Taken for Granite

by Cloudy Skies

Moose

Applejack groaned and clenched her eyes shut. Nightmares, she could handle, but when a series of sharp taps of hoof on glass woke her up, she caught herself thinking the bigger problem was that she was cursed with an excess of reality.

“Applejack!”

The sun was barely up, and while that would be cause for alarm on a regular day, it was winter. Winter meant a full extra hour of sleep that she enjoyed more than she would ever admit, especially when the day before had seen her far too late to bed. An hour she was currently being denied by a cheerful voice.

“Applejack! Wake up! Hey, Applejack! Apple-jaack!”

This particular morning’s reality involved less Cutie Mark Crusaders than usual. No crazy contraptions, no buckets of pinecones. Rather than three hyperactive fillies, Applejack woke up to Pinkie’s face smushed against her bedroom window. Applejack yawned, pushed her blanket away and crawled over to the other side of her bed, nearer to the window.

“Pinkie, mind tellin’ me what in tarnation you’re up to?” Applejack asked, rubbing her bleary eyes.

Pinkie tilted her head, as if the question was the strangest thing about this all. “I’m talking to you, silly! I thought the others would be all asleep, so I didn’t want to be rude and wake them.”

Applejack sighed and leaned over to nudge the window’s simple latch. Pinkie ducked while Applejack pushed the window open. “No, I mean, what are you doing outside my second floor window,” she asked even as she leaned past Pinkie to see the ladder propped against her wall. Obviously taking the open window as an invitation, Pinkie hopped past Applejack, bounced off the bed, and landed in the middle of her room.

“I’m here to invite you to my party! You know, the one that’s completely,” she paused to wink at Applejack, “and totally,” another wink, “a party to celebrate ‘winter’ and ‘snow’ and everything!” She even did the air quotes.

“Real subtle.” Applejack stifled another yawn and slipped out of bed, reaching for her hat from the wall—only to have her hoof whiff, passing straight through where her hat should be. Applejack squinted at the wall-hanger in disbelief for half a second before she caught up. “Pinkie. Give me my hat,” she said before she even finished turning around.

“Aw. Fine. I wish I had a hat like this,” Pinkie said, letting Applejack grab it back off her head. “But you’re coming, right? To the party? You said we’re in this together, but I thought I’d check with you before I started asking everypony else because, well—” Pinkie paused, pawing at the floorboards.

“S’what I said yesterday, ain’t it?” Applejack blew a strand of her mane out of her face, trying to keep the grouchiness from her voice. “Doesn’t mean I appreciate being dragged out of bed when this could’ve waited ‘till later.”

“Sorry! It’s just that there’s not a whole lot of ‘later’ in one day, especially on Sundays!”

Applejack blinked and stared at Pinkie Pie for a while, trying to shift her brain into gear. She’d have liked to observe at least a few of the points of her morning routine before she had to do any fancy thinking; half a minute with her brush, ten seconds to wash her face, a cup of cider or coffee—anything.

“Y’mean you’re trying to put together this party today. As in, today-today.”

Pinkie nodded with intensity that would rattle the sense out of brains given to such things.

“Pinkie Pie? That’s the worst—”

“See, the Cakes said that if I wanted to use Sugarcube Corner, they didn’t mind at all because they’re usually never open on Sundays, and next week is gonna be busy because they got this huge catering job for one of Mayor Mare’s meetings with some ponies from Ponyville’s friendship village, Hoofington!”

“Right, but—”

“And we can’t have the party at Fluttershy’s place because she’s still trying to find places for all the animals who didn’t have time to find a nice home to sleep through winter, Twilight’s probably still a little mad at me because of the book fight I called out last time we had a get-together at her place with all six of us.”

“Still—”

“Rarity’s hosting some friends of her parents who are in town all of next week, and you said you didn’t really like having parties indoors here at the farm because it’s ‘inconvenient’ for the rest of the Apple family, and I don’t really know what that word means, but I totally respect that if it means ‘no!’”

Applejack raised her voice a tad. “And that’s mighty great—”

“And Rainbow Dash is a pegasus so if we try to party at her place she needs to pegasus magic everything we’re bringing up to her place so it doesn’t fall through the clouds. I know Twilight doesn’t mind casting her spell on us, but she can’t cast the spell on every single thing I bake.”

“Pinkie!”

“But mostly,” Pinkie Pie said, her voice falling where Applejack’s rose. “I don’t want to wait, because I think I really need you girls right now.”

Applejack froze in the middle of drawing breath, letting it out again slowly. “Right.”

“So, is that a yes? I didn’t write you an invitation because I asked the Cakes the second they woke up, or, well, right before they woke up, and then I ran here as fast as I could!” Pinkie beamed, puffing out her chest.

“Yeah. Alright,” Applejack heard herself say. She was still wracking her brain for alternatives, for an exit that didn’t have her crawl out of bed and into a sudden party invitation with no forewarning, an invitation that she’d have declined if she didn’t know—

“Great, I’m gonna go let the others know! There’s so much to do!” Applejack only barely heard Pinkie’s words. The realisation hit her like a cargo cart.

“No!”

Pinkie halted, halfway out the window already with her head poking back in under her own tail. “Huh? ‘No I’m not coming to your party’ or no as in ‘oh no, I hope we have enough sugar?’”

“I’ll handle inviting the others,” Applejack said, adopting what she hoped was a winning smile. “It’s just us six girls and Spike, right? I’m sure I can handle it. You got your work cut out for you with all the other stuff.”

Pinkie blinked, then blinked again, scrabbling to stand in the windowsill. “But—”

Applejack leaned forward to nudge her on the rump. “Nuh-uh! No buts! If we’re doing this together, you’re gonna have to learn to share the burden. I’ll round up the gang and tell them to be at the Corner by four o’clock, and then I’ll head straight on over to help you with the preparations.”

“Okie dokie!” Pinkie said, nodding, hugging Applejack around the neck, and hopping out the window. Only when she was alone did Applejack let herself breathe again. While she never considered herself a quick thinker, she had to wonder: If she herself didn’t normally feel up to attending a party Pinkie made out to be about as important as Gummy’s sixth birthday party for the year, what guarantee did she have the others would? Would the others realise how important this was to Pinkie Pie? The thought of Pinkie announcing a winter party on a few hours’ notice to a sleep-addled Rarity left Applejack rather doubtful.

Applejack walked over to rest her head on the still-warm windowsill, deflating with a sigh. In the distance, dragging her ladder through the snow by her tail in her usual bouncy gait, Pinkie was a bright pink dot in an ocean of white. This entire idea had seemed harmless last night, but having to lie to all their friends wasn’t a particularly pleasant addition to her rude awakening.

“Ain’t fair I get saddled with this,” Applejack muttered to herself, but she never got even halfway to a good burst of anger. She raised a leg intending to stomp the floor, but her heart wasn’t in it. It wasn’t Pinkie being particularly inconsiderate or thoughtless. She’d taken this task upon herself, and stronger than the budding frustration were Pinkie’s words still echoing in her mind. “I really need you girls.”

It wasn’t some stupid notion Pinkie’d gotten into her head. It was real. She’d seen yesterday that there were emotions and reason behind this all, and it was terrifying to think that every time she’d dismissed Pinkie as insane, silly, or insanely silly, there’d been something equally solid behind it.

Applejack frowned and chewed her tongue. Perhaps it was a stretch to imagine a greater purpose to all her actions. If there had been a profound meaning behind last week’s pie tossing contest, it was lost on her.

Grabbing her brush off the bedstand, she dragged it through her tail to get rid of the worst of the tangles and snarls. It took all of half a minute to have her hair- and tail-bands in place, and half that to grab a quick bowl of oats in the kitchen. She could hear somepony else stirring on the floor above when she made for the front door, but her family would have to have breakfast without her today. She wasn’t quite sure what to think about that, but despite this confusing business, it didn’t feel wrong to smile a little when she stepped out into the brightly lit farmyard.

---

Applejack trotted past apple trees long since bare of leaves, now bearing snow instead of fruit. The sun reflected off the winter’s cover, gleaming and glittering as bright as any summer’s day. Fluttershy was an ideal and natural first candidate. Of all her friends, Fluttershy was the most likely one to be out of bed this soon after sunrise.

That, and it was really a rather shorter trek than heading to town first thing, what with them being neighbours and all. Applejack hopped over the fence on the border of the western orchards, noting the smoke coming from Fluttershy’s chimney as she trotted over the hill and past the brook. She didn’t give herself so much as a single second to lapse into thought again, much preferring to have it over with.

“Fluttershy?” Applejack called. A knock on her door, and a gentle push. The door yielded without a sound, gliding open easily enough, and out drifted a pleasant smell that could only be mint and lemon tea. Applejack grinned, leaning forward as though she could taste the brew. Fluttershy put as much care and dedication into her tea making as Granny Smith did her pies, and the scent was proof.

The sight, however, was every bit as unsettling as the smell was pleasant. Every free space, every nook and cranny of Fluttershy’s cottage was covered in varmints. Rodents, birds, mammals, lizards and more. From the bookcase by Fluttershy’s couch, a full family of badgers tilted their heads at her arrival, and while she recognised the bear easily enough to not be terribly surprised, she couldn’t hold back a yelp when a moose stuck its head down from the staircase.

“Oh. Good morning, Applejack. Would you like a cup of tea?”

Applejack hadn’t noticed her friend sauntering in from the kitchen, teacup balanced on one wing. She tried to school her expression and cleared her throat, taking a tentative few steps to bring herself inside.

“Right. Uh. Mornin’,” Applejack managed, wiping her hooves on the welcome mat and pulling the door closed. “And thanks fer’ askin’, but no thanks. Just had breakfast.”

“Okay,” Fluttershy said, smiling back at her and trotting over to deposit her tea on the living room table, taking a seat on her couch between two otters and something else that may’ve been another kind of otter. Or a marmot. Applejack honestly couldn’t tell.

“Um, is everything alright, if you don’t mind me asking?” Fluttershy said.

Applejack let her gaze roam from the critter-infested couch, via the rafters packed with birds, to finally rest on the moose still watching her from the stairs. She could’ve sworn the darn thing was glaring at her. “Everything’s fine, sugar, except for the fact that you seem to be starting some kind of zoo,” Applejack said, raising a brow. “Thought you were done with the whole relocating business.”

“Oh. The animals.” Fluttershy said, lighting up and looking about the room as if she only now saw them for the first time. She giggled and leaned over to nuzzle some fuzzy thing with entirely too much in the way of fangs and claws. “We’re still working things out. I’m sure we’ll have everything fixed by the weekend. Harry’s being ever so sweet in helping all the other animals.”

“Right, right. Couldn’t ever see myself livin’ like this.”

“Aw, don’t mind them, they are all being very nice,” Fluttershy said, tilting her head and beaming brightly. She turned to look up the staircase towards her bedroom, and the moose looked back at her, giving her a small nod and what might pass for a smile from a moose—before it went back to staring at Applejack again. “Please, have a seat. Are you sure you don’t want a cup of tea?”

“No, thanks, that’s fine, sugarcube.” Applejack picked her way across the floor as carefully as she could, minding each of her hooves to make sure she didn’t step on something that wouldn’t take kindly to that. “It ain’t really much of a social call, this. I’m just here to give a message of sorts.”

That made Fluttershy perk up in earnest. She looked up from tickling a baby badger’s belly, her wings half-spread as she turned to Applejack. “Oh my. That doesn’t sound very good. Nothing bad, I hope?”

“I shouldn’t think it’s quite so bad,” Applejack laughed. “Land sakes, Fluttershy. You need to stop worrying so much. Just came to tell you Pinkie’s hosting a party over at the candy shop tonight.”

“Oh,” Fluttershy said, a small frown gradually forming. “I don’t understand. She said she didn’t want to see us. How—”

“She came by this morning,” Applejack said, flashing a smile as she cut her friend off. “We talked a bit last night too, but that’s neither here nor there. You know Pinkie.” She smiled a little wider, hoping very much Fluttershy wouldn’t ask why and force her to lie outright. “So anyway, I figured I’d help her out while she’s taking care of preparations and everything.”

Fluttershy’s face was blank, and she said nothing while she leaned forward for another sip of tea. Applejack couldn’t keep from licking her lips. She already regretted turning down the offer, and was just about to say so when Fluttershy spoke up.

“That’s very nice of you, but, um, Pinkie visited you this morning? Before you usually even wake up during winter season?” she asked.

Applejack sighed inwardly. Fluttershy could be as inquisitive as Twilight at times. “Yup. So anyway, this party—”

“Sorry for interrupting,” Fluttershy said, biting her lower lip. “But, we talked right before you had dinner yesterday.”

“Yeah. She came by afters, too. Right before bed, matter of fact, so I’m running on fumes here. I just needed to tell you there’s a party, to invite you and all.”

Fluttershy gave a minute frown at that, but she nodded nevertheless. “Okay. Sorry. I didn’t mean to distract us. There’s a party?”

“Yup. She figured it’d be a great idea to celebrate winter comin’ early, so she’s already decorating Sugarcube Corner. Think you can be there this afternoon? Say, four o’clock?”

“Today?” Fluttershy said. She splayed her ears and sank down in the couch. “Oh goodness. Um, that’s very sudden. I—I just don’t know if I can. There is ever so much to do. If I knew she was celebrating, um—”

“Winter.” Applejack supplied with a sigh of her own. Fluttershy kept talking, words of apology, comments that she could maybe make time if-but-no-probably-nots, but Applejack barely heard it. Suddenly, the demand for subterfuge felt so terribly unnecessary. Again she imagined what would happen if everypony said no. She could hear Pinkie’s voice already. “It’s okay,” she would say, and it would be a lie. She’d have her little memorial party alone and pretend everything was okay when she was hurting. Only this time, she wouldn’t come visit Applejack in the aftermath, because Applejack would have failed her.

Applejack shook her head and groaned. She wasn’t cut out for drama, and the entire train of thought was ridiculous. Ridiculous and false. Pinkie wouldn’t be alone anyway, because at the very least, Applejack would be there tonight.

“Applejack?”

Fluttershy looked part worried, part curious. For how long had she been watching? For how long had Applejack sat there thinking to herself whilst ignoring one of her best friends? Applejack slumped.

“Mighty sorry,” she muttered. “Just thinkin’ about something what shouldn’t be a problem in the first place.”

“Oh. Um. Okay.” Fluttershy smiled and didn’t press the issue. She was far too polite to ask if Applejack didn’t want to tell.

It was just so terribly wrong. Applejack knew that if she wanted, she could convince Fluttershy to come without telling her the truth. Unless dragons were involved, Applejack was confident she could talk Fluttershy into most anything, but it was a terrible thing to do, even if it was for a good cause. Particularly when the truth could solve the issue so simply.

“What I’m about to tell you ain’t leaving this room, alright?” Applejack fixed Fluttershy with a look. Fluttershy glanced left, then right, and finally nodded, sitting forward on the couch.

“Of course.”

“That goes for all of your little friends, too. And the not so little ones, too,” she said, glaring up the stairs at a certain antlered creature.

Fluttershy nodded gravely. A few of the smaller animals who had digits with which to cross their hearts did so. The intermittent chirps of birds vanished entirely, and not a single paw, claw or hoof stirred. A hush fell over the room, and Applejack hadn’t been aware of how much noise a couple dozen animals made simply by being—not until they all went quiet at once.

“I don’t want you telling Pinkie I told you this, ‘cause she’d rather y’all think it’s just another silly party. It ain’t.” Applejack paused to lick her lips. She could taste the bile that accompanied spilling another’s secret, but Fluttershy deserved more than to be led by the nose with a lie. “It’s to celebrate Granny Pie.”

Fluttershy made a soft noise, an oh, but a moment later her brow knit in confusion. “Wait. Granny Pie? I—I thought she was—”

“She passed away a long time ago,” Applejack said. She saw Fluttershy’s ears droop, the pegasus nodding very slowly. As sad a subject it was, Applejack smiled, just like Pinkie Pie would’ve wanted. “Pinkie usually heads on home to her family to be with them, but she wants to celebrate with us, this time.”

Fluttershy looked more confused than ever, and Applejack couldn’t hold back a little chuckle. It was probably terribly inappropriate, but she attributed that to whatever insanity had let her understand Pinkie’s point so readily.

“Way she sees it, there’re too many ponies who mourn, so I guess she wants to celebrate instead. You can’t tell her I told you, but it’s really important we’re all there for her, okay? She wants to honor her memory instead of sitting around and crying, and if that works for her, we owe it to her to listen.”

She got a tentative nod at that, and then another strong and confident nod from Fluttershy. “If that’s what she wants, of course I’ll come, but why is this secret? I—I mean, of course I won’t tell—”

“Beats me,” Applejack said, furrowing her brow. “Never thought to ask her, she just said not to tell.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

The silence was unbearably loud, now. Still the animals held their breath, no doubt waiting for some signal from Fluttershy, but the pegasus herself clearly wanted to say something. Applejack could have told even hadn't she been fidgeting.

“And you have another question for me, I’m guessing?” Applejack rose to stand. “Come on Fluttershy, I ain’t gonna bite and I’ve got to tell all the others before noon,” she said, hoping very much she wouldn’t get the inevitable questions, that Fluttershy wouldn’t ask what she and Pinkie had been talking about, why Pinkie would visit her late at night.

“Oh. No, not really.” Fluttershy shook her head and rose up as well, working the half-empty and long since cold teacup onto one of her wings. “I’m sorry. It’s just, well, if you don’t mind me saying, you sometimes get a little upset when ponies wake you up or ruin your sleep. Or, um, make you do things you think are silly.” Her eyes dropped to the floor, and a faint smile crossed her muzzle. “I just hope you’re not too angry with Pinkie Pie.”

“I—yeah,” Applejack said, a pointless word with no content, a bid for time to think. She wasn’t angry with Pinkie herself, and not until now had it struck her as odd. She knew well enough why she wasn’t angry with Pinkie for knocking on her door yesterday night: She’d be a monster to turn away somepony who needed her help, no matter how. But this morning? She should be spitting fire, and if it’d been Rainbow Dash to knock on her window, she wouldn’t hesitate to give that featherbrain a piece of her mind. It didn’t add up. She didn’t feel any of that.

Fluttershy cleared her throat. “Four in the afternoon, right? Of course I’ll be there. I’ll get started on today’s chores.” She smiled, and Applejack breathed a sigh of relief.

“You’re a lifesaver, Fluttershy. Thank you.” She puffed out her cheeks and scratched her head through her hat. One down, and three to go.

---

“Twilight! It’s Applejack!”

Applejack nodded her thanks to Spike, stepping inside the library after she’d shook the snow out of her mane. It had started snowing again while she headed for central Ponyville, and Dash was clearly making good on her promise of a white winter.

“Twilight! It’s for you!” Spike called again, a little louder and a little more urgent. The baby dragon groaned. Sleep still clung to his eyes, and it was impressive how loud stomps such tiny feet could make while Spike made his way upstairs.

It had been a simple enough decision. Rainbow Dash wouldn’t be roused this early no matter how hard she tried, and Applejack had tried many times before. Rarity might be easier to wake, but she’d refuse to come out of her room before she’d had her morning mane styling. That left only one pony.

“Twilight. Mornin’,” Applejack called. Twilight didn’t so much walk down the stairs as she made a controlled fall. That she stayed upright at the end of it was a miracle, and she had the worst case of bedmane Applejack had seen yet. One of her wings dragged along the ground whilst the other stuck out at an angle.

“You know,” Twilight muttered, pausing to yawn. Without even looking at Applejack, she trotted past and through the doorless arch that led to the library’s small kitchen. “The first thing I did when I took over the library was to send a letter to Princess Celestia.”

Applejack could smell Twilight’s barbed witticisms a mile away. Still, it didn’t cost much to humor her, especially when she was imposing.

“Really?” she asked, grinning.

A flash of magic from the kitchen. A groan, a yelp and a shattering of glass that made Applejack wince. After a few seconds of a far more subtle bubbling noise, Twilight trotted back out from the kitchen with a small cup of coffee sheathed in her magic.

“Yes. Do you know what I wrote?” Twilight asked, taking a seat by a writing desk facing Applejack.

“I haven’t the faintest clue,” Applejack said, moving a little closer. “But I’ve a feeling you’re about to share it with me.”

“I asked her for permission to change the opening times of the library on Sundays from ten ‘till eight to twelve ‘till ten. She said yes, but still I can’t seem to get any more sleep on Sundays.”

“Sorry ‘bout that, but it’s kinda important,” Applejack said. “See—”

“Either it’s a pegasus crashing through my window, or it’s a magical disaster of some kind. Rampaging hydras. Surprise visits by royalty. You name it! Sometimes, I think the entire universe conspires against me!” Twilight chugged her coffee like Rainbow Dash downed a bottle of cider, gingerly depositing the empty cup on the desk.

“You done?” Applejack asked, raising a brow.

“Yep! Morning,” Twilight said, rubbing a foreleg against her muzzle where drool had matted her coat. She glanced back at her own sides and inexpertly pulled her wings back into place. “You said something important was up?”

“Right. Yeah. Pinkie’s hosting a party to celebrate the coming of winter,” Applejack began, powering on when she saw the same skepticism she once felt now budding in her friend’s eyes. “No, I couldn’t have told you this any sooner, because yes, it’s today, and I’m out lettin’ people know on account of Pinkie needin’ to set up things and prepare Sugarcube Corner. Fluttershy and I’ve already said yes.”

Twilight shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I thought I told her long ago. I need advance warning to be able to put up a notice in the village board. I can’t just close the library without going through the proper channels—”

Applejack sat and folded her forelegs. “Twi? I hate telling you this, but you don’t get a whole lot of visitors other’n Cheerilee and us girls. Besides, you’re a princess. Aren’t you the ‘proper channels’ yourself?”

“That’s entirely besides the point.” Twilight huffed. “Besides, if she really wanted to welcome winter, she’d do so next weekend when it’s scheduled to start.”

Applejack chuckled. “Still sore about that, huh?”

Twilight frowned and tilted her head skywards, flicking her tail in annoyance. “Yes, well, I’m sure that upsetting the natural order is fine for some, and I bet Mayor Mare is really proud of herself for deciding to desynchronise us from Canterlot.”

A little surprised at the fervor in Twilight’s voice, Applejack said nothing. She tilted her head to one side and tapped a hoof on the floorboards as she waited. Twilight, for her part, hung her head and levitated over a brush from one of the desk’s drawers, going to work on her mane.

“I have stargazing Tuesdays on my balcony. I can’t do stargazing Tuesday if there’s snow on my balcony, and if I schedule in clearing the balcony, something else will have to give,” Twilight muttered. Finally, she cracked a smile. “Really though, I’m sure you girls will have a great time and all, but I think I’ll sit this one out. I’m sure Pinkie will understand. She did host two parties last week. Well. Technically, one party and one double pre-party.”

Applejack sighed. “Right.”

“Oh, there’s a difference. I checked.” Twilight’s grin was short-lived. “But, uh, you’re not smiling. Did I say something wrong? I’m sorry if I’m being difficult, but—”

“You ain’t, and it ain’t you. Listen.”

She’d hoped she wouldn’t have to explain all over again. Rather, she knew Pinkie Pie would have hoped she wouldn’t explain at all, but to Applejack, it was somewhere between a pain and relief to be forced to tell the full truth.

Applejack could see her friend’s eyes drifting across the shelves that lined the walls while she recounted the issue, an automated response, as if she could find a book that was relevant to this when nothing such existed. In the end, when all was said, Twilight gave a simple nod, and bless her quick brain, Applejack thought.

“Okay. I’m sure that the customers—well, I’m sure that Cheerilee will understand if I just leave a note,” Twilight said, a small frown crossing her features at her own correction. “But why didn’t you tell me this right away?”

“Because she told me not to tell. And now you’ve got to promise not to tell I told,” Applejack said. “My head already hurts from all of this, if you’re wondering.”

“Alright. Okay,” Twilight nodded again, slower this time. “Of course I’ll make time. I’ll tell Spike, and we’ll be there, but that doesn’t really answer the why of it. Why all the secrecy?”

“I don’t know,” Applejack said, some of her growing frustration at that one singular fact escaping in the form of a groan. If Twilight took any offense, she didn’t show it. “I don’t know, and I didn’t ask, and if I’m to tell Rarity and Rainbow Dash and make it in time to see if Pinkie needs any more help, I ain’t got time for discussin’ it either. Sugarcube Corner at four o’clock, just try’n pretend it’s a regular party, whatever that means where Pinkie’s concerned.”

Comments

[Taliesin of the Forest]

Hoofington

THE LEAST LOVED CITY IN THE FANDOM!

Project Horizons has given me reason to shudder at the mention of this place...

[Web of Hope]

3044750
I have to disagree, Baltimare hasn't even seen an in-show mention

[Donnys Boy]

I really love that this chapter is named, simply, "Moose." I don't even know why, really. I just think it's funny.

[carnivale]

Well. I simply love it.

[Olpert]

“But mostly,” Pinkie Pie said, her voice falling where Applejack’s rose. “I don’t want to wait, because I think I really need you girls right now.”

I would just like to point out how powerful that sentence was.

Also, you get points for making me think of the phrase "Chekhov's Moose." I still expect it to be fired at some point.

[blindbronyinblack]

Is Applejack going to end up telling everypony? Well on to the next chapter.

[PoweredByTea]

Why do I have a bad feeling about Applejack going round telling the truth? I can't help but think that with Twilight at least, Applejack could have pulled another Element of Honesty to convince her without telling her the full truth. "Listen sugarcube, I once told you to let go of my hoof and you'd be okay, and you were. Well, if you've ever believed anything I've told you, believe me when I say this party is a mite bit more important than usual for Pinkie. I can't rightly say why jus' yet, but that girl needs you."

[Pylons]

What the.. I thought I fave'd this weeks ago. Nevermind, at least I get to enjoy a few more chapters of an awesome story.

[Aegis Shield]

I'm starting to scratch my head about this being tagged "Romance". There's not a whiff of romance to be found here, no build-up of that intent, and I'm not seeing the thoughts of Applejack or Pinkie Pie having any sort of romantic intent. This story either needs to be re-evaluated as "Slice of Life" or the description needs to be changed around a bit-- this story is excellent, but its not what I came for. Hard to articulate, I know.

The somewhat muted Pinkie Pie is refreshing, especially since I can't stand her normally. However, with the entire story now moving slowly towards a Pinkie Pie party, my anticipation of upcoming events has fallen significantly. Every Pinkie Pie party I've seen is just about the same, and Twilight's words only confirm it-- she threw two of them last week, and none of them stand out from each other, in canon or in writing. I hope you've got a serious trick up your sleeve for this, because a P.P.P. (Pinkie Pie Party) isn't really something that should be driving a story tagged as nothing other than "Romance."

I can appreciate build-up, trust me I can. But we're four chapters in and I've not seen hide nor hair of cupid yet. I'll keep reading, though. Your raw talent drives my curiosity.

[Kagitaar]

3132996

You really need to learn patience.

[Flynt Coal]

It's taken me forever to get around to reading this, between work and trying to knock off stories that have been on my "read later" list for far too long. Now that I'm this far in, I'm going to say that as usual, the quality of your writing is excellent. As much as I love your adventure stories WaW and LaF and would love to see more of those from you (hint hint), I also really enjoy the way you write these simple slice of life, character driven things. I honestly wouldn't be bothered if the inevitable romance never happens, as long as we get a nice story where things happen and stuff... does... stuff.

I should really go to bed now.

[BlueMoonHarlot]

3132996
You are a coward, a fool, and a buffoon.