Heart and Mind

Sweet Apple Acres was absolutely blanketed in snow, silent and somewhat forlorn with leafless trees as far as the eye could see. Apple Bloom had seen it enough times not to let the sight bother her though, that was just a necessary part of the tree's life cycle and it didn't hit the farm too hard anymore. Applejack had kept building on the success their parents had started and these days their products were known and sold even beyond Equestria. She sometimes missed working the farm, but she had her own life now and it wasn't like AJ was handling it alone. Big Mac was still on hand and she had employees now with Little Hayseed, Arboreal and Bounty.

"So, I'm guessing your leg's better?" Sweetie Belle asked as she caught up to Apple Bloom. The unicorn was struggling more with the snow now, considering it was deeper than in town and Rarity had given her the fur outfit from before as a disguise. Scootaloo had left to attend to a personal issue, leaving the two of them to the next stop on the tour to catch Sweetie up on Ponyville. At least, that was part of why they were out here.

"Enough for this at least...Sorry I dragged you out here, I was worried I wouldn't have the nerve to say this three times in one day."

"It's fine, I hoped to see Applejack at some point," Sweetie smiled and looked round as they entered the farm. "Is the old clubhouse still there?"

"Sure is!" Apple Bloom beamed at the mention of it. "Took some persuading but I was allowed to have it stay on the farm, me and Akane keep it in shape together."

"Big Mac's son? Is he one of the Crusaders?"

"Yup, the second generation of the CMC. Him, Bumblebee, Stellar Nova and Rain Runner, with me mentoring when I can."

"Great, I hope it goes well." Sweetie smiled happily as they reached the farmhouse. Nopony else was around but Apple Bloom still glanced round before going and knocking on the door.

In all honesty, she hadn't been looking forward to this moment. Applejack may be her big sister but that just meant she had a better idea of how she might react. Scootaloo had been cool about it and Sweetie was likely to be understanding, but Applejack had a more...Traditional upbringing which might clash with this news. At the same time though, she had the strongest sense of family bonds in Ponyville and even something as big as this didn't seem like it would be enough to shake that. She took a quick breath as the door opened, just having to trust that things wouldn't go too badly.

Almost anypony else would have been caught out by the sight of the pony waiting for them. Applejack wasn't exactly the same pony she had been back when she became an element of harmony, years of running all aspects of Sweet Apple Acres, single hoofed at times, had left her sharper, smarter and much, much stronger. It showed too, her body a lot bulkier with enough muscle to be mistaken for a stallion, though by now the only ones who did so were newcomers to Ponyville. Beyond that though, she was still the same Applejack that everypony could depend on.

"Apple Bloom!" Applejack exclaimed happily, pulling her younger sister close and hugging her tight. Apple Bloom shifted her body slightly so she could still breathe and hugged her in return.

"Good to see you too sis, sorry I haven't had a chance to come see you recently."

"Awww, no worries sugarcube, you've got your own life to live," Applejack looked over at the other pony in front of her, taking a moment to recognise her behind all that fur. "Sweetie Belle? That you?"

"Just a very small yak, actually." Sweetie replied, lifting her headwear enough to confirm it was her. Applejack chuckled and nodded, clearly glad to see her as well.

"So what's new with y'all?"

"Well, that's the thing. Is it ok if we come in?" Apple Bloom asked, looking up at Applejack, her eyes showing that this was a more serious matter.

"Of course." Applejack released the hug and stepped back to let them inside. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle gave their thanks and stepped inside, thankful for a chance to be out of the afternoon cold. The inside of the farmhouse was much like Apple Bloom remembered it from her fillyhood, evidently Granny Smith's sense of style had rubbed off on Applejack. The main difference was a three meter long board set up along the wall and covered with all sorts of papers. Business contracts, work plans and what looked like one or two letters to a pen pal.

This wasn't the time to snoop though, there was something more important to deal with first. Apple Bloom took a seat while Sweetie Belle worked on getting her fur off, trying to judge how she was going to do this. Ultimately, this was Applejack she was dealing with, going in straight and telling everything as the honest truth was probably the best bet. It couldn't go that badly, right?

"You're A WHAT?!?"

Ok, it could go badly. Apple Bloom cringed in her seat, fighting to maintain eye contact with the focused look Applejack was giving her from across the room. Sweetie Belle shifted slightly in her seat off the to the side, looking like she was trying to process this new information and will herself to teleport anywhere less awkward than this at the same time. It had started well enough, telling them about what she and Pinkie Pie had been dealing with the month before and steadily following that up with the reveal about herself. She had been flying high on the hope that this would go just as well, now that hope seemed to have stalled and nosedived hard.

Applejack stood up slowly and walked toward Apple Bloom, her face unreadable but the tone of voice she had used not boding well. Sweetie Belle flashed a look of concern before she got up quickly and took to Apple Bloom's side, likely a future gesture if things went bad, but one she appreciated regardless. For a few tense moments the room was silent, each pony seemingly waiting to see which would make the first move. Eventually Applejack opened her mouth and Sweetie Belle jumped forward in response before she could get so much as a word out.

"This is Apple Bloom's choice of life and I think we have no right to try and dissuade her from it! The fact she was willing to tell us about it says a lot about how much she trusts us and how happy it makes her. Think what you will about it, but she deserves better than hassle over such a decision from her own sister!"

The room dropped into silence again. Apple Bloom was looking over in surprise at the defence given to her, Sweetie Belle was staring Applejack down with enough determination to make the mare back up a step despite being at least twice her weight. Applejack eventually sighed and adjusted her hat slightly before looking back at her younger sister.

"I didn't mean to sound so harsh, I swear. You just, you caught me off guard and I-I...Well I didn't handle it very well...I shouldn't have made you worry like that, especially with how big this is. I'm sorry, to both of you."

"It's, it's ok sis..." Apple Bloom sounded a little uneasy in her reply, considering the initial response she had gotten. Applejack winced slightly at that and looked over at Sweetie Belle, who seemed to be taking it a lot better, smiling softly at the sight of them patching things up.

"No problem, I'm just happy you're both happy with it," Sweetie broke into a happy grin, seemingly having already shrugged the incident off. "Congratulations, Apple Bloom."

"Yeah, I'm glad for you," Applejack added, getting another wary look from Apple Bloom in return. She clearly wasn't ready to move past it just yet.

"So who's the lucky mare? Huh huh?" Sweetie asked, starting to get a little excited now she didn't have to worry about things kicking off. Apple Bloom chuckled and got up from her seat, silently judging if she should admit it. Maybe Applejack would feel better about it if she knew it was a decent pony.

"Okay, it's not the worst secret in the world after all. It's..." The big reveal was cut off as somepony knocked on the door, making Apple Bloom jump slightly. Applejack sighed slightly at the interruption before going to answer the door.

"Wow, convenient dramatic timing." Sweetie commented, getting a chuckle out of Apple Bloom. The two of them looked over toward the door, listening in on Applejack and whoever the visitor was.

"Oh, howdy Pinkie."

"Hey AJ! Hi back there Sweetie Belle, Bloomie!" Pinkie leaned round Applejack and waved at them. They waved back at her, Apple Bloom blushing slightly as she did. "I just came to ask if you three wanted to come to my 'Happy Hearth's Warming Eve Party'? Before you ask, yes I invited the rest of your crew, Applejack."

"Golly, you're really prepared this year...Ah what the hay, sure I'll come."

"Great! You two?"

Apple Bloom glanced over at Sweetie Belle, who was grinning eagerly. Applejack was looking a lot happier now as well.

"A Pinkie party while I'm here, could this get any better?" Sweetie replied eagerly.

"You even need to ask?" Apple Bloom added, biting her lip slightly.

"Good point. Well I still have half of Ponyville to invite, see you around!" Pinkie bounded off quickly, leaving the trio watching her go. Applejack looked back at Apple Bloom and gave a knowing smile at the look on her face. Apple Bloom glanced away and tried to act like nothing had happened.

"Ohhh, I see how it is. Never thought that would be your type, but like Sweetie Belle put it, if it makes you both happy then I don't see a problem."

"O...Okay, thanks Applejack..."

"If it helps, I won't mention it to anypony, promise."

"Me neither," Sweetie Belle put a hoof round Apple Bloom's shoulder. "Not until you're ready to tell anypony publicly about it."

Apple Bloom smiled softly and hugged her in return, feeling a lot better about the whole situation. As they let it go she went over to Applejack and hugged her as well, showing that despite the unpleasant misunderstanding earlier, they were still okay with each other. Applejack smiled back and hugged Apple Bloom in return, clearly thankful that they still had their bond intact.

"Thanks, both of you. I appreciate it."

"That's what we're here for, now how about we talk about something that we're not going to try and keep a secret?"

"Alright, we got some catching up to do anyway, all three of us."

The three of them settled back down again and steadily resumed talking. Apple Bloom was only half listening as Sweetie Belle went off on a tangent for Applejack about how her friend Coloratura was doing these days, she was just enjoying the moment too much. Pretty much all of the most important ponies had taken the news better than she expected and now she had the chance for another day with Pinkie. For the first time in what felt like months, things really seemed to be back on the up and up.