//------------------------------//
// 11. Where The Steps Turn 
// Story: And The Stars Shine Forth 
// by archonix 
//------------------------------//

	Beneath a parasol that shaded her from the warmth of the midmorning sun, Luna watched the ebb and flow of the townsfolk in Ponyville's market. The crowd moved slowly, pushing through the muggy air with weary persistence as they travelled between one stall and the next. Even the hawkers seemed subdued, with only the occasional barking pitch for custom echoing across the scene.

It felt like the approach of a storm, but restricted as her magic was in this body, Luna was unable to know for sure. She felt her back flexing against the phantoms of those missing wings and forced herself to sit still, grimacing only slightly as her attention returned to the milling throng. 

They moved so easily with one another, so freely, in a dance so distant in time she was no longer sure she could remember it. Luna longed to be among them, surrounded by the warm bodies of her fellows and companions. Her heart had sickened the day when this body she had made for herself had reacted in terror at the thought of entering that crowd.

Perhaps the incomplete nature of her change was the cause. She had never, as far as she could remember, lived a life in such a state. This mortal body she had closed herself in fought against the immortality of her true form. Again her back flexed at the instinctive desire to spread her wings. She turned from the market and focussed instead on the table she shared with her two companions.

Twilight was at her side, fiddling with a half-empty teacup as she tried to make conversation with Rarity -- the third member of their party, seated across the table from Luna. Unfortunately Twilight seemed to share the town's dulled wits and had barely a word to say. Rarity for her part had spent most of the last few minutes watching Luna over her tea, through eyes filled with curiosity and a desire for intrigue. What few topics they had mustered had been exhausted some time ago, leaving the trio in a not-quite-comfortable silence that was only broken when Rarity set her cup down with a rattle of china.

"I must say, you both seem rather out of sorts this morning," she said. Her gaze drifted to Twilight while her magic absently rearranged the table's centerpiece. "It's not often I see Twilight so morose. Did you by chance stay up too late last night?"

"No," Twilight replied, glancing at Luna.

"We had something of a disagreement," Luna said. Before Rarity could enquire further she turned and spoke again. "A personal matter. It has been resolved."

"Nothing to do with you leaving Sweet Apple Acres over lunch? I realise that not every pony is cut out for physical labour, but I had formed the impression that you quite enjoyed yourself there." Rarity was smiling when Luna looked to her again. Her eyes shone with the sort of feigned innocence that only the truly devious could employ.

"That's personal too," Twilight said.

"A matter between myself and Applejack," Luna added. Rarity's smile grew just a little wider at that. It was peculiar.

"Have you tried talking to her about it, dear? Applejack has never been one to shy away from talking about her problems." Rarity idly stirred her tea. For a moment, uncertainty clouded her expression as she stared into the steaming beverage. "Most of the time, certainly."

"I have not had the opportunity. To do so would require returning to her place of work, something I fear would not encourage conversation. Nor can I foresee her leaving to socialise until she has prepared adequately to weather the coming storm."

"Well I suppose that can't be her walking down the street then, can it," said Rarity. She leaned to stare past Luna's head and waved a hoof in the air. "Applejack, darling!"

Luna and Twilight both turned to see Applejack, exactly where Rarity said she was. The farmer hesitated at the sight of both ponies examining her, before moving across the street toward them. Her legs moved heavily, perhaps under the same influence as the rest of the town, but nevertheless she managed to brave a smile for the trio and even doffed her hat for a moment.

"Howdy girls," she said. Applejack's smile was forced and brittle, and she didn't quite look Luna in the eye as she dropped her hat back over her head.

"Would you care to join us for some tea, Applejack?" Rarity pushed out a seat with her magic and motioned to it with her hoof. Applejack shook her head and seemed about to refuse, but then her eyes fell toward Luna again. She frowned, and slowly moved toward the seat.

"I guess I can take a few minutes," she said.

That was enough for Rarity, who snatched another cup from a nearby table and splashed a generous serving of tea into it. She pushed the cup into Applejack's unresisting hooves and then sat back, satisfied with a job well done.

"So! What brings you into town today, Applejack? Aren't you still labouring under the threat of that dreadful storm?"

Applejack took a tentative sip of her tea and frowned. She set the cup down and pushed it to one side. "I had a visit from Rainbow Dash last night. Said the storm had been pushed back a few days, so I figured we could relax a mite." She looked at the tea again and slowly shook her head. "Fact is I came to town looking for this pair more'n anything else."

"Us?" Twilight leaned back a little, staring at Applejack as if she'd just started speaking a foreign language. "What could you want to find us for?"

"I wanted to talk to you both," Applejack replied, though she only looked at Luna when she said it.

"On what subject, Applejack?"

For a moment Applejack was silent. She rubbed a hoof across the back of her neck, teasing at the roots of her mane as she took a deep breath, and then looked straight into Luna's face. "Well, to put it simple, I'm sorry for how I got mad at the both of you yesterday. And maybe I was right to be mad, but that ain't no way to talk to a friend, or anypony come to think of it. I let myself get angry and I didn't listen when you tried to explain."

"In the past I too have allowed my anger to dictate my acts," Luna replied. She bowed her head. "I accept your apology, Applejack. Let us forget its cause."

"Well thank you kindly! And Twilight, I never wanted to get in the way of your friendship with Sable here. I definitely shouldn't have shouted at you the way I did yesterday."

"I suppose you're going to say it was the stress of too much hard work or something now, right?"

"What? No!" Applejack pushed her hat back and leaned toward Twilight. "Hard work is my life and soul, Twilight. If I ain't workin' hard, I get antsy and make a fuss, you know that." 

"Then why did you treat us like that? You didn't even try to listen to our explanation, you just shouted at us."

Breathing hard, Applejack leaned back again. She held both hooves out toward Luna and Twilight. "I was scared, ok? For a moment I thought that dang axe had taken her head right off!" Applejack shook her head and slipped from her chair to move closer to Twilight's side. "That's my farm. I know Mac is older'n me and Granny owns the land, but I run that farm. I'm responsible for what happens on that farm, and that means if a pony gets herself hurt workin' there, then in the end it's my fault."

"Fair Applejack, it is not—" Luna began, but Applejack rounded on her with a frustrated glare.

"Sable, I'm apologisin' to Twilight and I need to finish this. Y'all can tell me you think I'm wrong later. And Twilight..." she turned away from Luna again, lowering her head. "I am truly sorry. I almost got Sable hurt, and that's bad enough, but I came between you two girls. This—" she flicked a hoof at the barely visible notch in Luna's ear "—can heal. Like she said, it was just a scratch. What I did after that... well, I'm sorry.

"So that's that," Applejack finished, and dropped her hoof to the floor. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly through her nose. "I'd better get back to the farm. Maybe I'll see you girls later."

"Is that truly necessary, Applejack?" Luna waited for Applejack to look up at her again; she smiled at her friend's confusion. "You are not under any obligation to work as you have said yourself. Rarity was shortly to guide us to her place of work so that I might try a selection of her wares. Perhaps you could accompany us?"

"Oh that's an absolutely marvelous idea," Rarity trilled. She leaned across the table toward Applejack. "There are few things in life more effective at overcoming personal grievances than a love of couture!"

"Well—" Applejack glanced to Twilight, who nodded just a fraction. To anyone else it might have been imperceptible, but Luna saw it. And Applejack too. She smiled just a little. "Much as I'd like to, I've got a few things to take care off back home."

Rarity sniffed. "If you're certain, darling," she said. "I had hoped to snare you into another of my creations, but I suppose some ponies are just not made for fashion."

"Rarity, one of these days I might surprise you."

"But not today?"

"Not today," Applejack echoed, with a wink and a sly smile. She tipped her hat to the trio and then, after pausing briefly to look at Luna once more, turned to walk away.

"Well. That was unexpected," Rarity said.  She looked down at Applejack's virtually untouched tea with a frown, but then a moment later shrugged and turned her attention from it.

"She has a great heart," Luna murmured. She looked over her shoulder at Applejack's retreating form. "She was not wrong to be angry. Twilight did no wrong, but I took an unacceptable risk."

Rarity nodded, but she was still frowning. A spoon twisted in her magic, stirring at Applejack's tea almost of its own accord as Rarity's gaze lifted away to some point in the distance. "What exactly happened yesterday? I gleaned there was some sort of misuse of farm implements?"

"A mere game," Luna replied. "One that I perhaps took to an unfortunate extreme."

Twilight rolled her eyes and snorted as she picked up her tea. "They threw an axe at your head."

"Indeed, Twilight. You were right to be concerned, and for that I apologise as well." Again Luna found herself looking toward Applejack. Or at least to where she had been a moment before until turning a corner. "As to Applejack's apology, I fear she has sacrificed her dignity merely to appease me."

"Applejack only offers an apology if she's convinced she's done something wrong," Rarity replied. She picked up Applejack's abandoned tea and made to sip it, but then paused when she realised which cup she was holding. With a shrug she took a sip anyway. "It's her nature to be forthright. Unfortunately it can also make her stubborn. If she mistakenly believes she's in the wrong it can be quite hard to convince her otherwise. My advice is to just accept it."

"But am I not then lying to her, merely for my own comfort?" Luna paused a moment to consider her words. She could feel Twilight's eyes on her, burning through the illusion of mortality she had drawn about her body until it seemed they might strip it away entirely.

"I wouldn't call it a lie, exactly. It's more of a concession." Rarity peered into her tea, pursing her lips briefly before she spoke again. "There are times when a pony might feel they need to make amends for something that they can't consciously understand, so they'll piece together an explanation that makes sense to them and use that as a reason to apologise instead. It's just a way some ponies deal with certain issues."

"And yet it feels—" Luna clenched her teeth and snorted. There would not be an easy way out of this, she realised. She shook her head and pushed away from the table. "Pray pardon, friends."

"You're leaving?"

Luna turned to Twilight and shook her head. "Nay, Twilight. I merely wish to take care of certain matters. I shall return in but a moment."

Twilight took a breath as if to speak, but then nodded and turned back to her tea. Her movements were stiff, but not as hostile as they had been prior. As Luna trotted after Applejack, she wondered if perhaps Twilight had started to forgive her. On the bright side, she did at least seem to be treating Luna as a normal pony now, muting her anger out of a mere wish to get along with a friend rather than attempting to hide it behind deference for Luna's position. There was a certain comfort to be drawn from that.

"I have always admired a more formal manner of speech," she heard Rarity say, but the pair were out of earshot before she could hear Twilight's reply.

At the end of a short street, after rounding the corner of a shop crowded by boisterous and over-energetic colts and fillies, Luna paused to look for Applejack's retreating form. She found herself staring over a dense crowd of ponies packed from one side to the other of a broad avenue. Applejack's hat bobbed close to the far edge of the crowd like an airship navigating the lanes between tumultuous storm clouds. Luna considered turning back then, but a brief flash of Applejack's golden mane lifting as she danced around a tight knot of mares drew Luna onward.

She stumbled at the edge of the crowd, taking a finale look over the gathered ponies. They were taller than her, all taller. She hadn't realised just how slight this body of hers was, even if every other pony she met described it as 'tubby'. What had been her purpose?

Applejack was no longer visible. Gritting her teeth, Luna thrust toward a gap in the crowd. Then, surrounded by ponies, she stopped and took a tremulous breath. So. She was surrounded by ponies, and apparently they were all far taller than she was. The pounding of her heart in her chest was... unanticipated.

"Excuse me," she murmured as she snaked around a pair of chattering mares, and then again as she slid past a humongous white stallion, who paid her no attention whatsoever. 

After a few more steps she paused again, trying to find her bearings. The sky was a blue haze, and whatever landmarks she might have recognised were obscured by the heads of ponies pushing this way and that. She took another hesitant step, but her progress was halted when grey-coated pegasus blundered into her hip and almost sent her sprawling. Luna turned to excuse herself, but the mare beat her to it, spilling the most heartfelt apology Luna had heard before disappearing into the crowd with a flick of her straw-blonde tail.

Unfortunately that left Luna with no idea of which way she was facing. She glanced up at the sky again, trying to spot the angle of the sun, but it seemed curiously absent. She jumped as a pony brushed against her side, but that only carried her into the path of another, who stumbled over Luna's back legs before departing with a curse and a sour look in her direction.

Luna was left dancing and panting around a tight circle of ponies, with no means to exit. Had she her wings she would have simply taken flight above them. For the first time since the start of this adventure she found herself cursing their absence, though she could never recall a similar feeling during any of the other lives she had lived. Perhaps it was a result of the incomplete nature of her transition.

A gap opened in the crowd. Luna lunged toward it, but as she slid through, the ponies on either side decided to move toward one another again, momentarily trapping Luna between a pair of substantial haunches.

"Please," she grunted. "Let me pass!"

By sheer luck one of the ponies moved on. Luna lurched forward, only for another mare to crush up against her side without so much as a by-your-leave. Luna stumbled to her left, bouncing off another body before collapsing to the ground. The crowd around her was moving restlessly now, ponies kicking divots from the dry soil as they tried to escape the thickening press of the herd. Luna stumbled to her feet and tried to push forward again until a hoof slammed into her hock. She bit back a pained yelp at the numb ache crawling along her leg and staggered, eyes closed, toward what she hoped was a gap in the crowd.

By the time she reached it, however, the gap was gone. Instead her nose bounced against the flank of another stallion, who turned abruptly at the touch. His legs kicked wide, catching Luna's foreleg and sending her stumbling back once again. His apology was brief and muttered, barely audible as he disappeared between the heaving mass of legs and bodies.

Luna fell to her haunches, unable to still the pounding of her heart in her chest. Ephemeral wings strained at her sides, aching to swing wide and pull her to the freedom of the skies.

Quite suddenly the crowd parted before her and Applejack stepped through, shrouded in dust. Had the world been a little more poetic, the parting might have been accompanied by an ephemeral glow of sunlight or the singing of angelic choirs, rather than Applejack's stern reprimands and orders to clear the way and 'git along', accompanied by the occasional swat of a hat against the rump of any pony who stumbled across her path.

Applejack's eyes were all sympathy as she drew up before Luna. "You okay there, princess?"

"I—" Luna blinked. Tears had gathered in her eyes, blurring her vision. Perhaps from the dust. "The crowd was deeper than I anticipated. "

Applejack didn't reply, except to place a gentle hoof on Luna's back. The action was calming, relieving the tension between her shoulders right away, though Luna saw no reason why it should be so. Despite the mystery of the touch, she closed her eyes and wallowed in the comfort.

"How is it you knew to return to me," she said, after some moments. Right away Applejack's foreleg stiffened, before slowly withdrawing.

"Well..." Applejack scuffed a hoof at the dirt. "Frankly y'all were hollerin' up a storm so loud I coulda heard you clear across town. Figured there ain't that many ponies around here with lungs enough to yell like that and most of them are out workin' overtime with Rainbow Dash anyhow. Short of Princess Luna droppin' in for a visit unannounced, y'all were the only pony I know who could make that sort of noise. So I came back to see what the fuss was about."

"I did not realise I was shouting," Luna replied. She lowered her head, only for it to be caught by Applejack's hoof. Luna let gaze be lifted to Applejack's face once again.

"Don't even think of sayin' sorry, Sable."

Luna opened her mouth to protest, but none came to mind. She closed it again slowly, considering her predicament, and nodded. "I fear I have had much cause to apologise in my lifetime, Applejack," she said, before slowly rising to her hooves. "Yet perhaps it is truly a habit to be cast aside and considered no longer."

Applejack smiled. The pair moved to the side of the street, passing easily through the crowd now that they were together, and into the lee of a bench by the entrance to an alley.

"So." Applejack leaned against the bench back and grinned. "Why'd you figure to follow me into that mess again?"

Luna glanced back at the crowd. From the outside it appeared far less intimidating, to the point that she wondered why she had reacted with such terror within it. She squelched the urge berate herself and returned her attention to Applejack.

"I wished of you a boon." She frowned and then rolled her eyes. "That is, I wished to ask of you a favour, fair Applejack, that I might again return to your orchards."

Applejack's face fell. She closed her eyes. "Sable..."

"If—if you fear I shall disappoint you again, Applejack, I can assure you—"

"No, that ain't it." 

Applejack reached out to Luna's shoulder; again there was a sense of relaxation and comfort. Perhaps, Luna thought, it was some element of earth pony magic at work that she had forgotten. She pushed her awareness toward it, seeking any power that might flow from Applejack's body to her own, but to her great puzzlement all she felt was a little warmth and pressure.

At the edge of her perception, Luna became aware of Applejack's voice once again. She blinked and looked back to her friend.

"I meant what I said back there, Sable. I don't want to come between you and Twilight. And to be honest, with the storm bein' pushed back a ways and the seasonals Spritzer found the other day, I don't rightly need the help anyhow."

"I understand," Luna replied. She tried to smile, but there wasn't much to power it. There seemed to be no malice or deception in Applejack's words, but nevertheless...

Applejack smiled as she leaned close to Luna. "Sable, you're a good pony. You helped when I truly needed it and I can't tell you how much I appreciate that."

Luna turned her head, not caring here she looked, except that it was away. Ice and fire fought in her heart as old fears and resentments thought long dead struggled to break free. Such petty feelings, over such petty a thing as work. Yet had Applejack truly rejected Luna, surely she would not have then sought her out to apologise, nor returned to accompany her through the crowd.

"Perhaps," she murmured. She turned back to Applejack. "I confess my motivation was no longer purely concern for your workplace. You are a great heart, Applejack. I had hoped come to know you better."

"Well... well you still can! I ain't goin' nowhere anyhow. Any time y'all want to shoot the breeze, just say the word."

"Very well, I shall accept this," Luna replied. She grinned. "I choose this night."

Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Tonight?"

"Twilight and I have no plans for this evening. I had intended to spend some time at study, but if you are willing then I would gladly take you to dinner while we 'take shots at the breeze'. It would also be a way to recompense you for any damage I may have caused."

"You want to buy me dinner? Sable, it was only an axe—"

"Then this is merely dinner, between friends," Luna replied archly. She raised an eyebrow; the other soon joined it, and she couldn't hide the pleading in her voice. "Consider it, at least?"

Applejack hemmed and rubbed her neck, and for a moment Luna feared she might be about to refuse. 

"Sure," Applejack finally said. "Tonight. Only make sure it ain't anythin' fancy. Me and fancy, we don't get along too good, understand?"

"Of course," Luna replied. She held a hoof to her chest. "I shall return to accompany you at sunset."

"And I ain't stayin ' out all night drinkin neither," Applejack continued. She placed a hoof on her chest, perhaps mirroring Luna without realising it. "I'm a respectable mare."

Luna stifled a giggle and had to look away for a moment. "Certainly, fair Applejack," she said, as her mirth faded. "I shall return you as you would wish to be found."

"See that you do," Applejack replied. "Sides, I got work in the mornin'. Just cause I don't need the help don't mean I ain't busy no more. And speakin' of work, I oughta get back to the farm."

"Of course. Let us depart anon."

Applejack touched the rim of her hat and nodded. As she turned, Luna hesitantly reached out to touch her shoulder; Applejack looked back with a confused smile as Luna closed the short distance between them.

"Thank you," Luna said, with a nervous smile. Applejack didn't reply. Instead she nodded again, before turning away and, leaving Luna to drift at the edge of the crowd.

For a while she didn't move, content to watch the endless flow of bodies. Then, with a growing feeling of unease, she looked back and forth along the street and finally over her shoulder at the alley.

"Discord's beard," she muttered. "I forgot to ask for a quieter way back."