The first lesson about love
Once a week, Dusk Shine and his five friends would get together for breakfast. A tradition that they had started since they had met, and that they sacredly fulfilled week after week. However, this time was different. It wasn’t six friends sharing a delicious breakfast together, but now two of them were different... Two of them were a couple! And it was that change that made the atmosphere at the table feel that much heavier.
All six of them had arrived at the Cafe de Ponyville at about the same time, and after ordering their breakfast, they had been silent for several minutes. None of them dared to speak. Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Rarity looked uneasily from side to side at Dusk and Applejack, who had sat on opposite sides of the table to be as far apart as possible. Unlike their friends, the new couple kept their eyes lowered, as if they wanted to avoid at all costs meeting their eyes with those of their friends.
BOOM!
Suddenly, everyone jumped in shock at the sound of a loud cannon shot. Then the group turned and saw that it was Pinkie Pie, who had activated her famous party cannon, causing the entire table to be covered in streamers and confetti.
"It’s always a good idea to bring a party cannon in case of an Awkward Silence Emergency!" Pinkie Pie said with a huge smile.
"Huff... Pinkie Pie’s got the right idea. We need to be more relaxed... Especially you two!" Rainbow Dash said, pointing at Dusk and Applejack.
"It's... It's just... well... you girls... look a little tense." Dusk said nervously.
"Yeah, it's pretty obvious that you're uncomfortable with… 'all this'." Applejack added, glancing nervously at her friends.
Hearing the comment from the new couple, the four mares widened their eyes in surprise, then looked at each other and lowered their heads in distress.
"Well… It feels kind of weird to know that you’re now… a couple." Fluttershy said with a slightly sad look. "But it's just something we have to get used to."
"That’s right, it’s something that we must fix little by little." Rarity said, looking sadly at Dusk and Applejack. "That was our fault. But what isn't our fault is how you two are acting weird to each other too." The unicorn added, looking seriously at the couple.
"W-What do you mean?" Dusk asked, blushing slightly, even though deep down he knew what his friend was referring to.
"Ugh... I guess if we're going to go through with this, we need to get it right, and that includes you two!" Rainbow Dash said scratching her head in annoyance. "If you’re going to be dating, act like it!"
At that instant, the four mares rose from their seats, and Rarity used her magic to remove the seats that were between Dusk and Applejack. Then Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash stood next to Applejack's seat and pushed it with their heads until Applejack was practically glued to Dusk's side. At that gesture, Applejack and Dusk looked at each other, and both immediately looked away with heavy blushes. Instinctively moving their bodies a little away from each other, so that they wouldn’t touch.
"If we want to see how strong our friendship is, we need to see you two acting all lovey-dovey." Pinkie Pie said with a somewhat melancholic smile. "So you gotta act a like true couple in love. Which is actually true, since you two got officially married.” Pinkie Pie added, smiling more naturally, giggling as she remembered the express wedding the day before.
At Pinkie Pie's words, it seemed that her other friends also relaxed more and finally let go of the initial tension they had felt. Meanwhile, seeing that their friends were trying so hard to make it work, Dusk and Applejack looked at each other and forced themselves to relax a little more, causing their sides to touch slightly when they were sitting so close to each other.
"Well! Now that we’re all more relaxed, there’s something super-duper important that we have to say to Dusk." Pinkie Pie said with a serious look. "Time to go over the rules!"
"The rules?" Dusk asked.
"Indeed. Princess Cadance may have given us this idea, so that you could be everyone's coltfriend. But we decided to make rules so that this… would be fairer for everypony." Rarity said, looking at Dusk and then at Applejack out of the corner of her eye.
"So… what are the rules?" Dusk asked, hoping that there was no crazy rule that would add more complications to that temporary coltfriend agreement, which was already crazy.
"There are three rules." Pinkie Pie said, getting up and acting like an emcee to give the announcement more theatricality. "First rule: Both Dusk and whoever is his marefriend will have to act like a real couple in love 24/7. Until the moment they end their relationship, they’ll be one hundred percent coltfriend and marefriend at all times."
"That must a way of pressuring me to take this more seriously… To stop seeing Applejack as a friend and start seeing her as a real marefriend." Dusk thought, realizing the truth behind that first rule.
"Second rule..." Pinkie Pie said, staring at Dusk. "It’s forbidden to want to be TOO loving with Dusk."
"Uh? Too loving? What are you talking about?" Rainbow Dash asked, realizing that the pink mare had changed the wording of when they all came up with the rules.
"Too loving…" Fluttershy murmured thoughtfully, until she suddenly remembered that, just at this time of year, the bunnies were VERY loving to each other. Which caused her to guess what Pinkie Pie really meant. "Oh! You mean the rule about sex?" Fluttershy said, smiling at the answer.
Fluttershy was surprised to see everyone looking at her with blushed faces. Then the mare realized what she had just said, and she turned red as a tomato. The poor mare then proceeded to cover her face with her mane to hide her shame.
"Ahem…! Yeah, that's what I meant. It’s forbidden for any of the five of us to want to get intimate with Dusk." Pinkie Pie said after a few awkward coughs to get back to the main topic. Then she took out a book from her floofy mane and put it on the table. The book was entitled: 'Ponysutra'. "The fifty traditional sexual positions are forbidden, including the thirsty mare, the upside down saddle, the crooked horseshoe, the-"
"PINKIE!!" Applejack screamed, red with embarrassment, throwing herself to cover her friend's mouth.
With all the talk of the second rule, everypony present was red with embarrassment. It was normal, of course. Given that the six young ponies were just entering adulthood and none of them had any experience in the mysterious field yet. However, Dusk Shine wasn’t only red from the talk about 'intimacy' they were having, but from a great detail that apparently only he had noticed.
"Something's wrong... Pinkie Pie could have said 'it’s forbidden to get intimate', but what she said was 'It is forbidden to WANT to get intimate'" Dusk thought, repeating in his mind what Pinkie Pie had said. "Also, she said that rule applied to all five of them… Maybe… Is she purposely leaving a loophole!? What if I'm the one to hint that I want to get intimate with one of them!? Is she insinuating that it's not really forbidden as long as I want it to!?" Dusk thought, red with embarrassment.
Then Dusk glanced at Pinkie Pie, who kept laughing at how red her other friends were. However, upon noticing that the colt was looking at her, Pinkie Pie also gave him a fleeting glance and smiled flirtatiously.
"I knew you would figure it out, my handsome genius." Pinkie Pie thought, knowing that now she would have a slight advantage in knowing that little loophole in her rules.
The little trick went unnoticed by Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy and Rarity. However, unlike the first three, the latter noticed that Dusk had put a very thoughtful look after Pinkie said the second rule, and after analyzing Pinkie Pie's words for several seconds, word for word, Rarity finally discovered the trick her friend had used.
"That cheater… She found a way to get around our rule without the others noticing." Rarity thought annoyed. However, a second thought made the white unicorn blush as she realized that not only her friend could take advantage of it.
At that moment, both Dusk and Rarity fleetingly thought that they should tell their other friends what they had discovered. However, that would imply that they would close the door to that tiny but real possibility that 'something' could happen between them.
"Maybe... It's not a bad idea to leave a small door open for certain possibilities..." Dusk Shine and Rarity thought at the same time, blushing when they realized that, although they didn’t say it aloud, quite suggestive ideas crossed their minds about get intimate.
"And... And what’s the third rule?" Dusk asked after shaking his head clear of those impure thoughts and return to being the innocent stallion as always.
"Oh, the third rule is secret." Pinkie Pie smiled. "It’s a rule that we have between the five of us." Pinkie Pie added, looking at her friends. The other mares knew exactly what Pinkie was referring to and nodded.
Dusk was filled with curiosity, wanting to ask about the hidden rule. However, Dusk finally gave up on the idea, thinking that if his friends didn’t want to tell him, it was surely for his good. Besides, he had enough with the temporary coltfriend thing and the two rules they had come up with.
Once they finished talking about the rules that Dusk and his friends would have in the new game called 'love', again everyone was silent, as if no one knew what else to talk about.
"Ugh! Don't get uncomfortable again! Just… Act like a real couple in love! We can handle it!" Rainbow Dash finally said, annoyed to see that Applejack and Dusk seemed to be feeling uncomfortable again from sitting so close together, without even looking at each other.
Noticing that all of their friends were doing their best for them, Applejack and Dusk sighed and looked at each other, ready to officially begin their first day as a couple.
"I…" Applejack stammered with a blush.
"I..." Dusk stammered at the same time.
"You go first!" Applejack said awkwardly, after speaking at the same time as Dusk.
"N-No... please, after you..." Dusk said, just as nervous.
Then they both fell silent again, not sure what to do or how to act as a couple.
"What's wrong with you!? Stop acting like a fool! The girls are right, just tell her you want to spend the day with her!" Dusk thought, getting annoyed with himself. Then Dusk opened his mouth to finally say what he felt.
"AppleJAAACK-" Dusk managed to pronounce, just before something crashed into his back and made his head hit the table.
"Oops, sorry... Hi Applejack!" Derpy said suddenly, who had been the one who had collided with Dusk and now stood up.
"H-Hi Derpy… H-How are you…" Applejack said, startled by the surprise appearance of the gray pegasus.
"I’m good! I had a lot of fun yesterday with the cider making competition. So much so that I forgot to deliver the mail, hehe…" Derpy said, chuckling awkwardly. Then she picked up a large bag that she carried with her and deposited a pile of letter on the table in front of Applejack. "These are for you." Derpy added, always smiling. Then the gray pegasus said goodbye to everyone and flew off as fast and awkwardly as she had arrived.
"What’s with all the letters?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I don't know, but..." Applejack said, who suddenly widened her eyes in fear. She quickly took one of the letters and opened it. "No, no, no, no, no…." Applejack muttered, quickly opening each of the letters, and with each one she opened, the more scared she looked. "There’s too many... And everything for tomorrow!"
"Are they... invitations?" Dusk asked once he recovered from his run-in with Derpy and grabbed one of the letters.
"This is bad. I thought no one had confirmed, but it's the opposite. Everypony confirmed!" Applejack exclaimed. "I need to tell Granny Smith! I’m sorry, I gotta go." Applejack added, getting up quickly and turning to leave.
"W-Wait, Applejack." Dusk said quickly before the panicked mare fled. "I don't know what happens, but is there something I can help you with?"
"Oh... well..." Applejack replied, putting a thoughtful look and then glancing at Dusk. "I-I guess you’re invited too. After all… you’re now… p-part of the family…" Applejack blushed. "Come to the farm tomorrow and you’ll understand."
"O-Okay." Dusk smiled, feeling happy that Applejack wanted to include him in whatever she was planning. "So, see you tomorrow."
At that moment, Dusk should have turned around to go back to the table with his friends. However, like Applejack, they both stood in front of each other, while Dusk thought: 'Now that we’re dating, shouldn't we say goodbye in a different way!?'
Seeing that Applejack seemed to be nervous and thoughtful, Dusk slowly and awkwardly brought his head close to Applejack's. Now that they were dating, the logical thing would be to kiss her goodbye. However, not being sure how Applejack would react, it made Dusk stop at the last moment and turn his face away in shame.
"Don't be a coward! Just do it!" Dusk thought, closing his eyes tightly.
Then Dusk quickly turned his head to meet Applejack's face again. But what he didn't count on was that Applejack had also turned her head quickly towards him. Instead of a longed-for kiss, they both hit their heads hard.
"Ouch! I… I-I think I should go now…" Applejack said after rubbing her head. She turned around quickly with her cheeks red with embarrassment and galloped for the farm.
For his part, seeing that he had ruined his first official kiss as her coltfriend, Dusk facehoofed from the sheer humiliation of what had happened.
"Don't worry, it couldn't be that bad." Dusk thought, trying to get rid of the shame he felt. At least he count on the other mares to support him.
What Dusk didn’t expect was that when he turned back around, they all looked at him with pity, as if they had seen the most humiliating thing in the world.
"Damn...guess I dodged a lightning bolt by not being the first." Rainbow Dash said, looking at Dusk with a pitiful look.
"Yeah, that kiss attempt was so cringey..." Pinkie Pie said, crying at the embarrassment of seeing Dusk being so clumsy.
"S-Shut up! It's not like it's that easy." Dusk said, red with shame.
"If you go to see Applejack as nervous tomorrow as you’re today, your date will be doomed." Rarity sighed, feeling sorry for her poor country friend.
Dusk knew that Rarity was right. He had never had a marefriend before, and it was very difficult for him to know how to act in front of Applejack. Was Rarity right? Would his first official date be doomed?
"Girls… You… C-Can you help me?" Dusk pleaded with his four friends.
The four mares were surprised and looked at each other with unsure glances. Helping Dusk on his date with Applejack implied that they were helping a rival, who already had a huge advantage with being Dusk's official marefriend for a month. However, they were all still friends, and that was precisely one of the tests their friendship had to face in order to prevail.
Finally, the four friends of Dusk looked at him and smiled, ready to do their best to support their beloved Dusk to improve his clumsy skills as a coltfriend.
It was a nice morning at Sweet Apple Acres and Dusk Shine was walking nervously towards the Apple family house. As advised by his friends, Dusk had been concerned about arriving early for his date, since Applejack hadn’t specified a time for him. So, he made sure to be a good coltfriend and be ready early for whatever Applejack wanted to do today. Besides the schedule, Dusk tried to follow all the other advice that his friends gave him the day before. However, without his realizing it, mixing all these tips didn’t produce the expected result.
Rarity had advised him that for his first date, Dusk should look elegant, and he had to worry that his clothes would match his partner's. Dusk's logical mind then convinced him wear an elegant orange bow tie, which effectively matched Applejack's fur, but didn’t match his own lavender fur at all. For her part, Rainbow Dash had suggested he get a cool manestyle, so Dusk had done a crazy upward manestyle, which contrasted horribly with the elegant look he pretended to have. Fluttershy told him to bring flowers on his first date. Good advice, if it hadn't been the fact that the flower shop was closed that day. So Dusk, always excessively logical, simply took a bouquet of wildflowers, which didn’t look elegant at all. Finally, Pinkie Pie had advised him to always smile, another great tip, which would have worked if Dusk didn't feel so nervous about being on his first date. Resulting in his smile looking more forced and creepier rather than genuine. In conclusion, Dusk Shine looked like a total mess for a colt on his first date.
Upon finally approaching Applejack's house, Dusk was surprised to see that a bunch of wagons, and even a small blimp, were all parked in front of the house. Also, the entire entrance was filled with several dozen ponies of all ages.
"There’s the groom!" A mare in the crowd suddenly yelled when she Dusk. As she did so, everyone in the crowd turned and looked towards where the lavender colt was, who for his part froze when he was spotted.
Before he could react, a dozen ponies rushed up to Dusk and surrounded him.
"Wait, I know you… You’re Applejack's cousins!" Dusk said in surprise, recognizing several of the ponies that were there.
"That's right, and this time you won't be getting away." A stallion said, pointing at Dusk with a huge pitchfork from behind.
"G-Get away?" Dusk asked in confusion and nervousness.
"Yeah, like the last time we met." Another colt replied seriously, looking Dusk face to face.
After a few seconds, Dusk finally remembered what the ponies were talking about. The last time he had seen them, it had been to oversee the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration banquet. That time, Applejack's family had gotten confused and believed that Dusk would marry Applejack, and when Dusk told them the truth, they all chased after him to hunt him down to take responsibility.
Without Dusk Shine having any more time to think, the pony behind him pushed him with the pitchfork to start walking. Seeing no option for escape, Dusk began to look around to see if he could find Applejack. Finally, Dusk realized that the mob was guiding him to where Applejack was, who was under the door of the barn, which had been adorned with many flowers and white ribbons. But what most impressed and scared Dusk was seeing that Applejack wasn’t wearing her usual hat, but a wedding veil.
"W-What's going on...?" Dusk asked, completely pale as he was pushed next to Applejack.
"Granny told everypony in the family that we’re officially hitched." Applejack said with a loving smile. "But they all wanted to see a wedding, so we decided to have an official ceremony so that everyone could attend."
"UH!? D-Don't you think this is a bit much…?" Dusk stuttered, looking fearfully at Applejack's cousins, who kept brandishing the pitchfork.
"Of course not! After all, we’re husband and wife." Applejack replied, looking with loving eyes at Dusk. "Oh! Are those flowers for me? How nice! Now I have the bridal bouquet that I was missing." Applejack added, taking the bouquet of wildflowers that Dusk had brought. Then she looked at Dusk, closed her eyes and stretched her neck, putting her lips in a kissing position for Dusk to kiss her.
At Applejack's loving attitude, Dusk felt even more confused. Then he glanced to his side and saw that all of Applejack's family looked at him threateningly, waiting expectantly for him to kiss his wife.
The show of affection in front of so many ponies made Dusk turn even paler, feeling the true weight of being in a real wedding ceremony.
"Pftt! Hahaha! I-I'm sorry… I can't hold it back anymore." Applejack said suddenly, lowering her head and bursting into laughter.
Then all the other ponies also burst into laughter, laughing at Dusk's terrified face, while the poor lavender stallion froze, not understanding anything of what was happening.
"I'm sorry Dusk, haha... It was my cousins' idea. They wanted to pull a prank on you." Applejack said, pulling the veil off her head and wiping a tear away from laughter.
"Did you really think that we would force ya’ll to marry? Hahaha! We’re country ponies, but we’re not savages, hehe." The same colt that had been threatening Dusk with the pitchfork chuckled. "But you had it well deserved for last time."
"Applejack already explained everything to us." Another of Applejack's cousins said, approaching Dusk and looking at him with a smile. "She told us that you planning to temporarily marry her to help her save the farm. But anyway, welcome to the family!" The mare added, giving Dusk a hug.
After that mare, one by one Applejack's relatives approached Dusk and congratulated him on his little express wedding with Applejack, amused by this crazy situation and even more amused by the joke they had played on him. For his part, Dusk was still dizzy from the whole situation, realizing very slowly that it had all been a very well-crafted joke.
"I know we didn't get along when we first met, but I thought you were over it. At least I thought you would invite me to your wedding! Haha!" A voice suddenly said next to Dusk, one that he recognized from somewhere.
Dusk was surprised when he turned around and saw Braeburn, Applejack's cousin. Even more surprising was that standing next to him was Little Strongheart, the young buffalo who had helped them in Appleloosa.
"You… what are you doing here…? And together!" Dusk asked.
"Our tribe came back from the western slopes and decided to stay a season in Appleloosa." Little Strongheart replied with a friendly smile. "Right when we arrived, Braeburn told us that he had to travel to Ponyville. So, I wanted to come along for a couple of days to learn more about ponies and their customs."
"Nah... It's just an excuse, because this little one doesn't want me to leave her." Braeburn said, winking at Dusk.
"That is not true! You practically begged me to come with you!" Little Strongheart exclaimed and started to argue with Braeburn. Then Dusk remembered that those two always argued like this, yet always wanted to be close to each other.
"Wow, that's great! I think it's fantastic that ponies also get to learn more about other creatures and their customs." Dusk said, happy to hear what the little buffalo said earlier. "What does surprise me is that the chief let you come here alone with Braeburn."
"Hmm... Well..." Little Strongheart said sheepishly, pointing her gaze to a corner of the barn. Then Dusk looked there and saw that the great Chief Thunderhooves was right there, happily drinking with a couple of Applejack's great-uncles. "Apparently he's gotten addicted to cider."
"Listen up, everypony!" Granny Smith suddenly yelled with a megaphone to make herself heard. "We’ve had fun, now it's breakfast time to start our long-awaited reunion!"
All the ponies present screamed with joy and followed Granny Smith out of the barn, leaving only Dusk and Applejack.
"What's up with that face, did you think only Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were the only pranksters in our group?" Applejack said with a playful shove and smile, seeing that Dusk was still somewhat stunned by everything that happened.
"Well, yes, a little." Dusk said, smiling with embarrassment. "But how did you get your whole family to be here for just one day?"
"I didn’t. They were already planning to come here. Every hundred moons, our whole family gets together. And it just so happens that that day is today." Applejack answered, showing Dusk one of the letters that Derpy had given her the day before. "Usually we never get a full guest list, but yesterday's letters were everyone's confirmations. That's why I had to tell Granny Smith quickly. And so now I wanted to ask for your help."
"My help?" Dusk repeated.
Then Applejack led Dusk to the side of the barn, where there was an old trunk. She opened it and took out a huge photo album to show Dusk the photos of past family reunions that her large family have had.
"Our family’s been hosting these gatherings since Sweet Apple Acres was founded. Granny always organized them, but this year, she left me in charge of it. And that's why I want it to be the best family reunion ever!" Applejack said excitedly, as she showed Dusk photos of her uncles and grandparents playing seven-legged race, cooking apple fritters, sewing a huge quilt, and posing all together in front of the barn. "I want my lil’ sis and her cousins to have the biggest and best obstacle race of their lives this year. I want to have enough apple fritters for everyone, without some sweet tooth like Big Mac swiping them all up secretly. And I want Granny and my aunts to finally be able to finish that huge family quilt!"
"Isn't that a bit hasty? That is, if you want to do all that in one day." Dusk said with a thoughtful face. "You’ll need a lot of materials, and-"
"Yesterday afternoon I got most of the supplies with the girls." Applejack interrupted excitedly. "The only thing missing is knowing how to organize everything, and that's why-" At that moment Applejack widened her eyes and looked away with sorrow. "Aw, I'm sorry... Surely you wanted to do something more fun today, instead of organizing activities for-"
"Are you kidding?" Dusk interrupted Applejack. “You want me to spend the whole day planning activities? Making an itinerary and organizing everyone…? It’s...It's the best possible date!" Dusk added excitedly, with a twinkle in his eyes. The orderly neat-freak within him that lived for organization was starting to come out.
The country mare was initially shocked by the young stallion’s enthusiasm, although it quickly reminded her of one of the many things that she loved about Dusk. Then Applejack began to tell Dusk the plans she had for the day, where Dusk saw that she almost had everything planned, she just needed a little order and make a list, which Dusk gladly made, to order everything correctly. As they planned the different activities and where they would do them, they both laughed at the possibilities before them, hoping that everyone would enjoy their games, without realizing that the ones who were having the most fun at that precise moment were themselves from just being there in the company of the other.
"Running in pairs is fine, but don't you think it's a bit of a stretch to make them run up the hill and back?" Dusk asked when they were finishing planning the race.
"It’s so they have more time to share. Come with me." Applejack said, making Dusk accompany him.
They both went to the barn window and looked at the huge table Granny Smith had set up outside, where everyone was still eating breakfast. Then Applejack pointed to one end of the table, where the family fillies were sitting. There was Apple Bloom, who seemed to be a bit uncomfortable and was looking away. And sitting next to her was a filly her own age with ocher fur and red mane, who looked just as uncomfortable as Apple Bloom.
"There’s Apple Bloom with our cousin from Manehattan, Babs Seeds." Applejack explained. "They're both the same age, they both haven't gotten their cutie mark yet, and they're both family. They’ve got a lot in common, but for some reason they seem too nervous to talk to each other."
"How weird. Why don't they just talk about things like what they like and what they don't like? Shouldn’t be that difficult to make a friend." Dusk pondered. Then he remembered that until a year ago, it was as or more difficult for him than for those fillies to talk to somepony and make a new friend. So Dusk couldn't help but blush a bit at how hypocritical he had sounded. However, instantly, he looked to his side and saw Applejack, and remembered that thanks to mares like her, that was no longer a problem.
"That’s why we gotta have a long race so that they can trust each other more." Applejack said, looking out of the window. "Help me carry the stuff outside. We gotta hustle so that everything’s ready before they finish eating."
Following Applejack's order, Dusk levitated six cauldrons and some tables with his magic and together with Applejack, they went to set up the first of the activities: 'Cook apple fritters'. Dusk quickly installed the cauldrons while Applejack put the ingredients on the different tables.
"It looks like you need some help." Braeburn said suddenly, coming alongside Little Strongheart to where Dusk and Applejack were. They both arrived carrying a pile of wood, which they guessed would be necessary to heat the cauldrons.
Thanking her cousin, Applejack and the others quickly tidied up that entire sector, and began to install the implements for the second activity: 'Sewing the family quilt.'
"You brought sewing machines!?" Braeburn asked, surprised and a little confused to see that his cousin had brought several of those machines.
"Yeah, Granny and her cousins always sew only with their hooves. But with these machines, they’ll finally be able to finish their quilt in record time." Applejack said smiling, even though her cousin looked quite unsure if that would indeed be a good idea.
As they continued to order and install the various items they would need, Dusk Shine and company happily chatted about many things that had happened to them. Braeburn and Little Strongheart were amazed to hear what Dusk and Applejack had recently experienced with Discord and with Flim and Flam. For his part, Dusk was also amazed to learn how much the relationship between Appleloosa and the buffalo tribe had changed, and how it seemed that Braeburn and Little Strongheart were more than friends, despite neither admitting it.
"So… are you just friends?" Dusk asked with a small chuckle.
"Ha! Who would be friends with a pony as narcissist as him." The blushing buffalo said, pointing at Braeburn.
"You see? It's obvious to everypony that you're crazy about me." Braeburn said with a mocking smile. "On the other hoof, I would never get involved with someone as bossy as you."
Seeing that Breaburn and Little Strongheart argued again, both Applejack and Dusk couldn't help but laugh, amused by the love-hate relationship that existed between those two. And while the two of them laughed, Braeburn and Little Strongheart looked at each other and put sly glances, both thinking that it was time to act and do what they had really wanted to do since they had come to Dusk and Applejack.
As they continued ordering, Braeburn subtly pushed Dusk from time to time, pretending not to notice, so that he would get closer to Applejack. For her part, Little Strongheart also did the same with Applejack to bring her closer to Dusk.
"These two obviously like each other. I can't bear to see them act so shy anymore!" Braeburn and Little Strongheart thought. For the first time in the day, they had agreed on something. They both wanted to help Dusk and Applejack get closer.
For his part, every time Dusk bumped into Applejack or unexpectedly came face to face with her, he couldn't help but want to get closer to her. After all, she was his marefriend. But every time Dusk stopped thinking of Applejack as his friend and began to think of her as his marefriend, something happened in his head that made him go blank and become excessively nervous. Thus, every time Dusk felt that he wanted to touch Applejack or tell her that she looked cute, his mouth only stammered and he turned red with shame.
"Seriously, he's a disaster..." Braeburn thought, feeling ashamed for Dusk seeing him like that.
At that point, the rest of Applejack's family finally arrived to begin their day of activities. Then Applejack explained to her relatives how the activities would work this year. The cooks would have a timer, so that there would be no free time between making one apple fritter and another, and thus the number of fritters would finally be enough for everyone. For their part, the grannies would sew with a sewing machine to finally finish the old and huge family quilt.
At Applejack's instructions, everyone in her family looked somewhat insecure, but Applejack asked them to trust her. And before anyone could say anything else, Applejack, Dusk, Braeburn and Little Strongheart took the fillies to begin the race.
Once they all led the fillies to the outskirts of the farm, Applejack stood in front of them to give them instructions for the new and improved obstacle course.
"Alright, girls! Here are the rules for the race! First…" Applejack said excitedly, explaining one by one all the obstacles they would have in their race. A long race of more than one mile, where she and the others had put up an innumerable series of obstacles, from jumping fences, to spinning plates with chopsticks. "…And finally, the first to reach the finish line saying 'Pappy pony picked a pluck of prickly pluffnuggets' will win the competition! Any questions?" The farmer asked, after finishing giving the instructions.
"Hmm... Sis, don't you think this is a bit-?" Apple Bloom said sheepishly.
"No time for dilly dallying! Ready, steady, go!" Applejack shouted excitedly, not listening to her little sister.
Then all the fillies started running, and Apple Bloom had no choice but to run too. As did her cousin, who kept looking uncomfortable from being surrounded by so many ponies.
"Don't you think Apple Bloom and her cousin still look a little...tense?" Dusk said, looking to the distance that Applejack's little cousin had started running next to Apple Bloom, but little by little she was getting away from her.
"Hmm… Maybe you're right. I should go check that everything is going well." Applejack said thoughtfully.
At that moment, Braeburn looked seriously at Little Strongheart again, and the buffalo immediately understood what he was planning.
"I'll go with you, Applejack. Let's leave the boys here so they can watch the finish line." Little Strongheart said, running alongside Applejack to catch up with the fillies.
"Seriously dude, I've never seen someone so bad at flirting." Braeburn said once he was alone with Dusk.
"I know... I suck." Dusk said, lowering his head in shame. "I can usually talk with Applejack without problems. After all, we’ve been friends for a long time. But now that we’re dating, and we’re supposed to act like a couple… Every time I think about her being my marefriend, I get nervous. I… don't know how to approach her."
"Hmm... I think your problem is that you put the mares on a pedestal." Braeburn said with a thoughtful look.
"Uh? What are you talking about?" Dusk asked.
"Hey, Braeburn!" A voice suddenly yelled. Then both Braeburn and Dusk looked back and saw that Big Mac was coming over. For some reason, the normally quiet stallion looked a bit annoyed when he saw Dusk chatting with his cousin.
"What's up, cos?" Braeburn asked.
"I was looking for Applejack. I think… there’s something she should see." Big Mac said with a worried look.
Since Applejack wasn't there, Braeburn and Dusk Shine decided to accompany Big Mac to see what he wanted to show them. Then the three ponies came to where the cooking and sewing activities were and quickly Dusk understood why Big Mac had called them… It was all a disaster!
Applejack's aunts and cousins were freaking out at the cooking station. With the timers Applejack had set, her aunts had just finished one fritter and had to immediately start making another, giving them hardly any time to breathe. While all the other members of their family were starving looking at the fritters, as they had promised not to eat until all were finished.
Something similar happened at the sewing station with Granny Smith and her cousins. By using the sewing machines, they had all come a long way on the quilt. However, they all screamed at each other without being able to hear each other, all because of the noise made by the sewing machines prevented the old mares from being able to hear anything else or from talking to each other.
"Hey! Why didn't you stay at the finish line?" Little Strongheart asked suddenly, approaching where Dusk and the others were. Applejack followed behind her, who for some reason was crestfallen.
"Applejack, something wrong?" Dusk asked, concerned.
"She’s somewhat sad because she heard that the fillies didn’t like the race she organized." Little Strongheart answered, a little embarrassed. "When we got to supervise the race, we overheard Apple Bloom and her cousin chatting and saying that it was too long a race and that Applejack had lost her mind."
"Well, that's not the only thing that’s not working." Braeburn said, scratching his head.
Applejack looked up and saw what was happening to the rest of her family. She could quickly see how nothing she had planned was turning out. In fact, it was all a complete disaster.
"This... This wasn’t what I wanted." Applejack said, with a sad look, feeling like a complete failure.
At that moment, Braeburn hit Dusk's side and pointed his gaze at Applejack. Then, Dusk quickly understood that now, even though Applejack was surrounded by her family, now she was his marefriend and it was his duty to support her at all times.
"It’s okay, Applejack. We still have the whole afternoon to turn this around." Dusk said, affectionately touching Applejack's side. "Maybe our mistake was focusing too much on the competitions, and not on sharing. We need some activity in which everyone can share together, without pressure."
Hearing Dusk's words, Applejack looked at him and put on a more serious look.
"I don't want Dusk to see me sad. He knows how strong I am, I'll show him that I can pull this off!" Applejack thought, pushing her sadness away and filling herself with determination.
"Wait, I know what we can do!" Applejack said, lifting her head in excitement. "Gather everypony here. I'll be right back." She added before running towards the barn.
As requested by Applejack, Dusk and the others gathered the rest of the Apple family and waited for Applejack to return. Then the orange mare finally returned, bringing with her a large wagon, where she asked two of her sturdier cousins to pull her.
"For our next activity, we’ll have a nice relaxing walk through the fields of Sweet Apple Acres!" Applejack shouted excitedly. For their part, upon hearing the word 'relaxing', the rest of the Apple family sighed in relief, thinking that they would finally rest from the demanding tasks that the orange mare had previously planned.
The first to get on the wagon were the oldest members of the family along with the youngest, including Granny Smith and Apple Bloom. And to Dusk's surprise, Applejack asked him to go up as well, as she had a special surprise for him.
Finally Applejack indicated the route to the two cousins who were pulling the cart, and it began its quiet journey.
"So… how bad is it going with your first day being Applejack’s sweetheart?" Granny Smith asked, smiling at Dusk as they rode the wagon.
"What!? H-How do you know it's going wrong?" Dusk asked, surprised and nervous.
"Just a guess, hehehe..." Granny Smith laughed. "You look a lot like my son when he started dating Buttercup. He kept his relationship with her a secret for a long time, but it was obvious to me that he was in love with a mare from how nervous he was."
"Buttercup? Was that the name of Applejack’s mother?" Dusk thought at that moment, trying to remember something that he couldn’t reach, as if he had heard another name before.
"The same happened with Applejack's grandfather." Granny Smith, continued speaking. "My poor husband was dying of nerves on our first date, hehe."
"The same thing happened with poor Jonagold." An aunt of Applejack said, the also elderly Apple Rose. "Sometimes stallions forget that mares are just that: mares."
With those words, Dusk gave a confused look, remembering that Braeburn had also said something similar to him.
"I don't understand, what are they trying to say? That I shouldn't be chivalrous or something?" Dusk thought, still not understanding what Applejack's family was referring to.
"Hm? That’s strange… Why are we heading to the west orchard?" Granny Smith said suddenly, noticing where the wagon was heading. "We haven’t tended those fields since all the trees went and got filled up with..." At that moment, Granny Smith clamped her mouth shut, hoping with all her might that her granddaughter hadn’t come up with the crazy idea that she was thinking of that moment.
Unfortunately for Granny Smith, Applejack was thinking precisely that. She had run ahead to the west orchard, and just as the wagon was passing by, she kicked one of the apple trees there hard.
Instantly, all the nearby treetops shook, and a hundred colorful fruit bats flew out of there and covered the sky.
"Perfect! This will be a great postcard for the photo album." Applejack said excitedly, positioning the camera she had brought with her, ready to shoot as the rainbow of bats passed right over the heads of the wagon passengers.
Hearing the noise of the bats and seeing them flying overhead, all the passengers in the wagon were a little scared. But when they saw the beautiful colors of the bats filling the sky with a peculiar, moving and attractive rainbow, everyone was amazed at such a spectacle. Or at least it was, until the bats smelled the apples that Applejack's great-aunt wore in her hat.
In that instant, all the hungry bats instinctively threw themselves against the wagon, trying to eat those delicious apples after being awakened so suddenly. What had started out as a nice and relaxing wagon ride turned into a horror tale. Hundreds of bats plummeted against the passengers, while Applejack's aunts, grandmother and cousins tried to drive them away, terrified of the little bats. Just like Dusk, who didn't know if using his magic would harm those little bats or not, something Fluttershy would never forgive him for.
The stallions that were pulling the wagon released the harness that was pulling the cart amidst the panic. Then the wagon began to speed down the hill uncontrollably.
"Everypony! Jump out now!!" Apple Bloom shouted desperately, seeing that the wagon bounced uncontrollably and was going to crash into the house and barn.
Without waiting a second, everypony leapt out of the runaway wagon, with the exception of Dusk and the old mares of the family. Knowing that the old bones of the grannies wouldn’t withstand a jump and fall if they jumped that speed, Dusk waited for them and used his magic to teleport instead of jumping, and thus appear softly on the ground next to the old mares.
"Are you all okay?" Dusk asked, checking that Granny Smith and her cousins were alright.
CRASH!! Dusk was startled when he heard the loud noise of the wagon crashing. He turned around and saw with horror that the wagon had crashed into the barn and had completely destroyed it.
Slowly, all the ponies of the Apple family approached the destroyed barn, all with a terrified face when they saw how one of the oldest buildings in Ponyville, the pillar of their family and the meeting point of so many reunions, had been completely demolished. The pony who was horrified by it the most was precisely the mare that had caused it all.
"No..." Applejack muttered in complete terror. Then, all the strength that she had had until that moment crumbled in just an instant, and she began to cry bitterly. She hadn’t only destroyed her family's barn, which was so important to everyone, but she had also made the worst family reunion ever. All her effort, instead of improving something, just made everyone have one of the worst days of their lives.
While Applejack was crying, Braeburn had arrived next to Dusk, and as he had done previously, he prepared to hit Dusk to indicate that it was his turn to act. However, that wasn’t necessary, since before Braeburn could do anything, Dusk was already moving to comfort his friend, partner and marefriend.
When approaching Applejack, Dusk didn’t say anything. He simply stood in front of her and touched her gently. At that moment, Applejack looked up with teary eyes and saw her coltfriend. Now she hated herself even more when she saw that her beloved Dusk saw her crying, weak and frustrated. But that no longer mattered to her, the only thing she needed at that moment was comfort. Then she hugged Dusk, and cried on his chest, even more urgently.
"Ruined... Everythin' is ruined… I... I just wanted everyone to enjoy this day..." Applejack cried bitterly as Dusk hugged her.
Seeing Applejack crying so hard, Dusk couldn't help but share that pain. He had witnessed all the effort and enthusiasm that Applejack had put in throughout the day for her family to enjoy, and all that effort had gone to waste.
"Shhh, everything will be right." Dusk said, patting Applejack's head. "Maybe things didn't turn out the way we wanted, but at least we were able to spend a nice day together. Things didn't go the way I expected either, but the moments we shared together, planning and putting all this together, were fun."
At that point, Applejack began to remember that morning. Indeed, it was obvious that things between her and Dusk hadn’t happened as either of them expected. Dusk had been very nervous all day, just like her. However, as Dusk said, the moments when they planned things were fun, even if they themselves hadn’t participated in those activities.
"You didn't have to force it... The activity didn't matter, all you needed... was to share together." Applejack whispered, her eyes widening at an idea that had occurred to her.
Applejack wiped away her tears and looked at Dusk with a confident smile. Seeing that smile, Dusk also smiled, seeing that his beloved Applejack had regained her spirit.
"Listen to me, family, I… I'm very sorry I didn't realize it earlier. The important thing about these reunions isn’t how many apple fritters we can make, how much of the quilt we can sew or even an unforgettable race. It’s about sharing and making good memories together." Applejack said, looking at her entire family. "If you’ll let me, I would like to propose one last activity. I promise you that I’ll not disappoint you."
At Applejack's words, many of her cousins looked at her suspiciously since they were already fed up with Applejack's shenanigans. However, they were all family, and everypony deserved a second chance. That left a majority of the ponies present conflicted on what to do.
"I trust her." Dusk smiled, being the first to stand next to Applejack, finally tipping the balance in favor of his marefriend. Who for her part, couldn’t help but smile and blush to see that Dusk would always be on her side supporting her.
"Me too." Granny Smith said, walking over to Applejack.
Then Braeburn, Little Strongheart, Apple Bloom, Big Mac, one by one all took Applejack's word, and finally the whole family together decided to trust Applejack once again.
"Our traditional barn photo is still missing!" Applejack shouted excitedly. Then she ran over to one of her cousins, who always carried their violins and guitars with them. "But for that, we need ourselves a barn! Let’s get building, y’all! Yee-haw!" Applejack yelled, causing her cousins to start playing a happy country tune.
After that, Applejack began to sing a heart song called 'Raise this Barn!', causing everyone to start dancing to the joyous melody. Then everyone understood what Applejack wanted to do: hard and exhausting work, but something that they could achieve if they were all united as a family.
While half of the ponies worked, the other half had fun dancing and they quickly switched shifts, all happy to have fun while working towards the same goal. The hundreds of apple fritters that Applejack’s aunts had prepared earlier were a big help in keeping everypony’s spirits raised and kept their tummies filled. To top it all off, Chief Thunderhooves and great-uncle Apple Strudel brought the remaining kegs of cider that they hadn’t drunk throughout the morning, further enlivening the atmosphere.
Taking advantage of the fact that her family was finally laughing and having fun, Applejack rushed out of the dance and began photographing everyone. She could finally get good pictures for the family album, but mainly, finally getting everyone to make beautiful new memories.
"Hey, Dusk! Mind if I leave you this little troublemaker for a second?" Braeburn said suddenly, coming up next to Dusk. Little Strongheart with him, who looked like she was about to faint. "I told her she couldn't win a cider drinking contest against me since she never drank cider before! ‘Course that didn’t stop her from trying!" Braeburn added, holding the little buffalo on Dusk's side. "I have to go back to work, take care of her!" Braeburn said before leaving. Not without first moving a lock of hair from Little Strongheart's face, looking at her and blushing a little.
Without Dusk managing to say anything, he was finally forced to stand there, holding the young buffalo while the rest of the Apple family danced and worked.
"Hic! Hehe… Isn't he cute…? Hic!" Little Strongheart muttered drunkenly, looking up at Braeburn.
Dusk didn't say anything and smiled, thinking that it was necessary for Little Strongheart to get drunk so that she could finally stop arguing with Braeburn and accept what she felt.
"Sometimes ponies are so difficult to understand… Hic! But they definitely have good parties!" Little Strongheart continued, talking to herself, as if she hadn’t even noticed that Dusk was holding her. "It's like those two fillies… They were so scared to get close to each other, and now the two of them seem like best friends… Hic!" .
Looking where Little Strongheart was looking, Dusk realized that who she had been seeing had been Apple Bloom and her cousin, Babs Seed. Both fillies were chatting happily with each other while helping their relatives. Apparently, all that awkwardness from earlier had disappeared when they had something in common to complain about, and that something, curiously, had been Applejack herself. She had tried her best to get those two fillies to share with each other, but finally, by forcing them to run that absurd obstacle course, she made both of them complain about how ridiculous Applejack was being. That made both fillies finally able to talk about something in common, and finally express their true feelings. Because deep down both had wanted to get closer to each other all day, but their shyness and nervousness had prevented them.
"It's... It's the same as with Applejack and Dusk... It's so obvious that those two want to get closer to each other... Hic!" Little Strongheart added, nodding off again, almost falling asleep.
"Uh? What are you talking about?" Dusk asked the drunk buffalo.
"When we went to see the obstacle course, Applejack told me how silly she felt not knowing how to approach Dusk." Little Strongheart replied, without even realizing that it was Dusk Shine that he was talking to. "'What if he doesn't like me coming near?' 'What if I ask him for a kiss and he rejects me…?' Hic! So many pointless questions… When it's obvious that Dusk… likes her too… zzzzz…" Little Strongheart muttered, before finally falling asleep from drunkenness.
It was as if lightning struck Dusk at that instant, and he understood why Little Strongheart had compared him and Applejack to Apple Bloom and Babs Seed. As had happened with the fillies, Dusk had also acted all nervous with Applejack, when he thought she was his girlfriend. He had tried to approach her as a coltfriend, but his attempts had failed only because of his nerves. But why was he so nervous? For the same reason the fillies had been nervous with each other: Not knowing what the other was thinking. That was the problem with approaching someone with whom you want to establish a relationship, thinking: Will she like me to come closer? Will she reject me? Will she feel uncomfortable? Obviously, His and Applejack’s relationship was far different from the fillies, though the comparisons were still there.
For Dusk, his own nerves and insecurities had been evident, but only now did he realize that Applejack must be feeling. What Braeburn had told him about putting mares on a pedestal, and what Applejack's great-aunt said about stallions forgetting that mares were just mares, finally made sense. All day, Dusk had thought of Applejack as a pony very different from him, but she was just like him, neither more nor less, with the same feelings and insecurities. It could even be that Applejack felt even more doubts than he, since unlike him, she had dared to declare her feelings first.
"I need to take the next step." Dusk thought with a determined look. "I already learned about friendship, but now, I must take it further. Now I must learn...about true love."
With that last thought, Dusk looked up again and saw his marefriend, who now had a radiant smile while photographing her entire family, happy to see everyone happy. And just as Dusk felt Applejack's pain when she cried, seeing her so happy filled him with a huge and new happiness, because she was his marefriend, and nothing could make him happier than seeing her happy.
Finally dusk came and with everyone's help, the Apple family managed to finish the new barn.
Everyone smiled at viewing the fruit of their effort. A huge, beautiful barn built much stronger than the old one, and with much more love, given that the whole family of a new generation had helped build it. Then everyone took the traditional photo in front of the barn, and although Dusk hesitated, the whole family asked him to be in the photo in a place of honor in the center, next to Applejack, as thanks for saving Granny and aunts of the wagon accident.
After eating the last of the apple fritters and sharing the latest anecdotes, it was finally time to say goodbye. One by one, Applejack's aunts, uncles and cousins began to get into their wagons to return home. Among those goodbyes, there was one with special affection to Braeburn and Little Strongheart, who was already a little better from her earlier bender thanks to the Apple family home remedy against hangovers.
"I swear, I'll never drink cider again..." Little Strongheart said, clutching her head.
"Don’t worry about it none. Happens when lightweights like you try to drink cider like a stallion." Braeburn teased.
"Yeah... sure... like when you smoked the peace pipe and tried to kiss a cactus." Little Strongheart said, looking annoyed at Braeburn.
Then they both started bickering like they always did. However, neither Dusk nor Applejack said anything, since they knew that was how they showed that they loved each other.
"Take care of my cousin." Braeburn said as he said goodbye to Dusk.
At that moment, Dusk looked at Applejack and looked back at Braeburn with a cunning smile.
"I don’t think she needs to be looked after. But when she needs it, I'll always be there for her." Dusk said with a confident smile. With that answer, Braeburn smiled and finally went with the rest of his family and guests back to Appleloosa.
"There are still some of your cousins around here." Dusk said to Applejack, once they finished saying goodbye to Braeburn and he looked towards the family house, where Babs Seed and some of Applejack's cousins were still inside the house.
"Yeah, some of them are staying for a few more days." Applejack explained. Then she looked away and glanced at Dusk. "So… Did you tell Braeburn that you'll always be there when I need it?" Applejack asked, feigning disinterest.
"That's right. I’ll always be there for my friends." Dusk smiled warmly. Then Applejack lowered her ears with a disappointed look. "... And I’ll especially always be there for my marefriend." Dusk added, gently touching Applejack's face and finally doing what he had wanted to do all day: kiss her.
At the surprise kiss, Applejack widened her eyes and blushed deeply. Then she slowly closed her eyes and was carried away by the warm feeling.
After finishing the kiss, Dusk looked at Applejack and smiled shyly, while his cheeks were still red with shame for finally having dared to get closer to Applejack as a coltfriend.
"So… W-What was that all about?" Applejack asked, making an effort to keep a stoic look.
"Well, I've been thinking about it and… you're my marefriend. And… it's something we should do more… often." Dusk nervously explained, determined that he should take the next step in his learning of love. "I don't want to think about things so much... I think I'll get carried away more by my feelings, now that I'm your coltfriend."
"Hmm… So, you’re telling me that you’ll be kissing me whenever you feel like it?" Applejack asked, putting on a faux angry look.
"Uh... I... Well..." Dusk stuttered, red with embarrassment. Maybe he had made a mistake.
"Pfft... Don't worry, I like it that way." Applejack laughed, making Dusk realize that it had been just a little joke from his tender marefriend. Then Applejack took Dusk by the head and brought his head down to her height, coming face to face. "Figured that a smart stud such as yourself would come up with that idea. Hope you don’t mind if I use it from time to time." Applejack added, this time being the one who kissed Dusk sweetly, surprising the stallion.
After their kiss, they both looked at each other and smiled tenderly. The couple started their way back to the family house, walking very close side by side. This time there was no longer any discomfort between them. They had both finally broken the ice and discovered that they had both wanted to get closer to each other all day. They now knew that the other would never refuse a hug or feel uncomfortable if they kissed the other by surprise. Dusk Shine and Applejack both knew that their feelings were equal and reciprocal, and that they were both deeply in love with each other.
With the last rays of the sunset, Dusk Shine and Applejack continued walking slowly across the field, with so much joy in their hearts that they could barely hold back their laughter. Their tails were intertwined with each other as they walked, wanting this moment to forever b frozen in time to always be with one another.
While Dusk Shine was learning his first lesson about love on his own, in the city of Canterlot, another mare had her own problems learning about that complicated feeling.
Princess Cadance was with Sunset Shimmer in the middle of the dining room of the royal castle. The kitchen maids had just served them their dishes, all finely decorated, worthy of the castle's royal kitchen.
"Thank you so much, Vanilla Treat! Everything looks delicious!" Cadance said, smiling sweetly at the mare who had served the dishes.
"Thank you very much, Princess." The mare replied, happy to be flattered by the princess.
Then Cadance stared at Sunset and widened her eyes, as if waiting for her to do something. For her part, Sunset Shimmer had already raised her fork with her magic to start eating her dinner. However, seeing that Cadance was staring at her, she rolled her eyes and lowered her fork reluctantly.
"Thank... you…" Sunset grumbled while averting her gaze. It was as if the words were physical unable to leave the mare’s mouth with an exceeding amount of effort. "Thank you for doing well at what you do every day." Sunset Shimmer muttered sarcastically.
Hearing Sunset's words, Vanilla Treat lifted her indignant nose and withdre, back to the kitchen.
"Was that last comment really necessary?" Cadance said, glaring at Sunset.
"Well, I can’t help it if it’s the truth." Sunset Shimmer retorted. "Do you want me to lie?"
"I'm not telling you to lie. I'm just saying that you should start to understand a little more the feelings of others, have more empathy." Cadance said, also sighing wearily as she realized how difficult it was to teach empathy to a mare as proud as Sunset.
"I know... I know..." Sunset huffed in frustrated. She moved her plate away and dropped her head heavily against the table.
"Easy, it's not your fault." Cadance said uncomfortably, trying to cheer up her new student.
It had been difficult for Cadance to let go of the resentment she had felt for years against Sunset. But she had finally understood that it wasn’t Sunset's fault that she was like this.
"Please don't say it... Don't say it's the Archmage's fault." Sunset said, slowly raising her head. "I can't keep blaming others for my past. I could have rejected all of his teachings, but… deep down, I also wanted to believe what he taught me." Sunset added with a sad look.
In that instant, Sunset remembered all the evil she had done to so many ponies while she had been a student of the Archmage. She had enjoyed humiliating other ponies, believing herself superior to them. It had been that way for years, until one dire day, when the Archmage took things too far and Sunset finally had to run from him.
"That mare's terrified look... I'll never get it out of my head..." Sunset thought, closing her eyes in pain.
The pained expression didn’t go unnoticed by Cadance, who was surprised to see and feel with her innate magic that Sunset was indeed feeling empathy in that second, feeling some pain from the past that she had surely caused in somepony.
Sunset looked up again, and Cadance saw that her gaze had grown warmer, as if a layer of ice in her gaze had finally disappeared, at least for an instant.
"I want to change. I want to be a pony that HE can trust." Sunset said, managing to open her heart.
For her part, Cadance smiled as she sensed that there was no hint of falsehood in Sunset's words. Her new student had a powerful motivation to really want to change, and Cadance didn't need to ask, as she knew perfectly well who Sunset was referring to by 'HE'.
Just then, at the back of the room, Cadance saw the door open. The Princess of the Night appeared through the door. When she saw that Cadance was next to Sunset, opened her eyes with surprise, then closed them sadly. The alicorn closed the door without entering the room.
Cadance had rarely spoken with her new Auntie Luna. Unlike the older of the Alicorn sisters, Luna was more reserved. In fact, most of the talks they'd had had been in the last week after Cadance discovered at the Grand Galloping Gala that her aunt also seemed to harbor feelings for Dusk. This had taken the pink alicorn completely by surprise. However, what most caught Cadance's attention was the fact that day after day, the love that Luna felt for Dusk became more painful. Cadance could feel Luna's heart ache every time she focused on her feelings.
After much insistence, Cadance had finally managed to get Luna to tell her what made her so distressed, and why she used to avoid Sunset now that she often visited the castle. She discovered that Luna blamed herself for what happened with Discord and his curse in Dusk's memory. The Princess of the Night couldn’t forgive herself for agreeing to help Dusk and putting him in such great danger of forcibly altering his memories. If it hadn't been for Sunset, who found a way to save Dusk and his friends' memories without any of them getting hurt, perhaps Dusk would have received irreparable damage to his mind. This gnawed at Luna from within and made her hate herself more than she normally did for all of her past.
"Auntie Luna... You must leave that guilt behind, otherwise the darkness will swallow your heart..." Cadance thought sadly, after seeing Luna close the door. "You must learn about love too, but I can't teach you the first lesson... To be able to love someone, you must first love and forgive yourself..."
After thinking about the great challenges ahead, Cadance looked up at the ceiling and sighed, lost in thought.
"Friendship already saved this kingdom once... Perhaps love is the key to saving it in the future..." Cadance thought, not realizing that this would be a huge omen of things to come.
End of chapter 10