Applejack Anonymous
a My Little Pony fanfiction by Clavier
Chapter 5
Matchmaker
After the incident with Twilight, Applejack cloistered herself away from Ponyville, keeping to the farm. She explained the incident to Big Macintosh, who had little to suggest but agreed to take all her Ponyville duties and leave the farm work to her.
The dreams hadn’t stopped, but they had changed in character. Nopony had indecent intent anymore. Everypony had a face, and a heart, and a history, and a soul that they would thrust into Applejack’s hooves, for her to nurture or crush at her will. She was no longer the butt of a cruel joke, but the source of ponies’—her friends’—woe. And she no longer feared them; she only feared what she might do to them, and how she could hurt them.
After all, she’d seen it with Twilight. Even while trying to be caring, Applejack had crushed the spirit of one of her closest friends.
She shook some dirt from her hooves and examined her handiwork, a sapling planted in a fresh plot near the farmhouse, though her mind was elsewhere. Although not a pony prone to allegorizing, she couldn’t help but see Twilight in the little plant. It had been uprooted from its natural soil, carried miles away to where it was foreign and alone, afraid of making roots and hence trapping itself. But if given love and attention, it would grow mighty and bear fruit, becoming a silent provider for its new family.
With a small chuckle, Applejack shook that strange line of thoughts from her head. “It’s a tree, girl, not a pony.”
That sort of thought haunted her every time she saw her friends. And so, she stayed away.
Still, she couldn’t just use her farm as an escape forever, a fact that became abundantly clear when a knock at her homestead’s door roused her from her careful planting. As there was nopony inside to answer, she quickly packed down some dirt and trotted towards the house.
Fluttershy was at the door, looking typically nervous, leaning back and forth as if she was pacing in place. Applejack’s heart melted when she saw the genuine concern evident in her visitor’s demeanor, so she did her best to be cordial in spite of her apprehension.
Setting aside her doubts about Fluttershy’s intent, Applejack approached her friend. “Howdy, Fluttershy!”
Startled, the pegasus leapt into the air with a squeal and turned away to flee, but froze at the sight of Applejack and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Uh, sorry ’bout that, Ah was out plantin’,” Applejack explained, shaking the dirt from her hooves.
Fluttershy nodded, breathing deeply and taking a few slow steps towards Applejack. Clearly too nervous for niceties, she hid behind her mane, speaking with a faint but steady voice. “Applejack… um, even though you know about our group, we can’t really stop meeting. These ponies need it. Is… is that OK with you?”
Applejack pursed her lips thoughtfully. Although the mere existence of the group still distressed her, they did lift some of the burden from her as well. “Ah guess Ah shouldn’t try to stop ya.”
“Thank you. And Applejack? Twilight has been… well, she’s seemed really sad since… the meeting.” In a rare moment of bravery, Fluttershy poked her head out from behind her mane and spoke with a bit of force. “I just wish you could have let her down easy.”
“Let her down? Fluttershy, she let me down! Said Ah was too good for her and Ah deserved better.”
Fluttershy’s eyes went wide with surprise and she pushed out from behind her mane. “She did?”
“Ah feel more alone than ever, Fluttershy,” Applejack blurted out. “It’s like everypony’s scared of me!”
“What?” Fluttershy stood tall, focused fixedly on Applejack.
“It’s like Ah’m some kind of monster. Anything Ah do is gonna wind up hurtin’ somepony, so they’re pushin’ me away instead. Ah don’t want to hurt anypony, Fluttershy, but Ah can’t handle this kind of pressure all by my lonesome! Nopony’s bein’ honest or brave, and Ah just don’t know what to do!”
Fluttershy stared, lip quivering while she slowly slunk back into the protective cocoon of her hair. “B–b–b–brave?”
Applejack just shrugged, having lost her energy ranting.
After a moment of silence, Applejack felt almost smothered by the tension in the air. She looked past Fluttershy into the trees, idly wishing she hadn’t been quite so direct with her fragile companion.
Fluttershy clenched shut her eyes and, in a quick, terrified motion, gave Applejack a peck on the lips.
It was so fast, so unexpected, that Applejack could do nothing but gawk. After a fleeting second of watching Applejack’s expression, Fluttershy cringed and recoiled into the protective covering of her mane.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Applejack, I thought– I mean, I was just trying–” she stammered. “I thought you wanted– th–that is…”
Finally, she turned and flew away at a surprising pace.
“Fluttershy, wait! This–”
It was too late. She was already out of earshot.
Applejack sighed. “This is exactly what Ah was talkin’ about.”
She watched the sky as Fluttershy flew away, becoming a pink-and-yellow speck in the sky. She wanted to pursue, to try to explain the situation, but it was Tuesday morning, and so it was obvious where her unexpected visitor would be going: right into the proverbial belly of the beast.
She turned back towards the farmhouse, bumping into her brother in the process. “Big Mac!” she exclaimed, surprised.
He showed little reaction to her assault, not stumbling in the slightest, and instead stared pensively at the sky.
“… How much did you see?”
“She ain’t happy.”
Applejack turned back around. She had no hope of seeing Fluttershy in the sky by that point, but stared anyway. “No, she ain’t.”
“Don’t suppose there’s much you can do about that, is there,” Big Macintosh stated.
“Ah don’t know.”
Sighing, he turned away. “It's a shame, though.”
He returned to his silent work.
Applejack hadn’t wanted to hurt anypony, least of all Fluttershy. And none of her chores for the day were vital. Perhaps, she thought, she should check in on the group, just to make sure that Fluttershy wasn’t too hurt.
She would certainly never admit to being curious about the group. She just wanted to help her friend.
“Ah suppose Ah could just look in to make sure everything’s alright…”
Resolved, she set off for Ponyville.
Summer was ending, and the green of the leaves was slowly vanishing, giving way to winter. The weather was pleasantly warm and breezy. It was a beautiful time of year, and for many ponies a romantic time as well, which didn’t help matters for Applejack. Her route to town bringing her past Bon Bon and Lyra enjoying a private moment alone in her orchard just twisted the knife.
She continued her trot into town, and was beginning to enter the outskirts of Ponyville when her idle musing was interrupted by the crash—and quick recovery—of a pegasus beside her.
Rainbow didn’t say anything; she just picked herself up and followed at Applejack’s side, keeping pace. For nearly a minute they walked side by side, saying nothing, until Applejack couldn’t tolerate the uncomfortable silence any longer.
“Quite a prank you and Pinkie pulled, Dash.” It sounded bitter; much more bitter than she had intended for it to sound. She wasn’t really angry, just preoccupied.
Rainbow chuckled nervously. “Y’know we didn’t really mean for it to turn out like that, right?”
She seemed honest enough. Applejack nodded.
“Um, where are you going?”
“Where d’ya think Ah’m goin’?”
“Don’t you think maybe you… shouldn’t?” Rainbow asked, flying alongside with her hoof nervously rubbing the back of her neck.
“Like you’re one to talk, you’re obviously goin’ there to spy too!”
Applejack shook her head in a scolding fashion and trotted on for a few paces, before stopping, realizing that Rainbow was no longer at her side. She turned to see Rainbow turning pale, her hooves firmly planted.
“Rainbow…”
She grinned anxiously. “Err… sorry?”
“Not you too?”
She nodded sheepishly.
Applejack took a few steps back.
“Look, I didn’t mean… well, when I saw everypony in that group, I got to thinking…”
“No… no, no, no, no, no…”
“We’re always spending so much time together, and I’m always going out of my way to be with you…”
“No no no no no…”
“When you think about it, we’d be–”
Applejack didn’t want to hear any more. She fled, ignoring Rainbow’s pleas for her to wait.
To a farmer, order and normalcy are vital in life. Despite all the recent events, Rainbow had, in her own strange way, provided that normalcy. Without it, Applejack felt lost. She didn’t want to comfort Fluttershy anymore; she didn’t want to see the club at all. All she wanted was to find that normalcy again. And as far as she was concerned, there was only one bastion of such sanity left. One pony who could help her feel normal. There was only one pony she could turn to who could turn strange reality back rightways-up.
Pinkie Pie.
The world had left her seeking Pinkie Pie for mental balance.
She shuddered at her predicament, but pushed on towards Sugarcube Corner. It was near the center of town, usually a hub of activity; today, of course, the streets were barren. Getting through town was quick and easy, but still no less creepy than it had ever been. Ponyville felt alien as a ghost town.
Sugarcube Corner was one of the few open shops, so she didn’t bother knocking, bursting through the door unannounced and startling the proprietors.
“Applejack!” Mrs. Cake exclaimed. “Fancy seeing you here! We almost never get customers on Tuesdays. Anything special in mind?”
Uninterested in eating, Applejack slammed the door behind her and breathed a sigh of relief. “Pinkie around?”
“Oh yes, she’s upstairs, with–”
She didn’t wait to hear the rest of the sentence before bolting up the stairs.
Applejack rarely found a reason to be in Pinkie’s bedroom. It was an unusual place, where the clutter seemed to transcend messiness and simply exist in a state of otherworldly harmony, like the musical dissonance preceding resolution. Applejack of course wasn’t prone to such observations, being more concerned with the immediate issue of finding the pony she was looking for; for all its splendor, the clutter did make finding Pinkie Pie herself rather a challenge.
“Pinkie? Pinkie! Where the hay are ya, sugarcube?”
Her term of endearment was met by a small smile, but not from the pony she expected.
“R–Rarity…”
Rarity cleared her throat. “Applejack,” she stated, with no hint of surprise, as if she’d been expected Applejack all along, “can we talk?” Even while being so forward, she had a slight red tint to her cheeks.
Yet again, Applejack thought, the world was mocking her. Not having any other choice, she relented to the “conversation”. She gave a pensive nod, doing her best to appear as if she was more happy than frazzled.
“Look, I know you have a lot of… well… potentials, shall we say. And if I am to be honest, I probably would not be first on your list.” Rarity stood tall, allowing her perfectly kept hair to fall naturally over her shoulders. Her horn glowed briefly, but Applejack couldn’t determine what effect it might have had. “It is, however, true what they say: Opposites attract. I think that if you–”
Applejack collapsed to the ground with a loud thud.
“… Um… Applejack?”
“Ah didn’t ask for this,” Applejack groaned.
Rarity trotted over, visibly confused. “How do you mean, dar– err, Applejack?”
“No matter what Ah do, somepony gets hurt. Everypony!” It was too much, too far. She had no safety line, and life had dragged her beyond the point where anypony could stay sane. She hid behind a large box of streamers, holding her face in her hooves and covering her eyes with the brim of her hat. “Before all this, Ah thought it’d be dandy to settle down, find somepony to be with and be happy together. But now all Ah want is to get out of this without makin’ everypony else miserable!” She let a single green eye peek out from under her brim. “You’re… sweet n’ all, but Ah just… Ah just don’t want anypony gettin’ hurt, Ah guess.”
Rarity stood silently for a moment, pursing her lips. In an explosion of confetti, Pinkie Pie burst forth from somewhere in the clutter. She joined her friends, her usual cheer not dampened in the slightest by the awkward circumstance.
“Don’t be like that, Applejack, you should just make sure you’re happy!”
Rarity nodded. “Pinkie is absolutely right.” Walking over to where Applejack still lay prone, she pushed the hat away and declared, “And I, Rarity, will help you!”
“Oh yeah?” Applejack quipped acerbically. “How?”
“I’m known as quite the matchmaker around town, you know,” she continued, ignoring the small jab. “I could find exactly the right mare for you; and how could anypony complain if you’re perfect for each other, right? Truly, all anypony wants is for you to be happy.”
Eyes narrowed, Applejack asked, “And just what are the odds that you’d find that the right pony for me… is you?”
Rarity sighed, her formerly confident poise faltering slightly. “For you, I will… remove myself from consideration.”
Applejack looked up, stunned. She tried to read Rarity’s expression, but could only find honesty and earnest fondness. “You’d do that for me?”
The unicorn grinned crookedly. “Really, what were my odds, anyway?”
“About a chick’s odds with a hawk.”
Her grin faltered slightly. “You don’t have to be so blunt…”
Applejack coughed, shuffling her hooves uncomfortably.
“Well, regardless, let’s get to it!” Rarity’s smile returned at the prospect of setting up her friend.
Applejack stood up, nervously adjusting her hat. Breaking her irregular silence, Pinkie started to spew suggestions. “Oh, this’ll be so much fun! I know everypony in town so we’ll just go one by one, starting with the ‘A’s! First up, Applejack!”
The mare in question just rolled her eyes.
“Oh, that’s right! That’s you!”
“Why don’t we just start with her close friends,” Rarity interrupted.
“Yeah! OK, let’s see… ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, ‘D’, ‘E’, ‘F’– Fluttershy!”
“OK, I suppose alphabetical is as good as anything. Applejack, why don’t you tell us how you feel about Fluttershy.”
Applejack stood dumbly. It was a strange question, made stranger by her uncomfortable encounter with the timid pegasus that morning.
Rarity nodded knowingly. “Don’t think about any of this, don’t think about the group. Don’t even think about you and Fluttershy. Just tell us about her, as a pony.”
Applejack sat on her haunches and looked around the room, trying to distract herself. She found it incredible that Rarity was even willing to be amongst the hodgepodge of strewn party goods, although she’d been known to make messes of her own. “Hey, Rarity, what’re you doin’ here anyhow?”
“No changing the subject,” she replied sweetly but firmly.
“OK, OK, Fluttershy,” Applejack huffed. “Well, uh…” She gathered her thoughts. “She’s one of the nicest ponies Ah know. And she’s real sweet, always in a good mood—at least when she’s not bein’ scared of something or other. When she manages to build up her confidence proper, she can really get things done. Like, uh, makin’ the club, Ah guess…”
Rarity lifted a hoof to stop her. “I’m hardly convinced. Let’s move on.”
Pinkie continued her unorthodox selection process. “OK! ‘F’, ‘G’, ‘H’, ‘I’, ‘J’– Jack! Applej– oops! ‘K’, ‘L’, ‘M’, ‘N’, ’O’, ‘P’. Pinkie Pie! That’s me!”
“… Do Ah have to?” Applejack inquired sourly.
“Awww,” Pinkie moped, “you don’t want to talk about me?”
“Uh…”
Applejack breathed a sigh of relief as Rarity saved her once again from responding to a question she wasn’t too keen on answering. “Perhaps we should exclude ponies present, Pinkie.”
Still moping, Pinkie moved on. “Oh fine. ‘P’, ‘Q’, ‘R’. Rainbow Dash!”
“Hm.” This one was even harder than Fluttershy. Applejack tried to step back and look at the situation objectively. “She’s kinda full of herself, but Ah guess she deserves to be. Ah mean, she is a mighty fine athlete, and she’s a darn good weather pony to boot. When she’s not busy struttin’ like a peacock, she really does want to do some good, Ah guess. And we are pretty close friends, since we have a lot of the same interests… heck, if she’d start buckin’ the trees instead of sleepin’ in ’em, I’d hire her to work on the farm.”
Rarity pursed her lips, tapping the ground in thought. “Yes, yes. We’ll call her a potential.”
A chime sounded, and Rarity and Applejack looked about, confusedly seeking the sound’s source amongst the clutter. Their gazes soon settled on an old-fashioned typewriter, which Pinkie had apparently pulled from somewhere in the clutter. She’d typed out Rainbow’s name, and was now smiling expectantly.
“Uh, sure,” Applejack deadpanned, “potential.”
Pinkie continued her enumeration. “Next up is Rarity! But she’s present too, so nyaa!” Pinkie stuck out her tongue before continuing. “ ‘R’, ‘S’, ‘T’. Twilight!”
Suddenly distracted, Applejack’s heart beat a bit faster, and the blood rose to her face. For an instant she was in the black room again, with Twilight standing over her, holding her hooves.
“Applejack?”
Twilight leaned down. Applejack closed her eyes.
“Applejack!”
“Huh, wha?”
“Twilight,” Rarity said woodenly. “Tell us about Twilight.”
“Oh, uh, yeah.” She scratched behind an ear in a poor attempt to appear unfazed. “Well, let’s see.”
All she needed to do, she reasoned, was be honest. Honesty was supposed to come easy to her. This was no different.
“Twilight… Ah think Twilight doesn’t even know what a good friend she is. It’s like she’s always tryin’ so hard, she almost never sits back to just enjoy life.” She chuckled lightly, thinking about some of the times that her friend would make a mountain out of a molehill. “But y’know what? When she does… when she finally manages to relax, when things are really goin’ well for her and she’s not bein’ the busy beaver for once, she has this little smile. It’s nice to see it, ’cause otherwise she’s always so hectic that even when she smiles it seems forced. Ah guess Ah like seein’ her like that.”
Realizing she was rambling, Applejack shook her head and tried to get back on subject. “Anyway, she’s always real, uh, organized. And punctual. And smart n’ stuff.”
Rarity stared at her, mouth agape. Pinkie joined in this stare, then looked at Rarity, then her typewriter. Without even asking, she typed out Twilight’s name, and the carriage return bell ringed.
“Applejack,” Rarity breathed, barely louder than a whisper, “if you’d explained, we could have made this much simpler.”
Applejack tilted her head and cocked an eyebrow. “Explained what?”
“Well, we wouldn’t have had to go through any of this if I’d just known you’re in love with Twilight.”
Her eyes widened. “In– whoa, what?!”
“I’ve seen that look before,” Rarity hummed wistfully. “There’s no mistaking it.”
Applejack could only stammer at the supposed revelation. “Wh– Ah– Twi–”
The would-be matchmaker gasped excitedly. “You mean, you didn’t know?”
“Ah…”
Rarity and Pinkie looked at each other with a shared grin.
“Ya think…”
Rarity nodded with a demure smile, and Pinkie nodded along excitedly.
“But Ah mean…”
Rarity trotted to Applejack’s side and put a hoof to her mouth, shushing her. “Just meet us at La Maison sur le Coin at eight o’clock sharp and leave the rest to us.”
Her protests went muffled and unheard. With a roll of her eyes, she finally turned and descended the stairs. When Rarity’s mind was made up, it was foolish to try to change it.
“You’re in love with Twilight.” Rarity’s words echoed in her mind as she waved goodbye to the Cakes, slipping out the front door. She wasn’t sure what to make of it. Was Rarity just being her usual overly romantic self? Or was there something more?
She groaned and kicked up some dirt with her hoof. This would all be so much simpler if it weren’t for that damned club. The thought reminded her that spying on the club is why she’d left the farm in the first place that morning, so she set back to the task at hoof.
Her stomach growled angrily at her as she trotted towards the west of town. The sun was just past its zenith, cruelly reminding her both that she’d missed lunch and that she hadn’t accomplished anything on the farm. It was too late for regrets, though. She wanted to make sure that Twilight was OK.
Twilight? Her mind drifted while she plodded along. No, not Twilight, Fluttershy. It was Fluttershy she’d hurt this morning, Twilight she’d hurt last week.
“Ugh!” she cried out to nopony, frustrated. She couldn’t bear the fact that she had to enumerate broken hearts.
She arrived at the institute sooner than she had anticipated, and quickly found herself a secluded spot outside the windows. As usual, the drapes were open and she had a perfect view. Unlike usual, there was nopony else outside with her, and no distractions.
Twilight was nowhere to be seen. Rainbow was in the front row, doing a poor job of blending in with the group. Fluttershy stood at the podium, pacing nervously.
“I… I don’t know where she could be! I’m not sure what’s next on the agenda, it’s not like her to be late…” Fluttershy nervously rambled to the group, many of whom were clearly uninterested as they finished off the last morsels of a delicious-looking lunch.
There was a rustling behind Applejack, and she instinctively ducked into the bushes. Somepony bolted by, shooting past her leafy cover, and the door slammed open and shut. Hesitantly, she lifted her head to search around her before looking inside. Twilight was on the stage, looking considerably more ragged than usual.
“I’m sorry I’m late, everypony. I… I kind of assumed you didn’t want to see me.” She looked over the crowd with a shameful frown. “But then I remembered that I hadn’t left a complete schedule.”
A few ponies laughed a bit at her oh-so-characteristic reasoning.
“Look, I’m sorry I winked Applejack away, I was just afraid she’d get hurt.”
For a moment, the group was silent. Then a few groups whispered amongst themselves. Then, somepony timidly asked, “Did you do anything?”
The chatter rose. Another asked, “Did she take her hair down?”
Then another. “Did you hold her?”
“Did you kiss her?”
Quickly, the voices began competing with each other, escalating further and further into the obscene. Finally, Bon Bon yelled out a mostly-inaudible question ending in “taste like?”, and the voices melted into laughter.
Twilight stood frozen, glowing bright red while the raucousness slowly died down. Although her embarrassment was clearly near mortification, she had a small smile. That same small smile she had when all her nit-picking paid off and all was right with the world.
That adorable smile that could melt Applejack’s heart.
Applejack shook her head at the thought. “Where the heck did that come from?”
The ponies in the audience continued to mumble amongst themselves, but more quietly, the uproar spent. Their tone was not of anger, or disappointment, or even surprise. They mostly just seemed curious. And Twilight’s small smile was growing wider and prouder.
“You mean… you aren’t mad at me?”
The clamor completely stopped. Most ponies looked at the stage, visibly confused. Even Rainbow put a hoof to her head.
“Even though I took advantage–”
A shrill, cracking cry from Rainbow Dash interrupted her. “Well duh!”
Twilight’s eyes misted a bit at the acceptance of the assemblage. “I… I don’t know what to say.” Her smile faded somewhat. “Well, I suppose it probably won’t happen again anyway, so thanks for the support.”
Applejack felt a twinge. “Won’t happen again? Why not?”
She blinked. She looked at Twilight. She blinked again. She looked at herself.
She was in love with Twilight. In retrospect, it was so obvious; she was stunned that it had taken Rarity’s intervention for her to notice. And Twilight was in love with her. The club faded away. There was only Twilight, standing at the front, gazing at her hooves. Nothing else mattered. Nopony else mattered.
Rarity, who had evidently snuck into the meeting during the brouhaha, trotted confidently to the front and stood between Twilight and the crowd. She gave a sharp glare; Twilight responded with confusion.
“Let’s talk,” she said.
“OK,” Twilight responded with a small nod.
The pair departed the stage, though not before Twilight had scribbled an updated schedule for Fluttershy. Applejack took the moment to depart as well, making sure to keep out of sight as the two approached the door.
Most of the day still stood between Applejack and her eight o’clock date, so she headed directly back to the farm in hopes of salvaging the remainder of the day’s work. Chased by her wild imaginings, it was a quick trot home. She set to the task that had been interrupted in the morning: tending to a row of freshly planted saplings.
It was not a sufficient distraction.
“In love.” She stared blankly at a patch of dirt, barely cognizant of the fact that there was no sapling there. Now that it was on her mind, she couldn’t stop thinking about Twilight. She sighed, staring at her hooves. “Guess there’s nothin’ for it.”
Recommitting herself, she poured all of her energy into the job. She could think about Twilight later, and planting now. Or at least, she could try.
Nonetheless, it was a long day.
⁂
Applejack shook the exhaustion from her mind, turning the corner to her destination. La Maison sur le Coin, eight o’clock. Twilight was sitting at a table outside. She was alone but for Rarity, who watched her from a poor hiding place behind a ficus. Twilight stared at a flickering red candle on the table, occasionally glancing up at the clock. Applejack could imagine her thinking, “Am I early? Am I late? Is this the wrong place? Oh, I knew I should have written it down!” Twilight rested her chin on her hooves and went back to staring at the melting wax.
Applejack took the opportunity to slip silently into the seat beside her. When Twilight looked up to find the clock, she instead found an orange muzzle smiling at her, and nearly fell out of her chair.
Applejack snorted. “Ha, sorry ’bout that, Twi.” She stifled a yawn. “Couldn’t resist.”
Pulling herself back into a normal position, Twilight stuttered, “Applejack! Wh–what are you doing here?”
In a moment of rare charisma, the farmpony simply smiled and batted her eyelashes, evoking a strong blush from her stupefied companion.
“R–Rarity just said to be here! She didn’t say… I didn’t know.”
“Ah just want to talk, Twi. Promise.”
Twilight nodded numbly.
Dropping the act, Applejack slumped comfortably into her chair. “Promise me you won’t go zappin’ out. Or shootin’ me off to Celestia-knows-where.”
She nodded, though with a crooked grin.
Applejack wanted to just say it. She was dying to. But seeing Twilight there, shifting uncomfortably with an awkward smile, she couldn’t bring herself to. They grew silent, staring at the slowly melting candle, waiting for the waiter to bring their menus.
Applejack yawned and looked down from the table to her hooves. She’d forgotten to clean them after working in the field earlier, and now regretted it, wondering whether anypony would notice if she surreptitiously used the tablecloth for that purpose.
Some first date. She looked back up at Twilight. She looks like she’s gonna jump out of her skin. With another yawn, she shook her head, refocusing her eyes on the candle. And Ah’m hardly the best company…
They were both roused by shuffling around them.
“Everypony’s staring at us,” Twilight remarked apprehensively.
Ponies were, indeed, staring. Applejack opened her mouth to say something before noticing a familiar figure over Twilight’s shoulder. Rarity was making some motion she couldn’t understand, trying to tell her something she would never guess.
When she looked back, Twilight was staring, unabashed, with her simple, tranquil smile. The light from the candle’s flame danced softly against her cheek. She was the same as always, but different. She was beautiful. And she was so close.
Applejack lifted her hoof to Twilight’s cheek. It was warm. She realized that her own were too. But it didn’t matter.
She leaned closer. Twilight didn’t pull away. The world around her faded away into blackness, and she closed her eyes. The soft sound of the ponies around them vanished. Their lips met.
Suddenly Twilight wasn’t passive in the least. She pounced, shamelessly letting her tongue explore Applejack’s mouth, and enticing Applejack’s to do the same. Although shocked by the uncharacteristically forward behavior, Applejack found herself wanting more, pushing farther, wanting it to last.
When she pulled away, nearly gasping for breath, Twilight leaned forward with her, resting on her shoulder.
After they’d both taken a moment to breathe, Twilight remarked, “You promised we’d just talk.”
“Ah guess Ah lied,” Applejack teased. “Nopony’s perfect.”
Twilight pulled away, and looked into Applejack’s eyes. Her own violet eyes twinkled with mischief.
Applejack raised an eyebrow.
They both vanished in a magenta flash.
When Applejack’s vision cleared, she saw that they were in the library, in Twilight’s loft. “You promised you wouldn’t do that,” she retorted with a smirk.
“Nopony’s perfect,” Twilight responded simply, before pouncing once more.
Cool.
i feel a shitstorm brewing. and that shitstorm includes several ponies. several ponies involved in a certain club that meet at a certain time that talk about a certain pony who just happens to be the center of the shitstorm.
shit.
Awesome chapter.
And my hopes of AppleDash are crushed!
Ah well. Twijack is a somewhat acceptable compromise. Though being listed as a "potential"... maybe there's still room?
I feel bad Rarity got rejected so fast..(but that's just the RariJack Shipper talking)
Anyway, awesome chapter can't wait for what's next.
Oh boy...
As has oft been stated, pony should pony pony. And they have. And it is glorious.
So you have chosen Twijack. Okay then. Commence ship.
That last line made me think of hayna montanna's song
Well, I'm disappointed. I had my heart set on Applejack starting up a harem of magnitude fit for a Princess.
It begs the question though - if all the mares are busy mooning after Applejack, what are all the stallions doing? Mooning after Big Mac?
YES! HAHAHAHA! go applejack and twilight!
Hm.
Didn't quite see that coming.
Good job!
I had a suspicion this would be a TwiJack fic. I like it :D
Okay, so now Rarity will want the club to dedicate itself to ensuring AJ's future happiness with Twilight and Fluttershy will say no I want her for myself if that's okay and Rarity will start a new club with about half the ponies and then there'll be all kinds of silly fights involving pie and pillows and flowers and book forts and chickens and marshmallows and AJ and Twi will be hiding in the library and Pinkie and Big Mac will be hanging out at the farm eating pie. Not like that you dirty minded colt, you.
That's my theory, anyway.
I like where this is going.
That escalation of events was nearly jarring. Fortunately, I have read enough fics for something like that to be only minor turbulence.
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Cute fic but the ending didn't fit for me. It really felt like AJ forced herself into deciding she was in love with Twilight just so she could cope with the stress of learning about the group. As well her sudden 180 from not liking mares to liking mares really reinforced the feeling that AJ was just deluding herself.
As well Pinkie suddenly announcing AJ liked mares way back in a previous chapter felt incredibly mean of her. She would've known that folks would get hurt because of it so it felt really OOC.
Twilight so aggressively making out with her also felt incredibly OOC. She's not really the type. it's definitely likely that she'd kiss AJ and freak out and worry folks hated her but not that she'd have enough confidence to start making out with everyone staring at them.
Cute fic and I'll maybe check out your other stuff, but I just can't recommend this.
Damn.
I was hoping for something like the following:
"Twi, I like you and all, but I'm in camp that likes foot-long in bed."
"Oh... alright."
"I'm sorry to-"
"No, no! This is alright! I've been working on inventing a spell just for this!"
*POOF*
[Twi is now a colt]
"I... may have over-shot the 'foot-long' mark, but now we can court!"
"Wha?"
[Twi grows wings spontaneously, singaling the start of her princess training]
"Alright, Twilight, you need to come along with me, as you need to spend the next five years learning how to be a princess!"
"What? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
"Sooo... I'm still in the running, then, right AJ?"
Eh, good chapter anyways.
Twijack?
I like where this is going.
2208221
This. This is a good idea.
Praise the shipping gods! My OTP dance worked! Dance, dance the dance of the Twijack!
images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120514174826/mlp/images/7/79/FANMADE_Twilight_Sparkle_filly_dancing.gif i99.beon.ru/images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110811234044/sporum/images/e/ed/R16066_MLP_Applejack_Spooky.gif
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WOO HOO!!!!!!!
'TIS PERFECTION!!!!!!!
So... what happens next???!!!
All The Best to You,
Brony and Dashing Proud ,
Lightning Flash
awwww next scene this would have happened
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I love it. It's what I wanted to happen. They way you've written this, Twi and Jack are awesome together. Though I would love to know what it was that Rarity said to Twi...
This is a good story though. I've read the comments on this chapter, and I don't feel that it is OOC. It's coming to terms with something that's always been, but you've only just realized. And it's good. I think AJ is just realizing that she thinks those things, instead of actually randomly starting to think them. And as for the kiss...I can see it. I can only imagine Rarity's reaction when the kiss and them BAM gone. Brilliant.
2208221
that's just silly!... when we all know that everyone is gay for braeburn
2208365
Uhh… ending?
Are you imagining the word “complete” into the fic info? This story, she is not finished. Any ending that’s not intended to be an ending at all is assured to be a bad ending.
I like how when Pinkie was going through all of the names, she only said those of the rest of the Mane 6. I know coming up with a name and personality for every mare in Ponyville would've been just plain stupid, but it'd be funny to see a few mares come up, like Lyra ("In a relationship with Bon-Bon, AKA taken") or Cloud Kicker ("...uhh...killer in bed? ...").
bellesbookshelf.blogspot.com/2013/02/top-ten-favourite-romances.html
why don't images EVER work for me? i was gonna put the "Now kiss!" image
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2208653
Jelly?
Pony pony pony!
Interesting.
I had been expecting/picking up hints that AJ loved Twilight, but until the last chapter I had assumed that it didn't go the opposite way. I had thought that Twilight had infiltrated the group merely to discover what happened every Tuesday. Story remains interesting though, and it is nice to see Applejack actually consider the underlying heartbreak of a harem story. That is all too often glossed over.
Listening to Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd meshed well with this chapter. And I do have to say, TwiJack is the best pairing when keeping it in the group.
Ehhhh. I dislike twijack. Gonna have to un-track this. You're good at writing, though! Keep at it
Oh the irony!
Awwww yeaaah! I was so antsy for this fic to update after the last chapter, and this one did not disappoint! I'm curious how AJ's little club is going to take this, and where Twi and her go from here. Keep up the good work, and have a muffin!
Tiny lesbian horses.
I don't think this was my favorite chapter for this story, that distinction probably goes to the kissing booth, but I enjoyed the heck out it none the less.
Pinkie Pie brings stability to Applejack's world.
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Called it.
2208564 This fic is coming very strongly across as ending. I actually had to go back and doublecheck that you hadn't clicked the complete button since it really sounds like you did. either way you've lost my interest sorry.
...I really really liked this fic. And I really really do NOT like Twijack.
Why are you doing this to me???? Why author, why????
All i wanted n the world, from the get-go was for it not to be with twilight. That's all i ask.
I dont know if i should untrack it or hope they break up... But just hoping they break up is such a sad reason to read a fic.
Mmh, the last couple chapters of this haven't been quite on the same level as the earlier ones, IMO. Still not bad, but not quite as well-tuned and balanced as it was in the beginning.
Pony Pony? Pony. Pony Pony! Pony ... Pony? D:
What WAS Rarity doing in Pinkie's room? Probably asking her to dress up like Applejack! Wink wink nudge nudge.
I really was hoping we'd get to see more of Rarity before the story ended. She's my favorite, and it's always great to see her well written like this. Thank you for a great story.
Whew! Thank Celestia she's decided. As great as the awkwardness between her and other mares are as emotion-invoking literature, what with Applejack's new-found power to break everypony's heart, I just don't know if my own poor empathetic heart could have taken many more mares left crumpled in Applejack's wake. I suppose that this awkwardness was the very same reason I kept reading and looked very much forward to reading more, but still.
... ... ...
Okay, maybe it was the entire reason I loved the story. I would reach parts where the emotional tension and awkwardness was high and say to myself, "Dear God, no! Make it stop! Poor Applejack!" but would react like that mainly for Applejack's sake. I loved it. I loved how constricted this left Applejack and looked forward to see how many more of these harsh awkward events would rise up. Still, I'm happy for Applejack and happy especially for Twilight, (the one character most like me in general) though I have to wonder if this series will have just as many harshly awkward or tense scenes as it did before. I just don't know if it would be just as good without the emotional turmoil.
Twijack, my kryptonite! But seriously, that last scene as adorable. I love the way they just stared at each other, I love how they both totally lost control and didn't do what they said they would, I love the way Applejack is so clearly infatuated with the little things about Twilight; it felt like that awkward first date right until the desperate makeouts began. Out-of-control Twilight is best Twilight.
Brown chicken brown cow.
>Magical Rape
So...she fell in love with her because of the smile?
If only real love was so simple.