//------------------------------// // 3 - Love's Fracture // Story: The Crystal Ball // by TobiasDrake //------------------------------// Twilight paced back in forth in the foyer, trying to think about what to do from here. She’d gotten what she wanted. Applejack and Rarity were going on a date. She hated every ounce of it but if she was ever going to find what made her a more fitting partner for Applejack than Rarity, she had to know whether or not they would click together. She was worried the experiment might be tainted by Applejack’s feelings for her. Worse, she wouldn’t actually be able to observe the results, so she’d just have to rely on Applejack to communicate them. It wasn’t the perfect plan but consarnit, it was all she had. Heh. Consarnit. She stopped for a moment and giggled to herself. “Consarnit ya low-down apple…varmint?” She’d probably never get countryisms down, but it was fun to try them out every now and then. Where was she? Oh, that’s right. The Crystal Ball was coming and she needed to be ready. A knock pounding on the door shook Twilight out of her daze. “Be right there!” she shouted. She slipped quickly into the birthday dress Rarity had kindly made for her, then trotted over to the door and opened it. Rainbow Dash chipperly greeted her with a simple, “Good evening, Twilight!” She was dressed in a fine tuxedo with her rainbow mane slicked back. “Are you ready to be my lady this evening?” She held out her hoof for Twilight to take. “I’ve been looking forward to it,” Twilight answered with another giggle as she entwined her hoof in Rainbow Dash’s as they set off for the train station. Passengers were still boarding as they arrived at the station. Rarity and Applejack had gotten there ahead of them and, to Twilight’s dismay, seemed to be having the time of their lives. Applejack was laughing at something Rarity had just said, and Twilight wasn’t sure she’d ever seen Rarity smiling so brightly. “Hello, everypony,” Twilight greeted. “Evenin’, sugarcube,” Applejack answered her. “Do you want to tell her?” she asked Rarity. Rarity dismissively waved her hoof. “No, dear. By all means, you do it.” Confused, Twilight cocked her head to the side. “Tell me what?” Applejack grinned. “This is such a great idea ya had. It worked out so great for us, we went ahead and got hitched!” Twilight’s heart sank. “What?! You got married?! In two days?!” “Oh, don’t be like that,” Rarity scolded. “Being with Applejack has been an absolute dream. I can’t imagine why you would ever have given it up.” "It...it was supposed to be temporary!" Twilight insisted. Putting a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder, Rainbow Dash tried to console her. “That’s okay, Egghead. You’ll always have me.” Twilight jerked away from Rainbow Dash, shooting frantic glances between Rarity and Applejack. When Applejack leaned into Rarity and began to kiss her, Twilight shook her head. “I can’t watch this….” She turned and bolted, leaving a confused Rainbow Dash behind her. Twilight galloped from the station and through the town plaza. She kept going as she passed the library. She galloped out of town and passed Fluttershy’s cabin. Finally, she entered the Everfree Forest. As she fled, she saw an orange light beginning to fade into the distance, so she started to chase it. Her muscles hadn’t felt so tired in a long time but she kept pushing them, trying to get to the light. Then, suddenly, she skidded to a stop. “Wait a minute. I’m back in the dream, aren’t I?” Crystal Princess Rarity’s voice boomed in the dark passageway. “I was wondering how long that would take you. Have you found your answer?” “Not yet,” she admitted. “I’ve set up a test that should produce some results in a couple of days, though.” “So you have no data for tonight, then?” Twilight thought for a moment. “Um…I practiced my countryisms?” “That was in the dream, darling.” “But it counts,” Twilight insisted. “I don’t know that Rarity could do a countryism if her life depended on it.” “I’ve heard your attempt. I’m not convinced you can either.” Twilight lowered her head. “That’s all I have. Maybe I could work on that while I’m waiting on my test? If I could find ways that I can contribute to the farm or to Applejack personally that Rarity couldn’t, that might be my answer.” “You do that,” the Crystal Princess answered with a yawn. “In the meanwhile, you’ve failed tonight's exam once again.” Applejack appeared once more and began her slow walk away. Twilight started after her, but stopped herself. “…I shouldn’t. The last time I chased her--” “Oh, that’s right!” Rarity laughed. “You kicked her! In the eye! That was amazing. I’m surprised she didn’t break it off with you right then and there.” Twilight closed her eyes as the hollowness squeezed her heart. “I know. I am too.” When she opened them again, she was in her bed in the library. The moon was still high in the sky as it often was when she emerged from the dream. Pushing the blankets off of her, she slipped out of bed and quietly crept towards the stairs, mindful of the sleeping Spike. At the bottom, she lit her candle and summoned her papers. Levitating a quill, she began to scribe. What were Applejack’s interests? Her goals? Her dreams? Hobbies? Desires? Where were there openings to introduce herself into Applejack’s life more fully? The sun finished rising over the horizon as Applejack knocked on the door to the Carousel Boutique. It opened with a puff of magic and the words, “Come in!” Stepping inside, Applejack found Rarity hard at work at her sewing machine. Pinned behind her were a variety of colorful sketches notated at various points. “Mornin’, Rares,” Applejack greeted her. “Reckoned it might be a good idea to talk.” “I don’t have a lot of time,” Rarity admitted as she levitated a bolt of cloth towards her work desk. “I have two days to make dresses for the six of us and, frankly, two of those are going to be quite the challenge. I’ve just started on Twilight’s, but I spent all night drafting up designs.” Applejack turned and saw a simple gown on one of Rarity’s mannequins. The gown was a bluish silver with a green and gold trim running around it, which brought a smile to Applejack’s face. “I like the trim,” she complimented. “I should hope so,” Rarity responded. “That trim’s for you.” “Beg pardon?” Taking a deep breath, Rarity stepped back from her workstation and explained. “It is my hope that Twilight will come to her senses about this hideous double date idea of hers. There’s not going to be time to make entirely separate sets of dresses, however, so the ones you are wearing will have to suffice. “What I am trying to do with this dress is to make something that will complement the visual assault on good taste that is Rainbow Dash’s color scheme, but can also be aesthetically matched with the dress I will be making for you. So now I have to make four dresses paired three ways between them in less than two days, and that’s before I even get started on Fluttershy’s and Pinkie’s!” Applejack blinked. “Sounds like you got your hooves full. I’m awful sorry about that. I don’t know what’s come over Rainbow, and Twi’s been nuttier than a hog in a peach orchard this last week.” “She can’t help it,” Rarity argued. “She loves you, and hasn’t quite learned the grace she needs to do that in moderation. Does that bother you?” “I don’t know,” Applejack admitted. She took another look at Twilight’s dress. “Bothers me somethin’ fierce she ain’t goin’ to the Ball with me. Same time, I should probably let ya work but instead I’m hangin’ out here ‘cause I’m afraid she’s gonna jump out of the shed or somethin’ if I go home.” Applejack’s words piqued Rarity’s curiosity. “Would that be so terrible? I should think you’d be thrilled to see her.” “You’d think.” Applejack sighed. “Time was, all I could think about was when I’d see her next, but right now I feel like I’m drownin’ in Twilight. Ya know what she said to me the other night? ‘Our room.’” “And you don’t approve?” Applejack idly kicked at the floor with her front hoof. “Maybe? I don’t know if I’m ready for my room to be ‘ours’ just yet. I mean, where does that lead? Our orchard? Our library? Our assistant Spike?” For a moment, images of Spike struggling to try and move the plow flashed through Applejack’s head. She shuddered, hoping to never have to deal with anything of the sort. Turning her attention back to Rarity, Applejack asked, “Does that make me a bad VSS?” Rarity smiled warmly to her. “No, Applejack. It just means that you need your space from time to time. Every couple goes through this at some point. Let me ask you this: do you still love her?” Without hesitation, Applejack nodded. “Course, I do.” Dryly, Rarity added, “Even though she kicked you in the face?” “She didn’t mean nothin’ by it. She was havin’ a nightmare and I was tryin’ to help her. It was an accident.” Rarity breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, that’s good to hear. A touch less spicy than I’d hoped, but good all the same. Then I think the question you need to answer is this: what would it mean for the room to be both yours and Twilight’s?” Applejack sat on her haunches next to the mannequin and tilted her head up in thought. “Don’t rightly know. Ain’t never had nothin’ this big be an ‘ours’ before. I’ve had little ourses. Our flowers. Our diner. Twi picked out an ‘Our Constellation’ one night but I surely can’t find it. Just looks like a gaggle of stars in Luna’s sky to me.” Applejack sighed. “It’d mean openin’ a part of my life I ain’t never shared with nopony, but I’ve done that with Twi.” Carefully, Rarity set two pieces of cloth into her sewing machine and began to push them through. “Then what are you afraid of?” she asked. “Afraid? I ain’t…well….” Applejack thought for a moment. Was she afraid of having Twilight around so much? “Maybe I am scared. Givin’ up my room means not havin’ a space where we ain’t ‘us’ no more. It means she ain’t just a part of my life; she’s in all of it. Might as well get hitched at that point.” “Does it? It would mean a loss of your sanctuary, but I imagine there are many parts of your life where Twilight wouldn’t quite fit. Further, you still haven’t said whether it would be so terrible.” “That’s ‘cause I don’t know if I’m ready.” Rarity sighed. “I don’t think anypony ever really does. The best you can do is follow your heart and see where it guides you. If you need more time, I’m sure Twilight will understand, but you should take some time to think about it first.” Applejack nodded. “I’ll do that. Thanks, Rares. How do ya know so much about this stuff anyway? I ain’t never seen ya with a stallion or mare of your own. I suppose there was that one at the Gala….” Rarity glared at Applejack for a couple seconds before answering. “Setting aside the matter of your rudeness, I work in an industry where many of my customers have a Very Special Somepony of their own or are trying to obtain one. They need a dress for a date or an anniversary or Hearts and Hooves Day. Sometimes even for a wedding. Those clients like to talk, and their favorite topic is their partner. You and Twilight are hardly the first to while away the hours sharing stories of your tumultuous romance right here in my boutique.” “Huh.” Applejack blinked. “Guess that makes sense. Reckon ya know all kinds of secrets about Ponyville?” Knowingly, Rarity grinned. “You’d be aghast to hear some of the things I know, but it would hardly be proper to share them.” Changing the subject, Rarity commented, “I’m worried about Fluttershy.” “She and Pinkie still need dates to this shindig, don’t they?” Rarity nodded. “Pinkie will be fine, I’m sure. She’s probably already found somepony to go with. I fear Fluttershy may need our help, though.” Applejack nodded. “Yeah, I don’t see her workin’ up the nerve to ask somepony to the Ball. Do ya know what her type is?” Rarity shook her head. “I’m afraid I don’t.” “…do ya even know if she likes stallions or mares?” “She never talks about it.” Applejack sighed. “Needle in a haystack, then. I hear some ponies don’t like neither. Hope she ain’t one of those.” Rarity thought for a moment. “Mmm…well, I certainly wouldn’t rule it out, but let’s not make presumptions. She could just be very shy. It’d hardly be unusual for her to simply be uncomfortable discussing the matter.” Her eyes brightened up as an idea struck her. “Why don’t you ask your brother?” “What, Big Mac? Don’t reckon he even knows she’s alive. What makes ya think he’d know what kind of pony Fluttershy likes?” Rarity narrowed her eyes and glared at Applejack until the idea clicked in her head as well. “Oh! Ask him to take her. Ehh…reckon I could, but ain’t that kind of like a blind date?” Still glaring, Rarity turned her eyes back to her work and answered, “Yes, which make it still more legitimate than this farce of a spectacle you and I will be putting on for Twilight Saturday night.” Applejack shook her head. “Hog in a peach orchard. All I’m sayin’.” She sighed and looked up, closing her eyes in thought. “And here I am hidin’ from her. What kind of Very Special Somepony does that?” “An excellent question,” Rarity replied. “If you should happen to get home and she is waiting for you after all, what will you do?” “I don’t know. Deal with it, I guess.” “If I might make a suggestion? It might be time for you to let her in.” Applejack raised an eyebrow. “What, the farm?” Rarity looked up from her work again, and her gaze was as cold as daggers. Applejack remembered that look. It was an expression she hadn’t seen in several moons. “You know what I mean,” she uttered sternly, more like a command than a statement. In that moment, Applejack felt a pang of guilt strike her heart. She closed her eyes and slowly nodded. “Yeah, Rares. I do.” She looked out the window. The sun was still high in the sky, but she suddenly felt more unwelcome than she had in a long while. “I should probably get goin’, then.” “Best of luck, then.” Rarity hesitated, then added, “I do mean that, Applejack. I’m not trying to be mean, but it’s time you stopped running. Remember: the next time you break up with her, she might just let you.” With a smile on her face and a mission in her heart, Twilight trotted through the gates into Sweet Apple Acres wearing her blue saddlebags. “Good morning, Big Macintosh,” she greeted the stallion as he set his baskets for applebucking. “Are you having a good day?” “Eeyup.” “I’m glad. I need to stop at the house, but I’ll be back to help you shortly.” With those words, she started off towards the porch. “Eeyup,” Big Macintosh answered. He set down his last basket, then jerked up suddenly. “Wait, what?” Twilight was already gone, however. Inside the house, she cheerfully greeted the family matriarch. “Good morning, Granny Smith.” Seated in her favorite rocker, Granny Smith looked up from her quilting. “Oh? Mornin’, Twilight. We sure are seein’ a lot of ya this week.” She squinted her eyes, studying Twilight closely. “Y’all didn’t go and get yourselves hitched in the Crystal Empire, did ya?” Twilight shook her head. “Oh, no, we’ve done nothing of the sort.” She looked up for a moment in thought, then turned her attention back to Granny Smith and asked a little too eagerly, “You don’t think she’d want to, do you?” Twilight’s question warranted a laugh out of Granny Smith. “Ha! It’s much too soon and y’all are much too young to give that thought the time of day!” “Oh.” Twilight pouted, but she knew Granny Smith was right. She was getting ahead of herself. “Where is--” Before she could finish, Granny Smith shot her a knowing smirk and answered, “Hold your horses. Applejack had to run into town for a bit. Why don’t ya take your bags up, then come on down and sit a spell? I can tell ya the story of old Apple Sprout, who was workin’ late the night when Nightmare Moon was banished.” Twilight smiled. “That sounds lovely, Granny Smith. There’s something else I have to do first, but I’ll be back to listen.” Twilight climbed the stairs to Applejack’s room and set down her bags. She levitated a set of calculations she’d performed out of them and gave them one last glance over. She’d created a comprehensive analysis of Applejack’s musculature and visibly measured her position, stance, and angle of attack. Taking a deep breath, she set down her paperwork and returned downstairs. She marched out the door and trotted into the orchard, where Big Macintosh had already filled half a cart’s worth. “Excuse me,” she greeted him. “May I borrow a few baskets?” “Eeyup,” he answered her before landing a powerful kick on his tree. Twilight watched the apples pour down into the baskets below. “Thank you.” She levitated three of the empty baskets from his cart, then trotted over to a nearby tree and set them down around it. She carefully measured out their spacing to be identical to what she’d seen from the Apples. Big Macintosh loaded up his filled baskets on the cart, then glanced over and noticed Twilight slowly and meticulously arranging her baskets. Stepping over towards her, he asked, “Uh, Twilight? What are you doing?” “Helping,” she answered cheerfully. Seeming content with her last basket, Twilight stepped around in front of the tree and took up the familiar position with her hind legs towards its trunk. “That ain’t a good idea,” Big Macintosh insisted with a gulp. “Don’t worry, I’ve been studying all night. I’m sure I’ve got this.” “If you say so.” Big Macintosh walked away, not being able to watch this. He returned to his cart and began pulling it to the next set of trees he was scheduled for. As he passed the road, he saw Applejack coming through the gates. “Mornin’, Big Mac,” Applejack greeted him. “How’s the buckin’ comin’? Ready for me to take over?” “Talk to her,” Big Macintosh urged. Applejack looked over his shoulder at Twilight who was nervously shifting around in front of one of her trees. What was she…no. No. She couldn’t be…. “Butter my biscuits! Twilight, stop!” Applejack shouted and broke into a gallop, but her voice went unheard. Twilight took a deep breath, then tucked in her hind legs, kicked off the ground, and-- “OW! Ow ow ow ow owwww….” Twilight whimpered. She was propped up on the living room couch with her right hind leg stretched out and resting on the table. Granny Smith cautiously dabbed a damp cloth over the torn muscles. “Does it hurt here?” Granny Smith asked and pressed down on Twilight’s hip. A shriek gave her all the answer she needed. “Think ya might have cracked the bone. We should see about gettin’ ya to the hospital.” “No, I can’t, I’ll be okay,” Twilight muttered through gasps of pain. She shot a pleading look up at Applejack, who returned only fury. “What in tarnation did you think you were doin’ out there?!” “I was trying to help. I studied your stance and angle and….” Applejack planted her hoof on her forehead. “Twilight, Apples train our bodies for years before we’re ready for our first applebuck. It ain’t just somethin’ ya go out and mathematics your way through. It takes muscle work.” “Eeyup,” Big Macintosh added. “Apple Bloom does it,” Twilight countered. Applejack shook her head. “Apple Bloom’s been trainin’ her buckin’ legs like the rest of us, and that ain’t all she exercises. No offense, sugarcube, but if ya want to hoof-wrestle, my bits are on her.” Twilight looked down at the arm of the couch, gritting her teeth against the sharp spikes of pain shooting out of her leg and hip. “Did I even get a single apple?” “Ain’t sure the tree even noticed you were there.” Twilight plowed her face into the cushion and let out an ambiguous groan. Applejack sat down on her haunches on the other side of the cushion and stroked her mane. “Look, sugar, this ain’t unicorn work. I don’t reckon you could get the body for it if ya wanted to.” Granny Smith looked up to Big Macintosh. “Think ya can cart Twilight to the hospital?” Applejack shook her head. “No, don’t.” She took a moment to look at Twilight’s leg, still stretched out, then gave her a soft kiss on the forehead, next to her horn. The guilt shot through her once more. “Rares is right; I did this. Ain’t nopony’s fault but mine, so I’ll take her. Big Mac, can ya cover me this afternoon?” “Eeyup.” Applejack put Twilight’s right front hoof over her shoulder to help her limp out to the cart, then hoisted her into it. She stepped into the harness and pulled the cart into town in mostly silence. The only sound came when Twilight whispered, “I’m sorry.” Softly, Applejack answered, “I know. I am too.” Rarity was still hard at work when a soft knock came to her door. With a tug of magic, she yanked it open while her hooves pushed another set of cloths through the sewing machine. “Come in,” she muttered through clenched teeth, unable to be opened lest the pair of needles gripped in them be dropped. “Is this a good time?” Fluttershy asked, stepping through the door. “I wanted to ask you about fashion.” Rarity blinked. This was a first. She decided she could certainly afford to take a break and levitated the pins out of her mouth, setting them down on the desk. Taking her hoof off the sewing machine’s pedal, she let herself down from her chair and came around the desk to see Fluttershy. “I’m always interested to talk fashion, dear, but I can’t say this isn’t a surprise. What’s on your mind?” “I’m worried that Twilight is going to ask me to make a dress,” Fluttershy admitted. “She told me I have to be Rarity.” Rarity blinked. She didn’t know what she was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t that. “Did she, now? When did she say this?” “On the train, when she was going crazy about good things.” Rarity dismissively waved a hoof. “I wouldn’t worry about it, dear. I’m already halfway finished with her dress. Oh, but I’m glad you stopped by because I wanted to let you know that Applejack and I have been talking, and we think it would be a marvelous idea for you to go to the Ball with Big Mac!” Fluttershy shook her head. “Thank you, but I’m already going with somepony.” Rarity took a moment to process those words. This was quite a day of surprises from Fluttershy. “I’m sorry, but…you’ve already asked somepony? You asked somepony?” Fluttershy smiled widely and nodded her head. “We’re just going as friends but I thought it would be a good opportunity to get to know him a little better. We met when we had to create the tornado for Cloudsdale’s water supply, but there’s been very little time to talk to one another. He seems nice.” “Oh. Well. Good luck with that, then.” Rarity’s spirit dropped. She’d somehow managed to take a modicum of comfort from the thought that she’d be able to commiserate with Fluttershy as they stuck it out through the awkward nightmare that the Crystal Ball would inevitably be, but now that hope was dashed. “Have you spoken to Pinkie?” Fluttershy asked. “I haven’t seen her all day. She’s usually not very hard to find.” Rarity shook her head. “Darling, I’ve been cooped up in here since sun-up and intend to remain so until these dresses are finished. I’ve hardly seen anypony today.” Fluttershy lowered her head. “I see. I hope she’s okay.” Secreted away in her hidden basement, Pinkie pored over her files. She’d emptied the cabinets and spilled their contents all over the floor. Every surface was covered in manila folders as the party pony swept from one folder to another. Cheerilee! Bulk Biceps! Fluttershy! Spike! Shining Armor! Princess Celestia! Surely, there had to be somepony that would be a good match for her. “Aha!” She shouted, flipping through a folder. Reliable, dependable, and a trustworthy friend. She’d known her for years and could depend on her to be open and honest. If anypony would make a good date, it’d probably be Appleja-- Pinkie slapped her forehead with her hoof. “No, Applejack’s going with Twilight.” Pinkie slapped her forehead with her hoof again. “No, Applejack’s NOT going with Twilight. Why isn’t she going with Twilight?! WHAT KIND OF SENSE DOES THAT MAKE?!” she screamed at the empty basement. “The kind where your friend is hurting and needs an awesome party from an awesome party planner,” the basement replied. “And there’s nopony better to plan that party than Ponyville’s number one party planner, Pinkie Pie!” “You make a good point, disembodied voice in my head that I should be concerned about!” Pinkie grinned. “I’m going to throw them both the best party--” She stopped suddenly and her grin degraded into a frown. “No, I can’t throw them a party. They’re already going to a party and it’s not going to be a super-special Pinkie Pie Party.” “Wow. Sucks to be you.” “That’s not helping!” Pinkie huffed. “Stupid imaginary head voices.” Dr. Horse stepped into Twilight’s hospital room, levitating a clipboard with him. Applejack sat at the side of Twilight’s bed, her hoof clasped delicately between both of Twilight’s front hooves. Clearing his throat, the doctor explained, “I have some bad news, Miss Sparkle. The leg is fractured, I’m afraid. You will have to avoid putting pressure on it for a few weeks while it recovers. “WHAT?!” Twilight shouted. “I can’t do that! We have a ball coming up in two days and I have to be there!” The doctor raised an eyebrow. “A ball? Miss, I’m sorry, but that’s just not going to be possible. We can set you up with a wheelchair, but it’s going to be at least three weeks before you’ll even be able to walk, and it will still hurt even then. Dancing is absolutely out of the question.” Twilight’s heart felt like it was about to fall out of her chest. “I can’t miss the Crystal Ball….” Applejack reached her other front hoof up and set it over Twi’s. “Ain’t like we were gonna do much dancin’ anyway. You should write Princess Cadance and let her know--” Twilight shook her head. “No, we still need to go.” She looked up at the doctor. “Not being able to dance doesn’t mean I can’t at least be present, right?” The doctor shrugged. “I can’t tell you not to. Just be sure to keep pressure off your leg. I’ll see about getting you that wheelchair.” Applejack waited for the doctor to close the door, then pushed. “Twilight, if this shindig goes any further South, we’re liable to smack into Appleloosa. I’m callin’ it off.” “You can’t!” Twilight shrieked. “Please, just…have a good time with Rarity and don’t worry about me.” Applejack narrowed her eyes. “Yeah, I’m sure Rainbow’s gonna be thrilled to be shackled to a wheelchair all night.” She tilted her eyes up in thought. “Come to think of it, that might be funny to watch.” Twilight saw her opening and pressed it. “See? I’ll be okay. What’s important is you and Rarity.” “What’s so important about me and Rarity? Why’s this still eatin’ ya so bad?” “I don’t know,” Twilight admitted. “I have to know, though. I have to be sure.” “Sure of what?! Twilight--” Applejack didn’t get to finish, because the doctor returned at that moment, pulling a wheelchair through the door. “Hello again, Miss Sparkle,” the doctor greeted. “Let’s get you down the hall and see about putting that cast on.” “Will I be able to go home afterwards?” Twilight asked. “I can’t recommend it. You’re going to need at least a few days of bed rest. But I don’t suppose I can stop you, either.” “I have an assistant at home,” Twilight assured the doctor. “If we can make arrangements, Spike should be able to take care of everything for me. He….” She looked down sadly. “He always does.” “You’ve always had somepony to make your meals for you. You’ve never had to subsist on your own.” “Well,” the doctor replied, “that does make me feel better about letting you go. Very well, Miss Sparkle. We’ll get your cast put on, then we can talk about medication and bedrest. I’ll send a nurse to check in on you a couple times each day.” “Thank you.” Twilight turned her attention back to Applejack. “Stay with me until they let me go?” Applejack gave Twilight the best smile she could to hide the growing discontent in her heart. “You know, I will. Somepony’s going to need to wheel you home.” “I should be able to do it with my magic, actually,” Twilight corrected. “But I’d prefer if it was you.” Applejack leaned up and gave Twilight another kiss on the forehead, prompting the doctor to awkwardly shift his gaze. “Oh!” he commented. “You two are….” Applejack bristled, turning to glare at the doctor. “Yeah. That a problem?” “Not at all,” he backpedaled with a grin that Applejack was sure looked fake as a set of udders on a bull. The doctor wheeled the chair over for Twilight. With a bit of magic and some lifting from Applejack, they were able to navigate her off the bed and into the chair. “Stay with me,” Twilight whispered to Applejack once more just before the doctor took control of the chair with his magic and pushed it towards the door. Despite herself, Applejack took a deep breath, let out a sigh, and followed. As the sun approached the horizon, Rainbow Dash skipped another rock across a wide stream in front of her. She hovered upright a couple feet off the ground, lowering herself to grab another rock before floating back up and skipping it. She’d gone by the Apple farm again today to see if Applejack was there. She wanted to talk about this crazy double date situation, but she hadn’t seen her. She thought about knocking, but wasn’t looking up to another Twilight shock. That’s probably where she was anyway. Out with Twilight and having a blast. That’s all she ever seemed to do anymore: hang out with Twilight. Did you see the way they were draped on each other last night? Yes, stupid hollow spot in her heart, Rainbow Dash had seen it. It was weird and gross and she’d hated every minute of it. Apparently now Twilight and Applejack couldn’t even be in the same room together without having to remind everypony around them about how they like each other so much more than all of their friends. Rainbow Dash lobbed another rock, but it hit the water’s surface with a plot and sank straight down. They’re probably laughing at me. I have to take Twilight to this stupid ball and I’m sure AJ just thought that was so hilarious. Rainbow Dash picked up another rock and tossed it. Then she sat down and tried to think about anything but how great a time Twilight and Applejack were assuredly having without her. “Here ya go, sugar,” Applejack told Twilight as she wheeled her to the library’s door. “You’re sure ya don’t want me to stay?” The sun had almost finished sliding under the horizon. Twilight shook her head. “No, I’ve taken you away from the farm enough already. I’m becoming a burden.” Applejack released the wheelchair and dropped back onto her front hooves. She couldn’t dispute Twilight’s statement, so she settled for, “Ain’t been all bad.” Stepping around the chair, Applejack leaned in and gave Twilight a parting kiss. For a brief moment, Twilight’s breaking heart felt secure and warm in the embrace of her partner’s lips. The kiss ended too soon, however, and it took her confidence with it. “You were right,” she muttered. “We aren’t a storybook romance. I don’t know what we are anymore.” “We’re just us. Same’s we’ve always been. I know your head’s all mixed ‘round right now, but I’ll still be here when ya find your way back.” She put a comforting hoof against Twilight’s shoulder for a couple seconds. “See ya tomorrow, sugarcube.” As Applejack headed down the road, Twilight opened the front door with her magic and wheeled herself into the library. “Spike!” she called out as her magic wheeled her up to the center table. Spike stepped out of the kitchen with a pan full of batter and a couple of gems in his claws. “Twilight? I didn’t think you’d be--WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR LEG?!” He dropped the pan as soon as he saw Twilight’s condition and scrambled across the room to get a closer look. Twilight gave him a sheepish smile. “I might have accidentally broken it this morning. But it’s okay. I just need to give it some time to heal.” She glanced at the splattered batter on the floor. Spike would clean that up once he stopped fussing over her, she was sure. “You were going crazy about Applejack again, weren’t you?” “I confirm nothing,” she answered quickly, then faked a yawn. “Besides, the doctor told me to get lots of bed rest so I should probably get up there.” She turned her wheelchair and pressed it right up against the stairs. It hit the first step with a thunk and stopped in place. Twilight stared at the staircase for a few seconds, then looked down at her wheels. Then she looked back up the stairs, now an impenetrable barrier standing between her and her bedroom. “Ohhh…” she vocalized as realization dawned on her. She turned her head slowly to look at her beleaguered assistant, smiling as wide as she could force herself to. “…Spiiiiike? Could you do me a favor?” Applejack slipped into the house and headed upstairs. She crept quietly down the hall to avoid waking up anypony, then slid open the door to her room as quiet as she could. She took three steps into the room, then tripped and slammed her chin into the floor. “What in tarnation?” she whispered as she picked herself off the ground. Still planted in the middle of the room were a pair of saddlebags. They were hard to make out in the dark, but Applejack had a hunch they were light blue with a six-pointed star on them. The pockets were stuffed with books and papers. A few loose pages now littered the floor, scattered by the impact. Applejack couldn’t make them out in the dark and assumed they’d make about as much sense in the light. Probably some kind of fancy mathematics work regarding Twilight’s first and hopefully last applebuck. She tried to put them out of her mind and laid herself down in bed, but sleep refused to come. Those pages were nagging at the back of her mind. “Twi doesn’t feel like part of the family,” she whispered to herself, turning over to stare up at the ceiling. “She needs a space where she can belong.” She nodded to herself, acknowledging what that had to mean. She wasn’t sure if she was prepared for this, but it didn’t matter anymore. As she lay sleepless in her bed, she made her plans for tomorrow. Twilight felt guilty for having Spike drag her bed down the stairs when she didn’t have any intention of actually sleeping. Her latest attempt at finding her answer had ended disastrously and she knew Crystal Princess Rarity was waiting for her in her dreams. Once Spike had gone to bed, she set to work. Sitting up in her bed, she levitated all the notes she’d made thus far from the various stashing places she’d found in her bookshelves. She needed to start over from the beginning. Everything she knew about Applejack, about the family, and about herself needed to be scrutinized, analyzed, and studied. By the light of her horn, she started once more to write. In the light of the afternoon sun, Rainbow Dash descended towards the Golden Oaks Library. She’d spent the last day putting it off, but she knew she eventually had to talk to Twilight about this stupid not-date Applejack was making them go on tomorrow. As she dove towards the ground, Rainbow Dash noticed Spike pacing back and forth outside the door. He seemed frustrated about something. Rainbow Dash pulled out of her dive, flared her wings, and caught herself. She fluttered down towards Spike, calling out, “Hey! What’s going on?” “Would you talk to her?!” Spike shouted back, wildly gesturing at the door. Rainbow Dash peered in the window. A variety of charts, graphs, and other sheets of paper hung around the library. The table was overflowing with paperwork and the walls seemed absolutely covered with them. Twilight sat upright on her bed with her blankets wrapped around her waist, frantically scrawling with her levitating quill, seemingly oblivious to the world around her. “What is she doing?” Rainbow Dash asked Spike. Spike threw up his claws in consternation. “I have no idea! She won’t talk to me. She’s been going crazier and crazier over this stupid Rarity thing.” “Rarity thing?” Spike sighed. “She wants to be prettier than Rarity or something. I don’t know, she won’t say anything!” Rainbow Dash popped an eyebrow. “That’s weird. I’ll try to talk to her.” Pushing the door open, Rainbow Dash called out. “Hey, Twilight! Whatcha up to?” Twilight sat silently in her bed, continuing to scrawl. Rainbow Dash stepped into the room and took a look at one of the hanging leaflets. “Estimated hoof sizes?” she read aloud. There were measurements of Twilight’s hooves followed by other statistics labelled as Applejack, Big Macintosh, Granny Smith, and Apple Bloom. “That’s private,” Twilight murmured, not looking up from the sheet she was working on. “Uh…okay….” Rainbow Dash took a couple steps away from it, looking around the room. “So…what are you working on?” “Do you really care? Or did you just come here to be passive-aggressive about me and Applejack again?” Twilight’s words stung Rainbow Dash deeper than she could have expected. “I care because we’re friends,” she insisted. “Are we? It doesn’t seem like it anymore.” Twilight’s voice sounded flat and drained, like she didn’t have the energy to put much emotion into it. She spoke in a cold, matter-of-fact tone that chilled Rainbow Dash, and her words cut into the hollow place in the pit of Rainbow Dash’s stomach. Rainbow Dash took a step towards Twilight, but she was cut off by another set of stern words. “Please leave me alone. I can’t have distractions right now. I need to find the answer.” “Um. Okay.” Rainbow Dash returned to the door, casting one last confused look at Twilight who still refused to even look at her. “Bye.” Stepping out the door, she looked down at Spike’s hopeful face and shook her head. “She won’t talk to me.” “So…Applejack?” “Applejack.” Applejack loaded the last basket of apples onto her second cart, then trotted around to the harness. Before she could step into it, Rainbow Dash appeared out of nowhere, shouting at her. “Twilight’s gone crazy! We need your help!” Applejack let out a frustrated sigh. Her thin hope that Twilight’s antics ended at the wheelchair shattered into pieces. “Course, she has. What’d she do this time?” “There’s no time to explain! Follow me!” Rainbow Dash rocketed off towards the library. “What?!” Applejack broke into a gallop, chasing after Rainbow Dash and shouting at the sky where she’d vanished. “THERE’S PLENTY OF TIME TO EXPLAIN!!! Get back here and start talkin’ sensible!” But Rainbow Dash never came back. Applejack galloped in silence until she arrived at the library, where Rainbow Dash and Spike were waiting for her. “Applejack!” Spike greeted her. “Maybe you can help. Did Rainbow Dash tell you what’s going on?” Applejack shot a stern glare at Rainbow Dash. “No. She could have been jabbin’ at me on the way here, but apparently, there was ‘no time to explain’.” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Look, it’s crazy town in there. If you think you could explain it, be my guest.” Applejack rolled her eyes and pushed the door open, followed shortly by Rainbow Dash and Spike. She took a look around at the sheets hanging from the walls and the mountain of paperwork on the table. “What in Sam Hill is all this?” she asked. Twilight jerked from the sound of Applejack’s voice. Her quill abruptly dropped to the ground and she spun around to face the others. “Applejack?!” she squeaked out. “You’re not supposed to see this.” Throwing off the blankets, she struggled to get up, but let out a pained gasp the instant pressure was placed on her broken leg and ceased. “Whoa! What happened to your leg?!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “I broke it,” Twilight answered, her eyes fixed on Applejack who was coming dangerously close to some of her research. “Estimates of my shoulder width?” Applejack asked skeptically, reading off one of the sheets. Twilight plucked it with her magic and shoved it into the pile on the table. “That’s nothing important!” she insisted. “She’s got hoofprint stuff over by the door,” Rainbow Dash added. That sheet also got plucked, but Applejack had already wandered over to another pile pinned to the wall. “Optimal applebuckin’ angles based on the curvature of my buckin’ legs? Color analysis of my mane? Are….” She squinted to get a closer look. “Are those some of my stray hairs taped to that one?” “I needed the data….” Twilight sheepishly confessed. Applejack shot a frantic look around the room. Rainbow Dash was right; it was a room full of crazy and it made her feel physically ill to even be present in it. Worst, it was all about her. Twilight had run amok through the library trying to scientifically explain her. Taking a deep breath, she took a few steps towards Twilight’s bed. “Listen. Twilight. Because I love you, I ain’t gonna scream, run away, and come back with fire. Yet. I ain’t sayin’ this is a dealbreaker. But we are in dealbreakin’s neighborhood. I’m gonna need ya to start explainin’ quick, ‘cause a torch is lookin’ mighty temptin’ right now.” “It’s data,” she explained. “No, Twi, it’s creepy. What could ya possibly need all this for?!” “I don’t know. I keep searching and searching but I can’t find the answer. No matter how hard I try, it just isn’t there. What if there isn’t one?” “Answer to what?” Applejack took a seat on the bed next to Twilight. “You ain’t tellin’ me everythin’. It can’t be the Rares comment. We talked about that. What’s hurtin’ ya so bad?” She shot a glance at Rainbow Dash and Spike, who simply nodded and excused themselves out the front door. “I’ve been having nightmares,” Twilight admitted. “Every night, it’s the same dream. I’m in a dark tunnel and Rarity’s there. She’s an alicorn princess and a Crystal Pony, and she looks amazing. Every night, she challenges me to find something about our relationship that couldn’t be just as special with Rarity. Something about me or how I fit in or…or something.” “That’s why you ain’t been sleepin’?” Applejack asked. Twilight nodded. “I can’t. Not until I have my answer. I need to find out what makes us uniquely suited for each other. What makes me a better partner for you than anypony else? Why is our relationship special?” Applejack shook her head. “There ain’t nothin’, Twilight.” Twilight placed her front hoof on Applejack’s shoulder, looking desperately into her eyes. “There has to be! There must be something about us that makes us different or else…or else we can’t be special.” Applejack let out a frustrated sigh. “Twilight, we ain’t special. We’re just two ponies found a little slice of happiness in the other.” “We’re special to me,” Twilight whispered. Her eyes fell away from Applejack’s, but the earth pony put her hoof under Twilight’s chin, tilting them back up. “Then why can’t that be enough?” “Because I still feel hollow inside,” Twilight answered. She put her hoof over her heart. “It doesn’t go away. No matter what I try, this feeling won’t leave. It’s not even a pain, exactly. It’s more like the absence of everything. It swells until I can’t feel or think about anything but how empty I am.” Applejack pulled Twilight’s head into her chest and cradled it. “How ‘bout now? Do ya feel empty right now?” “No,” Twilight murmured into the orange fuzz. “But you can’t hold me forever.” “No, I can’t,” Applejack agreed. She let go of Twilight and hopped down from the bed. “I’ve got work ain’t getting’ done while we’re sittin’ here frettin’, and my family’s had to put up with a lot of that from me this week, so here’s what we’re doin’. Pick out a couple of your favorite books and come keep me company while I get the buckin’ done. Tonight, we're goin' up to our special hill to watch the sun go down. “Ya want to find out what makes us work, so we're just gonna be us and let it work. No more cockamamie schemes and ideas to try and make me like ya more. No more of…whatever this is!” Applejack gestured emphatically around the library. “And none of this Crystal Ball switcheroo, neither.” Twilight reached for Applejack, but she was too far away. “We have to! Please, Applejack, I need this. I have to know if Rarity is more compatible with you than I am.” “She ain’t,” Applejack assured her, stepping back towards the bed. “Don’t matter none if she was, neither. You’re the pony I want with me at the Ball.” “Please,” Twilight pleaded. “I have to know.” Applejack grunted in frustration. “No, ya don’t. That’s your hollow place talkin’. Ya haven’t made a lick of sense all week because of it, and it’s just tryin’ to get ya to make another fool mistake.” “Then how do I stop feeling this way?” Twilight challenged. “If you know the answer, I’d be happy to listen. What do I have to do to make this feeling go away?” Applejack hesitated. She didn’t want to say the words, but they were the only answer she had. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I ain’t never felt nothin’ like it.” “That’s why I need you to go with Rarity. I hate this as much as you do, but I have to find my answer or I’ll never sleep again. I need to know, and this is the only way.” Applejack sighed. “I hate this, Twilight.” “I know. So do I.” “How is it going?” Spike asked Rainbow Dash. The pegasus had propped herself up on her hind legs to peer in the window. “AJ looks livid,” Rainbow Dash answered. “She’s waving her hooves around, and Twilight…what happened to her, anyway?” “She wouldn’t say,” Spike answered. “Pretty sure it had something to do with Applejack, though.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Of course, it did.” She wanted to be grumpier, but seeing Twilight in that state had jarred her. “Are we? It doesn’t seem like it anymore.” She rolled Twilight’s words through her head, trying to make sense of them and something uncomfortable rang true. Had they stopped being friends? In the pit of her stomach, she could feel that hollow place beginning to emerge once more, threatening to-- The door slammed shut behind Applejack as she emerged into the plaza. “Alright, y’all, here’s what’s goin’ on. Twi’s inside pickin’ out some of her books. She’s comin’ home with me tonight while we figure things out. Soon as we’re gone, y’all gather up all that crazy in there, stick it in a pile, and set it alight.” Spike scratched at the back of his head nervously. “Did Twilight say it was okay? I mean, it bothers me as much as you guys, but I don’t want to upset her.” Applejack turned her focus to Spike. “Part of bein’ the way we is means sometimes I have to talk for her, and this is one of those times. Ain’t none of that doin’ a lick but keepin’ her stuck in this loop of hers. She’s got a problem, she can yell at me over it.” Spike took a deep breath, then nodded. “Okay, Applejack. I’ll do it.” Applejack looked up at Rainbow Dash next. “We’re still on for this Crystal Ball nonsense, so I’ll need you to show up to the house just past dawn and pick up Twi. She’s supposed to meet Princess Cadance early, and that ain’t gonna be easy in that chair of hers.” “Yeah,” Rainbow Dash replied, “I wanted to ask about that. What the hoof?!” “Long story, short time. Can ya get this done for me?” Rainbow Dash nodded. “Sure, AJ. I’ll be there tomorrow.” The door chose that moment to open again. Twilight wheeled out in her chair, pushed by her own magic aura. “Are you ready to go?” she asked Applejack. It tugged at Rainbow Dash’s heartstrings to see Twilight in this state. The differences they had seemed minor compared to whatever had happened to her friend. Still, the hollowness inside of her whispered in her mind and wouldn’t let up. She already told you. She isn’t your friend anymore. Tomorrow was going to be a long day for everypony.