I should have thought of this sooner. Really, I feel a bit foolish for never really realizing that I could approach this issue in the same manner as everything else. All my life, whenever I realized my own ignorance of a subject, I always sought the knowledge of those more familiar with the subject matter than myself. I don't know why I didn't realize that I could approach the issue of romance in the same way. I wouldn't want to belittle the contributions of my friends, of course. Their advice has been invaluable in getting me this far. But things have reached a point where I have to kick everything up a notch and consult those who have some real experience in these matters. With help from some ponies who know how to handle these situations, I'll definitely be able to know the right way to tell Applejack about my crush on her.
I hope.
I have done one braver thing
Than all the Worthies did;
And yet a braver thence doth spring,
Which is, to keep that hid.
—The Undertaking,
John Donne
Fluttershy didn't sleep in very often. She took the concept of “early to bed, early to rise” to heart. The sunrise was far too beautiful to miss. She greatly preferred waking to beams of golden light seeping through the curtains, as opposed to waking to the harsh buzz of an alarm clock. Today, she didn't wake to either of those sounds. She slept like a log through the sunrise, as one of Angel's cousins had come down with quite the stomach bug in the middle of the night after eating some bad carrots. She didn't have to sleep through the alarm because she had fallen into bed without bothering to set it. Three hours of tending to a highly feverish bunny with intestinal issues would exhaust anypony, and she had already been through a long day of contending with a half dozen birds suffering from various degrees of premature molting, a bear with a bad back, and several particularly ornery chickens.
This morning, Fluttershy awoke to a loud thud just outside her window. Her first inclination was to go back to sleep, but even though she had only been awake for a matter of seconds, she had the presence of mind to realize that she wasn't tired enough to go back to sleep. She yawned and headed downstairs to find Angel in front of the stove, frying a pan of hash browns. He looked up from his cookery just long enough to point in the direction of the door. Fluttershy peeked out of her front window to see a large cardboard box, slightly compacted and crinkled by its rough landing on her doorstep..
“That's odd. I don't remember ordering anything,” she murmured as she ambled out the door. She checked the address label. Both the name and the address belonged to her. She scratched her head for a moment. May as well see what's inside it, she thought. She gave it a shove towards her door, and immediately gave up hope of getting inside before opening it. The box weighed much more than she would have expected. She sighed, and set about peeling open the mass of packing tape holding the box together.
After ten minutes of tearing at the packing and another five minutes of picking bits of tape out of her mane, the box finally stood open. Satisfied with her victory over the parcel, she flipped the cardboard flaps aside and gazed upon the contents of the parcel. Books. So many books. She lifted one off the top and read the title.
“The Stallion's Handbook, Volume 1: How to Win the Mare of Your Dreams.” She frowned. Why would someone send her such a book? She set it aside and looked at the next one. “How to Introduce Yourself to Mares More Beautiful than You Ever Dreamed No Matter What You Look Like.” She moved on to the next book. “101 Greatest Pickup Lines? Love Confessions for Eggheads? Stallions are from Mars, Mares are from Venus?”
Fluttershy took a step back. She didn't get it. She couldn't imagine that anypony, let alone herself, would ever actually want this particular collection of sordid literature. The box practically oozed a vague sense of smarminess. The mere fact that it sat on her doorstep where anypony walking by could see it made her a bit uneasy. Unfortunately, the only other place she could put it was inside her house, and she wasn't too keen on having those books inside either. Her quandary was interrupted by Angel poking her in the leg. She looked down. He pointed at his chef's hat, and then back at the front door, pantomiming the act of shoving a large amount of food into his mouth.
“Oh, no, Angel. I have to find something to do with this box first. I can't leave it sitting out here.”
Angel glared at the box, hopped onto it, and stuck his head inside. After a long moment he withdrew it and slowly turned to face Fluttershy. His expression remained exactly the same aside from a raised eyebrow.
“Don't look at me like that! I don't know why they're here. They aren't mine. Well, they technically are because my name is on the box, but I didn't order them or anything?”
Angel stroked his chin for a moment, and turned his attention to the shipping label. Almost immediately, he let out an exasperated sigh and gestured for Fluttershy to come closer. She took a step forward.
“What is it, Angel?”
With a single fluid motion, the bunny seized the edge of the packing label, tore it off, and held it up for Fluttershy to inspect. As she gave it a closer look, it became evident that it was not, in fact, a packing label. It was an envelope with a wad of gum squished against the back of it.
“Oh, it's just a letter.” She furrowed her brow. “Who's this for then?”
She examined the real packing label. Between the bits of gum that still stuck to it, she could make out the address that the box was supposed to go to.
“Huh? What on earth would Twilight want with books like this?”
Twilight paced back and forth listlessly, her eyes darting back and forth between the numerous charts and graphs that hung on every available surface, as well as a few surfaces that were already in use but could stand to do double duty. In between the charts, her eyes wandered to the clock. Even taking the idiosyncrasies of the Ponyville Post Office into account, her order should have arrived by now. She intended to implement her plan that afternoon, and if she wanted to move out of the planning stages on schedule and keep the whole projected timeline from getting thrown off. She had tried to make the most of the extra time by tweaking her preparations, but after quintuple-checking everything she was finally starting to think that until she got her materials, the only thing she could do was wait and try to randomize her pacing enough that she wouldn't wear a rut into the floor again.
She jumped out of her meticulously-maintained non-pattern at the sound of gentle knock on the door, amplified by the silence within the library.
“Who is it?” Twilight barked. She cringed at the sound of her voice; her crankiness at not having her package yet was quite evident.
“Um...it's Fluttershy.” The voice barely made it through the door. “If you're busy, I guess I can come back later—”
“No no, it's fine!” Twilight called out. She forced herself to smile and opened the door, just wide enough to poke her head out. “Good morning!” she said, trying to sound happier than she felt. “What brings you here on this fine morning?”
“Um, well, the post office accidentally delivered some of your mail to my cottage,” Fluttershy mumbled. “I thought I should bring it over for you. I'm sorry for opening it; at first I thought it was mine, and-”
“Huh?” Twilight blinked a few times and noticed the cart that sat behind her pegasus friend. More specifically, she noticed the battered-looking box that sat on it. “It's here! It's here!” She bounded past Fluttershy and onto the cart next to the box. “I've been waiting all morning for this!”
“Like I was saying, I'm sorry that I-”
“You can tell me about it inside!” Twilight grinned, this time for real. She clapped her hooves together a few times and lifted the box into the air. “I've been meaning to talk to you about this for a while anyway. Now I don't have to take the time to find you.”
She scurried inside and let the box down with a thump in the middle of the room. Fluttershy followed slowly behind. The pegasi let out a small gasp as she saw the sheer volume of charts that wallpapered the room. Twilight was too busy rooting through her box to notice Fluttershy’s surprise.
“Good, good...” Her head bounced back and forth as she checked each book off of her checklist and levitated them onto the table. “Perfect! They're all here! This is great! I'm so glad they finally got here. I was afraid they weren't going to make it.”
“Um, Twilight?”
“Huh?” The unicorn spun around, as if she had just noticed that Fluttershy was there. “Oh, right, what was it you were saying?”
“Well, the box got dropped off at my house by accident, and I thought it was mine because one of my letters had gotten stuck to the box, so I opened it and looked at some of your books. I hope you don't mind.”
“No, no, that's quite alright. I was going to tell you about all this anyway. It's only fair.”
“What's only fair?”
“Well, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash know already, and I wouldn't want to leave anypony out.”
“Have you told Applejack, then? Or haven’t you gotten around to telling her yet?”
“That's— It's complicated. Let me explain everything first. Why don't you sit down?”
Fluttershy complied, gently pushing a mound of Twilight's checklists to the side to make room next to the table. Twilight cleared her throat.
“About a week ago, I realized that I- well, I have...special feelings for somepony. I didn't quite understand it at first because I'd never had those kinds of feelings before, but I talked to Rarity about it, and once she explained it to me, I couldn't help but notice it. I couldn't get it out of my head.”
“Special feelings?”
“I realized that I had a crush on somepony.” Twilight's tongue felt a bit heavier. After having three other friends in on the secret, she had expected that telling the fourth would be easier. Nope. “I've been freaking out all week trying to figure out what to do. You could probably figure out who it is just by watching me.”
“Really?” Fluttershy cocked her head to the side. “I never really noticed anything.”
“You didn't?” Twilight suppressed a sigh. She had hoped that Fluttershy would have picked up on it on her own, sparing her the effort of having to explain all the details. “Are you sure? I mean, if you had to guess who I had a crush on, who would you say?”
“Um...Cheerilee?”
“Cheerilee? No! Why would you say that?”
“Well, you both read a lot, and she comes by the library a lot, and since you're always studying and she's a teacher...”
“That's because she's always getting books to use at the school. She has me order them for her because I get a discount.” Twilight rubbed her forehead with a hoof. Fluttershy's logic wasn't entirely erroneous, but she still seemed to have totally missed the numerous cues from the past week. “Why don't you try again?”
“Hmmm.” Fluttershy thought for a moment. “Is it Big Macintosh? A lot of the single mares in town seem to like him. That's what I heard, at least.”
“No, not him either.” Close but not quite, Twilight thought.
“Can I have one more guess?”
“Sure.” Twilight bit her lip, hoping this time Fluttershy would get it. She had underestimated how tough it would be to force herself to explain it again when she didn't have any other motivation outside of a vague sense of duty towards her friends.
“It-it isn't me, is it?”
“What!? No! Of course not!” Twilight blurted before Fluttershy had finished speaking. Just as immediately, she realized that her reaction had been a bit too strong. She clamped her mouth shut, but the words were already out. “I mean, not that I don't like you or anything! Just, you know, not like that.” She began to chuckle awkwardly and to her great relief, Fluttershy began to laugh along with her. Unfortunately, the distraction only lasted about a minute, and the laughter trailed off. Twilight silently cursed Fluttershy's ability to stay on topic.
“So...who is it? If you don't mind telling me, I mean.”
The question made Twilight cringe, and Fluttershy's sensitive disclaimer did nothing to calm her nerves. The universe had dropped the opportunity to explain things right in her lap, and she was frustrated at herself for trying to disregard it. She couldn't, in good conscience, keep this from her friend.
“It's-it's Applejack.” Her tongue bumbled the name a bit as it came out of her mouth, but it still hung clearly in the air.”
“Oh.” Fluttershy's eyes widened.
“I know, I know, it doesn't make much sense because we don't have much in common. I don't really get it either.”
“Actually, I think I can see that.”
“I know, right. Out of all the ponies in town, you'd think- wait, what?”
“I can see why you might like her. I mean, you both work really hard, and you're both really dedicated to what it is you do.”
“That's not saying much. Rarity is dedicated to her shop, Rainbow Dash is dedicated to training, and Pinkie is dedicated to throwing parties. You're dedicated to taking care of your animals, and I didn't get a crush on you!”
“Well, that's true, but I think you two both have quite a bit in common.”
“Like what?”
“Um...uh...neither of you care much about your personal appearance?”
“See what I mean?” Twilight grumbled. “At first I thought that if it was going to be that random it might just go away, so I tried to just ignore it until things just went back to normal, but something made me realize that it wasn't going to happen and I needed to do something about it.”
“What was that?”
Twilight wanted to smack herself upside the head. She hadn't intended to bring that up, and now she had walked right into it. Still, no sense in dancing around it. “I had a dream about her.”
“Oh my.”
“Yeah, that's what Rarity said. It really sort of scared me. I had never had a dream like that before, let alone about one of my friends.”
“Me neither.” Fluttershy stared at her hooves. Twilight ignored the lack of eye contact.
“After that, I realized I had to do something about it. And at first, I had no idea how to go about it, but then I realized the obvious solution.”
“What's that?”
“Books, of course!” Twilight beamed as she pointed a hoof at the stack of newly ordered tomes on the table. “If I don't know how to tell Applejack how I feel, I need to learn how! And what better way to learn than from studying up on it?”
“Well, you could just talk to somepony who-”
“This is going to be perfect!” Twilight rubbed her hooves together in excitement. She had spent days prepping for this, and the prospect of getting things underway made her giddy. “I can't wait to get started!”
“What exactly are you going to do?” Fluttershy scratched her head as she eyed the books. “Are you just going to read them before you tell her about your crush?”
“No no no, it's far more complex than that. See, my plan is carefully crafted to achieve optimal results. I need to ensure that my chances of getting a favorable response from Applejack are at maximum when I finally tell her. If they aren't-” Twilight shivered and her eyes crossed for a moment. She didn't like to think about that. “Well, the whole point of this plan is to keep that from happening. I've thoroughly analyzed most of my conversations with Applejack over the past week, and I'm quite sure that I've isolated most of the trends in our interactions. Using this information, I can normalize our conversation and eliminate most of the awkwardness.”
“That...sounds like quite a plan.”
“Using these books, I'll know how to make her more positively disposed towards me so when I finally confess to her she'll be more likely to be happy about it. It might take some time, but I'll do anything to make this work out.”
“Um, that's certainly an interesting way of going about things...”
“I know, I know! It's going to be tough, but I know with all of you helping me out, I think I'll be able to do it. Thank you so much for bringing the books by.” She smiled and patted Fluttershy's head. As subtly as she could manage, she leaned into the pegasus, gently prodding her towards the door. “I'd love to have you hang around and talk a bit, but I should really start reading these. I'll talk to you later, okay?”
“Okay...” Fluttershy murmured, as she found herself on the doorstep.
“Well, I'll see you around then! Thanks again for bringing the books over.” Twilight disappeared into the library, the door clapping shut behind her with a bang.
“I still can't believe that you told Rainbow Dash about Twilight's crush! I thought you promised that you'd keep it quiet!” Pinkie bounced along behind Rarity, who proceeded forward at a pace between a walk and a trot. She had an urge to burst into a full gallop, but she knew that it would be futile. If she had to listen to Pinkie's rambling, she might as well not exhaust herself beforehand in a fruitless attempt to avoid it.
“I mean, Rainbow Dash was all like 'so what was that about' and you were like 'Twilight has a crush on Applejack' and I was like—” Pinkie gasped so loudly that she forced herself into the air for a few seconds. “—because I totally couldn't believe that you would just tell her like that! I don't even know what to think now because you might go and tell everypony about how many corn cakes I ate, or how I broke Mrs. Cake's curling iron, or how Legacy of Nightmare Moon is my favorite Daring Do book! It's a good thing that it was just a regular old promise and not a Pinkie Promise, because if it was a Pinkie Promise I'd have to—”
“Pinkie, please!” Rarity stomped the ground in frustration. “First of all, everypony already knows about the corn cakes. Second, Legacy of Nightmare Moon is drivel. Third, I didn't actually break my promise in any case. It was plainly obvious that Rainbow Dash already knew about Twilight's feelings. All I did was explain the circumstances. Would you rather have let her horribly misinterpret the situation?”
“Nooooo....” Pinkie stopped bouncing long enough to mull the thought over. “That would probably have been bad. Really bad.”
“Indeed it would have been.” Rarity nodded sagely. “In fact, I feel compelled to point out that it was Rainbow Dash's little discussion with Twilight that resulted in Twilight's decision to take action. I'm sure that you must appreciate that, what with how enthusiastic you were about getting them to get together.”
“Well, yeah. They'd be great together!” Pinkie resumed her bouncing, and Rarity resumed her slow trot. “Do you think Applejack would let Twilight would wear her hat? How adorable would that be?”
“It would be absolutely precious.” Rarity rolled her eyes, but her mind was filled with an image of Applejack playfully ruffling Twilight's mane before draping the hat over her head. Pinkie had a point.
“If they get hitched, are you going to do the wedding dresses? Wouldn't that be fun? Ooh ooh! Maybe I'll get to bake the wedding cake for them! Fluttershy can do the music and Rainbow Dash can do... something. We'll work on that. We've got plenty of time to plan for it.”
“I think you're getting a bit ahead of yourself. Twilight hasn't even gotten around to even telling Applejack yet. Even supposing that Applejack reciprocates, it could still quite a while before they're even close to that point.” She blinked. The mental image of hat-sharing had already been replaced with potential wedding dress designs. Applejack needed something sweeping and dramatic; Twilight needed something more smooth and subtle. “Although I have to admit, if things do get to that point, I would certainly be willing to step in and take care of it. Free of charge, of course.”
“Just admit it, you totally want them to get together.”
“I will admit to nothing other than hoping that they'll both be happy with whatever happens. Now I must kindly ask that you stop pestering me about it. I'm starting to get a headache, and if we keep discussing this, we will only end up inadvertently letting somepony else in on the secret. You don't want that, do you?”
“Of course not! I promised Twilight that I wouldn't tell anypony about her crush on Applejack! I even did the whole house building thing. But come on, there isn't even anypony around to hear us anyway.”
“What about her?” Rarity thrust a hoof at Fluttershy. The unicorn's face immediately paled. She could have sworn that the street had been empty a few seconds earlier.
“Aw, I should have known that was going to happen.” Pinkie said, putting a hoof to her face.
“Um, are you two talking about Twilight?”
“Of course not!” Rarity's eyes bounced in every conceivable direction except towards Fluttershy.
“It's alright, she already told me about Applejack.”
“Oh.” Rarity sighed in relief. “So she talked to you about it already?”
“Yes. I stopped by the library this morning to drop off her books. They were accidentally delivered to my cottage.”
“Don't you think Twilight and Applejack would be adorable together!?” Pinkie shoved her face between Rarity and Fluttershy. “Just imagine Twilight wearing Applejack's hat!”
“I...I'm not sure. I guess it would be sort of cute...”
Rarity groaned and shoved Pinkie to the side. “Ignore her, dear. She's a little bit too gung-ho about this whole thing. I trust Twilight explained her plan to you?”
Fluttershy nodded slowly.
“I personally think she's overdoing it a bit, but I suppose it's her choice to pursue things however she chooses.”
“Yes, I'm not sure that I like her plan...” Fluttershy murmured, staring at the ground by Rarity's hooves. “I think maybe she should take things a bit slower.”
“Normally I'd agree with you, but she's been dragging her hooves all week.” Rarity flicked her mane with a hoof. “I might not approve of the method, but at least she's actually making some effort to address the issue.”
“Oh, I see.” Fluttershy nodded. “You're right, I guess. It's just a little strange to think of Twilight feeling that way about somepony.”
“I know, right?” Pinkie bounced up and landed next to Fluttershy, throwing a foreleg around her shoulders. “When she told me about it it totally knocked my socks off! Well, it would have if I had been wearing socks. You can't wear socks when you bake. It gets fuzz in the frosting and then you have to clean the socks.”
“Um, I should probably get going.” Fluttershy slid out from under Pinkie's grip. “Angel gets a bit cranky if he doesn't get fed, and I'm already a bit late. I'll see you later.”
“Goodbye then!” Rarity waved at the pegasus as she trotted away down the street. “She took the news surprisingly well.” she said to no one in particular.
“Of course she did!” Pinkie giggled. “She's probably just so happy about it that she doesn't know how to express it. I'll go get my party cannon.” She started to bounce away.
“That won't be necessary.” Rarity halted Pinkie mid-bounce, grabbing her tail with her telekinesis. “Let's leave her alone for now. She just needs some time to think everything over..”
Fluttershy's cart squeaked as she parked it in its usual space behind her cottage. As if on cue, Angel hopped out of the window and began to unhook the harness. Fluttershy slid out of it and walked slowly into the house. With a sigh she flopped onto her sofa. Every part of her body felt unnaturally heavy, especially her head.
Twilight has a crush on Applejack, Fluttershy thought. How odd. Why Applejack, I wonder. I know I said that they do have some stuff in common, but Twilight is kind of right. They really are pretty different. I wonder why Twilight would like her so much more than any other pony. Maybe it means that Twilight likes Applejack more that she likes me. She was certainly very adamant that she didn't have feelings for me. Maybe I did something wrong. No, I shouldn't think about it like that. She just likes Applejack more. I guess that makes sense. Applejack is so much stronger and more reliable than I am, after all. But what about everypony else? Why wouldn't she like Rainbow Dash or Rarity like that? What is it about Applejack that makes Twilight like her so much more...?
Angel hopped into the room, dragging a bit of harness in need of repair behind him. He rolled his eyes. Apparently Fluttershy's late wakeup hadn't been late enough. She was already asleep, snoring softly in an almost musical way. Angel sighed. He was going to have to get his own lunch.
Applejack trotted down the street, her saddlebags sagging under the weight of her purchases. Should've gone and checked on her before I picked up the stuff for dinner, she thought. She turned down a side street that lead her away from the marketplace and towards the library. For the past week, Twilight had only gotten more and more high-strung, as if some invisible force was constantly winding her tighter and tighter. Then two days ago, the unicorn had vanished altogether. Applejack has asked around, but only received the standard “I'm not sure; come to think of it I haven't seen her” response. The only exceptions were her immediate circle of friends and they were, if anything, even less helpful. Rarity waved it off with some comment about Twilight being “busy with some things”, Rainbow Dash had tried to change the subject and discuss her new training routine, and Pinkie had just started giggling uncontrollably. It was time for Applejack to take the matter into her own hooves.
As she approached the library door, she noted the hastily scribbled noted pinned to it.
“Studying in progress. Please do not disturb except in case of emergencies.”
Applejack sighed. Sure, it was hardly the first time that Twilight had sequestered herself in the library to work on something, but the signs weren't good. If Pinkie was to be believed, the last time Twilight had locked herself in the library overnight, the next day had seen her travel to Canterlot to break into the library's restricted wing with the intent of casting a powerful time manipulation spell. Granted, Pinkie being Pinkie, it was likely an exaggeration (especially the bit about the guard simply letting Twilight in after catching her), but there had to be a grain of truth in there someplace. Who knew what Twilight was plotting in that tree of hers? She knocked on the door. The upper half swung open, revealing the top of Spike's head.
“Good morning, Applejack.”
“Hey, Spike.” She arched her neck over the bottom section of the door so she could make eye contact with the dragon. “Is Twilight around? I've been meanin' to talk to her.”
“Well, she is, but she's sleeping now.”
“What's she doin' sleepin'? It's the middle of the day.”
“She was up all last night working on something. Lots of charts and graphs and stuff. I'm not quite sure what all that was for.”
“I see.” She narrowed her eyes. “Do you know when she'll be awake?”
“I have no idea,” Spike said with a shrug. “I gave up trying to keep track of her sleep schedule a long time ago. She'll probably be back to normal tomorrow. Well, as normal as Twilight gets, anyway.”
“So I guess I'm not gonna be able to see her now?”
“Nope, she told me not to let anypony bother her. Although if you're looking for a book, I can give you some recommendations. I just finished reorganizing the cooking section. We have a copy of The Apple Lover's Cookbook, if you want it.”
“Nah, that's okay. Already got a couple. One of my cousins wrote the thing, after all.”
“Oh, right. Well, can I find anything else for you?”
“No thanks. I'll just drop by later and see if Twilight is up.”
“Alright, see you later then. I gotta get back to cleaning anyway. Bye.” The door closed with a click. Applejack shook her head. Half of her wanted to buck the door down and barge into Twilight's room anyway. The other half, the part with common sense, stopped her. Twilight would come around sooner or later. She forced herself to turn away from the door, only to find Rainbow Dash barreling towards her at a far greater speed than any pegasus had any business going at ground level. “Whoa!”
“Sorry about that, AJ!” Rainbow Dash planted her hooves in the dirt and ground to a halt, leaving a gouge in the dirt behind her. “Just dropping by to pick up the next Daring Do book. I just finished Temple of Nightmare Moon.”
“You still shouldn't fly through the streets like that. You'll run somepony over.”
“But it ended on a cliffhanger!”
“That still doesn't mean that you get to do that. Why don't you just fly a little higher or- oh, it doesn't really matter.”
“Yeah, if I fly higher I'll probably bust a hole in somepony's roof or something.”
“I woulda thought that there's more stuff for you to crash into down here, but whatever.” She took a step back, putting herself in front of the library door. “While you're here, you got a minute? I got a question for you.”
“Sure, just make it quick.” Rainbow Dash hovered back and forth as if looking for a way around her friend. Applejack shuffled across the doorstep to match her. “I want to find out if Daring Do stopped the ritual in time.”
“You sure you don't have any idea what's goin' on with Twilight? She's been acting weird all week and now she's hidin' in the library.”
“Uh...nope. Just her regular studying stuff.” She pointed at the note on the library door. “See? Studying. She does that stuff all the time. Oh, that reminds me, yesterday I came up with this idea for an awesome new move, but I need to get some serious speed up for it, so if we hooked up a big slingshot—”
“Oh, no. I ain't doin' this again.” AJ stomped her hoof. “Every time I try to ask you about Twilight you go and start talkin' about your giant slingshot idea. I just want to figure out what's goin' on with Twilight. You obviously know something about what's going on that I don't, so stop trying to hide it.”
“Sorry, I can't say. Even if I wanted to tell you, Pinkie would sneak into my house and fill my bed with taffy or something. Oh, and don't tell her that I mentioned that, okay? You know how she is with the whole ‘secret’ thing.”
“Just what is it that has Twilight so worked up that she can tell you and Pinkie about it, but can't tell me?”
“Uh,I just said I can't tell you.” Rainbow Dash patted Applejack's head, knocking her hat askew. “If it makes you feel any better, I just sort of stumbled into it by accident. Don't worry, though, Twilight is working things out. I'm pretty sure that you'll be able to talk to her tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow, huh? You sure?” Applejack shoved her hat back into position. Rainbow Dash was still hiding... pretty much everything, but at least now she was upfront about it. “'Cause I'm starting to get a little worried about her.”
“Well, don't.” Rainbow Dash suppressed a chuckle. “I think everything's going to be fine.”
“Fine. If you say so.”
“Well, I do say so, so there.” Rainbow Dash took to the air again. “Anyway, you got time to help me set up that slingshot?”
“I guess I might as well. It's Big Macintosh's turn to make dinner.” She nodded at her bulging saddlebags. “I just gotta run this stuff back to the farm first.”
“Okay, I'm gonna pick up my book and then I'll meet you out in the training field. See you later.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Applejack stepped away from the door. For a moment, she briefly considered rushing into the library when Spike answered Rainbow Dash's knocking, but she dismissed the idea. She could wait one more day. Even Rainbow Dash deserved that much credit.
Whoo, Chapter 4 is out. It's not quite as polished as I had hoped, and I learned the hard way that Fluttershy is really tough to work into some scenes when she's being her usual demure self. Still, I think I accomplished what I was hoping to. This is "part 1" because I had initially intended it to be one giant chapter, but it stretched out more than I expected and I decided to split it.
FASTER DANGIT
Maybe I've been wearing my shipping goggles for too long, but Pinkie and Rarity are being absolutely adorable right now...
Great chapter!
This is getting interesting.... And hilarious.
Hmmm. A far different take from the other chapters. A considerable lack of Twilight, which is kinda welcome after how much she dominated the other chapters. The rest of the girls have their parts to play, and at last we see them.
More grammatically polished than the last chapter was. I think I saw maybe three things, but they were so minor I don't even remember, so they must not have been worth mentioning.
Glad to see you brought up the whole 'Rarity broke a promise/secret' issue, and I definitely enjoyed how Fluttershy ends up worrying too much about whether or not Twilight doesn't like her even in a non-romantic way. The package mix-up confused me a bit. Not sure if I made the right connections, but you're implying that some sort of bubblegum accident got a letter that was addressed to Fluttershy stuck to the package, and a post office mix-up got the whole package sent to her as a result, right? I think that's what you meant, but it's a bit cloudy how things played out there.
Twilight remains on-point with her canon. Of course, she's learning, her friends have taught her a lot, but she's still set in her ways. She at last accepts the concept of her crush, but books, books, books. They've never steered her wrong.
And for the sake of humor, I imagine Twilight looking at the pickup line book and thinking the best one is 'If you were lines on a page, you'd be fiiiiiine print'
Can't wait for the rest of this arc. Not sure yet how splitting will affect it, but it appears to have broken at a good point. Good luck!
I had to look up what drivel meant.
It is likely to be the general concensus that we need more at an accelerated rate. I happen to one who agrees with this notion. In terms of the Internet, "moar plz".
1189729 Yeah, the idea was that Fluttershy's letter got accidentally stuck over the actual address, so the mailpony () dropped it off at her house instead of Twilight's. I probably thought it was obvious because stuff like this happens to me all the time at work (we get the mail from the school down at the street at least a couple times a month), but I suppose I should clarify it a bit.
I'm also glad to hear that the split worked out alright. I really did want to steer the story away from Twilight and focus on her friends' reactions a bit more, especially as the first three chapters are all variations on "Twilight freaks out and her friends calm her down ", so it's nice that the change of pace turned out good. Still wish there was a bit more AJ, but next chapter....
1189762 Glad to have expanded your vocabulary.
1189763 Believe me, I wish I could write it faster, because there's a lot of stuff I want to do with it. Unfortunately, the combo of work/school slows the process a bit, and I don't want to rush it, especially if it'll compromise the quality of the story.
1189782
Well yeah, we all want more AJ of course, but the roles the rest of the girls played make up for that. All we need to know at this point is AJ is in the dark, and she knows it, and she isn't happy about it. We don't need to know yet if she has feelings or such, as that doesn't matter until Twi decides to lay her cards (books?) on the table.
743518 But not "you will love God with all your heart and follow the bible word for word, and if you don't, you'll feel a thousand burning tortures in the deepest pits of hell" Christian. I think that kind of show warps kids into robots. No I'm not Aethiest, I am religion-neutral.
969251 HOT DAMN! I'm not much of an AJ fan but... DAMN,
GIRLMARE!Bonus points for the Donne quote, which has long been among my favorites for reasons I'd just as soon not get into.
Ahh crazy Twilight. The best Twilight.
1189606
Oooh, maybe Pinkie will let Rarity wear Gummy like a hat!
Though really, I think the story's the sort that creates thicker shipping goggles. For example, I'm wondering if Fluttershy's about to realize that *she* has a crush on *Twilight*, creating a central love triangle....
1190103
Dash, AJ, and Twi.
'Nuff said.
Fluttershy is a demon.
1190103 The drama would certainly be something else...
I can't stop thinking about cupcakes of +5 fabulosity. They would go so well with chapeau ala Gummy
mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw1126_my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-brony-im-with-twilight-on-this-one.gif
DIS GUD. U MAEK MOAR.
I don't know why, but I'm detecting a love triangle between
Did you mean earth pony?
Twilight has a crush on Applejack [internal monologue...]
I really love the characterization of Fluttershy you show here, you nailed it . She's a very clear introvert, in the sense that when something happens, she can't just let it be, she has to think about it until she can slot it into a place in her worldview.
Contrast with say Twilight, who seems pretty extraverted in many ways -- being driven more by curiousity than a compulsion to be able to make sense of each thing that comes up, willing to act before she's thought things through much, prefers to look outside herself for solutions, relies on rules excessively -- even though she's commonly described as introverted. I'm coming to believe that most people are so clueless about introversion and extraversion that they'll call someone introverted simply because they are socially awkward or isolated.
It looks like you're writing AJ as a fairly strong extravert (Twi < AJ < RD), which seems the clear characterization shown in the show,, so that's cool. I think Rarity's an introvert, with the remaining two of the Mane Six being extraverts (Pinkie and RD), which would put it at, by my analysis, a 2:4 ratio.
Which is interesting.from a story design perspective -- I guess you have extraverted behaviour to make stuff happen, and introverted behaviour to discuss what stuff means. That would jive with MLPFiM being actiony but not super-actiony.
Moar!!!!!!!
Really enjoying this! Good work!
I need to clean off my shipping goggles because based on Teeth's stated purpose with this story, I don't think he/she intended to imply a triangle with Fluttershy, but I'll be darned if that wasn't going through my head as I was reading this chapter. Fluttershy's internal monologue near the end helped dispel it a little for me, but it would appear I'm not the only one interpreting her behavior as unrequited feelings for Twilight.
Like I said, I don't think that's where this is headed, I just read more shipping stories than I ought to and am now picking up on hints that probably aren't actually there.
Rejoice foolish mortal, for thy piece of literature has caught the attention of this one!
I bequeath to you several stylish renditions of facial hair!
Yes! a new chapter at last
I was getting one-sided FlutterTwi vibes, too. Which... would be very sad. There are few things more manly tear-inducing than a heartbroken Fluttershy.
As for Twilight's plan: Pickup line books. Yeah, that'll work real well. But such naive stupidity is a big part of the Best Pony's appeal; hopefully Applejack will agree.
1191859 I was getting that feeling too
Twilight with AJ's hat would be adorable.
Advice books? Oh Twilight those things are about as helpful as a square wheel.
I dunno if I was getting the same TwiShy vibes others seem to be getting, but I did notice that Fluttershy's inner monologue seems to be going to the exact same place Twilight was trying to avoid in the first place. She didn't want her friends thinking she liked one of them more than another. And now Fluttershy is thinking that that might be precisely the case.
1190103Don't even say that, really
t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQEjeHGCNh0pkd08momVxS3sHYAIdaQrfJmt3Bm8EXkyUI5UmKZ
I. HATE. LOVE. TRIANGLES.
Hmm, so pinkie is a natural Shipper...
fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/150/c/9/pinkamena_clop_by_mihaaaa-d3hmryl.gif
I'm liking this idea
I love how gung ho Pinkie is about AJ´s hat on Twi´s head. XDDD
And i sense delicious Twishy coming, the best kind: In a love triangle. <3
Shy is the only friend of Twi who had a whole other reaction than Rarity, Pinkie and Dash. Those didn´t think that this would mean Twi likes them less or anything. Also it´s quite interesting how Fluttershy said her name as third option, for me it shows that she thinks she would, after Cherliee and Big Mac, fit to Twi the best as love interest. Same for her thoughts when she wonders why Twi likes AJ so much for whatever reason. Or how her body and head is so heavy after hearing it and needed to lay down or how quickly she left the conversation with Pinkie/Rarity who adores the AjxTwi idea and etc.
That all just screams for delicious Twi being oblivious to another pony´s feelings for her as well as their 3 friends Dash, Pinkie and Rarity caught between the camps Twishy and Twijack once they realizes why Shy isn´t so enthusastic about getting Twi and AJ together as they are.
This could become very interesting indeed~
1236497
Glad to hear that you enjoy it so far. I'm glad to know that other people appreciate my obsession with sticking really closely to canon characterization.
I look forward to hearing what you think of future chapters.
scranton.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw2328-Twilight_Sparkle_TACOS.gif
Taco Sparkle demands more.
yes!
Im really Love this story of yours!
totally awesome!
I will comment properly after I read it =)
You know, the nice thing about falling so far behind in reading updates that you have over 100 unread chapters piled up is that by the time you do get around to reading the latest chapter of a story you like, you've saved yourself weeks of waiting for the next chapter. ...I think that sorta made sense somehow or other anyway. But yeah, I haven't commented on this story yet, but I like how it's going so far.
1190781 "Extroversion - the directing of one's interest outwards, esp towards social contacts." Twilight is debatable, but spending a large chunk of her life ignoring socialization in favor of gaining personal knowledge makes a pretty good case for calling her largely introverted. Rarity, though, is an introvert about as much as Pinkie Pie. Those two are the most social of the group, and Rarity is all about interacting with the world around her. Just look at her thirst for gossip or the way she's always trying to beautify everything and move her way up the social ladder. That definition I quoted practically describes everything Rarity does.
1306108
The deciding factor would be -why- she spent the time gaining that knowledge. An introvert would do so in order to live up to their own standards (ie. 'I have to know about all these things in order to not lose control of myself'). An extrovert would do so in order to impress people or gain approval from someone they like (ie. 'I have to know about all these things in order to not be rejected'). Which of those prepositions Twilight ascribes to most is not clear from the show; especially her relationship to Princess Celestia complicates the issue of determining that.
1306108 1310442 For my part, at least, I'm working off the premise that Twilight is on the introverted end of the spectrum. The only pony she really spends any time trying to impress is Princess Celestia, and even that seems to be in the context of Celestia being her teacher. Outside of that, Twilight never really shows any interest in trying to impress anypony with her studies. In fact, during the show, there are a couple good indications that she actually holds herself to higher standards than Celestia does. She might have extravert tendencies in her relationship with Celestia, but she doesn't have those tendencies in regard to anyone else. She certainly develops a bit more extraversion in that direction over the course of the show, but I think it's an uphill battle for her.
That, and I think there's more to the whole introvert/extrovert personality than just why she does the research. The classic sense of introversion vs extraversion is that an introvert tends to focus a lot on reflection and self-analysis, whereas extraverts tend to thrive on interaction. Twilight is definitely more prone to self-analysis; one of the main things she needs to overcome in the story is that she horribly overthinks everything and wastes time trying to quantify her feelings rather than taking any kind of action. If she was an extravert she'd probably have just up and told Applejack about how she felt rather than trying to suppress the issue while she analyzes it.
Or at least that's how I'm handling it.
1310680
"She might have extravert tendencies in her relationship with Celestia, but she doesn't have those tendencies in regard to anyone else. She certainly develops a bit more extraversion in that direction over the course of the show, but I think it's an uphill battle for her.
"
Good point about Celestia's special status. I think it's more accurate to speak about developing extroverted 'skills' -- well, I find it extremely silly when people say 'I used to be an introvert but I'm not any more'. NO U . (AFAIK introversion/extroversion is rooted in brain chemistry, differing levels of tolerance to stimuli. Introverts tending to feel overstimulated(in danger of losing control), extroverts tending to feel understimulated (disconnected). Not something that tends to change short of brain surgery )
"That, and I think there's more to the whole introvert/extrovert personality than just why she does the research."
Well, then, we disagree on that -- I think it's pretty hard for there to be MORE to it. IMO that's what all those other ideas, representations, misrepresentations and stereotypes come from : what it is that most terrifies a person. Which of (being alone, being out of control) is their most profound fear. Which proposition they would say 'If that were to happen, I'd no longer be a person, just something that had completely fallen apart.' to.
What you've described -- "an introvert tends to focus a lot on reflection and self-analysis, whereas extraverts tend to thrive on interaction", is a very true description about how those things tend to pan out when you look at the surface levels.
The problem arises when, well, people don't fulfill their own values -- say you're an extremely paranoid extravert, chances are good that you don't interact with people much; you're lonely and desperately want to, but you just don't trust them enough to. (or you believe that others don't want you around, so you preemptively reject them. Twilight's behaviour in this area could be cast in that light - someone whose primary enjoyment is in books and research because she's mostly given up on enjoying people.) Such a person from a surface examination might be thought to be an introvert. But that doesn't make them better at reflection and self-awareness, it just means they're badly adjusted.
There are also introverts who do a lot of social interaction -- it may be part of their job or a personal challenge they've set themselves. From a surface examination, these people could easily look more extroverted than the aforementioned paranoid extraverts, but again, they likely don't have the joie de vivre, urge to be doing things, or unending interest in people that comes pretty naturally to extraverts.
I would like to point out that 'suppression' is a excellent introvert keyword (under stress, introverts suppress, extroverts express, as a general rule.) so with that insight I would have to agree that your Twilight Sparkle is definitely an introvert.
And you've somewhat convinced me about the canon Twilight Sparkle.
I particularly agree with this:
I agree with the general idea that extroverts -do- badly (incompetently or excessively) under stress, while introverts -think- badly under stress (ie. each temperament's particular strength gets distorted into a weakness). An extrovert wouldn't have necessarily succeeded at telling, but they would certainly try.
1191859>>1193277
Yeah, picking up on the same signals, but what really got me thinking was Rarity's comment about how Fluttershy "took the news well" that Twilight had a crush on Applejack.
Hm...What does Rarity know?
I'm really enjoying this story. I neglected reading it for the longest time, but now I can't seem to stop...oh boy, this always happens to me. WHY Taking a break for now, but reading the rest later!
1189506
One thing that I noticed, and that you seriously lack, is Applejack's accent.
You write her speech as completely normal, when, in fact, she speaks with a heavy accent.
I think it would bring Aj much more into character if you did that.
“Do you think Applejack would let Twilight would wear her hat?
you got an extra "would" in there
Well, looks like I jumped the gun on the whole Fluttershy not involved thing.
The most important question MUST be answered! Will Applejack let Twilight wear her hat!?
mmmm it could only be me, but why do i get the feeling that Fluttershy has a crush on Twilight?
awesome story
1603627 Honestly, I find it refreshing. Most writers here try to incorporate her accent a little too much and it just feels overboard. Un-accented AJ is a welcome change of pace.
And here I am replying to comments over one and a half years old.
ok you'd better have done this by the time I finish this story
Okay back to this thing. "Undertaking" Guessing it's going to be her asking AJ out.
Okay, asking for advice, sounds fine but.... who is she going for? And, has she not learned that you can't actually figure everything out through study alone? Oh, wait.. this is Twilight.....
Hmmm odd quote. Definitely get what it's saying but...... how the buck is that going apply here?
Books... of course that's what she goes with... and sending them to Fluttershy instead... she is desperate to hide this from... all of AJ since she's pretty much the only other pony that doesn't know. Though of all the other ones.. Fluttershy? Well out of the wa but, given how large the box is, won't be able to get it to the library in secret. And, it's a library, who will think the book shipment is for her personal use?
But, seriously Twi? Going with cheesy self-help books that give nothing but a load of contradictory BS? Well, this will either be cringe inducing as she tries out the lameness, or hilarious as she realizes what a load of crap the books are.
(Also, really like the opening bit with Fluttershy, taking your time to build up, extra stuff that really doesn't matter to the story, but just makes the whole hing feel more real.)
Oh.... well then... Not hiding, just Ponyville mail service doing what it's best at. And... how the hell did gum get stuck to the mail?
Okay, liked the opening, really well played fake out on the package, and just great use of Angel. And again love when stories have little bits that, don't really serve the plot, but simply make the world feel more real.
Nice. And, yup that just screams Twilight. So, just wander over the more raised areas and try to wear the floor down evenly?
Hey story managed to surprise me again. Half expected Twi to be so caught up in the books arriving she grabbed them, ran inside and shut the door on Fluttershy's face.
Oh, this is going to be good.....
Huh, you know... that's actually a pretty good guess and can totally see somepony going for that one.
Of course she does. She probably keeps half the bookstores in Equestria in business just on her own.
Okay, less, 'who does Twi seem to be around often', more, 'who is the pony most mares are into.' Another decent guess.
Okay, that was awesome, and, even then, can see why she'd think that, why else would Twi be so evasive?
Person replies to what they think the other person will say rather then what they really said cliche. *Ding* (Sorry been watching a lot of Cinema Sins.)
Wow... nice one Flutters.
Actually doing it! Or, at least, not using those cheap, BS filled excuses for self help guides that are a bunch of hacks talking out of their plot.
Or that, thank you 'shy. Though, Twi is in full on Geekimus Maximus mode so, you know it won't get through... Hey there's something they have in common, when they set their mind to something, it's almost impossible to change it.
Damnit Twi.. JUST! BUCKING! TELL! HER! And yet..... yeah she would do this. On the plus side, she's not going to be taking the books TO seriously, just looking for overall patterns which... yeah good idea and explains why so many. But, just damn that is on convoluted and insanely complex plan that is sure to fail.
Or that.. if you want to be overly polite about it.
Well that was a fun scene. Twi having so many ponies find out by accident or from her letting it slip, and the one time she wants to come right out... and yet, yeah. Her not being able to say it out loud and still trying to hide it, or at least be uncomfortable talking about it.. it worked. As did Fluttershy's guesses and yeah, they all made some kind of sense for why she's guess them. Though, after the pony she thought Twi spent a lot of time around... she went right to Big Mac as the stallion other mares would want most. Hmmmmmm,..... but yeah Twi was just the right mixture of obsessed and driven, and still rationale and sane. Very nice.
Though Twi's plan..... damnit Twi! And yet, it does make sense. At least from Twi's POV, she's just failing ot account for the fact that she's trying to reduce people to numbers and treat them as an variable that can be solved for, which never works. But there is some logic to it, and it's a very Twi plan.
Not Gardens of Equestria? Awwwwwwwwwww.... So, why is that a secret? Or is that the book nopony really likes so you feel guilty about liking it more then the rest? Or.. then again... it's Pinkie.
Aaaand after a few surprises, back to thinking alike.
And thank you very much for not adding the cliche to the mix.
Pinkie.... you are more obsessed with getting Twi to wear that hat then then Twi is with hooking up with in the first place. Also, After all this, she better wear the hat, and Pinkie's reaction better be worth the build up. Also, typo *ding*
Also yes, she would be very cute.
Rarity...... no.. bad pony. 'Sweeping and dramatic' 'Applejack' Those two do not go together when clothes are involved. Also..... wow those two are REALLY getting ahead of themselves.
Then again I wouldn't put it past rarity to have a wedding gown design planned out and ready for all of the Mane 6 already.
Heh.
.................... That is the ONLY reason she wants them to hook up, isn't it?
Slower? She needs to hurry up and say something to AJ.
no comment. Well plenty of them but, none anyone wants to hear... damn you brain stop with those ideas!
Well another fun scene, these are your best types of scenes, just characters standing around talking, working off each other. You do such amazing work at making the mane 6 feel in character and real, and just, the dialog glows so well. Just, always fun to to read our talking head scenes.
And... the exact damn thing Twi was afraid of happening is happening? Well.... not TO surprised, and it's Fluttershy so, not like she'll ever say anything.
Well, this is an interesting plot twist.. interested to see where it'll go.
Oh Pinkie. So, guessing it'll be AJ that ends up forcing he issue and making Twi admit what's going on rather then Twi realizing it's time to just ask her.
This is Ponyville Twi, that is just ASKING for some massive crisis to hit the town.
That took place several days after she locked herself in, not the next day. She was locked up and awake for the whole weekend monitoring EVERYTHING!*Ding*
Perfectly legit reason to rush. Also..... hmmmmm is it...?
Real smooth deflection there RD. Yes Twi your friends are good at keeping a secret... but you forget they are horrible and keeping secret that they have a secret they are keeping secret.
... okay.... insanely stupid.. sure to end in pain.... yet so awesome and RD..... this better happen at some point.
RD.. what did you do?
But, okay loved his bit to. AJ knows something's up and she won't wait long. Which means Twi won't have to long to mess around and keep from saying anything. So, yeah really great job. Twi dragging her hooves and concocting scheme after scheme, trying to get everything perfect, when nothing will ever be perfect. It could get annoying after awhile, even knowing it might go on would be a bit of a ehhhh towards the story. But, knowing AJ is aware of something, and trying to get Twi to spill, means it's more likely that there will be a limit, the Twi will only be able to hold out so long till AJ just gets her to admit it, BEFORE things get to the pathetic stage of going so bad. So, yeah.... still loving the story.