Guess Who's Back?

by Foal Star

Chapter one: Works as advertised?

Granny Smith was alone walking through the Everfree forest by herself. It was a lovely evening to be by herself, and she was on a mission. The old mare was in search of an old hot spring to enjoy herself and get some relaxation. A little treat to herself after being unable to do her high diving anymore and her overall fear of water. But the trek was taking its toll as she stumbled along the long twisted road. Her old frail body was aching all over, and she could feel that age had taken its toll. But she wasn't going to give up. But she did wish she was a lot younger and more able. But the old mare continued down the path getting a bit lost, realizing that the forest does change over the years, and it was hard to remember where the secret hot springs were. But as she came forward, she could hear the distant howls of the timberwolves. They must have caught her scent, but she was ready to take them on. She paused, standing her ground, ready to take on a pack of any size; the old mare wasn't scared of timberwolves anymore. This wasn't the first time she had to tussle with them, and it definitely wouldn't be the last.

Then as if on cue, they came rushing forward, trying to attack her. She bucked them, smashing their bodies into shards of wood. With a smirk, she watched the rest off. Most ponies would have run or faint, but she was made of sterner stuff. Though Granny Smith did wish she was much stronger like how she was in her youth, there was so much she wanted to do. Still, she was either too busy…or too constrained by society to do anything back then. Granny then continued through the forest, groaning a little as her bones cracked from the fight. She needed that soak; it would soothe the aches and pains that were coursing through her body after a battle like that.

The old mare continued through the forest, heading to a clearing where she could see a pillar of steam rising outward. It must be the hot springs she was looking for; upon finding the giant pool of steaming bubbling water, she noticed something was off. It was as if something in the back of his mind was telling him things were off, as the water had this glassy look to it, and on top of that, there were no trees around it, not for at least a mile or so. She paused, just admiring the sheer majesty of the pool itself; there was something about it with a magical smoke rising from the water. This wasn't the spring she went to as a filly. She slowly came to the pool of water and trotted in, wading through the water until it was up to her chin. She lay down between two giant moss-covered rocks and sighed in relief. Even if this wasn't the hot springs, she remembered this would be close enough. She lay there relaxing for what felt like hours without a care in the world, letting her body soak into the depths of the water itself. The water hit her body and seemed to erase all her pain; she was feeling much better already. This was unlike anything she's ever felt before, as the water seemed to erase any trace of the battle with the timberwolves or even any aches she had beforehand. It was like her entire body was being massaged over and soothed out by unseen mystical hooves. She laid back, looking upward into the sky, watching the sunset, not even caring that it was late or how it was possible to see the sun setting in the Everfree Forest. All that mattered to her was lying there and wishing she could be here forever.

---

Granny Smith woke up literally hours later, seeing the moon and stars were out; she groaned, seeing she's been out way too long. The old mare slowly got up, walked out of the lake, and headed back through the Everfree Forest. She felt much more relaxed through the trek than before; her bones didn't feel like they were aching; she felt much better, not so tired and even a bit more energetic. She found herself doing a light jog through the woods. When Granny Smith returned home, she spotted the tonic she bought from Flim and Flam brothers earlier that day. She, of course, didn't forget about the scammers and how they almost took over their family farm a few years ago. But this feeling of wanting to feel younger was something she couldn't get over, she knew she didn't have long left in this world, and she wanted to enjoy her time with them just for a bit longer, no matter the cost.

"Well, I already took a dip in some magical hot spring. What's the worst that could happen?" The old farm mare took the potion, downing the entire thing in one gulp. Afterward, she smacked her lips. It had a funny taste to it…maybe it didn't do anything, and she was being scammed, but at the very least, she was still feeling better from the trip to the hot springs, and she thought it. Granny Smith then slowly went upstairs, plopped down on her bed, and had a relaxing, dreamless sleep.

---

Granny woke up the following day feeling like she had just awakened from a cloud. She never felt so relaxed and stretched her limbs outward as the sound of a rooster crowing could be heard from outside. As Granny slowly rose, she could already hear Applejack and Big Mac getting up from downstairs and Apple Bloom running around getting ready for school. Granny rubbed a hoof over her head; she must have overslept. She usually was up before everypony else, but maybe the potion and the little hot spring retreat made her more relaxed than normal. The old mare yawned and slowly got out of bed and blinked; something was off...her back wasn't aching, and she just sprang out of bed...it didn't even hurt to get up? Something was different. Granny Smith then slowly walked over to her mirror, and to her surprise, she saw what could only be described as a young-looking green mare staring back at her. The mare in question had to be in her early twenties with a white mane and tail, but it wasn't white from age; it just seemed like its natural color.

"May I help you? Who are you?" Granny asked the mirror and gasped, seeing the mare's mouth move as she did. Then she blinked and saw the reflection blink back; Granny stood there stunned, not believing what she was seeing, as she rubbed a hoof over her right cheek and saw the reflection do the same thing as her. Granny's heart stopped looking at her reflection, wholly stunned and scared and realizing that the reflection staring back at her was, in fact, her.

How was it possible!? How could this be? She only took that dip in that strange hot spring; there's no way that spring could've done this to her? or was it the concoction she drank the other night? Her heart thumped in her chest as she was now nervous and scared. Granny took a few deep breaths and took the time to look over her body. It was nice and thin with a good amount of muscle and fat; her muscles were more pronounced, she seemed to have regressed nearly eighty-plus years, and there was no sign of aging. She just stood there looking at her rump and how round it was, and then she smirked; most ponies would be freaking out; some would either be too excited or freaked out to do anything or overreact. She didn't care; she would enjoy her new body every second she was in it.

Granny then took some hair ties and a brush; she tied her mane and tail up, put some light makeup on her eyes and cheeks, then strutted downstairs. Applejack was the first to see her coming down and snapped. "Hey, who the buck are you, and why do ya look like Granny Smith?"

"Oh, come on, sugar cube, can't you tell it's me?" Granny snickered, flashing a pose with a smile on her face.

The orange-coated farm mare just stomped forward and snapped back. "Seriously!? You are not granny; she's almost a hundred years old; I wasn't born yesterday."

Big Mac then slowly came over and scrutinized the green-coated mare; she just wrapped her hooves around the thick neck and exclaimed, "Hey, Big Mac, it's so good to see ya!"

The big red-coated stallion seemed to stop in his tracks, and his mouth seemed to drop, and shook his head, "Ya can't be granny, I'm dreamin'."

Applejack shook her head and scoffed, "Of course not it ain't her, she's gotta be a changeling or somthin'." She walked back and forth and gasped, "I know what happened! Them Flim and Flam bros kidnapped granny and put this fake in her place to sell their snake oil."

Granny rolled her eyes. It was evident that she would have to do more to prove herself. "All right, want me to prove it!?" She pointed a hoof at Big Mac, "I remember you slept with a plush animal until you were ten."

She pointed a hoof at her granddaughter and exclaimed, "I know ya like to sneak apple cider at night and have been doin' so since when you were five!"

Applejack hid her face behind a hoof and then pointed a hoof at Apple Bloom. "I distinctly remember you like to wear those cloth nappies on your head, and I still got that photo I showed ya a year ago."

Apple Bloom didn't need any more convincing as she squealed, ran over to the green-coated mare, and hugged her. The mare hugged her youngest grandchild, keeping her close as the filly whispered, "Wow, granny, what happened to ya!?"

Granny Smith thought to herself; she wasn't sure how she became like this; was it the tonic? Maybe the strange Hotspring she found? The former old mare shrugged and replied, "Not sure, but I hope I can stay like this way for a bit now. I can go highdivin' again!"

"No, not a chance; we're gonna seek some help. This has to be magic or somthin’.” Applejack snapped back; she still seemed unconvinced it was her.

Granny Smith was getting tired of Applejack's overprotective nature. She snapped, "Oh, ya, stop ya fussin'. I'm fit as a fiddle, and feelin' better than I ever have; now, it's probably that tonic I drank last night that did this."

The orange-coated farm mare tapped a hoof to her chin and grumbled, "Ya mean that snake oil that Flim and Flam have been shilling? Yeah, right, most likely ya got cursed from your little stroll through the Everfree Forest."

Granny glared back at Applejack; she could be so darn perspective she wanted to keep those trips secret. "Oh, stop your fussin', I've been living here for nearly a century, and I've never seen anythin' in the Everfree Forest that can turn ya younger."

The green-coated mare walked over to the empty bottle she left on the kitchen counter and retorted. "If anythin' like it or not, this tonic may have done what it advertised; I'll go talk them two Flim Flam bros and see if anypony else had the same results."

She then strutted across the kitchen, got into Applejack's face, and asked sarcastically, "Unless you're gonna stop me?"

The farm mare just stepped back and threw a hoof. "Fine, do what ya want? But don't say I didn't warn ya."

Granny Smith held her head up high as she walked off; she would take no from her granddaughter, and she would enjoy herself if she likes it or not.

---

Granny Smith continued to walk down the street quite proudly among the crowd of ponies going about their business. They all just stopped and stared as they saw her walk by, strutting and shaking her rump about without a care in the world. Many ponies started whispering amongst each other in disbelief, some wondering who this mare was while others already recognized her, especially since her cutie mark was undeniably hers. Granny Smith just continued to rock her new body and her new mane bouncing about. The ponies whispered amongst themselves, guessing it was Granny Smith but not believing it with their own eyes. She just threw her mane and continued to trot down the street. It was almost like magic seeing how the world seemed to stop when she passed, and the old mare was enjoying it.

Granny Smith eventually came upon the giant tent the Flim Flam brothers set up selling their tonic. She slowly went through the lines of ponies who just gaped in awe at what they saw, not even believing with their own eyes that they were seeing Granny Smith looking eighty years younger.

Granny went to the head of the line, where she met the two lanky stallions, Flim and Flam. The two brothers were also somewhat stunned, seeing the mare walk over with a smirk on her face. They were so surprised by her appearance that Granny was the first to speak up first. "It's nice to see you again."

"Well, well, seems like our miracle cure-all worked!" Flim exclaimed out loud, with many ponies turning their focus toward them.

"Bu-" Flam was about to say something, but Flim slammed a hoof to his brother's mouth. "Now, we did expect results, of course, but not right away and not to this extent."

Granny Smith glared at two; she was now more convinced that the tonic probably wasn't what did this to her, but she wanted to be a hundred percent sure. "Yeah, honestly, I'm not sure this resulted from your tonic. But I wanted to thank you in advance if it did. And to see if anypony else who took it had the same results?"

Flam circled the mare as she felt that he seemed to be checking her out as he replied, "Well, it's no problem on our end; sadly, no nopony else had the same results as you have. My dear Granny Smith, would you be so kind as to advertise our tonic?"

Granny rolled her eyes; she wasn't going to showboat for these clowns, held up a hoof and explained, "Not so fast, I only trust ya two as far as I can throw ya; I want to buy another tonic so I can have a third party test it."

The brothers stared at each other and then huddled together while talking in hushed voices; they then both nodded and turned to face Granny Smith.

Flim fixed his tie before he replied with a smirk, "Of course, by all means, when you find out our tonic is the real deal, you have to promise to come by and show off that new hot body of yours."

Granny glared at the brothers; she had to agree with Applejack. She did not like them one bit, and she knew they would exploit her if her transformation was a result of their tonic. But Granny Smith had to be sure she stuck her hoof out and replied. "Alright, it's a deal, but I ain't wearing no crazy outfits."

Flim stuck his hoof out as she shook it, then Flam afterward as he commented, "Don't worry about that; you look great with your all-natural beauty." Granny just gave a "Hmph" and walked off with another tonic bottle, wondering if she was being played in some way. On the other hoof, who can she trust to test the tonic? The old mare then stomped a hoof on the ground and exclaimed, "Zecora! That zebra Apple Bloom likes can help me!"

She ran down the road heading towards the Everfree Forest, laughing maniacally as she felt the wind in her mane and loved how she could run again! The former old mare eventually found her way to Zecora's hut in the Everfree Forest; she visited the zebra and knocked on the door. The zebra opened it, was somewhat surprised to see the strange green-coated mare, and asked, "I'm sorry if this comes out rude. But who are you?"

Granny rolled her eyes, shoved a hoof at her cutie mark, and snapped, "Oh, come now, can't ya tell it's me! I'm Granny Smith," Zecora was somewhat taken aback as she looked the mare over before responding, "Well, I have to say, you're looking rather young today."

"Well, that's why I'm here; I need your help with somethin'" The mare walked into the hut with the tonic in her hoof. She placed the bottle down on a table and explained herself. "Sorry to interrupt ya, but I need ya to test this and figure out if this tonic is the cause of my younger complexion."

Zecora tapped a hoof to her chin and pondered out loud. "Hmm, you think this isn't just taking away the traces of age, but turning the hands of time to a younger stage?"

"Yes, but I need to know for sure. I also wanna know how long the effect lasts?" Granny explained Zecora took the bottle in her hoof and examined it before agreeing. "Well, I can run some tests or two, though it may take a few days, and in the meantime, maybe I should stay with you."

"Nah, that's fine; you're doing enough as it takes all the time you need,” Granny responded.

Zecora's eyes narrowed as she replied, "I must disagree; if this is some poison, then with you, I must be aware that I'm not doing this for free; I'll run the tests for a modest fee."

Granny then threw a bag of bits on the table. "That should cover ya fee, and stop your worryin' I'm fit as a fiddle and as tough as an ox! I'm gonna go enjoy myself before the effects wear off."

She then turned around and went through the hut as Zecora looked back, her cheeks flushing red; Granny paused with a smirk, seeing the zebra was checking her rump out. She had to admit the zebra wasn't bad-looking, looking rather sturdy and sleek and having this exotic feel about her. The former old mare shook her head of those thoughts and continued down the road back home. She didn't know how or what turned her into this, but she didn't care right now. Celestia knows how long this will last and will make the most of her situation before she turns back to a cranky old granny.

Comments

[Blankscape]

Real interesting premise, but personally I find it annoying to write a character that constantly rhymes.

[Jade Coyote]

Im hooked and wondering what's next 😎

[Chrome Masquerade]

"Well, I already took a dip in some magical hotspring. What's the worst that could happen?"

Oh! She said it. That six word phrase equivalent to the five word phrase (What could possibly go wrong?).

[Chrome Masquerade]

I agree with Kit. This ought to be good. Let me get the popcorn.

[Yoshifan30]

guess who's back back again

[evtrax]

"Yes, but I need to know for sure? I also wanna know how long the effect lasts?" Granny explained Zecora took the bottle in her hoof and examined it before agreeing. "Well, I can run some tests or two, though it may take a few days, and in the meantime, maybe I should stay with you."

Is that an advanced rhyme?

[EnderHooves]

Not bad. I like the idea, and the execution is pretty decent so far.
I did notice a few grammar errors and typos though.

It was as if something in the back of his mind was telling things were off, as the water had this glassy look to it, and on top of that, there were no trees around it, not for at least a mile or so.

his should be her, and a mile is absolutely huge for a clearing in a forest. To be fair, this is a magical forest with some hidden fountain of youth, so a mile out from a pond could be plausible if the forest has some space warping shenanigans going on.
Another thing I noticed is you didn't start a new paragraph when you switched speakers.
Other than that though, this is pretty good.

[Foal Star]

11194340

Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate it.