The school in Ponyville was rated as one of the highest amongst rural education centers. Children came out from it with the highest of aspirations and in most cases, the skills necessary to make them accomplishable. Even those that hadn’t spent the entirety of their time at the school learning to the best of their ability came out with a goal of some sort. It was a place where every child was catered for, no matter how hard a task it might become. The hardworking teaching staff were all dedicated to the cause of higher education. For two best friends, Applejack and Butter Nut, their school life had been full of all manner of ups and downs. Whilst Butter Nut, or Butter, as he was often called, seemed to have had the ups, Applejack was the one that had the down. In the physical sense at least. Over his years at school, Butter had begun to grow up as one might expect, turning into the very definition of a young man. Tall, strong looking, and growing wiser to the world outside the walls of the school every day. The tan coloured child was preparing himself for the experience of a lifetime at the Manehatten Cooking Academy. His dream of becoming a chef was within his grasp, and it was all because of the help that he had gained during his time at school.

For Applejack though, things were somewhat different. Whilst her dreams and ambitions were achievable, they were achievable more through the efforts of her family, rather than that of the school. She believed that her calling belonged on her family’s farm and that when she grew up to be big and strong like the rest of her family, she would take the same role. The only problem was that unlike the other girls in the class, who had all begun growing up, she was still the same as the day she started. Still short, still lacking in all the developed features that would make her an adult female. As such, she endured ridicule from the other females around the school, who had all begun the process. They were already much taller, curvier, and generally more grown up than Applejack, which frustrated her to no end. The near-endless torment, day in and day out, would be too much for her to take if she didn’t have Butter by her side. It was like having her own personal bodyguard. Whenever the bullies began to make their attacks on her, he was right there to jump in and see them off.

The problem was that was the past; it had been that way for the vast majority of their time at school. Now the whole thing was beginning to come to an end, their paths diverging to different circles, at least for a while. Butter was off to the big city and Applejack was to stay behind in the town where her bullies lived. She would be defenceless, especially if her hormones didn’t kick in soon and put her through some sort of rigorous growth spurt that put her at double the height of her bullies. That was just unlikely however. So Applejack found herself in a predicament that she just didn’t see the bright side of, if there even was one. She’d always told Butter that she was going to be bigger than him one day, pretty much every time he managed to successfully defend her honour. In truth, the whole thing was beginning to wear a little thin with her. She was appreciative of his support, but at the same time, it made her look weak. It gave out the impression that she needed to be looked after, that she was incapable of sticking up for herself. Yet, she couldn’t tell Butter to stop what he was doing. There was just something about having him act in her defence, her knight in chef’s clothing, which seemed to bring them closer together. Well, so she imagined from Butter’s perspective. It was quite the predicament for sure and if Applejack couldn’t find a solution within the coming days, one that benefitted both parties, things were only going to go downhill.

Presently, the pair had just finished up their final class for the day. Mixed gym class, where everyone was put through the ringer and back again. After a particularly intense session, both groups had returned to their gender respective changing rooms to get changed for home. For Butter, he had been in and out within a couple of minutes, the only problem being when some of the bigger kids hung his underpants from the shower heads. He was tall enough to reach them, but it was the fact that they turned them on just as he went to get them down that was the off-putting part. So he left the changing room with an unusually sour face, but compared to Applejack, he had it lightly. For the little orange mare, things were a little more problematic. The other females all conversed amongst themselves and when they saw little Applejack trying to worm her way into their conversations, things turned nasty. They taunted her about her height, saying how she didn’t quite reach the lofty heights that one needed to be to talk with them. Some even wondered if she was in the right class, saying how the six year olds shouldn’t even be in the classes with the teens. Applejack bit her tongue that time, but it left her in the worst mood, leaving both her and Butter in a sour mood when they met up. They put on brave faces when they finally came face to face, but they knew each other well enough to know that deep down something was wrong.

Butter was still up for being completely selfless though, and eager to get Applejack’s spirits back up. To cut straight to the punch, he turned around and crouched down, holding his arms out behind him. Applejack saw the cue, hesitating before she took a step closer. They were still within the confines of the school and both of them were going to have to pass through most of it to get their freedom. Butter remained in his pose, waiting for Applejack to hop onto his back. She’d never refused him before, even when she had been feeling the lowest of the low, so why would she start now? Reluctantly, Applejack slipped her legs through the gaps between his folded arms and leant into his back. Then he was off, racing up and down the pathway making noises like a train or race car. When there was nobody around, Applejack enjoyed it, giggling and laughing at her silly friend, even participating in the noise making. Once they entered into the crowded parts of the school, such as the corridors and the halls, Applejack fell eerily silent. Butter was having too much fun to notice it, but she seemed a little more shy when it came to being around the others. She watched their every move; she filled in the blanks when it came to what they said out of earshot. Somewhere in her mind she just knew it wasn’t a good thing. She looked like a child being carried around by one of her parents, and as far as Butter went, he was the embarrassing parent. When they were far enough from the school and all those watching eyes, Applejack signalled that she was ready to walk by herself. Butter obliged and let her down, standing beside her like he always did, looming over her.

“Nothing like a little piggyback to cheer you up after a long day, huh?” smirked Butter.

“Y-yeah, but ah wouldn’t git too comfortable w’ th’ idea. Ah’m probably gonna be bigger th’n ya pretty soon.”

“Oh yeah? You wouldn’t happen to be hiding a pair of stilts back home, would you?” joked Butter.

Applejack was visibly hurt by the comment though. Not that it was his fault; he didn’t know what she was going through. “No...Ah don’ have any o’ those…”

“Hey now, what’s the matter? You always like my snarky jokes. Are you feeling ok?”

“Hm, oh yeah, ah’m jus’ thinkin’ ‘bout thayt test we gotta do t’morrow. Ah don’ feel like ah’m ready fer it.”

Butter wiped his brow. “Oh is that all it is? Oh you need to relax a little there, AJ. You’re gonna do great. If anyone has to be worried, it’s me, I’ve got to take that test and impress that fancy cooking instructor. The key thing is to just think about something else and you’ll be fine. Don’t do that during the test though, you gotta keep focused then or else you’ll-”

Applejack zoned out, staying that way until they parted ways. She didn’t know if she’d said goodbye to Butter, or whether she’d simply walked off without him. Either way, she hadn’t been the most friendly company on the way home. She remembered reassuring Butter that he didn’t need to explain himself so much, but once he’d launched into yet another ramble, off she’d went. Lately that was becoming a big problem between the two, whenever Butter would speak to her; she sensed that he was feeling particularly awkward about it. It was a trait she’d seen many of the older pupils exhibit when she had been in the year below; usually it was from relationship potential. She didn’t think of Butter that way though, but was the reverse true about him? She reflected on it as she walked her way up towards her home, Sweet Apple Acres. They had known each other for a very long time, and in that time they had grown really quite close. But to Applejack he was like a brother, always looking out for when she needed it, she just didn’t have to like him doing it. As far as she was concerned their relationship was completely platonic, nothing more.

With that settled in her head, she made for her room, being as quiet as she possibly could to avoid having to deal with Big Mac or Granny Smith. Today had been stressful and all she wanted to do was crash into bed and sleep away the rest of the night. Even as she successfully reached her room and flopped onto her bed, she couldn’t just fall asleep. Her mind was racing. Just wondering about the future, about where she was headed after school was done in a few days. Granted, her time at the farm was all but set in stone, but would she be able to do the work? Was she just going to have to sit back whilst Big Mac recruited a bigger, stronger pony to take on what would be Applejack’s roles? What about if Butter passed his cooking exam and got into the school he had always dreamed about? Applejack was conflicted the most about that. But today had made up her mind for her. The pair of them needed some space, just a little break for the time being, just enough time for her to build her confidence up on her own. She rested her head on her pillow and scrunched her arms around the plush apple that she kept by the bed. Tomorrow was going to be even more intense than she had first thought

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Butter was sitting in the kitchen, eating his way through the most delightful chocolate cake ever. The sugary goodness filled him with happiness, or at least that’s what it usually did. This time, not even the sugary treat could remove the thoughts on his mind. Stress was the big factor that he was trying to get through, as everything he had been practising for was tomorrow and by the end of the day, he’d know if it had been worth it. He too had Applejack on the brain as well; she’d never been bothered about any test that had come before. This was completely out of character for her, especially considering how much of a hothead she could be. He also wondered about what she was going to do without him. He’d hoped that she would have kind of begun to take some of the hits herself, rather than have him jump in at the last minute to defend her honour. He wasn’t exactly annoyed per se, but he knew that it wasn’t good for her to be so reliant on him. He didn’t want to have to admit it, but if she was going to grow spiritually, then the next time something happened, he was going to have to bite his tongue and leave her to it. It was the only way. He hoped he could go through with it when the time came.

He pushed the treat away and rested his head on his hand, staring at it like something was going to burst out of it with the answer. He sighed and excused himself from the table, retreating upstairs in the same fashion as Applejack. It was going to be tough to let her deal with things, but he just had to keep telling himself that it was for the best. He slinked his way up to his room and climbed into bed, pulling the covers tight to his neck. Tomorrow was a big day for them both. Hopefully, the start of his future and the start of Applejack’s maturity. As he shut his eyes and tried to drift off, he began to recall all the knowledge he would need for tomorrow’s tests and cycled it through his head over and over until he fell asleep. His dreams were filled with pleasantry and hope. Whereas back on Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack fell asleep clutching her little apple plush. Her dreams quickly turned into a storm of anger and disappointment. She groaned and whined in her sleep as she struggled with the night terrors, all of which would last her right until she woke in the morning.

Upon waking the next morning though, Applejack had a surprise. Like most mornings, she got herself out of bed and crossed to the frame of her door. There she stood up against the frame of the door, took out a crayon and scratched a mark into it. The mark that was there originally had become a thick, darkened, shadow of whatever colour it had started as. No doubt from repeat applications of the same crayon on every day that Applejack hadn’t grown. Today was different though; as she found out the moment she marked the frame and turned around to look at it. Sure enough, there was the mark, except this time it was a whole half an inch above the one she expected. An entirely new mark in an entirely new place. Applejack was so overjoyed, she leapt off the floor and bounced around her room in excitement. She’d actually grown, not by much but it was a start. Her bouncing around upstairs had Granny Smith shouting up at her, asking her just what was going on. Applejack gave the confusing reply that she was growing, prompting both Granny and Big Mac to come racing upstairs. Of course, they expecting to see a rapidly expanding child in the room with them and what they got was a fairly normal looking one. Applejack quickly explained by pointing at the frame of the door and bouncing around some more. They simply smiled and went along with Applejack’s joy, just glad that she was finally done moping around.

Around half an hour after her discovery, Butter arrived at the Apple family homestead, ready to accompany Applejack to their final day at school together. Both still had that shared sense of unease, but looking at them as they walked with false confidence towards the school, you’d hardly be able to tell. Applejack explained her discovery to Butter and he was just as happy as she was, though he didn’t bounce around the school halls when he found out. Instead he smiled and cracked a joke or two, and told her that perhaps one of these days he was going to have to look up to her. Then the two split off for their first test, at least it was the first in Butter’s case. For Applejack it was the one and only thing she had to do at school today. Butter gave her a hug and she half-heartedly reciprocated on account of the many pairs of eyes that were watching her. They made their way to their separate classes and took a seat at their respective desks and waited for the test to begin.

Applejack’s test ended up being a lot easier than she had figured it might be. It turned out she did know everything that she was up against and Butter’s advice even helped her somewhat. Just looking at the test and keeping her mind on the special event that had happened this morning seemed to make all the questions easier. She was happy and focused, something that she hadn’t been for quite some time. In the almost silent classroom, the sound of her pencil scribbling across the page was the only distraction she was being faced with. There were no bullies around taunting her, no thoughts about the future and what it might do for her; just her and the test. For the first time in a long time, she felt accomplished, and as she scribbled down the answer to the final question, she hoped she could hold onto it.

The very same could be said for Butter. His first test was turning out to be the best he could ask for. If he didn’t get the marks necessary to pass the first half of the entry criteria into cooking school, then the whole system had to be corrupt. He too was feeling a sense of renewed optimism, like the day was going to turn out great, despite everything that was yet to come. Unlike Applejack though, who turned in her test as soon as she had finished it, Butter went back and forth over his answers, watching for any stupid mistakes he had made. He understood that even the slightest error could knock his chances at glory if he made it enough times, ergo he couldn’t afford a single one. By the end of the allotted time, he still hadn’t handed it in, but he was confident that he had checked and rechecked it. So when it was taken from him by the invigilators that patrolled the testing class, he could sit back with a smile. At least for a little while anyway; his cooking trial was up next and this was the last chance he had to make sure everything went perfect.

The school bell rang a few hours later, signalling that all testing had been completed for the day. Applejack had, against her better instincts, decided to hang back and wait for Butter to finish his cooking exam. She might not have wanted to be around in case of a bully appearance, but she was still riding the high from her slight growth in the morning and felt ready to take on the world. She’d seen off many of the strange glances she got with a fierce look of her own, which she managed to hold for all of two seconds, but it saw off the majority. At the sound of the bell, Applejack caught sight of three of her biggest problems heading her way, the three bullies that were pretty much the Lords of the Manor, in terms of bullying. Steel Beams, Brass Tax and Bulk Biceps, the trifecta of terror. Brass was the son of a wealthy merchant, a brat who always got his own way. If there was something you had that he wanted, then you gave it to him without question, lest he make your life a living hell. Steel was what one student in the school had called delightfully unhinged, right before that same student had disappeared from school altogether. He was the kind of bully that never said a single word, which somehow made him seem even more frightening. Finally, there was Bulk; not much could be said about him, other than he was unusually muscular for a colt his age and certainly not as bright as he should be. His role was essentially to hang around as the muscle of their little group, making everyone else look tougher by association. Unfortunately for Applejack, the trio laid eyes on their favourite plaything almost instantly. It looked like they had been tracking her all along.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here? Looks like one of them foals got into the big kid school!” exclaimed Brass.

“Huh huh, yeah. Is da wickle baby lost?” continued Bulk, his natural voice more than suited for his baby speak.

“Ah-Ah ain’t afraid o’ ya! Yer jus’ gonna have t’ find someone else t’ pick on!” retorted Applejack, stomping her feet in disapproval.

The bullies advanced a couple of steps closer to Applejack, their towering, hulking frames easily overshadowing Applejack. They were already around five and a half feet tall, far bigger than just about all the students, and even some of the teachers. They were practically adults by all accounts and they looked the part too. Applejack stood at just about half their height, indeed looking like a baby that had wandered into the wrong school. Even as she stood defiantly against them, she felt her newfound confidence draining away. She still wanted to be hot-headed, but at the same time her instinct was telling her to get the hell out of there. The bullies split into a triangle pattern, their larger frames blocking off most of Applejack’s escape routes, with the ones that were left, looking rather unsuccessful. She took a step back and bumped into the stomach of one of the trio, she didn’t care who. They were all bad news as far as she was concerned.

“Y’know, I think we need to reeducate this little baby on th’ rules about stepping in on our turf, what d’ya think boys?” came a voice from behind Applejack, sounding like Brass Tax.

“Yup, we do!” chorused Bulk and Steel.

“Well then, no sense in keeping her w-”

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” The unmistakeable voice of Butter Nut cut through the sentence before the bully could even finish saying it.

Applejack groaned silently. She had the situation under control, or at least, she was trying to convince herself that she did. As far as an outside perspective was concerned, it looked like she was about the get herself beaten up. No doubt Butter had seen the predicament she was in and raced to help, despite his new mantra to let her deal with it herself. He moved his way in between the trio, shielding Applejack from them with his own body. Butter was one of the few ponies at the school that wasn’t shorter than Brass, Bulk and Steel. In fact he was a little bit taller which gave him the edge in this scenario. He might have been chubbier, but as far as playground rules went, anyone taller was easily assumed to at least be stronger than those shorter. The bullies, not wanting to test things out for themselves and risk their reputation, gave a snort of derision and left. Though not before they gave Butter a look that promised another time, another place. Bullies rarely gave up without a next time already planned in mind.

“Ah didn’ need ya t’ step in. Ah had it under control,” muttered Applejack, still standing behind Butter.

“Are you sure? Seemed to me like you were going to get yourself a one way ticket to Nurse Red heart’s office.” Butter joked in his usual manor. This time though Applejack, upset and reminded of her failure to change, was not accepting of it.

“Ah’m old enough t’ fight mah own battles now! An’ ah certainly don’ need you t’ be there, motherin’ me all th’ time.”

Applejack ran off after finishing that sentence. She didn’t need to hear his response; she just needed some time to herself. Some time to think things through, to clear her head and make sure that she didn’t take out her anger at the bullies out on Butter. In an ideal world, that’s precisely what she would have gotten. A nice little place where she could sit down and take a moment to just let go of her anger and revert back to the delightful, happy child she had been earlier. Except, it wasn’t a perfect world and as such, it decided to throw at her the one imperfection she really didn’t need. Butter, in all his capacity for kindness and worry, gave chase to his friend, easily outrunning her and cutting her off.

“Applejack! I don’t understand. I was just...making good on that promise we made when we were younger.” Explained Butter.“You remember that? I promised that I’d never let anything bad happen to you, as long as I was around.”

“Well that was th’ past an’ this is now. Ah need t’ start an’ make a name fer mahself. An’ ah can’t do that if yer gonna keep jumpin’ in at th’ last second every time.”

Her acid tongued words cut Butter deep and he tried his best not to let it show. “I know, I told myself the same thing. I was going to let them go through with it, but I couldn’t...We’re best friends. That’s not how we should have to act.”

“Best friends? What kinda best friend goes an’ leaves th’ other all alone while they go t’ some fancy schmancy cookin’ school fer snooty cooks ‘n th’ like?”

“Applejack…” muttered Butter, his lower lip trembling a little. “You know it’s been my dream to get into that school, ever since we first started school together.”

“Oh yeah? Well did ya get in, huh? Did ya?”

“....I did….” Was the reluctant reply, into the awful silence her question brought.

“Well then, ah guess we’re done. Ya can go t’ yer stupid cooking class an’ ah can go on an’ do whatever else ah want t’ do. At least ah won’t have ya here t’ get in mah way all th’ time!”

Butter turned away, biting his tongue hard and walking off. He couldn’t give her a response. There was nothing he could say that wouldn’t send him bursting into tears and he couldn’t give Applejack the satisfaction of seeing him so distraught. He briefly looked back over his shoulder, watching through tear-filled eyes, as the orange blob he had once called a friend walked away in the opposite direction. They’d never fought so hard before and it was a shame that it had come to this. Butter tried to reconcile himself; his mind tried telling him that it was better that it had come to this. Now he wouldn’t have to worry about having a conversation in the future, when things would have likely been much worse. He sighed and stepped out the door at the end of the corridor, sighing a final time before letting the door swing shut behind him.

The sight of the tan horse through the swinging door was the last image Applejack saw of Butter that day. She didn’t see him on the journey home; she didn’t see him on the way into town; she didn’t see him at all. It was only once she returned home after walking the journey by herself, that she realised the extent of the damage she had done. Butter was gone. Perhaps not from her life, but he was definitely going to be gone from town in the coming days. She toyed with the idea of tracking him down and retracting all the things she had said, but in her mind it only delayed things. As long as the two of them were together, Butter would continue to uphold that silly promise and she would continue to get frustrated until she exploded like before. Perhaps even worse. No, this was how it had to be. Butter had to leave and she needed to be alone. At least for now.