Muddyin' the Issue
There it was, the V-Series Crop Buster 3500: the latest and greatest in magically assisted harvesting machinery. Capable of harvesting several large fields in a single morning, all it needed was somepony to pull it along and the gears and cogs inside would churn up the earth and deposit the crop in a cart behind it.
Applejack ran her eyes over the hitch, polished to a perfect sheen, flawlessly round. The sturdy wheels showed hints of golden mechanisms concealed away and the sleek contours suggested the machine to be a piece of fine art, where it would be more at home in a museum than on a farm. Or on display in a shop window.
It sure would be useful to have it on the farm. Days, maybe even weeks, of harvesting would be saved so the family could focus on larger apple yields. They might even have the time to work the west field, which had lay fallow for far too long. Those larger harvests meant more money. More money meant more new equipment to replace the aging machinery around the farm. More new equipment meant more money... which meant more new equipment, which also meant hiring more hooves to work the new equipment.
She heaved a sigh and continued examining the reflective, alluring technology in the window. Teasing her. Taunting her. Sitting there in all its glory, well built, efficient, and stylish—not a compromise to be found.
Even more amazingly, it came in orange, and not a dull orange, either. A bold, exciting orange, almost as bright as her own coat, as if to make a statement to the world that this machine was the best at what it did and had no problems proving it.
And it could be hers. All hers.
Applejack's eyes finally came to rest upon the price tag. Even that was impressive. Hoof-made parchment, embossed in gold, dangling from the machine by a silk thread. '3000 Bits,' it read, in flowing script.
Three thousand bits.
That was enough to feed her family for an entire month, even with Big McIntosh's appetite. And yet... she could afford it. And not just afford it, she could buy ten more and still have a few bits to spare. More than a few bits, really, once she thought about it.
Lifting the flap covering her saddle bag, Applejack stared at the enormous pile of bits inside, shimmering gently under the high noon sun as she shifted her weight. Her bags were stuffed full, almost bulging, ready to make just the purchase she had her eyes on.
It still taunted her. Even after a week of attempting to take those few steps into the store, even after sitting outside for hours every day, earning a few concerned questions from the shopkeep, she just couldn't bring herself to do it. Three thousand bits was a huge amount of money and it just seemed like such a waste to spend it on a single piece of farm equipment. A very nice and useful piece of equipment, granted, but it was still just a machine.
She scuffed her hoof against the ground and snorted, closing up her bags once more, the weight on her back reminding her of their presence with every twitch as she stared forlornly through the window. Her shoulders slumped as she continued to study the object of her desires, glowering intensely.
She really needed to just buy it. She could get back to her life without having to stop by the shop every single day. It would really be that simple; a quick step into the store and a few minutes later, she'd have a new machine in tow and the farm's finances would still be in better shape than they had ever been.
After a few long minutes of studying the machine through the window, Applejack felt a tap on her shoulder and she spun around, jumping back a few hooves as her face almost collided with a purple hoof. "Augh! Twilight! Ya startled me somethin' fierce."
Twilight Sparkle smirked. "Sorry, Applejack, but you seemed a bit lost there. I called your name a few times."
Applejack shrugged and bit her lip, flattening her ears, making an effort to avoid looking at Twilight. "Yeah, a bit, I guess. Sorry."
Twilight placed her hoof on her shoulder. "Hey, what's wrong? You don't look so good."
"Oh, nothing's wrong. Just window shoppin' is all."
Circling Applejack, Twilight examined her friend for any injuries. "Nothing wrong with the farm or anything?"
"Nope." A bead of sweat trailed down the side of Applejack's face.
Lifting Applejack's foreleg for her, Twilight tapped it in a few places. "So nothing's wrong at all?"
Applejack attempted a smile and pulled her hoof out of Twilight's grasp, leaning in to hug her. "Yeah, everythin's fine, Twilight. Didn't get much sleep last night, so I'm just a little tired." Breaking the hug, Applejack forced a yawn. "Anyway, there somethin' ya needed?"
Twilight eyed her skeptically, but eventually relented, much to Applejack's relief. "No, not really. I was just heading out to lunch and saw you sitting here for a while. I could use some company if you're not too busy. Everypony else is out of town at the moment."
"Sorry, Twi, I actually am a mite busy today. Applebuck season and all."
"You don't look all that busy to me."
"Well..." Applejack huffed and turned away. "I'm just busy, okay?"
Twilight positioned herself between Applejack and the shop. "Busy... staring at a store window?"
Applejack mumbled something about being on a break.
"Right. Applejack, look, we're going to lunch and I'm not taking no for an answer." Twilight glared at Applejack for a few minutes, drilling a hole between her eyes with her gaze. "Something is clearly bothering you and even if you don't want to tell me what it is, maybe lunch will at least take your mind off of it."
Applejack looked up at the sky, then back to Twilight, and finally caved. "Alright, fine. I've got a bit of time before I've gotta get back to the farm, I guess."
Twilight perked up immediately and started to nudge Applejack away from the store. "Oh, good! Is The Mane St. Cafe okay with you?"
Stealing a glance back at the window, Applejack hesitated a moment, then finally tore her eyes away from it. "Ain't got nothin' against it."
"Come on, then."
Double checking her bags to make sure they were securely fastened, Applejack caught up with Twilight. "So how have things been with you lately?"
"Ugh, all this princess stuff keeps getting harder. Every time I figure one thing out, Celestia gives me something else to work on."
"Must be keepin' ya busy, then. Haven't seen you around all that much lately."
"That's an understatement. Last week I was studying fire codes, of all things. This week she had me looking over a stack of petitions for just about everything from changing the color of some curtains in the Canterlot opera house to lowering taxes on imports of sofas and quills." Twilight sighed. "Just last night I had to go over city plans and talk to a few advisors about a bunch of ponies over in Canterlot who want to put a statue of me in the middle of the city."
"And?"
"I said no. I never wanted that kind of attention in the first place, but I did check to see if that statue could even be put there, at Celestia's request. Turns out that there's already a huge fountain where they wanted the statue to be. Do you have any idea how much work would have to go into removing a fountain?"
"A lot, I imagine."
Twilight rolled her eyes. "More than a lot. Paperwork aside, there's still the matter of finding ponies to remove all the water, dig up the fountain, and find a new place for it, then hiring an artist to make the statue, ordering the marble to the right size and color..."
Applejack stopped mid-step. "Now hold up a minute there, Twi. Aren't there other ponies who're supposed to do that for you?"
"There are, but Celestia wants me to organize it all myself. She said something about it being good to do all the work to get an appreciation for the amount of stuff all our advisors and assistants do."
Noticing they'd strayed a bit off the path to the restaurant, Applejack nudged Twilight slightly in the right direction. "That sounds reasonable, I suppose. Still sounds like a lot of work for just one pony."
"It is. And it is a good idea to learn what all these ponies do for us so we don't make their lives miserable with too many things to take care of at once..."
"But...?"
"But there's a good reason why we don't do all this work on our own. This is the first day of the week I've had more than fifteen minutes to myself. You know what day it is?"
Applejack gave Twilight a look. "Uh, Friday?"
"It's Friday! I've been working almost non-stop all week aside from food and sleep going through these petitions and getting the right ponies on the job for the approved ones."
"At least ya do have the weekend off, right?"
Twilight brightened a bit. "Yeah, I do. It's nice to get back to the library and just relax for a while."
"And yet, you're out here, out of the library, takin' me out to lunch."
Twilight stuck her tongue out and lightly shoved Applejack. "I'm going out to lunch with a friend I haven't seen in a week. I think that counts as relaxing. Well, with you at any rate. I can't say that lunch out with Pinkie would be terribly relaxing. Fun, maybe, but certainly not relaxing."
Chuckling, Applejack shook her head. "I hear that."
The two finally arrived at the restaurant and located a small table tucked away behind a well-kept hedge. Not one minute after they took their seats, a waiter approached the table. "Welcome to The Mane St. Cafe." He handed them a couple of menus. "Can I get you any drinks to get you started or would you like a few minutes to decide?"
Twilight, having already opened her menu, looked up. "I'll just have a water, please."
Applejack scanned the menu for the drinks section and upon finding it, discovered only three options: water, milk, and cider. She had hoped for something a bit stronger, but maybe that wasn't such a good idea anyway with more farm work to do later. "And I suppose I'll have some apple cider."
"Very well." The waiter nodded. "And are you two ready to order yet? Shall I get you the usual, Twilight?"
Twilight shook her head. "No thanks, I think I'll try something else today. A few minutes to decide would be nice."
The waiter nodded and departed.
"Just 'Twilight', huh?" asked Applejack, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, yeah. It's been a while, but ponies are finally coming around. Here in Ponyville, at least. Canterlot still thinks I need everything done for me and that calling me anything other than my official title would result in a long stay in prison, no matter how many times I assure them that won't happen." Twilight grimaced. "I swear, they'd probably chew my own food for me if they could."
"Must be nice to finally catch a break from all that."
"You have no idea." Twilight turned a couple pages of her menu, and after contemplating a moment, closed it and pushed it to the edge of the table. "So how's Apple Bloom doing?"
Applejack followed suit, depositing her own menu on top of Twilight's. "She's doin' pretty good. Havin' Spike helpin' her out with her homework has been a real help. She almost got a perfect score on her last science test. I think all the rest of her grades are comin' up, too."
"That's great! I'll have to find a way to thank Spike later. I hate to dump all the library duties on him while I'm away in Canterlot on top of all the other things he needs to do."
"He's been doin' a good job keepin' up with everything. To tell the truth, I think he really likes runnin' the library. Apple Bloom's told me he gets excited every time somepony comes around to get a book. Makes him feel all grown up, I guess."
Twilight laughed. "I'll keep that in mind. If he likes it that much, I might just let him run the library while I'm here, too. Celestia knows I've got enough to do already."
Applejack smirked. "She sure does, seein' as how she's the one giving you all the work in the first place."
"Oh, shush. It's an expression and you know it."
"I'm sure Princess Celestia thinks otherwise."
Beaming, Twilight sat up straighter in her seat. "And that's why we have Luna."
"Alright, so what do you do when both of 'em are around? Pin everythin' on Cadance?"
Twilight scratched her chin. "No, but that's not a bad idea."
"You're terrible, you know that?" said Applejack disapprovingly, but she couldn't keep a smile off her face.
"Hey, being a princess and all does have its perks. You wouldn't believe how much Celestia loves to mess with ponies, especially those she doesn't like too much in court. I thought I knew her well when I was a filly, but there's so much I never picked up on."
The waiter returned. "Have you ladies two decided?"
"Yes, I'll have the alfredo pasta, please. Applejack?"
"And I'd like the potato soup."
"Of course." The waiter scribbled down the order and tore the page off his pad with a flourish, taking his leave once more.
"So aside from Apple Bloom, how's the rest of your family doing?" asked Twilight, getting the conversation started again.
"They're doin' fine."
"That's good."
"Yeah."
Both ponies sat in silence, both looking pointedly away from each other, until Twilight finally cleared her throat. "So..."
"Mmm?"
"How's Rainbow been lately? The Wonderbolts seem to keep her busy."
"She's fine. Had a lot of shows lately that I haven't been able to go see, 'cause of the harvest and all, but I hear she's just been gettin' better." Applejack sighed. "She always comes home with a big smile and a bunch of fan letters. That featherbrained pony sure does love the attention of it all. Oh, and she brings in some money for the farm, too."
"That must be nice."
"Yeah. It is." Applejack frowned, then caught herself, but not before Twilight took notice.
Twilight eyed Applejack again. "And how are things with her?"
"Things are alright." Applejack feigned a cough. "So! Uh, anythin' else interestin' happenin' 'round the library?"
Twilight paused, staring intently at Applejack. She opened her mouth to press the issue, but remembering her progress earlier, or rather, lack thereof, closed it again with a click of her teeth. She tapped her chin and thought for a moment before speaking up. "Cheerilee came by last Sunday for a while."
Applejack relaxed and slumped back in her seat, grinning mischieviously. "Oh, how'd that go? You two had plenty of fun, I take it?"
"Applejack!" Twilight flushed red, her wings betraying her as she spun around to scan her surroundings for anypony who may have overheard. "I—No! She came over to visit, and that's all that happened!"
Her grin falling into a concerned frown, Applejack massaged her temples. "So she still doesn't know."
"No, not really..." Twilight gave Applejack a half-hearted laugh.
"Not really? How long was she over?"
"Um. Six hours?"
"And ya haven't said a thing?"
Twilight ran her hoof through her mane. "I—well... No."
Two steaming hot dishes were placed before the two and Twilight took advantage of the distraction to get her wings under control.
"Well why not? All ya gotta do is ask her if she'd like to have dinner with you or somethin'. It ain't hard."
"I just... I don't know." Twilight spun her fork around in her pasta idly, propping her head up on one hoof. "I mean, what if I mess things up?"
"Twi, ya ain't gonna mess things up," reassured Applejack, placing her hoof on Twilight’s.
"But what about all my work being a princess? I can't just stop doing that!" exclaimed Twilight, panic edging into her voice.
"What's that got to do with anythin'?"
Pouting, Twilight picked up her fork and held it in front of her, watching the steam roll off her pasta. "I've just been so busy lately, I hardly have time for you girls, let alone a whole relationship." She sighed and dropped her fork back onto her plate.
"Nopony's askin' you to stop. Sounds like you've been workin' yourself to the bone lately and I know that ain't healthy. I believe you taught me that one." Applejack chuckled and took a sip of her soup. "Just take on a little less."
Twilight didn't look convinced. "Maybe. But what if ponies start blaming me for not doing anything? I don't even know if I can do less work. It all seems pretty important."
"I'm sure they won't and I'm sure Princess Celestia'd be fine givin' ya less work to do. She seemed to manage on her own for a thousand years. I'm sure she's got things handled."
"Even with less work from Celestia, a relationship is a lot of work on its own, right? I mean, there's dates, dinners, spending a lot of time together, going out shopping to buy gifts, and then random visits." Twilight picked up her fork and started pushing her food around her plate again. "It's just so... unplanned."
"Ya don't gotta—"
"Then there's the fact that I'm royalty and all... I don't want all that attention, but how am I supposed to ask Cheeri to put up with that? I can't expect that from anypony, let alone her."
Applejack smirked. "Cheeri?"
"Shut up," mumbled Twilight before taking a bite of her food for the first time.
"Look, Twi, she's a smart mare and she'll be able to handle it."
"Yeah, but—"
Applejack cut her off with a shake of her head. "But nothin'. If ya don't get on with it and ask her, ya might never get the chance."
"I guess. But what if she says no?"
"Then she says no."
Twilight massaged her forehead. "You make it sound simple."
"That's 'cause it is, Twilight."
"I just... I just don't really think I can do that to her. All the 'fame' and attention... how could she possibly want anything to do with that?"
Applejack took a few more sips of her soup. "Twi?"
"Yeah?"
"Ya know when Rainbow and I got together, right?"
"Uh, about seven months ago?" guessed Twilight, picking up another fork full of pasta.
"Mhmm. And when did Rainbow get her Wonderbolts invitation?"
"About a month before that, I think."
Applejack nodded. "Right."
"So what does this have to do with Cheerilee?" asked Twilight, pointedly using her full name.
"Hold your horses, I'm gettin' to that. I dunno if we ever told ya exactly what happened, but it was her who asked me out." A wistful smile crept onto Applejack's face.
"And?"
"Apparently she'd been tearin' herself up over the past month about the exact same thing you are now."
"Rejection?"
"Well, kinda, but that ain't what I'm gettin' at. I could tell she was nervous and all, but that ain't what was really botherin' her."
Twilight tilted her head. "Then what was?"
"After she had her first show, she got a lot of attention. Her name was in papers everywhere, and she couldn't do anythin' or go anywhere without somepony wantin' her autograph or somethin'."
Motioning for Applejack to continue, Twilight flexed her wings.
"She sure loved the attention and everythin', but when it came to askin' me out, she was real worried that all that attention would get between us and cause a lot of problems for me."
Twilight nodded. "And?"
Applejack grunted as she savored another spoonful of soup. "I ain't gonna lie to ya, Twilight. It did, at first. Our first date out in Whitetail Woods some dang paparazzi followed her back all the way from Cloudsdale. The next mornin' we were all over the news everywhere."
"Yeah, I remember that."
"'T'weren't nothin' to be embarrassed about, but that don't mean it was somethin' we liked. Happened just about every time we went out after that for a couple of months. 'Bout a month in we were both gettin' stressed out over it. Bit hard to have, ahem, fun with your girlfriend when everypony's watchin'," said Applejack with a light blush.
"So what did you do?"
Applejack suppressed the urge to roll her eyes when Twilight levitated a notebook out of her saddlebags and began taking notes, settling on a polite smile instead. "Rainbow was startin' to get worried I was gonna leave her for it. Truth be told, the thought crossed my mind once or twice, but then I remembered what I had. Who I had. I'd had my eye on that pony for a couple years and I wasn't just about to give that up for nopony. She eventually talked to me 'bout it and I told her the truth."
"Which was?"
"I'm sure ya can guess. I told her I loved her and that I'd put up with it if'n it meant bein' with her. I guess I figured they'd get tired of it eventually."
Twilight looked up from her notes. "And they did?"
"Ya haven't seen nothin' in the papers lately, have ya?"
Twilight shook her head and smiled. "No, I suppose I haven't."
"Eventually all them paparazzo found somethin' more interestin' to go and chase after. They left us alone and we were finally able to date like normal ponies. Sure, she still gets ponies askin' for autographs and such when we're out, but we do get alone time when we want it."
"So what's all this have to do with Cheerilee and me?"
"My point is, Twi, it all happened just like we thought it would. And it was pretty rough for a while, but it got better. The same thing's probably gonna happen to you, too, but once ya get through the first month or two, ya ain't gonna be somethin' interestin' to the public no more. You and her'll be regular, they'll all be used to seein' ya together."
Twilight blinked. "Wow. I never really thought of it that way."
"So just ask her out already,” encouraged Applejack.
"Alright, let's say I ask her out and she says yes... What do we even do?"
"What do ya mean?"
"I mean, I don't know what to do for a date."
Chuckling, Applejack adjusted her hat. "That's the easy part. All ya gotta figure out is what she likes."
"Uh, she likes... books!" stated Twilight, grinning from ear to ear.
Applejack caught a laugh in her throat and snorted. "More specific, Twi."
"Poems, really. She likes poems a lot, but she also likes romance novels..."
"Alright, anythin' else? Somethin' that doesn't involve readin', maybe?"
Twilight pondered for a moment. "She likes old movies, flower gardens, um..." She dropped her voice to a whisper. "Roller disco."
"Really?" Leaning across the table slightly, Applejack perked her ears.
"Um, Yeah."
"That's perfect, Twi."
"What, roller disco?" asked Twilight flatly.
"Exactly!"
Twilight raised an eyebrow. "You do know I don't know how to skate, right? At all?"
"That's the point, Twi. She can teach you."
"Why would she want to go on a date just to teach me something? She already does that all day, every day."
Applejack brought a hoof to her forehead. "Alright, Twilight, follow along with me, here."
"Okay."
"What does teaching you how to skate involve?"
Twilight chewed on her cheek. "Well... I first need to figure out how to stand. Then I'd need to figure out how to go forward, then turn, and, uh, go faster? Without falling over all the time. I think."
"Right. And how would she help you with these things?"
"Oh. Oooooooh."
Applejack grinned. "Now ya get it."
"But that's only one thing we can do."
"It's just a start. All ya really need is one date, but what else does she like?"
Thinking a bit harder this time, Twilight finally got into the groove of things. "She likes watching plays, stargazing, music, long walks, coffee..."
"So how about you go see a play? I'm sure she'd love the best seats in the house."
Twilight scrunched up her face in confusion, before it finally dawned on her. "Oh, yeah. I do have those, don't I?"
"Yup. Could also go up to..." Applejack trailed off as her smile fell.
"Go where?"
"Cloudsdale," said Applejack quickly.
"Cloudsdale?"
Swallowing, Applejack reached up to adjust her hat again. "There's Wonderbolts shows up there. And the city's an experience for earth ponies, too. Not many of us get to up into the clouds."
"That's not a bad idea, but I'm not sure how much she likes heights." Swallowing the last bite of her food, Twilight waved over the waiter and motioned for the bill.
"So!” exclaimed Applejack, a little too loudly. After taking a few steady breaths, she continued. “You gonna ask her out, then?"
"I dunno. Maybe this weekend? She's supposed to come over to the library again and have coffee with me."
Applejack gave Twilight a gentle punch on the arm. "'Atta girl."
The waiter returned, placing the bill between both of them.
Applejack tried to hide a grimace when she looked at her portion. It was only twenty-three bits, but it still felt like a lot for lunch. "It was good, I suppose," she mumbled.
Twilight dropped her share onto the table and rested her head on her hooves, lost in thought.
Applejack fumbled with the latch on her bag, her hooves shaking a little. When she finally freed the flap from its clasp, the seams of the bag gave way, spilling a large pile of bits all over the ground next to her.
"Whoa," remarked Twilight, "I had no idea the farm was doing so well."
Looking horrified, Applejack jumped off her seat and frantically tried to shove bits back into her damaged bag. "N—never you mind that." When Applejack's attempts to gather her coins ultimately ended in failure, she looked up at Twilight, her eyes pleading her to do something to help. She opened her mouth to speak again, but a lump caught in her throat and she slumped over her wealth, scraping a few outlying coins closer to her, trying desperately to hide them from view.
Twilight got off her chair and placed a hoof on Applejack's shoulder, guiding her back up off the ground. A burst of magic later, the bag's seams were stitched together again. Twilight levitated all the bits back into the bag and latched it shut. "Applejack? You okay?"
Applejack stood, her legs trembling. "I—I've gotta go." She extracted the necessary bits from her bag as quickly as she could and dropped them onto the table, avoiding looking at Twilight.
"Applejack, what's wrong?" whispered Twilight.
"I..." Applejack bit her lip and stepped back a few hooves, turning to leave the restaurant, trying to keep her voice steady. "I just gotta go. Work on the f—farm."
"Applejack, wait!" called Twilight, but her voice simply carried off into the wind. Applejack had already galloped away.