# A Delicate Balance

## by JapaneseTeeth

### Sweetest Love, I do not go...

Ugh, I have so much to think about. Not only do I have to figure out how my new job is going to affect my schedule, but I have to be careful not to neglect any of my friends. And not to neglect Applejack, of course. That would be the worst thing I could do. We're finally starting to get things figured out. I can't let everything get messed up now.

When thou sigh'st, thou sigh'st not wind,

But sigh'st my soul away;

When thou weep'st, unkindly kind,

My life's blood doth decay.

It cannot be

That thou lov'st me, as thou say'st,

If in thine my life thou waste,

That art the best of me.

--Sweetest Love, I do not go,

John Donne

Spike rolled over in his sleep. The gemstone stew had turned out a little too well. Even after spending all night digesting the stuff, his stomach was still full of it. He turned his head the wrong way, and got an eyeful of early morning sun. He groaned and rolled in the other direction, the liquified gemstones sloshing around in his gut. It felt as heavy as one would expect after eating a boulder-sized geode’s worth of gems. He sighed. The weight was just another excuse not to get out of bed. He buried his head in his blanket and began to drift back to sleep.

“Spike, time to get up!” Twilight tweaked his spines. He responded by burrowing deeper into his blankets. She started to poke him. “Come on, Spike! Get out of bed! I need you for something.”

“Mrnh.” He grunted as he sat up. “What is it? Couldn't this have waited until later?”

“It's not that early, Spike.” She chuckled. “I need you to send this letter.” She held up an unrolled scroll. “I was going to have you send it last night, but after hanging out with Fluttershy I didn't have time to write it. By the time I was finished you had already gone to bed.”

“And it couldn't have waited another hour or so?” Spike grumbled as he clamored out of his bed. “You didn't forget to send a report, did you?”

“Nope. It's something rather important that I need to send to Princess Celestia. But before I send it, I want you to read it. It is about you, after all.”

“About me?”

“Yes. Remember how I was working on our budget?”

“Yeah...”

“Well, I believe I found a way to fix it, but it will require your approval.”

“My approval?” He stared at her as if she had just sprouted wings. “What do you need my approval for?”

“Just read the letter.” She held it out. “I know I should probably explain it to you myself, but I spent like two hours last night trying to figure out the right way to say everything, and that letter probably sums it up better than I would if I tried to tell you.”

“Alright, alright, give me the letter.” His years of service as Twilight's scribe had taken a toll on her ability to write legibly. He squinted and began to read. “'Dear Princess Celestia, I am very happy to inform you that Applejack and I went on our first date earlier this week. Rarity suggested that we go to the—”

“You can skip that part,” Twilight said with an awkward smile. “I wanted to keep her up-to-date, you know?”

“Okay, then...” His eyes darted down a few paragraphs. “Let's see...'However, despite the fact that our date was a resounding success, I have learned the hard way that there's more to romantic relationships than just making your very special somepony happy. You also have to be sure that you do not neglect your other friendships.'” Spike looked up. “This is about Fluttershy, isn't it?”

“You can skip that, too. Go down to the part about the library. It's in the last few paragraphs.”

Spike rolled his eyes, which he was having difficulty keeping open. “Fine...uh...'I have also learned...' yadda yadda yadda... 'being in a relationship also results in a burdens on one's finances and one's time...' okay...” His eyes suddenly snapped open and then darted back and forth, rereading the same line to make sure he hadn't misread. “'In light of the additional demands that this relationship makes on me, I believe it would be most prudent to relinquish my responsibilities as Ponyville's resident librarian, and turn these responsibilities over to...'” Spike looked Twilight in the eyes. “Me?”

Twilight nodded.

“You want me to take over the library!? I-- Uh...wow...” He sat. “I don't know what to say. I mean, do you really think I could do it?”

“Well, you've basically been doing all the library stuff for the past few weeks anyway. I'm sure you could handle it. Besides, it's not like I'm moving out of the library or anything. I'll still be around if you need help. Of course, you will have to make a few adjustments. If you decide to take the job, you'll get all the wages for it, but obviously it means you'll have to start chipping in to pay for food and I won't need to give you an allowance, either. You'll also have to use that money to buy supplies and such. I'll help you with it, of course, but part of why I wanted to do this is so that I'll be able to earn a few extra bits by working at Bon Bon's shop. I may not be around quite as much as usual.”

“O-okay...” Spike stared at the letter, trying to process the information. “I... I guess I could try...”

“You don't have to answer right away.” Twilight patted him on the head. “It's a big step for you, and I think you should give it some thought before you decide whether you want to do it or not. If you don't think you want to try it, that's okay. I'll be able to find the time.”

“But I thought you were in a hurry...”

“The only reason I was really rushing is because I wanted you to have time to think about it, that's all. You just let me know what you want to do, okay?”

He nodded. “Alright. I'll get back to you as soon as I can. It's just... I didn't think I'd ever get a chance to try to run the library...”

“Well, for what it's worth, I think you can do it.” Twilight put a foreleg around Spike's shoulders. “You've been doing a great job so far, and I have no reason to believe you'd stop now.”

Her ears perked up as she heard a knock on the door.

“I wonder who that could be?”

She scurried down the stairs, leaving Spike holding the letter. His claws trembled as he rolled it up. The library suddenly felt much bigger.

Applejack stood at the library's door, wondering whether she should knock again. What if she had woken Twilight up? Probably not; it wasn't that early in the morning. Then again, it might be early for Twilight. Applejack lived on farm time, after all. Wake up with the sun and all that. Most ponies weren't in quite that much of a rush, but it didn't really matter given that she didn't usually leave the farm before noon. Come to think of it, the streets had looked rather empty compared to when she usually went into town. Maybe she should just come back later and hope that Twilight had slept through the knocks—

“Good morning, Applejack!”

She froze for a moment as Twilight gave her a peck on the cheek. “G-good morning, Twilight. I didn't wake you up or anything, did I?”

“No, I was already up. What brings you by? I usually don't see you around town at this time of day. Don't you usually have work to do on the farm?”

“Um, yeah. Yeah, I do. Usually, at least. Big Macintosh is takin' care of it for me today.” Applejack blinked a few times as she tried to remember what she had come over for. “I wanted to talk to you about something. Or, well, more that I wanted to ask you about something.”

“Okay. What is it?”

“Well, you've been doin' all this stuff for me all week, and bringin' me gifts and whatnot, and I thought it was about time that I did something for you. So I thought I'd, uh, take you out on a date. Is tomorrow night okay? I mean, if you have something else to do I could do it some other time—”

“That should be fine.” Twilight started to nod, but stopped halfway as she remembered something. “Although I should probably check with Bon Bon.”

“Bon Bon?” Applejack asked, confused. “What's she got to do with anything?”

“Oh, right, I guess I never told you about that.” Twilight cleared her throat. “I'm going to start working at Bon Bon's shop so I can get a little extra money. You know, so I can keep up with all the bouquets and everything.”

“Ah, you don't have to do that.” Applejack tried to sound bashful. “There's no need to go to all that trouble. You don't have to go buyin' presents for me all the time just 'cause we're together now.”

“It's no problem at all.” Twilight waved hoof as if to dismiss Applejack’s concern. “I give you things because I want to!”

“Well, thanks for that.” Applejack smiled. Now wasn't the time to worry about that. “What do you think Bon Bon will say? She's always seemed a bit... persnickety to me.”

“I'll have to ask her. I start work in” —Twilight glanced at the clock tower— “about half an hour. Worst case scenario, we'll have to do it on a different day. Where do you want to go?”

A bit of mischief crept into Applejack's smile. “That's gonna be a surprise.”

“Well, I'm sure it'll be great,” Twilight said, mildly surprised by Applejack's sudden smirk. “Where exactly should I meet you?”

“I was just plannin' on pickin' you up tomorrow evening, if that's okay with you.”

“Of course. I'll let you know if anything comes up.”

“Great!” Applejack nodded. “Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I guess I oughta let you get to work. And I got stuff to do back at the farm, so I should probably be goin'. I'll try to drop by later, okay?” She darted forward and kissed Twilight's cheek. “Bye, Twilight.”

“Goodbye, Applejack.”

They stood for a moment, gazing at each other. Then Applejack turned and trotted down the road. Twilight was still for a moment, then went back into the library. Only then did she touch her cheek where Applejack had kissed her.

Bon Bon yawned and adjusted her hairnet as she stepped into the kitchen of her shop. Lyra didn't know how lucky she was. Not everypony could sleep in as late she could. And not everypony who got to sleep in so late had a partner who was gentle enough to slip out of bed without waking her up. Lyra didn't appreciate how much skill it took to do that every morning, especially when you were tangled up in the blankets. Bon Bon was even willing to forgo the customary kiss on the forehead before heading down to the shop if it meant letting Lyra sleep. Besides, a sleeping Lyra wouldn't poke her head into the kitchen and throw off Bon Bon's delicate chocolate-making rhythm.

Now when she stayed out in the storefront, practicing her harp... that was different. It didn't matter what Lyra played, whether she did practice scales or full movements or simply tuned the strings; any sound out of the harp became a beautiful song. Chocolate-making turned into a dance. The music was a far greater contribution than any number of assistants would be.

Bon Bon sighed, and hoped that Twilight’s efforts wouldn’t drown out the sound of the harp.

“They said that I needed a new dress?” Fluttershy asked.

Rarity nodded. “And then they had the gall to claim that the reason you needed the dress was because you were going on a date.”

“A date!?” Fluttershy gasped. If Rarity hadn't already assured her that the rumors had been confined, she would have been rather worried.

“Oh, that's not the half of it!” Rainbow Dash twirled in the air before landing next to Fluttershy. “Wait till you hear who they said you were going out with!”

“Yes,” Rarity continued, mildly irked by Rainbow's interuption. “They said that you were—”

“Wait!” Rainbow interrupted. “Let her take a guess first. I'm curious.”

“I, um...” Fluttershy had no idea, and tried to think of a name that wouldn't embarrass her. “Big Macintosh?”

“Nope!” Rainbow shook her head. “Say, why would you guess that?” She narrowed her eyes and nudged Fluttershy with her elbow. “You don't have your eyes set on Big Mac, do you? I hear he's been taken.”

“No, not at all!” Fluttershy pulled away from Rainbow Dash. “I just guessed him because last time the crusaders tried to set somepony up on a date they used him. Big Macintosh is nice, but he's a bit hard to talk to.”

“See?” Rarity sniffed. “Fluttershy knows how to make a reasonable guess rather than simply jumping to the most extreme conclusion.”

Rainbow Dash zipped over to Rarity, hovering over her. “Hey, I came to you before I did anything, didn't I? It's not like I went off and tried to solve everything myself.”

“That's true, but if you had given the matter a few moments of thought, you might not have even had to do that.”

“Yeah yeah.” Rainbow Dash spun back towards Fluttershy, eager to get the attention away from herself. “Take another guess!”

“Um...Cheerilee?”

“Now you're just being lazy,” Rainbow said with a sigh.

“For heaven's sake, Rainbow Dash, stop bothering her.” Rarity threw a ribbon into the air with her magic. It wrapped around Dash's wings and sent her plummeting to the floor. She turned her attention to the other pegasus. “Apple Bloom actually tried to tell me, with a straight face mind you, that you were going on a date with Rainbow Dash.”

“Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy gasped.

“I know, isn't that crazy!?” Rainbow Dash laughed as she untangled her wings. “I mean, can you imagine? That would be nuts.”

“Rainbow!” Rarity glared needles at her and nodded in Fluttershy's direction. “She's standing right there, you know!”

“What? You think she'd actually be interested that way in somepony like me? I'm way too crazy for her. I'm sure if she ever wanted to go on a date with somepony it wouldn't be me.” Rainbow Dash patted herself on the chest for emphasis. “I'm not saying there's anything weird about wanting to go on a date with her. I mean, think about it, she's one of the nicest ponies in town and she was even a model for a while! I'm surprised she doesn't get more attention. Anypony in town would be lucky to go out with her. I'd be lucky to go on a date with her!”

Rarity snorted and bit her lip to keep herself from giggling.

“Er, it's not like I want to go on a date with her. Well, I mean, I'm not, like, totally opposed to the idea, or anything. She's just... dateable. Like you could go on a date with her even if you weren't interested in her in... that... way... Because I’m not. I mean, she’s a good friend but... uh...” She looked at her friends. Rarity was tearing up with the effort of not laughing, and Fluttershy was blushing so furiously her head looked like a tomato. “Oh, you know what I mean!”

Fluttershy coughed, and did her best to ignore the fact that Rainbow Dash was still in the room. “So, Rarity, what happened then?”

“Well, long story short, their ruse with the dress was an attempt to get me to go talk to you. Thinking that you had a crush on Twilight, they somehow came to the conclusion that the best course of action would be to simply give you a crush on someone else. Being unaware that crushes generally involve romantic feelings, they decided that I would be suitable for their plan.”

“They tried to set us up?”

“I doubt they intended it to seem that way. I believe their reasoning was that since we're already good friends it would be trivial to transfer your affections from her to me.” She sighed. “If only things were as simple as they believe them to be.”

“Yes.” Fluttershy shared the sigh. “I wish these things weren't so complicated.”

Rainbow Dash sniffed. “Eh, it's only as complicated as you make it.”

Twilight stood at attention in Bon Bon's chocolate shop. She wondered if this was how Shining Armor had felt on his first day at boot camp. Probably not. He had been prepared for it.

Bon Bon paced slowly and deliberately in front of Twilight, who wasn't sure whether to stare straight ahead like a recruit or if the situation was informal enough that she could move her head. She decided not to risk it. She'd never started a new job, but certainly it would be better to appear too serious about it than not serious enough. She could feel Bon Bon sizing her up.

“Well, you arrived on time,” Bon Bon said. She nodded, but Twilight couldn't see it.

“I try my best to be punctual.”

“Good,” Bon Bon said flatly. “Hopefully you can keep it up.”

“I intend to.”

“Well, if you intend to work here, I expect you to follow the rules.”

Twilight nodded with conviction. “Of course.”

Bon Bon cleared her throat. Twilight took it as a cue to look at her.

“The first and most important rule,” Bon Bon began, “—is that you listen to my directions and follow them. If you are ever unsure of something, you must ask me before you do anything. This is my shop, and I have the final say on what goes on here.”

Twilight continued to nod. She had a heavy urge to add a “Yes, ma'am,” but refrained. Bon Bon was too young for that.

“The second rule is that you do not go into the kitchen under any circumstances, unless I give you permission.”

“Any circumstances?” Twilight asked hesitantly.

“Well, if there is a fire and the shop is in danger of burning down otherwise, you have my permission to put the fire out. But only in extreme circumstances. In the day-to-day operation of the shop, you are not to go back there. Since I opened this shop, I have only allowed four ponies to go into the kitchen. Myself, Lyra, the health inspector...” The obvious question hung in the air. Twilight resisted the urge to ask it. Bon Bon answered it anyway. “The fourth pony is the reason that nopony is allowed in the kitchen.”

“Stay out of the kitchen, got it.”

“The next rule,” Bon Bon continued, “is that whenever somepony enters the shop you must greet them in the most cheerful manner you can. Like this.” She smiled widely and her voice manifested a trill. “Welcome to the Ponyville Chocolate Shoppe!” The smile vanished. “Now you try.”

Twilight cleared her throat. “Welcome to the Ponyville Chocolate Shoppe!”

“Hmmm...” Bon Bon narrowed her eyes. “Not bad, not bad. That will suffice. Now then, since you are just starting your job today, we'll be starting you off with the simplest duties.” She sauntered over to a door behind the counter and opened it, revealing a broom and mop bucket. “The first order of business is to ensure that the store is clean. I'm sure that you will have no difficulty at all sweeping and mopping.”

“No problem at all.” Twilight tried to sound enthusiastic.

“Good. And then you can clean the tables and wipe the windows,” Bon Bon said. “If all goes well we'll talk about the possibility of you running the register while I'm in the kitchen.”

“Really?” Twilight's ears perked up.

“Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves. For today, if anypony comes in to buy anything, simply knock on the kitchen door. Normally, I would be out here to take orders, but one of your friends came by yesterday and cleaned out my supply of peanut butter cups. Now then, if you have any questions, knock on the door and ask me. But do not come into the kitchen.”

“Alright,” Twilight said as she watched Bon Bon head through the door.. “Bon Bon?”

She looked back over her shoulder. “Yes?”

“Thank you for giving me a chance to work here.”

“You're welcome.” Bon Bon smiled. It was small, but there. “Please don't make me regret it.”

Twilight took a deep breath. “I won't.”

Applejack reached for the front door of Sugarcube Corner, hoping that Pinkie wouldn't be the pony behind the counter. Not that there was anything wrong with Pinkie, but today was going to be busy, and Applejack didn't have the time or patience to put up with the inevitable questions. Mr. and Mrs. Cake wouldn't be inclined to pry. They might even have some useful advice.

As she opened the door she got blasted in the face by a burst of polka music. She took a step in and sighed in relief. Pinkie was there, but sitting off to the side keeping the Cake twins occupied with her ability to play half a dozen instrument simultaneously. Mrs. Cake stood behind the counter, setting out a tray of cupcakes. Applejack stepped quickly across the room, trying not to draw Pinkie's attention.

“Good morning, Applejack!” Mrs. Cake chirped, thankfully not loud enough for Pinkie to hear.

“Good morning, Mrs. Cake,” Applejack answered. “How are you doin' today?”

“Quite well. The twins were acting up a bit, but Pinkie has been doing an admirable job taking care of them. They seem to enjoy her... unique musical taste.” She put the last cupcake on the stand. “What brings you by now? I thought you weren't going to deliver my shipment until tomorrow.”

“I'm not here to deliver anything, actually. I wanted to put in an order so I can pick it up when I do come by to drop off your apples. I need you to make a dozen cupcakes.”

“Of course. What type of cupcakes would you like, and how would you like them decorated?”

“Well, I... uh...” Applejack lowered her voice, even though Pinkie probably couldn't hear her. “What kind of cupcake does Twilight like?”

“Oooohhh!” Mrs. Cake's mouth curled into a wry smile. “Vanilla cream it is, then. What about the decorations?”

“Um, I don't really know, now that I think about it. Maybe some books or something? Ugh, I shoulda thought about that before I came over here.” She sighed. “I don't suppose you got any idea?”

“Why don't I just put your cutie marks on them? Assuming that this is for a date, of course.”

“Yeah, I think that'll work. I'm takin' her out tomorrow and wanted to do something special.”

“Well, I'll be sure you get our best work, then!” Mrs. Cake said.

“Thanks. I'll pick 'em up when I bring your apple order tomorrow.” She stood at the counter for a moment. “Uh, you mind if I ask you a question?”

“Of course, dear.”

“It's kinda personal, though.”

“Well, I guess in that case I won't know until you ask, so go right ahead!”

“It's just... I was just wonderin' how you and Mr. Cake met. What was it like when you two first got together?”

Mrs. Cake nodded knowingly. “You've been thinking about that a lot lately, haven't you?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, we first met at a baking contest. Our first conversation was an argument over who would walk away with the prize. Not a real argument, of course. Carrot was quite the flirt in those days, and it was plain that we both knew our way around the kitchen.”

“Really? Who ended up winnin'?”

“We both did. He won the cake contest, and I won the cupcake contest. Afterwards we congratulated each other, and the rest is history.”

“So it was pretty much love at first sight? I wish it were that easy for me. I love spendin' time with Twilight, but it's tough findin' stuff that we have in common. You really got lucky.”

“Well, everypony's different, I suppose,” Mrs. Cake said. “It's not like every couple just stumbles onto common ground. I'm sure you'll be able to make it work.”

“Hopefully this date is gonna help with that. It'll be good to have some time set aside just for talkin' when I don't have other stuff on my mind. Thanks for everything. I'll see you tomorrow.”

“Goodbye, Applejack!”

Applejack nodded, turned around, and found her nose mere inches from Pinkie Pie's.

“Whoa!” She stumbled backwards against the counter. “Pinkie, why do you have to do stuff like that?”

“So you're going on a date with Twilight? Where are you taking her? Another fancy restaurant? A rodeo? A Daring Do convention? A Carnival?”

“No, no, not a chance, and there aren't even any carnivals around here!” Applejack shook her head. “Why do you need to know anyway? So you can go and hide in a bush or something to watch?”

“A bush, huh? Hmmm....that narrows it down a bit.”

“Pinkie.”

“I'm just curious!” Pinkie put her forehooves on her hips. “I just want to make sure you're doing something really fun!”

“I think I got something down that we're gonna enjoy doin'. And that's all I'm gonna say.”

“Did you order a cake?” Pinkie asked.

“I just said I wasn't gonna say anything else!” She groaned. “But no, I'm not getting a cake. Just some cupcakes. Don't tell Twilight.”

“Well, you gotta bring something cool! Ooh! I know! I know!” Pinkie started to hop. “You could rent a bouncy castle!”

“I am not rentin' a bouncy castle!” She put a hoof on Pinkie's head to stop the bouncing. “Twilight isn't a filly. Besides, I kinda want to get away from all the big fancy stuff. We don't have to go doin' all that to have a good time.”

“But she's your very special somepony!” Pinkie put an uncomfortable amount of emphasis on the second-to-last word.

“I know that!” Applejack said, more defensively than she would have liked. “But it's just... I don't think that her bein' my very special somepony means we have to keep doin' fancy-shmancy stuff. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm real flattered that Twilight thinks I'm worth buyin' flowers and fancy dinners for, but I don't know if I need all that stuff.”

Pinkie gasped so loud that Applejack had to hold her hat down to keep it from being sucked off her head. “But but but but but-”

“Oh hush!” She shoved a hoof into Pinkie's mouth to stop the babbling. “It's not that I don't want to do stuff with Twilight. That's why I'm takin' her out on the date to start with. But the reason I want to take her out is because I like spendin' time with her and I don't think I need to fancy it up. That's all good for special occasions, like our first date, but I don't wanna do it all the time. It just feels weird is all. I don't want Twilight to think that she has to keep getting' me flowers to show that she cares. She might be my very special somepony, but she's still my friend too, and neither of those things are gonna change just ‘cause she stops givin’ me flowers.”

Pinkie Pie pondered Applejack's words for a moment. “Well, yeah, but bouncy castles are awesome!”

“Okay, I'll give you that. They are pretty cool. It's still not the best thing to take on a date, though. Maybe for her birthday.” She glanced at the clock. “Okay, I gotta get back to the farm. Big Mac is coverin' for me, and I got stuff to do. Don't tell Twilight anything about the date, okay? I want it to be a surprise.”

“If my lips had a zipper, I'd zip my lips!” Pinkie pantomimed the act. “Surprises are so much better when you don't know they're coming.”

Applejack chuckled to herself as she walked towards the door. “They sure are.”

Spike groaned. He wasn't exactly as knowledgeable about dragon biology as a dragon should be, but he was reasonably sure that dragons didn't shrink. Or at least they didn't shrink unless they had undergone a freakish growth spurt first. The broom had felt unusually long in his claws, he had nearly gotten vertigo climbing to dust the top shelves, and every sound seemed to echo. He dropped the last book back into place on the shelf and the thump bounced from wall to wall.

“Hoo?”

“WAHH!” Spike almost fell off of the ladder. He regained his grip and turned around to see Owlowisius hovering behind him. “Dude, you gotta warn me before you do that! What are you doing up now anyway? You usually don't wake up until the sun goes down.”

“Hoo hoo.”

Spike shook his head. “Yeah, I hate it when that happens. I guess you haven't heard yet, but Twilight wants me to take over all the library stuff.”

“Hoo.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” He climbed down the ladder. “I didn't think I'd actually get to do it any time soon. Now I'm not even all that sure I want to.”

“Hoo. Hoo hoo?”

“That's true I guess, but it wasn't that bad because Twilight was still there to bail me out if I screwed something up.”

“Hoo.”

“I know that, but if I decide to do it, I want to prove that I can do it myself. I don't want to say that I'm going to do it and then have to back out because I can't.”

“Hoo hoo.”

“Maybe you're right. We'll see. If I do take over the library, you'll help me out, right?”

“Hoo.”

“Great!” Spike gave the owl a thumbs-up. “I guess I could give it a try. Maybe if I'm running the place myself I won't have to spend so much time on the checklists. I mean, we only need one, right?”

“Hoo!”

Spike chuckled. “I couldn't have said it better myself!” The library was already starting to feel a bit smaller.

Lyra yawned as she made her way down the stairs. Her harp case balanced on her back, and her breakfast, a chunk of cornbread she had found in the back of the fridge, hovered in front of her face. It was bit crumbly from sitting in there for so long, but it was still edible. Probably. There was no mold on it, and that made it preferable to the trouble of cooking anything. Then again, waiting until lunch would also have been preferable to cooking anything. The list of things Lyra felt like doing immediately after waking up was very short, and cooking wasn't on it. In fact, the only things on it were eating, practicing her harp, and wishing Bon Bon a good morning.

She sniffed the cold morning air. Lemony. Bon Bon must be trying a new recipe or something, she thought. It didn't smell very tasty though. Still, it couldn't be as bad as that attempt at making chocolate covered pickles. That had truly been the nadir of their attempts to draw in business. She stepped into the shop and immediately noticed that the floor was a good deal shinier than usual, and then that her view of the floor was entirely unobstructed. She blinked.

“Good morning, Lyra!”

Lyra turned to see Twilight standing on the other side of the room, next to a mop bucket. All the tables and chairs were stacked up behind her. “Good morning, Twilight,” she said, trying and failing to imitate Twilight's level of enthusiasm. “I see you've been busy.”

“I sure have,” Twilight said with a nod. “First, I swept and mopped the floor, but then I realized that I forgot to clean off the tables first. So I wiped them down, but then I realized that a bunch of the dust from the tables got all over the floor, so I decided to mop it again. Then I noticed that the floor under the table legs was dirty and I hadn't gotten under there when I was mopping the first two times, so I moved all the tables out of the way and mopped again. And now I'm waiting for the floor to dry so I can put the tables back.”

“Well, I can certainly say that I've never seen the floor this clean before.” Lyra looked down. Her reflection stared back up at her.

“Thank you!” Twilight beamed. “I really wanted to make a good first impression!”

“I'm sure Bon Bon will...uh... appreciate it.” Lyra took a bite of her cornbread. “Although I don't think you need to mop the floor three times every day...”

“Of course, of course. It's just that I don't usually do the cleaning in the library, so I haven't quite got the process ironed out. Now I know to mop the floor after I clean the tables.”

“Well, I'm sure somepony as smart as you will have it all figured out in no time.” She watched as Twilight ducked down, producing a dustpan and broom out of nowhere to brush up Lyra's cornbread crumbs. “Whoops, sorry about that.” She crammed the last bit of her breakfast into her mouth.

“No, no, it's fine!” Twilight almost looked like she was bowing as she meticulously cleaned the floor at Lyra's hooves. “It's not like I have a whole lot to do other than clean, so I might as well try to do it really well.”

“It looks like you've been doing a good job so far,” Lyra said as she set down her harp case. “You want some help putting all the tables back?”

“Um, I guess.” Twilight's eyes darted back and forth as if she was afraid somepony would see her. “It's my job to do that, but if you say it's okay to help—”

Lyra chuckled. “It's fine, Twilight. Bon Bon isn't going to fire you because I helped you put the sample tables back.” She grabbed one of the tables with her telekinesis and started to tow it across the floor. The table-legs squawked as it dragged along.

“Uh, let me help you with that.” Twilight lifted the other corner of the table and set it in position. A few minutes later, all the tables were back where they had been, and Twilight busied herself meticulously organizing the display boxes of chocolates. “I don't suppose you have anything that I could do?” she asked. “Other than cleaning, there really isn't that much other than to water the plants.” She pointed at the flowerpots that sat in the shop's bay window.

“I don't think you even need to bother with that.” Lyra shook her head. “I let Bon Bon take care of those.”

“Oh, are they special to her or something?”

“Nah, it's just one of those weird earth pony things.” She shrugged. “She went out of town for a week to go to a chocolatiers' convention, so I had to take care of them. They survived, but they looked kinda... well, you probably know.”

Twilight nodded. “The plants in the library are like that.”

“Yup, they looked nice enough, but as soon as she got back and watered them, then suddenly, BOOM, flowers everywhere. After seeing that I just let her deal with it. Speaking of which, where is Bon Bon, anyway? Kitchen?”

“Yes, she's been in there almost all morning,” Twilight said. “After she gave me my initial directions the only time I've seen her is when somepony comes in to buy something.”

“You didn't go into the kitchen, did you?” Lyra bit her lip. Although she already knew the answer; if Twilight had barged in there, she wouldn't still be around to clean the shop.

“Of course not. She was very clear on that. I didn't even want to open the door. I just knocked.”

“Good. Bon Bon is a bit...territorial, when it comes to her kitchen. Can't say I blame her, though.”

“Really?” Twilight tilted her head. “Why?”

“Uh...” Lyra's eyes darted back and forth as she debated exactly how detailed the explanation should be. “All I'm going to say is that when she started out with the shop, things didn't exactly go smoothly, and she's very protective of her business. I wish I could tell you more, but I don't think she'd appreciate it. You'd have to ask her. And you probably shouldn't do that until she gets to know you a bit better. Right now she still thinks you're a bit of an outsider.”

The two unicorns were silent for a moment, neither one sure what to say.

“So, uh, I'm gonna pop into the kitchen and see what Bon Bon's up to,” Lyra said.“Why don't you... uh... wipe the windows? It can't hurt.”

“Yeah, I think I'll do that.” Twilight snatched up a dust rag and turned her attention to the window as Lyra went into the kitchen. For a moment, there was silence, then a sudden yelp and a loud thud. A minute later, Lyra stumbled out of the kitchen. Chocolate was splattered across her face, the central shape in the middle of her cheek looking suspiciously like a spoon. “Lyra, are you okay?”

“I'm fine!” Lyra said with a giggle. “I know it's a bad idea to sneak up on Bon Bon and tickle her while she's stirring the chocolate, but I just can't help it!” She started licking the chocolate off of her cheek. “She says that when you're done with the floor and the windows you can clean off the glass display counter. Don't open it, though. Bon Bon does not like it when you get hair on the chocolates.”

Twilight saluted. “Will do. That counter will be so clean you won't even be able to see it!”

“I don't know about that,” Lyra said with a grin. “I used to clean that for her and I swear Bon Bon can see smudges that are invisible to anypony else.” She flipped her harp case open. “You don't mind if I play, do you?”

“Of course not. I remember the music from the restaurant. It was beautiful.”

“Well, you aren't getting that now.” Lyra drew the instrument out and took a seat. “You're getting a bunch of warm-up exercises, and then you get to listen to me thresh some new music that I don't know all that well.”

“I'm sure it can't be that bad,” Twilight said. “You probably sound great even when you're practicing.”

Lyra smiled. “I guess so. That's what Bon Bon always tells me.”

Applejack burst into the barn, gasping for breath. “Sorry I'm late, Mac. I ran into Pinkie on my way back.”

Big Macintosh looked up from his clipboard. “It's okay.”

“No, it ain't. I already owe you a couple hours worth of work for coverin' for me when Twilight comes over. I don't want that hangin' over my head anymore. You gotta take Cheerilee out to lunch soon so we can even it out.” She looked over his shoulder at the clipboard. “What are we doin' today, anyway?”

“Cart needs a new axle, and the west field needs to be bucked.” He flipped a page on the clipboard. “Gotta plow the corn field, too. Plow needs to be fixed, though.”

“Well, you want to do the cart, or the plow?” Applejack asked. Big Macintosh just shrugged. “Well, if you don't care I'll get to work on that cart then get the buckin' done. If I finish before you, I'll come by and help finish up the corn field.”

Big Macintosh nodded and sauntered towards the door. “I'll go get Apple Bloom.”

“Apple Bloom, what do you need her for?”

“She wanted to help you fix the cart.”

“Guess that makes sense. I'll probably need her help to fix it up, anyhow.” Applejack turned her attention back to the cart. The first thought to pop into her head was how much fun it might be if Twilight were helping her. Nah, she thought to herself with a giggle. We want to fix the cart. Besides, I need to spend some quality time with Apple Bloom. Get my mind off all this datin’ stuff.

“Lyra, does this look good to you?” Twilight pointed at the fastidiously-organized broom closet. She tapped one of the mop handles so that it was now parallel with the others. “I cleaned all the mops, knocked the dust out of the broom, rinsed and folded all the rags, and alphabetized all the cleaning products.”

Lyra looked up from the mess of sheet music that covered her table. Her horn glowed for a moment and the closet door slammed shut. She grinned. “There, looks good to me.”

Twilight shrugged. “I suppose that works too.”

“Lyra!” Bon Bon poked her head out of the kitchen. “Would you kindly take the finished chocolates and put them in the display case?”

“Sure thing, Bon Bon.” She popped up and headed to the kitchen.

“Now then...” Bon Bon turned to Twilight, who immediately stood at attention. “You've swept and mopped the floor?”

“Yes.”

“Cleaned the windows?”

“Yes.”

“The tables?”

“Yes.”

“The counter?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” Bon Bon's eyes meandered around the room, from the floor, to the windows, to the tables, to the counter. She squinted, and Twilight started to sweat, wondering if she should have ran home really quick and grabbed the spectrometer to make sure there was nothing on the counter. “Well.” Bon Bon looked up. “I find that you have performed...” Twilight held her breath. “...quite satisfactorily.”

Twilight let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

“You're welcome. I hope you can maintain this level of competence. I will see you tomorrow at the same time?”

“Definitely.” Twilight nodded for emphasis.

“Good. You may go.”

“I'll see you tomorrow, then. Goodbye, Bon Bon.”

As Twilight headed out the door, Lyra emerged from the kitchen, several trays of chocolate hovering around her. “See you later, Twilight!”

“You too, Lyra!” The bell on the door dinged as Twilight disappeared through it.

Lyra turned to Bon Bon. “I told you she'd do a good job.”

Bon Bon allowed herself as small smile. “I must admit, she did quite well. Perhaps this won't be as bothersome as I thought.”

Lyra rolled her eyes as she put the chocolate trays into the case. “Well, duh.”

“Alright, now give me the wrench!”

Applejack looked over the dozen wrenches that sat on top of the tool chest. As far as she could tell, they were all exactly the same. She shrugged, grabbed one at random, and slid it under the cart to her sister. “There you go, Apple Bloom. You almost got the new axle on there?”

“Just about!” Apple Bloom answered. Applejack stood awkwardly next to the cart, waiting for something to do. She had helped get the thing up on blocks so her sister could slide under it and actually get to work. Once that was done, Apple Bloom had basically taken over the project, and Applejack had been reduced to simply giving her tools and materials.

“Maybe we'll have some time to practice applebuckin' if we get this done quick enough. You up for it?”

“Sure!” The wrench came sliding out from under the cart. “That one is a half inch! I need a five-eighths!”

“Uh, okay...” Applejack squinted at the wrenches, trying to read the grease-encrusted numbers stamped on them. She picked one. “I think this is it.”

“Yup, that's it.” The cart creaked as Apple Bloom resumed her repairs. “Big Macintosh said that you're goin' on a date with Twilight tomorrow.”

“Well, that's 'cause I am.”

“Where're you goin'?”

“That's a secret. You want me to start puttin' the wheels back on?”

“Sure. Why's it a secret?”

“Because I want it to be a surprise, and I don't want you tellin' Twilight.” Applejack rolled one of the cart wheels into position and started to line it up with the axle.

“I won't tell her, I promise!”

“Maybe not, but you'll probably tell your crusader friends. The last thing I need is the three of y'all parachutin' in or something. I've been puttin' a lot of work into this, and I'm not gonna risk it gettin' messed up.”

“What makes you think I'd do any of that?” Apple Bloom said in an artificially-innocent voice. “I'd never try to meddle in somepony's personal stuff like that when I don't know anything about how that stuff works.”

“Really, now.” Applejack frowned as she attached the wheel. When Apple Bloom was that emphatic, it usually meant something was up. Applejack decided she didn't want to know, and focused her attention on the other wheel. “What have you guys been doin' lately anyway?”

“Nothin' much. We tried to build a go-kart yesterday, but it didn't work all that well. This afternoon we're gonna try to make one that won't fall apart if we crash into somethin'.”

“So that's where those old boxes went.”Applejack chuckled at the thought of the crusaders trying to build anything usable. Sure, if it were Apple Bloom on her own, the product might be serviceable, but working as a team... at least the result was sure to fail in an amusing fashion. She grunted as the second wheel clicked into place. “Wheels are on. I think we're good to go.” She gave the wheel a test spin. “You got the axle bolted down?”

“Sure do!” Apple Bloom stuck her head out from under the cart. “Hey, Applejack. Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course. What is it?” Applejack wiped her forehead with a rag and took a drink from her water jug.

“Are you and Twilight gonna get married?”

Applejack sprayed her drink against the side of the cart. “W-w-what? Why are you askin' about that?”

“Well, that's what happens, isn't it? After you've had a very special somepony for a while, you get married. Is that what you and Twilight are doin'?”

“I- uh—” Applejack stuttered, her face getting as red as her cutie mark. “I don't know!”

“You don't know?”

“No! We've only been goin' out for a few weeks. It's way too early to even start thinkin' about that! Wait until next year and ask me about it then.” She took a deep breath and changed the subject. “So, how about we go practice that applebuckin'? You head out to the field and I'll be out there in a few minutes. Gotta go get the baskets.”

“Okay!” Apple Bloom darted out of the barn.

Applejack sighed, and realized that her legs were shaking. Gettin' married...that's crazy. She took another drink and leaned against the cart to steady herself. Although if we stick together for that long... is that really where we're headed? A chill ran down her spine. She shook it off, grabbed a stack of baskets, and resolved not to think about it until later.

“Spike, I'm home!” Twilight walked into the library and looked around. She hadn't been the only one who had spent the day cleaning. The library was immaculate, aside from the desk in the corner where the card catalogue sat. Half the drawers were open, the cards scattered everywhere. Spike balanced on a stool next to the cabinet, his arms stuffed into the drawers. “Uh... I see you're busy...”

“Yeah.” Something inside the drawer clicked. “Ha! Got it!” He slid the drawer in and out. “Now I just gotta figure how to put all these back in.”

“Um, why exactly are you messing with the card catalogue? You've never done that before.”

“Well, I just figure that... I... uh...” He hopped off the stool and looked Twilight in the eyes. “I want to try taking over the library. I know it'll probably be more work than I think it's going to be, but I want to give it a shot.”

“That's great, Spike.” She patted him on the head. “I'm sure you'll do a wonderful job. Just don't be afraid to ask for help if you need anything. I'm not expecting you to suddenly take care of everything all by yourself, okay?”

“Okay.” He looked back at the card catalogue. “I guess I can start by asking you how to organize this thing.”

“Of course,” Twilight said.

“And also, if I'm going to run the library, you're going to have to put the books back on the shelves when you're done with them! No more leaving piles of books all over the floor!”

Twilight chuckled. “Okay. I'll try to remember to do that.”

“Great!” Spike beamed. Then his stomach rumbled.

“Let's get some dinner.” Twilight gently nudged Spike towards the kitchen. “Then you can send that letter to Celestia.”

“Yeah, about that... I already sent it.”

“You're really taking the initiative, Spike. I'm sure you'll do just fine.” Twilight smiled, and ruffled his spines. “Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll get everything figured out."