Twilight Sparkle awoke, fresher than she had ever felt in a long time. She hated to admit it, but her lodgings in Ponyville were a far cry from those she once played host to back in Canterlot, but last night she felt that she slept on the wings of doves.

She bounded out of bed, throwing the covers off and letting them dance to the floor. Spike'll get it! It's all OK. Everything's going to be OK.

Today was great.

Oh, who cares about some silly old covers? Twilight was giddy with excitement. Her mind, heart, soul and body were all sharing the same solid emotion, and she could not wait.

Her morning routine was not broken though; she was still the same old Twilight in many ways. But many things yet were going to change.

Standing in front of the mirror she brushed her hair exactly 20 times, bringing it to its regular, straight bob which dropped a fringe over her horn, which was twinkling in excitement.

She washed her face, dried it off, and grabbed an apple from the bowl of fruit that she kept by the stairs. It floated gently into the saddlebag she had straddled to her back, as she floated gently down the stairs on the hoof-falls of someone who was swinging on air.

"Oh, hey Twilight," came a familiar voice down from below. Spike was busy, as he always was, tending to the day-to-day of the library. Dusting off the shelves; replacing all the read books that Twilight left out the previous night; a dragon's work never ends.

"Mornin', Spike!" Twilight bubbled. She turned one too many times at the foot of the stairs and ended up twirling around in a happy little dance.

"Whoa, you sure seem like you're pleased about something," said Spike. "Did I already make you breakfast and forgot about it?"

"No, silly," she said, giggling. "Something... amazing has happened."

"What is it?" Spike turned around. He loved gossip. Boy, did he love gossip.

"I can't tell you yet!"

He turned crestfallen. His crests actually drooped. It's a dragon thing.

"Aw, come on, Twilight, you always do this to me!"

"Oh ok. I'll tell you later. Promise, ok? But I gotta tell someone else first!"

"Oh, allllright," said Spike, grouchily, as he went back to dusting the books with much more rigor than normal. "But you better not ditch on me!"

"I won't Spike!" Twilight said as she walked, with saddlebags bouncing up and down her back, out the door. "I'll be back later, don't wait up!"

"Well, I gotta wait up if I'm gonna hear about this news, right?"

His plea was met with silence.

"Right?"

Spike turned around. Twilight Sparkle had long since departed, and the door was firmly closed.

"Aw shucks."

-- <3 --

The girls gathered around the town square. They were always there around this time - it was their usual meeting spot, and it was just that hour of the day. It was that little open area where the stone bridge ran over the river that separated Ponyville from the fields that lay beyond.

Just a little bit more to the left and straight on through, and you would see the spot where Twilight was laying not just last night.

Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy all congealed in a tight group, chatting and talking and catching up with the Equestrian daily news when Twilight came rushing in from a distance.

She didn't stop, barrelling straight through and widening the circle as she ploughed into the middle of the group.

"So, Gummy said... WHOA!" yelled Pinkie Pie, jumping back a few meters.

"Wow, what's eatin' you, Twilight?" exclaimed Applejack, also stepping back. "You look like you got a bug up yer nose!"

"Oh boy, do I ever," she replied, looking at the bewildered faces of each of her friends in turn. Pinkie's was just a little bit farther away. She thought about it for a few seconds. "Well, not a bug, at least, but I do have some news!"

She bounced up and down in place, like a jackhammer with the safety off.

"Girls? You five are my best friends, and I wanted you to know this first."

"Oooh! What is it? What is it?!" Pinkie squeaked, hopping back into place. "Didja find a cookie?"

Twilight stared at the Pink, springy character.

"No... no, Pinkie. Why would I have found a cookie?"

"Because I left one on your doorstep last night!" She grinned.

There was no answer.

There really couldn't be one. There wasn't anything actually inherently arguable about that.

"Oh, just ignore her," cut in Rainbow Dash, "What's the good word?"

"So..." Twilight went on, turning away and looking at the others again. "I have something quite personal that I would like to share with you."

All at once, the 5 ponies leant forward, tightening the circle around Twilight; each ear stilled with earnest concentration, eager to hear the news.

"I... am... in love!" Twilight squealed, all four legs bouncing up and down in that inscrutable dance that she does whenever excitement overwhelms her.

All five heads moved back.

"Love?" asked Applejack.

"Oh my, that's wonderful," intoned Fluttershy.

"What?! That's impossible!" yelled Rainbow Dash, taking off and hovering a meter above the ground.

"What now? Love?" asked Applejack again.

"Oh, that's marvellous, darling," Rarity flicked her hoof forward, placing it on Twilight's shoulder.

Only Pinkie Pie was uncharacteristically silent, keeping still with head tilted to the side; a quizzical expression on her face.

The buzz and chatter amongst the ponies continued for a while longer, with interjections of various kinds from all around Twilight. She felt like she was standing up on stage, having just finished a grand performance, and was now taking her bows.

"With who?" asked Pinkie, suddenly.

All chatter stopped and everyone turned to look at her. Her question came suddenly, scratching a path out of the noise simply because it didn't sound excited. Pinkie herself was still - she wasn't bouncing, wasn't laughing, and was just asking in a veritably normal way.

"Actually, it's with 'whom', Pinkie," Rarity said, trying to break the odd tension.

"Alright. With whom?" asked Pinkie again.

At that, even Rarity was taken aback.

Pinkie's austere gaze cut through the crowd like a knife.

"O... ok, you're never going to believe this, but..." Twilight Smiled again. "It's Princess Celestia!"

"Oh."

This time the response came immediately from two sources. One from Pinkie, which should have been quite expected, but the other came, mysteriously, from Applejack.

It was getting uncomfortable. Twilight Sparkle had lost her shine in the spotlight, and it now felt like it was casting unneeded attention upon her. This was probably what Princess Celestia meant the other day.

A good, promising start now turned slightly awkward. But it was ok! A little awkwardness was never an unmanageable thing, right?

Rarity and Fluttershy looked at each other, unsure of what to say. Rainbow Dash touched down again, standing still on the floor.

"Uh... girls?" asked Twilight nervously. "Is... everything ok?"

"Yeah! Everything's fine!" said Pinkie Pie, her voice and expression returning to normal. A strange, stiff wind blew across the open area, and for just a fragment of a moment, sound faded into an echo and not even the usual hubbub of country life could be heard.

It suddenly came back, like the pop of a champagne cork.

It was pulled back by Pinkie Pie letting out an intentional sigh. "Well, it's been fun girls, but I gotta go! Gummy's due for a feeding, and you know he can't feed himself." She turned, waved, and started to hop off, only turning back for just a quick second to say "Congrats again, Twilight!" before she disappeared into the distance.

"Yes... well..." Rarity cleared her throat. "This has all been very fun, but... I have some clothing to work on. You have my congratulations, Twilight. I'm sure your relationship will be long and fruitful!"

"Well, gotta jet!" said Rainbow Dash, seconds after. "Love to stay and find out more, but maybe next time? I gotta go get some stuff ready for... something."

Fluttershy silently walked up behind Twilight as she watched three of her friends leave suddenly. The unicorn felt like her lungs had fallen into the pit of her stomach. This was actually pretty bad. Maybe Celestia was right. She thought her heart would stop.

"Um... congratulations," said Fluttershy suddenly, from behind Twilight, her eyes cast down to the ground.

"Yeargh!" yelled Twilight, spinning around. "Don't do that, Fluttershy! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Well, at least it was pumping again.

"Well... I'll... be seeing you, I guess," she smiled. "I need to go... think about some things. I'll see you later, ok?"

The whole square was abandoned.

Twilight was... it was hard to describe what she was feeling. She felt overjoyed that she finally could talk about her true love, but at the cost of this? What even happened? All their reactions were unfathomable, at least by their countenance.

This was some powerful magic, alright.

She practically forgot about her final friend, who was standing there next to her. She did not make a sound, did not move an inch, and nearly blended seamlessly into the background with her self-diminished bearing.

The unicorn turned to look at her, ready to hear her sudden excuse to leave.

Instead she saw something entirely different.

Applejack's throat was quivering back and forth, as if she were trying to swallow something that just wasn't there. She was trembling slightly, in the grip of an unseen fear, but a fear that has already come and has left the remnants of terror within. Her eyes, already welled up, released the first of many tears that fell to the ground with a resounding splash.

"Applejack!" Twilight exclaimed, walking up to her in an instant, and reaching out to comfort her. The freckled pony jerked back, droplets running off her face and hitting Twilight in hers.

"Don't touch me!" she sobbed. "Don't... don't touch me."

Applejack let out a deep sigh of instant regret.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Twilight. Ah don't know what got over me," she stuttered, her tears stopping. "I'm ok. Look, can we talk?"

"Of course, Applejack," said Twilight, a tinge of concern in her voice. "Ah... shall we go to your barn?"

"Yeah... yeah, that'd be a good idea."

The rest of the trip was made in silence. Twilight let Applejack lead; she felt more comfortable being able to keep an eye on her. And it was a good thing she did - Applejack's uneven hoof-falls nearly caused a trip once or twice, and there were times when she simply stopped walking for no apparent reason but to take in a breath or two and look at a bird far away.

But Twilight, loyal as ever, sauntered on behind her, breaking pace when she needed.

The barn was open, as it usually was this time of day. Applejack would normally be found hauling cartloads of juicy ripe fruit in and out of the storage building as needed, either returning them from a fresh apple-buckin' or delivering them to market to sell.

Today she hauled in her own weary, shivering body, hooves dragging in the dirt, eyes barely open. Twilight followed closely in, and shut the doors behind her.

They were alone.

The barn gave a sense of space. It wasn't a particular sort of space, that is, too little or too much, but just 'space' in general. There was adequate room for contemplation, plenty of running grounds and fresh air that filtered through the slats in the roof, but still, it felt homely and comfortable.

It was a nice place to be in a storm.

A drop of rain hit the roof.

Twilight noticed a rag lying on the ground next to a small pile of straw, and lifted it easily with her magic. Floating the cloth gently over to Applejack, she started to rub her face down with it, wiping away the streaky, drying tear-stains.

"T...Twilight!" Applejack yelled, pulling her face away. "That there's the cloth ah use to clean the plough!"

Twilight stopped, and then looked closer at the rag, which was stained with old dirt and soil. Applejack's face too, now had a slash of soil running straight across one of her cheeks. It was so ridiculous, so silly, that Twilight couldn't help herself but laugh.

Soon, Applejack joined in too.

The shared laughter eased the tension tremendously, as Applejack threw herself into a bale of straw and stretched her muscles a little.

"Heh heh... ah... well," chuckled the filly, wiping the dirt off her face with her leg, just like she usually did, anyway. "Thanks for nothin', Twilight."

"Oh, it was my pleasure," came the joyful response, as Twilight herself settled down next to Applejack. "So... what did you want to talk about?"

Applejack licked her lips.

"I... well..." she started. "You know... I've always been honest wit' ya, right, Twilight?"

"Of course, Applejack."

"And I'd never tell ya a lie. Although..."

Applejack tilted her head, and started staring into the far corner of the barn. The sunlight that beamed through the roof slats started to break up as the rain came down harder, and the patter of water on ceramic tile echoed throughout the room.

"I... guess it's not really a lie if I just keep a secret, right?"

"No, of course not, Applejack. Everyone has secrets. Even I just told you one earlier, remember?"

Applejack closed her eyes as a heavy wisp escaped her lips, as if that memory just ran a knife over her heart.

"Yeah... I remember, Twi. 'Course I remember."

"I'm... guessing I know what you're going to tell me, Applejack," said Twilight softly. It was kind of obvious, really. The whole scene didn't really set up for a particular surprising revelation, and even if it had, Princess Celestia's warning served as the clearest portent of what was about to occur anyway.

"How long?" asked Twilight. She supposed it was best to just get into it without have to drag it out painfully.

"Maybe 'bout a month after we met," said Applejack, still staring at that corner. "At the start we were just friends, and it was pretty excitin' and all, what with the Elements of Harmony and all that, and all those other fun adventures we had.

"But ah think it was 'bout the time when them Parasprites came, I think. I can't rightfully tell now," her gaze defocused, not really looking at anything except the past. She scratched her head. "I don't think you knew, really. To you we was just pals, but... well, I'd always hoped, y'know?

"But now you just come out with this. Just... outta th' blue, Twi. No warnin' or nothin'. It... I just took it hard, tha's all. I'm sorry, Twi. I really am."

"Now now now, wait," Twilight waved her forelegs around. "You've got nothing to be sorry about, ok? In fact, I suppose I should be the one who's apologizing.

"It's just that... well, I've been with Princess Celestia a lot longer. And please believe me when I say that you're a fine, lovely pony, Applejack, and if I wasn't with anyone else, I'd be honoured to be with you."

"Aww, that's mighty kind of you just t' say so," choked Applejack, the tears starting up again. "Ah... ah guess that's jus' the way it is."

"I'm sorry," said Twilight again. "But... we'll always be friends, right?"

"Yeah... yeah, we will," muttered Applejack in a half-hearted way. "But... you know, I ain't never felt this way 'bout no one else afore."

"Yeah, it's called love, Applejack. It happens. If this is your first time, especially, it's going to be pretty hard."

"No, you don't get it! Ah really ain't never felt like this afore. Twi, you're... you're perfect," she sobbed, the waterworks starting again. "I... I don't... wanna have 'ta... have 'ta...."

She couldn't even complete her sentence, breaking down into a wailing fit of staggered breaths and coughs. Twilight could do nothing but try to give Applejack a hug.

"Come on, Applejack. Come on. You're the strongest one of us. Come on," she held her tightly. "Please. Don't do this to yourself. It'll be ok, alright? I promise. There'll be somepony else."

"There ain't never gonna be somepony else!" Applejack nearly screamed. Twilight jumped a little at the outburst; it was that sudden. "Never, never, never!"

She buried her face into Twilight's chest, still sobbing uncontrollably. Her hat, having been pushed off, fell to the floor behind her, revealing her striking autumn hair all tied up in a ponytail.

Twilight sniffed her braid. It smelt faintly of cloudy apple juice, freshly squeezed. It wasn't intentional, but Applejack's head was in her face.

She didn't feel very comfortable. To be honest, it was quite awkward.

She made a decision.

"Look... I'll... stay with you the night, alright?" Twilight said, "No funny business. I don't want you to get the wrong idea, but I'm gonna stick by you and see you through this."

"Would'ja really?" sniffed Applejack, pulling back and looking up at Twilight with watery pupils. "That'd be... that'd be nice."

"I think that's the least I could do."

Well, sorry Spike, guess I'll have to tell you some other time.

I don't think I'm coming home tonight.

I don't think I'm coming home.