Chapter 12
Ask... and ye shall receive.
~Kroqgar
“Fluttershy dear, I swear that it will be fun! Why, AJ, Twilight and I all enjoyed a spirited game last time we had a slumber party!”
“Oh... I don't know...”
“Come on Fluttershy,” intoned AJ, idly wondering what Rarity's definition of 'spirited' was, “it'll be fun, ah swear!”
“Well... Maybe...”
“Plus, the book says we have to! We have to tick off everything on the checklist.”
“What'd ah say 'bout checklists Twi'?”
“Well... I mean, if you girls insist... I suppose I could maybe play...”
“Yes!” cheered Rainbow Dash, pumping a hoof in the air. “Time for truth or dare!”
Giving Love a Helping Hoof
PART 2
Chapter 12
The six young mares sat in a loose circle in the loft area of the Ponyville library, eager to start their game.
Rainbow Dash leapt to her hooves before anyone else. “I'll go first! Come on girls, hit me!”
Rarity, a bit more worldly than her friends, decided to start things off slow to prolong the fun. “Alright Rainbow Dash, truth or dare?”
The pegasus tapped a hoof to her chin, before grinning confidently. “Dare!”
“In that case,” intoned the fashionista, “I dare you to... let me style your mane like mine for the rest of the night!”
“WHAT!?” gasped Dash, completely gobsmacked. Her wings fell limp at her sides. “But... you... that... argh!”
“Sorry Dash,” put in AJ, grinning smugly as she remembered her torture at Rarity's hooves that dreadful stormy night, “Ya gotta do it. Those are the rules.”
Heaving a great sigh, Rainbow Dash flopped onto the ground in front of Rarity, the eager unicorn already levitating a brush and some curlers out of her saddlebags. What I wouldn't give for a loopty-hoop!
“Alright Rarity,” declared Twilight, peering at her book, “According to the rules, since you dared Rainbow, it's your turn now!”
“Oh darling, can't it wait? My hooves are full at the moment.” Rarity barely paid any attention to her surroundings, as a small cloud of hairspray all but enveloped Dash's head.
“If I don't make it out alive someone look after Tank for me, okay?”
“Well Twi', ah reckon since you spoke up, it's your turn now!” said Applejack, a big smile on her face.
Twilight squealed excitedly. “Ooooh, this is so much fun! What do I do?”
Pinkie almost vibrated in place, so excited was she for her turn. This was a slumber party, and parties were her speciality after all! “That's easy Twilight, all you do is say whether you want truth or dare!”
“Hmmm...” The librarian pondered for a moment. “I suppose I'll choose... truth!”
“Ooh ooh ooh! I've got one!” sang Pinkie, bouncing in place. “Have you ever been caught while you're... y'know!”
There was a slight pause before almost everyone said, “Oh.” Pause. “OOOOOH!” Fluttershy all but retreated, tortoise-like, into her mane.
Twilight however merely looked quizzical. “What do you mean? Caught doing what?”
AJ facehoofed as Pinkie devolved into a gigglefit. “What she means is... Well, Twi'... When a stallion and a mare love each other very much... Boy howdy, how do Ah put this? When you're having yer... alone time.” The unicorn quirked a brow. “Yer special alone time.”
Twilight gasped and brought both hooves to her mouth as she finally realised what they were talking about. Rainbow Dash all but rolled around the floor in her mirth, only Rarity's sharp tugs on her mane with a brush keeping her in check.
“Y'know, for an -ow!- egghead you sure -ow!- can be slow on the -ow!- uptake sometimes Twilight!”
Rarity merely shook her head, amused. “Look who's talking, Miss Rainbow 'I'll sneak into a hospital in the middle of the night for a book' Dash!” She should have realised it wouldn't take that long for the topic at hoof to degrade so far.
Twilight, red in the face, coughed into her hoof. “I have to answer, don't I?”
“Ya sure do! Those are the ru-uuuuuules!” sang the party pony.
The librarian sighed. “In that case... Yes.”
At that all the other mares squealed in delight, even AJ and Fluttershy, albeit almost involuntarily. Pinkie was zooming all over the room, in a maelstrom of excitement.
“Who was it? Who was it? Who caught ya? Who who who?” (Perched in the branches outside, Owloysius sleepily muttered “Who...” before tucking his head further under his wing).
Grinning cheekily, Twilight shook her head. “Uh-uh, that's not in the rules! You asked if I'd ever been caught, not by whom!”
A groan of disappointment met her words. “But Twlight!” insisted Rarity, not even looking at Rainbow as her masterful hooves worked the other mare's mane. “You can't just leave us at that, we're your friends! We need details! Forget the rules just this once!”
“Well...” muttered Twilight uncertainly, looking around the room. Everyone else was leaning forward in anticipation, even Fluttershy, the shy pegasus with a fascinated look on her face. With a sigh, the unicorn caved. “Alright, alright, I'll tell you.”
The silence was absolute; even Rarity stopped working to give Twilight her full attention. Twilight herself looked away, and rubbed one foreleg over the other in embarrassment. After a few moments of silence, AJ spoke up.
“Come on sugarcube, you can do it!” In a part of her mind, the farmpony knew this wasn't exactly fair on Twilight, but she just couldn't resist.
“What if I promise to tell you at breakfast tomorrow?” offered the unicorn with a half-smile. Everyone laughed softly at that, but the tension in the room did not decrease in the slightest. Visibly steeling herself, Twilight Sparkle drew herself up and met everyone's gazes in turn.
“It was Dusk Shine.”
…
The sounds of raucous laughter drifted over Sweet Apple Acres, emanating from the living room of the Apple family farmhouse. Lit only by the flickering light of a few antique lamps, a group of colts lounged in the sitting room, all grinning and laughing as Berry finished telling his latest joke.
“Ponyfeathers Berry!” choked out Rainbow Blitz, clutching his sides, “For the love of Celestia stop! I'll die!”
“It's times like this Ah don't envy Mister and Missus Cake!” said Applejack, almost looking out of place with his hat politely removed indoors. “Ah jus' don't know how those two get any work done with you and Pinkie around!”
“Ooh, ooh!” Berry sprang to his hooves. “I know that one! Mister Cake said 'between Pound, Pumpkin, and your new best friend here, you're so busy you barely have time to get up to anything anymore!' And it's so true! Not that I mind, Pound and Pumpkin are so cute, and they're growing so quick! They used to only reach my knees but now they can both look over that, and Pound can't fly so well anymore now that he's beginning to figure it out, and the same with Pumpkin's magic! They can both move so much quicker as well! Sometimes it can take me and Pinkie hours to tire them out! But as soon as they're off to bed me and Pinkie can keep playing and there are so many things to do! With all the baking we can do, and our new chimmycherrychangas, and...” The pink dynamo droned on, his only desire that he be allowed to continue. Only Butterscotch was still tuned in, nodding politely as he tried to keep up.
The sound of heavy hoofbeats announced the return of the seventh member of their party, back from hanging up his harness after a hard day of work. With a relieved snort, the titanic stallion lowered himself down next to his new brother.
Elusive, ever the gentlecolt, spoke up. “Ah, Big Macintosh! So glad you could finally join us! A long day behind you, hmm?”
Macintosh looked up as he heard his name, eyes taking in the form of the white unicorn addressing him. Though he had quickly extended both his friendship and in one case his kinship to the new arrivals, it still amazed him to see how closely they resembled AJ's friends, especially if they were alongside their counterpart. He nodded once slowly. “Eeyup.”
At Granny Smith's insistence, Applejack had invited the red stallion to join their group for the evening, and the stubbornness that all of Big Macintosh's siblings seemed to possess in abundance made it clear that he wouldn't be accepting no for an answer. “You know how he is!” the Apple family matriarch had said, whispering hoarsely into Applejack's ear earlier that day, “That boy is all work and no play! He needs to get out more!”
Leaning back and just basking in the atmosphere of the room for a moment, Applejack had to admit that Granny Smith was right. Big Macintosh seemed less stressed than Applejack could remember for a long time, his great shoulders slowly relaxing as the stallion leaned in to listen to Butterscotch's advice on a pest infestation in the Northern fields, as Berry marched back and forth behind them, still droning on about something or other.
“Berry and Pinkie were sure right about this little get-together,”, thought the Element of Honesty with a nod. He was drawn from his thoughts by the sound of hysterical laughter, coming from none other than Dusk Shine as he, Elusive and Blitz debated about the best type of hay.
“I like my hay like I like my mares!” continued Blitz, a sly smirk on his face as he hovered just above the ground. “Steamy, spicy, and...” He waggled his eyebrows for emphasis. “...just a little bit damp!”
Applejack added his laughter to Dusk's as he trotted over to join the conversation. Even Elusive chuckled into his hoof, though he clearly tried very hard not to.
Blitz misread Elusive's fake serious face, zooming up to the unicorn. “Well Mister...uhh...Mister... Damnit. Berry! Help!”
The ambient noise of Berry's continued monologue stopped as the unpredictable pony suddenly appeared over Elusive's shoulder, rubbing his chin with a hoof. “Hmmm.” With a high-pitched shriek, Elusive tumbled away. “How about... Mister Severe Severity Serious Face Severity Pants?”
Blitz grumbled. “It'll have to do.” He turned back to Elusive. “Well Mister...what he said, what do you look for in a mare?”
Elusive drew himself up and cleared his throat. “Why, how considerate of you to ask Rainbow! Well, she must be well-groomed, definitely cultured, not afraid of a little hard work, oh she must have very refined manners...”
As the unicorn continued, Blitz slowly lowered himself to the ground. His eye twitched. He was just beginning to realise how big his mistake was.
Elusive continued, unabated, detailing every little aspect he could recall from countless hours of musing. He was aware that he thought about what he considered his better half probably more than was healthy, but he simply couldn't help himself. Being a stallion didn't preclude him from being a romantic.
“...a self starter, good with foals but not too good, a dazzling smile will always go a long way-”
“Oh-kaaay!” interrupted Dusk Shine, even his patience beginning to wear thin. “I think we've got a pretty good idea of what your perfect mare is like Elusive.”
The designer cleared his throat, realising he might have perhaps gone into a bit too much detail. “Very well. Though now I am quite curious; what is your perfect mare like, Dusk?” he asked, levelling a hoof at the librarian.
Big Macintosh listened in as each of the six colts described their perfect partners, even Butterscotch timidly voicing a few preferences. He shook his head slowly, an amused smile on his face. It was almost funny that they didn't realise: each of them was simply describing their female counterpart. Which, he supposed as he blinked slowly, wasn't too big of a surprise. It wasn't hard to see that each of them would get along magnificently.
He shifted his gaze to the side and down slightly, subtly watching as his new brother laughed along with everypony else at something or other. From the first time he laid eyes on him, as the smaller stallion stood panting in front of the house with his sister after a sprint from Ponyville, it hadn't been hard to see that he and AJ had been attracted to each other, even if they themselves didn't know it yet. Big Macintosh had always had an eye for detail, and had sized up the pair immediately. Though he had quickly accepted Applejack as his new brother after hearing AJ's story (Horseapples, it still felt odd to refer to her as “AJ” every time), he wasn't sure how he felt about this new dynamic between two ponies that were essentially his siblings.
As was his way, he hadn't said anything, and had quietly pondered the matter for a few days, letting his mind turn it over as his body worked on auto-pilot through his chores. It wasn't entirely dissimilar to what his family had been accused of in the past, thought that by no means meant it was acceptable. Applejack was his brother... but still wasn't, in a way. It was difficult to wrap his head around. He had gone to speak with Granny Smith about it, one of very few ponies who ever heard him say more than a few words at a time, and found that she had been considering the very same issue, after having noticed it herself. With a grin, he recalled her words. “Ye got yer' ah fer detail from somewhere, sonny!” Together, they had finally decided that this was a very special case, and was exempt from the norm.
On the one hoof, that kind of thing was strictly taboo because it didn't bode well for hale and healthy foals, who needed a varied gene pool. But that was only for similar genes; as far as the two of them knew, AJ and Applejack's genes were identical, save for an additional X chromosome thrown into the mix. Even identical twins had different DNA. The other issue that they struggled with was that of emotional attachment; there was the love for a family member, and the love for a, in the words of Applebloom, “certain special somepony”, and those two things were entirely different. But even though he was of Apple family descent, Applejack was still... different. It was hard to describe. He hadn't always been there, so he wasn't really taken in as a family member by AJ, more as a close friend, perhaps something more. Even Big Macintosh would admit that he thought of Applejack as a family member through AJ, more than anything else.
In the end, the two eldest Apples decided to wait and see what happened. Brighter minds than they were involved in this, especially Dusk and Twilight, and if everything proceeded as Big Macintosh thought it might, someone else would solve this problem before it ever became an issue.
To keep himself satisfied, the stallion had decided to simplify things further in his head. Two ponies he cared deeply for found happiness in each other, even if at times it seemed to be an awkward, terrified, hilariously amusing happiness. They hadn't grown up together, and were technically not related. That was good enough for Big Macintosh.... Big Macintosh... Big Macintosh...
“BIG MACINTOSH!”
With a snort, the draft horse shook himself from his musings, his gaze refocussing to see six faces looking at him in concern. “Eeyup?”
“Ah said,” repeated Applejack, “what's your perfect mare like? Ah don't think Ah've ever asked before.”
Big Macintosh blinked. Aw, horseapples. He looked left and right as he tried to think of a way out of his situation.
Applejack grinned evilly. He knew that look anywhere, but there was no way the shy stallion was getting out of this one. “Unless, o'course, you just want me to tell everypony about your ah-deal mare.” At Big Macintosh's confused look, he grinned wider. “Why, Ah'm surprised you don't remember! Out on the eastern orchard, behind that little hill?”
Big Macintosh turned as red as his colouring would allow, jaw dropping open as he remembered. “EENOPE!”
Applejack smirked, knowing he had his new brother cornered. “Then start talkin'!”
With a deep sigh, Big Macintosh turned his thoughts inward, recalling his infrequent thoughts on the subject of mares. For a time he had been quite smitten with Fluttershy, but that phase had passed, and he was more than happy that she had found Butterscotch. Mares just weren't high up on his priority list. That wasn't to say he didn't enjoy a beautiful mare as much as the next stallion; he was just a busy pony, and had other things on his plate. Hay, he hadn't even spent much time around any mares for a long time...
He blinked. Ah suppose that's not entirely true.
“Well...” he drawled, elongating the word, “Ah like a mare with a good head on her shoulders, who knows what she wants and how to get it. Ah don't mind what she does, but she needs to know that Ah ain't leavin' the Acres. And...” He cleared his throat, a little embarrassed at his final point. “...couldn't hurt if she was good with foals, Ah 'spose.”
Sidling up to him, Blitz said, “Oh, thinking about having a herd of little Big Macs already huh?”
With a shrug, the workhorse matter-of-factly stated, “Eyup.” It was amusing to watch Rainbow Blitz lose a bit of steam at that; he was the only male Apple left in Ponyville, somepony had to carry on the name!
…
Celestia raised her head from the warm embrace of her special somepony, a smile on her face as she recalled the special sunrise he had organised just for her on Hearts and Hooves Day. He was such a big softy. She sighed as she buried her face into his closely cropped mane, so different to her own flowing tresses, yet radiating the same gentle warmth. Her ears pricked out of instinct as she felt more than heard a slight shift in the air currents surrounding the two lovers as they lay together on Celestia's private balcony, enjoying the moonlit night.
A baritone chuckle reverberated through Celestia's companion at this telltale sign of an inexperienced spy; no doubt he had felt it too. “It appears we have a shadow”, he murmured.
Celestia sighed, straightening. “As irksome as little sisters can be from time to time, can you blame her? She's at that age, and she can't even remember ever seeing a male alicorn. Now there's one right in front of her, and I'm all over him.” The princess smiled as she draped her forelegs over his back. “And I'm never letting him go!”
He laughed outright at that, disturbing the quiet of the peaceful night. Leaning back for a quick nuzzle, he said, “Thankfully, we can fix Luna's little problem now.”
Celestia drew back, looking at him curiously. A smile spread across her face. “What are you up to Solaris?”
The male alicorn gently stood, letting Celestia ease herself off him. Rising to his full imposing height, looking magnificently regal even without his ceremonial trappings, the Prince of the Sun grinned cheekily, betraying the humorous personality Celestia had come to love so much.
“Oh, nothing,” he said, still smiling. “Just going off to find the another alicorn stallion for Luna.”
Celestia rose, raising a brow at Solaris, not quite making the connection just yet. “But... I have searched for centuries! There are no others.”
“No, there are not”, agreed Solaris, shaking his head. He leaned in and planted a gentle kiss on her lips, lingering for just a moment. Breaking the kiss, he whispered, “At least...”
Celestia noticed his horn light up at the very last moment, closing her eyes just as he teleported away in a brilliant flash of golden sunlight. His words, lingering in the still night air, echoed around her for just a moment.
“...not yet.”
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I thought this had been abandoned. YAY.
Whoo! It's finally here!
Now, the question is, will it update?
(Joke) Alt. Title: With A Little Help From My Clone (I Want A Helping Hoof)
(BTW, it means I don't really care.)
On Equestria Daily? Well, to quote Fluttershy:
Hmm, sounds pretty good. Alright I'll keep a eye on it.
Hmm, I stopped going to fanfiction.net and totally forgot of this story's existence for a long time... well, time to re-read!
2067359
Now, the answer is,
YES!
Thanks for reposting!!!
2067497
iambrony.jsmart.web.id/mlp/gif/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-brony-you-rock-woohoo.gif
For real, this was one of my favorite ship fics in the fandom. Thank you for returning.
Hey, nice to see this all the way here!
Oh yay! To be able to preread for this story again! Huzzah!
It should be
Annoyingly, irritatingly, intoxicatingly frustrating and handsome.
that would be funny xD
this reminds me of on a cross and arrow will read later
Hmm... good to see this resurrected.
Oh hell yeas
Hooray! Maybe this'll get this:
to update now!
This is my favorite fic and I am so glad it's not dead!!
Okay, I seriously need to continue reading this. Faved, upvoted, and burned holes in it with my eyes.
Wait, wait, wait...let me get this straight...
An R63 shipfic with an Equestria Daily feature? Oh HELL yes. Reading the FUCK out of this.
I remember this fic
well this IS a interesting way of getting out of the problem of find the perfect significant other, make them
also this is just about where the poor fan gets hit and vaporized
This story is highly amusing and I am enjoying it immensely. Part of me wonders, though, if Rainbow and Scootaloo form the same bond they develop later in the series, how Scoots will react to having a big sister AND big brother.
I also would actually like to see Sweetie Belle's initial reaction to seeing Rarity alongside Elusive.
2067497
I seen this story about a month ago!
Wow, featured and only 43 comments. I MUST READ AND MAKE POPULAR!
dtlux1
Yes! It's here folks, and what a story it is! Huzzah!
i love this soooooooooooo much
You get a gender swapped you, you get a gender swapped you, EVERYBODY GETS A GENDER SWAPPED THEM!
Wow. This sure has promise. Promise to be absolutely adorable. I will be following this most eagerly. Would be nice to see how some of the other residents of Ponyville reacted, though. Big Mac and Granny Smith are rather cleared up, but we still got nothing as far as how Spike and Sweetie Belle reacted. I demand MOAR worldbuilding! I can't help it, you're just so damn good at it!
Thanks a bunch for sharing this! Cheers!
So glad to hear this is up and running again. It's one of the first ship fics I ever read over on DeviantArt way back in the day.
Much
No way
this story is finally on this site, I had been following that story on Fanfiction. Glad to see this story is still going.
5 bucks says shinning armour is the one to say "so you fell in love with yourself? bit narcissistic dontcha think twilight?" or something around those lines
Sweet. One of the older fics I read on EqD/DA finally made it over.
Oh, fuck the hell YES.
Let's see...
3
2
1
.
.
.
MOAR!!!!!
wrong identical twins have the same DNA due to the fact that they were originally one egg that divided into two. the have different finger prints due to the fact that DNA is not the only thing that builds the shape of the waves.
I believe I require a good amount of moar.
And then add a little moar into the mix.
...And then some moar.
I believe that covers it, more or less!
I don't usually read shipfics, but this one caught my attention, and I approve of it. Also, I read it.
WHERE THE BUCK IS CHAPTER 13?
you magnificent bastard... cant wait to see where this goes!
2068207
Good thing I had a Phoenix Down!
2068480
Hey man! If you look closer at the end of Chapter 2, you can see that Spike came to her with the letter! I figure he received it and came running.
2068548
Glad to hear you liked it man!
Be careful with those laser eyes!
2068710
Trev, man, gotta give me more specifics! Which chapter and where?
2068946
Nah, I'm just close friends with the muffin man!
2069103
Now you raise a fine point there my friend! Bits that have been skipped over in the little timeskip between Chapters 11 and 12 might or might not be reviewed. I honestly don't know, it will just happen as the story asserts itself. Perhaps the opportunity will never arise, as the CMC don't get the greatest exposure in this story, or maybe their familial relationships will become an integral part? Everyone, including myself, will have to wait and see.
2069146
Yeah, ol' Skychaser was a bit out of left field. I liked the idea of elaborating on Dash's first romantic experience, even if it was anything but, and I suppose it shows that sometimes things just don't work out, which does kinda suck. Ah well, he's doin' just fine. He got over it!
2069442
I will admit, my worldbuilding with the origin or Equestria and origin of Discord stories is by far my favourite part. Never had something easier to write, it just made so much sense as I was typing it up. I was really, really happy with it, the best part in my opinion.
2069688
Hey chief, it doesn't actually tell me what specific chapter you commented on. Could you narrow it down a bit so I could fix it up?
2069766
You've got a good point with that Applebloom/Apple Bloom thing right there. I'll definitely keep that in mind in future!
2070185
Knowing him, he'd probably blink, nod, and say "Eeyup."
2070948
In all honesty man I'm trying to be deliberately vague about the whole genetics thing, as I honestly don't know all that much about it.
2071094
So I guess you could say you're ROFLMAO?
2071229
Hmmm, where exactly did I say that man? I'm not doubting you, I just don't know where it is, so I can correct it.
2071273>>2071326
Yeah man, this guy's got it. Roan = Rome.
2071721 ahhh ok but srsly identical twins have identical DNA fraternal twins have different DNA this is why they can be opposite genders
2071732
Well I'll be chuggered.
2071743 the more you know
Dang, where was I last on this one.... dunno if I got time to reread it all, on top of others I got on my backlog....
2071721
Well, if this story doesn't adress that directly, maybe you could write a side story that is JUST each set of ponies explaining to their families about what's going on.
2071982 I comment on almost everything I read. I love getting comments on my own work, so I try to give back that feeling of joy and as much enthusiastic and insightful commentary as I can.
I see the forelegs has been fixed. A few chapters later, and I get what I was thinking about.
Psychically played, sir, psychically played.
I honestly can't wait to see Prince Artemis come onto the scene.
I've never been to fond of the monicker 'Prince Artemis', as Artemis was a Greek goddess, the huntress, and is hence rather strange for Luna's male counterpart. I've personally always been partial to the name Lune.
2071975
While it was tempting, the hoofwrasslin' bit just rung too true.
I still don't approve of making every single pony's ideal mate essentially a genderbent version of themselves (or, in some cases, a non-genderbent version of themselves). I know opposites only attract in electromagnetism, but a 100% success rate is a bit much. Perhaps you'll cover that in later chapters, considering it currently looks like Celestia and Solaris might just decide to make Rule 63 more than theoretical.
2072449
Okey dokey, I'm gonna put this out there because a lot of people have expressed a little bit of confusion over this. It's fair enough that you don't get it man, so I'll clear it up for everyone now. Kinda spolerish after here, so...
*SPOILERS A BIT*
To all those who don't like or disapprove of everyone being paired with their genderbent counterpart, that's kind of the point of the story. The Elements drain each pony of their ability to love, in a romantic way, those around them. Consider it as a small void in the ponies themselves. Then in come the R63 colts, who each possess the exact same void, due to being crafted from the sympathy of the original ponies. Due to the similar nature of the ponies, their tie to the same element, and the exact same void existing within each of them, they are able to learn to love each other. In this situation, and only this situation, could a pony who has used the Elements love someone romantically, at least in my story.