What Path to Choose

Apple Bloom watched her two friends walking up the stairs on their way to go to bed. Something was going on, but she couldn’t put her hoof on it. All she could do at this point is play along. She smiled back at Twilight, her heart pounding as she looked up into her violet eyes.

Twilight only smiled at her saying “So Apple Bloom, I guess it’s only the two of us then.”

“I guess you’re right; so tell me Twilight, what is this story you wanted to tell us?” said Apple Bloom

Twilight’s eyes got wider at that and she beamed “Oh well you see it’s a wonderful story. To be honest it’s more of an old legend, or at least that is what the princess told me when she told me the tale.”

“What is it about?”

“It’s about this old pony war many hundreds of years ago in a land far away from Equestria. The story is about two younger ponies, one was the daughter of the kingdom that ruled over the land, the other was the son of the leader of the rebellion.” Said Twilight

“What kind of story is that?”

“It’s a love story.” Said Twilight “Sit back and listen Apple Bloom, I think out of any of the fillies I know, you would enjoy the story quite a bit.”

“Ok Twilight.” Said Apple Bloom getting in a more comfortable position

Twilight took a deep breath then started her tale…

Many years ago in a land far away from Equestria, there was a Kingdom that was in the midst of a war. The king of this land was a hard stallion, who didn’t treat his subjects very fairly. Most of the ponies that lived under his rule wanted him over thrown, but he was an Alicorn and no other pony could rival his magic. This didn’t stop some from trying though and a Rebellion broke out.

The King of this land at first didn’t care, because it wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. They always ended up losing heart in a couple of months and he would punish them for what they did. The king however didn’t know that the leader of this new rebellion was a very smart unicorn. He was none other than the King’s former top general, so he knew how to fight a war and maybe win.

The war went on for a couple of years with no side seeing an end to it. The King himself had gone out on the battle field many times, but the tactics of his former general proved to be better than the King’s.

One day however everything changed. It all started with the King’s only Daughter, who was a milky white Alicorn with a rose red mane, or so they say, and her father had set it up so she would have to marry a stallion from one of the noble family’s. He wanted this done so he had a hold over this noble family to help him get more allies in his war.

The Princess was quite young, barely getting into her mare hood and the stallion she was to marry, was quite a lot older than she was. She told her father she didn’t want to marry him, but her father said she had too and sent her away. Being angry with her father and everything he stood for in this war, she decided to leave the palace to run away.

She managed to get out of the palace and after a few days wondering around a wild forest, she ran into a young stallion. He was a tall and handsome unicorn but not much else was said about how he looked. He saw how bad she looked, for she had been without shelter or proper food, so he helped her back to his camp, there he fed her and let her clean up in the stream not far from his camp.

“Oh Sir, you are most kind to help someone like me who you don’t even know. Is there anything that I can do to repay you?” She had said

“I would be happy with a name and that is all Miss.”

She told him her name, his face falling as he heard it leave her lips. He looked around saying “You have to leave at once, for you are the princess and if my father was to find out who you were, he would use you as a bartering chip to take down your father.”

It turned out that he was the son of the general who had started the war and led the rebellion. She was afraid for a moment at this, but she calmed down quickly, knowing that this stallion had done a lot to help her in the forest. He was also doing something against his father that could get him into a lot of trouble.

So she looked at him and smiled saying “I will not leave, for my father is an evil stallion, who needs to be taken down. If I can help your father by being his bartering chip then so be it, but I can help in other ways as well. I know most of my father’s battle plans and where he plans to put his troops. I can be useful in many ways if only he will hear me out. I want to help free my people from my father’s evil ways.”

The son was worried something bad would happen if his father found out who she was, but he trusted his father and hoped for the best. So he brought the princess to meet with his father. The General did not use her for a bartering chip and instead used the princess as an adviser and battle strategist, seeing that she had a gift for it.

Over the next couple of years the rebels made up much ground in the war and soon they were starting to win. As the time went by the princess and the son of the general started to have feelings for one another. They did their best to keep it quiet though. They weren’t sure how his father or the rest of the rebels would act if they knew.

The war once again came to a stale mate, because even though the rebels had taken over much land, they still couldn’t overthrow the king. They also would need the noble families to approve of a new leader if they could take over. The general himself didn’t want to rule the land, only save it from the evil king. Then an idea came to him one night when he came into a clearing in the forest that they were staying in that night. He saw his son and the princess kissing in the moonlight.

He called them to him the next day saying “I have a plan on how we can win this war and have a new ruler all at the same time. The only problem is, for the plan to work I will need the help of you two.”

“How can we help General?” asked the Princess

“Princess, you are well gifted in magic yourself, this I know from what I have seen you do in battle. I think you are even more powerful than your own father. Your role in this will be to show him how powerful you are, by casting the sun and moon spell.”

His son stepped in and said “But that spell takes the power of over fifty well trained unicorns. Not even the king himself can move the Sun or the Moon across the sky without help.”

“I believe that the princess here can do it. That is also where you will come in my son. See when she is around you her love for you makes her magic even more powerful. I know about you two and I am happy for you both. This will also take care of my other problem. You see the law’s say that for a ruler to be named they have to be married and one has to be of the royal line. I want you two to marry once this war is over and the princess will become the Queen and you my son will be her prince.” Said the General

This part of the story I’m afraid is not well known even to princess Celestia and it may be lost in time but they say that the two agreed to this, and the princess went forth and showed off her power to her father and the rest of the kingdom. She was able to bring the sun up by herself. Once the king saw that he would not be able to win in a contest of magic with his own daughter, he surrendered his power to her. The princess and the son of the General were married afterward and it’s said they lived happily ever after.

Twilight finished the story resting her head on her front hooves looking into the fire. Apple Bloom was watching her tell the story in awe and didn’t even notice that she had stopped talking for a few minutes. Then she blinked and said, “Golly Twilight, that was a really interesting story. Though I’m not sure what the meaning to it was.”

“There really isn’t a meaning to the story, Apple Bloom. It is just that, a story, one that I thought was sweet and beautiful, also more realistic than most fairy tales.” Said Twilight looking at Apple Bloom

“I’m just so used to most of the stories you tell me, they always seem to have some lesson to it. So what happened after they got married?”

“I’m not sure to be honest, princess Celestia always seems to get a little sad at that; she won’t tell me more about it. All I know is that the kingdom was happy for a long time. Sooner or later, as most kingdom’s do, it slowly died away; maybe that is why the Princess gets sad.”

“Well gee; I wonder if Princess Celestia had family from that kingdom or something, I mean she is quite old.”

Twilight giggled at that and said “Maybe, but I don’t think so. Her family is old but they were the last few Alicorn’s left when she was born as far as I know. She was also born in Equestria and the last of her family, unless you count her sister. There are only a couple other Alicorn families left in the world and none of them are related to Celestia and Luna.”

“That is kind of sad, if you think about it, being the last of your family.” Said Apple Bloom looking down

“Cheer up Apple Bloom, the princess wouldn’t want you getting all depressed over her.” Said Twilight smiling “I’m sure you’re getting tired by now though, it is getting late.”

“No Twilight, I’m still ok, I’m really enjoying having some time to myself with you.” Said Apple Bloom without thinking turning red and looking away

Twilight didn’t seem to notice though and just smiled and said “I’m enjoying the time too Apple Bloom. Most of the time when we see each other, you’re either playing with your friends, trying to find your cutie marks, or you’re studying with me. I’m not complaining though, because I enjoy our lessons, you are a really smart filly.”

“Twilight, is it ok if I tell you something, just between the two of us?” asked Apple Bloom

“You can talk to me about anything, you know that.”

“Well you see Twilight, I kind of have a crush on somepony, but there is a small problem.”

Twilight’s face lit up a little and she said “Well what kind of problem is that, does he not like you back?”

“It’s a she and I’m not sure, because I haven’t told her yet, I’m afraid too.”

“You should never be afraid to tell somepony how you feel, no matter what.”

“Are you sure?”

“I am and I think you should tell this pony how you feel. The worst thing that can happen is they tell you they don’t feel the same way and you try and let it go.” Said Twilight smiling at her with a motherly smile

“Twilight what if that pony is you?”

“Well me I’m…wait a second…are you saying the pony you have a crush on, is me?”

“Yes ma’am.”

Twilight was thoughtful for a moment her eyes wandering around the large open room. She took a long time to answer, as though she was thinking over her answer carefully. Finally her wandering eyes fell back on Apple Bloom who looked horrified at what she had just said. Twilight only smiled at her and said “Why me? I mean I’m quite a few years older than you, not to mention that your underage and it just isn’t right.”

Apple Bloom blushed and said “I’m sorry Twilight; I should have just kept my mouth shut.” She got up to leave

“Now wait a moment Apple Bloom, I didn’t say you were wrong or had to leave. It takes a lot of courage to do what you just did; I’m proud of you. I just want to know why you have a crush on me; that's all.” Said Twilight putting a hoof on her shoulder

Apple Bloom looked back at her and said “I don’t rightly know, to be honest. It started a couple of weeks after you started tutoring me at the beginning of the summer. I really didn’t know what it was at first and I thought I was starting to lose my mind. It was just, whenever I was around you, I felt like I could be myself, I could tell you what ever I wanted, I could laugh with you, and trust you more than I have ever trusted even my friends. When I looked at you my heart would start to race, I would feel like my body was getting hot, and it hurt to be away from you. So I started to ask Sweetie Belle about it and she told me what I was feeling. I didn’t want to believe it at first, but the feelings got stronger the more I was around you, and I know it’s wrong to be feeling this way, but I can’t help it.”

Twilight only smiled at Apple Bloom and wiped away a tear, saying “There is nothing wrong with the feelings you are having for me Apple Bloom.”

“There isn’t?”

“No there’s not, but there would be something wrong if I was to feel the same way or we were to…well you know, date. You’re a filly still and in the eyes of the law it would be wrong for me to take advantage of that.”

“I’m not a baby!” started Apple Bloom but Twilight cut her off

“I know you’re not a baby, but you are still young and underage. Your feelings may even change as you get older, a lot of times they do. I mean, I used to have a big crush on this one stallion when I was about your age and I thought he was the one for me, but as time went on, I came to see he was not the right one for me, my feelings changed and you know what…I’m glad they did.”

“So what you’re saying is, you don’t like me?” asked Apple Bloom

“Apple Bloom, if I was to say I didn’t like you, I would be crazy. The thing is I like you as a friend and as my student. I mean one day who knows, maybe I will start to have those kinds of feelings for you, but it wouldn’t happen until you were mature and I knew you and me would be good together.” Said Twilight rubbing her mane

“I think I see what you mean now Twi. I need to think more and let myself grow up first before I can let my feelings get the better of me.”

“That would be the morel of the story, so to speak. Also I will tell you I’m not used to the feelings between a mare and another mare, I have never found one I was in love with. If I were you I would talk to someone who knows more about that kind of a relationship than I do.”

“So I should talk to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo about it?” Asked Apple Bloom

Twilight started to giggle a little “Well they may have some “ok” pointers, but they are also still young. I hate to be the one to bring this up to you, because I have no idea if it is my place, but I would say talk to your sister. You may not believe it but she would know the most about it. She would also know more about what it’s like to love someone that you can’t have.”

“You mean my sister is a…” started Apple Bloom but again she was cut off

“All I’m saying is to trust me and to talk to Applejack. If you want to know more then you have to ask her, got it?” said Twilight winking

“I think I do Twilight, I’m glad we had this talk, I feel much better now.”

“I’m glad you do Apple Bloom.” Said Twilight looking up toward the extra bedroom “Now that your friends are back from where ever they thought they had to sneak off too, I think it’s time to go to sleep.”

“Wait a moment, they snuck out, how did you know that and why didn’t you stop them?” asked Apple Bloom

“Everypony is allowed to have their secrets, that goes for fillies too. I have a magic spell on the windows to let me know if anyone enters or leaves the house. I’m not happy with them for leaving, but they made it home safe and that is all that matters. Now have a good night and I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Good night Twilight.” Said Apple Bloom getting up “Oh and Twilight can we keep this talk between you and me? I don’t want too many people to know how I feel.”

“Can do kiddo, but I’m sure Scootaloo had a hoof in what happened tonight, same goes for Sweetie Belle. Apart from them I’m sure you’ll be just fine, your secret is safe with me.” Said Twilight getting up and heading toward her own room.

The next day went by really fast, Twilight didn’t say anything to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo about sneaking out, as for Apple Bloom, she refused to tell them what happened. All she would say was “I’ll tell you after I have a talk with my sister, I promise.” And she left it at that.

Twilight was able to show Sweetie Belle around more and teach her some magic, but the only thing she was able to do properly at first was levitate. Twilight said it was good and the first step in learning. Sweetie Belle was happy with the news, the rest of them went to see more of the city and learn more of its history. By the time the trip was over and they were all on their way back to Ponyville, the three of them were past worn out. Twilight brought Sweetie Belle home first and had a small surprise when she did.

Rarity answered the door as she normally did saying “Welcome back Twilight and I hope you three had a good time in Canterlot.” Then she turned to Scootaloo “Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash was over here yesterday and wanted me to have you stay with me for a couple of days.”

“What, why?” asked Scootaloo

“Apparently something came up for Drako and Her, so no one will be home.”

Scoot looked a little down, but didn’t say much as she made her way inside. After a few words with Rarity, Twilight walked Apple Bloom home. The two of them had a nice talk and shared a few stories as they walked. Finally, they were at Sweet Apple Acres, where they said their good byes.

“So tell me, how was your summer trip to Canterlot?” asked Applejack as she helped bring Apple Bloom’s bag’s inside

“It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot.” Said Apple Bloom only half heatedly

As they made their way into the living room, Applejack stopped her sister and said “Ok, AB, Spill it, what’s on your mind?”

“I would rather not talk in the living room about it.” Said Apple Bloom

“Well then, let’s go take a walk toward the back forty, I been meaning to check on the tree’s back there anyway.” Said Applejack smiling at her little sister

When they got well away from the farm house, Apple Bloom finally said “Listen sis, I been having some odd feelings as of late, and well, I talked to Twilight about it. She told me I needed to talk to you because you would understand it more than she would.” And she started to tell her sister how she felt about Twilight, everything she had been feeling, and what Twilight told her.

When she finished Applejack said “Well, it wasn’t rightly her place to be telling you about me, but I know her heart was in the right place and she was right. See I wanted to bring this up to you when you were older, or maybe when I wasn’t so scared to tell you myself. You see, what Twilight said was true, I do like mares, Rainbow Dash and I had a thing for a while.”

“Rainbow Dash and you…really?”

“Yes ma’am, but things ended badly, well in a way of speaking.”

“Tell me what happened AJ, it may help me with my own problem.”

Applejack smiled and said “I keep forgetting how old you’re getting. Well I figure you are old enough, and it may help me get my mind off of it too. You see it all started about a year ago…”

And so Applejack and Apple Bloom sat under an apple tree, talking until it was late, and the moon was high in the sky…