“H-hi, Applejack! Is this a-a bad time?”
“Well, Twi…if I’m bein’ completely honest, it kind of is-”
“Applejack, you are literally, LITERALLY the most dedicated and driven pony I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing and I feel safer just when you’re around because your such a dependable friend, and I think you are really good looking even after, no, especially after you’ve been working all day and you start to get kind of sweaty and I was really hoping you would go out with me because I’ve had a crush for a really long time and would spare no expense if we ever went out on a date!”
Twilight fell back onto her back legs, panting. Applejack was completely silent, her jaw somewhere on the straw covered floor around the ajar barn door. Twilight would admit that that had been slightly less…coherent, than she had intended. In her ‘Confess to Applejack in twelve easy steps’ plan, there had been a space for an impassioned speech, but palpations hadn’t been taken into account regarding the fluidity of the speech’s delivery.
After a long few painful seconds, Twilight coughed out:
“S-sorry. I had that on my chest for a while.”
“I got that much, darlin’…” Applejack said at length, in that thick country accent that sent Twilight’s heart pumping. Well, the fact that Applejack’s hair was free flowing and all mussed up was certainly helping matters…
“S-so?” Twilight choked out after shaking her less then kid friendly thoughts from her mind, flashing what she hoped was a winning smile.
“Hmm?”
“Would you go out…w-with me?”
Applejack reached a hoof up, scratching the back of her neck. Twilight felt a pit open in the bottom of her stomach as a conflicted expression flooded Applejack’s face. At length, the apple farmer lent her body against the barn door, her shoulder against the edge of the first closed door while a free hoof rested on the slightly open second door.
Twilight was a logical person: she had run through all of the possible variables in her head as she travelled from Ponyville proper to the apple family farm this morning, including those of rejection. Celestia above, she had agonised over the possibility of rejection more or less from day one of her crush, a scant few months after moving to the small town. But even so…
“…Twi, you’re one of my best friends-”
No.
“-and you’re a wonderful pony-”
No!
“-but I don’t think it would work out.”
…No…
“…I...Why?” Twilight could feel hot tears biting at the back of her eyes, turning her view of Applejack’s sombre expression fuzzy. “I-is it because I’m a princess? I swear, I would-”
“Darlin’,” Applejack reached out a strong leg, resting a hoof on the distraught girl’s shoulder. “It’s not you. It’s me.” At Twilight’s confused expression, the apple farmer scrunched up her face and glanced away, saying, “M-my barn door jus’ doesn’t swing that way, sugar.”
“Oh…” Twilight’s gaze fell to her feet.
It had been a variable that Twilight had acknowledged, but repressed. The thought of never having a chance will Applejack was…well, too much. Though she supposed she was paying for it now.
“Come here, Twi.” Applejack stood up fully, opening one leg outwards, a sad smile on her features. With a sniff, Twilight fell forward, burying her head into the apple farmer’s neck, tears staining the apple farmer’s fur. The scent of sweat and apples would have usually been exhilarating, under any other situation.
“It’s okay.” Applejack soothed, slowing rubbing the Princess’ back. “You’re still my number one gal, ya hear? Nothing’s ever gonna change that.”
Twilight nodded, her face screwed up as she clung to Applejack.
A thousand memories flashed through her mind, and with each a fresh wave of tears flowed from the young Princess.
Every time the humble apple farmer faced down a god-like being just so she could stand by her friends.
Every time the freckled beauty had offered a simple solution to a complex problem; a calm voice nearly lost in a storm.
Every. Single. Smile. One that spoke of warm afternoons, of fresh cider and for a simple kind of love that had caused Twilight’s chest to tighten.
She would recover.
It hurt now, but she would recover. She would learn to love Applejack only as a friend. She would get over that Applejack couldn’t like mares-
“Applejack, darling?”
What.
Twilight learned back, shooting the apple farm a confused look. Applejack disengaged from Twilight, flinching as she twisted around to shout into the barn.
“I-I’m coming, Rarity!” Applejack turned back to Twilight with a grimace, several prominent sweat beads rolling down her forehead. “She’s, uh, just helping-”
“Ohoho, you will be soon, you silly filly~~~”
WHAT!!!
Twilight’s gaze slowly narrowed as Applejack blocked the gap between the barn doors, her pained smile not quite reaching her eyes.
“Uhhhh, listen Twi,” Applejack’s voice lowered noticeably in several levels of volume. “Maybe we should finish this later-”
“AJ, what’s taking you so long?” The scratchy voice that could have only belonged to Rainbow Dash called out, causing Twilight’s eyes to tick slightly. “If you’re not up for round four, you just have to say.”
“Oh my Celestia.” Twilight recoiled back, face flushing perfectly in time with Applejack’s. “Are you bucking serious!?”
“W-w-wait! It’s not what ya think!” Applejack quickly hand up her hands, both of which were shaking violently. “Me and Dash-”
“Dash and I.”
“Whatever! We were just…seeing which of us could do the most push ups, and Rarity was judging.”
“…Any reason she needs to do it in lingerie?!” Twilight pointed over Applejack shoulder as a furious scowl filled her face.
Applejack snapped around, and sure enough Rarity was leaning from around one of the animal stalls, her wide eyed surprise not quite fitting her lacy outfit that left nothing to the imagination. Applejack shot her an incredulous look, which the fashionista could only respond to with a helpless shrug. Rainbow Dash also poked her head around the stall, though she looked thoroughly apathetic with the whole situation.
“…Right, erm.” Applejack turned back to face Twilight, who’s heartbroken expression was completely replaced by one that was a mixture of fury and disbelief. “There’s a good reason for that…”
“Really?” Twilight folded her arms. “Well, I’m all Celestia-damn ears.”
“...I should probably warn you that-”
Fluttershy’s bright blue eyes peeked out right below where Dash leant out.
“Okay, seriously!?” Twilight slapped two hooves against her forehead while Applejack flinched. “Just tell me right now if Pinkie is back there, because I swear-”
“P-Pinkie’s not back there!” Applejack frantaically back peddled away from the furious princess. The three mares in the back slowly slinked out view, as if that would erase Twilight’s memory of them being there. “Look, Twi, I will explain everything, and I mean everything, just…just…”
Twilight raised a brow as all hope and light left the apple farmer’s eyes, replaced with emptiness and exhaustion as she spied something over the Princess’s shoulder. Twilight turned around to see-
…Of course…
“Hey AJ! Sorry for taking so long, you wouldn’t believe the line today.” Pinkie cheerfully hopped towards the barn, despite the fact that her line of sight was obstructed by the towering pile of blankets, pillows and bags that could contain Celestia knows what carried all over her person. “I tell ya, they’re running a total racket on the price of luuuuu-look Twilights’ here!”
It was rare that Pinkie’s thousand watt smile was replaced by her clearly-fake-please-don’t-hurt-me smile. This was indeed one of those times.
Twilight slowly turned from the panicking Pinkie to Applejack, whose face was scrunching so hard it wouldn’t have surprised the ex-librarian if it was now permanently set like that.
You could have cut the following silence with a rusty spoon.
Twilight wasn’t entirely sure how to feel at this moment in time. She supposed that it would largely depend on what aspect of the situation she focused on. She would be feeling joy that Applejack just maybe, could possibly, find it in herself to be attracted to mares, if it wasn’t for the fact that that attraction was apparently limited to every single of the Elements of Harmony that wasn’t her.
“…You know what?” Twilight finally sighed, burning red hot rage dying down to glowing cinders. “You’re right Applejack.”
“H-huh?”
“It is you.”
“Wait! Twi!” The farmer called out, reaching out futilely as the Princess about-faced and began marching away, Applejack biting her lip as Twilight flapped her wings and took to the skies. “We-this-I…”
Before too long, Twilight was just a lavender and purple dot in the distance. Applejack slowly sank to the floor.
“…I jus’ didn’t want this marem to get any bigger…”
“…This is probably a bad time to mention that Starlight is coming-”
“Yes, Pinkie. Yes it is.”
Author's Note
First time submitting something, so just holler if there's something amiss with the tags and what-not. Thanks for stopping by for the read!
