Applejacked

It was late in the afternoon when Applejack reached the front of Twilight's Friendship Castle. It was a warm and humid day, and she had been walking around Ponyville for hours making her deliveries. As a result, her white undershirt was thoroughly soaked in sweat, clinging tightly to her muscular furry form. If not for the fact that it would pretty much expose her breasts to any and all who saw her, she would have taken off her flannel shirt. Although, she was tempted to do it anyways, and the hay with anypony who had a problem with it.

Stopping at the door, Applejack set the boxes down and took her hat off. She wiped at her brow before fanning herself. She was almost done for the day. Just had to drop off the pies at the castle, then she could go home. Then she could take a nice, long, cold shower to cool off, wash the grime and sweat, and just relax. She could even sleep naked. Just had to remember to lock the door when she went to bed so nopony accidentally walked in on her again.

The castle was very well air-conditioned. As soon as she stepped inside, the cold air caused the sweat of her shirt to turn freezing, sending a chill through her body. It also caused her nipples to perk up, poking the fabric of her shirt more. For a moment, Applejack was actually expecting to see her breath.

"Hello?" she called out as she kicked the door shut behind her. "Twilight? Spike? Starlight? Any of y'all here?"

Getting no immediate answer, she continued walking. Having visited this place numerous times, she knew enough of the lay out. Not all of it, but enough. She could easily get to the throne room, or the kitchen, which is where she was intending to head this time. Although she would prefer to let Spike or Twilight know that she was here and had made the delivery, any of them would know as soon as they saw the boxes.

As she made her way along the hallway, Applejack found that one of the doors was open. Inside was Twilight Sparkle, and it became quite clear why she had not responded when Applejack called out her name. The room was a laboratory of some sort, and Twilight was dressed in a lab coat, bent over something at one of the tables. Next to her was a notebook and a pen held in her magic that was currently writing away.

"So there you are," Applejack said as she stepped into the lab. Heading toward one of the tables, she moved to set the pies down. As she did, her hand smacked a loose vial, sending it rolling and leaving a trail of powder behind. Powder that Applejack's arm brushed through and that she set her boxes down on top of. She made her way over to Twilight, who still had not noticed her.

"Twi?" Applejack said as she made her way over to her friend. "Twilight?" Stopping beside Twilight, she still got no response as her friend stared through a microscope. After wiping her hand off against her stomach, she flicked one of Twilight's ears.

A yelp of surprise escaped Twilight Sparkle as she jumped in her seat, turning to face Applejack. Twilight's eyes were wide behind her glasses, and her wings tried to flare out behind her, slamming against the chair's armrests instead and causing a wince of pain. As the initial shock passed, Twilight focused on the mare now in front of her.

"Oh, hi, Applejack," she said with a small smile. "I didn't hear you come in."

"Figured as much," Applejack said with a roll of her eyes. "I swear girl, when you get caught up in somethin', Pinkie Pie could lead a marching band of yaks right past ya, and you wouldn't even notice."

Twilight's ears pulled back as she gave a small smile.

"I wouldn't say yaks," she replied. "I mean: ponies, maybe; Breezies, definitely; parasprites, possibly; but yaks? I'm pretty sure that nothing would keep me from noticing that."

The response got a laugh out of Applejack, and helped her relax about Twilight Sparkle a little. She -- and all of them really -- had seen how obsessive Twilight Sparkle could get when she got interested in something. The mare would skip meals and go without sleep. Rarity even speculated that Twilight did not even use "the facilities" as she put it, but simply used her magic to teleport the "waste" somewhere. When Twilight got into one of those states, she would become extremely irritable, getting huffy over any interruptions and snapping at the slightest provocation. If she was able to make jokes, especially ones at her own expense, then it meant that Twilight was at least rested and fed enough to function normally.

"So, what're ya working on anyways?" Applejack asked, moving to lean against one of the tables.

"Careful where you park your plot," Twilight said. "I'm working with a mix of Poison Joke and Heart's Desire, and there are several vials of the stuff spread out."

"Poison Joke?" Applejack cried out, standing up and wiping at the seat of her pants. "Why in the name of Celestia would you mess with somethin' like that, sugar cube? Don't think what it did to us that one time is somethin' you'd forget."

"Of course I haven't," Twilight replied. "It altered all of us, including making you approximately one-eighth of your size --"

The memory of that caused Applejack to shift, blushing slightly.

"-- and basically reversing Rainbow Dash's wings." She held up a finger, pointing in Applejack's direction. "It also altered Fluttershy's voice, which -- more importantly -- Zecora was able to reproduce. Which means that either its reactions will be consistent as it was what happened to her before, or it can actually be altered into have a specific result.

"That's where the Heart's Desire comes in," Twilight continued with a grin. "It's supposed to be able to give a pony what is they want most in the world. So I was thinking that maybe by combining the two, I could create something beneficial to ponykind. A mixture that could possibly help regenerate lost limbs, or allow physically incapacitated ponies mobility again. Maybe even allow older ponies to live longer and be more active."

The last one especially sounded nice. Applejack loved Granny Smith, and she was well aware that the old mare was getting up there in age. Some days it seemed that it was just stubbornness alone that kept the old earth pony going. The memory of how happy and active Granny was while using the magic elixir -- even if it turned to be a scam -- were still pretty vivid. Having lost their parents already, she and her siblings would love to keep Granny around for as long as possible. A desire the old mare shared since she "ain't going nowhere 'til well after I get to meet Apple Bloom's babies."

"So, how's it goin'?"

A deep sigh escaped from Twilight as she leaned back in her chair. Taking off her glasses, she rubbed at her eyes.

"So far, it's not," she answered. "I'm still in the earliest stages of testing." she glanced at a microscope. "For instance, right now I'm studying one of Spike's scales that had been exposed to the powder, but am seeing no changes to it." One of her hands lifted up and waved at it. "Either the mixture doesn't work, or it can't affect it. It could be due to the fact it's a dragon scale, which is extremely resistant to magic and makes it less likely to be altered, or the mixture isn't working because the scale on its own is inanimate, having no desires, wants, flaws, or points of pride about itself for the material to base its affects on.

"I need at least some sort of reaction so I can figure out of the antidote for Poison Joke on its own will work, or if I need to look into creating a new one. After that, I can continue research and testing until reaching the point where I can safely try it on volunteers."

Applejack saw something familiar in her friend. Something she had seen both in herself and in her family members. It was something that meant that if Twilight did not start to pace herself now, she was going to run herself ragged pretty fast.

Fortunately, Applejack had just the thing to get her to take a break.

"Well, I have some pies here," she said, motioning toward the boxes. "Granny Smith made a bunch of them and I thought I'd drop a few off here and there." Moving closer she patted one. "Got 'bout three here. Figured one for each of y'all." She grinned. "Assuming you want to share 'em."

Twilight blushed this time as she was reminded of how she tended to gorge on Sweet Apple Acres pie.

"So, how 'bout you take a little break," Applejack continued, "and dig into one of these. Maybe a rest and full stomach'll help clear your head a bit. Fresh eyes and all."

Watching, Applejack could see the conflict in Twilight over the decision. The desire to keep working until she got an answer fighting against the desire to dig into the flaky crust and tender filling. Fortunately, being friends with Twilight and a business mare, Applejack knew exactly how to persuade her friend. Taking the top-most box, she pulled it open to show off the fresh, home-made, apple pie inside.

Twilight Sparkle stared at it and licked her lips.

"Okay," she finally said. "That sounds great."

Getting up, Twilight grabbed the box that Applejack held and carried it with her. Her horn lit up as she grabbed the second box, carrying it with her and leaving the last for Applejack.

A small chuckle escaped Applejack as she grabbed the last box and started to follow Twilight to the kitchen, stopping to rub at one of her eyes as it itched for a second.