Twilight shut the door behind her with a happy sigh, cutting off the creaking of a passing wagon, and surveyed the inside of her treehouse again. Not a book out of place, not a speck of dust anywhere! Pulling out a long list from her pocket, she let it float from her hand and hover before her, sparkling with the glow of her magic.

"Tidy up the house, check! Re-alphabetise the books, check! Help Spike put together his holiday bag, check; see Spike off at the train station, check! Now there's only my favourite checkmark - read new books!"

She was a slim mare, with skin of pale violet and mane of dark blue with a pink and purple flash shot through it, her tail matching. Pointed ears thrust through her hair, and a single spiral horn marked her as one of the unicorn tribe. Skipping across the room she dropped into a nest of cushions that cradled her comfortably, and scanned the shelves coyly, before gesturing with the tip of her horn. A battered and much worn book slid out from its new home on a shelf and floated gently across the room to land in her lap.

"Peaceful Charms," she read aloud, then hugged the book against her chest, the worn, green tome incongruous against her bright purple jumper. "Intact! Readable! Not eaten by Star-spiders! I knew I could restore it. Poor thing, sitting unread in that ruined castle for a thousand years. Well, hello. I'm Twilight," she told it.

Opening it gently, she began reading.

It definitely wasn't original. Peering at the stitching from inches away, she could see the colour of the thread wasn't quite the same as the rest. Darker green. The parchment was similar, but - she felt it carefully between her fingertips - rougher. But it was a beautiful job, so neatly done. She couldn't have done better.

She scanned the page again. It certainly fit the tone of the book; it seemed to be a charm for focusing attention. But it wasn't clear... there were details that didn't seem to fit, snatches of syllables that seemed older. She'd cross referenced it with the rest of the book, but those touches didn't match anything else. What she really needed was to try it out, if only Spike wasn't going to be away for so long...

A knock sounded at the door and she looked up, gently laying the book aside and patting its cover. Concentrating, her horn glowed and she vanished with a brief flash, reappearing at the door. Turning the handle, she pulled it open and stepped back with a smile.

An orange-skinned mare stood in the doorway, her thick blonde hair tied near the end with a bright red ribbon, its twin binding her tail. She wore a loose, checked shirt and a pair of blue shorts, with an oval cut-out exposing the triple apple mark on each thigh. A brown hat and heavy brown boots completed the ensemble. "Hey Twilight, how you getting on?"

Twilight's eyes sparkled, appropriately. "Applejack! What are you doing here?" She stepped backwards into her treehouse, Applejack following her inside and closing the door behind her.

"Well, shucks. I was jest passing by, thought I'd see how you're doing without Spike. He going to be okay?"

"I have complete faith that he'll come back from his dragon vision quest completely fine, and feeling very enlightened," Twilight declared, then grinned. "I persuaded him not to go anywhere near the Everfree Forest, and Zecora is keeping an eye out just in case he goes anyway. I'm sure he'll be safe."

"Read all those books we got from the Castle of the Two Sisters yet? It's been two whole days; that's enough for what, fifteen books?" Applejack grinned at her, settling into a chair.

"Those books haven't been read for a thousand years! They need gentle care, and restoration, and preservative spells, and - you're laughing at me, aren't you."

"Jest you ignore this grin of mine. I'm listening seriously."

Twilight gave a wry shrug. "I'm stuck on a focusing charm. It seems straight forward, but there's some older elements to it that I don't recognise. I need to practice it!"

"Safe though, right? It's not going to up'n turn somepony purple."

"I'm sure it's perfectly safe," she replied, secretly hoping. Applejack was always such a good friend, and she just had to know what that charm was doing-

"Well, why don't you give it a whirl? I'll jest sit right here. Improves focus, y'say?"

"That's right! It says it awakens your inner focus, so you can concentrate completely! I really think it could help with my research. Thank you so much, Applejack," she replied warmly. She reached out her hand and her horn glowed, the book gently lifting up and floating across the room into her fingers.

Gently separating the pages, she turned to the charm and looked over at Applejack, taking a deep breath. She began moving her horn in a precise series of small gestures, mentally running through the complex mental gymnastics described on the page, focusing her attention on her friend.

Twilight's horn glowed strongly, leaving a thin trail in the air as it moved back and forth, and as Applejack watched with slightly apprehensive interest, she felt an odd tingle rush through her body. Nonetheless, she felt little more and as Twilight straightened up with a deep breath, she could only shake her head apologetically. "Ah'm sorry Twilight, but I jest don't feel any different."

Twilight frowned and looked back at the book. "But I followed the instructions perfectly, I felt something happen... use of this charm will awaken true focus. To end-" She paused. Had Applejack just said something? She lifted her head.

Applejack was no longer watching her with friendly concern. Instead, the other pony had slumped back into her chair, her arms limp on the rests, and her bright green eyes were glazed over.

"Applejack! Are you alright?" she burst out, the book drooping towards the floor as she almost forgot it was there. Rushing forward, she put a hand on Applejack's own with concern.

"Ah am alright." The words emerged stripped of life, a quiet monotone spiced by Applejack's accent, and she didn't stir but for her eyes, which turned towards Twilight's face with absolutely singular focus.

"Oh Applejack, speak to me! How do you feel?" she asked quickly, distractedly dropping the book on a side table with a sweep of her horn.

"Ah will speak to you. Ah feel calm. Ah see you. Only you," the blank eyed pony droned.

Twilight balled her hands, then forced herself to calm down. "Okay Twilight, think. What have you done and how can you fix it?" Parchment and quill floated up to her, the summoning nearly instinctive. "Let's see. Applejack is focused only on me. Applejack isn't conscious, but she's responding to me. What can I learn?"

The quill flickered into life, writing 'Applejack Focused Symptoms' at the top of the parchment, then continued 'AJ is aware and responsive to questions. She is tracking me with her eyes. She shows no emotional reactions, no independent volition.'

Experimentally, she tried, "Applejack, stand up please."

"Ah will stand up." Slowly at first, like a sleepwalker, the mesmerised pony pushed down on the arms of the chair and levered herself to her feet. Her arms dangling loose at her sides, she stood swaying slightly, her eyes following Twilight's face.

Twilight nodded and the floating quill quickly wrote 'AJ follows simple verbal instructions.' "Okay, Applejack? Wake up!"

"Ah am awakened," she replied blankly.

Twilight put two fingers to her forehead, in thought. 'Instruction to wake up has no effect.' "Applejack, can you look happy?"

"Ah will look happy." Her face curved into a natural smile, and Twilight stared at her, feeling her heart break a little at the meaninglessness of the gesture. 'AJ can portray emotion when told to.'

"Do you know where you are? How do you feel?" she tried.

"Ah am in your home. Ah feel laike only you matter," the blonde mare replied, and even in her flatness, there seemed a trace of true sincerity.

Twilight shivered, not sure why a little prickle ran over her skin. 'AJ is aware of her location.' This didn't seem to be getting her anywhere - maybe she'd missed something in the charm. She hesitated, then gestured for the book to come back to her. It joined the quill and parchment bobbing before her, flipping open at the correct page, and Twilight examined the letters carefully.

"Didn't she say - Applejack, wake up please."

"Ah am awakened," she repeated again.

"Awaken is written more firmly. It's a key? This could be it! Let me see, there must be something to end the state... ooh, this is exciting!" she declared aloud, then blushed darkly and shook herself. Focusing on the letters, she picked out another darker word, written with strong strokes. Lifting her head, she pronounced carefully, "Applejack, slumber."

The effect on the other pony was immediate. The glazed look disappeared as her face was flooded with life, and she shifted to stand more naturally. After looking at Twilight's anxious expression for a second or two, she said, "Well? Ah'm not turning purple yet, am I?" She looked down at herself and chuckled. "Sorry Twilight. Doesn't seem like that charm does much of anything."

Twilight breathed a deep sigh of relief and wiped her forehead with her hand, brushing the base of her horn. "Whew, you're alright! I'm so relieved."

Applejack gave her a quizzical look. "Course I am, Twilight. Ain't nothing happened here."

The purple haired mare hesitated again, and almost without thinking about it, the quill in the grip of her magic wrote 'AJ has no recall of the focused state.' "Do you remember anything - odd?" she asked.

"Not a thing. Rilly Twilight, I'm sorry about your charm. Maybe you can give it another go, see if it takes. Then I'd best get back to the farm."

That was a good question. Would it take again? She hesitated, but Applejack had offered... and it did seem harmless. She wrestled with herself, and curiosity won. She glanced at her notes. "Applejack, awaken."

"Ah am awakened." The words slipped from her lips immediately, Applejack's expression falling away to leave her blankly neutral, and her hands dropping to dangle at her sides.

Again, the little prickle ran up Twilight's back, and she wrote carefully 'Awaken enters focused state, slumber ends.' A thought struck her. "Applejack, didn't you find it strange you were standing up all of a sudden, that I had my quill out?"

Applejack shook her head slowly, her tail swaying in sympathy. "You took out your quill before you cast the charm, and Ah stood up for it. It wasn't sudden."

Twilight jerked in surprise, and it took her several seconds before she wrote 'AJ's memories shift to make sense of where she wakes up.' Now that was powerful, and maybe dangerous. Could she...? "Applejack, before I tried the charm, I gave you a cupcake. It was pink frosted, and it was really tasty."

Applejack stood blankly as her memories shifted to match Twilight's words. "You gave me a cupcake. It was rilly tasty."

Well, that could just be her repeating what she was told... "Applejack, slumber please," she said politely.

Applejack's head lifted, and her hands moved to rest naturally, one lightly resting against the cut-out that exposed her cutie mark. "Well, y'going to give that charm another try or what?" she asked mildly.

"Applejack, wouldn't you like another cupcake first?" Twilight asked, tense with anticipation and curious excitement.

The blonde mare tilted her head, resting a finger against her chin. "Heck, I shouldn't, but that was darn tasty. Alright then, sure." She gave Twilight a warm smile, which immediately faded away as Twilight blurted, "Awaken!"

Twilight stood in shock, breathing deeply, before she shook her head to clear it. Her penmanship suffered a little as it wrote shakily 'AJ's memories can be changed with simple commands.' Steadying herself, she tried to think of limits to the spell. Surely there must be some practical ones. "Applejack, can you name something you would refuse to do when told to?" she tried.

Applejack almost frowned for the first time in her trance, taking time to answer as though checking every contingency she could think of, before her expression cleared. "Ah will do anything you tell me to. There is nothing I will refuse to do," she told Twilight, her accent thickening slightly with enchanted sincerity.

Twilight blanched, her head jerking back in shock despite half-anticipating the answer. "Anything?" she asked reflexively.

Applejack gave a slow nod. "Ah will do anything you tell me to," she repeated.

Twilight turned away and planted her fingers in her hair, tangling it in distraction. Clearly this was very powerful magic, and dangerous. She went rigid. What if the command word worked for anypony? Grabbing the book out of the air with both hands, she read and reread the charm's words with ferocious concentration.

It took her a few minutes to convince herself that she hadn't wrecked Applejack's life. Now that she'd seen the charm in action, everything made a lot more sense - as she'd originally hoped! - and it was clear to her that the focus could only be triggered by the caster of the spell, on themselves.

"Oh my gosh," she finally breathed out, dropping limply into a chair. Setting the book down, the forgotten quill and parchment picked themselves off the floor and wrote slowly 'Keys work only for the caster.'

Looking up at the other pony, still standing motionless and gazing steadily at Twilight where she lay sprawled, she thought again. So Applejack remembered things differently to make sense of where she was. What if she did something that didn't make sense? She hesitated, then pushed herself to her feet and moved further into the treehouse to pour a glass of apple juice from the jug.

Returning to Applejack, she instructed her carefully, "Take hold of this, Applejack. When I cough, you'll deliberately pour the glass over yourself. Oh, and you don't remember me offering you a cupcake."

The mesmerised pony took the glass in one hand, droning, "Ah will hold it. Ah will pour it over mahself when you cough. I don't remember being offered a cupcake."

Twilight bit her lip. This was pushing the limits of what she could justify to herself, and it wasn't fair to Applejack. Just this test, and then she'd let her go and begin working to find a way to undo the charm. "Alright, Applejack, slumber."

Applejack's expression shifted slowly into a smile, taking a second to fully come around. "Still enjoying the juice you got the other day? Fine stuff, sweet 'n pure like an apple should be."

Twilight smiled nervously. "It's lovely. Thank you, Applejack," she said, then gave an awkward little cough.

Something flickered in Applejack's green eyes, and she brought the glass up to her lips. With a credible slip, she let the glass fall from her fingers, pouring over her shirt and her shorts. "Aw, no. Look what I've gone'n done now. You mind if I take these off to dry them out?" Without waiting for a reply, she began unbuttoning her shorts and sliding them down her muscled thighs, exposing pale green panties.

Twilight looked blankly at Applejack as she worked her shorts off over her heavy brown boots, her mind frozen in a repeated loop of shock and confusion, long enough for Applejack to unbutton her checked shirt and slide it off her shoulders. Her bra matched her panties, plain and simple, in the same pale green, and the stunned pony's eyes tracked her automatically, taking in the other mare's body.

"You can dry this out, right Twilight?" Applejack remarked, holding her clothes loosely in one hand and standing in nothing but her boots, underwear and hat. "I'll jest wait right here. You take your time now."

Twilight's lips parted silently, before she finally managed, "A-awaken!" and relaxed a little as the animation faded from Applejack's face. After a few seconds to gather her scattered wits, she asked, "Applejack, what's going on?"

Applejack's dull gaze picked up an echo of life as she gazed at Twilight's face. "Ah wanted you to notice me. Ah figured I could find an excuse to strip down, see if I could get your attention."

"Why?" Twilight nearly squeaked, her cheeks dark purple.

"You're smart. Funny. Organised, you work hard. Ah admire that."

Twilight bit her lip, and moved closer to Applejack, only the other pony's eyes shifting to track her. She'd never thought - never dreamed! - that Applejack could be, well, interested in her. She didn't think Applejack was even like that, they'd always just been such good friends.

Such good friends.

Her heart thumping wildly in her chest, she reached out towards Applejack. She felt like her mind was flipping wildly from page to page, never stopping long enough to read more than a few words, a complete jumbled mess. Applejack was attracted to her, Applejack wanted her attention, wanted her to notice her - her hand gently grazed the other Pony's thigh, the backs of her fingers sliding against the triple apple cutie mark, and she quaked with nameless excitement.

It took a second for the realisation to strike home, but it did, and her hand jerked convulsively away. She'd told Applejack to spill the drink on herself. Her eyes flashed to her notes. 'AJ's memories shift to make sense of where she wakes up.' Or to make sense of anything she was made to do?

It felt like a giant hand was constricting Twilight's chest, but she pushed out, "Applejack, before you came here today, do you remember how you felt about me?"

"Ah remember how I felt about you."

Speaking was getting harder. "How did you feel about me?"

"You're one of my best friends, Twilight, I'm always happy to see you. You've done so much for all of us, I have to make sure you're getting out and meeting ponies." The words came out with an odd mix of Applejack's phrasing and dulled intonation.

Twilight's hands flew to her mouth, and her eyes began to sting. With careful, painfully neat letters, she added 'AJ's feelings shift to make sense of lingering instructions.' Abruptly, the other pony seemed much further away than the meagre space between them could span. Her words emerged slowly, in measured tones. "Applejack, please forget everything since the first try at the charm, and undo all changes to your feelings about me. You feel the same as you did when you came to see me."

"Ah will forget everything since the charm. Ah feel the same about you as I did this morning," the blank-faced pony parroted.

Twilight rubbed her face hard with the heel of her hand, and pulled herself together. Her horn glowed, and the clothes in Applejack's hand tugged free as the purple nimbus coated them, then dried out in a matter of moments.

"Dress, please Applejack," she said quietly.

"Ah will dress." Swiftly and mechanically, the other pony took the shorts from the air and pulled them up her legs, then donned her shirt and buttoned it.

"Slumber."

Applejack's face lit up again. "Well? Ah'm not turning purple yet, am I?" She looked down at herself and chuckled. "Sorry Twilight. Doesn't seem like that charm does much of anything."

Twilight gave a wan smile. "I'm sorry to have wasted your time, Applejack. I'll just have to work on it."

Applejack gave her a kindly smile. "Heck Twilight, don't look so downhearted! You'll figure it out; I jest know it. Want to give it one more go? Else I'd better get back to the farm. Chores'n all."

Twilight shook her head quickly, her tail flicking. "I think it's going to take more work. Please don't worry about it."

A friendly hand landed on her shoulder. "Well, anytime you reckon you've got it, you jest give me a call and I'll be there to help, alright? See you later, Twi." With a parting squeeze, Applejack turned away and strode out of the treehouse. As the door shut behind her, she glanced back and murmured, "Poor thing, she sure is broken up that spell didn't work out. Better send one of the others by later to check on her."

Twilight looked numbly after Applejack, after the closing door had eclipsed her view. She'd never thought about Applejack like that, not at all, and Applejack hadn't felt that way about her either. So why did it feel like her heart had been stepped on? Her notes rolled up with a snap, the quill floating away, and she slowly carried the notes and book both up to a secure little cupboard beside her bed.

She should have told Applejack that the spell was dangerous, that it was still on her. She'd have to come clean, work out a counter spell to lift the charm from her. She felt very heavy, and very tired.

The day passed slowly, and she found herself struggling to be a properly attentive host when Rarity dropped by for tea out of the blue. The other pony didn't stay too long, and she was thankful for it. Bed time was a relief, and rather than stay up reading as she so often did, she was grateful to sink into sleep.

It was Applejack. She stood before Twilight, in her pale green underwear, and reached out to stroke Twilight's face, her green eyes full of sincerity. "Ah want to please you, Twilight. You're smart, and kind, and I owe you everything."

She stood paralysed, unable to move as her face was stroked, the warm fingers electric on her skin. Heat rose in her cheeks. From somewhere far off, she heard herself say, "I did this to you. I'm sorry."

"Nonsense. Ah don't care how this happened. I just know how I feel. You're the only thing that matters, Twilight. The only thing that matters." Applejack stepped closer, and Twilight was helplessly aware of her toned muscles, her generous curves. "Tell me what you want, Twilight. Tell me what to do. Ah'll do anything you tell me to. Anything."

"Anything?" she asked softly.

"Anything you want." The other mare was so close now, radiating warmth, her lips close enough to Twilight's to feel Applejack's breath on her skin, and -

Twilight jerked in her sheets, her eyes snapping open and seeing only the dim outlines of her bookshelves. Her body was arched, throbbing with excitement, a tingly dampness between her legs and a tight ache in her nipples that jutted against the thin fabric of her nightshirt.

She was no stranger to the quiet pleasures of stroking her own body, even if her experience with others was lacking, but this was different. This was, was wrong. She told herself that as one hand snaked down to her sex and probed softly there, as the other worked under her nightshirt and palmed a small breast, kneading slowly.

"Anything I say..." she breathed, finally giving up on trying to talk herself out of it. It was going further now, now in her imagination Applejack was blank eyed once more, and Twilight was free to run her hands over her however she liked, without fear of being judged, or of getting it wrong and embarrassing herself somehow. It was so liberating!

Applejack was reaching back to undo the catch of her green bra on Twilight's command when all of a sudden, her pleasure hit a sudden sharp peak and she whimpered aloud, her head tilting back against the pillows. For a few moments she lay there, quiescent, before guilt quietly came stealing back in.

"Sorry, Applejack," she murmured to her absent friend. "I'll fix it tomorrow, I promise."

Author's Notes:

Twilight opened the door to far more temptation than she could have imagined. How long can her morals last?

-
Proofing by Djmill and JustTheBast