Unusual Garb
The sun shone brightly over the fields of Ponyville. A soft breeze in the air, it seemed to be the perfect time to spend time outside with friends. Incidentally, that just so happened to be what a certain group of ponies happened to be doing.
Pinkie Pie was hopping about, a wide grin on her face. She wanted to have a picnic with her friends, since a picnic was kind of like a party, and her friends were some of the best friends in the world! With a giddy snort and a giggle, she practically danced around the lavender mare beside her.
“Ready to have some fun, Twilight? I know I am! Too much fun, if you ask me!” She stopped mid-air, gasping as her eyes went wide. “Wait! What if there’s such a thing as too much fun? How can I tell!” She started to babble, but was silenced by a lavender hoof.
“That’s enough, Pinkie… We can figure it out later, alright?” Princess Twilight Sparkle casually strolled next to her friend, smiling softly at the comfortable breeze that blew past. She would have been content to be in her castle, but at the insistence of a certain pink mare, she decided a little break would be nice. Besides, her friends would be there, and that was more than enough reason to trot towards their destination.
They had already met with Rainbow Dash, who took up the task of reaching Sweet Apple Acres to invite Applejack, and to Fluttershy’s Cottage to bring her along. Twilight had told Rainbow to bring the others to Rarity’s Boutique before finally making it to the park.
They had barely got in sight of the boutique when they met Rarity. The alabaster unicorn gave them a friendly wave, her saddlebags looking stuffed to the brim.
“Good day, ladies.” She said with a warm grin. “I was just on my way back to the Boutique with some supplies I needed. What brings you two here?”
“Oh, Hello Rarity! Pinkie and I we-“ Twilight started before the pink earth pony jumped atop her, standing atop the purple alicorn’s head.
“Hiya! I wanted to have a picnic with my bestest friends in the whole world! And You’re one of my bestest friends! So, you wanna come along?” She gave a wide smile, eyes sparkling as she leaned forward, nose almost reaching Rarity’s.
“Well of course, darling. It’s always nice to spend time with loved ones.” Rarity replied, gently nudging Pinkie’s nose away before patting her head. In the distance, on the other side of the boutique, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Applejack were almost to the doorstep when they arrived. As the party greeted each other, Rarity noticed something at her doorstep.
Moving towards the object, it seemed to be a flat box, with a note attached to the top. She examined the parcel, lifting it with her magic and gently shaking it, but hearing nothing. It was then that the others noticed, and stepped closer to her as she picked up the note and read it aloud.
“Dear Owner of this Apparel Shop, I leave this in your care, as I no longer see a need for it. Do as you wish with it, although I ask you not destroy it.” She peered at the note from all angles, a thoughtful look on her face. “No signature. Whoever left this here has no intention of taking it back.” The white unicorn’s horn glowed once more, and she lifted the contents from their box.
“What’cha got there, Rarity?” Applejack asked with a tilt of her hat.
Rarity simply turned in reply, a mildly disgruntled look on her normally warm face. “This… “She held up a vest made of rough cloth. “This thing… It’s not bad… It’s just so dull! I can’t describe it any other way…”
The group examined the vest as well, each one holding it and looking it over every which way. Rarity was right. The vest, while fairly well-made and in good condition, was simply dull, as though there was no way to use it stylishly.
Rarity took the moment to step inside and set her supplies down before exiting to rejoin her friends. Once everypony was ready, they took off, trotting to the park and finding a quiet spot under a tree, a good distance away from the rest of the park. Pinkie had their picnic blanket out, and was soon unpacking the food as Rainbow Dash and Applejack got into a friendly tousle, wrestling but keeping careful to avoid the treats Pinkie was setting up. Twilight was already reading, idly turning the page as she looked up at her friends. Rarity was idly watching the wrestling match, but something caught her eye.
“Fluttershy, dear, do you still have that vest? I am sorry to not have taken it inside… I must have forgotten about it.” She scooted closer to put a hoof over the butter-yellow pegasus’ shoulders. The timid Pegasus had the vest snugly in her grip, resting with her chest atop it.
“Oh! Uh, um… I, uh… I don’t mind. It, uh, it’s good for a cushion.” The mare said softly. Rarity smiled wider at her friend, and pulled the mare into a gentle hug. Pinkie, however, had finished setting the food out and tugged the vest out from under Fluttershy, soliciting a soft “Meep” from the pony.
“Hey! This might look good on Applejack! She has a hat that kinda, sorta matches!” Pinkie mused, holding the vest up and once more looking it over this way and that. Upon hearing her name, the farmpony sauntered over and gave the vest a look.
“Ah guess I could try it on. I might use it for my fancy clothes. Well, not too fancy like that dress Rarity made.” With that, she slipped the clothing on. It fit almost perfectly, the cloth seemingly shaping to her form to be just right all around.
Twilight looked up, and she glanced around for a brief moment. She had just felt a spark of magic, and it was close… but where was it from. She lit up her horn, trying to feel out where this tiny source of power came from. When she finally found it, she gasped. The magic was coming from…
“Applejack! Take off the vest! It’s magical!” She hopped up, horn glowing to envelop the vest. At her friend’s command, the orange mare yanked the vest off, worried she might have been too late.
“I-is everything okay, Twilight? A-ah hope nothing bad’s gonna happen.” The farmpony kept her eyes on the vest, the group now focused on the garment. As twilight picked up the cloth, Applejack’s stomach growled. Not thinking entirely on it, she picked up a nearby cupcake and gulped it down.
“Seems pretty harmless… but I don’t know what it does just yet.” Twilight said, trying to feel out how the spells woven into the vest worked. “Seems to be a few spells, but they seem innocent. They don’t feel evil. I’ll have to figure them out later.” She tucked the vest into her saddlebag, and her horn lit up to check if Applejack was fine. “And you don’t seem to have anything but some magical residue. If anything did affect you, it hasn’t shown yet.”
“Well, that’s good. Ah don’t want no curses or nothin’ hurting me or anypony else!” Her stomach gurgled again, and she frowned. She felt a little hungry, and she gulped down another cupcake to try and ease her stomach. Nopony noticed, but her stomach looked a little plumper than before.
The picnic resumed, though Twilight kept an eye on her friend. Amidst the chatter, Applejack’s stomach gurgled loudly, and the farm mare let out a breath as if she had been holding it for a long time.
“Hoo-woah nelly… That kinda hurt…” She groaned, wincing and doubling over. Her eyes were shut tight, and she tried to get to her hooves, only to have her rump in the air. She whined and grumbled, muttering curses under her breath as her friends gathered by her side, trying to figure out what was wrong.
They didn’t get many words out before Applejack’s nethers spilled out a thin, pale goo, and she got up and into a squat. With a groan that sounded like it belonged in the bathroom, she felt her marehood quiver and puff out. Her friends looked on with a mix of shock, embarrassment and wonder as Applejack rubbed at herself, muttering and groaning loudly. Taking her hoof away, she squatted low and let out a loud grunt and a cry… and a smooth, baseball-sized oval object dropped from her marehood. She panted, sweating and looking down between her legs. Her cheeks flushed a deep red, and her eyes were wide with horror as she looked back up at her friends.
“Uh… Twilight? Ah think ah know what that vest does…”