Our Inner Ponies

THANK YOU SO MUCH poptartslayer1 FOR THE IDEA!!!

I sighed as I weighed my options in my mind. Friend or Project? No fun or stress with a hint of fun mixed in served with a side of possible regret? I knew what I had to choose.

"Actually Spike, why don't you go home without me. You can put away the stuff and get my project out so I can finish it when I get home," I suggested, grinning at the baby dragon. "I'm going to spend a little more time with Fluttershy because I'd like her opinion about...uh..." Think, Maya, think!

"About, f-fish!" I sputtered, forcing a fake smile.

"Fish?" Spike, Zaria, and Pinkie said at the same time, sounding unimpressed. I just nodded.

"Yes, fish. Catfish, for example," I rattled on. "Fish don't have whiskers, am I right? I mean, what's up with that?" No one said anything. Even Pinkie, Queen of Randomness, was looking at me like I had lost it! If she wasn't saying anything or agreeing with me, I knew my cover was about to be blown.

"Um, alright then," Spike finally said. "I'll, uh, get everything ready back home so you and Fluttershy can talk about—" Spike snorted. "—fish."

Before I could make an even bigger fool of myself, Spike ran out of the bakery. I felt a wave of awkwardness wash over me again.

"Soooo," I began, looking at Zaria for some help. "Fluttershy, I think we should begin our discussion outside." I nodded my head toward the door.

"Um, alright," Zaria replied uncertainly. "I'm right behind you."

"Ooh! Can I join you?" Pinkie suddenly exclaimed. "Pretty please?"

"Sure," Zaria said.

"No!" I cried, wincing at how loud I was. I didn't mean to say it like that. Pinkie was my favorite pony from the show, and it would be paradise if I could hang out with her. But that "no" just blurted out so fast that I couldn't stop it. It was as if I was afraid she would screw something up.

Pinkie's blue eyes widened and her face twisted into a pout so sad I seriously thought my heart collapsed. If you could see her face, you'd feel the same thing in your chest.

"Please?" she begged again.

"Pinkie, I really don't think—"

"Aww come on, let her join us!" Zaria urged. "It'll be fun!" I stared at her in disbelief.

"Alright, alright, she can join us," I gave in, fighting the urge to change my mind. I was pretty happy when Pinkie's face lit up brightly and her frown turned into a huge smile. Thank goodness she didn't go Pinkamena on me! We all made our way outside. While Pinkie bounced ahead, I leaned toward Zaria.

"Okay, since we're stuck here, you'll have to refer to me as Twilight, and I'll refer to you as Fluttershy got it? And don't worry about using your wings 'cause Fluttershy's scared of heights. And Zaria, please don't let your random side take over that shy side of Fluttershy, alright? Ponies will be looking at you crazy."

Zaria just stared at me, showing no signs of annoyance. She just calmly replied to me, "Mmm kay" and continued staring ahead. Wow. I didn't know if this was Zaria being Zaria or if some of Fluttershy's quiet personality had rubbed off on her.

"Oh, and by the way, what was your reaction when you found yourself as Fluttershy?" I asked. "Did you scream?" Zaria laughed.

"I screamed so loud—or soft, really—that I think I woke some mice and made some chickens go crazy outside!" I had to laugh, too. I couldn't wait to tell her my reaction when I found myself inside Twilight's body! Suddenly, Pinkie stopped dead in her tracks. I nearly bumped into her.

"Pinkie, what is it?" I asked. She didn't reply. All she did was point a hoof at tree—an apple tree, to more specific.

Dang. Did we reach Sweet Apple Acres that fast or was it just really close to Sugarcube Corner? I didn't know what Pinkie was staring at, but when she and Zaria suddenly burst into laughter, something funny must've happened. I looked past the laughing pink pony and saw two other ponies near an apple tree who were, in fact, laughing themselves. I also noticed that the two ponies were Applejack and Rainbow Dash. I could see that Rainbow Dash was tied up, arms and hooves, dangling in an apple tree, and Applejack's hat was on the Pegasus' head, dirty and scratched up a bit. I'm guessing Rainbow had tried to steal an apple or two, and AJ wouldn't allow that and tied her up while Rainbow stole the pony's hat. Pinkie, Zaria, and I made our way toward the two.

"Dashie, did you try to swipe AJ's apples again?" Pinkie questioned the tied up Pegasus, raising an eyebrow in amazement. "The last time that happened, you nearly broke a wing! Remember, huh, huh?"

"Yes Pinkie, I don't have a bad memory," Rainbow stated flatly. "Anyways, I'm getting dizzy hanging like this. Hey Twilight, can you give me a hoof?"

"Huh?" I said distractedly. "Oh, with the rope? Um, sure. I'll try." Okay, how does this horn work? I wondered.

I decided to just visualize the rope untying from Rainbow's body, so I did just that. I closed my eyes, waited a few seconds, and opened my eyes again. Crap! Nothing had happened! Dash was still swaying on a tree branch. Everyone was staring at me, and I noticed Zaria was trying not to laugh. I tried again, really concentrating this time. Nothing. I laughed nervously.

"Whoops," I said. "Guess those ropes are pretty tight!"

"Uh, that's okay. I'll untie her myself," Applejack announced. I watched her easily untie the rope from Rainbow's body with her mouth. I felt myself blush once more. Being Twilight sure was hard!

"Applejack, why'd you even tie Rainbow Dash up?" I heard Zaria ask, which caused me to groan at her rare slowness. "I mean, I know she tried to take your apples, but still! That's pretty harsh!" Zaria was laughing now. Pinkie joined in, nearly kicking me in the face when she collapsed on the grass.

"Um, don't mind them," I told AJ and Dash. "They're being very crazy today."

"Pinkie I get, but you Fluttershy?" Rainbow exclaimed. "Is it Opposite Day or something?"

"Oh, you have no idea!" Zaria cried between laughs.

"Zar—Fluttershy, zip it!" I snapped, feeling myself explode with anger. "Remember what I told you earlier?"

"But why can't we have a little fun?" Zaria complained. Darn her Andrea Libman Fluttershy voice. I couldn't get mad at this, but I was.

"We can, but not this much!" I cried. "You're already blowing—you know what, forget it!" I sighed in frustration and smoothed my newly-cut-and-trimmed mane. Everyone was really silent, which made everything awkward all over again. Please don't ask any questions, I prayed to myself. Please just think we're sick! Applejack cleared her throat.

"Okay then. That was...interestin'," she declared slowly. "I'll ask about that later."

"Are you guys fighting or something?" Rainbow suddenly asked.

"No," Zaria and I said at the same time. Sometimes we say things together, and we were used to it. But now it just made us look and sound even more suspicious.

"You sure?" Pinkie countered. "Earlier, I saw you two whispering in Sugarcube Corner. And then Twilight started talking about fish—"

"Fish?" Rainbow interrupted. I nodded and grinned thinly.

"Long story short," I told her. "But to put things in order, Z—uh, Fluttershy and I are not fighting."

"Yeah," Zaria chimed in. "We're just talking about fish." I glared at her. Now was not the time for jokes. I would've been laughing by this time, but again, I was still shocked that this had happened to us. We were all silent again when Zaria pondered up the most unneeded question ever:

"Um, could someone please teach me how to fly? 'Cause I want to know how." I stared at her, speechless. She did not just ask us four ponies for tips on flying!

"Uh, sugar cube, what're ya'll talkin' about?" AJ asked.

"Yeah, did you hit your head or somethin'?" Rainbow added, running her hoof around Zaria's soft head.

"No, I just really want to know how to fly," Zaria repeated. "You Pegasus make it look so easy."

"Shut up," I whispered through gritted teeth, but Zaria just nudged me . Suddenly, I saw Rainbow smirking. This could only lead to bad things.

"Ohhhh, I get it. Little Miss Scared of Heights finally wants to break out of her shell and fly, huh? Don't worry; Dashie will teach you all the tips and tricks you'll need to know about flyin'." Zaria smiled widely and followed Rainbow Dash off to a clear spot.

"Fluttershy, really?" I screamed. "Are you sure you wanna do this now?"

"Yeah!" Zaria called back.

"But you're totally abusing our experience!" I screamed. "I, I mean, not our ex—what I mean is, wait don't fly yet! No, no, no! UGH!" My head throbbed with anger and stress as I stomped away from Pinkie and Applejack. I plopped down against a shady tree and resisted the urge to cry.

Yes, yes, I know it sounds babyish, but people cry when they're stressed out and angry. That's a certain fact I know is true. But I couldn't help it; I let the hot tears roll out of my eyes and tried to breathe calmly. It just resulted in choppy little gasps and more burning tears. If Zaria wouldn't bear with me through this weird adventure, I'd just let her be. I didn't care. Just then, I felt a light hoof touch my arm. My eyes widened and, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Applejack with her hat back on.

"You okay, sugar cube?" she asked softly. "You're kinda scarin' me." I sighed and wiped my eyes.

"I'm scaring myself, too, AJ," I admitted. "There's...there's something I gotta tell you, and I'm not sure how to put it." I sniffed. "But it's really shocking, and you have to promise not to tell, okay?"

Applejack was silent for a moment, but then she nodded.

"I Pinkie Promise."

I blinked to clear out the leftover tears planted in my eyes and sniffed again. Applejack had just made a Pinkie Promise, which indicated that she was really willing to keep my secret. That made me kind of better. So I cleared my throat.

"I'm not really your friend Twilight. I'm a human from another world."