Azure Edge

by Leaf Blade

109. A Couple Bottles of Cider Between Friends

“Pinkie,” Applejack said firmly, chewing on her thumbnail and looking out the entrance to the cave while Rainbow, Spike and Pinkie all sat around reading Daring Do. “You know where Twi went? I wanna talk to her real quick.”

“By yourself?” Rainbow asked, her face turning pale.

“Don’t you worry none, Rainbow,” Applejack gave a reassuring smile, “I ain’t gonna get into a fight, I promise.”

“Uh,” Pinkie said, clearly also nervous but she was Pinkie so she obviously didn’t wanna say no to Applejack, “she said she needed some time to herself, but I dunno—”

“There’s a hill,” Spike said, “it overlooks the forest, and the town nearby. You should be able to find it on your own, right? That’s where she would’ve gone.”

“Alright,” Applejack nodded, “I don’t think I’ll have much trouble. Not my first time combin’ through a forest. Thanks, y’all.”

“Be careful, okay?” Rainbow asked, and Applejack’s heart warmed at her sweetness.

“And be nice!” Pinkie added.

“Will do, y’all!” Applejack shouted as she left the cave.

It didn’t take long for Applejack to find the hill where Twilight was sitting cross-legged, staring out over the town of Ponyville in a little grassy patch, the snow having melted around her presence.

Applejack didn’t immediately alert Twilight to her presence, though she suspected the dragon knew she was there regardless; they weren’t easy creatures to sneak up on.

She had conflicting emotions about still thinking of Twilight as a mark; she honestly wanted to believe that Twilight was everything she said she was, that Twilight and Rarity and Spike and everypony else could go back to the library once this was all over and share a mug of hot cocoa like they used to.

But on the other hand, Applejack had seen the horrors that dragons could unleash. She’d held burning corpses in her hands, carried bodies of children back to their parents, nursed a young Pinkie back to health after her house had collapsed on top of her.

Applejack wasn’t about to take any chances.

Yet if that were what she really believed, she ought to have just killed the dragon right now. She probably could too; Twi’d never see it coming if Applejack of all ponies turned traitor on her now, and Twilight was probably still weakened after her battle with Rarity and whatever caused her to burn the library down in the first place.

But Applejack found that idea completely out of the question. She wasn’t about to fight dirty like that… but if she only thought Twilight was a monster, she’d have no problem with it, would she?

“Bit for your thoughts, Applejack,” Twilight said quietly, still staring out across town. Applejack guessed a sneak attack was off the table now anyway.

“Got a whole lot of dustbunnies runnin’ around in my head right now, Twi,” Applejack laughed and threw her pack onto the ground next to Twilight, startling her, and sitting down beside it.

She pulled out two bottles of apple cider and handed one to Twilight, who took it hesitantly. Applejack opened hers and knocked it against Twi’s bottle before taking a drink, Twilight very slowly and cautiously following her lead. The smile on Twilight’s face as she realized the cider was real good made Applejack beam with pride.

“But I reckon you know all about that, huh?” Applejack asked. “Bet you’ve been thinkin’ long’n hard ‘bout this whole situation since last night.”

“Since this morning,” Twilight said, taking another sip of cider. “Slept through last night. If I hadn't gotten to Fluttershy, I would’ve—”

“Well, I hope you can forgive Rarity,” Applejack said solemnly, though she was quickly startled by Twilight spitting fizzy cider all over the place.

“Wait, what!?” Twilight yelped. “What do you mean forgive Rarity?! I thought I was the one who’d been bad!”

“I mean,” Applejack stuttered for a sec, but then shrugged and collected her thoughts before speaking again. “She did try to kill ya, Twi. You could go on and on about why she did that, but the fact is she did try to kill ya, and I couldn’t exactly blame you for not bein’ able to look past that.”

“Oh,” Twilight took another sip of cider and then hummed, “I guess I hadn't really thought about it. Didn’t think about much of anything last night, to be honest. It was all kinda fight or flight, instinct, that sorta thing.”

“Then how come you didn’t fight back?”

“I didn’t want to hurt her,” Twilight’s response was instant, like not only did she not need to think about it, but she spoke it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I love her. And I can’t stop loving her, just because… of this whole mess.

“It’d be a lot easier on me if I could!” Twilight laughed awkwardly, and Applejack couldn’t help sharing a nervous smile with her. “If I could pretend that I really was this soulless monster you all think that I am, but… I’m not. I can’t stop loving her, or Rainbow, or you and Pinkie Pie, even if it hurts. And it does hurt, but—” Twilight shrugged and took another swig of cider.

“Well, I’d be lyin’ if I said I could take you at your word, Twi,” Applejack sighed. “Wish I could. But the threat of dragons ain’t just a fairytale to me, I’ve seen it firsthand, and it’s a nightmare.”

Twilight’s ears lowered and she looked sullen at the ground, and Applejack wasn’t sure if she should feel sad, or mad that Twi was trying to pull one over on her.

Then again, if Twilight was who she said she was, she probably wasn’t trying to make Applejack feel for her, but that’s if she was just a librarian and a mom, and not also a monster, and Applejack wasn’t ready to take that bet quite yet.

“I tell ya what though,” Applejack took a swig of cider, sighing in contentment at its profound flavor, “I ain’t exactly sure who to trust right now. A lot of this situation just don’t add up, and I ain’t willin’ to snap to any judgments ‘til I know for sure what’s goin’ on with you, and with this Crystal Empire and such.

“For right now, all I’m trustin’ is Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie, but I promise I’ll see this thing through to the end, no matter what. How’s that sound?”

“Honestly?” Twilight held her nearly empty cider bottle out toward Applejack, who clinked hers against it. “I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Author's Note:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

Comments

[AppleTank]

This makes me wonder if ponies don't attack other ponies. Pretty sure there were some, and well, that doesn't mean all ponies are bad.