Within the throne room of the Crystal Empire, the Crystal Princess Cadance paced nervously. Preparations for the Ball were already underway. She’d recruited the best caterers and performers the Empire had to offer. She’d checked and double-checked the guest list. She personally approved each song that would play over the course of the night. For Twilight’s sake, it all had to be perfect.
“I don’t think it’s going to help anypony if you carve a groove in the floor,” Shining Armor teased her as he approached. “It’s still early and they’ve got a long ride ahead of them. Give them time.”
“I know,” Cadance agreed. “I just hope they enjoy it. We haven’t had much of a chance to get to know Applejack. What if she doesn’t like the food? Or the music?”
Shining Armor shrugged his shoulders. “Then she won’t like some parts. I don’t think she’s going to break up with Twili because we played a bad song. Besides, as much as I’m looking forward to seeing them, the Ball isn’t just for those two. It’s supposed to be a celebration for the Empire.”
Cadance nervously lowered her head. “It sort of is just for those two. It’s great that everypony’s going to get to enjoy themselves and I’m happy for her other friends being here, but the point of the Ball is to give Twilight some better atmosphere and see if it helps get her mind off her problems.”
“Twilight’s having problems?” Shining Armor asked.
“We can talk about it when she gets here. The point is, it has to be perfect for Applejack too. Otherwise, the whole thing will be ruined.”
Rainbow Dash tapped her hoof impatiently as she stood at the door to the Apple family homestead. The sun had only just peeked over the horizon, but Applejack asked for early and she was getting it.
She knocked on the door for the third time, then let out a combination of a yawn and a groan. She hoped Twilight wasn’t planning on talking on the train, because she saw nothing but sleep in her future plans.
After a few more seconds, the door mercifully opened. Letting out a yawn of her own, Twilight rolled her wheelchair outside. “Good morning. I’m sorry, I didn’t hear the door.” She blinked a few times to try and get the sleep out of her eyes.
“Isn’t Applejack usually up by now?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“She’s out in the South Orchard. Do you have our dresses?”
Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Rarity said she’d bring them with her. She needs a little more time to finish them.”
Twilight nodded. “That’s good.” Her eyes closed slowly and she yawned again. “We should probably get to the…pumpkin patch….” Her head rolled to the side and she began breathing lightly.
“Come on, Egghead.” Rainbow Dash stepped around behind Twilight’s wheelchair and began pushing her down the road. In the driest, most sarcastic voice she could muster, she muttered, “A night of fun awaits.”
“Mmhmm,” Twilight whispered in her sleep. She reached her head back and lightly nuzzled Rainbow Dash’s hoof. “Thanks, Applejack….”
Rainbow Dash fidgeted, not sure whether to wake her up or just let her keep dozing. Stuck for a response, she answered simply, “Uh…yeah. You’re welcome.”
Twilight let out a light giggle. “I really do love you.”
Rainbow Dash turned beet red. “Um. Yeah…uh…you too, Twilight.” As she pushed Twilight through the gates of Sweet Apple Acres, she sent a silent wish into the sky that Twilight would just stop talking.
Rainbow Dash’s hopes were mostly answered. Twilight was silent for most of the trip to the train station. She woke up on the train in a cold sweat, shouting, “Rarity!” After that awkwardness, the conversation was relatively brief. Rainbow Dash had set Twilight’s chair between a pair of benches, and she seemed mostly content once she was awake to watch the scenery go by.
Well, this is weird.
Rainbow Dash sat on the other side of the train, trying not to think too much. She felt intrusive more than anything else. She wanted to chat with Twilight like friends, but her gut was screaming at her that she shouldn’t even be here. Applejack should. She felt like a thief, stealing Applejack’s time with Twilight away from her.
None of this would even have happened if Twilight hadn’t stolen my pal.
There was that as well. The hollowness within her was starting to claw its way out of her gut, challenging her for feeling the way she did. Should Applejack be here, nuzzling up with Twilight and whispering dumb, sappy sentiments in her ear? Or should she be out in the field cracking jokes and challenging Rainbow Dash to a hoof-wrestle?
One of them was intruding; that much was certain. She just wasn’t entirely sure which.
Twilight kept to herself after the short conversation. She’d seen Crystal Princess Rarity in her dreams again. Applejack had kept her company through the night and it had done a fair job keeping the nightmare at bay, but her snooze on the way to the train was interrupted by the alicorn demon embedded in her dream space.
She had trouble talking to Rainbow Dash. She remembered what she’d said to her the night before. She had called her out on her behavior, questioning whether or not she was even a friend anymore. She wanted to say that she was speaking out of the hollow place within her, but she wasn’t sure. How much did she actually mean? Any of it? All?
She’s trying to come between me and Applejack. She wants my Very Special Somepony for herself.
She hated feeling like this. It was bad enough when it was just Rarity she had to feel threatened by, but now Rainbow Dash was challenging her for Applejack. Where would it end? Was she going to have to defend her right to be with Applejack from Fluttershy next week? Or Pinkie? Lyra and Bon Bon? Princess Celestia?!
When would it be enough? When would the world leave her alone and let her just have this…what had Applejack called it? Her slice of happiness? When would it be good enough?
As the train rumbled onwards towards the Crystal Empire, neither pony spoke to the other. It was going to be a long ride.
“Ow! Ow ow ow OW!” Applejack clenched her eyes shut and grit her teeth while Rarity’s brush tugged its way through her mane. She was seated on a stool in the middle of the Boutique. The walls were lined with the dresses Rarity had made for everypony. Against her better judgment, Applejack had been convinced to let down her ponytail for the ball, but actually straightening it was proving to be a nightmare.
“It won’t hurt like this if you stop struggling,” Rarity insisted, giving the brush another tug.
Applejack could swear that she could feel tufts of hair being ripped out with every pull. She let out another shout of pain as the brush yanked and pulled again. “OW! What’s even the point of all this tuggin’?!”
“The point is that you are going to be walking through those crystal doors next to me, and we are going to sparkle like nopony in the Empire has ever seen. We can hardly do that with…is this mud?!” Rarity levitated a small chunk of dirt off the back of Applejack’s neck and turned it over a few times. She stared at it as though she was afraid simply being in a room with it would give her cancer. “How long has there been mud under your mane?!”
Applejack shrugged. “Dunno. When did it rain last?”
With a flick of magic, Rarity lobbed the intruding dirt out the window and shuddered. “Oh, this simply will not do!” She yanked the brush through Applejack’s hair again, eliciting another pained grunt from her.
Applejack fumed, bracing herself for the next pull. Bitterly, she grumbled, “Twilight likes me covered in dirt just fine.”
“Twilight doesn’t know any better,” Rarity retorted. “But when she gets a look at how you glow with a little bit of actual effort put in, she will positively melt into your hooves and this whole nightmare will be over, I sincerely hope.”
Applejack scoffed. “Yeah, that, or she’ll go hog-wild and start accusin’ me of prettyin’ up for you more than I do for her. You’re a bit of a sore spot for her.”
Rarity blinked. “Me? Whatever did I do to cause her such distress?”
“Nothin’, near’s I can tell. Twi’s just goin’ through some things.”
“That’s strange,” Rarity mused, pulling her brush down for another tug and eliciting another set of grunts from Applejack. “Ordinarily, she comes straight to me when the two of you are having a lover’s quarrel. I fear I may be becoming something of a crutch for the poor dear.”
“I’m aware,” Applejack replied. “And don’t think that ain’t awkward as all get-out, neither. You don’t talk to her about--”
“Don’t be absurd,” Rarity cut her off before she could finish her question. “Heavens forbid Twilight should ever have to learn any of that sordid business.”
Applejack nodded. She breathed slowly and bit through a few more tugs of the brush, then quietly whispered, “Thanks, Rares.”
“Think nothing of it, darling. Now sit still and let me get these last few tangles. Then I can show you how to cover up that unsightly bruise around your eye.”
At last, the long-awaited moment arrived. As the grand doors to the Crystal Ballroom opened, Cadance leapt to her hooves.
“Cadance!” Twilight’s voice filled the hall.
Cadance raced across the room and landed eagerly in front of Twilight. “Sunshine sunsh--TWILIGHT?!“ The usual greeting ritual was interrupted by the sight of her sister-in-law’s wheelchair. The cast around her right hind leg prevented her from being able to return the gesture, and she smiled a sad smile in greeting.
“Clap your hooves?” Twilight offered weakly, holding out her front hoof.
Cadance nodded. “Clap your hooves.” She clicked her hoof against Twilight’s. “What happened to you?”
“She kind of went crazy,” Rainbow Dash explained, stepping forward. Cadance blinked a couple of times. She’d been so fixated on Twilight’s injury, she hadn’t even noticed the pony that was missing.
“I’m sorry, um…Rainbow Dash, right? Why isn’t Applejack here?”
“Trust me,” Rainbow Dash assured her. “That’s the question on everypony’s minds right now.”
Cadance looked back at Twilight. “Twilight? Where is Applejack?”
Twilight tried to speak, but under Cadance’s concerned gaze, words failed her. All the stress and pain and fear of the last week began to well up inside of her. She felt like she was four years old again, slipping on ice and scraping her knee on the stairs. She had so much she wanted to tell her that the words got stuck on each other as they tried to escape, and her eyes began to well up with tears.
Cadance stood up on her hind legs to embrace Twilight in her wheelchair. “It’s okay.” She shot a look at Rainbow Dash. “Do you think we could have a moment?”
“Uh, sure. Go right ahead.” Rainbow Dash headed out the door and closed it behind her.
Pulling away and sitting down on her haunches in front of Twilight’s wheelchair, she put her hoof on Twilight’s. “Start at the beginning,” she urged, “and tell me everything.”
“Oh, Twilight.” Cadance sighed. “I know what this is.”
“You do?” Twilight asked.
“Yes, I do. It’s a terrible affliction. You’ve allowed jealousy into your heart.”
Twilight shook her head. “Luna said that too, but I can’t be jealous. That’s something that happens to ponies who want to be with somepony and can’t. I’m already with Applejack. There’s nothing to be jealous about.”
“Twilight, there isn’t just one form of jealousy. It takes on many forms and it has many voices. It can happen between crushes, yes, but it can also happen between lovers or even between friends. It sounds to me like you’ve discovered territorial jealousy. You have Applejack, but you’re afraid that you’re going to lose her. You’ve become defensive and a piece of your heart has become blackened with that fear. Instead of enjoying your time with her, your mind is busy searching for threats to your happiness.”
Twilight looked down at her cast. She’d earned that cast with her antics; she knew that. She just didn’t know what to do next. “I just don’t understand what’s so special about Rarity. Other than that she’s driven and classy and beautiful and…I’m just me.”
Cadance smiled. “I think ‘just you’ is pretty special already. I know Applejack thinks so.”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “I know I’m special. Princess Celestia chose me for my talents. I just don’t know what I have to offer her. I can’t do farm work, I’m not a very good cook or a seamstress or anything that might help out. I read books. I can’t even….”
Twilight trailed off, but Cadance wasn’t about to let her stop when she was finally letting out all the hurt. “Can’t what, Twilight?”
Twilight shook her head. “It’s embarrassing.”
“I want to hear it. You can talk to me about anything. You know that.”
Blushing furiously, Twilight sheepishly admitted, “…we can’t have foals.”
Curiously, Cadance turned her head to the side. “Is that important to you? I don’t remember you ever talking about it before.”
Twilight shook her head. “It’s not, but when I look at her family, sometimes I feel like I’m…intruding, if that makes sense. Her grandmother and her siblings love me, but Applejack has this huge extended family and they have so many foals. She’s the middle of three herself! And with me, she’ll…well, she won’t have any. Because we can’t.”
“And Rarity could?”
“…well, no,” Twilight admitted.
“Have you even asked if she wants any foals?”
Twilight looked down. “No.”
“Then maybe you should talk about that. You told me she started all of this. It seems to me that if she’s looking for a mare to be with, foals probably aren’t as big of a deal to her as you’re making them out to be.”
After a few seconds, Twilight slowly nodded. Cadance continued. “I think it’s very important for you to talk to her. Find out what attracted her to you in the first place and start from there. It can’t be that she’s so shallow that she was just taken in by your pretty mane.”
Twilight winced. “Princess Luna told you about that, didn’t she?”
“She did. Ask yourself this: what kind of ponies is she interested in?”
“I don’t know. I just know she liked me. We’ve never talked about it.”
“Okay.” Cadance stopped for a moment, thinking, then changed approach. “Then what about you? What kind of ponies are you interested in?”
“I’m interested in Applejack,” Twilight answered, deadpan as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“Right, but setting her aside, what would you look for in a potential partner?”
Twilight blinked a couple of times. “…I’d look for Applejack.”
“Twilight….” Cadance said sternly.
Twilight threw up her hooves. “I don’t know, okay! I’ve never thought about this before! I agreed to start seeing her because I thought it would be a great opportunity to advance my studies, but then everything started happening so fast and before I knew it there were all these feelings…and then there were even MORE feelings!”
Twilight choked on a sob. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to will the tears to leave. Quietly, she resumed. “Before I knew what was happening, I was in love. I don’t know what kind of pony she likes. I don’t even know what kind of pony I like, because the only pony I’ve ever felt this way about is her.”
Cadance gave Twilight a skeptical smirk. “Come now, Twilight. That can’t be entirely true. You’ve never been attracted to a pony before? Even just the surface?”
Twilight opened her eyes and looked straight into Cadance’s. “No,” she answered honestly. “I never have.”
Shaken, Cadance tried again. “You’ve never looked at a pony and gone, ‘Wow, he or she is really good-looking!’”
“…well, Rarity is very pretty.”
“I’m not talking about pretty, Twilight. I mean you wanted them. On a completely superficial level, you saw this pony and were filled with desire for him or her.”
More insistently, Twilight answered, “No, that’s never happened. I’ve read about it, but I never understood it. It just doesn’t happen to me, I guess.”
Cadance blinked. “…but you are attracted to Applejack?”
“I think I am?” Twilight answered unhelpfully.
Cadance took a deep breath. “Okay. Describe it. She comes through the door after a hard day of work. She’s glistening in the afternoon sun. She takes off her hat and wipes sweat from her brow, and you feel…?”
“I…” Twilight’s eyes drifted upwards as she pictured it. “I feel a warmth in my heart and….”
“Just your heart?”
Twilight blushed furiously and shouted, “I am not comfortable talking about this!”
Cadance studied her curiously. “Well, that’s an answer. Twilight, there are some ponies who don’t feel attraction for either mares or stallions. I don’t think that’s quite what’s going on with you, but it does seem related. When did you first start to notice these feelings?”
Twilight thought back. “After our third date, I asked her to kiss me. It was a test of my feelings. I felt my heart flutter, and that’s the first time I recorded being attracted to her.”
Cadance shook her head. “That’s not attraction, Twilight. That’s the first inkling of romantic love. When was the first time that you felt your body urging you into physical contact with her? The first time you kissed her or touched her because you wanted to, not because you felt like you should or because it would help your research?”
Twilight thought back. “…that would be…a couple months after we started seeing each other. We were both wearing these costumes because we wanted to teach Rainbow Dash a lesson in humility. She looked amazing in hers and I’d just stopped a dam from flooding, so I had a lot of adrenaline pumping through me.
“When I saw her, she looked different. It was like seeing her through somepony else’s eyes. Everything in me was urging me towards her. It was like in that moment, I needed her like I’d never needed anything before.”
Cadance focused on one part of Twilight’s story. “That was months later?” Twilight nodded. “Then it sounds like you only started feeling attracted to her after you’d already begun to fall in love. That complicates everything. It’s no wonder this is all having such an effect on you.”
“What do I do?”
“I wish I knew, but the only pony who can actually uncover the truth about your feelings and make peace with them is you.”
“That’s what everypony says.” Twilight pouted.
“I know, and I’m sorry I don’t have more answers but I am here to talk whenever you need it.” Cadance rubbed Twilight’s hoof with her own. “Try to enjoy the ball. This is all for your and Applejack’s benefit. I’d hate to think the two of you didn’t get a single dance.”
Twilight looked down at her wheelchair. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to do much dancing.”
Cadance shook her head. “Love finds a way, Twilight. All you have to do is give it a chance.”
“Oh, wow!” Pinkie shouted, bouncing excitedly up and down at the train station. Rarity and Applejack had arrived with a rolling dress rack in tow. “These look amazing, Rarity!”
“I should certainly hope so. I’ve been working non-stop on them. Um…pardon me for asking, Pinkie, but where is your date?”
Pinkie glanced over at the side of the train, twiddling her mane with her hoof. “He’ll be meeting us there,” she explained.
Applejack stepped up onto the platform. “He ain’t from Ponyville?”
Pinkie shook her head quickly. “Oh no no no, he’s from Manehattan. We, um…we met at the Gala.” With her eyes closed, she stretched her snout into a wide smile.
“Huh.” Applejack clapped Pinkie on the shoulder with her hoof. “Good on ya, Pinkie. Least somepony’s bound to have a good time tonight.”
Rarity blinked, staring off the platform. “Maybe more than one. Is that Fluttershy’s date?”
Fluttershy approached with a hulking beast of a pegasus trotting along beside her. His white bulk towered over everypony they passed. Even without Twilight to measure them, Applejack and Rarity could easily tell that his individual muscles were larger than most ponies and his mane was buzzed short.
“Fluttershy, this is your date?” Rarity asked, jaw hanging open.
Fluttershy giggled as the massive behemoth reared up on his hind legs and pulled his front hooves in, flexing his pecs with a grin. “Oh, no, we’re just going as friends. Everypony, this is Bulk Biceps. We met a couple months ago while performing the tornado for Cloudsdale’s water supply.”
“Oh my.” Rarity took a couple steps back, still trying to take in Bulk’s size. “I wish you’d brought him to me sooner. I don’t know if there’s a tuxedo in Equestria in his size, and there’s just no time to make one.”
“Oh, no, he’s fine,” Fluttershy reassured Rarity. “He’s already covered.” She pointed at a tiny bow tie mounted on what appeared to be a dismembered shirt collar around Bulk’s neck.
Rarity winced at Fluttershy’s definition of ‘covered’. “I see.”
“WE’RE GOING CLASSY!!!” Bulk shouted. “YEAH!!!”
Bulk flexed his forelegs, prompting Fluttershy to laugh. While she was distracted, Rarity stepped over towards Applejack, murmuring quietly to her. “Good news, Applejack. I have revised my definition of ‘uncouth’. You are now merely an inelegant partner for Twilight.”
Applejack rolled her eyes. “I’m leapin’ for joy over here.”
Rarity wheeled her rack of dresses through the doors to the Crystal Palace. There were still a couple of hours before the ball would start. Plenty of time to find Rainbow Dash and Twilight and get everypony dressed up. One of whom would be easier than the other, Rarity realized, as Rainbow Dash was pacing impatiently within the foyer.
“Rainbow!” Applejack called out to her, catching her attention. “Where’s Twi?”
Rainbow Dash shrugged her shoulders. “Princess Cadance wanted a few minutes alone with her. That was hours ago, so you tell me.” She looked over at Rarity’s carrier. “Are those the dresses?”
“Indeed, they are,” Rarity answered her.
Fluttershy and Bulk entered behind them. Bulk seemed positively starstruck, gazing around the palace with wide eyes and an open jaw. Every few steps, he seemed to find something new to capture his interest. It reminded Rarity of how impressive all this had once seemed to her. Not just the palace, but rubbing hooves with royalty as well. In their humble town of Ponyville, it was so easy to forget that Princess Celestia knew her and her friends by name. There were even murals in the royal palace dedicated to them.
“IS THIS REAL CRYSTAL?!” Bulk shouted as he ran his hoof along the palace’s wall.
“Of course it is, dear,” Rarity answered him. She made a sweeping gesture to the hall. “This entire palace is fashioned from crystals grown right here in the….” She droned off, realizing that Bulk was no longer listening to her.
“IS THIS A REAL PALACE GUARD?!” Bulk shouted as he hoisted one of the guards into the air.
Fluttershy giggled and sidled up next to Rarity. “It’s his first time in a palace. Let him have this.”
“So how’s she doin’?” Applejack asked Rainbow Dash.
The pegasus scoffed. “Like I know. She didn’t even talk to me on the whole train ride. It’s not my business anyway.”
Applejack scowled. “Should be your business. She’s your friend too, Rainbow.”
“No, she’s not!” Rainbow Dash insisted. “She told me that last night. We’re not friends. She’s just your special somepony.”
“Last night, she was up to her horn in crazy, Dash. You can’t take that personal.”
“I’ll take it how I--”
Rainbow Dash was cut off by a pair of large doors on the far side of the hall opening and a palace guard trotting out. “Lady Applejack? Is the Lady Applejack among you?”
Applejack winced at the title haphazardly stapled to her name. “I’m Applejack,” she answered, turning away from Rainbow Dash to approach the guard. “Just Applejack, thanks.”
The guard gave her a quick once over, then cleared his throat. “Lady Applejack, please accompany me to the throne room. Princess Cadance would like to speak with you.”
Nervously, Applejack stepped into the throne room. Princess Cadance lay across her throne, her eyes scanning the wall as if lost in thought. Applejack coughed to announced herself, then approached the throne and bowed. “You, uh…ya wanted to speak at me, your highness?”
“Hmm?” Cadance snapped out of her trance, turning her attention down to Applejack. “Oh, yes. I’m sorry, I’m just worried about Twilight.”
Applejack scratched at the back of her mane with her hoof. “Yeah, uh…if you’re about to tell me how she grew up lonely and ain’t never learned people-talkin’, I don’t want to waste your time ‘cause I heard it from Princess Celestia. I mean, not that I would presume to tell ya what you can and can’t talk about, I just….”
Applejack kept her eyes low and tried not to look directly at Cadance. It would seem she noticed, as the princess asked her, “Is something wrong?” Cadance stood up from her throne and began descending the stairs before it.
“Nothin’s the matter,” Applejack answered her. “Just…tryin’ to stay respectful in your majesty’s presence, is all.” She could feel herself starting to sweat under Cadance’s gaze. She wasn’t accustomed to speaking to royalty herself, especially without any of the others with her. Her talk with Celestia had been awkward enough, but this was Twilight’s sister-in-law!
“Applejack,” Celestia said carefully as she approached. Applejack remained in her bowed state, eyes to the ground, and squinted them shut as she heard Cadance approach. “Stand up, Applejack.” Applejack did as she was instructed, but kept her eyes pointed at the ground. Cadance followed with another command. “Look at me.”
Applejack raised her eyes and saw Cadance standing, smiling, before her. Cadance assured her, “You have nothing to be nervous about. We’re practically family.”
Applejack took off her hat and wrenched it nervously between her hooves. “I know, your highness.”
Cadance shook her head. “Nuh-uh. Not ‘Your Highness’. Not ‘Your Majesty’, either. Call me Cadance and don’t even think about slipping a ‘Princess Cadance’ through there, either. I didn’t call you here to speak to Applejack the farmer from Ponyville. I want to speak with Applejack, the mare who stole my sister-in-law’s heart. If you’re going to be with Twilight, you must become accustomed to seeing those of us who wear a crown on a more regular basis.”
Applejack nodded again. “Yes, your maj—uh…Cadance.” She tested the name on her lips and it just didn’t feel right. Her gut was screaming at her that this wasn’t her place. She’d overstepped her boundaries. She’d stepped out of turn by being with Twilight. If this was what being with Twilight meant then it was meant for a pony of better breeding and noble stature. Speaking casually with royalty wasn’t a place for a farmer like her.
“In any case,” Cadance continued, “the reason I wanted to speak with you was that I would like to compliment your handling of matters so far. It’s not easy to wrestle with a partner who’s succumbed to jealousy.”
“Jealousy?” Applejack perked up; the subject of Twilight successfully dragging her away from her insecurities. “That what all this is? I already told her that Rares ain’t a threat to her.”
Cadance shook her head. “Jealousy isn’t that simple, I’m afraid. It takes root in the heart and festers, turning feelings of love, infatuation, and even friendship sour. It’s working its terrible magic inside of her now, turning her against the ponies she loves.”
“How do I make it stop hurtin’ her?”
“There’s nothing you can do, I’m afraid. The hardest part of Twilight’s jealousy is that it isn’t about you at all. It’s not even about Rarity. It’s about Twilight. Even if you could convince her that Rarity isn’t a threat to her, the jealousy would remain rooted in her heart. It would grow, waiting for its next chance to strike out.”
Applejack looked down at the ground again, pawing at it uselessly with her hoof. “What am I supposed to do?”
“I don’t have the answer for that.” Cadance put a comforting hoof on Applejack’s shoulder, eliciting a wince from the farm pony. “All you can do is support her and give her the time she needs to come to terms with her feelings. I would ask you for patience, but I’m sure you’ve already heard that.”
She withdrew her hoof and continued. “But I won’t hold it against you if you can’t, either. Many great relationships have been destroyed by jealousy. Sometimes, that can even be for the best when jealousy grows too great and too terrible. I just want you to understand that this is not your fault.”
Applejack hesitated as she digested Cadance’s words. It was not her fault. Wasn’t it, though? Was she not the one who pulled Twilight into this emotional roller coaster? “Due respect, Princ--uh…Cadance. But that ain’t right. Twi ain’t never known a lick of feelin’s like this ‘til I came along. I did this to her.”
“That’s not untrue,” Cadance answered her. “It’s not the whole truth, either. You opened her eyes to a world of love she’d never known before, and I would never hold that against anypony. She loves you, Applejack, in ways she’s never understood before. This is an unpleasant side effect of that. Don’t blame yourself for bringing something wonderful into her life.”
“I understand.” Applejack wasn’t sure she did completely, but Cadance’s words did make sense to her.
“Good. Now, we’ve only got an hour or so left before the Ball and I’m sure you have some preparations to make. I’ll let you go. But please, Applejack, think about what I’ve said.”
“I will. Thank you, your high--Cadance.” She fought back the urge to bow before departing and settled for awkwardly shuffling out the door. As soon as she was out of sight, Applejack collapsed against the wall and spent a few seconds hyperventilating. She was expected to speak casually with an alicorn princess! Being with Twilight got stranger with each passing month.
As a crowd of ponies gathered in the ballroom below, Princess Cadance stepped out to the landing of a grand staircase at the end of the room. Twilight and her friends gathered behind her, waiting to be prompted, as she addressed her subjects.
“Ladies and gentlecolts, welcome to the first annual Crystal Ball! On this day, we gather to remember and celebrate the brave efforts of seven friends whose courage and determination gave us the strength to free ourselves from King Sombra. Unfortunately, Spike the Dragon could not be here today because he was called away by Princess Celestia herself for a very important royal duty.”
Far away in Canterlot, Spike loaded the last of a set of books onto a set of shelves in the Canterlot Royal Library. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he looked up to Princess Celestia standing over him. “Alright, that’s another one done. It’s strange, though. I feel like we’ve been through here already.”
“It’s the size of the library,” Celestia explained. “It’s much larger than it looks, and the shelves can blur together at times. I can’t thank you enough for coming here to help me reorganize. I’m terribly sorry you had to miss out on the Crystal Empire, though.”
Spike waved off the princess’s apology. “Nah, who wants to go to a silly ball and watch a bunch of ponies make googly eyes at each other? I get enough of that back home.”
Celestia smiled. “I’m glad to hear you’re not too upset. Perhaps if we finish early, you might make it in time to catch the tail end.”
“I’m not holding my breath,” Spike responded. “There’s still a lot of books in the pile that need to be sorted. We don’t seem to be making a dent.”
“Oh, I’m sure we are,” Celestia answered him. “It just may take a while before it’s noticeable. The library really is quite large. Let’s go take a look at the section on the metaphysical laws of magic.” Celestia led Spike around the corner and towards the other end of the library. Just before she left the aisle, she gave her tail a quick, subtle flick.
Luna caught the signal and crept down the aisle. With a gesture of magic from her horn, she levitated all of the books off the shelves and returned them to the unsorted pile.
Back in the Crystal Empire, Cadance gave the crowd a minute to let out their murmurs of disappointment. “I know, I know. But the work of a great hero is never done.” Behind her, Twilight and Rainbow Dash exchanged confused glances. “But we still honor him tonight. Now, may I present to you Twilight Sparkle and App--” Cadance caught herself. “Rainbow Dash!”
Rainbow Dash stepped forward and, lifting Twilight’s wheelchair as Twilight used her magic to prop up the bottom, carefully descended the stairs into the ballroom. The crowd parted to let them pass, with whispers and murmurs rising from the crowd. Twilight smiled as wide as she could and waved to the assembled Crystal Ponies at the bottom.
Rainbow Dash smiled nervously, pushing the chair behind her. She had caught Cadance’s slip and felt immediately guilty. She tried not to look at any of the Crystal Ponies. She had no reason to believe they knew, but their eyes still reflected the judgment in her heart. She’d stolen this moment from her friend and there was no way to give it back.
“Presenting Applejack and Rarity!” It was now their turn to descend the stairs. Applejack still didn’t know what Twilight had been talking about with the hollow place in her heart, but she certainly did feel a touch of bitterness towards Rainbow Dash for taking her spotlight. Still, she reminded herself that she was doing this for Twilight. That was enough.
As they reached the ballroom floor, Rarity smiled wide, waving to the crowd as Twilight had. Beneath her breath and through gritted teeth, she muttered to Applejack, “…and now everypony thinks I’m into mares. That’s okay, though. It’s for Twilight. And it’s not like it can follow us back to--”
Rarity’s eyes fell on Lyra and Bon Bon in the crowd. Lyra waved excitedly to her. “Hi, Rarity!”
Applejack could feel Rarity’s façade crack, but all she said was, “Twilight owes me for this.”
Cadance called out to the crowd. “Presenting, Fluttershy and her date, Bulk Biceps.” Fluttershy and Bulk were next to descend the stairs. Bulk had a perpetual look of excitement on his face, like a foal stepping out into the world for the first time. Fluttershy followed behind him, using his size to shield her from the eyes of the gathered ponies.
“Presenting, Pinkie Pie and her date…um…” Cadance stopped and looked back at Pinkie, who stood alone on the landing. Aside, she whispered, “Where is your date, Pinkie?”
Pinkie smiled brightly, closing her eyes. “He’ll be here. He’s just late. He has a long train ride from Appleloosa.”
“Uh-huh,” Cadance answered skeptically, then returned to announcing. “Presenting Pinkie Pie, whose date is unfortunately delayed on the train from Appleloosa.”
“Appleloosa?” Applejack whispered from the far end of the ballroom. “Ain’t her date from Manehattan?”
Realization dawned on Rarity’s face. “Oh, dear,” she whispered.
Pinkie started down the stairs alone, but stopped and dashed back up. Whispering to Cadance, she asked, “Are you sure you don’t need more streamers? What about confetti?”
“Pinkie, please just enjoy the party. We have everything under control.”
“But-but--”
“No buts, Pinkie.” Cadance smiled warmly. “It’s okay to take a night or two off. You don’t have to be on the job all the time. Go downstairs and enjoy the festivities.”
Dejected, Pinkie answered, “…okay.” She slowly descended the stairs and crossed the ballroom to join the others.
As one hour wore into the next, Rarity urged Applejack to join her in leading the next dance.
“Is all this really necessary?” Applejack asked belligerently. “I like a good dance much as any pony, but my hooves ain’t used to so much fancy steppin’.”
“But, of course, darling. Twilight certainly can’t dance in that chair of hers and Fluttershy wouldn’t if her life depended on it. With Pinkie’s,” she faked a cough, “’missing date’, you and I are the only ones left to lead. As guests of honor, it simply wouldn’t be proper to abandon the dance.”
“I know,” Applejack griped. “Just feels like a hot mess of bad choices.”
“Don’t remind me,” Rarity hissed as she held her hoof out to begin the next dance. “Remember. Step, step, twirl--”
“You don’t got to keep tellin’ me,” Applejack fired back at her. “I got it the first time.”
“You tripped on my hoof the first time.”
“I meant after that.” Applejack set her hoof against Rarity’s. As the music began, they began to circle each other, keeping their hooves pressed together.
“You--” Rarity started, but she caught herself. “I’m sorry. I thought I was past all of this, but….”
“But Twilight,” Applejack explained for her. “Nah, I get that. I ain’t stupid, Ra--”
“Do you love her?” Rarity asked out of the blue. That stern look from before had returned to her face, but Applejack had caught the thin tone of fear in Rarity’s question.
Applejack twirled away from Rarity, then held up the same hoof she’d pressed against Rarity’s before and began circling the opposite direction. “Course, I love her. What kind of question is that?”
Rarity shook her head. “I don’t mean, do you like her or do you enjoy being with her. I mean do you really, truly love her? So much that you’d fight all of Equestria if it meant being with her?”
“I….” Applejack hesitated, stuck for an answer. She and Rarity came back together, crossing forelegs and circling. “Twi’s got more cunnin’ than a fox in feathers. She’s talented, she’s kind, and anypony would trade a right hoof to have what I got with her.”
“That’s a compliment,” Rarity hissed. “It’s not an answer.”
“What do you want me to say, Rares? The sky fills with light when she’s around? The world is bleak and cold when she ain’t in it? Somethin’ sappy like that? Or ya want to hear how my heart beats faster than a hummin’bird in a flower patch when we kiss? I ain’t got the words you’re lookin’ for.”
“What I want is to know that you aren’t going to try to run at the first sign of trouble. That you’ll stay and fight for her.”
Applejack and Rarity reached the end of their circle. They released each other’s foreleg and clicked their hooves against each other. The ballroom echoed with the sound of couples doing the same.
Applejack and Rarity bowed to each other, then swept outwards in opposite directions. At their point of intersection, the pair reared up and clasped both forelegs together, then began taking alternating steps to the left and right, moving behind Applejack.
“Seems like I already did,” Applejack answered. “Fought for her just fine when Cardinal tried splittin’ us up.”
“No, you didn’t,” Rarity answered. “Twilight fought for you. You don’t get points for letting her succeed, especially when you didn’t even have the guts to approach her. As I recall, you left her a note.”
After several steps, Rarity twirled Applejack, who spun a couple feet on her hind legs before falling back down on her forelegs. Rarity dropped to her fores as well, holding out her hoof as she had at the start. Applejack stepped forward and met Rarity’s hoof with her own, and they began to repeat the routine.
After a few seconds of silence, Applejack spoke again. “I’m sorry--”
“Don’t,” Rarity hissed. “Do not apologize to me. I can handle it being you if that’s what Twilight truly wants, and I can try what I can to help because I do want to see this work out. Despite everything, you are a dear friend to me and I would never want to lose that. I’m sure you’ve spent a lot of time thinking of the words you can say, but words can’t take back what happened, and I wouldn’t accept them even if they could.”
“I never meant to hurt you,” Applejack confessed.
“I know you didn’t, and I hate that I feel this way. I wish to Celestia you could have just left her well enough alone. If you’d asked me before setting out on this, I would have begged you to find somepony else. I enjoy being around you both, but I hate feeling like I have to protect her from you.”
Rarity took a deep breath. “But that’s where we are now, and it couldn’t be taken back even if you wanted to. I’m not ready to forgive you, Applejack. I don’t know if I’ll ever be. But if you truly wish to make things right with me, then don’t give me words. Just be better. For Twilight’s sake and for yours.”
“Well, those two seem to be having fun,” Twilight muttered from her chair. She was seated by the buffet table while Rainbow Dash loaded up a tray.
“You’re kidding, right?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“They’ve been at it since the ball started. They must be having the time of their lives.” She moped, resting her head on a hoof.
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Was this really your plan tonight? Sit here and mope ‘cause AJ and Rarity are just doing what you told them to?”
“I don’t know,” Twilight admitted.
“Well, I do.” Rainbow Dash gestured briefly in the direction of the dance floor. “Look at them. They’re miserable. AJ keeps rolling her eyes and huffing, and Rarity’s had this veiled scowl on her face all night. She’s smiling, but she’s angry with her eyes.”
Twilight squinted, trying to make out what Rainbow Dash was talking about, but all she could see was Rarity’s smile. “What are you talking about?”
“Look at her eyes, Egghead. You can tell a lot about a pony by their eyes. That’s, uh…” She awkwardly scratched the base of her mane. “It's, uh...it's something Cardinal showed me.”
Twilight glared into space for a moment. Dryly, she asked, “We’re taking relationship advice from Cardinal now?”
“That’s not the point!” Rainbow Dash insisted. She lobbed an apple at Twilight, who caught it with her magic and looked at it, carefully turning it over in midair. “Look, AJ’s nuts about you. Whatever this whole thing with you is right now, it’s stupid, ‘cause we all know AJ puts you above the rest of us already.” Rainbow’s voice was full of more bitterness than she’d meant it to be, but she didn’t regret saying it like that either.
Twilight stared at the apple for a moment, listening to Rainbow Dash. The hollow place in her heart gripped at her, trying to whisper its poison, but she quieted it for a moment. Curiosity overtook jealousy, bringing a question to her lips. She looked up from the apple and sent her gaze straight into Rainbow Dash’s eyes, asking, “Is that why you don’t like me?”
Twilight’s question struck Rainbow Dash like midflight lightning. “What are you talking about?” she asked nervously. “I mean, we’re friends. Or we were before last night, I thought.”
Twilight shook her head and looked back at the apple. “Applejack and I spend a lot of time talking. We talk about our days, about our friends, about our hopes and our goals. She tells me about the way you’ve been acting about me. I saw it for myself when we got the invitation. I never stopped being your friend, Rainbow Dash, so why did you stop being mine?”
Rainbow Dash was struck once again. In her heart, she felt the hollow place starting to claw at her. It told her that Twilight was lying, that she was trying to turn the talk against her. “You wouldn’t understand,” Rainbow Dash insisted. Her heart screamed at her to be anywhere but here, so she set down her tray and tried to walk, but the crowd of ponies pressed in from every direction.
As Rainbow Dash scanned the air for a route, Twilight insisted, “Don’t leave, Rainbow Dash. Please talk to me. I want to understand. Are you in love with Applejack?”
“What?!” Rainbow Dash stumbled a moment as her mind filled up with images of Applejack advancing on her.
“Golly gee, Rainbow Dash. I sure do love ya a whole lot, eeyup. Come here and kiss me, ya hot streak of lightnin’.”
Rainbow Dash shuddered and pushed away the image. “No! You just don’t get it.”
Twilight wheeled over to Rainbow Dash and reached out a hoof for her, but Rainbow Dash pulled away. “Then help me ‘get it’. Please. What can I do to fix things between us?”
“I don’t know, okay! It’s just this feeling I have. I don’t know where it came from. It’s like there’s an empty spot inside me, and it….” she shook her head. “This is stupid. You can’t--”
“It’s like the absence of an emotion inside you,” Twilight continued, looking back at Applejack and Rarity. “A void of feeling that claws its way out of your stomach and wraps its claws around your heart until all you can think about is how much you’re missing. It doesn’t even hurt, really. It drains your feelings until you wish it could just be pain, because at least then you’d feel something.”
Slowly, carefully, Rainbow Dash turned back around to look at Twilight. Her eyes met Twilight’s and for the first time, she felt as though she was truly understood.
Twilight continued. “It’s jealousy,” she admitted both to Rainbow Dash and, finally, to herself.
“Whoa, back up,” Rainbow Dash insisted. “I just told you I’m not into AJ like that. She’s like a sister. Or, she was, anyways.”
“Jealousy doesn’t have to be romantic,” Twilight explained. “It takes on many forms and it has many voices. It can even happen between friends.” She could hear Cadance’s wisdom in her words as she spoke. “It just requires you to feel threatened about your place in her life.”
Rainbow Dash turned her attention to the table for a moment, looking for anything to look at other than Twilight. She wanted to be doing anything but having this conversation, but at the same time, she suddenly felt a kinship with Twilight she hadn’t known before. Twilight understood. Twilight, of all ponies, was the one to understand. “Look, this isn’t easy to admit, but I didn’t have a lot of friends before all of you came along.”
“No, really?” Twilight asked dryly. “Can’t imagine any of us would know what that’s like.”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Rainbow Dash grumpily conceded. “Point is, AJ’s really important to me. I mean, I’ve got you and Fluttershy and everypony, but I can’t throw horseshoes with Rarity. Pinkie doesn’t like racing. I don’t even want to think about Fluttershy in a daring contest. AJ’s…well, she’s kind of like what I always imagined a big sister would be like.”
While Rainbow Dash began compiling treats from the buffet table again, Twilight took a moment to consider what Rainbow Dash had told her. “I don’t throw horseshoes either,” she thought aloud, more to herself than to Rainbow Dash.
“Huh?”
Having been heard, Twilight had no choice but to commit to her words. “I’m not very good at racing and the last time I tried to do a daring contest with you two, I had bees in my mane.”
Rainbow Dash chuckled. “I remember that! That was great.”
Twilight turned in her wheelchair to face Rainbow Dash. “None of the things you’ve mentioned are ways that I like to spend my days. They aren’t anything I care for, but they’re important to her. No matter what happens between us, friends will always be important for both of us because there are needs that we both have, that the other can’t fulfill.”
“Great,” Rainbow Dash replied grumpily. “So she’ll make time for me as long as I’m the fastest in Equestria? I mean, that’s easy, but--”
“You misunderstand,” Twilight cut her off. “Applejack isn’t your friend because you’re really good at competing with her. She likes competing with you because you’re her friend. There are probably thousands of ponies out there that she could be competing with. Some might even be better than you.”
Rainbow Dash scoffed. “As if.”
“But those ponies aren’t her friend. She competes with you because she chose you. Because she likes who you are. And if you weren’t into competition, she’d find something else to do with you, because that’s what friends do. There is a place for you in her life that is all your own because of the special relationship you share. Nopony, not even me, could ever take that away from you.”
Rainbow Dash set down her tray. For the first time in months, when she thought about Twilight and Applejack, she didn’t feel empty or hollow inside. She felt fear. She felt hurt. Most importantly, she felt. Tears threatened to come to her eyes, but she refused to cry in public. Not here, and definitely not in front of Twilight.
“Come over here and give me a hug,” Twilight told her.
“No,” Rainbow Dash answered, shaking her head. She knew that if she hugged Twilight, she might not be able to keep from crying.
“Rainbow Dash, please. I’m crippled. I can’t come to you.” It was a lie, of course. Twilight could move Rainbow Dash with her magic if she wanted to. But it was important that she take this step herself. “Please. Come be my friend again.”
Rainbow Dash stared at her tray. She didn’t feel hungry anymore, and it was getting harder and harder to hold back the tide of feelings inside of her. “Not here,” she whispered. Getting behind Twilight’s wheelchair, she pushed it towards the door leading out to the courtyard.
Once outside, Rainbow Dash found a secluded part of the courtyard where nopony would see her. She took a deep breath, embraced her friend, and let herself cry. “I know,” Twilight whispered. “It’s rough, but you’re through the hard part. I’m here for you and so is she.”
After a couple minutes, Rainbow Dash felt the well of tears dry up. She lifted her head off of Twilight’s shoulder, stepped away from her, and rubbed her eye. “This, uh…this didn’t happen,” she insisted.
“Of course.” Twilight smiled, holding out her hoof. “Friends?”
Rainbow Dash returned the smile and bumped her hoof. “Friends, egghead.”
Twilight turned her head and looked back at the Crystal Palace. An idea was forming in her head. “Do you think you can help me get back up to the throne room? I think I’ve finally figured out a few things.”
With Rainbow Dash pushing her chair, Twilight threw open the double doors leading into the throne room. She rolled into the room with a sense of purpose. Cadance lay draped across her throne, whispering something to Shining Armor when the sound startled them both.
“Twili?” Shining Armor leapt down the stairs. “Is something wrong?”
“I’m sorry,” she told him. “I’ll just be a moment.” She conjured as much magic into her horn as she could and fired it into the crystal overlooking Cadance’s throne. The magic reflected into the floor, vaporizing a large section of it and revealing King Sombra’s secret passage.
“How long has that been there?!” Shining Armor shouted in surprise, leaping back from the entrance.
Ignoring the question, Twilight looked at Cadance. “You were right. I have been letting jealousy run away with me. The truth is, I saw some things down in this passage that shook my image of myself. I lost sight of what’s special about me and started trying to find it in Applejack. I took a piece of King Sombra’s torturous spell with me when I left the Crystal Empire, and I’m never going to sleep again until I return it.”
Cadance stepped slowly down the stairs, her eyes fixed with concern on the stairs leading down. “Twilight, are you certain about this? I’ve heard King Sombra’s traps are terrible.”
Twilight stared at the stairs with determination. “I’ll be okay. I wasn’t prepared for them before, but I am now. He’ll haunt me with my worst fears, but that’s been every night this last week. Besides, I’ve dealt with an intelligent illusion before. I think I can handle a pre-targeted one. It’s time to silence the Crystal Princess once and for all.”
Cadance raised a confused eyebrow and pointed her hoof at herself.
“…not you,” Twilight backpedaled. “It’s complicated.” She looked back at Rainbow Dash. “I just need some help with the stairs.”
Shining Armor stepped forward. “I’ll help too.” He took a look down the passage, which seemed to descend forever. “That’s a lot of stairs. The more hooves we have on this, the better.”
Cadance nodded. “I agree. Rainbow Dash, if you’ll lend me a hoof, we might be able to lower Twilight down the passage without using the stairs. Shining Armor, will you support us with your magic?”
“Of course.” Cadance took the lead and, working together with her husband and Rainbow Dash, together they were able to navigate Twilight to the bottom of the pit.
“Stay away from the door,” Twilight warned the others. “I’ll see you all soon.” Taking control of her wheelchair, Twilight rolled herself in front of the looming nightmare crystal above the door to the Crystal Heart’s vault and allowed it to seize her mind.
The gem had threatened her before with failure under Celestia, but that wasn’t her fear anymore. As she expected, the world around her turned to black and she found herself once more in the dark tunnel. The orange light shone at the end, as far away as ever, and she heard Crystal Princess Rarity’s voice fill the passage once more. “Is that you, darling? Seems awful early. How has your experiment come along? Have you found your answer yet?”
“I have,” Twilight answered, voice dripping with confidence. She stood on all four legs within the realm of the dream, liberated from the constraining chair. “But I’m not talking to a shadow.” With a burst of self-confidence, Twilight lit her horn up, illuminating the dark hallway and revealing Rarity.
The Crystal Princess’s hide was cracked in several places with tufts of black smoke curling out of them. The feathers were missing from her wings, as was her entire horn. Instead of beautiful, her face was curled into a malevolent snarl that looked absolutely hideous even through Rarity’s naturally graceful features.
“How dare you?!” Rarity shouted. “I’m not presentable!”
Twilight allowed her to bellow and refused to back down. “I dare because this is my mind, and I’ve allowed you to define me for too long. My answer to your question is that there is no answer. Your question is wrong. There is nothing about my relationship with Applejack that makes us any better than any other couple. We don’t have to be. Maybe there are other ponies out there who would make a better partner for her. Maybe even Rarity. I don’t know. But they aren’t her Very Special Somepony. I am, because she chose me, and that’s the only thing that matters.”
“Now that just sounds pretentious,” the crystal demon replied.
“I’m not finished. I know you won’t accept my answer. I know that because it’s what you were made for. I created you out of doubt and fear. I never meant to, but I did. You were made to give a voice to the insecurities that King Sombra made me realize I had within myself, and you did that job very well.
“But I realize now that I let myself become something I never wanted to be. I let you turn me into a pony I barely even recognized, one that even I hated being. I let you sabotage my relationship and my friendships with fear. That’s not who I want to be.”
Twilight turned around in the tunnel, facing away from the orange light and the desiccated illusion. “So go ahead and reject my answer. It doesn’t really matter what you think, because my answer is enough to satisfy me, and I don’t need you anymore.” With her head high, Twilight trotted down the tunnel away from the Crystal Princess Rarity and the empty threats that had haunted her dreams.
“Come back here!” Rarity screamed at her. “You haven’t earned this! You don’t deserve a moment of it!” But Rarity’s words fell on deaf ears as Twilight stepped beyond the borders of the nightmare. For the last time, it flickered away, revealing the reality of Sombra’s secret passage and her concerned friend and family around her.
“Is it over?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Twilight nodded. “I’ve done what I came here for.” As Shining Armor, Cadance, and Rainbow Dash lifted her back up the tunnel, Twilight smiled. For the first time since her last visit to the Empire, her heart was clear and free. She felt the love glowing from her brother, her sister-in-law, and her friend. She could even feel the love from Applejack, despite their distance.
Tonight, she would go to bed without fear in her heart, and she would dream of anything other than the Crystal Princess. She knew that deep inside and it felt right. But there was something else she had to do first.
Applejack sat along one of the walls of the ballroom, having finally persuaded Rarity to let her take a break from dancing. She sipped from a cup of the fruit punch from the buffet table. It wasn’t bad, but it certainly wasn’t the Apple family’s secret recipe, that’s for sure.
"I hardly see what the fuss is about," Rarity insisted. "Cadance wanted to speak with you. You've spoken to her just fine before."
"That was different," Applejack insisted. "Ya hear what that guard pony called me? 'Lady'. Like I'm supposed to be some froo-froo noble unicorn or somethin'. And then there's the princess! She insisted I address her casual-like. Like we're equals or somethin'."
"In her eyes, I think you are."
Applejack shook her head. "Nothin' doin'. I know exactly who I am, and I ain't the pony sits on a gilded throne and gets worshipped 'cross Equestria. I work hard, I do my part, and Equestria shines a little brighter for it, but wearin' a crown ain't what I was born to do. It's a special privilege for a special pony, and that pony ain't me."
"And yet," Rarity mused, "Twilight."
"Yeah, I know what you're thinkin'." Applejack sighed. "Scares me to death, y'know. Thinkin' 'bout who she is. Where she comes from. Born and raised in the royal capitol. Personal student to Princess Celestia herself. I look at her past and I think, 'How can I compete with that?' But then I see her full of questions 'bout life and love and the way ponies are, and I remember she ain't so high above me neither. Ain't like she's a princess, y'know? She's just like us and that's good enough for me."
"That, she certainly is," Rarity answered fondly.
Applejack caught the tone in her voice. “You really care about Twi, don’t ya?”
“Of course, I do.” Rarity smiled, closing her eyes. “There are more kinds of love in this world than just the kind shared between lovers, Applejack.”
“Don’t got to tell me.” Applejack took another sip, then looked off over the crowd. “Got a whole family of cousins and second cousins and third cousins fourth removed.”
Rarity shook her head. “I will never understand how you--oh! Twilight!” Rarity spied Rainbow Dash pushing Twilight through the crowd of ponies towards them. “How are you enjoying the ball, darling?”
“It could be better,” Twilight admitted. “Should be, in fact. Would you mind if I borrowed Applejack for the rest of the night?”
“Borrow?” Rarity grinned. “Darling, you can have her.”
Suddenly getting her second wind, Applejack leapt to her hooves. “Your test’s over? What changed?” she asked.
Twilight shot a smile at Rainbow Dash and answered, “I just had a very good talk with a dear friend.”
Rainbow Dash blushed. “Alright, alright, enough with the sap. You two go on before I start gagging on my own awesomeness.” Catching herself, she added, “Oh, and AJ? Have a good time.”
Applejack pushed Twilight’s wheelchair away from their friends. “So ya worked everything out?” she asked curiously.
Twilight nodded. “Yes. I’ve solved the problem that’s been bothering me.”
“So no more crazy?”
“No more crazy.” Twilight thought for a moment. “…well…no more of this crazy. I can’t promise there won’t be any crazy in the future.”
Applejack stopped Twilight’s chair at the edge of the dance floor. She stepped around to the side and surprised her partner with a kiss. Twilight closed her eyes and felt her heart flutter the way it used to. It filled with love unrestrained by jealous paranoia. Whatever the future might hold, this moment was hers and nopony could take it away from her.
Applejack broke the kiss and then pounced around in front of her. “C’mon, I saved ya a dance or three.”
“Uh…” Twilight looked down at her chair. “I don’t think I can dance like this.”
“No, ya can’t dance well like this, but it ain’t like that stopped him.” Applejack jerked her head at Bulk Biceps, who was slowly and arrhythmically flexed his muscles and contorted himself on the dance floor. The other ponies had given him a wide berth except for Fluttershy who sat motionless and giggled at his antics. It was hard to watch, yet they seemed to be having the time of their lives.
Twilight stared at the unholy sight for a few seconds, then answered, “I accept your counterpoint.”
Twilight wheeled her chair towards Applejack, who backed onto the dance floor and began swaying back and forth to the music playing through them. Twilight felt the rhythm move through her upper body and swayed her forelegs in tune with her partner.
Rarity watched Applejack and Twilight disappear into the crowd, making no effort to hide the smile on her face. Despite herself, she found herself beginning to believe they might just be able to make things work after all.
She’d been wrong about Fluttershy, after all. Repeatedly, in fact. She’d thought Fluttershy would never be able to ask somepony to the ball, but she’d done it without a moment’s fuss. Now she was out on the dance floor despite Rarity’s insistence that could never happen. She wasn’t dancing, of course, but she was happily basking in Bulk’s unrefined enthusiasm.
She had to admit that Bulk was a good friend for Fluttershy to have. He grabbed attention at the slightest provocation, making it easy for Fluttershy to simply slip by ponies’ notice in his wake. Fluttershy had insisted that they were only here as friends and she’d known her long enough to believe it, but she was glad to see the pegasus actually make friends outside their group.
“Look at that,” she commented to Rainbow Dash. “This night might not be such a disaster after all.”
“Have you seen Pinkie?” Rainbow Dash asked curiously. “I haven’t seen her all night.”
Rarity gestured at the wall by the front door, where Pinkie sat as still as a board, watching everypony have fun. “She’s been there all night. Waiting for her ‘date’, one imagines. The poor thing.”
Rainbow Dash gave Rarity a confused glance. “What, she doesn’t have one? She’s Pinkie. Why wouldn’t she have a date?”
“As you said. She’s Pinkie. She’s simply not comfortable being on this side of the party cannon. I doubt she even asked a single pony.”
“But…that’s awful!” Rainbow Dash insisted. “We should do something for her.”
Rarity spied Applejack’s abandoned punch cup and downed the remainder of it. She certainly wasn’t coming back for it. “We absolutely should. I just wish I knew what we could do to make this experience more comfortable for her.”
“I think I know.” Rainbow Dash left, trotting towards Pinkie.
Pinkie sat in her self-imposed exile putting a quick smile on her face for anypony that came too close. “Waiting for my date,” she insisted. Rainbow Dash saw the way she closed her eyes when she smiled, refusing to look anypony in the eye. She could feel the lies emanating from the party pony.
She took a moment, found her approach, then sidled up to Pinkie. “Lame party, huh?”
“Hmm?” Pinkie looked over at her. “Oh, hi, Rainbow Dash! Where’s Twilight?”
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “My date dumped me for some two-bit earth pony. Can you believe it?” She grinned to show she was kidding, eliciting a giggle from Pinkie.
“I’m still waiting for mine,” Pinkie said, glancing at the door to avoid looking Rainbow Dash in the eyes.
“I don’t think he’s coming, but that’s cool. I’m planning to get out of here. I mean, Cadance tried, but it’s not exactly a super-Pinkie-party, is it? The music’s so slow and there’s not enough streamers.”
“Oh? Where are you going?”
Rainbow Dash stretched her wings. “Thought I’d take a fly around the Empire. You know, I haven’t really gotten a chance to get out and explore these winds. What kind of thermals does a magic hot spot like this generate? How high can I go before I hit the cold northern winds? I want to get out there and really break in these skies.”
“Oh.” Pinkie smiled. “Well, have fun.”
“You should come with,” Rainbow Dash insisted. “It will be fun, and I doubt you’ll miss anything at this loser party.”
Pinkie hesitated. “How will I fly?”
“You can sit on my back. You weigh, like, three pounds. It’ll be fine.”
Pinkie weighed her options for approximately three seconds, then grinned widely and answered, “Okie dokie lokie!” She hopped down from her chair and followed Rainbow Dash upstairs towards the balcony.
Rarity watched Rainbow Dash and Pinkie leave, then bowed out and exited out into the courtyard. She took a deep breath of the cold night air and took a seat on her haunches, staring up at Luna’s starry sky. Everything had worked out wonderfully for everypony, it seemed. She wouldn’t hold tonight against Twilight, she decided. It all wound up for the best.
“Rarity? Is that you?” She heard the familiar voice of Fancy Pants from across the courtyard. “Whatever are you doing out here?”
Leaping back to her hooves, she shot a quick look over and saw the unicorn approaching her in a fine tuxedo. “Oh, um…my date has run off on me, I’m afraid,” she answered quickly. “What about you? What brings you out here?”
Fancy Pants smiled. “Of course, I wouldn’t miss a royal ball. Of course, I came with somepony too but I’m afraid he seems to have run off as well. It’s just as well. You know how fickle friendships can be in this business.”
Looking up, Rarity saw a streak shoot off the balcony and thought she could faintly hear a high-pitched shriek of joy. She smiled warmly, then answered Fancy Pants, “They don’t have to be.”
Applejack clicked her hoof against Twilight’s and circled around her, keeping her eyes locked on her while Twilight rotated left in her chair to follow her. They had to part hooves when Applejack moved behind her, but the unicorn twisted to the right to meet her coming back around, pressing hooves together again.
“Seems this switcheroo wound up bein’ a good idea after all,” Applejack conceded.
Twilight shook her head. “No. This was a stupid idea, and I’m ashamed that it took something like this for Rainbow Dash and me to simply talk to each other. It turns out, we were going through a lot of the same things. If we could just put aside our separate hurts, we would have realized there was a lot that we could learn from each other.
“I’m sorry,” Twilight apologized. “I let my fears run away from me and turn me into something terrible. I hurt you, my friends, and myself in this crazy pursuit of an impossible answer. You were right, Applejack. We aren’t special. We’re together because we chose to be. We could have chosen other ponies, and those relationships would be just as valid.
“We aren’t perfect. We aren’t a storybook romance. We’re just us, and that’s all we have to be.”
“I made Spike burn all your notes,” Applejack confessed.
Twilight blinked. That was abrupt. “That’s…well, it’s probably for the best.”
“Pardon, you were just bein’ all sweet and I had to get that out.”
“Mood-killer,” Twilight teased.
“Where is Spike, anyhow?”
Twilight explained, “Princess Celestia called him to Canterlot for an important task. Cadance told me that tonight was supposed to be about you and I rekindling, and for some reason him being here would have been distracting? I don’t really get it.”
“This was supposed to be about us, huh?” Applejack glanced back at the stairs they’d come down. “Guess we made a right mess of that.”
“Perhaps,” Twilight admitted. “It worked out in the end, though.” She lean forward in her chair to put her lips closer to Applejack.
Taking the cue, Applejack stepped forward, putting her hoof on Twilight’s left leg. “Reckon it did,” she answered, placing her left forehoof on the side of Twilight’s face and capturing her lips once more. In that instant the music, the crowd, and the ballroom all seemed to fall away, leaving them blissfully alone together.
On the other side of the ballroom, Bulk Biceps shouted at the top of his lungs, “WATCH ME LIFT THIS TABLE!” He hoisted one of the buffet tables over his head with the trays still on it. Several caterers scrambled around him, desperate to bring it back down to earth but not sure how.
Fluttershy let out another giggle. She didn’t have much to compare a non-Pinkie party to, but this was certainly more fun than she’d had at the Gala. Tonight was a good night.
Through the door beside her, Rarity trotted through the courtyard with Fancy Pants beside her. “Did you make all those dresses you and your friends are wearing?” he asked her.
“Why, of course I did,” she answered. “It was a bit of a rush so they’re not as polished as I would have liked.”
“Not polished?” Fancy Pants asked. “They look positively delightful to me. You must tell me how you got the patterns on the green one to line up the way they did!”
Rarity laughed. “That old trick? Why, here’s what you do….”
In the skies above her, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie came around for another pass, buzzing the very top of the Crystal Palace. “Hold on tight,” Rainbow Dash warned Pinkie. “We’re going for a rainboom!”
Moments later, the Empire was rocked with an explosion of light and a rainbow filled the sky over the palace. A horde of ponies abandoned the dance floor to race out to the courtyard and gaze up and the beautiful sight emerging over their beloved land.
Twilight and Applejack followed them out shortly after and stared up at the fruits of Rainbow Dash’s work. “I made you somethin’,” Applejack whispered, sitting on her haunches beside Twilight’s wheelchair.
“What’s that?”
Applejack smiled. “Been workin’ on a bookshelf to store some of your favorites for when you come over. Ain’t much, but I thought it might be nice to have somethin’ that makes the room…well…ours.” She tested the word on her lips. She still had some apprehensions, but it felt right and that was the most important part.
“Thank you,” Twilight answered her, leaning her head over to rest on Applejack’s shoulder. “You’re what made it ours. You didn’t have to do that. But I’m glad that you did.” She let herself sink into the warmth of Applejack’s shoulder and the beauty in the sky above, and everything was right with the world.