It's Not the Wings

by Tallinu

Rating: everyone
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 5973

Twilight is getting used to being an alicorn, but there's still something she needs to get some help with. Fortunately, she knows just the pony to ask, and won't let nervousness hold her back any longer.

Twilight is almost used to being an alicorn now. She's accepted that unexpected change, and is even happy about it, most of the time. Her magical abilities have grown by leaps and bounds, and she's starting to enjoy the freedom offered by flight. While she can't imagine ever being as good as Rainbow Dash, anypony with reasonable standards would by now consider her quite competent in the air.

But despite her growing enthusiasm and confidence, there's something that she has neglected to deal with. Something that's bothered her at times ever since the transformation, but kept getting shuffled down her list of priorities. Fortunately, she knows just the pony to talk to for help, and she won't let nervousness and self-reliant rationalization hold her back anymore. The latest of Pinkie Pie's parties provides a perfect pretext for a conversation she should've had months ago.

If you're confused by the date listed on the chapter, that's just when I originally uploaded it for pre-reader viewing. Life got in the way and I didn't get around to hitting Submit until Feb. 7, 2016.

Published 2016-02-07 19:20:02 UTC
Last updated 2016-02-07 19:20:02 UTC

What was this party for, again?

Twilight Sparkle finished filling her mug from the barrel of cider and released the tap, stepping aside to make way for an earth pony stallion. His name escaped her, although she recognized him as one of Ponyville’s residents, and they exchanged brief pleasantries before she moved on. The room was still a little more crowded than Twilight typically preferred. She knew Fluttershy had braved the throng for a mug of cider, but she’d lost track of the shy pegasus after that, and suspected she’d be found outside.

It took a minute to find a good place to sit and drink her cider while she went back to observing and listening. The party had spilled over onto the lawn soon after she arrived, and Twilight wouldn’t have been at all surprised to be told that more than half of Ponyville’s population was in attendance. She’d even seen a casual game of hoofball being played in the street until the waning light forced the players to break it up.

If Pinkie Pie had told her the reason for this particular party, Twilight couldn’t remember it. Perhaps it had gotten lost in the babbling stream of consciousness that the party pony so often slipped into when she got excited, or maybe Twilight had simply been too tired from staying up late working on her latest project and had forgotten everything but the time, date, and location. She knew she could always just ask one of her friends, but she’d decided to see if she could figure it out for herself first.

It didn’t correspond with any birthdays she knew about, and there didn’t seem to be any presents in any case. There was no banner proclaiming the nature of it. The conversations she’d overheard so far hadn’t given her much in the way of clues either. She was considering admitting defeat before she managed to say something embarrassing when she spotted Applejack making her way through the crowd, and waved a hoof, attracting the farmer’s attention.

“Hey, Twilight! Looking good.”

Twilight wasn’t there as Princess, so she hadn’t worn anything fancy. All the same, when she’d learned that Pinkie and even Fluttershy were planning to wear something casual, she’d come to the conclusion that the occasion merited more than a bare coat.

She’d finally settled on the simple dress Rarity had made for her several years ago. The original hadn’t been designed for wings, of course, but her friend had worked miracles when she altered Twilight’s admittedly sparse wardrobe to fit her properly. She couldn’t tell that they hadn’t been designed for a mare with wings all along.

That simple yellow dress had meant a lot to Twilight, even after she learned exactly why it was so simple, and she’d convinced her friend not to make any other changes to its design. Twilight had been happy that it wasn’t relegated to hanging in her closet as another reminder of a life she’d left behind — and she’d been overjoyed to find it among the few possessions which survived the destruction of the Golden Oaks, having suffered only minor, easily repaired damage.

“Thanks, AJ. So are you! Maybe you should do that more often.”

Twilight had, of course, been unsurprised to find Rarity dressed to dazzle, but it took a really special occasion to get Applejack to put on anything that wasn’t purely functional, aside from her hat, and this clearly hadn’t qualified. The neat, simple braids in her mane and tail were a surprise, though.

The farm pony waved a hoof dismissively. “Ah, you know how it is. Always somethin’ that needs doing, an’ lookin’ pretty just takes time away from doing it.”

“Of course. But that style really does look perfect for you, and parties are all about taking time away from the work. Who knows, if you made a habit of it on special occasions, maybe that would get Rarity to ease off a little?” Applejack opened her mouth, frowned, and closed it. Sensing her reluctance wavering, Twilight grinned and offered something to sweeten the pot. “If it’s a hassle to do it with just two hooves, I’d be more than happy to help. Cadance taught me how to do braids very easily with magic. Besides, you know I’m not going to push you to wear some fancy manestyle you aren’t comfortable with. And I promise, no checklists!”

Applejack let out an amused snort and considered her friend’s offer. “You know what, maybe I’ll take you up on that,” she replied quietly. The rest was barely audible over the general hubbub. “Ma always did look real nice with braids…”

“Oh. I… er… Sorry?”

“Shucks, Twi, don’t get yerself all worked up over it. I’m the one who came wearin’ these, ain’t I?”

“Right. I guess I just… never know what to say to a comment like that.”

Applejack shrugged and gave her a reassuring smile. “Don’t have to say nothin’, sugarcube. Just the look on yer face is enough to know you care. So, I see you’ve found the cider!” She nodded at the mug floating in Twilight’s telekinetic field for a quick change of subject.

“Oh! Yes, I was surprised when Pinkie said it was some of yours! It’s excellent, as always. Too bad Rainbow Dash is out of town this weekend, I know how much she loves it.”

Applejack beamed at the praise. “Yeah, real shame about the timing on that weather conference.” She glanced around for a moment and leaned in close to mutter in Twilight’s ear. “Don’t let it get back to Rainbow, but whenever we have a good season, I let Pinkie have a discount on a full barrel or two, just to save for special parties. Speakin’ of which… I don’t suppose Pinkie told you what this here party’s for?”

“I was actually wondering the same thing!” Twilight laughed, and AJ joined her in a chuckle. “I’ve been trying to figure it out on my own, but… If you don’t know either, I wonder if anypony except Pinkie does?”

“I suppose we’ll just have to ask. Shouldn’t be hard to find her, at least!”

Twilight nodded, but hesitated as Applejack looked around the room. “Actually, do you mind if we talk a bit more first, maybe somewhere a little less busy?”

“Hmmm? Somethin’ wrong, sugarcube?”

“Well, it’s nothing serious, but it’s… I just keep finding excuses to put it off, and it’s something I really shouldn’t put off any longer. Ignoring a problem doesn’t make it go away, after all.”

That was something Applejack understood quite well, and she nodded and led the way out into the brisk evening air.

It hadn’t been very long since sunset, and Twilight took a moment to gaze up at the emerging stars. She tucked her wings in a little tighter against her dress to help ward off the cool breeze.

“So, what sorta problem are we talkin’ about?” Applejack asked, bringing her attention back down from the sky.

Twilight frowned and sipped her cider, struggling, for once, to put her thoughts in order. “You know, now that I’ve finally brought it up, I hardly even know where to begin.”

“Well, the beginning’s usually a good place. When was it this whole thing started?”

“It was… after I was transformed into an alicorn. I’m not certain of the exact time.”

“Is it related to that, you think?”

“Probably. Almost certainly, in fact.”

Applejack nodded slowly, and turned to sit close beside Twilight.

“You still havin’ trouble adjustin’, sugarcube?”

“Crazy, isn’t it?” Twilight laughed, though she still looked troubled. “I’ve gained so much, and yet… Can you keep a secret, Applejack?”

“Cross mah heart, hope to fly… Aheh. I s’pose by now you’ve at least got that part down, don’tcha?”

“Well, mostly, yes. Rainbow and I have both achieved a good understanding of my current limits, and I’m definitely improving, pushing them a little further every time. She may not be the best teacher in the traditional sense, but she’s such a good flier, it’s hard not to learn from watching her example, now that I have the basics down. It’ll just take time and practice.”

“Sounds right sensible to me. Sorry, I didn’t mean to get us sidetracked. You… wanted to share something?”

“Right.” Twilight took a deep breath, shaking her wings out and settling them against her sides once more. “I’ve never mentioned this to anypony, but there were times… not many, but a few… when I really wished I could just go back to the way things were before. I felt like I didn’t even know who I was anymore, much less what I was.”

“Twi… I told ya before, just because yer an alicorn and a princess now, that don’t make you a different pony.”

The alicorn smiled gratefully, with a firm nod to her friend. “And you were absolutely correct. I may have new abilities, new responsibilities, and more sheer magical power than I ever dreamed of, but that’s not what really matters. All of you helped me realize that, in your own ways. I’m still learning more about magic. Flying can be fun, and I’m getting better at that too. My friends aren’t going anywhere, and I’m not going anywhere, even if I am doing a few new things that sometimes take me away for a while. But those things can be interesting too. I’m looking forward to what the future brings, now, because I know we can handle it.”

“So if you’ve got that settled, then what’s eatin’ you now?”

“Well, it’s just… Those new abilities I mentioned really do take a lot of getting used to. Being an alicorn isn’t just about having pegasus wings and a unicorn’s horn, you know? There’s a third part that isn’t so obvious.”

“Ahhh. So yer talkin’ to me, since I’m an earth pony, just like Dash is a pegasus? Well, I reckon that’s smarter than goin’ to Pinkie Pie, as much as she’d try to help!” Applejack grinned.

Twilight grimaced and shuddered. “Ugh, I don’t even want to think about that! I have enough trouble understanding her already.” A picture formed in her head, unbidden, and she had to laugh. “Feel the cupcake, Twilight. Be the cupcake…” she intoned dramatically, gesturing with one hoof.

Applejack snickered and coughed, trying not to burst into loud guffaws that might attract the pink pony’s attention, if not the other partygoers. Twilight gave her a moment to recover before going on.

“The hardest thing to get used to… You’d think it would be the wings, right? That’s not just learning to fly, and how to care for my feathers. I even had to relearn how to do simple, everyday things that I’ve done all my life, like rolling over in bed without hurting them, or making sure I don’t bang them on doorways or knock things over with them as I turn around. But… I can handle that. I hardly ever make those mistakes now.”

Applejack frowned and nodded slowly. “I can see how all that might be a heap o’ trouble, there. But if it ain’t the wings…?”

Twilight hesitated, suddenly nervous. Getting Applejack’s help would require letting her in on something else that she was still reluctant to share. Even Spike didn’t know all the details. It was hardly a shameful activity… She just hadn’t wanted company along, friends or otherwise. Applejack was probably her best shot at figuring out what was going on and getting it under control. Even so, she couldn’t help approaching the subject from a tangent, hoping for some reassurance.

“Part of it… I’m afraid you’re going to think it’s silly of me to have never mentioned this, or you’ll think I’m weird, or you’ll feel left out, or…”

AJ raised an eyebrow. “Maybe I will, an’ maybe I won’t. But I won’t blame you, and if I do laugh, you know I don’t mean no harm by it, right? And I sure ain’t gonna dismiss something that’s botherin’ a friend just because it sounds a little silly or weird at first.” She grinned. “I think we all learned that one well enough the first time ‘round.”

The two of them came together for a hug, Twilight closing her eyes and sighing.

“Thanks, AJ.”

“Anytime, Twi.”

They separated, and Applejack watched patiently as Twilight pursed her lips, trying to decide how to really begin explaining her problem.

“Okay, so… You remember my first Running of the Leaves?”

Applejack blushed faintly and then grinned as she recalled what she and Dash had learned from that humiliating defeat. “I can’t hardly forget that one, sugarcube.”

“Oh, right. Sorry! I didn’t mean…”

Applejack’s fetlock brushed across Twilight’s lips, cutting short her apologies. The farmer’s smile was reassurance enough that Twilight knew she didn’t have to apologize for apologizing, in a self-perpetuating chain of recursive apologies that would only end when… well, when somepony stuck their hoof in her mouth, like they so often had to do to poor Pinkie. Twilight giggled, glad that her friend hadn’t used her entire hoof… Or perhaps it was just that AJ had known the light touch was all the reminder Twilight needed, now. She was doing a lot better about things like that, compared to when she first arrived in Ponyville, and she nodded in acknowledgement before continuing.

“Okay. So, after that, and some more reading on… related topics, I started to… Well, sometimes I would slip back out to Whitetail Woods and go for a run. At first it was just for the exercise, but I also found that it really helps me clear my head. So when I got too caught up in… everything, I’d go out there, all by myself, leave all my troubles back at the library — the castle, now — and I just… run.”

Her friend nodded. “Yeah, I’ve seen you headin’ out there a few times, or comin’ back all winded, while I was workin’ the orchard. I reckon that’s a good thing to do now and again.”

“You have?” That made Twilight feel a little foolish about her earlier reticence. “But you never said anything…”

“Well, I figured, if you didn’t wanna be alone, you woulda invited somepony along, one o’ those days. And since you didn’t, it weren’t none o’ mah business.”

“Oh! I see.” Twilight thought for a moment. She almost said something else, then filed that thought away for a more appropriate place in her story, which she resumed telling.

“Anyway, after the whole ‘alicorn princess’ thing happened, there were a lot of times when I needed to clear my head more than ever, but it was a lot harder to find the time to sneak away. Especially with all the time I was spending in Canterlot, at first. And that wasn’t the only problem.”

Applejack just nodded, waiting for her to go on.

“Even when I do get the chance to go for a run, it’s been a lot harder to clear my mind the way I used to. I keep getting all kinds of unfamiliar things distracting me, and I suspect it’s related to some kind of sense associated with the new earth pony aspect of my magic.”

“So, I imagine you’ve been reading everything you could find on earth ponies, am I right?”

Her friend’s smirk made Twilight blush. “There’s actually not a great deal of reliable literature on the subject of earth pony magic and abilities. ‘Everypony knows’ about them being stronger and hardier and being excellent farmers and miners, altough the former is more common around here. Aside from that, it’s hard to find two books that attribute the same abilities to them, much less describe those abilities the same way.”

“I figure that’s ’cause we ain’t much for ‘fancy literature’,” AJ replied, her voice changing on the last words to the distinct Manehattan accent she’d demonstrated on rare occasions. She chuckled and went on, “We know what we can do, and what we don’t learn from our kin, we learn on our own. It can be mighty personal, sometimes, an’ Ah think our marks can play a big role in what we can do, or how we do it.”

“You know, that explains a lot. I wonder why none of those books mention something like that?”

“Well, how many of ‘em were written by earth ponies?”

Twilight blinked, reviewing what she could remember of the authors’ biographical summaries in her head(1). “I can’t think of a single one, actually… But they still would have done their research! They would’ve gathered information, done studies…!”

She was interrupted by a crowing laugh from Applejack. “Twi, sugarcube… You won’t learn nothin’ reliable about earth ponies by doin’ studies! Remember what I said about it bein’ personal? No wonder those books weren’t no help.”

The flustered alicorn had to force herself not to pout. She wasn’t a filly anymore, and hated how foalish she looked when she pouted. “Well, at least the books on pegasus abilities were all in agreement with each other — based on the predominant theories and information available at the time they were written, of course! — and the more recent certainly tend to do a good job describing how it all works. Aerodynamics, flight fields, and cloud and weather manipulation are very well understood.”

Applejack was a little puzzled by the persistence of Twilight’s frown. She seemed frustrated, despite what sounded like it should have been good news — at least in comparison to the books on earth ponies — so she offered a gentle prompt. “But?”

“But… books didn’t help me very much with learning to fly, either,” Twilight admitted, more than a little chagrined. “It took a while before Dash managed to really convince me to let go of all the things the books were telling me and to listen to what my body was telling me. To feel what I needed to do, and do it without trying to think about it.”

Twilight grinned at Applejack. “She compared it to walking once. Funny, isn’t it? Equestria’s fastest pegasus helping me learn how to fly properly by making me think about how to walk. Anyway, I suspect there’s at least a partial explanation for my first big flight to be found there, too. I hadn’t filled my head with all that information yet. I wasn’t thinking about flying — I was just doing it.”

“Ya think the heart-song maybe helped a little, too?” AJ added with a grin. “Seems t’ me there was a whole lot of feelin’ goin’ on right then.”

Twilight laughed. “Yes, it probably did! But, returning to the subject again — I should mention the first time I went running again, after I started to figure out what Dash was getting at. I spread my wings as I ran, just letting the air go by, feeling it, and for once those other distractions didn’t get in the way. And then my hooves were barely touching the ground, and…”

“And then?” Applejack prompted.

“I found myself on the edge of some new gait I’ve never heard of, like a cross between galloping, jumping, and flying. It felt like it would be a lot easier than it sounds. It was fascinating…” Twilight’s ears folded back, and Applejack chuckled as she figured it out.

“Lemme guess… You started thinkin’ about it.”

She nodded. “And then my wing clipped a tree because I wasn’t paying enough attention, I went into a rolling tumble, and if it wasn’t for my flight field’s mass reduction and for Rainbow Dash teaching me how to tuck and roll out of a crash, I’d probably have gotten a broken leg out of it.”

AJ patted Twilight on the shoulder. “Don’t go forgetting earth pony toughness, now! But whatever the reason, I’m glad you came out of it in one piece.”

“Yeah, me too. I hadn’t considered that, but it’s probably played a part, what with all those times I’ve hit the dirt while practicing. Or the trees. Or the water. Or the buildings.” Applejack chuckled at Twilight’s exasperated look. “Anyway, that was one of the few times since this transformation when the running did help, however short-lived. Typically the earth pony senses, assuming that’s what they are, have been too distracting. When I’m not noticing something new and getting all wrapped up in trying to figure out what it is and what it means, I’m ending up worrying about maybe accidentally making the plants sick because I don’t know what I’m doing, or I’m running into something that feels unpleasant, or… It’s just, I don’t know how to deal with all this, and I need help.”

“Well, why don’tcha try to tell me everything you can about the things you’ve been noticing, sugarcube? Anything you can’t blame on being part pegasus, no matter where it seems to come from or how.”

Twilight took a moment to adjust her sitting position, relax her muscles, and compose her thoughts. “A lot of it is hard to describe. As I pass through the woods, I get… feelings, almost sensations, that I can’t localize or recognize. I’m not sure what any of them mean, or how I’m even sensing them. Occasionally there’s been a feeling of… wrongness. I remember one time when it grew to be almost physically nauseating, and I had to turn around and get away from it. And there’s been something like a background hum, or pressure, or… I’d call it an aura, but it’s not something that’s being picked up by my horn. It’s different, depending on where I am — the forest, a meadow, here in town, up in Canterlot, they all feel different. Also, and this obviously isn’t a problem when out running, but when I touch another pony… Sometimes, if I’m calm and relaxed enough, there’s… something like a tickle in the back of my mind. Usually a fairly pleasant one, especially with my friends, the princesses, Spike, and even the Crusaders. But occasionally I shake a hoof or brush against somepony and it gives me shivers. Does any of that… sound like something you could help me figure out?”

“Ya know what, sugarcube? I think it just might be. Even if I ain’t never heard those exact words used t’ describe some o’ the things I’m used to, I have a feelin’ that might just be because we’re speakin’ different languages.”

Twilight smiled. “And there’s nothing to keep two ponies from learning each other’s languages, especially if they’re already good friends?”

“Eeyup,” Applejack replied with a grin. “Plus, if yer gettin’ all o’ that, without any practice at all, I’m thinkin’ that mark o’ yours maybe affects more than just unicorn magic after all. Although, now that you’ve got me thinkin’ that, there’s something else I’m wonderin’…”

“What is it?”

“Well, you say pegasus magic is more about doin’ than thinkin’, right? Or is that just the flyin’?”

“No, I think that applies to all of it, not just flight. Rainbow’s started showing me some basic weather manipulation, and it all seems to fit that pattern. Why?”

“Well, I reckon I’m makin’ use o’ mah magic every single day out on the farm, in all sorts o’ ways. Not all conscious-like, though. It’s been a long, long time since I put any real thought into what I was doin’. An’ even when I did, it was never like the way you talk about the things you do with your unicorn spells, with yer equations and diagrams an’ such.”

“Oh, I see. You’re wondering what’s so different about unicorn magic?”

The farmer nodded slowly. “Don’t get me wrong, I ain’t sayin’ it’s bad. It just seems a mite odd, that’s all. You know I’ve never been one to turn to that kind o’ magic when the good ol’ reliable earth pony way would get the job done. But I like to think I’m plenty smart, fer a simple farm pony, and… what’re you chucklin’ about?”

“Simple farm pony, huh?” Twilight grinned at her friend. “Applejack, you are a very intelligent pony. That ‘simple’ exterior of yours could be used as a perfect example of why you don’t judge a book by its cover. Between Sweet Apple Acres and Carousel Boutique, I’d be hard pressed to pick the more successful business, and you know that’s no slur against Rarity. The fact that you achieve it doing hard labor, with only you and your brother for most of the heavy work, makes it all the more impressive.”

Applejack frowned stubbornly for a couple of seconds, and then snorted and gave her a wry grin. “Alright, Twi, you got me. I am plenty smart, fer a simple farm pony.” Twilight laughed at her grudging admission, and AJ chuckled along with her. “An’ I’m curious why it’s different, y’know?”

“Well… To be perfectly honest, I don’t think it’s different at all. I’m not really a typical unicorn, am I?” She chuckled softly. “Even when I was just a unicorn.”

Applejack snorted. “Twi, you weren’t never just a unicorn.”

Twilight laughed. “Alright, alright! Touché. Now that we’ve established that we both tend toward excessive humility in certain areas… That’s exactly what I meant, though. I’ve always had such a strong talent for magic that, ironically, I’m not a very good example of how a typical unicorn does magic. Except in very simple cases. I’m used to being able to think about what I’m casting at the same time as I’m casting it, and make all sorts of little changes on the fly. Or I’ll cast basic spells I know well while thinking about something completely different. That might also be what allows me to perform such complicated spells so… well, not easily, exactly, but you get the idea, right? I have all these years of experience, all these ingrained habits, and I can’t rely on any of it with these new abilities that I’m not used to. It’s like I’m a filly again, struggling to learn how everything works from scratch, and it’s… rather disconcerting, at times.”

“Yeah, I think I get it, Twi. But you’re figurin’ it out, right? An’ if you can apply those same lessons to earth pony talents, the way you’ve done with flying an’ such, then I don’t think you’ll have too much trouble. You’ve got a great startin’ place already, if what you’ve told me about the running is anything to go by, and I’ll be happy to teach you everything I can. I’ll even try not to make the lessons too apple-centric.”

They shared a chuckle at her joke.

“Thanks, Applejack, I’ll owe you big-time for this.”

“Aw, shucks, Twi. You know I’m happy to help mah friends.”

“I know, I know. But if you can help me get a hold on this anywhere near as well as Rainbow has… then you have no idea how much of a difference it will make to me.”

“D’you really think it’s that big a thing, Twilight?”

“AJ, if something that really helped you unwind and relax after the kind of day that just makes you want to scream suddenly didn’t work anymore, and somepony was able to help you get that back… What would you think? Not to mention this could open up a fascinating, and entirely new, field of study to me! And considering how nearly useless everything I’ve read on it was, one of these days I might literally write the book on earth pony magic! I can’t even begin to describe how huge a thing that would be.”

“Oh, so that’s how it is?” Her green eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Yer gonna give away all our earth pony secrets, huh? I get it now… You just wanna be famous, get yer name in every library in Equestria!”

“Applejack!” Twilight gasped. “What do you…?! How could you think something like — I’m just excited to learn about — If you don’t want me to —”

Applejack cracked a grin. “Gotcha.” She poked Twilight’s shoulder with a hoof as a wave of relief rushed through the alicorn, who groaned, closed her eyes, and rubbed her head with one hoof. AJ’s grin began to slip as Twilight failed to return it. “Er… Did I go too far with that one, Twi?”

She finally let out a soft chuckle. “Well, I’m glad you didn’t draw it out any longer. You really had me going, although I should’ve suspected something was up the moment you mentioned your ‘secrets’, considering what you’d said before. And… ‘every library in Equestria’? Really, AJ?”

“Yeah, I know. I’m not so good at improvisin’, but it was good enough, right? Besides, I wouldn’t wanna be too convincing. I just gotta stay in practice somehow, to keep up with Dash and Pinkie. I don’t have the time to go lookin’ fer prankin’ opportunities, so I gotta take ‘em where I find ‘em, an’ that one just sorta jumped out at me.” She smiled much more gently. “Sorry ’bout the scare.”

Twilight leaned in for a brief hug, chuckling. “Well, it sure is funny now. Tell you what, if you want to make it up to me, I… I wouldn’t mind a little company for a run, tomorrow morning. If you have time. Just for the exercise, really, although… if you think you can help me start learning something from it, that’s fine too. What do you say?”

Applejack cocked her head and thought for a moment. “Tomorrow? Hmm. Yeah, I can take some time in the mornin’. You got yerself a deal.”

“Great! How about I meet you on the way there?”

“Alright. You take me on yer usual run, and maybe we can compare notes, so to speak.”

“An excellent idea,” Twilight replied, beaming delightedly at her. “I’ll make a scientist out of you yet!”

Applejack chuckled. “Don’t you hold yer breath, sugarcube. Now, I bet Pinkie’s wonderin’ where we’ve run off to. We’ve missed half the party, chewin’ our cud out here.”

“There you are!”

“Speaking of Pinkie…” Twilight said, laughing, as Applejack facehooved. They turned to see the party pony poking her head through the door nearby, just in time for her to rush the rest of the way out of the building, practically pouncing on them with her usual disdain for personal space.

“My Pinkie Sense told me there was a prank going on and it almost backfired but it didn’t and I missed it!” Her eyes were so wide they practically bulged out as she voiced her complaint. “Was it a good one? Huh? Was it yours, Twilight? Are you trying to learn how to be the Princess of Pranking too? Because that would be really superduperiffic, but I don’t know if it’s possible to be the Princess of more than one thing, and you’re already the Princess of Friendship and I know you wouldn’t want to give that up and I wouldn’t want you to either, so I hope you don’t have to!”

Applejack and Twilight were both chuckling at Pinkie’s antics by that point, but they were quick to jump in and reassure her that Twilight wasn’t giving up anything, and promised to tell her all about the spontaneous prank. By mutual, unspoken agreement, they were careful not to mention anything about the morning run. Pinkie Pie was, after all, the antithesis of a calm, clear mind, and neither of them wanted to have to tell her that she wasn’t invited.

“Oh, Pinkie,” Twilight suddenly interjected before a rare opportunity to get a word in edgewise could slip through her hooves. “I was thinking about how Rainbow Dash couldn’t be here, earlier, and…”

Pinkie Pie gasped dramatically. “That’s amazing, so was I! Were you thinking about how sad it was that she couldn’t be here to enjoy the party with all her friends? Because I was thinking about that, and a lot of other things, too, but mostly that, and it’s a good thing I remembered I made sure to plan ahead! Because if I’d forgotten that, I wouldn’t have been as happy during the party!”

The alicorn blinked, nodded slowly, and smiled. “More or less, yeah. Are you planning something for when she gets back?”

“Nope! In fact, Dashie should be getting a nice surprise innnnn…” Pinkie held a hoof up and stared at her fetlock for several seconds, as if checking an invisible watch. Twilight and Applejack shared a confused look. “Right about now!” Pinkie concluded, going back to walking as if nothing had happened.

“What sorta surprise, sugarcube?”

“Ohhhh, just a little care package with this and that and that and this and one of these and one of those and a bottle of something I just know she’ll like! Oh, and a postcard. ‘Wish you were here! – Love, Everypony.’ Did I mention the streamers that pop out when she opens it? No confetti though, because making hotel staff clean up somepony else’s confettisplosion isn’t very nice at all! But streamers are easy to pick up, even if Dashie forgets.” Pinkie paused mid-step, shivering and twitching a little. “Oooh, ooh! That one means she opened it!”

Applejack laughed while Twilight, as usual, tried not to be overwhelmed. “Sent ‘er a surprise party in a box, eh? With one of everything, and a bottle o’ cider to wash it down?”

“Yupperooni! That way, even if she can’t be here with us, we can still be there with her. And so can the snacks.”

Twilight, finally having managed to make sense of the rapid floods of information, grinned and reached over to give her a hug. “Thanks, Pinkie. You’re a good friend.”

“I’ll second that,” AJ added. “I’m still wonderin’ what the party was for, though.”

“That’s right, Pinkie, neither of us can remember being told what we’re celebrating!”

“That’s because I never told anypony!”

“What?”

“Why not?”

“Well, calling it a ‘sometimes friends just need an excuse to get together and talk for a while’ party would be a bit of a mouthful, wouldn’t it? And if I had called it that, then those friends might not have gotten together and talked the way they needed to!”

Twilight and Applejack trailed behind as Pinkie continued on her typically bouncy way. They glanced at each other, and spoke simultaneously.

“Do you think…?”

“She couldn’t mean…?”

After pausing for a few seconds, they laughed, shook their heads, and once more spoke in unison.

“Naaaah.”

“Couldn’t be.”

Cloudsdale, later that evening:

The colorful pegasus brushed a few crumbs from her lips and took a swig straight from a half-empty bottle. She stuck the cork back in and placed it on her hotel room’s nightstand, then picked up the postcard sitting next to it. Perching on the edge of the cloud mattress, she grinned at the picture of her friends for a few seconds before carefully propping it up against the bottle, turning off the lamp, and rolling into bed for the night.

Rainbow Dash glanced at the moonlit picture once more before closing her eyes. “Best cider ever.”

(1) Because of course Twilight Sparkle reads those when she’s doing research, and looks them up if the book doesn’t have one. It’s important to know your sources are credible, after all!

Author's Note

Here's a cute little one-shot about an aspect of Twilight's change that I haven't seen dealt with very often. I'll be the first to admit there's not a lot of plot going on here, but the seeds of this scene kinda leapt into my head and demanded to be written, so here it is. If I can come up with something beyond "Twi and AJ doing stuff and things to help her learn how to deal with being part Earth Pony", there might be a sequel, but so far I got nothin' interesting.