# A Delicate Balance

## by JapaneseTeeth

### Elegy III: Change

This should do it. If there’s anything that’s going to tell me whether or not Applejack might be ready to make things permanent, this is it. Wait, no, I shouldn’t get my hopes up. It might not be that easy to figure everything out. I have to be realistic about this. And I don’t want to mess up dinner, either. Forget the analyzing; it hasn’t helped me much and it’ll just make me uncomfortable. I need to focus on just having a nice dinner with Applejack and her family.

Although thy hand and faith, and good works too,

Have seal'd thy love which nothing should undo,

Yea though thou fall back, that apostasy

Confirm thy love; yet much, much I fear thee.

Women are like the Arts, forc'd unto none,

--Elegy III: Change,

John Donne

“Do I look okay, Spike?”

Spike looked up from his comic. Twilight had just emerged from the bathroom after spending the past twenty minutes standing in front of the mirror with a comb and jumbo-size bottle of hairspray.

“You look exactly the same as you always do,” he said. “How can you spend so long doing your hair without actually doing anything?”

“Perfect!” Twilight smiled.

“Huh?” Spike furrowed his brow. “What are you talking about? You want to look the same as always?”

“Of course,” Twilight said matter-of-factly. “It would be disrespectful to look too disheveled, but I don’t want to be too made up either because it’s such an informal dinner.”

“So, in other words, you could have just saved some time and not bothered with your mane?”

Twilight frowned, then sighed. “Yeah. I’m overthinking again, aren’t I?”

“Just a little,” Spike rolled his eyes and returned to reading his comic. Humdrum had just received superpowers as the result of a magic rock from space, and Spike wanted to see what he did before some plot device returned him to normal. “I put your salad in the fridge so it wouldn’t wilt while you were… doing nothing with your mane.”

“Thanks, Spike.” Twilight playfully ruffled his spines. “Are you sure you don’t want to come along?”

“Are you kidding? I have my evening all planned out already.”

“Do you, now?” Twilight said, trying and failing not to let her skepticism show.

“Yeah!” Spike nodded. “I mean, yeah, the plan consists of ‘Eat lots of chili, then eat lots of ice cream, then read comic books until I fall asleep,’ but it’s still a plan.”

“I guess it is. Technically.” Twilight allowed a bit of mild concern into her voice. “But not too much ice cream, okay? Remember what happened last time you ate so much at once?”

“Yeah, because you never let me forget it.” Spike stood up and gave her a shove toward the door. “Now get going! You don’t want to be late!”

“Wait, I have to get my salad!”

Spike groaned. “What do you need a salad for? I thought Applejack said you didn’t have to bring anything. It’s not like it’s a potluck or anything.”

“I know,” Twilight said as she went into the kitchen. “I just wanted to do something nice for them. Cheerilee said that she’s bringing a dessert.”

“Why?” Spike asked. “Applejack makes like the best pie ever! Why would she need to bring a dessert?!”

“That’s what I said.” Twilight emerged from the kitchen, balancing a large bowl on her back. “Her argument was that apple pie doesn’t have chocolate in it, and therefore it isn’t a dessert, no matter how good it is.”

“Can’t argue with that logic, I guess,” Spike conceded. “Well, have a good time. Tell everypony I said hello.”

“Of course, Spike. I’ll see you tonight. If you’re still awake when I get back, of course. Don’t wait up.”

“Oh, I won’t,” he answered. “Have a good time.”

Twilight nodded. “I’m pretty sure I will.”

“Apple Bloom, finish puttin’ out all the place settings! Granny, you check on the casserole. I’ll finish slicin’ the bread!”

Everything had been planned out perfectly. The entire prep for the dinner had been organized so efficiently that Twilight would have been proud. Well, apart from the tremendous oversight that Big Macintosh couldn’t be in two places at once, as he was slotted to both manage the stove and to go pick up Cheerilee. Naturally, when forced to choose between the two, he had gone with his marefriend.

“Why’d Big Mac have to go get Miss Cheerilee?” Apple Bloom asked as she stumbled towards the table, precariously balancing a stack of plates on top of her head. “She knows where we live! She can find her own way.”

“He’s just bein’ polite, Apple Bloom.” Applejack sniffed at the loaf of bread before plucking a knife out of the holder and beginning to slice.

“Then why aren’t you goin’ to pick up Twilight? You aren’t bein’ unpolite are you?”

“First off it’s ‘impolite’,” Applejack said, leaving the knife halfway through the loaf. “Second, she told me not to bother because she wanted me to be able to help out with the food. If both me and Mac were out, it would mean that you and Granny would have to do everything yourself. And somethin’ tells me that that wouldn’t end well, would it?”

“Darn tootin’!” Granny said with a nod, only half listening to what her granddaughters were talking about. She set the casserole on the counter and sniffed it. “Needs a bit more salt.” She pawed around the various bottles on the spice rack, nabbing one labeled “Black Tartarus Pepper”. As she popped the cap off, a wisp of smoke hissed from the holes. “Here we go!”

“Whoa there, Granny.” Applejack snatched the bottle out of Granny’s grip and replaced it with a saltshaker. “We don’t want anypony breathin’ flames at the table. You really oughta get some glasses.” She stuck the pepper bottle back in the rack. “Dunno why we even have that around here.” She turned back to Apple Bloom, who now had a stack of cups on her head. Applejack steadied the wobbling tower of glasses. “Good thing I decided to stick around.”

“Yeah, that’s probably good,” Apple Bloom admitted as she carefully set the cups down. “Why didn’t Big Mac hang around?”

“‘Cause Twilight already said it was okay to stay here. Saves Big Macintosh the trouble of havin’ to ask Cheerilee about it. Besides, now he owes me a favor. Not a real big favor, but I’ll take it.”

She snatched the casserole away from Granny and set it on the table. Everything seemed to be in order. There was no reason to try and impress Twilight of course, but Apple Family Dinners tended to run the gamut from “pleasant” to “unmitigated disaster”, and she’d rather not have Twilight’s first impression be on the latter end of the spectrum. She just had to hope that Granny hadn’t tried to “season” any more dishes.

“What time is everypony supposed to get here, anyway?” Apple Bloom said, her question emphasized by a convenient rumble of her stomach. “I’m hungry!”

“I told Twilight to come right at six o’clock,” she glanced at the clock, which was at 5:46. “Which means that she’ll probably show up right about…” she paused, half expecting a perfectly timed knock on the door. There wasn’t one. “Huh, I would’ve thought that she’d be here by now. She’s always showin’ up early to everything.”

“Maybe she forgot.”

“Ha! I don’t think so! Though if she did she’s never gonna hear the end of—” Then the knock came. “Ah, I bet that’s her!”

“I’ll get the door!” Granny announced, and began to trot towards the door with the swiftness of a partially-asleep slug.

Twilight knocked again and called, “Hello? Applejack? Anypony there?”

“Just a sec, Twi!” Applejack called. She took the opportunity to glance over the food on the counter to make sure Granny hadn’t dropped her teeth into anything.

Granny finally reached the door and opened it with an agonizing slowness. “Come on in, dearie!” she said, shuffling to the side to let Twilight through.

“Hey, Twilight!” Apple Bloom bounced towards her, but Applejack pinned her tail to the floor with a hoof.

“No jumpin’ on her!” Applejack said, noting the large bowl of salad Twilight was carrying. “Good to see you, Twi. That is a way bigger salad than I was expectin’.”

“I just wanted to make sure I had enough for everypony,” Twilight said as she put the giant bowl on the table. “Better too much than not enough. You can keep the leftovers.”

“Oh, we’re not gonna have leftovers,” Apple Bloom said. “Not if both Applejack and Big Macintosh are eatin’ on it!” She poked her head over the edge of the table. “Matter of fact, you maybe shoulda brought more.”

“We’ll be fine, Apple Bloom,” Applejack said as she shoved her sister aside so she could get to Twilight. “Though Big Macintosh does go a bit overboard sometimes. You know you’re technically not supposed to show up for like ten more minutes, right?”

“I know, but if I left now, I’d probably run into Pinkie on my way over, and not get here until a quarter after.” She grinned. “Besides, I’m hungry.”

“Aren’t we all?” Applejack said. “As soon as Big Macintosh and Cheerilee get back, we’ll be able to get started.”

“Oh, they were right behind me. They should get here any—”

“Knock knock!” said Cheerilee’s voice from the other side of the door, which was still partially open. “We’re here!”

“I’ll get it!” Apple Bloom bounded over Applejack’s back and threw the door open so hard that it slammed against the wall, rattling the pots and Granny Smith’s teeth. “Hey, Miss Cheerilee!”

“Good evening, Apple Bloom,” Cheerilee said, patting her on the head. “It’s so good to see you all!” She held up a large wrapped platter. “I hope you don’t mind that I brought a plate of brownies.”

“Oh, not at all. Can’t have apple pie all the time.” Applejack winked. “Only most of the time. Why don’t you put it on the counter?” She glanced at the clock. “Okay, it’s a bit early, but what do you say we dig in? No reason to kill any more time.”

Big Macintosh nodded emphatically. “Eeyup.”

“That settles it!” Granny announced. “Everypony sit down and we’ll dig in!”

Applejack couldn’t help but chuckle to herself. Just when she thought she had gotten to the point where all the metaphorical wrinkles were worked out of the relationship, some little goofy thing would pop up and remind her that she didn’t have the matter quite as firmly in hoof as she thought. Of all the complications that could have cropped up, confusion over the seating was the last thing on her mind.

Growing up, the seating pattern had simply been to take whatever spot was closest to you when somepony rang the dinner bell. For special occasions, like a family reunion, you might make an effort to sit next to somepony that would make for interesting conversation, but past that you didn’t really put any effort into it.

Then there was Twilight’s version.

Apparently somepony way back when had come up with an official set of rules to determine who sat where, starting with the head of the household being the one at the head of the table. That rule made sense, but everything after that seemed a bit arbitrary. Apparently there was supposed to be a certain order of seating. Applejack couldn’t make heads or tails of it aside from that Big Macintosh was technically supposed to be seated last.

It wasn’t just a quirk of Twilight’s imagination, either; Cheerilee seemed to have some idea of what they were talking about. Of course, there seemed to be some subtle differences, such as whether a pony was supposed to sit next to, or across from, their significant other. Twilight was quite adamant that couples should be seated across from each other, while Cheerilee insisted that they ought to be side-by-side. Eventually everyone else had decided that it didn’t really matter either way, and they ended up going with the Apple Family sit-in-the-closest-chair system. Twilight, naturally ended up across from Cheerilee, and next to Applejack.

The conversation had started off rather simply. Between requests to pass the whatever, it had been mostly small talk of the “how about this weather?” and “what did you do today?” and “how’s the casserole?” variety. Which was fine with Applejack. It meant she didn’t have to listen too closely and could focus on her food. In fact, she was so focused that it wasn’t until her third helping of casserole that she realized that everyone else had switched their focus to the conversation.

“... and then it exploded because we over-pressurized the air tank,” Apple Bloom was saying. “So after that, Applejack said that she had vepo power over every project from now on.”

“Vepo power?” Cheerilee cocked her head to the side. “What’s a vepo?”

“I think she means ‘veto power’,” Twilight explained. “And I can’t say I blame her. Apparently one of the cart’s axles got driven through one of the barn’s support beams.”

Big Macintosh nodded. “There’s a wheel stuck in the door, too.”

“Oh my,” Cheerilee said, her eyes wide. “Were any of you hurt?”

“Nah, we were fine,” Apple Bloom said. “Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were hidin’ behind a rock, and I had a helmet on. I mean, maybe we shoulda done it farther from the barn, but we were fine!”

“Apple Bloom, if a piece of debris can get stuck in the barn wall, it can go through your helmet,” Cheerilee tried to sound more like a concerned parent and less like a stern teacher. “What would’ve happened if it had hit you in the face?”

“I’d...uh…” She frowned. “I’d need a new face, I guess.”

“Well, you can’t get one. You need to take care of the one you’ve got,” Big Macintosh added between bites of dinner roll.

“I was fine!” Apple Bloom grumbled. “I knew what I was doin’! I had a book and everything!”

“A book, huh?” Twilight rolled her eyes. “Have you ever used an air compressor before?”

“...No.”

“Then I hardly think you qualify as knowing what you’re doing,” Cheerilee said. “While it’s admirable that you want to try new things, you really do need to consider getting some sort of supervision when you do something that’s potentially dangerous.”

“Yeah, well, where am I supposed to find somepony who could do that? Big Macintosh and Applejack are usually too busy to do that stuff.”

Applejack watched Twilight tap her chin with her hoof. “I suppose that if you let me know ahead of time, I could help out,” Twilight offered. “Ever since Spike took over the library, I’ve had a bit more free time, even with the job at Bon Bon’s shop.”

Applejack decided that now was a good time to try to actually join the conversation.

“You’d really do that, Twilight? That would be great.” She paused. “Wait, since when do you know anything about makin’ an airbag?”

Twilight chuckled. “I might not have specifically done that, but I know the proper protocol for experimenting in a risk-free manner.”

“Oh.” Apple Bloom stared at her. “What does that mean?”

“It means that she knows how be safe when you’re tryin’ something new,” Applejack said. “Which means not hookin’ an industrial strength air compressor to an old canister and turnin’ it up as high as it goes.”

“I still don’t understand where they got an industrial strength air compressor,” Cheerilee said, shaking her head.

“Same place they got that industrial strength dryin’ machine,” Applejack said wearily. Then she turned to her sister. “I thought I told you that you weren’t allowed to order stuff outta that Farm Machinery catalogue without askin’.”

“I didn’t order it from the catalogue!” Apple Bloom protested. “Big Macintosh wouldn’t let me have it, so I got one secondhoof from the flea market!”

Big Macintosh nodded in confirmation. “Eeyup. They wanted to get welding stuff, too.”

Applejack stared at her sister.

“What?” Apple Bloom smiled guiltily. “How am I supposed to make a solid frame for the car without bein’ able to weld?”

“You ask somepony else to do it!” Applejack said in exasperation. “I don’t want you settin’ your mane of fire or burnin’ the barn down or something!” This wasn’t the kind of impression that she wanted her family to make on Twilight. Though on the other hoof, it was pretty indicative of a typical Apple Family Dinner.

Twilight sensed Applejack’s momentary discomfort, and began to push things away from Apple Bloom’s misbehavior. “So, Apple Bloom, would you like it if I helped you out with your science project? If Cheerilee is okay with it, of course.”

“I don’t mind as long as they do the work themselves,” Cheerilee said. “And I’m sure there’s no danger of them pawning their work off on you.”

Applejack chuckled. “If anything she’ll probably try to make ‘em learn even more stuff. That sound like a plan, Apple Bloom?”

“Yeah, that would be cool.” She glanced at Twilight with narrowed eyes. “Just as long as Twilight doesn’t start lecturing us about somethin’ boring.”

“Very funny!” Twilight frowned as all the Apple Family members started chuckling. “All I’ll do is make sure you stay on the right track. Mostly. Sound like a plan?”

“I think that’ll work real well, Twilight.” Applejack put a foreleg around her. “Thanks for helpin’ my sister out.”

“It’s no problem at all. It’s almost as if Apple Bloom was my little sister.”

Big Macintosh nodded. “Eeyup.”

“Awww.” Cheerilee smiled, then turned to Big Macintosh. “Isn’t that adorable?”

He shrugged. “I guess so.”

Apple Bloom groaned. “You two aren’t gonna get all sappy, are you?”

At the end of the table Granny Smith blinked a few times. “What’s this about welding, now?”

“Uggghhh…” Spike began to sit up and stopped halfway, as his stomach was in the way. “That was such a bad idea.” He flopped back onto his pillow. The plan was that the spiciness of the chili would be offset by the dairy content of the ice cream. That part had gone flawlessly. Unfortunately, he hadn’t accounted for the volume, and currently it felt not unlike a ball and chain attached to his gut rather than his leg. At least he had all evening to digest. As long as he didn’t move much, it didn’t feel too uncomfortable.

Then there was a knock on the door. He groaned again, hoping that they would go away on their own. The library’s hours of operation were clearly posted next to the door. Yet there was more knocking.

“The library is closed!” he called. “Please come back tomorrow.”

“Spike, is that you?” The voice was familiar. Very familiar. “Could you open the door, please?”

“Sure thing, Rarity!” he yelled, springing to his feet despite the full stomach. “Uh… just a minute!” He waddled over to the table, where his entire chili pot, now half-empty, sat in the midst of a bunch of empty bowls and cracker crumbs. He feverishly grabbed a napkin and tried to shove all the crumbs together. With his other claw he started to stack the bowls. He had to try to make the place look at least a little neat.

He paused for second to straighten his spines, and answered the door.

“Good evening, Rarity. What can I do for you?”

“Good evening, Spike? I just came by to drop this off.” She held up a clothing bag. “It’s that dress that Twilight wanted me to mend for her.” She glanced around the library. “Say, where is Twilight?”

“She’s at Applejack’s. Having dinner with the Apple family and Cheerilee.”

“Oh, and you weren’t invited?”

“I was invited!” Spike said. He puffed up his chest, and only succeeded in making himself look a bit chubbier. “I decided to stay here so I’d have some time to myself. And so I wouldn’t get in their way, of course.”

“Well, that was very thoughtful of you, Spike.” She patted him gently on the head.

He smiled contentedly. “I do what I can.”

“So where do you want me to leave this dress?” Rarity held up the bag again.

“Twilight said I could leave it in her room.” Spike reached out a claw to take it.

“Um, would you mind if I took it up myself?” Rarity’s eyes darted up and down the length of the dress. “I don’t mean to… besmirch you, but I don’t think you would be able to carry it up the stairs without dragging it on the floor. And I’d rather not fold it, either. It would wrinkle things horribly.”

“Ah, right.” Spike nodded. He didn’t see what the big deal was about a few wrinkles, but if Rarity wanted to do it herself, he wasn’t going to get in her way. A gentlecolt… or gentledragon, rather, would give the lady the benefit of the doubt in her area of expertise. “You can leave it on her bed, then. Is there anything I can get you? Tea?”

“No thank you,” Rarity said as she started up the stairs to Twilight’s room. “I just finished eating and I am quite full.”

“Well, if you want anything, let me know!” As Rarity vanished upstairs, Spike groaned. Of course she would show up just as he had finished gorging himself. This probably wasn’t quite what Twilight had meant when she told him not to overeat, but she still turned out to have been right.

“Gah!” Rarity’s voice echoed through the library. Spike ran to the stairs. Rarity had presumably come across a spider or rat or other manner of vermin and it would be Spike’s job to rescue her. Granted, her exclamation had been more of surprise than terror, but Spike wasn’t about to waste the opportunity. He burst into Twilight’s room in the most triumphant pose he could manage with his overly-stuffed body.

“Are you alright, Rarity?!” he gasped.

“Oh, I’m fine, Spike!” she exclaimed, a wide smile on her face. “Why didn’t you tell me that Twilight was looking at bridal magazines?”

“Bridle magazines?” Spike swallowed nervously. “Uh… I didn’t know about that, myself. And honestly, I don’t want to. I mean, if Twilight’s into that stuff, fine, but I’d rather not have to hear about it.”

“Huh?” Rarity stared at him, confused. Then the realization struck. “Oh. Not that kind of bridle, Spike. I’m talking about the other kind of bridal magazine. You know, the kind that has to do with brides?” She held up the magazine, the cover of which featured a lanky pegasus sporting a frilly white gown.

“Y-yeah, of course!” Spike mumbled, trying to act as if the other type of bridle had never crossed his mind.

“So, what’s the story behind these?” Rarity gestured at the stack of magazines next to the bed. “She must be seriously considering marriage, if these are any indication.” She opened one of the magazines, and noted the circles around pictures and notes in the margins. “Twilight never writes in her books, even magazines.”

“I, uh… I guess she might be thinking about it,” he said. He tried to sound uncertain. Twilight would let him have it if he spilled the beans now, but a flat denial would probably go just as far as confirming Rarity’s decision. “I mean, they’ve been going out for a while now.”

“You don’t need to play dumb, Spike,” Rarity rolled her eyes. “If Twilight was making the least bit of effort to hide these from you, I doubt she would have left them lying around. And then there’s this note she wrote to herself reminding to tell you to pick up the most recent catalogue from the local jewelry store.”

“Oh, right.”

“So she is planning on proposing, then?”

Spike decided that the jig was up. “Yeah, she is. You can’t tell anypony, though! She wants to keep it a surprise.”

“She wouldn’t even tell me?” Rarity gasped in mock surprise. “Why would she try to keep such a thing a secret?!”

“I… I shouldn’t talk about this. You should ask her yourself.”

“Don’t worry about it, Spike.” She leaned forward, putting her hoof gently under Spike’s chin and raising his head so that he looked right into her eyes. “You can tell me.”

“She was afraid that you’d go crazy and try to plan out everything for her!” Spike stuffed a claw into his mouth to stop the words, but it was too late.

“Oh, Spike!” Rarity guffawed raucously, wagging her hoof at him. “I would never dream of intruding on Twilight’s life in that manner!”

“Whew!” Spike drew his claw across his forehead.

“I mean, I certainly have some suggestions for how she ought to go about popping the question, and I’ll have to make a nice dress for the occasion, and take the time to ensure that the setting is just—”

“Ahem!” Spike cleared his throat. Loudly.

Rarity’s eyes shifted back and forth as she flicked the curl of her mane, and began to follow Spike back downstairs. “I suppose I’ll have to talk to her myself about it. Do you know when she’ll be back?”

“No idea. She told me not to wait up for her.”

“Leaving things open-ended, I see. Well, I’ll just have to drop by tomorrow, then. If you’re still awake when she returns, you will let her know that I want to see her, won’t you? And let her know that I have no intent of telling anyone about her plans. I only want to help.”

He nodded. “Of course. I’m sure she’ll really appreciate it.”

“Wonderful. I suppose I should let you get back to” —Rarity glanced at the pile of dinner paraphernalia on the table— “whatever it was you were doing.” She yawned as she opened the front door. “And by the way, I love what you’ve done with the library. Very organized.”

“Thank you!” The young dragon’s eyes gleamed.

“You’re welcome. Have a lovely evening, Spike.”

“Goodnight, Rarity,” he answered as he watched the door close behind her. As soon as she vanished, he smacked himself in the forehead. “Oh that was brilliant. ‘Pig out! It’s fine, Twilight isn’t here!’ Of course Rarity would come by now.” He sighed and resettled himself with his comic. “I sure hope Twilight won’t get too mad that Rarity knows what she’s planning.” Then he shrugged. “Eh, nothing I can do about it now. I just hope Twilight is gonna be in a good mood when she gets home.”

“So then, Big Macintosh sticks his head in the hole to see if he can see the ball, and he gets stuck!” Applejack said, grinning ear to ear. Twilight, Cheerilee, and Apple Bloom broke into giggles, while Big Macintosh just snorted. Granny Smith also snorted, because she had nodded off. “And guess what he did see in there?”

“I don’t know, but I’m guessing it’s not pleasant,” Twilight answered with a laugh. In the past hour or so she had learned more about the Apple Family than she had in all her years living in Ponyville. She never would’ve guessed that Applejack had been a member of the filly scouts. She didn’t seem like the type.

“It wasn’t… a skunk, was it?” The grin on Cheerilee’s face hinted that she hoped that it was.

“It sure was!” Apple Bloom added. “It sprayed him right in the face!”

“Hey!” Applejack gave her sister a playful shove. “I thought I was the one tellin’ the story. You were just a baby when that happened.” She turned back to the rest of the group. “But yeah, there was a whole family of skunks in there. He stank like a trash heap for like three days. The first night was so bad he had to sleep in the barn. We had to give him four tomato juice baths before it started to come off.”

“Eeyup,” Big Macintosh said with a nod. “We used to tell Apple Bloom that my coat used to be yellow, but all the tomato juice turned me red. She believed that for years.”

“I did not!” Apple Bloom crossed her forelegs and scowled. “Well, maybe when I was a baby or somethin’.”

Applejack poked her in the side. “Don’t be lyin’, Apple Bloom, you didn’t realize that we were pullin’ your leg until last year.”

“Hey!” Apple Bloom grumbled.

“Don’t worry, Apple Bloom,” Cheerilee said. “I was even older than you were when I realized that my grandfather didn’t really serve under Commander Hurricane. You’d have thought the fact that he was an earth pony would have tipped me off. Everypony has those moments.”

“Hmph,” Apple Bloom snorted. “Well, while we’re tellin’ embarrassin’ stories, why don’t I tell Applejack how Big Mac sneaked away from the orchard and into the school while we were havin’ recess?”

“You what?” Applejack glared at her brother. “Is that the real reason you didn’t finish spreading the fertilizer last week?”

“Uh…” Big Macintosh bit his lip. He also might have blushed a bit, but it blended too much with his regular color to be sure. “Uh, does anypony want to play a game? How about Apples to Apples?”

“Wait just a sec!” Applejack said. “Don’t go—”

“That sounds like fun!” Cheerilee interrupted, an awkward grin on her face. “I haven’t played Apples to Apples in ages!”

“I’ll go get it, then!” Big Macintosh hurriedly trundled out of the room.

Applejack shook her head. “I hope he realizes that I’m goin’ to give him a piece of my mind later," she mumbled.

“Oh, you shouldn’t be so hard on him,” Cheerilee said with a chuckle. She took a sip of her cider. “I had had a full day of parent-teacher conferences the day before, and he wanted to cheer me up a bit.”

“Yeah, you can’t get too mad at him for that,” Twilight said. Then she put her leg around Applejack’s shoulders. “Remember when you dropped by the chocolate shop while you were supposed to be working the apple cart?”

“Shhh!” Applejack’s cheeks flushed. “Okay, okay, I guess I shouldn’t give him too much trouble over it. How are the two of you gettin’ on, anyway? You got anything special comin’ up?”

“Oh, nothing in particular. I’m busy with end-of-semester work, and I’m sure you know all the things your brother has to do. We do have a nice night out planned for next month, though." She leaned in and held up a hoof to shield her mouth, even though Apple Bloom had left to help her brother locate the game, and Granny had long since nodded off. “I’m hoping that he’ll try to surprise me with a certain question. I doubt he will, though. You know as well as anypony that he likes to take things slow.”

“Yeah, if you’re thinkin’ he’s gonna take the leap you’re probably gonna be waitin’ a while.”

“Oh, I know,” Cheerilee chuckled. “I shouldn’t be so impatient. It’s not like we’ve been together for that long anyway. Now you two, on the other hoof…” She winked.

“What about us?” Twilight asked suspiciously.

“I’m just saying, it’s obviously just a matter of time before you two get hitched! Or at the very least set a date. Everypony can see it, you know?”

“E-everypony?” Applejack’s tongue stumbled over the word.

“What, you haven’t noticed? Even Granny Smith can see it coming from a long way off. Isn’t that right, Granny Smith?”

“Eh?” Granny blinked a few times. “Think about what, now?”

“What do you think about Applejack and Twilight?”

“Oh, them? They oughta quit beatin’ around the bush and get out the rings,” she mumbled. “They’re takin’ forever. When I was their age, I’d been hitched for like a year already!”

Cheerilee turned back to Twilight and Applejack. “See? You two are in this for the long haul, aren’t you?”

“You could say that,” Twilight said carefully. “It’s just… we talked it over and we wanted to take our time with it. That’s all. Don’t want to jump into anything before we’re ready. Right, Applejack?”

“Y-yeah, that pretty much sums it up.” Applejack picked up her cider mug and drained it.

“Well, if you’re going to get engaged, I hope that the two of you do it soon! Although I must admit I have something of an ulterior motive.”

“And what’s that?” Applejack asked.

“I thought that maybe if Big Macintosh saw his little sister getting married he’d be more inclined to… take the initiative to do so himself!” Cheerilee burst into giggles. “I’m sorry. I know I should let you and your brother take your time. I wouldn’t want to rush things. It’s just that sometimes I think, ‘Well, what’s stopping us?’ You know what I mean?”

Twilight smiled. “Yes, I think I understand what you’re talking about.”

Applejack glanced sideways at her. “Wait, what?”

“Time to start the game!” Apple Bloom burst into the dining room, and held the game box above her head. “Who wants to go first?!”

“Okay, finally got everything cleaned up!” Spike took a deep breath as he shoved the half-full chili pot into the fridge. “Last thing I need is for Twilight to start complaining about me leaving a mess in the kitchen!” He sighed. “She’ll probably complain about me taking up half the fridge with chili, though. Oh well.”

He headed back out to the main room and glanced at the clock. Still no Twilight. And it was almost his bedtime, too. Either her dinner was going smoothly, or it had been a disaster and she had made a beeline for Canterlot rather than heading home. It was probably the first option. Or possibly the third option, that Twilight had gotten food poisoning and was in no condition to go anywhere. But that was even more unlikely. The Apples were too good at cooking for that, and on the off chance that did happen, they would have sent someone to tell him.

There was a knock on the door.

“Hope I didn’t jinx her,” Spike mumbled to himself as he hurried to the door. Now that he had gotten some time to digest a little, standing wasn’t quite so uncomfortable. “Who is it?” He called. “If you’re here for the library, we’re closed for the night!”

“It’s us, Spike! Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo!”

“Oh, come on in!” Spike swung the door open and the two fillies bounded in. “What’s going on?”

“Do you have any idea where Rarity is?” Sweetie Belle asked. “I just looked over at the Boutique and it’s all dark and locked up.”

“She was here about an hour ago to drop something off for Twilight, but I haven’t seen her since.” He shrugged. “Sorry.”

“Ugh, this is so annoying!” Scootaloo stomped her hoof in frustration. “Applejack torpedoed our car idea after the airbag exploded, so we’re going to upgrade our zipline instead!”

“Oh, that ought to be…” He tried to think of a word to describe the inevitability of faceplanting into a tree. “...fun.”

“Yeah! We wanted to see if Rarity could make us a pillow to stick on the tree at the end of it!” Sweetie Belle said. “I thought she was going to be at her house, but I haven’t seen her. You have any idea where she could be?”

“Nope? I’ve got nothing,” Spike said. “Well, I’ve got some extra chili if you want some. It’s kinda spicy, though.”

“I told you he wouldn’t know where she was!” Scootaloo snorted and buzzed her wings in agitation. “I’m telling you, I saw her back by the jewelry store!”

“Fine, fine!” Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. “I don’t know why she’d be there, though. She digs up all her own gems, and pretty much all of her jewelry comes from Canterlot! Isn’t that right, Spike?”

“Yeah, I help her dig.” Spike thought for a moment. In all likelihood, it had been Rarity at the jewelry store, but he couldn’t exactly explain what she was doing there: scouting on Twilight’s behalf, no doubt. He tried to come up with a plausible explanation. “Maybe she needed a new necklace or something to go with a new design, and didn’t have time to order it from Canterlot.”

“I guess she might do that,” Sweetie admitted. “It would have to be a real emergency, though.”

“Guess it was an emergency, then.” Scootaloo shoved Sweetie towards the door. “Let’s go find her. We need that pillow.”

“You sure you don’t want any chili?” Spike shouted after them as they went out the door.

“No thanks! It’s too spicy!” Scootaloo answered.

“If you see Rarity, let her know we’re looking for her!” Sweetie Belle freed herself from Scootaloo’s shoving. “Bye!”

“Bye!” Spike waved after them and closed the door. “A zipline, huh? Don’t think we have any books about that. Thank goodness.”

“Hmmmm….” Twilight examined the perfectly straightened and parallel line of cards on the table, her tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth as she concentrated all of her brainpower on answering the question that lay before her. Then she snatched up one of the cards. “Star Swirl the Bearded!” she declared triumphantly.

“Oh, come on!” Apple Bloom banged her head on the table. “That doesn’t fit at all!”

“So? I’m judge this round, and I picked Star Swirl!”

“Eeyup.” Big Macintosh nodded. “That was mine.”

“Twilight, the word was ‘chewy’,” Applejack grumbled. “What the hay does Star Swirl the Bearded have to do with that?”

“It’s Star Swirl!” Twilight said, holding up the card. “He always wins!”

“But the rules say you’re supposed to pick the thing that matches the word on the green card!” Applejack held up the rules. “I might not be as up on magical history as you, but I’m pretty sure Star Swirl the Bearded wasn’t chewy.”

“The rules also say that the judge for the round can pick cards based on whatever criteria you want!” Twilight said with a grin. “Besides, I’m pretty sure you’re winning anyway.”

“She’s right,” Cheerilee said. “Besides, you’re the one who picked ‘Candy Apples’ when the word was ‘principled’.”

“Okay, fine, Big Macintosh can have that one, then.”

“My turn now!” Apple Bloom reached for the cards. “The word is—”

“Wait just a second!” Applejack interrupted. “First of, it’s my turn. Second of all, it’s already past your bedtime. You gotta get to bed.”

“Already?”

“Yes, already,” Applejack said. “I was gonna have you go to bed like half an hour ago, but I thought I’d give you some extra time.” She turned to Twilight. “I’m just gonna run upstairs and get her tucked in, okay? I’ll be back in like ten minutes. Fifteen tops.” She kissed Twilight on the cheek and started up the steps. “You won’t leave on me, will you?”

“Of course not!” Twilight answered with a laugh.

“Alright, then. Y’all can keep playin’ without me if you want. Or wake up Granny and have her take my spot until I get back. Come on, Apple Bloom.” She bounded up the steps, her sister following reluctantly behind her.

Twilight watched until they had disappeared down the hallway. Satisfied that they were gone, she leaned across the table. “Big Macintosh?”

“Yes?” He answered.

“I… I have something that I need to talk to you and Granny Smith about.”

Twilight pranced triumphantly towards her bedroom. “They said 'yes!'” she crowed as she threw the door open.

“Gah!” Spike woke up with such a jolt that he tumbled out of his bed and landed on the floor with a thud. “Oh, you’re back.” He took a few deep breaths. “Wait, she said 'yes'? I didn’t think you were even going to ask her yet!”

“No, no, no.” Twilight shook her head. “I’m not talking about Applejack. It’s tradition that when you propose to somepony, you should ask their parents for approval first. I know it’s a bit old fashioned, but given how close Applejack’s family is I thought it would be appropriate. And since Applejack’s parents… aren’t around, I figured that I would ask Big Macintosh and Granny Smith for their approval.”

“And they approved?”

Twilight smiled widely. “Granny said that she’d be proud to have me as part of the family. And Big Macintosh told me there’s nopony else that he’d rather have marry his sister.” She tapped her chin with her hoof and chuckled. “Hopefully I didn’t set the bar too high for when Apple Bloom gets old enough to get married.”

“Well, congratulations,” Spike mumbled as he crawled back into bed. “I get you’re excited and all, but can you fill me in on everything tomorrow?”

“Oh, right.” She lowered her voice. “I’m going to go get ready for bed. Goodnight, Spike.”

“Goodnight,” he said as he threw his blanket over his head.

Applejack relaxed on the sofa and listened to the sound of her brother finishing the cleanup in the kitchen. Things had gone well. Not that she had expected anything different, but it was nice to know for certain that everypony got along. Twilight would make a great addition to the Apple Family. Eventually, at least. But why eventually? She had hopped the last barrier. What was stopping them? If Twilight proposed tomorrow, was there any reason to say "no"?

The lack of an answer sent a chill down her spine. It was possible, however unlikely, that a week from now, she wouldn’t be just a Very Special Somepony, she’d be a fiance. That was way too fancy of a word for her. The gravitas cracked and she began to giggle. If that was the only excuse she had left, she really needed to stop making excuses altogether.

But still, if Twilight asked…

Why was she still looking for problems? Did she want to say “no”? She pulled her hat down over her face. She could worry about that later. Tonight had been great, and she wasn’t going to rain on her own parade. Besides, Twilight wasn’t the type to rush. She’d have plenty of time to figure things out.