Contains spoilers for Season 4 Episode 1 and 2. Readers be warned.

~ ~ ~

As the planned date of their wedding drew nearer, over two weeks after that lovely night – and the following day – of curing her heat, Twilight and Applejack scrambled to get the preparations in order. As this was indeed a royal wedding, with all of the glamours that came with it present, everything had to be perfect: a fact Twilight was having trouble comprehending how that was even possible. Due to the stress of the extensive list of tasks, 'stress relief' sessions with Applejack became more frequent as the date drew nearer; nearly every day they shared their bed, one or the other taking turns squealing or crying out their passion to the other as they shared their bodies, joining two into one.

Even with Princess Celestia's help in inviting all of the noble ponies, and all the others helping with preparations, Twilight and Applejack were having trouble even sending invitations to all of their family; especially all of Applejack's huge clan.

"Cherry Apple? Lemon Meringue? Have I ever even met any of these ponies?" Twilight asked, receiving a shrug from Applejack, who was licking an envelope and sealing it.

"Y' might've met 'em at one of our reunions," Applejack replied simply, before looking over the address list of their personal invitees and sighing. "Well, only about one-hundred-two to go..."

As this was to be a giant, public wedding with all of the nobles and common-ponies alike in attendance, Celestia told the soon-to-be-bethrothed couple that they were to announce to the masses that their wedding was going to be held at the royal castle soon, including an invitation for all to attend. That, however, didn't mean Applejack wanted to shuck tradition and not send personal invitations to her and Twilight's family as well as their friends.

~

After over an hour of writing, licking, and stamping, Twilight slumped back onto the cushion she was sitting on, stretching out her cramped muscles – and suddenly her stomach churned violently. Twilight got up quickly and galloped to the bathroom, the sound of a violently emptying stomach coming from it very soon after making Applejack wince.

Twilight had recently been coming into random bouts of sickness like this which just as quickly faded as started, mostly occurring before noon but sometimes late at night as well, waking them both up with her vomiting. Applejack was initially concerned that she had caught a bug of some sort but Twilight simply shrugged it off, stating she had no other symptoms of any major illnesses she knew of. 'It's probably just a flu' she'd said; Applejack wasn't so sure.

After coming back to her fiancee, looking a little wobbly, Twilight smiled weakly. "So, where were we...?"

Applejack looked over at the large stack of over a hundred invitations they'd written out. She was still worried about Twilight every time she visited the restroom in such a way, but she knew Twilight would just dismiss her concerns with an 'It's just a little flu' as she had many times already. "Well, the mail-mare should be coming soon, so we need to hightail these out to her when she gets here. I asked her to bring an extra-large saddlebag for all these invites, and she agreed."

Twilight nodded, levitating the large stack of envelopes in her magic just as the gray mail-mare with the blonde mane and tail came by, smiling largely and looking to them with her wall-eyed gaze.

~

"OK guys, I got this!" Derpy said, smiling widely as her saddlebags were loaded down with hundreds of invitations.

"Alright Derpy, that's all of them. Thank you so much for doing this for us." Twilight said, offering her a small pouch of Bits as a tip.

Derpy denied the Bits by raising her hoof and shaking her head. "Nah, this is my job!" she said, keeping her big smile, "Well, gotta go drop these off and continue my route! Bye guys!"

After they said their goodbyes and Derpy Hooves took off ladened with their mail, Applejack looked back to Twilight and gave her a smile, sauntering over to her with her tail raised; all but telling her of her intentions. "So Twi, all 'at writin' an' such sure stressed me out..." Applejack said, her tone more than suggestive as she came and sat in front of her mare. Very closely in front of her mare.

"Oh I know, writing names out and signing documents can be so stressful..." Twilight cooed out in the same tone, her muzzle curling up in a smile to match her tone, her own tail raising and starting to swish.

Applejack took the initiative, leaning forward just a bit so that their muzzles met, rubbing noses with Twilight for a moment before finally meeting their lips in a gentle kiss. She was quickly overwhelmed by the taste and scent of her mare, raising a hoof to wrap around her crest and bring her into an embrace. They kissed for a short while – until Twilight suddenly pulled away, her eyes widening in surprise. Applejack watched as she quickly took to a gallop and threw open the bathroom door again, the sound of wretching soon coming again.

"By Celestia, I hope she's OK..." Applejack said, shaking her head softly.

Neither, however, had ever paid any mind to the seemingly-banal sexy talk they'd done for one another while they were sating Twilight's heat those two weeks ago, nor how much foretelling it could hold.

No thought was given to the words they spoke of making a foal inside of Twilight, nor just how possible it was for a mare to become with foal at the top of full estrus, especially with the profusion of virile sperm sent into her fertile body over and over again by their passioned trysts.

After all, distracted by the tasks and duties of preparing a royal wedding, 'it's just a flu'.

~

As personal preparations completed and the official ones began one week before the wedding, a full month after Twilight's heat ended, Twilight and Applejack oversaw the preparations for their wedding decorations and food, with everything checking out perfectly for its stage of development, both fascinated that no expenses were being spared by Luna and Celestia for their marriage.

Applejack insisted on helping out with building the props and other items and, despite Twilight rolling her eyes at the idea, she proceeded to do just that. Nearly an hour later, with her having tended to other tasks, Twilight nearly had to drag Applejack away from the work area, with her having done nearly more work than the ponies being paid to do it!

"Aw c'mon Twi, those ponies don't even know what they're doin'! They're using hex screws instead'a slot! Y'know how hard it is t' find a hexi—"

"Applejack, I promise I'd let you keep doing those ponies' jobs for them, and I'm sure they'd love you for it, but it's time for us to make the big announcement...to all of Canterlot..." she said, giving a gulp.

Princess Celestia had insisted that Twilight – her prized ex-pupil, Element Barer, and indeed the Princess of Friendship herself – announce her wedding publically as such a declaration be traditionally done, and before a crowd of her subjects. Twilight had initially been against the idea of such a huge, extravagant and public wedding, as had been Applejack, but Celestia had insisted that royal weddings be open to the public and be very befitting of a pony of her stature. Eventually, reluctantly, Twilight had agreed.

"Oh...right...that..." Applejack mumbled out, tucking her hat lower on her brow, "Ah still don't get why bein' hitched's gotta be such a big t'do jus' cuz yer a princess..."

"It's just tradition Applejack," Twilight said as assistants donned on her her required regalia, including a long silken cape and her crown with a faux-Element-crystal star in it that had replaced the real one upon its sacrifice back to the Tree of Harmony,"you know plenty about traditions." Applejack meanwhile was robed in a majestic cape, but insisted on keeping her hat. Celestia didn't seem to mind.

Finally with all preparations set, the trio stepped out onto the balcony, and with one more nervous glance at each other, Twilight and Applejack stepped into the public's view, Celestia and Luna choosing to make their presence as well to provide moral support.

Celestia had earlier asked by royal decree for all ponies to gather in the castle square for an important announcement at this time and date but had neglected to say what it was about. As such, there was a huge crowd of at least several hundred ponies gathered in the large square, all looking upon the two mares on the castle balcony.

Twilight shivered a bit as her nerves got the better of her and glanced back to Celestia, who gave her a comforting smile and a wave of the hoof. "Go on, the crowd awaits your news," Celestia said softly, with Luna smiling encouragingly.

Twilight once more looked over the quietly-murmuring crowd of hundreds, all gathered here to hear her speak. With a loud clear of her throat, the murmuring stopped and Twilight began the speech she'd spent the last two weeks perfecting;

"Firstly, I would like to thank you all for taking time out of your busy day and coming here today to hear my news. Now, I'm sure you're expecting to hear about some great disaster that's on its way, or that we are going to have some other major event. Well, that last part is true; we are going to have a major event soon. Beside me is somepony you may all recognize, a fellow Holder of an Element Applejack, who is also one of my closest friends. Recently, however, we have..."

Twilight froze. Her mind blanked on the next part of her speech, her eyes darting wildly as her breaths increased in pace.

"A-Applejack...I forgot the rest of my speech!" Twilight said in a panicked whisper as she turned to the named, her eyes locking onto her mate's, and Applejack seeing panic going through them; that deep-set fear of failure, even after all these years of boundless successes

As she saw that, Applejack quickly met Twilight in a kiss in front of the crowd, earning a wave of surprised gasps from the crowd. After feeling her mate calm down after the affirming kiss, Applejack turned to the crowd:

"Princess Twilight and I are gettin' hitched y'all, an' yer all invited! Next week, right here at the Canterlot palace! Yeeeeehaw!" Applejack exclaimed, only to be stared at dumbfoundedly by the ponies, quiet murmurs starting again among the crowd, undoubtedly questioning the validity of that over-boisterously presented claim.

Having recovered herself at the sound of Applejack making a mule of them both in front of all of Canterlot, her mind snapped back into place at her part of the speech, and Twilight quickly took her side beside Applejack before continuing where she'd left off.

"We are getting married, it's true! It will indeed be a public event as my fiancee said and everypony is invited to attend provided there's room. A reception feast will also be held after the wedding as well, and it's available to the public too. We will be hosting the marriage this Saturday, and will be performing the ceremony at twelve-oh-clock-noon sharp. We hope to see you there and thank you again for your time. You're all dismissed." Twilight said, trying to rectify what Applejack had nearly destroyed with her outburst.

A gentle, couth applause of hooves sounded before the crowd dispersed, going back to their daily lives with an exciting new topic to discuss.

Twilight stood there with a deep blush on her face, one of both embarrasment...and anger. "What the HAY was that Applejack?! You just turned one of the most important announcements in Equestrian history into a...a pitch for the local rodeo!" Her anger was fuming over, boiling hotter than even when she couldn't figure out how Pinkie Pie's 'Pinkie Sense' worked; unable to control herself as she virtually blew up at her beloved. "I mean WHAT THE HAY Applejack?! I asked for the line I forgot, and you just waltz up there LIKE A MULE and start pitching your ho-dunk invitation! 'Yeehaw, we're gettin' hitched'!" Twilight finished with a poor imitation of Applejack's accent, now glaring a hole through the target of her aggression.

Applejack was stunned still by the sudden outburst of her marefriend, feeling cold and numb all over; but soon that cold turned to the heat of her own broiling anger, making her eyes narrow and her gaze to sharpen into a razor-edged glare. "Well, Miss-High-an'-Mighty, Ah was TRYIN' t' save your purple p'tootie from looking like a right ASS in front'a 'at crowd! Y'alls were sputterin' worse'n Granny's tea kettle on the fritz!" Applejack spat back, no shortage of righteous anger in her voice. However, even still, tears started to form at the corners of her eyes, her trying to hold them back as well as she could to save face.

Twilight was literally blowing small puffs of steam from her nose now as she pawed at the ground aggressively, an instinctive sign of a pony's intense anger and a threat to charge their target. Before she let it escalate any further, Twilight stamped her hoof hard onto the ground and let out a growl of anger before she galloped off inside the castle, leaving Applejack, Celestia, and Luna alone on the balcony.

Finally unable to hold them in anymore, Applejack's tears started to roll down her cheeks as the hurt of her beloved's heated words sunk in, Applejack doing all she could to prevent herself from just breaking down into a heap right there and crying herself dry at what had just happened. Seeing her friend's distress, Celestia went over to Applejack and wrapped her in a hug, with Applejack quickly returning it, tightly wrapping her hooves around the demi-goddess of the sun.

"Ah...Ah don't know what Ah did...w-wrong..." Applejack stammered out through restrained sobs, still trying to keep herself composed even as she was being held by another pony, gently trembling as she practically collapsed into Celestia's form, simply unable to hold herself up right now.

Celestia thought of the outburst from what she'd seen of the quarrel and simply let Applejack cry into her chest for a while as she mulled it over, looking to her sister before speaking up after she gained an idea of the outburst's causation. "Applejack, I don't think Twilight is mad at you, or your actions, nor you at her. Planning a wedding, especially one as grand and large-scale as a royal wedding the likes of Princess Cadence and Shining Armors', is extremely stressful as you well know, especially for the pony with the most at stake; Twilight."

Luna then stepped in and spoke up. "I know it's not pleasant, nor implicitly the correct way for her to do so, but perhaps this is simply Twilight's mind's way of venting her frustrations and anger at an undesirable event – you stepping in to correct her mistake at such a monumental time for her – and your own stress erupting into an outburst as hers did at this huge event in your life on the cusp of happening."

Eventually, Applejack calmed enough to stop her trembles, looking up to the princesses as their explanation sunk in. It made perfect sense. "Y-y'mean she ain't mad at me...? But...that's th' first time she's ever yelled at me like 'at...and me at her." Applejack mumbled out, content to nuzzle her muzzle into Celestia's celestial mane, feeling it lightly shifting with its magical energy as she did.

"Applejack, stress can make a pony do things they would not normally do, even going so far as them yelling heatedly at their most cherished companion. Besides, I've had many suitors and husbands in my life, so who better than me to know that every couple, or couple-to-be, has tiffs like this from time to time. Please Applejack, for both your sake, go and talk to her. She's probably just upset as you are, but has nopony to talk to." Celestia said, with Applejack finally releasing her from the tight hug, fresh tears no longer falling.

"T-Thank ya 'lot Princesses" Applejack said, giving a brief bow before parting ways, moving at a trot into the castle.

"Anytime, my faithful subject. My friend." Celestia replied, but already Applejack was inside. Celestia sighed, then giving a glance to her sister with a coy smile, seeing her smile herself in response.

"So sister, do you think Twilight is..." Luna asked, before receiving a nod.

"Oh you... you and I both know Twilight is, but they will find out on their own soon enough. I shan't spoil their surprise. You know mood swings are part of it..."

~

Applejack galloped into the castle, tearing through the hallway like a mare possessed before arriving at the room they were invited to share during their visit. "<Please be here...please, please, please...> Applejack chanted inside her mind, and upon pushing open the door her eyes darted through it. Quickly, her eyes focused on the royal tiara dumped on the floor like so much dirty clothing, then followed the trail of other regalia to the bed, seeing a slumped form laying atop it; a furry lavender form with wings and a horn.

Instead of saying anything, Applejack instead walked up to the bed, reaching down to take her own cape off, letting it fall to the floor with the soft sound of crumpling fabric. She soon joined Twilight on the bed but the alicorn didn't turn to face her nor even move, though Applejack did notice an ear swiveling back towards her, showing her she was at least listening.

After a moment of simply laying there, Applejack finally gained the courage to do something. She crawled up behind Twilight and wrapped her forehooves around her shoulders, before the rest of her body followed, Applejack making Twilight the little spoon in a cuddle. Twilight didn't resist nor react at all still, but Applejack could swear she heard gentle sniffles coming from in front of herself.

"I...I bucked everything up, didn't I?" Applejack soon heard asked from a Twilight that seemed nearly despondent in tone, as though all hope were lost, "Applejack..."

Before Twilight could say another word, Applejack grabbed one of her ears softly in her mouth, eliciting a quiet gasp of surprise from her as she felt a gentle tingle roll down her back, effectively silencing her. While a harsher bite on the ear was once a way of saying 'hold still and be silent' by the herd leaders of ancient times when ponies still roamed uncivilized, its modern use of a gentle nip instead was simply an affectionate way of saying either 'hush up'...or 'I love you'.

"Now ya listen here Sweets, Ah ain't mad at ya an' hope yer not mad at me. Princess Celestia an' Luna an' Ah had a good talk 'bout this, an' they explained that our stress over such a big thing as our huge importan' weddin' set us off th' deep end and at each others' throats; ya because Ah interrupted yer big announcement whiles ya were strugglin', an' me in reaction to yer yelling an' my own stress bubble goin' 'pop'. Twi, they told me these...these things happen to everypony in a close relationship."

The room was silent, the soft sniffles stopping as Applejack watched Twilight raise a hoof up and wipe her eyes, before turning over to face her love, her face matted in wetness and her mouth downturned in a pout. "I fluffed this up big time, didn't I?" Twilight asked, not meeting Applejack's eyes; "All I had to do was tell all of Canterlot just how much I loved you, how much I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, but..." she cut off with a sob, with Applejack squeezing her tighter against herself in a proper hug now, their chests pressing together as each's hooves squeezed tightly.

They simply held each other for a while, simply enjoying each others' company as Applejack softly rocked with her, until finally Applejack spoke again. "Guess all 'at sex wasn't quite workin' all our stress out after all, huh?" she asked with a chuckle and heard one come from Twilight in return, feeling that happy rumble of her chest against her own.

"Heh, I guess not..." Twilight responded, and as the mood perceptibly lightened, Twilight dared to meet Applejack's eyes – and in them saw the same calm, loving, caring look she had always given her since they were first friends, not even a hint of anger in them. This time, Twilight was the one to squeeze Applejack tighter, a smile on her muzzle as she met her lips with Applejack's, feeling her soulmate press into her kiss in acceptance. That acceptance even after how she'd acted only made Twilight's tears fall again, but this time for entirely a different reason.

"I love you Applejack."

"Ah love ya too Twi."

Above them, the Sun shone brightly.

Author's Note

Decided to add a little turmoil to show that no relationship is perfect all the time, especially not at times of high stress.

Also yay foal!