The Farmer
The Soul of a Pony
Chapter 5: The Farmer
Rarity watched Twilight with growing concern. She didn't know especially much about the finer points of magic, and she'd never seen the need to study the technical aspects of what few spells she did know. Even so, she could tell that whatever Twilight was doing, it was very complicated. The threads of magic flowing from the scholar's horn practically hummed with power, and Rarity could feel them flowing into her, forming a connection between the minds of the two unicorns. She didn't like it; it felt like she was being stripped down and examined, her mind opened up for scrutiny.
She didn't like Twilight's expression, either. Those amethyst eyes were just staring at her, looking deep into Rarity's own. Occasionally, a small twinge of some emotion like confusion or amazement would cross Twilight's face, but then it would vanish, and she would continue to stare. Rarity felt herself transfixed by Twilight's gaze, her own eyes keeping themselves locked in place even as the rational part of her mind willed her to look away.
They remained like that for what felt like hours, though Rarity knew it could only have been a few minutes. Suddenly, without the slightest warning, the invasive tendrils retracted, pulling themselves away from Rarity's mind. Twilight's horn stopped glowing, and she snapped out of whatever trance she'd seemed to be in. Her balance seemed to be a little bit off, and she staggered to one side, but she caught herself before she fell.
"Twilight?" Rarity asked. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," Twilight answered, her voice slightly strained. She closed her eyes, wincing slightly, before saying, "It's just a headache. Psychic backlash, you know?"
"Not really." Rarity kept her voice level, concealing the roiling mess of emotions under the surface. "Would you like some water?"
"Oh, yes please."
"Right. Just wait there." When Rarity returned from the kitchen with a glass of water, she found Twilight sitting on one of the boutique's artful sofas. She offered the glass to Twilight, who graciously accepted it and began to drink. She quickly finished, and it was only then that Rarity spoke again.
"So, Twilight," she began, her words clipped and precise. "What, exactly, did that spell of yours do?"
Twilight considered the question, then answered, "Well, are you familiar with The Blackstone Cases?"
"No."
"Really? You should give them a try, they're— Um, nevermind. The point is that I read about this thing called a 'soulgaze', where one pony can look into another's mind and find out more about her, and—"
"And you thought you'd try it out for yourself," Rarity finished.
"Exactly!" Twilight exclaimed. "Let me tell you, it wasn't easy putting the spell together. Mental magic is really tricky."
She started to describe the process she'd gone through, from researching the theory to finalizing the equations. Rarity waited until Twilight was completely engrossed in her monologue, then, when the librarian stopped for breath, she calmly said, "So, while you were working out your etheric structures and power-to-weight ratios, did you ever consider what you were actually setting out to do?"
Twilight paused, thrown. "What do you mean?"
"You never considered the implications of being able to look into somepony's thoughts?"
"Um..."
"Tell me Twilight, do you have any secrets? Any little habits or guilty pleasures that you keep to yourself? Maybe a foalhood crush you never acted on?" Without waiting for a reply, she pressed on. "Would you like it if they weren't secrets anymore? If somepony could just read your mind as though it were a little journal, and see whatever she wanted?" Though she'd started calm and quiet, by the end, Rarity was shouting.
"I guess not," Twilight mumbled. She was looking down at her hooves, at the floor, anywhere but Rarity's eyes. She was hunched over, and appeared to be trying to shrink into the cushions of the sofa.
"Then why would you do it?" Rarity yelled.
Twilight couldn't think of anything to say. She tried to speak a few times, but no words came. All she could do was try to hide herself from her friend's accusing glare.
Rarity took a slow breath, getting herself back under control and forcing her anger down. "I'm sorry, Twilight, but what you did was a serious breach of trust. I just... I need to think about this for a while. As do you." She put up a hoof, forestalling Twilight's reply. "No, don't say anything. I'm in no mood to hear it right now, and I have a spa appointment to prepare for."
Twilight took the hint, and sullenly walked over to the boutique's exit. She paused with her hoof on the door, seemingly about to say something, then thought better of it and left.
When she was gone, Rarity sighed. As brilliant as Twilight was, she could be an absolute dolt sometimes. The young scholar often leapt straight into things without thinking through the consequences, Rarity knew. This, though, was far more troubling. She sighed again; three-thirty couldn't come soon enough.
Twilight walked. She didn't look where she was going, nor did she care. Her hooves carried through the streets of Ponyville on their own, running on automatic. Her eyes stared dully at the ground, not taking in anything more than was necessary to avoid crashing. Such was her lack of attention that she completely failed to notice a frantic Pinkie Pie galloping past her in the opposite direction, bulging saddlebags on her back. At the moment, details like that mattered little to her.
How could I have been so stupid? she admonished herself. I never even thought about their privacy. I just had to see what their souls looked like, didn't I? Never mind that I already know them all so well anyway, or that I didn't even ask their permission first. No, Twilight Sparkle wants to try out her new spell, and to Tartarus with the consequences!
She thought of Rarity again, and what she'd seen before the disastrous revelation. Rarity was a pony who valued beauty, that much was obvious. Everything about her, from her accent to the curls in her mane, was painstakingly cultivated to be the absolute pinnacle of perfection. It wasn't just her own appearance that she valued, though; she wanted everypony else to be beautiful too. Whether it was through fashion or hair styling, Rarity strove each and every day to make the world a little bit more attractive.
While it was true that Rarity was more than slightly vain, it was not vanity that drove her to constant beautification. Rather, it was generosity. Rarity had a very clear idea of what was important to her, and assumed, on some level, that those values carried over to everypony else. When she saw somepony who did not meet those standards, she would go out of her way to help that pony along. She didn't make dresses for the money, though it certainly didn't hurt; she did it so that others could wear them and be more beautiful, the way she thought they wanted to be.
On the other hoof, Rarity constantly struggled with her own selfishness. It was her greatest failing, and she knew it. Whenever she looked at another pony, a little voice inside her said, "You're better than they are. Why should they come first?" She had long ago learned to ignore this voice, but occasionally it would manage to sway her. It had happened at the Best Young Flyers' Competition, and again during her recent visit to Canterlot. Rarity had to always be on guard, watching herself to make sure her greed wasn't the one making the decisions.
Then, right at her core, there was her strength. Rarity, at first glance, appeared to be the stereotypical drama queen. She would launch into hysterics at the drop of a hat, and tended to hyperbolize and generally ham it up. It was, in truth, no more than an act. When the chips were down, Rarity was a bastion of rationality and willpower. She was cool under pressure, and never wavered in her resolve. She put on the histrionics to keep up her mystique, to play into everypony's expectations, and, most importantly, because it was fun.
This was the Rarity that Twilight had seen. And now she hates me, Twilight thought darkly. All that generosity and patience, and I managed to overstep it.
I need help, she realized. I can't fix this by myself. She stopped walking, taking stock of where her aimless wandering had placed her. She realized with a start that she'd been unconsciously heading towards Sweet Apple Acres. Perfect. Applejack will know what to do.
Twilight quickly reached the farm's border, marked by an old, wooden fence. It wasn't really necessary, she reflected. The neat rows of apple trees, their fruits growing but not yet ripe, left no doubt as to where the Apples' orchards began. Besides, everypony knew Sweet Apple Acres.
Twilight found Applejack lounging in the shade of the Apple family barn, her trademark Stetson pushed forward over her eyes and a piece of straw sticking out of her mouth. "Applejack?" Twilight said, her voice dull.
"Hm?" Applejack roused herself from her rest, pushing her hat back so she could see. "Oh, howdy Twilight," she said in greeting. "Twi? Is somethin' wrong?"
"Oh, Applejack, I'm such an idiot," Twilight despaired. "I did something stupid, and now Rarity hates me. She probably never wants to see me again." She flopped down onto the grass, tears beginning to form in her eyes.
Applejack looked at Twilight with concern clear on her face. It was plain that Twilight really believed she'd ruined her friendship with Rarity. "Why don't ya tell me what happened," she suggested. "Start from the beginning."
Twilight sniffed and wiped at her eyes with the back of her hoof, then started to speak. She explained everything, from how she hadn't been able to sleep after reading about the soulgaze to how she'd scoured every bookshelf in her library to find a way to do it herself. She described the encounters with Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, and what the spell had shown her about them. Finally, she came to her arrival at Carousel Boutique, and the disastrous conversation with Rarity. By the end, the tears had returned, and Twilight's voice wavered as she fought to keep them back. "What should I do?" she asked.
Applejack was a long time in answering. She stared out over the sprawling Acres, chewing thoughtfully on her straw. "Sounds to me like the only thing you can do is apologize," she eventually said. "Ah don't think ya meant any harm, and Ah'm pretty sure Rarity knows it too. She's probably regrettin' it as much as you are."
"She sounded so angry, though," Twilight said. "She should be, too. I violated her privacy, and I didn't even ask."
"Yes, that's true," Applejack admitted, and Twilight's face fell. "But," she added, "from what you've said, it sure doesn't sound like what ya saw was bad."
"No," Twilight agreed. Bad was the last word she would have used to describe it. Beautiful, pure, and stunning were more accurate.
"And you don't think any less of her because of it, do you?"
"What? Of course not!"
"Then Ah don't see the problem," Applejack stated.
"But—" Twilight protested, but Applejack cut her off.
"Look, ya should've asked first. Apologize for not takin' her feelings into account, but don't be sorry for what ya saw." When Twilight still didn't look convinced, she asked, "You're really worried about this, huh?"
Twilight sighed. "I don't know. I thought this would be a great way to get to know you all better. Maybe..." she trailed off, trying to put her thoughts into words. "Maybe we're not meant to know other ponies that well. Maybe the only pony I should know everything about is myself." After all, she thought, what's the point of trust if you know everything the other pony thinks? Sure, we can talk and write and communicate, but we can't ever really know anypony as well as we know ourselves. Maybe our minds are our own for a reason.
Again, it was a while before Applejack spoke. "That's a mighty big question," she said at last. "Ah'm not rightly sure Ah know the answer. Ah guess ya just have to ask yourself if ya'd let somepony else do it to you."
Would she? If somepony asked to look into her mind, what would she say? "Would you?" Twilight wondered, more to herself than to Applejack.
"Are ya askin'?"
"Let's assume I am," Twilight said. "What would you say?"
"Well, shoot, Ah wouldn't mind," Applejack answered. "Ah reckon ya know me pretty well anyway, so what's the harm?"
"You mean it?"
"O'course. Plus," she added, "Ah know ya won't be able to rest, not knowin'. Best to get it outta the way." Applejack rolled over onto her belly, then pushed herself onto her hooves and stretched the sleep out of her joints. "Ah just gotta stand here, right?"
Twilight was slightly taken aback at this turn of events. In all of the other soulgazes, she'd been the one to initiate it. Now, with Applejack taking the lead, she wasn't so sure she wanted to. "Now?" she asked, her voice coming out slightly panicked. "What about apologizing to Rarity?"
"It's Thursday, ain't it? Won't she be at the spa with Fluttershy? You've got some time. 'Sides, you're here already. Might as well save yourself the walk."
Applejack was speaking sense, Twilight knew. No matter how badly the last attempt had gone, the soulgaze still held that immense fascination. Twilight had wanted to see all her friends' minds, and here was Applejack, volunteering. It would be a shame not to take this opportunity while she had it. Are you sure that's the only reason? came a voice in the back of her mind. Or are you just stalling because you don't want to face Rarity just yet?
Oh, shut up, she thought back. Maybe you're just stalling because you don't want to soulgaze Applejack.
The little voice sputtered in indignation. This was quite impressive, considering it was purely a construct of Twilight's mind, and lacked both the vocal cords and the emotional capacity that normally would have been required for such a feat. What? You can't turn this—
"Okay," Twilight said with finality, cutting off any remaining chance for doubt. Then, steeling herself for what she was about to do, she readied the soulgaze for the fourth time in two days. "Here goes!"
What? Did I mess it up? Twilight wondered. By all appearances, she was still in Sweet Apple Acres. She could see the rolling expanses of apple trees, broken up by the occasional path, shed, or barn. Not too far away was the Apple family home, its red paint making it stand out against the blue sky and green foliage. The spell had worked though; Twilight could feel the slight drain of the magic. So, if the soulgaze hadn't failed, then she was indeed looking at Applejack's mind. Applejack's mind looks like her farm? That's not very creative.
As in Rainbow's mind, however, differences began to appear. The sign over the farm's gate, normally announcing that the reader had just entered "Sweet Apple Acres", now read only "Applejack". The entire farm looked much newer, as well. Each building had fresh paint, and where the roof of the Apples' main barn had been threatening to collapse, here it could have been built yesterday. Even the trees were younger, their barks not quite as gnarled, though they still towered over Twilight.
The biggest change was in Applejack's house. The entire structure glowed, as though the paint had been applied to beams of sunlight rather than of wood. Light spilled out of the windows and the doorways, and though it shone intensely, Twilight had no trouble looking at it. It wasn't a uniform brightness, however. A few areas—based on how she remembered the house's layout, Twilight pegged Applejack's bedroom and the kitchen as being among them—gave off much more light than others.
As Twilight continued to look around, she noticed a few other patches of the same light. These too varied in brightness, from barely visible to good enough to read by, though none came close to the light of the house. They seemed to be scattered about randomly, marking areas whose significance escaped Twilight. A tree here, a stump there, one at the top of a hill; she couldn't see any connection between the glowing spots. Presumably, they were somehow important to Applejack, or else why would they be given detail in her mind?
It was then that Twilight realized she hadn't seen the orange farmpony anywhere. In all the other soulgazes, the pony whose mind it was had appeared straight away. Multiple times, in Pinkie's case. Where could she be? Twilight wondered. The house, she decided immediately, and set off towards it. When she reached the glowing building, she started to walk around to knock on the front door. Before she got there, though, a scene through one of the windows caught her attention, and she looked in to see what was going on.
Inside, the Apple family were gathered around a table piled high with food. Applejack, Applebloom, Big Macintosh, and Granny Smith all sat there, eating, talking, and laughing together. Like the farm outside, they too looked younger than Twilight had seen them. Granny Smith, though still obviously old, had perhaps a few less wrinkles, maybe a bit more energy. Big Macintosh was smaller, his muscles not as pronounced. Applejack, though now barely a mare, still looked much the same as ever, from the dusting of freckles on her cheeks to the Stetson atop her head. Even in her mind, it seemed, she never went anywhere without her hat. Applebloom was the least changed, but it was still noticeable in how her eyes seemed too big for her head and the lopsided way her bow stood, as though she had only just learned to tie it herself.
The dining room itself was different as well. When last Twilight had seen it, the walls had been mostly bare, but now they were covered in pictures. Photos and paintings of ponies of every description decorated every inch of wallspace, their subjects looking into the room from within their wooden frames. Some Twilight recognized, either from the Apple family reunion or just from around town, but there were many more she didn't. Twilight herself was there, close to the center of the room, along with the rest of her fellow Element Bearers. Are these all the ponies Applejack knows? she wondered. There are so many. As she peered further into the house, she could see that the pictures weren't confined to the dining room. They stretched down the hallway and up the stairs, and Twilight wouldn't have been surprised if they filled the entire house.
She looked back at the table, and at the family enjoying their meal. Something about it struck her as odd, but she couldn't put her hoof on it until she saw the chairs. Though only four ponies sat at the table, six chairs surrounded it. The two at the head stood empty, the places that had been set for them untouched. It was possible that the table was simply bigger than it needed to be, and the extra seats were in case they had guests, but then why had plates and food been set out? Twilight wondered whom they were meant for, and why they hadn't shown up. Before she could think of anypony, however, the scenery around her began to fade, and the soulgaze ended.
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Ah....her parents.....
Damn.
Once that occurs to Twi, she'll be feeling lower than a flea's navel.
First thing: AJ! You won't believe how ecstatic I was upon finding this chapter in my inbox, especially when it was named "The Farmer."
Seriously Twilight
you can easily deduce what that seats were for 
Loving the story i want to see Fluttershy and please make a bonus where she accidentally misspell and reads Gummy's soul i want to find what is in there
Twilight's clueless nature really did need to be reeled in... I'm curious to know whether she'll be able to cast it on herself, or allow the others to see into her, as it would be disappointing not to see her soul as well.
Looking forward to the review of AJ and a gaze at Fluttershy!
I wonder who else this will involve? If she tried that on Princess Celestia, her head would probably just explode.
1387636
Eeyup
1387955 I'd love to see Twilight soulgaze Celestia!
Hopefully somethin' interestin' will come from this here story, I reckon.
Sure. Ah'll fav and rate. Am curious, ya know.
DIS GON BE GUD.
Also, how about a Celestia/Luna chapter? :) you might already have one planned, but just in case you don't, here's an idea!
Between what Rarity and AJ said in this chapter, I wonder if Twilight is going to end up teaching Rarity the soulgaze spell so Rarity can use it on her, as a way of apology or reciprocation.
I hope we get to see into Spike's own soul. In outward appearances he seems to be a child, but in the show, Spike has shown a LOT of maturity that isn't normally found on children, not to mention that in several episodes he has shown that he has qualities of ALL of the elements of harmony.
If you do make a chapter on Spike's soul, then I hope Twilight sees him for the true and mature benevolent being that he is.
I think that Twilight should get a body mirror, and use the 'soulgaze' on herself. If it works
That way.
If Twi gets too cheeky with this spell, Celestia could arrange it to be a lesson for her as well, ala Liar Liar. Imagine everypony Twilight meets instantly being able to soulgaze her.
And you know she's dying to get a crack at a Princess, or two!
I would like to see the results of Twilight Soul gazing herself via a mirror.
Also, this chapter makes me like Apple Jack more. This is exactly what I would say to Twilight if she came to me with that story.
Gazes into ponies' souls without permission, gets told off and feels terrible about it... then proceeds to spill the beans about her findings to somepony else.
Hah! I had a feeling AJ's mental landscape would look just like Sweet Apple Acres.
I definitely want to see Twilight's Soulgaze, and I definitely want to find out what the significant spots in Applejack's mind were, aside from the two place settings, I think we ALL know what those meant.
It did feel a bit wrong what Twilight was doing, using the soulgaze on everyone without even telling what she was doing. I'm glad Rarity told her.
Yay for Applejack! Always a good friend. Looking forward to the next part
1389760
Well, to be fair, she tried to explain two times at first, but Pinkie was being Pinkie, and Rainbow Dash didn't care about what Twilight was going to do, she just wanted to get back to her nap.
Even in her own mind, AJ's parents are not there...
WMG: They're invisible and mute after an accident in Winter Wrap-Up caused a unicorn to be scared into casting a random spell without thinking, rendering them invisible... the they took huge impacts to their larynges from a sporting event, causeing the muteness. They just aren't hungry that often.
1387636
I'm pretty sure fleas hatch from eggs, and therefore have no navels.
Damn. This is the best chapter yet.
1390129
Ha. Anyhow, once Twilight does figure out that the missing chairs equate to dead relatives, she'll be even MORE wary of this power than she was when the chapter began.....
Wow, great story so far! You characterizations are one of the best I have seen in a while, and you are able to really get into what makes these characters "tick". I hope this story gets famous enough for some artist to draw those scenes in all their glory.
While I am a little unsure what you may have planned for the overarching story beyond "what each of the mane 6 are like on the inside", there is a lot of promise here, and I want to see where this is headed.
1410179
When someone draws a scene from SoaP, and that picture inspires someone else to write a different story, then I'll know I've made it big.
Fanart of fanfiction? We have to go deeper!
So like, will Twilight use a mirror to soul-gaze herself, maybe?
I love the way you portrayed everypony's soul, especially Pinkie. I think you should do DERPYS SOUL!!!
So far, 5 out of 5 Derpys 
Twilight I hope you realize what those two empty chairs symbolized!
//dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/sillyfilly_Applejack.png
When you said that she had "unconsciously" ended up at SweetAppale Acres, twilight was not sleep walking so she was conscious. I thiink if you used "sub-consciously" instead it would be better as this makes sense.
Other than that this story has become very intrieging and I will follow it until you write the final chapter.
Best of luck
Dartrunner
THAT ENDING IS SAD. Really like this chapter.
1387770
That is a well too deep to plumb. What is life?
True horror awaits Twilight when she tries this on Fluttershy and finds herself in the mind of an irritated Angel Bunny.
The places at the table for Bright Mac and Pear Butter...
They remind me of the seat reserved for the POW and MIA soldiers who still have not come home...
https://www.mission-bbq.com/the-pow-mia-remembrance-table-poem