Dear Diary...

by Brony4L1fe90

One Good Turn (Entry #6)

Dear Diary,

Sometimes the hardest of problems have the simplest of solutions. Sometimes you might have to think outside of the box a little to get the best answers. All of my problems today had finally been answered. I also got in contact with Applejack again today, after she had suddenly left everypony. Needless to say I was quite worried, but I understand why she didn’t want to be around that day.

Anyway, it’s been several days since then, and I’ve spent a lot of time fooling around with my magic at home on her hat, hoping I could come up with some spell that could fix everything. It was definitely a lot of work, all only to end up with no success. Luckily, I eventually came up with something…

* * * * *

“No…that’s not working either!” Twilight yelled at herself in frustration. The hat that floated in front of her oddly transformed into a black top hat, before restoring to Applejack’s hat, with the cut still in place.

“Ugh, nothing I’ve tried works! I’ve tried magical stitches, transformations, I even made use of that whole ‘regeneration’ idea from that strange card game Rainbow was playing yesterday. Everything either leaves some sort of visible marks on the hat, or changes it completely!”

Spike watched as the purple unicorn paced around the library, trying to think of more ideas.

“Are you absolutely sure you don’t want to get Rarity to fix it? I could go get her right now if you want!” Spike offered, with a smile as he thought about Rarity.

“Spike, please! This isn’t the time! Although I know Rarity would do a phenomenal job sewing it back together, it would still leave stitches in the hat, and that’s just something I can’t have!”

Spike shrugged and asked, “Mind if I still go by her place anyway? Maybe she might need my pin cushion services again.”

Twilight groaned and said, “Fine, but please don’t say anything about the hat!” She watched as the young dragon agreed and quickly went out the door.

“Okay…what else is there for me to do. There has to be something…glue? Ugh, no, that’d be a horrible idea, it’d leave clear blobs on her hat…tape? Wait, tape?! WHAT AM I THINKING?” she shouted to herself, then collapsing to the ground. She suddenly looked up at the hat that was still floating in the air, looking through the hole to see a picture framed on the wall of her and Spike. Not only that, but the line of the cut was perfectly aligned with two points of Twilight Sparkle’s star-shaped cutie mark in that picture.

“That’s it!” Twilight suddenly cried out, getting back onto her hooves and running off to grab a knife from the kitchen. “If I can’t restore the cut without leaving some sort of visible mark, why not leave a mark that would mean something to her?” At that moment, she sliced gently into the hat, leaving an apple-shaped cut that lined up as best as possible with the original line-shaped cut. The slice was thin enough to not cause the round section to fall off, but yet leave a mark as not only a guide, but as an outline for the overall design she had in mind. She then traced off two more parts with the knife that would resemble the leaf and stem of the apple.

“But wait…” Twilight then said to herself, realizing she had no ability sewing with real thread, only knowing how to temporarily hold clothing together with magic. “I would still have to ask for Rarity’s help to do this. I hope she’d be willing to.”

Twilight placed the hat as carefully as possible into her saddlebags, ensuring that no part of the hat would be revealed while out in public. She left her home and made her way towards the Carousel Boutique.

“Oh hello, darling! I certainly thought you’d be here with Spikey-wikey when he arrived,” Rarity said as Twilight walked into her home.

“Thanks Rarity, and no, I was busy at home at the time Spike left. I had been working on something for Applejack.”

“I actually wanted to ask you about that, Twilight. I had noticed you two the other day sitting by the lake and she looked dreadfully sad, what happened?” she asked, as the two made their way towards Rarity’s room.

“She had lent me her hat, which I accidentally ruined…but it was that day I found out how much it really meant to her. So I spent the entire past two days trying to fix the hat, when I realized that it wasn’t magic that could fix it.”

“Well of course magic can’t fix this! Darling, why do you think I have so much sewing equipment and create all my dresses by hoof?”

The two had entered the room mid-conversation, Twilight catching sight of Spike arched over in the middle of Rarity’s room, five pins stuck into his back. She knew Spike was completely okay with the pins stuck into his body, but the thought of it still bothered her some as it just seemed painful.

“So Rarity, I finally came up with this idea, to not only fix the tear, but make the hat a little more special to her.” Twilight then pulled the hat out of her bags and showed the sliced outline on the hat. “I want red and green stitches on these outlines, so that it represents an apple, if you could please find the time to do this.”

“No, Twilight, I couldn’t possibly do this, I’m sorry,” Rarity said, though not showing any signs of disappointment.

“What? Rarity, why not?! I really need your help! I thought you might be able to—“

“Of course I have the ability to, I’m just choosing not to.”

Twilight stood amazed at her friend, speechless for a second. “Rarity…why would you refuse to help me like this? You know how much I’ve been—“

“Because YOU should be the one fixing her hat, Twilight, especially since Applejack means so much to you,” Rarity clarified, then showing a smile.

“But I don’t know how to--…wait, WHAT?! You know?!” Twilight exclaimed in shock, taking a step back as she looked at her friend in amazement.

“Yes, Twilight. I could see the signs: the way you immediately asked about Applejack when we were at the spa; when you tried to comfort her during the picnic; and how you, as you’ve told me, spent days trying to fix her hat, putting such a high priority on it. Twilight, I don’t think anypony else would have put so much of their energy into such a thing, unless the pony they were doing it for was really special to them.”

Twilight blushed a little, knowing that Applejack was in fact very special to her. “Rarity…it doesn’t bother you? That…well…I would like another mare?”

“Why would it?” Rarity asked, although knowing why Twilight might think other ponies wouldn’t have accepted it; she tried to respond in such a way to help comfort her friend and ensure that she had no problem whatsoever with it. “True love shouldn’t be restricted in such a way, darling.”

Twilight Sparkle smiled and hugged Rarity. “Thanks, I’m glad you’re so accepting of it,” she said, Rarity hugging back in acknowledgement. “You’re a wonderful friend, Rarity.”

Rarity giggled in response to the compliment from her friend.
“So, is it true?” Rarity asked once she had regained eye contact with Twilight. She could then see the blushing in Twilight’s cheeks from her question.

“W-what do you mean?” Twilight stuttered. She had a feeling what Rarity meant, but was a bit too shy to come right out with it.

“About Applejack, you love her…don’t you?” Rarity said, her smile growing by the second.

That second, Twilight’s heart rushed faster than ever once she heard the words “Applejack” and “love” in the same sentence. She thought about every moment she had spent with the mare; by her side in bed, helping her into a bath, sitting by her at the lake. She thought about her sweet and honest personality, one that easily surpassed everypony else’s. Good looks, combined with an even greater personality…Twilight couldn’t possibly deny such a thing.

“Come on, Twilight, out with it! I won’t be able to help you until you admit it!” Rarity teased, her teeth showing in a large grin.

Twilight Sparkle’s eyes closed in pure bliss, her cheeks brightening up. “…Yes, Rarity. I…I’m in love with Applejack.” Twilight felt so much happiness in saying those words. It just felt so right to her.

Rarity squealed in such a high pitch, it had quickly taken Twilight off-guard. “Oh my, Twilight, I’m so happy for you! I knew eventually you would find your special somepony! And for it to be Applejack, I just…ooooh, my hooves are shaking in excitement for you two!” Rarity exclaimed, once again hugging Twilight as she congratulated her. She then looked back at Twilight and agreed to help her. “Let’s get straight to business!”

Rarity walked Twilight over to the sewing machines, floating over a couple of scrap pieces of cloth and some thread, for Twilight to use in experimenting with the machine. She explained every detail about how to operate the machine, how to steer the cloth through the machine, and how to perfect the stitches. After a thirty minute long lesson, Rarity left her friend to practice with the machine by using the cloth she brought over, as she returned to Spike in order to continue work on some of her new dresses.

Twilight did her best to remember everything Rarity had told her, passing bits of cloth through the machine to practice getting the stitches just right, ensuring she could get the method down, but her progress with learning appeared to be slow. The hours seemed to fly by, but Twilight was just barely getting by with making turns on the stitching; at this rate, it would take her days before she felt ready enough to make the stitches on Applejack’s hat.

* * * * *

Lucky for me though, I was in the home of the most generous pony in Equestria. Since I had been trying so hard to learn how to use the sewing machine, which to be honest I feel I was just making an idiot of myself taking so long to learn, Rarity offered to make some space for me to sleep at her place for the night. She allowed me to bring the sewing machine downstairs so I could use it without disturbing her from her sleep, which in hindsight probably wasn’t the best idea; I ended up staying awake until about three in the morning until I got my stitching down! Quite a long time, wasn’t it? Trust me; it was a VERY repetitive process, running so many pieces of cloth through that machine over so many hours. But, practice makes perfect, right?

And so, even though I was tired that morning, I felt ready. I was still in the zone, and didn’t want to wait until I woke up before giving it a shot. That moment, early in the morning, was the moment of truth. That was when I pulled Applejack’s hat out from my bags, and put in the red thread into the machine. As carefully as I could, I positioned the hat under the needle and started up the machine. I was so nervous at that moment, that one little slip could mess everything up and put the hat in a worse condition, but the thoughts of my love for Applejack and how happy she would be to see her hat all fixed and with such a nice design was all I needed for a boost of confidence.

With a deep breath, I pushed the hat through the machine, carefully making each turn and paying great attention to detail. Once I returned to the starting point, I turned the machine off and swapped the threads to a green color, then turning it back on to sew the other two outlines I had cut into the hat. Once I finished the final outline, I turned off the machine and placed the hat on the table, taking a few steps back to get a good look at it.

Diary, I am not exaggerating when I tell you that it was PERFECT! I mean, I don’t know if I would have done as good of a job as Rarity, but…it followed the shape of the outline so well, you couldn’t see any cuts in the hat! And the original slice? It was all fixed with the stitching! I was so happy at that moment; I could finally remove all the sadness Applejack had and impress her with such a nice design!

It was then I realized why Rarity had me do the stitching instead of her. Not just because Applejack was special to me. Rarity had me sew the hat myself because it would give a much more personal meaning to the repair. Whenever Applejack wore the hat now, not only would she think of her father…she would think of me, and all the hard work I put into fixing it. It all made sense! I wanted to just wake Applejack up from her sleep and give the hat right then and there…but I had to wait until dawn arrived, which then leads me to everything that happened this morning.

* * * * *

Rarity walked downstairs from her room to hear the sounds of a purple unicorn snoring on the ground, too tired to even think about walking all the way to her bed. Rarity giggled a little, walking over to the table where the sewing machine is. She picked up the hat next to the machine and inspected the stitches in it. Her perfection for spotting out details could easily pick out some flaws, but she smiled as she knew those flaws would make the hat even more perfect for the occasion.

Rarity quickly ran over to her friend, shoving a hoof into her side. “Twilight, wake up, today’s the big day!”

Twilight Sparkle’s eyes slowly opened, and then quickly shooting wide open when she noticed it was morning. Rarity floated the hat magically over in front of Twilight, placing it on the ground in front of her. “Here you are, darling.”

Twilight quickly stood up and grabbed the hat, using her magic to carefully place it inside of her saddlebags. She quickly went for the door, her destination set for Sweet Apple Acres.

“Go get her, Twilight!” Rarity exclaimed, cheering for her friend as she left.

Twilight Sparkle wore a smile that couldn’t be stopped. She held in her bags the one item that could ease the pains of the pony she loved, and knew that everything was going to end well. Within minutes, she had approached the Apple Family home, quickly knocking on the door with her hoof, her hooves dancing on the ground a little in excitement as she waited.

But there was no response.

Twilight’s hooves soon stopped, as she soon knocked on the door again.

“Applejack?” Twilight said, trying to call for her friend through the door. As she waited for a response, Twilight looked around the farm, looking into the apple orchards to see if she could find any sight of Applejack or any of her family members, but none were to be found.

Twilight knocked harder on the door. “Please, Applejack, if you’re inside, this is important!”

As Twilight pressed her ear against the door, she could soon hear the sounds of crying. Even though it wasn’t right, Twilight was too worried to stand around any longer; Twilight opened up the front door herself, only to see Applejack sitting in the middle of the living room, her back towards the door.

“Applejack? Is everything okay?”

There was still no response from her, with only the sounds of sniffles to be heard. Twilight closed the door behind her as she walked into the room to sit next to Applejack. It was then she caught sight of why Applejack was crying. In Applejack’s hooves was a framed photo, brown in color, of a couple members of her family. The picture was of Granny Smith, Big McIntosh when he was only a baby, in the arms of who appeared to be Applejack’s father, with her mother right next to him.

In between sobs, Applejack tried to talk to Twilight. “Ah found this picture just this morning…Ah thought about everything yesterday and…Ah dug through some old albums…and Ah came across this photo…it was only fittin’ to have it framed…”

Twilight placed her hoof around Applejack, holding onto her in comfort. “I’m sure he was a wonderful father, Applejack. He wouldn’t have wanted to see you in this condition.”

“Ah know, Twiligh’…” she responded, getting up to place the framed picture on a nearby end table. She returned to sit next to her friend. “Thank ya kindly for coming by, Twi…Ah’m mighty sorry I didn’t answer the door.”

“I understand, Applejack. But listen, this day is going to be a perfect one for you,” Twilight said, grinning more than she had all morning, excited to present the gift to her.

“Wha…honestly, how could it be perfect, Twi?”

Right at that second, Twilight Sparkle used her magic to open up her saddlebags and remove a personally repaired Stetson hat, complete with colored stitching that resembled one of the apples in Applejack’s cutie mark.

“Applejack, I’m very sorry that I ruined your hat. Even though it was an accident, I felt obligated to make everything better, and so I did my best to fix the hat. I tried everything I could by magic, but when I realized that there was nothing I could do to fix the hole, I decided to not only stitch it up, but add on to the stitching so that it had a nice design to it, one I thought you might like. That way not only will you be able to still have your father’s memories with you, but maybe one day if you have children, you can pass the hat down to them as well and let them carry on memories of the wonderful mother they would have.”

Applejack remained speechless, as she looked at the stitching of the hat. The sad frown that once was on Applejack’s face was soon replaced by a smile of happiness and a warmed heart. “Twiligh’…that was such a thoughtful sentiment…thank ya kindly, sugarcube,” she said softly to Twilight in a sweet tone that made Twilight want to blush so badly, but did her best to keep cool, simply returning a smile to Applejack. “But…hold on now, you mean to tell me…Rarity didn’t stitch this up?”

“Nope,” Twilight said with a grin. “I spent all day and night at her place yesterday to learn how to stitch…so that I could do it myself.” At that moment in the midst of Twilight’s explanation, Applejack blushed a little, flattered that Twilight went through so much work for her. Normally she’d be stubborn as usual, refusing to allow a pony to go through so much just for her, but at that moment she really appreciated such a deed. It was then she understood why some ponies would go to such extents for another pony, to make them as happy as Twilight had made Applejack.

“I had to practice a lot…you’d be surprised how hard using that sewing machine is! But I kept at it, and, well…I don’t know, I don’t think it came out as well as it would have if Rarity did it, but—“

“Oh, horseapples, Twi. It means so much that you went through all that work for me. Ya know I’d normally be mad at ya for stressin’ like that, right?” Applejack said, her eyes showing a serious look but her mouth still showing a smile. The two giggled a little from that moment, Applejack’s face lightening up again. “Twiligh’, Ah’m really sorry for being so stubborn when y’all were sick at the emergency room. It’s a tough habit to break, but honest truth is, Ah’m mighty happy ya did this for me. But ya forgot something.”

Twilight looked at her friend in curiosity, her ears perking up. “What is it, Applejack?”

“Although Ah may think of my pa while wearing this hat…” Applejack then slipped her hat back on, proudly displaying the design of the apple behind her head, “…Ah’ll always think of the number one unicorn in all of Equestria.”

* * * * *

YES! I’m completely serious! She said I was number one! Oh my gosh, you have you idea how badly I wanted to squeal in happiness from hearing that! I would just look so awkward doing such a thing…so glad I was able to keep my cool then. But you should have seen my face when the conversation went on…

* * * * *

“You…really mean that?” Twilight asked with a flattered smile, a blush finally escaping and brightening her face a little.

“A perfect stitching by Rarity would never mean as much as a stitching by Twiligh’ Sparkle, a pony who took the time to learn to fix mah hat on her own. Ah’ll never forget this, Twiligh’.”

Right at that moment, Applejack walked up to Twilight Sparkle and wrapped her hooves around her, the two sharing a sincere embrace. Twilight was warmed by her friend’s body, feeling all of Applejack’s appreciation from that hug. She also loved the feeling of her friend’s head against hers, feeling the softness of Applejack’s lightly freckled cheeks gently caressing her own. Suddenly, Twilight began to shake in nervousness. The moment felt so right to her, she had to ask Applejack.

“Twi, ya alright?” she whispered caringly to Twilight, as she felt Twilight’s trembling.

“Yeah…listen, Applejack, um…” Twilight began to whisper back. With a silent deep breath, Twilight finished her question. “How would you like to have another picnic tomorrow? This time…just you and I?”

Applejack was silent. Twilight raised her head away from Applejack’s body so she could get a look at her reaction. She couldn’t tell what Applejack was thinking as she appeared to have a blank look on her face, as if she spaced out a little. But a couple seconds later, Applejack showed a smile on her face, accompanied by a slight blush. “…Ah’d love ta, sugarcube.”

* * * * *

So, you can see why I’m so excited for tomorrow! Although I never mentioned the word to her…I’m going on a date with Applejack! Yay! Oh diary, this is amazing, I can finally see everything coming to life here! But oh, what should I bring tomorrow? I’ll have to talk with Pinkie Pie and see if I can have her whip up something for me.

And before you even bring up the question…well, if you could talk anyway…yes, I’m going to do it. No matter how much my nerves might lock my body up, no matter what my brain tells me, I’m going to confess my love to Applejack tomorrow. HOW I’ll do such a thing, though…I’m not sure. This is the first time I’ve been in love, after all…oh, I wish I could find the answers in books for this, but I’m sure somepony like Rarity would just tell me to do what feels right. So…I’ll just have to stick with that for now I guess. Wish me luck, diary!

Until next time, assuming I don’t make a complete fool of myself and die from embarrassment,
Twilight Sparkle

Oh, and diary (sorry, didn't want to make another entry for this), I checked another book for more information. Turns out helium CAN become a solid, just not under regular pressure was all, even at absolute zero. Still, it's a pretty cool fact...isn't it?

Comments

[TAB]

I love the double updates, keep them up!

[CommanderFakingShepard]

Im Loin all the updates! Keep em comin!

[Darth Link 22]

Aww...Twilight's so thoughtful.

[CommisarSilver]

I love how twilight is so iin character, that little helium comment at the end just nailed it for me.