The Ballad of Xyclone

Edge of Ponyville, Equestria, midday

I quickly caught up to the rest of the ponies, taking the lead. As I continued walking ahead of the group, I suddenly stopped abruptly. Everyone bumped into me.

"Xy', what th' hay?!" cried Applejack angrily.

I turned around to the rest of them. "I just realized something. I have no idea where we're going. I don't know where Chrysalis' kingdom is. Shouldn't you guys know where she is? I mean, you fought her twice."

Bon-Bon facehoofed. "If you didn't know where to go, THEN WHY DID YOU TAKE THE LEAD?!" she screamed at me.

"Well, you certainly didn't do anything to stop me!" I retorted.

"That's because I didn't feel very comfortable helping THE ENEMY!" continued Bon-Bon.

"HEY!" shouted Applejack to us both. "Would y'all please stop arguin' fer one gal darn second?!" She turned her attention to all of us then. "Okay, from what Ah remember, it was a bunch o' miles past th' Everfree Forest."

"T-T-The E-Everfree F-F-Forest?!" trembled Fluttershy.

"Where is it?" I asked Applejack.

"Nearby Fluttershy's cottage," continued Applejack.

"Oh, yeah!" I remembered. Then my ears dropped. "And w-where is her cottage?"

"Back...that way," sighed Applejack, pointing to the other side of town.

"Damn it!" I cursed. "I've never had a good sense of direction. I'm sorry, everypony." Whoa, did I just say that? I thought to myself. I had been living around the ponies for so long that I was starting to talk like them.

And so began the awkward trek back through the town of Ponyville, as we got weird looks from all the ponies who had just cheered us onward. When we finally reached the entrance to the Everfree Forest behind Fluttershy's cottage, she was shivering as if she had just seen a ghost.

"I-I-I d-d-don't w-want t-to d-d-do th-this, i-if t-that's o-okay w-with y-y-you..." she stammered, dropping to the ground in fear. I just looked at her.

"You know, I don't get it," I said.

"You don't get w-what?" asked Fluttershy.

"You," I went on. "You've been to the Everfree Forest countless times to help your friends, yet you're still frightened of it. Shouldn't you have gotten used to it by now?"

"W-Well..." mused Fluttershy. "I-I s-suppose you're r-right..." I held a hoof out to her to help her up.

"Don't worry, Fluttershy, it'll be fine," I told her comfortingly. "I'm here to help you. I wanna be your friend."

"Oh...o-okay," said Fluttershy uneasily. She grabbed my hoof and I pulled her up.

"Okay, here's what we'll do," I said to everyone. "I have a plan. We'll journey through the forest until we find an open space big enough to set up a camp. Twilight, Rarity, Lyra, and Vinyl then can produce some tents for us all by using their magic collectively. That's my plan, at least. I just hope we don't get attacked by any timber wolves. Does everypony understand?"

Everyone nodded, including Twilight and Bon-Bon. "Sounds mighty fine ta me!" said Applejack happily.

"Alrighty, then!" I continued. "Onward we go!" As everyone began walking, I slipped back to where Lyra was. I had to speak with her. She looked scared. "What's wrong?" I asked her. "Are you okay?"

Lyra suddenly noticed me, and was brought out of her daze. "Oh, yes, I'm perfectly fine!" she said. "I could never be scared with you here." She suddenly blushed, realizing what she had just said. "I-I mean...I love having you around! NO, WAIT, THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!"

This time, I blushed. I then cleared my throat to speak. "Well, um...a-anyway, I came here to ask for your help with something."

"W-What is it?"

"I've been thinking about what Bon-Bon said the other day, and I-I...I want you to teach me how to use magic." I stuttered as I spoke.

"Really?!" asked Lyra ecstatically. "B-But why me? Why not Twilight, Rarity, or Vinyl?"

"W-Well, I'd only feel comfortable with you teaching me." We both blushed again. "W-Wait! I-I mean...I feel like y-you would know the most about magic." I had never felt this nervous asking for help before. I still didn't get it.

"Oh...w-well, if it's really what you want, I-I'd be honored to teach you, Xyclone. In fact, I can start tutoring you tomorrow, if you like!" Lyra smiled.

"Thank you so much, Lyra! I will never forget this!"

Lyra still continued to blush. "Oh, d-don't mention it!"

I trotted away from her, beaming happily. Then I started thinking. Why did I say that? Lyra really was the only one I wanted to teach me magic. She was the only one I wanted, period. I couldn't get the image of her face out of my head. Was Rarity right? Was I...falling for Lyra? Every time I tried to talk to her, I stuttered and stumbled through my words. No, it's not possible, I thought to myself. She's a pony, I'm a human. Well...was a human. Anyway, it would never work out between us. We're just really great friends!

I was still deep in thought a few hours later as I suddenly tripped on a loose root and face planted on the cold hard ground. Everyone (except for Twilight and Bon-Bon, of course) galloped over to me to help me up.

"Oh, gosh, Xyclone, are you okay?" I heard Derpy ask.

"Yes, you hit the ground awfully hard, dear," interjected Rarity.

"Yeah, I'm good," I replied. "I was just lost in my thoughts." I looked around where I had fallen. We had reached a break in the forest. For about another 30 feet, there were no trees or brush. It was just a wide open space. I looked up to find that there was even a break in the tree canopy, as I could see the dim orange glow of the setting sun through the opening. "This place is perfect for a camp!" I exclaimed. I gestured towards Lyra, who then gestured to Twilight, Rarity, and Vinyl. I watched in awe as the four of them combined their magical powers to create some tents. With the help of the pegasi and the earth ponies, we quickly set up the tents. We then set out to gather firewood, which we found in no time. In about 20 minute's time, we had a full-fledged campsite set up. Suddenly, Derpy yawned loudly.

"Well," she said. "I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I'm beat. I'm calling it a day. 'Night, everypony. See you tomorrow." With that, she disappeared into one of the tents as we all wished her a good night's sleep.

One by one, pony after pony went to bed. Some of them went into the same tent. First was Twilight and Spike, second was Vinyl and Octavia, third was Rainbow and Fluttershy, fourth was Lyra and Bon-Bon, and fifth was Pinkie. Rarity was the last one to hit the metaphorical hay. As she entered her tent, Applejack, who was still wide awake, holding a marshmallow over the campfire, suddenly spoke up after barely saying a word after we made the camp.

"G-Goodnight, R-Rarity," she stammered. "S-S-Sleep well."

"Oh...why, th-thank you, A-Applejack," replied Rarity nervously, blushing slightly. When Rarity vanished into her tent, it was only I and Applejack who stayed awake. After about a minute of silence, I spoke up.

"Hey, Applejack?" I asked, trotting up to her.

"What is it, sugar cube?" Applejack replied.

"Something's been bothering me since this morning. I've been thinking about what you said, when you were, you know, telling me about your thing with Rarity..." As I sat down, Applejack looked away, her face red. "You said you don't know who you are anymore, that you're 'losing your grip on reality.' W-What did you mean by that?"

Applejack looked down. "Well, it's...Ah don't know, it's hard ta explain. Ah always thought Ah was attracted ta stallions, but there's just somethin' about Rarity...it's...she's..." I saw a tear fall down Applejack's face as she spoke, but I didn't say anything. "Ah guess Ah've just always thought she was beautiful. That flowing violet mane, that pristine white coat...i-i-it's just so amazing. Ah can't get 'er out of mah head. All Ah ever think about is her. Ah'm...Ah-Ah'm crazy 'bout 'er, Xyclone. Ah want to tell her how Ah feel about her so much, b-but Ah just can't." Applejack was crying now.

"Why?" I asked her. "Why can't you tell her?"

Applejack sniffled. "She would never go for somepony like me," she said. "Ah'm just an dirty ol' farm pony, and she's...she's a magnificent fashion model. We're nothin' alike. Ah could never tell 'er. She and everypony else would laugh in mah face an' call me a filly-fooler!"

"A...'f-filly-fooler'?" I asked her, confused.

"Oh, that's what ya call mares who like other mares," explained Applejack. "If anypony found that out, I'd become a pariah fer the rest o' my life! A laughingstock!" Applejack dropped her marshmallow into the fire and buried her face in her hooves, sobbing softly. "Y-Ya see?" she asked, sniffling. "This is what Ah meant by 'losing my grip on reality'. Ah just don't know what ta do! You probably wanna laugh at me right now fer actin' like this! Well, go ahead and do it! Nothing else matters ta me anymore."

"I can't believe what I'm hearing," I said sympathetically. "I've never seen this vulnerable side of you. And I would never laugh at you! You're my friend! You really love Rarity, don't you?"

"Yes!" cried Applejack in between sobs. "Ah can't believe I even told you this," she said. "Ah've literally not told a soul about this, not Twilight, not Princess Luna or Celestia...Ah've even kept this a secret from my own family! Yes, Xyclone, Ah love Rarity! Ah can't really say the same fer mahself, though."

"You know what I think you should do?" I asked Applejack, pulling her into a hug.

She sniffled. "What?"

"Just tell her!" Applejack looked up at me.

"B-But what if she—?"

"You know, there's a popular saying in my world," I said, interrupting her. "'Sometimes opposites attract'. You can always hope, AJ. There's always hope."

Applejack started to smile a little bit. "Thank you, Xyclone," she told me. "Thanks fer bein' here fer me. You know, I'm glad you came through that portal."

"Me too," I said, looking over at the tent where Lyra was sleeping. I smiled. "Me too..."