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!