Dear Diary...

by Brony4L1fe90

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Romance, Applejack, Twilight Sparkle
Length: 29912

A unicorn's diary entries reveal her growing feelings for a certain Earth pony farmer.

What seemed to be a simple trip to Applejack's farm to help with the harvest turned out to be more work than usual, as Twilight assists her friend in recovering from her sickness. Once Twilight purchases a blank book on her way home at a bookstore after visiting the farm one morning, she begins to record all of the details of her visits. A peek at her diary entries, however, just might shine a little light onto the feelings that Twilight starts to feel for her friend after spending a little more time than usual by her side.

An Applejack x Twilight Sparkle story, also my first fic. Definitely a work in progress, but I hope you enjoy it as more comes along!

Rated Teen, as there just might be some interesting romantic scenes further into Twilight's diary... (though nothing graphic/involving sex)

(Cover art made by toastwaffle93 on dA: http://toastwaffle93.deviantart.com/#/d4jnj75 )

Published 2012-09-16 19:34:03 UTC
Last updated 2012-09-21 03:50:22 UTC

Before I Found You (Entry #2)

Dear Diary,

It’s the middle of the night; sorry to get back to you so late! Once Spike returned, I ended up having to make the two of us dinner, then I had to help Rarity with trying on some of her new dresses, and once I returned home, well...Spike just wouldn’t leave me alone afterward, talking all about Rarity! But he’s finally asleep now, and here I am writing to you…or, well, on you, actually…sitting at my desk with only a candle to light the space around me. It’s a beautiful night though, all of the stars are out and I have a nice sight of the bright moon from where I’m sitting in my room. By now I would normally be going to sleep, but I still have a story to tell you.

Do you still remember what I told you about what happened yesterday? About my friend, Applejack? Well, if so you’ll remember me telling you that I couldn’t sleep at all last night. All I could think about was my friend bathing herself, and me watching as if an angel had descended into Ponyville. As corny as that sounds…it’s true. It was so embarrassing when she realized I was staring…but she didn’t really think anything of it. Probably because she was still exhausted from her sickness. Sorry, kind of getting off track here…anyway, main point is, I couldn’t sleep that night. And, well, it didn’t make for a really good morning today. Once I felt myself starting to feel tired enough to try and sleep, it was too late…

* * * * *

The sun lifted above the horizon of Equestria, as sunlight began to shine through the windows of the library home, illuminating the purple unicorn that had struggled to sleep all night.

“No…” Twilight Sparkle groaned to herself, pulling the pillow over her head in an attempt to block out the sunlight. She then slammed the mattress with her hoof in frustration, not being able to sleep that whole night. Twilight felt so tired to the point she could actually get to sleep regardless of everything that distracted her mind from its sleep cycle, but morning had arrived at last.

Twilight Sparkle eventually slid out of bed, eyes still mostly closed as she walked slowly out of her room and went downstairs to find some food. As she walked through the library to get to her kitchen, her mind once again replayed yesterday’s events, Twilight looking deeply into Applejack’s green eyes in her mind, so easily becoming lost in them. It was too much of a distraction for her; missing the doorway into the kitchen, her head slammed into one of the bookshelves, causing numerous books to topple over and fall onto Twilight, an avalanche of books burying her underneath them.

Twilight moaned once again, trying to push the books aside with her hooves and find some empty ground to stand on. She tried opening her eyes a little more, way too tired to be able to open them completely, and caught sight of the large pile of assorted books all around her. Too sleepy to do it all herself, she tried to call out for her assistant.

“Spiiiike…” Twilight tried to call out, her voice fading as her mouth opened, her calls for the dragon turning into a long yawn. Her eyes then fully closed, as her head lowered. Twilight suddenly lost all sense of everything happening around her, as she drifted off to sleep, letting out a few quiet neighs as she slept.

“Yes, Twilight?” Spike responded, arriving into the room. He saw the pile of books all over the floor, along with a sleeping unicorn in the middle of it all. No response came from her mouth, except for a few more snores.

“Twilight!” Spike said in a raised voice, hoping to get her attention. Twilight’s eyes shot open and her ears quickly raised up.

“Applejack, wait!” Twilight yelled out from her sleep. She soon realized she was no longer with the pony in her dreams, but was instead inside of her library home, still surrounded by the books that fell from her daydreaming. “Oh…right…” Twilight said quietly with another yawn afterward. “Spike…help clean the books…please…”

“You okay, Twilight?” Spike asked, starting to grab a couple of the books.

“Yes…I just…couldn’t sleep…” Twilight said, her eyes falling shut again. Spike quickly nudged her against her side, which was still bruised a little from the previous day. The pain that Twilight felt was enough of a jolt to wake her back up.

“Ow! Oh…sorry, Spike. I’ve just had a lot of thoughts on my mind…” Twilight quickly gasped and said, “Applejack! I’ve got to check up on her and see if she’s feeling better!”

Before Spike could respond, Twilight was out the door and, despite her exhaustion from lack of sleep, trotted down the path towards Applejack’s farm. Spike went back to placing the books back on the bookshelves. “I guess I’m going to be doing the cleanup on my own,” he groaned, frustrated.

It was about twenty minutes before Twilight Sparkle made it to Sweet Apple Acres. Her pace had quickly slowed as her trotting slowed down to a walk, her eyes consistently falling as she walked down the path through Sugarcube Square. She had almost started to sleepwalk as she passed through the crowds, until a clumsy grey pegasus bumped into her.

“Wha…oh, hey Derpy,” Twilight greeted as her eyes quickly opened from the impact.

“Sorry, Twilight! Have a good day!” the wall-eyed mailmare said as she flew off in another direction to continue her route.

Upon reaching the farm, she could already see a pony stumbling across the trees. But it wasn’t Big McIntosh working the fields today…it was…

“Applejack?!” Twilight shouted in surprise, running towards her friend who was still feverish but ignored her condition to continue the harvest.

“Wha…Twi, how nice of ya to come by again,” she said sweetly as she looked at Twilight. Twilight Sparkle could see the bags under Applejack’s eyes and the paleness in her color.

“Applejack…why are you out here? You’re still sick, you should be in bed getting some rest!” Twilight insisted, stomping her hoof on the ground.

Applejack scoffed and walked back to a nearby apple tree. “Who do ya think ya are, Ah know what Ah’m capable of, and Ah’ve plenty of energy to be bucking these trees!” She tried to show her strength as she lifted her hind legs and slammed into the tree. Only a single apple fell from the tree, landing into a nearby bucket.

“You see, Applejack? Your muscles are still weak! You can’t work in this condition…” Twilight explained to her friend. Applejack looked at her with half-open eyes, trying to insist she was feeling okay.

“Oh, horseapples, Twiligh’, Ah can harv…hah…” her sentence was interrupted by a long yawn, Applejack’s mouth completely wide open as her yawn was let out. Twilight watched the orange pony let her yawn out, only to respond with a yawn of her own a second later, her lack of sleep catching back up with her.

“But Applejack…you need…sleep…” It was such a wonderful word for Twilight to have in mind, that word ringing through her brain. She wanted to sleep so badly, but had to stay awake to help her friend, despite how much the idea of sleep pleased her.

“No, Twi…Ah ain’t…stoppin’…” Applejack continued on with another yawn, swinging her legs back, completely missing the tree. As her legs reconnected with the ground, her body started to sway. “Whoa…Twi…your cutie mark is everywhere…” she said with a giggle as her head rocked, her vision becoming blurry as stars began to erase her sights.

“Oh no…Applejack…you’re dizzy…we gotta get you inside…” Twilight tried to say sternly but her voice came out weaker than expected, letting out a second yawn after her statement.

“No, no…it’s fine, sugarcube…” Applejack said as her legs then collapsed, her body landing into the ground and her head resting in the grass. “Ah’ll just…close my eyes for a spell, Ah’ll only be…” Applejack couldn’t finish her sentence, as she quickly fell to sleep.

Twilight wanted to fall asleep so badly once she saw her friend, but had to keep herself awake to bring her friend to her bed. “No, Applejack…we gotta get you in your bed…sleeping here is no good for you.” She did her best to lift Applejack up, but Twilight’s arms felt just as weak. With no sleep to restore her energy, she could not budge her friend an inch. Twilight once again let out another long yawn, before her eyes fell shut. She tried once last time to wrap her hooves around Applejack’s body to pull her up, but her attempt failed. Her mouth slowly fell open as her eyes shot around inside her eyelids, the dream cycle starting to take place. The last thing Twilight could feel were her legs slowly collapsing, her head landing against a soft cushion.

It was a couple hours later before that crimson colt arrived to find two ponies by an apple tree, sound asleep. He walked up to the tree they both rested near, and slammed his rear hooves into it, causing a shower of apples to rain down upon them. Applejack quickly awoke to the rude awakening, removing her hat for a second to massage the top of her head.

“Ow! Consarn it, of all the…” she started to say to herself, looking up to see Big McIntosh standing over them. “What in the hay was that for?” Applejack said in an upset tone toward her brother.

“Why were you sleeping in the apple orchard?” Big Mac asked her sister in his iconic soft tone, staring into her eyes though to show his seriousness.

Applejack sighed. “Ah’m sorry, but Ah just cain’t slack off on the job…” she did her best to get on her feet, but felt a weight on her stomach. “Ugh, Big Mac, can y’all get off me please?”

Big Mac lifted his front hooves in the air to show none of his hooves were on her body, then taking a step back. Applejack’s eyes widened a little as she then looked down at her stomach, to find a sleepy purple unicorn resting her head on her stomach, snoring as she slept. She could then feel a pair of hooves gently wrapped around her waist, seeing Twilight’s arms around her.

“Twiligh’…wake up,” Applejack said softly, nudging her a little with one of her front hooves. Twilight’s snoring soon ended as she took a quick breath when her slumber ended. Twilight’s eyes soon opened, slowly taking in the sight of two green eyes close up into her face, looking back into her eyes. She quickly rubbed her eyes with her hooves to clear her vision, soon realizing what she was staring at when she woke up. She looked down to see the soft coat of an orange pony, and then looked back up to see the green eyes that belonged to that pony.

With a gasp from shock, Twilight Sparkle quickly raised her head in the air. “Applejack!” she shouted from surprise. “I’m so sorry, I had no idea I…” Her speech soon fell short as she felt warmth in her arms and hooves. She could feel the soft, round texture of Applejack’s stomach. As much as she wanted to stay in that moment, holding her in her arms, she quickly slid her hooves away and stood up on the ground next to her.

“My goodness, Applejack, I’m so sorry, I was just trying to bring you inside, and I must have fallen asleep. Oh I’m really really so—“

“It’s alright, sugarcube,” Applejack assured her, getting up to her hooves as well, now that the extra weight was lifted off of her body.

“Really though, Applejack, I shouldn’t have slept like that, I just…I’m sorry!” Twilight cried out, then running off in embarrassment. “I’ll see you again soon, I’ve a letter to the Princess to write, go get some rest!” Twilight didn’t want to leave her friend’s side, especially since she was still sick, but had to make up some sort of believable excuse in order to escape from the awkward moment she put herself in.

“Twiligh’, Ah…oh, Ah’m still gonna harvest those—“ Applejack tried to convince herself she was still in a decent condition to continue harvesting apples, but was soon tapped on the shoulder by her older brother, who then pointed his hoof towards their home with a serious look on his face.

“…Ah should just get some rest, shouldn’t Ah?” she said with a disappointed look on her face.

“Eeyup.”

* * * * *

Yeah, can you believe it? I was so exhausted, trying to pull her up and into her home, that I ended up falling to sleep myself! When I woke up at that moment, I thought I was on my bed once again, just feeling the soft texture my head rested on, but I realized that it wasn’t a pillow I was sleeping on…it was my friend, Applejack! I had fallen asleep on her without even knowing it!

It was such an embarrassing and awkward moment…but at the same time, having her in my arms…it was an amazing feeling, I really didn’t want to let go. Her coat was so soft…and her body was so warm, probably warmer than usual because of her being so sick…she was just so comfortable! But what would have she said if I kept holding onto her? And when I saw those eyes of hers, so close to my face like that…I was just astonished by those alluring green eyes. When I finally realized I woke up to such a sight…I’m just surprised I didn’t do anything stupid. You know…like…try to…

No, I can’t think of doing such a thing to a friend like that! Oh, diary, you’ve no idea how many feelings and emotions ran through my mind during then. I just had so much on my mind since I ran from her farm like that. But it wasn’t all that bad. I actually made a stop at the bookstore on the way home, hoping I could find some new books that I could lose myself in, to ease my worries. That was when I saw a stand with various writing supplies which included empty books. Once I saw the price tag and label next to it, I realized that you weren’t just any blank book, but had been created to be used as a diary. I thought it’d be a perfect way to let out all of my emotions and ease my worries, by having a close friend to tell all my thoughts to! And so, here we are now. I’ve already written to you earlier today about what happened yesterday once I returned home with you, but now you finally got to hear what happened before I actually took you home. As for right now, it’s really late. Having to write about me falling asleep makes me realize I’m still completely out of energy. I do plan to stop by Applejack’s farm tomorrow, since I never really got to take care of her today. I don’t know how long she will be sick for, but I need to take care of her as much as I possibly can. I think tomorrow morning I’ll brew some tea and bring a little to her. It’d make for a nice surprise to help a sick pony, wouldn’t it?

Until next time,
Twilight Sparkle

* * * * *

The quill that floated magically over the diary was then placed aside, as Twilight’s head soon plummeted onto the book, her chin resting in the groove between the pages of her diary. Her mane hung over her forehead, all roughed up with various pieces of hair sticking out astray. Twilight was so tired that she didn’t pay much attention to her appearance, her mane left unkempt. Her eyes shifted over to the fire that danced across the top of the candle, moving unpredictably as a thin line of smoke also danced along, floating away from the fire.

Twilight Sparkle let out a long moan of both exhaustion and loneliness, as she thought about her friend, a color matching that of the orange fire that lit up her desk area. “Applejack…” she whispered, thinking about her friend once again, as well as everything that had happened the past two days. She had genuinely started to miss her friend that night, longing to be next to her. A minute of silence passed before Twilight soon magically put out the fire on the candle, walking away from the desk to crawl into her bed. Exhaustion soon consumed her body once she crawled onto her mattress and underneath her covers. Within seconds, her eyes shut closed and she soon drifted off to a night of rest she had longed for after the all-nighter she had previously pulled.

Left In The Cold (Entry #3)

Dear Diary,

Have you ever heard the saying ‘Don’t put all of your eggs into one basket’? Probably not, since you’re a book, but…I learned the meaning of such a saying the hard way today. Remember how I wanted to make Applejack some tea and keep her company today? Well…

* * * * *

Excited for a great morning ahead of her, Twilight Sparkle rose from her slumber before the morning had arrived, shrugging off the small amount of exhaustion she still had inside of her after not having a full night’s rest for the past two days. She still felt a bit embarrassed for the way she had fallen asleep on Applejack the previous day, but with a new day ahead, she was confident everything will go okay.

Upon reaching her kitchen downstairs, Twilight used her magic to sort through the various flavors of tea she had stored inside the cabinets. Twilight was never the kind of pony to drink tea all the time, but after trying a few cups with her friend Rarity, she was generous enough to give Twilight a box filled with a wide variety of flavors of tea. After looking through most of the containers, she was able to find one that contained apple cinnamon tea. “This is the one apple flavored tea I have, she might like this,” Twlight said to herself, then magically lifting the container of tea and taking it with her upstairs.

Twilight Sparkle walked back upstairs, into her room, to prepare her saddlebags. Twilight had planned a perfect day for her sick friend; after neglecting to stay the whole time yesterday, she had wanted to stay by Applejack’s side all day today to take good care of her. First, she would make sure Applejack was absolutely comfortable, so the first items to go in her bags were a spare pillow and a couple of folded blankets. Second would be the liquids, which she’s already covered with the tea. Third on the list is to provide entertainment for the pony, as she’s surely feeling down for not being able to work on the farm; Twilight packed a couple of board games, as she thought Applejack may not be too interested in the books that Twilight would have wanted to read her.

After placing the boxes for Battleclouds and Monopony inside her bags, she smiled as her packing was finally complete, but her smile soon faded. “How am I going to carry all of this?” she asked herself, noticing how everything she packed was bulging out of the bags. Her thoughts were soon interrupted by the sound of tapping on the windows of her room. Twilight hadn’t noticed until now that it was finally dawn, though the sky was still dark from the rainclouds that covered Ponyville, the first drops of rainfall impacting the window of Twilight’s room.

“Oh no! I can’t miss out on today!” Twilight Sparkle said, quickly floating her bags onto her back and running down the stairs. She was confident she could make it to Sweet Apple Acres in time, but she would have to gallop as fast as she could to make it there.

Not even that, however, would have been enough, especially with the awkwardly packed extra weight in her bags. Twilight ran out of her home to encounter the sprinkling of cold rain on her coat. Once she closed the door and made her way down towards Sugarcube Square, she could feel the rain starting to pick up a little, turning into moderate rainfall. Twilight Sparkle shivered a little from the coldness of the rain on her, feeling the drops of water drip down her face and off her mane, but continued to press onward while increasing her pace. Within minutes, she was outside of town and along the path to Sweet Apple Acres, but the rain soon became too much for the unicorn. Before she knew it, heavy rain fell upon Ponyville, the rain soon becoming so thick that Twilight wasn’t able to see very far ahead of herself, and soon lost sight of Sweet Apple Acres in the distance.

Twilight was freezing cold, her body shaking as she continued to gallop as fast as she could through the storm. At this point, Twilight started to lose focus on meeting Applejack, and cared more about finding some sort of shelter. Luckily, she was approaching the Cutie Mark Crusder’s tree house and decided to take shelter there, running up and into the house before the rain could intensify any further.

“Ugh, I really need to stay in touch with Rainbow Dash more often about the planned weather around here…” Twilight Sparkle said to herself in frustration after having to soak herself in such a downpour. Hoping to dry herself off and keep warm while the storm passes, Twilight reached from her bags to grab the blanket. There was a problem, however; after trying to shove so much into her bags, the bags were never closed properly. As a result, the blankets were also soaked from the rain. With no way to keep warm and dry, Twilight soon realized she could not stay inside of the tree house for much longer while she was shivering from the cold rain on her body. Twilight’s head lowered in disappointment, knowing that she could not stay around; putting herself through such a health risk for a friend like this was something she knew she’d regret.

* * * * *

It was right at that moment that I knew I was pushing myself way too far. I was letting all these simple moments of attraction that I had the past couple days drive me through such extremities, that I was going to end up doing more harm to myself than I was doing good for Applejack. Even if I did make it to her place, with everything soaked, there wasn’t much I could do except sit there and talk with her and maybe bring her food and stuff, but what would she think if she knew I tried running through a really heavy downpour just to see her? What would she say to me?

So after all that trouble of trying to see Applejack, I ended up leaving the tree house immediately to return back home. I was so cold upon entering my house that I couldn’t stop shivering, even after wrapping myself with a robe. That rain continued on for hours, and all throughout, I contemplated every thought I had for Applejack, knowing I was taking everything a bit too far. I figured that for the time being, the best thing I could do was see my other friends for a while, to try and take all these nagging thoughts out of my mind.

And that’s exactly what I ended up doing. I had to wait a good five hours before the rain finally stopped, but once it did, I decided to stop by Rarity’s home and pay her a visit for a while, and also to plan a little something for all of my friends.

* * * * *

“Well I think that’s just a fabulous idea, darling!” Rarity said, as she sipped some peppermint herbal tea that she had prepared for her and Twilight Sparkle. “Everyone can meet at the spa tomorrow at noon, and we can all enjoy some relaxation time together!”

Twilight also took a sip of her tea as well. It had a nice taste to it: wasn’t too overwhelming, but the peppermint left a fresh, minty feeling in her mouth. “Thanks, Rarity. I’ve had a lot on my mind lately, so spending that time with everypony will definitely ease a lot of my troubles.”

“Troubles? Is everything okay, Twilight?” Rarity then asked, worried.

“Oh! Uh…y-yeah, everything’s fine,” Twilight stuttered, trying to get past the subject. “So, tomorrow at noon then. Do you need me to tell anypony or will you be okay spreading the invitation?”

Rarity was surprised by Twilight’s sudden rushing of the conversation, but continued anyway. “Y-yeah, I’ll let them know, don’t worry. Darling, are you certain you’re okay?”

Twilight’s hooves began to shake a little out of anxiousness. She really didn’t want to talk about all of these feelings taking over her mind. It was much easier for her to write her thoughts out on paper the past couple of days than it was to tell a close friend, especially since it involved feelings for a mutual friend, let alone that friend being another mare.

“Yes, Rarity,” Twilight Sparkle quickly answered, and just as quickly placed the cup up to her mouth, trying to prolong her sipping of the tea in hopes that her nerves would ease. Twilight’s eyes shifted around the room and at her friend across the table from her, as her closed lips stayed against the cup, the tea still sitting in the cup. The silence quickly became awkward, as Twilight continued to exaggerate the time spent sipping to avoid further conversation about what was on her mind, while Rarity waited for her friend to place her cup back down to continue the conversation. The two remained at a stalemate before one of them finally spoke.

“Um, Twilight…you do realize you’ve had that cup at your lips for three minutes now?”

Twilight’s eyes widened as she then realized how long she had tried to stay quiet for. At that moment, she opened her mouth and allowed all of the remaining tea to pour from the cup into her mouth, downing it all with one swallow. Twilight’s eyes closed on their own as the taste increased in strength after swallowing such a large amount at once, but then soon reopened, as she placed the cup back down on the table.

“Yeah, I know Rarity, and it was some great tea,” Twilight said, doing her best to stay natural, although further confusing her friend. “Well, I’d best be on my way now, it’s getting late.”

“But Twilight, it’s only three in the afternoon,” Rarity commented.

“It sure is, and that means it’s time for me to head back home, I’ll see you tomorrow Rarity!” Twilight said quickly and nervously with an awkwardly large grin, then excusing herself from the table and leaving Rarity’s home.

* * * * *

It’s times like that I really wish I weren’t so lame when it comes to social skills. I don’t know, what do you think, diary? Should I have just told her? I know you’re a book and you won’t respond to that, but…ugh. I just don’t need more issues causing so much stress that I really don’t need. But, tomorrow will be a good day hopefully. I might get to see Applejack tomorrow, depending on how she’s feeling…but if not, I’ll try to have a good day with everypony else. I think for the rest of the night, it’s best I just get caught up in a good book. I’ve been cold all day after that run through the rain, so it’d be nice to end my night warm under the covers with a good book. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

Wish me luck,
Twilight Sparkle

The Whole Truth (Entry #5)

Dear Diary,

I hate to put you through so much drama ever since I met you…I feel like all you ever had to listen to was me complaining about all that I’ve stressed myself out about, or all those sappy feelings I’ve had for my friend, Applejack. It must be tiring, isn’t it? I know you’re always okay with listening to me…not like you have a choice in the matter…but I thought maybe I’d start with some facts that I learned today in some of the new chemistry books I got ahold of instead. For example, did you know that hot water actually freezes faster than cold water? Amazing, isn’t it?! And how about the fact that helium can’t solidify? You see, I always thought that any element could solidify if it was under the right temperature and pressure, but…

…I’m boring you, aren’t I? Alright, well…let me just get to today. Yes, I was very stressed about the whole ordeal with Applejack’s hat, but lucky for me I realized something very important today, and, well…it all started when I ended up seeing my friends today, when a couple of them were playing this odd card game…

* * * * *

“…but you have to wait until your next turn before you can attack. That’s because they all have ‘summoning sickness’.” Rainbow Dash explained.

Twilight nodded in response. She was partially understanding this foreign card game that Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were starting to play with each other, the three of them sitting at a table by Sugarcube Corner.

“Oh! Unless it’s hasty!” Pinkie Pie commented.

“She means it ‘has haste’, Twilight. It’ll say so on the card,” Rainbow Dash clarified, then showing a card to Twilight as an example. It was a red card that had a picture of a goblin on it, the word “Haste” being the first word in its text box.

“I don’t understand, the whole game is all about trying to attack each other with monsters? Why would do you such a thing?” Twilight asked, her ears lowering from the idea.

Rainbow Dash planted a hoof into her face, groaning. “Twilight, that’s just part of the game! You’re not actually hurting anypony in real life, you just win the game by doing enough points of damage to the opponent. I thought you might have liked the game, considering it’s called MAGIC,” she said, emphasizing that last word, as well as flipping over the card to show its back and pointing out the large letters on the card.

Twilight sighed in frustration. “Never mind. Anyway, what plans did you two have for today?”

“Well…we were just hanging here and having some cupcakes when Lyra came by and showed us this card game,” Rainbow Dash said, “and she gave each of us a deck to play with, so we’ve been doing that the past hour or so. As for later, we will be meeting with the rest of the group for a picnic again since you missed the last one. Didn’t you know about today?”

“No?” Twilight Sparkle responded in confusion. It was then she realized somepony did in fact stop by her house yesterday, but she had been too busy writing in her diary to respond to whoever was at the door. Whoever had knocked must have been the one that was trying to give the invitation.

“Well everypony should be here in the next twenty minutes or so, so just hang here until they show up, okay?” Rainbow Dash said, then taking her turn in her game against Pinkie Pie.

“Uh…’everypony’? Who does that include?” Twilight Sparkle asked nervously.

Rainbow Dash slapped her hoof down on the table, quickly placing all the cards she held in her hand down with it. “Are you serious? The whole group! Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack!”

“Oh…” Twilight said nervously, really not wanting to see Applejack in fear of what she might do. “Listen, Rainbow, I don’t think today would be a good day for me to go to the picnic, so I’ll just—“

“Nonsense!” Pinkie Pie squealed as she grabbed Twilight around her neck, hugging her and keeping her in place. “Everypony missed you, so there’s no way you’re leaving us now!”

“You’re right, Pinkie, but…” Twilight struggled for a second, trying to think of a perfect excuse. “I, uh…should…get…some food, for the picnic! Yeah! So, I’ll just go to my place and—“

“Nope! I got ya covered, Twilight!” Pinkie Pie assured her as she showed her a basket filled with sandwiches and treats. “No need for you to bring anything!”

Twilight Sparkle lowered her ears in defeat. She could easily teleport away back home and avoid everything altogether, but Twilight wasn’t sure what Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie would think from such a reaction, and the other three would hear it from them as well, and eventually all five of them would possibly be upset with Twilight Sparkle.

“…okay, Pinkie. I’ll stick around,” Twilight said, then sitting back down to watch their game, her nerves firing off as she waited for Applejack’s arrival. In the meantime, she did her best to come up with some excuse she could use for the hat.

* * * * *

And just for the record…I HATE lying! I hate it so much! But…I just get too nervous when it comes to matters that could hurt a friend. You know I’m not the social type, after all. I just wanted to make up a small excuse that I could use to buy myself some time. At least until I learned some sort of spell that could completely restore torn articles of clothing without leaving any signs of damage. Or some spell of the sort anyway that’d help bring everything back to normal.

If only I could make that hat regenerate like those creatures in that card game could…

* * * * *

It was about fifteen minutes later before Fluttershy and Rarity arrived, both carrying their own hoof-made treats.

“Greetings, darlings!” Rarity said to everypony at the table.

“Hello…” Fluttershy greeted quietly.

Twilight greeted them back, but Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were so involved in their game that they hadn’t responded right away, mostly because Rainbow Dash was upset about Pinkie Pie playing a card that stopped Rainbow from playing one of her more powerful cards. Twilight giggled from the two of them and turned to Rarity and Fluttershy. “Nice to see you all again, how have you been?”

“Luckily I’m not sick,” Rarity said in a lower tone, glaring at Twilight. Her tone then returned to normal, continuing on, “but I’m doing just swell. I think it’s lovely that we all finally get to enjoy a picnic together. Applejack should be here any minute, I assume?”

“Yeah…I think I saw her in the apple orchard on my way here…just finishing up I believe,” Fluttershy answered.

“Great,” Twilight mumbled to herself, thankfully with no pony hearing her remark.

About ten more minutes had passed, while Rarity, Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle each watched Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie play their game. Rarity had then noticed Applejack walking towards the table to meet up with them at last.

“Howdy,” Applejack greeted as she arrived.

“Oh, fabulous, everypony is here!” Rarity exclaimed, grabbing her basket. “Everypony ready to go?”

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie cleaned up their cards, while everypony else carried some of the picnic goods as the six of them walked toward the park. Twilight Sparkle did her best to keep her position in the group behind that of Applejack. If she was careful enough, Applejack wouldn’t even have to get much sight of Twilight, and in that case she just might forget about the hat. Or so Twilight had thought. As she tried to stay quiet and mind her distance in order to refrain from being noticed too much, the other five chatted about various events that were occurring in the near future in Equestria, such as a carnival that would be taking place in a couple of weeks.

The six ponies soon arrived to the park, which was crowded with other ponies. This was no surprise to Twilight, as it was a really nice day after all, and everypony was taking advantage of it.

“Hm, this looks like a nice spot,” Rarity suggested, placing the square picnic blanket that was nearby a small lake, giving a nice sight of the body of water. Pinkie Pie opened up her basket to take out a bunch of sandwiches, each one filled with various cheeses and greens, then handing one to each of them. Twilight held onto her sandwich, then looking up towards Applejack, who she tried to avoid all day. Seeing her blond mane completely, free of any brown hat, filled her body with feelings of guilt.

While Applejack was chewing a bite of her sandwich, she had caught sight of Twilight Sparkle looking back at her. “So Twiligh’, how’ve ya been since ya made it back home?” she asked.

“Oh, just fine,” Twilight tried to respond as casually as possible, even though the answer seemed to come out a bit quickly.

“That’s good…hey, uh, mind if Ah ask ya somethin’ in private? Nothin’ crazy, just don’t think it’d be nice of me to blurt it out.”

Twilight Sparkle looked at the other ponies who seemed to already be caught up in their own conversation. “Sure, Applejack,” Twilight Sparkle responded, her heart beating quickly, getting more nervous by the second as Applejack scooted her body closer to Twilight.

“Now, don’t take this the wrong way, but uh…Ah was just wondering why y’all didn’t show up with my hat?”

Twilight Sparkle’s heart dropped. She could have easily said she didn’t want to wear it, but was too afraid to offend her friend. Applejack was a nice pony though, she thought, and she had a feeling she would accept such a response, but was way too nervous of what might happen.

* * * * *

Now, like I said, I know I’ve been going through so much over this, but it was at that moment that everything hit me at once. It was as if I had this sudden revelation, and this rush of bravery that told me, “Twilight, just do it. Just tell her. None of your lame excuses. Impress the element of honesty with YOUR honesty.”

And so…

* * * * *

“Applejack…I…,” Twilight began, her eyes and ears lowering.

“What is it, Twi?” Applejack asked, starting to look a little worried.

Twilight Sparkle took a deep breath and exhaled, pushing out all of her worries with it at last.
“I ripped your hat on accident. I’m sorry,” she then blurted out. Right at that moment, Twilight felt a rush of relief filling her body, feeling herself being cleansed of every inch of stress and worry. She had told the truth, and felt so much better because of it. However, it didn’t last too long.

“You…what?” Applejack asked, her mouth remaining slightly open.

“I’m really sorry…I just woke up the morning after you gave it to me, and when you came by…I felt the back of it, and…I noticed there was this long rip on the back of it.” Twilight then realized, telling Applejack how much damage was actually done to the hat was probably not the best of an idea. She could feel her body starting to tense up a little, her eyes closing as she finished her explanation, waiting to feel the scorn from Applejack.

“…it’s okay, Twiligh’.”

Twilight’s eyes re-opened, to see Applejack looking toward the ground. “Applejack…are you sure?”

“Ya said it’s an accident, right? Ya cain’t predict accidents, so…it ain’t your fault.”

“Yeah, it was an accident, but…I feel bad, you gave it to me to wear, just for while I was at the hospital I assume, but I never thought—“

“Don’t y’all worry about it, Twi,” Applejack interrupted, standing up and then walking towards the lake all six of them were sitting by, sitting close to the lake and looking out into the distance past the water. Twilight could see Applejack’s head drop, then looking at the ground in front of where she sat. She could easily tell that Applejack was sad about her hat, and knew the only thing she could do was try to help her.

Twilight Sparkle quietly walked up behind Applejack, to hear a couple of sniffles from the orange pony. Twilight’s heart felt like it could shatter at that moment, hearing her friend cry. “Applejack…” she whispered, then taking a seat next to her, seeing the tears dripping down towards her nose while it was pointed at the ground.

“Twiligh’…I told y’all already, it ain’t your fault.”

“It’s not that, Applejack…that hat meant a lot to you, didn’t it?” Twilight heard her friend sniff again, only to then respond with a nod of the head.

“It was mah pa’s hat, passed down to me. It always gave me a sense of comfort and bravery…and that’s why Ah never leave home without it.”

Twilight then looked away from her friend, now realizing the extent of the pain her friend felt. Twilight Sparkle had never seen Applejack’s parents, nor ever heard anything about them. She could only infer that the worst had happened to the two of them, leaving her with only her grandmother and siblings.

“Applejack…I see why you really care about that hat, but…why would you give it to me then?”

Applejack wiped her eyes and responded, “When Ah saw ya cryin’ that day the way Ah am now, Ah could tell ya had a lot on your mind…that and well, honestly Ah think Ah may have gotten a bit too rough on ya. Ah didn’t mean to make ya cry like that…but Ah could tell Ah hit a soft spot, and Ah felt really bad. Plus Ah know you don’t quite have much of a way with words, so Ah wasn’t expecting ya to tell me everything. So…Ah did what Ah felt was right. That’s why Ah put my hat on you, to give you the same feeling Ah get from wearing it. A feeling of protection, like Ah’d be watching over ya.”

“Oh, that was so nice of you, Applejack…I really wish I would have realized it sooner…” she responded. Twilight felt so bad to think that her good friend would ever hate her, or would ever want to stop being her friend. Yet at the same time, Twilight felt so good inside, to know that Applejack had given up one of her most prized possessions to give Twilight the same strength and comfort that she felt everyday by wearing the hat. To know that her friend had wanted to look out for her those past couple of days, and even take the time to go to the emergency room just to check up on her, gave Twilight such a warm feeling inside that it soon erased any doubt she had in mind, restoring all of her lost hope. But yet, the issue still remained about Applejack’s hat being ruined.

“Your father…he was the one that gave you that hat…I’m sorry, but, how come I’ve never met your father?” Twilight knew it was the wrong time to ask such a thing, but Applejack had given her the response she wanted to find out for a long time. Applejack’s eyes closed at that moment, her teeth clenched together.

“Mah pa…he…passed away when Ah was young.”

Twilight’s hooves instantly slapped to her mouth, realizing her worst fears about Applejack’s father were true. “Applejack, I…I’m so sorry…” Twilight once again wanted to cry, confirming that the hat she ripped came from a very special family member of Applejack’s. She did her best to stay strong though, holding back each tear she felt coming in at that moment. “I’ve never seen any pictures of him, though…so that hat…is your only remaining memory of him, isn’t it?”

Applejack simply nodded her head, then looking away from Twilight to hide her tears. At that moment, Twilight tried to do what felt right, and was the only idea she had left. Twilight Sparkle raised her hooves and wrapped them around her friend’s neck, giving her a comforting hug. Twilight was partially expecting Applejack to back off a little, or possibly get frustrated in reaction. She had never expected, however, to feel the embrace being returned by her friend. In her hooves, she could feel Applejack’s shaking as she let out a couple of tears.

It was completely the wrong time to think of her feelings again, since Applejack was dealing with something very personal, but Twilight enjoyed feeling her friend in her arms. She was so soft and warm, and Twilight felt so comfortable being so close to her. She didn’t want that moment to end, as it had felt so right to her.

“It’s okay, Applejack,” Twilight Sparkle whispered to her as she hugged her softly. “I promise you, it’s okay.”

Applejack never spoke back; she continued to hug Twilight until she felt comfortable enough to break the embrace. Applejack’s tears soon ended, as she wiped away the rest of them. “Thanks, Twi,” she said quietly, then getting up and walking towards the blanket where everypony else sat. Twilight could see Applejack walk up to the other four, say something to them, and then starting to walk away from the park as the four others waved goodbye to her.

* * * * *

And that was the last time I had seen her that day. I was so crushed, to know that the hat I had worn and accidentally ripped in my sleep, which I’m sure could be easily replaceable, had invaluable worth to it as it once belonged to a past family member of Applejack’s. And not just any family member, but her own father, who I’m sure meant so much to her. But today was the first day I got to hug Applejack, properly anyway, for such a length of time. It felt so nice to hold her and comfort her, the way she tried to do for me by giving me the hat in the first place. I just hope that she’s not having too much of a hard time at home though…but this will be on her mind as much as it has been for me.

That’s it. I’m going to do something about this. Once I’m finished writing this entry, I’m going through every book I have to find some sort of spell I can use in fixing Applejack’s hat. And by fix, I mean repairing it as if it never ripped. Though, even if I can’t find anything about such a spell, I’m still going to do what I can. Even if I have to spend all of my spare time making my own spell to do such repairs. There is no way I’ll let her hat be scarred like this, mark my words. Until then…take care, as I may not write until I get this done.

Until then,
Twilight Sparkle

One Good Turn (Entry #6)

Dear Diary,

Sometimes the hardest of problems have the simplest of solutions. Sometimes you might have to think outside of the box a little to get the best answers. All of my problems today had finally been answered. I also got in contact with Applejack again today, after she had suddenly left everypony. Needless to say I was quite worried, but I understand why she didn’t want to be around that day.

Anyway, it’s been several days since then, and I’ve spent a lot of time fooling around with my magic at home on her hat, hoping I could come up with some spell that could fix everything. It was definitely a lot of work, all only to end up with no success. Luckily, I eventually came up with something…

* * * * *

“No…that’s not working either!” Twilight yelled at herself in frustration. The hat that floated in front of her oddly transformed into a black top hat, before restoring to Applejack’s hat, with the cut still in place.

“Ugh, nothing I’ve tried works! I’ve tried magical stitches, transformations, I even made use of that whole ‘regeneration’ idea from that strange card game Rainbow was playing yesterday. Everything either leaves some sort of visible marks on the hat, or changes it completely!”

Spike watched as the purple unicorn paced around the library, trying to think of more ideas.

“Are you absolutely sure you don’t want to get Rarity to fix it? I could go get her right now if you want!” Spike offered, with a smile as he thought about Rarity.

“Spike, please! This isn’t the time! Although I know Rarity would do a phenomenal job sewing it back together, it would still leave stitches in the hat, and that’s just something I can’t have!”

Spike shrugged and asked, “Mind if I still go by her place anyway? Maybe she might need my pin cushion services again.”

Twilight groaned and said, “Fine, but please don’t say anything about the hat!” She watched as the young dragon agreed and quickly went out the door.

“Okay…what else is there for me to do. There has to be something…glue? Ugh, no, that’d be a horrible idea, it’d leave clear blobs on her hat…tape? Wait, tape?! WHAT AM I THINKING?” she shouted to herself, then collapsing to the ground. She suddenly looked up at the hat that was still floating in the air, looking through the hole to see a picture framed on the wall of her and Spike. Not only that, but the line of the cut was perfectly aligned with two points of Twilight Sparkle’s star-shaped cutie mark in that picture.

“That’s it!” Twilight suddenly cried out, getting back onto her hooves and running off to grab a knife from the kitchen. “If I can’t restore the cut without leaving some sort of visible mark, why not leave a mark that would mean something to her?” At that moment, she sliced gently into the hat, leaving an apple-shaped cut that lined up as best as possible with the original line-shaped cut. The slice was thin enough to not cause the round section to fall off, but yet leave a mark as not only a guide, but as an outline for the overall design she had in mind. She then traced off two more parts with the knife that would resemble the leaf and stem of the apple.

“But wait…” Twilight then said to herself, realizing she had no ability sewing with real thread, only knowing how to temporarily hold clothing together with magic. “I would still have to ask for Rarity’s help to do this. I hope she’d be willing to.”

Twilight placed the hat as carefully as possible into her saddlebags, ensuring that no part of the hat would be revealed while out in public. She left her home and made her way towards the Carousel Boutique.

“Oh hello, darling! I certainly thought you’d be here with Spikey-wikey when he arrived,” Rarity said as Twilight walked into her home.

“Thanks Rarity, and no, I was busy at home at the time Spike left. I had been working on something for Applejack.”

“I actually wanted to ask you about that, Twilight. I had noticed you two the other day sitting by the lake and she looked dreadfully sad, what happened?” she asked, as the two made their way towards Rarity’s room.

“She had lent me her hat, which I accidentally ruined…but it was that day I found out how much it really meant to her. So I spent the entire past two days trying to fix the hat, when I realized that it wasn’t magic that could fix it.”

“Well of course magic can’t fix this! Darling, why do you think I have so much sewing equipment and create all my dresses by hoof?”

The two had entered the room mid-conversation, Twilight catching sight of Spike arched over in the middle of Rarity’s room, five pins stuck into his back. She knew Spike was completely okay with the pins stuck into his body, but the thought of it still bothered her some as it just seemed painful.

“So Rarity, I finally came up with this idea, to not only fix the tear, but make the hat a little more special to her.” Twilight then pulled the hat out of her bags and showed the sliced outline on the hat. “I want red and green stitches on these outlines, so that it represents an apple, if you could please find the time to do this.”

“No, Twilight, I couldn’t possibly do this, I’m sorry,” Rarity said, though not showing any signs of disappointment.

“What? Rarity, why not?! I really need your help! I thought you might be able to—“

“Of course I have the ability to, I’m just choosing not to.”

Twilight stood amazed at her friend, speechless for a second. “Rarity…why would you refuse to help me like this? You know how much I’ve been—“

“Because YOU should be the one fixing her hat, Twilight, especially since Applejack means so much to you,” Rarity clarified, then showing a smile.

“But I don’t know how to--…wait, WHAT?! You know?!” Twilight exclaimed in shock, taking a step back as she looked at her friend in amazement.

“Yes, Twilight. I could see the signs: the way you immediately asked about Applejack when we were at the spa; when you tried to comfort her during the picnic; and how you, as you’ve told me, spent days trying to fix her hat, putting such a high priority on it. Twilight, I don’t think anypony else would have put so much of their energy into such a thing, unless the pony they were doing it for was really special to them.”

Twilight blushed a little, knowing that Applejack was in fact very special to her. “Rarity…it doesn’t bother you? That…well…I would like another mare?”

“Why would it?” Rarity asked, although knowing why Twilight might think other ponies wouldn’t have accepted it; she tried to respond in such a way to help comfort her friend and ensure that she had no problem whatsoever with it. “True love shouldn’t be restricted in such a way, darling.”

Twilight Sparkle smiled and hugged Rarity. “Thanks, I’m glad you’re so accepting of it,” she said, Rarity hugging back in acknowledgement. “You’re a wonderful friend, Rarity.”

Rarity giggled in response to the compliment from her friend.
“So, is it true?” Rarity asked once she had regained eye contact with Twilight. She could then see the blushing in Twilight’s cheeks from her question.

“W-what do you mean?” Twilight stuttered. She had a feeling what Rarity meant, but was a bit too shy to come right out with it.

“About Applejack, you love her…don’t you?” Rarity said, her smile growing by the second.

That second, Twilight’s heart rushed faster than ever once she heard the words “Applejack” and “love” in the same sentence. She thought about every moment she had spent with the mare; by her side in bed, helping her into a bath, sitting by her at the lake. She thought about her sweet and honest personality, one that easily surpassed everypony else’s. Good looks, combined with an even greater personality…Twilight couldn’t possibly deny such a thing.

“Come on, Twilight, out with it! I won’t be able to help you until you admit it!” Rarity teased, her teeth showing in a large grin.

Twilight Sparkle’s eyes closed in pure bliss, her cheeks brightening up. “…Yes, Rarity. I…I’m in love with Applejack.” Twilight felt so much happiness in saying those words. It just felt so right to her.

Rarity squealed in such a high pitch, it had quickly taken Twilight off-guard. “Oh my, Twilight, I’m so happy for you! I knew eventually you would find your special somepony! And for it to be Applejack, I just…ooooh, my hooves are shaking in excitement for you two!” Rarity exclaimed, once again hugging Twilight as she congratulated her. She then looked back at Twilight and agreed to help her. “Let’s get straight to business!”

Rarity walked Twilight over to the sewing machines, floating over a couple of scrap pieces of cloth and some thread, for Twilight to use in experimenting with the machine. She explained every detail about how to operate the machine, how to steer the cloth through the machine, and how to perfect the stitches. After a thirty minute long lesson, Rarity left her friend to practice with the machine by using the cloth she brought over, as she returned to Spike in order to continue work on some of her new dresses.

Twilight did her best to remember everything Rarity had told her, passing bits of cloth through the machine to practice getting the stitches just right, ensuring she could get the method down, but her progress with learning appeared to be slow. The hours seemed to fly by, but Twilight was just barely getting by with making turns on the stitching; at this rate, it would take her days before she felt ready enough to make the stitches on Applejack’s hat.

* * * * *

Lucky for me though, I was in the home of the most generous pony in Equestria. Since I had been trying so hard to learn how to use the sewing machine, which to be honest I feel I was just making an idiot of myself taking so long to learn, Rarity offered to make some space for me to sleep at her place for the night. She allowed me to bring the sewing machine downstairs so I could use it without disturbing her from her sleep, which in hindsight probably wasn’t the best idea; I ended up staying awake until about three in the morning until I got my stitching down! Quite a long time, wasn’t it? Trust me; it was a VERY repetitive process, running so many pieces of cloth through that machine over so many hours. But, practice makes perfect, right?

And so, even though I was tired that morning, I felt ready. I was still in the zone, and didn’t want to wait until I woke up before giving it a shot. That moment, early in the morning, was the moment of truth. That was when I pulled Applejack’s hat out from my bags, and put in the red thread into the machine. As carefully as I could, I positioned the hat under the needle and started up the machine. I was so nervous at that moment, that one little slip could mess everything up and put the hat in a worse condition, but the thoughts of my love for Applejack and how happy she would be to see her hat all fixed and with such a nice design was all I needed for a boost of confidence.

With a deep breath, I pushed the hat through the machine, carefully making each turn and paying great attention to detail. Once I returned to the starting point, I turned the machine off and swapped the threads to a green color, then turning it back on to sew the other two outlines I had cut into the hat. Once I finished the final outline, I turned off the machine and placed the hat on the table, taking a few steps back to get a good look at it.

Diary, I am not exaggerating when I tell you that it was PERFECT! I mean, I don’t know if I would have done as good of a job as Rarity, but…it followed the shape of the outline so well, you couldn’t see any cuts in the hat! And the original slice? It was all fixed with the stitching! I was so happy at that moment; I could finally remove all the sadness Applejack had and impress her with such a nice design!

It was then I realized why Rarity had me do the stitching instead of her. Not just because Applejack was special to me. Rarity had me sew the hat myself because it would give a much more personal meaning to the repair. Whenever Applejack wore the hat now, not only would she think of her father…she would think of me, and all the hard work I put into fixing it. It all made sense! I wanted to just wake Applejack up from her sleep and give the hat right then and there…but I had to wait until dawn arrived, which then leads me to everything that happened this morning.

* * * * *

Rarity walked downstairs from her room to hear the sounds of a purple unicorn snoring on the ground, too tired to even think about walking all the way to her bed. Rarity giggled a little, walking over to the table where the sewing machine is. She picked up the hat next to the machine and inspected the stitches in it. Her perfection for spotting out details could easily pick out some flaws, but she smiled as she knew those flaws would make the hat even more perfect for the occasion.

Rarity quickly ran over to her friend, shoving a hoof into her side. “Twilight, wake up, today’s the big day!”

Twilight Sparkle’s eyes slowly opened, and then quickly shooting wide open when she noticed it was morning. Rarity floated the hat magically over in front of Twilight, placing it on the ground in front of her. “Here you are, darling.”

Twilight quickly stood up and grabbed the hat, using her magic to carefully place it inside of her saddlebags. She quickly went for the door, her destination set for Sweet Apple Acres.

“Go get her, Twilight!” Rarity exclaimed, cheering for her friend as she left.

Twilight Sparkle wore a smile that couldn’t be stopped. She held in her bags the one item that could ease the pains of the pony she loved, and knew that everything was going to end well. Within minutes, she had approached the Apple Family home, quickly knocking on the door with her hoof, her hooves dancing on the ground a little in excitement as she waited.

But there was no response.

Twilight’s hooves soon stopped, as she soon knocked on the door again.

“Applejack?” Twilight said, trying to call for her friend through the door. As she waited for a response, Twilight looked around the farm, looking into the apple orchards to see if she could find any sight of Applejack or any of her family members, but none were to be found.

Twilight knocked harder on the door. “Please, Applejack, if you’re inside, this is important!”

As Twilight pressed her ear against the door, she could soon hear the sounds of crying. Even though it wasn’t right, Twilight was too worried to stand around any longer; Twilight opened up the front door herself, only to see Applejack sitting in the middle of the living room, her back towards the door.

“Applejack? Is everything okay?”

There was still no response from her, with only the sounds of sniffles to be heard. Twilight closed the door behind her as she walked into the room to sit next to Applejack. It was then she caught sight of why Applejack was crying. In Applejack’s hooves was a framed photo, brown in color, of a couple members of her family. The picture was of Granny Smith, Big McIntosh when he was only a baby, in the arms of who appeared to be Applejack’s father, with her mother right next to him.

In between sobs, Applejack tried to talk to Twilight. “Ah found this picture just this morning…Ah thought about everything yesterday and…Ah dug through some old albums…and Ah came across this photo…it was only fittin’ to have it framed…”

Twilight placed her hoof around Applejack, holding onto her in comfort. “I’m sure he was a wonderful father, Applejack. He wouldn’t have wanted to see you in this condition.”

“Ah know, Twiligh’…” she responded, getting up to place the framed picture on a nearby end table. She returned to sit next to her friend. “Thank ya kindly for coming by, Twi…Ah’m mighty sorry I didn’t answer the door.”

“I understand, Applejack. But listen, this day is going to be a perfect one for you,” Twilight said, grinning more than she had all morning, excited to present the gift to her.

“Wha…honestly, how could it be perfect, Twi?”

Right at that second, Twilight Sparkle used her magic to open up her saddlebags and remove a personally repaired Stetson hat, complete with colored stitching that resembled one of the apples in Applejack’s cutie mark.

“Applejack, I’m very sorry that I ruined your hat. Even though it was an accident, I felt obligated to make everything better, and so I did my best to fix the hat. I tried everything I could by magic, but when I realized that there was nothing I could do to fix the hole, I decided to not only stitch it up, but add on to the stitching so that it had a nice design to it, one I thought you might like. That way not only will you be able to still have your father’s memories with you, but maybe one day if you have children, you can pass the hat down to them as well and let them carry on memories of the wonderful mother they would have.”

Applejack remained speechless, as she looked at the stitching of the hat. The sad frown that once was on Applejack’s face was soon replaced by a smile of happiness and a warmed heart. “Twiligh’…that was such a thoughtful sentiment…thank ya kindly, sugarcube,” she said softly to Twilight in a sweet tone that made Twilight want to blush so badly, but did her best to keep cool, simply returning a smile to Applejack. “But…hold on now, you mean to tell me…Rarity didn’t stitch this up?”

“Nope,” Twilight said with a grin. “I spent all day and night at her place yesterday to learn how to stitch…so that I could do it myself.” At that moment in the midst of Twilight’s explanation, Applejack blushed a little, flattered that Twilight went through so much work for her. Normally she’d be stubborn as usual, refusing to allow a pony to go through so much just for her, but at that moment she really appreciated such a deed. It was then she understood why some ponies would go to such extents for another pony, to make them as happy as Twilight had made Applejack.

“I had to practice a lot…you’d be surprised how hard using that sewing machine is! But I kept at it, and, well…I don’t know, I don’t think it came out as well as it would have if Rarity did it, but—“

“Oh, horseapples, Twi. It means so much that you went through all that work for me. Ya know I’d normally be mad at ya for stressin’ like that, right?” Applejack said, her eyes showing a serious look but her mouth still showing a smile. The two giggled a little from that moment, Applejack’s face lightening up again. “Twiligh’, Ah’m really sorry for being so stubborn when y’all were sick at the emergency room. It’s a tough habit to break, but honest truth is, Ah’m mighty happy ya did this for me. But ya forgot something.”

Twilight looked at her friend in curiosity, her ears perking up. “What is it, Applejack?”

“Although Ah may think of my pa while wearing this hat…” Applejack then slipped her hat back on, proudly displaying the design of the apple behind her head, “…Ah’ll always think of the number one unicorn in all of Equestria.”

* * * * *

YES! I’m completely serious! She said I was number one! Oh my gosh, you have you idea how badly I wanted to squeal in happiness from hearing that! I would just look so awkward doing such a thing…so glad I was able to keep my cool then. But you should have seen my face when the conversation went on…

* * * * *

“You…really mean that?” Twilight asked with a flattered smile, a blush finally escaping and brightening her face a little.

“A perfect stitching by Rarity would never mean as much as a stitching by Twiligh’ Sparkle, a pony who took the time to learn to fix mah hat on her own. Ah’ll never forget this, Twiligh’.”

Right at that moment, Applejack walked up to Twilight Sparkle and wrapped her hooves around her, the two sharing a sincere embrace. Twilight was warmed by her friend’s body, feeling all of Applejack’s appreciation from that hug. She also loved the feeling of her friend’s head against hers, feeling the softness of Applejack’s lightly freckled cheeks gently caressing her own. Suddenly, Twilight began to shake in nervousness. The moment felt so right to her, she had to ask Applejack.

“Twi, ya alright?” she whispered caringly to Twilight, as she felt Twilight’s trembling.

“Yeah…listen, Applejack, um…” Twilight began to whisper back. With a silent deep breath, Twilight finished her question. “How would you like to have another picnic tomorrow? This time…just you and I?”

Applejack was silent. Twilight raised her head away from Applejack’s body so she could get a look at her reaction. She couldn’t tell what Applejack was thinking as she appeared to have a blank look on her face, as if she spaced out a little. But a couple seconds later, Applejack showed a smile on her face, accompanied by a slight blush. “…Ah’d love ta, sugarcube.”

* * * * *

So, you can see why I’m so excited for tomorrow! Although I never mentioned the word to her…I’m going on a date with Applejack! Yay! Oh diary, this is amazing, I can finally see everything coming to life here! But oh, what should I bring tomorrow? I’ll have to talk with Pinkie Pie and see if I can have her whip up something for me.

And before you even bring up the question…well, if you could talk anyway…yes, I’m going to do it. No matter how much my nerves might lock my body up, no matter what my brain tells me, I’m going to confess my love to Applejack tomorrow. HOW I’ll do such a thing, though…I’m not sure. This is the first time I’ve been in love, after all…oh, I wish I could find the answers in books for this, but I’m sure somepony like Rarity would just tell me to do what feels right. So…I’ll just have to stick with that for now I guess. Wish me luck, diary!

Until next time, assuming I don’t make a complete fool of myself and die from embarrassment,
Twilight Sparkle

Oh, and diary (sorry, didn't want to make another entry for this), I checked another book for more information. Turns out helium CAN become a solid, just not under regular pressure was all, even at absolute zero. Still, it's a pretty cool fact...isn't it?

Like a Red, Red Rose (Entry #7)

Dear Diary,

You might have to excuse me if I get a little bit of cupcake frosting on your pages…anyway, I’m sure you know what’s coming. You’re about to hear about my date with Applejack.

* * * * *

“Thanks Pinkie, I really appreciate you taking the time to make all of this for us,” Twilight Sparkle had said to Pinkie Pie, as she received a basket filled with a blanket, a couple of sandwiches, and two cupcakes to share for dessert. Pinkie Pie also provided some juice for the two of them to drink, although Twilight had refused to let Pinkie add wine to the basket as well. The basket was then completed with napkins and other basic supplies before being handed over to Twilight Sparkle.

“For the two most amazingly awesome ponies in Equestria, it’s no trouble at all!” Pinkie said with a couple of bounces. Once Twilight Sparkle had that basket in her hooves, she was so excited for the day’s events, consistently daydreaming about how they could possibly play out, which hopefully would be in the best way possible. Now fully prepared, at least for the picnic itself, Twilight was just about ready to head over to Sweet Apple Acres. Before she actually did make her way, she had one last preparation to make.

As Twilight walked past the various stalls in town, she eventually came across one that was operated by an Earth pony who had a coat of a pale yellow, light grayish green eyes and a raspberry-colored mane. “Oh, good afternoon, Twilight Sparkle!” she had greeted the unicorn happily as she approached the stall.

“Hello, Rose! Just thought I’d take a quick look.” Twilight had walked up to a stall that sold various bouquets of flowers, all of them high in quality. Rose always had an impressive assortment of flowers in her shop, all grown herself with lots of love and care. The amount of work she put into her flowers really showed, as she tended to win the top prize for her submissions to the flower shows that were held in town. As her eyes scanned through the wide variety of flowers in front of her, a specific bouquet caught her eye. Originally, she wanted to get a bouquet of roses, but suddenly had a better idea in mind.

“Oh Twilight, what a great choice! What’s the occasion?” Rose asked as Twilight lifted up the bouquet that caught her interest.

“I’ve a date with a special pony at the park today, so there’s no way I could go without some flowers!” Twilight said with a big grin on her face. She started to feel more comfortable about letting her feelings out now, even though she still had not known whether the feelings were returned or not.

“That’s wonderful, I hope the two of you have a beautiful day at the park then!” Rose said to Twilight while taking a hoofful of bits for the flowers.

“Thanks, Rose, you have a good day too!” Twilight waved to her as she walked away from the stall, then carefully placing the bouquet into her bags. With her surprise for Applejack all ready, she could start making her way towards Sweet Apple Acres.

* * * * *

And so my plan was all set. Applejack and I would spend some time over at the park, enjoying a nice meal that Pinkie prepared for us, and then, after we finished up the dessert, I would then reveal the present I had for Applejack. Once I give her the flowers and the moment is right…that’s when I had planned to tell her!

* * * * *

Twilight Sparkle made her way down the usual path towards Sweet Apple Acres, smiling all the way down. She knew she would probably look really awkward to the other ponies she passed with the big grin on her face, but she didn’t care; she was way too excited to hold back any emotions. However she knew she would have to keep a straighter face once she met up with her date. As she walked down the path, she got a good sight of the clock tower, noticing the time was 4:58.

“Oh no! I told her I’d be there to pick her up at 5:00 sharp! I’d better hurry!” Twilight’s pace quickly picked up to a gallop as she tore down the path, hoping to make it there in time. She did her best to close off any distractions around her, even missing the greeting she had received from the Cutie Mark Crusaders as she ran past their tree house.

“Come on…faster, Twilight!” she encouraged herself, trying to get her hooves to move even faster, even though she was already at her limits. It wasn’t much longer before she finally reached the Sweet Apple Acres home, still running full speed toward the door as she tried to knock on the door with her hoof before any more time passed. Twilight had been so used to stressing over deadlines, more so before Princess Celestia had lightened up on her deadlines for reports on friendship, but since today had involved somepony special, she wanted to be sure she made it on time.

Twilight Sparkle smiled while trying to catch her breath, as the door opened to reveal the orange pony that made Twilight’s heart flutter upon sight.

“Well howdy, Twiligh’, nice to see ya!” Applejack greeted her with a smile. Twilight had noticed something was different about her, but wasn’t sure what it was at first. It took her several seconds before she had realized…

Applejack’s mane was braided! Twilight had never seen Applejack’s mane done in such a special away, except for their trip to the gala, and the time her mane was done for Shining Armor’s wedding. In fact, the only time she had ever really seen Applejack’s hair done in any special way outside of a formal event was during Twilight’s slumber party with Applejack and Rarity, when the three of them were styling each other’s mane. Twilight felt her heart flutter even more as she realized that Applejack actually braided her mane, even though it was just the two of them having a meal at the park. Best of all, her mane was topped with her hat once again.

Before getting lost in the moment, Twilight finally responded back with a smile in return. Her response broke regularly in order to catch her breath. “It’s nice to…see you too, Applejack…I made it in time…didn’t I?”

Applejack turned her head to look at a small wooden clock on the wall. “Let’s see, uh…5:02?”

“Applejack, I’m sorry! I told you I’d make it at 5:00 sharp and I—“

Watching as Twilight overreacted to being a little late, Applejack giggled in reaction. “Oh Twi, y’all are just too much sometimes. It’s only a couple minutes, nothin’ to worry your pretty little heart about. No wonder why Celestia eased up on ya so much,” she said, the two of them sharing a little laugh. Twilight could feel her body ease of stress, and had finally regained her breath from the run to Applejack’s home.

“Ready to head over to the park?” Twilight asked, keeping that same smile on her face.

“Of course,” Applejack said, walking out the door and following Twilight by her side as the two of them walked to the park. Along the entire walk, Twilight couldn’t help but continuously catch glimpses of the pony she had admired; the two had engaged in various topics of conversation along the walk there, but even when the chats between them would take their occasional pauses, Twilight could not pull her eyes away from Applejack.

The two had soon approached the park. Just like the last time the two of them were there, along with their other four friends, the park had various other couples and families all enjoying the scenes of nature around them. Twilight had directed Applejack towards a familiar spot, as she carried the basket towards an empty spot that was within close proximity by a like.

“Oh hey, ain’t this where we ate last time?” Applejack had commented while Twilight magically lifted a blanket from the basket and laid it out neatly on the grass, then placing the basket and her saddlebags on the blanket.

“Yep, I thought the lake actually made for some nice scenery, plus this way we wouldn’t have to feel so close to all the other ponies.”

“What’s the matter, Twi, were ya feelin’ a little claustrophobic by the others?” Applejack had teased.

Twilight giggled in response. “Oh Applejack…I just wanted to have a more quiet spot was all. Anyway, I’m sure you’ve been saving up your appetite, so you just wanna get straight to the meal?”

“Now yer talkin’!” Applejack said happily, quickly sitting down in front of Twilight, as she magically lifted two sandwiches and two bottles of juice from the basket, placing one of each in front of herself and Applejack. The space around them soon had been silenced, as both of them dug in, enjoying the taste of their sandwiches that Pinkie Pie had prepared for the two of them. All that could be heard was each other’s chewing and moans of enjoyment. After a few minutes of the silence though, Twilight felt that some sort of conversation was needed.

“So…I don’t think I ever told you, after I returned home from the hospital, I picked up some new books on chemistry. It’s amazing how much I’ve learned from them! Like, for example, how—“

Applejack raised a hoof, trying to pause Twilight until she could finally swallow the food in her mouth to speak. “Twi, no offense, but Ah ain’t the kind of pony to comprehend those fancy sciences.”

“No no, Applejack, it’s fine! It’s nothing too advanced, like, I learned that if you put boiling hot water in one bucket, and put regular, cooler water in another bucket, and placed both of the buckets into a pile of snow, that the hot water would actually freeze faster than the cold water.”

Opposite of what Twilight had expected, Applejack actually suddenly stopped chewing her next bite of her sandwich, giving a surprised look at Twilight.

“Of all the…how the hay is that even possible?” Applejack asked, actually showing interest in the science behind it.

“You mean…you…actually want to know?” Twilight Sparkle said in surprise, starting to smile. “Well…without getting too in-depth about it, it’s basically because when you have a bucket of hot water, it’s more likely it’ll contain bubbles of gaseous water vapor inside, so there’s always movement inside of the bucket as the gases try to escape, removing some heat from the water as the gases float away. Also, the heat from the bucket would cause the surrounding snow to melt as well, which will then cause it to eventually re-freeze from the rest of the cold snow. This would leave the hot bucket surrounded by a layer of thin ice, which would freeze the water faster than a soft, fluffy layer of snow. Also with cold air surrounding the two buckets constantly, the bucket with the cooler water would just freeze on the top and insulate the water underneath it, while the bucket with the hot water would freeze all around and in the inside while the gases try to escape.”

“Uh…” Applejack said, now starting to get a little confused from Twilight’s explanation. “Ah cain’t say Ah quite get it, but Ah’m not surprised that a smart pony such as yourself would be able to easily understand such a thing.”

Twilight’s face blushed a little from Applejack’s comment, her smile getting bigger as she tried not to let out an awkward giggle. “Oh, and what about the fact that helium can’t be solidified?”

“…what-ium?” Applejack asked in confusion.

“…actually, nevermind,” Twilight responded back with an awkward smile, Applejack laughing a little to herself in reaction. The two ponies had then returned to their sandwiches, continuing on with conversations in other topics: about Applejack’s work on the farm, about new spells Twilight had learned, and even a little bit of gossip the two had heard about random citizens in Ponyville.

Twilight had soon finished up her sandwich, watching as Applejack was finishing hers. As Applejack was approaching her last few bites, Twilight turned to look down the lake. Everything was just about going according to plan, as she saw the sun making its way towards the horizon, with only about an hour or so of sunlight remaining.

“Well, Ah must say that was some good eatin’, definitely enjoyed the sandwiches, Twi,” Applejack said, feeling satisfied with her meal.

“It’s not done yet though, Applejack!” Twilight exclaimed, taking out two cupcakes from the basket.

“Oh come on, now yer just spoilin’ me, sugarcube,” Applejack responded as she began to eat the cupcake. The cupcakes were vanilla, topped with strawberry frosting and even had chocolate sprinkles on them. Twilight Sparkle and Applejack both enjoyed the first couple of bites, their eyes soon attracting towards each other, as the two watched each other take their next bite.

“Twi…ya might wanna take a gander over there,” Applejack said softly, pointing behind her. Twilight was gullible enough to turn around and look into the distance, to see nothing in particular except a couple other ponies that were also out for their own picnics. Once Twilight had turned back, she saw nothing but a hoof closing in to her face, the hoof covered in pink frosting. Twilight felt the squishy frosting smear across her nose and cheeks, Applejack laughing as she swiped her hoof across Twilight’s face.

“Well ain’t you pretty,” Applejack teased, as she looked at Twilight’s face, the bottom half of which had a pink streak of frosting across it.

Twilight licked the frosting that was around her mouth, then showing a devious look in her face as she raised her cupcake up, swiftly smashing it into Applejack’s face in retaliation. Frosting, crumbs and sprinkles had covered Applejack’s face entirely. Applejack had then scooped up some of the bits of cupcake and frosting from her eyelids, smiling evilly as she splattered it onto Twilight’s chest.

“Oh…that’s it!” Twilight shouted, quickly shoving Applejack to the ground and then standing over her, scooping some of the frosting from her face and smearing it across Applejack’s body. Applejack swung her legs up to push Twilight away, then taking her shot to cover Twilight with some of the frosting that she had on her face. The two laughed as they played around with their desserts, wrestling around with each other and dirtying up each other’s coats and manes. A few minutes had passed before the two were starting to get worn out from all the wrestling, Twilight lying on the ground while Applejack stood over her, her front hoof placed firmly on Twilight’s chest to pin her to the ground.

“Look at y’all, all plum tuckered out, cain’t even get back up,” Applejack teased with a smile, laughing a little. “Ah’m impressed with ya, Twi. Ah’d never thought a bookworm like yourself would put up such a fight.”

Twilight was a little out of breath, but laughed a little with Applejack, smiling at her. Even though the smeared pink markings all over Applejack’s body covered up her orange coat, Twilight could still find herself getting lost in Applejack’s glistening green eyes. Applejack had looked back at Twilight, sharing a smile with her, happy to have had such a wonderful time with her friend.

“You’re a real fun pony ta be around with, Twiligh’…Ah wish Ah could have this much fun with everypony else, but…lately, especially after today, Ah find Ah have the most fun when Ah’m with you, and Ah couldn’t be happier.”

Twilight’s mouth opened up in happiness, showing a big grin. Her face lit up with a bright blush on her cheeks once she had heard the compliment from Applejack. Twilight hadn’t noticed it as she was still lost in Applejack’s eyes, but Applejack was also letting out a slight blush as well, as a barely noticeable fade of red filled her cheeks.

The moment felt just right to Twilight. Before she could go any further, she had remembered about the surprise she had saved for just this moment.

“Applejack…there’s something I want to show you,” she said, as her horn lit up. Within seconds, a bouquet of flowers slipped out of Twilight’s saddlebags and had floated magically next to Applejack. Applejack looked to her side to see the flowers floating next to her, her eyes wide open in surprise.

“Twiligh’…what’s this…?” Applejack asked, almost speechless as she examined the bouquet. It was a beautiful arrangement filled with orange, purple and pink flowers, complete with a couple of red roses. Twilight had picked out an arrangement of flowers that had matched the colors of the two ponies; when Twilight had noticed the bouquet at Rose’s flower stall, she knew she was lucky to find it and knew that it was the perfect choice.

“Um…Applejack…” Twilight began, starting to get nervous. “It’s…for you.”

“Oh, Twiligh’…it’s beautiful…thank ya kindly, but ya didn’t have ta do that,” Applejack said sweetly, her face lighting up a little as the red in her cheeks became a little more noticeable.

“But I did, Applejack…after all…you were willing enough to spend a nice time with me at the park…and I don’t think I would have enjoyed it as much with anypony else.” Twilight couldn’t hold back her emotions anymore. She felt her face heat up, her cheeks fully blushed as her eyes were half closed, her ears lowered, showing how much she really loved having Applejack around her.

When Applejack had heard those words from Twilight, and got another good look at the bouquet, it then hit her. “So…that’s why y’all got flowers with our colors in it?”

Twilight only nodded back in response, unable to speak.

“Ah don’t know what ta say, sugarcube…,” Applejack took her hoof off of Twilight’s chest so she could then get back up from off of the ground, “…no pony had never gone so far to please me, what with the hat and the flowers and the day at the park…” Applejack had paused for a few seconds as she looked at Twilight, Twilight now finally noticing how much Applejack started to blush. All Twilight could do, as she was still speechless, was carefully lower the flowers to the ground so she wouldn’t have to worry about dropping the flowers, as she put all of her concentration to the pony of her dreams, who stood only a foot away from her, staring into her eyes.

The two remained silent in a deep gaze that wouldn’t break; Twilight and Applejack shared a loving smile towards each other as they continued to stare into each other’s eyes. Twilight Sparkle had then noticed the air around her warm up a little, as Applejack approached a little closer. Once Applejack’s face was only a few inches away, her eyes fell half-shut, as did Twilight’s, continuing their gaze.

“Twiligh’…” Applejack said softly, in such a way that made Twilight’s face rush with blood as her heart beat three times as fast.

“…yes, Applejack?” Twilight answered back, the response having a similar effect on Applejack.

Twilight Sparkle had thought the date would have ended with herself doing something completely awkward to confess her feelings to Applejack, but there the two of them stood, feeling so much affection for one another.

The two continued to stand in place, until the move was made. Applejack’s eyes slowly shut completely, while Twilight’s eyes closed in reaction. She then felt as her lips touched Applejack’s, the two enjoying the beginnings of a memorable first kiss. The kiss broke softly after a few seconds, as Twilight and Applejack only reared their heads away about an inch to enjoy another loving gaze in each other’s eyes.

“…I love you, Applejack,” Twilight whispered softly and lovingly.

“…Ah love ya too, Twiligh’,” Applejack responded back in a similar manner, both of their smiles momentarily turning into large grins, but then turning back into loving smiles as both of their lips had returned to each other. Twilight and Applejack both wrapped their hooves around each other’s bodies, embracing each other as their lips shared a sweet kiss. The two then turned their heads a little as their kiss became more romantic, Applejack beginning to run her hooves through Twilight’s mane. Both Twilight and Applejack were able to enjoy the faint taste of strawberry frosting on each other’s lips, along with the taste of each other’s saliva that began to collect on the outside of their lips.

Twilight Sparkle carefully brought herself back down to the ground, letting Applejack rest her body on top of hers, as Twilight wrapped her hooves around Applejack’s waist, continuing the kiss with greater passion. Twilight softly felt Applejack’s back, while Applejack began to softly caress Twilight’s cheek during the kiss, each of them enjoying heartwarming comfort while sharing their admiration for each other. She had then taken in the sweet smell of apples from Applejack, the smell triggering an increased heartbeat from Twilight. With their two bodies pressed against each other, Applejack could feel Twilight’s heart beating so quickly, causing her own heart to beat much faster, Twilight feeling her heartbeat as well.

Twilight felt so much love for Applejack, which had greatly intensified now knowing that the pony of her dreams had returned such feelings; she couldn’t help but want to bring more passion into the kiss. Even though it had seemed odd at first, Twilight brought her tongue up to her lips, gently feeling Applejack’s lips as they continuously moved against Twilight’s in their romantic kissing. At that moment, Twilight could feel Applejack’s lips open up a little more, soon feeling the tip of Applejack’s tongue softly pressing against her own. Twilight had never felt such an alluring feeling when her tongue had touched Applejack’s, but she had loved it instantly. She had loved it even more so once she felt Applejack’s tongue move in a little more, swirling around Twilight’s tongue and mixing saliva between the two, feeling every taste inside Twilight’s mouth.

At that moment, their kissing had greatly intensified and became much more intimate, their lips tightly pressed against each other while their tongues played around each other and explored each other’s mouths, the two then bringing their arms around each other’s necks to pull theirselves as close as possible. Twilight Sparkle and Applejack had found themselves in a moment of absolute bliss, being so close to each other and enjoying such intimacy, that even though the kiss had lasted for a good five minutes, it felt like it could have lasted forever. Their two tongues soon parted ways, as they gave each other a few more kisses before their lips departed from each other, leaving a little saliva resting on each other’s lips.

Once the two had finished their moments of intimacy, their faces remained only inches away as they gazed lovingly into each other’s eyes, each of them softly caressing each other as the time flew by. The atmosphere seemed to glow around them, as the sun had soon reached the horizon behind them. Twilight had soon looked over to the lake to see the sun casting its reflections on the waves of the lake.

“Applejack…would you like to sit with me by the lake…and watch the sunset?” Twilight asked softly.

“Ah’d love nothing more,” Applejack had agreed, Twilight soon standing up and walking with Applejack over towards the lake, sitting at the edge of the grass. The two could not stop thinking about each other during the entire sunset, as they continued to wear the smiles they had on their face, Twilight soon cuddling into Applejack’s arms as the sun lowered further into the horizon. Applejack placed her head on her new marefriend’s shoulder, rubbing her cheeks softly against Twilight’s.

“Ya know, sugarcube…ya truly are a wonderful pony. After all ya did for me, Ah truly am lucky ta have you,” Applejack said to Twilight, kissing her cheek while the sky slowly started to fade in color, as night had approached.

“Applejack…” Twilight whispered in flattery, speechless for the compliments she had received from her marefriend. She returned the kiss and then continued to watch the sunset, holding onto Applejack’s hooves, which were gently holding Twilight in comfort.

Night had soon arrived, Twilight then starting to clean up their picnic supplies as the two prepared to leave the park. Applejack helped Twilight carry the basket while she used her magic to carefully bring the flowers along with her as they both walked back towards Sweet Apple Acres.

Upon reaching Applejack’s front door, the two swapped their possessions, Applejack trading the basket she held over to Twilight so that she could take the bouquet of flowers. Applejack then took a good whiff of the flowers, enjoying the smell with her eyes closed as thoughts of Twilight filled her mind with each smell. She then re-opened her eyes to look at Twilight, who smiled back at her.

“So, Twi…Ah had a thought, earlier today at the park…ya know about the carnival that’s coming to Ponyville soon? Ah thought it’d be mighty nice if, well…you and Ah went together,” Applejack asked, her face bringing about another blush.

“Oh, Applejack, I think it’s a wonderful idea,” Twilight agreed with a big smile on her face.

“So, uh…it’s a date then?”

“It’s a date,” Twilight agreed, starting to blush a little again.

The two walked up to each other and pressed their lips together, sharing yet another romantic kiss at the door, Applejack carefully bringing her hooves around Twilight while ensuring her flowers weren’t ruined in the process. They both continued the kiss for another minute, enjoying the feeling of their lips one more time before the night ended.

Applejack and Twilight had then released their lips from each other, looking into each other’s eyes lovingly, as Applejack stood by her door.

“Ah love ya, sugarcube…” Applejack sweetly whispered to Twilight.

“I love you too, dear,” Twilight quietly responded back. The two had then continued on to wish each other a good night and the sweetest of dreams, as Applejack made her way inside and softly closing the door behind her. Twilight then started to walk back home, enjoying the ambience of the night sky as every minute of her first date with Applejack replayed in her mind repeatedly all the way home, reliving that wonderful kiss the two had shared for the first time.

* * * * *

So, now you know why I’m all covered in frosting…and, well, why I have this big smile on my face that I just can’t get rid of! I just can’t get over it. I’m in love with Applejack! Applejack is in love with me! APPLEJACK IS MY MAREFRIEND! …oh, oops, got a bit carried away there…accidentally tore into the paper a little bit while writing that. Sorry!

But my goodness, what a feeling it was to have her so close like that, just feeling those loving kisses we shared…wait a minute, this must be really awkward, especially since I just pretty much explained every little detail about those kisses we had. Wow, uh, maybe I did go a little too far with writing this entry…

Anyway, I’d better wash up and get all this frosting off of me. I really wish I didn’t have to shower, afraid I’ll lose that lasting feeling of Applejack holding me the way she did…oh, sorry, sorry, I’ll stop now!

Until next time, once this pony in love can relax about her obsessions,
Twilight Sparkle

* * * * *

Twilight Sparkle had then put her quill away, as she closed her diary and floated it away to the best hiding spot she could think of, on top of one of the bookcases in her room. She knew that Spike could never reach such a height, and surely no pony else would ever think to look in such a spot. Once she put the book away, she then looked at a nearby picture that she had framed, of Twilight and her five friends all together. She had stared at the pony she loved, who stood right next to her in that photo, right against her left side with Fluttershy in front of her, Rarity on the other side along with Pinkie Pie behind her, and Rainbow Dash floating behind herself. Never did Twilight think that Applejack, who once was just a good friend to her, would now become such a wonderful marefriend.

Once Twilight took a quick shower to wash off all of the dried up frosting on her body, she then retreated off to bed, wanting to quickly get to sleep so that the next day would arrive quickly. She couldn’t wait to see all of her friends, and share with them that two of their best friends had just started a relationship together.

Her eyes slowly faded shut, as she pulled up her covers.

“Sweet dreams, Applejack,” she whispered into the air, wishing she had been right next to her to hear it.

Happy Together (Entry #15)

Dear Diary,

Sorry to not write to you last night! As you remember me writing about in the last few entries, last night was the big day I had been looking forward to! Last night I had joined my marefriend and all of my friends in a wonderful day at the carnival. It’s been forever since I’ve last been to a carnival, and I gotta say, it was much more fun than I expected. Why haven’t I gone all the other times it’s been in town? I mean I know that I used to be so busy studying magic and friendship and all, but...it was just so wonderful to have that day with the girls. Want to hear how it went?

* * * * *

After what had seemed like an eternity to Twilight Sparkle, the opening day for the town carnival had arrived at last. Twilight had made sure to wake up right at the break of dawn so she could get herself completely ready for the whole day. Although Applejack and Twilight had previously arranged to go alone after their picnic date, they both thought about it and agreed that the day would be much more fun if it involved all of their friends. Today, all six of them were sure to enjoy all the rides, games and food that the carnival had brought along.

Twilight Sparkle continued to fuss with her hair in her mirror, making sure that her mane was just perfect for the day, even though the day’s plans had involved nothing formal. Once she had finished, she walked downstairs to prepare herself some hay cereal; if they were to spend their day at the carnival, Twilight had planned to save most of her appetite for the various food products that would be sold there.

In the middle of her meal, there was a knock on the door. “Spike, can you get that please? I’m in the middle of breakfast,” Twilight asked politely. The young dragon groaned as he got off the couch where he was previously resting comfortably on, and jogged over to the door to answer it.

“Oh, hi Applejack!” Spike greeted the pony at the door.

“Howdy, Spike, is Twiligh’ around?”

“Yeah, come in,” Spike said, stepping aside to let the orange pony inside, then showing her towards the kitchen where Twilight was eating her breakfast. As Applejack stepped in, she could see Twilight caught up in a book all about astrology, as a spoon of hay cereal floated into her mouth. Once Twilight started to chew on the food, her eyes strayed away from the book to see her marefriend standing right in front of her. She was so surprised yet happy to see her, the combination of which caused the spoon, along with a few bits of cereal, to drop from her mouth.

“Applejack!” Twilight greeted her happily after swallowing the food in her mouth, getting up from the table and running over to Applejack to give her a soft hug.

“Howdy, sugarcube, sorry ta come by so early, just figured ya might have been up early too,” Applejack said to her.

“No reason to be sorry, you know I’m always happy to see you!” Twilight said sweetly, giving her a kiss before returning to her meal. “Besides, it’ll save me the trip over to your place.”

“Thinkin’ of it, how’re we meetin’ up with everypony else?”

“I pretty much told all of them to meet us at the entrance,” Twilight answered. “We should leave here within the next half hour or so to get there in time.”

“Well alrigh’ then, mind if Ah make myself at home then?” Applejack said, taking up what was previously Spike’s resting spot before Twilight could answer. Twilight giggled in response, especially when Spike moaned to notice that Applejack had taken up the couch, instead returning to his room to read one of his comic books.

Twilight Sparkle finished up her last few bites of cereal and placed the dishes in the sink to wash later upon returning home. She then walked back into the main room of her library home, where Applejack was resting on a chair, with something in her hooves. Twilight shook her head for a second, thinking that what she had just seen wasn’t real. But once she got another good look, she realized what she had seen was true.

“Applejack…is that…a book?” Twilight asked in surprise.

“Yep, nothin’ fancy, just a book of random facts and stuff.” she answered back. Twilight couldn’t believe that Applejack was reading and she actually showed great interest in the book she had.

“I didn’t think you were into reading!”

“You’d be right sug, but after all yer fancy sciences you told me about, Ah was mighty impressed, and Ah kinda wanted to be more like you, so Ah found this book and gave it a try.”

Twilight felt warm inside after hearing that her marefriend had wanted to be just like her. “What kind of facts anyway?” she had asked.

“Uhh, ‘bout these ponies who are the best in Equestria at stuff, like stackin’ apples, or most trees bucked in an hour, or…”

Twilight lost focus after a while as Applejack continued her list of records she read from her book. She thought a book on scientific facts or historical facts may have been more interesting, but Twilight was still happy nonetheless to see her love so into reading regardless of what the material was.

“…and, my favorite, most mugs of apple cider chugged in—“ Applejack soon stopped her list when she noticed the time on the wall. “—Oh, Ah think it’s time ta go soon, ain’t it?”

Twilight Sparkle looked at the time as well. “Nah, we still got some time…but until then, mind if I read with you?” Twilight asked. Applejack smiled and scooted over a little to give Twilight some room. She sat right next to her marefriend and looked at the book she held, which was filled with pictures and information about a bunch of random world records.

“Heh, take a gander at this, Twi, ‘Most apples juggled without magic by a single pony: 15’!”

Twilight giggled a little to herself, as Applejack would only point out the apple-related records within the book. She didn’t care much though; Twilight soon cuddled up against Applejack, resting her head on Applejack’s shoulder as she looked at all of the records in her book. Twilight felt Applejack rest her head against her own in response, then flipping to the next page in the book. Applejack suddenly laughed when she saw the picture on the next page.

“Wow, what a laugh this is, ‘Largest apple pie: 120 inches in diameter’, how in the hay can anypony cook a pie that size?”

Twilight Sparkle would have responded, but was too busy getting lost in the moment, feeling the softness of the orange pony she held onto. Even after being together for only a week, Twilight still couldn’t stop herself from spacing out whenever she was around Applejack, thinking about all the special moments they had together. She couldn’t resist enjoying the feel of her soft coat that she could just fall asleep on, especially after already having done so once before.

The time seemed to pass by as Applejack continued to read off the records in her book, until Twilight had soon realized that it was finally time for the two of them to leave for the carnival. Applejack left the book on the table and followed Twilight out of her home and down the path to the carnival. Along the way, Applejack shared her ambitions of one day taking a shot at breaking one of those records and maybe even end up in one of those record books herself. Although some of the suggestions Applejack gave seemed odd at first to Twilight, such as most apples eaten during a two-mile skydive, Twilight continued to give her support to her marefriend, ensuring she had all of her faith in her. Twilight Sparkle made Applejack promise that, had she tried to attempt such a stunt, she would allow Twilight to be around to catch her if something went wrong.

Once the two had left town, they could see the tall metal structures that were a part of the carnival. Twilight Sparkle hadn’t been to a carnival since she was a little filly, before she had become Princess Celestia’s student, so most of these structures weren’t familiar to her. Only one was recognizable, and it was the iconic ferris wheel that any carnival couldn’t be without. All of a sudden, Twilight Sparkle thought about all of those romantic novels that she had read in the past, some of which involving the main couple of the story sharing their romance at the top of the ferris wheel. She giggled to herself at the thought of Applejack and her being at the top of the wheel, kissing with the sunset in the background.

“Uh, everything alright, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, looking at Twilight with her eyes closed as she giggled to herself.

“Oh! Yeah, it’s nothing dear, just was thinking about some book I read, it’s nothing though,” Twilight assured her. Applejack had then gone back to talking about more records. It wasn’t much longer before the two had approached the gate, where their four friends waited for them.

“Well, about time!” Rainbow Dash said, snickering a little. “What were you lovebirds doing that took so long?”

“Rainbow Dash, please, you’re absolutely embarrassing them!” Rarity said, then smiling at the couple. “I say they look lovely together, and besides it’s only about eight minutes late, it’s not that much.”

“Well, now that everypony’s here, let’s go in before the lines get long!” Pinkie said as she bounced around. All six entered through the gates of the carnival, taking a look at all of the attractions around them. Rides all around them, various games that ponies could play for prizes, different kinds of sweets and other kinds of food for sale; there was so much to do!

“Let’s go on the twisty cups!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

“No way, we should do the bumper carriages first!” Rainbow Dash suggested.

Rarity scoffed. “How barbaric, though I must say I’d be quite interested in looking at what accessories they might have for sale around here before anything else.”

“…why don’t we just do one of the games first...” Fluttershy suggested quietly, hoping to avoid the danger of getting hit by other ponies’ carriages.

“Ah dunno Rarity, Ah kinda like Rainbow’s idea,” Applejack agreed.

“Yes! That’s two for bumper carriages, any objections Twilight?” Rainbow asked, excited to start off with her idea first.

Before Twilight could respond, Fluttershy tried to wave her hoof in the air, quietly saying, “Yes, Twilight, don’t agree to it…” Unfortunately for Fluttershy, Twilight hadn’t heard the poor pony’s cries for refusal, and agreed to the plans.

“Sure! I’ll join in too.”

Fluttershy let out a short squeal of frustration that no pony had heard her, but continued to follow along with the other five, walking in line for the bumper carriages. She watched as the various metal carriages, operated by conducted magic, swerved around a smooth surface, the young ponies steering them to hit the others. Everytime she heard the slamming of two carriages, she let out a tiny yelp in fright that the ponies might have gotten hurt, although all of them were laughing during the ride.

“Yes, we’re next! I call blue carriage!” Rainbow exclaimed as she galloped into the ride, jumping into the carriage. Everypony else found their own carriage, conveniently each one matching as closely as possible to their own color. Once enough ponies were in the ride to fill up each carriage, the gates shut and the carriages were activated, allowing each pony to drive and steer each one. While Fluttershy found herself a corner to hide in, everypony else had their fun by smashing into each other.

Twilight and Applejack would occasionally drive next to each other and share a plan to team up on a certain pony, most of the time the victim being Rarity, as Applejack knew it would easily aggravate the elegant unicorn. Twilight steered away from Applejack while she drove straight for Rarity.

“Oh no you don’t, Applejack!” Rarity yelped, steering away from her. Before Rarity knew it, she had been rear-ended by Twilight Sparkle, who drove off to circle around and get behind Rarity. A visible red could be seen in Rarity’s cheeks as she became flustered, backing up to give herself some distance before charging towards Twilight. “Now you’re gonna get it!” she said evilly as she chased towards Twilight, Applejack laughing loudly in reaction, only to be slammed by Rainbow Dash while she was sitting in place.

“That’s what YOU get for sitting around like that, ya lazy pony!” Rainbow Dash shouted, blowing raspberries at Applejack before being chased by her.

Fluttershy continued to hide in the corner until a sudden force pushed her body forward a little, a random rider hitting her. At that moment, she realized that the ride wasn’t at all dangerous, but actually seemed quite fun. She pulled her vehicle out from the corner, and noticed that Pinkie was driving nearby as she tried to hit Rainbow Dash, chasing her along. Once Pinkie had stopped to try and turn around, Fluttershy drove at about half speed into her carriage, Pinkie Pie’s body swinging a tiny bit from the impact. Fluttershy giggled to herself a little, and then continued to seek out everypony else, her giggles soon turning into playful, evil laughter as she continuously slammed into each one of them, soon going at full speed.

The ride ended a couple minutes later, all six of them getting out of their carriages and laughing at each other as they walked out of the ride, commenting on all the impacts between them throughout. They all soon made their way to the twisty cup ride, the group splitting into three cups, two in each. Obviously Twilight Sparkle rode along with Applejack, while Rarity sat with Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie with Rainbow Dash. Once the ride had started, Twilight and Applejack laughed as they pulled on the center disc with their hooves as hard as they could, getting their cup to spin as fast they could possibly get it to. The two enjoyed the wind in their face as their manes blew around while their cup rotated swiftly. The other ponies did the same, although Rarity and Fluttershy’s cup hadn’t rotated as fast as everypony else’s did.

Once the cups slowed down to a stop, Twilight and Applejack carefully got up and out of the cup, helping each other out as they walked out dizzily. They laughed as they held each other with one hoof, walking over to their friends. Pinkie Pie was visibly feeling a little sick, as Rainbow spun the cup a little too much for her to handle.

“…maybe now might be a good time to sit down and get some food,” Rainbow Dash said with a sheepish grin, guilty about how Pinkie had felt.

The six walked over to the eating area, where all of them found a round table to sit at. Once they picked their table, each of them went to the various stalls to purchase some food. Applejack had used her money to buy food for both her and Twilight Sparkle, getting each of them a caramel apple. Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy each decided to get some of the cupcakes that were for sale, even though Pinkie Pie was sure that the cupcakes she could make would have tasted much better. Rainbow Dash, however, returned to the table with something a little different that the other ponies hadn’t seen before.

“Wow, Rainbow, what’s that?” Applejack asked, pointing at the plate Rainbow Dash brought to the table.

“It’s something called a ‘funnel cake’, it looked good, thought I’d try it out, even though it doesn’t look anything like a cake…” Rainbow Dash tore off a small piece with her hooves and placed it in her mouth, tasting all of the sprinkled sugar on the fried batter as she chewed it, her eyes lighting up from the taste. “Girls, you have to try this!” she said, each pony then reaching over and tearing off a piece for themselves.

“It’s delicious!” Twilight Sparkle exclaimed.

“Undoubtedly tasty!” Rarity agreed.

“It kinda tastes like a doughnut,” Pinkie said with a laugh, tearing off another piece for herself.

They all continued to eat their foods while continuing to take more of Rainbow Dash’s funnel cake. Once finished, they all decided to try out a few more rides, soon approaching the carnival’s rollercoaster.

“Now wait, I don’t know about this,” Rarity said with a worried tone.

Rainbow Dash let out a muffled laugh through her hooves. “Wait, Rarity, are you afraid of heights?”

“Don’t you remember when you had to catch me during your show in Cloudsdale? I’ve been simply terrified ever since.”

“Now come on, Rarity, don’t y’all get your mane in a bunch, it’s perfectly safe,” Applejack tried to convince her. Knowing Applejack wouldn’t lie, Rarity agreed to give it a try and joined them in the line, though she was still terrified. As the six of them made their way through the line and was soon the next ponies to enter the ride, Applejack whispered something to Twilight Sparkle. Twilight returned a smug smile in agreement, after which Applejack went on to whisper the same words to everypony else, except for Rarity.

Once the six of them reached the front of the line, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash went ahead to sit in the middle row of the wooden rollercoaster carriage, while Fluttershy and Applejack sat next to each other in the back row, Twilight then taking a spot in the front row. Rarity hesitated to get in the car.

“Come on, Rarity!” Twilight called out to her, tapping her hoof on the empty seat next to her. Applejack giggled to herself a little, shielding her laughter with her hooves.

“Absolutely not! Why can’t Applejack sit in the front with you, she’s YOUR marefriend after all,” Rarity whined.

“Oh come on Rarity, Ah know everythin has to be just so with ya, but we’re already buckled in. Besides, Fluttershy thought she’d be safer next ta me, so quit yer fussin’,” Applejack said to her.

“But…” Rarity complained, soon giving up quietly with a sigh. She carefully walked over into the seat next to Twilight, sitting down as Twilight pulled the bar down to their laps. Rarity’s hooves began to shake in nervousness. “…oh, I hope my mane doesn’t get all messed up from this…” she whined to herself, trying to replace her fears with other worries.

Once the carriage started to move, Rarity had immediately held onto the bars for dear life, even though the carriage hadn’t made any drops yet and was simply making its way to the chain lift.

“Yeah! This is gonna be so awesome!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed excitedly as the carriage was pulled up the hill by the chains below. “Have you SEEN that big drop?” she exaggerated loudly to everypony while at the same time trying to stifle a giggle, trying to bring Rarity’s fears back.

“Ah heard somepony fainted at the top after seeing one heck of a height,” Applejack added in, also trying to hide her laughter.

“Stop, stop, STOP!” Rarity shouted, closing her eyes and slapping her hooves to her ears to block out the noise. She had made a fatal mistake at that moment, as she could feel her weight starting to shift once the carriage reached the top of the hill. Rarity’s eyes slipped open a little to see a distant view over the top of the carnival, and even a good amount of Ponyville.

“Oh, dear…” was all Rarity could mutter out before swiftly grabbing the lap restraints and screaming for her life, shutting her eyes as the carriage tipped over the top of the hill and went full speed downward. All the ponies screamed in delight, except for Rarity who continued to scream in fear, as the carriage flew up and down the hills and around the banked turns, the wind driving their manes back and blowing into their eyes. Once the ride ended about thirty seconds later, the ponies laughed at Rarity who still had her eyes shut and her hooves wrapped tightly around the restraints, despite the carriage stopping completely at the station.

“So how’d ya like the ride, Rarity?” Applejack asked as she giggled with the other ponies behind the plan.

Rarity quickly glared at Applejack as they walked out of the carriage. “So YOU were behind all this, putting me in the front seat even though you knew I was scared!”

“Oh quit yer bellyachin’, Ah bet ya enjoyed it deep down,” she responded back with a smile. “Ya gotta face yer fears sometime after all.”

Rarity thought about the moments during the ride for a few seconds. The high drop did seem intimidating, but she realized that some of it might have been fun. “Hmph. I suppose. Anyway, with that over with, why don’t we see what kind of fun stuff they have down this way?” she suggested, pointing a hoof toward one pathway of the carnival after exiting the ride. The pathway was lined with various tents and stands, each one hosting a different kind of game.

Twilight noticed one of the games that seemed simple enough, and called Applejack over to join her. Twilight was confident she could win at this one. She thought to herself, how hard could it be to knock over a couple of bottles with a baseball? She handed the carnie a couple of bits in trade for three baseballs. Since magic was against the rules for the game, Twilight had to use her own strength; carefully concentrating on the center bottle of the stack, Twilight reared her arm back and threw the ball as hard as she could…completely missing the triangle of bottles.

Applejack bursted out in laughter. “Wow, sugarcube, Ah’d no idea if yer aimin’ for the bottles or for the poor carnie,” she joked.

“Alright, alright, that was just a warm-up,” Twilight assured her, picking up the second ball. Once again, she concentrated on the same spot and tossed the ball, this time the ball actually striking a bottle, but only knocking the top bottle of the triangle off. The carnie then re-arranged the stack for Twilight’s final throw. Loosening up on strength a little to concentrate more on accuracy, Twilight carefully threw the ball. Almost all of the bottles had fallen that time…all except for the bottom middle one.

“Aw shucks, nice try Twiligh’, but…let me show ya how us farm girls get it done,” Applejack offered. Twilight generously gave the carnie a couple more bits before Applejack could grab some of her own, letting Applejack take over. Applejack picked up one of the balls and concentrated on the neck of the bottom center bottle, hoping to not only strike the bottom bottle but the two bottles in the middle as well. With all of her strength, she hurled the baseball towards the bottle, all of them falling except for that same center bottle.

“What the hay, Ah hit it dead on!” Applejack complained as the carnie reset the triangle of bottles. She growled and picked up the next ball, aiming for the same spot but still having no luck. Applejack scoffed and muttered, “This thing must be rigged!”

Twilight had an idea. “Wait, Applejack, let me throw the last one, I think I know how to get them all to fall!” Applejack handing the ball over to Twilight, she changed her aim so that instead of throwing to hit the center bottle, she aimed to hit the rightmost edge of the bottom bottle on the right side. With every inch of strength in her body, the ball was tossed at full speed into the targeted bottle, the force causing it to strike the other two bottles and push them off of the stand, and then causing the other three bottles to collapse downward to the ground.

“We have a winner!” the carnie cried out as he pulled a string to ring a bell. Applejack let out a happy “yee-haw!” for Twilight’s victory. When Twilight was given the choice, she immediately knew what prize to pick; Twilight picked out a stuffed gray unicorn plush for her prize. It even came with markers so that a cutie mark could be drawn on it! Twilight received her prize and then handed it over to Applejack as they walked away from the game.

“Wha…it’s for me?” Applejack said in a flattered tone, as Twilight nodded to her. “Why, thank ya kindly, sugarcube, Ah’ll take good care of it,” she said as she hugged Twilight. Twilight Sparkle already had her own doll which she was already satisfied enough with, so she knew that winning the prize for Applejack would make for a nice way to make her marefriend happy.

Three of the four ponies soon caught back up to Twilight and Applejack, each of them talking about the various games they had enjoyed playing, although none of the three had won any prizes. Twilight looked around though, looking for the last member of their group. “Where’s Fluttershy?” she asked.

“Uhh…” Rainbow Dash let out, turning around to finally see her, “…she’s trying to keep up with us.”

Twilight Sparkle had soon noticed the yellow pegasus struggling with her prize; somehow she had won an oversized stuffed animal of a bunny, that was twice her size! It wasn’t the weight that was a problem for her, but more so the size; if she were to carry it in her hooves, she wouldn’t be able to see where she was going with it, so she ended up having to try to balance it on her back as she walked slowly. A couple of the ponies laughed from the sight, while Rarity walked over to Fluttershy and offered to use her magic to help and carry the stuffed bunny.

After completing most of the games, the ponies had almost seen all that there was to see. Before they knew it, the sky started to change from a bright blue to a brilliant red as the sun started to set.

“Well, I don’t know about everyone else, but my hooves are positively achey from all this walking,” Rarity complained. “I’d say it’s almost time to get going anyway, it’ll be night any time now!”

All of the ponies had agreed, but Twilight Sparkle quickly interjected. “Actually, you girls go on ahead, Applejack and I still have one last ride to go on.”

Applejack was about to ask what Twlight had meant, but the other ponies, along with an oversized stuffed rabbit, were soon on their way towards the exit. Twilight held Applejack with one of her hooves and walked her along down the pathway towards the rides.

“Ah dun get it, Twi, what was left to ride?” Applejack asked.

“That,” Twilight Sparkle responded, pointing to a giant wheel that slowly circled around.

Applejack watched the wheel slowly rotate for a few seconds. “Why though? That ain’t any bit excitin’,” Applejack commented.

“Just trust me, dear, it’ll be fun,” Twilight convinced Applejack with a smile. Applejack decided to give it a try anyway, if it would have pleased Twilight to go along with her. Once the two made it through the line, the two took their spot in the empty carriage waiting for them at the bottom of the wheel. The lap restraint then lowered down to their laps as the wheel continued to rotate upward, the two soon seeing a wondrous view of the sun setting behind their town of Ponyville.

“Ain’t that a pretty sight,” Applejack said softly as their carriage continued to rise, staring off into the sunset.

“It is…isn’t it?” Twilight had then said, then turning to look into Applejack’s eyes. Twilight had remembered riding in a ferris wheel when she was really young, riding in it with her parents. When Applejack looked back at Twilight, the two of them smiled dreamily at each other. It was then Twilight realized how much fun a ferris wheel truly is when you get to see such wonderful sights with a pony you truly love.

Their bodies suddenly shook as the carriage stopped rising, the wheel stopping to let other ponies on at the bottom. During that moment, with the sunset in the background, Twilight and Applejack had found theirselves lost in a beautiful sunset, as well as in each other’s eyes.

“So this is why y’all wanted me on this ferris wheel doo-hickey,” Applejack said softly, then bringing her hooves over Twilight’s shoulders. Twilight Sparkle had let out a little giggle in response; she couldn’t help but enjoy the way Applejack had talked at times. Twilight had then brought her hooves around Applejack’s waist, as the two inched closer to each other.

“Ah’m mighty glad you’re here with me, sugarcube…Ah love ya,” Applejack whispered softly to Twilight as she moved her face closer to Twilight’s.

“I couldn’t wish for a better pony to be with, Applejack…I love you too,” she whispered back, moving her head in the rest of the way to kiss her marefriend, showing her every bit of love she had for her in that kiss.

Their bodies shook a little once again as the wheel started to rotate, the two still continuing their kiss as the carriage soon reached the top of the wheel and started to lose altitude afterward. Their kiss quickly became passionate, as their mouth’s opened up against each other and allowing each other’s tongues to roam around, the two soon meeting and sliding around each other. Both of their hooves wrapped tighter around each other as they pulled their bodies close, feeling each other’s soft coat as their kiss became more intimate. Twilight could feel Applejack’s hooves softly rub her upper back and neck, the massage causing her body to melt in satisfaction; Applejack had felt the same feelings of bliss when she felt Twilight’s hooves caress her back. Eventually the two had softly broken their kiss to return to a loving gaze in each other’s eyes, remaining in each other’s arms, as the carriage made its way to the bottom.

The sky soon faded to a darker blue once the sun was completely below the horizon, as Applejack and Twilight made their way out of the carnival, starting on the path back to Ponyville. The sounds of the busy carnival soon faded away as they made their way down the path, but a yawn could then be heard. Twilight had heard her marefriend showing the beginning signs of exhaustion from a long day of excitement.

“Getting sleepy?” Twilight asked her.

Applejack nodded in response. “Ah know that once Ah get back home, Ah’m hittin’ the hay right away. Today was fun but all that excitement’s got me all plum tuckered out.”

“Wait,” Twilight suddenly said, “you’re not expecting to walk all the way back to Sweet Apple Acres this late while you’re this exhausted, are you? I can’t let you do that! Just stay the night at my place, I’m sure Spike wouldn’t mind.” Twilight had just now realized she asked the pony she had been dating for only a week now to sleep over, and with the sleeping arrangements she had at home, the two would be sharing a bed with each other, with there being just enough room for the two of them. She knew what she had said might be pushing things a bit too fast.

“Ya know, Twi, that might be a good idea,” Applejack agreed. “Would save me all the walking, and…well…Ah could spend more time with my favorite pony,” she said as she nuzzled Twilight’s cheek softly, then kissing it. Twilight giggled and blushed, finding out that Applejack seemed to have no problem with spending the night with her. This had caused Twilight to have many thoughts about how the night would go: having a nice cup of apple cinnamon tea to end the night with, then the both of them crawling under the covers of Twilight’s bed, only to snuggle up with each other, hold each other, kiss each other, and then enjoy a nice night of sleep while holding each other's hooves. And then the next morning, Twilight would see her love, opening her eyes to see those alluring green eyes looking back right at her.

* * * * *

And that’s exactly how the night went, too! Once we got back to my place, I put a kettle of water on the stove while Applejack sat on the couch, holding onto the plush I won for her and reading more of that book of records. She was just so cute, holding that plush and reading that book, wanting to be like me…it’s so flattering; it gives such a warm feeling in my heart to know somepony loves me so much that they want to be like me too. I’m just glad I finally got to make her that apple cinnamon tea I had wanted to make when Applejack was sick. She really enjoyed it too, and Applejack never drinks tea!

Once we got into bed…well, like I said, it all pretty much went the way I thought it would. We held onto each other, caressed each other, spacing out into each other’s eyes, and, well…you guessed it, there was kissing. Um…a lot of it too. Yeah…I know it’s awkward for you to hear it probably, but hey, you’re the diary, so you have to know everything that goes on in my life! But after the kissing, we kept our bodies close, our hooves together, as we quietly shared our love with each other and wished each other a good night and the sweetest of dreams.

And the dreams I had surely were the sweetest…I promise you I’m not lying about this, but…in my dreams…I saw Applejack in a dress. But it wasn’t just any dress. It was all white, and had a veil on it…yeah. It was a wedding dress. For a pony just getting married. Diary…do you think…Applejack and I might…you know…get married one day? I mean I always dreamed of having a child, but…as long as I’m spending my life with Applejack, I’d still be just as happy, if not happier. I wouldn’t give her up for anything in the world.

Anyway, it’s morning now…I had already woken up, lucky enough to see my love still sleeping right next to me. Once she had also woken up, we had given each other our good morning kisses, and she had offered to go downstairs to cook up breakfast for us. So, I’m using this time now to write my entry. She should be calling for me any minute now anyway, so it’s probably best I wrap this up. But yeah, last night truly was a wonderful time with all of my friends. I really am glad they’re accepting of my relationship with Applejack. I must say, after the living nightmare I had experienced before last week, I’m really glad life is going so smoothly now, especially when I have such a wonderful mare in my life.

Thanks for always being around to listen and being the best diary ever,
Twilight Sparkle

* * * * *

“Twiligh’! Breakfast is ready!” Applejack called from downstairs.

“Coming, dear!” Twilight Sparkle yelled back happily in response, soon re-opening her diary to write one last sentence before running back downstairs to enjoy her meal with her marefriend.

* * * * *

By the way…Applejack might be around here a little more often, so…you better not forget about that threat I made towards you in the beginning, if she finds out any of the embarrassing stuff I wrote to you!

When It All Began... (Entry #1)

Dear Princess Cele--…whoops! Way too used to writing that…
Dear Diary,

My name is Twilight Sparkle, nice to meet you! Hehe, I’m greeting you as if I just met a brand new pony in town, though I figured the greeting might be necessary since I am addressing you directly after all, as if you were in fact a living thing. But since I’ve only known you for about twenty minutes now, since the time I purchased you at the bookshop in Ponyville this afternoon, let me tell you a little bit about myself…I’m a unicorn living in Ponyville that’s studying all about the magic of friendship as the student of the one and only Princess Celestia. That said, the one interest I have that I enjoy more than anything else is reading! When I’m not out spending time with some of my closest friends, it’s quite common for me to lose track of time when getting so caught up in my studies.

Speaking of my friends…I know I just met you not too long ago, diary, but you seem trustworthy enough; can you keep a secret? Good. And don’t think I won’t rip all the pages out of you if you tell anypony! Now for the secret…let’s see, how should I start this off…oh, I know, let me start with what happened yesterday, when I took the time out of my studies to give my good friend, Applejack, a helping hoof around her farm. Oh and just so you don’t get lost while I tell you about all that happened, Applejack is an Earth pony that works the farm in Ponyville known as Sweet Apple Acres. She spends each day working hard harvesting all the apples from the apple trees to help support her family. Not only is she hard working, but she’s the most honest pony you’ll ever meet. She is the Element of Honesty after all! She’s a true sweetheart too, and has always been there for everypony. Well, before I get lost in introductions, here’s what happened yesterday…

* * * * *

It was a beautiful day in the town of Ponyville, with no clouds to be seen in the skies. All of the citizens of Ponyville were out and about taking care of their daily business, whether it was picking up more groceries, spending time chatting with other ponies in the open area by Town Hall, or enjoying the relaxing sounds of nature or even having a nice picnic at the park. As Twilight Sparkle left her library home to trot towards Sweet Apple Acres, she could see all the ponies in town already enjoying their day, and it was still somewhat early, only 10 in the morning! Once Twilight Sparkle passed through Sugarcube Square, she could already see a line building up over at Sugarcube Corner where one of her friends, Pinkie Pie, works at, baking and selling all different kinds of desserts and treats to everypony in town.

She reached the edge of town within a couple of minutes, following a pathway headed south in the direction of the wide field of apple trees she could see in the distance. Upon passing some of the trees, all of a sudden she heard three voices shout out of nowhere.

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADER PONY CANNONBALLS!” the three voices yelled in unison, the sound of a bang echoing through the trees as three young fillies flew out of the trees, all impacting into the side of Twilight Sparkle’s body, the four toppling all over into a pile.

“Ow…” Twilight Sparkle moaned, feeling a shooting pain in her side from where the helmets worn by the three fillies all striked.

“Sweetie Belle, I told you that was way too low!” the orange pegasus filly, Scootaloo, said to the white unicorn filly, taking her helmet off in frustration. The three young fillies got up and brushed themselves off, wiping away all the dirt and dust that collected on them from the landing.

“Nevermind that Scootaloo, look who we flew into!” exclaimed the young yellow Earth pony, Apple Bloom, pointing out Twilight to her two friends.

“Oh…we’re really sorry, Twilight,” Sweetie Belle said as she walked up to her, eyes showing guilt from hurting her bigger sister, Rarity’s, good friend.

“That’s okay girls, but…don’t you think you should try something a little less dangerous? You know, something that won’t get you or anypony else hurt like that?” Twilight asked, massaging the side of her body with her hoof to ease off the pain.

“Aw, but where’s the fun in that?” Scootaloo asked. “If we discovered our talent in something extreme such as being a pony cannonball, not only could we get our cutie marks, but we could even be as cool as Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo was one of Ponyville’s biggest fans of Rainbow Dash, if not the biggest fan, and had always aspired to be just like her.

“That’s a great thought, Scootaloo, but I strongly suggest starting small. What good is a cutie mark if you’re always getting hurt all the time? Or hurting others?” Twilight said hoping to convince the young filly to change her mind.

Scootaloo whispered to her two friends, “I’ve got an idea to get her out of our manes, follow along.” She then turned to Twilight, “You’re right, Twilight…but I think we just had a better idea! The three of us will open up a food chain! Selling…uh…tacos and burritos, to get our cutie marks!”

Apple Bloom looked oddly at Scootaloo, but then tried to play along. “Right…yeah, that’s exactly what we’ll do! And we’ll call the place…uh…,” she then looked around her for some sort of inspiration, only to then look at her white unicorn friend, immediately coming up with an idea, “…oh I know! Taco Belle!”

The two then looked at Sweetie Belle who sat dumbfounded. “What?!” she then squealed in confusion, as her voice cracked.

“You know, like ‘Bell’, but with your name instead,” Apple Bloom clarified.

“Ooooooh,” Sweetie Belle said as she understood. Two seconds later, she once again squealed a “What?!” even louder than last time, less confused about the name and more shocked about the idea.

Twilight Sparkle giggled and said, “It’s worth a shot! Though I can’t say I’ve ever heard of ‘tacos’ or ‘burritos’, but good luck with the idea! I’ll just be on my way now, have a good day!” Twilight Sparkle waved to the three fillies and then started to trot off again towards Sweet Apple Acres.

Scootaloo groaned as she left. “I thought she’d never leave,” she grunted, putting her helmet back on. “Ready to give it another shot, my fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders?”

After a few more minutes of trotting, Twilight started to approach the Sweet Apple Acres home. She hadn’t caught any sight of her orange Earth pony friend, however, working on the farm. Twilight Sparkle walked up to the front door of the home and raised her hoof, knocking on the door a couple of times. After hearing the clopping of hooves approaching the door, the wooden door opened with a creak, a crimson-colored colt standing at the door. It was Applejack’s older brother, Big McIntosh, a soft-spoken pony that assists Applejack on the farm.

“Oh, hello Big Mac, is Applejack around?” Twilight asked him.

“Eeyup,” he responded simply, stepping aside to allow Twilight inside. Big Mac then pointed a hoof upstairs.

“She’s in her room?” Twilight asked, confirming that was what he meant when he pointed upstairs.

“Eeyup.” Big Mac then walked outside, heading towards the apple trees with a bucket to begin his harvest.

Twilight walked up the stairs into the upstairs hallway of the Sweet Apple Acres home. From there she walked towards Applejack’s room, the door to it closed shut. Twilight Sparkle knocked on the door a couple times. “Applejack?” she called out to her friend.

“Is that you, Twiligh’? Come on in,” a voice said from the other side. Twilight could easily tell it was her friend Applejack simply from her iconic accent, but something was a little different about her voice. Twilight Sparkle opened up the door to see Applejack under the covers in her bed. Her face appeared slightly pale as she shivered a little under her covers, a straw in her mouth that came from the bottle of apple juice she held in her hoof.

“Applejack, you look absolutely horrible!” Twilight Sparkle blurted out. “What happened to you?”

“Ah’m a might under the weather,” Applejack said softly, her eyes half closed as she turned her head to look at Twilight. “Ah woke up this mornin’ about to get ready for the harvest, when Ah realized Ah was so cold even under my covers. Granny took my temperature and told me it was best Ah just get some sleep, but Ah cain’t miss out on harvestin’!”

“But Applejack, your health is much more important than that!” Twilight tried to convince her. “But since I’m here, I’ll do my best to help out on the farm in your place.”

“Ah’m so sorry, sugarcube, had Ah known Ah’d get sick like this, Ah wouldn’t have called ya out here,” Applejack said sadly, looking away and breaking eye contact from her friend.

“It doesn’t matter Applejack, good friends are always there for each other! I’m actually glad I still came so that I could help you out while you’re in this condition. You just concentrate on getting your rest, and I’ll pick up the slack for you!” Twilight offered, walking over to her friend and tucking in her bed sheets which were previously all astray.

“Thank ya kindly, sugarcube. You’re a true friend,” she said, sipping the last of her apple juice. “Actually, if y’all don’t mind, could ya bring me another bottle of apple juice?”

“Of course, Applejack!” Twilight Sparkle’s horn glowed as she teleported away from Applejack’s room, only to reappear a couple seconds later in front of Applejack, a bottle of apple juice floating magically in front of her.

“Wow Twi, that was mighty nice of ya to get it so quickly like that. Ah’ve no idea how quickly you unicorns get exhausted with your fancy magic and all, but please don’t use up too much of your energy on me, alright?”

Twilight used her magic to pull the straw from the empty bottle and placed it into the fresh bottle of apple juice, bringing the bottle up to Applejack’s face as the straw slid into her mouth. “It’s alright, Applejack. Like I said, your health is very important, so it’s no problem at all to use my magic to take care of you, no matter how exhausting it is! I’ll be sure to save my energy to harvest plenty of apples for you, but right now I want to make sure you’re well taken care of.”

Applejack smiled in response, drinking her apple juice as she watched Twilight pull the covers of the bed up Applejack’s body, ensuring that her body was completely covered and warm. “Now hold on, Twi, ya said you’d be here to do the harvest, don’t be spending all day worrying your pretty heart about me,” Applejack said in reaction to her friend working so hard to ensure she was comfortable in bed.

“Nonsense, Applejack, I’m just making sure you stay warm. It appears that you have a fever, and you’ve been shivering a little ever since I came in, so I have to make sure you’re warm in your bed. I am glad that you’ve also been drinking fluids which will definitely help keep you hydrated, and since you’ve been drinking juices you’re also getting all the nutrients you need! Though, I’d even suggest orange juice if you’d—“

“Oranges? Twi, who do ya think Ah am?” Applejack asked, immediately stopping her sipping of the apple juice to ask the question.

Twilight Sparkle giggled to herself. “It’s fine, Applejack. Apple juice will do just fine. Tell you what, you seem comfortable enough now and got plenty of drink, let me go take care of the harvest, you just please get some rest. It’s the best thing for you right now, especially since you appear to be lethargic.”

“Letha-wha?” Applejack asked, showing her symptoms as her voice trailed off weakly.

“Exactly,” Twilight stated. “It basically means you’re really tired. So please, get some rest,” she then pleaded, fluffing up Applejack’s pillow.

“Alright, alright,” Applejack said as she placed her apple juice bottle next to her bed, getting comfortable in her bed. “Thanks again, Twi.”

“It’s no problem at all, Applejack. Anything for a good friend.” Twilight Sparkle smiled at her friend as Applejack’s eyes slowly fell shut. Ensuring she had everything she needed and was comfortable enough to rest for the day, Twilight left her room and closed the door quietly. She then left the home and headed out towards the apple trees, to meet with Big McIntosh to use her magic in assisting with the harvest.

* * * * *

And I could see why Applejack was so worried about me getting exhausted that day! My goodness, I knew the farm was large, but I had no idea it’d take so long to harvest all those apples, even with magic! I can see how she got so easily exhausted that one time when she tried to do the entire harvest all by herself. Even though I could feel myself getting a little bit tired after using my magic for so many hours, my day wasn’t over just yet. Well…let me just get to what happened.

* * * * *

“Applejack?” Twilight said lightly, as she quietly opened the door to Applejack’s room. It was just about dinnertime, but Applejack was still soundly asleep in her bed. The bottle of apple juice she had placed next to her bed was now empty; from the sight of this, Twilight Sparkle immediately blinked out of the room, to return a few seconds later with another fresh bottle of apple juice, along with a plate of apple cobbler.

Not wanting to disturb her friend, she gently placed the bottle and plate on the wooden table next to her bed. As she started to walk out the door, she could hear the yawns of a pony awaking from her slumber. “Twiligh’…you’re still here?” she asked gently, stretching her arms while staying under the covers.

“Oh, Applejack, you’re awake! I actually finished helping your brother with the harvest not too long ago, but since it was getting late, I decided to bring you some food and more apple juice. You’ve been sleeping all day; you must be hungry by now.”

Applejack yawned again, but then said exhaustedly, “That’s sweet of ya, but Ah’m actually still ain’t feeling hungry any. Sorry to trouble ya, Twiligh’.”

“But Applejack, you’ve only lost your appetite because of the fever, you’ve still gotta put something in your stomach. I don’t want you to starve, I’m worried about you!”

“What? Ain’t ya ever heard you should ‘feed a cold and starve a fever’?”

“Applejack, please, that’s not really true. The Mythbuckers even said it wasn’t true! Even though you haven’t been feeling hungry, your stomach is still completely empty. So please, get some food in there!”

Applejack looked through her half-closed eyes into Twilight’s eyes, able to see how worried she truly was for her friend. Applejack then looked to see the plate of apple cobbler, reaching her head over to the plate and taking a bite.

“Also, Applejack, I think it’s best you took a bath, too,” Twilight Sparkle suggested. She thought about her words for a second, quickly slapping a hoof onto her mouth. “No, wait, I’m not saying you smell bad or anything, but, I know that a warm bath is perfect for a feverish pony.”

As Applejack swallowed her bite of the apple cobbler, she thought about Twilight’s words. “Yeah,” she started, letting out another yawn. “Ah think a bath’d sound nice and comfortable right about now.” She then reached over and took another bite of the apple cobbler; she didn’t feel hungry, but after taking that first bite she could definitely feel she needed more in her stomach.

Twilight Sparkle took a seat at the end of Applejack’s bed, next to where her legs were under the covers, and watched while Applejack finished her meal. “If ya wanna get the water started, the washroom’s at the end of the hall,” Applejack said, pointing a hoof in that direction before starting to sip more of her apple juice. As Twilight walked out of the door, she heard her friend’s voice. “Thanks again, Twi. Ah really can’t thank ya enough, sugarcube.”

The tub of the washroom filled slowly with water, both the hot and cold faucets turned on to ensure the temperature of the water stayed at the perfect warmth that would help regulate a sick pony’s internal temperature. Once the tub was completely filled, Twilight turned off the faucets and dipped her hoof in to finally confirm that the water was at the right temperature, and she then walked back to Applejack’s room, to find her struggling to get out of bed; even with all that sleep, her muscles were still quite weak.

“Here, let me help you!” Twilight said, running over to Applejack’s side, who then waved a hoof at Twilight to back her away.

“Horseapples, Twi, Ah can get out on my own jus’ fine,” Applejack said confidently. Once all four of her hooves touched the ground, however, she felt her body sway a little, as she started to lose balance. Twilight Sparkle was able to catch her before she fell over, then looking at her while Applejack gave back a nervous smile. “Ah guess Ah could use a lil’ help getting to the washroom, now could Ah?”

Twilight’s look slowly turned to a smile, as she leaded her friend over to the bathroom where a tub of warm water awaited her. Applejack carefully stepped into the tub, sinking into the water slowly. “Ahhhhh, that feels mighty nice,” Applejack sighed contently, holding onto the sides of the tub with her front hooves as she laid back against the tub.

At that moment, Twilight Sparkle watched as her friend’s coat started to slightly darken as it absorbed the water around her. She watched Applejack place her hooves into the water and carefully splash some of the water into her face, seeing the drops of water sliding down that face of hers, down those white specks of freckles. Applejack then realized she was still wearing her ribbon; she brought her hooves back to untie the ribbon and place it aside, and then swung her mane around, the strands of her mane flying gently across the back of her head and then hanging loosely down her neck. She lowered her head back to allow her mane to hang freely into the tub, soaking into the water. She sunk her mane all the way in, bringing it back up and over the wall of the tub, letting it hang outside as the hairs of her mane dripped water on the floor. As Applejack once again grabbed the sides of the tub, her body appeared to go numb as all of her muscles relaxed, her eyes closing as she enjoyed every moment of that dip in the tub.

* * * * *

And I just sat there, staring like a fool. I felt just so awkward sitting there staring at my friend as she bathed, but…I don’t know what happened! It just started when I saw her coat start to get wet, noticing the shine as the water stuck to the hairs of her coat, but when I saw those green eyes of hers open slightly after splashing them with water, watching those drops of water slide down her face…I couldn’t stop! I thought I’d snap out of it after that, but when she untied her mane and let it down…well, it was the first time I saw her mane like that! And…well…I’m just going to be straightforward. She was beautiful. Very beautiful. It was so hard to look away, her wet mane giving off that same shine as her coat, those dazzling green eyes and those cute freckles on her face…

Oh goodness, this is so embarrassing! I’m so glad I’m not telling this to anypony else, they’d definitely think I was crazy by now! But, the only conclusion I could come up with that night, as I laid in my bed and thought about everything over and over again, was…well, I must have developed feelings for Applejack! But…she’s a mare. What would my friends think? What would my brother think? Actually, what would Princess Celestia think? If she didn’t accept the fact that I was starting to like another mare, that could mean big trouble!

So yeah, it was quite a long day yesterday. That night, I couldn’t sleep at all. All I could do was roll around in bed all night, thinking about Applejack, replaying every scene of her in that tub. But not just that, I also thought about everything I had done to help her and how appreciative she was of it. Especially all of those times she called me ‘sugarcube’…I mean she calls everypony that, she’s just that nice, but…I just love hearing it from her, more than Rarity’s ‘darling’ all the time. That, combined with Applejack’s cute accent…Oh no! I really do have feelings for her, don’t I? But just wait until I tell you about what happened today before I went to the bookstore to buy you…for now, I’d better go, I think Spike will be home from his trip to Canterlot soon and there’s no way I could have him find you!

Until next time,
Twilight Sparkle

Fragility of the Heart (Entry #4)

Dear Diary,

It’s been several days since I last wrote to you…I’m so sorry! It wasn’t my fault I didn’t write though! Well, not completely anyway…I’ll get to what happened soon, though right now I should start with that day at the spa. It was definitely what I needed to ease some of my stress. Then again, who could resist a trip to the spa, and all of the good it does for your body? Although, our group did fall a little short…more than I had expected anyway.

* * * * *

“Oh…it’s already an hour late, where is everypony?” Rarity whined. It was only her, Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy during that moment, the three awaiting the rest of their group in the lobby of the spa.

“Um…I’m not sure if Rainbow Dash wanted to come…” Fluttershy said quietly. Rainbow Dash was probably the last pony in Equestria who’d ever end up receiving a hooficure, especially after that time when she ended up in a tabloid showing such a thing.

“What about Applejack?” Twilight quickly asked. “Oh, and Pinkie Pie?” she continued with after a second of hesitation.

“I don’t know…Applejack seemed to be doing better when I stopped by her place, so I thought she would have come along by now,” Rarity explained, “although Pinkie Pie said she’d only make it if she wasn’t too busy. Seeing how much business she has had in the past five days or so, I wouldn’t be surprised if she couldn’t make it though. It’s amazing how much business she’s gotten lately!”

“Yeah…” Fluttershy began, “…it’s probably because so many ponies are visiting from Fillydelphia and Las Pegasus lately…”

Twilight suddenly sneezed after Fluttershy finished her explanation. “Oh, excuse me…so, what do we do?” Twilight asked.

“Well we certainly can’t keep these ladies waiting any longer for us. Sadly we will have to go on without them,” Rarity decided. Fluttershy nodded in agreement, as did Twilight even though she wanted to see her friends, especially Applejack. However, after yesterday’s events, she had learned her lesson and figured that it was probably for the best. Trying to push all thoughts of her out of her mind, she followed Fluttershy and Rarity as Lotus Blossom and Aloe, the two spa sisters, led them into the spa.

The hours flew by, as the three ponies enjoyed various pleasures such as massages, horn filing for Rarity and Twilight, and then, of course, a dip into the large bath. Twilight could feel the warmth in the water fill her body, which was definitely the most relaxing feeling she encountered all week. It was amazing what wonders a simple bath could do. Of course she already knew that from her previous experience two days ago. Once that thought entered her mind, she struggled to release it. Thankfully she was distracted from the thought by one of the other ponies as they started a conversation.

“So Twilight, what—“ Rarity started to ask a question, before being interrupted by a sudden sneeze from Twilight.

“Bless you,” Fluttershy said quietly to Twilight.

Twilight wiped her nose with her hoof and thanked her, apologizing to Rarity for the interruption. Rarity smiled and continued. “Twilight, what was it that’s been on your mind? I just know something’s been bothering you and well, now that we’re in the bath, I’m sure you’re feeling relaxed enough to talk to us about it.”

“I don’t know girls, I—“ Twilight couldn’t finish her sentence before letting out another sneeze. Before Fluttershy could let out a polite “bless you” in response, Twilight sneezed once again in succession.

“Oh…my…Twilight…are you okay?” Fluttershy asked.

Twilight tried to response, but felt her nose tickling on the inside, as she raised her nose to try and avoid the feeling. She was unsuccessful though, as she then let out a much louder sneeze. Rarity quickly shifted her body over to Twilight and placed a hoof on her forehead.

“My goodness, Twilight, you’re positively burning up!” she exclaimed.

“No, it’s fine Rarity, I’m oka—“ once again, Twilight was cut off from another sneeze.

“Ew!” Rarity squealed, as Twilight accidentally sneezed in her direction. Rarity sunk her entire body underwater, resurfacing a couple seconds later and scrubbing her body with the water. “Oh, I hope that facial will help clean my face up, I don’t want to get sick too!” Rarity whined with extreme drama, as she tended to do.

“Twilight…what happened yesterday that might have gotten you sick?” Fluttershy asked in the midst of Rarity’s whining.

“Well, Fluttershy…” Twilight began, soon pulling Fluttershy aside while Rarity was busy with scrubbing her face. “I got caught in the rain yesterday…I left my home early morning thinking I’d beat the storm when I wanted to go see somepony, but the storm got much worse before I could make it, so I ended up just returning home, but I was so cold from the rain…I guess my immune system was weak because of it…I must have caught something…”

“Oh my…I’m sorry, Twilight…maybe you should go home and rest?” Fluttershy asked. Twilight nodded and knew it was the best thing she could do, considering it was the same advice she had given to Applejack.

“Ahhh, that should do for now…I’d better just relax though, or I’ll be sure to break out,” Rarity then said from the other side of the bath, then grabbing the sides of the bath with her hooves as she laid against it, relaxing her body in the bath with her head arched back. It was the exact same scene that Twilight experienced when she saw Applejack in that tub, three days ago. It started to bother Twilight so much; no matter where she went, there always seemed to be some sort of sign that would begin replaying every scene she experienced with the orange pony, no matter how much she tried to shut those thoughts out of her mind.

“Actually, you’re right, Fluttershy. I’m just gonna go get some rest,” Twilight said, grabbing a robe and then starting to walk away from the tub. Rarity tried to call for her, but Twilight was way too distracted to even notice as she walked out of the spa.

* * * * *

So…I ended up not sleeping. Since Fluttershy had brought up the idea of me getting some rest, I figured it would make the perfect excuse for me to leave the spa early. Deep down, I was starting to get a little worried about Applejack. If she was feeling better, why didn’t she show up? If she didn’t want to go, she would have told Rarity. It’s impossible for her to lie over even the smallest of things, at least without showing a blatant reaction, whether it involved her snout scrunching up or her pupils shrinking and eyes shifting around.

Once I left the spa, I just wanted to find Applejack and see what was up. I wasn’t going to let my feelings distract me. I wasn’t going to do anything awkward…hopefully not anyway. No, I was just going to go see why she didn’t show, and then return home. That was the plan anyway.

* * * * *

Twilight Sparkle followed the same path she always took to Sweet Apple Acres, keeping her eyes open for the orange pony. Along the way, she continued to sneeze, further confirming how sick she really was. After a lot of walking, though, she began to see stars. Twilight did her best to fight off the slight dizziness she had, completely ignoring everything she learned from the previous day to find her friend.

“Applejack?” Twilight called out for her friend as she approached Sweet Apple Acres. She was still dizzy from the walk, but did her best to look in the distance, across the orchard, in hopes to catch sight of her friend. Her only idea of where Applejack could possibly be was inside, still inside of her bed, even though Rarity was sure she was feeling better.

Twilight walked up to the door of Applejack’s home and raised her hoof to knock on the door, only to see two blurry hooves instead. The two blurs in front of her slowly spread apart from each other, as stars continued to fill up her vision. She did her best to swing her hoof out to knock the door, but once she exerted the needed energy to knock once, Twilight could feel her body topple over to the ground, falling in exhaustion, all of her vision instantly going black.

* * * * *

And that was all I could remember of that day. The next thing I remember was waking up in a bed in the emergency room. Luckily, Big McIntosh was home to carry me over there and was able to seek immediate care for me. Nurse Redheart was really nice, and kept good watch on me, occasionally giving me medicine as well as food and drinks. Rarity and Fluttershy ended up visiting that same night, worried about my health, but when they heard from Big McIntosh that I had passed out in front of his door, Fluttershy got all flustered and upset at me. I tried my best to apologize, but I’m not sure how well she took it. Maybe tomorrow she’ll feel a little better over it all. I wanted to tell them the real reason why I was at his house, but…well, you know that’s what I’ve been stressing so long over!

Although…the next morning was probably one of the hardest mornings I’ve experienced, even more so then that rainy morning I went through. She came. Yes, Applejack. She came by, on her own, to come see me. She sure wasn’t too happy, either…

* * * * *

Twilight had finally awakened while in her emergency room bed. It sure wasn’t as comfortable as Twilight’s bed at home, but at least it was soft enough to get some sleep in. Twilight yawned, and tried to open her eyes as she woke up. She could feel herself experiencing the same symptoms of exhaustion and weakness that her friend, Applejack, did when she was feverish, as Twilight's eyes felt so weak that they could only open at most half-way. Although, speaking of the devil, she stood right in front of her. As Twilight slowly opened her eyes, she could see Applejack standing in front of her bed, with a blank look towards Twilight.

“Oh, hey Applejack,” Twilight greeted her. She wasn’t sure how to react, considering she still had so many feelings running through her mind. Her heart though almost dropped, once she saw Applejack’s eyes lower and her mouth turn into a frown.

“Twiligh’, how could ya?” she asked sternly.

“W-what do you mean?” Twilight tried to ask innocently, acting as if she ended up in the hospital on her own, for no particular reason.

“You know darn well what Ah’m talkin’ about,” she stated as she placed her hoof firmly in the ground. “Ya tried to come find me and ya pass out from exhaustion? Twiligh’, you know better than that! Ah was just startin’ to feel better, when my brother tells me mah good friend Twiligh’ passed out in front of my door? What was so darn important that you put yourself through so much stress?”

“Applejack, I was just—“ Twilight tried to explain, but Applejack continued, interrupting her.

“Ah cain’t believe you, Twiligh’. Not only that, but Ah know exactly how ya got sick!”

“What?” Twilight squealed. “I can’t believe Fluttershy told you that—“

“Fluttershy ain’t told me nothin’!” Applejack yelled, removing her hat and placing a hoof inside of it, pulling out a few strands of purple and pink hair. “Mah sister found THIS in her tree house, mind explainin’ that?”

Twilight felt all of her nerves burn up, her face burning as blood rushed through it, not sure what to say or how to react. “Applejack…I…”

“Those hairs were wet when Ah got them, Twi! You were in the pouring rain, and ya got yourself all under the weather! Ah told ya many times to not be all stressin’ out about me, Ah told ya Ah’d be fine! Yet ya tried to go through a downpour to find me, and now ya blame an innocent pony for me finding out? Ah just cain’t believe ya, Twiligh’, not one bit!”

Tears started to build up in the corners of her eyes because of her friend, who she had so many feelings for, yelling at her. She had already known she went too far, but hadn’t expected things to get this out of hand. There was a few seconds of silence before Applejack finally calmed down a little.

“Ah’m mighty glad you’re being taken care of now, Twi, but Ah just don’t know how to take you trying to put the blame on good ol’ Fluttershy. Ah just…Ah ain’t never thought you’d jump to conclusions that quickly.” Applejack turned her back towards Twilight as she finished her sentence. Twilight’s tears had escaped her eyes, then rolling down her face. She felt so heartbroken at that moment for what she had done; she shouldn’t have been so quick to react from Applejack bringing up the topic of how Twilight got sick.

“I…I’m sorry…” Twilight struggled to let out, her voice shaking as she let out a couple of tears.

Applejack’s ears perked up as she heard the sadness in Twilight’s voice, turning back around to see her wiping the tears off of her face. Applejack then walked up to Twilight’s side, keeping a stern look on her face. “Ah take it ya won’t push yourself like that anymore? And ya won’t be jumpin’ the gun blamin’ other ponies like that?”

All Twilight could do was nod, before fresh tears built up in her eyes, letting out a small sob. Applejack’s voice then lightened up a little, as she took a seat next to Twilight’s bed.

“Ah don’t understand, Twi…why? Why would ya go through so much for me? Ah was just feverish is all, it ain’t like Ah was dying or anythin’ of the sort.”

There it was again, Applejack’s eyes staring into Twilight’s as she asked her question, while every thought of Applejack that Twilight had repressed came back, getting lost in them. She tried to think of an answer that would be believable while not revealing the feelings she had, even though her feelings felt a little shattered after being scolded in such a way.

“Applejack, I just…worried that much. I worry easily…that’s all,” Twilight said hoping to convince Applejack, even if it was the weakest excuse she could possibly think of.

“It doesn’t matter Twi, I worry about ya very much but Ah know mah limits when caring for another pony, and ya cain’t be overworkin’ yourself like that!”

Twilight looked down at her bed sheets in disappointment. At least the excuse was enough to get past the question, she thought, taking her loss before it got worse. Twilight nodded her head gently in agreement. “You’re right Applejack…it was dumb of me to worry as much as I did. I’m sorry.”

Twilight Sparkle just wanted to let out all of her sadness at that moment; her brain processed so many emotions and feelings at once, it was too much to handle. She didn’t know what to think, what to say, how to react, to anything and anypony. She felt so miserable from all of the stress she put herself through, starting to wonder if it was really worth it all.

All of a sudden, while she stared at the sheets on her lap, which were speckled with the tears that dropped from Twilight’s face, Twilight felt something warm on top of her head. When she looked up, she saw a hatless Applejack reaching a hoof over, placing her hat on Twilight’s head.

“Stay strong, Twiligh’,” Applejack said quietly, as she then got up and walked out of the room that Twilight was staying in. The feelings of love and heartbreak surrounded Twilight’s mind way too much to react, but she could feel a sense of comfort with Applejack’s hat on her head.

“Thank you, Applejack…” Twilight Sparkle whispered to herself, as she slid deeper under the covers, wiping her eyes with the sheets.

* * * * *

That whole day I was more stressed out than I was exhausted from the sickness. I didn’t know what to think about Applejack…I mean, yeah, I still had some feelings for her, but…to be honest, I kind of lost hope. You see…when I looked into Applejack’s eyes, all I could feel was nothing but love warming my heart…but when I heard her yell the way she did…all I felt was a knife stabbing into it. Does everypony in love have to deal with this?

She did come back though the next morning. Yesterday, in fact. You see, I was released just this morning once they were sure that my sickness wasn’t anything really serious. Yesterday was the last day I had to spend a full day stuck in bed. If memory serves me right, she came by just before meeting with the other four ponies for a picnic at the park.

* * * * *

Twilight was sucked into one of the hospital’s books, all about organic chemistry. Twilight Sparkle always had interest in various fields of science, so when she asked if there were any reference books available to read, she was pleased to find an assortment of various books related to chemistry among the reference books available.

“Twiligh’?” a voice said, a hoof knocking on the door to her room softly. Twilight Sparkle lowered her book to see Applejack in the doorway.

“Oh…come in.” Twilight still was unsure how to react to Applejack, still a bit shaken over yesterday.

“Ah think mah hat looks mighty nice on ya,” Applejack commented with a giggle. Twilight placed a hoof on her head to feel Applejack’s hat; she had forgotten she went to sleep with it on last night. “Anyway, Ah just wanted to stop by for a few minutes before meeting with everypony else for lunch. How ya holdin’ up?”

As she continued to feel the hat, she soon felt something odd about the hat. Suddenly, as she was feeling the back part of the hat, she could soon feel her mane, yet the sides of her hoof were still touched by the hat. Twilight gasped loudly as her eyes widened.

“Wha? What’s wrong, sugarcube?”

Twilight was so frightened by what she felt, she couldn’t think of any excuse. Twilight did her best to fake a sneeze, as it was all she could do.

“Heh, excuse me. Nothing, I’m fine,” Twilight said innocently with a nervous smile.

“Right, well…Ah just wanted to be sure all was well, Ah’ll just be on my way now, alright?”

Twilight nodded, her hoof still in the same spot on the back of her head. Applejack then walked out of the room to let Twilight be and to meet up with her friends for lunch. Once Twilight was sure that Applejack was gone, she took her hat off to look at the top of it.

“Oh no…this isn’t good…this isn’t good at all,” Twilight said to herself as she breathed harder and quicker in panic, looking at a slice in the back of Applejack’s hat that was long enough for her hoof to slip through. “This wasn’t here when I got her hat…it must have gotten cut up against the back of the bed while I was asleep. Oh, what do I do…?”

* * * * *

What do I do? More like, what do I TELL her? It was a special hat that Applejack has had ever since she was young. There’s no way she’d ever accept her hat getting ruined like this! Even if I could get Rarity to fix it, Applejack would still eventually find out. She’d be so upset with me…I’m scared that she might not want to be friends anymore if she found out…

So here I am, finally at home after being released this morning. I hadn’t seen anypony yet today, only because I’m still a little sick, and because I’m just terrified that somepony will find out. And if I ever make contact with Applejack, she’ll wonder where her hat is, only because I wouldn’t be wearing it, afraid to ruin it further. I don’t know what to do…I know I should tell the truth, but…I just can’t! Why me? Seriously, with everything that’s gone on lately…WHY ME? Oh…I would say “please let tomorrow be better”, but that’s already jinxed me enough!

I’m sorry…I should just get some food in my stomach and get to sleep. Thanks for always listening though, diary. Things certainly would have ended up worse had it not been for you, always helping me clear up my thoughts a little. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but…until next time, I suppose?

Twilight Sparkle