Chapter 104: A Fitness to Witness

The gentle sun had risen over the horizon, causing warm sunlight to filter through the open window. The warm rays landed directly on the face of the princess of Equis, Twilight Sparkle. It took a few moments, but the gentle light eventually coerced the purple girl awake. Bright purple eyes fluttered open, blankly staring at the wall for a moment before her brain finally caught up with her eyes and yawned.

Sitting up, Twilight took a moment to bask in the warmth of her sheets; the thought of simply curling back up and sleeping the day away was oh-so-tempting, but no, not this time.

She had work to do.

A rush wormed its way through her, using Force powers to lift her bedside glass of water to her lips before taking several greedy gulps, downing the entire glass in one go. Feeling slightly more awake, the scholarly Jedi Knight managed to wriggle herself out of bed, the pull of Nature's Call speeding up her journey partway through. Minutes later, the same girl stood in the shower, lightly humming a song as she scrubbed her hair with her favorite blueberry shampoo.

It was an old song, one her mother often sang when she was younger. She couldn't, for her life, recall the artist's name, but the tune of the song, 'Advent of the Seas,' had never left her. Finishing up her shower, Twilight was busily drying herself off when she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror. She hung the towel and took a moment to look herself over.

Her eyes trailed up her form, and Twilight could tell she'd never be the height of beauty like Rarity. Her legs were much too thin, her gut just a little too big, and, while somewhat big, her flanks weren't exactly eye-catching either. She had been thinner, once upon a time, but then she became friends with Pinkie, and nobody could say no to a couple dozen of that girl's cupcakes. All in all, Twilight did not like her body. She thought this even as she brushed her curly hair into its traditional style. That was why she was making an effort to change.

Though, what does Storm think? Does he... like it? Was it... something he found... attractive?

The princess was now thinking about her partner and his opinions of her figure. Did she have the type of figure that a boy like him would admire?

The girl stepped out of her room and slipped on some stuff. A set of baby blue sweatbands, one for each wrist and one for her head, snapped on snugly, as they always had. She wasn't sure how Pinkie had found out about her resolution regarding her fitness, but she was immensely thankful that the girl had given these to her regardless. A lone fanny pack floated over to her, containing a flask of water and a few apples, and was then set onto her hip, ready to go. She checked outside, finding that she'd woken up a bit later than usual, but nodded and headed downstairs before making her way outside.

Once outside, Twilight carefully looked around before making her way toward the Whitetail Woods, setting off at a light jog as she did so. It took no longer than usual for her to arrive at her designated secret spot, and in only a minute, she had set herself up and began to run through her stretches, which she'd gotten from a book on personal health she kept stored in her room.

Ever since that dreadful day, she'd been coming out here every morning to work out. At first, she'd debated on simply going to the gym for access to professional assistance and the equipment. Still, eventually, her decision was made for her when she encountered Rainbow Dash and Applejack making their way to the gym not long after.

They had asked her what she was doing that day, considering she'd been standing outside the gym for nearly ten minutes. Still, eventually, she told them she'd just been thinking about Starswirl's theory on metaphysical forces interacting with the material world. They'd been more than happy to leave her be, practically sprinting inside after that.

She might have felt bad for lying to her friends and keeping this a secret. Still, the memory of them mocking made its way to the forefront of her mind, and she found herself resolutely silent whenever she thought about telling them the truth. She'd been stuck after that, unsure what to do, but thankfully she'd found the title 'Fit Bit's Guide to Fitness' in the library's catalog, and she'd immediately set herself upon finding it.

Oh, and what a wonderful idea that had been! It was a remarkably detailed book, lining out proper methods of stretching to prevent cramps, allotted times in which she needed to rest, and a good diet to keep so she wouldn't be wasting her time!

Unfortunately, most of it was related to using gym equipment, so the information fell short regarding her own little self-made workout. Of course, plenty was still left for her to use, but she doubted it was as effective as it should've been.

Still, she was sure she'd made some progress. She'd barely been able to jog around town once without feeling like she would die, but now?

Now she wasn't reduced to flopping onto the ground, greedily sucking in air like a deprived drug addict. Oh no, she could still stand while doing that now!

...

She needed help.

But how could she possibly ask Rainbow Dash or Applejack? Twilight sighed, even as she finished her daily stretches and began jogging back to town, getting ready to start her morning.

It had been challenging to find a good time to do this. Since Applejack got up early every day, she had to ensure that she was far enough from Sweet Apple Acres to keep the farm gal from spotting her and far enough from Fluttershy's cottage to avoid the shy girl.

She knew she wouldn't have to worry about Rarity or Rainbow Dash since the former wouldn't be leaving her boutique for too much, and the latter wouldn't even be awake; that only left two others.

Storm and Pinkie Pie.

Since Pinkie was already aware of her new schedule, she knew she had nothing to fear from her; rather, it was Storm that scared her. She didn't know how he'd react if he spotted her new routine. He might laugh at her and give her some tips disguised as teasing, or he wouldn't do anything. He might even do something else entirely, and she was curious if she wanted to take the chance to find out.

Today was going to be like every other day of her new routine.

"Twilight?!"

Today would be different from every other day of her new routine.

The studious princess stumbled at the familiar voice, which sent her tumbling to the dirt, a few strands of grass ending up in her mouth.
No way, there was just no way this could be happening.

"Are you-" there was a snort, "... jogging?"

Absolutely not! There could be no way that this could happen-!

"Pfft, wait... are you exercising?"

"U-uh-"

"No way! An egghead like you?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking at her like a particularly funny comic, "BAHAHAHA!"

Her face burned at the sound of her friend's laughter. This... this was why she kept it a secret.

"What's going on over here?" came another terrifyingly familiar voice, causing her blood to freeze.

No.

"Hey, Storm!" Rainbow greeted, still laughing a little, "Look! Twilight's exercising! She's even got a bunch of sweatbands!"

Twilight could practically feel the boy stop next to her, his gaze settling on her downed form. Hesitantly, she raised her head from the ground, spitting out the grass as she did so, and looked wide-eyed at him.

Could this get any worse?

"Howdy, everybody!"

Of course, it could.

"Applejack! Applejack! Over here, ya gotta see this!"

"Why, what's goin' on?"

"It's Twilight; she's... she's exercising!" Rainbow whispered conspiratorially before breaking out into mad giggles once more.

"Really?" the farm girl asked, looking down at the form of her friend before smiling, "Well, that's great!" she said, surprising Twilight immensely.

"It is?" she asked.

"Well, o'course! Why wouldn't it be?" Applejack asked. Twilight's eyes darted to Rainbow, who was still laughing, and Applejack sighed, "Right..." she muttered, sending the chromatic-haired teen the stink eye.

The girl in question, despite laughing, still managed to catch on,
"Oh, come on!" she said, "It's funny! I mean, look at her!" she said, pointing dramatically, "I'd expect Pinkie to wear those things, but not her!"

"Rainbow Dash, ya need ta quit laughin'!" Applejack snapped, "Ya'll didn't like it when ya thought we'd make fun of you fer readin', so quite makin' fun of Twilight fer this!"

Rainbow Dash, who had been too ready to ignore the girl and keep laughing, suddenly stilled at that and sighed, "Yeah, yeah, alright," she relented, crossing her arms. Applejack nodded.

"Good, now," she turned back to Twilight, "what's this about?" she asked, surprising her once more, "While makin' sure yer healthy is a great thing and all, it ain't the kind'o thing someone just wakes up one day and gets started on, so what's goin' on?"

Twilight stared at her friend for a moment, allowing her eyes to drift to the two individuals on either side of her, lingering on the male one for a moment longer before sighing.

"... A few weeks ago, when Fluttershy was babysitting the Crusaders, I asked Storm if he could come with me to Zecora's to get some more of my mother's tea. While we were coming back into town, we got attacked by a cockatrice, and we ran," she said, the words flowing out of her mouth without stopping, "We were running nonstop, but I couldn't keep up for very long. Eventually, I would have to catch my breath, and the cockatrice would catch me, so Storm sacrificed himself to give me some time. After that, I couldn't help but think, 'If only I was a little bit faster' or 'If only I could've run a little longer'... I promised myself afterward that I'd work out and get in better shape so if something like that ever happened again, nobody would have to sacrifice themselves, at least not me. I don't want to be a burden," she admitted.

"Sparky..."

"Geez..." Rainbow muttered, "That's... pretty dark stuff, Twilight,"

"Well... if that's how ya thought, then why didn't ya just come ta one of us?" Applejack asked after a moment, "I mean, I ain't no trainer, but I know a thing or two 'bout werkin' out,"

"Yeah, sure, Aj," Rainbow scoffed, "but seriously, you could've just asked me; I mean, I'd have you whipped into shape in no time!" she boasted. Twilight looked away for a moment, then spoke.

"How could I when you two just laugh at me?" she asked timidly. Rainbow Dash and Applejack cringed at her response, though she didn't see it.

"Hey... I'm sorry, Twi," Rainbow muttered, just loud enough for her to hear, "I mean... I didn't mean to make you feel bad, I just..." she gave a sad sigh, "growing up, I used to poke fun at my friends... guess I'm just used to doing that," she admitted, then sent Twilight a small, guilty smile, "I'm sorry if what I say hurts, alright? I don't mean anything bad, I'm just not good at being all sappy, and stuff," she finished, shrugging.

"And I'm mighty sorry too, Twilight," Applejack added once Rainbow finished, "I hope this won't affect our friendship, none," she added morosely.

Twilight looked down, hoping to spare her friends the sight of her crying. But it was for naught as a pathetic whimper escaped her, causing the tears to flow. She heard Applejack call her name and even heard Rainbow panic a little, but it wasn't until a welcome warmth suddenly appeared by her side, draping itself across her back in the process, that she looked up.

Storm had appeared next to her and had even enveloped her in his arm, an act that she knew was extremely intimate. Despite the knowledge of this and Rainbow's furious blushing as the girl turned away, she couldn't help but lean into his embrace, feeling a not-unwelcome warmth blossom in her chest once again.

Once upon a time, she hated that warmth, but now?

She wouldn't mind having more of it.

"Life can be hard sometimes," the Jedi's voice washed over her ears, "Especially when it comes to you, girls. So emotional," he muttered, then chuckled, "Might as well take 'em up on their offer, eh, Twilight?" he asked, "I mean, what have you got to lose?"

What did she have to lose?

She had her friends. Her home here. She even had her family.

"Alright," she finally said, looking up at Applejack and Rainbow Dash, the latter of whom was still turned around; her face and ears had gone red, "When should we start?" she asked.

She was nervous. Very nervous. Extremely nervous.

And who could blame her? Twilight Sparkle: bookworm, princess to a long bloodline; a girl who literally could have avoided doing hard work her entire life and still come out successful-

-Was about to be trained by a farm gal who'd been doing hard labor since she could walk and a hyper-competitive girl who was considered a top-of-the-line-athlete.

She was doomed.

"Okay, Twilight," she said to her reflection in the bathroom mirror, "you'll be fine. Just fine! Applejack and Rainbow Dash know you're not the most athletic person yet, so surely they'll take it a bit easy, right?"

"Yeah, right," her reflection spat back at her.

"Oh, sweet Celestia, you're right," she muttered, horrified. They were going to kill her!

*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*

The sudden knocking startled her out of the downward spiral that was her thought process.

"Come on, Twilight!" she heard Rainbow Dash yell, the sound muffled slightly by the walls, "Get your lazy ass down here so I can kick it into shape!"

Twilight gulped.

Here we go, she thought.

Taking one final breath and one last look at her current appearance, Twilight gathered her sweatbands and satchel and headed downstairs. It took her a minute, but she eventually reached the castle's front door and swung it open, revealing her chromatic friend, arms crossed impatiently.

"Finally!" she exclaimed, "Yeesh, you take royals forever to get ready, you know that?" she asked. Twilight rolled her eyes.

"Everything takes forever to you, Rainbow," she pointed out. Rainbow thought for a moment, then nodded.

"Yeah, totally," she said, sounding smug, but shook her head, "My awesomeness aside, we're burning daylight! You ready, Twilight?"

No, she thought.

"Yes," is what she actually said.

The two of them soon migrated over to Equis Park.

"Okay, so what are we going to do?" Twilight asked, setting her bag on a nearby bench, levitating a notepad and quill from the bag as she did so.

"Well, first off, we'll do some stretches," Rainbow said.

"Great. I know plenty,"

"What, from books?" she asked,

"... Yes," Rainbow snorted, but a glare from Twilight shut her up.

"Sorry," she said, holding her hands up in surrender, though she kept smirking.

Once it was clear she didn't have anything else to say, Twilight started going through her stretches. They were simple since she wasn't trying to improve her flexibility, so the majority of them only lasted a few seconds at most. Still, they served their purpose and would hopefully keep her from cramping or getting stiff later.

"Okay!" Twilight announced once she finished, "What next?"

"Finally," Rainbow muttered, "Alright, let's do some push-ups to get started. So, drop and give me twenty!" Twilight blinked but nodded and did as she was told. Push-ups should be relatively easy.

She was wrong.

In hindsight, Twilight should have seen this coming, but her nerves and excitement had blinded her.

Ten push-ups had her legs shaking from the strain, but she had pushed herself and managed to complete the final ten, but-

"Good job. Now let's do some crunches!"

Rainbow continued to run her through those various exercises, but no matter how hard she pushed herself, it was not enough for the chromatic teen.

"Come on, Twilight!"

It certainly didn't help that she had difficulty doing them in the first place.

"You can do another lap!"

Ten push-ups had been a stretch for her. Five laps had her gasping for breath. Ten crunches had caused her abdomen to hurt. Rainbow kept pushing her, pushing her and pushing, and it didn't let up! She ran until she had stitches. She did crunches until she felt sick. She kept doing push-ups until her legs felt like jelly, and she kept pushing.

Finally, she hit her limit.

It had been during what must've been her hundredth lap around the park when her legs just gave out on her. She hit the ground hard, landing face-first in the dirt, and she was immensely glad that no one had been around to see that, especially considering she was breathing like a fish out of water.

"You alright, Sparky?"

Nevermind.

Hearing Storm's voice startled her into shooting right back up onto her legs, but the suddenness of the action, coupled with how sore her legs had gotten, only caused her to crash back to the ground. Or she would've had the Jedi Knight not caught her.

"Woah," he breathed, gently easing her onto the ground, "what's going on?" he asked again, looking both confused and worried. Twilight tried to answer him, but her breath wasn't coming back to her.

"Hey, Storm," Rainbow's voice answered for her as the girl in question walked up to them, "I'm training Twilight," she added, seeing the questioning look on his face.

"Training?" he asked, glancing down at her, his eyes locking with hers for a moment, "This looks more like torture to me," he said. He frowned, and when he realized that Twilight wouldn't be able to answer his next question, he turned to Rainbow, "Where's her satchel?"

Twilight tuned out their conversation for a moment instead of focusing on her breathing. It was coming fast and in short breaths. Breathing was hard; she could scarcely get one in before the next forced itself out. Her heart beat frantically in her chest, its rapid pace starting to hurt. She tried to swallow, but her throat was too dry.

Water. She needed water. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't- she couldn't-!

A hand gently grabbed her chin and tilted her head back, her mouth coming open during the motion. Her eyes focused on the boy holding her-

Her flask!

He placed the cool metal against her lips, and she nearly latched onto it like a kid as he poured the refreshing liquid down her throat, letting her take greedy gulps. Eventually, the flask ran out of water, and he took it away, peering at her with thinly veiled concern.

"Feeling better, Sparky?" he asked. Her breath was coming easier now, her heart not beating quite as painfully.

"Y-yeah..." she breathed. Storm frowned and looked back at Rainbow.

"What the fuck were you making her do, anyways?" Rainbow scoffed and waved him off.

"Just some warm-ups, why?" Twilight's eyes widened in horror.

Those were just warm-ups?! This girl was going to kill her!

"Warm-ups?" Storm asked, sounding just as skeptical, "No warm-up is supposed to be intensive enough to render anyone unable to breathe, Crash," he sneered. "I may be a Jedi and do some intense training myself, but I make sure that I don't blow my load all at once getting ready for it."

Rainbow shook her head, "Oh, come on, I do these warm-ups almost every day, and I'm totally fine!"

"Of course, you're fine, Rainbow. But Sparky isn't you, dumbass. She can't do the same shit you can."

"How the hell is she supposed to get fit quick?!"

"You of all people should know that's not possible," Storm snapped, then looked back down at her, "C'mon Sparky, let's get you someplace to rest, and somethin' to eat. You look exhausted."

Rainbow hadn't been happy about him taking her away, but Twilight was much too busy thanking him for saving her from that nightmare of a training session to care.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" she gushed, hugging him around the middle. Storm turned his head away from her, his nose scrunching up.

"Thank me later, Sparky," he said, "And by later, I mean after you've taken a shower or two," Twilight blinked, the statement confusing her for a moment before her eyes widened, and she jumped back, turning beet red in the process.

"Sorry!"

Storm rolled his eyes, "It's fine, c'mon, let's head over to Horte's," he said, walking off without a response. Twilight followed dutifully behind him, a thought crossing her mind.

"So, um... Storm?"

"Hmm?"

"What were you doing in the park?" she asked.

"Mrs. Cake is at the hospital, so Sugarcube Corner is closed," he said casually, not noticing the falter in her step, "Her due date is coming up, and they're both getting worried the babies might come early," he explained. Twilight sighed, placing a hand against her chest.

"Thank goodness," she breathed, "you scared me for a moment there," Storm hummed.

"I suppose," he said, turning as Horte's Cafe came into view.

The two had found their seats and placed their orders a few minutes later. Now they sat in a semi-comfortable silence, though it was quickly becoming anything but comfortable for Twilight.

"Were you serious?" Storm suddenly asked, breaking the silence just before Twilight could. She blinked, not understanding.

"Serious about what?"

"About what you said the other day. About not wanting to be a burden."

Twilight froze for a moment, not expecting that particular topic. But his question got her to think. Was she serious?

"Yes,"

The answer was easy. Easier than anything she'd ever done. Her friends were precious to her; they meant everything to her. If she could lighten their burden by helping herself, she'd make sure they'd never have to worry about her again.

Storm didn't seem surprised by her quick answer. If the small grin he now wore was anything to go by, then he'd been expecting it.

"I had a feeling you'd say that," he said, his grin growing slightly. Twilight felt her cheeks flush slightly, but she didn't look away. Seeing Storm smile was strange, but a good kind of strange, like Rainbow Dash, reading.

"Howdy, Twilight!" Applejack's voice suddenly cut through the silence, causing both of them to turn.

"Applejack?" she asked, wondering why the farm girl was here. Shouldn't she be at her stand?

"That's right!" she said, then frowned, "I ran into Dash a couple minutes ago, and it just ain't right what she was havin' ya do," she said, then brightened, "But don't worry Twilight! I'll have ya fitter than a fiddle in no time! The right way!"

"What?" said Twilight.

Thankfully Applejack had been kind enough to wait for her and Storm to eat their food before she had dragged her off towards the orchard. Twilight had asked him to come along, but he said it was about time he checked in on the Cakes.

Although, he did drag Applejack off to the side and spoke to her for a moment. As Applejack came back looking amused and a little pale, she wasn't sure she wanted to know what was said between the two.

"Alright, now, I don't know 'bout all those fancy little exercises ya've probably been readin' 'bout," Applejack began as they neared the barn, "but I find that good ol' fashioned hard work is the best way ta get in shape," Once they made it to the Apple Family barn, Applejack all but threw the doors open, revealing the familiar, hay covered barn, without all the party decorations this time.

"Hard work?" Twilight asked, following behind Applejack as she started towards the back of the barn, "What kind of work?"

"Well," she began, pulling out a sizable wagon from behind the large pile of hay, "since we've got Cider Season behind us, and Zap Apple Season ain't till early Spring-" Twilight filed that away in 'questions to ask later,' "-we don't got much ta do. Luckily, Winter's comin' real quick, an' we need some new firewood."

That surprised Twilight. Was Applejack thinking of cutting down one of her family's trees? It made sense, but with how well they take care of their trees, Twilight couldn't imagine any of them being in poor enough shape to warrant being cut down. She voiced her thoughts, which caused Applejack to laugh,

"Yeah, it's hard ta imagine, all right," she said, but her smile dimmed slightly, "Not all of our trees good fer harvestin'. Much as we like 'em, apple trees aren't the only thing we grow."

"They're not?" Twilight asked. That was a shock to hear.

"'Course not," Applejack responded, smirking, "If all we grew were apple trees, then we couldn't cut many of 'em down. We got a small patch jus' fer regular oak trees. We mostly use 'em fer repairs when we need 'em. That don't mean we never cut down some of our apple trees, o'course," she explained.

Twilight nodded at that. It made sense, after all. But it was a shame that she never thought about Applejack's line of work. There was much more work going into the orchard than she thought.

"Right, so... you want me to help cut some of them down?" she asked, confused. Applejack snickered,

"'Course not!" she said, gently patting Twilight's side, "Ya ain't got the kind'o muscle I'd need ta cut one down without relying on yer lightsaber," she turned back to the wagon, "I'll be the one doin' the cuttin'. I need ya help me lift it into the wagon and drag it back ta the barn without using yer magic or Force powers. I reckon we'll need about two or three trees ta last us fer awhile," she said, "After that, we can think of somethin' else ta help ya get in shape."

...

Twilight, once again, regretted her decision. Thankfully it was much better than when she'd been working under Rainbow Dash, but her previous soreness had not faded yet, making this much harder than it needed to be.

That, combined with Applejack's insistence that she couldn't use magic or her Force powers, made complete sense to her, and the work took marginally longer than it probably should've.

The first tree had been alright. There had been something strangely relaxing about watching her farming friend repeatedly swing her axe into the tree. Something about the rhythmic *THWACK*'ing just felt soothing. Her first obstacle happened when loading the tree onto the cart. That tree was heavy. Though it was nowhere near the largest tree in the orchard, it still stood almost twice as thick as she was and more than triple her height and, as such, weighed a lot. Her legs had nearly buckled when she and Applejack worked to lift the chopped end onto the cart, despite Applejack clearly lifting the majority of the weight. Despite that particular fact, she had insisted that Twilight be the one to lift the other end and push it forward, mainly because she needed to brace the cart to keep it from rolling. So she did. She had crawled underneath the space between the lifted tree and the ground and pushed against the heavy shaft before walking out until she reached the end and began to push it onto the cart.

That had been terrible. Her legs shook, her back hurt, and, quite frankly, it hurt to walk. The only saving grace was that, unlike the apple trees, the oak ones they were to work with had been stripped of their leaves. But she kept her complaints to herself. It wouldn't do for her to weasel her way out of a promise. So, despite her exhausted soreness, she pressed on with a fake smile, savoring the rest as they brought the tree back to the barn before setting out again.

If the first tree had been bad, the second had been torture.

It had proceeded much the same way as the first, up until when she was to lift the tree and push it onto the cart. She had managed to crawl over to the end of the tree, mindful of the branches, but as she tried to take a step forward, shaking all the way, her leg had given out underneath her, nearly tumbling to the ground. It hurt. It hurt sooo much, and it was all she could do to keep from yelling out in pain. Thankfully, she managed to return to her feet and bush it back into place, ignoring the sharp pain in her foot that had her walking with a small limp the rest of the trip.

And here she was. They were staring at the behemoth of a tree, which was their final task of the day. Her legs were already shaking, and Applejack hadn't even started to chop it down yet!

"Uh... you alright, Twilight?" Applejack's voice startled her out of her thoughts, "You aren't tired, are ya?" she asked. Twilight swallowed and rapidly shook her head.

"N-no! Of course not!" she lied unconvincingly, "I'm just... a little... um..."

"Twilight," Applejack said, her voice firm, "Are. Ya. Tired?"

"... Yes," she admitted, turning her gaze away, feeling guilty. Applejack nodded.

"Alright," she said, "why don't ya head back ta the barn? Get some water," she suggested. Twilight's head shot up.

"What? No! I'm fine, I can-!"

"Twilight," Applejack cut her off, voice firmer than before, "Get. Some. Rest," she said, "I shoulda known this kinda thing would be a bit too hard fer ya," she continued, sounding guilty, "but ya were doin' really well."

"B-but..." Twilight tried weakly.

"Twilight, don't make me drag ya back there myself," she threatened, setting the axe against the tree. Twilight sighed and began to walk off.

"I'm sorry I couldn't keep up," she said, only for Applejack to shake her head with a smile.

"It's perfectly fine, Twilight," she said, "It just looks like farm work ain't yer thing. Even if it was, we ain't got much else ta do. Sorry, Twi, wish I could do more fer ya, but ya just ain't strong enough fer much else we do around here," she apologized. Twilight swallowed but nodded.

"I-it's fine..." she muttered, "I mean..." she trailed off, then shook her head, "Sorry, I-I... I'll just be going..." she squeaked out and sped up until she was certain she was out of sight.

Had she turned around, she would've seen the guilty grimace on her apple-picking friend's face.

Twilight sighed heavily as she walked through town, ignoring the occasional question about her sweatbands.

Today had turned out much worse than she thought it would. Rainbow Dash had put her through Tartarus, and Applejack had inadvertently made her feel guilty for not being strong enough to properly help out.

Still, she should be a little proud of herself, she mused. After all, she might have yet to finish the job, but she managed to help with two of those trees. So it wasn't all bad, at least.

But now, where did that leave her? There was no way she'd ask Rainbow for help again since she apparently took her word too seriously when she said she'd get her in shape in no time. And Applejack had nothing else for her to help with, and she wasn't strong enough even if she did. So, again, where was she?

"Hey, Sparky," Storm's voice called out to her, breaking her from her ruminations. She looked up and found him walking up to her.

"Oh, hey, Storm," she muttered morosely; he frowned.

"I take it that things didn't go as well as you hoped?" she shook her head, "I see..." Twilight sighed.

"I just... I want to be better..." she began, "And... I can't do that alone. But there's no way I could ask for the others to help me since I doubt they'd know any better either," she began to pace back and forth, "I could go to the gym now since Applejack and Rainbow Dash know about this. Still, after what happened today, there's no way I could face them in that setting, so now I'm stuck on my own, and I don't know what to do!" she snapped, coming to a stop in front of him.

Storm frowned as he stared at her before his eyes slid to the side, "Before we continue this conversation, let's head somewhere more private," he said, already turning to leave. Twilight blinked at the sudden statement before glancing around.

She flushed when she realized that everybody was staring at her.

"Uhh... hehe?" she laughed before quickly following the boy.

She managed to catch up to him quickly enough.

"Umm... Are we heading to your house?" said the princess as she felt a bit nervous that it was just going to be the two of them. Alone.

"Yes. We're heading over to my house," he replied, glancing back at her with a frown, "Wasn't that obvious?"

"Sorry," said the girl for asking such a stupid question.

"Anyways, Sparky, I think I know what your problem is," Storm said, catching her attention.

"Really?" she asked, perking up.

"Mhmm," he began, "you need a goal. Something more tangible than just 'being better,'" he said, "I understand that you don't want to be a burden, really I do, but that's not enough," She swallowed nervously.

"Then... what is?"

Storm didn't say anything, but he did up his pace quite a bit, forcing Twilight to jog to keep up.

Eventually, a small house came into view. It was a quaint little thing with bright sky-blue walls, a cheerful yellow roof, and a white door. As they approached the house, however, it was becoming abundantly clear that they weren't actually going to go in; rather, Storm's path seemed to be aimed towards the forest behind his house, much to her confusion. Her thoughts were proven correct when he led them around the small home and through the trees. They came to a large, grassy area, where the grass almost came up to her chest, but that was an observation that came second to the large structure she found waiting in the center of the clearing.

It was a large wooden walkway filled with all manners of different obstacles. At the start, a large rock climbing wall led into a small pit, where multiple barbed wires hung. That section then led into another with a rope hanging above another small but empty pit. On the other side of this pit was a large gap filled with poles sticking up from the ground, seemingly placed in random spots across the ground. This led to yet another section where several large walls stood, forming a path in the center filled with a wide net.

Apart from the obvious obstacle course, another area was filled with multiple wooden and straw dummies, the latter slightly cut up and the former a little singed.

"Wh-what is all this?" Twilight asked, looking around with wide eyes.

"Well, Sparky, this is my training ground," Storm said, walking forward, "I had your mother make this when she offered to build me a house. As a way for me to keep my skills sharp." he said, sounding a little happier than usual, "It's small and extremely basic, yes, but it does what I need it to do," he said, then spun around, "It will also be your training grounds from here on out as well."

It took a minute for his words to register in the princess' mind, but when they did-

"WHAT?!"

Storm laughed, "You heard me; this is where you'll be training alongside me," he turned back around and walked over to a small clothing rack beside the course that Twilight hadn't seen. He picked up a small watch from the box beside it, "We'll start out small. You'll run the course a few times when you're able, and I'll time it with this watch," he held up the small timepiece; then set it back down, "and once you've gotten the hang of it, we'll try beating that time, again and again, until I've deemed you good enough," he said, then gave her a wicked grin that sent shivers down her spine, "If you haven't given up by then," he intoned darkly.

Twilight swallowed the lump in her throat, "I-I don't know..." she began, "How is this any better than before...?" she asked. Storm's grin fell, replaced by a small smile.

"Because this time, it's all up to you," he said; Twilight tilted her head, not understanding, "When Crash was 'training' you," he began sarcastically, "it was up to her standards, and her standards alone. I'm guessing it was similar with Applejack, right?" Twilight hesitated, thinking back on the work they did, before nodding, "Right. With this course, your standard is set by your first run. Your goal is to simply beat that time," he explained, "Beating that time requires effort. It requires you to be able to run faster. To react quicker. To be better," he said firmly, "If you don't manage to beat it, then you keep trying and trying until you do. And after you've beaten that time, you can try to beat that one. And so on and so forth, until you've reached a point you're satisfied with."

Twilight blinked and glanced back at the obstacle course in a new light. This... this could help her. It was a perfect idea. A training regime set by her standards and at her pace. If she needed to do better, it would be evident how long it took her to run, and it would constantly keep track of her progress!

"Keep in mind, even though I'm willing to let you use this thing, I use it too. So please try to keep it clean and in one piece," Storm said, startling her from her thoughts, "You can use it anytime you want, except while sleeping and when I want peace and quiet," he stressed that part hard, "but I'd recommend a half hour break between each run for you, at least at first," he added, "Understand?" he asked. Twilight nodded.

"Of course!" she said confidently, then gave him a gentle smile, "And thank you, Storm. This... this means a lot to me," she added sincerely. Storm turned away suddenly, chuckling nervously.

"N-no problem, Sparky. Now... I'll give it a go to show you how it's meant to be run, alright?" he asked, then held the watch out to her, "Mind timin' it for me?"

"Alright, Sparky. Remember, I'll take you to the mat once I lock our fingers."

"Right," nodded the girl.

Ever since Storm introduced Twilight to the obstacle course, the princess had been showing some improvement. The boy even started to show the girl some mat-based holds that Luna taught him. Storm held his right hand up as Twilight did the same and interlocked their hands together. The boy then began to lift his left hand, as did Twilight.

"Remember, once we lock fingers, I'm gonna-"

In the blink of an eye, Storm took Twilight down and put her in a hold as the princess tapped his arm. That served as the signal to release, as the boy did just that. Without finishing his sentence, Storm caught the princess off guard as he wasn't making things easy.

"Got to be prepared, Sparky. Ready for another?"

"Yeah," said Twilight as she got up.

"Remember, once-"

This time, Storm was caught off guard as Twilight interlocked their fingers quickly and took the boy down by slamming him to the mat. The princess quickly jumped on him and raised her fist as it looked like she would punch him. She held it and put it down as she looked at the boy underneath her.

"Nice," Storm smiled as he admitted that Twilight surprised him.

"Thanks," said the girl.

Storm sat up as Twilight remained seated on his lap. The girl adjusted her position as she was now straddling the boy. The pair's faces were close as one could feel the redness emitting. The girl had her hands on the boy's chest as she could feel her fingers touching the small amounts of muscle on the Jedi.

They continued to trail upwards, constantly feeling how they felt. Tough, yet, soft to the point where she could sleep into them. Soon Twilight's hands stopped as they cusped both sides of Storm's face. At this point, Storm had his hands on the girl's waist as he waited to see what she might do. Twilight's brain was on full autopilot as she began to lean in; the lust inside was controlling her as she slowly closed her eyes. However, at the last second, she gained control of her own brain.

The princess managed to stop herself just as her lips were inches above the boy's. Twilight gripped Storm's face even tighter as if she were struggling to take the risk. Just a few inches... was all it took. Just a few more... and she could get the pleasure she so badly wanted. Instead, the girl sighed as she touched her forehead with Storm's and closed her eyes. The pair remained in that position as they closed their eyes and enjoyed holding each other as tight as they could.

Author's Note: A little continuity from last chapter about what Twilight said that if she'd been better, maybe Storm wouldn't have been turned to stone. Also we see our secure little cute bookworm of a princess, but she's trying to change, to make herself better, and I felt it was prudent to make that known. And it seems that her dedication has sparked something in Storm, it seems that he's slowly gaining back what he lost. But only time will tell if he'll ever be back to normal. As always, leave a review expressing your thoughts and comments.