighs disappointedly, her smile turning just the slightest bit cruel, “And now it’s my turn. Twilight, truth or dare?”

“Hmm.” Twilight rolls back on her hooves, sitting upright and glancing to her empty tub of ice cream as she considers. “Let’s go with truth.”

“Okay. What exactly happened when you invited Doug in for a private magic show?” Applejack’s smirk grows as Twilight Sparkle’s smile fades, a light whine thrumming from the unicorn’s throat.

Comments

[DarkPhoenixx]

Interesting! *puts hands steepled in front and drums fingers together*

[f0st3r21]

*slow clap* Well played, Applejack.

[Poparakelis]

“Okay. What exactly happened when you invited Doug in for a private magic show?” Applejack’s smirk grows as Twilight Sparkle’s smile fades, a light whine thrumming from the unicorn’s throat.

Yeah... What did happen?