Today had been an absolute, total, complete and utter failure.
Applejack sat despondently inside Cafè Hay, a half-eaten tulip sandwich and a cold mug of hot chocolate on the table in front of her. She had spent all day traipsing up and down Ponyville searching for Twilight--who she was surprised could apparently find the time to come to Ponyville for this--only to come up completely empty-hooved. She was tired and sore, it was getting dark, and to top things off, it was now raining outside.
She sighed. She’d spent the entire evening yesterday thinking over the riddle Discord had given her, to the point of falling asleep, and had woken up this morning none the wiser for it. The closest she could come to an answer was Carousel Boutique, since that was where she’d first gone at the start of all this, but it was a solution she hadn’t been confident in. Those misgivings were confirmed when, instead of Twilight, Applejack had been met by a somewhat surprised Sweetie Belle, who confirmed that there were indeed no alicorn princesses at the shop.
After that, Applejack had decided to visit the obvious location of Twilight’s old castle, but aside from some students of the nearby School of Friendship, it was empty. The school itself had also yielded no results, Trixie and Starlight Glimmer both confirming the lack of Twilight’s presence. Applejack had even visited the site of Twilight’s old library, the remains of the tree having long since been dug over and replaced with a small monument, but there had been nopony there. The rest of the afternoon had been spent wandering between Twilight’s various old haunts. The Hayburger, the book store, even her favourite reading spot in the park. All empty.
Applejack knew she was going about this the wrong way, but no matter how she tried, she just couldn’t figure out an answer to the riddle. With every passing minute, she could see more and more clearly the mental image of the hat Rainbow had brought on the day she’d found the box, and the clearer the hat got, the more mocking the riddle grew in her head.
So while she’d never admit to giving up, she had done just that for the day and gone to get something to eat. Now, she sat and watched the drizzle out of the window, a persistent grey sheet that seemed to simply hang in the air, wetting everything and showing no sign of letting up. Sighing once more, Applejack resigned herself to having to walk home in it. At least she could take a warm bath afterwards.
Getting up, she left a few bits on the table and headed out of the door. Immediately, her coat, mane and tail were soaked and water began dripping off the brim of her hat, droplets occasionally hitting her nose. The air around her seemed to hiss as the rain fell, permeating every crack and crevice of Ponyville and giving the world a grey hue. A flash of colour at the end of the street signalled another pony caught out in the weather, galloping home for dry towels and a warm fireplace.
Applejack began trudging in the direction of the farm, steeling herself for the long journey home, her hooves making quiet splashes in the shallow puddles already building in the streets. The combination of the cold and the wet weather sent a dull throb through her knee with every step, a pain she was used to by now, but one that still grated and wore a pony down.
She gave a grunt of annoyance. What was wrong with her? This wasn’t how she got stuff done! She was Applejack, the most dependable of ponies, and she didn’t give up at the first sign of difficulty! And she certainly didn’t start mithering just because she was having trouble! So what if the answer had eluded her so far? All she had to do was think harder. There was no way she was going to let Rainbow beat her! She’d always strived to win when she was younger, and that sure as hay wasn’t going to change now!
With that thought, Applejack’s stride became slightly more determined, her pace picking up from a sullen trudge to a more brisk half-trot. She ran through the week’s events in her head once more.
First, there had been Rarity and the dress, which had led to the market stall where she and Rainbow had started dating. Then, it had been Pinkie Pie at Sugarcube Corner, ultimately leading to the statue at which Applejack and Rainbow had first kissed. After that, it was off to Fluttershy, where Rainbow had gotten a little cheeky with both the format of the riddles, and the subject matter. Which left her with the final riddle again.
To travel from friend to friend, this was her plan; now find the magical gem back where you began.
But now she was going in circles again, because “back where she began” led straight back to Rarity.
“What am I doin’ wrong?” Applejack asked herself aloud, not caring if there was anypony around to hear her or not. “There’s something I’m missin’…”
She huffed as she crossed the bridge out of Ponyville, the brook underneath babbling slightly louder than normal thanks to the rain. Obviously, her approach to today’s challenge had been lacking, she just needed to figure out how. If Rarity’s place wasn’t the answer, then what was?
Her logic had been that Carousel Boutique had been where the first riddle had led, so that’s where the game began. When that hadn’t panned out, she’d started looking at the other places. The castle, where she and her friends began their journey as friendship advisors. The school, where they became friendship teachers. The old library, the very start of all their adventures together. But those places had nothing to do with Rainbow’s game. While they were places something began, none of them were answers to any of the riddles, neither were they significant to her and Rainbow’s relationship.
No, she needed something more relevant to the pattern Rainbow had established; going from one friend to another, and even various points in their own relationship, all without ever chang-
“Oh, we all knew it’d be obvious who was next on the list. So we decided to… change things up a little.”
Applejack stopped dead as Fluttershy’s voice echoed in her head. Change. Changing. Until today, all the riddles had required Applejack to think increasingly outside the box, never meaning exactly as they said, which meant that if her friends had decided to change things up towards the end, then…
“Oh, you think you’re all so clever, don’t you? Well, you’re gonna have to wake up pretty early to get one over on me!”
Applejack rarely galloped anymore, but today, she did just that. Ignoring her aching knee, she sped down the muddy lane towards Sweet Apple Acres, hooves scrambling occasionally for purchase as the persistent mist of rain soaked her even more thoroughly.
None of the riddles had been literal, but Rainbow, and indeed her friends, had known she would eventually cotton on to that fact, so they’d decided to try and throw her for a loop by changing how they worked. Only problem with that, was that Applejack knew her friends just as well as they knew her, which meant she knew exactly what they’d done.
This riddle didn’t have a hidden meaning, it really was literal, which meant she’d been wrong about the start of the game. She’d gotten so caught up with thinking about the pattern of her friends, she’d forgotten the one friend that had started all this: Her marefriend, Rainbow Dash herself. Applejack had to give it to her friends, they’d all been very clever, though she wondered if it was Rainbow’s or Twilight’s idea to start the game in the same place that she had first met the future princess of Equestria.
As she raced down the lane, she spied something bright tied to one of the fence posts. Skidding to a halt, she snatched the piece of paper from the ribbon holding it, the now familiar glow of Twilight’s magic evidently keeping it dry.
Applejack,
I waited as long as I could, but the weather closed in and it began to rain, so I took shelter at your house. I’ll be waiting there.
- Twilight
She grinned as she read the flowing script, despite the cold and the rain. Looking around, she realised this was the precise spot that she’d first met Twilight, all those years ago. This is where everything had begun; all their adventures, all their quests… the very history of Equestria itself pivoted on this muddy little lane, and the meeting of one earth pony and one awkward little unicorn with a baby dragon.
More importantly, to Applejack at least, it meant so much more. If Celestia had never sent Twilight to Ponyville, she would never have met Twilight here, probably never have met Rainbow Dash, and the two of them might never have become marefriends. This lane, as important as it was for other reasons, was the real beginning of her relationship with Rainbow.
“Back where you began, huh?” she said aloud, eyeing the apple trees around her.
Tucking away the letter under her hat, Applejack once again made for her house, though at a slightly more sedate canter rather than a full gallop. Excitement and anxiety both were brewing in her, filling her with a nervous energy the closer she got to home. She was excited to see Twilight, of course, but she also knew that she was getting close to the end of the game. Just a few more riddles, now.
It wasn’t very long before she was passing through the gate to the yard of Sweet Apple Acres, splashing through the deep puddles gathered in the mud, and up the stairs of her porch. Grabbing the nearby hose, she started to wash the worst of the mud from her hooves, but stopped when she realised she could hear voices coming from inside. Listening, she recognised both Apple Bloom and Twilight talking about… something. Curious, Applejack peered through the window in the upper half of the door.
The Apple’s kitchen was large, but not enormous by anypony’s standards. However, standing at the stove with Apple Bloom, the fully-grown alicorn frame of Twilight Sparkle dominated the room. Her mane and tail, now billowing with the same power that resided with her predecessors, sparkled with sparse stars, finally lending the mare a literal interpretation of her name. The golden regalia she’d started wearing since becoming princess lay neatly by the archway leading to the rest of the house, Twilight perhaps not wanting to get any of it dirty as she apparently helped Apple Bloom cook. Surprised at what she saw, Applejack hastily finished cleaning her hooves, dropped the hose on the porch and quietly cracked open the door.
As she leaned in towards the gap she’d created, Applejack was greeted by a puff of warm air and the smell of Apple Bloom’s cooking. Immediately, she could clearly hear the voices of the two mares in the room.
“-so if ya give ‘em just a few minutes less, they won’t be so soggy,” she heard Apple Bloom say.
“Oh, so that’s where I’ve been going wrong,” came Twilight’s voice. “I thought I was cooking at too high of a temperature.”
Was Apple Bloom giving Twilight… cooking lessons? Applejack suppressed a snigger. She’d personally witnessed Twilight’s cooking in the past, and it had been an experience for sure. The fact that Twilight was taking the opportunity to brush up on the subject was also funny to her. Some things never changed, it seemed.
“That’ll do it, too,” Apple Bloom said, their conversation continuing. “Try cookin’ ‘em slower and lower, and you’ll probably be alright. Here, give that pot a stir so the flavour gets mixed in good.”
“Like this?”
“That’s perfect!”
Applejack, spurred on by both the cold and the need to reach the end of her marefriend’s game, decided to finally step into the tantalising warmth of the kitchen and pushed open the door. Neither of the two other mares noticed her initially, Twilight chattering happily as she stirred whatever Apple Bloom was cooking for dinner, her magic holding the spoon aloft.
“This is actually really nice,” she said as Applejack walked in. “Ever since I became the princess, I hardly ever get to do anything myself anymore. It’s always somepo- Oh, Applejack! There you are!”
Twilight turned as she heard Applejack enter, a beaming smile on her face. She dropped the spoon into the pot, trotting over and sweeping Applejack into a hug, lifting the earth pony almost clear off the ground.
“Whoa, nelly!” Applejack yelped in surprise, feeling something pop in her back. “Easy there, Twilight! I’m happy to see you, too!”
“Oops, sorry!” Twilight apologised sheepishly, sitting down and letting Applejack regain her footing. There was a large damp spot on her coat where the alicorn had hugged her. “It’s just been so long since we last saw each other.”
“No harm done, sugarcube. And I guess it has been a minute since we last met. Though, from what I gather, y’all have already been meetin’ the rest of our friends?” Applejack said this last with a smirk and a cocked eyebrow, but Twilight remained unfazed, clearly too excited over her own part to play to notice Applejack’s teasing.
“Yes!” she exclaimed, clapping her front hooves together. Her wings flared briefly, nearly spanning the entire distance between the table and the sink. “I’ve been waiting all week for this! Though I was getting a bit worried when you didn’t show up. What were you doing all day?” It was Applejack’s turn to look a little sheepish.
“Yeah, I kinda got a little hung up on today’s riddle,” she admitted, scratching the back of her head. Her hoof came away wet. “Uh, before we get into it, you mind if I take a shower? It’s raining cats and dogs out there, and I’m freezin’.”
“Oh, right, yes! Sorry. I’ll wait here with Apple Bloom.”
“Thanks, Twi. Won’t be a minute.”
Applejack headed up to the bathroom and quickly showered, cleaning off the mud that had splashed over her on her run back home. She also took a minute to let the water warm her up, especially her knee, which was now a great deal more sore than it had been. Drying quickly, she made her way back down to the kitchen, where she found Twilight now sitting at the table, and Apple Bloom still cooking away at the stove. She sat down opposite the alicorn, wincing as she did so.
“Are you alright?” Twilight asked, concerned.
“Just this dang knee, I’ll be fine,” Applejack reassured her.
“You know, the offer still stands to have the castle doctors look at it. They might be able to-”
“Let’s not go down that road again, Twi,” Applejack said, shaking her head. Her knee had been a point of contention between the two of them for some time, with Twilight frequently trying to convince her that the royal medical staff might be able to do something Ponyville’s doctors hadn’t, something Applejack highly doubted.
“Fine,” Twilight huffed, a small look of irritation at Applejack’s stubbornness crossing her face. A giggle came from behind her, and both of them turned to look at Apple Bloom, who just shook her head at them and went back to cooking.
“And what are you laughin’ at, exactly?” Applejack enquired of her sister.
“Nothin’,” the younger mare shot back, still smiling. She turned down the stove and started walking out of the kitchen. “I’ll leave you two alone to talk.”
“What’s gotten into her?” Applejack wondered aloud as her sister left the room.
“Celestia only knows,” Twilight said, sounding equally puzzled. Applejack just shrugged.
“Young ponies,” she said with a chuckle. Twilight turned back to her with a wry smile.
“We were that young once, too, you know,” she retorted.
“You still are,” Applejack pointed out. “You ain’t aged a day since you became princess, just got taller.” Twilight looked down at herself and nodded ruefully.
“Physically, maybe,” she agreed, though she offered no further clarification. Applejack got the sense her friend didn’t really want to talk about it. There was an awkward silence for a moment, until the farmer noticed something. Or rather, the absence of something.
“Hey, shouldn’t you have some guards with you, or somethin’?” she asked, realising that Twilight had come alone. “Or at least Spike?”
“Oh, pff, nah,” said Twilight, looking back up and waving a hoof dismissively. “Do you know how annoying it is to be followed everywhere by a bunch of ponies at all hours of the day? As far as the guard knows, I’m feeling unwell and am not to be disturbed. Nopony even knows I’m here, except Spike, and he’s perfectly capable of handling things for a day.”
“Seems a little dangerous, though. You sure that’s wise?”
“Well, unless you or your apple trees plan to try and overthrow Equestria, I think I’ll be alright,” Twilight giggled.
“Speaking of you, where were you today?” Applejack made a pained face.
“Ugh, like I said, I got stuck on today’s answer. Couldn’t figure it out for the life of me.”
“Well, it looks like you got there eventually.”
“Yeah… sorta. I was actually on my way back when I figured out y’all had stopped bein’ so fancy with the meaning of the riddles.”
“Oh, really? At least you got it in the end. Did you like them? We all worked hard to make sure they were good.”
“Sure, I guess. Some of ‘em were pretty nice, or rather, the answers were. Good memories.”
“Good, because there’s still two more for you to solve,” Twilight said, straightening up. “I hope you’ve been paying attention, though, because otherwise this first one might not be so easy.”
Applejack considered that for a moment. So far, each of the riddles had supposedly been harder than the last, yet she’d managed to ace every single one of them. Sure, Discord’s had been the hardest so far, but that was only because her friends had changed things up slightly; she’d still gotten it in the end. If she’d come this far, then she reckoned she had a pretty good handle on things as a whole. She knew she had this.
Drawing herself up, Applejack simply uttered two words:
“Alright, shoot.”
Twilight grinned excitedly once more, rubbing her hooves together. She cleared her throat before speaking in a practiced tone.
“From one to the next, on a journey I have led; now patch them together, and find the common thread.”
Twilight looked over expectantly at Applejack, a patient smile on her lips as she waited for the farm mare to work out the solution.
For her part, Applejack’s mind was working a mile a minute, but not on the answer. After the day’s earlier events, she was considering the implication of the riddle, rather than the riddle itself. Was this another literal rhyme, or was there more at play? Was Rainbow done messing with her head, or did her pegasus marefriend have one final trick up her sleeve? Applejack felt like she knew the answer, she’d seen a pattern early on after all, but she was afraid of messing up her chances of winning by saying the wrong thing. If she got it wrong now, she’d never forgive herself, and she’d never hear the end of it from Rainbow Dash.
“Should I even ask if y’all are messin’ with me again?” she asked Twilight, though she already had a good idea what her answer would be.
“Do you really think I’d give you a different answer than the others?” Twilight asked in return, her smile never leaving her face.
“Had to ask, at least.”
“Do you have an answer yet?”
“I’m thinkin’!”
“Take your time, I have an hour or so yet before Spike won’t be able to hide my absence any longer.”
“Why? What happens in an hour?”
“Dinner,” Twilight answered simply, with a slight shrug. Applejack deflated slightly. That should have been obvious, given the hour.
Once again, Applejack turned her mind towards the task at hand. As she thought about Twilight’s riddle, she tried to come up with any other conclusion than the one she initially, almost instinctively came to. The more she thought about it, however, the more she realised that there couldn’t possibly be another answer. There was indeed a common thread between all the riddles, and she’d spotted it back at Sugarcube Corner; the progression of the relationship she had with Rainbow Dash. More specifically, the milestones and intimate moments they’d shared over the years.
Not for the first time that week, Applejack got the sense that Rainbow had taken her on a whistle-stop tour of their relationship, but the reason why eluded her, dancing just out of the reach of her deductive abilities. Ever since she’d first hit on the idea that this whole game had been about them, she felt as if she was missing something obvious, some key piece of the puzzle, but exactly what, she didn’t know.
What she did know, however, was that the more she thought about this latest riddle, the more images flooded her mind of the times she’d spent with Rainbow. The competitions, the play-fighting, the friendly bickering, the mutual thrill-seeking, the snuggling, the kisses, the times spent doing nothing but enjoying each other’s company, or just feeling her marefriend’s heart beating in her chest as they lay in bed together…
Applejack steeled herself. She had her answer, she just hoped it was the right one.
“Us,” she said finally, meeting Twilight’s still patient gaze. “The common thread is me and Rainbow. Specifically our relationship.”
Twilight was silent, her expression not changing. For a moment, Applejack feared she’d gambled and lost, visions of an ugly pink hat and endless teasing from Rainbow swimming to the forefront of her mind, but then Twilight broke out into a wide grin. Her worries vanished in an instant, and she felt a wave of relief wash over her.
“Yes!” Twilight cheered, evidently pleased, her wings giving a brief flap. “You are absolutely right, well done.”
“Oh, thank Celestia,” Applejack said, visibly relaxing.
“What’s wrong? Worried you didn’t have the right answer?” Twilight teased.
“Maybe just for a moment,” admitted Applejack sheepishly.
“Well, I had full confidence in you. I never doubted you’d get it.”
“Really? Why?”
“Because family is important to you, and Rainbow Dash has been part of yours for a long time now.”
“Yeah, I suppose you’re right,” Applejack said with a nod. “I mean, it ain’t like we’re married or anythin’, but still… I can’t imagine life without her, now. If she left, I’d be devastated.”
“I know, and that’s a good thing,” Twilight said reassuringly. “Because it means you’re really going to like what Rainbow’s got in store for you.” The princess’ excited grin returned once more.
“Oh yeah? And what’s that?” Twilight laughed and shook her head at Applejack’s attempt at getting information.
“You know I’m not going to tell you,” she said. “Let’s just say… It will be the best birthday present you’ve ever had.”
“It better be, for all this work she’s put me through,” Applejack groused.
“Oh, it will be, trust me. Ready for the final riddle?”
Applejack breathed a tired sigh. This was it, then. All this effort, all the mental gymnastics of the past few days, all the trips down memory lane came down to this; one final challenge.
“As I’ll ever be,” she replied, steeling herself for what was surely going to be the hardest riddle yet.
“Okay,” Twilight said with a nod. “Then here we go.” Once again, the alicorn cleared her throat before continuing:
“You’re nearly there, just one more quest; when the sun rises, find your favourite crest.”
Applejack just stared at Twilight, her mouth forming a small “o” of disbelief. There was no way in Equestria that after all this, Rainbow had made things that easy… had she?
“Is something wrong, Applejack?” Twilight asked, looking amused at her friend’s reaction.
“Nope,” she responded after a moment. “Just can’t believe that Rainbow would make things that easy at the end.”
“Well, I never said the last one would be hard,” Twilight said, chuckling. “So I take it you know the answer?”
“Eeyup. I know exactly where she’s talking about.”
“Excellent. In that case, I should probably be getting back, before the guard start panicking.” Twilight stood and walked over to her regalia, putting it back on piece by piece.
“Just like that? You sure you can’t stay for dinner?” Applejack asked. It would be nice to catch up with Twilight, but the princess shook her head.
“I’d love to, but like I said, I’ll be missed at dinner time if I’m not back at the castle. Oh! I almost forgot!” Twilight’s horn lit up and a small box, neatly wrapped in orange paper, floated over to the table, landing gently in front of Applejack. “That’s for tomorrow. Happy Birthday.”
“Hey, thanks.”
“No problem. Enjoy tomorrow… and what Rainbow Dash has for you.” With a wink and a flash of magic, Twilight disappeared from Applejack’s kitchen, leaving the room empty except for her and the simmering pot on the stove.
Applejack had to admit that she felt that, after all was said and done, this was a rather anticlimactic end to the game. Sure, she’d won, but there was no trophy to be had, just a “well done” and the promise of something amazing tomorrow. It almost felt hollow.
“Woo hoo?” she tried into the empty kitchen. Her only answer was the gentle bubbling coming from the stove. Applejack shook her head and chuckled to herself. She was being a silly pony. It did feel good to win the game, and if she was honest with herself, she did feel excited about tomorrow. She’d beaten her marefriend’s game, and she was definitely more than a little curious at what Rainbow had planned for her.
If nothing else, she could look forward to rubbing her victory in Rainbow’s adorably smug face for the next week. And thanks to the final riddle, she knew exactly where to find her in the morning:
At the top of her favourite hill on the northern edge of the farm.