Epilogue - A Trip to the Spa
"So how's Granny Smith doing?"
"Much better, sugarcube. Took her a few days ta get back up ta one-hundred percent, but that fruit worked wonders. Nurse Redheart said she ain't ever seen anythin' like it. Some of th' fruit was still leftover, so she took some of it with her - figures maybe she can make a vaccine or somethin' out of it."
It had indeed taken a few days for Granny Smith to get back to her old self, but her health had returned. Within only a few hours after Nurse Redheart initially administered the fruit, the old mare's temperature had already dropped back to normal levels. Over the next few days, as her strength gradually returned and her other symptoms began to disappear, the rest of the family slowly shifted back to normal. Big Macintosh finally got caught up on his sleep and lessened his coffee-intake, though he never kicked the habit entirely. Apple Bloom went back to school with much of her work already completed, and her classmates were somewhat envious of her 'break'. Applejack herself had lived up to her earlier promise and slept until noon on her first day back, an especially late day for her. She had already returned to the orchards however, and Sweet Apple Acres was essentially back to the way it used to be.
Applejack sighed as she reclined in her seat while one of the spa ponies tended to the earth pony's hooves, while Twilight herself held a magazine while she received a horn filing. Both mares had decided to treat themselves, and had already enjoyed many of the spa's services - they had already had a massage and a mud bath, and now this. All that was left was to spend some time in one of the hot baths. With the filing complete, they both made their way to an open bath and hopped into the warm waters. Applejack would have been hesitant to admit it, but this was kinda nice.
"Hey AJ?"
The orange mare blinked and leaned against one of the walls of the bath. "Huh? Wha?"
"I keep having these really weird dreams. Like... about me almost drowning. And then losing control." Twilight was absentmindedly tapping her hooves together, staring down at the water as she did.
"Well shucks, Twi. Ya can tell me about 'em if it'll make ya feel better. Do you wanna?"
"I guess. I mean, in a way, both dreams are kinda the same - you always end up saving me. With the drowning, I almost died, and when I lost control, I don't know if I could have ever gone back to just... me." The lavender mare sighed and looked up at Applejack, staring her in the eye. "But both times, you saved me. It didn't matter if it was from death or myself, you saved me."
Applejack waded over towards Twilight, sitting in the waters beside her. "Twi, it don' mean nothin'. I did it 'cause that's what friends do - we watch out fer each other. Don' ferget, ya saved me a few times too. Like when I fell into that crypt, or when I got stuck in mah own dream, or-"
Twilight giggled and placed a hoof on the earth pony's mouth, silencing her. "I get your point, Applejack. You don't have to keep giving examples."
"Twi, there was somethin' else I wanted ta say too." Applejack sighed and turned to look Twilight in the eye. "I jus' wanted ta thank ya for everythin'. I mean, you didn' even ask for anythin' in return! Ya heard about Granny's health, an' ya offered to help. No hesitation, no backwards glances. Ya jus'... were there fer me."
"Because that's what friends do. We watch out for each other."
"Wait... Twilight. Did ya jus' use mah own words on me?"
The unicorn stifled a giggle and grinned. "Maaaaaaybe?"
"...c'mere you." Applejack slid through the waters towards Twilight Sparkle and gave the lavender mare a hug, though the unicorn certainly wasn't about to resist such a thing. Even with her forelegs still wrapped around her friend, the earth pony still had one last thing to say. "Hey Twi... think we should write Princess Celestia a friendship report?"
Twilight pondered it for a moment but then slowly shook her head. "Somehow, AJ... I think she already knows."
Elsewhere within Equestria, the Daughter of Sol nodded knowingly.
And she smiled.
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- Vargras · 79k words · 655 23 · 11k views
- Vargras · 37k words · 582 15 · 11k views
- Vargras · 11k words · 168 12 · 5.7k views
- Shatterpath · 17k words · 274 8 · 8k views
- Shatterpath · 24k words · 111 14 · 3.4k views
- Brony4L1fe90 · 31k words · 184 3 · 4.7k views
- Cloudy Skies · 40k words · 901 19 · 17k views
Stats
Page generated in 0.203 seconds
Total duration
820 users online
1,330,831 hits today, 2,571,732 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
And with that, Forbidden Fruit is now complete. Hope you've all enjoyed it!
Lots of scene changes in the last chapter, so apologies if things seem hectic.
Such a sweet ending.
Nice ending to a Awsome story :). You did mention a sequel?
I actually do have one question about the chapter where Twilight went into a magic rage. Celestia mentioned to "He who watches" that she knew what was about to happen to Twilight and Applejack. How could she have known that?
Besides that I understand the entire story.
84069
Celestia is an incredibly powerful being that has been around for thousands of years. Given her power and her (likely) immortality, I don't think it's much of a stretch to say that there's also much more she knows and sees than what she lets on. This is just headcanon, of course, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are some events that she can predict or truly 'see' before they happen, and this would be one such event. Given Twilight's magical potential, however, it was to the benefit of all of Equestria for her to get over her fear of her own power.
Certainly not an easy choice for Celestia to make, especially given the relationship between her and Twilight, as well as everything the Elements of Harmony have done for Equestria. Nonetheless, it was a necessary albeit painful decision, even moreso once you consider what happened.
84069
And yes, there will be a sequel - after I finish the sequel to 'Hiatus', that is.
84078
Ty for that explanation. Does seem kinda fitting now that you mention it that way.
I'll just be waiting on that sequel then :). Meanwhile i'll read your other story's. Had to many updates on story's to start anything new really xD
Hmmm, good ending.
However, I rather strongly suspected that there was going to be a catch in the use of the fruit. From what Celestia said earlier in the story, how she "hated putting them throught this", I was almost sure an eventual twist-ending would be Granny Smith dying from the fruit and AJ and Twilight learning an important but painful lesson about life.
The only thing that stopped me from having this as my primary ending theory is your style of writing. I have read most of your fics by now, and this is not the way you write. Not yet atleast, or not in this kind of settin.
But all over, a good fic. It had it's good and bad moments, but it came out as a rather good one.
Good luck on sequels. I need more Hiatus.
84094
What's that? Write a dark fic now because I don't seem capable of it due to my writing style?
mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/131217597312.jpg
84100
Actually, while I am not pressing you in any way, it could be fun to read a dark fic written by you.
By think about what I said, the a drunk AJ and some out of place canivorus debate is the darkest you have ever gone.
I don't see why people tend to back away from the darker fics, writing should reflect life, and life is made of both good and bad event. A good story has "real" characters, no matter if they are people or ponies, and should reflect the human mind.
Or atleast that is my opinion/rabble.
84144
Typos a plenty.
Will I never get used to this iPad and it's mysterious ways of writing?
84144
I wouldn't necessarily call a drunken Applejack 'dark', but it's probably bordering on it given how bright and cheery the show is. The talk about eating meat, though? Yeah, that's probably the darkest I've gotten.
I know something I could do for a dark fic, but it'll have to wait a bit considering everything else I have in front of me right now.
Ooooo Ooooo do a Nurse Redheart fic next!!!!!!
in my opinion... there's too much dark already
very nice story, keep up the great writing
85088
That's actually what said dark fic would be. Dark/slice of life fic about the daily goings-on at Ponyville Urgent Care.
Beautiful ending!
tis a shame to see it end but all things must.
congrats to you!
97983
It's not the end of these two.
Excellent story. Now, on to the sequel...
Just read the whole thing in one go in order to get started on the sequel.
I liked it. I felt it had good pacing, kept a believable plot going on, and had the right touches of light-hearted humor here and there, along with some nice bonding. =3
Time to crack the sequel, then.
I actually got emotional as AJ explained what bothered her so much. The story provoked audible gasps at times; especially in the chapter entitled 'Unchained'. I see the work you're trying to put into your character development and your mastery of imagery is well done.
I agree with Karrakaz, there are already too many dark and grim-dark fics out there. Your handling of the 'darker' subjects here is well balanced. Keep up the good work and I look forward to reading more.
103236
I missed out on quite a few views the first time this went up, simply because of the subject - it was a fic with Applejack as the main character, and no shipping. Unfortunately, within this fandom, it seems like she's only used in AppleDash stories. I put quite a bit of effort into this, and it's good to see that it's getting some more views and folks are enjoying it as much as they are.
Thanks for the praise, though.
I liked how the two watched each other's backs, and was pleasantly surprised how protective Twilight was of A.J (you sure that Twi has no feelings for her? Relax, I'm only half joking).
While this would make a great love story, I can understand and respect your reasons to keep it this way. What's great is that with this piece I'm getting a lot of the benefits of a shipping story (growing relationship, closeness, strong feelings) and things are still innocence.
Great job overall ;)
111913
"While this would make a great love story, I can understand and respect your reasons to keep it this way." - I kept it this way for this fic, but the sequel itself is indeed a shipfic between Twilight and Applejack. I had enough readers ask for it, and I had never written a shipfic before (and was curious about it myself). If you'd like to give it a read, the link is up there under the story info.
Glad you liked it, though.
Well that was amazing, I find it increasingly rare to find a good adventure fic, especially a good one that bonds two characters without shipping them. Marvelously done chap!
112016
Thanks for the praise. I do what I can.
114760
Good to hear that you're liking it so far. Be advised, while this story has friendshipping, the sequel will inevitably have actual shipping.
115576
I blame ponies of ye olden times and their crazy logic.
115672
I haven't. The only one I've ever attempted to submit has been Hiatus.
I'm not sure if they would accept this due to some of the language, but it's used rather sparingly.
Awesome, so glad I found this. It was on the second page of highest rated stories with the shipping tag. I really enjoyed this, but the one thing that ruined it for me was reading the sequel's description by accident before clicking on this- I knew everypony was going to be okay in the end simply because the sequel was right next to it and said, with Granny Smith back in good health, Twilight and AJ... At some points, even after reading that, I just wasn't sure. Loved the dream sequence. You rock!
115714
"It was on the second page of highest rated stories with the shipping tag" - wat.
Still, good to hear you liked it as much as you did.
I have never read so much in one sitting. Totally worth it.
117610
Awww yeah.
Submitted this fic to EQD and it got approved. It'll go up tomorrow, from the sounds of things.
gratz with getting on equestria daily :)
132910
Thanks! The comments over on the EQD post are making me laugh quite a bit. Some folks haven't seen an AJ-centric fic with no shipping.
however you got it on EqD o0
132941
Mhm. Submitted it on Wednesday night, and it was approved by Saturday afternoon. I feel kinda bad that I've only been submitting completed fics, but those are the same ones I feel most confident about.
Hey man congrats on getting posted on EQD, I love this fic!
132997
mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw1677-1317846945.jpg
133047
I think that might be a little much, but I appreciate it nonetheless.
133280
It's a length I'm comfortable with. Anything beyond that, and I start to feel like I'm forcing myself to write, which is never a good thing.
133444
Those are the same names she called them by in 'Mare-Do-Well'.
133777
No real need to teleport if there's a bridge. Besides, teleporting two ponies at once probably takes more effort than simply crossing.
Then again, it ended up being anything but simple.
Read this entire story in one sitting. Why? Because I saw friendshipping on EQD, and friendshipping is my favorite kind of story, next to pure shipping itself. It's 1:30 AM and I'm reading pony fanfiction. Do I regret it? Not at all. Especially not after reading this gem.
Okay, where to begin?
Let's start with the unlikely team of AJ and Twilight. Of course we know they're great friends, but their sharing of emotions, memories, and even sleeping bags and apples was beautifully executed. I can safely say I cried a bit during several scenarios throughout this story. Particularly where AJ pulled Twi out of her 'magic overload' mode.
Additionally, excellent use of said 'magic overload' mode. You don't see that used very often in fics, or at least none that I've read lately. And the part with the bandits surrounding AJ...well I'll just say you really hit the emotions hard with every word you wrote, but that part in particular was something I've honestly never seen before. Writers usually don't want to risk implying one of those scenes, but you did it flawlessly.
Last but not least, and keep in mind I say this to most all writers, I am envious of your ability to write descriptively. Again, I say this to all other writers. I'm still rather up-and-coming with this writing stuff, but it's my passion, and reading fics like this inspire me to keep trying. As a matter of fact, technically I have a friendshipping-adventure story in the works, but it's Twi and Trixie. Either way, this has definitely given me a lot of ideas as to how to make progress during the 'slow' (travel, rest stops, etc) parts of an adventure.
Last words: AMAZING story, Vargras. Truly. I will most likely recommend this to all my bronies from school. They're sure to love it. Keep up the good work. I'm definitely putting you on watch here.
...And in going to watch you, I see you already have a sequel to this brilliant adventure already going!
Getting started on it, RIGHT NOW, at almost 2 in the morning. I love fanfiction. I truly do. Keeps me awake until ungodly hours, but it's worth it.
134266
Yay big posts! Always pleases me when folks take time to write such lengthy replies.
The lack of AJ and Twilight pairings still surprises me, regardless if it's shipping or not. They're one of the lesser-known pairings, and I'm not entirely sure why. Applejack seems like the closest thing Twilight has to a 'best friend', and it wouldn't surprise me if they both relied on one another more often than what we see within the show.
The 'magic overload' thing can seem a bit cliche at times, but I think it depends on how you do it. Based on 'Cutie Mark Chronicles', the only time Twilight has actually done such a thing, it required a 'trigger' to pull it off. I figured I'd make AJ that trigger, but how to do that was the tricky part. I had to word it just so, so that I could imply what the bandits intended without explicitly saying so.
I'll say this much - the sequel will indeed have shipping, but I've seen the mistakes most ship fics tend to make: namely, characterization and pacing. I think I have both of those just about under control, and a lot of folks seem to be enjoying it thus far (as, once again, it's one of the rarer pairings within the fandom).
Still, I'm glad you enjoyed the fic as much as you did. Just having someone enjoy the story makes it worth the effort to continue to write.
Well this was quite a pleasant fic to read, definitely a nice change of pace from all those grimdark and shipping stories that flood this site.
134606
Yeah, EQD gets a lot of dark and ship fics. Glad I could shake things up a bit.
135188
Yep!
137027
Looking back on it, yeah, I probably could have excluded that section entirely. It really doesn't make much sense at all, but it made for some good drama.
Oddly enough, I actually got into a discussion with someone else in an IRC channel about that very topic - what would happen if ponies had to eat meat, both the moral and physical issues that would come about from that. That same discussion might have unfairly influenced whether that made it into the fic or not.
Could they have gotten by on other food sources? Absolutely. It was to be a last resort, and nothing else. If they ever reached the point where they HAD to do that, well... they're in a pretty bad situation already.
Wow, just finished reading this, and it was amazing!
Honestly, you've portrayed the characters in an great manner, and i'm really glad that you haven't turned this into a shipping fic. Well done!
137997
Well, the sequel is a ship fic (due to my own curiosity/desire to try writing a ship fic, and also because a few other readers said that they would've thought of this as a ship fic if I hadn't explicitly stated otherwise). However, I plan on it being more of a sweet and tender ship fic. Most it'll have will be kisses and some snuggles.
Still, thank you for liking my portrayal of the characters.