//------------------------------// // Twijack // Story: Shippin' Pones // by Argembarger //------------------------------// When her blanket was pulled off of her sleeping body, Twilight Sparkle rolled over. She groaned and shivered through the sudden rush of cool air. Her curtain was flung open, and she buried her face in the pillows to protect her eyes from the irritating rays of the sun. "Come on, Twilight, the sun's up!" a voice called out through the haze of sleep. "Not yet, Spike... Just a few more minutes..." Twilight mumbles drifted into incoherence as a hoof brushed against her cheek. "Spike's downstairs fixin' us up some grub, darlin'." Twilight strained her eyes open to find a pair of green ones taking up most of her vision. Orange skin... pale yellowish hair... Applejack?! Oh, wait. Yeah, of course, Applejack. Twilight shook her head to clear her muddled thoughts. "G'morning, A.J.," Twilight said, "is it really time to get up already?" Applejack nodded. "O'course. The sun's up, ainnit? That means so are we." "I was just up late reading this fascinating textbook that the princess sent me... I'm almost to chapter forty-three, 'Neutrino Thaumaturgy', an'—" Twilight yawned, and Applejack wrapped hooves around her. "Let's talk about it over breakfast, Twi," she whispered, squeezing her marefriend. ~ ~ ~ "And so anyway, in laypony's terms, I can break down quarks with magic to make up all kinds of strange and charming effects from the top to the bottom of the magical spectrum. Isn't that amazing? Just imagine what unicorns thousands of years ago would have done with this theory. It would have launched magical studies ahead by centuries!" Applejack chewed attentively, her gaze shifting to and from Twilight and her food. "Aw, Twi, that's mighty impressive. Ah wish Ah understood whatcha were talkin' about, but it sounds really excitin'!" Twilight nodded, smiling. "It is, Applejack. Just you wait: you're going to see some amazing things when I work out some of the finer details." "Can't wait, Twi," Applejack said, "butcha better eat up; yer oatmeal's gettin' cold." Twilight pecked at her food as Applejack stared at the rest of her sleeping family. Only Spike was awake and eating; he'd grown up listening to Twilight's monologues, and besides, he usually understood whatever it was she was babbling about. Applejack flicked a spoon playfully at her brother, Big Macintosh. "Interestin' stuff," Big Mac said, rubbing the spot on his snout where the spoon struck, "ain't it, Granny?" "Huh? Wazzat!? Didja make me some great-gran'kids yet?" Granny Smith asked as she jolted awake. "No, Granny." "Fig'rs! Still foolin' around with that Caramel, Ah 'spect. Why don'tcha get a nice marefriend like yer brother Jack?" "Ah'm no stallion, Granny," Applejack said, blushing as Twilight raised an eyebrow at her. "Pah! Ah guess it's up to Apple Bloom. Y'won't let me down, will ya, child?" Apple Bloom rolled her head over on the table. "Yeah, Granny, whatever ya say," she said. Granny Smith smiled. "That's mah lil' Bloom! A red-blood Apple through'n'through. The Apple clan didn't get where we are 'cause of colt-cuddlin' and mare-marryin'. Do y'got any stallions in yer sights, girl? How about Snails? He's a real good down-home ol' boy, don'tcha think?" Twilight and Applejack snuck out as Apple Bloom's face turned as red as her Apple blood. "Grannyyy!" ~ ~ ~ The two mares closed the bedroom door and sighed before giggling at each other. "Sorry 'bout Granny, Twi. She can be a lil'... abrasive." "Don't worry about that, Applejack. I love your family." Twilight's eyes twinkled. "All of it." "Oh, Twi. That's mighty sweet of ya." The two ponies shared a quick kiss. Twilight blushed—even after a year of apple-flavored kisses, intimacy was something she refused to take for granted—and Applejack gave her neck a tender nuzzle. "Listen, Ah've gotta head out to the orchard 'n' start my day. You gonna go back to yer book? Ah wouldn't mind seeing some of yer new magic stuff when Ah get back," Applejack said. Twilight floated her thick, modern textbook from the shelf and nodded. "Count on it. I just need a couple more hours of practice, and I should be on the cutting edge of magical possibility." Applejack headed out and Twilight sat down, her eyes idly skimming the same paragraph over and over again. She thought about her marefriend outside, sweating through hours of hard physical labor. How easy it would be to just walk out and harvest their whole crop in an instant, with a little magic! But, that wasn't the Apple family way, except during emergencies, and this wasn't one. She gave up on reading after a few minutes, and flopped down on their bed. Her eyes began to droop in the warm summer sunlight. The humid air fogged her thoughts and she curled up and snuggled a pillow. Just a quick nap, then I'll get right back to— Knock, knock, knock. "Hey, come on! Lemme in!" Spike's voice called through the door. Twilight let out an irritated snort and a purple glow surrounded the door handle. Spike burst through the door and slammed it behind him. "Phew, thanks, Twilight. Things were getting crazy out there." Spike leaned against the wall, catching his breath. "That sounds like some pretty standard Apple Family." Twilight giggled. "Is Apple Bloom still crushing on you?" Spike rubbed his temples. "You don't know the half of it, Twilight. You should have seen her hopping along after me back there. I thought I wasn't going to be able to lose her!" "Aw, poor lil' Spike, mares chasing after him for once. What ever will he do?" Twilight teased. Spike sunk to the ground and buried his face in his claws. "This isn't funny, Twilight. Do you know that she pinned me down and tried to kiss me yesterday?" "Aw, Spike." Twilight pushed herself out of bed and gave the little dragon a big hug. "I'm sorry that happened to you, but that still just sounds cute." "It's not," Spike whimpered, "I just want me and her to stay friends." Spike hugged Twilight as the bedroom door burst open and dozens of small multicolored ponies swarmed into the room, babbling. Various tiny lookalikes of Granny Smith, Big Mac and Apple Bloom surrounded Twilight and stood perfectly still, watching her. "What the—" The group burst into a chaotic cacophony of sound. Twilight held onto Spike, covering his body with her own for protection from the inexplicable mob. "What's going on, Spike?!" she screamed over the noise. Looking down at the dragon, she saw Applejack's purple, scaly, smiling face. "Ah don't rightly know, Sugarcube," the creature said. Twilight blacked out.