Applejack couldn't sleep.
No matter the consistently increasing number of different positions used, summoning of the ever-known technique called counting sheep (cows in her case), trying to just lock her eyes shut and go to darn sleep... zero success. Despite the dreariness of her eyelids and complete inability to do any "awake" activities, her body just wouldn't have it.
C'mon, y'all! I got chores to do tomorrow!, she thinks, pounding her pillow in frustration.
But it's of no change. Seconds after she releases that vent, her mind travels nowhere but straight back to this other topic that is impossible for her to push out. She sighs and lets it win, deciding to launch the full review.
To be honest, "her body wouldn't have it" may not be the most accurate description. It's far more correct to say "her mind wouldn't have it", because tonight, Applejack has dived head-first deep into a whirling ocean of focused thinking.
What could be on her mind that's of such importance that she's letting it take precedence over sleep?
Well, let's have her explain:
I want to do it. I know I do. I can feel it.
...But that's too embarrassing!
What would that "it" be?
Gah, I want to... but... it's too sappy! A bulk-muscle farm professional like me can't ask to be tickled! I'd get made fun of! My image would be stained!
Oh. That's what.
Yep, here in Applejack's brown barn bedroom at Sweet Apple Acres, this long, dark, solitary night is featuring the mind-numbingly sudden, completely unexplained appearance of, in Applejack's view, an extremely bizarre desire.
Out of absolutely nowhere, she is, during this night, stricken with the urge to be tickled. Yep, you read that right. Tickled. To have somepony perform the rather unique form of touching on her that brings out the laughs.
No way in Equestria did Applejack ever expect this... thing to show up at her doorstep.
But here it is. It's here, with her, and her response to it features a bouncing cluster of embarrassment, confusion, and indecisiveness.
This whole mind-exhausting ordeal that's causing Applejack to lose out on sleep and likely remove her ability to get farm chores done tomorrow is only bothering her more by the fact that it didn't make a flying waterdrop of sense. Did she really want to be tickled? When it comes to her and tickling, all she remembers from her experiences is that she does not like having that stimulation done to her. She'd avoid it at every twist and turn.
From the aforementioned (successful, at that) tickle torture attempt by Trixie to get Applejack to do her bidding, to the time in Applejack's fillyhood that playground bullies used it to get her off a swing (yikes!), she had her consensus.
Heck, in a recent day, when she was attending a Pinkie Pie party that featured an event courtesy of Pinkie for ponies to get tickled by her, when Applejack was offered, she said "No thanks. Bein' tickled ain't somethin' I like."
Tonight, however, she's questioning if that's true or not. And in tandem... she's curious about it! She wants to experience tickling again, to give her preference a modern-day test!
Which she would be doing, if not for this upon that.
But it ain't make no sense! I remember that time, with what happened with Trixie! I was begging for her to stop! Why am I suddenly thinkin' I'd like it?!
And even if I would, who in Equestria would I ask to tickle me? Applebloom? Nah, she'd go too crazy. Big Mac? He wouldn't understand. Player 4? I mean, sure, he'd understand, but I don't think this is in his range...
Player 4 speaking: She's totally right there. I don't know jack about what it's like to want to be tickled or how to overcome embarrassment, nor can I tickle somepony properly, so I wouldn't be much help. In fact, I already know I'll have nothing to do with the activities of this story...
That's why I'm not tagged.
Anyway, one of Applejack's Mane Six friends was clearly the proper choice, and she knew this. They wouldn't pass any judgement, and they've been friends for a long enough time that Applejack feels perfectly comfortable letting them touch her. But still, there's five of them, and the embarrassment and sappiness aspects still apply.
I'd want to choose one of the girls, but... nah. It's just too much. Too embarrassing. I can't go through with this. Me askin' to be tickled; what a load of sap.
And it still don't make sense! I don't like being tickled! I know that from experience! Why would I ever feel this way?
She flops backside onto her bed in frustration with the conflict. There's no denying that she wants to be tickled, but she refuses to fully accept that when her history with tickling is what it is.
However, the interim period with paused thoughts caused by the frustration flop ended up getting used as a period for more calm thinking, at which, she has an idea. She thinks of a "bypass" tool, if you will. A strong enough incentive for her to go through and ask for tickling, rolling over all that other stuff.
Maybe... if there's evidence I have enjoyed ticklin' before, then I can go through with it...
Yeah! Let's look in the book!
Which she does. She puts sleep on the backburner and crawls out of her bed over to the box in her bedroom containing a few Apple family photo albums. This isn't the books' usual home, but recently, she had been wanting to read them in alone time, so they were on vacation, so to speak.
These books, in super helpful fashion, contain a sticker tool for what emotion was prominent in each of the photos. The legend is as follows:
Red apple sticker - Sweet experience. Happy, loving, or fun.
Yellow apple sticker - Neutral or unknown. In between good and bad, or memory is lost.
Green apple sticker - Sour experience. Sad, frustrating, or filled with pain.
Applejack's mindset at this point is that if she finds photos with her being tickled that bear a red sticker, she will go through tomorrow with asking for it. But if the stickers are green, she will suppress the desire and stick to what her past says.
She flips through the book with good look at each page, checking if there are any moments of her being tickled, and... yes, there are! On the bottom left corner of page 22 lies a photo depicting filly Applejack laying back-down on the grass and having her belly tickled by her parents, as they take turns doing so.
Now, what color is the apple sticker on that picture?
Applejack's eyes move over to that sticker's location, and it. is. red!
And she was in full support of that color, as she can remember this experience very clearly. I remember when this happened!, she thinks to herself. Yeah, that was fun!
Oh? Did she just say "That was fun?"
She did! She found a time where she was tickled and liked it! How about that?
That's just one, though. Let's see if there are any more.
Sure enough, there are more! On the middle-right of the very next page, page 23, there's a photo of Applejack having her hooves tickled with a feather by Applebloom, and that one too has a red sticker! AJ doesn't quite remember this experience, but the color says what it says.
Any more?
Flipping through the rest of the book... there is one more. On the top of page 25 can be found twin pictures of Applejack being tickled by Applebloom again, the first with hooves on her sides, and the second with raspberries on her belly.
Guess what color sticker these two pictures have in tandem? You guessed it; red!
Applejack closes the book and walks back to her bed. Mission accomplished, right? I mean, there's clear-cut evidence right there. She hasn't always disliked being tickled!
But in her mind, the key word is "hasn't."
Those photos ain't mean nothin'. They were all taken when I was a filly; of course I was fine with being tickled back then. But now as an adult... I just can't!
...Okay. Even for all the successful self-convincing she had done, there was little time passed with Applejack on her bed before she knew this argument was a total dud.
Is she trying to say that adults can't like being tickled? Well, from her own observances, that's definitely wrong! Pinkie Pie does; Twilight too. The latter was rather embarrassed to admit it, but Pinkie could be labeled as a "tickle pony." Applejack has caught wind to her both asking and receiving it from ponies who aren't even one of the Mane Six or family members, heck, she even blurted out "Me? I love being tickled!" while they were gathering for dinner once.
So that's out, but are other "don't go for it" convincing tools still in? As expected, yes.
I just can't do it. It would be far too embarrassing, and my reputation would suffer. Just think about it; a tough farm pony who prides herself on selling products and getting work done, who prides in professionalism, goin' all sappy and cute like that.
So much for the protocol of going for the tickles if the family album photos are positive. Ultimately, the drawbacks of asking are still convincing her.
Or... maybe not?
But wait... I go to the spa! And my friends know about that! How is tickling any different?
Plus, that whole thing about retaining professionalism... that's no way to live! Ya've gotta let loose every once in a while! And we're not in Season 2 anymore, myself! Ponies ain't gonna do that Gabby Gums Rainbow Dash headline thing to me. They just don't do that anymore. We're in better times now.
That last sentence. She breathes a deep breath as that last sentence does strike her chords. It's true; they are in better times now. Even if a closed-off private thing were to somehow spill out into the wider world, which is unlikely, she's right. The Gabby Gums-style hurtful gossip era is long gone; ponies today would say things like "Wow! You were really brave there!" or "It's okay! You can have your cute moments!"
But that still doesn't shut out the desire to maintain her image; the image she believes is at risk by engaging in "sappy" activity. Even though her going the spa holds true, somehow she sees tickling as off the mark, nullifying her earlier response. She has no explanation why; she just finds that one to be too overboard.
But... she still really wants it.
Gah, but if I don't do it, then I'll have to keep living like this! I can just feel my body here. I want tickles. I want to try it out and again and know what it's like. No question about that. I don't want to walk around with an unsatisfied desire that I can easily get filled. It's not like bein' unable to buy somethin' cause ya don't have a million bits; I have trusted friends here that I know can do this for me. I'd be refusing to go through a wide-open door... that I really want to go through.
True that...
Based on these comments, she feels the extent of this desire shifting her towards the decision to go for it, only to be backed up again by the "Embarrassment. Maintain image." talk again. Only now, her inner voice has another counter-point.
Do you think you'll regret doing this when you're older? No! Even if you end up not liking it, at least you tried! It's good to try things! But if you don't do it... you'll regret it.
Think about it: you're an elderly mare who's lost all her ticklishness, and now thinks "I wish I had done it when I had the chance."
So do it, Applejack.
Your image is not at risk; we're not in the Gabby Gums era anymore. Ponies would find it cute if they knew you got tickled. Then if you don't go for it, you'll be sad you didn't.
Whereas, if you do, you might like it!
What have you got to lose?
This might be the last push over the edge.
Applejack does feel high resonation with the regret argument. The image of her as an elderly mare thinking "Aww, I wish I had gotten tickled when I had the chance", does honestly scare her.
What...no! I don't want that!
And she can even give herself more:
Life is all about sayin' yes to things. I'll have more cool things to tell ponies about later in life.
And yes, if I cave in to embarrassment, I'll definitely regret it when I'm 80."
Whereas, if I do, I definitely won't!
I remember once hearin' that the only things I'll regret are the things I didn't do.
So...
Yes. I'm gonna do it.
👏 👍 Good job!
Thanks to allowing herself to take what will make her happy, she thinks about Step 2 with smiles!
So... who tickles me then?
Let's see... Pinkie? Eh, that's on a higher level. Twilight? Maybe...
Rainbow Dash? Nah, she'd laugh in my face. Fluttershy? Probably too shy to do something like that.
Rarity? Maybe...
So it was down to Twilight and Rarity. And the choice between those two was also neck-and-neck.
Until it wasn't.
I do hear... Rarity has been participatin' in tickling.
Yeah, I once saw her doin' it to Pinkie. And she told me in a restaurant... that she was honin' her skills at it and recently bought a box of tickle tools...
...I think I know who to choose.
Yep. There you go!
Applejack walks out of her bed once more, with sleep likely finally coming along thanks to a decision here, and looks out the window into the sky over her beloved farm.
Tomorrow... I'm gonna take the plunge.
Nice, AJ!