# A Delicate Balance

## by JapaneseTeeth

### The Bait

Okay, here we go. This is it. Don’t choke, Twilight. No matter how nervous you are, you can do this.

Come live with me, and be my love,

And we will some new pleasures prove

Of golden sands, and crystal brooks,

With silken lines, and silver hooks.

--The Bait,

John Donne

As always, Applejack looked stunning. Rarity had truly gone above and beyond. Then again, as far as Twilight was concerned, Applejack could’ve just wrapped herself in a burlap sack, and she still wouldn’t have looked too bad. Not that the dress didn’t look beautiful on her. Of course, Twilight wasn’t really thinking about the dress so much as the pony wearing it.

“You okay, Twi?”

“Eh?” Twilight snapped back to reality as she felt Applejack’s hoof on her shoulder.

“You looked like you just zoned out there for a bit.”

“Oh, I was just thinking about how nice you look in that dress,” Twilight answered. Cheesy, but it was true.

“Thanks,” Applejack said with a chuckle. “What with how long it took for Rarity to get me all made up, I had better look good. Then again, she could take a sack of potatoes and make it presentable. You look great too, by the way.” She paused and took stock of what she had just said. “Not that you ever look like a sack of potatoes.”

“I sure hope not. Though Spike tells me I can look kinda frumpy when I come off a long night of studying.” Twilight’s heart thumped as she tried to remind herself that she did, in fact, look fine.

She hadn’t even bothered to look at herself in the mirror; all that mattered was that the dress kept Applejack from seeing that her legs were wobbling like jelly. Even though she had been over her checklist at least twice a day for the past week, she couldn’t help but imagine there was something she had forgotten. She reached up and scratched at the pocket that Rarity had hidden in the frills at her chest, making sure that the necklace was still there.

“Twilight?” Applejack waved her hoof in front of Twilight’s face. “You’re zonin’ out again.”

“Sorry.” Twilight shook the thoughts out of her head. “I was just thinking about something.”

“Oh?”

“It’s nothing you need to worry about,” Twilight said. “You know how I get when something is on my mind. Let's just enjoy our dinner, okay?”

“Sounds good to me,” Applejack said. “I went light on lunch so I'd be good and hungry. Why don't we get goin'? Wouldn't want to miss our reservation.”

“Right!” Twilight blinked a few times as she mentally confirmed that she had checked in ahead of time. “Let's go!”

Twilight relaxed, if only a little, when they reached the restaurant. She knew that everything was in place, but actually seeing it put her mind to rest a bit.

As she followed the Maître d' to their table, her steps felt a bit more sure. They took their seats, and over Applejack's shoulder, she could see Lyra sitting with the rest of the band. As their eyes met, Lyra winked and began to play. Twilight hoped that she had remembered Applejack's favorite song.

She smiled as Applejack started to hum along.

“You put Lyra up to that, didn't you?” Applejack asked as the song faded and the next one began.

“Mmmmmaybe,” Twilight answered, grateful that her gesture hadn't gone unnoticed.

“I bet you made her practice extra, just to make sure it sounded perfect, didn't you?”

Twilight's eyes darted back and forth. There was a telling pause between when she opened her mouth and when she actually spoke. “...No.”

“I figured.” Applejack chuckled as she began to peruse the menu.

“Are you going to have the alfalfa salad again?” Twilight asked.

“Actually, I think I’m gonna try something new,” Applejack said. “Just in that kinda mood tonight, you know?”

“Oh, y-yes.” Twilight nodded. If Applejack had to be in an unusual mood, that was the best mood for her to be in. “I think I might try something new, too. Can’t keep things the same forever, right?”

“‘Course,” Applejack said without looking up. “Even I can buck tradition sometimes. Gotta try new things on occasion, or things would get boring.” She paused for a moment, then looked up with a wink. “Except apples. I’ll probably never get bored of apples.”

Twilight chuckled. “And I’ll never get tired of books.” She thought for a moment. “Though I do like reading books about new things.”

“Hmmm… I think I’ll go with the Sautéed Asparagus.”

“Asparagus?”

“It’s got cheese on it. That means it’s gotta be good.” Applejack looked up from the menu. “So, you get my sister ready for the science fair? She seemed pretty excited about it.”

“Oh yes, they’re all doing quite well,” Twilight said as she settled into her seat. “It took a bit of pushing to get them to actually prepare for it, but once they got going, they seemed to be having a good time.”

“Yeah, I saw them puttin’ together their display table yesterday. Looks pretty good, even though there’s a bit too much glitter for my taste. I’m guessin’ that the graphs were your doin’?”

Twilight nodded. “Well, there has to be an image to help visualize the change in velocity as the cart rolls down the hill. And then another one that shows how to calculate the velocity of the cart, and another showing all of their data.”

“I remember doin’ the science fair back when I was in school,” Applejack said wistfully. “Take a guess what my project was.”

“I wonder.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “Growing an apple tree?”

“Nope!” Applejack smirked. “I wanted to grow an apple tree, but the teacher said I had to do something that wasn’t about apples. I ended up doin’ a project on water displacement. With bobbin’ for apples as my visual aid, of course.”

“I should’ve known.”

“Hey, it got me third place.” Applejack shrugged. “Bet that’s not all that impressive compared to what you usually do, though. Bet you have a whole closet full of first place ribbons back at home.”

“No.” Twilight borrowed Applejack’s lying face for a second. “It’s more like a shelf.”

“Bet it’s a big shelf,” Applejack answered. “What’s one of your award-winnin’ projects?”

“Well…” Twilight tapped her chin with her hoof as she tried to think of something that might actually sound interesting. “Once I did an experiment to find out if music helps flowers grow faster.”

“And? Do they grow faster?”

“I don’t know. What I did learn is that my parents didn’t appreciate my brother’s records being played ad nauseum. I ended up making a potato-powered clock instead.”

“A potato-powered clock? How does that work?”

“Well, the chemical reactions in the potatoes produce—” She paused as she noticed the waiter standing silently by their table.

“Are you ready to order?”

Twilight nodded. “I think so.”

Lyra grinned like a loon. She had executed her own role in the plan flawlessly. Twilight had given her a surreptitious nod of approval. Both she and Applejack seemed to be enjoying themselves. Pretty impressive, given the circumstances. If she hadn’t been in on the whole arrangement, she wouldn’t have even known that Twilight was steeling herself to pop the single heaviest question that she would ever ask.

And Applejack seemed enormously comfortable, considering the general fanciness of her surroundings. Or at least Lyra thought so, judging by the back of Applejack’s head. At the very least when Lyra had caught a glimpse of Applejack’s face, she had seen a smile. She wondered if Applejack liked surprises. She was about to get hit with the greatest one of her life.

Lyra tried to remember just how she had felt when she had answered. She couldn’t even find a memory of the question being asked. The moment had been too much for words. She could only remember sensations; the quivering of Bon Bon’s voice, the glimmer of the diamond, how short her breaths had been. Then the next thing she knew, she’d been wearing a ring.

Applejack really had no idea what she was in for. The vicarious giddiness made Lyra’s hooves tremble. The cellist next to her gave her an elbow nudge. She took a deep breath, fumbled through her sheet music, and focused her attention on the next song. It was a pity that she wouldn’t be able to actually see how things played out.

“Really? In one bite? The whole pie?! Rarity?!”

“I know, I didn’t believe it either at first,” Applejack said, laughing as she scraped together the last bits of Tiramisu with her fork. “But that’s what Big Macintosh told me, and he wouldn’t make up something like that. Though if I think about it a bit, it does kinda make sense. She can put away an awful lot of food when she’s stressed out.”

“I guess that’s true,” Twilight mused. “She did eat four gallons of ice cream that one time.”

“After she lost that spot in the Las Pegasus fashion show? I’m pretty sure she cleaned out all the ice cream in town after that.” Applejack wolfed down the rest of her dessert. “I’m more impressed by how she managed to hide in the mud pit for so long without havin’ some sort of nervous breakdown. I still can’t believe you never heard about that. Sweetie Belle was goin’ on about it for weeks afterward.”

“I knew that she and Rarity had gotten second place, but I never heard about you and Rarity switching places.” Twilight took a sip of water to wash down her food. “That must’ve been fun.”

“It really was,” Applejack said. “I don’t get many chances to do a lot of tricky stuff, what with the whole honesty thing.” She grinned. “It’s always fun when I get to fool somepony like that.”

“Remind me to be on my guard when April Foals’ Day rolls around,” Twilight said with a chuckle. “I know what you mean, though. It can be fun to… uh”—she cleared her throat—“surprise other ponies by doing something unexpected.”

“Well, I guess I better stay on my hooves then.” Applejack smirked and drained her glass. “That’s okay, though. I like surprises.”

“Good.” Twilight took a deep breath. She already knew that Applejack liked surprises, but the reassurance was nice, even if Applejack didn’t quite realize the sheer scale of what was coming. Twilight couldn’t think of anything to say, so she clasped her glass in her hooves and started to chug.

“Why, are you plannin’ something?” Applejack asked, the smirk still on her face.

Twilight felt a twinge in her chest, and she coughed. “W-what? Why do you ask?”

“You just looked kinda weird for a moment there. That and you’re holdin’ your glass with your hooves, and you only ever do that when something’s botherin’ you.”

“Huh?” She looked down and realized that Applejack was right. Then the glass, which was mostly empty, clattered to the table. “Whoops.” She chuckled nervously as she set it upright. “I was just… thinking about our plans for tonight. That’s all.”

Applejack stifled a laugh. “What are we doin’ tonight, anyway?”

“Once we’re done eating, I thought we could go back to our stargazing hill.” She smiled. “After that… well, that’s the surprise.”

Applejack reacted, but Twilight couldn’t quite figure out what her reaction was. There was a bit of surprise in Applejack’s smile, but also some other unidentifiable emotions mixed in. She decided not to make too much of it. If she thought about it for too long, she wouldn’t be able to think of anything else, and that would ruin the evening.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll like it,” Twilight said, half to Applejack and half to reassure herself.

“Of course,” Applejack said. “I don’t know about you, but I think I’ve just about had my fill. Why don’t we get the check taken care of and get on our way?”

“O-okay,” Twilight answered. “It’s not like we’ve got much more to do here.” She took a deep breath. Almost there, she thought to herself.

Fortunately for Twilight’s sanity, the trip from the restaurant to the hill proceeded in silence. They had a wordless agreement to soak up the breeze and the last few rays of the sunset. Most of the townsponies were long gone, leaving their path looking more like a painting than a town. Not that she paid it much heed. Her mind was focused on other things..

She glanced at Applejack, and her mind started to spin. Did Applejack have any idea? Surely she must have picked up on something. Twilight couldn’t bring herself to believe that she had managed to act normally. Or maybe Applejack knew something was up, but didn’t realize the scale. On the other hoof, maybe Applejack didn’t suspect a thing. After all, they had talked about this, and agreed to put it off for another time. Applejack wouldn’t dream of Twilight bringing that up.

Twilight’s steps became shaky. Maybe it was too soon. Maybe they weren’t ready. That was the conclusion they had come to, wasn’t it? Why had she thought that it was a good idea to go ahead with this? She was confident enough that Applejack wouldn’t turn her down outright, but what if she only got an “I’m not ready” out of the ordeal? It would be excruciatingly awkward. What would Applejack think if she had gotten so far ahead of herself?

The gravel stopped crunching beneath her hooves as she stepped off the path and began to trot up the hill. Rarity’s measurements had been precise; the tips of the grass just barely brushed against the hem of her dress. Rarity wouldn’t stand the possibility of her dresses dragging along the ground.

“The sunset sure is beautiful, ain’t it?”

Twilight’s stress bubble popped at the sound of Applejack’s voice. She’d worried enough already. She blinked, and let herself get distracted by the day’s final rays of sunlight. “It really is,” she said. She couldn’t think of anything else to say. Or rather, she could think of one thing, but it wouldn’t come out of her mouth so easily. She settled for putting her hoof around Applejack and watching the sun sink beyond the horizon.

“So, about that surprise.”

Twilight felt a chill run down her spine. “Y-yes?”

“Just wonderin’ if it’s time yet.”

“I… uh… not yet,” Twilight mumbled, trying to get her thoughts in order. She leaned against Applejack. “I just want to enjoy this for a little longer.”

For a few minutes, they did.

Then Applejack spoke. “Remember the first time we came up here?”

“Um… I think,” Twilight mused. “Was it that time we all came up here to watch that meteor shower?”

Applejack chuckled. “You’re being too literal, Twi. I’m talkin’ about us. Together.”

“Oh,” Twilight said. “Yes, I remember that. I’d never been so scared in my life.”

“You were scared? I barely made it up here,” Applejack said. “I remember as I was comin’ up the hill, and I had no idea what I was gonna tell you, even though it would totally make or break our friendship…”

“I think it made it,” Twilight said.

“Yeah.”

Twilight felt Applejack take a deep breath.

“Twilight, I’ve been doin’ some thinkin’ and there’s somethin I really have to tell you. You think you can put that surprise of yours off just a bit longer?”

“O-of course,” Twilight answered, taken slightly aback.

“It’s just… bein’ here really takes me back to that night. And lookin’ back on it, I realized that I had absolutely no idea what I was doin’. When you asked me to start goin’ out with you, I had no idea what to make of it and absolutely no clue what I was supposed to do. I’d never even thought that something like that might happen between us.”

Twilight smiled. “It caught me off guard, too.”

“Givin’ you an answer was one of the hardest things I ever had to do.” Applejack trembled slightly. Twilight felt Applejack steady herself. “And well, to be honest, I didn’t know if sayin’ ‘yes’ was the right decision. What it really came down to was that I just didn’t have any reason not to give the relationship a try. I mean, you were one of my best friends, and even though I’d never really thought of anything romantic happenin’ between us, I figured I’d give it a try.

“I still feel kinda weird about it all,” Applejack continued with a sigh. “I wasn’t… invested in it the same way you were. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed bein’ with you, but for me it felt like it was just a new part of my life, with everything else just goin’ on like normal. I know you didn’t think of it like that, but I just didn’t know how else to look at it.” She looked at the ground. “It sounds terrible, doesn’t it?”

“A little,” Twilight said, unsure quite what to think. “But I understand. I know I blindsided you with everything, and I can’t blame you for not feeling the same way that I did. I’m just happy that you were willing to give it a chance, even though you didn’t really feel the same way. And besides, it’s not like you weren’t honest about how you felt. You told me at the beginning that you were just giving it a try.”

“It’s not just that though.” Applejack dug at the ground with her hoof. “It’s been a year since then! And even when I got past that whole ‘givin’ it a try’ phase, when I could appreciate the relationship for its own sake, and because I cared about you… I still felt like I was just along for the ride.”

Twilight swallowed. “What do you mean?”

“It’s… I’m not sure how to say it. It’s just that looking back on everything we’ve been through it just feels like whenever something happened between us, whenever we moved forward, it was always you who wanted more. I was always just sort of content with whatever we had, and I’d just enjoy it until you decided you wanted more out of it. It’s been like that ever since this relationship started. You want something more out of the relationship, and I just go along with it.”

Twilight felt herself start to shiver. Even with her body pressed up against Applejack, she felt cold.

“It’s not that I didn’t like how things went, but it’s like I’ve just been gettin’ towed along. I feel like I haven’t done anything. I’m just here and the entire thing is all on you.”

“Applejack, you’ve done plenty.” Twilight put a hoof around Applejack, both out of affection, and to steady herself. “You’re making it sound like I have to drag you around everywhere, and that isn’t how it is at all. At least, that’s not what it feels like to me. I know you hate being a burden, and you haven’t been! Not remotely.”

“It’s not that. At least, not just that,” Applejack said. Twilight could hear her voice wavering. “It’s that I haven’t… done my part. I mean, it takes two to make a relationship, and sometimes I feel like I just haven’t been holdin’ up my end. I mean, even tonight, you’re the one who went and planned the dinner and set everything up!”

“So?” Twilight wanted to shake some sense into Applejack, but she settled for just squeezing her tighter. “What about all the times you made lunch, or took me out to the rodeo, or took me apple-picking?”

“But all that stuff is… just regular day-to-day stuff! When was the last time I did something special?”

“Who cares?!”

“I do!” Applejack stomped her hooves. Twilight took a step back, finally releasing her. Applejack took a few breaths. “I’m sorry, Twilight. It’s just been botherin’ me for a while now. This is our relationship, but sometimes it doesn’t feel like I’m… I’m…” She groaned in frustration and kicked at a dirt clod. “Ugh! This isn’t how tonight was supposed to go!” She closed her eyes, and Twilight could see tears squeezing out at the corners.

“Applejack…” she gently put a hoof against Applejack’s cheek. Any thoughts of proposing were slowly but surely being pushed to the back of her mind. “It’s okay. Really. We can work through this. I’ll do whatever I can!”

“Thanks, Twilight,” Applejack put her own hoof over Twilight’s. “You don’t have to do anything. It’s not you, it’s… uh…” Applejack froze, blinked a few times, and covered her face with her hoof. “Wait, no! That’s not it. What I’m tryin’ to say is… I… oh, horseapples.” She sat, and began to rub her temples with her hooves. “I’m just doin’ everything wrong. I guess this is why I never try to do anything special.”

“I… uh…” Twilight just stared. She still wasn’t entirely sure exactly what it was Applejack was trying to say. She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear it.

“Okay.” Applejack shook her head, and stood. “Let me try this again without trippin’ myself up. What I’m tryin’ to say is that honestly, I’ve been havin’ some doubts lately.”

“Doubts?” As Twilight repeated the word, she felt like her heart had dropped out of her chest and straight to the center of the earth.

“Yeah, doubts. ‘Cause of, well, all that stuff I said. I was thinkin’ about whether or not I did the right thing gettin’ together with you, or whether I did for the right reasons. I’d never been sure that I was doin’ it just because it was easier than not, or because I was afraid of hurtin’ you, or if it’s something that I really wanted.”

With each word, Twilight felt like she was shrinking. Her voice cracked a little as she responded. “I see.”

“I’ve given it a ton of thought, Twilight. It’s been weeks, months, since a day went by that I haven’t been thinkin’ about you, about us. I can’t point to any one moment when it came together, but eventually I came to a realization. And that’s what I gotta tell you.”

“O-okay,” Twilight could barely get the word out.

Applejack took a deep breath. “I realized…” She smiled. “I realized that I love you, Twilight.”

Twilight responded with a blank stare. “Huh?”

Applejack chuckled. “Well, I always did, really, but before it was a different kind of thing. At first I felt the same thing towards you that I felt towards Rarity, or Pinkie, or any of our friends. And for the longest time, I wasn’t sure how I felt about you. I knew things were different between us, but I couldn’t put my hoof on how. But now I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I love you in a different way than anypony else.

“You’re my best friend, Twilight, but now you’re so much more than that. At first, I didn’t see what the big deal was. All bein’ together meant was that we just spent more time together, doin’ the stuff we did before we hooked up. And also goin’ out to fancy dinners. But now I know there’s more to it than that. The more time I spent with you, the more time I wanted to spend with you. Not because of what we were doin’, but just because it was with you.

“I realized that I wanted to be with you, not because it was easy or convenient or because I didn’t want things to be awkward between us, but because I love you.” She grabbed Twilight and kissed her, squeezing her tight. Twilight’s head spun. She felt crushed, both by Applejack’s embrace, and by the weight of everything she had just heard.

After a short eternity, Applejack released her, and she stumbled backward, barely able to stay on her hooves. She looked up at Applejack, who had a bashful grin on her face. She tried to answer, but the words stumbled over each other on the way out of her mouth. “Applejack… I… w-was that what you wanted to tell me?”

Applejack nodded. “Yeah. I know I didn’t really say it very well, but I’m lucky that I managed to say anything at all.” She reached up and scratched her ear nervously. “But, well, that’s not everything.”

“It’s not?” Twilight mumbled, her mind a muddle of emotions.

“No. While it feels real good to be able to finally tell you about everything, I don’t think it’s enough. I could talk until I’m blue in the face about how I feel, but it wouldn’t change the fact that I still feel like I haven’t been the marefriend I should be. I’m done with just testin’ the waters and seein’ how things go. I finally know what I want. And I want to be with you, Twilight. Not just as a friend and not just for as long as it suits me.”

She took a long, slow breath.

“I love you. I know it took me a long time to figure it out, but now I know that, I don’t want what we have to end. I know it’ll be hard sometimes and that we’re goin’ to have a lot of stuff to work through, but I don’t care. No matter what comes, I’m ready and willin’ to do whatever it takes to spend the rest of my life with you. And… that’s why…”

Twilight held her breath as she watched Applejack reach into her dress and withdraw a tiny box.

“A-applejack…”

“Twilight.” Applejack sat, and gingerly opened the box, revealing a glittering diamond ring. “Would you do me the honor of marryin’ me?”

The world seemed to stop. The question echoed like an explosion in Twilight’s mind. For a moment, she wondered if she had finally lost it completely. Was she so afraid of asking the question herself that she imagined that Applejack had done it for her? She closed her eyes. She felt the grass beneath her hooves, the breeze on her back, and the sound of the clock tower chiming in the distance. This was real.

She opened her eyes. Applejack smiled nervously as she waited for an answer. Twilight tried to think of one. The answer would be “yes”, obviously. There wasn’t even a possibility of rejection. But a mere “yes”... it just didn’t feel sufficient. It was too short. There had to be some other word, some other phrase, something that could make it clear. But Twilight’s mind was blank. She looked Applejack square in the eyes. Both of them had tears beginning to drip down their cheeks.

She nodded.

It was weak at first; she could barely find the strength to bob her head. But as she did, Applejack smiled, more sincerely than Twilight had ever seen anypony smile. She nodded vigorously. And then she found her voice.

“Yes,” she said softly. Then louder. “Yes.” Her legs began to shake. “Yes!” She nearly shouted. “Yes yes yes yes yes yes YES!” She leaped forward and threw her forelegs around Applejack, sending them both rolling. When they came to a stop she had already caught Applejack in the longest kiss that either of them had ever had. She didn’t want to let go, but eventually they had to breathe.

For a time, they remained in their silent embrace, looking into each others’ eyes, soaking up the glow.

“So…” Twilight said, somewhat reluctantly. “I… uh… should we get up?”

“Yeah.” Applejack laughed. “I think I’m supposed to put the ring on you now, right? Isn’t that how it’s supposed to go?”

“Y-yes, I think so.” Twilight’s legs were wobbly as she stood up.

“Well, in that case” —Applejack looked down at her hooves, which were empty— “We’d better find it. I kinda dropped it when you bowled me over.”

Twilight gasped. “I’m so sorry! I should’ve been more careful.”

“Twilight, it’s fine,” Applejack laughed, then pointed. “And it’s right there.”

“Oh.” Twilight sighed, then giggled at herself as she watched Applejack pick it up. It was a simple silver band with a pale blue diamond. It glimmered in the moonlight, despite the bits of grass stuck to it.. “It’s beautiful.”

“Is this where I make some lame ‘not half as beautiful as you’ joke?” Applejack asked. Then she blew the dirt and grass away. “You don’t know how much trouble I had pickin’ this out. Hold still.”

Twilight lowered her head. As she felt the weight of the ring on her horn she smiled so hard that her cheeks hurt. She closed her eyes and savored the sensation of the cool metal. It was proof that the evening wasn’t just a figment of her imagination. “How does it look?”

“You look beautiful. That doesn’t have much to do with the ring, though.”

“Oh, stop,” Twilight said, giggling.

“Okay,” Applejack made an exaggerated show of closing her mouth, chuckling through her clamped lips. Twilight joined in, and they both laughed.

As the laughter faded, they found themselves staring quietly at each other.

“So…” Twilight said. “What now?”

Applejack shrugged. “I dunno, I never really thought this far ahead. After I asked, I thought I’d just sorta wing it.” She scratched her head. “Oh! What about that surprise you had? I guess I kinda stole your thunder there. Sorry about that.”

“No, no, it’s completely fine!” Twilight said as she began to rummage around for her own piece of proposal jewelry, hoping that her hug-tackle hadn’t dislodged. “You have no idea.” She grinned as she found the necklace box and held it out. “You actually saved me having to do it myself.”

Applejack’s jaw dropped, and her eyes widened as Twilight opened the case. “W-wait. You mean you… you were gonna—”

Twilight nodded. “I actually had a whole lead-up speech memorized, but I couldn’t remember it now if I tried. All I need to say is that I love you, and I want to stay with you for the rest of my life. I guess I could ask again anyway, even if it’s a bit redundant.”

“Well, the answer is yes!” Applejack reared up and kicked her front hooves in the air. “Although I guess you probably knew that already.”

“Hold still!” Twilight held up the necklace with her magic. “I’ve been holding onto this thing for weeks now, and I want to see what it looks like on you.”

“Weeks? You’ve been plannin’ this that long?” Applejack grinned sheepishly as Twilight gently placed the necklace around her neck.

“Less planning, and more trying to get my nerves under control. I never thought in a million years that you’d ask me!”

“I know, and that’s why I wanted to be the one to ask. Good thing I decided to go for it. You don’t mind that I, uh, kinda stole your evening, do you?”

“Of course not!” Twilight shook her head violently. “We’re engaged now, and that’s all I really wanted out of tonight!” She giddily pranced in place. “I don’t know what to do next! Should we go tell everypony? Who should we go to first? Your family? Should we head back to the farm?”

“Hold on just a sec, Twilight.” Applejack looked down at the necklace that adorned her. “I just want to admire this for a second. I never thought I’d ever have a piece of jewelry that I’d actually want to wear. It’s great, Twilight.”

“I’m glad you like it,” Twilight said, beaming.

“It’s more than just likin’ it, Twilight.” She took a deep breath. “I can hardly believe that I actually did it. It’s just… whew, I just feel like I need some time to take it all in.”

“Yeah, I feel the same way.” Twilight rocked back and forth on her hooves, trying to keep the sudden surge of nervous energy under control. “I feel like there’s so much to do now. I just want to run through town and tell everypony I know!”

“Well, we’ve got plenty of time for that.” Applejack put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “I just want to savor it for a bit.”

“You’re right,” Twilight said. She could feel herself starting to relax. “We’ll never have this moment again, after all. We should keep it about us. Besides, once everypony hears about it, things are going to start getting crazy.”

“Yep,” Applejack nodded sagely. “You know what I could go for? Ice cream.”

“Ice cream?” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Where did that come from?”

“No clue,” Applejack said with a shrug. “But it’s pretty obvious neither of us really thought about what we were gonna do after poppin’ the question, so I figured gettin’ some ice cream is as good as anything.”

Twilight chuckled. “You know what? Ice cream does sound good. And Hayburger usually isn’t busy this late. I’m pretty sure nopony will bother us.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Applejack gave Twilight a kiss before heading down the hill. “I’m buyin’’, though. Don’t think I didn’t notice that you paid the tip at the restaurant.”

“Fine, fine. I’m getting the biggest sundae they have, then.”

“If that’s what you want,” Applejack paused long enough for Twilight to catch up to her, and they both walked down the path together.

Twilight felt like she was floating. There was nothing that could possibly bring her down. Then a thought struck her. She burst out laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Applejack asked.

“Rarity is going to kill us when she sees what we did to her dresses.”