//------------------------------// // Chapter three // Story: For Days That Fell Like Leaves // by flutterdashforever //------------------------------// Three are the friends that you can trust... Rainbow awoke to the sound of soft breathing. She felt warm and safe. The dreams had left her alone last night, finally allowing her tormented mind some rest. She opened her eyes blearily. Across from her was the peaceful sleeping face of Fluttershy. Yesterday’s events came rushing back and Rainbow couldn’t help the small smile that spread across her face. She knew that there would undoubtedly be a whole lot of complications to accompany this new development, but that seemed less terrifying than it maybe should. A few more contented moments passed before Rainbow realised she was in bed with Fluttershy. This could very easily get very awkward. Rainbow rolled over, trying hard not to disturb the bed too much. She found her gait unsteady after the events of the day before. She sighed, feeling the weight pressing in again. This was the same weight that had kept her awake at nights and made the thought of food churn her stomach. There was a rustle from behind and then there were warm hooves on her back. They began gently massaging, loosening tension that Rainbow hadn’t even known was there. She felt her muscles go limp under the gentle caress, her wings falling uselessly to her sides. She gave a deep involuntary sigh. She could feel the tears trying to come back, could feel the thin layer of control she had built slowly slipping. Rainbow pulled away, turning to face a confused and still sleepy Fluttershy. She tried for a week smile that wound up feeling more like a grimace. “Good morning, Shy...” She trailed off, unsure what was expected of her. Should she offer to make breakfast? Maybe that would seem a little too… and anyway, she was no good at cooking. Usually she just made do with microwave oats. “How are you feeling?” Fluttershy blinked and the sleepiness was gone, instantly replaced with a concern and care so sincere Rainbow flinched. “I’m fine…. About last night, I’m sorry I dumped all that on you, I’ve just had a stressful few weeks.” “Rainbow…” “But I’m sure you’ve got things you need to be doing. Uh…” “Don’t you dare.” The words were quiet but held the force of a gunshot. Fluttershy turned her gaze on Rainbow. Her eyes burned with fierce protectiveness despite being glazed with tears. “Now you can pretend to all the others and I don’t really care what you say to Twilight but you do not cut me out of this. You especially do not cut me out after how I saw you last night. By the looks of you, you haven’t had a decent night’s sleep for a while and haven’t had a meal in longer, so you do not try to pretend like nothing’s wrong.” The smile, however false, fell from Rainbow’s face. Her entire posture slumped and if she wasn’t careful, she was going to actually give in to the temptation to let Fluttershy stay. Her heart throbbed, desperate to feel as at peace as she had last night. She shook her head. “I already said I was sorry for last night. I need to be alone right now.” Fluttershy opened her mouth, then closed it, a strange fire igniting in her eyes. “If you can look me in the eye, if you can tell me you really want to be alone right now, then I’ll leave.” She set her gaze on Rainbow, locking her eyes in place. Rainbow shuddered, and found she couldn’t do it. She fell forward, only to be caught in a warm embrace. “Now, as long as I’m staying, how about I get you some breakfast?” Rainbow gave a choked laugh. “I have microwave oats.” “So this is what I don’t get,” said Fluttershy, breaking a silence that had lasted most of the way through breakfast. Rainbow looked up, a question in her eyes. “Why the house?” She continued. “I mean, if you don’t mind me asking. Why did you go to such trouble to build a house that’s… well, more like a palace, really?” Rainbow pushed the sticky mass of oats around in her bowl. If it were possible to ruin oats, Fluttershy had done so. It really was amazing that she could prepare food for so many animals and still make Rainbow herself look like a gourmet cook. Besides, her appetite still wasn’t back and she felt more like throwing up than eating. “Why not?” she asked, shrugging. “I had the skill and I certainly had the time. I never planned for it to get this big, just, every time I walked in, it felt like it was missing something. Before I knew it, I was adding the hundredth room.” “And did it ever work? Is it done?” Rainbow looked around and shuddered a little. “No.” Silence prevailed again, leaving room for all the little sounds. A breeze whistled slowly through the open window, playing lightly across Fluttershy’s silky fur. Her mane shifted a little, disturbed from its usual position. Rainbow sighed and pushed her bowl away untouched. Fluttershy noticed the motion and gave a wan smile. “I’m sorry, I don’t often cook for myself and when I do, I usually end up ordering in.” She rubbed her hooves together nervously, seemingly unaware of the gesture. “Would you like to go out somewhere for breakfast?” Rainbow felt a surge of panic well up within her. Obviously, Fluttershy saw the emotion written on her face, as she said, “Don’t worry, we don’t have to tell any of the others what happened.” Rainbow smiled gratefully. “Yet,” said Fluttershy, raising her hoof. “This is part of who you are now, they’re going to have to know eventually.” Rainbow sighed. It seemed to come in waves; one moment, she felt almost normal and she could forget that anything was wrong, then something would remind her, a word, a gesture, a stray thought and suddenly she was chest deep in constricting panic. She felt as though her lungs were being compressed and nothing was ok, everything was coming apart at the seams and why couldn’t she just breathe? She tried to fight down the rising panic, only barely succeeding when she felt herself enveloped in a warm embrace. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think… I thought you could….” Fluttershy trailed off, instead just holding Rainbow until the world stopped pressing in. Rainbow righted herself, taking in a shaky breath. “I’m alright I just…” “If you don’t want to go out for breakfast, that’s fine. I just thought it might be good for you to get out of the house.” “You’re right. It’s just… could we maybe go somewhere quiet? I don’t want to be running into Pinkie when I feel like this.” Fluttershy nodded, her mane flopping forward a little as she did so. “Mhm, I know a nice place on the edge of town, really small with friendly staff. Um, Rainbow?” “Yea?” Fluttershy’s smile was cheeky. “You might want to wash up a bit before going out.” Rainbow flushed. She looked down at her coat, curling up inside into a little ball of quivering shame. Her sky-blue coat was oily and tussled. Her feathers were ruffled to the point of being dangerous to fly on. Her mane was a mess, well, more of a mess than usual. She smelled of stale sweat and self-pity. It really was a mystery how she had even gotten Big Mac to agree…. She swatted away the unpleasant thought, before it could reduce her to a sobbing heap once more. She looked back at Fluttershy whose playful smile could not mask the underlying concern. “Yea, I’ll do that,” said Rainbow, to break the tension. “Good.” Rainbow turned and headed in the direction of her favourite bathroom. It was a fair way from the main living area but well worth the drip. As she stepped inside, she happily inhaled the scent of bath essences. She had only ever found the one supplier of the particular coat shampoo she used and, despite the hefty price, never used anything else. Spring Sky, it was called and a more apt name had never been chosen. The scent was fresh, like flying through a heavy cloud and soft like the slightly tangy smell of fresh rain on grass. “Mmm, I always wondered how you made your coat smell like that.” Rainbow yelped and whirled around. Fluttershy was standing there, face a little pink. “I mean, uh, It’s a unique smell, I thought it just came from weather patrol.” “Fluttershy, what are you doing in here?” Fluttershy’s face went hard again, that same spark reigniting in her eyes. “If you think I’m leaving you alone for one second, you are very mistaken.” “I can bathe on my own, besides…” She scuffed the ground, feeling her cheeks heat. Fluttershy sighed. “Oh come on. We took showers together in high school, didn’t we? Nothing’s changed.” Rainbow huffed and, not feeling up to another argument, turned on the hot water. It wasn’t as if the shower was too small. This bathroom was her favourite for a reason. The shower was huge; at least six feet across with a nozzle big enough to make the torrent of water feel like a scalding rain. Rainbow sighed as her muscles relaxed. The hot water felt amazing, washing away the tension of weeks. She raised her hooves, passing them through her tangled mane. She flinched when she felt them being moved gently aside. There was the squirting noise of her shampoo bottle and Fluttershy was massaging the suds into her friend’s scalp. Rainbow shivered, this being the first real contact she’d had since… well, there had been the night Fluttershy had spent in her bed but that felt different somehow. Rainbow’s muscles tensed up again, but then she relaxed. Why complain? It was nice and she figured she probably deserved a little nice. She didn’t say a word as Fluttershy moved on to lathering her coat, then passing a brush through her mane and tail. Her touch was gentle as ever, never resting in any one place too long. When the hot water had finally washed away the last remnants of soap, Rainbow climbed out of the shower, somewhat glad when Fluttershy allowed her to dry herself off. She felt warm, as close to content as she could be. The two made their way to the front door in silence. Fluttershy seemed to be giving her space to think and Rainbow appreciated it. There was so much to deal with; what would she tell her friends? Would there be a flair up like there had been when Fluttershy came out? How would Twilight react, knowing she had caused it? Rainbow was so lost in thought that she hardly noticed the chill air blow the last drops of water from her coat. She was just present enough to follow Fluttershy to a cute little café at the edge of Ponyville. They found seats and, as she was scanning the menu, Fluttershy decided to break the silence. “You should go and visit with Applejack when you feel up to it.” Rainbow felt her stomach tighten at the very thought. “After the thing with Big Mac? There’s no way she’d be happy to see me. What I did… it wasn’t alright.” “So you’re just never going back?” Fluttershy looked sceptical. “Well… no, I just don’t—” She sighed. “It’s too soon. I’m already dumping something pretty huge on her.” She gave a shaky laugh. “Hey there, Applejack. Sorry I rutted your brother then flew away and didn’t explain why. How’s he doing? Oh, by the way, Twilight hit me with a spell that made me gay, so now I’m here to rut you too.” For a moment, blink and she’d have missed it, Rainbow could have sworn that Fluttershy’s expression shifted to one of hurt. Half a second later and it was gone, replaced with a wry smile. “Well, perhaps you shouldn’t put it quite like that.” “Yea, maybe she’ll just laugh it off.” Rainbow glared moodily at her menu. “Can I take your order?” Rainbow looked up at the waiter. He was chestnut brown with a black mane and kind brown eyes. In his hooves, he held a note book, pen poised over a page. “Uh, large stack with maple syrup and ice cream,” she said, rattling off her usual order in lieu of having to think of one. The stallion turned to Fluttershy. “And…?” “Just a fruit salad, please.” “Right away, Fluttershy,” he said, smiling. The stallion walked away and, eager for a new topic, Rainbow said, “You know him?” “Hmm? Oh, that’s Jot. He only puts on that Italian accent because he thinks it impresses ponies.” She shook her head realising she had been side tracked. “You know she wouldn’t say anything negative. When I came out, all she did was hug me and say that if I needed anything I should go straight to her.” “I didn’t hear her say…” Fluttershy looked down at her hooves. “You had already left.” Rainbow, too, looked down at her hooves as a tense silence fell between the two ponies. After a while, Rainbow said, “I’m really sorry about how I acted.” She sighed, knowing that this apology had been a long time in coming. She had never really made amends for how she had first reacted. Now that the time had come, she found herself grasping for words, unsure how to make Fluttershy realise that she really was sorry. “There’s no excuse for the way I acted. I just wanted so much to believe nothing had changed. I used to love talking to you about hot colts and comparing Blaze Sentry to a sexless eunuch. I wanted to believe that was real. Finding out that, not only was it not, but that you were putting on an act because you thought I couldn’t deal with who you really were…” she sighed again, unsure where this was going. “I just wanted you to know that I’m really sorry.” Fluttershy looked a little conflicted, caught between sadness and the desire to forgive. Sadness won and she said. “But you couldn’t deal with who I was, with who I am.” Rainbow didn’t flinch, just lowered her head. “Yea, I know. That’s probably one of the most painful things about this whole situation. The second you trusted me with a secret, I went and threw it in your face.” Fluttershy looked as though Rainbow’s speech had taken her a little by surprise. There was a flicker, as though she was going to push her emotions behind a mask again, but then she gave a cautious smile. It was small but it was genuine, and that’s what made Rainbow feel like she could breathe again. “I guess we all make stupid mistakes.” Rainbow laughed, a self-deprecating laugh. “Kinda feels like justice, doesn’t it?” “I’m not sure I follow.” “Well, think about it; I’m a jerk about you being gay, next thing I know, I’m dumped in exactly the same boat.” “Can’t judge a pony until you’ve walked a mile in her shoes,” said Fluttershy. “You don’t often wear shoes, I don’t often wear shoes, the only pony I’ve seen wear shoes is Applejack and they’re more like boots anyway.” Fluttershy smiled, seeming glad of the more light hearted rout the conversation was taking. “Are you saying you couldn’t empathise with me because of my choice in footwear?” Rainbow snickered. “That and your taste for pussy.” “Uh, your pancakes,” said a furiously blushing Jot, placing a pile of golden deliciousness in front of Rainbow. He turned to Fluttershy, seemingly unable to meet her eyes. “Your fruit salad.” He scurried away, leaving Rainbow to grin sheepishly. Fluttershy was less than impressed. “That should raise some interesting questions from my husband,” she said, levelling a glare at Rainbow. “Um… husband?” Rainbow asked, utterly bewildered. “Yes, the husband I described to Jot when he asked me out. Did you know I’m married to a big, white, extremely possessive stallion?” Fluttershy asked sweetly. Rainbow scuffed a hoof on the grass. “Oh… sorry.” Fluttershy sighed, dropping the glare and looking at her hooves. “Don’t be. That was before I came out. I’ve been meaning to tell him but I always chicken out.” There was a lull in the conversation as both mares set about their respective meals. Rainbow was able to ponder her little slip for exactly three point one four one five nine seconds before the flavour hit her tongue. She had forgotten how good food tasted and she suddenly found herself ravenous. She gulped down the food, not caring about the stomach ache and brain freeze that were inevitable after such an action. After a few more ponderous bites, Fluttershy asked, “When are you planning on telling the others?” Rainbow pressed her hooves to her temples, deciding that the brain freeze had prevented her from hearing that last sentence. “Remind me to eat slower next time.” “Rainbow…” “I mean, it’s probably worse because I haven’t eaten in a while but you should warn me next time.” "Rainbow..." "And that's nothing compared to the stomach ache. I mean, it's totally worth it, but still..." “Rainbow!” “What do you want from me?” Rainbow snapped, jumping to her feet. “Do you want me to get a megaphone and walk around the street shouting that Twilight zapped me with a gay spell? Do you want me to get a hot mare and sex her up at the couples’ night? My head is still spinning, I have no idea what the hell I’m going to do with the rest of my week let alone the rest of my life and you want to help me with my grand coming out?” Rainbow’s eyes flared, her anger finally spilling into the shape of something she could use. “You know what? That’s damn rich coming from you. You haven’t even told anyone but your closest friends. Hell, you can play the straight mare and damn you do it well. So forgive me if I can still barely cope with the fact that the pony of my dreams no longer has the right equipment to get me off.” She stepped back, throwing her chair to the ground in the process. “So if you want my honest answer, it’s never. I’m not going to tell them a fucking thing! I’m not going to show up at the couples' night and I’m not going to take any more of this honesty crap! Here’s a helpful tip: in the future, if you want to lead by example, don’t be such a hypocrite!” Rainbow turned to fly away, ready to take off and who cared if she was ever seen again. She was stopped by a hoof on her shoulder. She turned, expecting to see those caring, painfully sympathetic eyes staring back at her. Instead, she was gazing into pure rage. Before now, she had never had any idea what it was like to be on the receiving end of what was so foalishly called “The stare.” It was like looking into the very source of fire. She felt so small and so fragile. “Don’t you dare.” Fluttershy punctuated each word by tapping her hoof into Rainbow’s chest. “You think this is easy for me? You think I don’t hate being stared at? Who do you think I am? I couldn’t be a lousy model because I couldn’t stand ponies looking at me, seeing me. So yes, I was scared, but I’m not seeing a whole lot more bravery from your front so maybe this is just scary, no matter what. Unlike me, though, you don’t have to do this alone, you don’t have to walk away from this. Do you know how selfish that would be? Do you have any idea what I would have given for someone who would give a crap if I killed myself?” That sentence snapped the spell and Rainbow’s mind reeled away, stung. “You think I wouldn’t have cared? You’re one to talk about selfish. Oh poor Fluttershy had to go through coming out alone, had to face all this on her own. Maybe the reason I reacted so badly wasn’t about you being gay; maybe it was that you never trusted me enough to tell me. I could have—” Rainbow felt her voice hitch and was surprised to feel tears trickling down her cheeks. She lowered her voice, allowing the words to come out clearly. “I could have protected you if you had just let me in. I could have saved you from going through it alone. But no, little martyr Fluttershy has to do it all herself because heaven forbid that brash brazen Rainbow Dash ever show a shred of decency.” As she panted, Rainbow noticed with strange detachment that Fluttershy, too, was crying. Even so, her voice was filled with that same quiet anger. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.” Rainbow felt like screaming. “Then fucking tell me!” Fluttershy moved closer, her eyes blazing and, in that moment, Rainbow fully expected Fluttershy to punch her. Then her eyes went blank, all emotions once more hidden away, and then she wished that she had. Fluttershy sat back down at the table, righting her own chair and returning to her salad. “It was nice talking with you, Rainbow.” Now Rainbow did scream, the sound filled with frustration and pain. There was a flash and she was gone, recklessly fast, but that’s what Fluttershy had expected. Fluttershy sighed, dropping the mask as soon as Rainbow was out of sight. After a moment, she felt a hoof on her shoulder. “You know you should go after her.” She turned to see Jot, looking at her with a sad expression on his face. “I know.” “You’re going to?” “Yes.” He hesitated, seeming a little unsure of himself, but ploughing on anyway. “Because you have feelings for her?” “No. Because she deserves a friend right now. My feelings for her are not important.” Fluttershy took strength from the simple act of committing to a course of action. Jot shook his head, his eyes a little misty. When he spoke, the fake Italian lilt was back. “Ah, Fluttershy, you break my heart.” As he turned to leave, he paused for a moment, saying, “For the record, you could have told me.” Fluttershy stayed there for a while, needing nothing more than to cry for a while. When she was done, she got up, wiped her eyes, paid the bill, and took to the sky, making a beeline for Rainbow’s house. Applejack looked into the mirror, wondering what her face had looked like before all this had happened. Had she always looked so tired? Had her eyes always carried that sadness? She didn’t think so. There was a rustling sound behind her and Big Mac was standing there, solid as ever. “What can you hope to gain by staring at that?” Applejack turned, a sad smile playing on her lips. “I can hope to figure out what went wrong.” Big Mac didn’t shift; he remained as unmoving as a statue, his face as blank as ever. “And how’s that going? Have your friends stopped fighting yet?” Applejack winced a little. It was unusual for Big Mac to confront her like this. Ever since Twilight’s coronation, he had barely spoken beyond what was strictly necessary. “What's got your tail all in a twist?” she asked, turning back to inspecting her reflection. “Looking at that mirror ain’t gonna do much good. If you’re really unhappy with what it shows you, then go and fix what’s wrong.” Applejack looked down at the sink, unable to look at herself any longer. Long moments of silence passed before she whispered. “I’m not sure I can fix this. I’m not even sure it’s my job to fix this.” “And just what in the hay is that supposed to mean? They’re your friends aren’t they? Where do you get off acting like it’s not your responsibility to do what you can? I’ve known you since you were a little filly and I know it ain’t in your nature to give up so easy. So you get out there and you fix this. Dun’ matter whether it’s your job or not, if you don’t do it, who will?” Applejack allowed herself one last sigh before hardening her resolve. Big Mac was right; this was something she had to do. She moved forward and wrapped him in a tight hug. She then kissed him on the cheek and said, “Thanks big brother.” before slipping out the door. Applejack wasn’t sure what she would say to Spike when she arrived at the library. He had been extremely protective of Twilight since Fluttershy came out, deciding, perhaps, that someone had to be. There were no long lines of ponies queuing up to be Twilight’s friend right now. He was more tolerant of Applejack, simply because she had been the only one to enter with words of persuasion rather than anger, but tolerance only went so far. Applejack suspected that, when she did arrive, there was every chance he would deny her entry. It was a hot day for the time of year, the pleasant temperature of spring yielding prematurely to the broiling heat of summer. The air was thick with the scent of flowers, lending a sickly sweet texture to the already stifling atmosphere. As it turned out, when Applejack reached the library, Spike gave her one look, then gestured over his shoulder with a thumb. “She’s in the kitchen.” Applejack made to move inside, then stopped. “Spike, are you alright? You look mighty tired.” It was true. Spike’s face was drawn and there were dark rings under his eyes. He looked physically and emotionally drained. “I’m fine,” he said, not meeting her eyes. “Lying to the element of honesty? That’s a new one.” Spike glared up at her, the exhaustion at least partially burned away by a sudden spark of anger. “What do you expect me to say? Everything I thought I had has fallen apart around me, the most important pony in my life is miserable, all her friends have turned on her because they’ve chosen to side with the pony I actually think is in the right and I can’t say that because someone needs to be there for Twilight. So I’m great, thanks for asking.” He strode past Applejack, knocking her shoulder in passing. All Applejack could think to say was, “Where are you going?” “Does it matter?” Applejack told herself that, had she not something more important to do, she would have gone after him. In reality, she wouldn’t know what to say. What could she say? Would she tell him that everything would be alright? The truth was that it probably wouldn’t be. It was sometimes easy to forget how much Spike looked up to Twilight. He had adored her like a big-sister since the day he hatched and having to face this ugly facet to her character couldn’t be easy. What could Applejack say that wouldn’t sound like empty platitudes? She turned her back, disgusted. Being the element of honesty was all well and good until she wanted to lie to herself, then it was a real bitch. She walked inside, too lost in thought to really watch where she was going. When she reached the kitchen, she found Twilight sitting at the table, a glass of lemonade in front of her. She looked up, not seeming surprised when she saw Applejack standing in the doorway. “Hello, Applejack. Anything I can do for you?” She asked, without much hope. Applejack doubted any ponies had been to the library for a book in weeks. “Can we talk for a minute?” Twilight gazed dispassionately at her lemonade, looking as though she blamed all her troubles on a combination of water, sugar and lemon juice. “What would you like to talk about?” Applejack took her time to form a response, pouring herself a glass of lemonade from the jug on the table top. She sat back and breathed a sigh. “Do you remember when you first found out about Pinkie-Sense?” It was a rhetorical question and so Applejack didn’t wait for an answer before continuing. “You were so desperate to figure out how it worked that I thought you’d go mad.” She chuckled. “I guess you did go mad in the end. What I always found strange, though, was that it was never the Pinkie-Sense itself that bugged you; it was the fact that there was something in this world that you couldn’t understand or explain. No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t rationalize it. I was so impressed when you finally accepted her for who she was and moved on.” She looked speculatively at the table. “I don’t think the others ever fully appreciated how hard it was for you to do that.” Twilight seemed transfixed with one spot on the floor, as though her very life would someday depend on her ability to draw every detail perfectly. She didn’t seem keen on saying anything, though, so Applejack continued. “You learned a lot of things that day, but the one I was most impressed by was that you accept your friends for who they are. You accept them and you love them, warts and all. What happened, Twi? What changed?” Twilight looked up and finally, finally, there was a tiny trace of doubt in her eyes. “I don’t know. I just— I couldn’t— it was too….” She looked away, seeming unable to hold Applejack’s gaze for more than about five seconds at a time. “I can’t do it. It’s too weird. What if she’s looking at me? What if she’s looking at one of you guys? What if she wants to eventually get married? Wouldn’t she just be happier if she was normal?” Applejack was very conscious, at that moment, to keep her temper in check. All her previous discussions with Twilight had ended with Applejack losing her cool over some stupid, homophobic remark and leaving before she could do any real good. She took a deep breath and said, “Don’t you get it? This isn’t a choice, this is who she is.” Twilight looked shifty, instantly setting off all kinds of alarm bells in Applejack’s head. “What if it was a choice? What if I could make her normal?” “What are you talking about?” “I was doing some research and I worked out that I could probably make a spell that would make Fluttershy straight.” Applejack felt her stomach clench with anger. “You did what?” Twilight, apparently sensing the approaching storm, said, “Don’t you see how easy this makes things? I just get her to come over and I—” Applejack held up a slightly shaking hoof. “Twilight, I love you, but if you finish that sentence I will walk out that door and I will never walk back through it, do you understand me?” Twilight flinched back, closing her mouth. “Yes.” “Now I’ve tried to be supportive, I’ve tried to help you get you through this at your own pace and I’ve tried to be your friend. This ain’t about that anymore. Fluttershy is a strong, clever, brave, loving, beautiful, gay pony. You have to get this, Twilight: she ain’t our friend despite her sexuality, we love her for it. We accept that we don’t understand and we love her for challenging our assumptions.” Applejack sat back, giving Twilight an appraising stare, not much liking what she saw. “Look, you’ve lost Rainbow Dash, you’ve lost Fluttershy, you’ve lost Rarity and you’ve damn near lost me. Now you can fix this, you can waltz up to Fluttershy, drop to your knees and pray that she’s a better pony than you. She won’t forgive you right away and I suspect Rainbow will take longer still, but they will forgive you eventually. Hell, if you’re real lucky, they may even laugh about it someday, but I promise you, there are no friends at the end of the road you’re on.” A few moments passed, wherein, Twilight occupied herself by scuffing at the hardwood floor with a hoof. She seemed to be struggling with something, which was at least better than righteous certainty. After a few minutes, Applejack raised the glass of lemonade to her lips, only to find it held in place by a glowing purple nimbus. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Applejack tilted her head a little. “And why not?” “Spike made it,” said Twilight, as though that explained it. “So?” She shrugged. “He’s not happy with how I’ve been treating Fluttershy. Since he thinks he can’t openly disagree with me, he finally snapped and decided to forget to add sugar to my lemonade.” Though her tone was light hearted, Twilight could not hide the tears that pooled at the edges of her eyes. Applejack only nodded, deciding not to ask why Twilight had been drinking it anyway. How close had she already been to giving up? Perhaps it was just wishful thinking, but Applejack liked the idea that, just maybe, Twilight would have gotten past her bigotry on her own. She gave a mostly real chuckle. “What, no letter to the princess?” Twilight tried for a smile that, in truth, just looked sad. “I think she’s done enough damage.”