Applejack stood by her stall in the market and watched the ponies who wandered by. A fair amount of those who met her gaze smiled and waved at her, which she returned briefly. However, it was not a pony she kept an eye out for; it was a certain human. She had promised Rarity that she would talk with Melody and ask her what the unicorn had meant with what she had said, or if Melody even knew that Rarity was not entirely happy with her.

“An apple for your thoughts,” her brother spoke up as he lifted another barrel of apples off their cart. Sweat glistened from his body, more from the heat of the afternoon sun than any effort from the manual labour. It was a look more than one mare was appreciative of, judging by the way they eyed him as they trotted by.

She sighed and laid her hat down next to the little cashbox on the counter. “Rarity said she suspects a friend of mine using Twi.” Her gaze was still fixed on the main street that led directly to the library. By now, Melody should have long since passed by. “I don’t know how she got the idea in her head, but I promised to talk with that friend.”

Big Macintosh nodded as he laid down another barrel next to the stall. “You think it’s true?”

“What? No! I mean…” The mare sighed again. “I don’t know what to think, Mac. Melody is pretty smart. She read all those books on what’s going on in a pony’s head and so on. I think she would know how to read a pony.” And that was the thought that troubled her. If Melody could read ponies so well, why didn’t she notice that she loved her? Or that Twilight had a crush on her? She never thought the human had a bad bone in her body, but despite herself, tendrils of doubt had started to creep up and latch onto her. She doubted her own sense in reading ponies, or humans for that matter. But the worst was that she doubted her friend. A friend she loved.

“I can take over if you want,” her brother offered and set her hat straight on her head with a hoof while ruffling her mane a bit.

Applejack shook her head. “No need. I guess it’ll just have to wait until later.” Applejack didn’t even believe herself in that moment. She wanted to know what was up with Melody and why Rarity was so suspicious of her, so out of the blue. Despite their differences, she knew that Rarity was not a pony who judged others just like that. Well, besides their sense in fashion, that was.

As it turned out, destiny had other plans for her. With the freshest apples now on display – and they were always fresh, never mind what some snobs might say – the first customer approached their stand. It was Celsius, Melody’s new coltfriend. Applejack had seen him a few times in town even before he had approached the human, or at least her new customer sense told her so. Even in a small town like Ponyville, one could not remember every face or name. He had probably delivered clouds to her farm, or she had spotted him doing his weather work around the town in the past.

“Morning,” he greeted with a slightly scratchy-sounding voice. He must have yelled a lot recently or something like that, Applejack thought. “You’re Applejack, right?” She was about to answer, but he cut her off. “Sorry, of course you are. I know that. Everybody knows you. You’re an Element. It just… Well, the announcement was to let the Elements of Harmony live their life in peace and all that. I don’t want to bother you.”

Like Melody had said, he was a bit reserved. Clearly not as bad as Fluttershy, but certainly not as outgoing as Pinkie Pie. “It’s not a bother. So, how can I help you? Maybe with some fresh apples?”

The blue pegasus seemed nervous. His eyes darted from side to side, making sure that the other customers were standing back a little, before he leaned forward. “It’s about Melody. She had a sort of breakdown in her... work? I don’t really understand all that she’s doing with Twilight Sparkle, but they spoke yesterday, and she was crying when I came to her house.”

Applejack frowned. She didn’t like what she was hearing one bit, but it explained why he looked and acted so frazzled. Celsius must have calmed her down the entire night. “She’s a lot better now, but I have to go to work, and she kind of needs her friends at her side right now. I met her with you at the bar, so I thought…”

The moment Applejack looked over to Big Mac, he spoke up, having acted as though he hadn’t kept an ear open to catch the conversation the entire time. “It’s fine. I’ll pick up Apple Bloom from school too. Take care of that friend of yours,” he grunted, taking down the last barrel for today from the cart.

Her gaze wandered back to Celsius, who seemed to be relieved. “Great! I’ll be back as soon as possible. Thank you so much!”

“No problem,” the mare answered, a bit bemused at how quickly the entire conversation had gone. One moment later, both of them were on their separate ways. Their minds, though, were on the same human.

Applejack knocked a few times on the wooden door of Melody’s little home. She had been here twice so far: once, the night after their little escapade; the other when she had helped her drunken friend home. Both times, her visits had been rather short. It was as though there was a rule between them that they could only be seen together for longer periods at the bar. While neither of them had said anything, it was almost an unspoken agreement. Well, at least it was one on Melody’s part. The coils of doubt in her mind came rushing back, asking her whether it was something intentional on the human’s part, that she’d rather not have Applejack in a more intimate setting after what had happened between them. The farm mare didn’t like it. Melody was her friend, and Applejack liked visiting her friends. All of them, even if visiting Rarity could be some kind of chore from time to time.

A few seconds passed by without any sound coming from the little hut, so she knocked again. “Melody, are you in there?” she tried calling out but still got no response. “I know you’re there. Celsius came by and told me that something was wrong.” As the words left her mouth, she winced internally. The last thing she wanted to do was get the pegasus in trouble for coming to her.

“Go away…” It was quiet, just a little about a whisper, and it came directly from behind the door.

Applejack sighed and leaned her forehead against the door. “Listen, sugarcube, I’m not stupid. I know something happened with Twilight yesterday. There’s a lot going on around you, and I don’t want to add things to that list. I just want to help you.”

There was a short silent before the door opened, and Applejack was dragged into the house by two familiar hands around her neck. In the blink of an eye, she was on Melody’s lap while the woman stroked her mane. She hadn’t done that in a long, long time. Back when she was new in Ponyville, she had done that before she learned that it unnerved some ponies to be treated like pets. The mare didn’t mind at all. She liked the soothing feeling of the human’s hands going through her mane and coat.

Setting her Stetson aside, Applejack nuzzled the woman briefly. “I’m so sorry Applejack,” Melody whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

“Uh? What about exactly? You mean petting me? Nah, don’t worry. If it helps you, it’s fine with this mare.” For the first time, Applejack got a good look at her friend. Her green eyes were red from crying, and her nose was in dire need of cleaning. Melody’s hair was dishevelled, completing the picture of a woman who hadn’t slept last night at all.

“No. I mean yes. That too, but…” Melody sighed and nuzzled her cheek against the back of Applejack’s head. “I mean back then, in the barn. I used you. I was so… lonely, I guess. I… wanted attention. Being loved and accepted and you were drunk. I was drunk too, but that isn’t an excuse and… I don’t know. I’m sorry, Applejack. You’re my friend, my best friend, nearly my only friend, and I used—”

Applejack couldn’t listen anymore. She spun around and silenced the woman with a bone-crushing hug. “Now you listen to me, sugarcube. I’m a grown mare. I’m responsible for my choices, drunk or otherwise.” Applejack felt so stupid. This entire time, she had thought that she had used her friend to satisfy her feelings, and Melody thought the same, feeling guilty for something she didn’t have to. She had lied – she was a stupid mare. And now she felt like crying too. “And I wasn’t honest with you or myself. I love you, Melody, and not only as a friend. You’re fun; you’re smart; you’re beautiful and… and… Consarn it! I love you, okay? And I used you more than you used me. You were drunk, and I knew you were looking for a stallion and…” She stopped talking, looking her friend in the eyes. Those green eyes she loved to look at so much. They were so close. Too close. Applejack’s thoughts stopped too. Were their lips touching right now?

The mare leaned into the kiss but jolted away as her brain started to work again. She hated her brain so much in that moment. “Wait. No. What? Melody, what’s going on? What about Celsius?” And she lied again, she noticed. Some fine Element of Honesty she was. She didn’t want to add things to Melody’s list of things she had to worry about, and now she was on the floor, kissing a woman she wasn’t supposed to.

“I broke up with him.” Melody leaned back against the door, swiping her hair from in front her face. “After I came home yesterday… After I had this moment of clarity at Twilight’s… I had to get everything in order again. I had to be human again. I tried to do the impossible and become a pony. That’s not gonna happen, I realized, no matter how hard I try. I’m human. And from today on, I’ll do it the human way. You can’t please everyone, or everypony. I know I hurt the ponies around me. You, Berry, and even Twilight.” So she had figured it out after all. “But I tried to do it the pony way. To please everyone. And it made everything worse. I tried not to bother anypony with my special needs. Like clothing, saying I wanted to fit in.” Applejack noticed only now that Melody was wearing something. “And I hurt Celsius. I’m a pregnant mare, so there has to be a stallion, right? You ponies are all about family and foals. I think you don’t even notice that yourselves. Imagine a mare prancing through town. Her posture, her chest puffed out and tail slightly lifted, and head held high. It shows not only her beauty, but that she’s healthy and fertile. Stallions do the same. They show off their muscled chests and their goods. A muscular chest shows that he can work, that can help building a family and so on. You do it every moment, even when you’re standing at the market. You ponies don’t even notice it anymore, but as an outsider, I noticed and I tried the same. Show off my body and so on.

“Don’t get me wrong. Celsius is a very sweet stallion, and any mare can be lucky to have him. But I feel like I dragged him into all of this,” she said, pointing at Applejack and then herself. “He triggered something like a nest-building instinct. I wasn’t really looking for a stallion. I was looking for something I couldn’t find anywhere. Myself. And I finally found her, and she didn’t want him around. She wanted you.” Applejack felt her heart going faster than a racing pony. Melody wanted her. Her! Not Celsius, not Twilight, but her. “And then the whole thing with Twilight. I think I noticed it the moment she gifted me the writing kit. She is a sweet mare, but…”

“More like a little filly than anything else?” Applejack tried to help out.

“Yeah. I mean, I need more help already than most. I need someone responsible at my side. Someone I can trust and someone who can tell me the truth.” They looked at each other again. Applejack thought her heart would jump out of her chest. Hadn’t she given up? Why was she feeling like a filly again, having her first crush of all sudden? This was Melody, the woman she had a crush on for a long time. She wanted her brain to shut up, but there was this annoying little voice in her head that reminded her that she had one more question to ask.

“Melody, I have to ask you a question, and I want you to tell me the truth.” The head of her love tilted a bit.

“I owe you that, and more.”

“Did you use that crush of Twilight’s to benefit yourself in any way?” She felt dirty the moment the question had left her mouth. However, she had promised, and her pride didn’t allow her to break a promise to a friend, Pinkie Promise or otherwise. And if she was honest with herself, she wanted to know herself. If she got that wrong about Melody, what else had she gotten wrong? She just had to know.

“No. I… didn’t even use the gift after the one time right after she gave it to me. I have it here, and I planned to return it to her.” The human grabbed a golden box out of a drawer from the cabinet that stood against the wall. Her fingers pushed it open so that Applejack could look in. Her eyes widened. She didn’t know what half the things in there were, but one thing she recognized immediately. Only one being had large white feathers like that, and she didn’t give them away willy nilly. The feather in there was one of Princess Celestia’s. Twilight had showed her the feather once, right after they had become friends. She had gotten it from the princess for her sixteenth birthday. And if she remembered correctly, Twilight had told her that, besides the sentimental value, the feather was worth a fortune. She could imagine what some of the noble ponies would pay to own something like that. The only other pony who had ever owned one of those had been a late friend of the princess. Twilight must have been out of her mind to just give this away… or deeply in love.

Well, Applejack knew that Twilight’s family was loaded, but even so… “Yeah, that probably the best,” she said while closing the lid with a hoof.

“Why did you ask?”

“Please don’t be angry at me or Rarity, but she got the impression you were using Twilight somehow. I don’t know what crawled up her tail, but she came to me, and I promised the talk to you. That was originally the reason I wanted to come by today, but then Celsius showed up at the market.”

Melody pulled her into a hug again. “I can’t actually fault her for that. I can only imagine how everything had to look for a bystander.”

“Yeah…” was all Applejack could say.

“So, Applejack, I want to do this the human way. Slow and so on. Very slow in pony language. And I want to say one thing from the start.” Taken a little aback by the fast topic change, the mare just nodded. “No sex before the third date.”

Don't worry, that isn't the end of Celsius. We will see more of him again in the future. But Melody needed a restart and to listen to her heart and not her brain. Also, I'm sorry it took so long to publish this. (Hope my English understandable like last time.)

Thanks to JBL for editing this chapter.