Wednesday has arrived.

Matt stands at the mirror in the bathroom of his house, brushing his hair after a nice shower that left him smelling like fresh roses. He came to realize early on in his stay in Equestria that the shampoos of this world would never have a normal soapy scent. After a while, he accepted it, and now has a variety of different scented shampoos.

The reason for his current fascination with cleanliness? He has an appointment with one Queen Chrysalis.

Despite being good friends with Chrysalis, he still wanted to look his best for her. After all, she is royalty, and one cannot go to royalty smelling like dirt or sweat, even if said royalty lived most of her life in the confines of a mucky cave with an army of messy changelings.

Putting on his casual best, he walks out into the living room to a familiar sight; Applejack watching television. Today, she’s watching a classic episode of one of her favorite shows growing up; “That Mare!”. The Farmpony is all smiles today, as she chuckles at the comedic nature of the show, involving an attractive mare seeking stardom.

Carefully, he places a hand on her shoulder, and after the expected jolt and shudder, she looks up at him with a loving look.

“I’m off to Canterlot.” he tells her.

“Okay. Are ya takin’ the train or the teleportation?”

“It’s a nice day out. I’ll take the train. I probably won’t see you until early evening, depending on how messy Twilight left the library.”

“Alright. There’s no rush. I’ll be here.”

“You want me to bring anything home?”

“Hmmm…” she thinks, “Nah, ah don’t think so. Just be careful, okay sugarcube?”

“You know me. Meaning I’ll probably bump my head once or twice on the way out of the train.”

“That’s my husband.” she jests, “I’ll see you later.”

“I love you.”

“Ah love ya too. Now go on, don’t wanna be late.”

Matt desperately wants to lean down and give her a simple kiss on the forehead, but he refrains, choosing to give her shoulder a pat, and walks out the door. Applejack watches as he exits the house, before sliding off the couch and looking out the window, to see him head towards Ponyville and to the train station.

Once he is gone, she trots to the bathroom, starting up the bathtub to clean herself off.

Matt isn’t the only one with an appointment today.

Inside the psychiatric ward of Ponyville General, is the office of one Dr. Lyra Heartstrings. She started her studies not long after the unfortunate event that lead her and Matt on the front cover of the tabloids, making her a star, and not the good kind. It took weeks, maybe months to get ponies to no longer look at her and have a laugh, because of her obsession with the human species. Even the Dean of her collage guffawed when she applied for classes, but took her in to see what she could do.

Surprisingly, to the shock of all, she did extraordinarily well, heading to the top of the class, and passing with the highest honors. A few more months of training later, and she managed to get her PHD, and now works as a full time psychiatrist.

Lyra straightens out her certificate on the wall carefully; using her magic to make sure it’s completely level. Once she is finished, she stares at her proudest achievement with a great deal of satisfaction.

“Perfect.” she says. Just then, somepony comes knocking at her door. “Come in.” she calls out.

Peering inside, is her secretary and good friend Bon-Bon, who became her secretary entirely because of a bet she made. If Lyra didn’t pass, she would have to do all the chores in the house for a year. If she won, Bon-Bon would become her secretary.

Lyra will always remember the look on her friend’s face when she told her she passed.

“Your appointment is here.” Bon-Bon says.

“Thanks, Bon-Bon. Show her in.” Lyra nods.

The door closes, and after a few moments, it opens again, revealing Applejack walking in slowly and nervously.

“Applejack.” Lyra smiles, walking over to Applejack and placing a friendly hoof on her shoulder. “It’s been a long time since we last saw each other.”

“Way too long.” she chuckles, “How ya been?”

“Doing great. Working, dissecting the minds of various ponies and see how they tick. Been lots of fun.”

“What about you and Spike. Ah heard y’all got yourselves in a bit of a tussle?”

“Oh, nothing like that.” she laughed. “When you and Matt went back home for your little wedding night, I hung out with Spike back at the party. We had a bit too much to drink, and…well…”

“Did the deed?”

“No!” Lyra grimaced, “He’s still young…in dragon anyways. We…made out a little bit, though. Of course, SOMEPONY had to take a picture of it, and it ended up in the paper! I never get any luck when it comes to being on the front page of a newspaper.”

“Ah suppose ah should keep mah distance. Lest we get caught huggin’ or somethin’.” Applejack joked.

“That would be for the best.” she smiled. “Have a seat. The chair is very comfortable.” Lyra trots over to her seat, watching Applejack carefully position herself on the chair made exclusively for patients. From the look on her face, Applejack finds it very comfortable. Lyra smiles from her reaction. “You know, I have to say, I fully expected Matt to be here, before you.”

“How do ya figure?”

“Well, him being a human, living among being different from his own kind for so long…I don’t know. I expected him to show to talk about any possible stresses of that.”

“He has taken the situation very well, if ya ask me.”

“No doubt. Living happily, and married to one of the best ponies in Ponyville, AND with a foal on the way? You two must be excited.”

“We are…truly.” Applejack’s little smirk descends, as she looks down at the floor, with a troublesome expression.

“I’m sensing a ‘but…’ in there, somewhere.” Lyra says, levitating a quill and notepad in front of her face.

“But…” Applejack pauses, “Oh, where do ah begin?”

“Start from the most logical place, and we’ll work our way from there.”

Inside the dark and somewhat mysterious looking bedroom that resides indie Canterlot Castle, Queen Chrysalis hurriedly gallops around her living space, making sure that it’s nice and clean for her appointment with the human that she came to regard as a close friend. She would sometimes think back to the moment they met, where she took him into her cave for purposes involving feeding off of his love, and a cozy looking bed, and instead ending with…what she actually wanted, though not quite how she expected it would go.

Since then, after their unexpected reunion during the return of one King Sombra, they had become friends, who enjoyed the other’s company. It’s a relationship Celestia would often tease about; well aware of its unconventional origins. Chrysalis would always tell her that her feelings for Matt were ones of friendship, and not of pure love. With this letter, the Queen hopes that she will show Celestia just how deep her love goes for the Princess of the sun.

As she rearranges the last book on her shelf, a knock on the door is heard. She opens it up casually to see Matt standing on the other side.

“Matt…” she smiles, “So nice to see you.”

“You too, Chrysalis. May I come in?”

“Yes, yes. Hurry, before somepony sees you.”

Matt walks inside, as Chrysalis closes the door after a quick look around the halls. Matt glances around her chambers, noting how nice everything looks compared to the last time he was in her room, when he and Shining Armor came by to tell Celestia of the pregnancies.

“Very spiffy.” Matt says, “Didn’t think of you as the kind that cleans up for guests.”

“Just with you, Matt.” Chrysalis chuckles. “Don’t want your clumsy self tripping over things while we work.”

“You know me; I have an incredibly thick skull.” Matt playfully knocks at the top of his head. “So, where’s our work station going to be?”

“Right over here.” Chrysalis motions her hoof over to the bed, eyebrows going up and down in a ‘Don’t you want to?’ fashion.

“Chrysalis…” Matt sighs.

“I’m kidding.” she laughs. “It’s right over there.” her hoof goes past the bed over to the desk with a large stack of paper, and a quill sticking out of a jar of ink, ready to go.

“That sure is a lot of paper.” Matt says, walking over to the desk. “Are we writing a book, or something?”

“Sort of…” she answers. Matt looks over at her, wondering what she meant by that. “I, um…” she blushes, “…was sort of inspired by your letter to the Princess; when you were talking about the events that lead to you staying human.”

“Hold on.” Matt scratches his head, “You want me to help you...not just write a letter…but a REALLY long letter with a hint of an autobiography in it?”

“Well…” she thinks, “…yes. Yes, I do.”

“Huh.” Matt nods, “I guess it makes sense as to why this is going to be multiple sessions.” He scratches his chin, thinking about spending the next few Wednesdays with the Queen. “Why not?” he shrugs with a smirk, “I get to help you write, and I get to learn some things about you. It’s a win-win in my book.”

“Great.” She motions back to the table, “Have a seat, and make yourself comfortable.” She watches as Matt sits down on the chair, picking up the quill pen. He looks over to her, waiting for her to begin. “I suppose I’ll start at my origins. Then, we’ll work our way up from there.”

“This is going to be fun.” Matt whispers to himself, ready for the history lesson of the Changeling Queen.

Back in Lyra’s Office, Applejack is continuing on with her yarn about the events thus far, detailing her origins as a filly, the relationship she had with her parents, and her hesitation in fulfilling a motherly role in her teen years, when she took care of Applebloom after an event that Applejack has come to call “The Incident”. Lyra sat there, writing down various notes in her little notebook as she listens to Applejack’s story.

“Fascinating…” Lyra says, “I had no idea that happened. I am sorry.”

“It’s…okay…” Applejack hesitates. “Ah never told Matt about what happened to mah parents.”

“How come?”

“I’m not sure…” she looks down at the well carpeted floor. “Ah guess that ah didn’t want to upset him. He has such a good relationship with his parents that I’m too scared to tell him what happened to mine.”

“Has he ever asked you?”

“He did…once. Back when he first came to visit at the farm. Ah told him that ah didn’t want to talk about it, and he didn’t ask me ever since.”

“How does that make you feel?”

“Are ya asking if it annoys me? No, not at all. Ah appreciate that he minds his own business, and doesn’t pry into mah personal life.” She catches her sarcastic sounding tone in what she said, looking over to Lyra, who has caught on to it as well. “Oh mah…did that sound like ah was annoyed? Why would ah sound annoyed at that? Ah told him ah didn’t want to talk about, and he obeyed mah wish…even then! But…why do ah sound annoyed?”

“Hmmm…” Lyra writes down more notes. “Tell me about Matt. How is your relationship with him?”

“It couldn’t be better.” She feigns a smile, before sighing, not able to lie. “Actually…it could be better.”

“Has he done anything to suggest some kind of friction?”

“No! Well…maybe. Ah don’t know. He’s been so kind to me the past few months, always lookin’ out for me, and making sure that I’m comfortable and happy. But…the thing is…I’m kind of not.”

“Why is that?”

“Because of me!” she practically yells. “I’m always being so sour towards him, always confrontational and mean, and there he is, with a smile on his face, trying to calm me down! Ah know he’s holding back, ah just do! Ah want him to argue with me! Ta yell at me! Anythin’ but stand there with those kind eyes!” She buries her head into her hooves, trying to hold the water back in her eyes. “Ah want him to do something, so ah don’t have to feel like I’m the bad guy in every situation.”

“Maybe he doesn’t see you as the bad guy.” Lyra says, “He probably knows how frustrated you are, and is doing his best to keep you with a clear and open mind. After all, you are pregnant, and being in such a state is known to cause mood swings and erratic thinkin’.”

“So, ya think I’m crazy, then?”

“No. I’m saying I understand where this is coming from. Maybe you should talk to your husband about this. Tell him how you feel, and ask him how he truly feels about the things you have said to him recently.”

“That might be a problem, though. He doesn’t know that I’m here. He’s over in Canterlot, helpin’ out at the library.”

“I see…” Lyra writes down in her notepad some more.

“What are you writing down in there?” Applejack wonders.

“I always write down what my patients say. It helps me deduce what is going on with them.”

“Then…what’s going on with me?”

“It doesn’t quite work that way. I can’t summarize what’s fully happening within only one session with you. That’s why we’re have multiple sessions, so that I am able to put together the pieces of the puzzle that is you.”

“Give me an estimate, then.” Applejack says with a slight smirk, not quite looking forward with what Lyra has to say. “Like…a rough draft.”

“Well…” she thinks carefully, “As I said, I understand where you’re coming from. This is, for all intents and purposes, a unique situation. You are in a loving relationship a man you truly care for, and yet you two have never had a real fight, nor a case where he has ever raised his voice at you in a disagreement. Conflict is rather healthy in a relationship, but it seems that he’s doing everything in his power to avoid it, causing you to be frustrated. That is only from what I have gathered, thus far.”

Applejack pauses at Lyra’s small deduction. In some way, she is right. In her experience, Matt had always attempted to avoid conflict with Applejack. Even in situations where there should be conflict, such as when she forgot his anniversary, he simply sighed, and then continued to try and make her happy. While she didn’t think much of this before her session with Lyra, now she cannot NOT think about it.

“That…makes sense…” Applejack says quietly.

Lyra nods, before looking over at the clock. “Our hour is up.” she says, “How about same time, next week?”

“Yeah…sure. How much do ah owe ya?”

“Nothing yet.” Lyra raises a hoof to stop her from paying, “Wait until after our sessions are over.”

“Okay. Thank you. I’ll see you next week.”

“You take care, AJ.”

Matt writes down furiously on the paper, trying to keep up with Chrysalis’ tale of violence and war, before her eventual meeting with Princess Celestia. Matt would occasionally turn around to listen to her, but remember that he is supposed to be writing everything down, stopping the Queen so he can catch up. Chrysalis would also see him paying attention more to her, than to her paper, making her chuckle in amusement.

“Does my story interest you?” she asks.

“Yes!” Matt says, “That sounds amazing!”

“Well, it wasn’t amazing at the time. Being at war with the griffons wasn’t exactly my best decade in Equestria. Plus, they were very arrogant creatures, and their talons were very sharp.”

“Still, it sounds so exciting…and epic, too! Can I ask you a small question, though?”

“Yes, that would be fine.”

“When exactly does Celestia come into the story?”

“Oh, um…” she silently counts; her lip movements forming words as she thinks. “Not for another…forty years.”

“Okay, do you think maybe we could…speed it up a little? That’s not to say that what you are talking about isn’t good, because…my god, what a story…but I’ve written like thirty pages so far, and Celestia hasn’t shown up, yet.”

“You have a point.” Chrysalis blushes in embarrassment, “I’m sorry. I suppose I have a thing or two to learn about structure and pacing.”

“It’s fine.” Matt puts the quill pen down into the jar of ink. “I’ll tell you what; how about you give it some thought, and when I come back next week, we’ll start off on the Celestia chapters. Deal?”

“That sounds like a good idea. Thanks, Matt.” Chrysalis moves in for a hug, embracing him with a friendly squeeze. “I appreciate what you’re doing for me.”

“It’s not a problem, really.” he pats her on the back. They separate from the hug, “Interesting getting a hug from you. Remember the last time that happened?”

“I remember all too well…” she snickers, “That’s not going to happen again. Sorry to disappoint.”

“Oh, please. I’m not disappointed at all. I’ll have you know that I am a married man.”

“I sure do.” she playfully prods his shoulder. “I’ll see you next week, Matt. Say hello to Applejack for me.”

“I will. Take care.” he waves as he exits her room.

Applejack waits in the living room, watching television, as she anticipates Matt will be in the house at any minute. She considers what she’s going to say before he walks in. She wants to follow Lyra’s advice; asking him about how he feels about her behavior towards him. In some ways, she starts to think like Matt; not wanting to cause an argument, or conflict, but in other ways, she welcomes it. The thought of her husband raising his voice towards her makes her nervous, but also…a little excited.

“Hold on…” she thinks to herself, “Am ah seriously gettin’ excited about arguin’ with Matt?”

Just then, Matt comes walking through the door. She catches her train of thought, turning to Matt with a smile.

“Hi, sugarcube!” she says in a rushed tone, catching him off-guard.

“Uh…hi?” Matt says, confused. “How was your day?”

“Great! Very quiet. Didn’t do much. Just watched TV as usual. How was the library?”

“A mess, just like I thought.” Matt says as he takes off his shoes, “Spike was a big help. Probably wouldn’t have come home as early as I did if he wasn’t there. Ran into Chrysalis on the way out. She says hi.”

“Next time ya see her, tell her ah said hi back, okay?”

“Sure thing.” He walks over to her, about to place a hand on her mane. However, he hesitates, putting the hand in his pocket. “You have anything to eat, yet?”

“Yeah. Had a dandelion and tomato sandwich when ah got home.”

“Wait…” he pauses, “I thought you said you didn’t do much.”

“Oh…well…” she rapidly looks around the room, as she thinks about what to say next. “Ah meant to say that I didn’t do much…except go to the store. We were out of tomatoes, and ah REALLY wanted that sandwich.”

“Honey…” Matt says sternly. This causes Applejack to gulp, thinking that he has seen through her lie. However, that is not the case. “You should have told me this morning. I would have picked them up for you.”

“Ah know…” she says, silently sighing in relief. “But ya seemed in a rush, and ah didn’t want to distract you.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to seem like I was rushing today. I would have been more than happy to do some grocery shopping for you. I don’t want you over-exerting yourself, okay?” he says, with worry in his voice. “I’m going to take a shower, then we can watch a movie together. How about that?”

“That sounds great!” she says, “Ya go and get cleaned up. I’ll pick a movie.”

Matt waves and disappears into the hallway. Applejack saunters over to the movie collection, trying to figure out what film she wants to watch. Just then, a thought goes through her mind. Matt took a shower this morning; why would he need to shower now? Thinking about it now, he did smell a little odd when he got close to her. Then again, he also said the library was a bit of a mess. Maybe that strange scene was a combination of dust and debris.

Assuming that she is overthinking it, Applejack shrugs and picks a movie for them to watch. Minutes pass, and Matt sits down next to her, but doesn’t wrap an arm around her shoulder, afraid to do so.

Throughout their viewing experience, Applejack would glance at Matt, wanting to ask him about his thoughts on their current relationship. She would frequently open her mouth for the inevitable question, but would then shut it just as fast, looking back at the screen before Matt would notice that she was eying him.

Around the fifteenth or sixteenth time she glances at him…THEN he notices.

“Applejack?” Matt turns to her, locking eyes, “What’s the matter?”

“What?”

“You keep looking over here. Is something wrong? I don’t have a random raccoon on my face, do I?” he jests.

“No. It’s just…” she stops, gazing into his expression of concern. ”Are you…happy?”

“Yeah.” he says with no hesitation, “I couldn’t be happier.”

“Even with how ah treat ya?”

“What do you mean by that?” he asks.

“Ya know…” she breathes in, “How ah treat ya like dirt?”

“Like dirt? No way. I never thought you treated me like dirt. What’s wrong, AJ?”

“It’s…it’s nothin’.” she hangs her head, “Was just thinkin’, that’s all.”

“Are you sure?” he wonders, holding back on reaching a caring hand to touch her shoulder. “You know you can talk about anything with me, right?”

“Ah…” she wants to ask him. She really does. She wants nothing more than to confront him about what is going on inside of that head of it. But, for the life of her…she cannot. “I’m fine, really. Let’s continue with the movie, okay?” She goes back to watching the movie on the television.

Matt continues to stare at her. Is there something wrong? He isn’t sure. He just wants the best for her; to be happy and healthy, and seeing her like this makes him question whether she is or not. He’s not going to lie to himself, for the past few weeks, he has been troubled by her behavior. The sleeping in separate rooms, the avoidance of touch, it has taken its toll on him, but he wouldn’t dare to let her know that. Every time he wants to tell her, he feels that he’s being selfish, that she’ll perceive his concerns and frustrations as an excuse to be intimate with her again. He’s afraid that it could lead in to a full blown argument, which he doesn’t want to happen in the slightest. It would pain him if he had to raise his voice to her, maybe even sadden him.

So, to evade it, he put on a smile and a wave, and feigns the sensation of happiness, though he is far from it. He’s surprised; she’s the element of honesty, and yet she can no longer tell when he is lying. He was certain she would be able to see through his story when he came home.

There’s something different about her. He noted the hesitance in her voice, when he questioned her going to the store. While he has gotten better at lying to her, she hasn’t. He could tell that what she told him wasn’t the absolute truth. He saw those tomatoes in the fridge in the morning. However, he outright refuses to challenge her on it, simply for the reasons that he is too scared.

He loves her with all his heart, but he feels that sooner or later, something is going to happen that will set the both of them off. He hopes that it doesn’t happen any time soon.