In a world where love is curable, Applejack discovers the cure might be worse than the disease.
Based on Delirium by Lauren Oliver.
A thousand years ago, the world was almost lost due to love - the deliria - when it turned sister on sister and brought Equestria to its knees. Now things are different. Now scientists have been able to eradicate love, in a procedure each pony must undergo when they receive their cutie marks. Applejack has always looked forward to the cure, to living a life free of love and, with it, from pain.
But as her treatment date draws near, she does the unthinkable:
Applejack awoke to the warm autumn sun streaming through the window of the small bedroom she shared with her sister Applebloom. She blinked the sleep away from her eyes, stretched her hooves and rolled over onto the hardwood floor. Yawning, she stretched out first her forelegs, then her hind, then yawned quietly, careful not to wake her sister. It was rare enough that she would get any sleep at all, Applejack knew, and tonight was one of the rare nights that Applebloom slept the whole night. Carefully, she opened the door to the hallway, closed it behind her, and headed towards the kitchen.
Applejack's brother and his wife, Carrot Top, were already in the kitchen. Carrot Top was working at the stove, the smell of fried potatoes wafting through the small kitchen.
"Good morning, Applejack." Carrot Top's voice was level and faraway, not an atypical voice for one who had already received the Cure.
Applejack sat at the table. "Good mornin' Carrot." Her throat was dry, and the glass of apple juice that Carrot had set out for her did little to clear away the sensation.
"Today's the big day, ain't it?" Big Mac's voice was a deep rumble, though his inflection differed little from that of his wife.
"Yessir, Big Mac." Applejack had tried to banish all thoughts of the day to come from her head, but Big Mac's reminder caused her to break out into a cold sweat once again.
"Don't worry, the reviews board is just trying to decide where you'll fit in the best, what your special talent is. It's not a test you can fail, you'll do fine." Applejack had heard Carrot repeat this and similar statements, but the fact was she knew she could fail, in a sense.
The role the Board chose for you was yours for life, be it mailmare, teacher or, as Applejack was hoping for, apple farmer. But that wasn't all they decided. The reviews board also decided which pony you would be partnered with, once you received the cure.
Carrot finished frying the potato pancakes, and set them on the table in front of Applejack, refilling her glass for her as well.
"Thank you Carrot." Applejack was relieved to think about that fact at least, that in a few short months she would finally be eligible to receive not only the Cure, but the cutie mark that the Board would choose for her. While the status and belonging the mark would bestow on her was certainly not unwelcome, it was the Cure that she was most eagerly anticipating.
She began eating her pancakes, as Applebloom slowly trotted down the stairs from their shared bedroom.
"Good morning, Applebloom. Would you like some pancakes?" Applebloom merely nodded in reply, heading to her usual place at the table and slowly sipping at her juice.
"Good mornin' sugarcube." Applejack tried to coax a response out of her, but Applebloom merely stared at her, her face as blank as somepony's who had already received the cure. It hurt Applejack at a deep level to see her sister like that, and she immediately felt ashamed of her feeling.
Only a few more months, then I won't have to worry about it anymore. There were days when she could feel the disease clawing away at her mind. Amor deliria nervosa could and would take anypony if you weren't careful. One day, everything is normal, the next your heart begins to speed up erratically, you break out in cold sweats, your appetite and sleeping patterns are affected. Left unchecked, the madness will consume your brain, driving you to irrational acts. Applejack could still hear the voice of her teacher, Sharpener, telling her of a filly she once had in her class. She had been caught up in the disease, and rather than tell anypony about it in an effort to get treated before she could hurt herself, she kept it secret. She had fallen in love with a young colt, and together they made a pact to escape the Cure before it could be administered, ending whatever feelings they may have thought they held for each other. They threw themselves over a cliff on the edge of the town limits. She would never forget the pictures the teacher had passed around of their mangled bodies.
"This is what love does for you. This is why we were so fortunate when those wise ponies discovered the cure, all those centuries ago." Applejack shuddered still at the thought of it. She quickly finished her potatoes, as if the very act of rushing her breakfast would hurry along the time before her eighteenth birthday, when she would finally be allowed to receive the cure. She could not wait, since she knew she, of all ponies, was at risk of succumbing to the deliria. Another shiver ran down her spine, and she focused instead on the examination ahead
Today she would be trotted in front of the Board. They would interview her, as her questions about her school, her extracurricular activities. They would take down notes, and silently judge her, and decide what her future would be, and with whom she would spend it. She began to sweat nervously again, thoughts of her family history running through her head. The Board would have records on that too, of course. She had striven to apply herself, to take as many courses as she could at school, to take on sports and volunteer hours. She hoped it would be enough to overshadow that black mark on her record. What she wanted most of all was to be allowed to work in the orchards. She enjoyed the feel of the dirt beneath her hooves, the satisfying thunk of the tree trunk as she bucked the apples down off each tree. But even if the Board decided she wasn't fit to work on the orchard, she hoped she would at least be allowed to work on one of the farms in the Ponyville limits. At least se could still breathe the fresh farm air, though she was not sure whether her enjoyment would be lessened by the Cure. Even if it was, Applejack still felt her expertise and experience working the orchard would suit her best for a life in the outskirts, rather than in the city of Ponyville itself. She didn't mind taking the apples into market to sell each week, but she didn't feel quite as at home in the city.
"You'd better hurry. You don't want to be late." Applejack shook her head at Big Mac's words.
"No, of course not!" Applejack left the remains of breakfast and hurried to the bathroom to take one last opportunity to check her makeup and rebraid her mane. Then she grabbed her saddlebags from her room, threw in the bag lunch Carrot just finished preparing, and headed out into the day that was quickly growing more overcast.
---
Applejack made it to the Treatment Facility with plenty of time, but there was already a small crowd of ponies, fillies and colts both, milling around the doors, waiting for the proceedings to begin. She scanned the crowd for somepony she knew, and immediately two of her friends caught her eye. Twilight was sitting in the dirt, talking about some such bit of trivia or other, while Pinkie Pie was jumping up and down excitedly, trying to get Applejack's attention. Applejack smiled and trotted over in their direction, while Twilight realised the reason her excitable friend had stopped paying attention - not that Pinkie ever paid that much attention to anypony in the first place - and nodded to Applejack.
"Are you excited 'cuz I'm excited I've never been so excited except for that one time..."
"Howdy Pinkie." Applejack interrupted her friend, which some ponies might consider rude, but Applejack knew from experience that is was usually best to cut off Pinkie early.
"Good morning Applejack." Twilight clearly hadn't slept well last night. Her mane was barely under control, and dark circles lined her eyes.
"You okay Twilight?" Applejack sat in the dirt while Pinkie, ignoring Applejack's interruption, continued to bounce around in circles around the two ponies, chattering about how excited she was.
"I'm fine, AJ. I just stayed up all night studying, that's all. I read the Book of Shhh again from cover to cover, and several interpretive volumes as well. Then I took a break for supper, and started in on the history of Equestria, and then..."
Applejack held out a hoof. "Don't worry Twilight. The Board would have t' be dumber than a hooffull of potatoes not to see your talent is learnin'. You'll do fine!"
"Ooh, what do you think my special talent's going to be? Could it be baking? I do love making cupcakes. Maybe not as much as I like eating them, but still... do you think I'll get a cutie mark for eating cupcakes?" Applejack was waiting for Pinkie to continue when she noticed from Pinkie's glistening eyes locked on her that the question was, in fact, not rhetorical.
"Uh, I dunno Pinkie, maybe. There're all kinds of cutie marks, and I think Mr. and Mrs. Cake can certainly attest to your talent at eating cupcakes." Applejack turned to Twilight. "Y'all seen Rarity yet? The exams are fixin' to begin any minute."
Twilight just shrugged. "You know Rarity, fashionably late wherever she goes." As if on cue, the white pony, accompanied by her sister Sweetie Belle. Rarity was dressed in a new saddle, undoubtedly one she fashioned especially for the occasion. A bit foolishly, Applejack thought, since by all accounts they were going to shed their clothes for the physical examination anyway. Applejack herself was wearing only her saddlebags and her father's hat. She would never admit that the hat had belonged to her father, because if she did she would undoubtedly have to admit why she kept it, which would at best result in the hat taken away from her, and at worst...
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a yellow pegasus pony, hiding behind her long pink bangs away from the rest of the crowd. Applejack quickly looked away from the reminder of just what can happen to ponies who succumb to the deliria.
Almost a year ago, Fluttershy had been caught out after curfew, and when the patrols brought her home, they took the excuse to inspect her room. Inside, hidden under the mattress, the patrol found... things. Nopony seemed to know what for certain, but the prevalent rumor seemed to be they had found love letters, address to an unknown recipient. Whatever the motivation, Fluttershy had been brought in to receive the Cure, despite being almost three months below the age of eighteen.
Before you turn eighteen your brain isn't ready for the treatment, and while it can go well, it can also go horribly wrong. Fluttershy seemed to have come through okay though, and despite the three butterflies now adorning her flank, marking her as one to have already received the Cure, her behavior hadn't seemed to have changed too much at all. She was still just as shy and reserved, and Applejack never really had much of a chance to get to know her any better than she had before the incident.
Applejack turned her attention back to the group of ponies in front of her, who were currently chattering about what they hoped their chosen careers would be, as well as, almost as importantly, which colt they would be paired with.
"Well, I know after I'm cured it won't really matter that much whether I like him or not, but he had better at least have a good sense of style. I certainly wouldn't want to end up with some ruffian" Applejack rolled her eyes at Rarity's priorities.
"Who cares what he looks like, all that matters is that he has a good career, an' be able to care for your young'uns. Y'all said it yourself, once you get your Cure, won't much matter to you more'n a hill o'beans otherwise."
"Still, Applejack." The way Rarity pronounced her name made her sound like a schoolteacher addressing a young filly - and Applejack momentarily had a horrifying vision of the Board choosing the career of teacher for her friend. "There are a good six months between now and my eighteenth birthday, and I must consider what my choice of mate says about me in that time."
"Um, actually, Rarity, you don't get to choose. The Board does that." Rarity shot Twilight a glare that could have knocked her over had she put any of her magic into it, then put a hoof to her forehead and sighed dramatically.
"I know Twilight, but what I say and how I act in there" she tilted her head towards the large grey building "will influence the Board's decision, so it's not as though I have no say in the matter." Rarity looked around for a place to sit that wouldn't dirty her new dress and, failing that, decided to remain standing instead. "Besides, once they see the fabulosity that is Rarity, they won't possibly even think of pairing me with somepony... unfashionable, would they?" Rarity was looking at Pinkie for that last, though Applejack doubted the question was directed at her.
Pinkie, in the meantime, was busy muttering under her breath, seemingly trying to find words that rhymed with "Board". Applejack answered for her.
"Of course not, Rarity. I'm sure you'll end up with the handsomest colt in our class, and y'all can hold me t' that!"
Twilight turned to Applejack. "So, who do you think you'll be paired with?"
"T' be honest, I couldn't give two licks who I get paired with." Twilight looked a bit hurt, and Applejack hadn't meant to be so snappish,, but it was true. All Applejack wanted was to get the Cure, to be safe from the deliria. She didn't want to end up like the pony in the photos, and more than that, she wanted to finally be rid of the whispers. She knew what ponies said about her behind her back - not the ponies she was with now, but she knew they were the exception. Just like her mother, they'd say. Watch out for that one, she's dangerous. She could hear them whispering in the streets, their conversations suddenly stopping as she turned the corner, the stares drilling into the back of her skull as she walked away.
Jus' three more months, Applejack, then y'all don't have t' worry about it no more. An' no matter what the board says in there, in three months t'ain't gonna matter no more.
The more she repeated it to herself, the more she almost believed it, but the truth is she was terrified. Terrified that she might be taken away from her farm, away from her sister... And Applejack had heard rumors, of ponies that were seen as "unfit for equine society" that would quietly disappear in the night. She was certain that's all they were, was rumors, but still... Her eyes flicked up to Canterlot, high above Ponyville and off in the distance, and she gulped. She knew full and well that there was a place they brought those for whom the Cure never quite took, and it sat there as an eternal reminder of the dangers of amor deliria nervosa, and the great sacrifices Pony society had to make to ensure that they would never have to fear it again.
The doors to the compound opened, and a pair of stallions exited. They began making announcements, to which Applejack was only half listening. As they began calling out names, ponies began to trot towards the doors, some excitedly, bust most demure, and more than a few reluctant to enter the ominous-looking building.
It wasn't long before they called Applejack's name. She gulped, sat up, dusted off her flank, and turned to the small stream of ponies entering the building.
"Good luck!" Twilight's put a hoof on her shoulder, and soon the rest of her friends joind in, wishing her good luck and hugging her tightly. Applejack hugged each of her friends in return, before setting off to join the applicants.
Applejack was led into a small waiting room, the walls a pale mint color, meant to be soothing surely, but Applejack’s stomach was certainly a testament to the how ineffective the color actually was at the task. She shared the room with four other ponies, with ponies being called away to their examination at irregular intervals, each time replaced by a fresh face in a matter of minutes.
She recognized the ponies from school, of course, but she couldn’t claim to be more than passing acquaintances with any of them. Her normally gregarious self was held in check by the lump at the pit of her stomach, and she didn’t seem to be the only one. The room was silent, the ponies either glancing around the room furtively, or staring down at their respective hooves. As the last pony before Applejack was called away, she was replaced by a familiar yellow pegasus. Fluttershy looked nervously around the room before heading to a spot against the wall that gave her the most distance to the other ponies. This also put her in a hoof’s reach of Applejack, who regarded the pegasus with a feeling of pity.
As she watched, Applejack was aware that the filly was trembling, and she couldn’t bear to keep her mouth shut any longer. She sidled over the Fluttershy and put a hoof over her own.
“It’s going to be okay, sugarcube. Don’t you worry none.” Fluttershy peered from beneath her long bangs, and Applejack couldn’t help but feel the fear in her eyes like a physical blow. As Fluttershy’s eyes began to water, Applejack nuzzled her to try and comfort the terrified pony.
“Applejack?” The fact that Fluttershy knew her name surprised her a bit, as they never really spoke much before then, but she tried not to let it show. “I... don’t know that I can do this.”
“Sure you can, sugarcube, it’ll be easy. Y’already have the cure, right? All they’re gonna do is decide where you work and who y’all get paired with, and that’s not so bad, right?” Applejack wasn’t sure whether she was trying to convince Fluttershy or herself, but Fluttershy merely frowned and stared at the floor.
“You’re right, but Applejack.” She looked back into the earth pony’s eyes. “I have a secret.”
“Applejack!” The voice of the staff member interrupted them, and Applejack jolted away from the pegasus filly. Fluttershy seemed sad, but nodded at her as the mare led her away. The mare shot a glance of disapproval at the two before closing the door and leading Applejack down the hall.
The mare deposited Applejack in a small examination room. “Put your things in there and wait for the doctor.” The staffer’s voice was flat, almost bored, as she gestured to crate by the door, then left Applejack alone in the room.
Applejack deposited her saddlebags and hat in the crate, closed it, and moved the the center of the room where a flat white bed lay surrounded by big lights that were, at the moment, shut off. After five minutes that felt like much longer, the door handle moved, and a grey-coated unicorn stallion entered the room, a stethoscope around his neck. With a grunt, he gestured to the bed, and Applejack took that as her cue to lay on it while the doctor switched on the lights.
The doctor poked and prodded her an umber of times, took her pulse and blood pressure, looked in her mouth, eyes and ears, took her temperature and heart rate, listened to her chest, all the while taking down notes on a clipboard that he levitated beside him with his magic and, from time to time, clucking with disapproval.
After about fifteen minutes, and the examination of a few things that made Applejack very uncomfortable, the doctor concluded his examination.
“Wait here, somepony will get you.” Applejack was fairly certain those were the only words he spoke during the entire examination, and watched as he left the room.
Alone again, Applejack’s stomach began to rebel once more. She felt almost certain that, if she was left waiting for much longer, she was going to have to throw up, and since she hadn’t seen any restrooms along the way she was afraid the garbage can in the corner would have to do.
Thankfully, before she had to resort to such extreme measures, the mare from earlier came to collect her.
“Applejack, the Board is ready for you. Leave your things, they will be waiting for you when you are finished.”
Applejack nodded and followed her as she led her down the hall once again. This time they did pass a restroom, and while Applejack certainly wouldn’t have minded the opportunity, the mare continued walking, and Applejack was too nervous to speak up.
At last, the mare came to a door marked simply “Room 4,” and opened the door. Applejack could smell antiseptic before she could even see into the room. Trotting forward, Applejack gulped and tried to remember all the tips Rarity had given her while they were rehearsing the examination.
Head up dear, yes, like that. Eyes straight ahead, and just the hint of a pout on your face. Remember, act as though you own the room. You are gracing them with your time, not the other way around. Oh, and do lift your hooves more as you step, don’t just shuffle along the ground. Are you certain I can’t make you an outfit for the exam? We would look simply smashing in matching dresses, oh and the hats!
Applejack tried lifting her hooves as she stepped, but she felt odd and unnatural doing so. She blinked at the bright lights directed a her, leaving the three members of the Board in silhouette along one wall. She glanced around the room, and saw a metal table pushed up against the wall. Next to it was an ominous-looking machine, with wires and arms extending from it, but currently lying dormant and covered in transparent plastic. With a shudder, Applejack realized that this room must be where the Cure was applied, and she went nearly faint.
The bright lights shone down on her, and Applejack felt exposed and bare, despite the fact that she rarely wore any more than she had on at this moment. She couldn’t make out the faces of the ponies seated behind the long table, nor their cutie marks. The pony on the right cleared her throat.
“Applejack Apple?” Applejack nodded at the sound of her name, standing as still as she could manage in the center of the room.
“Yes ma’am.” Her eyes flitted around the room, and she could see a long bank of windows above where the board sat. Observation bays, to watch the procedure being carried out, she had no doubt. Her mind briefly went back to Fluttershy, and she pictured her in this room, strapped to the table, the long arms with their sharp needles pressing into her neck...
Applejack gulped and tried to clear her head. The stallion at the table had asked her a question. What was the question? She began to sweat, as it came to her.
“In three months sir.”
“We can tell your grades have been consistently good, though perhaps not stellar. Would you like to tell us a bit about your favorite subject?” Applejack’s mind suddenly emptied, and all the things that Twilight had told her, about what the Board wanted to hear, came back to her. She struggled to straighten out her thoughts, to try and remember what Twilight had said about the subject.
“Biology, ma’am. I like t’ hear about how the seeds grow int’a plants, and how crops... work.” She cursed herself mentally for not being to come up with better words than those. She could hear the frown on the stallions face as he continued.
“One would think that, if that were your favorite subject, your grades would be a little better. If you only applied yourself that as much as you did to Physical Education... but no matter. We’ve already discussed your scholastic achievements, we want to learn a little bit more about you. Tell us, miss Apple, what is it you enjoy doing in your spare time. Any hobbies?”
“I like runnin’, sir.” Applejack’s mouth felt dry, and she was certain the sweat was beginning to stain her fur in places.
“Running?” The stress on the “g” from the leftmost mare made Applejack blush.
Try to enunciate, darling. While you and I know that just because your family has its roots elsewhere doesn’t make you less intelligent, well it’s a harsh truth that your accent does have unfortunate... associations for some ponies.
“Yes ma’am. I’m in cross country at school, and I take part in th’ Runnin’... Running of the Leaves each year.” She allowed herself a small smile. “Last year I took fifth place!” She wasn’t sure that impressed the Board as much as she had hoped it would.
The rightmost mare cleared her throat again. “Yes, very nice, but I’d like to get to the matter we’ve been talking around up till now.
“Applejack blanched and tried to avoid the gaze of the Board members. As she did so, she could see the dark outlines of a pony moving behind the observation bay windows. She tried to make out its form, but it briefly vanished, and she was alone with the three ponies once again.
“Let us talk about your family. Specifically your mother. It says here that the Cure didn’t take, is this true?”
“Y-yes, ma’am.” Applejack thought she really was going to be sick now. She had almost convinced herself that the Board was only going to concern itself with her, and not her family history. She should have know that was a naive notion.
“And that she took her own life because of the deleria, is that true.” the stallion’s voice was hard as diamond, and Applejack felt an urge to bolt for the door. She fought it down, and the corner of her eye caught movement in the observation bay again. She avoided looking up, and leveled her gaze straight ahead.
“Yes sir, that’s true. When our father passed away, the sickness returned.”
She could hear the sound of quills on parchment, and her heart sank. This wasn’t going well. She knew that she was going to be considered a risk factor. Much too dangerous to entrust the town’s food source to. She’d be lucky if she ended up as a janitor someplace.
“So, miss Apple, why should this Board...” The mare’s statement was suddenly interrupted by a loud klaxon. Applejack, stood still for a moment, frozen in confusion.
“Oh for the love of... what now?” The left mare got up to move to the intercom on the wall, but before she could get there the speaker blurted.
“Evacuation procedures, all staff to emergency stations!” The ponies behind the desk got up worriedly. One of the Board members flicked on the light switch, and the overhead fluorescents flickered on. The light illuminated the observation bay as well, and she could get a vague glimpse of the shape that had been moving about behind the glass.
The board members shuffled to the door, and Applejack thought she hear... mooing? Could that be?
As the lead mare opened the door - now that Applejack could get a good look at her, she still didn’t recognize her nor any of the other members - she could see a steady stream of ponies rushing by.
“What’s going on?” The mare at the door held out a hoof to stop a worried-looking pegasus.
“Some kind of stampede! We were told to evacuate.”
“Stampede? Inside the building?” The pegasus merely shrugged, then pushed her way past the mare and rejoined the stream of ponies hurrying towards the exit.
Applejack’s eyes perked up at the word stampede. “Anyway I can help” Ain’t no herd I can’t round up!” She felt a sense of pride at finally being able to show a bit of competence to the Board members. The mare taking up the rear merely clucked.
“Thank you dear, but I’m sure the professionals have it well in hoof.” She slowly followed the other two members as they tried to edge their way out into the stream of ponies in the hallway.
Applejack threw a glance back at the observation bay, and merely cried out. The figure that had been moving around in the shadows was standing there, staring at her. Slowly, the blue.coated mare in the uniform of a security guard put a hoof to her mouth. Then, without saying a word, she winked at her, then turned and exited the observation room, her wings slightly unfurled in her wake.
Applejack shook her head to clear the image of the strange mare, and followed the Board members out the door, moving with the crowd until they came to the heavy double doors of the front entrance. She was certain she could hear mooing over the sound of hooves on hard linoleum flooring.
“So what did they say? What’s your talent going to be? Are you going to be a farmer too, huh? Huh? Huh?” Applejack was sipping her cup of coffee in the pastel-colored lobby of Sugarcube Corner while Pinkie Pie bounced in circles around the table. “Ooh, I am sooo jealous you got to be in a real-life inside stampede! I’ve always dreamed about being in an inside stampede! Well, my whole life since I realized you could have an inside stampede. Which was this morning, but still!”
Twilight was smiling softly at her friend, while Rarity simply rolled her eyes. “Were you very afraid darling? None of our names had been called yet, so we were all outside when it happened. And a good thing too, I’d hate to think what those cattle would have done to my new dress!”
Now it was Twilight’s turn to roll her eyes. “Apparently, there was a mix-up with some paperwork, and instead of a shipment of medicine that they had been expecting, they got a delivery of cattle."
"How does somepony even make that mistake?" Applejack sipped at her coffee again, its warmth soothing away the day's events.
"Oh, I'm sure those horrid blank flanks are behind it. It's not enough they refuse to accept the Cure, they want to make sure nopony else can be saved as well!" Rarity's mention of the group of ponies who actively defied the rest of society, living outside the wall surrounding Ponyville, made Applejack shudder once again.
"Oh, that's just silly! Everypony knows that the Blank Flanks can't get into Ponyville, duh!" Twilight's face indicated she wasn't so sure about Pinkie's assurance, but she said nothing.
"Still, however it happened, what does this mean for our cutie marks? I never got t' finish my exam, and the rest of y'all didn't even start yours."
Again, Twilight spoke up. "I heard they are going to throw out the results, even for those that had finished their exams." Applejack couldn't help but let out an audible sigh of relief at that.
"So I got myself another chance not t' make a foal of myself?"
"Oh, I'm sure it didn't go that badly. The Board already has all it needs to know from the start, the exam is just a... formality, darling." Applejack was tempted to ask Rarity why she made her work so hard on her presentation if that was the case, but she bit her tongue instead.
"So when are they gonna make us do it again?" Applejack tried to not sound too bitter at the prospect. Twilight just shrugged.
"Who knows, I don't even think they've had a chance to assess the damage yet. Hopefully not too long. I want to make sure all this knowledge of Equestrian history is still fresh in my brain."
"What's there to remember?" Pinkie Pie briefly paused her bouncing to address Twilight. "A thousand years ago, Black Snooty got all uppity and decided to make the night last forever, Celestia loved her too much to do anything, and poof! Equestria was made!"
Rarity and Applejack both rolled their eyes, and Twilight actually facehoofed.
"Pinkie, there's a bit more to it then that. Yes, Nightmare Moon rebelled and fought against her sister, but it didn't just go instantly from then to today. It took six brave ponies to harness the Elements of Harmony to banish the princesses and develop the Cure."
"So that nopony would have to suffer the ee-ffects of the deliria again that stopped Celestia from fightin' back against her beloved sister, yeah, we know. We've all studied the Book of Shhh too, y'know!" The Safety, Health and Happiness Hoofbook, or the Book of Shhh, as it was more commonly known, was required reading at all levels of school in Equestria. In fact, more than that, it was the text that guided ponies in their everyday lives, to make sure their bodies and minds remained unpolluted by the horror of the deliria.
Applejack recalled her history lessons. As Twilight said, Princess Luna became jealous of her sister. All the ponies would frolic during the day, and sleep during the night, and Luna wanted to change that. So she defied her sister, and created the Long Night, a night that would last forever.
Celestia feared for her little ponies, since without the sun's warming rays, plants wouldn't grow, and the world would grow colder with each passing day. She tried to reason, to bargain with her sister, but to no avail. Luna had taken on the guise of Nightmare Moon, and would not listen to her sister. Celestia despaired, and when a group of wise ponies, their names lost in the mists of time, came to her with a solution, she would not hear it.
A collection of powerful artifacts, the Elements of Harmony, had been found and brought the Celestia. With these, the ponies reasoned, Celestia could defeat her sister, killing her and restoring order to the land. But Celestia, out of love for her sister, could not raise hoof against her, and so the Long Night continued. Equestria starved, and grew colder, but still Celestia's love kept her helpless, until those wise ponies who recovered the Elements of Harmony learned how to harness their power, and used it to banish the Princesses forever, finally destroying the Elements to create a powerful magical device that would raise and lower the celestial bodies in the absence of the princesses’ power. And so, the Long Night ended.
Vowing to never expose the ponies of Equestria to the evils of love again, those ponies toiled long and hard until they developed The Cure.
"Ooh! I just thought of what would make a great cutie mark!" Pinkie's exclamation, unprovoked as it was, served to bring Applejack back to the present, and she noticed her coffee had gotten cold. She finished off the cup just the same, and waved to Mrs. Cake indicating she would like a refill. The brown, beige-haired mare quickly trotted over and, with a serene smile, topped off the cups of all four ponies. Applejack thanked her, and she went back behind the counter.
"And what's that, Sugarcube?" Applejack enjoyed indulging her friend's whims. She never could be sure where they would lead.
"Why, a cutie mark, of course! If I worked at the Treatment Facility, I could have a cutie mark of a cutie mark."
"And just what would that look like?" Twilight's exasperated tone betrayed the fact that she had less tolerance for Pinkie's randomness.
"I don't know, but it would be pretty amazing, like having two cutie marks in one!" Applejack could see Rarity barely suppressing a smile, while Twilight facehoofed again.
"Well, I'd love t' stay an' chat, but the sun's not gonna stay up forever, and I reckon I could use a good run to forget about... well, everythin', I suppose." She looked into her second cup, feeling bad for having barely touched it, and decided to take another long drink, to at least not let all of it go to waste. "You wanna join me, Twi?"
"Oh, I'd love to! Let's just gallop over to the library so I can get my gear first."
"You leave your running gear at the library?" Rarity looked like she couldn't decide whether or not that surprised her.
"Are you kiddin'? Twilight practically lives at the library! Why, I reckon that if her parents didn't have that big ol' place, she'd move on in with the librarian!"
Twilight blushed. "It's not like that. I was just... studying there last night, until the librarian reminded me that curfew was coming up, and in my rush to get home I kinda... left all my things there." She began to stare off into space. "Though I can't say I wouldn't mind living there..."
"Maybe you'll get a book as a cutie mark! Or a tree! Or an owl!" Again, Pinkie's train of thought seemed to have derailed, and the four ponies just stared at her.
"Yeah, well, I'm gonna head out, we'll head over t' the library and get warmed up. Last one there is a rotten apple!" Applejack winked at Twilight, then playfully trotted to the front door. Twilight let out an exclamation and, finishing off her own cup of coffee, hurriedly followed her to the door. "And I suppose I will be picking up the tab. Again." Applejack waved at Rarity as she held the door for Twilight.
"I'll getcha next time!" Rarity rolled her eyes at this, but made a shooing motion with her hoof as she leaned over to whisper conspiratorially to Pinkie Pie.
...
As they began stretching in front of the Tree that housed the Ponyville library, Applejack realized that she had let time slip away from her. They had enough time to make their usual big circuit, but only just barely, if they wanted to get back before curfew. Together, they limbered up first their forehooves, then their back, making sure that neither of them would get a cramp halfway through the circuit. The two of them often ran together, as they complemented each other well. Applejack, being the earth pony raised on a farm that she was, was a better endurance runner, but Twilight was a better sprinter. When they ran, Applejack would often keep Twilight from trying to run too fast, and burn out too early, while Twilight provided the motivation to put in that extra little burst of speed at the end of each leg, when both their muscles began to feel heavy from the exertion.
"Y'all ready, sugarcube?" Applejack glanced over at Twilight to see her just straightening herself after her last warmup exercise.
“Ready when you are, AJ.” Twilight paused only to tie her hair back in a tight bun, before trotting in place a few steps.
“Then try’n keep up!” Applejack winked and, before Twilight could muster a reply, Applejack took off at a full gallop.
It wasn’t long before Applejack could hear the sound of hooves on dirt just behind her, and she glanced over her shoulder to see Twilight quickly closing the gap she had created with her head start. Applejack let out a whoop, and focused straight ahead again.
The feeling she got from running was exhilarating. She loved the feel of the wind in her mane, the dirt beneath her hooves. She never exactly was envious of the pegasus ponies’ ability to fly, but when she was running, she felt like all she had to do was give a good kick with her back legs and she’d be among the clouds.
Applejack and Twilight had a few paths they liked to run. The one they had settled on today, the big circuit, was the longest of their runs, and also one of the more challenging. But it also happened to be one of Applejack’s favorites. Their path took them through the heart of town, passing by shops and restaurants, the rich aromas filling the air. They ran past Sugarcube Corner, where Rarity and Pinkie were still sharing what Applejack could only imagine were two very different conversations with each other. Then they ran past the Carousel Boutique, where Rarity helped out after school for her part-time job. After that, they ran past the town spa, and out of the city limits.
The buildings became more sparse as they ran past crops and orchards. A small road branched off of the main thoroughfare, and Twilight turned off on it, having briefly taken the lead between the two ponies.
The small path led into a wooded area, and Applejack enjoyed the sounds of the birds chirping in the trees overhead, before they exited into a small copse surrounding an ancient-looking statue. The figure in stone was imposing, wings outstretched and teeth bared, Nightmare Moon watched them with a menacing, if unchanging, glare.
Applejack sprinted ahead of Twilight and leaped up in front of the statue, placing a hoof in the slightly-ajar mouth of Nightmare Moon. Twilight followed close behind, giggling as she did so.
This had become a bit of an inside joke between the two of them. “She looks so hungry.” Twilight had quipped once, remarking that Nightmare Moon’s mouth looked like it should be holding something, and every so often, when they would run alone, they would pause and leave little notes to each other tucked behind the statues once-sharp teeth. As far as they knew, nopony else knew of their secret hiding place, not that many ponies ventured out to the statue. Applejack wasn’t sure why it was erected in the first place, and even Twilight with her wealth of knowledge could only make assumptions about its original purpose.
“It was probably built as a reminder of what awaits us if we give in to the deliria.” Applejack was unconvinced.
“Well, if that’s the case, how come they didn’t build it closer t’ town, where somepony might actually see it once in a while?” Twilight only shrugged, which didn’t exactly answer Applejack’s question.
The statue served another purpose as well. It was a marker for the nearing end of the first leg of the race. Applejack and Twilight slowed to an easy canter, as they made their way to the stream the flowed through the forest near here. Pausing for a few moments to catch their breath and sip the cool water, the two ponies were mostly quiet, enjoying the crispness of the fall day.
“Y’all gonna race in the Runnin’ of the Leaves again this year, Twi?” Twilight shook the sweat that had begun to bead on her coat off, and took another sip.
“I don’t know, I don’t want to make you look bad again.” Twilight’s teasing was good natured, though Applejack knew it didn’t come easy. Case in point, Applejack actually was still a bit disappointed in her performance last year, where a trip over an exposed root nearly caused her not to finish at all, while Twilight had run the race at an easy pace and managed to take fifth place despite that.
Applejack had known Twilight since they were both little fillies. They hadn’t always been good friends, and in fact it wasn’t until a two or three years ago that they spent much time together at all. Twilight was very much into her books, and not very good at socializing, while Applejack much preferred to spend her time in the great outdoors.
Three years ago, Applejack signed up for cross country after school, and was surprised to see Twilight had signed up to. She claimed that she wanted an extracurricular activity, and between chess club, book club, drama, yearbook, and the other five or six programs she was taking, cross country was the only other one she could fit into her schedule. She even showed Applejack her schedule. She was right, she had everything color-coded and neatly arranged. Twilight’s schedule looked nothing so much as a patchwork quilt to Applejack’s eyes. As for herself, she could only fit in one extracurricular between her duties at the orchard, and cross country felt to her like the best fit to her skills.
It wasn’t long before Applejack and Twilight began getting to know each other better, and they soon became running partners, and then best friends, along with Pinkie Pie and Rarity. Rarity was Twilight’s study partner for a long time, and Pinkie... well, none of them were quite sure how Pinkie befriended them. As far as they could tell, she just showed up one day, as if they had been friends all along.
Applejack didn’t want to risk a cramp by standing still too long, so she urged Twilight to continue their run. Their path took them out of the small forested area, and among the farms of the land surrounding Ponyville once again. The terrain grew more rugged as they continued, and when they rounded a bend the neared the Fence.
The road they ran on followed the fence for a good half mile, near enough that the magical energies that powered it made Applejack’s hair stand on end. Beyond the Fence was the Everfree Forest and, beyond that, the Wilds.
After the Long Night, there were still some ponies who refused the Cure. The Blank Flanks, succumbing to the sickness, waged a terrorist war on the ponies who allowed the curse of love to be removed from their hearts, and the only solution, though one that came only very difficult, was to protect the cities behind tall fences and magical sentries that kept the skies impenetrable as well.
Then came the Purge.
Though officially the fences were in place to protect the towns against dragons, hydras, and other horrors that had reclaimed the wilds as their domain, ponies still spoke in hushed tones about camps of Blank Flanks that had somehow survived the purge, infiltrating pony society and carrying on their war of terror and sabotage against civilized ponies. All these stories were officially denounced, if commented on at all, but the whispers persisted.
Running this close to the fence was, well, not exactly forbidden, but Applejack imagined that if certain ponies found out, they would not be pleased. Twilight always grew quiet on this stretch of their run, and Applejack could tell that being this close to breaking the rules about approaching the Fence deeply unsettled her. They always ran this stretch in silence when they ran together, and Applejack suspected Twilight bypassed this segment altogether when she ran it alone.
Applejack, on the other hoof, was fascinated by the Fence. When she ran alone, she would often slow to a canter, trying to catch a glimpse of what was on the other side of the Fence. Though she could usually see nothing but dark forest beyond the stretch that was magically kept barren, she still sometimes imagined she could see shapes moving among the trees. Ponies, she imagined, or maybe some of the horrible beasts that haunted the Everfree. But each time the shapes proved to be nothing but branches and shrubs on further examination.
The Fence, magically charged to ward off any attempt at breaching it, stretched three pony lengths into the air. After that there was an invisible barrier, though this one was merely used for detecting intrusion rather than preventing it. Should the barrier be breached by anything more substantial than a cloud, magical drones would be dispatched to intercept it, and the Air Force called in as a backup should the threat prove greater than the odd raptor or other large bird. All in the interests of keeping Ponyville safe, of course.
Twilight unconsciously picked up the pace, and Applejack followed suit. Before long, they were moving away from the Fence and back towards town. The run from here on out was an easy one, flat roads and a slight downhill slope, and Applejack and Twilight made good time, racing the setting sun. Before long, the low buildings of Ponyville appeared in the distance, dominated from this angle by the monolithic building of the Treatment Facility. There was a bend in the road with a park bench that served as the end of the second leg, and Applejack could just see it come into view.
“Race you!” Twilight pulled ahead as she called out to her friend. Applejack was beginning to feel the weight of the running seep into her hooves, but she entered into a sprint to try and keep up with her friend. Her breathing burned her lungs, and her hooves felt leaden, but Twilight still kept a good few ponylengths ahead of her. When Applejack finally reached the park bench, Twilight was already levitating a water bottle from her saddlebags and sipping it slowly.
Applejack’s breathing was ragged, and the sweat from her forehead was making her eyes sting, but she smiled at her friend just the same.
“I let y’all win!” At that, Twilight laughed.
“You always say that, Applejack.” After cooling her throat with a sip from her own water bottle, Applejack looked up at the grey facade of the Testing Facility. She had forgotten all about that morning on their run, but now the memories of her exam came flooding back to her.
Twilight, on the other hoof, seemed to have found something fascinating, and trotted towards the chain-link fence that surrounded the facility.
“Where’re you goin’, sugarcube?” Applejack trotted behind her, perhaps a bit reluctantly, trying to figure out what had caught Twilight’s eye.
“Over here, Applejack, there’s something wrong with the fence. These links don’t quite match up.” Applejack swallowed nervously, but followed her friend nonetheless.
“Sugarcube, I don’t think we should be gettin’ too close to that there fence, we might get in t’ trouble.” Twilight gave her an odd look.
“This might be how the Blank Flanks got in. We should investigate and report it, don’t you think? I’m sure we won’t get into trouble!” She gave the fence a good stare, her horn and the fence beginning to glow a light purple.
With what looked to Applejack like almost no effort, the fence pulled away like the flaps of a tent, leaving plenty of space for a pony to pass through.
“I thought so. Somepony must have tried to make it look like the fence wasn’t cut here, but didn’t do a good job of re-closing it.”
“Ooooh, how exciting! Let’s see what’s inside!” The two ponies turned around at the sudden exclamation to see their friend Pinkie Pie standing behind them, looking over both their shoulders at the gap in the fence. Before Applejack could even open her mouth to ask where in Celestia’s name Pinkie had come from, she rushed past the both of them and slipped through the hole in the fence.
“Pinkie, what are you doing? You’ll get in trouble!” Twilight rushed after her, and Applejack, with a roll of her eyes and a groan, chased the two of them inside.
On the other side of the fence, a narrow courtyard was watched over by a single guard station, which looked to Applejack like it was vacant at the moment. Pinkie was bouncing along the wall of the facility, trying to look in the high, barred windows, while Twilight was trying to convince her to leave before somepony discovered them. Applejack scanned the courtyard nervously, and noticed the mark of cleft-hoofed prints in the dust, evidence that the stampede actually had happened, and hadn’t been something Applejack dreamed up the night before.
“PINKIE!” Twilight’s bellow snapped Applejack back to attention, and seemed to have the same effect on Pinkie Pie, as she was now staring directly at Twilight, eyes wide. No, Applejack realized, not at Twilight, at her.
Or to be more precisely, behindher.
Applejack gulped and turned around, and found herself staring into the rose-colored eyes of a uniformed pegasus pony, staring at them with an unamused look in her eyes.
“And just what do you think you are doing here? I was taking a perfectly good nap, and here you have to make all this noise and wake me up...” The pony’s voice was scratchy, and her eyes began to gleam with a smile, though her face was still frowning.
Applejack was speechless, just staring into those eyes the color of the sky at sunset, but Twilight was quick to respond.
“Um, we saw the hole in the fence, and we just wanted to, um...”
“Oooh, are you a guard here? Are you the one who let the cows in?” Twilight blushed at Pinkie’s insinuation, but the blue pegasus just laughed.
“Oh, I wish. I don’t know who came up with that prank, but it. Was. Awesome!” The Pegasus’ face lit up now in a genuine smile, and she winked at Applejack.
Suddenly, the image of those eyes smiling and winking at her flashed into her head, but in a different setting.
She was the mare in the observation bay!
But before she could open her mouth to accuse her of spying on her exam, Twilight spoke up.
“We were just leaving to go find somepony to report this to. And now that you’re here, missus...” She paused as she read the name stitched on the guardsmare’s uniform. “Dash, consider it reported. We’ll just be going now.” Twilight gave a nervous laugh, and began pushing Pinkie back towards the hole in the fence.
“Not so fast!” The guardsmare held up a hoof, and Twilight gulped.
“Please don’t tell anypony! We didn’t mean no harm by it, really, we jus’ got a bit carried away, that’s all!” Dash slowly walked towards the two mares that were currently petrified in a state of pushing and being pushed, and Applejack for the first time got a good look at the mare’s flank. A fluffy white cloud decorated it, from which extended a jagged lightning bolt in blue, gold and red. Applejack shook her head, telling herself she had only been looking at the cutie mark, as the mare bore down on the other two ponies.
“You know my name, it’s only fair I learn yours too.” Twilight looked like she wished she could shrink into the ground, but Pinkie proudly extended a hoof. “Hi, I’m Pinkie Pie, and I thought I knew everypony in Ponyville, but I don’t think I met you. What’s your name?”
“Pinkie...” Twilight’s voice was a growl, but she looked into the guardsmare’s eyes and gulped a second time.
“My name’s Twilight Sparkle.” She looked furtively at Applejack, who stuck out her chest and answered loudly.
“Name’s Applejack, and if y’all would be so kind as to let this one slide, I’ll personally hoof-deliver you one of my famous apple pies, that sound fair?”
The guardsmare’s eyes locked on Applejack’s and narrowed. “You wouldn’t be trying to bribe a member of the elite TF Guard Team, now would you?” Her voice made it sound like a threat.
It was Applejack’s turn to gulp. “O-of course not, ma’am. I jus’ meant... that is...”
“Oh, lighten up! I’m not gonna turn you girls in! Besides, that ‘elite team’ consists of me and three other ponies who get paid far too little as it is. I wasn’t gonna turn you in, it’s not like you were trying to break in, right?”
“Oh, no ma’am, we were just leaving.” With this, Twilight resumed pushing a reluctant Pinkie with her forehead.
“Please, call me Rainbow. And I promise I won’t tell a soul. But,” she winked once more at Applejack. “I will hold you to that apple pie!”
Applejack blushed “Oh, er, of course Rainbow. Would y’all like me to bring it.. here?”
“Nah.” Rainbow waved a hoof dismissively. “Tomorrow’s my day off anyway. Do you know where the college is?”
Applejack nodded. It made sense, even though Rainbow didn’t look much older than the other three fillies, she did already have her cutie mark, so she probably was already in college.
“Okay, well can you meet me there tomorrow, say at two-ish? I’ll probably be napping somewhere, so remember to look up.”
“Um, sure, I’ll be sure to have a nice fresh apple pie delivered to y’all, and thank you so much for lettin’ us go.”
“Yeah, yeah, now get out of here, before the Elite TF Guard Team catches us chatting!” Her smile was sincere and reassuring despite her words, and Applejack and Twilight quickly made their way to the hole in the gate, Pinkie Pie being dragged along by her tail behind them.
As they left the area, Rainbow Dash began to close the hole and twist what looked like plastic hoofcuffs around the links to form a temporary seal. As the three of them trotted toward town, Applejack tossed a glance over her shoulder, and she was almost certain she could make out a rainbow-streaked trail encircling the facility.
When they reached the city limits, Twilight began to worry, and Applejack had to join her occasionally neurotic friend. The sun was much lower in the sky than they would have liked, and the two of them lived clear on the other side of Ponyville. Pinkie Pie had already said her goodbyes, wrapping them both up in a big hug, then bouncing off in the direction of her family’s farm. The Pies farmed mostly beets and tubers, root plants that grew mostly underground. Their lack of high stalks of grain earned the Pie farm the nickname “The Rock Farm.” Pinkie had never invited them to visit, but word was it was a dreary place to work. Even so, Applejack would rather work there after she was treated than end up in the city. They could have made it home in time easily if they ran, but they were both so winded from the day’s earlier run and subsequent encounter that they could barely manage a canter. As the sun began to slip behind the horizon, Applejack could see Twilight begin to grow physically uncomfortable. “Y’all think you can manage a bit of a faster pace?” Applejack was worried, as much for her friend as herself. Curfew was almost on them, and if they got caught outside after dark... well, Applejack knew she didn’t need another mark against her, but Twilight couldn’t stand to be even a few seconds tardy to anything, and her record this far this year had been nothing short of stellar. A citation for breaking curfew might very well send her into a state of nervous shock, Applejack knew, and she tried to urge her friend on. Summoning what little energy they had left, they sped until they were moving at a light jog. They passed the city limits just as the sun was touching the horizon. It was official now. They had broken curfew. Applejack looked at her friend, her eyes full of concern. Twilight kept her eyes locked on the ground at their feet as they cantered through the barren streets, the sparse streetlamps just now flickering to life. Applejack could see Twilight muttering something just under her breath, but she couldn't make out the words. She considered asking her what was wrong, but just watching Twilight's eyes begin to subtly twitch was enough to urger her to increase her pace. Every time they turned a corner, Applejack could feel her stomach lurch. Every new street could hide a member of the Civil Patrols, on the lookout for foals just like them who had broken curfew, as well as keeping the peace during the night. She realized that their flashlights and idle chatter would probably give them away long before they ran into them, blind corner or not, but that didn't ease Applejack's beating heart anyway. At last, they turned a corner, and Applejack could see Twilight's mansion just down the road. "How y'all gonna get in without your parents or nobody noticing." Twilight gulped but kept staring at the ground. "I got that part figured out, I think. But you still have to go all the way out to the farm, are you going to make it?" "Don't y'all worry 'bout me, sugarcube. They don't really patrol the country roads, so I jus' have to make it out to the city limits and I'll be scot free." Applejack left out the part where she'd have to sneak into her room without Carrot noticing. She could count on Big Mac to turn a blind eye, but if Carrot a caught her, she'd be peeling potatoes for a month. They pulled up to the metal gates to her mansion, and Twilight finally looked up, into Applejack's eyes. "Call me tomorrow morning, okay?" Seeing Applejack's nod, she clenched her eyes, and her horn began to glow a dark blue. Before Applejack could warn her about drawing unnecessary attention to them, Twilight had vanished with a "pop", and Applejack could just shake her head in amazement. "Huh, that's a new one." Her friend Twilight had always been adept at magic, but even so she never failed to astound her on a regular basis with some fancy new trick or another. But teleportation... that was a new one. Applejack quickly remembered herself and looked around. Sure that nopony had seen her little display, Applejack kept to the shadows as best she could, as the sun's last rays died away. She still had a good mile and a half to go to her farm, though at least the city limits weren't far to go. She gritted her teeth and set off.
The luck that she and Twilight had had with the patrols earlier died out. She met two patrols on the way, but luckily the chatter of their radios and bright beams of their flashlights gave Applejack plenty of warning, and she was able to duck down a side road both times without being seen. She felt certain they should be able to hear her heart beating through her chest, but both times the ponies on the ground and in the air were more concerned with gossip and sports scores than they were with watching all the side roads, and she was able to slip by with no problem. Finally, she came to the first farmhouses on the edge of town, and she was able to breathe more easily. The lack of streetlights out of town made her have to watch her hoofsteps more carefully, but it also made her nearly impossible to spot from any distance, and there was thankfully enough light from the sliver of the moon far overhead that she could still make good speed. Finally, after what seemed like hours but was probably only about twenty minutes, Applejack could see the light streaming out of the windows of her farmhouse. Carrot and Big Mac were in the kitchen cleaning up after the dinner she missed, and the lights on in the bedrooms told her Apple Bloom had already retired to her room, most likely to read or do homework. Applejack was thankful that the school year had already ended for her, the Exams usually replacing the last two weeks of school. The last thing she needed was to be up even later doing her homework after having missed curfew by this much. Applejack moved to the back yard, trying to be quiet and not draw any attention to herself. She found the rope that she had hung from a hook under the eaves of the roof for practice, and with a deft twirl wound up her lasso, tossing it to an overhang just above the window to her room. Without wasting any time, she pulled herself up the rope, one hoof after the other, muscles straining after the long day's exertions, until she was level with the window. She gave it a light rap with her tail,and Applebloom sprung into action, unlatching the window and opening it enough for Applejack to swing herself through, landing on the ground with a light "thud" that she hoped would not have been heard by the two ponies downstairs. Applejack retracted the lasso, hid it under her bed, and quickly slipped into her pajamas. Aplebloom as usual watched the entire proceedings silently, only stirring to close the window once Applejack had turned from it to busy herself with her preparations for bed. "Thank you sugarcube." Applejack ruffled Applebloom's mane a bit, then hugged her and slid into her bed. The day's physical and emotional strain came rushing back to her like a tidal wave, and she was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.
The next morning Applejack awoke to the sound of raindrops hitting the windowpane. She rolled over and out of bed, the floor cold beneath her hooves. Still in her pajamas, she headed down the stares to where breakfast lay waiting for her on the table, cold cereal and orange juice. Bleary eyed, she downed the orange juice and started one cereal when Carrot walked in from the living room and fixed her with a glare. "Mornin' Aunt Carrot." Applejack gulped down the spoonful of cereal she had already inserted in her mouth with a gulp. She knew that, technically, Carrot Top was her sister-in-law, but "Aunt" seemed much more appropriate, especially since she and her brother had taken over the responsibilities of raising her and Applebloom. When her parents passed, there was talk of putting the two of them in foster care, but luckily Big Mac was deemed able to keep them, so they didn't have to worry about moving away from their farm in addition to... everything else. "And when did you come home last night?" Carrot's glare was icy with accusation, and Applejack gulped again. "Jus' before sundown. I wasn't feelin' well, so I went straight to bed." Carrot clearly wasn't buying it, but she tossed her head with a "hmmph". "You should be glad you weren't caught out after curfew. It's bad enough having to hear all the ponies whisper about this family without having to deal with the Civies as well." And with that, she stomped out of the room, leaving Applejack alone with her breakfast once again. She finished the cereal, then grabbed the phone and headed up the stairs, dragging the cable as far as it would stretch, planting herself on a stair halfway up. She dialed Twilight's number. The butler at Twlight's mansion answered, and called for her friend. "Hello?" Twilight's voice sounded tired, but calm. "Hey Twi, how 're you this mornin'?" "How am I? I'm a nervous wreck! I think I made it in without anypony noticing, but I'm certain I missed something. I made a list." Applejack rolled her eyes. "You were in barely after curfew ended, and your house is big enough, you could go for days without anypony noticin' you were even there. I'm sure you're fine!" Twilight seemed unconvinced. "If anypony finds out I was out after curfew, I'll get in trouble! And if I get in trouble, they'll tell the school, and the principal will want to see me! And I'm sure he'll want to hold me back a grade, and maybe even send me back to kindergarten! And then I'll..." Applejack put a hoof to her mouth. "Nopony found out, Twi, and we'll make sure it doesn't happen again, sugarcube." Twilight looked unconvinced, but relaxed a little. "So, Applejack, I had planned to spend today at Pinkie's All Day Post Exam Freedom Bash, but I suppose that's off now.." Applejack fixed her with a level gaze. "Hun, when have you ever known Pinkie to call off a party?"
Later, at Pinkie Pie's Post Exam-pede Not-Quite-Free-Yet Bash, Applejack was sipping contentedly on her glass of punch while the radio played a selection of songs from the Library of Approved Music. Pinkie was bouncing around excitedly from pony to pony, while Rarity and Twilight were having a demure chat in one corner, most likely discussing their preparation plans for the replacement Exam. "What's wrong, AJ? You look so glum. Don't you like my party?" Applejack looked up from her glass to see Pinkie