First and final part
Appendage
It was early morning on Monday, Twilight had just finished her checklist on tasks for the following week, making sure to add-in “Learn to Preen” for a two hour timeslot on Tuesday night, since Saturday’s timeslot had been overrun by another one of Pinkie’s 'Congratulations to Twilight’s ascension as a princess after-after party'. Twilight groaned at the thought of having another party for the event.
It was a momentous occasion not only in Twilight’s life, but in the entirety of Equestrian history, as the last Alicorn to be transformed wasn’t even in the Canterlot Archives recorded history. Or at least the sections Twilight had been able to look in during all of last Monday. After-all, she had only been crowned that Wednesday prior. But that didn’t mean she could spend the rest of her days partying. Despite what Pinkie Pie said: “You’re a princess now! You can eat cake and Ice-Cream for every meal of the day! And no-one can tell you not to because you’re our princess!” Twilight shuddered at the thought of her waistline if she listened to Pinkie at all during her lifetime. In regards on eating habits anyway.
Holding the week-long timetable against her bedroom lecterns wall, and sticking it there with the same wooden tack that has held every timetable ever since her move to Ponyville. Levitating a freshly inked quill, Twilight put a cross through the 7-8AM Timeslot dedicated to setting her schedule, and floating her diary away into her bedside table drawer should the need for a date with her friends to be scheduled.
Glancing towards the clock, Twilight smirked at her own efficiency. 7.47AM. Even with all the extra scheduling I have to account for, I’m still ahead of time. Remembering what was next on the checklist, Twilight made her way back upstairs into her bedroom to wake Spike. Unfortunately for him, because Twilight was early, he had to be early.
Twilight nudged the young dragon with a hoof, getting absolutely no reaction from her number one assistant. Twilight tried a second and third time, each getting little to no success, only managing to have Spike bury his head and stick out a foot. Thinking, Twilight figured she could add-in part of her next job in with this one. Gain better wing control. Flaring both wings out, Twilight touched the tips of her primaries against each other as high above her spine as possible. Feeling the light burn of her newfound muscles, Twilight tried a few quick stretches so ensure she hadn’t lost anything overnight. If there was one thing that every pegasus -and alicorn- told her about her wings, it was that she had to test them every single day, otherwise they would lose effectiveness, especially since Twilight had never used the appendages before.
Reaching forward with her right wing, Twilight focused on her feathers and pushed a single primary forward, gently inching it closer to Spike’s exposed foot. Giving the lightest of brushes against the purple limb, Twilight slowly traced over her assistant’s scaled foot. Both the feather and the foot twitched at first contact, but through sheer will, Twilight held the feather in place for another swipe, running the feather’s tip over the entire length of the baby dragon’s foot.
Spike immediately pulled his foot back and uncovered his head, looking up at Twilight with much less joy than she was feeling from her little success. “Ta- Tw- Twilight!?” He sat up, looking around, only finding Twilight’s face grinning wildly and a stray feather poking out towards him. Groaning loudly, Spike lay back down and covered his entire body with the blanket. “Don’t you have other things to do besides wake me?” Came muffled from under the covers.
Twilight re-checked the clock. “Spike, you have precisely six minutes and forty-two seconds to wake up, the library isn’t going to reshelve itself.”
Spike groaned again. “Can’t you get Pinkie to do it? She’s the one who keeps throwing you parties.”
“Unfortunately, no. As much as I’d like to make it fair on you, could you imagine what sort of chaos the library would be in if Pinkie sorted it?” Twilight thought for a second, then shuddered. “There would be periodicals next to magazines and fiction next to biographies. It would be a total mess, and I can’t think of anyone better for the job.”
“That’s because the only other two ponies who could do the job are you and Owlowiscious. And I didn’t hear him doing anything during the night to help clean up.”
“Oh Spike, Owlowiscious can’t shelve any of the books because he has to carry them the entire time. You try to carry -and reshelve- any book while keeping both feet off the ground.” Twilight re-set her wings against her sides. “Besides, I doubt even I could do it.”
Spike’s head shot out from under his bed sheet. “Well duh, that’s why you still have your magic. So you don’t have to find things out the hard way.”
Twilight released a heavy sigh. Sure, Spike was right, she would never have to worry about testing such theories because of her magic, but that wasn’t the point of this exercise. Twilight turned around and headed down the staircase to the library’s main lobby. “If you get the sorting done by the end of today, there’ll be a few rubies in it for you...” Twilight almost felt bad for using bribery, but for a task that really wasn’t his fault, Twilight thought it nice to reward him.
Spike thought on the offer for a second, and knowing that he would have to do the task eventually anyway, he had may as well make it the first priority today instead of the last. “Deal.” The young dragon shot upright, stretching out his limbs and tail, then immediately headed downstairs, he’d done a lot harder jobs for much less of a reward.
Aside from the morning’s unusual start, the day had continued on as normal. Twilight’s morning appointment with the Cutie Mark Crusaders fell through, again, without prior warning. Not that Twilight expected an appointment cancellation notice from the three fillies. Twilight did, however, expect to see one of them over the next few days for a reschedule. Not that Twilight minded, she was either helping the girls with problems they brought to her, or, she had a free gap in her schedule to do as she pleased. And today, it would be spent catching up on her latest research project. The Theory of Flight. Not that Twilight was hung up on flying, but after the initial rush of being crowned princess, she found her wing control severely lacking in finesse.
It was after the thirteenth chapter Updrafts and Currents when there was a knock on Twilight’s bedroom door. “Yes Spike, what is it?” A slight hint of annoyance in her tone as Twilight has specifically said that she was studying, and surely after the countless years Spike might have learnt not to disturb her during such sessions.
A small head poked it’s way through the slightly ajar doorway. “Uhh, Sorry Twilight... I didn’t mean to disturb-”
“What is it Spike?”
“Oh, right... Applejack is here to see you...”
“Applejack?” Twilight glanced away from her book and out the window. She couldn’t remember seeing anything scheduled with Applejack for the entire week. Why would she suddenly turn up unannounced. “Did she say what her visit was about?”
“No, she didn’t say anything. She only asked to see you.” Spike turned his head back to check downstairs, then stepped into Twilight’s bedroom. “She doesn’t seem herself though.”
Twilight took a deep breath. Applejack wouldn’t be here unless it was important. Moving a bookmark into place, Twilight levitated the book off her bed and onto the clean lectern, replacing the spot on her bed with the diary from her bedside table, noting the visitor. “Let Applejack know I’ll be down in a second.”
Spike did a quick salute. “Will do!” He said enthusiastically. “Oh, and can I head out for a bit? There was something Rarity wanted me to help with at her place and-”
“Yes, you can go Spike. I think a break would do us some good.” Twilight felt her stomach grumble a little as she thought of a pause mid-study. Well, if I'm going to have a break... Twilight thought to herself, hearing her door click shut again. Picking herself up off the bed, Twilight started making her way to the door. But before flicking it open with her magic, she put on a fake smile. It was a Monday, after-all.
Upon leaving her bedroom, Twilight immediately noticed Applejack browsing the shelves of the library, of course, Applejack wasn't interested in any of the books, it was just a trait Twilight had noticed about Applejack over the years that she always had to look busy, as if one of her teachers would berate her for wasting time. Although she still was wasting time, there was at least a veil of activity covering her boredom.
“Hey Applejack, what are you doing here so early?”
Applejack turned around quickly, almost startled by Twilight’s sudden appearance.Clearing her throat, Applejack couldn’t help but have a slight smirk. “It’s the afternoon Twi.”
Upon inspection of the wall clock, it was indeed the afternoon. The free time from the Cutie Mark Crusaders not turning up had caused Twilight to join the two sessions of study on flight into one. Albeit making Twilight lose track of time and miss lunch completely. Well, it’s not the first time. “Oh, right... Afternoon. I meant early afternoon... heh heh.” A quick roll of Applejack’s eyes said it all. “What can I help with?”
This is when Applejack changed her posture she glanced around the room, making sure she had seen Spike leave earlier. “Ah actually kinda jus’ wanna have a talk.”
“A... Talk?”
“Yes’m.”
Well, this is weird. “Alllllrighty,” Twilight stepped down the rest of the stairs, taking a seat in the lobby as Applejack found a chair opposite her. “What do you want to talk about?” Applejack shifted her position uncomfortably, looking at pretty much anything but Twilight. Twilight herself shifted, opting to lay down instead of sitting upright. They were friends, after all. No need for such formalities. An awkward silence was held throughout the room, Twilight flicked her tail once, Applejack released a sigh. The two ponies stared at each other for a few moments, Twilight slowly getting more confused, and slightly irritated. “Applejack-”
“It’s about you.” She blurted out quickly.
“Me? what about me?”
“Ah don’ know why Twi. It’s jus’ that when you got your wings ‘n stuff its jus’ been harder to be around you ‘n all.”
Twilight was afraid that something like this would happen between her and her friends. “Applejack, just because -technically- I’m a princess now, doesn’t mean I’m a whole different pony. I’m still me...” Twilight paused for a moment, looking at her back as she flexed her wings for emphasis. “There just happens to be a little bit more of me now.”
“No Twi, it’s not that you’ve changed... Which you haven’t. It’s just- Ah forget it. Forget I ‘aint said nothin’.”
Applejack stood up, but Twilight followed her action. “No, Applejack, you brought it up, and it’s obviously upsetting you, otherwise you wouldn’t have come down here to talk to me.” This caused Applejack to wince slightly. “Now you’re a worse liar than I am so don’t tell me that it’s ‘me’ because I’m still the same pony.”
Applejack sighed. She knew before she came here that resistance wasn’t going to stop Twilight. If she wanted to she could just order it out of her because of her newfound power over Equestria and it’s citizens. But Twilight was right about one thing, she was still the same pony. “It’s jus’... Remember that time when Ah was tryn’ to run the whole farm by mahself and just ended up makin’ a mess of everythin’?”
Twilight was unsure of where this was going, if it wasn’t her new title that wasn’t putting Applejack off, then what was? “Uhh, yeah... Why?”
“Well, when you, Dash, Pinkie...” Applejack paused for a second. “When everypony came to help me Ah never realised how bad Ah was at my own job.”
Twilight scoffed. “What do you mean? You’re the best at what you do. I haven’t seen anypony who can buck a tree full of apples like you can.”
“But that’s jus’ it Twi. Ah know Ah can outbuck anypony this side of Canterlot, outside mah brother and a few cousins. But when you helped, you took out an entire field at once, didn’ dent a tree or bruise an apple, and didn’ even break a sweat! An’ that was years ago, Ah’d hate to see what you can do now.”
Twilight shook her head. “Wait, hold up. So this is about my magic?”
“No, no... As Ah said when you beat that Trixie pony, your magic is a part of who you are. What Ah don’t understand is that why somepony with as much talent as yourself needs... More...”
“More?”
“Yah know...” Applejack took off her hat, and sat it on the table beside her. Never had she felt this bad about having a conversation before. Taking a deep breath, there was little left to do but take the plunge. “Why is it, that a pony with as much talent with magic as yourself, gets somethin’ else to be great at?”
Twilight was stunned, of all ponies she had expected- well, she hadn’t expected anypony to make such a point. “That’s it then.”
“That’s what then?”
“You’re jealous.”
“Jealous! Me?” Applejack ran a hoof through her mane. “Ah... No, Ah ain’t jealous.”
“Well if that’s the reason you’ve come here, then you are. You might be trying to convince yourself otherwise, but that’s what it is, pure and simple.” Twilight stretched her wings out, watching Applejack’s reaction to her display. “See? You are! You can’t take your eyes off them.”
“Ah- Ah’m sorry Twi. But Ah work my tail off out there every day, just so Ah can do it all again next season the exact same way.” Applejack lowered her gaze to the floor. “Maybe Ah am a little jealous after having seen what you could do. Now Ah know what Ah said, and Ah’ll stand by it, you are good at what you do. But, sometimes a ponys gotta dream Twi. But seein’ you get them there wings stirred somethin up in me.”
“Applejack, I’ve worked just as hard as you have over the years-”
“And you’ve got somethin to show for it.” Applejack interrupted, Twilight was taken aback by her friends apparent discontent over the past few weeks. “Whereas Ah just keep turning the same numbers each and every year with no reward that Ah hadn’t already gotten.”
Twilight was unsure how to proceed. There was obviously nothing she could do to change anything. And surely Applejack knew that too. Maybe it was one of those friendly moments of I wish I were you. Twilight remembered reading about them... Once... Years ago... “I’m sorry you feel that way Applejack. But... What do you want me to do?”
“Ah don’t know Twi. Ah know that you do your best at everythin’ you set your mind to. But, Ah just wish you weren’t so gosh darn good at it all.”
Twilight giggled slightly with amusement. “I may be good at a lot of things. But that doesn’t make me perfect you know.” Twilight glanced at the clock. “In fact, there are a lot of things I can’t do.”
“Oh yeah? Like what?”
“Keep track of time is one thing. And while I may be able to clear a whole field of apple trees in one go, taking care of them is another issue entirely. Did you even see what happened when I tried to add in a few pot-plants to the Library?”
“There were plants in here?”
“Not for long. I over-watered them, so I then used a spell to reduce the amount of moisture in the soil and just ended up drying out every single one of them.” Applejack couldn’t help but stifle a smirk at that one. “And I can’t handle stress either. Remember the time when I visited myself from the future?”
“You did who on the what now?”
“Exactly.” Twilight took a deep breath. This had gone smoother than she had expected. “There is truly only one thing I’m good at, and that’s Magic itself. It’s a term so broad that it relates into so many other fields that it looks like I’m good at everything.”
“But you are-”
“Let’s use Rarity as an example.” Applejack nodded. “Her special talent is finding jewels, correct?” Applejack nodded again. “Now, it was her choice to take her talent and move that into fashion. Who’s to say that she wasn’t to become a miner, or an artisan? She would probably be really good at both of those jobs. Well, maybe not the miner... But you get what I mean, right?”
“So what? Are you saying that my special talent ain’t no good?”
Oh no Twilight, bad example, bad example! “No! No no no... What I’m saying is that your talent of working with apples is just very specific. Sure, to most people it’s a piece of fruit. But it’s what you do with them that what sets you apart. You can bake them into cakes and pies, turn them into cider or juice. You could lay out six different types of apples in-front of me and all I’d be able to say is their colour. Where you could tell me their actual names, origins and what to use them for.”
“That’s all well and good Twi, but it doesn’t change how Ah feel right now.”
Twilight sighed. And I thought I had everything fixed with that example. “Then I’m sorry Applejack, there’s nothing I can do about it. This is who I am now, and who knows what will happen to me in the future”
“Well, actually, there is one thing you can help me with.”
Twilight’s eyes lit up. “Anything you need Applejack.”
“Can-” An ear piercing smash followed by a blue blur and an explosion of books and paper entered the room. Applejack held her hooves up to cover her face as the impact had caused more than a few pieces of literature to collide with her forehooves. Twilight, however, was less fortunate.
“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight shouted from under a pile of books. Digging to the surface, Twilight threw off the books and stomped towards the upside down pegasus encased on a bookshelf.
“Oh, hey Twilight. I just made up this really cool new trick, heh heh. Guess I didn’t quite get the re-entry straight.” A sheepish blush reached the cyan pegasus’ face.
“How many times have I told you to not fly in here, it’s a Library, not an obstacle course. How many more times have I told you that I have a door for a reason, and just why were you trying a new stunt in the centre of town?”
“Uhh, maybe four. I think six, and because everypony loves watching me fly!”
“Then why do you keep ignoring me?” Twilight lifted Dash up with her magic, and sat her down on the chair next to Applejack. “This is the seventh bookshelf I’ve had to replace since I moved here.”
“You’re welcome.”
“That wasn’t a thank you.” Twilight deadpanned.
“Uhh, Twi. I should get goin’. They’ll need me back at-” Applejack started, but was cut off before she could take a step.
“Oh no you don’t. We are-” Twilight glanced towards Rainbow Dash, noting her strange look. “Rainbow, why are you here?”
“Uh, I crashed?” The cyan pegasus looked like she was struggling. “Can you let me go?” Twilight stopped her magic, allowing Rainbow to move again; so she immediately took to the air and floated around above Twilight. “Hey, have you started to use your wings properly yet? Have you actually been flying? Because I haven’t seen you around town much... Actually, I haven’t seen you around at all since Pinkies party the other day, and even before that I hardly saw you...” Rainbow floated in place, thinking. “You haven’t been studying this whole time, have you?” Twilight opened her mouth to reply. “Of course you have, who am I kidding...”
Twilight glanced towards Applejack, who was just staring at Rainbow Dash, eyes shifting up and down with her... Wing movements... “No Rainbow, I haven’t gone flying yet. I haven’t even read up on how to detect up drafts and-”
“Reading? Twilight, after all these years that we've known each other, how many times have I told you that reading about something isn't anything like doing something. It’s a whole different experience. I mean, you can read how to detect an up draft or how much effort it takes to move a cloud, but without actually feeling it there’s nothing to gain!” Rainbow Dash floated down to the floor and stood beside Twilight. “I'm going to take you flying... Tomorrow!” Twilight saw Rainbow Dash looking around the walls of the library, searching for- “And I won’t take no for an answer!” The rainbow-maned pegasus shouted back as she flew through the broken window, the torn curtains flapping in the wake of Dash’s exit.
Twilight sighed. Typical Rainbow Dash, wanting me to change schedule at a moments notice. The librarian turned back towards Applejack who had resumed her seated position a few hooves from where Twilight stood. “Now, as I was saying, what can I do to make this up to you?”
Applejack was taken aback by her words. “Now, you know I can’t do that Twilight.” Applejack rubbed a hoof against her temple for a moment. “It’s not right for someone of royalty to-”
“This has nothing to do with that Applejack.” Twilight sighed. “Alright, I may be a princess. I may be the fourth most important pony in Equestria. But that doesn’t mean that anything between us has changed.” Twilight stepped forward, placing a hoof on Applejack’s. “We are still friends, we always will be. But why all of a sudden has... this happened?”
Applejack shrugged off Twilight’s hoof. “Because it ain’t right Twi. It just ain’t. Now Ah know what has happened is a good thing, and Ahm mighty proud to be called your friend. But what about the rest of us?”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“What Ah mean is, why is it you?” Applejack sighed again, looking at Twilight, making sure that she didn’t have to say it again. “Ah mean, what about the rest of us? Ahm sure Rarity would make great use of a pair of wings, getting a complete view around her designs whenever she pleased.” The two ponies continued to stare at each other, neither one able to look away. “What about Fluttershy, if she had magic, how much easier would it be for her to count the bunnies or protect the newborns. What about me Twilight? What if Ah had a pair of wings or magic... How much different would my life be?” Applejack turned away, the selfishness of what she was saying setting in. “As Ah said before Twilight, Ah’m mighty proud of who you are and what you’ve achieved. But, what about us? The ones who have helped you along the way, the friends who have learnt the same number of things you have, just in a different way?”
Twilight sniffed once, fighting back her tears. “You’re right...”
Applejack looked back at Twilight, seeing the mess she’d made. “No Ah’m not...”
“But you are...” Twilight sniffed once. “You’re absolutely right.”
Applejack stepped forward, a firm tone in her voice. “No Ah’m not...” Applejack had a change of heart, having seen what her feelings do to Twilight, she didn’t want the princess, her friend, to feel the way she does. “That’s just how Ah feel Twilight. But you can change all that. It’s not about what we’re missin’. It’s about what we have, and what we do.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Ah might not think it’s fair, but you can prove me wrong. You’re a princess now, as you said, the fourth most important pony in all of Equestria. There will be times to use that for good.” It was Applejack’s turn to comfort Twilight, the only way she knew how. “Besides, if how Ah felt was true, could you imagine Pinkie with magic?”
Twilight stifled a giggle. “You mean more than she already has?”
“Exactly. We’re all good the way we are...” Applejack returned her somber tone. “A pony can certainly dream though.”
Twilight shared Applejack’s saddened expression but for a moment. “Follow me.” Twilight turned towards the exit, flicking it open with her magic. Applejack followed outside as Twilight closed the door and turned the ‘Open’ sign to ‘Closed’.
“Where are we goin’?”
“To prove that you don’t need wings and a horn to be a good pony.”