Blossoming: Learning How To Fly

by nanashi_jones

Is Being A Pony As Contagious As Theater?

Jess stirred and rolled over. She blinked amethyst eyes at me, smiling.

I smiled back and before she could speak, I put a hoof to her muzzle.

“You’re a pegasus,” I said simply.

Her brow creased, then relaxed as if I’d made a joke. Before she said anything though, she noticed her hooves. Turning them over, she examined her purple-gray fur and as she rolled to the side, her wings flared open.

She heard that noise and turned to it, seeing them as well as her golden-blond mane and tail.

“I have wings,” she said flatly.

“Yup,” I said.

Jess had turned into Cloud Kicker alright. Blossomforth’s internal, stunned silence confirmed it as the voice locked in what our eyes and nose had already pointed out.

She rolled over, kicking sheets out of the way to see her cutie mark, a cloud with a little sun peeking from behind it. She looked her body over, turning this way and that to better see herself, as if she was trying a dress on at Macy’s.

She looked back to me after she was finished.

“I’m a pony,” she said.

“Eeyup,” I said with a nod.

She stared off into the middle distance, then looked back to me.

“I have a show tonight.”

“I know,” I said.

She glanced at the clock, then looked back to me.

“I have an hour and a half to learn how to walk and use my hooves. You’re helping.”

“Of course, dear.”

When I’d changed, I really only had myself. Blossomforth had been too freaked out to say anything and just retreated to a corner of our mind. So, having somepony around who knows what you’re going through and is willing to assist really helps you cope. It helps a lot. At least, that’s the impression I got from Jess as I guided her through the rhythmic steps of having four legs to coordinate. Like me, she admitted the hard part was shutting up the part of her brain that wanted to stand up on two legs.

“Welcome to my life,” I said with a smile.

“Shush. We’re on a clock.”

Having alerted Other Mommy to Mommy Prime’s condition, Phouka had retreated to her favorite spot on the living room loveseat, to absently watch as Other Mommy guided Mommy Prime around.

“I can... Feel her watching me,” Jess said.

“She always watches us,” I said.

“Yeah, but it feels different now.”

“Ah. I think it’s a pony thing. Animals are more responsive to you now, even if you aren’t an earth pony.”

“Huh?”

“You ever notice how ponies and animals seem to understand one another in the show? I mean, Fluttershy has the special talent for it, but even the Mane 6 can connect with their animal companions better than most casual pet owners.”

Jess nodded. “I just chalked it up to ‘cartoon animals.’” She looked over at Phouka. “Don’t mind Mommy- she’s just learning a new trick.”

Phouka yawned and rolled over so her paws were in the air. She looked positively sublime.

We chuckled.

“Got it?” I asked, having stepped back from Jess as she cantered in a circle more steadily.

“I’m feeling it.”

“Then let’s get to your wings.”

Outside, Jess quickly got the knack of hovering, but flying was as tricky for her as it had been for me.

“The helmet isn’t helping,” she said, her eyes covered by the scooter helmet.

“It’s better than running into the side of the building,” I replied.

Our neighbor walked by on the sidewalk one floor above us. I waved.

“Hello, nice day isn’t it?” I called to her.

She blinked, shook her head and kept walking.

Jess, meanwhile was rising and trying to aim herself.

“C’mooon, c’mon! I! Have! A! Show!”

She wheeled sideways, lost control of her left wing and landed in the bushes.

“Okay,” I said, flapping over to retrieve her. “We have a lot of work to do and not enough time. I’m helping you tonight.”

“You don’t know what needs to be done,” she replied, tersely. Before I could interject, though, she changed tones and kept going, “But if I give you my check sheet and keep practicing while we go...”

“Teamwork!” I proclaimed, pumping my hoof in the air.

First order of business was figuring out what we needed. With both of us ponified, nopony was driving the cars. I considered how if this was permanent we could sell them. When you’re a pegasus, having a car feels redundant.

Jess set about sorting through her work bags and since I had a day’s worth of experience and Blossomforth was helping out with my dexterity, I kitted up a dense cloud to support Jess’s work things and Jess herself.

She’d initially stared at the cloud with a little circumspection, but I assured her that I’d moved a little magic to her laptop and workbag to ensure they wouldn’t fall through. This was apparently a thing pegasi could do short term- it certainly helped when keeping photos up in cloud houses, that was for sure. Jess accepted my workponyship and climbed on, amused that she could just... Sit on a cloud now.

Grinning back at her, I felt a little smug satisfaction from Blossomforth’s side of my mind. Apparently, Cloud Kicker was usually the one to take the lead. I mentally glared at her, noting that if Jess had changed first, she and Cloud Kicker would be leading us. The satisfaction faded.

Mental debates sorted, I hooked into the cloud and started hauling it up to a good cruising altitude and then downtown.

Even with Blossomforth’s body being acclimated to regular weather pegasus duty, she hadn’t hauled like this in a while, so we were both grateful when Jess worked out how to help with her own wings. That lightened my load and got us to the Puppet Center earlier than Jess normally did.

We earned a few stares from actors and technicians out having a smoke/lunch break between other shows.

I recognized one of them from a previous performance I’d attended and waved as I came in for a landing.

“Hey Bill,” I said as Jess hopped from the cloud. I grabbed her laptop and Jess took her backpack, which she’d stripped to just what she needed for show run tonight. I’d told her the cloud could take more weight. Maybe she’d believe me next time.

Once everything was clear, with a quick kick from my hind leg, I evaporated the cloud.

“Uh, hi?” said the rotund technical director for the Center.

“It’s me, Bill. Jess,” Jess said as she walked to the employee entrance. “My girlfriend and I turned into ponies today. She’s gonna help with Poe tonight.”

“Oh. Um. Okay,” Bill said, opening the door for us.

“Thanks!” I offered to his gentlemanliness.

You’re sure sociable, Blossomforth thought at me.

I’m really not. I thought as we walked into the Center. I’m just good at the little pointless conversation bits. Hi, how you doing, how’s the family- Mom thought I should run for office.

You’re definitely better than me. The only reason I have friends in Ponyville is because Cloud Kicker brought me along to a few parties.

You didn’t get a welcome party from Pinkie? I thought.

I did, but it happened too fast and I mostly stayed near the punch. Cloud Kicker talked to me and when I turned her down for something casual, she offered to be my friend instead.

Thought you said she wasn’t like the fic.

She’s loose. She’s just not that loose. She’s- I could so get a better light off that gel with a loose cumulus.

The door was open to the black box theater, and as I’d glanced up to the static light rigs, Blossom’s technical brain had gotten in gear. I flew up and flipped on the switches for the work lights. The eerie setting on stage lit into sharp relief from the fluorescents above.

“Okay,” Jess said, hoofing me her backpack. “You, put those in the booth and open up my laptop. The file you’ll need will be under Work in Documents.”

I nodded.

“Go over it and when I get back, we’ll divvy up the tasks into what you can do and what I can do.”

“Ma’am,” I said with a salute.

Halfway up my flight up the stairs, I paused. “Where are you going?”

“I need my headset.” She turned and my keen ears picked up, “And coffee. A large cup of wretched coffee.”

I shook my head and got set up.

Jess returned in short order, headset around her neck and a large, easily held thermos in hoof. She hovered up to the tall chair while I started in on stage set up and props. She acclimated to using hooves and wings rather than fingers on the sound board.

At one point, Liz showed up. I waved at her and she smiled.

“Hey, January,” she said. “You seen Jessica?”

“Hey Liz,” came Jess’s Cloud Kicker voice over the God Mic. “What’s up?”

Liz blinked up at the booth, seeing a gray-purple furred pegasus with a gold mane looking seriously down at her.

“Uh...”

“Yeah, I woke up as a pony between shows.”

“Gonna be a problem?” Liz asked.

“January’s helping tonight. I’m good.” She waved a hoof. Paused. Looked at that hoof. Looked back to Liz. “Treat that like a thumbs up.”

“Sure... Sure,” Liz said with all the certainty of a politician being asked about her sex life.

“Uh, just wanted to let you know,” she said. “Full house tonight, and this’ll be our last show due to scheduling issues. You have a sixteen and up audience. Go all out on the blood.”

“Last show?” I asked, setting the clock-face mechanism back into place. “Whatever happened to ‘the show must go on?’”

Liz smirked a sad, tired smirk at me. “The original show at least had a calendar to work by. We have to reorganize the rest of the season around a three-hundred day week.”

Looking from Jess to me, Liz added, “Make sure the cast is aware of your, um, help.”

“You got it,” Jess replied.

I put the bag of blood in the cat puppet and it occurred to me that the Poe puppet show was just like Poe: macabre, disturbing, bit of blood, and not really made for young-uns. On its final night, it would have the honor of being run by a pair of adorable, child-friendly ponies.

Maybe Discord really was behind all this. It was certainly funny enough.

I chuckled.

You’re weird, Blossomforth thought with a soft, mental laugh.

Just wait till you get to know me.

Comments

[Pinklestia]

Well, it does sound like Discord thing...

[Chrome Masquerade]

“I’m a pony,” she said.

“Eeyup,” I said with a nod.

She stared off into the middle distance, then looked back to me.

“I have a show tonight.”

“I know,” I said.