Applejack breathed a heavy sigh of relief as she sat down at her picnic table. She looked around and made sure nobody was in the distance before she brought out the mug and bottle. Her friends were gone, the apples were all bucked, the sun was going down, and she was plum tired.

It was as good a time as any for a stiff one.

The liquor streamed out of the bottle as Applejack filled her mug halfway, licking her lips all the while. She gripped the mug and quickly lifted it to her lips, downing her drink as she let it sting and burn her throat and stomach to satisfaction. Her body shivered at the sensation while a satisfied grin adorned her lips as she watched the sun go down in the distance. The sweet solitude couldn’t be beat, as far as Applejack was concerned.

“Do you mind if I join you?”

Well, okay, maybe one thing could beat it.

Applejack turned and saw that it was Twilight, and her smile remained unaltered. It seemed she wasn’t even curious how Twilight snuck up on her, for she pat down on the seat next to her. “Darn tootin’.”

Twilight smiled–gosh, it was a cute smile–and she hopped in next to her friend, grabbing the bottle to inspect it before chuckling. “So you drink... Applejack?”

“Eeyup,” she replied proudly. “It was my daddy’s favorite drink in the world.”

A snort followed immediately. “Don’t tell me your father named you after his favorite kind of alcohol.”

Applejack shrugged. “Hey, why not? It was one of his favorite things in the world, and I’d like to think I was one of his favorite ponies. It’s the name I was given, and I’m proud of that.”

Twilight giggled. “Alright, fair enough.” Her horn flashed a bolt of magic before a coffee mug materialized in a flash. As she raised the mug, she batted her eyes. “Mind if I...”

How could Applejack refuse? She simply nodded before Twilight helped herself to her liquor.

A chuckle came to her. “So, ya came here just to mooch off my hooch?”

Twilight snorted. “That was a forced rhyme if I’ve ever heard it.”

“That ain’t an answer to my question, Twi. Gotta say, didn’t take you for much of a drinkin’ type.” She watched Twilight take a swig from her mug, seeing that her body jolted with the same kind of goosebumps she herself got from drinking Applejack.

Twilight sighed as she licked her lips clean, beaming at the liquid in her body. “Back in Canterlot, when you’ve been studying for over a week to make sure you pass all of your final exams with flying colors, it’s as good a time as any for a stiff drink.”

Applejack grinned ear to ear. “Atta filly,” she proclaimed, giving Twilight a light punch to the foreleg, causing Twilight to nearly fall over.

“Applejack,” she blurted out in laughter, before hiccuping. “Stop it!”

“Heh, sorry, Twi. I just gotta admit, it’s quite a sight to see ya tip back some liquor all casual like. Usually, you unicorn types’re too high class for that sorta thing... ya know I don’t mean anythin’ hurtful when I say that, right?”

Twilight waved a hoof. “I get you, really. I’ve spent my whole life around Canterlot unicorns, and I know darn well how they act and see others.” She sighed as a smile came to her face again. “I must say, it’s been really nice to have this change of scenery. The ponies around here are less pretentious. Even Rarity has a sort of authenticity I never saw back in Canterlot.” She placed a hoof on Applejack’s shoulder–mercy, her hoof was soft–and beamed. “I’d say you have a good influence on them.”

Applejack could feel the heat rise in her cheeks. “Aw, shucks, Twi, you’re too much. I guess it just might have somethin’ to do with the earth pony way. It might just affect the way we look at the whole world. I know that sounds kinda cocky, so I don’t actually say that out lou–”

“Nonono.” Twilight stammered, shaking her head. “You don’t understand. I think that’s fascinating. And you’re right, really. Earth ponies tend to be more connected to the natural world than unicorns, and in addition, their magic manifests in their nurturing and tending of the earth rather than spells. There might actually be something to the ‘earth pony way’, and I’d, frankly, like to learn more about it.”

Applejack grinned, brimming with a growing pride. “Well, shucks, just wait until Winter Wrap-Up comes around. You’ll really get a taste of what the earth pony way is like.”

Twilight’s eyes shot open. “Winter Wrap-Up? That’s real?” She inched closer to Applejack until their noses touched. “You do everything by hoof? No spells?”

Applejack’s mouth quivered. “Heh. Yeah, no spells.”

Twilight squeed as she grabbed the bottle and poured more into Applejack’s mug. “Tell me more, please!”

Applejack laughed, taking the mug to her lips and tipping back for a long swig. She might as well oblige, she thought. After all, how could she refuse when a pretty mare poured her a drink?

By the time the sun was fully down, and Luna’s sky twinkled in its majesty, the bottle of Applejack was completely empty. Twilight and Applejack had spent the whole evening drinking and regaling each other with one miscellaneous topic after another. Whatever it was they discussed didn’t seem to matter, as time trickled away all the same.

Applejack bobbed herself back and forth, feeling a little lightheaded. “Twi, I gotta tell ya–”

“I like that you call me Twiiii,” Twilight slurred. Obviously, she was a bit more of a lightweight than Applejack.

Applejack snickered. “If ya say so. But anyway, Twi, I gotta say... thanks fer bein’ so stubborn with me when I was so stubborn.”

Twilight cocked an eyebrow, unsure how to respond.

“L-like, I was so durn sure that I could buck every apple on Sweet Apple Acres, but ya saw right through me and wouldn’t let up.” She placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Ya told me what I needed to hear.”

“Ohhhhhhh,” Twilight replied, her eyes widened. She laughed, shaking off AJ’s hoof. “Y-y-you don’t give yerself any credit, AJ–”

“I like when ya call me AJ, baby,” Applejack interjected with a smug grin.

“W-was that genuine, or are you just teasing?”

“A little’a column A and a little of column B.” Applejack was glad Twilight didn’t bring up ‘baby.’ Either one pony was getting too drunk to filter, or the other was getting too drunk to notice such sloppy flirting. Applejack had to control herself.

Twilight shook her head. “Okay, AJ,” she giggled. “What I was saying is that you only decided to ask for help because you realized you needed–hic–it. Ooh–hic–excuse me. But yeah, you’re a lot smarter than you think you are.”

Applejack grinned like a dope. “Ya say the nicest dang things, Twi.”

Twilight dopily grinned back. “I mean the nicest dang things, AJ. Because you make me mean them.”

The two stared back at each other in silence for the longest time. What was this, Applejack thought. They couldn’t possibly get this friendly with each other in such a short amount of time. Now what were they doing? Flirting?

Twilight obviously wasn’t flirting, AJ thought. She was too sweet and innocent for that. The filly had spent her whole life in books, there wasn’t any way she would know how to flirt.

This couldn’t happen. They had to be just friends. Even if Applejack thought Twilight was an incredibly smart, pretty, genuine, affectionate, hot piece of ass–dear Luna, she was sauced, wasn’t she? The point being, no matter how much Twilight was courting material, Applejack wouldn’t make things awkward by making a pass.

This was it. She was gonna tell Twilight she was tired, and they would go their separate ways, ready to take tomorrow on as friends. Friends and nothing more...

Twilight’s lips tasted like the Applejack they had been drinking. It was odd, but hot at the same time.

At once, both sets of eyes shot open as they realized what they were doing. And yet, despite the awareness, neither seemed willing to be the first to part from the kiss. Who was the first one to make the move? Was Applejack so buzzed, she couldn’t keep herself from controlling herself while deep in thought? It was possible, she guessed, but... Applejack realized, as she felt the warm, honest connection with her friend continue, that none of that really mattered, right now.

She closed her eyes and, feeling daring, wrapped her forelegs around Twilight’s neck, bringing her closer until their torsos touched. It was then that Twilight finally broke the kiss, whispering, “...like apples.”

“Eh?” Applejack cocked an eyebrow.

“Y-you taste like apples... it’s amazing!”

Applejack snorted. “It’s the Applejack, honey.”

“Oh, is it ever,” Twilight swooned as she shot a sultry look at her friend.

“Naw, Twi, I mean the Applejack. Ya know, what we were just drinkin’ for the last hour?”

Twilight’s face shut. “...Oh. Y-yeah, yeah, I’m drunk.”

Applejack could barely contain her laughter before motioning Twilight to come into a hug, to which Twilight obliged. The two sighed as they held each other in silence for as a long a time as they merely stared at each other.

“...Ya want me to take ya home?” Applejack finally asked.

Twilight broke from the hug, breathing a heavy sigh. “How about we–hic–keep kissing instead, hmm?”

Applejack grinned. In their haze, when it came to kissing, it was as good a time as any.

Author's Note

I've held off on this for a while, mainly because I've already got a sorely neglected project with RariDash, and thus, I held out hope that some other writer would heed the call of a TwiJack Project. However, so far, nothing has come as a result of waiting, and like my granny used to say back in her tar paper shack on Montego Bay, 'if you want an episodic chronicle of lesbian cartoon horses, you've got to do it yourself'.

But yeah, like the projects that precede it, expect a sporadic update schedule, wherin I'll write and update if the inspiration strikes me. That said, however, I'm willing to open things up by giving episodes to authors that I trust and am on good terms with. The idea isn't set in stone, but the TwiJack Project is something other writers have wanted to see for a long time, so who knows?