Winter Wrap-Up - Alternate Ending
It had been quite a day, but even after everything that had happened, she couldn't help but smile. Twilight Sparkle, a recent arrival to the town of Ponyville, was busying herself with her task for the day. For this was a very special date in the Ponyville calendar, Winter Wrap-Up, the day when every unicorn, pegasi and earth pony busied themselves with the long work of tidying up all the remnants of Winter, ready for the arrival of Spring. Having grown up in Canterlot, Twilight was more used to magic being used to solve such issues, but in a place like this, founded by earth ponies, she knew things were going to be different.
And that was fine with her. It gave her a chance to do things differently for a change, and helping out her new friends was always something she was willing to do. Things hadn't been completely perfect however, as she'd found it difficult to really fit in with everypony's respective duties. In the end though, she'd found her place, helping to bring everypony into an organized plan, which even the Mayor had said was a big help. As she looked over her schedule for the rest of the day, she felt the warmth of her new outfit, a gift from the residents of Ponyville to symbolize her new role.
Looking around, she saw that there was still plenty of snow to move away before the day was done. Looking around, she saw a group of earth ponies who'd been busy with helping Fluttershy with her task of caring for the animals. By the looks of it, it seemed like that they were finished, which pleased Twilight as that now meant that she had somepony to help with the snow. Before she could call over to them however, her attention was diverted to a call being carried over the cold Winter air.
"Twilight!"
Turning, Twilight smiled to see that it was none other than Applejack, who was walking over to her. Twilight began to move towards her friend, but stopped when she saw that the orange earth pony had a troubled look on her face. So instead, she stopped and waited for Applejack to arrive before speaking to her.
"Applejack? What's wrong?"
Applejack looked quite uncomfortable, and opened her mouth several times, but closed it soon afterwards. Twilight knew those movements well, a difficulty to get out the words she needed to say. So, not wanting to rush her, Twilight remained silent, waiting for her friend to get her thoughts together. That only took a few moments though and Applejack began to speak clearly, albeit in a rather dour tone of voice.
"Twi...ah owe you an apology."
That was not what Twilight had expected her friend to say, and indicated this by raising her eyebrow and tilting her head in confusion.
"An apology? What for?"
Applejack looked to the ground, as though almost ashamed of something, though what, Twilight could not say. After a few moments though, her friend looked up, keeping eye contact with her.
"For sayin what ah did earlier today. About you usin magic?"
The moment Applejack said that, Twilight understood completely why she was here. During Twilight's various attempts to try and fit in with everypony's activities, she'd tried using magic to try and help out, even knowing that it was against tradition to do so. She had not meant to disrespect the town's way of doing things, but in an attempt to actually contribute. When her plan backfired however, Applejack had been quite vocal in her disapproval, even bringing the young unicorn to the brink of tears with her words. Needless to say, it was not an experience Twilight was fond of remembering.
"Applejack...it's fine. I was the one who was wrong."
But before Twilight said another word, Applejack shook her head and raised a hoof, stopping her.
"It AIN'T okay, Twi! You were tryin to help. I should've known that. And all I did was make y'all feel bad about it."
This time, Twilight was the one shaking her head.
"No, I should have stuck to doing things the way everypony else was doing. I just...I didn't want to be useless."
Applejack stared at her unicorn friend, almost aghast that Twilight would say such a thing about herself. She was not aware of just how many things Twilight had tried to do prior to helping her in the field, when she tried to use magic. She considered that, had she been more knowledgeable about what Twilight had gone through, she might have been more understanding. But, for a pony as rooted in tradition as her and her family, breaking that tradition naturally brought about a rather harsh reaction.
Applejack knew this about herself, though she was clearly not proud about just how angry she'd become over it. Likewise, Twilight was thinking to herself about just how much it might have offended a pony like Applejack to even SUGGEST that doing things differently to how they've always been done should be an option, much less to actually act on it. As both of them stood there in silence, staring at each other, they both noted their expressions. They were looks of utter shame. Both of them were clearly appalled with how they'd each behaved, Twilight for doing what she'd done, and Applejack for saying what she'd said afterwards.
After a long and awkward silence, Applejack let out a long sigh before speaking.
"Look, Twi. I still don't think that usin magic was good."
Twilight looked down at the ground upon hearing that, her ears drooping. But then Applejack spoke again.
"But...you were still tryin to help. And I went overboard with what I said. Besides, all that led to you getting that fancy new role of yours, and helpin out more than anypony here."
Those words caused Twilight's ears to perk up a bit as she slowly looked up to her friend, who was now wearing a big smile on her face.
"It all ended pretty well. So..."
Before she finished, Applejack raised a hoof, offering it to Twilight.
"...bygones?"
Twilight stared at the offered hoof, and after a few moments, her downbeat expression morphed into a happier one. As she looked up at Applejack's still-smiling face, she took her hoof into her own, shaking it. The two mares afforded themselves a laugh, and it felt as though a great weight had been lifted off their shoulders by doing so. After a few moments though, Twilight suddenly realised what the time was, and picked up her schedule, which had been lying on the floor during this entire exchange. Giving her friend one final nod and a smile, which Applejack responded to with a tip of her hat, Twilight got back to her organization duties.
And as she worked, helping the other ponies around town with their various tasks, one thought was first and foremost in her mind.
"Here's to next Winter!"
