Apples to Oranges
Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Friends and Family
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As their spa session came to an end Rarity and Fluttershy made their way out into the waiting room where they found Twilight waiting for them.
"Oh girls, something horrible happened to Applejack!" Twilight said quickly, but she was waved off by Rarity.
"We already know dear, she's just getting a massage now" Rarity said, sounding less than pleased about the situation, "Do tell us you know what's going on?" Twilight looked at her friends nervously for a few moments, images of magic kindergarten flashing through her head as she tried to find the right words. Eventually she was ready to speak, but a loud bang from inside the spa broke her concentration.
"What are you doing, don't touch me like that!"
"Who was that?" Twilight asked as she looked towards the direction the noise came from nervously.
"That would be Applejack" Rarity said sarcastically, "Or Tangerine as she would like to be called" Rarity sighed as she thought about the old Applejack. She was reliable, honest, kind, and caring, she would never act this way, not in a thousand years. All Rarity wanted to know was how to get one of her friends back from the beast known as Tangerine. Twilight was fidgeting nervously the entire time, barely managing to keep it all a secret from her friends, but she had to tell them, or else...
"I HIT APPLEJACK WITH THE APPLES TO ORANGES SPELL!" Twilight shouted suddenly, making everypony in the room jump back in surprise. She had hers eyes shut tight when she felt somepony put a hoof on her shoulder. When she opened her eyes she saw Rarity with a worried look on her face, Fluttershy as well. Neither of them were upset about it, they were just worried of losing a friend. Seeing this calmed Twilight down just enough for her to feel comfortable telling them all about it, but just as she began to speak Tangerine came trotting into the waiting room.
"This spa is of such low quality, I will be sure to avoid this place the next time I need a hooficure" Tangerine said angrily as she pushed past Twilight, leaving five bewildered and upset ponies behind her. Tangerine had long since recognized the town as Ponyville, so as much as she hated it she felt an obligation to visit her family, even if they were farm folk. As she made her way through town everypony continued to call her Applejack, which threw her off completely. How could these many ponies know her old name, many of them she didn't even recognize. As she drew closer to Sweet Apple Acres a small filly came running down the path at Tangerine.
"SIS!" shouted Applebloom as she jumped to hug Tangerine, seeing her as Applejack. Sensing the oncoming hug Tangerine stepped out of the way and watched as Applebloom face planted into the dirt, sliding at least a foot forwards after the impact. Tangerine couldn't help but giggle as she watched the filly get up and look around in confusion, her eyes finally settling on her cutie mark.
"Oh, sorry ma'am, I thought you were my sister, Applejack" Applebloom said shyly, embarrassed at what she had just done to what she thought was a complete stranger. Then mention of a sister did throw Tangerine for a loop though. When she had left for the Oranges it was only her and her brother, Big McIntosh, and her parents were dead. All Tangerine could think about was what Applebloom had said, and ended up blindly agreeing to go see Big Mac in the process.
"Hey sis" Big Mac said as he trotted up next to Applebloom and Tangerine with two bushels of apples on his side.
"Hey Big Mac" both Tangerine and Applebloom said, making them both stop and look at each other in surprise. Big Mac gave them both a confused look before continuing on his way, being trailed by the two of them as they looked at each other, watching everything the other did.
"Nice hair AJ" Big Mac said in an attempt to lighten the mood.
"Oh, why thank you" Tangering said with a blush. In her mind she had left the Apple family and become an Orange as a filly, rather than her having come back to the farm. With her being an Orange it would be perfectly normal to steal glances at the rather fine stallion in front of her, or so she thought, but Applebloom noticed something was off.
"Is everything ok?" Applebloom asked, trying to follow Tangerine's gaze.
"Oh, why yes, of course, I just got a bit..." Tangerine trailed off as she looked back at Mac's toned body, "Distracted..."
"Are you feeling ok AJ?" Big Mac asked when he saw Tangerine's happy face, "You're actin' funny"
"Oh, I'm feeling just fine..." Tangerine said slowly as she watched Mac's hair blow in the light breeze that was passing by, images of him treating her like a true mare going through her head, making her cheeks glow almost as red as him. Without saying anything Mac slowed down and fell behind Tangerine, which went unnoticed by her as she thought about him. He suddenly lifted her up and laid her down on his back, which was a welcome surprise for her, given what she had just been thinking about.
"Come on, let's have Granny take a look at you..." Big Mac said with a grunt as he started walking forward again, the weight of his sister and the bushels making it difficult, even for him, to walk at a normal pace. Tangerine's ears perked up at the mention of Granny. She had no idea Granny was still up and around, since she never came back to the farm she had always thought Granny had passed on, leaving the entire farm to Big Mac.
"You're comfortable..." Tangerine muttered as she laid her head down on Big Mac's back, the steady rhythm of his steps putting her to sleep.
"What was that sis?" Big Mac asked, not clearly hearing what she had said to him.
"Oh nothing..." Tangerine said in a sign song voice as she drifted off to sleep, her dreams filled with images of the wonderful red stallion she was sleeping on...
Next Chapter: Chapter 3: Apples and Oranges Estimated time remaining: 15 Minutes