The Core of the Problem

Chapters

Chapter 1: Secrets
Chapter 2: Mysteries
Chapter 3: Changes
Chapter 4: Dreams and Wishes
Chapter 5: Speaking Truth
Chapter 6: The Studies of Friendship

Chapter 1: Secrets

Twilight was really confused.

Usually, Applejack was mostly caught up in her work, especially around now as it was Apple Bucking Season. But lately, it seemed as if it was just the opposite. AJ… didn’t seem focused. She seemed to be hanging around, a lot more. She seemed to crave Twilight’s company more than ever. Being honest, it seemed as if Twilight was spending more time at Sweet Apple Acres than she was her own library.

At first, Twilight took it as mere kindness. Applejack was… a kind pony. She cared vehemently about everypony else, far more than she probably should. But the more it went on, Twilight couldn’t help but listen to the nagging voice in the back of her mind, begging her to dwell on the reason. And the more she listened to that voice, the more curious she got. She wouldn’t have minded it in the least if these invitations were for their entire group of friends, but it seemed as if Twilight was the center of her attention—sometimes the only other pony at these gatherings. That was what she dwelt on the most: “why me?”, but even more strangely than the phenomenon itself, she kind of liked it.

“I don’t know, Spike,” she began one late night, just returning, once again, from Sweet Apple Acres. “It’s just kind of nice. Back home I didn’t have a lot of friends, since I was mostly wrapped up in my studies. But lately, AJ has been spending a lot more time with me, and it feels like I have a sister in her.”

Spike yawned before lying down on his bed below his friend’s. “That makes sense… You know,” he started, “you’ve been a lot happier, since. She helps you wind down and not be so… tense.”

Twilight recoiled slightly, looking down at her assistant, “I was not tense! I was just… focused,” she retorted.

Spike snorted in his small bed. “Whatever you say, Twilight.”

With that, the small dragon rolled over, leaving Twilight to mull over the day in her mind. Back alone with her own thoughts, she dwelt on the small dragon’s words. She really did like having Applejack invite her around, so much. But was Spike right? Was Applejack really changing her? For the better? Twilight knew that Applejack was helping her loosen up a little, but was that really a good thing? She had a lot of work to do, especially now that she was a princess, and the distractions, while welcome, wouldn’t exactly help her down that bumpy road.

She frowned at that thought, her mind instantly traveling to the worst possible circumstance: what if Applejack’s interference put her behind? What if it caused her to forget something? She couldn’t afford that, especially not right now. She had a myriad of responsibilities—most of which she didn’t even know about, yet. Could you imagine what would happen if Celestia found out her friendship got in the way of her duties as the princess of friendship? What would she think? What would happen? Would she… fail? Could you fail at being a princess?

Twilight didn’t plan on finding out. She would just have to…

…have to—what? Frowning, she thought of her possible courses of action. Tell Applejack to quit inviting her over so much? Or perhaps just not accept as many of these invitations? What would Applejack say to that? Could you even ask someone a question like that? It felt like a breach of etiquette, no matter how necessary it was. “…Spike? Are you awake?” The words were out of her mouth before she could even comprehend what she was saying. She listened for a moment, but the dragon never answered. Sighing, she gave up hope that the little dragon would answer before rolling over, her back against her friend and her face peering out of the window, gazing up at the Equestrian skies. Why was friendship so hard?

She had just closed her eyes when she felt two small sets of claws begin to tug on her blankets. It was only a few seconds later that she felt a small body snuggle up to her back and felt the soft cycle of breathing behind her. Spike, true to his nature, was always so warm. “What’s wrong, Twi? Something’s really bugging you, isn’t it?”

“I guess you could say that…” she answered, the frown still etched on her face. “I just don’t know what to do.”

She felt Spike gently place his claws on her, peering over into her face. “You mean about Applejack?”

A nod was her answer.

“I know that I just said that I liked being around Applejack so much, but, at the same time, I’m just kind of worried. I’ve gotten behind in my preparations of the castle, and I haven’t even begun to practice the spells written in StarSwirl the Bearded’s journal. I have more work than ever before. I can’t afford to just stop, so often. I’m starting to get behind in everything, and a large part of that is because I’ve been busy with AJ.”

Spike thought a moment before continuing: “Well before you go making a decision, did you think about why she keeps wanting you around?” he asked, flipping around and collapsing, leaning his head back against his friend. The warm contact was comforting in the cooler late night of Autumn. “She could be going through a rough time, and you could be really helping her out. Or maybe she just needs a good friend, right now. She has been pretty busy lately.”

She chewed on his words a moment. Needing a friend… She had lost sight of her original conundrum, and turned her focus instead to herself. Looking back, it was pretty selfish. “You’re right!” Twilight exclaimed, fully sitting up in her bed. “Applejack wouldn’t be doing this if she didn’t need me for some reason. I’ll just have to find out what’s the matter and try to help her. Once I do that, both of our problems will be solved! Thank you, Spike,” she said, picking up the dragon with her hoofs for a hug.

The dragon wriggled out of the embrace, dropping onto the bed below. “No problem, Twilight. Now get some sleep. You have a big day, tomorrow.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Despite Spike’s instructions, Twilight couldn’t sleep. Tossing and turning, lying on the bed, staring up at the living ceiling of her treehouse, she thought for hours. Every so often, she would glance out of the window, watching the moon’s path through the Equestrian stars. Although Twilight was almost positive that she had figured everything in her mind out about her friend’s problem, it was that very subject that she couldn’t get her mind off of.

In the end, she rolled out of bed about an hour before Celestia raised the sun. She had, if she were lucky, a few hours of sleep under her belt, but she wasn’t exactly in the mood to keep fighting for any more. In a lack of any other ideas, she knew that Applejack would already be up, the country pony used to this unholy hour. If Twilight began to get cleaned up, she could be at Sweet Apple Acres just at sunrise.

Twilight was well on her way to Sweet Apple Acres when the sun first peaked over the eastern mountains. The walk wasn’t too terribly far, but Twilight wasn’t exactly eager to hurry on her way there at this early hour, either. She took her time, letting her thoughts drift: “I wonder what could be the matter with AJ? She seemed fine, a couple of weeks ago…” she thought to herself, taking an extra-large step to avoid a puddle made from the late-night storm she had weathered. “Maybe Big Macintosh had to go out of town for something, or maybe Granny Smith had to visit somepony in Manehatten, again?” she thought to herself. She quickly discarded those ideas as she remembered seeing them canter by time and time again over the course of her visits. It had to be something else.

No matter what her suspicions were, however, she would find out soon enough, as the farm was just over the next hill. Twilight paced herself, not quite sure of what Applejack would make of her early morning visit. This was one of the few days she hadn’t been invited over, but she was showing up nonetheless.

When she peaked the ridge, she felt a little lost: Applejack, Big Macintosh, Granny Smith, and even Applebloom were all gathered in front of the barn, nestled in the yard on a checkered blanket, having a nice, quiet picnic breakfast. Laughing and smiling, she didn’t see a single bit of gloom on anypony’s face.

“Well, they don’t seem to be having any problems…” Twilight thought, her confidence wavering. She fought with herself, wondering if she should press on, and at least talk to Applejack, or if she should just come back later, not wanting to interrupt their family get-together. “Well, howdy, Twilight! What brings you all the way out here?” The peppy voice of Applejack’s sister brought Twilight’s struggle to an end, as Applebloom called to her. She almost felt herself flinch at the exuberance of the young filly’s voice “C’mon over! We’re just havin’ breakfast!”

Twilight took a single step forward before shaking her head, her face blushed with embarrassment. “Oh, no that’s fine. I didn’t realize you were having a meal. I can come back later when you’re not so busy.”

The shaky, almost fragile voice of Granny Smith far betrayed the strength she had seen. “Oh, don’t be silly, dear! You just sit on down, y’hear? Applejack here made enough for all ‘o us, ain’t that right, Big Mac?”

The stallion let out a hearty “Eeeyup”.

Applejack flashed an apologetic smile at her friend, her own face taking on a reddish hue. A quiet moment passed, with all five ponies not quite sure of what to say to one another. Applejack started by clearing her throat and taking a hoof, rubbing her head just below her cowgirl hat. “Well—ah—Twilight, didja need somethin’? You usually aren’t this far outta Ponyville this early in the mornin’.”

The young princess’ mind suddenly went blank. She didn’t have an answer—at least not one she could easily put into words. And she certainly was not prepared to just lie to the living embodiment of honesty. “I—uh—just… couldn’t sleep last night, and rather than staring at my ceiling, I thought I would come here, and see if I could help at all.” Twilight looked out at the still-rising sun peaking over the orchard, then back at Applejack, who was merely looking, head slightly tilted, at Twilight. The princess knew the sentence didn’t feel genuine, and she was the one that spoke it. How it landed, she assumed wasn’t any better. And looking at Applejack, whose face was etched with confusion… it was pretty obvious everypony knew that there was more to this than merely what the cover showed.

“I guess we could use your help, Twi… but only if ya really want to. Today’s when we really get to work on harvesting, and it’s not exactly easy workin’ on the farm durin’ Apple Buckin’ season…”

Finally, a sentence she knew wouldn’t be a misdirection: “I’ll be glad to do whatever I can, Applejack,” came Twilight’s response. Suddenly, an idea formed in her mind on just how to get Applejack to open up to her: “I—just might need to be shown the ropes, first, if that’s okay.”

If she could get alone with Applejack, she could probably coax her to talk. And what better way could she get the farm pony comfortable enough to spill, then working in her very own orchard? Applejack felt most comfortable out here on the farm; putting her in that setting made the most sense. This was going to be perfect.

Applebloom hopped up from the picnic blanket, a large smile on her face. “I think we could manage that! Couldn’t we, Applejack?”

Applejack looked at Twilight one last time, yet Twilight noticed that when she did, her expression changed. It wasn’t suspicion, it wasn’t confusion. It seemed… Twilight wasn’t sure. It was just a flash. A single spark of something different. It seemed that Applejack was almost… afraid of something. But just as it came, it was gone even faster. The farm pony looked down at her little sister, ruffling up her hair. “We sure can, little ‘un. Why don’t you help Big Mac and Granny with cleanin’ up the picnic, and then meet me and Twilight over at the southern entrance to the fields? We’ll be waitin’ for ya, okay?”

“I’m on it!” the little filly shouted. Immediately picking up the corner of the blanket with her mouth, she began to help fold up the small mess that breakfast had created.

After that look Applejack had given her, Twilight wasn’t so sure how “perfect” this was going to be.

“Twilight, I know somethin’ is goin’ on, here.” The words came faster than the princess expected, as Applejack accused her right when her little sister was out of earshot. They were only halfway to the southern entrance, yet that didn’t seem to stop Applejack from turning and facing the princess of friendship, stopping her in her tracks. “So, I’m going to get right to it: what’s buggin’ ya?”

Twilight didn’t know quite how to answer. But this time, no one else could hear. This meant, as hard as it was, it was time to put plan B into action: the truth. “We’re friends, Applejack. We’ve known each other for a couple of years, now, and we can tell each other everything, right?”

Applejack tilted her head, her blonde curls bouncing in front of her right eye as she stared with uncertain curiosity. “Of course, Sugar Cube. So, tell me: what’s the matter?” she asked, placing a single hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “I just wanna help, Twilight.”

Twilight took a deep breath, exhaling it slowly. The water was seeming to get muddy, now. That wasn’t what she was expecting. “That’s exactly why I’m here: I want to help.” Applejack just stood before her, confusion remaining etched in her features: “I’m sorry. I’m not following.” The words came slowly as Twilight could visibly see Applejack trying to sort the explanation in her mind.

“I’ve noticed something:” Twilight continued. She started tracing a circle in the dirt in front of her, simply to avoid looking at Applejack as she spoke. “You’ve been inviting me over… a lot. I just feel like something is wrong with you that you don’t want to tell anyone. It’s been bothering me for a while, now, and I just want to help you.”

A long silence passed, before Twilight looked up to see Applejack, yet that same look had returned. Except this time, she looked even more distraught than before. “I—uh—we gotta get goin’ to the Southern entrance. Apple Bloom should be waitin’ for us.”

And with those words, Applejack turned and began the walk to the orchard, completely ignoring the unspoken question hanging in the air. “Applejack, wait!” Twilight called, trotting up the stomping pony’s side. “What’s the matter? Did I say something?” she asked, Applejack’s response both confusing and… somehow hurting her. It hurt to be dismissed. It hurt to be ignored. After laying everything out on the table, why couldn’t she even know what the problem was?

With a deep sigh, the country pony stopped her charging pace and turned to face her friend. “It’s nothin’ against you Twilight, truly. It’s just—I don’t wanna talk about it. Or maybe I can’t. But… it’s best left unsaid.”

Before she could turn away, Twilight blinked her magic into effect, appearing on the other side of her friend. “Under one condition. Promise me something, AJ:” she waited for a nod before she continued, “I will not talk about it again, as long as you don’t push me away. I want to help you, and if you don’t want me to help you directly, at least let me be here for you. Promise?”

Applejack looked into her friend’s gaze, and Twilight could swear that those eyes had relief in them. She wasn’t sure if the relief came from her acceptance of the situation, or her promise to not leave AJ alone. Yet the longer she looked into them, she noticed something else: the early beginnings of tears. “I promise. Thank you so much.”

Just as Twilight reached one hoof up for a short hug, Applejack jumped forward, locking her in an embrace. Twilight couldn’t believe how much heart was put into that hug. As she held Applejack in her arms, it seemed as if the poor girl was just on the verge of falling apart, and Twilight was the only thing keeping her together. “Are you sure you’re all right, Applejack?” she asked hesitantly. Applejack was a hugger, this she knew all too well. But this wasn’t a normal Applejack hug. This was a ‘there’s something very wrong’ Applejack hug.

A sniff came from over her shoulder as the country pony held back a tear. “I’ll be fine. I just—you’re the best friend a gal could ask for, hon.”

“Applejack!” a voice called from the distance. Immediately, AJ jumped back, distancing herself from her friend. She sniffed a single time before adjusting her hat. “Uh—I guess we better get goin’.” She rubbed her neck awkwardly, her face turning a slight shade of red from embarrassment. Or was it from the tears? Twilight wasn’t sure.

Either way, she shyly smiled back. “Let’s go.”

It wasn’t the opening-up she was hoping for, but it definitely was progress. Maybe this would work out, after all…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Author's Note

I found this old story lying around when looking for my resume (lol). I was told to post it here. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 2: Mysteries

Well, it definitely wasn’t working out. The entire day was, once again, frittered away with Applejack without so much as a single idea about what was bothering her. Twilight wasn’t just concerned, she was also downright curious. What in the name of Equestria could have Applejack so troubled, that she practically fell apart right in front of her? Applejack just… didn’t do that. She was strong, both physically and mentally. What terrible thing could have happened for her to crack?

It couldn’t be something with her family, as they all seemed to be okay when she first arrived at the farm. They spent the whole day working together, too. They were Apples—they might not always get along, but they definitely always worked everything out in the end.

But Twilight truly didn’t know what else it could be. At first, she thought maybe Spike was right after all: it really was just because Applejack had been busy lately. But with the kind of reaction that the country pony had given her, there was no way that something so simple could cause all of this. It had to be something deeper—something more personal.

Twilight just hoped that her friend was okay.

“So, how’d it go with Applejack?” Spike asked as soon as Twilight cleared the doorway. She looked across to see her faithful friend and assistant with a kitchen apron on, stirring something in a mixing bowl absent-mindedly.

Lifting an eye, she only shook her head, dismissing the unspoken question: “I—don’t even know. I thought that I had something going, there for a minute, but it’s like the second she was about to open up, she just kind of clammed up all over again. She said that she doesn’t want to talk about it, but she also was extremely grateful when I said I wouldn’t leave her.”

Spike paused a moment, lifting a claw to his chin and tapping it in thought. “Well, what if,” he began, “she isn’t so much as having a problem, as she is just dealing with something that can’t really be fixed? I read in my comic book about one of the Super Ponies—you remember them, right?” he paused, waiting for confirmation.

“We got sucked into a comic book to defeat a pony crazily obsessed with hair-care products. How could I forget?” Twilight teased, a smile playing on the corner of her lips. That was one of her more memorable adventures—though she didn’t exactly care to recall the entire act. It was a touch to unsettling to remember that villain.

“Right. So, in one of their latest issues, Philly-Second realizes that her being a super pony makes a lot of other things impossible for her to do. She realizes that she can never really settle down and have a family. She can’t create lasting friendships, because she can never be truly honest with them about who she is. She gets depressed about how being so special makes it so she can’t be normal.”

Twilight thought a moment about this new possibility. So, Applejack was going through—a mid-life crisis? That was essentially the easiest way to say it. But what in Equestria could she be struggling about? The farm was literally her entire life. She ate, slept, and worked at that place, and was immensely proud of it. She showed no signs of stopping, either, as she was in the prime of the season, and was practically boiling over with excitement barely two weeks ago about the prospect of harvesting the entire orchard. You couldn’t go from that level of passion to wishing you could do something else in that short of time—it just wasn’t possible.

So, what else was there?

“I don’t know, Spike. What could Applejack be so upset about, that she would wish her life was different? She loves her orchard and was talking and laughing with her family this morning when I showed up. It can’t be either of those…” she listed, looking out the nearby window, where she knew the farm lied just beyond those rolling hills.

“I don’t know, but it’s something to think about. A possibility, if nothing else.” She turned to face the dragon again, who had dipped his claw in the batter, and was currently sucking on it. From the looks of it, he was about to bake a cake of some sort.

“I guess you’re right. But in the meantime, do you need any help?” she asked, perking her ears up at the prospect of some “Twilight Time” with Spike (as the little ones called it).

He snorted, turning to face the oven. “Only if you promise not to lecture me on the ‘Properties of Kitchen Etiquette’, like you did last time.”

She rolled her eyes as she cantered to his side in the kitchen. “You were turning the stovetop on seventy-five percent heat when the recipe clearly said ‘medium’, Spike. It had to be done.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Two weeks. It had been two weeks, and, despite a growing voice in her mind, reminding her that she had no idea what was bugging Applejack, Twilight’s valiant effort seemed to be paying off. No, Applejack still hadn’t budged, but she did seem to be getting more and more cheerful.

Apple Bucking Season was coming to a close, with only a few more days left before the orchard would be completely free of any sort of apple, and it seemed like perhaps Twilight’s work was coming to an end, as well.

Instead of sulking around the library, or perhaps shadowing the stubborn pony, Twilight relented to the constant barrage of invites she had gotten every Wednesday. The five friends were in the park, watching their pets run throughout the shallow hills and through the pond. Wednesday meant Pet Day. Twilight had been neglecting the event in favor of her new royal duties and her preoccupation with Applejack, but she figured it was time to reunite Owlicious with his friends, once more.

“Has anyone seen AJ around? She was supposed to help me with my routine, but she’s disappeared.” Rainbow Dash asked, lounging over a nearby rock. She looked down—or perhaps up, as she was lying on her back—to face her friends after asking the question, her rainbow mane lying across the stone.

“I saw her yesterday, walking through town. She looked really deep in thought, like something was bothering her. I tried to talk to her, but she didn’t answer me. I suppose she was just too busy, or maybe I wasn’t loud enough. That happens, sometimes…” Fluttershy answered, dropping her head at what Twilight only guessed was a bad memory.

Rainbow Dash, with what seemed to be a single movement, righted herself on the stone, sitting down in what Twilight could only call a majestic perch. “Something is definitely up. I was out flying with Twilight a while back, and Applejack looked right up at us. I waved at her, but she just kept watching us—or maybe looking right through us.”

Twilight sat, listening to the conversation. She remembered that. It was the day before she decided to find out what was wrong with Applejack. She took it for granted, guessing that she was just mentally listing what needed to be done for the remainder of Apple Bucking Season, but now that her friends mentioned it… AJ really was acting strange. Sure, the invitations and such weren’t exactly normal, but had it been affecting other aspects? Was everyone finally starting to notice?

“Maybe she needs to smile! I know that one time, I hadn’t smiled in so long, that I began to be all grumpy and stuff! I eventually went down to Sugar Cube Corner and got a triple chocolate caramel cookie, and then after that I went and talked to Rarity, and she made me a new dress! And after I ate the cookie and wore the dress, and I went for a walk, and someone told me how pretty I looked, and after that I was really happy.”

A silent moment passed as everyone’s minds caught up with the avalanche of words from the pink-haired pony. “Pinkie Pie is right.” Rarity stood up, her face turning determined. “We might not know what is up with Applejack, but what we do know is that she needs a serious pep-talk. We need to start showing her a little bit of extra attention, just so she knows that we care. Who’s with me?”

Fluttershy lifted a hoof. “I’ll take her for a picnic, next time I see her. Maybe she’ll tell me what’s wrong.”

“I can throw a party! We can have cake, and balloons, and—” she quickly gasped, something coming to mind, “and we can have a piñata! I love piñatas! What better what to get out your frustration than beating candy out of something?”

Twilight remembered the look Applejack made she had cornered her. A party… would be that many times over. “Maybe a party isn’t a good idea, Pinkie. We want Applejack to be happy, but maybe a party in her honor is a little bit too… forward.”

“Me and Pinkie will take Applejack on a hike. She loves the outdoors, it’ll give me a chance to work my wings, and Pinkie can keep her company on the ground,” Rainbow Dash intervened.

“I can make a new pair of boots for her! I doubt she’ll fully appreciate the integrity of my design, but if nothing else, it’ll get a smile from her,” Rarity pitched in.

“What about you Twilight?” Pinkie Pie spoke up, jumping and down in her excitement. “What are you gonna do?”

She couldn’t just tell her friends that she had already talked to Applejack, and she really wasn’t up to sharing. She had been spending the last two weeks with her, practically spending from sunrise to sunset, but still to no avail. “I’ll try visiting her every once in a while. Maybe she just needs a friend to be around?”

“Sounds great, everypony. I’m sure she’ll be back to her old self in no time,” Fluttershy answered. “At least… I hope so.”

Rarity placed a hoof on Fluttershy’s back. “We all hope so, sweetie. We all hope so…”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“I really don’t see why y’all think that I need some special treatment, Twi. Of course I haven’t been around town as much as I usually am. It’s Apple Buckin’ season, and I’ve just been really stressed out lately. Give me another week, ‘n I’ll be bright and buckin’ before y’all know it.” Applejack stuck the shovel in the ground with a small huff before turning to face Twilight, wiping her brow with her hoof.

“I—we just care about you, AJ. I just wanted to give you a heads-up, because knowing our friends, I know that they can get a little out of hand.”

Applejack chuckled at the honesty as she motioned for Twilight to follow. She began to walk toward the fencing of the orchard. She leaned against the railing as she looked over at the Western sunset. “Well, I appreciate what your tryin’ to do, but y’all really don’t have to.”

Twilight cocked her head at her friend. She was laughing… that was another good sign. “How are you holding up, Applejack? You’ve seemed a lot happier to me than you were before… but when I talked to our friends yesterday, they seemed to tell quite a different story.”

Applejack nodded her head, a small smile crossing her face as she looked back at the princess. “I’ve been doing a lot better. A lot of that is thanks ‘t you, Twilight. I just want ya to know that I’m really grateful for you puttin’ up with me over the past few weeks.”

Twilight shook her head with a small laugh. “Applejack, of all the words I could use to describe our time together, ‘me putting up with them’ would not be on that list. I’ve really enjoyed spending all of this time with you.”

Applejack laughed, but the noise made Twilight turn toward her friend. It wasn’t Applejack’s normal laugh. The normal Applejack Laugh was hearty—it came from her hooves, and contained every ounce of her strength. It was one of the defining characteristics of her, as a person. This new laugh—it was more… natural. It wasn’t as forced, and more… the more Twilight thought about it, the clearer the answer was: Twilight just heard Applejack giggle. Before now, she wasn’t even sure that Applejack could giggle.

“Is somethin’ the matter, hon?” Applejack asked, tilting her head at Twilight’s unusual glare. “You’re kinda starin’.”

Twilight shook her head, shaking the train of thought away, so she could focus on the present. “Sorry. I was just thinking.” Applejack wasn’t quite satisfied with her answer, so she asked the obvious question: “What about?”

“Well…” If Twilight had learned anything from her friend over the past three weeks, it was the importance of honesty. She learned that if a friend is truly a friend, you can tell them anything. They might not always like it, but they’ll never judge you for it. “You just seem different. Not a bad different—and maybe you’ve always been this way, and I haven’t noticed, but you seem more relaxed. Maybe we’ve just gotten closer, or maybe it’s because you’re about to finish up with this tough season… I don’t know. There’s just something different.”

Applejack nodded, looking back out at the sunset. “I know what you’re sayin’, Twi. I’ve noticed it too. I’m not quite sure what it is, but all I know is that we aren’t quite the same anymore. That—that ain’t a bad thing, is it?” she asked, quickly turning back to her friend for confirmation.

Twilight stood there, a moment, thinking of an answer. She honestly didn’t know if it was a bad thing or not. Change, of course, was a natural part of life. Ponies evolved over time, their personalities and tastes being fine-tuned through experience and trials. But to change so much in such little time, it probably wasn’t healthy. But then again, this change wasn’t exactly bad. Applejack seemed happier, on the whole. Yes, the apparent spacing out and not keeping appointments wasn’t great, but AJ truly did seem to be happier… Finally, Twilight settled on the only answer she could give: “As long as you’re happy, AJ, I think it’s great.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter 3: Changes

During the days after, Twilight didn’t know what to make of the situation with Applejack. She noticed that the strange looks, the zoning-out, and even the sadness just completely melted away for her friend. She couldn’t say everything was “back to normal”, because it wasn’t. She was different; very… detached. It was as if everything, all of a sudden, didn’t really bother her, anymore. She seemed to be happy with this new “normal” for herself.

Small things that used to upset her, like Big Macintosh sleeping in, Applebloom venturing into the forest with her friends, or Rainbow Dash zipping by and stealing her hat—she would just give a small chuckle, barely over a giggle, and shake her head with a sigh. Larger things, like a beaver cutting away an apple tree and hauling it down river, or a small fruit bat infestation—she would grow upset, but after a moment almost seem to shrug it off and carry on to fix the problem. The animated Applejack was just… gone. Twilight was pretty sure that things weren’t out of hand, and didn’t care… as long as Applejack didn’t seem to mind, but this sudden change just sort of caused her some uneasiness.

“Perhaps she just doesn’t want to fight? I mean, Applejack doesn’t like fighting, so it makes sense that she just pretends to not care.” Fluttershy looked behind her at the pony in question, glancing back over at Twilight, who pondered the idea.

“I don’t know. It just seems like there has to be a reason behind a change like this. You’ve noticed, haven’t you? It’s kind of obvious…” Twilight whispered, fighting the urge to glance behind her at Applejack.

The six were on the pathway from Princess Celestia and Princess Luna’s old castle, just finishing up their work for the day. It was quite the jaunt, giving her the time to talk to Fluttershy while Pinkie Pie and Rarity occupied the pony in question. She hated to talk about somepony behind their back, but she felt as if it was for the best, all things considered.

“I… not exactly…” Fluttershy whispered, “I think Applejack is acting fine…”

Twilight couldn’t believe that Fluttershy was this blind. Maybe her always seeing the best in everypony just caused her to overlook such a drastic change? In the past four days, all of the girls had gotten together three times to work on the castle—each time for quite a while. It was impossible that Fluttershy just hadn’t been around her long enough. It was just that—

“I—is it because of me?” she asked aloud. Perhaps too loud, as Rainbow Dash, who was flying circles a few lengths ahead, turned around at the sound.

“Is what because of who?” she asked, alighting right near the two. The loudness of her voice made Twilight cringe, aware that Applejack was only twenty paces behind the three.

“Shhhh!” Twilight hissed, glancing behind them. She sighed in relief, thankful that Pinkie’s current energetic outburst had Applejack and Rarity completely captivated. Instead, she turned back toward the newest addition to their conversation. “Rainbow, have you noticed something’s wrong with Applejack?”

“Not really,” she deadpanned, hopping over a rock on the pathway. “I thought we had already solved all of this? It’s kinda last week’s news, isn’t it? Pinkie and I went on a walk, Rarity made her the boots—remember?”

Fluttershy continued the explanation: “This is a new problem, now. Twilight thinks that Applejack is being too dismissive about everything.”

Rainbow Dash snorted at that. “Twilight, the only problem around here is that you’re obsessed with Applejack.” With that, the Pegasus took into the air, continuing her patrol, and leaving a certain pony dumbfounded with the statement.

Ob…sessed? She wasn’t obsessed! There was no way that that was the case! She just cared about one of her best friends; that wasn’t being obsessed. She knew for a fact that Applejack was acting differently. She saw it in the way that Applejack talked. She saw it in the way she carried herself. She saw it in everything. And if she was the only pony that could see it, then she would just have to fix it on her own.

And besides, this was coming from Rainbow Dash. Twilight loved the pony, sure, but that specific Pegasus wasn’t exactly known for being too intuitive… or gentle with her words. Now if this was coming from Fluttershy? Yeah, she would consider the possibility, but not Rainbow Dash…

“I—I’m not obsessed, am I, Fluttershy?” she asked, glancing over with a defiant look.

Fluttershy visibly broke her stride, freezing in place for just half a moment. It was almost a flash, but just long enough to give Twilight pause. She watched, almost slack-jawed as Fluttershy resumed her pace, even speeding up just slightly. “I—you’re not obsessed. You just—” the words came out slow—calculatedly, “tend to spend a lot of time with her.” It was as if each syllable was delivered in order to make the blow on Twilight lighter, but it only worked to do the exact opposite.

Her friends thought that she was obsessed. First of all, Twilight didn’t even know what that meant. How can you be obsessed with a pony? And why was Twilight the one that was obsessed? She was accepting invitations from Applejack—why wasn’t she the source of this gossip?

“I am not! What about AJ! Do you think she is, too?” The words came out louder than they should have, but at this point, Twilight wasn’t even concerned with the prospect of the other pony finding out.

Fluttershy flinched at the outburst, freezing in her tracks and not recovering, this time. “I—I—no? Maybe? Yes? I don’t know.” Shaking, the reply came out weakly, but Twilight still wasn’t satisfied, as she prepared another question.

“What’s goin’ on, here?” As the two had stopped, the ponies behind had finally caught up. Applejack tilted her head, a confused face showing. “Somethin’ wrong?” The question came, glancing between the two with an uneasy gaze.

A call came in from overhead as a rainbow blur collided on the ground, a few steps away. “Fluttershy! What did you do to her, Twilight? She’s freaking out!” With a comforting hoof, Rainbow Dash draped her arm across Fluttershy’s back, consoling her. “You okay, Flutters?” she asked. The shaking pony only nodded, looking back at Rainbow Dash with a small smile. “I—I’m okay. I’m sorry Twilight, I—I didn’t mean to make you mad; it was just my opinion.”

Twilight froze, looking at her friends, who were all staring at her expectantly. She cowered from their gazes, feeling mixtures of concern, anger, and fear. She had messed up, and she knew it. “I’m sorry, Fluttershy—everypony. It’s just—” a sigh stopped her. It was time to look inward. “Do you think I’ve changed?” The words came out before she could stop them. Her reasoning was stretched, but without cause a single statement came to mind, something that may explain everything that was happening now and for the last few months. It was what Spike said:

“You know, you’ve been a lot happier since. She helps you wind down and not be so… tense.”

She wasn’t sure why she was… obsessed. She wasn’t sure what was going on, both in her heart and mind, but… she was the one that was different.

Applejack had been changing Twilight, not the other way around. It wasn’t the country pony that had been changing—morphing through this strange experience and coming out a brand new pony—it was her. She was told from almost the very beginning that everything she was accusing Applejack of had been happening to her, and she just dismissed it without so much as a second thought.

“Not going to lie, dear: you have.” Rarity cut the silence, lifting a hoof in anticipation. “Lately you’ve been all—” she waved a hoof in thought before gesturing at the princess, “strange.”

Pinkie Pie jumped in: “And you’ve been talking about nothing but Applejack. It’s ‘Applejack this’ and ‘Applejack that’—I mean come on. It’s like you spend all of your time there…” She paused, a look of realization flashing across her face: “Well actually you kinda do… so I guess that makes sense!”

Applejack stiffened at this, glancing around at the crowd. “Now c’mon, y’all, let’s not talk like this. So yeah, maybe Twi has been actin’ a little funny, but so have I. I don’t think ya can start talkin’ like we’re crazy jus’ cause we’ve been helpin’ each other out for the last few weeks. Ya girls helped me when I came to ya, needing advice about how to help Twilight, and now you just wanna throw ‘er on the tracks when she needs us the most?

“Twilight, yeah, you’ve changed. I asked ya if that was okay a couple of days ago, and even though ya thought I was talkin’ about me, I was really talkin’ about you. So, I’ll give ya the same answer ya gave me: as long as you’re happy with the new you, I’m completely okay with it. Just… maybe try and not scare Fluttershy.”

“…wait—what?” Twilight, no matter how many times she tried to wrap her head around this, couldn’t. Applejack was asking for help about her? Applejack was poking and prying, trying to lure answers out of her, when Twilight was doing the very same thing? What for? And why? And when? All the journalistic questions were running through her mind as she felt utterly lost. It was as if she was missing a single piece of the puzzle, only to find out she had been putting the wrong one together from the start. “You were talking about me? You’ve been trying to help me? But you—the crying! You were crying!” She couldn’t even speak coherently as all of the unspoken facts were filtering through her mind.

Applejack giggled (drawing quite the reaction from Rainbow Dash, who visibly flinched) “Yeah, I was. But I told you: I’m as right as rain, now. I have been for over a week. You kept on havin’ the girls try to help me, but in truth, I was already talkin’ to them about you. On the bright side: I did happen to get a fancy pair ‘a boots outta the whole ordeal. Ain’t too bad, if I say so m’self,” she said, lifting a hoof and smiling at the shoe while Rarity beamed in the background.

She sighed, a shiver running down her spine as she plopped on her hindquarters in the middle of the path. “I—really?” It wasn’t believable. It didn’t answer any questions. It didn’t solve any problems. Fitting this in the realistic contexts of her mind… It just didn’t. If she was going through a change, so be it. But Applejack couldn’t have been trying to help her. It just wasn’t possible. She didn’t need help! She was just trying to—

That was the problem: she had no idea what was she was trying to do. She didn’t know why she was at Sweet Apple Acres. She didn’t know what Applejack’s problem was. This circled right back around to the center of her original problem: Applejack had a secret. And Twilight didn’t know what it was.

Rainbow Dash shrugged, her hoof still on Fluttershy’s back. “I think you need to just chill, Twilight.”

Even if this was the case, Twilight only had one question that she still couldn’t figure out: “So what should I do?”

The exchange of glances told her only one thing: They didn’t have the answer.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Books. Twilight had read a library full of books. She had studied more spells, cultures, histories, and languages than most ponies did in a lifetime. She had been lectured by royalty and famous philosophers and had aced tests many thought impossible. But now? Now this was her own thoughts and feelings, and every book in her library didn’t have the answer.

She sat in just that very place, looking out of the window at the western sunset. She knew her friends were just trying to help after that outburst. She had, just as Rainbow Dash had said, “freaked out”. The apology to Fluttershy didn’t help, as her friends continued to fuss over the pink maned pony. And, afterwards, they fussed over her.

Even now, sitting in the library, she could feel Rarity’s eyes burn into her back. Twilight knew she was there. She had been standing in the doorway for minutes, both of them in silence. But Twilight didn’t really have anything to say.

“Are you sure you’re okay, darling?” She didn’t even turn around at the words, as they were getting repetitive at this point.

“I’m fine, Rarity. I just need time.”

The sound of hooves clattering against the wooden floor told Twilight that she was approaching. Once a hoof was on her shoulder, a reply came: “I’m afraid that what I have to say isn’t going to help, dear.”

Twilight lifted an eye in confusion, as she finally tore herself away from the window: “Continue…”

“As your friend and confidant, I find it is my place to warn you,” Rarity moved her hoof, taking Twilight by the shoulders, and staring intently into her friend’s eyes. “People are talking, and while I don’t know all the details about you two, I am pretty sure the stories aren’t true.”

“What isn’t true?”

Rarity hopped down, running over to close the curtain of the window they were standing right before. “I don’t know how to say this… but people have been seeing you and Applejack together quite a bit. They are starting to think that the air between you two has changed.”

Twilight nodded. “That’s kind of what started this whole intervention, Rarity.”

Rarity shook her head in return. “I’m not talking about that. They’re saying that things have moved beyond friendship. To… something more.”

Twilight shook her head, annoyance and confusion racing through her mind. “Yeah. I told Applejack that, and she asked some question that apparently meant something else, and I just—“

“They think you’re dating!” Rarity burst out. She immediately covered her mouth with her hooves. A moment later, she removed them, breathing deeply. “I tried to stop the rumors, I really did. But they’re just everywhere, and the way you two are carrying on isn’t really helping the situation, frankly.”

Her immediate reaction was explosive: “What? Where did they even get that from?”

Rarity only laughed, her expression light, despite the gravity of the situation. “Really? If I didn’t know you two, I might have thought the same thing.”

Twilight was stunned. She couldn’t even think of anything to say in response. Applejack… dating… her… It was so—she hadn’t even thought of that… ever. Sure, they were getting along great; when you spend weeks with someone, you’re bound to fall on either side of the aisle: friends or foes. That’s just bound to happen. But dating? Sure, she could see how strangers would think that. The way she and Applejack had been acting certainly made it seem that way. But… this was Ponyville: everypony knew everypony around here. Didn’t they know Twilight and Applejack well enough to know they were friends? Better yet: what should she do about it?

She couldn’t shove Applejack away. That would be the exact opposite of helpful right now, for a myriad of reasons. It would fuel the rumors. It would probably send Applejack spiraling right back down into her… problem (she still hadn’t worked that one out). It would… honestly really hurt her to do that to a friend, too. That left her with… what options?

“I—what do I do?” The words came out far later than she had meant them to. After a moment of silence, Rarity grew a soft, sympathetic smile. She placed a hoof on Twilight, turning the gaze of the shocked pony upwards to meet hers. “We’ll figure something out, dear. Just—just tell Applejack. That’s the best thing you can do, for now. And you two being together at this point is far better than you trying to distance yourself from her. I’ll do what I can, but at this point, we might need to just let things settle down naturally for a while.”

Twilight had no idea what to say—but she had even less of a clue as to what it all meant. This only made her situation worse; it made all of the thoughts racing through her mind increase to near the breaking point.

But further yet: she had no idea where this put her and Applejack. First, she was somewhat angry with her. All of the deception the pony had put her through, when she herself was just trying to help. Then, she was faced with the reality that she and the pony had been getting closer and closer through the past weeks—Twilight had thought she had found a sister-like figure in the country gal. Now, she had the news that everypony thought they were dating… it was like a break-neck speed whirlwind of relationship issues she was entirely unprepared for.

So, what should she do? Once again: she had no answers.

And she was pretty sure there wasn’t a book for this, either.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter 4: Dreams and Wishes

No matter what course of action she thought up, nothing sounded exactly perfect. Whether she considered just pretending like Rarity’s conversation never happened, or taking her advice and confronting Applejack, telling her the truth, and confessing she was at a loss—everything had a catch. In the end, she was even more confused about everything than she was before she even ran into Rarity.

She ended up making her way to the edge of town, the moon high in the fall sky, the stars seemed to be her only confidants at that moment. She took a deep sigh, resting on the rocks just before the cliff that overlooked the rolling hills of Equestria. Twilight never told anyone, but when she felt like she needed some time alone, she would come out here just to relax and to think. Usually, it was so she could study in peace. But tonight, Twilight had a lot bigger problems than spells or incantations. She had to think about her reputation, her position as a princess, but more than anything: she had to think about what this would do to Applejack.

“I just wish that I could fix this where no one gets hurt, but I know if I do that, I won’t be able to be as close to Applejack as I have been,” she thought aloud. “I want to make everypony happy.”

“But what about you, Twilight?” a soft voice came from behind her, but as she turned around, she only saw a dark shadow under the veil of a nearby tree. As that form took shape, she saw long, pink hair and a soft face: Fluttershy.

The pegasus only smiled at her, stepping nearer, before sitting next to her on the edge of the cliff. “You know… I don’t like to follow ponies—but something told me you needed somepony to talk to. You don’t mind, do you?”

Twilight nodded, a small sniff and a giggle breaking through her sorrow. “I definitely needed somepony to talk to, Fluttershy. I just—” she sighed, wondering where to even start: “I’m sorry. For earlier. I know I went a little overboard. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Fluttershy shook her head dismissively. “It’s alright. You’ve already apologized. This isn’t about me, it’s about you. What’s wrong?”

Twilight once more gathered her thoughts, staring up at the stars as her mind began to draw lines between both the sparkling specks above, and the tangled web of questions in her mind. She began to speak slowly, letting the words pour out as she thought them. “Something was just strange about her. I know there was. She invited me over ten times in two weeks. She invited just me. That’s not normal—not for Applejack. So, I figured something had to be wrong. I asked her, and she wouldn’t talk about it. So, I decided just being there would solve the problem. So, I did. And… things seemed to be getting better. But then she said I was the pony with the problem? I… got confused.

“Spike said that I was changing, but I didn’t think it was like that. I thought I was just being… less stressed. Happier, in my own way, but not life-altering, foundationally different. I still can’t quite say I think I’m any different. But now that was weeks ago, and… Applejack seems to be the one that changed. I thought that maybe, just maybe… I could look past this new version of her and ignore what might be wrong deep down that’s causing this personality shift. I thought things could go back to normal, or at least a new normal. But I couldn’t leave it alone. I kept prying. I kept pushing, trying to find out her secrets. But now things are changing again.

“Rarity says ponies think that something happened between us, and rumors are swirling. I feel like rather than making steps forward, we’re just going backwards. It’s going to cause more secrets, and more changes. And I just don’t want to tell AJ, because that might put her right back where we started—if there was anything there in the first place.. I just—I’m stuck…”

Fluttershy sat a moment, watching the stars in the distance dance, just as those reflected in her eyes. A small twinkling star shown just over her shoulder as she faced the young princess. A deep sigh, and she spoke: “If I’m going to be completely honest, I think this is just a very large lack of communication.”

“You—what?” Twilight was confused. A lack of communication? “You mean we…” The words faded as she tried to piece together a translation. Why would there be a lack of communication? They talked all the time. Ponies were starting rumors because they talked too much.

Fluttershy giggled, shaking her head. “Applejack and you—you’ve been spending so much time with one another that you’ve managed to, somehow, not talk as much about your feelings. So now you both think that whatever you have to say is going to somehow ruin what you both have.”

Ruin what we have… Twilight thought. But that’s the thing… we’re just friends. Opening up to AJ; telling her about what others are saying—that’s what might ruin our friendship. Not whatever this nonsense is about me changing… “I don’t quite understand, Fluttershy. Why do you think we quit talking in the first place?”

Fluttershy laughed a light, airy laugh. “Twilight, you both came to us, separately, to ask for help for one another—right around the same time. You quit talking… not in general. I imagine you talked about just about everything… except the important stuff. Why? I don’t know. I can’t quite see into your minds. That requires a magic that I don’t quite know. Yet there is a way you can see into each other’s… you could just talk to her, you know.”

“Talk to her… and just ask her what happened?” Twilight began, her voice turning to confusion as she tried thinking aloud, “I just walk in and ask her why she did all this to me? And tell her why I did all of that to her? Do you think she would even listen? I don’t want her to go back to how she was before... She has been happier lately than I have ever seen her. And what about the rumors? If people start talking, she could get hurt.”

The pegasus shook her head in reply. “I can’t speak for Applejack, but what I do know is that the talk of other ponies doesn’t nearly amount to the affection of those close to you. The support from a single friend is worth more than the gossip of a thousand strangers, Twilight. No matter what happens, she’ll understand, especially if you two are as close as I think you are.”

Twilight frowned, staring at the ground between the two of them. Just talk… one more time. The idea was little more than a novelty, in her mind. She had tried that approach countless times, without any sort of success. But how long had it been since she had asked, point blank, what was wrong? And how high were the stakes when she had asked? She mentally sighed, knowing in the end, Fluttershy was right. It wasn’t a great plan—but honestly it was about the only one she had left. “Thanks, Fluttershy. I will talk to her as soon as possible, tomorrow morning.”

Fluttershy once more shook her head. “I wouldn’t wait that long, Twilight. I think we both know that she’s probably still awake.”

The young pony hesitantly stood up, taking a deep breath. She couldn’t quite force her own protests to fall away. She couldn’t quite keep from telling herself this wasn’t going to work. But in the end, the sooner she got this over with, the sooner she could maybe figure out what was even happening. And despite what she said in her mind… she still desperately wanted to know the secret piece of her puzzle: what was originally wrong with Applejack. “You’re right. This… it just isn’t easy to piece together. Thank you again, Fluttershy.”

Without even looking back, she took off in a steady, slow pace toward Sweet Apple Acres. Her hoofs plodding on the cobbled path. How similar of a pace this was to what had happened three weeks before. But how different the situation had been three weeks before, as well. What began as simple concern for her friend was now something that bore down societal pressure on her as a princess. Everything was a mess in her mind, and everything was pointing toward a possibility that it all only existed in her head. But it didn’t even matter anymore, because Twilight was going to straighten everything out, starting with the one thing that mattered the most: the truth about Applejack.

Twilight neared the orchard, and, not even stopping to knock, she entered into the always unlocked farmhouse. Having attended more than one sleepover in the past three weeks, she shot right up the stairs, taking the second door on the right in the hall. One more deep breath, she opened the door, striding with a fake confidence into her friend’s bedroom. Immediately, Applejack sat up in her bed, wondering who the late-night intruder was. “What ‘n tarnation—Twilight? What’re you doin’ here?” she asked, more surprised than accusing.

“Applejack,” Twilight began, lifting her head in a confident air as she began the hardest conversation she had ever tackled, “we need to talk.”

She arched an eyebrow in confusion, but patted the edge of her bed, despite her confusion. “I’m listenin’, sugar. What’s got ya so riled up?”

Twilight wasn’t even hesitant about her words, this time, throwing all caution to the wind: “It all started about three weeks ago, I noticed you had been inviting me to a lot more sleepovers, and parties, and just generally being a lot nicer to me than usual. I didn’t think much of it, until Spike told me maybe there was a reason why…”

Twilight told her everything, starting with her conversation with Spike, and going forward from there. She even threw in the smallest details, how Rainbow Dash said Applejack was staring up at her whens he was flying, and how Fluttershy said Applejack had zoned out, being in deep thought. Her mind was swirling with all of the details, all of the possible explanations Applejack could present to her. Whether she would react with calmness, or if she would even go so far as to throw her out, right then. Twilight was terrified, but in the end, she knew it didn’t matter. Because even if Applejack was mad for just a moment, she knew that their friendship would last. Just like Fluttershy said: she would understand.

“And then Fluttershy, she came to talk to me this afternoon, just as I had completely ran out of ideas. I didn’t know how to fix anything—or even if I really need to. She told me that… in her opinion… I should just come and talk to you. She said she didn’t even know what was wrong—but that if we both came together and just talked… we could figure it out.

“Applejack, I don’t know what any of this means, but you do. I don’t care if you tell me you never want to see me again after this, I just need to know. I need to know what was wrong before; I need to know what changed over the past three weeks. I need to know if this is really just all in my head; I need to know why you asked me to do all those things; I need to know what you want to do about these rumors; I need to—“

Applejack giggled once again. Twilight immediately stopped talking, watching her friend visibly laugh at Twilight’s list of demands. She couldn’t even believe it. This was a laugh of joy, not of annoyance, not of anger—just a pure laugh. “Darlin’, you got yourself a deal. I’ll spill, alright?” she relented, raising her hoofs in defeat. “Let me tell my part of this story, okay? It all started about a month ago:

“I don’t know about this, girls, it seems pretty dangerous…” Fluttershy looked down at the cliff the six friends were standing at the face of. Applejack knew where she was coming from. This drop had to be at least two-hundred feet high, if not even more. But as much as she wanted to call it quits, she also knew that if the group didn’t find a way down there soon, that something really bad could happen.

“Ah don’t really think we got a choice, here, Fluttershy,” Applejack pointed out. “Twilight said we gotta get some thingy down there, so we gotta go down.”

Rarity interjected, slightly annoyed by such an important artifact taken with so little seriousness. “It’s not a ‘thingy’, Applejack. It’s a spellbook written by StarSwirl the Bearded. It has the power to manipulate the past. If anypony gets ahold of it, they could rewrite history.”

“It’s still a ‘thingy’,” Rainbow Dash pointed out. “It’s just a really serious thingy…”

Spike rolled his eyes, being with Rarity on this point. “I don’t think that a serious ‘thingy’ exists. It is either a ‘thingy’, or it’s called… what was it that Twilight said, an ‘artifact’?”

Pinkie Pie let out a heavy sigh. “It’s a thingy, just not a thingy thingy. A thingy thingy is something that has no other word to describe it, so you just call it a thingy. A thingy is a thingy when you know there’s a name, but you can’t think of a word to describe it.” Despite her logic actually kind of making sense, Applejack just let it go. It seemed as if everyone else did too, as the group just kind of sat there, staring at the party pony. “Look, I need a cupcake, and thus this thingy needs to be thingied so I can go get one. What’s the plan?”

Rainbow Dash, jumping into the self-proclaimed pony in charge, just stood at the edge of the cliff, but she didn’t seem sure, herself. “Fluttershy and I can fly down there, but you other four can’t. We could carry you, Spike, but I’m not sure if we’re strong enough for everyone else. We could possibly help walk you three down the cliff, but that’s dangerous if it doesn’t quite work. We could…”

“JUMP!” Pinkie Pie shouted, hopping up and down at the edge of the cliff. “There’s a pool of water at the bottom! Fly down there and see if it’s deep enough!”

“Oh dear, this isn’t going to end well…” Fluttershy whispered. No one but Applejack heard it, but she agreed wholeheartedly with her.

Applejack wasn’t quite sure what happened after that. All she knew was that she wasn’t fit out to follow in her Granny’s footsteps with her diving. She was the second to jump, which wasn’t saying much with Rarity being the last one. But after Pinkie Pie jumped down and came away fine, she was pretty confident that she’d be okay, too.

“To be honest, Twilight, the rest of the trip is pretty fuzzy. But all that I remember is that I was the only pony there, and I ended up handin’ you this spellbook, thing alone. I looked right in your eyes, and said: ‘Here ya are, Twi. I hope this helps.’ I handed that spellbook to ya, and the smile you gave me just kinda… stuck in my head. I couldn’t really tell ya why, even right now. It wasn’t any special smile. It wasn’t different than any other—it was just… you. In your purest form. I still can remember what ya said: ‘Thank you, Applejack. I really wish I could have been there with you.’.”

“After that, I just kinda wanted to make ya smile again. Whether it was asking ya over to have a sleepover, or if I just asked ya to be with me when I was workin’, it didn’t matter. I just wanted to make you happy. But after a while, I realized that it wasn’t so much about me makin’ you happy… it was you bein’ with me that made me happy. At first, I just thought I was just bein’ a little crazy, but the longer time went on, the stranger these feelins’ got. Eventually I realized somethin’, and it shocked me: I wanted to be with ya almost all the time, Twilight. I wanted your attention, and I wanted you to be as happy with me as I was with you.

“And… that’s when y’all noticed that I quit bein’ myself. That morning that ya came to the farm? I told myself the night before that I wasn’t gonna ask ya over again, because I knew that these feelins’ weren’t right, and that I needed to stop ‘em. I knew it wasn’t fair to you. I knew you had things to do, and me being selfish wasn’t helpin’ anypony.

“But when ya went on ahead and told me that somethin’ was wrong, and you knew it, and you would just be there for me, I honestly cried after ya left. You just bein’ so amazin’, I couldn’t help it. I honestly wanted to be with ya more than ever after that. Because I knew if you were that amazin’ and didn’t even know what was goin’ on, that if you did, it woulda just been perfect.

“But I knew we couldn’t be. It took me awhile, but I eventually decided that I would rather be your best friend, than possibly push ya away. I gave up. I wasn’t going to risk being happy for a chance to be even happier. We were gonna be together forever. Even if we were just friends. So that’s why I kinda started bein’ myself again.

“That afternoon where ya told me you noticed that somethin’ had changed between us, and that it felt really great? I wasn’t lyin’ when I said I was talkin’ about you. I really did go to our friends and ask if you were actin’ alright. You said I was different—and you were right… but you were actin’ different, yourself. You were actin’ like… like I was broken, somehow. You kept on tryin’ to fix me, and I was worried that you were goin’ to somehow break yourself.

“So that afternoon, I asked if you were okay with how I was… because if you were—I knew you wouldn’t mind tryin’ to fix me for the rest of our lives. Because I’ll be honest… if me havin’ a mighty big crush on you means that I’m broke… I’m gonna be broke for the rest of my life, Twilight. This crush that I managed to get—it ain’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Twilight sat on the edge of Applejack’s bed, her eyes wide with shock. Applejack… she had feelings for her? All of this—was because of her? Because she wanted to be around her—wanted to be with her? She had never even thought that everything was because Applejack had feelings for her—sure, the people talking was because of that possibility, but everything for the past month was because of this?

But worse yet—what could she say? She never even thought of the possibility that Applejack did have feelings for her—that was the impossibility in this situation. That was the byproduct of the actual problem. It was a throwaway that would resolve itself once everything else was figured out. Now that it was reality…

There definitely wasn’t a book for this.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter 5: Speaking Truth

“Applejack…” she breathed the single word out, the shock still registering. She hadn’t considered this was a possibility. She had planned her contingency for every reaction Applejack had to her entering the bedroom, late at night. She had considered what to do if Applejack was sleeping. She had considered what to do if the door were locked. She had considered what to do if she was promptly kicked out. But… not this. She had never planned for this. “We—you like me?”

The more and more frequent event of Applejack giggling happened once more: “I hafta admit that I do, Twilight. And… and I know that, odds are, you aren’t okay with this. And I accept that. But you wanted the truth, and now you got it. I just hope… I hope we can still be friends.”

Friends. The word tore Twilight back into the situation, and, interestingly enough, right back out. Fluttershy had said that no matter what, Applejack would be okay with whatever Twilight said. Shouldn’t the same be true for her? Shouldn’t she offer the country pony the same courtesy she expected? It took friendship to make sure that, no matter what, at the end of the day, they were still okay. It took friendship to weather this storm. And this storm had just turned very, very different… but she assumed the rule still applied. She had to be okay with this—but what could she even begin to say?

Maybe… maybe she should try using that same tactic that brought her here. The same tactic that she had used with Fluttershy. So, she began to just talk: “Applejack, we’ve been friends for over three years now. And especially in the last month, we’ve been spending so much time together.” She started slowly. She had no idea where she was taking the monologue. She had no idea what she even felt, deep down. But regardless, as she talked, she looked up to see Applejack painted with both fear and acceptance. She placed a hoof on Applejack’s own, looking deep into her friend’s watering, green eyes. They looked lost—they looked as if she was holding it together, just to look strong. But looking just past the glimmering surface of the strong façade, Applejack just looked broken.

“Over the past three years, I’ve always thought that we all were going to be together forever, just like you said” Twilight continued. “I’ve always planned on that. I’ve always wanted to be with you girls, ever since I got here and met you all. You five are… kinda my life. And over the past month, you’ve been my life even more so.” she wasn’t just trying to drag this out. She definitely wasn’t. If she had her way, she would have darted out of the room before even opening her mouth. But she couldn’t. That wasn’t what being a friend was about. She had to stay here, and she had to answer her. The only problem is she didn’t know what she was trying to say.

She was trying to work everything out as she spoke—but instead she could feel things only growing more and more tense. She was positive everything that she had learned about Friendship applied here, somehow… she was positive that it was the answer to this. She just had to keep searching, both with the words in her mind, and the words pouring out her mouth. Two separate streams, neither one honestly aware of what thoughts were forming in the other. “When I first got here, I had no idea the kinds of ponies I’d meet. I honestly wasn’t sure I’d make friends at all. But now that I’m here, I have so many amazing friends. You—you’re the closest out of all of those friends. You’re the best pony I have ever met.”

“All I know is that we aren’t quite the same anymore.” “That ain’t a bad thing, is it?” Twilight thought about those words. Applejack found being together made her happy. Applejack wanted, craved—needed her attention. The past month was an entirely selfish venture on her part. Nothing was wrong from the beginning. They were friends. Close friends. And although the country pony had a massive crush, she ended up just being content with being friends. But now the lid on that secret had been pried wide open, and the truth was out. And now the possibility presented itself: it could turn into something more.

But what did Twilight want? She wanted Applejack to be happy. She wanted herself to be happy. And somehow—somehow them both being together made that happen. “As long as you’re happy, AJ, I think it’s great.” Those words resounded in her mind, thinking back to that day in the orchard. She still felt that was the truth: Twilight and Applejack’s happiness came first. So… what would make them happy?

…She only had one answer: “I… want us to be happy.”

Applejack paused, her head tilting at the almost whisper-like confession of the book horse. “You… what, now?”

Twilight laughed, shaking her head. “I want us to be happy. I… don’t know a lot about dating. Honestly, I don’t know anything outside of sappy romance novels and a couple of stage plays. But AJ… my friends are my life. And you—you’re the closest pony in the entire world to me. I don’t know how dating works, and I don’t really know what I want. But… I want to be close to you. I want to be closer to you. And… we have something more than friendship. I’ve known that for weeks. I don’t know if that something is this—but maybe it is. And…”

She took a deep breath, nodding. “If it is… then I want it more than anything.”

Applejack threw her hooves around Twilight, almost crushing her to death in her arms. She also couldn’t hold those tears Twilight had seen any longer, as they poured freely from her emerald eyes. As suffocating as it was, Twilight didn’t complain about the hug. In fact—she only pressed herself into her friend even harder. Or… were they friends? She assumed not anymore. But that came later. For now… she held her friend in her arms and nothing else seemed to matter. For now? Only this mattered.

“Thank you.” The two words were the first audible reaction Applejack had. The relief was audible as the tears continued, cutting right into Twilight’s heart. Just the idea that her acceptance could mean that much to her; the fear of her rejection could cause so large of an impact… it was the best and worst part of this entire night to Twilight. She… felt almost drowning in uncertainty. It was like stepping into a bottomless pool, without being sure you knew how to swim… or without even knowing if you want to swim. She could take the plunge and find out—or play it safe and hold onto the edge of the pool—just a bit longer.

But hearing the girl, whose hooves were still wrapped around her, sniff the tears away… those worries just seemed to melt away. This idea was new to her. Twilight hadn’t ever considered romance while here in Ponyville—and definitely not to another mare. But… she had a feeling that plunging into this new experience was about the only way she’d learn. This wasn’t an exam. This wasn’t a trial set up by Celestia. This was… a part of life. And there wasn’t a single book that covered this topic.

“Applejack, look at me,” she began, pulling away from the still-lingering embrace of Applejack. Once she had her complete attention, she looked into those swirling green eyes, once again. This time, the tears she was holding back were of joy, not of fear, and that made them look all the sweeter, “I’m not sure how this kind of stuff works, but what I do know… is that I want more of what we already have. What I do know… is that for the past four weeks, I’ve spent every spare moment with you, and it’s been the best time of my life, AJ. All I want is the rest of my life to be that way.”

Applejack blinked once, two renegade tears falling from her eyes. After a single, well-fought sniff, she let out one more giggle: “Darlin’, trust me: that won’t be a problem.”

That night, Twilight stayed at Applejack’s house. At first, Twilight was worried that things would change. That she would be plummeted into the world of romance… and she certainly wasn’t ready for physical intimacy. But—but it was almost like nothing had changed. They were merely together, talking and laughing, sharing stories and telling tales… and that was enough for her. It was just so strange to Twilight—this entire concept was new, but she was finding that it was just like before—but more...finalized. Or maybe labeled. Growing up, she always assumed she would find some modest castle guard, or a dashing lord of the court to marry, and he would whisk her away and everything would change. But being with her best friend, no matter what anypony else would think—and having everything so familiar? The more she pieced this relationship together in her mind… it just made so much more sense to her.

In the end, the two ponies fell asleep on the couch of the farmhouse. Applejack fell first, the emotional rollercoaster she had been through exhausting her—or at least, that’s the conclusion Twilight came to. Her long, blonde mane flowed over Twilight’s back hooves, as she rested her head on the young princess’s lap. Hesitating only a moment, Twilight took her hoof and ran it through the single, long ponytail, held in place with a small, red band. The only response she got was a happy sigh from the country pony.

The last thought Twilight had was that the girl in her lap looked like an angel.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next day found Twilight in a very... surreal mood. The events of the previous day collided with her as soon as she woke up. Applejack was still fast asleep on her lap, giving her the only proof she needed that it wasn’t a dream. She glanced aside to see the sun shining through the window, telling her that it was already late in the morning, with the sounds of the farm and its three workers creating a vivid backdrop for the strange situation.

Looking down at her angel, Twilight once more ran a hoof down the long blonde hair. The emotions of the previous night were still fresh in her mind, being cause to stop and reevaluate herself.

Everything that had happened last night--everything that had happened in the past month—had created so many distractions and changes in her life that she hardly even recognized what normal was anymore. Rumors and hardships, discovering feelings about herself and her friend, but most of all: she gained somepony beyond anything she had ever imagined. Though it scared her to know how fast her life had changed, and though she knew the future was anything but certain… she was still happy. Sure, she was in way over her head. She had no idea where to take things. And sure, there was still the problem with rumors. She didn’t have a clue how to handle that. But here, with the pony in her lap, breathing contentedly—she wouldn't have it any other way.

"Mornin', Twilight..." the lazy, stumbling words brought her from her thoughts, and it was only then that she realized she had been running her hoof through Applejack's mane, apparently waking her up. Looking down to meet Applejack’s gaze, the barely conscious pony merely continued to lie there, staring up at her with a small smile. "We kinda fell asleep, huh?"

Twilight smiled down at her, ruffling up her hair. "Just a little, AJ. Sleep well?"

"Better than ever, Darlin', better than ever. And how about you?"

She gave a small laugh, “Same. We slept in pretty late, though, do you think that your family needs help?” Applejack turned at those words, glancing out of the nearby window at the high, eastern sun.

“Normally, I’d say ‘yes’, Twi. But it ain’t Apple Buckin’ season no more, so there ain’t much to do. Plus,” she smiled, sitting up from Twilight’s lap, “today’s kinda a special day, don’t ya think? We need to just enjoy ourselves.”

Twilight wasn’t quite sure what she meant by those words, but she had a feeling that it was going to be pretty wonderful.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The woods—they were in the woods. The Everfree forest, to be exact. Twilight gingerly stepped on top of a fallen tree’s truck, then hopped off of it, landing on a small twig, snapping it in two. Meanwhile, she noticed (almost annoyingly so) that Applejack was expertly weaving through the scene, jumping from rock to rock, always glancing behind at her. Twilight had a feeling she was slowing AJ down, but she also knew that AJ was somehow having fun watching her. And with the small smile she was being repeatedly cast, she had a feeling that simply watching her was satisfaction enough to outweigh the wait. “I know that you’re enjoying my struggle, here, AJ… but where are we going?”

Applejack gave a small giggle, blushing as she was caught. Twilight noticed that this laugh was occurring more. It wasn’t a hearty, forced laugh—though Twilight was just as in love with that one, as well—this one was natural. Applejack was laughing more and more as Twilight spent time with her. It was as if she was finally herself. She wasn’t putting on a face. She wasn’t hiding who she was. In a way, it was like Twilight had finally solved the mystery.

“Well as true as that may be, I ain’t gonna tell ya where we’re going, Twilight. I want it to be a surprise!” Again, that was all that she had gotten. This was probably the fourth time that Twilight had asked, yet there was still no answer from the country pony. Twilight was wondering just how far away they were going, as they had been walking for quite a while. And the age-old truth of these types of hikes was lingering in the back of her mind: the distance you walked into the woods was also the distance you had to walk back. It would take them far into the afternoon to get back, at this pace…

“Just trust me, hon: you’re gonna love it. We’re almost there, alright?”

Twilight stepped into what she assumed was a small puddle, until her hoof sunk down into the mud, caking her entire leg in filth. Picking it up and shaking the dirt off, she glanced up at Applejack: “If you say so, AJ.”

Through ten more minutes of forest, Twilight was getting more and more tired of this place. It was definitely interesting, and any other day, she would love to study some of the plant life that grew in this deep underbrush. But for the moment? It seemed unnecessarily dirty. Just as she was about to ask for the fifth time if she could take a breather, she saw a clearing in the distance. Though barely visible from between two trees, she was certain that this was their destination. Applejack looked behind once more, and then nodding with a small smile. “Yup, that’s it, Sugar Cube. C’mon!” She picked up the pace, trotting the rest of the way. Twilight had to sprint for a moment, just to catch up to her. By the time the two got to the clearing, she was almost out of breath. But she wasn’t sure if it was because of the trot, or if it was because of the landscape before her.

A large natural spring erupted at the top of a cliff, its water cascading freely down, crashing down into a large pool at the bottom. The water then flowed into a small stream, bee-lining its way through the clearing, disappearing into the far trees. Flowers grew along its bank, feeding off of the rich liquid growing just near them. Rich reds and blues, even oranges and yellows created the entire prism of colors, each individual flower looking brighter than the last. Twilight wondered how she had never seen this place before, the beauty leaving her at a loss for any other words.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” The words came out, soft and slow from the pony next to her, bringing Twilight back to reality. “My folks used to bring me here at the very beginning of summer. The flowers would just be bloomin’, their scent bathing this entire place. But then they’d bring me here right at fall, just around this time ‘a year, where the summer flowers already had bloomed, and the fall flowers were at the tail end ‘a their season. The trees around here, their oranges and yellows make this place look alive yet dead at the same time. I bring Applebloom here sometimes. It’s kinda a tradition for the family. I—I hope ya like it, Twilight.”

“It’s beautiful, AJ.” To be considered family—to partake in such a rare tradition, Twilight couldn’t even fathom the trust that Applejack placed in her. Was this because they were together now? Or was this just because of how close they had gotten? Twilight debated the question for only half a moment before discarding it entirely. She wouldn’t dwell on specifics for now. This was a huge honor—she would treat it with the respect it deserved.

Twilight slowly approached AJ’s side, looking out at the forest meadow. She watched in silence, listening to the sounds of the forest around her. The trees rustled in the wind, with yellows, reds, and browns billowing past her in the small breeze as the leaves were carried away. Birds chirped in the distance, the species not migrating preparing for winter. The slow rippling of the water just in front of them finishing the forest’s song with the strong waterfall in the background creating a dim white noise. She had closed her eyes to take it all in when she felt AJ lean her head against her own. She felt the cowgirl take a slow, deep breath, exhaling it with almost a sense of melancholy.

This whole moment, Twilight could barely believe it was even real. Being in this wonderful place, having her best friend and her whole world here before her—it was something that, only weeks ago, she would never have believed possible.

It was just everything about it: the scenery, the smell and feel of Applejack as the country pony pressed into her, the sound of the water before them, the taste of the crisp autumn air… every single one of her senses was being overwhelmed in the best of ways. She tried to speak, but not a single word felt appropriate to break the silence between them. So instead, she remained silent, until a minute later, Applejack spoke: “I’m glad you like it, sweetheart.”

“Sweetheart…” Twilight whispered, stepping away to look at Applejack. “You’ve never called me Sweetheart before.” The fact was said simply, as if it was the time of day. Twilight… wouldn’t say she didn’t like the name. She also couldn’t say it was anything too special. Applejack always called people things. Honey, Darling, Sugar Cube—the list was fairly long of synonyms she would cycle through for the various people she ran across—but this seemed unusually special, for some reason.

Applejack froze, her eyes growing wide in shock. Twilight only meant that it was different—it was new. It definitely wasn’t a bad thing, by any means, but apparently Applejack didn’t think of it that way. She was about to speak to calm Applejack down, but before she spoke, she was beat to the punch: “I’m sorry, Twi, I didn’t think it was—I can stop if you want, I—“

“Applejack, I like it. You don’t have to apologize… sweetheart,” she said, a smile teasing the corners of her mouth.

Applejack smiled, using a hoof to scratch the back of her neck. “I… uh—I’m sorry, I just don’t really know how to act, yet. This is all so new to me…”

Twilight giggled a moment. “You and me both, Applejack.” She watched her companion for a moment, tilting her head in thought. “You know—over the years, you haven’t really had a special somepony. Who did you have before I got here?” she asked simply. There had to be somepony… Applejack was beautiful, strong, smart, and pretty funny, to top it all off. She had even attracted a few ponies over the years she had been living in Ponyville—yet never accepted the affection. Was there a reason?

Applejack smiled, shaking her head at the question. “I’ve only really had one or two ponies in my whole life, Twi. Back when I was younger, there was a little colt. He was really nice, but we kinda mutually decided it wasn’t gonna work a few months after we started courtin’. After that, I had a few suitors come knockin’ on my door at the farm, but I always sent ‘em away. I didn’t wanna bother with all of that, anymore. I just decided that the farm was gonna be my life.”

Twilight nodded. It made sense, she knew that Applejack thought that: the farm was her life. It was just her entire persona: work before play. But now? Would things be different? Would Applejack prioritize her above the farm? She wasn’t sure how she felt about that sentiment.

“But what about you, Sugar? You’ve had to get quite a few little ponies after ya, haven’t you? You were livin’ with royalty and such. There had to be a few dashing nobles that met your eye.” she asked, nudging Twilight lightly with a single hoof.

She laughed, vehemently shaking her head. “Yeah, right, AJ. Growing up, I was entirely too wrapped up in my books to even properly treat my friends. I didn’t think about anything social until I moved here. I haven’t really ever had anypony before.”

“Not a single pony?” she asked, disbelieving.

Twilight shrugged. “Not a single one. I wanted to finish up my studies before I even thought about things like that. I ended up being so distracted that, once I got here, I didn’t know where to start even if I did want to have a special pony. In fact, I’m… kind of scared, to be honest. I don’t know anything about this, AJ. And I just want to do this right… but I don’t know what to expect.”

“You? Scared?” She shook her head at this, “I don’t believe it for a single minute.”

“My whole life, AJ, relationships have been something in novels and works of fiction. I have watched plays where daring princes sweep princesses off of their hooves. I have read books where lowly servants have won the hearts of their masters, and where rich ponies in disguise have secretly gone undercover to make sure their suitors’ feelings are true love. But—nothing I’ve ever read has been real. Does that even make sense?”

Applejack nodding. “I know what yer sayin’, Twilight. The closest I ever came ‘t seein’ true love is from my folks, and… I don’t really remember much of it. They met when my mama went to Manehatten—my papa was visitin’ family, up there. They met at the market, and it was young pony love, as they say. They had a mighty quick fling, and then they decided to get married.”

Married. They got married. For the first time, Twilight had that word cross her mind. The purpose of dating was to find an appropriate spouse, right? That was the only logical conclusion she had. Dating led to marriage—she was dating Applejack, wasn’t she? So she was, in all reality, seeing if Applejack was appropriate to marry. Did—did she want to marry Applejack? She honestly had no idea. She didn’t even know that she liked girls a month ago. To be honest she was still having a hard time wrapping her head around if she did, now. But… marriage. To Applejack. She had a quick mental image of the two of them in white dresses before she quickly mentally shook that out of her mind. That was entirely too far out of left field for her, right now. Instead, she took a step back, jumping back into the conversation.

“Married…” was all that she said aloud. “Do you think your parents would have approved of me?” The follow-up came suddenly, the words escaping before she even thought of them.

Applejack suddenly frowned, her entire countenance falling. “Listen, Twi. I—” she paused again, rethinking her words. “They weren’t exactly…” and another moment of silence: “You gotta realize I was raised on a farm, Twi. My Papa was raised pretty old-fashioned. Both of my folks raised us that some things just ain’t right, and one of those things was marriage between two mares. It’s just kinda how it worked out.”

Twilight didn’t even know what to say. She had just assumed, with Applejack having those feelings about her, that her family would have understood.

“I see… does that bother you, AJ?” she asked, glancing over at Applejack.

The country pony shrugged at that, kicking a rock into the river a few meters away. “I don’t know. I guess I haven’t really thought much about it, yet. I know when I was crushin’ on you, that sometimes I felt that it wasn’t right. I felt like I was kinda lettin’ ‘em down, sometimes. But then I would think that it didn’t matter what my parents woulda thought, so long as I’m happy. I mean don’t get me wrong—they were my folks, and I respect their opinion. But as much as I loved ‘em, I’m my own pony. Does that make sense?”

Twilight nodded, smiling at the words. “I completely understand. I’m sorry about bringing up those bad memories. I didn’t mean to. I just—the question just kinda came out, I guess?”

“It’s fine, Sugar. It’s hard to talk about, but I know that it had to be said, eventually.” Twilight still wasn’t completely convinced by her words, but she decided to let it slide.

Her parents accepted this kind of relationship, so she wasn’t even sure how Applejack must have felt... Her whole life, she had been taught that love was love. That it didn’t matter who the ponies were, so long as they weren’t hurting anyone, their love should be celebrated. After all, if you loved someone, then how could it be a bad thing?

She wasn’t sure if she loved Applejack like that—not yet. But she certainly was coming around to the idea. Marriage… marriage was too far out to think about. But dating? She definitely was all in favor of that.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter 6: The Studies of Friendship

“I don’t know, Twi, I see what you’re sayin’, but like ya said: people are already talkin’. Do ya really wanna risk it? It’ll just get worse, knowing some ponies in this town.”

Twilight shook her head at that. She was trying to convince Applejack to tell their friends about… recent developments. But it seemed that they weren’t quite on the same page. Did she want to blurt out the details of their relationship? Absolutely not. It would be hard, awkward, and really uncomfortable. But this was textbook dating. You declared your relationship to those closest to you, right? She was doing this by the book, and this was the obvious next step.

That is… if she could get Applejack on board. She was confident, however, that it would just take a little bit of persuasion. Maybe a little bit of stern persuasion.

“Applejack, I told you: I want to do this right. I won’t resort to secret meetings or forbidden romance. If we’re going to do this, I want to do it proudly. I want people to know who I’m with, and that I wouldn’t have it any other way. I want people to know that I don’t care what they think, because you make me the happiest pony in Equestria. And if I’m with you, nothing else matters.”

Applejack lowered her head, shaking it in return. “I’m not sayin’ that I ain’t proud, Twilight. I’m more than happy to call you mine. I’m just—” She sighed, kicking her hoof to the floor. “To be honest? I’m worried about Dash.”

Twilight frowned, the prospect finally hitting her square in the face. Rainbow Dash… she wasn’t exactly the most soft-spoken pony. And she had to admit: of all of their friends, she would be the most likely to voice her disapproval, if any of them even did disapprove… She cleared her throat, recovering from being caught off guard. “Well… if Rainbow Dash is our friend—which she is—wouldn’t she at least respect our decision? I mean, she can disagree all she wants—but we’re our own ponies, right?”

Applejack nodded. “I know she should. But what one should, and what one could ain’t the same thing. I just—I don’t wanna lose any of my friends. I know that it shouldn’t bother me, because now that you’re with me, ain’t much, honestly, going to… but I’ve known her ever since I was a youngin’.” She sighed, standing from her seat in the front room of the farm house. “But I’m doin’ this. And if anything is gonna happen, I’d face it a billion times for you, Sweetheart.”

Applejack took a single deep breath and seemed to hold it as she marched, but stopped after only one step toward the door. She turned, the nervousness visible on her face. It seemed that even the fearless Applejack wasn’t quite so confident. “You’ll be right next to me, right?”

Twilight nodded once, a supportive smile accompanying the words: “Of course.”

Twilight knew that people were staring at the couple as they walked together down the street. It seemed all heads were on a swivel as they walked a little closer together than usual. But to be honest, she didn’t even care. After all: the rumors weren’t really wrong, anymore.

They approached their usual Wednesday (and thus, Pet Day) meeting place: the park.

She glanced over at Applejack’s face, and, expecting to see some sort of nervousness, apprehension, or even plain embarrassment, all she found was a look of determination. It seemed that, in the end, Applejack wasn’t going to put up any more of a fight. Instead—she was either devoted to this cause… or was just trying to get it over with. Twilight was quickly learning that the pony was a lot more self-conscious then she first took her for. “Are you okay?” Twilight asked, just to be sure.

Applejack gave a surface-level smile that Twilight could already see cracking at the edges. The country pony nodded as she looked over at her new girlfriend. “I’m fine.” The smile faded away she shook her head. “I’m sorry about being a little stubborn about these things. I just—it’s different. I’ve never had to worry about being different. My whole life, I’ve been the pony that everypony loves. I’ve been dependable… the go-to pony, so to speak. And now I have somethin’ in my life that is going to… let’s face it: get me some enemies. It’s just… weird, having to worry about this kind of stuff. Y’know?”

Twilight paused for a moment, realizing that their challenges maybe weren’t so different, after all. There was certainly the factor of scale, but she wasn’t going to be so petty as to bring that up. Instead, she just smiled, nodding her head: “I completely understand, AJ.”

The rest of the walk was spent in companionable silence, with both of them keeping each other company without saying a single word. Twilight was beginning to think that this was what a relationship was: when you’re in a difficult spot, just being together was enough, on its own. It didn’t matter what you faced; you faced it together.

By this time, the couple had already approached the park. Twilight set a brisk, purposeful pace, but Applejack lagged behind, just a little bit. Her nerves were coming back, Twilight was sure of it. “C’mon, AJ. I promise, it’ll be fine.” The words reached her, but Twilight wasn’t sure how effective they were, as she didn’t even look up when they were spoken.

“Twilight, Applejack!” The two names were shouted in a high-pitched squeal, its owner none other than Pinkie Pie. She jumped up and down at the sight of her two friends.

“How goes it?” Rainbow Dash asked, nonchalantly. She briefly looked up from her newest obsession, a Daring-Do book, simply to acknowledge the two. She paused, her head tilting in confusion. “It kinda isn’t pet day unless you bring your pets, you know.”

Twilight mentally face-hoofed at the realization that they kind of forgot to bring Owlicious and Winona. That… would have been a small detail they should have considered.

“Uh… hey, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash,” Applejack answered, nodding in return to each of them. Twilight realized she didn’t mention the pets. She assumed Applejack had a mental script, and wasn’t deviating from it, no matter what.

“Uh-oh, something is off, isn’t it?” Rarity dead-panned, looking between the two of them.

Fluttershy simply looked between Rarity and the two newcomers, doubtlessly gauging the situation. Twilight met her eyes for a brief moment, with Fluttershy giving an encouraging smile, likely remembering their talk. Twilight knew she knew something. The knowing glint in her eye was a dead giveaway.

“I guess you could say that, but it’s not exactly anything ‘off’…” Applejack started, her voice dropping a little at the end.

“Alright, who did it?” Rainbow Dash asked, setting her book down after the serious tones caught her attention. “Who do I gotta beat up?”

Twilight laughed at the rainbow pony’s antics, shaking her head. “You don’t have to beat anyone up, Rainbow Dash.” She glanced over to see Applejack almost froze in a panic, giving her a small nod and a smile. Twilight desperately wanted to take the reins on this conversation, but she knew that Applejack needed to at least breach the subject. She needed to conquer this. The support gave Applejack the strength she needed, and after a brief smile in return, she simply said it: “Rarity told Twi that people are talking about us datin’. It really made us realize that we needed to be honest. We had to figure out exactly what we were to each other.”

Twilight spoke up, knowing she couldn’t let Applejack tackle the entire conversation. “We sat down, had a really long talk about what brought us to this part of our lives, and where we wanted our relationship to go.”

Applejack stepped in, once more: “We decided that we really do want to be together that way. So—” she took one last glance over at Twilight, but this time, she wasn’t looking so determined or nervous anymore. She just looked relieved, “we’re dating.”

Fluttershy squealed with delight, not able to contain her enthusiasm anymore. “I knew it! I’m so happy for you girls!” The shy pony stopped all of a sudden, clearing her throat as she caught herself. “I—umm—congratulations, you two.”

Pinkie Pie matched her initial enthusiasm, jumping up and rushing over to hug the couple with all of her might. “That’s so great! We need to celebrate! And I know just how… with a party!” she squealed. She was just about to continue on about it before she was interrupted by Rarity: “I don’t want to spoil the moment, because I am happy for you two… But don’t you realize, Twilight: you are a princess. Your personal life isn’t exactly… personal. Have you considered that?”

Rainbow Dash stepped in, giving her own two cents in: “Rarity, why should they care what other people think? Half the people in Ponyville wouldn’t even approve. They obviously realized that, going into this, some people wouldn’t like it, regardless of who Twilight is. But, I gotta say, you two, I definitely didn’t see it coming. Now that you’re together, though, I could definitely see this working out. Congrats!”

Rarity stood there, looking a little upset, but more at herself than her two friends. “You’re right, Rainbow Dash. I truly am happy for you two, I’m sorry for the sour welcoming. I just really care about you both.”

Applejack shook her head. “I know ya do, Rarity. To be honest, I was more worried about Rainbow Dash not liking it, more than anyone else. Y’all are my friends, and what you girls think means more to me than anypony else.”

Rainbow Dash flew in the air above Applejack, feigning offense. “What! Me? Why!”

Twilight laughed, “You have to admit, Rainbow, you aren’t the most soft-spoken pony.”

“Hey,” she began, landing next to Applejack, “I have a philosophy: You’re entitled to your own happiness. If you two being together makes you happy, you’re entitled to that. It doesn’t matter what anypony says—they’ll always find a reason to hate you. If it wasn’t this, it’d be something else. Just prove them wrong by showing them how great you both are.”

Fluttershy tilted her head in thought. “Rainbow Dash—that was beautiful!”

Rainbow Dash smiled a little, trotting over and rubbing Fluttershy’s head with a single hoof. “Hey, just because I’m the most awesomest sports pony doesn’t mean I don’t have a soft side, too.”

Twilight looked over at Applejack while the rest of their friends were harassing Rainbow Dash for her last comment. No matter how long she stared, she could never let go of how lucky she felt at that moment. Applejack was there, amongst all of their friends, and, despite all of the changes in the previous four weeks—specifically since the previous day—everypony seemed really okay with it.

She guessed that this was real friendship. Before, she just kind of took friendship as a group of people who were really kind to her and would help her with a problem if she needed it. But now? It seemed that she understood a whole new kind of magic inside of friendship: accepting people, no matter who they are, and what they believe.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was, in all reality, her first free moment away from Applejack. Twilight couldn’t believe it: one whole week had passed, and despite what she expected, the “newness” hadn’t left. She was afraid that after a while, being with Applejack would just feel “right”, and she would just kind of accept it as part of her life. But surprisingly, the longer she was with Applejack, the more she learned about the country pony, and more she was just captivated by her. Twilight had assumed that after knowing somepony for three years, that she would just know Applejack, inside and out. But she was learning new things every day.

It wasn’t so much the big things. Those, Twilight already knew. She knew that Applejack had a journal she kept, where she wrote to her parents. She knew Applejack had never gone to bed without taking one last walk through the orchard, no matter how tired she was, just to ensure everything was okay. She knew Applejack had the tell where she couldn’t look people in eye if she wasn’t telling the truth. Those were big things that all of her friends knew.

It was the small things that she kept discovering: the way she carefully trod around the fallen apples in the Orchard, so the deer and the fruit bats could have their meal. The way she instinctively wrapped her hooves around whatever was just in front of her whenever she slept. The way she wore her hair down after bathing, and sometimes got so distracted she would forget to put her tie in—it was those moments, those small things that she was always discovering about her girlfriend. And that just made their relationship all the sweeter.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Today—or maybe over the past five weeks—I learned something really important about Friendship. I learned why a relationship—whether with a friend, a family member, or somepony close to you—is something that will last forever: it is because there is so much to learn about each pony, so much that makes that pony so unique, that exploring every facet will take a lifetime.

A friendship can last forever because the more you learn about somepony, the closer you become to them. And the closer you get to somepony, the more you learn. It is this cycle that brings you so close to somepony, that before you know it, you are so close that you couldn’t imagine your life without them.

Maybe, someday, you’ll think you know everything there is about somepony. You think that you’ll have their entire being memorized. But if you look closely; if you listen to the way they speak their words; if you watch how they move when they do their daily routine—you’ll find that there is so much to each one of us, that we will never know somepony more than they know themselves.

Yours Forever,
Twilight Sparkle

She set the quill back into the bottle of ink, re-reading the message she had penned into her letter. This cycle she had created in her mind was something that every pony went through with everypony in their lives. But with Applejack, it just seemed so much more real. She couldn’t explain it, and if she tried, she would probably end up making it sound sappy or foolish, but she knew it was true. It was just another mystery she would unfurl about Applejack. Another blank she would have to fill in.

And that would be the sweetest study into friendship that she had yet to begin.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Author's Note

The sequel (RainbowDashxFluttershy) is lying around here, somewhere. I'll post it when I find (and proofread) it.
Thanks for reading!