Twilight sat at her desk, she stretched an arm upwards as she yawned. That party really took a lot out of her with all the dancing and singing she did. As a book worm, she wasn’t exactly used to that sort of thing. It had only just ended no more than an hour ago, the dj barely getting her stuff out by now, but she felt like the party happened hours ago. A knock rang out against her door just before it slowly opened.
Applejack peeked into the room. “Hey Twi, just checking up on ya. Ya alright? Ya look like Apple Bloom did after her first big harvest.” the farm girl said as she stepped closer to Twilight.
“I’m fine Aj, just a bit exhausted. I’ve never been the party type you know, not to say I didn’t enjoy myself.” she said with a smile. “How about you? Is everything ok?”
Applejack put on a smile, it was a sad one but not as sad as Twilight had seen before. “Ah’m good Twilight, thanks. Seeing everyone here together helped a lot, ah’ve no clue why I didn’t do this earlier. You girls were always there for me.”
Twilight stood up and gave her friend the strongest hug she could muster. “We’ll always be there for you, don’t ever forget it.”
It was Applejacks turn to hug her friend now, and she returned it ten-fold. She spoke while trying to hold back fresh tears “Ah just want you to know, ah really do appreciate what ya’ll are doing for me. Ah know that ah ain’t nowhere near cured yet, but ah do feel happier already.”
Twilight stepped back from the hug, keeping a hand on the taller girls shoulder. “Applejack, you will never be cured.” she said, earning a set of wide eyes from her friend. “There’s nothing wrong with you, this is perfectly natural for this situation. You lost someone you love, and we just want you to know that we’re here to support you.”
Applejack let out a sigh. “Ah’ll never forget her will ah?”
Twilight gave her own sad smile, looking directly into her friends watery eyes. “Do you want to forget her?”
The flood-gates finally opened and Applejack let the tears fall down her face. “No, no ah don’t ever want to forget her. She was part of me, and ah can’t ever let that go!”
“And you should never feel like you have to.” Twilight calmly responded as she tried to hold back tears herself. She took a moment to gather her thoughts as she waited for the other girl to calm down. It was then that an idea came to mind. “Hey Applejack, do you need to get back to the farm tonight?”
Applejack wiped her eyes “No, why?”
Twilight grinned happily. “I think the best thing you can do right now, is talk about everything. How about a sleepover!”
It was then that her other three friends decided to make their entrance, followed by three younger girls.
Pinkie was the first to speak up. “Ooh ooh! A slumber party right after a party party! Twilight, that’s the best idea ever!” she exclaimed as she bounced up and down excitedly.
Rarity stepped up and place her hand on the pink-haired girls shoulder. “Darling, I’m not exactly sure we were invited.” she said.
“Of course you’re invited, you’re all my best friends!” Twilight exclaimed, looking at the three younger girls in the room. “Well, most of you. Who are you girls?” she asked.
The girl to her left had lightly tanned skin with a bow in her red hair. The girl to her left was very fair skinned, though not quite as much as Rarity. Her hair was also stylized into a set of swirls. Those two girls looked very familiar to her, but it was the third one she couldn’t recognize at all. This girl had the darkest shade of skin out of the three, and her pink hair looked like it just came out of a wind tunnel. If it wasn’t for the skirt she wore, Twilight would have thought she was a very pretty boy.
“Geeze Twilight, how could you forget about us?” the red-headed girl spoke up with a southern accent much like Applejacks.
Realization then hit Twilight. “Applebloom, Sweetiebelle! You’ve gotten so big!” she nearly squealed as she pulled the two girls into a tight hug, leaving the last girl to watch and laugh at their embarrassment. “And who are you?” Twilight asked her with a questioning glance.
“The name’s Scootaloo!” the girl said with what seemed like a forced roughness in her voice.
Applejack stepped forward and placed a hand on the tomboyish girls shoulder. “She’s Rainbows little sister.” she explained “She’s one of mah sisters best friends and basically family. Ah brought her to the party tonight, since all the other girls would be there.”
Twilights eyes widened slightly in realization. “Well it’s nice to meet you Scootaloo. You’re welcome to stay over as well.” she said with a smile. “That is, if you’re all staying over tonight.” she looked around at all her friends questioningly.
“I’m so in!” Pinkie yelled.
“I’d be delighted.” Rarity said, with a confirmation nod from Sweetiebelle
“Eyup!” Applejack and Applebloom said in unison.
“I’m sure it’ll be fun.” Fluttershy said in a voice so light it was hardly audible.
“Well I don’t see why I wouldn’t stay now, my friends will be here.” Scootaloo said with a small grin.
“It’s settled then!” Twilight said excitedly, clapping her hands. “I’ll set up the beds and sleeping arrangements while you all head home to get your things. That is, unless you came prepared with pajamas.” she said as she giggled at the ridiculous idea.
“I am!” Pinkie Pie yelled as she tugged at the shirt and skirt she wore, removing the clothing only to have rolled up sleepwear fall down and cover her body.
The other seven girls simply stared for a moment before shaking it off as her just being Pinkie.
“Ok then, since you’re already prepared Pinkie, would you mind helping me out?” Twilight asked as she lead the girl to a linen closet where she kept all her extra blankets and pillows. Meanwhile, the other girls headed out of the house and to their own respective residencies in order to collect their sleepwear and any other items they needed.
Within the hour, all the girls but one were back in Twilights house. “Where’s Fluttershy?” Twilight asked, hoping the girl didn’t decide to change her mind and not attend the sleepover.
It was then that the door opened and the girl in question stepped into the house.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, I had to feed the animals and make sure they’d all be ok for the night.” the girl said, barely.
“No worries Shy, there wasn’t a time limit silly!” Pinkie said with her usual happy smile plastered on her face.
Fluttershy gave a small smile as she looked around at the living room. There were various placements of pillows and blankets on the floor, making up five makeshift beds. “Is this where we’re sleeping?” she meekly asked.
Twilight was the one to respond. “Yea, I’m letting the girls use my room since they’re smaller and have less people. Spike will be in his room and we’ll be here.”
The girls all seemed to be on board with decision and each chose their place to sleep that night.
As soon as everyone was settled in, Twilight approached the subject at hand. “Ok girls, I love the idea of having fun with you all at this sleepover but let’s not forget that this was planned for a specific reason.” she said, referring to her conversation with Applejack earlier.
“Yes darling, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be fun.” Rarity said “I’ve already come up with a fun game for us to play!”
“What is it?” Twilight asked.
“Well,” Rarity began “seeing as you’re the one who knows the least about the situation at hand, I propose we play a game of twenty-one questions with Applejack!”
All eyes focused on Applejack, and she could feel the pressure. “Ah suppose ya’ll want to hear more about the relationship ah had with Dash?” she said, a twinge of sadness passing through her with just the mention of her lovers name.
“If you don’t mind Aj, I think it’ll help us all understand better. You don’t have to force yourself though.” Twilight said, sensing the apprehension.
“Ah reckon ah could at least give it a try. It’s more than ah’ve been doing lately anyhow.” the farm girl stated, showing some resolution.
A voice with a forced roughness then sounded out from atop the stairs. “You’re going to talk about Rainbow Dash? Then I’m in!” Scootaloo said as she bound down the steps, followed soon after by the other two girls.
Applejack swallowed hard. “Now I’m not sure if you should be hearing the type of stuff ah might say here girls.” she said.
“You haven’t said a word about her since the accident, and I want to know. She was my sister after all.” Scootaloo said pleadingly.
Applejack sighed. “Fine, just keep it down.”
Twilight smiled softly at Scootaloo, wondering how she must feel knowing that she might be learning some new things about her sister. She looked towards Applejack and cleared her throat before voicing her first question. “First thing’s first I suppose. How did you two meet?”
“Twilight, I already told you that.” Rarity said.
Then Applejack spoke up. “Actually Rarity, the contest wasn’t the first time ah met dash, but ah didn’t know that at the time.” she gave a sigh. “A long time ago, before Scootaloo and the girls were born, heck, before we were all even friends, Rainbow lived here in Ponyville.”
Scootaloo pipped in. “Yea, dad told me that. He said he worked here before we moved to Cloudsdale.”
“That’s right.” Aj nodded. “Dash was probably mah first friend, but we were so young it’s hard to remember. Your dad got a good job out in Cloudsdale and your family moved out there. Ah was too young to remember, but Dash had the pictures to prove it. Aside from that, ah never saw her again until the contest.”
Twilight nodded her head. “And what happened at this contest? Who won?”
A smile crossed Applejacks face as she felt the nostalgia. “It was a big event for me and mah family. Winner got a nice cheque to do with as they pleased. Naturally ah planned to use the money for the farm.” she said matter-of-factly. “Me an’ Mac scored within the top three every event, and then ah met Dash. We were competin’ against each other in the relay race. She was a cocky, loud-mouthed brat with a lot of attitude, but it was fun just being around her.” Aj said, getting a soft smile from Scootaloo. “She completely destroyed the competition. Ah came in second and ah was still a solid four seconds behind her. That girl could have gone pro.”
A frown began to show upon her face and Twilight thought it was time to move on. “What was she like? Outside of a competition I mean.”
Applejacks frown was replaced with shimmering eyes and a soft smile. She talked a bit lower than usual. “Dash was amazin’. She was the type of person that made ya feel more confident about every step ya took. She was really the color in mah life.”
“Awww, that’s adorable!” Sweetiebelle squeaked from her seat next to Rarity.
Applejack gave a small laugh. “She wouldn’t have let ya get away with sayin’ that about her.” she said, to which Scootaloo gave a nod. “She was just like ya Scootaloo. I see the same fire in yer eyes that she had in hers, and ah’m not sure how to feel about it. Promise me you’ll be careful Scoots, don’t push yourself too far.” she said, now staring straight at the young girl as tears threatened to spill for the third time that day.
Scootaloo was a bit shocked at first, taking a moment to process what was just said to her. “I-I promise.” she said, which was followed by a long silence before she spoke up again. “Do you...do you really think I’m like her?”
“Absolutely!” Applejack exclaimed. “Yer great at everything ya try, yer dedicated, and yer confident. Maybe a bit too confident at times but yer young. Yer exactly the way Dash was at that age. But the thing that bothers me is, ah don’t know if that’s really you.”
Scootaloo looked confused. “Wh-what do you mean?”
Applejack took off her blanket and moved a bit closer to the younger girl. “Scootaloo, when you were a kid, ah would watch you play with mah sister. Ya hated bugs, loved skirts, and wanted to do nothing but play all day. But when yer sister passed, ya changed. Ya became a mini-Dash, and ah don’t think it’s who ya really are.”
The younger girl wouldn’t face the blonde, opting to stare at the tiles on the floor. She took a look around herself. Sweetiebelle was leaning on Rarity, and Applebloom lay close to Applejack. She could feel it coming, but Scootaloo was unable to hold back the tears that forced their way out of their two year confinement. “I just want my sister!” she wailed as the tears fell heavily.
Applejack wasted no time grabbing the girl in a tight hug, tears falling from her eyes once again as well. She rocked her body back and forth while calmly shushing the girl. “Ah know, ah know. You’ve been strong for this long, but I’m here. I’m your sister too Scootaloo, don’t forget that.” she said as she guided her hand through the girls hair in order to calm her a bit.
After a few moments, all that could be heard was the calm silence that surrounded the group of friends. Scootaloo wiggled her way out of Applejacks arms and wiped the last remaining tears away. “Th-thanks Applejack.” she said, the forced gruffness now gone from her voice as she took a seat next to the blonde farmer who had a grin on her face.
“Hey, ah married yer sister, making you mah sister-in-law. It’s what sisters do, we’re there for each other.” Aj said, ruffling the girls hair.
It was Rarity who looked confused. “Uhm, Applejack, darling. Not to intrude on this beautiful moment, but weren’t you engaged, not married?”
Applejack let out a laugh before her face went straight and took on a look of sudden understanding before she laughed again.
“What’s so funny?” Twilight asked, sharing the same confused look that all the other girls had on their faces.
“Y’all really don’t know do ya?” Applejack asked when she stopped laughing. She shook her head as she looked above her with a smile. “That girl played one last trick on everyone.”
“Whatever do you mean?” Rarity asked.
“Me and Dash are married, or were, however you wanna look at it. The wedding was for show, we were married way before that!” Applejack said with a slight chuckle.
“What?!?” resounded off of the walls as all the girls screamed it together. Upstairs, Spike was startled awake by the loud noise, falling off of his bed in a panic.