The atmosphere in the castle was a pleasant one for the time being, as Twilight and her friends all sat together around the cutie map, laughing together as they ate the cakes that Pinkie had brought them. For a moment, however brief, they could forget about all the stress that had befallen the young princess, forgetting all the terrible suitors she'd had to put up with, and simply enjoy each other's company for a while. It was the kind of moment that Twilight had longed for since this whole mess had begun, though it was somewhat tainted by the knowledge that it couldn't last forever.

"So...who do you think is next?" Rainbow asked.

Twilight sighed before answering.

"Hard to say. There's thousands of stallions out there, Rainbow, and any one of them could come over here for this."

Rarity looked to her alicorn friend with a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, darling. After all, with a number that big, chances are that you're bound to find somepony."

Twilight nodded. There was indeed a stallion out there for her someplace, though, as comforting as that thought was, there was also the grim truth that she'd have to go through a lot of unsuitable ones to get to him. But, for the time being, she decided to simply enjoy this quiet and uninterrupted moment with her friends, and so used her magic to levitate a piece of cake towards her mouth. However, no sooner had she taken a bite when, of course, there was a knocking on the door. The mares all froze for a moment, instinctively knowing what kind of visitor it was, as they looked to Twilight. It took a few moments, but, after swallowing her small piece of cake, she let out a somewhat irritated sigh.

"...Of course."

Spike, who had been sitting beside her, let out a similar sigh before hopping off his chair, knowing full well what he'd be asked to do soon afterwards. Twilight turned, as did the rest of the mares, and looked to the young dragon as he approached the great doors. Anticipation and worry vied for control in their minds as the small drake reached up for the door, turning the knob and then pulling it open as he'd done before. They watched with baited breath, only to let that breath go when they realised who was on the other side. For there, standing far taller than any other stallion so far, was Applejack's older brother, Big Macintosh. Together, the mares all breathed a sigh of relief, as Mac entered the palace, giving Spike a silent nod in greeting, which was happily returned. As the imposing stallion drew closer to the cutie map, Twilight got out of her chair and smiled in welcome to him.

"Nice to see you, Mac."

The stallion smiled in response.

"Eyup."

Twilight turned and gestured to Applejack before speaking up to him again.

"Do you need to speak to AJ about something?"

At that, Mac stopped, seeming somewhat nervous about something, though the mares didn't know why. However, moments afterwards, understanding was made very clear to them with the stallion's next words.

"Um...nope."

It took a few moments, but eventually, the mares all widened their eyes in surprise, now knowing full well why Mac was here. It was all the more evident when he kept trying to avoid looking Twilight in the eye. To say that the young princess was shocked would have been a great understatement, as she cleared her throat a few times before speaking in a somewhat nervous manner.

"Well...um...I must say I wasn't expecting this, Mac."

The stallion nodded in agreement.

"Nope."

But, before Twilight could say anything in response to that, Applejack got up from her chair and gave her brother a somewhat stern glance.

"Darn it, Mac! Y'all couldn't have told me about this first?"

Mac hung his head low for a moment, shaking it slightly.

"Nope."

Applejack opened her mouth to speak, only to be stopped by Twilight.

"Applejack, it's fine. I appreciate that you don't want this to be difficult for me, but I have no issue with your brother being here. Besides, he's probably pretty nervous about this, so...you know...go easy on him, please?"

The orange mare looked from Twilight, to her brother and then back again, before letting out a deep sigh.

"Alright then. But, on yer head be it!"

Twilight nodded at that, looking back to the still-silent stallion.

"So...Mac? I have to say that I'm flattered that you would consider...well...us an option for yourself."

Mac raised his head and gave a small smile.

"Eyup."

"I mean...it's nice to know that I'm meeting a stallion that I'm actually friends with for once. It makes a nice change of pace."

"Eyup."

The other mares nodded in agreement with that. The atmosphere here did indeed seem less stressful than what had come before. However, it wasn't long after that when Twilight smiled further, having thought of a particular thing to ask him.

"You know...being friends first, I bet we could have all sorts of interesting things to discuss if we got together."

Mac smiled at that.

"Eyup."

Twilight thought for a moment before gaining a "light bulb idea" face.

"Like...the intricacies of teleportation magic. That'd be interesting to talk about, right?"

Mac opened his mouth to answer, only to stop and think for a moment before giving a nervous look to Twilight.

"Um...nope."

Twilight looked a little disheartened by that, but soon shook herself out of that and smiled again.

"Oh well, there's always Haycartes theories, right?"

"...Nope."

"Starswirl's apocrypha?"

"Nope."

"National politics?"

"Nope."

Scratching her head, Twilight had only one thing left to say.

"Um...anything that isn't related to apples or apple farming?"

Mac considered that, only to look with her with a slightly disappointed expression.

"...Nope."

It was as Twilight, sadly, had predicted. Friends they may have been, but when it came to having things in common, it seemed that she and Mac weren't exactly the most compatible ponies around. After a few moments of awkward silence between the group, Twilight turned, looking to Applejack for a moment, after which, she looked back to Mac.

"Mac...I'm sorry...but I don't think this'll work. I know we like each other...but that's only as friends. If we did go through with this, get married, and then it didn't work...could we ever go back to being friends? Would my friendship to your sister still be as strong if this relationship didn't work out?"

It was something that, perhaps, Mac and Applejack hadn't considered, as the two siblings then looked to each other for a few moments. It took some time, but eventually, they both sighed and gave each other a nod. Looking back to Twilight, Mac put on a smile for her and nodded again, showing that he understood. In response, Twilight gave an appreciative smile.

"Thank you for understanding, Mac. So...still friends?"

At that, Mac gave a hearty nod.

"Eyup."

With that, he gave a farewell wave to all the other mares, who happily returned it, before making his way out of the palace. The group watched him go, seeing Spike close the doors behind him. About a minute passed afterward before somepony made a move, and it was Applejack who did it, moving to Twilight and placing a hoof upon her shoulder.

"Well...ah understand the yer reasons fer not wantin him, Twi. Though ah gotta say, it'd have been nice havin y'all as a sister-in-law."

Twilight smiled in response.

"Likewise, AJ."

The two mares smiled at each other, only to be interrupted as Fluttershy meekly walked up to the orange mare, speaking in that hushed manner she was so known for.

"Um...Applejack?"

Applejack then turned to looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"What's up, Flutters?"

The timid pegasus looked from her to the door and then back again before speaking up, blushing slightly as she did so.

"So...does this mean your brother is still single?"