Spike looked at this mare in confusion, what had he done wrong? He just helped this mare to get outside just like she wanted but only for her to look at him with distaste and had a bitterest in her tone making her disgust of him clear.
"Have I offended you in some way?" he asked her.
She replied with anger in her voice, "The fact you presume much that I would fawn over you just because you did me a favor says a lot about who you really are."
"And what would that be?" he questioned, feeling more confused than before. This morning he woke up to cheering ponies out in the streets as mares paraded in and he couldn't help but wonder which one of those mares was his future wife. From what he could tell at a distance they were all quite attractive in their own way but he wondered what else made them special, that would get them chosen into this. He wasn't allowed to look at them until tomorrow but curiosity got the better of him as he started to go around the castle but only to come across a mare struggling with two guards just to go outside and when they refused her he just had to do something. When he ordered them to open the doors he saw how she ran out into the garden and he quickly followed after her to see if the mare was alright only to be met with a snide comment. Now he was trying to understand why this mare didn't like him so much.
She said, "You have thirty-four other girls here that are just as dear and yet you force their hopes up for something that probably won't happen, but you'll play with their emotions anyway until you find someone that you have to take back to your home and then that mare is away from their home and all she knows… I don't know why anyone thinks this Selection is a great idea, sure it kept peace in Equestria but at what cost? For a mare to be miserable for the rest of her life?"
His eyes widen and gapped at this mare, someone exactly got the gist of what this Selection is really like and he felt himself drawn to her but he had to put those thoughts aside given this mare was misinformed about his true intentions and he planned on setting her straight.
"You are correct about the Selection being more of a marriage for peace than a marriage for love as it was first intended. But I'm pleased to tell you that my uncles who went through this are happy with their choices and even my aunts who are mares such as yourself have managed to find happiness in our Lands, they are being treated well and have all the riches they could ever want."
The earth pony raised her brow in bewilderment, which made Spike smirk inwardly knowing he was getting somewhere with her and continued to talk.
"As for you and the other mares here, you are all dear to me but it is a matter of finding out who will be the dearest. I have had not the chance to find a mate and wife before as I was told I had to wait until the Selection for that."
The pony gapped and uttered, "Are… are you serious?"
He nodded.
The mare turned away in shame and started, "I… I'm sorry… I didn't realize…"
Spike gave a slight smile and asked, "What is your name?"
She looked back at him and stated, "Applejack, your highness."
"Applejack…" he softly said before he inquired, "Tell me, why did you enter the Selection if you didn't like me?"
"I…" she looked embarrassed and quickly replied, "As much as I didn't want to enter the Selection, I had to, as it was required by law. And my family needed the bits, if there's one thing I'm glad about the Selection is that families get paid for possibly losing their daughter. I will admit, your highness, I didn't like the idea of meeting you and hoped you wouldn't choose me but meeting you now and knowing your feelings to this whole thing makes me see I was a gosh darn fool. And for that I apologize." she took her hat off, showing how sincere she was.
Spike smiled bright at her and bowed to her, "I accept your apology."
Once she put her hat back on she noticed that Celestia's sun was going down, "Uh-oh, it's almost time for dinner, I better get back to my room, uh…" she cringed realizing now she had risked herself getting kicked out, "Providing your highness will allow me to stay since I haven't been a very good pony to you…"
Spike pretended to ponder on it as he said with a smirk, "Well… since technically I don't officially meet all the girls until tomorrow, so as far as I'm concern this meeting never happened…" he winked.
Her eyes widen in surprise before she smirked herself, this dragon prince really was like no one she ever met before and she quickly gave him a thank you as she left.
Spike started to wander around the garden with a smile on his face, this Selection just became much more interesting for him. Applejack was certainly beautiful with her silky blond mane with the freckles on her face making her adorable, and her orange coat went well with those emerald eyes of hers… But her physical appearance was nothing compared to her personality. Headstrong, independent, proactive, everything his father had order him to keep away from which made him all the more attracted to her.
I am definitely going to keep her around for a long time…
When Applejack arrived for dinner, she had to be place in line with the other thirty-four mares as Ms. Harshwinny gave them the protocol of how to greet their royal highnesses of Equestria. Then when Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had walked in regally with their manes flowing, the girls bowed in respect.
Princess Celestia addressed them, "Rise." when they did, she smiled, "Welcome my dears. I hope you all had a safe journey and I hope your rooms are up to your standards for we want you to be as comfortable as possible while you're here."
Princess Luna spoke, "I wish I can stay for dinner and get to know all of you better but I am needed with my duties as Princess of the Night. But it was an honor to meet all of you." she bowed her head as they did the same then she left.
Celestia gestured to the long dining table, "Now then, let's eat shall we?"
In moments the girls sat around the table eating with Celestia sitting at the head of the table as she began a conversation piece with some of the girls sitting close to her of why they entered the Selection.
One unicorn with a blue coat and silver hair boosted out, "The Great and Powerful Trixie believes she would make an excellent princess for the prince."
Celestia questioned, "Oh? And why is that my dear?"
Trixie flipped her mane, "Because Trixie is the best there is and the prince deserves the best."
Applejack wanted to scoff at that, while she can agree that from she knew about the prince he deserved the best but Trixie certainly didn't qualify in that regard. She also noticed the glare that Sunset was giving Trixie making her think that the mare figured that the showoff pony was her biggest competition in this. But what really intrigued her as dinner went on was that Twilight and Celestia were lively chatting away like they've known each other before…
When dinner was over and Celestia excused herself for the evening, Twilight and Applejack started heading to their rooms making AJ ask the question she was dying to ask.
"You and the princess seem to be on real good terms with each other… why is that?"
Twilight slightly blushed as she replied, "I'm actually her student."
Applejack's eyes widen as the unicorn kept explaining.
"We first met when I had to pass an entrance exam to get in the School for Gifted Unicorns. She decided to take me on as a personal student, and because of this I've been around the castle and I've actually met Prince Spike more than once when he and his family come to visit." she giggled, "He was so cute when he was small. I've yet to see how he has grown in these last few years."
Applejack had to hide a smirk. She knew her friend would be in for quite a shock when seeing how tall and robust the dragon is. Then asked, "Is that why you entered? Not because you had to but because you knew a little bit about him that you were willing to see if you two could get married?"
Twilight nodded, "Yes, because even if it wasn't the law, I think I would have enter regardless, as it is important for Equestria to keep the peace between the dragons but yes, I think Spike might actually make a fine husband for me."
AJ smiled at this and decided that she would pull for Twilight to win this, already she could tell Spike and her would make a good match since they had known each other ahead of time, they deserve have happiness with each other.
Twilight asked, "And you? Is there any reason you entered besides having to?"
Applejack replied honestly, "Truth be told, I didn't want to enter at all, but if I have to compete at least I can bring back money to my family and that's my reason for staying in the meantime until Prince Spike decides to kick me out." then smiled, "So you don't have to worry about me getting in the way of you competing."
Twilight beamed as she said, "I knew there was a reason I liked you from the start."
The two chuckled before they said their goodnights and wished each other luck with their goals.
The next morning, Spike got up to get ready as he polished his scales so they would be shiny and clean to impress the ladies. There was a knock on his door and his sister entered, stating.
"Well, this is it, the big day, you nervous?"
"Surprisingly, no." he said with a smile. After having met Applejack the previous day he felt a sudden confidence that he could face this without strife.
Ember raised a brow in confusion, she was sure her brother would be a bundle of nerves. But when she saw how cool he was being, it made her suspicious.
Spike saw her look and quickly added, "I mean, there's no need to be nervous right? All I'm doing is meeting them and then I'll get to spend some one-on-one time with them later, it's no big deal."
Ember was still dubious but nodded to his words, "Of course. Now get down there and start picking the ones you like the most."
"Are those Father's words?"
"That's what he would say if he were here, I on other hand would say something like, 'Don't make a hasty decision, take your time choosing. But if you feel you have nothing in common with one of them then you should let them go.' Does that help?"
Spike grinned as he hugged his sister much to her annoyance and pleasure, saying, "Plenty. Thanks, sis." he walked out of the room.
The girls sat at the breakfast table chatting away when Ms. Harshwinny shouted to them, "Ladies! Ladies!" they went silence and gave her their attention. "Now, I will call you over one at a time and you will meet with the prince in the next room. You will have exactly fifteen minutes with him before I send in the next girl. Do you understand?"
The mares around the table nodded or stated their agreements.
Ms. Harshwinny said, "Very good, now, will Miss Lemon Hearts step forward?"
The mare had a bright smile on her face as she followed Ms. Harshwinny.
As time passed, Applejack started memorizing some of the girls that had went in the other room and came back, such as Moon Dancer, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Minuette, Flitter, Cloudchaser, Twinkleshine, and Trixie. Now that Applejack realized it there were a lot more unicorns and pegasi than earth ponies in this Selection, which was pretty interesting now that she thought about it.
Suddenly Ms. Harshwinny called out, "Miss Twilight Sparkle!"
AJ gave her friend a quick wink and Twilight smiled as she went into the next room.