Chapter Four
Feeling Peachy Keen
The smell. That was the first sense that really reminded me where I was, and what I had been missing. The sun was well on its way to its earthly resting spot, and making a valiant effort to create the most alluring scene in all of Equestria.
I was entering Sweet Apple Acres.
“Howdy Twilight! What brings ya down here?”
I lifted a hoof above my eyes to defend them from that alluring scene. Doing so revealed both AJ’s companion and Pinkie Pie to be standing with the farm mare.
“Hey! I had some time off, thought I’d stop by.”
“Princess Twilight Sparkle! It’s a great honor.”
Applejack rolled her eyes as her companion knelt before me.
“Please Julep, I’ve been a friend of AJ’s longer than I’ve been a princess. Just call me Twilight.”
The colt stammered a bit as he stood back up.
“I’m—not quite sure I can get used to that. You’re the first new princess we’ve had since before, well, before any of us were around.”
Applejack turned to Mint Julep.
“You’ve known her for six months now, when will ya get used to it?”
As the two fell into a playful argument, I looked over to the Element of Laughter.
“How have you been, Pinkie Pie?”
There was a surprisingly analytical expression on her face.
“Did you re-style your mane?”
I took a moment to feel my bangs with the edge of my hoof.
“No…”
“Your eyes! It’s your eyes! They’re purple!”
“My eyes have always been purple.”
I looked back at the couple stuck somewhere between a conversation and an argument, and back to Pinkie again. Who was still staring at me.
“Well… anyways, I better—”
“Shoot Twilight, why not stay for a bit t’night! ‘Less you’ve got business…”
I was surprised and, admittingly, relieved at how quickly Applejack changed gears. My thoughts began lingering back to the recent attack, but…
“I’d love to stay for a while!”
* * *
I enjoyed a pleasant meal with my friends for most of the evening, Pinkie returning home after, and Mint, lingering for a few hours, returned after her. AJ gave him a soft, verbal cue to leave (one I expect I wasn’t supposed to decode). I sat alone in the dining room with Applejack for a while, talked briefly, before she suggested we finish the night on the porch, watching the sun sink beneath the horizon.
On our way out, AJ gave me a fleeting alert before tossing an object towards me from her muzzle. I instinctually threw a hoof up, but the shock left me clumsy, and I could barely save the bottle with the grasp of my magic.
“Sorry; couldn’t give much of uh warning.”
I rotated the bottle in front of me, noticing the lack of a label.
“Homemade cider?”
“Yeah—and not the kind I’d be givin’ Apple Bloom, neither.”
I snickered at the comment.
“I can’t imagine Celestia would approve of this.”
“Then it’s a good thing she won’t be findin’ out.”
I took a moment to mull it over. An image of Celestia flashed through my mind; her mane flowing softly in the breeze that carried the curtains, the smoke rising from her lips—
“I’ll stay for a few.”
“Knew ya would. Besides, don’t you have one of those fancy chariots to get you around?”
“It’s only supposed to be used for emergencies and public appearances… but yeah, I could totally call it in.”
We spent the evening bouncing back and forth between several subjects, and sharing stories of the mostly mundane happenings in our lives; a huge relief for me, but I could tell my friend was interested in more than the last great novel I had read.
“So… your plate’s been rather full lately.”
“Oh Applejack, I get so tired sometimes. With the attack on Las Pegasus, and the Cloudsdale bombings still in recent memory… It’s terrible what some ponies will do.”
“Still leaning t’wards the ponies themselves, huh; not the ancient weapon technology we found?”
I snickered while looking down at my drink. Applejack took only a moment.
“Ya don’t wanna be talkin’ politics right now.”
“I see an awful lot of it.”
AJ took a drink before moving on.
“So—what do ya wanna talk about?”
“How’s Apple Bloom been; I mean, did she get that job?”
“Aheh…”
Applejack laid her empty bottle on the ground next to her.
“Yeah my lil’ sis is all grown up and gettin’ into construction… mom n’ dad probably should’ve left more ambiguity in her name...”
I laughed at the comment before enjoying another sip; a dry, distinguished apple bite, trailed by a more subdued aftertaste.
“She’ll be okay. She’s got a pretty good role model.”
Applejack gave me a smirk before sharing a silent break in our conversation with me. I became lost in its embrace—so lost, in fact, that I had to ask for AJ to repeat herself when she ended the silence.
“...I just got ta thinkin’ about your transition Twilight. Seems like only yesterday we were introduced at the Summer Sun Celebration; now you’re up and runnin’ a country.”
“I’m still reeling.”
A quick glance at the bottle revealed what little of its contents were left.
“Sometimes I feel like I’m not even ready for what’s coming.”
“...You’ve been through a lot, Twilight. More’n anybody should have to go through. For me, it’s times like these that keep stuff together. The—simplicity of it all. And remember that we’ll always be here, when things get too fast, n’ too complex.”
I hadn’t realized I was smiling until after Applejack finished her words. I turned to the setting sun, and reflected on the evening.
I liked simple.
* * *
“...Who was she?”
I stumbled back from Celestia in a cold sweat, as she slowly began to approach me.
“Twilight—”
"WHO WAS SHE?"
Celestia delivered her answer in a grave tone.
“They found Pinkie Pie in her home, suffering from an apparent bullet wound. She didn’t make it to the hospital.”
In the long, silent seconds that followed, I fell through a plethora of emotions. Most of them were foreign. After a while, I regained composure, and remembered the attributes that so tightly held my life together: logic, perseverance, certainty.
“Show me the body…”
“Twilight. I know this is sudden—”
“Show me.”
Celestia knew I wasn’t going to budge.
“Very well.”
* * *
And if you're new, that meant you haven't met anyone yet, and if you haven't met anyone yet, you must not have any friends, and if you don't have any friends then you must be lonely, and that made me so sad, then I had an idea, and that's why I went ‘I must throw a great big ginormous super-duper spectacular welcome party and invite everyone in Ponyville!’ See? And now you have lots and lots of friends!
I couldn’t believe it. Just before me, the lifeless body of my friend. Celestia remained still as I began to approach Pinkie, lifting a hoof to the edge of the table she was lying on.
“I… I just saw her, yesterday…”
I observed the wound lodged almost symmetrically between Pinkie’s eyes.
A clean shape—likely an entrance wound—
I hung my head and closed my eyes as hard as I could, as if the reality would change when I opened them again. Tears began clawing their way to the surface, and I did nothing to stop it.
I retreated to the warm embrace of my mentor, and for several moments, that was enough. Then a final foreign emotion began to grow deep inside of me. Twisted and grotesque, its form cast a shadow over my diminutive logic, and stirred me to action.
I was livid.