“Are we almost there yet?” Blue trudged through the dust behind Twilight. “We’ve been walking for almost an hour and my hooves are killing me.”

“Just a little further,” she promised. “You know, we’d be there sooner if you quit dragging your hooves. Just something to keep in mind.”

The thestral’s lips curled into a pout. He couldn’t see the princess’ face, but the tone of her voice told him she was amused by his displeasure. With a groan, he glanced back over his shoulder. He could still see the silhouette of Ponyville in the distance. Just the thought of walking back aggravated the throbbing in his legs.

“Why am I even here?” Blue demanded. “Isn’t helping you more of Spike’s thing?”

“Spike’s been extremely helpful these last few days. I think he deserves a day off.”

“Then what about Starlight?”

Twilight chuckled.

“She’s busy, too. What’s wrong? Yesterday, you seemed so eager to help me out. Maybe I just enjoy your company.” She spun around to face him, nearly close enough for their muzzles to touch. “Don’t you enjoy spending time with me?”

Blue stumbled backward, kicking up dust as he fell.

“I-I didn’t . . . I didn’t mean . . . “ he stammered.

She flashed him a wicked smile as she offered her hoof.

“Good. I’m glad you’re having fun.”

“You’re a jerk.”

Succumbing to the contagion of her sly grin, Blue took the offered help and pulled himself up to his hooves. Twilight helped him brush the dirt off his cloak before they continued.

Over the next hill, the farm came into view. A house and barn sat at the center of the compound. A seemingly endless length of wooden fencing stretched around the perimeter in varying states of disrepair. Hundreds of trees lined the fields, their shimmering red treasures visible even from this distance.

“We’re here,” Twilight said, coupling her announcement with a grand flourish.

“I figured.”

Their dirt path led them through the interior of the farm, releasing them into a wide front yard. They made it halfway across when the house’s front door swung open. Applejack trotted out, leaving the door open behind her.

“Howdy, Twilight.”

“Good afternoon, Applejack. I’m not too early, am I?”

“Of course not. Applebloom’s been chomping at the bit waiting for you. I’m sure she’ll be more than happy to start early. And I see you brought Mister Blue with you.”

Blue offered a half-hearted wave.

“Twilight thought I might be able to help. Right?”

The princess shrugged.

Applejack chuckled as she stepped aside, ushering them toward the front door. The patio’s wooden beams groaned as they stepped up onto the porch. A pair of rocking chairs creaked with the breeze. Above, windchimes played their ringing melodies.

Twilight’s magic pulled the door open, allowing the group inside.

The thin entryway forced them through one at a time. Their hooves clicked against the hardwood floors as they squeezed between a rather austere dining room and an old-fashioned sitting room. Just looking at the floral pattern and scratchy threads of the couch made Blue’s fur itch.

“Just go straight on ahead into the kitchen,” Applejack ordered.

The group spilled into the kitchen. Despite being the largest room in the house so far, it still felt cramped with three ponies standing in it. Wooden cabinets plastered with peeling paint lined most of the kitchen. An old metal refrigerator hummed in the corner. Out through the windows over the sink, the orchards stretched out endlessly.

Applejack squeezed past the other two to the staircase just beside them.

“Apple Bloom!” she hollered up the stairs. “Twilight’s here.”

“Already? She’s early. I’ll be down in just a second,” a squeaky voice yelled back.

“She sounds excited,” Blue remarked.

“You have no idea. When she told me she was having trouble in school, I said something about asking Twilight for help. I sort of meant it as a joke, but I don’t think she realized that. And once I brought it up . . . well, let’s just say you can’t put apples back up on the tree.”

“Don’t worry, I’m more than happy to help.” Twilight smiled.

“I know. And I thank you for that. I still remember back when I had to have Big Mac help me with homework. It would’ve taken us longer than Applebloom to figure it out.”

“Quit being dramatic. Speaking of Big Macintosh, where is he?”

“He took the cart into town with this week’s harvest. Granny went with him. She’s hoping to renegotiate our contract with a few of the vendors. See if we can’t squeeze a few more bits out of the season. Granny volunteered. She’s quite the negotiator.”

Applejack climbed the first few steps and raised her voice.

“And of course Applebloom is here, if she ever decides to come downstairs.”

“I’m going as fast as I can!” Applebloom whined.

The filly stumbled down the stairs. She carried a heap of pencils, papers, and textbooks, forcing her to walk on her hind legs. Applejack guided her sister into the dining room, where she heaved everything onto the table in a minor academic apocalypse. The little mare took a moment to catch her breath before rushing over the princess and skipping circles around her.

“Howdy, Twilight!”

“Good afternoon, Applebloom.”

She skidded to a stop and saluted.

“I’m ready to learn, Princess.”

Twilight’s smile stretched from ear-to-ear.

“It’s refreshing to have a student so eager to learn. Let’s get started right away, then.” Twilight took a seat at the table, using her magic to organize the mess. Applebloom rocketed into the seat beside her.

“Alright, looks like you have things under control here,” Applejack said, retrieving a belt of tools from one of the hooks on the hall tree. “I’d best be getting to work, though. If any of you get hungry or thirsty, help yourselves to whatever we’ve got. Applebloom knows where everything is.”

“You won’t be staying for the lesson?” Blue asked.

“As much as I’d love to, I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me. A storm nearly brought down some of our fences. I figure I’d best get out there and fix it right quick.”

“Sounds rough. I can come back another day to help with that if you need me to.”

“That’s kind of you to offer, Twilight, but I think I can handle this.”

With a tilt of her hat, Applejack disappeared through the back door. Blue watched her through the window as she started down one of the many paths that lead into the orchard.

“What about me?” the thestral asked.

“You can join us if you want. Just pull up a chair.”

Applebloom leaned in close to Twilight and whispered something into her ear. Twilight’s cheeks glowed red for a moment as she shook her head vehemently.

“Oh. Sorry,” Applebloom chuckled.

“It’s alright. He’s just a friend. You can call him Blue.”

“Nice to meet you Mister Blue,” the filly said, bouncing in her seat.

“Likewise, Applebloom,” Blue said as he collapsed into the free seat beside Twilight. He pulled a stack of books from his bag and set them out beside the rest of the school supplies.

“Thank you for carrying those, Blue.”

“Twilight, is that a calculus book?”

The alicorn turned to Applebloom, ignoring Blue’s last comment.

“Alright, first thing’s first. We need to figure out what you are currently working on. Do you have an assignment you’re supposed to be working on right now? We can start from there.”

Applebloom dug through her papers and removed a sheet of practice problems.

“Here you go, Twilight.”

“Thank you. Looks like pretty basic operations. Addition and Subtraction. Multiplication and Division. Are these the questions you’re having trouble with?”

“Only when the numbers get too big.”

As Twilight wrote out the first problem on a piece of paper, Blue turned his attention to the windows. Their voices faded as he devoted his full focus to the scene outside. He shifted constantly in his seat, causing the wood to creak.

“Alright, so here, you’re going to want to add these two number . . .”

Twilight’s voice faded out.

In the corner of his eye, Blue could still see the session underway. Occasionally, Twilight ruffled through the papers, plucking out another and setting it in front of Applebloom.

“What about this one?” Applebloom asked.

“You just have to . . .”

More math. More jargon. He didn’t care for it.

Twilight turned to Blue. Her lips moved, but he couldn’t hear her voice. Despite this, he nodded slowly, hoping it would satisfy her. She responded by slugging him in the arm.

“Hey, what was that for?” Blue demanded, rubbing his shoulder.

“You haven’t been listening to me at all, have you?”

“Of course I have.”

“Then what did I just ask you?”

Blue opened his mouth confidently, but his lips froze in place..

“That’s what I thought.” Twilight pouted. “I asked if we were boring you.”

“Oh. Whoops.” Blue scratched his muzzle. “I just zoned out for a bit.”

Applebloom snickered as Twilight rolled her eyes.

“Right.”

Blue huffed.

“I was wondering if Applejack needed any help. I mean, you don’t need me here. I don’t know anything about teaching math. I might be able to help her, though.” Blue pointed out the window toward the path Applejack had taken.

Twilight lowered her book and glanced out toward the fields.

“Fine. If you really don’t want to listen to me teach math, I suppose I won’t make you.”

“Thank you for showing mercy, Princess.” Blue smirked.

Twilight shoved him playfully.

“Just get out of here, you delinquent. Applebloom, don’t pay any attention to Blue. He’s a bad student.”

“I never claimed to be anything else,” he argued. He slipped out the back door before Twilight had a chance to get another word in.

He must’ve been zoned out for a while. The sun had long since passed midday. The backyard, much like the front, was little more than a patch of dust that separated the house from the fields. Blue sauntered down the path. The fences that lined either side looked almost brand new. It didn’t take long for him to spot Applejack as she hammered a wooden post into the ground.

“Applejack?” Blue called out.

The mare jumped, nearly dropping the hammer she held in her teeth.

“Sir Blue? Something wrong?”

“No. I was just getting a little antsy sitting inside. I can only handle so many math classes before I could lose my mind. I came out to see if you needed any help.”

“I understand that. There’s nothing like working in the fresh air.” She returned to her efforts to hammer the fencepost into the dirt, all the while narrating her work. “Now, we’ve got to get these posts down like this. Every few feet. Doesn’t have to be too exact. We’ve got boards that go between them.”

Much to Blue’s own amazement, he listened intently to her instructions. She offered him a second hammer and pointed to the nearby pile of lumber. Together, the two of them put together a few feet of fencing. Applejack put the posts in the ground, Blue built the fence between them. It took about an hour, but they eventually found their rhythm. The sun had turned a dark orange by the time Applejack had finally stopped.

“Are we done?” Blue asked, wiping the sweat from his brow. He couldn’t remember the last time he had actually sweat like this.

“Not by a long shot,” Applejack admitted, returning her hammer to her belt. “But that’s enough for today. Granny and Big Mac should be back soon. I want to have dinner ready by the time they get back.”

“You’re going in, then?”

“Yeah. Admittedly, I probably should have started cooking a while ago.”

Blue glanced at the pile of wood. As much as he hated to admit it, he didn’t hate this work. It did the one thing he hoped it would. It kept his hooves moving and stopped his mind from wandering.

“I could keep going, if you wanted?”

“Mister Blue, I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

“You don’t have to. I would like to help.”

Applejack sighed.

“If you really want to, I’m not going to stop you. Just make sure you don’t overdo it, okay? If you start feeling tired or thirsty just come on inside. This wasn’t supposed to be done today, anyhow.”

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.”

He and Applejack exchanged nods as she left. Alone, Blue continued his work. In spite of his best efforts, progress slowed to a crawl. With every new post he had finished, he took a short break. He’d lean up against the fence so that he could test for its integrity at the same time.

The sun started to sink. The sound of rustling leaves filled the orchard with every gust of wind. The eerie edge drew Blue’s attention to the edge of the property, where he could see the wild growth of the Everfree. At every break, he would look up into the tree line, expecting to see someone staring back at him. Even he didn’t fully understand his paranoia.

By the time the sun finally reached the horizon, he finished. He could still see several gaps in the fence that needed to be addressed, but that would have to wait for another day. Gathering up the tools Applejack had left him, he cantered back up toward the house.

The lights in the kitchen were on. He could see Applejack, Twilight, and Applebloom all gathered within, laughing and chattering as they went about cooking. Careful to avoid their line of sight, Blue tossed the tools onto the back porch and returned to the yard. He reached his forelegs up onto the fence and stared off into the sunset.

He didn’t bother turning around when he heard the screen door slam shut.

“See something interesting out there?” Twilight asked as she sat beside him. She leaned back against the fence and closed her eyes.

“Nothing in particular. Just enjoying the view,” Blue admitted.

“Applejack invited us to stay for dinner. I told her we would. Are you okay with that?”

“Sure.”

“She offered to make some fresh Apple pie for us. I’d recommend you try it. Their family is famous for their apples, but they’re also known for just about everything made with them, too.”

“So I’ve heard.”

The night time gale filled the long gaps in their conversation.

“Blue?”

“Yeah?”

“I want to talk to you about last night.”

“Yeah?”

“I said a lot of things that I didn’t mean. I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing to me?”

“Because I lied to you. And I’ve been lying to myself for the last few months. Celestia knows that if anyone deserves the truth, it’s you.”

“Twilight, I—”

“This morning, Spike was helping me in the library. He . . . he talked about the book he caught you reading back at the Castle of the Two Sisters. He didn’t understand. But I do.”

“Twilight, don’t do this. Please,” Blue pleaded.

“I have to.”

“No, you don’t. We can just go back inside, eat dinner, and enjoy ourselves. I’ll be gone before morning. It’s that simple.”

“And leave me alone again?”

Blue sighed through his nose.

“If that’s what has to happen. Yes.”

“How can you say that? How can you say it so . . . easily? Didn’t it mean anything to you? Don’t you care?” Twilight grew impatient with the silence. “I asked you a question, Chrysalis.”

“What do you want me to say?” the thestral blurted.

“I want you to tell me the truth,” Twilight shot back. “I want to know if what we had was real. Or if it was just the right place at the wrong time.”

Blue shook his head.

“I can’t answer that, Twilight.”

“What were you planning?” she asked. “Were you just going to run off again without saying anything to me? By letting me spend the rest of my life wondering what could have been?”

“If that’s what I had to do.”

Twilight scoffed.

“Quit talking in riddles. Just give me a straight answer.”

Blue collapsed beside her, mimicking her leaned back posture.

“I wanted to tell you, Twilight. I swear I did. That first night we met, when I came up to your office. But then I heard Celestia’s edict.”

“You didn’t have to be scared. I would’ve helped you.”

“It has nothing to do with fear, Twilight. I heard you crying. It made me start questioning things. Then you saw the wisp in the forest. The way you chased after her . . . after me . . . I didn’t know what to think.”

“I . . .” The princess hung her head. “I see.”

“You said you wanted the truth from me. You wanted to know if what we had was real? I didn’t know the answer. You seemed so angry, so unsure. I thought that telling you the truth would just make things harder. I didn’t want to put you in that position.”

“Because of what I said last night?”

“Yeah.”

Twilight slid over, resting her head on Blue’s shoulder.

“Chrysalis, everything I said last night was a lie. That’s why I wanted to apologize.”

Blue rested his head on Twilight’s.

“It didn’t sound like a lie.”

The alicorn chuckled morosely.

“I’ve had a lot of practice since you left. I stayed by your side for days, hoping that you’d just wake up like nothing happened. When you didn’t, I fell apart.” Tears gathered in the pony’s reddening eyes. “I mourned for you. But, by the time I lost hope, it seemed like who knew the truth had moved on. Everypony wanted everything back to business as usual.”

“I’m sorry, Twilight.”

The tears started to trickle.

“But it wasn’t just them. They talked to me as though nothing had happened. Like they expected me to just forget about it. But I couldn’t. So I lied. I told them I was fine. That what we had was nothing more than just a fling brought on by such a horrible situation.”

Blue wiped a tear from Twilight’s cheek.

“I didn’t know you felt that way.”

“I spent every waking moment lying through my teeth, praying that I’d start to believe it. And maybe I did. But last night, when I saw that wisp . . . when I saw you . . . it all came back to me. All the bitterness and confusion that I’d been holding in came pouring out. At that moment, I just wanted you to hold me like you used to.”

Twilight sniffled.

“So?”

“So what?”

“Was it real?”

Blue brushed a hoof through Twilight’s mane.

“I came back, didn’t I?”

“And you were planning on leaving again. You just told me that.”

“Because I thought you wanted me to. You had to let me go once before. I worried that if I came back again, I’d be putting you in that same position. I’d be forcing you to choose a path for my sake. I couldn’t do that to you. If I revealed myself, I didn’t think I’d ever get the truth out of you.”

“I don’t want you to go.”

“Then I won’t.”

Twilight buried her muzzle into Blue’s chest, drying her tears on his fur.

“And don’t you ever think about pulling a stupid stunt like that again. I don’t want to lose you again.”

“I promise that I’ll do everything in my power to stay with you.” Blue smiled. “At least up until the day you say otherwise.”

Twilight responded with a kick to his chest, knocking the wind out of him.

“That’s not funny.”

“You know what really isn’t funny? You, kicking me. I’m not used to being this soft,” Blue chuckled between coughs. It didn’t help that Twilight only tightened her grip on him.

“I think I have my answer now,” Twilight said, wiping her tears away.

“You think so?”

“Yeah.”

Eventually, Twilight released the thestral hesitantly, as though he might bolt the moment she freed him.

“So, what do we do now?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m pretty sure I have a bounty on my head. I’d be pretty scandalous if a Princess of Equestria were harboring a fugitive.”

Twilight sat up, turning away from Blue.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m just spending some time with my new friend, Blue. We just so happened to become good friends quickly. I don’t hear anything wrong with that.”

“I do. No offense to your kind, but I really hate being a pony.”

“Oh. Well, you don’t have to stay in that form when you’re in private.”

“Relax, Twilight. I’m just being dramatic. If this is the cost it takes to stay, then I’ll live with it. So don’t you worry about me. Although, we’ll have to set some ground rules. Just to make sure you don’t blow my cover.” Blue winked.

“I promise I’ll do my best not to.”

“I would appreciate that. But we can deal with that another time. I smell freshly made apple pie. It’s making my mouth water.”

“I knew you liked her pie.”

“Yeah, you caught me. Now just imagine how I’ll feel about it now that I have actual taste buds. We can deal with everything else in the morning. Tonight, we’re just close friends. Very close, if Applebloom’s interest is any indication.”

“You heard her?”

“Nope. But based on the look of terror you had, I assumed.”

The sun finally disappeared, leaving them alone beneath a sea of stars.

“Chrysalis?” Twilight asked.

“Yes?” Blue answered.

“I really missed you.”

With their final moments together beneath the cover of night, Blue leaned over toward Twilight and kissed her cheek. For Blue, the sweet scent of emotion filled the night air, mingling with the smell of dinner.

“I know.”

Author's Note

Just going to throw this out there if anyone is interested. I posted an announcement in a blog, and would love to hear some feedback.

https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/955163/announcement-life-of-a-queen-new-chapter

TLDR: The story may go on hiatus for a few weeks, but it’s for a good cause.