A knock on the door. My heart skips a bit. It’s you.
“Howdy, Twi.”
I wasn’t expecting you, but I’m overjoyed by your impromptu visit. So I smile and say hi.
“I hope I’m not interrupting,” you say.
Even if I was on the verge of proving ‘there is no positive integer solution for an + bn = cn with n greater than 2’ I couldn’t care less.
“Don’t worry,” I say. “What can I do for you?”
“Well, I’ve seen something very strange on several of my trees this mornin’, and I’m wondering if they could have gotten an illness or somethin’. Do you have any books on this?”
Of course it’s about your trees. You’ve worked too hard, lately. So hard we’ve barely had time to see each other. It has been more than a week, and you keep declining all of our invitations, from me or our friends.
I know, you said you’d be busy by apples bucking for at least a month, but that doesn’t make it easier.
“Let me think…”
I know perfectly well where the book you need is placed. Third shelf on your left, The Complete Guide to Any Tree Illness. I curse my eidetic memory and my obsession for order. Without them, we would have rummaged through the shelves. We would have talked. We would have spent time together.
I know that, as soon as you have put your hoof on it, you’ll go back to your farm. For how long, it’s anypony guess. I don’t want that. It has been too long since we just sat back and relaxed together.
But I can’t stall any longer. After all, I share my life with the Element of Honesty. You taught me better than that.
“You see the big green book there?” I say, smiling and pointing at the shelf with my hoof. “You should find what you’re looking for in it.” I’m almost hoping you don’t find the answer inside. “If you don’t, feel free to come back, I’d be happy to help.”
“Thank you, Twi, but I should be fine.”
Don’t leave now, you’ve just arrived. Is this really an emergency? You could simply stay a little longer. I would make tea, we would eat some delicious cookies Spike would have prepared, and we’d talk about everything and nothing. We could even invite our friends to join us.
“Do you need anything else?” I ask.
You smile, and warmness fills me. “Nah, I should be fine.”
You put the book in your saddlebag and the saddlebags on your back, and I feel a lump in my throat.
“Thank you again, Twi.”
I would do anything for a friend. “No problem.”
“Have a nice day.”
It could be great if you stayed here. “You too,”
“See you later.”
Later is too long. “See you later.”
You’ve already opened the door and I can’t help myself. “Applejack?”
You turn your head. “Yes, sugarcube?”
I miss you, please don’t go. We all miss you. Don’t leave me now. “G-good luck with your trees.”
You simply smile. “Thank you.” And then you leave, carefully closing the door behind you.