Diplomatic Troubles

It was the morning after the big sale. After all of the chaos and, as Pinkie would put it, extreme fun that had occurred at the Farmer’s Festival. After Twilight and Applejack spent a few loving moments simply gazing up at the beautifully radiant night sky.

Twilight awoke to find herself sore in the legs and in her hooves. She gave a yawn and turned to look out the window and make sure she had not overslept. To her satisfaction, the calm morning sky was there to greet her. A sunrise was slowly making its way over the mountaintops, emitting its warm and pleasant light upon the calm town of Ponyville.

Twilight made her way out of bed, careful that her footsteps would not awaken the baby dragon.. That upon inspection, was not actually there. Her heart leapt in a panic for only a moment before she noticed a sealed letter upon his bed.

Levitating it into her view, Twilight opened and read the letter. By the end of it her heart had calmed back down, and she let out a grateful and patient sigh of relief. He had stayed at Rarity’s boutique, claiming he would have collapsed out of exhaustion on the way home.

Her worries put to rest, Twilight found herself drawn towards the stairs and into the kitchen. Any moment now, there’d be a soft rapping at the door. She’d find a familiar orange mare awaiting her, and they’d go off to the Town Hall to begin the day anew. Or perhaps they’d go and enjoy the festival together. Who knows what fun they would be having together?

She poured herself a glass of water at the sink, a calm expression upon her face as she did so. Her eyes were half-closed, and her senses were dulled. The silence of the empty library had taken hold of her, and the bliss of romance had gripped her mind. It truly was a beautiful morning.

She took a long sip of water, letting out a drawn-out exhale afterwards. She looked at the glass itself, marking the details of the glasswork for no particular reason. It simply gave her mind something to do.

As if on cue, Twilight heard a knocking at her door. Her small smile broke into a warm grin as she quietly made her way to the door. As she opened it with her magic, she began to say, “Hello Appleja-” but stopped herself mid-word.

Standing before her was not the blonde, orange mare she had been expecting. Rather, it was a grey-maned - excluding the dye - and light-brown coated woman staring sternly back at her. The expression upon her face was official, strict, and entirely unhappy.

“Mayor Mare?” Twilight said, taken a bit aback by the sudden appearance of the pony she had replaced. “What are you doing back?”

“The meeting ended early,” Mayor Mare began, her voice matching her expression to the very muscle. “And it’s a good thing it did, too. I’ve heard quite a lot of things about your performance! And I must say..”

Here it was. Twilight only had a few days to relax and be happy before it all came crashing down. A few days to remain proud, and calm. It was inevitable, Twilight thought to herself. And the gears were already working in her mind, creating a way to apologize. A way to make up for-

“.. I am very impressed!”

Twilight spit out, “I’m sorry?” It wasn’t exactly the apology she had in mind, but the mix of words worked for what she tried to ask.

“Oh, don’t look so worried,” Mayor Mare said, her expression melting into a warm grin. She began to wave a hoof at Twilight gently, as if to shoo away her worries - much like Applejack had - as she began to explain, “Us diplomats have to have a little fun somehow. You’re going to make me feel bad if you keep on frowning like that.”

“Thank goodness,” Twilight said, letting out a breath she had held in anticipation of being reprimanded. “I thought you were going to tell me I had failed, or something.”

The mere mention of failing at a task given to her by Celestia was enough to send a shiver running along Twilight’s spine. She caught herself falling into a pit of worrying about what could-have-beens and what-shouldn’t-bes. Luckily, she had Mayor Mare to pull her right back into the conversation.

“Failed? You did positively amazing, as far as I’m concerned!” Mayor Mare said, a look of astonishment upon her face. “Taking matters into your own hands when all seemed grim.. I’d expect no less from the Element Holders.”

Twilight blushed slightly at the sudden praise, and gave a nervous chuckle. “Nah, it was just improvising a plan. I bet you would have done the same thing.”

“You’d think so, wouldn’t you?” Mayor Mare said with a quick, hearty laugh. “I’m afraid you’re giving me a bit too much credit. But I do thank you for the sincerity!” She then lowered her voice and raised an eyebrow conspiratorially as she added, “In fact.. Are you sure you wouldn’t like to have a bit more time in the Town Hall office? I have a spa trip with my name on it.”

Twilight’s eyes opened wide as she struggled for the words. As much as she enjoyed being able to help with things, she couldn’t imagine having to spend too much time in a position of power. She’d go crazy with stress! It made her amused to think of how the Princesses deal with it. She couldn’t imagine having that for a job.

“I, uh.. I mean.. If you’d like I could,” Twilight stuttered, grasping at straws for what she intended to say. This only served, however, to elicit another wholehearted laugh from the mayor.

“Relax. I couldn’t even if you had miraculously agreed. Too much paperwork to do,” Mayor Mare said with a sad sigh. “Go enjoy the festival. I’m sure you can find someone who would love to accompany you, after all!”

“Alright,” Twilight said, letting out yet another sigh of relief. That had to be at least two in the course of this conversation. “Glad to see you’re back, ma’am.”

“And I’m glad to see everything was okay while I was away. Have a nice day, Twilight Sparkle!” the mayor said before turning to make her way back into town.

Twilight shut the door and thought to herself. Now what would she do? She had freed up so much spare time, and had nothing to do with it.

She sat at her reading table, which had become considerably worn down over the years of Twilight’s all-nighters. Taking another sip of her water, she thought about what she could do with her time now that being mayor for the day was out of the question.

She was summoned back to the world of reality when she heard another knocking at the door. It took her a moment to register that she would still have guests, today. Namely, a guest she had been looking forward to seeing all morning - however short of a morning it was.

She opened the door once again, careful not to make a random guess as to who it would be. But standing before her was none other than the very mare she wished to see at that very moment - Applejack.

“Howdy,” Applejack greeted her with, a warm smile upon her face. She stood in the doorway, as her manners dictated waiting to be invited in no matter whose house it was - excluding her own, of course.

Twilight’s demeanor immediately took on a form of relaxation upon seeing Applejack. She took a rare moment to take in the sight before her, before inviting the well-mannered pony in.

Over time Twilight had come to realize that the morning light complimented Applejack’s appearance far greater than any other pony before her. Even before the two had entered a relationship, Twilight recognized how utterly beautiful Applejack was. The morning had a way of dancing upon her image, and Twilight had always been captivated by the beauty that she witnessed.

“Hello, Applejack!” Twilight said after taking a moment for herself. “Would you like to come in?”

“Aren’t we headin’ out to Town Hall?” Applejack inquired even as she took the offer and stepped into the library, Twilight shutting the door behind her. She made her way over to the reading table Twilight was sitting at and took a seat beside it.

“About that,” Twilight began with a short laugh. “It seems that the mayor has come back early.”

“What? I thought she was gonna be gone for a few more days. At least ‘til the festival was over,” Applejack asked, a small smile accompanying a raised eyebrow as she spoke.

“She said that the meeting had ended early, and that she was needed back in the office,” Twilight replied. With a tinge of pride, she also added, “She said we did a good job!”

“Well I’ll be an apple seed in a pear; I reckon that’s some great news!” Applejack said happily. After a moment’s deliberation, she also came to a conclusion and asked in a hopeful tone,  “But doesn’t that mean we’ve got the day to ourselves?”

“It sure does,” Twilight answered. “So I was wondering.. Would you like to spend it together? With me?” It took all the effort Twilight could afford just to spit out that last statement, and she could already feel the blood rushing to her face.

A warm smile came to Applejack’s face and she took on the same demeanor that Twilight had only minutes ago. In a calm, confident voice, she said, “I reckon there’s nothin’ I’d rather do today than spend time with you.”

If her face wasn’t red before, it was now. Twilight let out a nervous - but happy - giggle and asked, “Well. I’m glad. Do you perhaps.. Have something in mind?”

“As a matter of fact - I do,” Applejack said with a sly smile and a slight nod. “I reckon I still owe you a picnic in the woods. That sound good?”

“That sounds excellent,” Twilight admitted. It did sound great. It sounded like the best plan ever, as far as she was concerned. The mere thought of it made her heart leap for joy, and she was all too eager to make it happen.

“Well alright, then! Let’s head on over to Sweet Apple Acres - I’ll rustle us up somethin’ to gnaw on while we talk,” Applejack declared, standing from her sitting position at the table.

And so they did. The trip to the farm was quite quiet, what with everypony, dragon, and other type of creature attending the festival or sleeping off trips to Ponyville. Upon reaching the farm, a lone pony moved along the rows of crops, tending to them carefully and diligently.

“Mornin’,” was all the red stallion said to them, being of so few words.

“Howdy, Big Macintosh. We have any leftovers? Twilight and I are headin’ out to have lunch,” Applejack asked.

“Mmhm,” was the reply she got. He had a knowing smile on his face, now, and nodded towards the home he and Applejack shared with their fellow siblings.

“Thanks, Big Macintosh,” Applejack said, nodding once again to him.

“Good morning, Big Macintosh!” Twilight greeted him cheerfully, to which he only replied with another “Mornin,” and a nod of the head.

After procuring the supplies needed for a proper picnic, the two went out and followed the same path as before into the woods. After nearly tripping once or twice, Twilight and Applejack came upon the clearing that the two had shared one of their first moments of what could be considered intimacy.

Just as before, the clearing had a few animals calmly resting in the quiet morning air. But now, even Twilight shared their happiness and sheer restfulness. With no worries, no qualms, and no responsibilities, she was utterly free to simply be. And she could be with Applejack.

After setting up the picnic, the two ponies sat close beside each other and simultaneously let out a soft sigh of contentedness. Truly at peace, both of them were happy to simply be with each other and enjoy the moment.

“Hey Applejack?” Twilight said, her eyes now closed as she absorbed all that she could from the scene unfolding around her.

“Mhm?” Applejack mumbled in response, opening one eye to look at Twilight dreamily.

“I think I could get used to this sort of thing,” Twilight said, leaning onto Applejack and resting her head upon the orange mare’s shoulder.

Applejack gave a soft, short laugh and placed a single kiss atop Twilight’s head. “I feel the same way, darlin’. The same way.”

Twilight felt both the kiss and felt an overwhelming sense of combined peace and joy. She felt Applejack lay her head atop her own, and fell under a spell of relaxation. This was definitely something she could get used to, Twilight believed. Nothing in the world could bother her, at this moment.

After waiting for the inevitable trouble to arrive after having such karma-tempting thoughts, Twilight found the they never came. It seemed like Applejack was her good luck charm.

And it seemed like everything was going to be great.