Applejack's Run

Twilight lay in a peaceful half-sleep. The grass beneath the apple tree pressed against her, as comfortable as goose-down cushions. She felt a trickle of drool sliding down her cheek. That’s kind of gross. Maybe I should do something about it.

AJ bounded up to her. “Hey there, Twi. It’s time ta run.” Instead of helping her to her hooves, AJ flopped down beside her, and licked the drool from her cheek.

Twilight woke with a start, her heart pounding hard. Winona was licking her cheeks and panting dog breath over her face. “Oh . . . It’s just you. You want out again don’t you?” Twilight cast light around the room with her horn. Squinting in the brightness of her own magic, she could barely find the clock. A quarter to four. It’s still a few hours until we run.

She returned to the coach, only vaguely remembering staggering up to let Winona out. The goose-down cushions pressed against her cheek as she curled up once more. She felt too lazy to find the blanket which had slipped away and fallen to the floor at some point during the night.

Feeling cold and being unable to get back to sleep, she got up and wandered through the barn-house, finding her way to AJ’s bedroom. She slipped into the bed and snuggled up against AJ’s warm body, but her thoughts wandered to the most recent delay of their trip to Canterlot, and she never knew if she was awake or asleep.

When the first rays of sunlight began to brighten the room, Twilight felt AJ’s warmth pull away from her. AJ gently rocked her back and forth. “Ya ready ta run, Twi?”

Twilight blinked at the light showing through a gap in the window shutters. “You’re not mad at me for sneaking in here, are you?”

AJ chuckled. “Nah, not at all. Ah thought you were Apple Bloom at first, because you were mumblin’ somethin’ about a nightmare, but then Ah remembered that she ain’t done that in a couple of years. Ya said Ah was licking your face or something along those lines. Ah almost took ya up on the idea, but Ah figured it was best ta let ya sleep.”

Twilight’s felt warmth spreading across her cheeks and she pulled the sheets up to her eyes to hide her embarrassment. She could not bring herself to fully express her feelings for AJ. Something about starting in the middle of a relationship made it all the more awkward. What if we started over? “AJ . . .”

“Yes, Twi?”

“I know we were thinking that we would figure out our feelings after we get back from Canterlot, but Rarity always seems to find an excuse to delay the reunion . . . So, do you want to, you know, get to know each other better, like a real couple.”

AJ smirked and stepped closer to the bed. “Ah, just come out and say it, Twi. Ya ain’t gotta be nervous around me.”

Twilight gulped, feeling more nervous than she expected she would. She took a deep breath. “Do you want to go on a first date? Maybe that seems like a weird thing to ask, since we already live together, but everything’s out of order for us. I was in love with you long before I knew it was you, and then we were kissing, then we came here and I’ve felt shy about our love with your brother and sister around.”

AJ slipped back into bed without taking her hat off. She rolled over on her side to face Twilight; their eyes met knowingly for a moment and their muzzles met in a kiss over the gap between their pillows. Twilight was more than ready to match AJ’s enthusiasm; there had been so many times she had wanted to kiss her since she had come to live on the farm.

When their lips finally parted and they opened their eyes, AJ was smiling sheepishly back at her. “Ah’d love ta go on a date with ya . . . How ‘bout a picnic on Pine Island? It’s just a short row ta the middle of the lake. Though Ah reckon dates are supposed ta end with kissing, not start with ‘em.”

“Actually, I was thinking we could go on our date later in the afternoon. We’ll need some time to prepare and we both have work today.”

AJ grinned broadly. “Ya’ve always been a ‘work before play’ pony Twi. We think alike, you and me. Ah’ll see ya soon enough.” She got up and tipped her hat before slipping out of the bedroom to begin a hard day’s work.

With a twinge of guilt and sadness, Twilight realized she had again managed to duck out of running. She liked running with AJ—she liked doing anything with AJ really—but she had a competing passion as well, she had to study.

A more reasonable pony might have sat down for breakfast, but Twilight seated herself at the desk in the hall instead. Precarious piles of library books had towered up around her as she had checked out successively larger stacks. There were so many volumes that even the most bookish pony could scarcely have hoped to read a quarter of them before needing to return them all, but she was not looking for reading so much as for inspiration and reference.

She was passed stuffing her head with facts. Most facts were more entertaining than relevant. Rather than memorizing information; she was creating, revising, exploring, practicing, and experimenting. During her captivity, she had been eager to refine her new spells, should she ever break free. If nothing else, it was good to see them worked out on parchment. As she scrawled out the arcana, flaws constantly presented themselves, defiantly daring her to straighten them out. No spell was ever perfect though. The trick was to stop improving them when further efforts became sufficiently fruitless.

She loved her creations. Her empathy spell was her baby. It seemed so ingenious. Perhaps that was why she shuddered to think what seasoned academics might make of it if she ever presented the paper for collegiate review.

As rewarding as refining her spells had been, she pushed the parchments aside and levitated a divination tomb in front of her. Now the real work was to begin. She would need to study prodigiously if she was to succeed where the princesses had failed her.

Frustratingly few books explored divination, one of the most useful and most difficult fields of magic. During her earlier years of study, divination was the kind of academic work she had tried to pretend did not exist. It was simply too complicated and difficult to even consider. She knew her pride was likely to be wounded repeatedly if she dove into this field, but, if there was any magic which would allow her to enact her revenge, it would be divination.

Every curse had a signature that could betray its caster’s identity, location, intentions, and more. Whoever had turned her to stone had something coming to them, though she wondered what it was. She only knew that it would be a harsh and swift justice. There was no question about her ability to deliver it now that her magic had grown so strong.

Struggling against her petrification had been a continual magical workout which had been far more productive than she could have hoped to have been while free. She wondered if her love for AJ was also giving her strength, feeding her with the power to vanquish entire armies like Shining Armor and Cadance—she would have already visited her brother and sister-in-law if not for Rarity’s inconsiderate stalling. Shifting her wandering thoughts back to AJ, the familiar feelings washed over her, into her, through her, permeating her very being. Imagining AJ’s smile gave her a rising sensation in her chest that made her heart race and her head feel dizzy.

Her revenge could afford to be delayed; her date was more important. She resolved to spend the rest of the workday preparing for their romantic excursion. She knew AJ deserved better than she had been giving. Despite her newfound freedom and the restoration of her senses, Twilight had immediately re-imprisoned herself within her books and within her thoughts. She needed to break free for AJ.

* * *

A loud torrent of knocks crashed against the front door, causing Twilight to jump. She dropped the half-packed picnic basket on the counter and hurried to meet the unexpected guest, wondering what justification there could possibly be for such enthusiastic knocking.

“Come on, come on, come on!” came an unmistakable high-pitched voice.

“Pinkie!” Twilight exclaimed, yanking the door open with her magic. The next thing she knew, Pinkie had tackled her to the hardwood floor and had pinned her in a warm hug that was both affectionate and inescapable. Twilight hugged her back as best she could with her vision obscured by a mass of frazzled pink mane.

“Twilight, it’s so amazing to see you again! You’re all yourself again and not stone and not dead and totally alive and—”

“Uh, Pinkie, do you think we could continue this conversation some place where I’m not on the floor and you’re not lying on top of me?”

The rambunctious pony rolled off of her and summersaulted onto her hooves. “Sure thing, Twilight. Sorry to show up uninvited and everything, but I just couldn’t wait another day to see you, not after I got Rarity’s last letter.” She helped Twilight to her hooves and brushed her off. “I was so happy to hear you were alive again. I wanted to jump on the fastest train to Ponyville as soon as I got the first letter you sent me. I don’t see why you want to wait until Rarity’s party to see us all. Eveypony wants to see you again, Twilight.”

“I know, and I want to see you all too, but it’s a little complicated . . .”

“Well,” Pinkie looked at her expectantly.

“Well . . . I’m sure you know more about it than me, but Rarity and AJ had some sort of fight before she moved to Canterlot.”

Pinkie’s cheerful expression faltered and she became serious. She spoke almost in a whisper. “I wasn’t there, but Rainbow Dash told me that Rarity said some really mean things and made Applejack cry.”

Twilight beckoned Pinkie to follow her into the kitchen so she could continue packing her picnic basket while they talked. She faced Pinkie and filled the basket with various snacks and accessories without looking at it. “Fluttershy and I have been hoping that we can set things right between AJ and Rarity. I’m hoping that Rarity will feel more forgiving if we make her feel special by holding our reunion at her new boutique. You know how she loves to be the center of attention.”

“She’s always the center of attention now that she’s super rich and famous and important. I haven’t seen the new building yet, but Rainbow Dash said it’s like really, really, really tall . . . I think Rainbow Dash said it was awesome too . . . Oh! Speaking of Rainbow Dash, she told me she’ll be coming to visit you and Applejack today. I wanted her to ride on the train with me, but she said trains are way too slow. Anyway, Rainbow Dash has a big surprise for you.”

“What sort of surprise?”

Pinkie grinned broadly. “A big one.”

“Come on, Pinkie, can I at least have a hint?”

“Oh, Twilight, I can’t be the one to tell you. What sort of a surprise would it be if I told you?” Pinkie stepped up the counter to peer into the basket. “Getting ready for a picnic party?”

“Actually, AJ and I are going on our first date this afternoon.”

Pinkie gave her a puzzled looked. “First date? Why not fifth date?”

“Uh, because the number one comes before the number five.”

“No, silly, why haven’t you been on a single date yet? You are girlfriends aren’t you?”

“Well, that’s kind of complicated too. I want to be AJ’s girlfriend, but the whole situation is pretty weird. I mean, we spend a lot of time together in the evenings and we’ve kissed a few times, but I’ve mostly just been studying magic since I came to that farm and, even though AJ wants me to share her bed, I’ve been sleeping on the couch.”

Pinkie smiled knowingly. “Oh, I see what this date is about. Once you’re officially dating, you can sleep in the same bed! . . . or is it too soon on the first date? We should ask Rarity when we get to Canterlot, she’s an expert on dating.”

“Pinkie, can I ask you something?”

“What kind of question is that? Of course you can ask me something. Even if I didn’t want you to ask me a question, I couldn’t really stop you, unless I got super resourceful and taped your mouth closed or something, but that wouldn’t be very nice of me, so ask me whatever you want.”

“Do you have any idea why Rarity would keep delaying our reunion like this? I would have thought she’d be delighted to see me again. I’m sure she’s busy with her business like she says, but this is getting a little ridiculous.”

“I have no idea. I haven’t seen Rarity in a long time. The only friends I spend much time with now are my sisters.” She began to tear up as she spoke. “I-I just couldn’t stay in Ponyville after you were gone. All of our friends were sad and Applejack and Rarity started arguing about whether she should always run up to see you each morning since it made her so sad and Rainbow Dash joined the Wonder Bolts and was never here anymore and Fluttershy got even more shy and just wanted to hide in her house.” Tears burst from her eyes and she sobbed uncontrollably into Twilight’s shoulder.

Twilight helped her to a chair at the kitchen table and levitated an apple in front of her. “Don’t worry, Pinkie. I’m going to make everything right again.” She sounded more confident than she felt.

Pinkie sniffled and took a bite from the apple. Her tears subsided and her face brightened as she looked up gratefully at Twilight. “Do you want some help planning for your date?” she asked between loud, satisfied bites of apple.

Twilight felt her cheeks pull into a smile. “Sure, I’d love some help. I don’t really know what I’m doing, honestly.”

* * *

“This ain’t exactly gonna be a formal occasion, sugarcube,” AJ commented as Twilight levitated their gala dresses from a chest in AJ’s closet.

Pinkie bounded around them excitedly. “Oh come on Applejack, it’s a date. You’ll look cute for each other!”

Twilight reached out with a hoof and stroked the soft fabric of her old star-dress. “I’m assuming nopony is going to see us where we’re going anyway.”

“Well, Ah’d sure hope not. We’d look like darn prissy fools wearing these fancy things to a humble picnic.”

Twilight smiled. “How ‘humble’ were you thinking this picnic was going to be?”

AJ’s freckled cheeks glowed crimson with embarrassment, but her grin betrayed her excitement. She nipped Twilight’s dress from the air and began squeezing herself into it. The starry ensemble fit tightly around her body, and Twilight thought it looked cute on her. She was not so sure that AJ’s dress looked as good on her.

Pinkie hugged them together in her hooves. “Oh, I’m so excited for you. This is going to be the best date ever!”

“You weren’t planning on coming with us, were you, Pinkie?”

“Don’t be silly, Twilight. Somepony has to stay here in case Rainbow Dash shows up.”

* * *

Twilight and AJ galloped through a meadow, swimming through tall sweet-smelling dry grasses that shown brightly in the summer sun. Their picnic basket careened through the air behind them, held aloft by Twilight’s magic. They must have looked ridiculous to any ponies who might have chanced to see them in their fancy dresses and cowpony hats. This was the freedom Twilight knew she had been fighting for.

She dashed ahead of AJ, galloping to the edge of the field and out across the lakeshore. A spray of sand and pebbles flew from her hooves as she sprang into the air and plunged into the lake. The cool water soaked through her outfit and flowed around her body. Water sloshed and poured off the rim of her hat, as her face emerged from lake. A loud splash told her that AJ had followed her example. Forget about rowing, we’ll swim across! She kicked out with her hooves, propelling herself slowly toward the distant island.

“Where are ya going? There’s a boat ya know.” AJ called after her.

“What, afraid of a little swim?” Twilight called back to her tauntingly.

AJ swam out to Twilight, bobbing awkwardly through the water in the star-patterned dress. “Ah ain’t afraid of nothing, but ya’d best stick close ta me, swimming is a mite more difficult than running.”

The picnic basket floated overhead as they worked their way out into the lake. The heavy dresses clung to their bodies, making their progress all the more difficult. Already winded from their run, Twilight found it impossible to match AJ’s steady pace. Running short of breath, she began dragging behind as her strokes became less coordinated and more desperate. “AJ, help . . . I-I can’t keep this up!”

Twilight’s strength faltered and she slipped helplessly beneath the surface of lake. She was too tired to maintain the levitation spell on the picnic basket, and she saw it bobbing on the lake’s surface above her. AJ kicked up a flurry of bubbles as she swam toward her, but she seemed too far away. The rays of sunlight flittering through the water began to fade as crushing darkness began to close in around Twilight.

She felt herself towed upward and back into the light. She was suddenly on the lake surface once more, gasping for breath. AJ hugged her close and tread water to keep them afloat. Their hearts pounded against each other’s chests, yet AJ’s breath remained calm and steady.

“Ah’ll help pull ya along,” AJ said.

“No . . . It’s alright, I’ll be okay,” Twilight gasped as she clung tight against AJ.

When they began swimming again, AJ set a slower pace, and Twilight cast her levitation spell on both the picnic basket and on herself to lessen the strain of the swim. The strength of her magic made the swim no more strenuous than walking. She hoped AJ would not notice that her hooves were shimming slightly beneath the surface of the lake.

The sun was sinking toward the western hills by the time they neared the shore only to see that the island was already occupied. The mayor and a few other middle-aged mares were basking in folding chairs along the water’s edge. They did not appear to have noticed Twilight and AJ as they neared the island.

Twilight had regained her breath, and the weight of AJ’s gala dress barely encumbered her as she felt solid ground beneath her hooves and waded out onto the sandy shore. AJ, however, clambered out of the lake on shaky legs and collapsed, gasping desperately for breath. Twilight felt herself tearing up as she helped AJ to her hooves. She had needlessly put her through so much more exertion than she herself could have endured. And for what?

“Thanks Twi . . . Ah’m okay . . . Ah . . . just need a breather . . . that’s all. Gosh, you sure can swim better than Ah’d have reckoned ya could. All Ah needed ta do was have the good sense to set a more reasonable pace and ya kept up just fine. Ya sure are strong for such a little pony.”

You’re the strong one. I’m just a worthless cheat, Twilight though.

The mayor put on her spectacles and roused herself from her folding chair to trot up and greet them. “Why if it’s isn’t our four-time winner of the Pony of Ponyville Award,” she said, nodding politely to AJ, “and, if it isn’t your lovely girlfriend, Twilight Sparkle.”

Girlfriend. Yes, now that we’re dating, we’re officially girlfriends! It’s better than being roommates who make out at odd times.

The mayor nodded to Twilight. “It’s excellent to see you again. I was very happy to hear that the curse had worn off. It was a sad day for Ponyville when you turned to stone.”

Twilight listened politely as the mayor babbled, and introduced them to her prim friends, important city councilors from Manehattan whose names escaped memory seconds after they had been introduced. Thankfully, the older mares hid whatever judgments they might have harbored about Twilight’s and AJ’s absurd appearances. The mayor seemed to be under the impression that AJ and Twilight had been on the island the whole time and had only swum around from the other side; she could have never guessed what they had just been through. In all likelihood, the mayor would have continued talking well past Celestia’s bedtime, but one of her friends produced an excuse for their party to row back across the lake, and they left Twilight with her girlfriend in the privacy they desired.

“Boy howdy! Surviving that swim has got me powerful hungry,” AJ declared as she spread a checkered picnic blanket over the spot where the mayor and her friends had been lounging. Fortunately, the wicker of the picnic basket had been weaved tight enough to be waterproof, elsewise the food would have been ruined and their picnic would have been over before it had begun.

Twilight ungracefully struggled out of AJ’s dress. The sopping garment made a loud splat sound as she slung it over a nearby branch. Luckily, it did not sound as though she had ripped it. AJ paused amid her picnic preparations so Twilight could help her wriggle out of the undersized star-dress. It was a considerable effort for both of them, but, for Twilight, having an excuse to run her hooves along AJ’s muscular body made the struggle more than worth it.

“That swim was a mite bit reckless. What was that all about?” AJ asked as they sat down on the checkered blanket.

“I’m really sorry about the swim . . . It was stupid of me, but I wanted to impress you.”

AJ smiled, but gave an almost condescending shake of her head. “Ah impressed well enough, but it’s your common sense I love ya for, not so much your recklessness. A pony’s apt ta get killed on adventures with you. We’ve faced a lot of dangers together; albeit we had ta face a lot of those dangers on account of the princess sending us on perilous missions, but it all worked out fine . . . You’re not still mad at our princess are ya?”

Twilight frowned in spite of herself. Breaching uncomfortable topics on a first date was far less than ideal, but things had hardly gone as planned thus far, and she did not want her girlfriend to feel like she had to trot on eggshells. “I understand that the princess did all she could. I just expected that she would be able to free me, so it was very disappointing when I finally admitted to myself that it was not going to happen. I’m not mad at her anymore.”

Twilight levitated a sugar cube to AJ’s lips. She obliged by plucking it from the air with evident satisfaction. A look of adoration showed upon her face as she met eyes with Twilight. However, Twilight’s real purpose in feeding her the sugar cube was to disguise the empathy spell as she cast it. AJ would not be able to tell the difference; Twilight could cast multiple spells at once so long as her horn was glowing. The more time Twilight spent with AJ, the less honest she felt, but she had to know if AJ believed her about forgiving the princess; she needed closure to move forward.

She immediately felt that AJ was happy to be there with her. No real surprises there, but nice to know anyway. There was no hint of trouble in her mind, only relief. She must have believed Twilight was being sincere about having forgiven the princess, even though Twilight was only half sure she believed it herself. Is it a lie if I don’t know the answer myself? Yes . . . I just lied to her. Twilight felt her heart sink. AJ would never lie to me. She’s a better pony than I am. Twilight suddenly felt AJ’s distress.

AJ was talking in a distressed tone as well. “Uh, Twilight? You’re kind of spacin’ out. Are ya alright? Are ya cold? Ah’m a bit cold myself, but the sun should dry us out plenty good before it goes behind them hills. What’s troubling ya?”

Twilight snapped back to her senses and felt herself blushing fiercely. At least AJ had no way of knowing why. “Oh, I was just thinking about . . . uh, feelings.”

AJ leaned in close to Twilight’s face. “What sort of feelings? You’re blushin’ something like Ah’ve never seen ya blush before. It’s alright though, Ah won’t judge and ya don’t have ta tell me if ya don’t feel comfortable . . . though Ah am mighty curious.” These were more than words; Twilight knew AJ’s curiosity as if it were her own.

“I can feel everything you can feel!” Twilight blurted out, immediately feeling glad to be honest.

AJ did not look or feel very surprised to hear this. “It’s a bit strange, but Ah can feel what you’re feeling too. I’ve never felt closer ta anypony before.”

What? The spell isn’t supposed to work both ways! Twilight’s cheeks burned with embarrassment.

“Ah’m sorry, Ah should have told ya sooner, but Ah noticed the title of one of the spells you were working on and Ah couldn’t help myself. Almost none of what ya had scribbled out made half an apple’s worth of sense ta me, but Ah realized it was a spell for readin’ feelings.”

Now she knows that I’m a worthless sneak! Twilight thought desperately.

“I’m sorry, Twi. It wasn’t my place to look over your work. If ya wanted me ta know what ya were working on ya woulda told me. Ah can understand if ya’re upset.”

She feels just as bad as I do . . . This isn’t how dates are supposed to go! Twilight sprang forward and embraced AJ in a tight hug. Neither one of them wanted to let go. They began feeling much better after a few seconds.

“Ya know . . .” Twilight felt AJ’s voice against her chest as they clung to one another. “Ah think Ah could feel what you were feeling some of those times Ah went ta visit you in the woods. Ah couldn’t be sure, but it was almost as if, seeing ya in stone, Ah could feel your hopes and your excitement, but all that time Ah just thought those were my own feelings. What you’re doing now feels a fair bit stronger though.”

“I’ve made the spell more efficient and improved the design a lot since I’ve been able to put it on paper,” she said, letting go of AJ to stare at the checkered blanket beneath them. “I just didn’t know that the spell went both ways. I feel kind of stupid for not noticing until you told me.”

AJ reached out with a gentle hoof and nudged Twilight’s chin so they were seeing each other eye to eye. “Twi, you’re about the last pony in Equestria who should feel stupid about anything. You’re the cleverest pony Ah’ve ever known.”

Twilight almost found herself at a loss for words as she stared into AJ’s deep green eyes. “I’m sorry, I just wanted to know how you were feeling, but I feel like I was really violating your privacy. I’ll tell you when I’m casting the spell in the future, if I ever cast it anymore,” she said as she deactivated the spell.

AJ laughed. “Don’t worry about it Twi, I ain’t mad at all. Ya always were the curious sort, the sort who ain’t satisfied ‘til ya find all the answers ta everything. Ya won’t have ta tell me if ya cast the spell. Ah’ll be able ta feel what you’re feeling. That’s enough of a giveaway, especially now that you’ve got the spell worked out so it’s more powerful.”

AJ cut some slices of apple pie and served one for each of them. Twilight took her slice gratefully as AJ hoofed it over to her. They took a few moments to eat quietly while gazing out across the shimmering lake. It was amazing that AJ had been able to swim across it.

After AJ finished her last bite of pie, she cleared her throat as if to speak, but kept staring out across the water, almost nervously. At last she spoke, “Ah know ya feel bad for pryin’ inta my feelings like ya did, but Ah honestly think that’s a wonderful spell ya got there. There are probably a lot of good uses for it.” She looked at Twilight shyly. “Do ya think you could cast it again, Ah want ta know what you’re feeling when Ah kiss you.”

AJ was right, there were so many possibilities. Twilight willed the full force of her magic into her spell.. Despite all of her work, its design was questionable, especially given that she had overlooked one of its most fundamental aspects. A less reckless pony probably would not even be taking chances by casting such an underdeveloped spell. Love comes with risks, she told herself as AJ’s happiness flowed together with hers.

Twilight closed her eyes and leaned forward to meet her girlfriend’s lips. It felt more wonderful and far less confusing than it had out in the woods during the storm or in bed that morning. AJ’s lips tasted of sugar, apples, and cinnamon. When their tongues met, they danced slowly and lovingly across each other, and Twilight knew it was all she ever wanted. Her past and her resentments were meaningless compared with the sweet experience of this moment, which she shared so intimately with AJ.

She suddenly felt surprised and amused by it all. These were not her feelings, so they must have been AJ’s. Why would AJ find this kiss funny? Am I doing it wrong? I knew I should have really read up on kissing before our date. I’m so underprepared!

A flurry of wind whipped and thrashed around them. Twilight heard the articles of their picnic being scattered by in the wind. The picnic cloth flapped and billowed around them as the air came in quick gusts. Twilight pulled gently away from AJ’s embrace and they both opened their eyes to glance about, more surprised now than overcome with passion.

Rainbow Dash hovered in the air several yards above them, grinning as if she might start laughing at any moment. She was blowing their romantic picnic in all directions with the force of her wings. Landing lightly on her back hooves, she appeared to be rearing up gallantly. Apparently none of her showpony instincts had been lost.

“So it’s true then,” Dash said, adopting a voice, which, in its feigned callousness, could not conceal her joy. She went on before Twilight’s and AJ’s blushing could reach its full extent. “I know it’s not cool to watch other ponies slobber all over each other’s faces, but it really looked like it must have been a great feeling kiss. It was kind of scary, actually.”

Twilight hastily dispelled her empathic magic, realizing Dash must have gotten a taste of it as well.

Not waiting for either of them to respond, Dash continued talking. “I know we were gonna meet up at Rarity’s skyscraper, but I couldn't wait to see you any longer. Rarity told me she was delaying our get-together because she was busy having the windows removed from the top floor. At least it makes the building more pegasus-friendly. Now I can drop in on her at any time.”

Twilight pushed her embarrassment from her mind and stepped forward to give Dash a hug. “I’ve missed you so much. I’m glad you came to see us, even if your timing was a bit, uh, unexpected.”

Dash warmly returned the embrace. “Hugs are fine, so long as you don’t start do anything to me like what you were just doing to Applejack. I’m married.”

“Huh?” Twilight let go of the pegasus and stepped back to see if it was still Rainbow Dash standing before her.

Dash laughed. “I’ll bet you didn’t see that one coming. You should see the look on your face. If you took out the dictionary and you looked up ‘surprised,’ you’d see a picture of yourself.”

AJ stepped forward and gave Dash a friendly hoofshake before turning to Twilight, looking a bit amused herself. “Sorry, sugarcube, but Rainbow asked me not to tell ya about her marriage. She wanted ta be the one ta brag ta you about it.”

“Hey, marriage is nothing to brag about. It’s just funny that I beat all the rest of you to it.”

“So who’s the lucky—” Twilight almost said, “stallion,” but wondered if she was being too presumptive.

“The lucky groom?” Dash offered a possible ending for her sentence. “His name is Meadow Flower. Yeah, I know, it sounds like a girl’s name, so spare me, but he’s the newest Wonder Bolt and I took him under my wing.” No empathic magic was necessary to see how much Dash was amused by her own pun. “One thing led to another thing and that other thing led to another thing and so on. Blah, blah, blah, we’re married! We did it fast, real fast. You have to meet him. He’s awesome! But I’m sure you’ve already figured that out just based on who he married.” Dash said, pointing to herself.

And I thought she was cocky before she became a Wonder Bolt. Still, Twilight had longed to see Rainbow Dash as much as any of her friends. She was not even particularly mad about how she had disrupted her kiss with AJ. There would be more time for kissing.

Dash was still talking, and whatever she was saying seemed to have required her to strut back and forth like she owned the little island simply because she had landed on it. “You may think you’ve got a better story than me, sending letters out to everypony in Equestria that you’re surprise lesbians and you came back to life and stuff, but I’ve got another bombshell coming . . . wait for it . . . I’m on maternity leave!”

Twilight blinked.

Dash looked increasingly smug with every word. “Yeah, I haven’t decided a name for our son yet, nothing seems awesome enough. I’m thinking the naming process will be the only slow thing about him. I’m gonna have him blasting the sky with sonic rainbooms even before I did my first one. Every generation has to step up and be a bit more awesome than the last one.”

“Ah thought ya said ya were flying ultra-distance, because ya wanted your name in them record books too, not getting pregnant without telling nopony.”

Dash grinned. “Nope, I’m too cool for boring, old ultra-distance flying. It was all an ingenious scheme to take it easy while I was waiting for the baby. I couldn’t very well perform for the Wonder Bolts while I was pregnant. Do you know how tight those show suits are? They’re as tight as my stunts. I would have looked like a flying whale if I wore one while I was pregnant.” She puffed out her belly and cheeks while flying around clumsily as if to demonstrate what she might have looked like as a Wonder Bolt whale. Despite her efforts, she still looked skinny.

Twilight recovered from the shock enough to realize that it would be polite to congratulate the boisterous pegasus on her many achievements, both athletic and familial. Though the way Dash was carrying on, encouragement hardly seemed like it would be healthy. “Congratulations on everything, Rainbow. I can’t wait to meet the baby and your husband.”

Dash did a double flip and landed lightly on the sand. “I could pick you up and fly you to Cloudsdale right now if you want,” she made it sound like a realistic offer. “I’d probably have to take you one at a time since AJ built so much leg muscle running to see you each day.”

AJ grinned at the complement. “What, ya don’t think you’re strong enough ta carry the both us at once?” She jived.

For a second, Dash looked as though she might reply with a biting comeback, but she just laughed. “It’ll be a few months before I’m back in that kind of shape.”

“AJ and I have already had more than enough adventure for one day, so you won’t have to bother with taking us to Cloudsdale. We were having a date of sorts, but it wasn’t going exactly according to plan, even before you came here and sent all our stuff flying.”

Dash took the air and hovered above them. “I didn’t really mean to intrude or anything. I just got bored waiting to see you guys and I noticed you down here on my way to Sweet Apple Acres I’ll see you back at the farm if you want to keep going at each other. I’ll see you later . . . Oh, and Pinkie should be showing up later tonight; she’s taking the train.” With this, Rainbow Dash shot off through the evening sky, leaving a shimmering rainbow in her wake.

AJ chuckled. “That one’s got as short an attention span as a pond fish. Here Ah ain’t even seen her in over a year, and you ain’t seen her for even longer, and she only sticks around for a couple of minutes and is flying away before we can even get a word in edgewise. Ah shoulda nabbed me a good hold on her tail ta keep her from shooting off so fast. Ah guess we’ll have plenty of time to visit with her and Pinkie tonight. We should invite Fluttershy too. Ah wish Rarity was here though. You want to call it a date and head back to see our friends?”

Twilight felt herself smiling as she eyed AJ. “Sure, but I think we’ll need more practice at this whole dating thing.”

Almost absentmindedly, Twilight gathered up the remains of their picnic. She did not really even have to look at what she was doing with her magic. The wet dresses barely fit in the basket, but she managed to squeeze the lid shut. “Rainbow Dash really seemed pleased with herself. I guess mothers usually are. Shining Armor used to tell me that mom did nothing but talk about me while she was pregnant. He told me that all of the hype helped convince him to be the best brother he could be once I was born. He didn’t disappoint me . . . though I worry I’m disappointing him by not coming to Canterlot sooner.”

“Aw, don’t worry so much about it, sugarcube. We’ll see your brother soon enough, him and Cadance. Heck we might even get a chance ta meet Rainbow’s husband. Ah haven’t seen Rainbow much since she stopped running with me and became a famous Wonder Bolt.” AJ took the picnic basket between her teeth. “How’d ya ‘spect we’ll get off this here island?”

A radiant white light snapped inward around them and they were standing on the opposite shore. “I probably should have done that the first time,” Twilight said sheepishly.

AJ set the picnic basket down. “Nah, that wouldn’t have made for much of a memory. Ah’ll have a story ta tell our friends and family when we get back. They’ll think we were half crazy. Ah think Ah’ll leave out the parts about us kissing and feeling each other’s feelings though.”

As they trotted home amid the last rays of the setting sun, Twilight almost laughed to herself. Things had hardly gone as she planned, but sometimes her plans were overrated.

AJ slowed her steps and stopped, turning to face Twilight as they neared the farm. The last of the day’s sunlight glowed across her freckled face. She smiled shyly. “Ah love you, Twi.”

Twilight brushed her cheek against AJ’s. “I love you too,” she whispered.

AJ gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Twi, whatever happens, Ah just want ya ta know that Ah don’t mind if you’re preoccupied with your studies or if our dates are always this much of a mess, Ah’ll still love you. Ah want ta be here for ya, even if neither of us are perfect.”