A sigh escaped Twilight’s muzzle as she looked over the extra cot set up facing the foot of her own bed. Three sleeping bags, rolled back up and chorded for storage, sat on top of the fresh sheets. A disappointed frown pulled her face as she stepped closer and pressed her hoof into the corner of the bed. She shut her eyes and released her magic; the air cracked and a flash of light filled the room, and the bed teleported back to the basement.
She let out a longer sigh and fluffed up her wings as she stared at the empty space, contemplating floating Spike’s basket back to its usual spot or leaving it open. She grumbled and turned from the room, descending into the lower loft and then down to the library.
Looking over the logbook of returns one last time to quadruple-check that she had, in fact, finished her work for the day, Twilight floated a scarf over from its peg and around her neck. She trotted to the door, and just before she could grab the handle in her magic, a knock sounded out.
Twilight suppressed an eep and shook her head, glancing at the clock on the wall, then opening the door. Applejack grinned at her from the mat. “Howdy, Twilight! I finished up all my chores early an’ thought I’d see if’n ya needed any help gettin’ set up.”
Twilight returned the smile in a flash before her gaze drifted to the floor. She stepped aside automatically to let her friend in. “Hi, Applejack. I was just about to come find you…I’m afraid the sleepover’s canceled.”
“Aw, that’s a shame.” Applejack paused for a moment, and then stepped into the library. “Somethin’ happen?”
“No. Everypony else just had to do other things.” Twilight glanced around the room, frowning at the extra pillows set up around the fireplace. “While you’re here, can I get you something to drink? Coffee? Tea?”
“I’d love a coffee. So just bad timin’ for everypony?”
Twilight headed into the kitchen with Applejack following. “Yeah. Fluttershy came by this morning to tell me that a storm that came out of the Everfree Forest had knocked over a tree and displaced a family of squirrels.” Twilight floated a kettle of water onto the stove. She turned to Applejack and gave her a wry smile. “Then Pinkie stopped in because the Cakes had to go out of town suddenly for family business and needed her to watch the twins. I ran into Rarity at lunch, and she told me she had gotten a surprise dress order. She said she could delay it if she had to, but I could tell she was just being polite. I told her it was fine for her to get started on her work instead.”
Applejack sat by the table and nodded. “And Dash?”
“Rainbow’s dealing with the storm that knocked over the tree.”
Applejack sighed and shook her head, returning Twilight’s grin. “Well, when it rains it pours, don’t it? So what’cha up to now if the night’s done in?”
Twilight sighed and turned to the kettle as it started to whistle. “I don’t know. Nothing, I guess.” She floated grounds into a press pot and poured in the hot water. “My schedule is clear for the night, so I’ll probably end up reading.”
“Well, I ain’t got nothin’ else to do, neither.” As Twilight brought the brewing coffee, two cups, cream, and sugar to the table, she shrugged. “Any reason we can’t have a sleepover with just the two of us?”
Twilight stopped and stared at Applejack in surprise. “You want to?”
“Yeah, why not? Sure, won’t be the same if’n everypony else was here, but we can still have a good time.” She grabbed up a spoonful of sugar in her teeth and tipped it into the mug Twilight had poured her. As she stirred it in, she said around the spoon, “Sometimes it’s better ta just roll with the punches. It’ll be fun.”
“Okay…Okay!” Twilight’s grin lit up as she added a drop of cream to her cup. “I guess I figured it wasn’t worth it if it was just two ponies, but we can have a nice night anyway! We’ll have a bigger get-together with everypony else the next time Spike’s in Canterlot, but we hardly see each other just the two of us as it is.” They shared a cheerful smile and began their drinks.
“Alright then. Did’ja have a bunch a’ stuff planned for the night, or—?” Before Applejack could finish, Twilight’s horn lit up.
“Well, I was going to use this…” A book floated in from the main room and Applejack gave it a knowing smirk. “Yes, before you say anything, I recall that it doesn’t have any instructions for removing fallen tree branches. It did have some fun ideas, though, and since it’s just the two of us we can skip the makeover sections.”
Snorting, Applejack took another sip while shaking her head. “I’ll sit through a whole ‘nother round a’ mud n’ robes if ya really want me to.”
Twilight giggled, the steam rising from her forgotten cup as she flipped through the pages of her book. “That’s okay. If I’m going to do something like that, I honestly would rather go to the spa, and that’s more to relax in a tub than it is to look pretty.” She glanced up from her reading to meet Applejack’s gaze for a moment. “If I’m at home and my mane’s brushed and I’m showered, I can’t be bothered to do anything else.”
Applejack chuckled and nodded in agreement. She downed the dregs of her coffee and helped herself to the rest of the pot. “So what’s first thing in there, ghost stories?”
“Oh, we don’t have to go in order.” Twilight flipped another page, horn glowing, while also extending her senses out of the room. “It’s a little early in the night for anything to be spooky. Maybe after we eat something.”
“Alright then. Anythin’ look like a good place to start?” Applejack leaned forward, trying to read the page upside-down. She didn’t notice the assorted coffee accoutrements slide across the table to a safe distance.
Twilight’s grin turned malicious. “How about…”
A pillow sailed into the kitchen and slapped into the side of Applejack’s head, curling around her face and knocking off her hat. She flinched in shock and her eyes sprung open like saucers as a cackle of glee escaped Twilight, the pillow dropping from her magic.
Applejack caught it by the corner in her teeth before it hit the floor. “Oh, it’s gonna be like that, Princess? Alrighty then.” She swung back and walloped her laughing friend, earning a shriek and more giggles. Twilight fell backwards and rolled onto her hooves, splaying out her wings for balance and giving her opponent a daring grin. A horde of new ammunition joined the fray, raining down on Applejack from behind.
Whipping around a pillow aimed for the back of her head, Applejack bucked it towards Twilight and came out swinging. Shrieking laughter, Twilight continued her magical assault and ran for the main room with Applejack inches from her tail. She pulled a pillow back from the constant batting on her friend’s flanks and head to use as a shield and turned to face Applejack, earning a lightning quick smack to her ear. She gasped in surprise and lost her hold on her ammunition.
Applejack took the opening with vindictive pleasure.
Tumbling onto her back with Applejack above her, Twilight howled mirth and lifted the four pillows from the floor in a glow of energy. She sprung them all at once, beelining for Applejack, who stood over her chest, swinging the pillow in her teeth back and forth across Twilight’s head and shoulders.
Twilight’s control faltered again when her foe leapt into the air, landing on each with a hoof and pinning them to the floor. Applejack continued her fluffy attack without a hitch.
“Ya gonna say ‘uncle,’ Twi?” Applejack goaded around the pillow.
Twilight shielded herself with her forelegs, horn glowing as she tried to pull the four free through the distraction of her burning lungs.
“Ya say it, I’ll stop.” She twisted with the practiced ease of a rope trick and looped the pillow around Twilight’s defenses, bopping her friend on the snout.
“I ain’t gonna stop ‘til ya say it, though—Mmf!” The pillow Applejack had fired out of the air back at Twilight and left forgotten in the kitchen snuck around her face and pulled her off her hooves. Her sole piece of ammunition fell from her teeth and the four under her legs sprung free, rising up and slapping down on her in a wave of puffiness. She lost the reins on her own amusement, wild peals erupting as she rolled over and batted the pillows away.
“Now you say ‘uncle’!” Twilight shouted in triumph, jumping back up to direct her weapons. She yelped when Applejack bounded out of the cloud of pillows with two in her jaw. She fell back again with her opponent standing on her shoulders. Applejack paused for just long enough to wink at her.
In a flurry, the two pillows whipped back and forth in her friend’s mouth, whapping her unshielded face from one side, then switching directions. She struggled to free her legs, but Applejack had her pinned. “Aah! Uncle! Uncle!” she relented, her lungs burning and eyes stinging from being clenched shut.
Applejack rolled off of her, laughing just as hard, heaving breaths alongside her as a mist of feathers hung in the air around them, drifting towards the floor in lazy spirals. As the last landed and their laughter died down, Twilight patted at her frazzled mane and rolled to her side, still giggling. Applejack leaned her head on a hoof and gave Twilight a smug look.
Twilight blew a raspberry.
“Sore loser.” Grinning, Applejack sat up and took a deep breath. She swung a hoof through the empty spot on the top of her head. “Ya see where my hat went?”
“Kitchen table, I think.” Rolling onto her belly, Twilight lifted herself up, still feeling a little shaky from battle. “Well…that was a good start.”
Applejack snorted and followed Twilight into the kitchen, scooping up her Stetson and slapping it back on her head. “Ya got me good a couple times there, sugarcube.” She sat back down and scooted her coffee cup closer.
Twilight waved a hoof dismissively. “I was no match, even with my magic.” She lifted the book from where it had fallen on the floor and flipped through it to find her page.
“So what’cha wanna do next?” Applejack took a sip and immediately spat it back out. “Bleh! Coffee’s cold!”
Twilight hugged her chest; giggling hurt. “Should I make more?”
Twilight sat across from Applejack on a pillow, her gaze flitting from the corner she could see of the paper stuck to her forehead to the matching card on her friend’s head. Applejack’s note boldly proclaimed ‘Princess Luna,’ but as much as she strained her eyes, she couldn’t see what her own card said.
She chewed her lip in thought, still scrutinizing the corner. “Am I a pony?”
“Nope. Am I?”
Twilight smiled and gave Applejack a nod. “Am I alive?”
Applejack raised an eyebrow and glanced at Twilight’s head. “Ya can be, I guess. Do I know me?”
“You do.” Twilight frowned and tapped her chin. “Sometimes alive…am I food?”
Applejack nodded. “Do I live in Ponyville?”
“No.” Twilight smirked at her friend. “Am I ‘apples’?”
Letting out a sigh, Applejack drooped her head. “Yeah.”
Twilight flung her head back to laugh. “I can’t believe you actually wrote ‘apples’ on a card!”
She cleared her throat and coughed into a hoof. “Yeah, well, ya said I should make five cards, an’ I had four real good ideas an’ just wrote whatever on the last one, then ya had to go an’ pick the stupid one outta the hat...”
Twilight took the paper off her head and looked at it. She recognized Applejack’s mouthwriting, and specifically the loopy style it took on when her friend was writing quickly without much thought. It might as well have had a question mark on the end and come with a bored shrug. She started giggling again, shaking her head as she rolled onto her side on the pillow.
Straightening up with mustered dignity, Applejack mumbled, “Should’a grabbed a better card,” under her breath.
Twilight grinned at her until she cracked and smiled back. “So it’s your turn to guess.”
“Aw, but I already lost!”
“Oh, c’mon,” Twilight teased, “you’re getting close.”
Applejack let out a heavy sigh. “Okay, so I ain’t from Ponyville…am I livin’ in Canterlot?”
Twilight’s smile widened as she nodded. She watched certainty fill Applejack’s expression.
“Am I a mare?”
“You are.”
Applejack beamed with triumph. “Then I’m Princess Celestia.”
“Nope!” Twilight hid her mouth as she giggled, watching Applejack’s ears fall flat. “I knew you’d guess her first!”
“Dagnabit!” Applejack groaned, shaking her head and laughing alongside Twilight. “Ya wrote Luna just to mess with me!”
“I did!”
Applejack flicked the paper off her forehead and rubbed her face.
“Want to play again?
She eyed her Stetson, laid out on the floor upside down and stuffed with other slips of paper. “…Nah.”
Twilight smirked. “Sore loser.”
Applejack stuck her tongue out in response. “What’s next in the book, sugarcube?”
Turning onto her belly, Twilight dragged the book closer and started flipping pages. “Anything in particular you’d like to do? We’ll save ghost stories and roasting marshmallows for after dinner, but I think we can fit something in before we eat.”
Applejack shrugged. “Any of ‘em just talkin’? We been doin’ stuff for a while.”
“Hmm…” She stopped turning pages and frowned at the chapter title, her eyes darting ahead down the page. She cast Applejack a furtive look, then went back to reading.
“What?” Applejack edged closer.
She lifted herself off the floor and sat on her haunches, still eyeing the page. “It says…we should talk about colts we have crushes on.”
“…Oh.”
For a few moments, neither of them said anything, both looking down at the book. Twilight’s frown deepened and her eyes narrowed. “…I don’t really like how that’s worded.”
Applejack blinked and shook her head. She turned her attention to her friend and raised an eyebrow. “What’cha mean how it’s worded? Somethin’ weird about it?”
Twilight’s gaze remained on the page. “It’s just…I know this book was written for fillies and it’s expecting everypony at a sleepover to be female, but…” She chewed her lip. “It isn’t very inclusive. What if somepony at the sleepover didn’t like colts yet? Or at all? I’m sure it’s hard enough to be growing up and maybe just realizing you’re gay, only to have a silly book about party games make you feel even more strange about it.”
At Twilight’s words, Applejack sat up a little taller. “I get what you’re sayin’.”
She rubbed her face and turned to her friend. “Do you…want to talk about boys?”
Applejack swallowed. “Do you?”
A small silence stretched out as they regarded each other, reading trepidation in their twin expressions. Twilight tapped her chin and looked down at the book. “If you’re okay with it…I don’t think I’ve talked to any of our friends about romance or dating before, and that’s probably a mistake. It’s up to you, though, Applejack.”
She looked back up, and after a moment, she saw a flash of indecision cross Applejack’s face before she forced a smile. “I-if you wanna, Twi. I don’t think I gotta heck of a lot of experience on the subject, but I know you got that thing goin’ on with Flash, an’ I ain’t heard nothin’ about him.”
Twilight closed the book, turned to face her friend, and took a deep breath. “Well…that’s because there isn’t anything going on with Flash.”
Applejack’s mouth fell open and clicked shut. “No? I could’a sworn ya said y’all went on dates here n’ there, an’ that you’ve been sendin’ letters n’ stuff…”
“We were for a while.” Twilight’s gaze drifted around the room and she rubbed her knee with a hoof. “It didn’t really work out.”
“Shucks, Twi. I’m awful sorry to hear that. Did somethin’ happen? He didn’t do anythin’ I’m gonna have’ta beat the tar outta him over, did he?”
Twilight giggled and met Applejack’s smile. “No, nothing like that. It’s…sort of complicated. Do you want to hear about this?”
Laying down and resting her head on her hooves, Applejack said, “If’n you’re feelin’ fit to tell me, I’ll listen.”
“Okay…So, the biggest thing…” Her eyes narrowed and she bit at her lip as she picked over her words. “Well, the biggest thing is that he isn’t the same Flash Sentry I met in the human world.”
She glanced up from the floor and saw Applejack’s raised eyebrow. “You remember me talking about the human world and the people I met there who were just like you and the girls.”
“Yeah, ‘course. They were us, only not really us ‘cause it was a whole ‘nother place.”
Twilight looked away in thought again. “Right, but there was more than that to it, too. It’s like…the Applejack there.” She turned back to her friend, eyes a little brighter and smiling. “She sounded and acted like you, and she also looked like you as a human, but even if that wasn’t the case there was as much different between her and you before we met as there is between you and your brother.”
Applejack’s brow knit in confusion. “What’cha mean by that?”
“Well, that Applejack worked on her family apple farm, too, but she was a human. She had hands and two feet, and grew up in a world where everypony had those, and there weren’t any unicorns or pegasi, and everypony lives close to the city where they have cars and go to school and—” She caught the growing bewilderment on her friend’s face and shook her head. “The point is that as much as the two of you have in common on the surface, the lives you both have lived were remarkably different to each other. The Applejack on the other side of the mirror was a human that sounded like you, treated others the same way you would treat them, and liked a lot of the same things, but had none of your memories or experiences. From the day she was born, her life and yours were almost nothing alike, just in how the two of you experienced the world.” Twilight punctuated the last sentence by clacking her hooves together, then splaying her legs wide.
Applejack sat up a little, her face lined with thought. “That’s…sorta creepy, if ya think about it.”
“And it was true for everypony; some worse than others. The other Rainbow Dash never had wings until after she met me. There’s no way somepony who grew up without having wings could really be Rainbow Dash.”
“No kiddin’.” She smiled at Twilight and settled back onto her pillow. “So was our Flash real different from the human Flash?”
“In…in some ways, no.” Twilight’s attention grew vague again, but a smile on her muzzle made her look wistful. “It was nice to hear the same voice.”
Applejack watched her friend’s expression wilt. She lifted herself back to her haunches and scooted closer, bringing a hoof up to Twilight’s shoulder. “You ain’t gotta talk about this if it hurts ya, sugarcube.”
Twilight raised her own hoof to Applejack’s and squeezed it in gratitude. “Thank you, but I should talk about it. I haven’t yet.” She squeezed again and sat up straight. “And I’m okay, really.”
Nodding, Applejack dropped her leg to the floor but remained closer to her friend, ready with a hoof or a hug if Twilight needed one.
Twilight cleared her throat and met Applejack’s eyes. “When I went through the mirror, everything I knew about how the world worked—how my own body worked—was turned completely upside down. I was in this new place and new form, and nothing there worked the same way as it does here. I didn’t even have my magic, Applejack. My special talent was taken from me.”
A shiver ran up Applejack’s spine.
“Nopony knew who I was, and yet I was surrounded by all these copies of ponies I loved. I was alone, and afraid, and confused by everything, and…” She smiled earnestly at Applejack. “And Flash was a kind face. He helped me when I had nothing, not because he knew me but because it’s the kind of guy he is. When I needed a friend the most, he was there for me.”
Applejack nodded and returned the smile. “Ain’t somethin’ easy to forget.”
Twilight sighed. “The Flash Sentry here never did any of that for me, though. He’s just a stallion I bumped into.” She shrugged, rubbing the back of her neck. “A nice stallion, and I have no doubt that he would have been that friend I needed. But that connection I made with the other Flash just wasn’t there. We didn’t have anything to talk about. He had never even met Sunset and we were just two strangers to each other.”
Applejack gave her a solemn nod. “I’m awful sorry to hear that, Twi. Sounds like ya missed out on somethin’ special with the Flash ya did know.” She hugged Twilight, feeling her friend’s hooves circle her in return as she shared what comfort she could. When they parted, she was met with a weary expression that raised her brow again.
“That’s the thing, Applejack. When I saw how fragile the connection was with this Flash, it made me think about the one I had with the human one.” She scrunched her mouth as she mulled over her thoughts. “…If things had been different and the Flash I knew was around for me to still see, what did we really have together? He helped me when I needed him, and he was nice to me.” She met Applejack’s gaze. “Is that really something to start a relationship over?”
“Uh…” Applejack frowned. “I mean, if’n ya like somepony an’ they treat ya right, it ain’t a bad reason to court ‘em.”
Nodding, Twilight let out a sigh. “That’s true, but liking somepony nice doesn’t mean a lot if you have completely different ideals than them, or your plans for your life don’t match up. The Flash here loves his job in the Royal Guard and is very proud he was assigned to the Crystal Empire. I love Ponyville, Applejack. It’s my home and I don’t plan on leaving it, not after everything I’ve been through and the friendships I’ve made here. I might have to go to other places, either as a princess or as a visitor, but I’ll always want to come back to my home when I’m done. Even if everypony else I know has to move away, I’ve found where I belong.”
“I know exactly what ya mean, Twi.”
She smiled faintly. “I know you do. Anyway, things had no way of working out with the Flash I knew from the start. I wasn’t going to stay on the other side of the mirror, and he wasn’t going to come back here with me. And even if that wasn’t true, we barely knew each other. From what I’ve learned about the Flash here, we wouldn’t have seen eye to eye on a lot of things.”
Applejack raised an eyebrow at her, and she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I sat down and really thought about what sort of qualities I was looking for in a special somepony. Flash matched for having a strong work ethic and having a career that he took pride in, but it was hard to talk about a lot of things openly; he kept a lot close to his chest, which rubbed me the wrong way. I want somepony I know I can always talk to, and I didn’t feel like that was true with him. He’s also a little…flaky. He means well, and I know I could count on him if I really needed to, but his head is in the clouds. I need dependability, Applejack. I drive myself crazy enough trying to control everything in my life without worrying about a day-dreaming boyfriend forgetting where the restaurant is.”
Hiding her smirk, Applejack asked, “He really do that to ya?”
“I spent twenty minutes panicking that something had happened, or I said something wrong! I diagrammed twelve conversation trees from the last time I’d seen him on a napkin before he showed up!”
Applejack snorted and shook her head.
Twilight giggled alongside her friend, but her smile faded from her face. She hung her head and let out a sigh, her voice sinking again. “The point is…it wouldn’t have ever worked. Being attracted to somepony isn’t enough if everything else is wrong.”
For a few minutes they sat in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. Applejack lifted her hoof back to Twilight’s shoulder. “I’m glad ya felt okay about tellin’ me all a’ that, Twi. I could tell it wasn’t easy for ya, an’ it means a lot to me that ya told me anyway. And I’m sorry it didn’t have a happier ending.”
Twilight blinked rapidly and she smiled at her friend, pulling Applejack into a hug. “Thank you for listening, Applejack. I feel better now, having talked about it.”
“Any time, sugarcube.”
They sat back, Twilight wiping her eyes, both grinning at each other. “Other than Flash, I…haven’t really had my eye on anypony. What about you, Applejack?” She smirked. “Any stallions I need to go beat up?”
Her friend chuckled, but there was a nervous quality to the sound. As Applejack looked away and pawed at the floor, Twilight listened closely. “I can’t say there is…Um. Twilight, I, uh…I ain’t never told nopony about this sorta stuff before…”
“If you’re not comfortable talking about this, you don’t have to.”
“No. I…I think I should talk to ya about it.” She looked up and gave Twilight a strained smile. “I been real scared a’ talkin’ about it, but I think I can tell you.”
Twilight nodded.
“I ain’t got my eye on no stallions and I don’t think I ever will.” She inhaled and closed her eyes. “I’m gay, Twilight.”
A beat passed with her eyes firmly shut before she felt Twilight draw her into another hug. “If you’re worried that I’d let that get in the way of our friendship, don’t be.”
Applejack let out the breath she was holding and embraced her friend back. “I knew I was bein’ silly. You ain’t the type a’ pony to say anythin’ different than that. ‘Specially after what ya said about the book.”
They parted, and the last of the tension in the air evaporated as they settled onto their pillows. “So any mares I need to beat up?”
Applejack snorted and shook her head. “Ain’t done much datin’. Nopony really knows I’m battin’ for that team, an’ it feels like the few folks about who’re open are courtin’ each other already.” She sighed, then smiled at Twilight.
“Well, you must look at a few, even if you’re not planning on dating them.”
Her cheeks colored. “I try not to, but, uhh…” She cleared her throat and gave Twilight a mock glare. “Bet you’re leerin’ at just as many stallions. I thought I caught ya lookin’ over Thunderlane when you were helpin’ Dash train the other pegasi up.”
Twilight’s face darkened and she sputtered indignantly. “I did not!”
“Now I know I’m right!” Applejack giggled and poked Twilight in the belly. “You’re probably all about them fellas with wings, huh?” She poked again. “Or is it just the muscley sort?”
Twilight smacked Applejack’s hoof away, cheeks burning, struggling to hide her giggles. “I like lots of body types.”
“Any sorta body type that could lift ya over their head, right?” She prodded Twilight with her other hoof.
“We’re getting off topic; this is about all the mares you’re busy ogling.” She returned the poking assault to Applejack’s belly, earning surprised laughter. She grinned maliciously and started tickling her friend, knocking Applejack onto her back. “What’s your body type, Applejack? Small and curvy? I bet when Fluttershy had her run as a fashion model, you got lots of eyefuls.”
“Knock it off, Twi!” Applejack choked out around her mirth. She waved Twilight’s hooves away and huffed in a deep breath. “If ya gotta know, I try ta keep my eyes from wanderin’ over y’all too much, ‘cause I don’t wanna make it weird. I’ll confess I was guessin’ about Thunderlane, though, on account a’ bein’ too busy watchin’ Blossomforth stretch.”
Twilight grinned at Applejack and offered a hoof up, which her friend took. They grinned at each other, their faces still a little pink, letting a comfortable silence settle. After a while, Twilight tapped her chin. “So you might not have any current ponies you’re pursuing, but do you have an idea of the sort you’re looking for?”
Frowning, Applejack looked away, her gaze vague and distant. “Well, uh… I ain’t got a fancy checklist a’ stuff I think somepony oughta be like ta see if’n we got somethin’ together. The stuff ya said you were lookin’ for sounded pretty good, ‘specially about wantin’ somepony who’s gonna be ‘round the Acres, but I ain’t thought about it as much as you. I always thought I’d trust my gut an’ see how I felt after a date or two with somepony nice. If it felt right, I reckoned I’d start courtin’ ‘em proper and go from there.”
Twilight smiled. “That does sound nice. I wish it was easier for me to just…roll with the punches like that, I guess. I suppose I did with Flash, but well…” She tapped her hooves together and looked away. “I drove myself crazy trying to control everything and second-guessing everything he or I ever said. That late lunch date wasn’t the first or last time I diagrammed dialogue trees.”
“I believe it,” she teased.
“I do wish I could let go of those sorts of things easier. That might be something else to add to my checklist: a pony who knows how to keep me from worrying when I need that.”
Applejack grinned and patted Twilight’s shoulder. “You’ll find him some day. I’m glad we talked like this.” Her smile widened. “And I’m real glad I told ya about me likin’ mares, Twi. It feels great to’ve told somepony, and even if I knew ya wouldn’t be nasty none, some ponies get all skittish about that sorta thing.”
“You’re my friend, Applejack.” Twilight stood up from the pillow and shook out the stiffness in her back. “I’ve known you a long time and this doesn’t change any of that. It’s not like you weren’t gay up until right now, and you’ve earned my trust and friendship a hundred times over.” She headed for the kitchen. “Now c’mon, it’s dinner time, let’s—” Twilight meeped as she was pulled sideways into a crushing hug.
Applejack held her friend fast. “That means a lot to me, Twilight. Thank you.”
She straightened in Applejack’s grip until she could breathe again. “I meant it, and you’re welcome. Now let’s go eat.”
“Alright, sugarcube.” She let go and followed Twilight into the kitchen.
Applejack followed Twilight up the stairs. As they entered Twilight’s bedroom, Applejack stifled a yawn. “Ya sure you’re ready to get some shut-eye, sugarcube? I ain’t much of a night-owl, but I don’t gotta get up early. If you ain’t ready to sleep, I’ll keep ya company.”
“That’s okay, Applejack. I probably could have slept through the night right after that pillow fight. It’s been a long day already.” Applejack chuckled as they climbed the loft steps to Twilight’s bed. Twilight looked at the empty space where the spare bed had sat and huffed through her snout. “I forgot; I put the bed away before you came over.”
“Can I help get it set up?” Applejack scanned the room.
“It’s all the way in the basement now. I could go down and teleport it again…” Twilight looked at her bed and smiled. “It’s just the two of us, why don’t we share my bed? That’ll be easier.” She sat on the edge and turned to Applejack, finding her friend looking at her in surprise. “What?”
“Nothin’, Twi.” Applejack’s expression puzzled Twilight, somehow mixing gratitude and relief. Her friend rubbed her knee with a hoof. “It’s just…”
“What?”
Applejack sat down next to Twilight on the bed and took off her Stetson. “…Lotta ponies’ll say they ain’t gonna let stuff get all different an’ weird. It’s nice to see ya really meant it.” She untied her mane and tail ribbons. “It didn’t even cross your mind about sleepin’ in the same bed with me, did it?”
Twilight giggled at Applejack and shook her head.
Setting her hat upside down and holding her red ribbons on the bedside table, Applejack mused, “S’nice, is all. Glad I told you.”
Twilight pulled the blankets down and slid to the far end of the bed. “I take it you haven’t had the best experiences telling others about your sexuality in the past.”
“Ain’t been keen on tryin’ again for the last few years, at least.” She climbed in next to Twilight and slid the covers up to her chest. She snuggled into her pillow and let out a satisfied sigh as her friend turned off the lights with a flick of magic. As the room filled with darkness and quiet, she turned her head and murmured, “I’m real glad we did this, Twilight. I had a great time with you today.”
“I did, too, Applejack. Thanks for staying.”
“Thanks for havin’ me.” They exchanged a grin in the darkness, then Applejack rolled over to face the rest of the room. “G’night, sugarcube.”
“Good night, Applejack.” Twilight took a deep breath, feeling sleepiness descending upon her, and turned towards the window. She shut her eyes and drifted off to sleep, her dreams formless.
Whumpf!
Twilight woke up feeling warm. She scrunched her eyes shut tighter, her mind fuzzy as she tried to process why she was still so tired and figure out what had woken her up. She arched her back to stretch, and felt the source of warmth tighten around her.
Her eyes snapped open. Applejack’s face was inches from her own, eyes shut and mouth parted a little. Her friend’s legs held her around the middle, just above and below her wings. She blinked in surprise and pulled back.
Applejack’s grip tightened again, and she saw the hint of a crease on her bedmate’s forehead. Applejack grumbled, the sound quiet with sleep and seemingly far away. Twilight paused and watched Applejack’s eyes dart back and forth behind her eyelids. She found herself smiling. It turned to a puzzled frown, and she moved a hoof to Applejack’s shoulder, shaking her awake.
“Nn?” Applejack’s eyes cracked open in the darkness. Twilight watched her blink, then look at her own hooves. The gears turning in her head were almost audible. “Oh. ‘M sorry, Twi.” She cleared the roughness from her throat, withdrew her legs from around Twilight, and scooted back a few inches. “I can get sorta grabby when I’m asleep. Should’a warned ya.” Applejack yawned and rolled away. “G’night again, Twi.”
“Good night, Applejack.” Thankful the darkness hid the heat in her face, Twilight turned back to the window to stare out at the moon. It was a long time before she closed her eyes again, her brain spinning away in thought.
Applejack rubbed her muzzle into softness as she woke up. Her eyes slid open and she found herself staring at Twilight’s mane. She leaned back, taking in the sight of Twilight in her hooves again, nestled into her chest and facing away. She groaned and shook her head.
“Y-you’re awake.”
Applejack paused as Twilight’s voice, tentative and quiet, hit her ears. “Yeah. Sorry again; don’t mean to keep grabbin’ onto ya.” She lifted herself away from her friend and pushed the blankets down. “Ya want breakfast? I can cook.”
Twilight lay still, facing the window.
“…Everythin’ alright there, sugarcube?” Applejack watched her friend pull the covers around herself more securely. Her ears fell flat. “What’s wrong?”
“…I…”
Applejack reached out to her friend’s shoulder, but didn’t quite dare to touch her. “Twilight, look at me, please.”
“I really shouldn’t.” The same timidity filled her words, and Applejack’s pulse jumped.
“Did I do somethin’ wrong? I didn’t mean to upset ya if I did. What’s goin’ on? Please talk to me,” Applejack pleaded.
“I’m…” She sat frozen while she watched Twilight shiver in the bed. A moment passed before a dam broke, Twilight’s voice rising and rushing out of her. “I’m afraid if I look at you I’ll try to kiss you, or hit you, or do something even stupider.”
Applejack’s eyes widened and her hoof dropped to her side. “What?”
“I—I just had this wonderful day with you yesterday, and then I woke up twice in your hooves, and—and I’m really confused, and scared, and I keep thinking about everything, and—”
“Twilight, calm down,” Applejack soothed, feeling her friend start as she rubbed her shoulder. “I’m awful sorry I grabbed ya when I was sleepin’, I didn’t mean to weird ya out.”
“It’s n-not that.” Twilight took a deep breath, raising the blankets and Applejack’s hoof. She let it out slowly. “I just…couldn’t sleep, and started thinking about Flash and how we didn’t match up very well. And…and I realized you match up really well with me. You meet everything on my list. And we almost always see eye to eye, and we want a lot of the same things for the future, and…” She inhaled again. “I’m confused, I can’t stop myself thinking, and I don’t know what to do. I don’t have a plan for this, but part of me thinks that’s a good thing and I shouldn’t plan for it; I should just listen to my gut like you would.”
Applejack blinked at the back of Twilight’s head, her hoof falling to her side again. “But ya said you’re straight, Twi.”
“…I never said that.” The blankets drew even tighter around her shoulders. “It’s true I’ve mostly had crushes on stallions, but I never found the thought of being with a mare unappealing.”
“Well, uh…” Applejack cleared her throat. “There’s a big difference between not mindin’ somethin’ and actually wantin’ somethin’. You think about what bein’ with a mare would…” She coughed. “What ya’d get around to with a her all private-like?”
There was a long pause. Twilight’s voice came out low again. “Yes. I…I thought about that a lot. Rather recently.” Applejack felt her cheeks darken. “I didn’t find anything unappealing.” Applejack gaped at the back of her friend’s head. As she tried to assemble some sort of reply, the blankets loosened and Twilight sat up, still facing away. “I’m sorry, Applejack. You were worried that telling me your sexuality would make things awkward, and I went ahead and made them that way.”
“Twilight, I—”
“It’s okay; I understand. You don’t have to make up excuses for why I’m mistaken; you’re just not interested.” She took a deep breath. “Let’s forget I said anything. You’re a great friend, and we’ll stay great friends. I promise I won’t make it any more awkward.” She turned her head and gave Applejack a strained smile. “Let’s go have breakfast.”
“A-alright.” Applejack shook her head forcefully as Twilight got off the bed and walked to the vanity to grab a brush. She turned to her hat and did up her mane and tail. In the silence, they both composed themselves, then headed downstairs.
In the kitchen, Applejack went to the fridge and took out a carton of eggs while Twilight started brewing coffee. They worked in silence for several minutes, focusing on their tasks. As Applejack cracked an egg into the skillet, she took a deep breath. “How ya like your eggs, Twi?”
“Hmm?” Twilight shook herself out of a reverie. “Oh. Over hard.”
Applejack nodded. “Gotcha. I ain’t too keen on real runny eggs, neither, ‘less I got somethin’ to sop ‘em up like home fries.”
“Ew.” Twilight wrinkled her muzzle and smirked. “I can’t stand raw yolk. It’s gross.”
“Nah,” Applejack teased. “Just gotta think of it like sauce or somethin’.”
Twilight mock gagged at her friend, pouring out two cups of coffee.
“Oh, hush up and drink your eggs.”
Twilight snorted and nearly lost her hold on the coffee pot. “Applejack!” Her friend started laughing with her as she brought over the cup of coffee. “Here. It’s already sugared.”
Applejack flipped the eggs on the skillet and took a sip. “Mmm, perfect amount a’ sweet. Thanks, sugarcube.”
“You’re welcome. Do you want me to make toast?”
“Shoot. I would’a made mine over easy if’n I knew there was toast.” She smirked sidelong at Twilight, who blew a raspberry at her. “Toast sounds good. Anythin’ else ya’d like ‘sides eggs?”
Twilight floated a few slices of bread from the cupboard. “No. Eggs and toast is enough for me, but if you need a bigger breakfast you’re welcome to the fridge.” She took her coffee to the table as Applejack finished plating the eggs.
“Nah, I’ll be fine.” She carried the dishes on her back, sliding a plate with two eggs in front of Twilight and one with five eggs to her place.
“So I see,” Twilight giggled. The toast popped up, and she levitated it to the table. “So what’s your day like today?”
“Oh, same ol’ same ol’.” She shoveled three of the eggs onto a slice of toast and took a bite. “Gotta muck out the pigsty, an’ the west barn’s lost a window.”
Twilight sighed and shook her head, floating a forkful to her mouth. “I’ve just got the library’s normal business hours to run and a senior thesis Princess Celestia asked me to vet before Spike comes home. You probably think I’m lazy.”
Applejack waved her hoof dismissively. “I don’t think neither of us’d wanna switch places an’ do each other’s chores. I can’t say I rightly know what ‘vet’ means, ‘less you’re talkin’ about takin’ a sick critter to Fluttershy.”
Twilight giggled. She glanced at Applejack’s plate as she looked at her own food, and her eyes immediately jumped back to her friend’s spot. Applejack had finished eating when she was only halfway through. “H-how did…?”
Raising her eyebrow, Applejack followed Twilight’s gaze and smirked. “Ain’t never seen a farmer eat breakfast, Twi?”
Twilight shook her head.
“Hurry up, slowpoke.”
Grinning, Twilight ate the rest of her breakfast while Applejack nursed the cup of coffee. She floated the dishes to the sink, but before she could start the water Applejack was already washing them. She grabbed a towel and stood next to her friend to dry.
Twilight looked at her reflection in the plate for a moment while Applejack cleaned the few cups. “…Thank you.”
“For what? Doin’ dishes?”
“No, I mean, thank you for letting it go back to normal. I…I don’t know what I would’ve done if things stayed awkward.” She put the plate away and dried off the other few dishes. Turning, she led the way towards the front door to show her friend out. “I’ll let you get to your chores, Applejack, I—” She turned and her voice died as she caught Applejack standing in the doorway from the kitchen staring at her. The look on Applejack’s face reopened the rift of tension between them: Twilight read hesitancy and nervousness in her friend’s expression and something else underneath she couldn’t fathom.
“…Before I go, I gotta say somethin’ to ya, Twilight.”
“O-okay.” Twilight swallowed. “I’m listening.”
Applejack took a deep breath, stepping into the room. “…I wasn’t tryin’ to convince ya upstairs that ya couldn’t like me ‘cause I didn’t wanna say I didn’t like ya back. You caught me real off guard an’ I didn’t know what to say.”
Twilight understood the feeling acutely, opting to just nod.
Applejack took another step. “I said before I ain’t got a list I check to see if a pony’s worth courtin’ an’ that I just trust my gut instead. Well, I always told myself I’d never say ‘no’ to a nice mare without goin’ on a date first, just ta really see how I felt.”
Twilight swallowed the lump in her throat as Applejack grew closer. She locked her knees to keep from shaking. “Are…are you asking me on a date, Applejack?”
Applejack stopped next to her friend, close enough to fill her vision with Twilight’s frightened and hopeful expression. She stood up straight and tall, her own nerves evaporating as she smiled. “I had a great time with you yesterday, sugarcube. The two of us’re a good team. We can talk an’ laugh together, an’ I feel like I could tell you anything. I wasn’t even tryin’ to ‘let it go back to normal,’ it’s just so easy to talk to ya. About anything. About what sorta eggs I like or what sorta pony I want to spend my life with, it just don’t matter, ‘cause I know you’ll listen and understand me.
“You got my full trust, Twilight, an’ that ain’t somethin’ I can say about a whole lotta ponies.” She took another step. “If yesterday was a date from the start, I know exactly what my gut would be tellin’ me.”
Twilight held her breath as the distance separating them closed. Her eyes fluttered shut when Applejack’s lips met hers, flighty and brief, a spark of the connection she had felt in the middle of the night rekindling. She dared to hope it was also a promise of things to come. She opened her eyes as Applejack pulled back, grinning, cheeks colored to match her own.
Applejack adjusted her hat and cleared her throat. “You, uh, you free for dinner tomorrow?”
Twilight blinked herself awake again. “I can be.”
“Alright then. I’ll take ya out somewhere nice an’ proper, an’ I’ll even remember where it is.” Twilight returned her grin. “I’ll see ya tomorrow, Twi.” Applejack’s smile turned coy, and she went to the door, casting one last look over her shoulder at Twilight. Their locked gazes lingered as the door shut.
Twilight sunk to her haunches, feeling giddiness bubble up in her belly. She alternated between bouncing up on her hooves and sitting down again, unsure what to do with herself. Part of her wanted to grab some paper and write out a conversation tree, but she shoved those thoughts away as hard as she could.
At last, she settled down, found her and her friends’ shared diary, and swung it open to a fresh page.
She wrote manically for a while, and then siphoned the ink back off the page with magic, trying to compress the excitement and fear into something legible, trying to compare how she felt in the human world to how she felt at that moment, trying to compress the span of the night and following morning into a paragraph, trying to say something meaningful to whoever might read the page in the future. On the tenth draft, she left it at a single sentence, feeling optimistic that over the coming weeks and months she would have much more to say to the book.
Sometimes rolling with the punches can lead to the start of something wonderful.
Author's Note
As mentioned in the description, this is a slightly late birthday gift for my good friend, bookplayer. Happy birthday, Em! Hope you enjoyed your present.
If I was perhaps only smitten with writing TwiJack before writing this story, it's a full-blown love affair now. There's just something about these two.
As always, thanks for reading.
