“Ahhh.” Rarity let out a sigh of satisfaction as the attendant began her hooficure. She lay on her back on one of the Ponyville Day Spa’s padded tables, her head resting against a large pillow. Green moisturizing cream covered her face, with a pair of cucumbers taking residence over her eyes. “You have no idea how much I needed this,” she told the ponies accompanying her.
To her left, Octavia Melody held out her hoof for the attendant to begin. To her right, Lyra Heartstrings let out a bubbly giggle. “This place is amazing. Thanks for showing it to me.”
“Why, you’re quite welcome,” Rarity replied. “But surely, they have these in Canterlot, I would assume?”
“They do,” Lyra answered, “but they’re a lot less personal. Too rushed. Get you in, get your treatment, get you out, next customer! There’s a certain small town friendliness here that you can’t find in the big cities like Canterlot or Manehattan.”
“She’s not wrong,” Octavia added. “My work’s taken me across Equestria, and one constant I’ve found is that the big cities might do more, but the small towns do it better. There’s a sense of hospitality that just isn’t there in busier locales.”
“That’s good to know,” Rarity said. “I’ll have to keep that in mind if my business takes off.”
Lyra sat up, turning towards Rarity. “Speaking of, how is your--”
“GIRLS!” The door exploded inwards as a frantic Berry Punch cantered through. “Girl girls girls girls GIRLS!”
“Calm down,” Rarity said. “Whatever is the matter?”
“You would not believe what I just saw!”
If Rarity could see through the cucumbers on her eyes, she’d be giving Berry Punch the flattest stare she could muster given the year she was having. As it was, she simply conjured every ounce of dryness that she had into her voice and said, “Try me.”
“Okay, so I was out by the flower shop looking at petunias when who should I see entering the Café Hay but Applejack and her new squeeze.”
“New squeeze?” Rarity asked. “I haven’t heard of anypony new in her life. Are you certain?”
“Well, it was hard to tell, but they certainly looked to be on a date from the brief glance I saw.”
“You followed them,” Octavia accused.
“No, but somepony who was totally not me might have been eavesdropping on their conversation.”
All at once, the room seemed to get colder as Octavia spoke. “Well, then,” she said icily, “shall we begin? Who would like to bet first?”
Lyra perked up, asking, “Wait, what are we betting on?”
“How long until the flavor of the moon gets The Talk,” Rarity explained.
“What talk?”
Without missing a beat, Octavia said, “You’ve got a bright future ahead of you. You’re going to go places and do amazing things. You don’t need me holding you back.” After a few seconds of silent confusion from Lyra, Octavia bitterly added, “It’s what she always says.”
“Octavia’s a bit sensitive,” Berry Punch explained.
“I’m entitled to be,” Octavia replied. “So who’s the unfortunate victim this time?”
“You don’t have to be that mean about it,” Rarity responded. “Applejack’s not so terrible.”
Berry Punch asked, “You’re joking, right? This betting pool was your idea, Rarity.”
“Look,” Rarity said, “I’m not saying she isn’t a heartless shrew of a pony, but she has good qualities too.”
“Oh, haven’t you heard?” Octavia asked in a lightly teasing voice. “Rarity and Applejack are best friends now.”
“No!” Berry Punch answered in mock alarm. “Rarity, how could you?”
“Oh, hush,” Rarity told the others, laying her head back down on her pillow. “We have mutual friends. It’s not the same thing.” For only a moment, she almost believed herself. “Just get on with it. At this rate, Applejack’s liable to dump her in the streets before you’ve even finished giving us a proper name.”
“Well, I’m not exactly sure on the name,” Berry Punch admitted. “She’s new in town and I wasn’t listening that closely. But you know that new librarian who just--”
“TWILIGHT?!” Rarity shot up from her table, forcing Berry Punch to duck under the flying cucumbers catapulted in her direction.
“Yeah, that’s it!” Berry Punch grinned. “Twilight something or other.”
“Ooh,” Lyra said with a wince. “I went to school with Twilight. She’s really smart, very talented, and she’s got the social skills of a jar of angry bees. If Applejack’s as awful as you girls are saying, she won’t last a week.”
“Okay, we’ve got one bet for a week,” Berry Punch said. “Octavia?”
Octavia considered. “Applejack’s turnover rate isn’t quite that fast. She likes to take her time and really work the knife in before she twists it. I give her three moons.”
“Three moons,” Berry Punch repeated. “Rarity, what have you got?”
Rarity sat motionless on the table, her mind racing. “She’s going to break the poor dear,” she said quietly.
Berry Punch answered with a nonchalant, “Uh, yeah? That’s kind of her thing. So how long until she breaks her?”
“No, you don’t understand,” Rarity said. “Twilight’s just barely started opening herself up to having a social life. Applejack could ruin everything. She could shatter her poor filly’s heart forever. She might never trust again!”
“Okay,” Berry Punch said, taking in Rarity’s words. “But if you had to put a timeframe on Applejack shattering her poor filly’s heart forever, where would you say--”
“I have to go. I’m sorry, girls, but this is an emergency.” Without another word, Rarity bounded off the table and galloped out the door, stopping only momentarily to scrub the mud from her face.
“She didn’t bet,” Lyra said in Rarity’s absence. “Is she allowed to do that?”
“I’ll put her down as abstaining due to temporary insanity,” Berry Punch said. “As for me, I’ll split the difference and say a moon and a half. Sound good?”
“Are you certain?” Rarity called from the kitchen.
“She actually said the words,” Twilight answered between sobs. She lay on her front on Rarity’s fainting couch, which the latter was beginning to consider redubbing her consultation couch. “I asked her if she was breaking up with me and she said yes.”
Twilight heard Rarity's hooves clicking across the kitchen's linoleum, then padding softly on the foyer's carpet. Her gaze remained straight ahead, fixed on her own front hooves. They didn’t look any different than the hooves she had two weeks ago. Why didn’t Applejack want them anymore?
At that train of thought, Twilight burst out into a fresh batch of tears. She cried for what felt like years adrift in an ocean of despair. In her mind, she was still there in that moment, imprisoned in the memory of Applejack’s dismissal. Her heart trembled with each breath she took until it became difficult to breathe at all through the tears.
Heaving and sobbing all at once, Twilight looked up to see Rarity sitting patiently beside her. She hadn’t even realized that Rarity’s front hoof was gently stroking her mane. Beside Rarity, a tub of blueberry ice cream floated. When Twilight could find the breath for words, she asked, “Why do you have ice cream?”
“Trust me,” Rarity answered and the tub floated out to Twilight along with a small spoon. Hesitantly, Twilight took them both with her magic. She didn’t fully understand, but was in no mood to argue. She slid the spoon into the ice cream, pulled out a small bite, and ate it.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Rarity asked. “You don’t have to.”
“I don’t know what happened,” Twilight answered. “Everything was fine and then it just wasn’t. We went to bed and then suddenly there was yelling and--”
“She yelled at you?”
Twilight took another bite of ice cream before answering. “No, it was Apple Bloom.”
Rarity’s face contorted with confusion. “Apple Bloom yelled at you?” That was a new one.
Twilight shook her head. “No, she was yelling at Applejack.” She paused for another bite. “She was mad at Applejack because she was planning on breaking up with me, and somehow Apple Bloom knew about it.”
“Oh, dear.” Rarity continued the soft motions of her hoof on Twilight’s mane, but said nothing.
Twilight floated the spoon out of the ice cream tub once more and took another bite. She whispered, “This is really good ice cream.”
“I know. It helps with the pain.”
“This hurts so much worse than it did last time,” Twilight said. “I didn’t think it could. How is this much pain even possible?”
“That’s just how love works, darling. There’s an old rule of thumb that says you will need one moon for each year that you and your love were together. I’ve never put too much stock in it, but I hear it a lot.”
Twilight looked up at Rarity between bites of the ice cream. “One moon for each year?! I don’t know if I can handle feeling this way for that long.”
“I understand, but--”
“Do you? I can’t think, Rarity. I can barely manage to breathe. She’s everywhere inside of me right now, like sharp knives plunged into my brain. No matter what I try to think about, she’s there. I can’t focus on Spike or my friends or anything without every thought being pulled back to Applejack. My heart feels like it’s going to implode at any moment. I could live with that, but my mind is betraying me and I don’t know how to make it stop.”
“There’s nothing you can do. It just takes time.”
“I don’t have time!” Twilight shouted. “Celestia expects me to be learning how to be a princess and all I can think of is how much this hurts. It’s like I’m a prisoner of my own heartbreak, like it’s governing my thoughts. I’ve never felt this--” She stopped suddenly. Her head snapped up, shock and horror dawning in her eyes.
“Twilight?” Rarity asked.
“No,” she whispered. “I have felt this way before. I know what this is.” As though in a trance, Twilight stood up. The hairs on her body stood on end and she began to bristle with anger. “I know how to fix this.”
“Twilight, what are you--“ Before Rarity could finish, Twilight vanished in a flash of magic. “TWILIGHT!” Rarity leapt to her hooves, looking frantically around the boutique. She cantered for the door, throwing it open with her magic just in time to see Twilight beating her wings to take off.
With the dim light of dawn beginning to creep up over the horizon, Twilight flapped awkwardly in the air, her movements inexperienced but filled with a sense of purpose. Rarity shouted at her, “Twilight, wait!” but her words went unheeded. The unicorn broke into a gallop, trying to follow Twilight’s movements as she flew above the town.
In the sky above, the weather pegasi had already begun their morning shift. Rainbow Dash, Clear Skies, and Sunshower coordinated the movements of the clouds for an incoming storm front scheduled to blow through Ponyville today. Sunshower reached for another cloud, then let out a yelp of surprise and pulled away as Twilight burst through it, passing the three pegasi and continuing her path.
“Twilight?!” Rainbow Dash asked, but she received no response from her friend.
Instead, a response came from the ground as Rarity shouted up, “FOLLOW HER!” Moved by the urgency in the unicorn’s voice, Rainbow Dash took off after Twilight without another word, shadowing her as she flew out to the Everfree Forest.
With Rainbow Dash’s guidance, Rarity found Twilight deep in the forest. She could hear the thunk of hooves against stone as she drew closer, coupled with various grunts and exclamations of pain and rage.
“WAKE UP!” Twilight shouted, her voice echoing through the dark woods. Rarity recognized this area; the Mirror Pool had been here once upon a time. Twilight and her friends had plugged the hole leading to the pool with the largest, heaviest rock they had on hoof at the time. Now, here was Twilight rearing up and slamming her hooves into it, screaming at it for answers.
“Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked. “What are you doing?”
Twilight seemed to entirely ignore Rainbow Dash, instead rounding the large stone. “I know you can hear me. I know what you’re doing, but it’s not going to work. I’m onto you now, so come out here and face me!”
Carefully, Rarity stepped towards Twilight and the rock. She spoke slowly and with caution in her voice. “Twilight. Darling. The stone is dormant. Princess Celestia told us that Cardinal would likely never awaken again. You independently confirmed this several times in the last few moons. We never would have brought it out here if there was even the slightest chance it would reactivate.”
“Maybe he did,” Twilight insisted. “He tricked us before. This could just be another manipulation. He did something or…or he said something….” Twilight stopped pacing, looking down at the ground. After a few seconds, her head snapped back up and she looked at Rarity. “Maybe he said something when he was still active. He could have planted some idea in Applejack’s head, something that--”
“I wish it were that simple,” Rarity said, “but that is unlikely to be the case.”
“Did something happen?” Rainbow Dash asked, but she was summarily ignored.
Twilight looked around frantically, following trains of thought invisible to her friends. “Then maybe it’s Discord. The real Discord. He made Cardinal to tear us apart; maybe he’s trying to finish the job!”
Rarity shook her head. “If it were Discord, I’m sure we would know about it. He’d be right here with us gloating.”
“It could be a changeling!” Twilight shouted. “The queen sent a changeling to replace Applejack and…and….”
Rarity took another step towards Twilight. “The changelings feed on love. They would have nothing to gain from destroying yours.”
“It has to be somepony!” Twilight shouted. “Somepony did this to me. Somepony wanted me hurt or crippled. They had to.” She dropped to her knees, fresh tears beginning to flow again. “They had to. Why else would she leave me?”
“She did what?!” Rainbow Dash asked. Her whole body drooped as she heard the news.
Rarity stepped closer, lifting a hoof and reaching for Twilight’s mane. “I’m so sorry, Twilight, but this is the reality. It’s not a nefarious plot, it’s just Applejack. It hurts, I know it does, but you have to be strong and push through it. We’ll all be right here for you.”
“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash added, joining Rarity. “I don’t really know what’s going on, but I’ve got an idea of what you’re going through. It’s gonna feel really awful for a bunch of days but then life picks up and moves on. We’re still your friends, Twilight, and we’ll help you through it.”
Twilight sniffed. Weakly, she explained, “I still don’t know what happened. She said…she said I had a….”
“A bright future,” Rarity finished for her. “I know. But we all love you and--"
“What?” Twilight asked suddenly, her eyes snapping up at Rarity. “Why?”
“What? Why do we love you? Twilight, you’re our friend and--”
Twilight pulled abruptly away from Rarity, eyes fixed on her. “You just said, ‘A bright future.’ That’s what Applejack said to me. Why do you know that?”
“It’s complicated.” Rarity took a step towards Twilight, but she backed off further.
“Stay back!” Twilight shouted at her. “What did you do?! Did you say something to her? Did you tell her to break up with me?!”
Hurt, Rarity answered, “Twilight, I would never do something like that. I have been nothing but supportive since you--”
She was cut off by Twilight thinking aloud. “You’ve always hated that we were together.”
Rainbow Dash stepped forward, prompting Twilight to back away from her as well. “Rarity wouldn’t do that,” she insisted. “You’re starting to sound crazy.”
“Then why?!” Twilight shouted. “Why does she know that--”
“BECAUSE IT’S WHAT APPLEJACK DOES!!!” Rarity screamed into the dark. “I have tried to spare you from the truth. I thought that perhaps this time might be different, that she might have changed, but clearly I was wrong.”
Twilight stepped back slowly, absorbing Rarity’s words. She felt her backside bump into the cold stone behind her and stopped. “She…what?”
Rainbow Dash awkwardly scratched at her mane. “Look, AJ’s got this mean reputation that floats around town sometimes. I heard she had a string of bad romances before you showed up. Ponies started talking. It was just dumb gossip and stuff.”
Twilight looked to the pegasus, asking, “You knew? Why didn’t you say anything?”
“What was I supposed to say? ‘Oh, by the way, there’s a bunch of dumb rumors some jerks made up about your special somepony.’”
“Yes!” Twilight shouted. “You could have said exactly that!”
With the gentlest voice she could muster, Rarity explained, “We didn’t want to ruin what might be between you two. Pinkie Pie suggested--”
“Pinkie knew?!”
“Darling, everypony knew. Well, perhaps not Fluttershy. I don’t know that she ever paid much attention to local gossip.”
“How could you keep something like this from me?” Twilight whispered. “I could have been prepared, I could have…” Twilight’s voice drifted away into a sob. Rarity and Rainbow Dash exchanged looks, uncertain whether to approach her. Rarity took a single step forward, but at the crunch of her hoof in the dew-stained grass, Twilight’s eyes shot open and her horn began to glow. “Stay away from me!” she shouted. “You let this happen to me. How could you?!”
Desperately, Rarity tried to explain again. “We were trying to protect you. We never meant for any of this to happen. We thought it was better this way. The rumors and gossip were just…they were stupid. Mean, heartless, angry ponies saying thoughtless things to feel better about what had happened to us.”
With tears in her eyes, Rarity insisted, “When you and Applejack got together, I was terrified. Yes, Twilight, I kept all of this from you because I didn’t want our stupid coping mechanisms to hurt you, and that’s all it was. The rumors, the resentments, the betting pool, it was all--“
“Betting pool?” Twilight asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “You bet on me?!”
Rarity immediately realized what the wrong thing to say had been. “Twilight, no, I would never--”
“I can’t believe this,” Twilight said. “I can’t believe you. I thought....” She looked off into the distance now, her eyes refusing to focus on either Rarity or Rainbow Dash. “I thought you were my friends.”
“We are!” Rainbow Dash insisted.
“Twilight, please,” Rarity pleaded, but before she could say anything more, Twilight’s teleport spell flashed. In less than a second she was gone, leaving the two ponies alone in the woods. “TWILIGHT!” Rarity cried out into the forest, but no answer ever came.
“WHAT WAS THAT?!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “I went to bed last night, everything was fine. What the hay happened last night?!”
Bitterly, Rarity answered, “Applejack happened.”
“Oh, don’t even start,” Rainbow Dash replied with a roll of her eyes. “AJ might have messed things up with her and Twilight, but this right here? This was on us.” A few seconds of silence passed with no answer from Rarity, so Rainbow Dash sighed. “Look, you can stay here and mope or whatever if you want, but I’m going to go find her.”
“It won’t help,” Rarity said. “She’s not coming back.” Rainbow Dash shook her head at Rarity, then spread her wings and took to the sky. In a matter of seconds, Rarity was alone with the rock.
“You know, it’d almost be funny if it wasn’t so tragic,” Rarity said idly to the stone. “Now would have been the perfect time to strike, had you just been more patient. Of course, without the Elements, there wouldn’t be much point to it. Still, bitter ironies.”
The stone, in response, said nothing. It could not, for it had not been patient.
The sun rose too quickly over the Apple farm. At the crack of dawn, Applejack was up like she was most mornings. She let out a long yawn and stretched her forelegs. “Mornin’, sugar,” she whispered into the dim room. She rolled over to give Twilight’s sleepy forehead a kiss before starting her day, but found the other half of the bed cold and empty.
She stared for several seconds at the empty space. Twilight had come home yesterday. She’d gone to bed last night right here, and then…oh. Her body drooped as the memory of the night’s events came back to her. Twilight was gone. She’d actually gone through with it.
Her first impulse was regret. In the back of her mind, gears started turning towards how she could explain away what she’d said. If she went to Twilight now, if she explained herself, if she begged and pleaded, perhaps everything would be okay. Applejack took a deep breath and swallowed that feelings. It was a dangerous toxin; paying it any mind would make the next few days harder.
Her second impulse was pain. She knew that part had to happen. A cold and crippling pain like a thousand icicles jabbed into her heart. She knew this feeling well, but she couldn’t let it keep her from what she had to do. Mustering her strength, she stepped down off the bed and shook off the thoughts of what might have been.
Her third impulse was conviction. She’d made the right decision. She had to believe that more than anything. It was going to hurt for weeks, possibly even a moon or two, but she had to stay true to what she’d decided. Cutting Twilight loose was ultimately what was best for her. She knew that. She had to know that. There wasn’t any other option now.
As she approached her bedroom door and reached out with her teeth for the knob, a fourth impulse struck. Regret fought back harder than she was accustomed to. In the depths of her heart, pain gave way to despair, and she found her conviction beginning to crumble. There was something tugging at the corner of her heart, something she couldn’t quite put words to.
Steeling herself, Applejack left her bedroom and descended the stairs. Big Mac was already out in the field and she needed to join him before the weather pegasi finished bringing the storm in. She made it as far as the front door before her strength gave out again. Twilight was gone. Really, truly gone. She’d see her here or there or when the group was together, but….
The group. How was she going to explain to everypony? What would she even say? Rarity, in particular, was sure to throw the book at her. Rainbow Dash would probably support her. Pinkie and Fluttershy…she couldn’t even begin to predict how they would react. She could see everypony’s disappointed faces staring at her in her mind, could hear their frantic questions and--
Work. She had work that needed to get done. Applejack opened the front door and trotted out to the field, where she found Big Mac pulling his plow to till the soil. Without a word between them, Applejack passed him and made for the next field over. She climbed into the harness of her own plow and took a step, but her movement was stopped by the aching of her heart.
She could see Twilight’s heartbroken face in her mind, could hear the anger and carefully reserved hurt in her voice. She needed to be focusing on her morning chores, but Twilight’s ghost lingered with every step she took, haunting her, demanding to know why she did it, why she hurt her. It wasn’t supposed to be this hard. It hadn’t been since….
Her mind flashed back on something Twilight had told her once. “Did you know we’ve now been together for longer than we were platonic friends? … This has become the standard for our relationship.” Applejack was half-asleep when she’d had this discussion with Twilight and even awake, she had never really been able to figure out what Twilight was on about with relationship standards.
Standing in the field now, however, there was no denying its meaning. The very thought of platonic friendship with Twilight sent crippling spikes of pain through Applejack. To be so close to her but not be able to reach out, to hold her, to kiss her….
Applejack shook it off again. Work. She had to focus on work. With a grunt of effort, she heaved the plow into motion. It was heavier than she remembered, but her strength had never failed her before and it refused to let her down now.
After the first couple hours of work, Applejack spotted Apple Bloom coming out the front door. If it was time for the filly to be off to school, then breakfast was probably made already. She tucked herself out of the plow harness and started for the house. “Mornin’, sugarcube,” she greeted her sister.
No answer came. Apple Bloom lifted her chin and kept right on trotting past Applejack.
“Apple Bloom?” Applejack cast her voice on the wind but if it ever reached her sister, she made no acknowledgement of it. Applejack idly reached a front hoof towards the image of her sister, vanishing through the gate, then dropped it. “Reckon I deserve that,” she said idly to herself before heading inside to get breakfast.
The sun didn’t get very high before the storm clouds rolled in. With ample warnings from the weather pegasi, Applejack and Big Mac had been able to secure the apple trees to minimize damages from the wind. Granny Smith boarded windows in the house to reinforce them. Large tarps had been set up to protect the crops. The pigs were locked inside.
The rain had just begun to drip as Applejack set about her last check, making sure the farm was braced for the winds and rains that would soon be unleashed. According to the weather pegasi, the storm was only scheduled to last the day. The reinforcements made should hold out at least six, so Applejack felt confident that--
“Applejack.” The voice dripped with a special layer of ice and venom that Applejack hadn’t felt in years. A hostile scowl bore through her, permeating her body with disdain. “We need to talk.”
Applejack closed her eyes and sighed. “I know, Rares,” she answered. “I wondered how long ‘til we had to do this. This is mite sooner than I--”
“She’s gone,” Rarity interrupted with a growl.
Applejack stopped in her tracks. She stopped moving, stopped breathing. She couldn’t have heard Rarity correctly. “Beg pardon?”
More clearly, Rarity stated, “Twilight has returned to Canterlot. She left us, Applejack.”
Before Rarity could say another word, Applejack bolted. She raced past Rarity and out the front gates of the farm. She barely even noticed the drizzle of rain beginning to get harder or the dirt her hooves landed in turning to mud. “No no no,” she whispered to herself, hoping against hope that Rarity was lying to her.
Gravel replaced mud as Applejack entered Ponyville proper. She galloped past the bakery, past the flower shop, and took a left turn at the spa. By the time she reached the library, the clack of her hooves on gravel had been drowned out by the rain pouring down. Applejack hit the door to Golden Oak hard, slamming it open.
Inside, she found a phantom of what she’d known. The place appeared to have changed little since last she’d seen it. The books remained in their places, there was a pot by the stove for Spike to cook with, and various parchments lay scattered across the table. Had Applejack not known what to look for, she might never have noticed. However, what remained wasn’t half as important as what was missing.
Twilight’s candles and firefly lamp were both missing. There wasn’t a single feather quill or inkwell on the table. As Applejack trudged up the stairs, she found that the research books on Twilight’s desk had been cleared away. The star and moon blanket on the bed was gone, replaced by a simple white comforter. Most noticeably, her beloved telescope was no longer in its place at the window beside her bed.
Twilight had taken everything that mattered most for her to have in Canterlot. Applejack presumed that she would come back for the rest. Looking around Twilight’s emptied bedroom, there was no denying the truth in Rarity’s words. She stepped towards the bed and reached a hoof up, running it along the soft comforter.
In her mind, she could still see the ghost of Twilight curled up on the edge of the bed, trying to squeeze her in. She glanced to the window and Twilight’s phantom was there, trying to get a better look at their special constellation. To this day, Applejack still wasn’t quite sure where it was supposed to be in the sky, though she was starting to get an idea of its shape.
Stepping back down the stairs, Applejack saw Twilight engrossed in her books that day that Spike swore his life-debt to her. She saw a spell backfiring in Twilight’s face and remembered softly saying from the stairs, “Give it a rest and come to bed, sugar. Magic’ll still be there in the morning.”
As she descended the stairs to the first floor, Applejack saw Twilight pacing holes around the table, lost in thought and occasional insanity. She saw an ocean of calculations and measurements about their relationship pinned up across the library. She heard Twilight’s gentle voice whispering, “Happy anniversary, sweetheart,” and tasted Twilight’s lips on hers.
She didn’t even notice Rarity entering the library until the unicorn spoke up. “It’s true. Rainbow Dash spotted her on the train leaving the station. Twilight is gone.”
“I can’t believe she’d up and leave like that,” Applejack replied, more to herself than to Rarity. “Twi loves it here. She’d never--”
Bitterly, Rarity cut her off. “Sometimes we don’t know a pony as well as we thought. You might be surprised by what we are capable of when we’re hurting. You have broken her heart, Applejack. An extreme response should come as no surprise.”
Applejack said nothing in her own defense, so Rarity continued. “I mean, I certainly wish I could say that I’m surprised by this. That the last several moons were not spent desperately trying to keep this day from coming. But that would be a lie.”
Still, Applejack said nothing. She stepped over to the table, feeling Rarity’s rage and hurt burning into her, and offered nothing.
“You know, when this all started, I didn’t want to believe it. I couldn’t, not after what I’d seen from you. The courage, the selflessness that you displayed. I didn’t want to think that you would be so selfish, so cruel, as to go after Twilight. Of all ponies, Twilight.”
Finally speaking up, Applejack said, “It ain’t cruelty. I was--”
Rarity cut her off. “Then what do you call this? Look around you, Applejack. You did this. You made her love you. You worked yourself into her head so much, the poor thing can’t imagine a future without you. You built up her dreams and then you crushed them. Because of course you did. Because this is what you do. If that isn’t cruelty, then what is it?”
Rarity braced herself for the impending counterattack. She knew what she was walking into the moment she set hoof on the farm. She was ready for it this time. Applejack was going to scream, she was going to push, and she might even physically attack her again. Rarity was older now; she would defend herself verbally and even physically if she must. Whatever it took to make Applejack understand.
Rarity took a step back and her body tensed as Applejack turned her head to look at her. Applejack locked eyes on her, she opened her mouth, and…then she cried. First a few tears ran down her face, cutting her off from whatever she had planned to say. Then she gasped for air and the tears turned into a river. Applejack turned back to the table, covering her eyes with a single foreleg and openly bawling.
Rarity stood flummoxed, uncertain where to go or what to say from here. “Oh, dear,” she whispered into the library. She was sure she had never seen Applejack cry like this. Certainly not so openly. She took a few tentative steps towards the earth pony, peering around her to try and get a better look, to understand what was happening.
“You’re right,” Applejack muttered beneath her tears. “You were always right. I should have left well enough alone.” She heaved a heavy sob, prompting Rarity to awkwardly look at the door. The storm was here in full and the rains were thundering down outside the window.
“I’m sorry,” Rarity offered tentatively. “I admit I’m not certain what to do here. I came in expecting a fight.”
Applejack lifted her head to shake it, dropping a few more sobs before she spoke. “What’s there to fight about? You’re right, this is what I do. Twi’s gone ‘cause I can’t quit lovin’ beyond my means. I did this, Rares. This is all my fault.”
“I….” Rarity hesitated. The flame of her rage seemed to snuff itself out more and more, replaced by the grave heartache of emotional loss. She wanted to be screaming, to be yelling, to say the most hurtful things that her mind could develop. But as she watched Applejack pour tears into the varnish of the table, she found herself at a loss. There was simply nothing that could be said that would be worse than what her friend was already undergoing.
And even through the hurt, there was still a part of her that was slowly dying inside to see a friend in such a state. Rarity closed her eyes and she made a choice that would define the course of the rest of her life.
Applejack laid her head back down on her foreleg, sobbing audibly into the orange hairs. She didn’t even notice the sound of hooves clicking across the wooden floor. She was startled by a gentle pressure against her side and the sound of Rarity’s voice, much closer than she’d been before. “We did this,” Rarity said, opening up the pain in her heart.
Applejack’s head jerked up in surprise. She turned it and saw Rarity right beside her, one hoof pressed against her side. She saw tears beginning to grow in her friend’s eyes as well, as the unicorn continued, “I’ve been angry with you for so very long, Applejack. I thought if I could protect Twilight, if I could act as a buffer between you, maybe I could change things. But I let myself be guided by bitterness, and she could see that bitterness in me.”
Applejack reached out with a hoof and returned Rarity’s gesture. When the tears began to fall, she pulled her friend in beside her. They cried together wordlessly, united in remorse and in mutual loss.
Two hours later, Applejack and Rarity sat by the fireplace and watched the rain fall outside. The sound of kernels popping in the cookpot set over it filled the library. Pop. Pop. Pop. BOOM! A flash of lightning lit the sky joined by the accompanying sound of an explosion ripping through the sky, prompting Rarity to leap to her hooves and shoot a frantic look about the room.
Despite the somber mood, Applejack laughed. “That’s just the thunder.”
Rarity chuckled, sitting back down. “Of course. Apologies, I’m still a little jumpy. I expected us to be screaming and perhaps throwing objects at each other by now.”
Applejack nodded. “Can’t say you don’t have reason to. We ain’t always got along real great, have we?”
“No, we have not,” Rarity agreed. “But she was always there to push us. She truly loved you so, Applejack.”
“She loved us both,” Applejack replied. “She might never have been good at showing it, but Twi had a lot of love to give. She loved each of us in her own way.” Applejack laughed, settling into memory. “Course, we loved her too, didn’t we? It’s why we put up with each other.”
Glancing at the rain pouring outside the window, Rarity followed Applejack’s train of thought. “This does certainly take me back. Do you remember her excitement? ‘We’ll do everything by the book and that’ll make my slumber party officially fun!’“
Applejack laughed. “We sure gave her a heap of trouble that night, didn’t we? ‘I dare you to step outside and let your precious, tidy mane get ruined again!’”
Rarity jumped up in mock challenge. “Yes? Well, I dare Applejack to play dress-up in a frou-frou, glittery, lacey outfit!”
Applejack grinned. “I dare you to wear somethin’ designed by Rainbow Dash!”
“I dare you to let Fluttershy buck your next crop!”
“Carousel’s new line: Fashions by Discord!”
“Replace one of your groves with orange trees!”
Applejack stepped back, feigning injury. “You got me deep, Rares. It’s all goin’ dark!” She collapsed against the bookshelf. She started to laugh, but stopped, looking somberly at her hooves.
Without Applejack saying a word, Rarity nodded. “It’s not the same without her,” she said with a heavy breath.
“Ain’t never going to be,” Applejack agreed. “Had to be, though.” She gave a sad glance up at Rarity. “I can’t be what holds her back, Rares. Twi belongs to Equestria now, not to me.”
Rarity considered her words very carefully, then crossed the fireplace to approach Applejack. “Applejack, as your friend, I want you to know that I am saying this with all of the love and respect that you deserve.” Confused, Applejack nodded, so Rarity continued. “That is, quite simply, the dumbest thing you have ever said to me. Twilight loves you. What else matters?”
Applejack closed her eyes, searching for words to explain. “It’s complicated,” she settled on.
“What happened to you?” Rarity asked earnestly. “Why all of this? Why do you keep doing this to other ponies? Why….” She felt her voice rising and made an effort to lower it. Gently, she asked, “You look positively miserable. Why do this to yourself?”
Applejack looked down at the wood grain below her, hoping to find some way of answering. All she found was the occasional knot. “That’s…it’s personal.”
Rarity shook her head. “Oh, no, you don’t. Honestly, Applejack, after the amount of time and energy I’ve put into making your relationship work, I think I’m entitled to a few answers.” More softly, she added, “Please. I’m asking as your friend.”
After a few seconds, Applejack nodded. She sat up and stepped over to the popcorn pot. “Let me get this off the fire and we can talk.” She took a deep breath, and just before she reached for the pot, she asked, “How much do you remember?”
The sun rose gently towards the top of a clear sky. The town had finished Winter Wrap-Up just two days prior and after only three days of work past the deadline; they’d set a new record for Ponyville. The flowers had just started blooming and butterflies fluttered through town, tracing a course to pollen.
The Ponyville Schoolhouse stood prominently at the top of a small hill, surrounded by trees. Inside, a variety of colts and fillies sat at their desks whispering and gossiping among each other. A small, brown earth pony stallion stepped through the door. His face was marked with the creases of age and his muscles had withered years ago. He bore a Cutie Mark shaped like three pieces of chalk running parallel to each other.
“Attention, class,” the old stallion called out, quieting the room but for the voices of ponies who believed theirs too low to be heard.
“…we need time to set up, so try to be at my place before sunset, and bring--” The lavender filly stopped suddenly, realizing her teacher was now hovering over her.
The teacher asked, “And are we all invited to this party?”
The filly shrank down in her seat. “Um…I don’t…it’s not exactly….”
“Do your parents know you’re having it?”
She blinked her green eyes and stammered for a response.
“Your silence is rather telling, Cheerilee. In the future, if you would like your secret plans to remain secret, I would advise you to discuss them after class. I assure you, Roseluck still exists outside this room. For tonight, why don’t you see me after class in detention and we can explain things to your parents together.”
“Yes, Mr. Sketch,” Cheerilee answered, her body drooping.
Mr. Sketch returned to the front of the class, addressing his students. “Now then, if there is nothing else so urgent it must be shared with everypony, I would like to announce that we have a new student.” He shouted to the door. “Come on in!”
The door opened and a small, light blue earth pony stepped through the door. Her pink mane was cropped short, with a few curls wrapped around her right ear. Her flank was still blank at her age, which meant she would fit right in with the rest of the class. There was a distant sadness in her pink eyes as she stepped forward to the teacher’s desk and stood before the rest of the class.
“Would you like to introduce yourself?” Mr. Sketch asked.
The filly looked up at him, then gave a brief shrug. “I guess,” she said. “I’m Crystal Chalice. I used to live in Manehattan, but my mom made us come out here.”
Mr. Sketch nodded. “Thank you, Crystal. You may take a seat. There’s a free desk in the back.”
Crystal trudged to the back and took her seat on the stool behind the open desk. She laid down her blue saddlebags beside the desk and put her front hooves up as the teacher began his lesson. Next to her, a white filly with an excellently coiffed mane leaned over, bristling with curiosity. “Is that Flicker Strobe on your bag?”
Crystal’s eyes filled with surprise. She followed the unicorn’s gaze to a metal engraving on the clasp, shaped like the head of a yellow mare with a red mane winking. She whispered, “You know Flicker Strobe?”
“Do I? Why, she’s only one of the greatest pioneers in street rave of all time, darling.”
Crystal smiled. “She’s my favorite,” she whispered.
The other filly gasped. “Why, she’s mine too!”
Standing over them, Mr. Sketch added, “And mine as well! Wait, no, that’s wrong. My favorite’s the one who hands out detention to students who can’t wait until after class to have these conversations. I expect to see you both this afternoon.”
As Mr. Sketch returned to the front, the other filly whispered, “What a tyrant. In any case, my name’s Rarity. Would you like to be my friend?”