Chapter Eleven - Can't Start a Fire Without a Spark, Part I
The Ponyville sky was grey streaked with orange and magenta as dawn broke on the Saturday morning. Late Friday evening saw a much-welcomed rain fall on the town and the ground was soft underhoof to any stragglers staggering home after celebrating the end of another tough work week. That distinct and refreshing smell that so often accompanies the first downpour following a dry spell permeated the cool morning air and tantalised the nostrils of the very few early risers such as Fluttershy. All around the town ponies lay in their beds thankful for the ability to lie in their beds that little bit longer, more often than not entangled in the forelegs of their respective special somepony.
Outside the town, in the farmhouse of Sweet Apple Acres, such comforts were not in store for one of the clan. All night Applejack had tossed and turned. Sleep was interrupted with unfortunate regularity by disturbing thoughts and harsh recollections. More than once she had sobbed silently into her near-sodden pillow, the feathery cushion having born the brunt of her plentiful tearful onslaughts since her abrupt arrival at home the previous afternoon. It was a sorry state of affairs for a pony for whom tears were ordinarily hard to come by and for whom life seemed so rosy just a day before.
That was all before her fateful visit to the Ponyville library, however. The image of Twilight Sparkle – so often smiling and helpful to Applejack – almost apoplectic with rage at the news of her and Rarity's relationship was ingrained on AJ's subconscious. The unicorn's shrill shrieks and thunderous bellowing echoed unwelcomedly through her mind, catching her unawares and never failing to send shudders up her spine and through her soul. These unwelcome images peppered the near-incessant post mortem which had raged for countless hours.
'I told ya not ta be so casual 'bout it,' the reactionary side of her psyche regularly piped up.
'There ain't no way that reaction came from her not appreciatin' yer manner o' speakin,' the more reserved and measured voice would rebut.
'Ya know how socially awkward she is.'
'So?'
'And ya saw how she blew up at Pinkie Pie after the whole doozy thing.'
'That's hardly a fair comparison.'
'How else could ya explain it?'
'Maybe she's longin' for you. Or Rarity?'
'Psh,' the first voice responded with smug disdain, 'Ain't no way that's the case surely. More likely Twi ain't too keen on filly-foolers like us.'
'The same Twi who regularly gets her drunken kicks with any dang mare in Equestria? Don't be stupid.'
Such verbal volleys were common, and Applejack had long since grown weary of them. Yet she couldn't help but over-analyse every minute aspect of the fiasco which had befallen her. Her most worrying analyses and hypotheses came when addressing the topic on where this left her and her beloved Rarity. Any future romantic interludes with the couturiére would be risky to say the least, especially lest Twilight Sparkle find out - not an impossibility were she to broach the subject with Applejack again. It would be the kind of thing that could tear friendships apart easier than AJ could buck a solitary apple from any tree in the land. In an ideal world both parties in the offending relationship would call it quits and agree to continue their lives as friends to appease everypony.
But this was not any mere pony that was the object of AJ's affections. This was Rarity. No other pony in the world could compare to the beauty of the lilac-maned unicorn she adored so deeply. Even the undoubted physical charms of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were inferior to those of the mare she had fallen head over hooves with – 'Treason be damned!' the voice in her mind stated with a theatrical flourish. No other pony carried themselves with such grace and elegance without possessing an ego as grand as Canterlot Palace as Rarity did. Not to mention the fact her romantic and loving nature would make the manufacturer of any love elixir question how to imitate or eclipse it. She had made a promise to her love the night they came together as one to fight any creature brave (or foolish) enough to stand in their way. If that creature had to be one of her most treasured acquaintances such as Twilight then so be it.
Then again, they were all Elements of Harmony. If their relationship was to continue, and everything go swimmingly as the unicorn neglected to mention, would the friction between Twilight Sparkle and the couple put them – and in the grander scheme of things, all Equestria – in jeopardy? Twilight hardly seemed the kind of pony to hold a long-standing grudge, but she was emotionally volatile and Applejack believed it might not take much for a repeat performance of the disaster at the library to play itself out.
**********
A knock at the door – surprisingly the first since she had barricaded herself in her bedroom – shook Applejack from her pondering. She didn't answer. Looking round at the clock, she noted that it was six thirty. On a normal Saturday she'd not budge from her bed until at least half-past nine, but it was cider season after all. Every hour's work was necessary.
Another knock at the door, this time accompanied by the voice of a grizzled old mare.
“Applejack, ah know you're in there. Time to rise.”
Yet no response from the younger Apple mare. The silence was broken by the unwelcome noise of a key turning in the lock and the heavy wooden door creaking open. 'Forgot Granny had a key. Dang...' Applejack thought bitterly.
“Applejack? Ya still in the land a' the livin' with the rest of us?”
Reluctantly, AJ dragged herself into a sitting position. “Ah'm up Granny.”
“Sweet Celestia on high. Ya look terrible this mornin' Applejack!” Granny Smith exclaimed. The matriarch wasn't wrong. The substantial bags under Applejack's eyes could be mistaken for bruises, and her hair was wilder than was to normally be expected of a waking AJ.
“Ah know. Ah didn't sleep too well, Granny.”
“Well what in the wide world of Equestria is ailin' ya? Ya didn't surface for dinner last night, ya ain't even so much as looked at any of us since yesterday afternoon. Hay, if it weren't for ya groanin' and moanin' last night we'd have sent in the coroner!”
“Ain't nothin' wrong with me besides the restless night. Ah'm fine,” Applejack sighed. She faked a smile toward the elderly Granny Smith. Unfortunately for her, the old pony wasn't swallowing it.
“Ya'll are a terrible liar, Applejack Apple-Smith,” Granny Smith replied. Applejack rued the use of her full name – whenever she heard it she knew she was in for some trouble. “Spill it, missy. Some stallion been causin' ya heartbreak?”
Applejack cringed slightly, “It ain't a stallion, Granny! It's more a mare.”
Her sleep-deprived mind took a few seconds to take stock of what she had just said, but on realising her face turned a quite un-natural shade of scarlet. That was hardly the way to come out to a member of her family. Granny Smith, however, looked unperturbed by this bombshell.
“'Kay, so a mare been causin' ya heartbreak then? Who is it?”
Applejack was surprised by her grandmother's nonchalance.
“Ya'll are okay with me bein' that-a-way inclined?”
“Applejack, ah've looked after ya for Celestia knows how long, Ah'd be fine with ya datin' dragons, donkeys or zebras, so long as it made ya happy. Though at the moment, it don't seem that way.”
Through the figurative clouds in Applejack's mind shone a chink of light. It was the reply she'd expected from Twilight Sparkle, but from an even more unlikely source. It seemed the first impressions of Granny Smith not giving a care in the world to anypony's sexual preferences were indeed correct. A small token of comfort for the disoriented AJ to cling to.
“So who or what is troublin' ya Applejack?” asked Granny Smith, as she moved towards the bed and sat down.
AJ proceeded to tell all about the developments of the last week – the party, her long-held admiration for Rarity, the kisses, the agreement to break it to each pony in sequence, the acting and sneaking around (which Granny Smith admitted she had long since debunked – hence her initial line of questioning), everything up to and including the encounter at the library which had left her in the dishevelled wreck of a state she was in at that moment. Granny Smith listened intently, rarely interrupting and inhaling slightly as her granddaughter concluded her saga.
“So what ya intend to do about it Applejack?” the wise old mare queried after a short pause in which she fully analysed the gravity of the situation.
“Ah ain't got the foggiest. It scares the hay outta me!”
“That don't sound like the AJ ah know! Where's the fightin', fearless rodeo pony who helped save Equestria twice?!" Granny Smith asked with passion in her voice. All Applejack could do was shrug.
"How 'bout ah tell ya a story?” said Granny as she reclined somewhat. Applejack sighed and reluctantly acquiesced. She had sat through many a tale of her grandmother's – often long-winded and dull yarns with little point to them. It was too early for this.
“Ah remember when your daddy was a teenage colt – not much older than ya are now AJ. He could be as hard-headed and stubborn as any dang donkey, but he was still kind and courteous to ya grandpappy and me as well as anypony he considered a friend. Always helpin' out round town, volunteerin', captainin' one a' the Wrap Up teams. Model citizen, ya could call him. That and his tough farm-colt, rodeo star looks made every filly go gaga fer him! But he only ever had eyes fer one a' them. Ya mama.”
“Ya'll know already 'bout the ol' rivalry between our family and your mama's, and me and ya grandpappy were livid at him when he came out and told us. By this point they'd been datin' fer months so he was obviously smitten. So he invites us all fer some kinda peace-makin', get-to-know-each other sorta do. Ah talked it over with everypony and we accepted. Needless ta say, it was a fiasco. Nopony from opposite sides talkin', keepin' to themselves and the like. Eventually an argument broke out and ya mama took it hard, started cryin' and the like.”
“That really riled ya daddy up,” Granny Smith continued after a pause for breath, “And he gets in the middle a' the argument, holdin' us and ya mama's family apart. He starts shoutin' at everypony, callin' us all the names under the sun. We deserved it, no doubt about it, but we was all shocked at the time. Kind lil' Kingston Black! Here he was, effin' and blindin', tellin' us we oughta be ashamed, threatenin' ta run off ta Las Pegasus with ya mama and elope, not givin' a damn about the prospect a' bein' written outta the will!”
“As ya could probably guess, we all got our act together after that display, called a truce and the like. In time the warmness grew. Everythin' turned out rosier than anypony coulda imagined between the two families. All because a' ya daddy.”
Applejack looked stunned – she'd known about the feud between the Apples and her mother's family. But never before had she heard about this fiery exchange. Granny Smith leaned in closer.
“He did all that because he loved ya mama. He stood up and fought fer her – fought like any soldier could when faced with a great enemy. He risked it all fer her – family, friends, money – and it paid off. With huge dividends.”
“If ya really love this Rarity a' yours, ya'll need to fight just as hard and take no heed a' the consequences. And if they other ponies against ya really love ya as a friend or as family, you'll win.”
Granny Smith leaned back again on concluding her story, watching her granddaughter absorb this wisdom. She knew the result on seeing the spark in her eyes – Applejack would follow her father's path to the end. She was so like her father it was startling. AJ leaned forwards and pulled her grandmother into a crushing hug.
“Thank you Granny. Ya have no idea how much that helped.”
“Ah may be old, but ah know young love when ah sees it.”
Laughing, Applejack pulled herself forcefully out of bed and raced for the door.
“And where do ya think you're goin' at this time a' mornin' young lady?” Granny Smith questioned, her voice as sly as ever.
“Ah got some ponies to talk to. If that's alright with you? ”
Granny Smith nodded and smiled as her granddaughter flew out of the door and down the stairs with the same speed as she ascended them the night before. AJ's workrate the day before prior to her breakdown could more than cover a lack of work that day, the old mare mused as she slowly got to her hooves.
**********
Applejack raced toward the door with pure intent in her eyes. She'd canter off to the library and use the fighting instinct that had failed her so catastrophically the day before. Like her father before her, she would stand her ground for the pony she loved. 'To hay with the early hours!' she yelled in her head. If Twilight Sparkle really cared for AJ, and for Rarity, then she'd accept. The cowpony yanked open the front door only to be stopped in her tracks by a pony she'd never have expected to see at that very moment in a millennium.
“Twilight! What the-?”
There before Applejack, in the doorway of the Sweet Apple Acres, stood Twilight Sparkle. Only the unicorn was most certainly not herself at that moment. Her usually neatly combed mane was tousled and tangled. Her eyes looked bloodshot, and her cheeks seemed sunken. It was evident that her sleep had been as comfortable as Applejack's, tear tracks on her face and all.
“Oh. Hello Applejack,” came the frightened reply to AJ's surprised exclamation.
“Twi, it's only near seven am! What in Celestia's name are ya doin' at mah door?”
“I couldn't sleep. I needed somepony to talk to,” Twilight said, in a hushed and timid tone not far off what Fluttershy spoke in, “By which I mean I needed to talk to you. And I figured you'd be awake and ready for work so I could catch you.”
“Tha's all fine and dandy, Miss Sparkle,” the anger rising very slowly in Applejack's voice, “But what if I don't wish to speak to ya?”
Twilight sniffled pathetically. “Please Applejack. I really need to talk to you. I've felt horrid ever since Rarity came to me yesterday...”
Applejack was taken aback by this last statement.
“Wait, Rare came to see ya?”
“Of course she did. After seeing you tearing through town, all the girls did.”
Wordlessly, Applejack guided Twilight Sparkle into the dining room and sat opposite her.
“Tell me what happened, Twi,” Applejack asked, not overly forcefully but with definite urgency. She sat back in the wicker chair staring unwaveringly at the pony across from her. She needed answers to many questions, and that morning she fully intended to receive them. No matter what.
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I would have preferred the longer chapter over this cliffhanger. But I'll wait just the same.
I came.
shakes fist in anger Curse you cliffhangers
all and all another excellent chapter
I appreciate your concern for our ability to handle a longer chapter; but rest assured - for I know I speak for all of us (and of course, I mean myself only) - when I say that longer chapters of quality equivalent to those prior are always welcomed heartily!
In any case, I suppose 'twill be time to find out why Twi' blew'er top here in a lil' bit.
Dammit, I hate cliffhangers...especially well written ones.
Seriously, you should've kept going.
I prefer longer chapters over cliffhangers as well. But hey, it's always nice to read a well written update. Looking forward to part two.
If this cliffhanger is your idea of a joke then it's hilarious.
cliffhangers....the bane of my existence.... need the new chapter now!!
still loving the story
Applejack is unpleased with the lack of Twi's explanation.
But, I'm fine and dandy. Looking forward to more.
GODDAMN IT!
I've got a backlog more than 100 chapters long, and I'm barely making a dent in it because all these awesome stories keep updating...
355976 356019 356070 356148
Probably shoulda mentioned that it was pretty much 5am by the time I finished that chapter. No problem for my near-insomniac mind, but I can feel the tiredness coming somewhere down the line (the Stella and dancing about like a fecking loony to songs from the show probably isn't helping).
356120
Not sure if sarcasm. In any case I'm not that evil.
356201 No, dancing like a loony isn't helping.
Can't wait to see how Twilight answers for her behavior Looking forward to the update!
356215
Dancing like a loony is totally helping. Wears 'er out, don'tcha know.
ARGHLE! Chapter, Y U So Short!?
I CAN understand, however, the need for sleep.
>Part 1
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Chilffhanger, my arch nemesis. We met again.
Damn that chapter was short.
CLIIIIIIFFHAAAAANGEEEER!!! *Shout of despair*
In any case, awesome as always! I'll be on my toes 'till the next chapter!
356349 356611
Wouldn't say it's that short - around the average length for the fic it seems.
Less a miniscule hors d'oeuvre than an appetiser to whet the appetite before the main course.
357313 Hmmm well let's see what you have then. I'll be waiting for the next chapter.
357313 It's just that it's a cliffhanger. I'm just rather unfond of cliffhangers.
When you say this weekend, do you mean this weekend this weekend, or next weekend this weekend?
Rest assured, Twilight's outburst will all be explained in the next chapter which will definitely be released over the weekend.
WHY NOT NOW!!!
weknowmemes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/desk-flip-240x180.png
OH YOU SUNOVA....
Suuure, make it sound like you're doing it for our benefit!
I sure hope you're right about releasing part 2 over this weekend. Otherwise, the suspense might just make some of your readers go a little... well...
And remember - this sort of reaction is a good sign! Honest!
SUSPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENSE
This is the ultimate tease right here. The explanation and retribution we wanted to see, and you broke it off JUST as it was starting up.
But I can't bring myself to be mad. Massive wall of unread tracks/time-killers aside, I'm loving this story too much to complain about waits between chapters, let alone where chapters end.
357639
Sorry 'bout that. Hopefully the next chapter will make up for it.
358235 357910
This weekend means either later tonight or early tomorrow. If all goes as planned I'll be in no state to write tomorrow evening. In any case your thirsts for more Sweetest Cider shall be quenched very soon.
359195
I'm not exactly ideal for cupcakes. Bit too much meat on the ol' bones...
359406
Like I said, it was not intended to be a tease - though if I hadn't had my fill of schadenfreude lately I could have afforded myself a chuckle.
Choose your next witticism carefully, Ms Sparkle; it may be your last.