Twilight hurried home, excited to sleep so that she could bring forth the next day. She was genuinely excited at an opportunity to spend time with Applejack, and to relax. A grin painted her face as she walked through the entrance to her library, finding Spike sleeping lazily on the floor. Though there was a small mess of assorted papers and books laying around him in a fort-like fashion, Twilight could not help but ignore it, due to her excitement for tomorrow.

She levitated a book off of Spike's head, then lifted the baby dragon gently off of his makeshift bed of papers and books. She moved quietly up the stairs leading to the room they shared, careful not to disturb the sleeping reptile.

She laid him into his own bed and tossed a blanket over him, grinning at the fact that he was the least bit disturbed by her movement and entrance to the library. She then made her way to her own bed, eager to bring the morning as fast as she could summon it. If she had the power, she would have probably moved the moon and the sun to speed up time.

Once she laid down, however, she found herself too excited to sleep. Instead of using a spell to bring upon her a deep sleep, she lay thinking about why she was excited. She hadn't given it much thought other than the fact that she was relaxing with a friend. Upon deeper inspection, however, she found it was only with Applejack that she felt such joy, and the concept was quite foreign to her. Gripping this thought, she analyzed all of the possibilities out of it that she could.

It became apparent to her all of a sudden that she could have feelings for the mare. Her heart skipped a beat at the possibility, and she began to question her own thoughts. "That can't be right," she told herself quietly, "Applejack doesn't like romance. Or does she? Do I?"

Twilight found herself thinking back to the way Applejack acted around her. She was quick to jump to Dash's teasing, rather than coming up with a witty retort. She almost sounded sheepish as she said it, now that she thought about it. It was the sort of embarrassment she'd expect from herself, rather than from somepony like Applejack. It took something quite powerful to stump the orange earth pony when it came to arguing or back-and-forth teasing.

Twilight could not think of a rational explanation for it, so her thoughts jumped to the next piece of "evidence". What had Granny Smith meant when she said Applejack had been happy to leave the farm? Applejack loved her farm way too much and appreciated hard work to be overjoyed to leave her duties behind for a simple errand, even for the mayor of Ponyville herself. At the mention of such eagerness, Applejack had also looked away, and in every direction but Twilight's.

"Maybe sh-" Twilight began, but a yawn cut her off as she spoke. Judging from the time, she deemed it a better decision to sleep, rather than to stay up worrying about it tonight. She'd inquire about her findings with Applejack tomorrow. After all, how hard could it be to ask her about it?

Twilight found herself waking up quite before dawn. She looked at the clock and found it was four A.M.; an hour that, on any other day, she'd most likely still be sleeping. However, she had an appointment to keep, and refused to stay in bed any longer.

She got out of bed and moved to the mirror quietly, careful still not to disturb Spike. To her surprise, her mane was not at all messy. A few brushes and she was satisfied with the way she looked. A grin on her face, she moved downstairs and opened the door with her magic, closing it quietly behind her as she exited the library.

"He won't even know I was there," Twilight said to herself, chuckling softly. The morning air was cool, but not chilly. She found it to be quite comfortable as she made her way towards Sweet Apple Acres, but noticed that everything looked different. While the colors were not as vibrant as they were when she was with Applejack, - which she still could not explain to herself - she found an odd sort of beauty in the silence of the morning. The birds were flying quietly about, with only a few chirps here and there. The trees shook softly with the rustling of the wind, and crickets chirped periodically in between the night sounds. This was a certain beauty that only Luna could bring to Equestria - the beauty of silence.

She walked through the gates leading to Sweet Apple Acres, and saw Applejack where she said she'd be: near the barn. Her hat was sitting beside her as she looked up at the sky in thought. As Twilight approached, the orange mare looked over to her and smiled. "Heya, Twilight," she said calmly, in a soft-toned voice.

"Hello, Applejack. What're you doing out here so early?" Twilight replied.

"I sit out here from time to time, watchin' the stars. It's about the only time I get to think about anything other than apples and farmin'," Applejack answered.

As Twilight moved closer, she noticed that Applejack's hair was let down, rather than tied up in a knot. It was an odd thing to see as much as it was rare, but Twilight found it to be a good look on the earth pony. "What're you thinking about?" Twilight asked, taking a seat next to Applejack. Slowly, the idea of asking about her feelings for Applejack faded away, and were replaced by the simple joy of simply being there with her friend.

Applejack looked back to the sky in thought, with a considerate look upon her face. "Well, I don't know. Thinkin' 'bout the Festival, of course. Thought about how Apple Bloom's gonna handle things. Knowin' her, she'll bring fireworks to the Festival or somethin'," she said with a slight chuckle. "And, not to sound all mushy or anything," she said after a moment's pause, "but I was thinkin' 'bout you. How you're gonna handle bein' the mayor and all. How I'm gonna help you. That sorta thing, I suppose."

"Oh," Twilight said, slightly taken aback by Applejack's thoughtful nature. She looked towards the sky, towards Orion's belt. The sun was beginning to make it harder to see the stars, but Twilight knew the constellation's location by heart. She could probably find it during the day, if she desired to do so. "Thank you for thinking about me, then. But I'm sure that, with your help, everything is going to be under control."

She smiled at the mare, and Applejack smiled back genuinely. "Thanks, Sugarcube. You seem to have quite a bit of confidence in my abilities, huh?" Applejack asked with a short laugh. "Only because you display them so well!" Twilight complimented. "And, I can't help but feel confident with you around, Applejack. You've got an aura about you," she added sincerely.

Applejack looked away for a second, and Twilight thought she saw a blush. She dismissed the thought, deeming it ridiculous. When Applejack turned to look at her once again, she said, "Thanks, Twilight. I won't let you down. I promise."

Jokingly, Twilight said with a smirk, "Pinkie Promise?" At that, Applejack seemed to lighten up a bit as she let out a hearty laugh.

"Pinkie Promise. For real, this time. I don't know if I could handle that pony's wrath again!"

Twilight returned the laughter, and nodded to Applejack. "So, have any plans for today?" she asked curiously.

Applejack gave her a smile and said, "I've got a few ideas, don't you worry. You need to lighten up, and I'm gonna be the one to make that happen!"

Twilight wasn't sure to feel joy or worry at what Applejack had in store for her, but she knew one thing was for certain; she was going to have quite a wild day off.