Twilight awoke to the sounds of crinkling paper and low-toned murmurings. There was a moment where the unicorn was worried that somepony had broken into her room, or Spike was trying to cover some tragic mistake in offense to one of her books. However it was too... out-of-place. Not to say she wasn't used to those sounds, it's just that normally she was the one to make them. As full consciousness was regained, the lavender pony pushed against the soft bed and shifted her body against the tussle of sheets that encapsulated her. Her horn glowing from early morning annoyance, the sheets ripped off the unicorn, freeing her legs and allowing Twilight's neck free to roam and investigate the sound. She needn't of looked far.
There, on the other side of her bedroom was the foreign pony that she kept under her charge on Celestia's orders. Yawning wide, the unicorn's tact was lacking as she made no effort to cover her mouth as she leapt from her bed, all hooves hitting the ground in a pitter-patter. Flint Crux, the red unicorn with the auburn mane, looked upright from his position on his own bed at the sound, his horn losing the glow of magic as he did. A complicated structure, a dragon of unknown folds, fell lazily unto his blanket, the paper lizard close to completion as it tumbled harmlessly on the ripples of fabric. "Ah! Good morning, Twilight Sparkle," Flint greeted, making no move to get up and on with the day. "I hope you are feeling fine?"
The mare wasn't at all a morning pony, but she knew when to keep pleasantries. "Peachy." Striding past Flint's bed toward the door, the unicorn yawned a second time. Finding no more words for her charge as her horn sparkled, Twilight opened the wooden door with not so much as a creak, her own tired hooves betraying her morning grogginess as her hooves hit the floor heavily with every step. As she plodded along, the mare took a customary glance out the window to see... stars. Blinking hard, Twilight realized the Library was barely lit with some of the night lanterns that Spike needed to use in the middle of the night for baby dragon needs.
Turning about, Twilight was rewarded in seeing Flint himself rising out of bed to take the day - or as it were, night. "What time is it, Flint?!" Twilight found her voice raised, but the pain in the back of her eyes from lack of sleep told her not to care, even if she risked waking Spike.
Looking toward the window, Flint's expression changed from mild contentedness to confusion. "It is..." Looking about, the male unicorn found no memory of seeing any sort of clock about, be it electronic, analog, grandfather, or otherwise. "...Early. Sun will be up in less than twenty minutes..." He was obviously unsure, but regardless the stallion moved from the door and past the mare, who was glaring daggers at the student for interrupting what, admittedly very little, sleep she got. Trailing Flint to the balcony, the red pony sat down against the wooden deck, staring at the stars high in the sky. A wistful exhalation spoke wonders of his mood, and Twilight's early bird emotions were fading into full conscious thought.
Standing at the precipice of the darkness, Twilight had no intention of betraying her fur to the cold, early morning breeze. She was still warm, and the open door to the balcony was screaming at her to shut it's face. A fact she was all too willing to oblige, if not for her obligation to keeping Flint focused on his magic - which meant dealing with the distractions the male pony seemed smitten with. "Alright, Flint, what is it now?" Twilight blurted.
Flint spun his head about, almost unsuspecting of Twilight. Breathing, Twilight could see a faint mist on his breath, which only solidified her stance on keeping as far indoors as possible. "It is the stars," He mused. Twilight's head fell slightly, her eyes dropping into half moons.
"The stars?" The echo was unhelpful, but Twilight considered herself blameless. The longer she lived with Flint, the more she was finding herself sympathetic to Spike's love of sleep. Her head turned slightly, eying the door back to her room. It wouldn't hurt to return to bed - maybe her sheets were still warm from before. However, in the middle of her thoughts, the smooth voice from the red colt cut in.
"Yes," he replied curtly, nodding his head in the affirmative. His hindlimbs lazily splayed out as he sat, the colt leaning more on his forelimbs as his eyes scanned the painted sky. "They feel... paled in comparison."
Twilight shook her mane. "Paled in comparison? To wha- oh!" She paused, realization hitting her. "Oh." Sighing, the mare turned toward the bedroom, her ear twitching slightly at the sound of a snore. The purple dragon was fast asleep, and there was no way she could get back to bed now with him in full blanket lock-down. Exhaling through her nose, Twilight took a cautionary step out, before her hoof was met with a passing breeze, Twilight instinctively retracting the limb. "Get back inside," She seethed, her horn taking hold of the glass doors. Flint turned his head, and seeing that the purple pony was liable to lock and magically reinforce the door in reaction to the cold, hopped to his hooves and galloped inside, the glass doors almost colliding with his flank on the way in. Twilight huffed as he passed by and took to the stairs leading down, the purple pony taking strides not to be displeased that she missed. A shudder went down her spine as she felt the last blast of cool air interrupted her comfortable disposition before it filtered into the warm Library. The unicorn turned on her new friend, her eye twitching with early morning fatigue. "Look, Flint, I find it very, um, cute, that you like Applejack so much, and it's really nice that you're, um, nice. But word of advice?"
Flint slowed his trot on the stairs and turned to look at the purple orbs that stared down at him. His expression was as gleeful as it was hopeful as he grinned like a foal. "Oh, if you could give any it would be very helpful, Twilight Sparkle."
Twilight facehoofed quickly, but regained her composure. "Just, 'Twilight', is fine, Flint. Everypony else just calls me that." She decided that she would forevermore ignore anypony who attempted to call her by just her second name, 'Sparkle'. Except maybe the Princess. She shook her head, the thoughts getting away from her. "Just... go out and ask her. You are starting to drive me crazy!" Twilight stamped a hoof down, closing her eyes as she shouted her last word with pronounced enunciation. Flint jumped a little in response, positively fearing his magic mentor's tired annoyance. In the other room, Spike fell over in his bed, screaming something about missing his lampshade.
-----
Twilight sipped nonchalantly on a levitating cup of tea out on her deck. The sun had come out and warmed Equestria up enough to come outside, at least according to the unicorn. She sat hunched over one of her magic books, her horn sparkling slightly as the unicorn placed the tea down and turned the page. Nearby, three pieces of paper floated above Flint's head, his face awash in confusion, frustration, and lines of stress. Slowly, a fold start to appear on one piece of paper, but soon the others began to show the same fold as well. The red pony was wincing gratuitously, and was making quite a show of it. Sweat was beaded on his brow, streaming down his muzzle, and lightly tickling his nose. Breaking his concentration, the unicorn's horn flashed into normalcy, the pony hitting the ground in a mess of hooves and hair, the papers coming to rest over him like miniature blankets. Twilight raised an eyebrow toward the pony, her own horn sparkling to life as it removed the offending squares, as well as carefully lifting the tea and bringing it with her as she brought herself up.
"I figured that'd be a bit much for you, Flint," She tittered, making a tutting sound with her tongue. A piece of cloth flew off a nearby stand and landed on the stallion's forehead, Twilight sipping her tea in a show of multitasking. "I know you're talented at magic, and especially origami, but I was surprised you thought you could make three separate animals at once."
Flint gasped slightly, throwing a hoof up as he wiped the cloth around his face a couple times to help beat the heat his head was feeling. "I had no clue... I had done something similar..."
"But not the same," Twilight gathered, shaking her mane. "That's fine though, you got a couple folds in each before you broke concentration. That's good enough for a small break. Come on, I know exactly where to go for lunch." The prospect of food appealed to the colt, who dragged himself up to his feet quickly at its mere mention. Outwardly showing a bit antsy at Twilight's stressing, Flint found himself with his fears rewarded when she explained just where they were going. "Applejack is running the Apple stand all through today with AppleBloom. I feel it's about time you got that little crush of yours out there... and out of my Library," Twilight added with a giggle. Flint flashed red with embarrassment, which was probably the only joy the mare was getting out of exploiting the colt's crush in recent days - she had basically heard everything else by this point - twice, as often Dash would pop on by and Flint would expose whatever new conundrum he had on her as well. Still, the pegasus was a better sport about it than her - but then again she didn't live with the stallion.
As she was caught up in her thoughts, the lavender unicorn barely noticed they had already made it outside, and Flint was looking... a less chipper color overall. As he trotted along, his head was staring at the very interesting looking pieces of grass as they passed by under him, his horn showering the smallest glow over them as he passed, two of the square papers floating beside him as he silently went about his hobby. The mare felt bad about forcing the issue with Applejack, but Twilight was going to be glad to see it done. Trotting at a expedited pace, the lavender pony caught sight of the apple cart ahead, and leading her reluctant charge toward the food, her stomach audibly growled, pouring fresh thoughts of food into her mind. Being honest with herself, her reasoning to force Flint's hoof on the issue was more in tuned to the idea that she was hungrier than usual after this morning, and extended use in magic had really drained the energy. And a Twilight with no energy was a Twilight that didn't appreciate any sort of annoyance. Thus, a friendly chat and a couple Apple products was the only thing present on her mind.
That, and the culmination of her squire's romantic progression. Flint looked to be lifted up by the sheer amount of butterflies in his stomach, and it only seemed to get worse the close they got to the cart. Twilight thought about slowing her pace, but the pulling feeling on her stomach pushed her on even faster, catching the sight of the two Apple sisters once they were close.
"Hey Twilight! How're you doin' today?" Applejack greeted, waving off her most recent Ponyville customer as the two unicorns approached. "Good ta see you too, Flint. As always." Giving a slight wink, the red pony almost died right there, his hooves strained to the point where even the slightest wind might tip him over. A finished origami crane landed on the ground as he lost his concentration. "Oop, sorreh 'bout that, didn't know you were busy makin'..." Pausing, the elder Apple sister peered over at the paper animal. "Paper Dolls?"
"Aw shoot, Applejack! That's origami! I showed you one I found yesterday after these ponies visited our house!" AppleBloom chided in, appearing from the other side of the Applecart, towing a smaller wooden cart behind her.
Flint looked visibly surprised, his eyebrows popping up in response. "I wasn't aware your sister knew of the folding art." The stallion turned to Applejack, seeing a minor shrug from the hardworking Earth pony.
Tapping a hoof to her chin, Applejack smirked. "AppleBloom mentioned something about it from her school. They like ta learn 'bout arts 'round the world. Ah was wonderin' where all 'a those paper dolls were comin' from, tho', guess this explains it." Looking the paper crane over, the orange pony didn't notice the expression on the colt's face, although it was readily apparent on both other fillies in attendance. "That's a mighty fine talent ya got there, Flint. 'Tho Ah don't see much in the way of similarity to that there cutie mark of yours."
Twilight caught Flint's attention, waving her hoof around behind Applejack. The intent was clear enough, although not at all subtle as the younger Apple kept looking between the unicorns. Coughing uneasily, the red colt attempted to signal Twilight to shoo away, but AppleBloom had interrupted his mentor's attention the moment he raised his hoof.
Applejack, however, was starin' at the stallion with an expectant look. "Ahh... Shugahcube? You have somethin' ta say, or are you just gonna stand there with that look on yer face all day?"
Flint blinked, his eyes tracking down to his raised hoof, and back to Applejack. Grinning uneasily, he put his hoof back down and tried to think of a brilliant segue. He failed. "Well, ah, you see, I would love to tell you all about it, maybe over dinne-"
"Hey Flint! Do ya' think that an Earth pony could do origami like this?" AppleBloom suddenly interrupted his thoughts, 'causing not only Applejack's attention to be torn away, but Flint's mouth to hang open at his own horrid luck. Twilight watched him as he stayed that way for longer than he should have, and a clearing of her own throat galvanized him into action.
Shaking away his embarrassment, Flint thought about the question in earnest, hoping to recover from his earlier faux pas. "Well, I do not see why a pony would not be able to. It would take some time..."
"Really? Could ya teach me? We only got to see 'em in books and I wanna see if I could do it!" The filly gasped aloud, a surprise that left the stallion taking a step back. "Oh! It could be related to mah cutie mark! Oh, please Flint! You gotta teach me!"
The dumbstruck pony could only nod dumbly as he stared down at the huge amber eyes. Helping out AppleBloom could only serve to help him win points with her sister. "Ah, of course I will help you, Little 'Bloom. It would be my pleasure."
AppleBloom could hardly hold her energy in. In fact, she failed spectacularly at it as she bounced around, unhitching herself from her small cart as she did, a couple apples bouncing off the ground as the hitch collided with the soft dirt. "Ooohhh thank you thank you thank you! I wonder if I can get my cutie mark before Scoots and Sweetie. Maybe I should go get them-"
"Nahw that's enough jumpin' around, AppleBloom. Sure is sweet 'a Mr. Crux to let you in on his hobby, but you still gotta help me with mah Apple stand t'day."
A look passed across Twilight's face. In a desperate attempt to get this settled, the unicorn raised a hoof and delivered an idea to Applejack. "A-Actually, um, Applejack! I wanted to, um, talk to you about something! Apples! I wanted to talk to you about apples."
The Earth pony found her attention moved to the purple pony, her eye brow raised higher than when dealing with a Pinkie Pie antic. "Apples? Nahw what d'ya want ta talk ta me about apples fer, Twilight?" The Element of Honesty was highly suspicious, and it seemed like everypony was interrupting somepony today.
Twilight gleaned a smile. "Well, I'm always couped up in my Library, you know, and um, I wanted to know what it was like running a stand like this. So maybe I could take care of AppleBloom's side of the work today? So Flint can take care of what he needs to before later tonight, say, when we're packing up."
The stress on her words didn't fall on deaf ears as Flint gave a sheepish smile to Applejack, who simply passed over all three expectant ponies, AppleBloom included. The fillies eye's sparkled toward her sister, and the farmfilly relented. "Well, alright Twilight. Ah don't know what kinda game is bein' played here, but Ah reckon your magic might come in handy t'day, so run off and play with Mr. Crux, AppleBloom."
"You can all call me Flint. I am no proper pony." Flint smiled. Twilight gave him an incredulous look, hardly believing he could say something like that, considering how many times she had to repeat herself for him. "Do not worry, Applejack, I will return her well learned in the art of origami." There was a slight hesitation as he spoke, pausing only to look at his hooves. From what everypony could guess, he tried to gather just how a pony was supposed to accomplish a task without magic.
However, the youngest among them was pushing Flint along toward the Library, where she was betting there would be the best chance of square paper that was needed for the art. Flint passed a look back at Twilight, the unicorn giving an uneasy grin as she turned to Applejack. "You're not afraid of leaving AppleBloom with Flint?" She asked, mildly surprised. Applejack was fiercely loyal to her family, and while Applejack had some time logged away with the red pony, AppleBloom only had the stargazing night under her belt.
Yet the orange mare laughed. "Shoot, Flint? Ah'm more concerned for his safety. That little filly is more likely ta bring down Ponyville with her friends than Flint bein' any sort a danger to an Apple girl." Twilight smiled in response, knowing the red stallion was more docile than most other colts around. "Nahw, Ah 'spect you wanna get down ta business, seein' how quick you were to remove mah kin from the equation, so come on an' help me move those apples into this trough here so ponies can peruse 'em!" Gesturing to the wooden box that flipped out from the cart, the Earth pony smirked. "Without magic."
The unicorn audibly 'eeped', her fizzing horn popping as she cancelled her magic. "But you said-"
"Tha' it might be helpful, but right nahw we're in no rush 'fore lunchtime, and you said you wanted to know how a apple cart is run, so Ah'm showing you, not lift that cart up and let's get ta work." Twilight passed a glance between the mare and the cart, her eyes dancing 'twixt the two. Sighing, she glared at the Library windows in the distance and thought nastily about the red pony within the walls.
-----
"Twilight, Ah said no magi-"
Twilight's horn sparkled as the day's apples were flown quickly from salecart to wheeled cart, her eyes bagged and her muscles sore. "I think I've learned more than enough about how much work this is, and I am not the pony for the job." Rubbing a hoof across her forehead, Twilight listened to the chuckling orange pony as she wiped the sweat from her brow.
"Ah know you aren't Twilight, but Ah do thank ya for yer work t'day. You were right helpful, even if Ah did have a little fun wit' you." Placing a hoof on Twilight's back, Applejack pushed against her shoulder playfully, almost causing the purple pony to take a stumble under the strength of her friend. "So Ah gotta ask Twi, tho' it may be no business o' mine, what was yer grand scheme with Flint t'day?"
Twilight's ears perked up as she realized she had somehow forgotten all about the red stallion during the day and his apparent campaign to teach an Earth pony origami. Looking about, the mare's ears slowly started to wane as she found that Flint was nowhere near as the shop was closing. "Uhm, well." Her mind quickly raced over past events. Loose lips sink friendships, but she didn't actually remember promising not to say anything. However, even she wasn't that callous - she knew a unsaid secret when she saw one. The problem was, the Element of Honesty could too. "You know Applejack, I really can't tell yo-"
"'Sup guys!" Thanking her lucky stars, Twilight found the owner of the voice that just interrupted her to be that rainbow maned pegasus, Rainbow Dash. "Aw, AJ, I was hoping to buy a couple apples off of you...!" Landing near the girls with a light pomph, the cyan mare retracted her wings as she looked over the leftover apples.
Applejack was happy to see her friend, but wore a scowl regardless. "Buy a couple apples? How about you start by payin' fer those apples you been snatchin' off mah trees, Rainbow." Prodding the pegasus' wings, Dash hopped back instinctively, her wings flaring. Twilight rolled her eyes at the two, taking the moment to try and find a good place to escape to as to avoid Applejack's question.
"Hey, you said yourself some of the apples on the farm go bad every year," Dash remarked, her face smug and proud at her excuse. "I'm just making sure somepony enjoys them instead. You should be happy I'm making sure your work doesn't go to waste!" Pleased, the pegasus fell to her haunches and popped a few bits out and over to her friend, snapping an apple laying on the cart in her mouth.
Applejack watched the bits fall into a tin can alongside her cart, snorting indignantly. "Well you weren't listenin' when Ah said those rotted apples are used as compost to help grow tha' new trees every year."
Rainbow paused, apple hung in her mouth as she passed her attention from the orange pony to the lavender unicorn. "Whaphs kommmpoph?" She was met with a completely confused stare from the Earth pony, but Twilight sighed instead. The unicorn had almost slipped off undetected to find Flint when Rainbow reeled her back in.
Coughing to clear her throat, Twilight felt her inner bookworm squealing in delight at the chance to share her knowledge, regardless of what she felt a moment ago. "Compost is things like rotted foods and wastes that carry nutrients needed for a fertile soil, and it's something needed in almost all smaller gardens, or when planting something new in an orchard. It's not that bad of an idea to place is near existing trees-"
"Twilight, not fer nothin', but Ah'm kinda on a budget here, an' you bein' long-winded ain't helpin' matters." Applejack sighed, pointing to her carts. She was met with a look of utter disbelief from the unicorn, causing the orange filly to sigh aloud. "Ah'm sayin' Ah need ta get these apples to the cool cellars or Ah'll get more compost than commerce, ya hear?" A chuckle emanated from Rainbow Dash as she delighted in Applejack's remark.
As a look of dawning crossed Twilight's features, she opened her mouth only to find that the voice heard next was not her own. "Hello, everyone!" Flint trotted up, a smirk playing on his features as AppleBloom followed suit behind him. A small red paper crane stuck out her mouth as she placed it on the wheeled applecart next to her sister.
"Look, sis! I made a paper crane, all by myself! Flint showed me how!" AppleBloom beamed at Applejack, her pride overwhelming as her big amber orbs sparkled at the orange pony. "It was a lot of work, but I spent all day on that and Flint even turned it red for me to match mah bow!" Applejack gave the folded animal a look over. It wasn't neat or tidy like the red unicorn's work, nor did it have any of the sharpness to its folds, but it was a paper crane nevertheless. "It's for you!"
"Well lookit that." Applejack smirked, rubbing a hoof in her little sister's mane. "Ya sure as shootin' did. Thank ya, AppleBloom!" Applejack gave her little sister a hug for the gift, before turning to the male pony. At the moment, Applejack ignored Rainbow Dash as the pegasus leaned in and gave the Earth filly's work an unimpressed look over. "Well, Ah really didn't think you'd be able to show her how to do it without magic. Color me surprised, Flint."
Flint beamed. Twilight shook her mane about as she saw that the unicorn wasn't trying very hard to hide his crush anymore, his taking singular happiness from such a simple compliment was written all over the auburn-maned pony's face. Still, it was exactly the thing she wanted to get out of the colt, so she coughed slightly. Catching his mentor's gaze, Flint faltered, his smile trembling as the look was just as good as a fifteen minute lecture from the purple pony. Swallowing hard, the red pony averted his gaze from all the girls, finding the clouds in the sky to be amazingly distracting at the given moment. "S-so Applejack, I was wondering, t'day..."
AppleBloom chirped up. "Aw, sis, I spent all day with Flint, and I didn't do all that much work. Can I take care of the carts t'day fer you?" Applejack was going to berate the filly for interrupting the quiet stallion, but relented as the sister turned up the cute. "I know there's two of them, sis, but I can handle it, really! And the salecart is empty! I wanna show you Ah'm a big pony!" As if to help her case, the filly's accent got as deep as her sister's own in an attempt to show her 'growth'.
Dash trotted next to Twilight, looking over the sight of the Apples and Flint. "What's going on now?" She breathed, her whispering voice horrid, but largely ignored by the others. Twilight peered over to Dash, and then back to the other group of ponies.
"I think AppleBloom is trying to get those two alone. You don't think...?" Twilight breathed, trying to wonder if Flint had gone and ran his mouth in front of Applejack's little sister. Or, as could be readily apparent now, she guessed from spending the day with the red stallion.
Dash chuckled a bit, putting a hoof over her mouth to cover the noise. Catching Applejack's expression, Dash decided it was time she helped the cause herself. "Hey AJ, how about I take your salecart home? I wouldn't mind spending time with AppleBloom on the way back, in fact, I wanted to ask her a little about Scoots."
AppleBloom rode this suggestion like a tidal wave. "Oh, tha's right! I completely forgot about what Scootaloo wanted to ask you about, Dash. It sure would be nice if I had a little time to discuss that!"
Applejack wasn't really buying it. "What is everypony's obsession wit' helpin' me today? First Twilight, then Flint fer handlin' you all day, and now Dash wants to help take mah cart home and keep an eye on you. What is everypony thinkin'?" Out in the open, Applejack immediately regretted asking aloud, as suddenly she found herself at the mercy of four different opinions at once.
"Well, you work so hard everyday-"
"I wanted to know more about how a farm works-"
"I can't really say no to a filly-"
"Come on, AJ, it's Scoots. You know how much this needs to be dealt with."
Applejack felt her eye twitching as she stamped the ground. "Everypony be quiet!" The chattering quelled quickly, except for one other squeaky-high voice.
"And not to mention all the sweet apple treats! Oh, and this one time, when I was just a little tinkie Pinkie, I had an oatmeal apple cookie! It was Cah-raz-y!" The animated pink pony sat on her haunches among the ponies, apparently having appeared from just about nowhere at all. Looking about the group of ponies, she smiled and waved as everypony simple stared at her. "Hi guys! What're we talking about?"
"Pinkie Pie..." Dash threw a hoof over her own eyes as she buried her face in it. "You are just so..." Her words failed her. The pegasus bleated in frustration as she turned to Applejack. "Look AJ, we all have things to do, so why don't you just relax and take the afternoon off?"
"Like you do all tha' time?" Applejack crowed. Dash merely smirked, her tail swishing with pride as she moved her hoof from her face to her chest, reveling in what she believed was a cool look. Spinning on her back limbs, the orange pony wheeled on Pinkie Pie. "So what're you doin' round here, Pinkie? You got something to suggest to help free up mah schedule even more?"
Placing a hoof to her mouth, the party pony "Hmm"'d very loudly as she tilted her head back. She kept this up, her hums getting louder and longer, and her head eventually tilted as far back as it could possibly go. However, she continued her pondering, her forelimbs lifting off as she leaned even further back. It didn't stop, either, until the pony's pink and bouncy mane touched the ground backwards, resulting in her snapping back to her sitting position in a flash in an impossible move. "Nope!" Her hind legs shot out from underneath, sending the pony into the air as she found herself on all four legs again. "Just came over to say hello to the new pony!"
And then she gasped.
"New Pony! New Pony! Oh my goodness I almost forgot! This calls for a party!" And before any of the five other ponies could make a single remark, Ponyville's premier party pony practically poofed. All that was left was a pink streak heading in the direction of Sugar Cube Corner.
Applejack huffed slightly. "Well, at least that's one pony actin' normal 'round these parts."
Flint gaped slightly at the sight of the fleeing Earth pony, her energetic demeanor had caught the unicorn completely off guard. "That... is not acting normal."
"Well, fer her, it is. Don't ask me ta explain, Flint, 'cause that pony defies explanation." Applejack sighed, shaking her mane about as she raised a hoof to make sure her hat stayed in place. Turning to the others, Applejack found that, in fact, there were no others. The apple carts had gone, and with them them, Twilight, Dash, and her little sister had all vacated the area in a haste while Pinkie had held her attention. "Dangnabbit! Where'd those ponies get off to?"
Flint, equally surprised, found that the return of the butterflies in his stomach to be horridly sudden and especially unbearable. Huffing slightly, his head spun until he realized the game the others had so easily laid down. "I do not know. They were here until that Pinkie Pie was around. They must of left while you were speaking with her." Being obvious was only one of the magical skills he was learning from Twilight. Clearing his throat for no reason except to fill an awkward silence with noise, the pony stepped forward toward the object of his affection. "S-so Applejack, would you like to, ah, go for a walk around Ponyville for a bit? Your sister spoke so highly of you all day, I'd like some time to, ah... speak with you. Privately."
The orange mare seemed distracted, to say the least, but she eventually kept herself from taking off in a full gallop long enough to answer Flint Crux. "Well, Ah suppose so. Just... wait a minute while Ah go collect my thoughts and do a last bit a business." Trotting off toward the nearby community building, Applejack disappeared behind their large double doors, leaving Flint alone in the sunset toned Ponyville streets.
"Pssst!"
Looking up, Flint peered about, thinking he had heard something.
"Pssssst!"
His head turned toward some nearby bushes, where a purple horn was extruding out. As he stared at it with a look of confusion, Twilight's upper half burst from the foliage and beckoned the red stallion over to her hiding space. Peering about the empty streets of the town, Flint trotted nonchalantly over to the bush, his horn glowing as he magically parted to leaves, revealing a slightly scuffed up Twilight Sparkle. "Ah, Twilight Sparkle... what are you doing in the bushes?"
"Hiding! What does it look like? Everypony split when Pinkie showed up, but I didn't have anywhere to go!" Twilight hissed, peering every which way before bunkering back into the bush. "I jumped right in. Ow! Twigs can be sharp," The mare complained. The male unicorn had to roll his eyes at the display. Twilight seemed to be teacher only in the ways of magic, because she didn't seem to be a proprietor of wisdom - or common sense, for that matter. Concerning herself with a magically popped pair of binoculars, the purple unicorn slid them over her eyes as she peered at the community center. "So Applejack went inside?"
"Ah... yes. To take care of some business. Does she mean taxes or donating apples?" Flint asked. This earned him a cross look from Twilight as she lowered her binoculars. Shaking her mane, she expressed no explanation for the colt. Flint's eyes dulled as he spun to look at the building, unsure of what to expect from whatever business Applejack might be acquiring. "Then what could she be doing?"
Twilight visibly twitched at the question, but all that informed Flint of such was the rustling of leaves. "It's nothing important! Look, don't worry about it. Don't worry about anything. Just... be natural. Flow with it. Applejack's a nice filly, I'm sure she won't be horrible to you." Planting a forced smile on her face, she waved a hoof in front of the stallion. "Hey, turn off your magic and hide me! She'll get suspicious if she sees me in a bush."
"I am suspicious of you and I am the one talking to you." Flint admitted, his horn ceasing to glow. However, this had an adverse effect of whiplash against the twigs, causing an avalanche of twigs and leaves to collide quickly into Twilight's face as they resumed their normal state, causing the pony to cry out as the bush rustled and rumbled with her flailing hooves. It took her a moment to regain her composure, sticking her head out with a very angry look plastered on her face. "Uh... Sorry?"
Twilight's eye twitched, her tail swishing in the bush below. "Sorry? Next lesson, letting go of magic gradually. I'm going to lift a desk above your head and keep it there all day, and if you spontaneously drop something like this again I'll do the same!" Flint nodded profusely, even if he couldn't hide his snark. Huffing with indignation, the unicorn shot back into her bush, again leaving her horn protruding out into the open.
"Ah... Twilight..." Flint began, lifting a hoof up at the mare in the bush.
"I'm not here! Shh!" The leaves responded with a rustle.
Flint frowned, his hoof reaching out toward her horn. "Well, it is just..."
"Quiet, Flint! What part of 'Sh!' don't you understand?" The bush seemed rather cross with him, that's for sure. As he was about to let Twilight know about the problem in her disguise, the creaking doors of the community center let both unicorns know that Applejack had come back, and in a fit of fright, Flint slammed his hoof down on Twilight's horn, shoving it - and the pony inside - deeper into the undergrowth.
Trotting over, Applejack gave the unicorn a once over, following his limb into the bush. "Uh... Flint? Whaddareya doin'?" Responding with a goofy smile, the red pony attempted to cough loudly over the struggling lavender unicorn that was loosely hidden from sight.
"Oh! Hello Applejack!" Flint smiled falsely, trying to quell his mentor's squirms with his hoof in the leaves. "Lovely night, yes?"
The orange mare raised and cocked her head slightly, peering at the red pony suspiciously. "Ah suppose it is. What's got you all shook up, Flint? Why you got your hand in tha' plant, shakin' it all about?" At these words the shaking stopped, Twilight finally coming to terms with her predicament in the bush, sighing through her nose. As such, Flint's hoof stopped moving, and he immediately retracted it.
"No reason. Boredom! Waiting for you to come out." Laughing nervously, Flint gave an uneasy flick of the hoof, dismissing the topic. "You take care of your business?" He asked, the same smile plastered on his face.
The bush groaned aloud.
Applejack stared at it. "Did tha' plant jus' groan?"
"Of course not! Plants do not groan!" Laughing as if she told a joke, Flint walked slowly away from the bush. "That was... my stomach! Kind of hungry, but I would like to see more of Ponyville first. Applejack, would you like to come with me to the park? Walk around a bit? I would very much like to see it. I have been couped up in Twilight's library, with all the stuffy books, there has not been much time to see the sights."
Applejack could swear the bush was now glaring daggers at the unicorn, but decided it was simply best to drop it. Catching sight of the red stallion's expectant look, the farmfilly relented and simply nodded. "Ah don't see why not. I've lived in Ponyville longer'n anypony. Guess Ah could accompany you fer a bit, seein' as Ah somehow find mahself without anythin' ta do."
Flint's smile crawled from ear to ear as Applejack agreed to join him in a stroll, his hooves feeling wooden as he moved alongside the mare. Each step was like learning how to walk, his entire attention spent on making sure one hoof followed the other. It didn't take long for Applejack to take the lead from Flint, drawing him closer to the park. It was a respectable silence, but Flint couldn't help but to find it damningly deafening. "So, Applejack, what do you do outside of your work on the farm?" As good a start as any, he figured. As they walked, his ear twitched slightly at the some phantom sound nearby, but as he turned to look, he found nothing but the wind and some far off ponies.
Applejack, however, didn't hear a thing, and chuckled dryly as a result. "Not much, Ah'd imagine. Tendin' to tha' farm is hard work, something Ah take care of with just my big brother - an mah friends, on occasion." The last part seemed a bit more of a recent addition, an afterthought to a recently learned lesson. "Ah still get out, mind, and Ah'm no slouch when it comes to adventure."
"Adventure?" Flint echoed, his mind in a buzz. "Like, mountain climbing?" He asked, a quick glance toward his cutie mark confirmed an unknown observer's thoughts toward the direction of their conversation.
Applejack nodded slowly. "Ah guess you could say that. That and fightin' Manticores and Hydras. More escapin' the latter than fightin', tho'. Took quite a few leisurely strolls through that Everfree Forest, too." Flint's jaw nearly disconnected with his body as he picked up his pace to come up side by side with the orange mare. Applejack gave a quick flick of her head to part some leftover bangs that threatened to tickle her eyelashes. "When Ah went on that little mountain climbin' adventure, we fought a dragon at tha' top. Well, less fightin' and more Fluttershy savin' our bacon."
Flint decided to drop whatever it was that 'bacon' meant and tried to recall what all Twilight had mentioned before. "Ah, so the Dragon Mountain near here holds an actual dragon..." However, a quick shake of the mane from his walking partner clued him in to the truth.
"Dragon ain't been there for near a year, Flint. That ain't ta say there isn't one there now, Twi was tellin' us some time back Spike had wandered off and found another in the Everfree, and it's just a hop, skip, and a jump from there to the Mountain," Applejack informed. Flint Crux pondered the idea of strolling up that cliffside to see just what could be gleaned from that mountain, when a familiar twinge knitted itself in his head. "That is the mountain in which the Moon's Tear is grown on, correct?"
Applejack paused her pace, bringing a hoof up to her mouth as she considered what Flint said. It was a familiar memory, recent. Dawning approached her face as she nodded in agreement. "Tha's right, Twilight mentioned tha' flower on the night we all went star-gazin'. AppleBloom's been right interested with that flower, too. Sad story for a flower, though."
Flint slowed his pace, turning to look at the halted Applejack as she mentioned her opinion. Shaking his head, the stallion had his own to offer. "I think it is beautiful. To know that even when imprisoned, the Princess Luna would still weep for her sister and her ponies, despite the foul magic that encased her. It is a flower of latent love, not of crushing sadness." Flint murmured. Applejack gave the stallion a look of mild surprise, a smirk playing on her lips.
"Aw, shugahcube, that's mighty sweet a' you to say about that poor girl." Trotting past the red pony, she was completely aware of the dumb smile that glued itself to his face. Behind him, the trees rustled in order behind him, a couple leaves loosed and falling to the ground, as if they were following the pair of ponies.
-----
"Good work, Red October!" A voice whispered, peering over the branches in a high tree. Pulling her eyes out of the binoculars, Twilight Sparkle clung to dear life in a tree above the pair. She knew that Flint might of wanted a bit of privacy, but she had spent so much time listening to the rambling pony about his apparent crush on the orange Apple... "Orange Apple." Twilight mused, placing a free hoof on her chin. Apparently lost in such an interesting concept, the purple pony didn't even take time to notice that her prey had wandered further off. Or that she had a companion in the tree.
"Hey Twi, whatcha doin'!" Dash called, her neck bent down and mere inches from Twilight's. With a squeak, the unicorn scrambled and clung to her branch with everything she had as she spun her head about wildly in a fright. The pegasus above her was laughing something awful, pointing her hoof and having a couple close calls with falling off a branch herself, only the wings on her back providing the stabilization she needed. It wasn't long before Twilight's face fell into an absolute fury as she shushed the pegasus into submission. Dash rolled her eyes playfully as she rested her head on the branch above, cushioned by her hooves. "So what're you doing in a tree? Wishing you were a pegasus?"
"No!" Twilight hissed, bringing her binoculars up to her eyes and catching sight of the swishing tail of Flint's as it rounded a bend. "Shoot! I'm losing them!" Her horn sparked to life, but she was quickly interrupted by the pegasus floating down next to her, her wings flapping to keep her airborne.
Dash had a quizzical expression written on her face, prompting Twilight to sigh loudly and rub a hoof in her eye in frustration. Her magic welling up, Twilight pointed toward a nearby tree that was near the bend where she lost "Red October" and "Orange Apple". Dash raised an eyebrow even higher than before, but suddenly she found herself staring into space, the lavender pony gone in a shower of magical sparks. Looking about, Rainbow Dash saw a low hanging branch on the tree Twilight pointed at, and a stray purple hoof hanging between its leaves. "Teleport!" She muttered darkly. Zipping over to the unicorn's new position, Dash followed Twilight's view, catching sight of the red and orange ponies that weren't too far off. "Aha! That's them! But that's... Flint and Applejack?" Dash mused, earning her a high pitched shuch from the stripey-maned unicorn.
"Quiet! They can't know I'm following them!" Twilight commanded, her hooves returning to the binoculars that hung from her neck. "Use 'Red October' and 'Orange Apple'." Dash looked between the two sights - the pair of ponies below, and the unicorn in a tree - and quickly connected the dots.
"Ohmygosh! You're spying on them, Twilight!" Patting the unicorn on the back proudly, Rainbow Dash took no thought into what she was doing as the branch the mare was perched on started to wave about dangerously. "Can I help? I'm awesome at this kinda thing!" Ahead of them, Flint and Applejack found themselves nearing Rarity's boutique, and once again trotted out of sight. In the nick of time too, as a loud snap and a crack gave way for Twilight to once again find herself well acquainted to the ground, the limb snapping under the unexpected force Rainbow added to it. From where she flew, the pegasus sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. "Uh... Whoops."
"Rainbow...!" Twilight muttered. She felt her anger fading quickly as she huffed a stray leaf from her nose. Every time she attempted to spy on somepony, her life quickly became a humiliation conga, and insofar, that was quickly becoming a universal constant. As with Pinkie Pie's random ability to predict events, this was just something she couldn't explain. Feeling a brush of wind along side her, she quickly found herself upright again as Dash helped her to her hooves.
"Sorry about that, Twi. I forget how much other ponies tend to weigh." This got her a dirty look. Laughing it off nervously, Dash pointed ahead. "Come on, you're missing out on those two!"
Twilight rushed ahead, but soon stopped as she furrowed an eyebrow at Rainbow Dash. "Whoa whoa whoa, how do you know...?"
"'Bloom told me! Come on!" Dash nearly shouted, bringing the bewildered Twilight with her as the two approached the Boutique at the edge of town, along the path toward Sweet Apple Acres. Two ponies jumped into the bush ahead, Twilight magically parting some of the leaves so she and the pegasus could see the two ponies ahead. In front of them, Flint and Applejack were laying coolly on the steps outside the Carousal Boutique. However, it was apparent, even at their distance, that the red pony hadn't exactly been striking it rich.
-----
"Ah'm not sure Ah follow. Or understan'. What does some dusty old book have ta do wit' me?" Applejack regretted her word choice immediately after it flowed from her mouth, taking a moment to remember that she had been directly referenced in a 'dusty old book' before, albeit abstractly. Flint had just recited a novel that simply had no bearing on the situation at all, and the words had simply been that - a collection of words. No meaning had been passed. "Ah, fiction, Ah imagine." Applejack brought a thoughtful hoof to her face. "What'd have ta do wit' me?"
"N-not too sure. It just... sounded good." Flint murmured, barely audible above a whisper. A nearby rustle of leaves went completely unnoticed by the red colt and the orange mare. "I mean to say, Applejack... Uhm, I would find it well... I mean, good. Cool?"
The nearby bush snickered before being cut off by a rustle from the other side of said bush, as if one twig elbowed another.
Applejack sighed tentatively. "You might wanna get whatever you wanna say out, Flint. Ain't good to keep things bottled up. Heh." Her light chuckle brought memories of her friends, Rarity and Fluttershy, in a strange incident a little more than a half of a year back. "You can go on, shugahcube. You can trust me. Honest."
Flint breathed in deeply. "Well, ah. Applejack." He cleared his throat. "I was wondering, well. See... Well, are you at all interested in somepony? Because, you see, I was sorta... interested. I wanted to see, if maybe... we could hang out, alone, sometime?" Flint was blathering on, and he showed little signs of stopping, and an uncomfortable look passed over the orange mare's face as he continued. "I really quite like you. A-a lot!"
There was a silence. Even the bush stopped rustling for a spell. Only a cool wind blew by, betraying the mood that was descending on the ponies by playfully tossing Applejack's free hairs. Flint didn't breathe. His face looked like he was bracing himself for some kind of attack.
And then it came.
"Ah'm sorry, shugahcube." Flint's head fell hugely. Applejack sighed, shaking her mane as she picked herself up off the deck of the boutique. "Yer real sweet 'n all, really. Ya are. But really, Flint, think about yer situation here. You're a student ah Twilight's, and you ain't gonna be 'round ferever." Picking herself up, the workhorse sauntered over to the felled pony, giving him a reassuring pat on the back of his mane.
Flint's face froze slightly in some indiscernible state between shock and what looked to be some sort of smile that wanted to save face. However, it failed spectacularly at this, and the red pony looked like he was liable to break down at any moment. Clearing her throat, Applejack attempted to reassure him. "You okay, shugahcube?"
"F-fine." Flint breathed. His hooves felt numb. His mouth and tongue, too. "I am fine. Really."
"Y'sure? 'Cause I can tell this ain't easy on you - on both a' us." The orange pony averted her gaze, staring directly towards the hidden ponies in the bushes. However, she was a bit preoccupied to notice the purple horn sticking out from the bushes. Turning back to the stallion, the farmfilly let loose a hollow sigh. "You are gonna be okay, ain't ya?"
"I am sorry that I made this awkward, Applejack..." Flint murmured under his breath. Shaking her mane, Applejack dismissed the statement.
"Don't worry about it none, shugahcube. 'Taint worth tha' heartbreak." Looking past the stallion, Applejack gave a heavy sigh. She didn't much care for this circumstance, that much was apparent on her face. As the last rays of light disappeared over the horizon, the farm pony stepped off the Boutique's stairs and padded along on the grass below. "Ah hate to do this, but Ah gotta make sure the farm is all packed up fer the night. Make sure no wild animals come in and eat our stores. You stay sweet, Flint, ya hear?"
"I hear." Flint choked, a lump in his throat as he fought back the tears that threatened to fall. Nearby, two mare's traded nervous glances as their fun little pursuit turned into a drama that neither of them were keen to look in on.
As the night turned, a flimsy piece of red paper floated slowly along the breeze, its folds barely holding together as it tossed itself into trees and caught itself in the leaves of both bush and branch. The paper crane tumbled into the night, unsure of its fate.