Romance and the Fate of Equestria

Okay, it's November 22, the day before the premiere of Season 4, and the official day chosen to end the hiatus… even though I'm not the slightest bit prepared. But I picked my day and I'm sticking to it.

So welcome to "Part Two: Part Two", haha. In this segment of the story, all questions the story has posed and will pose… will be answered. That's right, after Part Two, the story will be far from over but, I believe, all mysteries will be solved. I think you'll all appreciate that, am I right? Tee hee.

Chapter Seventy-Two

A wintry wind swept through Ponyville, lightly disturbing the trees and the snow on the ground.

Apple Bloom slipped into Golden Oak Library with as much stealth as she could muster. Twilight was at her desk.

"Hey, Twilight?" Apple Bloom said softly.

Twilight didn't answer, reading over a piece of parchment with a dark and furious glare on her face.

"Twilight," Apple Bloom said, louder.

"Huh?" Twilight said in shock and alarm. "Oh, gosh, Apple Bloom, I'm sorry. I didn't see you there."

Apple Bloom nodded. "That's okay, Twilight."

"I was distracted," Twilight muttered. "Celestia sent me this letter, it's… it's from Vorpal Blade. He's done something… awful."

"Oh." Apple Bloom hung her head and tensed up, trying to look smaller.

"What's…? Oh!" Twilight said hastily. "Apple Bloom, it's not your fault. You know he'd still be out there doing terrible things even without your invention." She patted Apple Bloom's head. "Gilda feels the same way you do… she's been pretty mad at herself. But it's nopony's fault that those three are out there being evil… nopony's fault but their own."

"I know it's not my fault," said Apple Bloom. "I know that. There's just something about the whole deal with him and Crusaders Mecha that's always… I dunno, sent a chill up my spine. It ain't normal."

"Well, I'm sure…" Twilight frowned and trailed off. "I don't follow you, Apple Bloom. What do you mean?"

"Crusaders Mecha does not work that way," Apple Bloom said with utmost confidence.

"I'm sorry?"

Apple Bloom took a deep breath and rapidly belted out an explanation: "Wings on his hips and ankles? Wings don't go there. We didn't design the Mecha for that. He shouldn't be able to control them, but he can. And with only one wing where it belongs, he shouldn't be able to fly at all… but he can."

The back of Twilight's neck prickled.

"And the horns," Apple Bloom went on. "They only work when the needle comes in contact with the brain, but he's got them in his cheeks and nose and chin… but he still somehow uses them along with his real horn? And they make his magic stronger? And he can cast spells outside of his special talent? That is not what those horns should do. They give magic to ponies who don't normally have it, they should only grant the spells that an earth pony or a pegasus would be able to use if they were a unicorn with their specific cutie mark. We tested that, Twi, but he threw it all out the window."

She took another breath and kept speaking, slower this time. "And on top of that, it takes weeks of practice to master when you've suddenly got extra appendages. He pulled it off in just one day. It just doesn't make any sense. None."

Twilight took a moment to process that. "Well, then… it's not your fault at all. He's got some other trick, nothing to do with Mecha at all. You're in the clear." She kissed the top of Apple Bloom's head. "Enough about that, then. It's nothing to stress yourself out over. What did you come here to talk about?"

Apple Bloom sighed. "I'm just…" She glanced at the white-and-pink flower on her flank, then broke down, almost in tears. "I'm so upset! Couldn't somepony explain WHY?" She stomped a hoof furiously. "I got my cutie mark, and it's beautiful, and it suits me, and it's everything I ever could have hoped for. Why has it made me so glum? I don't even want to get up in the morning anymore. I can't think, I can't get movin', I'm just… sad. Sad… and terrified of the future." She stared at Twilight pleadingly, her eyes rimmed with tears. "What's happened to me?"

Twilight nodded sympathetically. "PCDAD. I should have known."

"Hmm?" Apple Bloom asked, tilting her head.

"Post-Cutie Depression/Anxiety Disorder," Twilight said matter-of-factly. "It happens to the best of us."

"Really?"

"Yes. To put it briefly, it's what happens when you get your cutie mark and wonder… 'Now what?'"

Apple Bloom bit her lip. "I… I think I understand…" She pondered for another moment, then shook her head. "Nope, don't get it."

Twilight grinned. "Well, let me see if I can clear it up for you. Most of us get our cutie marks in the final stages of pre-adolescence, as we all know. But a cutie mark usually points to some kind of job or profession, which you can't really enter until adulthood. For a pony who's spent years waiting for their cutie mark, it can be something of a shock to realize that there's still a whole lot of waiting left to do. Believe me, I'm familiar with the disorder. After all, I got my cutie mark at ten."

"Yeah," Apple Bloom scoffed, "in magic, on the day you were accepted into magic school."

"Touché," Twilight chuckled. "But still, I didn't want to learn magic. I wanted to know magic. Do you follow me?"

"Yeah," Apple Bloom said in surprise. "Sounds familiar. Sounds like me back when I was lookin' for my cutie mark."

"I think your mark's arrival just had a small bit of bad timing, seasonally speaking," Twilight went on comfortingly. "You know you're already great at maintaining the farm during the spring and summer months. Maybe you can help your sister with the business decisions that have to be made in the off-season—running the farm encompasses a lot of things, after all. And once apples are back in season, I'm positive you'll see just how passionate you are about… well, about…" She stopped, letting it hang.

"Bein' Apple Bloom," Apple Bloom concluded.

Twilight beamed. "Yes. That's precisely what I would have hoped for you to say. It'll all work out, my little pony. I mean it. Everything."

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Endnotes

Here's something that gets under my skin: people whose stories run long.

Yes, I see the hypocrisy of that statement. Just stay with me. A Song of Ice and Fire was supposed to be a trilogy, but it kept on stretching until it reached its current, seven-book model. The finale of Inheritance ended up being too long for just a single book, so they split it into two. And sitcom writers are always jabbering about how they have to trim the script down in order to fit into the required 22 minutes.

Those people can bite me. I've spent my whole life trying to put together a robust enough fantasy world to fill up one book. I would kill for the power to create enough comedy material to fill 22 whole freaking minutes.

It may seem an odd thing for me to complain about, considering how freaking huge the story you're reading is, and considering how I've already stated that it has, in fact, stretched and run long. But let's be honest, the story's not half as long as it should be. It's Fanfic 101 that you're not supposed to post a chapter until it's at least 5,000 words. Only one chapter has made that mark. Only one chapter of this entire story even has the right to exist, because none of my chapters have any meat. I'm not capable of meat.

I don't know, I guess there's something to be said for brevity, I'm sure you all appreciate the ease of reading my short chapters, but… it just feels so inadequate. Hell, it's probably fine the way it is. Based on my personal history, I would guess that I'll feel inadequate no matter what happens in my life. Never mind me, folks.