12:22PM

Three hours.

That’s how much time it took for Aaron, and everypony involved helping him, to repair the damaged cornfield. Without any help, Aaron could have spent many days working on the repairs all by himself.

The ponies that were helping Aaron were at first unsure whether or not they should listen to a human, but after hearing about how much Aaron knows about farming--they conceded to join him.

The tasks involved were using hoes to re-even the soil layout first, then compost was mixed into it to make it fertile once more. That was possibly the smelliest task ever.

Finally, spare corn seeds were planted with water to follow. Sure, the corn wasn’t going to grow immediately, but Aaron knew that it would only be a matter of time before the replacement stalks would catch up to the untouched ones.

“Nice work, everypony,” Aaron stated. It was funny that he started using that word when it was only his second day on Equis, but it seemed logical to use because all of the citizens of Ponyville were ponies after all.

“Thanks, Aaron. Glad we could be of assistance,” one of the farmhooves said, nodding.

“The pleasure was all ours,” said another one, before they headed off for something to eat. It was the lunch hour, of course.

Aaron was very impressed with the progress that was made. Surely this was his debt paid in full to the entire Apple family. He just hoped now that he could make peace with Applejack and earn her trust, along with everypony who hasn’t come to the terms of trusting an alien at all.

“Nice work if Ah do say so myself,” said a familiar elderly mare voice.

Aaron turned to face Granny Smith, who was now wearing a sun bonnet on her head.

“I sort of said the same thing,” Aaron said smiling. “I wish that the corn could already be grown though.”

“Oh don’t worry about it, dear. Patience an’ time are the only thing that matter now,” Granny Smith reassured.

“Good to hear. Hey; how is Applejack getting along?” Aaron asked, now concerned.

The look on Granny Smith’s face told him that her answer wasn’t going to be very relieving.

“Well, the good news is that since she heard about the deed ya have performed fer us, she had the motivation tah leave ‘er room an’ get back tah work on ‘er chores,” she replied.

“And the bad news?”

“The bad news is that her performance on her tasks are below what they normally are,” Granny Smith explained. “Her depression is wearing her down. Not only that, but she’s afraid.”

Aaron raised a brow.

“Afraid of what?” he asked.

“Ah’m afraid you, darlin’, an’ the rest of yer company as well. She won’t tell me why though, because ya proved tah be very pleasant, an’ ya kept yer word about repairing the cornfield. Ah jus’ don’t see what has gotten’ into that granddaughter of mine,” she said shaking her head.

Aaron took a quick moment to think. He had a pretty good idea about what was on Applejack’s mind.

“Miss Smith. If I may, will it be alright if I speak with Applejack for a bit?” he asked. “If she is afraid of me, and the rest of the UNSC--then I have to give her the reassurance she needs so she doesn’t have to fear us.”

“Well. Ah don’t know,” Granny Smith replied, scratching a hoof to her chin. “Ya make a good point. Ah think you should go an’ try tah talk to ‘er, but take it easy won’t ya?”

“I will,” Aaron said, nodding. “You have my word. Where is she right now?”

“She’s in the apple tree orchard Ah believe. Follow me, please.”

Granny Smith led Aaron to the area of the apple tree orchard where her eldest granddaughter was assumed to be. Sure enough, they both saw Applejack during her apple bucking chore.

Like Granny Smith described, she looked very glum on the face--and she wasn’t knocking off as many apples like she normally could.

Aaron wasn’t sure if he should approach Applejack alone, considering they both haven’t really started off on the right hoof. He didn’t want his first sentence to make matters worse.

Granny Smith knew what Aaron was thinking just by examining his facial features, along with his hesitance.

“Don’t worry darlin’, Ah’ll handle this. Jus’ sit back fer a bit until Ah tell ya its okay to make yer approach,” she instructed.

“Yes, ma’am,” Aaron said.

Granny Smith then began trotting over to the tree that Applejack was currently working on. She made sure to have a small smile on her muzzle to make her elder granddaughter more comfortable.

“How ya holdin up, Applejack?” Granny Smith started.

Applejack stopped her chore to acknowledge her grandmother’s presence.

“Oh. Howdy, granny,” Applejack replied with a weak and forced smile. “Ah think Ah’m doin’ okay so far. Why’d ya ask?”

“Ah was only seeing if you were alright.”

Applejack became confused.

“Of course Ah’m alright, granny. Why wouldn’t Ah be?”

“Well fer one thing, ya haven’t been in the best of moods since last night, an’ yer chore performance isn’t lookin’ good either.”

“Ah jus’ had a rough afternoon yesterday, that’s all,” Applejack excused becoming slightly more defensive. “It don’t mean it’s goin’ tah change me forever.”

“Ya didn’t even tell us what happened yesterday. Ya jus’ stormed into the house, and then galloped up to yer room without sayin’ a single word.”

“Well maybe it was mah own buisness, alright?” Applejack stated, now becoming clearly agitated. “Ah was gonna tell ya when the time was right.”

“As in referrin’ tah right now?”

“That’s not...maybe...Ah mean...ugh! Ah don’t have time fer this, granny!” she finally snapped. “Jus’ let me get back tah work, alright? My job means more tah me then explanin’ mah feelings fer everypony tah hear. Now please jus’ let me get on with mah chores! Okay?”

Granny Smith just sighed. She knew this approach wouldn’t get her anywhere fast. It was best just to cut to the chase.

“Is it about that fella, Aaron?”

Applejack once again paused from her task.

“What about him?” she huffed indifferently. “Ah already know he repaired the cornfield, an’ Ah’m glad he did. Why should Ah be upset over somethin’ like that?”

“Ah didn’t say ya were. Ah was jus’ wondrin’ why ya still aren't happy?”

“Look, granny,” Applejack groaned. “Ah jus’ had a really bad day yesterday, an’ my mood is jus’ the aftershocks. They’ll go away, honest. Ah jus’ need some time tah think things over.”

“Well have ya thought about yer reason fer being’ scared of Aaron, an’ the rest of his company?”

Applejack just snorted and got back to her work without saying another word. She was getting sick and tired of answering her grandmothers’ nosey questions.

Granny Smith turned her head to the direction to where Aaron was hiding and called, “You can come out now.”

Aaron stepped out from behind one of the apple trees that he had hid himself behind. Granny Smith didn’t say he had to hide though, but Aaron thought it would be better if he stayed out of sight for the moment.

When Aaron finally presented himself, Applejack stared at him with surprise, but was rather miffed with her grandmother.

“Ya were tryin’ tah set me up, wern’t ya?” Applejack demanded.

Granny Smith was about to say something, but Aaron cut her off so he could speak for her.

“No, Miss. Applejack. Your grandmother didn’t set you up for anything. I was the one who talked her into this. I only wished to speak with you,” Aaron explained.

“Well, what do ya want, then?” Applejack asked, a bit unnerved.

“I only wish to make amends with you, that’s all,” Aaron replied sincerely. “The cornfield has been fixed up, and I thought that would finally bring peace between us--but it seems as if there’s something else that seems to be troubling you.”

“Well, yeah. There is."

“What is it then?”

“Your species bein’ here. That’s the problem,” she finally fessed.

Aaron just sighed.

“I understand, Miss Applejack, but our agreement with Celestia is clear. We are assigned to stay here for a few weeks to keep an eye out for anything that might threaten your planet. We will take our leave of you the next day after this gala of yours,” he explained patiently.

“Fine.” Applejack said, now sounding calm. “But Ah think it’s best if ya jus’ let me be. Don’t get me wrong; Ah’m glad ya put yer time an’ effort into fixing our cornfield, but what you’ve put me through was jus’ too much tah handle.”

“I see,” Aaron said standing his ground. “Matter of fact, I can’t blame you for being upset with me at all. If I was you, I would probably feel the same way.”

“Well, there’s somethin’ that we can agree on,” Applejack stated. “So if ya don’t mind, will you kindly leave our farm?”

“Applejack?” Granny Smith began, but Aaron raised his hand.

“It’s alright, Miss Smith,” he reassured. “I’ll do it. But before I do go, can I ask you one thing, Applejack?”

“What?” she deadpanned.

“How are you going to make it up to your friends, especially Celestia, for what happened yesterday at the park?”

Applejack was immediately caught off guard from this question, but it had a straight point.

Through all her moping, Applejack didn’t think of one single solution for how she was going to apologize to her friends and Celestia for how she had behaved towards them. The scared and heartbreaking image of Fluttershy’s face suddenly burned back into her memory, along with what she said to the shy and very sensitive pegasus.

This memory brought a wall of tears to Applejack’s eyes as she hid her face behind her hat, and turned away from her grandmother and Aaron to cover up her emotions.

Aaron turned to Granny Smith, unsure of what he should do now. She used her hoof to gesture toward Applejack to indicate that he should go and do what he could to comfort her.

He nodded without hesitation.

He strode steadily over to Applejack’s side and got down on both of his knees to nearly be at eye level with her. Applejack sensed his presence, and shied away from him a bit.

“Listen to me, Applejack. I may not be a social worker, or have a counseling degree; but I know it isn’t healthy to hide your feelings from others. You’ve shown hostility to hide fear, and now you're trying to hide your remorse for all of it. I can tell you that this won’t help you get the forgiveness you deserve, and a simple I’m Sorry won’t earn it.”

“Then what can?” Applejack practically pleaded, while struggling to choke down sobs. “Y’all saw what Ah did back there. That wasn’t me at all. Ah’m nothin’ but a...a...m-monster!” she said while letting a squeaky sob escape on the last word, and to Aaron’s surprise--she actually embraced him while burying her face deep into his shoulder, emitting suppressed and muffled cries of despair. With her emotional dam finally broken, she needed somepony, or somebody to find comfort in--even if it wasn’t someone she liked.

Aaron didn’t hesitate to return the embrace to the troubled mare. He knew that there was good in her, he just had to force it out. He just held her close and let her have time to release all the waterworks. He then looked over to Granny Smith, who was giving him an approved smile.

“You’re not a monster, Applejack,” he reassured. “You were just angry, that’s all. You can still make this right. If you want me to, I can be by your side to support you even if you told me to leave you alone. It’s really your choice.”

When Applejack got some control over herself, she looked up at Aaron with tear-stained eyes and a pleadful expression.

“Do ya think you can come with me? Jus’ this once? Ah know what Ah said before, but Ah don’t think Ah can do this alone. Ah mean, what if Fluttershy won’t forgive me, or even listen tah what Ah have tah say? Worse yet, what if she stopped talkin’? Ah could’ve made her a mute!”

This thought brought more emotional pain to Applejack, but Aaron intervened before she wasted even more time feeling sorry for herself than focusing on what really mattered at the moment.

“Don’t jump to conclusions just yet. We can’t be sure if that’s even true.”

“Ya don’t know Fluttershy like we do. The poor thing is fragile as a baby hen. Celestia knows what has became of her after this! She could easily shut everypony out of her life, even her friends who want to be there for her,” Applejack explained, while sniffling a bit.

“Then there’s only one thing we can do now, and that is to find out for ourselves,” Aaron said. “Since you guys know her so well, you should consider that she’ll re-accept you as a friend if you’re that close. It may take some work, but I know you’ll  find some way to get through to her.”

“Ya think so?” Applejack asked unsurely.

Aaron didn’t wish to give Applejack false hope so he just looked into her sad emerald green eyes and said, “I can’t be sure. It’s between you and her. The only thing I can do is wish luck to you both, along with the others.”

Applejack knew that meant that her friendship may not be re-accepted from Fluttershy, or the others. She has made some bad decisions in her life, but this one seemed just pure evil, which she knew she wasn’t. Applejack knew that she was better than that.

Finally getting some of her strength back, Applejack propped herself up on all four of her hooves and said, “Let’s go. Ah don’t wish tah wait any longer than Ah have to. Ah gotta make this right, no matter what happens.”

Applejack sounded like the willing and honest mare she was born to be! Aaron was finally seeing Applejack as her true self, and he was very impressed.

Aaron and Applejack waved goodbye to Granny Smith, who returned it as they headed over to Fluttershy’s forest-side cottage.

Along the way, Applejack seemed to keep Aaron close by her side.

It seemed awkward for both of them, but Aaron knew that Applejack needed a shoulder to lean on during this friendship crisis of hers.

Sure she didn’t like him before, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Who knows. Sometimes your enemy could become your greatest friend.