AJ leaned back against an apple tree, trusty Stetson pulled down over the eyes, and absentmindedly chewed on a stalk of grass plucked from the ground. A cool breeze whispered through the leaves, a relief on the warm evening as it carried the combined scent of several different varieties of apples, the fruits ripe and nearly ready for harvesting. The sun, a glowing orange semicircle on the horizon, had almost set, with the moon already high in the sky and glimmering away through the hot haze rising from the fields. Crickets chirped away, a few birds flew around, and everything proceeded as normal for a summer evening. AJ finally decided that it would be a good time to head back to the house for the night, and so he spat out the grass stalk, put a hand over his mouth in a yawn, adjusted his hat and stood up, looking up at the cloudless evening sky.
Adam Jack Smith, twenty-two years old, faced the breeze to feel its soothing effects to the fullest. His shoulder-length light blonde hair, tied back in a ponytail, blew lazily behind him as he closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, opening them again as he exhaled to reveal vivid green irises. Years of hard work under the strong Southern sun on his family’s farm had made him fit, strong and had tanned his skin golden-brown, evidenced by the lean, well-muscled arms hanging by his sides. Any imposing effect his physique and height (just over six feet) may have had on a passing stranger would normally be offset by his boyish face, complete with freckles, and winning smile. Tonight, however, AJ was a bit pissed off at the world in general, and his smile was vacant in place of a scowl. On a girl the effect may have still been appealing to look at, possibly even cute, but AJ was not a girl, and a nearby cow soon felt rather uncomfortable as he glared at it, before it finally decided that enough was enough and moved away.
Frustration ebbed and flowed in his mind as he pondered the day’s events. His family had left that morning for a fortnight’s holiday as a birthday treat for his baby brother, Bloomberg, who had turned ten today. This in itself wasn’t a problem. Much as he might have liked to see Disneyland and all the rest, even if it was just so that he could say he had finally been, someone had to stay behind and run the farm. His grandfather being too frail and his older sister being too short, AJ had been the obvious choice, and he didn’t mind that at all. Without the ever-present distraction of Bloom and his friends, AJ would finally get some much needed peace and quiet. A nice little bit of R and R. However…
The first thing to go wrong had been the tractor. The minute he had driven it from the barn it promptly decided to die, making him waste two hours trying to fix it. He had checked the cylinders and sparkplugs, adjusted and readjusted the carburettors, tested every single piece of wiring and even replaced the oil before finally realising that the fuel-connection pipe had come loose. Copious curses and vulgarities later, aimed equally between the tractor and his own stupidity, and the offending vehicle was finally put to use ploughing the fields.
Okay, technically speaking the tractor had actually been the only thing to go wrong, but as he couldn’t proceed until it had been fixed this effectively buggered up the rest of the day, and he was considerably later in finishing the day’s tasks than he would have liked. Despite all of this, a sickeningly calming voice in the back of his mind whispered, he didn’t really have anything to be annoyed about. It wasn’t as if he had anything planned for the evening, other than to sit under a tree for a while and relax. Rather than be annoyed, he would be better off simply going back to the house and watching some TV for a while before going to bed.
Why’s mah subconscious talk better’n Ah do?
Irritatingly composed all of a sudden, he set off at a brisk walk, mentally going over that night’s TV schedule as he went.
Let’s think now, what’s on again? Already seen that zombie film, not too bothered ‘bout Total Wipeout repeats, definitely not watchin’ that froufrou fashion program… Wait, what the heck is that cloud doin’?
The cloud in question was a small grey thing, apparently having appeared from nowhere, and was floating through the sky above him in erratic circles. A sudden gust of wind blew from behind him, and he grabbed his hat just in time to save it being blown away. Meanwhile, the cloud plonked itself right above the nearby forest (there was no other way of describing the very deliberate way in which it stopped) and began to rain far too heavily for its small size. The wind really started picking up then, swirling up the dust around him before blowing it back in his face and away. The small cloud began to grow in size and swirl around, before it stretched at least a mile in every direction, a broiling storm centred above the forest.
Common sense dictates that one does not simply walk into the centre of a growing storm, especially one that has just appeared from out of the ether, but before AJ knew what he was doing he had begun to run straight towards it, Stetson in hand so as not to lose it. Something was drawing him towards that storm, unearthly though it was, and not only was he powerless to resist but he didn’t want to. He could taste electricity in the air, felt excitement coursing through his veins; something big was coming, and whatever happened he was going to have a front row seat.
He came to a stop at the edge of the local river, which was almost bursting its banks despite it being the middle of the dry season. The water looked almost as wild as the clouds above, flowing downstream in a mad rush of eddies and large waves, splashing to the left and right and almost soaking AJ, who jumped back. Unable to proceed any further, he looked around for a way to cross the river just as the setting sun dipped below the horizon. The instant darkness came it was pierced by a single, huge lightning bolt, which struck the water of the river whilst a deafening roar of thunder echoed all around. Flinging himself to the ground to avoid being hit by any further discharges, he peered through the rising steam just in time to see something falling from the clouds.
Is that…? It can’t be!
He watched incredulously as a young woman, an honest to goodness human being, fell from the sky with a scream, long blonde hair billowing around her before she disappeared beneath the river’s surface. He quickly rose to a crouch and yanked off his boots, keeping an eye out for the girl resurfacing as he pulled his shirt over his head, before securing it and his hat in place with his boots.
Thankfully he didn’t have to wait long, and after a few seconds she broke the water’s surface again, floundering wildly and screaming in distress, although he could barely hear her over the wind.
“Hold on!” he called, not caring if she actually heard before diving in after her. The water was freezing cold, and it took all his self-control not to cry out in pain and replace his lungful of air with it. The current was also very strong, which he had realised it must be from the flow on the surface, but as usual he had forgotten that it would be even stronger lower down, and he quickly found himself spinning around uncontrollably as he desperately tried to force himself up. His head finally came free of the river’s icy clutches and he greedily gulped down fresh air before looking for the girl, who he saw clinging for dear life to a branch hanging a little downstream over the river’s edge.
“Hold on!” he yelled again, and she looked back fearfully as he ploughed through the currents before grasping the branch himself.
“Ah need you to hold onto me! Ah’ll pull us to shore!” he said, still having to shout despite being right next to the girl. She just shook her head and gripped the branch all the tighter, clearly too terrified to move as her eyes darted from him to the water and back again. AJ knew that neither of them could stay like this for very much longer: he had already begun to lose the feeling in his extremities, and the cold was sapping his strength at an alarming rate, so he didn’t like to think about how she was coping, especially as she didn’t seem to be wearing much.
Taking a risk and removing one hand from the branch, he placed it firmly on her shoulder, forcing him to her attention as he looked into her eyes, which were the same vivid green as his own. He tried to keep his voice steady, and shouted as gently as he could:
“Listen! Ah know yer scared, and cold, but we can’t stay here! Ah need you to hold onto me, and Ah promise Ah will not let you fall in! You have mah word!” He removed the hand from her shoulder and held it out to her, never once breaking eye contact. The girl wavered, before finally relenting and grabbing his hand. He quickly swung her behind him, and she immediately wrapped her arms around his neck somewhat tighter than was comfortable. He didn’t complain, however, and instead focused on pulling them both along the branch. It was tough work, even though it couldn’t have been any more than five feet to the bank, and twice he had to save the girl from slipping, grabbing her arm just in time and pulling her back.
Eventually they were safe, and he collapsed to his knees several feet up the riverbank, letting the girl slide to the ground before himself flopping facedown into the damp grass, exhausted. A cessation of noise from the river prompted him to wearily turn and look as the waters calmed and sank back to their seasonal levels, all in a matter of seconds.
“Well ain’t that just typical!” he spat angrily, glaring up at the now-receding clouds above. They had one last thing to surprise him with, however, and as the final puff of cloud vanished (this time, he was sure, with an actual “puff” noise) a second object floated down to them, landing on the grass beside the girl. It was a Stetson hat not unlike AJ’s own, a bit smaller perhaps but otherwise very similar. He shook his head, hardly believing what had transpired that night, despite both witnessing it and playing a major part in it himself. A shiver, caused by the no-longer-soothing cool breeze from before, reminded him of his drenched state, and that of the girl beside him. She too was shivering in the cold, but her mind had seen fit to withdraw her from consciousness, and so she had fainted where she lay, face down in the grass.
They needed to get back to the house, and quickly, before either of them succumbed to the cold, and as he was the only one still awake it was down to him to get them there. He quickly ascertained that they were on the bank he had dived from earlier, due to the flow of the river, but there was no knowing how far downstream they had been swept.
Best get a move on, Ah guess.
And so he bent down, picked up her hat and placed it on his head, before beginning to pick her up as well. He almost dropped her again when he realised that she was, in fact, not simply wearing not much, but nothing at all. Doing his darnedest not to look, he arranged her (very, very long, not that he came to examine it) hair as best he could to save embarrassment, mostly his own, before he began the long walk back.
N’here Ah was, thinkin’ Ah might get some peace’n’quiet. Well, Ah guess that ain’t gonna happen now thanks to you, missy.
A small smile formed at the corner of his mouth as he looked down at her again, taking a proper look at her face as he did so, and he started as he noticed how similar she was to himself. Admittedly whilst his face may have looked boyish hers was most definitely feminine, but the freckles, the eyebrows, the nose and even the little dimples which formed in her cheeks could have been his own. It took him a minute to get over their similarities, but once he had a new thought formed unbidden in his head.
Ah hope this don’t make me sound narcissistic, but Ah gotta say: she sure is pretty.
AJ lay in bed, sleep ending gently as the late morning sunlight streamed through a crack in the curtains. The familiar sounds of the farm filtered in from outside, animals lowing and machinery at work (although some of this sounded a bit strange), with the scent of ripe, fresh apples just ready for harvest completing everything. Not yet ready to get up, AJ snuggled under the covers more, eyes still closed, and thought about last night.
Whoo-ee! That sure was one humdinger of a dream Ah had last night! Felt so real, too… Ah looked all funny, then Ah was fallin’ through the air, and Ah fell into a big river. That was real scary; Ah thought Ah was a goner fer sure. N’then, this weird lookin’ guy showed up n’saved me! Huh, actually seemed kinda handsome fer a… whatever he was. Better not tell Rarity ‘bout that, or she’ll tease me somethin’ proper!
Applejack yawned, bringing a hand to her mouth, before snapping her eyes open and recoiling from it when she realised that it was just that: a five-fingered hand and not a hoof. She threw back the covers and examined herself quickly, seeing her body for what it was (although now dressed in a tank top and shorts), and realised that her dream had actually happened. She shivered then as she remembered the cold and her fear, clutching her arms across her chest and holding herself for a few moments until she calmed down.
She looked around the room she was in, realising that it was, of course, not her own. It didn’t appear to be anything special, perhaps slightly longer than her room and not as wide, with a simple dresser on one side and a wardrobe on the other, plus a stand-alone mirror in the corner. Perhaps the only familiar thing there was her hat, which she saw hanging by a hook on the back of the door. Springing from the bed with the intention of retrieving it instead gave her backside a rather forceful introduction to the hard wooden floor.
Ouch! Guess Ah’m not quite used to these ‘ere pins…
She grimaced at her injury and tried to lean forward to rub it, but her limbs, unfamiliar as they were, refused to fully cooperate (again), and instead introduced her face to the floor as well.
“Consarnit!” At least her voice sounded the same. With some effort she raised herself to a seated position again, managing this time to actually rub her cheek.
Face cheek, as in. Wait, why am Ah explainin’ things t’mah subconscious? Get a grip, girl.
She focused her attention on her new hind legs, or rather just legs, as her new body seemed to be bipedal: they were simple, with only two sections, and had five-toed feet instead of hooves. How good for bucking apple trees they were she couldn’t begin to say, but they did at least seem firm and well-toned. Her cutie marks now adorned her outer thighs, and unlike before were actually ingrained in her skin, rather than just being made of fur.
Her attention then moved to her arms, which looked similar to her legs except for being thinner and jointed in the opposite direction. Having hands was one of the biggest changes in her physiology. She held them in front of her face, turning them over and flexing her fingers again and again. There could be advantages to having them she supposed, especially as she neither had magic nor highly supple wings, but still… they would take some getting used to.
Well, Spike’s got them Ah guess, and he’s really great at bein’ Twilight’s assistant, so it can’t be too hard to use ‘em properly, right?
Deciding to risk standing again she turned and held onto the bed, slowly raising herself to her knees before making the transition to her feet. Now that she thought about it, and didn’t try moving like a pony, standing wasn’t quite as hard as she had feared, so taking things to the next level she walked the length of the bed and back again. It came naturally enough, although she remained slightly wobbly and had to practice for a minute before being able to go to the mirror for a more thorough examination of her body.
Applejack spent several minutes staring at her face alone, amazed at how flat it looked whilst still being recognisably her. Her mane now sprouted from all across the top of her head and down the back to just above the neck, but was otherwise largely unchanged.
Have to find some ribbon or somethin’ ta tie this together with.
The lack of any visible tail was in fact even stranger than having hands: replacing one appendage with something else was one thing, but removing an appendage entirely… She shook her head and tried not to think about it too much. For better or worse, the next part of her examination proved plenty distracting.
Applejack had never really… experimented with herself particularly, mostly due to her father’s rather strict lessons on the subject, and so did not pay her nethers anywhere near the same amount of attention that others did theirs (some of her closest friends included). But this, coupled with having to check and see what differences her new body had brought, were more than enough reason to give her a growing sense of trepidation as she slowly reached for the waistband of her shorts and began to pull down.
Oh! Well, Ah guess that’s not so different after all. Whew, had me worried there. But now hold on a minute! Where are…? They’re not here! Where’ve they gone?!
A brainwave struck Applejack then, and she pulled the tank top over her head.
There they are! But why’re they on mah chest now? And what in the hay’re with these things?!
She held the two sizeable fleshy mounds in her hands, completely nonplussed, before abandoning any attempts at trying to make sense of them, instead sitting back down on the bed and holding her head. Lesser minds may have broken in confusion, leaving their owners gibbering wrecks at the senselessness of it all. Applejack did not pretend to be particularly learned, but such does not define a strong mind, and as such she quickly composed herself and decided to take the next logical step of discovery: leaving the room.
She stood and walked to the door, but her hand stopped on the doorknob, and she looked down at herself again. She didn't normally wear clothes apart from her hat, still hanging on the hook in front of her, as they were both unnecessary and would only get dirty with her work on the farm. But this new body suddenly felt very exposed, with no hair to cover herself except that on her head, and she was all too aware of her more private areas being on display rather more than they were before. And so, by the time she finally left the room, she had replaced the tank top and shorts, completing the admittedly odd ensemble with her Stetson and making her way downstairs, handrail held tightly in case of wobble.
Ah think Rarity’d have a fit if she saw me like this…
The house was very similar to her own: rustic, chaotic, cosy and, most importantly, it felt like a home. She could feel family history oozing from the walls, and she knew that everywhere she looked would bring another happy memory to its owners. She wandered from room to room, not wanting to pry into this family’s personal place, but at the same time curious as to why she hadn’t come across anypony yet.
Well, anyone, Ah s’pose, seein’ as Ah’m not a pony no more.
She came into the kitchen/dining area, which had good views to the farmyard outside, and looked through the windows to see if there was anyone around. Not a soul to be seen. She idly looked at the large barn outside before her attention was grabbed by a board stuck to the wall between two windows. On it was a display of family photographs, showing several of the creatures she had now become.
Raising her eyebrows in surprise, she realised that this family was very similar to her own, comprising three children and a grandparent. In one picture of the children, a little red-haired boy in a yellow t-shirt was shown climbing a tree whilst his older sister stood underneath, her ginger hair hanging loose against her red blouse, concerned amusement evident in the small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. And from behind her, clearly running into frame just as the picture had been taken, was another brother, much taller than either of his siblings and with a blonde ponytail flying in the wind behind him. His expression was all too clear, Applejack herself having one very much like it: “Apple Bloom, you get down from there!”.
Oh gosh, Apple Bloom! She’ll be wondrin’ where Ah’ve got to! An’ all the girls too! Gee, Twilight, you and yer crazy spells! Wait, spell? Yeah, that was it! We were all ‘round at her house, she cast it just last night! Now what in the hay was it meant to do, again? Consarnit, brain, work! Somethin’ ‘bout… lookin’ at different… somethin’ or other… Gah! Ah can’t think of it!
A mental mist had descended upon her memories of the previous night’s events, prior to falling from a cloud. Try as she might she couldn’t budge it, not even by screwing her eyes tight shut and straining her mind with all her might until she thought she might burst.
“Excuse me, miss, are you alright?”
“Wah!” She instinctively jumped away from the voice which had appeared behind her, but unfortunately was intercepted by a well-placed footstool and found herself once more sprawled upon the floor.
“Ow…” she moaned, her backside barely having recovered from its previous assault.
“Oh God, are you ok?” The voice sounded out again, and she looked up to see the older brother from the photograph. He was leaning over her, hand outstretched to help her up, concern etched on his face. Seeing him again made her realise that it was also he who saved her from the river; somehow seeing just a photograph had not been enough to connect him with her memories of last night.
“Uh, yeah, Ah… Ah think so.” She accepted his hand, grasping it somewhat awkwardly in her own, and he pulled her to her feet.
Neither had been easily able to judge their heights to the other before, and although he was in boots and she was barefoot it was clear that he was at least head-and-shoulders taller than her. Applejack wasn't quite sure how tall this made her new body compared to her old one, but thoughts of height were momentarily replaced by thoughts of his face, in a similar fashion to Adam’s own thoughts the night before. She shook herself mentally: now was not the time to think about that.
“Listen, before anythin’ else, thank you fer savin’ mah life. Ah was mighty cold and disoriented after fallin’ outta that cloud, an’ Ah probably would’ve died if you hadn’t been there. Ah’m mighty grateful, and Ah’m more than willin’ to repay ya in any way Ah can, although Ah don’t really have anythin’ much with me right now ‘cept mah hat−”
“There’s no need fer any o’that!” Adam quickly said, raising his hands in protest. “Ah was just doin’ what any decent person would do in the circumstances.”
“Decent or not, it was mighty brave to jump into a ragin’ river to save the life o’somepony you’ve never even met before! You have to let me make it up to you somehow!” she pleaded. As far as Applejack was concerned one right deserved another, regardless of how little you may be able to give back. Adam seemed to be considering her offer, but was actually just puzzling over her choice of words.
“…somepony?” he queried after a short while.
“Oh, right. Guess that wouldn’t make much sense, huh?” She laughed awkwardly and rubbed her arm, thinking desperately as something rather important popped into her mind:
How the hay am Ah gonna start explainin’ this?! Ah’m not even sure what happened in the first place!
“Tell ya what,” said Adam after a short but uncomfortable pause, “Ah’ve gotta go clean up fer lunch. How’s about after that, Ah’ll cook us both up somethin’ and you can tell me why exactly you were fallin’ outta a cloud in the first place?” Right on cue, Applejack’s stomach rumbled loudly, and Adam grinned as she blushed and turned away.
“Ok then. Make yerself comfortable, Ah won’t be too long.” And he went upstairs, leaving Applejack alone. Precisely five seconds later, they each thought the exact same thing:
Consarnit, didn’t even introduce mahself!
