Muscles
"Vinyl Scratch has recently started working out at Bulk Biceps' new gym," Rainbow Dash explained.
"That guy opened a gym?" I asked, incredulous. "He can barely string two sentences together."
"Yeah, but his enthusiasm outweighs his incompetence in that line of work," Applejack said, rolling her eyes. "RD and I signed up since we're both in the off-season. Being in there is like being at a BBBFF concert."
"So much screaming…" Rainbow murmured, her eyes unfocused and tired.
"That said, it's got the best equipment in town," Applejack said. "I'm sure Vinyl's still a member."
"She doesn't go super often. But she's always, always there Wednesday nights starting at six," Rainbow explained. "I know that because she always jumps on the lat press when I'm not looking. Seriously, what unicorn needs good back muscles?"
Rainbow fluttered her wings for emphasis.
Applejack scoffed. "What pegasus needs to work her quads as hard as you do?"
"Hey! Those are for kickoff and you know it." Rainbow smacked her own flank. "These aren't the Apple-Bucking Muscles, AJ. Anypony can use them."
I cleared my throat loudly and comedically. "So?"
Applejack and Rainbow snapped back to looking at me. "So, we know her gym schedule," Applejack explained. "We're heading over tonight at six, and we're gonna see what we can get out of her."
"What do you mean, 'get out of her'? She's not a war criminal!" I exclaimed.
Rainbow laughed. "Twi, were just gonna have a friendly conversation with her and see if we can find out what's going on with her and Octavia." Rainbow looked over at Applejack. "And, y'know. Anything else she may wanna tell us."
The rational part of my brain knew this was a bad idea. Unfortunately, the rational part of my brain seemed to have dried into a shrunken husk over the past few weeks, entirely overcome by the mushy-gushy, lovesick part of my brain.
"Yeah. Let me and RD do a little spying for you," Applejack said with a smile. "We promise we'll learn our lesson about how spyin' is wrong as soon as we're done."
My mind was churning. It was hard to get past the need to know and get to the meat of the proposition.
"Applejack, how can you be okay with this?" I asked. "Isn't it super dishonest?"
Applejack shrugged. "I'm of the mind that your friends should always be honest with you. Even when the truth isn't all that great. I don't like that she's avoiding you like this, so I'm gonna enact some justice."
"Justice?"
"Yeah, you heard her!" Rainbow pounded her hoof on the table. "Justice! Nopony hides crap from my friends. Secrets suck."
I chuckled lightly.
They actually made a pretty good couple, these two.
"So?" Applejack asked. "Will you let us do this for you?"
"Yes," I blurted.
"Yes?!" Rainbow put both front hooves on the table and pushed herself up to stand on her chair.
"Really?" Applejack cocked her head.
"I just--" I sighed. "I need to know what's going on. How am I supposed to fix things if I don't know the problem?"
"Exactly!" Rainbow threw her hooves up in exasperation.
Applejack smiled to herself.
"On one condition:" I said. "I-I wanna come with."
Rainbow snorted. "Won't that be a little suspicious?"
"No, no! I have a spell." I cleared my throat. "It'll make me invisible. I'll sneak around the gym with you guys and listen in on everything. It'll be perfect!"
Applejack squinted at me. "How in the hell is that perfect? Sounds like a big risk."
"Ideally… I could just talk to her myself," I said. I looked down at my folded hooves on the table. "But she won't let me talk to her. So at least let me listen."
Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked at each, exchanging a series of subtle eyebrow motions and mumbled non-committal syllables. Rainbow leaned back in her chair and sighed deeply.
"This is verging on some morally iffy territory," Applejack said. "You sure you want to come listen in?"
The little, dried husk of logic lurched. Don't do it! You're breaking her trust!
No. She made me a part of this. I deserve to know.
"Yes. I do." I nodded.
Rainbow shrugged. "Alright. I guess you have 'til six to work out any kinks in the invisibility spell. Meet back here?"
"Sounds like a plan," Applejack said.
"I'll leave the door unlocked," I agreed.
-----
The spell was harder than perhaps I had expected.
Let me explain. There are many different types of spells, typically falling into a few categories:
First, there were inorganic spells. These were spells which affected objects that were not living. Whether they were short-lived (like a transportation spell) or long-lasting (like a color-changing spell), they were 'one-and-done'. Once the spell was cast, it was over with. You didn't have to think about it anymore. I like to think of it like plucking the string of a violin; the string vibrates after it's been plucked, the sound is not dependent upon you anymore.
Second, there are instantaneous organic spells. Spells which are performed on organic objects, but the effects of which are momentary. A growth-enhancing spell on a plant, for example, would be considered instantaneous. The plant's growth rate is advanced for a set period of time, after which it returns to its usual behavior. It is like a whole note on a violin, being played with concentration for its duration, and then released shortly after.
Thirdly, there are long-term organic spells. These are spells which have a long-lasting effect on something which is alive, with ever-changing biology on a microscopic scale. Something like an invisibility spell, for example.
These spells require constant concentration on the part of the caster, as they must keep up with the moment-to-moment chemical changes within the body. They were like a long, consistent, vibrato note on the violin… requiring constant, unnoticed adjustments by the performer to hold perfect key.
And I was going to be casting one in a gym.
While listening to Vinyl talk about her relationship with Octavia.
Her relationship with me.
While she worked out.
Staying calm is key. Even breathing is necessary. There could not be any hormonal changes within me while I spied on my… acquaintance. Not a drop of sweat. Not a hard pump of the heart. Not a breath of emotion.
Even thinking about it made me start to shake.
I had practiced sitting in front of my mirror for a few hours before Applejack and Rainbow Dash arrived. My skin would ripple and shimmer, like a mirage, then disappear. If I squinted, I could see the slightest haze over the furniture on the other side of the room. Otherwise? Foolproof.
As long as I stayed calm.
There was a knock at the door. My reflection popped back into view.
"Coming!" I shouted. The stress was straining my voice already.
Applejack and Rainbow looked like somepony had asked them to dress up as Equestria Games competitors for Nightmare Night.
Rainbow Dash was wearing matching sweatbands on all four hooves and around her head. She had put her mane up in a comically high fillytail, which seemed to be bouncing just while she was standing there.
Applejack was wearing--I kid you not--legwarmers and a matching sweatsuit.
"Uh…" I blinked. "What's with the outfits?"
Rainbow frowned. "This is what I always wear to the gym…"
Applejack rolled her eyes. "You comin', or not?"
"I'm coming, I'm coming…" I sighed and closed the door behind me.
We set off at a brisk trot.
"I thought you'd be invisible," Rainbow said.
I sighed. If I admitted how difficult the spell was, wouldn't they want to leave me at home?
"I… thought you'd be freaked out if there was nopony at the door," I mumbled, probably unconvincingly.
I closed my eyes, still trotting along between Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Calm blue ocean, Twilight. Evening sky. Gentle summer breeze.
"Whoa!" Rainbow started to laugh. "No way, that's so sick!"
I rolled my eyes, but neither of my friends could see it. "You've seen me do much harder stuff than this."
"It's still awesome!" Rainbow said.
"You're talented, Twilight," Applejack said. "For fuck's sake, let us tell you once in a while."
I blushed, but said nothing.
Rainbow Dash and Applejack pulled ahead of me as we neared the gym, starting their own little conversation. We hadn't discussed this, of course, but us girls always knew how to move in sync.
The first thing you noticed about Bulk Biceps' gym (The Long Rein, it was called) was the smell. It didn't smell like sweat, per se; it was more like the place had smelled very badly of sweat for a while, and Bulk had finally realized that he may have overlooked the hygiene aspect of gym-ownership. Two or three misguided deep-cleans later, and we were left with this.
The second thing you noticed--well, I noticed--was just how crowded it was.
The third thing I noticed was that crowds are way worse if no one can see you.
Just a few steps from the front door and I was touched by no less than three ponies, all sweating buckets on their way out the door. Or… maybe just wet from the shower. Admittedly, I didn't know much about how gyms worked. Is that pathetic?
Concentration fading! Focus!
I maneuvered to an empty space and managed to get airborne. Hopefully this would afford me the space I needed to not be touched.
I surveyed the ground. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were making their way towards the back of the gym, where the treadmills, stairmasters, and stationary bikes turned into weight-training machinery. At my best guess.
They were moving slowly, looking side to side. Maybe looking for Vinyl? Maybe looking for me?
I flew down near them and grazed the top of Applejack's head.
"Hey, what the--" Her hoof flew to her head and she looked up. She didn't finish her thought.
I tapped Rainbow, too.
Rainbow and Applejack looked at one another and nodded slightly, like spies. I guess they technically were spies.
They made themselves comfortable at two mystery machines side-by-side. Whatever they were, they seemed to be working their back legs. Were these the lat presses they had been talking about?
I caught a lavender streak through the air as my wing's disguise partially dissolved.
Focus, Twilight. Focus.
I couldn't have scripted the moment better myself. The front door swung open, and Vinyl Scratch stepped in. She had her mane pulled back in a low fillytail, and her tail wrapped into a bun. Her shades were gone, striking ruby eyes on display for all to see. She literally had a towel laid across her shoulders.
She stood there a moment--the perfect amount of time--surveying the area. Then, she whipped the towel off her shoulders and sauntered to the lockers.
My hoof appeared.
Focus.
Gone again.
Applejack and Rainbow paused, as if they had sensed her presence. After a moment's realization, they kept pumping, almost perfectly in sync.
Vinyl filled a water bottle at the fountain near the front, then trotted towards the back. She slowed down as she approached Applejack and Rainbow Dash. I could almost see her thoughts ballooning upwards from her head: should I be avoiding them too? Has Twilight talked to them about this? Don't be silly, of course she has… do they care? Do they think it's my fault?
She said nothing, just climbed into a machine one down from Rainbow Dash and went to work. It was a slightly different machine-- this one seemed to work the front legs in a similar pumping motion.
Rainbow gave Applejack a panicked look.
"Uh…" Applejack swallowed. "Hey, Vinyl."
Vinyl halted mid-pump. "Oh, hey! L-look who it is!" Vinyl looked a little sick. "Fancy meeting you, so suddenly…" This had a little sing-song to it, rather old fashioned.
Rainbow was still working out, but now stared straight ahead, her eyes narrow and her eyebrows knit.
"Er… right." Applejack cleared her throat. "It's been a while, what's new with you?"
"With me?" Vinyl's lip twitched. "Nothing. The same. Same as it ever was, Applejack. Same as it ever was."
Okay… those were most definitely song lyrics.
I caught a glimpse of my snout.
Focus!
Poof, gone again.
"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Rainbow asked. "Are you gonna come by again some time?"
"Um…" Vinyl huffed lightly, breathless from the combination conversation-workout. "M-maybe. Soon, I hope. I'll see you soon. Don't you lose your trust! 'Cause I'll… I'll see you all soon."
Rainbow and Applejack looked at each other, asking silently about Vinyl's new… lyrical way of speaking. She hadn't always talked like this, right?
"Cool. Maybe a movie night?" Rainbow suggested.
Vinyl strained against the machine's resistance. I watched, entranced, as the muscles of her back contracted and relaxed, contracted and relaxed… as her legs pumped, slowly and deliberately…
"Sounds cool," Vinyl said. "Just a little late-night, double-feature picture show…"
"Uh… sure. We can do a double-header."
Rainbow rolled her eyes, but seemed to pause mid-roll. She was looking right at me! Well, to the right of me. She made a face that was as panicked as possible without actually shouting my name.
I looked to my right. Nearly my entire wing was in view.
Focus, focus… calm blue ocean. Summer breeze.
Rainbow seemed to relax. I guessed that I was hidden again.
Maybe the ground would be better. No need to move my wings that way?
There was a space right near the machines everypony was using where I would be out of the way, up against a window.
I drifted down and landed as delicately as possible. No space in my concentration to use a silencing spell, so natural gentleness would have to do it.
"How's Octavia?" Applejack asked.
I tripped over my own hooves and made a wild clattering sound.
All three ponies' ears swiveled in my direction.
I held my breath.
"What the hell was that?" Vinyl asked. She jumped off her machine and started walking my way, looking around for anything which could have fallen.
"Uh, it was--" Applejack looked to Rainbow for help.
"--the wind! Weren't there some wind chimes out there, AJ?"
"Uh…" Applejack swallowed. "M-maybe?"
Vinyl squinted and stepped closer to me, looked right through my neck. "That didn't sound like wind chimes, are you sure?"
She took another step closer. Mere inches from the fur of my neck. For a ment, she was looking through me-- she was looking right at me. A double take. Nothing.
"They were wood?" Rainbow suggested.
"Huh." I felt her breath on my neck.
She stepped away.
"Let's do delta," Applejack suggested.
The group moved together towards another section of the gym. I gulped in an enormous breath of air.
By half-shuffling my hooves, I could make it around the gym without making much sound. I followed behind the three mares, eternally grateful nopony could see how ridiculous I looked right now.
"Sorry, I didn't catch your answer earlier-- How's Octavia?" Applejack asked. She seemed to be looking over Vinyl's shoulder for some sign of me.
I shuffled faster. It was so hard to move quietly and breathe quietly, none of the spy books ever tell you that!
"She's, uh…" Vinyl rubbed the back of her neck with one hoof. "She's okay. She's been outta town a while. Will the real Great Bittain step forward, right?"
"What?" Rainbow asked.
Vinyl chuckled nervously. "Sorry. It's a song."
"So she's back home?" Applejack asked. "Why's that?"
"Well, she… she just needed a change of pace I think. She gets lonely sometimes," Vinyl said. She seemed to be putting on an air of distraction, almost.
My heart thudded in my chest. Lonely? Could that be my fault? Could it be that Vinyl was pulling away because of me? Had I brought Octavia this pain?
Focus, focus!
"Yep," Vinyl continued. "Walks a lonely road. The only road she's ever known."
"Ain't that a might dramatic?" Applejack asked with a little chuckle.
"Hm?" Vinyl seemed to snap back to reality, looking doe-eyed and confused.
Applejack shook her head. "Nevermind."
The girls took their position at a few adjacent bench presses. I wasn't sure if that meant they had agreed on delts or diverted to something else. What exactly exercised a delt anyway? And which delt did they mean?
Vinyl was sitting up on her bench, looking at a spot rather near my head. She cocked her head to the side. "Hey, guys, do you see--"
Focus, Twilight!
Vinyl did a double-take. "Huh. Nevermind."
Somepony bumped into me, and I made a little sound as I was jostled forward. I had stopped right in the main walkway, and was being quickly overtaking by a crowd here for some sort of class.
I stumbled forward to stand next to Applejack's bench. Tight quarters, but I'd be okay.
"Sorry things are tough with Octavia right now," Rainbow said. She was standing over Applejack at her bench, waiting to catch the dumbbell if it proves too heavy. "Fighting sucks."
"Oh, we're not fighting!" Vinyl exclaimed.
I didn't know how to feel about that, and my heart seemed to agree.
Vinyl looked down at her hooves. "It's just… well, I think she wants me to put in more time on our relationship than I really… have. I feel like it should be easy, y'know? Like… why am I working so hard at this when it should just happen?"
It was clear that Rainbow Dash and Applejack didn't know what to say to this. They kind of looked at each other, exchanging a look close to guilt. Was it because their relationship was easy? Or because they sucked at giving advice in these kinds of situations and didn't know how to get out of it?
"Wow," Rainbow said.
Applejack said nothing, just kept working out.
Vinyl shrugged. "I mean. It is what it is, right? Either it's easy or it's not. I don't wanna have to work that hard all the time just to be happy."
Boy, do I know how she felt. Focus, Twi.
"Uh… yeah," Rainbow said.
"Ugh, I'm sorry." Vin put her face in her hooves. "You guys are easy to talk to, I always just spill my guts."
Applejack settled her weight back into the stirrups. "Always?"
"Well, I dunno. Mostly to Twilight." Vinyl smiled to herself.
I felt all of my blood rush to my face.
"Is it her magic or something? I swear I can't keep anything to myself around her," Vinyl said. "Or is that just how she is?"
"That's just Twilight," Applejack said. She chuckled, as if she were remembering an old friend. "She's easy to talk to, ain't she?"
"Yeah." Vinyl was still looking down at her own hooves folded in her lap, smiling bittersweetly.
My heart was pounding harder and harder.
Was that a confession?
That she thought I was… I was easier than Octavia?
I was the one it just happened with, naturally.
I was the one she could talk to about anything, when she had to hide things from Octavia.
Vinyl looked up, still wistful.
She turned her head, her mouth open to say something to Applejack-- but whatever it was never made it out.
I saw the whole thing in slow-motion.
Vinyl's brows furrowed in extraordinary detail as she made direct eye-contact with me, equal parts shocked and horrified. "Twilight?!"
I looked down, saw myself in perfect detail. No haze, no glimmer, no nothing-- just me, standing in a gym I had no business being in because I'm a lanky nerd.
Rainbow and Applejack whipped their heads around to look at me, also horrified.
I, genius that I am, knew that there were two possible solutions: run, or turn invisible again.
Being unable to properly weigh these brilliant options, I did both.
I darted into the walkway, my limbs fading away into nothingness as I did. I moved like a frightened squirrel.
I turned my head back to make sure my wings were invisible, and I ran straight into a column.
The last thing I saw before I went fully unconscious was Vinyl's face.
She kinda looked happy to see me. But that could be the concussion talking
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Twilight, for a pony who claims to love research, you've got a really vague grasp of probability.
Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Quiet Dignity and Grace.
Yeeeaaaaaaaah, Twilight sparkle a socially awkward pony with little to no worldly experience casting focus based spell around her crush with lots of sweaty ponies in a gym.......... Love can make you do some stupid things can't it?
10191231
Cant you upload two chapters a day?
10194816
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10194797
Top ten lovable dweeb. She fully breaks down once a week but believes she's got complete emotional control just because her talent is magic... icon
10194994
I didn't realize I'd also be challenging all of you to endure the suspense... my sincerest apologies
Believe me, I wish I could!! But a challenge is a challenge
10195062
Considering one chapter was over five thousand words and two of the chapters are over three thousand words each I'd say you're doing the challenge really well. Keep it up!
vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/d/da/Miss_Cheerilee_and_cheerleaders_S6E14.png/revision/latest?cb=20160807155604
Well, that went both better and worse than expected . . .
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Thank you so much!!
I've challenged myself to write for thirty days, which leaves me four non-alphabetical chapters: "&", "!", "?", and ";".
Let me tell you, trying to figure out "X" was a challenge... but bookhorse gives me the opportunity to use all kinds of unreasonable vocabulary. Thank god for Twiggles
Vinyl’s eyes are not red, that was really strange to randomly have read. But really enjoying it, I’ve read a few and will be tracking it. Thumbs up! 👌
10196505
Her eye color is the same as Rainbow Dash's, dude. It's not Fire Engine Red, but it's a red. A color loosely belonging to the grouping of shades referred to as "reds" can be called red.
And the divide between red and purple is as hazy and fuzzed as the line between purple and blue anyway.
And varies from person to person based on the differing ratios of the various cone types in their particular eyeballs. And how their brain interprets those differing inputs. And... I'll shut up now.
10195062
A challenge is a minimum standard though. So, you know, feel free to exceed it?
That moment when you realize Applejack is just about the worst pony you could have sent out on a spying mission
Let's be honest... we all saw that coming. Also, the speaking in music lyrics was rather fun. I did something similar with a story of mine.
Do you think you can pump up a good muscle at home or should you necessarily take a subscription to the gym?
Oh no, man. What the hell are you talking about? I don't think you're going to get great results if you work out at home without a trainer. I'd suggest you buy a gym membership, get a trainer, and take trenbolone acetate. This is a great product that will increase testosterone levels in your body, improve male function and help you quickly gain beautiful muscles.