//------------------------------// // Lips Happen // Story: Stubborn as Ponies // by Esle Ynopemos //------------------------------// *-*-*Applejack*-*-* Applejack had sincerely meant to put more thought into her situation with Pinkie Pie. Just because she had made her position clear that morning did not mean there would not be any fallout, and she had fully intended to make time to sit down and think about what it would all mean to her and her friends. But when she had returned to the farm she had found her sister still not ready for school. A flurry of schoolbooks, saddlebags and a lecture about the virtue of punctuality had followed, accompanied by a bracing gallop into town in order to deliver Apple Bloom to her class no later than she already was. By the second time Applejack had returned that morning, her stomach had complained fiercely about her lack of breakfast, threatening to hold her other organs hostage until she sat down and ate something not covered in scales and slime. Her morning chores had carried on past noon due to the late start she had on them. Oiling the hinges on the barn door required actually finding the can of oil, which had turned out to be empty anyways, prompting yet another trip into town to refill it. Afternoon had already passed its peak when the apple farmer was ready to inspect the south field. She had hoped to get a chance to do some thinking during her march through the orchard. Most times, inspecting the fields was not a highly challenging task, leaving her free to put together plans or work things out in her head as she examined the apple trees. It only became a complicated job if there was something wrong. Of course there had been something wrong. About midway through the field Applejack had noticed the telltale signs of beetle larvae. If the bugs were not stopped, Sweet Apple Acres would lose half their harvest when applebuck season came around. The rest of her day, well past sunset, had been spent working with Big Mac to isolate the infested zone and clear the trees that could still be saved. By the time Applejack got into bed, she had been tired enough to fall asleep before her head even touched the pillow. For that reason, the next day found Applejack answering Pinkie Pie at the door without having had a moment to consider their exchange the previous morning. “Ya wanna do what, now?” “I want to take you flying! Twilight is lending me her balloon this afternoon!” The way the pink mare bounced on the porch, Applejack was ready to believe that Pinkie did not need a balloon in order to fly. The grin on her face made the farmer's cheeks hurt just looking at it. Applejack sighed. “I'm sorry, Pinkie, not today. Applebuck season starts soon, an' I gotta get this place ready for it.” Pinkie's grin did not dissipate. If anything, it somehow grew even wider. “That's not a problem! I can help you get your chores done and then we can go get the balloon!” The apple farmer frowned. “Don't you have yer own job? Why ain't ya workin' for the Cakes today?” “Sick day,” Pinkie replied. “Well, if yer sick ya shouldn't be out doin' farm work or flyin' about in balloons.” Applejack nudged her way past Pinkie and started for the barn. “Besides, don't ya think ya oughta take a break, y'know, considerin' yesterday?” There, her smile slipped for an instant, pain flashing across Pinkie's eyes before she redoubled her grin. “No, I'm fine.” Applejack's ears flicked unconsciously at the lie. “Please, let me help you? Just tell me what you need done; we can do it twice as fast together!” Applejack shook her head, continuing out to the barn. “Ya know I love havin' your help, but I can't have ya takin' sick days from your job to come do mine. If'n yer sick, go on home an' lay down. If yer not sick, then you should go apologize ta Mr. and Mrs. Cake.” She ducked inside the freshly oiled door and emerged with a rickety old wooden applecart. The thing was sound enough for trips to and from town, but it would need some fixing up if it was to be loaded full of fresh-picked apples. “Aw, but what am I gonna do with a hot-air balloon all by myself?” Pinkie complained as she followed the orange mare out to the barn. It was difficult to answer with a hammer in her mouth, so Applejack merely shrugged. She took a short breath as she dropped the tool and dug around for some nails. “Maybe Rarity would like ta join ya. Or hey, you could get a good vantage ta watch Rainbow practice her tricks.” Pinkie crossed her forehooves and pouted. “Dashie naps in the afternoons, and Rarity's been all funny about heights ever since Cloudsdale.” “Well, I don't know what to tell ya, Pinkie. You'll just have ta make plans without me today.” The delinquent baker opened her mouth to argue, but seemed to think better of it. A troublesome grin replaced her pout. “Okie dokie lokie!” she chirped, “I'll see you around, Applejack!” Applejack twisted her head around to peer in confusion as the pink blur disappeared around a bend in the old dirt road leading to the farm. That mare was up to something, of that Applejack was sure. But she was darned if she knew what it was. Shrugging, she refocused her attention on the wagon wheel in front of her. Pinkie or no, she needed to have a sturdy cart for this year's apple harvest. It was going to be a big haul this year, and it would be a real shame to leave fruit to rot on the tree because they had to stop in the middle of applebucking to fix the cart. Carpentry was not the farm pony's special talent, but neither was she especially inept at it. A few pieces of lumber, a few dozen nails and the rest of the morning were enough to reinforce the old cart into something serviceable for the coming harvest. Applejack wiped her brow, taking a glance at the position of the sun. She let out a disappointed huff as she realized it had taken her longer to finish the cart than she had expected. “I'm gonna have ta skip lunch if I'm gonna get that apple cellar cleaned out,” she grumbled to herself. The earthy scent of the cellar filled Applejack's nose as she pulled open the door to the underground chamber. It took her eyes a minute to adjust to the darkness down below. “Huh,” she said as the packed earth and stone walls came into focus. The place was immaculate. Jars of preserved jams were arranged neatly on the shelves. A few wooden barrels and crates were stacked against the corner, leaving plenty of open floor space for the coming influx of apples. Applejack scratched her ear, not sure what to think. Maybe Big Mac got done early with the plow an' came in ta give me a hoof? Shrugging, she took a jar of preserves down from the shelves. Perhaps she would get a break for lunch after all. One apple-jelly sandwich later, the orange mare set off to take stock of the baskets. She would need to collect and organize all of the baskets, as well as check them each for damage. There was always a few of the wooden containers that had succumbed to weathering over the months of neglect, and there were few things more frustrating than having the bottom of a basket of apples fall out when it was lifted. Applejack stopped as she entered the storage area of the barn. There before her in tall stacks were all of the farm's apple baskets, ready to be taken out to the fields. A couple of broken baskets were set aside to be turned into firewood or spare lumber. Her nostrils flared. “Pinkie,” she said sternly, “when I said not ta help me, I didn't mean 'except when I ain't lookin'.' ” A poofy pink tail unfolded behind the stacks of baskets. Out stepped a sheepishly grinning Pinkie Pie. “Oopsies,” she said, “well, now I know that.” A few different emotions battled for control of Applejack's face. Anger at Pinkie for doing exactly what she had told her not to do held a solid swath of territory around her jaw muscles. Pity for the pink mare and guilt for being the cause of her situation held an uneasy truce over her eyes. An urge to giggle at the ridiculousness of being mad at somepony for doing her chores for her launched a major offensive against her sinuses, expelling a loud snort. Pinkie joined in with a chortle of her own, and it proved too infectious for the other factions to hold their ground. Applejack let loose a full, throaty laugh. It seemed disproportionate to the humor present, but she could not help herself. “Wh—who even told ya what needed doin' around here?” Applejack wheezed. She wiped a mirthful tear from her eye. “I grew up on a farm, too,” Pinkie explained. “Well, rocks are a bit different from apples, so maybe I also asked Big Mac how I could help.” “Aha,” said Applejack, dusting off her hat. “I think I'll have ta have a talk with my brother sometime.” Pinkie tapped her hooves together. “So, now that your chores are done, how about that balloon ride?” Applejack shook her head. “That ain't all my chores, sugarcube. I still need ta check on the east field, make sure everything'll be ripe by applebuck season.” “And how better to make your inspection than from the air? C'mon, it'll be super fun!” Truthfully, the balloon would make inspection easier. By hoof, it would take her till dark to make the circuit around the orchard. She would cover a lot more ground by air. “Ya ain't givin' up on this balloon idea, are ya?” Pinkie shook her head. “Nope!” “I wanna make it real clear this ain't a date, Pinkie.” “Not a date, got it.” The pink pony nodded enthusiastically. “Because we're just friends, not fillyfriends.” Applejack sighed. “Alright, sugarcube, you win. Let's go flyin'.” *-*-*Pinkie*-*-* It was not entirely untruthful of Pinkie Pie to take a sick day off of work today. Heartsick was a type of sick. If she had stayed put in the bakery all day, she was certain she would have driven Mr. and Mrs. Cake crazy. They would have been all, 'Pinkie, that's the tenth batch of cupcakes you've made this morning. We don't have enough icing for all of them!' and Pinkie would have gone, 'B-but if I stop baking, I'll start fee-ee-ling again!' Really, she was doing them a favor by taking a sick day. Besides, now she got to ride in a balloon with Applejack. Not in a romantic, date between two very special someponies sort of way, just in a helping a super-nice, really attractive friend with her farm work by spending time alone with her in a balloon sort of way. Completely not the same thing at all. This not being the first time Pinkie had borrowed Twilight's balloon—though she at least had permission this time—it did not take her very long at all to get the craft inflated and ready to lift off. The magical heating element sputtered and sparked as the fabric billowed outwards. Light purple stars and swirls stretched out to fill the cloudless sky. The balloon began to tug against its tether. Pinkie Pie bounced happily. “Hop in,” she invited. Applejack hesitated a moment before climbing into the basket. The balloon wobbled as Pinkie jumped in after her. With a quick tug, she untied the tether and the ground drifted away from them. The farm pony leaned over the edge of the basket to watch the grass pass beneath them. “Uh, Pinkie,” she said, her eyes following the patch of dirt they had launched from as it grew smaller. “The wind's carryin' us the right direction for now, but what are we gonna do when we get to the other end of the field an' have ta turn around?” Pinkie hung her forehooves over the edge. “We'll flag a weatherpony down and ask them to change the wind. Maybe Dashie'll be up by then.” She turned her eyes to the apple trees that drifted past them. “So, what are we looking for?” Applejack turned her attention to the orchard as well. “We're mostly lookin' at the color of the apples. Most of 'em should be almost red by now. If there's too many greens, we'll have ta push applebuck season back another week.” Pinkie nodded and fixed her eyes on the fruits. There's a nice, bright red one. Ooh, and another! Then there's a couple of green apples, one that's sorta green but sorta red so it ended up looking kinda yellow... Oh, wow, those are three of the juiciest, tastiest, reddest apples I've ever seen! No, wait, that's Applejack's flank. Pinkie giggled to herself. “What's so funny?” Applejack asked, oblivious to the unintentional ogling she was receiving. “Nothing,” Pinkie said, grinning as she turned to adjust the heating element. They needed to fly lower if they were going to get a good look at any apples that weren't on anypony's flank. Though, if Pinkie Pie was honest with herself, those were the apples she was really interested in looking at. She shook her head. No, bad Pinkie, she thought to herself. We're here to help AJ, not stare at her rump! For the most part, the apples looked just like Applejack had said they would. Most of them were red or nearly red. The ones that were still unripe were the exception, not the rule. Conversation between the two friends soon drifted away from business. “...and then I just pop out and shout 'surprise!' ” The party pony punctuated herself with a small burst of confetti as demonstration. “Huh,” Applejack said, “I always wondered how you did that.” Pinkie shrugged. “That's how. Everypony seems to think it's magic or something.” “Heh, I reckon that'd explain why Mayor Mare always gets jumpy when I try ta sell her pies. I just figured she didn't like pastry!” Pinkie Pie gasped. “Who doesn't like pastry?” Applejack chuckled. “Well, that one prince feller back at the Gala didn't seem too keen on it. Hay, he acted like I tried ta poison him with that apple fritter. I get the feelin' Rarity wished I had.” “Some ponies just don't know what's good!” “You'll hear no argument from me on that.” The balloon grew quiet for a few minutes, apart from the hissing of hot air rising from the heating element. After a long pause, Applejack cleared her throat. “Say, sugarcube. You ever get one a' these crushes on anypony else before?” It stung Pinkie to hear Applejack call her feelings a 'crush.' They were much more than some crush, but then, she couldn't expect Applejack to understand how she felt if she didn't feel the same way. Actually, that stung even worse. She fought to keep the smile on her face as she shook her head. “I've never felt for anypony the way I feel about you,” she managed to say. Her eyes widened. “Felt about you,” she hastily corrected. Applejack shifted her eyes uncomfortably. “It's okay, hon. I don't 'spect this sort of thing goes away overnight.” Pinkie wasn't sure she wanted this sort of thing to go away ever. She cleared her throat and continued, “But I have had crushes before. I've even dated one of them.” Pinkie giggled quietly. “That ended in a giant bowl of pudding.” This seemed to entertain Applejack. “Do I even wanna know the details?” Pinkie shook her head. “Even if you did, I promised her I wouldn't talk about it.” Her eyes shot open. “Oh no, I talked about it! Applejack, you have to keep this a secret!” The farm mare laughed. “Don't worry, sugar. Nopony'll ever hear nothin' from me 'bout no bowl of pudding.” The pink baker breathed a sigh of relief. Another tree full of ripe apples drifted past the balloon's basket. “What about you, Applejack? Have you ever dated anypony before?” “I have, though not in a long while, I reckon.” Pinkie leaned forward. “Well? Who was it? Didja like them? What happened?” Applejack peered over the edge of the basket as though watching for eavesdroppers. “All right, Pinkie, I'll tell ya, but ya gotta promise not ta tell anypony. Especially Rarity, she'd go crazy if she knew.” Pinkie Pie mimed a complicated sequence of actions beginning with zipping her lips shut and ending with her rear legs leaning against the edge of the basket. Applejack tilted her head. “Okay, I kept up with ya up to the house ya built on top of the hole where ya buried the key, but then ya lost me.” “Then I demolished the house and built a thirty story highrise instead, and made it the headquarters of an international finance company!” The basket swung as Pinkie bounced happily. “What was this?” Applejack asked, putting her forehooves behind her back. “That was me getting arrested for insider trading!” There. That smile, right there. That was why Pinkie loved Applejack. That open, honest grin made everything feel better. Her light tan freckles danced with the corners of her mouth. Her bright green eyes glimmered in the late afternoon light. Pinkie momentarily forgot where she was. Twilight's library, Canterlot, the moon, it didn't matter. She was with Applejack, and Applejack was smiling, and everything was alright. “Alright, that's good enough for me,” said Applejack, snapping Pinkie out of her reverie. “Like I said, it was a long time ago. I was maybe Apple Bloom's age or a little older. This was when I was livin' with my aunt an' uncle Orange in Manehattan. An' yes, I'm aware that's awful young.” “Anyways, that year in the school the Oranges had me go to, there was two new ponies. Myself, an' a unicorn colt by the name a' Fancois. Fancois' folks were some kind of dignitaries or somethin, an' they were always movin' around Equestria. It was hard ta make friends when everypony else already knew each other an' we were the odd ones out, so me an' Fancois fell in together.” “The other kids, bein' kids, teased us. They'd talk like we were each other's special someponies, ta try an' embarrass us. So we decided ta show 'em what's what by goin' ahead and really bein' each other's special someponies.” Applejack shook her head and smiled softly. “We were just fillies an' colts, so we had no idea what the hay we were doin'. Mostly, we jus' spouted lines at each other that we'd read in books or heard in plays. Holdin' hooves, awkward muzzle rubbin', mostly ta tweak our classmates' noses.” “Anyway, it only lasted as long as the time we stayed in Manehattan. His folks moved on before too long—ta Fillydelphia, I think—an' I started gettin' homesick. You've already heard the rest of the story. Rainbow, home, cutie mark, the end.” Pinkie rested her head on her forehooves, enthralled. “Do you miss him? Did you love him?” It did not take Applejack any time to shake her head. “Spite ain't a good thing ta build a relationship on. Fancois was a nice enough colt, but he didn't mean much more ta me than a way ta get under the skin of a few snotty foals. An' I'm fair certain I meant the same ta him. 'Sides that, it weren't long after comin' home that I decided I liked mares better.” “Huh.” Pinkie blinked. “I don't understand why Rarity would be upset by any of that.” “Ah, yeah,” said Applejack, coughing nervously. “See, nowadays Fancois is better known as Fancy. Fancy Pants.” “Fancy Pants? Isn't that—” “Yup. Rarity's idol up in Canterlot. We ran into him during Twilight's birthday party, remember? I don't think he recognized me. Hay, we were back on the train ta Ponyville before I realized it was him.” Applejack chuckled. “Oh, Rarity'd have a breakdown if she knew I'd once dated her big hero!” Pinkie giggled. “For Rarity's sake, nopony must ever know,” she agreed. She thought for a moment, then gasped. “So wait, you haven't been on a date since you were a filly? Oh, Applejack, you said you needed to learn to have more fun, but I never knew it was this bad! Even Twilight's been out more than that!” A red tint brushed the farmer's muzzle. “Hush up, you. I've jus' been busy, is all!” Pinkie Pie scooted closer to Applejack. “You've gotta let somepony show you a good time some time! Come on, let your auntie Pinkie take you to dinner!” Applejack pushed the pink mare away. “Several things wrong with that idea. First, referrin' ta yourself as 'auntie Pinkie' ain't a great way ta ask somepony on a date. Second, applebuckin' is gonna take up all my time for the next couple weeks, so even if I wanted to, I can't. An' thirdly, you takin' me ta dinner is 'bout the furthest thing I can think of from helpin' you get over me.” Right. Pinkie was not here to be anypony's special somepony. She was here to help inspect the... “Where's the orchard?” Pinkie Pie peered over the edge of the basket. They were still surrounded by trees, but none of them were apple trees anymore. Applejack blinked. “Where's the—aw shoot! We've gone an' sailed right past the edge of the field! We're over the Everfree now!” A thick morass of thorns and vines crept below them like a carpet. The gnarled upper branches of an old knobbly tree reached out and scratched the rim of the basket. Pinkie leapt to her hooves, cranking the heater as high as it would go. If one of those trees tore the balloon open, Twilight would have Pinkie's hide, assuming one of the creatures of the Everfree didn't get it first. Applejack dug a lasso out of her bag and snagged the top of a nearby tree, anchoring them in place and ensuring they didn't drift any deeper into the forest. “Whew,” she said, tying the rope off. “Now what do we do?” On one side, the twisted carpet of green stretched on to the mountains on the horizon. On another, it simply faded into the distant mist. On a third side, the outline of the barn stood silhouetted against the setting sun. “Well,” Pinkie said, scratching her ear, “we can try shouting and hope somepony is close enough to hear us.” The odds of that were not too good. Sweet Apple Acres was a fair distance outside of Ponyville, and they were more than a mile away from the farmhouse. Even with Pinkie Pie's prodigious lung capacity, they were unlikely to be heard by anypony that wasn't already in the Everfree Forest themselves. And there weren't many ponies with any business in the Everfree. “Or we can land the balloon an' carry it out by hoof,” Applejack said. Both ponies peered over the edge into the darkening greenery. “You just see somethin' move down there?” Pinkie shook her head. “No. I just saw a whole lot of somethings move down there!” Two earth ponies in a balloon above the Everfree tried their level best to scream until Canterlot could hear them. A sunset and two hoarse throats later, Pinkie and Applejack were getting tired. “If we have to,” said Applejack, her voice cracking from all the shouting, “ya think we'll be able ta spend the night up here? I don't much fancy wanderin' through that forest in the dark. Bad enough in the daytime, it is.” Pinkie frowned at the magical heating element. “Twilight's balloon is pretty good for day trips, but it's gonna run out of juice sooner or later.” As if to illustrate, the heater sputtered and winked out for a moment before coughing back to life. She sniffed. “I'm sorry, Applejack. I just wanted to spend some more time with you. I know we can't be fillyfriends like I wanted, but I thought maybe we could be closer as regular friends. I—” A pair of orange hooves pulled her into a hug. “Shh,” Applejack cooed. “It ain't your fault. If I'd been payin' attention, we'd have been able ta turn around before we got out over the forest.” Pinkie Pie felt her eyes sting as she buried her muzzle into the blonde mane. Applejack doesn't love me, she recited. Pickle barrels. Kumquats. Applejack doesn't love me. “Oh... my.” Two pairs of ears perked up as a soft voice reached them. A pink mane and yellow wings hovered over the tree tops. “Fluttershy!” Applejack cheered. “Boy howdy are we ever glad ta see you! Didja hear us hollerin' all the way from yer cottage?” Fluttershy alighted on the edge of the basket and shook her head. “I was just going home from Zecora's after picking up some herbs for Mr. Bearington. I looked up and saw Twilight's balloon above me.” Her eyes shifted between the two earth ponies. “Um, why are you flying a balloon out over the Everfree Forest? You know nopony controls the wind out here, right?” “It's a bit of a story,” said Applejack as she offered a rope to the pegasus. “You mind givin' us a tow back to the farm while we tell it?” “Oh. Um, okay.” It was well after dark by the time they landed the balloon on civilized ground. Profuse gratitude and promises of more pies than Fluttershy would ever know what to do with were offered to their savior, who politely replied she was 'happy to help,' and needed to get back to check on Mr. Bearington. “Well, that was an adventure,” Applejack laughed as she helped Pinkie fold up the balloon. “Next time, why don't we aim for a nice game of tic tac toe or somethin'?” “I don't know,” said Pinkie, lowering the magical heating element into a box. “We didn't end up turning a mad god into stone, facing down a dragon, or halting an invasion this time. I'd say today was pretty tame by our standards.” This drew a fresh round of chuckles from the farm pony. “Fair point.” The balloon, when all packed up, fit into its own basket. It was a bit bulky, but no trouble at all for a stout earth pony to carry. “But really, Pinkie. I had a good time today, despite the setbacks. No, probably 'cause of the setbacks.” Pinkie turned to face Applejack. The moonlight glinted off the brim of her hat, and she was wearing that full, honest smile again. “I had a good time, too.” Pinkie leaned forward and shut her eyes. When she opened them again, Applejack's smile was gone. In its place was a heavy blush and a troubled frown. Wait a minute. There was a piece missing from this puzzle. First Applejack was smiling. Then Pinkie had closed her eyes and leaned forward... “Pinkie...” Lips. Lips were the missing piece. Warm, soft lips, with a hint of salty sweat left on them from the day's work. Lips had happened, and then Applejack had stopped smiling. Pinkie coughed. “Well! I better get Twilight her balloon back! I mean, she only lent it to me for the afternoon, what if she wants to go on a night flight or something?” She hoisted the balloon onto her back and decided to see how fast she could gallop while carrying a heavy load. It was hard to run straight when her eyes stung so bad, but she knew the way to Twilight's library. “Pinkie Pie, stop!” Pinkie Pie did not stop. She had spent the whole day not doing what Applejack told her. Why should she start now? Applejack doesn't love me. Chimicherrychangas. Applejack doesn't love me.