Come Fly With Me (closed Steel) AppulDash

[RainbowFoxxy]

RD was stoked! The mare hustled out of Wonderbolts headquarters after her shift with a bunch of new recruits, making her way directly to the Sweet Apple Acres farmhouse. The whole thing was planned! She had Mac and Abby on child care duty and a whole afternoon/evening for just her and her mare!

 

RD had been working extra hard on her relationship with the most wonderful mare in the whole world and the surprise she had in store was just another step in that direction.

 

She'd stopped by the castle just last night to pick up a very special vial from the Princess. Of course Twilight had warned her of the possible dangers but she knew AJ would be totally fine! 

 

RD ducked into the farmhouse, trotting straight to the bathroom to clean up. She was going to be looking and smelling great for this event! She'd warned AJ they would be doing something fun but not fancy so no need to go all out with the grooming. Just the basics, just how AJ liked it!

 

Once she was ready she trotted out to meet AJ and get their afternoon rolling! Rainbow made her way to the front gates of the farm here She'd asked AJ to meet her...

[SteelEagle]

0099ff

 

Applejack worked her tail off as quickly as she could, which were statements that on their own should drive up some concern. After all, she was a mare who loved herself some hard work and loved pushing herself, and had a hankering for speed when she knew she could do the job right. So she mowed down the trees, bucking one after another, filling them up and allowing Big Mac to take them in. He was homebound today on account of Sugar Belle being a little ill so it was just as well he handled that aspect of it, while Abby chipped in with the kids. The key point for Applejack was that between her wild bucking, ability to focus on bucking, and her quickness, she got her work done early. Well, early in most days' account, but just in time on this fine sunny day because she had plans with Rainbow. Well, Rainbow had the plans and Applejack was still operating in the dark, but who was to say that was a bad thing?

 

When she finished she finally made her way inside, the warmth and cheer of the family spilling out. Her kids were being little rugrat troublemakers and that was just as well since the time would come when they wouldn't be able to do so. Apple Bloom did her best to corral them and get some food going and Big Mac was here, there, everywhere. Home was loud and happy and wonderful, but she needed a break. Rainbow knew she needed a break and apparently she had plans made for them. Well, Applejack was never one to deny her wife's agenda and was happy to have the load off of her back. Of course she didn't know just what it was that was planned, but that only made it all the more exciting for her, didn't it? Rainbow was a smart gal and Applejack was up for anything that was nice, fun, relaxing, and very, very stress free.

 

She cleaned herself off- Rainbow said nothing too fancy, just the way Applejack liked it- and made her way out. There was a picnic table not far from the home now and she made herself comfortable, even as she snickered at Big Mac's exaggerated work face as he went by. It was rare that she was allowed to relax and he work, so of course she had to rub it in ever so little. From her seat she saw her flighty wife arrive and head inside, though Applejack didn't bother moving. Only when Rainbow exited did she make herself known. "RD, over here!" She waved, smiling as the day of nice, fun, and relaxing relaxation started up!

[RainbowFoxxy]

Rainbow grinned, making her way over to her wife's side.

 

"Hey there babe!" She nuzzled AJ softly on the cheek and sat down next to her at the picnic table. "So! You ready for some fun?"

 

She had put on some super cool sunglasses and she brought them down, looking over the top with a hint of danger sparkling in her eyes. "I've got something pretty cool planned!"

 

RD was super proud of her idea and the anticipation was killing her just a liiiiittle bit!

[SteelEagle]

 

 

She nuzzled her mare back before placing a small kiss on her cheek. Her mare seemed rather excited, which made Applejack wonder just what the heck she had in her mind. She was an excitable type and a thrill seeker, so she wondered just what it would be. If it took her into a death trap though she'd be cross. Applejack was far too maternal to repeat the mistakes of others in the Apple clan. "Nice seein' ya, fast-pass. How's tha show treating you?" She said as she looked Rainbow over. She did that all the time anyway but this time ahe had to try and decipher what it was she had in mind.

 

Yep. It was gonna be a death trap of some kind. Rainbow 'Danger' Dash it was. She must have been cooped up mentally because she had a dangerous glint to her eyes. Applejack liked that glint a lot of the time and she reckoned there was no problem with it now, one way or another. When her wife had a plan it was foolhardy to try and talk her out of it. "I'm plum excited ta try whatever it is thats rockin' 'round yer brain," she said as she gently mussied up Rainbow's colorful mane. "Ah hope it involves a nice, relaxing day by tha pond. I could do with a dip," she said with a giant grin, knowing all the while that it was impossible. No matter what though, she knew it would be a whale of a time.
 

 

[RainbowFoxxy]

"Welllll, not exactly a relaxing day by the pond..." She gave a playful half grin. "Maybe above the pond?"

 

The pegasus took the vial she'd been carrying and showed it to AJ. It wasn't like she was going to trick the mare into taking it after all!  

 

"So, I talked Twilight into mixing this up for us," She winked playfully. "Any guesses as to what it does?" 

[SteelEagle]

 

Applejack's eyebrows raised up, arched significantly over where they should be. What was it that she had Twilight cook up? The mind begged to not consider the possibilities, but she was a trusting mare who was given to believing her wife and one of her best friends wouldn't do something crazy like grant her flight. Or make her into a giant. Both would make bucking difficult for her and she sure did enjoy bucking. She picked up the potion and sniffed it. "Well, it smells like...blueberries? So Ah'm reckoning it...." her mind blanked. "Swaps bodies?" She waited a moment, a pregnant pause. "Okay, that sounds stupid. What does it do?"

[RainbowFoxxy]

"Actually, kinda like a body swap... but not!" She leaned in close and sniffed. When she raised her head she found herself muzzle to muzzle with her mare. AJ smelled like alfalfa and sweet apples. RD loved that smell. It was safety and understanding. Comfort and strength to the pegasus. She had become much less irratic as of late, however this idea might end up being a throw back.

 

"Twi really did a number on this to get it just right! It will grant you wings and speed like mine!" She glanced up. "I've always wanted to share the sky with you AJ!"

 

She cringed a little, wondering how AJ would respond...

[SteelEagle]

 

 

Well, she had to get some points for getting some form of swap right, though not many. Wasn't much of a swap, more like a change. Giving Applejack a pair of wings? Well, that only made sense. She had always suspected that being ground-bound herself irked some sensibility of Rainbow's that she wasn't much liable to speak about. But gaining Rainbow's speed? That was a whole kit and caboodle removed from just having wings. That mare could outfly thought itself if she was given to and the possibility that now she'd have to face competition from...well, herself really, was strange. And for Applejack it was a bit strange. Not bad. Just weird. She didn't much want to be streaking across the sky in any normal fashion, but flying with RD? Well, that was something she could abide by just fine, she reckoned.

 

"Huh. Must be a heck of a potion. How'd Twi even make it?" She asked as she took it in hoof, roughly putting her Stetson on the rainbow maned Wonderbolt as she leaned against a tree inspecting the potion. It had a mixture of colors that should have blended but didn't, like they were different layers and consistencies. Yet when she shook it, they moved like liquid only to resettle back in the same layers. She shrugged. "Well, either way. I mean, you give me yer wings combined with tha rest of mah physical prowess, Ah might as well be takin' yer place on the Wonderbolts," she said with faux seriousness as she turned back towards her wife and jabbed a hoof in her chest playfully. "Y'all ain't gettin' lazy now, ain'tcha?"

[RainbowFoxxy]

RD watched as AJ inspected the concoction. She had no idea how Twi had conjured up what was in the vial. All she knew was she was going to be helping Twi and Spike clean the castle library a week from today as payment. She pressed that thought from her mind. Books and dust? Double yuck!! However, it was worth it to spend this time with her mare.

 

"Oh, I'm not sure about that!" She commented as AJ got playfully competitive with her. "She did say that you should be able to take to it really quickly due to the potion." RD hadn't even thought about AJ besting her up there. She did best her at pretty much everything else already! 

 

"I just figured we could have an exciting time up there together!" She blushed a little, thinking of a special spit in the clouds she had picked to finish off their adventure in.

 

"Ready for your wings AJ?"

[SteelEagle]

 

Applejack smiled and shook her head. Oh, she could *smell* it on Rainbow. The desperation for AJ to be down for this so she could share the sky, if only just this once. It was very sweet of her, like AJ wanting to share some of her old family traditions. If it had been anypony else at any other time in any other place, Applejack'd be offended. She was a bonafide all-natural, all-Equestrian, all Apple-family bred and toned Earth Pony, honey. But she knew where Rainbow's heart was and it was buried deep in Applejack's own breast. Having borrowed that from her already, why not get the wings to boot? She pulled her mare in close, harsh and strong, ruffling her mane.
She wiggled the potion. "Well, what're we waitin' for then?" She said as she immediately downed the potion in all of its thick glory.

[RainbowFoxxy]

 

Rainbow felt her heart flutter as her mare pulled her roughly in. She loved when AJ handled her a bit roughly, she was one of the few that would attempt such a notion. RD loved her for that...and so much more! 

 

"I've always wanted to share," She nodded upwards. "Up there with you AJ! Probably shouldn't have asked Twi to infuse my speed into this though...I know you're gonna want to race!" She laughed, trying to bury the sudden apprehension at AJ besting her in the one thing she always exceled at. Still, if this was a test of her new way of thinking, it was a good one!

 

The pegasus watched and waited for a few seconds, wondering how the potion would take affect...

[SteelEagle]

 

 

Applejack took a deep breath. "Well, soon you'll have yer wish," she said with a smile. It was sweet of Rainbow Dash to share this with her. She knew her fair share of pegasi that valued their ability to get out, high in the sky, away from the grounders. It was yet another sign of their love, not that they needed it, that she was looking to share the sky and had gone to such great lengths to do so. It had been one of the few barriers in their relationship. Rainbow Dash knew things of this world that Applejack was ignorant of and experienced it in a way that Applejack could not. Now, if only for a small while, that would no longer be the case.

She downed the potion quick. For a few seconds, it felt like nothing was happening. She turned to her wife. "Ya sure that Twi didn't-" she started before a violent surge of electricity seemed to shoot across her whole body. Then again, and again, faster and faster until it was like she was in the middle of a thunderstorm. It looked dramatic but it didn't hurt as much as it seemed. Then she fell over, mostly out of dizziness. Then the magic really went to work. her bones hollowed out ever slightly. Her skeletal structure started to re-arrange itself. Her fat distribution moved, her muscles thinned and changed and started to travel into her new appendages. Her fur grew a slightly different texture, more feathery and her ears shifted ever slightly. 

It was enough to cause a mare to continue to twitch and collapse as she tried to get up not once, but twice. Finally on her side, she decided to push herself back up- and subconsciously used  her new wings to do so. She looked down, saw the wings, and then they snapped back to her out of momentary shock- she fellt back down, face first.
A pregnant pause.
"...Could ya help me up, RD?" Asked the pegasus Applejack, who was still trying to come to terms with all the small senses that a pegasi had and the loss of equally small senses she no longer had.
 

[RainbowFoxxy]

RD was shocked! She hadn't expected such a dramatic change! She'd asked Twi for a potion to give her wife wings but this... this was something more indeed! AJ was now well and truly a pegasus pony! Rainbow gulped back an explication and went to AJ's side.

 

"Sure," She cleared her throat as the word reached a high pitched and gravelly octave reserved for RD's moments of extreme panic and extreme pleasure. "Sure AJ, I got you!" She reached down, helping the once earth pony to her hooves.

 

"Dang AJ!" There was that high pitch voice again. "You're almost as hot as a pagesus as you are as an earth pony!" A quick assessment told RD she'd have a run for her bits in the air and in the bedroom with this winged farm mare!

 

"So, uh," She stretched out her cyan wings as she spoke. "You think you know how to use those things?" Thought it had certainly supplied the body type she wasn't sure if the potion had imbued working use knowledge or not...

[SteelEagle]

 

It was hard for Applejack to honestly and truthfully register most of RD's change in emotion. She was still dealing with her own sensory issues. As an Earth Pony, she had always been connected to the Earth below her. It sung in her hooves and even when she was just walking around there was a certain life, a certain energy, that she felt connected to. You were never truly alone as an earth pony because the land was always there. Now that was gone. The dirt was dirt. She had rarely taken note of how it had felt before but now that she lost it she noticed it acutely. She kneaded the dirt below her hopefully before abandoning it, shaking her head and trying to regain her senses. Well, her new senses. She had lost the sense of being an Earth pony but she had gained the senses of a pegasus. The water vapor around her seemed so acute and noticeable in its trillions of droplets, fading into her subconscious. The way the wind seemed to flow through her as if she didn't exist. Every part of her seemed like it should be cold but wasn't. She didn't know how to describe it, but she felt new and weird.

 

She took a deep breath.
"Almost?" She asked with as much self-assuredness as she could muster. "Now Ah'm thinking you only liked me 'cause Ah couldn't chase after you!" She laughed, then brushed herself against RD, using her as a stabilizer. Then she let go and took a few steps, unfolding her wings. They felt weird. Pegasus ponies had wings that were smaller than they should have been in order to fly and hers were no different, but compared to her farm-bred and muscled body they seemed even smaller. She flapped them. They didn't do so in sync. Left and then right- right, then left. She sighed and then started flapping them in sync. First slow, then faster until her body was fighting itself to stay grounded. She was anything but confident. "Uhh, maybe? Ah'm gonna crash for sure but...well, lead the way Wonderbolt."

[RainbowFoxxy]

 

Rainbow gave Appuls a few minutes to adjust. It would have taken any lesser earth pony hours to get used to what had happened within the span of a few minutes. But not AJ, she was as resilient as they came! RD still wasn't sure if this was a fun experiment she had brought upon them or a curse. She had no idea how long her farm mare was going to be a winged equine!

 

"Ah," She joked half heartedly. "I think I did most of the chasing to win you over Applejack," She winked. "There were tons of mares and stallions out there that wanted you, it was quite a fight!" She felt uneasy watching the normally confident and strong AJ get used to having wings and apparently more than that. Something about her was definitely altered. Had she lost her earth pony senses too?

 

"You gotta flap em' together!" She stood in front of Applejack and moved her wings slowly up and down. Soon enough AJ was getting a handle on things. Enough that her hooves were barely on solid ground anymore. 

 

"Just take it easy at first AJ, that's how all the new fliers learn. Don't want you getting banged up in a crash before we have a chance to race!"

 

She lifted off a little, hovering and waiting for AJ to do the same...if she could.

[SteelEagle]

Applejack was a mare who loves herself the truth but she didn't demand the same from others. If she had, she would have to punish Rainbow something fierce. She knew that not many ponies were pursuing her, not anymore. When she was a young mare she was rather...popular. She had her dalliances. But her rush into the fields and devotion to her work meant that at that critical age when other ponies were fooling about and making mistakes into miracles, her talks of farming, family planning, and life-long relationships scared a few away. Didn't much matter when it came time for the dances and fairs. She was attractive and friendly, a few dances never hurt anypony. But her as an actual dating commodity? Only...three serious prospects. Rainbow was the fastest. Couldn't get away from her! Probably why the fly girl won.

 

By the time her wife made sure to tell her to flap in sync in sync she was already doing so, but it still helped her. She needed that reminder. A pegasus was born with certain instincts that while in need of refinement ensured that they had the necessary instinctual tools to succeed. Being lifted off the ground under her own power was a strange development and keeping Rainbow's advice firmly lodged in the forefront of her mind was oddly useful. "Together, together, together..." she repeated nearly under her breath, steadying herself against Rainbow as she got her wings in a rhythm that wouldn't task her attention too much.

After a few more moments she felt confident enough to let go of Rainbow, who responded by hovering away from here. "Can't get away from me that easily, flygirl," Applejack chuckled as she started to breath deep. One thrust of her wings followed by another she pushed herself up, trying to hover and failing at times. Her altitude hampered by her bottom half dangling and sometimes kicking out of habit and no small amount of deep ingrained uncomfortable sensibility. In fits and starts though she managed to raise herself until she was nearly even with Rainbow. "See? No escape."

[RainbowFoxxy]

Rainbow watched her mare get herself off the ground. There was no other pony anywhere that had the determination of AJ. It was just a fact, pure and simple. It didn't need anything other than the proof she saw hovering before her. AJ seemed to be able to defy all natural laws in the fact that once she had set a goal, she achieved it. No matter how big or small!

 

"Well," RD winked slyly. "I'm not sure I want to escape," She raised a brow. "You're always beautiful but with wings?" She fanned herself with a wing, feigning a swoon. "Hot stuff!"

 

"So," She glanced to the side. "Ready to try some movement besides hovering?" She could tell AJ hadn't totally got the hang of things but she was such a fast learner that RD was confident she could handle the challenges.

 

"Pull your front legs under you. Your hind legs, keep them in line with your body. A little tense, a little loose. You'll get the feel for it as you go."

 

She started slowly flapping forward, keeping in line with a large oak tree some ways off. "Keep em' together and flap forward." She figured they would stay slow so she could learn to steer.

[SteelEagle]

 

Hot stuff? oh, now she was hot. What was she before, cold Applejack put her front legs on her hips while she hovered, her eyebrows cocked in mock accusation. "Oh, I'm hot now? Why, because I have wings?" She shook her head. "My my, if only Ah'd known Ah was marrying such a Pegasist! How disappointin'. Luckily, Ah'm not gonna go anywhere 'till I train it outta ya! Ha-" she said with a laugh, which forced her wings out of balance and she nearly fell out of the sky. She caught herself and hovered back up. "Ha," she snickered. Well, that was almost embarrassing!

 

Almost. Not quite.

 

"Yeah, Ah'm ready," Applejack replied quickly. She wasn't sure how true it was but she also knew that she had to strike while the iron was hot. If she allowed herself tp touch the ground again she wasn't sure how readily she would leave it again. She smiled. "Ah don't reckon it'll be all that hard. Ah mean, if you can do it then it can't be all that hard, can it?" She said as she playfully hit her mare on the shoulder before Rainbow flew about into a position to teach AJ.

 

Applejack did the best she could. Really, it wasn't that hard knowing what to do, it was fighting against the instincts that she had developed over her life. She did as she was told. She pulled in her front legs under her, close to her barrel chest and focused on nice, consistent breathing. Then she kept her hind legs in line with her body and tensed them up. She knew the method of leg control Rainbow was talkin' about. You used it during the steeplechase after the jump, loosening after clear.

Then she flapped forward, dipping and diving and gaining slowly, moving very slowly forward. "Ha, at this...at this rate Ah'll be takin' yer job soon."

[RainbowFoxxy]

RD gulped. That wasn't a far off notion. AJ always did seem to best her, and of course she would at flying too. Rainbow tried to shelf the feelings of inadequacy that mingled in her tummy at the thought. 

 

"So, now that you've got the basics," She flapped her wings and hover glided near AJ. "You can speed up when you feel ready."

 

They headed towards the big oak, RD neatly passing around it and watching to see what AJ would do. Her mare moved with fluid grace, not any pony would have with such a new situation. It was obvious that her athletic abilities would help her to be a wonderful flier. 

 

RD looped the loop, keeping AJ in her sights.  

[SteelEagle]

 

Applejack would say with growing confidence that she did not really have the basics down. She basically had the basics down, but basically she was still a disaster waiting to happen. Very basic of her. It only made sense- ponies born with wings struggled with this, so a pony with a lifetime of muscle memory not related to flying certainly wasn't going to go ahead and conquer this easily. That didn't stop her from playing with RD, but Applejack was truthful to a fault and knew that every second in the sky threatened her terribly. She followed Rainbow Dash at her own pace, which was best described as gingerly and conservative. And halted- once or twice she had to regain her altitude before she found herself gradually getting closer to Rainbow.

 

Only near the end did she have a semblance of stability that allowed her to move with greater speed as she neared the oak. She made a turn around it, her front leg smacking into it but she powered through anyway, one wingtip touching the ground or close enough for government work as she finished the turn. However she was not in full control and took the turn too tightly, nearly crashing into Rainbow. She managed to miss her wife but in doing so got her wings out of sorts and had a falling sensation, sending one and then both wings flying around her wife's midsection as she kicked against the air in a momentary, inbreed Earth pony panic- forgetting briefly that she could now fly.

[RainbowFoxxy]

RD leaned back hard as AJ wrapped her wings around her. She was able to use the momentum to keep them both in the air.

 

"Not bad!" RD grinned as they finished their way around the oak. "Maaaaybe a bit more turn training I think?" RD nodded to some clouds. She flew up, turning them quickly into forgiving pillars. "Let's try weaving around these for a bit?" She used her wings to move the clouds down towards the ground. "You up for it AJ?" 

 

Rainbow wanted AJ to get good at turning so they could race! But only if she was up for it of course!

[SteelEagle]

 

It was embarrassing to admit just how scared she had been for a second there. She would guess that most earth ponies had a perfectly reasonable fear of heights and that the sensation of flying did little to help that once something, anything at all really, went wrong. It just wasn't natural! That was what Granny had said when she first saw one of them pedal powered flight contraptions, and for a moment Applejack agreed entirely. Luckily Rainbow was there to prevent her from giving in entirely to her momentary flight- ha!- of cowardice, and Applejack's breathing returned to normal.

 

"Ha, yeah. More like a lot of turning training," Applejack snorted as she used a hoof to pull her mane back and take a deep breath, using her wings to maintain her position as she watched Rainbow craft the clouds around them into something befitting a training course. The farmer had been hoping to relax from her near-embarrassment a moment back but she wasn't one to hold back on a good piece of training on account of some personal foibles. "Yeah, Ah reckon we can square this up for a bit. Ain't that different from the steeple chase, now that Ah look at it. Any hints n' tips ya want to lay on me, RD?"

[RainbowFoxxy]

RD flew back over once she had finished constructing her cloud colosseum. Not really, it was actually just a safe little training course. Akin to something she would use the train young colts and fillies that had just fledged. Not that she would tell Applejack that of course! The mare had enough on her mind trying to get her new found flight powers under control.

 

"Sure," RD looked over the course. "So, one thing that's really important is to keep your eyes on what's happening in the moment, but you do also want to consider what you're coming up to next. Like if I know I'm banking right in a few more seconds I'll be thinking that over while I'm in the current situation. Keep your muscles loose as best you can. Your wings will work better for you if you've got flexibility."

 

RD stretched her own wings a bit. They were of course finely tuned machines. "You don't have to worry on this course. It's set up to be forgiving. The worst thing to do if you get off kilter or loose control momentarily is to panic. Try to keep your head and you can correct almost anything!"

 

With that she glanced at the pillars. "Take these for a quick spin," She glanced at AJ. The mare looking all concentration and drive. RD couldn't help the small smile that played on her muzzle. This is certainly an exciting day!

[SteelEagle]

 

 

Applejack listened intently but she would be lying if she said she didn't start to skip some of it. Not because it was RD, but because she was an athlete and knew full well to look ahead while being in the moment, thank you very much! Which worked for her the majority of time, in any case. After all this was essentially just the barrel weave and she did that all the time. It couldn't be that hard, right? She told herself that even when working with the full knowledge that her flight capabilities were somewhere between an embarrassment and lacking, with RD being kind enough to give it a go at not pointing it out. Applejack wasn't quite sure just how far that would extend but she was about ready to give it a go nonetheless. even if she failed, she would fail with style.

 

Oh Twilight, she was starting to sound like Rarity.

"Sounds good. Ah'm gonna beat this course in...err, eleven or so seconds," she said confidently, or faux confidently, actually pretty clearly fake confidence, before she took off at a good clip. Flying straight, not a problem. Making her first subtle turn to avoid a pillar, not bad. She had to correct more on the second, and was preparing for the third even before finishing the second. It was here, however, that she met with failure. She hadn't the experience to know how far to correct, and as such as she zoomed faster and faster she misjudged it and didn't do enough.
She slammed face first into the cloud pillar, her head poking out the other side.

[RainbowFoxxy]

Rainbow giggled as she zoomed to RD's aide. She held onto her mare's backside and with a flick of her wings, pulled her free from the cloud pillar.

 

"Thaaaaat," RD cocked her head and grinned. "Actually wasn't bad at all!" 

 

She moved back to where they could start again. "So, just a bit of course correction needed right? Watch that speed and make sure you are able to make those turns. It'll obviously cost you more time to dislodge from pillars than to slow down enough to get around them!" 

 

RD was in her coaching element now! This was turning out to be quite fun! It was also very nice to spend this time in the air with AJ