Diplomatic Troubles

It was some time before Applejack and Twilight woke up, and the moon was high in the sky. Combined with Ponyville's extraordinary weather team, it made for quite the beautiful sight to behold. Stars were abundant and clear, shining brightly enough to challenge the moon's own glorified shine.

Lifting her head and giving a dazed look around, Twilight almost fell asleep at how serene everything looked. Torchbugs were fluttering about in their usual quick-but-calm manner, Manasprites were gathered around a few blue flowers that glowed faintly with the hue of magic, and even a few core fish were swimming around in the lake before them. Twilight learned from Ponyville Wildlife that the fish were aptly named "Core fish" due to their heart's unique appearance; it glowed whenever night fell, and it could be seen through the fish's translucent body.

With a smile on her face, she slowly laid her head back down to rest once again. Except this time, there was something unfamiliar in the space between her hooves and her head. When Twilight felt it with her chin, she immediately pulled back - more-so from surprise rather than fright.

Laying across Twilight's forelegs was Applejack, and she was sound asleep with a small smile on her face. Twilight could not recall how the two had gotten into this position, and wondered if they simply did it in their sleep.

Shifting a little, Twilight found she was actually quite comfortable despite Applejack using her as a pillow. From where she was laying, she judged that she must have been resting her head upon Applejack's neck, and the thought made her face warm up considerably. Luckily for her, all that saw her was a small brown rabbit taking a drink from the lake.

After he stared for a few moments, Twilight whisper-shouted, "Shoo!" The rabbit proceeded to stare for a few moments longer before sauntering off into the woods.

Unfortunately, Twilight seemed to make enough noise or movements to stir Applejack, and she woke up hurriedly.

With a mumble and with her eyes half-open, she asked, "Hm? Wh-What's goin' on, Twi'?"

Twilight's eyes widened and her pupils shrank back at her voice; she hadn't meant to wake Applejack, only to make the rabbit leave. Thinking for a moment, she made up her mind to do something unusual. Speaking calmly and with a kind overtone, she said, "Nothing's wrong. Go back to sleep."

Applejack stayed silent for a few seconds before sleepily agreeing with, "Alright." With that, she inched her way closer to Twilight, and nuzzled into her chest. This, of course, brought forth more blushing.

She was now fully awake, but Twilight still couldn't bring herself to wake Applejack. She was arguing with herself upon the matter, and couldn't reach a consensus with herself. Yes, she had agreed to wake her up after a while. But she never specified when to wake her up, either.

The arguing went on for quite a while before it started to give Twilight a headache, rather than give her answers. Looking up at the moon, she deduced that only a few minutes had passed from the last time she saw it, and this caused her to let out a sigh. When she looked down, she saw Applejack contentedly sleeping, and couldn't help but crack a smile.

Closing her eyes, she deemed it as good a time as any to let go of her worries and relax. Nervously, and careful not to disturb Applejack, Twilight slowly lowered her head and rested it upon Applejack's neck. It was surprisingly comfortable, albeit a bit unfamiliar for the unicorn. She had gotten used to hugs and the occasional friendly nuzzle from others, but she had never done anything beyond that. It wasn't a bad thing, Twilight concluded, but it was a bit foreign to her. A smile crawled its way across her face, and she finally gave in to the relaxation.

It was peaceful in the forest, and it gave Twilight time to consider what was happening in a rational manner, rather than in a hurry and panic. She went over different scenarios in her head, and planned what she would and could do to make this whole operation run smoothly.

Armed with a plan and with friends, the whole situation didn't seem that stressful for Twilight. An overwhelming sensation of excitement overcame her, and she involuntarily let out a high-pitched giggle. When she realized how loud she had been, she quickly pressed her mouth closed and hoped to Celestia that Applejack wouldn't wake. When no such thing happened, she breathed a sigh of relief, and looked down at her friend.

She noticed Applejack wasn't a light sleeper, and remembered what happened when she shooed the rabbit away. "I must have been louder than I thought," she mumbled quietly to herself. She made a mental note to try and find a book that remedied that problem.

Her thoughts trailed off to her books and before she knew it, she was going over a mental checklist of all the books she would need to get. This, unfortunately, was also accompanied by Twilight mumbling the light out loud.

Applejack woke to hear Twilight saying something, but it took a few seconds for her to make any sense of it. She decided not to disrupt her thought process, and simply kept listening.

"And Lyra said she wanted a book about candy. Probably for Bon Bon. Maybe it's a birthday present? Pinkie will probably throw a party," Twilight said, her thoughts surprisingly unorganized. Without losing stride, she continued with her checklist, "Rainbow Dash will want the newest Daring Do. It comes out in a week, so I should have enough bits to get it for her. Or maybe I could get it donated to the library? I'm sure she'd be content with just borrowing it."

"Ya wouldn't happen to have a book about unicorns 'n' their crazy thoughts, would ya?" Applejack said jokingly, her eyes still closed.

"Oh, I have several books abou-" Twilight began, but stopped dead in her tracks when she realized who was speaking. She looked down to see a grinning Applejack peering up at her with one eye open. She was still pressed against Twilight's chest, and Twilight could feel her chuckling through her rib cage.

Applejack stood up and stretched, shaking the sleep from her bones. Feeling guilty, Twilight apologized profusely, "I'm sorry to wake you up, Applejack, I was just going over the new books I need to acquire, and I guess I just started to talk to myself."

"Relax, Twilight. I ain't mad. Heck, I'm sorry for fallin' asleep on ya. Well, I guess I actually DID fall asleep on ya," Applejack said, rubbing the back of her head with a nervous laugh.

"Oh no, I don't mind," Twilight said, reassuring Applejack. "It was.. Kind of nice," she admitted, offering a sheepish smile of her own.

"Glad to see I didn't bother you with my snorin'," Applejack said in humor.

"Snoring? You don't snore?" Twilight recalled, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"I don't? But Apple Bloom said? That lyin' little.." Applejack mumbled, laughing at herself.

They stood still for a few moments smiling at each other happily before Twilight broke the silence, "Sorry I didn't wake you up. You just seemed quite exhausted, and you looked like you needed the rest."

"That's alright. I'm glad you didn't, in fact. I was pretty comfortable with my pillow," Applejack said with a wink that brought forth a faint blush upon Twilight's face.

"Glad I could, uh, be of assistance?" Twilight said, trying her hoof at a joke. To her delight, Applejack let out a quick laugh and gave her a grin.

After the short conversation, Applejack looked towards the sky and sighed, "Suppose I oughta be gettin' home. And I'm sure Spike is wonderin' where you are, too."

"Yes, I suppose he would be. I'll see you tomorrow?" Twilight asked as they walked out of the forest together, though she already knew the answer.

" 'Course you will," Applejack replied with a nod. When they reached the road leading back to Ponyville, she added in an unusually timid manner, "I don't suppose a hug is outta the question?"

Replying with actions instead of words, Twilight moved over and wrap her forelegs around Applejack's neck, consenting to her request. Applejack returned the gesture and said, "See ya, Twilight."

After the hug, Twilight walked happily back towards her library. Looking around, she made sure the coast was clear and let out a shrill giggle, letting out her excitement.

"Now.." she said, returning to her normal thoughts, "Octavia said she needed a book about vinyl discs and a book about violins. Doesn't she play a cello? I wonder what the violinist's book is for.. I do have one, though! As for the book about vinyl discs, I wonder why she'd need that? Oh! She's friends with Vinyl Scratch, isn't she? Maybe she.."

Her voice trailed off into the night as she strolled slowly home, happily content with the day's events.