"Pardon?" Applejack asked.
"I asked how you and Rarity met, and how you became friends," Twilight said again. "You were both born here, right? Surely you've known each other for a long time."
"Now, Twi, you're really asking two diff'rent questions at th' same time. Yeah, Ah have known Rarity fer a while. She'n I were in kindergarten together. Would you believe she wuz just'z prissy then as she is now? She wouldn't hoofpaint with th' rest of the class cuz she didn't want to get dirty."
Twilight giggled. "That certainly does sound like something Rarity would do."
"...But y'know, for a while, Rarity and Ah did get along, even if she wasn't a team player all the time. Ah'd go to her place for tea, or she'd come to mine, and we'd run about in the fields. Rarity may be exercise-'void'nt these days, but back then, she had that crazy energy all kids've got."
"So what changed?" Twilight asked.
Applejack sighed and readjusted the strap on her cart. "We forgot what our friendship meant."
"What do you mean? Did you have a big fight? Did one of you break something of the others, or say something she didn't mean?"
Applejack shook her head. "No, nothin' like that. We just... forgot. 'N all of a sudden, her prissiness was too much for me to let live like'n I used to. And Rarity, she thought mah farm was too rustic for her. We never fought or yelled at each other. We just... one day, Rarity stopped comin' to the farmstead, and I stopped comin' by her place."
"I'm sorry," Twilight said.
"Ah, don't be, Twi," Applejack replied. "Y'all didn't have nothin' to do with it. 'Sides, we survived 'thout each other. Ah had my apples, and Rares had her Boutique. Ah'd forgotten about those days, when the orchards felt empty, until you went and asked about it."
"I'm sorry!" Twilight repeated, more insistently.
"Like Ah said, ye've got nothin' to apol'gize for." By this point, the two of them had arrived back at the farm. Applejack set the cart by the door and gestured to the door. "Would y'all like to come in for somethin' to drink?" she asked.
"I'd love that," Twilight replied. "But you haven't answered my other question yet."
"Hmm? Oh, right. Rarity 'n I met back in foal school, but once we were older, we stopped bein' so pleasant with each other."
"So how did you two become friends?" Twilight asked.
"Ah'd've thought that wuz obvious, c'nsiderin' who Ah'm talkin' to." Applejack winked, then pulled out a tray of cookies and set them on the table.
Twilight hardly noticed them, so much in shock she was. "...You mean, you weren't friends until after I came to Ponyville?"
Applejack laughed. "Don't you remember that time Rarity 'n I stayed in yer library cuz'f all the rain? We could hardly stand each other!"
"Well, right, but I thought for sure that was just because you were forced together in close quarters. I didn't imagine--"
"Twi, I think there's something you should know." Applejack sat down and looked at her closely. "You learned an important lesson back when y'all moved here, but so did we. The truth is, 'ceptin' Pinkie Pie, none of us were friends with t'other before you came here. Not. A. One. And even Pinkie... well, there weren't nearly as many parties here as there are now."
The cookie in Twilight's magic fluttered, then fell to the ground and broke in two. "That's... that's not possible. Rarity and Fluttershy?"
"Didn't know each other 'til they went in that forest with you."
"You and Rainbow Dash?"
"Mostly just yelled at her when she napped in mah trees."
"Rainbow and Fluttershy?"
"Hadn't spoken to each other in years."
"I... I didn't know..."
"Well, now ya do." Applejack smiled. "You brought us together, Twi, in a c'mpletely special way. There ain't any friendship Ah've got quite as nice as th' ones in our little posse. Y'all should be proud of what ye've done."
"It wasn't me, it was the Elements and Celestia..." Twilight murmured.
"Be that as it may, you kept us together after all that. Think Ah could've noticed the c'nexion 'tween the Elements 'n us? Think Ah could've given up them G3 tickets? Think Ah could've org'nized that dinner date fer Princess Celestia? No, that there was all you, Twi."
Twilight blushed. "I think I have something to send to Princess Celestia now."
"Twi, you don't have to do that anymore, remember? Yer a princess now, too."
"I know. This one is special." Twilight magicked up a piece of paper and a quill. "Now, how should I begin this? 'Dear Princess Celestia, today I learned that friendship is a special gift, one that should not be taken lightly. It is a power that can bring together old connections, overcome bitter grudges, and mend broken fences. It is a beautiful, harmonious thing, and I am glad I got the opportunity to come to Ponyville and truly experience it for myself. And I never could have imagined that, for all the friendship I gained, I also brought friendship to the ones who gave it to me. Friendship, you see, is a feedback loop: by giving, you receive, and by receiving, you give again. That's what makes it so beautiful.'
"...How do I sign it off?"
"How 'bout... 'Your friend?'"
Twilight smiled. "Perfect. 'Your friend, Twilight Sparkle.'"
"Great," Applejack said. "Now, I've gotta go put those apples away. Y'all still good to help me?"
Twilight smiled again. "I always will be."