//------------------------------//
// A Fever// Story: A Delicate Balance// by JapaneseTeeth//------------------------------//

	So this is what an anniversary feels like!  It’s so great to know that we’ve been able to keep things going so smoothly.
	
	
	These burning fits but meteors be,
	Whose matter in thee is soon spent.
	
	
— A Fever,
John Donne
	
	Spike blinked. His eyes stung, not only due to fatigue, but also due to the fact that because his life was not a cartoon, propping his eyes open with toothpicks was actually quite painful. He felt ripped off. It worked for Pinkie.  But at least he was still awake. Unfortunately, he was still staring at the same page of library records that he had first pulled out an hour ago. It looked exactly the same now as it had then.
	
	“Hoo!”
	
	“Huh?” Spike sluggishly lifted his head to see Owlowiscious hovering above him, a pot of coffee clutched in his talons. “Oh, thanks. I'm about due for a refill.” He held up his coffee mug, which had “#1ASSISTAN” emblazoned on the side. It had been a birthday gift from Pinkie Pie. True to form, she hadn't read the fine print on the order form that specified a ten-character limit on the personalization.
	
	The coffee didn't pour; it oozed. It was just the way he liked it. A lot of things had changed over the past year, and his newfound appreciation for coffee was certainly a change for the better. He didn't know how Twilight managed to pull so many all-nighters without the stuff.
	
	“Thanks,” Spike said, and took a bite out of the coffee. “I can't believe how many overdue books are on this list! Roseluck alone has like half a dozen books out! Vegetable Literacy, The Salty Botanist, The Flower Recipe Book... she's a florist! What does she need all of these for!? She should know all this stuff already.”
	
	“Hoo?”
	
	“Well, I obviously can't go now. She's probably sleeping. I'll drop by her shop tomorrow. Hopefully she's done with at least some of them.”
	
	Owlowiscious perched on Spike's head. “Hoo hoo. Hoo?”
	
	“No! She'll probably get the jitters just from having to pay the fees. Threatening to burn her flower bed would just give her a panic attack.” He scooped the rest of the coffee out of the mug with his claw and popped it into his mouth. “Besides, I'm a librarian, not a loan shark. I don't do those sorts of intimidation tactics.” He rubbed his head. “Ugh, the caffeine just isn't doing it. I need some sugar.”
	
	He pushed his chair back and headed into the kitchen, where the remainder of Twilight's cake sat. He grabbed a spoon and scooped up one of the piles of frosting that his friends, minus Pinkie, of course, had scraped off of their slices of cake. After Pinkie's numerous attempts at frosting portraiture, the various strata of icing were almost as thick as the cake itself.
	
	Owlowiscious perched on the counter. “Hoo? Hoo hoo.”
	
	“Well, I need to keep my energy up somehow. And Twilight says that coffee will stunt my growth if I drink too much.”
	
	Owlowiscious made a disapproving sound. “Hoo hoo.”
	
	“Not if I brush my teeth.” He shoveled more frosting onto his plate.
	
	“Hoo hoo hoo!”
	
	Spike rolled his eyes. “I know. But what Twilight doesn't know won't hurt her.” He lifted a spoonful of sugary goop to his mouth. He stopped halfway as he felt a sudden presence.
	
	“Good evening, Spike,” said a familiar voice.
	
	Owlowiscious put a wing over his face.
	
	“Hi, Twilight!” Spike spun to face her, hiding the spoonful of sugar behind his back. “How was dinner?”
	
	“Dinner was wonderful,” Twilight said. “I managed to convince Lyra to play that piece that Applejack likes so much. 'Five Variations on a Fancy Song.' She really liked the scrapbook, too! Thank you so much for helping me put it together.”
	
	“You're welcome!” Spike grinned. “Anything to help you out!”
	
	“And she gave me these! Two box seat tickets to the Canterlot Theatre production of Waiting for Gidran!”
	
	“That's, uh... nice, I guess.” Spike had heard the title before, but that was all he remembered.
	
	“I've always wanted to see it!” Twilight gushed. “And the best part is that she said she'd go with me.”
	
	“Oh, that's nice.” Spike mentally sighed in relief. At least she wouldn't drag him along.
	
	“And then we spent a while talking over dessert.” She eyed the gigantic mass of cake and frosting that hid her kitchen table. “Although in retrospect I guess it wasn't necessary. We'll need to eat the rest of that before it gets stale. What are you still doing up, anyway?”
	
	 “Tabulating overdue book fees.” He yawned. “There are a lot of them this time.”
	
	“Well, if I were you I'd just go to bed. Nopony is going to check anything out tonight. Tomorrow I'll help you finish up. How does that sound?”
	
	“Sure, why not.  I’m half asleep right now anyway.”
	
	“Great!” Twilight said with a smile. “I'm going to head upstairs. It'll take me a while to get out of my dress without tearing anything. I needed Rarity's help to put it on. Goodnight, Spike, Owlowiscious.”
	
	“Goodnight, Twilight,” Spike said as he watched her leave. As the door swung shut, Spike sighed in relief and scraped the frosting back onto the cake. “I guess I won't need this.”
	
	“Hoo!”
	
	“Yeah, yeah, I know. I got lucky.” He sighed. “I'm just glad she'll help me out tomorrow. You'd think after a year I'd have figured out how to handle everything myself.”
	
	“Hoo hoo.”
	
	“I know that!” Spike snapped. “I was the assistant. But now I'm supposed to be doing it myself! Twilight isn't going to be around to help me out forever, you know?”
	
	“Hoo. Hoo hoo.”
	
	“Yes, and I appreciate it a lot, really. It's just... I don't even know.” Spike rubbed his forehead. “I think I'm just going to go to bed. I'm too tired to think.” His feet dragged as he walked out of the kitchen. “Goodnight, Owlowiscious.”
	
	“Hoo.”
	
	
	
	Apple Bloom had never had such a good day. She had finally done it! She had finally managed to buck every single apple off of the tree. Then she had done it again! And then she had gone and harvested every last apple that was ready to be harvested. And since she still felt fresh as a daisy even after that, she had gone and set up the cider press and made a couple dozen barrels. She had been so wrapped up in singlehoofedly doing pretty much all the work on the farm that she hadn't even noticed that she had gotten her cutie mark. It was, naturally, an apple, as expected. But it wasn't just any apple; it was of the rare and beautiful Golden Diamond variety. So of course, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had been ecstatic and thrown her a party. In their brand new balloon. The view was incredible.
	
	“Rise 'n shine!” Apple Bloom's bed rocked as her sister gave it a shake. “Time to get up!”
	
	Apple Bloom peeked out from under the covers just long enough to look at the clock. “No it ain't. I got fifteen more minutes.”
	
	“Not this morning you don't!” Applejack grabbed Apple Bloom's blanket and whipped it off. “Big Mac says that you were late to school a dozen times this semester. You gotta make more of an effort to get there on time. Breakfast is in five minutes. Big Mac is makin' pancakes.” Her hoofsteps receded down the hallway.
	
	Apple Bloom buried her face into the pillow, and curled into a shivering ball. It wasn't her fault that she was late all the time; she just got distracted when she ran into Sweetie and Scootaloo. Waking her up wasn't going to help anything. If anything it would just make her more likely to fall asleep in class. Especially math. Staying awake in math was way harder than doing the actual work. And it was really embarrassing when you started snoring while the rest of the class was practicing their multiplication tables.
	
	She groaned and got out of bed, reluctantly dragging herself through her normal morning routine. Mornings were awful. Everything was cold. The air was cold, the floor was freezing, and the water in the sink took way too long to warm up. Normally she'd have waited for it to start steaming, but she could tell that if she took more than a few minutes, Applejack would be practically banging down the door. She suffered through a cold face rinse and stumbled down the stairs.
	
	“Good mornin', Apple Bloom!” Applejack said exuberantly.
	
	“It's a mornin' all right,” Apple Bloom muttered as she slumped into her seat at the table. “Dunno if it's any good, though.”
	
	“Yeah, it's tough gettin' up early, but you'll get used to it after a few days. Won't she, Mac?”
	
	“Eeyu— ” Big Mac noted Apple Bloom’s disgruntled expression. “You'll get used to it. Eventually.”
	
	“I bet.” Apple Bloom snorted and stuffed a whole pancake into her mouth.
	
	“Come on, Apple Bloom. It ain't that bad. Granny Smith has already been up for an hour now,” Applejack said. “Then again, she went to bed at like seven-thirty, and she naps most of the day. Maybe you should try gettin' to bed earlier.”
	
	Apple Bloom snorted. “Please pass the syrup.”
	
	“Fine, we'll talk about it later. I never liked gettin' dragged out of bed either, you know.” Applejack slid some pancakes onto her own plate. “Just make sure you get to school on time, okay?”
	
	“And don't take too long talking,” Big Macintosh added. “Get to school and then you can talk.”
	
	“Fine.” Apple Bloom drained her orange juice and grabbed her book bag from beside the door. “See you later.” Without another word she stomped out the door.
	
	“Bye, Apple Blo—” Apple Bloom slammed the door. Applejack shook her head. “What's eatin' her?”
	
	Big Macintosh shrugged. “Must not be a morning pony.”
	
	Twilight and Applejack sat in the shade of the apple cart. At first they had attempted to hold their picnic in the shade of one of the many apple trees, but there was too much of a breeze. It poked holes between the leaves, letting just a little too much sunlight onto their red and white checkered blanket. A half-eaten plate of daisy sandwiches sat between them.
	
	“Maybe it's just because you woke her up early,” Twilight said. “I know that Spike can be a bit grouchy when I get him out of bed early.”
	
	“Nah, I don't think that's it. I've had to wake Apple Bloom up early for stuff before, and she's never been that much of a grump. I think something's botherin' her that's makin' her a bit surly.” She popped the last bite of her sandwich into her mouth.
	
	“Like what? Is she having trouble with her friends?”
	
	Applejack swallowed. “Not that I know of. Although I think she might be a bit jealous that they get to go on overnight trips while she just gets to come here.” She shrugged. “I guess I can't blame her too much. She loves Sweet Apple Acres and all, but it's not exactly a special occasion. Doesn't help that she won't get to be with her friends for it either. She'll probably be bored out of her skull.”
	
	“I'm sure it can't be that bad,” Twilight said. “I'm sure that you have plenty left to teach her that she hasn't heard already.”
	
	“Well, it's true that we haven't taught her everything yet, but most of the stuff we haven't gotten to is pretty boring.” Applejack sighed and stood up. “We already went over most of the practical things, so all that's really left is the magical theory stuff.” She gave a nearby tree a kick, dropping two apples. “Trust me, it ain't something that she's gonna want to sit through.”
	
	“But earth magic theory is fascinating!”
	
	“For you, maybe.” Applejack chuckled and tossed one of the apples to Twilight. “But you aren't most fillies. She doesn't have that much interest in theories about anything. She likes gettin' her hooves dirty. You know that.”
	
	“Well yes, practical application is generally more enjoyable than the theoretical studies, but studying the magical mechanics behind physical phenomena can teach you plenty that you would never consider otherwise.” Twilight took a bite of the apple.
	
	“That's all well and good, but I'm pretty sure Apple Bloom doesn't have that much of an attention span. Besides, no matter how interesting we make it, it just ain't the same as goin' campin' or whatever.”
	
	Twilight tapped her chin with her hoof as she thought. “Well, if it's any consolation, you can tell her Sweetie Belle is probably going to be really bored during the tour of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. The teachers know the material, but a lot of them aren't exactly engaging public speakers.”
	
	“But I'm sure you found it all fascinatin', right?” Applejack said with a smirk.
	
	“Well yes, but like you said, I'm not most ponies. But yes, I remember my first tour of the school quite fondly. Some of the other foals in the group were having trouble staying awake, though. But who knows? Maybe they've changed things since then. I still have to contact the school office to finalize our itinerary.”
	
	“Huh?” Applejack started to wrap up the remaining sandwiches. “School office? Can't you just ask Princess Celestia? You know, since she was your personal teacher and all.”
	
	“Theoretically I could, but I'd rather not abuse my connections. Besides, just because the school is named for her doesn't mean that she handles everything. She overlooks things, but the only class she teaches regularly is 'Introduction to Magical Studies'.”  She giggled. “Can you imagine how busy she’d be if she had to teach every class?”
	
	“Right, I guess I forgot that you're a special case.” Applejack slid the sandwich plate into her picnic basket. “So how's Spike doin'? He seemed to have things under control when I picked up that book for Apple Bloom.”
	
	“He does fine most of the time,” Twilight said. “Sometimes things sneak up on him, though. Mostly the stuff you don't have to deal with on a regular basis. Like this morning I had to help him sort through all the overdue fees.”
	
	“Are there that many ponies who forgot to bring their books back?”
	
	Twilight shrugged. “The library has been getting busier and busier ever since Spike took it over. He must be doing something right. I think it might be because he's a bit better at bringing in books that appeal to more ponies.”
	
	“He ordered popular stuff instead of those magical analysis books you'd always get?” Applejack asked.  Twilight frowned, and Applejack chuckled. “You're still bitter that he donated all those vintage magic encyclopedias to the Canterlot Museum, aren't you?”
	
	“They may have been a bit outdated, but they were still worth keeping around!”
	
	“A bit outdated?” Applejack asked with a smirk. “I don't know much about magic, but I'm pretty sure those things were out of date before your grandpa got his cutie mark.”
	
	“Yes, yes, I know.” Twilight sighed. “The museum probably has more use for them than I do, anyway. It was just nice to have something like that lying around.  Every library should have some really old books.”
	
	“They're probably safer in the museum anyway,” Applejack said. “Don't have to worry about Rainbow Dash crashin' into them.”
	
	Off in the distance, the clock tower chimed.
	
	“Well, I should probably get going,” Twilight said. “Bon Bon wanted me back at the shop. Same time tomorrow?”
	
	“Sure thing. Might want to have lunch inside though. I think RD's got some rain scheduled tomorrow.” Applejack gave Twilight a peck on the cheek. Then she picked up the picnic basket and sauntered towards the house. “I'll see you later, Twi.”
	
	“You too, Applejack. Good luck with Apple Bloom.”
	
	“Don't you worry about her. I'll get something figured out. Goodbye!”
	
	“Bye!”
	
	Twilight gave a final wave and headed back into town.
	
	
	
	Big Macintosh stood in the kitchen, packing up the remnants of the lunch that he had just shared with Granny. The house was so much quieter when Applejack was out with Twilight. He enjoyed it. It gave him time to think. Not that he didn't enjoy his sister's company, but after working with her all morning it was nice to collect his thoughts. He had already collected most of them, and he was just about ready to get back to work.
	
	As if on cue, Applejack pranced inside.
	
	“You look happy,” he said.
	
	“That's 'cause I am!” Applejack dropped the picnic basket on the table. “It's a nice day, the apples are lookin' beautiful, and I had a great talk with Twilight over lunch. You remember how awkward we used to be?”
	
	Big Macintosh smiled and nodded. “Eeyup.”
	
	“It's so silly. Hard to believe we ever had so much trouble talkin' like this. Everything is just goin' so well now!”
	
	“What about Apple Bloom?”
	
	“Ah, right. Well, I think I got that figured out.” Applejack took a seat at the table, across from her brother. “You know that travelin' minotaur rodeo that came to town a few days ago?”
	
	Macintosh nodded. “Apple Bloom wanted to go see it.”
	
	“Well, I got two tickets for their show tonight. I figure it'll cheer her up a bit.”
	
	“Why didn't you tell her this morning?”
	
	Applejack shrugged. “She has enough trouble stayin' focused without her thinkin' about that all day. Besides, she's gotta learn how to deal with bein' grumpy. I'm not always gonna be able to cheer her up. I figure I can get my share of the apple sortin' done this afternoon while she does her homework, then we can head out to the rodeo.”
	
	“Uh, about that...” Big Macintosh raised an eyebrow. “You said that you'd take care of my share of it. Remember? Because I harvested your part of the east field. Cheerilee and I are going out tonight.”
	
	Applejack's face fell. “Ah crud. I did say that, didn't I? And it's too late for you to reschedule, isn't it?”
	
	“I could talk to Cheerilee—”
	
	“No, no, this is my problem.” Applejack rubbed her forehead. “I don't want to get in between you two. I just have to figure out how to get that done and still get Apple Bloom to that rodeo tonight.” She sighed. “I guess I should get goin'. I got a lot of work to do.”
	
	
	
	
	A bead of sweat ran down Twilight's brow. She hadn't studied this hard for anything since her snowplow license examination. She had lost a few nights' worth of sleep over that one. Fortunately there wasn't a lot of content to memorize, but she had to know it exactly.
	
	“Small box is fifteen bits. Medium box is twenty-two bits. Large box is thirty bits. Pure chocolate is ten bits per pound. Truffles are twenty-five bits a pound. Chocolate-covered strawberries are nine bits for a dozen, sixteen bits for two dozen. Peanut brittle is— AHH!”
	
	She spun around as she heard the door slam behind her. Spike stumbled into the library, balancing a stack of books that was taller than he was. He zig-zagged across the room, trying to keep himself from toppling over. He made it as far as the desk, at which point the books crashed down like an avalanche.
	
	“Spike! I was using that!” Twilight pointed at the corner of her study sheet, which was now buried under a pile of botanical almanacs.
	
	“Sorry.” Spike shook his head and started to rearrange the books. “I just got back from Roseluck's house. Apparently some Poison Joke seeds got mixed in with her rose bushes. She was looking for a way to get rid of it without turning green or growing an extra tail or something. She didn't find anything.”
	
	“Well, I wouldn't think she would,” Twilight said as she dug her papers out from under the books. “Poison joke doesn't occur naturally in Equestria. It's only known to grow in the Everfree Forest, so nopony has really studied it. Did you recommend that Super-Naturals remedy book?”
	
	“I did, but that only says how to cure it once you get hit with it, not how to prevent getting affected to start with. She doesn't want to set hoof in her garden until she finds some way to immunize herself.”
	
	“Why don't you take her to see Zecora?”
	
	“You honestly think that Roseluck would go into the Everfree Forest voluntarily?” Spike asked. “It's surprising enough that she ever comes out of her house. I offered to take her out there myself.”
	
	“And?”
	
	“She said she'd go, but I really doubt she’s actually going to. Something will probably mysteriously come up and she'll be busy. If she can't she'll either have to wait for Zecora to come into town, or else break out her hazmat suit.”
	
	Twilight shook her head. “Why does she even have that thing?”
	
	“I think her brother used to work at an extreme hot sauce company or something.”  He shrugged. “Apparently some of that stuff is so hot it can make your coat fall out.”
	
	“Huh.” Twilight nodded. “I never knew that.”
	
	“Yeah, me neither. Anyway, what are you so busy with?” He stared at Twilight, who was already back to reading her packet. “Snowplow license renewal? You don't need that for months yet.”
	
	“Bon Bon is going to let me run the register all by myself, and wants to make sure that I have all the prices down. I wouldn't want to cost her money.”
	
	“Of course.” Spike rolled his eyes. “You don't want me to help you study, do you? I was going to take a nap.”
	
	“I think I'll be fine on my own,” She said as Spike walked towards his room. “You must be exhausted after carrying all those books back here.”
	
	“It's not the books that tired me out. It was dealing with Roseluck. Seriously, when I asked her about her overdue books you'd have thought that she was under attack by parasprites or something. It took me half an hour just to get her to stop hyperventilating. And then I mentioned the Everfree forest...” His eye twitched.
	
	“No wonder you're tired.”
	
	“Yeah.” Spike headed up the steps. “Wake me when it's time for dinner, okay?”
	
	“Sure thing, Spike.”
	
	He yawned, and disappeared into his room. Twilight chuckled to herself and returned to her studies. “Let's see, cordial cherries are—”
	
	The library door whipped open again. Twilight sighed and turned around, half expecting to see an on-the-verge-of-fainting Roseluck clutching a book that Spike had forgotten. Instead, she saw Applejack. “Oh, hello!” Twilight's face lit up. Applejack's didn't. “What brings you by?”
	
	“I, uh...” Applejack dug at the floor for a moment before looking Twilight in the eyes. “I didn't wanna spring this on you on such short notice, but I have a favor to ask.”
	
	
	
	Apple Bloom sighed. It wasn't fair. Everypony always told her that lying was bad, and you should never do it. She had thought that Cheerilee knew that. You were supposed to say things the way they were. But apparently, that didn't apply to math homework. Sure, Cheerilee had told them they'd only have half a dozen math problems, but she hadn't said anything about each problem having sections a, b, c, d, e, and f. That wasn't one problem, that was six problems pretending to be one problem.
	
	“You do the stuff in the parentheses first, right?”
	
	“Eeyup.” Big Macintosh nodded. “Parentheses first, then exponents, then multiplication and division, then addition and subtraction.”
	
	“Right.” Apple Bloom re-read the problem. “The laundry pony makes forty bars of laundry soap every week, and sells them for ten bits each. Before she could sell them, mice ate eight of the bars of soap. If she keeps the mice from eating any more of the soap, how many bits will she be able to make after six weeks?” She looked up at her brother. “What kinda mice eat soap anyway? And why would she only make forty bars?  Even I know you’re supposed to have extra product around in case something like this happens! And how am I supposed to know how many bits she'll make? What if she doesn't sell 'em all, or if somepony haggles her down?”
	
	“You're overthinking it,” Macintosh said. “If you spent half the time working that you did complaining, you'd be done.”
	
	“I know, I know, but it's just so boring. What do I need to know this for, anyway?”
	
	“Knowing how many apples you need to sell, how much you need to sell them for, how much money you need to set aside for supplies, things like that.”
	
	“Okay, fine.” Apple Bloom took a deep breath as she tried to think of a way around her brother's answer. “But why can't I learn that stuff by doin' it rather than readin' about it? It'd be more fun and I'd actually be helpin'”
	
	“Last time we tried that, we had to give Bon Bon half a cart of apples for free.”
	
	“Oh, right...” Apple Bloom blushed and went back to her work. 
	
	“Hey, Apple Bloom!” Applejack strode into the kitchen, a wide smile on her face. “How's the homework comin'?”
	
	“Same as always. It ain't.”
	
	“Well, you better finish it up. We got something we gotta do after dinner.”
	
	“Really?” Apple Bloom raised a suspicious eyebrow. Her sister was clearly hiding something. “I didn't think we had anything important goin' on.”
	
	“Is that so?” Applejack took a seat next to her sister. “I heard that there's some sorta rodeo thing in town tonight. Couple of minotaurs ridin' goats around and racin' and stuff.” She reached into her hat. “I may have managed to grab a couple tickets.”
	
	“You did!?” Apple Bloom's eyes lit up like lightbulbs. “Really?”
	
	“Sure did! Got 'em right here!” Applejack slapped the tickets down on the table. “Right after dinner, we're gonna head out. Only if you've got your homework done, of course. You think you can get it finished up before dinner?”
	
	“I sure can!”
	
	“Great. Big Macintosh can check it for you. Now then, I gotta go get some work done so I'll be ready for tonight. I'll see you later, okay?” Applejack patted Apple Bloom on the head, and nodded at her brother. “Make sure she doesn't skip anything, okay?”
	
	“Eeyup.”
	
	
	
	“I really do hate to do this to you,” Applejack said as she swung the barn door open. “I tried to get as much of it done this afternoon, but unfortunately I didn't get too far.”
	
	“It doesn't look so bad.” Twilight surveyed the barn. The apple cart was parked against the wall, half-full of apples. Against the far wall were an absurdly large number of baskets, also filled with apples. Stacked next to the cart were a slightly less-absurd number of empty baskets. “It's only, what, a dozen baskets worth?”
	
	“I hate to break it to you, but it's probably twice that. Maybe more.” Applejack sighed. “Are you sure you really wanna do this? I mean, I could do it after I get back from the rodeo.”
	
	Twilight shook her head. “No way! It'll already be late when you get back, and if you spend any more time doing this, you won't get to bed until like two in the morning! I'll be perfectly fine! I needed to spend some time somewhere that isn't the library or the chocolate shop.”
	
	“Well, I really appreciate it. I haven't gotten to hang out with Apple Bloom in I don't even know how long. You know how this goes, right?”
	
	“Of course. Good apples go over there with the others, bruised or rotten ones go on the compost heap behind the barn.”
	
	“I knew you'd be on top of things.” Applejack kissed Twilight on the cheek. “I better get goin'. If I don't get out of here I'm gonna start helpin' you and then I'll be stuck here till we're done.”
	
	“I'll try to get everything done before you get back,” Twilight said as she levitated two of the baskets into position.
	
	“Good luck. That cart's more full than it looks.” She started out the door. “If it gets too late, feel free to head home. No point in keepin' you here all night. See you later.”
	
	“Wait.” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Aren't you going to give me a goodnight kiss?”
	
	“Uh, Twilight?” Applejack raised her own eyebrow, in confusion. “I just did. Like five seconds ago.”
	
	“Oh. I guess you did. I must be more tired than I thought.”
	
	“Well, here's another one.” Applejack trotted back into the barn and pecked Twilight on the cheek. “That oughta hold you over. If I don't see you when I get back, goodnight! See you tomorrow!”
	
	“B-bye.” Twilight said, blushing furiously. Applejack waved at her one last time before sliding the barn door shut. In the distance Twilight could hear Applejack calling for her sister. She shook her head and turned her attention to the baskets. Maybe they could distract her from the lump in her throat.
	
	
	
	“And what about when then they made that pyramid! And then that tiny minotaur dove off the top and then landed on the goat!” Apple Bloom leaped into the air and came down on her sister's back. “That was so cool!”
	
	“Yeah, it was pretty fun to watch.” Applejack grunted as she shoved her sister off. She took a moment to straighten the foam pair of horns that sat on Apple Bloom's head. “I don't even think that I could've done some of those rope tricks. Probably 'cause I don't have any fingers.” She rubbed her eyes. She hadn't expected things to go as long as they had. Thank Celestia they were almost back to the house.
	
	She glanced at the barn; the light was still on. “Apple Bloom, why don't you head back to the house and tell Big Macintosh about everything? I got something to take care of.”
	
	“Okay!” Apple Bloom galloped towards the house.
	
	Applejack slowly pushed the barn door open. Twilight sat in the middle of the floor amidst a scattering of baskets. To her credit, the apple cart was nearly empty.
	
	“Good. Good. Good. Good. Bruised. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Rotten. Good Good-”
	
	“Hey, Twilight!”
	
	“Ah!” Twilight jumped as she realized she was no longer alone in the barn. “Oh, hello, Applejack! How was the show?”
	
	“Suprisingly entertainin'. I'll tell you a bit more tomorrow. I'm pretty tuckered out.” She looked at the apple baskets. “You got quite a bit done.”
	
	“Yeah, it took me a bit to get the rhythm down, but I figured it out.”
	
	“Well, you made a big dent in my work. You can get back home and I'll finish up the rest tomorrow.”
	
	“Okay.” Twilight stood up with a surprising abruptness. “Are you sure you don't want to hang around, and uh... finish stuff up?”
	
	“Nah.” Applejack shook her head. “Just watchin' those Minotaurs flippin' around and whatnot tired me out. I've gotta hit the sack if I'm gonna get anything done tomorrow. Same goes for you. You gotta be well rested to prove to Bon Bon that you're ready to work the register yourself. I'd hate for you to mess that up 'cause you were stuck here.”
	
	“I... I guess you're right,” Twilight said with an odd resignation. “I suppose I'll see you tomorrow. Although before, I go, I just... uh...”
	
	“You just whOA!” Applejack found herself flat on her back on a pile of hay as Twilight lunged forward. In a flash, Twilight's mouth was pressed against hers. Her heart pounded. They had kissed before, of course, but this was a kiss. For an eternally long moment, she couldn't hear anything but blood pulsing in her ears or feel anything other than the heat from Twilight's body.
	
	She gasped as Twilight finally released her. The unicorn was breathing heavily. “I... I should go. See you at lunch tomorrow.” Without waiting for a response, she turned and walked quickly out the door.
	
	“Goodnight, Twilight!” Applejack called after her. She flopped back onto the hay. All of her limbs felt like rubber. What little energy was left in her body had been sucked out. Everything was full of pins and needles. “What the hay was that about?”
	
	
	
	
	“Mmmm cake...” Spike mumbled, and rolled over in his bed. “Sapphires.... frosting.... Ah! No! Not the card catalogue!”
	
	He jolted out of his slumber as the library door slammed. He rubbed his eyes just in time to see Twilight trot past him. “Twilight?” He squinted at the clock, but couldn't make out the numbers. “What time is it?”
	
	“Late. Go back to sleep, Spike.”
	
	“Okay.” He yawned, turned back over, and hoped that he would dream about food, and not about the library.
	
	
	
	Applejack stumbled into the kitchen with a yawn. “Is that cinnamon-apple oatmeal I smell?”
	
	“Eeyup.” Big Macintosh nodded. “Your bowl's on the table. How was the rodeo?”
	
	“A lot of fun, actually. Never thought I'd see half a dozen minotaurs makin' an upside down pyramid on top of a goat.”
	
	“I'm glad you had a good time,” Macintosh said, stirring the pot.
	
	“Yeah, Apple Bloom really enjoyed herself. It was nice finally gettin' to spend a bit of time with her. I still gotta help out with her applebuckin'. She says she can almost get all the apples of a tree with one kick. You think she's gotten that far yet?”
	
	“I dunno.” He shrugged. “She's definitely improving, but I don't know how much.”
	
	“Well, if she doesn't have much homework today, maybe she can show me. There are probably a couple trees left for her to practice on.” She began to shovel brown sugar into her bowl.
	
	Big Macintosh nodded again. “Just as long as you get the sortin' done. How far did Twilight get last night?”
	
	“Huh? Twilight?” Applejack stared at her brother, the events of last night replaying in her mind. She felt her ears starting to get warm.
	
	“You had her sortin' out apples while you were at the rodeo, didn't you?”
	
	“Oh, yeah, right. I did.”
	
	“Well, how many apples did she get sorted?”
	
	“A lot,” Applejack said. “I can finish it. Won't take long.”
	
	“That's good. How's Twilight doing, anyway? I haven't talked to her in a while.”
	
	“She's doin'…. Okay, I guess,” Applejack said absently. She was more focused on trying to keep her heartbeat from speeding up.
	
	“Is something wrong?” Big Macintosh asked.
	
	“Not like, wrong wrong,” Applejack said. “She was just actin' a little strange is all.”
	
	“Strange? What kind of strange?”
	
	“She was... just... it's nothing you need to worry about.” She shoved an overly large spoonful of oatmeal into her mouth.
	
	Big Macintosh just shrugged. “Well, I'm going to go get Apple Bloom up. Keep an eye on the oatmeal.”
	
	“Okay,” Applejack mumbled between mouthfuls. Even with all the sweetness, she could still feel her lips tingling. 
	
	
	Spike clamored out of bed. He had dreamed about food, but they had all been salads. It was hardly ideal. Still, it beat dreams about getting dumped into the Canterlot Library and being forced to re-organize everything. And it certainly beat waking up in the morning. The only thing that kept him going at the moment was the smell of breakfast wafting out of the kitchen. He headed downstairs.
	
	“Twilight?” She didn't seem to be anywhere. He looked into the kitchen. “Anypony home?”
	
	The only thing he saw was a covered tray with a note taped to it. He picked it off and began to read.
	
		Here's scrambled eggs for breakfast. I have things to do. See you later.
	
	— Twilight
	
	P.S. Don't forget to fill out your reimbursement forms.
	
	Spike turned the note over, checking to see if he had missed anything. It was unusually terse. Even for a regular pony, it was quite brief. For Twilight... this was the first time in years that she had actually managed to limit her message to a single piece of paper. Whatever was bothering her really must be a pressing matter.
	
	He shrugged. She hadn't woken him up, so there probably wasn't anything he could do about it. It was probably something to do with Applejack. Lately, he hadn't thought too much about that. When he did, it was only a matter of time before his mind wandered towards where they might be in, oh, a year or so. And that got him thinking about where he would be in a year, and he didn't have any idea.
	
	So instead of thinking about that, he thought about breakfast. He took the cover off of the plate and inhaled. The eggs were still warm. Twilight must not have been gone long. His first bite was halfway to his mouth when somepony knocked on the door. Spike sighed. He opened the door, and Applejack poked her head into the library.
	
	“Morning, Spike,” She said. “How are you doin'?”
	
	“I'm fine,” he answered, trying to suppress a yawn. “What are you doing here?”
	
	“Just lookin' for Twilight. I gotta talk to her about... something. Is she here?”
	
	“Nope. She left right before I got up. Says she had something to do.” He held up Twilight's note.
	
	Applejack took it, and examined it from every angle.  “That's it?”
	
	“I know, right? Whatever it was, it must have been something really important. You have any idea what it might be?”
	
	“Uh, maybe it's...” Applejack stared into space, as if she were watching something completely different in her head. “...something. Well, if she comes back, tell her I gotta talk to her, okay? I'll be at the farm.”
	
	“Sure thing, Applejack. See you later.” He waved as she trotted off. “'It's something.' Of course it's something!” he mumbled to himself as he returned to the kitchen. “I wish I knew what that something was. Hope they didn't have another fight. I don't think I could take Twilight being mopey again.” He shrugged and turned his attention back to his eggs. “Crud, they're cold.”
	
	
	
	Twilight passed the front door of the Carousel Boutique for the dozenth time that morning. She had been up and down the full length of the street enough times that more than a few ponies were curious. Unfortunately, the note taped to the Boutique's door remained exactly where it had been, aside from a loose corner that fluttered in the breeze.
	
		I am out on business today and will return this evening. Please slip any order forms under the door. Carousel Boutique apologizes for any inconvenience.
	
	At first she had clung to the hope that it was one of those days where Rarity simply wanted to relax and had closed the boutique to give herself a holiday. Unfortunately, there was no indication that the note was anything but truthful. The windows were dark, and there was no scent of tea or scones. The shop was silent; Sweetie Belle obviously hadn't dropped by to visit, and as far as Twilight could tell, Opal was nowhere to be found. Rarity was probably browsing the Canterlot Fabric Outlet.
	
	Twilight bit her lip and trotted in place in front of Rarity's door. She had to talk to somepony.
	
	“Twilight, are you okay? If you need a bathroom that badly, I'm sure Bon Bon would let you use the one at the shop.”
	
	“Huh?” Twilight froze for a second, then turned around.
	
	“Well, you were doing your little potty dance thing,” Lyra said. She took a few stationary steps in imitation of Twilight. “Weren't you?”
	
	“No, no, I'm fine.” Twilight sighed. “It's just... I really needed to talk to Rarity about something.” She looked to the clock tower. “I guess I'm not going to get the chance this morning. What are you doing up already? You usually aren't even awake when I get to work.”
	
	“Bon Bon ran out of cherries.” Lyra held up the bag. “I did her a favor. She has enough to do without worrying about that.”
	
	“I didn't mess up the inventory, did I?”
	
	“Not at all,” Lyra said. “She just miscounted. It happens. What are you so worked up about, anyway?”
	
	“Oh, it's nothing.”
	
	“Sure doesn't look like nothing,” Lyra said as she bumped Twilight with her shoulder. “Come on, what happened?”
	
	“Nothing.” She hung her head. “That's kinda the problem, I guess.”
	
	“What do you mean?”
	
	“Well, last night, Applejack kissed me...”
	
	“And this is a problem why?” Lyra scratched her head. “I mean, it's been like a year! Isn't that kind of a regular thing by now?”
	
	“That's the whole problem!” Twilight groaned and started trotting towars the chocolate shop.
	
	“What is?” Lyra followed a few steps behind Twilight. “How is getting kissed a problem?”
	
	“It's not that she kissed me, it's that... When you first started going out with Bon Bon, you got sort of a... a feeling, right? It wasn't just me?”
	
	“Sure did,” Lyra said, a nostalgic glint in her eyes.
	
	“Well, when Applejack and I first got together, it was like that. Just talking to her... it felt like... it gave me a rush, I guess. Whenever she kissed me, it was like my whole body turned into a gelatinous substance.”
	
	“That's... not quite how I'd phrase it, but I know what you mean. Does the whole wobbly legs thing make it tough to walk or something?” Lyra asked.
	
	“No. Well, yes, but that's not the problem.” Twilight looked up and down the street. Applejack was nowhere to be seen. Twilight brought her voice to a whisper anyway. “It's that I haven't felt it.”
	
	“You haven't?”
	
	“No! I hadn't really thought about it much before, but I realized last night that I haven't felt anything in months! Applejack kissed me! She kissed me, and... and I didn't even notice! Just brushing up against her used to almost knock me off my hooves. I used to get giddy just at the prospect of talking to her.”
	
	“Yeaaahhh...” Lyra nodded. “I might just be dumb, but I'm not seeing exactly what the problem is.”
	
	“The problem is that everything is normal! When we first started going out, it was so new and exciting! Whenever we were together everything just felt... I don't even know how to describe it. But after last night... that's when I realized that all those feelings are gone. Our relationship used to be so special. But now it feels like just one more part of my life.” Twilight reared up and flailed her forelegs. “It's routine!”
	
	“I see.”
	
	“And that's not the worst part. What if it means...” Twilight checked her surroundings again, and whispered so softly that Lyra could barely hear her. “What if it means that my romantic feelings for Applejack are... are... going away?” The last two words barely made it out of her mouth.
	
	“Why would you think that!?”
	
	“Because I don't get that... that feeling anymore!” Twilight's voice shook. “And it got me thinking. Back when I first realized that I was... interested in Applejack, I talked to Rarity about it. And she told me that it was probably just a crush. She talked about how those things can just appear out of nowhere... and how they could go away just as quickly! What if that's what's happening? What if the whole thing was just a phase, and I'm moving out of it?” She began to breathe more quickly. “I can't do that to Applejack! We were finally starting to get things figured out.”
	
	“First of all, calm down.” Lyra said with a smirk as she patted Twilight on the back. “I seriously doubt that things are that bad.”
	
	Twilight gave her a surprisingly desperate glance. “Really?”
	
	“Well, I think the problem is... well...” Her voice trailed off.
	
	“Is what!?”
	
	“On second thought, I don't know if I can explain it,” Lyra said. “I know that Bon Bon and I have been together for longer than you and Applejack have, but in the grand scheme of things, we're far from having everything figured out. I think I know what the problem is, but I don't think I understand it well enough myself to tell you what to do.”
	
	“I see,” Twilight said, completely deflated. “Well, thanks anyway.”
	
	“I didn't say I wouldn't help!” Lyra said indignantly. “I might not be able to give you any pointers myself, but I can point you in the right direction.”
	
	“What do you mean?”
	
	“I'll just have you talk to the pony who helped me get through my problems.”
	
	“Your... problems?” Twilight spoke as if she didn't understand the words.
	
	“What, you didn't think that Bon Bon and I figured everything out ourselves, did you?” Lyra chuckled. “It's not like I've never had my doubts, and I needed plenty of help getting over them. The pony that helped me can totally explain this better than I ever could.”
	
	“Another pony?” Twilight bit her lip. “I'm not sure I want to bring anypony else into this. It would just be awkward.”
	
	“Don't worry.” Lyra winked. “I think that it's somepony you’ll be comfortable with. But for now, we better get moving. Relationship or no relationship, Bon Bon wants you at the shop on time.”
	
	
	
	“Ha! That's six bushels!” Apple Bloom put a giant checkmark on her side of the clipboard. “Now I only gotta get” —she looked at Applejack's side of the board; it was covered with tally marks— “like three dozen more to beat you, I guess.” She sighed and deflated slightly. And then perked up almost immediately. “Wait a sec! You got a head start cause you've been out here all day! How many apples did you sell since I got out of school?”
	
	“Well, countin' these” —Applejack pointed at the large sack of apples that Carrot Top was hauling away from the apple cart— “I'd say maybe two dozen, give or take.”
	
	“Two dozen!?” Apple Bloom gasped. “But we didn't even have that many apples in the cart, did we?”
	
	“'Course we did!” Applejack said with a grin. “Cart holds thousands of apples. Then again, most of those are bulk orders that we have for pickup. Small wonder I ended up sellin' more than you.”
	
	“How are we supposed to have a contest if you get to do all the bulk orders?” Apple Bloom asked, scowling at her sister. “It ain't fair!”
	
	“Well, the whole contest thing was your idea.” Applejack ruffled her sister's bow. “If you're gonna try to compete with somepony, you gotta make sure the rules are fair or it isn't gonna be much of a match. Like, remember how Rainbow Dash challenged me to that Iron Pony competition? When we were settin' that up—”
	
	“Hey, Twilight! Want some apples!?”
	
	“Huh?” Applejack looked up and sure enough, Twilight was ambling down the street. Oddly enough, she didn't really seem to have even registered that Apple Bloom was calling to her. She trotted straight forward with a rather blank look in her eyes. Apple Bloom trotted into the street, balancing an apple on her head.
	
	“Twilight! You want to buy some fresh, juicy—  Whoa!”
	
	Applejack shook her head as she watched the inevitable collision of her oblivious marefriend and her over-enthusiastic sibling. The apple that Apple Bloom had been balancing went flying. Applejack caught it and placed it delicately back in the cart, before turning her attention to the aftermath of the collision. “You two alright?”
	
	“Yeah, yeah.” Apple Bloom sheepishly got up and dusted herself off with her tail. Then she retreated cautiously back to the cart, wary of any other oncoming pedestrians.
	
	“What about you, Twilight? You okay?”
	
	“Yes! Fine!” Twilight sprang upright. She plastered a gigantic smile onto her face. “Don't I look fine?”
	
	“Uh, not really,” Applejack said. “You look more like you're tryin' to look fine, and it ain't quite workin'. Is something buggin' you?”
	
	“I, uh, well...” She glanced at Apple Bloom and lowered her voice. “I was just... thinking about what happened last night.”
	
	“Heh, yeah.” Applejack couldn't resist putting on a slightly salacious grin. “I gotta say I wasn't expectin' that.”
	
	“Huh? What happened last night?” Apple Bloom asked.
	
	Applejack chuckled and tried to take some of the lasciviousness out of her face. “Nothin' that concerns you.”
	
	“Oh, stuff about apple sortin'?” Apple Bloom rolled her eyes and busied herself with polishing a few apples for when another customer came by.
	
	“So, uh, what about last night?” Applejack said quietly, not wanting to draw her sister's attention. “What... uh... what brought that on?”
	
	“Well, it was just... because... I thought that...” Twilight groaned. “I don't know. I wish I could tell you what was going through my head, but to be honest I'm not sure myself. I really need to talk it over with somepony.”
	
	“If that's how things are, then I'm more than willin' to talk about it! I mean, I'll have to get Big Mac down here to keep an eye on the cart, but—”
	
	“No, no, you don't have to do that. I was actually just going to see somepony when I ran into Apple Bloom.” She swallowed. “I know this is going to sound really weird, but I feel like it would be best to talk it over with somepony who... isn't you. I need to talk with somepony who really knows what they're talking about.”
	
	“Are you sayin' I don't know what I'm talkin' about?” Applejack asked with a smirk.
	
	“Yes, NO!” Twilight shook her head violently. “That's not what I meant at all!”
	
	“I know that,” Applejack said. She giggled. A year ago she would have been worried, but by now she almost liked it when Twilight put her hoof in her mouth. She was so cute when she backpedaled. “What did you actually mean?”
	
	“I want to talk to somepony who's actually got some experience with relationships,” Twilight said. “Just to get some perspective. I know that we should talk about it, but I'm not even sure what I'd say. I'm sorry.”
	
	“You don't worry yourself about that, okay?” Applejack said. “I under... well, I don't really understand, but I can wait a bit if you think it'll help you get everything figured out. Just don't leave me in the dark for too long, okay?”
	
	Twilight nodded. “Believe me, I don't want to hide anything. It's just that I think the whole thing might just be in my head and I don't want to get you dragged into it if it's nothing. As soon as I get my thoughts straight, I'll tell you everything, okay?”
	
	“Alright then, you know where to find me.” She smiled and kissed Twilight on the cheek. “You better get going. Wouldn't want to keep whoever it is waitin'.”
	
	“No, I wouldn't. I'll talk to you later, then. See you later, Applejack.” Twilight paused, then turned away and trotted down the road.
	
	“Bye.” Applejack waved after her. She wondered what could be bothering her so much. Sure, Twilight had jumped on her out of nowhere, but it sure hadn't been a bad thing. Maybe it was just Twilight's nerves getting the better of her. That happened quite a bit. Applejack decided not to think about it too much. “Hey, Apple Bloom, we got another group of customers comin' down the road! Quit polishin' and get to sellin'.”
	