Chapter 1
The sun was high when Dusk and Dawn crested the final hill. "There it is," said Dusk, gazing down at the town below them. "Ponyville. How long has it been since we were here?"
"Sixty-eight years," replied Dawn. "And seventy since we helped found it. It's sure grown a lot since then. Think Granny Smith is still alive and kicking?"
"If so," said Dusk, smirking, "then her name finally fits."
They shared a laugh and walked down into Ponyville. Though much larger than the hamlet that they had helped to get started, a number of the old buildings were still standing. Navigating the town was easy enough, though a few of the more modern buildings caught them off guard.
"A gingerbread house." Dawn deadpanned as they walked, staring at one such building. "Someone actually decided to design their house to look like it was made out of gingerbread."
Dusk shrugged, staring at a building a couple of blocks down. "I'm more interested in the one that looks like a merry-go-round. Then again, we did leave a house here that was carved inside of a living tree."
Dawn's eyes suddenly brightened. "I forgot about that!" she said. "Jeez, that thing took you forever to enchant. Think it's still growing?"
"It'll definitely be something to look into," said Dusk. She faced the road again and sighed in relief. "Oh good. At least that's still the same."
They approached the town hall, which was surprisingly deserted for midday. Now that they thought about it, neither sister had seen much of anypony as they'd walked through town.
"This is actually kind of creepy," muttered Dawn. "What's..." She trailed off as the wind suddenly picked up, blowing dust and loose debris into her face.
"Look!" said Dusk, pointing towards the outskirts of town. Off in the distance, a large tornado was forming, streaked with the colors of various fast moving pegasi.
"What are they doing?" asked Dawn, shielding most of her face with her wings. Suddenly the wind stopped. Dawn lowered her wings to find a bubble of teal energy surrounding them, keeping out the wind. She smiled at her sister in thanks.
"I'm not sure," said Dusk, narrowing her eyes to peer through the swirling dust storm. "Wait. Is that..."
As the two sisters watched, the inside of the tornado seemed to fill with something. All of a sudden, a geyser of water shot up into the air and off in the direction of Cloudsdale. The tornado slowly died down as ponies started filing away at the top.
"Huh," said Dawn, impressed. "I didn't think Ponyville would have the pegasus power to pull off a rain duty."
"The town sure has grown," Dusk agreed. "That's probably where everypony was. They should be back soon, now." They continued up to the town hall and stepped up onto the porch to await the return of the townsfolk.
"Seems like this place went through renovations recently," said Dawn, testing the porch. "Yup, fixed up the creaky porch."
"Finally! Somepony who notices!" The sisters turned to see a beige earth pony mare with a grey mane walking towards them, shaking her head. "I swear, you're the first pony who I've heard mention the porch. I was beginning to wonder whether it was even worth it to fix." Her expression grew quizzical as she approached. "Have you been to Ponyville before, then? You two do look familiar."
Dusk shook her head. "No, but our grandmother's shown up pictures. She always complained about this porch."
"I see," said the mare. "Well then, let me be the first to welcome the two of you to Ponyville. I am Mayor Mare. What brings you to our quaint little town?"
"We're looking to move here," Dusk answered. "My name is Dusk Shadow, and this is my sister, Dawn Sky."
The mayor's eyes widened, and a grin threatened to split her face in two. "I knew you two looked familiar! You're descended from one of Ponyville's founders, aren't you?"
Dusk nodded. "I take it you know of Granny Dawn, then?"
"Of course!" said Mayor. "After all, after our own Granny Smith, she and her sister were the leading force behind the founding of Ponyville. We've go their portraits hanging right in my office and I must say, you two are their spitting images. But enough about that; when were you two planing to move in?"
"Um, today," said Dawn sheepishly.
Mayor's eyebrows shot up. "Well, that's rather short notice. Do you have a place already to move into?"
"Nope," said Dusk cheerfully. "We figured we'd just stay at a local inn until we earn enough to rent a place of our own."
"I see," said Mayor, not liking where this was going. "And what sort of work will you be doing."
Dusk shrugged. "That depends. Who's hiring?"
Mayor winced inwardly, but kept an grin on her face. "You two really didn't plan this out, did you?"
"We never do," admitted Dawn. "Figured it was time to leave Manehattan a couple of days ago, and decided on Ponyville last night."
Mayor nodded. "I see. Then you realize that we may not have anything for you two immediately. The only places that I know of that are hiring right now are the library and Sweet Apple Acres. The library can only hire one, though, and the Acres wouldn't be a good fit for either of you."
"Why not?" asked Dawn. "I've worked orchards before."
"They're looking for an earth pony," explained Mayor. "Nopony else has the strength and endurance to keep up with them. Trust me, many have tried. Unicorns and pegasi don't last a day, and even most earth ponies quit before the week is out."
"Sounds perfect!" said Dawn. "Good old-fashioned, getting-your-hooves-dirty farm work is right up my ally! Especially if that sticks Dusk in the stuffy library."
Dusk rolled her eyes as Mayor raised an eyebrow. "You've never worked an Apple Family orchard, have you?" she asked.
"Spent a summer at the Trottingham Acres a while back," Dawn countered. "I'll be fine."
"If you're sure," sighed Mayor. "Still, I'll ask around town once ponies start coming back from the Tornado Day event. Hopefully somepony will have something for you, just in case. The Acres are-"
"South of town," interrupted Dusk. "And the library is in the tree on the west side." Mayor's eyebrows shot up again and Dusk smirked. "Granny Dawn talked about this town a lot."
"I see," said Mayor. "Well, I wish you luck then." Dusk and Dawn nodded their thanks and headed south.
"Nice cover with 'Granny Dawn'," said Dawn once they were out of earshot.
"I figured we'd need one," replied Dusk. "We know too much about this town. It'd be suspicious if we didn't have that sort of connection. Besides, I doubt that Mayor Mare will be the only one to see how much we resemble ourselves."
After a few minutes of walking down a dirt road, the famous Sweet Apple Acres finally came into view. The house, barn and orchards looked the same as they had all those years ago. Down in the orchards, they noticed an orange earth pony mare bucking away at some trees. Her blond mane was tied back in a ponytail beneath her stetson, and three red apples adorned her flank. "Must be one of Granny Smith's grandchildren," said Dusk as they continued down.
The mare saw them coming and walked over to greet them at the front gate. "Well, howdy there," she said as she approached. "Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres. Name's Applejack. Y'all new in town?"
"Yup," said Dawn. I'm Dawn, and this is my sister Dusk. We heard that you were looking to hire?"
Applejack smiled down at her and chuckled. "We sure are, but I'm afraid you're a might young to be workin'-"
"What did you say, hick?"
Applejack's jaw dropped and Dusk facehoofed. "Oh no," she groaned.
Dawn fluttered right up into Applejack's face. If looks could kill, Dawn would have put Applejack six feet under. "I'll have you know," she seethed, "that I'm no little filly. You're what? Twenty? I'm twenty bucking six. So shut the buck up and GIVE ME THE BUCKING JOB BEFORE I-"
Suddenly, Dawn's eyes closed and she dropped to the ground, snoring softly. "You'll have to forgive her," said Dusk as her horn powered down, Applejack still staring wide eyed at Dawn. "Her growth was stunted severely as a filly. She's a little sensitive about her height."
"A little?" asked Applejack incredulously. "Her temper's worse than a worm's in a plastic apple factory." She grinned widely. "If she can work as well as she can shout, we may just have to hire her."
"mph, rip you bucking heart out and bucking feed it to you..." muttered Dawn in her sleep.
Applejack's eyebrow rose. "Provided she can keep her mouth clean around li'l Apple Bloom."
Dusk nodded and conjured a small bolt of lightning to zap Dawn awake.
"Wha- whazat?" mumbled Dawn as she got up.
"Congratulations," said Applejack, grabbing her attention. "You've got the job, provided you can keep up, o' course."
Dawn blinked for a moment, shaking off the last of her sleep, before narrowing her eyes. "Oh really?" she spat. "You sure I'm not too young? Or too small?"
"Well that depends," smirked Applejack. "Can you work?"
Dawn huffed, sneering up at her. "Just try me. After a week, you'll be begging me to stay."
Applejack chuckled once again. "We'll see about that." She nodded over to the barn. "Go an' get the wagon out an' bring it over to where I was buckin'. A few of our trees came in early, an' I want to get them harvested by the end o' the day."
Dawn saluted sharply. "Yes ma'am."
"So," asked Applejack once Dawn was out of earshot, "how long will she last?"
Dusk smiled fondly at Dawn. "Don't worry about her," she assured. "She's as good as her word, and a hard worker besides. If she says she can handle it, she can. Just make sure nopony mentions her height." She groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. "We've had to skip town a couple of times because of her temper."
"Well, I'm sure we can handle anythin' she throws our way," said Applejack confidently. "So, where you headed now?"
Dusk nodded back towards town. "Got to find a job for myself. I head that the library is hiring."
"They sure are," said Applejack. "Poor Twi. Between workin' the library an' all her little projects, it's a wonder she has any time to spare for us. Tell her I said 'hi' when you see her."
Dusk nodded and bade her farewell. She was halfway back to Ponyville before a thought struck her, making her pause. Wait, Twi? As in, Twilight? It couldn't be... She shook her head and kept walking. Nah, it's probably just a coincidence. I mean really what are the odds? Besides, she's in Canterlot.
In a few minutes, she stood facing a treehouse. Not a standard tree-house, but a house carved out of a living tree. She smiled as she looked over her old work once again. Lighting her horn, she traced over the familiar enchantments. "Still holding strong," she whispered to herself, letting her horn power down. "Geeze, I've missed this place." She walked up to the front door, the same one that Dawn had carved all those years ago, and knocked.
The door opened and Dusk was left facing empty air. "Um, hello?" she asked, looking around.
"Down here." Startled, Dusk looked down and felt her jaw drop. Smirking up at her was a baby dragon, purple for the most part, but with green scales covering his chest and a line of green spines flowing from the top of his head to his tail.
"Um, hi," said Dusk. "I, um, I heard that you, well I mean, that the library was, um, sorry. Sorry," She put a hoof over her face as the dragon started laughing. "I really wasn't expecting a dragon in a small town like this."
"No problem," said the dragon. "Happens all the time. You're new in town, right? I'm Spike." He reached up a clawed hand to shake.
Dusk smiled and reached down. "Dusk Shadow," she said, shaking his hand with her hoof. "Nice to meet you. I heard you were looking to hire?"
"You bet!" said Spike. "Come on in." He led her inside to a familiar room. Bookshelves were carved into the walls, filled to bursting with books of every size and color. A few couches and cushions lay around to sit on while reading. A door led off into the kitchen while a staircase led up into what must have been a living area.
"I've got to say," said Spike as Dusk looked around, "it's good to finally find someone interested in the job. Do you have any prior experience?"
Dusk nodded, turning her attention back to Spike. "Some," she replied. "I worked at a library in Canterlot one spring, and my last job was as a librarian in Manehattan."
Spike nodded. "Well, you should feel right at home here, then. I'll go get your new boss." He ran up the stairs, shouting as he went. "Twilight! There's somepony here for the library job!"
Dusk took the time alone to continue to study the room. As she did, she noticed a door that hadn't been there when she's first built the treehouse. Curious, she walked over and cracked it open. Inside was a staircase leading downward. Odd, she thought, closing the door. This place didn't have a basement before. I wonder who added that? It would have to have been a rather powerful unicorn to pull that off while keeping this place alive. Her attention turned to a framed picture hanging above the fireplace. She walked up to it and smiled at what she saw; six friends all crowded together and smiling happily. She instantly recognized Applejack, and she found her eyes traveling to the rest of the ponies as well. Her eyes finally focused on the pony in the very center, and her jaw dropped. Impossible. It can't be...
There was a loud thud behind her, and Dusk quickly turned to see a purple unicorn standing behind her, the heavy tome she'd been levitating dropped to the ground. Two sets of eyes were widened, two jaws hanging loose.
"D-Dusk?" whispered the unicorn.
Tears filled Dusk's eyes. "Twily?"
They rushed towards each other, embracing and laughing happily.
"Oh Dusk! It's so good to see you again!" exclaimed Twilight. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm moving here," Dusk replied happily. "The question is, what are you doing here?" She pulled back, holding Twilight at arm's length and looking her up and down. "Look at you," she said softly. "You've grown so much!" Her eyes moved to Twilight's flanks. "And in the right places, too."
Twilight blushed slightly, still smiling. "And you're just as beautiful as ever." Her smile dropped, her blush intensifying as she realized what she'd just said. "I-I mean, the same as ever! The same! Not as beautiful. N-not that you aren't beautiful! You are! I mean, not that I was looking! I just-"
Dusk laughed and hugged her again as Twilight groaned in embarrassment. "Still the same little Twily," she teased. "I forgot how easy it was to get you all flustered."
"Du-usk!" Twilight whined.
"Only joking, Twilight," said Dusk, backing out of the hug. But seriously, what are you doing here? I thought you were still in Canterlot!"
"I moved to Ponyville a couple of years ago," she explained, finally getting her blush under control. "Princess Celestia sent me here to oversee plans for the Summer Sun Celebration and..." She trailed off. A dark look had overcome Dusk's face at the mention of Princess Celestia. "Sorry," said Twilight. "I forgot that..."
Dusk shook her head, smiling once again. "Not your fault," she said. "I shouldn't let myself get down everytime I hear about... Anyway, I had heard that you had become her student. Congratulations, by the way. But, why would you still be here after the celebration ended?"
"Well, it's a long story," said Twilight. "The short version is that i made some friends while I was here and-"
*GAAAAAAAAASP* Dusk gasped loudly and dramatically. "My little Twilight made some friends?" She threw her hooves into the air her eyes rolling madly. "It's a sign of the apponyclipse! Everypony run for your lives!!!"
Twilight glowered as Spike laughed, coming back downstairs. "I guess you two know each other?" he asked.
Dusk nodded. "Of course. I told you that I worked in a library in Canterlot one spring, didn't I?"
Spike pondered that for a moment. "Well, that explains it," he said.
Twilight rolled her eyes as they laughed. "Very funny, you two. And yes, Spike. Dusk was a friend of mine back in Canterlot. She moved away before you were born." She turned back to Dusk. "Anyway, after the celebration was over, Princess Celestia let me stay in Ponyville so I wouldn't have to leave my friends."
Dusk nodded, her face neutral. "Sound's like something she would do." Her face softened as she smiled. "Oh, Dawn will be so happy to see you again. My sister," she explained, seeing Spike's confusion.
"Really? She's here too?" asked Twilight, looking around.
"She's down at Sweet Apple Acres," Dusk explained. "We met one of your friends there, Applejack. Dawn's going to be working there."
Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Really? How'd you convince AJ to hire her."
"Applejack called her too young."
Twilight winced. "Well, that explains how you convinced her to take Dawn seriously at least." She shook her head. "Anyway, you were looking for a job?" Dusk nodded. "Well, you're hired. With all of the extra projects the Princess has given me, I've been really busy lately. It'll be a massive relief to have some more help around here." She smiled and held out a hoof. "Dusk Shadow, welcome to the team."
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
That night, Dusk lay awake on her bed in the guest room, staring out her window at eh night sky. There was a knock on the door and Twilight pushed it open gently. "Hey, Dusk," she said.
Dusk looked over and smiled softly. "Hey, Twily. What's up?"
Twilight walked over and looked out the window at the moon. "You haven't been to see her yet, have you?"
Dusk was silent for a moment. She sighed, looking up at the moon as well. "No, we haven't. I know I need to. Dawn deserves it. I told myself for so long that we'd go as soon as she was back but..."
Dusk felt a hoof being laid across hers. She looked over to see Twilight smiling gently at her. "You deserve it too," she said. "And as much as you hate to admit it, so does Princess Celestia."
Dusk frowned and looked away. No. She doesn't.
"Listen," said Twilight. "She comes over to visit every month or so. She'll be here in a couple of weeks. You and Dawn can see her then." Dusk hesitated. "You know she'd want to see you."
Dusk sighed again. "I, I'll think about it," she muttered.
Twilight gave her a hug, just holding her for a moment. Finally she got up and left. "Goodnight, Dusk," she said, closing the door behind her.
Dusk gave the moon one last look before lying down to sleep.
Author's Note
Well, here we go. This is what I'll be writing to work on my general story-writing skills. Please, give me any feed-back you can. Positive. Negative. I don't care! Just tell me what you think!
Chapter 2
"Last haul for the day," Applejack said, giving the tree a solid buck. She smirked in satisfaction as the apples rained down into the waiting buckets. "I've got to go into town for a bit, so let's get these to the apple cellar and you can take the rest of the day off."
"You've got it, boss," said Dawn, flying over to grab one of the baskets. Taking it in her fore-hooves, she grunted as she flew it up to add it to the stacks of baskets that filled the wagon. It had been two days since Dawn had started working the Acres, and Applejack could already tell that she was a keeper. Despite her size, Dawn was keeping pace and hauling loads as well as any Apple. She didn't complain, didn't take long breaks, and didn't cut corners. In fact, she already seemed almost as dedicated to the orchards as Applejack herself.
She'd met the rest of the Apple family that first evening at dinner. Granny Smith had been delighted to meet Dawn, and had been happy to see that "such a cute little filly" would be helping out. Dawn had explained her stunted growth and resisted the urge to shout at her. Barely.
"Why don't you come into town with me?" asked Applejack as they unloaded the wagon. "I'll show you around an' introduce you to my friends."
Dawn shrugged as she set down the last basket. "Sure, I needed to talk to Dusk about something anyway."
"What about?" asked Applejack.
"Oh, you know," Dawn said nonchalantly. They began walking towards Ponyville, Dawn taking wing to keep up more easily. "Just how she's doing at the library. I haven't really had the chance to talk with her since we got here."
"I see," said Applejack, smirking. "Not about why you lied about your age?"
Dawn stumbled out of the air. She stared up at Applejack. "How did you..."
Applejack chuckled and helped her to her hooves. "I'll admit," she said, "you're darn good at lyin'. Probably fool everypony else you come across. But I ain't everypony else." They resumed walking. "I can smell out a lie faster than a worm can smell out a rotten apple. If you don't want to tell me somethin' you can just say so. I won't pry. But I'd keep the lyin' to a minimum around me if I were you."
"I'll keep that in mind," muttered Dawn, resolving to inform Dusk of the living lie detector as soon as she saw her.
"Hey! AJ!"
Dawn looked around, unsure of where the shout had come from until she saw Applejack looking up. Following her gaze, she saw an azure pegasus with a rainbow striped mane and tail flying towards them.
"Well howdy, Rainbow Dash!" called Applejack. "What's up?"
"Just heard you got yourself a new worker," Rainbow said, landing in front of them. "Twilight told me yesterday. Has she quit yet?"
"Pht. As if," said Dawn. "It'd take a lot more than two days to get this mare to quit."
Rainbow looked down at Dawn, surprised. "Wait, you're AJ's new worker?"
"Eeyup," replied Applejack proudly. "This is Dawn. She's the hardiest worker I've ever seen outside the family. Heck, I'd say she's a fair match for most of them, even."
Rainbow stared for a moment more before scratching the back of her head. "So, was it some sort of injury?"
Dawn raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"Too much coffee too young?"
"I hate the stuff."
"Not enough milk as a filly?"
"I drink plenty of milk!" snapped Dawn, confused and a little irritated by this interrogation. "What are you talking about?"
"Well," explained Rainbow, "I'm just trying to figure out why you're such a shrimp."
Applejack facehooved as Dawn's wings shot up in rage. "WHAT DID YOU SAY YOU BUCKING MULE!!!"
Rainbow's eyes widened in shock before narrowing into a smirk. "Ooh. Looks like somepony's got a bit of a short temper. What're you going to do about it, small fry?"
*****
"One o' clock!" called Spike. "Lunch break!"
"Thank goodness," sighed Dusk as her horn stopped glowing. "My magic's really getting a workout. Twilight, is it really necessary to bring down all of these books at once?"
"Absolutely," Twilight replied, shelving the last of them. "One must do their research properly, after all."
"Thirty-seven books for a three page paper?" Dusk deadpanned.
"And every one of them referenced," replied Twilight cheerfully. "Come on, let's go out to lunch. I want to introduce you to my friends."
Dusk stared off into space for a moment. "Sorry, sorry," she said, shaking her head. "It's still just so weird a concept."
Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Going out to lunch?"
"You having friends."
Twilight rolled her eyes as Spike and Dusk shared another laugh at her expense. "Come on."
She led them through Ponyville, heading towards the center of town. "We're going to Sugarcube Corner today," she said. "You probably saw it coming into town. My friend Pinkie Pie lives and works there. She told me last week that she finally perfected her chimi-cherry-changa recipe, and I've been meaning to-"
"YOU'RE DEAD!!!"
Twilight, Spike and Dusk looked right just in time to duck as two blurs shot overhead, a poly-chromatic one followed closely by a red and pink one. "That was Dawn!" said Dusk as they stood.
"And Rainbow Dash," groaned Twilight. "She must have teased Dawn about her height."
They looked up, watching as the two blurs sped around in the air above the town, quickly getting higher and higher. Suddenly, the chase became purely vertical as Rainbow led them straight up.
"Dawn sure is fast," said Spike, "but she's about to loose."
"What makes you say that?" asked Dusk.
Rainbow pulled a tight loop and dove for the ground, Dawn trailing right behind her. "Any second now," said Twilight. Dawn began to fall behind as Rainbow picked up speed, the air seeming to solidify in front of her.
"Wait," said Dusk slowly. "She can't really be trying to-"
*BOOM*
Dusk was interrupted as Rainbow went supersonic, trailing a solid rainbow behind her as a ring of prismatic energy spread across the sky in all directions.
Twilight nodded, continuing to walk. "A sonic rainboom," she said. "Rainbow's the only pegasus in a thousand years to pull it off. There's no way for Dawn to-"
*BOOM*
Twilight's eyes widened as she stared up at the slowly expanding ring of red and pink. Dawn had burst through the sound barrier herself and had caught up to Rainbow once again, the two streaks of light moving so fast that it was impossible to tell them apart.
"Um, Twilight," said Spike. "This may be the time for you to do something."
Twilight gulped and nodded, lighting her horn. "How hard a blow can your sister take?" she asked Dusk.
"About as hard of one as I can," she replied. "Why?"
A large wall of Twilight's magic appeared in front of them, with a giant arrow made of the same pointing down to it. The rainbow blur turned and shot for the wall, her pursuer right behind. Rainbow sped through the wall of magic, not even slowing down as-
*SLAM*
Everyone winced as Dawn hit the wall, cracking it a little. She slowly slid down until she plopped limply to the ground. She groaned, rubbing her head, and looked up to see a very stern-faced Dusk looking down at her.
"He he, hey sis," said Dawn, chuckling nervously. "Um, what's up?"
Dusk raised an eyebrow. "A ring of red and pink energy that can probably be seen from Manehattan. Do you have any idea how hard this will be to explain?"
"Um, a little?"
Dusk sighed. "Dawn, what am I going to do with you? You need to learn to control your temper. What would out sisters think if they saw you like this?"
"Don't know," muttered Dawn. "You only ever talk about one of them."
Dusk winced. "Dawn, I-"
She was interrupted as Rainbow flew down to land between them, grinning madly at Dawn. "That. Was. AWESOME! You did a sonic rainboom! Finally! Somepony who can actually give me a challenge! Name's Rainbow Dash. AJ said you're Dawn, right?" She reached down a hoof to the startled pegasus.
"Yeah," said Dawn, taking the hoof cautiously. "Dawn Sky. Um, you do realize that I was just trying to kill you, right?"
Rainbow waved her off. "Eh, I deserved it."
"I can testify to that," said Applejack, walking up. "As soon as Rainbow found out which buttons to push to make Dawn mad, she slammed her hoof down on 'em again and again."
"Of course she did," sighed Twilight. Her mouth lifted into a smile as her gaze turned back towards Dawn. "In any case, it's good to see you again, Dawn."
Dawn stared uncomprehendingly at Twilight for a moment before the gears clicked into place. "Twilight!" she gasped beaming from ear to ear. "Wha- what are you doing in Ponyville?"
"Princess Celestia sent her here a while back," explained Dusk. "Twi earned an apprenticeship with her shortly after we left Canterlot."
Dawn whistled, obviously impressed. "A royal apprenticeship, huh? You must have done something really spectacular for Princess Celestia to take notice." Her eyes fell on Spike and her smile turned to a quizzical frown. "Who's the dragon?"
Spike chuckled. "I'm what made the Princess take notice. The name's Spike. Twilight hatched me as part of her entrance exam."
Dawn blinked. Her eyes shifted back and forth from Spike to Twilight and back before landing on Applejack, who gave a quick nod. "Wow," she finally said, looking back to Twilight. "Hatching a dragon egg. Yeah, I guess that'll do it."
They all shared a laugh and, after Dusk and Rainbow had been introduced, headed off to Sugarcube Corner. Along the way they couldn't help but notice the large amount of attention being directed their way. Lots of ponies tried to hide their stares. Others had no qualms with staring outright.
"We seem to be drawing a lot of attention," Dawn said nervously.
"Gee, I wonder who's fault that is?" asked Dusk, rolling her eyes.
"Ah, don't even worry about it," said Applejack. "Ponyville's used to strange happenin's. The stares'll stop in no time."
They soon arrived at Sugarcube Corner, where three mares sat at an outside table waiting for them. "Met your match, have you Rainbow Dash?" asked the white unicorn as they approached.
Rainbow just rolled her eyes and took a seat. "So she can go rainboom too. Big deal, Rarity. She still wasn't able to catch me."
"Dusk, Dawn," said Twilight, "these are my friends Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. Girls, this is Dusk Star and Dawn Sky. They're old friends of mine from Canterlot. Dusk's working with me at the library, and Dawn's over at Sweet Apple Acres."
"Wow!" said Pinkie. "Keeping up with Applejack, and pulling off a sonic rainboom? I'm going to have to throw an extra special party for you, you extra special filly."
"Who're you calling a filly, Cotton Candy?" Dawn asked darkly.
"I quite agree!" Everyone turned, surprised to see Rarity giving Pinkie a slight glare. "Just look at her posture. Her easy confidence. The very air she carries indicates that she is, if anything, our senior."
"Y-yes," said Dawn. "You're right. I'm honestly impressed. You're one of the only ponies I've ever met who's been able to tell."
Rarity straightened up, looking rather proud of herself ."Yes, well, I do have a finer eye for detail than most. Though I'm sure that I'm not the only one." She looked over at Fluttershy, giving her a nod. "You noticed it too, didn't you?"
"Oh, um, yes," Fluttershy replied, blushing slightly. "I've never seen a filly or colt walk with that much confidence while surrounded by older ponies." She smiled sympathetically at Dawn. "It must be hard, ponies not taking you seriously because they think you're so young."
Dawn looked away, glaring at the ground. "You have no idea."
"Oh. Idea!" sang Rarity. "I know just the thing to help! Come by my boutique after lunch. I'll whip something up that will destroy those age misconceptions once and for all!"
Dusk shook her head. "We've tried that already. It doesn't work. Make-up does nothing, and more adult outfits just make her look ridiculous."
"Which is why I shan't be using either." Rarity giggled at the confused looks she received. "Applejack, darling, how old would you say the various Wonderbolts are?"
Applejack blinked, confused at the sudden change in topic and focus. "Shoot, I' don't know," she said, scratching her head. "Maybe about 20? 25?"
Rainbow rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off as Rarity raised a hoof. "What about you, Twilight?" she asked. "Does that sound about right to you?"
"I don't know," said Twilight, rubbing her chin. "They look a little younger than that, but I can't see anypony actually making it in any younger then 20." A throat was loudly cleared beside her, prompting a roll of the eyes. "Except for you, Rainbow Dash."
"You know it!" said Rainbow, smirking. "Just watch, one more year, and I'll be the youngest Wonderbolt in history. But you're all waaaay off. Most of the Wonderbolts are in their thirties. Heck, Spitfire's 46 and has a couple of grandfoals."
Jaws dropped all around. "You're pullin' our tails," Applejack accused. "Ain't no way they're that old. Spitfire don't look a day over 20, an' I only pegged them all as older 'cause I knew they had to be."
Rainbow smirked. "Ever seen them without their suits on? I'll admit, Spitfire looks smoking for a grandma, but the others? Take off their suits and you can see it easy. Why I bet if you put Dawn in one of those, she'd look like a newborn foal!"
"Actually," corrected Rarity, ignoring Dawn's simmering rage, "she wouldn't look any younger. No offence dear, but at this point it would be impossible." Grudgingly, Dawn nodded in agreement. "But if we did put you in such a bodysuit, everyone would do for you what Applejack and Twilight just did for the Wonderbolts."
Fluttershy's eyes widened as understanding dawned on her. "Of course, they'd add on a few years. Ponies have been seeing athletes in jumpsuits their whole lives and know that the ponies that wear them are older than they look."
"Not to mention how it'd make her muscles stand out," added Applejack. "If we get a tight jumpsuit like that on her, ain't nopony goin' to think those muscles belong to a filly."
Twilight looked over to the two sisters, seeing their jaws slack as these mares solved a problem that had plagued them for longer then they could possibly know. Twilight giggled, catching their attention. "Dusk, Dawn, I think you're going to like Ponyville."
