//------------------------------// // Chapter 02 // Story: Just A Couple of Ponies // by Tchernobog //------------------------------// “… and let it simmer for ten minutes.” Twilight sat at her kitchen table, admiring the orange pony at the stove. “I love watching you cook.” She grinned. “Especially in that apron.” Applejack glanced down at her frilly, pink ‘Kiss the Cook’ apron, and rolled her eyes at Twilight. “Only for you, Sparky. 'Sides, someone's gotta cook for ya, without burnin' your home down.” Twilight groaned. “A.J., when I said it was fine for you to give me a pet name…" “Well, y’won't let me call ya Twily, and I really like that one!” Twilight grunted. “Nope, sorry. My brother uses that, and I’d rather think I’m snuggling you at night, not him.” She stood up, grinning. “And anyway, why would I need to cook, when I've got a beautiful, gentle, demure country housewife doing my cooking?” She punctuated each word with a step, and leaned in to kiss Applejack’s cheek. The farmpony raised an eyebrow, fighting to hide the smile that was threatening to appear. “This country housewife will do the cookin', if her rough and tough country stallion works th'fields and tends th’livestock.” She leveled her best glare at the alicorn. “Big Mac can give ya some tips if’n y’need them.” They held gazes, the air thick with tension, then both burst out laughing. “‘Sides,” Applejack said once she caught her breath, “you ain't the best of cooks.” Twilight lifted a hoof in mock offense. “Hey, I'm adequate!” she said, earning a snort from Applejack. “True. Least you ain't as bad as Dash.” “Dash is a bad cook?” “She lit her kitchen on fire once.” Twilight blinked. “But isn't her kitchen made of–” “Yes.” “… wow.” The pair fell silent as Applejack returned to her cooking, and Twilight contemplated just how Dash could have managed such a feat. It wasn’t until Applejack had set the plates on the table that Twilight snapped back to attention. She breathed in the aroma, practically salivating at it. The fork was millimeters away from her mouth when she heard the knock. Twilight turned around, glaring through the kitchen door, then turned back to eat her food. Spike could take care of it. A second knock was heard as she munched on her dinner. Spike was clearly taking his time. Maybe he was napping? “Spike’s with the crusaders, y’know,” Applejack said, between bites. Oh. Right. “Oh, all right,” she grumbled as she stood up. The kitchen door flew open at the touch of her magic, quickly followed by the front door as she trotted into the main library, Applejack close behind. Any annoyance she felt at her meal being interrupted vanished as she saw who was at the door. “Fluttershy! Rarity! Come in!” She turned back to Applejack, but instead found herself faced with Pinkie’s blue eyes. “Hi!” “Er. Hi, Pinkie. When did you get here?” Pinkie shrugged. “I don’t know! I came here to find a cookbook to make waffles, but then I found these comics and I’ve been here ever since!” Twilight looked down, seeing the strewn comics for the first time. “Uh, those are Spike’s. Put them back when you’re done with them?” Pinkie grinned as widely as ever. “Okay!” Shaking her head in amusement, Twilight turned back to the new arrivals. “Sorry about that. What’s up?” Rarity smiled at Twilight, her expression turning to shock as she noticed Applejack behind her. “Oh my. If we've caught you during an intimate moment we can always come back?” Twilight looked confused. “No? It’s just dinner.” “I see. Well then.” Rarity and Fluttershy shared a look, the latter blushing furiously. Now that they were here, in front of the ponies whom this issue concerned, the task seemed quite a bit larger than they’d been picturing. Through an unspoken agreement, Fluttershy deferred to Rarity. Independently, they decided if their friends did not consider answering the door in a frilly pink apron to be an issue, they would not be the ones to make it one. A tiny part of the unicorn’s mind was unsurprised at this, but that thought was shoved aside as she turned her attention back to Applejack and Twilight. Her gaze settled on the alicorn. “Twilight, darling. You remember our earlier conversation?” Twilight took but a moment to think back. “About the dress? Yes, of course. Was there a problem fixing it?” she asked, suddenly concerned. “Oh, not at all; it’ll be done by Tuesday. But that isn’t exactly the conversation I meant,” she said, and cleared her throat. “The one that followed that.” Twilight frowned, wondering what the unicorn was talking about. “Remind me?” Rarity winced. She hadn’t wanted to go into too much detail. “We spoke about your date today.” “Oh, is that all?” Twilight grinned sheepishly, relief evident in her face. “What about it?” “Something you said about Rainbow Dash gave me pause. I became… suspicious of something. After I spoke to Fluttershy here,” Rarity said, waving a hoof at the pegasus who gave a slight jump at being suddenly thrust into the conversation, “my suspicions grew stronger. After speaking with Rainbow Dash herself, I am now quite sure.” Applejack rolled her eyes. “Get to th’point, Rarity. What the hay are you talking about?” “I was getting there! I was just setting up the mood,” Rarity huffed, ignoring the deadpan look Applejack was giving her. Rarity’s gaze flicked back and forth between the farmpony and the princess, and she took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. "Rainbow Dash has taken an interest in you." She was met with silence, and confused looks. “What, that it?” Applejack asked. Rarity blinked. They knew? She could have sworn that the pair had been oblivious. “You – you knew?” "Well, yeah, ponies tend to find their friends interestin’. It’s just natural." Or maybe they don’t know. "No,no. She has… a certain desire for your company." "We like hanging out with her too, what's the problem?" Twilight asked, looking askance at Applejack. The farmpony shrugged in return. Rarity stared at them, slack jawed, and turned to Fluttershy in hopes of help. But the pegasus’s eyes widened as she met Rarity’s gaze, then shifted to staring at the ground. The unicorn sighed, pressing a hoof to her forehead. "Fine, I shall put it in simpler terms. She wants to be more than just friends." "Oh," the pair chorused. "Oh?" Rarity repeated, when no further comment was forthcoming. Applejack frowned, confused. "Aren’t we already?" "… What?" Had she indeed catastrophically misread the situation after all? "After all we've been through? We're PFFs, right?" Applejack waved a hoof. She rolled her eyes at the blank stares. “ ‘Pony Friends Forever’?” Rarity shook her head. "No! Well, yes! But that's not quite what I meant." "What did you mean then?" Twilight asked. "She wants to be… er… a part of your happy little family." Applejack’s confusion only grew. "She wants t’be my sister?" "Not quite like that, no." "… my mother?" Rarity’s eye twitched, and she threw her hooves in the air as her patience finally shattered. "Oh for Celestia's sake, no! Rainbow Dash has fallen in love with you! With both of you!" She blinked, and sat herself back down, her cheeks burning slightly at having lost control in such a fashion. She blinked again as she took notice of Applejack and Twilight’s expressions. The farmpony’s lips twitched upwards as she gave a hollow laugh. “Alright Rarity, you had me goin’ there for a moment. Now I know yer just pullin’ my leg.” Pinkie burst out giggling before the unicorn could reply. “That was a great joke! Good one Rarity!” “… she’s not joking,” Twilight said quietly, still staring at Rarity. “Are you?” Rarity shook her head, with Fluttershy following suit. “I’m afraid not, darling.” “Where’s your evidence?” Twilight asked, and narrowed her eyes. “This better not be like what happened with Fluttershy and Big McIntosh.” Rarity ignored Fluttershy’s frightened squeak, and the blush that was appearing on her own cheeks. That had not been one of her finer moments. “I admit I may have been seeing what I wished to see there; it would have been most pleasant to see her happy. But I am quite sure this time.” “Well now, it's good that you learned yer lesson, but what makes you think yer right this time? You got anything beyond wishful thinkin'?” Rarity nodded. “Indeed. Your dates. The ones she always seems to join you on.” “Now wait a cherry pickin’ minute here, that’s normal–” “Is it?” Rarity interrupted. “A date is a romantic outing between two ponies. Two.” She let the words sink in for a moment. “How many dates has she joined you on now?” Applejack blinked, at a loss to answer. She shot a questioning look at Twilight, but the alicorn herself seemed just as lost. “I… I’ve lost count. Most of them, recently,” Twilight said. She focused back on Rarity. “But that could mean anything! Maybe she’s just bored?” “Her expression spoke volumes, dear.” Rarity shook her head. “She spoke of you – both of you – like she does of the Wonderbolts. She was singing your praises loud and clear.” “I’ve known Dash since flight school,” Fluttershy said, choosing a moment of quiet to speak up. “I’ve seen her go through a few crushes.” She looked up from the floor she’d still been staring at, and held Twilight and Applejack’s gazes. “She’s definitely crushing on you now. Harder than I’ve ever seen.” “But…" Twilight faltered, the words dying in her mouth. “But we’re in a relationship! She knows that! Why would she do that to herself?” “We don’t believe she’s realized it yet,” Rarity explained. “How in the hay do ya not realize somethin’ like this?” Applejack blurted. “The same way the two of you missed it?” Rarity’s smile was a small, wan thing. “And taking her on these dates… You’re just leading her on.” “Wha– we are not!” Twilight’s ears were laid back, plastered to her skull. “… are we?” “Not on purpose!” Fluttershy reassured them. “But, um. You are, yes. But you had no idea, right?” she asked as the pair’s expressions fell. “How did this happen?” Twilight moaned in dismay. “I can’t even remember!” “Thunderlane,” Applejack muttered after a moment of silence. “Thunderlane?” Twilight repeated. “What do you – Oh!” she said, her eyes widening in realization. “You’re right. It must have been.” Rarity’s quiet cough brought Twilight’s attention back to the rest of the group. “What’s this about Thunderlane, dears?” “Well, y’remember when Dash hooked up with him a few months ago?” Applejack asked, to which everypony nodded. “Me and Twi thought we’d do a double date with them. We got there first, and she arrived alone. He never showed up.” Rarity tutted. “That cad! What happened?” Applejack shrugged. “Turns out he’d plum forgotten. Anyway, Dash stuck with us and we had a heck of a good time together,” she said, her grin matching Twilight’s. “I think that’s when it started.” Twilight nodded. “Then we ran into her again when we were on another date. And we just… invited her along.” “That’s it?” Rarity asked. “You invited her?” Applejack nodded. “Yep. Wasn’t anything to it. We were just chattin’, and there she was. It just felt right.” “Right.” Twilight grinned. “We were talking about where to go next, and then she invited us to go watch some hoofball.” “Hoofball? You?” Rarity stared at Twilight. The alicorn looked sheepish. “Yeah, I almost refused, but Applejack told me it’s a very technical game. And it is!” Twilight beamed. “Did you know that there’s hundreds of formations they use, for any type of situation the teams face? There’s a huge checklist! And–” “Anyway!” Applejack cut in, before Twilight could run off on a tangent. “We had fun at the match, and turned Twi’ into a hoofball fan to boot.” Twilight nodded, blushing. “And don’t forget the museum trip!” “Museum trip?” Fluttershy asked. “My parents told me about this new museum in Canterlot,” the purple mare explained. “I wanted to go, Applejack came along–” “She looks real cute when she’s bouncing up and down at all that stuff,” Applejack quipped, smirking. Twilight pressed forward, ignoring the blush that had appeared on her cheeks. “–and when Dash heard us mention it, she really wanted to go, too.” “But why would Dash want to go to a museum?” Rarity asked. Twilight and Applejack replied at the same time. “Archeology.” “Ah.” Rarity smiled. “Of course.” “So she came along again,” Twilight said. “And I guess we kept inviting her more often after that?” She turned to Applejack, who nodded after a moment of thought. “What happened to Thunderlane?” Fluttershy asked. Applejack shrugged. “Dash dumped him.” Twilight winced as another realization hit her. “I guess this explains why she never found anyone else…" “Oooh! Now I get it!” Pinkie giggled, causing the four other ponies to jump. She’d been so quiet, they’d completely forgotten she was there. “Get what, Pinkie?” Twilight asked. “You two and Dashie had a milkshake at Sugarcube Corner last week, right? And those milkshakes were sooooo good! The strawberry ones are my favorite, because it turns it pink! And it’s so tasty and–” “Pinkie!” Applejack poked the other earth pony with a hoof. “I think yer gettin’ off-topic here.” “Oh, right! Anyway, Dashie spilled her drink and was being a grumpypants, but then you two gave her your milkshake and she was all red when she took a sip! I had no idea why but now I get it!” “There you are!” Rarity exclaimed. “More proof!” “What?” Twilight asked. “Proof? How is that proof?” Rarity rolled her eyes, amused at the continued naïveté of the pair. “Darlings, this is Rainbow Dash. Does she blush over a milkshake?” “But why would she–” Applejack started, only to be interrupted by the unicorn. “Tell me, were you two sharing your milkshake?” The pair nodded. “And a straw?” The pair nodded again, then stopped as they realized the implication. A pair of brilliant blushes lit their cheeks. Twilight met Applejack’s gaze. “Oh gosh… What do we do?” The earth pony shook her head. Rarity cleared her throat. “Let her down gently,” she offered. “That’s all you can do.” Twilight reared back as if struck, her eyes wide with panic. "What do we do? She can't – we can't–” She started hyperventilating as she looked back at her marefriend. “A.J., how do we tell her? She'll be crushed!” She hid her face in her hooves as she moaned in dismay. “This isn't supposed to happen!" Rarity fetched the panicking alicorn a glass of water while Applejack patiently coached Twilight through her breathing exercises. Meanwhile, Fluttershy and Pinkie stood close to each other, the earth pony offering Fluttershy some support as she stared at the floor. She hated being the bringer of bad news. "Okay!" Twilight said as she finally regained control, her magic lighting up. "Um… chalkboard. Chalk. We need to weigh out the pros and cons of different approaches to telling her.” She levitated the chalk and drew multiple sections that she once more divided into two parts. “First method, we break it to her right away. Pro one: If we address it immediately, she might move on quicker and find somepony else.” The chalk scratched against the board as she wrote this down. “Con one: She's probably going to be hurt, as if she just got dumped by both of us!" She stared at the blackboard, unable to write down the con as her breathing started speeding up once more. Rarity took up the role as Applejack helped Twilight calm down once again. Rarity started writing in another section. “Another option is trying to wean her off gradually. Pros: She’ll be less hurt as time goes on.” Twilight groaned. “Con: She’ll still be hurt.” Rarity winced, but wrote it down nonetheless. “Um. You could try to find somepony else she might like?” Fluttershy offered. “An excellent idea, darling. That could end in a wonderful relationship, and she won’t even know she’s moved on!” Rarity quickly wrote those points down. “Con,” Twilight started, staring out of the window, “it could go terribly wrong. She could get hurt by them. We could choose the wrong pony.” Rarity nodded again, eyeing the ever growing list of cons. An hour later, the five friends found themselves staring at a chalkboard filled with pros and cons – mostly the latter. Despite all of the discussion, the group was no closer to a solution. "Why is it so hard to find a good way to do this?" Twilight cried out, glaring daggers at the now filled blackboard. Applejack sighed, placing a hoof on Twilight’s withers. “I don’t think there’s a way to do this without hurtin’ her, Twi.” “Then don’t!” Four sets of eyes turned towards the source of the exclamation. “Pinkie,” Rarity chided, “don’t be silly, they have to.” “No they don’t!” She smiled at the couple. “I mean, you really don’t like the idea, do you?” "Well, no…" Twilight began. “But even if we don’t like it, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it!” "No, silly!” The pink pony giggled. “I mean you’d rather not let her down at all!” Twilight frowned. "But.. we have to?" "Do you really?" She grinned, then headed off to the bookshelves. “Oh hey, there’s the waffle book!” She flipped the pages open, then rushed off to the kitchen, leaving four confused ponies behind. Applejack grunted. “What the hay was that about?” “I don’t know!” Twilight said. “Any idea, gir-Rarity? Are you okay?” Rarity blinked. She’d been staring at the kitchen door, her mouth open in shock. “I – Y-yes, thank you,” she said, and shook herself out of her daze. “I had just never considered what she suggested.” “What? What is she talking about?” Twilight said. “She… er, oh dear.” Rarity gulped. “She’s saying not to reject her at all.” “Oh my goodness…" Fluttershy gasped. “I – but – that!” Twilight paused in an effort to get her brain working. “She can't–” “Just a goldurned minute there,” Applejack interrupted. “Whadd’ya mean, not reject her?” “Well…" Rarity began, figuring out the best way to phrase it. “It’s pretty clear that Rainbow Dash loves you both, yes?” Applejack nodded slowly. “Pinkie is suggesting that… that you let her into your relationship.” Applejack’s eyes widened, and her mouth formed a small ‘o’ of surprise. “Polyamory,” Twilight said, staring off into space. Her wings fluttered in a breeze that wasn't there, then gave a small flap of agitation. Were somepony to have touched her then, they would have found she was trembling slightly. “Gesundheit.” Twilight looked at her marefriend and did her best not to be annoyed. “That’s what it’s called. Where there is one intimate relationship between more than two ponies at a time with the knowledge and consent of everyone involved.” She rolled her eyes at the raised eyebrows pointed her way. “I’ve read about it, okay? It’s not common, but it’s not unheard of.” "Well, it ain't like I never heard of it." Applejack shot an amused look to Twilight. "More than one branch of the Apple family was like that. Only we always just called it a herd. You can call it a polywhatis if ya like." Rarity nodded. “Those relationships are very hard to maintain, however. Or so I hear,” she explained, as the eyebrows turned her way. “What? Mare Monthly had an article on it a few months ago!” "I suppose; my kin seemed to fare just fine. Like my cousin Autumn Glory.” Applejack grinned as she shw always did when talking about her family. “She settled down with a couple stallions. Last reunion, I asked ’er how it worked out. She winked at me and just said 'There's a reason you don't make a two-legged stool.’ ” “That doesn’t help!” Twilight cried out. “We can’t do that! What if it doesn’t work? What if it ruins what Applejack and I have? Why should we risk any of that?” Applejack’s next words completely derailed Twilight’s train of thought. “Because maybe… maybe, it might just be worth it?” Twilight could only stare uncomprehendingly at her marefriend, her wings flared open in shock. The earth pony’s foreleg hugged Twilight closer. “Hear me out, darlin’.” Applejack shifted slightly, facing Twilight directly. “I saw how much it was hurtin’ ya ta think about tellin’ Dash t’go away. It was hurtin’ me, too.” She trailed off, looking Twilight in the eye. “Dash is gonna get hurt if we push her away, no matter how we do it. This is the only thing that won’t.” Applejack put her other hoof on Twilight’s other shoulder. “I think that maybe… it might be worth givin’ it a shot. Who knows, maybe it'll be worth the risk? It may work, it may not.” She gave Twilight a wan smile as she shrugged. “But we can at least say we gave it a try. If that's what we wanna do. Whadd'ya think, darlin'?” Twilight’s mouth opened and closed soundlessly, unable to form any words for an entire minute. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and looked Applejack in the eye. “I – I need some time.” Applejack’s hooves fell to the floor as Twilight vanished in a flash of magic. The earth pony sighed, and faced her friends. “You heard the gal. Mind givin’ us some time alone?” She winced as the three merely nodded, not bothering to wonder when Pinkie had returned. “I mean in a ‘until tomorrow’ kinda sense.” Despite Pinkie’s protests, the farmpony managed to usher the three out of the library, bidding them good night as she closed the door. Applejack sighed, glancing up at the bedroom. Even considering Twilight’s magical skills – she could, theoretically, be anywhere in a dozen kilometer radius – Applejack knew exactly where the her lover would be. She trotted up to Twilight’s bedroom door, giving it a soft knock before entering. The alicorn was exactly where Applejack thought she’d be – lying on her bed, staring up at the now dark sky. She sat down at the foot of the bed, patiently waiting for Twilight. Applejack had asked for a day, but she knew Twilight would just need someone to talk to. “How did we miss it?” Twilight whispered. The earth pony shrugged. “Couldn’t tell ya. Maybe we were just too used to her bein’ there?” “It seems so obvious now.” Applejack nodded. “I reckon it does explain a whole lot.” The alicorn smiled gently. “Do you remember when we all went camping, and Pinkie and Dash forgot their tents?” Applejack chortled. “Dash volunteered mighty quick to bunk with us, didn’t she?” “Yeah…" “An’ what about the picnic today? When we started swappin’ spit?” Despite herself, Twilight let out a snort of amusement. “Oh Celestia, she must have felt so awkward!” “Kinda explains why she was so quick to wanna leave.” "And why she reacted as she did when we told her about the extra sandwiches. Poor Dash.” Twilight shook her head, smiling. The smile faded as Twilight looked at her marefriend. “Aren’t you worried, though?” “I’d be crazy if I weren’t.” Twilight’s wings sagged in relief. “Oh, good, so I’m not the only one that thinks it’ll go badly and we’ll break up with her and then you with me and then we’ll hate each other and the elements of harmony won’t work and then the world is doomed?” Applejack stared at Twilight for a moment before shaking her head. “I admit that hadn’t quite crossed my mind. But thanks fer givin' me that to think about, too, Sugarcube." Twilight gave a wry smile. “You’re welcome.” She sighed happily as Applejack leaned in to nuzzle her, wrapping a wing around Applejack’s withers. The farmpony leaned back, looking Twilight in the eye again. “I ain’t worried about that. I’m worried Dash might still get hurt.” Applejack shrugged. “But she’s strong. An’ she wouldn’t hold it against us. And hey,” she said, grinning as she leaned in, “it might just work after all. Harmony worked out fine for us, right?” Twilight finally relaxed, leaning her forehead against Applejack’s. “Thanks, A.J.. I needed that.” Applejack kissed Twilight on the nose. “You’re welcome. Now I better skedaddle, it’s gettin’ late.” She laughed as Twilight started pouting. “Now don’t make that face! I’ll be back tomorrow. And Sparky needs her sleep or she gets cranky.” Twilight stuck her tongue out as her marefriend made for the door, but started giggling before Applejack made it out. “Applejack?” “Yeah?” “You sure you wanna wear that through town?” The earth pony blinked, then looked down at herself. A pink, frilly apron met her gaze. “… Consarn it. I’ve been wearin’ this thing the entire time?” “You have.” Twilight smirked, and ducked as the apron flew past her head. “Goodnight, Applejack,” she said as Applejack made her way out. “‘Night, Twi. Love ya.” “Love you too,” Twilight replied. She relaxed onto her pillow, staring up at the ceiling. Despite the talk, the back of her mind gnawed with worry. She closed her eyes with a sigh. Perhaps sleep would help after all.