Twilight and Applejack lay asleep in each other’s arms that lazy Sunday morning. The sun streamed in and woke Twilight just enough to realize she had to use the bathroom. She felt exhausted, but managed to get herself to a sitting position and swing her legs onto the floor.

Now I just need to stand up. Hmm, wonder what time I finally did get to bed? I think it was between 3 and 4 but was it ever worth it! I couldn’t find a single reference in any of my books about what I was able to do last night with AJ, at least the magic I used, but there was enough information to tell me that my idea for healing Applejack might work! Okay, I think I’m ready to stand. Ohmygosh, my legs are still a little trembly. What time is it? It sounds like the girls are still fast asleep. Let’s see if I can make it down the stairs without waking anypony… Yes! ...and on to the bathroom.

Okay, that seat is cold!

Twilight slowly and quietly made her way back up the stairs. The previous night she’d crept up to the loft in the dark and quietly climbed into bed beside her sweet little love.

Now it was morning and as she climbed the last few steps to the to the loft, Twilight slowed and softly came to a stop. She could see Applejack laying there on her left side, breathing softly, her head resting on a pillow. The red ribbons from her mane and tail lay undone and intertwined in her golden blonde mane as it tumbled from her head and neck and spilled across her face and body. The corner of her mouth was curved up in a little smile. The soft flannel blanket was pulled up around her waist exposing her cutie mark. Slowly, so as not to disturb this sight of perfection, Twilight sat down quietly on the floor. How can she be? How can there exist a pony with so much love, love that you can see even while she sleeps? I’ve seen skies full of comets burning through the atmosphere, sunsets of such beauty that it makes you cry, but the beauty of my sweet little love lying there is like thunder next to the cricket chirps of those things. Why am I the one that gets to look into those green eyes framed by that glorious golden mane? How did I earn the right to have those eyes look at me with so much love?

Twilight sat and looked at the only thing and everything she ever wanted and would ever need. She couldn’t describe the pure beauty of this pony and so she tried to memorize the image, to take it all in and maybe understand all that it meant to her heart. But it was no use, her heart only ached as it always had when she saw Applejack asleep. This time however the pain was excruciating. Was it the ribbon, or her smile, or her hair as it fell across her forehead, or how her legs were in a position of mid gallop? Maybe it was something else? She never wanted to look away, to let go of the moment, despite the pain in her throat. She ached to climb in beside her, to pull her close, to smother her with kisses until she woke up giggling. To do anything to make her happy. The doctor had asked her days ago “how bad is it?” Twilight knew that he was asking how hard had Twilight fallen in love with her.

It doesn’t get any worse, or any better.

Applejack’s sleepy eyes opened a little and her smile spread in joy at the sight of Twilight. Twilight saw the love for her there and felt a powerful wave of emotion wash over her. Applejack’s face instantly became one of concern.

“What’s the matter honey?” she whispered. “Come here.” She held her arms open. Twilight climbed into bed and into her arms, her eyes wet with tears.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

“I-I don’t know. It’s -it’s probably that whole stupid love thing again.” Her voice strained as she tried not to cry. “In the deepest part of my soul is where I keep my love for you and I can’t begin to...” she drew in a shaky breath. “I’ll never be able to find the words to say to you, they don’t exist.” She buried her face into the honey blonde coat.

Applejack spoke softly. “Well if they do, you’ll find them and we’ve got time for that, don’t you fret none.” Applejack said and tenderly kissed the bridge of Twilight’s nose. “Now y’all better just calm down before the fillies wake up. Why don’t you just stay nuzzled here and I’ll keep an ear out for them?”

Twilight nodded and did as Applejack suggested. In a moment she was asleep.

She was awakened by the call of the CMC’s as they brought trays with breakfast for everypony up to the bed loft. Twilight and Applejack quickly flipped back to back and feigned sleep.

“Get up you lazy bones, we made breakfast!” Apple Bloom announced. “I made oat and barley toast with raspberry jam.”

“And I made apricot tea, be careful it’s hot.” Scootaloo handed the mugs over to Twilight and Applejack.

“And I poured juice.” Sweetie Belle said.

The five ponies sat on the bed and enjoyed their breakfast. The crusaders talked about going to the clubhouse after breakfast. Apple Bloom sat happily finishing a jam-laden piece of toast.

Twilight looked at her and twisted her mouth off to the right. The little filly licked around her muzzle looking for the food but was unable to locate it. She twisted her own mouth to the right and leaned in toward Twilight who reached forward with a napkin in her hoof and wiped the little bit jam from her muzzle. The two ponies smiled at each other.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo exchanged a look of surprise. Apple Bloom was nothing if not independent. “I was going to get some things in town,” Twilight said, “so I’ll go part of the way with you. I just need to shower first. What about you AJ? Do you want to come with me? It’s fine if you don’t, I’ll be right back.”

“Okay Twi, but I was thinking of staying behind and playing the guitar a little. I really need to shower too,” she said, looking at Twilight and raising an eyebrow. Twilight blushed.

Twilight got up and with her magic grabbed a towel then headed to the shower. The three Crusaders sat and talked to Applejack.

Twilight thought more about her idea in the shower and tried to remain calm as she mentally went over the various challenges and how she would address each of them. She thought about how she would present her idea to Dr. Stable - just like Harshwhinny, with calm professionalism. It was the best way to get his support.

After toweling off, she combed her mane and tail. She realized she hadn’t combed her own hair for days, as the two of them had taken to doing this for each other. She smiled at the thought.

AJ and the fillies were all sitting in the big sofa by the fireplace. Their saddlebags were packed and they were ready to go. A voice from down in the library called up.

“Dash is in the building!” In a moment Rainbow Dash flew through the threshold into the room. She hovered over the huge sofa in front of the fireplace and waited as the ponies shifted to make room for her.

“Hey guys, guess what I got?” she said, landing delicately.

“A hangover?” asked Twilight with a smirk.

“Well, yeah, a little one. I also have a crick in my neck.” the cyan pegasus said, bending her neck and squinting. She looked over her shoulder at Twilight with a big grin. “Would you mind, your highness?”

Twilight rolled her eyes, went to the couch and stood behind her friend. She reached over and began to rub her shoulders.

“Ahhhhh…” Rainbow closed her eyes and smiled. “You know Princess Twi, if you ever need a little extra change, I could put a word in with Aloe and Vera at the spa. You give a great massage.”

“Thanks Rainbow. I’ll put it on my resume.” Twilight deadpanned. “So do you have anything else other than a hangover, a sore neck and a hickey?”

“What?! Hickey? Where?!” Dash started frantically feeling around her neck. “Damn that Soarin! Where is it?”

“Just kidding.”

“What’s a hickey?” asked Scootaloo.

Rainbow Dash glared at Twilight who was biting her lips to keep from laughing. Before Rainbow could try to concoct an explanation, Sweetie Belle interrupted:

“Oh, I know what they are. They’re rashes you get on your neck when you go on a date and he takes you to a really expensive restaurant. Rarity gets them all the time.”

Twilight and AJ turned red and looked away. Rainbow Dash worked hard to hold back a laugh, then in all seriousness asked. “Really? Just at the expensive restaurants?”

“Uh-huh. I also happen to know that the really expensive ones serve very spicy food too,” the little unicorn explained.

“Is that right?” asked Dash, feigning serious interest, but utterly clueless as to what she was talking about.

“Oh yes, once this really cute colt took her to Mulia Mild’s Prance Chalet restaurant. When she came home her hair was a mess, she was sweating, her makeup was smeared and she was all out of breath. Oh yeah, and she had a big hickey on her neck. She told me it was from all the spicy food she ate. I guess she sure liked it because she couldn’t stop smiling.”

“Ohhh,” said Scootaloo. She seemed puzzled but accepted the answer.

AJ, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash all burst out laughing. The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked at them, very confusedly.

“Oh, it’s nothing girls, we were just thinking of a whole restaurant of ponies sweating and panting. It’s kind of funny.” Twilight explained.

The three filly’s looked at each other, thought about it and started laughing too.

“So what else do you have?” Twilight asked, wiping a tear of laughter from the corner of her eye.

“Oh right - a letter from Spike!”

“WHAT?! Really?!” Twilight transported herself and appeared in front of Dash.

“Where is it?”

“Right here-” Dash said, reaching into her saddlebag. She gave the envelope to Twilight.

“I wonder why he didn’t just transport it here?” Twilight wondered aloud as she opened the envelope.. She read aloud.

Dear Twilight-

I would have just transported this letter there, but I’ve had a cold. I hope everything is great with you. I really miss you alot. How is Owlicious? Say hi for me. I know you did well on your test, so I won’t even ask. (You did do well right?) -”

“What test?” Applejack interrupted.

Twilight's face went slightly pale and she looked quickly away. Nopony noticed it but Applejack and it frightened her. Twilight quickly looked up and into the green eyes that she loved and her face brightened into a big, loving smile. Applejack returned the smile and Twilight said to her,

“Nothing sweet-eeeetie Belle?” The young alicorn suddenly caught herself.”Did you say there was more of that juice?”

“Uh-huh. Would you like some?”

“No thank you honey, but Rainbow Dash might like some. How about it Dash?”

“Uhhh, yeah, sure...” Dash said, somewhat unsure of how the conversation got to where it was but grateful for the juice.

Twilight continued:

“I heard you got lots of snow. What;s up with that? Tell Rainbow Dash to get off her lazy butt and get to work! (Wait - she’s not there is she? Please tell me she’s not there!! If she is, then I leave my comic book collection to you and my special gem collection to Applejack and Fluttershy.)”

Rainbow Dash laughed so hard she spit the juice out of her mouth. The other ponies laughed as well.

“Have you been going to Sweet Apple Acres like we talked about? I’m going to ask AJ when I get home, so don’t bother trying to lie. (Kidding!). Rarity is keeping me super busy. So, I have some big news - are you ready? Are you sitting down? I have an assistant! I’m dictating this letter to her tight now.! You heard that right! (Or read that right) Rarity got me my own assistant! Her name is April Flowers and she is amazing. You would really like her. She’s unicorn and she’s light blue. Her mane is long and pink and she wears them in a bang. She has green eyes and is pretty good at magic. Correction -really good. . Rarity showed her how to style her tail.I can’t wait for you two to meet. She’s really, well she’s kind of… Remember our first day in Ponyville? Remember the first time I met Rarity? Well it kind of happened again, a little bit, that’s all I can say.

Rarity needs me for the really important stuff. She got a contract as the exclusive dress designer for the House of Fashion Forward. I helped her get it, but you won’t believe how. With my nachos! It all started when the head honcho was having a dinner party with a little fashion show by Rarity and the caterer was late. Rarity was getting pretty upset, even for her. In fact April had to create a diversion so that I could get the pint of Rocky Road out of Rarity’s hooves. She even took a swing at me! It was actually kind of funny. At least April and I thought so. When I was putting the ice cream back in the freezer I looked in his fridge and he had almost all the makings for nachos, but not enough. We ran out to the store, got more cheese and tomatoes (and the secret ingredient) and I made up a whole batch of them. They were a mega-hit. The next day he met us for lunch and offered the contract to Rarity.

There is one problem and please don’t get upset, but Rarity and I won’t be home for another month at least. They have asked her to be the director of the big fashion tour starting on Monday that will take us all over the world. Even Saddle Arabia!! But I really miss you and everypony in Ponyville so much. I’m thinking maybe I should just come back. Rarity just came in the room. She said she’s going to write you a letter too.

Hi, it’s me again. Rarity said I can go home if I want, but she really does need me, and April. Oh that’s April Flowers, my assistant, really want’s us all to go on this trip. Rarity said to tell you it would be very educational for me. I guess she’s right.

Tell everypony that I miss them and that I have my own wonderful and beautiful assistant. When I feel better I’ll send you my own letter, but I think you know what it says. Love,

Spike

Always your number one assistant.

Twilight looked up with tears in her eyes. Applejack’s smile told her that she’d give Twilight a hug now if she could, and it was more than enough to make Twilight smile.

“Anypony up there?” a voice called up from the library.

“Hey Derpy,” Dash yelled down, “We’re up here!”

“Is it okay if I come up there?” the mail pony asked

“Yes Derp, it’s fine.” Dash said, rolling her eyes.

Moments later the gray mare was at the top of the stairs and in the room.

“Hey everypony!”

Twilight and Applejack looked at each other, worried about what Derpy might do or say, now that she knew that they were together.. But she was her normal self.

“Got some mail for you Twilight. It’s from Rarity, I think.” Derpy said as she handed the envelope to Twilight.

“Thank you Derpy. Would you like some apple spice tea? How about you Dash?

“Will it stop the pounding in my head?” Dash asked.”That juice didn’t do much.”

“Coudn’t hurt.” Applejack said.

“I got it!” Scootaloo was up and trotting toward the cabinet. “Would you like some too Derpy?”

“Yes Scootaloo, thank you. I would love some. Can I have milk and sugar in it?”

“Can do!”

“So...” Twilight said as she unfolded Rarity’s letter. “Let’s see what Rarity has to say:

Dearest Twilight,

So much has happened, I simply don’t know where to begin! I must tell you, Spike has been an absolute gem! He has dutifully shouldered all the responsibilities I’ve placed upon him like a real trooper. When I saw how hard he was working I said to myself ‘Rarity, your assistant needs an assistant!’ So we placed a want ad in the newspaper. We interviewed quite a few ponies and despite several colts who I thought would have been perfect… (alright they might have been the tiniest bit gorgeous) we didn't find anypony. Then one of the seamstress’s here brought her niece in to see the clothing. You should have seen little Spikey-Wikey! He fell over twice crossing the room to introduce himself. Her name is April Flowers.

Spike and April just left the room darling, and I want to finish and send this before they return-

. I swore I wouldn’t breathe a word of it to you, but I think you ought to know. Spike tried so hard to be brave the first few nights but I could hear him crying in his room, poor lamb. He missed you so, I thought my heart would break. The third night I took him into my bed and let him cuddle. He was so distraught that he didn’t seem to realize or care that he was in my arms! Even when he awoke the next day with me kissing his dear little forehead. Barely a smile. That’s when I knew we simply had to do something! I did put the ad in the paper, but thank Celestia I noticed that he kept finding an excuse to talk to one of the seamstresses here - Bobbin. As it turned out she had a picture of her niece on her desk - She is very organized, though not obsessively nor compulsively. I thought Spike had a thing for me. He would stand and talk to Bobbin endlessly and just stare at the picture.

Now you should see him with April - he seems to forget who the assistant is. At first she was less than thrilled about the idea when we approached her with it. She didn’t care for the idea of “dragon sitting some little brat” but within a day he had completely won her over. Now she is thoroughly devoted to him. Heaven help the pony that harms him, she is quite protective. It’s really very sweet, though I think I may have lost his heart to her.

I do hope you’re not upset with him accompanying me on the trip. They’re both very excited and I’ll make sure they’re well taken care of. I’ve included the tour schedule and our itinerary should you need to contact us.

Sorry to leave you in boring old Ponyville, I know nothing much happens there, but sometimes that can be nice-

Love to you, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and of course sweet Pinkie Pie. Do tell her I haven’t forgotten her, will you?

R-

Twilight had read most of it aloud, skipping over the private sections regarding Spike’s difficulties. As she read the last sentence about “boring old Ponyville” everypony laughed, especially Twilight and AJ. Twilight smiled and gave a little sniff. She wiped a stray tear and looked at Applejack.

“Sounds to me like they’re having a swell time Twilight. He’ll be fine.”

“I know AJ, and like you said, he’ll have lots of great stories when they get back. I don’t know about this April Flowers. We’ll have to see about that.”

“Hey mama - he’s growing up, cut him some slack.” Dash said

“He’s still a baby!!” Twilight countered angrily

“A baby with a personal assistant!” Rainbow Dash pointed out.

“Yeah,” Twilight said with a sigh. “I guess you’re right.”

“Look at the bright side - you two can have Studley and Noteworthy over here whenever you want now!” Dash said, elbowing Twilight in the ribs and smirking.

Twilight and AJ burst into laughter. “Oh yeah! Great!” They said between laughs.

-----------------------------------------------------

Derpy and Dash had flown off and Twilight and the Crusaders were getting ready to head to town.

“We’ll see y’all later, hope the clubhouse is okay.” Applejack said and gave Apple Bloom a hug.

“Okay sis, think you’ll be headin’ into town later on?”

“I reckon so.”

“Awesome! We’ll see you down there.”

“Everypony ready?” asked Twilight.

“Ready.” the three fillies answered.

“See you later AJ.”

“Okay Twi-...:” suddenly the young pony’s face fell. “I’ll, uh, see you, later.”

At that moment Twilight had the same realization. “Yeah, I, um guess you will…are you going to be okay?”

“I guess...”

“I, uh I mean we can wait for you...”

“No, it’s okay, I reckon I can remember my way around Ponyville from what you showed me.”

“What’s wrong sis?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Uh, nothin;” Applejack looked straight at Twilight, then down at the floor.

“It’s the first time we’ve been- she’s been alone Apple Bloom. Is that it AJ?”

Applejack nodded.

“We can stay here till your ready Sis.”

The honey blonde pony looked down at her little sister. “I think I’ll be fine…” she smiled, She turned to Twilight and the the two looked at each other but neither said a word. Applejack’s smile fell slightly and the lightness in her voice had diminished.

“After all, if anything happens, I’ll just keep lookin’ till I find you.”

For a moment the two ponies just looked at each other. It was if a cloud passed over the young alicorn’s face.

“You’d better.”

________________________________________________

Later as Twilight and the CMC’s walked through the snowy streets of Ponyville, Apple Bloom turned to Twilight. “You seem real happy Twilight. You think Applejack is getting better?”

“I’m certain of it AB, we just need to stay positive.” she answered as they stopped at an intersection.

“This is the road to the orchard, so I guess I’ll see you later when we come into town. Where should we meet you?”

“The best sledding is over behind the school, so we’ll be over there after the clubhouse” Sweetie Belle said.

If we’re not then we’re probably still at the clubhouse” Scootaloo said.

“Okay, well you take it easy and we’ll see you there.”

Apple Bloom ran to Twilight and spoke quietly but excitedly. “Do you really
think she’s gettin’ better? Do you think she might start to remember things?” The excitement and hope in her voice made Twilight want to share with the little filly what she’d discovered, but instead she said. “Yes I do Apple Bloom. I think she’s going to remember everything.” Apple Bloom hugged Twilight, squeezing her tight and kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you Twilight, I love you so much!”

“I love you too Apple Bloom. I have a feeling we’ll be celebrating before you know it!” She felt Apple Bloom squeeze even tighter and when she let go, she looked happier than she had since Applejack had been hurt.

“I wish you you were my sister too Twilight.” Apple Bloom said, her eyes shining with wetness..

“I already feel like I am...” Twilight replied with a wink. The smile that lit up Apple Bloom’s face touched Twilight deeply.

“Okay Sis! See you later!” Apple Bloom said, lifting her hoof for a bump.

“Okay, Sis, looking forward to it!” Twilight said joyfully and hoof-bumped her.

“Yee-haw!!” the little filly cried out, jumping in the air with a hoof pump before galloping off to catch up with her friends. Twilight had almost forgotten how happy Apple Bloom could be.

Oh yeah, Applejack is coming back, no matter what I have to do.

Twilight’s mind began to turn as she walked toward Dr. Stables office. She began thinking out loud about the details of what she was going to propose to the doctor. She got a number of polite smiles from the ponies she passed. Seeing Twilight Sparkle trotting through the village talking to herself was not at all uncommon.

I wonder how she’ll feel when she finds out that we’ve fallen in love? If the doctor agrees with my plan then she’s most likely going to begin to recall bits and pieces of who she is relatively quickly. From the papers I’ve read, the merging is kind of upsetting and the patient needs time and care to adjust to what has happened, how they’ve changed, who they’ve become since they were injured. We may have some real conflicts ahead, but we’ll just have to spend time together. What a shame...I hope I’ll be able to stand spending all that time with her, helping her re-discover our love again. learning all those new things.... We can work it out. I know we can work it out! ...but I’m still scared to death.

Twilight began to trot quickly as she turned the last corner and headed down the snowy lane to Dr. Stable’s house. As she thought about the possibilities, her speed picked up until finally she was running at full gallop down the lane.

Dr. Stable’s office was located in the back of his house. She opened the door and stepped in. The waiting room was empty. She took off her boots and called out:

“Doctor Stable? Are you here? Oh please tell me you’re here!! I have something to tell you that I have to tell you now because it I wait any longer I will completely explode and then you’ll have to gather up all the bits and pieces and put them all together if you want to find out what it is I have to tell you!!!”

Dr. Stable came out from the examination room.

“Twilight- stop bouncing around! What in the world is going on?"

"I think I found it, I think I found iiiiit!!"

"Found what?"

"How to help Applejack get all her memory back!!"

"Really?!! Okay, well, let’s go into my study."

"All right, I read through the key chapters as well as the sections you highlighted. There was that article discussing cases of select intracranial damage and swelling and the subsequent effect on long and short term memory.”

“Yes, that was the one I thought had direct bearing on Applejack’s condition. So what is your idea?”

“Ready? Oh, I’m so excited – so here she goes - there are three layers to the arterial wall, right?"

“Actually there are 5 - the inner layer or endothelium, which is surrounded by the intima, the internal elastic membrane, then smooth muscle layer…"

"I know, Iknow - forget the internal and external elastic membranes for now and focus on the main 3 -the internal wall- the endothelium, the middle wall which is smooth muscle and the outer wall which is the adventitia. Got it?"

"I think so..." he said with a smile. It's kind of like a hose inside of a hose inside of a hose, is that right? I was absent that day at medical school"

Twilight rolled her eyes "If I wasn't so happy about this and I didn't love you so much..."

"A little too patronizing, eh?"

"Ya think?… Now back to my idea. Between each hose is an elastic membrane right?"

"Okay, i"m with you so far."

"Last night we had a big sleepover at the library. I brought out all my things from when I was little and in there I found an old set of Chineighese hoof cuffs that Princess Celestia had given to me. They're just straw that's woven into a tube about a foot long. You put one hoof in each end and when you try to pull them out, the tube constricts, so you can’t, and the more you pull, the tighter it constricts."

"Ah, yes,” replied the doctor, “I had a pair of those in college. They’re great for pranking. I think I see where you're going,” the doctor paused, “but how are you going to get the cuff around the artery? Weaving in place would be ridiculous. First of all these arteries are less a millimeter in diameter. Even if you were able to, what can you possibly use to weave this with? And then of course there is the issue of stress at either end due to the nature of the cuff, then there is the possibility of tissue rejection, etc."

"Those are all the same problems I came up against, then I came up with a way that might eliminate the need for an external cuff. What if I were able to, on a cellular level, create a latticework within that middle layer - the smooth muscle? The structure of the lattice would be based on the hoofcuffs. The weave, of course, would have openings, while I weaved it but the intima – that elastic membrane between the hoses- that would contain the structural integrity while I wove the cuff, which…"

The doctor began to grow excited. “You know the nature of the cellular fabric on the smooth muscle wall does lend itself perfectly to that kind of structural manipulation…” He calmed a bit as he considered the options and the intricacies, “…provided you could find a pony that had the skills to do it, which-”

But Twilight was on a roll.

“...once the work was complete, I would just gently pull at each end - using magic of course - and the cuff would constrict - just like the hoofcuffs. It would draw the artery back to its normal shape, thus taking pressure off the brain, and it would create an incredibly strong arterial wall – removing the risk of further rupture!”

She looked at the doctor, her eyes bright with excitement. “Don’t you see? The elastic membranes between each of the three layers - or hoses would mean very minimal disturbance or damage to any of the tissue! No scarring!!" The last word came out as a joyful squeal.

"Twilight honey- calm down, just calm down. I have to admit that at first glance you make a very compelling case. I'll need to do some research on this before we seriously consider allowing you to pursue it. Before I do even that, we have one enormous hurdle - do you really think you can create that lattice structure? That is incredibly difficult and intricate work- I don’t anything like that has ever been attempted - spells that involve multiple subcutaneous manipulations of flesh while being aware of the cell walls on a tactile level? You’d need to be able to maintain a separate awareness of both. If you have any experience with this sort of thing at all generally it would probably have been in an anatomy class at the academy. Do you even remember performing any cunea manipuli in any of your magic labs?”

Twilight blushed deeply and looked quickly away, avoiding his gaze. He didn’t notice. He looked away and sighed then said, “It’s unlikely, it’s usually just gone over in lectures, a cursory mention at best, usually because it’s usually associated with, well, I doubt you’re aware but there is a certain stigma attached to it. Outside of some specialized fields, again, not that you’d know about such things, but subcutaneous manipulations are typically used for…” The doctor looked at Twilight and suddenly stopped talking as the realization dawned.

Twilight's face was beet red and it was spreading down her neck.

“Oh, uh…yeah, well, uh” Twilight had turned away from him in utter embarrassment. She felt absolutely mortified.

The doctor tried not to stammer too much. “I see…well…uh just because some ponies use it for personal pleasure and certain types of gratification…I mean there’s nothing wrong with it, I mean it’s perfectly normal, perfectly natural for young unicorn’s to explore this sort of, uh... Look- whatever you use it for we just need to be sure you have the skill to do what you’ve described. We, uh…” he paused, closed his eyes, took a breath, and said. “I think we need to discuss your experience with this technique.”

“I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about,”.

“Twilight…I can imagine how uncomfortable this must be for you to discuss.”

“No, I really don’t think you can,” Twilight replied, sounding quite certain of it, still with her back to him.

“I’m sorry, I’ll try not to make this any more uncomfortable than it already is.”

“Once again doctor, I really don’t think you can.” The sentence came out in a sort of sing song fashion, as though indicating the obvious.

“Twilight, do you understand why we have to have this conversation?” his voice took on a serious tone.

“No doctor, I don’t,” said Twilight curtly. “Can’t we just leave it that my abilities are skilled enough to perform this?” She continued speaking with her back to him

“Twilight, do you have any idea what we’re talking about here? The complexity? The difficulty? As far as being able to perform this, if it weren’t a pony with your skills, we would not even be having this conversation.”

“Well it is a pony with my skills so there is no need for this conversation!”

The doctor spoke evenly and calmly, “You are asking my help in preparing for a major procedure on Applejack’s brain and you won’t talk to me about your skill level because you’re embarrassed? I think you need to re-examine your priorities!” It was obvious he was exercising restraint. “Actually, perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself here. Let me ask you this - did you actually manipulate a part of her body or only your own? Will you at least tell me that?”

Twilight waited and then sighed. She closed her eyes and said the word quickly, as though she were pulling off a band-aid.

“Both.”

“Okay. I’m going to assume that you made her aware of all the risks before you did anything.”

“Do you mean did I have her sign a contract agreeing not to hold me liable if something went wrong? No, doctor I did not. The lawyer that I keep in the basement for these occasions had the day off!!”

Twilight suddenly flashed out and to her surprise found herself face to face with the doctor who had teleported her 180 degrees.

“Twilight!” he looked her square in the eye and spoke sharply to her, “Do you recall last summer when that young unicorn couple came in and we were collecting all their medical history? Do you remember me asking you to get us tea?”

“Of course, you treated me like some kind of servant and never bothered to tell me why!” She snapped.

“Well that colt had signaled me that he wanted some privacy and I didn’t want to tell you to just leave. He and his marefriend were doing something along the lines of what unicorns often do when playing around with these types of spells, but he ran into some serious difficulties. It almost ended very badly, it could, in fact, have been tragic. He had practiced for months, yet even with that, she lost all sensation in her vulva for several days. Oh am I allowed to say that word? I wouldn’t want to embarrass you.”

He saw Twilight go pale for a moment as she considered what could have happened last night. He continued. “If so…well frankly I don’t give a damn. In any case…look, typically one partner focuses on controlling something on their partner’s anatomy for a little while, and then if they’re both unicorns and have the skills and are so inclined, they trade back and forth because it’s extremely difficult to enjoy what’s being done to you and to please your partner with magic at the same time. This young fellow was trying to manipulate both his penis and her clitoris at the same time during intercourse, so as to control the amount of contact and sensitivity.”

Despite enormous effort at appearing clinically interested, Twilight’s complexion was as red as ever. The doctor wisely decided not to comment on it and continued.

“What he was trying to do is a pretty tricky maneuver for even an experienced practitioner. As I say, maintaining concentration is the most difficult part of it. It started out well, but he lost focus and damaged some of her nerve endings – you see he couldn’t tell what she was feeling. She, as you might imagine, was more than mildly upset.” The doctor paused. “Fortunately it was temporary and as I said, she recovered fully within a week or so. Simple applications are ok,” he continued, “but when you start to manipulate fine tissue simultaneously and something goes wrong, it is imperative that you stay calm, you can’t just quit. Thank Celestia he didn’t try to “fix” it himself after she went numb and started screaming at him, but if he hadn’t kept his cool that night he could well have caused permanent damage to the surrounding area, in this case her reproductive organs.”

The doctor looked at Twilight grimly. “It happens all too frequently to both genders.” He continued to look her straight in the eye, letting the weight of what was unspoken carry its own inertia. “You’re talking about her brain! Applejack’s brain! That is why we need to have this discussion!” he snapped, “It just so happens that you are NOT the only one in this room that happens to care a great deal about Applejack’s welfare! Granted it’s not the same kind of love you two share, but I’ve known that little mare since she was a foal!” From the sound of his voice, it was clear that he loved Applejack very much and was not about to let Twilight, in spite of her best intentions, take unnecessary risks.

“Let’s see, how about this” he continued, “since this conversation is causing you such discomfort, why don’t we play 20 questions, hmm? Is that better?”

Twilight glared at him.

“Did you, you know, do a little something to her then to yourself? If so, that’s fine, though it’s a hay of a long way from weaving the sort of muscular matrix at the cellular level you’re describing. And I don’t want to dash your hopes, but should that be the extent of your experience, it’s going to take more than a fair amount of practice to get where you need to be!” He paused and then looked at her. He let out a calming sigh.

“It isn’t the scale. You can scale your perception up or down to the smallest viewpoint you need. It’s the rest of it. You need to define, actually delineate is a better word, the cell membranes, and then separate them along their natural path so as to create the ribbon that you will weave. If that weren’t difficult enough you need to perform that 3 times simultaneously! I know there are areas of study that allow you to perform a procedure as almost a background task, while doing something else. Some can do as many as three, but it takes a great deal of concentration with little disruption. It isn’t like setting something in motion and coming back to check on it, part of your mind needs to maintain a degree of awareness and control of that task. You know the more I talk about it…” He paused and exhaled, clearly discouraged.

“I really don’t know about this Twilight, I’m just not sure you’ve got the skills or self-control to stay calm if something started to go horribly wrong.”

“But I HAVE to! You should have seen Apple Bloom’s face when I told her that I thought AJ was getting better! She hasn’t been like that since before it happened. And I heard that things are not exactly rosy with the animals at Sweet Apple Acres. Poor Mac has his hooves full trying to figure out Applejack’s crazy accounting system for the farm, and Fluttershy has been helping to tunnel out some of the animals near her cottage, so she can’t help him. I have to get Applejack back! The longer she’s like this, the more difficult time she’ll have assimilating her new experiences with her old ones. Besides Ponyville needs her!”

“But sweetie, we’re talking about the love of your life, going into her brain. You’d have to maintain an emotional equilibrium at a time when clear headed concentration is key. You’d need to be able to focus all your energies and maintain tactile senses so that you can virtually feel what you’re doing - continually without breaking your concentration no matter what happened – and this would be on three different simultaneous activities.” he looked at her with compassion. “I’m just not sure even you have the skill to do that.”

Her face took on a look of smugness. She looked at him as though he were a colt. A little curl turned up at the corner of her mouth. “Don’t worry about me Doctor, I’ve got the skills…” she smirked. The tone of her voice infuriated him.

His voice became soft, flat and measured, as it did when he was very angry, “I know you were Princess Celestia’s protege and your special skill is magic, and you’re very good at it, but we’re talking about very serious skills now, not outsmarting some giant bear, or fooling that silly Trixie.” he rolled his eyes dismissively. “Those were impressive and certainly showed a degree of advanced ability, but think about this for a moment. - multiple intricate tasks being performed simultaneously on living tissue. Not to minimalized your skills Twilight, or further embarrass you, but employing a little magic during bedroom play is not quite the same thing as performing brain surgery at the cellular level.”

Twilight’s rage was in the danger zone and overrode everything standing before it. Before she knew it she’d blurted it out-

“What would you say if I told you that AJ and I got into a position where I could simultaneously manipulate both of our hips, then set them in stasis, provide a way for both of us to flex and move and guide our clitorises, gently moving them around and against each other, then I took over and manipulated them - without being able to see them – because we were too busy kissing, and then lightly pressing the two glans directly into each other and using sub-harmonic tones, repeatedly brought us both to multiple simultaneous orgasms on my first try for about 5 minutes then used a spell to protect the glans by re-generating the epidermal cells?” Twilight continued the proud but nasty little “smirk of superiority” she’d learned from watching Trixie. But only for a moment. One look at the doctor’s shocked face and suddenly her eyes went wide, her jaw gaped, she turned red, looked down and put her hooves over her face.

“I can-NOT believe I just said that!!” she said from behind her hooves. “Please tell me you have something handy around here that I can use to gouge out my eyes so that I never have to look you in the face ever again.”

The expression on the doctor’s face went from embarrassment for this little pony who was like a daughter to him, to sympathy at what she was going through. to utter amazement at her astounding ability, as his jaw slowly fell open. Twilight kept her hooves in front of her face as she spoke. “No, seriously, anything, a spoon, a book, a pokey stick lying on the ground …how about a stone? Even a dull one would do”

He went to her to calm her with a hug her but she backed away, bumping into the front of an examination table. The previous mare had been there for a pelvic exam and the stirrups were still in place. Twilight looked to her left and right and whimpered at all the embarrassing entendres and implications, then moved and ducked around the one on her left.

“Oh, uh, I’m uh, sorry…” he stammered, sharing her awareness. He went to remove them.

“I can't believe I fell for that! You goaded me into it!” She said from behind her hooves.

“No, I would never do that. Okay, well yeah...maybe…” he said reaching for the stirrups to remove them. “...it was the only way to get you to open up.”

Then he froze. He looked up at his hooves resting on the stirrups.

Twilight who had been glaring at him over the top of her hooves, opened her eyes wide in shock and further embarrassment just clapped them over her eyes.

Dr. Stable, hooves still up in the stirrups, hung his head and shook it slowly. “There are bad word choices and worse word choices. You know what?” he said, “Maybe I had just better shut up.”

Twilight turned her back to him. He began to think about what she’d said. About what she had been able to do. He sat down and ran through it in his mind. Twilight call this his “doctor mode” where he was in an almost meditative state. When she didn’t hear him move or speak, she knew he was going over it.

But he wasn’t thinking about her and Applejack, he was thinking about the immense amount of complexity involved in being able to do what she said she’d described. After speaking with a patient he would sit or pace, mentally reviewing all the pertinent details in order to synthesize initial clinical theories. He was speaking more to himself than to her. In fact he suddenly seemed practically unaware of her presence. It always reminded her of Fetlock Hooves, the master fictional detective, one of her favorite book characters. Suddenly she had an image of herself and Applejack “doing it” while ‘ol Fetlock and the doctor stood by, watching with notepads and quills, discussing, comparing notes, pointing vaguely with their quills and nodding sagely. She wanted to die.

To him this was not a sexual issue; it was far beyond that, it was an astounding, almost unbelievable level of ability. His face had gone from serious to incredulous. His eyes got wider as he continued to contemplate the level of skill necessary to perform what she’d just described. The tone of his voice re-emphasized his utter amazement as he sought to confirm what he couldn’t believe he’d heard.

“So you were able to mentally maintain physical and sensory distinction between both of your genital-err-, both of you while using magic to physically manipulate, without visual confirmation, and were able to control your level of arousal to match hers and then when she reached orgasm you did as well…?!!” He stared at her, slack-jawed. Then suddenly his eyes went even wider. “Wait - for you to manipulate each other effectively you needed to use a magical field to surround the surface areas very precisely, but when skin is encased in a magical field, even a well applied cunea manipuli spell, it loses a fair amount of its sensitivity. So you - so the unicorn would need to grasp each clitoris at its base and move it around from there, leaving the glans fully exposed to allow for full sensation... so you-, which means the unicorn would need to be able to feel what her partner was feeling in order for this to work…”

He paused and looked at her then, almost desperately, as though the answer might provide some sort of universal truth, said “And you said repeatedly! And multiple! Multiple? I wouldn’t be able to spell cat during an orgasm, much less… Do you recall the number of orgasms you both achieved?”

“I have absolutely no idea who or what you’re talking about!” she said from behind her hooves.

He walked around the room shaking his head slowly in disbelief. “To be able to feel what her partner was feeling, the unicorn would have to... - so you traversed the neural network. You must have followed the sensory impulses, of course, and identified the nerve endings, then following them you would have had to analyze the location of the receptors... Then you had to do it all over again for yourself but once you begin to experience your own pleasure, being able to maintain... All the way to multiple orgasms!! It’s just mind boggling.” He smiled and shook his head in amazement. “Imagine if you were able to cast a metaphyse spell and have her be able to feel what you were… Oh no. No no no no. I can see it on your face!! You were able to do everything you described AND cast a metaphyse!! That...is...just.” He staggered away as though struck. Then he stopped and turned, his face full of anguish.

“That is just not...fair.” He pouted.

He looked up and finally noticed that her utter embarrassment was easing. She had fought it hard, but had been unable to keep from smiling. She was still unable to look at him though. He smiled and went to her “I am sorry to have put you through this. I really shouldn’t have doubted you; I never knew your skill level. It’s utterly amazing.”

“I can-not believe I am having this conversation. Thank you, but I really don’t -. So, will you help me help Applejack or not?!” she demanded from behind her hooves.

“Of course. Of course. I still can’t believe you can do that. I mean your ability to perform…”

Now she was glaring at him again over the tops of her hooves.

“…the procedure I mean. Now that was a perfectly fair phrase on my part. Young pony, you have a filthy mind!” he smiled.

“Uh-huh. I am never coming out from behind these hooves. Ever.”

The doctor let out a large sigh. “Okay, first of all, what happens in your bedroom is entirely your affiar,”

“THANK YOU!” The young princess snapped, “You’d sure never know it!!”

“Alright, before you get your saddle in any more of a twist there are two things I need to share with you. First, Twilight, if you ever tell anypony what I am about to share with you, I will do what I can to protect you from my wife, but once she kills me, and she will, you are on your own.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “There was a time… well, I tried something similar, I, well we…” he closed his eyes and sighed, “got stuck.”

After several moments she lowered her hooves revealing a red face but this time her blush was a result of trying not to laugh. He looked at her and rolled his eyes. “Go ahead sweetheart, laugh, you’ve earned it.”

“No, no no, I couldn’t,” but it was too late, she was already laughing out loud.

“It was the first night of our honeymoon…” he recounted sadly.

“Noooo!” she screamed in utter hysterics. “Stop, oh no!”

“And I thought I’d practiced enough, you know, and I’d surprise her…”

“Surprise? No-no-no-no, can’t...breathe!!” Twilight gasped, laughing harder.

“In any case we couldn’t get apart…” the doctor looked at the ground slowly shaking his head.

“Oh, oh no, please, please, no more, I’m going to pee…”

“So we climbed into a cold shower in the hotel we were staying at, you know to try to well, shrink things…”

But Twilight, holding her legs tight together was busy trying to waddle to the bathroom, laughing all the way there. He heard the door shut and then it was silent. After a moment he heard her laugh echoing off the tile walls. He smiled.

Eventually she came back, still wiping away the tears of laughter. As she walked up to him he smiled and went on.

“The other thing I need to say is,” he paused and looked into her eyes. “You know how much I love you and how much I love Applejack. As far as what you’ve told me, all it means to me is this - you two are enjoying all the wonderful things that two ponies who love each other should enjoy together. You are young and healthy and in love. Please don’t get embarrassed if we get into a situation where somepony says something, you know like a double entendre for example, that could leave you, me and Applejack looking at each other and feeling extremely embarrassed and uncomfortable. We all know you’re adult and you’re having sex, no surprise - oh stop blushing. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. You do realize that when your romance becomes general knowledge, most of the ponies in town will figure that out too.”

Twilight had not considered that. Her jaw fell open. “Oh my… holy…” She looked up at the doctor, her face desperate for help.

“Well, what do you think when you see Lyra and Bon Bon?” He asked.

Twilight paused, her mind instantly saw the two mares in bed… She blushed at herself. It wasn’t the first time she’d had that thought when she’d seen them or heard their names mentioned. She suddenly felt very guilty.

“It’s okay sweetie, it’s just equestrian nature, and there’ll always be ponies who will look at you two and have those thoughts, but after awhile, you’ll get used to it. You’ll face it together and if I know you two, you’ll start to have fun with it. Just go easy on those colts at the high school, all six of you have your fans over there. When they find out that the two of you are together, especially you two, well just expect some rude drooling stares.”

He smiled, then looked into her eyes again. “Just know that in those situations, for me, the only image that will always come to my mind when I think of you two will be how you look at each other. I don’t need to know what happens after you close the bedroom door, I already know it’s all love.”

She put her arms around him and hugged him. With her head pressed to his chest she could hear his heart beat. “Do you know why it was so hard for me to talk about it? I mean you are a doctor, you're even my doctor.” She looked up into his eyes.

He knew, but he longed to hear her say it. It was a relationship that had built since almost when they first met. They’d never spoken of it, it was just sort of understood and at the chance to hear her say it he felt an incredible rush of emotion. Typically he was a somewhat stoic pony, still he braced himself. He looked at her and saw fresh tears in her eyes. They were tears of love and gratitude. He felt his own eyes betraying him.

She took his hoof in hers and looked at him. “Because of everything you have taught me, all the love and patience you have shown me, I-I…” Tears filled her eyes. “You aren’t even like, you are my second Dad.”

They embraced tightly, tears spilling down their faces.

“I can think of no greater honor.” he said, barely able to speak. “You know sweetheart,” he said, removing his glasses and wiping his eyes, right now any other pony who’d discovered they’d had the level of ability that you have could write their own ticket. They could do anything they liked. Hay - I’ll bet you would probably be able to pass The Ordeals! Even at your age, but…” he stopped. Twilight’s face had gotten very pale and for a moment she looked frightened and lost. He reached over with his hoof, lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. He spoke softly. “But all you want to do is to make Applejack well again. It’s all you care about.”

She smiled again and nodded. “I know I can do this. I just need to find a way to prepare.”

“You know what? I have a pony that just foaled this morning. Come back into surgery. I still have the placenta- most of the blood vessels are the size of the ones in the brain. If you can perform this procedure successfully four, no five times, then I'll give you the go-ahead. But you have to account for the fact that you’ll be dealing with her blood pressure as well.”

Twilight turned green “Yuck! I have to sit with a bloody placenta in my lap? Ugh!” but she smiled and sniffed as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hoof.

“No, just hold it between your hooves that should be enough surface contact. It is for Applejack after all…”

Twilight’s demeanor changed and she smiled. “I’d sit in a bathtub full of them if I thought it would help her. Give me a little time to prepare. I’m going to need fifteen minutes or so of meditation before we start.

“Fifteen minutes?! I had to meditate for two hours before and the whole time my bride was going crazy waiting.”

Twilight put her hoof over her mouth to stifle a laugh.

Okay, go ahead in. I’ll give you time to prepare and then I’ll join you.

Twilight smiled at him. “Thank you doc-” She stopped and gave him another strong hug. “Thanks Dad.”

He held her close so she wouldn’t see the tears that filled his eyes again, but it occurred to him that it really didn’t matter to her.

Author's Notes:

I finally found the artist that created this - Sho2ting Star. He no longer does pony and he removed it from his DeviantArt page. Tragic.
Oh, just crossed the 100K word mark. yay!
In all those words do you know what I think my favorites are? They're in this chapter and (I think paragraph 7) and they start with "Applejack's sleepy eyes opened..." I love that whole little scene with the two of them. The scene with the doctor was started over a year ago and I've gone back to it multiple times for lots of re-edits.
Things will start to pick up from here...