It's Got To Be My Destiny

by 1Bluefur

Rock and Roll With It

Twilight trotted through the threshold of her door staring at the floor. Her conversation with Applejack swirled through her head. “Why did I agree to that? I could be spending that time studying and preparing for tomorrow!”

As she began to levitate her saddlebags off her back Owlowliscious gave a hoot of greeting.

Twilight gasped dropping her saddlebags on the floor. “Oh my gosh I’m so sor-”

Twilight’s words died in her throat. Across the room there was a very uncomfortable looking yellow pegasus holding her pet. She shuffled her wings nervously, looking like she had been caught with one hoof in the cookie jar.

“Oh uhm, hi Twilight, I uh… I knew that you were going to be busy for a little bit with Cheerilee so I went ahead and fed this little guy,” Fluttershy paused to give the owl an affectionate nuzzle. “I hope that’s okay,”

“Uh…” Twilight’s reply died in her throat. “What the hay is she doing in my room?” she asked herself “Oh I really hope this isn’t a normal thing for them.”

Twilight had the sudden image of Fluttershy standing in her room in the middle of the night. She rushed to respond in hopes of covering her discomfort “Uh, thank you! Hah, I usually don’t forget things like that, it was just a crazy morning.”

As she trotted over to the desk Owlowliscious gave a small flap of his oak brown wings, closing the small distance between himself and Twilight. Fluttershy smiled warmly at the sight of him on the unicorn’s back. “Oh, don’t worry, I can tell. He really loves you Twilight,” she said.

“He sure does! Now, I am really grateful for what you did but uhm, maybe next time you could let me know before you come into my room?”

“Oh! Goodness I’m sorry, it’s just that the door was open so I didn’t really think much of it,” the other mare explained. “I’ll try to keep that in mind for next time!”

Twilight mentally kicked herself for forgetting to shut her door. “It’s okay, but I really need some time to myself right now.”

“Okay! Uhm, sorry again, I hope you have a good day! I should uh, probably see what Big Mac is doing,” Fluttershy quickly darted into the hallway. As soon as her pink tail disappeared from view Twilight telekinetically shut the door.

“Hoo,”

Twilight sighed, “Oh, I don’t know Owlowliscious,” she began to vent to her pet as she picked up her bags. She shuffled through her notes with her magic, organizing them by date and topic. “It’s just so overwhelming. I guess maybe that’s why I agreed to meet this friend of Applejack’s. I mean, what could possibly be overwhelming on a rock farm? They’re only vast barren fields of rocks in various stages of gemstone development!”

“Hoo,”

“Glad we’re in agreement, I knew you would understand.”

---

The walk to the train station was one of the most annoying trips Twilight had ever taken. It seemed like Applejack knew literally everypony and of course, had to stop and say hi to each and every one of them.

She learned about the ponies that work at the flower stand, and the two musical ponies that were total opposites (but somehow also roommates and best friends). There was the pony that delivers the mail, whose friend was Ponyville’s sole scientist… In fact, Twilight was beginning to learn far more about the ponies of Ponyville than she had ever wanted!

Relief washed over her as the train station came into view. Finally! She would be free from all the forced interactions. Unfortunately for Twilight, she was wrong about that.

“Hey AJ! Long time no see!”

Rainbow Dash.

The pair of ponies stopped and turned as the brightly hued pegasus landed in front of them. “Ah, if it isn’t Rainbow Dash,” Applejack said, there was a weird strain in her tone.

“Looks like you met the town’s new egghead huh?” Rainbow replied, her eyes settling on Twilight with a cocky smirk. The unicorn rolled her eyes in response.

“Real original,” she dryly responded.

“I’m guessing you’ve met Rainbow here already huh?” Applejack said as she glanced between the two ponies.

“If by ‘met’ you mean ‘had water dumped on my head’, than yes, I did meet Rainbow Dash,”

“Ugh! I told you a million times! It was an accident! Besides, it’s not like I’m the one who completely lost it and threatened me with her magic,”

“Well that was an accident too! If you knew anything about unicorns you would know our magic and our emotions are linked! Sometimes… It’s hard not to flare up… Besides, you may be obnoxious but I would never harm somepony like that!”

Rainbow’s mouth was open with a retort when Applejack thankfully interrupted. “Now hang on you two!” she said firmly, stepping between the bickering ponies.

“I don’t know what the hay happened between the both of you, but we have a train to catch so maybe save it for later?” the mare then turned to Rainbow Dash.

“I appreciate the greeting, but I thought I made it clear last time that the opportunity for friendship is past us. So good day to you, and please leave us alone.”

Rainbow Dash gawked as the orange mare pointedly turned her back. “Well excuuuse me for trying to be the bigger pony for once! You know, maybe if you stepped off that cloud of yours, you’d actually learn how to take a joke!” with those angry words, she was zipping away leaving nothing but the faintest rainbow contrail.

“Come on Twilight.”

The unicorn followed Applejack completely flabbergasted at what had just happened. She had no idea where to begin asking questions, what the hay was that about? Was Rainbow Dash just a total jerk to everypony?

The two boarded the train in silence. It wasn’t until the train was speeding towards their destination that somepony spoke. “I’m sorry Twilight. It wasn’t right of me to air dirty laundry in front of you, but I just didn’t know what else to say to her.”

Applejack stared out the window as silence resumed. Twilight mused for a moment before responding. “It’s okay, I’m starting to get the impression she’s not the most popular around here.”

Applejack sighed, “She’s got a temper on her that’s for sure, and she’s got some real weird ideas about what’s funny too. She loves to play “pranks” on ponies… I wouldn’t be surprised if she did dump water on you on purpose.”

“The only pony who remotely gets along with her is Pinkamena. Why if it weren’t for her, I would have never tried to be friends with Rainbow in the first place.”

“But that didn’t work?”

Applejack finally turned to face Twilight. Her expression was very somber and the unicorn was caught off guard by how genuinely regretful she seemed.

“Nope. Guess we’re just too different,” the orange mare paused for a moment before she forced a small smile “But hay, we can’t be dwelling on what didn’t work. I have a feeling you’re going to like Pinkamena and her family. They’re all hardworking ponies, and if anypony can get some smiles going its Pinkamena.”

Twilight mustered up a small smile back before turning to look out the window. Somehow knowing that Rainbow Dash and Applejack had a history made it harder for the unicorn to simply dismiss the pegasus. She was no longer just a nuisance, it seemed like she had caused some genuine pain.

“Not two days here and I’m already getting into drama!” the unicorn immediately resolved to do everything she could to remain out of Applejack’s business. “The less time I spend concerned for somepony else the better.”

It wasn’t that Twilight didn’t care at all about the other pony. As much as she hated to admit it she wasn’t really capable of that. But Twilight knew sympathizing with ponies was a slippery slope to making friends. It was exactly the reason why she avoided socializing at all.

The unicorn pulled a book out from her saddlebags, hoping some relevant reading would relieve her emotions. She flipped the tome over in her magic and gazed at the cover, “Predictions and Prophecies” the title read. “Strange, I guess I forgot it was in my bag,” in fact, she didn’t remember packing it at all.

Rather than dwelling on that fact, the unicorn swiftly swapped the book out for one on the history of education, “The Knowledge We Share”.

“As Equestria rebuilt after Nightmare Moon’s defeat, Celestia decided one of the most important ways to achieve universal harmony was through universal education. Through the upcoming decades she put laws into place mandating all Equestrian towns to have at least one schoolhouse. Unsurprisingly there was some criticism of these steps, as many ponies thought it would be impossible to get the various settlements of the land to recognize such laws. Indeed, the princess…”

After some amount of time had passed Twilight was abruptly pulled from her book by a gentle but sharp jab. Annoyed, she lowered the book in her magic and met Applejack’s slightly concerned gaze. “Oh thank goodness! I was almost worried you’d gone deaf!” the pony said.

Twilight resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It was still a mystery to her how so many other ponies didn’t understand what it meant to get lost in a good book. She glanced out the window and saw extremely rough and desolate terrain.

“We’re gonna be pulling in very soon!” Applejack said as she shrugged her saddlebags on. The pony began to walk down the aisle and it wasn’t hard for Twilight to follow suit. Instead, what was hard was keeping her balance as the train screeched to a halt.

The unicorn’s cheeks turned warm as she almost fell face first. “Woah, you okay there?” Applejack’s tone was a mix of amusement and concern.

“Yes, I’m fine,” she responded through her teeth. She scrunched her muzzle and quickly exited the train.

There was little protection from the wind outside. Twilight’s mane and tail immediately billowed as the train started to pull away. “Applejack! It’s so good to see you!” a voice called over the wind.

The two mares turned to see a pink earth pony approaching. She had bright blue eyes and a long mane and tail. Applejack grinned and the two quickly shared a hug. “It’s good to see you too Pink!” Applejack responded.

When the two parted the mare turned to Twilight. “Ooo, this must be Twilight Sparkle! There’s been a lot of buzz around town about you,” she said.

“There has?” Twilight gazed at the other pony in confusion. Applejack glanced at Pinkamena and the two chuckled.

“Twilight here ain’t the best at noticing when ponies are paying attention to her,” the orange mare said. “I guess you could say she’s a bit like I was when we first met, always workin’,”

Pinkamena eyes widened slightly in understanding. “Ohhh, well in that case I think she’s come to the right place!” she turned to Twilight and held a hoof out. “My name is Pinkamena Diane Pie, welcome to my family’s farm! It’s great to meet you; it sounds like you might need a friend or two huh?

Twilight stiffened a little at the last sentence. “Uh, well, mostly I’m here to learn about how rock farms work,” she replied as she awkwardly shook Pinkamena’s hoof. “Normally I would read up before a visit but I’m here to learn how to teach so…”

Pinkamena beamed, “Of course you are!” she said, there was a very mysterious glint in her eyes “I’m surprised you could even focus when there’s so many other fascinating things to learn about! In fact, I heard that there was a prophecy that was going to take place this very year! Hah! Can you believe that? What a crraaazy prediction!”

“Anyways, we should have plenty of time to explore the farm! Just follow me!” with that the pony turned and started to trot away, leaving a dumbfounded Twilight.

Applejack placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “I should have warned you, sometimes Pinkamena can seem… Odd. I know it sounds crazy but sometimes I swear she can read minds,” she explained. “Just… Roll with it,”

Twilight paused, watching the orange mare follow the other pony towards the farmhouse in the distance. She felt a strange anxiety around Pinkamena’s words, “There was a prophecy… What a prediction!” Twilight frowned, trying to shoo the feelings away as she started after the others.

“It’s just a coincidence, there’s no way there was anything actually… Substantial to what she said. Besides, most of Prophecies and Predictions are old mare’s tails,”

Still, the unicorn couldn’t quite shake the feeling the earth pony was trying to tell her something…

Author's Note:

-cue fanfare- A proper update!

She finally arrives! Pinkamena Diane Pie! The walking enigma but overall nice pony. It's surprisingly easy to have her fulfill a somewhat similar social niche without parties. Though it'll make a lot more sense when she's interacting with more than just two ponies.

I don't have a solid plan on when we will finally meet Rarity. But she is going to be brought up in the next chapter if nothing else.

(I'll be honest, I'm super tired right now, I'm an essential worker on an almost deserted college campus. There is nothing happening. . So I think that's really all the comments I have for now, other than I hope I didn't sleepily mess anything up grammar-wise during my last minute edits lmao.)

Comments

[Melody Song]

So barely any of the mane 6 are friends with Dashie? Aww, so sad. I hope they learn to reconcile with her before that prophecy comes true...

[Comickook]

Great job on this latest chapter. Love the work that went into the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up in all the right places. Yeah, LOVED the chat with Twilight and Fluttershy at the start of the chapter (especially with Twilight admitting to Fluttershy's point about the door and keeping Owlicious in such good hooves) as well as Applejack's admission of her own bad history with Rainbow Dash and introducing Twilight to so many other ponies - including -

(the ponies that work at the flower stand) - aka the only three ponies in Ponyville that are even bigger drama queens that you and Rarity combined, Twi.

and - ( the two musical ponies that were total opposites (but somehow also roommates and best friends) - aka Vinyl and Octavia in addition to, obviously, Muffins and the Doctor.

(But Twilight knew sympathizing with ponies was a slippery slope to making friends. It was exactly the reason why she avoided socializing at all). - Boy those snobby bullies at that private school REALLY did a number on you, Twi.

And, yeah, Twi's first meeting with Pinkamena was great stuff. Especially with the foreshadowing to Twi's first taste of "Pinkie Sense". And the irony of Twi dismissing the stuff in that book as "Old Mare's Tales" is NOT lost on me (even if it's ONLY ironic because of circumstances that are almost a year away at this point).

At any rate, I'll definitely be looking forward to more of this.

[1Bluefur]

10256149
Thank you very much! I'm glad everything landed so smoothly! Hah, and to think I was so close to cutting out Fluttershy's part in the beginning. But something in my gut was like "No, this is funny and a great opportunity to show more of Fluttershy"..

Yeah Twilight has definitely been bullied a bit more in this universe, but growing up it didn't really bother her as much after a certain point because of her studies. I guess the main difference between canon Twilight and this Twilight is that canon Twilight is so studious because she believes it's what's expected of her... Whereas this Twilight uses it more as a general escape. Though I think elements of both motivations can be found in each counterpart. Canon Twilight still found socializing stressful so studying was a great excuse to avoid it... Whereas this Twilight does feel she is expected to excel to some extend and is motivated to prove herself.

Same apple, different flavor lmao. I will definitely be figuring out where to slip in a flashback to Twilight's time in HS though .

[1Bluefur]

10255778
Yeah, as fun as it is to write new relationships and all the juicy drama/backstory... It was a bit rough writing that line with Applejack. All will be revealed in time of course .

[Melody Song]

10257117
Of course. We don't want a story with a giant exposition dump, these little tidbits of information that will compile into a full explanation is really nice. It tantalizes the reader in just the right way that they want to keep reading.

[Warrior of Virtue]

Maybe have them meet Rarity on the rock farm? If she ever mastered her gem finding spell, I could definitely see her finding work in that field, assuming she gave up on her dream of being a fashionista.

[1Bluefur]

10257148

You're definitely onto something there I'll give you that .

[Comickook]

10257148

10257153

Yeah. Point taken.

And for something a few months AFTER this, but a few months BEFORE Nightmare Moon's return, Rarity could have a run-in with the Diamond Dogs similar to canon, but happening sooner. And, Pinkamena going for help instead of Spike of course. Of course, it would have to be ponies Pinkamena would KNOW she can trust and who have useful skills. As well as, perhaps unfortunately for Rarity, showing WHY "Pity the Kidnapper" is pretty much exclusively a comedy trope (i.e. being too obnoxious with a kidnapper in real life is a good way to make an already bad situation even worse). Still, it WOULD be a good way for MOST of the Mane Six to do a little bonding in an actual adventure before Nightmare Moon arrives and provide semi-practical experience with the Everfree.

Another possible pre-Nightmare Moon adventure to provide Everfree experience could involve Twilight and Apple Bloom getting curious about a relative newcomer named Zecora. (so, yeah "Bridle Gossip" happening a few months earlier, except it would be Twilight trying to keep one of her superior's students safe and the two of them BOTH learning a bit about potions [Twilight liking the thought of additional learning at Zecora's hooves in a more private environment and both Twilight AND Zecora learning a bit about Apple Bloom's potential skills with potions] and while Zecora is still new enough to Ponyville to not have the undeserved bad press [mostly due to this Pinkie being a bit saner than her canon counterpart and not riling most of the rest of Ponyville]).

Another pre-Nightmare Moon incident to provide a little bit of bonding between the future Element Bearers could be AJ and Twilight finding out about Apple Bloom being bullied by Diamond Tiara and having a chat with Diamond's parents about it (Applejack motivated by Big Sister Instinct and Twilight at least trying to be a responsible teacher). Of course, they find out that Spoiled is EVEN WORSE than her daughter and most likely the main reason Diamond is such a bully.

And, of course, there could be a mess with the Flim-Flam Brothers (as old business rivals of the Apple Family and MAYBE the Pies too) to provide additional bonding in an adventure-type situation before Nightmare Moon's return.

Between all of that, the Mane Six will know how to work as a team in an actual adventure and be JUST familiar enough with the Everfree where they aren't COMPLETELY unprepared when Nightmare Moon returns.

Again, sorry about that. Just a bit too excited.

[1Bluefur]

10257445
Omg no need to apologize, though I have to admit reading some of that has made me feel you're a mind reader . I mean, to be fair, you did mention the Diamond Dogs a few times before so there's that... But I may or may not have already considered a couple of things concerning both Zecora and Applebloom...

I enjoy reading your ideas mate! Anypony's ideas really, it honestly makes me rly happy that you're thinking about my story like that! So if anything I should be thanking you .