Apples Under a Twilight Sky
Twilight Sparkle would look across the library from her desk with a smile over to the foals which mingled about as they packed up their things. They had just finished a successful library trip with their teacher for the day and were raring to be getting on home. While the little fillies and colts all busied themselves, their teacher, Cheerilee, would come over to the librarian's desk with a stack of books upon her back.
"Thank you for the hospitality Twilight, I appreciate you letting us use the library for today. I'd like to borrow these books before we go if you don't mind," Cheerilee hummed with a smile, something Twilight replied in earnest with her own as she levitated the books off of the mare's back and onto her own desk, opening up her catalog and marking the books as borrowed.
"It was all my pleasure Cheerilee, and besides I wouldn't object to foals wanting to read more. Autumn's a slow season for the library anyhow," The unicorn says as she adjusts the glasses on her nose with a hoof before helping the other mare put the books into her saddlebags.
With a polite nod, Cheerilee turns towards her class as another set of smaller hooves pitter-patter across the wooden floor of the library towards Twilight's desk. From behind said desk would come Applebloom, the little filly smiling as she comes over to the librarian's side with a happy skip in her step.
"Twilight!" The filly would say excitedly as she approached, prompting the unicorn to lean down to see eye-to-eye with her, "Are you and Applejack comin' over for dinner tonight? Granny an' Big Mac are gonna be cookin' lotsa food for some cousins that are visitin' from Manehattan. You should come meet them!" The filly says with a lilt in her voice as she hops around excitedly.
"Oh, I'm sorry 'Bloom, but Applejack and I had plans for tonight so we can't come. But, I promise we'll come by first thing tomorrow and join you," While Applebloom was a little sad that Twilight and her sister wouldn't be able to come, but she understood what it meant when the two said they had plans. Despite having a lot of free time after hours, Applejack and Twilight very rarely planned dates together, content to simply relax and lounge at home and enjoy one another's presence that way. So it made it all the more special when the married couple would have plans for the night, and Applebloom knew this especially.
"Ohh! I see! Well, I hope you have fun then," With a smile, the filly would give her sister-in-law a hug before turning back towards her teacher who was doing a final headcount of her students.
Once the mare gathered that everyone was in attendance, she would thank Twilight once more along with the foals in chorus, before heading out and off the library grounds. Twilight would let out a sigh once they had all gone out, before looking at the time. All according to schedule. She had time to put all of the books away, though she could theoretically do it faster, giving her more to prepare for her and Aj's date once the sun set.
Looking out the window, the mare would see orange blanketing the skies over her quaint home of Ponyville as Celestia lowers her sun to prepare for Luna's evening.
Getting up from her seat and stretching out the kinks in her back, Twilight would trot over to the tables Cheerilee's class had used and start taking inventory, making sure every book was accounted for. She would then feel something land on her back and as she turned her head to look, she was greeted by her trusty feathered friend, Owlowiscious, hooting at his owner asking how he may help.
With a smile, Twilight would direct the owl's attention toward the books, and with his help, the two would start reorganizing the messy pile of literature in front of them. In no time at all, the duo would complete their chore, sorting the books by this and that, giving the mare ample time to rush to the upstairs breakroom of the library, pack her telescope, and some binoculars in case they didn't want to move from their spot, her copy of Astronomical Astronomer's Almanac, and finally, a couple of scarves, one for her and one for Aj, in case it gets too cold.
Alright! That should be everything Twilight needs to bring with her. Applejack is gonna be bringing the food as well as the blanket, and if she remembers correctly, she should be just about done with work and on her way to pick her up. Twilight looks at the clock on the wall. 6:00 pm, right on schedule. Now it's time to meet her wife halfway. Floating the telescope case as well as placing her saddlebags on her back, she trotted back down the steps.
"Take care of the library while I'm gone Owlowiscious!" She calls out, earning a hoot of acknowledgment from the bird, before stepping out and locking the door.
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
"Howdy, sugarcube! I was just 'bout to come pick you up." Applejack would smile, picnic basket upon her back before cantering up to Twilight to nuzzle her wife, the latter eagerly reciprocating with a giggle.
"Didn't I tell you to just wait for me at the house? It would have saved you the trouble of walking out here," Twilight would scold with a pout, something which Applejack simply found more adorable than threatening.
"I'm mighty sorry sugarcube but I just couldn't contain myself. I haven't seen you all day and I was just itching to come and see you already," AJ would smirk at Twilight, one the orange mare knows that her wife wouldn't be able to resist. Twilight rolled her eyes playfully before nudging her wife, starting their brisk trot to their special date spot, finding time to nuzzle themselves against one another before they had to lessen the frequency after Applejack almost dropped the basket. The mares were silent the whole way, not due to a lack of topics to discuss, no, in fact, both mares had so much to say, but because they wanted to save all that once they were comfortable lying next to each other. Nothing beats a hearty conversation with the mare you love, warm home-cooked food and cider after all.
The date spot was a quaint, quiet, and out-of-the-way part of the orchard, on top of a hill right under one of the very first trees that Applejack planted on the farm. The section was rich with the Apple family history from the trees themselves to the old wells and shacks they would pass by on the way, not to mention how it's a perfect spot for some quality time together.
They reached the spot a few minutes after the sun had fully set but the moon had yet to rise. With a lit lantern hanging off of one of the tree's low branches providing them light, Applejack would set up the blanket and food, while Twilight, the Telescope. With an excited spring to her step, the unicorn would skip over to her wife after her task was done, helping her set the last of the food and drinks just in time to see the moon, enveloped with the lunar princess' magic, rise over the horizon.
And with the arrival of the celestial body came its natural light, so Twilight reached for the lantern with her magic before swiftly snuffing its flame letting the two mares bask in the moon's glow.
"I missed this…" Twilight says with a deep, content sigh, eyes up at the newly revealed stars starting to twinkle above them. Applejack meanwhile smiles as she puts a foreleg around Twilight and leans her head on the latter.
"Me too, Sugarcube. It has been a while huh? When was the last time we did this? Was it that meteor shower thingamajig?" Applejack reaches for a slice of pie, offering it to Twilight who takes a generous bite before Applejack takes a bite of her own.
"The meteor shower last summer, you mean? That one was a group outing, Honeycrisp, and I meant the last time we did this together, just the two of us. So it doesn't exactly count," Twilight giggles as she looks back down at her marefriend with a smug face.
"I suppose not, no," Applejack laughs back, "We had dates like this quite regularly before we married didn't we?" She takes another bite of her pie, Twilight taking a slice for herself along with pouring two glasses of apple cider. Twilight would nod to her wife's question, offering her the glass of cider whilst taking a drink from her glass.
“Our first date was exactly like this, remember? Stargazing on this exact hill?”
“How could I forget? It was the day I thought to myself that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you by my side.” Applejack smiles, looking at her with half-lidded eyes, making Twilight playfully roll her own, an equally cheeky smile on the unicorn’s lips.
“You're a big sap, you know that?” With a chuckle, Twilight planted a kiss on the other’s cheek, earning a blush from the orange mare.
“Maybe you've been spending too much time with the trees,” Applejack could not stifle her laughter at that.
“Twilight, sugar, that was terrible,” Applejack says, shaking her head with stifled chuckles, to which Twilight replies with laughter of her own.
“Speaking of the trees, how’s applebuck season so far?” Twilight asks as she nuzzles herself into the crook of Applejack’s neck, turning her attention once more to the sky above, keeping her wife’s face in her peripheral as the latter sips on her cider.
“Season’s been fine,” Applejack shrugs in reply, “The biggest problem we’ve had so far’s been Mac’s cart tearin’ itself a new one on the way to the barn. But nothing good ol’ carpentry won’t fix. Applebloom recently started helpin’ with the harvest as well, when she ain’t in school anyway, so in all honesty, we’d pro'lly finish pretty fast. And don’t worry, I’ll be sure to ask you for help, promise. I learned my lesson the season we met if that’s what you were asking.”
Twilight would laugh but nod, trusting Aj’s word. Though she can be a might stubborn she, at the very least, has always been truthful. As her attention fully shifts to the stars up above them, Twilight takes a deep breath before sighing, something Aj acknowledged and asked of, though Twilight simply assures her it’s just due to relaxation.
Feeling the conversation simmer down, Applejack nudges Twilight and points to a part of the sky, asking what those stars are. Truth be told Applejack knows that one, she’s probably asked about the entire sky at this point after so many dates here, and Twilight knows that. Nevertheless, she smiles, takes out her book, and searches, taking an artificially long while to find the page, stopping now and then to compare the pictures in her book with the sky above, a cute pout on her face every time she does it.
“Deneb, of the constellation Cygnus,” Twilight finally says, “Did you know, it’s one of the 58 navigational stars? With Vega and Altair, those ones over there? They form an asterism called the summer triangle, and it’s also the biggest of the three despite Vega appearing brighter.” Applejack smiles and nods, absorbing the information.
She’d heard it many times before, each time with different facts that would be told, yet Applejack always finds herself asking, and Twilight always finds herself answering. Applejack would point a star out, and Twilight would look for it in her book, and no matter how many times they do it, it always takes the same amount of time to find each one. They don’t care that it’s repetitive, all they care about is the fact that they enjoy it. It’s turned into a game almost, of how many times each star would be asked about, and Deneb was at a good 4 times ever since they started this whole thing.
Applejack smiles and pulls the unicorn closer, planting a soft kiss on the latter's temple before pointing towards another patch of sky.
Then another.
And then another.
Twilight, of course, happily obliges. Finding the stars and constellations in her book and spouting some facts about them.
"And what about… That one?" Applejack points one more time to a constellation down near the horizon, and Twilight freezes for a moment.
"That is… Gemini. The twins…" Twilight mumbles off, catching the Earth pony's attention.
"Something the matter, sugarcube?" Aj asks, leaning down to nuzzle Twilight making the latter chuckle a bit.
"Yeah, everything's dandy. I just had a thought resurface." Twilight reassures though Aj stays skeptical, prodding the unicorn for a bit more information. Twilight debates in her mind for a moment, wondering if bringing the topic up right now would be appropriate, however ultimately deciding to just spit it out. With a quick bite of her fritter and a swig of cider to wash it down, Twilight turns to look at Applejack.
"I was just wondering about… us is all. The future and all that. N-nothing bad, mind you, not at all."
"Uh-huh? You can tell me, Sugarcube, take your time."
"This is more embarrassing than it is hard to say really," Twilight nervously chuckles, "But I was thinking… what do you think of having, um, f-foals in the future?" Twilight stutters out with a nervous smile, her wife looking back at her with a blank expression.
"Aj? Honeycrisp? Are you ok?" Twilight asks, looking straight at Applejack's green orbs, who was silent save for her subtle breathing. Then a sudden burst of laughter catches the unicorn off-guard. Applejack smiles before leaning her forehead on the other mare and giving her nose a kiss.
"Sugarcube, I'm an Apple. Family is everythin' to us, and for you to even suggest startin' our own? Why that makes me happier than a hog in a mud bath. So yes, I'd love to start a family with you, Twilight." With a happy squeal, the Unicorn would wrap her forelegs around her wife's neck and hug tight.
"Has this been in your mind for a while, Twi?" Applejack cocks a brow as she pulls away. Twilight gets a sheepish look on her face as she laughs nervously.
"It's… been on my mind since Cadence and BBBFF visited last week. Little Flurry Heart was so adorable and… When I was taking care of her my mind drifted to those thoughts, you know…" Twilight was said occasionally getting cut off by a yawn, something she tried to stifle with a hoof to her mouth. Applejack nods before carefully leaning her wife at a more comfortable angle.
"Sleepy, sugar?" Applejack would nudge the sleepy unicorn, who simply mumbles back in reply.
"Just a few more minutes. I wanna stay here a little longer."
And before either realized it, Twilight had already fallen asleep, with Applejack following soon after.
That night they dreamed of many good things, but most importantly of all, a happy future together.
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
"HAAA-CHOO!"
"Easy now, Twilight. Here, have some soup before you sneeze your lungs inside out."
"I'm ok, I-I'm ok… i-if I had the choice, I wouldn't change last night for the world… I'd get sick a hundred more times if I have to."
"That's sweet of you sugarcube, really. But you sacrificing your health just don't sit right with me. Now here, after your soup, you need to take the cold medicine."
"Right… I'm sorry Aj."
"S'all good, Twilight. Just rest up and get better now alright?"
"O-ok… Thank you Aj, I love you."
"I love you lots as well, sugarcube."
Author's Note
Hi there, Mudsy here! This isn't my first foray into writing fanfiction but it is the first I've ever made for MLP so I hope I did well. This one was paticularly inspired by What Might Have Been by bats which was an amazing fic for my absolute favorite pairing and has been living rent free in my head for the longest time. Thank you for taking the time reading this fic and constructive criticism is always welcome. Cheers!
