Chapter Text
Surely enough, It's been pretty peaceful in Heaven, most have been doing what they've desired for so long, and the others? maybe performing some duties that are required in order for Heaven to function, after all, despite the place being the symbol of afterlife, it's still a society, a wanted privilege for most people, but barely anyone can come in and enter the so-called "Palace of Celestia".
As the roads continue to be busy and constant chattering fill the air of the outside, Twilight's Palace seems to be silent for majority of the day.
It would usually be pretty active, no matter what time or what situation, there would be someone who would start a chat, but for some reason, silence decided to take over for the meantime, but all of that isn't our concern, as Applejack has been knocking at the door for quite awhile now, how long has she been there? who knows, It might've been 30, or even worse, 2 hours.
Still, For the sake of whatever her friend is doing inside that forsaken palace, she had to be patient, if not? then force it more, AJ sat on the ground and repeated her thoughts to make sure she doesn't forget what the answer to the question her friends placed upon her, if she did, all that time spent waiting at the entrance wouldn't mean anything anymore.
AJ heard the door open slowly, behind it is a tall, tired alicorn with a sparkle-engraved crown, she was bothered but still understood the mare's presence
"Good Afternoon, AppleJack, knowing you came to me, you probably decided over something that everyone else has been pestering you for 2 years straight, hmm?"
The proud, smug face of the other quickly devolved into a devastated, nauseated look, AJ hated being easy to read, but It's been like that for years, and she's still complaining? Nah, she shouldn't, but sometimes, she couldn't help but forget this quirky side of her best friend.
"Okay fine, you got me, I already decided over that 'rebuild your fucking life for Celestia's sake, AppleJack' thing that most of the ponies around keep bothering me, though I'm still wondering as to why they even want me to rebuild something that I already have?"
Twilight knew the answer very well, but she couldn't let gossip spread around, especially that she is still a princess, so she silently allowed AppleJack in, for the other, she was confused to why she was let in so suddenly, but still played along.
She knew the layout of the residence, she's been here before, during the days where Twilight wasn't some insane dictator to such a grand land, the cold, glass tiles of the place give the blonde mare a bolt of melancholy, It's been a long time since she last placed her hooves in this place.
They arrived at the cutie map section of the palace, AJ found her spot and sat there, while Twilight just randomly found a seat meanwhile, Twilight started first;
"So.. What did you decide, AppleJack? If you still feel unsure, I'll let you give it more thoug-"
"No need Twi, My answer will forever be the same anyway, But before I tell you what, Could you care to explain why you're siding with everyone else in this ordeal? when I first told you about it, your intentions were to side them and not me." AJ leaned on the glass table, As for Twilight, she felt 1 drop of sweat from leaking in, following with more droplets, trying to answer and give an explanation to AppleJack without making it sound offensive and rude, even professionalism could break the entire context and If things were to get so serious, her dearest friend would go on an insane rampage.
Luckily, It only took the pony some time to finally come up with proper words, but still felt unsure and scared that it will come off the wrong way, misunderstandings aren't Twilight's forte, and for as much as possible, she does her best to avoid them, Twilight clasped her hooves together and took a deep breath;
"AppleJack... You may not be aware, but your life is literally in shambles right now."
The Orange mare tilted her head with confusion, "What do you mean? I'm alright at the moment."
The urge to slap the mare's face is pretty evident on Twilight's face, she just couldn't understand how her honest and diligent friend, could be so oblivious on the state of her life at the moment, that she doesn't see the immediate red flags that were plastered through the actions of the said mare, but because how stupidly dense the pony in front of her is right now, she had to address it, this time though, she has no choice but to be honest, that may end up in a rude tone.
But before the purple pony could say anything, she took a quick mental breather
"You think you're alright AJ, but we know you're not, and I'm going to list the things that are probably bothering you right now, alright? 1. we know you're not over Rainbow Dash, not even a single bit, and 2. we also know that you're still devasted finding out that all your family members are gone and will never be found again, and because me and the others care about your wellbeing so much, we decided to annoy you to stop sulking and finally get your life back together."
The room started to become quiet, AJ's curious mood switched to a uneasy, depressed type, It was clear that she was hiding her feelings, know that she knows this, she finally understood the full context, maybe everyone just wanted her to have a fresh start and move on slowly through working on herself.
The never-ending silence continued, Twilight was about to break the said silence when AJ finally lifted her head up from the sulking and speak up for once
"Okay, Maybe rebuilding your life and self-esteem wouldn't be that bad, I might be able to move on from everything.. Right?"
The taller mare lifted her chin and thought for a bit, getting an answer clear on her head
"Not immediately.. But you will.. Trust me." Twilight adjusted the seat she is sitting on, leaning on the edge of the table, looking at her dear friend with sincerity and reassurance.. that things will be alright
"Thank you, Twi.. And be glad because I'm agreeing to this" AJ playfully tapped the table to lighten up the mood.
As little as it looks for AJ, It's quite the opposite for Twilight, In fact, her brain is celebrating hard, now that she knows her friend is finally going to start and fix her life, even attend therapy classes even if she could, it's funny that Twilight was planning on announcing a party when she heart her friend ask a question
"Now that I agreed to this.. How and Where do I start?"
Come to think of it, Twilight hasn't thought of any proper ideas on how she could start this, but that was for a short while, she quickly realized that all of that isn't up to her, but instead, It's up to her friend, she does know the perfect place on where she'll settle her plans too, but she'll voice that out later once she answers the initial question;
"Hmm.. It's up to you AJ, and I do have a good realm on where you could improve your mental health too"
"I'm Listening" AJ leaned on the back of her chair, her hooves crossed, willing to hear Twilight out
"The Mortal Realm, Lately most of our residents have transferred there, I heard from Rarity that's its more lively there, so how's that sound?" Twi's voice sounded condescending, but also sincere, most of the Mane 6 are actually down the living realm, building their new lives, asking AJ to do the same would probably help the mare recover.
"Not bad, Alright then, I'm settling there, and as for the plans.. I do have one already so we don't need to brainstorm on that"
"I could read your body language, AJ"
"I really, really wonder when can you stop reading me like a fucking book"
"Maybe never" Twilight smirked as she continued to playfully tease her friend, AppleJack seemed annoyed but also pleased at the same time, the blonde-haired mare stood up from her seat and walked towards her friend
"Then again, Thank you Twilight, I do hope we meet again after this."
"We're going to meet each other tomorrow, you know that? save your goodbyes for tomorrow, Geez-"
Another flush of devastation mentally killed AJ, but still gave a nod as a response, she left the palace waving goodbye and went home to pack her things, the following day of her departure, things went well, she's been given the ability to switch from her spirit form to her living form, which bore no differences at all even, still, AJ and Twilight hugged and bade each other one last Goodbye.
And that.. is how AJ ended up in the mortal realm, managing a restaurant with love and care.