Developments and Dreams
AJ had a restless night behind her back, figuratively and literally. What Rainbow forgot to mention was that sleeping with wings might take some getting used to. AJ found this out firsthand when she woke up in the middle of the night, her wings numb from laying on them. Another time, she woke up having the terrible urge to spread her wings and go for a flight. She managed to calm herself every time and get back to dreamland.
Dreamland, however, had no intentions of giving AJ a respite of her wings. Dreams of flying. Dreams of getting her wings preened, with the utmost care. Even dreams about gigantic wings bursting from the skies and embracing her in a hug, before the dream switched again.
One thing the dreams had in common, besides the obviousness of her wings, was that in every dream, she felt like she was being watched. At times, she would see a blur, a myriad of colors, fly by only to disappear again as suddenly as it appeared. She swore that whenever her dreams showed her wings, they would also show her the blue shape that had been haunting her all night.
This dream, though still quite restless, was completely different.
AJ was running through the clouds, high above what she guessed was Sweet Apple Acres. She was chasing the blue, pony-like shape through the dreamscape as it continued to evade her. Ready to give up after what seemed like hours, she noticed that her wings had appeared on her back, ready to join the fight.
Applejack continued running until she caught sight of her target again and, with a burst, sped forward catching it off guard.
Applejack's body impacted with it and they rolled about as they got to a standstill. Upon closer inspection, she could definitely say that it was a pony, a colorful one at that. Applejack found herself hungrily staring into it's purple eyes, overcome with the desire to take her spoils, a feather from it's wings. As her mouth went down to collect her price, she noticed herself changing course on the way down, setting direction for where it's lips would undoubtly be. As AJ was a mere inch away from it's mouth, she closed the distance and-
"AJ!!!"
Applejack stumbled out of her bed, her wings trying to escape the sheets that now binded her. "Huh? Wha-" was all she could mutter as she realized that Big Mac was looking at her with a grin.
"I know you had a busy day and you had a day off on it, but the orchard's callin' ya. Ya still have to buck the trees of the east orchard. I finished puttin' the baskets where you forgot to put 'em."
AJ managed to free herself off of the treacherous blanket and composed herself. "Shucks, Big Mac, I know. I'm not neglectin' my work or anythin'. Yesterday just got kinda hectic."
"I can see that," Big Mac said as he gave AJ's wings a tiny nudge. "Those must be some real strong wings."
"Wait, you're not freakin' out that I suddenly have wings?"
"Eenope."
"You're not curious about how I got them?"
"Magic?"
"No... well, maybe... I guess so...?" Applejack had no idea what exactly was the case. Twilight couldn't find what made the wings and both of them didn't have anything to go on.
Big Mac watched Applejack's inner turmoil with amusement. "Look, AJ, ya still got some time to prepare yourself. Why don't you take a walk to set your head straight? Just make sure to finish the first part of the orchard. Why, I reckon with those wings there, it'll just fly by.”
"A walk, huh? I guess I could use that." AJ said. After fully shoving the treacherous blanket off of her, she rushed past Big Mac, giving him a slight sight bump and she went to the bathroom to clean herself up a bit. After a few minutes the door openend and she rushed down the stairs, out the door, towards the orchard.
As it turned out, walking wasn't as satisfying when a pony had a whole new means of travel at her disposal. Applejack longed to be in the air, to feel the wind brush past her, to have complete and utter freedom, not restricted by roads and trees.
Deciding against her better judgement to go for a flight, she extended her wings and started flapping them. It didn’t take long for her to lift herself from the ground. AJ’s instincts took over and using her pegasus magic felt like a second nature now, as she flew higher and higher, without any difficulty. AJ felt so at peace in the air, away from all the buzz of Ponyville.
Enjoying her 'walk' for as long as she could, she decided to get back down, to start with the work that awaited her. As AJ steadied herself to keep from rising any further, she realized something: She had no idea how to get down.
Applejack was racking her head for solutions. Surely, she couldn't just drop out of the sky and try to slow down as she neared the ground. AJ's wings started to flap eratically as she started to freak out.
"How's the weather up there?" came a voice from behind. AJ turned her head to see Dash following her, obviously having caught on to AJ's situation.
"Dash, how do I fly down? I'm stuck here," replied Applejack, scared. It was a relief though, to have an expert pegasus with her now.
"Don't you think you should've asked that before you decided to aim for the sky?" said Dash as she caught up to AJ, flying next to her.
Dash was just met with an agonizing glare. "GET. ME. DOWN.!!!"
"Okay, okay, buzzkill. This part should be easier since you're already familiar finding the magic in the air. All you have to do is will the magic to let you fly down. It's kinda like making the magic feel that you want to go down, like you're trying to get the wind to read your thoughts."
"That sounds a bit like usin' Earth-pony magic. I guess I could handle that." AJ focused for a few seconds and fell out of the sky.
"AJ, YOU HAVE TO USE THE MAGIC GENTLY," Dash shouted towards Applejack. She watched AJ fall for a tiny bit and just as she was going to go after her, she saw AJ's speed decrease.
AJ got her movements back under control and settled with flying at her current height. AJ tried once again, to request the landing from the air, gently, and as she kept flapping, she slowly changed direction to the ground.
Picking up the pace a little, AJ flew back to the ground where she let herself fall out of the sky and onto a patch of grass. With her momentum still present, her hooves touched the ground only to make her roll forward. She came to a standstill a few feet away from a big oak tree.
"Congrats, AJ, you did it. I guess that this can count as your second flying lesson," Dash said with a chuckle as she stared at AJ with astonishment. AJ had only been a pegasus for a day, okay, a day and a half, and she could already fly and ‘kinda’ properly land.
"Phew, I never knew how important pegasus magic is for flyin'. I figured 'twas all about strenght and practice." AJ laid her head down gently. "I need a few moments to catch my breath."
"I could keep you company if you want. N-not that I don't want to, I mean, what are pals for? For keeping each other company, right?" Dash said eagerly, maybe a little too eagerly.
"Naw, Dash, I'm fine. Besides, I have to go applebucking soon, work needs to get done."
AJ thought she spotted a hint of sadness before Dash replied, "Yeah, sure, I'll just leave you to it then. Uh, bye," and with that, Dash flew off. AJ rested for a few more minutes until she felt ready to tackle her part of the work and took of.
As Applejack got to work, ponies were just starting to wake up over at Fluttershy's cottage.
Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes and found herself locked in a tight hug with Rarity. Fluttershy loved waking up like this, all snugly with her special somepony in a warm bed, it would be a shame to get up. Still, she had a job to do.
She knew she couldn't slip away without waking up Rarity, so she decided to wake her up in a special way instead. Leaning in closer, she blew softly on Rarity's nose. Her nose twitched a few times but further than that she evoked no movement.
Fluttershy blew again, a bit harder this time, and Rarity started stirring in her spot. As she yawned, with her eyes still closed, Fluttershy made her move. She closed the distance between them and locked their mouths in a deep kiss.
Rarity's eyes immediately flew open as she melted in their kiss. Fluttershy was a great kisser. As gentle as she was, her kisses were the exact opposite. Fluttershy kissed with such passion, it was as if she would die if she couldn't keep her mouth connected to Rarity's. And Rarity loved it.
Slowly releasing Rarity from her grip and letting her catch her breath, Fluttershy spoke, "Good morning, my love."
Rarity's mind was to scrambled however to make a solid response. "Flutters? Ho... Ooh, that kiss, hmmm."
Fluttershy slipped out of bed with a giggle. "I guess that's your way of saying 'good morning', huh?"
"Wha-? Oh yes, of course, good morning, darling," Rarity said with a hearty blush. "Really, with such an awakening, I wish you'd keep waking me up the entire day."
Fluttershy walked over to Rarity's side of the bed and gave her a nuzzle while she said, "As good as that sounds, there are still animals that need to be taken care of. If you get out of bed, I'll make your favourite breakfast. Daffodil sandwiches with applesauce, with apples bucked by yours truly."
Rarity scrambled out of bed as she realized the reward that awaited her. "I would love some, dear," she said as she pecked Fluttershy on the cheek.
Pinkie Pie was hopping across Ponyville on her way to the market, when suddenly her mouth twitched, her hooves slided out from underneath her and her tail moved from left to right.
"Hmm, that usually means that somepony is screaming in frustration, " she happily said to herself. She shrugged and continued on.
"ARGH, I just can't figure those wings out!" Twilight screamed in frustration. "How could those wings just suddenly appear and not show any lingering magic from a spell of sorts?"
Twilight was surrounded by books, all written by experts on the field of evolution, growth, and anomalies. Yet no book yielded results, an explanation, for suddenly growing new feathery appendages.
"It could be a rapid growth spell, but that would require some really advanced magic, and not to forget, the beginning of wing growth to begin with. They aren't temporary either, since the scan didn't pick up a single piece of magic holding it in place," Twilight softly muttered to herself.
Twilight threw away a book that speculated that eating spicy food could mutate your body. That book should belong in fiction, Twilight thought as she heaved a sigh. Although Applejack assured her it was okay, she just couldn't drop the issue. What if there's a madpony running around, growing wings on ponies. I might wake up tomorrow with a set of wings of my own!!. Twilight shivered at the thought.
Twilight decided to take a break and focus on something else for the time being, preferably something that wouldn't drive her crazy. I guess I could go and let AJ know that I'm not giving up on her.
"Wait, Applejack!!" she suddenly exclaimed. "With the discovery of those wings, I totally forgot why I even was at Sweet Apple Acres. I better head there now."
Cleaning up the pile of books that she had created this morning, she trotted through the door towards the farm.
Applejack was glancing back and forth between her wings and the row of apple trees in front of her. Her work already finished thanks to the speed of her wings, she decided to test her new appendages. She picked up flying and landing easily enough, how would she handle agility and tricks?
Alligning herself with the row of trees, she took a deep breath and started running. When she was near the first tree, she took off... and slammed head first into it.
Applejack writhed in agony as the pain of the impact hit. She shouted for all she was worth, and surely disturbed quite a few animals that lived in the orchards. As her shout died down, she saw Rainbow Dash approach.
"Woah, AJ, what happened?" Dash said as she took in the scene before her: AJ rubbing her head and a tree with a big crack in it. It didn't take long for Dash to catch on.
As AJ tried to respond, Dash fell into a fit of giggles. "Bahahahaha, this is too rich, you slammed your head in the tree didn't you?"
AJ, with the pain having numbed somewhat, couldn't help but chuckle as well about the absurbity of the situation. There was no way going around it, she did ram the tree at full speed.
Dash was heaving deep breaths as she tried to grasp what precious little air she could whilst laughing. "Seriously though, AJ, what happened? I thought you'd be smart enough to know that applebucking is done with your backhooves, and not your head," Dash said, trying her best to hold back another giggle.
"I don't know what happened. I was gonna try and weave between them trees with my wings. I began runnin' to them and when I took off, I immediately hit the first tree."
"Let me guess, your first time flying from a running start?" Dash said with a smug grin.
"Yeah, but ho-..." Applejack was struck with the realization that she simply went to fast. "Um.. never mind," she said with a blush.
"Hey, don't sweat it. Even I make that mistake sometimes. Wait, do you hear that?" Right on que, Twilight came into view.
Twilight looked around for a bit and when she spotted them, she trotted their way. "Hey, Applejack. Hey, Rainbow. Are you two busy with something?"
"I reckon not, besides laughing about headbuttin' trees," AJ said with a laugh. "Why? You need us for somethin'? You don't wanna do more tests on me, do you?" AJ said with a slight frown on her face
"Oh no, it's just time to renew the enchantment on Apple Bloom's room. That's actually why I came here yesterday. Until I got distracted," she said with a gesture to AJ's wings.
"It's that time again? Let me just walk you to her room" Applejack said as she and Twilight started walking to the farmhouse. "Dash, you comin'?"
Dash didn't respond however, as she kept staring intently at the spot previously occupied by Applejack, with a blush on her face. Another shout from Applejack snapped her out of the trance. "What? Oh yeah, sure, sure," and with that she caught up to AJ and Twilight.
They arrived at the farm shortly after and, while making sure to gently sneak past Granny Smith's napping spot, they made their way to Apple Bloom's room.
As they opened her room, a filthy odor bombarded their senses. "Sheesh, Applejack, what does your sister do in her room? Make stink bombs?" Dash exclaimed, waving with her hooves past her nose.
"I don't know, this mornin' when I walked past her door, it smelled just fine. Apple Bloom hasn't been in her room all day." Applejack looked around, trying to find to source of the putrid smell.
Twilight, meanwhile, was in full analyze mode. "Hmm, it smells kinda familiar. Like something chemical, like.. like..." Twilight felt a sickening sense of dread overcome her. "Oh no, oh no, this is bad!!"
"What's wrong Twi? You're lookin' like somepony just gave you a kick in the stomach."
"AJ, listen carefully. The Cutie Mark Crusaders. Have. Made. A. Potion."
"THEY WHAT?!!" Dash immediately sprang to alert. "I need to mobilize the fire brigade, make sure nopony's in any crowded areas, and we need to contact Princess Celestia," she said rapidly.
AJ slowly swallowed as she imagined the angry mob that would surely arrive any minute now. Twilight was trying to keep Dash in check. "Easy, Dash, there's no cause for alarm."
"No cause for alarm?! Don't you remember their previous adventure in potion-making? I'm still having nightmares... I mean, less cool dreams about it."
"Dash, this isn't just a normal smell, this is the kind of smell that you get two days after the creation, where the potion was stored."
"Two days?!! They've had it for two days already? Oh Celestia, we are doomed." Dash was trotting around the room, every aspect of her body language said that she was agitated.
"Now hold on a minute, sugarcube. I was in this room a few days ago and I didn't see no potion. Twi, are you sure that they have a potion?" Applejack asked in an effort to calm Dash down.
"I'm positive, it's the main reason why I keep mine in the basement-laboratory of the library. Didn't you seen anything unusual at all when you came here?" Twilight began looking around the room for anything that could give a clue about what potion they could've created.
"I just came here to get some milk, Apple Bloom usually sneaks it up in her room. The milk was spoiled too, judgin' from the taste." Applejack stuck out her tongue at the remembrance of the taste.
Meanwhile, the gears in Twilight's head were shifting. "Applejack, was there anything else unusual about it, besides the way it tasted I mean?
"I guess that it was a bit weird that she kept it in a cup. Besides that, nothing springs out to me."
Twilight's face lit up as she figured it out. "AJ, I got it! That milk must've been the potion! It explains the cup, since it’s the only type of container that they could get a hold on, and it would also explain the taste, as most potions taste horrible." Twilight struck a proud pose as she said, "and I, as your trusty friend, will do anything in my power to figure out which potion it is." She finished with a salute.
"Euh, guys, I think I found something." Dash turned around with a small, heart shaped leaf between her teeth. "I' thi' some'ing?"
Twilight took the leaf out of Dash's mouth and levitated it to her face. "I know this plant, it's Heart's Desire. Apple Bloom once used it to get a cutie mark, which resulted in the cutie pox.”
"Twi, if I drank from that potion, wouldn't I have wings growin' everywhere?" AJ said, still not entirely convinced.
"Yes, yes, normally this plant would give an overflow of the desire, unless you prepare it in the correct way." Out of nowhere, Twilight suddenly conjured her copy of Supernaturals. "So,
you said it looked like milk and tasted terrible," she said as she flapped through the pages.
"Um, yeah," Applejack responded quietly. Dash, in the meanwhile, was giggling at the thought of AJ completely covered with wings.
"Aha, the Heart’s Desire Bad-Go-Away potion. Uses ingrediënts like milk, Poison Joke, Taproot and... fur of a parasprite? The potion will look like a white substance and will grant one's biggest desire. Warning, the resulting mixture has a taste most foul." Twilight closed the book with a snap. "I think that describes the 'milk' perfectly." Twilight added with a smug grin.
The room went quiet as everyone tried to wrap their head around this information. Twilight thinking of the research oppertunities this would offer, AJ of how to get proof that this was really the doing of a potion, and Dash, Dash was still stuck in a laughing fit, though it had degraded somewhat to snorting and wheezing. And then, like Discord himself had a claw in it, Apple Bloom showed up. "Um, what are y'all doin' in my room?"
The three heads snapped to her attention immediately. Dash silently mouthed 'run' with her lips but before Apple Bloom could grasp the information, AJ was on top of her. "Hey, let me go."
"Apple Bloom, I'm gonna ask you a question and I want you to answer truthfully, on your Apple family honor," AJ said, pinning her to the ground with her hooves on her shoulders.
"Okay, okay, I swear on my family honor, now let me go." Apple Bloom grunted squirmed a bit to emphasis her request.
Applejack softly let go and she walked backwards a bit, letting Apple Bloom get back on her hooves. "Apple Bloom, have you made a potion with that there plant called Heart’s Desire?"
A cold chill went through Apple Bloom. She didn’t anticipate them getting found out that quickly. She looked down, already betraying the answer to Applejack, still, she waited for her response. "I.. Yes, I did, but we only wanted to help ponies and try to get our cutie marks, please don't be mad at me," Apple Bloom finished with a bit of moisture in her eyes.
"Aw, sugarcube, I'm not mad at you. I'd just want to know why you didn't tell me." Applejack gave her a slight nuzzle as she moved to stand next to her.
Apple Bloom returned the nuzzle and looked up to Applejack. "I was scared. You looked so mad when you got your wings, I thought we screwed up the potion."
"Then why all the questions you had? Or why was Sweetie Belle spyin' on me?" AJ turned her head to Dash, who was standing next to Twilight. "I'm guessin' that Scootaloo just wanted to teach me how to fly instead of doin' any spyin'."
"We were tryin' to find out what went wrong and what the potion did do. The thing is, I don't think we made a mistake." It was apparent that Applejack was confused about this statement so Apple Bloom elaborated, "Scootaloo said you were really happy when you learned to fly. And this mornin', I saw you smilin' while Dash was teachin' you to land. That's a good thing, right?"
"Good or not, it 'aint right for ponies to be switching races. As for your punishment, you can go and get the cure from Zecora." AJ's gaze softened and she turned to Twilight. "Twi, could you cast your magic thing and go with Apple Bloom to Zecora?"
"You can count on me Applejack. We'll have the cure in no time," Twilight said as her horn blasted a small light that radiated across the room. Twilight motioned for Apple Bloom to go and she made sure to stay right behind Apple Bloom as she galloped out the door.
AJ let out a sigh of relief at having that situation dealt with. Dash was looking at AJ with a grin. "So, your heart’s desire is to have wings, huh? I knew you wanted to be as awesome as me. Maybe now, you're cool enough t- OOOPF!"
Applejack jumped Rainbow Dash, completely catching her off guard. She quickly caught on to what had happened and wrestled for control with AJ.
Their wrestle ended with Dash on the ground with AJ above her, her forehooves firmly on Dash's shoulders. "So, I'm not awesome enough for you, huh?" she said jokingly. "I did manage to catch myself a fine boastful pegasus, it seems."
Something was off in this scene. AJ felt a slight feeling of familiarity in their current positions. AJ's thoughts drifted back to her dream from last night. As AJ stared in Dash's eyes, longer than she ever had, Dash took the opportunity to reverse their roles. Soon enough, the farmer was stuck on the ground, with Dash right on top of her.
Dash quickly let go of AJ however, it wasn't usual for AJ to give away her position like that. "AJ, you okay there? You were staring a bit, not that I blame you, seeing as awesome that I am."
Applejack blinked a few times, letting the rememberance of her dream drift away. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine. This wrestlin' just felt familiar, you know? Like some kind of deja-vu."
"Well yeah, only because we like wrestle every time we hang out," Dash said, helping AJ back on her hooves.
AJ knew that Dash had a point, yet she couldn't shake the feeling that this was something special, something to be remembered.
Before AJ's thoughts could drift back to the dream once again, Dash spoke up, "And honestly, that's one of the things I really like about you. You're not afraid to get dirty. You were an awesome Earth pony, and you'll be an even more awesome Pegasus."
"Speakin' of bein' awesome, I still have to learn all the things of flyin'. I suppose I might as well make the most of it for as long as I have 'em. You mind gracin' me with your awesomeness and teachin' me?
"Of course, AJ, I'd love to," Dash said with a grin.
As AJ stepped out the door, Dash stayed behind. Dash quickly trotted to a nearby closet and got a second leaf of Heart's Desire from under it, one that she had found earlier. Never know if this could come in handy, she thought to herself as she put the leaf securely between her feathers. Dash closed the door silently and trotted out of the house, after AJ.
In the meantime, a certain pink party pony was standing outside the library. She held some flowers in her hoof as she stepped a bit closer to the door.
"Hey, Twilight. I got some flowers for you because they sooper dooper reminded me of you. You know, they are red and green and you're purple and..."
Tossing away the flowers and getting a box of chocolate out of nowhere, she continued on. "Twiley, I got you some chocolate because I know you love them. Some delicious, mouth-watering chocolate that just melts in your mouth..."
Pinkie wiped away the last bits of the chocolate and she stepped a bit closer to the door. "Twi, I really really really really really really really wanna be your special somepony. I love you," she said slowly as her words got quieter and quieter.
Finally closing the distance between her and the door, she raised a hoof and knocked and listened. Hearing no movement from inside, she figured there was nopony at home. Carefully opening the door to make sure Twilight wasn't cooped up in her labratory, she stepped inside.
She was right about nopony being home, and nodragon either for that matter, but she forgot about Owliscious. "Who?"
"Oh hey, Owliscious, it's me, Pinkie. Have you seen Twilight?"
"Who?" The owl repeated
"So she was freaking out, got an idea, and ran out the door to Sweet Apple Acres?" Pinkie nodded in understanding. "I'll come back another time then."
"Who?"
"No, you don't have to take a message for her. I'll see you later, Owlicious." Pinkie turned around and stepped back outside. With a small spring in her step, she went back to sugarcube corner. "La la la la."
Stats
Page generated in 0.032 seconds
Total duration
1,081 users online
2,451,914 hits today, 2,814,898 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
yay
Rainbow even though everyone is super clueless doesn't mean you have to be so obvious.
I'm guessing ree is supposed to be tree?
either way this is just to wonderful keep up the good work
2771859
, nice catch
Oooh
2771887
No Problem
Pinkie understands Owl? Makes sense
This was great, very well done, I'm glad to see everything is going well, can't wait for more
Ooh, TwiPie! :)